It was bound to happen sometime...

Last week we were at one of our current hot spots: the Lego Store.  If you haven't been in one before, it's pretty cool.

One feature we really like is creating our own 'guys' to play with and/or later purchase. During our most recent visit we were building some guys. I notice Spence shoving something in his pocket. I said, 'what is that?' - he tried to act like he didn't hear me, or didn't know I was speaking to him, or I dunno what. I reached in his pocket and he had stashed a little Lego guy in there!

I explained that we couldn't just take him, that we would have to pay for him and we were only there to play that day - not to buy anything.

Fast forward 5 seconds....he has a little Lego guy head that he is trying to stash in the same pocket. Hello?! Didn't we just have this discussion?! I explained again and watched him like a hawk the remainder of our visit. And when we left, he had to apologize to the store - literally the store.

It seems as though everyone has a story of a time when they were little and they tried to take something - I guess this will be Spencer's :)

Four & Fantastic

*4 year old Spence and his Lego shoes*

It's official - we have a four year old! Spence had a wonderful birthday party and got something he's been anxiously awaiting: Legos. That's our life now, Legos, Legos, Legos. Good thing they're fun!

*First Lego Creation*

I did a birthday video for him and debated if I should post it (these always end up so long). I was nudged (thank you hubby) in the direction that I should (at minimum) for the grandparents. So here 'tis. If you don't watch it all, be sure to watch towards the end (about the last minute)...and don't forget your speakers!



bee happy!

Both boys wanted to be little bees for Halloween. (Well Spence actually wore his Buzz Light Year dress up/costume to school)....but on Haloween night we had two bees buzzin' around. We had the warmest trick-or-treating experience ever - it was great! We had over 100 trick-or-treaters at our house which blew away our previous record of 9.

Crocs Rock

This crocodile is a champ....for real. The boys have put this animal through the ringer! It has provided hours of entertainment already. They love to ride it and wrestle it to the ground (too much time at Reptile Gardens maybe).

 

Just Do It

A few months back I said 'Spence, do you want to cut your hair short like daddy's?' and he said 'No, I want my hair on.' (Hahahaha!)

So, we've left it shaggy....until now. Living in 110 degree heat for a couple of months will change your mind I guess. After MUCH discussion, the boys decided they were ready. I took a deep breath (Micah more so) and decided to just. do. it.

Without further adieu, here are the new do's.

Where does the time go?

Seriously.
I have been back at work a month now....and slowly but surely we are all adjusting.
The boys are in school and doing great.
It is still hot as hades here, but we're dealing.
I turned another year older.
Spencer's birthday is just around the corner (already?!).
Milo has an ear infection (poor pooch).
And I'm rambling.
So, I'll get to posting some photos....

Splish Splash

News flash - it's hot here. Really hot. Our new favorite place has become the splashpad - luckily we have one at the park right by our house. It's awesome!

  

Scenic views

We ventured out on a nice little picnic near the Superstition Mountains and Canyon Lake - beautiful, eh?

Z-dog and G-ma

Recently we had two special visitors - our nephew Zach and my mom. We kept ourselves very busy and the boys were super excited to spend time with them. We went to the new SeaLife Aquarium - the boys had recently been watching "Finding Nemo" so they were super excited to see so many familiar water creatures. Mason kept shouting out "STINGRAY!" in a really low voice....almost like a chant...like you might hear football players shouting out before they went onto the field if their mascot was a stingray....yeah, just like that actually. Anyhow, we had a great time and can't wait for another visit.

Grandma, Spence & Zach at Rainforest Cafe

Movie time!

Superstar Shout-out

This is a big, huge, gigantic shout-out to my dear friend Kavita (bodaat) and her family: Congratulations!!! Kavita's sister, Aarti has been one of the contestants on the TV series The Next Food Network Star....and tonight SHE WON!!!! YAY! Seriously, if you've been following the show - there was never any doubt, right? She is super fabulous (clearly, she won) and she is now going to be hosting her own show - Aarti Paarti! It's so exciting! Lots of love to you and yours Kavita!

Bone-Appetit!

The other day we were in the pet store admiring all of the cute puppies they have. Or should I say most of us were admiring the puppies - the littlest Odahlen was admiring all of the goodies they have on display. So much so that when the rest of us had our backs turned he decided to LICK A DOGGIE TREAT! What?! To give him some credit it did look quite appetizing - it was in the shape of a bone and had what looked like chocolate on half of it with sprinkles (it looked very similar to a donut he had just had a few days prior). And for some reason the tasty treats aren't wrapped in anything. Oh my, it was soooo funny. At first we weren't sure if he actually made contact with it - until we left the store and he had blackish lips and opened his mouth to show us a sprinkle he had gotten!

Fast forward two days later - the boys and I are at the grocery store. As we are walking through the fruits and veggies Mase wants me to identify every item. I am trying to chose a nice tomato - next thing I know Mason has taken a BITE out of one of the tomatoes! What?! At this point I had to have a sidebar and remind him that we don't eat random things. (And just in case you were thinking it - we do feed him - and often!)

Spencer loves to repeat these stories, while laughing uncontrollably and never forgetting to mention that he was 'embarrassed.'

Thank the Lord for the little things :)

*Lucky*

Somehow I got lucky enough to have a best friend - Beth. Not just a best friend - a trueblue, superstar, always there when I need her, knows everything about me, shares a million inside jokes, lifelong (26 years and counting) best friend.  I know this is very rare and I appreciate her so much! Both of us got lucky enough to have four little boys between us - who are also friends. Moving away from them was really difficult for us, but we so thankful for the three years our boys got to spend together. We realize how fortunate we are to have them in our lives - we miss you Eli, Fin and BB! Before we left we took a few photos of our last playdate together...

Eli and Beth

Eli and Spence

Fin and Mase

The boyz

Belated Birthday

Did I forget to mention our little worker boy turned 2 in June?! Somehow we (I) forgot to post Mason's birthday photos...ooops. Somehow the pause button I pressed to put a hold on life while we were preparing to move didn't work.

Here is a quick recap: we had a fabulous celebration. Mase is really into "worker trucks" so the party was complete with a wrecking ball game and dump truck pinata....and of course, his very own worker guy pickup as one of his gifts.

We're Baaaack

The Dakota O's are once again Southwestern O's. We gave the Midwest a good shot - and even though it was our desire to remain there, it was apparently not in the stars for us. So after our fabulous mini-reunion, Micah took off....and 10 days later (after I packed like a tornado was coming - eh, that means FAST) the boys and I followed (including Milo). 2 days, 1300 miles and 5 states later - we were back. An interesting fact for all of you - the boys and I arrived the exact same date that Micah and I had 9 years ago...weird, huh?

A week and a half later we are pretty much settled into our new (albeit) temporary home. Micah has been working for a few weeks and (gasp!) I will be returning to work next month. My hiatus is over :( Although I am going to miss my time with the boys TERRIBLY (that's the understatement of the year) a mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do....and it really is in the best interest of our family. Luckily we were able to work out our schedules so the boys will only be without us two days a week - they will be in 'school' those days which will be super exciting for them and they will have all kinds of little friends. Let's be honest, I am going to be the one who has the most difficulty adjusting!

Anyhow, that's a quick update from here...I'll try to post pics soon.

Yes, it's been awhile

As most of you know there has been a lot going on in our house....so I have not stopped blogging - I have just been taking a little break. I'll be back soon though, I promise.

Oh, and we had our mini-reunion over the 4th of July and it was AWESOME! We had an action packed weekend and enjoyed every minute with eachother! Thanks to all those who traveled - love to you all:)

One Cool Cat

This is currently one of my favorite pics - just thought I'd share it.

Iron Mountain

We had big plans to go camping last weekend - but thanks to the weather that never came to fruition. So instead we headed to the hills and had ourselves a cookout. We ended up at Iron Mountain - which is a little area outside of Keystone (where Mt. Rushmore is located). We had an awesome time!

Spence after 'rock climbing'

That is one messy face!

Spencer's Green Thumb

Spencer is growing sunflowers as we speak...or rather, as I write. Adorable, right? We found the perfect little greenhouse kit for him and so far so good! Here are some of our initial photos - I'll have to post more as they continue to grow.

Day 4

Day 10

busy busy busy

Within the last week I attempted to post many times but we've been super busy! As those of you familiar with our area know, tourist hot spots are bountiful and every summer we like to visit as many as possible. As mentioned in the previous post, it's really fun to experience these places with the boys and see them experience it for the first time.

Last week we visited Mt. Rushmore.

We make it a point to go every year. We had some mountain goats walking right next to us - and an annoying little chimpmunk that tried to run into my bag. We weren't very successful getting a good family photo since Mason didn't want to cooperate.

A few days later the boys and I headed to the infamous Reptile Gardens with my bestie Beth and her two little boys (Eli and Fin). It was great. The best part is that once you visit one time you get a FREE season pass - which comes in handy with boys who want to go there everytime we drive by. Mason had some 'challenges' when it came time to leave one exhibit to go to the next, but what's new. At one point he was having a mini-meltdown because he didn't want to leave the sandbox. This is when I had to say "Mason, you have a sandbox at home, but do you have little old man tortoises at home? I didn't think so." Then we get to the tortoises and he didn't want to leave them. Oh the two's, they are a comin'.

The following day we went to visit the Air and Space Museum. Anyone been there before? It was pretty cool. The planes are ginormous - well that kinda goes without saying. But see lil Spence in this first pic? Crazy!

To wrap up the weekend we went to good ol' Custer State Park.

Me & Spence

Mase with his 'walking sticks'

Micah & Spence

Random and awesome!

We saw every animal on our list except the mountain lion that Spence was looking for - although we were prepared in the event we encountered one and Spence can act it out for you if need be. We did see buffalo, prairie dogs, big horn sheep, horses, antelope, and donkeys (which the boys gave peanuts to - I know, random. One word: Micah).

Whew! We had some action packed days and enjoyed every minute.

We hear you...

Mason has this thing he does. After the fact it's pretty funny - and to those that don't have to parent him it's really funny. But in the moment - not so much.

In order to get his point across he feels the need to raise the volume with each time he repeats a sentence.

For example, the other day we were at Sam's and we were going to have some pizza for lunch. But first I needed to get a few things. Here's the breakdown.

Mason: i want pizza
Me: Okay, we'll get pizza in just a minute
Mason: I Want Pizza
Me: Yes, Mason, just one minute and we'll get pizza
Mason: I WANT PIZZA!!!
Me: Chill out and don't yell at me
Mason: i want pizza

Another example...the other day I put on one of those little romper outfits - you know, it's like one piece with little shorts.

Mason: i need pants
Me: Mase, that outfit has little shorts on it
Mason: I Need Pants
Me: That one has shorts
Mason: I NEED PANTS!!!!!
Me: Don't yell at mommy
Mason: i need pants
Me: Go look in your mirror - that outfit has little shorts
Mason exits left, goes to his room and looks in the mirror - he starts laughing.

I might have to put a hidden camera to use so you can get the full effect. But Mase, if you are reading this, just know - we hear ya.

A muddy reminder

Yesterday the boys and I went for a visit to Grandma's house...for those of you that haven't been there she has a very large and in charge backyard. Way in the back she has a play area for the boys...near it water drains down a little ravine from the hills (when it's rained a lot). As the boys were playing they wandered into the water...and the mud - and had so much fun! By the end of it they had found a ton of worms and had mud in their hair. So we decided to give them impromptu baths in some rubber storage totes out on the patio. Mud therapy, outdoor baths - they were getting spa treatment forsure!

When they shared their day with their dad they couldn't decide which was more fun - the mud or the outdoor bath. It's amazing how the simple things in life can bring so much joy - and it's nice to be reminded sometimes. Kids are great for that - experiencing things for the very first time and loving everything life has to offer.

Not the first, not the last

Friday was an adventure. But not one of those exciting ones, more like one of those calm-in-the-moment but scares-you-later ones. We had just gotten home and Mason and I were walking up to the gate and Spence was getting out of the Jeep. All of a sudden I heard him crying (one of those blood curdling screaming types). I turned around and he was face first on the ground - I ran to him and picked him up and his face was covered in blood. I brought him inside and attempted to clean him up and saw he had a gash in his forehead. Long story short I ended up taking him to the doctor and they attempted to close it up without stitches or glue (as they didn't want to risk infection). I say attempted because we had to go back about two hours later to have them 'fix' it again. Anyhow, besides a nasty bump, black and blue marks and swelling he's fine. I am just so grateful that it wasn't anything worse!

But just looking at that bump hurts me - literally. I am so thankful it was only a minor head injury but I think this is one of the hardest things about being a parent - hurting when your child hurts. Feeling helpless. Feeling scared. Feeling like you'd trade places and wishing you could take it all away but knowing you can't. Ugh. And our youngest is not even 2 yet - we still have a long way to go!

Anyhow, I wanted to share this experience with you because I know that many of the other parents out there can relate to this. This isn't the first time we've experienced this and I know it definitely won't be the last. Guess it just comes with the territory.

Emily Dickinson

once wrote:
          
         i dwell in possibility.


me too.

Mum's the Word

As some of you may have noticed (via photos on the blog here and there) an unlikely hobby has emerged for me over the past six months or so: cupcaking. It works out great since Spencer (and now Mason) love to cook. For Mother's Day I thought I'd try my hand at this lil' arrangement for my mom...pretty cute, huh? Wish I could say I came up with it all myself, but I'm not quite there yet. Happy Mother's Day!

Day with the Dinosaurs

Last Sunday we had this great plan to go spend some time in the hills. Well that didn't work out too good because it started raining and snowing. Luckily we were able to change plans and decided to go to a museum that is in the hills (so we were able to incorporate a bit of our initial plan). The boys enjoyed "discovering" fossils the most. Just like last year we plan to have a busy spring/summer touring around our area...so prepare yourself for lots of photos!

Enough already

Everyone I know has been telling me how 'spring has sprung' where they live - how they are having sunshine filled days with lilacs in bloom. Yeah well, that's not the story here. Today (just like a few days ago) it's SNOWING. Every winter here seems to get longer and longer. We are sooo ready to be outside - in the sun - with the smell of lilacs. At this rate, we are going to have a very short summer. I guess it's a good thing we're ready to hit the ground running.

It's Awesome

As most of you know, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer a little over five years ago. She received treatment and has been healthy over the last few years. About a week ago she had her LAST appointment with the oncologist...she has reached the 5 YEAR CANCER FREE MARK!!!! Just had to share the good news :)

(I told you it was awesome!).

Have you seen it?

Jamie Oliver's "Food Revolution" show that is. It's quite interesting to see what has happened with food in schools in this country...that french fries count as a serving of veggies, that kids can choose flavored milk every day (remember when we only got chocolate milk at school on special holidays) and that the food they are getting is soooo processed. I don't even have kids in school yet and it bothers me...when they do get to school I would hope they would make the 'healthy choice' but come on...they're kids. If they get to choose strawberry or chocolate milk over white milk of course they're gonna pick the one loaded with sugar! And then they still have the second half of their school day to get through - ugh!  

I signed this petition and even if you haven't followed this show I encourage you to sign it too....because our kids should be presented with healthy choices. I'm just sayin'.

http://www.jamieoliver.com/campaigns/jamies-food-revolution/petition

Go Fly a Kite

Saturday was windy. And when I say windy, I mean WINDY. What else is there to do on a windy day but fly a kite? So that's exactly what we did. We drove out to a field and got our first kite ready to go...5 seconds later it was broken. For some reason the irony of this was very funny to us...I am still laughing about it as I write this. We get all loaded up, get the boys all amped about flying a kite, get it in the air and it's destroyed by the wind! Oh how funny.

But our second attempt was AWESOME! We were given this super cool pirate ship kite that we used for the first time...and not a kite that has a picture of a pirate ship...one that actually looks like a pirate ship. Somehow we forgot our camera so we  had to resort to phone photos....