My free babysitters went to Virginia for the summer : – ( That is to say, the sweetest neighborhood kids in the world are visiting their grandparents and will no longer be providing Katie’s evening entertainment.

It simply amazes me how attached a ten year-old girl and her protective eighth-grade brother have become to little miss Katie, and she simply adores them. She is a most enthusiastic supporter of Mikey’s skateboard antics, always interjecting “BOOM!” at the appropriate moments. And she loves being Lexi’s “baby” . . . coddled, caressed, and carried.

Today I found a handmade bracelet gently hung on our front door. I looked down the street and saw that they were gone. We’re really going to miss them.