End of Summer

It's been a fun summer. I'm actually shocked at how fast it went. When school first got out at the beginning of June I was seriously not excited and truthfully a little nervous. I remember wondering what in the world I was gonna do to keep my girls busy for 12 weeks! But holy cow those 12 weeks totally flew by! I didn't stick to the strict schedule I'd originally planned on following (my "school" type summer lasted one day :). Instead I tried to get out and do as much as possible. Our ward had a summer calendar full of weekly activities for whoever wanted to meet up. Monday we always met at a park, Tuesday was $1 movies (I only took the kids twice- Elle couldn't really handle sitting through a whole movie), Wednesday was different performances at the library (favorites were the balloon man and juggler), Thursday was beach day, and Friday was open for whatever. Whenever our friends with pools sent out an invite, we'd always jump on it (totally missed having a pool this summer). We hit up lots of different parks, checked out hundreds of new books, had dozens of picnics, and built many a sand castle. It was fun to be able to see lots of family (every extended member of the Jenkins side and over half of the Rudd side). And we just got back (Sunday night) from a week vacation in Huntsville, Utah (definitely want to make it a yearly tradition). We definitely had a good summer and made lots of great memories, but now I'm very much ready for school to start! Tomorrow's the big day and I'm not sure who's more excited- Madi or Me!! Gotta run go make 1st day of school posters!

Luckily, beach trips won't end just because summer's over!

Another summer favorite- family dinners in our backyard (we ate outside almost every single night).

5 months old

This past month was a busy one. We did lots of traveling- with a trip up north at the beginning of the month and then a whole day (12 1/2 hours) in the car going to Utah on Saturday. Cal's quite a good little traveler.

Some of the highlights of the month include:
-meeting 2 uncles and 4 aunts
-got a new jump up, but he has yet to jump in it though
-takes binky in and out
-sleeps rolled over on left side, holding onto blanket with right hand pressed against his face
-For 3 weeks Cal only pooped once a week. Each Friday he'd have a massive blow-out and then nothing the rest of the week. But then we started solids on the 7th and that first week Cal pooped 3 times! I guess that's all it took. I wanted to wait on starting food, but Cal seemed so hungry all the time. By day 2 of solids he was a total pro!

- First time in the ocean. Usually Cal falls asleep nursing and stays in the shade of an umbrella or his car seat. This time he got to experience the water. Little too cold for his liking. I also took him swimming for the first time on the 10th. Dunked him under and everything and he wasn't even phased by it!

- Graduated to the seat side of the bath tub. 

- First time in the swings at the park. 

Love LOvE LOVE this little guy!!!

Just me and the kids

The other day I was able to spend a few minutes getting caught up on a dear friends blog. One thing I loved about her blog was that she had pictures of her with her kids. It made me sad that I have very few. So right then and there I made a resolve that I will try and get pictures of me with my kids. It made me think back to my first beach outing alone with all 3 kids. The parking lot at Silverstrand was full, so I had to park on the road. I unloaded all our gear, put Cal in the front pack, beach chair on my back, beach bag over one arm and had two hands free for Madi and Elle. I remember thinking how crazy I must look and how I wished I had someone there to snap a picture of my craziness- Elle freaking out at every car driving by, trying to walk single file down the road while holding hands, and whacking the girls in the head with my back pack beach chair every time I'd turn to talk to them. So I was happy when I found a picture in my camera of me with the kids (my mom must have taken) when we went down to County Line the other day.

After searching desperately for a good spot to set up camp, we finally settled on right next to the water. Cal was starving so we threw up the umbrella, put down the chairs and called it good. I loved how the girls immediately started sand castle building. But after a few good waves came up to my ankles and started washing beach toys out to sea, we decided to move to a better spot. Good times! Love the pic- thanks mom! And hopefully there will be more to come!

Our Garden

What's growing L-R: Peppermint, basil, oregano, husky red tomatoes, cilantro, and blue lake pole beans (green beans). We also have Rosemary that just took root in our kitchen window. 

Just another talent to add to Spencer's list- he's become quite the gardener! Back in June, one week before Father's day to be exact, Spencer bought a planter box to plant some beans. A day later he shows up with more soil, seeds, and some pots. Then a week after that, another planter box. And then a few weeks later, some wood and string to build a tressle for his planter box (so the beans could grow higher). I was seriously annoyed! I don't like clutter and it drives me crazy to have things in the way. Spencer's pots and planter boxes were taking up our walk way that the girls ride their bikes on. But, I tried not to let it bother me. Luckily, Spencer's seeds took root quickly and immediately produced results. Everyday after work Spencer headed straight outside to check on his plants. I didn't really get into it until his plants started producing fruit and vegetables! Now that's something worth getting excited over! We picked our first bean crop last Tuesday! Every morning we go out and pick a small bucket full of beans. Before this I really wasn't the hugest fan of green beans. But I'm telling you, something about fresh, home grown green beans is absolutely delicious!!

The touch of the gardener's hand! :)

Then this week we picked our first tomatoes! DElicious!!

Good growing Spence!

Another visit and table finished!

Mom, dad, and Madi got in last Thursday night (crazy that was a just a week ago). We were all super excited to see our sweet girl again. It was cute watching Madi and Elle's reunion. They hugged, they laughed, and then Madi asked Elle to show her around (like she'd forgotten what our house looked like or something)! It was cute! We spent the rest of the weekend playing with Gram and Papa. Well, mom and I spent the weekend playing. We wanted to try out a new beach and decided to hit up County Line (across from my Outdoor Science School camp). Unfortunately it was a disaster! There was tons of seaweed which equals lots of flies! The sand was hot and we had to move 3 times to find a good spot. I think we stayed for a total of an hour and a half. Oh well, now I know not to go to that beach again! Dad and Spencer spent Friday afternoon and all day Saturday working on finishing our picnic table. And luckily they had success! Saturday night around 8pm they were completely done!! We're so very excited about our newest piece of patio furniture! Thanks dad for all your help with the table! And thanks mom for your help with the kids! We sure love having you guys come visit! 

My favorite part of the table is the detachable benches. Spencer still has to stain it, but until then we've thrown on a table cloth and eaten outside on it almost every night this week!

And had to include these cute pics. When Madi saw what Gram was wearing to church she insisted on wearing her polka dot dress to be twins. And Elle's dress also has polka dots. They were both so excited to match Gram!

Cal wasn't as excited about the picture taking!

Time away

The best medicine for a tired mom is having a few days away. Our girls weekend up to Windsor was exactly what I needed to recharge my battery again. We got back to Brentwood early Monday (8/6) afternoon. I was super excited to see Madi and Elle and hear all about their fun. Anytime we're separated I so terribly miss their cute faces, big hugs, sweet smiles, and little voices. Sadly, I didn't have much time to get caught up before repacking the van, loading up, and heading back to Camarillo. Since mom and dad were driving down to our place that next weekend we decided to leave Madi behind. She's grown up so much this summer and just seems like such a big girl now. She has fun hanging with the adults, if she stays up past her 7pm bedtime she'll usually sleep in, plus she's a total rule follower and all about keeping herself safe and healthy (I guess she's always been this way, but as she's gotten older it just makes her seem that much more responsible). Whenever Madi gets to do something extra special- something that "big kids" get to do, our code phrase is, "because we know you can handle it". For some reason, hearing this always makes Madi try a little harder to be good. I loved hearing from my mom, dad, Tisha (who didn't fly out til Tuesday night), and Karlee about what a good girl Madi was and how much fun they had with her. I'm so used to being with my kids 24/7 that it's hard for me not to know what they've done all day. I loved hearing stories from mom and Karlee at the end of each day. Some of my favorites:

1) Madi was in the hot tub and Karlee brought out some juice. Karlee asked Madi if she wanted some. Madi says, "Do you know what's better then juice? Water!! Can I some water?" 

2) We always tell Madi not to come out of her room until 7am. If there isn't a clock in the room, we let her take a phone to bed with her. I guess one morning Karlee was waiting for Madi to wake up. About 8am Karlee starts to wonder what's going on. She listens at Madi's door and can hear Madi talking. A minute later Karlee hears Madi closer to the door singing, "Where is Thumbkin". Karlee peeks in to say good morning and find out why Madi's not coming out. I guess for some reason Madi thought it wasn't 7am yet and would never break the rules!!

3) Thanks to Aunt Karlee, Madi became the seat belt cop. Whenever someone wouldn't wear their seat belt Madi was the first to pipe up, "Click it or ticket"!
4) While out shopping, my mom and Madi came upon a wishing well. Mom hands Madi a penny to throw in and make a wish. Madi says, "I wish that I'll marry Tyler," then pauses and adds, "not my cousin Tyler." It's so cute how much Madi misses her dear friend Tyler. She's pretty confident that one day they will marry.
5) Madi was so excited about spending time with Aunt Tisha. It's been about 10 months since my girls have seen their Calhoun cousins. They were so excited to see Tish and the first words out of their mouths were: "Where's Adley and Ani?" It kills me to live so far away now and know that these cousins won't be seeing each other very often. I guess Madi made sure to squeeze in as much Aunt Tisha time as possible.

More than anything, it was just fun to hear about all the fun Madi had in Brentwood. I got picture texts of her making cookies with Gram, going to Jamba juice with her 3 aunts, and shopping with Gram. I also heard how Uncle Jeremy taught her to play "Mary had a Little Lamb" on the piano, how they got to visit Uncle Jeremy's talking parrot at his parents' house, and going swimming in their pool. Then I got to hear about Madi's adventures traveling back to Camarillo with Gram and Papa. I guess they left at 8:45pm Wednesday night headed to King City. Since it was so late, mom and dad had Madi totally ready for bed, tucked her into her booster seat, and turned on a movie for her to fall asleep to. Bad idea- Madi loves movies and was fighting sleep to stay awake to watch the show. After about an hour on the road dad tells Madi he's gonna turn the movie off so she can go to sleep. She says, "ok" and was asleep within seconds! But even with the lack of sleep (Madi requires 12 hours), my parents said she was an absolute angel! I knew she was old enough to handle it!

Big thanks to my parents for taking such good care of our Madi Moo!

Sisterfest 2012

While the boys partied it up with Madi and Elle in Brentwood, us gals relaxed at mom and dad's timeshare in Windsor. What fun it was to get together as sisters. There were 8 of us total- Mom, Roxy, Tisha, Jo, Amy, Karlee, me, and of course Cal! We were super sad that Jen wasn't able to make it. What a treat it would have been- for ALL of us to be together again. Hopefully next time- cause there's definitely gonna be a next time! We had SUCH a BLAST- livin it up in the penthouse suite, staying up late (not the easiest thing for me), chatting long into the night, playing games, doing pedicures, watching the entire first season of Downton Abbey, laying out at the pool, doing a whole lot of relaxing, and eating LOTS and lots of candy (not kidding- check out our treat drawer)!

Jo's birthday was on Sunday so we had a big Bieber party for her after church (Jo's a big Justin Bieber fan). Mom went all out on decorations- complete with banners, plates, and napkins.

Such an attractive picture of me. I believe I had just woken up from a nap!

I wish I'd taken more pictures of our weekend (for some reason Roxy didn't make it into any of the pictures I have). But having a 4 month old along for the fun kept me busy enough.

Big snuggles for Gram

Cal, Tisha and Jo

After dinner out on the town

In Brentwood

Tuesday (July 31st) Karlee, the kids, and I made the trek from Camarillo to Brentwood. Even though it's a drive I'm gonna get used to doing alone, it was super nice having another adult to help me out along the way. I had two full days to play in Brentwood before leaving for our "Sisterfest". It's always nice to be home and have lots of help with the kids (and constant entertainment)! I was able to run my 5 miles in the morning, and spend individual time with each kid. Wednesday morning I took the girls to a splash park while Cal napped and in afternoon I went shopping alone with Madi. We went to Babies R Us and got Calvin a new jump-up and mobile (he had $75 in gift cards to use from his baby shower). It was fun to have Madi help me pick out what she thought Calvin would like. I loved how she fell in love with the lambie mobile and wanted to sit in the squishy, pink rocking chair. It's just so fun getting to have one-on-one time with my kids (doesn't happen often)- I always love our conversations. Thursday Bobby and Amy flew in. Madi and Elle were in absolute heaven with all the aunt/uncle attention. We had a belated birthday dinner for Bob followed by cake and ice cream. Madi felt special because we told her that when Uncle Bobby saw pictures of her butterfly birthday cake, that's what he wanted for his birthday dessert too!

Friday morning Tisha and Jo flew in, and mid afternoon all us "big girls" (plus Calvin) took off for the "mountains" (that's where Madi kept saying we were going). Madi and Elle stayed behind with Uncle Jeremy, Uncle Bobby, and Papa (Spencer flew in Friday night). While us girls were away, the boys sure knew how to play. They drove into San Fransisco on Saturday, went to Bubba Gump Shrimp for lunch, rode the carousel, and then got a baby-sitter in the evening so they could go see the new Batman movie! Here's a few iphone pics to document their fun:

It was a fun weekend for everyone! Madi, Elle and Cal were the only kids around the entire weekend so they really were spoiled rotten with attention. And one of my favorite things is seeing them being adored by grandparents, aunts, and uncles, so it was definitely a treat for me!