Off to see the Jeppsens

My boards were Oct 18 so we flew to Denver for those, got to have a great visit with Cheree, although it was short, ate at the original Chipotle, and had a little fun at a Dave and Buster's where we got lots of fun prizes for our nieces and nephew here!

Cheree and Bob and I in front of the original Chipotle!

We had planned to go to Moab to go camping and mountain biking after boards, but unfortunately there was tons of rain, so instead we went up to Pocatello and visited the Jeppsens! (Bob's sister Jen and her family)

Jay and I built a massive tower

Jay loves that horse!

He's a pretty happy guy most of the time!

Jay loved having Bob ride in the car in the back seat with him!

Jay and Jen enjoying a story before bed

Jay and his Mama

Brooklyn lost her front teeth!

We brought them these creatures and watched them grow

Mady was pretty excited!

They were a little bigger on day 2 and Brooklyn added another creature in a capsule

After a few days they were huge!

The kids had a lot of fun watching them grow!

We had some time for crafts too--The kids helped me make these! We also made some super-cute announcements for their new little brother who will arrive on 12NOV and even some magnets for the fridge with their initials and some cute star ones that say "look what I did" so they can put their projects on the fridge. :)

We had a great time and were so glad to see them! Lilo burned off a lot of energy with them every day--never a dull moment!

Lilo was a little afraid of Jay...

We loved our time with them and can't wait to see them again soon and meet their newest addition in a few weeks!

The trampoline is always a big piece of fun when we visit, and this trip was no different!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Happy 2010 everyone! I can't believe it's here already... here are some pictures from our trip home for Christmas! We loved having a week off of work and getting to see family and friends, even though it went too fast as usual. We flew home with Lilo, so we didn't have to fight traffic or weather going over the pass, and it was nice and fast so we got more time with everyone! Here's our Christmas pic for this year. :)

Bob and his Dad helped with some of the Christmas cooking and they're LOVING it! :)

Bob's mom had hand surgery just before we came so I helped wrap her presents since she really only had one usable arm

Here is the wounded arm in its sling, as well as Carolyn with her furriest grandchild and my personal favorite, the Christmas tablecloth, I mean jumper! :)

Lilo opening her present!

Bob's mom got his dad a Wii for his birthday so we had fun playing it--Ron especially loved the bowling so we did that a lot

Bob demonstrates his sweet bowling skills

We spent a lot of time just sitting and relaxing which was great!

We went downtown and checked out the lights and of course had to take a picture in the sleigh

Lilo's fancy Christmas outfit from Ron and Carolyn

Bob and Lilo and I by the sleigh

More pics at the resort shops

Lilo always takes time to smell the flowers

We had a chance to visit with the Poteets a little bit too which is always great! Somehow I never take any pics of them so we took a few right before we left...

George and Bob

Here's my nieces in our presents to them--they loved the pearls, tiaras, and these microphones (also princess) and they light up and sing!

My fam on Christmas Eve

Bob's Mom got him this awesome hat to keep warm and with the flaps flipped up he looks pretty awesome --I have a hunch some of his firefighters would love to see the chief in his finest...

Christmas breakfast with Bob's folks and his grandma--french toast--always delicious!

We iChatted with Jared while we opened presents and he opened his, which was pretty fun, and incredibly confusing to Grandma

Christmas dinner! Cheesey potatoes and rolls and turkey for the meat-eaters and of course corn from their garden... We made cinnamon rolls too, but sadly I only ate 2 before we left... I'm sure somehow they managed to finish them off without us!

I got this cute pretzel rod/candy kit from my secret Santa at work and just made them last night. These Santas took forever painting the candy in the molds with a brush, but Bob loved his!

Just before Christmas my whole class and all the spouses went out to dinner with a few of our staff--here are the ladies!

Not the greatest pic, but somehow none of us are looking at the same camera...

Ok, so lots of updating to do still... Next I'll post our Christmas letter for anyone who didn't get it yet and thanks to everyone who sent us cards and letters and pictures! That's definitely one of my favorite things about this time of year--hearing from people you haven't heard from in forever and catching up with all they've been up to.

We had a fun New Year's Eve playing games and hanging with 3 other couples and just relaxing. I had to work at 6am the next day but got to nap a little the next afternoon so it all worked out. We also went to see Avatar in Imax 3D which was awesome! Definitely exceeded my expectations by far!

Hope you're all sticking with the New Year's resolutions so far! We haven't made any big ones so far... just the usual: eat healthier, exercise more, be more frugal, and just to enjoy every day to the fullest! We've enjoyed all of 2010 so far and are really excited to see where it takes us! Have a great day!

~Cathy

Idaho

First of all, CONGRATULATIONS to the Jeppsens!  Jay Brent Jeppsen was born at 1:51pm today and was 7lbs 6oz and 20.75 inches long!  Jen and Jay are both doing well and Jap sounded excited when he called!  She did it in only 3 pushes, so just try to top that one moms!  :)  We're so excited to have another nephew and can't wait to meet him!

    So we're home now for another visit and enjoying our families and friends as always, but unfortunately we've been stricken by the pukes!  We went out on Hayden with the Poteets yesterday and Georgey got the pukes last night, only to have the rest of his family start in, and then Bob started this morning!  So far I've survived unscathed, but we'll see how today and tomorrow go... just trying to take care of the sickos without catching it today!  Having fun making cards and scrapping with Carolyn while she finishes things up for the fair too.  

   So we drove out after work Friday and I drove most of the way for a change since Bob had ben up since 4 for his huge job out in Ocean Shores (nearly 2 hours away from home) but the drive went fast because we chatted then I listened to my Breaking Dawn while I drove.... I finished it a few nights ago and it was GREAT!  Such an awesome ending.... definitely recommend that series to anyone!  I know it seems silly to read a series about werewolves and vampires, and I was skeptical at first too, but these books really sucked me in....

   So anyway, we had a great time at my Grandma and Great Aunt's 80th birthday party on Satuday and loved seeing a ton of my family that we haven't seen in forever, so that was great, and decided we'll have an anniversary later.... maybe Labor Day weekend we'll do something fun since we were busy with other stuff on our big day--6 years has sure gone fast!  I'm definitely lucky to have such a great Bob!

   Sunday we had a big BBQ here at Bob's folk's house with both of our families and the Poteets and that was a good time as always!  The kids had fun exploring the garden and swinging and we all got to chat and catch up and enjoy the weather... we had s'mores afterwards that were delicious!  

    We had big plans for floating the river today, but no such luck since Bob's under the weather... likely not biking the Hiawatha tomorrow either.... We had great fun boating with the Poteets and then the Pearsons yesterday though, so at least we got to enjoy some good times with friends... hopefully the Pearsons are still well and not contaminated with whatever's getting the rest of us?  

   Have a great day and all of you should be grateful for your health today!  Eat a little extra something yummy for my Bob. :)

~Cathy