A Note On Raising Little Boys

They are genetically programmed to destroy things and make messes

Case in point:
I have not taken Cole to the movies since Christmas Break where we had a horrible experience.
I thought, "It's been a while, let's give it a shot," when the activity of the day was to go and view The Night at the Museum 2.

I planned it all in my head...I'll take him in the stroller so he will be strapped in and can't run away. Those of you who know Cole in person realize that he is not one to sit still...EVER. Therefore that brilliant stroller idea. I thought, I'll give him a light lunch so I can routinely feed him popcorn and fruit snacks. It's a matinee on a weekday, so there won't be as many people to distract him...I can do this!

We got into the theater and I was armed with a child sized lemonade, popcorn, toys and other miscellaneous treats. With some difficulty I got the stroller to the end of the row so he would be blocked in if I released him.

The previews came and went. Things were going well. There were probably less than ten other people in the theater. The movie started and so did Cole. Screaming.

He skillfully knocked the popcorn and drink out of my hands and sent it sprawling across the floor. I tried to mop it up with the three napkins I had in my possession. He repeatedly threw each new thing I offered him to try and keep the noise down over the rail in front of us. I knew that I was going to have to get him out of the stroller by now. He was done with it.

I tried my lap. My mom tried her lap. He got louder. He broke through the barrier of legs trying to keep him back and I resigned myself to try and watch the movie from the entryway, so he would not block any one's view. He escaped from my grasp and ran to the front of the theater and dashed under the curtains beneath the giant screen. I, therefore had to run to the front myself and retrieve him.

I knew that this wasn't going to work at this point so I took him out into the lobby. He proceeded to make friends with the creepy ticket-taker and repeatedly went over to hug him and say, "Hi". I tried to take him into an empty theater...he wasn't going for it. He wanted to play with the arcade games they had in the lobby. After letting him push buttons and play with the racing steering wheel, he wanted more action-so somehow he found the switch that turned off every game in the joint. Dave05 I regret to inform you that your high score has disappeared from the Star Trek game....and to everyone else who put so much time and effort into gaming so their name could be at the top of the list in a St George cinema lobby, I am truly sorry.

By this time the manager was giving me the evil eye.

I flipped the switch back on and set the games to re-booting. We spent the next hour outside making the rounds in the parking lot, baking in the hot sun with my son offering a friendly "HI" and "BYE" to everyone he saw.

I took him back inside when I knew the movie only had a few minutes left to wash his hands. He had been playing with the pay phone and repeatedly tried to get gum off of the sidewalk. After I had him thoroughly scrubbed and was reaching for the paper towels, he promptly walked over and stuck his fresh hands into the toilet. At this point I wasn't surprised.

I don't think we'll be trying to attend the cinema anytime soon.

Little Fish

Cole has taken to "wings" really well. He just hangs out and floats the majority of the time, occasionally kicking his legs when he wants to go somewhere. This kid was made for the water!

Flammable

Play with fire-and you'll get burned.

I recall a game that used to be popular in college called "fireball". It involved setting a tennis ball that had been soaked in lighter fluid aflame and throwing it around a circle. Not the smartest. Most people would end up with the hair being singed off of their arms as a mark of courage.

I never played. It was mainly boys participating, showing off their manly strength...or stupidity. Good times. Sometimes people would lose their eyebrows when trying to stoke the campfire with chemicals. Possibly, they got them burned off when playing with fireworks.

Nope. I prefer to get my hair burned off doing something as simple as checking to see if the grill is lit. I live on the edge.Cristine got a really good laugh with lots of snorting involved, because I was oblivious to my new bangs when I walked back into the house. It looked like I had gotten in a fight with a curling iron.

Apparently, you can still tell because Mathis randomly asked me this morning, "Dude, what happened to your hair?"

Infected

Oh dear.

i can not recall a time when my little family has all been sick, simultaneously. Until now.

We got our symptoms from so-and-so who got it from so-and-so who most likely caught it from someone else. So if you are in our neck of the woods, we warn you not to call unless you have been exposed previously. It's been a doozie.

Being able to breathe out of your nose is something we all take for granted.

Fortunately, it will not be a group thing much longer as Brian is recovering by the minute and the baby and I are on anti-biotics. We were instructed that we could not even think about coming around "Lee Lee" (as Cole has taken to calling Charlie) this weekend unless we were germ free. That's a threat we took seriously.

Prescriptions have been filled, humidifiers are running and we are chipping away at our large supply of Kleenex and cough drops.

I am just hoping that I am not woken by coughing fits tonight and that my smoker-voice (which is not very sexy) will also take leave...pronto. I can't wait to see that little girl...and her siblings...and my siblings!

Water Play

You can't take a trip to Florida without getting wet. We had a great time in the pool and at the beach.Cole showed everyone his new swimming lesson skills and was the happiest in the water.I'll just say it's a good thing we don't have a pool or he would want to be in it every day all day.Maybe he's going to be a surfer like his Uncle Mathis. We were grateful that our excursion didn't last fifteen minutes like last year. Cole was not a fan of the beach yet at only four months old.We had a great time burying Chad and making him into a mermaid. If there is one thing both Brian and I wish Utah had...it's the ocean.

Fiesta Success-sort of

Yesterday we had our monthly friendship dinner. After last week's fiasco of calling people on the ward list and inviting others off of the street, some of us were not very optimistic (Brian).

MORE than expected showed up!

Mind you, I spilled food on the floor, burned myself, did not have anything laid out yet, and we had to set up another table...it still worked out okay. I recruited the guests as my slaves and we only started 45 minutes late. At least the food tasted great.

It's a good thing this isn't my career; because I would be fired:)

Florida Part Dos

Our brother-in-law Bill is one of those scary smart people. He is employed with a company contracted with NASA and works on the space shuttle. While we were in Florida, there was an employee open house. They have not had one for a long time and this is the last one as the shuttle program is ending with the introduction of the next generation vehicle. It was an opportunity of a lifetime. We got to go where the public is not allowed and to tour with someone that knew exactly what they were doing was mind opening.

We've been to Kennedy Space Center before, but this was behind-the-scenes. That huge building you see on television is called the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). It is larger than eight empire state buildings. I hurt my neck trying to look up at the ceiling. A semi can do a U-Turn inside.

We had the rare opportunity to see two shuttles on the pad at the same time, Atlantis and Endeavour. It hardly ever happens and we actually got to be really close. We couldn't get out of the car for obvious reasons, but seeing both of those shuttles there as symbols of science and progress and worlds beyond ours was incredible. It made me feel very patriotic. Spiritual too, when you consider space and everything we don't know.

We had a great time and it was very educational. Thanks again for taking us!