Brothers United

Ever been removed from someone with whom you usually spend all your time?

Xander and Niko recently experienced this.

Niko was on a "short" one week trip to Grandma's house that turned into nearly three weeks. Niko desperately wanted to go to Grandma Smith's when she was headed home after a weekend visit, much to my shugrin. I really didn't want him to go. But he insisted it would only be a week and Grandma would be back at our house, so I relented.

After being at Grandmas for only a few days he caught a cold from cousins and was quarantined at her house until he was deemed healthy enough not to pass the cold and cough to us.

Since returning home, he and Xander are like busy little girls, chatting and chatting until all hours of the night. They are inseperable brothers; a bond I am sure will never be lost.

A Post from Aunt Suzie about Grandpa Mervil

Hi everyone,
I'm trying to catch up before my fourth trip out of town in 2 months. After that, I will try to get back to Alb. to work on Dad's duplex. Dad is now in assisted living! It's a great place. Read below.

Dave and I were a formidable tag team, however, I don't think it would've happened without Gentry, Dad's tenant and guardian angel, playing "Tinker Bell" and casting a spell of reality on us so we could see how bad things really were.

Dan Ritchey was Dad's first visitor. As you can see below, it was a great beginning to Dad's new social life. I have not talked with Dad, but will let him get settled before he actually sees that he's there for good. We told him at first, it would be month to month. I tell my friends that V and L Care is more like a Bed and Breakfast than anything else! Here's the info:

V & L Care (Eva Llewallen)
1325 Gabaldon NW (off Rio Grande, just North of I-40. Go West at the light at Floral).
505 554 1840

I don't want Dad to have his own phone but you can call him at the number above. You should know that I absolutely do not want anyone taking him to any business places besides restaurants. No banks, attorneys, stores, etc. I'm DONE with all that. If you don't feel comfortable refusing him, please don't go to visit. However, I doubt that he will ask, now that he is in a new environment. I have a hunch he's settling in and on his way to 100!

This is a family-run business with great "house parents" that take him to the store, WalMart, etc. You can visit or take Dad out by calling the number above. Read on for a great report from Dan. As you might expect, there's a "story" behind each "story" that Dad told Dan. Regarding the food -- homemade beef stew, meatloaf and he had so many helpings that he got sick and had to go to the ER. That's why he didn't get his haircut. Oh well, the world according to Mervil!

Mike and Gentry went to see him over the past weekend. I'll get Mike to send us an update on that visit. Feel free to call and let Dad know that you know he's there.
Thanks,
Suzanne

Tuckered Out before the Party

Ella is our party girl. She loves to be busy with Anna, and forgets that she requires much more sleep than Anna. She tried to take a nap before the party but was too excited. Then she sat down for two minutes waiting to go... and fell fast asleep.

Building a Chicken Box with Grandma

Grandmas can do lots of things... at least our Grandmas can...

This week, top priority was to make a chicken box. Somewhere the chickens can stay dry and warm when it rains. Which in Las Vegas is not very often. But the box also protects them from the wind, and it does get really windy.

Most of the wood we found at the side of the road. The frame is made from left over crates.

Xander used this project to pass of some cub scouting requirements.

Happy Birthday to Amy!

I hate to say that the best part about my birthday was the cake... but it probably was. This cake is amazing. And I usually don't like cake. It has a puding & fresh stawberry center and the frosting is lightly sweetened butter, pure butter with a hint of sugar. The writting was chocolate. Beautiful and amazing.

Xander Rock Climbing

Rock climbing for Amy's Birthday in 2012!

Fro-man!

This is of course Roman at about six months old. Stan loves to dress up his kiddos!

Grandpa Mervil's First Thoughts on Living in Assisted Living

For posterity's sake, per Dan Ritchie:

Hello Suzanne,

I took a Whataburger Junior over to Mervil's today and stayed about two hours, eating with him, talking and watching part of a WWII dvd he had on his bedroom TV set. He looked neat and clean, and seemed pretty happy. It was good to see him.

He told me he didn't especially like the place and hinted that it was inexpensive. (So it might be a good idea to tell him how much it really costs.)

Nonetheless, he seemed to be making himself at home. He talked about how Eva's younger sister and he got into a bit of a tiff right off the bat. The sister was telling him off about something, and Mervil smiled as he told me that Eva had told the sister she couldn't talk to Mervil like that. The sister apologized to him, he said. AND he said he and the sister have gotten along fine since then. He realized it was just that they didn't know each other at the beginning. So, I was encouraged that Mervil could see how things had improved, and he could have an effect.

His little TV in the bedroom is not hooked up for television (even though I could see a Comcast cable outlet). I asked Eva about it, and she said that a box should come Monday that will enable Mervil to turn the TV on and off AND change channels with just one remote. When that box comes, the TV will be hooked up so Mervil can watch the news or Law & Order (or whatever). The DVD player worked fine for us.

I asked Mervil how the food was, and he said not very good. He said it was simple and often repetitive (such as scrambled eggs frequently for breakfast and sandwiches frequently for lunch). I guess I was still encouraged that he wasn't really upset about the food. It was almost like he felt he had to be at least a little bit critical.

He did not ask me for anything from his house or for any other favors. He did say he missed going for coffee, and I told him we probably could next weekend go to Dunkin Donuts. He was happy about that. I told Eva I would probably come next Sunday to take Mervil to the doughnut shop.

Mervil seemed to be getting up and down from the couch and chair pretty well, and he walked me out to my car when I was getting ready to leave.

He did not say anything about being poisoned or anything like that. He said nothing that indicated he had any paranoia that I could tell about his surroundings.

I asked him if the people at the house could take him to doctor's appointments and things like that. Well, sometimes, he said, though sometimes planned trips didn't happen. He was supposed to get his hair cut, and for some reason it didn't happen. His hair did look longer than usual.

He also had asked the house people for another safety pin to hold up his trousers, and they said they would get one, but it hasn't happened yet. Mervil chuckled about Eva telling her husband off one time for not remembering everything at the store.

I asked him if he still woke up at 3 or 4 in the morning, and he said yes, he usually did --- 3 or 4 or 5 a.m. He said the house folks had gotten mad at him for talking too loudly at such an early hour, waking other people up. Again, it just seemed like a funny story to him, not a big deal.

I asked him if he talked to other residents of the house, and he said not really because they were "older," he said. (Oh, those old people.) They did seem quieter and more withdrawn than Mervil -- at least the ones I saw. One whose voice I heard had a voice so soft I doubt Mervil would be able to hear her very well.

Mervil was aware that you were planning to visit him in November, and he seemed content to be trying out the house for now and then talking with you when you come. He also mentioned that you were so much more reasonable on this most recent visit than in the past. I mentioned having talked to you when you answered the phone at his house, and I mentioned how worried you and I were about his continually falling at his house -- and somethings lying on the floor for hours. He told me he's stronger now and can get up and down and not fall so much. I said good.

Well, that's about all I can think of right now. The house looks like a good place to me, and Mervil seems satisfied if not enthusiastic at the moment. He had some idea that he might be moving again. Apparently Eva's husband gave him that idea. Then, Mervil said, Eva told him that was NOT the case. Knowing myself what it was like to be in intensive care for about 3 weeks one time, I know I got pretty strange ideas by the third week about what was and wasn't happening in the hospital -- so I would guess that as much "normal" contact with relatives and friends as he can get would help to keep misunderstandings of reality under control. That's just my opinion. It's, as you know, just hard not to have control over so many things in your life.

P.S. Mervil did say, too, that he doesn't miss all the cooking & dishwashing & cleaning. :-)

Maniacle Ax-swinging Zombie Woodsman

You won't believe the costume Xander designed this year, - all on his own. First he designed it on paper, drew up the ax, cut it out of plywood and painted it.

Next, he drafted what his costume would look like. Then he found some fabric in my closet, used a patern from a jedi costume Grandma Olson made for him a few Christmasses ago, and came up with what he wanted his evil robe to look like.

We cut the robe out, and Xander pinned and sewed the edges together. He even sewed a stiched around the entire robe sow it would fray just right. The fabric was a darling green (perfect for baby blankets and aprons) so it badly needed dying, which Xander also learned how to do.

His undershirt was designed down to the detail, tearing and staining just how he wanted it. His face paint, he also planned on paper first, designed and applied all by himself.

Another educational experience, all because he had the time and incentive to be creative. As a doting mother, I hope Xander is proud of his blossoming skills as a seamstress.

A Minute to Win It

This was a darling game the girls played at the party. They had to get the penne noodle on the spaghetti noodle using their mouts to hold the spaghetti. They had a blast.

A Profile of Ella

Isn't she just beautiful.

Those are My Girls

Anna and Ella were all dressed up for the Halloween party. Anna was her usual spastic self. And Ella took about two hours to wake up after her nap, she was in a bad mood until 20 minutes before we came home. And then she was in a bad mood again, because it was time to go. She is lucky she is still beautiful, even when she is mad.

Roman loved cake!

Roman attempting to steal Xander's cake.