The Day We Made It to Boise

We were so excited to finally get to go to Boise to see everyone. We hadn't been there since last summer, so everyone was anxious to see Calvin and Brooke. Katelyn couldn't wait to see him either and had been really looking forward to playing with grandma Carol and two of her aunts and three cousins.
Calvin is so adorable and it was really fun to play with him. Brooke had mixed emotions about it though. Most of the time she thought it was great to have another little playmate, but sometimes she was not a fan. That's when I realized how spoiled she really is. At home, she has a very patient and loving big sister who has friends who are also that way. That translates into the big kids letting Brooke do what ever she wants when ever she wants to do it, mainly because they are old enough to understand that angering a toddler leads to crying and that isn't good for anyone. Since Calvin is very close to Brooke's age (31/2 months younger), he of course did not cater to her every whim and so she was not always the most receptive playmate.
He loved playing with Katelyn and he and Brooke did find some things they enjoyed doing together. They especially loved trying to get on the "other" side of the baby gate, because the side that they were on always seemed to be the least desirable in their eyes. The also enjoyed play toddler guitar hero/pan hat, talked on the phone and played with the "gnome in the box."













One of my favorite moments was when Calvin tried to "nurse" Brooke... as you can see in the photo it didn't make her cry but she did look slightly concerned.
Calvin loved trying to "interact" with Brooke but when that involved a very minimal form of toddler pinching, she let everyone know how she felt. What amazed me is that her very vocal outbursts didn't scare Calvin at all. They had a great time and Katelyn loved being the big kid.


Calvin, Brooke and Katelyn all loved playing outside with Jalesse and Bug. Going outside was their favorite way to end the day.

Katelyn also loved having some "big kid time" with her aunts and cousins. She got to go swimming with Jaleese, Rani and Calvin. She also went to the store with Grandma Carol and Aunt Jill and she had a playdate at the park with Aunt Rani and Calvin. She loves being with her little sister but she really loved having some time without her little shadow.

Another favorite was when Kyle brought in the new toilet seat lid that he was about to install. All the kids had to have a turn playing peek-a-boo through the lid.














The kids loved hanging out at grandma's house and Calvin added to the fun by eating limes. It was so funny to watch him thoroughly enjoy it and reminded me of the lemon eating phase that Katelyn went through when she was that age.

We also had a chance to visit Grandpa's grave as a family.
We miss him so much so it was nice to be able to reminisce about some of our favorite memories of him and hear Katelyn talk with absolute surety about the resurrection and knowing that we will see him again someday. I am so grateful for that and even more grateful that Katelyn knows it too.

On Monday night, Grandma Carol and Aunt Jill babysat so that Rani, Will, Bug, Kyle and I could go see the new Indiana Jones movie. The kids all had a blast. The most memorable part of the evening definitely involved a bubble bath in the jacuzzi tub. Katelyn loved it of course and Brooke enjoyed it until the water and bubbles got up higher than her comfort level would allow. When Calvin walked in and saw that he was missing out on the fun, he demanded he got to join in the fun. He loved it - almost too much! He kept plunging his head into the bubbles (and water) just about the time that Brooke decided the water/bubble level was too high. Somehow, grandma and Jill were able to wrangle two slippery babies (one crying and one diving) and wild 5 year old, while taking photographs of the fun too.

It was a great visit and we already can't wait for the next one. Here is a short video of them seeing each other right after we arrived.