Dallin turned 9 on May 18, 2022. During his birthday weekend, Grandpa Papa and Grandma Nana came to visit. We enjoyed some fun things!
Like the Waterfront Park in downtown...
The jacaranda trees in Balboa Park, which is always a special symbol of exciting milestones for our family (in bloom when we moved to HB, when Tanner and Dallin were born, when we said goodbye to HB and in bloom when we moved to San Diego)...
Random picture of grandma, in our town home, reminder that I made a really cool music map for There Is Peace in Christ, but I lost it.
We went to church...
We took them to Station Tavern for yummy burgers, and that's the time when my dad bought a meal for another family with young kids.
The IB Fest at McKinley Elementary, where I led and directed all the music performances for every grade over the course of 3 hours. Tanner sang and danced with his 4th grade classes (they did Alabama Gal, I Hear the Windmill and a rhythm game). Dallin sang and danced with his 3rd grade classes (they did Oats Peas Beans, This Land is Your Land, and Ye Toop Duram). We performed outside because it was an informal open-house type of event where we feature all the specialty classes and allow all the students to perform.
Tanner in the white puma shirt
Tanner far left playing the boomwackers.
Tanner far left on the risers
Dallin top row, grey shirt
Dallin top row, 4th from the right.
I was really proud that we did this event 2 years in a row. It was a big collaboration between the visual arts, dance, garden and music teachers, and with huge support from the school principal, Deb Ganderton. So just being able to work with so many powerhouse women to start something new was really awesome.
Also, I'm proud because this IB performance was the only type of performance where every students in grades K-5 could participate because the actual music instruction and rehearsals took place during normal school hours. Unlike the theatre program and the variety show, this event included ALL students during the normal school day. To my knowledge, it has been the only event in the past 15+ years with this much equitable access for all students to participate in the performing arts.
We took my parents to Little Italy for the first time, and we ate really yummy Italian food. The boys were in heaven.
That evening, we revealed a fun Harry Potter birthday cake for the biggest Harry Potter fan in the family! Dallin was really excited about it.
For his birthday service, Dallin made cookies for all of our neighbors, of which we forgot to get photos, but he did have fun making and delivering them.
What a cool kid with so many fun milestones on his 9th birthday.
During the year leading up to turning 9, here is what he accomplished:
- Baptized and confirmed
- Sang a duet with his brother at church for the primary program
- enjoyed his long awaited trip to LegoLand
- we also went to Aquatica
- and 6 flags Magic Mountain where he rode some of his first roller coasters
- Traveled to new and fun places, including Las Vegas, Mexico City, La Paz, Hoover Dam, Colorado and Sacramento
- Managed to lose ZERO teeth during the entire year
- saw real axolotls for the first time
- saw blue whales in the wild off the coast of San Diego
- swam with whale sharks in the wild in La Paz
- improved on the piano and learned the Dr Dre song
- read the entire Harry Potter series in 5 weeks
- read tons of books, we estimated 100 or more
- completed 2nd grade homeschool
- enjoyed Zoo Art Camp, Lifegaurd Camp and musical theatre camp (Arrow to the sun that Taryn and I directed)
- and enjoyed 3rd grade at McKinley
- rode his bike to school almost every day with Tanner (up the big hill from Whaley Ave)
- another year of basketball with YMCA
- first year doing little league baseball (the prior season he had a broken arm)
- worked hard to conquer Super Mario game
- went to the Exalibur Show in Vegas
- often spent time cooking out of his MineCraft cookbook
- learned how to ride a ripstick
- favorite activities included playing Minecraft, reading, legos, playing in fort TOD with Tanner, sports and baking
- started growing his hair out
- slept a good portion of the year in the library in an effort to claim his own room
- still hugs and cuddles with his mom and sings songs about his mom every day
- kept making us laugh day in and day out
It is such a blessing to have Dallin in our lives, and seeing him turn 9 was really exciting. Almost everyday during this time, I reminded myself how special this time in his life is and how lucky I am to watch him enjoying and learning so many fun things. He is such a sweet little guy who loves to have fun and be care free. We love our Dal Pal and I am so glad that he is my son.
