Little Funnies

So a couple of weeks ago, my wedding ring went missing from my bathroom counter where I left it.  At first I looked in all the regular places and then I resorted to asking the kids if they knew where it was.  Dash thought he remembered Colt wearing it, which sounded like a death sentence.  When I asked Colt about it, he vaguely remembered wearing it on his thumb until "it just felled off, I guess".  Uhggg.  I looked, searched, tore apart, cleaned out, cried, cursed and prayed for almost a week.  Dash really didn't like seeing me so upset (for the record Colt wasn't that phased by it.  Both boys, though, said multiple prayers in my behalf.), so he tried to come up with an alternative for me.  At first he thought I could just share Daddy's ring.  Then he told me to get a new one.  I told him I didn't want a new one because my wedding ring was so special to me.  I explained that it helps me remember the promise I made to Daddy to stay married forever and ever.  Then Dash said something profound, and a little guilt inducing.  "Well, really Mom, you never thought so much about your ring until you lost it, so now that its gone you'll probably think about it more and remember your promise better."

Dash isn't all angel, however.  The other day we were trying to leave a graduation party and the boys were next to impossible to drag out.  This has become a common occurrence in our family.  When it is time to go somewhere, the boys don't want to leave the house.  Then when it is time to go home, the boys don't want to leave where ever we're visiting.  When we finally got everyone into the car, I started lecturing the boys on their behavior, telling them that I was tired of them never wanting to leave when it was time to go.  Dash was quiet for a moment and then he piped up with, "That's actually not true! I always want to leave church!"

And then there is Colt.  Colt is in the horrible habit of not paying attention while he rides his bike.  The other day he drove his front tire right in between the poles of a road sign, but that is nothing compared to what he did Sunday night.  We had gone for a walk and Dash and Colt were riding their bikes.  The road coming toward our house is sloped downhill so the boys really fly down it and get a ways ahead of Brandan and I pushing Sport in the stroller.  Dash had already made the turn down our back alley when Brandan and I noticed Colt swerving all over the road.  We were kind of chuckling to ourselves when suddenly Colt turned his bike directly towards the curb and peddled full speed ahead.  I held my breath as Colt's front tire hit the curb and he flew over the handle bars and bounced on the grass.  The wreck was kind of humorous, especially once we had reassured ourselves that he wasn't seriously hurt, even though he was crying dramatically.  Out of curiosity I asked Colt why he rode his bike into the curb and between sobs, Colt cried out, "because...I had my eyes closed!"  We couldn't help but laugh then we helped Colt back on his bike and were just congratulating ourselves that he didn't get hurt worse when we looked up again to see Colt heading right for the back of a truck parked on the side of the road.  Brandan yelled out and in a panic Colt swerved and drove right into the curb again.  Yep, his eyes were closed.
And in case your wondering, a little investigation on our part and we found out Dash has been telling Colt that he can ride his bike with his eyes closed.  So, there you go.

Sport may not use a lot of words, but he still communicates and he definitely has an opinion.  Every time I start singing in the car Sport screams, and I mean screams, my name from the back seat.  "Moooom! Mom! Mooom!"  I finally stop singing and ask him what he needs and, of course, he says nothing.  But if I start singing again, he starts screaming again.  "Mooom!"
Lest you get the wrong idea, I should say its not just my singing that he hates.  In a rare turn of events, Brandan was able to drive to church with us the other week and he started humming and then singing a hymn.  Sure enough...."Daaad! Dad!"

Dash loves dressing up like a superhero.  He did his mask himself, including the eyes, and got Colt dressed while I was in the shower. 

State Track

Last weekend was the State Track meet in Casper.  The boys were extremely excited about this trip.  Of course they love staying at a hotel, but they have really gotten into track.  They love to stand up against the fence and scream at the runners, even Sport gets into it, but quite often he yells when Upton isn't running.   Oh well. 
Unlike the Regional meet the weekend before, State was HOT.  Thursday was about 85 degrees, so combine the heat with running around, sweating, lots of sunscreen and a sandpile and I can't even begin to describe how dirty the boys went back to the hotel that day. 
The next few days were much the same, with the exciting addition of Boe and Kamber.  The boys loved watching the races, playing with their cousins, swimming and eating lots of chicken nuggets. 

The boys playing on the sand hill at State Track with their new found friend.

Through most of the track season, the boys have been holding races, jumping hurdles and passing batons.  But since State Track, they've really taken it to the next level.  Dash was really impressed with the pole vaulters attempting the 16 foot jumps, so when we got home he set up a pit out of pillows and box out of Sport's chair and he started pole vaulting with a stick covered in a sock and Colt used a plastic bat.  They actually got pretty good.

Dash pole vaulting in the kitchen.



Colt pole vaulting.

Big Boys II

The last couple of weeks have been big ones for my baby boys.  They are all growing up so fast.

Last Wednesday, the Upton School District did their annual Move Up Day.  On this day all the kids spend the day in the grade and with the teacher they will have next year and the new Kindergarteners come and spend their first day at school.  Dash was really excited for this day and Colt was too, because he thought he would be able to go to school also.  When we got to the school in the morning, Dash tried to make me leave at the front door, but I insisted that I at least walk him into his classroom.  He went right in with no hesitations and the only problems we had were getting Colt out of the school.  When he realized that he couldn't stay, he threw himself on the floor and screamed.  This drew quite a crowd so I had an amused audience as I literally dragged a screaming Colty out of the school while Sport slowly made his way down the hall. 
At three, we walked down to meet Dash and he came running out the school completely satisfied with his day.  No surprise, but PE was his favorite.  Actually, when I ran into the PE teacher a couple of days later, she mentioned to me how much Dash loved running during gym.  While the other kids collapsed on the floor, he asked why they couldn't run during their cool down.  Overall, I would say Move Up Day was a success.

Last week, Brandan took the boys to the last track practice before the State meet while I went into Newcastle to get a new drivers license.  Dash had a blister on his foot so he wasn't up to his usual races, but Colt used his time in the limelight to his advantage.  He started jogging around the track, showing off for his favorite high schoolers and made it all the way through 3 laps.  After a little break, one of the kids that Colt is especially fond of mentioned that if Colt ran one more lap he would have run a mile.  So Colt did it! 

On Mothers Day, Sport refused to keep his diaper on.  Finally, I gave in and let him go commando.  It only took a little while and Sport came running up to me in a panic, patting himself on the bum.  I asked him if he needed to go potty and he nodded.  So we ran him into the potty and he went number 2 on the toilet!

Surprise!

Silly Colty

Last week I was released from my calling in the Relief Society Presidency and put into the Primary Presidency.  Today was my first day in Primary and I was substitute teaching for one of the classes in Junior Primary.  The primary kids were pretty wild today, especially the Sunbeams.  Usually Colt is the only kid in the Sunbeam class, but today there was another little boy and he was a wild one, running around and yelling and acting like a three year old.  Well, that looked like more fun to Colt than sitting still and he started acting up himself.  Really, who could blame him?  But I kept shooting stern looks and snapping my fingers in his direction anyway.  At one point during singing time, Colt needed to go to the bathroom so I took him and really gave him a talking to on the way.  After a lengthy lecture I finished up with "I don't like to look up there and see you acting that way!"  In innocent sincerity Colt replied, "Well then why don't you just leave and stop looking at me!"