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He was up just before 7. Carly went down with him for awhile, then they came up and he had cereal for breakfast. All four kinds. She made a mix for him and he really liked that. We then worked on the Lego plane they’d made, adding a copilot spot, lights, and steering wheels. I then took a shower and they broke the geode open with a hammer. That was fun, but he immediately wanted another one. When I came out he wanted to throw things in the compost, so we went in and got the compost bowl and he carried it out and threw it in. He then helped Carly pick off the dead flowers.

Then it was time to prepare Paul’s car for us to use. I drove it to the back, and Carly started vacuuming it. Carly showed him dead bugs in the back of the car and he asked “Could you suck up those bugs, please?” While she vacuumed, we went upstairs in the garage. He looked t the green wooden chair that isn’t finished. He said “I want to tell grampa what material…metal or iron or steel.” He thought it would be comfortable because it could be smooth.

Carly then took the car around on the grass and August helped her wash it, and he had tuna casserole. Meanwhile, I was talking to my parents, looking at the garage and shed and discussing moving furniture and what we can get rid off. Paul had a bunch of stuff to take to Habitat for Humanity, and we managed to find a few more things. I had some stuffed animals, but kept the Garfield ones for August and Paul kept the jaguar stuffed animal for dad. Carly drove to Habitat at 11:30 and also went and rented a wet vac. August spent some time pretending to be Cindy hiding a cat ball (Mom had told him about Cindy doing just that), then he and Mom got a bunch of ingredients out and started doing “combinations” with food coloring, molasses, oils, vinegars, and all sorts of things.

I started working on stuff downstairs and brought up a cribbage board. August was first just playing around with it with my parents, pretending it ws actually chess. But then I got out the book of Hoyle and Carly helped teach my mom, and August, cribbage. They came downstairs and I showed August some toys. He didn’t like the styrofoam glider as it was too broken for him. He liked the Lincoln Logs though, but agreed to play with them later as they were going to go into town.

I had put the car seat in Paul’s now very clean car. August was very upset about the idea of a new car though, and wanted the black one back. He called it “Butt butt car. Idiot car.”

Once Carly had agreed to walk to town today though he calmed down, and when I suggested he just try the view from his seat he agreed, although he said just for a second and made me promise to take him out as soon as he said so.

On the way back from Canada, August had figured out how to open and close the window using his toe. Paul’s car has manual cranks that he isn’t too happy about since he can’t fully do it himself when he’s in his seat. Also, the window doesn’t go all the way down. But he agreed to give the car a try tomorrow.

They left at 3. I did a little more closet organizing downstairs, then did some Sabeel work. They walked to Bear Foods and got popcorn and a root beer. They ate out on the bench, as it actually rained for a short while. He didn’t like the carbonation of the root beer at all and didn’t understand why anyone would: “why‽”

They walked around, and Carly mentioned something about being back in Israel in 5 weeks (that’s how long he needs to wear his turquoise shoes for). August instantly did the math and said “Only 5 weeks. But I thought it was 2 months. Then I’ll have to start PKA…” He was very stressed about starting PKA and wanted me to volunteer at PKA. He was going to ask me about volunteering as soon as they got home, but at the house, about 4:40, he got distracted asking grampa about sprinklers and ended up in the garage.

Mom later told me the story: He wanted to find Grampa and mom told him that he was out in the garage. August said he needed her to go with him. They found him working on the blinds, and August asked if he could help. Dad said he was still trying to figure them out, and August asked “Can we figure them out together?” Don’t think they actually figured out the blinds (he just needs to put up the small blinds, and the set over the stairwell) as they got distracted by other things.

He also got a sliver in his foot and got really upset, especially when Dad mentioned the word “tweezers”. Mom came into the garage, and they put water on it. Eventually it didn’t hurt when he put his shoe on and he was. Carly and I didn’t learn about this until hours later, so cool that he let them handle it and didn’t immediately need us. And he also stepped on his concoction bowl, sending red liquid all over his leg. It looked like blood at first and he ended up with a red foot.

He came downstairs and started building with the Lincoln Logs. It was a jail for a GI Joe figure that had fired a catapult. Small windows for air and a little light. The person got one toy to play with and got to go outside once a day for exercise. And then the Viewmaster. He ended up loving this one. He started with the story of Smokey Bear, and would describe each picture that he saw. He looked at another one, Westward Expansion, I think, and kept saying “Whoa…So cool!” He went back upstairs and told Mom “I was downstairs playing with the stuff dada had as a kid.”

She had made spaghetti for dinner, along with meatballs. August refused the meatballs but had spaghetti and green beans. After dinner he was talking about “The laser beamix laser beams the laser beams.” He was then looking out the windows and asked Mom “Is that Cindy?” He sounded confused, and mentioned something about big eyes. He had actually spotted a raccoon in the yard. We watched until Dad went out and scared it up the tree. He then stayed for a few minutes to make sure the cats would leave the raccoon alone and August and I headed down to the park for the concert.

It was a blues duo. August wanted to be down close again. And he started running back and forth behind the stage, then was doing circles. Dad showed up and we sat in the grass and August kept running circles. He called me down and wanted to run across the wooden bridge with me and back. Up on the grass he then looked through the Viewmaster. He was still listening to music though, as he asked me “Why was he afraid about breaking a string?” Something the guitar player had mentioned a minute earlier.

He went down and did more running during the last couple songs. But then he fell right in front of the stage, scraping his knees. He was so upset. He lamented “I already got that sliver in my foot.” He didn’t want to see it and kept asking me if it was red. I took him off away from the stage. Had difficulty going back to get our stuff though as he’d keep yelling, and called people “Idiots” when we walked by. Eventually the last song ended and we got our stuff. He didn’t want to sit in the stroller though as he could see his knees too much. I gave him three options, including walking or me carrying him. He told me they were all bad options.

Eventually, he agreed to me carrying him, as long as I carried him with his knees not rubbing. As we got walking he asked me “When I go to PKA can you volunteer for a week?” Carried him that way a couple blocks, then put him in the stroller. He didn’t like that, as he kept his feet down so his knees wouldn’t bend.

When we got home, a little after 8:15, he jumped out of the stroller and said “Upstairs super-fast rockets for me.” Inside he drank from the backpack and asked me to refill it. When he said goodnight to my parents he said “Goodnight table and kaleidoscope.”

Downstairs we bought and read part of the fourth Captain Underpants book. August then acted out putting flour on a windshield and doing other pranks and I was Mr. Krupp. Carly’s to blame if he starts playing pranks on his teac
hers at school. Carly brushed his teeth and I left them at 9:10. He was asleep soon after.

He was up with us, about 6:50. Carly was already in the bathroom, and he wordlessly went out and sat on the floor. After a minute he scooted right to the door. Then he lay down and stretched out on the floor. He was sitting back up right in front of the door when Carly finally opened it and he loudly said “Watch out for me!” She accused me of putting him up to that, but I had no idea.

She took him into the bedroom for awhile. When they came back out he was cold so we put on his sweatshirt. He was still cold, so Carly got him his sweatpants. He wore them as a shawl as he sat and played with Legos on his own for about ten minutes. He got up and went to Carly and they decided to read. She gave him a challenge to go get the iPad. He brought it back and they read some Captain Underpants. She told him about the strategy of re-reading a little to remind you what is happening, then was reviewing alliteration with him. They finished that one (#3, I think), then they restarted #1. August said “I love your poop talk. I was being sarcastic.” That was part of us teaching him what sarcasm is yesterday.

He had some toast and oatmeal for breakfast, then did some more reading with Carly. He was doing some annoying chanting with her though, so I got him outside with me at 8:35. As we walked out he saw the fire pit and told me “At nighttime I was dreaming about checking if the fire is dead.” Perhaps the first time he’s clearly reported a dream to me. We went over to the sand toys and he played with them and wanted me to do the teasing game. We did a few rounds of that, and we walked around and out on the dock. On the way back he refused my hand and wanted to walk across it on his own. Back at the toys he ws selling me sand soup.

I was cold, and convinced him to go back in, a little after 9. He was worried about packing stuff – we brought his sand toys over by the door, and he wanted to make sure we got his flashlight, Smokey, and his shoes.

My parents were going for a walk, so he and I went with them. We walked to the south end of the property, close to the border. At the tree farm he kept pointing out good Christmas trees, and found a funny Y-shaped one (the top had been cut off) that we thought Carly would like. He dropped rocks down the mice/gopher holes, and walked with my mom while dad and I walked a bit ahead. He was a little concerned when he realized we were farther ahead and ran to catch up and had me carry him a bit. But he walked probably 80% of the entire walk.

We got back at 10:15. Carly was outside, reading. I went in and took a shower. As we packed up and got ready to go my mom was the last to go to the bathroom. He was ready to get on the road to the fossil hunting. He told her “Yeah but could you go to the bathroom?”

We got driving right at 11. August was looking sleepy right way and fell asleep from 11:15 to 12:40. He stirred a bit at the border but kept sleeping.

He was waking up as we parked in republic. We walked around and went to the Knotty Pine Restaurant and Lounge. When it was our turn to order, August ordered the tuna melt for us. We got the baked potato soup as our side, and Carly got a wrap, with curly fries to share with us.

Mom said that he was speculating about the border fence on the property and whether it was electric, but he concluded a tree leaned on it and wasnt electrocuted. I asked “When did you learn about electric fences?” He said “When we went beet picking. Fences around the animals!” It took me quite awhile to remember that where we had parked last time we had gone beet picking was next to a place with a fence with a warning sign that it was electric.

He played the chess game while he waited. He’s become a bit better with trying things in the battles and not worrying about it. He had some of everything when the food came. Near the end he wanted more ketchup and grabbed the ketchup container and squeezed some out on his own. I was just commenting on the progress he’s made when, as he set it down, he hit the spoon in the soup and it went flying, getting some soup mainly on my shirt: “Like a meteor. Or asteroid!”

We headed out of there at 1:45 and went and registered for the fossil hunt. Changed our shoes at the car and walked up to the site. Spent a good 90 minutes up there. Dad had brought all sorts of hammers and chisels. He started with showing August how it was done, then August explored, working with each of us at some point. It was a ton of fun and he had a lot of questions. Although at the end he was a little disappointed that he’d only found worm tracks and minerals.

We walked back to the office at 3:40. The two guys there were really nice and explained the rocks we’d found to August, and let him put a few of them under the microscope to look at. We looked around the museum a bit (he liked the diorama showing the mine locations) and used the bathroom, and left at 4.

It was a nice drive back. We listened to Ball of Wax 49 along the way Nd liked a few songs on that. August did some playing, then stared out the windows. He was looking tired again, so we thought about getting an iPad out of the trunk so he could watch something. But he just kept looking out the window for quite a bit longer. Finally, he was sleepy and also impatient for the iPad, so we turned off after Okanogan and got out the iPad. He watched new Sarah and Duck videos the rest of the way and made it home away, at 6:35.

He was a bit cranky at first, I think because of the changes. He had some corn, then was out watering the grass. I gave him a bath and we played with the toys quite awhile. I washed his hair, which went pretty well, and he played a bit more of the teasing game. Carly dried his hair, then he came up with a bag of Cheerios and Carly went to take a shower. He started a big guessing game, clearly inspired by a snippet of The Price is Right which he’d seen a few days ago: we had three guesses to guess a number, and if we got it correct we got to eat the Cheerio. If not, he ate it. This went on and on, with us all taking turns guessing, and taking turns having him do it. We did numbers and letters and countries he’s been to, etc.

I was really tired and took him down to Carly just after 9. She brushed his teeth and took him to the bathroom and he was asleep about 9:30.

He woke up about 7:20. Carly went in with him, then was reading Captain Underpants to him. I heard a lot of laughing. They came out and Carly went outside. He wanted his light up shoes on and I helped him get those on. He said he was going to wear them all day, but he was disappointed when he couldn’t see the lights, especially in the bright sun. He went outside with Carly for awhile.

Inside he played with the space shuttle parts and I told him about how they built the space station and how the shuttle had a robotic arm. He was then the space station himself, with a robotic arm, and he had me explain what each part of him was, then had me doing different experiments in the science ‘arm’ (literally). I grew a flower and cactus and we talked about what they need to grow. Also made space s’mores.

He went back outside with Carly after putting his light up shoes back on. they played with the big sand toys and I went for a walk towards the south end of the property. I came back as they were looking for our sand toys. I switched with Carly and went with him to play in the sand some more. He was singing the jingo joe song again and I got it on video. He also switched the words, saying “running out of tooshies…”

We went inside to actually change him into clothes, as he was playing in the sand with his pajamas. He was then out on the porch with Paul. The door opened and I heard “And when the seeds fall they go in the dirt and they grow…” Paul said that August had blown dandelion seeds and said “See you next year!” So we have to come back next year.

Couldn’t find his Crocs, and Carly found them for me. I’d (and August had) forgotten that he’d put them in the drawer last night before going to sleep. Grampa said that he wanted to show him a lava rock, so August got on his Crocs and said “Let’s go on a hunt for rocks that used to be lava!” We went and looked at it and August felt how heavy it was. He wanted more lava rocks, but none were to be found. He settle for studying a sprinkler head in depth. He was hungry so went inside and asked for a “Gramma bar”. Had one of those, then ate more of the berry granola. He decided to leave the rest of it for tomorrow morning. He brought up the “Robo Zinnie, defender of the multiverse!’ thing. He had me making a movie about him, but I think that was later in the car.

On the floor, he made a map of Washington out of the puzzle pieces with Gramma and Paul. She explained the parts of Washington that he’s been to and our trip, then they were adding on Canada. She then said “I need to change my clothes (before we leave).” He asked “Why, did you change in there?” I can’t quite remember why that made sense at the time. He then told her about Rebecca squeezing him in the s’mores shirt. I had put it on him today as we were going to do s’mores this evening.

We went out to the sand toys again. He played in the sand and had me play the teasing game. He had Emmitt, Leonard, and Juyeok teasing him. Back inside, he said “Oh no, dada leaved.” He then had a debate with Carly about ‘leaved’ versus ‘left’. He said “But still, enshmugedorflug.”

We got driving after 11. We went down to the Desert Cultural Center. He liked the little fake stream in the rocks. We paid and went in and then to the outside portion. August was a little grumpy at first, saying “No fun, no fun, no fun.” But then there were binocular things and he liked those, and then we got out on the trails. He got more and more into it. There was one pithouse though that was closed with a sign saying it was unstable. He then was not happy with me going into the other pithouse, pulling my hand to get me out. We smelled the sage and looked at the poison ivy. When we looped around and saw the poison ivy again we ended up talking about how animals like deer can eat plants that we can’t, with thistles, etc. So for the entire rest of the way he had “deer power” and was looking for plants for him to eat. When Carly pointed out a bug on a plant he had just ‘eaten’, he spit it out.

Back at the building we looked at the animals, seeing some snakes, including the rattlesnake. He told me “If you ever hear a rattlesnake could you please not get close so you don’t get bitten?” The three of us then went in and, after I took him to the bathroom, watched the 17 minute movie they were showing. He had some questions during it, and snacked on one of the new bars I’d gotten (but he didn’t like them) and Cheerios. We went back outside and looked at some of the exhibits about animals. Everyone was then ready to go and I bought a mug before we left.

We headed up the valley and went to Okanagan Falls Provincial Park but it is just a campground, so we went to nearby Kenyon Park on the south shore of the lake. We went to a picnic table for lunch. I realized we hadn’t really packed for August. And we needed s’mores stuff and batteries for mom’s camera anyway, so August and I went to the grocery store that was right next to us. He was helpful with the shopping, although temporarily distracted by the candy. He spotted the batteries on his own. Paul showed up as well. August picked out the marshmallows and graham crackers. We also found the coconut kind of the protein granola bars, with the frosting stuff on the bottom, that he liked in Israel.

We went back to the park. August had some carrot and banana, and took the carrot with him as he and Carly went over to see the water play area. They then went down to the diggers area of the playground. I stayed and ate lunch. Mom went for a walk out on the point and ended up talking to. Guy for awhile. On the way back she stopped and talked to Carly. August also played on the play structure and went down the slide.

Back at the table he was eating a bar, but kept saying words he wasn’t supposed to say. So Carly took the bar from him. When she did it broke in half. He was sore about it: “Never break my bar again.” When she would tell him he shouldn’t break the rules he would replay “Well just pull gently.”

We then drove over to Tickelberry’s for ice cream. I had told mom and dad that they could go ahead and drive ahead. August was very upset about this: both because he felt like they had left us and because he wanted to get there first. He was upset in the car, then at the shop he first screamed when we walked in the door. We took him outside to calm down, then went back in. When he saw them though he started running towards them, telling them to “Stop!” But then he was okay and we got down to choosing ice cream. He and Carly chose to share a scoop of bubble gum on a cone. I got a small two scoops of their special cinnamon and earl grey. We went and ate outside. August wanted to try everyone else’s and walked up to dad and looked up at him with big eyes and said “Share!” After he was done, he pretended to play chess with my parents.

We headed out, not very hungry for dinner, so we decided to get hot dogs at the store and take them back to the cabin. We stopped at the grocery store at Osoyoos again and got hot dogs and asparagus.

Drove back to the cabin, and pretty soon dad got the grill going and did the hot dogs and asparagus on it. August ate a couple pieces of asparagus, some carrot before it, a little broccoli, and some hot dog. There was something sticky he wanted to clean up, so he was something like the Robo Zinnie Vacuum 2000 and got a wet paper towel and wiped it, then went around the cabin for quite awhile cleaning things.

It was now time for the fire. Dad got it started and August went out and helped carry small pieces of wood. He and I sat watching the fire and he asked “How does the wood do that? Is it magic?” We talked about the chemical reaction of fire and what it needs.

Now time for s’mores. He roasted the first marshmallow (dad had gone and whittle a couple sticks), then had a s’more. He was pretty sticky, so Carly took him in and washed him. Back outside he roasted an
other marshmallow and ate it off his stick. Stressful for us, but he managed to do it and not get his hands sticky at all. After the third he said “I ate it all up!” Then immediately had a sad face and asked “When can I have another one?” I agreed to a fourth, and he said “Let’s put it on…If I say so, I men so.”

August then spent quite awhile burning a marshmallow stick and another stick dad had. He was having a little difficulty keeping the sticks in the fire pit, so I watched him closely. I went and got Smokey as we talked about fire safety. He held Smokey in his lap for awhile while he burned the stick. He was then Grampa’s assistant, helping put out the fire. That went on for quite awhile too, stirring water into the ashes and coals. I went inside when I was cold and he was out with my parents for a few more minutes, coming in at 9:05.

We got him ready for bed. He was singing the “Coposetic doo doo bomb” song. He said he learned it from Omriki and that they once had to sit separate during story time because they were saying it. May have been on Omri’s birthday. he went out and said good night to everyone, calling them Zinnie. I said good night and left them after 9:30. He was asleep by 9:45.

He was up after 7. He wanted to play the Green Earth game, and I told him he could do that when I went to take a shower. So Carly started him on the chess game. I then shortly went to take a shower and gave him my iPad (which had the Green Earth game) so they had two games going at once. After my shower I made him a English muffin with peanut butter. When Paul came up, August said “Good morning, uncle goofball.” Which I was hoping would stick, but didn’t.

I sent an email to Omar, then Omar wanted to give me a call. Peter arrived, and we were all out back when Omar called. We agreed to try and chat via Skype on Friday.

We walked up to the Apple Cup. Early enough that the back room was empty when we got there and we got the middle table. It filled up after that. The waitress gave August a kids’ menu, which had a picture of fish on the back, and some crayons. When the waitress walked by again he called “Thank you for giving me this stuff!” For the three of us we ordered the blueberry pancakes and the ham scramble with hash browns. We ate and were full. Carly had taken August outside while we waited for the food to come (I think she said they were doing challenges), and after we were done eating she took him home. At one point he asked “Why does dada talk to Peter so much?”

We paid and got walking, but quickly found Carly and august; they had stopped to watch the car wash. Back at the house we said goodbye to Peter and he left. We then finished our packing and loaded up the cars. August was singing all of Dear Eliza again.

With Paul with us in the X-Type, we drove up to Walmart. I ran in and got a charger/FM transmitter so we could charge/listen to my phone in the car. Mom and Dad met us there, then they led the way north, leaving about noon. Took the back road from Brewster on up through Okanogan and Omak, stopping at the American Legion Park for the restroom. August had played Green Earth for awhile, then was looking out the window and falling asleep. I offered him a nut treat, and we had a debate over whether he was falling asleep or just looking out the window.  He definitely fell asleep about 1. At 1:30 he woke up at a stop light and asked “Are we stopping?” He was then awake before we went over the border, sometime after 2. Border went smoothly enough, although the woman was rather intense. Once we went through, August asked something like “What WAS that?” I think Carly told him about how you can bring some things across the border, so later at the cabin he kept asking “Can you bring face soap over the border?” Etc.

Mom and Dad had to wait longer for background checks, as it has been a long time since they’ve been to Canada. We stopped at the bathrooms, then August was putting flowers on Paul’s hair. Canada is a new country for August, making it number 6, after South Korea, the United States, Thailand, Israel, and Jordan. We were also counting on our flights and he’s been on over a dozen.

We went on to the grocery store in Osoyoos, with me leading the way this time. August rode on the front of the cart that mom was pushing. At first he wanted me to stay close, but he got comfortable being around the corners. At one point he told them “I could use my loudspeaker” to let us know where he ws. He chose cherry jam, and helped pick out salami and put things n the cart and basket. As we checked out, and first mom’s credit card then two of time didn’t work at the terminal, they had him doing challenges near the entrance, touching carts and things. They took me over to the customer service counter and my card worked on the first try.

Paul and Mom switched and we continued on to the cabin, me still leading. August sang a “Out of jimbo jive” song: a tune he’s sung before and I’m hoping he’l remember so I can record it sometime. He was also counting using his counting tune and got up to 400 and said he’d remember where he was so he could keep counting higher later.

We were to the cabin after 4. The woman, Carolyne, met us on her four wheeler and showed us the cabin. She was quite nice, and went and brought back some sand toys for August. August had just asked me “Are there any dogs I should watch out for?” Then she came back with two big chocolate lbs, luckily very nice dogs. He was also concerned about the doors, as he can’t open them on his own. After she left, he got to work exploring and wanted to play with things in the kitchen. We compromised on one of the wine bottle openers as long as he sat down. He was drilling grapes and giving each one of them to uncle Paul. We then made the Crystal Light water drink together, measuring out four cups from the water dispenser to put in the pitcher. Carly then showed us a big bird up in a tree. August called it a “giraffe bird” when I showed him. Pretty sure it is an osprey instead.

It was kind of cool in the cabin, and Carly changed him into pants. He didn’t like the feel of the first pair, with the zipper. Luckily, she had also packed a second pair of plain grey sweatpants. He said “Good for overpacking!” I definitely lost on this one. He also had his sweatshirt on, so looked rather funny as we went outside where it was warmer and got in the cars to go to the Mexican restaurant. He immediately asked for air conditioner.

Sadly, the restaurant is closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Luckily, it is a nice drive over there and back. We went back to the cabin. On the way they kept sing counting, and got up to 900. He said he’d leave counting to a 1000 to tomorrow. Carly got out of the car and headed to the house. He was all dramatic about her leaving him in the car.

Inside he drilled another grape: ‘Uncle Paul, will you eat this squishy grape?” And he told us all “I demand you eat the corn.” He and I went outside and shucked the corn. He was excited that it was yellow and white corn.

We ate dinner outside. He ate two full ears of corn after having some carrot and broccoli. We all had sandwiches. Hurray for overbuying at the grocery store. He was asking everyone “Who wants some tushies?” Which was funny for while. I went for a walk to the end of the lake. I saw the osprey closer, and garter snake and a I think a big frog hopping under the bridge. I came back and he was eating the second ear of corn. He said “This corn had a good life; now it’s eaten.”

Carly was then giving him challenges outside, touching people and things. He was talking the whole time he was running, and Carly joked he’d be running a marathon and talking the whole time. Before they came in he had his hands wrapped up in his shirt because they were cold, but his tummy was all exposed. Dad had mentioned his own feet being cold, so a few minutes later August said “We need to go inside because your feet are cold.”

Inside he ate some of the yummy berry granola stuff. And more and more. He read Captain Underpants with Carly. She took a shower and I read a few chapters. He helped us move the bed against the wall, and he put his sweatshirt and shoes in a drawer. Carly brushed his teeth and reviewed the expectations. He added “No talking”.

I left them, but I got ready for bed and went in with them, about 9:40 or so. He was having difficulty getting to sleep: “I don’t like it cuz it’s new.” We had talked a little about jail, and he now asked Carly “Mama, have you ever been sent to prison, not visiting prison?”

I tried singing to him a bit, but was falling asleep myself. Last I saw it was about 10:10. Not sure if it was before or a little after that, but I accidentally hit August. I had fallen asleep, and he touched my face or head. In my sleep I swung my arm up, knocking his arm away. I apologized, but he didn’t seem too bothered by it.

He was up at 7. He had an English muffin with peanut butter and syrup, then we got ready to go and meet Peter at Riverfront Park. There had been a big thunderstorm last night. All I heard were the wind and the rain. I’d left the stroller out and it was wet, but Carly dried it off and he did fine sitting on a towel. We left before 8. On the walk there he started counting, and counted all the way to 200. He was excited about that. We waited about 10 minutes for Peter, so walked around the park. “Let’s do more exploring.” We asked him about his hair and what he wanted it to look like, since he wasn’t letting me brush it, and he said “I want Robo Zinnie hair.”

He started calling Peter “Peter Mcnaurny”, after the producer on Story Pirates. We walked over to the Artisinal Bakery and got coffee drinks and quiche and a cinnamon roll. Ate there. August played the chess game with Carly for awhile.

We then all walked over to Don Morse park. August and Carly jumped on the bouncy thing, and Peter and I went and sat on a bench by the playground. Carly and August came over. August cuddled on my lap for a few minutes while Carly went on a swing. They then headed off up the hill, then went down to the beach. Awhile later, Carly texted me saying the beach was nice. Peter and I walked down and found them, on the uplake side this time.

We walked back to Peter’s car. On the way, August told me how he doesn’t like the crosswalk lights that time you. He was then happy when we turned right at Campbell’s and didn’t end up crossing at one. We said bye to Peter and walked the rest of the way home. Carly had had the idea of going fossil hunting on our trip to Canada, but she and August needed shoes. So we went straight to the car (August didn’t want to go in the house) and they headed to Walmart. They swung back around a minute later though to get socks.

When they got back from Walmart, August was excited to show me his shoes: pink Velcro shoes with dogs on them and they light up. He had corn on the cob for lunch, then we played the chess game, getting introduced to the bishop now. He and Carly were then reading the two dogs book. I combined the two titles, and said “My dog wore my underpants.” Carly joked that that was the book we would write, and August found it funny.

I went down and took a rest and did more cleaning out of the closet, taking out the models and a few things. He came down at 1:40. “Can we play the green planet game? I’m really interested in it.” So we went up and were playing that. We were talking about what to do if we sold our car, and Carly went out to look at Paul’s car. I came back in the house and August was playing the Green Planet game: “Go outside where mama is…cuz I was having fun playing by myself…But come back if I call you.”

David and his brother (Efron) and dad (Santos) came and took the car for a test drive. They came back and offered $5800. I went in and asked Carly. August got really upset again. I wish I had paid more attention to what he said, or had a video, because even though he was upset it clearly said and very cute. I know he at least was asking if we could have the car back next summer. Anyway, Carly pointed out we should take a few hours at least to make sure we have transportation figured out for the rest of the trip. So they agreed to that.

Peter had been out at the Chelan Brewery in Manson. Thought the full family might come by after, so we had the deck set up and drinks ready. They had awful fish and chips there though, and the rest of the family was cranky. So Peter walked down on his own from town. We all sat and had a drink. August got a VitaminZero water and drank most of it, pouring it in his cup on his own. Quite a treat for him. He told Peter about extend-o-arms. Peter was here for quite awhile, and before he left August was telling me about “The Laserbeamic 2000…destroy all of outer space.” I told him that it was easier to destroy things than put them back together, and asked if he could do that. He was then in the process of explaining his machine that was putting space back together when we answered the door and Kasiah and Christine were there. He did high fives with them and Peter, then Kasiah taught him a fist bump and they did several of those. They left 6:40ish.

Dad had started the grill and made hamburgers, while Carly had boiled corn. We sat inside and ate dinner. We played more of the chess game, and when the king was just sitting there, it sort of rocks back and forth on its legs. August said “Thats a needs-to-go-to-the-bathroom king.” He and Paul also played with pipe cleaners, putting them on each other’s head.

I took him to his bath at 7:50. He was talking about “Dr. Diaper” and having me pretend to be Dr. Diaper. Believe it is from Captain Underpants, but not one I’ve read with him.

Carly took him, and I started getting the car ready to sell – taking the stuff out of the trunk, filling out the title, etc. August fell asleep around 9, then Carly came up to sign the title. They arrived a little after 9:30 and we signed the paperwork outside, then came inside to count the cash. $5800 in 100s. The most cash I’ve ever seen. Forgot to take a photo of it before dad took it to the bank to deposit it for us.

He came out at 6:55. I was out watching the Formula 1 coverage. He came over and cuddled with me for a few minutes. He then wanted his iPad to play the chess app. I said I could go upstairs to get it. But he was concerned that I couldn’t pause the TV and I might miss the start of the race. I assured him there was a warmup lap before it started and I could get the iPad.

Went and got it, and he played as the race started. Carly did realize he had gotten up until she came down around 7:20. She helped him with the chess for a bit, then went upstairs. At one point he said something about “Since dada is watching this really cool race…” At 8 he decided to head upstairs as well and took his iPad.

I finished the race. They were reading the two dogs book when I came up. In at the table he argued with Carly about something and said his “But still enshugudorflug.” Made me wonder how many other kids have made up phrases that are supposed to win arguments? Carly went down to rest. He and I played more chess game, then read Garfield. We went in and got his vitamins, then he was pretending to be Cindy and had me pretending to feed him food on the floor.

I went down for a shower. Outside, he latched on to grampa. They did some gardening, checking on the plants from yesterday, then ended up in the garage. Gramma asked what they were doing in the garage and he said “Lots of questions.” She asked if grampa was giving good answers and he said “Yep. Right, grampa?” She went and got her camera, and when she came back he joked “How did Gramma get in here? We should have locked the door.” Grampa showed him the drill. August was being careful and also told grampa he needed to vacuum. He had called it “wood dust” at first, but switched to “sawdust”.

Inside we discussed selling the car. August got stressed and upset about the idea of selling it, but was also very cute about it. He said he liked his high car seat. We assured him that we’d keep the car seat, but eventually I had to take him downstairs to calm down. We came back up and Carly made him French toast. He and I played Legos. Made a tire truck and rockets. He then tested out our rockets. He sang “Dear Eliza”. Knew most of the verses. When Henry asked where to get the axe from he sang “From Ace, from Ace”. He then had me put together the little space shuttle and he launched that, having the boosters and fuel tank come off.

Carly and I got us ready to go to the beach and he went out with them to the garage to have Grampa blow up the floaty with the air compressor.

We left at 1:30. Over by Safeway I pulled in to park in front of the dentist office and I joked we should go to the dentist. He screamed and horrified by the idea. Once he understood it was a joke he kept telling me “Don’t make that joke!” He even told me to not tell the dentist joke again after the park when we were driving home.

We had to run back to get the towels, then went to Safeway. We dropped Carly off and she ran in to get snacks. We parked in the parking lot. He told me “Dont park next to a boy car.” He asked “What should we name this car?” He decided to also call it “Skoda Mama.”

Figuring the park parking lot would be full (and costs money), we parked on the side street by the strip mall. When August put on his sunglasses they fell apart again, but the screw was nowhere to be found. So we walked to the Variety Store. He chose two pairs, in different shades of pink, with polka dots on the sides.

We walked to the beach. He first wanted to play on a bouncy/shaky thing by the skatepark. He said something about being able to bounce and talk funny. I let him do that for a couple minutes, then he wanted to play at the playground but we convinced him on beach first. He was disappointed to find that it was gravely, not sandy, but then had fun playing in it. Carly went out floating and we played. I set up the stroller as an umbrella for him. We moved closer to the water and Carly tried to take him out on her lap. He said it was too scary and got off. Carly had made snack mix after the store and we snacked on that and he had apple. I went up and filled up his water bottle. He stood in the shallows and threw pieces of wood in the water. Wouldn’t go with Carly again though. Played more on the blanket with the sand toys, and I managed to read a little.

I took him to the bathroom, then he wanted to play at the playground. We went and told Carly, then went back there at 3:40. He was doing his teasing thing and saying funny things like “Na na na na na, you have a blister and I don’t.” At the playground I sat in the shade and he pretended the stairs were a bathroom with different stalls. He then did some store before going on another bouncy thing.

We went back down to get Carly, then got going. On the walk back to the car I suggested we go get frozen yogurt, right next to the bakery. It was a surprise for August, who yelled “Ice cream!” when we went in. When we said it was frozen yogurt he first said “Yuck!” He got excited by all the flavors though, and they eventually put together vanilla, peanut butter, chocolate, and something else. I sampled the peach and mango, and did a cone with cake batter and peach. We sat and ate all of that, then got home at 4:40.

He went out and fed the squirrels and birds with Gramma. And he swept the bird poop from the ramp thing. Inside he poured out the kaleidoscope things in a bowl with Carly and looked at those. He and I read some Garfield. We ate apple and some carrot whole my parents made tuna casserole for dinner. When we started dinner he said “Unle Paul should be here.” He ate the casserole and I think some green beans.

After dinner he played the chess game with me. He went to the bathroom, then pleaded for 3 more minutes of the “Kingdom game” (which is the chess game). Got his three minutes with Carly, then she gave him a bath.

Soon after, Peter and his family came by to pick me up. Peter came in with the two kids. August didn’t remember them, so he asked them their names. \

I left with them, saying bonjour to his mother-in-law. We drove down and parked by the park, behind Local Myth. Christine and her mom walked towards the new bridge, the rest of us did the loop the other direction. We walked through downtown, then found them back in the park. Peter and I stayed and sat on a bench and the rest went to BC MacDonalds and got ice cream.

While I was gone, they played some more chess game, then he fell right asleep about 8:30.

New sunglasses:

I heard him yell about 6:05. I ran and found him on the lower stairs. He said he didn’t want to go back to sleep, but he asked “Did I forget anything?” and wanted to go back to the room to check. We went upstairs and Carly met us. He said “Poop” as I handed him to her. His usual greeting to her. They went downstairs and came back up a few minutes later, carrying her ipad and having finished a level in Math Tango.

I then introduced him to the Magnus chess app that was just released. We played for a bit upstairs. It is basically August’s first adventure game and chess app rolled into one. Very cool, as he’ll totally understand how the pieces move and some basic chess strategy by the time he’s done with it. Also found out that he refers to the room downstairs as “The room where Uncle Paul watches soccer.”

We went downstairs and he played while I watched Formula 1 qualifying. The first time, I think, I’ve seen any Formula 1 on a big screen since I watched in a restaurant in Spain. He called the king hats in the game “Christmas hats”.

We went upstairs afterwards and Carly made eggs with cheese for breakfast. He was really excited about going to the dam and wanted to go right away.

I took a shower. They then skyped with Cassie and family. I watched the end of the Mexico versus Korea World Cup match. In the kitchen, Carly had an adventure with the ice maker in the freezer as it got blocked up. Paul helped fix it, and August helped pick the ice up off the floor. After I said something to Carly, August said “Nice move, Uncle Paul.”

August did some shrieking, and my mom taught him the word ‘banshee’. We were getting ready to leave and I realized we hadn’t put the new air filter in the car. August watched my dad put it in. We then left at 10:45, mom riding with us. August asked “Why do we have two cars?” Then “Look everybody! We have two cars!”

He and I read How I Became a Pirate, which he quite liked. He also repeated a new version of his chant that I heard him doing earlier: “I found a nut, but I’m pretty sure you’re a butt.”

We got to the dam at 11:25. Sadly, the cafe there was closed for just this weekend, messing up our lunch plans. We first went to the fish ladder. I mainly held him there. Lots of chinook to watch there, and he pretended to be fish going up and down river.

We then walked across to the museum and dam. As we looked down into the dam there was a turbine sitting out and he was wondering about it. I told August he should ask uncle Paul dam questions. He walked over to Paul and grabbed him by the leg and twice pulled him closer to the window. We then walked over to the view area where you can see the whole dam. Along the way he really wanted three lights lit up on the hand crank generator. Looking out at the dam, he and Carly talked about it, then my dad cam and joined them. We then sat there, eating Cheez-Its and apple.

Next, through the history museum area. He and Carly looked at the different kinds of rock and petrified wood. August was now eating Cheerios from a bag. They sat by the big canoe and raccoons, then I suggested he steer the steamboat. Made a game of that, having the rest of us come on with tickets.

Carly had the idea of going to the Alpenhorn. So no playground, but August was definitely more excited to get a milkshake anyway. As we walked up and go to the bathroom, he was at first complaining that 35 minutes to get a milkshake was a long time, but then he put it in perspective entirely for himself: “That flight was like nine hours. Compared to nine hours it’s still short.”

As we walked back down to the car, he spotted the drains for rainwater. He then asked “Thrn they use it?” I explained that no, they did not. It’s a very different situation than in Israel, where he’s learned about Tent of Nations and Palestinians in Ramallah using rain water.

We were driving by 1:20. He was starting to look tired. When I asked if he wanted to take a nap he gave me a thumbs up. Carly had requested Josh Ritter so that was playing. He asked “Mama, can I have a sleepy song? I’m taking a nap.” He was asleep from 1:32 to 1:54. When I woke him up at the Alpenhorn horn he said “Poopity doopity”.

We chose a raspberry shake. I got a Reuben, and Carly got a wrap. August was insistent he only wanted a milkshake. We talked about having to have other food, but then of course they prepare the milkshakes first, so he ended up only having milkshake. My parents got theirs first, so he got to try the Irish cream and blackberry milkshakes. When Carly set down her drink, he said “I’m guessing it is a Pepsi or Coke.” During our meal he told grampa to use his straw when he was only using his spoon, and told him he should push in the circles on his drink lid: “I love it.”

We got home at 3:05. He was out back watering things. He wanted Carly to turn it off, instead of turning it off himself. She said that if she did it he wouldn’t be able to use it for the rest of the day. She thought he was going to regret it later, but he said “No, I’m not going to regret it.”

I went downstairs and was cleaning some stuff out of my old closet. He examined rocks with Gramma, then they went outside and did some gardening. He was a lot of help as they planted a couple begonias. They were out there for a long time, and doing a lot of talking. I helped him take the garbage to the big garbage can and put away the potting soil, and mom headed inside as her foot was hurting. I helped Carly start the barbecue and she grilled the rest of the veggies and the corn on the cob that she and August and shucked a bit earlier.

August wanted to explore the garage, so we went in there. He wanted me to carry him though so his feet wouldn’t get dirty. He put different things in the clamp, had Grampa explain some of the car engine to him, then played with the metal lathe. Grampa came back in and August said he had questions for him. He asked him about the air compressor, then the lathe. Dad explained it, and then turned the lathe on for him.

He went in and ate his first corn on the cob actually on the cob. Basically inhaled that, then had some of the other veggies. We then played the Magnus chess game together. Then played with the toys I had brought up from downstairs in my closet: the Space Shuttle models and 747, a few rocks, and the kaleidoscope I built at the Seattle Science Center when I was a kid (some Halley’s Comet-related special event?). He wasn’t too impressed with the Space Shuttle models at first – he wanted me to turn it on and was disappointed when there was no battery. He then did some pipe cleaners with Carly, then she gave him a bath. Back out in the living room he played with the space shuttles again, this time having the little one launch, then lose its solid rocket boosters when they were out of fuel, then the main fuel tank. Just like he’s seen on the launch videos.

He saw my mom drinking a pink drink, so he got to have some of his ‘sugar water” as well. I left them at 8:30 but he wasn’t falling asleep. He came out with me and Carly went to bed. We watched the end of the Sounders soccer match together, then went up and he had peanut butter and syrup toast. I saw Iris do a flip in the grass outside. Paul was throwing a ball around for her. August and I went out to watch. August said “I’m not used to Uncle Paul being outside.” We went in and brushed his teeth. I took him down and as he went in I told him to just lay down next to mama and let her sleep. Apparently it worked, as he fell right to sleep and Carly didn’t remember him coming to bed.

I was woken by the light turning on at 4:48. It was August, leaving to find Carly. She came down and they were down stairs for a few minutes before leaving again. I was up at 5:15. They were reading one of the new books. They then went outside for a few minutes before returning. Carly went down for a break. August was fine for awhile. He was stacking stuff in front of the front door and we got his vitamins. We were going to play with the puzzle piece blocks when he asked where Carly was. He didn’t like the answer or the fact that I wouldn’t let him go downstairs with her. I carried him outside, where he quieted down a bit. Carly came and took him downstairs.

When they came back up he was carrying a Garfield book. We read some on the couch. He ws then in the kitchen with Carly but was pulling napkins out of the napkin holder and wasting them. When Carly took the dispenser away he couldn’t handle it and ended up going downstairs for timeout.

Carly had made him some eggs. She headed to Walmart to get an oil change and he sat and ate them. He was then asking me about fuel tanks on the big 747 we had been in. So I searched for a diagram and we talked about how the fuel tanks went through the wings. We went in and played with the puzzle piece blocks. He wanted to cover the cover of a book, but his first design had holes in it that he couldn’t fill. So I taught him an alternating pattern that would do it. We covered much of the cover.

He got tired of that, so I suggested a walk down to see the dam. He liked that idea, so we got going. No stroller. Just him walking and me carrying him. As we left he ws pretending to be some sort of time marching and said “Now I’ve got spider webs from ancient Africa.”

We walked down and looked at the river. By the baseball field there was a killdeer yelling at us and we watched it for a few minutes and speculated on where the nest would be. We walked by the playground, but there was water on the slide and August didn’t want to stop. We walked through the horseshoe area, then down by the dam to the waste treatment plant. We saw two marmots run across the ground below us. I saw a third on our walk back, right near our road, but it disappeared before I could show August.

August asked how the hillside by us stayed up and we talked about erosion and how plants prevent it. He worried that the wire on top of the fence by the dam had electricity in it and was warning the birds “Warning! Warning!” There was a bird down there that could almost hover like a hummingbird but was bigger. Didn’t figure out what that was. We walked down close to the fire department, then headed home. August was playing with the water thing in the backpack as I carried him and I eventually made him wait until we got home to play with it more.

We got home at 9:35. Carly had bought some squirt gun things at Walmart. they played with those outside, then he wanted peanut butter toast and honey. No honey, so we did syrup instead. He liked that. He wanted to wash off his sticky hands but didn’t like that he couldn’t reach the bathroom sink on his own. In the living room he said “Stupid house”. But then he disappeared. I went to find him and he was in the bathroom. He had gone back in and done some problem solving. He had figured out he could move the scale and use it as a stool, then reach it on tippy toes.

We went out and ate some blueberries. He was stuffing them up under his lips to make them look funny. Carly had rented a wet vac on her way back from Walmart, but it wouldn’t work. She now went back to get a different one. Turned out they had given her a wrong hose. She came back and started to do the wet vac. August and I had gone out there as well. When grape turned it on for just a second August got really upset. I carried him away, and he didn’t even want Carly and dad to use it. He was yelling “Everybody stop!” And telling me to go tell them to stop. But eventually he was okay with it and we walked around the other way, out into the alley, and he watched her using it.

Back in the yard he found the red watering wand. He remembered it, and we hooked it up and he did some watering, both of imaginary plants and real ones. Back inside he played on the typewriter and we watched some soccer. Carly took him upstairs and he had lamb and macaroni for lunch.

I came up and they were building a lego airplane. We were then getting ready to go. But dad went to blow air through the AC in our car and discovered that mice were in it again. He mentioned “Mouse poop.” August said to him “Did you say the bottom word?” “You get a consequence.” So Carly drove to Walmart to get a new one and do the grocery shopping. August chose to stay with me and the two of us and my mom walked into town to go to Bear Foods to look for fish oil vitamins for him and tea for me. He said a nice “Bye, grampa!” as we left.

He fell asleep right as we got there, about 2:45. So mom and I pushed him around the store. I got tea and an infuser and found vitamins for him. I had planned to get popcorn, but decided to save that for a time he was awake. We walked home, but stopped at the Habitat for Humanity store. Mom found a big XK restorer’s guide for dad, and I found a few books for August: Pirates Don’t Change Diapers, How I Became a Pirate, and a book of verse.

He woke up as I carried him in the house and took him to Carly, at 3:50. They were downstairs, then she brought him up for a bath. Did a lot of playing, but then he was furious about washing his hair. He shouted “Stupid you guys!” As we dried him, Carly asked about cutting his hair. He said we could cut it when it wrapped around the earth twice. And “Cut my hair when it’s wrapped around our planet like a ball of yarn.” A wonderful analogy, and very poetic. Out in the living room my mom said she liked his clean hair. He sarcastically said “Happy hoopity poopity.”

He then finished the book cover thing with Carly. We were then talking about when to have dinner. I said Carly was the biggest concern, as she got up earliest. August said. “No, I’M the biggest concern…Wait, dada’s the biggest concern. Cuz he has a couple more ages than you, right?”

I built Lego trucks with him after doing more sorting. He liked pulling out all of the wheels and axles and walkie talkies and steering wheels. Then we did all the heads. We sort of built part of a house as well. He was then pretendingto be Cindy and wanted me to sort of chase him with the lego truck. He would then hide, including under the kitchen table.

We had tacos for dinner. I went out and got a PBR to drink. Inside I said it reminded me of Ballard and Isakson. I did a “Leheim! Cheers!” with Carly’s glass, then August wanted to do it. He kept asking me to do it more with his cup: “I love that game!” “Leheim!…Prost!…Cheers!” After dinner he walked around living room making up and chanting nonsense words.

August and I and my parents went for a walk at 6:45. Carly stayed. There is music at the grandstand in Riverwalk Park every Friday for the summer. The band today was Polecat. A bluegrass, etc. group. We got there as the first set ended. Windy. We played I Spy, all four of us taking turns. When he learned there was music every Friday he said he wanted to come every week. He spotted a little bug crawling on my sandal. And he ate a variety of snacks, including one of our raspberry fig bars from Israel. Richard Uhlhorn came by and August got to meet him. We watched a few songs of the second set from up there, then I carried him down to the left of the stage. I held him part of the time, but also set him down. On the ground he walked around, looking down at the water through the railing, and he also did a lot of hair-waving dancing. There was a good crowd of other kids down there dancing.

We left as they played their encore song. Walked home and got here at 8:20. Gramma filled the water bucket at his request and he sprayed a little water. Inside we all sat n t
he living room and ate kettle corn. Plenty of it. Then he and Gramma played with Legos. She said her plane didn’t really look like Carly’s, but then August put a positive spin on it: “Oh, I know what it is. It’s a different kind of airplane.”

I brushed his teeth upstairs then I took him in to Carly at 9:10. He hadn’t really been looking tired, but when I asked he said he was ready to go to bed. Didn’t think about his pajamas. She barely woke up, and he must have fallen right asleep.

He went to the bathroom about 4:45. Then back to bed until a little after 5. He sat up and started talking about the stuffed bears: “the small and smiling one is the best”. I got it down and he said it was his favorite. Very cute for a minute, then he was bothered that it was wearing out.

We went upstairs and Carly got him an english muffin. I was outside with him for a couple minutes. We checked on the bird and squirrel food. They then ate outside, in back. They came back inside and bought and read some of the first Captain Underpants book.

He asked “Why, when I was one or two, I spent an entire flight buckling and unbuckling myself?”

August then watched an episode of The Magic School Bus – the first episode of season 2, since it is available here in the U.S. I got us some blueberries and raspberries. Cherie came as he was starting a second episode. He paused, then played Legos together. They took apart the space station (not sure when he had made that, as he’d taken his moon scene apart yesterday) and started something new.

I went and took a shower. Chuck and Cherie were leaving as I came up. He watched more Magic School Bus. We went into the kitchen and he turned on the fan and was dropping things in front of it. He asked “Did I do that experiment last year or not?” He saw the jar of jam on the table – it was jam with cayenne pepper in it. I told him it was probably spicy, but I don’t think he heard me. He got a spoon on his own and tried it. Seemed okay tasting it until I told him what was in it, then he thought it was spicy and ran and got his water bottle.

We went down and watched some soccer with Paul. He watched and asked “Are there girls? Like mama?” We were talking about how the game is played and I explained the goalkeeper tries to stop people from scoring. He said  “The goalkeeper’s not nice.” He was then singing “One wheels off and the others broken, won’t you’ve my darling.”

He spotted the old Underwood typewriter that was from Ed’s. We got it down and studied it. I then got the newer orange one down and we played with that. Put paper in it and there was just enough ink to show up a bit. I explained we couldn’t really get new ribbons and he didn’t like that: “But typewriters is fun, right?”

We went upstairs to eat. He had macaroni and blueberries, then peanuts. Paul had gone for a run and was back at 10:50. August asked “How come uncle Paul doesn’t talk much?” August and I did some iPad art at some point, and then he spent a long time doing Legos with Gramma. They were finding and sorting pieces – something he had also done with Cherie. “No uffing! Uffing means not doing much stuff, like reading…” They kept playing. He checked to make sure I was in the kitchen a couple times. He then told her all about bonds.

We went downstairs and watched Argentina get beaten. He did more typing on the typewriter. We talked about going to town to the bookstore and ice cream. He asked Paul “Are you going too?…Yeah!…You won’t just be bored watching soccer.”

He was in a good mode upstairs as we got ready to go. He asked “Do I have time for a quick dance?” And then did a little dance. 

We left at 1:30, all of us except dad, who was working on installing the blinds in the garage. As we walked he was an airplane with large cylinder motors going mach 2.

We got to the bookstore and started looking around. He went upstairs with Carly and found sample sets of these puzzle piece-like building blocks and loved playing with them. When I went up he said he was working on his ostrich. I talked to Libby and she has a friend who did theater stuff in Gaza and wrote a book called The Hour of Sunlight. I also talked to her about old bookstores in Chelan, but she didn’t remember the one that I remember that was between her current location and the bridge. Carly found one book for him and read a bit of it and he declared it really good. Two Dogs in a Trench Coat Go to School. Then I found Hilde Cracks the Case: Hero Dog! Mom bought those, using the rest of a gift card.

We then walked to the ice cream counter at BC MacDonalds. August and Carly shared a scoop of bubble gum. He was very excited about bubble gum and didn’t want to consider anything else. They ate that, and I helped mom with some of her coffee ice cream. August went to the bathroom and when he came back he saw the woman at the next booth. She had a cover on her laptop that looked a lot like the new cover to his iPad. I got out his iPad and he went and showed it to her.

On the way home we walked by the post office and went in. Mom’s birthday card to Dee had been returned as undeliverable, but the address was correct, so they took it to try again. We then got home at 3:20.

At home he played with the puzzle piece building toy with Gramma. He then found the laser pointer and played with it, wanting me to pretend to be a cat. He was then a plane again: “Now I’m an airplane with big cylinder motors going mach 9 faster than the speed of sound!” He was hungry and I made him peanut butter toast. I just cut it into quarters; we haven’t done eighths for quite awhile. But maybe because of the popcorn cracker math on the airplane he wanted them cut further, and he taught Gramma how to cut them into eighths the way he likes.

Carly was out washing and cleaning the car, making it as presentable to sell as possible. It’s going to be so nice now we won’t want to sell it. We could put a new head unit in it and it would feel almost new. Just need to keep the mice out…

We went downstairs and he played with the fan in the bedroom. Suddenly though he was cuddling with me. Very comfy, but unusual, as he was hiding his head as well. I asked why and he said “For funsies.” But it turned out he was also scared of the door noise. It was softly banging against the frame due to a draft.

We went upstairs and he controlled me as we went: “Command you go this way. Command you set me down.” We played with the puzzle piece things, and he built the “Oncresso 2000”. It made things bigger, I think. He heard my parents talking about how Iris was trying to steal Cindy’s food, so then he was acting that out.

We did leftovers for dinner. He had mushrooms and asparagus and macaroni. He wanted to earn more macaroni. He went over and got the oranges, but then when he convinced Carly to peel one for him he didn’t really eat it. A bit later he was begging for a carrot instead. Wasted food aside, it is impossible to say no when a kid is begging for a carrot. He ate a lot, but then seemed full. Carly gave him a bath. We were going to wash his hair, but he was really tired and pleading not to do it. We said tomorrow during the day. Took him down and he was asleep at 7:20.

Photo:

Ice cream: 

Fan:

They got up about 4:30. When I got up an hour later and went upstairs he told me about how they had gone to the bathroom and come upstairs and had sugar water and oranges and I should have done it with them. They had done some Legos on the floor, making a moon scene. Think they had also done some reading, or at least had books out. 

Carly tried to go downstairs and rest, but after he ate his last piece of orange and had the sugar water she had left he wanted to go downstairs. He started to make noise at the top of the stairs so I carried him into the living room, away from my parents’ open door. But then he got sad and said I wouldn’t let him sleep. Carly came up, then took him downstairs. Quiet for awhile, then they were in the bathroom.

They came up a bit later and Carly said they were going to the store. They left out the back. August found a Cheerio in his stroller and threw it off the porch: “Maybe a cat will eat it or maybe they won’t notice it and it will turn into dirt.” They left about 6:50.

I did Sabeel work. They went to the coffee shop and had a scone. They went to the grocery store and August played with the scale, stacking things on it. Chuck and Cherie helped pick out meat. I did a couple hours of work, then got in the shower. Carly and August got back while I was in the shower. He did Legos with my mom a bit.

Carly told him about Captain Underpants. He and I bought the second book and read 11 chapters. He liked the ‘things get worse’ idea and then acted it out, having laser beam cows, shoes that sucked me up, etc. “Cuz things are getting worse and worse.”

He ate carrots and cauliflower. Carly used the phrase “A goodly amount.” He picked it up and immediately started using it. He tripped and fell in the kitchen: “Idiot house”.

He was then uutside playing in the sand. I sprayed him with the little squirt gun as he stood up on the porch. It made spots on his shirt, and he requested “More polka dots!” He let me shoot him several times. I was wearing my new shoes. August spotted them and said. “Soccer shoes. Like Dion.” I took him to the bathroom, then he sat on Oma’s lap and was viruses, etc. attacking her. Her immune system was then fighting off the diseases.

We went outside to the garage. He didn’t like grampa just talking to me about car stuff, although he really picked up on grampa’s mention that he may have dropped something in the engine and kept asking about it. We went upstairs and my mom came up as well. He found a tool that he used to clamp things. He did that as we discussed what had changed. There is an air conditioner up there now and they just got blinds for the window.

We went outside and he was clamping things on the porch. He played in the sand, selling it to Oma. Not much for customer service, Cherie said.

Inside he had some of the sugar juice (the fruit cocktail, watered down a bit for him), then requested more noodles and broccoli and cauliflower. I got that for him then went down and watched some World Cup with Paul.

He went under the dining table and had Cherie bring him three objects. He would guess what they were, then used them in an experiment. He rubbed them with a pillow from the couch and said “Because cats go on it so much…Tada! It smells like a cat.” They did a second round, and he requested no cat toys. He then suggested they use teamwork to find objects. His eyes were starting to itch, so we washed his hands and then headed outside and played in the sand. We were flattening it, then he took a bucket up the stairs and dropped some of it off one of the middle steps.

Carly took him down to see if he’d take a nap. No such luck. Carly showed him the new iPad case and he was very excited about the case. Brought it up and I also explained it was a new iPad. He was less excited about that, but he did like that it wouldn’t restart on him.

Came back upstairs and Gramma asked him to go outside with her to feed the birds and squirrels. They were out there for quite awhile. They watched a squirrel get the peanuts and take them to bury them. August commented on it just being the two of them out there, but he was okay with that and they stayed out quite a bit longer.

Back inside he ate a bunch of blueberries that I got for him. We were going to do art on his new iPad using the pencil, but then he wanted to be with Carly, who was resting on the couch. When she went downstairs to rest and he was supposed to stay with me he got really upset. She came back up after a couple minutes and they went downstairs. They at least had some quiet time.

Chuck and Cherie came back. They had driven out to check out Bear Mountain Ranch. My parents made a macaroni salad, Carly cut the veggies (asparagus, mushrooms, zucchini) and marinated it, and they got the ribs baking in the oven. I came up and August was in the bath. I played with him in a bath for awhile, then Carly took over and got him out. I went out and grilled all the veggies and the lamb patties.

We ate outside. He ate a ton of mushrooms, some asparagus, and some meat that Carly had chopped up for him. When he was done he said he was full, then started asking “Can I go to sleep now?” I got him to cuddle on my lap for  minute but it didn’t last long. Carly took him inside, and he went right to the couch and fell asleep on it. She took him down to bed at 6:10.

Blueberries: