We find ourselves on another adventure this Mother's Day, 2011. We rented a condominium in Park City for a month as we wait for the house we are moving in to in Woodland Hills. The condo is very nice and nestled in a new community called Newpark where there are restaurants, shops and lots of nature to see.
This is the best part for Tag because since our February visit to South Padre Island, he's been mostly cooped up indoors while we wait for spring to arrive. But the day after we arrived the sun came out and Tag has been in hog heaven walking around outside. Every morning he seeks out his shoes and brings them to me and points outdoors. His ability to make friends remains unsurpassed. He walked right up to a group of twenty-somethings who were enjoying cocktails at a restaurant patio and ... well I'll let the photos do the talking:
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| Borrowing a complete stranger's hat and glasses. |
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| Tag wouldn't let her put either the hat or glasses on for him. |
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| The entire group laughing and enjoying the Tagman. |
It's hard to see Tag's friendly nature get pushed around by bigger kids and even bigger dogs. Quite often he walks quickly up to others only to be pushed by a lame bigger kid or jumped on by a dog. Watching this happen reminds me of how, despite life pushing us around, it's important to choose to stay happy and positive. So far, Tag remains undeterred by the negative behavior of others.
Joann is now 3 months into her pregnancy and she is quite tired and sickly. The thought of another little one entering our lives puts more pressure on me to get the business stabilized and growing, but I'm also required to take more of the burden of Tag. Thus my hiatus from writing a blog post for a while. I'm just tired.
Today is Mother's Day and Joann's son Michael drove down from Twin Falls to hang out with his Mom today. It's amazing the love Joann has for her boys and when he arrived I had a little chat with him while she was upstairs about how excited she gets for his visits. I asked him to remember how stoked he was when his Dad told him he was taking him to Pebble Beach to play golf. I told Michael to remember how excited and filled with anticipation he was prior to that trip. Then I explained that he was Joann's "Pebble Beach", so to try and give her some quality time this weekend. He did a good job, making her a personalized card and hanging out most of the day today.
My Dad (and Babs) also came up to cook dinner for Joann. We had a good time making dinner and eating the great recipes my Dad brought. Dad brought Tag a "little tikes" basketball hoop -- the kind you can raise up and down. I videoed Tag as he came into the room and we handed him the basketball. I said, "Where's the basket?" and he looked around the room, saw this new hoop, and without hesitation ran over and dunked the ball. He absolutely loves basketball and basketball hoops. While in St. George a few weeks ago, we were at Green Valley's famous pool with many swimming pools, tons of people, volleyball, mini golf, etc. I put Tag down amidst all this action, to see what he would be interested in, and he walked quickly over to the fence dividing the pool from the basketball court. He grabbed the fence and yelled to me and pointed as if to say, "Dad! Come see the kids playing basketball!" My Friend Matt Coombs asked me how I taught him to like basketball and I simply smiled and said that Tag came out that way. This is a true statement.
I really don't think I could ask for a better mother for my son and new sibling on the way. Joann's authentic love for her children is notable and there is no question her boys feel her genuine love and concern. Every time her boys come visit she has a list of menu items she is cooking in hopes they will feel this level of service shows her love for them. Each night when we pray, she expresses her love and concern for each son and asks for specific things they may be in need of and I feel envious they have such faithful prayers being uttered on their behalf! I feel so lucky and blessed that Tag has Joann as a mother and I only need to work on letting her know how much I not only appreciate her, but admire her abilities. Perhaps she will read this blog!
Here's a few recent photos of our adventures:
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| Tag visits his first pet store and intently looks at some fish. |
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| Tag and I looking and listening to the Parakeet bird cage. |
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| Tag points at the yellow bird. |
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| So many fish! |
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| Tag attempts to hug the fish tank. |
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| Tag and Grandpa Brinton getting the grill ready for spring BBQing |
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| Tag shows Grandpa his "ready stance" just before he practices jumping. |
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| Reaching for the dice. |
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| Rolling for a 6, baby! (while Grandpa looks on) |
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| Mom, show me how to play! |
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| Loving the spinning backgammon pieces. |
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| Tag's favorite mask at the toy store. He laughed and laughed when I put it on. |
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| Tag LOVES bikes. He didn't want me to take him off this seat. |
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| I caught Tag trying on this hat at the Nike Store. He had borrowed it from a stranger! |
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Cute Mom, happy boy.
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