The summer of 2010 ends with a "10."

These pictures capture the essence of our first summer in Burning Ham. It was a season of incredible closeness. It was a vacation with no daytime sitters, only one "away" playdate and hardly any alone time -- unless you count the bathroom. I don't.

It was a summer filled with adventure -- from 9 hour road trips to local day trips. It was a summer with no schedules, no rush to be anywhere, no stress to do anything. I thought I would be exhausted from the 24/7 togetherness (not counting one respite to Costa Rica, of course), but something weird happened. We got along. We learned to count on each other for fun.

And, the Doobies became friends.

As a result of spending nearly every waking minute together, the kids have become fiercely close. Yes, of course they still fight. They're kids. But, when they're not beating the snot out of each other, I adore how they love each other.

The first day of school, the Doobies rode the bus home together. It was Kaila's first time on the big rig and I wondered how it would go down. I waited at the stop. The bus pulled up. The doors swung open. Madan jumped out. Kaila did not. The bus driver was about to pull the doors shut when I intervened.

"Hold up." I said to the bus driver.

"Is everyone off?" she asked.

"No. I'm missing my daughter." I turned to Madan, "Wasn't Kaila on the bus?"

A worried look crept across Madan's face. "I didn't see her! I didn't even KNOW she was on the bus!" Madan bolted back onto the bus and frantically ran up and down the aisle screaming, "KAILA! KAILA! KAILA!" Soon the other kids joined in. I screamed. They screamed. We all screamed for Kaila to scream if she heard us.

Finally, a tiny doll emerged from the tall, narrow seats, perplexed as to what the hell all the screaming was about.

Before I could say anything, Madan ran to his sister. "KAILA! Why didn't you tell me you were on the bus? We could have sat together. Why didn't you tell me? WHY? Next time you better tell me you are on the bus. DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN." He was upset. He was covering. He didn't care that they didn't sit together. He was worried that his sister was riding around Burning Ham, lost forever.

It was a happy moment. Not just because we had found Kaila. But, because I found out how tight the Doobies had become from all that summer togetherness. For that, the summer of 2010 ends with a "10."