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!
 



First Christmas Thoughts

This evening we gave the boys an early Christmas present- their first Christmas ornament of their own. They have spent the last few days watching the rest of their family decorate the tree with our ornaments.  It was wonderful and strange to share with them all the stories behind each one- 'First Christmas together', 'Baby's First  Christmas', childhood ornaments of Elmo and Curious George, and all the little horse figurines that invariably result from having four horse-crazy girls over almost eighteen years. One ornament, however, was amazingly poignant this year. As we all watched it mom and dad hang it on our tree, it took us back to our last two years- paperwork, waiting, praying, crying and hoping. Knowing who our boys were, knowing their names and being able to see their pictures, and yet not being able to have them with us as we celebrated Christmas.

SIX MILLION ORPHANS IN ETHIOPIA- MINUS 2

This Christmas, two little children who spent last year in an orphanage will be celebrating the birth of our Savior with a family who loves them. They are sons, brothers, cousins, nephews, and grandsons- no longer part of the indistinct '6 million orphans' but part of a family. Has it been easy? No! But following God's plan to 'bring us a future and a hope' is never easy. It means hard work, bad days, tears, and pain. However, His plan is perfect. I can see this now clearly, in retrospect, though it was cloudy and unsure a year ago. God is good! This Christmas, our boys are home.

Six million orphans in Ethiopia alone- what can you do for them this Christmas?

Our last few months- Post 1

It seems like just yesterday that it was May and we were bringing our boys home and now- December! It's amazing the way time flies and how little posting is accomplished! :o) The fall months have been busy and rewarding for the Grant Family, full of new experiences for Ethan and Levi- visiting a fish hatchery, experiencing the fun and noise of a Grant get-together for Thanksgiving, and now preparing for the wonderful time of the year when we celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus! It has been a fun-filled and occasionally challenging time as we introduce our boys to all the traditions and experiences that surround the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons.

Since we haven't posted in a while, the stories and pictures have begun to pile up- so we decided to break down our experiences into a few individual posts for your veiwing pleasure... hope you enjoy!

This October we took two different trips to the Coleman National Fish Hatchery- a fun and informative trip we have taken as a family many times in the past and one we were eager to let the boys experience as well. We ended up making a field trip of it with two other families and we all had a blast. 



All the kids cheered as the fish tried to make it up the ladder

We watched the fish swim a little ways down the river from where hatchery ladders begin- the fish swim up the concrete ladders into the large holding tank. There is a chainlink fence just above the river bank, so everyone pressed against that and tried to get a good view!

From there we trooped to the holding tanks. It was a great chance to get an up-close look at these enomous salmon- some were several feet long! They were continually trying to jump out of the tank, and would often bang into the chainlink fence that we were bending over. Water would splash everywhere, and lots of screams and laughter ensued.

We moved to the huge tanks where they keep the growing baby fish and watched the tiny six-inch salmon work their feeder and knock the food into the water.

We showed the boys the posters on the life cycle of the salmon. I  don't think we were too successful in explaining, judging from their faces...

3 families- 17 children - 9 adopted!

We saw lots of fish, had lots of fun, and are looking forward to continuing to share fun traditions and experiences with our boys in the future!

Have a blessed December!

Savannah and Victoria