is late. There are a bunch. I promise. She has always called Rachel "MmmMmm". Short "mm"s, not long like in "yummmy". Rachel has tried and tried to teach her to say Rachel. Elise started with the typical "mommy" and "daddy". Then she started saying "Aunum". (Autumn) Next was "Hannah" (easy enough) and this was followed with "Baby" and "Wiwwy" (Lilly). And then there was "Chowee" (Chloe). And then the blow that really hurt. "Becca". Wait! We don't have a daughter named Becca. Right? Well, our near adopted neighbor, Rebecca, has been one of Elise's best friends. Ouch.

The other day, right after driving past the duck pond, I tried to help Elise. I turned to her and said "Ra-chel", emphasizing each syllable. She looked at me and said "Du-cky!",only ones to do this, but I just think this makes them even cooler grandparents. (If that is possible) Especially because they have 5 growing families and are already at 18 grandkids. With my brother in law, Mike, just finishing up a very large and extravagant tree house in my parents' back yard, they decided to hold cousin camp in their backyard for now on. Cousin Camp included a trip to a Kangaroo Farm (now 2 of my kids have been kissed by a llama), meeting grandma and grandpa's new baby goats, a hike to Dorothy Lake and an afternoon at Pilchuck River. Above all of this, the kids got to play with their cousins and do a little bonding with family. They came home telling me stories