Red!

Daniel and his friend, Reb, at Reb Robin.

The never ending song

I sung Daniel the never ending song the other day, you know:

"This is the song that never ends!  Yes, it goes on and on my friend...some people, started singin' it not know'n what it was, and now they're always sing'n it forever just because.  This is the song that never ends..." and on and on and on....

Well, I was singing it in the car to Daniel - over and over - and finally I couldn't take it anymore and had to stop.

Daniel hadn't been saying a word, then this:

Daniel: "Uh, Dad?  If it's the song that never ends, why'd you stop?"

Touche.

A Day at the Fair

 Mommy and the boys went to the Thurston County Fair with Grandma today. It was lots of fun visiting Mommy's old 4H stomping grounds. Daniel is already looking forward to going back when he's a bit bigger so he can go on the rides with Daddy...

 Meeting a pig named Bacon. 

 What a funny llama!

 Matthew teases the llama by blowing raspberries...he apparently hasn't heard that llamas spit when they feel threatened.

 Taking a break from the animals for lunch!

 Both boys loved the cows. There was lots of "moooing," especially from Matthew.

 Petting a chicken.

Newly hatched baby chicks!

And the best way to cool off after a long hot day at the fair? Sno-cones!

Rub-a-dub-dub

 These two boys sure love the tub!

Got a new camera!

We got a new DSLR Camera the other day and love it. Enjoy!

Diet motivation

During prayers the other night:

Daniel: "I'd like to pray for Lovey, Lovey's parents, my Brother, my Mom, my Dad, and the baby in my Mommy's tummy, and the baby in my Daddy's tummy."

Diet time.

Bick Back / Hit Ball

Daniel invented a new game today called Bick Back or "you can call it Hit Ball too".  This is, verbatim, how he described it.

Daniel: "OK, first you hold it up like this, then aim towards the brother, then throw it at the corner where the brother is, then RUN over past the brother and catch it."

I think we're having flashbacks to Slap Ball and Whip Ball.

Self incrimination

I returned from a business trip this week and, as usual, asked Michele for the highlights of the week. Like I'm sure it is for all parents, this inevitably includes a report on the children's behavior. Michele gave me the update over dinner.

Michele: "Things went well, though there were some tough days. Matthew started to learn how to pinch and kept pinching Daniel."

Daniel was quick to point out that he was innocent, or so he thought.

Daniel: "Ya, he did pinch me, but I did not do ANY pinching, because I know not to pinch............but I did do the hit job."

So close.

What season is it, again?

Judging from the outfit Daniel chose for himself today, he's having just as hard of a time figuring out this weather as I am. Yesterday was gorgeous--70-some degrees and sunny. Today is rainy and cold again.

Pentecost

Inspired by our friends the Eustermans, we decided to make a birthday cake for the church for the feast of Pentecost. It started out as a simple "let's make a cake in the shape of a church" and ended up being a complex 3D model of our parish, Blessed Sacrament. Daniel had decided at first to make it in the shape of the Newman Center, but at the last minute changed his mind. Here's how the day--yes, we spent nearly the entire day on this--went. 

 Cake building supplies.

 Daniel reviews the master plan.

 Putting the "glue" on the first layer.

 Second layer.

 Cutting the first piece out of the base.

 The finished base layout.

 One side.

 On goes the roof.

 Daniel decides its time for some head protection.

 Daddy works on the steeple while Daniel sneaks a taste of frosting.

 The cake part is finished!

 A different view.

 Roof is iced and the ice cream cone steeple is ready.

 Finished!

 From the back side.

Look how tall it is!

Yum.

Note from Michele: Chris wanted to document every stage of the process, so I apologize for the lengthy post. And, sorry for the not-so-entertaining captions. Chris would probably have cooler things to say, but he's out of town so I'm doing it instead. :) I will also mention that we did most of this from memory, and when we drove past the church later we recognized many flaws in our replication. We also ran out of time to do any detail-type work, so there are no doors or windows marked. There's always next year...