I worry that he is a bit young for his age, emotionally

I remember having that same worry about my cousin when she was in junior high (she was still pretty clingy to her mom at 12 years old, which I thought was a bit strange). However, within four years, she was spending a full year abroad as an exchange student in Australia, and if she was still a bit young before she left, she came back completely different!

A weird thing about our kids is how little they've been into toys. We essentially stopped getting Leif any toys since he NEVER plays with them. Boxes, balls, sticks, tools he managed to get his hands on, sandbox, are more his things. He'd miss his computer though. Em isn't into toys either, but her books are a whole different matter.

Individually, they are both pretty good most of the time, but sibling conflict is a big issue.

Giving people practice at handling stuff before the stakes get all "OMG!" is good. I was like that so growing up felt like getting thrown in the deep end. I swam okay, but sometimes I wish I'd gotten better-prepared, somehow.

Does anyone know anything about the accommodations at Yosemite?

Does anyone know anything about the accommodations at Yosemite?

I've stayed at a couple of spots.

Do you have an opinion about the Wawona?

That's one I've been to! I really liked it - sitting out on the balcony was very nice, bed was comfy. I think it has a shared bathroom down the hall situation, which was fine. The restaurant is great. Handy for the redwoods and there are trails that are right there if you don't feel like catching a shuttle, and the historical village is close by, I think, which is pretty cool - blacksmith demonstrations, wagon rides, etc. And, er, the golf course and pro shop is there. I find it weird that there's a golf course in Yosemite, but people seem to like it. You can catch a shuttle or, I guess, drive to the valley and other sites pretty easily. And it's all historic - Roosevelt stayed there, I think, that sort of thing.

M is VERY stuff oriented, and it bothers me a bit. He is always, always talking about the toys that he wants. He is here for maybe a total of 2 months out of the year, and he has, hand to god, about 10 boxes full of toys.

I think it's a little bit ridiculous. Granted, many of them are toys from his whole like, but still. He has 20 stuffed animals! I wish this garage sale was happening after he left, because I would so go through them and weed them out a bit.

I think it's pretty natural for kids to want stuff, but I am also concerned that he goes to this swanky school (which, frankly, he shouldn't be going to, because it's way out of his BM's means) and even though he wears a uniform, I know he is going to become even more stuff oriented with his schoolmate's example. And mom is pretty appearance-oriented. I worry.

I don't blame you.

Oh, sitting in the lobby by the fire having a drink, also very nice. Even in the summer it gets chilly at night.