Riley/Rupprecht Adventures in the Mountains

Back in the beginning of December (yes...I get it...I'm behind!), we went to the mountains with our dear friends Candice and Kevin and their adorable little girl Taylor, whom Ayden has a huge crush on =).

It was a blast.  Laid back, relaxed, and chilly.  No snow yet, so it was perfect to take the kiddos out all bundled up.  We ate all our meals at home and played lots of games..carefully timed around nap and bedtime.

Taylor is ready to go all bundled in her BOB.

This is our house.  Right on the lake.  It was beautiful.

Ayden was a trooper in his Eskimo jacket (thank you Zane!)

Rocks....Ayden's favorite pastime...

Candice chased Ayden all over cause momma was slow and exhausted! Thanks Aunt Candice!!

One day while Taylor napped, J and I took Ayden to a nearby park.

Hi-five from Daddy!!

The best husband and father a woman could ask for...well maybe without the grizzzzzzly beard ;)

I'm not sure if this kids loves slides or what?!?!?

(speaking to the above picture of course)

 

Our first attempt on the Big Boy swing.  Captain Safety (aka Daddy) prepared him well since all he chanted was 'hold on tight, don't let go!"

And hold on he did...it was a bit of a struggle to get him off the swing and back in the car.

This was the beginning of our adventure to go feed the ducks in our lake.

My favorite picture of the trip!!  What a sweet face!!

The Cattails that separated us from the lake were tall and thick...never fear, we had Kevin leading us through and around and over...

Kev making us a path...

Unfortunately every time we came within 15 feet of the water, the ducks found themselves on the opposite side of the lake.  There was no duck feeding to be had that dy....just a lot of walking, climbing, wind and cattails!

Which leads us to the next big adventure of the trip....hunting for the Rupprecht Family Christmas tree.

To fully appreciate this photo, you have to know Candice.  It is the perfect depiction of her. A strong woman, no fear, tramping off into the woods toting a saw, her child carrier, an adorable boots with skinny jeans outfit and pink gloves.  She was our leader for the afternoon.  And she was definitely on a mission!!

Ayden was in heaven between the men, jumping and flying over rocks.

This was option #1.  I should point out that the choices within the permit regulations were slim to slim at best.

They went with option 2.  What an adorable family!

Since the kiddos were such troopers we thought what a perfect time to get a photo of them together...

Guess they had plans of their own...

And where there is Candice, there is a craft project =)

The dough was a tad bit salty...but Taylor kept goin' back for more and the face was priceless - too bad we never actually caught it on camera!

It was the perfect start to the holiday season.

Happy bday zane

Our favorite nephew Zane turned THREE December 21st.  All day, we were saying 'Happy Birthday Zane' and singing the happy birthday song.  

Go figure, when we go to put it on tape....this is what happens....

Yes, at (almost) 2 (and probably for a very long time to come) it is in fact ALL ABOUT AYDEN =)

Happy Birthday Zane - we love you!  (stop growing up so fast!!)

Horn...Beep Beeep!

One of Ayden's favorite animals is the rhinoceros.  First just hearing him say the word was awesomely cute.  So for a few weeks that was the favorite trick in the house. 

As though he could get any cuter, once he learned that that thing on the rino's head was a horn, it only made sense that the horn on the rino's head would make a 'beep beep!' noise like the horn of a car.

So, if you ask him what is on the rino's head he responds, "a horn...BEEP BEEP!" (while making a pushing motion with his hand).  The first time he did this I was confused for a second....then it clicked.....because truly, seeing the world through my 2-year-old's eyes is common sense at its purest.

I agree Ayden, the Rino's horn should definitely BEEP!

New Years Eve

Think you can keep up with the Rileys??????  Think twice because we are one wild and crazy family!!!

New Years Eve we hit the indoor play area of the mall for a while where Ayden made friends with the big bear...

Then spiced it up a bit with dinner at Fudruckers (which for those on the east coast, is not near as good a play place as those out there).  Thankfully our son can entertain himself for an hour and half on one motorcycle game...and with out using one cent =)  Ahhh, isn't ignorance bliss!!

And finally the icing on the cake....once Ayden was down, J and I were able to stay awake long enough to see the ball drop in NYC.

Like I said......

Watch out....

We are WILD AND CRAZY!!

=)