School Daze

You would think with the boys being back in school, I would have all the time in the world to fiddle on my blog. Not so. For some reason, life has gotten much more hectic - but in a good way.

The first three weeks of school have been a success. The boys are doing well and making new friends. The first day of school, Andrew came home with a drawing he had done at school with "BIRON" written on the top. I said, "Andrew, did you take someone else's paper?" He came over and explained to me that he accidentally wrote a "B" then had to draw a line to separate the "B" from his name, "RON". I pointed out that his name is not Ron, to which Andrew responded, "Yes I am! I am Ron Wesley!" (Yes, that is the red-headed sidekick in the Harry Potter books/movies). I told Andrew he can pretend to be Ron when he plays, but he needs to be Andrew at school. Two days later I received an email from Andrew's teacher:

Andrew keeps writing Ron on all his papers and keeps telling everyone to call him Ron. Should I be calling him Ron?

Few things are quite as embarrassing as writing a teacher to tell them your child is convinced he is a fictional character. However, I had the same problem when I was a child, so I can't get too frustrated. I think we have finally fixed the "Ron" thing and Andrew is now back to writing his actual name on his work. However, I am certain I only have a few weeks until he slips back into being a fictional character again.

Jacob is currently obsessed with Greek mythology, particularly stories about Medusa. He and his friends have decided to make a movie and Jacob informed them that I can make a "really cool" Medusa costume. I have never sewn one article of clothing in my life - but it is nice to have someone have such faith in me. I kind of disregarded the costume/movie thing, until one of the other parents approached me about it. She was so excited that the children wanted to make a movie and that she would provide her home to do the filming, and that she understood I would be making the costumes. (Let me just say, the one downfall of going to an international school is the accents - I can't tell if people are serious or joking). I initially thought she was being sarcastic, but to my surprise she was completely serious. What does one say in such a situation? Okay. Great! I'll go buy some fabric this weekend! It was also at the moment when I realized there are much cooler and more fun parents than me in the world. I guess I will have to make the stinking costume so Jacob won't think he has a dud mom. How about if I offer my apartment for the filming and she can sew the costumes!

I don't know if I have gained a ton of weight or what - but everyone around me keeps inviting me to work out with them. I think I am the fat friend who people like to take to the gym so they feel better about themselves. Well, Monday morning I did a deep water running class. They strap a foam belt on your waist, toss you in the deep end of a pool, and then make you run around in the water. While I am sure it was a good work-out, I felt like a complete idiot the entire time. It seemed like something I should be doing at a nursing home. The next day, I was invited by another friend to a powerpump or bodypump class (I still don't know what its called). I had no idea what it entailed, but went along anyway. I should have known I was in trouble when the equipment used during the class involved a step, free weights, a dumbell, a mat, and a really buff Asian chick. The first 20 minutes were spent doing squats with weights on our shoulders. I was seriously concerned my legs were going to give out five minutes into the class. I somehow survived the hour, but I still cannot walk like a normal human being. I am supposed to go to the class again tomorrow - should be interesting seeing as I can't even sit in a chair without severe pain in my legs. 

I also had my first dental appointment in Singapore. It was the nicest dental experience of my life. I walked in and was greeted by name. I was then handed a list of movies and was asked to select which one I would like I watch during my cleaning. I was given a blanket to keep me warm while I was waiting, and then I got to kick back and watch the movie. The cleaning took about an hour and I was informed I had a cavity. My follow up appointment was scheduled and then I went to pay my bill. FOUR HUNDRED AND EIGHTY DOLLARS!!!!!!! Are you kidding me!? The problem is that the office is like a drug. I can't go back to coach after being in first class. I knew I should find another place to do my filling, but I really wanted to have one nice filling experience....so I went back. I shouldn't have, but I did. Again, it was the most luxurious time I have ever had in a dentist chair. However, for what I have paid in dental bills this week I could have spent a couple of nights in a really nice hotel. Okay, I'll quite next time!

Alright, I am going to end the stories here. I need to get to bed. I am back to waking up before sunrise again..and I don't want to be mean, tired Mommy tomorrow! However, I am writing a few funny things the kids said recently so I don't forget them....

Jacob: Indiana Jones is old. In the next movie he should have a cane and when he needs to fight the whip can come out of the cane.

Andrew: How do babies come out of your tummy by magic?

Jacob: (After I had asked him if he was excited to have more boys in his Primary class) They don't speak English.

Andrew: I found the girl I want to marry. She is in my class and has red hair with curls like me! (I then asked her name) I don't know.

Jacob: Why does everyone like the Olympics so much?

Andrew: Mom, your leg is wiggly. Look. (He then pushed on my calf to make it wobble). That's funny! (Yeah, I guess that powerpump class is a good idea after all)

Hello Again

There is a great excuse as to why I have not written for so long. 

First off, while in Utah I became extremely ill and was only capable of eating crackers for about 10 days.  The day I started to feel better, everyone decided to head to Alpine Slides for the afternoon. I initially was not planning on going down the slides, but they looked like too much fun that I could not resist. There was a new ride there called "The Coaster", and we decided to give it a try after the slides. The Coaster is similar to the slide, the only difference being that it is on rails...and you have a seat belt. Just before we went on the ride, the guy told us to go as fast as possible because, "it is impossible to fall off." I was the second to last to go down (Scott was behind me). As I made my very first left hand turn, going as fast as I could, the top half of me was thrown out of the cart. Because of the force of the turn, I could not get myself back into the cart for a while. So basically the tracks ate my right arm for lunch. I was certain that my limb was going to be returned to me completely broken..... Instead I was faced with a mangled mass which started spurting blood.....but it was not broken :)

Because I had been "under the weather" for the past week, and because of the amount of blood I was losing,  I knew it was only a matter of time until I became light headed. Conveniently, there was no one on the mountain to help me, so I had the opportunity to experience The Coaster in its entirety. Just as I was about to reach the end, Scott came up behind me and yelled, "Hurry up! You're slowing me down!" Needless to say, he felt horrible when I held up my bloodied arm and shouted that I had fallen out.

My family was all standing there, waiting for my triumphant descent, when they noticed something was wrong. I was covered in blood and Jacob got a little anxious. Everyone started calling for help, and Scott ran over to get me. He wanted to lift me out of the cart himself, but I did not want to add insult to injury...so I insisted on getting out myself. With the help of a few people I was able to get out of the cart, but was then splayed right next to the ride....as people continued to get off the coaster.  What a fun image - a random woman covered in blood laying next to the ride! 

The girl who cleaned me up told me I needed stitches and that she wanted me to go down in a wheel chair because she didn't think I would be able to walk. Well, going downhill on a gravel path is no easy task. So she had to turn me backwards and pull me behind her, which meant I was the facing all forty people waiting to go on the ride. At that point I wished I had passed out because it would have been  a little bit less embarrassing than having everyone stare at me. It was somewhat entertaining to see the spectrum of reactions to my feeble descent down the hill. Some people shouted out questions, while others turned their back and acted like nothing was amiss.

Park City dropped us off at the hospital and left just in time for us to find out we had to pay all the bills out of pocket. Scott promptly made a phone call to the Alpine Slides, who denied any financial responsibility. We are still fighting that battle...details will follow on how that goes.

Four hours later I left the ER with four stitches, a number of steri-strips, an x-ray, and a $500 bill. The good part, however, was that Scott and I at least got to spend some alone time together. As we were checking out I told him that this was one of the most expensive dates we had ever had.

Well, I will have to summarize the rest of the summer....otherwise, no one will read this whole thing. I must apologize to the Barlows and the Barrys for not focusing more of this entry on all the wonderful time we spent with all our family members. We all had an incredible time visiting with everyone.

THE BARLOW FAMILY REUNION

That occurred prior to the trip to Utah. I drove with my in-laws and my two boys up to Cannon Beach (in Oregon) for the weekend. David and Jan were kind enough to rent suites for each family, so the boys and I had plenty of space to spread out and relax. My brothers-in-law were also kind enough to help out with my boys so I was able to go out with the girls a few times. My favorite image of the weekend had to be when all the little boy cousins were dancing around a massive sparkler/firework in the middle of the night....it was a total Lord of the Flies moment. 

UTAH

I was able to spend two weeks in Utah visiting with my side of the family. It actually wound up being a mini Barry Family reunion. We all decided to hold Thanksgiving in July since Scott and I will not be here in November. My parents even make a last minute decision to fly out for the event.  We full-on did the whole Thanksgiving feast...I am talking turkey, stuffing, and pies. It was totally random and a total blast. Besides my week and a half of illness and my mutilated arm, Utah was awesome. 

The flight back to Singapore went well. Luckily the plane was not too crowded, and we were able to spread out a bit. Because he is a Gold Class Member on Singapore Airlines, Scott had been bumped up too Business Class on his way out to the States (Side note: Scott actually texted me while he was in Business Class to tell me this and how glad he was because he had two kids sitting behind him in coach.....excuse me!? I had two kids sitting with me in coach!)We were hoping that Scott would have the same privilege on the  flight back to Singapore, but we had no such luck. Scott had to suffer with the rest of us in lowly coach. 

We have pretty much adjusted back to life here on our little Asian island. The boys start school on Wednesday - I am both thrilled and depressed about that fact. We met both their teachers this past Saturday and I think they are going to have a great year. I have listed all our pictures from the summer in the post below to make things a little easier for me. Enjoy!

Summer Recap in Pictures

One of Scott and my favorite wedding pictures was taken in front of this olive tree. We thought it would be fun to take a new one with the boys.

Andrew going for a big leap across that stream!

Jacob with his cousin, Kyle.

I need to superimpose Scott's head into this photo. Anyway, this is me with the boys at Cannon Beach. (Yes, it was beautiful)

Good air shot of Jacob.

This picture was taken at 11:30pm - these guys had no intention of stopping. The only thing that distracted them were the fireworks later that evening.

They are only friends when they were the same color...just kidding.

Five tough hunters in Shawn and Mindi's backyard.

The Barrys, Johnsons, Barrys, and Barlows jumping into the freezing cold river during our family barbeque. Actually, everyone went in to help my three nieces who somehow hiked up the mountain and wound up on the wrong side of the river.

Andrew's turn to brave the cold. Well, maybe not - he is on a log.

Jacob was actually the first one in to go rescue the girls.

Me, being an idiot. Of course I also had to involve my kids and my niece.

Half Moon Bay.

You know who is in charge in this family.

Walking through a river of ecoli. 

Our family in front of the place where it all began - the Salt Lake Temple.