baby Gracie gets blessed

Savannah and I jumped in an airplane and flew to Queen Creek to see Brig, Lisa and Gracie. We went with mom, Ty, Amy and Libby. Dad and Dave drove...we attempted a cool sibling photo like the one we did at Steiner a few years ago, but didn't have a lot of luck getting one with all of us looking decent. I dare say, the older we get the harder it will be!! :)

Look at that cute Gracie! Oh, she was a snuggle bug! I could have snuggled that baby all weekend long and brought her home too. She is darling. and TINY. I think that was my favorite part, none of my babies were as tiny as Gracie. Savannah and Libs were smitten.

While we were packing Savannah brought me two critical items to make sure I put in our bag. An atlas and her chinese fan (WHEW, had we left those home we would have been up a creek!!)

The girls got in their swimsuits first thing. Brig and Lisa were laughing at us because it is still "cool" in Arizona, but we considered it a HEAT WAVE!

Happy smiles on our last day in AZ...top five for the weekend:
5. Dad's new dog purchased in AZ, Patch
4. Going on walks in the cactus patch with Savannah (my awesome little hiker) and the crew
3. Going to the comedy club (so fun to hang with Ame and my bros)
2. going to garage sales (making Dad drive...heh heh heh)
1. LOVING baby Gracie!

THE SNOW

OK, I am nerd. I am definitely still trying to figure this out, because this should have been part of the other post. Anyway, these were the actual outside shots. We probably got 8 inches this weekend, easy. It's snowing again this morning. It won't hurt my feelings when we see a little sun and some green grass! All those years in St. George have warped my thinking patterns...

too much Valentine Snow

Amy is going to be so proud of me. I am finally blogging again. The saddest part is that I got a really cool new camera for Christmas, but somehow I still have trouble getting it all done...the kids had a blast playing outside this weekend with all the new snow, and Matt got me flowers for Valentines! What a man. They are gorgeous, too...I take back all my nasty "no flowers, they are too expensive" comments. In case you are wondering, Isaak has dirt or something on his nose in the above photo...I was trying to get a picture of him coming in with all his snow gear on, but he was too fast for me...by the time I got the camera out he was undressed and ready for some hot chocolate. That kid loves hot chocolate.

Rupp Family Christmas Party- Insane!

The annual Rupp Family Christmas Party was yesterday and it was a doozy! 72 people in one average size home makes for some serious coziness.

The kids were excited to see Santa and they each got their turn. Tanner wants a guitar for Christmas?!? This was the first Santa has heard of this request.

Tanner was so good to sit and hold Ashby while they waited their turn to sit on Santa's lap. Ashby was very anxious, so it took some skill on Tanner's part to keep him occupied.

This photo was actually taken a couple of weeks prior to the party. We helped Grandpa Wally decorate the tree.
Merry Christmas everyone!

Halloween

I know, he's freaky looking!

Denise and Tyler came over after work to show us their costumes (SCARY!!!)

Denise's kiss of death...not appreciated by Isaak!

Savannah was a witch and then a cheerleader (but not a cheerleader witch!) Isaak was a pirate, but he also likes to wear cowboy gear and ninja gear. I didn't even recognize Tanner!

This is Isaak with his friend The Incredible Hulk (Julian Cannon)

Dracula (Edward?!) is in

Cutest cheerleader in the West!


Wiped out, but not done with the gear (notice he is reading "How I Became A Pirate"!)

Yes, I am finally blogging. I know there are people passing out right now. I have been meaning to do this for a really long time, and I wanted to send out Halloween pics and couldn't bear to think of doing it via email, so HERE WE GO. Round one. Halloween this year was AWESOME. We might as well have been in St. George, we were having so much fun. I was in a t-shirt and even though it rained a bit, we were quite warm as we were walking the neighborhood! Matt came with, we left the treats on the porch and off we went. I told Matt we really needed to remember this year, because all three kids were able to walk of their own accord, (YES!) but at the same time, none are so old that they were unimpressed with what we were doing! It was an awesome night.