Globe-trotting Grovers: May 2018

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, May 19, 2018

Taji's EIGHTH Birthday and Vertical Jumpin' Celebration!

Taj the EIGHT year old. He's compassionate, clever, eloquent, quite the story-telling, can't quiet his brain to go to sleep at night, night owl, super analytical, sensitive, anxious, still shy at first but then giggly social soon after. He's a big reader, big vocabulary-user, and obsessed with all things Minecraft. He's funny, likes to put on shows, he's dramatic (hello drama queen!), and he's a comedian. He can be lazy, messy, prefers sweatpants over jeans and flip flops over shoes. He's a big meat/eggs protein eater, sushi lover, and still a major snuggler at night. He still plays musical beds and ends up in our bed almost every night!

Tuesday, May 15, 2018

May Moments, Mom-Sons Prom, and Memorial Day

Dino event in Erie, PA that Taj and his buddy Chase attended together

Mom and Sons adventure day at Clifton Hill (Niagara Falls- Canadian side), where visited birdies at Bird Kingdom, walked past the dinosaur miniature golf, and ate at Rainforest Cafe. It was fun on a warm-ish Spring day but we spent more hours in the car driving there and back!

Bemus Elementary Parent-Child Prom put on by the PTA. I loved having two handsome dates escort me to the "prom"!

Bemus Spring Fest with the Iron Family

Jax's gymnastics class which he insisted on taking, he loves learning new tricks and is super flexible

End of the year school concert. Taj and Chase ended up accidently wearing the same shirt!

Jax's awesome art project that was displayed at school

Sometime in the Spring the boys were ready for a change from the usually Weds-Fri after school care, so we were lucky to have them go to their friends' house, and it was way more fun! I felt so bad for them some days because the Y-care made for a very loooong school day (sometimes staying in the same school building for 9 hours!) Once the sun started shining and the temps were warmer in the afternoon, it was SO good for the boys to play with friends outside at the Plymel's house.