Summer Camps - Weeks 1 and 2

This summer, Lizzie is at the same day care close to campus, while Carolyn is spending each week at a different camp.  My schedule is more flexible in the summer (since I do not have to be in the classroom), but I still have to work. Thankfully, though, the girls can enjoy some shorter days this summer, while I cut-back some of my hours in the office.

Week 1 - Utah Children's Theater
The morning session (930 to 1130am) was called "The Fairytale Adventures" where the kids read fairtales and then made up one themselves.  They then had to come up with characters and act it out on stage.  The story went something like this:  the king and queen had 14 daughters and a couple of royal pets.  The king and queen could not figure out why the princesses shoes were destroyed every night.  The servants -- who consisted of Morgan the Sorcerer (this was Carolyn), her sidekick Issie the Pirate, and two boys named Peter & Pan -- put the girls to bed every night and were supposed to check on the princesses while they were sleeping.  Somehow the princesses escaped to a secret hiding spot every night, baffling the servants who could never find them.  This went on for several nights, until the servants finally found the secret hiding spot where the princesses danced and sang all night long.

The afternoon session (12 to 2pm) was voice camp, where they practiced vocal exercises, learned some classic broadway songs, and did some basic choreography for each song.

Friday was performance day where the parents were invited to be the audience.  I was impressed that these kids were able to put on the play and sing so many songs by Friday .  They only had 8 hours total (2 hours each Mon - Thurs) to learn and practice the songs, and 8 hours total to make up and produce the fairytale.  Carolyn loved this camp, and asked if she could do a play some day.

Week 2 - Wasatch Community Gardens
This full-day (9am to 330pm) camp was primarily at Wasatch Community Gardens with some afternoons at Red Butte Gardens.  They learned all about gardening and what types of food you can grow. They helped tend to the chickens.  They brought home carrots and lettuces that they picked out of the garden.  They learned how to make all sorts of delicious snacks from the vegetables and fruits from the garden.  In the afternoon, they learned about maps.  Each day, they had some sort of new adventure where they had to solve riddles, read maps, and find treasures throughout the gardens.  She had lots of great stories and facts to share with me each day, so another fun week.

Carolyn is 6!

The birthday party was a SLUMBER PARTY in the little house! 4 other little girls came over, and what fun we had!

When the girls first arrived, they each made their own personal pizza, explored the little house where they would be sleeping, and broke out into tune when they all climbed into the loft.  (Frozen, of course!)  One guest lost a tooth.  And, most of them wanted to try out the new pogo stick that Carolyn got for her birthday.

There was a treasure hunt, where each girl found a "prize" of matching nightshirts and matching pillowcases.  They put them on immediately.

We did lots of crafts.

The girls were determined to stay up late.  They made it until 11:15ish.  I really thought we were going to lose a few of them during the movie.  Not one eye closed during the movie, but within a minute of turning off the TV and the lights, all of them were sound asleep ..... except for one little girl who just could not settle.  One of my favorite parts of the night was when she thought it would be comfortable to sleep on the wooden bench by the table.  After a few minutes, she said it was not that comfortable and asked whether I might have any newspaper that she could lay on to make it softer.  Eventually, she ended up curling up with me on an air mattress (which lost its air slowly throughout the night).  I did not hear a noise from any of the girls until about 8:00 the next morning.  Not too bad.

Thank you to all of you who sent and brought gifts!  

In case you were wondering, I did not put screws in the cake this year.  I cannot say it was that great or even very pretty, but it was not a disaster -- so that is a success in my book!  The girls loved it.  And, I attribute much of my luck this year to my stylish assistant.

Summer Shenanigans

Summer is here.  Days are long.  There seem to be new adventures and silly antics everyday!

Summer in Ohio - 2014 Trip

Our annual summer trip to Ohio & Michigan -- Cleveland first, Ann Arbor second, Centerville third.  Lots of fun and family the whole trip.

Memphis Kiddie Park - Carolyn is almost too tall to ride the rides here, and Lizzie was unsure of the rides at first.  Both girls ended up having fun together, though!

Altman birthday party.  Believe it or not, all cousins were in town, ranging in age from 24 to 2.

A concert at Blossom for Dave's 40th birthday:

A slumber party with Katy, Dave, Lauren, Landon .  Not sure where Lauren was when I took these photos!

A quick trip to Ann Arbor -- we saw Joerg & Ann & Oliver (but I do not have any photos).  Steve and the girls went swimming in the hotel pool, while I spent most of our short stay there at a retirement event for my grad school mentor, Jim House.  It was a very inspiring and humbling event.  I am so happy I was able to attend and honored that I was able to present my research, along with many of his other students from the past 30 years.

A lunch-date with the girls to celebrate Addie's birthday, followed by an impromptu performance at Granny's house:

A walk to the ice cream store is a must!

Spending time with cousins - Addie & Emerson

A special get-together of the Utz cousins and their kids.  Wow!  If we had planned this, it never would have happened.  But, spontaneously, we were able to get all 8 "cousins" together.  Ranging in age from 2 to 12.

Carolyn and Claire.  Claire is my mom's friend, Dee Dee's, granddaughter.   Dee Dee is my god mother.  My mom and Dee Dee have been friends since they were close to this age.

Finally, there is something about this picture that I just love....

Carolyn and Steve went to Kings Island, but I do not have any photos of that.  We do now own a very large flouerescent-colored dog that came home with us in a suitcase!  

A great trip, as always.