Globe-trotting Grovers: Spring Break 2012

our story

It all began on the evening of Nov 29th 2003, at former Chat Noir French Restaurant in Costa Mesa, CA. Brad approached me [Jana] and we instantly connected; it was love at first sight. The next 4 years that followed were a whirlwind of romance, growing pains, and adventures. We circled the globe, traveling to South America, Europe, and Asia. Then one night, Brad surprised me with a romantic beachside proposal. We made it official on August 23rd 2008 with an intimate wedding at a hip art gallery in Laguna Beach. A year later we finished redesigning our home in the beach village of Corona del Mar.

On May 18th, 2010, we were blessed with a sweet little miracle of our own, our baby boy Taj Leon. He stole our hearts and took our breath away! Then, 19 months later, his incredible little brother, Jax Franz, arrived on Christmas morning (December 25th) 2011. What an amazing gift we received! In an effort to slow down the clock and enjoy our beautiful family, in Spring of 2012, we sold our CA seaside home and moved across the country to our dream lake house in Brad's hometown of Bemus Point, a resort village on Chautauqua Lake in Western New York! Even though we are living a more slow paced life, we are living a life far from ordinary!

From the West Coast to the East Coast, our Grover family adventures continue! So won't you come along and join us on this journey of love, family, and travel we like to call our La Vida Grover!

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Spring Break 2012 - San Diego

Last weekend was our big Open House weekend (both Saturday and Sunday), so we got the "heck out of Dodge" (Believe it or not, it was the easiest thing for us to do with 2 babies..... our realtor took care of the rest.) And while our home was on display each day, the boys and I headed south to La Jolla to relax, dine, and play in the pool. I have 2 words to express what a great time we had: Embassy Suites. 2-room suite, heated indoor pool, and complimentary "cooked-to-order" breakfast buffet, all for $150/ night...... Enough said! This is seriously the way to go anytime we travel as a family of 4, and they have over 200 locations nationally and internationally!

The Tropical open-air atrium (this is where we had our breakfast down below):

Jax's first time staying overnight in a hotel..... and he slept awesome 8-5am :)

After having linner at PF Chang's, we splashed around in the indoor heated pool, it was also Jax's first time in the pool! Do you like his speedo swim diaper? Same one Taj wore first time he went in the pool (at 7 months old, indoor pool as well, when we visited our friends in Colorado!)

And after pool play, it was bath time and bedtime for the kiddos.

The great thing about a 2-room suite is that the kids go to sleep in one room, while the adults order room- service and kick back in the living room!

Jax's Zoolander sleep look (just like the one daddy does!)

The next day, we devoured our breakfast, checked out of the hotel, and headed to Legoland!

First family ride: the scenic Fairytale boat adventure.... all the storybook characters were made out of legos!

Jax's first time on a ride:

Do you notice Jax's super cute Ugg booties? He got so many smiles and compliments that day on his outfit :)

Taji LOVES playing with legos, and they had so many play areas for the little ones to play with legos and such...

Firetruck race ride that Taj and daddy went on. Daddy did all the work "pumping" the fire truck to move since Taj was too small, and they still ended up beating out the other 3 trucks!

One of Taj's favorites: a water swing! I highly recommend Legoland on a hot weekday, when the kiddos can run around in their board shorts and get wet. The day we went it was a teeny bit too cold for Taj to take his shoes or shirt off