4 years old

Calvy walvy is 4 years old. For Calvin's birthday we took him to Toys R Us and he immediately fell in love with a dragon castle, of course, a dragon and a castle combined, what's not to love? Because this happened in the first five minutes, we convinced him to keep looking around and if he still wanted the castle at the end, then he could get it. He did find two other things he loved, A knight costume and a pirate Lego set (he wanted his own Lego set because his dad's 8 million Legos just won't cut it). So we told him he could either get both the Lego set and the costume or just the dragon castle. He thought very intently about this for a few minutes and he came up with a solution. He wanted the two presents for his birthday and he wanted Santa to get him the dragon castle for Christmas. It has been two weeks since this shopping trip and a day hasn't passed when he asks how many days until Christmas so that he can tell Santa that he wants the Dragon Castle. Even though he does love his knight costume and his Lego set, he just won't forget about the castle. He just cracks me up. I just love that he is only 4 and he has the patience of an adult. He hasn't once thrown a fit or said "I want it now", he is such a good kid.

After shopping we got him and Lily Crisp bean burritos from Taco Time. This is Calvin's favorite favorite meal. I think we have had more crisp bean burritos in the last six months then we have had in the last 10 years. Jon and I had real food from Cafe Rio! We then went to the movie because Calvin decided he would rather watch Monsters vs. Aliens then go to the Hogle Zoo. Which Jon and I were very happy with because the movie was at the $1 theater and was air conditioned unlike the $8 a person tickets to visit the 100 degree zoo. Calvin and Jon loved the movie, Lily and I just thought it was okay. Later that night he chose Sno cones for his birthday dessert. I got icecream in my sno cone and it was so delicious. Calvin had a very fun birthday.

About my little 4 year old:
I could not ask for a better little boy. Calvin amazes Jon and I everyday with the stuff he says and does. He is so well behaved (knock on wood), he is sweet and kind and smart. Calvin's favorite things are: swords, knights, dragons, pirates, castles, Book of Mormon stories, playing Legos with his dad, reading stories, watching movies, helping mom with chores and cooking, playing with friends and much more. Calvin can sound out words, recognize every letter sound, he can count to fifty (100 if I prompt him), he has an amazing memory, he remembers details to things that I would never remember, he is patient and helpful and we love him so much.

At Calvin's 4 year old check up he weighed 36 lbs and he was 40 inches tall, he is in the 50% for both.

Water Birthday Party

We threw Calvin and Lily a combined water birthday party last weekend. We had a slip n slide, sprinklers under the trampoline, water balls, and squirt guns. We started this for Calvin's birthday last year and it will now be a combined birthday tradition. It was a BBQ birthday bash, hot dogs, hamburgers, cake, Popsicles and other yummy treats. We had a really good time. Happy birthday my two little munchkins!

4th of July

I love the 4th of July. We have a big family reunion on my dad's side every year. When I was young my mom always hosted this party. We would have over 100 people at the BBQ every year, we would setup volleyball, basketball (and play the traditional game of lightning), food, water games and blankets on the grass. As the years passed other family members have hosted the party. The last several years we would have fun relaxing in Aunt Bambie's beautiful backyard. And this year Jana and Cory invited everyone over. It was a scorching hot day but we still had wonderful food, like Aunt Angie's famous potato salad, and a wonderful time. We played guitar hero, Jennylynn set up a big water slide, we played tennis and listened to some good music (mostly country).

After my family party we came home and woke Jon from his graveyard slumber and went to his family reunion over at BYU. His Mom's side always meets on the grass over by the stadium to share yummy treats like Nancy's 7 layer bean dip and watch the Stadium of Fire fireworks. This year we weren't able to stay to long because Jon had to be back to work for another graveyard shift. So instead of watching the fireworks on the grass we went up to his work and watched the whole valley do fireworks. Jon's work is on the top of 1600 north in Orem and it has a huge balcony that was perfect seating to see all of the fireworks without all of the noise to scare Lily. Joe, Jaime and the girls met us up there to watch the show and Jon's dad and Wendy also showed up. And the best part was, NO TRAFFIC getting home from Provo.

I also love the 4th of July because of what we celebrate. We live in a wonderful country and I am proud to be an American. Thank you to all of the soldiers who fight for our freedom, Like my Uncle Lincoln! I hope you all had a wonderful 4th as well.

Blog Book volume 1

Front and back cover.

Our blog book is here. I finally finished it and I am very happy with how it turned out. I am not a graphic designer or even very creative for that matter, so the cover turned out like a yearbook cover. But I did it, so I am proud of myself. I received the book in the mail last week and the pictures were really spotty, as if the ink didn't catch. I emailed blurb and and they printed and overnighted me a brand new one which looks fabulous. I now have an extra for my mom's Christmas present. This is the reason I started a blog, to make a family Journal, history, scrapbook, whatever you want to call it. My friend Jeri inspired me with her blog book a couple of years ago and it has actually been something I have stuck with and really enjoyed. If you would like to make a blog book go to www.blurb.com and download the program. They are surprisingly inexpensive and it is an easy program to work with.

The many faces of Lily

I took these pictures of Lily in our backyard before the big birthday party on Saturday. She is such a little doll face.

"Why am I all dressed up when Calvin is playing with his friends?"

"Please let me out of here."

This face says "I am so done with this."

"Hooray! Dad saves me!"

Family Pictures

We had my friend Jeri take our family pictures the other night. We went to a really fun location in Lehi that had some cool old buildings. Even though we had some technical problems and Jon had to run to Walmart (that is why he is not in some of these), we still ended up with some great Pictures.