Summertime in Chelan

As you can guess from the title - this is a little late, but I'll tell you what, you can have your money back.

 Breakfast on the deck

Way to early and way too happy

 Heading out to the apple/peach orchards

 Picking fresh apples!

 Fresh apples

 Taking a break for a picture

 The boy helping

 Smelling the flowers

 Playing at the beach

Tranquil view of Lake Chelan from our room

All in all it was a great time to just get away and relax.

Halloween Part 2

The little dictator and his minion.

Bumblebee and her BFF the cowgirl.

Better to give than receive

So last night was Halloween (pictures to follow). We were invited by some neighbors to have some dinner then take the kids trick-or-treating. Everything went without any major drama or exceptional note, but the best part of the evening came after we were done making the rounds through the neighborhood.

As we returned home, Dana took Elias up to get ready for bed (which he was NOT thrilled about - so much going on!) and Elsie and I sorted through her loot. She got to pick one item and have it before bed. Just as she started to get 1 mouthful in to a box of Nerds the doorbell rang. Trick-or-treaters!

Much to my surprise, instead of running away or screaming in terror, she ran to the door to hand out candy! She was SO into it!

Elsie grabbed the bowl and started doling out candy to everybody that came by, and when the traffic would die down a bit, she would actually start calling out generically to anyone within earshot....

"Helllooooooo! Helllloooooo! Does anybody want some candy! We have candy! Happy Halloween, we have candy!"

On the times that I actually convinced her to close the door, she would stand at the window and watch for movement outside. When she suspected that someone was within earshot, she would swing open the door and start yelling.

It was so good to see a heart of giving come out and I can only pray that it continues.

That's the Job for Me!

Like most kids, one of Elsie's favorite things is to play make-believe. On this particular evening she, once again, caught me totally off guard to where I had to stop to collect myself before continuing.

After we played a round of, "let's visit daddy at work," She set up a new scene.

Elsie: ok daddy, now I'M at work and you're coming to visit.
Me: ok
I pretend to get in my car, drive to her work, knock on the door AND ring the doorbell (maybe redundant, but apparently a critical detail not to be modified or ad-libbed)
Elsie: hi! Come in
Elsie gives me a warm greeting with a hug and a kiss
Me: so nice to see you Elsie! Where is it you work again?
Elsie: Mars Hill (where I work)
Me: oh, I see.... and what is it you do there?
Long pause
Elsie: I give hugs.
End scene

Melted Heart...

Here is a moment that was simply priceless.

To set the scene, Elsie wanted to call me at work when she got up one morning. Since I wasn't at my desk, she left me this message.... I added some pictures and subtitles.


Elsie's Message from Fred Choi on Vimeo.

More Elsie-isms

Really quick - here are two of my favorite Elsie-isms.... mostly because they're just so cute.

1. Hurty - (v) something that is going to inflict pain on Elsie. If you take off my bandaid it's going to hurty!
2. Mines - (pro) used to indicate possession. That is yours and this is mines. (this actually makes a lot of sense).

Come Again?

Seeing as how there was an entire TV show dedicated to the funny and interesting things that kids say, you'd think that each parent could record dozens, if not hundreds of funny phrases being thrown around by their kids, but usually the moment passes and the moment that brought great laughter is completely forgotten.

Which brings me to this post. On one particular night, the same as so many others, Dana is heading upstairs with Elias around bedtime, and it's also time for Elsie to head up to get ready for bed too. I say to Elsie, "hey honey, it's about time to start heading upstairs to get ready for bed... Elias is heading to bed, and you should too."

What do you think a 'typical' response would be? "No," "yes," "I don't want to go to bed," etc....

What do I get as a response?

"Daddy, I'm not a fan of upstairs."

Her tactic worked as it took me at least 15 or so minutes to regain my composure and stop laughing.

Well played little one, well played.