Natural History & Annapolis

 We recently went to the Natural History museum as a family and had a marvelous time. Calder loved the little explorer room where he could examine butterflies under the microscope and touch all sorts of shells and skins. He loved the turtle shell and listening to the ocean in the seashells.

 The next day we went to Annapolis. Jason had only been there once about a year ago, so it was fun to go back again. We explored the pier and then went to a park to kill some time before we went to dinner. This is the second park we went to in Annapolis and we have been happy both times.

 Calder thought this large pay phone was a gas pump. He hasn't ever really seen a pay phone and the dial does look like the one on the gas pump.

  Then we went to Mike's Crab House. It was delicious as always. My only complaint is the lingering smell of crab. No matter how many times you wash your hands, they will smell like crab the rest of the day. It is so worth it though.

And, I'll leave you with a funny conversation we had the other day.

Cami [while rubbing Calder's feet]:  When you get married, you'll have a nice wife who will rub your feet every night.

Calder:  No, I want you to rub my feet when I get married.

Cami:  Ok.

Calder:  My wife can rub daddy's feet.

July?

I don't know where the month of July went but we were sure busy. Here's a quick list of things we've been doing:

• Bar taking (Jason)
• Cookie making (Calder and I)
• Finishing work (Jason)
• Lounging (all of us)
• Sewing (me, of course)
• Taking many trips to the library (all of us)

• Going to the Building Museum (finally all of us)

•  Newspaper reading (all of us)

•  Blackberry picking and pie making (Calder & I)

•  Holding family drum circles (Calder's request)

August is shaping up to be a great month around here. It has been so nice to have Jason around ALL THE TIME! I can't tell you how much we've enjoyed it. He turned down our invitation to go to playgroup today but otherwise we've been dragging him just about everywhere.

Oregon 2011

 This last week Calder and I went to Oregon for my sister's wedding reception. We had a great time and I didn't take nearly as many pictures as I would like. When I get pictures of the reception, I'll show you. They are adorable!

 Our trip started off rocky. After we were on the plane and pulled back from the gate they told the pilot to wait due to weather. So we sat on the runway for 2.5 hours. Just sat. Calder was awesome. He kept asking if we were up in the air yet. He just played with the headphones they gave him. Then, once we were up in the air, he slept the whole flight. 

Since we had such a long start, we missed our connecting flight and had to stay in Salt Lake for the night. Calder was very disappointed that we didn't get to go to Oregon that night but he was thrilled when he found out he had a queen bed all to himself and free breakfast, he perked up.

 Calder enjoyed seeing the temple that Jason and I got married in.

 Calder had the most amazing experience. His Grandpa John set him up with a garbage truck ride. Calder got to go around the block, drive the steering wheel and honk the horn. It was amazing.

 Home Depot has carts that look like this. He called them Tow Mater carts and cried when we left the store.

 While at the park with Grandma Kate and Aunt Wendy the garbage truck came to pick up the dumpster. Calder was thrilled.

Reading a book in the doll stroller = Awesome. 

We had a great time in Oregon. It was great to see our families and spend time with them. Congratulations to Katie & Chris!

Latest Happenings

 I haven't posted much about what we've been doing this summer. Mostly because we've been really busy. The fountain is open by our house so we are playing there a few times a week. There is also a weekly concert for kids that Calder is loving here in downtown Silver Spring.

 Our garden is growing and Calder is a fabulous gardener!

 We go to the zoo all the time and Calder loves these misting machines. You push a button and mist comes out. Genius.

 We hang out on the roof a lot. Calder likes to take our lunches up there and have little picnics. We also play a lot of tag and hide and go seek.

 More fun at the fountain.

 And more roof pictures. You can see we take reading material up there too.

We hope everyone else is having a wonderful summer! We sure are.

Father's Day & 7 Years

 I am so glad we have a day to celebrate the dads in our lives. I am so lucky to be surrounded by amazing guys. Jason is the most amazing dad for Calder. He is patient, fun and smart. He would do anything for Calder and I love him so much. And, to make the day even sweeter today is our 7th anniversary! Happy Anniversary Jason! You're the best!

 My dad is amazing. Because of the good qualities I saw in him  growing up I was able to choose my husband with similar qualities. My dad is strong, not afraid to show emotion and caring. I love the special bond he has with Calder. He will read as many books as Calder asks him to. Calder's favorite is Curious George and since we have the complete collection it can lead to very long reading sessions. Thankfully my dad is also patient. I love you dad!

Jason's dad is a great dad and a great grandpa for Calder. He is fun and loves to play whatever game Calder comes up with. He will spend hours playing basketball with a rubber ball and laundry basket, if that is what Calder wants to do. I'm glad that Jason and his dad have such a good relationship. Love you John!

Happy Father's Day!

Baltimore Boats

A few weeks ago LuAnn and I went to Baltimore with the intention of taking our kids to the Children's Museum. They were closed because it was Monday. Who knew a museum would be closed during the week? Since we had driven all that way and already fed the meter, we wandered around the harbor. There is a pretty cool boat tour that we ended up doing. We saw the submarine and a really big Navy boat. (I can't remember the name or details of it. Lu?)

Baltimore is a rather funny city. It is beautiful and has some really amazing neighborhoods, but it also has some really scary neighborhoods. I know every city has that to a certain extend but it seems Baltimore has less of a divide between the good and the bad. It also seems to have more sketchy neighborhoods than other cities. I should say, I've only been there a few times, so I could be reading it all wrong. It just seems that way to me.

Memorial Day

I have always thought of Memorial Day as a wonderful kick off to Summer. Having not had anyone in my family serving in the military and honestly not knowing many people at all serving in the military I didn't take the holiday as seriously as I should have. 

For the last year we have been living in an apartment building with a lot of very recent veterans. Most of them are missing limbs and are in rehabilitation at Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital. My eyes have really been opened in the last year. I can't even imagine what they and their families are facing and how hard their every day lives are now. My heart especially goes out to their wives. These guys are in their very early 20s and their wives are about the same. They have to do so much and I am so thankful that they are here, sticking it out with their husbands.

We've had some great conversations with some of our neighbors about the war, their recovery and their future plans. I am so glad many of them have great plans for their futures.

I'm so thankful that Calder has had the opportunity to get to know some of these guys. He now realizes and understands that those who look different than he does are still just normal people. I hope Calder's open understanding and compassion have been cemented enough to last a lifetime.

Thank you. To all those who are and have served our country. Words cannot describe my appreciation for your service.

Grandma Kate's Visit

 We just finished a wonderful week with Jason's mom. It is always fun to have her come visit. She took us to the National Aquarium which Calder loved because he hasn't ever been to an aquarium before. Honestly, it wasn't worth the $10 per person that it costs. It is really small.

 Grandma Kate bought Calder a fish. He loved showing his new fish "Oriel" all the other fish.

 At the building museum Calder gave Grandma Kate and I the job of building him a really tall house. He loved it.

 One of my favorite parks in the area is Wheaton Regional Park. I love it. They have a carousel and a little train to ride. The tickets are affordable and it is just a lot of fun.

We also went to Good Stuff. We take everyone there after we take them on the Supreme Court tour. I know I've blogged about it before. Calder even knows we go to Good Stuff after the SC. And he gets a toasted marshmallow shake.

Fire Station 1

We had a wonderful trip to the fire house for play group last week. It was awesome! The firemen were so sweet.

 We had such a great turn out.

 We celebrated Ciedra's birthday in the back of an SUV because it was raining. A lot. There were cupcakes and singing. It was so much fun.

As soon as we got home Calder had to practice his fireman skills. There was a lot of pretend 911 calling and stop, drop and rolling.