My Good Strong Boys

I was re-arranging things in the room below the stairs and I knocked a glass candle holder off a shelf and it shattered on the concrete floor.  Both boys were just outside the room and they hurried over to see what had happened.  I shooed them out of the room because they were both bare footed.  This was the following conversation...

Nate:  Mom!  What glass was that breaking sound from?

Jason: What was that?!?

Me:  I just broke a vase.

Nate:  Was it precious?

Me: (smiling)...I did like it very much, so I am sad.

Nate and Jason:  (muttering all sorts of apologies and words of sadness for me)

Nate:  Me and Jason would have helped you if  you needed help.

Me:  That's nice of you, but I just knocked it off and didn't even mean to.

Jason:  Next time you are moving glass, you just need to ask us and we will help you.

Nate:  Yeah.  You shouldn't lift very much glass all by yourself.  You should have had me and Jason help you.  We could help.

Jason:  Yeah, we are good helpers.

Nate:  And if we aren't around when you need to move glass,  you should just make sure you don't lift too much at one time.  Make sure the box isn't full and just lift a little bit at a time.  It's better to take lots of trips than to break it because you carried too much.

Me:  (marveling at his wise words) That is good advise.  Thanks for offering to help.

Nate:  I am sorry you broke your precious glass.  I'll help you next time.

Jason:  Yeah...me and Nate are good helpers and we can help.


I had to smile at the sweet way they offered to help their mother out.  I sure hope they are as willing to come to my aid as they grow older and become stronger than me.  They sure were sweet with their kind words.  I really was bummed that I broke the vase.  :(

A Visit From Grandma

We were all sick when my mom was planning on coming up for Nate's birthday.  Mike had that insane cold that made him lose his voice for over two months.  So, she passed on coming up, and then she was out of town for a little while.  So, she came up on Easter weekend.  She brought up a few crafts for the kids to do.

They made little bird feeders and put them all over the yard.  We even saw some birds eating off of them a few days later.

Jason loves book and brings me books and asks me to read them all throughout the day.  If I can, I do it.  This time, I was making dinner, so grandma stepped in...

Nate got one of Grandma's signature cards and a lego set for his birthday.  It was super exciting because it was almost a month after his birthday.  Lucky duck.

Grandma also helped them make little race car bunnies.

It was a lovely visit.  Thanks Grandma!

Easter Eggs

 Way back in April, we dyed eggs.  I cooked them in my instant pot and was so excited at how easy it is to use for hard boiled eggs!  We made a lot because everyone but Jason likes hard boiled eggs.
Anyway, I think this year goes down as the most smooth, and easy dying process.  Each kid had their own station, so there was no fighting over the colors (I just bought several kits last year on clearance).  Plus, all the kids were old enough to do their own without help.  It was just a really nice experience.

Nate didn't notice that he put his sweater on backwards and inside out.  :)

 I love watching Jason do everything as a lefty.  He used to try to use both hands, but he's pretty solidly a left handed kid now.

 I think Nate and Allie enjoyed the whole process the most.  They colored on eggs before and tried to be creative with their dipping.  We both loved the pretty tie dyed paper towel.

 Here they are with their favorites...(Allie is looking over my shoulder and wondered if people care that Jason is "always" in his unders...)

 Nate had a hard time letting his eggs go when it was time to eat them.  He single-handedly ate all but two of his eggs.  He had made 18.

Spring Soccer for Nate

 Nate loved playing soccer this year.  He was on the team with his friend Cache and he loved chasing the ball around the field.  He made one goal and assisted a few in.  He had a great time.

 Grandma Johnson was able to watch him play one game.

He liked playing defender because that meant he could hang back and chat with Cache.

Sometimes, he even sat down to look for grass to eat.  He likes to eat the long ones.
I was a little exasperated...

 He had a cute little team though and they were undefeated.  His coach was super awesome and gave them all trophies.

Spring Soccer for Allie

Allie really enjoys soccer, so she played on the city league again this year.

Allie and Lily were on the same team again...

They thought I was silly for taking pictures of their backs and then making them turn around and pose, it's tradition!  I've done it year after year, so I'm not about to stop now...

Allie had to be goalie at quite a few games.  She didn't love the position.  When I say that she didn't "love" the position, what I really mean is the word that is opposite of love.  She really did not like being goalie.  Any time she let a goal go by, she would get really upset.  She saved a lot of goals too, but couldn't see past the ones she let in.

In the end, she was really looking forward to scoring a goal.  She wasn't a forward very often and so she didn't have the chance to score very often.  She tried every game and had a few assists, but the goal was elusive.  Finally, on the second to last game, she scored.  I cheered as loud as I could and watched the joy in her face as she ran back from scoring the goal.  It was her shining moment of the season.  All the goals she let in could be ignored.  She scored a goal and life was great.  :)