Bed Bugs Revisited!

Nico came home from Grandma Camp (not technically a Grandma Camp but we're calling it that) last Thursday night with a diary he could fill out a la Diary of a Wimpy Kid. He was working on it Friday and created his Dream House. I love that it has an art gallery in it.

Friday was a total relax day. It wasn't the best weather outside so we stayed indoors and watched Three Stooges.

Saturday was a slow day as well, I had some cleaning and organizing planned, but I hurt my back Friday night so we made Saturday a slow day as well. Nico went over to Rylan's house for a while in the afternoon.

It was my turn to pick the movie for pizza night and so we rented Ralph Breaks the Internet from RedBox at M&W Market. It was funny, we all liked it!

Sunday started like any other day, but after church I noticed Nico was itching. Nico had bed bug bites! Uh oh! Guy went on a search and found a live bed bug in Nico's bed frame. So he killed it. Then he got meticulous, and pulled out the rails on Nico's bed, searched the wardrobe, and our bed. He found no other live bed bugs. But what we did find was a previous infestation in the frame of Nico's bed. Lots of bed bug casings and in the cardboard room separator Guy found EGGS. They are visible to the naked eye, as are bed bugs. Can you see them in this picture?

These are likely dead eggs that were killed in the first heat treatment. We called the bed bug guys on Monday and they were able to come out on Tuesday for another heat treatment. We spent Monday afternoon getting everything ready for the treatment, and Tuesday he showed up bright and early before 8AM to get started. In addition to the heat treatment, he also sprayed a "safe"? pesticide on Nico's bed frame.

We stayed the night at my parents' house on Tuesday night. We played a game I don't remember the name of, and Grandma made these things called "Ogre Bars" that we ate while we played.  The game was fun, and the ogre bars were delicious! We arrived home Wednesday morning for an early school day with chess. I spent Wednesday cleaning up the Clubhouse after the heat treatment.

For the next few nights Nico is sleeping in our bed, to let his pesticide bed air out. Not that our bed is much further from his bed than his own mattress, but the less exposure he has to it the better I'd feel!

Some unexpected melted things upon our arrival home Wednesday:

Nico made a big decision this week. Baseball season is starting up, and every Tuesday he has baseball practice or a baseball game. Tuesdays are also Cub Scout nights. We asked Nico to choose between Cub Scouts and baseball, and he chose Cub Scouts. So, we are dropping baseball for now. We recently signed him up for swimming lessons at the Y, they start next Monday. Twice a week on Mondays and Wednesdays until he knows how to swim!

Yesterday Nico came home from school and asked Alexa to play Potato Dog. Funny song! I asked Alexa who sang it and she said Perry Gripp, so I asked her to play songs by Perry Gripp and all of a sudden Alexa was playing all these songs that Nico knew! He was stoked!! He had his very own dance party. You can check it out in the video :D :D :D Nico knows these songs from his Chess class, Coach Vellotti plays them. They are really hilarious. Some of them even have videos on Youtube.

Playing the Game of Life!

When I picked up Nico from Drama today, we passed by his classroom and we talked to his teacher a bit about the project he was going to do that requires a tri-fold poster board. It's a voluntary project that requires research and presentation. For the previous 2 years Nico has done it. The first year it was about a particular bird (can't remember which!), last year he only started it but didn't finish, it was about different boat sizes (based on a YouTube video he had seen). This year he has chosen to do his report on India. He spent some time researching tonight on the computer. I had to find a safe internet search site for kids, and came across kidtopia.info, run by Google. He found some good stuff from National Geographic Kids about India that he copied down. 

After dinner tonight we all went to band practice at the church. Nico and I only stayed a little while. Myself and another girl will be doing a piano/flute duet for Easter, so I was giving her the sheet music. Guy is bringing home a keyboard for me to practice on for the next month. 

I had an interesting discussion with Nico tonight on our way to church about God, after the radio mentioned the sometimes-used tactic to disprove God by asking, “If God can do anything, can he create a rock so big that he can’t pick it up?” 

I think God already did that by creating the law. A rock that he can’t “pick up” (dispose of), and by creating his promises, which he can’t break. Sin requires death, and that can’t be changed, so he created a way around it by sending Jesus to die.

Nico asked so many questions, and he reframed back to me what I was saying. I've never seen him repeat back to me what I was saying in different words just to make sure he got it right. We talked about sin requiring death, that's why the Israelites sacrificed animals. But then Jesus came and died once for all. So Nico said, "So sin is like all balled up into one place, and Jesus takes it away. Then we sin again, and he takes it away, then we sin and he takes it away. Like we're fresh."

Right on, little dude!

That's it for this week, enjoy the video!

Geode, and our new Sign!

On Saturday Nico and I went over to Grandma and Papa's house in the early afternoon. We stayed for a few hours and met Jonny and Alanna. The grownups discussed Thanksgiving while Nico and Lexie played. I left Nico there and he stayed overnight!

Guy wasn't able to come with us because he had a very bad migraine :(

Nico's tummy aches started back up again, we left church early on Sunday because he was feeling too sick, and we skipped Bible Study on Sunday night because he wasn't feeling well (Guy was still able to go!) He's gone to school every day this week with a tummy ache, it seems to start shortly after eating and can last a very long time. We are still trying to get to the bottom of it.

Nico found a Geode in his stash of toys and so he broke it open.

Playing Clue on top of an unfinished puzzle. The rules of this game were as follows: You can't talk. It was quite a challenge to communicate without talking to play this game, but we did it. Well, THEY did it, because I lost the "no-talk" challenge about halfway into it. Oops!

Nico rediscovered the National Geographic Kids magazines. He told me all about "Urban Sprawl" that he learned about at school, about how people were tearing down animal habitats to build housing that no one needed. He said that if he was president he would stop it from happening.

He also seems to have an interest in traveling, to all over the world, and expressed interest in being a photographer so that he could join National Geographic Kids.

He asked us tonight that if we could move to any place OUTSIDE the US, where would we move to? Guy's answer was New Zealand, Nico's answer was London. I'd have to agree with Nico, I think that would be fun.

Tonight all of us went to band practice together, it might become more of a regular thing, as I work up to maybe playing the piano in the church band every once in a while. When we got home, we saw the new sign that Allicia got us for The Clubhouse!

Gorgeous!

Here are some pictures that are from Grandpa and Grandma Russell's visit last last week, when they went to the Botanical Garden.

They had the Scarecrow Stroll going on during their visit

That's it for this week!

Sleepover, GeekCraft, Stem Night!

Friday after school, Grandma Salisbury came by and picked Nico up for an overnight with the cousins! This was him BEFORE school that day. He was all ready!

We picked him up Saturday morning and then went to the GeekCraft Expo downtown. I thought it would be bigger than it was, but it was actually easy to find parking, and the setup was a quaint room with about 20 GeekCraft vendors selling all kinds of hand made geeky stuff. Lots of zelda, Dr. Who, Harry Potter stuff, made from wood, plastic, cloth, cookies! All kinds of interesting things to look at.

We saw Jeff and Evelyn there, which was expected, and when we were all done we went outside and had some fun on these stationary bicycles that made music when you cycle on them. It was very cool! Video at the end of the blog so you can see what I mean!

Saturday pizza night was fun, and it was Guy's turn to choose the movie. He chose an animated series called Revolting Rhymes, stories from Roald Dahl. There were just 2 thirty minute episodes. It was very good.

Monday night was another baseball game. It was treat day for me, so I brought the treats for the team. Tuesday night was Stem night at his school. Guy got home a bit early so he could take him. Allicia and I, and Avery and Ivy hunkered down in the basement while Guy, Nico, Jeff, and Evelyn went to Stem Night. We watched Mulan! By the time the movie was over, the big kids were home. Nico made a brush robot: a tiny robot that has toothbrush-like attachments that moves along by vibrating. You can see a video of it at the end of the blog!

Readathon ended yesterday, Nico read a total of 20 hours in 2 1/2 weeks! Guy finished reading Matilda to him and now we plan to watch the movie.

This morning my mom and I left for Moscow. We are up here to help one of my Aunts out for a few days. We'll be home on Sunday! I know this afternoon Nico was able to go swimming in a geothermal backyard swimming pool belonging to Jeff's sister. They took him over there while Guy had band practice tonight. I just got a text from Allicia saying they were done and home. I bet he had a BLAST! The original plan was for them to go the Farmstead today (hay rides, pumpkin patch, games, that sort of thing), but the weather was too rainy earlier for that, meaning it would be a bunch of sogg and mud!

Today I got to see my Grandma, we all ate dinner at our hotel and I heard many stories about her and my Grandpa. It was so neat.

Nico won a prize at Sunday School on Sunday, a mini game of chutes and ladders, a Christmas version. We've been playing it nonstop the last few days.

We played a version of the bird matching game where the cards were put all over the clubhouse, not just in one area. So we had to get up to get the cards. It made it a little easier remembering where some of the birds were, though!

That's it for this past week!

Kids Discovery Expo, and Winter Jam!

Last Friday night, all of us met over at the Salisbury house to talk about Thanksgiving. My brother Jonny and sister-in-law Alanna were also there, with Lexie! We split up the Thanksgiving food tasks and then left Nico to stay overnight along with Lexie.

On Saturday I had a henna booth at the Kids Discovery Expo, in the afternoon Grandma Salisbury and 4 cousins including Nico came to the Expo to enjoy the kids activities. They stayed for a few hours, I gave them all henna, then they helped me pack up my car.

Inside an ambulance

Virtual reality.

Thanks for the pictures Mom!

For Saturday pizza nights we have been enjoying watching Charlie Brown shows and then one time we rented the new Peanuts movie from Amazon. We've watched them so much we have parts memorized and Nico acts them out during the day, particularly the one where Rerun wants a dog for Christmas. He has the tone just right when he says "But Mommm!"

On Tuesday we went to visit G.G. after school. Nico has been filling out a Thankful journal that he got from church, he has to write down 3 things that he's thankful for every day. When it was G.G.'s birthday LAST Tuesday, he saw it on the calendar and wrote down that he was thankful for G.G. In church on Sunday they wrote down some of the things they were thankful for onto hand cutouts, and then glued them together. He wrote G.G. on one of the hands, so I brought her the hand chain so she could have it. While we were there Nico played a little bit on the keyboard and G.G. gave me the Steptoe Butte quilt that she designed herself and created. She had already given me the thing that hangs it on the wall, so now I have the complete set. I am curious about someday visiting Steptoe Butte to see it in person! It's a beautiful quilt!

Last night (Thursday night), Nico and I went to a concert called Winter Jam, it's a collection of Christian artists that come together for one night. It was at the Taco Bell Arena which is right next to the BSU Stadium. I completely spaced the fact that they would only accept cash for parking, entrance, and food, and didn't have any on hand. As I was turning around to leave the parking lot to get to the bank, I realized I still had an envelope of cash in my purse from the Kids Discovery Expo that I had conveniently forgotten to deposit on Monday, and Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Score! So we were able to go right in. As soon as we got into the building I purchased a water and then we chose our seats. 2nd floor, off to the left. As we were sitting there Nico looked up to the 3rd floor balcony and said "I want to go up there!" so I said OK and I followed him to where he wanted to sit. He chose a nice corner spot that hardly had anyone sitting there. (When the concert got into full swing it did fill up pretty full though!)

 Our firsts chosen spot

Our second chosen spot

Video below with the view from both spots!

The "Pre-Jam" started about 6:15, and we were there until about 9PM. We heard several songs that Nico recognized, including "Chainsaw" by Family Force Five (one of his favorites) and "You Can't Stop Me" by Andy Mineo. I don't suggest you listen to the Andy Mineo song unless you like screaming. 

After Andy Mineo left the stage, I asked Nico if he wanted to stay or go home, and he said go home. He was so tired!! So we missed about 3 of the artists but I saw the one I really wanted to see and I was tired too! 

While walking through the halls we passed the candied nut stand and Nico asked what they were. So I bought him some! He chose almonds. He wasn't sure what almonds were so I told him that almond butter is what I put on his pancakes. So we walked back to our car along the greenbelt at 9PM (I know, Mom!)

He went right to bed after we got home.

Trying out a new natural dye called jagua, dyes blue instead of red/brown! This is the tattoo Nico chose.

A squirrel eating our pumpkin outside.

Nico is enjoying finding Waldo in Guy's all-inclusive Waldo book, and he's also been enjoying the National Geographic KIDS magazines. And sometimes instead of reading at night he chooses to do math problems and other school-type work in the 2nd grade workbook we got him from Costco. 

I think that's all this week!

Until the next!

Turn down the volume, video may be loud!

Nico tells a joke at school

Last weekend was the first weekend in a long time that I didn't have any henna to do! Pretty soon that will be the status quo. I've got 3 more big events in September, then I'm off for a few months.

On Sunday after church I took Nico over to Grandma and Papa's house for an overnight stay with some of the other cousins.

That night, Guy and I roasted a chicken (Nico can't have chicken, and I've been craving it, so we took advantage of the opportunity!) and we watched Dune. A while ago I had asked Guy what his favorite book was, and I endeavored to read it. It was Dune, so I read through it (took me a while) and on Sunday night we watched the movie. We were both very excited to see it. On Monday we went to the Greenbelt and I rollerbladed while Guy rode his bike. This was shortly before the valley was overcome by smoke. We've been in the Red "Unhealthy" range for a few days. It even dipped into the "Very Unhealthy" range a bit yesterday. We've tried not to use our swamp cooler much, so that the inside doesn't smell like smoke. Thankfully right near our house it doesn't smell much like smoke.

Yesterday Nico got a fun comic book in the mail from the Grandparents Russell. It's called "Laser Moose and Rabbit Boy". He laughed while he read the title, and reread the title about 4 times, laughing each time. It's been an entertaining read. Thanks Grampa and Gramma!

Last week Allicia went to the school to eat lunch with Evelyn, and they had an open mic outside during the recess afterward. Nico apparently got up and told a joke, and Allicia caught it on video!! Nico has been really interested in jokes lately and is starting to catch on a liiiiittle better on why jokes are funny. He's working on it :) His principal has a daily joke the kids can come ask him every day what the joke is when they see him. The night before Allicia took this video, Nico was lying in bed at night coming up with jokes. He told us several of his made up jokes that night, and in this video he tells his class one of the jokes he came up with.

SPOILERS...

....

...

The punch line of the joke is "A warrior", not "A worrier". 

Sleepovers, Birds of Prey, Whiffle Ball!

Last Friday Nico went over to the Grandparents Salisbury's house for a sleepover because of my Rock the Village event and Guy working late. Nico met a friend at the park nearby and they planned to meet back there the following Tuesday at the same time, when Nico was going to be there again for the last Grandma Camp of the summer. (His friend never showed up on Tuesday though! 😞)

Saturday, Jeff and Allicia and the kids were out of town so we ate our pizza downstairs and watched Chicken Little.

On Monday Nico decided to spend some of his money to rent Boss Baby on Netflix, which we watched 2 1/2 times that day.

Tuesday morning, Nico was off again to the Grandparents Salisbury's house! I stayed for lunch before heading home. Nico was the only grandkid able to attend this last Grandma Camp! He stayed Tuesday night and Wednesday night. Here's some fun things they did...

Grandma took him to the Birds of Prey.

Nico asked the presenter a few questions, including "How do you catch the Condors?" So I asked Nico how they catch Condors and he told me they put out the Condor's favorite food and put a net next to it. When they eat the food, they catch the Condor with the net.

An American Kestrel

He got all of them right

Playing whiffle ball. After doing really well, he told them to call him "Mr. Batter". 

Grandma took him to his dentist appointment

Then out to Red Robin!

Thank you Grandma and Papa for the fun time!!

Video at the end of more Whiffle Ball!

After dinner tonight we went to the park to play ball, and Nico searched around for some kids and found some, so he asked them if they wanted to play ball with us, so they took turns hitting the ball, and even throwing it.

Making Nico's bed after washing his sheets is a dual effort. He stands on our bed as I throw each of his stuffed animals to him from his bed. I have to say the name of each as I throw them. Then I make the bed and he throws them back, naming each as he throws them. Today we were able to add a new one to the bunch - Red. He is a Red Tailed Hawk.

Here's the Whiffle Ball video!

Bookstore Party, Where's Waldo, Sleepover, Swimming, Cat

So back to the party last Friday, the Book Bingo one that Guy and Nico went to. The bookstore pulled all the books that had been read off the shelves, all they had anyway, so that the kids could see what books the others had read. Of Nico's list, Guy remembers seeing Groovy Joe and I Broke my Trunk. They got to pick out a book to take home, and everyone went home with a little bag of goodies. Stickers, notepad, a pencil. They served ice cream, and since Nico couldn't have any they gave Guy some money to run over to Jamba Juice (just down the street) to buy him a smoothie. How sweet was that?

On Saturday we went to a retirement party for a friend from church who was a nurse and teacher at BSU. It was pretty special. They played games and Nico participated. He didn't win the last game but the person who did win gave the gift to Nico. It was a little cross he could hang on the wall that says "Kind" on it.

It was on Sunday that I found out that for the month of July, the bookstore started something new - a Where's Waldo around downtown. So on Monday, Nico and I went down to the bookstore to pick up the "passport". We searched the bookstore to find Waldo and Wenda, it took us a while, and one of the employees played a game of "Hot and Cold" to get us there.

Then we walked over to Jamba Juice because they were on the passport too, and bought a smoothie and found Waldo there, too.

On Tuesday, Nico was invited over to the Grandparents' Salisbury's house for a cousin sleepover. Papa is teaching the kids how to make their own knife. As far as I know, the handle is going to be made from wood. Nico told me he has to wait until he's a little older before he can make the blade.

Today we ventured to McU Sports to find another Waldo. While we were there we bought Nico some swimming goggles that he got to try out right after that at his first day of swimming lessons! (The first day was actually yesterday, but we skipped that one;)) 

Guy asked him what he learned at swimming and Nico said "I couldn't do any of them." hehe. Guy said that it takes practice to learn something new. 

Nico drew a new comic today and I wish I could find it so I could take a picture of it, but I can't find it anywhere! He was inspired today and wanted to make a bunch of comics to sell at a booth like my henna booths. He said he wants to get a booth next to mine. Then he said he'd rather sell the comics at my henna booth. 

We bought a small watermelon at the Co-op and tried it out this afternoon.

We were joined by the stray cat who has adopted us. She showed up a few weeks ago, looking scraggly and so so skinny. We started feeding her a bit of food, now she comes by every few days. Nico has named her "Sunshine".  So I brought her out some food and water, and she was very hungry.

I had sent Guy to WinCo on Tuesday and he texted me a picture of the bins of cat food they had there. He also texted me a picture of the bins of bird food, and a package of Pad Thai he wanted to buy. So now we have some cat food, a refill on our bird feeder (wasps had started building a nest in the empty feeder!) and Guy had a yummy 2nd breakfast of Pad Thai.

Nico was trying to get Sunshine into his lap, and he was being so patient.

A few snippets I forgot to mention last time - 

A picture that Nico drew on Grandpa Russell's tablet

And then a funny story about our arrival home to the Boise airport. After we got off the plane, we were walking through the terminal, and I look up, and see Jonny and Alanna standing right on the other side of the Security doors. I see Lexie, and Alanna's mom, Wanda. We were all looking at each other cockeyed, not sure what was going on. Even though it was unexpected for both of us, it was a pleasant surprise! They were waiting for Alanna's brother Johnathan, who was flying in from Alaska on a flight from Seattle, (probably on our same flight!) We laughed about it, Nico whisper-asked if he could go to Lexie's house, hehe, then we said goodbye, "See you again soon!" It was a nice refreshing welcome back into Boise :)

Until next time!