Caut!on & The Bean

I got a call from a friend Wednesday morning asking if Brandon had time to do a portrait of a little girl. "Of course" I say. The job is a 4yr old girl who has just passed away this past week and the family would like to have it for the funeral and viewing on Friday as a tribute to this beautiful child. She had both Brandon and I crying! Needless to say Brandon stayed up all night Wednesday and Thursday to finish this precious portrait, it turned out perfect! My husband has so much love, and he is so talented. Brandon I want you to know how much the kids and I love you, you make me so proud, the kids and I are so lucky to have you. You make everyone in your life want to be better, you set such a good example for Collin and Sara. I know this baby girl is looking down from Heaven thanking you for this wonderful gift you gave to her family. I love you!
-J

This is mom, and this is my first post, so bear with me.

So today, Collin's school offered a program called "Ident-A-Kid", where Police Officers fingerprint and take ID photos of the kids to put on ID cards that the kids can carry with them. Good to have in case of a dire situation (god forbid). The school also offered this to younger siblings.
So, I filled out the envelope (they only provided room for one child's info) with Collin's information and put in enough cash to cover two kids; a 20 dollar bill.
I tell him "$10 is for you, $10 is for Sara. So please let your teacher know that she is coming."
"OK, Mom" He says.

Sara and I show up at 10 am and go to the gym. We get in line, which by that time was with the 4th grade girls. They all wanted to play with Sara like she was a Barbie or something. After a long wait in line, it was Sara's turn.
The officer says, "You're a bit small for a fourth grader". And she just smiles!
I tell the officer that her Big Brother had her money and he looks at Sara and asks "Is your big brother's name Collin?" Sara was so surprised that this strange man knew her brother's name. "You must be Sara."
With her eyes wide she says "Yes, my name is S - A - R - A." She was so proud!
The officer then proceeds to tell Sara that her big brother was looking out for her and paid for her earlier.

That just about brought me to tears.

I am so proud of my big boy. He loves his sister so much!

Thank you Collin for looking out for your baby sister today. And every other day that you think of protecting her. I love you both to pieces.

-Mom

So I'm just sittin' here working on the computer and Jodi's sittin' over there watching some TV. Sara's gone to bed and I just heard Collin turn the shower off.

Jodi turns toward the bathroom door and shouts,"Collin, just put your underwear on and then bring me the lotion so we can lotion you up, Mr. Dry skin"

A few minutes go by and I hear the bathroom door open, "I put my underwear on, Mom!" Collin says with a little giggle.

We both turn to look and see a buck-naked kid standin' there with his underwear on his head!

Classic!

The sun is hiding behind some heavy clouds, making the evening feel later than it is. There's a small chill in the air as Summer is giving Fall an early peek. As I walk across the grass field, I can see 5 little guys in green jerseys huddled around their coach. I reach the sideline of the little league football field and find two beautiful ladies sitting on the grass.

"Here's the blanket you wanted. I didn't miss anything?" I inquire.

"Nope, they just finished warming up" Jodi says as she spreads the blanket out for her and The Bean to sit on.

I bend down, grab the video camera that I had Jodi bring, and pop in the battery. Disc Error? What the...? Do I want camera to recover missing data? Uhhhm... Yeah sure, I guess so and I click the "OK" button. A tiny hourglass starts dancing in circle as the camera tries to fix itself. I look up to see the boys still huddled in their own end zone. A whistle blows. BBRREEEEE!!

"Time starts now" hollars a young man standing in the middle of the field.

I look down at my video camera and I still see that silly little hourglass twirling. C'maahhnn! Why now? My head snaps back up to the green shirts as they are walking to the 5 yard line where they will start their first ever drive down the field. One boy bends down and grabs the ball... A second boy, lines up behind the first as QB... A third and fourth boy jog out to opposite ends in the Wide-Out positions... And Collin lines up three or four steps behind the QB in the Running Back position. ...


Then it happens...

"Dooowwn, Set, HIT!" QB receives the snap. Receivers bolt down field. QB turns to his right and extends the ball. Collin is there to receive the hand-off. Two defenders close in. And Collin doesn't juke, he doesn't spin, he doesn't roll out... he turns on the Turbos and runs right between both defenders. He runs right past the rest of the defense. He runs the entire length of the football field for the first touchdown of the game, of the season, of his life!!!

And I look down to see a stupid little hourglass disappear!

Yup, you read that right. The lucky boy gets his first concussion at the tender age of "almost eight". Let me give you the low-down... Last night we all decided to go for a nice little family walk. Except the little ones didn't want to walk, they wanted to ride. Sara on her Monster Trike and Collin on his little razor scooter. Winding through the neighborhood sidewalks, Collin was doing little bunny hops on his scooter the entire time. Until finally the scooter got the better of him and tossed him face first to the concrete with a loud thud! Jodi and I were in a complete panic. Surely, he had just busted his nose... or smashed in his skull...or... or... if your a parent you'll understand the kind of thoughts that can go through your head in these few split seconds (and it's all worst case scenario stuff). Long story short; today Collin was diagnosed with his first ever concussion. Which, in turn, led to his first ever CT Scan. I've been told that Mom was even more of a basket-case than the boy was... At one point he had to tell Mom that he would be fine by himself because Sara couldn't go in the CT room with them...

No worries, the results came back with only minor bruising of his gray matter and a small concussion. Not to mention the fat lip, and numerous contusions on his face and hands.

Hey Collin, I love you monkey man. I know how you feel... I've been there myself before. But, you're quite the little ninja and I know you'll bouncin' around on that scooter again in no time.

Yesterday we all piled in the car, and took a trip to a beautiful small town called Tabiona, Utah for a pleasant little celebration. You see, Monday marks the 84th Birthday of the kid's Great-Grandma, Florence Turnbow. The day was perfect; warm, sunny, and full of family... not too mention hiking, horses and four-wheelers...







HAPPY BIRTHDAY GREAT-GRANDMA FLOSS!!!