Beautiful Grandson has arrived

Nicholas Deiman Kikel arrived exactly on his due date, July 24, at 2.29 pm. He weighed in at a healthy 7 lbs, 4 oz, 20+ inches, with dark hair (which his uncle Jay warned won't last long if he is a typical Kikel male). What a beautiful, healthy baby, the first of this generation of Kikels. Everyone is saying that he looks like his father, but he doesn't act much like him so far--Nicholas has been a very quiet baby, NOT like his father was as a baby!!!!! Mom (Dawn) and Dad (Matt) are doing well. Grandpa David is full of love and joy--he wants to play with Nicholas all the time, but is willing to let the parents handle the dirty diapers!!!!! The dogs are still trying to adjust to this new family member, which has introduced the biggest strain so far for the new parents.

We arrived at Duncan's family campground in Lothian, MD on July 15th so we could be close to the kids and see lots of Nicholas before we head out west in mid-August on our great adventure. In the meantime, we have been busy here at the campground doing projects on our Big Sky and getting things organized. We have also had a number of friends come by to see our new home. The consensus view is that our Big Sky is much bigger and more comfortable than people expected, even those who had seen the brochures. People seem to be a little less concerned now about how well we will preserve our mental health and physical safety for the next two years, although many still worry about whether our relationship will survive living together in close quarters on a 24/7 basis for the next two years. LOL!!!!