Mr & Mrs Bickerton are here!

It started shortly after we pulled out of the parking lot at the Hebrew Educational Alliance, the pick-up spot for Ramah Outdoor Adventure. We waved good-bye to the bus carrying Ilan and Aaron to their magical destination, and headed off with just our "littles" (our affectionate term for Isaac and Ellie).

A commotion in the back seat caused me to turn around and - lo and behold - the Bickertons had arrived.  Isaac and Ellie are like an old married couple.  When left alone with no other brothers to buffer them, they nitpick each other non-stop. Not the typical sibling rivalry bickering - the we've been married for nearly a lifetime and you are driving me nuts kind of bickering.

It's going to be a fun, two weeks.

As we are pulling away from the Denver drop off:
"Ellie, can you give me the water?  Mom, Ellie's not giving me the water."
Ellie: "You told us we couldn't reach over into the other one's space."
"Ellie, just give me the water." (ok, perhaps a bit sibling-ish)

After they had both crawled into our bed in the morning:
"Ellie - you do not lay in the bed that way. Move your knees."
"Isaac, yes I DO sleep like this."
"Ellie - ugggghhhhh!"

Ellie telling Isaac how we went hiking with cousin Anna while he was gone and it started to rain so we went to get ice cream.
Isaac:  "Why would you go for ice cream when it's raining?  It's already cold."

Sharing the crackers on a hike.  Isaac is hungry; Ellie wants to save them.
"I'm starving, Ellie. You can't just tell me not to eat."
(substitute Helen for Ellie and you'll picture your grandma and grandpa after 60 years of marriage)

Then they instituted the rule:
"You can only take one cracker at a time."
"We shouldn't finish them all now."
"Yeah. We might get a stomach ache or something."

And, then there is the love between the Bickertons.

Mr Bickerton had an upset stomach the other night, and Mrs Bickerton stopped eating the special crackers we bought at the store so that he wouldn't feel bad. "I won't eat this since you can't have any."

All the way to the zoo, the Bickertons were writing notes complimenting each other and helping each other with their spelling.