Simple Fun

Carson's at that tough age where he is acting older and wanting to be a bit more independent. Testing the limits constantly! My sweet little boy has turned into this strong willed, somewhat belligerent creature (OK, so the strong willed part isn't new, just getting stronger!)

My goal this summer is just to get one hug a day from him (half-hearted from him is acceptable since that's all he's usually willing to give) and to make sure he hears every day that I love him, even though I don't really like his attitude and behavior (and smell!) most days. I refuse to let him grow up too fast this summer.

So, this being a crazy week, I hadn't seen him much. He'd be home during the day (when I'm at work) and over at friends' houses in the evening. He and his friends prowl the neighborhood late afternoon and evening. They are a band of roving boys trying to find the least boring place to hang out. They also cook up elaborate plans and see if they can find a parent willing to accommodate.

Last night, he asked if a friend could spend the night. Originally they wanted to pitch a tent in the backyard, but neither Perry or I had the energy to roll with those plans. They were welcome to sleep IN the house, though! :)

What did they decide to do? Play with legos. That simple. They pulled out tubs of legos (there are actually several more tubs than you see in the picture below) onto the open area outside the upstairs bedrooms. They built planes, trucks and army stuff. They were so engaged. Using their imagination. Just being little boys!

Perry and I went to bed while they were still playing. We simply asked them to not leave Legos where we might step on them in the morning and to be quiet. At some point, they asked if they could move into the guest bedroom and just sleep in there. Sure, we say!

When I got up this morning and checked on them, the guest room has quite the Lego village (probably more of a battle field in their minds) all over the room. Both boys were sound asleep. Who knows how late they were actually up, but they clearly had fun and didn't keep anyone else up. I wanted to take a picture, but didn't want to wake them up.

I know I can't stop him from growing up, but it was nice to see a bit of my little boy back for a while last night. :)