The rest of the story...

The previously blogged incident went down something like this...
After a grueling 2 hours of Dahlke bowling in which I lost my 2 years running bowling title, we were standing around returning shoes, chatting, etc.  There was an arcade area in the bowling alley and the little kids had been playing in there for some time when one of them came running over and said, "We have a problem.  Caleb is stuck in one of the games."
My brother Gabe was closest so he walked over only to return a few seconds later and said to me, "Yeah, we have a situation.  You may want to come."
I walked over completely unsure of what I would  find. 
What I found was Caleb INSIDE the crane vending game desperately clutching a couple stuffed balls and crying.  He was sitting on the edge of the retrievel bucket looking completely pathetic.
My first thought was that he wasn't going to come out without those balls and I knew I couldn't get him out holding them so I had him drop them down and took those out.
For once in his life, he followed instructions very well.  I had him stand at the back of the bucket and then sit so his legs were out and under the door.  Then I did what any rational person would do...I pulled.
He had to lay completely on his back and turn his head to the side to get it under the door which I was pushing up on.
After some more tears and hugs, I asked him if he was scared (cause he sure looked scared!).  He, of course, said, "No. I just wanted you."
And the real kicker after this whole ordeal, when I asked him if he wanted those balls that he went up into that thing to get he said, "No.  I want different ones." 
REALLY?!?!?!
So, I returned the balls to the bowling alley and we buzzed on out of there with no prize, no picture and nothing but the image of him in a big plastic box sitting on top of all those stuffed animals with tears running down his chubby cheeks seared into my brain!

If you've ever wondered...

if it's possible for someone to get up in one of those vending claw/crane games (much like this one...)

rest assured that it is in fact possible.
If you're 3
and determined
and have no concept of stealing
or fear of small spaces
or you lack the ability to comprehend that you may not be able to get out if you go in.
Or basically if you're Caleb.

Christmas vacation

in bullet points.
* making children wait til 3:00 in the afternoon to leave for their grandparents house should be avoided at all costs.
*Putting your 3 year old in the back row seems like a good idea until he starts spitting on his sister and pulling her hair and you have to unbuckle and climb in the back with your arse in the air for all humanity to see to get your hands on him.
*There really is nothing like going home.  There is an aura around my parents house that is calming.  I doubt that is the case for everyone, but it is for me. 
*Upon arriving at my parents, K-Love says "Bye, Mom."  Huh??  I guess it has been awhile since we've stayed with him at Gma's.  He assumed we're were just leaving him there again.
*It was the year of the flashlights.  I got the boys each one for their stockings, my mom and sister-in-law got them each one .  Weird, but they love flashlights so it's all good.  Now I have to buy a load of batteries.
*I love going to my dad's church.  No Christmas is complete without hearing Away in the Manger sung painfully off-key by exuberant young children. Warms my heart every year.
*On that same note-I love my dad's sermons.  You'd think after all the thousands of sermon's I've heard over the years, they would get old.  They don't.  The older I get the more I appreciate his understanding of our Lord and his joy in sharing that gospel.
*I never sleep much at my parents.  It's almost always because I'm up at an ungodly hour with one or more of my siblings hashing out life, love, religion, politics, or just laughing til we're all in tears.  I don't mind the lack of sleep.
*I love going to Chad's parents' house.  It's WAY out in the country and so pretty.  We eat amazingly well, it's always cozy warm and I usually get a nap in at some point while I'm there. Score!
*The annual Dahlke family bowling expedition is always a blast.  I drove 2 hours this year to participate because I had won the previous 2 years and had to defend my title.  Unfortunately, I was way off my game and got beat twice.  Maybe next year?
*And of course, no blog post would be complete without a Caleb story, but this story deserves a post all it's own!
I hope you all had a Merry Christmas!  I sure did!

Sweet gift

My brother Jake and his wife are E's godparents.
They sent him the neatest gift for Christmas.  The gift was as sweet as E's response to it.
They have good friends in Denver that started The Mango Project. http://www.themangoproject.com/.
It is such an amazing project.  Please go check it out!
For the god-kids, they donated a tree in their name.  E was so surprised by that and got a huge, bashful smile on this face and said, "That is so awesome!"  We looked it up and he learned alot about mangos and families in another part of the world.
Those are the gifts that truly keep giving!  Love it!

From the mouth...

of a hilarious, naughty, sweet three year old.

Early morning before I had gotten up for work, Caleb crawls into bed with me and falls back asleep.  I always make a big deal about him snuggling with me cause someday he's not going to anymore and that makes me sad.
Anyway, he woke up while I was getting ready for work and said the sweetest thing in the ugliest, gravely voice, "MOM, COME NUGGLE WITH ME!"  So, of course, I hopped into bed with him, but told him I could only lay down for one minute.  He was not happy about this and said, "No, stay.  I want to snuggle with a BIG girl and a TALL girl." 
At which point, I didn't know if I should be offended.
Next...
The other day, I plopped myself down on the loveseat and banged my foot on our coffee table.  Caleb was playing with some toys on the coffee table.  I said, "Ow! Caleb, can you rub my foot."  His response, "I am not that guy."  Huh?? 
 I started laughing and he said again, "I am NOT the guy that does that." 
And at church yesterday...
He was playing "quietly" with a stuffed bunny and bear from the nursery.  "Agh. Grrr.  Bang.  I kill you.  I shoot you.  I'll shoot your mom."
One of us may need therapy.

Basketball

Oh, man do I love basketball.
I do.
Some of my earliest memories are on a basketball court with my dad and brothers.
I love the smells and sounds of a gym. 
I had the privilege of growing up with a dad that was a basketball coach and had access to a court basically whenever I wanted.  I loved it.
I had one of those AH! moments this weekend with Elijah.  He had a tournament here in town on Saturday and they played in the championship game late that night.
Now, he loves playing basketball, but had not been getting a lot of playing time and rightly so.  He didn't play with this team last year.  He tends to be more concerned about doing something wrong then just being aggressive.  He hadn't quite gotten the feel for where to be on the court.
His play from the previous weekend to this weekend were greatly improved. 
And so in that championship game, he played alot and played well. 
With just a few seconds left in the game, they were down by 2 and he made a LONG jump shot to tie the game!! 
AH!  I was so happy for him.  I know that feeling.
They ended up losing by 1 in OT.  They were so bummed, but I was super proud of my ball player.  That was a gutsy shot. 
I asked him after the game what he was thinking before he shot.  He said, "I just thought if I made it, my team could maybe have a chance."  :-)
AH!

Good grief

My grandpa died Monday night.  My mom's dad.  He was in great health.  Active, spry, no cancer, no major health issues.  He died in his sleep.  No warning.  No, "I don't feel good."  He had bought new shoes that day.  
I'm so painfully sad for my mom and my grandma and my aunt and uncle.  My grandpa had his faults like the rest of us.  He and my mom knocked heads at times.  He was not always nice to her.  But, wow, was he loved by all of us. 
He was funny and silly and generous.  He always smelled like coffee and always wanted a kiss on the cheek.  It made his hearing aid squeal and he thought that was just a riot.  We all did too.  He was stubborn and outdoorsy and handy.  He loved my grandma like crazy.  He was quick to share his opinion and quick to give a hug.  He will be so very missed. 
It makes me think about losing my dad which is kind of silly maybe.  I have a really great dad and I just cannot even fathom what it will be like to lose him.  My heart hurts for my mom who is now without her daddy. 
Blah!  
Death and holidays are no bueno.  Death and any time of year is hard, but holidays...ugh!
A few other things have hit this week.  Our Katie had a rough weekend and is dealing with some seriously hard stuff.  I hurt for her.  A good friend is in the hospital with some health problems.  Several friends are struggling with what has been given them. 
I just want people I love to be healthy and well, happy and whole.   
What's always amazing about all of this is that our lives march on.  My life, my mom's, Katie, others...it just keeps moving along.  
Grief is a powerful force and not one easily overcome.  I've seen it so often wrapped up in a little package and quietly carried by those who grieve. 
I'm not entirely sure it ever leaves you. 
And in all of this we all have so much to be thankful for.  Grief and gratitude seem to be the best of friends.

Basement

I love having an unfinished basement.  It really is nice to have a place the kids can essentially destroy. 
And they do...horribly.
They destroy it so badly that it makes me want to finish my basement immediately.  I lay awake at night thinking about how the layout would be and what we can do with all that space.  It's not gonna happen anytime soon.  We still don't have a garage and I'm thinking that's probably more important then a finished basement.
That does not stop me from thinking about it though.
The kids and I cleaned the basement yesterday. 
I brought up 4 bags of TRASH! 
Not kidding.
Literally trash.
Broken toys, food particles, papers, unmentionables.
I purposefully do not go downstairs for weeks at a time. 
I daily throw toys down the stairs cause I like having a toy-free upstairs.  Makes me feel organized...until I do venture downstairs then I feel like a total slob.
I have no idea the point of this post.
The basement is already messy again and in a few days it will be destroyed and then in a few more weeks I'll clean it again. 
And so my life goes...

Fargo, Fargo, Fargo

"WHY would you go to Fargo?" said with a tilt of the head and a confused look on the face.
This is most often the response I get when I tell people we're going to Fargo. 
I just kinda laugh cause that was me a few years ago.  What I didn't know is that Fargo is cool and not just temperature-wise.  It really is a neat city with funky, cool stores and fun stuff...and most importantly,the current home of our good friends, the Hazeltons.

I am a big fan of friends who are just super easy to be around. No pressure, easy-going, sweats and pjs, or out on the town--doesn't matter.  They are just fun!  So while it sounds ridiculous to drive 12+ hours for 2 days, it's really not.
We had a great time, the Bison won, and I got to spend about 20 hours in the car with JUST my hubs! 

Alot can be accomplished in that much alone time.
We were able to stop at Chad's brother's grave, which is nice since we live so far away.

So, truth is, we'd turn around and go again this weekend if we could and someone would take our kids again!
As a side note, my super awesome, brilliant, super hero of a mother had our kids over the weekend and they all had a blast, of course. 
The funniest story from their time is that they lost The Boss" in Bass Pro Shop for a few minutes.  Apparently, he snuck away and jumped the line to get his picture taken with Santa Claus.  After the picture, they asked where his mom was and he said, "I don't know."  Then they found my mom who had been walking around yelling his name. He had the rather pricey picture of himself with Santa so it was a win/win! :-)
So, if the Bison make it to the championship game, we're going.  It's in Texas, which compared to Fargo, is just a quick little jaunt!!  GO BISON!!