New Year's Eve 2021

 We went to a New Year's Eve party at Katie & Ben's house. The Loosli's came too, and it was a really fun night. We were in serious need of a fun night, and this felt great.

There was a ton of delicious food, great friends, visiting, and games. We had some great laughs while playing games! We all even made it to midnight!! The kids had no problem with it, but the adults were struggling a bit. :)

Katie had sparkling cider ready for us all at midnight.

It was a great way to ring in the new year!!

Grandpa Barth's Funeral

 

Grandpa Barth passed away on December 19th. We still haven't heard results from an autopsy, so we're not sure of the cause yet. There's a good chance it was his heart.

Paul and Carrie spent most days over Christmas break working on legal things, cleaning out his house, and planning the funeral. That all took a toll on Paul for sure, but he was glad to help out in the ways he could.

The funeral was nice, and it was good that all his kids could be there and three of his siblings.

The Barth-Robbins kids all rode to the cemetery in the limo. A couple of the Barth aunts commented that it was just like when they would all cram in the big blue van for their road trips as kids.

The music at the funeral was beautiful and seemed to touch people's emotions.

We were glad to have Chad stay with us for the week. Rockwell and I got a good laugh when we found the thank you cards accompanied with his glamour shot that he left in his room. Ha! :)

Aunt B's Petting Zoo

 We saw an ad for Aunt B's Petting Zoo when we went to see a movie at the Water Gardens. The kids all said they wanted to go, so we tried it out. Al, Wyatt, and Hallee came too which made it so much more fun!

There was an alpaca, a goat, a sheep, a donkey, and a pig wandering around the main area. The guinea pigs were in cages, but you could get them out to hold them. There were bunnies in a gated area and some chickens nearby. And there was a reptile area with tortoises and a bearded dragon. The kids loved that they could pick them all up and pet them. They thought it was great!

The kids referred to this long-haired guinea pig as the Rockstar. :)

I love this picture! I told Wyatt to smile and the bearded dragon totally looked and smiled. :)

There was also a room with two ferrets. 

The kids were seriously in heaven and have asked to go back lots of times since. Al and I were saying we hope our kids know how much we love them, and if they ever question it we can remind them that we took them here. Haha! It was hard to watch them get completely covered in hair and most likely step in their bathroom. Neither of us would ever choose to go to a place like that if it wasn't for our kids. :)

Playing with Christmas Toys

 I love the week after Christmas where the kids play with all their new toys. It's so fun to watch them enjoy their new things. Tess and Damon found gems and identified them.

Rockwell and Damon built their Lego sets.

Chad helped Tessa figure out her hair extension maker and she's loved creating and wearing those.

They've all made some cool marble rolls.

Rockwell's played a lot of games of chess.

Tessa's loved making plush dogs.

And they've been able to play in the snow and make penguins. :)