Bryce 18mo

I have a new weapon designed to clean cars with one flip of my wrist, no it is not a magic wand...

I went poop on the potty!!!!!

Thanks Poppy, but I can manage this simple descent with ease.

Once Grammy came over to where I was sitting, then I was ready to take a picture, but not before that.

Bryce turned a year and a half this month, but he is acting like he is already two for sure. He is blurting out full sentences at times, competing with his brother in various tasks or for particular toys, running up and down hills without falling, and even trying to beat his brother to certain landmarks. This month for the first time, Bryce sat down and went "poop on the potty." We were amazed and figured it was a one time occurence, but he has since repeated it five more times in the five days since his first accomplishment. We still stand in shock and awe over this achievement. Did he get the memo that he wasn't going to be the baby any longer?

Garrett 3y 8mo

Oh you think that I am not watching what I'm spraying, just walk over here and test out your theory, if you dare...

Didn't think I could pull off a headstand did you?

Ready for a Star Wars battle!

I helped Daddy make shelves for both his and my bedrooms, we did a lot of measuring and cutting, I just wish my table saw actually cut real wood...

Boy did Grammy cook us up a good meal in Arnold.

Garrett had a great month of traveling and playing. He is such an expert traveler and now has learned how to help his brother through the security lines too. He loved the opportunity to play in the snow on various occasions. He continues to look forward to Friday nights when Star Wars the Clone Wars air on the Cartoon Network and often greets the show with a celebratory dance. He added gymnastics class to his repertoire and is already performing headstands against the wall and front rolls.

Arnold- Can't get enough snow?

We took a day trip up to Arnold to visit Grammy and Poppy and enjoy going to the snow. This is the first year both of our kids have really enjoyed the snow, so we had to milk it some more. We had a great sledding day up at Spicer Reservoir.

Daddy told me that when you crash, you have to do it with style!

Boy, was I flying down that hill solo, I can't believe Mom and Dad say I didn't like snow last year, who do you believe?

Bryce kept looking at me with that worried face and I couldn't figure out why...oh was it the big snowball I was holding, maybe.



Bryce's sentence of the day: "Tha' wa' FUN"

Woooohoooooo, this is crazy fun.

Daddy took Bryce a number of crazy runs like this down the hill, but he kept saying "more" and "again."

I'm a snow trooper on the ice planet Hoth.

Ready, Poppy are you ready...set...go!

Family Birthdays in Tracy

We gathered in Tracy for a larger family gathering with Brett's family to celebrate the birthdays (some early, some late) of Brett, his sister Wendy, and his cousin Caitlyn. It was nice to catch up, share some fun stories, watch the kids play together, and eat.


Caitlyn laughed at a joke I'm not old enough to understand as Bruce chuckled his approval.



Daddy is getting old, so I pretty much had to open all his gifts for him.

Haley, Rachel, and I demonstrate that we have the pucker power to blow candles out, of course we also helped the three elder statesmen with their cake full of candles...

That is one bright cake, how old are you guys?

If you notice, Daddy had to hold Bryce's hand down or else there wouldn't be a cupcake still in Daddy's hand...

Idaho in the Snow

After enjoying the first few days in Idaho with blue skies and sunshine, we suddenly had some serious snow to contend and not just in the mountains we drove up to for the purpose of tubing. Garrett had a great time tubing even though he had to retreat to the warming shed after a few trips down the hill. His favorite part was taking the ride up the mountain on the pulley system. Brett got some nice justice as he had packed ski goggles that everyone made fun of him for bringing, but when the wind picked up on the tubing hill, everyone wanted a turn with the goggles... We also got to play in the snow on the farm later in the week.

The whole tubing gang: can you tell it was cold, something like 13 degrees plus wind chill, I don't think I see/feel those temperatures in California.
I don't know where Aunts Alecia and Kaarli and Mommy and Daddy got their smiles from...

Much happier once I figured out how to bury my head into my tube when the wind would kick up, see it wasn't as miserable as I thought earlier, and when I got back to the farm, I was talking about how much fun I had.

There is my favorite part: the ascent up the hill as you can see on the right, but let me tell you, we got a lot of speed going down this hill.

That's my brother, Bryce getting a sled ride from Aunt Alecia.

Meanwhile, Ryan and I got to ride around behind the ATV on a sled, those figure 8s sure were fun.

...and Daddy sure liked driving the ATV and "helping" us fall off with some sharp turns.

How's this for a Christmas present...a snow dusted combine harvester.

60th Wedding Anniversary Celebration

Wow, none of us have ever been to a 60th wedding anniversary! This was pretty cool, there were a lot of couples there who had also been married for over 60 years. What a testament to how great marriage can be. Joy's grandparents had a wonderful time and were blessed with many fond memories being shared. It was also good to see Joy's grandmother be out and about.

My great grandparents were all decked out and looking great for the celebration.

Uncle Aaron tells one of his many great stories as Great Grandpa can't help but laugh.



Grandkids and great grandkids (me and Bryce) surrounding the couple of honor with love.

Grandma and Grandpa with my Great Grandma and Grandpa, wow that's a lot of G's.

Jackie and Robb with my Great Grandparents.




Roger, Ryan, Christy, and Brittany await there turn for a picture with the special couple.

Idaho

We flew to Idaho at the beginning of January to join in the celebration of Joy's grandparent's 60th wedding anniversary. While we were there we had lots of fun with Joy's family and our boys got to play on the farm and in the snow.

Check it out, I'm old enough to be up on the wheel structure, you can find me on the far right with Daddy helping me stay up! 10 years ago when they took this picture Brittany was just a baby.

Think Ryan and I have perfected the "trouble" smile?
Great grandpa with 3 of his grandkids.

Who has had any training in 8mm film projectors? I guess Daddy did because he got it working! Man he must be OLD.

Who is a fan of John Deere? We men (and boys) are!

Jackie laughed while Bryce was mesmorized by my picture taking, or maybe he was just tired...






Great Grandpa, Ryan, and I took the tractor for a spin around the yard and I got to honk the horn.

Great Grandpa loved showing Bryce and I the tractors, and we just couldn't get enough John Deere.




Some of us are grandkids and others of us are great grandkids, can you figure out the difference? I think we're all friends.

Hey Uncle Robb, can I take your vintage X-Wing for a flight, I promise I won't break it. Did you check to be sure I didn't pack it in my suitcase?

Bedtime books with Bryce and Daddy.