Out and About in a Boat

One of the highlights of our trip to UT was spending some time on the lake with Grandpa. We headed out on this particular morning with Grandpa Call, Aunt Doreen (pictured) and two cousins- Hunter and Jackson. It was quite the party boat.
Grandpa has an inflatable contraption affectionately called the "shoe." All of the grandkids love to ride in it....it is relatively safe and keeps the kids mostly contained.
Of course, the safety features are all void if your child chooses not to hold onto the available handles :).
Madeline even took a spin with her two cousins Jackson and Hunter in tow. Here, they are all getting some air in the shoe. Hunter is huddled in the back.

Owen did not trust the flotation devices, and frankly, I didn't trust him in them, so he spent his time on the side of the boat manning the orange flag....

.....and enjoying the breeze. He was soooo incredibly pleased with this trip.

Eva was water hesitant as well, but eventually she made her way out of the boat for some swimming time. She never did ride in the shoe. Maybe next year.

Mary's Wedding

The kids and I headed out to UT in the middle of August for my sister Mary's wedding. She was married in the SLC temple. It was a beautiful sealing ceremony. We are so happy for Mary and Jared.


Here is Mary fresh out of the temple. The girls are admiring her beautiful dress and bouquet.
Madeline standing on the temple grounds waiting to "finally"be done with pictures.

A group shot of the sisters. All 9 of us! It was so fun to have all of us together for the wedding.
The girls getting their last few squeezes from uncle Tim. He just left for a 2 year mission to Brazil.


A quick picture in front of the temple before heading to the luncheon.
After the luncheon, we made our way to the reception at the Springville Museum of Art.

Owen was quite impressed by the cake, which was made by my sister-in-law, Deborah. It was the most delicious wedding cake I have ever met. She did a fantastic job.

Springville

We spent almost three weeks in Utah in August/September. My sister Mary got married at the end of August, so we decided to make it an extended stay. We didn't have to be back for school or anything :). The kids spent a LOT of time outside. Every waking hour Owen was trying to find new ways to sneak out into grandma's backyard so he could dig in the dirt, or walk through the corn. As you can see, clothing was optional on this vacation (at least for Owen:)....it was in the 90's our whole stay.....
I love that they were able to spend some much needed time outside picking fruit and vegetables, playing in the yard, and bonding with grandma, grandpa and cousins.....things they miss out on in NYC.

Governors Island

It was Civil War weekend on Governors Island the weekend we headed over in August. For those of you who don't know, GI is a fantastic getaway just a *free* ferry ride away from Manhattan. The island was formerly used for military purposes. It housed army barracks, a military prison, and some battle forts. In 2003, it was sold to the "people of NY" for a "nominal fee" to be used for recreational purposes.....which we enjoy taking full advantage of.

There are very few cars on the island, which makes it perfect for a stress-free family bike ride. Also, there is a bike rental available- which is free on Friday.

Owen loves being pulled in the bicycle caboose, and falls asleep every time about 15 minutes into the ride.

Madeline and Eva love, love, love biking here. We never stay as long as they would like- of course if it was up to them we would probably never leave.

Probably the best part of GI is its location. It is right near the base of Manhattan's financial district. From the island, you see fantastic views of downtown, the Statue of Liberty, and Ellis Island.

Like I mentioned before, on this particular trip it was Civil War weekend. There were actors providing reenactments and information on what life was like during the 1860's.

Owen got to touch a real gun. He was pretty much in heaven. Though, he was pretty disappointed they didn't have swords too. Did I mention he is a boy?

We were given a full description of what life was like for the Union soldiers of the Civil War. The US government provided them with a very nutritious rations which consisted coffee, tobacco, black tea, and tack bread (hard crackers). Yum.

On the large grassy field of the island, there were some soldiers taking part in a cannon reenactment. Why are they still wearing their helmets? You can never be too cautious, especially with a live cannon nearby.

I am convinced that all Civil War soldiers came home deaf after battle. This was louder than I was prepared for. Owen loved it. You can tell by his desperate question at the end: "All done?!? All done!!!"

Gazillion Bubbles

Ever want to know what a Gazillion Bubbles looks/feels like? Well, do I have a show for you!

We needed a way to celebrate the end of our "school year." As I was thinking about some momentous way to have the children properly graduate from their respective grades, I came across some discount tickets to the Gazillion Bubble Show here in Manhattan.

Not only was it just a bubble show......it was also a laser bubble show!

Eva liked it. Can you tell?

The lady who hosted the show was the wife of the original "Gazillion Bubble Show" guy. She took her bubble making seriously. Throughout the show there were constant life metaphors drawn by the narrator that were bubble-centered. I tried not to laugh too hard. Bubbles are like people.....really?

I thought Owen would be all over this show. He is CRAZY about bubbles. But, we found he prefers them one at a time....blown from a small wand....not a Gazillion at once. He could not be pried out of dad's lap and sat there with an expression of pain for the entirety of the show. We now know why there was a 4+ age rule.

Madeline looked obedient enough that she was called from the audience to participate in an on-stage stunt.....the BIG BUBBLE. The four of them were encased in a bubble. Whoa.

Happy Graduation!

Diego+Dora+Owen

Diego+Dora+Owen=Best Friends Forever. Seriously, there may not be two other people in the world that he talks about more. Sad, I know. We don't even have cable- just a few DVD's that he gets to watch occasionally. I am convinced that whoever created these shows has a firm grasp of the child psyche. Owen is entranced....almost hypnotized as he watches. He excitedly answers (yells) his answers to all their posed questions. He gets mad and anxious over Swiper the Fox. He knows the names of all the obscure animals they highlight (Spectacled Bears, Spotted Whale Sharks, etc). He puts on his sisters backpacks during the day and yells, "Go Rescue Pack!" He even gets uncommonly excited when he spots a map.....and it is usually an MTA subway map. The developers of this show somehow know the inner workings of his brain.

So, as you can imagine, our trip to the Children's Museum of Manhattan that has an entire floor dedicated to the duo is always the highlight of Owen's month. If there were heaven on earth for this three year old, it would be here.

Seussical

So, I found some pictures of a play Madeline participated in way back in May, and I am finally recording it five months later :). She was a "Who" from Who-ville in a play put on by a local children's Theater Company . You can see her in the second to last row (long ponytails, yellow shirt), behind the piano in the top picture. Her part was minor, which meant she only had to practice with the cast once a week (yay for me!), but she really enjoyed it regardless. The theater company usually only lets "older kids" (8 and up) in their plays, but for this particular production they needed a group of little ones to be Whos - so her drama class made up of 6 and 7 year-olds was invited (and excited!) to participate.