Cutie Pies

Church Picnic

We attended our church picnic on Sunday. It's their annual 4th of July picnic held in April instead of July because the weather is much more pleasant in the month of April. After the very fun MOPS picnic, Dawson was really looking forward to another picnic at the church. He had a wonderful time playing with all the other kids but was a little disappointed that there wasn't a sack race or water balloons. :-)

Dawson and Daddy listening to Pastor Ken.

Peeking over the counter of the playground.

Hurrying down the slide to elude Dad, who was chasing him.

Handing a ball to Miriam.

Ready to play football.

Music Cards

Dawson is enamored with music cards. He really enjoyed playing Chance's birthday music cards. Here, he's playing "Bad to the Bone" for me and you can clearly see how amused he is.

Trampoline

Dawson loves going to Chance's house to jump on his trampoline. He'll talk about the trampoline for weeks afterwards. Here's a shot of him in mid-jump.

The Hill

Another big attraction at the Abilene Zoo wasn't an animal at all - it was a big grassy hill. Dawson and Chance had a great time running up and down the hill and even rolling down the hill.

At the top of the hill.

Rolling down the hill.

Taking a rest from all the fun hill activity.

Feeding the Giraffes

The best feature of the Abilene Zoo is the bridge over the giraffe exhibit. It's perfect for feeding the giraffes. Dawson and Chance enjoyed throwing crackers to the giraffes and watching them scoop them up with their tongues.

Playing in the Boat

Dawson had a great time playing on Gramps old boat. He pretended to drive it, fish off of it, and even had to "fix it" because it was broken.

Giant Air Castle

We had a great time at Chance's 5th birthday party. The biggest attraction was the huge inflatable air castle, complete with a slide. Dawson and the other kids loved it. Dawson spent most of his time at the party in the air castle, bouncing and sliding.

Dawson and Chance at the top of the slide.

Zipping down the slide.

Going down the slide on his stomach.

Jumping in the open jump area.

Bouncing down the stairs.

Big bounces down the slide. This was probably his favorite method of going down the slide.

Gramps

Dawson and Gramps at Chance's birthday party.

Gramps with Dawson and Caselyn.

The best attempt at a picture with all 3 grandkids. Caselyn is crying for her mom, the sun is in Chance's eyes, and Dawson is just hanging out.

Mesquite Trees

Dawson and I went to Abilene last weekend to visit my family, attend my dad's wedding, and my nephew's 5th birthday party. Dawson did very well on the 5 1/2 hour drive and we had a wonderful time with our family.

While we were there, Dawson had a funny thought about mesquite trees. When he first noticed the abundance of mesquite trees, he said, "Mom, there's a forest in Abilene." I told him that those were just mesquite trees. He thought for a minute and said, "Is that where mosquitoes live?" :-)

More Fun at Home

Dawson and Kaelin playing with Play-Doh.

Playing games in Dawson's room.

Trying on costumes.

Jumper

Here are a few pictures of Dawson and Kaelin jumping in our inflatable jumper. We had it out for a few days before Kaelin came over to jump, but Dawson would only jump for a few minutes. It just wasn't as fun without a friend. As you can see, they both had a great time jumping - and falling!

A Walk in the Woods

We took another trip to the local duck pond with Angie and Kaelin. While we were there, we explored the trails and woods nearby. As usual, Dawson and Kaelin had a great time together and were super cute!

Dawson and Kaelin huddled behind a bush during a game of hide-and-seek.

Strong kids lifting a big piece of bamboo.

Ready for a Car Wash

Dawson loves washing the car. And he's pretty good at it too. He is so intent when scrubbing that the little spots he washes are always really clean. He likes it so much that it's difficult to get him to stop washing. I'll have completely finished washing the car, but he refuses to stop. He'll tell me, "It just needs a little bit more cleaning, Mom" as he continues to scrub away. And a day after washing the car, when it's shiny and clean, he'll tell me that we need to wash it again. His exact words are, "The car is filthy. We need to clean it." And he'll find one tiny spot on the window that is dirty and point that out as evidence. What a funny boy!

Water Balloons at the Park

Dawson so enjoyed the water balloons at the MOPS picnic that we decided to make some the other day and take them to the park. He and his friend Carson had a great time popping the water balloons.

Dawson with his first water balloon.

Poised at the top of the slide eagerly waiting for me to launch a water balloon at him.

Throwing a water balloon down at Carson.

Laughing as he chases Carson with a water balloon in hand.

Stomping on the balloons to pop them. As you can see, Dawson is very amused by this new way to pop the balloons.

Giggling as they popped the last balloon.

Date Night

In the three years since Dawson was born, Randy and I have been on only 2 dates. The first time he stayed with our friends, Lorne and Aimee, while we went to see a movie - that was when he was only 1 year old. The second date occurred last night!! Dawson stayed with Angie and Kaelin while Randy and I went to dinner. Angie was kind enough to offer to care for Dawson so we could enjoy some time alone. And Dawson adores Angie and Kaelin and has such a great time with them, that for the first time, he was actually excited about Mom and Dad dropping him off and not coming back. He actually told us not to come back, and when I informed him he would be staying there for 2 hours he told me, "No, not 2 hours, just lots of hours."

While we were on our date, I was a bit preoccupied (okay, a lot preoccupied) with how Dawson was doing at Angie's. But it turned out he did wonderfully. He didn't cry or even ask for us the entire time. And this morning he's been recounting all the fun he had with Angie and Kaelin. He even says he wants to do it again. Hurray!!! Maybe now we can have dates more frequently than every 2 years! :-)

Sack Race

Another fun activity at the MOPS picnic. Did I mention we had lots of fun at the picnic? :-)

All the kids lining up for the big sack race.

Dawson and Eli hopping with all their might.

Lining up again. I think this was the 3rd or 4th time they raced.

Dawson and Sarah looking very cute in their sacks.

He's so happy and having such a wonderful time.

Water Balloons

One of the most exciting moments at the MOPS picnic was the throwing of the water balloons. How thrilling to throw a balloon, see it pop, and watch water spurt out everywhere. Dawson was smiles and laughter the entire time.

Getting his first water balloon out of the cooler.

Getting ready to toss the water balloon to Lydia.

Going for a long throw to Eli, Lydia, and Maddie.

Super excited about another water balloon popping.