The Growing Caldwell Family

I have been trying to eat better and I'm always trying to get some nutritious food in Sarah Graves, so I recently tried making kale zmoothies. They claim kale, berries and water will taste great. I'm not sure I think it tastes great and Sarah Graves exercised her right to spit it out, but Charlie thinks it's quite yummy! We add some banana to his.  In fact, he calls it his lettuce smoothie and he asks for it! He knows that your body works and grows better with good food. He recently had me measure him while drinking his smoothie to see if he had grown. He was pleased with his half inch increase, but wants to get to 48 inches very soon. Some rides require 48 inches to ride and he wants to ride. So, he rushed back downstairs to drink some more smoothie and grow taller! He is such a logical thinker and very motivated!

We had a fun time at a local performance of Singin' in the Rain done by kids. It was quite chilly, but we brought blankets and bundled up in the amphitheater.  The kids enjoy seeing some kids from their school in the show; teachers from school; and friends. The kids in the show did a great job singing, dancing, and acting. They even made it rain on stage! 

We headed out to pick SG up from her zoo sleepover with plans to go to church. There was a delay in picking her up that made us too late to get to church. So, we took advantage of being dressed up on a Sunday morning and headed out to brunch! This sweet buddy patiently waited in the car for a loooong time while we waited for Sissy to come out.   Sissy still had the camera from her sleepover and captured some great memories of jazz brunch at Copeland's! Charlie really enjoyed chocolate covered strawberries! Charlie loves to take pictures and starting photographing the musicians. They even took a selfie of themselves! Smiles all around! A nice, long brunch was so good for all of us. We all enjoyed the food and the time together. Good family time!

Sarah Graves' Girl Scout troop was able to do a sleepover at the zoo. They used money raised from cookie sales to do it!  She was really eager to go! Of course, she loved the pandas! They do look so cute and cuddly. She brought a camera with her and took some pics of animals. I love the pics she took of her and her friends! They slept on mats in the gorilla enclosure. It was a cold night, but she said it was pretty warm. They got a behind the scenes look at the zoo. She was excited about the snakes in the reptile enclosure! I think it was a really memorable experience!

We had a fun date night with Charlie while Sarah Graves was at a sleepover. He was really excited to order a strawberry milkshake and play tic tac toe during dinner!  We had a lengthy discussion about why Tiger Stadium is also called Death Valley. The concept of gladiators is a tough one for a six year old! The idea of people cheering while men were forced to fight one another or a wild animal seemed ludicrous! The only more in depth conversation we have had is trying to explain world war to him! He was fascinated to understand what started each of them and how countries divided into two sides! 

Sarah Graves' class earned a reward for good behavior. The class got to pick the reward and she was very proud that they chose her suggestion, wearing your costume to school! She was very excited to don her Cinderella dress and wanted to recreate her look from her visit to Bippity Boppity Boutique. I love that their teachers motivate good behavior in ways that require focus and planning. Learning to set a goal and stay focused to achieve it is a skill that will pay off later in life way more than memorizing facts. 

We had a fun Halloween! We stuck with our routine of having a small party-like dinner with the family before heading out to trick or treat. For dinner we had buttered worms (buttered pasta tinted green), zombie brains (hot dog casserole), and snacks.  I also made this jell-o mold like a brain! Aaron pointed out that brains are grey, but I wanted cherry flavor! The buttered worms were a big hit! Livy even had a second serving after trick or treating. Our Harry Potter themed costumes were a lot of fun once again! Nay and Livy dressed as Frozen. It was a lot of fun to see people's reactions to our costumes! Mom heard about a neighborhood near us that has lots of trick or treating and she was right! The kids had a blast going from house to house. We trick or treated there for a couple of hours and then headed to our own!  Thanks to Pops for chauffeuring us around and to Lovie for handing out candy to our trick or treaters! 

When we made our fall bucket list, carving pumpkins was a top pick! Sarah Graves was grossed out by the inside of the pumpkin, so she opted to wear gloves! Charlie decided it was easier to just get in there! Sissy was excited to see them all lit up! Our designs looked good all lit up! Sissy was excited for her Tinkerbelle silhouette and thankful that daddy could help her see it through. 

Jeanne' was very brave and took all three kids to Fright Fest at Six Flags! They had a great time! It was a beautiful day and lots of crowds, but they had fun riding a few rides, playing on the playground, and enjoying snacks.  It was especially nice because it was mine and Aaron's wedding anniversary! We had an afternoon to hang out and then enjoyed dinner just the two of us. So nice to spend some time just talking and enjoying time together. We didn't even think to take a picture, but had a great afternoon.

Kindergarten is such a fun age! Seeing Charlie in his classroom with his buddies is really cute. He is a sweet kid, good listener, and well liked by his classmates. It makes me proud to see him in action enjoying his school, teachers, and friends! The party started off with mystery reader! The kids did a great job listening while the party was being set up. The room was transformed into a festive atmosphere with bright colors! There were yummy snacks! The strawberry was Charlie's favorite, of course! I made the cupcakes. At Charlie's request they were chocolate cake with orange frosting. I saw the emoji face idea online and Aaron and I had fun coming up with different faces! The pirate face was my personal favorite! The kids made these bat hats for their craft. Charlie with his buddies Harrison, Nico, and Ziggy. I was so happy to go to the Halloween party in Charlie's class. I went to them in Sarah Graves' kindergarten class, but at

Fun run is something the kids always look forward to! This year the shirts were super-cute with the Halloween theme! This year wasn't as cold as others, so even better!  Early start to the day, but she didn't care! Testing out the podium to see how it might feel. Charlie and his sweet friends! This girl was pumped up and ready to go! Sis and her buddies! Charlie was ready to go at the starting line! Sweet Charlie hung in there for the race. Sis gave it her best! Doing the cupid shuffle while they waited for awards. Charlie and Ziggy were proud of their medals! Neither kid placed in the top 3, but they had fun and practiced being happy for their friends who did win!  Aaron and I were pooped out by the afternoon! Fun run is an early start!