Cherry Picking

This year the Tanners invited us to drive out to Emmett for some gool ol' cherry picking. We had a blast climbing all over each other in an attempt to get the very best cherries--which of course happened to be located in the tippy tops of the trees! Dan even got on Ben's shoulders (shouldn't it have been the other way around?) and we nearly peed our pants laughing at the spectacle.

Here we are in front of the cherry orchard

Cherry picking is not for those with a fear of heights!

Oooo that was one tart cherry!

Caught you snitching buddy! That cherry juice is a tell-tale sign!

Grant and Jake couldn't stop eating cherries even long enough for us to take a picture!

funny boys

And what cherry-picking excursion would be complete without a pit-spitting contest? If only my belly wasn't so big, I coulda' really blasted those babies!

Eagle Fun Days

We have a blast every year at the Eagle Fun Days Wet n' Wild parade. The first part of the parade is your typical floats and candy but then--the fire trucks come in and everyone breaks out the hoses and squirt guns for an all-out water drenching. And I do mean drenching! Those fire fighters hold nothing back!

Here we are at the start of the parade--still dry.

Grant can hardly wait to put his squirt gun to good use!

Ella with a mouthful of parade treats

Soak'em buddy!

Grant and his best buddy Jake ready for combat

Monkeys at the Rodeo?

So who knew it's possible to get thrown out of a FREE small-town rodeo? Well I certainly didn't. And I guess we weren't technically thrown out, but we did have to be reprimanded several times because we couldn't keep our little monkeys from climbing the fence. Who needs barrel racing and cattle roping when there's a fence to climb and rocks to throw?

On the plus side, we did see a great variety of sparkley big belt buckles and cowboy/girl hats at the Eagle Fun Days Rodeo. And wranglers as far as the eye could see.

Grant and Ella in a rare moment of truce

Monkeys on the fence and a monkey on my back--I forgot to tell Dan the rule about only taking pictures from the shoulders-up. . .

Don't ask me why his hand is on his hip--this was his own manly idea of a pose

Grant and Jake

The Ward Garden

Once again, Dan has "volunteered" to participate (translation: was suckered into participating) in the Ward garden this year. He has high hopes of a summer full of ripe tomatoes, fresh corn on the cob, and just about any other kind of produce you can imagine. We all trek over there just about every Saturday morning to watch Dan at it. I, in my pregnant state, make a great documenter/cheerleader, and the kids, when they're not huddled up against me from the cold, like to throw rocks into the irrigation ditch or play in the manure. What priceless childhood memories we are helping them make!

Just think of the food storage potential!

No, Grant is not picking weeds--just pushing his bulldozer around in the manure

Farmer Dan and his apprentice

Ella's Favorite Thing

Well, Grant is passionate about badminton . . . Ella is passionate about . . .

Chapstick.

Look at that focus!

We are considering buying stock in Chapstick since she blows through like five of these per week. But on the plus side, her little lips are always perfectly kissable!

Grant's New Favorite Thing

Who knew a four-yr.-old could be so passionate about Badminton? But our Grant definately is. The first thing he asks me after waking up and eating breakfast is, "wanna play badminton with me mom?" And he's pretty good too--especially since I am not bending over too well these days with my big ol' belly, which requires him to hit it right to me if he wants any sort of volley action. Is badminton an Olympic sport? We could be raising a champion here! Thanks again to the Target dollar bins--worth every penny!

Ready for action

Keep your eye on the birdie!

Nice stance Dan!

Grant is a frequent diver--he doesn't want to let a single point past him

This is what happens when mom tries to take a shower

Yes, that is my $40/a bottle face moisturizer slathered all over Ella . . . and the couch . . . and the ottoman . . . and look how proud she is of herself! Arghhh!

Stumped again

Here's another installment of "conversations with Grant," this time featuring Dan as the stumped parent.

Grant: "Mom, what's the biggest number EVER?"
Mom: "Infinity is the biggest number--it goes on forever and ever."
Grant: "No, infinity is NOT the biggest number, 1,000 is."
Mom: That's a big number, but not as big as a million, or a billion, or a trillion. And definitely not as big as infinity."
Grant: "No it's not."
Mom: "Yes it is."
Grant: "No it's not."

(Stage note--this verbal joust continues for sometime until. . .)

Mom: "Yes it is--ask Dad."
Grant: "Dad, what's the biggest number ever?"
Dan (walking right into Grant's trap): "Infinity, buddy."
Grant: "No it's not."
Dan: "Then what's the biggest number, do you think?"
Grant (rolling his eyes at how easily he's won this match): "and beyond."

Dang, this kid is good.

Kids say the darndest things. . .

Grant is obsessed these days with who or what is the biggest, fastest, tallest, oldest--you get the idea. The other day we were driving in the car having this conversation for the hundredth time and he asked me who was the best at everything in the whole world. I thought about this a bit, and answered that I guess God is the only one who is the best at everything. That seemed to stump him for a while at least, as I heard nothing else about it for the rest of the day.

Then yesterday we are laying on my bed talking and he asks to play "Cece ol' playmate," you know, the clapping game, "come down and play with me, and bring you're dollies three, climb up my apple tree. . ." He likes to start out slow and then do it faster and faster. So we are going along at a pretty good clip, about as fast as I can go without missing his little hands and slapping him in the face, and when we finish that round he says, "OK mom, that was pretty fast, but this time let's do it faster than God!"

And I'm like, "what did you say buddy?"

And he says nonchalantly, "you know, faster than God."

So I say, "where did you hear that buddy? Do your friends say that?"

And he says, "God is the best at everything, so I want to go faster than God."

Well, now guess which one of us was stumped. Pretty logical thinking for a for year old.