Cold Front at the Ricks Residence

We had another fun week full of clogged drains and sibling rivalries, peppered with a little bit of sleep. It wasn’t all that bad, actually. We had the kitchen sink working fine for a few days and then the clog came back. I finally swallowed my pride and called the landlord about a plumber. He said that the pipe is very old, so the clogs are bound to continue, although he cleared it out well enough that it should last some time. The landlords are probably going to replace it in the near future. Nice to know that it wasn’t that we were doing something weird. 

The kids have been hot or cold with each other. They are either best buddies or worst enemies (or separated by walls), and it’s almost impossible to predict until it’s happening. I thought the heat might have something to do with it, but then yesterday was a gorgeous 74 degrees (Fahrenheit), and Carver and Avey could not seem to coexist. At this point I just figure we’re the subject of some strange voodoo training project, and it will eventually end, or they will move out. 

We even got them out of the house for a good long while, but it did not seem to quell their cabin-feverish behavior. There was a big picnic for Kira’s ward at a park, so we all enjoyed the pleasant weather. Unfortunately, it may have been a little too pleasant; there is a splash pad at that park, and naturally the boys were dying to get drenched. We packed their swim gear just in case they had their little hearts set on it, but we tried to explain that the cool air would just make the water feel cold. Hakan was the first to metaphorically dive in, and had the time of his life for about 10 minutes before succumbing to the cool. Carver followed suit. Avey thought better of it, and read a book. Merritt enjoyed running around in the puddles, but steered clear of the sprays as much as he could. After a while, the older kids all played in the sand of the volleyball court.

I’m not sure why all of my pictures and videos from the week are of Merritt only. I must not have been fast enough with the camera in the rare moments that the other three were getting along. I will redouble my efforts to find them in the coming week.

I spent some time experimenting with our network to see what was causing our wireless to go out every now and then. I figured it out and got that repaired, so I am pretty thrilled to have that taken care of.

There’s not much other noteworthy news, but more is sure to follow…

#Happenings