Lego Subs!

This week’s Lego of the Week was an undertaking and by undertaking I mean I didn’t do a damn thing. However, the boys had a great time reworking different Lego’s into their own creations to become MASTER BUILDERS. If you have seen the Lego Movie (yeah right if you have any kids between the ages of 3-33 you have seen the Lego Movie) you know what I mean. Did I mention that Lego Movie is now available on ITunes and your Apple TV? You didn’t know? No worries, if you need to know anything about the movie just ask one of my boys. They will gladly rehash the entire 100 minute film in chilling accuracy for you. I am venting now to you (and to let off steam. Damn Blackhawks pull you s*%t together. I shouldn’t blog and watch hockey at the same time) about Legos because a certain little boy has a Birthday the end of this week and all I will hear about for the next three, maybe four weeks are Legos and which ones he received and which ones he now wants. Sigh. (Speaking of sigh. They need two fonts. One for sighing and they definitely need a sarcasm font. Of course I would only type in the sarcasm font but it would be helpful for text messages and Facebook posts. In fact I came to the realization last week that my sarcasm and dry humor is so advanced that people just think I’m jerk. Sigh. Back to your regularly scheduled blog post.) On to their Lego’s. 

Connors entry this week comes to you courtesy of Lego Atlantis; yes there is a Lego Atlantis, thank you Netflix. We don’t own any sets from the Lego Atlantis series, mostly because we didn’t know they existed until last Thursday, but never less Connor decided we needed a set.

This is his interpretation of a land sub. Land sub? Oxymoron much. 

Stay with me on this one, it will make sense. In the cartoon of Lego Atlantis they all are in submarines that they build from vehicles. One of the subs they build is a sub that crawls on the bottom of the ocean floor, land sub. I had the same reaction I’m sure you all just had when I typed Land Sub but it was explained to me plainly by Connor, “Papa, you know drives on the ocean floor.” Insert eye rolls here. See that is why there are wearing helmets, I mean “air masks,” so they can drive in the ocean on the land floor. 

Yes that is a Stormtrooper helmet. 

This is literally about the tenth reimaging of his Lego. Just when I would take a picture of it to post, he would come and change it. Hence the undertaking I mentioned earlier. Alex’s was a much easier process. 

Alex also stayed with the submarine theme but took a different tact.  He made a Bat Sub, as in Batman sub for you Marvel comic snobs. (I know marvel is bigger but Batman is better. Suck it Wolverine. Yes I still will see the new X-men movie. Looks epic.) Alex took this:

I had to find a picture online because as you know, the sets never stay in their intended state for long!  

And transformed it into this:

Batsub! (patent pending) 

I am always amazed at how they can think of this stuff. Connor’s randomness is fun but Alex’s attention to detail to use all the parts, no extras from other sets, from one vehicle and morph them into another is awesome in my eyes. I was never that good with Legos. I build an awesome tower or staircase but that is the extent of my abilities. He did this in about ten minutes. It would have taken me ten hours just to come up with a schematic to begin to build. I know it doesn’t look like much but they are my boys and I’ll brag about them as I see fit.

 

Really the new X-men looks AWESOME!

Pass the apple and a first aid kit.

I was outside grilling up some dinner tonight, (hot dogs. Mom’s night out and I got home later than normal. Hot dogs it is) when Connor decided to come out and spend some time with his old man. By spend time with, I mean he ran around, while I cooked.

Stalking his prey.

Here he is reenacting scenes from Hunger Games. No he hasn’t seen the movie or read the book…that much.

It was a fun little moment. Him running around, going down the slide, all while shooting it out with an imaginary bad guy. It was an “I’ll remember always” moments. When I’m gray and old, say 45, I’ll look at Connor (he’ll be 16) and say to him remember when you used to run around with orange 6-shooter we got for you in Disneyland. He’ll say, “Whatever, dad,” and go back to ignoring us. I’ll sigh and lose myself in my “I’ll always remember,” moment.

Sorry, got a little carried away there. Any who, it was when we came inside and the pirate sword came out that I was reminded of one the first, or maybe even the first, Connorism when he was four, that involved this same sword. 

Mandy was at a Mom’s night out (trust me she needs these nights. She is raising three boys after all) and we were having an ultra-healthy meal of frozen pizza and applesauce. I was super ornery that night for some reason and wasn’t taking any gruff from anyone. Well, Connor was being Connor and not listening. He had the Jack Sparrow hat on, cutlass on the hip and was not coming to dinner. Finally after snapping at him repeatedly, he decided to grace his with his presence at the table, with the cutlass. Admitting defeat, I allowed him to keep the sword at the table, but drew a line in the sand (or ranch sauce, it was pizza night) when he put it on the table. I told him, “Connor, no swords at the table. Pirates don’t bring them to the dinner table.” Response, “yes they do Papa. They might have to kill someone….or cut an apple.” I understand, fights can break out at the table and yes, you might have to run someone through for flapping their gums. However, please wash the blood off before you cut up the apple. I was so stunned. He silenced me and Mandy can tell you that is a feat. Alex agreed with Connor so the sword stayed at the table.

 

I know that I mentioned this Connorism in one of my first posts but I didn’t tell the whole story. I snapped this picture tonight I decided to wax nostalgic a little bit. They grow so fast I sometimes miss the little moments that stick with me. This was definitely one of those moments. I had one with Alex tonight also. If I hadn’t already been in this mood, I would have missed it. He needed some milk to help him sleep and he needed Papa for some reassurance after.  Instead of telling him forget it, finish your milk and get back to bed, I was able to put away what I was doing and focus on him. It made him happy. We had a little moment on the couch. Him sipping milk and asking about baseball, ESPN Baseball tonight was on, and him telling me about his day unfettered. It helped him relax and fall asleep. As adults, (I use that term very loosely on myself) we need to release once in awhile and I need to remember better that my boys do also. They have stresses in their day that they need to deal with just like we do, and the little moments such as sliding in the backyard or talking Angels baseball help them like it would help us. 

 I forget about the little things I miss, my “I’ll always remember moments,” that I forget to make new moments. I encourage when you read this to start to make these moments. Put down the book, close the laptop, turn off the tablet, forget about work and focus on the kids. Work can wait, Clash of Clans can wait (oh there is post coming about Clans), checking the Hawks score can wait. I don’t often get this these Hallmark After School Special moments very often but for some reason it hit me hard tonight that I need to slow down and readjust my life focus, because if these little moments can mean so much to me, think about what impression it makes on them.

Quick Random Hits from the Weekend

Here are some quick random thoughts about the weekend in chronological order, well as chronological as I can remember.

DoTerra oil oregano, it says you can out a drop on a zit to help get rid of it. It will get rid of the zit and two layers of skin. Use very sparingly, it burns, literally burns.

Yard work again is my happy place. Until I see weeds, then it’s my personal battleground. Good vs. evil, Yankees vs. Redsox, BYU vs. Utah, Hawks vs. Wings, it all pales in comparison to the battle being waged in my yard right now. With IFA’s help I will prevail and beat those bastards. Not only do I have dandelions, we have discovered nightshade. Other than slashing and burning is there a good thing to get rid of that stuff?

Swimming lessons are progressing nicely. Alex is really picking it up, I quote the instructor, “his form is really good. His kicking is awesome and he has gotten (yes she said gotten. Grammar police back off) his rhythm together great. When he learns to put his face in the water fully he’ll be awesome.” Connor still likes it but he still gets scared of the water. It hasn’t helped that we keep getting different instructors for our supposed “private lesson” but Weber State is receiving an email today to see why that is.

As penance for past mistakes in my life, I have been cursed with a horrible short term memory. Case in point I forget to get a prescription from Costco during the week. As such we had to brave that place on a Saturday. However, this week we escaped unscathed. Well the family did, they copped out and got pizza while I went for my meds. The scars will heal someday (except for this damn oregano oil burn. Again use sparingly). Then we had to brave Lowes for some weed killer. Again I was sent in while the family went for that Hawaiian Ice place on Riverdale Road. Note to Hawaiian Ice place, you really should have more than one person working on a Saturday, just sayin’.

Mandy had a great night out with a friend at dinner on Saturday night. I was designated driver for a guy’s night for dinner and a RSL game. Guess who had the better evening?

If you haven’t been to the zoo to see the lions and new exhibit there, go it’s good to see lions back at the zoo.

See those two brown specs? Yup, lions.

 

 The main attraction though is this.

Who remembers this drinking fountain growing up? I loved this thing and it shows my age and maturity when I am more excited for this than some Simba wannabe.

Start humming Harry Potter theme.....now

The bird shows there are always fun. The boys had a great time. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for getting them in and allowing their parents to come along. 

Finally, here is another king in his domain.

He rules all that he sees.

Including a new addition to the yard we discovered this weekend. We’ll have a whole new family of robins soon.

That was our weekend. Hopefully, the burn on my face heals nicely. On the bright side, it’s nice to have a scar that smells like tomato sauce.

Baseball

Growing up we were mostly a soccer family. I have an older sister who was great at soccer playing many years on many comp teams. I have a younger brother that was huge into soccer, again playing on several comp teams all through his youth. I played soccer and basketball for the most part. I wanted to play baseball but I always wanted soccer more and the seasons overlapped and logistically it wouldn’t work. At least I want to say is was logistics but I’m guessing it was more due to the fact I sucked at sports and my brother was much better so he took precedence with the comp leagues. I’m good with it now (sniff sniff). Finally, when I was around 12, after failing to make a comp team for the 29^th time, I quit soccer and decided to try my hand at baseball. Let’s just say the results were not pretty. I was playing ball with kids that had been playing since half of their lives, coupled with a coach who thought he was the second incarnation of Tommy Lasorda. I tried my hardest but I just couldn’t get it (again I think this is because I’m about as coordinated as Bambi when he tries to walk on ice). I kept playing until I was 16. I got marginally better. I could hit once in a while and I actually became pretty decent at 3^rd base (3^rd base in baseball. Get your mind out of the gutter).

Though I was not good at baseball and my first year was awful, I stuck with it because I loved it. The constant chatter back and forth between teammates, the sunflower seeds in the dugout, the root beer at the concession stands (if you are one of those people who played in the Centerville league you know the root beer I’m talking about. No and I mean no root beer has ever tasted so good before or since), the bruises from missed balls and the feeling after a frozen rope into the gap in left field. There is no greater satisfaction then throwing someone out at 3^rd base from right field. None. I met one of my best lifelong friends in that league. I always hit last, he always hit 2^nd to last. Again but we both loved it. To this day I wish I would have started in baseball sooner.

Fast forward 20 years to now. When Alex became old enough we put him in soccer. He played two years but he didn’t like it. When he turned 7 he came to me and said he wanted to play baseball. Alex was one of those weird kids who actually liked watching baseball on TV. He was three years old when I was watching the Cubs and Cardinals on ESPN one Sunday evening. He was running around the house being a three year old when he stops, looks at the TV, and drops on the floor to watch with me. He has always loved the sport. When it was Connor’s turn for a sport he didn’t want to play anything. It was no to soccer and no to baseball. He tried basketball last winter but didn’t want to play this year. We forced T-ball on him last spring and he thought it was ok. We forced baseball on him this spring and he is liking it more and more. In fact here is Connor at his first game.

Yes that is my kid being that kid that picks grass and sits down during the game. That all changed after he got his first hit of the season the next inning. He was so serious running down the baseline but all smiles when he arrived at the base. Then he was able to play first base the next inning and all was well in his world.

Alex on the other hand lives and breathes the sport and thank the lord above that he has more of Mandy’s coordination than mine. There were tears after they canceled our first two games due to rain. Tears when we couldn’t practice outside because of the rain the last two weeks. As soon as dinner is over its outside to throw the ball around. When he found out this year was team pitch, he wanted to learn to pitch like his favorite pitcher Jared Weaver. So now instead of fielding practice it’s pitching practice, every night. My right shoulder will never be the same.  His first game was Wednesday night. His coach comes to me after the first inning and tells me to start warming Alex up, he was pitching the next inning.

 

For his first time pitching in a game off a mound, he did great. He tackled (sorry different sport metaphor but it works here) that mound with all the grit and determinedness that I have come to expect from him. He was so tired after but that grin didn’t leave his face until he fell asleep that night. This kid just loves the sport. Next to the Hobbit, The Rookie is his favorite movie. We are going on a trip this summer to see an Angels game and Padres game and they are both so excited. The Angels are both their favorite team. We saw Mike Trout play with the Bees when he was here for his short stint last spring and they have been fans ever since.

I hope both of them never lose their love of the sport. Baseball is the American pastime. I know that football is more popular and I love football, but there is something poetic, romantic and nostalgic about baseball. There is nothing better than playing catch with your sons. It’s so simple, so pure. If you’re a man that even remotely likes the sport and doesn’t tear up at the end of Field of Dreams when Ray plays catch with his dad at the end of the movie, well, you’re just not human. Go listen to the speech that Terrance gives at the end of the movie and you’ll understand.

“The one constant through all the years Ray, has been baseball. American has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game; it’s a part of our past, Ray. It reminds us of all that once was good and it could be again.”

Eat your....fruits?

Not sure how your dinnertime is at your home but here, it is a chance for the boys, Mandy and I to discuss our days. Yes it is cliché and maybe I am trying to create the Clever family (really if you don’t know this reference, Google it) ideal but it really is a great opportunity to come together as a family and unwind for 20 minutes. It also gives the boys a chance to express their thoughts on life. When I say life we get to hear about Clash of Clans, Disney Infinity, Minecraft, Clash of Clans, Minecraft, Disney Infinity, baseball, what happened at school, Minecraft, basketball at school, their upcoming Lego battles (I slacked it on Lego of the Week this week. I blame mother’s day) and last but not least Clash of Clans. Once in a while Mandy and I might get a word in. Once we are able to get a word it usually turns into a Q&A session with the boys. With the season finally turning over to spring these conversations have started taking a turn towards nature. You see this is what we look at when we eat our meals:

 

The blue scrub jay is Larry.

Well last week we had some fresh fruit with our dinner. When fresh fruit and vegetables arrive at the table it always involves some negotiating, begging, pleading and gnashing of teeth. The boys however are pretty good about eating them. This particular dinner Mandy made pulled chicken BBQ sandwiches with some watermelon, grapes and strawberries. Somewhere along the lines Alex decided to start quizzing us (there is almost always a quiz from Alex on some subject he learned recently) about what foods were really fruits and which were vegetables. The discussion was bogged down when it came to strawberries. I argued fruit because that is what I have always been taught in my 36 years on this earth. Alex argued with logic saying it grew on a vine and on the ground. Mandy was playing referee seeing both sides (which translates to she sided with Alex). After ten minutes Connor decided to weigh in on the conversation and ended up winning the argument. “Papa, Alex, you’re both wrong. Strawberries are a fruit, they are a fruitagle. Biologists I know one day will start classifying foods as fruitagles and I will be proud to know that Connor discovered them first. I agree that strawberries, grapes, tomatoes, could all be classified as this. I am sure there are more just waiting to be reclassified. Remember when you are at the grocery store and see the fruitagle section you read it here first.

Moms

I wanted to do a long mushy piece on how much the different Mothers in my life mean to me and how they have influenced me. I wanted to write that up and have it ready for yesterday but I didn’t, so now you get to read today.

First my own mother. My mom was a single mother that worked two jobs through all my junior high and high school days. At that point it was mostly just my little brother (little being relative here, how about younger brother) and I at home. I was not the easiest on her in high school. I was not a bad kid per say but it frustrated her that I did not reach my full potential. She taught me to work hard, don’t complain and no matter how bad your life seemed, there was somebody who was always worse off, so be thankful for what you have. Saturday mornings were always the best time in the house. Before she went to her second job, Mom would wake up and make us homemade biscuits or sourdough pancakes, then go work most of the day. She taught us self-reliance, that no one was coming through the door to whisk all your problems away. Later in life she took care of her father on almost a daily basis. She would rarely go straight home, or if she did it was briefly to let the dogs out, then dart right back to grandpa’s house to help him out. She is one tough lady. All she has done is raise four kids, take care of her father, survive breast cancer and have two knees completely replaced. She must be more machine than flesh now with all those surgeries, how else do you explain her still going to work at age 70. Mom, love you and I hope that I have lived up to what you raised me to be.

Secondly, my dearest mom-in-law.  I knew that Linda and I would get along about the second month Mandy and I were dating. The year was 1998 and I was coming to over to hang out with Mandy, not sure what we were going to do. I do remember her being upset because what we ended up doing was watch Mark McGwire break Roger Maris’s homerun record for most in a single season. Linda and I ended up talking baseball most of the evening, which is when I knew we would be ok with each other. Linda, will do anything for anybody. She is always willing to help out with the boys at a minutes notice and never asks any questions why, just says ok and that is that. Despite the constant grief I always sling her way she always gives it right back and life goes on. I still cannot believe that she allowed me to marry her daughter. I hope that I can continue to be worthy of your daughters hand and I thank you for always being there.

Lastly my dearest bride of almost 15 years; where to begin. Ah, I know where, how about a quick rundown of yesterday morning. The boys, unbeknownst to me, decided to make a road map for her to follow to find her mother day’s gifts. I didn’t ask them to do this; they just took upon themselves to make it.

They get this creativity and giving nature from their Mother. No way would I have thought of that and that is a direct reflection of her. She teaches them self-reliance but does so with a helping hand. She is often the calming influence in the house but by all means, she demands respect without asking for it. She is the first one up in the night if there is a cry or sniffle from one of the boys’ room. She is the one who is lugging boys to baseball practice, baseball games, cello practice, basketball practice, basketball games, dropping off at school and picking up from school. She does all of this while being a real estate agent and volunteering constantly and the school and various real-estate functions. She keeps the house running all while raising three boys (because let’s face it I’m 36 going on 13). I am who I am and I am because of her, without her I am a shell of myself. Oh one more thing, she golfs now. How hot is that?

Apple Juice and Soap

Shower night at our house is chore, as I’m sure it is in your home. Especially, if it is Connor’s night. Most of the time trying to get him into the shower mimics the scene in Jurassic Park when they are trying to wrangle the Velociraptor into the cage. Take out the jungle and replace cage with shower and your get the idea. We have tried so many ideas to try and persuade him to shower and not make a fuss about it. There was candy after you’re done method. He could play Nintendo DS for ten minutes after he was done. He could watch Phineas and Ferb (and giving a monkey a shower da, da, da, da). None of these would work for very long. Then Mandy came up with the brilliant idea of getting themed soaps for him to use. We have had Spiderman, the aforementioned Phineas and Ferb, but the latest has been the best. She found Monster University soap. The bottles are in the shape of Mike and Sully. They are pretty cute (wait, can a guy say cute and still keep his man card?) and Connor loves them. Alex is getting to the age where he is above such soap but he is a good sport and plays the part so Connor can have them. We had our first experience with the soap the other night and it was not his best work but it still made me laugh. The Mike Wazowski (thank you Google for the spelling) is a sour apple fragrance and that is the one he chose to use first. After he gets done singing the Wouldn’t Have Nothing song that plays at the end of the Monster Movie, he decides to wash his body.

Let me back up here a minute. Connor does some of his best work in the shower. Just the other day I walked in on him singing What Does the Fox Say. If it’s Wednesday he mimics the Geico Hump Day commercial. He has talked to me about his battle plans for the next Lego vs. Jake the Pirate battle (yo ho matey’s away). He is hilarious in the shower. So yes everyone sings in the shower. If you say you don’t then you’re a liar or a liar.

Back to the Connorism. So when he is done with his shower and I am helping him towel off, I ask him how he liked his new soap. He proceeds to lift his arm, smell his armpit (it’s always the armpit) and asks me, “Do you want to smell my pit? It smells like apple juice!” Now I love my sons more than anything in this world. I would do anything for them, to protect them but I draw a very thick line when I am asked to smell an armpit, even if it is freshly cleaned.

As a side note here I want to mention how proud I am of Connor. At our school we have the Seven Character Foundation Stones; Respect, Responsibility, Self-Control, Perseverance, Cooperation, Integrity and Citizenship. Each month our assemblies are associated with one of the foundations stones. One student from each class is chosen that best represented that trait for the month. Connor was chosen for the month of April for Perseverance. Mandy and I are very of proud of him for the progress that he has made this year in his school and character work. They also give out You Rock cards for good behavior. You can earn unlimited cards and then every month at the assemblies they randomly draw a few names out of the hopper for the month and Alex’s name was drawn. It was a very cool experience to have both of our boys win awards in the same month.

Lego of the Week

One of the first items I wrote about for this site was Legos. How they invade our lives daily for better or worse. He is the worse:

Try going the rest of the day without singing this. Your welcome.

I also said I would write and share with you some creations that the boys have done. I have failed to live up to that. They still build and play with them almost daily but I have neglected to show their creations. Life has been getting in the way of this blog lately. I usually write first thing in the morning or later at night but even then I have either slept in or been to busy or tired to write (there was my whine for the day). This past weekend was no exceptions. We had to make the yard and house clean for a little family get together to celebrate two of my sister-in-laws birthdays ( hey both their names start with D. Only a few people will get that joke but it was worth it). While Mandy dug up flower beds, I mowed and trimmed the lawn. Then it was to the store for more food we missed, back here to finish cleaning. Blah, blah, blah, whine, whine, whine. It's life I know, I'll get over it. 

Yesterday was Star Wars day around the world. May the Fourth be with you. We celebrated by braving Costco and more yard work. Ok, we did have a picnic in the living room and watch Empire Strikes Back. 

Why that movie? Connor likes the Battle of Hoth and Alex's direct quote, "I don't like the newer ones, they just aren't as good as the old ones." I actually teared up. The boys built some Legos to celebrate. 

Here is Connors take on a Star Wars. A spooky ambulance. It's not Star Wars related but, oh wait this just in, Connor says it is so we run with it. It's a spooky rebel ambulance. 

Alex built this little guy in about ten minutes. 

It's his take on a Coruscant (spell check had a hard time with that one) personal transport. For the uneducated, Coruscant is the capital Planet of the Empire and the Republic before it. The entire planet is one big city so you'll need a personal transport. 

I went almost a week between posts and really I am feeling better due to writing this morning. I truly do appreciate all who read this and have been commenting and encouraging.