A Griswald Trip

So it has been over a week since my last post, but wow has it been an exciting week... My family, consisting of everyone except my husband (he was in Nicaraqua) had planned a long time ago to drive to Bullhead City, AZ to celebrate my moms 55th Bday. So on Thursday, Sept. 25 my parents left in my dads corvette for AZ. Celina, Mike and Maddy... Greyson and myself, spent the night at my parents house so we would already be in Costa Mesa to pick up Alyssa and Casey from John Wayne airport at 7:30am on Friday. We should have known when we got a text from Alyssa at 6:35am that their flight was delayed, that our trip was going to be difficult. Maddy and Greyson barely slept at all Thursday night, so they were cranky. Celina was very nervous about the drive because she had done it once before and it wasn't a fun one. I was trying to stay positive, but as the morning went on it got more and more difficult.


Alyssa and Casey finally landed at John Wayne at 9am and off we went. All 7 of us, in my moms Tahoe, with all our luggage were off and running....until at approximately 9:45 am in the carpool lane on the 91 freeway our car starting thumping and then there was a loud crash, black debri flying and smoke coming from.... our right rear tire!!! Thats right... going about 75 mph we blow a back tire. Our hero: Mike Shwam, was at the wheel and did an AMAZING job at controlling the car and getting us all the way over to the right. No body was hurt, just really shaken. We were soooooo lucky!!! Celina and my hearts were in our throats because we had our little ones with us... they slept thru the entire ordeal.


An hour later we were on the road again after a visit from two AAA men, who were sweating sooo bad changing the tire. It was a full size spare that they promised could easily make it to AZ and back. So reluctantly we were on the freeway again. Finally around 3:45pm we arrive in Bullhead City. I will spare other details, but the drive was tough.

After checking into the hotel, we finally got to celebrate my moms bday!!! Happy Bday Gamma!!!






Saturday was boating day... I was excited to see Grey at the cove, but anxious cause I am not a huge boating person. But we got all packed up and got to the marina. It was a long process... as expected, but still not easy to get through. My mom, Alyssa, Celina, Maddy, Greyson and myself were the ones to stay back until the guys found a cove. I think it was probably an hour later when Pete returned to get us. The kids were bored, hot and getting cranky, cause again no nap!!! But they were being troopers...until... Lifejacket time!! Holy moly... Greyson had a fit!!! He wanted that lifejacket off sooo bad. He was screaming, pulling, fighting us, sweating... all of the above. Mind you it is about 95 degrees outside. So we finally start moving in the boat... fast! I was holding on to Greyson for dear life... I forgot how bumpy the ride is. All of a sudden my mom and I realize Greyson is passed out. We aren't sure if he actually passed out or if he fell asleep. All I can say is I was terrified. We stopped the boat, started pulling off his lifejacket, calling his name and he finally "came to". So I was officially in hysterics...

The day ended up being really fun though =)

So after a long day at the lake Grey passed out...fell asleep in my moms arms on the beach and stayed asleep the entire boat ride back to the marina. We all made our way back to the hotel to freshen up before a yummy dinner at the Bricks house.

So dinner was great... we were all tired and ready to go back to the hotel for bed...oh, but not sooo easy. We all load in the Tahoe and say our good-byes and Celina goes to release the emergency break... it won't release. The stupid handle that you pull to release the break broke. We all have to unload from the Tahoe and load into Two of the Bricks trucks so that we can make it back to the hotel and put the kids to bed. We would deal with the car in the morning. Luckily, we had another hero on this trip: Jason Brick. He got on the internet and researched how to manually release an e-break. So to make a long story come to an end.... he released it on Sunday morning and we were on our way home at 10am. We got home around 3:45pm after a very difficult ride home.... the kids didn't feel well... who blames them. But we are all alive and have a few great stories to tell.

Greyson checking the time...can we leave?? Greyson and Maddy at In n Out in Barstow

Art Project

Yesterday Greyson and I did an art project. With Halloween coming up we want to start to decorate the house. So I grabbed some orange paper and his nifty crayons that Grammy bought him and we went to it. He was having a great time. He gets lots of practice at Gavin's house, so he was holding the crayons really well. I have to say he made a masterpiece. Mommy added Happy Halloween to it and it is now hanging on the bulletin board. These pictures don't show it, but his new thing is to smile really big when he sees the camera and hears me say "cheese." I love him...everyday is another discovery for him and for me. Daddy is in Nicaragua right now, so we are trying to capture every moment this week so Daddy doesn't feel like he has missed anything. Actually, in writing that I just realized how this blog will come in even more handy for Geoff then anyone else. He is starting to travel alot in the next month or so, which we are not looking forward to. He gets home on the 27th and then leaves the 7th for Ireland and is gone til the 18th. He then leaves on the 22nd for Santa Cruz and gets back on the 26th. He is at least here for Halloween. But leaves on the 2nd for Hawaii. This crazy schedule continues thru Dec. as of now. We will miss Daddy, but at least the internet is available almost everywhere.

He's definately a Moysa

This is only something a Moysa would do... definately not something a Reehl would do. I made Greyson scrambled eggs this morning because we are trying to introduce new foods. Well, he hated them... until.... I put ketchup on them!!! I was saying "yuck," but he was saying "num num." Yay for ketchup!!!

My new pj's and my milk

Greyson loves his new big boy pj's. They are so cute, I can't get enough of them. I had to capture this moment because it was all done by Grey. He really wanted his milk so he could lay down like he used to with his bottle. He pulled down the pillow, he layed out the blanket and then plopped himself down to get comfy. And then he just layed there watching cartoons until his milk was gone. He is just getting so big so fast...

Halloween is coming!!!!

We are so excited for Halloween this year... but I am not so sure Grey is!



This is Grey's Halloween costume... it's a lion and this is him roaring. More like screaming. We figured it was probably smart to slowly get him used to the costume since he doesn't fancy it so much right now =)

Our first baby

Its Chop Chop
I realized the other day that our first baby doesn't get pictures taken anymore. So being a good mommy I took a few and thought I would post them. Chopper is 2 1/2 years old now. He was born the day Geoff and I got married. He is Geoff's ultimate buddy. Those two are so funny together, and now with Grey in the mix.... its "the boys."

I love them all!!!

A day with the Rodgers

In the shark tank... can you guess by Grey's face
The little men
Being boys
Daddy and Grey on Flying Elmo
The men... hello, cuties!!!
K, this photo wasn't supposed to go here, but oh well, it's our tired boy
Gavin modeling
Curious little guy
Silly daddy
Our family.... a day in the life!!!

We had such a great day with the Rodgers family. We took another adventure to Sea World. It was by far our best visit... barely anyone at the park, and we got to share it with great friends. Grey and Gavin were such boys... running all over, which they loved. There was not much riding in the strollers until our little men had had it. Geoff and I are so thankful to have Jen and Steve around, sharing these moments with another couple who is going through it as well, is priceless. Should we make a commercial...
Trip to Sea World... $120
Gas to Sea World... an arm and a leg
A day spent with GREAT friends.... priceless =)
Once again we had a super fun day and made memories that will last a lifetime.

A memory with Daddy

We had dinner at the Spectrum on Thursday night which always leads to a ride on the carousel. Grey just loves going up and down, round and round. He smiled at me everytime he passed by. I hope to show this picture to Grey one day when he is riding a carousel with MY grandson.

Remembering and loving

Geoff, Grey and I attended a memorial last weekend for a legendary surfer whom Geoffs family has known forever. This was one of the photos I took from the San Clemente pier. The paddle out and the amount of people on the pier tossing roses into the ocean was so moving. It is a situation that makes you stop and appreciate those around you. I feel so lucky to have such a wonderful, supportive husband... a beautiful little boy.... an amazing family and a great circle of friends. Be sure to stop at least once daily to recognize how lucky you are to be happy and healthy. xo

What are you wearing?

I came downstairs the other morning to find this.... K, pay close attention... that is my son with a spatula in hand and my grey headband on his head. This was allllll daddy =p

My Bruise

I thought I would give some credit to my amazing mom for Greyson's fantastic bruise. This is what I saw when I picked him up from Gamma's house last week. haha!!! It definately won't be the last, but it was a pretty good one. Definately worth documenting.

It's something about boys... they just look so tough with a bruise or a scratch. Grey has a good scratch across his forehead right now that appeared while he was sleeping. I love my little boy though. Everyday is full of more and more surprises.

Our silly little man

I just uploaded a bunch of pictures that I have been lagging on. Greyson lately has been very funny in his highchair. I think he loves that I have been finally giving him bigger bites of food. I know, I know, he is 14 months he should be practically feeding himself, but after two pretty good choking experiences.... I am slightly traumatized.

His name is Bud the Wiser

This is Greyson's fish... we love having Bud around. He is so much fun to stare at... and so easy to deal with. Our favorite time with Bud is feeding time... who knew Beta fish chew. It's crazy, you can actually hear it.

My favorite people

My Daddy

My Gamma

My Poppi

My Auntie Lou

My Mommy

My doggie Chopper

My cousin Maddy

My friend Gavin Rodgers

How lucky is Grey... he has so many favorite people... but not pictures of everyone. We will have to work on that... Auntie C, Grammy, Poppa, Great Nana and Great Papa... and all the others. He loves you all!!!

Greyson's first year at a glance

Greyson had a rough start, which made Mommy's start rough as well. After about six weeks of struggling with feeding and him not gaining weight, we decided to switch to formula. Poor Grey became such an unhappy baby... he was so gassy! After three painful months we realized that he had a milk sensitivity, as well as a soy sensitivity. Along came the worlds most expensive formula- Nutramigen!!!! (I can happily say he is officially off bottles now, yay!!!) Once we got that all cleared up, my little man became so much happier.

Then came some new challenges... Grey was hospitalized on December 20, 2007 with Periorbital Cellulitis... a very strange eye infection that was in the tissues surrounding his eye. This was by far the scariest time we have been through thus far. He had two iv lines in... one in his foot and one in his head. He had two ctscans to see if the infection was behind his eye. We were in the hospital for New Years, but thankfully the antibiotics worked wonders and our little guy was able to celebrate.