August 18, 2013

This week at church we learned that some of our friends will be returning back home to the Philippines.  While this is good news for them, we will miss them.  The Hansens decided to host a little get together for them on Monday so we could have a chance to spend some time together and say goodbye.  Justin and Ryan were thrilled with the news that they would get to go over to Cyrus' house to play.

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.

August 11, 2013

 Last week I didn't write because Rob was kind enough to share his stomach bug with me and I wasn't feeling well.  I will try to catch up and write for both weeks.

August 1st marked the last day of summer camp for the boys.  Justin always seemed to enjoy his time once he got there, but he was never very excited to go.  Ryan, on the other hand, was always excited to go.  It was good for them to get out of the house a bit and quite a nice break for me.  Ryan is on the waiting list to go to the preschool there in the Fall.  I think that he is going to miss Justin once school starts and it would be nice for him to have a chance to have something special for him as well.  Keep your fingers crossed that an opening comes up.

On August 2nd, Justin decided that it was his time for the stomach bug.  He didn't have much diarrhea, but he managed to vomit many times.  Unfortunately, one of the locations was my freshly cleaned floor.  Sigh.  At least it wasn't the rug.  I cleaned up and then mopped the floor yet again.  He didn't eat for the rest of that day or much the next.  I always worry about my skinny little J Man when he doesn't eat.  He doesn't have a lot of weight to lose.  Fortunately, he was feeling better by the 3rd, just not eating quite yet.

Saturday the 3rd we had a BBQ here with employees and families from Rob's section at work.  He works with some neat people.  We had gotten together with them at the beginning of July and I knew that they are a pretty laid back group so it wouldn't be a lot of work.  Everyone brought something so we just supplied the place, the paper products, potato salad, and a few drinks.  The weather was perfect and we were able to sit out on the patio, out on the lawn, or inside the house.  There was more than enough food and it was a nice get together.  Ryan really enjoyed all of the outdoor time.  The pictures aren't very exciting, but at least my mom can see a little of our yard.

 

 

And then Sunday came and it was my turn with the stomach bug.  That pretty much sums up Sunday through Tuesday for me.  Rob and the boys went to church on Sunday.  The boys were pretty good on Monday and Tuesday.  They got a lot of extra time on the ipad, ipod, etc.

 

Wednesday was our 11th anniversary. The boys tried to make it extra special by creating "fun" games for me to play.  They also managed to pull out just about every toy they owned to help decorate.  Joy.  Evidently it wasn't hot enough for them, so they had lots of blankets for me too so I could be comfy.  Ryan combed his own hair without complaint.  I was feeling much better, but not 100%.  I envied Rob being able to go to work and miss out on the celebration.  I guess it was sweet of them though to want to do special things to make it the best anniversary ever.

 

 

On Thursday I had an exciting outing to the Embassy for my health briefing and to get my picture taken for my diplomatic id.  I had the boys with me, of course, but they were hooked up to the ipod and the iphone and headphones so they were angels.  It's nice to be able to keep them quiet when needed.  When we got home, we spent time outside.  They enjoyed riding their bikes outside in our cul de sac.  I hate to watch because sometimes they get going pretty fast and they are not nearly as skilled as they believe they are.

 

 

Friday brought more time outside.  This week I was able to pull quite a few weeds while I was out watching the boys.

 

The weekend was pretty routine.  Saturday the boys wanted to show off their bike skills for Daddy.  I pulled out a scooter that I had purchased for them last month and they got to try that as well.

 

Somewhere along the way, Justin managed to lose his tooth.  Then, when he was cleaning it, he really lost it.  Luckily, the tooth fairy is quite understanding.

 





September 16, 2012

Catching Up With September

It is halfway through the month of September and I haven't even written about August yet.  I will put that off just a bit longer as I write about this month's events.

It was great weather to get a few things done outside.  Ryan "helped" my mom clean things by rinsing them off with water.  He cleaned just about anything he could find, including himself.  That child loves playing with water!  I don't know that he was really much help, but he had a great time and was not in the way.

 Justin worked on a project with my dad.  The two of them waterproofed the ladder.  Justin had an interesting technique and it often looked like he was dancing more than painting.  He had a blast though and my dad was able to finish up the project.

 September meant the end of the summer and Justin's first year of school.  He had been really nervous in August when we went in for the kindergarten screening.  By the time we went in to the meet the teacher event he was feeling more confident.  On the first day, he was ready to go.  I was lucky I got a picture of him before we left.  He was one anxious boy!

 After school he told me that it was probably the best day of his life.  Off to a good start!  Since then it has been an up and down ride.  Evidently he doesn't like that he can't do whatever he wants whenever he wants.  The teacher even makes them walk in a line instead of trampling around the school like a herd.  The nerve!

 

 

 

 Justin also started soccer.  I was worried that it would be competitive and the kids would have a lot of experience.  I was thrilled to see parents trying to figure out shin guards and kids who asked the coach if they got to go play in the dirt when they were done.  His coach is a gem.  She is a high school student who played Park and Rec soccer all through elementary school and she is really good with the kids.  The first game will be this week.  We will see if Justin is able to keep his cool.  I have been proud of him at the practices.  He has been a good sport when he does well and also when he does not do so well.

While the weather is good we have been trying to get out and take advantage of all of the playgrounds here.  We missed having such nice playgrounds in Namibia.  This playground is at Justin's school, and is perfect for weekend play because it is not as crowded as some of the other more popular playgrounds are.  Ryan enjoys getting the chance to play at Justin's school too.

Although Ryan stopped taking naps long ago, sometimes he still gets worn out.  I always hate when he takes a nap because it means he will be up late.  This nap lasted all of about twenty minutes, but it meant he was up three hours past his bedtime.  He still woke up at the same time the next morning and was a bit cranky.  Who would have guessed I would see naps as an enemy?

 I didn't want Ryan to feel left out, so I signed him up for soccer too.  His group meets once a week on Saturday mornings.  It was such a joy to watch the three year olds run around with so much energy and so little skill.  They had a blast!  The instructors are from the college soccer team.  At one point they were trying to get a 3 on 3 game going with the 7 in Ryan's group.  They wanted to make sure everyone got equal play.  Another mother and I said we thought it would be fine to have four on one team and three on another.  Sure enough, that seemed to work fine.  Sometimes there were multiple goalies, sometimes more than one ball on the field, and frequently there was rolling around on the grass, but the kids had a lot of fun.  Ryan is so excited to have shin guards and a soccer shirt like his brother.

  Ryan doesn't like to do much without his brother.  I was able to get him to go out on his bike with me.  I need to find a better place because there are too many hills when we go around the block.  I was either pulling him or trying to slow him down.  He had a good time, but I was sore by the time we got back.

We miss Rob and can't wait for him to finish up in Namibia and join us here.  In the meantime, it is pretty routine with school, soccer, library, and playing.  The boys are having a wonderful time with Grandma.  She is spoiling me too!  :)