Papa Breaking Dump Truck

For those of you who don't know, we've been having major gas issues here. No, no one is sick. We have a gas leak in the street in front of our house.

We noticed the gas smell on Saturday when we got home from our IKEA adventure. It was pretty strong, and it was close to the new home next door, which is currently unoccupied, so I called the gas company and reported it. That evening, when we returned from dinner at Friendly's, a female gas employee was checking our street. She checked our basement, gas lines and sewer line to make sure we had no problem, and then assured us the leak was in the street. Since it wasn't an emergency, she said someone would come to fix it within a few days.

I guess the smell got stronger that evening, because someone called Melrose Fire Department. I woke up around 1 am to see a hook and ladder at the end of the street, and a bunch of firemen trying to open a window at the unoccupied house next door. Eventually, another gas company employee turned up. He checked our basement again and reassured us that the leak was in the street. It turned out that MFD called him directly since he was the on-call guy, and he didn't know we'd already reported the leak and had it checked out.

We've had a few gas company representatives come by in the past week. Someone marked up the area where the leak seemed to be strongest. Someone came out from dig safe and marked where it was safe to dig. A couple people came out and took measurements. I guess it was all leading up to today, when they brought the big truck out.

Jack was thrilled. As you know, he loves trucks and construction equipment, so he stayed right by the window watching them work this morning. He has also learned "big" and "small" this week, so he was enjoying telling me that there was a big box truck and a smaller backhoe (that they keep in the back of the big truck). Because we've had a lot of snow and freezing rain lately, they spent the first part of the morning just clearing snow and ice from the areas where they needed to dig. By the time they got out the jackhammers, it was nap time for Jack.

As an aside, did you know that the gas company not only keeps a small backhoe in its truck, but has a giant mechanical arm that comes out through the truck doors carrying two jackhammers and the compressor hose? It was a pretty efficient set up. I enjoyed watching it almost as much as Jack.

But I digress. Jack went up for a nap, and after an hour and a half, I went up myself to read and wait for him to get up. Before I went upstairs, they started digging a huge hole in the street. It was about seven feet long and five feet wide. When I went upstairs, it was about three feet deep. After I got upstairs, I could hear the conversation between the workers outside (we still have an air conditioner installed in the window by our bed and it isn't very weatherproof). It occurred to me that, even though Jack was sleeping in the other room, he might be able to hear the noise. I guess he did, because once they started to use the backhoe to fill in the hole and tamp it down, Jack sat right up in bed and said "PAPA! NO!"

I went into his room and said "What's wrong?" He pointed at the window and said "Papa breaking KITE! No, PAPA! Papa breaking DUMP TRUCK!!!" I don't know why this made me laugh so hard, but I thought I was going to wet my pants laughing. The kite part cracked me up just because he is so hung up on that word. The idea of Jim breaking a dump truck outside also cracked me up. I guess Jack heard a man's voice and the loud noise and assumed Jim was using heavy equipment outside. He was clearly really distressed, so I took him right downstairs to the window.

He looked outside and said very sadly, "Ohhhhhhh. Dump Truck all gone." He didn't mention the kite. In reality, there never was a dump truck, and the "big truck" and "small truck" were still there. In fact, he wasn't that interested in watching them do what little work remained. I think Jack was a little put out that he missed Papa naughtily breaking a dump truck out on the street.

Creston Day 1

The kids woke up at 6:30, so that was pretty nice. Due to his night-time wake-ups, Jack was pretty tired. Jim took him for a walk around the house and he got to rake leaves. It was probably the highlight of his day! He also was fascinated by the windmill, and kept pointing to it and then showing us a little toy windmill he found in Grandma's box of toys.

Lily raked some leaves, too, but her favorite part was throwing them over Jack's head. They both had a great time riding on the little stone lambs in front of the house, and riding the tricycle around the driveway. Ironically, Jack took an immediate spill on the bike, just like Lily did the first time she rode it when she got it!

Lily roped Grandma into more Polly Pocket fun, and Jack took a nice long nap. I still had to wash the vomit-tainted clothing and bag, as well as run a few loads of laundry so I put Jack down for a nap in the Night Night Truck and sat on the bed to read my book until the dryer finished. Two hours later, Jim came to wake me up, so I guess I needed a little rest! By that time, Aunt Jill had arrived and could serve as a second Polly Pocket victim, so Lily had the time of her life.

We took the kids to Cambria in the afternoon to pick up a few last minute Christmas items. They had a lot of fun looking at the beautiful things made by local artisans, and we had hard work making sure that there was no touching. The kids loved looking out for cows, sheep and goats during the drive there and back. By the time we got home, Uncle Steve had arrived, so there was even more fun for the kids.

After dinner we had three desserts -- a custard pie made by Grandma, little cookies made by Aunt Jill and some cracker candy I made. Jack played his bus game and Lily worked on her top secret project for Papa's present. She also drew a wonderful picture of a princess and her two cats. This was the story:

The Princess and Her Cats

It was raining outside and the princess was sad because her cats didn't come home. But the cats really were home, and the princess couldn't see them because she was crying so much. One cat got green paint on his head, and when the princess tried to give him a bath he hopped out and his head stayed green. The orange cat was a rain cat, and he looks happy because he loves being the in puddles.

In other news, these are the things that Jack has broken so far:

1 helicopter
1 plane
2 trucks
1 plastic windmill

He was devastated about the windmill. He accidentally stepped on it. I was out folding laundry when it happened, but as soon as I came in the house, he said "Mama, Jackie BREAKing RAYMOO!" (his word for windmill). He was very troubled about it. He mentioned it a few times during the evening. Grandma tried to glue it back together, but when he played with it, he broke it again. More devastation.