Balch Family Blog

We went to a local splash park today. It was very hot so the water felt good. The boys love the spray pads, and it is much easier to do that rather then swim. With neither of them actually swimming it puts a lot of pressure on just one person. While there a daycare came with about 10-12 kids (about 5-6 yrs old). The kids came charging over and took control of the park. That was a bit annoying but the part that really bothered me was the fact that the teachers (19 yr olds) sat more than 150 feet away just talking to each other. I actually called the company but had to leave a message.

This afternoon I am going to go to my office and let the boys play while I get some organizational things done. It is hard to believe that I am back to work in less than 2 weeks!

There is a very cute new Dairy Queen commercial on that has influenced Camden. In the commercial, the dad comes home and his daughter has made a Dairy Queen in their living room. She is able to produce a Blizzard and a Hot Dog and charges her dad real money for them. The dad later discovers that the mom has gone to DQ and picked up his favorites. When he returns to collect his money he finds the store is closed (complete with a closed sign taped to the pillow.

Instantly Camden wanted to create his own restaurant. Pizza Everything (which he named) was born!

Here are some pictures of the fun!

We went to see Alvin and the Chipmunks yesterday. Both boys really enjoyed it. We took a friend from church and met cousins Nathan and Lauren there too. Our big group took up almost an entire row. We had our first monsoon last night that actually brought rain, lightening and thunder. It was very nice and really dropped our high temperatures to below 100º. Tomorrow, the boys and I are meeting my mom in Casa Grande to do some back to school shopping. Camden starts school 3 weeks from Monday. We are excited and nervous!

On Sat the Reed’s gave us Lauren’s old bed. She had hardly used it because it was difficult for her to sleep on since it was firm. They got her a softer mattress and sent the other full size home with us. On Sunday I put sheets and a quilt on it. Sunday night Carsten refused to go in his crib. He slept in the big bed all night. He did great! I checked on him a bunch just to make sure. This morning he laid in bed and called me. I am sure that won’t last long. We are very proud of him! I don’t have a baby anymore! 🙁

We left bright and early Wednesday morning headed for San Diego. We had to turn around just after passing Higley Rd (right by our house) to go back home and get our Legoland tickets that I had forgotten. After grabbing these we were on our way again.

The drive was easy and the boys did really well. They were entertained with movies and small toys as well as some candy and other treats.

Upon our arrival, we unpacked and headed down to the beach. It was so nice. The sun was shining and the water wasn’t too cold. Both boys were eager to get wet. They were a little surprised with how powerful the ocean waves were. We had dinner in a little beach side grill and then went next door to the bakery for a treat.

Thursday morning it was back to the beach. We had fun building all types of sand castles and cities. Neither one of the boys really got very wet that day. After a couple of hours we went back to the hotel, got cleaned up and headed to Legoland. The boys really liked it. We saw the shows and rode several rides. Camden got a Junior Drivers License. The whole family got a work out with the fire fighter challenge ride. That night we had dinner at TGI Fridays. Carsten slept in the booth the whole dinner. He was so tired.

Friday was Camden’s 5th Birthday! We got ready and were at Legoland when it opened. We only rode one ride each that day. We let Camden chose what we did. He wanted to dig for dinosaur bones and play at the Duplo play area. We also went to the test and drive area where they build their own cars out of Legos and race them down a ramp. I was able to get Carsten to take a nap in the stroller for about an hour. We left the park about 6 pm and went to Marie Calendar’s for dinner. The boys were so naughty during dinner. One clue we tried to do too much in one day.

On our way back to the hotel we stopped at the bakery and I grabbed 4 cupcakes. We took them back to the hotel and sang Happy Birthday to Camden. He also got to open a few presents too.

Saturday morning we went back to the beach for our last visit there. The boys got busy digging and building in the sand. They really liked it. They made friends with other boys and girls quickly and had fun digging big holes in the sand. My Dad and Betty met us at the beach and hung out for about an hour watching the boys play. We got cleaned up and went to the San Diego Railroad Museum in Balboa Park. Camden liked the N-scale display the most and Carsten really liked pushing the buttons to make some trains move. After that we drove out to Point Loma. The view there is beautiful and the boys liked being able to see the big ships leave the harbor. We ate dinner at The Fish Market and the boys did really well! (That was a relief!)

Sunday morning we had breakfast at the hotel with Dad and Betty. They played with the boys while we packed up. Mark wasn’t ready to come home so we decided to visit the San Diego County Fair. That was fun! We saw a lot of different animals, rode on some rides, and ate a bunch of fair foods! We left San Diego about 3 pm and arrived home about 9:45pm. Carsten was screaming and kicking the last 15 minutes of the drive. He was fed up with being in the car.

We all slept really well and we are getting things unpacked and laundry cleaned. Overall it was an AWESOME trip!

Camden will be 5 on Friday and the celebrations have already begun. Last Thursday we went to Tucson. Ken’s daughter (my step-sister) Cheryl and her new husband Ben were in town from Georgia. It was also Dakota’s (Ken’s grandson from Stacy) birthday. My mom and Ken decided to have a birthday celebration for their grandsons and they were thrilled to have their 3 daughters all together. We drove down Thursday morning and the party was that afternoon. Here are some pictures:

Ben is in the Army and just returned after being injured in Iraq. He was able to take us onto Davis Monthan Air Force Base. We went to the Base Exchange and looked at some neat airplanes and helicopters.

We will be taking Camden to Legoland this week and then he will celebrate with his Gran and Granpa on the 4th of July.

I believe Mark had a nice Father’s Day yesterday. It was certainly exciting at times. Mark went to church in the morning. I kept the boys home as Carsten was getting over croup, again! We had a nice lunch when he got home and hung around the house while Carsten napped. Then we went to Mark’s parents house. We swam for a bit. Both boys are quite the fishes! Carsten jumps in with no fear and Camden is holding his breath and going underwater. He even took off his floater and swam a couple times between Mark and I all by himself. He is doing really well! After a yummy dinner of ribs and corn on the cob we went to the greenbelt area across from the house. Camden got a Mentos/Soda geyser set and we decided to shoot it off. It was neat. Then Mark’s dad decided to fly his new electric plane. He usually flies it at an air park, and we know why now. The plane took off and was going so fast it flew right into a 100+ foot tree. After much discussion as to who was going to climb the tree, Mark went up a tall ladder with a very long pool pole to try and knock it loose. That plane was really stuck. It took Mark doing some real bashing and jabbing to finally knock it free. The plane will require some minor repairs, but it is fixable. We then set off for home and bed for our tired boys.

We hope all father’s enjoyed their special day!

That is how I have categorized (and color coded) our summer activities. I decided to plan several activities to do this summer so we didn’t just sit around all day. Last week we went to Arizona Museum for Youth and then for a swim at Gran’s (Mark’s mom). We also went to Bounce U. The boys really enjoyed bouncing around and going down the gigantic slides. This week we have a visit to a splash park, a movie, visit to the library and more swimming planned. So far, so good! We want to have as much fun as we can before Camden starts school in the fall!

My grandma celebrated her 84th birthday today. We took her out for lunch at The Weather Vane. It was a nice lunch and I think she enjoyed herself. Here are some pictures from lunch.

That is where Mark and I spent the Memorial Day weekend. This trip was planned and mostly paid for by Mark’s work. There was a continuing education course for Physical Therapists down there. Mark and I arrived Sat evening. Our flights went smoothly. The first thing we did was to go for a walk on the beach. It was so nice. The sand and the water. We began to notice Jellyfish washed up on the shore. They were interesting to see up close. I also grabbed a big shell from the ocean and I was surprised to find a creature living inside. That shell stayed there, but several others (without creatures) came home for the boys. We had a nice dinner and went to bed after a quick visit to the hot tub.

Sunday morning we went to see the sights! After grabbing a quick bite to eat we headed to Harbour Town. There is a lighthouse there and some interesting history about the civil war and the local people. We did some shopping at the stores and had lunch at The Crazy Crab. While on top of the lighthouse, we called the boys so they could see us on the web cam. I think they liked it! After we grabbed an ice cream we headed back to the hotel and hung out by the pool for a while. We had dinner in the lounge overlooking the beach. There was a wedding going on, so we watched that as well.

Monday morning was Mark’s first day of golf. He met the boys in lobby and headed out to play 36 holes. Since I was awake, I decided to go watch the sun rise over the ocean. It was so nice, but dark clouds loomed above. I was to rent an umbrella and chair and hang out on the beach before my spa services in the afternoon. As I was eating breakfast on the terrace it began to rain. It rained steady for about 90 min. After it cleared, I went for a walk on the beach. It seemed silly to pay so much for 2 hours on the beach under an umbrella. So I collected shells for the boys and marveled at the dead jellyfish and even had a close encounter with a small crab. I decided to spend an hour by the pool, and then went for my spa treatments. All were fabulous! When Mark and the boys returned we grabbed dinner at a local fish restaurant.

Tuesday morning I got ready and headed back home. Mark went out to play another 36 holes. My flights were good, and I was very happy to see the boys!

Mark returns today after playing another 18 holes. He is having a great time and said he played his favorite course yesterday at Bloody Point on Daufuskie Island.

It was a wonderful trip! We will post pictures later. Mark still has the camera with him.