Just Because

Sometimes I feel like Grant gets the short end of the stick. He is so different from Emma, and lately he has been showing this true colors, and we have been clashing on a daily basis. But today I saw a side of Grant that I rarely see, and it made me stop and think. So I just wanted to let him know how much I love him...even when we are having one of "those" days.

Today Grant and I went over and stayed with my grandpa "Poppy." Poppy is living at my parents house right now and they both had other things they needed to do, so Grant and I went over this afternoon. The first thing Grant did was run upstairs to say "Hi". And he chatted it up for quite awhile. As the day progressed, whenever I couldn't find Grant, he was in "talking" to Poppy. Or when we needed to take lunch up to him, he was right by my side holding the apple and ice for his water. He just made me smile (and I think Poppy enjoyed it too)!

Grant has so much energy. Just tonight I was watching him as he was running around the kitchen chasing a bear!! He is always a cowboy, or a ninja, or and army man. He is constantly giving us direction on who we should shoot, hide from, run from, etc. Its like there is always some kind of movie playing in his head, he is the director, and we are the extras.

Grant is wise beyond his years. Sometimes in the heat of a "discussion", I have to stop myself and remember that he really is only 3 years old. He has such a vocabulary, and quick wit about him, that he really can carry on like a teenager. And I think he knows exactly what button to push with me! But then he can use that same wit and charm to have me rolling on the ground with laughter.

Grant is a good friend. He loves, loves, loves to be around people. He has MANY friends and can always find a new one wherever we go. Just yesterday, after we went to the farms market, the kids wanted to stop and watch a softball game that was going on in the park. So we went and sat on the bleachers. Before I knew it Grant was playing tag with the little girl on the other end of the bench.

I am so lucky to have him as a son....sometimes I need to take time to remember it!! Thanks for letting me brag!

Daisy Performance

Tonight was Emma's end of the year performance for her Daisy Troop. I have been working with them the last couple of months teaching them some songs, and then helped put together a little script. It was one of those things were you go, "I'm sure they'll do better at the performance." And they did! It was very cute and Emma recited her lines with ease!!
Emma with her troop leader, Mrs. Jeannie

Emma and Natalie

Saying her Line, "I represent being considerate and caring. At Christmas time we made stockings for kids who needed them."

The whole Troop

The Girl Scout Law

Spirit Week

Today was "Crazy Hair Day" at school.


Emma was so excited for me to do her hair "crazy" this morning, but then when we actually got to school, I didn't think she was going to get out of the car. She is VERY shy and when we first pulled up we didn't see any kids with "crazy" hair. But then we looked a little harder and there were quite a few kids, so I coaxed her out of the car. When she finally saw some of her friends, she was all smiles!!

RIP

Meet Stone, Fire, and Star:


They were lovingly won at the school Carnival by Emma and Grant:


We brought them home right away, set up a home for them, and went to Walmart to buy some food:


TWO HOURS LATER....This was their NEW home:


Grant wasn't too sad, since this is what he got to do with them:

Birdhouse

Emma had an idea to make a birdhouse. Don't know where the idea came from, but it is SOOOOOOOOO something that Emma would come up with. So having the awesome Daddy that she has--he made her (and Grant) a birdhouse. While he was doing the actual cutting we got out the paints and started painting it. It's not quite done yet, so we will post more pics later.

PS--I was going to wait until we had completed pictures of the birdhouse to post this, but I got in trouble by Emma....she wanted to know why the birdhouse wasn't on the blog yet!! =-) What kind of children are we raising!!!???

Wish Bone

I have fond childhood memories of the wish bone. It seemed like there was always that wishbone sitting on the kitchen counter drying out waiting to be broken. We would check on it every day until it was ready. So when I got a whole chicken from the store the other night for dinner, the first thing I did was get the wish bone out and cleaned off. Then I explained to the kids about it and they waited for it to dry out. Here is what they wished for:

Grant: To be able to fly
Emma: To live in a land of candy

2nd Annual Father/Son Campout

Two weekends ago was the Father/Son Campout for our Stake. Jamie is in the Stake Young Mens presidency, and was actually in charge of the entire campout. So I was a little hesitant to send Grant this year, knowing how much time/attention Jamie would have on "other things." But he assured me between him and Papa Redfearn, they would be able to handle it.

Well, everyone came back in one piece, but this is the ONLY picture I got of the campout, which I took BEFORE they left. I guess that means they had a REALLY good time, or Jamie couldn't find Grant most of the time!! Thank you to everyone out there reading this blog who entertained my little orphan son during the campout.

What happens camping, stays camping.....Mom will never know!!

American Idol Here I Come...

For some reason both of our kids have LOVED musicals from a very young age. They are just as happy to sit down and watch Bye Bye Birdie as they are to watch Toy Story. So when the local high school was doing a production of Bye Bye Birdie, we thought we would be brave and take Emma and Grant. So a couple of Fridays ago we braved the elements (notice the rain in the background of the video), to be there for curtain at 7pm. We had heard the performance was 2 1/2 hours long, and were prepared to leave at intermission. But the kids were doing great, and didn't want to leave...so we stayed.

My favorite comment during the play was when Grant said, "Mom, Conrad's shoes (black high tops)are COOL!"

The First Crop

Well, I guess we did something right--this is the first thing to come out of our garden this year. Jamie LOVES radishes (I don't) and said that they were amazing!! I'll take his word for it. More to come--carrots, peas, green beans, tomatoes, jalapenos, and maybe even a GIANT pumpkin (but we're not holding our breath on that one).

Dejavu

Tonight we were playing a game of Skipbo, and Jamie said, "Wow, I think I'm having dejavu right now." Then Emma said, "That is French for--I've seen this all before!!

I don't know exactly WHICH Disney channel show we have to thank for this little bit of knowledge, but I'm sure its one of them.