San Diego! - Day 1

This fourth of July weekend we were very lucky to be able to go to San Diego. Brian's dad, Allan, was attending a conference in San Diego and invited us to meet him there. It was impossible to turn down since it was only about a 5 hour drive and we had a place to stay for free! So we headed out on Thursday and got there in time for dinner. As soon as I opened the car door the first words out of Josie's mouth were "Mom, it's cold here." She is an Arizona girl that is for sure. Needless to say even though it was 75 degrees, I was glad I packed the girls sweatshirts and pants. I was very happy that just across the street from out hotel was a Bennigan's! They are hard to find these days. So I insisted that we were going to eat there before we left town, and lucky for me I got to eat there first thing! I miss the Bennigan's food that I lived on for two years while working there so I tried to get in the things I missed most, potato soup and a turkey O'Toole. They were both as good as I remember and it was a fun throw back for us.

Friday morning we had big plans to conquer SeaWorld. We got there bright and early after a quick breakfast at Denny's.



I don't' think that Josie was quite sure what to expect when we told her we were going to SeaWorld. Her friend Tayia that has been playing with us this summer went last summer and was telling Josie all about it in the days leading up to the trip, but I am not sure she had any idea what she would see or do when we got there. Our first stop of the day was to see Shamu. We first stopped to see the Orcas in their tank swimming. Josie and Ellie were both amazed by their size.


We then decided to go get seats for the show. They tell you when you get there to try to arrive at the show 30 mins. prior to the start of the show to get good seats. I don't know how they expect to all of us parents to get our kids to sit and wait for 30 mins., but we survived. We sat in the splash zone thinking that Josie would love it, but when she figured out that she would get wet she wasn't very happy. We got lucky and some how Shamu missed us. Josie loved the show and thought it was so cool when one of the trainers jumped in the tank with Shamu and got to swim with him and do tricks. Josie quickly decided that was what she wanted to do when she grew up. Luckily for her they said to work at SeaWorld you have to love animals and be an excellent swimmer and she has both of those things down. Ellie was also very entertained and gave us lots of oooooh and aaahhhs!
After the Shamu show we hit up the Sesame Street Bay of play. They had rides that both of the girls went on and loved. Here is Josie and Ellie on Elmo's flying fish. They were in a catfish!












One of Josie's favorite experiences was feeding a sea lion! Josie and Daddy bought a tray of fish, which they had to protect from the seagulls. The sea lions barked and waited for the fish to fly. Josie wasn't a fan of the birds so she fed the sea lion through a feeding tube, which she thought was very exciting, she was very proud of herself!






After a long day Ellie conked out in the stroller. We did happen to catch a few more exciting things like watching the dolphins, seeing penguins and polar bears and watching a sea lion show.

Summer time

We are having a busy summer at the Grant house. I am still lucky enough to be staying home with the girls and I got us a little bump in our income by watching my friends Chuck and Julie's two girls, Tayia (6) and Holly (20 months). So, with 4 girls under 7 in the house I have kept busy! The girls are so great together. Josie and Tayia play together really well and have spent lots of time outside, playing with Barbies and Littlest Pet Shop. Last Friday we had a dance party with our Disney sing-a-longs. As you can see everyone really got into it!


Josie and Tayia love to help me in the kitchen this day we made some banana bread and a whole loaf was gone by the time the girls went home, but in all fairness Brian was also home and he loves banana bread.

Other than having the girls with us Monday through Friday we have been spending lots of time at the pool and taking trips to the zoo or the mall to buy clothes for my girls that are both growing like weeds! Ellie is already growing into 24 month clothes that Josie wasn't wearing until after she was 2! My poor sister-in-law Michelle can send Anya's clothes fast enough. If she doesn't slow down we will be in trouble because Anya and Ellie will be wearing the same size at the same time! We used to think Anya might catch Josie, but I think Ellie has a much better shot at catching or passing Anya. There is now only about 6 inches and 7 pounds between Josie and Ellie! That being said we marked another milestone for Josie. She grew into size 4, which for those of you who don't shop for little girls means that she is no longer in the toddler section, but can buy clothes from the big girls sections and stores. I can't believe how big she has gotten!

Ellie is finally off her bottles and formula, that should save us a fortune. She enjoys being a big girl and trying new things. This is her first attempt at corn on the cob and one of Josie too, just for good measure!

Ellie is ONE!!

On April 28th Ellie turned one! It was amazing how fast the time has gone and even more amazing how much she has grown and learned in that year. Rolling, sitting, crawling, walking and now talking. Ellie is walking well now and starting to run, she is doing the best that she can to keep up with big sister. She has a few words that she does well. Mama, Dada, up-up, and woof are the most commonly heard along with an occasional "done" at the dinner table. Josie wants so badly for her to say Jojo, but I am afraid that may be a ways off.

On Saturday May 2nd we had a birthday party for Ellie. Mom made her first effort at a birthday cake, and was pretty happy with the outcome. I was glad that Diane was here to give me a few tips along the way. The guest list was short and I was feeling a little guilty that Josie gets to spend her birthday with her whole family and Ellie doesn't. I guess that is one of the few perks to having a Christmas birthday when you live away from home. Allan and Diane were able to be here, they were also in town for a wedding, lucky for us. Cousins Johnny and Heather and Gigi (Great-grandma Grant) and our AZ family all joined us for Ellie's special day.

Ellie wasn't sure about the frosting end of the cupcake, but once she found the cake she dug right in, this is her Mama in her!

Ellie and her big sister pause for a pic with the decorations.

After a long, busy day every one was ready for bed. After a few Curious George bedtime stories we all had sweet dreams!! Happy Birthday Ellie Bellie!

FIrst Steps

On Tuesday March 3rd, Ellie took her first steps! The first time she made it about 5 or 6 steps before falling down. By the time we got the video set she was pooped from all that walking and only made is a couple of steps, but you get the idea. I can't believe that she is starting to walk already, I am not ready. Josie was so proud of her little sister, we will see what she thinks when she starts chasing her around the house!

Camelback Ranch

On Saturday February 28th we had the opportunity to go and check out what has been keeping Brian so busy for the past few months. he has been working out in Glendale on the new spring training facility for the Chicago White Sox and LA Dodgers, Camelback Ranch. On Saturday they invited the families of the people who had worked so hard to make this project happen to check it out and help them do a mock opening. It was a lot of fun and a chance to get out and enjoy the beautiful day, as it was 80 and sunny.

While we were there they were putting on the finishing touches. painting the foul lines, and checking to make sure everything was ready for the big opening game on Sunday. The park looked great and we got enjoy free food and check out thing that the public will probably never see like the Chicago White Sox suite at the park.

Josie enjoyed being able to run around and be outside since she had been so sick for the past couple of weeks that she had been in the house for a long time. The fresh air did us all good.

Ellie found a fun place to play on top of a portable beer stand. She hung on to those taps and danced and danced. She was so cute that someone from the Dodgers who was taking video for the website stopped and got her on camera. She can now bee seen on Dodgers.com!

You can check Ellie out here:

http://mlb.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?mid=200902283963761

She doesn't appear until about the 3 min. mark and then again at the very end, but if you watch the whole thing you can get a good view of the park!

7 Falls and Gopher Hockey - Colorado Springs Part 2

On Saturday before the game we needed to find something to do. Since this is our first family vacation we wanted to get in as much as possible. (by vacation I mean trip somewhere other than to Minnesota) We debated to go Pike's Peak since the Grant family has something weird about going to the top of tall things. Mom vetoed that idea after we found out it was another 2+ hours in the car with girls who did not need more time in the car. So it sticking with the idea of tall things we went to 7 Falls.

This is a view of the water fall from an observation deck about 1/2 as tall as the falls. We got to the top by riding in an elevator that is inside of the mountain and Josie thought that was so cool, until we got to the top. Josie is not a big fan of being at the top of tall things, I guess she gets that from me. I am not afraid of heights, I just don't have the desire to go to the top of tall things. Josie on the other had is afraid of heights. She wanted nothing to do with going near the rail of the observation deck and was not really a fan of being held close to the edge either.

Once we got back down to the bottom of the falls Josie enjoyed the snow and ice and really got a kick out of seeing the fish under the ice.

Later that evening it was time for hockey! This was Ellie's first gopher hockey game, and Josie first game in enemy territory. Being as we had children with us we were saved from the ridicule I am sure we have endured had we been on our own. The only questionable comments I received was from some guy in a UND jersey. I know what you are thinking, a UND jersey at a CC/Gopher game?!?! What can I say he was a UND fan, he was probably so drunk he was lost and didn't know where he was!

Ellie loved the hockey game. She cheered and clapped along with the crowd. Now we just have to teach her who the good guys are! Josie much prefers being at the game to watching it on TV as well. (I guess maybe she is my kid after all!) We were not lucky enough to see our team win a game, but we did see some good hockey so all in all it was worth the trip.



Our little hockey fans!!

Garden of the Gods

This February we made a trip to Colorado Springs to catch some gopher hockey before the end of the season. We bravely packed up the girls and climbed into the mini-van for a mini-vacation. Which as most of you know was well deserved for everyone after the hours that Brian had been putting in at work for the last two months! The car ride went surprisingly well, Mom was very nervous to have two little girls in the car for 12+ hours in a day. So we loaded up the car and got on the road about 2am so we could get as much of the driving under our belt while the kids slept as we could. We stopped to eat and a couple of extras including a emergency breathing treatment for Josie after a little too much running around at the rest stop. We got to Colorado around 6pm and settled in for a fun weekend. While we were in Colorado we got to take in a few sights and had lots of family fun!


Our first stop was at The Garden of the Gods, beautiful, natural red rock formations.

Josie is very adventurous and was having so much fun jumping off any rock that she could climb. We had a couple of minor bumps and bruises when we were done, but nothing we couldn't handle.

Josie was very impressed by her Daddy climbing a big rock, but was a little nervous watching him try to get down, we all were a little nervous I should say!

Even Ellie got in on the rock climbing fun. It was a little chilly for her liking but she was a trooper and had a lot of fun.