TAG | Grant
We celebrated Audrey’s birthday twice. We were planning a party for her later in the week but still wanted to celebrate on her actual birthday. Kate, with Grant and Norah’s help, made and decorated a cake.
Grant and Norah decorated the cake (with help from Mom)
Candles are fun!
Good to the last crumb!
Instead of a birthday party this year, we gave Grant a trip to St. Louis on Amtrak. We left 2 days after his birthday after waking up at 6 to catch the train in Elgin.
Grant and I after boarding the Metra train for the first leg of our trip, Elgin to Chicago Union Station.
Waving goodbye to the womenfolk as the train pulls away from the station.
After boarding the Amtrak train in Chicago. The business class area was nice, with spacious seats, power outlets, and dedicated restroom 
Mugging for the camera.
We packed our lunch. Mom even stuck a few Amtrak napkins in our bag!
Grant watching as we pass another Amtrak train at speed.
Two thumbs up for the lunch Mom made for us.
Trying to rest. It took quite awhile for Grant to relax and fall asleep since the train was so exciting.
Finally out.
Grant and the Gateway Arch.
Our train at the St. Louis station.
More in the next installment, coming soon!
My, how time flies. I can hardly believe that 5 years have passed since I became a dad. These have been some of the best years of my life. Every day is an adventure!
My prayer today:
Lord, I thank you for my children and for the blessing of being a father. Today, on Grant’s fifth birthday, I take a moment to thank you for the gift of Grant. Thank you for his safe delivery, infancy and toddlerhood. Thank you for protecting him during his preschool years. Thank you for drawing him to yourself and to me. Thank you for building strong and precious bonds between me and my son. Lord, continue to build and strengthen Grant’s relationship with You and with me. Keep him safe and healthy. Surround him with godly friends and role models. Amen
Grant, I love you more than I could ever explain in words. You are my son, my firstborn child, and an awesome big brother to your sisters. You are so special to me, more than you will ever know. Happy 5th birthday my boy!
We had a fun time celebrating Grant’s 5th birthday. Kate gave him the choice to either go out to dinner and make a cake at home or to have dinner at home and get a cake of his choice from a store. He chose to have his favorite dinner (cheeseburgers, sweet potatoes) at home and wanted a Costco cake (blank, so Mom could decorate it with a train theme). Kate did a great job decorating the cake.
His primary gift from us this year was an overnight trip to Saint Louis on Amtrak. We’d never ridden Amtrak before, so it was going to be an adventure!
We’ve been having an abundance of snow the last few weeks here in Northern IL. Grant and Norah have been enjoying playtime in the snow and we’ve been able to go sledding a few times at the “big hill”.
Having fun on the playset
It was really snowing!
Norah facing downhill, Grant facing uphill.
Before we hit the slope.
Grant had fun pushing Norah on the sled.
Finally! They can walk up the hill and carry the sled themselves! Hallelujah!
On to the kiddie ride area, always a hit.
First, we hit the cars where Norah had fun “driving” the purple one. Then it was on the their favorite ride, the motorcycles. Usually Grant and Norah are just laughing hysterically while the ride is in motion. However, this time the ride jolted as it started and Norah and a few other children got rather freaked out. After a minute or so, the ride operator had to stop and let them off before continuing the rest of the ride. All was well once Norah settled down. We watched Grant finish his ride and then shared an elephant ear before heading home.
Norah and her purple car. Grant and Norah on the motorcycle. 
Grant zooming by! 
Norah in distress. She was rescued shortly after this was taken.
Norah and Kate 
Grant is getting a good whiff of the elephant ear. Checking out the size of the tractor tires. 
Grant, Norah, and Daddy.
It has been a rather wet and cool summer here in Illinois. That hasn’t helped our tomatoes to grow or ripen very well at all. We were finally able to harvest a few but there are at least 50 green ones still on the plants.
We had fun a few days ago turning our meager harvest into tomato sauce. We bought a food mill
Tomatoes. Food mill in action. Tomatoes go in the top and the waste comes out the far end while the “sauce” comes through the screen.
Don’t they look good?
Grant and Norah turning the crank.
Here is the result of processing the tomatoes we had. It’s incredibly efficient.
Food · Grant · Norah · SFG · Square Foot Gardening
Every year, the city of Geneva, Illinois holds an “automobile event” (car show) in the downtown district. They close off several streets and host several hundred classic, exotic, and rare vehicles. The event is free and open to the public. I took Grant by himself this year after church on Sunday.
We had fun walking down the streets looking at some of the unique cars. Out of all the cars there, Grant said his favorite car was a 1911 Ford Model T. He thought that the starter handle in the front was pretty neat.
Here are some of the pictures from the show.
Classic Mercedes Gullwing 
Model T Speedometer. Grant on “Porsche Row” 
Classic Porsche roadster. 
Edsel. 23 year old race car. 
Chrysler Town and Country (seats 9!). Jaguar engine. 
Grant and one of the Model T cars. 
Rolls Royce was the featured marque this year. Detail of a hood ornament.
Activities · Cars · Grant
A few weekends ago, a few of the families in our Community Group met up for a day of fun on the lake at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.
We had a fun day of swimming, boating, and just hanging out with friends.
If you know me well, you know that more than a few pictures were taken
Here are a few.
Lining up to get in the lake and do some swimming. Group kids photo on the dock.
Norah was a total fish that day! Grant wasn’t too hot on swimming in a lake with the various aquatic greenery floating around, but Norah drank it up (literally!)
Listening to Happy Birthday. Hugging “Dr. Jill” (our pediatrician and CG member)
The Kellys, who graciously opened their place to the group, bought a birthday cake for Norah. Norah was cute and got a bit shy when everyone was singing Happy Birthday to her.
Grant and Jack got along famously. They had fun carrying each other around the room. Most of the time barely making it to the sofa to dump the rider!
Up next in Part 2, boat rides!
When we left the story yesterday, I had gotten the tent ready and was getting ready to get dinner cooking.
Where there’s smoke…
We kept it simple and kid-friendly with hot dogs, chips, and applesauce. Norah and Grant thought that cooking our hotdogs over the fire on sticks was just about the coolest thing ever. I’m not sure if they’ll ever eat a gas-grilled dog again.
Grant praying for our dinner before digging in.
After dinner, we got our sleeping bags, pillows, and other bedtime accoutrements ready while it was still light outside. Of course, Grant and Norah had to test their sleeping bags out again. We finished getting everything situated before going outside to make…
S’MORES!
I don’t think that the kids had ever had a real s’more up to this point. They knew what we were going to be doing as they helped Kate find the components at the grocery store. I showed Grant how to toast the marshmallows and before long, he was toasting (and burning) marshmallows like a pro! I wonder if he got my “pyro” gene?
From humble beginnings come great things. Grant toasting his marshmallows.
The kids enjoying their s’mores.
After we finished our s’mores and watched the fire for a bit, we hit the hay at around 10 o’clock. The kids were tuckered out and were asleep shortly after we finished reading our books (thank goodness we brought a crank-powered flashlight as the batteries ran out on the big one).
We slept well, as well as one can sleep on the hard ground with only a tarp and a sleeping bag underneath. The kids did great and stayed asleep all night while I peeked at the fire every few hours to make sure that everything was safe.
We woke up on Saturday morning to the sound of light drizzle. Since the campground had WiFi, I got out the computer (nothing like high-tech camping!) and checked the radar. Seeing that the rain wasn’t going to let up for hours, we packed up a bit earlier than planned and headed home. Before leaving, we enjoyed our breakfast (muffins) under the cover of the minivan hatch.
We had a great time and we’re already planning our next camping trip, this time with Kate and Audrey.
