Oh, Mexico...

We look forward to our vacation to Mexico every year. We haven't had the opportunity to go in a while so we were especially excited this year. It was also Scout's first time at the beach! For this trip we bought our first tent and a cargo carrier for the roof of our van. The drive down went... well (it's not a family vacation until someone pukes, right?). As soon as we arrived, Rufus met a new friend, Audrey, and they were inseparable! Good thing we camped near them or I don't think we would've seen him the entire time. As usual, we were beach bums for the four days we were there. Rufus, Albert and friends went to an estuary where they caught a blue crab and a bunch of little pink crabs. We also had fun building a sand castle, which I didn't get a picture of fast enough! Scout did not like the texture of the sand. Needless to say she played on a towel while on the beach; but she did manage to eat her first handful of sand, YUCK! We also unexpectedly met up with our friends the Winter's while we were there! Good times! After we had all the mangos, potato tacos, and burritos we could eat it was time to go... but we know we have many more memories to make the next time.

Our Family 2010

We spent this Thanksgiving with the Knudsen Family. Steve & Amiee were able to come and visit for a couple days so we took the opportunity to have a family picture taken while they were here.

Rufus (3-years-old) & Scout (6-months-old)

Time-Out for Sisters

Each year all of the Knudsen sisters (and sister-in-laws) get together for a Girls Weekend. We all wanted to go to Time-Out for Women since it came to Phoenix this year, but the price tag was a little steep. So we had our own Tim-Out for Sisters! We ate, shopped, and crafted! What more could a woman want? Oh... yeah, there was chocolate too!

Our Thanksgiving Wreaths (just clip on what you're thankful for!)

Pomp and Circumstance

YEAH!!! He finally made it! Really... he finished his MBA 6 months ago, but it didn't seem like is was over until he walked across that stage. His brother, Andrew, also graduated with his BA the same day. So it was a big family affair!!! Congrats boys!

Halloween Pumpkins

This year was a fun Halloween! Rufus really got into the spirit of it all and even had a preference of what he wanted to be. I tried to talk up being a pirate, or a knight, or a ghost... but all he wanted to be was a pumpkin. Which really worked out perfect because I already had a hand-me-down pumpkin costume for Scout. So, I made a trip to JoAnn's Fabrics, bought a yard of orange fleece, some ribbon, and felt and VOILA! A PUMPKIN! Halloween night we walked to our ward building where they were having a Trunk-or-Treat. Most of the cars had spooky decorations and they had blocked off a section of the parking lot with bails of hay and a movie projector for the kids to watch Michael Jackson's "Thriller". There was even hot chocolate, homemade root beer, popcorn balls, and hotdogs! Needless to say, we had a blast!

Grandma's Halloween Party

A few weeks before Halloween, Grandma Knudsen had a Halloween party at her house for all the grandkids. Truthfully, I thought it was going to be lame (sorry Mom...), but it was so much fun! The kids dug in Grandma's dress-up box to make their costumes, Aunt Dawn, Chelsi, and I painted faces, and kids walked down the run way for a costume fashion show!

Rufus didn't really want to dress-up, but after he saw all the other kids getting into it he decided to join in and be a cowboy like his favorite cousin Wyatt. Then Aunt Jenn had made cookies for the kids to decorate with frosting and candy. In the meantime, Uncle Jeff, Aunt Trisha, Michael (Jeff's old mission companion), Uncle Andrew, and a few others decorated the bedroom doors in preparation for the trick-or-treaters.

After the the cookies we decorated and eaten, Grandma gave each child their own bag and the kids took turns trick-or-treating to each of the bedroom doors. I think the adult had just as much fun scaring the kids as the kids did trick-or-treating!

NASCAR

Rufus loves anything to do with cars. In fact our neighbor across the street, Paul (who's an electrician by trade), built Rufus a miniature electric car that is powered by a car battery. Anyway, while we were grabbing a bite to eat one afternoon we saw a Dale Jr.'s trailer drive by and I couldn't resist the photo opportunity. We scarfed the rest of our lunch, made a dash for the car, and chased it down in a Safeway parking lot. Rufus was so excited he could hardly stand still for the picture. Oh... and come to find out Dale Jr. is Paul's favorite driver.

Scout's Blessing

We were going to bless Scout on July 3rd, but the week before she came down with croup. So we had to post pone the blessing until July 17th when she was well again. July seems to be like December in a lot of ways; everyone is so busy! So, it was a small circle consisting of Albert, Grandpa Frost, our bishop, a one of the counselors. Grandma Knudsen made her dress and I sewed the flowers and the ribbon on the front. It was simple and so very elegant... she was truly sent from Heaven above!

Five Little Ducklings

"Five little ducks that I once knew..."

"... but the one little duck with the feather on his back..."

"... he led the others with a quack, quack, quack!"

Knudsen Kids

Our friend, Rejli, offered to take our little girls first pictures as a baby gift. I hadn't had Rufus' 3-year pictures taken yet so I asked if she could take his picture too. She of course said, "yes"... so yesterday we drove out to her house in Phoenix to get them done. What I didn't realize is that she is a professional photographer!!! These are just a few of the pictures she took of the kids. Enjoy!

Photography by Rejli

Creative Quality Portraits

Call for an appointment

(602)703-8531

rejli@hotmail.com

www.photographybyrejli.blogspot.com

It's A Girl!

Weighing in at 9 lbs. 9.4 oz. and 21.7 in. long! Welcome Baby Knudsen!

Dr. John Holmes delivered her at 12:16pm on May 28, 2010.

Proud Daddy!

Even prouder Big Brother!

Our happy family!

Visitors: (Left to Right) Aunt Trisha, Adopted Aunt Chelsie, Uncle Jeff.

Visitors: (Left to Right) Brother Rufus, Grandma Frost, Cousin Krysta, Aunt Muff, Papa Frost.

Visitors: (Left to Right) Grandma Anna, Aunt Dawn, Adopted Aunt Sarah.

My first outfit! I love having a little girl to dress up!

Thank you to all who have given gifts, brought us meals, and wished us well. We are doing great and will keep you updated! Loves!

38 Weeks and 5 Days

Let the count down begin! We are impatiently waiting for our daughter to arrive! I'm not sure there's any more room for her to grow in there... COME OUT BABY!

21 Weeks 4 Days

Okay... it has been requested that I put a picture of my pregnant self on the blog. I want you to know that I avoid taking pictures of myself pregnant. There were only a handful taken when I was pregnant with Rufus, and I don't plan on breaking that trend. I just don't feel attractive and I don't want to remember my unattractiveness. Anyway... here it is.

P.F. Chang's Rock & Roll Marathon

Kudos to our brother Jeff who bravely ran the P.F. Chang's Marathon in 5 hrs. 28 min. 14 sec. this past Sunday. JEFF, YOU ROCK!

Jeff crossing the finish line!

Jeff after crossing the finish line... somebody give that guy a hug!

Good call Mom!

We're here for you man!

Everclear was performing as participants were completing the marathon.

The Verdict

We went to the 20 week appointment and the ultrasound this afternoon. Getting there was half the battle with all the construction on Greenfield and Baseline but we all made it in one piece. I was so excited I wanted to scream, but our ultrasound technician was less than enthusiastic and did not share our sentiment at all. She was all business... taking measurements and recording data. Me? I couldn't stand silence so I chatted up a storm and asked a dozen questions. Then she calmly asked, "Were you wanting to know the sex?" I didn't even have to stop to think before I blurted out, "YES! I need to know!" I even explained how my school kids and fellow teachers were all waiting for an answer. We were holding our breath as she angled around trying to find an indisputable view. Rufus, of course, didn't really know what was happening. Finally I piped up, "What are we looking at? Because I'm lost? If that's suppose to be the part it does not look boyish." The technician showed her first ounce of emotion, grinned, and confirmed that it was indeed a girl.

A foot and part of an arm.

Front view of face (eyes, nose, chin)

The girlie parts!

Christmas Cards

We had every intention of sending out Christmas cards this year (like we do every year). So... they're a little late, but they are in the mail. And in the spirit of downsizing, we downsized our mailing list and decided to post it electronically for all of our blogger friends/family.

As the economy took a dive, enrollment at University of Phoenix Online climbed and thankfully that meant Albert was much needed in his position. He is still taking classes towards his MBA and has a new graduation date set for May 2010! Albert was drawn for antlerless elk in October, but unfortunately was unsuccessful. This past year he was called to teach Valiant 8 in primary, but as of the New Year we will be team teaching CTR 7.

Midway through her 5th year with Gilbert Public Schools, Rafaelle again finds her services split between two great places. She is teaching music at both Val Vista and Gilbert Elementary. She is highly anticipating the end of this school year, as she will be delivering our 2nd child on or around June 2nd. She has also been working in the primary with the CTR 5 class.

Rufus will be turning 3-years-old in February and is just a wonderful boy. He has become an excellent helper around the house and loves to ask, “What you doing?” May the great inquisition begin! He enjoys counting to 12, saying ABC’s, singing, playing with cars, and is learning to ride the bike he got for Christmas.

Speaking of Christmas... more pictures and posts from Christmas Day to come! Stay tuned!

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!