Fun on a Work Day

July 16 & July 17

After a busy day at the zoo Monday, we enjoyed a quiet Tuesday, playing games and hanging out at home.  At the end of the night, I gave Mike and the kids a bilingual book to read.  Michel dove in to read the English version of the story, and Andrew valiantly read the Spanish.  They gently corrected each other's pronunciation, and Matthew understood the story well enough to not get bored!

On Wednesday, we went to see Happy Feet through the kids' summer movie program.  Michel had seen Happy Feet in Spanish before.  We arrived a few minutes late, and she leaned over to me periodically with whispered explanations of what we had missed at the very beginning.  It was funny - instead of me interpreting for her, she was keeping me informed on the plot nuances I might have otherwise missed!

After the movie, we headed to our rental property for an air conditioning installation.  I knew the afternoon would be a measure of the patience and adaptability of Michel and the boys.  The installers said it would take up to four hours.  Four hours in someone else's home, trying to keep three curious kids from getting into trouble, is a challenge, but they did awesome!  We packed plenty to keep us fed and entertained:  games, puzzles, books, notebooks, crayons, and the requisite lunch and water bottles.

This should keep the kids entertained for the first hour or so...

Maybe I'm a pessimist, but I really expected more complaints from the kids.  "I'm bored," or "Are we done yet?" or "How much longer will we be here?"  Amazingly, no one commented at all!  We worked on a three hundred piece puzzle, we played a couple of games, and then the kids each curled up with a book on the couch.  Michel was fascinated by a few science books in Spanish that I brought along.  Before we knew it, the technicians were stomping up from the basement to announce, "We're done!"  I was so proud of all of the kids.  The only hard part was packing up all of our treasures again and loading the car.  It felt a little like leaving after a vacation!

After the air conditioning, I wanted to reward the kids for their patience and good behavior, so we headed for Baskin-Robbins.  Michel was thrilled to see the line-up of thirty-one flavors and tried all of them!  Okay, not quite thirty-one, but a few more than I usually allow my kids!  She settled on pink bubble gum ice cream - apparently a universally kid-pleasing flavor - and carefully picked the pieces of gum out to chew when she finished her ice cream.

This evening, our wonderful neighbors set up their outdoor movie projector and screen for us to enjoy Despicable Me, Michel's favorite movie.  I forewarned them that Mike and I would probably cry if we watched it with Michel.  (We did.  More than once.)  They even managed to add Spanish subtitles to the picture to enhance Michel's enjoyment.

I want someone to give Michel a bedtime hug each night and tell her, "I love you."

Huge thanks to Steve and Barb for your gracious hospitality, for sharing your outdoor "theater" with us, for the popcorn and treats, and for caring about Michel.  You helped make memories that she will probably carry with her forever.