Smiles All Around!

Ryan is still very young as far as his development is concerned, so even though he is technically 4 months old, he has just started smiling as a 2-month-old would. He doesn't do it often, but every once in a while, this is what he gives us!

Callie wanted to show off her pretty new tu-tu. She doesn't really know what a ballerina is, but she'll figure it out!

And when Jack saw that Callie was getting pictures taken in a pretty dress, he wanted to put on his church clothes so he could be "handsome." He is so funny. He looked down at himself and noticed he was in his pajamas, so he ran into his room, stripped down, and started putting on khakis. Then he asked for "a shirt with stripes and buttons on the front" so he could wear his tie. Then he came out of his room and said, "Okay, I'm handsome now." 

Goodbye, Molly!

This week we had to say goodbye to our dear friend, Molly. She was our beloved Toyota Corolla. She was with us from the beginning and stayed with us for 8 years. We bought her the summer before we were married. 

Here we are, all together, right after our wedding reception. She didn't get all decked out for the occasion, but she was there supporting us! (Sorry for the quality of the pictures- we didn't have a digital camera until a few years into our marriage.)

She was there for us on the numerous drives between Portland and Seattle while we were engaged and had to visit each other every weekend. Then she made the drive out to Idaho where we attended the last of our college years. 

She hardly gave us any trouble over the years. She did have a few issues, though, including this tire blow-out on the way home from Idaho Falls one evening. 

It wasn't her fault. It was the nail's fault!

She came with us to Oregon after finishing up college in Idaho. She brought home our first-born son from the hospital and gave him a comfy space to travel in safety. 

She continued making the drive between Portland and Seattle for the next few years so we could visit Grandma and Grandpa Culwell. We put quite a few miles on her. 

She put up with wind, snow, rain, and heat. 

 She even made it across the entire country to help us out in New York. She sure was dedicated.

In 2010, she was joined by Eva the Subaru. She wasn't even jealous. 

She provided reliable transportation every day on the drive to and from work. 

She brought home our very first "real" Christmas tree. That was a very important job for her! She was so proud!

She said goodbye to Eva the Subaru with us, and welcomed Olivia the Odyssey with open arms. They made  a great team. Most recently, she made several trips to the hospital so we could visit our little preemie. It's hard to say goodbye to our very first car!

We decided to go ahead and replace Molly before she finally decided to break down in the middle of the road. She probably could have gone a little longer, but it's not really fun to drive an unpredictable car. Her "check engine" light had been on continuously for the past 3 years anyway... Here's our newest family member Hayley the Corolla. We have two reliable vehicles now, which is good. We'll just miss our little Molly. Good bye, girl!

Biggest. Museum. Ever.

We took another trip to the Children's Museum in Indianapolis while visiting Alan and Jeni. It was quite a large group travelling together! 

Here's Grandpa Culwell helping Callie and Jack create some pretty zany potato heads!

Callie loved spending time with Aunt Miriam. 

Here we are, ready for a fun day at the museum!

Grandpa Culwell took a ride on a super-cool reindeer!

Ah, Legos. All the kids could have spent all day at this exhibit!

Jack and Dad got up close and personal with some dinosaur bones!

Jack and Dad also wanted to discover some hidden bones, too!

Photogenic Generations

Here are the results of some impromptu photo sessions we had during our stay at Alan and Jeni's. As we started the first set of pictures involving Great-Grandma Culwell and the little kids, Callie started freaking out about something-or-other. She would not calm down for the pictures, let alone smile. 

 Well... We know she's usually happy and cute, so that's what counts...

We're missing Tom and Ana's little Joel and Diana. Hopefully they can make it to the next get-together!

 Grandpa and Grandma Culwell with the grandkids. (Liam had stepped out of the shot for a second.)

 The original Culwells, minus Thomas.

It was so great to see everyone, especially Great-Grandma Culwell! It is so hard to get together as a family nowadays with everyone being spread across the country (and in China). It's great that Mike decided to get baptized and it worked out that we could all attend!

Hunting for Eggs

Jack and Callie had tons of fun hunting for Easter eggs and decorating sugar cookies at Alan and Jeni's annual Easter Egg hunt. 

There were a lot of children to compete against, but they held their own! Actually, there were plenty of eggs for everyone. We still have plenty of left-over candy!

Thank you for all your hard work and planning, Alan and Jeni! We were very happy to participate!

Ryan's First Road Trip!

We recently went on a trip out to Indiana for a baptism and a visit with family. It was Ryan's first experience with a long car ride and he did very well! Alan and Jeni were generous enough to allow everyone to hang out in their house all day and eat their food!

The kids were extremely excited about the whole thing. Jack remembers past experiences in hotels and with cousins, and he got Callie excited, too!

This is just a little taste of the crowd that took over the house. At peak occupancy, there were 12 children under age 10, plus 20 adults. (I'm counting Miriam as an adult, even though technically she is 17...)

Over in Arizona, Thomas didn't want to be excluded, so we spoke with him via the power of the internet.

This was Alan and Jeni's driveway. :o)

 After the baptism on Sunday, the family hung out and played games for the rest of the night. It was a really great experience to see family from far and wide- places like Arkansas, Seattle, and China!

 Landon and Uncle Steve played a fierce game of "Guess Who."

Emma and Grandpa Culwell challenged their brains with "Mastermind." 

 Cousins Lily and Kyra had tons of fun playing... well, whatever this game is. 

We didn't have a whole lot of time to hit the hotel pool, but we managed to squeeze in a few minutes here and there during our travels. The kids loved it! 

During our stay in Indiana, we participated in an Easter Egg Hunt, went to the Children's Museum, and took a lot of family pictures. We'll post those soon! (And we might discover some pictures we can steal from other peoples' blogs/facebook pages. There were a lot of cameras there!)