We had Ethan's 8th birthday party at Craggy Island, a new climbing gym in Guildford. The kids had a blast, and Ben earned lasting my respect by surmounting a small overhang. Karen added climbing holds to the world's best chocolate cake.

Last Thursday, Karen drove up to Cheshire to retrieve the newest member of our team: Tekiah the kitten. I know we never mentioned it, but Niger went AWOL this summer -- the first day that we were all away in America. After our experience with an only child, we didn't want Mrs Chippy to be an only cat.