The Rupp's Ride BL

You had to be there to truly appreciate this one, but Grandpa Holley and Isaak are kindred spirits, and that's the bottom line.

Truth: If one tries hard enough, one can actually suck on four ring pops at a time, even if one is only 11 months old and has never had a ring pop previously.
Fiction: Savannah, Libs, and Ellie do not like Gracie very much

The best part about these Bear Lake pics is that mom is the one I got the most and best pictures of! I swear, she looks like she is about 20, and having the time of her life! It goes without saying that Isaak is having a blast!

Look Mom, no hands!

Patch was hauling along with mom on this ride, I should have video instead of still shots, it was pretty funny to watch and listen to...

Savannah and Libs, finding joy in the journey

Grandpa and Ellie Bellie...she loves to ride up front!

Mom and Isaak again (I promise he's there, look close!)

Yes, it was uber-sunny, poor kids, I blinded them, but this sure is a cute one!

Grandpa with the boys, and you can see the lake out behind them. We really did have a blast on this trip. It was COLD so we stayed in a fair amount, played some serious games of Scum, and even tried out Ty's Werewolf game...GOOD TIMES, thanks mom and dad for the fun!

Cupla favs I missed

Ty's still pretty darn cute sittin' on Santa's lap

Gracie is currently, hands down, the favorite cousin. Poor kid, she spent her whole break in Utah being Mauled, with a capital M.

Great Grandma Amy's hands...if I can live to say that my hands have done as much as hers, my life will be well lived. It's rare that these hands are this quiet.

Savannah did a great job on her piano recital. No mistakes!

Tanner and my cute (single) little brother...are blogs an effective way to get dates?!

A trip down Matt's memory lane...hangin' in Lewiston with the cows

So Great Grandpa and Grandma Gibbons have been holding a Christmas party for as long as Matt and his siblings have been alive. Grandma has sent birthday cards to every child, grandchild and spouse and every great grand child for as long as we have been around. They are amazing and just now, at age 89 and 92 (I think, that's pretty close, anyway) are they finally saying it's time to change things a bit. Grandma is done with birthday cards this year and we went to see them at their home to say "Merry Christmas" instead of going to the churchhouse for the party. We had a great time at the Gibbons'. We went with Jodi and Logan and we saw the new (or fairly new) barn and the spectacular way they milk cows now, we checked out the milk, and we saw the calves in their pens. Grandpa and Grandma still spoiled the kids, and let them pick a pair of socks and some treats from their basement "store". We love grandpa and grandma! They are awesome and just who I want to be like when I grow up!

Isaak was our only child who dared let a calf suck on his fingers...

Aunt Jodi taught him to let the cows suck on his fingers and she ended up getting a two-for-one! Two calves at the same time. COOL!

This is the crew...look how cute that Grandma and Grandpa are!

Savannah and Isaak weren't so impressed with the smell, but they still had fun!

Christmas at Grandpa Wally's

Fairly intense smile there, on Savannah, but hey, she was happy to be hangin' with Santa at Grandpa's... a flippin' cute one of Ike and Grandpa...

Gracie wasn't so sure about Santa, he's kind a scary dude.

Like I said, a couple more from the temple square trip, this is all the cousins (Laurie's crew: Colton, Natalya, Tori, Gabi, Shelli's crew: McKae, Erik, Emily, Bryndi, Dallen, My crew: Tanner, Savannah, Isaak)

and in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, with even Laurie's littlest, Jenna

Leaves and "Christmas" with the Hong Kong Gibbons

We have so much scrub oak in the back yard that leaves are a constant at our house. Luckily, the kids love playing in them and even raking a few. Five points if you can "spy" all three kids

This year for Christmas with the Gibbons' we did a devotional via skype with grandpa and grandma and most of the Gibbons' kids. We learned about families in Asia who don't have enough money to go to the temple and some of the experiences grandpa and grandma have had as they have seen families be sealed in the Hong Kong temple, many from Mongolia where they served their last mission. As a family we decided to give money to the temple patron fund instead of giving each other gifts. It was actually an awesome experience, and the kids even thought it was great. After the devotional some of us went to temple square...this is Isaak posing for me!

Tyler was giving Savannah piggyback rides...SO CUTE!

Tanner was cold but relatively cheerful...

and the coolest pic, the cousins in front of the temple...oh I love these kind of pictures! This one is missing half the kids...I'll post a couple more