Have you seen this kid?

You may have noticed that my most recent blogposts seem to be short a child. You know...the one who ducks or smirks whenever a camera comes close by.

Well, I was starting to get worried that I just couldn't possibly take enough pictures of him here at home with him always hiding from the camera, so we decided that we needed to send him to tri-camera training mission to get him sensitized to the camera.

We thought a trip to Canada with my dad, brother, and sister should do the trick. He'd get to see so many scenic and amazing sights that he'd become so overcome with joy with it all that he just wouldn't be able to keep himself from smiling serenely into the camera. It was a plan destined for success!

I had a really good feeling about the mission from the beginning. Every time we talked to him he excitedly told us what a wonderful time he was having and what they would be doing next. Then we started getting the emailed photos of the trip... First there was the whale watching cruise in the Straits of San Juan de Fuca just outside Victoria, British Columbia, but he wasn't actually in any of the pictures since the whales were far more entertaining.


Then there was the rock throwing picture at some unnamed British Columbian lake. He wasn't smiling, but he wasn't posing either. So far, so good.


And look here at this one. He only did a partial duck and a semi-smile on the Victoria--Vancouver Ferry. Progress!!!

Then he called us and told us about these stunningly beautiful Butchart Gardens in Victoria and how much he enjoyed them. Hmmm...he is kind of far away here, but I think he might be smiling a little.



Here he is with my sister, AnnaLisa at Emerald Lake in British Columbia. Well...I think he's just a little tired in this one.


And this one doesn't count since I totally understand his sour expression. If I walked out of the house with my hair looking like that I'd be a little grumpy too.



Today he got to hang out in San Francisco with my sister, K, got to go boogie boarding in the Pacific Ocean, and as we speak is watching....
so I'll suspend final judgement on the success or failure of the mission until I get the pics from today.

In the meantime, COME HOME SPENCER! Our chips are going stale, our milk is going bad, the lawn needs to be mowed, and we have leftovers accumulating in the fridge. We miss you!!!!!