Someone is on the move...

Life in our shambles of a house has been okay... until now!  Now, with a just crawling little boy, it kind of stinks that we have nails sticking up, jagged concrete to pull up, and carpet tack strips still down... 

I guess I know what we'll be doing this weekend!  And, thank goodness for taxes this year: we might just get some new floors after all!

Diving Lessons

So proud of my two cuties--they just started official diving lessons, and they are rockin' them!  They have been in swim lessons for years, and this last fall they were on a swim team.  So, it made sense, I guess, when they asked if they could do diving lessons!  I looked around... and found a couple of coaches willing to take the task of younger kids!

They have been off the "low" dive (as they call it), the high dive and two or three of the platforms.  In two short lessons, they have fallen in love!  I will admit, out of any practice you are forced to sit through as a parent, this one is the best!  Grace's training partner last week was a Michigan University student!  So, all to say, they are loving their lessons... and I'm enjoying just watching... which, I have to admit, isn't always the case!

Happy Birthday, Baby Boy!

Every parent says it, but it doesn't make it any less true.  Time flies--and it is soooo hard to believe that Grant is six years old today!

Yesterday, we headed with family to Chuck E Cheese and out for ice cream.  Grant opened lots of presents yesterday (from grandparents and such), except for the two from Mommy and Daddy.  He had been aching to open one from us--something about the shape and the heft of the box had him mesmerized.  The gift, of course, didn't disappoint--his very own BB gun!

And, to top it off, Grant lost his second tooth last night--so he woke up to his birthday AND a visit from the tooth fairy!

Here is our birthday interview with the mighty six year old:

What do you want to be when you grow up?
A doctor

What's your favorite toy?
My new BB gun

What is your favorite color?
Blue

What is your favorite food?
Orange Chicken

What is your least favorite food?
Peanut Butter

What do you like about having a sister?
She always tackles me.

What do you like about having a baby brother?
That he is so cute.

Who are some of your best friends?
Landon, Josh, Tobin

If you could go anywhere on a trip, where would you go?
I would go to Disneyworld.

How do TV shows get on the TV?
They are like downloaded on there or something.

At what age is a person an adult?
20.

If you could change one rule that your family has, what would you change?
I would change that we would now be allowed to whine.

What is something that makes your family special?
That they all love me.

Of all the things that you are learning, what do you think will be the most useful when you are an adult?
Science because then I'll know how to look at things closely.

Are you a good friend?  Why do you think so?
Yes.  Because I am nice to people and because I have a tender heart.

If you were a teacher and the kids in your class would not listen to you, what would you do?
I would make them all go to the principal.

If you could invent something that would make life easier for people, what would you invent?
I would invent robots that babysit kids for parents when they go to the store.

Lazy Morning

Sometimes, walking around on subfloor gets old.  But, sometimes, it's worth it all... when I wake up to views like this one from my bedroom!  

It's a lazy morning around here: playing with new toys and wearing matching jammies... the glories of being home together with nowhere to go and nothing we have to do!!

Toothless

A Match Made in Geekdom

This is why every nerdy engineer and geeky video game designer is going to be in love with my girly-girl daughter.

Christmas 2012

We headed south for our second annual pre-Christmas water park adventure.  This little get-a-way is really the only time our "little family of 5" gets to spend together over a very busy season.  The kids love it; it's never crowded, and Bret and I enjoy some relatively quiet and warm moments together.  This year, Grant was able to do every slide in the park, completely on his own.  He was up the big tower with a tube more times than I care to count.  Grace, with Bret's help, could do the two big inter-tube slides.  She wasn't a fan at first (cried the first time down each slide), but she quickly warmed up!  Plus, we discovered that Grace has a severe fear of heights.  She practically crawled on hands and knees up the large tower.  And, Trent... well, he loved the water!  But, to be honest, he spent more time napping in Daddy's arms than he did the water. 

Then, we headed to Bedford to see all of Bret's extended family.  I have no pictures of this experience because the screaming baby (tuckered out from two days at the waterpark) was, well, screaming.  A lot.  It didn't seem to end.  Even on Christmas.  Even with gifts and boxes and bows.  In fact, on Christmas, he slept for 20 hours throughout the 24 hour day... one tired cookie.  The kids had a blast, and I am often reminded of how thankful I am that Bret has such a large family relatively close by.  It sure makes me wish my California family was closer!

Christmas morning we did stockings in bed and opened a few presents.  I know there is a long line of people who want to complain to us, telling us that our kids deserve a mountain of presents on Christmas morning (I'm looking at you, Kate and Barb).  But, we keep it pretty simple: about two presents and one from Santa... and the kids don't seem to mind (might have something to do with the VAN LOAD of gifts they receive at THREE different family Christmas celebrations).   The best Christmas presents of all were having Trent David with us and the start of a week long visit from my aunt and uncle from CA!

Today, snowed in with the "Blizzard of 2012," we have been up to our ears with Play-dough, pipe cleaners, colored tapes, skylander giants, star wars, flash pads, ninja turtles and chocolate.  And, to think, we have one more Christmas celebration to go!!

We're thankful for so much... blessed beyond measure!

Grace Christmas Classics

For those who really know Grace, you know that she is "her own bird."  She's funny, quirky, wildly independent, bossy, caring and a whole bunch of crazy thrown in for good measure.

A few of my favorites this holiday season:

1.  Today, when visiting Santa at Walgreens (read: free photo with Santa beats the mall any day), she had a note to give him.  She had spent an hour coloring it and writing "her words," as she called them.  What did the note say, you ask?  Well, only something my super meticulous, super detailed oriented, and a whole lot of bossy daughter could concoct:  "Dear Santa, I hope you get me gift right."

2.  Another Grace classic comes when she is singing a various assortment of Christmas carols, most of which she butchers wonderfully.  My favorite mistake, which I simply refuse to correct is during "Winter Wonderland."  You didn't know that "Person Brown" asks to get married and later "expires" by the fire?  Well, that's the Grace version, at least.

Here is Grace getting ready to enter the stage for her big Christmas preschool program!  Too cute!

We hope to have plenty of updates in the coming days, but for now, we are packing to head south for our second annual trip to a water park before the festivities begin!   Bring on the CHRISTMAS!!

Saturday Morning Fun or Snow, Part II

Forget the cartoons!  When your house has a hill in front... you're good to go!  See ya at lunch, kids--see ya, at lunch!