Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day! We spent the day with the GUS clan. We went to the Big Band Bash on Saturday and the girls had a blast dancing together.

Elizabeth was so excited to hold her baby cousin. I love that they both smiled for the picture.

Birthday presents were a highlight at the princess birthday party.

Uncle Jacob loaned Adam his tractor. Adam was very excited with his new ride and didn't seem to mind that he couldn't make it move. There's something about a guy and his tractor!

Spring Has Sprung

Spring took a long time to get to Minnesota this year. The kids have been eagerly playing outside whenever it is warm enough. Here they are ready for a bike ride. (And yes the safety freak has no helmets on her children.)
This week Josh was in the yard with the kids. Later I came out and realized that a bucket was full of daffodil petals. I love looking out of my back window at the flowers in the morning with a warm cup of coffee, but now this is what I see. How Josh missed the 3 year old picking flowers in our yard is beyond me. Elizabeth's reply was, "I didn't pick all of the petals mom."

17 Months Old

On Thursday, Adam turned 17 months old. This post comes late because April was the worst month of my life. But Adam has kept us hopping this month. This picture really sums him up. He is so darn happy when he is outside doing what he wants to do. (Now trying to get him inside shows the other extreme of his personality.)

We are looking forward to sunny spring weather so we can spend it outside. Happy 17 months little guy!

Easter 2011

Elizabeth finds another egg.

Adam looking for Uncle Jacob.

Elizabeth found her Easter Basket behind the chair.

Adam found a few eggs and some sandbox toys in his Easter Basket.

Elizabeth at an Easter Egg Hunt.

It was an excellent Easter weekend for the Grant family. Elizabeth got to participate with lots of kids at a local Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday.

Adam and Elizabeth awoke Easter morning to eagerly find their Easter baskets. Afterward, Uncle Jacob and Ruth Ann came down for lunch. We went non-traditional, and instead used the mild weather to grill steaks, chicken, sausage, sweet corn, garlic, and vegetable skewers. Other menu items included potato salad, chips, and brownies.

The Easter Bunny came again while we were eating, and 19 eggs needed to be found in the backyard. Actually, there were only 18 eggs worth finding. Apparently one greedy little squirrel used the natural visual barrier a tree afforded him and gobbled down one of the Easter treats. One less peanut butter cup for Elizabeth I guess.

The Post I Never Wanted to Write

It is with deep sadness that I share the horrible news of the death of my lifelong friend, Alison. Words can not express the profound sadness that has swept over me this week. I truly feel like a piece of me is gone forever.

Alison, you were the kind of friend that I can only hope to be- kind, genuine, witty, and nonjudgmental. I know you would have hated all of the e-mails and Facebook entries that have circulated. I was torn in writing this post, but I wanted to share with those that I love that someone so special to me has left this Earth.

Tomorrow I head home for her funeral, which will surely be the worst experience of my life.

Please keep Alison's husband, baby daughter, and family in your prayers.

I will miss you forever, Alison. I love you.

The Flu House

Living in a house with one bathroom hasn't posed a problem (honestly even if we had 10 bathrooms, I still wouldn't get to pee in peace)...until this weekend. The flu bug hit the Grants and three of the four of us were out. Thankfully Adam had been sick earlier in the week, so we didn't have to worry about his high needs. I have cleaned puke off more surfaces than I thought was humanely possible- yuck! Elizabeth aims and succeeds over half of the time, and she acts like a rock star when it's all in the toilet. Gotta love her enthusiasm.

Elizabeth and I are home again today after both being sick last night. This is the bug that will not die! But we've had some fun being stuck in the house, and I posted some silly pictures of the kids playing dress up.

April Fools

We woke up this morning to find snow falling! Nothing like snow in April to make you wonder if spring will ever come.