Darth and, uh... Baseball!

Perhaps we overdid it on these pictures... but what can you do.

This year Olin decided early on he wanted to be Darth Vader ("Dark Invader"), of course without ever having seen the movie.

Mr. Dark


Watch out for my Light Saver, Luke!

Meanwhile, Max had decided that he wanted to be a baseball. So, a baseball costume was constructed.

Nice socks.

But when Max saw the great Darth Vader, with its shiny store-bought mask, there was a little bit of jealousy. So we went back to Target. And he joined the clone army.

People called him Captain Cody?

But he was a sport and wore the baseball for his school parade and trick-or-treating. With a smile.

Max and his big brother

And then, before the actual night, we thought we'd let them see Star Wars, with my dad who was in town:

Then we went out with our good friends, Megan and Sheelyn

For just One Day

Putting the kids to bed tonight, I was reading Leuck's "for just One Day," about imagining being all kinds of different animals.

Afterwards, I showed them the final page, and asked what animal they think it would be fun to be for a day.

Olin: A Crocodile.
Me: Why?
Olin. So a bird would brush my teeth and I didn't have to.

Olin: And also a bumblebee.
Me: Why?
Olin: So I could sting.
Me: Sting who?
Olin: People that annoyed me.

Olin: And a ladybug.
Me: A ladybug?
Olin: Yeah.
Me: Why?
Olin: So I could climb all over people.

And there, in a nutshell, is Olin.

Max's first lost tooth!

And perhaps the last of his friends, Max finally loses his first tooth!

It has only been loose for a day, but here it is:

Today's going rate? Two bucks. And that's on the cheap side!

The 4th Olin Soccer Party Trophy Bonanza

And it begins with the cake construction. Olin places every figure (well he lets Max help too)...

Olin keeps staring at the cake in the hours leading up to the party...

And then it begins! Coach Tim gathers the kids for the soccer play...

And finally: cake time.

And every friend gets a trophy!

Nothing lasts forever

Max, Olin and I were just talking.

Max: Daddy, does anything last forever?
Me: Yes.
Max: NO, DADDY. Not like words and love. I mean THINGS.

Huh.

Olin: Daddy how did the artist make this house?
Olin asks that about everything. The main "creator" is "the artist."

Now they are arguing about God (Max goes to a Catholic school) and the Artist (Olin's mind).

Our Olin turns 4...

A bit of an overdue post (forgive the back-dating), but here are some pictures from Olin's birthday. As you can see, he finally has a bike (and a couple of Giants shirts!)...

The day before he told Anna that he was about to turn special. Then he started counting, 1, 2, 3, special, 5, 6... and burst out laughing.

So he turns special, and he wakes up to a bike:

And a present or two...

Dressed for camp

And back from camp for more...

And then... waiting for the party!

my first post

today I Am Going To play Baseball. with Luke Will and Zachary!