A Big Day...A Really Big Day!!

Yes, I am a bit behind...so I am still describing our Spring Break in Arkansas...we are on Tuesday of our Spring Break. Grant, Dad and I started off around 9:30 to head to Russelville, Arkansas to meet Aunt Phyllis, Eugena and Doug!! We were excited (except the fact it was raining)! We got stuck in a little bit of traffic, but luckily we had Grant with us to commentate the entire time. It went something like this, "look Mom, we stuck in traffic." (now repeat that last phrase about 100 times...you get the idea?)

We met Aunt Phyllis, Eugena and Doug at a restaurant for lunch. Luckily, it was inside of a Holiday Inn, so when we were finished eating (thanks Doug for picking up the tab...it was wonderful!!), we headed for the lobby. We were able to visit for about an hour out in the lobby. Grant was only interested in running around a table they had there and running his cars around it. Aunt Phyllis and Eugena read some books to him...which he loved. Doug would try to catch him going around the table and all were delighted that we were able to visit.

We parted our ways right as it was starting to rain again...I guess even the Heavens were sad we were leaving each other. We headed home. The ride was about 1 1/2 hours and by the time we got home, we were able to visit with my "second" family. I love the "R" ( I don't use lst names) family and I definitely consider them family. They have lived across the street from us (in Jacksonville) forever (well, about 30 years). Anyway, Brittney, Christine, Robert (aka Rogers) and Grant took a great picture together. I thought it was great that Grant loved their front yard and decided to run around their flowers for quite awhile. As Rogers said, "I don't remember you kids being that active."

Well, we have to eat dinner...says my dad. So, we meet my brother and sister-in-law for dinner at the Olive Garden. Grant loves spaghetti and he didn't eat much for lunch. So, my dad was bound and determined to get him to eat something. We definitely went to the right restaurant, he ate all of his spaghetti and then had chocolate gelato for dessert!!! YUMMY!

Last stop was the mall. My dad needed to exchange some pants he had purchased at Sears. Well, Grant had an accident...oh, not that kind...he lost a flash card of a yellow square. Well, let me back track for a minute. Grant LOVES the Wiggles. So, he loves anything that is a "Wiggles" color (this means that the four guys wear certain colors and if you are one of the four colors then you are okay...the four colors are yellow, blue, purple and red). So, he has his flashcards and pulls out only the four important colors...he lost yellow!!! What are we going to do? He lost the purple car earlier and Grandpa Bill and I were able to replace it with a quick trip to Wal-Mart. I said, "No more trips to Wal-Mart for this craziness." Aunt Jenn rescued us. SHE IS BRILLIANT. We walk by the paint area to go to our car and she sees lots of paint sample cards...yes, yellow, blue, purple and red!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are saved and it didn't cost us a penny! Thanks!

Aardvarks, Yellow Swords and Poll Position

Okay, the day after Easter we decided to "rest" a bit. That meant that Grant, my dad and I hung out and took it easy. Well as "easy" as one can take it with a VERY ACTIVE two-year old (but then again aren't they all...very active?). We ran a couple of errands, you know the type of things you do when you are retired...we went to the post office to mail a letter, went to Wal-Mart to pick up some food (Arkansas is Wal-Mart country for those of you who are not aware, it started with Sam Walton who is from Arkansas) and we visited some of my childhood neighbors (my dad still lives in my childhood home in Jacksonville). Then, we headed off to JCPenney's for our family photo.

I remember the "good old days" when Grant liked taking professional pictures. Well, let's just say the lady took about six shots of us and two turned out good. So, I will look at it on the positive side and not emphasize how my son wouldn't take a picture until all four of his cars were watching us on top of the ladies camera stand...it's a long story, but we had to line up his cars, so they could "see" us taking the pictures. If we remotely looked like we were not going to do this, then there would have been tears and then no picture. Remember, we are only there for a week, so we had to make the most of it and get the picture while we were there. Anywho, the positive side is that since only two turned out good, then the ordering was easy! I'll take this one and that one! If anyone is reading this and you know me, then you know this is a major positive, I have a problem with making decisions when it comes to pictures of my son. :)

Next, we were off to dinner. My brother suggested a great steak place called Texas Steakhouse (I think that was the name, I had not been there before). Anyway, as you can see in the above picture, Grant took a picture with the aardvark and Aunt Jennifer. The funniest thing happened after dinner. Grant had just finished his bowl of mac n cheese and ice cream with gummy bears, when a gentleman came by that makes characters out of balloons. Grant (of course) was amazed by this man. The guy asked what Grant would like him to make, Grant just gazed at him, so I said an "orange, tabby cat." The man made him one, but the first step to making any animal, flower, or whatever is the long balloon being blown up. The man called it a sword. So, after Grant had a cat made for him, he told the man, "No, I like sword." Hmmm, this is kind of cute, but a little rude. The man thought Grant was cute (thank goodness) and made him a sword. He started with yellow and Grant grabbed for the balloon stating, "I like yellow sword." The man said for him to wait and it would be "better." So, he continued to blow up more balloons and twirl them together for a SUPER SWORD. Of course what does Grant say, "No, I like yellow sword." The man gave away the fancy sword and cat and gave Grant a simple yellow balloon (aka "sword") and that was that. He said he had never had such an easy request...LOL.

It only got better for Gman because by the time we got "home" which is Barb & Marv's place, he was faced with another great time. He sang Happy Birthday to Uncle Marv! It was fun, but then he spotted the most cherished item he saw while in Arkansas...the vintage Poll Position video game. You know like you would see in an arcade...it was an actual Poll Position game with steering wheel and everything!! Grant LOVED this so much. He would stand by it and play with it for long periods of time. He and his Aunt Barb have Poll Position in common. They both love it! We went to bed pretty late that night, but I bet we can all guess what Grant dreamed of, "aadvarks, yellow swords and poll position."

Easter with Father Ward

My brother and sister-in-law had a very special Easter dinner planned with us and their Priest. Father Ward came to dinner and it was wonderful! Father Ward had so many stories and was so interesting, I could have listened to him all night. I am not sure how he did it; he conducted at least three masses that day (one of which was in Searcy, Arkansas...about 40 miles away). Then, he had dinner with us. Wow! What a day!

Jennifer made a feast (which I've asked her for the recipes). She made ham, yams, green beans with a wonderful seasoning sauce, stuffing, corn, lima beans, deviled eggs, garlic mashed potatoes, mac n cheese, and much more. I stuffed myself and then we had two different types of desserts! Jennifer had made a coconut cake that was to die for (this cake is why my brother married her...I see why, it was delicious). Then, we also had an ice cream cake that was chocolatey! Both were wonderful...thanks, Jenn.

Easter Sunday

Well, Easter Sunday, we woke up EARLY and went to church. Grant dressed in his nice, new suit. He looked very handsome (as everyone did). We went to St. Anne's to hear the mass. Father Ward had a great homily, but Gman slept the entire time. This was a blessing in disguise because I know how Grant can be in church...well, several of us know how he can be, so you know that I was thankful that he slept.

After church, Jennifer had a baked spaghetti dish cooking. Before we ate, Grant had a visit from the Easter Bunny...yeah, the Easter Bunny came!! He brought Gman two baskets full of stuff and the best thing was a bubble maker!!! Grant ran all over the yard with his bubble maker (as you can see). He had so much fun! Thanks, Uncle Paul, Aunt Jenn and Grandpa Bill.

Later that afternoon, we went to another Easter egg hunt. My brother was worn out, so he took a nap while the rest of us went to our second Easter egg hunt at a park in Sherwood. The hunt started at 2pm and we got there at exactly 2pm. Aunt Jenn and Grandpa Bill dropped Grant and I off, so we could get started. Grant and I were in an area were there was hardly any kids. he had access to about thirty eggs. He collected about eight. Then wanted to sit down and open his eggs. He wanted the candy inside! By the time Aunt Jen and Grandpa Bill showed up, we had opened about six of the eight. Like I said before, it takes the kids no time at all to collect the eggs.

Well, after the hunt...we played at the park. Grandpa Bill, Aunt Jenn and Mommy all played with Gman at the park. We were all on the slides and stairs...even Grandpa Bill!! It got pretty cold and we decided to go back to the house. That was okay with Grant because the bubble maker was there!!

That night, we had a very special dinner. That is for the next entry.

Barbeque At My Brother's Beautiful House

After the Easter egg hunt and a brief pizza break, Grant and I headed for my brother and sister-in-law's house to have a barbeque!! We were greeted by my sister-in-laws family and that was fun. They were watching their grandson who was over 1 and that was a fun playmate for Grant.

We ate great food and visited for awhile. My brother definitely can grill a mean burger. Plus, Jennifer (my sister-in-law) can really cook. She made a great potato salad, baked beans, and deviled eggs!! YUMMY!! We stuffed ourselves and sat around afterward talking and watching Classic Pooh!

Visiting With Old Friends!

Christi and I realized that quite often we have spent Easter together or at least a few days around Easter together over the past few years. Why? Well, I always have the week off after Easter because it is my "Spring Break." Therefore, it has always been a great time for our family to travel and visit.

So, Christi and her family moved back to Arkansas recently and were able to see us when we went to J'ville. I am so happy that we got to see each other and hang out on Saturday! We started with the egg hunt and went to a pizza place afterwards. Later that night Christi came and got Gman and I with Madeline and Tyler...we went to a McDonald's Playhouse. The kids got to play while we visited. Then, Christi and I got some "to-go" food from a local Mexican restaurant with white cheese dip and great nachos! I so enjoyed that. The kids watched the Cars movie while we visited some more!

Christi, what are we going to do next year?

Easter in Arkansas

Well, Grant and I spent our Easter in Arkansas thanks to Grandpa Gary and Granma Carol!! Thanks for the airplane tickets to Arkansas! I have to be honest, I was a little nervous traveling with Gman on two different planes in one day and about two hours each. I thought that he might be a little bit to handle...he slept the entire time on the first flight (literally the entire time). The second flight which was delayed by an hour was fine because he watched his dvd player the entire time...can I say EASY as cake.

We got to Arkansas and went on an Easter Egg hunt on Saturday morning at Uncle Paul and Aunt Jennifer's church which is St. Anne's Church. Christi and her two little ones (well, not so little anymore...my time flies) met us there. Tyler and Madeline seemed to enjoy themselves. Grant had a blast as well.

Inside the church they had face-painting and arts & crafts going on. The kids all were excited to play with playdoh, get their faces painted and wait for the festivities to begin (many of the kids waited anxiously by the door for the "hunt" to begin).

As you can see, the kids enjoyed themselves. Grant and Madeline were in the same age group for the Easter Egg Hunt. They ran around quickly picking up eggs. No telling how many eggs were laid down and how long it took someone to do it, but it took about one to two minutes for the kids to collect them all!! They are proficient at this task. In fact, Grant had to lead Grandpa Bill around the entire church looking for more. He told my dad, "Pweese, Grandpa Bill, pweese we wook for more eggs." It was so cute! I should be able to YouTube it later.