Ollie meets "his baby"

Unfortunately, Ollie wasn't allowed to come to the hospital to meet Nola due to a flu season rule prohibiting visitors under age 12. So Nicole & Josh brought Nola home yesterday to a very excited big brother. Nicole rushed in to see Ollie and after close examination of her belly he asked, "Is she out?" Josh brought Nola in the house and Ollie squirmed with excitement, gave her special flowers, begged to hold her, and brought out all of his baby toys for her. There is no doubt that he LOVES her! When Ryan arrived a couple minutes later, Ollie ran up to him with a big hug and said, "Rynie, did you see my baby!?!"

Magnolia "Nola" Ruth Roloff

Meet our precious new niece Magnolia "Nola" Ruth Roloff. The Roloff kiddos continue to keep us on our toes. While Ollie was born 1 month early, little Nola came two days late but in a hurry! Nicole woke up at 3:30am on Saturday morning, checked into the hospital at 4:55am, and Nola was born at 5:16am. Cindy & I were in the car on our way to the hospital when Josh called to tell us the news! We arrived and rushed in to find Josh grinning from ear to ear holding his beautiful baby girl. Nola is 7lbs, 7.5oz, 20 inches long, and practically perfect in every way.
This sweet baby girl has so many people to love on her! We are so excited to meet her at last! All of the grandparents were able to see her on her birthday.

Grandpa Don's 85th Birthday

Last week we celebrated Grandpa Don's 85th birthday. It is such a blessing to have Don & Phyllis close by! We look forward to celebrating many more milestones with them!

Nathan's Senior Portraits

My sweet brother, Nathan, was in town this weekend for a CSU college visit. He is a senior this year and will be attending CSU next fall. I can barely contain my excitement! We have lived in different cities for almost 10 years now and I am really looking forward to having him close by again. I love him more than words can explain!

The Upside of Jet Lag. . .

...an amazing sunrise!

18 Inches

While on my trip to the Mediterranean, the ranch received 18 inches of snow with waist-deep drifts. Ryan snapped this photo after a failed attempt to get up our driveway.

Nice & Monaco

Nice and Monaco were beautiful. It was a rather chilly, foggy day. Our taxi driver, Patrick, said that on clear day you can see the snow capped mountains just north of Nice. In Monaco, we visited the palace and the famous Monte Carlo Casino. This was truly the lifestyles of the rich and famous. We saw Rolls Royce, Mercedes, Bentley, and more.Our taxi was a Mercedes, of course!

Rome, Pisa, & Florence

We saw the sites of Rome & the Vatican. We stopped by the leaning tower of Pisa and enjoyed gelato in Florence. Florence is one of my favorite places in the world. It was fun to take a break from the sites to enjoy the city, the food, and do some Christmas shopping.

Amalfi Coast

We drove the amazing Amalfi Coast - a dream of mine. It was spectacular! We stopped in Amalfi, Positano, & enjoyed pizza in Sorrento.Our taxi driver Mario was awesome. He really added to the experience! He stopped at all of the great overlooks, gave us great local & historical info, and would burst into Italian melody at random. He even gave us a couple bottles of his friend's home brewed wine.
My mom's close friend Millie came with us on the trip. I had such a great time getting to know her more.

Ruins of Pompeii

We were able to visit the excavated ruins of Pompeii, which was preserved in ash after the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. It was quite spectacular to see! It made me realize that (with the exception of technology) nothing much has changed in 2,000 years. They had theaters, running water, beautiful homes. . . and "beware of the dog" signs.The most sobering part of our visit was the plaster casts of those who were buried in the ash. Here is a pic of the main square of Pompeii with Mt. Vesuvius in the backdrop. Vesuvius has erupted many times since 79 AD the latest being in 1944. Today it is considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world, mainly due to the 3 million people that live in close proximity. Note to self - don't move to Naples!