Sunday bike ride

The last few Sundays we've been taking 15-20 mile bike rides with some good friends. There are so many neat places to ride in Tempe, & it is fun having the parade of 3-4 bike trailers! Last Sunday was the Rock 'n Roll marathon, so there were a few live bands to stop and listen to. I think that was Jacob's favorite part :)




Clayton & Mario

Jacob & Papa playing air guitar to the music

Ryan, Brady, & Veronica

Daddy, Mama, Jacob, & Papa

Grandpa Ron & Nana Jill Visit Tempe

Here are a few more pictures from Grandpa Ron & Nana Jills' visit to Tempe.

Grandpa Ron reading "Green Eggs & Ham" to Jacob for probably the dozenth time!

Daddy, Jacob, & Nana Jill making Mama's birthday cake

Putting on the finishing touches
They made the most beautiful & yummy cake for mama's bday!

"I think it needs a few more blueberries Nana"


High 5 with Grandpa Ron at Daley Park

Pizza with the family

Sunday night we went to Grimaldi's in Scottsdale for pizza with Grandpa Ron, Nana Jill, Grandma Tilla, & Papa Chuck. We had a great time catching up & Jacob really like playing with the pizza dough. And of course the pizza was super yummy!

Haircut #3 with Grandpa Ron & Nana Jill

Grandpa Ron & Nana Jill are visiting us this week from Ocala, Florida. On Sunday they came with us to get Jacob's hair cut, it seems to be growing so fast now!

It has been so fun having them in town this week!

Riding the new Phoenix Metro Lightrail Train

Many of you know of Jacob LOVE for trains, so he was very excited when we rode it for the first time last week. Jacob & mama rode the bike to the train station at ASU, took it to the station near the zoo, rode the bike to the zoo, then repeated on the way home. It was a little nerve racking getting the bike & trailer on the train by myself, but Jacob had so much fun. Here are some pictures...



Jacob in the trailer after arriving at the zoo station

looking at the giraffes

eating a snack by the orangutan exhibit, unfortunately the orangutans were in their night house because it was too cold...

waiting for the train back to ASU

A cute picture in Grammy's Sweater

I'm ready for the snow!

Off to garden...

Our neighbor bought Jacob a mini-wheelbarrow for Christmas, & he is in love with it! It was an indoor toy for a few days, but has now moved outside. He loves digging in the dirt with his shovel (from Auntie Sarah), filling his wheelbarrow, then dumping it all on the front porch. So much fun!

Return to Pine...

We couldn't stay away long, so after coming home for a few days to take care of the cats & recoup from all the many trips of December, we headed back up to Pine for another 2 days in the beginning of January. This time we awake in the morning to snow falling! It was so magically, so we headed back up to the sledding hill for some fun!

enjoying his vanilla ice cream cone

Jacob & Daddy on the sledding hill
The snow was so much better this time! And since Jacob was wearing real snow boots (thanks Sonja!), he was better able to climb up the hill. And his new jacket from Grammy kept him very warm. We have since found him a pair of snow pants, so will try them out for our next sledding trip.

someone put a lot of work into this snowman...not us, but it was nice to pose in front of anyhow :)

hot tubbing in the snow!

New Years Eve in Pine

We spent the last 2 days of 2008 visiting with Grandma Tilla, Papa Chuck, & Great Grandma Chana in Pine at the new house. Though it was a quick 2 days, we enjoyed spending time with family, going in the hot tub, and sledding.

Here are some pics...



Jacob leading the Great Grandma Chana freight train around the house & porch

Grandma Tilla, Jared, Jacob, & Mama in the hot tub

Jacob sledding for the 1st time at a sledding hill 15 minutes north of the pine house
He loved it!

Making a snowman with Grandma Tilla, complete with a real carrot!








speedo boy



another hot tub trip, this time with great grandma chana :)

7 hour drive back to AZ!

Jacob did very well on the 7 hour car ride back to AZ. We had to make 3-4 stops on the way to let him out and run around, but we all made it back home safe & sane. At one of the rest stops Jacob decided he wanted to do some raking with his new rake from Auntie Sarah. Also, many thanks to Auntie Kristen for the magic microphone. We went through many cd's on the way home, and were taking turns singing into the microphone. Jacob thought his mama & daddy were pretty funny singing to Paul Simon & Neil Young with the microphone (there was also a bit of ukelele playing too!)



doing his part to keep rest stops clean...

Day after xmas...

Since the rain had finally stopped, we tried to get outdoors as much as possible. We visited the Aquarium, went to the park, and walked around the canal to see the decorated houses. Cousin Kenny came over to visit, and it was wonderful spending time with him.

Cousin Kenny & Jacob
75 inches vs. 35 inches

Kenny, Jacob, and Auntie Sarah walking towards the canal

Jacob & Grammy

"Why isn't the Santa working???"
To Jacob's dismay, the rollercoaster was not working any of the nights we went out walking. And on this particular night, neither was the dancing Santa. Luckily there were no tears :)


Halfway around the canal Jacob got tired and wanted Kenny to carry him back, in exactly this position. Kenny's arms were a bit sore when we got home, but they were really cute together.