Four

Anna, Benjamin, and Caleb are all excited to have a new little brother. We've been letting each of them spend a minute or two holding him (with help) before bed each night.

New Baby!

Daniel Jacob Roche was born on June 29th at 1:25 p.m. He weighed 8 lbs and 6 oz and was 19 inches long. Everything went very smoothly; Naomi confirms that this was the easiest birth out of the four. I personally don't think newborns are very cute, but because everyone is clamoring for photos here are a few of four-day-old Daniel (I don't think he looks that young, but you be the judge). The hospital website (Carson-Tahoe Regional) should also have a picture up in the next few days.

Backyard Campout

A few weeks ago I was planning on taking Anna and Benjamin camping but Naomi wasn't comfortable with me leaving town while she might have a baby, so we decided to camp in the backyard.

I even started a little fire in the BBQ and we toasted some marshmallows.

Yesterday, I was finally able to take Anna, Ben, and Caleb camping. We let Naomi and little Daniel have a rest. The four of us went up to Indian Creek Reservoir with my coworker Dan and his wife Heather. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera, but we took some pictures with Heather's camera and I'll post those when I get them.

Fathers and Sons

Last weekend (May 29-30) was our ward's Fathers and Sons campout. I took Benjamin and Caleb and we had a lot of fun. We went to Washoe Lake State Park. I wasn't very excited about the close location, but it turned out to be nicer than I expected.

The group area was nice, and after we got our tent set up, the kids had fun running around with their friends. Then they relaxed in their camping chairs.

As soon as it got dark I conducted a short fireside, and then we all went to bed. The next morning was beautiful:

After our bishopric (who were all released the next day) prepared breakfast and the kids got all sugared up, we started our short hike. We hiked up the hill to a gazebo with a nice view. The hike was short, but any hike with a 1-year-old and a 3-year-old is going to take some time.

From the bottom:

Halfway up:

From the top:

Caleb wasn't happy that I made him walk all the way down, but Ben was OK with it. And they were both happy when we got back to camp.

We were the first to arrive when we got there at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, and the last to leave at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday. Apparently our ward isn't really into Fathers and Sons campouts. We had a good time, though.

Lahontan Reservoir

On the Saturday before Memorial Day we decided at the last minute to pack a picnic lunch and drive around. We ended up at Lahontan Reservoir. It was pretty empty for a holiday weekend, and we had the place pretty much to ourselves. Of course the first thing the kids wanted to do was throw rocks in the water:

Before long, the kids got restless, and we decided to climb the dirt hill just behind us, seen here from in front, and on top:

After the climb we drove around to the other side of the reservoir for some more rock throwing, although the kids quickly tired of that and resorted to chasing seagulls.

Caleb did not know when to stop, and had to be retrieved:

As you can see by the look on their faces after returning to the car, the kids had a good time:

Anna's graduation

Don't ask me why, but the local elementary school had a pre-school graduation. I personally like to celebrate accomplishments, but whatever. In any event, it gave us an opportunity to take this cute picture of Anna:

Erin!

In May, Erin came out to visit and babysit while Naomi and I stayed at Harvey's Lake Tahoe for a few days (I had a conference to attend). She requested that I post a couple pictures with the kids: