Love notes and the rodeo

I kid you not, all of these conversations happened with my children within one hour.

Julianna made me a note that said "I love you" decorated with hearts and X's and O's. She brought it to me and expressed how much she loves me. Then she started to help me make dinner. She poured the milk into the mac and cheese for me and turned to load it in the dishwasher. When she did that she let the biggest toot ever go. Then she looked at me and said, "Thar toot was my 'I love you text to Daddy."

Two minutes later, Tom called and I told him what happened. He laughed and said, "She knows my language, I guess."

Then, just a bit ago, I was taking Drew to baseball practice. He's really tired from DNC camp this week and late nights with baseball games and rain storms. So, he says, "I have to start school in two months! I feel like summer just started and I already have to go back!" I tried to reassure him that there was two and a half months left of summer but he literally cried he was so sad that summer was going too fast. I changed the subject on him. I told him we better look up when the Pretty Prairie Rodeo was so we could plan to go. He asked if that was a good one and I told him it was Kansas's largest night rodeo. He thought for a minute and said, "Hm. So they will probably have all the best buckers and bulls that that one? I'm happy that you're taking me to that one and not just any old rodeo."

Then after a couple more minutes of driving, I got his sports glasses out for him and was wiping them off on my shirt. He was getting impatient and I told him, "Hang on, Buddy. I'm getting it cleaned off." He said, "You don't call me 'buddy' a lot. Dad does. He used to call me buddy all. The. Time." I asked, "Oh yea? Did you like it when Dad calls you buddy? It's kinda nice when someone gives you a nickname. Makes me feel loved." He answered, "Yea, I liked it. It didn't make me feel loved, but I knew he liked me."

These kids!