My Son-Shine

This little monster really is my son and my sunshine.  He is growing up in the blink of an eye.  I cannot believe how his vocabulary has changed in the last year and his comprehension level.  He has a fun sense of humor.  He knows how to say "I was just joking" in the right moment to get away with something.  He has tons of energy and spunk.  He is competitive and likes to be good a things and is naturally a good runner.  Rhone has not decided what hand is domiant yet. I think he will be a lefty, but he still switches back and forth.  He is a little boy through and through.  Although he would be upset that I called him a little boy not a big boy.  He is about average height and weight for his age. He has a sweet side too.  He loves to snuggle.  If we are already out of bed when he wakes up in the morning, he will ask me to get back in my bed with him to snuggle.  He loves his little sister and is on the look out for her.  He is also making sure that she grows up to be tough.  He is great company and a big helper.  We are so so blessed that he is part of our family. 

Rhone's Big Day!

We tried to make Rhone's 4th birthday special for him.  We had only been home from our trip for a few days, so it was a little hectic and I was still really sick- but of course we did our best to celebrate our amazing little guy!  He woke up with ballons in his room.  Then the lucky little guy got to eat a fresh donut from the little shop in town for breakfast. Rhone loves to help with everything.  So that's exactly what we did.  Rhone made his Toy Story cupcakes.  He even got to scoop the batter in- so we had cupcakes of all sizes :)  For dinner, he helped make one of his favorite things- meatball subs.  We played, played played how ever Rhone chose (he might like to be in charge) opened presents, and played in the bounce house.  On the following Sat we went to Chuck E Cheese so Rhone could play for a while.  We had a great time celebrating our little Rhone monster.

 This is one of the first years that Rhone has actually sat down and ate his birthday cake.

 This was Sylvie's first time at Chuck E Cheese.  She was pretty impressed with some of the rides too. In the top left, Rhone is showing off the "scratcher" that he won.

Rhone's Idaho Birthday

While we were in Idaho we had a little Birthday celebration for Rhone.  We thought this would be fun, since we didn't have tons of friends to celebrate here in CA with.  He picked a pirate theme- specifically Jake and the Never Land Pirates- for his party.  I did my best to put a fun cake together for him with his theme.  He loved being the center of attention and having Oli there to celebrate with him.  He is such a fun 4 year old!

 We had to put all present opening on hold while Rhone read his new book about he body from Nana and Papa.

 This is Rhone's pirate face and the spyglass the he made.

Idaho Trip

So I did not do an awesome job of taking pictures in Idaho, but pictures or not, we sure had a lot of fun.  The cousins exchanged Christmas gifts and we finally got our gifts to Nana and Papa too.  We went sledding is some pretty chilly (about -15*F) weather.  Unfortunately all those fun pictures are on my moms camera. Ben had fun taking the snow mobiles out too.  We took a trip to Lava Hot Springs and mostly just enjoyed being together and watching the boys run around and bouncing in the bounce house.  I got the flu while on our trip and by the end I was in bad shape and pretty miserable, but we still had a great time visiting family for the Holidays.  This was a first for us in a long time and we sure are blessed with amazing people in our life.

 Olin and Rhone "helping" Sylvie open her gift.

 Trying out Rhone's new guns.

 Nana made chicken noodle soup for sick me- my mom is the best..  Sylvie really loved those noodles

  Look at my Lions fans.  Maybe next year team :)

 Trying out Olin's Christmas present.  How cute are these boys!

 Giving Nana and Papa their gifts

 Look how excited Rhone's face is!

 

Awe she loves Brock

Utah Road Trip

We headed out 2 days after Christmas to visit family.  It was a LONG drive to Utah.  We covered some desolate country.  The views in the Sierras were gorgeous and honestly the sky is so big and beautiful in Nevada too.  The kids were pretty wound up when we finally made it to Grandmommy and Grandad's house, even though it was really late.  We had such a party while we were there.  Rhone played his little heart out with his cousins.  They all bounced and bounced on their horses.  We spent lots of time in the snow and even made it to Eagle Point Ski Resort so Rhone and his cousin Jacob could ski.  It was a nice warm sunny day.  Sylvie and I went sledding with Grandmommy and McKinley.  Then Rhone joined in too.  He said sledding with mom was more fun than skiing with Dad.  That kinda made my day :)

We had a huge party with Ben's sister and her family, Grandmommy, Grandad, and another one of Ben's sisters.  The older girls helped plan some fun games and food.  It was a hoot to watch all the silly events.  The Rhone and his cousin Isaac pulled tissues out of a box.  We all played the Rudolf nose game (even Gabi).  We wrapped people up.  We shook some junk in the trunk. We shook tic-tacs on a ruler (this was so HILARIOUS to watch).  Most importantly we all laughed.  We watched fireworks with the kids out side.  After the kids were in bed we stayed up and played a fun round of games to welcome in the new year.  We were so blessed to star the new year off with family.   

The Donner Pass

Beautiful skies and not a soul for miles in Nevada.

Look at all the snow at the rest area at the top of the Sierras.

 It was a fast sledding hill.  Grandmomy built a snowman/monster with the boys.

 Getting ready to hit the slope with Dad

 

That is one full sled

The views are amazing at the resort.

Sylvie took a turn down a little hill :)

 Bouncing around on their Christmas horses.

 Sylvie and grandad just hanging out together.

 The kids with Grandad, Grandmommy, and Aunt Gabi.

Sylvie and Eve are just a few months apart.  Liesel was always interested in them.

Can you believe we made such a BIG mess in Grandmommy's new house?

 Do you see the tic-tacks everywhere?

Sylvie doesn't like the party hat.

Happy New Year!