Slow Down!!

A birthday.  Levi had a birthday and wanted to go to a place that is filled with trampolines with his friends.

For two hours they jumped all over this building.  Jumping requires one to keep a hold of one's pants if you don't want them to fall down which makes you stop, look around to see if anyone notices, say, "oops", and then yank your pants back up again.

In a screened off netted area there are rope swings that you can swing on.

Having your older sister there to help you is quite handy because Levi's mom was engrossed in a book most of the time on the sidelines.  Bladders that have been kicked by a gazillion babies don't like trampolines.. (just defending Levi's mom...........)

Eleven candles for a boy who has turned eleven!  Amazing!  Never would have thought several years ago that we'd make it to eleven.  Boy howdy am I glad we did!

Levi invited his friends to his party.  Almost all of them attended.  There was one.......  She didn't come.  Not that she didn't want to!!  It's just the trampoline place doesn't allow four legged critters to parties and the other friend Levi invited, her name is, "Cocoa" and she's Mr. D's dog.  Levi loves Cocoa.  Mr. D is pictured on the left standing next to Levi.  Standing on the right is Mr. O.  So secretive aren't we??

Levi wanted a black cake for his birthday.  We were quite puzzled.  A black cake?  He was so stressed that the store would be out of black cake!  He ran to where the cakes are and pulled out this chocolate cake.  Oh good!  They didn't run out of black cake!  :D  Ohhhhh!  Black cake is chocolate cake!!

Sorry.  Had to add a Zoe photo since she was an early birthday present for Levi.  This is how I feel at the end of the day.  Yawwwwwwn!!!

Happy Birthday Levi!!

We Are All Blind

Years ago The SM and I moved to a little town named, "Spanish Fork" here in Utah.  We moved into a duplex where we rented one side.  The duplex had a nice backyard that backed up to a fence.  On the other side of the fence was a couple who were our age who we would become fast and longtime forever friends with.   Korey and Merrie Walker.

At the time, both Merrie and I were expecting our first babies.  Exciting!  We went on to have several more children at the same time.  Two of Merrie's beautiful babies are blind.  It has been a beautiful journey watching from the outside as Korey and Merrie have navigated this experience with their children.  I have been nothing but in awe and proud of these two people who I love very much.  The following link is to a blog post Merrie wrote recently about her two children.  You won't be sorry.  If you can, take the time to navigate around her site and learn more about this amazing family that I love so much.

Here is the link:  THE KALEMIA FOUNDATION

Helping those who help blind kids!

Topside

Mr. C is going to grow out of this stage right?

Somebody please tell me that when important photos are taken like say............ his graduation photos.........  wedding photos.............  he'll actually look at the camera and not do everything he possibly can to avoid the camera?

Builders

There are so many metaphors that could be used for this set of photos.

Mr. J sat for hours setting up his wood stacking robots at the end of his race track.  He'd then launch his match box car at the robots............

And down they'd come.  This one was cool.  It only knocked out the center yellow robot but the rest of the tower remained.

There are a endless ways to stack these robots which makes them pretty high on the cool factor.

Stacking them with a wide base which makes the tower of robots shorter.........

Or stacking them one on top of the other seeing how high you can get your tower.

The higher the tower, the more impressive the fall.  When you're a little boy, that is the goal.  To see how fantastic of an explosion of robots you can get.

There are builders in this world.  People who just naturally build others and there are destroyers.  Those who can't seem to see the good in anything or others.  Gossip.  Hate it.

Life can do that to us sometimes.  Throw curve balls or racing cars at us.

We find ourselves toppling over and wonder if we have the courage/strength to get back up again knowing that one curve ball/race car isn't ever going to be all there is.  There will be more.

Sometimes we wonder how many time we have to pick ourselves up and why we keep getting knocked down.  Go knock someone else down for awhile and leave us alone.

Those who follow my blog know that I am religious.  I believe in a Higher Being.  This brings me comfort.  I know that no matter how many times I get knocked down, the Master Builder will be there to help me pick up the pieces and put me back together again.

No matter how massive the fall........

More Zoe......... Of Course!

Most dogs curl up in a ball to sleep.

Not Zoe!  I think she is enjoying not having to share space with 10 other litter mates.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Spring Break

Mr. T and Mr. C are home on spring break this week.  Grass hasn't grown under these two feet nor their friends.  I bought The SM this book:

The boys have been busy.  As I watched them build a potato cannon I wondered if I should get the first aid kit or my camera!  As you can see, I grabbed my camera.

Ready to launch!






I got the biggest kick out of watching the boys run off to see how far their potatoes had launched.

I wonder what tomorrow will bring...............

Update

Sleeping, eating, going potty.  Sleeping, eating, going potty.  Sleeping, eating, going potty.  In a week Zoe has gained a pound and has grown several inches taller.  00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Those are hugs from Zoe.  I'm trying to type and she just stepped on the keyboard.  She has much to say.  She is the most vocal dog I've ever known!  The vocal noises she makes are quite funny.  It is making it challenging in the potty training area though.  All of our other dogs would come and whine when they needed to go out.  Zoe is always, "talking" so I'm not picking up on potty cues.  The SM said it is like an infant.  A cry for being hungry.  A cry for wanting to be picked up.  A cry for a dirty diaper.  We just need to figure out which 'cry' is for potty.

In the meantime.......  we are enjoying Zoe immensely despite my being thick in the head in the potty training department.  I think I need a sign for my front door though.  A warning sign that says something to the effect of:  I may have not given birth to an infant but I'm still taking care of a four legged infant therefore put on a hard hat before entering the house because this mommy can't seem to get around to cleaning said house and is busy taking care of baby Zoe.

Yoga

I'm training for a marathon.  My first marathon ever.  Last year I did my first 1/2.  This year I'm going for the full and will run the 2nd weekend in June.  On my 'rest' days where I don't run I'm supposed to be doing cross fit training.  CROSS fit training.  It makes me cross.  I get bored with the same thing so today I thought I'd try something new!  Yoga!  I figure it is just stretching with heavy breathing.  How hard can that be?  I do that every morning.  I streeeeeeeetch and the effort it takes just to get out of bed and walk to the bathroom has me breathing heavy.

I plunk down my laptop and google some yoga videos on youtube.  I find one that looks promising.  It's only a 1/2 hour long and it is level 1.  We begin............

Question?  Who the heck came up with yoga pose names??  I'm supposed to be holding these poses whilst thinking about the sun, moon, the stars, the man in the moon, and oh look!  I have lint between my toes as I am doing a pose called an, "down dog"!  Down dog?  Really?  My hands and feet are on the floor, my bum is up in the air, and you are telling me I look like a dog?  I thought yoga was all about mother earth and getting in touch with your ying or yang or something.  I already feel like a beached whale!  I don't need someone telling me that I look like a dog!  Couldn't you call it the, "sleek lanky cheetah rises out of the grass to attack it's prey pose"?

Fine, moving on.  I'm told we always come back to the, "strong mountain" pose.  We reach back and salute the sun and come back to strong mountain.  Again.  I'm already feeling largish and you compare me to a mountain.  Who comes up with these things?  I know!  Let's come up with an exercise program where we shoot insults at the people doing different poses and while they're being insulted we'll convince them this is fun and good for them!

"Happy baby pose".  Let me explain something.  When a baby lies on their back and plays with their feet, it's cute.  When an adult is told to lay on their back and play with their feet.  Aint no one happy and don't call me a baby!

I'd love to tell you more about my yoga workout but by the time I got to the pose where they called it, "the half moon pose" I told my computer, "Absolutely not!  I will NOT look like a teenager with my undies hanging out of the top of my pants with my pants hanging down to my knees"!

I marched right over and tried to turn off my computer excepting I couldn't seem to lift my arms that now felt like jello or see where the 'off' switch was with all of the sweat dripping down my face.  How can this be?  All I did was act like a big mountainous happy baby dog doing half moons while lifting one leg!

Oh!  And P.S.  The camel pose?  Apparently that's not the part where you walk out of the room and get a huge drink of water.........  I'm still trying to figure out how I wasn't carried out of my living room on a stretcher after that one!