Dalton Says the Darndest Things

I only have a few Dalton-isms and none from the other kids right now but I have to share these two before I forget...

Soccering: verb...the act of playing soccer.
ex: "Hey Dad, while I was soccering I saw a Scooby Doo chair."

The kids and I had breakfast at IHOP yesterday and I told them we might come back for my birthday...and that my birthday was just over a month away and what were they gonna get me? Dalton leaned over to whisper to Easton and apparently he'd suggested "gum". Easton said, "That's not a good present!" and Dalton then said, "How about a harp?"

Jason's Father's Day

We started on Saturday. We did the same with Mother's Day because both Sundays, Jason was scheduled on guitar for the worship team.

So, after soccer and Autumn's nap, we headed for our annual family portraits at Target.

That's just one of the many...and one that we did not end up ordering. How'd I do making bows to coordinate for Autumn's outfit? Eh? Eh? :)

Then after our pictures, we headed straight for Joe's Crab Shack for some icky seafood.


Easton and Jason are the only seafood fans in the house so for his birthday and Father's Day I can try to deal.

Normally the 3 kids all share a kids meal. Well, the boys do and Autumn eats a few fries or whatever and food we bring for her. But at Joe's, Easton ate an entire grilled shrimp kids meal with corn on the cob and then ate a bunch of Jason's crab and stuff too! We brought hummus and pita for Dalton. :)

Daddy's Girl...


The kids joined the wait staff for some dancing...

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

And then we could leave.


We gave Jason a box of Cocoa Pebbles before the kids went to bed. He loves that cereal but only eats it on the rare occasion. So, since he had to be at church early we wanted him to have a yummy, special breakfast.

The next morning, the kids and I went to the first service for church then we stopped to pick up some Quizno's for lunch. Jason left as soon as the music was over in second service. We had everything ready to go for lunch on the table and as soon as we heard the garage we all sat in our spots and waited for him to join us.

As we were finishing cleaning up lunch, Easton had a secret special mission where he snuck out through the garage and retrieved a package we'd hidden. Then he took it around to the front door and did a ding dong dash. Actually it was more like a ding dong ding dong ding dong ding dong ding dong dash but who's counting? ;) Jason opened the door to find The Hero Supply Company delivers on Sundays. Last year Jennifer and kids did this awesome idea for her husband (found here) and I tucked it away for this year. Plus, we weren't doing a big gift for J this year (because of his dream guitar he bought earlier in the year as a birthday/Father's Day present to himself). The littles and I stocked tiny bags and boxes with all his favorite snacks and stuck the clever labels on the packages (which I had to instruct Jason to actually read when he was opening them).


Each kid also made him a little something. Autumn and Dalton colored pictures and Easton filled in the blanks on a little story about "My Dad". Here's Autumn so proud of what she did:




Easton snuggled in when J read his 'story':


We'd also updated the pictures for Jason's D-A-D collage he keeps at work:


We did one two years ago with just my pregnant belly by the "A". :) And now he's got this:


Autumn went down for a nap at that point and the boys did some quiet time. Jason relaxed in our bedroom and read a book he was really into. Once Autumn was up we decided to head down to Elitch's for the afternoon:





Poor Dalton...there were two empty boats left on the ride and those 3 kids climbed in to his with him. He actually didn't care but we were so confused why they'd do that.









Kiddie land was not at all crowded but we ventured out to the main part of the park for a few rides like the tea cups and Ghost Blasters which we could all ride. Easton and Jason then did a few that only E was tall enough for (of the kids) and we left shortly after that.

We stopped at Sonic (J's choice) on the way home for some dinner and ate it on the living room floor during the first half of Willy Wonka. We'd just read the book with Easton.

We had an official Willy Wonka "Chocolate Waterfall" bar (no golden ticket, though):


And then we called it a night. A low key Father's Day, just how J likes it!

Can you see the title of her book?


Can you see her knee?

So the answer is, yes, princesses do scrape their knees. Miss Miss got her first skinned knee on Wednesday. It was as we were leaving the church office when we went to drop off doughnuts. Ironically, I had just bought a box of "girly" band-aids for, like, 12 cents at Target with a couple of coupons so we had Strawberry Shortcake on hand:


Little Toughie cried more about the thought of the band-aid than she'd cried about the owie.

Then, today I picked her up from her class at church and she was crying and they were putting a band-aid on her other knee. :( Tough week for princesses vs. church carpeting. She also banged her face on the tile floor of Kohl's on Saturday giving herself a fat lip right before our family portrait session.

Maybe I should carry her more. On a velvet cushion fit for a princess.

Meals on Wheels

I mentioned in my Daybook post how the kids and I were making meals for the homeless. A while back we'd brainstormed some good food ideas that wouldn't spoil really quickly. Two days ago we took our list to the grocery store and made our purchases. Then yesterday we assembled some simple meals and snacks to deliver to some hungry people downtown.

Easton was initially the most excited and helped me come up with most of the ideas, but it was Autumn and mostly Dalton who actually assembled the sacks with me:




I hung a grocery sack from each knob in the kitchen which meant we had 6. We put in quite a bit of prepackaged snack-type foods and some fruit. We froze bottles of water and gave them one frozen one and one cold one. Lemonades too. It was 97 degrees on our drive down, I know the beverages likely weren't frozen for long but hopefully they could enjoy a cold drink on such a hot day. We also made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and cookies and added those in as well. We rounded up some cash from the house and were on our way after saying a prayer about the people we were hoping to bless.

There's a particular street running through Denver that is always full of people begging for help so that's where we headed. I talked to the boys about it and told them to look for signs usually written on a piece of cardboard. Immediately upon exiting the highway there was a man and his sign said simply, "Hungry. Even 50 cents helps." We rolled down the window and asked if he liked peanut butter. His eyes got so big, "Yes, ma'am!!" he told me and I handed over a sack of food and gave him a little cash. He was so grateful, expressing his thanks, and it gave the boys such big smiles. The man wasted no time digging in to the bag and the light was long enough for Easton and Dalton see him peeling the banana we'd packed just minutes before.

We drove on down the road and saw another person...the light stayed green though so I had to make the block and come back around. Luckily the light changed and we could hand her a sack dinner and some money as well. She also went for the banana right away after tucking the cash into her pocket. The kids found this coincidence very interesting. We set off down the road again and started coming back the other direction. There were many more people on this side of the road as it was nearing rush hour and the commuters would be heading towards the highway. Easton would help me spot people in need and then the boys would chant, "Please turn red. Please turn red" in regards to the light changing before we got through the intersection. God made it happen: we were able to hand a sack to each person we saw without having to throw it out the window at them as we sped by. No more digging in to bananas right away, Easton observed one woman "put it in her grocery cart" and wondered where she got it and what she does with it. :(

Easton was doing some simple math keeping track of how much money and how many bags we had left and in no time it was all gone and we were back on the highway heading home. E was wondering how much food we thought the first man had eaten by that time.

We prayed again for the people we'd come across and we thanked God for all that we have and that we were able to do that for others. We also talked about Matthew 6:4 "so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you" and here I am blabbing about it on my blog, but it was such a special time with the kids that I want to remember it. And Jason pointed out that it might encourage others so this time, I'm not being so secret about our giving.

On our drive, I asked the boys if they thought we should do something like that again. "Yeah!!!" they both cheered and Easton added, "It was so fun!" I asked E what he liked about it and he said, "It made me happy that we made them happy." And that he knew they were happy "because they said thank you and smiled."

As we were pulling in to the driveway Dalton said, "I know what we could do!: we could play 'home people'" which meant homeless people. He wanted to stay out in the front yard and pretend like other people were already living in our house so we couldn't go inside. So we stayed out for a bit and climbed trees all the while so incredibly thankful that we do have an air conditioned home full of food to walk into when we were done.

Daybook 6/14/11

I've seen these daybook journal prompts on a few blogs lately and thought I'd give it a whirl for today's post...

Outside my window... Sunny sunny sunny with fluffy white clouds. It is currently 80 degrees out there.

I am thinking... about scriptures to share with the homeless. The kids and I are packing up some lunches for people in need and I'd love to share at least a little of The Word with them.

I am thankful for... Oh, aside from the obvious: God, family, house, food, blah blah blah...I'm thankful for my mom who allowed us to have a worry-free night away to celebrate our anniversary this weekend. And I'm thankful for my husband who tweaked our budget this month so that I could buy myself a whole new wardrobe of stuff that actually fits and has stayed with the kids on several occasions already so I could shop without them lifting up the dresses on the mannequins and laughing at the plastic butt cracks.

From the kitchen... Still on our doughnut kick. We're making some tomorrow to take to some of the church staff. Someone new recently took over the children's ministry and we are so thankful! We had a real rough patch with Easton's church stuff a few months ago. We even pulled him out for a bit!

I am wearing... All new stuff! Just took the tags off this morning...these NY & Co. black Bermeuda-length shorts...


...with this dark grey embellished tank...


...and these Old Navy fancy flip flops...


I am creating...some bows. Just bought a few new ribbons this morning to do some bows for Autumn for our family portraits and will likely do some for some friends expecting baby girls. I also need to finish up the applique on a dress for another friend's daughter. I made the dress awhile ago and need to just do the applique part already.

I am going... to have to figure out dinner for the kids and myself tonight as Jason has worship band practice and won't be here for dinner.

I am reading... a lot lately! We cancelled our cable last Monday--which also means we don't even have network TV right now. We still do DVDs and Netflix instant streaming. Plus Jason and I will still watch The Bachelor and The Voice online...but we certainly didn't have $90 worth of TV we wanted to watch this month. We were going to switch to a cheaper cable provider but then I was moved to simply cancel it altogether for awhile. The savings are nice but it's also going to be a nice break overall, even though I feel like we don't watch that much TV, it has the potential to get out of hand during the summer.

Wait, what was the question? Oh...I am currently reading Lee Child's "Die Trying". It's the second of the Jack Reacher novels. Before that I read Tina Fey's "Bossypants". Before that I read, "The Help". Jason is reading "Hunger Games" and then I think he'll probably borrow "Die Trying" when I'm done. He read the first Reacher book recently.

I am hoping... that we can find the TV remote (even if we're not watching right now). Autumn is likely to blame but I haven't seen it in a few days.

I am hearing... the buzz of the baby monitor while Autumn naps upstairs and the boys on the couch sipping their milk (D) and juice (E) while they try to pick which episode of Super Mario to watch via Netflix for the second half of "quiet time".

Around the house... are little bits of styrofoam pool noodle courtesy of Sugar. We make soft light sabers out of the noodles and electrical tape. The boys actually prefer these to their more realistic light sabers and now Sugar does too...she is shredding them to bits.

One of my favorite things... lately is doing Autumn's hair and thinking up new 'dos. She likes when I do her hair too: sometimes she relaxes so much she's nearly laying down on my lap and I have to remind her to sit up so I can see what I'm doing.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Taking orange doughnuts to church, delivering sack lunches, swimming lessons, soccer on Saturday and Father's Day this Sunday.

Here is picture I am sharing:

I finally put our "new" bedding on our bed. We bought it over two years ago!!!! That is so typical of me...I cannot committ to things so very well. Well, I was committed to the bedding, but there was no bedskirt. That is really the biggest reason I hadn't put it on yet. Part of it was the kids hop in every morning to watch a show while I shower. And they drink milk and juice and, even though it's in a sippy cup, they still splash from time to time. And part of it was when Autumn was still a baby and would come in there with us and I didn't want the down comforter with her. But she's not a baby now. She doesn't sleep in there at all ever. The kids will still probably have their sippy cups in there but oh well. Sugar had some tummy troubles on our previous comforter and we trashed it. Then we were using this ugly ol' thing that Susan (Jason's ex-wife) picked out for their old guest room. I decided enough was enough and we just needed to use the stuff already! I bought a tan-ish bedskirt and extra pillowcases at Target and put it on for an anniversary "Love Nesty" surprise. I think I was hoping for more of a makeover with new lamps or other decor or something and that was another part of me not putting it on...because I don't know how to decorate and therefore have never bought anything because I don't know what to buy! I'm a mess. But our bed is pretty.

And this is the end.

Kicking Off the Summer Soccer Season

Saturday was a big day! Our 7th wedding anniversary but also, the first day of soccer for both boys this year. It's Easton's 3rd season of soccer--he did t-ball one summer instead. And it's Dalton's 2nd year.

Last year Jason coached Dalton's team...and Dalton wasn't real gung-ho about soccer. This year...the boy kicked butt! We were so surprised!!! We never ever break out the soccer ball or anything. There's a great chance Dalton hasn't kicked a ball since last summer. But he was impressing us in his half hour of practice before his game:


And we sat devotedly watching the 8 a.m. game from the sidelines:


Then it was time for the game. The kids had to show they knew which goal was theirs:


And the very first kick off, Dalton went for it...


...and he took it... (his little feet are coming out of blue coach's clipboard):


...all the way to the goal!

(Unfortunately the coach there is blocking our view of Dalton).

We couldn't believe it! His first game last year he spent much of the time crying. Plus our experience with Easton didn't have us expecting much from Lil Dah-Doh...but we quickly realized Dalton is different...

Boo-yeah:

Blue better get out of my way next time. :)

Watch him go:







His tongue was out like that much of the game! :P



This goal he knocked in with his head!


Takin' it to the goal again!


And again!


And again!


He had 4 or 5 goals by half time!!! And some near misses as well! He was so non-chalant about it all...like, he wasn't even sure we'd seen him as he sat down and was all, "So, I got some goals..." like he might say, "So, I had a sandwich..." Did he not hear us cheering!?!? :) It is a toss up whether I enjoyed watching Dalton shining out on the field or watching Jason beaming uncontrollably while watching his boy out there. He was so beyond proud that it got me choked up.

With Dalton being the middle child and the younger brother to Easton who has succeeded at so many things before him, it was just really special to see Dalton out there doing something so well all on his own. Out of the shadow of his big brother. But that big brother was super proud of him! Not jealous or downplaying any of it. On Dalton's immediate goal after the first kick off Easton was cheering just as much as we were and was just as proud, "I can't believe my brother got that goal so quick! Did you see him?!" and "He's only 4 years old!"

Dalton trying to look tough at half-time:


Even little sister showed her appreciation:


What a great start to the season!

After the game was over he told us how sometimes he'd need to make a tough face. :)



And when the game was all the way over he asked, "Did you see my moves?" Oh that boy!!!

He got loaded up with snacks and the little sweetie shared with Autumn and Easton on our way home:


We came home and did some cleaning and showering and packing. The kids had lunch and we waited on Gramoo to arrive. She stayed at the house with a napping Autumn while the rest of us headed out for Easton's 1 o'clock game.

He's sure come a long way since his first year of soccer as well. We saw a different kid out there last summer and this year he's continuing to grow as an athlete (I don't think he did a single somersault or shirt-lift):






He still does the pointy finger thing we noticed him doing last year.

Ha!

This year has some added challenges...the 1st/2nd grade level is the first year they play with a goalie. And they sort-of have positions. There's a referee instead of just the two coaches walking around loosely enforcing the rules.

Dalton sat on the sidelines and loudly cheered for his big bro. Our favorite was when he'd shout, "Concentrate, Easton! Concentrate!" :)

Easton had some good shots on goal...(is that how you say it in soccer? Sounds like I'm talking about hockey...)




...but the goalie stopped them each time.



He also got a few minutes to try out being the goalie:


But an older boy on his team stayed back as a very adept defender and nothing ever got past that boy to even need to be stopped by Easton...so he got a little bored...




But luckily no one scored on him. We felt bad for whatever kid was in the goal when they'd get scored on, no matter which team.

Goal-tending wasn't the only part that bored Easton...so did sitting on the sidelines while some other kids got a chance to play:


I don't even know who won Easton's game!

We're just so proud to see our boys out there being boys having fun and learning to be a part of a team. We've got a couple of years before it's this one's turn...


That was the first of many "Soccer Saturdays" this summer!