Amelia is moving on to Kindergarten!!!

Amelia finally graduated from preschool and she couldn't be more excited to go to Kindergarten with her big brother.  

Amelia's fellow graduates; Sam and Hayden

Teacher Chris, "Amelia, what do you want to be when you grow up?" Amelia's reply, "a doctor."  "What kind of doctor?"  "A baby doctor!"  We shall see.....

 Her very proud big brother Jbird and little sister Mabel!!!!!

Mabel was also supposed to stand up and shake Teacher Chris' hand but she wanted no part in the whole thing.  She literally sat with her back towards the parents most of the time.  Stinker....

Two down, one more to go.  Thank you Johnny's and Teacher Chris for loving, teaching and nurturing our kids.  They will be better little people and big people because of you.

Meinhardt Montana Mountain Madness 2013

After Uncle Kevin passed in August, the Meinhardt side decided that we do not see enough of each other and when we do, it's not long enough.  So....we all took a week long "reunion" trip to Montana to spend time with each other and remember Kevin!!!!  It was a blast.  There were tears shed, lots of laughter, tons of adventures and memories that will last a lifetime.

The ENTIRE Meinhardt clan

Left to right: Shelly, Henry, Steve, Cindy, us, Andrew with baby Nash on his shoulders, Shawn, Bob, Ava, Uncle Jeremy with Nellie, Megan, Molly and Beck

Day 1:  We arrived at 6pm, just in time for the dinner bell.  After dinner, we had a fire going and roasted s'mores.  The kids didn't go to bed until 11pm!  Yikes!

  

The view from the great room.

The house had a long table that fit all of us and we enjoyed eating there, playing cards there and just catching up there.

Day 2:  Yellowstone National Park

 

Day 3:  A mellow day.  The guys went golfing so I took my kiddos and Ava to the local hotel for some swimming.  It had an indoor slide and hot tub.  The kids had fun but Amelia got folliculitis (inflammation of hair follicles) from a staph bacteria in the hot tub.  It didn't show up until the end of the trip and didn't bother her but she spent the first 7 days home on antibiotics!  

Sweet Nellie!

 Day 4:  River rafting

Steve and Shelly were on this raft with the kids; Henry, Ava and Jeremy.

The big kids; Shawn, Andrew, Molly, Ryan and I were on another raft with Guide Ryan.

It was a blast.  After rafting we went home and then headed to Cinnamon Lodge for dinner.  It serves Mexican food and we had the place to ourselves.  There was an amazing kids nook with books, coloring, chalk, table and there were animal heads all over.

After dinner, the waitress lit a fire for us and it was the most beautiful scenery you could ever imagine!

Day 5:  We were supposed to go zip lining but a thunderstorm rolled in and it was cancelled.  We ended up fishing in a little pond, heading to lunch and then hiking to the most amazing waterfall ever.  

You can see the storm coming...

Day 6:  Swimming, horse back riding and BBQ along the river

 

Day 7:  Zip lining

 

It was truly an amazing trip.  We saw bears, elk, deers, moose, bison and rabbits.  We hung out with our family for 7 unforgettable days!  Ryan's cousin Shelly spear headed the whole thing and it would not have happened without her.  Thank you!  

Hope to do this again in two more years! We miss you crazy guys already!!!!!