A Trip to the Park

I try to post some of the more ordinary things we do around here.  I realize these posts are probably boring to read, (but I think I am talking to myself most of the time on this blog anyway.)  Years from now, I imagine I am going to want to remember the everyday stuff we did way more than the unusual stuff.  So, today, as we were heading out to the park, I grabbed my camera. 

We have spent countless hours at this park, but other than when the boys are playing their soccer games, I don't think I have ever snapped a single picture.  Today, I captured a little bit of our time there.

I realize this park is not the loveliest, but it is any easy walk from our house,  it has a long jogging trail around it, and it is where all of my boys soccer practices and games are held, so this is the one we frequent the most.

Tad doing a little wandering.

Dallin and Thomas having a little soccer scrimmage.

Thomas giving the ball a good boot.

 

Another cute picture of Tad.  He loves the swing.  I swear I could have posted 50 pictures of this kid.  Every single one of them was absolutely adorable.

 

 

And every single picture of this kid was blurry. You must be super fast on the swing Drakers.  (Or your mom is just not always great with the camera.)

 

 

Jack on the swing.  He played a little soccer with Dallin and Thomas, but spent most of his time right there on that very swing.

 

 

Dallin wanted me to capture his jump out of the swing.  I think this turned out to be about the worst jump I have ever seen him make, but the only one I caught on camera, so here it is.

 

 

 

They don't allow the kids to jump out of the swings at school, so I guess I am an overly permissive parent, but I used to jump out of the swings all the time.  It is great fun!!

 

The little boys on the walk home.    When I was expecting Thomas I agonized over spending so much for this double jogger, but it has seriously been one of the best purchases I ever made.  I knew it the second I took little Dallin and baby Thomas for their first walk in it.  I have used it with all my boys and it is just as great today as when we took it out for the first time.  If you are in the market for one, don't agonize, just do it.  I had to include this jogger in our park post, because it has logged a lot of miles to and from the park and around the park's jogging path, and we have loved having it along.

 

It was a good day!!

Random Doings

These are just a few random things that have been going on around here lately.  First, Jack graduated from preschool and got a fabulous sendoff in a space shuttle.  (Isn't his preschool teacher amazing!?!)

Tad hanging out on my unmade bed.  Can you believe he is almost two?  This is all going too fast!!

Jack and Drake playing in the large boxes that came with an Amazon shipment.  These were great fun!!

The boys helping out with getting my Mother's day flowers planted.  Jack was really into this.  He loves to garden.

Dallin kept the little guys entertained while Jeremy, Thomas, and Jack took care of the planting.

One of these days I will take a few pictures of my flower pots and flower beds.  They look so good and make me so happy!  Thanks guys!   I love them!!!

Dots and Toothpicks Construction

If you haven't tried this activity with your kids - - you really should.

I was saving this idea for the summer, but today, my boys were out of school for an unused snow day and I got desperate.  So, I ran down to Dollar Tree and picked up a few boxes of dots and some toothpicks.  I decided to set this activity up on the coffee table so that everyone would have easier access to the necessary building materials.

 

This kept the boys busy for more than an hour and they had a ball!!

My Budding Craftsman

Dallin loves creating things.  Recently he made this little stepstool to be used in our boys' bathroom.

 

It is just what we needed and he did such a great job (with some help from his dad).

Thanks guys!  I love it!!

Grand Falls

The other day, we took a little day trip over to the Grand Falls of the Little Colorado River.  They really only run during the spring, so we took advantage of a nice day and went to see them.  They were pretty cool.  If you are ever in the Flagstaff area between March and May, they are probably running and it is worth a trip out to see them.  Just be prepared to get good directions first.  They are on the reservation, so the roads are dirt and they are not signed and GPS is not always reliable out there. (trust us on that one).

Here are a few pics.

Pinewood Derby

Last night was Dallin's first Pinewood Derby.  He wanted to make his car into a muscle car and try to win show.  I warned him that I didn't think that design would be very fast, but he didn't care,  he wanted that red Trans Am.  So here is a look at the final product.

It turned out pretty cool.  He and Jeremy worked hard on it.

It turned out that, as expected, his car was definitely not the fastest, but not the slowest either.  He had a great time racing regardless of whether he was first across the finish line or last.  I love that about Dallin.  He loves life and all his experiences and he doesn't always have to be "the best" in order to feel good about himself. 

Here are some pictures from the big event.

 

The decorations were incredible!!

Dallin getting ready for a race.

Dallin's car winning that race!  Yay!!

Tad cheering on from the sidelines. (And, by the way, isn't that such a cute, simple idea for a boundary?)

The boys watching for their cars at the finish line.  And again, aren't the decorations incredible!  So many details and sooo much work!!

Dallin ended up taking second in show and he was thrilled.  The boy who won first in show had an incredible looking car, but he didn't win a single race, so I think that Dallin was genuinely happy for him.  That Dallin is a pretty compassionate kid.

The silver medalist showing off his showpiece.

 

A look at the back of his medal.  Pretty cool!!

 

And a final look at his fun car and his medal.  Way to go Dallin!!

He says now that he has conquered show, next year he is going for speed.  Hope we can help him there.  There were some serious speed demons in our pack.

Next year we will have two boys in the pinewood derby.  Thomas already has his car conceptualized and named.  Should be fun!!