Cousins!

The Roos nieces and nephews gift exchange...

Flying wrapping paper, squeals of delight, tears from overstimulation & overtiredness.

Let the toy-fest begin!

Snow Day

Our California kids were sooo excited to play in the snow!
The cousins, who are used to living in snow half the year...not so much.

They were good sports, however, and all had fun building snow forts, sledding, and having snowball fights.
{My fave is the pic where Xander is pulling apple-eating Courtney around on the sled.  Is she a princess, or what?!?}

 Courtney was such a trooper and pulled her own sled up the hill countless times!

 Josh, Darren's brother, tried snowboarding on two plastic chair pads--he actually did pretty well!

One of the scariest moments of my life.

Cami agreed to go down the hill with me.

It wasn't pretty.

There was lots of screaming involved.

The Adventure Begins...

15 hours in the car. This is what it did most of the way.

On the Way Home

We had such a great trip. A funeral is never a fun excuse to get together, but it was such a blessing to be together with my family. I could never have fathomed the heartbreak, tragedy & sadness that my family has endured over the past few years. It is miraculous that we were even able to be together again, if for only a few short days. My heartfelt thanks goes out to all those that have been there in supporting us & showing their love. Ahh, the homework... one bummer about traveling during the school year. Alexander did 90 math story problems on the trip back home.
Courtney crashed on the way home! She slept for probably 6 hours, so she was amazed at how quickly the time went by. Her GramZ gave her these gloves {because she was cold} and she wouldn't take them off the entire trip.We are so lucky the kids are such fantastic travelers. I'm not sure where this pic was taken. It all blends together...
Another pic in the middle of nowhere. Darren says he's documenting history here. His favorite part of watching old slide shows is looking @ old cars. So.... future generations, here is a car for your viewing pleasure.

At the Roos House

We had a fun 2-week vacation this past summer at the Roos house. It was great to see them again on Sunday night. Dad Roos is always talking up his new big screen, so we had to watch the last Red Sox game (boo!) with our favorite Boston fans! Darren's brother Josh, and his darling little boy Tyler. He is hilarious, and was being such a good sport staying up way past bedtime to watch the Sox game and playing with cousins!
What a darling family! Darren's sister, Melisa, her hubby Jordan, and their three beautiful girls, Madelyn, Abby & Catelyn. They are all so fun. The girls keep us entertained with their fun giggles & amazing feats on the stairs & furniture.
Oh my GOSH how they grow up! Camryn, Josh & Jamie's baby {sorry, Jamie, I didn't get a pic of you or Dad} is the smiliest baby. It was so fun to hold & enjoy a little one! She was a tiny newborn the last time we saw her.

Fun @ My Parents' House

Great-Grandpa Bob challenged Alexander to his 1st arm wrestle. Don't ask me how he managed to go 9 years without an arm wrestle..?!
Courtney playing with my old doll house

Grandma Kathie had a tea party {homemade root beer} with the kids out on her balcony. She had ALL the goods. M&Ms, sugar, cookies, donuts-- you name it, it was there. Talk about a sugar high:)

The kids were in absolute heaven!

She also made some darling little Halloween crafts with them. Thanks, Grandma Kathie!

The Montana Smiths

My brother, Adam, his wife Tyana & their cute kiddos

Adam finished up Med school in Iowa & Ohio, and they've settled down in a beautiful little town in Montana. We loved seeing them!

Miss Katie being very obliging when we told her to pull funny faces for the camera:)Michael is such a smartie! He loved showing us his satchel and Indiana Jones whip.
This was the most darling game & the kids had fun playing together. It is fun to see Alexander being "the oldest" cousin. His little cousins sure look up to him & he loves them, too!

Family Halloween Party

First, we started off with a fun family dinner. Alexander, Michael, Katie & Courtney
Grandma Kathie had lots of fun activities for the kids to do. They played Halloween Pictionary, balloon pop, roll the pencil, and showed off their awesome costumes!
Next, we had a spooky visitor. The younger kids weren't sure about this witch-- until her nose fell off and they realized it was GramZ! She brewed up some "Gob-L-dee Gorp" {which is a concoction of coconut, raisins, peanuts, candy corn, etc} that nobody likes to eat, but it's tradition. She is such an awesome Grandma & Great-Grandma!
The Sleeping Beauties dancing {we love Auntie Rebecca!}

After we put the kids to bed, the grown-ups stayed up and talked and laughed until we cried. Somehow the conversation turned to the baseball play-offs, and Grandpa Adams disappeared for a minute. He came back and read us all "Casey at the Bat," an old but classic poem. We love staying with my Grandparents. They are always so welcoming and fun!

All Together Again

This is the 1st time in 8+ years that my siblings & I have all been together. Getting this family photo together brought me back to long trips in the station wagon, where pinching, elbowing & wet-willies abounded! That being said, it was the BEST to be all together again. I love you all so much! Ryan, Rebecca, Natalie & Adam
The whole family {remember what I said about wet-willies?}

(and that's the chair sticking out on the side)

Wishing Flowers

Courtney kept collecting and blowing "wishing flowers" at the cemetary. It was beautiful to watch the white seeds being carried by the wind. We wish you well, Grandma!
My Father, saying goodbye.

Making Cookies @ Grandmother's House

My Mom always has fun activities for the kids to do. First on the list: Cookies! The kids got totally spoiled with treats @ Grandma's house. Every time I turned around, they had chocolate or sugar smeared on their faces. I guess it's OK, since it's only once or twice a year:)
Alexander sifting flour with his Great-Great Grandma Peck's sifter.
S-t-r-e-t-c-h!
We love our Grandma Kathie! We found out the day after we left that she has pneumonia! She was still a good sport in keeping up with the kids.

Salt Lake City

Our first family stop was in Utah, where Darren's sister lives. We surprised the kids with an extra treat-- Grammy Roos was there! Mom Roos was in Salt Lake for an MS treatment, so we got to see her as well as the Cazier clan. The kiddos love to play together & they love their Grammy!
Mom Roos, Cami, Scott, Alyssa & Nathan. Thanks for the fun visit {albeit short} & the yummy chicken noodle soup!
Nathan & Alexander are best buds. Right now they're both into... you guessed it-- Indiana Jones & Star Wars. Alexander gave us all an impromptu recital on the piano, featuring songs from those movies.

Fish Lake National Forest

Road trip! 15 hours there, 15 hours back. We stopped and had a picnic here. I have to say, though, this was the prettiest time of year to travel. I was really missing the seasons & it was an unexpected surprise to enjoy a little bit of Autumn!
The kids are such great travelers. Of course, a trip to Idaho is something they LOVE! {Courtney is showing off her strong teeth skills by eating an apple without the use of her hands.}
The kids were fascinated with the sound of crunching leaves under their feet. Simple wonders! Courtney is sporting her I've-been-in-the-car-for-6-hours hairdo:)

Baby Carter

We got a treat up in Idaho. Our newest nephew was born early, so we got to meet him! He was so tiny and absolutely darling!

The proud Papa-- my brother Ryan (going a little "Grey Poupon" for the camera) and Carter
The sweet Mama, Melissa. She is doing great at being a first-time Mom. Ryan & Melissa were so good to share their baby with us! Of course, the kids wanted to bring their new cousin home with them.
Alexander kept saying "how cute" the baby was. Look at all that hair! Sporting a Mohawk at two weeks-- stylin'! He is such a handsome little guy!

My Sister's Home!

My beautiful sister, Rebecca, returned home from her misison in June. (I just found our missing SD card--yea!). She served in the Cherry Hill, New Jersey mission. It's so good to have her back! My Father, Rebecca & My Mother
Rebecca sporting her darling dimples and holding her new nephew, Carter.
Rebecca is SO much fun and we always laugh way too much when we're together (the silliness never stops). We love her bunches & are so proud of the great missionary she is!

(I'm hoping she's gonna cut the cake with that knife)

Kung Fu Pandas

We took the cousins to Kung Fu Panda and they all loved it. These ingenious kids made a new use of beach balls later that day-- a Kung Fu belly! Alexander & Nathan always have a great time together. They take bowing to their sense so seriously.
Abby & Courtney practicing their fancy Kung Fu belly bump move. It was cute when they were bumping each other, but then Courtney started doing it to random party guests and knocking them over.