The Friday Sami left, I woke up long enough to kiss her good bye and fell asleep again. The kids where in about an hour later looking for mom. When they couldn’t find her, the settled for me and we got on with the day.
I tried to keep to the regular Friday schedule as much as I could. Jaime, Alix and I did chores and school in the morning while the younger kids played. After lunch and naps we headed to the park. Sami said that there are some families we are friends with who stay and play at the park after school is over. The kids had a good time. Well, everyone except Milo. After about 20 minutes, he said he was tired and wanted to go home and laid down on a park bench. About an hour later when I announced it was time to leave, he was first at the car, anxious to go.
We came home, ate dinner, bathed and went to bed. Not too bad. 1 day down. Before the kids went to bed, I told them we would be going fishing in the morning.
On Saturday, the kids where all up before 6am. Milo came in at 5:30 wanting to know if it was time to go fishing yet. We all got up, dressed warmly, ate breakfast and headed for the lake. Taking five kids fishing is one of the most interesting experiences ever. I spent almost the entire time baiting hooks, untangling lines and settling disputes over who got to fish from which three feet of shore line. Afton entertained herself by eating the bait.
When I changed Afton’s diaper that night, her poop smelled like Power Bait)
By the time we finished, Jaime and Alix could bait their own hooks and do their own casting. They even eventually built up the courage to touch the night crawlers we had and even put them on the hook as well.
We didn’t catch anything, mostly because I don’t think anyones hook stayed in the water longer than 15 minutes before they wanted to reel it in and see if there was a fish. Even though we didn’t catch, all the kids seemed to have fun, and all have asked when we are going fishing again.
After fishing, we came home, slept showered and headed out to the ward Chinese New Year Party. That was lots of fun. I don’t care what Chinese food you may have eaten in your life, you have never had anything so good as homemade sweet and sour, or pork buns, or pot stickers or egg rolls made fresh by the old Chinese ladies in our ward. The food was so yummy.
I was kinda’ worried about Sunday, but shouldn’t have been. The kids where great! Afton did have one screaming fit, and I had to leave the chapel with her. While I was gone, the kids where very well behaved. When I came back in, Niah was snuggled up to a Sister in our ward that I never would have expected her to latch on to. I am very grateful for the people in our ward who showed their concern for me and my children while Sami was gone.
After church we headed home for quite time. After quite time, we went to Joey and Gayle’s and enjoyed dinner and a movie. We watched an old John Wayne movie titled “Hatari!” That is a must see. Little kids love it, and so do adults. And it stars the Duke, so you can’t miss. After “Hatari!”, we watched an old Doris Day movie called “Glass Bottom Boat”. It was cute, but I was surprised at the innuendos. Parent may want to view before showing to kids.
Monday was our “Get Ready for Mom to Come Home” day. We cleaned inside, had naps and watched “Black Beards Ghost”, an old Disney movie that is very cute and very funny. After naps, we headed outside. I decided to clean the garage, and thought the kids could play outside while I did that. I guess after 3.5 days with me, the kids where done (meaning they really missed mom and the stability she represents). I spent a lot of time halting quarrels, and convincing kids to share toys, bikes, etc. Of course, projects like cleaning the Garage cannot be completed without “help” from the younger kids. Anyway, I didn’t actually get much done in two hours. When it was time to go in, Alix says, “Dad, I thought you where going to clean the garage”. All I could to was laugh.
After “cleaning” the garage, we had some dinner and the kids all took baths so they could be clean for Mom the next day. Everyone went to bed early because we where going to have an early morning.
Tuesday, I got everyone up just before 7am. We piled into the van and headed to Oakland. On the way, we passed a couple of accidents that made us a little late getting to the airport, but we finally made it, and boy where we happy to see Mom!
I guess you know the rest of the tale from Sami’s account.
I have to say, I have a new appreciation for Sami. I always knew taking care of 5 kids was hard work, but I go to work everyday and leave Sami to handle it. I now know just how hard it can be. I have to say, though, that we have great kids. They play well together. The look out for each other. They are eager to help. It was just so pleasant to be around them and get to spend that much time. Of course, if I have good kids, it’s only because their mother has taught them.
Thanks, Sami, for giving me this opportunity.
Power Bait poop has got to be nasty! It’s always nice to get a little dose of Scott humor!