Christmas 2010

We had such a lovely Christmas this year. We decided to keep things more simple rather than trying to do too much (and get overwhelmed in the process). We didn't bake a million cookies and we went out to dinner on Christmas eve! After dinner, we went "light hunting" to see all the fun lights and we came home and sang carols. The next morning the kids opened their presents and Pat and Marc joined us for lunch. The kids had such a great time playing with their toys and we all enjoyed each other's company.

Robison Christmas Party 2010

This year Mary hosted the Robison family Christmas party and we had so much fun. The cousins love Mary's house as it is 2 stories and they love to throw things off the balcony and run up and down the stairs. The kiddos had a great time running a muck in the house while the rest of us enjoyed each other's company. The evening was filled with lots of yummy food, good company and the love of family. We are so thankful that we all live so close to each other that we can get together for these occasions.

Jeff's Company Party 2010

Instead of doing a stuffy holiday party at a fancy restaurant, Jeff's organization has their yearly Christmas party at a bounce house. It's a great party for all and the kids look forward to it every year. We ate pizza at the office and then trecked over to the bounce house place. The kids had a great time bouncing and running around (which was great because it had been raining all week so they had lots of pent up energy). Santa even showed up at the party. James is warming up to him - no crying - yay!

Marisa's Winter Program

Marisa's kindergarten class performed an amazing Christmas program this year. All the kindergarteners dressed up and sang an impressive array of Christmas songs including "Up on the Housetop". In addition to singing, they also learned the ASL version of most songs and signed them to the audience. We topped off the night with a fun party back in her classroom. In one of the pictures, you will see Marisa posing with her teacher, Mrs. Christensen, who was also Maya's teacher. She is a wonderful teacher!

Ward Christmas Party 2010

Here are pictures of the ward Christmas party. A couple of things to note are the pictures of James with the candy canes. His most favorite toy ever is Nana's cane and he was tickled when he discovered the candy canes - like Nana's only just his size. He happily played with those all night long. Something else to note is Jeff playing a wise man in the ward play. It's the first time I've ever seen him in a production (in almost 10 years of marriage) and I thought he made a fabulous wise man.

Christmas Tree 2010

Every year, it is our tradition to head to the tree farm of one of the counselors in our stake presidency. We have a great time visiting with him and his children while the kids tromp through the farm looking for the perfect tree. It's amazing how the trees all start looking alike after a while, but we have to go through every one searching for the one we'll take home. While searching for the perfect tree, they also love to find the perfect "Charlie Brown" tree - the smallest and scrawniest one in the lot.

James and Jamba Juice

Okay, so we love to take pictures of James! He's not at the age where he doesn't like to have his picture taken, so he is a fun subject. Last Saturday, Jeff brought home Jamba Juice for breakfast - what a fun treat. James is no stranger to Jamba, he knows exactly what their cups look like. When he saw the cups, he kept repeating "more" and signing the sign for "more". He sure had fun sucking down his smoothie. Thanks, Jeff!

James and Sunglasses

James has taken to wearing sunglasses - he doesn't seem to care that they belong to his big sister and they are pink. He wants so much to be just like his big sisters who are both really sweet to him.

Maya's field trip to Capitol

Maya's class has been learning about government, so they took a field trip to the capitol. Kudos to Jeff, he called our local assembly man's office and arranged a VIP tour for the class (he was also on field trip duty that day). The kids got to ride light rail to the capitol (which they loved) and once there, they had a picnic and toured the building. They even got to sit in the senate chambers and listen to the carolers singing in the rotunda. What a great way for them to see government in action!

Thanksgiving 2010

Rachel hosted Thanksgiving at the farm this year and we had such a great time. She and Jordan did a great job decorating and thinking of every detail to make the day fun for all. The kids had a great time playing out in the yard together, roasting marshmellows at the firepit and decorating sugar cookies. We feasted on the great food and the great company of our family. We are so lucky to have all of us living so close together that we can get together and have no emtpy chairs. Thanks Rachel and Jordan!

Jeff and Marisa Snoopy Museum 2010

Jeff took Marisa to the Snoopy Museum where they took an art class. Their teacher, a cartoon artist, taught them really neat tricks to help inspire and improve their artwork. When asked what Marisa's favorite flower was, she replied, "a dandelion" (she picks these "flowers", of which there are many in our yard, and brings them to her mom who puts them in a vase on the table). Their teacher told a story about a dandelion and drew her a lovely picture. They had a fun day learning and exporing at the museum!

Kindergarten Feast 2010

Marisa's kindergarten class worked all last week preparing their Thanksgiving feast. They made all of the decorations, costumes and food. Marisa chose to be an Indian (as opposed to a Pilgram). The feast included "stone" soup, cornbread muffins, hand churned butter and little pumpkin pies. The kindergarteners cut up carrots, potatoes and celery to put in the soup and made the muffins, butter and pies all by themselves. It was quite an impressive spread and they were very proud of themselves.

2nd Grade Trip to Town Hall

Maya's 2nd/3rd grade class (known as MACLand) went on a walking field trip to the Town Hall to visit with the Mayor. The kids had a great time asking all about local government and even got to sit in the city council's seats. As you can see, Maya chose to sit in Mayor Rivas' chair. Maya asked the Mayor who his favorite baseball team was and was quite disappointed when he said the Dodgers. Boo Dodgers!

Apple Hill with the Lees 2010

We spent a lovely afternoon at Apple HIll with the Lee family. The girls enjoyed running a muck with the cousins and eating "caramel apples". (Actually they were covered in fudge and gummy worms.) It was a sunny fall day and the kids enjoyed playing at the playground, learning about how cider and pie is made and climbing trees. We sure love being so close to Apple Hill that we get to play tour guide for our friends and family!

Geology Rocks 2010

Maya's class put on a play called "Geology Rocks" - they did an amazing job considering that they are 2nd and 3rd graders. Maya played a mountain and even had a line -- "Why, yes, I am made of rock." She did a great job singing the songs and all the kiddos had a good time. She is blessed to have phenomenal teachers.

Fieldtrip to Firehouse 2010

Every year, the kindergarteners walk to the fire station for a tour and then head to the city park for a special field trip. It seemed like it was just yesterday that I went on this same field trip with Maya when Marisa tagged along as a preschooler. Now, Marisa seems so grown up in her own kindergarten class. It was a lovely fall day and the kids had such a great time walking through downtown and touring the fire station. They especially loved shooting the hose at the end of the tour.

Halloween 2010

With Halloween falling on Sunday this year, we were afraid that the kiddos would feel left out and not enjoy Halloween. We were worried for nothing because we went to 3 super fun Halloween parties and by the time it was actually Halloween, we were already tired of it! On Halloween day, we spent a fun day together watching the Giants and decorating Halloween sugar cookies. This year, Maya was a Jedi, Marisa was Jesse and James was Crush the Turtle from Nemo.

James eating breakfast

Jeff thought James was so cute the other day when he was eating breakfast that he snapped these pictures of him. He loves to smile for the camera and ham it up. He really is a playful and fun loving little boy!

Apple Hill 2010

Fall is always a special time of year for our family when apple season is in full swing. We took some friends to Apple Hill and had a great time visiting the farms. The kids meandered through the pumpkin patch, chased each other through the hay mazes and even went on pony rides. We ran into lots of our friends, some of whom had travelled far distances to visit Apple Hill. It's amazing who you run into there... We topped off the beautiful fall day with caramel apples and popcorn balls.

James' Birthday Party

We celebrated James' 1st birthday at Giovanni's with our family. We had a great time eating pizza and cake and enjoying the company of our family. The kiddos spent the afternoon playing air hockey (even James likes to play) and video games while the rest of us sat around and chatted. We sure had fun watching James ham it up for the camera. He loved the pizza, cake and all the attention. It was a great afternoon!

James and Mommy's Birthday 2010

Wednesday was James' and my birthday - and Jeff and the girls made sure that it was super special for both of us. He surprised us by taking the day off work - he pretended to get up and go to work, but instead of going to work, he went to Jamba and brought it back to surprise us. They got out Wii Rockband and sang "Birthday" by the Beatles. After the girls went to school, we spent a fun day shopping and going out to lunch. That evening, we ate Panda Express, had cupcakes and opened presents. James got a new Little People play set and he and the girls had a great time playing with it all night. The girls were even on their best behavior. It was a perfect, wonderful birthday! I wondered how it would be sharing my birthday with James - but it was great! I look forward to sharing many more birthdays with him.

Charlie Brown Museum 2010

Jeff is such a great dad! He knew I needed a break from the girls, so he took them to see a Giant's game last Friday and then to the Charlie Brown museum the next day. The kids had a great time reading all the comics and checking out all the characters. There is an ice rink across the street where there was a Snoopy zamboni - the kids got a kick out of that. There was even an ice rink built out of legos. Three things they really love: Snoopy, hockey and legos. Thanks for the break Jeff!

James' First Giants Game

James made it to his first Giant's game last month. Jeff had been waiting for months in anticipation of this day. The girls had a great time watching the game and James, well, he had fun being walked around the stadium and going to the Coke bottle slide in the outfield. Mommy got a good workout and her arms are much stronger as a result. On balance, it was a great day!

Marisa and Star Bear

Marisa was chosen to be star of the week in kindergarten last week. She was given a poster and paper doll to decorate and she was given a pencil, bracelet and a star bear to keep. She showcased her items on the treasure shelf in the classroom. She had a great time showcasing her "treasures" and packing around star bear. These are pictures of her and star bear.

James Eating Ice Cream

It's a Rush family tradition to eat ice cream cones every night after dinner - maybe it's a way for me to remember Grandma Gretta as she always sent us ice cream cone money when we were first married. James was having so much fun eating his cone that we couldn't help but take some pictures of him. He just couldn't get enough of it and he was having so much fun making an ooey-gooey mess. Too cute! (You can tell he's my 3rd child - I don't think I could've standed this with my first!)

Grandma Robison's Party

This summer Grandmother Robison came out to celebrate her 90th birthday with all of the family. It was a great reunion and party for us all. All of Grandma's children were there along with many of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. We all enjoyed seeing each other and catching up as it had been a while since most of us had seen each other. We especially enjoyed watching the slideshow that Greg made and learning more about Grandmother's life.

Maya and Jeff's Buffalo Trip

Jeff took Maya on a special daddy-daughter trip to fulfill his and Maya's lifelong dream of going to the Hockey Hall of Fame. They flew into Buffalo and drove across the border into Toronto where they went to the Hall of Fame and a Blue Jays game. While in Toronto, they went to church with the parents of one of our favorite missionaries back home. They went to see the waterfalls at Niagra Falls and the Sacred Grove in in Palmyra. They even ate Buffalo wings at Duff's in Buffalo. They had tons of fun!

Kindergarten Roundup-First Day of School 2010

Marisa could not wait to start kindergarten! For the last 2 years she has been dying to go to school with the big kids. On the first day of school, they told Jeff that they didn't need us there - they wanted to walk up the stairs without us like big kids. The girls both love their teachers and have good friends in their classes. James was the only sad one to see the school year start - he definitely misses his playmates. We are looking forward to a great year at school. It's so hard to believe it's here!

Disneyland 2010

Going to Disneyland has become a tradition for our family and this year, we got to take James for his first time. We were there from 7:30 am to after midnight that evening and all the children had a fabulous time. It was so fun to see James get so excited about all the rides and he even loved wearing his Mickey ears. The girls got to go on the Indianna Jones ride for the first time and we got to see the "World of Color" show (it was AMAZING!). We are true Disney geeks as we all have lanyards and have started collecting pins. It was truly a magical time for us all! Maya was bummed that she was just a tad bit too short for California Screaming, but she will definitely be big enough to ride it the next time we go. She can't wait!

Newport Beach 2010

We spent the week in Newport Beach with Jeff while he was at a conference. While we were there, we went to Disneyland, the Orange County Discovery Museum, Balboa Island and the beach. We especially had a great time at the museum learning all about snot in their grossology exhibit and all about hockey in their science of hockey exhibit. We ate caramel apples on Balboa Island and had fun playing "catch the waves" at the beach.

James Sleeping

James is normally on the go - he doesn't nap much. Poor guy was exhausted from all the travelling we've been doing lately and from his first trip to Disneyland. Here he is passed out on mommy's favorite chair - a pretty rare event for this guy!

Yosemite Camping Trip 2010

I took a break from camping this year since James is so young. Jeff was itching to camp, so he went with one of his buddies whose wife just had a baby. His friend took his 3 children (ages 7 and under) and Jeff took our 2 girls to Yosemite for 2 nights. I was pretty impressed with these guys for taking all those kids camping without any women to assist them. They lived to tell about it and they even had a great time. Way to go, Jeff! And my van was cleaner after the trip than before - how cool is that?

Marisa Roller Skating Summer 2010

Here's Marisa at the roller rink - one of her new favorite places. She can skate for 2 hours straight only taking breaks just to sneak a sip of her ICEE. Maya, on the other hand, likes to hang out, play games and drink her ICEE with the non-skating crowd. Going to the roller rink reminds me of the many trips I took to RollerKing as a little girl - not much has changed at the roller rink. They have the same corny decor and they still play "Another One Bites the Dust".

James' First Rivercats Game

On July 3rd, we took James to his first Rivercats game where we met some of our preschool friends for a night of baseball, fireworks and Merlino's. Marisa and Maya had such a great time hanging out at the Rivercats game with Marisa's buddy, Alex. Since it was the 4th of July weekend, they had an amazing fireworks show after the game. James enjoyed the game as long as we kept feeding him. He really loved his first taste of Merlino's -- yummy!

Barbi's Bunnies

Here are some pictures we took while we visited Barbi's rabbit ranch. Barbi's ranch was a second home to me during my highschool years - I worked in the rabbitry and rode my horse that I boarded there. Barbi's son, Kai, is the gentleman kissing me. Kai and I spent many hours working on the ranch together. We had a great time catching up with old friends and playing with the rabbits and kittens. The girls had such a great time visiting the ranch they've heard me talk about so many times.

Toy Story 3

We had been dying to see Toy Story 3 for quite some time! We went to see it opening day in 3D - we had such a great time together. James even sat through most of the movie - yay!

Just Messing Around

Here are some cute pictures of James and Jeff I snapped one evening - I couldn't resist! You'll see James hanging out in two of his favorite places - the washing machine and Daddy's lap. It's amazing how he is amused by the simplest things like the laundry hamper and the washing machine - forget about all those expensive toys!

James' First Swimming Trip

Summer has officially begun in our household now that we have made our first trip to the pool. This year, we bought a pass to the aquatics center where we spend hours soaking up the summer sun and playing in the water. The girls are water bugs and James happily follows their lead. I took these pictures right when we got to the pool - after that, we were having too much fun splashing around to take any other pictures! James had a great time chasing the girls around the pool!

Batman and New Hairdo

Here are some cute pictures of James that Jeff took. The first one is of James with his "new hairdo". He loves it when we do this when we're undressing him. He gets this huge grin and poses for all to see. Pat made the batman cape for her boys when they were little and we were so lucky that she passed it on to us. James' true self shines through as you see him crawling around and playing in the washer. The girls got quite a kick out of watching "batman" race through the house.

Maya's Trip to Fog Willow

Maya's class took a trip to a farm called Fog Willow (it's actually the pumpkin patch where we like to go). While there, they went to different stations to have "hands on" learning experiences about science. They conducted science experiments with goo, planted seeds and checked out the farm animals. Her teacher, Mrs. Ball, even got to hold a baby pig and feed a calf. We had a lovely picnic and the kiddos got to play on the playground at the farm. It was a sunny and fun day for all!

Marisa's Last Day of School Party

Today was Marisa's last day of school party at the park. It was a cloudy, cold day - but that didn't keep the kids from having a great time together. James loved crawling around on the grass - showing off all of his skills to the ladies. They were quite impressed! Marisa had a great time playing baseball with her buddies. It was a bittersweet day as we know that this is probably the last time that we will see some of those friends for a while. We have enjoyed Marisa's journey through preschool!

Maya's Boxtop Party

Today was Field Day and the Boxtop party at Maya's school. For Field Day, the kiddos spend the afternoon outside doing different outdoor activities. They always end the day with the "Water Brigade" where the kids all end up soaking wet. Maya's class won the Water Brigade and will be celebrating with an ice cream party on Monday. After Field Day, we had an ice cream party for the top 25 boxtop collectors. We are so proud of Maya as this is the second year that she has been in the top 25. A big thank you to all of our family who sent us boxtops!

James Standing for First Time

Here are pictures of James pulling himself up to a standing position for the first time. He tries so hard to keep up with the girls and he is constantly crawling after us as we move about the house. I think he really wants to make his little legs walk just so he can keep up! I even had to lower the mattress in his crib - he was starting to stand in his crib and I knew it would just be a matter of time before he climbed out!

Marisa's Preschool Graduation 2010

Today Marisa graduated from preschool - it is hard to believe that these past 2 years have gone by so quickly! Marisa's preschool was a "parent participation" preschool and her teacher was our ward's Primary president. Needless to say, we grew very close to many of the families that were a part of the preschool. It was a bittersweet experience as Marisa is both very excited about attending kindergarten at the "big kid" school, and sad about leaving all of her friends at preschool. Marisa's mommy is very excited about her graduation - she'll only have to carpool to one school! Yay!

Hiking Trip to Sly Park

Jeff and I decided that after 5 years of living in Placerville, it was about time that we go to Sly Park Lake. Sly Park is in Pollock Pines off of the Mormon Emigrant Trail. It is a lake complete with camping, hiking, boating and trail riding. It was such a beautiful day - the weather was perfect and after a very wet (and sometimes snowy) winter we thought it was the perfect excuse to get outside. Maya wasn't feeling well and wasn't too keen on the idea of hiking, so we got a sitter to stay with her during the afternoon. We took Marisa and James on a lovely hike to one of the falls in the lake. At the end of our hike, we stopped by the lake to feed the ducks and we were delighted to discover baby ducks! It was a lovely day and Maya even enjoyed her afternoon with her favorite sitter, Kaylie.

Maya's Open House

We went to Maya's open house for school tonight where she proudly showed off all of her work for the year. It is amazing the progress she has made this year - her artwork and handwriting are fabulous! She loves school and has been blessed with a phenomenal teacher, Mrs. Ball. Mrs. Ball, who is the mother of twin first graders (and is about my age), has a real talent for bringing out the best in her students and for making learning fun. Maya loves going to school and is well loved by her teacher and friends. It was such a treat to see her showing off all of her hard work. During open house, Maya and Marisa enjoyed playing on the playground, where they practiced the monkey bars. Maya has spent many recesses over the last two years learning how to do the monkey bars. It was a fun night for us all!

Placerville Preschoolers trip to zoo - James' first trip

Here are pictures of Marisa's field trip to the zoo. It was also James' first trip there. We had a great time checking out all of the animals and hanging out with our friends.

Maya's Fieldtrip to McDonald's 2010

Maya's first grade class went on a walking field trip to the nearby McDonald's and Marisa, James and I tagged along. They have been learning about money and commerce in school, so this was the perfect opportunity for them to test their skills. They had to order and pay for their food all by themselves. Even Marisa did it all by herself. While we were there, James at 2/3 of a McDouble Cheeseburger. He's a boy after my own heart. We had a great time!