Road Trip

I thought I had posted the pictures from our trip to Arizona, but I looked back and realized I have been more of a slacker than I thought! We drove to Nevada and Arizona in the late summer to visit some of Robert's family. It was a great trip! I love road trips! We went to his cousin Paul's ranch in Nevada, where we got to spend some time with Paul, his wife Angie and their kids. From there, we went to Kingman, Arizona, where Robert grew up. It was pretty cool to see his old house, his elementary school and other places he remembered. And I got to meet his childhood best friend, Joey, and his family, including Aunt Carla & Uncle Dick, who were wonderful hosts! During the trip, we even managed to see the Hoover (oops, I mean Boulder... sorry, Robert!) Dam. On the way home (well, it was a little out of the way, but totally worth it!!) we stopped at the Grand Canyon. We got there just after sunset that night, stayed in one of the lodges there, and were up before sunrise to get some pictures before we had to head home. Right after we got back to the lodge (I mean RIGHT after) it started to pour, and we had the most awesome thunderstorm I have ever experienced... we actually saw it coming while we were out on the canyon rim, and could see the lightning on the other side! Oh, yeah, and we got to go to the Grand Canyon Caverns too. Not bad for only a 4 day trip!!

Fall Pictures

Here are a few random pictures from the fall and winter. I have more I plan to post, which I will work on getting up soon. For now, here are some to catch you all up on the last few months...

These pictures are from September. We celebrated Jon's birthday at the park in Kimberly. One of his gifts was a pogo stick {He is really a young boy stuck in a man's body :o)} and it was a big hit... even Mom R. tried it - she was pretty good actually!

Right after we got home from Chile in October - really, like the next weekend - was our church's Women's Retreat in McCall. It was a great weekend! I didn't take very many pictures, but above are some with me and 1)Arin & Ashlie 2)Nicole 3)Jana and 4) Catherine. I love these girls! :)

Me & Bailey

Me, Isaak & Josiah at the Halloween Outreach

More spaghetti... please!

Look how surprised he is!! Wow, that looks fun.

Tayden's 1st Birthday Party in November

A couple attempts at a Christmas card photo :)

Goals for the New Year

I don't really like "resolutions"... for some reason, "goals" sounds better. I have several this year. The last few years, I have been able to meet a lot of my goals, so I am hoping to do the same this year! Here are some of mine for this year (not in any particular order).

1. Get in shape!
I know, I know, how cliche! But I really mean it. We got a gym membership back in November, and have been pretty good about going. We try to go every other day, except when our crazy schedule make it difficult. We are going to Anytime Fitness, where my cousin Chelsea works, and I love it because we can go whenever we want - even in the middle of the night, although I don't know why we would ever do that! Robert loves it because all the cardio machines have tvs on them, so he can watch football. :) This goal also includes eating healthier!

2. Have more quiet time with God

I have been reading a Women's daily devotional book every day (so far) that I really like. There is a key verse for each day, and the writings are really good. My friend Joanna also got me a Women's devotional Bible for Christmas, which I love! I can definitely tell a difference when I am spending time in the Word and in prayer, and when I am not! If I'm too busy for that, I'm too busy!!

3. Have a baby :)

Ok, so I know I can't really control this. And it has been one of my goals for the last 2 years... but I am hopeful that this is the year God will bless us with a baby! Please keep us in your prayers as we wait (patiently) for God's timing and as we seek His wisdom in what steps to pursue next.

4. Knit a baby blanket
I recently purchased some new knitting needles on ebay for a great deal (a set of circular needles, and a big lot of single and double-pointed needles)! I am excited to get them and start using them! At Christmas, I got a huge bag of yarn from Robert's sister. Their grandmother (Grandma Hoop) used to knit all the time and gave her stuff to Virginia, but Virginia doesn't knit (although she is a fantastic costume designer and seamstress!), so she passed it on to me. I have plenty of yarn to practice with now! My goal this year is to knit at least one baby blanket (among other things). I also need to knit a hat for Danny, who has been patiently asking for one since the first time I picked up knitting needles! :)

5. Learn something new

This is another goal that I have almost every year. Last year, I learned Spanish, how to knit, how to use my sewing machine, how to make and can my own spaghetti sauce, and how to salsa dance - although I definitely have plenty of room for improvement on all of the above, which I will also be working on this year!! I am not sure what I want to learn this year, but I'm sure something will present itself. Maybe an instrument, or how to ski... we'll see.

Those are just a few of the things I hope to accomplish, so I'm sure it will be a busy year for us, as usual! I do have a lot of pictures from the holidays to post, so I am going to try to get that done this week. Hope everyone is having a great new year so far!