Camping

After months of good intentions we finally embarked on our first camping trip in Georgia. It was a beautiful clear autumn weekend as we set off for Algeti National Park, about an hour's drive southwest of Tbilisi.

The surrounding country is stunningly beautiful. The land was set apart as a protected space in 1965 by the Soviet Government, but was only recently converted to a Georgian national park in 2007. Given our experience with Georgian parks, we weren't sure what to expect.

In fact, the campsite was clean, well maintained, and charming as could be, once we made passage on the death-defying "road". It was located in a calm mountain valley, tucked away from the relentless windy peaks. A little stream ran alongside the site which provided fresh water and a natural serenade.

The leaves were just starting to turn golden and show signs of early fall, and indeed it was a cold night--it got down to freezing--but luckily we had made provisions for the cold and the children all slept well.

They passed their time gathering wood for the fire, maintaining its healthy glow, exploring the surrounding woods, and trying to stay out of the cold stream.

We enjoyed the quiet space and fresh mountain air, a real change from polluted Tbilisi.

A family friend from the US who also happens to be living in Georgia accompanied us. In all it was a lovely trip and will certainly not be our last.

Small miracle

Futuristic flusher.

Maybe it's luck, or impeccable parenting, or good karma for suffering through terrible jetlag, but our third child decided shortly after our return that he was finished with diapers. And that was it.

I didn't know this kind of instant training even happened. With both girls it was a solid month of stickers, books, charts, rewards, circus antics, and accidents.

Life just got a lot sweeter.