Calvin's Babbles

Calvin is trying his tongue at talking! My favorite babble sound he makes is "baba-dee" but he has now grown into making sounds that are starting to sound like actual words. It's exciting. I'm amazed at how much he's grown the last few months.

His first word was "daddy", but close behind came "bird" (which stands for any animal, but he definitely knows a bird when he sees one) and "thank you"... and just so I'm not left out, he can also say "mama" but not very often. What's up with that?!?

He has started to say things (that probably I am the only one who knows what he's saying when he does) like drink, cheese, shoes, Jackson...but the sounds he makes for them are too hard to replicate in typed format. It's cute and fun to hear him communicate. 

He is also getting really good at communicating what he doesn't like by the most annoying sound in the world--screeching! He's so loud! But we know when he doesn't like something (just wish the kids would learn what that sound means too- they tend to bring it on)! Can't wait until he starts to learn how to express his dislikes verbally!

 He's gearing up to give up his place as the baby of the family, but for now, we'll keep him there and enjoy it while it lasts.

Fun Summer Schedule

I find that I like to have some sort of schedule, something to look forward to each week. I found this fun weekly calendar that we have been applying in our home:

It's very generic, so I can adjust the activities each week depending on our circumstances, but the kids LOVE it! There is always a motivation for them to get the morning chores done, something to kill the summer boredom when it hits, and something fun to look forward to each day.

On Mondays, we have made crafty projects like: mini pillows and blankets for their stuffed pets and dolls, 4th of July crafts, puff-painted totes, converted torn pants into shorts, painting, etc. Brian had left over wood from a "honey-do" project and made the kids airplanes, sized to match their age (even Calvin has a baby plane). We plan to paint them as a project too....

We don't have a city library, and to get an out-of-city library card is $80 per year. I decided to build our own home library instead for cheaper. So on Tuesdays, instead of the library, we have gone to book stores to pick new books (also Barnes and Noble gives free books to kids if they read 8 books and leave a comment on each book, so Jackson, Zoey and Eli all got to pick a free book)! We've read books out by the swings or other fun places, or just enjoy quiet reading time on their own. We have found a few new favorites: Hiccupotomous, Bugs Galore (Eli's fave- he loves bugs), Giraffes Can't dance, Zoe gets Dressed (Zoey's fave- along with Amelia Badelia), The Red Lemon (Jackson's Fave), Wild About Books, Otis...and many more.

On Wednesday I let the kids help in the kitchen. They take turns picking something to make (we've made banana cram pie, bread pudding, cookies, granola, zucchini and wheat bread) They have become really good at measuring. They all love to help, sometimes too much, but I have to relax and not worry about the mess the Kitchen will turn out to be that day. I definitely notice their pride in eating what they have made and participating in the process. 

 Jackson helping make bread and Eli eating rice pudding he helped to make....

On Thursdays, we have visited Ken and Betty, weeded the garden, made get-well cards for Aunt Donna who had surgery, delivered bread to neighbors, and performed secret service acts for a family member. I love getting the kids involved in doing kind things for others and thinking of someone else. We always have a good conversation about this and how they feel when they do something nice. 

Fridays are fun days...sometimes it turns into Saturday if Friday doesn't work out, but we always take time to do something fun each week with the kids.  We've taken them to the movies, hiking up Sundance or to ride the tram, feeding the fish at Bridal Veil Falls (pictured- look close and you'll see Eli touching a fish!), splash pads, pool, camp-out dinner up the canyon....tons of fun things. We LOVE Fridays/Saturdays!! 

Saturday Nights with Brian

I have looked forward to every Saturday night this summer. For the summer months, we negotiated a deal with one of our favorite babysitters to reserve every Saturday night from 6pm on to watch our kids so we can go on a date! It works great on both ends because we don't have to call around each week looking for an available sitter, and she always has a job!

It has been the best deal of the summer because I get to spend the best part of the day with my favorite person.

Since we know that 20 weeks from now will bring another change in our lives as we welcome another baby, and also say goodbye to date-nights out of the house for a while, we decided to take full advantage of the time we have and do some really fun things. So far, we have gone golfing and out to dinner with friends, caught up on some movies, star-gazed in the back of the truck on the top of Timp, attended a  Deer Valley concert with our parents, hiked to sliding rock, explored new restaurants, attended the bluegrass/folk festival in SLC, got dessert and watched fireworks at Orem City fest, walked around BYU campus talked scripture and wrote in our journals (we realised how old we are getting as we noted the college students!), and attended the temple. We have plans for more fun things like get the life story of our neighbors Ken and Betty over banana splits, hike to some waterfalls, recreate some of our first dates, and catch up with friends. It's been a great-great summer! I've loved creating these memories with my husband :)

Jackson's Jump

Jackson came in the house crying and knees bloody the other evening. Brian was following him with the camera and a big smile. "We got some cool shots of Jackson" He said. Jackson replied "Ya, I was really good until the last one!"

This is what the crazy boys were up to:

Brian built a ramp on the speed bump by our driveway using a sheet of plywood and a few bricks. He was quite proud of his son and his biking skills! 

July 6th date night

For Mother's Day/Father's Day, Brian and I gave our parents the gift of a date night out with us to the Deer Valley Outdoor Concert series with the Utah Symphony (picnic included). It was John Denver night, which we knew both our parents would enjoy. We had such a delightful time with them! 

We stopped in Midway at a park for a picnic. I wanted it to be something special- along the lines of a gourmet picnic, so I spent most Saturday prepping food. 

For the appetizer, we had smoked salmon dip on crostini and caprese salad with heirloom tomatoes, fresh hand made mozzarella (from Harmons) and aged balsamic (with basil coming from our garden!). We also tried a spin on the caprese salad by using nectarines in place of the tomatoes. It was fantastic! The balsamic with the nectarine was a match made in heaven. A definite hit! 

For the main course, we had chicken salad sandwiches on croissants and a tri-melon salad. 

We topped off the dinner with individual servings of vanilla ice cream and handmade cherry handpies. They were delish...and we were totally stuffed! 

While eating, we asked them questions about their parents and childhood, we asked what was impact-full as a child growing up and as being a parent of young children, we asked for advice... and really enjoyed listening from our parents' perspective of things that made a difference in raising a family for them and what we could do to strengthen our own family. It was an hour of conversation very well spent! We couldn't have walked away more appreciative of our moms and dads! 

The concert was fun, although we got drizzled on most the evening, but even in spite of the rain, it was a wonderful evening with our parents! Happy Mother's Day and Father's Day! Thank you for all you have done for us and for shaping us into who we are today. We love you! 

Canyon Campfire

Well, we just couldn't get enough of the fun we had on the 4th...so we decided to extend the weekend and take the kids camping up Timpanookee. 

Actually, we had the site reserved since January. It was the only day our favorite spot was open, so we took it, even though it landed the day after the 4th. Unfortunately, the weather pattern couldn't be predicted in January, so, as luck wouldhave it, we got hit with a thunderstorm. The kids thought it was a bear growling. 

 We had great weather just long enough for a campfire dinner, which was good enough for us. We didn't even pack our tent and sleeping bags anticipating the rain. While we were waiting for dinner, the kids had a blast exploring the super fun campsite. There is a small stream that runs near it, so of course, it was the worlds best playground to explore! A tree had fallen across the stream, which was the perfect bridge and so fun to play on, but really, the kids just enjoyed splashing around in their shoes and running across the stream without the tree's help. The water was ice cold...but they didn't mind! And I didn't yell at them for getting their shoes wet...childhood happens once and I just let them enjoy it!

We were hoping to get in a few s'mores, but the rain pushed us out of there too quickly. We opted for ice cream cones on the way home instead. We promised the kids s'mores for another FHE someday.

Let Freedom Ring!

4th of July is almost as big at our house as Christmas! We have been looking forward to this fun weekend for a long time! We started celebrating on the 3rd by taking our kids to a ballgame and watching fireworks...

On the 4th, I got up early and ran 3 miles, I would have liked to have gone further, but I was excited to get back to our family tradition of 4th of July waffles with red (raspberries), white (bananas and cream), and blue (berries). Our kids favorite way to kick off the day-of-fun!

 We had Braxton, Carissa, Chloe and Parker stay with us this weekend.  Our kids enjoyed having the cousins around, they rarely get to spend much time together! It was great to have them!

After a few hours of swimming, the kids took naps to prep for our huge family BBQ party and late-night fireworks. While they were napping, Brian and I decorated the backyard for our bash. We had balloons hanging from the trees, streamers, flags, stars, and lots of red, white and blue decorations adorning our back patio!

We braided Zoey's hair in a fun patriotic star! We all looked so good in our red, white and blue attire. I wish I had a family picture of us!

  We had tons of people at our house for the BBQ, hosting family and friends and people from out of state coming through. It was so fun. Over 20 kids and 15 adults. It was fun to be had by all. More good food than I could even try and surrounded by the good company of people from near and far...just a perfect way to celebrate the freedoms we enjoy!

 Brian did the grilling...he's the master at entertaining large parties with good food.

 We loved the nostalgic feel of old glass soda bottles kept in a tub of ice. It was a hit for the kids of course.

 All kiddos got a red, white and blue Popsicles for dessert....some got 2 or 3...it's a holiday!

 Grandpa Gray put on a mini firework starter show while we waited to see the big firework display in PG.

 Hanging out and waiting for the show to start was fun in itself. We had glow in the dark sticks, sparklers and cotton candy. It was fun to watch the kids running around without a care in the world and having the time of their lives.

Friends from Texas came to be with us. The firework show was the BEST! Calvin was amazed with them. He laid by my tummy on a blanket and just watched (laughing even once in a while). I enjoyed hearing all the ooh's and ahh's from the other kiddos, pointing out which ones were their favorites! It was such a delightful day. A true party from beginning to end. It couldn't have gone better!

In the words of Jackson...Hooray for the 4th of July!!

Horsing around

On Monday night for FHE, we visited the McCormicks in Ogden. Todd was a mission companion of Brian's in Chile and we get together with our families about once a year. They own some horses and one of their horses had a baby! The kids were so excited to see a two-week old colt. Zoey was a little afraid of the mom horse at first...

 But each had a chance to ride their own horse by themselves. It was a blast! Zoey kept kicking the side of her horse saying, "Go horsey! As fast as you can!"

 Jackson and Eli enjoyed feeling like real cowboys!

 Calvin got rocked to sleep!

It was a fun evening with friends, food, and fun times.

On the way home we were fortunate to narrowly escape a very scary accident! It was nearly 11pm, we were tired and wanted the kids to sleep in the car while we drove home...but our peaceful moment was interrupted! Luckily everyone had seat belts on!

A car a little ways in front of us was following a truck hauling a wooden crate box. The crate box wasn't secured properly, fell off, and hit the hood of the little white car behind it. The car spun of of control, hitting another vehicle and then the cement barrier. We swerved around the crate and slammed on our brakes just in time to avoid hitting any other vehicles and getting hit ourselves. The freeway was pitch black except for a few headlights, so it was extremely hard to see anything at all. Several vehicles were damaged by debris, including ours, so we had to stick around to fill out police reports. Brian hopped out to check the other vehicles to make sure the passengers were OK. Luckily, only minor injuries...a surprise by even the emergency responders! Several cars were totaled and the mangled mess looked like their could have been fatalities! I'm surprised it wasn't any worse.

I'm glad Brian was driving because his fast reactions saved our little family. It was a scary moment and the freeway was completely shut down for half an hour...all 4 lanes were blocked heading southbound. We finally made it home by mid-night, with tired kids and tired parents! BUT at least we arrived home!