Crumpled Home

Another crazy month went by! This time around, Mom and LR got a thousand and one things done before they left for the USA, leaving Dad and RJ behind to survive on a steady diet of buttered toast and cereal. The cousins came over from Melbourne, and Grammy’s house STILL isn’t finished! Finally, RJ entertained an entire school with his own special moves during his class concert.

RJ's friend C visited for a sleepover. The next morning, the two of them insisted on pancakes, the internationally recognised breakfast of bloodthirsty pirates and fierce centurions.

(just before bed)

RJ: But wait, Dad! I have to show you something!

Dad: Okay… What is it?

RJ: (holding up a toy seahorse and a fish) Look at this. I put a tiny hole in the seahorse right here. That’s because it’s where the parasite fish gets in. It swims in through the hole and then up through the neck and into the seahorse’s brain. Then it lives in there and makes the seahorse do whatever it likes. After a long time, the seahorse dies and the fish goes and finds another one… And that’s a real creature! They really do that!

RJ: … But usually it’s a fish, not a seahorse.

Dad: Desperate times, eh?

RJ: Yeah. He was really desperate.

June flew past in a hurry. The kids put together an impromptu magic show one morning, and LR played piano for a huge crowd. RJ flew and continued to be full of surprises. We spent an evening outside taking German lessons in the dark, and the kids channelled their inner zombies while discovering where all their good ideas come from.

RJ took flying lessons at one of his friend's birthday parties. That trampoline practice came in handy!

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LR: Do you have one of those science jars? The ones that you put stuff in?

Dad: I don’t, but I think Mom does — or at least she can get them from work if you ask. What do you need it for?

LR: I have a project for school and I need to bring in a sample of water.

Dad: Fair enough. Just ask Mom, she can get them for you. I can help you collect different kinds of water if you want.

(a couple of days later)

LR: Mom, I need to bring some sea water to school for a project.

Mom: What project?

LR: I have to bring in something that demonstrates the words, “I belong…”

Mom: And you’re bringing in sea water? Why is that?

LR: Because I feel like I belong overseas.

(Mom has a mild panic attack. LR doesn’t feel Australian? She doesn’t feel like she belongs? She feels like there’s no place for her here?)

Mom: What do you mean by belonging overseas?

LR: Well, I love adventures and I love travelling. I want to see new places and explore the world!

Mom: (Massive relief) What a great idea!

On the weekend, we all drove up to Gingin to help with the second stage of winemaking. The first stage, picking the grapes and first pressing, was already done a couple of weeks ago; it was time for the second pressing and getting the wine into vats for fermentation. We also spent time working on LR’s latest project, “The Museum of the Universes of Science” — a showcase for all the amazing animals, bones, plants and rocks that we discover up there.

Obviously, winemaking is a very serious business!

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(LR is wandering around with a surface thermometer in hand)

LR: Your turn, Dad. (click) 33 degrees… So…  Grammy, Dad and Mum were all 33 degrees.

LR: (checks herself) 34.5 degrees! Hmmm…

LR: (checks another part of her head) 35 degrees. Arrgh!

Dad: Why are you so worried about your temperature?

LR: Well… …. How hot do you have to be to have a fever?

Dad: I’d say three degrees more than normal means you’re pretty sick. Less than that isn’t such a big deal.

LR: I want to get my temperature up just a little bit more… (grinning) Because if I’m sick and have a fever, then I get to lay down on the couch and watch TV all afternoon!

It’s been a while since we posted a bunch of photos, so here’s a quick wrap-up for February!

LR lost another two teeth this month, and the kids did some home experiments with dry ice. RJ discovered a fascination for disguises and interesting clothes. Mum sang her heart out at a South Pacific concert and we had a couple of trips to the beach to have fish and chips for dinner. Mum and Dad even got dressed up for a party, and at the end of the month, it was the kids turn with an evening picnic and disco down at the school.

One of the last pictures of LR with all her upper teeth... One of her front incisors came out the next day!

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(RJ runs in holding his latest invention, a bizarre conglomeration of a pair of toy binoculars and a lot of wires)

RJ: Look what I made!

RJ: It’s not finished, but it’s an electrical device that changes the colour of your eyes!

RJ: … It also sprays electricity and sparks everywhere. It needs some work…

Friend: I have a birthmark right here on my side. That means I’m a princess.

LR: No. That means you have extra melanin in that spot.

After looking at an underwater video of the disaster going on in the gulf, Mum asked the kids how they would go about stopping the oil gushing from the sea floor.

RJ’s suggestion:

RJ: The oil looks like a black smoker. And you can’t make those stop. They come from under the earth. So you have to make the earth stop pushing out the oil. And I don’t think you can do that. I know… You can go back in time and make the dinosaurs not die!

LR’s suggestion:

LR: You need to find a bacteria that eats oil. And make sure that it will turn into plankton when all the oil is gone so that it doesn’t hurt the ocean.

Good thinking guys!