Allison is at it again!

Our sweet little Allison is packed full of personality and just a joy to be with. This week she finally got the word "hi" down and says it to everyone she sees. Until then she was busy waving at everyone...using her sweet personality and smile to get exactly what she wants. Can you blame us for giving in?

Allison often cracks herself up. She (and everyone else) thinks she is so funny.

A sweet moment between sisters. Clara is always so caring towards her.

Riding the little horse and clapping with excitement. She has figured out how to get on and off now.

She cruises from object to object and is so close to walking. She wants to play what the big girls play and on that day it was painting. A little spit paint never hurt anybody.

This little girl just loves books and sitting on chairs. I think it makes her feel grown-up.

Allison has this sweet friend Hans. They just love playing together and he is so gentle with her.

Allison loves talking on the phone...how do they always know just what to do with it? Do I really talk on the phone that much?

After a Christmas full of cameras she figured out that you smile real big when someone points a camera at you. This girl just loves bath time and crawls away when I try to get her out.

Snow Fun

We have been enjoying playing in the snow this winter. After living in warm climates for 10 years, snow is quite a change. But we love it! Fortunately it has snowed in our own backyard, so can take advantage of it with travelling. The kids just love playing in the snow...I hope after 3 years of it the novelty won't wear off.

Clara just loved sledding down our hill in the yard. We did it forever...a little hill for a little girl!

Clara and I built her own snowman...we didn't have much snow so it was pretty small. But it was so cold for so long that it lasted a long time.

A sledding trip up to Zugerberg. We have been there a couple times, but on this particular day it was warm, so the snow wasn't so good. But it didn't matter. The kids still had a great time. Even I love to get into it. I had some pretty good crashes!

Skiing!

We have been spending our Saturdays up at Flumserberg Ski Resort skiing. The kids got lessons for Christmas from us and are really enjoying themselves. Usually George and I take turns taking them so someone can stay home with Allison, but this Saturday a sweet friend watched her, so we all could hit the slopes. So for two hours the learn with instructors and we get to ski together. It has been years since I have been skiing, so luckily it came back to me. It was a so fun to get to ski with George!

Sammy and Alex have really taken to skiing. Sammy is already using the Tbar and skiing down the mountain faster than me. Alex is also using the Tbar, but doesn't mind falling as much so he still needs to work on a few things. I am so proud of what they have already learned and they love it!

Clara has so much fun skiing! She takes the class with two of her friends and they have a blast! I feel bad for that poor instructor...it seems like a lot of work...she has to be exhausted afterwards.

George just off the chair lift. It was snowing a bit, but it didn't seem to bother us.

Don't you love the helmets? Everyone wears them here. Maybe they do this every where now...they are actually really comfy and warm.

Allison turns 1!

Can my baby girl actually be 1?! I can't believe how fast she is growing up! Allison is such a joy to have in our family! Everyone loves her! She brings out the best in each of us! I could play with her all day long. Allison loves to wave to everyone. She wins you over with her sweet smile. She loves to play with her siblings from cars & hide-n-seek with Alex to babies & barbies with Sammy & Clara. She loves to feed herself. Her favorite food is peas. She loves taking baths except for laying back. She hates riding in the car and is looking forward to facing forwards. She is petit in size and has a great big personality to go with it. She loves to snuggle and could play all day. Happy birthday baby girl!

Standing up. Allison is very close to walking and cruises from one piece of furniture to the next.

Such a curious little thing! She loved her birthday cards and opened and closed each one several times.

You can always tell when she is truly happy because she waves. She just can't believe she actually gets a whole piece to her self.

That cake is yummy! She ate every last piece and wanted more.

A happy little sweet heart!

Christmas Time 2011

What a crazy, yet wonderful trip we had back the USA! Clara and George headed back to Utah 6 days before us. George dropped Clara off at Grandma Gourley's and then headed to Canada for some work. Clara had a wonderful time with her grandma! She just loved the one on one attention she got. They ate at all her favorite places...Chick-fil-A and played and read stories and to top it off they even got to sleep in the same bed. It was a real treat for Clara. The rest of us joined them on the 17th (George flew in from Canada a few hours early). We had an eventful time getting there, but we made it. Our luggage on the other hand did not. However, it arrived the next day. Luckily, grandma Gourley anticipated this and had tooth brushes waiting for us. She's great. Now let the fun begin...

First night there. We had a great time with the Gourley side. The Broderick girls are a blast to play with! Poor Alex in that group of girls...luckily the girls got some nerf guns for Christmas and they had a great time shooting each other.

Next was haircuts and dentist appointments and the first person to get strep...Sammy. Not to mention some pretty brutal jet lag for Allison. But we didn't let that stop us!

Christmas Eve party at Nikki's house! Such yummy food, fun games, & great entertainment!




George hates that I do this...I promise I don't do it every year, but I couldn't help getting us matching pajamas! Everyone is a little tired as you can see and ready for Santa to come.


Christmas morning....
Sammy got her Ipod Touch...she was thrilled!

Alex can't wait to put together his legos, but he'll have to because they don't fit on the plane all put together:)

Clara got her Barbie car and tons of Barbies! She just loves Barbies and can play with them for hours!

Allison got her own baby doll. No more having to share with her sister!

It was very special to have Christmas on Sunday! An excellent way to help us remember the true meaning of Christmas...the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. The picture was taken after church and everyone was itching to get to play with their new toys, so it was the best we could do.



Our next strep victim was me and actually I had it all through Christmas, but didn't realize it until it hit hard on Christmas night. Monday morning we went straight to get me some medicine. The mask is suppose to prevent the spreading of this nasty bug...it didn't work.


Our trip would not be complete without an accident. Luckily, the car was parked on the side of the road and no one was in the rental SUV. Not so lucky for the old man in the other car. It was a huge hassle, but at least no one was hurt.


A trip would not be complete without some family pictures. We took family pictures with the Gourley side, with the Hobbs side, & with just our family. By the end we were all pictured out. But I love how the all turned out!

After Gourley family pictures we went bowling. We hadn't bowled in years and had a great time. I was the low scorer and actually found that I bowl better doing in backwards & between my legs...stikes 2 times in a row and 1 spare! Clara just loved it...her first time ever!


Our next strep victim was Clara. She just hated to stay home and miss playing with her cousins. While she was home recovering with George, we headed to Grand America for a fun little Christmas hunt with the Hobbs cousins. And then they played on the the lawn for a hour. Nice to see that kids don't always need entertainment that costs.


After take care of all of us, George was bound to be the next victim of strep throat and he got it bad! He was out for days feeling lousy. But life goes on...

It was time for a Hobbs Family Reunion! We started off with a fun ride on Trax to Salt Lake City and Temple Square. I am always so impressed with the lights! After having attempted to string lights on a tree I know that is hard and tedious work. :)
The girl cousins posing for a quick pictures.

The handsome boys. Alex is not a lone boy on the Hobbs side....yeah!

Clara found a new BFF...Abbey! They had so much fun playing with each other! Unfortunately, the loved each other a little too much on this trip and Clara feel and hit her head on the granite floor...it left a huge goose egg.


The reunion continued with dinner at Bucco de Pepo...so yummy! The next day was family pictures and Kangaroo Zoo. I honestly love that place! The kids can play for hours and I even snuck in a couple runs down the slides. Ohhh, to be a kid again.

That night was New Year's Eve. We had a great party at Ryan & Steph's home with a 50's dinner to honor the era our mother was born in. After all it was her birthday! The kids played, cousins exchanged gifts, & BINGO.

Happy 60th Birthday mom/grandma Hobbs!


The next day was church & one last big gathering. I brought out the rest of the Swiss chocolates we brought and these 3 girls ate them up! So cute to see them all together!

Allison had a great time getting to know her grandpa Hobbs. He was sweet to always be helping out!

The two BFFs in matching pajamas! Aren't they cute?!


At the end of the reunion, both grandma & grandpa Hobbs got sick, a few others had gotten strep throat, & the stomach flu was now going around. Was it worth it? Absolutely! Those are memories to last a life time!


We finally got to meet up with grandpa Gourley and grandma Cindy. The kids just loved their two dogs and we had a great time being with them!

Nothing like sitting at great grandma Gourleys player piano and watching the girls sing along. They had a great time! She is always so generous and kind. We love our visits with her.

A trip to Utah wouldn't be complete without heading to great grandma Hobbs' house. Even though she came over for Christmas, we still had to go over. There is just something special about her home! The kids just adore her!

We tried to entice grandpa Hobbs into swimming one last time, but the poor man was too sick! It was wonderful to spend some time with him!

We couldn't resist one last swimming trip before heading back and were happy that the Brodericks joined in!


As you can see it was a whirlwind of a trip and there was lots that we didn't take pictures of. And of course there was loads of shopping! We came with 8 suit cases and left with 11. :)