Grant Family Farm

Levi

Levi...five years old, half cheerful/half obstinate, funny, noisy, loving, snuggler.

'Cool Guy' and his faithful slingshot!

Our two 'fishes'... happy swimmers!

Levi is our animal lover... he loves Bane!

Levi was tickled to have a ride on a motorcycle with his 'big cousin' Michael... and he
has now decided that his bike and training wheels are simply subpar!

Superhero pose! Can you feel the awesomeness?

We had a wonderful six inches of snow on December 6-7th...
those who live in Redding know what a rare blessing this is!
Levi, Ethan, and Victoria designed this "Cool Guy Snowman"
in honor of Levi. He was so happy!

Levi took part for the first time in the annual Grant Family football game on Thanksgiving this year.... go, Levi!

Anniversary trip to Maui

We had a spectacular trip to Maui in October, celebrating our twenty-third anniversary. Victoria, Savannah, and Ashlyn kept the home front running; Laramie, Ethan, and Levi kept them running around, and we were able to enjoy an amazing time in Hawaii!

We got to swim with sea turtles!

A beautiful, volcanic rock beach...

Scott checked "swimming under a waterfall" off his bucket list!

Relaxin' in the shade! (Scott is Irish, after all!)

Hawaii on the Homefront...

The kids had their own fun activites while we were on vacation... Ashlyn's 13th birthday fell two days before our departure date (hectic!), so she proposed a small family b-day on the real day, and a Hawaiian Luau with her siblings and friends while we were away. She designed pretty much the entire party on her own- chalk surfboard drawing competition, tug-of-war, Luau bookmarks... fun times!

Our artist...

Pull!

Savannah and Ashlyn did a joint effort on the cake front... Ashlyn baked and
decorated these "pineapple" cakes, and Savannah did the sheet cake.

The Sound of Music

We are so thankful for the wonderful music instruction of Heide Cox. She has taught our girls piano, guitar, recorder, and hammered dulcimer, and thus filled our home with the sound of music.

Victoria and Savannah surprised Scott at their spring music recital with a lovely custom arrangement of one of his favorite songs from Braveheart. They were able to have Caleb Cox (Heide's talented son) join them on the bagpipes and whistle. It brought Scott to tears.. a feat that is tough to do!

Fun with Family and Friends...

One of the greatest blessings of living in California is being close to lots of family and friends... Alison's parents are across town and Scott's family is within four hours, which makes family time, reunions, special-days-with-Nana, Thanksgiving football, etc. a reality. Great memories!

Grant Thanksgiving Reunions always involve touch football and lots of laughs!

Veterans Day event with Alison and her Dad

Special times with Nana!

Trying on Grandpa's Navy outfits... we're proud of his service!

Thanksgiving with Scott's family

Cousin time!

Camping fun!

Some very dear friends of ours graciously hosted our family when we had a detour in England on our flight home from Ethiopia in 2011. We were grateful when they recently moved back to the states and we had an opportunity to return the favor by watching three of their children for a week while their parents went on cruise.

Seeing where Mr. Grant works...

... and the Sundial Bridge

Riding for the horse lover...

And cuddling newly-hatched chicks...

Fun had by all!

Kitten Sittin'

Savannah and Ashlyn had a memorable, cuteness-filled summer of fostering kittens from a local shelter. Although they experienced some unexpected issues including mama kitty deciding to stop nursing, kittens coming down with upper respiratory infections, etc., the two finished with lots of great memories and hours of kitten cuddles. Ashlyn is our definite little mother, and she did a fabulous job taking care of her sixteen little ones!

A cupful of sheer cuteness!

Bundles of cuddles!

Fourth of July at Rocky Point

We were blessed to find that Scott's schedule allowed for a camping trip over 4th of July, and we had a wonderful time vacationing in Rocky Point, Oregon. After a beautiful drive, we spent some time relaxing, reading, and paddling on Klamath Lake; Alison spent time with the stomach flu all week, which really helped her make special camping memories! :) For the rest of the family, though, it was a wonderful time to recharge, laugh, and play...