dxe5

idk, doesnt that give the black bishop some activity?

d5

no d5 is a blunder, after Na5 Bb3 your e pawn is hanging. Better would be Re1

You could play Bd3 after Na5.

but you dont want to take the bishop off the good diagonal

OK, you got me there .

 so Re1 looks like a solid move to me

Yes, defending and not really taking any risks.

I've played Re1 in this position before, and it does close shut down the queen side while letting you get ahead with some space to move on the king side.

gosh...

7.dxe5! Nxe5?? 8.Nxe5 Bxe5 9.f4 Bd6 10.e5 +-

7.dxe5! Bxe5 8.Nxe5 Nxe5 9.Bb3, followed by 10.f4, with bishop pair, space advantage, development, and whatnot.

Thanks for the commments everyone!  What do you think about Bf4 attacking the e5 pawn?  If black takes your bishop, you can play e5.

Party pooper.  They were having so much fun with their SWAGs (Scientific Wild Ass Guesses.)  And I was enjoying watching them learn.  Sometimes the Socratic method of teaching is best.

The reason chess608 watches so many westerns is because he wants to be a "professional gunslinger" very strong player.