On top of Mt. Hormone...

Now that I'm finally free of Facebook, I'm noticing important stuff like my children.

Squonk turned 9 last month, and he gets funnier every day. He still battles allergies and I thought he understood some of our conversations about better food choices....until the day he conquered Mt. Hormone.

We spent part of our gorgeous Friday afternoon at Mt. Cheaha, shooting a family portrait on a very scary rock. Later, we explored less scary rocks. Squirt and Squonk made their way up to a point above us, where Squonk claimed the highest point in the name of the L. boys.

"Hey, Mom!" he shouted. "I'm up here on the top of (pause) Mt. HORMONE!"

We offended him by bursting into laughter, and he defended himself with crossed arms and a frown: "Well, all the good names like Rushmore and Everest were already taken."

I teased him again later, at home, until his sister Squish asked the dreaded question: "What is a hormone, anyway?" Geddy opened his mouth to answer but Squonk had it all under control.

"A hormone," he solemnly explained, "is something they give cows to make milk taste good."

Wisely, I think, we left it at that.