I was overjoyed to see them, waving through the glass at customs at the La Paz airport. They ran to me and knocked me down on the floor, like excited puppies jumping all over you, Tai on top of my chest. First thing Maks said, literally the first words out of his mouth, Daddy I went poopy and wiped my own butt. He was so proud, Tanis had asked if he wanted to tell me on the phone or wait and surprise me, he said surprise me.

At the ice cream stand in Los Barriles, I gave them the gold 10-peso coins that I had forgotten to give them for good luck, before I left. I told them I had been carrying them the whole time for good luck, and they worked, because here you are safe and sound, you both got sick at Tanis’ house but got over it real fast, you got on the plane after that paperwork problem with immigration, the plane didn't crash, Mommy and I didn't crash towing the trailer down the Baja Highway, we all didn't crash driving down from La Paz in the dark, we didn't hit a cow or a donkey, all good things. I told them not to lose the lucky pesos. So they both put them in their pockets, and for the next half hour didn't take their hands out of their pockets with the coins in there. They ate their ice cream one-handed with their other hand in their pocket.

I said Maks' vanilla cone looked like the moon in the black sky, and Tai's was strawberry so I said it looked like sunrise over the sea. Then with each bite they asked what does it look like now? So I had to come up with about 50 different things, including a snowman with his head knocked off like the one we built in our yard before we left, and like Mt. St. Helens when a volcano blew the top off.

Kim went over to talk to Tanis and I made the big bed across the trailer, and the kids were wired, so we lay in bed in the dark and laughed and laughed and laughed, at nothing. It was so wonderful, all that laughter.