Wedding Bells

So, for all that have not heard... Stephanie got married.  December 22, 2012 in the Salt Lake Temple.  Stephanie married this adorable guy named Paul who I swear Ryan would steel in a heart beat.  Also when Mac cries and I ask what will make him happy again he responds . . . Paul.  It was really a nice wedding!  Paul, we are so excited that you are now a part of our crazy family!!

Princess Race

Our princess ran in her first race last month!  It was set up to be a one mile race.  This race was an all girl race where you were encouraged to run dressed as a princess.  Ryan was so excited to do the race with her cousin Riley.  I told Ryan that if she won the race--meaning finish the race-- she would get a tiara.  It was so cute.  When the girls passed that finish line they were given a tiara by a girl dressed in a big prom dress with gloves and a crown.  Ryan did awesome!!  Although I don't think that the race was even a half mile, she was able to complete the entire race without help.  Ryan is fast too!  She has long legs that got her through the race fast!!  Good Job Ryan!!!  I hope I get to do many more races with my princess!!

Napping Book Worm

The other day we put McCallum down for his nap.  Needless to say, he did not want to go down just yet.  Rather than let him up I just told him not to get out of his bed or he would be in trouble.  I then came upstairs and ignored his screaming.  Generally he settles down within a matter of minuets.  A few minuets after I had come up Ryan came into my room and said: "Mom, I know how to settle Mac down for his nap.  I just gave him a book and told him to read it in his bed.  Then he can just fall asleep with his book."  I told her that I thought she was the best sister in the world, and the smartest girl ever!  It had worked.  Mac was no longer screaming or trying to get out of his nap.

Later I went down to wake McCallum up so we could go to dinner.  This is what I found...

Mac had taken Ryan's advice.  He fell asleep reading his book.  I couldn't help laughing.  It was so cute!

Trick-Or-Treat

Last night was so much fun!!!  I was worried that Mac wouldn't get the whole trick-or-treating thing, but I was wrong.  I always knew Ryan would get it, but she is older and done it before!  Both the kids had a blast and got too much candy!!

Ryan was a little Mini Mouse/ Princess-hence the tiara.  And Mac was the dragon.  He was so cute wiggling his tail around all night.

Throughout the night we would say: are we done?  Mac would chime right in and say MORE HOUSES!  it was to die for.  Ryan on the other hand was a little spent... I have to say I told her not to wear the high heels.  While Jared carried her back to the house she said, "These heels are Killing me!!"  Welcome to being a woman Ryan!

The best part of the night was when we went to see our good friends the Drakes.  When they answered the door they had a big bowl of broccoli and huge carrots.  Mike got down on the kids level and asked if they wanted to pick a treat.  So Ryan, being the cute little girl she is, just picked out a carrot.  She had this look on her face like: I guess some people just give out bad treats.  Mac on the other hand didn't even pretend like he wanted any.  He was just going to pass.  Mike and Michelle laughed and then showed them the real candy.  Ryan was so confused.  I think she was a little put off that they took her carrot back.  I thought it was funny, but the best part is that the kids never got the joke!

Home Sweet Home

I am excited about this.  Even though I have not posted about it for a few weeks, I am still thrilled.  This is the latest purchase for our little family.  We are really excited to be so lucky to live in such nice home.

I have found that I will have to make this little place my own by taking it in small pieces.  I have tackled Ryan's room.  She wanted a princess theme--surprise, surprise.  She already had this really bright bed set, so there was not much I could do without making her room look too crazy.  I spent an entire day painting on these stinking stencils.  Needless to say, I don't see stenciling in my future!

Mac's room is also in progress.  He has yet to get his wall painted.  I'm thinking it will just go simple with a brown solid wall.  He is really loving his own big boy bed.  Although, he will be getting a bigger bed this next month.  He is falling out of his bed too much.  He moves enough that this little bed just wont contain him.

Finally, this is my pride and joy.  When I bought this it was hardly even a piano.  I worked so hard to restore this little girl.  I think I'll call her Hazel.  She even sounds great!  Now I'll I have to do is learn to play it all over again.  I'm learning.

My Boy Genius

Today I found that McCallum is not just smart, but rather he is a boy genius!!  This actually stems from two days ago...

Two days ago we were eating lunch and Mac started to count his chicken nuggets.  He counted them all the way to five.  I was shocked that he could count on his own to five.  I mean he only turned two in September.  Plus, he has never counted things back to me. 

Today I was putting on his shoes so that he could go outside with his Papa.  I said: "Here is one shoe, where is the other?  Oh there it is."  Then when I put it on his foot he said two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, six.  I had to correct him that ten comes after nine but other than that my mouth was gaping wide open in shock!  I have a boy genius on my hands!!  I couldn't believe it.  Plus, he recognizes almost all the letters in the alphabet now too!  Crazy smart!! 

Boy Genius!

A summer hike

How could I forget to blog about this little hike we did to Secret Lake? We had a really fun time. As you can see, Ryan was being so funny! We were able to spend some time with Paul and Steph before they headed back to school in WY too. Along the way we saw three moose! I couldn't believe how close we were to the one! These beasts are so huge!

When we got to the top of the hike we pulled out some lunch and ate right by the lake. As we were eating a little squirrel came out to mooch some food. Mac was standing closest to the little guy holding an entire Pb&j sandwich. Mac just froze, he looked scared. I thought it would be funny, so I said: "be careful Mac, he'll get you. He's going to take your sandwich." Instantly Mac threw his entire sandwich to the squirrel and ran the other way terrified. We all laughed so hard. Mac was so scared that squirrel would get him.

As a little side note, Stephanie and Paul are now engaged! December 22, is the date!

2 Years Old

Can you even believe that McCallum is two? It blows my mind that this little guy is so big!! Here are some things about Mac that we don't ever want to forget at this age...

1. Mac has the ability to make whatever he is doing destructive.

2. Mac doesn't walk... he struts!

3. Mac is his mommy's boy!

4. Mac loves to pester his big sister. He knows just how to push her buttons.

5. Mac is good at all sports. He is a natural athlete.

6. Mac has the worlds best head of hair. It's adult hair!! None of that baby stuff.

7. Mac has a major sweet tooth. He will do anything for a snack.

8. Mac loves animals but doesn't like to touch. He'll look but not touch a lot of the time.

9. Mac has an overly skilled at selective listening.

10. Mac is the best little boy in the world. Everything about him makes our family complete.

We love you little boy!

Summer Endings

So I need to at least update this blog a little bit! As of last week my little girl is swimming!! No more tears and fights over the water for us... at least I sure hope so!!! My sister and her kids were in town last week so we took the kids swimming at the neighbors house. It was crazy to say the least. Dax (7) was diving and flipping off the diving board. Riley (4) was also flipping off the diving board. She swam most of the time without a life jacket. Then Mac (2 next month) started to jump off the diving board. He had his jacket on, but insisted that no one help him. We were all cheering for him and the other kids. Pretty soon Mac started to go down the slide. first just feet first on his bum, then on his stomach. By the end he was going down head first on his back. It was really funny to watch. Not to soon after all of this Ryan started to feel like she wasn't getting enough praise or something because she put her face in the water. Then she swam with her face in the water... by the end of our swimming she had swam across the width of the pool without a life jacket! All this time she could swim! Stubborn little girl!!!

We also had Ryan starting school yesterday. She is now in her Per-K class. That means next year is Kindergarten!! YIKES!! I'm not sure I like the sound of that!! She has almost all new kids in her class this year, so lots of friends to make!!

Another Ryan moment

So we went out to eat as a family one night this past week. We decided that we could all stop and get whatever each of us wanted. I asked Ryan... "What would you like to eat tonight? You get to choose anything that is 'good food.'" She started to explain that she didn't know what the food was called but she knew she wanted it.

"Give me a clue and I'll guess what it is."

"What is a clue?"

"You tell me somthing about it and I try to guess what it is that you are thinking of"

"OK. It's yellow."

"ok, all yellow?"

"No, it has red polk-a-dots on the top."

"Ok, so it this thing a snack?"

"No, it's a dinner food."

"Have you ever eaten it before?"

"Yes, once with daddy. I had to share with Mac because it was so big."

"ok, and you said it is yellow and has polk-a-dots? Does it have anything else."

"Cheese, but only on top."

"Ok, I think you are teasing me. This is not real."

"YES IT IS!!! And it has a point with two sides."

"Ok, are you sure it is real?"

"YES!!"

(Now she is mad that I am so stupid and can't figure it out.)

"Well, where did you eat this last time with daddy and Mac?"

"Costco."

"Is it pizza?"

"YES! That's what I want! Pizza!"

Oh my!!! Pizza is just what she said... yellow with red polk-a-dots, cheese only on top, it is a triangle so it has a point with two sides that come down. I guess the joke is on me!! I'm the stupid one!!!

Wheeler Farm

Ryan and I got to go to Wheeler Farm for with her school class! We had a bunch of fun. We learned all about the animals. They got to see how you milk a cow and a lot of other fun things like making butter out of cream. We went on a tracktor ride and then fed some ducks. In the end all the kids were ready to eat their lunches and go home.

As a side note, we drove with one of Ryan's class friends to the farm. Trison, was so cute! He kepts telling Ryan that it was a good idea to hold hands everywhere they went. So, almost the entire time they were hand in hand. So cute. This kid was a doll.

Graduates

Just wanted to tell Alex and Jeremy, my brothers, Congratulations! Alex, for getting his Bachelors at the worst school in the entire world!! Jeremy, for getting his Masters down there at good ol' SUU! Good job Brothers!! Jeremy, send me a picture of you in a cap and gown or a suit and I'll post it with Alex's! Until then here is the graduate completing his HALF IRON MAN!! What was harder Jeremy... Masters or Half Iron? I put money on the Iron man!!

A conversation worth keeping

Today in the car:

Ryan: "Mom, when can I get earings?"

Me: "When you are eight."

Ryan: "You have earings right mom?"

Me: "Yeah, I do."

Ryan: "How old are you mom?"

Me: "twenty-seven."

Ryan: "Well that's not eight is it mom!"

Me: "Well, you have to be eight or older."

Ryan: "Sigh!" (pretty sure she rolled her eyes but I was driving so I'll never know for sure.)

The kids

I needed some pictures of McCallum... and really wanted some with both Ryan and Mac. I can't believe how different my kids are! When we went I tried to get McCallum first because I knew my window would be small. However, I had no idea it would be so small. I had only about one min. to get any photos of McCallum!! He was so happy as long as I didn't point my camera at him. On the flip side, I had to almost yell at Ryan! When it was time to stop taking pictures of her she threw a fit! Ha! I've got polar opposites for kids! I love 'em both though!!

Confrence weekend

We had a really fun time with the cousins this past weekend! It was fun to have them come up again. Even though it was short notice, we were able to put together a really fun Easter egg hunt. The kids also enjoyed dying easter eggs! How lucky are they! I'll post some of the pictures soon of the hunt--Andrea has them on her camera. As for now, here are some of the birthday pictures I took of Riley and Logann. I can't believe how big they are getting!

Ryan's sick story

Ryan has been running a fever the past day or two. However, she is still making us laugh! Yesterday I took her over to Jared's mom's home while I went to work until Jared came to get her. She started to run another fever so Lynn gave her some medicine and sat with her. While they sat together Lynn didn't feel like the medicine was really doing much. So this is the conversation that followed:

Lynn: "Ryan, how about I say a prayer to Heavenly Father and Jesus to help you get better?"

Ryan: "No, Nana. Just call Santa Clause."

I laughed so hard when I heard that! I just had to document it. Things kids say!!

Finally 4

As promised, Here is more on Ryan's birthday. For her birthday, Ryan got spoiled!! Among the clothes, there was a movie, flowers, an easy bake oven, paints, play dresses, stuffed animals, and flowers. Here are some fun pictures of the exclusive party she had... meaning Me, Jared, and Mac were there. We love you Ryan!!

Also some of her 4 year pictures that I'm working on. There will be more soon when it gets warmer, and when we get some time.