My Grandpa

My grandpa died last night at the age of 94 and I have to post a little tribute to his life. He lived a good life and was a very good man, someone I admired. He worked hard his whole life to provide for his family and encouraged family values, hard work and education in his home. All his kids and grand kids obtained college degrees (Bethany will be there soon!) and many of them got higher degrees. I think his push towards education  inspired that success.

He implemented so many heartwarming traditions, like family bowling trips, dinner at Marie Calendars, Sunday night visits, stories about his days at the telephone company and of course the all too famous chocolate milk shakes.

He lived a healthy life by exercising regularly and eating well (strangely, but well). Because of health he was able to serve and work up until the last few months. That is such an example to me. He cared so deeply for his family and did all he could do to serve them. I would often see him cry when we all got together. He was tender and kind.

One of my favorite things about my grandpa was his "one-liners". The ones that were said to me throughout my life were as follows:

"Hey, you sure are pretty"
"So do you like this guy?" (speaking about my husband)
"You seem to like that kid" (speaking about Sam)
"I wasn't expecting an argument" (he would say that when I would agree with him about Sam)

I will miss him, his stories, his one liners, his milk-shakes and all the rest but I know he is happier now that he has moved on. He is with his wife and so many members of his family. He was a good man and will be rewarded for that. I think his memory will be preserved by the example and traditions he set for his family. I look forward to the day when I will hug him again and he will tell me I am pretty.
 Love you Grandpa Kerr!

Automobile Musuem

 We had a really special week this last week because had THREE nights off! one of which we actually had time to do something (life is busy around here), so we made the best of it and went down to Sacramento as a family for a couple hours. We thought the Automobile Museum was the best idea because of Sam's obsession with anything that has wheels. He did not disappoint us!

 This is an RV from the 70's. Sam was gabbering the whole time which meant he was thoroughly excited by our visit. I wasn't expecting to be so interested myself. It ended up being a very educational and fascinating experience.

 Sam skipped his nap earlier that day and was so super hyper emotional. That complimentary lollipop saved us! He also had many distractions like playing in pretend cars, he's a natural.

 

 

I hang around some really good looking guys. Behind Hank and Sam is an original model T before they were mass produced. Really quite cool.

We had a Picnic at the capital afterward. I think we live in a cool place. All of this neat stuff only a half hour away! The grounds are nice and spacious which meant Sam was in prime roaming mode. Hank and I would take a bite run after him and bring him back to safety, take a bite and bring him back. I guess that's toddler living for ya.

My fearless little guy

One of the libraries near me does this cool thing every Thursday where they bring out all sorts of toys and activities and lets anyone who wants to participate go at it. Sam was very intense as he played and genuinely didn't realize when he was knocking kids over and taking their toys. It's hard to keep up with him! I wish I got a dollar for every time I hear "is this your son?"

 

Here is another example of Sam's confident and rambunctious personality. A few girls from the ward meet at this park every week where there is a little water play area. Well, recently the water hasn't been on so on this particular day I didn't being any water gear with me. It happened to be a hot day and so the water was going. Sam was so determined to get in the water. I threw off his clothes and let him roam with his diaper (which got so full of water it split open spilling those jelly crystal things everywhere). There were plenty of kids his age there that day, but no one dared play in the water. So Sam played along side two ten year old boys. Everyone was laughing at how fearless he was being, especially since he kept falling, getting hurt, crying to me and then marching right back in. Nothing stops this boy!

 Sam and I went to the Loomis eggplant festival this weekend and had a really good time. I swear there is a festival or carnival going on every weekend! I love where I live!  He is enjoying a lollipop he won from a spinning wheel raffle. He's too cool to show how excited he is.

 He did not want to leave the coach. Anything with wheels is just magical to him.

 We went through a kid's corn maze. It was quite pretty and a great contained area for him to roam and roam. He kept falling and finally just decided to eat his cushions.

I blew up a bunch of balloons the other night and made a little barricade and set Sam in it. I then would hit all the balloons frantically so they swarmed around him. Sam got so overwhelmed with joy and excitement he started convulsing and then face planted on the tile floor resulting in a  bloody nose. It took a little consoling and he was back. I admire his determination to get the most out of everything!

Having fun!

 Sam loves to crawl into his highchair, even if he isn't hungry and he always gets stuck. It doesn't seem to bother him. I think it's cute. In fact he'll play with play dough or eat a meal with his leg sticking out like that, totally content.

 Sam and I went to this awesome kid's play gym place called Wacky Tacky with a friend and had so much fun! I know the balls are for throwing but Sam found a more creative way to play with them.

 I hope you can see Sam's huge smile through the netting. He was just in complete rapturous joy when we got there. He would just smile as big as he could and yell "Nanna!" every once in a while.

One of Sam's best friends is Addy and boy do we love going over to her house. When we drive up Sam points and yells "dogga, dogga". He knows there are animals everywhere. He loves the chicken coupe. He can't quite get his mind around them

 I like this picture...caught off guard as he investigates.

 

We went to this amazing park in Sacramento called Fairytale Town. It is perfect for toddlers who just want to roam. Everything is themed like a fairytale. It's a cute idea.

 

 Sam roamed a lot. In fact he roamed right into the moat that surrounded the park. It was the most disgusting part of the moat as well. He was so unbelievably drenched. I asked up front if they had any towels and they suggested using napkins from the bathroom..Well that really wasn't going to cut it, so we just stayed for a another hour until he was more on the damp side. He wasn't bothered by it and continued having fun, which is all that matters.

I love this area. There is so much scenery. They have a lot of bike paths as well. They are great places for exploring and to do more of that toddler roaming which Sam is so good at. I am trying to get to know every inch of this area so I can be a pro explorer with all my other kids. Sam is a great adventure buddy.

A another great week!

Sam and I have had a great week. Is it just my imagination or is he getting really big a little too fast? He likes to walk up and down the stairs by himself. He has to use the railing, of course. I think it's pretty impressive.

Don't ask me how this happened. I didn't put his diaper on this way, I only noticed later that it got completely contorted. I think this is evidence of Sam's intense play times. He has such a cute bum.

Hank, Sam and I managed to find a little time to be together as a family this weekend. Rocklin city was holding a Car and Chili cook-off fair, so we checked it out. Sam was ga-ga over the cars. He is really into cars (he's such a boy!). He always laughs when I say "vroom!" for some reason. I think might be making fun of my interpretation.

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We didn't participate in the Chili portion of the fair but still got a kick out of the judging table. Firemen, policemen, and the mayor...true Chili experts.

That evening was our Ward's party. Hank couldn't be there so I went to represent the family. They had a lot of fun stuff to do. Sam was in serious play mode the whole time. Every time I turned he was gone and I would find him cascading among rocks, eating sand, getting into people's faces or sobbing because he got hurt or fell. He is hard to keep up with!

My little social butterfly. He particularly liked the taste of this sand.

After the third and most dramatic fall, Sam was pretty upset. These guys calmed him down. It was pretty cute.

On to another fun and exciting week with my little Sam who as you could probably tell is my life right now. He brings me so much joy and satisfaction. 

Labor day and an amazing boy

Hank, Sam and I had a very fun Labor day. We spent the morning meandering along a bike trial near our apartment. I love living somewhere new, there are so many new things to discover. We really wanted to visit Folsom Lake but we were warned about the crowds so we found a back trail that came off of a residential area and fortunately it was perfect. Enough boats to keep Sam excited but still lots of space to explore. Sam loved the boats and now when he sees a picture of a boat he goes off in gibberish.

Here we are off the beaten path, trying to find a way to the lake. A fun little adventure.

We are so blessed to live near McKay and LaRee (Hank's uncle and Aunt) and their kids. They invited us over to another family's house for Labor day festivities. We swam, we played ping-pong, we chatted, we laughed, we ate BBQ and home-made ice cream...really what more could you ask for?

I know everyone thinks their kid is the most amazing, but really, my kid is :) Here we are at a storytime geared towards babies and toddlers. So we arrive and Sam jumps out of arms and starts exploring everything. He reads books that have been put out, he is climbing on chairs, crawling under tables, touching kids faces and testing to see how close he can get to the story tellers. I think nothing of it since that is usual behavior for my little one, until I notice that every other kid is sitting with their moms'. It took a while for the rest of the toddlers to start exploring. I was pretty proud to see him acting so confident in an unfamiliar environment.Well, there you go...Sam is so amazing.

I know this is silly but lets just add it in for fun okay!

Sorry about the belly shot, but really I couldn't resist. Sam is pals with his Dad, it's just so sweet.

A quick update

 

Sam is continuing to establish a relationship with the neighbors' cats. This one particular cat will come up to Sam and sprawl out waiting for a scratch. Sam usually just pulls his ears or hits him quickly. I wonder how long it will take before the cat realizes Sam's not quite getting it.

It is almost laughable how family-oriented the Roseville/Rocklin area is. There are like 6 libraries (of which I know of) in a 20 minute radius of where I live. Every library has a play area with toys, easels and other sorts of things. I feel like every store has a 'Thomas the Tank Engine' table set up. There is also a story-time going on somewhere, sometime everyday...even if that place is Pottery Barn (no joke). Sam and I have been having a blast discovering this community together.

Here we are at a shopping center where a festival (of course) was going on. Sam loved the water show.

I wish I would have gotten more pictures of the festival. They had a big kids area with rock climbing and face painting etc. Sam just walked around in awe. He was pretty darn excited about the car show. As you can tell he is dying to take this one out on the road.

He is growing up so fast!