All Aboard!

On Saturday we took Rufus to see what is believed to be the third-largest garden railroad layout in the United States. There are 3,500 feet of track, 300 model locomotives, 4,000 freight cars and 400 passenger cars on what the owner calls the "Palo Verde & Southwestern Railroad." To say this is a small hobby would be an understatement! Rufus was in awe... no screaming, no running, no jumping up and down... he just couldn't believe what he was seeing. He spent most of the time perched on Albert's shoulders so he could see all the trains that were running on the tracks. I think this may have renewed his love for Thomas the tank engine. Since we went at night I found a few pictures from www.azbigtrains.org of the trains during the daytime. Enjoy! They do this every year at Christmas so take your family next year... you won't regret it!

The Bump

Since I'm starting to show... there's no hiding it any longer! We are expected to have a new member of our family on or around June 2nd. Besides the 3 months of morning sickness and the flu, the baby and I are doing great! We are scheduled for an ultrasound on January 19th and if all goes well we should know the sex of the baby at that time. Until then... we will be practicing our breatheing!

We Are a Happy Family!

This was the Knudsen Family as of November 2008!

Drive by licking...

Okay... I found this picture on my Dad's camera from when Rufus was 10-months-old. He was just trying to take a picture of our baby's first Christmas when one of my brother's new puppies decided he needed a kiss. Hee! Hee! I had to laugh out loud when I saw it!

Aunt Muffie Visits

Over Spring Break last school year my sister came to visit us for a week. Thinking we had all the time in the world we were just lazy and took it easy most of the week. Then time caught up with us and we crammed a bunch of stuff in one day.

We went to the toy store and let Rufus play with the "choo-choo's" and ride the "horsey."

Then we had a picnic at the park.

Rufus enjoyed going down the slide. He would laugh so hard when I would grab his feet on the swing and stop him. When we left the park he had the hiccups!
While Muffie and I went to get a pedicure our friend Mrs. Diane let Rufus hang out with her pet turtles. Rufus just thought they were the coolest things since sliced bread!

Chalk Drawings

I love to draw on the sidewalk with chalk! May be it's because it reminds me of when I use to decorate my Grandma's car porch with scrawly kid drawings... Anyway, I think Rufus likes it too! He pretends to write and then draws big circles with lines around the edge (kinda like a sun). I wanted to show him how big he was so we got him to lay down while I outlined his body.

Then he wanted a turn and Daddy was a good sport!

Zooboomafoo

In January over MLK weekend we (Chris, Mollie, and I) decided it was high time for Rufus to go to the Phoenix Zoo. It was a GORGEOUS day and hardly any crowd! I can't really say he was way into the animals but I think he enjoyed being outside and seeing all the little things the zoo had to offer (and, of course, anything with wheels). He really enjoyed the wallabies... but by then my camera had died so I didn't get a picture.

Afterward, we decided to eat lunch at Pita Jungle in Tempe. Delish!!! I would recommend it to anyone! At least try their hummus and warm pita bread. Unfortunately, Rufus was all tuckered out and napped during lunch.

Christmas in April?

Here it is April and I'm posting Christmas pictures. Anyway, we had a modest Christmas full of the most important thing... Family, of course! What were you thinkin'? We stayed up way too late one night trying to put up the Christmas tree and then little by little spent the rest of the week decorating it. Once school let out for Winter Break I went Martha Stewart on my house and started baking up a storm! It was so severe that on Christmas Eve I was sewing new stockings for the three of us. I think they turned out pretty cute though.

Ahh... then Christmas Day. I don't know if Rufus really understood what was happening, but he sure enjoyed himself. He wasn't sure what to play with... the cars... the trike... the coloring book... thank goodness he was easy to please.

After opening presents we quickly ate breakfast, packed our bags, and headed for Safford, AZ where Albert's sister and her family live. They invited the whole Knudsen Clan over for a visit and while we were there it snowed! Everyone loaded in their 4x4 and took a drive up Mt. Graham to go tubing. The kids wanted so badly to build a snowman, but the snow was too powdery. (It looked more like a snow boob to me!) We didn't even get to go tubing because one of the trucks got stuck in the deep snow, so we went back down the mountain. More adventures to follow... but for now enjoy the pix!

Disappearing Act

I know many of you like to visit our blog and are probably wondering whether or not we've fallen off the face of the earth. Well... yes, we have. However, we are climbing our way out and will soon return to civilization. December is crazy for everyone, but it seems like that craziness leaked over into January and February for us this year. I have loads of pictures to post for Christmas and our adventures in Safford. I also have recent pictures of Rufus and his second birthday! So, don't give up on us!