Four, missing one more

"Four" is not an number that comes easily to mind when I think of my family. We have three kids and five people in the family, so the only time "four" makes sense is when one of us is missing. Like last weekend, when I took the kids to watch Thomas & Friends Live! The Circus Comes to Town, a musical show featuring Thomas the Tank Engine. I received a complimentary pack of four tickets -- not unusual, since most things of this nature, from hotel rooms to vacation packages to Space Mountain at Disneyland, are geared towards a family of four. Alfie didn't particularly want to watch the show, so we decided to forgo buying an extra ticket for him and save the money.


The four of us went without him and Alfie enjoyed a couple of hours to himself. But when Alfie saw the photos and the little video clips that I took -- especially the ones of the four engines moving around onstage with their moving mouths, eyes and eyebrows -- his face got all wistful, and I think a tiny part of him regretted not going. Sure, it was just a children's musical, but the trains were pretty neat (Alfie loves trains), and it was fun just watching the kids' faces as they enjoyed the show.

For more foursomes, click here.