Our first son had one interest at a time-first baseball, then wrestling, then basketball.  We sat on bleachers for about 16 years with the last one.  So he was never interested in scouting, but Aidan has been asking for months when/where he could join up.  There is a pack in the next town open to kids in the district, and tonight was the first meeting.  I was as excited as he was.  I loved reading my brothers' Boys Life magazine when I was young.  Now I can read my son's copies when they arrive.  And I guess we'll be eating some popcorn too!
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Here we are, just my boy and me, enjoying one last trip to the lake before the cold set in.  And boy did it set in last night!
Then there was the fair, with my nephew's baby, Little Baby, my brother in-law and nephew, Brody, Brody & Aidan, my sister (one year younger than me), and my niece and her boyfriend with Mom:
The two year old crooner:
 
We got Eva's physical exam results from a couple of weeks ago.  She is 41" tall and weighs 33 lbs.  So she is a size 4, while her brother who is just eight weeks younger than her wears a size 8.  He's pretty psyched.

A new child comes home soon.

My mother feels well but is not well.  She will be leaving us sometime this year or next.

Next month my nephew and his wife will move to Texas.  Fundamental Christian readers won't like this, but my nephew is a professional poker player and makes a decent living at it.  In NH our taxes are set up so that if he brings in $2.5 million he is taxed 90% of that, even if he loses $2.4 million in the same year.  There were only five or six states where this would not be the case.  He and his wife considered moving to her native France, but in the end they chose Austin, Texas.

My nephew is leaving us.  We will have a new place to visit.

My other nephew from the same family, father to a seven month old son who is just adorable, married for a couple of years and enjoying a new home, has cancer.  He will find out more on Thursday.

My nephew is fighting for everything.  All that he is.  All that he has.

Little Baby loves college.  The life.  The social life.  The classes.  Everything about it.

Little Baby has finally found a place where she can be happy after an adolescence plagued by unhappiness.

Life is change.