Boy oh boy

My little boys are so darned much fun.  They are a constantly changing bunch of surprises.  Having raised boys, I thought I'd seen in all.  But the mind plays tricks and luckily makes it possible to forget!  In the meantime, my grandsons are cracking me up:

Brady was in trouble and had to sit on the Time Out bench.  Doesn't he look miserable?



This is Jude, 6:00 a.m., complete with backpack and binoculars, checking to see if Ada is awake yet. 


When Drew spots a puddle there's no stopping until we can get IN it.  I have to admit I'm a sucker for puddles, as well -


Brady wanted his picture taken while going in reverse on the little 4-wheeler.  He explained later that he can't go backwards AND smile at the same time:)


Happiness is one puddle, two boys, two sticks.  Nuff said.



BUG!!!  I love this picture.

Jude can go backward, forward and through the daffodils while smiling!


Yesterday there were 2 ladybugs swimming in my coffee.  There was also one little guilty face peeking out from behind the chair.  I provided the expected response, but truly, there's nothing like a couple of little arachnids (?) to give you a morning kicker. 

Brotherly love, what's up with this???

Brady and Drew are like peas and carrots.  I snapped these pictures one rainy morning while Brady was reading stories to Drew.  It was a stitch.  Plus, they sat there for the longest time and I snapped a new picture each time I checked on them.














Ever since Drew was a tiny little thing (as you can see, he's a real boy now) Brady has treated him as an equal.  He includes Drew in every discovery and every conversation.  Often times it's a bit frustrating when Drew doesn't pay attention or has another project in mind.  But for the most part, they are like BFF and it's a kick to watch them interact.  They do so well together 90% of the time and I often think they are an unusual team, one for the record books.  In fact, on the rare occasion that Brady tackles Drew from behind, I have to smile because it seems like a more normal form of brotherly love:) 

Brady is very protective of Drew and is always watching out for his safety.  Oh, Ter-Ter......you'd better move that up or Drewey is going to get into it!  Oh Ter-Ter......you'd better move that higher!
Drewey, hold on to the railing, what are you thinking?? 

Yook what I found, Drewey!  Yet's play this game, Drewey, you can be the girl.  Drew, yet's wear one green boot and one yeyyow boot and it will make Ter-Ter yaugh. 

It's impossible not to laugh around these two, together they are candidates for a comic strip!

A matter of life and death

Jude is quite the little thinker.  We were in the kitchen recently baking Pizelle (again) and he wanted to talk about dying. 

I think he first learned about dying when he was being prepared by his parents for his great grandmother's funeral last summer.  At the time, he was not quite 3 years old.  I remember the day of her service so clearly.  Jude's great grandmother was my mother-in-law, a woman I had learned to love, respect, and appreciate;  Ben was going to eulogize her and he's such a wonderful speaker, I wanted to be there with him;  Jude did not respond well to the scene in the funeral home, so I kept him with me in the very last row of the chapel. When Ben got up to speak, Jude escaped my grip and ran up the center aisle, DADDY!  Ben, the consumate teacher, handled the situation beautifully.  And this is Jude, my Oma's great grandson.  I'm glad you came up here, Jude.  Jude was then escorted OUT by his mother before he could take over the microphone.

Anyway, I digress.

Our recent conversation in the kitchen, nearly six months later, was not a matter of life and death.  It was much more important than that.



Jude:  Nini, what happens right before you die? 

Me:  Well, first of all, dying is not a bad thing, Jude, everybody gets to do it.  And the BEST way to die is after you've lived a nice long life and have lots of stories to tell.  You want to live a good life, too, so you don't feel bad about anything when you die.

Jude:  Oh.  But why do you die? 

Me:  Well, it's because your body wears out.  Like some of your toys that get old and don't work anymore. 

Jude:  Oh. 

Me:  Do you think you will come to visit me when I get old?

Jude:  It might not be a Nini-day on the day you get old.  But maybe Brady can come. 

Me:  Ok. 

Jude:  I want to die on the same day you die, Nini. 

Me:  That would be perfect, Jude, because I don't think I could live without you.

Where have we been???

Well, I'm not sure what happened to most of January and all of February, but now it's March, for heaven's sake.  Because I don't want any of these amazing days to blur in my head, here's a little catch-up pictoral of life at Grammy Camp in the dead of winter.  I should mention that nobody calls me Grammy, but, whatever:)



There was enough snow ONE DAY to get out there and pretend we lived in Anchorage.  Drew wasn't too sure about this stuff......


Brady really loved the scene and hiked all over the field -


This is Frosty the Leafman


Jude and Ada settled in on the counter for a long discussion of something important, no doubt.


Ada is riding the rocking camel, side-saddle, very ladylike:)  This camel was a gift from their great grandparents to Jackson Grove who outgrew it about 15 years ago. 


Jude is helping make Pizelle.  Typically, we only make Pizelle at Christmastime, but now it seems we make it on request:)


Brady is swimming in a small sea of wine corks!


Drew stood at the window one entire morning, watching the arborists trim the fruit trees -


Jude, the Paratrooper


Don't jump, Jude!


I love it when a little one is old enough to sit happily on the kitchen counter.  This is Ada, so busy with a pen and a scrap of paper. 


January was rather action-packed, actually, now that I think about it.  Ben and Linden moved to a new home which created a alot of activity leading up to the blessed event:)  Not to mention the activity around the settling in process.  I had the kids here in an attempt to keep them out of harm's way during the move and it was interesting to talk with Jude during that weekend.  He was nervous about the process, "But my bed won't fit in Dad's car.  And my dresser, Nini, it's so FRAGILE."  I took them home to the new house the day after the move and all his fears were aleviated when he saw his NEW ROOM with all his familiar things in it.  Linden must have really scrambled to get Jude & Ada's rooms in perfect working order before we got there. They nailed it. From that moment on, both children were so jumping-up-and-down excited about their new home. 

Anyway, so far the weather hasn't been so bad that we have started feeling like a bunch of compressed molecules.  And spring is in the works.  Yesterday was a glorious teaser but today feels like winter again.  The daffodils are running late but promise to be a real photo op when they all bloom. 

New lineup in the stairwell

Every three months I have to update the photos in the stairwell. I try to capture their current spunkishness in the process.  This is Drew wondering how to get out of the tight spot he just got himself into -



This was Ada on Christmas Eve.  She was all dressed up in a pink velvet dress and I said, oh Ada, you look so beautiful, do you think I should take your picture?  She instantly ran over, sat down and struck the perfect pose -



This is a wonderful picture of Brady which I stole from their current family photo. 



And this is Jude.  I stole this shot from Ben's blog.  Jude was sitting on THE REAL Santa's lap and I love this tentative not-so-sure-about-this-whole-Santa-thing-but-he-gave-me-a-candycane-so-maybe-he's-not-so-bad look on his face.  Very expressive.  The photo in the stairwell is full size, but for some techy reason, he came up feeling rather tiny here:



So that's the lineup for January 2012.  They will all probably appear in a real lineup someday, but for now, I've got them contained, safe and sound, in the stairwell:)

Christmas weekend

The obligatory Christmas picture in front of the tree.  Wait a minute, where's Ada?  (See that little blur to the left?) 



Oh, there she is. 



Ok, now Brady, hang on to Drew while we get Ada's hair out of her face......



And there you have it.  Nice work, team, G'Ma is happy.  Now you can go play:)



But look who showed up -                                



Jude swears he was a good boy ALL YEAR:)



Coincidentally, Brady was a good boy all year:)                                



Ada wants none of this Santa business.  She'll take the present, but only because he's forcing it on her....



Drew is not sure he trusts what's in this package.  He's heard those stories about sticks and lumps of coal......



It was a Christmas Eve day at the ranch, filled with family and food;  a few bloody mary's, a few oyster shooters, a few people in the sauna, and in keeping with the reverence of the day, a couple of rocket launchings in the field.....



Christmas Day at Andy & Jen's house turns up a couple of new scooters



So who needs all those presents??  Bring on the bubbles:)



A nice little group around the snacks in Andy & Jen's kitchen.......



And then, the reason for the season: 
Happy Birthday to you....happy birthday TOOO you, happy BIRTHday, Baby Jesus, happy birthday tooo YOU...........


Christmas, 2011.  It's a wrap.  At my house, the tree, the lights and all the decorations are still up and operational.  I like the way they light up these long dark evenings.  I would leave them up all year, but there's a point where they become SO not cool.  I try to go the full 12 days of Christmas so I'm hoping the tree doesn't burst into flames in the next 4 days.  I also hope we can somehow manage to keep the magic alive for these four little wide-eyed believers.  Today is January 1, 2012.  Wow.  A brand new year; the last one gone like a bunch of dry leaves on a windy day.  I know I will remember 2011 because the growth and changes have been so amazing and so constant.  Ahead is a blank canvas and I have four paintbrushes ready to go.  God willing, we can keep the children well and healthy so they can create a 2012 masterpiece.  Happy New Day:)

Decking the halls

We all know there is alot to do to get ready for the holidays.  Luckily this year I had some extra help or I never would have been ready in time. 

Drew was in charge of polishing up the mirrors.....


Drew and Brady worked together to clean out a few drawers.....


Jude and Ada helped put up the outdoor lights.  Here, they are taking a break so they could throw a few things over the bank......


Ada thinks Santa should be a girl.  I agree.


Jude and Ada helped trim the tree......


Brady supervised the changing up of the display in the dining room......


It was a big job and required a nap.  What a face.


And we can't forget the Christmas baking!  Ada is INTO it!


It was one hilarious day and did I mention Steve Jobs stopped by?


Aunt Kathy and Jen should have a cooking show:)


And here is the picture of the week before Christmas.  The little Santa (above Ada's head) would kick his feet and splish splash, he's taking a bath.  Jen turned it into an exercise class and everyone joined in:)


We may have thought the Christmas season was fun BEFORE, but it was nothing in comparison to a season filled with wide-eyed little action-packed cousins.  We were living large these days and the best was yet to come.  Next up:  Christmas weekend.  Fasten your seatbelt:)