Crumpled Home

It’s a little quiet at home right now. LR is away at horse riding camp and the normal level of intensity at our place has dropped a bit – although only a little bit, the RJ reality distortion field is still fully operational.

Pony camp is an amazing place — I get all fluttery just thinking about it — a magical land where you spend all day riding horses, cleaning and scrubbing horses, feeding horses, and (be still my beating heart) shoveling horse manure and cleaning out stalls. Mom insists that this is little girl heaven, but I’m not totally convinced.

For the first time in her life, she has ‘her own’ mobile phone with her (it’s a spare that we’ve borrowed from Poppa for the week). We told her it’s just for emergencies or if something goes wrong and she needs to talk to us. After giving her one or two instructions on how to use it, we carefully put it in her backpack and waved goodbye.

Five hours later, while deep in the middle of one of my projects,  I was interrupted by an unexpected phone call… from LR and a room full of 7 year old girls suffering some kind of ‘emergency’ involving a large amount of giggling. Apparently, she had to test to see if the phone was still working properly…

Regardless, I’m looking forward to having her back when she gets home… as long as she leaves her boots outside.

Just before she left, she drew this on the fridge for us.

The fridge cow will keep you company while LR is away.

(While playing in the waves at the beach…)

(RJ runs up to the ocean raising his fist into the air.)

RJ: (roaring at the ocean) I challenge you, Poseidon!!! My mortal enemy! YOU SHALL BE DEFEATED!!!

(RJ punches and kicks, throwing himself at the ocean with great ferocity. Meanwhile, a  huge wave sweeps forward towards him.)

LR: (from a safe distance) Look out RJ!

RJ: What the!? ACK.

(The wave crashes over him, dragging him up the beach.)

RJ: Help! Help! Where’s the manual? I need the instruction manual! This isn’t working properly!

While we were away (yes, pictures from our holiday are coming soon), RJ and LR worked on their art skills. While LR interwove a broad spectrum of stories, pictures and poems, RJ turned his laser-like focus towards drawing aliens in preparation for invasion (project 1).

The Party Alien is on the way. He is a lot of fun, but his sword is super sharp.

The Science Alien uses "Alien Google" on his computer for answering questions about anything in the universe. He also has his grandmother with him, but she has to stay downstairs.

The Mum Alien has extra eyes and arms for keeping baby aliens out of trouble

The Warrior Alien has extra sharp teeth and spikes on his head.

The Strongest Alien can lift pretty much anything.

The Scary Alien will grab you with his arms and tentacles. You can't escape him.

The Twin Aliens are the sneakiest. While you are watching one, the other is smashing everything up. When you try to stop him, the first one runs away and laughs at you.

(while eating breakfast)

LR: I’m doing a new post on my blog about the cathedrals in France.

Dad: Sounds like a great idea! Do you think you’ll ever run out of things to put on it?

LR: Not really. I can always just make up stuff. No one on the internet really knows the truth.

RJ: You know, LR. If you were two thousand years old and you had a blog, you could write lots of stories about your mummy friends and all the things that they’re doing these days.

Dad: Mummy blogging? Wouldn’t that be kind of boring? “Just another day, hanging out at the museum….”, “Well, I’m thinking of repainting the tomb…”, “I found this great sarcophagus the other day”…

RJ: Yeah, but the stories about the crazy one that escaped and is hunting everyone would be REALLY exciting.

RJ: (sighing) I’m going to be so busy when I grow up.

Dad: Really? What are you going to be doing?

RJ: You know!!!

Dad: (uncertain) Yeah, but… which job? You’ve told me a few.

RJ: I’m going to be a warrior and fight monsters!

Dad: Oh yeah! So there will be a lot of demand for warriors and monster hunters in the future?

RJ: Definitely.

Dad: In that case, there should be good money in it for you. How much do monster hunters get paid?

RJ: Oh about a thousand dollars…

Dad: For each monster? Hmm… I thought it would be more than that.

RJ: No. But it is really great when you find a whole nest of them.

With a huge overseas vacation looming, the first half of December was filled with the last days of the school year, some early Christmas celebrations… and a lot of silly hats.

December means the Advent calendar gets brought out. We like to pretend the kids appreciate the tradition and fun puzzles and clues that we leave in there for them...

Once again, LR’s and RJ’s school put on its huge biennial musical performance. All the kids at the school have a part, with each grade getting its own big musical piece to perform. This year’s performance was Jack and the Beat-stalk, another original written by the school principal, filled with only-slightly-mangled songs by the Beatles.

LR and the Go-Go Girls strut their stuff across the stage.

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We’ve been reading Harry Potter before bedtime.

(while playing together)

RJ: Harry Potter is really good, isn’t it.

LR: Yeah. I didn’t like it for a long time, because everyone else was so crazy about it, but I like it now.

…

RJ: Dad thinks he’s a wizard, doesn’t he.

LR: Yeah, but he’s really just a muggle!

(both kids burst out laughing)

Unexpected things heard after a few days of visiting cathedrals and crypts in France…

RJ: I’ve got it! I know the most delicious way to die!
A chocolate crucifix!

(later the same day… and strangely reassuring to hear)

RJ: Well, I think I’ve seen enough dead people now.

(while walking around in France)

Dad: So I guess if you were attacking a castle, it was pretty important to have an impressive name.

RJ: If you were attacking, Dad, I know what you’d be called.

Dad: Yeah? What’s that.

RJ: Oscar… Oscar the Dangerous Chicken.

Dad: Hmmm… Really? I’m sure it would be something way more scary… Something like Draco the Savage.

RJ: No. Definitely Oscar the Dangerous Chicken… But you have a friend who travels around with you and helps you.

Dad: You mean a sidekick?

RJ: Yes! Your sidekick is a thumb, just a thumb and no hand or fingers… He’s called Thimbric the Terrible.

Dad: He’s got a better name than I do! Oscar the Dangerous Chicken… That’s just silly!

RJ: I could change it… Something MUCH better… Hmmmm… I know!

RJ: Your new name is Oscar the Romantic Fridge Magnet!

Dad: Aaaaarrrrggghhh!!!!