Calling All Shepards

Okay, so Grant was delightful in his Christmas program at our church. He played the role of Shepard #4. He did a fantastic job. A few weeks ago, his preschool had a program and Grant did well with this. He said his lines slow, clearly and on perfect timing. However, the rest of the program he spent the entire time either trying to take off his shirt, doing the "pee pee" dance, or picking his nose. So, for the church program, we went over things to do and not do. Well, I am happy to say there was no dancing, picking, or stripping. However, the wonderful Sunday school teachers were so excited because they found these Shepards their staffs. Well, these staffs were about five feet tall. The shepards consisted of four boys between the ages of four to six. Now, I don't need to tell you how this is going to end. Well, I nearly had a heart attack about five different times. Especially since Grant came close to knocking over the four lite Advent candles. Oh, my goodness. Well, anyway we made it through without injury, candles catching the church on fire or continuous picking of the nose. In my opinion...it was GREAT! LOL



You can judge for yourself with some still pictures:

Time Flies

I know that I have been really bad at updating this blog. I am now on Facebook and that takes up some time. Plus this time of year is just crazy! I was looking at some pictures and my comment, blog and question is about how quickly time flies. This is a picture of Grant 1 day old (at the hospital) and the other one was taken last week. How big is my little boy?

Soccer and more

Grant is growing up so fast that I cannot find the time to record it. I am enclosing some pictures of the past few months of him playing some soccer.

Grant and Hewitt

Hey, finally we were able to meet Mr. Hewitt (Jenn and Erik's baby). He turned one recently and since they live in Colorado and our summer plans of camping with them fell through...so thankfully they came to Cali to visit!! We were fortunate enough to see them twice over the week and I think I took a few really GREAT pictures. Look at those cheeks and eyes on Hewitt...oh, I could pinch him. Grant enjoyed having the company too, but everything Hewitt wanted to play with, so did Grant...our little boys are such cuties.

Enjoy!!! I can't wait to visit them in Colorado.

Mozart, Peacocks and Victor

Well, we have made our second annual family night at the Arboretum with the Cal Philharmonic Symphony. When we showed up there were the typical peacocks walking in and out of the cars in the parking lot. Also, there were people and booths set up with all kinds of fun activities. Grant, Scott and I were part of a drum circle...which I have to say was fun! Also, Grant made a tamborine and shakers, we rode around the arboretum on a tour and colored some pages of some instruments. Grant was able to investigate several different type of instruments. Some friends met us there and we ate VERY GOOD pizza with them. Then their two girls and Grant went on stage to "conduct" the symphony with Victor Vener (the conductor).

First day of PreK

Grant attends the same preschool and HE LOVES IT. He has loved school since day one. I am hoping for this continued success and happiness throughout...we shall see. So far, he gets a homework packet on Monday...and he is itching to do all of it Monday night, but we try to spread it out. Well, if turning it in by Wednesday every week is "spreading it out," then we've been successful. His teacher uses the token economy method of giving stickers for all good behavior. After ten stickers he gets to go in the prize box. Well, I asked his teacher if I could see this infamous "prize box" and I am not even going to go there. It is what I would call a bunch of junk, but Grant and his classmates swoon over it. LOL It is like miniature slinkies, erasers, pencils, rings, ball cards, miniature balls. I mean the box is TINY. Well, Grant has received chances in going to prize box at least once if not twice a week. His teacher says that he is always keeping her in line with what she has said she is going to do. I can only imagine. LOL Anyway, here is his teacher and first day of school.

LaVerne County Fair?

Scott and I decided that we had a free night to take Grant to the L.A. County Fair. This is a fun time for us each year, but always a tiring one. We decided this year that we would take advantage of the $5 after 5pm. So, we entered the fair and headed straight for the petting zoo and animal exhibit. Grant talked about getting a bunny the entire car ride. It was funny because we have explained on numerous occasions how we cannot have a bunny b/c of the dogs.

Anywho, we walked around, went on rides and went to the exhibit halls. We ate junk food and lots of it. Then headed home...oh, Grant and I returned the following Wednesday and stayed until nearly 11pm with Aunt Kris, Aunt Lisa and Uncle Nick!! Wow, we were so tired. Oh, and why did I name this LaVerne County Fair? Well, as we were walking through the tunnel to get back to the parking lot, Grant yells, "Bye LaVerne County Fair." LOL We had to tell him we were actually in Pomona and this was the L. A. County Fair, but really...who cares? It was funny!

Irresistible

I know it has been forever and a day...but I am super duper busy. So, I wanted to add an updated picture of Grant and yes, I will get back to my blog at some point. I am happy to say that for nearly a month before this event Grant would walk around and read the invitation. Yes, to a birthday party for a very special friend named Natalie. It is funny because Grant is totally taken with Natalie. He asked me the other day (which is clearly several weeks after Natalie's birthday party), "Mom what was your favorite thing about August 30th?" Well, we had just come from his Grandma's house, so I figured he got the days wrong and was talking about Carol's bday on the 31st. So, I replied, "You mean the 31st? Grandma's birthday?" He quickly said, "NO, Mom the 30th?" Hmmm, gee what did we do on the 30th? Well, that was Natalie's birthday party. So, Grant quickly reminded me that it was Natalie's birthday party and that is where we got to have fun celebrating her as our friend. HOW CUTE????

Okay, so here is the cute picture I could not resist. Enjoy.

This is a photo that Grant begged me to take. Sometimes I cannot get him to even take a picture and then there are times like the above where he is saying, "Mom, here take my picture with my hand on my chin." LOL

Metro and downtown

Well, at the beginning of the summer Grant mentioned that he thought it was unfair that all of the people get to ride the bus and we don't. He was really upset and said, "we have no fun because we always ride in the car." LOL So, we made his dreams come true last week. We (Aunt Diney, Lisa, Grant and I) took the Metrolink into downtown and then took some buses to the clothing area. We had a great time and Grant was super excited. We went to the Garment District, Olivera Street and some other siteseeing. Oh, what fun we had.

The Little Rock Zoo and fun with Aunt Christi

Okay, this is a back entry but an important one nonetheless...when we went to Arkansas at Spring Break of this year (yeah, I know it was a while ago), my fam and I met up with Aunt Christi, Madeline and Tyler at the Little Rock Zoo. We had a great time and walked the whole zoo. As you can see, we had a blast. We went to John's Incredible Pizza...and it was just that, incredible (see last photo of Grant's face).

Wow, cool pics...cool times

Over the years, here is a great memory of the past couple of years....Just found this folder and obviously I had put it together because I was probably (originally) planning on printing these pics out and placing them in my classroom or maybe even giving them to the people in them...well, I fell short of that but I can post them and let you know what fun times we had in these pictures!

Our little paparazzi

Okay for Grant's fourth birthday, we decided to give Grant an autograph book to get all the Disney characters to sign his book. Well, with every signature comes a picture. We actually chased Donald Duck one morning because Grant LOVES Donald and Mickey equally. We are still in search of Daisy. I asked the staff (YES, I INQUIRED....YES, I AM AN ADULT) when Daisy comes. They told me very rarely and I could call each morning to see. Okay, I haven't gotten that bad. LOL

Geisha, Grant and Alaska Socks

Well, as always my dad sends Grant some "pesos" (his exact words) for Back-to-School stuff. He always insists that I "buy the boy some shoes and clothes." LOL So, I did just that. I felt a little bad because he has a pair of tennis shoes that Grandma Carol had bought him last year. He wore them all the time at first, but as the year went on and the weather was hotter, he switched to his infamous crocs (he likes to wear one blue on the right foot and one yellow on the left foot...that is his trademark...so much so that people insist he will have one blue for the left foot and one yellow for the right that are brand new). LOL Hey, I pick my battles and correctly colored shoes, not one I will even consider (especially since I read somewhere that allowing a child to pick out clothes, shoes, etc. gives them a sense of self-esteem and independence....doing the opposite also would stifle the creativity). I like my little non-conformist. LOL

Okay, back to the tennis shoes. He hadn't worn these shoes for sometime. Well, he had worn them but like I said just for a sports class here and there. So, I signed Grant up for two different classes this summer. One class that taught the basics to all sports (football, baseball, soccer and basketball). The other class is just soccer. He loves to go to these and had his tennis shoes on everytime. Well, last week he decided he didn't want to continue to go to soccer. He LOVES this class, so I was shocked. I asked him why? Grant said, "I want to just stay at home and play soccer because these shoes are killing my feet." Oh, the shoes....yeah, that's right I have bought several new sandals (crocs, strapped ones, and flip flops) and he has gone through two pair of Vans by now (thanks dad)...oh man, I haven't bought him tennis shoes in forever and Grandma was the last one who did (last September/October). OOPS...

So, we head to Norstrom (who has very reasonable prices when it comes to kis shoes....so, I know what you are thinking, but seriously they are not over-priced. The Vans I buy there are the same as the Vans shop and I don't have to deal with some punked-out skater kid that doesn't want to measure my kids foot). I digress. Okay, so we go in and my mouth must have fallen to the floor when she said he was a 12 1/2 ...those old tennis shoes were 10 1/2. YIKES. They were TWO SIZES TOO SMALL. Grant is officially my little Geisha... Needless to say I bought him a pair of Vans and a pair of tennis shoes.

Last soccer class, Carol says to me...wow, Grant sure is running good today. He is really picking up his legs and running fast. That's when I had to admit that my poor child couldn't run because I am bound and determined to keep him small. I know, you would like to nominate me for "Mommy of the Year" award... :)

So, today Scott and Grant are at the Angels v. Yankees game. Grant wanted to wear his Vans. However, it would not be that easy because he insisted on wearing them with his new socks that Aunt Tracy sent him from Alaska. Yeah, they made it!!! Anywho, his lovely combination you can see below. Scott commented how hot he is going to be wearing those socks...it is a 12:30 game.

Campers R Us

The family has been doing some camping of recent times. We started in June and have been going full force. We camped twice at the beach and once at a lake. Scott, Grant and I went to a local beach to camp. We had fun doing the "basics." For us these include kite-flying, swimming (both ocean and pool), grilling, building sand castles, getting some sun and tooling around on our bikes to the pier. It was just the three of us and the beach. Oh, Grant is the biggest supporter of playing "all the games," too. So, it is not unusual for us to do four or five puzzles and play four or fives games (you know, Chutes and Ladders, Candyland, Elefun, Hi Ho Cherry-Os, Memory, etc.) I do love to play games, even if I do get a little tired at the end of the day. LOL

Next, we met some friends at a beach area in San Diego for nearly a week. Our friend has two boys and one always brings his best friend. So, Grant had plenty of playmates. However, the boys are quite a bit older so G couldn't always hang. He is just a little too little right now. The most amazing thing happened on this trip...he learned to not use his floatation devices in the pool and go under. He would go under water and then swim toward us without the use of any help...well, except for us reaching to him. Oh, don't think he can swim by himself...just with less help. Baby steps to swimming. Also, Grant learned to ride his bike. Chris and Jennifer gave him a Spiderman bike when he was baptized but Grant was not able to do the footwork until this trip. Our friend, Jerms, taught Grant how to ride and get the bike going. The biggest problem for him was learning how to get it going. Jerms taught him to "put his booty" into it. LOL Also, one funny thing is that we got him going and forgot to teach him how to stop. OOPS! So, after flying over the curb onto the beachy sand, he learned that he needs to learn how to stop. We were able to listen to several live bands at this camping facility and Scott & Jerms even blessed everyone by doing some Karoke. Fun times! In the evening, you could go down to the beach and watch the Sea World fireworks too...this place is so great! We also learned that if you stay on Mallard Lane, well you will be blessed with a bunch of ducks (DAILY). We were there for five or six days, therefore we were getting ready to name our ducks. They did seem to really like us (or was it our bread?). Oh yeah, and we went into town and saw the USS Midway! And guess who was playing there that night on the Midway? The Oakridge Boys!

Okay, our most recent camping excursion was to a local lake. It was fun to be at a lake and fishing. We had been use to the beach life, but we decided to go close...real close. We were able to still go swimming in a pool, enjoy the biking life, and play all the new camping games Grant got for his birthday. We played horseshoes, golfing croquet set, kite flying, big bubble wand, giant kick ball, and the list goes on. Thank goodness Jerm's two boys were there to help play all of these. Thanks to Camden and Mason!! Grandpa Gary took Grant fishing (with his Spongebob reel). Oh, what fun. The only thing that was a downfall was that Scott had his Tr*k bike stolen. We had really gotten use to camping and feeling so safe with people around. Turns out, you should lock up your bikes everytime. Scott mentioned having paid $600 for this bike back in 1991. :( Needless to say, we have not yet replaced this item. I am proud to say that Scott did not let it put a damper on his fun and went right on to go fishing.

Golden Birthday!

Several years ago, I heard the term "golden birthday." This "golden birthday" is a name given to the date of your birthday and age meets as the same. For example, Grant will be four on the fourth. So, basically mine would have been when I was twelve and Scott's twenty-seven. Okay, I know that sounds silly but I decided we would "do it up." Well, "do it up" to Grant meant that he should have FOUR birthdays! I said, "I don't think so!" Until I rationalized the whole idea. Okay, he needed to have one at preschool with all of his classmates. It is only fair and he was really concerned because everyone else had one because their birthday is during the school year. Okay, first birthday...school and the theme...Scooby.

Then, my family and I had been talking about taking Grant to Goofy's Kitchen at the Disneyland Hotel for awhile because he LOVES LOVES LOVES Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. The restaurant guarantees that your child will get to meet Goofy and at least two other characters. Okay, I said I would NEVER be one of those parents that supported the paparazzi frenzy of meeting characters. One lesson that I have learned as a parent...NEVER SAY NEVER. Okay, so we all book our reservation for Goofy's Kitchen back in April and I bought Grant the autograph book for the Goofy's Kitchen. Well, it turned out to be a success. The child could barely eat due to the excitement of getting the autographs. He flipped out most over Chip and Dale. Dale had started in the left side of the room and Chip on the other. Well, Dale signed it first, but Grant could not stop looking at Chip and asking us when he was coming over. It was cute, but I wanted him to eat...so, I told him that the characters only come over if they see the boys and girls eating. LOL it worked and he ended up with a full tummy and met eight characters!

Okay, so now onto the third party...we call this the "friends party." The theme of this party was Spongebob Squarepants. We invited all of our friends and had 23 kids there and about the same amount of adults if not a few more! We had the party at a community park where they have put in all new equipment with rock climbing and most importantly a SPLASH PAD!!! So, all the kids came prepared with swimsuits and towels. There was much fun with the splash pad and jungle gym...however, I read on the Internet about some cute games. So, I attempted to play some games like pass the Jellyfish (modeled after hot potato with using water balloons as the jellyfish), ring toss on the dolphin (which was way harder then I anticipated) and the pinata (which would NOT go down...seriously, I had to have some pep talks with some of the older kids and tell them I NEED YOU TO KNOCK IT DOWN). LOL Lisa made the cakes (Spongebob and a separate Patrick). They looked great. We ate cake, opened gifts and then played a little more! It was a fun party and thanks to the family for helping everything along (Grandma, Aunt Diney, Aunt Tracy, Aunt Lisa and Cuz Emily)!!!

Now, onto the fourth party on the fourth. Well, that one is to come. Our theme...Patriotic and LEFTOVER. LOL We are taking all kinds of stuff over to the Grandparent's house and having a pool party/BBQ. Then, we are going to go see the fireworks.

Easter in Arkansas Part III

Coming back from Mulberry to J'ville...back to my family. Okay, so we went to several places with my Pops and our last night out to dinner with the family! Dad took Grant, Brit and I to Chuck E Cheese...Gman had fun! We went to a park in Little Rock and the new lock and dam. It was fun, except Grant had a bad experience. I was taking a picture of some beautiful birds flying across the dam...then suddenly I heard Grant crying and screaming. My dad moved faster than I had even seen him move and we both reached Grant at the same time. Grant had sat down in a pile of fire ants. We got them off but not without a few bites...poor boy. He was talking about the ants for over a month when he got back. Still today, if you mention Arkansas he says, "I love Arkansas but not the ants!"

Easter in Arkansas Part II

Grant and I traveled to Mulberry, Arkansas too! We went to see Aunt Phyllis, Uncle Doug and Aunt Eugena. We had a blast. Grant got to go to the family farm and see the cows, birds, and beautiful land. Aunt Phyllis had wonderful food for us and played all kinds of games with us. It was fun to watch Grant take over Aunt Phyllis' house and play her piano and singing. He felt at home and loved it. Grant and Aunt Phyllis even got on the floor and created a tent made of pillows. It was so much fun! Thanks for the fun, the games and the food!

Easter in Arkansas

Wow! I just reviewed my pictures from Easter in Arkansas...wow, I am missing my peeps right now. :( Grant and I had a great time in Arkansas. Once again, my in-laws (who rock) bought Grant and I tickets to fly back to Arkansas for my birthday!!!! Thanks Carol and Gary! Grant and I had a blast and so did all that we visited with while there. Here are some pictures:

Grandpa Bill & G



















Aunt Jen, Uncle Paul & G

Barb & Marv helped everynight by giving G a bath!!

Where do I start?

Well, it has been quite a long time since I last blogged, so I am having a hard time in blogging b/c I am asking myself....where do I begin? Where did I last end? You get the idea. So, my first blog will be about Easter 2008.

Grant and I went to visit my family and friends in Arkansas for Easter, so we celebrated Easter on Palm Sunday with Scott's side of the family.

Here is a pic of Grant and Emily at church.

And what is Easter without dying some eggs? Here are Lisa, Grandma, and Dad helping Grant dye his Easter Eggs...nice ears Scott & Lisa! LOL