While eating lunch today at the table…

J- “Mom, I think I should live in a tree house.”

M- “Do we have a tree house?”

J- “Umm. No.”

M- “Well then how are you going to live in one?”

J-“Hmmm. I know! Build one!”

Great kid. That’s genius of you. Except there is snow on the ground right now.

We were at the auto parts store waiting for Kevin, and Jameson was checking out the hot wheels along with another little boy.
Jameson says,”Mom, this is my new friend. Hey friend, what’s your name?”

Friend, “Jose.”

Jameson, “Mom, this is Hussen.”

Mom, “No, Jose.”

Jameson, “No, it’s Hussen. Hey Hussen…”

I was laughing.

Every month I get a Pampers email informing me about my child. This month, it started telling my about my “45 month old.” Really? Isn’t it kind of unspoken that once you hit 2 years old you quit counting months? But, I haven’t really done an update about Jameson in a while, so I thought I would do one.

If you haven’t noticed, this kid is crazy. He is one of the most athletic 3 year olds I’ve ever met. He can bear crawl  just as fast as he can run on 2 feet. He is starting to write letters, and knows numbers. He sings songs and is so excited when he gets the “Number 1 Singer” wand in primary. I heard on Sunday he announced to his teachers, “I sing, I sing!’ so he could get the wand. He has found the fun in dressing up, and is now frequently a dragon. Proof? See below…

Some of the funny conversations lately have been…

One morning, Jameson climbed in our bed to get warm. He looked at his dad and said,

J-“Daddy, those your whiskers?”

Kevin- “Yes.”

J- “I don’t have whiskers, see?”

K- “Nope.”

J- “They went to lunch.”

He frequently gets in fights with his baby sister, and she usually wins them. She is a determined little booger. But, the minute anyone else is in the picture, he is a protector. She loves to follow him, and be one of the bigger kids. He still calls her “Baby” or “baby sister,” and keeps her on her toes.

He has also formed a really funny relationship with his best friend, Abby. When they play, I hear a lot of “Sweetheart, you ok?” or “Honey, we need to pack.” On the opposite end from Abby, I hear, “Babes, you have to be patient.” Cracks me up.

Almost every day I am told, “Mom, you know I love you?” Most of the time this is because he’s gotten into trouble, but it’s still awesome. His ritual anytime one of his friends leaves the house, he has to give them a hug, then blow a kiss, and finally a high five. He has to have the ritual anytime anyone leaves the house. Then, Ella has to have a high five, also.

Kevin played Jameson this version of “Little Pig” by Green Jello. Now, from the back seat, I constantly hear in a deep voice, “Little pig, little pig let me in.” Then in a shrill voice, “Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin.” Thank you, honey, for that.

What would we do without this little man. He’s crazy, but we love him. It’s so fun to watch him pick up new skills, and watch him get excited over things.

Sunday morning (May 8th), we headed back over the mountain to Sacramento. We got there in time to make dinner for Mom for Mother’s Day. Since we missed church, and were away from Kevin, my Mother’s Day wasn’t much different than any other day. We did get to help make my Mom’s day a little easier, and she even had the kids give me a card.

The week was spent as referees. It was usually 3 vs. 7. That is 3 of us adults versus 7 kids under the age of 5. Keep in mind 5 of those are boys, and the 2 girls are 1 year old. So they don’t cause too much trouble, just get run down by the boys. Therefore, I did not pull my camera out during the week, since there was usually some trouble we were trying to divert.

Friday night, Paul and Jenny arrived from Provo. They were able to come join the craziness for Weston’s graduation. Saturday, we all got up, and ready for the day’s activities. Christina and I wanted to take the kids to ride the train downtown. Everyone else wanted to go to San Francisco for the day. Somehow, it ended up being Christina and I with 6 kids (hers, mine, plus one extra boy) headed to the train, and 7 grown people with 1 child headed to SF. How the heck did we get those odds? We had 10 minutes by the time we got parked to make it to the train. It was a hike with 6 little ones, one of which was strapped to me while I pushed 2 in a stroller. We made it, though, and sat in an open car on the way. It’s only about a 3 mile trip, then the engine turns around, and pulls the train back 3 miles. The boys liked it, but Ella hated it. She was so mad, plus she didn’t feel good. Allergies kicked my butt the whole time I was there, so I wasn’t feeling so hot either.

The boys had their tickets out and ready for the conductor when he came to punch them

(Ella and I took the picture so this is the rest of the gang.)

It was pretty windy and cold on the way, so on the way back we sat in a covered car. The boys loved watching out the window. The train tracks ran right along the river, so they could watch the boats.

(Kayden-4 almost 5, Drew- 2, Jameson- 3, Avery- 2)

We got off the train, and found a picnic table. As we were trying to keep the boys off the train tracks and eat their lunch, we were approached by a young guy trying to give me a brochure. I told him, “No thanks, I’m good.” He looked at me and said, “What do you mean, you’re good?” I replied, “I mean, I’m watching 6 kids, one of which is strapped to me right now. I’m good.” He then asked, “But, can I just ask? Do you believe in Jesus?” Oh heavens. I gave my sister the “Here we go” look and turned back to him. “Yes, I do.” We then proceeded into an hour long discussion with him, all the while, trying not to say he was wrong, only what we believed. Do you know how hard that is? Trying not to discourage someone who is just trying to do good in the world?

His main argument with me was, “Who caused the destruction after Jesus died?” I’ve never really thought about that, but my only answer I could give was, “Does it matter?” He was trying to say God caused the destruction. Trying to place blame. But really, does it matter? The point is, what do we do about it. There were a few other topics he tried to bring up with us. Little did he know, we had out electronic scriptures with us, and when Christina pulled up verses from the bible to explain what we were saying vs. what he was saying, he didn’t have answers. Turns out, he was Baptist, and from Ukraine. If I would have known that fact early on, I would have called my brother-in-law to speak with him in his native language, because there were a few things that just weren’t connecting. I had taken all the boys to the bathroom, and Christina somehow missed that fact, and didn’t know where I went. She thought I left her with him to argue (which we were trying really hard not to do). So when I got back I started packing up the kids, and told them we had to go. He pleaded with Christina to “Just read the bible,” and really didn’t accept it when she said, “I do.” She is actually reading the bible in her personal scripture study right now, but he didn’t seem to listen when we said we do read the bible. Honestly, if it comes to the end, and turns out that we are wrong in our faith, would I look at my life and think it was aweful? No. Everything I do within my religion, is to make my life better. So even if I was way off in my beliefs (which I don’t think I am), I still live a good life, and am a good person. Isn’t that the point? Anyway, it’s been a while since I’ve been questioned and had to defend my religion, so it was good for me. It got me using my brain again, and gave me a reminder of why I believe what I believe.

We packed the kids up and headed home. They all fell asleep, so we were able to have a peaceful drive. We ended up having to pay for an extra hour of parking, though, which I’m still not sure if it was worth it. And, I don’t know if I would ride the train again, except at Christmas when they turn it into the Polar Express. Oh well, the boys had a good time.

Saturday morning, we got up and met a friend for breakfast. I hadn’t seen her since since before I was married. It was so fun to see her and catch up. While we talked, Jameson got a hold of my camera, and took pictures of everyone else in the restaurant. Most were of himself, but some were of other people in the restaurant. Kind of funny. After breakfast, we headed to the Springs Preserve. It is a natural spring in the middle of Vegas. It has been there my whole life, and I’ve never been to see it.  A few years ago, they remolded and created a place you actually want to visit. We met Auntie Erin and Uncle Jeff there. Jameson played on the rocks while we waited.

We decided to do the ladybug class that day. It took us forever to find the location of the class. It was all the way in the back of the preserve and none of the workers could tell us exactly where it could be found. When we finally got there, the class was about to start. The lady described ladybugs, what they eat, their characteristics, etc. Then she asked the class, made up of kids under 7, what an exoskeleton is. Seriously, lady? So after a long discussion and a book reading, the kids got to pick out a rock and paint it like a ladybug. Erin and Jeff were so excited to paint their own rocks.

(That’s Marc entering in the background. He finally found us, only after being harassed by a worker wondering why he wanted to go to the kid class. I do see the man’s point in questioning, but don’t accuse. Geeze.)

While the rocks dried, the kids got to go outside and release actual ladybugs. There were hundreds of them, and they were all over in the grass. The teacher lady got so mad, because the kids were stepping on them. Well sorry, lady. Where do you want them to step? Plus, aren’t you supposed to release ladybugs early in the morning or late at night? I’m pretty sure mid day is not the best choice for those insects, so who knows if they will survive anyway. Erin loved having them crawl all over her.

After our ladybug adventure, we headed over to see the animals and other exhibits. They had a room that showed flash floods in the desert. There was actually a sign that said, “The 2 common ways to die in the desert is of thirst or by flash flood.” Really? Nice sign for the kids. It was really cool how they had the water come rushing out. It kind of scared me a little as we were standing on the platform in front of it. Next, we headed outside. As we were out looking at the animals, they had lizards on display. I told Jameson to forget the ones behind the glass and look at the one on the ground. 🙂 Another display had some type of lizard in side and the conversation went something like this…

Erin-“Hey Jameson, look at this lizard.”

Jameson- “No that’s a (specific kind of lizard).” I don’t remember the name of the lizard.

I laughed and told Erin to look at the sign next to the display. He was 100% correct. I was laughing and Erin felt dumb. I told her “Diego” makes me feel dumb all the time. Nothing is just a whale, or lizard… they all are a specific type.

After the animals (which were kind of lame if you ask me), we went inside to view those exhibits. Jameson took a ride with Erin on the train.

Don’t ask me what Jameson was doing. We had lots of fun. We didn’t get to do the petting zoo part, because that cost extra, and we didn’t feel like paying to pet weird animals. So after we played inside, we headed over to eat.

Jameson loved telling Erin and Jeff about how “We drive in Grandpa’s race car.” We borrowed my Dad’s Lexus while we were in Vegas, and he thought it was a race car. He told everyone we were driving in a race car. We also went over to visit my Dad at his house, and after we left, Jameson told me in the car…

Jameson- “Hey Mom!”

Me- “What?”

J- “We driving in Grandpa’s race car?”

M- “Yes, I guess.”

J- “Hey Mom.”

M- “What?”

J- “Grandpa lives in the jungle!”

I was laughing. The plants out front were a little overgrown, which meant they were chest high on Jameson. He was so excited to go to the jungle.

Anyway, we had some dinner with Erin, Jeff, and Marc then headed back to Grandma’s for an early bedtime. Thanks for a great day, Friends!

Jameson says some really funny thing lately, and I need to be better about documenting them. Last week, it was actually sunny outside and not raining. Jameson’s friends were over, and playing in the backyard. Luckily, my friend wrote down their conversation. (I copied this from their blog, so thanks Lauren for documenting it.) To clarify, this is between Abby (Jameson’s friend), her mom= me, and J= Jameson.

Abby is out digging in the dirt with one of her best friends, J. I called out to her to come back so we could leave.
“But mom! We are building a temple out of sticks and mud and paint! We’re almost finished with our temple!”
Me: “Oh wow! A temple! What color are you painting it?”
Abby: “Lellow and white.”
J (very frankly): “And black.”
Abby looked at J and then looked back at me. “And black.” She turned around to run back and yelled, “Come on J—, we have to build the temple!”

According to Jameson, Abby is his sister, sometimes his daughter. He always tells Rose, the lady at the post office, about his friend Abby. Yes, we are on first name basis with the ladies in the post office.

Today, Kevin asked Jameson:

K- “Jameson, what’s mommy’s name?”

J- “Brittany.”

K- “And where do we live?”

J- “In our house!”

He does state the truth.

Every time I help Jameson pull his underwear up after using the bathroom, he tells me, “Mom. Don’t spank my bum.” It makes me laugh. Everyone once in a while, I loose my grip on the underwear, and the spandex waistband “spanks” his bum.

Kevin went to check on him, because he’d been in the bathroom for a while. He opened the door only to find Jameson, still on the toilet, and yelling at him, “Dad! Get out! and close the door!”

His sword yesterday was made from my sewing picker (in the case), jammed into the inside of a medicine dropper. Got to keep an eye on my sewing tools or they disappear.

Anytime he finally gets around to doing something I’ve asked him to, he replies, “Mom, I’m being such a good helper.” This is after at least 15 minutes of me constantly asking him to so the chore.

He is a crazy kid, but is pretty funny with what he comes up with.

Today has been full of interesting conversations with Jameson. For starters, after church we were in the foyer preparing to leave. I overheard Jameson and his friend Abby…

J- “Who built the church?”
A- “I don’t know, who?”

J- “Jesus built the church.”

A- “Who built the bikes?” (Talking about the missionaries bikes outside the window.)

J-“Jesus built the bikes.”

A-“No, you talk to your self, and I talk to my self.”

Then the proceeded to ask “Who built…” with pretty much everything in sight, followed by the answer, “Jesus built…”

I wonder what their lesson in primary was about today.

Around dinner, Jameson came in the kitchen squeaking. He is usually some animal, as everyone around him can attest to. So Kevin asked him if he was being a dinosaur. His quick answer, “No. I’m being the Lockness Monster. My name is Nessy.” What! Where did that come from. So Kevin asks if Nessy was on Diego. Jameson quickly corrected him, “No, I’m on Wonder Pets.” Well alright then. It has come to my attention, with the songs and comments Jamo knows, that we might spend a little too much time watching shows.

Tonight, as Kevin was putting Ella in bed, Jameson was not happy. He was jumping around flapping his arms. He said, “Mom! ugh I can’t fly! Please help me fly.” He climbed up on top of the chair in his attempt. He was so mad he did not have wings, or tail feathers, or a beak, or anything else a hawk has to make him fly. I was laughing pretty hard.

Background: He’s been in his room with the door shut about 20 minutes, and I haven’t heard a peep. I open the door to find him playing with some books he found (Christmas presents for his cousins) and his cars.

Me: “Hey Jamo. What are you doing?”

Jamo: “I’m playing cars.”

Me: “I see that.”

Jamo: “Get out of my room, Mom! Shut the door!”

Geez. When did he get so demanding and independent?