A Couple of Firsts

Dax had his first day of preschool this week. He was so excited to go see his teacher and friends from last year. He had a fantastic day and is so excited for the whole year. I let Dax buy a new shirt to wear for the first day of school and he picked this one--it was on sale for like $3, but he was so happy it was about loving pizza. Dax LOVES pizza!

Heading off to preschool...don't worry, I fixed his hair before we left the house.

First day!

Dax also started soccer this year. After watching Mark for three years, he was ready to take the field himself. His first game is on Saturday, but he got new cleats today and wore them the whole day. He also wore his shin guards and big soccer socks all day until I finally told him he needed to cool off--those things are hot. His team name is the Cheetahs which make sense when you see their bright orange uniforms. Dax had so much fun at his first practice. He is definitely a more passive player, but I'm sure as the year goes on he'll start chasing the ball down.

Dax is in red shorts.

Go Cheetahs! 

It's fun when Dax gets to do things on his own because I think he feels like he lives in Mark's shadow a lot, so I'm glad he is big enough to play sports and go to school. Now, I just have Seth living in Mark AND Dax's shadows for the next 3 years.

Playing with dad at soccer practice.

Fun Friday Night

Happy Family

Sometimes we all just need to get out of the house. I hope that you feel that way too and it's not just me. Friday night was one of those nights. Everyone was getting just a little grouchy, so we talked about lots of different places to spend the evening, but ended up at Thanksgiving Point Gardens. We don't come here very often, but when we do we always enjoy the peaceful atmosphere.

It ended up being eventful for us. We arrived a little after 7:00 and they made sure to remind us that they close at 8:00. We promised them we'd hurry. We couldn't believe our luck as we wandered through the gardens. We spotted a muskrat gathering grass for his nest. We watched him for about 5 minutes as he gathered grass, then jumped down some rocks and swam across the pond into the bushes. We also spotted a large bullfrog.

We fed the fish. WOW! These koi were crazy and obviously used to being fed. We couldn't believe how many there were, but Seth loved it!

We also saw two little cottontails on our way out. I only had my cell phone because I hadn't planned on taking pictures, but I should know better by now. Every night is an adventure in the Ockey family.

Muskrat

Bullfrog

Cottontail

The fish

Special Mom Day!

Randy came home today and told me to get ready. We were going to be gone for an hour or so and was that okay with the dinner plans? I couldn't much info out of him, but I figured we could work things out  for dinner, so we headed out the door with the boys in tow. Soon we were pulling up at the nail salon. Randy told me he wanted to do something nice for me, and I was to go in and get a pedicure. He'd come pick me up in 45 minutes. I was so excited. I love getting pedicures. Didn't my toes turn out cute?

Once we got home, the boys sent me inside to wait and said they'd be inside in just a minute. I wished I had been smart enough to grab my camera because it was so precious to see Seth walking in with chocolates, Dax with flowers, and Mark with a new t-shirt. They had gone shopping while I was getting my nails done. It's not my birthday, anniversary, Valentine's day or anything. It was just Special Mom Day. It really made me feel special since it wasn't a required gift occasion.

Randy told me that moms never get enough appreciation so he wanted to appreciate me today. I don't even think I was complaining about being a mom yesterday, so I was grateful for the surprise and his thoughtfulness. I know how lucky I am to have a great husband who helps a ton around the house, and does lots of nice things for me, too. And I am lucky to have three boys who take good care of me. They run me ragged, but I love their smiles and hugs and all the fun things they say. It was a great Special Mom day!

My pretty flowers

Mark & Mom--he's pointing to my new BYU shirt!

Dax & mom--also pointing to the shirt, well kind of!

Seth & mom

This was our first attempt at a picture...
Seth crying, Dax chewing on his finger, and Mark trying hard to smile! 

First Day of School

Can't wait to ride the bus again!

Mark went to first grade this week. He is loving his class and his new teacher. I can't believe that he is so grown up--big enough to eat lunch at school. It makes me feel old (well I am getting up there). We have been walking to the bus stop this week every morning at 7:30. I love watching Dax and Mark give each other a hug before he gets on the bus, and Seth craning his neck to watch the bus as long as he can.

After Mark went to school the first day, Dax, Seth and I looked at each other as if to say, "Well, what are we going to do now?" I miss Mark because I could ask him to watch Seth so I could go to the bathroom. Dax misses his playmate, and Seth is still trying to figure out why Mark and Dad are not around anymore. On the first day of school, Dax asked to play outside a few minutes after Mark left. I guess I wasn't entertaining enough. He walked out the back door. Then 20 seconds later, he was back inside telling me there was a deer. Sure enough, right next to our fence was a small doe. I snapped a picture. Then we tried to creep down the stairs to get a closer look, but that spooked her and she ran across the field. It was an exciting morning and Dax was so proud that he spotted the deer.

We also went with some friends to the Alpine splash pad. We had never been there before, but we had a ton of fun and spent a few hours out in the sun. We even stopped to see Randy for a few minutes since the splash pad was only 5 minutes from his school. I was trying to stay busy so I wouldn't worry about Mark--was he having fun, did he find his class okay, would he eat his lunch....

Mark came home in the afternoon and rushed to piano, and then he had soccer practice. He had a busy first day, but I did hear all about how he loved having three recesses and that I was right, his teacher was SO nice! It sure seems like it is going to be a great year in first grade.

Dax loved squirting this water everywhere!

Seth loves the water so much.

One Last Adventure

Cute boys!

We had to squeeze one last outing in before Randy went back to work. The boys have been begging to go to the zoo, so we decided to grant their wish, and early Wednesday morning we went to Hogle Zoo. I love getting to the zoo right when it opens because it is not very crowded and it isn't very hot yet.

We found a fun new section at the Rocky Shores exhibit. They added a little splash pad. I wasn't prepared with towel and swimsuits, so I didn't let my boys splash too much. They were more interested in the big slide inside of a lighthouse anyway. But if you go to the zoo, make sure you plan for a little wet play. It looked fun!

A tube slide comes out of the lighthouse (it's dry).

The splash pad

We watched the polar bear for a long time. She kept swimming up to the glass and then diving on his back. It was the most active we have ever seen the polar bear, so Mark and Dax were thrilled. We also had fun watching the tiger. He was playing with this huge ball, in and out of the water. At one point he took both paws and hit the ball so hard it made a huge BAM right against the glass! Everyone jumped. The animals are so active in the morning....another reason I try to get there early.

He looked just like a house cat playing with this ball, but slightly larger and scarier.

We watched the orangutan climb up and perch on this pole.
We wondered what he was thinking.

The polar bear was in constant motion--so fun to watch!

Obviously we went to the bird show. It's the best part of the zoo. Mark has most of the jokes memorized, but he always says it's his favorite part.

I think Dax and Seth still enjoy riding the carousel the most. I had to take about 10 pictures of Seth to get him to look and smile at the same time. I should have videoed him because he kept bouncing along to the music.

We had lots of fun at the zoo. We are so excited for the new exhibit they are working on right now. Mark says it will be the first time he ever gets to see a lion. Too bad we have to wait until next summer.

Dax LOVES the carousel.

Mark has to ride the mandril or the gorilla.

Seth had a lot of fun, too!

Millions of Peaches....

It's not really a million peaches, but it felt like it to us!
This is our 2nd pick. We filled one huge bowl the first time.

We had a great year with our peach tree. We got a lot of peaches, and so did the wasps. Man, those wasps sure love peaches. I had no idea! Anyway, we have been eating peaches every meal, plus in peach cobbler and peach pie. Our children love them. They like to eat them sliced or whole. We enjoyed picking the peaches and watching our boys run over to grab one to eat. Mark and Dax probably ate 10 each the first day. Seth sat next to the bowl with one in each hand. Then every once in awhile I would look over and he had set those two down, and picked up two new ones to take a bite out of. We truly believe that our children LOVE to eat fruits and vegetables because they help us in the garden and with the fruit trees. It has been such a blessing in our home.

Peach Pie...mmmm!

Seth always has a peach in each hand.
 This bowl, plus the 10 or so the kids ate was the first pick. 

Dax eating his 10th peach.

We love peaches!

The Clunk

~Hey this is Randy

Grandma Benson used a few special phrases. My favorite was "hang a few cats." She used this to mean "Don't overstay your welcome," or "Don't hang around when it's time to go." A typical use would be, "I'm not going to stand here and hang cats all day, let's get on the road!" or "Lois will hang cats for half the night if you don't shut the door."

When I was little, Grandma called me one of two things. The first was "S**t-heels." By the way, this word can actually be found in The Grapes of Wrath and it means someone who shows up and uses your resources but contributes nothing to the group. The second thing Grandma liked to call me was a Clunk. I'm not sure where this one came from, but Grandma used it often, "You're such a Clunk," Grandma would say. Well, I never really got it until now. Seth is a Clunk. I call him that sometimes. And it's true. His head is in the 200 percentile (seriously, he's got a huge noggin) and he falls and clunks it all the time. If you've seen Seth lately, you've probably noticed bruises on his forehead, or at least a scratch on the side. Check it out:

He favors the right side for clunks.
I've thought about it and I think his left hand doesn't catch him as well

Sometimes you don't notice because of those big, brown eyes, but look closely at his right (your left) side.

It's probably the hardwood floor you see in the background.

So you probably think this is the same bruise. Well, technically it is, but Seth actually fell on it again, so it's a little more purple now. He very rarely is free of forehead bruises.

Seth with his rock at Fairy Forest (and a clunk).

Here, he's got matching clunks. There's one on each side.

A couple of Grandma's Clunks.