Sawyer is FIVE!!!

They grow up TOO FAST!!!

Sawyer, 2 days old (at the hospital):

Three Months Old:

Fast Forward: His Fifth Birthday!

He requested green eggs and ham for breakfast. He loves Dr. Seuss big time.


After breakfast Joe took him skiing for the first time! They went to Heavenly Resort over by Tahoe. Joe says he caught right on, and they were going up the big chair lift by lunch time! They spent the entire day there, but only took along a disposable camera (I could just imagine it getting smashed or dropped in the snow...), so pictures will be coming later. You can sort of picture the skiing when you look at Sawyer's sunburned face, though (which is now blistering!!!)

In the evening Sawyer asked for spaghetti and meatballs for dinner, and then he had his friend Benjamin over to join us for Spiderman cupcakes and play time. They had a ton of fun popping balloons and squirting silly string (notice Sawyer holding Hunter down, so Benjamin can spray his tummy?)

Littlest Kindt is TWO!

Hunter's birthday was Sunday the 30th! It's hard to believe he's two. He's growing into such a cool little guy. He's definitely our rough-n-tough boy, wrestling kids in nursery and pulling Sawyer's hair; but he's also got such a sweet side, asking to snuggle every day, rubbing our backs, giving us voluntary kisses, and saying "I love you" ALL the time. His biggest problem now that he's two is, "What are we going to do about him being so handsome?" ;)

It was a Sunday, so we didn't have a ton of birthday time. Church, nap and finally started celebrations when he woke up around 5pm! We played some balloon games, opened gifts, had his train cake, and played in a fort Joe made for him (and watched a movie in).

Happy birthday little man!

Joe's 30th!

We still can't believe Joe turned THIRTY on Saturday. You'd never guess by looking at him, so he can be proud of that. :)

Joe requested we go snowshoeing for his birthday, so we drove down to Hope Valley, over the California border:

It was a gorgeous day, with the temperature at 63* by the time we got back home in the valley at 12:30!

Joe picked a fun restaurant for dinner, called Old Red's 395 Grill, in Carson City. Since Joe is doing no treats for the ENTIRE year, I couldn't bake him a birthday cake or even have the restaurant bring him a free sundae & sing happy birthday. Instead, I secretly told the waitress to bring birthday sweet potato fries. It came with a side cup of cinnamon butter type dip, so they stuck some candles in there for him & sang. Happy sweet potato birthday to Joe!

Baby's Turning TWO

I can hardly believe it, but Hunter is going to turn two in 12 days! I feel like all my creative juices aren't flowing yet, so I was hoping to please get some help with birthday ideas from you all. Here are the circumstances:

(1) We don't have good enough friends yet to invite over for a party.

(2) His birthday is on a Sunday (the 30th), so we have church until 1pm, then he naps right afterwards until around 4pm.

(3) I know he won't even be old enough to 'get it', but we still want to make it special for the little cute dude.

(4) He is currently loving Thomas train everything, and loves to play dress up with hats, sunglasses, Sawyer's clothes, Joe's clothes, etc.

Any ideas coming to you? Thanks! :)

Out For a Drive

Yesterday I took the boys for a drive, to go look at Lake Tahoe & hopefully get some nice pictures. When I left it was sunny, but by the time I got over there it was overcast. These aren't postcard worthy by any means, but still thought I'd share. :)

First up: This is a picture of our valley (Carson Valley) from very high up the Sierra Mountains on our west side, on our drive to Tahoe. It's hard to see since we're so high up, but the city is the blobby dark strip that starts after all those initial white snowy fields of cows. Those mountains on the opposite, east, side are called the Pine Nut Mountains.

Tahoe from the SW (California) side, by Emerald Bay:

Tahoe from the SE (Nevada) side

Cave Rock, which juts down to the water on the left side:

Sawyer Boy

I need a better camera, but this is still cute. Love this boy.

The Year 2010

It doesn't seem that long ago that I did this! But alas, another year is done, and I find myself wanting to put it into a neat little summary, to keep things straight!

January 2010:
Hunter turned ONE and got his first haircut. Joe ran his first marathon: The Disney Marathon in Orlando!

February 2010:
Sawyer turned FOUR, and I turned 27 (only two more years until I stop aging! I throroughly intend to stop at 29). It SNOWED in Atlanta on Sawyer's birthday- the first time ATL had that much snow stick in anywhere from 6-20 years, depending on who you asked around town.

March 2010:
Sawyer did T-ball and had a great time. It snowed in Atlanta- AGAIN!

April 2010:
I sprained my ankle at the park with the boys (for the 3rd time). Our car broke down while Joe was driving alone. I chopped my hair the shortest it's ever been (but am now growing it out).

May 2010:
We took the kiddos to DISNEY WORLD for their first time, with the Smiths whom we love. The trip was fantastic!! Then MOM went to San Diego for her getaway girl trip, which was also spectacular!

June 2010:
Sawyer got his first two-wheel bike, we visited the Atlanta Botanical Garden, and me and Joe went to see CONAN O'BRIEN at the Fox Theatre, who is our favorite!

July 2010:
We had a great 4th of July, going to the Marietta parade, and the downtown Atlanta fireworks! We spent lots of time at the pool, and Lake Allatoona for swimming. Hunter had his first trip to the emergency room, because of horrible asthmatic type breathing within an illness (late on a Saturday night- of course).

August 2010:
BOTH of our famillies came to visit us in Atlanta! My parents and baby brother came first, then the next weekend Joe's parents and baby brother came! It was awesome to show them around!
Joe's grandpa Kindt passed away, and we all flew to Milwaukee for the funeral.

September 2010:
We had the most fabulous family vacation ever on Amelia Island, Florida! I finished making my cloth quiet book from scratch (simple-creativity.blogspot.com), and earned my Young Woman Medallion at church (10 years later than I should've)!

October 2010:
Sawyer finished his awesome soccer season, which he LOVED! We got rid of the Subaru & bought our Pilot. We went on an awesome camping trip with our best friends the Schlossers! For Halloween we were a family of pirates. And, we found out we were moving HERE- to NEVADA...

November 2010:
We moved here- to Nevada. We went on a road trip to Vegas for Thanksgiving to see my brothers & sister in law!

December 2010:
Sawyer went ice skating for his first time, we did lots of cute Christmas activities, and had a fun Christmas on our own for the first time (not travelling anywhere or with other family). :) We went to San Francisco/Oakland for Joe's cousin Spencer's wedding.


We've been very blessed this year, to continue to have health and a JOB in this economy! Here's hoping that 2011 will move us for the last time for awhile (I'm tired!). :)

Morning!

This was our first Christmas without visiting parents/grandparents, so I was a little worried of how it would go, and if it'd really 'feel' like Christmas. It turned out great, though, I think mainly because our kids are old enough to be excited and aware. Sawyer left out cookies for Santa (which he ate, proving he came to our house!), we had German stollen for breakfast (just like Joe's mom always made), and we were able to take lots of breaks to enjoy each moment.

I know watching others open random gifts isn't exiting, so this is mainly for grandmas' benefit, since most of the gifts came from them. :)

Eve

Christmas Eve was fantastic. We went for a hike in the morning, and couldn't have had better weather. Beautiful sunshine, moderate temps, and just a little snow as we climbed in elevation a bit.

In the evening we went to Crystelle & Tyler's home (our new friends in the neighborhood). Crystelle is French, so she made us some amazing creme brulee! Sawyer finished his before anyone (and started after others had)! We had a fantastic dinner, watched a Christmas movie together, opened jammies, and overall just had a great time hanging out and getting to know them. Thanks you guys!

Our Traditional Houses!

This has become one of our traditions that'll stick: making mini graham houses for each individual person to decorate, instead of constructing a massive gingerbread house. Everyone has so much fun every year! Can you guess who's is who's?

Top to bottom, left to right: Hunter, Sawyer, Carrie, Joe. Was it that hard to guess? :)

We had over our friend Alison from Joe's office. She's doing a GE rotation here just like we are- except she's single (BORING in this town!), so we're excited to have her hang out with us!

Hunter learned the word "DOTS" the first time he heard it & saw it associated with that big box of candy. It was a miracle (Hunter doesn't talk very much yet)! :)

All five together in their Christmas village on top of the kitchen counter:

Merry Christmas!