Valentine Reunion - St. George

We headed down to St. George last Thursday afternoon for a little Valentine reunion.  It was fun to finally see some sunshine.  The day we left it had started hailing at our house!  I'm sort of sick of the weather right now that can't just stay nice spring weather.

Happy Birthday Ryker

I can't believe your 2!  Although sometimes you'd prefer to be 6, at least that's what you tell us!!  2 years ago you entered this world as our little sumo baby, large for your age (according to the nurses)!  My how we love you.  You have so much personality bottled up inside you.  You can pull the funniest faces... a mad face, happy face, scary face, surprised face, etc.  It's so funny!  You've mastered a sympathy laugh and can turn it on and off in an instant.  You love to yell at your brothers (hmmmm... wonder where you learned that from)!  You're obsessed with shoes and LOVE to wear them!  You remind me so much of Lucas & Kody... kind of a cross between the two.  You love to learn like Lucas did at this age and currently you love to point out colors.  You are also busy figuring everything out just like Kody.  I guess that's what happens when you have them to look to as examples.  You still despise nursery and will only stay (without hyperventilating) if either dad or I are in there.  We've tried a couple of times to have you sleep in a big boy bed, but so far you've freaked out both times and don't think it's fun AT ALL!  Unfortunately, buddy, this is going to have to happen sooner than later!!!  Here's a few of your favorite things right now...
Favorite Book: Little Boy (we ready this 100 times a day, I swear!)
Favorite Move: Tangled  (you request to watch the "horse moobie" all day long... sometimes we've actually seen this 3 or 4 times a day and you never get tired of it, but your brothers are!)
Favorite Food: Mac & Cheese
Favorite Song: Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam (as long as you get to jump and yell "beam")
Favorite Animal: A toss up between Puppy & Horse

You are so darn cute I could just squeeze you all the time!  Sometimes you're just like a mini adult as you walk around talking non stop and thinking you know everything.  It makes me smile!

For Ryker's birthday we decided to go play at the Trafalga in Lehi.  This was our first time there and the kids loved it!  We'll definitely be going back!  After church today he got to open his presents.  And much to his brothers dismay, he didn't need help!!  He got a new bike (which he's been riding inv sdvrrr the house for the past week), some new shoes, a couple of fun books, some popsicle molds, a tunnel to play in, a new swimming suit and some bath toys.  We ate homemade Ice Cream and Lemon Pie.  He even blew out his two candles all by himself.

Ryker... we love YOU!!

The Graduate

Lucas graduated from Kindergarten yesterday.  He has absolutely loved school this year.  Mrs. Price is an incredible teacher and he's really going to miss her.  He loves to learn and that makes everything fun and exciting.  He's enjoyed learning to read and we'll hopefully continue to work on that during the summer.

His graduation program was so cute.  We're glad Grandma Carole and Nappy were able to be here for it.  In case you can't tell what he says during his part, he says "From Monday to Friday I studied at School".

I can't believe my guy is growing up.  Watching him even gave me some watery eyes at times!  We are so proud of him and all that he as accomplished.  He is such a good boy and we love him so much!!

Walk-a-thon

Schools almost out which always means year end activities.  Tonight was the PTA walk-a-thon.  The students each have a card they have signed for each lap they do.  There suppose to do 25, but Lucas was done at about 18... which was just fine by me!  It looked a bit tiring just watching it.  They had activities for all the kids to participate in and pizza.  Of course everything costs "tickets"!!  The weather was nice and hot, but the kids had a great time.  Lucas chose to get his face painted as Spiderman for one of his activities.  Hence the pictures below...

Little Mishap

Last Wednesday I was down stairs working and Kody & Ryker were upstairs playing.  All of a sudden I heard a loud crash and went running up the stairs.  Somehow they had tipped the crib over and Ryker was crying (hysterically) and holding his hand.  They weren't in he crib or underneath it thank goodness!  I made an appointment with Dr. B and in the mean time he cried himself to sleep.  Once we got to the doctor he felt his wrist and then sent us for x-rays.  Which he HATED!!!  To make a long story short, he ended up breaking his wrist.  Not all the way through, just a little fracture, but still needed to be splinted. 

So for the last week we've been trying to keep his arm wrapped and in the sling.  Since it was his right arm, I thought maybe it would slow him down, but to no avail.  Although he did look pretty darn cute running around with a sling.  Unfortunately he had another mishap on Sunday when he fell at church and wouldn't move his other arm.  I ended up taking him to instacare where it was determined, after xrays, that he had dislocated his elbow!  They popped it back in and he was instantly fine...thank goodness!!

I finally gave up on the sling towards the end because he figured out how to get it off and it really wasn't staying on his arm anyways.  Last night he decided he's take the entire thing off, clear down to his arm.  So I'm excited to finally have it in a cast.

Today he was casted and Dr. B decided to go all the way up the arm since he hadn't been so good at leaving his splint alone.  He thought he might try (and succeed) at getting a shorter cast off.  So for the next 4 weeks he'll have a blue arm.  Thank goodness it was now and he'll have it off before we start swimming and all the fun summer fun.

And i hope I survive.. cause he's beating me up with it (not on purpose).  Every time I have to pick him up it scratches me.  My arms look like I've been attached by a dog!

Happy Easter

We hope everyone is having a wonderful Easter weekend.  We sure are despite the cold/cough that keeps plaguing our home.  Kody was kind enough to share his cold with me so now my nose feels like a leaky faucet.  I'm praying that the cough stays away!!!  So Unfortunately today only Jed & Lucas were able to attend church.  I think my name might be coming up on the inactive list pretty soon!!  Please warm weather... come soon so we (try) to stay healthy.

I am so grateful for my Savior and the resurrection.  It's an awesome feeling to know that we all will live again and I can be with my family forever.  Christ knows me and loves me and although I can't always see the bigger picture, which makes it hard sometimes, he can.  Each obstacle, miracle, blessing, and trial is (hopefully) making me a better person.  I hope everyone is able to feel of our Saviors love this Easter.

And finally, a picture of my handsome boys.  Although it was taken a couple of months ago, I've never posted it on here and thought we could all pretend they're dressed up for Easter today!

My Kodes

He's a character.  Sometimes we don't see eye to eye (actually a lot of the time).  He's very stubborn when he wants to be and it just about drives me crazy.  He is also the most loving little boy in the world.  Especially when he's around people he doesn't know very well.  He becomes this shy little angel that never makes a peep.

A few things about Kody:

He is absolutely, positively obsessed with any and all things cowboy/horse related!  He wants to wear his cowboy boots everywhere.  He love LOVES to visit Papa Mark so that he can feed the horses, ride the tractor, and work in the shop fixing & making boots.

He LOVES gum!!!

He likes to put stuff in his pockets (and mouth for that matter).  He thinks his pockets were made to store everything... pears, crackers, chips, hot tamales, almonds, toys, phones, etc.  He's such a goof.

The other day Lucas said "I like mom best cause she makes us dinner" and Kody says "I like dad best cause he makes wings!"  Apparently Jed's Buffalo wings top anything I've ever made!!!  And actually, that's about the only thing he'll eat right now.  He's going through a weird stage where getting him to eat dinner is near impossible.  He'll eat breakfast and lunch just fine.  I figured we'd just go with it because if he is hungry he'll decide to eat. 

His sunbeam teachers live just around the corner from us and a few weeks ago Bro. McConnell asked Kody if he wanted to go for a motorcycle ride back up to our house.  He was already half way down the sidewalk before Bro. M could finish the sentence!  There was no way he was going to get on it!!  He has a bit of his mom's chicken side for anything that might have a risk factor.

Somedays (actually most days) I feel like I have twin Kody's living in one little boys body.  Yesterday, for example, he decided that he (and Ryker) would break my LARGE box of light bulbs all over Ryker's room.  Ryker ended up with a scratch, but how neither one of them was seriously cut, I'll never know.  Of course I was mad and sent him to his room for timeout while I cleaned up.  He left the room while the vacuum was going went downstairs.  After I finished cleaning I was walking down the stairs and heard water.  I ran the rest of the way down the stairs to find my kitchen floor covered in water.  He (and Ryker) were pouring large cups of water all over the floor... for fun!  AAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!  And then, I look over at my laptop and see that many of my keys have been popped off.  Needless to say, I turned into a mad woman and he spent some time alone in his room!

He loves to sit with his dad at night and watch tv.  Most of the time he'll fall asleep before we can get him to bed.  I'm sure his busy days just tucker him out!! 

I can't believe he's going to be 4 in just a few months.  I love this little boy more than anything and wouldn't trade him or his hugs for the world.  Even if he tries my (very sparce) patience level. 

Smartie Pants

This little boy thinks he's the smartest thing to walk the earth.  Just ask him! 

He won't be 2 until the end of May, but when you ask him how old he is he says "two" with two fingers.  He WILL NOT say one.  And if you tell him no, but ask him again how old he is, he'll tell you "six".  Almost 2 going on 6!  Great!

Here in Spanish there is a white horse statue that someone has spray painted black stripes on so, for obvious reasons, we refer to it as a Zebra.  He loves to spot it as we drive down main street and say "sebra".  But it's also skewed his knowledge of animals since all horses are now "sebra".

He loves his daddy!  Currently he's going through the phase of disliking nursery, very, very much!  Even if I'm in the nursery with him and his dad walks out, he bursts into tears. Sometimes I'm a little liked chopped liver!

He talks more than my other two ever did at this age and it's so fun!  He can be extremely chatty at times.  If you ask him a question that he doesn't know he'll reply "Iknow" (I don't know) while shrugging his shoulders.  It's adorable.

Just this past week he's learned to climb out of his crib.  This doesn't not make his madre to happy.  Luckily he's still been good about going to sleep in his crib, it's after he wakes up.  That was until his afternoon nap today when I found him like this...

Sound asleep next to the door.  At least he had the smarts to cover him self up before he fell asleep.  He hasn't learned to open the doors yet, but I'm sure that's not too far down the road.  Looks like we'll be switching to a big bed pretty soon.  Something I'm not looking forward to tackling!

My baby won't be a baby for much longer and it kind of makes me sad.  We love our little Ryker man so much!!

4 months to go...

We're over half way there.  4 months from today (give or take a few days) we'll finally meet her.  And while this little girl is only about 6 inches tall and a little over a pound, it's not stopping me from making some dang cute things for her to wear.  Last week I was definitely in a sewing mood.  While I got a few things made, it also meant my home and current children were much neglected!!  So I packed up my sewing stuff for a few days... which also made Jed happy!  And I know you're dying to see what I've made so I've added pictures for your enjoyment!

Tooth-less

Lucas finally lost his first tooth and he couldn't be happier!  He's been asking Jed to pull it for over a week now, but it wasn't quite ready.  Pulling teeth actually grosses me out so this was all Jed's department.  On Thursday Lucas was outside playing and telling our neighbor, Heidi, that he had a loose tooth.  She's worked at a dentist office before and grabbed a tissue and pulled it out.  Awesome!!  He was thrilled!

Unfortunately the tooth fairy was so extremely busy on Thursday night that she didn't quite make it to the V's!  Luckily Lucas was pretty easy going about it the next morning when he woke up with a tooth still under his pillow.  But with a written reminder the tooth fairy couldn't miss, she was able to finish her work on Friday night.  Saturday morning he was a happy camper and $1 richer!

Now the one right next to it is loose!

Pink vs. Blue

This past Tuesday was our 20 week ultrasound.  Before going, I asked Kody if he wanted a little brother or sister.  He said "I want a little brother just like me".  Um.... no!  We have enough Kody's in this house!!  I love that little boy... he is so much fun (and SO active)!  Lucas was sure it was a girl.  I'm not sure you could have convinced him any other way.  Jed wanted a girl, especially if this ends up being our last.  I was happy either way.  I mostly get nervous that something will be wrong so even though I like to find out, I'm more happy with a healthy baby.

We took all the kids with us to find out.  Ryker could have cared less, so it was a good thing we had him in the stroller to keep him contained.  Kody was only interested in bits and pieces and mostly liked to try and play with the dimming lights.... good thing Jed has quick hands to control that one!  Lucas was very intersted and liked to see the baby on the monitor.

The tech always points out everything she's looking at.  It always amazes me that they know what they are looking at when half the time I see mumble jumble!  Everything looks good and that makes me happy.  Although, this baby seems to be missing a part!  That's right... we're having a GIRL!!  I'm a little nervous with the unexpected, but excited for her to join our family.

And Lucas can't stop smiling!!

A Few of My Favorite Things...

It's been a while since I've done a post on some of the things I love right now...

My Lilac Clothing Jeans are seriously my favorite pair of jeans that I own.  They are the most comfortable things in the world and so darn cute.  I may be pregnant now, but I started wearing these before I was pregnant and loved them then too.  They may look like maternity pants, but they are definitely made for everyone.  My mom and sister both own a pair... and they're not expecting!  I bought mine at Costco during their roadshow last fall for much cheaper.  Although I love them, I'm not sure I could fork out the full price for these things!  I would recommend these things to EVERYONE!  Below are the pants I have.

Lately I've been on cooking/meal planning kick.  Which is a good thing cause we've been a tighter budget so having things planned makes for a much better grocery bill.  My favorite place to find new meals is at Our Best Bites.  I also have their cookbook and it's fabulous!  A few of our favorites our the Spicy Honey Chicken (and the salad that you can make it in to), Chicken Fajitas (website only), Brazilian Limeade, Balsamic Asparagus, Oven Steak Fries, Asian BBQ Chicken... I could go on and on!  Almost everything I've made so far has been awesome.

Another one of my favorites right now is my Camelbak water bottle.  Jed, I and the kids all got one for Christmas, we definitely drink more water with these around.  Love it!!

Next on my list of favorites is my Lemon & Lime Squeezers.  With all the cooking I've been doing lately, I seriously could not survive with out them.  Well, I probably could survive... barely!  I bought both of mine at Walmart.  I actually had the lime one first and then realized I needed something to do lemons too, so I bought the other one.  You definitely could get away with just having the lemon one since it's big enough to do both.

Another thing I hope becomes one of my favorites is the Shaklee Basic H2 and the Scour Off.  I recently bought this after seeing it on a bunch of blogs.  Some people swear by the stuff and I thought I'd give it a shot.  Plus... the bottle lasts forever cause it's so highly concentrated.  So far I've used it a ton in the kitchen, but it's only been for a couple of weeks, so we'll see if I can start to tell a difference soon.

And while we're on the topic of cleaners, I have to give a shout to my favorite Tilex Bathroom Cleaner.  For some reason I just feel like this does the best all around job in the bathroom, especially on the tub.

And there you have it.  A few of my favorite things right now.  I'm sure if I sat down to think about it some more I could come up with a lot more, but why share all my secrets!  (Plus it's already taken me 4 hours just to get this much posted!)

A Bittersweet Sunday

This past Sunday they released our Bishopric and I know for me it was a little bittersweet.  Jed has loved serving as the 2nd Counselor to Bishop McGhie and along side Bro. Gallacher.  Technically they had a couple more years to go, but Bishop McGhie and his family will be moving soon.

It has been such a blessing to have him in a calling that he absolutely loved.  He never complained about meetings because he knew that once he got there he'd have a good time.  Sometimes I wonder how they got anything done with all the jokes and stories they had to tell... especially since they all seemed to find the same things really funny!  But aside from the fun, they did a fabulous job.

It's a testimony to me how the Lord knows exactly where we're suppose to be at certain times our lives.  This was one of those times.  I think back a year ago to when we were contemplating the possibility of moving.  He wasn't happy in his job, we didn't feel established in Spanish Fork, and our lack friends in the neighborhood/ward was frustrating (although this one was definitely our problem for being unsocial!).  And then... the Lord answered our prayers with Jed's call to the Bishopric and one week later my call to serve as the RS Meeting Coordinator.  It was the kick-in-the-pants we needed to realize we were in the right spot and we were here for a reason.

We've been blessed beyond measure with all the friends we've made over the last year!  We've found a love for where we are and now we don't want to move.  When Jed lost his job in May, we prayed that he'd find something that would allow us to stay.

Although this short chapter is over, we look forward to what lies ahead.  And I'm definitely looking forward to Sundays when he can help get the kids ready AND wrestle them on the bench.  That's one part I'm not going to miss!

Our Bishopric in action...

They sure have lots of fun together!  Maybe a little too much fun at times....

Mo Willems

Have you ever read the books by Mo Willems?  We just discovered him and my boys think they are so funny.  Especially the Elephant & Piggie series.  We've only had a few so far, but can't wait to check out more.  So far our favorite is "We are in a Book",  Jed read it to the boys the other night and the were all laughing hysterically!  If you haven't ready them, head to your local library fast.  He has different books for different ages.  Another one they like is "Time to Pee" (for obvious reasons the kids find this funny)!

Happy Halloween

This year the kids got to dress up 3 different times for Halloween.  Lucas had his school Halloween party on Wednesday and I took the kids to go watch him the other students parade around the playground.  Although I'm not a huge fan of Halloween, (as you would see from the one tiny skeleton decoration we have hanging from the fan) but seeing the kids dress up and act their part does bring a smile to my face!! 



Lucas wanted to be a mummy this year and since I was going for inexpensive, I bought some fabric that we just ripped and wrapped around him.  He thought it was great.  Kody wanted to be a cowboy... not surprising!  Grandpa Mark made some chaps for him and he also wore some spurs from when I was little.  He looked mighty authentic!  And Ryker was the puppy.


  



Wednesday night was our ward Chili Cook-off/trunk or treat.  The weather was good until the sun went down.  Then it got cold!  Ryker wasn't too fond of being cold or wearing his puppy ears.  I made White Chicken Chili soup for the first time and it turned out pretty good.  We scored lots of candy (which we used for the trick or treater's tonight)!

My mom and dad stopped by Friday and picked up Lucas & Kody to go to Tawnya's house.  From what I hear, they had lots of fun!!  When they got back Saturday, they got all dressed up and we went into Fuddrucker's for dinner and to see Jess.  Her costume was hilarious!  The weather Saturday included wind, rain, hail & snow... awesome for trick or treating!!  Luckily by the time we got back, it was just cold so Grams and I took Lucas & Kody around the block, Ryker went to bed!

All in all... it was a good day with lots of sugar consumption!

Officially Employed…

That’s right, my hubby has a job now!  He’s happy and that makes me doubly happy!  He had an interview last Thursday and they called him Friday to offer him the job… he started Monday.  He’s an Estimator for a concrete company in Lehi.  They are small, only been in business a couple of years, but certainly seem to have their heads on straight.  He completed his first week today and as far as I can tell, he’s loving it.  He works for good people who have the same values… and as a bonus… he doesn’t come home smelling like smoke!  He also made the comment that it’s nice not having to worry about certain words coming out of their mouths all the time!  He’s hoping that as the company grows they’ll be more opportunity for him to move up also.

Thank you, thank you for all the prayers and help on our behalf.  It’s been a long 5 months, but in the end, I know this is where he is meant to be.  Although the commute may get tiresome, we really, REALLY didn’t want to move and this job makes it possible to stay put.  We love it here!  A definite answer to our prayers!

Now that I’ve lost my tag team partner during the days, I have to figure out how to single parent again.  So far I’m not doing so hot!!  I get nothing done… and it doesn’t help that Kody has decided to stop taking naps!  Remind me again why I didn’t send him to preschool this year??!!

Oh how I struggle with blogging...

I don't know why it feels like such a chore to do!  It make me sad to think of all the things I keep meaning to put on here, yet I never do and now I've forgot half of them.  Hopefully I can take a day soon and go back and fill in the last month with a few things that we've done.

Here's what's happening in our neck of the woods....

Jed is still looking for a job.  It's a slow, tedious, and an annoying process!  He's taking any and all suggestions, so if you know of a place, let him know.  He's spent a lot of time up at my parents the last couple of months helping them remodel their kitchen.  It's all but done and I'm excited to see it when we go up there in a few days.  You can see pictures on my moms blog.

Lucas is LOVING school.  He's definitely our academic child who likes to learn.  He's very concerned about homework and making sure we complete it the minute he walks through the door.  The only thing interfering with homework would be friends.  He loves to play... nonstop!  He has his two friends on our street, Kyle and Mason, and they are inseparable.  Although I think they are starting to fight more like brothers... we may have to start limiting time!

Kody is still a piece of work!  He's pretty much in trouble all the time, but never ceases to amaze me with the kinds of things he thinks up.  His current obsession is Lonesome Dove and Return to Lonesome Dove.  All 12 hours!!  I tell ya, if I have to watch anymore of that show, I just might go looney.  He'll sit on his dad's lap and not move.  We've tried other westerns, but he's not interested.  I think it's cause the cows and horses are pretty much in every scene during the entire show.  I am happy that it keeps him entertained and confined for a little while.  One of my favorite things he does right now is put "my" in front of mommy.  So he'll say "night my mommy" or "help my mommy" (when he needs help).  I love it!  He's now potty trained with very few accidents.  Oh Happy Day!

Ryker (aka class clown) thinks he's a crack up!  We think so too.  He loves to act silly and make silly faces.  He talks none stop although not much is recognizable yet.  He can say mama, dada, and YA (very blunt and loudly) when he wants something.  He does know the signs for more, please & thank you.  I love this stage, where they aren't quite old enough to get in trouble, but they like imitate everything you do.

As for me, well, I'm still doing the same thing... chauffeur, work, clean, laundry... oh and I learned to make bread.  And now I'm addicted to making bread... Mmm good!