Kyle's creation

This morning Kyle created a new superhero mask with Mariah's headbands and my nail files. Interesting and creative. Shall we call him the Sabertoothed Nail File Man? Or the Headband Terrorizer? What do you think?

Boys and baseball

Dallin and Grant both played baseball this year. Well, Dallin played farmball and Grant played t-ball. They enjoyed it for the most part.

Grant had fun the first couple of games, but then he really only played to get the treat at the end of the game--usually a snow cone. I think he'd like it better if it were faster paced. Baseball is painfully slow anyway and t-ball is significantly worse since the kids are so young and they only run one base at a time.

Dallin played well with his team and improved a lot by the end of the season. I'm pleased with the way both of the boys learned and played. It's always nice to see my kids grow in new ways.

Mosquito Bite Contest

Last weekend we went camping in Washington while Jason had a race nearby. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring the camera so no evidence of our adventure exists except for the hundreds of mosquito bites we have covering our bodies! We camped in a beautiful, secluded campground in the foothills of Mt. Ranier and Mt. St. Helens. There weren't many people camped there. They probably knew of the hords of mosquitos that invade the area and stayed away!

So, we ignorant-folk set up camp in the middle of mosquito heaven. I'm sure it was entertaining to watch us sit around and suddenly go into convulsions trying to swat, bat, hit, slap, squish or just plain run away from the mosquitos. Despite our best efforts and after trying three different brands of repellant, we still were covered in bites. When there are that many mosquitos out, I think there are bound to be some who are so hungry for fresh prey they don't care about the repellant.

We decided to have a mosquito bite contest to see who had the most bites. I think Dallin won with about thirty bites or so. I lost count. I just know we were covered and could have easily made a dot-to-dot booklet out of our pathetic, bumpy bodies.

The kids rode their bikes everywhere along the gravel road and through the trees. There were plenty of small hills for them to "jump" over with their bikes. Dallin and Grant had a motocross race. They designed a course through the woods and practiced all day the first day. On the second day, they woke up and started getting ready for The Big Race. They finally lined up their bikes on the road and I overheard them "revving" their engines. Dallin revved his really loud, making a really great motorcycle sound with his mouth. Then he turns to Grant and says, "We're trying to see who's engine is the loudest. Rev yours up, Grant." Grant pauses for a few seconds and then screams at the top of his lungs like a little girl. Wow, I didn't know motorcycles sounded like that! Then they took off and raced and raced and raced.

By the time we left the campground, Grant had informed me the area used to be a motocross track and that they had built the campground on top of it. He was dead serious.

It's Levitation, Folks!

Kyle has emulated a new super power recently--levitation. Often I will come into the kitchen to find him washing his hands with his feet completely off the floor. It's amazing!

I showed him this picture and he said he used The Force to hover above the ground. Truly a gifted boy.

Locksmith, anyone?

Did you know the Fire Department will unlock your car if you locked your keys AND your kids in the car? Yup, they will. And to keep it official, they'll even drive the huge, giant, bright red fire truck to your rescue in front of all the parents at your son's baseball game (without sirens, of course). I don't think it's in their job description to be careful about the paint job or the seals on your doors, but they'll get the job done. They'll even give firefighter hats to your kids when it's all over--maybe to relieve the trauma of being locked in a car for too long, or to further embarrass you as everyone asks where the kids got their cute hats! Sigh!