Our Expedition

One morning a few weeks ago I really wanted to get out of the house. I asked Esther where she wanted to go and she said she wanted to go exploring. We left the house with her leading the way. What we found was really quite fun and we've gone on this same expedition several times since. This is how it goes.

First you go down the [no longer] Dusty Highway.

Next you pass the Rainbow Wall.

Watch out for the Prickles and Thorns! (Thankfully someone trimmed them. They used to block the sidewalk.)

Say "Hello" to any friends you might meet on the way.

Look for the secret path.

Go over the bridge.

Carefully cross the balance beam.

Emerge from the secret path...

and find yourself at New York's Finest Bagels.

Enjoy the spoils of your adventure.

Esther's First Recital

Every Friday Esther attends a little preschool called the GAP. She loves to go to the library every other week and learn new things with her friends. William likes having a little time with just Mommy. Last Friday afternoon she had a song recital at the GAP. She was very excited and had a lot of fun. She especially liked the ice cream all the kids got afterward. William liked that part too.

Goodbye Old Friend

We've gone through quite a lot of fans in Grenada. We buy them and they break, so we buy more. This fan was the first one we bought. It lasted longer than any other fan. It made it through several child-related crashes, but somehow pulled through. At the end it didn't look like much, couldn't oscillate or stand upright, but it had a good heart. Then one day last week it couldn't take the abuse anymore and passed on. As usual, it was picked up off the curb before the trash collectors came. I wish I knew who picks up my trash and fixes it - I would rather just pay them to fix it for me.

Boys and Girls

Over the past few weeks I've been able to spend some one-on-one time with my kids. One day Cameron skipped one of his more pointless lectures and came home to study during William's nap. Esther and I took the opportunity to go out for some girl time. She wanted to go have lunch at a restaurant, chat a lot, and walk along the dock. We had a lot of girl fun. (Sorry - no pictures of that.)

A few days later Esther was at preschool and I had some time to do whatever William wanted. We ended up spending two hours pretending to drive cars at the mall. He really wanted to play some video games too, but they were certainly not for kids so I didn't let him. It's fun how little kids are when boys will be boys and girls will be girls.

Who Needs Toys?

Esther informed me today that she needed a little sink and stove. I thought about it for a minute and figured out a way to fulfil her need - as long as she wasn't too picky. It's amazing what you can make with cardboard, glue, markers and the imagination of a three-year-old. She was the designer - I just did the grunt work. We even figured out how to make moving knobs to turn on the stove. When William woke up from his nap he was thrilled to see our new kitchen.

Cute Kid, Bad Mom

I suppose a responsible mother would not have let him play under the sink. He was just so proud of himself that I had to play along for a few minutes before telling him "no".

Three Cheers for the Internet

This was our sixth and last General Conference in Grenada. Technology has come a long way since we first got here three years ago. Our first General Conference here we were only able to listen to half a talk on the Internet due to all sorts of technical difficulties. Watching on the satellite at the church wasn't much better. But it's been improving every time since, and this conference we were able to see the speakers on the Internet as clearly as if we were watching it on TV. The reception at the church was excellent also.

I was very proud of Esther. Yesterday she sat through about 45 minutes of conference. Today she made it through most of the first session at church. She really loved coloring the activity packs we printed off. She also pointed out to me every time President Monson was speaking. "Mommy, that's President Monson. He's our prophet!"

Presidents Monson, Eyring, and Uchtdorf gave my favorite talks this conference (go figure) along with Elder Bednar and Elder Ballard. I really enjoyed this conference. There were a lot of messages I needed to hear. And I am very glad that the church can stream everything over the Internet so we're able to enjoy it wherever we are. We already downloaded the MP3s so I can listen to it again while I'm washing dishes after the kids are asleep. Isn't technology great?

Chat

There is no such thing as a typical conversation with Esther. But here is a sample of a typically random conversation we had today on the bus. I only wish I could remember all the interesting things she says every day.

Esther: Mommy, I just looked out the window.
Me: What did you see?
Esther: A bee.
Me: Where was it going?
Esther: He was going to his hive.
Me: Where is his hive?
Esther: Over there.
Me: What do bees do in their hives?
Esther: They make honey and gather honey and put it in bottles to take to the store.
Me: Who takes the bottles to the store?
Esther: The bees do.
Me: How many bees does it take?
Esther: Three. They fly it there.
Me: Do the bees have the bottles in their hives?
Esther: Yes
Me: How do the bees get the bottles?
Esther: A person brings them.
Me: Who?
Esther: I do.
Me: How did you get that job?
Esther: Razy showed me how. (Razy is just another one of the many names she makes up hourly.)
Me: Do you do it for free or do they pay you?
Esther: They pay me.
Me: How much?
Esther: Four and a half dollars.
Me: Can I get that job?
Esther: No, you’re too big to go in a hive.