sugar fueled long day

Dennis had a sweet tooth and a half today. I don't even want to think about all the sweet things he ate. Luckily, he also finished his real food and expended some serious energy during the day. We left the house at 10 this morning, and basically just got home. Despite what the blog post says, it's 10:05 pm (I don't know what time zone blogspot exists in). During that 12 hours, we drove to the church to have some copies made (because I am now 1/3 of the teacher for Dennis' Sunday School class--I agreed to teach it every third Sunday starting this week, found out Wednesday). Then on to Sylacauga to pick up Uncle Denny's van from the repair place, with a few stops for bathroom, lunch, CVS shopping, and this really super cool playground. There was a pack of children running around and Dennis quickly inserted himself in their midst. He climbed higher than he's yet gone on a climbing wall (all the way to the top) and slid down a couple of VERY tall fireman poles. He joined all the kids on a tire swing and went around and around, him the smallest one in the group. It really made for a great day for Dennis, for all of us really (even Hobbs) because it was so beautiful out!

We spent the late afternoon and evening at Uncle Denny's place, and Dennis got to hang out with his Grandma at the lake for a bit. She took him to feed the ducks and to fish a little bit and he was just thrilled! He napped while I did some cleaning, and that took a couple of hours at least. Supper and grocery shopping happened next, and we are finally finally home. David just asked Dennis to put his pajamas on, and Dennis just appeared in full firefighter ensemble, complete with rescue backpack, toolbox, and blanket. David asked him again to go and change and Dennis began hammering on the floor with his toy hammer. I tried a different approach. I told him what a super fireman he was and how impressed I was that he brought all his medical gear and his tools and even a blanket. I assured him that we would go outside and play fireman tomorrow and that we could do lots of rescuing. I thanked him for all his hard work. He smiled and said "anytime, ma'am" and then went off to change. Sometimes it's all in how you word things. Everyone likes to be acknowledged and appreciated sometimes!