I Come Bearing Grits

You may have noticed that I haven't posted much lately. As it happens, the temperature outside and the amount of time I spend blogging are inversely proportional. Go figure.

We haven't taken any significant trips in the last few weeks, but one night we did take Amelia out on a special after-bedtime trip to the botanical garden to check out some glow worms. These are really neat critters which glow a beautiful blue-green color in order to attract other insects before trapping them in sticky, dangling threads:


(picture courtesy of someone affiliated with the Australian Government)

The next major development was the arrival of my brother Kraemer. He landed a few days ago and brought four pounds of grits with him. This is important because Kiwis no hablan los grits and that means that Amelia's Favorite Breakfast Food of All Time has been conspicuously absent for a while now. Here's Kraemer allowing Quinn to check out his computer:


Of course, the weather turned absolutely beautiful the day Kraemer arrived and it hasn't changed since. I have been hoarding vacation time and we're starting to make a list of fun things to do over the next several months; spots to surf, places to hike, etc. Good times ahead.

I can't think of a segue for this, so here's a pic of the kids walking some stuffed animals:

Last, but certainly not least, Quinn turned one today. Amelia helped Amy bake a cake and Quinn generally seemed to enjoy himself. He's starting to make attempts to communicate; his cutest stunt is to say "Hi Hi" whenever Amy answers the phone.