Shara and crew

The past week and half have been so fun with Shara and her kids here.  We spent a day down at Tawnya’s where the kids could play outside all day long.  They played in the slip ‘n slide and rode the horse.  A couple days later we went swimming at the Payson Pool.  Shara & my mom left to go back up to her house and took Kody with them so he and Abby could play.  We headed up that way on Sunday and spent the rest of the week playing.  Jed had to come back and then he and Landon picked up Aaron on their way back up Thursday.  The kids got to play in the irrigation water, ride the four wheeler, feed the horses, play dress up, and help papa Mark fix boots.  Shara and I made us each a purse which turned out mighty cute!  She and Tawn also made adorable dresses for their girls. 

 

We also had the Nicholas Family Reunion Friday & Saturday at Early Park.  My mom and dad were in charge this year.  I think everyone who came had a good time.  My picture taking is lacking, but at least there is a few!

It's always fun when Grandma comes...

This past weekend we were able to spend some time with my Grandma Clouse, along with Jeanie & Nyla. They flew up here to spend a few days with my mom and Melanie. They came over for a few minutes on Thursday afternoon before heading to a BBQ at their cousin's house in Provo. We also went to the BBQ, then afterwards headed up to my parents so Jed could help my dad for the weekend. Now that my dad's shop is done (and looks awsome) they were able to work on some other projects. The boys are always in heaven at Grams & Gramps with their freedom to run/explore. They love to help Papa Mark with the boots and especially ride the four-wheeler.

The "girls" made it back to my mom's Friday evening so it was fun to get to spend some more time with them. We were able to attend a bridal shower for Becca (Ty's fiance) on Saturday. My boys love their grandma great and think Jeanie & Nyla are awesome. Ryker never really warmed up, but that's to be expected! Any time I get to spend with my Grandma makes me happy! This month marks a year since my Grandpa passed away.

Stats

This morning was Ryker's appointment.  He was not happy about the doc checking his ears or the 3 shots he had to get.  Other than that, he was a gem!

Weight: 21.4 - 25th percentile
Height: 31 inches - 50th percentile
Head: can't remember - 90th percentile

Looks like we have one smart cookie on our hands!!

And check out who's riding front facing in his new birthday carseat...

He's lovin' life now!!

Birthday Boy

Dearest Ryker,

Happy Birthday! 

Today you turned one... ONE!  My word time flies.  You are starting to catch on to things... and remember!  You are almost walking.  For about a month now you've been taking a few steps, but for some reason haven't wanted to take a few more.  I'm sure it's hard to want to walk when you know you can crawl so much faster.  Speaking of crawling... you have a serious speed crawl.  You duck your head like a bull about to charge and take off like a speed demon.  It makes me laugh every time!  You love to pull the books off the shelf.   This makes mom and dad frustrated!  Maybe we should move them, but probably won't!  You've also found your favorite drawer in the kitchen... with all the measuring spoons, cups, rolling pin, etc.  You love to climb and currently your favorite thing to climb on is the laundry basket.  You love to sit on top and bounce up and down.  You also like to spend time inside the basket, especially if someone is taking you for a ride.  You can scream the most high pitch scream that I think I've ever heard and you do it quite frequently.  You're terrified of heights... must be related to your mother!  Currently you are our little vegetarian and will spit out meat if I try to feed it to you.  You have a favorite green blanket that you like to sleep with.  We find it pretty funny that you prefer it to be under you so you can pull it around your ears.  You have 3 teeth on the bottom and are cutting your two front top teeth right now.  You love to give "High Fives".  Your separation anxiety has been full blown for quite some time.  You prefer mom and dad to just about everyone.  It takes you a minute (or hours/days) to warm up to people you don't know.  You haven't really started "talking", but if we say "ahhh, no" you say "ahhh, ya".  You love to play peek-a-boo and have even started to hide your own eyes.  Sometimes you'll try to blow a kiss, but mostly you can't get your hand in the right spot.  It's pretty cute!  You love to follow your brothers, but prefer if they don't follow you!  We are so glad that you are part of our family.  You make each day fun and full of smiles and laughs.  We Love You!

The following pictures are from his birthday celebration.  They are in no particular order and I'm not going to try and arrange them so they are.  The day before his bday Grandma Valentine stopped by with his present.  He got a new chair & a ball and bat (which his older brothers find very fun)!  On his birthday we had Grandpa Mark & Grandma Carole, Tawn, Reese, Bronson & Jess all here.  We had BBQ'd hamburgers and then Ryk opened his presents.  He loved the hammer & blocks from G&G.  The other kids loved his new bubble blower.  After that we let him go to town on his own cupcake.  After convincing him that it was okay if his hands were dirty, he ended up eating the whole thing and loved it!

Preschool Graduate

My little boy graduated from preschool tonight.  It just doesn't seem possible.  He's growing up way to fast!  He has loved his 2 years of preschool with Ms. Heather.  He's extremely excited for Kindergarten and the new school, but would like to Ms. Heather with him!

Over the past couple of years he has learned so much.  He's reading & writing, speaking a little Spanish, and counting really high.  He's learned many songs that have taught him lots of things like... the days of the week, the months of the year & nursery rhymes.  He can also tell you the life cycle of a butterfly!

He earned the Most Improved Student award at graduation.  And when Ms. Heather started to cry, I knew I was done for.  She mentioned that when he first started there she was constantly reminding him not to run and she didn't think he was listening to her.  She said in reality he was listening to everything she was saying and in his final evaluation 2 years later he had mastered every concept (about 3 pages of things)!

We are so proud of you!  I hope you always know how much we love you! You are the best Lucas' ever!!

Ms. Heather & Lucas

Lucas and his fan club

Working's Overrated!

Yesterday morning Jed called me to say he was on his way home and we needed to talk.  When your about to get layed off it appears that there is a lot to discuss!  A couple months ago his company had gone bankrupt and were starting under a new name.  Apparently they didn't have a place for him in the new company.  They said it was because they were to "top heavy".  I could have told them that along time ago and saved themselves the hassle of filing bankruptcy!!  He could have stayed on with them, but they were cutting his pay quite a bit, taking him off salary and making him a laborer.  He's actually been that for quite awhile, but this was the official announcement.

After discussing it and weighing the pros and cons, we decided to take the lay-off.  He makes about the same on unemployment as he would with the pay cut.  This gives him more opportunity to actually look for a new job.  He's really really hoping for a specific job and stopped in there yesterday.  They said they'd be hiring in the next 2 to 4 weeks so we have our fingers crossed!

I'm grateful to have my job and I can add him to my insurance.  The boys and I were already using mine.  My paychecks will be rather measly now, but that's okay... I'd rather insurance!

So wish us luck on our new job hunt.  I'm really hoping we don't have to move, but you just never know.  In the mean time... I have lots of projects we'll be working on!!

Have you met my middle child??

He's giving his parents a run for their money!  Sometimes he's too darn smart. 

Like when learned that he can open child proof pill bottles.  It's always fun to find a chewed on Excedrin on the floor.  Hopefully children's vitamins aren't harmful cause I think he's taken at least 3 on occasion.

Have I mentioned that the lock at the top of the door doesn't stop him from exiting the house.  He'll find something tall enough to drag to the door to open it.  He also knows that if that doesn't work he can climb the gate at the kitchen and go out the sliding glass door.  Or... if he's feeling a little more adventurous he'll go in the garage, climb in the van and push the garage door opener.

If you happen to come to our house, don't mind that there's a couple outlets with no covers.  That's cause he figured out how to pop them off the wall!  He also broke the light switch cover in the living room, but that was more of a lucky shot when he threw a boot and it hit just right!

Oh, and if you try to type on the laptop... don't be surprised if the keys are a bit wobbly and not fully secured.  He's a master at popping keys off the keyboard.  And much to my dismay... he's starting doing it on the desktop too!

It's a good thing this little boy has his angelic moments too or I might possibly go crazy!

Love You Kody Boy!

Grandparents

A few weeks ago we were able to head up to Honeyville for a day so Jed could help my dad with the shop floor.  It looks awesome and I can't wait to do our garage floor. 

It happened to be the Nicholas (Grandpa's family) reunion at the park.  It was fun to see some family and also talk to my grandparents.  Grandma fell a little while back and has been at a Rehabiliation center ever since.  Grandpa's hopeful she'll be coming home soon.  It's not often you have both Grandpa & Grandma live to be over 90!

I love this picture!  I love my grandparents!

Ryker vs. Lamp

Last night Ryker crawled behind the couch and as I was reaching down to get him, he grabbed the lamp and hit it against the wall.  Unfortunately it shattered and came down on top of him (and me).  Immediately he started bleeding everywhere.  I had to actually pull a big piece of lamp out of his arm.  I wasn't sure how bad the cuts really where, but to be on the safe side I took him to the after hours at the clinic.  The one below his eye was just shy of needing a stitch or two.  The one above his eye and on his arm where glued shut and taped.   He screamed really really hard when the doctor was cleaning it out!  The doc said that they shouldn't scar... we shall see!

All smiles until the dr. came in!