Happy Birthday Grandma Grimm!

Last Saturday, my Grandma turned 90 years old. This woman is amazing!!! She still insists on mowing her lawn, to our dismay, as well as walks on her treadmill every morning and volunteers at the Union Station in Ogden a couple of times a week. She has a bird named Paco that is her buddy, and she still drives herself to the store. I can't even begin to tell you all how much I love her. She is the best! I feel so lucky to have her as my grandma, and I am even more grateful for the love she has for me. She has taught me so much, (except how to make her chocolate cake--well, she has, I guess I am just a bad student!)
We had a big family party for her and most of my cousins came in from out of town to celebrate. It was so fun to see everyone and realize that it had been about 10 years since we had seen some of the cousins. My Grandma was as happy as could be and by the end of the night, worn out. We even got to feast at the Golden Corral. It doesn't get much better than that. (Can you sense a slight tone of sarcasm?) The finally kicked us out when my dad started a food fight. (Not joking about the food fight!) It was fun to be with family, especially since everyone is spread out all over the country and world. (My cousin lives in England) I hope that my Grandma has more years to stay with us, because it just won't be the same without her. Happy Belated Birthday, Grandma! I love you!

The whole family, minus a few.

Here is all the grandkids and spouses. Scott was sick that day, so he wasn't able to make it...

The latest on what's going on here...

Man, do the days of winter pass slow or what? On top of the pressure/stress/craziness going on at our house, it has been really hard to just be home. I wish I could talk about all the fun things we have been doing, but really, who wants to read about how I have had the chance to rearrange everything in my closet, get caught up on small chores around here that needed to have attention, and the ever growing laundry pile? Hence, the absence in my blog. We have done well as a family...everyone is adjusting to the fact that we are in a tough spot right now, and might not climb out for a while. But, not to shed a dark cloud. We are hoping for some good news this week. Scott has been waiting for weeks now for an answer from a firm in Layton. We are praying for good news! And, I have to be honest. Whenever that day comes that he actually has to go back to work, I think I will curl up in a ball and cry because he has been so helpful. I haven't taken Ethan to school for weeks. We have had the chance to stay in bed while the other one gets the boys going on breakfast, and I have some help in the middle of the night without guilt. If I think its hard now, boy am I going to get smacked upside the head!

Well, our boys are great. Beautiful, wonderful, and of course keep us on our toes.
There have been a few firsts around here for Camden. He is now sitting up rather well, but still needs a little support. He is now rolling around, but still gets stuck on his arm and screams for help. He also is doing a back crawl, which is hard to describe. But it gets him where he needs to go. His hair is turning so blonde it's almost white. He is loving big people food, and actually thinks that my plate of food is to share with him. He doesn't really love baby food, and really really doesn't like the vegetables. All he has to do is flash those big blue eyes at me, and I am suckered in. It's not hard, and he knows it. But the one that has me sad is the fact that he is cutting his two bottom teeth. I am following suit like I have done with the other two and have cried all day about it. I don't know why I hate the first two teeth so much. I guess it's a sign to me that they are getting big, and I better hold on because the fun is about to really begin. There is something about a baby's gummy smile that just has my heart, and I hate to see that go. Plus, I hate the fact that I am now a teething ring. Nonetheless, they have to grow up. I just don't have to like it!

Aiden is doing so well with speaking. His new thing is "Guess what?" "I love you!" For all the struggles we have had with him this past year and a half, it is so fun to hear a new word come out of his mouth. I love this little boy so much and am grateful to be his mom. He has taught me so much more than I ever thought I could know, and I am grateful for it. He is so smart too. He is recognizing the number 6 in books, and is good to point it out. He still loves Lightning McQueen and Chick Hicks, but we have come to a manageable level with them. It is crazy to think that we are looking on to start preschool for him in the fall and that he will be 3 soon. I am glad that he is feeling like he can communicate with us better and not scream every time he needs something. There is nothing more frustrating that not being able to understand what your child needs or wants because he doesn't know how to tell you. We are still climbing the mountain with him, it's just not as steep anymore.

Ethan continues to be my great helper boy. We really lucked out with him. What a great kid. He is doing well at learning his ABC's and really has an interest in coloring a lot lately. And transformers. He still loves to be right by my side if he isn't with a friend. He loves to help me with Camden, and I am grateful for his help. Many times in a day he will say, "Mom, do you know how much I love you?" The only thing that I have noticed with him is that I can't keep food in him. I swear his leg is hollow. We just keep filling up the tank and go on. We are scheduled to get his kindergarten shots next week, followed by a trip to Baskin Robbins for our favorite pink bubble gum ice cream. (Yes, I have brainwashed him. It's my favorite!) I don't think that the whole kindergarten thing is sinking in, and I am pretty sure that he thinks teacher Jana is going to be his teacher forever.

Anyway, that is about all for us. If you made it this far, I guess I should have warned you that you would need a snack because it is so long. I am grateful for trials, whether it be children or no job. I know they make you stronger, because I feel a little stronger through all of this. Or maybe I just haven't even begun to understand this trial at all!

Mickey Mouse

Last Saturday, we had the opportunity to take the boys to see Playhouse Disney. I won't say it was my favorite thing to do, but the boys sure loved it. Ethan's face was priceless...too bad our camera didn't take any good pictures. Needless to say it was a nice distraction from the crap going on in our lives right now. For a few hours after the show, Ethan kept asking why we had to leave Mickey Mouse and when could we go to Disneyland??? I wonder the same thing! It was a lot of fun to see the magic on their faces as they saw their favorite characters. Hopefully one day soon we can take them to Disneyland! Oh, and just so you know, Scott has his fourth interview today with a firm in Layton. Good luck babe!

Right to the heart...

What a week we have had. Life is changing as we know it, and so far really good. On Monday I was doing the dishes at about 10:00 when all of a sudden you hear your husband, and think, "Oh crap." Fortunately/unfortunately he had been put on furlow at his job, and pretty much to us that meant laid off. I have always been proud of Scott and all that he does for our family...and he has worked his butt off this past week to make sure that we will still be okay. Through all of this, we have come across some exciting opportunities for him and his career, despite this crappy economy. But we are still out there searching for a job just like many others right now. We have felt very grateful for a job up to this point, and have even more gratitude that we have made it this long! Despite all the depressing news, the boys have had a lot of fun having their dad around a little bit more. In fact, this morning, Ethan said to me, "Mom, I think you should go get a job." To which I replied, "Don't you like having me around to play with and take care of you?" "Not really." "Well, who would take care of you?" "Dad, of course." Little stinker!

Scott's girlfriend

Meet the other woman in Scott's life. He got this for Christmas, and has been saving for it for about 4 years. He got a great deal, so I can't complain. The only thing that I complain about is the space it is taking in the garage. I am glad that he has a hobby, and I know that we will have lots of fun with this at the dunes and in the mountains this summer. He worked really hard yesterday cleaning it up and putting stickers on it and Ethan was right there along with him to help. He did have to meet his yearly quota of white trash status, and this does a pretty good job. All kidding aside, it's a great machine, and fun to see my boys have fun with their dad. That's the most important part!

monsters

So, tonight we were doing our usual clean up, only this time we had the stereo cranked really loud. Scott got his new sub woofer set up, which is a whole different story...anyway. Ethan walked around the corner to go to the bathroom, and suddenly came screaming and crying hysterically. Obviously we ran to find out the problem. Monster in the bathroom. I guess I was naive enough to think that maybe we had dodged this bullet so far; at least with Ethan. Am I wrong to assume that? He was so upset that he was shaking and it was really hard to get him to stop crying. I know that sometimes he is a little dramatic, but this was totally different. His imagination really got the best of him and I felt horrible. We did the obvious there are no monsters...they are pretend bit, but that was not doing the trick. And the bigger problem? He needed to go to the bathroom! So, I went in with him, but he wouldn't go...it was a struggle. Then I stood in the bathroom by myself to see if I could figure out what was freaking him out so much. We had the stereo cranked so loud that it was shaking the lights and to make matters worse, there was some left over green fabric from an activity days thing I had been working on a little while ago still in the garbage spilling over. A small 2 year old must have pulled it out or something! Monster found! We showed him what had freaked him out...and he seemed to do better. Anyway, we didn't have any problems with bed time...I felt so bad for him! So, I hope that this is just a one time deal...I will be sure that there are no green things coming out of the bathroom garbage can any time soon!

Silly boy

At lunch today, Scott was holding Camden, who has hair that stands straight up. Scott made some sort of comment about how when the next one comes (ha ha ha...I don't think so!) it will come out with straight spikey hair because with each kid they have more hair when they are born. And to which Ethan replied, "Yea, that's because we rock!"