2.3 or, Get Along Little Dogies

Dear Miriam,

You spent June on a long camping trip in G&G Lam's new RV.  You came home covered in mosquito bites and addicted to a cd of Little People Cowboy Tunes.

Your first week was spent on the road to Madison.  It was crazy hot in Arizona and Texas.  Then you drove through tornado weather in Kansas, Missouri and Iowa.  I keep watching the severe weather reports and calling Grandma to make sure you were all safe.  You spent a few days in Madison seeing lots of friends.  Then you drove to the UP to stay at the cottage for two weeks.

Unfortunately, the mosquitoes were so bad in Michigan that you couldn't be outside almost at all.  There was so much rain this spring that all the marsh land by the cottage was flooded, and about three years worth of mosquito eggs had hatched.  I'm sure the birds and bats were happy, but the humans were definitely not.  So, even though it broke Grandma's heart, you decided to leave for home a week early.

You stopped at some fun places along the way, like Wall Drug and Devil's Tower.  Other places, like Mt. Rushmore and the Corn Palace, were over-run with tourists and not very fun at all.  You got to see Bryce Canyon, and spent a night in Las Vegas.  But you were very, very happy to be home.

You gained weight this month, probably because of all that time spent sitting in the RV and having snacks whenever you wanted.  Some of them might even have been healthy.

You are a monkey on the go these days.  You love to run and climb.  You make us swing you around and carry you upside down.  You ask me to throw you on the bed and tickle you on the couch.  You do funny dances and funny walks.  The other day when I came home from work, you jumped up and down and screeched for a few minutes, and then ran off into the living room.  It was pretty much what I imagine life will a chimpanzee would be like.

On the other hand, I'm pretty sure a chimpanzee would not crawl up onto Grandma's lap and say, "Let's see what Marmaduke is up to today."  One morning when you were still tired and cranky, we had this conversation:

Me: Do you want some milk?
You: No.
Me: Okay, no milk.
You: Yes.
Me: Yes, milk?
You: I said no and yes.

While you were gone, Dad got his motorcycle license and bought a motorcycle.  I'm not sure exactly what Grandma told you before you got home, but we had this conversation:

You: That's the motorcycle.
Me: That's Dad's motorcycle.
You: I don't want to ride it.
Me: You don't want to ride it?
You: It's too dangerous.

I had sent a couple of new cds with Grandma for the trip, but you only wanted to listen to the cowboy songs cd.  Now you break out into choruses of, "Ki yi yippee yippee yay!" when you're playing, which I find really funny.  I suppose at some point I'll walk in and you and Grandpa will be watching The Good, the Bad and the Ugly instead of Tom and Jerry.

Love,
Mom