Victoria's 18th birthday

 Our firstborn "baby" is now eighteen! We can't believe it! Victoria is a blessing to our family in so many ways, and we had a fun time celebrating her special day. Victoria's 18th birthday will undoubtedly be remembered by the "best day ever" (any "Tangled" fans out there?)....a surprise visit from her cousin, Lydia, who flew in from Washington. We had planned a "girl's shopping day"  in Sacramento as our cover story to get us near the airport. Victoria was completely and utterly surprised by Lydia's visit, and we had a fabulous time with this delightful lady.

Heading out bright and early!

These two sisters are also best friends :o)

 

 

 

SURPRISE, Victoria!! Happy Birthday!

 

Birthday dinner out at Kobe's - live adventurously!

Exploring a new fashion statement at Target - feather earrings, anyone?

Quick...someone have another major birthday! We need to have some more fun around here. Lucky for us Savannah's 16th is just around the corner. To be continued......

Christmas 2011

The Crew

Laramie is thrilled with her new bow and arrow set!

Daddy and Laramie

Levi modeling his hat made by Ashlyn

We had a fun Christmas this year, especially since Daddy had Christmas day off -  a rarity in his line of work. That fact was made even more special considering this was the first time the boys would experience Christmas with our family. Each boy had a unique reaction to the day and to the gift-giving...Levi was a bit hesitant and quiet, and as he opened each gift he would then take it and run to put it under his bed where it would be "safe". We explained to him that no one would take his presents and after that he was able to enjoy the experience a bit more. Ethan grew more excited as the day progressed, as he has already developed an attitude of wanting lots of "stuff". He, too, kept a close watch on his "loot" and bagged it up right away, keeping his bag next to him to protect it and watch it. We felt like both boys handled the holiday well. One thing that made this Christmas special was the kid's gift-giving. Every child really went all-out to save their money in order to purchase gifts for all their siblings. It was so fun to watch their enthusiasm as the other kids opened the presents they had purchased or made for one another. It was a special time to enjoy as a family and to share the reason behind the season - the birth of Jesus Christ, our Savior - with the two newest members of the family.

Sweet Ashlyn

Cute kids in PJs' under the Christmas tree - love it!

Daddy reads a Christmas story to the boys

Family Fun Nights

We have borrowed an idea from a fellow blogger (kudos to the Mullis Family!) and initiated "Family Fun Nights - the 2012 Adventure" twice a month here at the old Grant Family Farm. We came up with two themes/ideas for each month of the year and activities that would go along with the theme. So far we have "Backwards Night" (come dressed with all your clothes on backwards, and we had dinner "backwards", starting with dessert) and then "Come as a Bible Character" night. The kids have really taken the idea and ran with it, with the olders helping the youngers, making it much easier for ol' mom and dad (and thus much more likely to continue!). And did I mention the kiddos are much more creative than I am? I have laughed and been blessed with their ingenious ideas and ways to pull off a funny idea. Way to go, kids! We are all looking forward to our remaining family fun nights. Maybe this is something you want to try for yourself!

Backwards Night - this is a nice look for us!

Bible Character Night: Laramie as "Lydia"

Bible Character Night: The "Pharaoh's daughter" with "Moses"

Ethiopian boys try Chinese food

Here is the recipe for a fun night: Take one grandma who wants to have Chinese food for her birthday and  one Grandpa who does not particularly enjoy Chinese food. Next, add one Grant family with two parents and four daughters who love Chinese food and two Ethiopian boys who have not been given the opportunity to try our favorite Chinese restaurant yet due to their horrible, "interesting" table manners. Add one large measure of courage and patience. Incorporate Chinese food and hot tea on a lazy susan server. Enjoy and have fun!

Happy Birthday, Nana! Thanks for being a good sport, Grado!

Girly Getaway (August 2011)

An August highlight was the Grant ladies' overnight trip to San Francisco for Uncle Devin's wedding...it was a fun, special, girly time with just Mom and us girls! The trip was uneventful and we all arrived in one piece (to the relief of Victoria, who had her first Bay Area driving experience). The wedding and reception, which were held at a beautiful golf club, were lovely and lots of fun! The next morning we all drove to Fisherman's Wharf for a group boat ride with most of our relatives, which was very enjoyable despite the cool weather. All in all, we had a great girly getaway, and the menfolk all survived at home by themselves. Way to go, men! 

The golf club where the wedding and reception took place was lovely...

Happy uncle and beautiful bride!

Grants before boarding...it was a chilly 60` and we had to layer!

Laramie on board

Savannah and the Golden Gate Bridge
The wind was so strong that it was painful to open your
eyes for more then a few seconds- but despite the teary eyes, we really were having a good time!

It was cool and overcast, and you couldn't see the top of the bridge...

Laramie and her cousin

And of course, you have to wrap the whole thing up with clam chowder in a bread bowl!

A trip to Turtle Bay (August 2011)

Levi

Ethan

The boys enjoy a fun afternoon at Turtle Bay

Winter Memories, part one

We usually get our Christmas tree in early December, but what with Thanksgiving travel and Dad's work schedule, we started off on our expedition in late November. After driving about an hour up into the mountains, we hopped out of the van and excitedly began our yearly tradition of searching for the perfect tree. This was the boys' first time to see or touch snow, and Ethan was very excited. "Very much snow, very much snow!" (Don't tell him there were only a few inches.) You'd think we'd remember that the further away from the road you get, the more difficult coming back is, but no! This year we finally found one of our favorite trees thus far and managed to get it back to the van after traversing through a lot of manzanita, attempting to avoid trees, trying to keep our balance through rocks (Grants aren't blessed with grace) and valiantly struggling up a couple slopes. Good times!



Mom and Levi having fun

Neither of the boys had ever seen snow before today, and Ethan was very excited. Despite the fact that this white foreign substance was interesting and totally new, he was ready to go in about fifteen minutes ("Snow is cold, very cold. We go home now?"). Oh well! Hopefully he'll be a little more tolerant when we all go sledding, since the rest of us Grants prefer to stick around for several hours as opposed to fifteen minutes.



Ethan had never seen snow before today!



Mom and Dad, who led our frontal assault on the pine forest...



...and some of their brave comrades, Victoria and Levi...



...and Ashlyn and Laramie...

  

 

...and Levi...



...and Savannah, posing here with fellow soldier Laramie...so cute! 

 After a good morning's work, we all piled back in the van, broke out the hot chocolate (another yearly family tradition), and headed home, thankful for good memories!