Tag Archives: Calvin

May Des’ Fourth Be With You

What was certain to be a good omen, Desmond starts his birthday party day with the season’s first snowfall. On a trip with dad to nab folding chairs, Des also gets a special birthday hot chocolate

All warm

A young Jedi recreating a scene in Star Wars

Eleanor is in a phase where any material, regardless of how small, is either spread out as a blanket to lay on or cover something that is “going sleepy”

Ella is as surprised as everyone else that the snow is sticking and begins to accumulate

What dad thought would be just a nice background (while Beatles played on the speakers) ended up being an early focal point of the birthday party

Getting pigtails with aunt Megan, who is significantly more skilled than mom and dad

Snack picnic

When originally prompted for birthday theme ideas, Des, almost without thinking, replied “Star Wars and Rainbows.” Safe to say, mom and dad’s baker friend nailed it. Mom took to the next level with action figures.

Ella and pa negotiating terms for sharing chips

One can only assume he’s wishing to watch Empire Strikes Back. Or for real-life dinosaurs…

Ella showing off her fork skills for great-grandma Jan

Action figures rivaling cake and ice cream for attention

When you’re so cute, everyone offers you a bite of cake

Desmond solicits help from Liam reading cards

Making the rounds

Mom demonstrating how the R2-D2 candy dispenser works

Hug pile with ma

And the party inevitably ends in some sort of balloon-oriented mayhem

(Mom gets award for best birthday installation)

September 16th, 2018

After dad picks up the kids from ma & pa’s while mom’s in KC, it’s time for a picnic with the geese.

Sandwich and chips- and a pouch for good measure

Eleanor gets fairly insistent that the goose consumes her treat for them, right before dad intervenes…

Looking closely towards the middle of the frame- Eleanor’s bit of sandwich flies towards the unsuspecting geese

The lunch adventure ends in a standoff

Right before everyone completely loses it, each yearning for a nap

Sign models

Side trip to drop off some salsa to uncle Mike, Calvin guides Des through tic-tac-toe gameplay

What seems like not a first, Ella prefers to eat her nachos top-to-bottom

September 8th, 2018

The boys scheming after a reasonably restful sleepover

Puzzle time- Calvin was awfully proud of completing the barn puzzle himself

Eleanor, puzzle master

Clearly ignoring brother’s antics

Picking up campaign signs for some excellent women candidates, Eleanor fearlessly tries the scooter

Morning trip to the library, to color (of course)

Des signs his coloring before posting to the wall

No stairs too big for her ambitions

New library card holder

Dad spends the afternoon practicing indoor flash photography before the restaurant’s soft opening. The result? A new series, Indoor Llamas:

Amidst all the new faces, Eleanor beelines for grandma 

Grandpa reads to Des and Julian in the kids corner

Yummy indeed

Uncle Mike brings out the inaugural dinner order

The kids point to what they want first (hummus)

A brief moment before the food is inhaled

Sitting in the “east wing”

Congratulations Aunt Kellie and Uncle Mike on a successful soft opening of Oasis Falafel of Omaha

September 7th, 2018

Aunt Kellie brings Calvin for a sleepover during final preparations before the restaurant opening. Ella uses some sort of child intuition to demonstrate how the bat mobile works-

Mmmm, (Thai) noodles!

Two young jedi fans gather for bedtime stories of the force and rebellion

Breathing exercises before bed, as if that would help

Their heads hit the bed shortly after closing the door, clearly

Labor Day 2018

Running off some excess energy on a rainy Labor Day morning

Let’s all sit on the couch!

Cal: “Yeah, I know- I got this.”

Duck: “Is our pumpkin on top of the stump, Goose?”
Goose: “No!”

Eleanor’s first “head of the table” honors

August 26th, 2018

At Birdie and Dottie’s birthday party, Des sits still long enough for a few bites of cake

Maybe it’s genetics…

Ella and dad making braclets

“Here, you hold the bead”

Success.

The cousins slinging some veggie dogs

Desmond takes a swig of his first candy wax bottle. Less wax was ingested than you’d think.

A new trick these two invented- “hiding” on the way up to bath time

Dundee Day 2018

It was a particular mild start to the morning for the annual parade celebrating the neighborhood

Say “candy!”

Watching as lights and marching bands clear the horizon

Yup, that’s a t-rex in the parade

While taking far longer to wait in line that dad anticipated, it was worth the wait

Des getting down to business

Eleanor abandons all civility and goes face first

They got the memo alright

August 12th, 2018

On Sunday’s, we eat quiche (or occasionally at Culprit anyway)

Beautiful morning for a trip to the zoo

Ten minutes. These two watched those two, without moving much, for ten minutes. Dad just kinda waited to see how it played out

Mom successfully wooed a budgie and Ella was enthralled

Walking in water is tricky, best to hold a hand

The zoo gang.

SPLASH PARK!

Eleanor was a bit timid around the water spouts, but quickly acclimated to running through it all

Slapping sprayed water, as you do

The family that shucks corn together…

 Going through the car wash with the buddy system

The world’s longest game of “Shoots and Ladders”