Monday morning I received a call from Sienna. She had caught the stomach bug and was not feeling up to having people over at her house. She asked if we would be willing to have it at our house instead. We have a big enough house and live across the street, so it made sense and I could see no reason why we couldn't have it here. Sure the boys would be going to bed a bit later than usual, but no big deal.
It was nice to have everyone over and have the chance to talk. The Reeses decided to wow us with their mind reading ability. We put out nine DVDs on the table and had Elder Reese leave the room. We choose which DVD we wanted to be "it" and called him back in. His wife would point to different DVDs and he would have to say when we got to the chosen DVD. I knew how it was done, so I went out next. As people caught on, they would go out and take a turn reading her mind to determine which was the chosen DVD. Finally, Justin shouted out that he knew how it was done. People were pretty impressed with him until he explained. He told everyone that it wasn't really mind reading, but some kind of trick like a magic trick. Everyone laughed and laughed and he didn't get what was so funny.
Next we played fruit basket and the boys had so much fun. Justin had such an expression of joy and triumph on his face when he would get a seat ahead of someone else. He also enjoyed being it, so really he couldn't lose. Ryan laughed and had fun too. In fact, the next day he asked if our family could play the game. I told him that four people really wasn't a big enough group for that game and that he could find a different game that we could play instead.
On Tuesday I got up early when Ryan came in to get me at about 4 AM. He said that his stomach hurt. Sure enough, later that day he was puking. Joy. At least he seems to know when it is coming and was able to get in into something rather than all over the floor like Justin does. He needed a lot of extra cuddles that day. He seemed back to normal by evening except he wasn't hungry.
Wednesday Cyrus came over to play for a couple of hours. The boys had a good time, but Justin sometimes gets frustrated with some of the things Cyrus does. Cyrus is often guilty of the offense which boils down to the fact that he acts like a three year old. Since he IS a three year old, there really isn't much to do about it. After about 2 1/2 hours they were getting to the point where there was going to be a meltdown soon. I called Sienna to come get Cyrus so they could part on good terms. Of course when she came Cyrus did not want to go and my boys did not want him to go.
The rest of the week was pretty much routine. We aren't very exciting people. We spent time playing outside in the back and riding bikes and scooters in the front. I can often get yard work done while the boys entertain themselves.
Friday I got a call from a woman who just moved here with her family. She said that she has a 10 and a 7 year old and wanted to know if my kids were interested in meeting her boys. Well of course they are! Justin heard me talking on the phone, so even though we weren't getting together until Saturday, he wanted to walk to find their house. I wasn't exactly sure where it was, so we ended up walking the long way. It was about a ten minute walk and you would think that I was torturing my children. It was in the 90s, but there was a nice breeze. We were able to walk back in just over half of that time because I knew where we lived and had no trouble getting back.
Saturday morning the boys were anxious to meet their new friends. I was a bit less optimistic because of the age difference of the ten year old. Can I just say that the four of them had a blast! The boys are going over there on Monday, we will see them at the Embassy kids' outing next Wednesday, and then they will come here again on Friday. Once school starts the older boy will likely find friends his own age, but I think that at least Justin will still spend time with them at school and probably at other times too. I sure hope so. It is nice for the kids to have other people to play with.
Saturday afternoon I told the boys to show Rob how they have gotten better on bikes and the scooter. Justin rode the balance bike and I was able to convince him to let me take the training wheels off of his bike. Guess who rode down the hill and then back up! I was so excited. He has a ways to go before he can do it without having to think about it so much, but I am just thrilled that he can do it. I didn't think he would ever learn because he doesn't like to take risks in front of other people. Both boys are getting better on the scooter too. Yay!
Ryan was in desperate need of a haircut. Rob assured me that even if I really messed up that Ryan is only four years old and would not be scarred for life. I got off a lot of hair and think that he will feel much better. I am still not brave enough to just shave it off like Justin's. I think with his big forehead he would look strange. I also worry that it would make him look even older. Ryan's hair isn't bad enough that people will stop and stare, but Rob said that he would be really upset if he had paid money for a cut like that. I agree. Maybe next month when it has grown out a bit I will take him to the Embassy for a haircut. I got a picture of the hair I cut off, but I forgot to take a pic of him before bed.
