Snow Trip

On the weekend of January 19 to 21 we got to go on an amazing snow trip with our fabulous friends the Wisners at their families cabin in Donner.  Here we are all together minus Natalie who took the picture.

Here she is looking fabulous with Jayne.

This trip was so much fun.  We couldn't have asked for a better time.  The weather was perfect the whole weekend and their was tons of snow to play in.  This was basically our families first time in the snow.  Evan actually came on a trip with us when he was a baby similar to Elaine's age with the Wisners, but doesn't remember.  So the kids were thrilled and loved every minute of the weekend (okay there were a few meltdowns, but when doesn't that happen when dealing with children 4 1/2 year's old and younger).

We got to go sledding.

and more sledding.

Evan had the best time going down the sled run they had made on the side of the cabin.

Here he is with Tyler having a blast!


Look at this super cool boy!

The beautiful cabin all dressed up in white.

Twins?!?  No, just two of the cutest girls ever! :)

Elaine in Evan's old snow outfit.  Adorable!

I love this picture of my precious little Elaine as we smile at each other.  She is my sunshine and joy and this picture says it all!

Here is another cute one of her during the weekend.

Here is Jayne with Elaine.  She just loves babies and enjoyed playing with her friend.  Elaine was having a great time too.

This was a delicious dinner we enjoyed out on the town at Burger Me in Truckee.  Here are the boys enjoying milkshakes.

Daddy with his darling.

One of Evie's favorite pastimes, eating the ice.  This was fun, except for the fact that here hands would always get cold and wet and then she was ready to go inside within minutes of us all bundling up and coming out.  Note for next year...we are buying some really good gloves.  Warm, dry hands make all the difference.

Lastly, I leave you with a super silly pic of the boys.

Thank you Wisners for an amazing weekend!  So blessed by your friendship and God's beautiful creation of snow! :)

Evie turns 3!

Our little princess Evie Joy turned three years old on Wednesday, January 9.

To capture our daughter at 3 year's old we gave her a Birthday Interview.  The questions and her answers are below.  Evie's answers sum up her world just a bit.  Sure do love this girl and blessed by her everyday.  She is our beautiful, girly, passionate, princess.  She feels you with love as she gives you her priceless smile and the sweetest compliments; making you feel absolutely stunning as she naturally points out how nice you look or how she hopes that something will make you happy.  She also is full of emotion and lately can be found saying, "I just can't stop crying!" during her 3 year old fits.  But most of all this girl is pure fun and makes each day better than the last.  Happy Birthday Evie darling!

1. Who is your favorite person in the whole world?  My Family :) (naming off each member proudly...Mommy, Daddy, Evan and Elaine)
2. What is your favorite color?  pink, purple, brown and blue (all colors she admitted later)
3. What's your favorite television show?  Peppa Pig
4.  What's your favorite outfit?  Minne and Dora outfits
5.  What sport do you like best?  basketball
6.  What song do you love?  Dora songs, and the Peppa Pig theme song
7.  What's your favorite cereal?  Pink Cheerios (a.k.a. Yogurt Cheerios)
8.  Who is your best friend?  Ariel Pray
9.  What do you want to be when you grow up?  Dora
10.  What is your favorite book?  Dora books
11.  What are you really good at?  getting backpacks full of babies
12.  Where do you wish you could go on vacation?  the Zoo, then she remembered we vacationed at Grandma Knights when we went to the Zoo, and Disneyland (after Mommy reminded her that this was a pretty fun place too)
13.  What is your best memory?  riding bikes and her Dora Birthday Party
14.  What would you buy if you had a lot of money?  a toy...probably a new toy...then she thought and said a princess toy
15.  What vegetable do you love the most?  white broccoli (what we call cauliflower)
16.  What fruit do you like the most?  watermelon, apples with no peel
17.  What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?  chocolate
18.  What do you like to do best with your friends?  have a birthday party for her
19.  What do you hope you'll get to do before your next birthday?  have ice cream
20.  What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch?  blueberries, peanut-butter sandwich
21.  What is your favorite game?  Playing tag and babies
22.  What is your favorite snack?  cheese puffs (a.k.a. Pirates Booty)
23.  What is your favorite animal?  pigs and sheep
24.  What is your favorite toy?  my Peppa toys
25.  What is your favorite drink?  mike and water
26.  What is your favorite holiday?  Easter
27.  What do you like to take to bed with you at night?  Black Bear, Triangle, Comfy Babies and Taggie Blanket
28.  What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?  waffles and pancakes (she loves making pancakes with Daddy)
29.  What is your favorite thing for dinner?  spaghetti with long noodles
30.  What is your favorite movie?  Dora Princess and Dora Star Catcher
31.  Who is your favorite Disney princess?  Sophia
32.  Where is your favorite place to go?  Disneyland and then she thought about it and quickly said, no Target, then Crazy Climbers and she said she loves handles on train
33.  What is your favorite Bible Story?  Little Angels Bible and she loves all the one's about God
34.  What is your favorite letter? E
35.  What is your favorite number? 3 and 2

Riverside Trip

Elaine's first trip to Southern California happened right after Christmas, December 27-30.  Here is the family pictured with Grandma Knight and Aunt Alison at a super cool park we got to visit during our stay, Fairmount Park, it had a circus theme and the kids loved it.

During our drive to Southern California we were joined by the Oregon Duck he even got out and ate at the same restaurant we did, Carl's Jr. in full costume.  It was pretty cool!

 Here are the kids with Grandma Knight

and a super cute picture of Elaine with Aunt Alison too

During our visit, Elaine got to meet Aunt Kathy and Uncle Herb and several of her cousins on Sunday, December 29.  We all had a great time catching up and reintroducing the big kids to everyone too.  At the end of the evening it was like they never missed a beat.  They were all having so much fun playing together.

  
Here are all the 2nd cousins together from left to right, Robert, Evie, Andrew, Evan, Emma and Elaine.

Here are some other fun pictures of just the boy cousins and just the girl cousins.

 
Here are other great pictures from the evening.

Bob and Elaine.

This picture is pretty cool because it features one cousin from all three families, Robert, Elaine and Emma.

Jim with his sister, Alison and Elaine.

Bob Sr., Aunt Kathy and Elaine, Debbie and me. 

We had a wonderful night visiting with everyone.  Thank you for the super hospitality as always.  It included delicious food and gifts for the kids.  Such a treat!  Here is a great picture of the kids eating together.

Lastly, here are Evan, Evie and Elaine fast asleep on the way back home.  They slept for several hours, a sure sign of a great vacation.

Jim and I got to enjoy the snow on the Grapevine during the drive too.

Thanks for a wonderful visit Riverside Family!  We love you all and look forward to seeing you again real soon.

San Diego Zoo

During our visit to Southern California we took a day trip to the San Diego Zoo.  Us and the rest of the world decided to go to the zoo on this particular Friday, December 28, but it was still a great time.  Just took us about an hour and a half to find parking.  It made us appreciate paid parking lots.

A huge bonus was Jim's sister worked their over the summer as an Intern, so it was like we had our own personal tour guide.  It was great! :)  Thanks Alison pictured below with the kids and the giraffes!

Here are a few other fun pictures from the day.

Evie with the Rhinos in the background.

Both kids saying hi to the adorable little guy below.

Mommy with Elaine showing off her zebra pants with the Zebra's in the background.

Here's another fun picture with both Jim and I and our little peanut, Elaine peeking out.

Daddy and Evie and the Polar Bears.

Notice an exhausted Evan in the foreground of the picture above and a close up below.

We visited the park right after Christmas so they still had a lot of fun decorations up for everyone's enjoyment.  Jim's mom took these fun pictures below.

A big thrill for the kids while visiting the San Diego Zoo was the chance to ride in the Sky Tram.  Here is Evan beaming with joy!  He talked about doing this ride all day.

Here is a picture Jim took of Evan, Elaine and I in our cart, #31.  Jim and Evie were in another cart right next to us.

Last I leave you with two adorable pictures of the kids.  Elaine with big brother, Evan.

Evie with her new little polar bear friend she got from the gift store.

We all had so much fun at the park.

But the good news was the fun didn't end there; to make our stay even more special we stayed the night in the San Diego Embassy Suites.  The kids were overjoyed!  They love staying in hotels.  Here they are getting tucked in at night, while Jim read them a bedtime story.

Then on Day 2 as we prepared to pack up and get ready to head back to Riverside to visit with Grandma Knight and Aunt Alison some more.

We had a real nice time visiting San Diego and look forward to more adventures in the future.

Eight Months Old

Elaine turned 8 months old on Friday, March 8.  Here she is on the day in her cute little blue outfit with a heart.  This outfit sure has people fooled though, seems I always get a "Is that a Boy?" comment when she wears it.  Don't you see the heart I have to say and pink. :)  Plus she is way too pretty to be a boy!

-Elaine is crawling.  This has slowly been happening for the last few weeks, but right at 8 months she officially got it.  She is so proud of herself and you can find her all over the floor discovering.  With this continues to come lots of bonks, but she recovers pretty quickly.  We are so proud of you Elaine!

-She just started squealing she loves to do this at night especially when we are all getting ready for bed.  It is is the cutest thing.

-She loves to laugh and thinks many things are funny at 8 months.  Some of her favorite things to laugh at are her brother and sister.  They always do things to make her smile and giggle.  Mommy and Daddy are pretty good at it too.  She enjoys peek a boo and tickles.
 
-Elaine is a Mommy's girl and prefers to be with me if I am in the room.  It is pretty special to be her Mommy too.  I love this little beauty more than words can say and appreciate when she follows me around the room with her eyes and stops crying when she is in my arms.  Cherishing these moments!

-She enjoys riding front ways in the strollers now.  Such a big girl.

-She also finally has her own room and bed.  We moved her in right when we got the big kids their new bunk bed.  Here she is looking adorable sitting in the crib with her babies.

-She is becoming a good eater and is enjoying her baby food (both fruits and vegis), oatmeal, rice cereal and puffs.  She is a very messy eater though and must have control of the spoon.

We have the best little girl and thank God for her everyday.  Stop growing up so fast little one.  We love you and Happy 8 Months Elaine!