Bouncing Booty Butts

I forgot to include this picture from last week. Avey drew it one night to immortalize a couple of running gags in our family:

Years ago, when Carver was in particularly random moods, he would string nonsensical words together if they sounded funny. One he came up with was "Bob a Doughnut." As Merritt admired his brother so, he took on this phrase as well, and will call people "Bob a Doughnut" as a way to tease them. The rest of us have adopted it, too. The "booty butt" phrase came about around the same time, it seems. Merritt has used it for years to refer to mean people generally, or sometimes when he wants to tease, and even sometimes when he's really trying to hurt someone's feelings. It's a bit of a catch-all. The whole family uses it pretty regularly, often to describe a mood.

On a similar note, I've been meaning to document a funny thing Merritt's done for a couple of months now. He will frequently use the word "hope" in place of what we think is supposed to be "think." For example, he may see Apollo lying down, and he'll say "I hope Apollo's sad." He'll use it in all sorts of hilarious ways, "I hope that so-and-so is dead," and so on. That kid's a riot sometimes.

Anyway, we kicked the week off with another busy Monday. Kira had work earlier in the afternoon, as one of her clients needed to meet earlier, so I dropped her off and then had the car to take the kids to Coffee Creek nearby, which is a large nature preserve with walkways throughout. It was fun, and the weather was pleasant. Avey kept up with Apollo, and Hannah kept her eyes out for new bird sightings. It was worth it, because she saw a new one for this year's list.

Tuesday, I had a morning phone meeting cancel at the last minute, so that was nice to be off the hook (there was really no need for the meeting in the first place). So I did more course prep and such, and in the afternoon, Kira took the kids for a park and picnic. I finished up work and cut the grass.

Wednesday morning was an eye appointment for Kira and Hakan. Hakan's eyes are right on the edge of needing glasses, so the optometrist said to keep a close watch on if he's squinting, getting headaches, or having trouble at school, but for now we'll avoid the glasses (even though he'd sort of love getting some). In the afternoon, we'd planned to go to a trampoline place as that was on the kids' list of stuff they want to do before school starts back up. The closest one was 30 minutes away, so we made the drive.

They had a blast, though it was difficult to enjoy wearing face masks the whole time. Kira got in on the fun with them, but I was especially lethargic that day, so I didn't feel up to it.

We stayed an hour, because that's what we paid for, and then tore the kids away. We got fast food for the drive home and then remembered that Kira wanted to stop by a store she saw where she could buy some brands that we can't seem to find near us (at least at reasonable prices), and so we ate our food while she shopped, then made our way home.

Thursday, Hannah and I tried our luck at getting her car repaired again. The place said that they had the part they needed, and they could do it that day, but I wasn't going to just believe them. We got up early and took her car in, and they had it done by about 2. However, Kira had a meeting at the church, and Avey had a chance to orient herself to her new school and find her classrooms and all, so there was only the van among all of us, and not enough time to do everything. Kira and Avey went to do their thing, then I drove Kira and the boys to the church, where the boys played in the gym during Kira's meeting, and I drove Hannah to pick up her car. I then drove back to pick up Kira and manage the boys.

Dog Days

Hannah's car was, indeed, fixed, but in parking the car, it seems that they opened up a crack in the front of her car that she's repaired before. She couldn't really blame them for the already damaged part, so she has worked on repairing it again since, having a difficult time coming up with the best solution. She's taken off the entire front piece now so that she can try it from behind, so we're all keeping our fingers crossed that this will do the trick.

Anyway, just before leaving for all of those afternoon errands on Thursday, Kira dropped her phone in some water by accident. She plucked it out quickly, but we were all worried that the damage was done. Her notification speaker wouldn't work, and she could not hear people on the other end if they called her. Fortunately, after a few hours her phone was back to normal.

Kira had a doctor appointment on Friday morning, so I was in charge of the kids, trying to squeeze in a little bit of work as I could. Avey decided to make homemade pizza again, so she worked on the dough in the morning and had the pizza ready by lunchtime. This time, she did an Alfredo sauce, which most of us loved, but Carver didn't care for. That's a bummer, because she went to all the trouble of making the gluten free dough for him, but at least we know now. We were also better prepared with shredded mozzarella cheese, so everyone who had the gluten pizza was very impressed, and Avey has a few ideas for next time to improve it a little more.

In the afternoon, Kira and I ran a few errands while Avey babysat. We were on the lookout for an upgraded couch. Ours was $40, used, and we bought it within the first year we were married, so it's seen some stuff in its life. The boys have jumped on it mercilessly, and the middle seat sinks in so that nobody wants to sit there. Anyway, we didn't find a good replacement at the used furniture place we tried, but then yesterday got a good reminder why maybe we shouldn't get a new couch just yet. Hakan, who absolutely refuses to be told what to do even by his own bladder, waited too long to use the restroom, so he made a small mess on the couch. Maybe we'll hold onto it just a little longer, and then put it out of its misery.

After Kira and I got home, it was still a little early and the kids were so wild that Kira took them to the park while I cut the grass again and then burned up a bunch of dead branches in the fire pit.

Saturday I awoke to the pleasant and rare surprise of Kira having done breakfast all by herself with the boys, letting me sleep. She paid for it with exhaustion later in the afternoon, but I still appreciated the break. We took Apollo to a play date with his best dog buddy on our way to a party for a family friend who has graduated. She has babysat the kids before, and was in the Young Women's Organization while Hannah was in charge, so it was nice to tell her congrats and such before she moves off to college.

When we got back home, it was just early afternoon, so I filled in more cracks in the driveway until I ran out of stuff, and then we all ate a later lunch and then drove to a park and Goodwill 20 minutes away. Avey and I found some decent shirts to help ring in the new school year, though the talk is that school is very likely to be delayed for another 2 weeks for the kids.

Hannah has pretty much decided that she'll move out in September, once the apartment she's chosen is ready. It's getting some remodeling done now, but seems like a really nice location and deal. I wonder how she's going to sleep at all without the constant, serene screaming, crashing, and stomping of the kids at all hours, but we can all adapt to just about anything, I suppose. This will be the first time she's lived alone, so at least we'll be close by when she's in the mood to make people food and treats, dote on Apollo, and play crazy games with Merritt.

This upcoming week is anybody's guess. We'll meet you at the other end.