What better way to beat the heat...

than to go to the beach!!! We just came home from three days at the beach. In January Jeff and I stayed at this great hotel in Huntington Beach for my birthday. While we were there we said that we had to come back with the kids in the summer, since it was directly across the street from the sand. The Black's joined us for some fun in the sun.

The kids looking for buried treasure.

Emerson learning how to boogy board.

Brennan LOVING being on the board.

Emma and Kaitlyn playing in the sand.

Lots of love,

The Grady's

UGH!!!!

Does everything need to be an argument???? I mean "COME ON!".

• Why do I have to wear THAT outfit?
• He got more than I did!
• I don't like those shoes, why can't I wear these?
• I want apple juice, I don't like water!
• I don't want to watch that show! He chose last time!
• Why does the TV have to be off, I want to watch it ALL day!
• I don't like this food, why do I have to try it?
• How many bites?
• WHHHHHHYYYYYY????

AAAARRRRRGGGHHHH!!!!!

The joys of parenting....

Lots of love,

The Grady's

Twin LOVE!

I went to visit my best friend from college, Temma, yesterday in Santa Monica. I have not been able to see her beautiful twin boys since about a week after they were born. And boy have they grown now!

They are just precious!!!

Cole

Asher

Lots of love,


The Grady's

Gotta love CA!

At 11:42 am yesterday the ground was certainly shaking! 5.4 to be exact! I just happened to be in L.A. at that exact time, so needless to say I have experienced yet another earthquake in CA. I must admit you don't quite get used to the rolling of the ground or the roar in the air, but honestly I still choose those over tornadoes, hurricanes, etc.

Lots of love,
The Grady's

Seattle Part 2

A picture story...The University of Washington stadium, Emerson enjoying swimming in the spa, Emerson climbing the rock wall at the Pacific Science Center, Daddy and Brennan enjoying the electric boat ride on the lake, Em and Bren keeping safe with their life jackets, Daddy and Emerson on the front of the boat, Pikes Place Market, and finally Brennan with his little sneaky smile:)

Lots of love,

The Grady's

I am SO excited!!!

My amazing friend Carrie has been talking about flying out, with her great husband Austin, in October for the Jimmy Buffett concert in San Diego. Well, talking has turned into booking the flight, buying the concert tickets, and reserving the hotel room! I wasn't letting myself get excited over the talk....but now....I cannot wait!

Lots of love,
The Grady's

P.S. Still in Seattle...flying home in the morning...will post more Seattle pics soon.

Alki Beach

I was going to hang on to these for a later post, but changed my mind (thanks to Paige:))

We took a little scenic drive to W. Seattle to Alki Beach. My parents had never been there and I found it online (of course) as a great place to take kids. It was SO cute. Reminded me of La Jolla or Catalina, cutesy beach town with fun restaurants and beach access. The kids had a great time playing in the sand, collecting shells, running in the water, finding crabs, and just enjoying being outside.

Lots of love,

The Grady's

Comments...

I know that I, that many others, LOVE to get mail (you know the kind from the mailbox), emails (I check mine often) and comments on my blog. Yes, comments! I KNOW (or at least hope) that more people read the blog than Aimee and Paige (whom I LOVE for commenting!). I know there are more people out there.

I am calling you out! If you read and have any thoughts on the craziness that I write, please comment. I would love to hear from you!!!

Lots of love,
The Grady's

Overboard

No, not one of the kids...something else.

We are keeping the tooth fairy very busy this month! Emerson's front, upper tooth has been sorta loose for over a year now. It is the tooth that is next to the tooth that she accidentally knocked out over a year ago. But, over the last couple of weeks it has become much looser and we have just been waiting for it to come out. Yesterday, she bite on something during dinner and cringed because it moved the tooth even more. So, I teased her that she just needed to eat something else and maybe it would come out. So her and Brennan were up with grandpa having their treats, when she comes running downstairs saying "Mommy, my tooth is out! But, I don't know where it it." So we go upstairs to look for it, when grandpa whispers to me "I threw it overboard, I wasn't paying attention and thought it was a crumb!". LOLOLOLOL!!! After calmly telling Emma what happened and calming her down we decided that the best thing to do was to write the tooth fairy a letter in hopes that she would still come for a visit. Phew, diaster averted!

(the wording is entirely her own!)

Lots of love,

The Grady's

Seattle- Part 1

The kids and I flew into Seattle last Tuesday to visit grandma and grandpa on their boat. Both kids were so excited to go back to Seattle (we did the same trip last summer) and also to fly on an airplane again. I swear these kids are going to be expert travellers before the age of 10! And they LOVE it!

Here is our view from the boat each day.

More updates to follow!

Lots of love,

The Grady's

Tired of having pictures taken perhaps?

Haha!!!! Couldn't help but laugh at these shots!

Lots of love,

The Grady's

Our toothless wonder!

Another one bites the dust! (remember that song?!?!) Emerson has lost yet another tooth! That makes 5! And she isn't even 6 years old yet, like all the books tell you! At this rate she will have a full set of permanent teeth before she is 8!!! I mean the first tooth loss was not exactly natural (falling on your face never is!), but the other 4 have been completely anatural! Check out the new smile!

Lots of love,

The Grady's

I love presents!

I decided that I needed...no wanted....no HAD to have this one thing. It has been on my mind for at least 6 months. I have saved every extra dollar in my purse, confiscated every dollar (and even a $5 bill) from the washing machine, put away any money I have won at Bunco (I win frequently, they hate me for that, dumb luck I suppose!), and not bought that morning coffee....just so I could save enough to buy this. I mean, really, if after 6 months I still REALLY wanted it, doesn't that mean I should get it? So...it came yesterday and I am in love! It was SO worth the wait...now if I could just figure out how to use it we would be golden!!!!
Lots of love,
The Grady's

Had to share...

We had these pictures taken over Memorial Day weekend and I finally got the link to share. So excited with the results!

If you want you can see the whole session by going to https://smilestore.picturepeople.com/ and log in with kdgrady@yahoo.com and the passcode as "welcome".

Lots of love,

The Grady's

She is SO my daughter!

Yesterday morning Emerson and I were eating breakfast and she looks at me and says, "Mommy, can we change my room around today? I want my bed in a different spot." My craziness must be rubbing off on her!

The before...

The after...

Lots of love,

The Grady's

Independence Day

Happy 4th of July!
We celebrated the 4th at our friend's the Geraci's house, alongside the Black and Romano families. Swimming, bbqing, games, and fireworks, a perfect day. Oh, but did I mention it was still 110 outside? And humid? YUCK! Needless to say we still had a great day celebrating!

Brotherly/Sisterly LOVE!

Bathing Beauty Emerson

Brennan swimming with Auntie Tif

Lauren and Kaitlyn loving

The 4th isn't complete without some fun fireworks!

Lots of love,

The Grady's

in case you were wondering...

I didn't get sucked up by the vacuum nor did I get lost somewhere...I have been trying to make every minute count this past week. Today is my last day with no kiddos, their last day of summer camp. So all those uninterrupted hours of cleaning/organizing/etc. are gone at 3pm today. But I am sure I will still get plenty done at home (yeah right!) but one last day to relish running errands without dragging two kids with me in the 115 degree heat!
I hope to have some good 4th of July pictures to share after tomorrow!

Lots of love,
The Grady's

Vacation?

So the kids are at camp from 9-3 each day, which means I should have 6 hours all to myself. I could be watching movies, scrapbooking, getting a pedicure, reading a book, laying by the pool, whatever I want, right? Well, for the last 4 days I have cleaned all the carpets in our house, cleaned our couch with that same carpet/upholstery cleaner, cleaned out the linen closet, organized all the kid's art stuff, fixed our toilet, trimmed the palms outside, done countless loads of laundry, rearranged the office, filed papers, and loaded and unloaded the dishwasher more times than I would like to count. Is this what vacation is?

Lots of love,
The Grady's

Ohio Bound!

Our Ohio adventure started Sunday with a drive to Ontario to stay the night in a hotel since our flight was so early the following morning. We woke early Monday morning and made our way to the airport. Had a very easy trip through security and waited patiently for our flight. Brennan and I sat together and Grandma sat with Emerson in the row in front of us. First flight to Las Vegas, then from there onto Columbus. We arrived in Columbus at 4pm and got our car and headed over to the Gresham's house. The kids did amazingly well during this long day of travel!

We were greeted by the whole family, who was just as excited as we were to be there! Monday night we had such a relaxing night with the kids playing and running around Carrie and Austin's beautiful backyard.

Tuesday we woke up and decided to head out to COSI (still not sure what that stand for!), in downtown Columbus. It is this great children's science center. The kids had a ball playing in the water area, dressing up like doctors, climbing in a submarine, adventuring through years past, and hanging out under a tree.

Wednesday we headed out early to Amish country to meet up with Kathy's (Jeff's stepmom) relatives. They drove up from Cleveland to meet up there. Amish country is so amazing to see. It is truly like taking a step back in time. We had a wonderful visit with Grandma, Aunt Judy, and cousins Katie, Becky, and Patty (and Patty's three little boys!). As we made our way back to Carrie's house the kids crashed, what an eventful day for them.

Thursday we took our time in the morning and then headed out to Easton, THE best shopping area I think I have been to. They had every store imaginable! Too bad we had 5 kids with us, although come to think of it they probably saved us a ton of money! LOL! Thursday night the adults, and Baby Cohen, had a great dinner out. Something about being able to have a conversation and eat our food slowly is just so fun!

Our visit to see the Gresham's went way too fast! We so enjoyed spending our time with Carrie, Austin, Cameron, Kennedy, and Cohen. The kids had the best time just running around the house playing inside and out. The weather was so beautiful compared to our normal summer weather at home. Emerson and Kennedy loved to play dress up!The boys loved to run around and ride on the quad and jeep. Although I am not sure that Emerson wanted to let Baby Cohen go!

Lots of love,

The Grady's