Pool Time! (More Dawson & Ander Adventures)

Dawson and Ander had a blast today playing in Ander's new pool. Mean Uncle Chuck kept turning on the fountain in the front of the pool every time one of the kids got too near it so that it totally drenched their faces. They still seemed to love it and were good sports about getting soaked. Chuck also gave both the kids haircuts while we were outside. He was only going to cut Ander's hair since Dawson didn't really need it (our poor little bald kid!) but Dawson came over to him while he was trimming Ander's hair and acted like he wanted his trimmed too so Chuck buzzed it for him. Ander kept running away from Chuck while he was trimming his hair but once he saw Dawson getting his hair buzzed, Ander changed his mind and wanted his done too. Ander had a lot of hair all over his back after Chuck was finished buzzing it so Suzi wanted me to take a picture of it. It looked like it was actually growing on his back like he was a little prehistoric caveman. Thanks for the fun time, Chuck and Suz! I think I'll get Dawson a pool now since he seemed to like playing in Ander's pool so much.

Dino Land

Suz and I decided to take the boys to Southtowne Mall today to play in Dino Land since there's not a lot to do outside with it being so stinkin' hot right now. Dawson was the smallest kid in the play area and he kept getting almost knocked over by a group of older kids who were running around like out-of-control hooligans. However, there was a cute little girl there who tried to help him up after he fell down once, which was really nice. Both Dawson and Ander kept leaving the play area and walking into the mall so we walked over to the fountain with them and Ander threw pennies into it. Dawson was fascinated by the water so he just stood at the edge and looked into it. The kids' play time came to an abrupt end when Ander decided it would be fun to crawl into the fountain.
Suzi took Ander home for a nap at that point so I got Dawson into his stroller and walked around the mall for awhile so I could get in some exercise for myself. I found a great pair of Nike running shoes on sale at Macy's so I ended up buying them since my old ones are getting a little worn out.
Dawson was exhausted when we got home and took a nice long nap so he must have gotten quite a workout.

Happy Father's Day!

This is a little late but I just want my dad to know what a wonderful father he is and what a great example he is to me. He is such an awesome teacher and I'm glad he and my mom are so happy serving their mission. Even though I miss them both a lot, I know they're where they need to be right now.
I also want Scott to know what a great father he is. He is so good at taking care of Dawson and loves to play with him. He is always so loving and patient with Dawson and never gets upset with him. Lately when Scott is around, Dawson doesn't want me to hold him, he only wants his daddy. He's Scott's little shadow and tries to follow him everywhere.
I'm so lucky to have such a great father and husband, and want to wish them both a very happy Father's Day.

Tagged By Jenn

Favorite person (outside family): My friends
Favorite food: Bonsai's chicken and shrimp, Market Street's halibut, chocolate souffle
Quirks: It drives me crazy when Scott leaves his clothes and shoes all over the house. I always throw them in the laundry room so I don't have to look at them. Same thing with dirty dishes - I don't like seeing any in the sink so I have to either clean them or put them in the dishwasher.
How would the person who loves you most describe you in ten words or less: I asked Scott and he said: "Caring, loving, thoughtful, understanding, um...why don't you think up 6 more words and add to that. I'm no good at this corny stuff."
Any regrets in life: Not finishing college. I guess there's still time.
Favorite charity/cause: Primary Children's - ever since Dawson spent 3 days there after he was first born I have a real appreciation for everything they do there.
Favorite blog recently: Jenn's blog - it's highly entertaining
Something you can't get enough of: Spending time with Dawson and Scott, reading good books
Worst job you ever had: I worked as an ice cream scooper at Dan's Food Store when I was 15. The job paid $2.85 an hour and I scooped ice cream non-stop from the time I punched in until closing. I lasted two weeks before I quit.
What job would you pay not to have? Janitor at a high school
If you could be a fly on the wall, where? My husband's car dealership - I would love to hear what he and his co-workers talk about all day.
Favorite Bible verse right now: Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Guilty pleasure: Massages at Brick House - If I had the money, I would get one every day. Also Diet Coke.
Got any confessions? I snack on Froot Loops straight from the box throughout the day and have to buy a new box every few days - I'm addicted to them.
If you had to spend $1,000 on yourself, how would you spend it? Spending all day at the spa getting a massage, facial, pedicure, etc. and then going to a nice restaurant with my hubby for dinner.
Favorite thing about your house: My kitchen
Least favorite thing about your house: The carpet
One thing you are bad at: Patience
One thing you're good at: Organizing
If you could change something about your circumstances, what? I'd love to travel more as a family so I guess we would need more money and Scott would need to be able to take more time off to do it.
Who would you like to meet someday? President Monson
What makes you feel sexy? Compliments from my husband and listening to Maroon 5
Who is your real life hero? I can't think of one particular person - there are a lot of people I look up to and admire for different things.
When are you most relaxed? When I'm with my family
What stresses you out? Not having enough time for everything I want/need to do each day.
What can you not live without? My family, great food, great books, daily walks and Dawson's smile
Do you agree or disagree with the recent article that reported that blogs are authored by narcissists? Maybe some are, I don't know. I started one because my parents are on a mission right now and it was a good way for them to see what was going on in my life. Same with my other family members and friends since I don't see all of them on a daily basis. It's also a sort of journal for me.

The Dog Walkers

This afternoon I heard a knock on my door and when I went to answer it, two cute neighbor kids, Sara and Joshua, were there asking if they could walk my dog. Anyone who is familiar with Zeus knows he is 65 pounds of hyper, out-of-control pure muscle. We don't take him for walks, he takes US. So I explained how strong he was and that they would have a hard time holding onto him if they took him for a walk. Joshua said matter-of-factly, " I weigh 40 pounds and Sara weighs 50 pounds, so we can handle him." I decided to let them try since they seemed so determined about it (and I thought it would be pretty entertaining to watch). Both kids got a firm hold on Zeus's leash and started pulling him down our porch steps. Dawson and I sat on the lawn to watch them and make sure Zeus behaved himself. Poor Zeus didn't know what to make of the situation. He had a look of utter bewilderment on his face as they dragged him along the sidewalk. I don't know if he thought we were giving him away or what, but the look on his face was priceless. After about 5 minutes of yanking and tugging, some on the kids' end, most on Zeus's, the novelty had worn off so the kids brought him back to me. Joshua then asked me, "Are you going to pay us?" I figured that 5 minutes with Zeus should be worth something so I paid them each 50 cents and gave them both a small candy bar. I found out afterward that mine wasn't the only house they went to today trying to earn money. They also tried to walk Nico, Gus, Jake and Buck, but Zeus was their only volunteer. I got a kick out of watching them with Zeus and I think Dawson enjoyed it too.

Little Walking Man

I finally have some pictures of Dawson walking! I've been trying for the past couple of weeks to take a picture of him in the act and he's either fallen or lost interest right as I've snapped the picture. He started taking his first steps on Memorial Day and has been walking a little more and farther every day. We had a picnic at the park last night with Suz and Chuck and they were able to help me capture my little walking man on camera finally. It's so fun to see him reach new milestones as he gets older and watch him as he learn new things every day. It's so cute to see how proud he is when he's able to do something by himself for the first time. My little fella is growing up fast, which is exciting in a lot of ways but also sad because I want him to stay a baby sometimes.

One Man's Junk...Another Man's Treasure

So we actually participated for the first time in our neighborhood's annual garage sale on Saturday. We went through our whole basement and cleaned it out on Friday trying to figure out what we should keep and what we should sell. It felt good to have our storage room and spare room finally organized. We had to get up really early on Saturday because we had heard that people started to come by as early as 6:30 in the morning even though it didn't start until 8:00 (crazy!). Even though the weather sucked it didn't stop people from coming. We sold a lot of our stuff in the first couple of hours and then it started slowing down. I just want to say that there are a lot of cheap people out there. We had some things marked down as low as 50 cents and we still had people trying to bargain with us on those items. A lot of people tried to use the "buy one, get one free" philosophy on us as well. We accepted most of the offers except for the ones on our baby items and newer home decor because we knew we could get more for them. By the end of the sale we had made over $500 but we were still stuck with some stuff so we'll have to make a trip to the D.I. to get rid of it. All in all, it wasn't a bad way to make money and get organized at the same time. I will definitely do it again next year.
The top pic shows some of our garage sale "junk" and the other ones are of Dawson clowning around in his high chair.

Bookworm Baby

We keep some of Dawson's books in a basket behind our recliner and in the past couple of weeks he has learned how to get back there so he can look at his books. He'll go back there several times a day for up to an hour at a time. He loves to get every single book out of the basket and turn the pages so that he can look at the pictures. His books keep him much more entertained than any of his toys do. I wonder if it's because he sees me reading a lot and is trying to imitate me??? Anyway, I hope this is a sign that he will love to read when he gets older.