Annual Family Christmas Tree Hunt

Shylah Meets Santa

First Football Game

Kaden watching the game with his M&Ms

Was it going to be the first first down?  A whole series?  A quarter?

How long was Kaden going to be able to last at the stadium for his first football game?  That was the question.

And would those efforts at home with the game on TV, explaining “down, set, hike,” pay off?

From our house you can see the high school football stadium off in the distance.  So when I got home from work, I took him out to the backyard and showed him the Friday Night Lights glowing in the distance and said, “are you ready to go to your first football game?”

“YES!” he said.

Of course, I knew he didn’t really know what was in store, but between hanging out with Baker and Forest, some popcorn and some live action on the field, I had my hopes. Turns out, he loved it.  He and Baker both did great.  And granted we had to move from the consession stand to the seats to chasing them in the bleacher area, but all in all it was an impressive first effort.  In fact, we left with 5 minutes left in the 4th quarter and it was only because we couldn’t watch anymore (Carp was getting beat pretty bad).  The boys could have hung in the rest of the game.  It was also almost 10pm, so we were pushing way past bedtimes.

It was fun to hear Kaden tell mom all about the football game the next morning.  She asked him great questions and he did his best to explain all that he saw and did.

Next up: Basketball game.

Kaden and Baker enjoying the game

Better seats?

My little pit crew

Kaden works his first lug nut loose.

Last weekend I had to get out the ol’ tools to change the brakes on the Land Rover.  Any mechanic skills that I have came from helping and watching my dad while growing up.   Growing up in Montana, I can recall times where my dad would have me out in the garage to hand him tools or to try and teach the basics of car maintenance.

So, I got a kick out of the fact that Kaden was quick to follow me out the door that morning, bringing with him his little tools that mom had given him to “help.”  Not only was he there for me when I started taking off the first lug nut, he was there when I finally let the jack down when I was done.  He would ask questions, offer to help and try to get his tools to work on whatever looked like it needed help.  Granted, his attention span would wane and he would go play with his own truck (fixing it too) and playing in the dirt, but he was always there to check in on me and see what else I was doing.

Pretty cool for this young dad.  I wonder how long his interest in this will last.

I wonder how many more times I’ll have to change my own brakes.

Now we just need to teach him to put his tools away...

I have the best Mom….

It takes two…

In order for Kaden to be as tall as Donny…he has to be on my shoulders….

Be Afraid…of the Happiest Place on Earth

Well, maybe not that afraid…  It was back in June or July when we started planning to spend a haunted weekend with the Sandridges in Disneyland.  Kaden was fascinated by a fireworks show we had found on YouTube that featured the 2009 Disneyland Halloween fireworks display that was awesome.  You might say that video is the reason we’re here… or that we used that video to bring out two families together to spend a couple days hanging out at the “Happiest Place on Earth.”

Since the time we made the decision to make this idea a reality, we’ve all benefited from Katie’s due diligence, planning and organization.  She put together a great schedule and mapped out some of the best of the best for us to enjoy over the past several days.

All I did was put together this blockbuster movie trailer on our trip:

Last night we also hung out with the Carlisle’s, getting the boys together, having dinner and a great time.

Photo of our tired kids (and parents) leaving the park.  This is the stroller shot.  I love Baker’s photogenic personality (son of a photographer).  And if you are wondering where Forest is…he’s taking the picture:

Challenge:  We learned that Kaden is actually scared of the fireworks show.

Despite watching the YouTube version over 100X’s, we found that the fireworks actually scare him.  Its fine when they are displayed on a 3″ screen on his iPhone, but put to the test of real life and we found him scurrying for a hiding place between the wall and a parked stroller.  Sad.  It must be noted, that this fireworks show was the typical (if such a thing at Disneyland) evening fireworks show.  No special effects, just the standard fanfare.  Tonight’s show is expected to be something to write home about.

Now Kaden endured the standard show and later was able to be talked into the Toy Story ride, but considering that tonight is Halloween and the represents the original inspiration for this whole trip, it will be interesting to see how Kaden reacts.  In the meantime, the Sandridge boys watch in awe.  Granted, Griffen does it with his fingers in his ears, but he likes it.  I’m hoping that Kaden’s hears the music and character voices and finds that this is just the live version of his favorite fireworks show.

So, we are getting ready to take off to go to the Halloween Party at Disneyland.  And by “getting ready,” I mean wrapping up our naps.  And by “wrapping up,” I mean three out of four of us are still napping at 5:52pm.  However, as a preview, here is what Shylah is going as tonight: