Grandma

I just dropped my Mom off at the airport -- sigh -- she's been here for a week while the kids have been off school and it has been so wonderful. She played with them in the mornings while I taught my classes, which was enormously helpful, then I came home in the afternoon to be with them all, which was enormously fun. It has snowed most of the week and we spent a few of our days socked in by storms (watching the miniseries Flambards on DVD, which Mom thoughtfully brought with her.) But we also got out and had some fun too.

We took Mom to Montreal to put a few more miles on her passport. The highlight was our trip to the Biodome. It has four ecosystems with plants and animals, installed in a domed building that was the old cycling venue from the Montreal Olympics. The kids loved all the fish in the aquatic exhibits. They learned to say "Bonjour, Poisson!"(Gotta start somewhere with the French.)

We also did lots of shopping, of course, in Montreal's underground city . . . and on Church Street in Burlington . . . and in Montpelier and Barre . . . just about anywhere we could find. The kids were very patient. Gavin even got into the fun and tried on some shoes himself.

In fact, the kids tried on all sorts of stuff . . .

But the best part was just having Grandma around to hang out and play games. Thanks for coming, Mom -- we love you!