Uncle John, Jensen and Ellie Vist from Utah!!!!!

We couldn't have been more happy to see John and his kiddos last weekend....we got to spend lots of time with them and it was so nice to connect my brother and his cute kids!  We missed seeing Mimi and Mia and Sam, though! It will be great to see them all this summer!

The weekend started with a wonderful dinner with John, and my Dad, Carol and siblings.

 Saturday, we had a wonderful family dinner at my mom's house. I failed to take any pictures at all that night! A highlight of the night was setting fire to Gma's Christmas trees. A bonfire in the snow...it was pretty cool. The kids had a great time sliding around on the sports court while we cleaned up after dinner. Then we played a group game of 'Do You Love Your Neighbor' and then took turns showing off various 'tricks.' It was great fun. Elizabeth enjoyed some quite time coloring with Ellie after everyone else was gone. Wish I had more pictures of them together.  We have quite a few of Jensen, since he was able to spend the night Sunday night with us!

 The kids had fun watching each other play Jensen's new DSi.

 There was lots of wrestling and horsing around too! These two boys are like two peas from the same pod...they just get along so well! It was fun to see their friendship pick up right where they 'left off.'

 Despite what you might think...no one ended up crying after this wrestling match!

 It was good times all around...and the boys didn't mind Elizabeth joining in on the fun! She misses Jensen and Ellie as much as Levi.

A 'sticky' breakfast gave us the calories we'd use for a morning of sledding!

 We are sledding on the nearby Maple Valley Golf Course...free fun!!!

 Rachel brought her best friend, Kalani along for some snow fun!

 Rachel's specialty: sucking snow off of branches! Who knew?

 Spencer on the sneak attack!

Jensen worked hard on this fort....the snow wasn't cooperating well....but his hard work paid off!

 On Monday, John's last day in town...we met him and Anne's and Beth's families and Gma Conway for an afternoon of bowling! I am holding Gavin and my nephew, Luke--Anne's baby. John is holding Beth's youngest, Leah.

 Gavin loved bowling!

 Elizabeth, too!

I think Gavin loved his cup of water best of all!

 Rachel and Makayla

 Levi

 Spencer

 The Mob. By the way....I won the 'grownups' game with 130 points!

 Saying goodbye was not fun. Especially for Grandma.

OK, well, the boys make it look easy here! Seriously, it was hard to say goodbye. We love you so very much!!  Sometimes it hurts to think about the miles that separate our families, Johnboy. We love you and Mimi and are glad that she blogs so much that we are able to share part of your life. Hopefully I'll blog more often, too.

Freezing Rain Hits!

Yesterday after the world's best snowball fight--freezing rain hit Maple Valley...actually, it was more like 24 hour freezing drizzle that created what seems like a 1/2 inch coating of ice over every little thing outside. The cars were completely coated in the ice....branches have been breaking off of trees--actually trees are being ripped in half from the weight of the ice--causing power outages all over town. We still have power. We have been enjoying our week of no school...movies by the fireside, games, crafts, warm food. Tonight Tim is reading the final chapter of Harry Potter v. 4 to Levi and Rachel...and we plan to snuggle in and watch the movie when they're done!  Here are some photos from today:

This rhodie branch is falling over with the weight of the ice.

 You can see the ice really well on the carrot nose.

 The trampoline webbing was completely solid.

 The front yard...you can see the remains of our forts from yesterday's snowball fight.

 Well, the bunny is still alive!

 Chickens too!

This kind of turned into a tour of our backyard! The fine structure you see here is the chicken coop Tim  built last year.

Gavin's 3rd Birthday!

I can't believe my baby is 3! He is a little guy--compared to all my other kiddos--so that means he's probably about 50th percentile--which is perfect, of course! We measured him on the wall and he is seems to be exactly 3' tall that's 1" shorter than Elizabeth at age 3, and 4" shorter than Levi's age 3. You can see on this photo that it took Liz a whole year to catch up to her brother's 3 yr height! It would be better for his heart if he is smaller in stature than his siblings....but I guess only time will tell!

The cake is a green version of Lightening McQueen's Mac. :)  As you may notice while reading this post, Gavin is passionate about anything 'Cars' related! He also loves the movie 'Speed Racer' and has named all his hotwheels cars 'Mach 5' or 'Mach 3 or 4'....but ever since Uncle David sent Cars 2 for Christmas, he has been ALL about McQeen. After a quick google search...I found this sweet Mac cake idea! Since Santa had brought a green semi, Mac has a fresh coat  of paint for the party (he's normally red, if you are not up on your Cars trivia).  Rachel and Levi baked 2 chocolate cakes and I cut them into 3 long sections, stacked them, and cut out little 'windows' so that you could see inside that the trailer was carrying some pretty cool cars! He loved his cake. I frosted the cake during the dead of night, and then placed it on the highest shelf in my room--so that the Oreo wheels would make it to the party. :)

I loved how, within moments of bringing the cake out, the kids had placed all varieties of cars next to and in front of it...the semi looked like it was moving in freeway traffic!

We played a group game of Guesstures--my favorite game for including players of all ages! It was great to have our friends the Garcia and Williams families there to celebrate with us. And Grandma and Grandpa Conway-who drove the farthest to be there!

Present time was just precious. He was so purely tickled and you've thought he'd just caught the winning touchdown pass each time he opened a gift! And he was full of cute remarks, like..."Are you kidding me?!" or "Yes!" or "Holy K-Molie!" 

3...2....1...

Perhaps his favorite toys were these mini Cars that can slide onto a spring-loaded launcher (one that a 3 yr old can actually manipulate!)  He has nick-named these cars his "Blast-offs." I love these two pics!

Make a wish!

Family shot!

Silly shot!

My baby.

We both love you so much, Gavin. Your brothers and sisters adore you. You keep us smiling and laughing, and running around the house all day! I love how your favorite meal is PB&J sandwiches but only if they are cut into cookie cutter shapes...I love how you have a special ritual at bedtime that includes the exact order of which light is turned on first, by whom, etc.  I love that you are so bright--you have your colors down packed and some letters even! I love how when you tell me "I have a snowball"..it means you need a diaper change. :) I love the python-tight body hugs that you readily give. And the way you like to rub the back of your hand in my neck (some kids just suck their thumb!) is cute too--even though sometimes I have to beg you to 'be soft!' :)  You are a blessing to us, sweet baby Gavin!