MY BRO THE STUD

This past weekend my little brother, Jake, won the Washington State High School Wrestling Championship. Not that I'm bragging or anything but my little brother is pretty darn amazing (don't tell him I actually admitted that though). He is a 17 year old that really has it together. He not only is a straight A student (and always has been), he has been on the Varsity Football team since he was a freshman, been a Varsity Wrestler just as long, races motocross, and has his own band which he sings in and plays guitar, piano, and drums. As scary as it is I can still remember changing his diapers.
We are so proud of him and even at 214 lbs he will always be my little brother. Way to go Jake!!!

How Dad does things

Its a well known fact that Dads and Moms do things differently. When Jamis is fussy I typically rock him or sing to him or read him a book. Devan has a different approach to things. Ever since Jamis was born he takes him on tours of the house. The approach has always been pretty successful, but now that Jamis is growing, Dev has turned the tour into a ride. When I asked him what he was doing he said, "Taking care of the baby and helping you sweep the floor." How thoughtful.

Jamis loved every second of his ride and screamed every time Devan stopped. I hate to admit it, but I think Devan may have found the golden ticket. I just won't mention the additional laundry he is creating by "helping" me sweep the floor.

Griner Family Vacation...Party of 3

A few years ago I thought it would be a brilliant idea to "save" some money. We (I use we loosely because Devan only went along with it to appease me) had agreed to attend a "NO pressure" informational seminar to get some free tickets to an attraction for a trip we were currently on. I'm not sure how they define pressure, but of course one thing lead to another and we walked out (again much to Devan's dismay) with a vacation package that I was sure would save us a bundle on future vacations. Well fast forward several years and our "investment" was about to expire and needed to be used or those once used "free" tickets would become the most expensive tickets we'd ever purchased. So since Devan had the past week off, we headed out to Gatlinburg, TN for our first family vacation. Jamis was a champ during our 8 hour drive to the Smokey Mountains and loved being part of everything. Here are some trip highlights!

We were so excited to finally be able to take Jamis hiking. Thankfully we had beautiful weather the entire week and were able to take him on a few explorations. He was a total champ and even though he slept most of the time I know he loved it!



































Jamis's first waterfall.















Diaper change in the wild. My little boys is a man.








Lots of Daddy-Son bonding






























The wild life was both beautiful and plentiful.

The resort we stayed at had an amazing indoor water park. It was so much fun to finally put Jamis in a bathing suit. The water was really warm and he loved floating and kicking. Hopefully next time we're in a place like this he'll be old enough to go down the water slides with me.


























































Swimming is fun, but kissing mommy is way better!




















After a hard day of playing, Jamis had to relax in the tub.




We may be on vacation, but the photo shoots never end









Jamis the drool monster




























Jamis loves being cheek to cheek

Who knew that a thumb could taste so good








The trips grand finale was a scenic helicopter tour. I've always wanted to go in a helicopter so this was the perfect way to end a great family week.




Jamis wasn't quite sure what to make out of the whole experience







What a blast!!!!

Jamis's first trip to the Beach

Today was such a beautiful day out we had to take Jamis to experience the wonders of the Beach. Of course he was asleep 99% of the time we were there, but Mom, Dad, and Max sure had fun. I can't wait for this summer and all the sand he is going to eat. We are going to have a blast!!!

My Boys

Jamis is starting to recognize people now. I love watching him look for me when other people are holding him. My favorite though is seeing him when Devan comes home from work. These two are going to be great friends.

Happy Birthday Devan!!!!

Today is Devan's 31st Birthday!!! Devan has never been the type to welcome a birthday party and so far I have respected his wishes, but I think this was the last time. We had a great day though. He was post call so he was able to celebrate with us and not the hospital staff as he did last year. This year I arranged for a masseuse to come to the house and give Devan a hour long massage (much needed after the tough month he just had). After that we ate his favorite dinner (Chicken Enchiladas), had some cake, and watched a movie. It turned out to be a great night. Before all this though, Devan and the neighbor poured the concrete for half of our new patio (guys, get ready for amazing Griner BBQs this summer). We are so excited to finally be getting this done. There is nothing worse than having a mud pit for a back yard and a large dog who loves to play in it. Thanks guys for working so hard!!!

Happy Birthday Devan. We love you!