Globe-trotting Grovers: Niagara-On-The-Lake, Canadian Overnighter & our 6 year Wedding Anniversary

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!

Sunday, October 19, 2014

Niagara-On-The-Lake, Canadian Overnighter & our 6 year Wedding Anniversary

Right in time for our 6th year wedding anniversary, and a couple days before August 23rd, Brad and I went away to celebrate in Canada! While our awesome baby-sitter Kaitlynn stayed overnight with the boys for the first time, Brad and I drove just under 2 hours over the Canadian border to Niagara-on-the-Lake….. a charming and romantic little town. The beginning of this year (1st of January) we embarked on our first 2-night vacation without the boys to Miami (while my parents stayed with them), and this summer we went out of the country for the first time without them. LOL They were angels (of course!), and Kaitlynn can handle anything! It also helps that her parents live down the street and we have many friends in the neighborhood.

On our anniversary night-away, we did a little wine-tasting on bikes, dining, relaxing, strolling through the town, sleeping in, and shopping! It was perfect!

When we returned, the following night on Saturday (our actual anniversary day) we made plans with our friends, the Churchills, to dine at the fabulous French restaurant, La Fleur. We like go to La Fleur every summer, it is a neat dining experience, and they are only open during the summer. For the occasion I surprised Brad by wearing my wedding rehearsal dress! Good thing he recognized it, ha ha! I love this dress, and if there's any excuse to be able to wear it again, I am glad I still can!

We cruised over to CHQ on the Churchills' boat, had sunset cocktails, and when we got to CHQ a trolley was waiting to pick us up and take us to the restaurant.