We owe it all to Uncle Jonah

In June, my youngest brother called me up and volunteered to drive me and the kids to our family reunion in Oregon in August. I told him that he was crazy, but we took him up on the offer. It was a fun week away from home.

Uncle Jonah began his duties on Saturday night by watching Ainsley so I could wrangle Afton and pack.

Then he not only entertained Afton at every stop we made en route to Oregon, but he also palled around with her during the week.

Afton enjoyed hanging out with her other cousins, Elsa and Gibson, who were also in Oregon due to the birth of their little sister.

Ainsley got to meet her great grandmother for the first time.

And Afton spent a lot of time cruising around the farm in various vehicles -- Papa Reed's little truck, the big farm truck, Grandma Debbie's SUV, and the four-wheeler. Only the tractor remained untouched.

By the end of the week, Afton didn't even bother to ask to play with me anymore. She realized that Grandma Debbie was a much better playmate. She preferred Grandma Debbie at bedtime too, largely because Grandma Debbie's interpretation of "She needs to go to bed in about 5 minutes" usually meant going to bed in another 30. (That's what grandmas are for, right?)

And little Ainsley spent so much time sleeping on her grandfather, she began to smell like his cologne.

So thank you to Uncle Jonah for braving the trip and acting as our chauffeur. And thank you to my parents for letting me a nap on occasion, entertaining Afton so thoroughly for the week, and holding Ainsley so much.

True Love: The Musical

Tony hates musicals. It has something to do with too much drama and bursting forth into song not being realistic. With all due respect, his dislike of musicals is a bit irrational because he loves the opera. I’ve reminded him on more than one occasion that an opera is just a musical in a language we can’t understand.

I like musicals, but it’s a different experience to watch them with Tony. It took him about two minutes to despise Maria from the Sound of Music. He calls her “the whore nun.” The visual and musical frenzy of Moulin Rouge just blew his mind. I think John Travolta in Hairspray – in both drag and a fat suit – still leaves Tony speechless.

But as much as Tony hates musicals, he loves Afton, and Afton loves to dance. When Hairspray was on TV a while ago, Afton immediately ran to her room, grabbed her tutu, put it on, and danced around the living room. She spent all the time between the show’s musical numbers saying, “More dance, more dance, more dance.” Tony – sensing a number of dance recitals, amateur theater productions, and the future defilement of his new HD TV during evenings spent watching High School Musical 1, 2, and 3 – simply sighed.

This past week Tony did what any father who hates musicals but truly loves his daughter who loves to dance would do. He came home from a trip to the library with a DVD: Grease. Afton and her tutu have danced again.