Trunk or Treat
Greetings to all.
This past week has been quite crazy schedule-wise and timing. Rebecca has been tapped for an ADOS tour and flies out to Maryland this coming Wednesday. So many things had to come together (and are still coming together!)
Xavier spent all of last weekend wanting mom to come home from her drill weekend so he could carve his pumpkins (we wanted to have a family project with the pumpkins). That's what we did Monday.
Friday we wanted to spend time together as a family before Rebecca went back east for three weeks. We planned on taking Xavier to a Trunk or Treat event at a church near his school. Unfortunately for Xavier, he came down with a nasty little stomach bug. Dad was the only person to leave the house Friday.
Saturday, we held our 2nd annual Ogden Hootenanny. No time to Trunk or Treat then.
A church up the street had its Trunk or Treat today, and we took full advantage.
Xavier had wanted to dress up like a dragon this year. We had designs on doing a home-made costume. I will refer you to the opening remarks about our schedule these past weeks. We ended up buying one off the rack.
Xavier did not mind. He liked his costume. No crying or fighting wearing the costume this year. In fact, this year he has really engaged in the whole Halloween celebration, right down to wanting to and helping decorate the house.
President Trump
Greeting to everyone.
Xavier and I headed for church this morning. This is Rebecca's Reserve Weekend, so he and I are "baching it" this weekend.
We had several bill payments to drop in the mail, so we took an alternate route to church, one which passed the mail boxes outside the Post Office. After dropping the mail into the box, we navigated the back roads to the highway.
It was not to long before we drove up behind a person who must have misread the 35 MPH sign for 15 MPH. And, of course, there was no way around this driver.
No need for Dad to get all worked up. Nope, I outsource my "road rage" to the back seat.
"Get out of the way, Pokester!" was one of Xavier's remarks, soon followed by "What's this guy's problem?"
I have no idea where he picks this stuff up. (that, by the way, is an sarcastic comment). He does have a nice flare to his commentary, I will admit.
As we approached the double-left entrance to the highway, I told Xavier, "Whatever lane he chooses, I'm getting in to the other one."
Which is exactly what I did. The turn onto the on ramp is gated by a light, so we had to stop and wait. We waited in silence for the light to give us the green arrow. The "pokester" was in the lane to our left, but ahead of us was a pickup truck. Flying in the breeze was an American flag well anchored near the truck's cab.
The silence of waiting for the green arrow was broken by Xavier's excited comment "Donald Trump!" as he pointed to the truck ahead of us.
I sat stunned, thinking there is no way I heard what I thought I heard. I asked for clarification. No, I had not misheard him. He saw the flag and somehow associated it with Donald Trump.
I must say, I had no idea Xavier even knew the name. Rebecca and I do not discuss the President much, with words either good or ill. Rebecca does, however, listen to the BBC news casts while fixing breakfast in the mornings. They often mention President Trump. This, we think, is where he picked up the name. How he associated the president with the American Flag is still a mystery.
I am still impressed with Xavier's understanding. In fact, I am a little speechless by it. It is sobering how much little ones pick up and how much they understand, even when you are not actively instructing them. They are little sponges absorbing so much of their environment. But beyond sponging, they process and work out understanding of their world themselves.
Truly, we are fearfully and wonderfully made!
Fall Leaves 2017
Greetings to all.
Although today's outdoors offered plenty of sunshine and warmth, Xavier chose to spend the day in the house. He played with his Tinker Toys, then settled into his YouTube video routine.
After about an hour of YouTubing, Dad (whose had been "dialed in" to the office most of the day) asked Xavier, "Do you want to play outside?"
That answer back: "No. I'm OK."
Looking out the window at the sunny day and the gentle, warm breeze moving through the trees, and the trees raining leaves, I rephrased my question. "Xavier, would you like to go outside and play in the leaves?"
"Oh Yeah!" came the exuberant reply.
Off went the TV; on went the shoes.
We found two rakes and soon amassed a pile taller than Xavier (who, by the way is 38 and 3/4 inches tall—he wanted to know how tall he was earlier today, so we found out).
Xavier then enjoyed time outdoors. He dug into the leaf pile. He buried himself in the leaves. He burrowed through the leaves. Later, he brought his heavy earth-moving equipment to bear on the leaves to move portions of the pile to other locations.
Xavier got some outdoor time, but so did Dad, who sat and watched him play.