The Two Little Red Heads

This is Mason with his cousin Gracie when we were in Yakima last month. Mason has been mad at Gracie since November, when she stood on the stairs at our house, and screamed in his ear as he walked by. He got really mad at her, went to my bedroom, and cried because it hurt so bad. He was mad at her up until we went to Yakima in June. He was less than thrilled when he found out we were going to stay at Uncle Sam & Aunt Andrea's house, because Gracie was going to be there. I told him he didn't have to play with her. He said "hi" to her when we first got to the farm, and then they went off playing. This was the first picture I got of them together. I told Mason to move a little closer to her, and he said "This is close enough". It made me laugh.

Looking at her little face, and seeing that little smile she has, he couldn't be mad at her too much longer.

Then they became friends. They are cousins, so they are kinda stuck. There are only 3 grandbabies that ended up with red hair (from Papa Dawson). Kalen, my nephew who lives in upstate New York, is the oldest grandchild on the Dawson side. He's 19 now. We need a picture of Kalen, Mason and Gracie. That would be too cute.

Happy Fourth of July!

We hope you all have a Happy and Safe Fourth! Just a few reminders from last year.

The Cake........

The Fireworks!!!!

The Zoo

A couple days ago, the 1st Graders get to go to Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle. It's their annual, end of the year field trip. The weather had been rainy several days before the trip, and the forecast predicted for Seattle on this particular day had a raincloud w/rain and then the sun. What??!! Thankfully....it was wet, and didn't rain much. We had a pretty good day. A couple days before, I can fell on my bare toe, so I couldn't wear shoes, I wore my Tevas. Oh, and I had a Charlie Horse in my calf the night before, so my shin, on the same side of my bad toe, was really sore. I thought I would mention this because.........

These are Mason's good friends (Mason is in the middle). These 3 decided to RUN from animal to animal, exhibit to exhibit. They RAN all DAY! I wish I was exaggerating a bit, but I'm not. I was paired up with another Mom, who was also, a 1st Grade Teacher at Mason's School. She said it first. We were saying "Stop! Slow Down! Wait for us! Don't run to far ahead of us!"

The cool thing about getting to the Zoo in the morning, the animals are OUT! They aren't in their caves or homes. So we got to see the animals fairly up close. Like this elephant. I didn't have to zoom my camera in too far.

A few days before the trip, the kids all colored animal bingo cards. They had stickers, so when they saw the animal on their card, they covered the animal. They all had different cards. They had more than 1/2 of their cards full before we had lunch. And they got "blackout" on their cards way before the day was through.

The last few times we have been to the Zoo, we haven't seen the giraffes. We saw this baby one. He was so cute!

I have always loved Flamingos. The boys were unimpressed with the pink birds, but they were on Mason's bingo card, so he marked it off and we moved on 20 seconds later.

We had to take pictures on EVERY SINGLE animal sculpture. 3 monkeys climbing on the Monkey sculpture. Ha! Ha!

Mason loved this boat. We had a good time. We covered the whole Zoo in about 2 1/2 hours because of their running through it. I'm glad the weather cooperated a little bit. He had a blast and that's all that matters.

The Big 4-0

On June 11th, I turned 40. I remember when I said it out loud a few weeks before my birthday, and I repeated myself 2-3 times. When saying it outloud, it sounds terrible at first, but then I kind of got over myself.
On my birthday, I cleaned the boys' bathroom & did some laundry. My siblings terrorized my on facebook. My Dad came over for a bit and visited. I was waiting for a guy to come and detail the car, but he never showed. Lee had the day off, but he was off doing stuff. Then we went out to dinner at Azteca and then I went out to see a movie with my good friend Trudy. She was dying to see Sex and the City 2-so we did and she was greatly disappointed. Oh, Well.
Part of the day was "just another day" which was fine. Oh, the sun came out-so that was a nice suprise.
I still have all my teeth, my hair, no broken bones, and I somehow don't feel much older. I survived.

Goings On...

It's the middle of May, and I haven't really posted anything. We have been busy! Here are a few highlights of the month so far.

~Mac is almost as tall as me. He has about an inch and a half to go. No pics, because he doesn't want me too. Because he's a teenager.

~Mac "googled" himself....and found this blog.

~Lee has decided to take Mason on his 2 week trip in June. Tears have been shed (on my part) and a long talk with my sister followed....with more tears. She was sticking up and defending Lee, this was a first for her. I think the universe shifted a bit when she was talking because she kept saying "I can't believe I'm saying this" and then she said something in Lee's defense.

~I was not happy about Lee taking Mason on said trip because of his long, complicated, medical history. He still has to take medications, slather himself up with sunscreen, make sure he eats, and drinks enough, and other things that I won't post here. I have never been without Mason for longer than 3 days/nights. I have come to terms with all of this.

~I came to the realization that I'm a control freak with things that pertain to Mason. I don't want to be a control freak.

~I have been making a long list of things for me to do around the house while Lee and the boys are gone for 2 weeks. There will be lots of painting involved. Lee is a little nervous about my projects, as he should be.

~Mason has an appointment with his new Pediatrician tomorrow. He has had the same Pediatrician his whole life, on S. Whidbey. We will see how it goes. It's a woman, so this may not go over well with Mason.

~Lee has a tent thing that mounts on top of his vehicle. They are popular in Africa on Safari's and the Outback in Australia. Pictures will follow someday.

~I had a lovely Mother's Day weekend. I spent the Saturday before with Patty and Lee's sister Rebecca up north. Then Sunday was Church and a long Sunday drive around Bellevue. He showed me the "Beverly Hills" of Washington.

~I'm looking forward to SUMMER!

That is about it. A post without pictures, it's unusual for me.

Been a While

Yes, it's been a while. We went from not much going on too, and explosion of activities. Spring is here, which means Mac is getting busier with Scouts, School, and teenage life. Mason has been busy being Mason. Our Ward was split about a month ago, and I volunteered to continue doing Webelos until the "dust settled" a bit-so I've been busier than usual. I've also been going to Mason's School every single morning to help him sit and do his school work in the mornings. It was brought to my attention after his conference that something needed to be done about Mason not sitting, not doing his morning work, and being uncooperative. So I suggested that I come in to help out. The first few days were rough (on him). But yesterday, his teacher and I saw success. He sat down did his work, and went to his different learning stations, without being told! Lee is more involved in the Scouting program and in the Unit Committee Chair for our Troop, or Mac's Troop.

With the weather getting better, and school coming to a close (in June) things have been a little crazy, but in a good way. We continue to feel blessed and are grateful.

Baptism

In our Church (LDS/Mormon), when you turn 8, you get baptized. Mason turned 8 in December, but we wait a few months when the weather is better so family members from near and far. Mason was baptized by his Dad (Lee) on March 27th, 2010. This was a special day for our family.
I didn't get the traditional picture of Lee and Mason, because Lee was not being cooperative. But I think Patty (Lee's Mom) was able too. I need to ask her. So I took this one of Mason in his white outfit.

Lee and Mason afterwards at our house. Mason is getting tall. Lee in his kilt.

The Bryant Men. (ssshhh, don't tell Pa Bryant he's on the blog, being exposed to the internet!) From left to right: Calvin, Lee, Mac, and Pa. Mason is in the front. As you can see, Mac is getting taller. He is almost as tall as me (1 more inch!). This is the only recent pic I have of Mac, because he is also an unwilling, uncooperative, picture taking participant.

Pinewood Derby Car Part 2

So, Yes....this happened last month and almost 2 months ago. But here it is. Mason's Pinewood Derby Car. After watching Mac for years with his Pinewood Derby Car, and then 3-4 year hiatus from Pinewood Derby's (because we didn't have a Cub Scout for 4 years) Mason FINALLY got to make HIS car with Dad. After years of waiting what did he want to do? Well, we weren't certain. At first he wanted flames on the sides. But when it was all said and done, he wanted to make it a "Pickle Car". Don't ask me what possesed this decision. He is the pickiest eater in the world, and absolutely HATES pickles. I don't even want to know what is inside his head. But after 3 coats of green paint (that Mason picked out himself)-and me not knowing how to make this lovely green car into a pickle. Here is what we came up with.

The Gray things on the top is his "weights" or aka: ammo. You got to work with what you got.

He had this smile on his face all night long. He was so excited, he was jumping up and down all night, and when he raced his car, I thought he was going to puke. He didn't win, honestly, there was alot of technical stuff going on with computers, gadgets, and etc. It kind of sucked the fun out of it for the boys. All they wanted to do was race their cars. Mason didn't care, he was thrilled about being able to do it.

The Making of a Pinewood Derby Car-Part 1

After watching his brother and Dad make Pinewood Derby Cars since he was really little......

The time has finally come to where Mason FINALLY, gets to make his OWN Pinewood Derby Car.

He's just a little excited. Just a little. He just got done sanding it-all by himself. He's actually in the garage as we speak, waiting to prime it before they paint it.

This is him telling me he has no idea what color him and his dad are going to paint his car. They might be making a trip down to Ace Hardware tomorrow to pick out a color.

More to come.....

Not Much Going On...Again

I guess the time between Christmas and Spring is a slow time for us. We have been busy with the day to day, but there haven't been many pictures to be taken-or a need to take many pictures.
Mac has been Wrestling and he's really enjoyed it. He's made a few new friends, and over all, he's doing well. He has lost 4 pounds (not on purpose)-and seems pleased when he's lost weight. He had his IEP (Individual Education Plan) re-evaluated this year. 2 of his Teachers and the School Psycologist (the person who evaluates him) expressed to me what a good kid Mac is. They have been empressed with his school work, his work ethic, and how he tries really hard on his school work. He is well liked amongst his peers, and is a good example to others. While I was in the meeting, it was after school. One of the Science teachers were offering homemade cookies to us. He told us that they made the cookies for a experiment, but because the kids were misbehaving (badly) he decided NOT to let the kids in his class eat the cookies, so he was giving them away. After he left, the School Psycologist said "See! This is the stuff we have to deal with day in and day out. We have alot of kids around here who misbehave, but Mac is NOT one of those kids". As a parent, you always aren't sure how you are doing. So as long as Mac isn't being kicked out of school or worse, I guess we are doing alright.
Mason has a conference pretty soon....I bet you $1,000 dollars they are going to mention something about him not sitting in his seat. I'm at his school once a week volunteering, so I KNOW what goes on with him. I am grateful Mason doesn't have the learning issues Mac has. Mason has seemed to inherit Lee's smarts, I guess. Lee has always had a photographic memory, if he sees it once, he knows it. So with Mason...he doesn't like to "practice" reading, or practicing his sight words-because "I know it already!" With Mac, we had to practice and go over things over, and over again. Mason LOVES Math, and loves to count in 2's and 10's. I'm going to enroll him in swimming lessons this spring and summer. He has no interest in anything else. Mason is also getting ready for his baptizim at the end of the month. He is getting really excited about it-and so are we.

Goings On..

We have been busy, but not really busy like when it's Football Season. Mac has decided to Wrestle this year. I don't know anything about Wrestling except they wear a one piece unitard thing (singlet is the offical term used) and they wrestle on the ground or mats. I didn't know what the object of it was until another Mom told me. Then it became exciting for me-and Mac is pretty good at it. He has lost 3 pounds so far since it started (which is common for when he plays an organized sport). It's a School sport and when I went to the school to pay for his fee, I found out a very generous donor paid for the 8th Grade boys to Wrestle. I was blown away. I also found out that Wrestling here in Lake Stevens....very big deal around here. People move thier kids to Lake Stevens for the Wrestling program. I had no idea. Another thing that suprised me....there are girls that are Wrestling too. I was very suprised and we talked to Mac about it before he had his first match. He didn't like the idea of having to Wrestle a girl. At his first Tournament, there were 5 girls from different School Districts who are Wrestling. Not in Mac's weight class though...prayers answered. The other day, kids from South Whidbey came to the tournament. He was excited to see them and they were all "Hey Mac! Is this where you moved too? Is this your School?" Mac told me he remembered them but not thier names (he gets that from his Dad). Alot of the kids who Wrestled were kids that he played Football with when we lived on S. Whidbey. He's doing well in school, and loves his school, loves his classes and has a good group of friends.

Mason has been obsessed with words, and reading his sight words. He's still obsessed with number and math, but the reading is a great thing too. He doesn't think he needs to practice things over and over (like his Dad). I think he may have a photographic memory like Lee in the next few years. He gets frustrated with me when I tell him we need to practice, because he does'nt feel the need too and can't be bothered with it. Yeah, he is definately his father's son. He has been in Cub Scouts for the last 2 months and loves it. It took him a while to love the idea of wanting to go to Cub Scouts. Mason is also getting ready to be baptized next month. A very big deal for him.

Lee has still been working (another blessing). His company has been bouncing him around from different jobs, fixing other people's mistakes, finishing up small things on jobs, and fixing other people's mistakes. Things are slow right now, but they have lots for Lee to do. This is a case where skills are more important than education. There are many Supervisors who have been laid off and are at home because there is no work for them and they have no skills, but a college degree. Don't get me wrong, I think a college degree is very, very, important. Lee is a smart guy, but didn't like to be cooped up in a room (or different rooms) to learn. Then he decided if he couldn't be cooped up in a room to learn, he didn't want to be cooped up in an office all day. He loves what he does, and with all jobs, he does get mad and frustrated sometimes. Right now, we feel very blessed.

I am faced with a few decisions to make. I am feeling the need to go back to school. I'm still working out the how and whens. I know a person can take anything online, but I'm the type of person who needs "hands on" and I ask alot of questions. I'm still working it out, still thinking, still wondering how it's going to affect the boys-all 3 of them. Lee is suportive in everything I do. We have talked about it in detail, and he told me he would "step up" and help out more with the boys when he could or when needed.

That is about all. No pictures...I need to take more. Mac won't let me. Mason is a willing participant, Lee not so much.

Haircuts

When Mason was a toddler, his hair started growing into these beautiful, little red head, curls. The Spring of 2004 I think, his head was sweaty when he ran around, and he was a miserable little guy. So we had to cut the curls off. Lee and I never heard the end of it from the Grandparents, and quite honestly....Lee didn't think I had the guts to have them cut off. Since then, he has always had a "big boy" haircut. In November, Lee was looking at pics of Mason and said "hey, it's winter time now, lets grow Mason's hair out and see what happens". The only person who wasn't "on board" with this idea was Mason. I had to squirt his hair with a spray conditioner every morning so his hair would be less frizzy and less "poofy". He hated this process and over the course of this week particularly, he got mad at me 3 times this week about not getting his hair cut. Then, Lee said something about "well, why don't you cut his hair?" Like it was MY idea to grow it out. So yesterday after school, we went to get Mason's haircut.

The before pic...wouldn't smile because he wasn't happy.

After....a very happy guy!

I picked Mac up from Wrestling practice yesterday, and left Mason with Lee and Mac and I went to the Mall to run some errands for him. One of those things was getting his haircut too. We went to a Mastercuts in the Mall. He wouldn't let me take his before pic. He suddenly became annoyed with me. THEN....a couple of girls his age walked in getting thier hair cut too. I said something too him, and he wouldn't respond. I asked him something else and he gave me "the look". When I give "the look" Lee calls it the "Look of Death". Mac resembles me, so he gave me the "Look of Death". His haircut was over, and then he bolted while I paid for his haircut. So, no pics of Mac. It's not because I favor one child over the other, it's because I have a TEENAGE BOY now and he is a non willing participant. Now it has started, and now I have to be sneaky.

Avatar

Over the weekend, we saw Avatar in 3-D. I have to admit, I wasn't nearly as excited as Lee and Mac were. There has been sooo much hype and media coverage on this movie-I guess that's what turned me off on it. But here I am...posting about it because it impressed the HECK out of me. I loved the movie. Lee thinks that all other movies will be a great disappointment after seeing this movie. Mac thought is was very cool. Mason liked it, he must have because he sat for the WHOLE thing! That is impressive for Mason. It was funny to watch him try to grab things in the air. It made me giggle a little. I did my homework before we bought tickets ( before we got to the theaters-the only way to go). You can see it on IMAX 3-D or just regular 3-D. We saw the regular 3-D and it was still very cool. I can't imagine watching the IMAX one, it would have been sensory overload. Avatar was made to be seen in 3-D. This movie is a must see in theaters (near you). It was a 2 thumbs way, way up from the Bryant Fam...which is hard for ALL of us to love 1 movie.

Hit by the FLU!

Last weekend, was probably the worst weekend our family has ever had since...Mason was in the IICU at Childrens after he was born. I am not exaggerating when I say this. I had the stomach flu for the first time in I think 9 years. If I'd had it after Mason was born, I can't remember it.
Mason had the stomach flu the night of Lee's birthday. He ate dinner, and then 1 hour later, puked. He then proceeded to puke almost every hour on the hour until around 3:30am Thursday. I wasn't too concerned because after he would puke, he wanted to drink water and/or Sprite. He slept most of Thursday, and only puked 2 times. He felt better on Friday, but I kept him home from school, and then he started to crash or fall asleep, late afternoon/evening. Lee came home, we ran some errands, got some Taco Bell for dinner.....then around 8:00pm I puked. If there is anything on this earth that I hate more...it's puking. This thing came really fast. Then around 10:00pm (I think), Mac started puking! I told him "Mac, you have to make it to the toilet to puke, because if you miss it or if you don't make it, I can't take care of you, I can't clean it up. You are on your own." Not a nice thing to tell her teenage son, but I was busy taking care of myself at this point. And if anyone knows anything about Lee, he's not a "caregiver". He's not one to play nurse to us when one is sick. He does alot of things, and does them well-but caring for the sick, nnnoooo! He was ready to check into the closest hotel after Mac was puking. Mac and I both felt bad on Saturday, slept most of the day. On Sunday we both woke up like nothing happened. We stayed home from Church so not to "spread the wealth" so to speak. And Lee waited around to see if he was going to get sick, because he felt it was inevitable....but he didn't get sick. Whew! I never would have heard the end of it from him. Oh, but Lee did order Pizza Hut on Saturday night...Mac and I did NOT partake of the pizza fest he and Mason were having.

41

Someone turns 41 today. I thought I would share some things about Lee, mostly from this last year....
1. He's an awesome Husband./He works really, really hard. (It's a tie)
2. He's a great Dad. When he walks into the house, you would think he was a Rockstar because of the way the boys greet him when he comes home.
3. He thinks he's still in his 20's when he rides his Motorcycle.
4. He cracked his rib last spring riding his Motorcycle with his brothers (thinking he was 20 something).
5. He likes Christmas lights and is sad when they come down every year the day after this birthday.
6. He doesn't like to make a fuss on this birthday. He doesn't want any cake, any presents, etc. But I do it anyways.

7. If he shave off his beard tomorrow, he would look 25.
8. He's a great Dad.
9. He loves to tease his siblings like when they were kids.
10. He likes to quote things from Movies.
11. His favorite T.V. shows are NCIS, CSI:Miami, The Unit (it was cancelled), Heroes, Eureka, The Mentalist, and many, many more...
12. He wears kilts (Utilikilts) but can't at work because it's not OSHA approved.
13. He's become a little annoying since he has been OSHA approved and takes safety classes for work.
14. He calls himself "The Dad".
15. He has a "Silver Palate" when it comes to food. I'm not sure if this is my fault or his Mom's.
16. He thinks after almost 19 years of marriage I should be able to read his mind.
17. He hates it when it rains, and starts mentioning "wanting to move to Arizona or California" almost every January thru March. Then the sun starts to come out in April and then he forgets about it until the next January.
18. He loves James Bond movies.
19. He likes things done right the first time.
20. He's a great Dad and Husband. (I know I mentioned his before.)

That's 20 things. I could list 41 but I've still got stuff to do today.

Happy 41st Birthday Lee!!

Happy New Year! 2010

We hope everyone has a safe, healthy, happy and successful 2010! We spent New Years Eve at home for the most part. I picked up Lee's younger brother Calvin from Downtown Seattle. He flew into Sea-Tac from Florida around 9:00pm. Lee and I talked him into taking the new Seattle Light Rail that will take you from the Airport to Downtown Seattle. It only cost $2.50! I had never been to Downtown Seattle on New Years Eve and let me tell you...it was interesting to say the least. I almost got hit by a car going the wrong way on a one way street, almost hit a couple drunk people (it was 10:30pm), they were jaywalking. Saw girls all dressed up and....standing in line, in the rain, waiting to get into the Club-any Club. I was able to pick up Calvin from the sidewalk and off we went..home. Watched movies, ate food and went to be around 2:00am. I'm glad we stay at home for New Years.