Guck Guck

Post-holiday chaos at the office died down a bit last week and we finally had a chance to go out to lunch and catch-up on what happened over the break. It's never a surprise when our conversations cover the latest expedition for Canadian mountain goats, the coolest new scope, or why the elephant population is out of control in Botswana. I just put on my best poker face and remember the other reasons I love these guys! Anyway, how bad could it get? I made it through the viewing of the elephant hunt -- with only Bill knowing that I cried myself to sleep!

But when I found out that several (not one, but several) of them spent their holidays DUCK HUNTING!! . . . What?! What?! Duck hunting? I took my babies TO FEED THE DUCKS nearly every day over the holidays. And you spent your holidays killing them? Really? My baby said his fourth word over the holidays, "Guck, Guck". Fourth behind mama, dada, and baba.

Then the conversation awkwardly wrapped-up with, "You didn't really carry out that many ducks every day, did you? I thought Idaho has the same limit as Utah." "My kids were with me, we counted them in the limit."

So Who's Your Girlfriend?

I got the scoop on conversation at the "kids table" after dinner at Joni's earlier this month:

Jackson and/or Phoebe: J, do you have a girlfriend?

J: Huh?

Jackson and/or Phoebe: You know, a girlfriend. I bet you have a girlfriend!

J (puzzled and looking to Amanda for a clue on the meaning of this): A girlfriend?

Jackson and/or Phoebe: Come on, you must have a girlfriend. Who's your girlfriend?

Amanda sees the cogs turning as J considers Aiden and Jared and Tanner and Lincoln. And then it clicks! He finally gets it!

J: Well, I have my mommy and my sissy.