Last Saturday at 4 AM, I drove Mark and Jenny to the airport in Birmingham so they could begin their week in Hawaii. As part of the annual meeting of the American Association of Orthodontists, Dr. Mark was tapped for a 2-hour presentation on "Enjoying the Journey" to be given to a conference of new orthodontists and residents. And Nancy and I agreed to stay in their home and watch the kids while their parents were enjoying the good weather and wonderful beaches.

So we were up at 6:30 every morning, made breakfast and packed lunches for the boys, and got everyone to all the places they needed to be and did it on time. Now I don't want you to think we did this on our own. To begin with, Jenny left us with a 3-page, 2-column schedule of everything that was to happen during the week. And Jenny's Dad, Joe, was right there to help with finding the baseball fields and getting the kids to the places they needed to be after school.

So besides serving a healthy meal, we enjoyed several baseball games and a ballet recital. If you look closely at Jackson (9) at bat on the left, you'll see that he plays for the Pirates. John Michael (7), swinging at the pitch on the right, plays for the Braves. Of course they played their games at different fields and at the same time! Our ballerina is Margaret (3). She had her final lesson and recital last Tuesday.

I picked up Mark and Jenny at the airport yesterday morning. It's a pretty lengthy trip from Hawaii to Atlanta and then to Birmingham, but they didn't seem too worse for the wear. They had a relaxing time in our 50th state, and we had a great time with our grandchildren. But I'm sure you'll hear them say, and I know you can hear us say, "It's good to be home."