All About The Benjamins

During our visit to Constitution Gardens in DC, we learned that the name Benjamin was quite popular among revolutionaries. Three Benjamins signed the Declaration of Independence.

None of the signers were named Bradley, so our Bradley decided to have his picture taken with the signature of the big dog - TJ.

A Cherished Father-Son Memory

It was international week at summer camp for Bradley.  He really liked Greek day.  Brad now has a taste for baklava and hummus.  He couldn't remember the term hummus, so it took a while to figure out what he wanted.  But as soon as we did, we were off on our first hummus run.  The memory is even more special since I was able to share it with both sons.  Sadly, I have never been on a hummus run with my own father. 

Batter Up

Ben had his first T-ball game yesterday.  He enjoys playing the game very much.  This is somewhat surprising since his not usually very physically active.  The good news is that he always has a big smile on his face when running the bases.  Here is a short video of his first at bat.  On his last at bat, he was called out for throwing the bat.  This caused a lot of tears at bed time, but not when it actually happened.

It's Fun to Play at the Y-M-C-A

Saturday was Ben's first official day as a member of the YMCA.  He got his money's worth by going there twice that day.  We played in the gym and Kidzone before lunch and went swimming in the afternoon.  You would think the guy who almost drowned twice would have some fear of the water.  No such luck.  Ben was doing cannonballs in the deep end.

Noooooooooo Gooooooooooooooooooal

Bradley has really been enjoying his soccer league.  The team is below 500, but he is having fun anyway.  The team won today and Bradley had a nice save while in goal.

A Death in the Family

Ben has a pretty strong reaction when he finds out someone has died, even if the death occurred decades ago. Here are a few recent examples. The day after we got back from California, I was driving Ben home from school. He cried out, "Why did he have to die, I never got to meet him!" This, of course, refers to Ronald Reagan and came two days after visiting his library. Last night, we were talking about my grandpa and I told Ben that he had died. Ben starts crying and says, "I don't even know what he looks like!" A trip to the computer solved that problem fast. Now, Ben needed something new to cry about. "I...I...I don't know what he sounds like!" Thanks to an audio recording from 1975 that I had made a digital copy of, that problem was solved quickly too. Since Ben ran out of things to cry about, he went to his room and got a book for story time.

Two Lost Toofs

Bradley is finally back down to 20 teeth in his mouth. He was up to 22, which necessitated a trip to the dentist. His two new front teeth were coming in behind his baby teeth. One of the baby teeth had been loose for a few weeks, but we never could get it out (even with a Nerf gun). The other tooth was rock solid as you can see from the length of the root. The tooth behind that was coming in crooked.

Free Labor!

The First Aunt

When we were at the Reagan Library, Bradley pointed at the statue of Nancy Reagan and said, "It kind of looks like aunt Carol." So of course, we took a picture.

Knott's Berry Farm

We all had a great time at Knott's Berry Farm on President's Day weekend. (By the way, there is no farm, no berries, and no Don Knotts.) The boys especially enjoyed being "big cousins" to DJ. Due to height restrictions, Ben was the only one that could escort DJ on this first ride. Since the park wasn't very crowded, they had the whole ride to themselves. Bradley was a good pusher on the hand car ride.