Jackson

Last week we started a 4-week series of spotlights in Family Home Evening and I thought it would be fun to share some of what we learn about each other. So last week we learned all about Jake...

Nickname: Jake
Age: 5 years
Birthday: December 1, 2002
Height: 44 inches (3.7 feet)
Weight: 44 pounds (He likes to stay at a pound per inch)

Favorite Color: red
Favorite Food: peanut butter and honey sandwich
Favorite Toy: race cars
Favorite Game: Junior monopoly
Favorite movie: Bats, Balls, and Gloves
Favorite Book: Blue Bunny (written by Jake)
Favorite Sport: Baseball
Favorite Scripture Story: David and Goliath
Recent Accomplishment: Graduated to the next level at gymnastics
Jake also LOVES to color, and is a great artist.

Camden chimed in with his thoughts on Jake: "That I can be with him always. I can spend time with him."

Jake is so social and friendly. He makes friends wherever he goes. He follows directions and learns quickly. And he is a great big brother - he is always ready with a comforting blanket if his brother needs one. Plus, he's a really fun and creative kid - he never runs out of ideas...or words

And So It Begins

Jake started tee ball practice last night, and boy was he excited! His team is called The Bats, and his coach is named Bubba. Jake's reaction? "Bubba Lewis! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA..." He'd never heard anything that funny, ever. Yep, that's the way to endear yourself to the coach!
Actually, Jake did really well at practice. He listened and followed directions so well, and we can already see improvement in his fielding! And the best part (other than laughing hysterically - and loudly - at the coach's name)? The whole way home he kept repeating, "That was so fun! That was so much fun!" That's what it's all about, little boy.

Camden really likes hotdogs!

Well, I goofed up. I took so many cute and fun pictures from our Easter festivities yesterday...and then I left the camera up in Falls Church... So, no Easter post until I get that camera back, which shouldn't be too long since I will seriously go through withdrawal without it.

In the absence of Easter pictures, I thought I'd share Camden's true love -- hotdogs! On Saturday we went to our friends' house (well, to be more accurate, we went to their backyard) for an Easter Egg Hunt and lunch. What a great time! The kids had so much fun searching for eggs, even more fun eating the candy they found inside, and a yummy lunch of hotdogs roasted over a campfire. Camden ate three jelly beans that he dug out of the dirt, a huge pile of strawberries, and two hotdogs. Camden really likes hotdogs!

P.S. Jake ate seven pretzel sticks and five potato chips. He had a peanut butter and honey sandwich when we got home.

Nothing Better

I promise you, NOTHING is more beautiful than a bunch of little boys playing in the woods. There is a purity and innocence in such a sight that makes me so thankful for this beautiful earth - and for little boys. Two of our Father's greatest creations.

Swim Class

Today the boys' swim class learned safety and lifesaving skills. So cute to see those little ones "saving" their very patient teacher...over and over. They really got a kick out of that. Oh, and then Jake had a ten-minute conversation with Ms. Michelle about which rescue vehicle should be sent for different emergencies. She didn't know what she was getting herself into when that conversation started...

Tissue Boy

Just to add a little...something...to your day.

Don't Blink

Have you heard that country song with the old man telling everybody "Don't blink...life goes faster than you think..." It's true, and here's how I know it.
This is a picture of the seminary class Dan taught when we lived in Dahlgren, VA. (Side note: I love these kids!) Last night we had a first-hand look at how much life can change in just a few short years. Mike (second from the left in the picture) brought his WIFE and BABY GIRL over to our house for dinner. Four years ago the kid hadn't even finished high school yet, and now he's been on a mission, met and married a wonderful girl, and has an eight-month-old baby! Oh, and he has a job and is buying a house! But you know what, he's still the same old Mike. So I guess things don't change too much.

Rocket Stories

Camden has found his calling in life -- he is a very talented author! He has now written (well, dictated) two books, both of which I am sure are headed straight for the best-seller list...

And here, for your reading pleasure, are "Rocket Stories." Sorry you can't see the pictures (he's also the illustrator -- isn't my boy talented!) but just so you can get an image in your mind, Part 1 is illustrated in green scribbles and Part 2 in brown scribbles. So, without further ado...

Rocket Stories

The rocket races out. The rocket has to go out to fight. It has to fight and it has to shoot. The rocket races out and it bashes out of the thing that it goes out of.
The rocket goes out and it fights the bad guy's rocket. The rocket races past. The rocket blasts out and it has to go out and to fight!
The rocket goes out and it has to fight and it goes out and it has to fight!

Rocket Stories, The Sequel

The rocket blasts! The rocket goes out! The fire goes where the rocket goes! The rocket goes upside down! Fire blasts out! The rocket blasts out! The rocket has to go! The rocket blasts out! The rocket blasts out!
The rocket blasts out! The rocket has to go out! It has to go out!
The rocket blasts out! The rocket has to go out! The rocket has to go out and it blasted out!

And there you have it folks. You read it here first. Now look for it on the New York Times Bestseller List! Or if that doesn't work out, maybe he'll make it writing for Hollywood.

Stuck!

Yesterday morning as I made breakfast I heard Camden yelling for help. This is what I found. He was stuck between the railings of our stairs. And being the compassionate mother that I am, I told him he'd better figure out a way to get unstuck and I left him there. Within a minute he was pulling on my leg and whining for milk. Man, I really thought I would get a little more time out of that one!

Oh, and in my defense, just so nobody goes and calls Social Services on me or anything, Camden gets himself "stuck" between those railings on a regular (almost daily) basis, and really is perfectly capable of getting himself out. But I guess I should try to figure some way of scaring him into stopping this behavior, just in case he someday passes the 29 pound mark, a weight he has been at for the past two years - the kid is never going to move up to a booster seat...

Toby's

On Saturday we went up to our favorite dinner theater, Toby's, with the Orr family. It was the boys' first trip to Toby's, and their first play. We saw "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." Can I just say that I enjoy that show more every time I see it. We had a yummy dinner (the boys enjoyed rolls, ice cream and cake...), enjoyed great conversation with our favorite people (the fam), and loved the show. Despite arriving home after midnight, just in time to set the clocks ahead, and then having to be at church at 9:00 (or 8:00, according to our sleepy bodies), it was a great time. And the boys have been singing "go, go, go Joseph..." ever since.

Is Camden a Vegetarian?

Do you see the abject terror in the poor kid's face? This can't be over one little bite of chicken, can it? There must be something else, something terrible, right? Wrong. It is all over one little bite of chicken. The child who will eat any fruit or vegetable put in front of him is terrified of chicken (and beef, but not pork...) I can't even pretend to understand.

All The Boys Are At The Pool

I really don't like swimming at all. I mean, I love to go to the pool and the beach all summer long, but I find no enjoyent in going to an indoor pool when it is freezing outside. For me, it's all about the sun, not the water. But the men in my life do not feel the same way. And so we have a standing date at the pool every Saturday afternoon. Well, they do. I go sometimes, but not today. I just couldn't do it today. And though I am thrilled not to be in the pool right now, I'm also feeling like I'm missing out a little bit. I mean, wasn't it wonderful a few weeks ago when Jake really started swimming on his own? I'm so glad I was there. But you know what? Come to think of it, I'm not all that sad to be dry at home. In fact, it's kind of nice. I don't like being cold and wet. But I do like pictures of my boys having fun, which they sure do at the pool. So here's a picture from the last time we went -- yeah, I took the camera so I had a great excuse to get out of the water well before the rest of my family :)