Well, I'm back. The weekend was great fun with the niece and so forth. She's a handful and I'm exhausted, but I can't wait to see her again. I believe the theme of the weekend can be summed up in the title of one of the many dance cd's we listened to together: "Shut Up and Dance." She and I would often yell that at each other and then make strange movements with our arms and legs. This also often came in handy when she was getting temperamental.

Another handy item was the purchase of a set of made-for-girls "spy walkie-talkies" which we purchased at Toys-R-Us. They actually worked pretty well so we'd often separate and chat. The best part of it was when she would get too far ahead (especially at the zoo) or running around without me and instead of yelling with my lungs, I would just hit the walkie-talkie and say "Get back over here!" It was also helpful when she went into the girls restrooms. Ah, why didn't I think of that invention years ago?

Again, a very fun-filled weekend, beautiful weather, and I only had to spend a million dollars on the little kid.