A Birthday Present

Here is Carson, thoroughly enjoying his birthday present from Grandma R. and Grandpa B.

Our Cool Little Dude is Turning 7!

Last weekend we had Carson's birthday party at a local bouncy house play place. He had fun jumping around with the other guys. The cake and decorations were Thomas The Tank Engine themed. Yes, Carson is still one of Thomas' biggest fans.

After playing and having cake, the kids had a pinata. It was a fun time. And the best part for mom was not having to pick up or clean the house!

Halloween Costumes

We went to a Halloween party the weekend before Halloween. Carson dressed up as a Star Wars Clone Trooper. Yes, we know that Clone Troopers don't use light sabers, but just don't tell anyone.













The night of Halloween, moments before we went out the door to go trick-or-treating with friends, Carson went into his closet and grabbed his old Hot Wheels driver costume. For the past 2 years, he had been too afraid to go out trick-or-treating. But this year, he said he felt brave! And he had a great night.

School Photo, First Grade

I am so pleased with this photo. It's one of the best school pictures Carson's had; and he's had 5 now. He wanted to wear his "Day Out With Thomas" shirt.

Yes. Braces at Six Years Old

Carson just got braces on his front 2 teeth. The teeth came in with a big space between them, and at crooked angles, so his pediatric dentist wants to get them brought together and straightened out so that the teeth next to them will have enough room to come in.


The poor kid didn't like them; and when we got home from the dentist yesterday, he pulled the wire out. He tried to pull the braces off; but didn't understand that he can't. They are glued on to stay. After a rough night, I drove him into school this morning. His buddies at school thought the braces were pretty cool, and Carson's mood has picked up considerably (thank God!). We had the wire put back on this afternoon. He's doing much, much better.

Pumpkin Patch

There are still a handful of pumpkin patches in the area where you can go, pick out a nice pumpkin, and put the money into a box on the honor system. The large pumpkins were $3, on down to small ones for $1. The place was decorated for the season very nicely, too.

This little Pumpkin Man was very cute!

Scarecrows abounded all over the place.

We decided to get a wheel barrow full! Tomorrow we get to carve them all.

Scarecrows watching over the parking lot.

The sad thing about this field is where it sits: between a bunch of car dealerships. I fear that before we know it, this land will no longer be farmed, and will become a car lot. Just across the highway, where there was a pumpkin patch just a few years ago, is now a big mall.

Fall Playdate at the River

Carson and a buddy had a playdate last week. They played at our sand pile, and then headed down to the river. Right now we have fish swimming upstream on occasion. The boys, of course, wanted to catch some; preferrably with a spear or their bare hands.

School is keeping Carson very busy, reading his little "decodable" books every day, and doing lots of work sheets that have him writing, coloring, learning math concepts, and more. His favorite time of day (other than going home) is recess. Reading and writing don't come easily for him, but with more practice, they are coming a little easier than a month ago.

Free time after school has been fillled with playing with trains and cars. Our living room is usually a large train depot or a city, complete with train tracks, an airport, a boat at a marina, lots of car traffic, and the Space Needle.

Carson LOVES fleece. He loves to be wrapped up in it, and to wear my fleece jackets. Here he is, hamming around in the kitchen in one of my fleeces (backwards).