99 Cent Store and Raleys

We didn't do much today.  It was really a relaxing day, but Grace would NOT lay down for nap, so I took her to the 99 cent store and Raleys!  It was so awesome because I found cloth reusable inserts for cloth diapers that are 6 in a box for...obviously...$1.  I checked online and they had 4.5 stars and are originally $7.  I made out, huh?  I grabbed 2 boxes (I am writing this after the fact and now wish I would have bought many more boxes), and then Grace and I went to Raleys to replenish groceries to surprise Dado and Papa!  The rest of the day was calm and relaxing.  One thing I really love about being here is playing dice with my grandparents.  It's just so fun to be snacking and playing together, so we've been playing a lot of that.  We wait until Grace went to bed and then play from 9-10 pm, and then we watch the news for 1/2 an hour and then head to bed!

Amanda

ZOO and Chipotle!!!

Today was such a great day because we got to go to the Sacramento Zoo with Sissy!!!!  Someone was absolutely excited, and this is most definitely going to be a picture overhaul!!  Enjoy :)  

We are ready to go!!

I even got to put Grace's hair up nicely since I knew it would be in her hair otherwise.

Hurray!!  We are there :)

Mommy, Grace and Sissy.  

Grace got the alligator!!!  Good girl.  

This is actually the first first thing we did for our trip.  I just wanted to add the picture of Sissy in right in the beginning.   

We had a fabulous time, and Grace enjoyed the carousel so much.  I am so glad because usually she is a bit nervous, but she was so thrilled about this one. 

See how thrilled?  She threw a royal FIT when it ended because she did NOT want to get off.  Flailing, arching, big alligator tears...the works.  Poor girl.  It lasted a while so I knew it wasn't just a fit.  She really didn't understand that she couldn't stay on it.

But we got over it.  Onto the giraffes!   

An alligator!  She really liked this and told us over and over "is in al-der-gator!"

Shew, time for a break.  Playtime!  It was about 10 am here and we were already hot, and we'd been there for only an hour. 

Chimpanzee time.  It was breakfast time and so we got to see them right up close! 

Aw, the turtles. 

And then here is lunch!  YUMMY!  We got out of the zoo at 11 so we were there for 2 hours.  Perfect timing because Grace was getting fussy and what I didn't realize is that she had completely soaked the bum of her leggings.  Of course I gave her an icee (free) and poured the water down her so she'd stay hydrated, but I guess 2 and 2 didn't go together with "what goes in, comes out!"  So we rushed home with Chipotle, I changed and cleaned her up, and then we got to eat!!  I finished my whole burrito...I know, piggy.  Grace had a quesadilla, rice, beans and chocolate milk and finished all but about 3 tablespoons worth and then went right down to bed, and once we were done eating, Sissy headed home because she was plum exhausted.

All in all, a great day.  The rest of the day was relaxing, cooling off, and visiting with Dado and Papa.

Amanda 

Project RIDE and friends

 Today we got to go to lunch with our friends!  Grace and I headed to Elk Grove and checked out our rental home (which was in good shape, thank goodness) and then went to two different friends’ houses but neither were home.  So we went to the park!  Poor little girl fell down and it was so sad.  She didn’t realize there was such a high curb since we don’t have curbs that are 90 degree angles like these are, and she scrapped from her knee to the top of her foot.  We went to the fire station in hopes that they could have "magic bandaids" but they didn't answer the door.  But after a few minutes she was ok, so we headed to Round Table, saved some tables, and then waited until 12:30!  I didn't think anyone was going to show up, but finally my friends Amanda and Charlotte showed up.  Grace had a lot of kids to play with, we caught up and it was a great time.  Sadly, though, it had to end, and so we all parted ways about 2:00 or so.  Grace and I headed to Project RIDE and got to see our good friend Tina, but Jean retired!!!  So we visited horses for quite a while, talked with other workers there, and then of course we had to say goodbye again.  Grace got a special gift from Tina!!  She got a bunny rabbit that she named Hoppy, and got a hardbound The Velveteen Rabbit book.  It is such a beautiful book and Tina wrote in it, which makes it so much sweeter.  After this super busy day we headed back to Dado and Papa's house and just relaxed the rest of the day.  I put Grace to nap and let her sleep until 5:30, so she got to stay up late with us, but she didn't mind!

Amanda

Clothes from MeMa's Friend

We went to see MeMa at work today because her friend was bringing a bunch of clothes and stuffed animals for Grace!  I can’t believe how many there were J  I was so excited and thankful for all of the things we got.  Her friend, Rita, has a granddaughter that has grown out of Grace’s size 5, and so we got the hand me downs.  But seriously, they don’t even look used.  And there’s more that she’s going to go through and we might possibly be adding to the wardrobe!  What I like is that a lot of it is Winter wear, which is what we’ll need this Winter.  After that Kailyn (sissy) came over and visited.

She stayed from about 12 (we had lunch…peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with chips/salsa) to after dinner.  She and I made meatloaf with…I can’t remember what else because I’m writing this on 8/1/14!!

Grace picked out this outfit out of the new clothes!  Every piece is from the big bag!!

Amanda

Day With MeMa!

Today we had hot mush for breakfast and then just rested around until 12:30, which is when MeMa came over.  We had tuna and egg salad for lunch and I tried to put Grace down for a nap, but with no success.  Oh!  I forgot.  Grace and I went to the park about 10 am but boy, it was way too hot by then.  It was a beautiful new playground and Grace had fun, but for a girly to ask to get out of the swing shows us that it was too hot.  So we got out of the sun and walked around the pond for a little bit.  Grace had fun saying hi to the geese and squirrels!  After awhile we headed back to Dado and Papa’s house because it was getting just way too hot.  That’s when we had lunch and then I put Grace to bed to try to get a nap.  Yeah, right.  MeMa came over and visited or some time and then we took Grace to Bertha Henshal wading pool.  It was SUCH a great time!   MeMa and I sat on the side with our feet in the water and Grace just really enjoyed herself.  We were probably there about an hour and when Grace was finally laying down on the side of the pool, I knew that she was so tired.  We got back to Dado’s house about 2:30 pm and she went right to sleep.  MeMa went home because she had a headache, and we let Grace sleep until 5 pm.  We had dinner not too long after that (same as the day before), and then we rested the rest of the day and watched TV, played with some goodies that MeMa brought over, and just stayed cool.  Grace went to bed at 9 pm and then I (of course) had a full other meal!!  I was so hungry!  And then we played dice until 10 pm, which is when news came on.  I didn’t even make it to 10:30!  I went to bed at 10:15 pm because I was so darn tired.

Amanda

2nd Half of Drive to California

“Mom, shhh…go to sleep!”  How cute that she would tell me to go to sleep!  And we both laid down and she went right back to sleep.  I couldn’t believe that she was so awake at one moment, and at the next moment she was fast asleep.  I woke up about 6:30 Elko time, cleaned up, checked out, and were on the road by 7:15 am.  Of course we had our random stops to rest, get gas and get snacks, but finally, we made it to my moms work at 3:30 pm!!  She was SO surprised!!!  We visited with her until about 4:30 pm and then drove to Dado and Papa’s house.  We rested and relaxed the rest of the day and I’m glad we did because I was so tired!  Grace was also insanely tired of being in a car and had a lot of pent up energy.  We had macaroni (with red sauce), coleslaw, and tomatoes for dinner (mmmmm).  And then a milkshake!  Hurray J  And Grace went to bed on time for sure, while I stayed up until 10:30 pm with Dado and Papa.

Amanda

On Our Way to California

We left for California!!  I didn’t actually know we were going to do it…until about 1 pm.  We were having a super fun cleaning day and making great success in cleaning and then I just got the idea in my head for us to head out.  So Daddy made us an online reservation for a hotel in Elko, Nevada and then we headed out about 2:30 pm.  We had a great first drive of our trip.  Grace didn’t like sitting for so long and would ask to go home but otherwise, it was great!  It was so cute!!  “Mom, is time to go home now.  Let’s go home.”  Aw, how cute.  I kept telling her we were headed to California to see Mema, Dado and Papa, and so many friends.  This was a good first half of the trip.  We got to Elko about 7:30 pm, went to Wendys for dinner and dessert, and then went to bed at 9 pm Elko time.  I didn’t sleep very well…I kept waking up and looking out the window to make sure that the car was still there and that people weren’t trying to break in.  And then about 3 am Grace and I were both up and so I figured we’d leave, but she said something funny…look to the next entry to find out!

Amanda

Grace is Sick

7/21/14

Darnit, Miss Grace is sick again.  She's getting over it thankfully!!  It was just a simple cold so I wasn't too worried about it.  She had a well check today and she weighs 33 pounds and is 41 inches tall.  WOW!!  She gained 3 inches in a year :)  And she gained a pound in 2 months.  Good girl!!  And she didn't have to get any shots, which is fabulous.  I had talked with her while we waited for the nurse to double check her records, and I let her know that it would be a pinch, and it would hut, and that she could cry.  I pinched her a little so she could feel how it would feel, and then let her do it to me.  We kept talking about it and then the nurse came in!!  No shots!  She got them at her 4 year old well check so that's awesome.  So then I had to help her understand that she doesn't need the shots, and she looked at me like..."I don't get stickers?!"  I had told her that she would get stickers after the ouch.  So of course I told her she could ask the doctor for some :)  Right when he walked in, she didn't even say hi.  "Stickers please!!!"  And he's got such a great sense of humor and really likes Grace.  So he gave her some stickers.  One of the tubes in her ears fell out and there's a little hole left, so we're going to have to go to the ENT to see what they say about either putting another tube in or just leaving it alone.  Otherwise, she's doing great!

7/22/14

I've had my friend over the past two days.  Yesterday her 2nd oldest daughter and youngest daughter were here, and Grace was in Heaven with her best friend here.  And today her son and two youngest daughters are here.  This daughter is 13, and so it's really nice to have her here because she really likes playing with Grace and her sister.  My friend and her family are moving to Utah (which is so sad) so it's been really nice for Grace to have 2 days with her best friend.  

Daddy had so much fun feeling baby boy kicking last night.  It was crazy how much he was kicking! Grace loves putting her face on my tummy to feel baby brother, and will randomly pull my shirt up to do this!!  It's so cute :)

Brad's back is still hurting, and he went to a chiropractor yesterday and will be going on Wednesday and Friday and hopefully it will make his back feel better.  He's just been working too hard and pulled something.  I'm really hoping he gets better soon. :(

All in all, a good past two days :)

Amanda

Countdown to California!

I am so excited that school is almost over (less than 1 week), I'm so excited that we are FINALLY caught up with gymnastics classes that we've missed, and Grace got a new carseat!!!!  We both are so insanely tired of moving the one we have back and forth because seriously, we go between the two vehicles and are switching the carseat at least 4-5x a month.  So Brad picked out a cow print carseat!!!  It is so absolutely cute :)  It also came with a kit (paid extra) that has a window screen, kick guard for the front passenger seat, and a plastic sheeting that goes under the carseat.  It's pretty awesome.  The baby boy can also use this carseat, and at first that was the plan, but Brad has enjoyed that we have a carseat for each vehicle, so we'll get one of the infant carseats so I don't have to take little boy out of the seat each time we go shopping or whatever.  I don't know if I'll take the cow carseat when we head to California only because it has such large head guards that Grace can't see out the window anymore.  But then that does mean that she's better protected...so, we'll see.  

I have scheduled a meeting for Grace with a neuropsychologist.  Because she's turning 5, she has to have a "Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children" exam.  It's a psychology get and I think it's so funny because no kid is going to be able to complete a psychological exam!!  And not at her age!  But the person I talked to said that if she can't complete it, that still shows that she needs support because of her inability to complete it.  Anyways, we meet with this woman in August after our California trip.  And we might have to have another behavioral test done (SIB-R) because of the increase in the physical aggression towards me.  We'll see what happens.  

All in all, a good day.  Grace had therapy and then lunchtime and nap time.  It was cute because on our way home from picking her up I told her, "It's nap time when we get home, ok?"  And she said, "No, mom.  First dinner time...den is bedtime."  How could I not say yes to that?!  It was absolutely adorable.    She just says the most beautiful things sometimes!  And all the way to the therapy place and home she was saying, "I dot a new carseat.  Is a cow seat!  Is SO soft.  I like my seat...is so soft....is so soft!"  Over and over :)

She went down for nap nicely and so did mommy, and I got her up at 4:30 because she didn't go down until 2 pm.  Then we went on a walk and it was so hot!  We stopped off at our friends house to talk for a little while but she really just wanted to go home and get a drink.  The time seemed to fly by and we were in our bedroom cleaning and I realized I had to get dinner going and then meet with my math class online.  We had chicken with an awesome gravy over rice with steamed squash and peas.  It was SO GOOD.  Soy sauce, sweet chili sauce, spicy kung pal sauce, cayenne pepper, basil, black pepper, garlic and...I think a couple other things.  Grace LOVED it!  She didn't like the chicken so much but was willing to eat it when I served it to her.  Her favorite were the peas :)  I think she had 3 servings of peas!!  Then she got to watch her shows while I met with my math class and daddy was outside tilling another section of the yard to add...something to.

All in all, a good day.  It's 10:05 pm and she's still in there hollering and singing :)  Silly girl!

Amanda

More Birthday Decorations!

This is really going to be a fun 5th birthday!  I ordered a bunch of things at orientaltrading.com and the rest came today!  I don't normally go all out but I think every 5 years is really great (well, also 13, 16, 18 and 21), so I think I'll go a big bigger on each of those :)  Actually, I usually do a lot of fun things every birthday.  This difference with this birthday is that I will most likely be throwing a birthday party here as well!!  I didn't know it, but I had ordered invitations from the website (even though we made our own) so I'm going to use those up with a birthday party for her and her friends!  We'll see how the experience goes.  Here's Grace opening the package!!

She got to open the package right after gymnastics and so it was great fun for her :)  And now I've finally got all I need for her fun day!  I got everything way in advance but that's because we'll be in California (Grace and I) from the 1-15th, and then Brad will come up the 12th-15th, and then we got to Montana for the boys annual bear tooth hike for a week and so there wouldn't be much time to order things.  I am the kind of person that HAS to be prepared.

So yesterday there was MAJOR flooding.  Heavenly Father watched out for us and we weren't flooded, but numerous basement apartments for the students and some homes weren't so lucky.  The campus also had horrible flooding, with one building having a pipe burst and flood the entire place.  Here are pictures of our court.

That is the Fed-Ex man leaving after delivering Grace's package :)  Thankfully, he wasn't wet, which means people have been nice enough to go to him to get packages.  

There was hail the size of quarters but those pictures are on Daddy's phone, and I don't know if that phone works anymore!  He had it in his pocket and went to unclog a main overflow drain that was backed up.  He was soaked by the time the water was finally able to get through.  Good guy :)

Amanda

Life is Good

I just had to write that title because it is so true!!  Life is awesome and one of the big reasons is because we have Grace!!  She is really just the light of my life and her daddy's life and we are SO happy to have her!!  Today has been just a really good day, and the past few days have been really good, and life just seems so much sweeter when everything is going good.

She got to go horseback riding this morning for therapy!  And she had such a great time.  She was a little nervous in the morning and when the horses were getting tacked up, but once she was plopped on the back of her horse, she had so much fun!!  Here's some pictures :)

 Our girly is waiting to get on her horse!

 And off she goes.  She went around and around, and had such a great time :)

 She is supposed to be pulling those knobs apart but is really nervous about riding backwards.  I guess not nervous as much as cautious.  

And she's riding forwards again!

She also got to trot, ride sideways, and just really had a great time for over an hour.

It was so cute to hear her talking to the helpers.  She has this thing about talking in numbers, and so she would say, "You know what?  2 3 4."  I gave them the mama nod of "Just go with it."  So they knew to just go along with it.  Occasionally she would tell the horse to "GO FASTER!"  or "HURRY UP!" It was so cute to get to watch her :)  She was pretty much non-stop talking the whole time.  

Oh, yesterday, Sunday, we went through all of Grace's old clothes from birth to now so that I could decide what to keep and what to sell.  I kept a lot of stuff and will have a garage sale on Saturday.  Whatever is left over I will keep :)  I just really didn't think Grace needed 14 jeans for age 2T.  I think that's pretty crazy!  So I kept things from each age group so she can have some for either another sibling or when she has a daughter!

Oh, and here's something else :)  We got one package of things for Grace's birthday party and cake!  Hurray!  Oh, and there are some gifts in there as well but I'm so glad that she doesn't recognize that.

 As you can tell, it's a Jake and the Neverland Pirates birthday party!!  The paint is a gift, as well as the package underneath it.  The figurines will decorate her cake, and there's her invitation below!  Only 90 cents for 10 of them.  Awesome, right?!

Lots of wonderful things going on.  Also playing with friends, movies together, ice cream, naps, gardening with Daddy (which was so absolutely fabulous and she had such a great time with it!) and so many other fun things.  It's so wonderful seeing Grace and Daddy out in the garden together.  I love it because she has such a great time, and Daddy is so okay with her accidentally yanking out a tomato plant (which is what she did).  They just really click with one another like I've never seen a father and daughter do before.  They really just like being with one another and it doesn't matter what they are doing.  I love it.

All in all, a wonderful life.  :)

Amanda