The Half-Birthday

Since December is a crazy month for our family we have decided to celebrate Calvin's birthdays in the summer. We have been doing this every year since his 1 1/2 Birthday. This year (4 1/2)Calvin got a lot of input as we planned his party. He decided on the type of cake, what activities we did and when we would have it. We had a great time and he even had a few surprises. The bubble wrap was a complete shock.

Bowling Adventure

The Strike

BF "Jenna"

Bubble Wrap Madness

Supper Dive

Yes, it was loud!

Calvin's Volcano Cake

"Bubble Queen" Gwen

Gotta love the tin-foil goggle blind-fold

Wet T-shirt.. yum.

Kaia's Photo Shoot

Sunbeam V8

She's the most beautiful little sporty-car I've ever seen. Brand new 'Artic White' paint job, freshly painted black grill, sparkly chrome accents, and best of all- the BEST family in the world to share it with.

It is truly a family effort. My Dad, Peter, is dedicated to rebuilding this beauty for us. He is pulling out all of the stops. My mom supports the effort with hard work and encouragement. Noah and Calvin, Kaia and I travel up to visit and work on our TIGER!

We are working on rebuilding the engine, preparing the seats to be reupholstered and picking out some shiny new rims!

Our theme is: British meets Cali

I'll keep you posted on the progress...

I thought only dogs chased cars?

Gotta love Fridays!

After a normal but seemingly long day Calvin, Kaia and I stopped by our favorite fish market for some warm clam chowder and fish tacos. We sat outside on the black iron furniture and after only half of his soup Calvin started playing in the shrubbery. I watched him cautiously as he hopped over plants and bushes talking to himself and humming.

A car entered the parking lot and maneuvered around the sitting area approaching the bustling Trader Joe's parking lot. Calvin hopped over a few more bushes, jumped the half wall over the wood chips following the car. I was keeping an eye on him. He was getting closer and closer to the small red car. As the car began to round the corner of the building I realized that Calvin was not going to stop at the curb, so I yelled,

"Calvin... Calvin... get back here"!

He froze and did exactly as I said. He looked startled, then smiled a bit guiltily. I asked him, "What were you doing, what were you thinking"?

He confessed, "I was going to jump on to that car". I was shocked.

"What"? I said astounded.

After about 10 seconds Calvin continued, "Do you remember the first Curious George book"? He said bashfully.

At first I didn't, but then it dawned on me. I couldn't stop myself from smiling. The image of George on top of the tall city bus riding around the city looking for the man with the yellow had flashed into my mind. I had to laugh. I knew Calvin would absolutly love to jump up on a bus and ride around like George. What a fantasy!

Of course we talked about how dangerous it is jumping onto moving vehicles but I have to smile inside about his sense of imagination and curiosity. Sometimes I really think he is a little monkey.

This isn't the scene Calvin was remembering but it does capture the sense of wonderment, curiosity and sheer guts Calvin and George have in common.

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Stage Fright

So they say not to start a speech apologizing for how unprepared you are or by confessing just how truly frightening it is to stand up and speak. I guess that goes for starting to write a blog too. So, I'll let Shel Silverstein take it from here.