4thGenJim

Illustrated by: Davis Jim Squeaky the mouse was a mouse in need. He was in need of something special for  a mouse party he was hosting at his house. He searched high and low throughout the village, in search of a tasty treat. At last, he came across a strawberry field. Taking his time, he selected the perfect piece of fruit. Squeaky worked long and hard to get the strawberry back to his house. There was just one problem. A big, sweet, delicious problem. The perfectly-picked strawberry was too large  to fit through the little mouse door. The fruit was also too big for Squeaky to eat by himself. (Squeaky has to remind himself quite frequently, not to be so  selfish about food. Perhaps, it is a natural response for mice?) His friends would not be over until tomorrow,  so Squeaky had to make a plan. How could Squeaky protect his strawberry? He thought for a few minutes and pondered for a few more. Ah Ha....

A good year at the fireworks tent means Davis can eat the good stuff! (he still thinks that it's a special treat -eating straight from the can)

One can never be too safe. Especially when Mommy is away, and Daddy is cooking in the kitchen and doing chores around the house. dinner time, visor open (after the 'all-clear' signal) (crumbs usually stay in the helmet, and off the floor, easier for Daddy to clean-up) We miss you Mommy!!!

The past few days have been relatively nice. No more ice or severe weather. And we've been taking advantage of it, as much as possible. It's fun for Mommy and Daddy to be outside with Davis, but there are moments that we dislike. Wanting this. Wanting that. Holes in brand new jeans. It's highly probable that the little 'dislikes' will always be mixed-in with something we like. We deal with these slight annoyances the best we can, but sometimes Davis gets hung-up on trivial negatives. The trick seems to be dealing with the overall situation in a positive manner. Daddy likes brownies and likes raisins, but dislikes raisin brownies. Being able to deal with a raisin brownie (a strong dislike) in a fun way builds character and allows for a neutral temperment . Since Daddy can't cook his way through this metaphor, a different approach was taken: A special robot sweatshirt was purchased for Davis, but suddenly, he dismissed the idea about liking robots, and refused to ...

Mommy has been in Little Rock for the past few days. So Daddy and Davis have been in survival mode. Living off the land. Anything to avoid cooking on the stove. All was well until this morning. Davis asked for pancakes. Daddy panics and offers a rational explanation: "we're all out of pancakes." Davis opens the cabinet door and points to the pancake mix. Daddy asks Davis to find the fire extinguisher and open the windows. Simple directions with idiot-proof pictures on the box. What could possibly go wrong? Wrongness. (the only one that didn't resemble a hockey puck) Another problem- no syrup. (grocery lists are important, Daddy forgot) Obviously, it's more than a problem, it's a potential tragedy.... what to do? the solution. hmm. Daddy is a number one cook! yummy. mag-nifico! (Mommy please hurry home!)

We see them on television and wonder, 'how do they get so good?' Elite athletes competing at the highest level at Skee Ball. It's not luck or genetics. It's all about dedication to the sport. Davis is a Skee Ball Master, and offers some advice to those aspiring to reach a higher level. Skee Ball is a pressure sport. It's easy to see where the ball should go in order to score the most points, but getting it there- most amateurs crack under this intense pressure. Masters of the sport use highly enhanced mind vision techniques to conquer the pressure and score the most points each and every time. It's as simple as 'be, know, do.' Be the ball. Know where to go. Do drop in cup. Grip, stance, wind-up, aim, delivery, and follow through are not important. Here's a series of photos of Davis scoring the winning points in a recent tournament: -Davis collecting his winnings

Maybe it's the oatmeal cream pie, or getting pieces of it stuck to his face, but something really tickled the little boy's funny bone the other afternoon. After he finished the treat, the episode started with Davis making up things he was seeing alongside the road. He can be very believable! Let the smiling begin! (have fun scrolling!) thank you for sharing this fun moment with me!

Daddy: "do you want Daddy to make you a good lunch?" Davis: "No." Daddy: "do you want Daddy to make you a not-so-good lunch?" Davis: "Yeah, I want a not-so-good lunch." Can Do.

EXTRA EXTRA! #1 NWA NATURALS FAN Arvest Ballpark in Springdale opened this year and we finally got a chance to take Davis! It's a modern design with a small town atmosphere. The tickets were affordable and close to the action -just off of home plate. All of the ushers are extremely nice, and they really put on a show with funny contests between innings. (note: there are not any changing tables in the Women's restrooms...they are located in the Family restrooms) The only problems we had were the long lines for the concessions -crazy to think that there would be a rush for $3 bottled water and $6 nachos. Even with the Naturals playing the Travellers, (and dollar beer night) it never got too rowdy (it had been a concern of ours when we bought the tickets). The outfield berm is a big hit with the little boy. There were inflatable jump-arounds and a giant climbing-slide, but Davis decided to opt-out of trying either one of them. Awesome : the kid's area...