High and dry

It must be the California air, but this morning after waking at 6:30 a.m. (not bad considering it was a very quiet night), I was already breathing better. The head cold that plagued me all week long in Kansas City was making its exit and the desert air was cool and lovely. Having a wonderful niece keep Elisa busy all day long also didn't hurt. I had much more time to relax and hang out today and that's pretty much all we did. It was a very pjs kind of day which everyone needs once and a while--especially when traveling. The most we did was wander around the backyard for a bit and pick some limes off the tree. Stace and Mark have really lucked out with the house they are renting for the remainder of their Marine Corps duty. It's a beautiful Spanish-style ranch with tiled floors, granite everywhere and lots of wide open spaces. And the yard is a serene retreat full of fruit trees and desert flora. Elisa is talking up a storm and entertaining all of us with her dances, wild gestures and love of all things Nickelodeon. Even for me it's been fun and kind of eye-opening to see how well other people can understand her these days. She is actually making more complex statements and really trying to imitate and change her speech to be better understood. It's progressing every day, and definitely from one week to another I can see the difference. So I'm glad we're here now to catch up and enjoy this new home with her cousins. It's incredibly different from our little hops down to North Carolina the past few years, but something tells me we're going to be making this trek a lot over the next two years. Let's hope Papa can join us the next time. We miss you.