.

Spring Vacation! 

I tried to do at least one fun thing every day while Kelsi was out of school.

One day we took the kids bowling. June LOVED it. She got SO excited every time she knocked down even 1 pin. She would jump up and down and yell "YES" and then run and hug me. Her big sister on the other hand would cry in frustration that she did not get any strikes. Spares were not good enough for her. Perfectionist through and through.

 We took the fam to the resort for "personal" size gooeys. Always a treat!

 The kids were fascinated with the coy aquarium

 We have been members of our local Kroc center for just about 6 years and finally went rock climbing. Kelsi was so excited and it started out rough - but she started to like it. I just need to invest in some sort of cushion device because the caribeaner(spelling?) kept digging into her.

 My favorite day was taking Kelsi on a mommy/daughter date. She was dying to go to "Applebees" for some reason. So we ate and then went to watch Cinderella. What a great movie! The message was incredible and I am glad I brought tissues.

 We also took the kids on a hike of Tubbs hill. It was Kelsi's first time around the whole hill. She did great! June did great too on my back. My shoulders were killing me about halfway thru - but I am glad she wasn't walking.

Kelsi is had a fun break but is ready to go back to school (she says she really misses writing). She is such a cutie!

Potty Training Take 1

The time has come to be rid of diapers. At least that is how I feel. June has been ready in all sense of the word except for one thing...she is afraid of the toilet. She has been telling me for months when she needs to go potty - but is so afraid of the toilet. But - I decided that I was boss (silly me) and told her we were ready for her to be a big girl. She was VERY excited about her prize bowls and was successful every time I let her go around pant- less. But it seemed anytime I put undies on her - she had an accident. Very frustrating.

 After just two days we took a break because my mom was coming up to visit and we didn't want to miss the fun. That third day - June held it for 6 hours and then freaked out when she had to go. She couldn't decide if she should go in her diaper or on her potty. After lots of tears - she finally let it out. The following day she had me change her diaper after EVERY time she went the bathroom (waste of diaper). Sometimes she would tell me to change it before she even went. We will pick it up again next month when I get back from a short trip with my sisters. Hopefully "Take 2" will be the trick just like it was for her big sissy. Have I mentioned this is my least favorite thing about parenting so far?

March with Friends!

My friend Shawnte was up for a visit in March - so of course we had to get some old friends together for catch up and CAKE! I love how comfortable I feel with these ladies.

 Mama Mia also came to Spokane - so we got our Abba on and had fun together.

Seattle in March

We head out to Seattle every March for John's continuing education. Seattle is just over 4 hours away - so it is a great long weekend getaway. On Friday we toured Pikes Market, went to the aquarium and did some shopping. 

 On Saturday we met up with long time friends the Evans who were up for the same conference. While the men sat in classes, the ladies shopped and chatted and caught up on our lives.  The weather cooperated for the most part, I endured our "hotel" and had a great time with my hubby.

Basketball started again for Kelsi in February and ended in March. She had so much fun. Again - she wasn't the tallest on the team (which always surprises me). She excels in defense - seems to always have. It was funny to watch some of the girls drop their hands and the ball in frustration because of her awesome defensive skills. She loved to set screens and always wanted the ball. Towards the end of the season, she got more confidence in her offense and just started scoring away! One of her games - she had a whopping 18 points (not that anyone is keeping score - wink-wink).

 John and I love basketball, so we hope that Kelsi develops a love for it as well.

February for the Calderwoods

The month started out as a downer. We just got back from our amazing Disney vacation filled with warmth and sun and North Idaho was cold and rainy and dark. But after the first week subsided- we were treated to the sunniest, warmest February's on record. THANK  YOU!!! 

For Valentines Day this year, my Valentine and I went to the temple, did a little shopping and went to dinner. When we got home - our kids and babysitter had heart attacked our bedroom door. It was so fun and cute! Yay for fun babysitters! I am so blessed to have such a fun, loving and handsome valentine all year long. Love you honey!

Our Disney Fantasy

Our family (minus June) took a Disney Eastern Caribbean cruise last January. It was amazing. I doubted why Disney would be better than any other cruise line. And now I can say that if you are looking for an amazing family vacation where you can also have a couples vacation - that Disney is the way to go!

We set sail from Port Canaveral, FL. We flew in the day prior and had a seamless journey. On the morning of setting sail - the only slight hassle was returning our rental car. It seems every one else does the same thing and then takes the shuttle to port. We waited about 45 minutes in line before boarding a shuttle. Once we arrived at Port, Disney was efficient and we were on board quickly. We explored the boat, our room, the kids club and Kelsi wanted right in the pool ASAP!

We went on this amazing vacation with 4 other families from Coeur d'Alene. It was so fun for Kelsi to have her friends with her (fun for Mom and Dad as well). The second day was at sea and it was my birthday!!! It was so nice to be WARM on my birthday for the first time in 10 years. It was also fancy night at dinner and we did a little family dancing afterwards. 

 Our third day was at St. Thomas. One of my favorite ports. We took a shuttle (which was a truck that the bed was converted into benches to hold 30 of us!) to Sapphire beach and spent the whole day there. The water was WARM, we laid out, some snorkeled, searched (and found) some iguanas, jump roped on the beach (Kelsi's fav) and buried each other and just enjoyed the surroundings and our company. It was so amazing.

 Day 4 we arrived in Puerto Rico. We booked a tour of the rain forest. It was so beautiful. While Kelsi and I just waded in the freezing waterfall...John went ALL in.  We had a fun driver and Kelsi was a trooper during our hike.

 Day 5 was at sea and that evening is Pirate Themed. They had a fun pirate show after dinner and shot fireworks off the boat. Followed by a dance party of course!

 Again - going on a vacation like this was SO fun with so many friends that we kept running into on the boat. The shows that Disney put on every night for the family and for the adults were fun and entertaining.  The food was great at all the restaurants - but our favorite was paying a little extra for Palo. It was probably the best food I have had in my life.

 Day 6 was at Disney's private island Castaway Cay in the Bahamas. This was also a highlight of our trip. The weather was WARM, the water was colder than the southern Caribbean but not too bad. Kelsi loved the endless amount of "free" ice cream. We played on the water slides, rode bikes around the island, played in the sand and John snorkeled a little bit more,.

 John tried to be hypnotized- but it didn't work on him. However, it did work on our friend Bryan which was pretty funny. 

 Kelsi loved the kids club - she would often beg to go. She stayed up till midnight every  night and as you can tell from the picture below. Crashed when it was all over. We definitely hope to do this again in a few years when June is older. She loved being at her Aunt Tamars house for a week but was so happy for mommy, daddy and sissy to come home.

Thank you Disney!!!

We went down to CA for New years this year for a very special reason. My Grandma turned 90! I flew down with the girls on the 30th and John flew in on New Years eve. Before John flew in, I Was able to meet up with my old friend Emily at the childrens museum. She and her family live in the UK now, so it was a treat to see her! That night my family all played games and enjoyed each others company until midnight. On New years day we went to the beach and had a bonfire. We turned my Grandma's birthday into a family reunion! It was so good to see so many cousins and aunts and uncles that I rarely get to see! On the 2nd, we went to the temple and then to my Grandmas big party! The food was amazing! The best Italian spread you have ever seen. My aunt rented a photobooth and we played minute to win it games. Great memories were made. Sadly, John got the stomach flu that morning and missed the big day!!! 

That weekend, we all went to Disneyland. It was June's first time and she loved it. She had no fear! We had a great trip. I love my family so much!

We had fun at our 6th annual Christmas progressive dinner party. It is so fun to get together with good friends. Especially those who have moved away!! The food this year was amazing as always. Marissa and Shawnte  out-did themselves again this year with a giant memory game of pictures of all of us at Christmas time as kids! I can't believe all the time and effort that it took to put that game together! I am very blessed to have such great friends.

She is 7!

Kelsi was so happy to finally turn 7 like "all" her other friends. We kicked off her birthday by going to Chuck E. Cheese's with some of her friends. She had so much fun and it was so cute to watch her plays with her pals. On her actual birthday, we took her to dinner and had some of her cousins over for cake and ice cream!

 I am so honored to be the mother of this beautiful, smart, kind, tender hearted 7 year old. She challenges me in the best of ways. She strengthens me and reminds me of my purpose here on earth. I feel so humbled to be entrusted with her spirit. She is full of energy and life! I love to see how much she values her relationships in life. I love watching her mind work. She is always thinking and calculating. She is never satisfied with a simple answer. She is such a blessing. I am so thankful that June has her as a big sister to look up to!  We love you Kelsi!

Kelsi played Basketball for the parks and rec department. They had the best color shirts! Her team consisted of 3 1st graders and 3 second graders. Kelsi did amazing! She was the start defense player. She loved setting screens and putting her hands "straight up"! We are very proud of our little ball player.

Our family had a lot of fun in December. We took a boat cruise to the North Pole. It was SO cold at the north pole - but that didn't stop June and Kelsi from wanting to hang out on the bow of the ship! Kelsi made friends with an elf and June quickly warmed up to Rudolph and Frosty! Both girls were on Santa's nice list! Hooray!

Click on our link to see our family Thanksgiving video by John! hope everyone had a great Turkey Day!

SURPRISE

A few months ago I decided what I wanted to do for John's 40th birthday. I wanted to take him to a Celtics game...where ever it was. It just so happened that the weekend before his birthday, they were playing the Chicago Bulls in Chicago. John went to Optometry school in Chicago and loved it, but hadn't been back since. I thought it must have been meant to be! I contacted his best friend from Optometry school and his wife and asked if by any chance they might be able to meet us (they live 6 hours outside of Chicago). I was so happy when they said YES! My plan was in motion!

Luckily, John had a 3 day weekend for work anyway - so I managed to keep it a secret (he also doesn't handle any of our finances - so he didn't know what I was spending and when).

Friday night started like any other - he came home from work and I left to go help with our church youth sport program. However, I came home early and told him that I had plans for his birthday and we were leaving at 6am! He had no clue where we were going. I packed his bag for him and when we arrived at the airport, my friend Kim was on our same flight which threw John off even more!! When we touched down in Minneapolis for a short layover - he found out and was excited - but there were more surprises to come! When we arrived in Chicago - I told him a shuttle was coming to pick us up. As we were walking out - his friend jumped from behind him to surprise him AGAIN! They were our ride! We had such a fun time with them at dinner and catching up. They are wonderful people, and I wish that we lived closer to them. After dinner - I asked John what he wanted to do next - then I handed him our tickets to the Bulls vs. Celtics. Our seats were amazing and we had so much fun. After the game - we walked the streets downtown and had dessert and laughed until we cried. We said goodbye to the Birdsongs. Im so thankful they could be part of John's special weekend.

The next day we walked and walked and walked all around. It was so fun to explore and see the beautiful city of Chicago. I loved it! We ate some yummy food (I got to experience my first real deep-dish pizza), and saw some great attractions.

We took the L to the airport Monday morning and headed back home to our girls. It was a whirlwind trip - but we made great memories.



More Halloween

My friend Ivy and I threw a Halloween party for a few friends this year. The costumes were awesome, the games were fun and the food was yummy. John made his costume himself! He glued it together while I was at Les Mis at nights.

Calderwood Halloween

We love October in Coeur d'Alene. The weather was beautiful with tons of sunny days. Once again, this year we had friends over for soup and donuts and pumpkin carving! Since my sister and I have not celebrated Halloween together in about 18 years....I invited her family over for the festivities.

My girls dressed up as a bumblebee and vampire this year. At first, Kelsi wanted to be a skeleton - but the only ones we could find had silver or pink bones. She was adamant that it didn't look like a real skeleton because bones are WHITE.



Lake City presents Les Miserables!

Last March, my friend convinced me to go with her to an audition of Les Miserables. I have never auditioned before and was scared to death, but decided it was on my bucket list to try out for a musical and if not then - when?

My first impression of the playhouse was a little disconcerting...it was small...like 160 seats small. I had no idea what to expect. My veteran friends tried to give me any tips they had about their past experiences in theater. When the director called my name to go up on stage and sing, my heart pounded and as I walked up the steps to the stage...I tripped...I caught myself and tried to cover my embarrassment with a Jennifer Lawrence-esque laugh. I was humiliated, but after assuring them that I was ok, I went on with my audition. It was NOT my best. I was nervous, embarrassed, but I did it. To my astonishment the director told me that he wanted me for sure! 

At my first music rehearsal- I was taken aback by how much talent my fellow cast had! I was honored, humbled and felt out of my league. I looked forward to every rehearsal - how could I not? The music was inspiring and beautiful and I was getting to know some amazing people that I would never have met otherwise.

Over the months that followed, I learned theater terms, the "magic" that happens backstage as far as set pieces, props and actor traffic. I fed off the talent that surrounded me and I like to feel that it raised my level of performance.

Below are just a few pictures of our cast and just a "few" of the people who came to support me. 

I was amazed by the transformation of the stage into our beautiful set. The behind-the-scenes artists were amazing.

 I grew to LOVE my ensemble women! Tiffany, Aubree, Jennifer, Sarah, Kim, Chelsea, Kalla, Mariah and Torey taught me so much. We laughed and cried together. I was also privileged to work with a couple of the youth, Olivia and Belle. Such amazing talent in little bodies!!

 I am so so thankful for all the friends who came to support me and our show. I wish I had pictures of all of you. It was an amazing experience that I hope to participate in again. Thank you for coming and I hope you enjoyed the show!

FUN ON THE FARM

One of our fall traditions is to visit Prairie Home Farms just down the road from our subdivision. It is a cute little farm and pumpkin patch.  My girls get to feed all the animals (Pigs, horses, chickens, rabbits, goats, geese, ducks, turkeys, mules) and we always do our "Sit on a Pumpkin" picture. Kelsi looks so big in these pictures it hurts a little. The first time she went to this patch was 6 years ago. Time has flown.

MUSIC CLASS TIME

I have been taking June to a music class every week. We love this time that we get to spend together while big sister is at school. Junes' teacher is amazing and keeps these 1-2 year olds engaged and entertained the whole hour.

 Here they are galloping after their teacher.  I love music and I hope that my children learn to love it as well.

My husband is an angel

All summer I have been rehearsing with the Lakecity Playhouse ensemble for Les Miserables. We opened in September and I knew my mom was dying to come up and see it. However, since my Dad's layoff earlier this year, I knew it wasn't likely to happen. I asked John if he minded if I flew my  mom up to see it for a weekend. He acted really strange and said that he didn't think it was a good idea with all the expenses we have had lately. I was pretty upset to say the least. I didn't give up. He finally said, "If your mom can get time off, I guess we can do it.". I called my mom right away and asked if she could make it work. She said she wouldn't know until Friday due to scheduling. I was antsy all week. On Friday morning, I was excited to call her after I got Kelsi off to school to see if it would work out. There was a knock on the door around 7:30am. To my surprise, my PARENTS were standing on my doorstep. I was dumbfounded. Completely blindsided. John had bought my  mom a ticket a few weeks before, and then my sister Shayla (after hearing that my mom was coming) bought my Dad a ticket to come up as well!! My mom was quite the good liar, as I had no idea that the story about scheduling was all made up. She looks innocent...but that can be deceiving...

 I was so happy that my parents could come see me in my first musical debut. I love them so much and am so blessed to be their daughter.