A Day with CJ

We did something a little "out of the ordinary" yesterday and even though the reason itself wasn't exactly fun, the day overall was a good one. Andy and I took Carson to Reno....and it was just the three of us!! (my dear friend Becky watched Mason for us and Austin got to hang out with nanny after school) We took him to see an ENT doctor as he has had some hearing issues that have been slowly getting worse the older he gets. Even though the day would bring with it visits to unknown doctors, we still made it a "day for him"...donuts on our way out of town, a backpack full of his favorite things to do in the car, he got to pick where we ate for lunch, etc. 
 The conclusion of the doctors we saw basically boils down to this: Carson's ears are "completely clogged" and his adenoids "enlarged" which will lead us to surgery--adenoids out, tubes in. (We haven't set the time yet but it will be sometime in the morning of March 7th.) After the appts. we headed to a few stores with the "highlight" of the day being a quick stop at Scheel's. (for those of you who don't know what that is, it's like a glorified Cabela's) I mean, this place has a Ferris wheel in the middle of the store! So you can guess what we did...yep, we rode it. And when we were stuck at the very top, Carson talked as if there was no tomorrow! When that kid has something to say, look out! We talked the entire ride and it was just...so.....fun. I loved being able to 'stop' and really listen to him and laugh and then see his excitement come to it's near pinnacle as his eyes laid upon the little racecar area. You know where we headed next. It was here that I kick myself for not having my camera handy--the kind gentleman behind the iron gate which enclosed the life-size race cars asked Carson if he would like to come inside and see them. Are you kidding? Need you even ask? Carson's face lit up and I actually thought he might pop a blood vessel when the man opened the driver side door of one of the cars and let him sit behind the wheel. Like I said, no camera= epic failure! Pinnacle excitement reached. Carson loves all things cars and to be able to sit in this life-size-like one was, well, quite possibly a little piece of heaven right here on earth for him. :) It was fun to watch. So even though I didn't capture it with a photo, just picture my little CJ with a smile that truly did stretch bigger than "ear to ear." 
 On that note...I do have some random photos that have been taken since my last Valentine's post. One of them including my mini-man Mason and his new-found "swing"...you'll see what I mean. 
                                        We had a little "after Valentine" snow to play in!

Nice catch Ginger! :)

Mason trying his hand at jump-roping

                  What I walked in to see when I heard my boys rolling over with laughter....

being goofy

Carson working on his little lego set.

Doing something with just Carson yesterday made me realize that I don't take advantage of times I have with my boys like I should and desire to----those one-on-one times that is. It's something I want to be more purposeful in doing. Even if it's a simple thing like a trip to McD's for lunch, or to go get a hot cocoa at the coffee shop, or even spend an uninterrupted hour or two at home just playing games or racing cars or making artworks....you get the jist. Purposeful parenting...even though I know my boys, I want to "know" them even more. And that takes being purposeful in spending quality time with them. That's the only way I'll get to know my Heavenly Father more....ahhh, the concept of spending quality time. :)