Happy Birthday, Josh and Caleb!

Eric's cousin, Jessica, and her husband, Matt, moved from the Southeast to the Midwest in time to celebrate their twin sons' first birthday. We were glad to represent Jessica's family, along with Grammy and Papa, and Great Aunt Kathy and Great Uncle Rick, to celebrate their first year of life and usher in the next.

Calvin is five months older than these adorable boys and towers over them, at least for now; someone asked me if he was three! Josh and Caleb held their own, though, and were kind enough to share some of their (new) toys with their second cousin.

Cicadas!

Another 'first' for Calvin was just a 'second' for his mom and dad. Cicadas are back this summer after hibernating for seventeen years.

If you haven't heard the symphonic serenade of these grasshopper-like bugs, it's really something. To me, it sounds like a siren off in the distance. With 1.5 million cicadas per acre, one is thankful for a distant sound.

I don't find them particularly bothersome, unless their clumsy flight lands them in my hair, but I'm a little put off by their red eyes.

Calvin has been mostly unaware of the multitude around him (there aren't many at our house), but he did find one on the ground and picked it up with no fear, just his standard curiosity.

This hasn't been a milestone for him, by any means, but since we won't see them in their multitudes for another seventeen years, I thought his first encounter should be documented.

Want some more info? Read all about it ....

Cicadas do not bite or sting, are benign to humans, and are not considered a pest. Many people around the world regularly complement their standard diet with cicadas: the female is prized for eating as it is meatier. Cicadas are employed in the traditional medicines of China and Japan for hearing-related matters.

After mating, the female cuts slits into the bark of a twig and deposits her eggs there. She may do so repeatedly, until she has laid several hundred eggs. When the eggs hatch, the newborn nymphs drop to the ground, where they burrow.

The insects spend most of the time that they are underground as nymphs at depths ranging from about 1 ft up to about 8½ ft. The nymphs feed on root juice and have strong front legs for digging. In the final stage, they construct an exit tunnel to the surface and emerge. They then moult (shed their skins), on a nearby plant for the last time and emerge as an adult. The abandoned skins remain, still clinging to the bark of trees.

TV Time

We don't spend a lot of time in front of the TV, but we do have some videos that Calvin enjoys. On these hot days, after checking the progress on the playground project, it's nice to come back inside for a snack and "a show", as Cousin Chloe says.

Calvin has a big pillow that we place at a reasonable distance from the TV; he runs for it when he wants to watch something.

In this picture he's watching a Sesame Street video aptly named, "Kids' Favorite Songs", he loves it. You can see that he's be-boppin' along with the tunes.

Going, Going, Gone!

It just took one day to get rid of Calvin's playground. I was a little disappointed that the show was over so quickly, but Cal seems just as happy with the orange fence and yellow tape. We took the John Deere down to see the giant sand box up close.

We ran around the field behind the former playground with a family on vacation from St. Louis. Afterwards, Calvin, who figured he had worked hard enough for the day, found his way back to his tractor for a well-deserved, and somewhat stereotypical break.

Note the dump truck on his shirt. He was dressed for the part.

Out With The Old ...

We knew it was slated to happen this summer but it's official: the playground at the elementary school next door is on its way out. Calvin and I walked down to watch the tractors tear apart the playground of his youth and haul away pieces of his little yellow slide.

It would have been sad without the excitement of being so close to the tractors. And we're told that an updated version of the same will be completed by summer's end. In the meantime, it's fun (at least for Calvin) to live among the machines.

The Cutest

The upside of being cute is that people give you free stuff. The downside is that sometimes you get eaten!

My colleague, Madge, gave my cutest little boy the cutest little cookies. They were shaped like a strawberry and frosted to match. She said that they looked like they were just his size, and they were.

After this nap I asked him if he wanted a cookie. Surprisingly, he knew this word, repeated it, took my hand and walked out of his room in search of the prize. And he knew just what to do with it. I'm not sure he took as much pleasure in the adorable decorations as I did, but he sure enjoyed the yummy shortbread taste! In typical fashion, he wanted one for each hand.

Father's Day #2

Father's Day is always the first day of camp. I'm sure this is great for non-camp employees, but tough on our family. It's nice to spend the day by the lake, but it's tricky to fit a celebration in among the work that needs to be done.
This year we carved out time for the Dairy Breakfast at the county fairgrounds. We city folk love these country events. We run into our neighbors and friends from church. Politicians dish up eggs and pancakes, the "Fairest of the Fair" (fair queen) invites diners to participate in a cow-milking contest. There's a craft fair, baby farm animals and, of course, tractors -- John Deeres and Farm Alls for everyone. Naturally, we couldn't leave without getting the boys up on one of them.

Eric is an amazing father; it's fun to take a day and celebrate him.

A Hope-Ful Reunion

It has been five years since my group of friends from Hope College were together. Kelly has tried her best to keep us connected since the last wedding brought us together, but life is busy and we're scattered across the Midwest. Still, every now and then the stars align.

We all met at Sarah's house in Illinois; with three kids, she opted to host rather than travel. Leslie lives close by, too, but Kelly came from Ohio with her two boys, Julie from Michigan with Wil, Calvin and I from Wisconsin.

Sarah's backyard was a kids' paradise with two different playground sets, one of them with a slide leading into a kiddie pool! It was all I could do to get Calvin into his swim suit before he jumped in with the others. Ethan also let Calvin use his lawnmower, which he found harder to navigate than his John Deere just just as much fun.

The women chatted in staccato while the kids played. Conversation was choppy with half of our attention given to the seven children among us! The visit was short-lived, but good. With a beautiful day outside and a train set inside, the kids wore themselves out just in time for a quick picture and a nap in the car on the way home.

Pictured here, from back left to front right:

Sarah with Ethan (2)
Kelly with Will (2) and Noah (4)

Aunt Leslie with Sarah's oldest, Anna (4)

Cherith with Cal (16 mos)

Julie with Wil (19 mos) and a three-month old inside!

Sarah's youngest, Elijah (3 mos) was already napping.

A Family Friendly Event

Eric was intentional about working at camp. He saw camp families spending time together that other jobs couldn't afford, and wanted that for his own -- a family-friendly environment. However, while there is a definite love for family at camp, the demands are still high.

However, there are the perks, too. A fleet of boats at our disposal and a beautiful setting to worship and play on summer Sundays. And let's not forget about golf carts.

After meeting Eric for dinner by the lake, we went for a golf card ride around the perimeter of the camp grounds, all 50 acres. Cal sat on my lap while Eric drove; he sang with a jumpy voice as it was a bumpy ride. For long stretches he said, "weeeee", like he does going down a slide. Such a simple pleasure. Such a family friendly event. That's a helpful reminder as we head into a busy summer season.

Yard Work

Working in the yard is more adventuresome this summer. You may recall pictures of a peaceful child, sleeping soundly under a canopy while his mother pulled weeds. No more. A more accurate picture of our house these days involves Calvin running around the yard and Mom chasing him. No weed pulling 'round these parts. That is, not until I made the process enticing to the little runner.

A spare spade came in handy to keep him busy long enough to pull three weeds. (Though I probably could have pulled a few more if I hadn't paused to take pictures.) But it wasn't long before he was back out in the yard with the tractor.

Dad was mowing the lawn and needed help from his little guy. Calvin stood and watched Eric's technique for a while and then jumped in, pushing his John Deere back and forth along the ridge by the driveway.

Yes, it's busier in the yard these days, but so much more fun.

The Way Things Work

An unofficial study provided the following data: a bubble maker is a fun toy for children ages 1-3.

The kids at Jeff and Kira's barbecue had a ball running through the bubble-filled yard, Calvin among them. But one thing that set Calvin apart from the others (who, for the record, were all girls) was that Calvin had to figure out how it worked.

He'd run around for a while, laughing with the others, but would settle in, time after time, to figure out where these bubbles were coming from, and how. The mechanics were plastic and would stop when he inserted his fingers, so sticky fingers and quickly drained bubbles were the only downside.

Eventually, perhaps after full comprehension of these airborn toys was achieved, or when he gave in to the wonder of it all, Calvin collapsed in the grass and enjoyed.

New Friends

We've had a run on babies among our friends lately.

- Mark and Naomi welcomed their first, Clara Kay, in February.

- Jeff and Kira introduced Maeve Emmeline in early April.

- Later that month, Kevin and Alison presented Emmett Joseph.

- Jon, Carmela, and Madison followed shortly behind, with Gabriella Giovanna (their second), in May.

Perhaps even more impressive is that three of these four little ones were all in one house just two weeks after little Gabby was born. Alison brought Emmett from Minneapolis and Jeff and Kira hosted a barbecue in his honor. (Face it, Alison, you're second string at this point.)

We were glad to be there among a slough of familiar faces and their kids to welcome the next generation of these good friends; this was also the first time that Calvin had met any of them.

Sadly, we never had a photo shoot with all of these little ones, but did manage to steal a shot of Calvin and Maeve the next morning.

These are happy days.

Whole Apples and Corn on the Cob

Calvin regularly surprises us with abilities we didn't know he had.

... Suddenly he pushed himself from his belly to his arms ... one day he decides to crawl up the stairs ... the next, he's walking. There are always developments afoot; this one was food-related.

Sitting by the kitchen sink to wash up after romping in the great outdoors, he spotted a Granny Smith apple nearby.

Cal grabbed it and -- Plop -- right in his mouth.

He bit off a piece of skin, then another, and another .... After about eight little bits, he coughed and spit them out.

Grandma peeled it and gave it back. Calvin chewed on it for another hour, or two.

But he didn't stop there. Calvin had his first ear of corn for dinner; chomped the whole thing.