Chloe's Interview!

Videos for Mom

I thought that Mom might like to see what the kids are up to. I wrote down five questions and asked Chloe first, who turned it into a long interview and at the end did not want to stop being in front of the camera. For some reason I could not convert the video - I'll work on that tonight. Here is Caden's. I asked Caden some questions and it was a bit more of a challenge. I expanded the questions a bit to make his video like his sister's but it didn't work. The scorpion answer was my favorite...

135 days out, the first third in review.

It is funny how the first 4 months have gone. There have been challenges and triumphs, highs and lows. The story really has become about how the kids have adapted to a situation that they could not alter and how they feel about the whirlwind that surrounds them. The choices that were made affect each person in an individual way that can be both admirable and heart-wrenching. I am sure that Ryanne misses them more than we can imagine. being so far away that you cannot visit can't be any fun either. I think that the last few months have made his time away more difficult for Carl as well. He has had the opportunity to spend more time with them than any other time in the past. Susan & I have also had our moments, both good and bad.

I wonder about the sacrifices that the two kids have made. Their sacrifice was one not of choice but of necessity. It is difficult to imagine the thoughts that go through their heads. So I have asked them about their thoughts and will share their answers over the next week.

110º in the sun

Caden and I went to northern Maine for an adventure these last 5 days. On the trip we saw a jet fighter doing tricks at an air show, bald eagles at the lake, a coyote that ran for about a mile with us as we rode Quads (ATV's) up Moose Mountain, helped him catch his first fish (a catfish), taught him to cast his pole, swam in a lake with fresh water clams...

One of the highlights was a birch bark canoe we made together. We soaked a big piece of Birch bark till it was flexible, used a nail to poke holes in each end, (I held the nail while he hit my fingers with the hammer) tied the ends tight and it sailed great. Here are some pictures of him sailing the boat. (He called it a Birch bark Canal - close enough)