We enjoyed celebrating Grant this month.... can hardly imagine 11 years ago that cute little guy came into my life.... all the way out in Brooklyn, NY! I remember wanting so badly for Grant to arrive before Halloween day so that we could celebrate our last New York Halloween in the city, instead of being stuck in the hospital. And he DID!! It was an easy delivery and he was such an easy baby. And we had the best Halloween ever- I felt so excited and so full of joy at the arrival of my sweet baby boy. Since then, Grant has continued to make our lives full of excitement and joy. This year for his birthday, Grant wanted a boating party with his buddies. So that's exactly what we did! Blake and I and 10 little 10 year olds went out all afternoon on the boat- Grant loved showing off his wake surfing skills and the kids tubed for hours and hours! Then came home and swam, played soccer, opened gifts and ate a Cold Stone ice cream cake-- all of Grant's birthday wishes came true in a major way. On his actual birthday, Grant asked for Hawaiian haystacks for dinner, donuts for dessert and he was so excited to go to Belmont Park with Brandon after school to celebrate. We decorated with Simpsons memes and he opened his one big present- an electric skateboard. Very very unfortunately, on his one and only excursion with said electric skateboard, he rode up to the neighbors' house and accidentally fell off in an attempt to avoid the dog- leaving the skateboard to head at about 12 miles per hour straight into the swimming pool and sink swiftly to the bottom. The electric skateboard was no longer to be. He was comforted mightily by mom and dad and little sister (see note and flowers). Good thing Grant never wants for much and is so quick to earn (and then spend) money. We're certain with Christmas around the corner, he may have a second chance. But what a bummer!!! And yet, such a typical Grant story. Love that kid with all my heart. Here's an excerpt from his journal:
Favorite things:
You love anything sports related! Soccer, lacrosse, basketball, football, tennis, surfing, skiing, skim boarding, rock climbing, wake surfing, tubing, scootering, etc. You are an active kid and love sports more than anything on earth. And you excel at everything you try! You are a natural born athlete. This year, all organized sports were put on hold due to Covid-19 and so you found that you enjoyed more recreational types of sports just as much as organized. You hiked, biked, scootered, rock climbed, cliff jumped, camped, and everything in between. Your best friend is Brandon Jones, but you are also very good friends with Carson Klein, and Liz Doud. You are a good friend to everyone you meet and a natural born leader. You stand up for kids and are not afraid to make sure everyone is taken care of. It is a talent you have! Favorite form of entertainment is YouTube- Dude Perfect, Mr. Beast. You love good movies too! Harry Potter movies are your favorites. Speaking of Harry Potter, this year you read all 7 books start to finish and were so incredibly sad when it all ended. You then began reading all 5 Percy Jackson books and went on to read the prequels! You listen to the books rather than read them because you claim you can’t focus as well when you are reading as opposed to listening. You are certainly an auditory learner- this is your strength and you struggle a little when you are in charge of the reading and the comprehension. Math and science are by far your best subjects- you HATE writing. You are very interested in music— you took piano lessons this year— a full year- before deciding you didn’t enjoy practicing too much and quit. Then you picked up ukulele and practiced all summer! You are in the 5th grade band playing trumpet this year and you are loving that. You enjoy building and dreaming about amusement parks— it’s been a huge bummer to have all the amusement parks closed this year because Disneyland and Universal are your happy places. Your favorite food is chicken squares, Dominos pizza, granola with milk, ice cream and sour patch kids. You love sprite! You are a great baker and an awesome cook. You are a pro boater and know how to help launch, prep and dock a boat. You love being out on the lake and boating every Friday after school. You love being dropped off at the skate park on Tuesdays and Thursdays with your buddy Carson. You love riding your bike to the gas station- a mile away. You love being independent and solving problems all on your own. You like to spend time with your family and friends. You love cuddling with your cat Louie and your kitten Ruby. You love dogs and all animals. You hope to one day have a pet dog!
Memories/ stories:
This year started with all sorts of plans— soccer tournaments were lined up every weekend, lacrosse games twice weekly! Trips away, an annual Disneyland pass and chorus/piano performances! Finishing off a strong 4th grade year with an amazing teacher- Mrs. Carter. But then Covid-19 hit and everything closed down. School, social gatherings, soccer, lacrosse, church, community…. Everything closed. And of course, you handled it all in stride. Instead of weekly soccer tournaments and lacrosse games- you camped, you hiked, you biked, you went surfing, boating at the lake and played pickle-ball in the backyard. Instead of attending school, you worked hard virtually to fulfill all of your assignments and to stay caught up. You missed amusement parks, and friends and parties, but you stayed positive and upbeat for the most part throughout the year 2020 when everything seemed so worrisome and strange. Our family bought a boat this year and you were a natural in every way - wave surfing, wake boarding and learning all of the ropes of boating. You rock climbed and biked all throughout Yosemite, and Big Bear. You camped on the beach for a week in Carlsbad- learned to surf and skim board like a pro, got stung by a sting ray but bravely let it go and went back in the waves the next day. You traveled 14 hours to Idaho to visit the Tetons National Park and spend a week doing homeschool in a picturesque cabin in Victor, ID. You visited Jackson Hole, Wyoming and spent the day at BYU in Provo. You spent a few weekends boating at Lake Mead and snow skiing in the local mountains. You surfed at Pismo Beach and visited the National Olympus Forrest in Washington. You enjoyed every minute of your trip to Seattle, WA to visit cousins and Grammy and Papa. It’s been an incredible year! When I envision you for the year 2020, I think about a kid who scooters around the house while listening to Harry Potter books, who LOVED watching the Back to the Future trilogy, who begs daily to attend the skate park so he can practice new tricks on his scooter, who loves trying new things and laughs out loud constantly. You are an amazing kid whom we adore and treasure. You are unique and kind, funny, talented, athletic, smart, a leader, outgoing, comfortable, unselfish and all around wonderful. We love you Grant!
