Globe-trotting Grovers: Summer Begins! Bonfires, Hammock, Slip n Slide, Swimming, & Paddle boarding!

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!

Monday, June 22, 2015

Summer Begins! Bonfires, Hammock, Slip n Slide, Swimming, & Paddle boarding!

Ahhh, Summertime. What do I think of when Summer comes to mind? Sunshine and being by the water, whether its the beach or in our case…. Chautauqua Lake. I'm a sucker for nightly sunsets and fireworks. I love the warm breeze that we get at our house. I think of the sound of laughter and jetskis on the water. I love watching the boys play on the playground. I enjoy relaxing on a hammock, or siting on the dock watching the boys splash in the water. I love fires, and roasting marshmallows after a day of boating. These are just some of the many things we get to do all summer long!

IMG 6098 from jana grover on Vimeo.

As summer rolled around and we had many warm evenings, we decided on having Sunday be our bonfire family night. We would either cook some sausages over the fire or bring our dinner down to the boathouse and roast marshmallows over the fire. It was the perfect summer activity to do together and wind down after an action-packed weekend. Just as some have family night dinners on sundays, we decided as long as the weather cooperated we would have Sunday bonfires after a day of boating. We enjoyed it so much that we bought a picnic table for the boathouse lakefront, and shared in the fun with friends and Brad's dad and Nancy also.

Staring at these incredible summer pink sunsets never gets old!

For my birthday, I got an early birthday present: a hammock! I have wanted one ever since we moved here and pictured lounging on it right at this spot on the top of the hill overlooking the bay.

The boys enjoy it very much too!

Heck, sometimes the whole family lays on it together and we read books.

IMG_6328 from jana grover on Vimeo.

Tried out the slip n slide this summer too…. it was a lot of work to clean it up and put it away after but so worth all the giggles and laughter. When it would get scorching hot or humid, this was a good cool down to have.

IMG_6379 from jana grover on Vimeo.

IMG_7299 from jana grover on Vimeo.

IMG_7302 from jana grover on Vimeo.
Our next door neighbor had the same idea, and one of the weekends made a giant slip n slide for not only the kids to enjoy, but adults too! Ha! That was mine and I think Brad's first time on a slip n slide, and it was crazy silly fun. You practically throw your body on to the ground to slide, and feel awfully sore for the next few days. My ribs hurt so bad it hurt to laugh! I figured out its best to start sliding on the knees first than move to the belly, but by the time i figured that out it was too late! LOL

Taking the boat over to the Yacht Club swimming pool in Lakewood was another first for us this summer, we enjoyed playing in the pool with friends and attending the family BBQ pool side functions.

Jumping off our dock and swimming on our lakefront. The water was so clear and clean, it lasted all summer too. Its so nice when we don't have too much seaweed or blue green algae to deal with like other summers past.

IMG_6563 from jana grover on Vimeo.