Orchestra

Well, we went to the LA orchestra on Sunday. We met up with our camping crew and went to the orchestra. There were activities and crafts for the kids. We only got to go into the Kidspace tent with the spiders and color painting.

The kids seemed to enjoy it. Kara said Matthew was a little "wiggly" and I agree that Grant was the same way.

It was fun and this 14 year old came and played so well. Grant was so impressed, he asked if we could buy him a violin. We will if he sitll shows interest by the time he starts kinder.

Sportsman!!!

Okay, so ever since Grant was a little tike, I have been into "registering" him for any class that he is interested in at that time. I know that the swimming at six months was my own doing but other than that, we always have the same conversation...

Mom or Dad ask, "Grant soccer starts in a few weeks, do you want to play soccer?" Then he responds, "Yes, oh yes!" Well, he has successfully completed t-ball, soccer, an indoor sports with all kinds of games...even football, swimming, and most recently; basketball. He wanted to play basketball so badly because cousin Lisa convinced him that he needed to play this sport. Lisa said it was her favorite and then Grant decided it was his favorite too.

Anyway, here are three pictures. One is of Grant, William (his friend) and Coach Brianna (Grant's fave coach). The next one is of Grant accepting his soccer trophy and "high-fiving" his coaches! The other one is of the boys playing at the park after their trophy ceremony!

Camping with our Friends and Club

So we went camping this past weekend. We have made it a regular thing to go camping with our camping group. We belong to a camping group, but really mostly hang out with our friends. So, we had a blast with this particular place because we had good weather, great heated pools and fun with friends.

Anywho, we enjoyed heated mineral pools and a great kiddie pool. The kiddie pool had a level of about 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 feet. This was perfect for all of the kids to walk around and swim.

The spas and sauna on the premise was super nice. Kara and I were able to get away for a bit and enjoy the specialty pools. Then, the guys took a turn. We fed the ducks, fish and geese at the pond.

We had some crafts, games, and the club potlucks to keep us busy. Plus, we were able to see the Space Station fly over us at night.

Okay, here are the pictures...

CA with the Grandparents and Dad??

When I was out for my surgery, we had some luck happen where our friend Brian had two extra tickets to Disneyland. Scott didn't want to leave me to go to Disneyland because he felt I might need him. Well, I convinced him that he and his parents taking Grant to Disneyland for the day was what I really needed. It was hard for Grant to understand the "surgery." He would come home from preschool and ask me, "Do you still have surgery today?" I would ask him why he needed to know and he would tell me about not being able to sit on my lap. Awe, how cute.

Anyway, Grant, Grandpa, Grandma, and Dad went to California Adventure and had a blast. Gary had never even been to Cali Adventure. Scott hadn't been since it first opened. So, needless to say Grant and Carol were busy "showing them around." They had a blast...check it out....Thanks Brian!

Her Name Was Lola, She Was A Showgirl...

Lola

9/4/96 - 2/23/09

Well, I think you all know now where we got her name. We met Lola nearly 12 1/2 years ago. She was only two days old when we met her. She didn't come home with Scott and I then, but we had already "picked" her out. She was so tiny that she fit in our hands. She was so cute and "ittle."

Lola became our first child. She was our parents first "grandpup." Lola was born and raised her first 3 years in Arkansas. She was a great comfort when we needed her and lots of laughs. We would say, "Party, Lola" and suddenly she would start shaking and wagging her bottom uncontrollably. It was so funny. We are still having a good time with that.

Scott and I were discussing our favorite Lola moments on Monday night (while going through the photo albums). We had many. One of my favorites was at Christmas time when Scott had gone home to Cali. I worked long hours during the Christmas season...that's the life of retail. I would open and close sometimes which was at least a 12-hour day (longer if you count drive time). So, poor Lola could not stay outside all day and I had a neighbor that would check on her once. When I returned home that night, Lola had knocked over the Christmas tree and got the strands of lights wrapped around her neck. The tree was resting on her back horizontally and she walked around with it and all the broken ornaments. She couldn't fit through any of the doors because of the wide tree! She could only stay in the living room. Poor Lola...but she had done the same kind of thing with our blinds so often that it wasn't that big of a deal. :)

Scott's favorite was when we took her on a three-week camping trip (yeah, camping in a tent). We had broken down in a small town outside of the Redwood Forest in a town called Orick, California. Orick reminded us of something out of Twin Peaks...and that is NOT a compliment. Anywho, we had to pay a pet deposit at this sleezy motel. I mean sleezy. It was the only place in town. The curtains had holes in it. The door had tissue stuffed in holes to cover up the incoming sun. The bed was not made up (NO LIE). The bathroom, well, I still have nightmares about this place. The best part about this whole situation was we paid a pet deposit and we couldn't get Lola to enter the place. We literally had to coax her and she was UNHAPPY. Lola wasn't having any part of this place. That was hilarious!

Grant referred to Lola as his "sister." In fact, when people would ask him if he wanted any siblings, he would answer, "No, I already have a sister, her name is Lola."

Lola passed on Monday, February 23, 2009. She was the apple of our eyes. She will be missed greatly but her quality of life was deteriorating with pain and we would have none of that.

Do you have a favorite Lola moment or memory?

Disneyland and Aunt Diney

Aunt Diney, Grant and I went to Disneyland last week. We had a blast and rode many rides. In fact, we tried to ride some that we had not been on in awhile; like, Nemo, Midway Mania, Indiana Jones, etc.

We enjoyed the small amount of crowds, cool weather and chocolate/carmel popcorn that Aunt Diney bought! YUMMY! Oh and for the record, we loved the new and clean Small World ride. I guess there is some stink about It's A Small World ride being ruined because they've added Disney characters. Well, if you know me and you know Aunt Diney...then you know what our smart alec comment was to that...."What? Disney characters at DISNEYLAND??? How could they?" LOL We thought it was cool and non-intrusive. Lighten up people...relax, it's a ride.

Okay, enjoy the cute pics I took of the three of us.

Camping part 2 with our new group

Well, we tried another camping trip with our new group. We like the new camping group because we like to spend time with the Prices. It was interesting, the first trip there were winds that could blow us away. This time, we camped in the rain. So, now we joke that maybe there will be snow or sleet. However, we are supposed to be in the desert, so this could be hard.

Well, one interesting thing that happened on our trip was the interactions that Ryan and Scott had with some of the older members. They basically encouraged us to all really appreicate the fact that we are able to form close friendships with people that we've known for a long time (Ryan and Scott since 3rd grade...I've known Ryan and Kara for ten years!). The older members emphasized how lucky they felt that they could "raise" their kids together camping. That was really neat.

This campground had some interesting things, like a zoo...which was really a bunch of birds (pretty birds...but birds and no other type of animals). Kara was super-prepared for our trip and the rain, so we had tons of crafts. Thanks, Kara! We can't wait to see you guys again...the next place looks really nice (and this time, Kara and I are going to go mingle) LOL