Grant's birthday party

I've never really had a birthday party for Grant. Maybe when he turned 3 we had a little family gathering with cake and ice cream and party hats (because that's all he said he wanted for his birthday--the party hats). Grant has gone to A LOT of birthday parties this year and has always had SO MUCH fun. Back in April he started making his own invitations. He only had to ask how to spell a few words and names but he did the rest. In fact, I didn't even know what he was doing until he had about 3 invitations all done. That was when I decided I should have a birthday party for him. I'm not one of those naturally creative people so being that Grant's birthday is in the middle of July it's perfect for a swim party and water games. Grant helped me plan his party and make his new invitations (although I think his original ones looked much better than mine). I always feel a little awkward about inviting people over and having parties--which is why I've never really done it before. BUT we pulled it off and had a great time. Grant was very worried when we got to my grandparents' house and we were the first ones there. He asked what happened and where everyone was. We explained that since it was his party we needed to be the first ones there. Thank goodness we have a lot of cousins close by and that they were in town because ALL of the other friends he invited were on vacation with their families--Middle of July=Family vacations! An extra special treat was that Mason and Kennedy (my sister's kids) were here visiting from Utah. Grant had a lot of fun.

We played a few games on the front lawn before breaking the Pinata. That was a TOUGH pinata! Then everyone enjoyed swimming. It was a HOT day...close to 100 if not hotter. Then of course time for cake and ice cream and opening presents. Thank you everyone for the gifts. Grant has had a BLAST playing with his new things. He woke up around 5:00 Sunday morning to play with his toys before church...what a kid!

Disneyland

Highlights
::Being together as a family
::Staying at a close hotel...thanks MOM and DAD
::Seeing the excitement in the kids' faces
::It's a Small World ride was OPEN (Kenzie was absolutely PLEASED)
::Tyler LOVED the rides and characters
::Grant celebrated his 6th Birthday
::Fireworks were spectacular
::Talmage reached a new high score on the Buzz Lightyear ride...see picture below
::Had fun swimming in the hotel Pool
::1:1 Ratio for kids and adults (My mom, sister Jenn and her two kids, and sister Cortney were there). Especially nice that each kid had a stroller
::Tyler took surprisingly good naps in his stroller
::Packed extra food to save $$
::Kenzie went on more rides than just Small World...she said the Woody ride and Carousel were her other favorites...although it took A LOT of coaxing to go on the Woody ride. She cried and refused to go the first two times we got up to the front of the line.
::We were able to go to the "Company D" Store for Disney employees and get our souvenirs for WAY cheaper.
::Talmage and I got a night out to the park by ourselves!
::Grant went down the "big slide" at the hotel pool because he's a "strong swimmer"
::Got to feed the fish in the Koi Pond at the hotel
::We had a WONDERFUL time!!Not so highlights
::The crowds...although we expected them in the middle of july
::The HEAT and HUMIDITY?!
::An unfortunate "protein spill" from a passenger seated RIGHT NEXT to Talmage on the Monorail--glad the kids and I were in another location--sorry Talmage!
::We didn't get to ride everything...Splash Mountain, Indiana Jones, Peter Pan, Mr. Toad, The Train, Space Mountain--Didn't even go into ToonTown
::The night out with Talmage, the crowds were worse than during the day...Indiana Jones broke down when we were in line...Space Mountain line had a 45 minute wait at 11:55pm?!
::A few of us ended up getting colds :(

Happy Birthday Grant

Grant is a very special part of our family.

He is sensitive
He is thoughtful.
He is smart.
He is shy.
He is kind.
He is helpful.
He is sweet.
He is happy (and grumpy).
He is a friend.
He makes us laugh.

When I was looking back at pictures it was hard for me to believe that time goes by so quickly. I don't remember much about life without Grant. I also have a hard time remembering how easy life was having only Grant. I feel like I've heard my mom say...I wish I could go back and do it again. I would write more things down so I could hopefully remember more.
Grant is such a good helper and sweet boy. It really is hard to believe he's 6!

Our little 1 year old

Hard to believe Tyler is already 1. I know it's hard for many other people to believe as well because he's still so little (5th percentile) but our little firecracker has turned 1. We seemed to have a bit of a rough start with Tyler but he is such a happy and funny little boy. He makes us all laugh.Notable things about Tyler:
His unique crawl
His head shake and nod
He LOVES to eat
He thinks it's funny when people are sleeping
His eye blinks
He loves "Round-About," "Pat-a-Cake," and playing with his brother and sister
He swims his arms around when he sees something he wants
He LOVES playing in the water...bathtub or pool
He has incredibly BLUE eyes and light hair

We absolutely love Tyler and are so glad he is part of our family. Happy Birthday Tyler!