Flashback

Because tomorrow marks the 1 year anniversary of Hurricane Ike and the beginning of all the 'fun' that came with it, I thought I would finally post about a somewhat related event that happened this summer.

A month or so ago we experienced a string of really hot days, even by Houston standards. I found myself annoyed that our air conditioner just couldn't keep up as I felt the temperature rising in the house. I finally realized it wasn't just me when the boys woke up groggy and sweaty after napping for only 20 minutes. The thermostat registered around 90 degrees inside the house by then, and that confirmed that our AC was not functioning properly, if at all.

I started to panic as I remembered how miserable it had gotten when we were without our AC (or electricity) for two weeks last summer. I had to remind myself that it would be a totally different ballgame because at least we could still run the ceiling fans. I am positive that sounds melodramatic, but if you had witnessed Ian's heat rash or experienced the ordeal at full term pregnancy, perhaps you would also panic at the thought.

I decided to be grateful for the fans and we parked our sweaty little selves under a ceiling fan to wait as patiently as we could for an AC repair man. The temperature inside neared 100 degrees, but, I kept telling myself, at least we had those ceiling fans.

And then the power went out.

That changed everything. I quickly packed the boys in the car and we left for the children's museum within 5 minutes.

The happy ending to the story is that the power was on within a few hours, an AC repairman came out at 7 am the next day, and by dinner time we were back in business. Thank heavens.

But we did experience a night without the AC. Because it does not cool off at night here, we decided to all sleep downstairs where it would be cooler. So Scott disassembled a crib and set it up in the formal living room, Joseph slept in a pack n play near the bathroom, and we drug our mattress down and slept on it in the family room. It was incredible how, even at 10 pm, you could feel the heat hit your face as got about half way up the stairs.

Ian's crib actually looked kinda nice in the living room. That room is off-limits to the kids, so Ian woke up the next morning saying "Why am I in the grown-up room?"

Joseph didn't seem to mind that he was placed in the tightest quarters. He was actually very happy to be surrounded by doorknobs on three sides. Those favorite items were even within reach for once!

My favorite part of this whole event was this: We actually moved Joseph's crib down into the living room instead of Ian's. And though the cribs are identical, Ian refused to sleep in Joseph's. Until we convinced him that it actually was his. But then the next night when he was back in his own crib again, he refused to accept that it was really his. What a tangled web we'd weaved.

So the first morning after Ian had slept in his actual crib again, the first thing he said to me when I got him up was "Joseph slept in my bed. And I slept in Joseph's bed. That's so crap."

I tried not to laugh hysterically in front of him, but called Scott right away to tell him the story.

BYU Game

BYU played the first game of the season last weekend at the brand new Dallas Cowboy's stadium. It was the first game (other than NFL preseason) ever played in that incredible stadium. Oh, by the way, BYU beat #3 ranked Oklahoma University. And the Larsons were there. It was amazing.

In our BYU shirts before leaving the boys with a sitter at the hotel.

Outside the stadium. We boiled ourselves in the humidity and heat until we could finally enter the indoor, air conditioned stadium. The stadium was magnificent inside and out. When Scott heard tours were offered at $17 he looked very interested. Lining up for a handshake. Notice very much blue in the stands? BYU fans made up about 20% of the audience of 75,000 fans.

The biggest HD big screen in the world. And couple other giant screens right next to it. Deliriously happy after a big win. We stayed in the stadium celebrating until the security guards kicked us out. You wouldn't know this from coverage after the game, but BYU gave OU it's only touchdown. And BYU was a serious threat to OU's record and ranking even before their star Sooner got injured. But it is also worth mentioning that the Sooner fans were a class act after suffering a hard loss. Several OU groups in the parking went out of their way to congratulate us. We were impressed.

During the game Scott took notice of a new transfer to the Cougars, Brian Logan. I think he was on the Cougar's defense. Or the offense. Either way, he played well. And then we met his mother at a stop light while walking to our car and she was nice.

Since it was Labor Day weekend we decided to stay through Monday evening and see some sights in Dallas. We found a gorgeous botanical garden and would have really enjoyed a chance to stretch our legs before the drive home if it wasn't for the fact that it felt like we were slogging through mayonnaise. Why have I always thought Dallas was less humid? We took turns taking family pictures with some friends until it was time to head to an adjacent park to ride a miniature train.

Ian was in heaven.

Joseph did not enjoy the train. It was past naptime, he was confined to his carseat and it was hot hot hot. I thought the breeze helped a lot. The rest of the Larson's enjoyed it.

Since we captured no pleasant pictures of Joseph on the train, here are some happy moments back at the hotel. Here the boys are playing with a broken phone. Nice outfit, Joseph.

And enjoying the continental breakfast. If you are Joseph, pure bliss is having an apple all to yourself.It was a fun get-away and we were so glad to spend time with friends as well. It now feels like Fall, and what a great kickoff to the football season that was!

Preschool!

As further evidence that my little boys are growing up, here are some pictures of Ian today, his first day of preschool.

Four moms will take turns teaching on Tuesdays and Thursdays, for two hours each morning.

Ian was excited to wear a backpack, but got a little nervous when we arrived today. He told me he didn't want to go in, but then marched right up to the door and walked in. He did watch me leave though. I bet he is having a great time right now!

When Joseph and I got home after dropping Ian off, Joseph leaned way out of his carseat to look into Ian's carseat. Then he looked at me and made noises like he was asking why Ian wasn't there. I said "Uh-oh! Did we lose Ian?" And until I put Joseph down for his nap, he kept saying "Uh-oh! Uh-oh!"

Ian's Latest

Ian likes music while he eats. He often says, "Should we listen to primary music while we eat (fill in the blank)" When he first spit that sentence out it was the most complex thing I had ever heard him say.

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Out of the blue: "My mom is a junior in high school."

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After Joseph had eaten and spit out another bug he found on the floor, Ian said the following in a sing-songy voice: "JoSEPH! Do not spit up the most delicious bug! Yum!" Is there some song that goes like that?

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"Joseph! Don't come in my room! Go back to heaven."
Ian went through a period where he would say this whenever he was annoyed with Joseph -- which was whenever Joseph was in sight. Ian told me Joseph would sing songs in heaven when I asked him what his brother would do there.

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When Sarah and Ryan watched the boys for us, Sarah wrote down some funny stuff Ian said as he ate dinner and 'talked on his phone', which was actually a fist held to his ear. Some of these are a little embarrassing...

I know...
That's a bad choice
We're just catching up
I'm talking to my dad
I talked to you last night
We're going on an airplane
Do you have any more questions
oh ya!
Hi Ryan
no no no no no no no
You got to be quiet Joe, I'm talking on the phone
I'm talking to Ryan
I'm wondering if you have a....
I was talking to adults
Hello, this is Lesley
Hi hott stuff
Want to play some basketball?

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When we were driving to Michael's wedding rehearsal dinner, the boys were tired and cranky and already starting to lose it. We noticed things suddenly go quiet in the backseat and then heard Ian say sweetly, "Joseph, I like your pretty pink fingers. Yeah. I really like your pretty pink fingers!" He was holding Joseph's hand! I melted.

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When he talks to Scott, especially when Scott first arrives home from work, he uses a deep voice.

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You know that colorful truck that comes around the neighborhood after school playing music? We call it the Music Truck. And if you ever tell my kids it's anything more than a truck that drives around playing music for our enjoyment, you are in big, big trouble.

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Scott is the scoutmaster for a troop of 12-14 year olds. Occasionally they meet at our house and Ian has become really fond of several of them and knows them all by name. Once, after they left, Ian asked "Where did all the little daddies go? I miss them."

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Ian was jealous of all the Pedialite Joseph was drinking during a recent illness. When I explained Ian couldn't have any because he didn't have any 'ouchies in his stomach' Ian bit down hard on his thumb and said "Ooohhh! Look! I have an ouchie on my fumb! I need some special juice too!" He tried it repeatedly and I am sorry to say it eventually worked on me.

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Last night we asked Ian what time he goes to bed. His response: "Um, like, around eleven-ish."

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