Random Feb/March shenanigans & Off-track time

 Danny was given some paid vacation that he had to use by Presidents Day so he was able to take some random days off of work which was awesome. It was fun having him around to just do whatever the heck we wanted to do without the obligations that Saturdays bring. One day we ran a bunch of errands. Went to the mall while waiting to pick up the Mazda, picked up my ring from the jeweler, went to Target and had a yummy lunch. Now I remember why I never go to the mall...

At Target we bought a "home phone". Mostly for Cole to use if he's ever home without us and needs to get in touch with us. There are six phone numbers programmed into the phone and it just uses minutes from a pre-paid phone card.

We ended up at the grocery store late on a Saturday night and instead of zipping in and out to do our grocery shopping, we lollygagged and played with the bouncy balls and stuffed animals. Life is short. Sometimes you gotta stop and bounce the balls. 

We also discovered our favorite new park. It's actually sad because it's dedicated to Sierra Newbold, who was taken from her home in WJ and kidnapped. It's a beautiful park with lots of cool equipment.

Family night is more fun when you end it with a game of hot potato. 

Caleb was shocked with how fun it was. 

My mom sent me this picture at work one day and said that Caleb was talking to himself with the cadence of a prayer. Our righteous little baby...

I gave Cole a haircut. It isn't perfect and I need to work on the blending but I have come a LONG way.

Sunday fun at the park. I love that this picture documents Caleb's obsession with keys.

Bowler's Farm

We met up with Val and girls one day to check out the piglets on Bowler's farm. I hadn't seen Val in eons and even though we keep up on social media, it just isn't the same as a face to face conversation. Kristen gave us the grand tour.

The piglets were ADORABLE and I wanted to take one home.

Cole was pretty skittish around most of the animals but finally got brave enough to pet one. The Bowler's have a beautiful farm.

We chatted with Kristen for a bit while Lu and Cole jumped on the tramp.

Caleb was pretty pumped about his find.

After leaving the farm, we joined up at Chick-Fil-A for lunch where we had an interesting experience. We were eating lunch when suddenly we heard someone yelling to "get down and put your hands in the air." I instantly thought we were going to be involved in a shooting and adrenaline started pumping through my veins while my heart stopped. It was a loud, commanding voice and it wasn't until I saw a police officer chasing some guy into the restaurant that we better understood what was happening. There was some back and forth between the criminal shouting that he was innocent, more shouting from the officer and then he was on the ground being cuffed. Honestly, it was terrifying. The kids in the play place were none the wiser but a Chick-Fil-A employee was in with them gathering them together. Cole and Lucy didn't have a clue what had happened. Within seconds, there were NINE cop cars there, including a couple K-9 units and the place was surrounded. It was scary to think of what could have happened. Some of the witnesses being interviewed were talking about him dropping off a backpack and that he had a switchblade. After things calmed down, the poor manager came out and started announcing that everything was fine and that they'd be handing out free ice cream to everyone which made me laugh. "Sorry you thought your life was over, have some ice cream! It makes everything better!" No thanks. I was ready to go. A couple cops stayed behind and talked to people and tried to reassure everyone that things were fine. Cole approached an officer and asked what had happened. He just mentioned that someone had made some bad choices and got caught. Cole prodded him for more information with, "like, what kind of bad choices?" I had to laugh because that is just like my intensely curious Cole. The cop just chuckled and gave a generic answer. Cole should be a private investigator if his dreams of being an architect don't pan out.

***

Caleb had a nasty virus for a couple weeks so we took him to the doc to make sure it wasn't an ear infection. Just a virus. This poor kid gets everything going around town. A week later he got sick again. Add teething to the mix and he's been great big ball of fun.

I ran to the store to grab a few things but came home with the car like this:

Caleb's room is a total  mess but I caught a moment so sweet that I don't care if the messiness is documented.

While taking Cole to the dentist, this father and son sat across from me. They were on their phones the entire time I was out there which was almost 30 minutes. They didn't say a word to each other. 

Cole used some allowance and bought Battleship. I had never played! It's not as bad as I thought it was going to be. Heh. I actually quite enjoyed it.

 I finally got new glasses. With my current prescription. That don't have broken frames. Life is good.

 Greg and Angie had a trip planned down in Southern Utah and asked us to take Nate and Erin for a couple days. Cole was FLIPPING out with excitement. Three days before they came over, Cole had everything set up. He had a countdown in his bedroom along with everything else he felt they might need.

Testing out the sleeping quarters. Yes, everything was ready.

 Haleigh did some balance testing on me at the clinic where she's finishing up her doctorate of audiology. The testing made me sick all day and I'm so glad it was her and not some stranger doing it. Spinning in a chair with your eyes forced open, in the dark is NOT fun, in case you're wondering.

This is Caleb's nighttime scene

Cole attended the Blue & Gold Banquet with Danny and Caleb. Darn, I had to work and missed it. {I hope someday I will learn to love scouting}.

One of the days while Cole was off-track I was feeling like a particularly loser-face of a mom. I was feeling dizzy and nauseated and texted Danny to complain. I wanted Cole to enjoy his time off since this was essentially his summer and we were sitting around the house. Danny surprised me and came home early from work to take Cole to go mini golfing and  enjoy some froyo. I was relieved that Cole got to have some fun father-son time.

Hole-in-one!

Also, Caleb is adorable. That is all.