you made the England kids silver-dollar pancakes I watched you play with the kids of our friends you showed your beloved animals the patience you have I saw the look on your face when you held our first baby for the first time
I Know you ARE a great dad when. . .
You let the kids climb all over you you sleep out in the back yard with them when you are really tired and need a good night's rest you teach them to be kind to each other you show them how to work you play Cowboys with them you spend so much time doing things for them and with them you take them for horse rides you give them treats you work so hard to provide for them you show great patience when I know you're close to losing it!
Well. We've been super busy lately. As many of you already know, I put on a conference for my professional organization (UAMFT) every spring, and this year's conference was the weekend of the 21-22 of May. So for about a month or two before and a week or so after that weekend, I've been a little nutty. Well, maybe more than a little nutty. BUT--It's over now, and I've enjoyed spending a little more time with the kids and Ryan AND in the great outdoors. I'll post pictures of what we've been up to lately, but I wanted to share something I found outside this afternoon as I was planting "Annie's Garden."
A quick aside: "Annie's Garden" is an area of one of my backyard flowerbeds where I let her pick out some annuals and then we plant them together. She loves to pick out flowers and usually loves to plant them as well, but she was "otherwise engaged" this afternoon and instead told me where to put them and I GLADLY obliged her. You see, this allowed me to make minor adjustments in their placement and order (woo-hoo for garden symmetry). Anyhow, it was her "other engagement" that later caught my eye.
At one point, she said, "look what I'm doing!" and I saw this. The "I love you" was too cute to get mad at and so I didn't say anything. Well, apparently, I didn't notice ALL of it. When I went to go inside, I found her signature on my apple tree:
If you look closely, you'll see "Annie" in pen
It was probably not from today, but it got me thinking that if I looked around the backyard carefully enough, perhaps a vandalism-themed post was in the works. . . So, I grabbed my camera and headed back out. Unbeknownst to either of us, this was the beginning of my Camera-aided Backyard Numbers Scavenger Hunt. I'll explain.
As I was taking a picture of this:
It says "Jack" (the dog) with a backward J. This is on a stump just outside his doghouse
. . . I found that there was the number 8 on the corner of the shed.
Hmmm, I thought to myself. . . why the number 8?
I soon found 7. . .
. . . followed by 2. . .
. . . here's a 5. . .
. . .10. . .
followed by what I think was 1 (and also "mom" it appears. . . )
I'm starting to think I got punked!
I decided to stop looking when I found THIS ONE!
I'm not going to search the backyard for 11 through 100, thank you very much. Anyway, I thought it was cute, if not sneaky and creative.
What a little done-with-Kindergarten-and-almost-6-years-old stinker!!!
Just had to share this moment lest I forget it before the next time he says "NO!" when I ask him to do something. . .
So we were eating dinner last night and Ryan was not home yet, so needless to say, my patience was wearing thin and although I had originally planned a more exciting meal, there we were eating our English Muffin Pizzas when. . .
Carson: Are you the best mom? Mom: Well, I'm just trying to be a good mom--pretty sure I'm not the best mom. Carson: No, you the best mom!
Even seeing the words now isn't the same experience for me as hearing him say them. First of all, it was phonetically more like, "Ah you da best mom?" and "No, you da best mom!" Secondly, he said it so matter-of-factly, as though he were discussing something indisputable with me, like the color of the sky. Like, duh, of course you are! Third, he's three and most likely unaware of the power of words like those as well as how much it meant to me. What a gift to a stressed-out Mom. And what a sweet expression he had on his face. It made me feel SO good! It was a rough night and I sometimes wonder at times like that if I'm doing them any good, ya know? So it made me feel really special knowing that to him, I'm the best! What a sweet little boy.
Thanks, Carsie!
PS: And then, just a moment ago, he was standing on my chair behind me and hugged my neck and said, "You a good girl (giwl). And you cute!"
After which, he immediately looked at his sister, turned his hind end toward her, grabbed the waistline of his pants and asked, "hey, you wanna see my butt?"
Well, you know it, I know it, and I won't bore you with excuses. . . . but here are the pictures any-hoo. . . .
Here it is: the official 2010 Ryan Red Easter Egg. Every year he crows about how amazing his RED EGG is. And to be truthful, noone ever dyes a red egg as bright or strong in color. Ryan, you are the RED EGG KING! All hail! Good, now we have that out of the way.
We dyed eggs with Mike, Kelli, Kate, Grandma, and Grandpa D. The kids had an absolute blast! Here is Carson dying ANOTHER egg blue. Every time we asked him what color he wanted to use next, the answer was always the same: I want blue. And blue he got. Many shades, but all blue.
Although Annie was willing and able to dye eggs every color of the rainbow, she was partial to her personal trio of faves: red, pink, and purple. She was very excited to dye eggs. It could be argued that she gets more excited about Easter and those beautiful colored eggs more than any other holiday (or even her birthday for that matter).
This year, the Easter Bunny found some really awesome youth-sized sleeping bags at Cabela's shortly after Christmas! How neat, ya? I guess that bunny thought that something practical (and perfect to usher in the sleep-in-the-backyard-with-dad season, I might add) would be a better idea than the endless supply of candy that NO ONE needs. But, the Easter Bunny is no grinch. There were a few sweet treats as well.
We were able to spend the afternoon at Oma and Opa's house for lunch and an indoor (GASP!) Egg hunt, sponsored by an uncooperative Mother Nature. O-Well. The kids were excited nonetheless and a good time was had by all. The nice thing about having younger egg hunters is that you have to make it easy for them, and as it so happens, easy for us grownups to gather the eggs they missed. Fortunate for Oma and Opa, I say. No one wants to smell a rotten forgotten egg in their family room halfway through the hot summer. Yuck.
It was nice to see Carson show some interest in the Egg hunt after pretty much not giving a darn last year. Woo hoo! He IS Cool! Make no mistake!
This would be the 2010 "Least Interested Egg Hunter" award recipient. Who needs to hunt eggs when there's a perfectly tasteful bit of plastic to chew?
The undisputed Egg Hunt Champion and her lineup of 27 colorful eggs. Well done, Ms. Annie!
Kate and Annie hamming it up for the camera. Cheese!!!
Here is the Easter Fam-photo of 2010. Who says that buying Easter Ties isn't as fun as Easter dresses? I was so happy with how cute they all looked. What a cute bunch of kids! Hope you all had a great Easter!
I've been such a slacker this year. . . I think Carson's 2nd birthday was three posts ago! Just kidding. It was four.
This year, when I asked him what kind of birthday cake he wanted, he said, "twucks, twailoos, an' mooses." The room slowly faded out and I had this amazing vision of a beautiful cake I would make which would artfully tie together these three necessities. And then I thought to myself, "Self, when will you accomplish this?" The answer was blunt and dismal, yet surprisingly relieving: "As soon as you call Albertson's and order it!" Well, the one in their picture looked better than the one we got, but in the end, it had a truck, a trailer, AND a moose (that we found in the playroom, washed off, and slapped on top of the cake).
VOILA!
This is his new John Deere Gator. . .
. . . that he refused to drive himself. Thanks, Dillon, for the ride!
So anyway, let's NOT take the "just call Albertson's" approach to reviewing a Year of Carson and celebrate his accomplishments over the past 12 months:
Carson has spent the last TWELVE months pursuing his car obsession. He has perfected the art of seeking out the BEST surface available in any environment on which to slowly move his cars back and forth. When visiting our local furniture retailer recently (for a new mattress set--GREAT news, but not for this post. . . )for example, Carson suggested we purchase a certain couch. Why? Because it had bumps. Now this may not make sense to the casual observer, but to we his parents, this was no mystery. Bumps make carplay all the rage!
Here he is with the car Papa Foof sent him for his birthday. He played with it literally for HOURS!
Here, he and his friend Dillon found a ladder turned on its side and guess what? It made the PERFECT road!
Carson has spent the better part of his 3rd year (or is it his 2nd--I get confused by this--has he just completed his second year or his third year? But he just turned 3? See my confusion????) anyway, I'm getting off-topic here. He has spent the better part of this last year learning the craft of stealth. Stealth? Stealth. This is how it's done: First, you sweetly tell your parents goodnight. You say your prayers, full of stuff about Jesus and being a good boy. THEN, when Mom and Dad have left the room, you pause. You listen. You wait. When all is silent, you gently push back your covers, and test the silence with one foot and then the other. Finally, you fully emerge from your sad, lonely little twin-sized bed and head for the greener, warmer, and cozier pastures of your big sister's full-sized bed. Doesn't matter that she doesn't want you there, that your very presence rumples the smoothness of a bed fit for a princess. You cast the stuffed animals and perfectly-placed pillows aside with one sturdy sweep, and slowly climb under the covers. Unfortunately for Carson, his giggles and Annie's shrieks usually give him away, but more often than not, I go in and move him back to his bed before I collapse into mine. They look so cozy, but they wake up more slowly in the morning if they're in separate beds. I look at it as a "pay now, play later" situation.
How cute is that?
Carson also became a big brother this last year. Now, that is a pretty big deal. He's all over that until Rhett approaches the DMZ surrounding his (Carson's) cars. Whenever I hear the door of the playroom shut following this sound: "WETT! Stay away from my CARS!", I know what has happened. Carson has dragged Rhett by his heels out of the playroom and has shut the door. I know what we'll be learning during year #4: sharing! Most of the time, however, he is really quite cute with his little brother. It's really been fun to watch.
Twinner jammies!
The best part about the past year is how much more Carson has been able to do with us. Here are some random pictures:
He and Annie slept outside in the back yard with Dad (and Jack) a number of times.
Frolicking with Jack (and Uncle Tim and Annie) in the Great Salt Lake.
Jack and Carson have become quite close.
He was excited to help his dad any time a tractor or skidster was involved.
He has gotten quite brave on the horse.
And he was most helpful with the raking of the leaves.
Here he is hanging out with Maisey in the dog house. Boy's best friend! (well for a few minutes, anyway)
And although it would appear that he and the potty weren't the best of pals, this last year also saw him potty-trained. In less than a week. That's my boy!
In all seriousness, however, he is growing up to be quite the cutie pie. He is VERY funny, VERY handsome, VERY flirtatious, and VERY sweet. He absolutely loves his family, his grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, friends, and neighbors. We are so lucky to have such a happy and funny son.
