Bueno? Habla Espanol?

Uhhh... apparently not anymore. Once upon a time, I spoke French okay, Italian well enough to play translator for a day, and Spanish fluently -- as long as I kept to mostly gospel and common topics. Now? Now, when I try to speak a foreign language, it's usually some hodge-podge mixture of the three above. Yet another example of "if you don't use it, you lose it."

Today, Michael was out with the Elder's Quorum helping a friend lay sod. When they finished his house, they went next door and helped his neighbor lay his sod. There were about 10 men, so they completed both yards within 1 1/2 hours. Then, Michael and his friend saw a Hispanic gentleman a few houses down with 5-6 pallets of sod that he was laying all by himself. They thought they would offer their help to get the job done quickly. Unfortunately, they didn't speak Spanish, so Michael called me on his cell phone to translate.

When he handed the phone to the man, I said (in Spanish) "Hi. I don't speak Spanish very well. My husband wanted me to ask if he could help you put grass in the earth." The man replied very quickly something about his daughter. I said "I'm sorry. Can you repeat (totally slaughtered the word for repeat) that slowly?" He said he was waiting for his daughter and I couldn't really understand the rest very well. I thought he said he would have her translate for them. So I said okay and he handed the phone to Michael while saying (in English), "My daughter is coming to translate."

They decided to help the man while they waited for the daughter to arrive. They got about half the yard covered with sod. Just before the daughter got there, they began to wonder if that wasn't the man's house. Perhaps he was hired to do the job and they were taking his work from him? Sure enough, when the daughter got there, they found out that this was indeed the case. They apologized profusely for helping, and left feeling a little embarrassed. Hopefully, the guy didn't mind too much that his work day was cut a little short. It's supposed to be 101 degrees today. Already it's in the mid-nineties. I need to hit the Spanish books so next time I get a phone call like that, we won't be lost in translation!

Guess Who!

It's Mason! McKenzie left her barrettes downstairs one day and Mason found them. All he knows is that they go in your hair, so he kept asking me to put them in his hair. I think he looks kind of cute!

Michael's Father's Day

This is what Michael got for Father's Day (besides some bicycling gear.) It's one of my favorite things we've ever given him.

Thomas and The Princess Bride

A few weeks ago, I borrowed The Princess Bride from some friends for my kids to watch. I had told McKenzie about the rhyming scene ("No more rhyming and I mean it!" "Does anybody want a peanut?") once on the way back from one of our Spokane trips, and each time she related it to Thomas, they'd just laugh and laugh. As I expected, they loved the movie. We’ve watched it so many times that it even got a mention in my Gospel Doctrine lesson last Sunday. (My comments can be pretty random though, so that’s not too surprising.) What is really funny to me is when Thomas pops a quote from that movie out of nowhere.

The other day, I was changing Megan’s diaper in her room when Thomas and Mason sauntered in and headed over to her window. I said, “Hey guys, what are you up to?” Thomas replied, “We are but poor, lost circus performers. Is there a village nearby?” What??? It took me a moment to place what he just said. I totally busted up laughing before I even made the connection.

Today, Thomas was chasing Mason around the house (as usual). I was at the top of the stairway and saw Mason round the corner and start up the stairs. Right after him came Thomas, wielding a tennis ball and channeling Inigo Montoya as he intoned “you killed my father!” What a funny boy. The Princess Bride has always been one of my all time favorites. I'm glad my kids enjoy it. (The book rocks, too!)

No More Drops!

What a month it's been. We traveled to Portland on April 15th, back home on April 16th, to Spokane on April 18th, 19th, 21st, 22nd, 29th, and one last time yesterday. (Each trip to Spokane is at least a 7 hour venture.) I'm so grateful to all of those who have graciously watched my other children so McKenzie and I could travel in peace and visit with the doctor without having to worry about another child's shenanigans. Yesterday, we got the news we've been hoping for: McKenzie's eyes are doing great, and she doesn't need any more drops! Yay! Plus, we don't have to go back for another checkup until October! Yay!

I'd like some news of another kind of "no drops". On April 24th, Mason slipped in the shower and split his chin open. Wanting to avoid an expensive trip to the ER, we used dermabond to close his wound. It worked for awhile... that is, until the dermabond peeled all the way off a little prematurely. On May 1st, right at the end of McKenzie's school play, Mason bent over and the cut split open again. Michael took him to Sam H's house (the friend who helped with Thomas' cut above his eye) and got some steristrips (since we didn't have any) to hold the wound closed. A few days later, on May 6th, Mason came up to me trying to put his hands in his pockets, which were velcroed shut. I helped him open his pockets and he shoved his hands in them. He turned and walked not five feet from me when he tripped and fell right on the bathroom floor, splitting his chin wide open again. This time, I gave up on frugality and self-sufficiency, and took Mason to the ER. He got eight stitches.

We returned on May 13th, as instructed, to have the sutures removed. Michael was hesitant to have the stitches taken out so soon, but I didn't want Mason to get suture marks in his skin, plus, the doctor had said to have them removed at seven days. I should have listened to Michael. On May 17th, Mason was walking in the bathroom on his way to take a bath when he slipped on the wet floor and split his chin open AGAIN! Michael put steristrips on him once more, and we are not letting him in the bathroom unsupervised at all. That poor kid. He worries me, because he climbs on everything. I see so many possibilities for him to fall every day. But seriously, what can I do? Tie him down? I don't think so. I try to keep a close eye on him, but he is an adventurous one. I'm constantly moving him to a safer position. He loves to jump. He always says to me "Watch Mom, I'm going to drop!" Then he jumps down three stairs, or off a chair, or from higher ground to lower. You get the picture.

Oh, get this: The same day that I took Mason to the ER to get his stitches, he fell out of his bunkbed somehow just after I had put the boys to bed, and suffered a concussion. (I didn't know it was a concussion at the time.) I started panicking when he was suddenly listless, his eyes didn't seem to be focusing (they looked weird), and a little bit later, he started throwing up. So, we made another trip to the ER. (Thankfully, the Davises kindly watched our kids while I took Mason to the hospital. Michael was already there, pulling call.) Mason had turned pale, and all the way to the hospital, he kept almost nodding off. I started talking to him to keep him awake, and would clap my hands when that seemed to become ineffective. He was such a good kid, trying so hard to keep his eyes open. At one point, he squeezed them shut and opened his mouth wide when I said, "Mason, open your eyes! Let me see them!" He figured it out a moment later. I was afraid that he may have bleeding on the brain, or some other terrible thing that would take him from me. I guess I freak out pretty easily. When we arrived at the hospital, he was shivering and his teeth were chattering. The nurse triaged him immediately since he started throwing up again as I was trying to sign him in. He wound up having a CT scan and was determined to be okay. By this time, his color had returned and he was responding better. He was very tired by this point, since it was his bedtime, and was finally given permission to fall asleep. We were told to keep an eye on him, but otherwise, the doctor expected him to be fine. He has been, except for his chin. What is up with that kid? (Please, Mason, NO MORE DROPS!)

Happy Birthday, Thomas!!!

Thomas had an awesome day today. He slept in late, and when he got up he was greeted with the sight of streamers and balloons for his special day. A little later, his dad brought home some helium balloons! How exciting. Even better, friends started coming at 11am to help celebrate his birthday with a

Spiderman Birthday Party!!!

First, they colored pictures of Spiderman's "bad guys" (Venom, Sandman, Doc Oc, Green Goblin, and two bad guys borrowed from Superman)

and then they played a game of Pin the Spider on the Web.

(It was a tie between Mason and Trevor.)

Next, they changed into their Spidey identities and found three imposter Spidermen in their midst!

So, all the "good" Spidermen chased the "bad" Spidermen, and tied them up with their webbing.

After all that work, it was time to recharge with hotdogs and Green Goblin juice. Thomas and his Spidey friends weren't able to rest long before another attack of bad guys required their Spidey expertise. This time, they practiced webslinging by throwing water balloons at their dastardly foes.

Once the villians were drenched, it was time for presents and cake.

The Spidermen pretty much rushed through this part because they were anxious to prove their agility on the structure out back.

Can you blame them?

We'll definitely have to invite all of these little superheroes a few more times throughout the summer... but most likely in smaller groups. :-)

This was a fun party, and I'm so grateful for everyone who helped make it a success! Eden, with her "tips," Bryan and Brenda, Jen, and all the kids who came and their parents for all their background work! Thomas had a blast. It was absolutely worth the time, energy, and sacrifices to make it happen. (Happy late Birthday, Alicia! I wanted to be there but I was decorating the cake past 3am!)

On another note, our fair city had a record high of 98 degrees today. Since our air conditioner decided to take some unauthorized time off, so our home reached a record high of 94 degrees. We learned that if it gets hot enough, balloons pop spontaneously and solids turn to liquid.

I finally threw on my swimsuit later in the afternoon and joined my kids on the waterslide. Fun times!

Toilet Trouble

Sometime last week, I found Mason about to stick his head in the toilet. I reacted automatically, yelling, "MASON! Get your head out of the toilet! Gross! Don't do that." And then I washed his hands and got him out of there. Last night, we had our friends over for dinner. They have a little girl Mason's age. As dinner was winding down, they disappeared and soon we heard noise above our heads, where my bathroom is. I went to investigate, and guess what I found? Sweet little Anna, intently peering into the toilet bowl... correction - sticking her head in it!

"What are you guys doing in here?!" (I have to startle them so they jerk their heads back and don't complete their objective.) As she turned to look at me, I caught sight of my sweet, obedient, perfect little boy (yeah, right!), with his hand on the toilet handle and a mischievous grin on his face. His response? "Mom, watch this!" Then he proceeds to flush the toilet and start to dip his head in it! Of course I prevented him from doing so. "Gross!" I exclaimed, At that point, I noticed that he had already accomplished this at least once, as the fringe of hair at the top of his head was already wet. Seriously, how do they come up with this?

And then there's Thomas. Yesterday, he happened to use a toilet that had already suffered the effects of being crammed full of toilet paper by some child in our home, and had water about an inch from the top. He called for some assistance and that's when I noticed the water problem. I firmly instructed him not to flush the toilet while I ran upstairs to get the plunger from our bathroom. I was not four steps up the stairway when I heard the familiar flush of the toilet. I panicked, envisioning gross, used toilet water pouring all over the floor and the mess I'd have to clean. Michael heard my agonized "NOOOOO!!!!!" and came rushing out of our room to see what was the matter. He could see the water was going down the pipes, instead of overflowing, as I had expected, so he was much calmer than I was. He showed me how to lift the lid and push "the white thing" down if the toilet is overflowing to stop more water from going in.

So, today, when I was in the bathroom, Thomas comes in very calmly and says, "I need that thing again, Mom."

"What thing?"

"This." He calmly reaches around the toilet, gets the plunger, and exits the bathroom. I figure Michael must have sent him up for it to fix yet another clogged toilet. But it's a little quiet, so I go investigate. Just as I enter the hallway toward the stairs (and the kids' bathroom), Thomas comes out and says, "it's not working!" I go in his bathroom and find the toilet overflowing 3" wide streams of water on both sides. The floor is flooding yet again. Here's where I can use my new knowledge to make it stop. I lift the lid to push down "the white thing" but it's already down! Now what?! At least this water looked pretty clear. What could I do? I got the plunger and went to work. The toilet emptied, the floor got mopped up, and we're on to the next adventure. Such fun.