My childhood in a nutcase - I mean, nutshell...

 

This is the house I grew up in. My parents (mom and stepdad) still live there. That's mini me on the railing. My parents moved here from Tucson a few months before I was born because my dad was hired at HP.  It hurts my brain to imagine my life now if he hadn't gotten that job and moved us to Boise. I might have grown up in Arizona and missed out on all the fine people of Idaho... 

 

I picked some snappyshots to share here that pretty much sum up my kidhood.

 

I remember playing in the snow.

Check out the rad Raggedy Ann hat.

I literally had eyes on the back of my head, making me pretty much invincible in a snowball fight. ;)

Christmas 1982

What I wouldn't give for a slightly larger model of this today. I'd run all my errands on it. Might have to get a matching trailer for groceries and sundry items.



I don't look one bit guilty here. Poor little Meggers. 

 

Okay, enough of the wintery pictures. On to some more cheerful moments...

 

9 times out of 10, those kinds of moments occur in the springtime...

 



Meg looking on, awfully cautious of the scene leading up to her sister's budding inclination to evermore be smitten by the wonders of spring. 

(I'm going to pretend that sentence makes sense.)

One of the three famous strawberry dresses Grandma McCaleb made. =)

 

 

 



May '82



A happy 5th birthday

 

 



 

 

Day after my birthday...



Who remembers this place?

 

Why, it's Wild Waters. Many good times were shared there, until it was mercilessly torn down to make room for the lame freeway. (I don't know why the picture scanned so narrowly. Maybe it wasn't sufficiently flattened out?)

Erin and Gavin are next in line for an intense ride down this cray-cray blue slide.

 

 



Meg's face is so sweet in this.

 

 

I recall my mom taking us to see the various phases of temple construction. 

The background is so pretty, it almost looks fake. But it's not.

 



Here are the McCaleb sisters. Little did they know, a few decades later they'd embark on some really fun trips together. =)

What we also couldn't have known then was that Megan would become our fearless leader. Our quick-thinking, decision-making, take charge of any situation, center of attention (in a good way) fun-filled  leader.

 

 Our super-sweet grandma loved sending us matching clothes...

 



Who knows what's happening here. I just like it. And Meg looks like she could be her son Fletcher's twin here. That same slack-jawed expression. =)

 

 



My mom had her friend make these adorable stockings for us. 

Christmas 1984

 

I loved getting my very own boxes of cereal. Looks like my Cabbage Patch Kid (Collin) got a jazzy new sweatsuit that year.

 



Jan. '85, wardrobe courtesy of Grandma.

 

 

 

I don't know what this is about, but I like how my mom fixed our hair.

 



And I like the flowers!

Some Shannonite highlights from '85...

 



Can you say jumpsuit? I can. Totally takes the guesswork out of getting dressed.

 

 



A Halloween "princess" of sorts.

 

 

 





With Grandma and Grandpa McCaleb- Aug '84

'85

I loved that dress. 

 

Some pics with Dad... 

Dec. '87

 

 



Dec. '86

Dec. '86

 

 

 



There's no date on the back of this one. =( But I still like it. 

 

 

March '86

 

 

Dec. '85

 

 



Feb. '86

 



Now skip a year or two for our concluding photo of the day. A visit to Arizona. This was at my dad's house either '87 or '88. (I think)

Check out Gavin's plentiful spectacles, Erin's awesome 'Help!' shirt, and my perturbed face.

I think other bloggers should post some of their own childhood photos. It's fun. And sentimental. And because old snapshots are dandy, that's why.

Toddler Me

Here's 3-year-old me

I've always been a fan of the irises alongside my mom's house.

Dang, I should try and recreate this photo when they bloom soon. I just need to find some loose-fitting trousers and a replica of this shirt. Too bad I didn't think of it for a "30 years later" photo. Missed it by a year. I guess it could be a 31 years later thing, then afterwards I could go out to 31 Flavors. 

(It never was Baskin-Robbins to me.) 

I guess I was three in all these photos. Which means I was two in some of the snapshots from the last post. 

Baby Megan and me. Perched on that great, great couch. I wonder where it is today. 

A happy third birthday.

I like how completely relaxed Megan is. 

I loved this dress berry much!

Again with the snoozing. I think my sandals are on the wrong feet. 

I'm glad to have just the right amount of childhood pictures. There's enough to adequately represent us, but not so many that we'd never have time to sort through them all. Thanks to my mom for successfully capturing our young lives on magical 35mm film.

(Now if only the shots from the first few months of my existence weren't permanently affixed to the sticky pages of a "magnetic" photo album...)

When I was a wee one

Since I'm sorta sick of my present-day self, I thought I'd share some of what was happening in my life about 34 years ago. 

I've had a pile of childhood photos sitting on the desk, waiting for months to be scanned, and I finally got around to it today. Good for me. I gave myself a pat on the back, which instantly triggered a vivid, infantile memory of me being burped.  ;)

Here's my chubby face at a month and a half old. 

Holy yellow overload! 

P.S.  I still have that cute giraffe. 

My first Easter. How I wish I had a bonnet like this to wear for my 35th Easter. 

 (At first I was mistaken and put 34th Easter because I'm not 35 yet. But Maria commented with a mind-bending correction. It makes sense now-- Since I was not yet 1 on my first Easter, my 35th Easter comes when I'm not yet 35.)

How did I ever manage to sleep with that clown toy hanging on my crib?

According to my baby book, this pic illustrates one of the first times I sat up by myself.

First time crawling. Feeling pret-ty confident here...

It appears my doughy thighs kept me safely anchored. =)

I totally remember playing in this cupboard. I can still hear in my mind's ear the echoes of its repeated open-and-close. =)  

I do wish I had this outfit in mommy size. Just imagine what a head-turning scene I'd cause every time I went out in it.

The face of innocence. Even though in this photo I'm guilty of wearing socks with sandals!

My Grandma McCaleb customized this shirt for me. =)

Gavin and Erin hanging out with their awesome little sister.

Can you dig the luxurious carpet and wallpaper? Never has there been a better combo. It's important to note that the wallpaper features a velvety texture. 

Daddy and me. 

I can still fall asleep pretty much anytime, anywhere. 

Thanks to this childhood habit, I haven't forgotten what this exact sponge tastes like.  Pondering the amount of bacteria it probably harbored makes me queasy. =/

The baby in red... is dancing with me... cheek to cheek.

(Not really.)

 

Consoling Ernie

More consolation.

Wasn't I huggable?