Happy Birthday to me!

I love celebrating birthdays! Today was my turn and I am now thirty-three years old. That used to sound so OLD to me but, if you haven't heard, let me inform you that thirty is the new twenty (whatever that means)! I have decided that I love being in my thirties. I feel like I am coming into my own. I feel very blessed. Mark laughed when I told him, after I turned thirty, that I finally felt like I knew who I was. Call me a late bloomer!

I've had a wonderful day, thanks to my sweet husband and my mom! They cooked my favorite meals and made chocolate sauce cake (my favorite choice for birthday cake since I was a little girl). We also relaxed at home, played with the kids and went out to lunch.

Mark surprised me with a birthday trip to New York City
next month to visit his sister, Kimberly, while he stays home to watch the kids.
This is my first trip all by myself since we got married almost nine years ago.
I can hardly believe I'll have a weekend off to do whatever I want.
I may even break all of the rules and sleep in or stay out during nap time,
who knows what will happen!

Discovery Gateway

Today we went on one of our favorite outings since coming to Utah to Discovery Gateway in Salt Lake. It was especially fun because we went with all of my sisters and sisters-in-law that are living in Utah (a rare treat). The kids were excited to play with their cousins and set off immediately to "discover". They started off putting soft rubber balls into tubing that sucked them in different directions. We gathered up bins of balls to experiment with and spent at least twenty minutes just barely inside the entrance.

Here is Carston eating part of his lunch in a play car with his cousin Tuscanee, who seems to want to get her hands on that sandwich! Don't worry, she didn't have to wait long. We went out onto the balcony to eat snacks shortly thereafter.

Grant and his cousin, Henry, enjoying the same car. They took good care of it: checking the tires, filling it up with gas and paying close attention to the road while they were driving (ha, ha).

Carston headed straight for the construction site and hauled large blocks up and down with this rope. Jackson and Peyton crawled through the big pieces of tubing there until they discovered the water tables nearby.

There were fun water activities for all ages. Jackson and Peyton played together at this water table. You notice Jackson had a little bit of water transfer to his clothes during the process.

Peyton stayed by the spout filling any plastic water toys she could find with water and then transplanting that water into another area on the table. She became quite efficient at this.

Benjamin enjoyed this part of the museum the very most. They had tubes with water running through them and little clear plastic balls that you could float down any tube you chose. Benjamin spent at least half an hour standing at the table playing with this ball. The combination of playing ball and having running water involved really appealed to him. Tuscanee and Scotlyn, his cousins, joined him for awhile at this table.

We found the Little Star Theater once we went upstairs to play. There were puppets and costumes that everyone tried. Peyton was putting on her own show at this point. She loved the lights and the curtain as well.

She put on a whole show, of which I understood only a few sentences.

All Jackson had to do to play the part of a bee was to buzz, which he did beautifully!

This costume reminds me of Where the Wild Things Are. Carston jumps on any opportunity afforded him to growl and act wild. This time it was in the name of good theater, of course.

Jackson was a little friendlier in his role. He doesn't look nearly as menacing.

Peyton made the costume look like a fashion designer's doing. She even pulled it off.
The red yarn hair suits her complexion:).

Carston finished off their performance by risking his life on the top of a stage meant only for puppets to peer over, to bring us the story of a parrot from the tropics who flew here by mistake. It was deeply touching.

Grant amused several of us by acting out the silly faces found on several cards stuck to a board on the wall. This one was our favorite. He has a sore eye right now and isn't feeling well (as you can tell from the picture), so he wasn't as hard to keep up with as usual. Poor little guy!

We made our way out onto the balcony to eat some snacks and the kids could hardly concentrate once they saw the helicopter pad complete with a real helicopter and control room. The helicopter was a medical transport, although not functioning (obviously), and it was interesting to sit in it and see how little space there is for a patient and the doctor or nurses accompanying them. Peyton was a great pilot!

Jackson took charge of the controls in the back to ease the ride for Max, Kenzie and Aubrey.

They didn't want to get out of the helicopter, so we gave them their snacks to eat while they played. Jackson has a few grapes stuffed into his cheek in this picture. That type of look never suits me, but it somehow becomes him.

Here we made our own animated movie. Calder was in charge at this point while Shae ran the controls. Jackson and Lauren played a supportive role and Benjamin didn't care about the production as much as he just wanted to play with all of the little props that could be used in the film.

We went to get ice cream once we left the museum. The kids were ready for a treat and then a little snooze in the car on the way back to Provo. It was cute to watch Lauren's girls hold hands with Grant and Peyton on our way to get the ice cream cones that I ended up eating almost by myself because they melted all over the place and frustrated the little ones holding them.

Another fun day in Utah!

Swimming

One of the best things about spending time at Grandpa and Grandma Calder's house is swimming. We try to get in the pool every day during the summer. The pool is where we stand and chat, sometimes eat snacks (poor Grandma), get a some exercise and enjoy the sun.

I love watching the kids improve their swimming skills while we are here. They get more and more comfortable with the water and then, sadly, we leave and don't see a pool for months at a time. Buying goggles and masks for them this year has greatly improved their swimming and their willingness to put their faces in the water while swimming. I wish I had bought them long ago.

Carston is becoming a little fish.

Jackson didn't get to swim at all last summer because he broke his arm and wore a cast from the beginning of June through the middle of August. He is a little nervous in the water, but loves it when he is wearing his spiderman life jacket.

Peyton is a good little swimmer. She ventures around without her life jacket pretty well, but I feel safer when she is wearing it.

Grant doesn't love the water like our other kids. He enjoys playing on the steps and being carried around the pool, but won't try to swim on his own yet. It doesn't help that he hates his life jacket and it is a constant battle to keep it on him while he is around the pool.

Benjamin loved the Horsley's raft this year! He rode around and around the pool in the raft grinning. He had to fight off competitors who also wanted a turn in the raft while Mark pulled it around the pool. Benjamin loves being in the water for short amounts of time and then likes to walk around on the hard ground where he is complete control.

Mark is trying to get Grant more comfortable with the water. He doesn't go for it sometimes, as you might notice here.

We love swimming and summertime!

Fourth of July FUN!

Parades are not usually my favorite past time. The truth is that I will probably never be one of those people who saves their place along the parade route days before the event, even sleeping out in a tent to ensure they don't lose their place. I am the annoying person who slips in just as the parade begins and sits down on the road in front of those people. Living in Louisiana and celebrating Mardi Gras every year has helped make me more of a parade fan, but then I wonder why we were so excited to catch tons of Mardi Gras "goods" when we are carrying loads of beads, plastic cups, balls and little stuffed animals home with us afterward. So, when I agreed to pack up and head to the parade down Center Street in Provo on the 4th of July, I was pretty skeptical about the parade being any good. Amazingly enough, I had never gone to the fourth of July parade before. I grew up in a family that didn't attend parades. I was pleasantly surprised by this parade and enjoyed the time we spent sitting on the road in the morning sun. You've got to love Provo, Utah.

Here we are lined up on the roadside just before the parade reached us.

Yes, the people in the bleachers had been there for awhile by the time we came and sat in front of them. Here is most of the Calder clan with our friends the Warrens.

I know, it looks as if I spent hours on myself this particular morning! I went for a morning run around Oak Hills just before we left for the parade. Let me just say that I do better on a treadmill. I hate running up and down hills, probably because I get totally winded and look ridiculous moving at my snail's pace! By the time I got back to the house, it was time to leave for the parade. So, here I am in all of my sweaty loveliness.

Once the parade started, I really remembered we were in Utah! Here is the float for the Sunshine Generation, a music group both Mark and Kimberly were privileged enough to be members of as kids. So I couldn't help but snap a picture as they sang along with the kids on the float, Mark a little more vigorously than Kimberly.

Here is my Sunshine boy with Benjamin who was fascinated by the singing. Maybe our own little Benjamin will join them one day (we can only dream)!

I had to snap a picture of Carston as the missionaries in the Provo mission made their way past us. He will be our first missionary. Luckily, I have some time left before that happens. I can't get enough of this sweet little boy!

Carston loves Babar. He has always loved elephants, ever since he was very small. He loved any books I could find about elephants, so Babar made his appearance at our house fairly early on. Thus, Carston was excited to see him bouncing along in the parade. Besides, he was a gigantic balloon and who doesn't love balloons?

The problem with parades is that they are a moving target. So, when I accidentally focused the camera on the truck in the background rather on my cute Jackson, I didn't have time to refocus. Jackson was excited about the cars that were in the parade. He is a real fan of monster trucks, although he has only ever seen them in Herbie Goes Bananas.

Peyton with her beloved tiger!
I had her stand up by the pirate and his girlfriend. They were a spirited bunch.

This float was about books and dreams. I thought it was creative and well done, especially since it was made by one of the stakes in the area rather than by a professional group. Grant was running around looking at all of the floats and liked the tree on this one, but it was difficult to get him to slow down for the picture.

This is the only picture I took in which you can partially see Benjamin's face. He watched the parade intently until I would get in front of him to try to get his picture and then he would look the other way.

After the parade, we had our traditional barbecue (always delicious) and swam the afternoon away in the backyard (see my other post on swimming). Peyton couldn't get enough of the tree swing and spent all of her time outside of the pool swinging on it.

Rides on the lawn mower are a favorite around the Calder yard. The grandkids love it! Mark spent part of the evening showing off his skills on the lawn mower by backing around the yard. He spent many days of his teenage life on the riding lawn mower actually mowing the lawn. Benjamin was sincerely impressed by his dad's moves.

Yes, I think Mark really enjoys mowing the lawn and he is good at it. The bouncy house in the background was also a favorite of the day. Once everyone got out of the pool, we had the Calder Olympics (thank you, Kimberly). Our kids really showed their skills:-). It was a fun fourth of July. We love spending the week of the fourth in Provo with our family. Thanks for always being so much fun!

Happy Independence Day!

Lemonade, anyone?

Lemonade stands are a lot of work! You sit out in the heat waiting for passing cars filled with people who either look apologetic when they don't stop or those that pretend they don't see you at all. After our experience today, I've resolved that I will always stop for kids selling 25 cent cups of lemonade. This is a picture of our impressive lemonade stand staffed by Carston, Jackson and McKay with Calder holding up a handmade sign behind them. I think the kids drank more of the lemonade than they sold!

Carston, Calder, Topher and Anna all took turns advertising. Any time a car came into view, they jumped up and down shaking their signs and yelling: "Lemonade, twenty five cents!". As you can see from the picture, Calder got frustrated when several cars passed without stopping and Anna got tired of the heat.

Grandma, Catherine, Kimberly and I supervised. Peyton decided to help us with the supervising rather than taking an active role in the advertising.

Hooray, our first customer of the day! The kids all gathered in excitedly to hand out the lemonade and collect the money. The rest of us were just grateful that someone finally stopped!

I was so proud of my Carston! He persevered through the heat and frustration beautifully and never gave up. He jumped up yelling every time a car passed and he was the only to stay at the table the entire time. He used this lovely blue hard hat for some protection from the rays of the sun. I don't know that it helped, but he looks tough!

Love the smile!

Aunt Janet was our best customer! She paid for several cups of lemonade that she had no interest in receiving. I guess she ended up paying for all that the kids drank. Thank goodness she was on her lunch break while we were out there. We love Aunt Janet!
All in all, the Calder cousins earned seven dollars with which they plan on doing some serious damage at a dollar store.

Although I couldn't interest Peyton in participating with the lemonade stand, Grandma was wise enough to bring out a different option, a diversion from work: baseball! Some of the younger kids took turns hitting balls to Grandma in the shade on the front lawn.

Jackson is getting set up for a big hit with his usual pleasantness.

He soon got the hang of it!

This was a hit!

Peyton is an athlete. She surprises me with her quick ability to pick up on sports. She quickly figured out how to get this plastic bat to work for her.

Spending the day before the birth of our nation playing baseball and selling lemonade somehow seems very appropriate. We love summertime!