Christopher....

Okay seriously Kelly and I finally found the true comparison for what Christopher turns into when he is throwing a tantrum, seriously, okay minus the green.

My only wish is that I can capture it on camera some time because it's the most ridiculous thing I've even seen.

My Dad

My Dad is my hero

This is my Dad.
The first one to make you laugh if you're sad or offer support. The first one to help you plan the best prank of your life. The man who would stick a live fish in his mouth for a perfect photo opportunity and the second he returned to camp go give his wife a big kiss on the lips and tell her he loves her and that Kaycie has a picture for her to see now.... The person who would help you with your goals no matter how ridiculous they are. The best nick-name giver (except for mine) The best cook especially his dutch oven berry cobbler that he always makes for his favorite daughter :) The person who always remembers the little things like how much Kaycie loves hammocks so we better pack one to take camping.
These are just a few of my favorites about my Dad and there are so so many more things. I love my Dad!

My Dad is always so amazing. He is the world's BEST ever grandpa. My Dad at the drop of a hat when my nerves were getting frazzled from two adventurous little boys in the mountains, took them on a nature walk in the "jungle" and that's not something new. He's always looking for ways to serve others.

He is so amazing with the boys! I love this picture, because it reminds me of when I was little and always going hiking with my Dad and always learning new things.

Dylan's hero is also my Dad for obvious reasons.... mainly because Mom isn't going to teach him the fine arts of the slingshot....

Papa is also giving Dylan his first fishing lesson.



Dylan's first Fish
and Papa scaring the wits out of Dylan letting the fish suck his finger
My amazing Dad, who can catch 2 fish with one line!

Meal times at the Deitrick's house

As I was trying to think of something to make for dinner tonight it occurred to me, I no longer think about dinner times the same. When I'm thinking of something for dinner my first thought is, will the boys eat this? Next thought, how messy will they get eating this? Next thought, how hard is this going to be to scrub off the table and floor and occasionally wall? And of course somewhere in the middle of all those thoughts I am also trying to pick healthy things for them to eat, especially since I have two very picky eaters. So tonight after dinner and after bedtime when I returned to the kitchen to clean I began to scrub watermelon sticky spots from everywhere and I decided I really REALLY want a picnic table to have in our backyard. At least when the weather permits it would be a lot easier.

A funny moment in the life of Dylan

To begin this story, one of the sayings I can always remember my Dad telling us kids was, "Do you know any P words?" This was what he would always tell us if we asked for something and forgot to say please. Now that the background info is out of the way lets get to the part where Dylan comes in. Monday we are all out in the backyard enjoying our 4th of July BBQ. Dylan had spilled his cup of my Dad's famous homemade root beer and was extremely upset. He ran to my Dad and asked him to get him some more "rootbear" and of course my Dad replied, "Do you know any P words?" Well Dylan with out missing a beat replies, "YES! Pee pee and poo poo!" My first thought was why didn't I think of that when I was little. I love my incredibly ridiculous son!

The rest of the pictures I forgot :)

Another cool feature at the aquarium
Dylan behind bars at Farm Country
Dylan and Christopher exploring farm country. Of course I missed getting the picture of the calf that got a hold of Dylan's shirt and was not going to let go.
This is another perfect moment to describe Christopher. Of course it has to be my son that goes into the play house and starts picking up rocks and throwing them, sometimes at the other kids. This is Grandma Desiree escorting my little monster out of the play house. I still love him, even if the other children that were unlucky enough to meet him today don't.

Living Planet Aquarium and Farm Country

The boys got so spoiled today. Grandma Desiree took us to the Living Planet Aquarium and Farm Country, the boys had such a great time! They have so many cute things there for little kids. The frogs were one of Dylan's favorites!
They also have a huge open tank with Manta Rays that you can pet. Dylan was so terrified of them. Once all of the rays were on the other end of the tank Dylan decided to get brave and test the water..... then the rays begin to swim back towards him and he freaked out, hilarious Mom moment :) I hope that doesn't make me sound really mean. I wish I would have gotten a picture of the ray coming up the side of the tank towards him but of course the really cool stuff happens the second I put my camera away.
Dylan loved the coral reef tunnels. They have a huge playground thing of them that the kids can explore. So cool!

This was at the end of our visit at the aquarium. We began leaving and Christopher decided he wanted to stay and he was going to get away.

Dylan

This is Dylan. My oldest baby. Lately I've really been having a hard time coping with how big he's getting. I still see him as my little baby. This fall he will be starting preschool. When I was writing the check for his registration it really hit me. My baby is officially starting preschool, and then comes Kindergarten and 1st grade and then middles school and high school. Wow, I need to get a hold of my emotions again. Time really goes by way too fast.



He never ceases to amaze me. He comes up with the funniest things and always makes me laugh. He is generally a really nice older brother and loves when he gets to "help" take care of Christopher. I just wish I had a little bit of his energy.