The Rhodes Family: Recap 2015

**NEW YEARS DAY--SIX FLAGS**

We were invited by our good friends the Muse Family to go to Six Flags in Vallejo California New Year's Day. We had a blast. Hannah and Daddy got to go on kind of a scary ride. As you can see..Hannah isn't sure about this one!

Andrew and his buddy Logan on the swing ride.

**Folsom Ice Skating**

Kiddos got to go on a Ice Skating field trip with their school. So much fun!

**SNOW MOUNTAIN**

Beginning of our trip. We are excited to go exploring.

Several stream crossings. Daddy and Hannah took their shoes off at one point. Brrrrr!!!!

Such troopers!

Daddy showing kiddos how to shoot a gun. It was nice that we were the only ones on this mountain.

It rained that night. Boy, was it cold and wet. Thankfully we had all of our gear inside the tents.

We were going to stay 2 nights but were too wet and cold, and decided to go home after one night. It's a good thing we brought ponchos!!!

**DAFFODIL HILL**

This is our yearly tradition. Daffodil Hill in Volcano, CA. It's around my birthday, so fairly easy to remember.

Spring comes fairly early here in California, but this year with the drought we have been having, it came even earlier. Glad the daffodils still decided to bloom for us.

Hannah feeding the donkey.

Such a beautiful place!!

Peacock showing off it's feathers.

**EASTER**

Andrew sporting his new mow-hawk and fancy outfit. Hannah looking fancy as usual.

Showing off her plunder.

Andrew finding his share of eggs.

**CYT- SPRING SHOWCASE**

Hannah decided to take a Drama class through CYT and had a great time. Here she is performing her skit from Toy Story. She is pretending to be Jessie.

At the end of each showcase, the whole group performs the CYT song.

**FIVE-LAKES BASIN-TAHOE NAT'L FOREST**

We finally got to get a family picture this trip!

We just happened to meet up with Andrew's good friend and neighbor Tyler who was backpacking with his Dad and Grandpa! How random is that? So we decided to camp with them the first night at Milk Lake and had a blast. The kids couldn't have been more excited. It was meant to be!!!! The weather was absolutely perfect....warm!!

Travis even got to do his beloved pastime...FISHING!!!

Warming up by the camp fire.

Waiting for some fresh fish to roast.

The backpacking trip is not complete without a "little" stream crossing.

Second night was a little higher elevation and more wind. Still beautiful though.

**ANDREW TURNS 7**

Andrew gets to lick the batter for his Lego cake that we are making. He picked a vanilla cake with crushed oreos in it. YUM!

What a fun group of boys!! Cameron, Ari, Tyler, Ryan, Andrew, Logan and Evan.

The boys get to build their own Lego creation and then take them home.

Whoever sucks up all their Lego's with a straw and places them in a cup...WINS!!!

His cake turned out well. Oreos make the perfect bumps and were not hard to frost at all.

Present time!!!

**DADDY-DAUGHTER TRIP--ROUND LAKE, TAHOE NAT'L FOREST**

Travis took Hannah on a solo backpacking trip. They got to spend some good quality time together, and spent two nights exploring the beautiful mountains.

They had lot's of fun fishing at Round Lake.

**MAUI RHODES FAMILY TRIP**

This was the vacation of a lifetime. We stayed in Wailea-Makena for 10 days, at a family friends house that was directly on the beach. Such a blessing! The cousins got to spend lot's of quality time together and so did the adults.

The most amazing sunsets almost every single evening. The water was warm even at night and first thing in the morning. Very humid. Went on several runs, and couldn't go after 7AM or it was way too hot.

Got to try paddle boarding for the first time. Finally got the hang of it and went out on several long trips. Such great exercise. Can't wait to do it again.

We went boogie boarding almost every day, and got sunburned several times, even though we put sunscreen on. We got to see all kinds of tropical fish and turtles while snorkeling as well.

Two words...Lava Flows. These drinks were amazing. Coconut-strawberry-pineapple. YUM!

Got to visit this cute church, where half of the service was in Hawaiian.

We got to hike through a bamboo forest on the way to Hanna Road.

There was a waterfall at the end.

Kayaking was a "boat-load" of fun as well. There were a couple mishaps coming into the beach area.

Quite the noodle fight going on!

Such an amazing experience!

**CALIFORNIA STATE FAIR**

We got to see Llamas at the fair and feel their soft woolly fur.

Got to see a Texas Longhorn. Wow, their horns sure are long!!!

Of course the food was what the kiddos were most excited about. Curly fries with corn dogs. Looks like a big tummy ache afterwards!! After we had our lunch kiddos got to pick a ride, and they both picked the Ferris Wheel. Great way tot finish a fun day.

**GERMANY--AUGUST**

We visited Oma and Opa in August for 3 weeks. Got to go to many fun parks including Teufel's tisch with the longest slide we have ever seen.

Went to a 1FC Kaiserslautern Fussball match. I know Daddy was pretty jealous he couldn't go with us. It sure was a lot of fun.

Went on a 2 night camping trip with Oma/Opa. Yes, we all fit into that camping van...plus two giant poodles! Took the Romantische Strasse to Neuschwanstein Castle.

Learned lot's of interesting things on a tour through the castle.

This horse pulled us back down the hill in a wagon.

Lot's of yummy food in Germany, including our favorite...Spaghetti ice cream.

We went on a 3 day 2 night tour of Paris. Took the fastest train in Europe, stayed in a youth hostel, navigated the metro system and walked all around Paris. Arc de Triomphe we visited the first day we got there.

The next day we climbed the Eiffel Tower and got to see all over Paris from high up. Spectacular. The weather couldn't have been more beautiful.

Took a boat tour under 37 bridges on the Seine River.

We got to visit a Falconry in Germany that we enjoyed termedously. There were many different types of large raptors like eagles, owls, vultures and hawks.

**HANNAH TURNS 9**

Hannah celebrated her 9th birthday at Rollingwood pool with her friends. She had a blast.

Blowing out her candles. She picked strawberry cupcakes with a real strawberry on top. They were delicious.

On such a hot July day, they got to spend a lot of their time in the cool refreshing water.

**DADDY-SON BACKPACKING TRIP**

Daddy and Andrew got to hike to Lake Aloha in the Desolation Wilderness for one night. They had a wonderful time and got lot's of quality time together.

Of course lot's of fishing happened on their trip.

It sure was a rocky hike!

**WILDCATS SOCCER**

This was the Wildcats last year of playing together as a team. Very bitter-sweet. Lot's of things to look forward to in the future but we will sure miss Coach Matt. Unfortunately, the age range for each division is changing in 2016 so a lot of these boys wouldn't be on a team together anyways.

**CYT-THE MUSIC MAN**

Hannah got to be part of CYT's Music Man for the Fall performance. It is her 3rd CYT performance so far and she is having a blast. Loves the CYT family, the dances, the singing and she has made a lot of good friends.

**Grandpa's memorial service**

November was a very hard month for our family where we had to say goodbye to our beloved Father, Father-in-law and Grandpa Pat. He battled Lung Cancer and fought bravely to the very end. We will miss him so much, and hold tight to the many memories we have of him.