Olsen Family Thanksgiving Break

We spent a fun Thanksgiving with the Olsen Family in Utah this year. Cal was so excited to see his Grandma & Grandpa and his cousins, he got his suitcase out and packed (the essentials--all toys) almost a week before our flight.

We flew right into Provo, and boy was it cold in Utah! Luckily, Cal had his wool hat and mittens that Aunt Heather had knit him.

The boys had such a fun time together. They are both getting to the age where they play well and really enjoy each other's company. It was sweet to watch. 

One of the days, we all met up at the new Scheels sporting goods store so we could ride the indoor ferris wheel (yes, you read that correctly -- land is so inexpensive in Utah that you can build a store large enough to house an indoor ferris wheel).

There are so many fun activities in Utah at Christmas time! We also took the boys to see a small display of gingerbread houses, which they loved. Each of us got to vote on our favorite.

Cal took this picture of two houses that he really liked:

Even better, we were surprised to discover that the rest of the building was basically an awesome children's museum about the history of Utah. There were so many cute hands-on exhibits for the boys, including a house with a table and a kitchen, a yard where they could fish, milk cows, and hang laundry from clothespins, and a grocery store with hundreds of moveable food items.

The boys loved it, and so did the parents! It was fun to see them imagine, and to play with them.

Thanksgiving was filled with food preparation, the Macy's parade, and the Westminster Dog Show, which I insisted on watching. Cal helped Grandma make her famous rolls:

And of course, we all made ginger snap cookies (Cal was shirtless at this point, nbd).

Grandma Rosemary brought a fun activity with her. On a long scroll of paper, we each drew pictures of what we were grateful for. Then, after dinner, the boys got to present it to us by scrolling through the drawings. They were so excited about it, so we got the show several times.

The day after thanksgiving, Reed and I dashed off to Boston, leaving Cal to spend some quality time with Grandma and Grandpa. We are so grateful that they are so good to him. He absolutely loves his grandparents.

Reed at I flew back early Sunday morning, and we all went to church together. It's always a treat to see the Christmas decorations in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. I got some extra time to enjoy them, since my RLS had me walking the halls during sacrament meeting.

We had some delays with our homebound Allegiant flight, but eventually we made it back to California, safe and sound.

This year, we are grateful for our wonderful family and friends, good health, Reed's wonderful job, and the new baby that will be joining us in January. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Sunday in Salt Lake

We spent Sunday with Reed's parents and went to church in Salt Lake. Rosemary made a delicious dinner and Richard and I brainstormed over genealogy. The best was seeing Cal bonding with Grandpa. He absolutely loves the time he gets to spend with the Olsens. We were so glad Richard was in town this time around!

Cal's Birthday

Someone very important had a birthday recently.  Our little guy turned four the day we left for our epic summer vacation to Utah, Canada, and everywhere in between.  Cal was pretty convinced that the plane ride was all part of his birthday celebration, and thanks to a kind flight steward who made a birthday announcement over the intercom and had all the passengers sing, it was part of the celebration!

Cal was so excited and surprised when he heard his name over the intercom, and when everyone started singing, he stood up and turned around on his chair to smile at everyone.  He held up four fingers excitedly and everyone laughed. 

The plane ride passed without a hitch thanks to Heather's dry erase workbook.  Look how focused he is: 

We flew Allegiant into Provo, which was a new experience for us, but it worked out perfectly.  Cal and I rented a car and finally made it to the Martins' home in Lehi, where we threw a family party for this little nugget:

 Balloons, pizza, presents, a birthday crown -- Cal was so excited about it all.  He has been requesting a car cake for the last 6 months, so I tried my hand at this crazy creation:

 A little droopy, but not bad! Here are the cousins posing with the car cake (complete with special #4 candle, which Cal insisted on keeping). I love that these two are such good friends.

 After dinner and cake, Cal got to open presents from the family. We scored a lot of educational toys to help with reading and writing this year. (Have I mentioned how excited we both are for Cal to start his preschool again this fall?)

 The next day, we rounded out our brief visit to the splash pad and gardens at Thanksgiving Point. It was a hot day! Perfect for a little water fun. We stopped by the huge koi pond to feed the fish.

 Then it was time to say goodbye. Cal and I were off to Canada with my parents. The boys were sad to leave each other:

 Thanks for a wonderful birthday party, Olsen family! Cal loved it! And the funnest part, was that he got to do it all over again at Grandma Linebarger's house the next night, too. Grandma had a cake ready with hot wheels cars on the top, and there were more present from the Richey family. Thanks to everyone for being so good to my little nugget.

Post-Thanksgiving Visit with Olsens

After saying goodbye to my family Saturday morning, we got to meet up with Kaki, Diana & Chris for some Olsen family fun. We started with a delicious breakfast at Kneaders for Kaki's birthday, and then moved the party to a park when the boys got a little too squirrely. 

I love this photo of everyone pushing the three boys on the swings next to each other:

Can you find Cal in this photo?

 After our sibling birthday breakfast, we drove up to Salt Lake to take the cousins to see the lights at Temple Square with grandma and grandpa Olsen.  I have many memories of being freezing at Temple Square, so I bundled Cal up like we were braving Antarctica. I didn't regret it -- it was a very cold night.

Two of the best dads ever

I love how much Richard wants to be a part of the boys' lives.  He was excited to take them to the fountain at the new City Creek center, and they loved it!

We also walked over to the candy windows at Macy's, which were fun and creative:

Each ornament is huge, and is decorated entirely with candy

We had a wonderful time, and we can't wait to come back for Christmas!

Dinosaur Museum

After touring Farm Country, Diana and I took the boys over to the Dinosaur Museum. I was pleasantly surprised by how many age-appropriate activities the museum provided (I can't imagine how many kids swarm through that place every month).

Cal and Brandon immediately found some tunnels to run through:

Then we went upstairs to play with the bone magnets:

I don't know if the boys fully appreciated all the huge dino skeletons throughout the museum. They're truly awesome:

Diana & Brandon

Next, Di and I took the boys down to a hands-on room where they can play with water and sand. It's the perfect activity for kids...except ours:

Here they are, freaking out for us to get the waterproof smocks off of them.

Brandon made some new friends:

Cal climbed on EVERYTHING:

"Oh, hi!"

Both boys really liked the Dig Room, which is basically a big sandbox where there are boned buried:

Not sure what this face is all about:

This last photo is pretty amazing to me. Cal looks so grown up. He's not my little baby anymore! :(