Just what exactly is a "vost"?

This question is for the benefit of Mom, Dad, and Jerica. They were talking to Jefferson last night when he told them that he was drawing a vost and asked them what sound a vost makes. None of us could figure out what he was talking about and thought that it was just one of his made-up words (he makes up words quite frequently, a la Jansen). After he got off the phone he kept insisting that I draw a "vost" for him. I wasn't sure what a vost looked like. Then he explained that they were scary and make a sound like this: "oooo-oooo-oooooooo". And THEN showed me a picture that Aunt Jessica had doodled for him earlier that day. Oh, a ghost! He had just learned that word yesterday and was having a little trouble getting the word exactly right.

I hope everyone is having a good Memorial Day. We actually had a sunny weekend, it was glorious. Today is overcast but not raining at the moment. Chris has to work today but is getting paid 2.5 times his normal rate, so is not complaining too much. Plus he is taking off this coming weekend so we can have a little vacation. Earlier this summer, one of his co-workers went to a party and won a door prize for a round trip ferry pass to Prince of Wales Island and a one-night stay in a bed and breakfast in Craig (one of the towns on the island). She didn't want it so she gave it to Chris in exchange for some help involving a chain saw and her wood pile. This is exciting for us as we have never been to POW, even though it is one of our closest Alaskan neighbors (the $300-$400 ferry tickets are quite prohibitive for the average human). We are told that there are hundreds of miles of roads to drive there, as opposed to the 30 miles here. I'm not sure how much driving we'll do, given the current cost of gas, but I'm sure we'll have some fun. We are camping first for two nights in Klawock, then we'll head to Craig for the weekend and attend church at the branch there. They actually have a branch, how exciting! Many smaller communities in Alaska have only one or two members, and they attend church over the phone. That's what my friend Jenni does in Pelican.

Jefferson is getting excited for the camping trip. I told him we were going to Prince of Wales island, and now he is imagining a land littered with dozens and dozens of friendly whales. I sure hope we see a whale sometime during the trip, or he will be sorely disappointed. I don't think he has ever seen one before.

Lola is cuter than ever, she loves to babble nonsense words. Well, maybe they make sense to her. She also loves to read. She picks up books and turns the pages, then babbles and babbles as she looks at the pictures. She especially loves that little book of Mormon that Jefferson got from Grandma and Grandpa. She thinks it is hers, as anything that tiny should rightfully belong to the tiniest person in the house.

Last night as we were all going to bed, Jefferson kept climbing into his parents' bed. So Chris kept insisting he get back into his own bed. Said Jefferson: "But Dad, your bed is so beautiful!" Chris and I couldn't help ourselves, we just busted up laughing. Where does he come up with this stuff? This morning when I woke up, I thought for a moment that we had acquired a family dog. But no, it was Jefferson sleeping on my feet, completely covered with the blankets and well hidden.

I better get thinking about what to have for dinner. The missionaries are coming over for dinner today and tomorrow. We take it upon ourselves to be the official dinner fill-ins if we ever find any blank days on the ward's missionary calendar.

Have a good week!