What's with people?

I work for a cell phone company doing tech support over the phone. It amazes me how many people will call in with a problem with their cell phone and when I say, "Can I get your phone number please so I can look up your account," they reply, "My cell phone number?"

Do these people do this everywhere?

Waiter: What would you like to drink?
Bonehead: For ME to drink? With my meal?

Doctor: And what seems to be the problem today?
Bonehead: With my medical problems?

911 Operator: And what is the address of the fire?
Bonehead: My box number? My email address? The address of my first girlfriend?

At least it makes for an interesting night

Daniel's Birthday

We are a little behind in our blogging but there are a few "Adventures" that we need to get down before we forget.

Daniel had his birthday at the end of June and because he had so many people he wanted to invite, we decided to go with two different parties. The first was right on his birthday and we had all of his grandparents, uncles, and cousins come to our place. I burned a huge pile of hamburgers and Amber made a cake. We had 7 boys there from 0 to 7 tearing around and having lots of fun.

We got Daniel bunkbeds and we put them together earlier in the week. I had wanted to put it together during the party but D was too excited and couldn't wait, so we did it together. Amber already put up some pictures of that.

About a week later we had another party at the park. This is something of a tradition for us. Daniel has had a Calgary park birthday party for the last 4 years. He invited his whole preschool class as well as a bunch of other friends. We figured with siblings and parents, the guest list could end up well over 100 people. It ended up about 20 something total and was a great little party. The kids raced around in the field and in the trees. We had painting, snacks, games, presents and lots of fun. We ended up hanging out with some new friends at the pool for an hour or more afterwards and it was another great day.

I'm posting this from my work device on my lunch break so I don't have access to any pictures right now but I'll have Amber post some links soon.

New Study

A South American scientist from Argentina, after a lengthy study, has discovered that people with "IBA" or insufficient brain activity read blogs with their hand on the mouse.

Don't bother taking it off now, it's too late…

Stampede Party Pooper

I know this might get me kicked out of the city, but I just have to say it. I don't like the Calgary Stampede.

I don't drink. I don't like crowds. Cowboy boots, long sleeve shirts, and jeans in 30 degree weather don't make sense to me. I like to use my money wisely.

The average person in Calgary (native or tourist) spends hundreds of dollars during the 10 days of Stampede. I couldn't find the current quotes but I know that when we've gone to the grounds for one day, Amber and I will usually spend over a hundred bucks on parking, admission, a few rides, and some food. And that's not including the shows, bars, clothing, etc that people spend their money on.

I'm proud to say that we have spent exactly zero dollars on the Stampede this year (possibly less). We went to the free Stampede breakfast at church and had a nice time dressing up and eating pancakes outside in the beautiful sunshine, listening to some live country music. We even got a few Subway gift certificates out of the deal thanks to Daniel and Josh's cute galloping on their cardboard tube horses. And today, I got to partake of a free barbecue at work. The Delta Bow Valley hotel came by and brought corn, slow roasted beef, and succulent beef ribs. So good.

I really don't mind the music - and free food is always nice - but I think for the next few years (until the boys can appreciate it) we may be skipping out on Stampede, either figuratively or literally. We're taking the money we've saved and spending the weekend at a hotel in Lethbridge. We haven't had even a weekend vacation since we got back from Nakusp in early November, so I'm sure we will appreciate it.

Friday's Feast

Appetizer
Name one thing nice that you could do for someone else today.

I just spent 40 minutes helping an old guy set up his hotmail address on his phone when I shouldn't have. It's not something we support but he was so confused and I thought I could give him a hand.

Soup
When was the last time you were frightened by the weather?

I can't remember ever being scared of the weather. We get hail, blizzards, floods out here but I always am amazed at God's wonderful power. I haven't been in a hurricane or tornado - I think I might have a different answer then.

Salad
What would you say is the most useful website or blog that you visit?

I love Amber's website but the two most useful blogs to me are TVGasm.com and TechDirt.com

Main Course
Who was your favorite singer/group when you were a child?

Valdy

Dessert
Do you have any rituals? If so, what are they?

With my schedule being so weird, it's tough to have rituals.

Twins?

Last week Daniel was in swimming lessons with Amber, and this week it's Josh's turn. The pool is near the library and a couple parks so I have been taking the other two boys on various adventures during swimming.

Last week, Josh and I found a pretty cool park about a block away. There were slides and ladders and a climbing rock. Josh also met a 7-year old boy who was having fun playing tag (or Tickle Monster) with him. Josh chased him around the park for about 20 minutes until it was time for us to go get Daniel. This led to a very interesting situation when Daniel, Andrew and I showed up there yesterday.

The same boy was there and he recognized me and Andrew's carseat and therefore, recognized "Josh". Daniel ran up to the play structure to see what he could do and the little boy jumped out from behind the steps and yelled, "Raaaaarh!"

Daniel looked at him, and then looked at me and kept climbing. He was running over the bridge and the boy climbed up behind him and said, "Wanna play Tickle Monster?"

Daniel looked at this stranger and said, "No!" This went on for a while with the little guy chasing his former friend around trying to figure out why he wasn't as fun as last week.

Daniel came running to me and said, "That boy is trying to catch me"

Me: "I think he thinks you are Josh. He and Josh were playing here last week and he thinks you are him." Daniel looks confused but runs away.

Little boy: "I don't think that. I know he's Josh"

Me: "No, that's Josh's brother. It's a different boy."

Daniel (yelling from across the park): "I'm not Josh. I was in swimming lessons and now it's Josh's turn. He's not here"

Boy: "Oh, they look the same."

Me: "Yes, they do look very similar"

Boy: "I didn't know they were twins"

Me: "No, they aren't twins. They just look alike"

Confused Boy (chasing after Daniel): "Wanna play Tickle Monster?"

Where's Joshie?

The last couple nights have been rough for the boys. I've been working late so Amber's alone with them. It's hot so they have trouble sleeping and don't feel like eating supper so they're hungry at bed time.

When I got home at about 10 last night, they were still up and being loud. Daniel kept coming out and asking for food. We kept sending him back to bed. Josh was being quiet, so I assumed he was asleep. I went in to check on him and he wasn't on his bed. There was a glow under his bed and he was laying on the floor way under it by the wall. Fast asleep.



Theory Number One:

His flashlight is stuck between the wall and his bed, shining down under the bed. Josh crawled under the bed to get it and fell asleep before he got it out.

I asked Daniel why Josh was under his bed. He said, "I put his flashlight there so he could see." The flashlight was tucked into the cross boards of the bed and actually pointing at him.

Theory Number Two:

Josh crawled under his bed for some reason - to escape from Daniel's relentless crying and screaming? And he fell asleep. Then Daniel... brought his flashlight under so... Josh wouldn't be in the dark...? Theory Number Two needs work.

So, Amber managed to get Josh out from under his bed before she went to bed and got him back up on top.

When Josh woke up this morning, I asked him, "Josh, when I came home last night, you weren't sleeping on your bed. Do you know where you were?"

"Yeah, under my bed"

"Why were you under your bed?"

"Daniel and me went under my bed with the flashlight. We were having a venture. We readed our books under my bed"

Now that I look at my pictures again, I can see the flashlight tucked into the bars and a book under his head.



Theory Number Three:

Josh and Daniel crawled under his bed together for a "venture". They were reading books and camping. Daniel tucked the flashlight in so they could see. When Daniel left to come and cry and whine about having to pee and being hungry, Josh fell asleep waiting for him.

Makes sense... I guess

He said, he said, he said

My lovely wife wanted me to start this post off by telling you that she has dropped off the face of the earth. She was trying to post daily adventures and that lasted about a week. And now with swimming lessons, birthday parties, and scrapbooking, she seems to have vanished. When she's back, she'll post again.

Now, on with our story...

The boys have been talking so much, I wanted to post an update on their progress.

Andrew: He said, "Mama!" for the first time this week. He kept repeating it to see Amber smile and giggle. It won't be long before he's running around and yelling with his brothers.

Josh: His grammar is really improving. He tries so hard to get things just right. He recently came to me in the morning and said, "Daddy, I wake... I waked... I WOKE up." It's cute that not only does he know there are rules for speech, but he thinks they are important.

Daniel: He is starting to grasp the concept of time. Until recently, he would place random "time" phrases in his sentences like "Last year I had pizza. I watched that movie a week ago."

But yesterday was the best one. He turned 4 on Thursday and that was a big thing for him. He's been waiting for it for months now. Anyway, we were going out and instead of putting on his sandals, he got his hiking boots out. I figured it couldn't hurt anything, so I let him put them on. He told me, "Daddy, these aren't my sandals. They are my boots. My Bob the Builder hiking boots... from when I was three."

That's it for now. We'll see who posts next... ;)

Feast One Hundred

Appetizer
On average, approximately how many times per day do you yawn?

On days when I'm working till 11pm, it's a couple dozen. Sunday afternoons are good for a few. But usually maybe 1 or 2.

Soup
What was your most memorable school field trip?

I have been on lots but I think my most memorable was Hawaii in 93. I went with my high school band and it was my first big trip away from my family and the first of 5 international trips in the next 3 years.

Salad
Fill in the blank: I was extremely __________________ this week.

BUSY....and HOT

Main Course
Which color do you think of when you hear the word "soothing"?

Lavender. I'm not sure why.

Dessert
What is something that, if you had to, you could save up the money to buy within one month?

Pretty much anything. I've been amazed at how we can scrimp and find extra money. God is so good. Something that we found the money for this month was bunk beds.

Doctor Visit

I took Andrew and Daniel to the doctor last week (I know I'm late in posting but it's been a busy week so forgive me). Daniel was going for his 4-year-old checkup and Andrew had a suspected ear infection.

They were both in great shape. Andrew apparently has just discovered his ears and when he's yanking on them, it's normal 5 month old curiosity. Daniel is doing all the stuff a kid his age should be doing.

Daniel wouldn't leave until the doctor checked his mouth. Apparently last time we went to the doctor, he didn't get to say, "Aaaaah!" and it bugged him for a while. In his mind, that is one of the most important parts of a doctor visit. So, Dr. Thomas checked his tongue and teeth and D was happy.

He impressed the doctor and the resident with his reading. She asked me if I thought he was ready for school and I responded by having Daniel read a poster on the wall that had words like "affect", "bacteria" and "antibiotics". He sounded out the words he didn't know and suprised even me. It's amazing how his mind is growing.

We are so blessed to have healthy kids. I thank God for them and also for the medical community we have available to us should anything happen. I'm not sure how all the proposed changes to health care will proceed, but I know that our family is well taken care of.