Uh-Oh! Plumbing emergency!
It was Thursday night and we had a kitchen sink disaster. It started out as a simple clogged drain. After trying to use a plumbers tool, Liquid Plumber and then, as a final resort, a kettle of boiling water, the pipes under the sink gave way. Nasty! Upon
investigation of the situation he discovered that the main pipe was rusted through.
It was 8PM by this time. Dallas started taking off the pipe that was rusted only to find that it was several pipes that needed replacing.
His fellow
advisors concur.
8:30PM - off to Home Depot.
9:30PM - Dallas was attempting to replace the faulty pipes and in the process found even more pipes needing replacement. A job for another day.
Finally Friday night Dallas was able to successfully replace all of the pipes and get the kitchen back in order. On the plus side the cabinet under the sink really did need to be cleaned out anyway. There were still lots of
doggie treats under there...
Since we no longer have a dog we decided to give the squirrels a treat. Lin-
Ley and Dallas sat out many dog bones on the deck. One-by-one the squirrels took them away to their secret hiding place.
Look in the tree. See the
doggie bone? Not such a good hiding place.
So it was Saturday and it was time for errands.
Dallas and Lin-
Ley were going to - yes, you guess it - Home Depot. (I think that Home Depot should start sending us commission checks for all of the free advertising we have been giving them!) Apparently we had a slug problem and they needed to find an
eco-friendly solution. I know for a fact that Lin-
Ley would have
preferred the method of pouring salt onto each individual slug and watching the results. Since Dallas showed her this trick she was enjoyed it immensely.
Tru and I were off to the mall in search for some final summer-time clothes for the kids.
Just liked the picture. He looks like such a "big boy" here.
Warning: Potty training talk ahead.
While at the mall we looked for some new sandals for
Tru. Last summer he screamed in terror when I tried to put a pair of sandals on him but this year he has been asking for them. We found a blue pair and as soon as he tried them on he would not allow them to be removed.
Although he had been riding in the stroller most of the morning he insisted on walking the length of the mall -
in his new sandals!
As he walked next to me he kept looking up and grinning to the max. Oh so cute!
Later, during nap time, they had to be placed directly next to his bed. There was not way he was letting them out of his sight!
Saturday afternoon -
It had been almost 24 hours. The Inspector needed to check in on the new pipes.
Another "big boy" photo.
So we are really giving the potty training a go. I think
Tru is finally ready! I bought some of those thick cotton training underwear and
Tru went without pants most of the weekend (while we were at home).
He did very well. Of course like most kids sometimes he tells us he has to go the bathroom after he has already started...
Later that afternoon the kids were bored so it was time for some bubbles. I had purchased a "bubble grill" a while back so we broke it out. Lin-
Ley was making huge bubbles. It was a hit.
What an artistic (lucky) shot. It looks like
Tru is holding a bubble in the palm of his hand.
Notice the change of underwear. Oops - somebody had an accident....
Sunday morning -
Need to check on those pipes again.
Tru gave another outstanding performance at church on Sunday. All children from age 2 through Kindergarten sang two songs together - one in English and one in Chinese.
Tru is in the front row wearing the the
turquoise colored, short sleeved shirt.
A little later and across town Lin-
Ley participated in her Chinese school's graduation ceremony. (Lin-Ley is in the red dress.)
The whole class recited a poem in
unison and then each child stepped forward to the microphone (they all found that very exciting) and recited individual poems.
This is one of the two Kindergarten Chinese classes at the school.
Sunday afternoon -
The pipes are still holding up.
Monday afternoon....
Quote Of The Day:While at the Chinese school graduation there was a keynote speaker who was a former student of the school. She now attends Yale University and spoke of the adventures she has had in furthering her Chinese language education.
She was born in America and even though she comes from an Asian family they spoke primarily English at home.
Her entire speech was very captivating but there was one thing she said that really grabbed me:
Many of my Chinese friends and I often discuss how we feel. Do we feel Chinese? Do we feel American? Or do we feel like Banana People - yellow on the outside and white on the inside?That really made me think about Lin-
Ley and
Tru. How will they feel?
Hmmm....
The theme this year was Tinker Bell.
