Ode to Doctor Metcalf

Last night we went to a retirement party for Kai's life-long pediatrician. Not only did we stand in line for an hour (their were at least 100 families there to say goodbye), but I definitely shed many tears when it was finally our turn to hug him and wish him well. Dr. Metcalf is the most caring and compassionate doctor I could ever have imagined for our son. I feel so sad about his retirement and subsequently our need to find a new pediatrician...no one will ever compare to Doctor Metcalf. We love you Dr. Metcalf!

Summer Happenings (1 of 5)

Every year we go to the SLC Arts Festival with Maggie, Sina, Leila and Ben. This was Kai's second year, but the first year he and Leila were old enough to run around and play. They loved the kids corner, and had fun "creating" their own art.

We loved the kids corner too...nothing like a little family teeter-totter! Yay for the Arts Festival, we'll see you next year!

4th of July (2 of 5)

My brother Todd and his family were in Utah for the Fourth of July, so we celebrated together with fireworks and fun in the back yard. Evee, Owen and Kai enjoyed watching Todd and Darin "blow things up". It was fun, and great to see Todd and Onjali and their kids.

The Infamous Liberty Park (3 of 5)

This summer, we have spent approximately every other day playing at Liberty Park. Kai LOVES the "water park" where all the other kids run through the spraying hoops and shooting fountains. He has recently ventured into the world of the "big kids" and is now willing to join them in the water fun. Darin and I love to watch him, but every now and then he gets a little nervous, and needs one of us to come rescue him from the water...I am sure you can imagine how much we like getting soaked in our clothes. Kai sure thinks it's funny.

Kai and Natalie (4 of 5)

Kai has become great friends with our friends' daugther Natalie. They play so well together, and even share toys. It helps that Natalie has quite an amiable disposition and doesn't mind having her personal space violated regularly.

It turns out Natalie LOVES Ranch Dressing. Don't worry sweetie, we have a costco size bottle all ready for your birthday. :)

Kai has become famous for "comandeering" Natalie's drink cups. It doesn't matter how many fancy drink cups we provide him with...he only wants to sip from Natalies. The amount of spit these two have exchanged is probably in violation of a million health codes...but they sure do love it. Thanks for sharing Natalie!!

Hiking (5 of 5)

Darin and I recently realized, that as much as we LOVE to travel, and explore the world, the area we live in is beautiful, and has much to be explored. With that in mind, we hiked up to a couple of different lakes in the beautiful canyons above Salt Lake City. Kai especially loved it, and mentioned once or twice that he wishes we would take up camping so that he can enjoy the outdoors more...we may or may not consider his request. :)

Cousin Beckett and Beebee Ellie

My niece Elle was born a few weeks ago, so Darin, Kai and I ventured out to Connecticut to introduce ourselves. She is BEAUTIFUL...we loved spending time with her, but Kai was her biggest fan. Every moning his head would pop up out of the crib and he would start saying "beebee, beebee, beebee?" He loved her!


Kai discovered that his lifelong best friend is none other than his very own cousin Beckett Ross Grange. The two couldn't get enough of each other...although, Beckett did love to hover over "baby-Kai" just a tad. :)

Dan and Anne took us on the greatest day trips! The first trip was to New Haven where we ate famoue "Frank Peppe" pizza and visited the YALE campus. Most of the buildings were built in the 18th century and the architecture was amazing. We also discovered a little grassy knoll north of campus with the world's greatest swing and spectacular hills for the boys to roll down.

Darin loved holding little Elle, and tried to convince Anne and Dan to let us take her home...

The second day trip involved a great drive through Connecticut, New York and on to New Jersey where we ate Brazillian hamburgers (filled with every meat and vegetable known to man), and a visit to Hoboken where we stood in line for an hour and a half to go inside (drum roll please) none other than Carlo's bakery; home of THE CAKE BOSS. It was awesome to say the least, and although Buddy did not come out to meet me personally, he wanted to, as evidenced by the guy who brought out samples of delicious baked goods for everyone in line (he couldn't just send them out for me, it would be bad business...right?)

The kids got to stay up late our last night, and they enjoyed watching AVATAR before their tearful goodbye embrace (ok, there weren't any tears, but mainly because they didn't actually understand that they wouldn't be playing with eachother the next day).

What a great trip! Thanks Connecticut Cousins (and Anne and Dan), you guys are the best!