I'm still learning how different my kids are from each other. (Parenting is such a humbling job - you never actually learn it all, and it's all on-the-job training.) It's incredible that they're even related. When Max was younger, he needed an incredible amount of structure and sameness in his routine or he'd become very unhappy and difficult. So for years, whenever we've had holiday time, I've tried to keep everything the same and he's been quite happy. Rowen and Nicky, naturally, have turned out to be totally the opposite. Variety, and more of it, are their demands! So I've been trying to balance Max's need for routine with their need for stimulation. I haven't hit the magic combination yet, but I think I'm getting closer.

Yesterday we spent the better part of the day with Ash and her two boys and that was terrific! I tried to get pics of all the kids, but just as I was snapping one of the boys playing in the sand, a very tall boy walked by and blocked Seb. However, here's what I got. My favorite is the one of Nicky and Joe slurping their apple juice.







For today's outing, we visited with Niek's mom, who has just returned from a vacation touring the Baltic States. Now that's a dream vacation, in my opinion, and by the time she'd described what they'd seen & done, I was more than halfway ready to jump in the car and head north! The kids, as always, had a great time visiting with their Oma, and protested more than a little bit when it was time to head home again. (Blogger has had its fill of photos, so I'm switching to Photobucket again.)





With all this traveling, I've not had as much time for stitching as I might like, but I have made a bit of progress with my Brightneedle project. I love the colors so far, and the pattern is a pleasure to stitch (as are all the Brightneedle patterns I've done so far).



And to keep me geared up to finish my current projects, Ash surprised me with the very, very generous gift of these patterns while I was at her home yesterday. Ash, thanks so much! I'll enjoy these tremendously!



And finally, the countdown to Maine is in high gear now: We fly out one week from TODAY!!!