first night of BMX bike racing

Dallon and Dawson have wanted to do bmx bike racing for years. When we first moved here they discovered the tracks. We live right by them. They have been interested in it because of watching Daddy's home video's of his old bike racing days when he was a kid. Aaron and his sister Melissa raced for years. (I'm sure I'll cover that a little more in another post.) Anyway, this was at their very first practice. Both of the boys did great and had a fun time. As you can see in the third picture, the hills are pretty steep and Dawson didn't quite make it up his first time around. If you know Dawson though, then you know he's really tough and a wild man at heart... it didn't slow him down a bit! (These aren't the best pics. It's at night, and under lights. Hopefully I can learn how to take good pics under those conditions so that I can capture them better). Both Aaron and I are excited for the boys to have a sport that they can do together, both practices, and race nights. And it's so fun to have lots of different childhood experiences.

I am now going to share with you the things that Dawson said to us in the car on the ride home after practice.

Mom, I want to tell you a secret. Lean in close... " I took first place." "I took first place 4 times tonight but Dallon only took first once." (I think that is why it was a secret... Dallon wouldn't have stood for him talking smack about him like that.)

The boys made one new friend at the tracks. He took them under his wing and was showing them the ropes. He was a real nice 8 year old who has been racing every week for a year now. On the drive home Dawson said "Logan only took one first tonight... and he's older than me."

We got a hoot out of all this talk. For one, this was only a practice. There were no official winners and losers. But it was so cute to see that he was seriously racing all those around him and in his mind he was definately the winner.

$65 for a locksmith

Our front door just stopped working. We would put our key in but it wouldn't turn. So, for a few months we just couldn't unlock it from outside. We mostly used the garage door as we came and went. Finally I called the locksmith and had him come take a look. I wasn't sure if our hardware on the door was broken or if the lock just needed rekeyed. Turns out - he found a piece of wood in there. I instantly knew that it had to have been one of the boys. So I asked, and sure enough Dallon remembers picking the lock with a piece of wood a few months ago.

christmas tree, lights & santa

We took the kids to see Santa a week ago. It was so much fun. Easton wasn't scared of Santa like the other two boys were their first year. I was expecting him to cry but he didn't. Dawson got stage freight or something... he couldn't remember what he wanted to ask for. Dallon went ahead and asked for a PSP again... he asked last year and didn't get it, so he said he decided to give it one more shot. We had fun decorating the tree. We did it totally different and so that was fun, especially for me. We decorated it, and then everyday since Easton has undecorated it. By the time christmas comes I bet the bottom two feet will be bare. He's broken 3 decorations, and opened 2 presents so far. Aaron rocked the house with lights. He always does such a great job. Can you say "fun family?"

sugar baby

I had just bought a new bag of sugar at the store this week and had put it in the cupboard. Easton chewed his way right into it. I knew the house had been quiet for far too long... so I went looking for him. He was very busy licking the sugar off his fingers and then redipping. Talk about a sugar rush.

thanksgiving weekend

We spent our thanksgiving weekend in Stephenville with our family there. I didn't get any pics of the actual thanksgiving dinner... but it was delicious. Marcie is such a good cook. On thanksgiving day we rode horses... a family tradition. It is always tons of fun for the boys and something they really look forward to. We also played bumper pool and fusball. The next morning Marcie and I were up at 4:30 in order to be at Walmart by 5 am for the day-after-thanksgiving shopping. We've been doing that together for the past several years. We bought tons of fun things for the kiddo's and saved some big money! Later that day we all celebrated Dad's birthday. His birthday was on the 28th. It was fun to be able to spend his day with him. He turned 56 this year. Dallon, Dawson, Stetson, and Banner wrapped a gift for him in brown paper and decorated it with sharpie markers... drawings and messages, etc. When Dad first saw the gift - he pointed to someones message and he said... "Who wrote this?" Dallon was giggling and admitted it was his. Dad read it aloud. It said "You are almost 100!" We all got a good laugh out of that.

Making suckers with Dawson

Dawson and I had a really good time together on our date. Both Dallon and Dawson have wanted me to teach them to make suckers for a really long time now. I knew Dawson would think it was really neat to be the first boy trained. (Dallon was totally bummed out to miss it... which made Dawson think his date with mom was even better.) We made watermelon suckers and Dawson did all the steps by himself, with my guidance. He even helped wrap them up and tie bows on them at the end. He was so proud of those suckers. The very next morning he went out delivering them around the neighborhood to all his little friends. He made sure to let them know that he made them all by himself... (my name was never mentioned btw).

My kids have heard me talk of making suckers when I was a child so many times that they have really wanted to learn themselves. It was a huge part of my childhood. Making suckers again really took my back... about 20 years... to 6th and 7th grade when I was in the biz. I ran a sucker selling business out of my locker in middle school. They sold for 50 cents each and I always had several flavors to choose from. I made the suckers myself everyday after school. My mom bought all the supplies though... so it was a win /win for me. I remember counting my quarters up everyday after school on the living room floor. There were days when I made $15 - $20 dollars. I was such a huge success that my little brothers asked me to consider making them partners in the biz. I of course... took them under my wing and trained them. Jaron and Landon were selling at the elementary school - I guess at recess or on the bus? I'm really not sure. Where were you guys selling? We started counting up our money together after school and it was so exciting. It really was a fun thing to get to do. I'm glad my mom kept us in supplies. Good times.... huh bros?

Jaimie Haley Photography Blog

I'm so excited about my new photography blog! Come check it out. There is a link on the right hand side of my blog. Just click on the picture under My New Blog and it will take you directly there.

my most expensive load of laundry...

When the washing machine stopped I went to move the clothes over to the dryer and on my second handful of clothing I felt a hunk of metal. I was scared to even look and see what was there. It was Dallon's ipod nano. The headphones still attached and tangled up in the laundry. It was ruined of course. I felt so sad to tell Dallon. He was devastated. He cried. He bought it last January with his own money. He bought a used one for $130. Alot of money for an 8 year old. It is one of his very favorite things he owns. It was in his sweatshirt pocket. He had worn that sweatshirt for several days in stephenville last week. I had seen it downstairs and thought it was dirty so I had grabbed it and threw it in the wash. I remember doing it. I never even thought to check the pockets. So it's my fault. I just felt terrible. I thought about it all night tonight... what do I need to do to make this right? Did I need to replace it? How would I earn the money? Then I realized I could give him mine. So that's what I did. I told him I was giving him mine... he teared up. He told me he didn't want me to do that. He didn't expect it at all and was hesitant about accepting it. It was really very sweet and made me all the happier to do it. Anyway... that's my most expensive load of laundry I've ever done. What is yours?

Spurs vs. Jazz

Aaron planned a special date night for him and Dallon. He didn't tell Dallon where they would be going ahead of time. It was a surprise. Dallon had no idea they were going to an NBA game until they arrived. Dallon loves basketball and has only been to one other NBA game and that was years ago. So we knew this would be a huge hit. Aaron is a big Jazz fan and was excited to see them play the Spurs. They had a ball together. These are the pics they brought home to me that night.

Dawson and I also had a date that night. Check back to see what we did... I'll be posting that soon.

twilight

Last night we went to the movie Twilight. It was so much fun to get out with the girls and see a movie and go to dinner. It was my first time to see a movie after reading the book... I thought it was really good.