Flu Shots

I finally had everyone healthy, and a bit of time, so I took part of the family for H1N1 shots yesterday. Mike was at work, and Brent was babysitting, but the rest all came with me.

Unlike everyone who went a month ago, I actually needed the line to be a bit longer! I had to fill out 5 forms, while holding a diaper bag, 5 health care cards, and keeping Troy from running away, since he wouldn't let anyone else near him, and walking in the line. It took me the whole time, and they didn't check our forms until we were at the door going in!

Everyone was really brave. Even Troy didn't cry, just sat there, looked a bit upset, and then went back to playing with Lightning McQueen.

Birthday Boy

Today is Troy's 2nd birthday! To celebrate, Luke, Katie and I took Troy to the zoo. (Mike had a class today, and Brent & Jordan were camping.) We had a lot of fun. Troy, who is still not really talking, learned a new word . . . Wow! So, we'd be standing looking at some kind of animal, and Troy would say Wow! Wow! Wow!

Tonight, we had a little celebration with everyone, which pretty much consisted of showing Troy his cake, blowing out the candles, and giving him his present - a foam "Lightning McQueen" chair.

Here's a picture of the cake and the birthday boy:

Family Craziness

Janine & David have both posted about their OCD tendencies. Janine counts things, and David finds the alphabet when he drives. I laughed at both posts, and thought, "Thank goodness I'm normal."

However, yesterday when I was unloading the dishwasher, I realized there's a bit of the OCD in me too. When I unload the silverware, I have to do it in "danger order". So, sharp knives first, then the butter knives, then the forks, then the big spoons, and finally the teaspoons. Luckily, I'm often spared this task now, as Troy likes to come, take them out, and then randomly throw them all on top of each other in the drawer.

Not a History Buff

I know that I must have studied WWII at some point in my schooling, and probably even got good grades. However, remarkably little of that info is still in my head apparently.

The other day, as I was driving somewhere with Luke, he started telling me all about what he had just learned about WWII. He said: There was a guy, and somehow he took over Germany, and then he wanted to take over the world. So, he invaded somewhere - either Portugal or Portland.

The saddest part was, all I could tell him was that it wasn't Portland! I didn't think Portugal sounded right, but I couldn't think of an alternative. (And yes, I do know now that he must have meant Poland.)

Seminary & Shopping

Today for some reason, I was very chatty on the way to Seminary. I'm sure I was driving all the kids crazy, but, hey, they could be taking the bus...

Anyways, it totally reminded me of early morning driving with Janine, when I'd be talking away, and she'd just sit there, and mumble "Be Quiet!" (or, probably, something worse.)

Totally unrelated, I took Troy shopping yesterday. I remember I used to have to take Brent out in a dinosaur outfit all the time, and once Mike was with us, and he walked way ahead, because he was embarrassed to shop with a green dinosaur. Well, good thing he didn't come yesterday, because Troy came places with me, and behaved just great, because I brought the little pink doll stroller for him to push in the store!

Scary!

Brent got his Learner's License today! It was his first time taking the test, and the lady at the registry said that she rarely sees anyone pass on their first try.

So, after that, we drove over to the Church parking lot, for lesson # one from me. I taught him things like how to adjust the mirrors, and where the signal light is, and thought, "This isn't so bad. I'm such a great teacher, and so calm." But, then I had to let him turn the key in the ignition, and my teaching skills degraded to "Slow down! Oh wait, you're only going 10 km/h."

We did a few loops around the empty parking lot, so he could learn what the van feels like, and how to turn it around corners, and how to drive and turn on the signal light at the same time, and then my nerves were shot, and we traded seats, and I drove us home.

However, unlike when I tried teaching David, Brent didn't give up and walk home!

Undigging!

Well, we found out this week that filling in a hole is much easier than digging it out. And, it's easier to find helpers too.

We finally finished wrapping the waterproofing stuff on our wall, and putting in the weeping tile and gravel, and getting Telus out to check our cables. (That's a funny story too, the only time they could come was Sunday, or wait another month. So, Mike arranged for them to call his cell phone before they came, and they called, just as he stood up to conduct sacrament meeting! But, he finished what he needed to do, and got home just in time.)

So, the next step, fill in the hole! Mike had arranged with a friend to come over and help. And, he said he'd bring his family along (5 kids) for family home evening. So, I was expecting a few people. But, then our home teacher and his wife came, plus another couple of men from the ward, and a missionary, and then Brent had a couple of his friends over too. A couple of hours, and a few pizzas later, and we have no more dirt pushing our fence over, no mountain of dirt beside the house, and more importantly, no more pit!

Here's before & after:

Picture looking one way, with gravel & weeping tile already put in:

Picture looking the other way, before we dug out the last foot or so. At one point, the ground level was at least a foot above Mike's head:

View from my eye level:

View today:

Luke with glasses & other pics

Luke got glasses on Saturday, and is so excited to wear them. We'll see how long that lasts!

Here's a picture:

I told him he looks like Clark Kent, instead of Superman now.

Also, here' s a picture of Troy, explaining why we seem to be running late each week, even though Church doesn't start until 1 pm. The problem is, Troy can't get Church clothes on until we're ready to leave:

I had a real hard time capturing the extent of the Nutella - all over his face, body, and hands.

Finally, Katie and her friends decided to be the cool kids at school, so here's what she looks like now when she goes to school:

Brent's First Dance

Last night was Brent's first church dance. I was worried about him going, because there aren't a lot of boys over 14 in our ward, and of the 2 that might go to the dance, one wasn't going and the other one was out of town. Then, he called his buddy in the other ward, and remembered he was out of town too. But, Brent being Brent, he wasn't worried at all. He just figured he'd see people at the dance that he knew.

However, during the evening, different people called for rides, and it turned out that 6 kids from our ward were going to the dance, so they could all go together. So, Brent went with 5 girls!

My job in the car pooling was picking up after the dance. Here's what I learned:

1. None of my kids are ever going to get to drive. I forgot what 16 year olds with their friends around are like in cars, until I saw them all leaving the dance. Very scary when you're a parent!

2. The quiet girls that I drive to seminary are not so quite after a dance!

3. Brent actually asks girls to dance!

Calaway Park

Yesterday I thought it would be fun to take the kids to Calaway Park, since school's almost starting, and we haven't gone yet. I especially was excited to take Troy, as he had to watch everyone on rides at the Stampede, and really wanted to get on the rides.

However, I found out, he is a chicken! While all the big kids were on a ride, I took him to the little kid train, just about the tamest ride you can find. He was excited, and got on (even got the engine seat!) Then, about 1/2 way around the track, he started screaming, so they had to stop the ride when it got back to the start, so I could take him off.

Later, when we were waiting for Katie again, he kept running up to the line of the train ride again. So, this time, I made Katie go with him. He started to cry a bit the first time around, and was screaming again the second time, so they stopped the train for me again!

So, I turned to food instead, and bought French Fries, which kept him happy in the stroller for a while. Then, I thought, let's take him on the Carousel, how scary can that be, I'll be right there holding him. That lasted for about 30 seconds as well, before I had to hold him.

Then, while we were waiting for the boys on the Log Ride, Katie went on the little kids boat ride. Of course, Troy wanted to go too, and this was a different ride operator, so I gave it a try. He made it 3 times around before screaming! Getting better.

Today we are going again, with Janine's family. I will be better prepared, need to bring lots of toys and food for Troy, now that I know the rides are so scary.

Crows

Today while I was driving, we passed a fence with 50 or 60 crows on it. It was totally spooky - flashbacks to "The Birds". Now I know why they call it a "murder of crows". I was happy to get away from there.

Note for Janine - grocery story (since you just blogged about grocery cart road rage)

I went shopping at Superstore the other day. I noticed that ahead of me there was a worker guy with a forklift, moving a whole pallet of fruit. So, I stopped, thinking I'd let him finish and stay out of the way. All of a sudden, I felt something hit me (softly). I looked back, thinking maybe a kid got a cart or something, since the cart didn't move away like it would if it was an accident. It was an old guy, motioning me to keep moving! I pointed to the forklift, too shocked to say anything. Can you possibly be in such a hurry that waiting for a guy to finish moving something is an unbelievably long wait? And, so rude that you'd rather run your cart in to someone, rather than just going around? (I was on the side, he easily passed by me.)

Then, to make the trip even better, once I was done shopping, the lines were really long, and Troy decided to demonstrate that he's almost 2! Total meltdown in the line! He took something from the cart, and started running (yes, he was out of the cart, leaving him in was way too noisy due to the screaming.) When I made him come back, he promptly laid down on the ground and screamed! What should you do in that situation? Here's the thoughts I had:

1. Abandon my cart - but I had done a menu plan for meals this week, and was totally organized for once, and we really needed milk, which just means I'd have to do the whole experience again later that day

2. Open something in the cart for him to eat - the drawback being that who knows what a kid this age is going to like from one day to the next. Plus, I'm always afraid that I'll do that, and then the debit machine will crash when I get up there, and I'll have no cash or some scenario like that.

3. Just stand in line, let him cry, pray for the line to move quickly, and pretend he belongs to the people in line behind you - my standby favorite option, and the one I chose.

Needless to say, we will be eating popcorn, beans, and some kind of gruel made from flour until Troy's 3, since we'll have to eat our food storage, I'm done grocery shopping!

Why we need a truck

We are almost ready to replace the weeping tile by the side of the house! So, we went to Northland Construction to buy new weeping tile, with a "sock" on it. On the website it said that you could get 100 feet, which was good, since the side of the house is about 40 feet, plus we need some for the window wells. However, when we got there, they only sell it in 250 feet lengths! Rather than find another place, we just bought it. But, Mike didn't ask if it would fit in a minivan. (Quick answer is NO.)

So, the guys came up to the van with a forklift, and tried to put it in the back of the van, and just laughed. It was all coiled and tied together, so I suggested untying it, so we could put it in a bit at a time. So, after a few minutes, with the 2 guys pushing from the back of the van, Mike pulling inside, and me sitting in my chair, out of the way, trying not to get sick from the rocking motion in the van, they got it in.

Here's the view from inside:

and what it looked like unloaded:

Then, we had to measure it, cut it and store it, and leave for swimming in 15 minutes. We are an endless source of entertainment for the neighbors!

Night of Terror in Bowness

Do not read this Janine!

Last night, we went to Bowness Park, for a fire. We had a family home evening lesson, played in the playground, ate hotdogs, and burned lots of old papers. Finally, around 10 or so, we decided to pack up and head home. Just then, someone pointed out a mouse in the field behind us! Then, someone else saw another one! I managed to not scream, but did sit on my lawn chair with my feet in the air. But then I realized that the only way to get to the van was to go across the grass where the mice were. (I thought about seeing if the boys and Mike could carry Troy and I across to the van in my chair, but knew that there was no hope that they would try.)

So, I had to be brave, and go across the "field of terror" to the van, and then cross it again to get more stuff, and a third time, to bring the stuff to the van.

Why I should not telecommute

This morning I had a meeting at work, but rather than drive in for the meeting, I just phoned in. I figured it would be ok, the meeting was only 45 minutes, and there's 4 kids to look after Troy. So, off I went, in to my bedroom, did my part, and then listed to the rest. But, after about 20 minutes, I noticed that it seemed really quiet. I could hear the big boys playing Wii, but couldn't hear Troy anywhere. Luckily, I bought a phone with a mute button for just these kinds of times. So, while listening to the meeting, I went to look for Troy.

I found him, in the bathroom, brushing his teeth with Luke's toothbrush, which he was DIPPING IN THE TOILET!!! Needless to say, I checked my mute button again, and let the kids know what I thought about their babysitting.

Too much time on their hands

First day of summer holidays, and already the kids are in to mischief. They were supposed to spend 3 hours working today (2 in the house, 1 outside in the yard). After about an hour, I saw Brent & Luke on the stairs. Brent is at the top, holding the end of a long rope of shoelaces from a toy, all tied together, and Luke is at the bottom, with the rope tied around his waist. I asked what they were doing, and Luke said he was just testing out his bungee cord, so he could bungee jump on the stairs!

Politically correct bishop?

This weekend was our ward temple trip / campout in Cardston. We had a great time, and lots of people from our ward came. Despite enjoying going to the temple, and spending time with the family, the highlight of the weekend was provided by Mike...

On Friday night, after people were back from the temple, and before all the kids went to bed, everyone gathered around the fire. Mike wanted to take a few minutes to talk to everyone, but wanted to start with a song. He asked a few people if they had a song we could sing, to start us out, but no one was coming up with an idea - not even the kids. Finally, Mike says "How about that Indian song, with the arm movements?" So, opening song was "Book of Mormon Stories".

Swim Meets

We've entered swimming season at our house. This means that pretty much every Saturday from mid-June to mid-August is spent at a swim meet. This means getting up EARLY, to get to a pool by 7 am, and staying there til 4 or 5 at night. And, packing a ton of stuff, because you need swim stuff, food for everyone for the day, stuff to play with, and a sleeping bag to sit on and chairs. Then, once July comes, the pools are still indoors (mostly), but you sit outside between swimming, so you need to bring some kind of shelter as well.

But, it's worth the hassle, first because the kids love to go, and second because we usually buy dinner or DQ on the way home!

This year is Katie's first year. At her first meet, she got to be in a relay race. One of the swimmers was a "veteran" 8 year old, and the rest were new. Their coach spent some time talking to them about how when the starter goes, the first one swims to the other end, then you can't dive in until she touches, then swim to the other side. However, she must have forgotten to mention that you should wait until the swimmer touches at your end before diving in. So, first Katie went, and swam to the other side. Then, the girl at that end jumped in and started swimming - but so did the girl at the other end. They ran in to each other in the middle, and kept going. Then, the last girl dove in and finished. The girls were all excited with how well they did, until the one who knew what was going on told them they were disqualified!

Basement news!

Well, we might still have a mud pit in the basement:

and an archaelogical dig outside:

But, we now have big basement windows!

Late night adventures

Last night, Troy was sick, so we were sleeping on the couch together. At about 3 or so, I decided to go up to bed with him. Unfortunately, I must not have been very awake. I stumbled up to my bedroom with Troy, then managed to step on a container of little cars. It really hurt, but I got Troy into the bed safely, then went to the bathroom to brush my teeth. That's when I noticed the trail of blood I was leaving....

I called Mike upstairs (he had been on the other couch), and he took one look and said I'd better go to the hospital. He said "You can drive yourself - like your Dad - it's a Babowal thing". So, 6 stitches later, I'm home from the hospital. I was pretty lucky, from cutting my foot to home again was only about 3 hours!

Father & Sons Campout

This weekend was our Ward's Father Sons campout. It's been beautiful all week, in the 20s, and then they predicted SNOW for the weekend! But, Mike, Luke, Jordan and Troy decided to tough it out and go camping anyways. (Well, Troy didn't have much say in the decision.)

It turned out that someone in the ward has a cabin by Lac des Arcs, which the Relief Society was going to use on Saturday, for a Mother Daughter activity. But, since no one wanted to hike in the snow, that activity was cancelled, so the men used the cabin for the campout. Not having to set up tents in the rain and snow made putting 30+ people in one cabin worthwhile!

Anyways, sounds like they had lots of fun, just not a lot of sleep. They went for a midnight walk, went fishing, watched movies, and ate lots of food.

I asked Luke if it snowed the whole time they were there. He said, "No.... sometimes it rained or hailed."