Driving Mr. Chase

This morning Chase was very anxious to deliver his Toy Story Valentines to his friends. He carefully wrote his name on each one, inserted the pencils they came with, and off we went. We drove around to his friends' homes, I stayed in the car so as not to detract from his sense of independence (and with hopes that I might not be seen in my frumpy sweats state), and he was on top of the world by the time we finished.

As this magic transformation came over him I started writing down his comments. After giving out his 4th Valentine he came running back to the car and exclaimed, "And I bet I'm not even being shy today, cuz, they're saying 'Thank you' and I'm saying 'You're welcome'!!!" He was also thrilled beyond belief at the fact that several friends had Valentines with treats for him! He said, "Mom, I can't believe they're giving us treats back!" (Especially when the valentines we're giving only come with a pencil! Heckuva deal, I must say!!!)

One of his friends gave him a Fruit by the Foot, and as he opened it to eat while we drove to the next house he was amazed at how long it was. He still pointed out, though, that, "This is deftalently NOT bigger than me!" (I'm so glad he hasn't lost the deftalently quite yet!)

After he finished the FBTF he stated matter-of-factly, "We're gonna have to go home." His hands were sticky and he can't stand being sticky. Before I even had the chance to offer an easier solution (like a wipee), he said, "I know just the thing, actually... Licking my hands off!" He was delighted with his discovery. (I loved the "just the thing"--and I love his occasional "actually" he throws in! Wonder where he'd get that...?) =)

One friend wasn't home, so he stuck the Valentine in the door, turned around to head back to the car, and said with a smile, "I give up!"

As we headed back home he said, "Mom, I think Jesus is thankful for me giving these to people."

Doesn't that just sum it all up right there? The whole point of every little thing we do--from giving out simple Valentines to performing major acts of service. Sign me up to chauffeur any day. It was time well spent.

Simple Joys

Years ago I heard a speaker in General Conference counsel parents to give our children "things that money cannot buy." I've had this as one of my (many) mottos for years now, and I hope and pray constantly that after all is said and done, despite this overindulgent world we live in, my children will realize that it's the little things in life--the things that don't cost a lot of money--that are really the most valuable.
Today's "simple joy" for me was a bike ride with my Chaser-Boy. He's my buddy, my right-hand-man, now that everyone else is in school all day. My wonderful hubby fixed my bike tire last night so we could ride the bike with the baby seat on it. So, after we got everyone else off for the day, Chase & I set out for some fun. The first words out of his mouth as we started down the street were, "Yih! That's what I'm talkin' about!!!"
As we rode along we talked about why a sidewalk is called a sidewalk, we thought of words that rhyme, he played "drums" on my back for awhile, we had fun watching lizards run frantically out of bushes as we passed them, and after waving to a stranger we passed he informed me that, "All those persons in cars is a Child of God." He told me he would like to "do some jumps," so I found some bumpy areas of a dirt road to go on =), and we also decided some sprinklers looked good for riding through. Unfortunately, we didn't have much success trying to ride up the grass hill they were on. We suddenly came to a dead stop, and fell over!!! Thank goodness we were on a slope, so it wasn't as far a fall. Chase thought it was hilarious!!! He'll probably ask if we can do that again next time!

These are the moments life is all about... Finding joy in the simple things!

Being the Youngest

Ashlee had a fun opportunity a few weeks ago to hold a 4 month old baby girl during Sacrament Meeting. (One of her YW leaders was speaking in church, and her husband would be busy with the 2 year old, so she asked Ashlee to keep the baby.) Ashlee was loving it!

Ashlee was next to the aisle, and Chase was more toward the middle, with Rob, me, and other kids in-between, so it was a little while into the meeting before he noticed the baby. He started to make his way along in front of all of us, and I thought he was coming to sit with me. I put my arms out to him, but he didn't even glance my way. I realized his eyes were fixed on only one thing: THE BABY. He could hardly make his way over everyone's feet, church bags, etc. that were in his way, because he wasn't going to look down for a second. His attention was 100% on THE BABY.

He was finally a couple feet from her and he just stopped and stared at Ashlee with this baby. After a few seconds he turned to me and said, "Where did she get THAT?"

It was so cute! I didn't know whether he was hoping he could find one too, or whether he was trying to figure out how Ashlee had one of these things that only Moms usually had. Even though he's our baby, I've always figured he was around other babies enough (cousins, etc.) that it's not too strange a concept to him. But watching him with this baby made me realize that he really doesn't get a lot of interaction with babies, especially not like kids do with a sibling.

After he took it all in for a minute, and we explained the situation to him, he plopped himself down next to her and played with her. He was fascinated as she gripped his finger, he giggled at her little sudden movements, he loved having her stare at him... He was in love!!!

Arizona Christmas

A Christmas Day event like this could only happen here in GOOD OL' ARIZONA!!! Chase decided the puddles from the recent rain were just too much to resist! One minute he's innocently strolling down Grandma & Grandpa's nice sidewalk, the next he's soaked from head to toe!!! So what else is there to do but grab the camera???

Just taking a stroll... right???

Moments later...

Forget all the new toys! All a kid really needs is a good puddle!!!

A little mud in the mouth never hurt anybody!

Doesn't this face just sum it all up??? PURE, SOAKING-WET JOY!!!

Simon Says

The other night the kids & I were jumping on the trampoline, which is a challenge when big kids and little kids are trying to jump at the same time. Chase (our undersized 3 year old) usually ends up on his bum a lot, or landing close to the edge, so I will often just hold him and jump. Well, we were trying to take turns--Chase, then everyone else, back and forth. After a little while, and when frustration had started building because everyone wanted to jump ALL the time, we decided to play "Simon Says." We took turns being Simon, and finally it was Chase's turn. Chase's first command was, "Simon says, everyone sit down." Want to guess his next one? "Simon says, WATCH ME JUMP!" =)