we noticed them off in the distance playing on what looked like a big pile of sand.  caleb LOVES playing other with boys and i could tell he was having loads of fun.  i wanted to capture what he was doing so i decided to walk over and take some pictures.  as i got closer to the action i noticed that caleb in particular was hitting or karate chopping other kids as he was on top of the pile of dirt.  my first reaction was to shout, “caleb, why are you hitting?” but then i took a better look at the scene to discover that all of the boys seemed to be doing this game of running to the top of the hill and pushing, karate chopping, smacking, and so forth, whoever was in the way.

i started shooting some action shots and then a BIG kid gave caleb a forceful push down the hill and he landed flat on his back.  hearing myself starting to give a great big reaction of “aagghh, caleb, are you okay?” i decided to choke back my words and sounds of shock or perhaps even fear.  instead i said, “caleb are you alright?” in a calm manner.  he laid there on the ground staring at me and i wasn’t sure where he was going emotionally (i figured he would break out in tears at any moment.) i shot a quick picture and then he got up.  my recommendation to him as i brushed off the dirt that covered him from head to toe was that maybe he shouldn’t play this game because the big boys were being awfully rough.  my little man looked up at me and stated matter of factly, “mommy, i HAVE to do this.”  and off he went for another go.

in beginning to retell this story to andy a few minutes later, i barely got the description of this game caleb was just involved in out of my mouth when andy said, “he was playing King of the Hill.”  not knowing what the heck he was talking about i kept on explaining what i saw.  andy repeated, “yeah, that’s  King of the Hill.”  we all got a good laugh out of the fact that caleb was trying hard to fight his way to the top. maybe it’s just me but i have to say that this must be a boy game because this is the first time i had come into contact with this game of dominance.

afterwards andy was giving caleb some blocking tips to better equip him with the next time he played this game.    all in all it was awesome!

Caleb and I had our crocs on so we headed up stream through the creek and found another spot with some good potential.  Caleb got soaking wet playing in the creek and I got a little wet going after my snagged lure.  We didn´t catch anything, but we had a blast.

Phil took pictures between casts and we came away with a few good ones.  We also came away with something else.  I noticed what looked like a little dirt under Caleb´s left eye.  I mean right under his bottom eye lash.  I tried to get it off a couple times, but it was stuck and Caleb didn´t want me messing with it.  I left it alone until bedtime, when I had to take a really close look.  Upon further inspection (thanks to the help of Caleb´s creature magnifying glass), sure enough if Caleb didn´t have a TICK stuck on him!  On his bottom eyelid!

He was a brave little boy for sure.  I had to talk him through it, but I am so proud of the way he handled me taking that tick out.  Imagine being 3 years old and having to hold perfectly still while your Dad takes a tick off your bottom eyelid right under your eyelash, WITH A PAIR OF TWEEZERS!  He was AWESOME!  Two tugs and out it came.  We checked it out under his magnifying glass before I flushed him down the toilet.  Afterward, I gave him a piece of Hershey´s and told him how proud I was that he was so brave.

Happy Father´s Day!