Sunday Reflections 11/25/2012

We've now been over 3 weeks in our new home and I am completely unpacked.  However, Brad is very upset because he can't find his $300 motorcycle helmet anywhere.  Not that he thinks it got left behind, he knows it is in one of his super secret/safe "hiding places". http://motobees.blogspot.com/2011/10/sunday-reflections-10302011.html The kind of hiding place that will only reveal itself late this next summer after he has already had to purchase a new helmet.

On Thanksgiving we decided to take advantage of one of the many outdoor activities our new home offers and went rock climbing as a family.

It was all fun and games at the local rock wall until Brad looked up from his ropes and asked the dreaded question, "Where is Jacob?"  We had been there all of 5 minutes when Jacob had disapeared from site, found the back way up to the top of the rock and was trouncing around by himself up on the ledge above us.  To Brad's question he leaned over the edge of the 40ft cliff and happily replied, "I'm wight here guys".   It took some strong convincing after rescuing Jake to prevent Brad from tying Jacob to a tree for the rest of the day.  As a compromise, me or a child were to hold his hand for the duration of our rock climbing adventure.

***Note firm grip on his arm.

As a whole it was a fun experience and our kids were excited to be able to go again the next day.  Riley and Ben seemed to take right to it.  Kenzie was anxious to climb but petrified once she looked down.  I had to climb to show her that I could overcome my own fear of heights and that seemed to encourage her.  Jordan was in mortal agony the whole time as he was unable to climb in his tennis shoes (because they didn't have a good grip) and the only rock climbing shoes available to him were my old ones which were several sizes too small. 

I woke up to a funny conversation yesterday morning between Jake and Ben. These days Jake is pretty stubborn and it is nearly impossible to convince him at any time that he is wrong once he has dug into a good argument. Don't know where he might get that from . . . Anyhow, the discussion went something like this:


Ben: Jacob you can't say that, it's the H-word! I'll tell Mommy and you will get in BIG TROUBLE!

Jacob: I DINUNT SAY HELL H-WORD! I SAID "HELL"!

Ben: You just said it again! You can't say the H-word, I'm going to tell Mom.

Jacob: I DINUNT SAY H-WORD! I AMN'T IN TROUBLE!!!

Ben: Where did you hear that word Jacob? You are not supposed to say that word.

My kids are soooo parental in my absence.

Jacob (screaming at this point): I DINUNT SAY H-WORD. I SAID HELL!!! I HEARD IT IN A SONG!!!

Jacob hears a song once and then will break out singing the tune word for word on a whim days or weeks later with no discernable trigger.

Ben at this point is having great difficulting explaining to Jacob what the H-word is without actually using the word Hell. Hell and the H-word, Clark Kent and Superman or describing what peanut butter tastes like without using the word peanut.

Ben: That IS the H-word!

Jacob: I ONLY SAID HELL, I DINUNT SAY H-WORD!!!

I could see Ben was actually at a loss for words himself (very uncommon) to explain the primary and secondary forms of this particular vulgarity to his little brother. A nobel gesture on Ben's part to do what he could to prevent his brother from suffering the standard punishment that accompanies potty language in our house. Well, under-age potty language/mouths at least. . . And so I took Jake aside to explain to him that Hell is the H-word and made sure he understood. This of course made it all the worse later in the evening when again the word Hell fell several more times from his little lips. Only this time the profanity was then followed with theats to his brothers and sister that "I will not love you anymore if you tell Mommy!!" Somehow this did not prove enough of a deterent for the other kids to keep his secret. Mom was IMMEDIATELY notifed and the little tattle tales were then content to sit back to enjoy the fruits of their labors.