Who said tea parties are just for girls?

Grant was invited to his friend, Ella's, 4th birthday party which we found out was a tea party after we arrived. It didn't disappoint Grant in the least. He fit right in and insisted on making the fuzzy flip-flops and wearing a hat & necklace while sipping his pink lemonade.

All Bundled Up & Ready to Go

We have begun preparations for our first ski trip as a family. We have been fortunate to be invited to travel with some friends and neighbors to Crested Butte Colorado after Christmas for a week of skiing. Since this will be Grant's first time skiing we have had to buy cold weather gear. We tried on some of it the other night to see how it fits. Grant wasn't too sure about it but is a good sport and looking forward to the trip.

Decorating the Gingerbread House

It's become a bit of a tradition without intending to, but it seems Grant decorates a gingerbread house each year at Christmas time. He has fun decorating but enjoys eating it the most.

Can you do this?

I had to take a picture of this for the sheer fact that I have a picture of myself doing the same thing at the same age. When I walked in the room and saw him sucking his toe I couldn't believe it. Who else does this? Must be weird Hanson genes.

Daddy's Little Helper

Over the nice weekend we worked on getting the bikes all up and going. Grant helped John change a flat and then they both washed their bikes in the driveway.

A Clean Car is a Happy Car

Grant has been taking great pride in his Gator he got from Santa last year. He recently spent an afternoon hand washing it making sure not to miss a spot.

Yuck! I don't like to clean my messes!

After battling with Grant on the importance of hitting the toilet and not succeeding, I had to try a new approach. Grant had to clean the toilet and floor himself. He did not like it and said it smelled too bad. Believe it or not his aim has drastically improved.

Our Trip to Walt Disney World

John had his annual ISSA show in Orlando during the week of October 23-27th so Grant and I got to tag along and go to Disney World. John was able to join us for all but one day. This was Grant's second trip but he really didn't remember the first trip so this was so much fun. What a perfect age. He still believes in all the characters and just made the 40" mark so he could ride almost all the rides. We spent 2 days at Magic Kingdom, and one day at each: Epcot, MGM and Animal Kingdom. We did several character dinings, watched Fantasmic!, Spectromagic Parade and the fireworks at Magic Kingdom.

Funny Boy on a Bike

Grant is always making us laugh. He now has learned how to put his helmet on by himself although sometimes as you can see he gets it on backwards. He wants to ride his bike everyday.

Natural Born Tree Climber

Grant has found his talent. He loves to climb trees. He's not scared of heights which is a bit scary. We have to be careful when he plays outside because before we know it he's up in the top of the trees with his blankie in tow.

Grant and his Cats

Grant loves his two cats. They are quite patient with him as you can see. He likes to put his clothes on Callie. She sits still for him to dress her up and leaves them on until I take them off. I found her in the shower yesterday with Grant's monster truck underwear on.

Grant's first time fishing

With a brand new Batman fishing pole and his own tackle box, Grant got to go fishing for the first time. We went to the small Club Lake just outside Stephenville. Using worms Grant was able to catch his first fish, a really big perch at that. After his first fish he caught a couple more and each time he would say, "Wow! It's a really big one!" even though they were tiny perch. One thing about a 4 year old fishing is they don't have much patience. When Grant wasn't catching anything he would get bored quickly. Watching that cork wasn't that fun after a while. Watch the slide show and you can see the highs and lows of fishing for Grant.

Our Trip to Panama and the The Pearl Islands

Last week we traveled to Panama and the Pearl Islands for a really fun trip. We got to see Humpback whales up close in the Pacific. We also traveled to many of the islands that the reality show Survivor was filmed on. We saw leftover props from tribal council and challenges. The pictures you see in the beginning of the slide show are from Miami where we missed our flight and had 6 hours to kill. We made the best of it and toured some of Miami.

Gone to the Birds!

Grant and I spent a morning at the Stephenville City Park. We had the park to ourselves and the ducks. Grant fed the ducks bread and for the first time I can ever remember, didn't eat any of the bread himself. It wasn't even moldy!

Hot Fun in the Sun

We spent a hot afternoon in Arlington for Grant's first trip to Six Flags Over Texas. He had fun despite the heat but wasn't happy that he couldn't ride most of the rides. He wanted to ride all the big roller coasters but didn't make the height requirements. He tried though! The next day we went to Hurricane Harbor where he was able to ride more rides. He isn't scared of anything and rode every ride they would let him.

John and Grant going down the slides side by side

A Delicious Crop!

Our fruit trees have done well this year. Both apple trees had a bumper crop even though they are only 5 years old. Grant has enjoyed watching, picking, and eating! Elizabeth proud of her apples
Grant enjoys! Hauling a few in his Gator

Camping in the Backyard

After months of asking to go camping, we bought a Wal-mart tent and put it up for the kids in the backyard. With some help, it went up fairly smoothly and the kids enjoyed some modern camping complete with rented movies, popcorn, and a portable DVD player. Even with all that -they only lasted a couple hours before finding their way back inside for the night.

Biker Boy!

Grant got his first bicycle for his 4th birthday from our good friends, The Kirbos. Grant has had fun riding it (with training wheels of course). He even took a free bike safety course at the park and got a new free helmet. After a scrape from a fall, Mom added the gloves and pads.

Take Our Picture Mama!

Grant loves his kitties, Izzie and Callie. He loves to hold them down and tell me to take a picture. The cats don't seem to mind - they still purr the whole time and come back for more. He even dresses them with his clothes and they don't care.

Grandma Hanson comes to visit

Over the 4th of July holiday, my Mom and sister Laurel came to visit. Unfortunately, they drove all the way down to stay for only 2 days before having to return unexpectedly for Dad's back surgery. On the way back they broke down in New Mexico and Colorado but made it to Cheyenne just minutes before Dad's delayed surgery. Mom brought down her accordion. She played it as a child with her Dad. She even had accordion lessons. It was really fun to listen and watch. Grant really liked it.

Dublin Dr. Pepper 116 Year Birthday Celebration

We spent the morning at Dublin for the annual birthday celebration of Dublin Dr. Pepper. John ran the 10 K while I ran/walked the 4 K with Grant in the stroller. Grant had fun at the many booths and activities.

John, Elizabeth and Grant before the races in Dublin
John finishes 49:49 at 49 years of age!

John and Grant enjoy cold watermelon after the race

I'm suppose to do what?

Grant figured out the cow milking booth and didn't want to stopAfter a long wait in line Grant gets his own custom made airplane balloon