Christmas

Well, Christmas morning came and Bradley was so, so excited. He ran down the stairs to see if Santa had been to our house. He stopped suddenly and gasped the gasp of the most excited child in the whole world. The new gifts under the tree. The stockings that were now, no longer flat pieces of fabric on the back of the couch, were full of something. The cookies and milk that were eaten and drank. and a not from Mr. Clause himself. I sat down and read the note that was left as Bradley waited anxiously to tear into his stocking. Finally it was time. He pulled toys and candy out of the puffed up sock and he probably would have been content with that. With a mouth full of the heart healthy breakfast called candy, he was ready to open presents. The idea of recieving gifts is no mystery to my son. He pulled boxes from under the tree and handed them to Jessica for a quick reading to ensure that some of the treasures were for him. He was very grateful for all of his newly acquired toys, books, and wardrobe. It made me proud to see him so polite in a place where gimme gimme greedy usually takes precedence. He was also very clear that he wanted to thank his grandparents for the gifts that he had received from them. Sometimes we have a lot and sometimes we seem to have very little. This is something I have especially notice around the holidays over the years. Bradley reminds me that we should always be grateful for the things that we have, no matter how much of little. and that we should let the people in our lives know that we are grateful for them. I was kinda worried about Christmas this year, cause things have been tight and seem to be getting tighter and tighter. It's funny that a 4 year old "Who" like Bradley, can show this old Grinch that Christmas doesn't come from a store. Maybe, just maybe, it means something a little bit more.

Christmas eve

So, it's Christmas eve at our house. We put up our stockings. We set out cookies and milk. We checked the santa tracker on google earth, and we read twas the night before christmas. Bradley was tucked snugley in his bed and thoughts of santa danced in his head. When out in the street there arose such a clatter, Bradley leaped to his window to see what was the matter. I heard the noise too, so I ran to his room. He said that it was fireworks that santa had thrown. I Told him that surely santa was close and that he knew if Bradley's eyes were open or closed. He then crawld in bed and I heard not a peep. We'll see if santa comes while we all are asleep.

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Naked on a chair

So, I came home from work today and Bradley was sitting on a chair in the middle of the kitchen and he was naked. apparently he had torn his pants on purpose with his hands. (I think there was a small starter hole in the knee.) I still don't know why he decided to do this, but I was reminded of all of the sears tough skin jeans that I ruined as a child. I guess I get a little dose of my own medicine. The while naked thing was jessica's idea to teach humility and the value of clothes. He was so embarrassed, that when I came through the door he wouldn't even talk to me. I Restored the gift of clothing to him and he said that we needed to have a talk. Her told me that he wanted to be good and not rip his clothes and that her wanted to pay the guitar. The boy always makes laugh.

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Bradley shoveling the sidewalk

Yesterday we got some snow and Bradley wanted to help shovel. he always wants to do what dad is doing and help in any way possible. i thought that this would be very useful for getting things done arround the house, but it seems that he gets distracted easily and wants to do something else, until i am doing something else. then it's back to whatever dad is doing. It's fun to watch him trying, and atleast he is doing that. I guess i should savor the days when i am tripping over him as opposed to the days, not too far away, when i never see him.

Giant snowball

It snowed and we decided to make a snowball. Almost as big as Bradley, and it took up almost all of the snow in the yard. Sad to say, it's melted now. Stupid rain and warm. We wanted to use it as a start for a snow fort, but I guess we'll have to wait until it gets colder and stays that way for a while. GRRR

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Bear Gryles adventure

We went on a Bear Gryles adventure hike last week. Just south of the house. We hiked up in the foot hills and it kinda reminded me of when I used to go hiking with my dad, except that the role I was playing was more of a, don't get hurt role rather than a, cool, lets see what's over here role.

We went up and learned how to survive in the "wild". No food or water, but you don't really need those things in a "life and death" situation. We did, however, collect tinder and we found a shelter. The shelter was prebuilt and left there by someone else, but it kept the rain off. It started to rain a little harder so we set back for the jeep to find civilization and rescue. We barely made it out alive, but in the wild you have to take risks.

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vacation weekend

This weekend has been like a real vacation for me. I have gotten to spend a ton of time with Bradley and Jessica. I'm sure that having a three day weekend has helped, but we have gotten to do so much. On Friday we all went over to the park that is about half a block away. The carnival was there so we were able to go on some rides and enjoy $1 sliced of pizza. Bradley went on some of the, 3 ticket, kiddie rides, but then we upgraded to the giant 4 ticket rides. (at least the ones that he was tall enough to go on. I don't know how tall he is, but we guessed based on how tall his friend, Rachel, is. we also based it on how fun the ride looked. and how willing his mother was to let her little baby boy go so high up in the air with no real protection, except a little lap bar that he could slip right out of. (Yes, Jessica really cares about Bradley too.)

He liked the Gravitron. At least he said that he did. His face in the fast spinning room of death told a little different story, but both Jessica and I were there to ensure him that it had the potential to be fun. I tried to show him that I could lay sideways on the wall without falling, but i don't think that he was able to peel his head up enough to see what was really going on.

After the carnival we came how for an entire set of much needed naps and then set back out to try our hands at flying around in a helicopter. The carnival had a place over at one of the elementary schools were they were giving rides for just $15 a head. I had never been in a helicopter that was off of the ground and i know Bradley hadn't either. We got to fly right over our house! Since then, every time we saw the helicopter flying around he would say "That's the helicopter that I got to go on." It was a way cool experience. Bradley got to ride front and center right next to the pilot and I rode next to him in the passenger front seat.



In the evening, we all went to American Fork where they were setting up the new bridge over the I15. It was slow moving, but I'm not sure there is another way to move 2,200 tons all at once. Bradley was interested for a bit, but soon got board as there was no real fast paced action. At least he was excited to stay up past his bed time!This is a panoramic pic taken by Jessica's cousin, Adam, on his cell phone. To the right of the bright light in the middle you can see the bridge half way down the road. The crew moved it from behind the light, out onto the freeway and down the road to set in in place. This clip shows what it should look like when it is done. http://www.udot.utah.gov/pioneer/ We were able to stand on the south bridge and see the whole thing. Well... most of it. about 1-1:30 am it started raining and blowing pretty badly so we decided to bail, but the bridge was pretty close when we did that. It was a pretty cool experience. Bradley fell asleep in the Jeep on the way home. and I don't know that he has slept in that late the next morning for a long long time. It was much deserved, and we had a big day planned for Saturday.


Saturday morning I actually had to wake Bradley up to go to the parade. We drug our chairs over to Pony Express, which is about a half block in the other direction of the carnival. We say up out stuff and waited for what must have seemed like forever to a 4 year old, but once they brought out the cannon and muskets, his full attention was on what was walking down the street. Then came the candy!!!. He was right by the road and he got hooked up!. We had brought a little back pack to haul water and snacks in and we filled it up with candy, tooth brushes and a t shirt that he scored in the parade.

The parade was over and now it was time to head back to the carnival and use the rest of the tickets from the day before. He and his friend Rachel went on a few more rides. He and I went on the Cyclone and he loved it. I guess he is a little like me when it comes to trill seeking and scaring his mother.

The rest of the day was spent sitting by out inflatable pool and deep frying food with our neighbors. then we went to see out first firework show of the year over at the amphitheatre. here in the Ranches to conclude the Pony Express Days weekend. Bradley loved the fireworks and was sad when they got over, but he was happy that he got to stay up late two night in a row and he again fell asleep on the ride home. Today ought to be more relaxed so we can all get ready for the long week ahead.

the cheesecake factory

so... we wanted to get Bradley a fish. so we did. In fact we got a few fish. five guppy's and a beta. the beta is Bradley's fish. his name changes a lot if you ask Bradley, but Jess and I call him Spock. having five guppy's we thought it appropriate to name them Lenard, Sheldon, Raj, Howard and Penny. after only a day Howard died. It was a sad day in the Dickson home. Today I went back to the pet store to exchange the dead Howard for a new one, Howard 2.0. Of course Howard 2.0 had to be better than the 1.0 version, so i got a prettier one. when i went to check out the new fish was $2.14 extra. I asked why and the guy at Petsmart told me he was a glofish. I had no idea what that meant so i nodded my head like I knew what he was talking about. (I am sure he knew better) As soon as i got home i jumped on wiki mobile on my phone and looked up glofish. I turns out that the glofish is a patented fish that has been genetically altered from the zebra fish, and it is the first genetically altered animal to be available to the public as a pet, although that was not the original intention. Bradley loves feeding the fish every day. I think that this will be a good set of pets for our family. that is if the cats don't eat them.

Bradley"s birthday

Bradley"s birthday was a couple of days ago on the 15th. It was a Friday so, of course I had to work all day. Bradley was not happy about this. I did however make a good bribing tool for Jessica. Even from the day before he wanted to open his presents and eat his cake and ice cream.

The night before, I walked through the door, after work, with his gifts that I had bought and also what was sent to work with my brother, Scott, from my parents and grandma Hattori. I also had a Spider man birthday cake with his name written on it with icing, to accompany me.

Friday came and my morning routine was the same as any other day. after I had been at work for an hour or so I got a call from Jessica. Mostly the regular morning check in stuff that is also part of the morning routine. Bradley was going to go play with some of his friends for a bit. When he got home, he again, wanted to open his presents. There was a stipulation that he had to wait until I got home from work until he could open anything.

Finally that day was over for me at work. and I hurried home. My, now four year old son, was waiting for me with a great big hug. ( The big hug at the end of the day is one of the things that I look froward to the most.) Then, it was all business. He wanted to open presents. Because I am a big softy and a door mat for my son. We, then , got to open his gifts. His great grandma Hattori got him a new set of pajamas that he wouldn't take off until he spilled juice on them the next day. Grandma and grandpa Dickson got him a construction play set that he loves. Everything on it moves and it even came with little rocks that may now obstacles for the vacuum cleaner. ( thanks mom and dad. :) He also got a six shooter Nerf gun that he is now calling his paintball gun, and he got a fisher price laptop computer that is loaded with learning games and music and mazes. Nothing ever seems to capture his attention for a long time, but I think he has a nice balance. He has been running from one thing to the next and has been in a constant state of entertainment for two days strait now.

After the present opening we moved on to dinner. At Bradley's request we had taco night. We had invited a couple of friends over to hang out for the evening. Jessica made a fantastic taco bar and the kids ran and played with Bradley's new toys. After dinner, we had cake and ice cream. then the play continued for a while.

Friday night was an easy bed time night. When bed time came around I told Bradley that when he woke up in the morning, it would be his birthday. He ran upstairs and got ready fot bed super quick. On the fifteenth, however, was another story. So I pretty much let him stay up until he was tired and falling asleep.

I have been thinking since his birthday. He is getting to a point in his life where he will start remembering things. You know. the type of thing that he will remember when he 30. (not that this is an old age) It just makes me think that I should be doing more as a father. I want to make sure that his experiences with me are things that he will be happy to be things that he carries with him forever.