An Interview With 10 Year Old Cole

Cole and I had a little Q&A session in honor of his 10th birthday.  Documentation of what's important to him, what he thinks about, and what he feels at 10 years old - I never want to forget these things.

What do you want to be when you grow up?  A famous Lego builder, but if that fails then I'll be a spy. (He no longer aspires to be a famous singer if his Lego career doesn't pan out.)

What is your favorite food?  Watermelon.

What is your favorite movie?  Otis and Milo, because it's good.

What is your favorite hobby?  Lego building.

What is your favorite book?  Garfield.

What is your favorite subject in school?  PE.

What do you fear?  Spiders, but I try to capture them for you, so I can conquer my fears.  I dare myself.

What makes you happy?  Getting new Lego sets, especially Halo.

What makes you sad?  When my brothers destroy my Lego base.

What is your favorite thing about yourself?  I'm a Lego builder.

What would you change about yourself if you could?  I'd change my hair to white and my eyes to blue.

What is a word you would you use to describe yourself?  Creative.

What would you do to make the world a better place?  Plant trees.

What is your favorite animal?  The Gold Finch.  In ancient times people used to make statues out of them because their wings looked as if they were gold.  Ask me what my favorite insect is.

What is your favorite insect?  The Thorn Mimic Treehopper, or thornbug for short.  (There really is such a thing.  I had to google it for confirmation.)

Who would you like to meet someday?  Sean Kenney, the famous Lego builder.

If you had a magic power, what would it be?  Super speed, invisibility, and the power to transform into a phoenix at night.  Then I'd be nocturnal and go to school at night.  (Here is an illustration of himself as a phoenix, and himself in his fire-proof suit to be worn before the transformation occurs so he doesn't get burned.)

Who is your favorite person?  My mom.  (My heart exploded into a million pieces when he said that.)

That concludes our little interview.  I want to remember all these little details about him before he gets too old and focuses on girls instead of Legos.  I don't know what I'll do when another girl is his favorite person instead of me.  Chad will have to help me work through it, I'm sure.

  I love this boy so much.  Happy 10th birthday, Cole!

Snapshots

I haven't been feeling much camera mojo for awhile now.  But I've been missing it a little as of late so I decided to take a few snapshots today.  

Pumpkin Patch

Project Life - Week 28

Project Life - Week 27

I'm all caught up...at least for the next two days.

Project Life - Week 26

Project Life - Chase's 7th Birthday Celebration

Chase's birthday was a multi-day affair ending the grand finale of a weekend at the Great Wolf Lodge.

I couldn't narrow his birthday down to just one picture to represent, so here is his official spread.  I had to guess on Chase's current height and weight, but I'll update it with accurate information after his wellness check.

Happy birthday to my sweet and zany boy!

Project Life - Week 25

It's day 2 of the Great Sabbatical of 2013.  So far I haven't slept in, but I've managed to make up for it with two naps, and three weeks of Project Life catch up.  Have I mentioned that I love sabbatical?

Chase's birthday celebration is getting its due respect with a separate layout, so stay tuned for that...

Here it is...Week 25.  Only one more week to go until I am caught up.  Then I can comfortably slack off again.

Project Life - Week 24

Another week cranked out in the ninth hour of Chad's sabbatical.  I wonder how long I'll measure time in this way.  It's just so exciting.  Even at 1:20 in the am, I am still excited.

This week's highlights:

Cole informed me that "he is very focused on his future".  His dream of becoming a famous Lego builder in New York has slowly given way to becoming a famous photographer living in the same neighborhood as me.  I couldn't be happier on both counts.  He also said that he and his children will spend a lot of time with me if his wife likes me.  Fingers crossed.

Shanna loves my dog so much, and the sentiment is equally returned by him.  She is the only person he allows to carry him around in newborn baby fashion.  He doesn't even let me hold him like that.  I'm pretty sure if they made Baby Bjorns for dogs, Shanna and Cringle would have one.

Sara forced me to start playing Candy Crush.  Yes, she forced me.  I'm weak when it comes to peer pressure.  She FB'd me, called me, texted me, bike messengered me, and live-telegrammed me that it was the best thing ever.  Now Chad and I are both completely sucked in.  I just can't resist Sara and games.  So many late night hours have been spent playing Candy Crush while quietly cursing Sara for introducing me to this horrible wonderfulness.  So many hours.

Poor Chaser is having a rough go at school.  He made a list of what he likes and dislikes about it with Ms. Reynolds.  His 'dislike' side is a lot longer than his 'like' side.  He has some feelings about PE, but I'm not sure what to do with them as he doesn't actually have PE.  Also he DOES have tennis shoes.  Since it is his list detailing his own feelings, I can't really argue too much.  I do so love that he called the playground supervisors "guards".  Too many guards can be a bummer.

Chad bought a big gym-style punching bag for the boys to go crazy on.  The idea (especially for my Chase) is that they burn some steam (that's a nice way of saying beat up) on the punching bag and not each other.  So far it's received a mediocre response.   Caden likes it, as he likes any and all things.  Cole is indifferent, as he is generally indifferent to most things, and Chase gave it a good punch, but it came back and knocked into him....so you can guess how he feels about it now.  

Cole and Cringle are best buds.  They snuggle together all the time. It is ridiculously cute. Cole is such a good big dog brother.  He takes really exceptional care of the pug, which is such good practice for the future that he is so focused on.  Now if we could just get him to be as nice to his brothers as he is to his dog.

Lastly, it was Father's Day on Sunday.  I used all my mad stash from picture taking and various other hoarding means to buy Chad a new TV.  He was very, very happy about it, and didn't seem to mind as much that I had to embezzle a little bit where I came up short.  I love him.

Project Life - Week 23

It's summer time.  Chad is off until September.  I've never felt happiness like this before.  What's my first priority?  To catch up on my Project Life.  Thusly, I present Week 23.  Only three more weeks to go before I'm back on top...

Summer is the best

I wish it would never end.

summer day

sunshine makes us happy

50th Wedding Anniversary

My dearest Amy asked if I could take some pictures at her parent in law's 50th wedding anniversary celebration.  Goodness knows I love to take some pictures so I said YES!  It was a really special occasion, and I am so glad that I got to be there.   Becky and Dale (bride and groom) made the sweetest and funniest speeches that I've ever heard, and I just kept thinking about what Chad and I would say to each other in another 39 years.

It was hard to pick and choose which ones are my favorites, but here are some of them.

This is their original cake topper from 50 years ago. 

 A very sweet and inspirational celebration.