August Photos

We started out the month with a baby shower for Erica.  She’s not due until Thanksgiving but they moved to Phoenix in August so we wanted to have a party before she left.  She was super cute and got lots of great baby stuff.

Every now and then I’ll go meet Will for lunch.  It’s not terribly convenient so we don’t do it very often, but it’s fun when we do.  Oakley enjoys it too.

We celebrated my dad’s 60th birthday.  We had dinner up Provo Canyon and then went to see Fiddler On The Roof at Sundance.  I was nervous about taking all the kids, but they did great!  Oakley fell asleep not too long into it, and other than being a little loud and asking if it was over after every song, Calvin seemed to enjoy it too.  Several times since, I’ve caught him pretending he’s the fiddler on the roof with Londyn’s toy guitar. 

Will and I left the kids with our folks and went to St. George for his birthday weekend.  It was so nice to get away!  We did some shopping, a lot of eating, and went to Tuacahn to see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.  They did a great job and even though the day had been hot, the evening was really pleasant.  It was so nice to get away and spend some time together.  Even the drive is fun when you get to have actual conversations!

Calvin turns 4

If ever there was a boy looking forward to his birthday, it would be this guy.

Lots of fun things were in store once that birthday came.  He started preschool, started soccer, and as he frequently reminds me, he can go to sleepovers now.  (Years ago I arbitrarily chose to tell him that he couldn’t go to sleepovers until he was 4.  Now he’s 4 and I’m still feeling like he’s too young but what can I do?) (By the way, we only do sleepovers with our cousins.)

His birthday was on a Sunday so we had the family over for dinner.  The evening started out a little warm (okay it was hot) but it cooled off quickly and ended up being a really pleasant evening.  Calvin requested chicken and rice for dinner (again) with an additional request of corn on the cob.  He wanted a “Planes” birthday, so Will was in charge of the cake.  He did a great job and Calvin loved it.  He was very cute during the party, leading the kids in the “games” – doggie doggie where’s your bone, and tag.  (He was very specific about what games he wanted to play.)  And once again he was awfully cute with his presents – excited and grateful for everything. 

 

Calvin is such a little ball of energy.  He is LOUD.  He only has one volume.  We frequently stop him midsentence and say “Calvin I’m right here!  Don’t yell!” 

He has been going to preschool for a month or so, and he LOVES it.  He is learning his letters and sounds and all sorts of cute songs that he sings with gusto. 

He loves being a sunbeam in primary.  Yesterday during singing time he raised his hand in the middle a game and (unsolicited) says “I have a great idea!  I know one we can all sing good – Child of God!” 

He had his first soccer game yesterday, although he seemed more interested in playing with his friend and waving to his adoring fans than actually chasing the ball.  He calls his shin guards his “windshields”. 

He still struggles with temper tantrums, but I chatted with his pediatrician about it at his checkup, and he assured me that I’m doing things right and he will grow out of it.  He does seem to be improving.  We take two steps forward and one back, but I recognize that pattern now so it doesn’t frustrate me quite as much, and I can see the progress we do make. 

Speaking of his checkup, he is still big.  90th percentile for height and weight.  I’m excited that he can go on all the Disneyland rides when we go in January (except one or two he wouldn’t go on anyway). 

And speaking of Disneyland, the kids don’t know we’ve booked a trip yet, but we’ve been talking about it a lot.  The other day we got some dinner at JCW’s and they were all so good and grateful and I said “Gosh you guys – when you act like that it makes me want to take you to Disneyland!”  (We’ve talked a lot about how when they’re negative and ungrateful it makes us not want to do things like that.)  Anyway two or three times since then when I’ve praised Calvin’s good behavior he’s said to me “Does it make you want to take me to Disneyland?  And yes, it does. 

He LOVES stories.  I love that he loves stories, since a year ago I couldn’t even talk him into letting me read one to him.  His favorite are Berenstain Bears.  (Hence the game in the picture above, which is actually pretty fun for little kids.)

Calvin is the world’s greatest snuggler.  He climbs up next to me and says “Let’s get some snuggles going!”  He loves to hug and is very affectionate.  Touch is definitely one of his love languages.  The other is time.  He loves to have playmates.  His favorite is sword fighting with Will. 

Four is such a fun age.  I love hearing the cute things he says and his funny expressions and all of the things he’s learning.  It’s going to be a good year.

July

July was a fun month!  Jacey and Londyn’s last day of school was July 3rd, then they had a 3-week summer break and went back to school on July 28th.  So we had to pack a whole summer’s worth of fun into a very short time.

We started in Park City with the Robins family for the 4th of July.  This was a pretty laid-back vacation.  We played tennis, swam at the park, did some shopping, played games at the condo, and toured the Olympic park.  Mostly we hung out together and enjoyed some down-time. 

This picture was taken at the Olympic Park as we were about to leave.  I am seriously considering putting it on my Christmas cards because, even though not a single one of us has our hair done, I just love Oakley’s face that much. 

The next weekend we headed North to Idaho for the Wallace Family Reunion.  This is the first time we have had a real live reunion for my Wallace cousins, and it was a lot of fun.  I hope my kids have good memories of Aberdeen like I do.

Kira organized a super fun “road rally” that ended at the football field where we got a group picture.  Several people weren’t here yet though so this isn’t quite our whole group.  I didn’t take my camera out very often but we had lots of fun down at the reservoir and back at Grandma & Grandpa’s house with all sorts of fun games and activities. 

Then the next week was Cousins’ Camp.  This really was a highlight that deserves its own post, but knowing how infrequently I blog I better just include it here.

My mom did a carnival theme this time and it was really, really cute.  I know I’ve said this before, but she really goes all out on Cousins Camp and the kids look forward to it so much.  I have a feeling that when they look back and remember fun things from their childhood, Cousins Camp is going to be one of those super shiny highlights. 

They did too many fun things to list them all here – take my word for it when I say it was PACKED with activities, crafts, outings, etc etc etc.  So much fun.

The final night was the Cousins Camp Carnival and all of the parents were invited.  The kids had been earning tickets all week with good behavior (and they really were well behaved, so they had a lot of tickets to spend).  The kids also put on performances – Londyn was a dancing elephant, Jacey was a lion tamer, and Natalyn walked the tight rope.  It was all really cute and a lot of fun. 

       

The next weekend Londyn and Jacey and I took a little “girls trip” to Idaho for my cousin Kira’s wedding.  Kira lived with my folks while she did her student teaching, which happened to be at the same time that we were living there while working on our house.  So my kids got to know her quite well and they all think she’s great (because she is).  It was a really short trip but fun and we were happy to be able to be a part of Kira’s big day.

Bright and early the next Monday morning, Jacey and Londyn started school.  Jacey’s in 5th grade and Londyn’s in 2nd.  I LOVE both of their teachers, who are actually demanding responsibility and progress from them and I think it’s terrifically refreshing. 

And that is July in a nutshell!  It was a perfect  short but sweet summer break.  Fun, fun month.  Exhausting, but fun.