Lavatory Expedition

So last night, Matthew went to Mark after dinner and whispered something quietly. Mark promptly responded "Matthew it's ok if the toilet gets stopped up, we can fix it!" I don't think Matthew was happy about the announcement, but one shot with the plunger and his dillema was resolved.

I took the boys for bath last night and I was discussing with Matthew how that happens to everyone at some point, but in asking more questions, I discovered that he had tried to flush the toilet twice without letting the tank refill. I started to try to explain when I realized I needed a visual aid.

While Andrew was taking a shower, Matthew and I went to Mom & Dad's bathroom (aka the cleanest toilet in the house) to discuss the finer points of toilet architecture. We took the back off the toilet and Matthew flushed so he could see the water go out of the tank, the flap close, and the tank refill. We were watching, listening, and looking. Then he flushed again. I left him with strict instructions not to touch anything while I went to help Andrew.

Matthew repeated the flush/refill cycle a few more times and then he came to find me. I told him that I was getting Andrew out of the shower and for him to please find something quiet to do for a few minutes. In the meantime, Mark came upstairs and I warned him the back may still be off the toilet in our bathroom due to our investigation. After I got Andrew out of the shower and jammies on, I went to find Matthew.

Matthew and I met in the hall and he was carrying a pad of paper (2 for $1 last weekend), a pen, and a tape measurer. He turns around the pad of paper and says "look what I did!" The photos tell the rest...