The Calm Before The Storm

Yesterday was another sunny warm day at our house. But we knew that another storm was coming (it is raining right now as I post this), and it is supposed to rain all week. So we took advantage of the weather and had a great family day out. First we went to the Folsom Zoo. It is a small zoo than the Sacramento Zoo, but a lot more personal. Emma loved looking at the bunnies (which we didn't get a picture of), and Grants were the monkeys (which we didn't get a picture of)!! But her are a few other things we saw:




And then we went on a train ride that goes around the zoo. To Grant, this was almost as exciting as the zoo. He still has quite the facination with trains:



Then we grabbed some lunch and headed out to the lake. Well, I guess you could call it a lake. It is right on the American River at the Folsom Dam. The water level is so low right now that you can actually drive right down to the waters edge. We had a little picnic and the kids threw rocks in the water:

Valentine's Party

Every now and then Emma ask me if she can get on the "Blogs" and look around. Yesterday after I made some post she asked me if she could do this. Then she informed me that I forgot to put her Valentines Day Party on the blog. What was I thinking?? So here it is"


We had good food, heart shaped quesadillas, strawberry kabobs, and punch.




We had good friends come. Emma and another girl in her class, Gionna, invited 6 girls over right after school. It was quite the site to see 6 kindergarteners pile in my car at one time. 6 backpacks, 6 goodie bags from their class party, and 6 giggly girls. It made me thankful that only ONE of those giggly girls were mine.


And some good cookies. I've decided that cookie decorating is a 6 year old girls favorite thing to do. These girls were running, laughing, singing, and dancing, but when it was time to decorate cookies, it was some serious business.

**Please note that this party was ALL Emma's idea. She started talking to me about it about 3 weeks before Valentines Day. I've decided that one day she is going to be a party planner. Once she gets an idea in her head she really thinks and thinks about it. Within those 3 weeks, she helped me order the decorations, come up with the food, made invitations, and decorated the house. And we didn't even do HALF of the stuff that she suggested.**

A Nice Sunny Day

Well, if you haven't noticed it has been awhile since I've posted anything. So this is a catch up post. Last week after a few storms, we had some beautiful days. One afternoon was so nice that the whole family was outside enjoying the sunshine. Jamie and I did some much needed yard work, Grant tired his hand at roller skating (with Princess attire-I don't buy gender specific things anymore. It is green, yellow, or red all the way), and Emma sat in a chair to draw (her favorite pastime right now). We love being outside as a family.

Best Buds

Today I was realizing that Grant has many friends. He is such a social person, and he wants to be friends with everyone. We don't have play dates too much, and I realized that I hardly have any pictures of Grant and his friends. So during a recent play date with Sterling, I snapped a few shots. Grant and Sterling are 6 months part, but they get along so well. We like to say that they are long lost brothers. They have the same mannerisms, sense of humor, and wit. We are constantly comparing stories and saying, "Oh that sounds like something Grant/Sterling would do."

But I am so grateful for the friends that he does have. And believe it or not, some of his best friends are girls. I guess that's what having an older sister will do for/to you.

Signs of the Times

I really don't like to dwell on these types of situations, but I got these in an email and some of them made me chuckle. After all, you might as well laugh about it as much as you can so it doesn't drive you crazy. And I thought I should have some kind of documentation. After all, I'm sure that these years are going to end up in the history books by the time my kids are in high school. I'm not sure what exactly they are going to be called. Any thoughts?

Ponytails and Glasses

So, lately when I don't want to do my hair, or have one of "those" days, I just stick a hat on or put my hair up in a ponytail. At least one time during the day Grant will come over and pull my ponytail out and tell me that he likes my hair down. The first time he did it I thought it was kind of funny. But he does it EVERYTIME!! Tonight we were sitting on the couch and we had this conversation:

GRANT: Mommy, where you glasses at?
ME: Upstairs, I don't need them today, I'm wearing my contacts.
GRANT: Good, I no like your glasses. And I like your hair long too, no ponytails.

EXCUSE ME!! Should I be worried?? I'm I raising a boy who really cares about whether a girls hair is up or down? Or likes someone better WITHOUT glasses? What next? Don't answer that!

Treasure Hunters

Grant and Emma have been playing so well lately. It has been really nice, since Jamie hasn't been feeling well, that when we are all home together, that the two of them can keep each other entertained for a couple hours at a time. Today after school they decided to go on a treasure hunt together. It started out with the treasure map:

The first stop on the map was "the car":

Then on to the playhouse:

Next came the tree-in the corner:

And finally, the "X" that marked the spot:

And the buried treasure:

After a long day of treasure hunting, everyone needs a break:

SuperHeros-Part 2

After a long day of play, we we find our trusted superheros snuggled in bed, ready to tackle another exciting day tomorrow!

Sleeping Emma

In case you didn't know we have royalty living at our house. The following sign says so:

Do not disturb the royalty Emma Lynn Cahoon........zzzzzzzzzzzz



This is what I found last night when I went up to check on Emma before I went to bed. I know that she had made the sign, and the last couple of nights it was hanging next to her bed. But I guess since she knew it was a school day, she would try and see if I wouldn't wake her up. Didn't work--but it did start my day off with a laugh. Because she was still wearing it when I went to wake her up this morning.

Superhero Grant

Grant has always had a fascination with Superheros. Any of the old school cartoons that have, Batman, Wonderwoman, Wolverine, Superman, Spiderman, etc. in them are some of his favorites. On a recent trip over to Grandma Redfearn's house he found some superhero pool toys and goggles. Now we have to play superhero--ALL THE TIME, and the goggles are part of his own superhero costume. And a favorite pastime is to take a shower or bath with his new "friends."

The Sweeter Side of Life

Jamie is still sick. All week he has just kind of been laying around the house. With both of his ears still hurting, he prefers to be in a quiet dark room most of the time. But I guess our bedroom was getting to boring for him. So he came downstairs for awhile, but ended up in the living room on the couch. Grant asked where Daddy was, I told him, and after awhile, this is what I found:



It was so cute to see Grant trying to comfort his Dad. But as soon as he heard the camera click, he jumped up and gave me this face:



Either way, if I wasn't feeling well, either the cuddle or the goofy face would be enough to lift my spirits!

Not Daddy Too!!

Sickness is all around me!! Since Jamie made it back from his trip home to Canada last week he hasn't been feeling that well. He made it into work one day, tried to get up and go today but was too dizzy. I think he still has the ear canals of a 2 year old because he ALWAYS gets ear infections. So after I took Emma to school we were off to the doctor. Sure enough, he has a double ear infection. So armed with a Z-pack of antibiotics, ear drop antibiotics, and Mucinex-D we headed home. He is now resting comfortably (as comfortably as he can with Grant going in asking "Daddy, you wanna' catch bad guys with me?") Hopefully he can kick it quick and our house can be a GERM FREE ZONE!! You ever feel like you should do a "Lysol Bomb?"

Project

This is the piece of furniture that I am attempting to paint. We have had this hutch since we got married almost 12 years ago. It is a good piece, but just isn't doing it for me anymore. So with the help of my best friend Jamie, and her creative vision, we started the process last night.


I found this wall hanging at Pier 1, and took it from there. Hopefully I can get it all put back together before the dinner that I am having at my house for 30+ people on Saturday. Wish me luck!

Making Progress

Today Emma has a playdate after school with a friend from Kindergarten. This morning while she was getting ready she remembered where she was going. And then she paused and got a worried look on her face. For those of you who know Emma well, you know that she has a paralyzing fear of dogs--ok almost ALL animals. SO I knew what was coming next. I said "Does Gionna have a dog?" And much to my surprise she said "Yeah, but she told me it was just a little one." So I said, "Do you want me to talk to Gionna's mom about it this morning when I take you to school?" She said, "No, I'll just tell them when we are walking to her house, and maybe she could put it away." PROGRESS!!!

No Words Needed

I love the fact that Grant can just walk up and stand in front of me and point--to his nose!! He's not like most kids who freaks out about a booger, its just more of a nuisance. He points, I wipe, and we go about our day!!