Arizona

 Swimming bright and early.  Not sure if the sun was even all the way up at this point.

 Calvin was mad because his popcorn was taken away so I could take this picture.

 Waiting to get his baseball signed by a player.

 Stingray exhibit at the Phoenix Zoo.  I think we spent half of our time at the zoo at this one exhibit.  It took Calvin a bit to warm up to touching the stingrays but once he got going he had a great time.

 If you aren't careful the stingrays will slap the water and splash you.  We saw lots of people get splashed!

 Just hanging around like a couple of monkeys.

 Hiking at South Mountain Park. 

 Calvin trying to convince Dan to let him keep climbing the rocks higher and higher.

 "Mom, take a picture of me saying stick on cactus."  Of course I obliged him.

 Finally getting to climb on some rocks.

 After our morning hike we wanted to go watch the Brewers again but none of the seats available were in the shade so we opted to watch some of the minor league teams on some of outer fields.  Calvin convinced us to stay for a couple extra batters because he really wanted to get a foul ball.  Luckily we stayed because just two batters later a ball was hit outside the fence and Calvin was able to run and get it.  He then promptly fell on his face when running back to us.

Vacation is hard work.

Random photos from the past few months

Dan and Calvin before trick or treating.  Calvin wanted us all to be bats
but at the last minute he decided that he wanted to be
a dog (last year's costume) and a bat. 
It was a tight squeeze to get the bat costume over the
dog costume but we got it on and he was very excited. 

Pumpkin patch.  We set out to get one pumpkin each but as you can see from
the picture above we ended up with a few extras.
I wish I could blame the extras on Calvin or Dan but it was all me this year.

What's the first thing you think of doing when it snows?  Ride a bike?
Me neither but Calvin thought it was a great idea. 

Helmet fun at my cousin's wedding reception. 

Turtle exhibit at local museum.  He couldn't stand up with the
shell on but had lots of fun pretending to be a turtle on the ground. 

                                      

Pinata Dan and Calvin made for Calvin's birthday party. 

4 years old!

                                     

                                

Sorry for so many pictures in one post but just be glad that I controlled myself!  I think I had a dozen more picked out but I'll save those for another day.  Calvin went to school this morning so I sent a special snack for the class.  Gone are the days of cupcakes so I sent cheese, sausage, and crackers.  Dan took a half day off of work so after school we went out to lunch, played at home with Calvin's new fire truck, painted a pinata, went bowling, and played outside.  Phew!  After dinner Calvin played with his cake. 

New school and tractors

 Calvin's first day at his new school!  He is loving his new school, teachers, and all the really cool activities that they have been doing.  This year they are focusing on science so each week they are learning something science related.  He still talks about his old school but is quick to tell me that he likes his new school better.

 Out in public people comment that Calvin is very quiet and wonder if he ever talks. Short answer: yes.  The real question is when does he stop.  I can't remember what he was telling me as I was taking the picture but I'm sure it was part of his running commentary. 

 Calvin and I went to the John Deere Pavilion to look at tractors.  Well, we spent about 1.5 hours in the play area and 30 minutes actually looking at tractors. 

 While Calvin played I was able to look around a bit at the tractors and other machines near the play area.  I don't think he even noticed when I was in this bulldozer.

 Calvin loved this little green tractor that was designed and built exclusively for customers in India.   I think he liked it best because it looked like a regular tractor.  Not like the giant combine he is driving below.  The cab of the combine is roomier than the interior of our car. 

Making a sharp turn while driving the tractor. 

amusement park

 For Dan's birthday we took Calvin to an amusement park.  We all had a lot of fun and were all exhausted by the time we got home.  Above is Calvin riding in a race car (not sure why he wanted to sit in the back but he did).  The first time he rode the ride it lasted over 5 minutes. 

 Waiting for the train ride to begin.

Calvin's favorite ride of the day was the roller coaster.  Later he was taking pictures of us and we had to say roller coaster.