The party was at a local hotel with a swimming pool and water slide.  I drove Benjamin to the party where he was one of 3 boys to attend.  Scheduled for 3 hours, I hung out for a bit before sneaking out to let Ben have some fun on his own without the pressure of Dad constantly keeping an eye on him.  Ben also seemed pretty reserved with me being there.

After coming back to pick up Ben, the party was running late so when I got to the room, they were just starting with the cake.  Other parents started to show up but had to patiently wait as the kids were waiting for the Birthday Girl to open presents.  The kids started to gather around the Birthday Girl and Ben gave me a look . . . I told him to join his friends.

After a few presents were opened, Ben suddenly popped up in middle of the kids . . . with the commotion of kids gawking at the presents, he loudly said:

Ben:  Dad . . . . are you doing okay?

Dad:  Yeah Ben, I’m fine.

Ben:  Okay.  **Sitting back down**

As he sat down, another parent standing next to me looked back and asked . . . “Was he checking on you?”  I had to simply nod my head yes.  Here I was worried about him . . . turns out . . . I think he was more worried about me at the party

Dad being Dad, decided to mess with Andrew.  Kicking back during a lazy afternoon, Dad sat next to Andrew while he was playing Lego Batman on his DS.  Dad picked up Ben’s DS and began to play.  Noticing that Andrew kept looking over at his screen, Dad started to jump in one place, claiming that he didn’t know how to get to the upper platform (ignoring the ladder right beside him).

After a couple of glances Andrew chimed in . . .

Andrew:  You have to use the ladder.

Dad:  ** Making Batman jump in one place against the wall **

Andrew:  The ladder . . .

Dad:  I am, it’s not working ** Against a wall decoration that wasn’t the ladder **

Andrew:  The ladder . . . right there . . . not that thing . . . right next to you!

Dad:  He can’t seem to get up there?!?

Andrew:  Just let me see . . .

He preceded to grab the DS away from this amateur gamer and successfully jumped onto the ladder and grabbed a blue lego to complete the necessary task to get to the next level.  Once complete he handed it back.

Andrew:  You see . . . there you go.

Dad:  Oh, okay . . . that ladder.

Not sure if you ever watched SNL with Jimmy Fallon as Nick Burns, the Computer Guy.  That is who Andrew reminded me of . . . . “MOVE!!!”

Dad:  Ben, does daddy’s haircut look good?

Ben:  If I said no, would you feel bad?

Dad:  Why does it look bad?

Ben:  Oh, no dad . . . you look handsome.

I think I’m being paranoid now because I sensed some sarcasm in that last statement

The seedlings were off to a good start but quickly started to wilt once they were planted outside.  The birds were scoping out the weak and promptly started to pick them out of the garden.  They probably could have spent a little more time inside . . . live and learn.

The boys were disappointed so we took them shopping for some plants that were off to a more healthy start.  So, no more Carrots, Peas, or Cucumber.  We now are attempting Broccoli, Tomatoes, and Jalapeno Peppers.  Along with those we also planted a raspberry and blueberry bush.  To this point they appear to be thriving.  Here are some photos:

GARDEN:

BLUEBERRIES:

STRAWBERRIES:

In the morning, Ben and Andrew were hanging out in their bedroom.  They were bored so decided to make a fort out of their blankets on the bunk bed.  Proud of their efforts, Andrew came in to tell Mom and Dad about it.  From a previous experience, Dad was a bit nervous about hearing this story since the last time an effort like this ended with almost everything on the floor and their room in a complete mess.

That in mind, Dad said . . . “You guys are going to have to pick all that up later!”

We then overheard Andrew go into the room and tell Ben . . . “Dad says . . .”  now he just didn’t repeat what Dad said but actually put a spin on it and lowered his voice to do his best impersonation . . . “YOU BOYS HAVE TO PICK ALL THAT UP SOON!”

Dad looked over at Mom to see if she heard what he heard.  She did . . . that was great way to start the day . . . a good laugh.  Thanks Andrew!

Last summer our neighbors asked us to help look after their garden when they were on vacation.  This was a lot of fun for the boys to help water the garden and watch as their Watermelon went from a tiny baseball size to a bowling ball size.  We aren’t planting any watermelon but wanted to start out with a small variety.  Here is what we went with:

• Sugar Snap Peas
• Broccoli
• Cucumber
• Carrots
• Raspberries
• Blueberries

Here is a small video of our initial efforts:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAZnOoooLX8

We will follow  up with our efforts (assuming we don’t kill off everything).  Wish us luck!

Ben:  Leslie, the FBI stopped by at our house!

Leslie:  Why did the FBI Stop by your house?

Ben:  Because dad wanted to order pizzas!

Okay, probably need to explain this one a little more.  Ben sometimes likes to dramatize his stories but this is a truthful story . . . kind of.

It was a cold, snowing evening at the Davis household when there was a loud knocking at the door.  The dogs aren’t used to visitors so they began to bark.  Ben, Andrew, and Jacob took a break from playing Star Wars Lego on the Wii to see who was stopping by.

Dad answered the door and invited the stranger in.  The stranger handed dad some paper work and as Dad was filling it out, the boys came in for a closer examination of the guest.  Looking at his hat, they asked:

Ben:  Are you the FBI?

Stranger:  *in a stern voice*  Why, yes I am.

Jacob:  I knew it, that’s what it says on your hat . . . FBI.

Andrew:  What are you doing here?

Stranger:  I arrest boys that are being bad, are you boys being bad?

BOYS:  NOOOOO!!!!

.

.

After the paper work was done . . .

Ben:  Dad, what were you doing with the FBI?

Dad:  Ordering pizzas.  (Of, course)

Okay, in actuality it was a boy from the Rochester Youth Hockey League that had an FBI hat.  He was going door to door in our neighborhood selling pizzas for fund-raising.  Several weeks later when he dropped off the pizzas, the boys recognized him and called him the “FBI guy”.  He was  a very friendly kid and was kind enough to entertain the boys and play along with the FBI story.

Hmm . . . I’m suddenly hungry for pizza . . . go figure.

As we are driving,  an excited voice from the back seat . . .

Ben:  “Dad, what does that say?”

Dad:  “Stewartville Auto Sales”

Ben:  “No the other sign.  It says something .com”

Dad:  “Oh, www.findcars.com”

Ben:  “We can probably go to that on the computer.”

He also realizes that if he sticks a .com at the end of something he likes, they might have some cool stuff:

• lego.com
• starwars.com
• pbskids.com

“Dad, can I borrow your computer?”

This has also sparked his imagination of the possibilities.

Ben:  “Dad, I just though of something . . . snowshop.com”

Dad:  “What is that Ben?”

Ben:  “I don’t know, I just made it up.  It sounds cool though.”

snowshop.com is already taken . . . I checked.  If he comes up with something unique and available, maybe Dad will buy the domain for him as a present   Now that’s geeky!

Andrew is a big fan of using the big boy urinals (even if it means tip toeing to reach it as dad nervously watches on).  Even though he thinks of himself as a big boy for standing up, he gives everyone a reminder of how young he is by dropping his pants and drawers all the way down to his ankles, as all kids his age do.

While at the mall, Andrew gave dad that look of panic, so without exchanging words, we were headed toward the bathroom.  Ben didn’t need to go, so as we entered the bathroom, Ben found a place to sit near Andrew as he patiently waited.  At the time we were the only ones in the bathroom and dad was suffering though the normal “yeah you did, no I didn’t, yeah you did,  . . . ” conversations.  Suddenly, someone came walking in and the conversation stopped.  Andrew was still going at the urinal, and as the person walked past, Ben took both of his hands and made a mini wall to cover-up Andrew’s bottom from the person passing by.  Although no words were said, Ben’s eyes gave him the look of “Nothing to see here, keep it moving!”

Ben definitely takes on the responsibility to protect his brother.  Dad shared the story with Mom for a good chuckle.