I'm still here...

It's me again. I haven't gone anywhere. Just up. I am getting pretty tall. Every now and then I'll come eye to chin with my mom and she'll get this weepy look on her face. Although, as this is being typed, I am standing naked in the dining room holding a bug catcher and asking who made up the the "F" word. So all is still good in the world.

Of course we went to Idaho this past summer… and of course it was awesome. On my second day there I was introduced to a BB gun at Man Camp. We (the gun and me) became inseparable. I took it everywhere I went. I'd strap it to the four wheeler and if I had to change four wheelers, I'd unhitch it and strap it to my new one. It was an aesthetic thing. A man needs to be seen with his gun. I started with a tin can target and quickly moved to ground squirrels. I was obsessed. And in a moment of complete lack of judgement, my mom told me that if I shot one I could take it back to Portland and have it stuffed! RAD!!!! Never mind the fact that we had no other freezer than the tiny one in the house! Come hell or high water, I was going to have a stuffed squirrel in my bedroom. So you can imagine the horror on my mom's face when she heard a frantic commotion in the breezeway and came out just in time to see me stick the barrel of my gun into the firewood log pile and pull the trigger. Silence. I was panting and my mom was holding her breath. And then… a very audible whimpering came from inside the log pile! It wouldn't stop!! I dropped to my knees and started to cry. I wanted to dismantle the whole log pile and help it. But since nobody would let me, I set my gun down and walked away. A cease fire ensued for two days. Eventually I returned to tin cans. But don't even think about wearing a fur coat in my presence.

Not long after we returned from Idaho, I started at my new school. I was really nervous on my first day but I got an A+ in holding back tears. By the time my mom picked me up I had a giant smile on my face. I had survived. When we got home I had to fill out a sheet of paper telling my new teacher, Mrs. Johnson, all about me. One of the questions asked me to list 5 adjectives that would describe me. For one of the words I picked "good." My mom said, "Good at what?" And I said, "Just good, Mom. I'm a good guy." !!! (Yes you are, little bug!! Yes you are!!)

Long Live The Bunny Ears

Some things never die.

Tamales and Teeth

Oh man, I love tamales. A couple of Thursdays ago, the tamale boy came to our door. I get so fired up when he shows up! In fact, I was so excited that I chomped down on my fork (HARD) just to show my appreciation. And, crack!! My tooth went from well-rooted to thooooper wiggly. I was thcared!

I cried and cried. Not even the mention of the tooth fairy calmed my nerves. So my mama called Emrie who told me all about wiggly teeth. She told me how much blood I could expect, that I could still play basketball, that I wouldn't feel it when I was sleeping, and that the tooth fairy knows when teeth fall out! And that's when I started placing phone calls all over the globe!! I have a wiggler!!!!! Wooo hoooooo!!!

Well tonight, it was hanging on by a thread.

So daddy started walking me through the science of twisting it!



Then we got down to business. I wanted to know how much a tooth fetches these days? Are we talking coins or paper? Show me the money!

Smartypants me.

Today is my first day of 2nd grade!! My mom spent the past week putting Dylan and me through the car wash: hair cut, teeth cleaned, cavity filled (me, not Dylan)... it's been busy. But I've figured out a way to relax amidst all this chaos. I read! Seriously. All by myself. My parents use to have to tie me up before I would read (with a big mad expression on my face). But then I met Greg who has this diary about a wimpy kid and I was hooked. My parents started finding me curled up in various locations around the house...just reading the day away. I'm super smart now. Suck it.

Wigglers

I've had a lot of wigglers in the past year. It took me until I was almost 7 to loose my teeth. But now they're practically popping out. Well not really. But these days, I always have my fingers in my mouth so that I can wiggle my wigglers. I bawled with the first couple of losses. The whole process made me nervous. I especially didn't want anyone helping me pull them out! I didn't care if they were hanging on by half of a half of a thread and blowing in the wind. I was NOT into the twist and yank method. No thank you. BUT, times have changed. Last week my dentist told me that I had to get one of my bottom teeth out STAT. So I started focusing my efforts. And then Dylan came along with the assist.

Basketball Season Is Back!!

In the beginning of January, there is only one thing on my mind. Earl. When am I going to see Earl? How many more days? It can't come fast enough. And you know who else gets excited? My mom. If it weren't for Earl, she wouldn't know that I actually can listen to instructions. Anything for Earl, man.

Dribble. Dribble. Dribble. Dribble. Dribble.

If you had to bet the farm on which word Coach Earl says the most, you'd better say "Dribble." Because that's what he says over and over and over (and then over) again. My mom and dad are big Coach Earl fans. During practice last week, one dude (yes, I use this word now) caught the ball face-first. Boy, did he cry!!! I felt sad for him. But Earl didn't. Earl said, "What happened? You alright. You alright. Shake it off." And he did. Just like that. Coach Earl.

I'm SIX

Kind of makes you tear up, huh? That's my kindergarten picture. I turned 6 recently and I don't care whether or not YOU care. I will tell you every chance I get that I'M SIX (said in the same tone as "In your face!"). It has gotten off to a pretty good start. I really like being in Kindergarten. Mrs. Conable is my teacher and I sit at the blue triangle table. We have been reading Beverly Cleary books which is very cool... particularly considering where I live. I also have been learning lots of new things about the world around me. I ask my mom things like "do you know who Justin Bieber is?" or "Do you like the Beavers or the Ducks?" (For the record, yes and she doesn't care.)

And the thing I am MOST interested in right now is drawing. It's bordering on compulsion. But hey, check out that pencil grip. It's a 10, man!