Go Daddy!

Grant made his own poster to cheer on daddy during today's sprint duathlon. It says:

Go Daddy
Win a Medal
Faster Daddy

And then there's a drawing of the road.

First Pumpkin Carving

Grant had been very excited about carving his own jack-o-lantern this year, picked out the biggest pumpkin he could find, and couldn't wait to start on it tonight. However, when it came time to scrape out the slimy pumpkin guts, he wasn't so sure. 

The 30 minutes of hard work for Mama were worth the, "Ooooooh that's really cool!" when he first saw it lit up in the dark. Yay pumpkin carving! It brought back lots of great memories carving with Grandpa Ralph. :)

The Leavenworth Incident

Warning: This story may cause uncontrollable lower-jaw dropping followed by multiple OMG!s. 

The photos are not perfect due to the photographer being a dad in the Save-This-Moment-Zone. 

The Leavenworth Incident

It was a beautiful afternoon at a community park in Leavenworth, Washington during a family reunion for Rebecca's family. The trip had been a great success so far with fun times on the tree farm with Grandma Ruth before road-tripping 3 hours to the German-inspired town of Leavenworth. Rebecca and Grant explored the shops while I explored nature in a kayak on a white water trip. (Thanks Ruth! It was fun.) 

After meeting up with Judy to bring supplies, I caught up with Grant who quickly introduced us to his new friend, Braunwyn. Grant whispered to Rebecca, "She is seven!" 

We had food and exchanged stories with family while Grant and his new friend played. Grant then asked Rebecca for help gathering flowers so he could give them to Braunwyn. They gathered several, tied them together and placed them in a cup with water. Then Grant walked his gift over to her and put it in her hands. She looked at him and dropped everything on the ground and walked away. 

Grant was devastated. He tried to hide it but I could tell this really upset him. He does this thing where he goes through a made up script of what just happened (we all do, right?) except Grant speaks out his script to himself while pretending he is inspecting some toy or plant. All he needed was to regain his confidence and a second chance. 

I picked up the flowers and put them in my pocket to avoid potential PTSD. We sat on a bench and talked about enjoying the park, family and the good food everyone brought. Grant then jumped up to get lemonade for himself, but then offered it to Braunwyn when she came over. She denied his offer and he walked away, talking through his situation again. He was locked in on this bogey for sure. 

We talked about walking through the park and looking for interesting rocks. Grant said he wanted Braunwyn to look for rocks with him instead. I agreed that would be fun and told him that if she was too busy to go for a walk, I would meet him by a nearby tree. 

And then this happened.....

4th of July Road Trip

We realized something this year: Grant has never seen fireworks.

How did this happen? Well, each year since Grant was born we have visited friends in Munds Park, AZ to attend the town parade and enjoy in the cooler weather. Since the town is surrounded by forest preserve, they do not set off fireworks.

Our mission this year was to take Grant to THE BEST fireworks show in the nation, The Big Bang in San Diego, CA in the bay, then tours on an aircraft carrier followed by a two day trip to Legoland to reward Grant for being such an awesome kid.

Grant really enjoyed pretending to be a pilot and even earned his flight credentials by answering every question about the ship correctly.

It was great having my dad there for a full three generations of fireworks fun as well.

The best part of the trip, at least for Grant, was Legoland. The resort does such a great job providing entertainment for kids while parents can sit and catch their breath. Even the rooms, elevators, and restaurant are designed to continue the Lego experience. Grant even walked away with new Lego sets from the park to work on during the (long) car ride home.

Grant's 5th Birthday Bash

So Grant turned 5 the other day. I know, right...already? Yes! It was a blast.

With several of his closest friends at the Children's Museum of Phoenix, Grant enjoyed a test-n-tune Lego race car track followed by a Lego cake, gift opening, and then crazy dancing to his favorite songs. The kids then explored the activities at the museum.

A day full of fun with friends all for our favorite 5-year-old, Grant!

Happy Birthday Bud.