The Young and the Restless

Around here

It was a fantastic week. Kylie's cell phone and itouch got stolen out of her back pack at school. And I drove for 4 miles with someone's tater tot vomit in my hand until I could get a napkin. And then this happened. Oh, and some little hands cut a not so little hole in the custom drapes that will drain their college fund to replace. Yes, a fan-freaking-tastic week. Jayden broke his arm a few days after his birthday and now a few days after Ryder's birthday we find ourselves sitting in the exact same chair in the exact same waiting room waiting for the exact same results. I really hope this isn't a trend.  He is finally starting to gain his confidence and feel comfortable at kindy. I am able to leave for about an hour, which gives me just enough time to go for a run or browse the video selection at the movie store without him trying to sneak home every copy of the Grand Theft Auto video game (what can I say, he has a thing for cars). When I went to pick him up today I found the teachers trying to console an unconsolable boy with an abnormally bent forearm after falling off the slide. It broke my heart right in two. He was so worn out from all the tears that he fell asleep on me in the waiting room. I felt guilty for enjoying it, but this boy is not a snuggler. He wants me to be in close proximity at all times, but wants and needs are two different things. Today he needed me. It was a rough afternoon for this poor boy, his eyes welled over with tears every time he recounted the story and he won't let anyone get close to his cast because they might touch his bones.  Broken arms call for an entire day in bed with unlimited movies and snacks, surrounded by all his favorite trucks and sheets full of crumbs. We're both milking it for all it's worth.

And a few other items of business that I want immortalized forever in the blurb book: Dress up days at school are like Maddox's Superbowl. He spends weeks preparing and stressing over the perfect look. The night before the big event he made a special shelf next to his bed to hold all of his accessories then came out of bed no less than 17 times to ask my opinion on the direction his eyebrow should go, how to manage an eye patch and eye brow on the same eye, how to talk with the mustache on, what shoes to wear and etc, etc, etc. He decided against wearing the gold earring. He was worried kids would laugh at him. Said the boy wearing peel and stick eyebrows. He did make a mighty cute pirate, though.

 We've met some really cool people while living here, like a friend of a friend who stayed with us for a night while she was on her 14 month bike tour around the world. I have loved keeping in touch with her and following along on her incredible journey. This is another family that I am so grateful we have had the opportunity to meet. I thought we were adventurous to move across the world for two years, but these guys make that sound like a walk in the park. They sold everything and left the states with their two girls and a few suitcases as they embarked on an indefinite adventure. They started in New Zealand and have found "work aways" where people will let you stay with them in exchange for work, or they've found house sitting opportunities. We met them at church and after being here for a few months they have moved on to Australia then maybe Southeast Asia, or China. They don't know where they'll be in the next few years, months or sometimes days. What a challenging way to live, but also what an incredible experience they are having. They stayed with us for a few nights after their house sitting stint ended and before they headed up north and it was so good having them in our home. It just makes me sad to think that we might never see them again, but hopefully our paths will cross again some day!

May wasn't all that bad, but I knew we were pressing our luck with all that sun. June has been nothing but cold and rainy since day one. Some of us prefer to crank our electric blankets all night while others prefer roughing it  indoor camping style with a sleeping bag under the covers and a beanie.

It is painful getting out of bed in the morning, especially when you can see your own breath. Fortunately we're rewarded with some pretty amazing sunrises. The sunsets just don't compare to those in the desert, but these sunrises are mighty fine

Maddox is at it again. Kylie and I were working on her science fair experiment while Maddox was conducting his own experiment involving hot water and spaghetti noodles in a water pitcher, filtering water through a cloth like Bear Grylls, making a fishing pole out of a bobby pin, stick and a rope and then fishing for said water filtering cloth. Not sure exactly what he was trying to accomplish with his experiment, besides flooding the kitchen, but it kept him busy and happy.

This is the ugly side of New Zealand. We go on these amazing trips then pay for it dearly with the laundry. It's not so bad in the summer, but in the winter it takes a good solid two or three days for anything to dry and with only one drying rack it takes weeks before I can get caught up on the vacation laundry. And half the time the clothes smell like mildew.

Kylie has enjoyed Young Women's and it is nice that Jason is in Young Men's so they can be there together and so that he can take pictures like this of her.

We're doing a vacation baby sitting swap with our good friends, the Tovey's. It was our turn to watch their kids for 7 nights while they went on a cruise. I have to admit that I was a little nervous to be a mother of 7 for a week, but it went really well. They're so well behaved and helpful and the kids loved staying up all night whispering. I also had the chance to dust off my teaching degree since they do homeschool. It went well, but I have a new appreciation for anyone who homeschools their kids, I don't know how they manage that on top of all the other mommy duties! So that's a few of the highlights from the last month or so, I can't believe we're already in June and already coming up on our one year anniversary!