Sharana General Hospital:

A day in the life of the intrepid officers and enlisted personnel who are serving the medical needs of the army, one overblown drama at a time

All characters in this production are fictional. Any resemblance to real persons living or dead is coincidental.

Cast of Characters:

Captain Lardman Clinic medical director by virtue of being most senor physician, not particularly competent, very lazy

Captain Fearce Other physician, sassy black lady, swears like a sailor, marginally better physician than Capt. Lardman

Captain Paynes PA, overeager and hyperactive, always hungry, has a heavy southern accent and stumbles over his words

Captain Bogan Brigade nurse and OIC of anything that isn’t being done by someone else. Overworked and underappreciated

Captain Moss Dentist, extremely sensitive, takes it personally whenever something goes wrong

Captain VinDiesel Physical therapist, tall muscular lady, has a creepy laugh that can be heard while she tortures her patients

Captain Smokes Psychologist, fires finger guns at people at random times, does not listen to anything they say

Captain Gunderson Company commander, has a creepy smile. (This is not a speaking part)

Lieutenant Corn Clinic OIC. Frequently seen stumbling around with a bewildered look on her face.

Captain Caca Brigade surgeon. She is high strung and nervous, seems to always be on the verge of a nervous breakdown

Various medics Played by lobotomized mental patients. Most lines are meaningless gibberish

Act I

Setting: Sharana MTF, in the Doc Cave. The three providers and Cpt. Bogan are sitting at their desks. Cpt. Lardman has his feet on the desk and is staring at his computer screen with headphones on, apparently watching a movie. Cpt. Fearce is on the phone, swearing profusely and waving her finger back and forth in front of her face. Cpt. Paynes is reading a medical journal and polishing his bald head with head wax. Cpt. Bogan is typing furiously on her computer, muttering under her breath.

Enter Private Bolero, a medic, who stands at the door with his hands in his pockets

Private Bolero: Hey, uh, guys, there’s a person in the lobby.

Pvt. Bolero starts t to walk away

Cpt. Fearce Putting down phone @#$%&, I know you didn’t just give us that @#$%& message and then just walk away. Get your @#$%& back here. As she says this she makes a Z in front of her face and snaps her fingers at each corner

Pvt. Bolero shuffles back to the door and stands with his hands in his pockets, slouching

Cpt. Paynes Putting down a chicken bone and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand Now boy, you git back out there and ask him what it is the @#$%& he wants. Now move along, boy, ‘fore I take a switch to your hide.

Cpt. Lardman Taking off his headphones Did someone say something? When there’s no answer he shrugs and goes back to watching his movie

Enter Private Doobie, another medic, who is carrying a clipboard with an SF600 on it

Pvt. Doobie Uh, I have a patient. The providers ignore him. Cpt. Fearce continues to talk on the phone, swearing loudly and gesturing. Ahem. I have a patient. Uh, he’s a guy, and he’s been, uh, coughing. Uh, his mom has a history of some kind of plasia I think. And, uh, his eye hurts. He waits expectantly

Cpt. Paynes Puts down a Cliff bar and wipes his hands on his pants Well, boy, how old is he? Is he a soldier?

Pvt. Doobie Uh…

Cpt. Paynes What do his breathering sound like? I mean, when he’s takin’ a breather, what are the noises ya’ hear?

Pvt. Doobie Uh…

Cpt. Fearce Putting down the phone Were his pupils reactive? Don’t you bring your white cracker @#$%& in this @#$%& room without doing some kind of physical. You tell me his @#$%& eye hurts you better tell me you did a @#$%& eye exam.

Pvt. Boobie Uh…

Cpt. Lardman Taking off his headphones You know, there was a study done by, um, Dr. Barnes and, um, Dr. Noble, I think, where they studied eyes in rats with lung cancer and found that… Cpt. Lardman continues to drone on, obviously making up everything he says, while everyone else ignores him

Cpt. Paynes Now boy, ya’ gotta listen up here. When a guy’s got a problem with his breathering ya’ need to take a good listening. And if he tells ya’ that his eye hurts ya gotta take a gander. Now git back there and do some lookin’ and listenin’. And here’s a book to help. Gives him a thick physical exam book Now don’t you come back in here lessen ya’ done did everything in that there book.

Pvt. Doobie shuffles off

Cpt. Fearce Rolling her eyes @#$%& medics.

Cpt. Lardman, realizing no one is paying attention to him, goes back to watching his movie.

Cpt. Paynes opens another Cliff bar and starts to eat noisily.

Pvt. Bolero Standing in the doorway slouching with his hands in his pockets Uh, the guy is here to see Captain Bogan about the toilets in the men’s room. Um, I think they’re clogged or something. Shuffles away

Cpt. Bogan Slamming her hand down on her desk WHAT?! Why am I still the toilet OIC? I told Captain Gunderson two weeks ago that the toilet OIC slot is only supposed to be filled by an O-3 74 zulu. He needs to get a combat plumber to do that job because I am not doing this anymore. As she speaks her voice gets louder and more shrill.

Cpt. Lardman Taking off his headphones Need some help? Not waiting for an answer and putting his headphones back on All right. If you need anything let me know.

Cpt. Bogan Grabbing a plunger from the corner behind her [Sarcastically]That’s fine. I don’t mind doing it. It’s not like I have other responsibilities. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I like this job and all, but I’m a nurse, not a plumber. Looks around, realizes no one is listening, and stomps out of the room with the plunger

Pvt. Doobie Shuffling to the doorway Uh, I have a patient to present. Uh, he is a 23 year-old active duty male complaining of two days of runny nose and cough. He also has some left eye irritation and drainage. The coughing started… Gives a detailed and very professional presentation of a patient with a mild upper respiratory infection and conjunctivitis.

Cpt. Lardman puts his feet down from his desk, takes his headphones off, and pretends to be busy

Cpt. Fearce Waving her index finger in front of her face @#$%&, did you look in his @#$%& eyes this time? Did he have an afferent pupillary defect or an efferent pupillary defect? Speak up, @#$%&.

Pvt. Doobie Uh…

Cpt. Paynes If it’s all right with you all, I think ah’ll take this one.

Cpt. Lardman Trying to look busy Yeah, I guess you can take this one.

Cpt. Paynes wipes his hands on the physical exam book he’s reading and runs out of the room

Cpt. Lardman Sighing That was a close one. Puts his feet up and starts watching his movie again

Fade to black

End of Act I

Act II

Setting Front lobby of the MTF. There are fifteen or twenty soldiers lounging in chairs around the lobby. There are five soldiers lined up in front of the desk clerk waiting to be checked in. Pvt. Bolero, the desk clerk, is on his Facebook page and is ignoring the patients who need to check in. Through the door to the physical therapy room Cpt. VinDiesel is visible putting her knee in the back of a patient while she pulls back on his head. He is making gurgling, choking sounds.

Cpt. Moss enters and walks to the door of the dentist office, where he stops and stares in dismay

Cpt. Moss To no one in particular [In heavy New York accent] Why isn’t the light on? It’s nine o’clock, which is when I’m supposed to start seeing patients. How am I supposed to see patients with the light off? I don’t know how much more of this I can take. I specifically requested to Captain Flake two weeks ago that he ensure that my light is on every day by nine o’clock. So why isn’t it on? All I want to do is to see patients. I just want to serve the soldiers. And yet there is no light on. How is this possible?

Cpt. VinDiesel lets go of her patient, who collapses to the floor and moans. She walks to Cpt. Moss’s office and turns on his light, rolling her eyes and shaking her head.

Cpt. VinDiesel To Cpt. Moss Frances, you could just turn on the light yourself, you know. [Laughing] Hnyuck, hnyuck, hnyuck.

Cpt. Moss I’m sorry, where is it written that this is my job? Tell me where in army regulation does it state that dentists turn on their own light? Yes, I could do it myself. I do have the knowledge and skills to do this thing. But there is a person who is supposed to be assigned to do this. And he’s not doing it. So what is he getting paid for? What is his function?

Cpt. VinDiesel Hnyuck, hnyuck, hnyuck, are you sure you told Cpt. Flake to have your light turned on?

Cpt. Moss Yes, I’m sure, I told him three times in three different ways. I put a sticky note on his bedroom door two weeks ago. It was bright yellow. It is not possible that he didn’t see it. It said quite clearly, “Lights by 0900.” It is not possible that he did not understand my message. Is there some other light on post that needs to be turned on by 0900 every morning? Where are all these dark lights that are so confusing to Cpt. Flake that he doesn’t realize that it’s my light that needs to be turned on? Then two days ago in the chow hall I saw him across the room, and I shouted “Lights?” and he nodded.

Cpt. VinDiesel I hate to say it, but I’m not sure that was a very clear message. I might have misunderstood it too. Hnyuck, hnyuck, hnyuck.

Cpt. Moss For the sake of argument, maybe he misunderstood my first two messages. Only a schmuck would misunderstand what I was saying, but for the sake of argument, let’s just imagine he misunderstood. Yesterday I sent him an email saying, “I need lights in the dental clinic by 0900 tomorrow.”

Lt. Corn, stumbling past with a bewildered look on her face, stops and hears part of the conversation

Lt. Corn Uh, sir, Cpt. Flake stopped by this morning and checked all the lights in the clinic. He turned them all on and off a couple of times and they were all working.

Cpt. Moss He checked to see if they were working? I could do that myself. I’m a dentist; I know how to turn lights on and off. Does he think I’m incapable of turning lights on and off? Now he’s treating me like I’m stupid. Where’s the respect?

Lt. Corn stumbles away, looking bewildered and confused

Cpt. VinDiesel Walks back to her room, shaking her head and chuckling to herself Hnyuck, hnyuck, hnyuck

Cpt. Gunderson enters the MTF and begins to wander aimlessly around the lobby.

Cpt. Bogan enters the lobby from the back of the MTF. She is carrying a plunger that’s dripping brown water on the floor

Cpt. Bogan Cpt. Gunderson! I need to talk to you right now!

Cpt. Gunderson continues to walk aimlessly around the lobby.

Cpt. Bogan Standing directly in front of Cpt. Gunderson so that he has to stop Cpt. Gunderson, I told you two weeks ago that you need to get someone else to be the toilet OIC. Have you found someone yet?

A soldier crawls out of Cpt. VinDiesel’s room, moaning “I can’t feel my legs. I can’t feel my legs.”

Cpt. VinDiesel To the crawling soldier You need to follow up tomorrow for more range of motion exercises. Hnyuck, hnyuck, hnyuck. Turns and walks back into her room, and a moment later there is a scream followed by another Hnyuck, hnyuck, hnyuck.

Cpt. Gunderson stares at Cpt. Bogan, his eyes slowly getting bigger and his smile widening.

Cpt. Bogan Voice starting to rise and get more shrill Cpt. Gunderson, look right behind you. There’s a combat plumber sleeping in that chair Gestures to a soldier sleeping in a chair with his hat over his eyes and his feet up on the chair in front of him All you have to do is walk over and tell him that he’s the toilet OIC.

Cpt. Gunderson continues to stare blankly at Cpt. Bogan with wide eyes and a big smile

Cpt. Bogan Cpt. Gunderson, he was supposed to be the toilet OIC. Gestures with the plunger, flinging brown water everywhere That’s why he was deployed here. Just tell him he’s the OIC.

Cpt. Gunderson continues to stare blankly at Cpt. Bogan with wide eyes and a big smile

Cpt. Bogan Getting more frantic and shrill Cpt. Gunderson, look, you don’t even have to…

Cpt. Gunderson Ha, ha, ha. Continues to stare blankly at Cpt. Bogan with wide eyes and a big smile

Cpt. Bogan Losing her train of thought Why did you laugh? What was funny? I was trying to tell you that you don’t even have to walk over there. I’ll walk over there and tell him myself. Just nod your head “yes” and I’ll do everything. Can I go tell him he’s the toilet OIC?

Cpt. Gunderson turns to the side and starts wandering aimlessly around the lobby again.

Cpt. Bogan drops the plunger and begins to shake and hyperventilate.

Cpt. Smokes strolls into the room smiling and firing finger pistols at everyone he makes eye contact with

Cpt. Smokes Walks up to the trembling Cpt. Bogan, winks, and fires double finger pistols at her What’s up, champ? You look stressed. You need to talk?

Cpt. Bogan Gasping between each word I just *gasp* don’t know *gasp* how much *gasp* more of this *gasp* I can take *gasp*.

Cpt. Smokes Winks, fires a finger pistol, spins around, and fires a pistol behind his back and under his leg That’s rough, babe. Take it easy. Stop by anytime. I’m here to help.

Another soldier crawls out of Cpt. VinDiesel’s office, dragging a leg behind him and whimpering “please no more.”

Cpt. VinDiesel To crawling soldier You’ll be fine. Hnyuck, hnyuck, hnyuck. Make sure to come back tomorrow for more range of motion.

Cpt. Moss steps out of his room to say something but is interrupted by Lt. Corn who stumbles past looking confused and bewildered. She brushes against him and keeps walking.

Cpt. Moss [Angrily]Lt. Corn, is that how you treat superior officers? Points to the ground in front of him Stand at attention right here in front of me. No, not over there, right here. Continues to point angrily at a spot about two feet in front of him

Cpt. Moss and Lt. Corn maneuver in front of each other, Cpt. Moss getting more and more angry and Lt. Corn getting more and more confused, still not sure whether Cpt. Moss is joking.

Cpt. Moss Throwing his hands in the air Where’s the respect? I don’t know how much more of this I can take. Aye, aye, aye. @#$%& my life.

Cpt. Bogan I just *gasp* don’t know *gasp* how much *gasp* more of this *gasp* I can take *gasp*.

Cpt. VinDiesel Walks out of her room with a soldier draped unconscious over her shoulders and tosses him on the floor Hnyuck, hnyuck, hnyuck.

Fade to black

End of Act II

Act III

Setting Back in the Doc Cave, Cpt. Lardman is still watching a movie with his feet up on the desk and his headphones on. Cpt. Fearce is swearing to herself while she fixes AHLTA notes. Cpt. Paynes is rubbing his belly contentedly while he watches a video of a televangelist on his computer. Cpt. Bogan is typing furiously on her computer.

Cpt. Lardman closes his eyes, grunts, and noisily passes gas

Cpt. Paynes Now boy, Ah know it was you this time. You just cannot tell me that it weren’t your stinky rear end makin’ all the ruckus. And boy howdy do it smell in here now. It smells worse than a peck o’ dead possums in high summer.

Cpt. Lardman Looking insulted Why is it that every time there’s a sound that comes from my direction you assumes it’s me? There are a lot of things that could have made that sound. My chair might have squeaked or something

Cpt. Fearce @#$%&, why did you close your @#$%& eyes and grunt right before your “chair squeaked?” Don’t give us that @#$%& about ”My chair might have squeaked or something.” [tries to do an imitation of Cpt. Lardman, but can only manage to do an Indian accent]

Cpt Lardman rolls his eyes, sighs, and goes back to watching his movie

Cpt. Caca bursts into the room and begins to pace back and forth. Her hair is sticking out and her eyes are bloodshot

Cpt. Caca I just... I just can’t… I’m surrounded by… Do you know what they did this morning?

Cpt. Bogan Stopping her typing and looking up *Sigh* What did they do now, Cpt. Caca?

Cpt. Caca Still pacing The brigade commander this morning asked why the medics don’t carry bone saws for field amputations. Starts fanning her face with her hands I told him that had to be done in the FST by an orthopedic surgeon. Then he asked whether it would be harder to get thirty more orthopedic surgeons or to get all of our medics trained to do field amputations. She is now pacing and fanning her face at the same time.

Cpt. Paynes Lardman, I know ya done make that stink this time. Just own up to it like a man.

Cpt. Lardman Raising his voice I am not the only person in this clinic who passes gas. You cannot tell me that you have never passed gas in here, Paynes. When you can tell me that you have never passed gas, you can start accusing me of passing gas every time you smell something funky in here.

Cpt. Fearce Rolling her eyes Stinky @#$%& crackers

Cpt. Caca And then, when I went back to my office there was a leg on my desk. A LEG!!! It was covered with blood and teeth marks. When I screamed down the hall to ask who the @#$%& put it there, the brigade S1 walked by and said he found it outside the chow hall and figured I’d know what to do with it because I’m the brigade surgeon.

Cpt. Fearce Waving her finger in front of her face Sister, he did NOT say that to you.

Cpt. Caca Stops her pacing and addresses Cpt. Lardman Did you review that updated SOP I sent you about tracking ANA’s through the MTF?

Cpt. Lardman Sits up and takes off his headphones Um, yeah, the thing is, uh, I started to read it and, uh… Starts rifling through the pile of papers on his desk What I wanted to know is, uh, you know when you said “ANA”? What does the N stand for?

Cpt. Caca Speaking through gritted teeth It stands for “national”. The acronym is Afghan National Army. Did you read the SOP or not?

Cpt. Lardman Yeah. That actually makes a lot more sense. I was thinking it was short for ANAL or something. The thing is, well, uh, you know how you said “SOP”? Well, what does the P stand for?

Cpt. Caca Grabbing her hair and pulling on it, then speaking through clenched teeth It stands for Procedure. The acronym is Standard Operating Procedure. Look, Cpt. Lardman, just read through it and tell me if you need me to make any changes.

Cpt. Lardman Right. Um, did you mail that to me, or did you fax it to me? I’m not seeing it here.

Cpt. Caca grinds her teeth so hard they start to break, her eyes start to bleed. She turns and punches Pvt. Doobie, who has been standing in the doorway, in the stomach, and storms out

Cpt. Lardman shrugs, puts his headphones back on, and starts watching his movie again

Pvt. Doobie catches his breath and stands up, holding a clipboard with an SF600 on it

Pvt. Doobie Uh, I have a patient to present All of the providers ignore him [Nervously] Uh, he’s a 27 year-old DA civilian with infam…, inmatation..., inflation…, inflamatation…

Cpt. Fearce Wait, @#$%&, did you just say “inflamatation”? Ha! Ha! Ha! What the @#$%& is “inflamatation”?

Pvt. Doobie Getting more nervous I mean, uh, inflammation. He has inflammation…

Cpt. Fearce @#$%&, you just said “Inflamatation”. I never heard something so @#$%& ridiculous. Lardman, did you hear that? He said “inflamatation”.

Cpt. Lardman Taking off his headphones Huh? Did you say something?

Cpt. Fearce Laughing more loudly now Hey Paynes, did you hear this knucklehead? He said “inflamatation.”

Cpt. Paynes Laughing and slapping his knee Well now, boy, I never did hear such a word in all my life. Who learned you to talk like that?

Pvt. Doobie starts to cry and covers his face with his hands

The three providers are laughing so hard that Cpt. Paynes falls off his chair and Cpt. Lardman wets his pants. Cpt. Fearce is choking and gasping for breath. They continue to laugh until Pvt. Doobie runs away

The providers slowly stop laughing and Cpt. Lardman wipes a tear from his eye

Cpt. Lardman Ah, medics. Always good for a laugh.

Fade to Black

End of Act III

Some notes about the above production

First of all, I am very fond of all the people that the above characters are based on. This wasn’t meant to be mean, but to highlight some quirky behavior that many of my friends here exhibit.

I am not actually very lazy or incompetent. I portrayed my character like that so that people wouldn’t think I was just picking on other people. I do watch movies on my computer sometimes during sick call when things are slow. I also frequently have arguments with Cpt. Baynes (Paynes in the play) about whether I passed gas. As in the play, I always deny it. The conversation in the play is almost word-for-word what Baynes and I have said to each other.

Captain Pearce (Fearce in the play) is half black, which I didn’t know until several days after I met her. She has no habits or mannerisms that would be considered stereotypical of blacks. The joke in the play is that she’s acting like a caricature of a black person, which she actually doesn’t in real life. She does swear a lot, though. There’s an ongoing joke between us that every time she tries to do an imitation of someone it sounds like she’s doing an Indian accent.

Captain Baynes (Paynes) is very friendly and energetic. He speaks with a heavy southern accent and does sometimes get complex words a little confused. He is always trying to get the medics to do more on the physical exams.

Captain Cogan (Bogan) is the brigade nurse, and she is a very hard worker. When we first got here in theater she was put in charge of several things that weren’t really her job. The best example, and what most of her dialogue is based on, was her position as OIC (officer in charge) of the pharmacy. After being put in charge of the pharmacy she found out that the pharmacy OIC is supposed to be a doctor. She notified our company commander (Cpt. Anderson, or Gunderson in the play) that he needed to choose someone else to be the pharmacy OIC. All he had to do was send an email to one of the doctors (myself or Cpt. Pearce) stating that one of us was the new OIC. For some reason it took him almost a month to do it, during which time Cpt. Cogan became increasingly frustrated with him.

Captain Anderson (Gunderson) our company commander is a congenial, friendly guy, but tends to be kind of lackadaisical about getting things done in the company. He has an odd habit of smiling at people with his eyes really wide when he’s talking. He has another habit of randomly laughing while people are talking to him. He’s never done that while I was talking to him, but other people have reported it.

Captain Giesel (VinDiesel) is our physical therapist. She is tall for a lady (5’10”) and distinctly strong and athletic. She is pretty aggressive with the physical manipulation, and I’ve heard people groan while she’s manipulating their back or limbs. As far as I know she has never crippled anyone. She has a very distinctive laugh, which is more of a “hnee, hnee, hnee” than a “hnyuck, hnyuck, hnyuck.” It’s so distinctive and loud that once in the crowded chow hall I stood still and listened for a moment until I heard her and followed the sound to the table where our group of friends was sitting.

Captain Gross (Moss) is our dentist. He’s very smart, and a very hardworking dentist, but he has a tendency to take everything personally. The incident of the light not being on is a parody of his ongoing frustration with Cpt. Blake (Flake in the play), who wouldn’t fix a piece of dental equipment. After one piece finally completely stopped working he refused to see any more patients, stating that he had to teach everyone a lesson. He admitted that he could get the equipment working again himself, but he was so mad about it not being fixed that he refused to work until it was done. We all agreed that he probably wasn’t behaving in the most productive manner.

Captain Stokes (Smokes) is our psychologist. He talks to everyone in an overly-friendly, buoyant manner, and really does wink and fire finger pistols at people.

Lieutenant Horn (Corn) is our clinic OIC. She basically runs the day-to-day operations of the clinic. She is pretty competent, but she’s new in the position and is often confused by the shenanigans of the people who work here. The other day she did something disrespectful (unintentionally, I’m sure) to Cpt. Gross, who got very upset and made her stand at attention in front of him so he could chew her out. Witnesses (specifically Cpt. Baynes) say she was very confused, thinking at first that Cpt. Gross was joking.

Captain Baca (Caca) is our brigade surgeon. She comes down to talk to us a couple of times a week, and frequently vents her frustration with the brigade leadership, who cannot grasp simple medical concepts. The incident with the leg is only slightly exaggerated. She came to her office one morning and found her garbage can full of bloody rags. Apparently there’d been an accident involving some bleeding, and when it was cleaned up they put it in her garbage can because she’s the brigade surgeon and would know what to do with the mess. She was absolutely livid about it. So you understand, Cpt. Baca is a doctor, but her position as a brigade surgeon is purely administrative. She does not see patients, and she has nothing to do with direct patient care. Her office is certainly not a place to put spare body parts. In terms of my interactions with her, she has always been very nice to me, but I think she sometimes gets tired of how little I understand about the how the military works. She speaks in heavy acronym-ese, which is often hard for me to follow.

The medics we work with are quite proficient for the most part. When we first got here and they started doing patient screening and basic screening exams, they were abysmally incomplete, and when they came to present patients to us they were pretty much as Pvt. Doobie (based on a generalization of all of the medics, not on anyone in particular) did it in Act I. Since then their exams and presentations have improved a lot. Pvt. Bolero in the play is loosely based on Pvt. Cordero, who is our desk clerk, and still tries to give us messages like he did in the play. They are completely useless messages, and we always have to send him back to find out who the person is, what they want, which of us the person wants to talk to, etc.

The incident with the medic saying “inflamatation” is real, though a bit exaggerated. We weren’t mean to the medic, and even though we laughed a bit, it was with her, not at her. It’s still one of Cpt. Pearce’s favorite jokes.

Epilogue

Since I wrote this I forwarded it to everyone parodied in the play. It has been universally appreciated. Last night I could hear Cpt. Giesel’s loud, distinctive laugh through the concrete walls of our building for almost two hours. This morning when I came in to work the medics were standing outside of our office wondering why Cpt. Pearce was laughing so hard that she was choking. Cpt. Baynes has started using lines from the play in his conversation (he asked a medic what a patient’s “breathering” sounded like). They are now demanding a Part II, which may or may not happen.

August 29, 2011

It's been a long time. A long time since I've been home, a long time
since I've seen my husband, a long time that I've been on vacation. A
couple of months ago Josh got deployed to Afghanistan, and I've been
in Utah spending time with my family. I was planning to fly back to
NY today, but all flights to NY have been canceled due to the
hurricane. So it's going to be even longer.

We've had a wonderful time with Utah, with the highlights being a 247
mile bike trip to Yellowstone that both Josh, his brothers, and Samuel
completed, while the rest of us biked a little and camped along.
We've had fun spending time with the extended family, and 'finishing'
our stay with Samuel participating in a half iron-man triathlon ( 1.2
mile swim, 56 mile bike ride, 13 mile run).

We've had a few mishaps while here. Mosiah (2 yr old) got bitten by a
black widow, Samuel (12 yr old) hit a diving board during diving class
and broke his shoulder. I threw out my back and could not move for a
week. Isaiah badly sprained his index finger, and got 4 teeth pulled
to make room for a spacer and a retainer. He is learning how to talk
with his mouth full of plastic and wires.

Josh is doctoring in Afghanistan. He calls just about everyday,
unless somebody dies and all communication is shut down. He also
writes just about everyday. Sometimes his letters are sad and
sometimes they are very funny. Below is a sad one, and attached is a
very funny one about the drama going on with the doctors in
Afghanistan. It's a soap opera that Josh wrote for our entertainment.
Sorry about the sad one, but enjoy the funny attached one.

Sylwia

From Josh August 2011:

"Wonderful family,

As I mentioned in my last email, tonight it was my job to pronounce
two soldiers dead. I had to examine the bodies and make sure that
their hearts weren't beating, and that they were, in fact, deceased.
It was very sad. One of them had a t-shirt with pictures of his kids
on it.

I just wanted to let you know how much I love you guys. I wanted you
to know how grateful I am to have the gospel of Jesus Christ, and how
grateful I am that we have been sealed together as a family. Please
remember to pray for my safety and for a quick end to this war. I
love you all."

29 Sierpien 2011

Juz dlugo nie jestem w domu. Juz dlugo nie widzialam mojego meza i
juz za dlugo jestem na wakacjach w Utah, prawie 4 miesiace. Mialam
dzisiaj wracac do Nowego Yorku, ale byl huragan wiec samoloty do
Nowego Yorku nie lataja. Bede tu jeszcze tydzien.

Bardzo fajnie bylo w Utah. Nasza ulubiona wycieczka to byla jak
rowerami pochalismy 247 mil do stanu Wyoming do parku Yellowstone.
Josh, jego bracia, i Samuel tylko jechali na rowerach. Ja i inna
rodzina jechalismy tylko troche rowerami, a reszta samochodem i przez
cale 10 dni spalismy pod namiotami, lub w chatach goralskich. Fajne
tez bylo przez 3 miesiace spedzac czas z dalsza rodzina. Nasza wizyta
miala sie zakonczyc wyscigiem w ktorym Josza bracia i moj syn Samuel
bral udzial. Plywali 1.2 mil, jechali na rowerze 56 mil, i biegali 13
mil. To wszytko pod rzad. Zajelo to okolo 9 godzin.

Przez ostatnie trzy miesiace tez mielismy kikla wypadkow. Moj syn
Mosiah co ma tylko 2 lata byl ugryziony przez niebezpiecznego pajaka i
mial infekcje nogi. Samuel podczas klasy nurkowania upadl na deske i
zlamal sobie ramie. Isaiah prawie zlamal palec od reki, i tez 4 jego
mleczne zeby byly wyrwane aby zrobic miejsce na aparat do prostowania
zebow. On uczy sie mowic z drutami w ustach.

Moj maz juz jest dwa miesiace na wojnie w Afganistanie. Prawie
codziennie dzwoni do nas, i tez prawie codziennie pisze listy. Jak
ktos umiera to nie ma komunikacji z nami bo rodzina musi byc najpierw
posfiadomiona of smierci zolnieza. Nieraz jego listy sa smutne a
nieraz wesole. Raz napisala jak musial robic egzamin na umarlym
zolniezu i jak go rozbieral to zobaczyl ze zmartwy zolniez mial
zdjecia swoich dzieci na swojej podkoszulce. Jesi czytacie dobrze
po angielsku to zajaczylam bardzo smieszna sztuke ktora Josh napisal o
lekarzach w Afganistanie.

Sylwia

Recital / Przedstawienie

May 24, 2011

Recital

 

Samuel and Isaiah took piano lessons from my friend Stephanie for about 8 months in Georgia.  When we moved here I was very lucky to find a piano teacher who lived near us and traveled to our house to teach.  Nephi joined his older brothers in learning.  Our teacher Suz Pope has done an excellent job teaching them and now the older boys play simplified hymns, a simplified classical piece, and Samuel even plays a Polish Christmas carol. 

 

At the end of the year and right before she moves, sister Pope put together a recital where the boys got to play the most complicated piece they have learned so far.  Nephi played the simplified version of "There is a Green Hill Far Away", Isaiah played a piece from the opera "Carmen" and Samuel played a piece from "The Barber of Seville".  The event was held at our friends' the Krauss's house.  It was a grand event.  Their house is beautiful and their hospitality superb. 

 

The boys got awards for their strengths.  Nephi got an award for being the theory expert, Samuel for passing his songs of really quickly, and Isaiah for reading music really well.  The award came in form of a Hershey Symphony bar, which Nephi bit into immediately.

 

Sylwia

 

24 Maj 2011

Przedstawienie

 

Jak mieszkalismy w Georgia to moja kolezanka Stephanie uczyla Samuela i Isaiah pianina przez 8 miesiecy.  Potem ona sie przeprowadzila, a potem my sie przenieslisy do Nowego Yorku.  Na szczescie tu znalazlam nauczycielka odrazu.  Tym razem tez Nefi sie zachol uczyc.  Nastepne 8 miesiace wszyscy sie uczyli.  Niestety ich nauczycielka sie teraz przeprowadza.  Dzieci sie bardzo duzo ostatnio nauczyly.  Samuel i Isaiah ladnie graja hymny i wlasnie sie zaczeli uczyc klasycznych sztuk.  Nephi gra male piosenki i zna jeden hymn. 

 

Pod koniec tej nauki, nasza nauczycielka zorganizowala przedstawienie w naszych znajomych pieknym domu.  Samuel i Isaiah grail klaszyczna muzyke, a Nefi hymn.  Po przedstawieniu bylo smaczne przyjecie. 

 

Dzieci dostaly nagrody.  Nefi za to ze dobrze zna teorie muzyki, Samuel za to ze bardzo szybko sie uczy, a Isaiah za to ze bardzo dobrze czyta muzyke.  Wszyscy dostali czekolade jako nagrode.  Nephi odrazy zaczol jesc czekolade. 

 

Sylwia

Stronger, Swifter, Smarter / Szybszy, Wyzszy, Madrzejszy

Stronger, Swifter, Smarter

May 23, 2011

Winter is finally over in New York.  But it took till MAY!!!  As much as I love the people here, I really don't see how people to manage to live here all of their lives.  It's just too dank and dark. 

 

Now that we are having beautiful spring weather, Josh has been waking Samuel up at 5 am everyday to run together.  They run a little over 3 miles each morning and at age 12 Samuel is quite a bit faster than Josh.   Samuel is also smarter than us, since he reads about 300 pages per day.  Who besides a kid has that much time to read?  He is really interested in non fictions books.  Really long hard to read nonfiction books.   Recently he read a 500 page book called 'The Gun' which is a history of the AK-47.  Now he is just finishing 'Black Hawk Down', a nonfiction book about war.  If I ever need to answer a hard question that the little kids ask me, I just ask Samuel.  Samuel is also a head taller than I am and he is much stronger than I.  I no longer need to carry heavy loads, or get a chair to reach something up high. Samuel can get it for me.  Nice.

 

During this long winter, Isaiah got a bad episode of asthma.  To get to school he had to be on the bus at 6:40 am.  Isaiah is a poor sleeper and every day he began to be too exhausted to go to school.   I worried that this could make his very weak and vulnerable to all kids of colds and   I found a private Catholic school that started much later, so he could sleep in about an hour and a half.  This helped a little but only until he had to attend mass where they burned incense.  He just about choked during the service and at home he just kept getting worse. He started wheezing terribly, had trouble breathing, and coughed so much he couldn't sleep. I decided to pull him out of school and home school him, so he could sleep and rest more.  He was put on a heavy dose of oral steroids for about a month, with no improvement.  Finally we saw a pediatric pulmonologist, who put him on an even heavier dose of oral steroids, and a new inhaled steroid Alvesco.  Finally after 3 months Isaiah got better.  It's been fun having him home.  No one has a more pleasant personality than Isaiah, and he is very self motivated to do all of his work as long as he is learning something new.  Mosiah, couldn't be happier to have Isaiah home too.  Mosiah loves Isaiah more than anyone in the family and when Mosiah is hurt he will only be comforted by Isaiah. 

 

In this ward Isaiah finally really got into scouts.  This is all thanks to his scout leader James McCann.  Brother McCann has came to our house every single Saturday for several months just to have Isaiah pass off all of his scout requirements.  Isaiah adores Brother McCann, and wants to be dentist just like him when he grows up. 

 

The other day Josh put Mosiah to bed, but Mosiah did not want to go to sleep.  Somehow, he leaned out of his crib and reached a book off the bookshelf.  He ripped the entire book to shreds.  What's so funny about this is that the book that he ripped was entitled: NO DAVID! J 

 

Grace recently turned five.  For her birthday she got her ears pierced, and she had a Fancy Nancy tea party.  Nephi said that her party was the 'funnest' day of his life because he got to chase so many girls.  All the boys in our house agree that Grace is by far the nicest person in our family.  Whenever I read stories about annoying or mean little sisters, I am flabbergasted.  Grace is always so nice and loving to everyone in our family.  She is our little gem. 

 

Most people who know Nephi today, would never in their wildest dreams imagine that his name middle means 'destruction is imminent'.  He is a model student.  He loves to follow the rules and to do his work.  He loves his teacher Mrs. Wagoner.  The other day he told Josh that he doesn't understand why his classmates only like recess, but they don't like writing and math like he does.  He was chosen as a good citizen for his school and as a bus good citizen. Nephi is a bit of a pessimist.  He always fears that if something could go wrong, it will go wrong.  Hence he is having a very hard time with Joshua's upcoming deployment.  He prays everyday that Josh will not die.   When Josh went to Germany for pre deployment training, Nephi cried just about every day.  He wants to live with his grandma and grandpa during the deployment.

 

Nephi, like Samuel, is very motivated and had been exercising on his own every day to keep fit.   He can do 26 army-standard push-ups, 50 sit-ups, and he likes to run a mile with his dad, even in the rain.

 

Sylwia

 

23 Maj 2011

Szybszy, Wyzszy, Madrzejszy

Wreszcie juz u nas wiosna.  Ale byla zima az do maja!  Choc mamy bardzo fajnych przyjaciol tu w Nowym Yorku, nie wiem jak ludzie tu mieszkaja cale swoje zycie.  Jest po prostu za zimno, za ciemno, i za  mokro tu. 

 

Samuel ma 12 lat.  On jest duzo wyzszy odemnie.  Tez jest madrzejszy bo czyta 300 stron ksiazek codzinnie.  Ja nie mam tyle czasu na czytanie.  Tez najbardziej lubi czytac fakty.  Ostatni przeczytal ksiazke nazwana "Karabin" o histori karbina AK-47.  Ta ksiazka miala 500 stron.  Ja nie wiem jak taka ksiazka mogla by byc interesujaca.  Tez niedawno przeczytal ksiazke o wojnie w Somali.  Jak male dzieci mnie sie czegos pytaja to ja im kaze Samuela sie zapytac bo on wiecej odemnie wie.  Tez ostatnio Josz is Samuel zaczeli biegac razem o piatej rano.  Biegaja 6 kilometrow, i Samuel jest szybszy od Josza.  Samuel jest nie tylko wyzszy ale tez silniejszy odemnie.  Wiec jak musze cos ciezkiego niesc, to on niesie, a jak musze cos wysokiego dostac to Samuel dostaje.  To fajnie.

 

Isaiah w ta zime chorowal na astme.  Najpierw nie dobrze spal wiec codziennie do szkoly byl nie wyspany.  Szkola tu sie zaczyno okolo 7 godziny.  Wiec znalazlam inna szkole, Katoliczna, ktora sie zaczynala o 9 godzinie.  Myslalam ze to pomorze.  Ale tam musial chodzic na msze, a podczas mszy palilo sie kadzidlo.  To bardzo nie dobrze na jego pluca, wiec nie mogl oddychac.  Dostal lekarstwa sterydow ale nic nie pomagalo.  Caly miesiac bral bardzo duzo sterydow, i nadal nic.  Poszedl do specjalisty od ploc i on my dal nawet wiecej sterydow, i tez nowe lekarstwo Alvesco.  Zajelo okolo 3 miesiace aby wyzdrowial.  W tym czsie nie chodzil do szkoly wiec zaczelam go uczyc w domu.  Bardzo fajnie miec go w domu bo on ma bardzo przyjemna osobowosc.  Tez zawsze lubi sie uczyc cos nowego.  Mosiah najbardziej lubi Isaiah z naszej calej rodziny, i jak placze to tylko chce isc do Isaiah.  Wiec Mosiah tez sie bardzo cieszyl tym ze Isaiah w domu byl podczas szkoly. 

 

Nasz kosciol sponsoruje harcerstwo.  Jak doteraz to Isaiah lubil chodzic tam aby sie z kolegami spotykac ale nie interesowal sie harcerstwem.  Ale teraz to sie wszytko zmienilo, bo jego nowy doradca James McCann jest bardzo fajny i przez kilka miesiecy w kazda sobote obieral Isaiah aby razem chodzili na ryby, na wycieczki w lesie, pomagali sie komus przenosic, itd.  James McCann, jest dentysta, i Isaiah zdecydowal sie on tez chce byc denstysta, tak jak James. 

 

Grace niedawno miala piate urodziny.  Na urodziny mila uszy przeklote i dostala kolczyki.  Tez na urodziny miala przyjecie na ktorym jej kolezanki jadly kanapeczki i pily soczek w filizankach.  Nephi powiedzial ze to przyjecie sie mu najbardziej podobalo bo bylo duzo malych dziewczynek do ganiania.  Wszyscy w naszym domu sie zgadzaja sie Grace jest najmilsza osoba w naszym domu.  Nieraz czytam ksiazeczki dla dzieci w ktorych mala siostra  innym dokucza. Grace nikomu nie dukucza ale jest bardzo kochana i mila.

 

Niedawno Mosiah byl polozony spac w lozeczku, ale jakos reke z lozeczka wystawil i zdjol ksiazke z regalu i cala ja rozerwal na kawalki.  Bylo to smieszne bo ksiazeczka byla o malym chopcu co zawsze rozrabial i wszytko w domu niszczyl.  Najczesciej Mosiah lubi ksiazki i ich nie rwie.  Ale w tym wypadku bylo innaczej.  Moze temat mu sie nie podobal J.

 

Jak Nefi byl maly to bardzo rozrabial i wszytko niszczyl, ale teraz jak ma 6 lat to by go nikt nie poznal.  On jest najbardziej poslusznym dzieckiem w jego klasie.  Bardzo lubi nauczycielki sluchac i pracowac w szkole. On nie rozumie dlaczego inne dzieci tylko lubia sie bawic a nie robyc matematyke i pisac tak jak on.  Nefi dostal dwie nagrody za jego doskonale zachowanie.  Jedno za dobre zachowanie w szkole a drugie za dobre zachowanie w autobusie szkolnym. 

 

Nefi jest troche pesymista.  Zawsze mysli ze cos zlego sie moze za chwile stac.  Z tego powodu on sie bardzo boji tego ze Josh wyjezdza na wojne niedlugo.  Jak Josh pojechal do Niemiec na pare tygodni na trening, to Nefi codzinnie plakal i sie modlil zeby Josh nie umarl.  Jak Josh bedzie na wojnie, to Nefi by chcial mieszkac ze swoimi dziadkami w Utah.

 

Tak jak jego starszy brat Samuel, Nephi bardzo lubi cwiczyc.  Codziennie sam cwiczy: robi papki, cwiczenia na brzuch, i biega 1.6 km z Joszem, nawet jesli deszc pada.

 

Sylwia

Boston

May 18, 2011

Boston Massacred

 

Quite a few months ago Josh's work sent him to a conference to Boston for a few days.  The army paid for his gas to get there, they paid for a room in a very fancy hotel—The Liberty Hotel.  I thought this would be a great opportunity to come along and tour the historic city of Boston.  I asked the kids if they wanted to come and they said they were just too busy with school. ??????????   What kinds of kids say that?  Here I'm offering to take them out of school for a vacation and this is the response I get?

 

I almost gave in and let them stay home, but then one of my best friends lives near Boston, and I really wanted to see her.  Plus Josh showed me that we would be staying in Libery Hotel, a historical landmark right downtown.  Everything we wanted to see would be within walking distance.  I couldn't resist.  I forced the kids to go and we all had a blast. 

 

The first day we spent at the Boston Science Center.  It was a wonderful place, there were tons of hands on exhibits, live shows, and an amazing children's area to play in.  Grace got to be a part of the lightning show, Isaiah got to be a part of the solar energy show, and Mosiah got dressed as a skunk in the play area and all the ladies were just swooning over how cute he is.  We saw a beautiful movie about Australia and had BBQ ribs for lunch.  When the science center was closing Josh walked over to pick us up and together we walked to the famous Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market.  There we feasted on Boston Chowder and fresh squeezed orange juice.  We also bought historical souvenirs. The colonial hat was everyone's favorite.  The boys fought over it for the next three days.

 

The next day, when Josh attended his conference, I took the kids on a historical walking tour with a costumed actress as our guide.  She was delightful.  She not only told the stories of the American Revolution, but she told us about all of the quirks of our famous founding fathers.  The kids were laughing all day.  Our tour ended about 1 pm at Faneuil Hall and we pigged out on Boston Chowder again.  Even though Nephi, Grace, and Mosiah were very tired, Samuel and Isaiah really wanted to do a second tour of the north side of historic Boston.  So we set off walking, looking, listening and laughing again.  All was well until Nephi needed to use the restroom.  Boston is a beautiful city; it looks very European.  Unfortunately, it shares with Europe its lack of public restrooms!  I had to run a mile and a half with Nephi before we found a place that would let a little kid use a restroom!

 

Our tour ended at a historical Puritan graveyard.  It is interesting to note that none of the gravestones had crosses; instead they all had skulls with wings.  This was a Puritan symbol of the soul having triumphed over the physical body. Very interesting, and it gave the graveyards and extra eerie feeling. 

 

About a 15 minute walk from the graveyard is the USS Constitution, a war sail ship used in the war of 1812.  Samuel and Isaiah wanted to continue walking to the ship!  By that time we had already walked five hours!  The weather was sunny and 80 degrees.  It was hot and we were in desperate need of ice cream.  And as luck would have it, we walked right into an ice cream shop.  We all had smoothies, except Grace, who wanted ice cream with sprinkles.

 

Our walk to the USS Constitution was well worth it.  It's a breathtaking ship that we got to walk on, climb, touch, and even listen to a tour guide.  The ship has never been defeated in a battle and its nickname is Old Ironsides because even though it's made out of wood, cannon balls would rarely penetrate it because the wood is so hard.  Usually the cannon balls just bounced off.  Next to the ship is the USS Constitution Museum that has perhaps the best children's museum we have ever visited.  The kids got to dress, cook, scrub decks, sleep, and work like sailors.  It was fantastic. 

 

At the end of the day when the ship museum closed Josh picked us up and took us to the Boston Museum of fine Arts so we could see some real Egyptian mummies.  The pet mummies were our favorite.

 

The last day, the kids were dying to go to the science museum again, because we saw less than half of it.  The kids got to do hands on experiments, testing food for sugar, starch, and protein.  And we they got to participate in an engineering competition, to see who could design the fastest bobsled, out of plastic, straws, batteries, and cloth.  I won and got to name the bobsled team Hardman.

 

Each day when we got back to the hotel after a day full of walking the kids said that their feet had been Boston Massacred.  Speaking of which, the site of the Boston Massacre is in the middle of a busy street on a concrete 'island'.  It is marked by a star in the cobble stones.  From it you can see the building where the Declaration of Independence was first read to the public.  Maybe you can make it out in the pictures.

 

Of all of the places I have visited in my life, I must say that Boston may be my favorite.  My kids and I love American history, and Boston has an abundance of it. 

 

And last but definitely not least, I got to visit and spent time with my dear friend Irene and her beautiful children.  I'm glad we are just six hours away, but I wish we would live just down the street from each other, like in Iowa, so we could see each and our kids could play every day.

 

Sylwia

 

18 Maj 2011

Boston

 

Kilka miesiecy temu, mojego meza praca wyslala go do missta Boston na konferecje medyczna.  To jest 6 godzin od nas samochodem.  Praca zaplacila ze jego bezyne i za swietny historyczny hotel w samym srodku miasta.  Ja zapytalam sie dzieci czy chialyby pojechac do Boston razem z nim na wycieczke.  A Samuel i Isaiah mi odpowiedzieli ze maja za duzo pracy w szkole.???????????  Nie wiedzialam o co chodzi.  Tu ja ich zapraszam na male wakacje w historycznym miescie Boston, a oni mi opowiadaja ze musza byc w szkole?

 

Ja prawie sie z nimi zgodzilam, ale maz mi pokazal strone internetowa hotelu w Boston.   To bardzo piekny hotel w samym srodku miasta.  Aby zwiedzac miasto wszedzie mozna chodzic na piechote od tego hotelu.  Wiec kazalam dzieciom jechac na wakacje i bardzo fajnie sie bawilismy. 

 

Pierwszego dnia poszlismy do Boston Muzeum Nauki.  Wszytko dzieci mogly dotykac i tez bylo duzo predstawien.  Tez byl wielki plac do zabawy dla malych dzieci.  Tam malutki Mosiah przebral sie za skunksa i wszytkim sie bardzo podobal.  Tez ogladalismy piekny film o Australi jedlismy zeberka na obiad.  Pod koniec dnia jak Josh skonczyl spotkania w hotelu, przyszedl nas odebrac z Muzeum Nauki.  Wtedy razem poszlismy na piechote na bardzo slawny market ktory byl w miescie Boston od 18-stego wieku.  Ten market nazywa sie Quincy Market, a najbardziej slawny budynek to nazywa sie Faneuil Hall.  Kupilismy troche historycznych drobiazgow.  Jeden z nich to byl kapelusz z 18stego wieku.  Najpierw nikt nie chcial go nosic, a po kiklu minutach kazdy chcial go nosic i az do dzisiaj chopcy kloca o ten kapelusz.  Na tym market jest bardzo duzo jedzenia z roznych krajow.  My jedlismy slawna zupe z miasta Boston zrobiona z milczek. 

 

Nastepnego dnia poszlismy na wycieczke na kotrej aktorka w przebrana za starodawna pania opowiadala nam o miescie Boston.  Chodzilismy na pieszo 3 godziny tak zwiedzajac miasto.  Wycieczka sie skonczyla znowu przy Quincy Market, i znowu tam jedlismy zupe z milczek.  Samuel i Isaiah tak bardzo lubili te pierwsza wycieczka, ze chcieli isc na druga.  Wiec nastepne 3 godziny chodilismy po miescie Boston z aktorka ktora nam wiecej histori opowiadala.  Wiele tych opowiesci bylo bardzo smiesznych wiec dzieci sie duzo smialy.  Mosiah, Grace, i Nefi byli zmeczeni i raptem Nefi potrzebowal isc do ubikacji.  Choc miasto Boston jest piekne jak Europa, tez jak Europa ma bardzo malo ubikacji publicznych.  Ja musialam zostawic inne dzieci sama na wycieczke, a ja z Nefim biegalam po calym miescie szukajac ubikacji.  Dopiero pol mili od wycieczki znalazlam toalete!

 

Nasza historzyczna wycieczka skonczyla sie na cmanetarzu Puritanow.  Tam groby nie mialy krzyza, ale czaszki ze skrzydlami.  To byl symbol ze dusza jest wolna od ciala. 

 

Ta historyczna wycieczka trwala 5 godzin chodzenia na piechote!  Ja bylam bardzo zmeczona, ale Samuel i Isaiah chciely dalej isc az do statku USS Constitution.  To statek z wojny roku 1812, ktory nadal jest w wodzie i jest zupelnie sprawny i moglby byc uzywany.  Musielismy isc nastpene 15 minut na pieszo do tego statku, i bylo dosyc goraca.  Chcialo nam sie pic lub jesc cos zimnego.  Fajne ze po drodze akural byl sklep z lodami i napojami.  Wszyszy kupilimsy skodkie napoje z lodem, oproz Grace ktora chciala normanle lody.

 

Bardzo dobrze ze doszlismy do tego statku, bo byl przepiekny.  Choc statek jest caly zrobiony z drewna, kule armat przez niego nie przechodzily podczas wojny, bo te drzewo jest i twarde i sprezyste. Wiec kule od statku sie odbijaly.  Obok statku bylo muzeum dla dzieci w ktorym dzieci sie przebieraly jako zolnierze statku, i mieli szanse myc statek, spac w hamakach, udawac ze gotuja na statku jedzenie.  Bylo to fantastyczne muzeum.   

 

Jak to muzeum sie zamknelo, to Josh nas odebral samochodem i zawiozl do Muzeum Sztuki Boston.  Dzieci moje bardzo chcialy zobaczyc mummie.  Najbardziej nam sie mummie zwierzat podobaly. 

 

Ostaniego dnia moje dzieci chcialy wrocic do muzeum nauki bo nawet polowy tego muzeum  nie zwiedzilismy pierwszego dnia.  Dobrze ze wrocilismy bo dzieci mialy szanse zrobic experymenty roznych substacji, aby dowiedziec sie czy byly one pelne bialka, lub cukru, lub tluszczu.  Tez byl konkurs zbudownia jak najszybszych sanek z roznych materialow.  Ja zbudowalam naszybszy i wygralam. 

 

Ze wszytkich miejsc ktore odwiedzalam w moim zyciu, musze powiedziec ze chyba najbardziej mi sie podobal Boston.  Ja i moje dzieci bardzo lubimy Amerykanska historie, a Boston ma tego mnostwo.  Choc musze powiedziec ze nie jestesmy pszyzwycajeci chodzenia tyle na piechote!

 

Pod koniec tych krotkich wakacji, mialam szanse owiedzic moja ukachano kolezanke Irene i jej 3 pieknych dzieci.  Tak fajnie bylo sie z nia zobaczyc.  Przykro mi ze nie mieszkamy obok siebie jak kiedys dawno temu w Iowa.

 

Sylwia