The Rhodes Family

Folsom Turkey Trot 2010

2010-12-01T14:05:00.000-08:00

One of my goal's this year was to run in the Folsom Turkey Trot 10km event. I have been steadily running about three times a week for six months, hoping to be in good enough shape to run that distance. As some of you already know, I am NOT a natural born runner! I have a hard time going long distances, and have always been a natural sprinter. Two of my friends, Kaci and Tracy, ran with me, and that made the time go by so much faster. We all had a great time, and I ran the 10km in 1 hour and 8 minutes. What's next? Maybe a half-marathon...

Crepes for Travis's birthday

2010-12-01T14:00:00.000-08:00

For Trav's birthday this year, we went to a place called Mirabelle's Crepery. It sure was yummy! Trav had a chicken pesto crepe, the kiddos had turkey and cheese crepes, and I had a smoked salmon and goat cheese crepe. THEN, for dessert we had nutella crepes with whipped cream, and bananas.

I think we all know which ones were Hannah's favorite!

Ice Skating Fun

2010-12-01T13:56:00.000-08:00

This year Travis took one week off during the Thanksgiving holiday. We had a great time ice skating, going to a kid's art museum, and just lounging around at home in our pajamas. When we asked everybody what was their favorite part of daddy's time off, we all agreed that it was the ice skating. When Travis and I first went on the ice, we thought we had forgotten how to ice skate! Thankfully, it came back to us pretty quickly.

The kids pushed around these plastic containers, and it really helped them balance on the ice. Here's Andrew sporting his super cute owl hat that a friend made for him.

Both Travis and I were super impressed by Hannah on the ice. By the end of our visit, she was ice skating all by herself around the rink. Go Hannah!

We all had a great time, and hopefully we can go ice skating again before it melts!

Halloween Fun

2010-11-01T13:46:00.000-07:00

Our Halloween started on a Friday when Hannah had a parade at her preschool. All the kids got to show off their costumes and of course there were a lot of pictures taken by us parents.

Hannah posing with her two good friends Marissa and Amber. Hannah was the only girl that didn't have a "girly" costume. We got the dalmatian outfit as a hand me down, and since Hannah didn't object to it, we decided to be frugal and go with it!

Here's Hannah's preschool class with Miss Cathie, all lined up. At the end of showing off the costumes to the parents, Hannah took hers off. It was much too hot she said.

On Saturday, we carved some pumpkins up. Hannah wanted Tinkerbell and Andrew wanted McQueen. We found a pattern for Tinkerbell but couldn't find a free one online for McQueen, so Andrew got an Owl instead.

Hannah thought scooping out the seeds was "eww, gross."

Of course Sir Andrew had to give a noble effort, and see what all the fuss was about.

He was a big boy about it.

Here are our creation by day.

And by night.

Finally Halloween Day arrived. Hannah went as a Dalmatian dog, and Andrew was a Doggie bone. They had to match, right? We got to do some pre-trick or treating with their friend Tyler who went as a train engineer.

Don't these two look sneaky? :) This was taken after they rang the doorbell of a neighbor about 20 times and banged on the door.

Here's trunk or treating with Daddy at our Lakeside Church.

Here's posing in front of a bounce house with their friend Jasmine. After a long day, everybody was exhausted, including and especially mommy and daddy.

Preschool Pumpkin Patch Day

2010-10-28T15:17:00.000-07:00

One of the outings we went on with Hannah's preschool was to the pumpkin patch. The kids had a marvelous time. More than anything it was a fun time to connect with Hannah's friends and the parents.

Hannah has become very good friends with several girls there. Here are two of her friends Marissa and Ava walking to the pumpkin patch hand in hand.

Hannah posing in front a huge pumpkin. Isn't she a fall child? Those fall colors definitely look good on her!

Here are two of her friends Amber and Marissa. They were all excited because they were about to go on a hay ride.

Hannah and Marissa running through a corn maze. These two are inseparable. They have been best friends since day one of preschool.

Here's Hannah's preschool class. They all have such a fun time together.

Apple Hill

2010-10-28T14:56:00.000-07:00

Oh, how I love when Autumn hits the Sacramento area. I'm sure in other parts of the country the leaves are more beautiful...blah blah blah. But, our area really has a lot to offer. One of my favorite things to do is go to Apple Hill. I went with my friend/neighbor Natalie this year and had a great time! The kids were so excited to go.

They got to go to a pumpkin patch and pick their favorite.

Andrew got to sit on a real tractor and pretend that he was a farmer.

We got to pet the farm animals. They had goats, pigs and chickens. And we got to go on a hay ride.

The farmer gave us a ride on his hay wagon. Wasn't that nice of him?

2010-10-28T14:39:00.000-07:00

Our daughter Hannah has been looking forward to going to preschool ever since she turned 3, and found out that there was such a thing as "school." Well, the day finally arrived and boy was she excited! We got some good recommendations from fellow parents of some of the preschools in our area, and after visiting Small Wonders, decided that would be a good option for Hannah.

Little Andrew was a little sad that Hannah had to leave for a couple of hours, but since it was during his nap, he really didn't know the difference.

She got to meet her teacher Miss Cathie, and read out loud all the letters in her name perfectly.

What was the first thing she did on her first day of school? She made a new friend. She went up to a girl named Marissa, and asked her if she wanted to be friends. Marissa said, "Sure." Now they are inseparable. Don't you wish it were that easy to make friends?

Fancy French Cafe

2010-09-07T14:44:00.000-07:00

One of the things we love to do as a family is find new places to eat that are local, healthy, have a cultural flair, and are just not your typical "chain" restaurant. Travis discovered this cute little french cafe in downtown Sacramento called Cafe Rolle, and couldn't wait to take us there. We got there around 11 AM (the Rhodes family eats lunch early since our lovely kids like to wake up early), which was perfect because there were not too many people there yet. About 30 minutes after we came the place was packed. Hannah wanted to dress up for the occasion, and of course show off for the camera.

Here's Hannah and I posing for the handsome camera man (ie Travis).

The food they brought us at the cafe was DE-LICIOUS! We had smoked salmon sandwiches on crusty french bread and Toffee-creme brulee for dessert.

Doesn't Travis look like the typical european in that hat? That's my cultural husband for you!

Hannah's 4th Birthday

2010-09-07T14:37:00.000-07:00

If you are wondering if you are having a Deja-Vu moment, and thinking to yourself, hmmm, didn't Hannah have her birthday party at a water park LAST year? You are RIGHT! We have had her birthday party at the same water park in Folsom for 3 years in a row now. It has worked out so well because the weather in Sacramento is abominably HOT in July, and the kids have a great time cooling off in the water. One of our friends made a fun "I 'm 4 now" Tank top for Hannah that she proudly wore that day.

There was an abundance of food, thanks to Trav's family being there to help out. Unfortunately, because it was so hot that day (I'm sure it was in the triple digits) the cupcakes melted a little and the flies were all over the food, but good thing it all still tasted good!

Here's Hannah being silly with Grandma and Grandpa. It was so great having her grandparents and other family there at the party. That made it very memorable.

Trav's two brothers Justin and Daniel, and their wives/fiancee's. Aren't they cute? :)

Here are some friends that came to her birthday party.

Thanks everybody for making it a special day for Hannah!

Trav's family comes for a visit

2010-09-07T14:23:00.000-07:00

We had a lot going on when we came back from our trip to Germany. A week later, Travis's family came for a visit, and that same week we celebrated Hannah's birthday. This was the first time we met Justin's fiancee Jen and also cousin Taylor. We all had a great time! Here's a trip to the train museum.

It was so much fun getting to know my sister-in-laws better, and we really got to bond this trip. Here we are hanging out in the livingroom.

If anyone has slept at our house, you will know that our kids do NOT sleep in. Here is Andrew snuggling with Uncle Daniel on the blow up mattress, just after he woke up.

Hannah had a great time getting to know Aunt Jenna and hanging out with her.

I've got to say, the most fun they probably had though was playing with their cousin Taylor. He did such a great job playing with his "younger" cousins, and they had a great time.

My favorite part? I hardly had to cook. The men did it all. It sure was tasty too. I don't think our BBQ has ever gotten that much use in one week! What a nice break to have time to hang out with everybody instead.

Our trip to Germany

2010-09-06T16:22:00.000-07:00

In June, the kids and I went on a two week trip to Germany to visit Oma and Opa. Our flights to Germany and and back were super long, but the kids were such troopers. I was so proud of them.

It took us about a 4 days just to get used to the 9 hour time change, with a couple middle of the night episodes but after that we were all good to go. What were some of the things we did there?

We made daisy chains,

enjoyed the sunshine,

rode on scooters (that used to be mine when I was his age),

swam at the swimming pool,

picked wild flowers out of Oma's garden,

and ate some yummy Germany food (if you are interested in seeing more Germany food and recipes, check out this link on my food blog German Food .

We also saw lot's of friends including my friends Ramona, Melanie and Jennifer from my old german swim team KSK,

brother in law Daniel,

and Julian (he's my friend Melanie's boy who is only a couple weeks younger than Hannah).

We went to a Dinosaur Park in Kaiserslautern,

Rosegarden in Schmittshausen,

and Saarbrucken Zoo.

The day we got there, Germany was experiencing a heat wave, so this is how the kids stayed cool while we were there. My mom brought out an "outdoor" shower that you stick in the ground, and attache a hose to it. Came in very useful!

And of course, last but not least, we had a great time visiting with Oma and Opa. Thanks so much for a great time!

Oh, how we love our cherry tree!

2010-09-06T15:39:00.000-07:00

This year we had a great year for cherries. Every morning for a month, the kids would go outside with their buckets and pick a bunch of cherries off of the branches they could reach. They are still kind of little, but useful for making jelly, sauces, and apparently decorating our house and ourselves.

Good thing the stuff washes off with just a little water! Oh, Happy Memories!

Popsicle Days

2010-09-06T15:31:00.000-07:00

What was one of our favorite summertime treat during the hot, hot summer months?

Popsicles! We would make smoothies for breakfast and then freeze any leftovers in these Popsicle molds for a tasty treat after nap time. They were delicious! If you would like some yummy recipes, check out my food blog at this link Popsicle Treats

Andrew's Birthday Party

2010-09-06T15:23:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, it's been a while since I've posted anything. My only excuse is: We've had a BUSY summer! Can anybody else relate with that? :) So, I thought I would update you on a couple highlights of our summer. To kick it off, we celebrated Andrew's birthday party in May. Our little man turned 2 and had a grand old time playing at a neighborhood park with balloons,

eating yummy "oreo dirt" cupcakes with gummy worms sticking out of them,

blowing out his candles on his dump truck cake

and playing with all his toys/gifts from his friends.

Thank you so much to everyone who made this a spectacular event and good memories!

If you are what you eat...

2010-04-25T17:53:00.001-07:00

..then I'm a nut, but if you are what you DO, then Hannah is our resident monkey. Her daring personality definitely comes from Daddy which doesn't sit too well with Mommy. Grandparents beware, this video might not sit well with you either!

The kiddos like to help

2010-04-20T14:21:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, I started my new food blog a few weeks ago, and many have asked "How do you have the time with two young kids?" Well, here is proof...they help me. Okay, maybe they don't help me ALL the time, but I would say at least half of the time, they enjoy mixing the bowl, kneading the dough, etc. whenever I make something. Here Hannah is kneading the dough for homemade bread.

"Wow, that's a lot of dough, mommy!" Hannah said.

Of course, Sir Andrew doesn't like to be left out. Whenever Hannah is doing something, he always says (or rather yells...the boy doesn't have any volume control), "Me too, mommy...ME TOO!"

Haven't checked out the new food blog yet? Here's the link to it:

www.mommymealplanner.blogspot.com

Sharing popsicles with friends

2010-04-20T14:08:00.000-07:00

One day a couple weeks ago, we had our friends Jackson and Jacob over and it was definitely a Popsicle kind of day. It was at least 80 degrees outside! So the kids enjoyed them while sitting outside in the shade. I'm sure we will be doing this a lot this summer.

Snack time!

2010-04-20T13:58:00.000-07:00

This is how our kids look after waking up from a nap and having a snack. :) We've definitely got the goofiest kids!

YEY! They both smiled for the camera at the same time! It's a miracle! :)

Easter Fun

2010-04-20T13:52:00.000-07:00

The Saturday before Easter, we did our traditional Easter egg coloring. I gotta say, it's amazing how much a year of maturity will do for Hannah with this activity. Last year, we got dye all over the newspaper, and Hannah was frustrated because she wanted to do everything by herself. This year, she was more patient and careful with the project.

Unfortunately, it rained this Easter, so we couldn't do our Easter egg hunt outside. So, after the kids woke up from their naps, they looked for the eggs throughout the livingroom in their PJ's. Of course we had to do the hiding, ten more times, because Hannah wanted to do it over and over again. :)

Andrew did a great job finding the eggs all by himself. Even though Hannah found her 8 eggs faster, Andrew held up his own in the search and find department. Good job Andrew!

The Rhodes Family Singing Sensations

2010-04-19T19:04:00.000-07:00

Hannah and Andrew have some serious singing aspirations as evidenced by the videos below. I'm pretty sure that these videos aren't going to get them onto American Idol any time soon, BUT they will be great for future boyfriends and girlfriends.

Next up I'm going to try and get some audio of Kristina singing in the shower. My retirement plan is for THAT video to win some money on America's Funniest Home Videos!

A visit with the Princesses

2010-04-02T13:21:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine owns a company that does "Princess Parties" at birthday parties and other events, so we were invited to meet some of the Princesses she had on hand at a park. Hannah was of course in Princess Heaven! Her favorite princess is Belle, so we got lot's of pictures with her. We all had a great time, and then we got to play with the Princesses at the park. :)

Wildflower Patch

2010-03-17T14:10:00.000-07:00

At our neighborhood park we have an area in the woods that is filled with wildflowers every spring. They shine their bright faces at us and say "Pick me, Pick me." The kiddos of course listened to their enticing voices and made a bouquet that is sitting on our kitchen table.

Hannah loves skipping through the meadows of flowers, spying on all the ladybugs and running from all the bumble bees. She got stung by one last January, so anytime she sees a flying insect, she runs! :)

At the end of our adventurous day of wildflower picking, Hannah turned to me and said, "Mommy, I think we should call this place Wildflower Patch." So, Wildflower Patch it is. I think it is the perfect name, don't you?

Daddy's shirt

2010-02-27T08:49:00.000-08:00

When I pulled this shirt out of Andrew's closet the other day, he right away said "Daddy's shirt." I said "Nope, this is your shirt." He said, "No, Daddy's shirt." So, apparently this looks like a shirt Daddy would wear.
Our little man is growing up so fast. His language skills have really taken off, and it's so nice to be able to communicate with him and understand what he is saying. Can you believe he's already turning 2 this May? Sniff, sniff...my baby is growing up.

He finally is learning how to smile for the camera.

He's got so many different expressions, I wish I could capture all of them.

Here he is showing off "Daddy's shirt." :)

Master Painters

2010-02-27T08:32:00.000-08:00

Daddy and Hannah have been busy painting our old bookshelf, and as you can see from their noses, the color will be black. As most of you know, Hannah is definitely a "Daddy's Girl." When she knows Daddy is driving home from work during the week, even though it's a 30-40 minute commute, she will patiently watch for him by the window until he is home.
I love my "goofy" family. These are all memories I will cherish for a lifetime. God has really blessed us abundantly, and I am so grateful for every minute I spend with my family. Even though life can get rough and overwhelming sometimes with two young kids, I know I will look back fondly on those times and remember those snapshots of laughter, giggles and joy that we have shared.

Outdoor Amusement

2010-02-27T08:12:00.000-08:00

When the weather is nice, the kids favorite thing is to play in the backyard on their swing set. I finally hooked up the slide, so they have been taking their stuffed animals, and pushing them down the slide.
Hannah has gotten really good at pushing Andrew on the swing. As you can see from his giggles, he LOVES it!

Snuggly Siblings

2010-02-27T08:01:00.000-08:00

Hannah and Andrew have been really into snuggling with each other this month. Maybe it's because it's been raining so much around here lately or maybe there's LOVE in the air . :) Either way, I'm glad they love each other so much.
They have also been comforting each other a lot. If Hannah gets hurt or starts crying, Andrew runs and brings her "pink puppy" which is the ultimate comfort for her. If Andrew starts crying, Hannah goes and gets his "blankie"and he quiets down right away.

Our extravagant-glamorous daughter

2010-02-27T07:50:00.000-08:00

Hannah lately has been going all-out dressing up. She basically puts on EVERY accessory that she owns, and models it for the family.
She is definitely the princess in the family. She loves anything girly, fancy, and sparkly. Every time we go to a store, she looks for anybody that looks "fancy" and points them out to me. She will say,"Look Mommy, that lady is so pretty. She's wearing high heals." Apparently my frumpy jogging outfit that I usually sport is not fancy enough. :)

Fun in the snow

2010-02-18T08:02:00.001-08:00

Travis had last Monday off from work so we thought we would take a trip to the snow. We drove towards Lake Tahoe and just off Highway 50 there was a snow park. We just payed $15 for parking, and had a fun day of sledding down the hills. This was the first time the kiddos had seen the snow and they LOOOVED it. Especially Hannah!

Here are the kiddos and I enjoying the snow.

Andrew didn't like the sledding as much as Hannah, so he mostly stayed with daddy at the bottom of the hill while Hannah and mommy had fun sledding.

This was the first time Hannah and I went down on the sled together. I thought Travis captured this moment perfectly. You can see how much we are enjoying the ride by our "goofy" grins.

Daddy and Andrew going down on the sled.

Hannah eventually got brave enough to go down the hill by herself. Once she did it on her own, there was no turning back! She was awesome!

Hannah couldn't wait to do snow angels. Unfortunately, the snow was kind of hard packed, so they didn't really turn out, but she kept trying!

Our date to Downtown Sacramento

2010-02-12T15:14:00.001-08:00

As most of you know who have young children, it's really hard to find time to go on dates as a married couple. So, our New Year's resolution for this year is to go on two date nights a month. Some of you are saying, "WOW, how do you find time for that?" Well...we make time. It is so important for a healthy marriage to be able to spend that quality time together without constantly being interrupted by the kiddos. So, we decided to head to downtown Sacramento and eat lunch at a Cafe, go the the Capitol, and experience for the first time the light rail. The light rail was definitely an "INTERESTING" experience. It was not the romantic train rides of Germany where everybody in the area rides the train. We saw lot's of people who were intoxicated, clothes with holes in them, using foul language, etc. Well, maybe we will use our car next time. :)
The food at the Cafe was amazing. I had a turkey burger, and of course the meat came from a local butcher, the salad was all home-grown out of their garden in the back, etc.
Then we headed over to the Capitol. I had never been on a tour, and we thought we would check it out. It was all very interesting.
At the Capitol they have every tree that is native to California represented. Here are some orange trees bearing their fruit.

A statue in the Capitol building.
Here's Travis in front of Governor Schwarzenegger's office.
We had a great date and we are so blessed to have wonderful friends to watch our kids twice a month. :)

Sprinkles, Sprinkles, EVERYWHERE!

2010-02-11T08:57:00.001-08:00

Last weekend, Daddy was in charge of giving Hannah a snack. She decided on yogurt with sprinkles, which is one of her FAVORITE all time snacks. Of course, my husband the creative one couldn't just give her sprinkles, he had to make it pretty. :) I got to say though, that is a LOT of sprinkles.

There's been a lot of dress up time around here...

2010-02-11T08:51:00.001-08:00

Brrrr...it sure has been cold and wet in Orangevale. Since the weather has been so horrid, we have had a LOT of dress-up at our house. Poor Andrew. Most days you will find him in some kind of a tu-tu or high heels. Oh, the joys of having an older sister. :)

Hannah picked this outfit all by herself. Nice accessorizing!

Christmas Day

2009-12-25T14:43:00.000-08:00

"Christmas is here! Finally!" Hannah yelled at the top of her lungs when I woke her up for a pancake breakfast this morning. It has been a non-stop whirlwind of activities this month, including going to Dovewood Court to watch Christmas lights, shopping for presents, seeing Santa at the mall, shopping for more presents, Christmas parties, MORE shopping for presents, cookie decorating parties, and even MORE shopping for presents. Whew! Who would have known Christmas with kids would be this exhausting! So, by the time we got to Christmas morning, we were all exhausted, and nursing a cold. But, that didn't stop us from having a good time opening presents!

Here's Andrew opening his big boy sippy cup with his name on it.

Hannah waving her Fairy wand around. It's amazing all the cool stuff you can find at the 99 cents store! :)
Andrew opening more presents. For some reason, all the pictures we took of him, he had his tongue sticking out. LOL! :)
Our little princess Hannah looking at herself in her new mirror. Oooh-la-la, what fancy earrings you have on, Princess Hannah.
After Hannah was all done opening her presents, she turns to me and says, "Mommy, I LOOOOVE opening presents." Isn't that the truth? :) Now all I have to teach her is it's better to give than it is to receive.
Here's a content Hannah playing with her new stamp collection--still wearing her new clip-on fancy earrings...I have a feeling she will be taking a nap in these...

Merry Christmas everyone! May you have a good finish to the year 2009!

Christmas Eve

2009-12-25T14:20:00.000-08:00

Christmas this year consisted of Christmas Eve-Eve dinner (the 23rd), Christmas Eve church service, and Christmas Day lounging at home opening presents.
For dinner we had 4 guests show up. The new worship leader at our church is newly married, so we invited him and his wife over. They don't have family in the area (just like us!). My friend Rheina, whom I have stayed good friends with from EMF Broadcasting, came over. We had more than enough food prepared, so last minute, the morning of the dinner I invited our across the street neighbor Shaun over who is a massage therapist. We had a fabulous time of good food, and great fellowship!
Our Christmas meal consisted of pomegranate chicken, garlic-herb roasted potatoes, lemon-dijon green beans, herb biscuits, spinach salad with goat cheese and cranberries, and to top it off pecan-date pie with whipped cream. We were STUFFED by the end. It was all SOOO good!
Unfortunately, I was so busy preparing for the occasion, that I TOTALLY forgot to take pictures. But it was all very pretty! :) You can just imagine how it was in your head. Use that imagination!
Here are some pictures of Hannah on Christmas Eve. The funny thing, most of the other little girls around her age at the church were dressed just like her! Velvet black dress with red trim. :) Apparently that was popular this year.
We decided to volunteer on the greeting team for one of the Christmas Eve services at our church this year. It was so much fun! Definitely something we want to do again next year.
Hannah snuggling with the little angel baby that sits on our tree. She loves that thing!
Look at that beautiful smile! :)
At the church there was this cute little elf lady that Hannah loved, so we took a picture of them together. :)

Aunt Lisa & Cousin Cami come for a visit

2009-12-25T14:13:00.000-08:00

Aunt Lisa & Cousin Cami came for a 3 day visit. We all had so much fun. They played candyland with Hannah.
Read lot's, and lot's, and lot's of books to Hannah.
And just hung out with the kiddos a lot. :) It was so much fun having family here for the holidays.

Kids FINALLY playing more together

2009-12-25T13:58:00.000-08:00

So, I gotta say...I love this stage! The kids are finally playing well together. Hannah usually makes up a game (like this one...going shopping with baskets) and Andrew follows suit. It's AWESOME! This is Hannah's "Miss America" wave. Can't you see her as our future president? :)
I absolutely adore this look of Hannah's. It's one of her signature smiles. :)
Andrew saying "Cheese." He's been doing more poses for the camera too, whenever he can stand still that is.
YEY, both kids smiling and looking at the camera at the same time. Very rare, very rare!

Rain, Rain, Go Away...

2009-12-25T12:31:00.000-08:00

It sure has rained a lot this year! Here's Hannah sporting her new dora umbrella, rain jacket, and boots.
These two sure love jumping in the puddles. Andrew's boots are only 3 sizes too big for him, but he's still able to jump in them.
Here Hannah is singing, " Rain, Rain Go away, come again some other day." Andrew didn't know the words but he danced to her singing.

Oh, the joys of having a big sister

2009-12-25T12:22:00.000-08:00

The kiddos have been "LOVING" playing dress-up together. Of course, Andrew doesn't really have any "manly" dress-up clothes yet, but he doesn't mind sporting a dress now and then.

All he needs is some earrings to go with this dress.

These will be "great" pictures to threaten Andrew with when he gets older. I can just show them to his "latest" girlfriend if he doesn't listen to his mom or do what she says. :)
Say "cheese." Awww...aren't they cute?

We are using our fireplace!

2009-12-25T12:15:00.000-08:00

We finally have a nice, clean fireplace to enjoy! So exciting. Here's the kiddos warming their "heinys" by the fire. Bring on the cold weather!

Reading Buddies

2009-12-25T12:01:00.000-08:00

Hannah and Andrew have become "reading buddies". It just warms my heart to see them both enjoy books so much. Those are two of their favorite books as well. Andrew LOOOVES Elmo and Hannah loves ladybugs. :)

Snow in Orangevale!!!!

2009-12-25T11:59:00.000-08:00

Here is proof that "YES" it does snow in the Sacramento area. Granted it's it's not enough to make a snow man, but we did get a sprinkling. :)

Travis's big 30

2009-11-19T14:14:00.001-08:00

We went to Ichi Maki Sushi Restaurant for Travis's birthday. We all had fun with good food and great friends!
Here's a bunch of hungry fellows waiting for their sushi. And of course there's Jon showing us how old Travis is just in case we forgot.
Cameron Pray showing us how big his muscles are.
Hannah and Macy Pray, not to be outdone by Cameron, are showing off their big muscles too.
A good picture of Bill Burke. We had a great time! Thanks so much for sharing Travis's special day with us.

Halloween 2009

2009-11-03T13:37:00.000-08:00

We had a great Halloween this year. We attended our church's "trunk or treat" which is a great alternative to the traditional trick or treating. They had blow up houses that both kids loved, lot's of candy, and it was just overall a lot of fun. Hannah was a fairy princess and Andrew was a bat. We were super frugal on the costumes this year. I made Andrew's costume (the hat) and we borrowed the dress from a friend. Can't get any better than that! :)

Here's Hannah and Daddy posing for the camera. Aww, aren't they cute?

Hannah showing off her fairy wand.

My mom, "Oma" got to come with us this year which was lot's of fun for her.

Andrew being silly like usual. He was a hard one to keep up with at the festivities. He sure is fast! :) Hopefully I burned off all the candy I ate from chasing him.

Our favorite Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-13T13:52:00.000-07:00

Hannah petting the goat at our favorite pumpkin patch. I can't remember the name of it, but we've gone to the same one every year since Hannah was born.
Hannah didn't like the nudge the goat gave her with his horns. Apparently he was all done with the petting session.

Hannah and Andrew walking through the corn maze. Awwww. Aren't they cute?
Mommy and Hannah posing for a mother-daughter shot. My hair looks a "little" red in this picture, right? Sigh...unfortunately everybody still asks, "Where do they get their red hair from?"
Andrew, always the climber.
Hannah and Andrew sitting on some VERY BIG pumpkins.
Daddy and Andrew waving to the photographer (ie. me).
This is how Andrew got into the wagon. He was fairly successful at it too!
Daddy pulling the kiddos. They had a fun ride in the wagon.
Hannah picked out her pumpkin. Of course, it had to be small enough for her to pick up and carry.
Hannah pulling Andrew for a ride through the pumpkin maze.

Mommy and Andrew stopping to smell the flowers. We love FALL!

Riding horses at Apple Hill

2009-10-13T13:38:00.000-07:00

We went up to Apple Hill this year and had a great time. Andrew and Hannah got to ride the horses, which of course was their favorite part of the whole trip, as you can see from Andrew's smile above. :)
Hannah got to ride the biggest horse there, which she was happy about. Andrew of course didn't really care. He was too busy trying not to fall off the horse.
Hannah riding her BIG horse named Ipachi.
Andrew wanting to pet the horse.
Since there is a little more altitude at Apple Hill, we were all wearing jackets...everyone except Travis...he was in shorts and a short sleeved shirt and said he was very comfortable. Brrrr!

First visit to a pumpkin patch

2009-10-13T13:33:00.003-07:00

We first went to a pumpkin patch near our house with my friend Jen during the week. The kids got to play on the hay bails, jump houses, and there was even a rope swing.
Here Hannah is showing Andrew how to jump in the jump house.
Hannah and her friend Ian are playing on the hay bales.
Ian's younger sister Mia is saying "cheese" with Hannah.

Andrew sitting on a very BIG pumpkin.

The new testament expanded Bible

2009-09-30T20:58:00.001-07:00

The purpose behind the Expanded New Testament Bible by Thomas Nelson publishers is to help you find deeper meaning in the Word and be able to read and study the bible at the same time. While reading it, you will be able to learn many different terms, expressions and synonyms for key words in each verse. I thought it was an "okay" bible. I wasn't a huge fan. It was very distracting for me to keep having to stop and look at the additional words/comments for each word in the sentence. It also didn't see very user friendly. But, I am also not used to reading study bible's. I would definitely not recommend this as a take to church bible or as a "first bible." On the other hand, I can see how this would be very helpful if you are just focusing on individual verses and wanting to research additional information about each key verse.

It's cold enough to wear slippers!

2009-09-30T20:43:00.000-07:00

It's finally gotten colder here in the Sacramento area, so we pulled out the kid's slippers. They were so entertained by them. Andrew kept saying "EMO...EMO," for Elmo. Ahhh, these are the fun days...memories...memories.

Everyone loves high heels

2009-09-30T20:40:00.000-07:00

Andrew got to try Hannah's princess high heels out, and of course he LOVED them. Of course he had to pick the pink ones out. This will be a good bribe picture for Andrew when he gets older. :)

Sacramento Fair

2009-09-30T20:17:00.000-07:00

We went the beginning of this month to the Sacramento Fair. Travis had to work at a SMUD booth there, so we decided to join him afterward. Here's Hannah and I riding the choo-choo train. It was the only ride that she was tall enough to ride. :)
The kiddos had a great time at the petting zoo. Andrew especially loved petting this white goat...mostly because it was the only creature sitting still in the whole place. :)

This donkey kept following Travis around the petting zoo. We got a good laugh out of that. Maybe he smelled like his favorite food. :)
Hannah had a great time petting all the animals.
This is my favorite picture of Hannah right now. It really captures a moment of cuteness. Happy Fall everyone!

The many faces of Andrew

2009-09-30T19:57:00.000-07:00

Andrew has so many expressions that I wanted to share some of them with you. This one above is his "watching Hannah being silly" look.
This one is his "I'm curious" look.
LOVE this picture! This is his "I'm just the silliest guy ever" look...or actually I think Travis was tickling him in this one...
This one is "I love...." look. Usually he gives me this look when he points to his shoes and wants me to put them on in the morning.
This one is "I'm frustrated" look. He gives me that one a lot too. :) Hope you enjoyed the many personalities/features/persona's of Andrew. :)

Good-bye Grandparents! We miss you!

2009-09-23T22:35:00.001-07:00

This is all of us at the airport going back home. We had a great trip overall, and really miss everybody! PS. Don't you just love Hannah's ladybug luggage?

Hannah the fish

2009-09-23T22:29:00.000-07:00

Hannah was a big fish in the swimming pool in Colorado. I can't wait to take her more in the water. She learned how to float all by her self on her back, and if I had a little more practice, I think she might swim by the end of this summer. Wait...the summer is gone! Okay, maybe next year.

Fun on the Grandparents boat

2009-09-23T22:18:00.001-07:00

One of the high lights of our trip to Colorado was going on the Grandparents boat. That was a lot of fun! Here's a picture of Justin and I attempting to Kayak. That's right Justin...whose got the muscle! :)
That's me holding on for dear life on the inner tube that is tagging behind the jet ski. Talk about a face full of water.
Travis and Justin on the jet ski, saying "See, we're okay. Didn't flip the jet ski."
Travis holding on to the inner tube.
Here's me holding on to the inner tube. Note to contact wearers: Might want to take them out before trying this... :)
Hannah and I kayaking. She had a fun ride.
Travis and the kids hanging out on the boat.
Grandpa Pat and Uncle Justin manning the jet ski.
And saving the best for last...this was taken after Justin's 4th attempt at trying to stay afloat on the kayak. Maybe it just wasn't your thing Justin. Actually, I think you finally did manage it, didn't you? :)

Connecting with the Bowersoxes

2009-09-23T22:13:00.000-07:00

We got to connect with Erin and Kristin Bowersox, whom we went to High School with, while we were in Colorado. Fun times!

Visit to Focus on the Family

2009-09-23T22:04:00.000-07:00

We got to visit Focus on the Family while we were in Colorado Springs, and had a great time. It's such a great ministry! We actually went twice, because it was SO "cool." This is Hannah in the Wardrobe of Chronicles of Narnia. They had a Narnia room there that was all decked out.
This is the whole family, minus me whose taking the picture. But EVERYBODY is looking at the camera! Go Rhodes Family!
Uncle Justin showing Hannah something fun in a display case.
Hannah and Grandpa Pat got some bonding time over ice cream.
Hannah and Andrew being silly. Love those kids!

Tea at Glen Eyrie Castle

2009-09-23T22:03:00.000-07:00

This was the tea and scones we were served at Glen Eyrie Castle. It was very ooh-la-la!
Hannah's favorite part of course was the...CHOCOLATE!!!!!
This was a special experience for Hannah, because we are always pretending to have "Tea" at home with our ladybug tea set, so this was the real thing for her.
Grandma Sherry and Hannah enjoying themselves.
Got a good shot with the kids. At least one kid is looking at the camera! :)

Thorn Boy

2009-09-23T21:37:00.001-07:00

So...we are doing a little catch up. This happened the day before we were leaving for Colorado. Andrew ran in to the rosebushes, got a little beat up, and even got a thorn souvenir. He sure is our tough boy...he didn't even cry very much. I've definitely got my work cut out for me!

Our Fearless Boy

2009-08-12T14:12:00.000-07:00

So, once again I'm doing the dishes with my back turned just for a second...and our little guy already gets in to trouble. The first picture is where I left him when I went to go to do the dishes. The second one is as if he's saying "Is this okay mommy?" and the last picture is him giving me his innocent, look what I can do smile.

Puppy went to the Doctors and was forgotten

2009-08-12T14:00:00.000-07:00

We had a little crisis last week that took a while for Hannah to recover from. She might even be permanently scarred, and will probably remember this incident for the rest of her life. Yes, puppy was forgotten. Most of you know, her "pink" "puppy Dora" has been her sole companion/pillow/all around comforter since she was 7 months old. Well, we went to the Doctor's office last week, and for some reason I let her take her puppy with her. We usually don't allow it since it would be devastating if she ever left him some where. Well, it happened. She forgot him, and by the time we realized it, the Doctor's office was about to close. I quickly called them, they found her puppy, but we wouldn't be able to pick him up until the next day. Oh the drama that followed. It wasn't so bad until it was bed time. We had to find a replacement for puppy, and we went through ALL of her animals, and not one of them would suit. SOOOO, Travis had to stay with her in her room until she fell asleep, which finally happened almost 2 hours after her bedtime. Well, I've definitely learned my lesson. NOW, we have to make sure he doesn't get lost on our trip to Colorado. Sigh! The joys of parenthood.
The above pictures are Hannah's big smile after getting her puppy back.

Chore Boy

2009-08-12T13:57:00.001-07:00

I was sweeping the kitchen...for the umpteenth time, when I turn my back to work on the dishes. I hear a squeal of delight behind me, turn around, and see Andrew helping mommy out. That's my boy!

Hannah getting married

2009-08-12T13:46:00.000-07:00

Hannah was playing dress-up and she comes out of her room saying "Look Mommy. I'm getting married." She even had her ring on her "left ring finger." Sigh. Good thing I don't have to worry about that for a long time. On a side note, this is the confirmation dress that Travis's mom gave us that used to be Travis's when he was an infant. I have no clue why an outfit that is supposed to be used for a 3 month old fits Hannah who is 3, but I'm sure stranger things have happened.

Everyday Greatness by Stephen R Covey...a Reader's Digest Book

2009-08-12T13:19:00.001-07:00

The book Everyday Greatness by Stephen R Covey, was a book compiled of short stories that are supposed to inspire and motivate you to do great things with your life. Each chapter has three stories and a wrap up and reflections by Stephen Covey that gives you things to think about from the stories you've read. There are also quotations from various famous people that have to do with whatever topic you are reading about. Honestly, I wasn't inspired by most of the stories I read. The only story that was really worth reading was The Cellist of Sarajevo, but overall the stories were just very dull. Also, some of the stories really didn't go with the topic that Stephen Covey was presenting like the one about Pope John Paul II. The quotes at the end of each chapter were interesting, but at the same time kind of overwhelming because there were so many of them. I couldn't wait to just be done with the book. I really don't think this is a book worth spending money on.

Hannah turns 3!!!!!

2009-07-20T14:36:00.001-07:00

Livermore Park~Folsom~California

Hannah had her birthday this year at a park that had water features. Here's a picture of the waterfall and stream that runs down the hill.

Hannah about to run under the waterfall. It was 105 degrees outside, so it was a nice way to cool off.

All of Hannah's friends, including her good friend Macy shared in the fun that day.

Hannah sharing a laugh with Carly, Cameron and Macy.

Several people brought side dishes, so it was nice not having to prepare all the food this year. The main dish was chicken and hot dogs, and people brought salads, muffins, chips and yummy fruit. Hannah eating her food with Kevin, Kaci, Zachary, Aaron, Wendi and Bethany.

Andrew staying cool with his sunhat on. He loved playing in the water, but most of the time he just hung out in the shade.

Everybody sang "Happy Birthday" to Hannah before she blew out her candles. She giggled the whole time. I think it was a nervous/excited giggle. :) We had been practicing blowing out a candle all week, so she would be an expert candle extinguisher on her birthday. She blew them all out on the first try!

We snapped a picture of the cake just in time (with a piece already missing). The blueberry flowers (the almonds were the petals) formed a 3 in case you can't tell. :)

Hannah eating her cupcake. She requested/picked out the type of cake she wanted this year. She chose chocolate cake with strawberry frosting. I would have never picked that out or thought of that myself, but it was super delisch!

Andrew needed some comforting so I picked him up, and the first thing he did was pull on Hannah's party hat. What a boy!

Hannah loved opening all her gifts. We waited till the end to give her the "big" gift. She got a new bicycle! Notice that it is gender neutral so Andrew will be able to use it when Hannah grows out of it. :)

Wendi, Dawn and Stephanie chatting it up in the shade.

Daddy and Andrew having a good laugh...actually I think daddy is tickling him which is making Andrew laugh. The last two birthdays Hannah has had, we never got a picture of Travis since he was always the photographer. So, this year I made sure to get several pictures of him, to prove that YES he was at the party. :) Happy birthday Hannah!

A wedding in Beverly Hills

2009-07-18T16:08:00.001-07:00

I had the opportunity to spend a weekend with Aunt Katy and Jim in Glendale for my cousin Tanya's wedding.
It was a beautiful Jewish wedding in Beverly Hills. Here's the happy couple Andrew and Tanya!
Here Tanya being escorted by both Aunt Katy and Dennis down the aisle.
Here's a picture of Aunt Katy, me and Aunt Helen at Aunt Katy's house as we are about to leave for the wedding.
Isn't she a beautiful bride? :)
The happy couple about to cut their wedding cake. Congratulations to both of you!

4th of July BBQ

2009-07-06T13:14:00.000-07:00

For 4th of July, we were invited to our friend's house the Heberleins for yummy BBQ and backyard fun. We all had a great time! Here's a picture of Hannah playing in their sprinkler and trying not to get hit by the ball coming at her.
Andrew trying out the slide. As you can see, he's not ready to let go of mommy's hand and do it all by himself yet.
Hannah, the expert slider.
Andrew wanting to try out to big boy swing.
Andrew munching on a piece of watermelon on my lap. This picture was taken by Kevin and Kaci's son Zachary who is 4 years old. Not bad! :)
They had a fun kiddie pool there that Hannah got to splash around in. Happy 4th of July!

God's Little Princess Devotional Bible by Sheila Walsh

2009-06-30T13:20:00.000-07:00

God's Little Princess Devotional Bible by Sheila Walsh was a very cute book. It contains 337 pages of short devotionals. The stories range anywhere from "Why Worry?" to "Love from Above." With all the hype of princess stories like "Cinderella" that have a very unrealistic take on life a , this book puts being a "princess" into a different perspective. It talks about being the "daughter of a King," having God as our hero and what that means. It says the age range is 4-7 but I think 4 might be a little young for this book. My favorite feature of the book is the role playing and dress up ideas it gives. My daughter is a little young still for this section, but I can't wait to put on biblical "plays" with her. There did not seem to be enough illustrations in the book. I kept wanting to see more pictures to go with the stories, but that could also be because I have a 3 year old who mostly looks at the pictures and is just learning how to read. Overall this was an excellent book that I would recommend for a early school age girl.

Calling all Kindred Spirits

2009-06-29T13:06:00.000-07:00

My friend Rheina and I thought it would be fun to throw a Anne of Green Gables tea party, so we hosted one at my house last weekend and had a great time. Above is all the yummy food that "Anne" would have served at one of her tea parties and that are mentioned in the books. We each brought/made something. We had caramel pie, shortbread, plum puffs, chicken salad sandwiches, cucumber cream cheese sandwiches and strawberries and whipped cream. It was perfectly scrumptious! :)

Rheina and Kathy looking lovely in their elegant pearls. The book that Rheina is holding, "The Anne of Green Gables Treasury" gave us the recipes for all the food we served.
Jan Holton and Kristina. Notice the red rose in my hat. That's the only thing I could come up with that was semi-Green Gableish.
Kristina and Jane (or Aunt Jane as Hannah likes to call her). I loved the country dress and straw hat interwoven with ribbon that Jane wore. Very Anne-ish. :) I had a great time ladies! Thanks so much. I can't wait for our next tea party in November at Kathy's house.

Andrew was dedicated!

2009-06-29T13:02:00.000-07:00

We finally got Andrew dedicated. We started attending Lakeside Church last September, and we never had a chance to get him signed up for the baby dedications, so we finally made it happen.
Pastor Chris praying for our family and Andrew.

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-29T12:50:00.001-07:00

For Father's Day this year we went with some friends Shaun, Kami and their daughter Alexis to SUSHI!!!! We had a great time. The food was great, the company was great, and the pictures turned out good too! :)
Andrew munching on edemame. Say "cheese!"

Hannah and Alexis posing for the camera.
Hannah being silly with whip cream on her face.

Andrew in Motion

2009-06-20T11:16:00.000-07:00

Its been way to long since we last had a video up, but this one should make up for our absence. Andrew has started walking and we were able to get some of his better performances on tape. Now he's a walking pro and doesn't crawl anywhere anymore. Hope you enjoy!

Folsom Water Park

2009-06-17T14:53:00.000-07:00

We went to the Folsom Water park yesterday and the kiddos had a blast. Andrew could not get enough of playing with this beach ball and was chasing it all around the park.
Andrew's first experience with a water gun.

Hannah playing in the water. When she is concentrating really hard, she always sticks her tongue out. :)
The park was a success! We will definitely have to do this on a weekly basis.

And I would walk 500 miles...

2009-06-16T12:58:00.001-07:00

Andrew took his first steps a couple of days before his birthday about a month ago, but in the last couple of days he has been much more daring in his walking endeavors. He can walk all the way across the living room now by himself and instead of crawling he prefers to walk now.

One of the reasons Andrew has been walking so much lately, is because Hannah likes to take his hand and walk with him all around the house. It is really cute to watch. I'm so glad Hannah is such a good big sister to her little brother. :)

100 Bible Stories 100 Bible Songs by Stephen Elkins, Illustrated by Tim O'Connor

2009-06-12T09:38:00.000-07:00

What a fantastic book! Created by Stephen Elkins it includes children friendly bible stories that go all the way from Genesis to Revelations. It has popular stories like the Garden of Eden, David and Goliath, and Noah's Ark, but it also contains stories that are not as familiar like Naaman's healing, Ezekiel's dry bones, and Peter heals the beggar. The songs are all sung by children, and their voices are beautiful. The book comes in a soft, squishy cover that is really fun to hold and squeeze. :) Even though the age group for this book is 4-8 years old my almost 3 year old absolutely LOVES it! She liked listening to the songs and the stories were very easy for her to understand. The illustrations are very well done as well. I recommend the book highly to any parent wanting to give their child a good introduction to the bible and also to any children's ministry at a church wanting a good CD to listen to while the children play or book to read to them.

Our new nook

2009-06-11T13:18:00.001-07:00

I've been wanting a kitchen nook ever since we bought the house, because our dining room is so small and it would look perfect in there. I've been looking on Craig's List for the past 2 years, and haven't found one that would fit or that we could afford. Finally, I checked Craigs list again a couple of weeks ago, and everything fell in to place. The price was right, the measurements were perfect, the people selling it were in Orangevale, and they even delivered it for us since they had a truck. It realy has freed up the room in our house a lot!

Oh how your garden grows

2009-06-11T13:10:00.000-07:00

Summer squash plant growing heartily.
Tomato and red bell pepper plants
Our first squash of the season
herbs and basil
The first sprouts coming up...I think these are watermelon. Not sure though. :)

Outdoor fun!

2009-06-11T12:56:00.000-07:00

Hannah showing off her new swim suit.
"Mommy, push me please!" Once I get Hannah going, she's been able to swing all by herself using her legs. Gives me more time to get chores done! :)

Hannah swinging high. She's been singing a lot while she swings, so I thought I would snap one while she sang to her heart's content.
Strike a pose! Hope these pictures will encourage you to start your summer off to a swinging start!

Hannah's first haircut--Ooohlala!

2009-06-11T12:41:00.000-07:00

We made an appointment for Hannah to have her hair cut (it was getting a little long) at a salon just for kids.
She did a great job! She sat very still while the hair dresser put her hair in clips and afterward blow dried her hair. She got to play with these little toys while the lady cut her hair so she would be distracted.
The end result! She even got a free bow at the end.
While all of this was going on, Andrew got to play in the toy cars they had there. He's such a boy!
Here's a picture of the salon. It was overall a great experience! :)

Travis gets back to his Humboldt roots and rolls some grass.

2009-05-25T13:12:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time coming (4 years) for us to put in a new backyard, but it has finally happened. The first order of business was getting the deck built so the grass could go in around it. The following pictures is the progression of how it all went down.

My younger brother Justin (seen above) was a huge help in getting all this done in time for Andrews birthday party. I seriously could not have done it without him. Once the deck was in it was time to put in the grass.

And the final product!

New Water Table

2009-05-20T16:26:00.001-07:00

We got a new Water table from Oma and Opa for Andrew's birthday. Here are a few pictures of them using it for the first time. They had a fun afternoon playing in it. Thank you Oma and Opa!

Justin comes for a visit

2009-05-20T16:18:00.000-07:00

Justin came for a 10 day visit. We all had a great time. Kristina liked it because he got a TON of projects done around the house (the first picture is of Justin coming down from running speaker wire in our attic). Travis liked it because he played computer games and got to have some fun guy hang out time, Hannah liked it because she got to play tea party with him and Andrew liked it because he got to take off Uncle Justin's hat a million times. Thanks for visiting Uncle Justin! We miss you.

Happy Birthday Andrew

2009-05-19T19:35:00.000-07:00

Andrew's birthday party finally arrived! We all had a great time. Of course we did not get any pictures of Travis...again! Every birthday party that we've had for the kids, Travis ends up being the photographer and we never get a picture of him. So, there is NO proof that Travis has been at any of our kids' birthday parties. :) Andrew had a great time eating his cake and Hannah LOVED blowing out Andrew's birthday candle.

Trip to the Folsom Zoo

2009-04-23T13:49:00.000-07:00

With Travis having this week off, we got to go to the Folsom Zoo. We all had a great time...even Andrew! Hannah's favorite animals were the tigers and bears, but she said "Wow, they are kind of big. I don't know if I like them anymore." There was also a minature sized Locomotive train that we got to ride on. Apparently the conductor is a retired photography teacher, so he gave us some tips on how to take good pictures and he shot a great picture of the whole family.

Trip to the Great-Grandparents House

2009-04-15T15:27:00.001-07:00

We all had a great time visiting the Great-Grandparents house yesterday. Mom Mom took us to the park, and Hannah got to feed the ducks and be pushed on the swing by someone other than me. :) Andrew tried out Grandpop's walker, and had a great time going around the room with it. After nap time, Hannah wanted to snuggle with Grandpop so she sat on his lap and they got to spend some quality time together.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T13:12:00.001-07:00

Here are a couple pictures I want to share with you from this morning's Easter egg hunt in our front yard. I put some bunny ears on Andrew, and at first he kept taking them off. Finally, he saw our cat "Moses," got distracted by him and totally forgot he had them on. He was completely covered from head to toe in Easter colors from munching on the eggs. Good thing the dyes are completely harmless! Hannah had a blast trying to find the eggs. As you can see from the last picture, she got some new "princess" shoes in her Easter basket along with some fun presents from Oma and Opa. Happy Easter everyone!

Hannah's favorite book

2009-04-10T12:33:00.000-07:00

You would think Hannah's favorite books would be a Dr. Seuss book or a book about animals. She LOVES learning about animals and thinks the Dr. Seuss books are funny, but her all time favorite book right now is a book titled "What To Do When Your Child Gets Sick." Want to know why? Hannah LOVES playing Doctor. We play the Doctor pretend game EVERY SINGLE DAY. So, this free book that was given to me by Mercy San Juan Hospital when I had Andrew has pictures of Doctors, Nurses, what to do for colds, stomach aches, etc and Hannah loves it. For some reason, she likes the page about "what to do when your child has a fever." It has a drawing (not an actual photograph) of a mother laying the child down on their stomach and sticking the thermometer in their "heiny" to take the temperature. :) I got a good laugh out of that and hope you did too.

Messy Boy

2009-04-10T12:22:00.000-07:00

I was washing the dishes a couple of days ago when I realize that it's kind of quiet in the kitchen. Hannah was reading her book, so I knew where she was, but Andrew was still in his high chair so he should be cooing, laughing or making some kind of sound. I look over, and this is what I found. He grabbed the bowl of mashed peas from the table (apparently I left it too close to him) and he was covered from head to toe in them. Boys sure can be messy! :)

Daffodil Hill

2009-03-20T13:53:00.001-07:00

For my birthday this year we went on a trip to Daffodil Hill (near Sutter Creek/Jackson area). We had a great time! The weather was absolutely gorgeous, and there were hardly any people there since we went on a weekday. Here are some of our favorite pictures of our adventures there.
It is not often that we get a picture of the whole family, so we asked someone to take a quick picture of us. Of course, it's almost impossible to have both kids looking at the camera! :)
This is my favorite picture of Hannah that day. She is so photogenic.
Andrew smiling for the camera. He had a great time trying to "pick" every daffodil at Daffodil Hill...good thing nobody was watching. :)

Hannah smelling a daffodil. Her favorite past time right now is smelling flowers. While Andrew was trying to pick every flower, she probably smelled every flower there. :)

Finger foods and Smoothie face

2009-03-20T13:42:00.001-07:00

Andrew is almost 10 months now! His first two teeth grew in a couple of weeks ago, so he's been trying out all kinds of new foods with them.
Things he loves: Finger foods, giggling, snuggling with mommy while sucking on his pointer finger, laughing at his big sister, pulling himself up on anything he can find, and cooing when he wakes up in the mornings.
Hannah LOVES smoothies. She would drink them for every meal if we let her. This is her enjoying a berry smoothie. I thought this was a funny picture because she tries to be so "fancy" with her pearl necklace on and she has no clue that she is sporting a smoothie mustache. :)

Andrew is crawling!

2009-03-20T13:36:00.000-07:00

We are excited to announce that Andrew is crawling. This picture was actually taken seconds after he crawled across the room for the first time. As you can see from his face, he apparently enjoyed it. Also, as you can see from his outfit...he is still in the drool/spit-up phase. Sigh...I'll be happy when that is over, and I think my rugs will appreciate it as well. :) YEY ANDREW!

Hannah's first ballet lesson

2009-01-24T15:25:00.001-08:00

Hannah joined ballet with her friend Bethany, and she had a great time. It sure brings back lot's of memories when I was in ballet. Thank you so much to all the family and friends who contributed to Hannah's outfit and lessons. She was so cute!
She did a fairly good job following the instructor's lead, except she hasn't quite figured out yet what standing behind other kids in a straight line means. :)
Hannah doing a "basket of flowers" just like the instructor demonstrated.
One of her favorite things to do is to make silly faces at the large mirror on the wall.

Quality Time with Hannah

2009-01-24T15:17:00.001-08:00

This is just a picture I really liked of Hannah and I.
Hannah LOVES to have books read to her. We go to the library every week to pick out new books, and we usually come home with about 10-15 new ones. She knows the letters of the alphabet, so now we are working on sounding out the letters of a word.

Choo-Choo Train

2009-01-24T15:07:00.001-08:00

Oh, how the kids love to play this game. I just got out a couple storage bins from the garage, put them together like a train, put some of Hannah's favorite stuffed animals into each "car," and then we mostly used our imagination after that. They had a great time.
Andrew most of the time was munching on the train "car" and Hannah was usually trying to make him laugh. Needless to say, the morning went by like a flash.

Washetko's came for a visit

2009-01-24T14:50:00.000-08:00

Kristina's parents came for a visit over Christmas, and had a great time. Oma liked holding Andrew, especially when he was not crying.
He also loved pulling on Opa's beard. That was his favorite past time when they were visiting and I think Opa's beard is considerably longer because of it. :)
They treated us twice to sushi while they were here, and that sure was yummy.

Christmas 2008

2009-01-24T14:41:00.000-08:00

Sorry, this is a little late coming, but here are a couple pictures from Christmas 2008. We had a great Christmas this year. Hannah REALLY enjoyed opening all of her presents and Andrew was more interested in the wrapping paper than what was inside of it.

Thanksgiving Feast

2008-11-28T20:18:00.001-08:00

We went down to visit Hannah's Great-Grandparents for Thanksgiving this year, and had a good time. Mom Mom got to bring all of her old dolls out of the closet and Hannah got to play with them. There was way too much food of course, but it was yummy.
Grandpop having a good time with the kiddos.
Hannah ran right into Grandpop's arms when we got there and wanted to be held. It just melted Grandpop's heart. Andrew wasn't as cooperative, but we finally got a good picture of them.
The only apron I could find was one that said HERB on it, so we all got a good laugh out of that.

Andrew is 6 months old

2008-11-28T20:11:00.001-08:00

Our little guy is now 6 months old. Time sure is flying by. He has started eating rice cereal (which he loves) and today he ate carrots for the first time (he wasn't a big fan of them though). He has mastered turning from his tummy to his back, and he is almost able to sit up by himself. He hasn't cut any teeth yet, but he sure is drooling a lot, so it should be any day now. Happy Birthday baby Andrew (His 6 month birthday was 3 days ago... but whose counting).

Hannah flying

2008-11-28T20:05:00.000-08:00

Hannah loves flying through the air in daddy's arms. She is quite the acrobat, so we are glad that she's got a big strong daddy to catch her.

A trip to Apple Hill

2008-11-11T21:24:00.001-08:00

Last weekend, we went on our annual trip to Apple Hill, that had tons of different Apple Orchards, and it's about a 45 minute drive from our house. We went to one of the bigger orchards called High Hill Ranch that has many different family friendly attractions. We all had a great time, but I think Hannah had the most fun. She wanted to do everything she saw in sight. We got to go on a hay ride (top picture) that took us on a tour of the Apple orchard, there was a pond where she got to admire the ducks, they had a real wolf in a cage that she got to look at (from a distance of course), and her favorite thing that she is still talking about...she got to go on a horsey ride (the horse's name was Bubbles).

Our little guitar player

2008-11-11T21:14:00.000-08:00

Hannah has been very interested in playing the guitar like daddy, so we snapped a picture of her singing a made up song that had the words "feeding the fishy's" and "Hannah likes bannanas" in it. We got a good laugh out of it. She's even holding the guitar correctly! Ahh, she's definitely a quick learner.

Kitty Cat and Hot Dog

2008-11-01T11:07:00.000-07:00

Hannah had a great time trick or treating at our church. She loved her kitty costume. Of course she got a ton of candy which she was very excited about, as you can see from the picture above.

This is a picture of Hannah's good friends Zachary and Aaron that she got to trick or treat with.

We were all surprised when Hannah wanted to go on the big bouncy houses they had there for the kids to play with. She went with her friend Chase on the tallest one there, and jumped off of it like a big girl. We were so proud of her.
Baby Andrew (aka Hot dog) finally woke up just as we were leaving so we quickly put his costume on and got a picture.