Third Annual Apple Annie's road trip

This past Saturday, August 9, 2008, we had the opportunity to go to Apple Annie's Orchard for the third year in a row to do some peach picking and some peach eating. This year we brought our friends, Amy and Lars Studley and their two boys, Nicholas and Zachary, along with us to experience the fun, flies and heat of August peach picking in Southern Arizona.

We had a great time. If you get there early you can buy an all you can eat pancake breakfast, complete with huge sausage links and fresh peach syrup. If you are a later riser, you can enjoy apple smoked hamburgers, beans, chips and homemade pie and ice cream for dessert. We had breakfast this trip. It was soooooooo good. I wish I could make peach syrup like that. Someday I'll figure out how.

After breakfast we grabbed our buckets and peach pickers and headed out to the orchards to find our peaches. Nicholas is the same age as Grant and they both had a great time. As you can see from the picture below, they both wanted to carry the buckets. Believe it or not, they actually carried those buckets for a lot of the picking, especially Grant. We all had a great time sweating, getting muddy, closely inspecting trees and sampling peaches. We bought enough so that Amy and I could each make a peach pie and some peach freezer jam. We were feeling quite pioneer.

(Amy Studley looking for the perfect peach)

(Chad and Grant)

(Grant and Nicholas with their peach picking buckets ready to go)

(Grant helping out with the peach picking)

(Lars and Nicholas with their prize peaches)

On Monday, Amy and I got together at my house to complete our pioneer experience. I taught amy how to make a peach pie and we learned how to make freezer jam together. With two 2 year olds and Amy's 5 month old, the process took about 4 hours but we had a good time getting sticky and covered with flour. Our pies turned out so yummy and the jam was unbelievably easy. If fruit weren't so expensive I'd always make freezer jam instead of buying it.

Mud Monster Madness

Yesterday, August 2, 2008, we attended Mud Monster at Reid Park. It was a free event put on by the Tucson Parks and Rec. It was quite fun. They had different age appropriate muddy obstacle courses and mud puddles to play in. The fire department also had two trucks there spraying water off their truck to "wash off." We had to wait about 20 minutes in line to register, which was rather annoying but once that was done, we headed over to the mud puddles for the toddler age kids. The area consisted of several plastic wading pools filled with dirt and water, making a muddy mess. The point was for the children to get in and splash around and get dirt. Grant did not enjoy that concept and refused to get in. A picture is below of me trying to get Grant in the pool. He was more interested in eating his free watermelon flavored eegee (for non-Tucsonans an eegee is basically flavored shaved ice, but it is a classic around town).

We were at a loss as to what to do if Grant didn't want to play in the mud but then Chad found the mud tables. Grant had no problem with those. He stood at a table and played in really thick mud with various sand toys. He loved it. He even got his picture taken by a Parks an Rec photographer who commented on how cute he was. The problem was that Grant told the guy "no" and refused to cooperate for the photos. A picture of Grant making mud pies is below.

Once Chad and I got too hot standing there watching Grant, we headed over to the firetruck to cool off. This was Chad's favorite thing, as you can see from the pictures below. Grant, on the other hand, did not enjoy it. He did, however, after a little encouragement, enjoy sitting in the muddy run off puddles to dig around with his eegee spoon and cup. He threw a fit when we tried to leave.

It was a great family event. We were only sad we didn't bring Barry, our white lab, with us. He would have loved getting wet and running around in the mud. It's just his thing and there were tons of other dogs there. Poor Barry. Since we got Sooner and had kids, he hasn't gotten to go many places with us and we used to do lots of things with him and for him. I guess that's the price he pays for being the oldest child in the family.

Grant digging around in the mud with his eegee cup and spoon.

Lindsay and Grant in front of the firetruck after cooling off in the water.

Chad helping Grant get accustomed to the mud.

Chad cooling off in the water spray.

Chad in the crowd of people cooling off and washing off.

Lindsay trying to get Grant to try out the toddler mud puddles.

Grant enjoying himself, making mud pies.

I know Aunt Kitty and Oma are having a heart attack after reading this but what's childhood if you can't get good and muddy once in awhile right?

Happy Homecoming!!!

I am going to apologize ahead of time for the following travel log, but I use this as my journal of sorts so I need to document the last two weeks.

I finished my job on July 18, 2008 and am now unemployed.

On July 22, 2008 my youngest brother, Brad, came home from his mission in Costa Rica, San Jose. It was awful awaiting his arrival at the airport. We were all anxious and antsy and impatient waiting for his plane to land and then for him to get off the plane and come out of the terminal. Brad had two friends come to the airport along with us family members, Andrew Anderson and Andy Kadelka (spelling?). Grant was running around the waiting area like crazy. He gets wild with his aunts and uncles around. In true Glenn tradition, we all made cheesey welcome home signs to hold up as Brad walked out of the terminal. There was even a Galewekitz sign (if you don't know what that's from, let me know and I"ll explain). Brad finally was spotted and we all broke into tears. My brother David was the most broken up, even more than my mom. It has been nice to have him back home and it brought our family together again for a few days. Below are a few pictures taken at the airport.

(Brad and mom hugging.)

( Andrew Anderson, Brad and Andy Kadelka.)

(Grant, Brad and David)

(David and Brad. As you can see, David is quite happy to see his brother.)

( Grant and Shelli waiting for Brad.)

After Brad arrived we all headed to Macaroni Grill for dinner. This restaurant, for some reason, has become the restaurant for family celebrations. We ate there the night before I got married and the day David, my other brother, returned home from his mission. We were keeping up with the tradition. After dinner, we headed back to my aunt Betsy's home for the night. Brad went through his suitcases, shared some mission stories and handed out gifts. He brought David and himself home machetes (no surprise there). On Wednesday morning, Grant and I headed back to Tucson and my mom and brothers headed to Prescott so Brad could be released. They then drove down to Tucson for a few days and Shelli joined us too.

On Thursday, we took Brad shopping because he needed new shoes and shorts. Brad just sort of walked around in a daze for awhile, not knowing exactly what to do, like or try on. He did manage to find a pair of tennis shoes and flip flops, as well as two pair of shorts. We had a fantastic BBQ to celebrate the homecoming as well. I grilled up Brad a t-bone and made some homemade ice cream. Shelli made congo cookies. I also had a summer cooler for the family (a cooler loaded up with soda for everyone -- a tradition started in our family several years ago). Grant had a great time helping make the ice cream. He loved putting ice around the freezer while it spun. He was a great helper. Pictures are below.

On Friday afternoon, my family headed up to Phoenix to pick up my dad from the airport. He was arriving from Seattle at 8:30 PM. I drove up with Chad a few hours later. Chad had his pharmacy boards on Saturday morning and then had to head back to Tucson to work on Sunday. We learned the following Tuesday that Chad passed his boards, so now he is a licensed pharmacist and officially done with everything. Now he can just stress about his residency and not a test too.

I went to Prescott with my family on Saturday so that Brad could speak in church on Sunday. Shelli and I stayed with the Mangums. David and Brad stayed with the Larsons and my parents stayed with Stacy Arnold and her husband. We visited a lot of people while in Prescott for the weekend. We attended a wedding reception and were able to see many people we had not seen in quite awhile. On Sunday, we all attended church on so Brad could speak. Sadly, he was the last person on the program and the guy before him took all but the last 5 minutes. Thankfully, the bishop told him to take whatever time he needed. It was so annoying listening to the guy before Brad blather on about nothing, knowing that everyone in the congregation wanted to hear what Brad had to say. Brad did a fabulous job on his talk. I cannot believe that he is the little brother I have. He grew up a lot on his mission.

After church, we had a potluck dinner at the Mangums and also celebrated my dad's birthday, which was Saturday. I was able to go visit my friends from law school who bought my parent's house. It was nice to see my friends and they showed me what they had done to the house to make it there own. The best thing they did was knock out the top part of a wall to open up the downstairs. The house looks great and not too many substantive changes were made. We also went over to the Anderson's to visit. Andrew arranged for a bunch of Brad's friends to come over and see Brad. Brad stayed out until midnight that night. He's not having too difficult a time adjusting is he? While there, Jeff and Bailey had to go feed some calves they are fostering so Grant and I tagged along. Grant got to help hold a bottle for one of the calves and then we fed the horses some hay. He is still talking about it two weeks later. He really enjoyed that and it made me want to have some of that kind of lifestyle.

After the Anderson's, my mom and Shelli dropped me off at Laura Campbell's house to visit with her for awhile. It was great to see her. She is living in Prescott again for the time being. She has two kids, one just two weeks older than Grant. My dad and David had to go back to Phoenix Sunday night but my mom, Shelli, Brad, Grant and I stayed in Prescott until Monday. Before heading back, we, of course, had to have lunch at The Office. It was so yummy and all of the servers there thought that Grant was just adorable. When we got to Phoenix we dropped my mom off at the airport then headed to Shelli's to rest and relax.

Later in the afternoon, my second vacation with Grant began. My sister drove us out to join my friend Amy and her boys, Nicholas and Zachary at her in-law's timeshare in Scottsdale. We spent from Monday afternoon to Thursday afternoon at the condo, swimming, letting the boys play, trying to relax and just hanging out. We swam on Tuesday mroning and twice on Wednesday. We headed out late Thursday morning for Tucson and stopped to shop at Old Navy in Casa Grande. That was crazy with two 2 year olds and a 5 month old. The sale was worth it though. I love Old Navy sales for kids -- such great deals. This is the boys after many days in Phoenix and the final shopping trip. They had had it.

Persistence

Yesterday, right before I put Grant down for his nap he asked for a popsicle. I told him he could have one when he woke up from his nap. He then proceeded to nap for about 2-1/2 hours. When he woke up I heard, "Moooommmmyyy!!!!!" to let me know he was awake. As I got upstairs to let him out of his room, the first thing he said was, "I want popsicle." Never underestimate the memory and persistence of a two year old.

Yesterday was my last day of work. I am now a stay at home mom with a long list of to-dos to get my house in order after not being a stay at home anything for the last five years. Wish me luck. I started a few weeks ago as my work was winding down but there is still much to do.

Chad took his pharamcy law exam this morning. He was quite anxious about it, as always. We will know in a day or two if he passed, as it is computerized. I will let you know.

We are off to get Grant's two year old pictures taken (2 months late) at JCPenney. Of course, the one day I need him to be happy and in a good mood, he stayed up late the night before and woke up at 6 AM. It is 9:40 and he's already napping. I have to wake him up and it's not going to be pretty. I hope at least one shot turns out.

A brief update

Chad started his residency this week. This week and next are mostly just orientation but they are orienting him to all of the many projects, assignments, tasks and work responsibilities he is going to have for the next year. He is definitely in a rigorous program and a bit overwhelmed. It doesn't help that he still has to worry about passing his pharamcy board exam, which he isn't taking until the end of July. Chad reports they have already given him about 10 assignments but because they have given him so many so fast, he's not even really sure what he's supposed to do with each. Luckily, this is not a new environment for Chad. That would put him over the top with anxiety. He spent three months at this VA already and knows his bosses and his way around the place. That relieves some of the newness anxiety but he has far more responsibility this time around than last. We attended a BBQ last weekend for the program to welcome the new residents and say goodbye to the old ones (who Chad was quite good friends with). It was obvious that both of his bosses really like him and value him. This is quite a good thing for him and his comfort level. I think once the boards are done and passed he will feel a little better but it's going to be a tough year for him. He will be an excellent pharmacist by the end of this and know more than he learned in 4 years of pharmacy school. I am excited for him.

Grant and I attended his second Little Critters zoo class yesterday with our friends Amy, Nicholas and Zach. We went to one last month, which Grant behaved poorly at. this time he was much better. We learned about staying cool at the zoo. They see some of the animals, listen to a story, do a craft and pet some small animals. He petted a rabbit, a bearded dragon lizard and a baby tortoise. He also got to feed frozen grapes to Macaque monkeys and had a popsicle himself. After the class was over Amy and I took the boys to see the rest of the animals then let them play at the small splash park our zoo has. If I haven't said it before, I love our zoo here in Tucson. It has all the best animals but it only takes at most an hour to go through. It's the perfect size and the perfect combination of animals. Grant loves it and asks to go all of the time.

Grant is becoming the good chore helper. He likes to have his own papertowel for cleaning when I'm doing bathrooms. He has a toy vacuum that he pulls out and pushes around with me when I'm vacuuming. We vacuumed the whole house together last night. He also, all on his own, has started putting his breakfast play in the sink when done with his waffle. He helps me put dishes away when emptying the dishwasher and sets his own place at the table for dinner and gets his own dishes out for lunch. He loves to help with laundry too, putting things in the washer and dryer for me. Someone just needs to share with me the secret to keeping this love of helping alive as he gets older because I suspect this desire is going to disappear at some point.

I am about done with my work. I have one week and 2 days left. All of my cases are settled and I am just finishing up the last documents on the last one and waiting for the rest to come back from court with the judge's signature. there is only one case I have to withdraw from before completion because it is going to be several more months before it is done. Wednesday was an unexpectedly joyful day. I settled the worst case I have ever had in my life. Due to attorney-client privileges, I cannot share the details of this horrendous case but suffice it to say I have a 7, soon to be 8 page memo chronicling the settlement negotiations on this case. We have been trying to settle the case since March (my memo only starts chronicling as of May 9). We reach an agreement then something happens and it falls apart. They finally reached an agreement on Wednesday while we were in court so we immediately put it on the record so that they are both bound by it and neither can bcak out. It's official and done. The documents are almost done and they should be divorced this next week. I will never be able to explain or describe the stress and anxiety this case causes but it's over and I'm almost done with work.

The baby is growing. He is ahead of schedule in size. I had another ultrasound this week because at my last ultrasound the doctor could not see one of the kidneys or the bladder. She found both this time around and all is well. I am anticipating another big baby like Grant (9'3) and to have him early like Grant, which is fine with me, as I hate being pregnant (sorry mom, but it's true).

The following picture is our dog Barry, pouting at the top of the stairs where is now banished each morning while Grant eats breakfast. Grant eats his waffle on our ottoman while watching a movie (his Aunt Kitty says that makes him spoiled). Barry, so very much the lab just cannot refrain from stealing the waffle the first chance he gets. I finally got so tired of yelling at him and watching him every second that I now just send him upstairs. I actually have him trained to go up when he sees the waffle. He doesn't like it though and the other morning Grant was taking so long to eat that Barry started whining because he wanted to come down.

The following picture is one I took just the other day after a big afternoon monsoon storm. We had one full rainbow and another partial rainbow. It's not often you see double rainbows so I took a picture. For those of you Arizonans living outside the state I thought you might appreciate a little glimpse of th beauty of Arizona monsoon season. I sure love it.

Going Green and a Grant story

So, I decided a few weeks ago that I wanted to stop using store bought chemical cleaning products and instead start using natural, kitchen ingredients. I made this decision in part because I didn't like all the chemicals we were using and also because I'm not as concerned about Grant finding stuff. Vinegar won't kill him. Of course, I don't leave anything sitting in his reach but I feel a little more comfortable.

I did a little internet research and now my primary cleaning agent is white vinegar mixed with various amounts of water. In case anyone is interested, it's quite simple. It's very cheap and if you don't like the smell you can add lemon juice. FYI - vinegar cannot be used on marble surfaces because it breaks it down. So, if you have cultured marble in your bathroom you need to keep using your Soft Scrub.

Here are the mixes:

Glass/dusting liquid:
2 tbsp vinegar:1 quart water

Toilets:
Dump undiluted vinegar into the toilet and let it sit. Then, scrub away with your toilet brush
If you want some scrubbing action pour in some baking soda as well. It works just as well as comet or Ajax

All purpose kitchen, bathroom cleaner:
1 part vinegar:1 part water
(I use this for everything)

Floors:
1 cup vinegar:1 gallon water
(I usually just fill the sink with some hot water and pour in some vinegar. You all know I'm not that precise with measuring. That takes time)

Any place you would have used an abrasive scrubbing cleaner like Ajax or Comet you can use baking soda. There are no chemicals.

Ok, now a Grant story I want to make sure is documented. His new favorite book is Go, Dog. Go! by P.D. Eastman. We have a giant board book of it. The last page is of the dogs at a party in a giant tree. There is a huge pink cake and some ice cream in the picture. Whenever we get to the last page he has to pretend to eat the cake and the ice cream. He pulls the book to his mouth and starts making fake eating sounds. I think it's hilarious and he figured this out on his own. The boy loves cake and ice cream. What can I say?

He also in the last month has started to sing along with the songs I sing to him. He loves "pig," which is Old McDonald, and "bus," which is Wheels on the Bus, and "Twinkle," which is Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. He can actually sing some of the words to each of these songs. He started doing this once he started nursery. I learned from the nursery leader that she has little animal stick puppets for Old McDonald and Grant always wants the pig. This is why Old McDonald is "pig" for him. I'm sure you all really don't care about this but given I use this as a journal, I felt it important to make a note of this development.

Hilarious Grant moment!!!!!!

This little event took place this past Saturday morning. Chad, Grant and I were all in my bedroom on Saturday morning. Chad was laying in bed and I was just sitting on the bed talking with him. Grant was playing around in our bathroom and our closet. He likes to shut the closet door and then knock and come out. He had our closet door shut and then opened it up and walked out with my maternity bathing suit top and bottoms around his neck and my swim hat on his head. When he walked out of the bathroom he had his head down so you couldn't even see his face. I just started laughing hysterically. Chad couldn't see Grant at first so I told him really quietly that he had to look. I ran down the stairs to grab the camera and caught him just as he was headed down the stairs. Of course, he had to have the swimsuit top on inside out but that's just par for the course these days. This is one of those moments I am so glad I got on camera. It was beyond funny.

Grant spent Sunday to Wednesday with his Aunt Shelli in Phoenix and gave mom and dad a break. It was heavenly. We went on two dates and I got some of my house projects done. It was also just nice to only have to worry about myself. Grant had a fun time with Shelli so it wasn't all bad. He got to go swimming twice, harass and whine at Shelli and be the center of attention by Shelli and all her friends for three straight days. I think any two year old could handle that. I will get some pictures and more details from Shelli and do another post later.

Our week

This week has been a normal week until yesterday when I had a call from Chad as I was leaving a deposition that I needed to hurry home because Grant had been puking all morning. Of course, when I got home he was fine and no more puke. That is until this morning when Grant was sleeping in our bed for a little while. I was already up and downstairs. Suddenly, I hear Chad yell frantically for me to get upstairs because Grant was puking again. Poor Chad. Grant only pukes when it's just the two of them. It's kind of sad and kind of funny at the same time, although I'm pretty sure Chad would have a different opinion on that.

Grant and I went to Shakers this week and to the pool with Amy and Nicholas and Baby Zach. he also went to the Children's Museum with Regina and her girls. He loves it there. Our plan was to go there yesterday too but that was thwarted by the puking.

My work is winding down. I am down to two unsettled cases. One keeps settling then unsettling. We're about at the unsettled stage again, which is driving me nuts. I am truly hoping to be done with work entirely by the end of the month.

Aunt Kitty (my sister, Kristen) asked to see pictures of Grant sleeping in front of his gate, which is his new favorite place for naps. I always put him in his bed with everything he needs then within 5 minutes of going downstairs, I heard the door to his room open and then nothing else. Without fail, I find him dead asleep on his pillow with his blanket over him, a binky in one hand a a water cup in the other in front of his gate. We have the gate there so that he can't wander around in the middle of the night and possibly fall down the stairs. The photos of this daily occurrence are below.

Sonogram photos of the new baby

I decided to try taking photos of the sonogram photos to see how they turned out and they look good. As a result, I can share them with every one. As you can see from the picture just below, we are definitely having a boy (and I don't just mean because it says "It's a boy!!!" on the photo).

This is our little boy's profile. Who do you think he looks like?

Here's another profile shot. I think he looks more like Chad in this one.
Another clear indication it's a boy.
Here's his little (or not so little) foot. Grant had huge feet when he was born and this little one's look big too. We'll see.

The doctor said I was measuring about a week ahead of my projected due date. This doesn't surprise me. Grant was a week early and weight 9'3. I just hope for something less than 9 pounds this time around and maybe normal, instead of Chad size, shoulders on this little one.

It's a Boy!!!!!!

This week was an eventful week. We had our sonogram of the baby. It is officially a boy. We suspected as much based upon an early sonogram but could not be sure until this week. We are very excited to be having another boy. I am happy that Grant will have a brother to run around and cause trouble with. Chad was hoping for a girl but I think he's excited anyway.

Grant also had his 2 year old well child check with Dr. Shapiro. He weighs 30 pounds and is 33" tall. that puts him in the 30% for height and now the 75% for weight. We have a little football player on our hands. He did very well, even when he got his MMR shot. He was pretending he didn't like stuff but was smiling the entire time he was being examined.

To continue the celebration of Grant's birthday, we took him to Chuck E. Cheese for the first time on Memorial Day. He had a great time. He ate pizza, drank lemonade and pushed buttons and threw balls to his heart's content. We had a coupon for a pizza, 4 drinks and 30 tokens for $23. We didn't actually need tokens to keep Grant entertained but Chad and I loved them. I played skee ball, which I love. Chad played video games and Grant loved to watch Chad play the basketball game. Grant also loved throwing the skee ball balls up the ramp. With our 30 tokens we won 73 tickets, rounded up to 80, and we were able to buy 4 mini tootsie pops and 1 plastic glasses and nose set. Chuck has steep prices. We also learend that Grant does not like the rides you have him sit in and turn them on to shake. We tried two and both completely freaked him out. He didn't even want to try the slide. We tried to have a family picture taken in the drawing booth but you can see below how well that worked out.

Grant started a new session of Shakers this week. He didn't do very well this time but hopefully will continue to improve. He was acting very tired. Since getting his new bed, he has been waking up between 5:30 and 6 AM (much to his parents' chagrin). By 9 AM now, he's ready for a nap, which is right when Shakers starts.

Yesterday (Saturday) was fun. We took Grant to the Children's Museum for the first time (ours, not his). He's been twice with Regina. As soon as we walked into the place he starts yelling, "Jungle!!!" There is a Jungle Room with all sorts of stuff to climb on and slide down that he loves. He also enjoys pushing the button to make the train sets go and he got to color some mini maracas. Chad and I enjoyed ourselves as well. We all had fun making music in the instrument room. Grant got to try out a real fire truck and a police motorcycle. He wasn't really too sure about either.


The plan was to go swimming after a rest from the museum but both Chad and I got sick and were not up for that. Chad is still sick this morning but I feel better. On Friday, we also managed to get the bookcases switched and start cleaning up our house a little bit (not too much though, don't worry). I hate moving stuff around because you find out just how dirty stuff is and how much junk you actually have. Hopefully, before the baby comes in September, the house will be back together and organized. Is that too much to ask?

Happy 2nd Birthday Grant!!!!!!

Grant turned 2 years old yesterday. How times flies!!! The day started with Grant and I driving home from Phoenix after visiting Grandma June and Sarah and Sarah. In the morning, while getting things ready to go, I told Grant it was his birthday and that he was 2. He paused for about 1 second and then the first words out of his mouth were, "I want cake." How do they know? I never put the two together for him.
Once in Tucson, Grant and I stopped to pick up his new bed from Babies 'R Us. When we got home, we immediately unloaded the car and headed for In-n-Out Burger, the zoo and the park. Grant loves "fries" and "burgers" although he only realy eats fries. He invariably throws a tantrum between ordering and getting the food because he wants it immediately. He is particularly bad if we need to sit outside because he thinks we're leaving without the food. Don't come between Grant and fries or you'll regret it.
Grant loves the zoo. He loves to see the animals, except that when looking at one animal, he immediately asks to see another. He loves the giraffes, rhinos, zebras and monkeys. He was very intrigued by the otters and polar bear as well. He also, thankfully, loves his stroller, so keeping him contained is not too difficult. We have a zoo membership so we never feel bad only spending 30-45 minutes at the zoo, which is about Grant's attention span. On the weekends there is always an ice cream truck parked outside the zoo so of course we had to partake. We each got an ice cream treat then went across the street to enjoy the cool shade and the treats. Grant and daddy got into a wrestling match and Grant had fun running races against himself. He also loved his "ommy" (ice cream).
After we got home from the outing, it was nap time - the last sleep Grant would ever have in his crib. I got the house sort of cleaned up and relaxed a bit. When Grant woke up, Chad started building the new bed and I continued to clean. Chad and I were too full for dinner, so Grant enjoyed a birthday dinner of quesadilla and milk and got to eat while watching "Baby" (Classical Baby) on the computer (he prefers that to the TV). While Chad and I were working on the bed, Grant found his presents and opened up a couple of them while we were unable to intervene. Sneaky little boy. Grant even helped put the finishing touches on the bed. After the bed was done, we opened up the rest of the presents and then had cake. Somehow Grant knew exactly how to blow out the candles. We don't know how he knew that. I guess you're just born with some important, life saving instincts.Grant even got to cut his own piece, per his request. Thankfully he only ate a few bites, much less than the actual size of the piece he cut for himself.
After cake, we headed upstairs with the bed to get his new room set up and for bath time. Chad took the crib apart enough to get it out of the room, while I gave Grant a bath. The crib is now in the upstairs landing, waiting to be put in the new nursery (presently a very messy, unused office). The new room looks great and much larger. Grant finally went to bed about 10 PM. It's true what they say about sugar winding up kids. He was on another plane. We had no problems with bed time though. He went right to sleep and didn't get out of bed once. He did however, wake up at 6 AM, which was quite discouraging for two very tired parents.
I can't believe Grant is 2 already. Time really does fly. He is growing like crazy and getting smarter everyday. We are blown away by his vocabulary and his ability to do so manythings for himself. He has also turned into quite the boy in just the last few months. He loves to crash his cars into each other, make his animals fight each other, sword fight with anything he can find and attack anyone who will wrestle with him. He's active, loud and funny. He brings both laugher and frustration to our lives, sometimes at the same time. Grant is definately a 2 year old.

Grant after blowing out his birthday cake.
Grant enjoying his birthday cake.
Grant's new big boy bedroom, with his new bed.

Grant enoying his "ommy" after the zoo.
Grant and Chad wrestling at the park.
Grant eating his birthday dinner.
Grant getting caught opening birthday presents while we were distracted.
Grant helping Chad finish putting his bed together.

Grandma June's visit

After moving away from Gilbert five years ago, Grandma Glenn (Grandma June to the great-grandkids) came back to Phoenix for a visit on her way to SLC. It was so great to see her. She arrived on Wednesday, May 21 in the afternoon. Dad (Richard) was in Phoenix for a visit himself and picked her up. She stayed over night at Betsy's house. Me, Shelli and David visited her because we hadn't seen her in a couple of years. Grandma also had never met Grant so she finally had the pleasurable opportunity. We all went to The Fish Market for dinner. Yum!!!! Grant was as wound up as could be and although coy enjoyed Grandma. At The Fish Market, Grant even shared his ice cream with Grandma. On Thursday, May 22, Grandma, dad and I went to Deseret Book and the distribution center. We also had yummy frozen yogurt. It was so good to see Grandma again.

Grandma and Lindsay.
Grandma and dad.

Chad's graduation...Yeah!!!!!

May 16 was a joyous day for all of us. Chad is finally done not only with pharmacy school but with school all together. It was an amazing feeling to watch Chad get his hood and finally become a pharmacist. The below picture is Chad walking in to start the ceremony.

Below is Chad wearing his hood after graduation concluded. The ceremony was unnecessarily long but what can you do?
The joyous Mellen family after the graduation ceremony. Grant did not do well during the ceremony. Thanks to Alisha and Grandma Mellen for keeping him entertained so I could sit through the ceremony and support Chad. Grant got to walk through the museum across from the graduation hall twice. Grant did not find the ceremony quite as momentous as the rest of us. Of course, he'd been good all week but chose that day to wake up in a bad, tired mood.
Grant being forced to have his picture taken with Daddy after enjoying his post-graduation cookie. A giant chocolate chocolate chip cookie was his reward for enduring 2 hours of graduation. Chad was very happy at graduation.
My family (dad, Shelli and David) arrived in town after the ceremony and spent the weekend with us and Chad's mom and sister. They couldn't get into town before the ceremony. Chad took his sister Alisha to some sites in Tucson, as she had never been here before. They went to Kartchner Caverns, ate indian food and at The Grille. We had a fabulous BBQ last night. Barbara and Alisha flew out this morning and Dad and David are leaving today. Shelli also left last night. On Friday night we had a heated game of Glenns v. Mellens Scene it? Until the very end the Glenns were ahead. Only at the last question did the Mellens win the game. I was a Glenn for the game.

In July, Chad starts his one year residency at the Tucson VA. In another year we will be making decisions about where to go from here. We will keep you posted.

What parents will do...

The following shows what Chad and I will do to get Grant to eat dinner, even if it is just white rice (Yes, that's the serving spoon for the rice. Apparently, it's more fun to eat with than a regular spoon). I did manage to sneak a few bites of salmon into his mouth in between rice bites so there was some nutrition had at dinner.




We checked out a local weekly swap meet a few weeks ago. We found this pool for $10. Grant loved it. Sadly, I left it outside to dry for a couple of days and it met its end after only one use. Despite what some of you may be thinking, the dogs were not involved. We have had huge wind storms. I woke up one morning to find it plastered against one of our cacti in our backyard. I pulled it off to find counless spines sticking out of the pool. How sad!!!

Last weekend we went to Phoenix to enjoy one last weekend at Chad's Uncle Dan's house/private family resort in Paradise Valley. Grant is our little fish. He jumps in the pool all by himself and cries when he has to get out. He loves to go under the water and never tires. Mom and dad do though. we had a great time and have many years of memories at Dan's. We are sad that the house is gone but are excited that a new house has been purchased. We hope it will be just as fun. For those of you who attended our wedding, this is the house that our luncheon was held at, although at that time it was still under remodeling construction.