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.

So rested he by the Tumtum tree

We were all still reeling under the impact of Ripley's death. A grim reminder that our time in this world is fleeting. So soon after Dad, we really didn't expect it.

We had our new baby girls though. They are such a delight. I just wish Mom had been here to meet her first granddaughter.

Picasso paints quite a bit. It's one of ways we cope. Ease the heartache by putting it on canvas.

Another reminder that life goes on whether we want it to or not. Picasso had another birthday.

And he's grown up to look a lot like his dad. You've been doing something right Sis.

Not often that a boy turns teen then goes to care for a baby. Especially when that baby is his cousin.

Then it was Elizabeth's turn and nearly the whole house went to see her.

I decided to take another holiday. We offered to take Picasso along if Brooke would look after Catherine.


Sounds good for Picasso. I'm not a traveller like you Johnny.

Even after we arrived, I was still distracted by Mom's death. 

I decided to try making nectar. The first part is squishing the fruit. Actually, the first part is getting fruit but the nectary has a vineyard just beside it. 

I don't think the locals squish it by falling on the fruit though.

At least my machine worked properly.

Unlike Alaina. She was trying to repair hers but that went very badly.