Family Funnies

"Today is gone. Today was fun.

Tomorrow is another one.

Every day, from here to there,

funny things are everywhere."

Dr. Seuss

I imagine every household has funny things. It just seems we have more than our share. There are lots of things to laugh about at our house.

This first picture is Pennie and her bowl. Several times a day she brings me her bowl. Wherever I am in the house, she will carry it in her mouth and drop it at my feet, signifying she'd like to be fed. She only needs food twice a day, so this gets a little annoying, but we think it is pretty cute and funny. This is Pennie's "perch". She can see all around her "kingdom" from up here, both outside and inside. A few years ago we had this chair reupholstered and the change threw her for a loop for several months because the pillow was stiffer and she couldn't get up on top. But she eventually figured it out and she perches there several times a day.

I don't know exactly how this came to be, but Jayce is terrified of flushing the toilet. Well, I kind of know what happened, but I didn't know it would have such an effect on him. Over the last couple of months our downstairs toilet has overflowed a couple of times, sending all of us scurrying to stop the overflow while grabbing for towels. At the time, it may have seemed overly stressful. Since the overflows, Jayce won't flush. He comes to get me and insists that I come in the bathroom and flush it for him, but we must have a plunger nearby, just in case. One day a couple weeks ago he came home from school and said he had needed to use the bathroom all day, but wouldn't because he was afraid he'd have to flush. This was a problem. So, the next day I went with him into the school bathroom to have him face his fear. Phew, now he'll go to the bathroom at school. But he still won't flush at home. He still comes to get me. This is Dakota, Jayce's fish. He got it for his birthday from his friend Meghan. Dakota is the most interesting fish we've ever had. Most fish are not interactive in any way. Well, Dakota is. When you put your hand near the glass, he comes and swims right next to it, as if we were petting him. I now talk to the fish and Cody thinks it's weird. Well, it is, but the fish likes it.

My boys are creatures of habit, especially Derek. He gets up in the morning at exactly 5:41 a.m. He has every school morning for the last four years. Since Cody gets up for seminary now, Cody had to work around this schedule. So, Cody gets up at 5:30, to be done with his shower by 5:41. Since Cody has a few extra minutes to wait for Derek, he goes downstairs and snuggles on the couch with a blanket until they leave for seminary at exactly 5:53 a.m. Every day. And the picture below depicts what happens from 7:05-7:20 every morning. Derek has to read the sports section while eating Frosted Flakes, and Cody reads the comics while eating his cereal (which varies). Derek also has taken the same exact brown bag lunch every day for the past four years (probably longer than that). PB&J, chips, an apple, a gatorade, and a kit kat bar. He's a funny kid, but his stubborness has mostly served him well.

So, there you go. These are just some of the funny things that go on around here. And I wouldn't change any of them (okay, maybe one or two). I wonder if anyone else has these types of things in their family.... I'm sure Dr. Seuss did, and he could write funny rhymes about it. I'll have to work on that....