Happy New Year 2009!

We rang in the New Year with Robert's parents in Pocatello. We had such a good time with them! It was so fun to have time to visit. Russ was in such high spirits. After spending most of 2008 going through problems with a torn retina, things were starting to look up for him (no pun intended!) We had fun cooking for them. We made our current favorite: Rice Bowls and our all time favorite new year's foods: Sesame Chicken and Oatmeal Pancakes with Sparkling Cider Syrup. Yummy! On New Year's Eve, we passed the time until midnight playing Apples to Apples. We got pretty rowdy and loud and laughed alot....all things that Stoddards love to do!

Grandma and Grandpa had lots of snow in their backyard and the kids had fun playing in it. Russ and Robert scouted out a hill for sledding and Grandma and Grandpa hunted all over town for a couple sleds for the kids to use. They finally found them at Kmart. When they were paying for them the checker asked where they had found the sleds. She said she had been telling customers all day long that they were out of sleds and then Russ thanked her kindly for reserving them just for us! I was relieved when everyone made is home safely. Especially after hearing that the sledding hill turned out to be a sheet of ice and seeing the scrapes on Gehrig's face from crashing. He said it felt like hitting cement when he landed. Yikes!


Grandpa and Sophie had a great time together. Grandpa took every opportunity he could to pick her up and hold her. It was so cute and fun to watch them talking and smiling together. Sophie loved his pocket protector. She would go right for it any time she got on Grandpa's lap.

Sophie loves Grandpa!



Sophie had fun with Grandma too.



Grandma gave Sophie her first haircut on new year's day right before we left. She also started crawling during our visit. She had fun plalying with the Fisher-Price nativity that Grandma keeps under her Christmas tree.

The kids with Grandma and Grandpa before we said good-bye.