When we were in southern Utah for a family reunion this summer, we went to a county fair. The area is dry and desolate, with only pasture lands and sage brush. The fair was several miles from my grandparent's farm where were were staying. As we drove through the nothingness, weaving in and out of sloping hills, it was quite something when we rounded a curve, and in the middle of nowhere, an artificially bright and colorful bustle of carnival rides and games was growing unexpectedly out of the dull landscape. Calvin gasped and yelled, "Look! It's a carn-da-bull!" He then spent every second that we were there trying to escape to the bouncy house area. It was that night that we decided that for Calvin's birthday party we would have a carnival.
We decided to have it the week before Halloween so that we could enjoy the outdoor fall weather, and so that Calvin's Grandma Hazel could be here for the party and for Halloween. The week of the party was beautiful, clear, and warm. The day of the party we woke up to massive thunder showers. I was incredibly disappointed. I had walked off the yard a dozen times, deciding where every little activity would take place. Besides, I had no idea what to do with the twenty 3-5 year olds who would be showing up at my door in the afternoon.
When I called the bouncy house lady to see what my options were for maybe setting it up indoors, she said it would never fit inside of a home. But she suggested that a couple of other people that morning had arranged to have theirs set up in church buildings instead. I had Andy call our Bishop and a few other people to arrange scheduling and keys, and we were set. The party wasn't quite as magical as it would have been on a nice fall day in our yard, but all things considered, I'm glad it turned out as well as it did. Here are the highlights:
The Details:
The Games:
Presents and Cake:
Random shots:
The clean-up and post-party dance-off:
We had a great turn out of family and friends. Calvin had a melt-down during the cake cutting because a little girl beat him to blowing out the candles, but eventually he perked back up. It was one of those events that I was glad when it was finished, but it seemed like everyone had a great time. Thank you to my family -- I couldn't have done it without all of your help!
Happy Birthday, Calvin! These have been three amazing years and we adore you 100%.
A conversation while the boy and I were playing with Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head:
We let him play for quite some time, but then we dragged him off and forced him to enjoy the rest of the zoo. The day was hotter than snot, but it was still a lot of fun.
The Merry-go-round:
At the end of a long day. Calvin nursed a cold slushie while the girl fussed a bit with the hot sun on her bald head. They both fell asleep in the car before we left the parking lot.
06/24
She loved it. Along with the kitchen came a shopping cart, which she was thrilled to push around and around the house...
...until she realized that she could trick Grandma into pushing HER instead. Then she turned into a free-loader, and continued to insist that everyone tote her around like a princess.
Calvin was thrilled to see his train set again. It was nearly impossible to get him away from it.
Autumn played some bedtime music with Grandpa.
And then we all went to bed, happy to be there.
Calvin had a pretty bad reaction to a wasp that stung him today. He didn't complain, but he could barely bend his fingers because they were so swollen. This picture doesn't do it justice. We called the doctor because his hand just kept getting bigger, and they thought it was an infection that they would just treat with antibiotics. We already had a prescription from a sore throat he'd had recently, so we just gave him that and it seemed to do the trick.
This is my first ever freshman writing class. I loved them. I had so much fun learning along with them, and they were so patient with me and all of the ways I had no idea what I was doing. They even gave me some great advice for what worked and didn't work for next semester. We took this photo on the day of the final, and I already miss them. Below are links to their final projects. They all chose to do websites as their form of visual rhetoric, and I think they did an excellent job.
This was the note I found on the whiteboard on my last day of class. Aren't they the cutest?
