Boys Will Be Boys

The boys have found a new place to play. It is within the limits of the yard, out of the sun and rain, on the ground and within earshot of mommy and daddy. Here is how it happened.
Recently, daddy went outside on the back porch to check on the boys who had been playing with their toy cars, dump trucks, backhoes and loaders on the nice covered patio. When daddy came outside, the boys were nowhere in sight.
"Boys, where are you?"
Aden's response came, "we are under here."
"Under where," daddy asked.
And then he saw some movement between the deck boards and realized they were under the porch. Of course! There is dirt under there and how can you play with dump trucks on cement?
"Wiley, are you under there too?"
No response.
"Wiley, if you are under there, say 'Hi, Daddy!'"
"Hi, Daddy" came in a soft voice.
We let them play for awhile, as they were just under the steps and not back under the part of the porch where there are lots of spider webs (although I am sure a day is coming when that part will be explored as well).
Finally, it was getting close to dinnertime so daddy went out to call the boys out from under the porch to get cleaned up. "Jill!" came the call as he watched the boys crawl out. Wiley was covered from head to toe, literally, after he apparently had been dumping the dirt over the top of his head several times. Aden was deserving of a bath, but not nearly as dirty. He seems to stay clean through all of this and it makes you wonder who is dumping the dirt, although he has always been pretty particular about being dirty. Needless to say, we had bath time before dinner. It took one tub of bath water to rinse them off and get the dirt and grime out of Wiley's hair. It took a second tub of bath water to get them clean.
I wish we could say that this 'not so delightful' head and body scrubbing was enough to discourage them from wanting to do it again anytime soon, but just today we had to have (two) baths before lunch. Boys will be boys....

Easter

To help the boys celebrate Easter this year, we colored eggs on Saturday. Last year Mommy ended up coloring the half dozen eggs she had boiled, since Aden was more interested in playing. This year, however, Aden and Wiley both enjoyed the activity and thought that a dozen boiled eggs wasn't quite enough. On Sunday morning we got up early for a sunrise service on the McCoys' deck. Wiley got up early with Mommy and Daddy, and Aden was carried to the service in his pajamas, straight out of bed. After a late, interesting lunch (sorry, Uncle Bill and Aunt Marsha!), we were invited to go to the Radcliffes' house to hunt for Easter eggs. Just as Wiley would find an egg, Aden was there to pick it up and put it in his own basket. Wiley did find a few on his own and would not-so-gently toss the "ball" into his Easter basket. Needless to say, Wiley's eggs were quickly consumed shortly after the hunt. We enjoyed a (much better) Easter dinner with the Radcliffes that evening.

We have realized that Aden does not yet understand the significance of the Easter story. While he knows the story, he often stops at the crucifixion and is quite sad. We continue to prompt him about what happened on the third day, hoping that he will soon realize the joy of the Resurrection. He did enjoy the Seder meal we shared with the Radcliffes later in the week.

Madang!

Last Thursday, we left for a few days' of much-needed vacation in the PNG coastal town of Madang. Aden, Wiley, and Mommy flew with the other ladies and children on our trip (Radcliffes and some volunteers), and the trip was only 30 minutes; Daddy drove with the men and split a rough 10-hour drive into two days. As we boarded the airplane, Aden started talking, and he didn't stop until we got off the airplane in Madang. His initial question (of many) for Mommy was, "When are we going back to PNG?" And so the trip began.

We enjoyed pizza we didn't make ourselves, watched the sunrise, visited the ocean and swam in swimming pools (Mommy and Daddy went snorkeling, but the boys were still a bit overwhelmed by the ocean), waited in the car while Mommy shopped at the market and bought lots of pottery, enjoyed many meals in restaurants and a few at the guesthouse where we stayed, and went to a new church. Although Wiley did not seem too excited about swimming, Aden quickly overcame any past fears of the water and was soon jumping into the kiddie pools. He even learned how to say the name of the hotel with his favorite pool, "Jais Aben."

The boys enjoyed the time away, though a lack of routine was quite taxing by the end of five days, and we were all happy to be back home again by Tuesday evening. We recently discovered a new way to get multiple pictures onto a blog fairly easily (thanks, Meghan, for letting us steal your idea) . . . So, since a picture is worth a thousand words, Madang in pictures looks like this:


If you click on the image, you can take a closer look at the individual photos in the collage.