pictures from our honeymoon

I've been sorting through memories. We have a special day coming up tomorrow. These are shots from our honeymoon spent in Southern California. We stayed in a condo right on the beach in Oceanside. Most of the days were spent at the beach. Cori got a crazy sunburn on the first day- but neither of us minded the dolling out/receiving of TLC involved in his recovery. We stayed up late and woke up late every day. We bought boogie boards. We got our food at farmers' markets. We made a day trip to the San Diego Zoo, and another to Disneyland. We went to Old Town San Diego a few times for dinner. That place is so great. We watched the sun set. We listened to Beethoven and The Beach Boys. We bought Mexican jumping beans.

On the day our rental was up we decided we wanted to stay longer. Cori took some more time off work. We were able to extend our stay at the condo and do the whole thing all over again- minus the sunburn. 

pictures cori showed me on our first date

If you can't beat 'em, join. If you're too little to join...

If you're too little to join, there are still other options. Gracie was playing with her 'best friends' (aka- all the neighborhood boys) in the back yard. They started a little wiffleball game and asked Gracie if she would just watch. Grace watched for a minute, and then remembered that she had BYU cougar pom poms inside. She ran in and quickly rummaged through her toy basket until she found them. When I asked her what she was doing, she said, "Those boys need someone to cheer." I followed her back out with our camera. For a while, she jumped on the deck, cheering, "Go boys! Go boys! GoooooOOOOoo boys!" Then she decided she was just too far away, so she relocated to get right in the middle of the action. 

milestones

Some important developments have come about in Grant's young life. He has always been completely fascinated with balls, trucks and bikes.  His proclivity for these things has only grown as the weather has gotten warmer. He wants to be outside all the time. He wants to throw, bounce, kick and watch. When we are driving, he points out every truck ("guck"). Every truck. There is a little boy across the street who likes to shoot hoops in his driveway. Grant will stand at the window and watch him for really impressive stretches of time.  Cori gave him his first batting lesson a little while ago. The boy was on cloud nine.

A couple of Saturdays ago, we were all chillin in our PJs. Cori and I were working on getting breakfast made. Grace and Grant were wandering in and out of the house. We were keeping an eye on them to be sure they stayed on the deck. As we were getting ready to sit up to the table, we realized that Grant wasn't around. He wasn't on the deck either. We found him sitting in the neighbor's yard, facing the sunrise, basketball in hand. Cori called out to him, "How's it going bud?" Grant waved and said, "Bah!" (Ball) It was so darn cute. 

The most significant incident occurred two nights ago. We had just finished up with family prayer and all the good-night loves and kisses. The remote was in Grant's reach and he picked it up and took it to Cori. Then the following conversation ensued:

Grant: handing Cori the remote, bah bah (Grantese for basket ball)

Cori: Basket ball?

Grant: nodding his head, heah. ('yeah' with out the 'y')

Cori: looking at the remote You want to watch some basket ball?

Grant: huge smile Heah!

Cori: looking at me with firm resolve. I gotta make good on this. We have to watch a little. 

Grant: climbing into Cori's lap with the expression of one who has just died and gone to heaven.

Cori: turning on the playoffs with the expression of one who has just died and gone to heaven.

"The beach is that way"

I wasn't raised in a sports family. Sometimes these kind of obsessions don't make a lot of sense to me. But I get a feeling that I've got a lot of balls, cleats, stinking laundry, practices, games, and possibly a really big truck in my future. 

a small victory (though you can guess how this one ended)

the rest of our weekend

Dad brought some paints for Grace. They made lots of projects.

We went to the park.

We visited debate square. I love how Grant is holding that dandelion like it is going to kill him. He is such a boy.

Speaking of dandelions, Grace picked about 5 thousand and shared them with everyone in sight.

Dad mowed our lawn. Doing yard work in a dress shirt is a quintessential characteristic of my father.

We tried to visit two museums which were closed. But on the property of the Stevenson County Historical Society Museum is a big magnolia tree that was in bloom. I love these trees.

Dad and Grace did some cooking out of her cook book.

Then Dad and I made an early trip to the airport this morning and he is on his way to South Carolina. Thanks, Dad, for fitting us into your itinerary! We had a great weekend.

Some news

My Dad is here for the weekend. He had a layover in Chicago and decided to make a weekend of it. We are so happy to have him with us! 

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On our way out to pick Dad up yesterday, the kids and I stopped to do some shopping at a h-u-g-e outlet mall. It takes precisely 50 minutes to get there from our house. This is a dangerous discovery indeed.

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"How would you feel if I told you that you could be having unprotected hanky panky by the middle of October?" This was my doctor's greeting when he called me yesterday afternoon. It was his way of saying that my body is finally normal! Six months, and we can try again.

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We had a really great outing this afternoon. We drove about an hour west to Galena, a small historic town that boasts the home of Ulysses S. Grant (Civil War general and 18th President of the United States). Then we drove across the mighty Mississippi to Dubuque Iowa just to have a look. Making our way back across the river, we passed into Wisconsin for about 3 minutes. We finished the outing with butter burgers and custard shakes at Culver's. (And mom, we are taking lots of pictures!) 

A pretty home in Galena

Dubuque Justice building