Last Summer Hoorah

We went to the beach. We had a lot of fun.

When a four year old gets tired on the beach....he just kind of lays down in the warm sand.

Four year old pouring sand on my legs and feet. My own pumice type of pedi.

Got some sand in our mouth. Ewe!

Boys...must....dig....in....their.....genetics......

My little waterdog. If I let him, he would run out in the ocean and arrive in Tokyo.

Spanish 101

As we approach the end of our first year of virtual schooling, it's getting creative. We have completed JM's curriculum for Social Studies, Science, Math, Art and PE. When I saw on the daily schedule this was coming down the pike, I asked his teacher if we could sign up for an elective, and she said "of course" (you can't if your student is struggling or has outstanding issues of some kind).

The hubbie thought we should do French, because that is his favorite language. I disagreed. Why? When was the last time you met someone on the street speaking French? However much you agree or disagree with the politics of this land, it is very helpful to know Spanish. I, on the other hand, took 3 years of Latin in my early years. And the same question applies, when was the last time you saw someone speaking.....

For the past month we have been working pretty dilligently on Spanish. I am learning it too, and kind of enjoying it. This class is all online. So it's listening to little recordings of someone telling a story and inserting Spanish words (a lot like Dora the Explorer shows). It also is worksheets. Culture lessons on Mexico and Spain. We also get a Power Point presentation from JM's Spanish teacher and we go through those as well.

One thing I have noticed....I have to drill the vocabulary into my kids' head. So today as I am drilling the words for colors into JM's head, BH joins in and, surprisingly, is picking it up fast.

BH likes to be quizzed in his Spanish colors and has asked me several times today, "Ask me my colors!" And here is my car conversation with BH while JM had his piano lesson:

Me: What is the Spanish word for "yellow"?
BH: Amarillo (that double "l" is a /yuh/ sound remember, BH said it right)

Me: What is the Spanish word for "blue"?
BH: Azul.

Me: What is the Spanish word for "green"?
BH: Verde

Me: What is the Spanish word for "white"?
BH: Hmmmmmm........hard.

It is actually "blanco".

Our Weekend Plans Changed a Bit

This little guy is my fever kid. He spikes a fever on a dime. Here is our day. We dosed him earlier with Tylenol, and here he is as it wears off. Glad to know Pablo is taking care of him.

Our Trip to the Science Museum

I chaperoned a trip yesterday to the local science museum for BH's preschool. It was totally fun. It was totally cool to see his eyes light up. It was even more amazing to see him "get it". Link things together, construct a cause and effect scenario, create things, etc. I am more than excited to do homeschooling with him. Let's hope his curiosity isn't spoiled by the time we get to do that. So much fun!

Too Bad the Department of Education Can't See This

After our lessons today, BH got wind that JM and I were playing an online skills game of smashing tomatoes while doing math. Yes, Connections Academy has some fun things for learning. And so I let him go at it. Keep in mind, he doesn't have mouse skills, or left click skills. Well, he picked it up pretty fast. Results were a completely giggly three year old.

The Weirdest Day...

8 a.m.-I awake to the thumping and jumping of JM and BH downstairs. Who needs an alarm clock when you have boys?

9 a.m.-Drop off BH at preschool, he is bouncy all the way across the parking lot right into class.

9:15-noon-Homeschooling. Keeping an eye on the clock since we'll need to pick up BH at 1:00 p.m.

Noon-BH's teacher calls. Uh oh.....She tells me that BH was playing at recess and.....can you feel the lump in the throat? I start filling in the blank, got a split lip on a rusty toy, ran into the street, etc. I hate motherly feelings sometimes. So much anticipation can really ruin the actual conversation. But I digress....BH was playing at recess when he curled up on a bench and fell asleep. She said so sweetly, "I don't think he feels good and maybe he should go home early." I was still back at "he fell asleep" while at recess? Ummm...heck yes, I'll come and get him because something is really wrong.

12:15 p.m.-Sure enough, you see what I arrived to. He was crashed out on a couch. As I tried to pick him up, he had vomited and was hot to the touch. The little guy has a high fever.

I get into the car and call the doctor's office. Yes, they want to see him at 3:15 p.m.

12:30 p.m.-Arrive at husband's work to have some things mailed from their post office. Find him in the lunch room and give him the update. He agrees to come home soon. Love the helpful hubbie!

1:00 p.m.-Arrive at home, settled the toddler. Try to focus on some kind of homeschooling. But then the hubbie arrives. Focus lost. Make lunch for kids.

1:30 p.m.-Try to finish book report. And because it has writing and creativity, it is a battle. Time starts to warp somewhere between this time and the next increment. However during this time, we have our second vomiting episode.

2:15 p.m.-BH starts complaining he is hungry and doesn't feel sick to his stomach. So we give him some noodles. They come right back up. Sigh.

2:45 p.m.-After cleaning up, BH and I head out the door.

3:05 p.m.-Arrive at the doctor's office, and BH is perking up. He is no longer hot to the touch, and isn't in feverish delirium.

3:45 p.m.-Yes, that appointment was at 3:15 p.m., but we were seen 30 minutes later. And BH feels fine. I tell the doctor, "We are here to pay a co-pay!" He still does a good once-over, and I appreciate that mainly because fevers freak me out a bit. I have had several friends have tragedies with their kids and it started as a simple fever. Doctor also does a pretty thorough questioning of BH over the playground. Doctor thought it was simply mysterious for a child to just curl up and fall asleep during such chaos.

4:15 p.m.-Home. BH is fine, and really complaining of being hungry and lunges into the noodles again, and they stay down.

4:30 p.m.-BH is being scolded for jumping on the furniture.

Yep, it was the fastest fever and weirdest day in a really long time.

Annual Purge

It's the annual get-rid-of-every-toy-that-is-broken-missing-pieces-outgrown-annoying-requires-too-many-batteries-need-more-space-for-incoming-toys-from-overindulgent-family-members-who-think-we-have-a-12,000-square-foot-house-instead-of-1200-square-feet.

The hubbie surveying the under side of the bed that keeps getting jumped on, and support slats keep getting broken.
And after. Fixed bed. Heck, you can see the bed! Toys are in bins, shoes are in bins, sheets are tumbling in the washer, and Dad and Mom get to tackle the tree now.

Christmas Morning Musings

The big gift from Santa this year was that gift the boys have wanted forever....a Nintendo Wii. And of course, to set up this thing, you have to pull out the TV. What happens next? Every single itsy bitsy toy that has been missing for years has been found. Candy wrappers from clandestine candy eating is found. Crusts from pizza is found--crusts that were supposed to be eaten, not stashed. So the hubbie got out the vacuum cleaner and has cleaned up the place. Here is one aspect of that conversation:

Mom: Watch out! Daddy made a clean spot!
BH: Oops!

Coming to a Grinding Halt

Our little man measuring the Christmas tree.....for some reason....

Our decorated tree....a bit off center, but at least it's not falling over.

Let's go outside.....now! In five minutes, it's "Let's go inside .....now!"

Remember my lovely blackberry bushes from last summer? Yep, that's them.

The city has declared only vehicles with chains are allowed to drive. Well, then you can either use your four wheel drive Jeep.....or cross country skis.

Beautiful ice laced holly tree in our yard. It's fun to see the beauty all around.

It's official in the last 24 hours, not only has the city come to a complete halt. It has now hit emergency levels. Emergency vehicles cannot get around, and are actually requesting a plow to plow in front of them to make it to emergencies. Parts of the grocery store near us has closed down, because the shelves are bare. A couple was found today having died from carbon monoxide poisoning because they were trying to stay warm in their car. So, around the city, you can feel it--some critical levels have been achieved. Some of the remote rural communities have some serious concerns about getting supplies to them. So, I ask your prayers for them. When we hear such news, we are struck by how blessed we are to have a roof over our heads, and food in our cupboards. Yet there is not much we can do for those we are hearing about, prayer is the most effective thing I can think of.

I am bummed for another reason. We do a giving tree at our church every year, like most churches. We adopt a few families and provide for them Christmas. I mean it, we provide it all. The gifts for the kids, a few for the parents, a full meal including a ham. So we all pick items to bring. I was lucky to get to a store late last week to provide two presents for two kids. I am so sad for those kids because there is no way our church can get these things that I have bought and others have bought for these families.

As I watch my little local yahoo chicken chat group online, I am amazed at how many people are losing chickens to frost and cold. We have been consistently in the 20's for the last several days. So, while I put up with Lizzie squawking in my house, I am glad we can bring her inside. She may not be though.

We are blessed that we will have a cozy Christmas here in our home. Traditionally, we go off to the inlaws and have a huge Christmas. I have always secretly (not so secret anymore) wanted to have a few Christmas memories in our house, with just our family, with our own traditions. This year will be memorable for that.

The world around us has come to a grinding halt, in some cases, quite tragically. We count our blessings.

We wish all of you a most blessed, lovely, special and memorable Christmas.

Crud, crud, crud!

I had an inkling this would happen someday.

You know how much I really enjoy sending BH's birth family our semi annual letter and pictures. I sent the most recent pack the week of Thanksgiving. We received it back today "No longer at this address". Crap!

I kind of knew this would happen. Let me give you a bit of the red tape that can happen with adoption.

When we adopted BH, the agency, we shall call ABC, had a director, Jeff. Jeff was a bit of a schmoozer who could easily be a politician. And in some respects of adoption, you want that kind of person. You need someone who can build relationships and put together agreements, which is what adoption is.

ABC adoption was (notice the past tense) directed by Jeff on the east coast, we live on the west coast. JM's adoption was in a state a long way's off, and it was a commitment to a lot of phone calls, and it went fine. I made it clear to Jeff, we needed him to jump on the paperwork so we could finalize the adoption by the end of 2005. Why? So we could get the adoption tax credit we desperately needed to pay for a lot of the adoption. Key! I made it clear, that needed to happen.

After we took custody of BH in the summer of 2005, the adoption isn't over. You have to finalize the deal with a lot of paperwork and a court appearance. Again, lots still needs to happen.

I called my attorney in the fall to see how the paperwork was slogging along. He had received nothing from ABC. Now keep in mind, they had hounded me quite a bit at this point for several minor medical bills to be paid, which were. But when I needed something, I got nothing.

This calling, asking for the paperwork, nothing happening, continued after the New Year. It got to the point that by March, I wasn't getting calls returned at all. I would just call at random times to try to catch a lucky moment when someone picked up the phone.

This is tax season of 2006! Our taxes are messed up so badly at this point. I finally get ahold of Jeff, and he explains to me a terrible thing. His entire staff had walked out on him and he was running the whole show. "Oh, Jeff, I am so sorry. However, I really need this paperwork to happen. It has been almost a year" I say. His specific words to me are "You have my word that this will be out the door to your attorney in a week." When someone says that to me, I honestly take them at their word.

I call my attorney at the beginning of May, and I get the answer, he hasn't received the paperwork. I am shaking mad at this point, I am not kidding. I am on the verge tears, and they are not sad, they are pure infuriation. I leave Jeff a voicemail with my voice shaking explaining how upset I am that I took him at his word that he swore to me, and that if this doesn't get resolved, I will be calling the attorney general in the state in which he is a practicing adoption attorney. Seriously, nothing happens. I now totally understand why his entire staff walked out on him, he has the listening skills and follow through skills of a dolt.

I finally get him on the phone while I am at the zoo at the beginning of June. I ask him flat out, get me paperwork or I am taking legal action. I am not exaggerating, he tries the schmooze thing on me. He says, "Oh but AM, just think of the great son you have." I say, "Nice try, he isn't my son actually is he? At best, I am his legal guardian, and how are we going to fix that?" He says, "Fair enough...." and makes more promises.

I have kept my attorney abreast of this crap all along, and he finally called Jeff, which was out of the kindness of his heart, and said something. The paperwork finally got finished, over a year after taking custody of BH.

I noticed the following November, when I called ABC offices, his voice wasn't on the voicemail. It was the social worker saying she would call back. I have left several messages with her, and of course, no returned calls.

So the writing has been on the walls for awhile. That agency is on the way out. But any responsible agency, when it folds, contracts another agency to take care of all the follow up and contact between birth and adoptive parents. I know our agency here in our hometown has taken over those responsibilities for other agencies. Nothing from ABC.

I have searched on the Internet for ABC, for Jeff, for the social worker, for any updated information. I have also left a message for another agency in the same city just to see if the know the gossip about what has happened to ABC.

And who suffers here? Well, when BH is old enough, I get to tell him that the agency went under with no new information. His birthparent's suffer because they are waiting for the update that is sitting on my desk, instead of in their hands.

Crud, crud, crud!!

Snow Day Number 2

They seem so peaceful and serene don't they?
They actually have a severe case of "ants in the pants".

Snow + Trampoline = Fun!

I know for those of us who grew up in climates that have serious snow, my pictures today will seem really wimpy. I remember trick or treating as a little girl in Colorado in snow drifts taller than me. There are toddler pictures of me in Montana where the snow drifts are twice the size of me. So these pics I am sharing today will seem really wimpy. But we still had fun!

Snowball fight!

Nice form! Jumping and throwing and picture taking!

You Know It Will Be A Good Morning Part II

It is only a brief moment, but it is there nonetheless. I have two ever so brief moments in the day when I am blind. It happens in the morning and at night. You can guess, it is when I put my contacts in and when I take them out. I have been wearing contacts since I was fifteen, and we all know I just celebrated the other side of the hill.

Over the course of my lifetime in contacts, I am amazed at what can happen in that thirty to forty second time slot. I have a huge list of weird things that have happened over the years, but they are usually the things I want to forget.

Like this morning. I am stone cold blind (no joke, I am legally blind without them in, it's no exaggeration there). I am about to stab my left contact lens into my eye. I am in total auto pilot. I go into manual pilot with my finger in the air with my contact lens hanging precariously on it.

The Russians are coming. No. Ummm.....a plane landed in the backyard. No. A huge bird fell out of the sky and is plummeting down our steep roofline. No.

It is my three year old son falling down the stairs.

And I can't see a thing. Of course.

Wonder what tomorrow morning has in store for us.

P.S. All is well. A few kisses from Mommy and we're good.

Our Annual Apple Orchard Excursion

Again, another perfect day....

Our Adventures at the Pumpkin Patch

Yes, today was the chosen day to go out to the pumpkin patch. We went with our pastor and his family, which includes four children. We watched how our older boys maneuvered us through the corn maze, figured out the clues, and had a great attitude. The younger tykes were helped up onto the huge hay pyramid with no complaining. We rode a bumpy hayride that made our lower lumbar scream and our motherly fears kick in as we watched three year olds bounce around mercilessly. Our children followed the rule "you can't pick a pumpkin you can't carry" without a fault. Three of the children rode a silly cow ride that is as old as our parents and loved it.

It was....a perfect day. I hope you enjoy the pictures half as much as we enjoyed our day.

What a week!

I might seem absent....because I am.

T minus thirty six hours and counting.....my husband coming back from being gone since Tuesday.

Why? He makes an annual pilgrimage to Scotland to meet with his PhD advisor. I am hoping this is one of the last times he makes this journey. He is on the home stretch of his doctorate degree, and I can't wait!

But more importantly, I can't wait for several things.

Here is my list of what I am looking forward to:

* Not being interrupted while taking a shower. I waited until really late last night (like past midnight) to take a shower, and I still got a little sleepy face poking into the shower asking me for milk.

* A break.

* Not wondering what every bump in the night I hear is. Wondering why the motion detector lights keep going off in the middle of the night. Security in general feels better with hubbie home. Although I have turned on the alarm so that we are safe inside while sleeping.

* To go to the grocery store. I know, I could go with the kids. But right now, three year old is really bad in public. It's a stage, and it shall pass, but it's hideous.

* Eating something other than peanut butter and jelly, macaroni and cheese, or tuna sandwiches. The kid fare is getting old.

* Having back up when I hit my wits end.

What I have enjoyed this week:

* Watching whatever I want on TV. I have no clue what is happening on the NFL and don't care to find out.

* Putting kids to bed at their actual bedtime, not when hubbie feels like it. No one is sleep deprived this week except me.

* Why? Because I am also catching up on my movies! "PS I Love You" is in the player waiting for me right now.

* I have the whole queen bed to myself including the covers. Except for the cat.

* I have an awesome friend who watched the kids for a couple of hours today, and it was great! I got a whole bunch of work done that has piled up. I ran a bunch of errands. It will make it easier to sleep tonight knowing a few things got checked off the urgent list.

* I am also planning a trip with the kids to the pumpkin patch tomorrow, weather permitting. Should be fun, and should also burn off the ants that have accumulated in two little boy's pants.

* I don't know if this counts, but it got done, and it needed to get done. Feels good to get it done. I cleaned out the chicken coop today. I know, gross. But with some recent rains, it needed to get done, and the chickens seemed relieved too. Now, I hope they reward me by laying some eggs soon!

Sigh.....my movie is calling.

Our Latest Acquisitions and Other Worthy Updates

I love craigslist!

I realized a few weeks ago after having a friend who has a trampoline babysit my kids, that I want one of them! Why? They fell asleep immediately after getting in the car and they slept like rocks for the next two nights. I want one! We got one for $60.00 on craigslist.

After our trip to Colorado, and listening to JM on a friend's piano, I realized we need to do piano lessons. When I was seven, I pounded on pianos, and didn't do much for anyone's mood. JM on the other hand, really tries to make music, and you can hear his purpose in his pounding.

Piano lessons! Scored a keyboard for $100.00 today. We also interviewed our piano teacher, and she very much approves of our acquisition. Lessons start next week.

BH's first day of preschool. Play Doh, you can't beat it!
Is he levitating? No.

Soccer season has begun, and here is JM going head to head with his coach.

Our First Week

Many of you have asked, how has our first week of Connections Academy gone?

Good! At least I think so, my son might say differently. Here is what I have noticed:

1) JM struggled in math last year. His teacher made that apparent to us. She was also trying out a new curriculum that was definitely more huge ideas, and big picture of math. I got frustrated because JM just needed to learn what three plus two was. She also kept discouraging me from teaching him math facts. "Studies have shown......".

So, as we have sat down and done math, I have noticed that JM just sits and dilly dallies. I had a pretty good idea that would happen. What he did last year was this--sit and dilly dally during math to the point the teacher would just move on and not wait for him. Of course, she has a whole class to move forward, she can't wait while JM plays drums with his pencils. But he got out of math by doing that, and he knew it.

Now, JM is realizing, I am patient. We will spend two hours doing a math sheet. We won't move on until it's done. Mom will take away the pencils so they can't be drummed with.

2) I love love love love love the math curriculum. Connections Academy uses Calvert Math, which is a prestigious homeschool math program. Why do I love it? It is math facts and big ideas of math. It is an integration and JM is getting it, and isn't so frustrated.

3) I have also noticed that JM can do math. He knows his math facts. He knows how to manipulate numbers, I just think the curriculum she was using last year was too weird. I really do.

4) JM loves to read, loves to write things down, loves to do science. We have had some fun moments doing the projects and things assigned in these areas.

5) JM gets PE credit for playing soccer and participating in Skate Church. Nice! He also got credit for our trip last week to Cripple Creek where we learned about miners and prospectors, donkeys and trains. That was very nice!

5) I used to have breaks in my day. No more. If I am not doing school, I am doing my candle business. And there is nothing in the middle. No break.

6) BH started preschool this week, and he loves it. At first he was balking, but now he loves it, and loves his new friends.

7) BH, because it was his first week of school, now has a nasty cough, runny nose and congestion.

The school year has begun!

We Are Back, and Had a "First" Yesterday....

One of the last things we ended our whirlwind vacation with was one of our firsts.

Our first visit to the emergency room yesterday. And we did it out of state and out of insurance coverage area.

What happened? Nothing any one of us hasn’t experienced, but here is our story.

As you can see by the pictures, we spent our last full day enjoying a fountain with the squirty things that randomly pop out of the ground. Kids love it.

One of the first things we discovered when we arrived, it’s slippery. The colored swirly painted area is slick. As you can see by the beginning pictures, my kids don’t have their sandals on. After the first spill, we decided to put them on for traction.

Before we even arrived at this park, these two boys had an early wake up, got dropped off at someone’s house, and dragged to this park. It was a full day before we got here. BH was already on short fuse mode. His first spill made him mad and irritated.

Well, as I was beginning to think, we might need to go, get some lunch and rest, BH took a spill and bumped his head on the cement. He got up screaming. When he already has a short fuse, he usually reacts angrily at being hurt, which he did. So with hugs and kisses we packed it up, went to McDonald’s and to our friend’s house.

I promptly got BH ready for a nap and into bed. He was fighting me the whole time, which is normal. He also said his head still hurt. I told him the more he cried it would make it hurt. He eventually fell asleep.

Of course, his big brother then needed an electronic game that was in the room that BH was sleeping in. JM promised me he wouldn’t make a sound. Nope. I go back in, he is up. I talk him back to laying down and calming down. He still says his head hurts. I tell him I am sorry but a nap should help. He goes back to sleep.

No joke, five minutes later, older brother, JM, comes to tell me “Yep, he’s up again. I can hear him coughing.” I go in. BH is vomiting on a beautiful coverlet on my friend’s bed. Now, I am worried. For anyone out there, a head bump associated with vomiting usually means a concussion at least.

Okay, we clean up. I call my insurance company. They say, “Go to any emergency care or emergency room. Show them your insurance card. If there are any questions, have them call us.” Got it.

The first urgent care we went to refused our insurance. By this time, BH is falling asleep in the car and is hard to wake up. Another rule, someone who has had a brain injury, don’t let them sleep. UGH!

We get to the ER, forget urgent care whatevers! I sign us in, and my friend, JM, myself and BH sit in a waiting room full of sick people. I am overwhelmed. My case is no worse than anyone else’s but when will we be seen? BH is very hard to keep awake. I keep telling him to stay awake and not rest his head on me. I am not letting him sit in my lap and forcing him to stand. I am patting his back firmly like I am burping him. I am doing all I can to keep his eyes from shutting. I am extremely worried. He is extremely lethargic, and he is normally bouncing, and I mean it. Bouncing! This is not normal! He was deteriorating right before my eyes and it scared me.

Then he threw up again. A nurse came running to help. I was on the verge of tears. Please let us be seen soon! I think his vomiting helped. Within about five minutes we were taken to a room. My friend and JM were allowed to join us. So we chit chatted. The doctor came and did a check on him, watched how he walked, etc. Fortuitously JM let BH play a Nintendo DS game, which showed off that his dexterity was working nicely. But the vomiting was a concern, so he arranged for a CAT scan. By now BH is perking up and not so sleepy.

Within ten minutes, we were called to the CAT scan room. My itsy bitsy boy was laid on this huge machine with lead blankets put on him with his little sandaled feet sticking out. His huge eyes were all I saw at the other end. He understood that he needed to sit super still and the machine would move and hum. It did and all I saw were his huge eyes watching the machine. Then he came back out.

All is well. No problems. Just a mild concussion. Whewie! Now we called Dad! That was a relief for the kids to talk to him. When I called the hubbie I said, “I’ll give you five guesses where I am…..” Gave him the story, let the kids talk to him, etc. One nice thing I did think to ask for, copies of his CAT scan. They were able to burn a disk for me, which would be nice if something came up in the near future related to this.

We had one more vomiting incident that night. The kids fell asleep. We had a nice visit with some more friends. I had two mojitos, which were needed to calm my nerves. I don’t want to make that kind of trip again!

Firsts at my age are not usually welcomed!

I have so many other picture to share with you! I need to rest tonight, but more to come soon.

Remember When You Were a Kid......

You would get something special and just love it to death?

I remember when I was about 6 and had gotten for my birthday a beautiful raincoat, that was fully plastic with pretty flowers on it. It also came with a floppy rain hat, speckled with the same gorgeous flowers. It also had the sweetest umbrella, and of course it matched. I paraded around in that outfit in the middle of September for weeks, when there is not a drop of rain to be seen in Colorado where I lived at the time. I remember getting made fun of by a mean family down the street from us. They didn't have the cool outfit I had you see.

Well, that happened today for our little guy BH. Since we are off to fly on an airplane soon, I have been mulling about how to get a week's worth of toys and clothes where it needs to go. I decided I need to take advantage of the fact that these kids are fare paying passengers, endowed with the same rights and privileges as myself. In other words, they are carrying some carry on luggage. JM has a suitcase on wheels already and a backpack. BH was another story.

I scored at Target today when I found a little suitcase on wheels, that came as a set with a tiny backpack and fanny pack for $20.00. Score! It also is speckled with spaceship stuff.

You would have thought I brought home Walt Disney himself. That backpack got packed with his favorite teddy bear, the suitcase got wheeled around, and the fanny pack got cinched to it's tiniest setting for his tiny little waist. For about two hours at least. Seriously cute!

Big brother was a bit put out that he didn't get something new and cool looking. So we broke out the foamy stickers and I let him put stickers all over his plain black backpack. Dodged a bullet on that because normally that would have been a screaming fit. We talked about how at the airport, the "policemen" will need to check the packs to make sure they are safe, so we need to do what they say, take them off, etc. So JM stickered the word "police" on the pack so they would know it needed to be checked, or something like that.

My son....accessorizing....

There will be stowaways on this trip. We have a blue bear as well that might be on this flight.

It's literally a fanny pack!

Okay, so why can't we get on the plane NOW!?

More accessorizing the accessories with foam stickers.