Rug wrapped

We're completely tuckered out from a whirlwind weekend with Julie, Eric, Antonia, and Helena... The kids haven't seen each other since last summer but they don't miss a beat when it comes to catching up. Luke was so excited to have everyone here that he actually convinced all four kids to take a bath together on Saturday night. (It was quite a scene, but common decorum prevents me from publishing any of the pics.)

I'll see if I can boil down the last few hours of the visit, as told by Luke (to Dave, who was not able to be with us on Monday): "Helena hit me with a jackhammer and I screamed really loud but I was so sad when they left and their taxi had the hazard light on the steering column and Eric forgot his socks." OK, Got that?

Luke loves Antonia and calls her his "sister." Partner in crime is possibly more like it. Luke and Helena, on the other hand, get together like oil and water - coexisting peacefully sometimes but never quite mixing. Luke was only too happy to help Eric and Antonia bury Helena in the sand on Saturday.

That said, I'm pleased to report two things: One, Helena is completely game for just about anything, which includes looking at hazard lights, so that automatically endeared her to Luke.

Two, Luke and Helena had such a good time at the Huntington Gardens on Sunday that they actually had a happy kind of argument on the way home: "I want to move to Seattle." "No, I want to move to California." "No, I want to move to Seattle," and so on, until they both fell asleep, heads together.

Zach, I'm afraid to say, came out a little worse for wear over the course of this busy weekend. While we were making dinner on Sunday he pulled down a two-liter seltzer bottle from a low shelf and gave himself a big black-and-blue mark on his foot. Then just moments after we got over that trauma, he toppled off the little kids chair into the screen door and scratched up his face. It's a rough-and-tumble world out there, Zach. Better toughen up before the summer.

I have no idea why, but Luke suddenly decided that his new favorite game is "Wrap Rug," in which he pulls out the area rug from his room and takes turns with Helena and Antonia wrapping each other up like burritos. "Time for Wrap Rug!" he declares, blue rug dragging by his feet. It'll be a while before Zach can play it with any enthusiasm.

Parting shot: Beautiful birthday girl Helena about to blow out the candles.