Lowe woke up yesterday with a runny nose. Ouest woke up today with one. Kids. If it’s not one thing it’s another. In just the past few days Lowe broke three teeth through and another is only a day or so away. So right when we thought maybe we were going to be getting some relief for him he gets a cold. And man that boy does not like getting his nose wiped.

The diver showed up yesterday after all. After scraping the hull he pulled the prop shaft back and I slipped off the old shaft coupler. Then it was simply a matter of sliding the new one on. Simple. Except it wouldn’t slide on. I eventually hammered it on a couple of inches before having to give up and let the diver go. I’m not happy with it though, it really needs to slide on another two inches. So today I went to the store and bought the biggest steel mallet I thought I’d be able to swing underwater and tomorrow I’ll go under and give it a few whacks.

Back to potty training. I love it, don’t get me wrong, but one of the biggest obstacles we face is timing. First there is the new nightly ritual, which includes all of the old stuff like reading books with a cup of milk, but now also includes two special words spoken exactly thirty minutes after light out, “Pee Papa.” Then there is the out and about town training which requires us as parents to be vigilant in knowing at all times where the nearest toilet can be found, or barring that, where the nearest bush or alleyway might be. Today I did my duty and took her to the bano before we left Home Depot. She went and we carried on to the bus stop five minutes away. “Poop Papa.” Really? “Yep.” No problem though because I already knew about a nice bano located on the outside of a small torta restaurant. No accidents on my watch. Then there was this little scene this afternoon.

This afternoon we took a little break in the grassy area by the hotel. It’s the only grass for miles and we get the evil eye from security every time we use it.