Young Jedi

A couple Saturdays ago, November 10th, I woke up with a strange desire...I wanted to watch Star Wars!  I mentioned it to dad several times, but he was hesitant.  He always envisioned watching the Star Wars trilogy when I was a couple of years older.  As luck would have it, it was miserably cold outside and mom was going to run errands...the perfect opportunity for two dudes to sit back and watch Star Wars together.

I watched very intently and loved every minute of it.  I remained focused throughout the entire movie.  My favorite guy was the shooter guy (when Han Solo shoots Greedo in the Los Isley tavern...duh!) and my favorite scene in the movie was when they shot fire in the sky (when the Millenium Falcoln shot at the Tie-Fighters while escaping the Death Star).  Although, I adamently deny any knoweldge of seeing Chewbacca.

When the movie was over I wanted demanded to watch Space Balls because I was confident it would be really funny, but Dad wouldn't let me.  Now, it's only a matter of time before I watch the remaining episodes (before Disney ruins it for everyone).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chilled Lettuce Soup

Last night I fell asleep reading a recipe book.   Next thing I know it is all over the internet.  I guess the Chilled Lettuce Soup I was going to make for mom and dad, is no longer going to be a suprise.

Pearls of Wisdom

I've been really fiesty over the last couple of weeks.  Below are some of my most often used phrases, conversations and other random quotes.

Common phrases

• Hey guys...
• Ta da!
• Guys, I want to tell you something
• I want to ask you a question
• You're a butt face
• I like it so so so so so much
• ...but I really want to.  Really, I do.
• No more questions!  I don't want to hear any more questions

Random thoughts

• Guys, what did we do when we were little?
• Why is there space?
• When I'm big I'm going to go to work and take you and mom to school/Casa 1.
• I like all the colors, except dark blue.  I don't like dark blue.

Advice

• Dad, try to not fall in the pond
• Dad, try to not crash the car

Mystery words:

• Munjago - adjective or adverb with no clear meaning
• adjective:  It's a munajgo basket
• adverb: Watch it monjago spin
• Zaso Baso - noun; apparently a deragatory word, for what, no one knows.
• No, your'e a zaso baso.

Conversations

• Spencer:  Hey mom do you know how to work the DVD player?
• No reponse
• Spencer:  Mom, I'm talking to you!  Do you know how to work the DVD player?   Yes or No?!?
• Mom: Yes
• Spencer: (to dad) Mom knows how to work the DVD player.

• Spencer:Where do monsters live?
• Dad:  Nebraska
• Spencer:  Is Nebraska dirty?
• Dad: Yes
• Spencer:  Monsters live in Nebraska because it's dirty and people don't want to live there

• Spencer:  I want to read this book
• Dad:  It's a cookbook.  There aren't really any stories in there
• Spencer:  It has words.  We have to read them.

Rough Day

Man, what a rough day.  First, I played golf early in the morning.  Then, I went to swimming lessons.  I came back, did some art work, then played football with dad for a long time - it involved lots of running, tackling, throwing and catching. That was followed up by cheering the Hawkeyes on to a dramatic win over Michigan State - which from the words coming out of dad's mouth, may be as disliked as much as Iowa State.  Phew, that is exhausting.  And I even slept in today (until 7)!

Monster Hunter

Danger is everywhere. Everywhere, I tell you.  So I have had to take up hunting monsters on a daily basis.  It's all up to me to round them up and kick them out of the house on a daily basis.  The one unanswered question I have is what are mom and dad doing that continually allows the monsters to come back in the room?  Alas, I will probably never know the answer to that.

 

Over time, my bed time routine has been evolving.  Around 7:30 every night I am escorted upstairs to brush my teeth.  Afterwards, I am read three stories of my choosing...this has quickly become one of my favorite activities.  After my stories I am tucked into bed, but before mom and dad can leave the room, I remind them we need to get the monsters out.  I used to leave the monster round up to just mom and dad, but after a couple of weeks I realized they weren't doing a good enough job so I had to help out.  Not only do I get all the monsters in my room, I clean them out of mom and dad's room as well as the other rooms, including the bathroom.  That's the kind of person I am...always thinking of the well being of others.



After escorting the monsters out, we head back to bed.  Then, for the only time in the day, every day, I am suddenly aware that I have to go the bathroom.  After a trip to the bathroom (which usually involves asking numerous questions and throwing shampoo bottles) we head back to bed.  Then I make my final request - a fresh glass of water.  Left over water from the previous night is just yucky.

This week, I made a terrigying discovery...monsters don't just come out at night...I've started to find them in the daylight, too.  Morning monsters are rounded up and grounded with dad's coffee beans and then made into coffee.  Those that aren't turned into coffee are escorted out of the house.

It takes a lot of working keeping mom and dad safe.

Goats and Trucks

It's been a busy month of September.   Three weeks ago we celebrated Farm Days which is ironic because (1) few people here have probably ever stepped foot on a farm and (2) going to Farm Days saved Dad from watching the travesty/debacle of the horrible Iowa / Iowa State football game.  This weekend was Touch a Truck where I get to see all the truck and vehicles used by the local city.  This is my second time at both events; being a seasoned veteran, I knew what I wanted to see but still had a hard time containing my excitement.



Farm Fest is always a lot of fun.  There is a petting zoo with rabbits, chickens, ducks, llamas, goats, miniature horses.  They had a donkey too - and it wasn't dad.  They even had a dog.  I spent a lot of time petting animals which was the highlight.

 

 

This weekend was Touch a Truck - a chance to see all the trucks I have been reading about in my books.  I got to climb in and steer all sorts of trucks, semi, fire engines, garbage trucks, tractors and police cars.  I even got to honk the horn and turn on the sirens.  My favorite was the garbage truck - it's where I wanted to go to first.  But, I really enjoyed finding the loud horn on the snow plow.  I was pretty proud of myself because it made a baby cry.  Hey...if you can't run with the big dogs, you should stay on the porch...sad, but true.

Underdog!

Whoa! Whoa! Whooooooa!

 

 

 

 

It was a beautiful day, so I decided to take Dad to the playground today for some outdoor time. We had a great time - went down the slides, then throw rocks in the lake, and went for a ride on the swing.



 

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

I have never been as a high on a swing before as I was today. Dad just kept pushing and pushing. He even did something new - the "Underdog" where he ran underneath as he pushed. Weeeee!

Good times were had by all.

Quotable Quotes

Overall, today's events were pretty uneventful.  School is closed and I spent the day with Mom and Dad which allowed me to drop some new lines on them.  Here are some of my jems from today:

1.  "Today's a good day to push buttons" (literally and figuritevely)

2.  Me:   I hid three of Mommies things.
     Dad: Why?
     Me:  Because, I'm a good hider.

3. "No! I don't want to watch something that's appropriate!"

Summer of Soccer and Stuff

June 18 - 1st day at Children's House

It's been a busy summer.  It began June 18th, as I graduated from the toddler room and began my first day in Children's House.  While I was nervous and hesitant to enter my new school room at first, by the end of August, I would be easily running into the room each morning.  I also began referring to Mom and Dad as "Butt Face" and "Poopy Head". 

The same week I started my new class, I began my first soccer practice of the summer that Thursday, June 21st.  In mid August, I completed my first round of soccer practice.  Overall, it wasn't really what I expected - but I still had a lot fun.  I played soccer under my own rules; often running to the playground to play on my own.  I was by far the youngest out there, just over the age deadline by a couple of weeks.  I had a lot of fun running around, but probably too much structure.   You can't hold this stallion down.



Day 1 - I did kick the ball around some and run around, but spent most of the practice observing and taking notes.  I like to think of myself as a student of the game; the thinking man's athlete.




Day 2 - playing with the rest of the group just isn't my scene.  After a week of kind of observing what every one else was doing, I decide to go and play on my own. 



Over the course of the summer, soccer practice continued to be less about group activities and more about running around on my own - which was fine.  I didn't use up any coaches attention, disrupt practice or throw any tempertantrums.  After  a few weeks, I started running off from practice to the playground to play on the slides.  After about 10 minutes or so, I made my way back to the soccer field for the last 5 minutes of practice or so.  The last day however I did play a little more with the other kids.  The last practice was pretty exciting - I got to keep my ball, do some art projects and even got some ink done.

Well, there's no rest for the wicked - Dad already has me signed up for swimming lessons this fall. It's been two years since I stepped foot in the pool.

The Fruits of my Labor

I've been working hard in my garden this summer and now it is time to reap the rewards. Mom and I have decided to focus on tomatoes and Cuke-nuts this summer and boy are we about to harvest a bumber crop. Everyday, I check to see if there are any new red tomatoes for me to pick. The first harvest is in and I happy with the results

Today's Harvest

A Happy Farmer



   

Taking a bite

                                                                                

I was so excited to see my crops, I couldn't wait to give them a taste test.

A not so pleasant reaction

Turns out, tomatoes were not as good as dad made them out to be.

It hasn't been all work, though.  I also took some time today to relax and just jam on my drums.  Dad has a lot to learn about keeping the beat while playing the maracas and tamborine.

I don't just play the drums though.  I even brought out the 'ol xlyephone.

Hot Coffee

Some people like to begin their day brushing their teeth and then settling down to a nice cup of hot coffee.  Me, I don't go with the trends.  I like to brush my teeth and have a number of cups of coffee right before I go to bed.  And, of course, sing a song.

Where Art Thou?

I was so excited to hear Aunt Greta was coming over to play with me, I started calling for her about an hour and half before her expected arrival.

Hit the Road Jack!

Sometimes songs bring forth lots of questions...like who's Jack?  Why is she mad at Jack?  What did he do?  Why is Jack mad at her?  Mom and Dad were not able to answer any of these questions sufficiently.

Having a Rundown

After a weekend of hot and humid weather, it sure was nice to get out and shoot some hoops.

Running has actually become one of my favorite activities.

See a Penny, Eat a Penny, Poop a Penny

Well, I just concluded one of my greatest adventures to date.  I consumed and passed my first inedible object - a penny.  As per usual on Mondays, I was counting my change to make sure Dad didn't steal any to buy gum or who knows what.  However, this particular Monday while putting my money in my bank I decided to put a penny in my mouth and oops accidentally swallowed it!
It all went fine...Mom and dad laid out all sorts of coins: pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters.  Each time they pointed to a coin I said I ate that one.  Eventually, I admitted it was the brown coin and repeatedly, positively confirmed that is what I ate.  Oh what fun!  Mom and Dad didn't think my dramatics were so funny.

 The next day, we went to the doctor and I got an X-ray of my stomach.  I was very excited to tell my friends at school of my picture of my stomach.  The X-ray at the doctor's office revealed in less than 24 hours it had already made it's way through my stomach and into my intestine.  From the size on the picture, it looked like it may be a quarter.  Mom and dad seemed pretty nervous and skeptical, but I got to admit - I was pretty proud of myself.  I ate a penny!  And now, I was going to poop it out in the toilet!  I was very excited to talk about it the whole car ride home.  One I got home, I "pooped a big one" as I like to say.  And after flushing, it magically appeared at the bottom. Huh, I guess there was no need for dad to spend 15 minutes scoping through my "deposit" with plastic bags; when the water cleared it appeared all on it's own.

Here's a fun fact for you...it was on Memorial Day Monday 2009 when I broke Mom's water and arrived on Tuesday morning.  Three years later...I consumed a Penny on Memorial Day Monday and passed it on Tuesday.  Memorial Days truly are memorial, I guess.

Master Gardner

Take note of the knee pads.  I insist on wearing these when gardening.

Train Kept A-Rollin'

Grandma and Grandpa from Iowa came up this weekend and one of our stops was the local model train museum. I am really into trains, especially my friend, Thomas, so I was really excited. There weren't just model trains...I actually got to play with little trains, similar to what I have now. Best of all, I got to be the lead engineer on Thomas the Train, himself. I could be heard saying "Chuga-chuga-choo-choo" many times during our afternoon.

P-A-R-T-Why? Because I Got To!

It's been a long, rough week and sometimes the only thing you can do is dance.

Then we wound back the phat track and danced to it a second time.

Ealier in the evening, completely unprompted and out of nowhere, I did actually tell dad "Every day I'm shuffling, shuffling"

:

The Li-berry

While, yes, the winter has been mild, it has severely hampered my ability to mill around outside and commune with nature. So, I've taken to reading during the winter months. One of my favorite activities that I have discovered this winter is going to the library. I have found all sorts of books on animals and manners as well as a fire truck puzzle that I really enjoy. Today, I made my stop at the library and enjoyed a good book, "The Bear Snores On"; one of my favorites from school. However, this narrated itself and I could just listen and follow along with the pictures.

Pre-Spring Cleaning

I've decided that I need to get started early on my spring cleaning. Technically, I guess, it's not really spring but it sure feel's like it. Plus, Mom and Dad are such slobs I need to get started now if I plan to do anything this summer. So, I picked up my spray bottle and was rag and got to work. Not a window or wall was safe. I sprayed and wiped down every surface I could find. Who drews these green circles all over the walls? I don't have any definitive proof, but I suspect Mom or Dad - possibly even both. All I know is, whoever eventually gets caught - and they will - will regret every picture they drew on the wall. No one escapes my wrath.

Turns out the garage was also dirty. Seriously, what does Dad do out there? He certainly isn't cleaning up after himself. I've accumulated quite the assortmet of tools in the past year. I got out my broom and my rake to clean up in the garage.

Next, I got my garden hoe out to chip up the ice. I've learned the hard way, ice is not my friend.

Even a hard working, no nonsense guy like myself can find some time to relax. After a hard couple of hours cleaning out the garage, I hopped in my ride and drove around by myself for awhile..

I Can't Spell BMW, but I'm Driving One

Before you jump to any conclusions...yes, I am behind the wheel of a BMW. Dad took the Mini in to get a light bulb changed and the next thing he knew the car needed a lot of other immediate upkeep. The dealership didn't have any Minis instock so he was sent home with a BMW loaner car for a couple of days. Dad said it was a tough choice, but he decided he could drive a Beamer around for a couple of days.

We weren't going to have the car very long so we decided we better take advantage while we could. I don't quite understand why, but apparently Mom and Dad are convinced there is no way they will have the ability to be driving a car like this again. Something about the "basic of economics". I don't know that that is. I just know they better figure out how to get their hands on this kind of vehicle, because I could grow comfortable to this kind of lifestyle.

In case anyone is wondering, yes, there is a difference between a BMW and a Saturn Ion. My God, there is.

Close that door!

As I get older and wiser with each passing day, I find it incumbent upon myself to fix things up around the house. Mom and Dad sure aren't going to do it. No matter how many times I point out light bulbs or batteries that need to be replaced, Mom and Dad never seem too quick to just drop everything and fix it right then and there on the spot.

One of my favorite activities has been to take the screw driver out of the kitchen drawer and promptly begin unscrewing the hinges off the kitchen cabinets. I like to tell Dad that I do it because "I need to."

I've also been active helping Dad clean up his room...I mean it's only been about a year since they moved it, so obviously it would seem natural that he still has numerous boxes unpacked. I wonder what he spends all his time doing that prevents him from cleaning? Oh well, I helped give an inspection of his clothes cabinet.