Stoked For Spring

We had some brief warm weather to break up all the gloominess! We were so excited about it, we just had to bust out in our shorts and skirts! Calvin for some reason would tug at the bottoms of his shorts, like, check these things out!

This kid....

The Baby Who Stares At Goats.

The family had planned a trip to the zoo that soon turned into an impromptu trip to Thanksgiving Point for something called Barnyard Boo. Before it starts to snow, we plan on taking Cal to the zoo to see the monkeys, because I think my mom really wanted to show him all of the cool animals at the zoo..
As you've probably guessed, Barnyard Boo was full of, well, barnyard type animals (goats, chickens, horses, etc.) The conversation went something like this:

Kids: Lets go to Thanksgiving Point! They have the Halloween stuff up and that's not going to be up all year long!

Mom: I wanted to let him go see the animals!

Kids: They have animals at Barnyard Boo!

Mom: ...... Well, they don't have monkeys... *pout*


Dear Mom,
We will make sure to go to the Zoo to see the monkeys before it snows..
Love, Ang.

How milk is manufactured...

A little intimidated by the giant animals..

Feeding the ducks and geese! He's so stoked..

He was quite fond of the goats. They kept licking his fingers.

We're locked up..

Talking to his Abuelo in Peru..

It all makes for one exhausted kiddo..

The Littlest Pals.

Calvin's Grandparents (On his Gomez side) took a little trip to Peru a few weeks back and brought Calvin the cutest little play things in the world! I can hardly believe that someone took the time to make these! I'm tempted to pick up some knitting needles (or crochet hook; however you make these little buggers) and learn to make some myself! And then I remember how unmotivated I get when they don't turn out like I want them to. It usually results in having a half-made whatever and then sits in my craft box in the closet doomed to be unfinished for eternity (*echo* -ity-ty-ty!)

Anyway, I think they're much more fun for me right now than they are for Calvin. Yes, he plays with them okay, makes them crash into each other or dive out of the crib but I just love looking at them and examining the little details on them!
Take a look.

The Animals: 

And my personal favorites: 

The Whole Gang: 

GRAND

My In-Laws invited us down to see their new St. George abode for the weekend! It was nice to get out of the house for a day or two and get my head back on straight (I'm sure many of my fellow mothers can relate). I've never actually done anything cool while I was down there. Truthfully, St. George has only ever been a resting place between where I live and the beautiful Las Vegas.
After a long drive and a much needed night's sleep, we woke up and decided to take a trip to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Neither David or I had ever seen the Grand Canyon except for pictures...

We walked to the edge of it and I literally had to catch my breath! I guess you always see pictures of the Grand Canyon online or on calendars and things like that. But no matter how good the picture is, there's no way that it could capture the immensity of the Grand Canyon. It is SOOO BIG! I just stared at it forever! And there were times on the little pathways where there was a cliff on the left and a cliff on the right! I was looking straight down into miles and miles of Grand Canyon!

I wonder what the first person who discovered it thought...
HOLY CRAP!

David standing out on the very edge. I thought I'd snap a "Last" picture of him in case a wind blew him away. 

The Lovely In-Laws enjoying the Canyon from a different angle.

I don't think Calvin thought that the Grand Canyon was quite as spectacular as I thought it was... but I think he still enjoyed himself. Especially watching his dad taking pictures of buffalo on the way up to the North Rim. 

Memorial Day

My weekend was wonderful. I am glad to be feeling better. On Friday I felt SO sick. I had no idea what was wrong with me! Tunnel vision, dizziness, the shakes, I felt like I was going to freeze even though it was 80 something degrees outside! After trying to deal with it for a while by myself, David came to my rescue and took care of Calvin and I. I am so grateful for David having come home. I had to go to my Instructor Certification all the way in Clearfield the next day so I don't know what I would have done if I wouldn't have had that time to get better. Ah. I have the best husband ever.

That was the other part of my weekend! I will have you know that I am now an OFFICIAL Zumba Instructor. That whole day was such a blast. I tried so hard to keep my energy up all day and hit every move as enthusiastically as Lindsey (the Zumba Education Specialist certifying us that day) was. There was so much to learn and I tried my best to absorb all that Lindsey was teaching. And at the end of the day, I felt like my limbs were going to fall off. I will be doing small substitution jobs for a studio in Springville called Sweaty Chix until their new studio opens in Lindon where I'll be on as a full time Instructor. It's super cheesy to say it this way, but since losing all of my pregnancy weight and becoming so addicted to Zumba, I thought I would love to be an instructor to pass on everything I love about it! I'll keep you all posted on further Zumba details. :)

And finally- Memorial Day was so awesome. I felt like it was the Saturday I kind of missed out on since I was in Clearfield the whole day for Zumba. I read, I cleaned, I even sat out and got a little tan. And later in the afternoon, David, Calvin and I went over to my parent's house for dinner. It was an all out Argentinean Asado. My sister's boyfriend, Scott, who went on a mission to Argentina assisted in the cooking of the meat outside over hot coals! It tasted amazing!! And the weather was so perfect we all ate outside and got to sit on the soft grass. :) And after coming home at about 9:30, Calvin was SO tired after a long day of playing that he fell right to sleep and gave David and I an opportunity to sit out at the hot tub and go for a swim out at the pool. The water was JUST cold enough to cool us off after sitting in the hot tub for a while. I would have to say a PERFECT holiday. I'm just bummed that it's all over! :(

(Click on the pictures to enlarge!!)

Calvin LOVES Dozer (the dog) and tries to call him. Although it comes out sounding more like "Doo!" More than Dozer. We're lucky to have such a patient puppy.

 R2 (Arthur Saraiva), a good family friend entertaining Calvin.

My dad telling a really cool story! (He gets really animated)

R2 managed to make it over to the trees.

Scott's yummy Strawberry Cake thing and my mom's BIG Cookie Cake! YUM! :D 

It's a miracle! Calvin will actually sit and play on the grass now!!!

Isn't he the cutest?? 

I hope everyone's holiday was as wonderful as mine was! :) 

Travieso

I have the most mischievous little boy. Some would say that he's much too little to understand what he's doing. But I know he understands my tone when he knows he shouldn't be doing something. He looks back at me like, trying to decide whether to stop doing or to keep going. That little trouble maker. He's only 8 months old right now! Imagine the kind of messes he'll make in a few years!

Taking out the DVDs.. This happens regularly. And the look he gives me when I say his name in the TONE...

But how could I stay mad at this face? How, I ask you?

Cal likes to try and climb his Cousin Noah. As you can see here, poor Noah is helpless to defend himself against Calvin. It's like Calvin's got tentacles that he can't escape from!!

Calvin being a ham for the camera.. and Noah seems so relieved that Cal's finally left him alone.

Week with Grandma & Grandpa!

It seems to me that last week went by SO quickly. I could have sworn that it was Monday and the next thing I know, it's Saturday night and my body is aching from being out and about. We did get to spend a little time with Jim and Jo, which was so great because we originally thought we wouldn't see them nearly at all! David got to do his first bridal shoot on Friday night and were there until nearly 11 o'clock! It was exhausting, but very rewarding (mostly, thanks to Nate and Kate who were so willing and so patient, and so in love.) The lucky couple is getting married this Saturday so we'll be up and down getting pictures of their big day. Wish us luck! Anyway, I also managed to get some pictures of our time with Grandma and Grandpa. Calvin felt right at home with his grandparents, I would say especially his Grandpa Jim, who he spent a lot of time with sitting on his knee. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but Cal never is very cuddly. But sitting on Grandpa's knee seemed to work just right, because there he was, sitting so contently sucking on his little thumb and cuddling up. It's just not fair, I tell you.

Here are pictures from last week, Enjoy!

↑ Hang Out Dude Time in the morning with a very sleepy dad ↑

↑ He climbs EVERYTHING now. He'll be the next Bear Gryllis, I swear. ↑

↑ Playing with his Grandma and Grandpa! ↑

↑ Grandma Jo bought Cal a John Deere sweatshirt, I wish you could see it except David's hand is covering it.. Ugh. ↑

↑ Just a quiet moment. ↑

*****

Here a picture taken by accident by Nate who was using the camera on the computer as a mirror for the Bridal/Groomal shoot. You can see everyone in the background preparing for the shoot. Doesn't Kaitlin  just look gorgeous??? I'll also post a finished picture from the shoot. David is so talented at photography. I can hardly stand it. 

The Finished Product: