The stories on this site are true...every last one of them. You shouldn't encourage nor ask that your children attempt any of things that are shared here...for these boys are more daring than most, able to sustain the strange and wonderful things that happen...whether they meant to or not.
Tonight at the annual City of Seneca Halloween on the Green, Kallsen and Parker won 1st place for the Most Original costume(s). They, if you can't tell, went as Rubik's Cubes. Kallsen was the solved cube and Parker was the mixed up cube. We bought two boxes, some black spray paint and construction paper. The idea was Momma's and the costume's were put together by Dad.
Some parents asked if our kids were the Dice from last year. The boys won first place last year for their Dice costumes. Two years ago they got second place for their crayon costumes. Below is a picture from last year's contest
Parker's 4th birthday was a pretty special day. It started with his Daddy taking him out for a father son breakfast at Parker's choice of restaurant. Can you tell where we went?
After breakfast, Daddy took Parker to school. Parker decided his treat for his classmates on his birthday would be Fruit Roll-ups and cookies. After school, once everyone was home, he opened his presents from Mommy and Daddy. He also opened presents that his 5 year-old brother Kallsen had for him. Kallsen had taken some of his toys and wrapped them for Parker. It was really sweet.
After a nice dinner, the family went to Dairy Queen for birthday blizzard. Once we got home, it was a call to grandma and grandpa in Minnesota. Below are some pictures from today.
The boys decided that tonight was Hat Night. To make Hat Night even more special, we let Parker, who turns 4 on Monday, decide what we would do for dinner. He wanted to go to Golden Corral. A Buffet restaurant in Anderson. So a trip to Anderson it was for Parker.
This this first picture, Kallsen is sporting a hat that came with an outfit when he was just a baby. As you can see, the hat was a bit small for him...that didn't matter...he decided not to wear it into the restaurant. Parker decided on a bit more flare with his hat. It is a bit too big for him but it really fits his personality. Parker decided he would WEAR it into the restaurant. Needless to say, he provide some entertainment for other patrons of the restaurant. Parker was very proud of his hat.
Kallsen (feeling MUCH better) and Parker decided to clean their room. Cleaning their room meant moving everything in their room to their closet. EVERYTHING.
If you're still curious or not quite understanding what EVERYTHING means, it means everything. Their pillows. Their bedsheets. Their comforters. All their toys from their toy box. A table. Two chairs. Blocks. Lincoln Logs. Radio. CDs. EVERYTHING.
They were quite proud of themselves. They were really proud of themselves.
Then they became confused. They didn't really understand why Daddy and Mommy wanted them to put their sheets back on their beds; why they need to put the toys back where they belong.
As I type this...they came out of their room...asking it it was okay, that while they put stuff back, if they could rearrange their room. My answer? 'No.'
While Kallsen was in resting (he has pneumonia) and my wife was lining up a sub for tomorrow, Parker and Daddy went outside to play catch with the Dodgebee. A Dodgebee is a soft but firm flying disc. There purpose is for kids to play dodgeball but with a flying disc. Less hurt kids with a Dodgebee than a red rubber ball.
I love playing with the Dodgebee because I can play catch with Parker...he's three...because I can throw the Dodgebee pretty fast and hard and he can catch the Dodgebee without fear (his or mine) of him getting hurt. He throws really well and catches really well. We had five or six exchanges in a row tonight with no drops and great throws!
Anyway, on his own, Parker decided to throw and catch himself. Those that are disc players know this as Self Caught Flight. In competition you get judged three ways...by how long the disc is in the air (MTA for Maximum Time Aloft), how far you run to make a catch (TRC for Throw Run and Catch) or a combination of each.
Parker threw the Dodgebee into the air and caught it three of four times. No more than a second and a half and he didn't take more than one or two steps...how awesome is that? We'll wait to work on the one-hand grab in the future.
Most that know me know that I love all disc sports...Disc Golf, throwing MTAs, Double Disc Court (DDC), Discathon, Ultimate and Dodgebee. I love that my kids all seem to enjoy playing too.
One more plug for Dodgebees...they're so soft that you can teach kids how to catch without having to worry if they'll get hurt...because they won't. My sister has Dodgebees for her boys and my friend Matt has Dodgebees for his son. I think they'll agree.
Yesterday was the first day of Kindergarten for Kallsen. We now have three boys all at different schools. Joseph is in Middle School; Kallsen's in 5k and Parker is in pre-school. This makes mornings a bit different.
Joseph gets up on his own and is out of the house every morning by 6:30. I'm getting up about a half hour earlier to be available for Kallsen...he leaves with Momma at 7:00. I get Parker up, get him breakfast and take him to school.
Today is only day 2 of the new school year and new schedule. So far, so good.
We took this picture at Smokey Mountains National Park while on vacation. I think it captures both of the boys personalities very well. Kallsen and Parker are both very playful and Parker tends to be real animated. I really do love this picture.
On our way back from Minnesota, we took a side trip to Wisconsin Dells. Wisconsin Dells is to central Wisconsin what Gatlinburg is to the Smokey Mountains, Branson is to Missouri and Myrtle Beach is to South Carolina. The Dells, as the area is referred to, is known for Duck Boats and water parks. We stayed at a Water Park called Great Wolf. Great Wolf Lodge is a resort where one can go for a vacation and never leave. They have the water parks, restaurants, bars, arcades, laser tag, story time, a candy store and lots more, I'm sure, if we had looked. We were there for one night mostly to rest and have fun in the water park. We arrived about three in the afternoon. We checked in, played for 2 hours before meeting my nephew Chris for dinner and then played several more hours after dinner and then played for three or so hours the next morning before hitting the road.
Our trip to Great Wolf Lodge in Wisconsin Dells was really a good trip for Kallsen. It was the first time he was tall enough to do most of the bigger slides and rides by himself. He was able to climb the stairs, go down the large water slides and do all the really neat stuff by himself. Here's a video of Kallsen and Joseph coming down one of the slides that requires you to ride face first on a mat.
In this next video a large bucket fills with water and every so-often it dumps a bunch of water down on the people below. You can see Joseph, Kallsen and Parker running to get drenched right before the water falls.
A couple of side notes...we bought an AquaPack camera bag from National Camera Exchange in Golden Valley, MN. The bag allowed us to take pictures and film the boys without worrying if the camera got wet.
If you're reading this on Facebook through a note, you can go to AdamandSaraWright.com to see the videos.
On the way back from Minnesota to South Carolina (we're in Kentucky as I post this) we stopped in Wisconsin Dells at Great Wolf Lodge...an indoor water park and hotel. Here are some pictures of the boys having all kinds of fun...
Kallsen and Parker in water tree house
Kallsen dumping water on someone below
Joseph right after getting hit with large amounts of water
One of the things we did while in Minnesota was go to the Minnesota Zoo (the New Zoo). I had never been. I think it opened when I was 10 or something. We always went to the Como Zoo...maybe because the Como Zoo was free and the Minnesota Zoo wasn't.
Grandma Judy, Joe, my sister Sarah and her three boys, my sister Kara and her daughter and my cousin Brianna's son Jay all went. Below are some of the pictures from the day at the Zoo.
Parker, cousin Derek and Kallsen
The Snake crossing the path might have been the high light for the boys
Kallsen (I LOVE this picture)
Jay and Joseph
Parker being Fierce (I LOVE this picture)
Joseph checking on cousin Jackson
Derek and Parker
Sara Beth and her two youngest
Sara Beth and the boys marking what they've seen so far
Parker looking at fish
Grizzly
Joseph, Jay, Kallsen, Amelia and Parker
It was a great day at the Zoo. My sister Sarah and her boys Davey, Derek and Jackson had to leave early...I wish they all could've been in this last picture.
They, if you can't tell, went as Rubik's Cubes. Kallsen was the solved cube and Parker was the mixed up cube. We bought two boxes, some black spray paint and construction paper. The idea was Momma's and the costume's were put together by Dad.
