Thomas Reads to Frederick

The past few nights just before bedtime Thomas has been reading to Frederick and Frederick has been loving it. Thomas craves any chance to perform (anyone remember him singing and playing the guitar naked when he was 5 years old?) and Frederick loves any performance that has soul and, since Thomas's are particularly zesty and imaginative, Frederick gives him his undivided attention.

Here Thomas is reading "We're Going on a Bear Hunt" (one of Frederick's all time favorites) and has just delivered the line "It's a Bear!!!" which is why Frederick is so wound up. (Notice slighty peevish expression on Thomas as my camera work interrupted his "flow," apparently--sheesh, these prima donnas are so flighty.) Yes, that's one of the gray rats in Frederick's hand--the same one that is in his hand in the Christmas card photo. Thomas got a whiff of it last night and moaned, "Eww, it smells like old cheese!"--and this was just a few hours after it had been through the new washing machine!
Ergh. The photo is out of focus because Life hates me right now and I don't have time to take my camera (my NIKON!!!--this should NOT BE HAPPENING!) to a camera shop in Fenton to find out why the auto-focus does not work. Of course, if my eyes worked, then I wouldn't have this problem, either...