I Love First Grade Art

Christian came home the other day with these gems.  I LOVE THEM.  They are hanging proudly on my fridge and I smile every time I look at them.

First grade art might be the answer to world peace...

George Washington and Abraham Lincoln

Other things that are making me smile are some of the things that Sophie says. Her little 4-year-old mind is delightful.  I love the way she sees the world.  She told me the other day, "Mom, you are the best mom I ever had."  It was so sweet and I could tell that was the nicest compliment she could give me.  

This morning I accidentally stepped on her bare feet.  She was really upset and I knew that it really hurt her.  She cried for a minute and then said, "It's okay mom, don't worry, my eyes aren't juicy anymore."

Good stuff!

End of a Season...

Basketball season is over.  Much to Christian's dismay, the NBA did not show up with a contract, but he was not as disappointed as I thought he would be.  He played most of his games with both arms up waiting for a pass, a pass which rarely came, but...he truly loved the experience.

He still uses every second of free time at home in the basement practicing basketball. I love it.  He has now told us that when he grows up, "I am either going to be in the NBA or win American Idol."

Thomas' season is also over.  It was a great year and this basketball season was by far the most positive experience he has had in sports.  His coaches were great and it was so fun to watch his confidence explode.

Congrats T on a great season!!
 

 

End of a season.  The weather is warming...bring on the flag football!

Shattered Dreams of a Six-Year-Old

For the past several months, Christian has been making some big plans.  I am pretty sure that he thinks he is going to be recruited for the NBA...as a six-year-old. We signed him up for a "Little Dribblers" basketball team at our local recreation center and he has been DYING for the games to start.  For the past few weeks, he is constantly asking me to remind him how many days are left until the "Big Opening Day Game."

To get ready for his basketball season, he has spent countless hours in our basement playing on a plastic basketball standard that we set up.  He has been working on his dribbling and of course his 3-point shot.

The big opening day for his first practice/game was this past Saturday.  He got up really early that morning and proudly put on his basketball shorts, t-shirt and shoes.  He walked around trying not to smile.  It was adorable.

As we got ready to go, he asked Romney if he looked "Basketball-ish" and then proceeded to tell us that he was pretty sure that he was going to score 60 points and that he was going to dunk most of his shots.  He was completely serious. (Sorry no pics, I forgot my camera.)

Well...the game did not exactly go as he had envisioned.  He quickly found that it is pretty chaotic on the court with 10 other little 6-year-old boys who have never played basketball and have no idea how to pass to each other. Things got pretty bad when a loose ball hit him smack in the nose and a rebound or two hit him in the head.

Despite his "I'm Open" pleas, he never even got his hands on the ball...which meant of course...no 60 points.  He was so deflated.  I ached for him and wondered what was going through his head as I watched him on the sidelines rubbing his swollen red nose and desperately trying not to cry.

But I was so proud of him because every time he was put in the game, he ran his little heart out and whenever one of his teammates scored a basket, he would cheer as loud as could be.  So, even though it was obvious that it was not the start of his "glory days," he did learn that being a part of a team is also pretty cool.

Amazing What $15 Can Buy...

For the past several years, Romney and I have tried to make a habit of taking the kids on a date.  We are not that consistent at doing it, but we have found that those dates provide some quality one-on-one time that is nearly impossible to achieve at home.  (My dad was great at taking the time to do that with me and some of my fondest childhood memories with him are from those dates.)

Christian has been begging me to take him on a date, but for what ever reason, we have not been able to find the time to go.  So finally on Saturday morning, I told him that we were going on a date, just the two of us.  I did not really have anything planned, but he was so excited.

We started the morning at Krispy Kreme and ended our date at Boondocks Fun Center.  We rode a go-cart, played dozens of arcade games and climbed through the play land...together. Yep, even me.

It wasn't much effort on my part, but I'll tell you that I have not felt that loved in a long time.  He kept hugging me and telling me that I was the best mom in the world.

On the drive home, he told me with his cute squinty eyes, "Mom, this has been the best day of my life!"

A perfect way to spend a morning...all for $15 bucks and a few hours of my time. Turns out, that morning was just what I needed. Thank you Christian!

The Great Outdoors

We live in a pretty place and although little can compare to the beauty of the Wasatch Mountains, the skies in Colorado are spectacular.  Since moving here, our lives have been turned upside down in so many ways, but one of the biggest changes is that we are apparently an early rising family which also means that we are an early to bed family too.  I know shocker of the world...Romney and Alecia are in bed by 10:00!!

Since Christian and Lauren's bus comes at 6:58 AM...(yes...6:58 AM), we have been waking up early and enjoying some of the most spectacular sunrises I have ever seen.  We woke up to this yesterday.

Another fun aspect of our new home is the wildlife.  Falcons, eagles, hawks and dozens of bird species are constantly flying above us.  It is like a free aviary every time we go outside.  On our first or second night here, Thomas also discovered that frogs/toads come out at night.  He caught three of them and did his best to make a life for them in shoe box in our garage.  They were really cute and about the size of a silver dollar.  After a few days, we convinced him to let them go.

Yesterday, Sophie and I were returning from the grocery store and she told me that we had a frog in our garage.  I walked over and there was a huge frog sitting in the bottom of an empty garbage can.  It turns out that Christian had found one the night before and was trying to keep it in our garage as his secret pet.  Hilarious. Once he got home from school, that poor thing was bathed a dozen times and dropped on his head over and over.  I hate to admit this but he would actually kiss it on the lips.  By last night, we told him that it was probably time to let his new friend go home and he was devastated.  

Christian was having a really hard time letting him go, so the only way we could get him to do it was after he asked us if he could spray paint him so that he would know how to find his friend.  Since we don't have any "frog friendly spray paint," we told him that he could write his initial's on the frog's stomach.

Out came the Sharpie pen.

With all the strength he could bear, Christian took his little buddy outside and let him go.  Here is a picture of him on his way back inside.  He was devastated and in true paparazzi fashion, he tried to shield his face from the camera.  It was very sweet! Poor kid.

Other than frogs, birds and sunrises, we are enjoying ourselves and had fun this past weekend enjoying the pool in our development.

Thank heavens for dads because this was my way of enjoying the pool...quietly enjoying a great book.  Thanks Romney!!