End of Summer

2 months have passed since the last post and saddly summer is coming to an end. During that time we have been to Marine World, camped at Desert Creek, toured Virginia City, and celebrated all the September Birthdays at Coconut Bowl. Soccer season has started and I am coaching at Galena for the 10th season. I'm also continuing to work at Silver Screen during the week as I await news about my new career. Aloryn and Lili are growing like weeds and Jamie and I are really enjoying the time we spend together as a family. Lili is getting close to walking as she power crawls all over the place and pulls herself up to standing position almost everywhere. Aloryn is really enjoying school and loves to dance, sing, and create art. Most of all, Aloryn loves playing with Lili. Jamie and I are blessed.

Summer Update 2

In the last few weeks we have visited with many of our family members that we don't get to see very often. On our way up to Oregon to visit Uncle Dick and Aunt Wendy we stopped in Mt. Shasta first. Ben and Steph let us stay in their new house for the night and all 5 cousins had lotsa fun. The next couple days were spent in Eagle Point, where Dick and Wendy really spoiled us with wonderful food and hospitality. Aloryn and Lili were showered with tons of attention, everyone loved it. It was really fun to watch Uncle Dick play with Lili. Chris and I were talking about how Dick and my dad have really come alive when they get to play "Grandpa". We are convinced they are not the same people we had as fathers growing up. On the way back to Reno we stopped and visited with Aunt Estelle, Uncle Jim, and David at their new house in Phoenix, OR. They have a historic house on a several beautiful acres. Back home we spent some time with Nea and the girls. We took the 4 cousins up to the Great Basin Adventure Park near the Wilbur May Museum. They had a great time at the petting zoo, riding the pony, exploring the park, and eating sno-cones. CQ and the adults REALLY had fun on the log ride. We just got back into town from spending a couple nights in Smith Valley and we are planning on heading back to Mt. Shasta for the fourth of July.

Summer Update

Summer is just cruising along and so much has happened since the last update. We have attended a couple weddings. Aloryn and Jamie were part of the bridal party in the first wedding and I was a groomsman in the second. Lili has started crawling and has her first tooth coming in at the same time. The weather has been very strange as it has rained every day at some point for the last 9 days...we love it. Aloryn is earning her keep as a junior landscaper and dishwasher...hence the rubber gloves. We are taking a trip to Shasta and Medford to visit family. Although I have retired I find myself working back at Silver Screen 2-3 days a week. I pulled my acoustic guitar out of the attic and Aloryn has fallen in love with it. I love to golf and would being doing it a lot more if it wasn't so bloody expensive. I've officially retired from playing soccer as it took my body 3-4 days to recover. Believe it or not, hockey is way safer and much less physically punishing. At 3 years old Aloryn has entered the "I don't want to and you can't make me phase!" I'm trying to learn Spannish with Rosetta Stone. I've been sanding off the paint on my Jeep and Aloryn thinks I should paint it purple. I continually brush Marty and am amazed at how much of a furball she is. I'm also amazed at how lucky we are to have such a wonderfully patient dog. Aloryn loves entertaining Lili and Lili is absolutely in love with Aloryn. Jamie fed Lili mushed peas...Lili gagged and vomited...mom no longer feeds Lili peas. Aloryn shares her popsicles with Lili... Lili loves that. I love my family more with each passing day, I can't imagine life without them.

Spring Update

We met up with Ben, Stephanie, and their 3 kids and headed to Elko back in April. Since we didn't go to Elko this year for Christmas, we wanted to visit Great-Grandma Cuth. 4 adults and 5 kids made for a very noisy household. Fortunately Grandma was prepared and opted out from using her hearing aids. We spent 4 days there and had a good time playing at the park, petting horses at the vet clinic, and running around in Grandma's backyard.


Later in April, Lili was dedicated by Pastor Tom at the Reno Vineyard. The church had just moved into its upgraded facility and Jamie wanted to be the first to have a child dedicated in it. Fortunately Pastor Tom was well aware of Jamie's competitive nature and arranged the dedication. Lili did really well during the ceremony and even "tooted" on Pastor Tom.


Grandma Lelly hosted her annual Easter Egg Hunt for the 4 cousins at the end of April. Each kid had their own zone to hunt eggs in and each parent was given detailed instructions about the quantity and size of the eggs. "No egg left behind" was this years theme. Thankfully all eggs were discovered...or we'd still be out there with flashlights looking for them. A delicious turkey dinner followed the egg hunt, however the kids were already full on candy.

Silly Lili

For some reason Lili was extremely entertained by this newspaper:

Pinata Video

Sorry about the different video formats, I'm just getting them figured out.

The Flying Squirrel

Aloryn is really enjoying survival swim lessons.

Here she demonstrates the proper technique

for kamikaze squirrel...Bonzai!!!

#3 Birthday

The birthday festival week started on Feb. 28 and came to a close on March 7. We are worn out. Aloryn really had a great time playing with family and opening gifts. It's neat to watch her open the card, look at for about 2 seconds, toss it on the floor, then proceed to shredding the wrapping paper off the present. The Pinata was also a popular item. The kids continued to swing at it even after its contents had been plundered.

"Number 3 ma Lord!"

Prince Riley is ready for cake

Two for one with that swing

Before the mess

Presents with the cousins

Aloryn and CQ's bday cakes

Nemo themed cake...totally great job mom

Did I mention we got lots of presents?

We really like our new bath towel, also gets good use as a cape

Thankfully it was a nice day outside, since we seriously sugared them up

Hawaii '09

We miss Hawaii already. After being home for 1 day we all decided it is too cold. Not to mention the fact we have to re-learn how to cook, clean, and work again. Thanks again to Grandbob and Gradma Lelly for spoiling us. The trip went very well and we are already talking about the next time. Travelling with the 2 kids actually went smoother this year than just travelling with Aloryn last year. The trip was all about the 4 cousins and they really had a great time.


Think GrandBob had a good time?


Santa sighted! However he didn't want to be bothered on vacation.


Nappy Time!


Tickle! Tickle!


Mom says Lili looks like me, I don't see any resemblance.


Staying up with the current fashion trend


Mom on the sunset cruise


The crew on the boat didn't know what heckling was til they met us


"Gimme that pen, I'll show you how its done!"