Summer Camp graduate

Dennis has now completed all 9 workshops and earned all 9 pins ("badges, Mommy!") at Bass Pro Shop Family Summer Camp. He learned about bird watching (and learned how to identify some birds by looks and by song), archery, hiking, camping, fishing (and practiced casting outside at the station they had set up), shooting (and he shot a real BB gun with an instructor's help), animal identification (by tracks, scat, etc), plants & insects, and how to care for pets. He painted a wooden fish one day and a bird house on another. And it was all completely free! What an awesome program for the kids--he learned so much and had so much fun doing it.

He's feeling some better. He still has the rough patches on his skin, but they are only red when he's hot. There's been no fever for 48 hours now, and he's full of energy (if a bit more irritable and violent lately). I don't know what the violence is about, but he's in a very aggressive phase lately. We told him tonight we were limiting his television to Sesame Street and nothing with good guys fighting bad guys. He wasn't happy. He does apologize after he hits or kicks or throws something, but we're aiming for not doing it to begin with. Today after he had an angry little tantrum and tossed my phone down on concrete (thank you, Otterbox--not a scratch or crack on it!), I asked him what was going on to make him behave so badly. He replied, "I'm sorry, Mom. I think my brain stopped working."

illness in his favorite color

This morning the nurse confirmed that Dennis has Scarlet Fever. It sounds utterly terrifying, but it's only the rash that sometimes accompanies strep throat. He's itchy and red, rashes on his face, neck, and back, even a bit on his legs popped up tonight. The treatment is the same as he's already getting plus benadryl for the itch. Given all this, he felt quite good today and accompanied me to church, where he played and played and played. He was completely wiped out by the time class started and barely made it through. He was irritable and whiny and just dreadful right at the end of class, and he sobbed all the way home that he didn't want to leave the church "because I love it there and wish I could go every day." If I hadn't been teaching a class tonight, we wouldn't have even left home today. It was a lot for a sick kid to do, too much, and I hope he sleeps well and long tonight. He sure carried on all day as if he were feeling as good as usual, and he had no fever, so maybe he's on the mend and will get over it fast.

he licked an ick

Uncle Denny often tells Dennis "if you lick an ick, you'll get sick!". Lately we've been having to constantly remind him to keep his fingers out of his mouth and to STOP LICKING THINGS (yuck). So it should not have come as a surprise when he arrived in our bed at 4:12 AM saying "I'm really cold and my throat hurts." Naturally, neither bottle of ibuprofen could be located at the time (because of course there was fever) and we ended up splitting a pill to give him. I arrived at the pediatrician's office with him as soon as they opened, ready to face another ear infection, but I was wrong. They swabbed his throat ("That lady was CHOKING me!!!!") before we even got to an exam room, and sure enough--strep throat. We left with a prescription for amoxicillin and a 24 hour quarantine notice (sure, doc, and when will you be bringing his medicine by?) and headed to Walmart (where he happily infested the toy section while we waited on his meds). He announced his plans to a woman behind us in line: "After we leave here, I'm going home to lay on the couch and watch TV ALL DAY LONG! That's awesome, isn't it?". He slept a good bit, of course, and I rented 2 movies for him to watch while lying in his bed. This sure came on quick! I brush his hair back from his forehead and kiss that particular spot every night before I go to sleep (but long after he does), and I can attest to the fact that he was not feverish at all at 1:08 AM. I hope (and I pray, dear Lord) that it clears up quickly and spares the rest of us!

storyteller

Another exciting summer day for Dennis! We made a visit to the library this morning, and he asked me in the car on the way there "Do you think they have any America books?". I told him I was sure they did, and he saw some in the window display on our way in. He walked up to a librarian and asked "Excuse me, do you have any America books?" and she took us to the history section and helped him find just what he wanted. He sat down to look at them right away.

This afternoon, Dennis met a Forest Ranger. We stopped by the U.S. Forestry Ranger Station (just 3 miles or so from our house) to pick up some teaching materials and posters for the summer church kids program (God's World). The Ranger showed Dennis some very old forestry tools and a giant chunk of petrified wood and a couple of snakeskins. And he answered several of Dennis' questions (and mine). And Dennis got a Smokey Bear ruler to commemorate his visit.

Tonight was movie night with Uncle Denny. The three of us went to see Cars 2 in Prattville and then to do some grocery shopping. Dennis entertained us with many stories on the way home (the Indian of Liberty, a spider-eating cricket, a ghost that gave up eating Real Food so that it could eat poop...). Who needs audiobooks when we have him?

patriot kids

Dennis was the star of the show (in his mind) at the church kids' musical tonight. He certainly sang the loudest, and he sang every word! It was completely wonderful, of course. When we were showing David the video clip after he got home tonight, Dennis watched and said at the end "I was the best, wasn't I?". Naturally we thought so!

He did some advanced math today in the car. I don't know what made it come to his mind, but he asked "is 40 miles a long way? How long would it take to walk 40 miles?". I told him it would probably take 4 days (especially if he were walking it or I was carrying him). He said "Wow! Four days? That's a long time--we'd have to sleep outside. Is that what Daddy and Brother Larry are going to do?". I told him yes, but they were planning on walking 70 miles. He said "WOW! Seventy miles! That will take seven days!". I told him he was right and that he was very smart to figure that out! He repeated this for his Daddy tonight and then I asked him "so how many days would it take to hike 50 miles?" and without delay, he answered "five!". And David asked him how many miles would he walk in a day if he walked 50 miles in 5 days. He thought for a brief moment and then replied "Seven, no wait--TEN!". Wow! Division at 4.

He also questioned me about the dinosaurs and why they died and if the people were sad when the dinosaurs died. I told him that I thought that dinosaurs were probably gone before people were around, and he asked why. I told him that was a question for God, and he said "and I will ask Him when I go to Heaven one day--hey, do you think the dinosaurs are in Heaven? I bet we'll see them there!". Deep thoughts!

slip and slide

Dennis was invited to go and play with his cousins at his Grandma's house this morning. They had brought their Slip 'n Slide from home, and we set up a sprinkler party for the kids to enjoy (and boy, did they!).

We learned again tonight, as we went shopping with Gran & Pop, why we hate taking a small, tired child to an electronics store. We fueled the fire with a pancake supper, so then we had a sugared-up and tired child.

He's telling us stories now as we drive home. He just told us about the Indian of Liberty, who "lives among them". Among whom, you might ask? I asked the same thing. "Among the people in the Statue of Liberty. He likes to sneak up on them, and when he gets in their rooms, HE SHOOTS THEM!!!." I just had to ask.

Peach Jam

We spent a little over a half hour at the Peach Jam tonight, long enough to tour all the vendor booths and say hello to several of our friends from church. David loaded Dennis up in his kid carrier and wore him around for the entire time, knowing it was good practice for his upcoming backpacking trip. Dennis probably weighs as much as a fully loaded pack, though his backpack won't be as wiggly.

We let Dennis watch part of the actual Transformers movie (though there are some words in it that just make me cringe, especially knowing his little ears are hearing them!). He was SO excited. We didn't tell him what we were doing, and when he came into the den, we'd been watching it about 10 minutes. We just told him to have a seat on the couch with us. He knew right away, though. The sand was churning up in the desert, Dennis caught a glimpse of a metal tail and yelled "hey, that's Skorponok! He's a Decepticon." He recognized Bumblebee right away as well, as soon as he saw a beat up old yellow Camaro. He and David watched for an hour, same expressions on both their faces, looking nearly identical in profile. And Dennis got SO excited about the first battle scene, jumping up and making a very cool hand signal and yelling "yeah, Bumblebee is here! He'll save the day!". He was nearly jumping up and down. We didn't finish the movie tonight, stopped it at 11pm so we could get to bed! Looks like another family movie night will happen soon. I loved it when we were watching a particularly exciting scene and it was interrupted. Dennis made a rude noise, a kind of growl/raspberry, and snarled "I just hate commercials!". He could barely wait for us to fast forward through them. He's definitely a TiVo child!

summer camp

Bass Pro Shops are currently hosting Family Summer Camp, something they do every summer. I've always wanted to go, but I'm glad we waited til this year. Today was our "family day", possibly David's last day off before his vacation (but we hope not). We went to 4 family workshops today: Hiking, Archery, Bird Watching, and Plants & Insects (all completely free). Dennis (though he was pretty wiggly some of the time), learned a good bit from each 20 minute workshop and earned a very cool pin for each. He answered the questions that were asked, and he knew the bird calls when he heard them! We scored some free stuff: Cutter sponsored the insect workshop, so we got bug repellant, and Banana Boat sponsored the hiking workshop, so free sunscreen from that one. Dennis got to do a craft (decorating a wooden wiggle fish) and practice his casting outside where they had set up buckets with metal fish bodies attached (the buckets were the mouths). And, he got to shoot a real Red Ryder BB gun at a target--he was very patiently given a lesson on gun operation and safety from the employee there and fired off a number of shots. He loved this, of course. We all went upstairs to the arcade firing range (also free during camp) and fired at all the targets. I'm not a fan of guns AT ALL, but Dennis really enjoyed himself. And he's so proud of the workshop pins he earned! He'll be furthering his nature education at church on Wednesday nights this summer as well through our God's World program.

After "camp", we shopped for gear for the big hiking trip that's now less than 2 weeks away. Dennis was so exhausted that he got a bit whiny. He tried his hardest to control himself, and he told us after we left the last shop that his tummy was bothering him. I asked if he was okay and he said "no." I asked what was wrong and he said "my tummy--it likes sugar but it doesn't like water." David decided then that he was hungry (the peanut butter and jelly sandwich picnic we had at Bass Pro just didn't last), and we got some McDonalds. Dennis finished every last crumb of his McNugget Happy Meal (with apple slices). I've never before seen him do that! It was a big day for all of us, I guess. He fell asleep as soon as we were 3 miles from home and didn't wake up for his transfer to bed. What a great time!

wish lists

We were all 3 in the car this evening, leaving church, when I announced to David my new grand plan. I'd like to get a scooter/moped to have as a backup vehicle. Our cars are 10 and 11 years old (and one of them is stranded at the lake house while we wait for a fuel pump to arrive in the mail), and our work commutes are 4.7 miles (him) and 3.8 miles (me). I know nothing about scooters other than they are less scary to me than motorcycles, but from my basic research today, I learned that I need one that's 150cc or more (whatever that is--and I'm presuming it's a reference to engine size) to go 60 mph (and get 80 mpg!), and a really nice one costs around $600. Now, I don't have $600, but I eventually might, and so I told David I'd decided I really wanted a scooter. Dennis piped up from the backseat "and I really want a GPS." I told him we already had one (several actually if you count the car navigator, the handheld Garmin, and the 2 iPhones). And then I said that the scooter would make a good back up vehicle, to which Dennis replied "and I really want a car with a back up camera." My next bit of convincing was this: "we can run to the lake and back for $1!" and Dennis asked "why would we want to run into the lake?????". Undermined at every turn. Maybe one day I'll have a scooter! I can hear you, Internet, cringing at the thought of me taking a child on a scooter. Cringe all you want. We'll have helmets, and it will be an occasional use thing. And in 10 years, if he's a super responsible teen and good driver, Dennis can drive it some once he has a motorcycle license. Seems like a win-win to me!

wetland explorer

What an incredible adventure we had today! We joined the other kids from church on a trip to the Alabama Nature Center. This is a huge nature preserve not far away at all, a former estate now reserved for use as a giant outdoor classroom! It's only open to the general public one weekend a month--the place is mainly for educational tours for classes and groups, and there's a summer day camp. We went on a Wetlands Wildlife excursion, and our guide took all the kids fishing with cane poles and hot dogs first. Almost all of the kids caught fish and we released all of them right away. After we fished and toured the heirloom garden on the estate, the guide (Rebecca) showed all of us a corn snake. She let the kids hold and pet the snake and gave them a basic class on snakes. Dennis was not the least bit interested in this part of the day--he tiptoed over to see the snake and then went back to his Kool-Aid and granola bar (far from the snake).

After we had our lunch, Rebecca passed out nets to each kid and took us all on a long hike through a stream. Dennis was unnerved by wading in knee-to-thigh deep water (on him, anyway) at first, and then he decided it was like splashing in a giant mud puddle for over an hour. And he LOVED it! He walked very far ahead of me--I was helping some girls who had not apparently ever played outdoors (and who were having a difficult time with the whole wading through a creek thing). He caught up to the guide and all the big kids in the front of the group. When we caught up to them, it was in time for me to see him jump off a tree into the creek and then immediately hop up and wade around to do it again and again. We looked at fish and animal tracks and trees (even Cypress!) and had the best time in that creek! And after the creek, it was time to head to another pond. Rebecca passed out bigger nets for the kids to wade into the pond and try to scoop up tadpoles and minnows and whatever else they could get. She talked about how pond ecology is different than that of the stream (in kid terms, of course). Dennis loved it and made sure to get the red net before the other kids did (so he wouldn't be stuck with, gasp, a yellow one).

The kids were worn out after all this adventure. We were trying to get them to load up on the bus, and Dennis needed his shoes on. He told me "I like having air feet--I don't want my shoes on!". He was a little fractious on the bus ride back to town, and I had to make him leave the backseat and come sit up front with the adults. He was exhausted, but he didn't fall asleep as some of the older kids did. And after we got back to the church, Dennis insisted on going out for ice cream. It sounded like a good idea to me, so we did! And then we came home and I put him in bed for his nap. I attempted to get him up a couple of hours later, and he stood up in his bed and burst into tears. He wanted to go back to sleep, and I let him. He wanted to eat supper in his bed once he did wake up, and I let him do that as well. And pretty soon now, I'm going to go dunk him in the tub and wash off the Wetlands Tour.

Awesome day! I LOVE that he got to go and experience all that stuff and that I did as well!!

the jazz man

Dennis went to yoga class again this morning, but this time his Daddy took him (and stayed to watch). I hear he wasn't as good this week--this time another girl was misbehaving (shaking her mat, etc), and he joined right in. But he says he had a good time!

Tonight, Dennis and I had movie night. We opened our Netflix of Alice and Wonderland, expecting the animated version but instead getting the newer live action one. He didn't want to watch it, and I was afraid it might scare him (because movies with Johnny Depp scare many people). So I hooked up the Wii to stream a Netflix movie to our television (wow is that convenient!), and we couldn't get Alice in Wonderland so we settled on The Princess and the Frog. He'd seen it 2 years ago (and didn't remember), and I'd never seen it. We both enjoyed it. We unfortunately at all our popcorn before the movie ever started. Dennis seemed to LOVE the New Orleans music in the film. He couldn't stop dancing, couldn't stop his little foot from tapping. And he was so overcome during one part of it that he picked up his plastic flute and marched/boogied around the room playing it at full (shrill) volume. I can't wait to take him to New Orleans!

lightning bug fun

Can you imagine your kid doing something so Hallmark sweet that it's almost disgusting? Happened here tonight! We took his firefly lantern outside at dusk to see if we could successfully catch a few, and after a few mishaps, we got one into the lantern. Dennis wanted another one, he thought, and told me "I'll keep them forever!". I told him they wouldn't last forever and he immediately wanted to let the one in the lantern go free. I told him we'd set it free in the morning, and he seemed mollified by that, but he didn't want to catch any more. So as we were walking back to the house, he cradled his lantern to his chest and was murmuring to his new temporary pet bug. I slowed down and waited on him to catch up, and I heard him softly singing "This Little Light of Mine" to the firefly. How cute/sweet is that?????

new shelving

I put a new shelf unit in Dennis' room and rearranged his toy storage. He cleaned out all the things that we were storing under his bed and we put in the trundle bed and mattress that have been in the storage building. Now he'll have a bed for his spend-the-night guests. He's named about 12 friends that he wants to invite immediately. When we got his room all rearranged, he was beside himself with delight. He looked at me and said "Mommy, I'm so IMPRESSED with you putting this shelf right there! It's awesome!". This is a much better reaction than what I got earlier. When he first spied the shelf in his room, he said "Mom, what did you do?".

Earlier, he and I took a walk outside. We looked at the pear tree (it's loaded down with fruit!) and his apple tree (it's struggling), and we looked at honeysuckle and smelled it. He suddenly said "hey, Mom, do you know who's invisible?". I told him I didn't know anyone who's invisible. He said "yes, you do--Jesus is invisible! You're the one that told me that!". And I've been schooled, yet again.

funny kid

Dennis was a real hoot today! He went shopping with Gran, Granny, and me in Prattville this afternoon. He was so good for the shopping trip, surprisingly so given that this was the third consecutive day with no nap. He sweet-talked Gran into buying him a new Transformer at the first store, and as we were driving home, he asked me to help him change it into a motorcycle. I finally managed it (after a long and frustrating study of the directions--I really think a Y chromosome is necessary for this kind of toy), and he told Gran all about what a cool motorcycle it was. She wanted to see it and was driving and couldn't turn around, so she reached back a hand and asked him to put it in her hand. Joker that he is, he put his foot in her hand instead. He did this once more before finally sharing the toy with her. When he got it back, he immediately changed it back into a robot, and this time he wanted Granny to see it. She exclaimed over the transformation and asked him how he did it. "Magic," he replied.

Before we left the lake tonight, Dennis insisted on turning off all the lights and telling us a ghost story. He deepened his voice and said "one dark night, there was a ghost" then whispering "and he liked to eat..." (yelling) "PEOPLE!!!" and then he screamed and turned on the lights. He turned them back off and insisted we all make ghost noises.

On the way home from the lake, he announced "I've come up with a new plan. When a car is getting close to us, I'm going to close my eyes, and then, after it passes us, I will open my eyes." David announced when cars were getting near and then when they passed, and Dennis said "thank you for reminding me and helping me with my plan!". We never know what he's going to come up with next!

what was that?

Dennis was wound up like a top for much of today. He didn't take his afternoon nap (for 2 days now), didn't eat much lunch, and thoroughly enjoyed a visit to Peach Park this afternoon for ice cream with Granny. He was tired AND sugared up, never a winning combination. He was so sassy by dinnertime that his first time out resulted in an immediate second punishment (because, in a fit of temper, he slammed his door when he was sent to his room for time out). He is sound asleep now, thank goodness.

It wasn't all bad, of course. He brought me breakfast in bed this morning (because he wanted a Pop Tart and couldn't get the package open and it contained 2). And, as I was spending a rare hour of quiet time holed up in my room with a book while my wonderful husband cooked supper, Dennis excitedly knocked at my door and told me we were having "cheese Goliath with sausage" and that it was ready. What we actually ate: cheesy jambalaya with sausage.

preschool pool party

This morning we were invited to a pool party with the preschool teachers. Dennis was ecstatic to get to swim in a nice pool, but he was a little sad that there weren't other children to play with there. His teacher from this past year was there, Mrs. Linda, and she was telling us about her upcoming mission trip to a town in Kentucky called Flippin. Dennis seemed absorbed in his swim preparations but apparently heard every word. Tonight as we were driving home from church, he asked "do you know what Flip-na-tucky is?". Since it had been many hours since we heard the story, I didn't remember, and I told him I did not know what it was. He replied "that's the place where Mrs. Linda is going on her trip!".

I had the worst time trying to get him to sleep today (he's probably still up now). When he was supposed to be napping, he came in and said "I just want a little bit of your love, Mommy!" and tonight I got "I just want a little more snuggle time!". He asked me if our house was allergic to monsters and I assured him it was.

sprinkler party

It has reached that time of year that afternoon outdoor time is only bearable if water is involved. Dennis LOVES his new sprinkler, and as a side benefit, so does Tabasco. Boy and dog (and I) had great fun running through the spray. The cat, of course, was totally above such nonsense. Afterward, we came in to towel off and tuck Dennis in for his nap. When I came in to check on him 15 minutes after saying goodnight, I saw that he had carefully placed a towel very precisely over his pillow. He said "my hair was getting some wetness on my pillow, so I put this towel on it--I'm always prepared like that." I just agreed with him.

Today he learned some basic archery from Gran. They shot suction-cup tipped arrows at (gasp!) the parked cars at the lake. They were our own parked cars, and we allowed this after we deduced that the $2 child's toy bow didn't have much oomph to it. He was beyond thrilled, and on the way home from the lake, he aimed and shot pretend arrows out his open window. I was concentrating on driving when he asked me a question that I missed. I asked "what, baby?" (which I NEVER say), and he said "you mean Pumpkin (I call him this fairly often)." This was funny to me because the last time I called him a pet name, he said (rolling his eyes), "Moommm--call me Dennis!". And once recently when I called him Dennis late at night, he said "call me Sweetie!". And sometimes he's Spiderman, Batman, Iron Man, or Optimus Prime.

Little yogi

Dennis started his yoga class this morning at a local church. They are offering Storyland Yoga on DVD--the kids love it, and I love that it's a free summer activity where he gets to be with other kids doing something healthy! He had a great time. He was the only boy there and was by far the youngest, but it didn't bother him in the least.

We did something not-so-healthy but also fun this evening. We went out for ice cream together, just the three of us, and then we went and bought Dennis a sprinkler to play in (and I can't wait to get it set up for him!). On our way home, he was examining the bottoms of his shoes (with his hands, yuckily enough), a behavior we try to discourage, and announced "there's some wetness on the bottom of my shoe." We told him to STOP TOUCHING THEM already, and then he said "and there's some dirtness on them, too." YUCK!

crack attack

We were at the lake today and a friend from church (who happened to be Dennis' VBS teacher last week along with David) came to swim with us. Dennis was thrilled when she arrived but said she would have to bring her daughters next time. We were in the water when Dennis decided he wanted to play kayak. I fetched the float for him along with a noodle, but he climbed out himself and retrieved two actual oars from the boathouse. He poked their ends through the two nylon handles on the floats as if they were actual oar locks on a rowboat. But for all his prep, he wasn't really able to get anywhere.

Sometime during the swim, he became extremely whiny. He looked terribly uncomfortable as he attempted to climb onto a float. He whispered "I'm having a crack attack!", and as his rear end left the water, I saw that his life jacket strap was doing its very best thong impersonation. We loosened it for him and his mood improved significantly! We were driven in by strong winds and thunder, and as we sat on the porch, Dennis served us all ice cream sandwiches. He's becoming quite the little host!

bug expedition

What a magical summer evening (and yes, I know it's not quite officially summer yet, but it comes early in Alabama) at the lake! Thunderstorms threatened all afternoon, but we jumped in for a swim anyway (when there was no lightning). We were driven out by some serious nibbles--I got bitten/poked/finned/something-ed on my thigh once and Dave got the same thing twice on his back. We decided to get out before the kids got nibbled too. We grilled burgers and had dinner out on the porch. Dennis offered to help Chloe open her Capri-sun, saying "I think you need expert help." When she took it to her mom, he said "no, I'M the expert!!". David got here just as we were heading out for a boat ride, so he hopped on and we went for a sunset cruise. It was so cool and pleasant, such gorgeous weather for a ride! Dennis and Chloe hopped, climbed, and wrestled for much of our lake tour. Dave and I took the kids for a stroll in the dark to find lightning bugs. We wanted to catch one for Dennis' Firefly Lantern but they all eluded us. We saw many, and it was an incredible night for a walk! We wore the kids out, put them to bed, and then played Cranium for hours--it reminded us so much of the game nights we had before the kids came along, and there was much laughter and fun. What a great time with some wonderful friends, and what a great ending to an awesome week. How will the rest of the summer ever compare?

mining for boogers

Dennis learned today a really awesome way to annoy his mommy. He has a dot-to-dot game that he likes to play on my iPhone. He KNOWS his numbers, and if he presses the wrong number (you touch each one in sequence), it makes a beep noise and it DRIVES ME BONKERS because I know that he knows his numbers. And HE knows that I know that he knows his numbers, so he deliberately pushes, say, 2 then 18 and waits for my reaction. If I don't react as usual, he says "you're supposed to make that noise, Mom, the 'aaaaaahhhhhh' noise." I do so and he giggles and giggles.

Tonight was his Gold Rush ("Mining God's Word") vacation bible school closing program at the Baptist church down the street. David and I were eager to go and really enjoyed watching him perform (and boy, was it a performance--lots of really animated singing and dancing from him). But the program lasted TWO HOURS! Dennis just can't sit through a two hour program, and his parents didn't do so hot either. He jumped up and danced on the pew when the other children were performing, and when he started sticking his tongue out to lick David and me, I made to grab his tongue. I never thought I was going to get hold of it, but I did, and he announced "you just got the booger that was on my tongue!". Grossed out as I was, I noticed when he stuck out his tongue the second time, it still had a suspicious looking slimy thing on the end of it. I think he knew he was still in possession of his booger, though, because he showed it to me a few more times before he went on and digested it.

the Big Jungle Adventure ends

Tonight was the last night of Vacation Bible School at our church. Dennis still has a day left at the church down the street and a closing ceremony for us to attend tomorrow night. And I have the big un-decorating adventure happening at our church tomorrow. Our closing program went very well--I didn't completely lose my nerve when it was my turn to address the crowd and close out the program. And, better than that, Dennis and the rest of the Purple Tribe (Preschool age) ROCKED the stage tonight in their musical numbers. They sang and did their routines better than all the older kids, I think, and the sheer size of their tribe was pretty much double that of the others. I'm so proud. Dennis (who insisted on standing beside Grace) really gave a good show. In addition to all the singing and dancing, he chewed the zipper on his safari vest in between numbers and did a rather hilarious stalking-and-shooting type of move that he invented all on his own (complete with an elaborate pantomime of carefully unzipping his vest pocket and removing an imaginary weapon). That's my boy!

He hung out with the big kids today while we were decorating the stage for the big show tonight, and he was so good. I love that he can hold his own in just about any crowd. He loves to put me in my place these days--tonight I complained that I had bought myself an ice cold can of Coke from the machine just before we left church and then left it in the car for 20 minutes after we arrived home. Dennis looked at me, put a hand on his hip, and said "Well... I guess you better go outside and get it then." That sounds so much like the way we talk to him!

We have been leaving his bedside lamp on after we tuck him in at night. He plays quietly in bed for a few minutes and then turns it out himself before he goes to sleep. This just seems so grown up to me!

yes, he's a rock star

It was "hair"-rageous hair night at vacation bible school, and Dennis planned this "do" himself ("it needs to be crazier, Mommy. Add more blue!"). He would have won first prize if he'd been anyone else's kid (and he did get a secret prize)--it's tough to be the director's kid! He looked even cooler once he put his sunglasses on. He rocked VBS tonight.

my apprentice

Last night after Dennis' bath, we were ushering him off to bed when he lodged the following complaint: "Mom, you forgot to dry my hair enough. Now it's going to look all crazy in the morning." It looked fine, by the way. Today at lunch he asked David to fix him some chocolate milk, and as he was preparing it, David was muttering about how Dennis would complain if he didn't add enough chocolate syrup to the milk. He (David) swatted me on the behind and said (jokingly) "don't know whose kid he is, being so particular about his chocolate milk." Dennis heard this and said "I believe I would be YOUR kid, Dad." Then Dennis was the one muttering about his silly Dad.

Tonight at bible school, Dennis informed me that he would be the director instead of me. We are having a jungle themed VBS, and each night the children's minister and I have dressed in our safari gear to do the opening and closing programs. Tonight Dennis brought his safari vest and park ranger hat to church and dressed up along with us. He begged for a chance to talk in the microphone, so when it came time to announce today's "take home point", the children's minister let him tell everyone what it was. He spoke clearly into the microphone and said "Jesus is the light of life that we share with others!". He was so proud of himself (as were we). But then he attempted to direct his preschool group wherever they went! Give the kid a uniform and he takes control!

Thar's gold in dat thar church

It was our first day of double vacation bible school. This morning I dropped Dennis off at the church at the end of our street for a "gold rush" themed VBS. Three hours later, I picked up a genuine gold prospector. He immediately came inside and commenced hunting for gold, loading himself up with a pretend shovel (which was actually a musical instrument which he shoved into his pants--we've got to get him some cargo shorts and pants with utility loops on them so he'll quit using his underwear as a holster) and donning his park ranger hat to look the part. He had so much fun there!

Tonight he learned about the concept of the devil for the first time and used his toy spy scope (from this morning's VBS) to look for the devil. He had lots of questions, of course! We did our best to answer. He heard 2 bible stories today: Jesus at the well and the parting of the red sea. He can tell you both stories. I love that he's learning and retaining.

Tonight as we were sitting around at Gran's, discussing our evening, I mentioned to Gran that her eyes had looked red earlier. She told me that she hadn't noticed, and Dennis said "because you can't see your own eyes, Gran." Can't get anything past him!

the jungle in there

The amount of exhaustion I feel is rather incredible. The first night of Vacation Bible School went off without a hitch, thanks to lots of hard work by our volunteers! Though I did a lot of running around, I didn't have all that much that I had to do once it actually got started. I did the opening and closing programs and made sure every teacher was happy. Dennis had a good time, I think, but was a tad whiny and clingy. His Daddy was one of his teachers in the preschool class (and there were 19 preschoolers--David's level of exhaustion is high as well) and Dennis wanted to cling to him. Before the program started, he spent the afternoon with me at the church doing last minute tasks, and was so patient and good. He learned how to collate and staple, and I learned how to collate and staple while also reading stories aloud to Dennis! I suppose once he got to the actual bible school, he'd used up all his good behavior. He bit me on the cheek as I was buckling him into the car. It hurt really amazingly bad.

Only 4 more nights of our Big Jungle Adventure! And Dennis starts his morning VBS at his preschool teacher's church tomorrow--he'll be doing 2 a day (and I expect he'll be doing some serious napping in between). That church is close enough to our house to walk to, and we could do that in the mornings. Since we're in a major heat wave, it might not happen.

It's bad to start dozing off while typing... So long!

amazing science

Dennis was totally angelic today, or at least extremely patient and well behaved. We were at church all day long to help decorate for Vacation Bible School, Dennis and I (along with the Children's Minister), and he entertained himself happily for 8 hours! We did go out for lunch to a restaurant of his choosing (3 Amigos), and he watched some movies in the church nursery, played with 2 other kids whose moms stopped by to decorate for a while (each at separate times), and played with the new fire truck we bought him last night and surprised him with at church. He did, in fact, spend the entire night at Gran's and Pop's house, and Gran brought him to church this morning and helped us for a while. He never complained, never cried, and had no tantrums--he was happy and easygoing all day. I'm so proud! As his reward, I offered to take him anywhere he wanted to go for supper, and he chose Wendy's. He was so exhausted from playing all day that he barely made it through the meal. He took my junior Frosty and ate most of it (this was what I figured would happen anyway), but he wanted it to melt so that he could drink it. He would eat his other food and then come back to the Frosty and observe "hey--even more of it melted--that's AMAZING!". I attempted to converse with him further but he said "Mommy, I really wish you would just shut down." I laughed at that, and he asked "is it still bad for me to say 'shut up'?". I told him it was, and he said "yeah, I thought so, so I said 'shut down' instead." He went to sleep in the car on our way home from Wendy's.

The thing on his head in the picture is the back side of his brand new floating sunglasses strap. He calls it "my immobilizer" and he wonders why it doesn't seem to work all the time. Me too. Every kid (parent) needs a good immobilizer!

total hiking immersion

We were very elated to be invited to lunch with our pastor and his wife today. He and David had a good bit of trip planning to accomplish, and Dennis and I were elated to discover that they have a wonderful swimming pool! After a superb taco salad lunch, they commenced with their maps and notebooks and much discussion and list-making occurred. Meanwhile, the wives and kids (their teen daughter was home today) enjoyed the pool. Dennis jumped from his first diving board ever and loved it. He made about 5 "last jumps" before I finally grabbed him and escorted him out of the pool at the end of our swim. He had such fun swimming and jumping and climbing on the floats and shooting a water cannon that he didn't want to get out of the pool!

After our visit there, we took Dennis to Gran's house to spend the afternoon with her so that we could go and look at hiking outfitter places to check out gear. Dennis is spending the night with Gran and Pop, HIS idea, and I never got a tearful "Mommy I want to come home" phone call. I'm so proud! And David and I spent hours discovering that all that backpacking gear we bought back in our early 20's is as good as anything out there! His Appalachian excursion will require only boots, socks, food, and a hammock with mosquito net to be purchased! He and the pastor decided hammocks would be more comfortable and lighter weight than hauling a tent and sleeping bags. They'll take lightweight backpacking tarps ($10, walmart!) to stretch over the hammocks in case of rain. We even found a good deal on hammocks--$39 online for a very nice one with a mosquito netting system attached (much more expensive in the stores tonight!). So he's going to be all set pretty quickly. Dennis is excited for him, and told the pastor's wife today "your husband is going to go on a big hike with my dad! Isn't that awesome?".

I'm still hoping that Dennis and I can go along for the ride to and from the trail and we're looking forward to seeing some mountains!

truer words

Today as I put Dennis down for his nap, he told me "if you don't read me another story, I'm going to just keep getting up and bugging you until you do." Gotta respect his honesty! I did not, however, read one to him. His Daddy did, though!

And we got a truly spectacular quote at lunchtime. He has been drinking Sierra Mist occasionally and likes it very much. Today he chose Fanta Orange instead. He was happily drinking it with his lunch (and developing the requisite orange mustache) but forgot about it afterward and left his bottle on the table. He instigated a grand shootout with Pop (Dennis had the gun that made noise, but Pop had the gun that shot water--I know who my money was on!) that lasted for a while, and in the midst of one of his "missions" into the other room, he found his Fanta. He came back in to where the rest of us were, drinking it, and suddenly he stopped and held it up and said "this is Cybertronian Mist: the Autobots drink it after they've been shooting for a long time to recharge." Impressive. I love that he named a drink Cybertronian-anything! What an awesome word! The Transformers hailed from Cybertron, after all.

And finally, an irritating new habit. Now, when we ask (tell) him to do something he doesn't want to do, instead of just saying "no", he says "NEVER!". It makes David so mad (and it makes me have to try hard not to laugh at his sassiness)!

We enjoyed a just-before-sunset swimming hour in the lake this afternoon, just the three of us. It was so nice!

the car czar

We took one demanding little tyrant shopping with us tonight. David's on a quest for hiking boots for his upcoming trip, and he did his first trying on tonight. We were at Bass Pro Shop, and while David was trying on different types (and realizing that the more expensive boots are actually very wonderful), Dennis was stalking us with a pop-gun rifle. He would jump out from behind displays and shoot us, laughing maniacally as he did so. He ran off and came back with 2 more pop-rifles (so we could shoot back) and was so disappointed when David didn't participate in the battle. He just didn't understand how important it is for his dad to get the boots ASAP, and we were working against store-closing times! He was pretty good in the store (after announcing in the car before we went in that he and I would be looking at the toys first and THEN I could go to the bathroom and THEN we could go to the shoes as long as he got to try on shoes too), but he had a meltdown as we were leaving. He was tired and cranky and still isn't feeling well. And the crying sure didn't help with his already stuffy head and runny nose. He was a little more able to control himself in Academy, but he had told us in the car that we were NOT going there--we were going to Toys R Us in Montgomery instead. He managed to suffer through. David bought a pair of boots that cost $100 less than the ones he really loved, but we plan to shop again in Birmingham just to be sure he gets some that will carry him safely and comfortably on his journey. We are not planning for Dennis to go on the next boot shopping trip! He did score a new pair of red soccer type shorts that he's been wanting, and he tried them on as soon as we got home (though it was 11 pm) and begged to sleep in them. He's been given his allergy meds and is sound asleep now, and I certainly hope he feels a bit better tomorrow!