3 conversations and a wasp killing I want to remember

#1

After being on the lake Friday afternoon, Gary Sr. came up to me smiling and suggested that I should ask Andrew what the girls in the canoe were asking him.

Hmmm....girls in a canoe talking to my son.  Yeah, that might warrant a small conversation.

Steve and I while driving back to the rental house fed Andrew mass quantities of York Peppermint Patties (his favorite candy lately) in hopes the sugar would sweeten him up enough to spill his guts.

He spilled.

The two girls in a canoe wanted to know:  how old he was, where he was from and his phone number.

He told them:  almost 13, from Twin Falls, and that he didn't have a phone.

One of the girls was apparently relieved that she and Andrew were from the same state...oh brother.

Later one of the girl's mother came up to Andrew and told him her daughter thought he was cute.  He didn't answer her.  I told him next time someone tells him they think he is cute to answer back, 

"So does my mother."  

He laughed pretty hard about that one...suprized he didn't spray peppermint patty.

I'm guessing situations like this are going to happen more often than not just because of Andrew's age.  I'm finding out real quick that young girls can be...how did my mother describe it...rash.

#2

Tonight Carter was complaining about the injustices of life and how Andrew getting to go to a movie with friends on his birthday wasn't fair because it would count as a party.  

Once again...oh brother.

I reminded Carter that life is indeed NOT FAIR. 

It is just better for us to be happy with what we have been given and not worry about what other people have that we don't.  We would be miserable all the time if we did worry about such things.

For instance, I explained to him, I would be grumpy all the time if I dwelt on every person in Twin Falls that had a nicer house or nicer car than me.  I then winked at him and Andrew and mentioned how miserable I would be if I thought about all the moms out there that have cuter sons than me.  He and Andrew cracked huge grins while protesting how unlikely that situation would be.

#3

This wasn't a conversation per say, but it was hilarious just the same.

I had a raging case of hiccups yesterday that didn't let up even when I had to feed Grady.

Every time I would hiccup, Grady would stop eating, look up at me and giggle hysterically. 

Seriously- one of the top ten cutest things I have ever witnessed in my life.



Wasp Killing

While mowing my parents lawn yesterday, Andrew was stung three times by wasps.  The evil buggers had made a nest in the front pine tree and defended it from an innocent lawn boy just passing through.  They also attacked my cute six year old nephew as he walked passed the tree earlier in the weekend...right between the eyes.  Poor kid.
Andrew had to make a wide swath around the tree.  You can see how he left a huge long spot on the lawn for fear of being stung again.
My mom, Andrew and I waited until later in the evening to get back at the wasps.  Andrew took some far shooting wasp spray and killed the suckers.  I think it made him feel better about his swollen hands and back.  I screamed like a little girl when the wasps did their crazy death dance after being sprayed.  I might have run faster than I have in a while too.
I'm such a pansy.

On the Lake

We drove up to McCall on Thursday afternoon.  We took our time and stopped in Boise for a little shopping and lunch with JaNae and her three youngest.  We arrived in McCall early evening, checked into our rental house and had dinner with family.  Friday morning the entire Dixon crew headed to the lake for sun and adventure.  Steve's brother Michael rented a canoe, paddle board and a few kayaks for the day.  Steve brought our inflatable kayak (Which I lovingly named Baby Louise...if you've seen Dennis the Mennis you might get the reference.  Lets just say we had a lot of "junk" to take in our car and an inflatable kayak wasn't on my priority list.  It turned out to be just the ticket and I'm grateful Steve had enough foresight to buy Baby Louise.) and the kids spent the entire day swimming and boating. 

 Jenny, Chenele and Emily

 Colby, Andrew, Michael and Gary

 The public beach was pretty crowded especially by afternoon.  Fortunately, we were a large enough group we could stake our claim.  I was impressed how all the cousins took turns with the boats with almost no arguing.  Little cousins were taken for rides by big cousins and nobody was left out.  I was grateful we didn't have motorized vehicles for the lake.  The self propelled boats wore the kids out and kept them close enough to the shore where we could keep an eye on everyone.

 Colby and Steve on the paddle board.

This kid has no fear what so ever!

 Andrew giving the paddle board a spin.

 Anavey and Andrew

 Grady and Grandma Dixon

Grady was in his pj's most of the day.  They served as protection from the sun and mosquitoes.  Win Win.

 Steve and Colby with Baby Louise.

 Dixon party on the lake.

From left to right:  Whitney (friend of the Johnsons), Jessica, Andrew, Preston, Carter, Jane, Anavey and Steve.

 The women folk.  We kept the children too small to boat from drowning near the shore.

Claire with Cameron, Jenny, Grady and I, and Margie.

 This boy mastered the paddle board by the end of the day.  I think he would love to own one.

 I looked out once and almost my entire family was on the lake in group.

Colby and Andrew, Steve and Saylor, and Carter in the kayak.

 The princess and her boat.

 Andrew, Colby and Carter

 Colby after much pestering convinced Steve he was ready to go in a kayak by himself.  Steve made him promise to stay close.

As soon as Colby got a little freedom, he rowed for the hills.  Steve had to jump in the canoe and go get him.  I even witnessed a little lecture session from the shore.  

Colby Colby Colby, I love your independence and zest for adventure...however, you scare me to death.

 At the end of the day, the boys settled in at the shore and decided to bury Carter.

Ick.  

I can't explain to you how much sand was trapped on his scalp, how many times we had to scrub it to get the sand out and how dirty the bathtub was afterwards.

 Gary Sr. dumped an entire cooler of cold water on the boys before we left.

Carter loved it, Blake got sand in his eyes.

Sorry Blake!!

Around 6 pm we left the beach, cleaned up the kids and headed back to the houses for dinner and being with family. 

I think my kids had the perfect day with cousins.

We've been out of town

We attended our Dixon family reunion this past weekend in McCall Idaho.

We had a wonderful time with Steve's family.

We got back to Twin late afternoon today.

McCall was beautiful, peaceful and extremely fun.  We're hoping to make this vacation an annual thing.

I'll post more once I recover from my vacation-fun hangover...yes, vacations can induce hangover type symptoms without even a drop of alcohol.

the weekend continued, even though I spent most of it in bed

Friday night I went out to dinner with friends.  Before the check came and unfortunately after I ate, I knew I too had the stomach flu.  My friend Megan graciously agreed to pay for my food as I quickly excused myself to drive home as fast as I could.  The elderly gentleman in front of me obviously didn't realize I was about to be sick in my own lap and drove 5 miles under the limit the entire way home.  I barely made it into the house before the flu virus reared it's ugly head.  I very much regret eating everything I did and it will take a good long while before I will grace Johnny Carino's eating establishment again.

After me and my bathroom had a few really good discussions, I learned from Steve that while I was gone for only an hour Saylor also was sick...all over the basement.  Steve being the wonderful man that he is cleaned her, him and the carpet up before I got home.  Man this flu is not nice.

I spent most of yesterday in bed trying as hard as I could to stay hydrated.  Steve game me a priesthood blessing and I was promised I would still be able to take care of Grady's needs.  In the past if I cut down eating or drinking at all, Grady is extremely unhappy with me.  I didn't eat anything until last night and Grady was perfectly happy and well fed despite me being sick.  Today I'm grateful for even the tiniest of blessings and am grateful to a Heavenly Father who answers prayers.  But lets be honest, nursing a baby while being nauseated beyond all reason is not fun.  I'm not proud of how I finished feeding Grady, practically threw him at Steve and then pushed Steve out of my way so I could make it to the bathroom for another "discussion"...not proud at all.  Not one of my most beautiful moments.

While I was sleeping off the flu, Steve took care of the kids.  I secretly think my entire family loves when I am sick because I am not telling anyone what to do.   This hunch was confirmed this morning when I asked Steve to help me clean up the kitchen.  He looked at me and stated, "You're feeling better aren't you."  When mom is down...the whole house is a party.  But in Steve's defense, the house was not a total wreck.  He's a great guy.

Andrew got home from Camp Bradley around 3pm.  I was asleep and luckily didn't get to hug him until after he showered.  Steve described his feet as BLACK.  I believe Steve because I washed Andrew's socks last night.  They were also BLACK.  There isn't enough bleach in the world to make those puppies white again.

I was so happy to see Andrew.  I missed that kid.  It was wonderful to have him home and even more wonderful to have him happy and pleasant around his siblings.  I hope he realizes how his attitude can make or break the feeling of our home.  He came home spilling his guts about adventures and fun that he had at scout camp.  For one, his troop one the Cape Horn award.  This is an overall award that includes camp inspections, meeting attendance, uniform compliance and a number of physical activities.  He and his friends Barrett and Michael also won the triathlon.   Barrett completed the canoeing portion, Michael the swimming and Andrew the running portion with 5.06 minutes for 3/4 of a mile.  Andrew completed three merit badges and was frustrated he couldn't do more.  The rules were changed this year and each scout could max do 6 merit badges.  Andrew earned pioneering, rowing, and canoeing.  He almost finished rifling and wilderness survival.  He was extremely frustrated that he couldn't try for shotgun.  His 13th birthday is 2 weeks away still and only 13 and up were allowed to shoot shotguns.  (good thing he has a grandpa with LOTS of shotguns)

Andrew also raved about the food and described to me almost everything he ate while at camp.  I must be starving this poor boy because I never make him bacon, eggs, hashbrowns and two bowls of cereal for breakfast.  We also don't have a peanut butter and jelly bar for when he doesn't like what is served at dinner.  He also proclaimed Camp Bradley pancakes better than mine.  I'm clinging to the fact that he was starving and that mountain air makes everything taste better.  Nobodies pancakes are better than my Grandma Walkers!

Today, I'm keeping Saylor, Grady and Colby home from church.  (Colby...because he pretended to be sick last night, and I still think he is going to come down with the flu in the next few days.  I figure we should expose the least amount of people possible.)  Steve is smoking a huge pork roast that we will pull and freeze for our Dixon family reunion later this week.  I'm catching up on laundry and trying to get my house back in order after only a day of being down.  I'll feel a lot better when every towel and sheet is clean in this house.

Other things we have going on this next week:

Grady's 4 month appointment
Andrew gets braces
Swim team
Piano lessons
Guitar lessons
Shopping for family reunion
Baking for family reunion
Packing for family reunion

Random pictures from this past week...which obviously means swimming pictures because that is the only thing we do around here lately.

This is the best picture of Wyatt I could get.  He was determined to finish his 50.  There was no time for him to stop and pose.  He was one determined swimmer!

 Goof ball in the swim pool.

If I was her teacher, I would go crazy...she's not exactly obedient but could be described as squirrelly.

Carter's crazy hair.  He is pretty proud of it.

I think he needs a cut soon.

Colby tried to make his hair as crazy at Carters.  It didn't quite work.  Colby has too many cowlicks and finer, curlier hair than Carter.

...but that vein popping out of his forehead might make up for it.

And I wonder why my baby smells like smokey meat.

Good thing the largest predators around here are stray kittens.  Grady would be a tasty snack otherwise.

Dang Stomach Bugs...they can be a real you know what.

Carter has the stomach flu.  It started in yesterday afternoon after we most likely exposed every person swimming at the city pool.  You're welcome.  Honestly, if I had know he was going to chuck when he got home, I wouldn't have taken him.  We obviously didn't go swimming today (our only real plans) and we most likely won't step near a pool until later next week.

Diabetically, he is doing great.  His numbers haven't dropped below 80 and haven't been above 200.  My comfort zone with diabetes and the stomach flu has grown greatly in the last six years.  Just the thought of it when Carter was first diagnosed raised my anxiety level to the point of panic.  Now, luckily, I know to turn his pump almost completely off and ride the coaster.    He's currently sitting on the couch after a huge nap, playing the Ipad sipping bright blue Gatorade.  (please don't throw that bright blue up all over my carpet)

I'm waiting patiently for my other kids to come down with the "yucks" and have found myself fixing the last few meals with the thought of "Hmmm.  How do I feel about this meal if it comes back up?"  Needless to say, we haven't had macaroni and cheese, pizza, or raisins...all things I have cleaned up in the past.

I feel even worse about this flu bug because it came during my nephews visit.  Andrew has been at scout camp and therefore Carter and Wyatt have ruled the house this week.  They have had a blast playing in the back yard, making cardboard weapons of "not so mass destruction" and having free reign of the Wii.  Sadly, I sent Wyatt back to Boise today because I figured if he got the flu, he would be happier puking at his own house with his own mother.  I know I would have as a kid.  Sorry JaNae for possible giving your family another round of the flu.

Other than intermittent sickness, things have been slow around here.  If...you can call getting a call from my sweet neighbor sharing concern about Colby's new swearing problem slow.  It's most unfortunate that his swear word of choice have been learned from yours truly.  He apparently told the neighbor girls that the "B" word was ok to use because his mom says it all the time.  NICE.   For the record, I do not say it ALL the time, but it has been known to slip lovingly off my tongue in the presence of my offspring.  (Do I need to link my previous "I swear" post?)  Colby and I had an in depth talk today about repentance and proper language.  I will be trying extra extra hard to keep my mouth clean in the future for my own spiritual, physical and mental well being.   That, and I promised Carter and Colby 50 cents every time they caught me swearing.  Keeping my swear words to myself is also good for my financial well being.

Also good for my well being was attending the trek fireside last night with my parents.  I wasn't able to attend our stake's trek in Martins Cove this year because I had Grady, and last night I was able to get a small taste of what our youth and their wonderful leaders experienced.   The feeling was phenomenal.  (Do I feel guilty writing about trek in the same post as my swearing problem...yes.  Is it going to stop me...no.)   Hearing testimonies from a few participants that went was uplifting in a way that I didn't realize I needed.  I came home refreshed and spiritually inspired.  It made my ache for my children to have that experience and for me to go with them.  I know one day Steve and I will be asked to participate on a trek, especially with Carter, and I hope I can absorb all the spiritual knowledge that I can.    I often feel like a spiritual infant.  I know there is so much more I can and need to learn.  Feeling the spirit like I did last night made me want to do better and be a better person.  I know I should get this feeling every time I attend a church meeting, but because of my own weakness and lack of preparation, I do not.   It's my own fault.  Oh...do I have a lot to learn and a lot to work on.   Tonight I'm grateful for repentance and for a loving Heavenly Father that knows the intent of my heart and is willing to forgive me for my many many short comings.

Cardboard. Who knew...right?

 We have my nephew Wyatt staying with us this week.  He and Carter spent the afternoon in the back yard with scissors, painters tape and a whole mess of cardboard.

They made suits of armor.

I think I'll keep more cardboard around the house from now on.  It is the toy of all toys.

 I uploaded more pictures from Grady's haircut yesterday.  They made me smile all over again.

His crazy baby hair mop is gone...as are the darker tips that accompanied him at birth.

I know he looks a hundred times better with his tamed locks, but letting that newborn hair go at just 3 1/2 months was hard.  His newborn-ness is officially gone and I think he is going to be blond.

How did I get a blond blue eyed child????

 Dad?  What are you doing to me? 

 Best behaved child during a hair cut yet.

 I guess he didn't mind the shorter hair.

...just in case that wasn't enough pictures of Grady, here is one more that I took this afternoon.

That face is killing me it is so cute.

Weekend happenings

Saturday morning I headed to Boise with my three youngest and my parents (sounds a lot like last weekend but in the opposite direction) and Steve took the two oldest to a swim meet in Rupert.  I would have gone to the swim meet, but babies and the sun for 5 hours do not mix.   

JaNae, Jeff, Mom, Dad and I went to lunch while JaNae's kids watched (played) with Colby and Saylor.   My kids ADORE their Johnson cousins and were just happy to play.  After lunch, JaNae, Mom and I shopped around Eagle a little.  We hit RC Willey (dreamed for new furniture), Thai Pan Trading and Hobby Lobby.   I have a few ideas for decorating our compter room and since I don't have decorating ideas very often, I figure I better run with it.  

One of the only pictures I took while shopping...other than the many couches I'd love to own.

Grady owned this sombrero.

I think it works well with the binky.

Steve on the other hand took lots of swimming pictures and texted me a few to keep me posted on the boy's racing progress.

Andrew's start.

Steve only got his feet.

Carter's front crawl.

Carter's start.

Andrew's butterfly.

This is pictorial proof that he has improved a lot since last year.

Carter under water.

Touching the wall...or maybe this was a turn.  I'm not sure what it is, but I love the action shot.

Andrew did great and came in 1st in every heat he competed in.

We're not sure if he won anything overall.  They didn't announce the official winners.

Carter did equally great and placed 2nd or 3rd in almost every heat he competed in.  I'm so proud of Carter!  He was apprehensive about racing this year and even vowed to not try the butterfly.  Andrew was super supportive and convinced him to race every stroke.   I love when my boys are encouraging with one another and decide they can do hard things.

Lastly worth noting this weekend is Grady's first hair cut. 

His long newborn locks were getting ridiculous and this morning I caved and asked Steve to cut his hair. 

The new do.

I think it makes Grady look older.  Boo.

The damage.

We cut about an inch off the top.  

Grady's hair is now lighter (all his newborn black tips are gone) and thicker looking.  But even though it is shorter...it still sticks straight up. 

This kid is bound to have a mohawk for life.

Foreshadowing

Steve found this video this morning.

Things like this tug at our heart strings.

This kid was and is adorable.

I took a video of him this afternoon playing his real guitar.  I had to pay him 10 bucks to do it.

Sadly, I couldn't get it to load on the computer...and I'm out $10.

If I ever figure out how to make the video work, I will post it. 

Until then, just know he sounds even better six years later.