Wednesday, February 22, 2012

All About Dallas (not Texas)!

My nephew, Dallas, aged 10, came to stay with us for a week. It was his first trip to our home without his mom, papa, and two younger brothers in tow, so I wanted to give him a week that was all about him  -- filled with new experiences and adventures. While he missed his parents (not so much his younger brothers), he still had a great time... and we loved having him. He's been gone six days now and still, this morning, Avi went to the room where he was staying, knocked on the door and said, "Dally?" Those cousins have a special bond! 

First sewing project: A pillow




So proud of his work.
Product testers!

First snowboarding adventure:
While Dallas has a "cheap imitation snowboard" (as he so calls it) and has "shredded" down the sledding hill at home, this was his first time at a real mountain resort. Special thanks to our great friend Reji who took him and gave him "just a few pointers" before he "shredded that mountain." On the ride up, Reji tried to warn Dal that a day on the slopes can be killer on the body. "I wont be sore, I lift weights" he confidently told her. But the next day he soaked in not one but two epsom salt baths.  "Totally worth it", he said aching muscles and all!






Second sewing project: camo teddy bear.
Dallas was such a quick learner and did so fantastic on his pillow that he 'graduated' on to more a  complex project. I also learned to be a little less directive and allow him the space to do it himself and make mistakes and figure out how to fix them. I think this as much of a learning experience for me as it was for him.




Chicken Chores:



Dallas also helped the chickens during his stay. He fed and watered them after letting them out in the morning. He'd report which nesting boxes had eggs and which had just poop. He brought in eggs, washed off any poop and put them away in the fridge. He probably went out to their coop about five times a day to check for more eggs and closed them in safely at night. He loves those chickens. One day, after a successful egg checking expedition, we had a funny conversation. It went as follows:

Dallas: "The egg is still warm. The black hen was just leaving the coop. It must be hers."
Me: "We call her Little One."
Dallas: "Little One, huh? What do you call the yellow one?"
Me: "We call her Yellow One."
Dallas: "What do you call the red one?"
Me: "Red One."
Dallas: "Well, what do you call the other one then?"
Me (laughing): "We call her Other One."



In the Kitchen: Organic brown rice crisp treats.
(The recipe is borrowed from Kim). It was fun talking with Dallas about measurements and ingredients.  It was great to see him eat these treats which have hemp and chia seeds, two things I don't think he's ever had before. I think Dallas still prefers the kind with marshmallows instead. :)





Adventure: Butterfly Pavilion: 
This was a fun morning. Dallas took "his" phone that had a camera and snapped a bunch of shots of butterflies. Notice that he is wearing his camo bear around his neck. He took that bear everywhere. I loved hearing the sound of accomplishment in his voice when he would tell someone that he made it.




Some favorite moments captured: 

Dallas loves to say, "When I'm 20, Avi will be 10".
And I'm sure the love will be just as great then!


Dallas and his Sissy (that's what he calls me).
Budding artists collaborate.
Afternoon Dance Party.



We had such a fun week with Dallas visiting. He is a great kiddo and a great nephew and a great cousin to Avi.  I look forward to more visits with him in the future... 

(but I also have to say, it's nice to have, back again, "my time" when Avi is napping).

11 comments:

  1. Sounds like a wonderful visit. You know that you now have a reputation of being a "cool aunt" because you did so many neat things with him.

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  2. How cool! I second what melbatoast said. You are now the cool aunt. What prompted the sewing?

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    1. Thanks! What prompted the sewing? I kind of did. I told him that Avi (my little one) was really enjoying laying on my pillow, but it was too big for him and did he want to help me make a little pillow for him. Well, then he suggested making a pillow for himself and then he asked if we could sew a bear. He was totally into it. I think he would have liked to sew more if we had the time! :)

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  3. Wow, can I come for a week??? What a great week for your nephew. I have my niece visiting for a few days in March and I too hope to make it full of adventure and fun.

    Thanks for the link love :)

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    1. Kim, my sister said the same thing, 'when can I come all by myself for a week'! ;) I hope you have fun with your niece... how old is she?

      and thanks for your yummy recipes!! :)

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  4. So glad you guys have such a good visit. I loved seeing his pride in his work, first hand, as he was telling me all the uses for his camo bear. He's definitely a neat kid.

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    1. Lisa, I loved overhearing him tell you about it... especially the part about it being filled with rice, so he could put it in the microwave to make a warm pillow... but then realizing that I didn't have a microwave... and soon remembering that his mom got rid of theirs too. :)

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  5. wow, looks like such an amazing week! How fun that he was able to do so many new and exciting things and what a gift to have them recorded here. ~ B

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  6. Those two boys melt my heart. Thanks for sharing!
    Paige (aka: Anonymous, don't know why I'm "anonymous" must be user error yet again!)
    :)

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