so much to say

But to start off, here's what Gaz said at dinner when I asked her how she signs "strong" in her own version of sign language: "Strong is when you eat a little monkey and chew it!" Not sure where we get monkey eating from (unless you've been telling her stories about the Navy, Papa Charley!), but she did go to the zoo yesterday with Mark, where she played with a little girl named Emily. Today she went to the park and met a girl named Lucy and they had a great time. We'll have to see if we can connect at the park more often.

Let's see . . . We visited all the grandparents, who are all doing well. Gaz got to visit another funeral home, when my cousin's grandmother died. It was a situation not unlike what we went through with Grandpa in February, which was a little surreal for me, and all the Sawyers remain in our thoughts. Gaz made the best of it, though, and spent most of our visit there running around outside with another little girl. She makes friends everywhere she goes!

We're in the middle of a big Scooby-Doo kick lately. Lately, she's all about watching "Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost," so don't be surprised if she sings one of those abominable Hex Girls songs to you. And speaking of all things Halloweeny, I'm working on another Mothra costume. But like Mothras from the movies, this one will be different! I'm not so much styling it after a particular movie, as I am working on alternatives to the foam wings I made last year. This year, once I get the basic construction done, Gaz will be helping. I'm looking forward to that. She gets a big kick out of anything artsy these days.

Particularly, she loves painting. I tape some paper up on her easel, and in no time she's completed a masterpiece and is demanding more paper. If I can get the scanner working, maybe one of those will become part of the blog here. Today she decorated a pumpkin with googly eyes and yarn hair. She was frustrated with the mouth she drew, but I think it's beautiful, of course. There are pictures, I just need to sort out the hundreds that are on the SD card.

That's it for now. More as I remember things!