Faces to Smile About

This year the grandparents said they wanted pictures of the grandkids. We were able to get together with Quillan and Everleigh and get some pictures taken from Grandma Barbara and Grandpa Gary. We will have to try and do the same for Grandma Karla, but hopefully Matt has a cute one to give her for Christmas.

Here are Tyler and Lucy actually loving on each other. So cute!

Everleigh and Quillan did such a good job! Cutie patooties!
All four are looking at the camera and mostly smiling...success!
Here are some gift tags we got for joining the portrait club. Merry Christmas!

I wouldn't mind getting these pretty faces smiling at me as a gift! Oh wait...I already have them!

Visiting With Santa

Let this be known...Lucy has never been a fan of Santa Claus. She likes what he brings, but she'd rather Mrs. Claus be the one to come into our house and bring presents. She hasn't even wanted to sit on his lap and flat out refuses. The first year we were able to get away with it because she was one and unable to get away, the next year Mom had to be in the picture, and the year after that we were in Disneyland and both kids refused to sit with the big guy in red. This year Mom was trying to think of various scenarios where photos with Santa could be taken, but Lucy basically let us know that if Mrs. Claus wasn't there...it wasn't happening. So, an event came up where Mrs. Claus would be there. Yahoo! We came...we saw...and we left. Not really, but Lucy wouldn't sit on Mrs. Claus' lap. Tyler did awesome and told Santa what he wanted. Lucy just chatted with Mrs. Claus and needed Grandma to be a buffer.

That following Monday we had the annual fire truck run through our neighborhood. We knew Santa would be there, but we didn't even take the camera down to the park because we didn't think we'd have anything to snap a picture of. But, low and behold, the Mello girls wanted to pose with the big guy so Lucy wanted to as well. Luckily, Zach had his phone on him and we snapped a photo with that camera.

Mrs. Claus was on the fire truck as well, so Lucy stepped up and smiled with her too. Maybe she liked her outfit better than the other one. Who knows with that girl?!
Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

2010 Has Come

And Now It Can Go Away

We Endured Some Highs and Lows

And Now We Just Want to Play!

This Year We Lost Our Barkles

Our Baby From Before We Tied the Knot

She Holds A Special Place In Our Hearts

We Sure Miss Her A LOT!

Melanoma Schmelanoma

Jenn Can Beat It All

And Deal With Walking on Crutches

From Summer to the Fall

Tyler Started Kindergarten

And Is Missing Two Front Teeth

He's Playing T-Ball, Soccer, and Basketball

His Favorite Shoes Must Be Those Cleats

Lucy Enjoys Gymnastics and Dance

And Is Such A Sassy Girl

She Learned to Ride A Two-Wheel Bike

And Is Giving Preschool A Whirl

Zach is Working Hard

And Playing Even Harder

Jet Skis, Motorcycles, and Snow Skis

He's Either in the Snow or in the Water

Zach and Jenn Celebrated 11 Years

Of Marriage and Survival

We Coached T-Ball and Soccer

And We're Waiting for Relaxations Arrival

This Year We RV Camped

At Yosemite in the Snow

Visited Disneyland to See Mickey

And Spent Thanksgiving in Tahoe

We Wish You A Merry Christmas

And A Happy, Healthy New Year

We Hope Your Holidays are Fantastic

With Lots and Lots of Good Cheer!

Our Little Snow Fairy

Our little Lucy Goosey was a snow fairy in Tricks' production of the Littlest Nutcracker. She's been in dance for about four months and really loves her 45 minutes of girl time. The girls get to dress in tutus, wear tiaras, and wave wands. For the perfomance they were able to mix all three and dance on a big stage...and wear make-up! It's a toss up as to which of those things excited Lucy more.Our littlest Snow Fairy
Lucy was the first to run out on the stage. She was so cute! Mom was waiting in the wings to chaperone the kids off the stage. She stopped mid-performance to hand me her crown, but otherwise things went well. They were so stinkin' cute!At the end of the performance she received flowers from her Dad. We sure do love our little ballerina.

Here are the professional photos that were done before the performance.

Lucy is lucky to have a few friends in her class.

Top: Brooke, Elisa, Carlie
Bottom: Lucy, Kira, Katie

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year we were lucky enough to spend Thanksgiving in a fancy house in Lake Tahoe. We traveled with Zach's parents and his sister's family. The cousins were SO excited to be together for an entire week! Zach and Jenn both worked on Monday, so everyone else headed up before we left and beat the snow storm. Zach and Jenn got stuck behind some semi trucks on Highway 80 and it took a looooong time to arrive in Kings Beach. But, by the time we got there the food was unpacked, the house was explored, and our kids were excited to see us. They gave us a tour and showed us where to put our bags. It was cute to see them so excited. Grandma and Grandpa had picked out some pajamas and slippers for all the grandkids and the requirement was that they had to snuggle when they were wearing them. :) Getting to the house was tricky, but we were so glad to get there before the storm. We woke up on Tuesday morning to a blizzard. The wind was so strong that the snow was coming in sideways and the waves on Lake Tahoe were big enough to be in the ocean. The men couldn't sit still and just HAD to shovel. The kids decided to brave the blizzard and check things out. Even B.B. joined in!
Kara and Ryan brought these neat snowball makers, so the kids had a fun time making snowballs and throwing them at the Dads. Smart invention if you ask me!When we woke up on Wednesday the weather was beautiful! We had blue skies and no snow. Everything was white and crisp. We ventured out on a walk and checked out the lake and a local park. Later that day we took our family pictures out on the dock by the lake.
Since Lucy was so chilly outside we took a few inside...next to the warm fireplace! B.B. even got in on the action.We really had such a gorgeous view from our house.

On Thanksgiving day we had beautiful weather again. Zach took advantage of all the new snowfall and went skiing while the rest of us cooked and played. Friday was our last day in Tahoe (due to another incoming storm), so we took the kids sledding at a local sledding hill. It was quite a hike up the bunny slope, but we all had a good time. Even Grandpa!

Barbara wanted her Christmas card to have a picture of everyone in the hot tub, so right before we departed...we stripped down. So, Merry Christmas from the Guthmiller Family!

Thanksgiving Feast

Busy Bees preschool does an event each month to celebrate that month's holiday and it allows the parents to come in and see the children in action. And it allows the kids to show off for their parents. For Thanksgiving they had a Thanksgiving "feast" and the kids made stone soup for everyone to eat. There was also some cornbread, pumpkin pie, and apple juice. Lucy wasn't feeling fantastic the day of the feast, so we didn't take her to school. But, she rallied in time to make it for the festivities and smile for Mommy's camera. This hasn't been the healthiest year for the Guthmiller family, but we are thankful that is is mostly just germs and bugs and insignificant little things. Happy Thanksgiving!

Kindergarten Pictures

Second times a charm. We had to do retakes on Tyler's first school pictures and this is the result. We think he's pretty cute and we'll keep him.

My Little Panther

This soccer season has been so much fun and Tyler has improved so much over last year. He has scored so many goals he's lost track. It has been a pleasure to coach him this year (well, other than his disdain for practice) and Zach has had the opportunity to be his coach in most Saturday games. We're proud of our little Panther.Top Row: Coach Jenn, Tyler, Cameron, Lucas, Jillian, and Coach Zach

Bottom Row: Elena, Noah, Sophia, Haley, and Ava

(We're missing Nick!)

Let's hope we get another picture like this next year. Tyler says he wants to try football...

Disneyland 2010

Click here to view this photo book larger

November 1 to 5, 2010 was our second trip to Disneyland. We had a really great time as a family...other than the almost 100 degree weather we were experiencing. We had dinner at Goofy's kitchen and met Pluto, Goofy, Chip, Dale, Snow White, Minnie, and the Fairy Godmother. It was our first time getting an autograph book for the kids and they had a great time getting signatures and posing with the characters.

The next day we spent the whole day in the Disneyland Park. Zach and Jenn had made blankets for a charity and got a free ticket into the park. We made the most of Disneyland and rode all of our favorite rides and met a TON of characters. Then when it got too hot and we got too hungry we returned to our hotel and played in the pool and used the water slide. It was our saving grace in the weather!

Since we had been to Disneyland and California Adventure a year ago we tried to just relax and enjoy this trip. We went on the rides we knew we liked, new rides that Lucy was finally tall enough to go on, watched parades and water shows, and took advantage of our hotel. We really had a nice trip.

On the last night the kids were hungry and Zach was tired, so the kids and Jenn went down to the PCH Grill in our hotel for a little bite to eat. Tyler was eating a roll and bit into something hard...and it was his tooth! The waitress was so nice and she gave Tyler an envelope with "My Tooth" written on it and had turned the O's into Mickey Ears. We put the envelope under Tyler's pillow and instead of the tooth fairy finding him...Tinkerbell did. She left a bouquet of balloons, a gift card to the store, some Tinkerbell pins, and some autographed pictures of Buzz, Woody, and the Disney gang. Tyler was so excited! It was one more magical thing to happen to us on our trip.

It would be nice to say that we can't wait to go back next year, but Zach has put a moratorium on Disney trips for a few years. The memories will make us smile for a lifetime!

Halloween Festivities

This was our first year to attend the Harvest Festival at Tyler's school. The kids were excited to get dressed up and play lots of games. Mommy wanted to eat some food, but that didn't happen! We arrived first thing and checked everything out. Once it started to get crowded it was time to volunteer in a booth and then go home. The night passed quickly, but everyone had a good time.

Luigi and Dorothy posed outside the school

Tyler played the cake walk and won!

The kids got excited every time they chose a prize for a game. It was like trick or treating two days early! Next year we will remember to bring our trick or treat buckets to collect the goodies.

Sometimes they do actually love each other

On Halloween we hung out with the neighbors (like we always do) and set off for trick or treating. Tyler actually wore his mustache!

And Lucy wore her wig!

Both kids looked so cute! We enjoyed this Halloween season, with the exception of the kids being scared of ghosts and goblins. Let's hope next year we don't encounter any of those!

Field Trip to Zittel Farms

The kids had their second field trip to a local pumpkin patch called Zittel Farms. It was a good experience for the kids to see how pumpkins grow and to learn about animals. It was also a short field trip for the kids (and volunteers) just to get out of the classroom a little bit. Luckily Jill and the twins were able to come along, so Tyler and Mommy got to hang out with their best friends. It was a great day!

The whole class!

Best Friends!

The kids (and me) learned that cows do not have teeth in the front. The cow used his tongue to eat his corn. That cow might just rival a giraffe on long tongues...

The kids and a few parents were able to go on a hayride. Good times!

This little pumpkin holds a special place in my heart

Aw...I got them to sit still for a minute so I could take their picture. Pretty cute boys!

I feel really blessed to be able to take a half a day off work to go on field trips with Tyler and his class. This kind of stuff is why I had kids! I just wish all these pumpkins had yielded a pie of some sort...

Kindergarten Halloween Party

Tyler's class had their Halloween party on October 30th and I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to volunteer in class. He was excited to wear his costume to school! Tyler and Lucas both dressed up as Luigi for Halloween. They are the best of friends! His class had 3 Luigis and 2 Marios. It's easy to see what's popular among the six year old boys this year. The class played some games and Tyler just couldn't wait to figure out who had the pumpkin. Randomly it was Lucas who had the pumpkin and Tyler was clued in by someone saying, "It's your best friend!"
The kids had a snack of popcorn, a chocolate chip cookie, and some orange soda. The kids enjoyed stuffing their faces. Not that you can tell by Tyler's face here...
It was fun to help out in class and see the kids in action. I try to volunteer as much as I can and soak up the experience. Those kids can be exhausting, though! I was ready to go back to work and relax.

Halloween At Tumble Time

During Halloween week Lucy was able to dress up for dance and gymnastics. She is actually being Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, but she didn't want to do gymnastics in a dress, so she put on a hand-me-down pig costume. She's pretty cute as an oinker, don't you think?

Balancing on the Beam...and Avoiding Pumpkins She really LOVES her class!
Lucy is doing really well in her class and she's been moved up to the next level. We're pretty proud of our little piggy.