Oh my goodness, how my boy LOVES his Grandpa! The past couple of days I swear he has been saying "Bapa" constantly! We will be driving down the freeway and he will point to a random car and say "Bapa??" What a cute kid. Here are some fun pictures I took tonight while visiting.
This picture was taken right after Bapa accidentally sent James' toy train across the table straight into James' face. The look on James' face was priceless as he glared at his Grandpa, wondering why he would do something like that!
My best buddy Janina and I always seem to have parallel lives - seriously, it is even kind of creepy sometimes just HOW similar our lives are. We always seems to be going through similar things at the same time - which is one reason why it is so great that we are friends! One such similar thing is that in the past few weeks or months, both of our husbands got new jobs and moved back to Utah after being out of state (after losing jobs, living with our in-laws and then with or very close to our parents...I could probably go on and on with the similarities...)! Anyway, Matt and Janina and their cute little boy just moved back to Utah last week, and on Saturday we went down to Provo to see them! We went to our traditional hang-out of Panda Express and then had fun catching up and playing games at their apartment. We are so grateful for good friends!
becoming buddies
Janina and I with our boys!
I love this picture...not sure what that face is that I am making, though!
Isn't summertime the best when you are a little kid? I remember when I was growing up that summers seemed like they lasted forEVER. For us, summer started on the last day of school - Dad would pick us up from school in his convertible (which we thought was pretty much the coolest thing ever) and we would drive home with the top down (also the coolest thing). Then we would get out the wading pool (which always seemed HUGE to us, for some reason - maybe we were just all really petite) and play outside ALL day and get sunburned.
We literally LIVED out in our backyard during the summer - either in the wading pool (seriously, for HOURS at a time), or in our tent. We loved setting the tent up and sleeping out in the backyard, literally for days and DAYS at a time. We just couldn't take it down! We even made a little chart to show our sleeping position rotation (because of course it is always nice to get a chance to sleep on each side of the tent).
I also recall many, many hours playing with my sisters in the backyard, making up all sorts of games (we were - still are - very easily entertained). Annie and I once sent away for some awesome walkie-talkies from a Honeycomb cereal box. We made up an entire code using the letters of the alphabet in morse code (which, of course, was written on the walkie talkies for easy reference).
Also, I have to mention one of my favorite summertime activities - going for drives at night in Dad's convertible while listening to Oldies 94.1. Because of this, I not only have some great memories with my Dad, but I also know all of the lyrics to a lot of Beach Boys songs. Thanks, Dad :)
Some of my fondest memories of summertime when I was little was when our family would have what we called "Gibbons Days." We didn't even realize it then, but this was my parents' way of having a family "vacation" when we didn't have a ton of money - we just thought it was like the best thing ever, and didn't even care that we didn't travel anywhere. For Gibbons Days my Dad would get a week or so off of work, and we would basically have a mini-vacation right at home. Before "Gibbons Days" started, we all sat down and decided what we wanted to do, and assigned an activity to each day. For example, we had Water Day (we basically played outside in the wading pool ALL DAY), Zoo Day, Picnic Day, and Nintendo Day (yes, my sisters and I always loved Nintendo - on this day we'd go and rent about 5 [old school] Nintendo games and just play all day - it was such a blast). I wouldn't have traded our "Gibbons Days" for any fancy, exotic vacation.
Music always triggers my memory to remember good times and great memories. Here are some of my favorite songs that remind me of my childhood, especially summertime. Anything James Taylor reminds me of growing up - my Dad always listened to him. The third song was our "Gibbons Days" theme song, for some reason. The fourth one is on there because it reminds me of my Dad - I learned to love classical music because of him, and this is one of my favorites from when I was little. Enjoy!
I am so grateful for my parents for letting me have such a wonderful childhood. They just had a wonderful knack for making everyday things exciting. It is in large part because of all of these wonderful memories of MY childhood that I am so excited and happy to help MY kids have a happy, happy childhood, too.
This morning it was beautiful and sunny and HOT. My boys and I decided to set up our new little wading pool and go for a "swim!" James was SO excited, and once he got up the courage to get into the semi-cold water, he had a blast! His favorite thing was to get out of the pool and stand a little ways away, then we would say "ready, set, GO!" and he would RUN as FAST as he could and "jump" in the pool. What a cutie. Mama and Daddy even got in the TINY pool, too - but I won't share any of those pictures. It was a little ridiculous-looking ;) What a fun day.
James and I often like to go for walks and visit my parents while Daddy is at work. Last night while we were there, Bapa was watering some flowers and James started playing in the water. He had such a great time, and he got soaking wet! Good thing I ran home and got my camera...
Happy Fathers Day to my sweet, funny, smart, handsome husband and the father of my son. I am so lucky to have you, and so is James! :) I couldn't ask for a better father for my children. Thanks for making me laugh and being such a wonderful man. Love you, Babe!
I love my Dad so much - he is one of my best buddies and sometimes we just think right on the same wavelength and get the same humor, I love it. He is so smart and wise and is just a great guy! He is such a wonderful dad and grandpa - we love you, Datty! Happy Fathers Day!
I couldn't have asked for a better father-in-law! Jonathan's dad is amazing, he is so fun to be around and to joke around with. He is such a hard worker and I have learned so much from him. I am so grateful that MY husband (the father of my son) has such a wonderful father as an example. Happy Fathers Day, Dad - we love you!
Oh my goodness, how my boy LOVES his Grandpa! The past couple of days I swear he has been saying "Bapa" constantly! We will be driving down the freeway and he will point to a random car and say "Bapa??" What a cute kid. Here are some fun pictures I took tonight while visiting.
This picture was taken right after Bapa accidentally sent James' toy train across the table straight into James' face. The look on James' face was priceless as he glared at his Grandpa, wondering why he would do something like that!
