Does anyone even follow this blog?

I have high hopes every evening that I will update my blog but nothing seems more appealing once Ben goes to sleep than to go to bed myself. I suppose I could be the strict parent and tell Ben to go play with his toys while I spend a few moments on the computer but let's face it, he will never be this young ever again. My days with Ben are numbered and although I might be spoiling him by spending my days doing whatever he wants to do... I also much rather play with Hot Wheels alongside than update my blog. This past week Ben has wanted to constantly be by my side and although it wears me down, I recall that not long ago he only wanted Traci. Then again, I'm trying to figure out if there is greater joy than spending time with my son and carrying him on my shoulder... Hmm. Probably not. Actually, adding Traci by my side makes for quite the hilarious good times.

It's wild to think that in less than a month Ben will turn 2 years and the days will begin to get shorter in 18 days. Somehow life has just picked up and each year seems to go faster than the previous one. Wasn't it last night that I held my son for the first time? Where did my son go? Who took my kid and replaced him with this older one? I miss him yet I don't want to let go of the one I have.

Several months ago Ben and I sat in our living room after playing a friendly game of wrestling. As always I kept attention to not stir him too much since he shatters my energy levels. Anyhow, he continued to play with random toys as I sat on the floor with my back on the couch. It was not long before he decided it was time to play with dad once again and a toy gracefully flew from his hand to my forehead. Now he knows throwing toys in the house is against the rules and he knew immediately he was in trouble. I paused for a second as I tried to figure how I would discipline him yet before I said a word, he looked at me and exclaimed, "Catch!" Obviously I did not get the memo that we were playing catch yet at the same time, he did not sent the memo. I was surprised that he was quick to find a way out of trouble at an early age. He reminded me of who I was when I was a kid and honestly, how can punish him? I was not even mad, in fact, I was impressed. It puzzles me that I am so blessed. I have a great son with an incredible and stupendous wife. On top of that, she is really pretty. Why me? Seriously? I want her to have her way and she wants me to have my way. That, if anything, leads to our random disagreements. Then there is Ben who sits on his swing and exclaims, "Daddy! To the moon!"

I suppose I should describe what the pictures are all about. Well, it begins with our return trip from to Sandpoint, ID where Ben was able to acquire some pretty neat toys from his friend Dylan who has outgrown them. Then there is the weekend trip we made to Portland in our Cherokee Chief for the antique auto swap meet. We got to ride a train at the Oregon Rail Heritage Center and Ben had plenty of fun playing with a yellow Labrador named 'Cheese.' Lastly, the speeders made their way to Walla Walla for Mother's day weekend and we got to chase them down the tracks as they made their way to Weston in Oregon. That same weekend we got to see 3 hot air balloons land on some random field and lit the whole farm on fire. The valley was engulfed with a whirling vortex of smoke and ashes. At one point the air smelled like sweet onions and freshly picked asparagus. As the fire quickly spread and surrounded our Jeep... wait a second. Does anyone even follow this blog?