THEY'RE BAAAAAAACK!!!!!

Yea! Oliver and Carly have returned from being in Ecuador since January. Oliver said it went fast for him but it didn't for me. The first two things they wanted to do was to see Miles and eat Market Street clam chowder and bread! So Maeve brought Miles and met us at Market Street Grill. Ozzy and Carly looked tan and fit and it felt so good to have them close to me. Oliver has lost 20 pounds so I also made him eat halibut, fries, and crab cakes. Later that night everyone came over and we had their favorite foods that they had requested weeks ago. For Oliver, it was meatloaf, baked potatoes, and Brea's favorite clam dip. For Carly, it was homemade lasagne, homemade french bread, Italian salad by Lisa, broccoli, and warm, cookies. The house was loud and fun. Bathing Miles was a big hit for everyone to watch, in fact he was the center of attention for much of the night. He loved to have Oliver hold him.

I mean, really, how many people does it take to change Miles?

The next morning, Oliver and Carly came to my school and put on an assembly for all of the kids. Oliver was so cute and interesting with his presentation and really grabbed the kid's attention when he talked about how East Layton students were like the kids in Ecuador and how they were different. He also modeled his Ecuadorian hat and scarf. Carly had prepared a slide show of her amazing photographs and put it with music from Ecuador. It was very moving and touching. The pictures depicted life in Ecuador in all dimensions. One picture was of the children holding up signs saying," Gracias, East Layton Elementary!" When the lights came up, I saw tears in the eyes of teachers and students. Our school had raised some money which was sent there to help with water systems and cattle improvement programs. The kids asked them probing questions at the end and they had great and honest answers. I was very proud of both Carly and Oliver and

their service to the people of Ecuador.