February Trip

Mom and Dad decided to escape the cold and go south for about 10 days this month. They went first to Tuscon, to help tend Sadie and Erica while Nancee and Troy represented Live-Right in Taiwan. 

 You can tell Mom was babysitting, because both girls have their hair done in every picture. 

 Erica's expression is awesome. I remember Mom used to do my hair when I was little and when I whined or moaned she would tell me, "Beauty is pain". I imagine she and Erica are having a similar moment in the above picture. :) 

Nancee had arranged for lots of activities to keep the girls occupied, including gymnastics and daycare. 

 So... Mom and Dad were looking forward to some nice warm winter weather, and while it was 40 degrees in Idaho, they woke up to SNOW in Tuscon! I guess the bad weather followed them there. 

 Erica was pretty excited about it though. 

 A few days later, they would be at the beach in California, and Erica is less than excited. 

On their way to California, Mom and Dad took the girls to Phoenix for a sleepover with the cousins, Lincoln and Logan. Everyone was very excited about the new trampoline. 

 The girls were troopers on the VERY long 7 hour car ride over to California to meet up with their parents. 

They were very happy to be reunited with their Mommy and Daddy. 

 Troy and Nancee had just been on a plane for about 24 hours straight. They were exhausted. 

Uncle Barratt helped to keep the girls occupied. 

Sierra and Tutu

 Brayden is looking more and more like his Dad, especially with his new haircut. 

Mom and Dad had a great time down south and they miss everyone already. They are excited for the kids to come up to Idaho this July. 

Nolan likes this straw.

Happy Birthday Kristin!

Today is Kristin's birthday! Wait... thats not Kristin... its actually Martha Stewart, but its easy to understand why I would make that mistake. Kristin is known to be the "Martha" of our family. She is absolutely gifted when it comes to cooking, baking, and canning. It is a literal "treat" anytime we get to visit with Kristin, because homemade cinnamon rolls, pies and doughnuts are just around the corner. Kristin also does excellent sewing and crafting projects. Mary has been the recipient of many darling outfits that Kristin has made from scratch. Once Kristin tried to teach me how to sew a pair of pajama pants, and she also taught me to knit one year when I visited their family for Christmas. She also enjoys maintaining her impressive garden when the rotten Rochester weather permits...

Even though its no secret that Kristin is truly a domestic diva, she would never call herself that. She is so down to earth and humble about everything. She will be the first one to roll up her sleeves and pitch in when work needs to be done. She is outdoorsy, likes to go on walks with the kids, knows how to fly-fish, and she isn't scared to shoot a gun! I think she would have made an excellent pioneer. 

Kristin is a very talented musician as well. I just love hearing her play the violin, and to watch how intense she gets when she plays is also very cool. She has encouraged musicality within her own family, and now they are at a point where they can have family concerts together. Kristin has had the chance to play professionally and teach lessons as well. Even though she loves playing the violin, she has had to make some difficult choices in the past which required her to take some breaks from playing in order to take care of her family. She still practices often and is keeping her skills up, though. 

Usually I think its unfortunate when a person has to share their birthday with a major holiday, but I think its fitting that Kristin's birthday falls on Valentines Day. I say this because Kristin is seriously one of the most loving people you will ever encounter. She is brimming with love not only for her own family, but for her extended family and her neighbors! Kristin has always been very warm and accepting of me personally. She has a hug and a smile for anyone who needs it, and she is genuinely interested in what the other person has to say. 

These kids are so lucky to have such an awesome Mom like Kristin! 

Kristin lives her life each day lovingly devoted to her family. She is an absolutely wonderful mother to her 5 kids, and a sweet wife to Spencer. They are very loving and affectionate with each other, too. (I had to search to find pictures where they weren't kissing!)

 Kristin, we are inspired by how hard you work and all of the talent that you have. You make people around you feel better because of your warm spirit. You are a wonderful mother and wife. We are so happy that you're a part of our family. We love you!

Happy Birthday Roo!

Today is Roo's birthday, and its the big 3-0! Congratulations! 

There are many theories to how Roo got his interesting name, but the one Mom supports is that Roo's name came about while she and Dad were on a trip to Australia. She saw the Mommy Kangaroo's carrying around their babies in their pouches, and she happened to be pregnant with Roo at the time, so she thought "Roo" would be a cute nickname for the baby she had already decided to name Charles, after her great-grandfather C.R. Savage. She thought Charles was a pretty big name for a little baby, and that "Roo" would be cute for a little while. She never thought it would become his lifelong name! We can't imagine calling Roo anything else now. "Charles" just doesn't seem to fit him, and we're glad that the nickname stuck! 

 Last year, we gathered up all of Roo's old baby pictures for a special Christmas present for him. Some of the pictures we found were from birthdays past. Like the one above from his first birthday, and the one below from his second birthday. I love how both Nancee and J.J. are ready to eat their little brother's birthday cake!

Looks like Roo finally figured out how to guard his cake by the time the third birthday came around!

I asked Mom if she had any funny stories to recount about Roo's childhood, and she remembered how much he hated football as a kid. He told her "I'll pay you back if you let me quit". When she asked him why he didn't like it, his response was, "I hate hitting into people and hurting them for no good reason and I hate them hitting into me. Its just dumb."Roo always was on a deeper intellectual level than most kids his age. 

 Roo has always, always loved animals. Especially dogs. The above picture is Roo with Rusty, the dog we got after moving to California. After Rusty, we got Beth, the fluffy Old English Sheepdog who was always considered to be Roo's dog.

 Once Roo got out on his own, he got a Welch Corgie dog named Lando. Not long after getting Lando, the animal rescue contacted Roo and Annie to ask if they would take in another Corgie who had been abused. Their family suddenly grew with the addition of Chase, but Annie and Roo worked very hard at trying to break Chase of some of his bad habits (like peeing and barking).



Once Esme was born, priorities had to change a little bit, and we volunteered to take care of Roo's doggies. He still thinks of them as his family and he misses them a lot. He always wants to know how they are doing, and he even had a camera installed at our house so he can keep an eye on his babies. We want to assure Roo that the doggies are very happy living at our mountain home. They can run anywhere they want, use the bathroom any time they feel like it, and bark as much as they see fit. They love it in Idaho!

Roo is known for his love of Dr. Pepper and Coke. In the past few years he has switched his allegiance to Diet Coke... which threatens my supply when he comes to visit, but I try to be good about sharing with him. Oh yeah, he went to Paris too.... but the coke is the main point of this picture.

Just kidding. Roo and Annie have actually had the opportunity to do LOTS of traveling in their lives. A lot more than most young people. They both love history, museums, sight seeing, and embarking on new adventures.  They traveled to Italy and Romania together before they were even engaged! Roo actually proposed to Annie in Italy, which earns her the award for most romantic proposal in the family. Nicely done, Roo! They did a study abroad program for a semester in England after they were first married. They spent a summer living in San Francisco too. They've been to New York, Washington D.C. and California several times. For the first few months at his new job, Roo had to go to training half way across the world in Abu Dhabi! I'm sure all of their travels have prepared them well for living away from family in Houston.

Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles, CA

Pizza Place in New York City, NY

Yosemite, CA

Houston, TX

Niagra Falls, NY

Look at those teeth! Roo has such a big bright smile, Mom called it "a smile as wide as Kansas". He and I went to the same (terrible) orthodontist for several years. Even though he had to wear rubber bands and headgear for a little while, he now has beautiful teeth to show for it! 

Roo has played music in a few bands including "Say it Aint Weezer" and "Mimic". I remember him playing the "Jurassic Park" theme song on the keyboard at our Cloister house over and over. Roo is actually very musical, and one of his favorite things to do is to go listen to people perform music. He has been to several concerts in his 30 years, and his favorite one is John Williams at the Hollywood Bowl. He has been able to attend that concert several times. 

 
Roo is a very sweet husband to Annie. He is considerate of her needs, especially while she is pregnant, and he does what he can to help her out. They are such a cute couple because they really have similar personalities. They are both very funny and quietly sarcastic. They seem very well suited for each other, and we are so happy that Roo brought Annie into our family.


Roo is a good father to Esmé, too. He tries to be very patient with her as she is currently entering her "terrible twos". We look forward to our chance to Skype with Roo and Esmé most afternoons. Even though he doesn't always say a lot, we know Roo cares very deeply for his family.

Roo, we loved having you visit us over the recent Holiday season. It was fun to watch Lord of the Rings with your expertise, and we are so grateful that you spent your time setting up the Star Wars room. It looks so good now! 

We love you, Roo, and we hope you have a very happy birthday!