They wept like anything to see Such quantities of sand

Johnny came over in a bit of a state. He's still worried about Alaina and what she might be planning to do about Catherine. He brought Catherine and his new girl Shannon along.

Of course, my little brother always has been a worry wart. I'm sure it can be solved with some adult discussions.

Yes, typical Johnny. First he had me promise to keep one eye on Catherine. Keep her safe for him. Then he launched into his conspiracy theory.

Except this one sounds different. No green aliens that kidnap men to make them pregnant.  Nothing about the hidden places you can find Big Foot. Nothing about spiked juice or stuff that makes you crazy.


Instead it was a perfectly normal type of story. An impending custody battle with Alaina trying to take sole custody of Catherine. Sole custody? No wonder that Johnny has gone a bit mental.

Before he could explain any more details, his phone rang.

Whatever it was, it took a long time for him to finish that phone conversation.

Our girls took the time to get to know each other a bit. They are so close in age, it will be good for them if they get to be friends. They may have been born in the same house but they haven't really had much of a chance to hang out until recently.

Picasso had been upstairs giving little Leo a bottle. I got him caught up with the basics of what was happening with his uncle. Pretty much told him what Johnny told me. Which might have been a bit of a mistake.

He offered to help by spying on Alaina. What made that leap into his mind?

Apparently she has a reputation known to the high school boys. She thinks she can gain sole custody if she's that well known in town?

My son has a good heart but no brain. I pointed out that his hair would be a real hindrance to any spy activities. It's so bright it can be seen at night and the only people in town with that shade of red all live in this house.

He went off for a few minutes and came back.

Not bad, the bandanna keeps the hair from showing. The clothes are pretty typical teen, nothing that would catch the eye.

Still, there's no need for Picasso to spy on Alaina. I'm sure Johnny is just twisting himself into a knot for no reason.

When Johnny finally got off the phone, he had a serious chat with Catherine.

Gave his daughter a big hug.

Then walked out the door without a word to the rest of us.

Why? Where on earth is Johnny going?

Poor Catherine. She's caught in the middle. I've promised to keep an eye on her and I'll keep that promise until Johnny gets back.

Though he left a few hours ago now and we've no idea when he might be back.

I'll talk to Catherine. See what she makes of it all. What did Johnny tell her and what does her mom want?

The Walrus and the Carpenter Were walking close at hand

No, it's bedtime and I still don't know where my precious little Pumpkin is.

I rang Brooke but she didn't know.

I rang the school but they said she left with the other kids.

No birds were flying overhead-- There were no birds to fly.

Our little Lizzie is starting to make friends in town. Her new acquaintance is the son of Thomas and Zayne Leman. I'm looking forward to her bringing home some friends.

Barnacle Bay isn't that big but it's still taking time for the family to feel at home. Picasso in particular had to start all over again getting to know people at school. Elizabeth at least never went to school back in Sunset Valley.

You could not see a cloud, because No cloud was in the sky

Brooke can be proud of her son Picasso. He's a good lad and loves to watch over the younger ones. Now there's only Leo left though, Elizabeth is a lovely young lady.

Today, it's our turn. My Catherine will be growing up.  I invited friends and family over to help celebrate. They all came, even Alaina. I didn't talk to my ex, it's still too painful. She does deserve to celebrate with our daughter.

The sea was wet as wet could be, The sands were dry as dry.

I got up in the morning to snuggle the girl in my life. Good morning, Catherine, what do you need from your daddy? Love and a bottle? That's easy.

Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast

The Grant family moved. Hans and I saw the brochures for Barnacle Bay. It looked just the place to recharge our batteries and find our inner pirate influences. Johnny also moved bringing his family along.

So we found a very nice home and moved in.

That's the reason they're called lessons, because they lesson from day to day.

 I'm tackling a new medium, ice. It's specially treated to be long lasting but you still want to work quickly.

 Not bad for my first ice sculpture.

I remembered that I really want a private museum. It will inspire my art and perhaps be a source of income as well. But to do that, I have to travel.

I made arrangements to go to Egypt.

 To find the best treasure, you have to be willing to explore the tombs. It's dangerous but potentially rewarding work.

 The tombs in Egypt are hot. Hydration can be a real problem.

 Damn, I get such a work out in a tomb. Pulling this here.

 Pushing that there.

And finally delivering the goods to a native.

I met several people, made new friends.

 Had a chance to watch dawn over the pyramids.

 Felt very small next to some of the ancient ruins that dot this country.

 Question the locals about how a certain corporation was effecting their lives.

 Roast food over an open fire. Always yummy when you do this.

Tucked into a back corner of the sphinx.

This trip was a bit of a disappointment. I was hoping to find one or two valuable pieces for my collection. And yet I found nothing worth more than a measly 250. At this rate, I'm going to be ancient and grey before I find enough artifacts to have a private museum.

Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop.

 Poor Picasso had a rude awakening in the morning. Leonardo started crying because he was lonely and had a dirty diaper.

 After our move, the kids are currently sharing a single bedroom. Certainly not ideal from the point of a teenage boy who suddenly has to share with his little sister and brother. Still, once Picasso was up, he changed and cuddled Leonardo on his own.

For Tweedledum said Tweedledee Had spoiled his nice new rattle.

Alaina's pretty excited to be returning to work. She loves her job. She's really quite looking forward to earning a promotion.

As for me, I decided it was time for a change in style.

Oh, you can't help that,' said the Cat: `we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.'

Fraid this is a short update from me. Life is very hectic at the moment.

Hans and I were expecting our third baby. He's a great dad, he loves our kids so much. We are so looking forward to have another baby.

And we have little Elizabeth to teach. Her hair is just like Daddy's hair. That makes me happy, to see my dad's influence on my little girl.

Hans is still playing for tips. He's getting better, more people stop and more people tip.

It's Hans's birthday and so we decided to have a party.

No, not now! I can't leave now, Hans has to have his birthday. Hold on little one. Wait for an hour or two. Not now!

No, he couldn't wait. But at least I had baby Leonardo at home, no hospital for us. Just as well since Hans just had to have his birthday before our party ended.

My Hans is an adult. Poor baby, he's a bit reflective after the birthday. But he's still the most hunky red head in town.

Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place.

Last time we went travelling, I found this little guy in one of the treasure chests buried deep in a tomb. Little Napoleon is very cute.

Alaina, Catherine and I moved house. It's long since time that Brooke and Hans got some breathing space, Brooke is hoping for another baby.

And, as in uffish thought he stood, The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,

There is something about a holiday. The magic in the air. No bills, no cares. And the woman you love just there. We made sure to spend some quality time together. She recovered just fine from the botched repair job. I did have to check though, just in case.

All too soon, the dawn breaks and it's time to find out what the locals need. I'm hoping for some tomb action and to find some good quality relics on the way.

The local gave me a key to his basement. Turns out that he had a secret garden connected to his house complete with a tomb and noisy ghost. No wonder he was finding it hard to sleep at night.

Not much in the way of treasure but he paid well and I'm gaining a lot of respect from the locals.  Soon I'll be able to take longer holidays in France.

I let Picasso use Dad's old collection helper. He found a lot of butterflies, bugs and chunks of rock using it. If he keeps this up, he'll be a great collector some day. This zebra striped butterfly is pretty rare.

I've been doing most of the cooking but I leave it to everyone else in camp to clean. They aren't too good at it either but I'd rather make a good meal and live with the a dirty room then the other way around.

Another evening and more quality time with my sweetie.  I just adore flirting with her.

Another day and this time I'm at an abandoned estate looking for some lost papers. I've been warned that the guy rigged the house with every security device on the market and a few he created himself. Good thing I had a close look at the floor, there was an electric trap here that would have been very painful. I managed to disable the trap and find those papers.

Picasso found an incredibly rare rainbow butterfly. The science lab was thrilled to pieces when he described it and offered a reward of over 1,500 for safe delivery of a specimen.

I also took some time to get to know Picasso. He is growing up well, a bit of a hot head but pretty much a nice guy underneath. Interesting, he told me that he's noticed his aunt Alaina flirting around camp quite a bit. I'm sure he's just imagining things, she doesn't flirt with me until I start something.

Before we knew what happened, it was time to head home again. I had one last piece of business to finish here and then Alaina, Catherine and I are moving out.  Brooke tells me that she and Hans both want a new baby. It's time for my family to move on so Brooke and her family have proper space for once. She is thinking of moving from here too. Even after all the renovations, it's not really a big place. We'll have to see what they do.