McDonalds playground

We're eating at McDonald's tonight. This location has a pretty large indoor playground. Parker is on the upper (4th) level. Payton did really well by eating his dinner before playing. Parker not so much. He's getting a doggy bag.

Hungry boy

While out and about I stopped at Wawa. Park was hungry and wanted a hot dog. He was hungry enough to want a second. It's getting late in the afternoon and he feel asleep half way through the second dog.

Spring training

This is Payton's first tee-ball practice. Coach has them running the bases at the moment. It is nippy out. Coach said he won't have them practice too long.

Vacuum hose storage

Do you have a central vac system? Is it a PITA to store and move the hose around? I thought so, but I like the darn thing so I was going to figure out a solution. What I came up with was using a bucket. It's big enough to coil the hose up in it and hold the accessories.

Dad and his youngest

Payton likes playing with my phone. He likes playing Angry Birds. The new RIO version is good. He also snaps a lot of pictures. Every once in a while I scroll through my pictures and see a lot that I didn't take. He snapped this Polaroid of Parker and I today.

Hungry man

Payton either likes my cooking or was really hungry tonight. Probably just hungry.

More storage for the garage

I just finished putting up some over the garage door storage. I got this 3'x8' rack from SafeRacks. It will hold several hundred pounds. More than enough for me. I plan on storing our Christmas stuff here. Most of this stuff is light weight, not temperature sensitive and in sealed plastic containers. Moving this stuff here will free up space in our basement storage area. It is filled to the brim.

Chowing down

We got a kick out of watching Parker eat his Costco pizza. The slices are pretty big. What was funny was him trying to always take his bite out of the middle. It left him with a big 'Joker' style grease grin from cheek to cheek.

Brave little boy

Here is Parker on the backyard playset. He is climbing the Jacob's ladder. For reference, his feet are at my eye level. I need to put a bell up there for him to ring.

Darn good dog!

Costco dogs are bigger, but I think IKEA dogs are better. Parker thinks so too!

Monkeying around

Crossing monkey bars is pretty easy if you're a kid. My grip is strong enough, but I don't think my shoulders can support my weight. God I would hate to be hung up in a dungeon! Payton makes it look easy.

Brother is now Payton

We are entering a new phase in Parker's life. Sadly we are leaving one as well. Parker's speech is developing more and more with each passing day. Something we have enjoyed is hearing Parker refer to his brother as Brother, not Payton. You could point to Payton and ask Parker what's Payton's name? His answer would be "brudder". Those days are ending now. Now he is calling his brother Payton. Sadly we are happy.

Sleeping at Costco

We're at Costco and both the boys are crashed out. They had swim lessons prior to shopping. Payton just woke up. He must have smelled the pizza we are having for lunch! Parker just woke up too.

Our l'il Picasso

Parker loves painting. He sticks his tongue out just like Dad.

He's a tough guy

Parker went mano-a-mano with the treadmill the other night. The treadmill won. He was a real trooper swollen eye and all. This picture is several days later. We didn't take a next day pic. He's pretty much healed up now. He's a tough little kid.

Sometimes you just turn 'em loose

Nice picture eh? I think so. Payton took this picture. Good thing about digital cameras, your kid can just snap away. And just like with any photographer; if you take enough pictures you are bound to snap a good one. He even got his finger in the picture for that touch of reality. This picture is a keeper - both the subject and the picture.

School dance

Payton and I attended his first school dance this past weekend. We made it a real date night and went out to dinner before the event. We dined at our local pizza place and made our entrance at the dance fashionably late.

The school did a great job with the set-up for the kids. There was plenty of dancing led by a DJ in the gym, crafts for the less rhythmically inclined, and plenty of cookies, ice cream and punch to keep everyone energized. Payton was quite impressive on the dance floor when he wasn't running around with other kids. I think he was a little surprised at the music since all we usually play at home is Country. We're definitely not helping his cool factor!

The dance was for K-5, with family members welcome to attend. Next year we will be sure to make this a full family date night and include Parker and Dad too!

Remember the Alamo!

Here is something kind of cool. In honor of the fall of the Alamo, the San Antonio Express-News front page featured a reprint of their front page from 1836! Click the image above to see the whole page.

Sandbox

Parker has his sandbox back. He likes playing in it. I don't like it when he throws the sand into the yard. I tell him if he throws it all out I won't get anymore. It's an idle threat that doesn't work very well.