The Journey of Calvin: 2012

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Family Photos Over the Years

This is my family in 2011.

Here are all the brothers.

Here are the sisters.

This is my family in 2009.

Here are all the kids.

Here are the brothers in 2008. No sisters in the family yet.

Here is my family 2005.

There are nine people in my family, and another girl is coming! I’m the third child. There are five boys and two girls plus my mom and dad. I love them all very much, and I’m glad I have them!

A great family needs a great dad, and my dad’s the best! He’s 34 years old and his name is Benjamin Russell Richardson. Dad loves when everyone is happy. The only thing he doesn’t like is when no one’s happy. He has brown hair and blue eyes. He’s very kind and helpful to my mom. My dad’s a doctor or you could say he’s an OB/GYN, but that’s too complicated. I love my dad and I’m pretty sure he loves me too. I want to be just like him when I grow up!

My mom is just as caring and loving as my dad! Her name is Briana and she is 32 years old. Mom has brown hair and hazel eyes. She likes when the house is clean, but what she doesn’t like is when we don’t finish our homework or clean our rooms. While I’m gone at school she cleans the house and cares for Lacey and Daisy, my younger sisters. Mom also gives piano and violin lessons to people around the neighborhood and gets paid for it. My mom is a great mom and I’m glad to have her!

Caleb and Carson, my two older brothers, are almost exactly the same. They both have dirty blonde hair and blue eyes. Freckles are spread across their faces. They are both 12 years old. Being goofy and rowdy are their specialty. They are very dependent and always are together. Playing sports is something they do a lot for fun. They dislike when they disagree with each other. They leave every morning to Hornedo Middle School five days a week and come home with lots of homework. Caleb plays violin in the advanced orchestra and piano. Carson also plays piano, but instead of playing violin, he plays cello in the advanced orchestra. They are both very good on their instruments and always help me on mine. Carson and Caleb are very helpful and great older brothers!

After I was born, I got a little brother. His name is Ashton! Like my mom, he has brown hair and hazel eyes with a pinch of freckles on his checks. He’s nine years old. Ashton’s silly and likes to play with his friends, but he doesn’t like when he has to clean a really messy room. He goes to Tippin and is in 3rd grade. Piano and violin are the instruments he plays. Ashton’s a great little brother and I’m glad I have him!

Devin is the fifth boy in the family, but not the youngest. There’s still Lacey and Daisy. He has brown hair and dark brown eyes. Devin’s independent and he’s 7 years old and a lot of the time plays by himself. One of his favorite things to play with are his legos. He goes to Tippin and is in first grade. Devin plays piano and like everyone else in the family, gets lessons from my mom. Sometimes he can be just a little bit annoying, but most of the time he’s OK. I’m glad he’s around!

I have two adorable sisters! The older one is Lacey. She’s three years old. Lacey has blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Lacey is very helpful, but bossy. When someone doesn’t do what she says, she gets angry. She plays with Barbies and babies and loves ballerinas. Lacey always helps my mom and dad. I don’t know what I would do without her!

After Lacey came cutie pie Daisy. She’s one year old. Daisy has bright brown hair and hazel eyes. Helping mom all day is what she does. Being tickled and playing with Lacey is what she likes. She also likes playing with baby dolls. Daisy is a great and adorable sister!

My dad has great parents! Their names are Sheila and Russell Richardson. Grandpa is 59 and Grandma is 56. They are both very caring and love to see their grandchildren. My Grandma is short with green eyes and my Grandpa is tall, always smiles and has brown eyes. Grandpa Richardson owns an air conditioning business and Grandma Richardson is a preschool teacher. They are great grandparents!

Grandma and Grandpa Reed are very kind and caring. Grandpa is 57 and Grandma is 54. Grandpa’s name is Brian and Grandma’s name is Bonnie. They are both short. Grandma has green eyes and Grandpa has blue eyes. Blacksmithing is my Grandpa’s specialty. Piano is something Grandma is great at and that’s why she gives piano lessons. I’m glad I have wonderful grandparents!

I’m the third child out of seven kids. I’m glad I’m the middle child so I don’t have to be the one who has to set the best example and take care of every one. I’m glad I’m not the youngest because I’m not the little boy that when he tries to play with the older kids, he gets kicked out and I’m also happy I’m not the youngest so I can still be a little bossy to my smaller siblings and be a big brother. In other words, I’m grateful I’m not the oldest or youngest!

Did you know that I’m a seventh generation Arizonan on both sides of my family? Before that my early ancestors lived in Mexico. And even before that, they were in England. Some of my other ancestors were Indian. Most of them were Mormon or LDS. We celebrate al the basic holidays, but we also celebrate the 24th of July, when the Mormon pioneers crossed the plains to the Rocky Mountains. Some foods we eat because of my ancestors is something called suet pudding. I’m really happy I have great ancestors because if I didn’t have them I wouldn’t be here.

When my ancestors were back in England, some of them got the honor of being royal knights. A few of the names were Sir Robert Reed, Sir William Hoo, Sir Robert Hoo, Sir Thomas Brockett and Sir Alexander Hoo. After that when they moved to the United States, my great-great Grandpa became president of the Arizona Senate! Then after he died from cancer, an elementary school in Mesa, Arizona was named after him. I have amazing ancestors!

My family is a great family. We all love going camping and going on hikes. Everyone likes spending time with each other. We all play musical instruments except for Lacey and Daisy. Playing duets and quartets is something we enjoy doing. Every summer we go to Arizona and visit family! I’m happy I have a wonderful family!

Over the years we’ve had many pets. The first one was Tico. He would always bark at night and since I was only about three years old, he always scared me. Our second animals were two little tortoises that would eat lettuce all day. But then we moved to El Paso and gave them away. While we had the turtles, we got a corn snake. We also gave him away. We got a little red beta fish and named him Buddy. About two years later, he passed away. After that, my dad caught a tarantula that was in our front yard. We kept him and bought food for him. His name was Aragog. Two months later he unexpectedly died. So pretty much, my family has had great pets over the years!

To sum it up, I have a great family and great ancestors. I have had some famous relatives and many great pets. I love my family!!!!

Peanut Butter Fudge

This is our "go to" fudge recipe. I originally got the recipe from my Great-Grandma, otherwise known as Ma to all my cousins and friends. I added milk chocolate chips to the recipe to add the chocolatey goodness that we all love! I made this batch of fudge when I was 9 years old with no help from my mom and it tasted great!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge

1 can of sweetened condensed milk

1 cup of chocolate chips

1 cup of butterscotch chips

1/2 cup peanut butter

16 large Marshmallows, quartered

1 tsp of vanilla

dash of salt

Melt chips, milk, peanut butter and marshmallows in microwave. Stir every 30 seconds until all ingredients are melted. Add vanilla and salt. Stir. Pour into a 9x13 inch pan. Chill and cut.

For thicker fudge, use a 8x8 or 9x9 inch pan. I like my fudge thicker. You can also play around with various types of chocolate chips. The recipe originally called for 2 cups of butterscotch chips. Sometimes I use all milk chocolate chips. I think white chocolate chips would be tasty as well.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Part 1 Starting My Engine/Toddlerhood

“Dad, I have your birthday present! You have to come quick!” My dad said gleefully into his phone. “We’re at the hospital! His name is Calvin!”

The little boy was 6 pounds 10 ounces, 20 ½ inches long and born May 16, 2002 at 1:30pm. He was born at Chandler Regional Hospital in Chandler, Arizona.

I was patiently waiting for my loving grandpa that had the same birthday as me. I was born 2 days after my mom and dad’s wonderful anniversary, and couldn’t wait to see the beautiful things in life!

My name wasn’t on the name list my mom and dad had made for me. One of the top names on the list was Carter, but once my responsible dad first held me, he told my caring mom he knew I was a Calvin. That wonderful name is also my honest Grandpa Reed’s middle name. Since I was born on my gentle Grandpa Richardson’s birthday, I have his first name as my middle name. It’s a little embarrassing to say, but, my name means “bald”. It doesn’t have anything to do with me because I’m not bald!!! Something good about it is that it was an honor to have that name since the 19^th century.

The day I was born, my head was perfectly round, unlike many other baby heads, and my skin was very smooth. It was a white as a cloud. My arms and legs were long. They would move up and down at the same time so my mom said that I was like a baby frog. I was a skinny and tall baby. Also, when I was born my nose was larger, but the next day it was back to normal.

When I came home from the hospital I had two older brothers waiting to hold me. They are identical twins, Caleb and Carson. I also had twenty-one loving aunts and uncles and ten caring grandparents coming to see me. I had a cousin wanting to see me. Her name is Briley. She was a huge baby. She was as big as a skyscraper. She was three months older than me. We never really got along when we were babies. We always fought, but now we’re good friends.

When I ate food, I wasn’t a messy eater like a pig. I wouldn’t be picky and not eat my broccoli. All the delicious good on my plate, I would gobble up. I didn’t have a favorite food when I was small, but when I was three, I was too sick to eat my colorful birthday cake.

I was an early walker. At just nine months I started walking! One time, my friendly grandpa was teasing me and chasing me through the house. I was scrambling away, but out of nowhere, I tripped and fell and hit the corner of his coffee table. With a “BONK” as loud as a dinosaur roar, blood starting gushing from my head. That’s how I go the weird scar on my forehead.

When I was a toddler, I was a miniature model of my dad. Just like him, I was easy going. It seemed like I would just go with the flow. I was also mysterious. No one knew what I would do next. I was cool. If someone asked me a question and I didn’t want to answer, I didn’t answer. My two older brothers liked to do things for me, but I didn’t like it when they did my jobs. I would just be independent and tell them to stop so I could do them myself. I didn’t have any favorite toys, but I had a hat that I really liked. It was a dark blue fisherman hat that I wore everywhere! One day I went to my kind aunt’s house and I lost it there. I looked everywhere and never found it. I had another thing I liked. It was a tire that I would always sit and relax in the sun, but then we moved and we had to throw it in the smelly dump. My mom used to always tease me because my hair was blond and it was hard to see my eyebrows. They were as transparent as glass. She would ask me where they were and I would say that I threw them in the garbage. So I was always looking for my eyebrows in the trash can. Finally, she explained that I really did have eyebrows, but they were blonde and hard to see.

So overall, everyone loved me as a little kid. I was a mini model of my dad but with the name of Calvin. My two older brothers loved to hold me. I always at my food and was an early walker. I had a great toddlerhood!