Enjoying the Sunshine

We had a Super Fun Friday! It started off with a trip to the Club Sport Outdoor Pool....the second time Grant has played there this year! He has so much fun tossing and diving down to get his dive rings. It was great to see him already feeling so comfortable in the water this summer. I would like to get him in swim lessons again soon because I think he is getting close to taking off on his own. He would get about 4 feet away from me and swim to me underwater- he just needs to get down the kicking and reaching motions to propel himself.

After the pool, we came home and Grant actually took a nap...the pool must have tired him out. He woke up refreshed and ready to meet his friend Merrick Yates at Cook Park.
Anna and I got a chance to sit in the shade and catch up while the boys played. Grant made a new friend at the park. A grandpa who had a soccer ball! He played soccer with this nice older man for about 20 minutes....he will take up a soccer game with anyone who is willing. This man may not have realized that he became Grant's new best friend....so after soccer was over, he got his water bottle and went to sit next to him. Don't worry- I was only a few feet away the whole time :-) Here is Grant sitting with Grandpa Soccer!I can hardly ever get Grant to pose for the camera, but today he was rather willing. He always has to preview the picture afterwards and his comment for this one was "that is really cute." I had to agree.

After the park, we met Josh for dinner at Manzana in Lake Oswego. We ran into the Carnese Family out on the patio, which was a nice surprise. After dinner Grant wanted to check out the fountain. That ended with one wet kiddo and a car ride home in his underwear. Oh to be a carefree kid again :-)

To the Beach Again....

We kicked off the Memorial Day weekend by celebrating Andy's birthday as a family on Wednesday night. Grant loved playing Ladder Golf and was actually quite good at it!
He loved carrying around all the golf balls on strings!

We sang Happy Birthday to Andy "twice", which I am sure he appreciated :-)

Grant thought the best present was the big box that Uncle Andy's shop vac came in. Can you find Grant?

Then it was off to the beach on Sunday of Memorial Day. We decided to go to Seaside again and this time to bring Josh (Dad)! We hit the aquarium where Grant held many things including this hermit crab.

As you can see it was a great day to be at the beach...It doesn't get much better than this in Oregon!
Then it was off to wait in line at the bumper cars!

Grant had fun tearing it up with his Daddy!

Of course we had to ride the mini train again.......this time Grant was thrilled to sit in the Caboose.

After Seaside we headed down to Rock Away, where my parents were staying with my brother and his family. We got to spend some quality time in the sand. Papa gets his feet buried by Brook!
My Mom, (a.k.a Mimi) had the dogs on the beach too.

Grant loved running in the sand...

What a beautiful beach

I was seriously running for my life because the water was sooooo......COLD! It didn't seem to bother Brook or Grant though.

I hung back and watched them get wet in the waves...

What an all around fun day! It was nice to spend the day with my boys and family.

A Visit to Eugene

On Friday, Grant and I made the drive to Eugene to visit friends. Our first stop was at Diana's house for a play date! It was so great to see my Eugene friends and their growing kiddos. I swear that Spring has made them all blossom and grow like weeds! Grant had fun playing and tossing rocks in the park with Xander.

After spending the morning over at Diana's we met Tanya and Mikey at the mall so the kids could play in the play area. They played tag until they were tired and sweaty! I think they had the most fun at a store we went into where they found come cool glasses! Both Grant and Mikey chose the ring pop over the glasses though when it came time to check out.

After a fun day in Eugene Grant got to come home and try out his new shaving kit (for kids). Lately he has been wanting to be like Daddy in the shower and shave...so we found a cute shaving kit complete with blue shaving cream, a brush, plastic razor, and a mirror. Grant was determined to get a close shave!

Grant Loves Preschool

This year Grant started attending preschool at Sunshine Express at Mt. Park Church and absolutely loves it! He has made some great little friends and couldn't adore his teachers more. They do such fun activities, crafts, etc....some of his favorite things are performing on stage (here he is at his most recent performance for Mother's Day Tea singing "I'm a little teapot"),

riding the "racer bike" around the gym, bringing snack for the class and of course recess. Today, Teacher Patty sent me a sweet, sweet picture of Grant reading to two of his friends during story time. I just love getting these little glimpses into what he does in his few hours away from me each week.

What a happy boy!

Mother's Day

I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful Mother's Day....the weather was perfect and I got to spend lots of time with my family. The morning started off with Josh, Grant and I meeting my mom, dad, Ryan (brother) and Wendi, Brooklyn and Jack at Starbucks for a morning coffee and treat. We then headed to the Zoo! We had so much fun walking all over and seeing the animals, but I think the best part was all the smiles and laughs from the kids. Grant and Brook were buddies and ran from exhibit to exhibit..

Grant hardly slowed down enough to get a Mother's Day photo with me...

Grant's main goal was to get on the train (of course). He was also super excited to see the "hippo MO pottumuses" too.

Papa John seemed to always have a kid on his back or shoulders

Grant was able to sit eye to eye with a big monkey!

After the Zoo...I was exhausted so we went home and I was able to take a nap before we headed out to dinner with Josh's mom, dad, sister and brother-in-law. We meet in the Pearl at Piazza Italia for a wonderful dinner. Grant gave me the best gift of all and sat through dinner like a perfect gentleman.....maybe the zoo had tired him out! Either way it was such a nice dinner and we followed it up with dessert and some presents at our house.

What a wonderful day! I am thankful for the wonderful moms in my life who continue to be an inspiration to me as a mother. Without your advice, love and guidance I am not sure I could be the mother I am to Grant! Thanks!

Meet & Greet....a success!

Last week, Grant and I passed out fliers to all our neighbors on Sw 54th Ave. inviting them to a Meet & Greet at our property this morning. The goal was to meet neighbors, let them know what we have in store for the property and give them our contact information. Luckily, we got a beautiful day and had lots of neighbors walk over and say hi. Everyone we met was super friendly and seemed exited to hear about our plans. We met people who have lived in the neighborhood for 50 years! There are some newcomers too who have younger kids. Grant made quick friends with a 5 year old, who lives a few houses down. They were running around, playing tag....neither wanted to part ways. I met a future babysitter as well :-) I am always on the lookout for those!

Overall it was a great way to meet some of our new neighbors. Being out there at the property makes me even more excited to get the process started.

A Day at the Beach

Grant and I decided to make the most out of our Saturday (a couple weekends ago) when Josh had an all day class and head to the Beach! My parents were staying in Gearhart for a golf tournament so we headed that way for the afternoon. We had so much fun!

First we rode the carousel at Seaside.

Then it was on to the bumper cars! Mimi (my mom) rode those with Grant....

Right as it started to rain we headed to the beach. We brought a kite, but the string had somehow disappeared.

Grant was happy to chase the birds and Mimi...

Then it was off to the little train, which might have been the highlight of the day for Grant!

It was a busy day with one exciting thing after another....we were off to the Seaside Aquarium where Grant fed the seals and poked some helpless sea enenamies.

I thought the sting rays were pretty cool.....especially this one that looks like it is right on top of Grant's head!

After a long, fun day for the boy we headed back to Portland. Grant fell asleep within minutes of getting in the car and slept the whole way home! When we got home, Josh was babysitting cousin Brook & Jack so there was even more fun to be had. The kids ate dinner together, played and even got clean.

Grant went to bed and I got a little snuggle time in with my sweet niece and nephew! What a fantastic day.