Ask me!

Brian went to the eye doctor today to see what could be done about his hazy PRK eye. He has one eye that sees fine up close and at a distance, but the other eye can't see very well at a distance. The doctor told him that he could get glasses if he wanted but that it really wasn't necessary. He opted to get them and just use them for driving and other activities when clarity is nice...golf, baseball games, etc. This isn't what I want you to ask me about or why I am writing; however, the visit reminded me of a funny story about Anna Grace getting her eyes checked in January. The problem is the story is only funny if I tell it to you. I can't describe it well enough on this blog to do it justice. Then I was at church tonight and a friend reminded me of a story about Jacob questioning our job. Again, not something I can share on this blog. So I thought I would write a blog to tell you that I have these funny stories to tell. If you see me and want to hear funny kid stories ask. There is also one about Will learning how to spell words in English....only funny if you hear it. I'm sure I can probably come up with something funny that Erica has done as well, but I need to think about it! And....she is 13 so she might die of humiliation if I share stories about her!

Other Discoveries

I was at the grocery store yesterday and noticed more new items I hadn't seen before. First of all I saw brown marshmallows. They weren't a yummy looking chocolate brown...kind of a dirty brown. They were called Toasted marshmallows and they were covered with toasted coconut. They actually looked pretty gross but would probably taste great in a s'more. I didn't buy them...maybe next time.

There was also an item called Cottonelle for Kids. I had seen a coupon for it and couldn't imagine why they would make a special toilet paper for kids. The package said that it helps kids learn how much to use. Evidently kids follow paw prints printed on the paper to a puppy and then tear it off there. It looks like about 5 squares. I thought this sounded silly, but wonder if I should buy some for Jacob! That boy uses more toilet paper than anyone I know!

Until next time...

What's new?

I have watched a lot of TV over the last few weeks, and I have been to the grocery store quite a bit since we have been in the states. I can't believe how many different food choices we have! It is amazing! I noticed on a commercial for TGI Fridays they have a couple of new appetizers. Fried macaroni and cheese bites...what?!? How do you make macaroni and cheese more fattening...fry it! It actually sounds interesting to me, and I wouldn't mind tasting it. I just can't imagine it. They also have green bean fries. They must not have liked the fact that green beans were so healthy. I guess it would be similar to fried zuchini. Sounds kinda yummy to me.

We have also noticed that almost every kind of candy bar has an ice cream with the same name. They also come in super size, regular size, miniatures, and bite size. You can have your chocolate in any size or shape you want!

Another thing I found interesting is how all of the snack items come in the old package sizes and new 100 calorie packages. I guess they are trying to control our portion sizes for us since we haven't been too good at it ourselves. They have cookies, crackers, gummy snacks, and other fun things in the new 100 calorie packs.

Lastly, we are somewhat concerned about Olive Garden's never-ending pasta bowl. You can create as many pasta and sauce combinations as you want. Those people who only had a 100 calorie snack pack at snack time must be starving when dinnertime comes! Olive Garden knows this and is coming through for them! I think the commercial said there were 42 different combinations!

So what do you think? Have you heard of any new food items that I might have missed? Let me know!

Football...Texas Style!

Will's one request when we came back to the states was to be able to play American football. We signed him up for the local team and he started practicing. Practices are three evenings a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday and the games are on Saturdays! Who knew we were making such a time committment? Then last week they had a pep rally on Friday night. This week they have to go on Tuesday evening for team pictures! I had no idea what we were getting ourselves into! Right after football started they had a parent meeting to let us know what all we could expect. One thing that the coach said really shocked us. He said that the kids would be weighed every week before the game to make sure they "made weight". He said that he did not want kids starving themselves before the games to be able to make weight. Then he said the limit was 145 lbs! For a 10 year old! I could not believe that some kids would have to starve themselves to be under 145 lbs! So after a couple of weeks of practices they did their first weigh-in. This wasn't for a game but just to let the kids know where they stood. After weighing Will there was much discussion about him being too light to play. He weighed 62 pounds in full pads! The coaches decided to move him to the 9 year old team...I have no idea what their weight limit is! He was a little disappointed but he is no longer the smallest on the team and as a mom, I am thankful that 145 lbs kids won't have the opportunity to tackle him! These pictures are from his first game. During the first quarter Will recovered a fumble by the other team while being surrounded by their guys. The announcer said..."Fumble recovered by the panthers number 87 Willlllll Dixonnnnnnnnnnnn. He heard it and loved it! We cheered like crazy people!

Number 87, Willlllllllll Dixonnnnnnnnnn



Will went in and out every other play to deliver the play to the huddle. It was so fun to watch the coach interact with him. The coach told him "stay with me" then would tell him the play and he would run in to deliver it.