Part Man, Part Sherpa

Our family seems to have many a made for tv moments in our lives. I think part of the reason is that I am a bit on the lazy side of things and that always gets me in trouble. Just the other day, Fernando decided to study at home. He set up all the necessary equipment in our room up on our third floor. I, like usual, was still loafing about the house in bedtime attire, no contacts, and hair/armpits in desperate need of a shower. Tiago tried earnestly to distract Fernando. I eventually made my way upstairs to take Tiago away to a better play place. I found him frustrated outside of our bedroom door. I figured Fernando couldn't wait for me to get Tiago out so he took matters into his own hands. No biggie, I would just quickly shower and be on our way to some adventure. About the third knock and jiggle of the locked door handle, Fernando appears at the bottom of the stairwell. Now if this were a sitcom, there would be a dramatic pause as the camera jumps from my eyes to Fernando's and the canned noise of choice would help move the plot along. Unfortunately, this was our life quite literally since the test Fernando needed to study for was Step 2 of his medical board exams. Even with all our MacGyvering, we could not break the lock. I made a few untimely jokes about clever mice, but Mia was the only one who got excited about that idea. Finally, thirty minutes later, Fernando concocted a intricate plan involving a stolen church ladder. This was like the fourth time that week I had wished we owned a truck. Truckless and braless, we walked as a family the three blocks to the church. Tiago and Mia were loving the family frolic and meandered their way pushing a stroller full of toys and a rumbling lawn mower. Eventually we had the massive ladder and made the reverse trip even more interesting for the passerby. Fernando insisting that I shouldn't try to help, hoisted the ladder over his head. At the half block mark, he asked Mia for a Care Bear to ease the pressure of the ladder. It proved slightly better except for the infernal plastic hearts on the nose and bottom. Once home we extended the ladder to maximum capacity since our room is three stories up.



After several unsuccessful tries to break in, we said a prayer. Inspiration struck and Fernando made his next attempt with a pair of patent leather military dress shoes and our snow scrapper from the car. Miracle. Strange how you always hear those stories of people praying for really "silly" things as compared to world hunger and yet Heavenly Father loves us enough to answer all faithful prayers.

Rough and Tumble

I am not sure exactly what happened, but Tiago was playing one minute and screaming the next. At first I assumed that he was releasing some pent up emotion about some toy truck not having movable wheels or a toy wasn't staying in the wad of paper he put it in. While attempting to acknowledge his "frustrations" though, I saw blood streaming out of his mouth and all over his hands. I scooped him up and ran to the bathroom, asking in vain where the blood was coming from. No sooner had I cleaned the blood off, the crying stopped and he was off on another adventure. Amazing considering that it looked like an emergency room visit in order to stitch up his gums was inevitable.

Fruits of our Labor

Labor day weekend is a chance for many to relax from the daily grind. Fernando, on the other hand, thought otherwise. He wanted to make the weekend full of labor. Luckily, he kept the kids and myself in mind when he was planning. The weekend kicked off with an early morning hike in the back trails of Black Hills Park. The trail was kind of creepy so I was glad that one could easily run the whole thing without really breaking a sweat. There were plenty of good finds though. Tiago was loving ALL the rocks and dead branches on the trail. Mia loved all the spider webs especially since there was Charlotte from Charlotte's web in everyone. We even found a cool silk worm dangling in the middle of the path. As you might notice from the pictures, the kids were already dawning their Cougar paraphernalia in preparation for the BYU game that night.
After some good neighborhood barbecuing, we headed over to watch the game in HD style on an obliging friend's big screen. Sorry if you missed it because it was awesome.
The weekend also brought a visit from my brother, sister-in-law, and their friend Josh from New York. Mia was so excited. Fernando was equally excited since my brother always was up for some good competition at anything. This weekend's competitions of choice were XBox tennis, how many sit ups in a minute, how many pull ups on a hang board, soccer, and football. Pictures are coming. To add to the fun, we picked some fresh raspberries (which were surprisingly difficult compared to other years we have done it. I think Fernando was glad.) Then used a borrowed ice cream maker to enjoy the fruits of our labor.

Bare Necessities

Mia decided to get back to basics for snacks yesterday. I was busy half listening and half cleaning when it finally registered what Mia was asking to snack on. Down on all fours, Mia had found an unsuspecting black ant and was trying to get it in her month. Yes, Mia did pass the developmental oral stage of her childhood so it was a bit strange that she was trying to eat an ant. I tried to calmly ask why she would want to eat an ant. She explained, "They ate ants in the movie." Smartly I reminded her that animals were the ones eating bugs in the Lion King, the movie we had just finished watching. Mia quickly reminded me, "No, the boy in the Bear of Sesames (The Jungle Book). He ate ants with the bear." Now I know I probably should have let her try it, but every fiber in my being revolted at the idea of. . . well you can imagine the sounds and feelings associated with eating such a creature. This time I wasn't willing to let it be a learning experience.

Perfect Harmony

Tiago and Mia are quite the duo. I have been trying to capture the little songs they like to sing together. Their version of Once There Was a Snowman is destined for fame.

A Little Family Fun

We have been trying to mix things up a bit. You know, brake out of the normal routine. Luckily, four year olds have countless ideas for new ways to spend your time. One night, we decided to make an obstacle course. Mia and I both drew our own. Mine was a little more concrete in theory, but Mia's was definitely chalk full of imagination. A hybrid of both courses was in order. Tiago busily set up the cones for my kick and weave soccer ball portion while Mia explained her first obstacle.

The tree situation soon metamorphazied into mermaids swimming through the yard. I gave many a great dinner conversation to those walking by since I am the only one tall enough to be seen over our fence.

The adventure continued around our neighborhood balancing on brick walls, hiding in pine trees as tickle pirates, and finally back home to attempt the classic doughnut on a string game. Life couldn't be better.

If you Haven't Got a Penny

We have been trying to take in all that DC has to offer before we move in less then a year. We tried to attend a PowWow Native American dance show at the National Museum for the Native American, but found we weren't the only ones interested in attending. Unable to get into the full auditorium we decided to look around the museum itself. When that proved a little too much for Tiago and Mia, we headed to the cafeteria to try some Native American food. The only "affordable" menu item was a $3 Flat bread. You know that bottom layer of the Navajo Taco. This one however was coated with honey and powdered sugar laced with cinnamon. Sticky and somewhat full, we ventured to the amazing exterior of the museum. The water you see in the background of the previous picture comes from a waterfall cascading off the side of the building and created a series of mini waterfalls and streams. Mia and Tiago found it a bit strange that there were so many pieces of money on the bottom of the pools. I had to explain the idea of why people throw money into water, but found that letting them try themselves worked a little better. The next lesson was teaching them the principle of leaving the money after you throw it.