Grandma Socks!

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Originally uploaded by Tami of BrooksGroth

It was hard not to let Grandma Karen know we were going to do this when she was here this weekend ...

Sometimes it's the little things ... and our (well, at least my) favorite Christmas present this year was my Grandma socks. Well, they are socks that my mom (Grandma Karen) made so we call them "Grandma socks" around our house. And we LOVE them.

For more photos that Megan took this weekend of our wonderful, and warm (!) socks see: http://www.flickr.com/photos/brooksgroth/tags/grandmasocks/

Megan's National Park Trip!

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Originally uploaded by Tami of BrooksGroth

I've uploaded pictures of Megan's trip out west to 8, yes 8, National Parks ... and a Hot Air Balloon Ride to top it off!!!

When asked what the best thing about the trip was, Megan said it was "ALL GREAT!" I guess that says it all. :-)

She's now home with LOTS of photos, lots of State Park maps and other memorabilia and a National Park "passport" with more than a few stamps in it. (She is also happy to now say she has been to even more states ... she's keeping track on a map now and is up to 22 states that she has visited.)

All the photos are labeled as MeganNatParkTrip on Fickr (few more to upload after we get them from Grandpa and Grandpa yet) Click the photo here to go to Flickr and then you can see more pics! :-)

Up North trip -- photos and more

Remember that wonderful trip "Up North" that we took at the beginning of July? Well, I finally got the pictures off of the camera (you have to love digital ... snap, snap, snap).

Below: Nessa and Megan swimming in Leech Lake's Walker bay

A hundred pictures later I decided that I had to give in and use flickr to share them with you ... they are all typical "family vacation" photos so there are a ton of blurry, out of focus, heads about cut off, etc. ... but they also tell the story ... fun times on the lake in Walker, MN and a bit of adventuring in the area including a great visit to a Bison ranch.

The girls also got some much needed Grandpa and Grandma time while Shawn and I relaxed with a movie and dinner (and a bit of unsuccessful gambling but we won't talk about that ... should have spent the money on fine dining instead). And we all did a bit (and then some) of shopping around downtown Walker.

The comments/descriptions on the photos in Flickr tell more of the stories so it really is worth a look (link below) ... the photos I uploaded there are a bit smaller in file size so they will only print well if you print them small (just in case any family tries), but they should display on the monitor well. :-) If I continue using Flickr, you'll probably see more posts like the one that I did with the picture of Marcus (directly from Flickr) too, and with those posts you can click on the photo and go right to the photo stream and view more recent photos. :-)

It was lovely and I wish we had another long Up North trip planned ... until I think about the driving.

Want to see more pictures (like Nessa below)?

View my favorites UP North pictures on Flikr!

Or, view all of the photos form the trip here.


Important -- when you look at all of them tagged with Up North, they are NOT in any chronological order, so you may want to look at and read the descriptions with the UP North Favorites specific set first.

Few pics from Megan's week in Cumberland

In June Megan spent a week at Grandma and Grandpa Groth's going to summer school (Aunt Ellen was the teacher -- how much better can it get?) and just generally having fun. Thanks to Ellen we have a few photos.


The trip to the circus included an elephant ride so here is Megan (and a few other people she knows) riding an elephant.

Megan keeps telling me she could live on the lake in the summer. The lake here is Sand Lake in Cumberland (just down the back yard hill at Grandma and Granpa's ... how convenient). Megan is learning to really love to ride on the inner tube (can you call it that when there are seat backs?) and I'm hoping soon she'll decide to try to water ski. Below are a few pics of Megan (and other) "on the tube."

THANK YOU GRANDMA AND GRANDPA!!!!!

Finally posting a couple of Mother's Day photos

So, WAY back when Shawn was out in San Jose last time, I went to my mom's for a wonderful Mother's Day weekend. I received some lovely gifts from my girls too ... but no photos of them which is partly what I was waiting for ... Hmm, maybe some day you'll see me in my apron that Megan helped Grandma make ... until then you can look at the great apron Megan made in school for Grandma Karen.

Here are the girls with my mom on Mothers Day --

Single Dad, Part III

Nessa had a lot of fun with her Grandpa and Grandma Brooks this weekend, and I was finally able to get some of it on film. Sunday evening after supper, things started with Grandma reading to Nessa.

But then Nessa wanted something to drink, and the tickle fingers started.



Pretty soon it was an all-out tickle fest, with Nessa squealing in delight!

Nessa kept trying to get away from Grandpa, but Grandma was doing just as much tickling (albeit with a few hugs mixed in). This went on for several minutes, giving me plenty of time to get some pictures, before Nessa had enough. She really enjoyed spending time with Grandma and Grandpa, and they with her.

Now Grandma and Grandpa are back at home, and so is Mommy! Nessa was very excited to see Tami when we got to daycare this afternoon. Tami was happy to see Nessa, and the rest of us, as well. Tami's still under the weather and very tired, but is feeling better than a couple of days ago. We're glad to have her back--we missed her!

Single Dad, Part II

As mentioned, my Mom and Dad are here for the weekend to get some quality time with their granddaughter and help me out while Tami is in NY. They're just in time, too. Nessa has a nasty cough which woke her up a couple of times Thursday night and once last night, so I'm short on sleep. I was almost dozing at my desk Friday afternoon. It's nice to have someone else here to watch/play with her since I'm not at my best at the moment. Thank goodness for grandparents. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

We went to the Children's Museum this morning, but my brain wasn't functioning fully, so I forgot to take a camera. Nessa had a good time, and Mom and Dad were really impressed by the museum. They have a great new toddler space that Nessa loves. Nessa was also enjoying the pin art, and kept pressing her face and arms into the one side and then running around to the other side to see what it looked like. She would then take the paddles, push the pins back, and start the process over again. Top it off with pizza for lunch, and it was a pretty good morning.

Unfortunately, Tami reports that she is not feeling well out in NY. We don't know if she caught something on one of the planes, or if she caught the same thing Nessa has before leaving, but she is not having nearly as much fun as she had hoped. Her friends are all doing what they can to help her feel better, but it only goes so far. I think she'll be glad to get home.

Easter

We've been so busy that we haven't had a chance to post any of the pictures we took Easter Sunday. (These were taken in the morning, before things turned into a sit-com.) Here's Nessa with the new hat that was in her Easter basket.

Here are some family photos with Grandpa and Grandma Brooks.

Happy Birthday, Nessa (Part II)

Nessa kept getting birthday presents for a week after her birthday, as her grandparents came to visit. Here's Nessa with her very own Baby Polly doll from Grandpa and Grandma Groth. (Megan's should be safe now.)



Grandpa and Grandma Groth also gave Nessa some clothes.

Grandpa and Grandma Brooks gave Nessa several things as well, including these letters and numbers for the bath tub. Nessa loves identifying the letters and numbers as she sticks them to the side of the tub!

Uncle Kevin and Aunt Jo gave Nessa a Saxoflute, a musical toy where you build your own instrument. She opened it on her birthday, but we didn't get a good picture of her playing with it until later.

Thank you everyone for all the wonderful birthday presents!

Megan's new slippers

When my parents were here a few weeks ago, my mom brought a surprise for Megan -- hand knit slippers! Grandpa decided to be silly and told her they didn't quite turn out (see how big they are?)


Above, Megan holds her new slippers as she poses with her mom and Grandma Karen.

Below, are the finished slippers!




See, they fit after all!


I'm not sure if you can tell from the photos, but the slippers were designed to be felted. That means that they are knit with shrinkage in mind. Megan and Grandma felted the slippers together that night and now they fit Megan perfectly!!! Megan loves her new red slippers. Thank you Grandma!

Weekend with Grandma and Grandpa Groth

Here are a few quick pictures from this weekend.







It was wonderful for the girls to see Grandma Karen and Grandpa Don, and it was also nice for Shawn and I to get out late in the afternoon for an early movie and dinner out.

By the way everything you see in the photos that was knit (sweaters, hats, socks) were all made by Grandma Karen! :-)