We're flying to Utah on Friday, June 25, and coming back home on Monday, July 5. We'd like to do more visiting than we did the last time, so maybe with flying (instead of driving) we won't be as wiped out tired.

Another tornado warning on Saturday--a twister touched down in Union County, SD, which is where Gateway's located. Missed Gateway, but got part of Jefferson, one of the towns we considered moving to while house-hunting last year. The wind hit hard enough at our house that we postponed a dinner appointment and stayed in the basement for a half- hour. Brian was worried for quite a while after that, and he kept asking us if a tornado was coming.

Brian's been asking about the meaning of really long words. "Possibility" was his latest question. He's only three, dangit. He should start acting his age.

Misha gave her first intentional-looking smile today after waking up from a nap. LeeAnn says it's something to behold.

Caleb's working into his bedtime routine with glee. He can't wait to brush his teeth and climb into bed. He is just so cooperative. Then, as soon as we have our backs turned, he climbs out of bed and wanders around the house. We have to keep a close eye on him. Part of Caleb's routine is our singing songs to him. His favorite ones are "The eensy weensy spider" and "popcorn popping." He even does some of the hand gestures along with the song; it's really cute. For his bedtime prayer, he folds his arms and even says "amen" when it's done.

David is definitely a Sawyer. As proof, he inserted a popcorn kernel up his nose and didn't tell us about it. It was stuck there long enough that his nose got a little red, but his mom successfully extracted it. The "accident" is proof of his lineage because his daddy did the same thing (but with a peanut) when he was that age. Daddy's problem resulted in a trip to the doctor's office, where he was introduced to the intimidating "Mr. Tweezers." Another of daddy's siblings experienced a similar nasal blockage, but with a rabbit food pellet. The Sawyers are, indeed, an adventuresome and curious breed.

We have green and red fireflies/lightning bugs here. None of the fireflies we've seen glow constantly, they just sort of fade in and fade out. It's hypnotizing. Folks that grow up around them seem to have a different attitude, though--two people have told me that when they were young, they'd squish 'em and do things with the glowing goo. Another writer here at Gateway confessed that she'd squish the bugs, rub the guts on the end of her finger, then play "E.T." with her friends, touching them with her glowing finger. Maybe we'll teach our children to catch lighting bugs when they are old enough. Then they can stick them up their noses!

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