My son wore his pants on backwards all day. Again. Last time it was shorts so, you know. But his pockets are goin the wrong way, big ‘ol belt loop right in the front where the snap should be. I’m wondering if he noticed and said f it, or if he even knows. And at this point I’m afraid to ask. ❤️❤️❤️ ya kid.

Thank you aunt Melissa and cousin Amber for showing flat Ben around London ON! Your photos and mementos of his trip were shown around Ben’s class, and your wonderful letter read out loud.

Today in Ben’s class they were asked to name someone that they would like to meet. One of the kids said the man from the RickRoll video. Ben says to me, and dad, I was the only one who laughed! I’m still laughing. Happy February.

So Ben comes home today bitten by the shutterbug for some reason. I let him use my camera and he’s out back waiting for wildlife. That’s normal Ben. But now he’s talking with a bad Australian accent and saying gday mate. He’s also informed us, in his accent of course, that once he takes a picture of wildlife we have to buy it from him. We get a discount of $5 mate.

My son got sick of searching under his bed for stuff so he built this and it works haha.

Doin stuff yo. The boy is growing so fast now, what a difference between start of grade 2 and now. I feel we are entering the end of little kid mode, as he is now interested in having a certain hair style and caring about what he wears to school. Yesterday he was looking up adidas hoodies online cuz he “has to have one”. This kid was wearing his pants backwards just a few months ago.

I feel that my first solid memories of daily life began sometime during grade 2, and it’s just so much fun experiencing Ben growing up.

The boy was excited to get his new adidas gear, and the dog joined in on the celebration.

So I got Ben a calendar of puns for Christmas, and of course he reads them each morning. Some mornings he asks what they mean, and on those mornings I question my purchasing decision.

Sorry for the sad picture but I forgot to take one so this is all I got. Happy Easter everyone. Can you tell which place Ben sat at?

The boy and dog made some friends today.

Last day of grade 2. Sorry…2nd grade.

“Stop it dad”, my 8 year old wisenheimer for a son says, “it used to be cute but now it’s just annoying.”

The “pool” got an update this year to v2. In an effort to reduce mud we built up a pad with 3x3’s, then sand, then round stones around some pavers. Design by Marcy.

The boy was in the pool before the hose turned on, and stayed in the pool for the 2.5 hours that it filled, and stayed till nightfall. I can’t imagine how cold that tap water must have been, it normally takes a few days to warm up. But he didn’t care. He told me that he evolved straight from fish and skipped the ape part.

So after repairing a toy robot snake with Ben as the doctor, I asked him to clean up, and he says to me, “I’m an animal doctor not a butler!”

How this phrase from Star Trek survive all the way to 8 year old world today is a wonderful surprise to me.

(Photo from today)

It’s been a busy summer for both of us, but Ben and I finally got to spend the last couple of days together.

Back to school today. Grade 3, what a big year.

Ms. Ella has started her first heat before we could get her to the vet. No problem, Ben’s underwear with a pad is what she wears inside. She is doing great, adapting well to the schedule with no more indoor pooping(🤞🏻) and she loves being part of the family. She sleeps in Ben’s room until we get up and is a energetic friendly girl.

She’s also got the husky in her and one local husky expert says she’s likely more wolf than husky. This lady has invited Ella over for play time with her huskies anytime. They have a very distinctive way of playing, up on the back legs to get as tall as possible and right for the throat, and Ella is taller and longer than the pure bred huskies.

The husky means she’s a runner, and she’s already bolted twice, she’s quick. So now she is chipped and tagged and has an Apple air tag attached, along with a full harness with a handle. But truth is, she walks great, better than Nova. (Yes we take off her underwear when she’s out) She doesn’t pull or wine, but man you got to be vigilante cuz she’s strong.

She is a fantastic addition and she seems really happy here. Nova was a little pissed off at first, like really she is staying? But Ella is learning to give her space (when she growls haha) and Nova has accepted her. They give each other little kisses when they pass and Nova has learned to ignore her when she’s done playing.

Ella is a lot of dog, but she’s gentle and I’m glad she lives with us and she’s glad too.

Ben says to me this morning, “When I start BenTek (that’s his robot company) I’m going to make my company motto ‘never going to give you up, never going to let you down’. Then I’m going to laugh and say, you’ve been rick rolled.”

Edit: There is Nova patiently waiting for her morning toast crusts.

Ben smile and be happy! Smile and be happy! I said smile and be happy boy!

Ben got this little scooter for early birthday present while the weather is still nice. After a ride with friends he pulls it in and requests some cleaning supplies. Then I show him how to hook up his iPad Spotify to the garage speaker, so he can chill to his own tunes while detailing his beast.

He says to me, dad, you and I are the same, we both like to keep our rides clean.

Happy Halloween

Good morning. Gettin ready for the bus in the dark autumn mornings before the time change.

I told him, it’s Saturday, you can wear what you want. (He’s wearing a shirt as a skirt)

The Ben in his natural habitat.

Ben wants a real hockey jersey for Christmas. He doesn’t have a favorite team, so we go with Toronto, and I tell him that going with the current team captain is usually the thing to do. He asks who my favorite player is? I say I don’t know any current players, but my favorite Leaf of all time is Eddie Shack.

After I regale him with a few clear the track here comes Shack stories, and that I bought a Christmas tree from a very drunk Eddie in the Richmond Heights parking lot once, well Ben was hooked.

The poor kid is doomed to uncoolness with this relic, but at least he’s being true to himself. And it makes my heart grow that he picked his dad’s favorite. 😁