Mega-Post Monday

Oy...my Monday blogs are always so intimidating...having been so long since I last blogged there's always so much to go through and edit and upload. But, I'm up for it. So, if you're ready...I am too...let's just get started.

From yesterdays 9 minute montage you might have gathered that we spent Friday afternoon at the splash pad. We hadn't been back since Easton last busted his face...he was sure it would happen again and was looking forward to the popsicle he'd get to have after he hurt his mouth. What a goob! By the time we got there after nap and such the sun had gone behind a big cloud but it was still 100 degrees. However, the sun makes a big difference in how Easton tolerates it all. Both boys were slightly wary at first:


And Easton needed frequent toweling:


Occasionally they'd just leave and go to the playground:


Or wander through the planters:


One time I even had to go get Dalton from inside a store! I was watching him the whole time, of course, and as he wandered too far away for my comfort Easton and I went to get him...but he saw me coming and took off faster...all the way inside Zumiez, that rascal!

We brought him back to the playground:




Look, Ma! No hands!


This had me nervous that this time Dalton would be the one to bus' up his face:


But he didn't:


And they wandered back over to the fountains:




Guess who's chilly again under there?


Now, I often blur out the faces of strange children, except when I consider it a PSA...and so this is your warning not to play with this kid:

He's too bossy. He kept telling Easton he had to get down, I heard him shouting to his mom that "That boy needs to get down, he's only 3!" Easton was willing to scooch over and share, but that boy wasn't wanting to share. At one point I heard Easton tell him, "That's not good manners." :)

My Diddlebug wishes he could climb up there too to teach the Rude Dude a lesson:


As we were leaving both boys got balloons with extremely long strings. I thought nothing of letting them play with them during the car ride home. Until we got home and I unbuckle the kids and they get themselves out of the seat...except Dalton was so tangled up with his seat and the long string that he was just hanging...and it was around his neck. I didn't know how I was going to get him out so seeing that Jason was home I sounded the car alarm. Knowing he'd think it was an accident I stopped it briefly and then started it again so he'd know I needed help...he still didn't come so I sent Easton to pound on the door for scissors as I worked to untangle Dalton from his strap and the balloon string. Finally after much screaming by Dalton, much pounding by Easton, and lots of quick work by me I freed him. I work great and can keep my head pretty well under pressure, but once it was over I was all rattled from it all. Such drama! And then Jason was like, "Oh, I just thought one of the kids had the keys..." But we have now established that if he hears the alarm stop and then re-start then at least give us a peek out in the garage. :)

Saturday was soccer...it was also soccer picture day so we had to get there about 45 minutes before our game. Easton was doing great...we finally got our jerseys! Then came time for the kids to line up with their order forms for their "individual shots"...Easton would not walk towards the lady collecting the forms. I had to sort of drag him towards her so she could grab the form from him. We traded a great week at swimming and art for a bad start at soccer. Grrr. So, we could hardly get him up on the stand for his individual pic, parents weren't supposed to be allowed nearby but I stood behind the photog anyway to keep him from crying as much. I finally told the guy, just take the picture...E was holding up the line. No way were they going to get a smile. It'll be funny to have this memory of "remember when he couldn't stand to be more than 5 feet away from me". Glad I could spend $25 dollars to remember that. He was slightly better for the group shot. Coach Kristi kind of took him under her wing and that cemented his bond to her for the day. Once pictures were over he kept going to stand by her and telling her, "Coach! Coach! Triceratops is my favorite" when she didn't even ask. :)

And while he eventually came around to be less whiney about everything, it didn't happen immediately. I'm trying to be sympathetic but I'm also having a hard time knowing how to react to him anymore, I want to be understanding but at the same time it's like, "Dude!!! I'm right here! I'm not leaving! I'm watching you the whole time! Get over it already!" But, that wouldn't be the right thing to say, so I had Daddy talk to him for me. He deals with it less often that I do. :)


I sat with Dalton who wanted a 'nack. He often gets woken up on Saturday mornings and only has time for milk before we have to go. We try to feed him there:


Easton starting to come around a little better:


Dalton is so ready for the day he gets to play soccer too:




After soccer we came home and I made us a pancake breakfast...we've done this several times after soccer now and I think it makes a good tradition. Not too long after that the boys had their nap/Q.T.

Because we'd had "brunch" we knew we wouldn't want lunch but would be hungry for dinner earlier than normal. So we decided to go to Sweet Tomatoes for our early dinner. J tried out the camera on his new phone, it's way better than the last phone's camera:




Because it was early and because I was in the mood for some more family fun, we spur of the moment decided to head to Elitch's since it costs us nothing but the gas at this point. Good thing I keep sunscreen in my purse...we also were able to locate a hat for each kid and a pair of shoes for D all in my trunk. Score! The only thing we didn't have was my camera but that's okay...it really allowed me to focus even more on the whole "family fun" element.

Of course the carousel was first and then E did the roller coaster. It was much busier on a Saturday evening than it's been when we've gone before. Because there was a line I told Easton he'd probably have to ride with someone. He picked out a 6 year old kid in front of us and was like, "You want to ride with me?" and they were cute little buds. Daddy and Dalton rode the train while we waited for the roller coaster and waved to us in line. Easton and his new bud did great on the train, but his pal wanted to get off after just two trips...it usually goes three. Thinking the ride was over Easton followed him off the ride. Oh well. And no injuries to E this time! Woot! We did a bunch more stuff in Kiddieland. My heart about stopped after the boat ride was over, Easton undid the seat belt for him and Dalton...so Dalton is standing up trying to figure out how to get out...and there's a good 8-10 inch gap between the boat and the dock. The ride operator wasn't letting the parents in yet so I was like, "My baby is standing up and he's not smart enough yet!" Yeah, that's what came out. :) Luckily I got to him in time and told Easton not to unbuckle them till Mommy or Daddy comes next time.

We found a really cool ride that we'd never seen before. Totally up Easton's alley, one of those free fall tower drop thingies. He loved it:


He's the one on the far right of the picture checking to see how much higher it'll take him:


He also wanted to do the teacups. There were two girls in line ahead of him. When they climbed into their tea cup he climbed right in behind them...even though there was no one else on the whole rest of the ride! Goob! They were nice though and helped him get buckled in and then he just sat there and let them do all the spinning work!

But he was a gentleman and held the gate for the girls to get out when it was over.

Diddles just watched:


We pushed the boys a bit and didn't leave until bedtime...once we got in the car we realized that was a mistake to stay just that extra little bit. Oh well.

Sunday we didn't do much. I didn't leave the house all day. Jason checked out a church in the a.m. and did some yard work later but I just lazed around and did laundry and hung with the boys. Easton suited up as Buzz at one point and we noticed a string hanging off the costume...we offered to cut it off for him but he refused telling us, "It's my special whisker." Ha ha ha!!!


Jason made dinner last night, the boys ate great. It was like opposite day...him cooking and the boys being so hungry.

This morning was doughnut day of course, and since I needed to go to Target today we decided to eat inside Krispy Kreme as it just across the parking lot from Target:



Dalton never eats as well when we eat there. Oh well.

He wasn't very good at Target either. He kept throwing fits about stuff, especially after I put this Elmo back on the shelf:



We went to Target mainly for swim diapers (D starts class tonight!) but also got a bunch of other stuff including a life jacket for Easton.

I know swimming instructors frown on floaties like water wings...but we used them anyway. But I had no clue that swimming with a life jacket on would be part of swim lessons. When I saw that happen I was like, "Oh let's get him a life jacket instead". I much prefer him in a life jacket when we were at Elitch's or Great Wolf Lodge. We got a green buckle-up one at Target and then we went to the mall. At the mall we found this:

And of course Easton is in love with it, but I think he's too skinny for it. It has a zipper instead of buckles and so there is no way to make it fit him tighter...and a life jacket needs to fit snugly so it doesn't come up over your head as it floats around you, ya know? We bought it anyway and I told him we'd have to ask Daddy what he thought...we'll be returning which ever one we don't want soon...and I think it'll be Spidey. Oh well.

Since the mall play area is closed we instead went to their outdoor area where they have the largest sand area I've seen this far from a beach. So the boys played for a bit:




They have a nice little outdoor area with fountains too:


I tried to get a picture of both of my boys but didn't look through the view finder, I guess I should have:

It is too hard to see the LCD on bright days like today. I like to think that Easton is saying, "Schlemiel! Schlimazel! Hasenpfeffer Incorporated!" even though he's not exactly kicking the right way. :)

Today is another "What's for Dinner" dilemma day...I must figure it out and then we'll probably go buy it before swimming class tonight...and it looks like E will be repeating Starfish...Jellyfish never called with an opening.

Oh well!