Uptown Car Show

I think this is the third car show I've attended in uptown and its the third without Paul. One year he sat at a booth for work, another year he was on a committee to work at the show and this year he was at work. I don't care much about cars but this is literally right outside our door. So I take the kids and go. 

This year Addie loved it. She started posing in front of cars, and wanted her picture in front of every single car. That got Garrett into it. And at one point there was a little following of people who didn't want to pass us because the kids were so entertaining. 

Someday I'll have one of these. 

When we were too hot to look anymore, we had snow cones and went home.  

Concerts in the park

We have two parks near us (one a block away and one a couple of miles away) that do concerts in the park during the summer. Six at each park. We always forget about them. But this year, about halfway through, we remembered and started to go. They were so much fun. Garrett and Addie absolutely loved them. They would dance together, run around, get other kids to dance with them, and get us to join in too. We are looking forward to trying to go to more next year.

 

Preschool prep

I know I still have two+ months of life to catch up on, but who knows when that will happen. So for now, I'm just going to do some 'real-time' blogging. Garrett starts preschool, well, pre-k, in five days. Pre-k sounds so much more official than preschool. Next year will be T-K (transitional kindergarten) and then Kindergarten. So I still have two years before it feels really real. 

Conversations I had this morning with Garrett before 9 AM. Sounding all grown up... 

Me: Garrett can you get your shoes on so we can go to Trader Joe's?

Him: No, I'll stay home and take care of Charlie.

Me: Well Charlie's coming with me too.

Him: Then I'll stay home by myself. I can put on some shoooorts. I can read a boooook. I can take a naaaap. Then I can go for a waaaalk. And walk in the streeeets. Without holding haaands. 

He drags out the last word of sentences when he's explaining or trying to convince me something's a good idea. I think I do that to Paul too. 

Me: Garrett, tomorrow is meet the teacher day. Are you so excited that we get to go to your preschool?!

Him: And you too?

(I thought he was asking for some reassurance.)

Do I said: Yeah! I get to go with you! 

Him: No, you can stay home, just I'm going by myself. 

Me: But it's not school yet, it's just to go see your classroom and meet your teacher. 

Him: I need to go find my new friends. You can stay home with Charlie and Addie. 

Then later, he said out of nowhere, "Mom, I love you. But I love my friends and my boys and my girls at school too." I said, "I love you too." And he said, "Schools are just for little kids mom. But I'll call you on my black phone, and you can call me back if I need you to pick me up." 

I'd probably be a wreck if he wasn't so excited. (And I'm still a little nervous about how he'll act when he knows I'm really leaving him there.) But it's a happy/sad feeling, watching them grow up right before your eyes. And I know he'll just get more busy, involved, and independent from here. 

Also, I found out today that we had last years supply list so we needed a couple more things. And also, that he'll be at school for lunch time even though he's only half day. So we had to pick out a lunch box, too. Taking lunch to school and not having me there to force the vegis?! How will I make it... 

4th of July

A couple of weeks before the 4th of July, my mom told me that my grandpa had been asked to be the grand marshal of the Centerville parade. He turned 95 years old in April, and was the oldest living World War II vet they were able to find. Paul was supposed to work the weekend of the 4th, and he also had a couple other commitments that we were pretty sure he wouldn't be able to get out of. But somehow we were able to rearrange schedules so that we could make a last-minute short trip to Utah. And we decided to keep it a surprise!

As we got close, the kids practiced saying "surprise!" 

Addie got car sick twice, so we finally stopped dressing her. 

We pulled the surprise off perfectly. Lots of screaming and hugging when they opened the front door and saw the three kids there.

Centerville did their fireworks the night we got there (the 3rd) so we went to those. 

On the 4th we went to the parade and to a barbecue at my aunt and uncles house. 

The morning kind of wiped us out so we just stayed home that night and did sparklers. 

Saturday morning we went to the downtown SLC farmers market.

And that afternoon we had lunch with my Auntie and Uncle John. And Charlie was tired. 

My cousin Sara made a surprise visit to Utah as well. She lives in New York, and is about to open her own hair salon in Brooklyn. We never get to see each other anymore and she's my fave, so when I found out she was in town I had to see her. She owns a condo in Logan that needs to be painted and she needed pictures of it for the painters. So I went with her to Logan on Sunday. Just as we got to Logan she remembered that she didn't have a key to the condo and she couldn't get in touch with her realtor. But that wasn't about to stop us. We found a ladder on the top of someone's storage unit. Snuck through the back of the condo complex with the gigantic ladder, tried our best to secure it, and climbed up three stories and broke in her condo through the balcony. 

Never a dull moment with us two! I miss her so much.

Sunday night we saw my grandpa again, but only for a few minutes. I felt bad not getting to spend more time with him so we met Monday morning before we left and had breakfast together.

Charlie was born just six days before my grandpa's 95th birthday. She is his 52nd great-grandchild, there have been two more born since her, and three more coming before the end of the year.

It was a short trip, but a really good one.