Putmans

New Years Eve!

2011-12-31T22:59:00.000-08:00

Greg came up and we had great time playing the new Wii Fit Plus we got for Christmas and enjoying being together. We took some family pictures and then took our tree down. Ryker kept saying "it is still Christmas". We celebrated the year's end with 7 layer dip tried to get Alana to stay asleep she has gotten up the last few nights between 2 and 5 AM. I don't think she is aware that this is vacation time.

Alana has been walking more and more the last week.

Bowling

2011-12-31T22:43:00.000-08:00

Chris had gone for a few minutes and Alana and Ryker were happy so I got in the shower to get ready and and Alana had decided I was taking too long and took a nap on the stairs. I tried to get us to the bowling alley all week and finally succeeded. We had fun, I think Chris had 5 strikes and I was hoping for a good score but I think the bowling on the Wii is misleading me since I can do pretty good there but as you can tell need more "real" game time.

Chris tried out my new tripod and took these pics of the tree.

Visitors

2011-12-31T22:31:00.000-08:00

Devin and Janette stopped buy with Dillon and Lindsey for a few hours and the kids had a great time playing as the parents chatted and kept the peace. I love to see how everyone has grown but getting 4 kids to stay still took a few clicks of the shutter.

Christmas is here!

2011-12-31T22:21:00.000-08:00

Christmas Day started early with Ryker waking up at 5am with diarrhea. After a little more sleep he had to go- again and again. Then I couldn't stand it any longer so it was time to get Alana up and open some presents. We had a great time and Chris went ever board but as he says "it only comes once a year". Alana really likes her car and Ryker loves his transformers and car parking terrace. They also got a play tent with a tube to crawl through Candyland and much, much more. I got Chris a 4 wheeled collapsible pull golf cart, the final Harry Potter, and a USU sweatshirt. I received a matching pearl necklace and bracelet, a cozy red robe, and a gift card for new shoes. We all are featuring new pajamas and we also received a Wii Fit Plus. After presents, we had the traditional Creme Brule French Toast for breakfast then got ready for the day and headed down to Greg's to have Christmas dinner. We had a great time watching Transformers and figuring out how to transform the toys Ryker got and watching Alana cruise around on her car. Greg cooked a great meal of ham, potatoes, and green been casserole. We provided a homemade Lion House rolls and dessert which was was "The Bucket" a chocolate berry trifle and pumpkin pie. Every one had a great time together!

Ryker and Chris sporting hats made by Grandma Susan.

Alana found the flashlight and Ryker found the bubble gun.

I am styling my new robe, hat and bracelet.

Chris and his golf cart- he was pretty surprised!

Alana wasn't too happy she couldn't play with Dad's new golf cart.

The aftermath of unwrapping:)

Christmas Parties!

2011-12-30T20:40:00.000-08:00

On December 17th we headed up to Logan, Utah for the Findlay Christmas Party. We had a great time eating soup and dessert. Then played the candy bar swap game and a white elephant exchange. It was great to have Daemian and Genevieve back in Utah so they can attend family events. They make such a cute couple and they are having a baby in May!

My Dad is always doing something and when he isn't he falls asleep even with 60+ loud people in the same room with him.

Kara tried not to get her picture taken but Genevieve tried to get her to smile. Frank always had a smile.

Chris and Nathan laughing it up!

After some Christmas shopping we wet to my parents home and had meatloaf and funeral potatoes and later had a visitor by the big man himself, Santa Claus.

Ryker asked Santa for transformers and Alana wasn't really sure what to ask for.

The Nutcracker!

2011-12-22T23:20:00.000-08:00

Chris surprised me with tickets to The Nutcracker. The tickets came a few weeks earlier but I didn't look, I like to be surprised and I was. Earlier in the week I was thinking how it had been a while since I saw that ballet and but I didn't even know where it was playing. We went to the Perry Egyptian Theater in Ogden, the music was great and the ballet had a few wobbles but the best was being out with Chris and having fun night out together.

The Living Planet Aquarium

2011-12-22T23:17:00.000-08:00

We went on a field trip to the Living Planet Aquarium in Sandy, Utah. It was nice to have a fun activity that was nice and toasty warm. I love penguins and they were really active. It was cool to see them just pop up out of the water and we got to see them during feeding time.

I know this is fuzzy but so cute of them standing by "their" penguins.

This was a frog stuck to the glass and then a blue poison dart frog.

You would think they were hopping along on the frog but it was not moving anywhere.

Alana doing her hungry frog impersonation. I think she has it down.

They have several sting rays that swim around and you can touch them. Ryker got splashed by one so he wasn't to happy about it but it is pretty neat to feel them. I think they feel like a wet mushroom.

We checked on the penguins before we left. They must have turned the lights on- so I got a better picture of Ryker but Alana wouldn't turn around.

Temple Square and our Christmas tree

2011-12-22T22:44:00.000-08:00

We headed down to the Salt Lake Temple to see the lights. We met up with Greg and walked around the square. They do an amazing job of having a bazillion lights wrapped on every branch of every tree. They also had nativities from different parts of the world it was pretty neat.

We got a Noble Fir this year for our tree. It tipped over as we waited for Chris to come home with more lights since only one strand worked from when we used them last. We decorated it and put up the train while watching and listening to a fireplace movie which made the evening more festive. The wood would pop and I would look around to see if there where embers somewhere that needed to be extinguished- it was weird and funny. Ryker liked to put the ornaments on the tree so they were touching each other and I would them help him space them out. Ryker started asking out putting up the train as soon as we told him we were going to get a tree. It was a great weekend!!!

Alana can drink from a straw

2011-12-22T22:43:00.000-08:00

Alana likes to try almost everything I am eating so today she was drinking my smoothie. When I tried to put a straw in a regular cup of milk she wanted nothing to do with it. I don't get it milk is so delicious! So we will continue to try new ways to get her to drink more fluids.

Thanksgiving Weekend

2011-12-22T22:36:00.000-08:00

This year we spent Thanksgiving with the Findlay Family Stuffing down yummy food in the USU break room in North Logan, Utah. We then headed back up on Saturday to watch USU take on Nevada. Since the last game didn't turn out they have won a few games so we were hoping for the best. The weather was cold and then the sun went down and it got even colder. Ryker was saying her was cold 5 minutes into the game. It was worth it, we ended up winning 21-17. Go Aggies, Go Aggies, Hey! Hey! Hey!

Alana and the Cake...

2011-12-22T21:59:00.000-08:00

We tried the cake again the next day but she still didn't get into it. Oh well, she still has years of cake ahead of her. She really liked to smash it, smear it and fling it around but didn't like to eat it!

Alana's 1st Birthday!

2011-11-19T14:08:00.000-08:00

Here are the pictures of Alana's birthday celebration. We had a lot of fun. We had a great dinner and then went to make a snowman but Alana didn't want to be put down so it was pretty much Greg and a little help from Ryker who built the snowman. It took all the snow that had fallen.
Then we opened presents and had cake and ice cream.

Making the cake Ryker liked the batter and Alana's drinking some apple juice

Here is the finished cake. I think it turned out really well.

All dressed up and ready to make a snowman!

Alana is making a beeline to the presents.

Alana got 2 bears made with love from Grandma Susan using some fabric from Pamaw.

Alana after she opened the pop up present from Greg.

Alana waiting for cake and then deciding she didn't like the sticky frosting on her fingers so she was shaking it off on the floor.

Alana didn't get into her cake like I thought she would maybe she will want more tomorrow. Here is to another great year of fun and laughs!

Fuzzy Alana

2011-11-16T23:26:00.000-08:00

Alana will be one on the18th so I tried to get a good picture of her to show off her beautiful blue eyes- and the Aggies- to send into the Baby's First Birthday segment on Good Things Utah.

It was either dark, fuzzy or dark and fuzzier so here are some of the shots :0). I decided to go with a pic from our trip to Zion's.

You might think she is saying "Touchdown!" but she is really trying to take the headband off.

USU vs Weber

2011-11-16T23:06:00.000-08:00

We headed to Ogden to see the Aggies take on the Wildcats. We sat with our friends Bart and Megan in anticipation waiting for the tip-off. Well the game did not go as planned, the Aggies were down by 15 points for most of the game then got it to 6 points. However the ending score was 73-63 for the Wildcats. I spent some of the down time during the game taking cute pics of the us.

The Treehouse Museum

2011-11-16T21:40:00.000-08:00

The Treehouse Museum is located in Ogden, Utah and is amazing! Ryker had so much fun and Alana did pretty well. They have so many fun activities for kids, Ryker played with both the knight area and train tables for a long time. On Mondays they have a special reading time and it is awesome they have a guy who was reading the story and a wonderful lady playing a keyboard adding sound effects for the story it was great. We also sang some fun songs with them including Ryker's current favorite the Hokey Pokey!

A tooth and a Stegosaurus

2011-11-16T21:23:00.000-08:00

Alana's bottom right tooth finally came through!!! I took several pictures but you really can't see it you really can only feel it in her mouth. Warning: if you stick your finger in there she will bite you!

Ryker was having fun with his army men they were fighting his stegosaurus. The army has guns but the dinosaur has a wicked tail. The dinosaur won!

Jensen Nature Park

2011-11-06T21:50:00.000-08:00

We went to the Jensen Nature Park with some friends. it is fun you get to "feed" the ducks that is if they don't take it from you-Ryker learned to hold the bread on his head so the ducks don't take it from his hand when he is standing right by the pond. I was also feeding the ducks and moving Alana so she could see so I took some pictures on the bridge. Ava was nice and shared some bread with him when they were on the bridge so they could both feed the ducks. It reminds me a little of first dam in Logan.

When we walked around the pond a friend spotted this turtle and we got to look at him up close.

Alana got her bowl and spoon when I stepped away from the table- I love her smile it says so many things- "look what I got", "I wonder what this will look like on the wall?", "he he he", "I am the destroyer", "It can't be that hard to feed me". . . .

Halloween

2011-11-05T10:42:00.000-07:00

Halloween was fun this year we watched Ghostbusters and made caramel popcorn and visited our wonderful neighbor Sue for a treating. Ryker was a pirate, Alana was a little Monster, I was Pumpkin Pie, and Chris was the USU football team (he didn't want his picture taken after losing in the fourth quarter several games in a row).

This was taken after Halloween but I envision the big pumpkin saying"tastes like turkey!"

Staining the Deck

2011-11-05T10:23:00.000-07:00

We got the deck stained and it looks great Chris did an awesome job!

Boondocks

2011-11-05T10:20:00.000-07:00

We took a field trip to Boondocks. They have a great kid play area.

Zion National Park

2011-10-24T15:15:00.000-07:00

We headed down to Zion for the last camping trip of the season. The weather was perfect and we had a great time together hiking and camping.

Headed up the Riverside Trail- Ryker didn't have any food but this squirrel wanted a closer look at him.

A buck that came down the river.

Ryker and Chris crossing the river at the start of the narrows.

Sometimes it is so hard to be carried around all the time.

We had to get a pic with Alana over the chain.

The upper Emerald pool

Chilling at the campsite after hiking.

They make yummy rocks down here.

Chris spotted a few mountain goats so we headed up the mountain to check them out. When we got up there it was a herd of about 20 goats.

Ryker sat on a cactus while we waited for Chris to get as close to the mountain goats as possible. When we got back to the car Chris was using the adhesive on a band-aid to get the cactus out of Ryker's pants.

Chris headed off with Ryker and took some amazing shots!

After we headed into town to checks out the shops and had some yummy ice cream we waited for the bus back to camp.

Alana escaping from the tent- it took some coaxing to get her out the door.

Alana tasted a lot of rocks while we camped some weren't so tasty.

Ryker decided that he wanted more pepper on his dinner. He turned it to the pour setting and he definitely got more pepper. After trying a bite he said he didn't think it tasted good.

Alana fell asleep early but woke up several times on the last night and ended up sleeping with me for little bit.

Chis and I have a system where I pack up the tent and he packs it into the car. Ryker was helping packing it out.

Alana helped buy staying happy in her pack and play until it was time to pack that up too.

Pumpkin picking at Black Island Farms

2011-10-24T13:04:00.000-07:00

Alana took an early nap and Ryker was taking it easy to gear up for the big day at Black Island Farms. We took a wagon ride into the fields and saw carrots and cabbages and then picked our pumpkins. They are pumpkin pie pumpkins so we are going to make a few pies later in the year.
When we got back we enjoyed sides, train rides and swings. Ryker is on a shark swing and his friend Ava is on a long horned steer swing they had fun "fighting" each other. I think they each won. Ryker jammed out and made some farm music.

Ryker took a picture of Alana from inside the Ghost.

Buildin' and Grillin'

2011-10-23T20:07:00.000-07:00

Our deck needed to be repaired on October 15th Chris and Greg went to work. They took down the railing and all the decking. Then put the new boards up it looks a ton nicer, more safe, and splinter free!

During the project someone forgot to close the bathroom door so Alana- the destroyer of toilet paper made her move.

The board wasn't 8 feet like it said so back to the hardware store.

AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!! The men loved building the deck so they decided to build a grill too! Then we all had steaks to celebrate the successful day.

Naps and Volleyball

2011-10-23T19:14:00.000-07:00

Alana doesn't always like to like take a nap and so sometimes later in the day when we have snacks she falls asleep. She reminds me of my Dad when he would fall asleep at the table after a hard days work.

Chris coaches the boys volleyball team at Thomas Jefferson Junior High. We went down and watched on of the games.

Alana and the faces of Chris

2011-10-03T21:45:00.000-07:00

I have this cute dress from when I was this little and I have wanted to have Alana's picture taken it it for some time well we had it on her but she really wasn't cooperating so we will have to try again to get her picture taken but while I was trying to get it done Chris was taking goofy pictures of himself so it was a productive photo shoot!

Ryker AKA Spiderman

2011-10-03T21:33:00.000-07:00

Ryker is a big boy and doesn't use diapers anymore. To celebrate 2 days of no accidents he earned a Spider-Man pillow and for a whole week of no accidents he earned a Spider-Man blanket. He has been obsessed with Spider-Man and spinning his webs. He can almost sing the whole theme song and lets me sing it every time we watch an episode on Netflix and at other random times of the day. We love that he is out of diapers but I think we are make-up the cost in toilet paper and hand soap.

USU Homecoming Game

2011-10-03T14:25:00.000-07:00

We all headed up to Logan for the USU homecoming game against Colorado State. We had fun cheering on the Aggies and the weather was great. We were doing well but lost in double overtime 34-35.

Alana Banana

2011-10-03T10:46:00.000-07:00

Alana loves bananas here is a pic of her chopping down on one. She has such pretty blue eyes!

Ryker vs. Milk

2011-10-03T10:42:00.000-07:00

I finally got the sickness that Chris had earlier in the week -which is pretty much 24 hour nausea followed by another 24 hours of feeling unsettled. Ryker had a little cereal and milk left in his bowl so I went upstairs to lay down on the floor in the kids room so Alana could play. Ryker finally comes upstairs 20 min later and informs me that he has spilled his milk. This should be a quick clean up if any, there was only 1/4 inch of milk left in his bowl. I really didn't look at his clothes before he changes and we go down stairs to get it cleaned up. Wow! He apparently wanted more cereal and milk and got the milk out of the fridge and tried to pour it into his bowl. Wow! It took a while to clean up since I had Ryker clean because he made the mess- which he really didn't want to do- and I was trying not to throw up. At least Alana was good in the high chair while it was getting taken care of.

Utah State Fair

2011-10-03T10:14:00.000-07:00

Chris was sick for a few days and when he felt better we headed to the fair. It was a great time Ryker loved the science tent where he went from having long legs to a long body he said "it's pretty cool".

Waiting for the sea lion show we had my favorite fair food a funnel cake with strawberries:)

Ryker sat on this huge pumpkin as a homage to the huge food in Alaska. It was 896 lbs! Chris and Greg agreed that this is pretty small in comparison.

The 4H building is one of my favorite to visit and this year it had an amazing quilt that I wish I could take home. Go Aggies!

She is one hot babe!

2011-10-03T09:37:00.000-07:00

When Alana went to sleep on Sept 5th she felt warm but she was all bundled up in a blanket and is usually warmer but at 1am on Sept 6th (our anniversary) at Alana woke up with a fever of 102.4*F. she still had her fever later in the day so we went to We Care to see Dr. Pace she caught what is going around and will have a fever for a few days and then break out in a rash which means she will no longer be contagious. Her fever came and went but she was pretty much her same happy self.

8 years and flying HIGH!

2011-10-02T23:10:00.000-07:00

Chris and I trade off planning our anniversary fun and this year was my turn. I have wanted to go skydiving for a long time but Chris put the kibosh on that idea and it is really expensive. When we heard about IFLY and indoor sky diving facility, I really wanted to go. Chris wanted to plan this for last year but you can't go when you are pregnant so I got tickets and surprised him with them for this year. I was a little too excited and he found out early but we still had a great time. We had a yummy lunch afterwards at Costa Vida. Hours after that I still had marks on my face from the eye mask being pushed into my head by the helmet but would totally do it again, and again and again!!!
I am so blessed with a wonderful husband who knows how to make you feel loved and can have a great time and look silly doing it! 8 years can feel like an eternity- but that is what we are going for!

Alana's Highchair Bite

2011-10-02T22:50:00.000-07:00

Alana loves to eat Cheerios and will be content until they run out while I am making dinner. Chris put her in the highchair and gave her some Marshmallow Matey cereal to keep her content. She was eating it and doing fine, until the marshmallows made such a mess and her fingers were sticking together so I went to clean off her hands. Only one had was sticky which was odd and then I noticed that her right arm was caught between the tray and the chair. She had sat there for about 20 minutes and wasn't crying about it but once her arm was free she cried a lot! Here are 2 pictures of her highchair bite that luckily didn't cause any damage and only lasted for a few days.

Ogden Raptors

2011-10-02T22:30:00.000-07:00

I spent a few days getting our blog updated and then life keep going and now I am behind again so I will try to get everything updated once again and try to stay caught up.
We got some free tickets to the Ogden Raptors game on Sept 3rd. Ryker got his picture with Oggie and the game was going well until the bottom of the 5th when the Idaho Falls Chuckards went on a hitting spree and then we decided to head home. Hopefully we will be able to go again next season.

This is pretty much the face Chris makes when I want to get his picture or take a family picture somewhere and he thinks it is silly- Alana and I were really there. yes Ryker has the sunglasses on upside down -he thinks they fit better that way.

Findlay Reunion

2011-08-29T21:43:00.000-07:00

The Findlay's got together for a family reunion at the Coldwater Trout Farm in Ogden. We had a lot of good food and my Dad made ice cream that was delicious and we got to meet the newest addition to the family Kade Mascherino- he is only 8 days old! Ryker caught a fish from one of the ponds and we took it home and Greg came up the next day and cooked it up - it was tasty!

Grandma (Findlay) Stucki with Kade

Cherry Hill

2011-08-29T21:31:00.000-07:00

We went to Cherry Hill with the Olsen Family and had a great time. Alana loved going down the Double Dragon Slides and splashing in the Pirates Cove. Ryker played on the pirate ship with Mayci. Chris and Ryker had a blast going down Cardiac Canyon. I was surprised that Ryker wanted to go, but he went. They only allow single riders so Ryker had to have his own tube. Chris asked him after the ride if he liked it and he said yes but when he asked him if he wanted to go again he said no. Ryker played in the Hamster Haven ball pit for a long time and then we played mini golf. Alana took a nap while we waited but then woke up and made nine holes seem like ninety so we headed home. This was Ryker's first time playing and is pretty funny! Sorry no pictures I was really trying to win - Chris wins most of the time we play but not this time, (insert evil laugh)! The final score was Chris 33 and Konae 28!!!!

A hiking we will go...

2011-08-14T08:07:00.000-07:00

Chris and Devin were finally able to go on a hiking trip. They went to Blanch Lake/Sundial Peak. It was a beautiful hike- here are some pics.

Dinner at the Middle Inlet

2011-08-13T16:04:00.000-07:00

I wanted to have a camp out and this was as close as we could come. We headed up to Pineview Reservoir and when we got there we took a left because I thought on the map it showed there were places by the Marina to have a campfire. We didn't find anywhere on that side and it seemed like we circled the whole reservoir and finally found the Middle Inlet. We were able to have a fire in the grill box to make dinner- tube steaks, chili, watermelon and grapes. We had smores for dessert with chocolate frosting instead of a chocolate bar - I think it is my new favorite!

The harvest is starting!!!

2011-08-13T15:19:00.001-07:00

I love gardening! I have really struggled with growing things for the last few years. This year I rented 4 garden boxes from Clearfield City and finally things are growing. I have already gotten several zucchini, lemon cucumbers, Roma tomatoes and a few strawberries. I hope it continues to do well food always tastes better when it grows in your backyard.

The Mover and the Railing

2011-08-13T14:19:00.000-07:00

When we redid the carpet on the stairs last summer we took the rickety railing down and didn't put another one up. We need one now because Alana has started to crawl up the stairs. Chris found a kit online called stair simple - that claimed you could put it together in under an hour. Well 2 days later we had a fabulous railing.

Splish Splash, I was taking a Bath

2011-08-13T13:33:00.001-07:00

Ryker and Alana have baths together - I love that Ryker keeps telling her not to splash but then will pour water on Alana's head.

Since the kids were all clean we headed to Antelope Island for a picnic and to play in the water. It was a perfect day to be out and about. Alana, Ryker and Chris loved playing in the water I didn't want to have wet pants for the rest of the trip so I went as far as I could and then took Alana back to feed her. Ryker loved picking up rocks out of the water which was almost as tall as he was. Chris is holding him straight out at the shower to wash off the salty water.

July 24th- Pioneer Day

2011-08-12T08:35:00.002-07:00

We went to the Annual Findlay Pioneer Day Breakfast. We then headed up to the North Logan Parade it was great to see how excited Ryker got when he got some candy- and know we are stocked up until Halloween.

Alana Standing

2011-08-12T08:35:00.001-07:00

Alana has gotten to the point of standing in her crib so it was time to lower it down. It is amazing how fast they grow. Ryker needed to have his picture taken as well and you can see how big he is getting. After lowering the crib, Alana has a look of mischief as to say "Nice try, this won't keep me in for very long".

Water Fun!

2011-08-12T08:34:00.002-07:00

Providence got a splash pad so we met up with Jenny, Dylan, and Lindsey to check it out. Ryker was there a whole 10 minutes when he decided the playground was more fun. I got a picture of all the kids together Ryker wasn't to happy since that meant it was time to go. Then Ryker went to his friend Kaison's birthday party. They had a bike wash and tons of fun.

Family Games

2011-08-12T08:34:00.001-07:00

Chris was going hiking with Devin so we planned a trip to Logan for a few days. The hiking was cancelled due to Chris having a bruised tailbone, which made it hard to move. The kids and I headed to Logan anyway so Chris could have some peace while he was recuperating. My Aunt Janalyn Strickland was here from Florida so we planned a pizza and game night. I love the picture of my Grandma and Alana they are both so cute!

Paris and Bear Lake

2011-08-12T08:33:00.000-07:00

July 14 we headed up to Bear Lake and met up with Devin and Jeanette. The water was great and Alana got her first taste of sand. We had a great time at the lake and then went up St Charles Canyon for dinner.

We camped out in Paris, Idaho. Around my Grandma Findlay's birthday (this year she celebrated #88) for the past several years we have a camp out in the backyard of her husband Eugene Stucki's home. This was Alana's first time camping and Ryker upgraded to his own sleeping bag they both did really well. My brother Nathan and my Dad made a train for the kids to ride in Ryker was on it constantly somehow I didn't get a picture of him so I borrowed a few from Megan- thanks.

Friday we went hiking to Bloomington Lake. There was still snow along the trail which led to a few snowball fights. The lake was still covered by a lot of ice and snow. Chris hiked around to the other side and you can barley see his yellow shirt. Ryker and Chris had a great time throwing rocks in the lake. Ryker hiked it all by himself and Alana did well in the carrier.

We headed back to the lake for another couple hours of fun before dinner and loved making a sand castle my Uncle Brent Findlay had a boat and Ryker loved riding in it- Alana and I joined him and Chris was pulling us around it was fun - somehow I missed getting a picture.

After breakfast we went up to the Paris Ice Caves and took my Dad. There was quite a bit more snow in there then usual. It is called the Ice Caves for a reason and stays pretty cold in there year round. We got back to the house, had lunch and then headed back home. It was a great weekend!

Alana and the Mud Run

2011-08-12T08:32:00.002-07:00

Alana has been crawling for about a week and today 7/6 she stood up and is holding on to things- she's a mover just like her Dad!

Chris, Greg and Chris's friend Andrew ran in the Runner X 5k mud run. It is a 5k obstacle course that has a water slide and mud throughout the race. He had a lot of fun and wrestled Greg in the mud pit by the finish line.

Family Pictures

2011-08-12T08:32:00.001-07:00

We took some family pictures - here they are!

July 4th and the Clearfield Freedom Run

2011-08-12T08:31:00.002-07:00

Celebrating the 4th of July started early with a 7am Clearfield City Freedom Run. Then a parade which Ryker got lots of candy at and then headed to the pool. Greg and Ryker had a lot of fun on the water toys. We took some family pictures which will be the next post had a yummy BBQ and finished off the day with fireworks- I think the fireworks picture looks like hearts. We love those who devote so much to making and keeping our freedom.

Waterfall Canyon

2011-08-12T08:31:00.001-07:00

June 30th we hiked up Waterfall Canyon it has about 1500 feet elevation gain in 1 1/2 miles. We saw many lizards and a baby rattle snake along the way. We had lunch at the top and then hiked back down Ryker did most of the hiking himself. I am glad Chris found this hike it was a lot of fun!

American Fork 1/2 Marathon

2011-08-12T08:29:00.000-07:00

We headed down to Greg's and played in the pool while Chris and Greg picked up their race packets for the American Fork 1/2 Marathon. We stayed with Greg since they needed to be at the starting line at 5am. The kids and I headed down later and were able to catch them at the finish line. Alana was excited to have her Dad finish another race and get closer to accomplishing his goal of running a full marathon. Chris finished with a fantastic time of 2:02:17! Greg was having knee issues and finished about 30 minutes later.

Manti - The Mormon Miracle Pageant

2011-08-05T14:11:00.001-07:00

June 21-22 we finally made it to the Manti Pageant. Chris has never seen the pageant and I have seen it many times but not since we have been together. We got down early enough to have some ice cream at the Shave-N-Cream with my Uncle Newell and Aunt Mary- let me tell you delicious! Then headed down to the pageant we had dinner in the concession area and just happened to see my cousin Rena (Newell and Mary's daughter) who was there with her wards girls camp- what a small world. We settled in and while we waited for the show to start we were able to see many of the performers. Several came over just to see Alana- she is really cute! The pageant was great- we tried to take some pictures of when they used fire it was neat. Ryker lasted until just after the scene when Christ comes and he was out.

The next day we got up and Mary fixed a great breakfast for us and Newell let Ryker ride Junior. he did really well for his first time on a horse. We spent some time talking afterwards and then headed back home. We really had a wonderful time and are really grateful that Newell and Mary let us stay- especially since Newell was only home for a few days between trips.

Ryker Turns Three - June 20th

2011-08-02T12:48:00.000-07:00

Ryker is 3! Wow time flys! We celebrated with a friends and dinosaurs. First we had a dinosaur egg hunt we looked all over for the eggs and then found them hidden in a nest in the bushes- everyone found an egg and took a baby dinosaur home

Next it was time forthe egg pinata! it took a tumble before it was even hit but the kids still had fun cracking it open with stick. Then we had presents and cake. I want to give a big thanks to Family Fun magazine for the dinosaur idea- it really turned out great! We ate inside since they were testing out the sprinklers so the kids sat in a line and all the kids picked which part of the dinosaur they wanted to eat- ooohhh the carnage! The kids loved the cake and ice cream, we only had a leg and some toes left after the party.

Everyone gets a birthday dinner and Ryker wanted chicken nuggets. So we headed to the Riverdale McDonalds and he had a fun time eating and playing on the toys.

Here is a funny video of Ryker riding his Dinosaur Train scooter he got for his scooter.

The Growler

2011-08-02T10:09:00.000-07:00

Alana makes a funny growling noise and after several attemps at capturing it on video here it is!

Alana - Where is the Grub!

2011-07-09T15:29:00.000-07:00

Alana has been upgraded to a booster chair since she could pop herself out of the Bumbo -(Thanks, Tracina! - we loved using it) I love this picture of her and imagine her saying "Why aren't you feeding me? If I don't get food soon I will eat this bib it looks tasty?"

This is the Place!

2011-07-09T14:55:00.000-07:00

On June 10 we went to This is the Place State Park it was free admission and a free ice cream cone. It was a lot of fun working on the treasure hunt and looking at all the sights. We rode the train and petted the animals. Alana and I were there too but I guess I only got pics of Ryker and Chris.

A visit to Logan

2011-07-09T14:00:00.001-07:00

In June we played in Logan for a day while Chris was attended a motor learning lab for school. Here is a pic of Ryker and Cole bouncing on the trampoline and a video of the swing at Merlin Olsen Park which Ryker stayed on too long and saw his breakfast for the second time that day!

Let's Go Fly A Kite

2011-05-31T10:16:00.000-07:00

It took a week but we finally got some good wind to fly my kite. We went to the Hill Air Force Base Elementary School Playground and had a lot of fun with the kite. We all hada chance to fly it except Alana who took a nap for most of the time.

USU 5K Spring Run-Off!

2011-05-31T10:06:00.000-07:00

Here we are again at the USU Alumni Association Davis County Chapter 5K. This is the 3rd year we have run this 5k. Chris did awesome with a time of 28:04 . I came in with a time of 36:26. I was pushing the stroller with Ryker ans Alana for close to 3 miles. Finished it off with an Aggie Ice Cream and a Pic with Big Blue!

Mothers Day

2011-05-31T09:51:00.000-07:00

May 8th was Mother's Day. I had a great day! Chris made French toast for breakfast, took care of the kids as much as possible, and made ribs for dinner with a lemon cake. YYYUUUMMM! Plus he did the dishes - ahhh he is amazing- It was a wonderful day!

Chris also got me soem great gifts- cotton candy, blended skittles, a gift card to JoAnns and a kite!

It was raining so we had to wait for another day to fly it. So on Thursday the weather was good and a there was a breeze so we took out the kite. Yeah you can tell there are no kite pictures so it really didn't fly unless I was running with it so we will try again. We did get some cute pictures of Alana and Chris.

April Showers and other random days

2011-05-26T15:01:00.000-07:00

Here are a few random things that have happened duning the end of April and the beginning of May. The weather in Utah has been the wettest in 25 years so we had a tent picnic inside complete with sandwiches and grapes. The next pic is of Ryker fishing. He goes to a friends house on Tuesday and we study a letter this was for "F". Fish and Fishing.

This is a delicious pizza I made for dinner using my Cousin Megans dough recipe - delicious! thanks Megan! topped with mushrooms, green peppers, turkey pepperoni, sausage, and cheese YYYYYYUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMMMMMM! Ryker got some tools for Christmas from the Alabama Grandparents and he was going to town fixing his bike.

Rykers one job is to put away the silverware. He has gotten really good at it!

Alana sporting her cute hat and being a cheese! She has lovely blue eyes and her smile is contagious!

Ryker is really into Spiderman. When you ask him what jammies he wants to wear he says "My Spiderman with wings" at the same time he raises his arms and his eyebrows. Chris got him this neat punching bag that he had a lot of fun with. Chirs was punching it and Ryker said "Dont touch my hotdog!" it lasted for about 2 hours and then broke :(. Still fun times!

Easter

2011-05-26T14:54:00.000-07:00

This is the first year we have done Easter baskets and egg hunting. Since Ryker is old enough to find eggs we hid 2 dozen around the house. It was really fun to see him find them and the treasured m's (m&m's) peeps and jelly beans. Alana wasn't sure what was going on but she loves to watch us looking for eggs. Ryker likes marshmellows but didn't really like the peeps.

The kids are getting bigger

2011-05-26T14:47:00.000-07:00

Alana is getting bigger all the time. She can now play with her butterflies. Ryker thinks he can read a book instead of take a nap. the book was propped up but by the time we got the camera for a picture it had fallen over. What a cutie!

Legacy Duathalon finish line

2011-05-26T14:41:00.000-07:00

Here is the viedo of Chris crossing the finish line - I don't know why my camera takes it showing lengthwise but then when you go to watch it is is not turned.

Legacy Duathalon

2011-05-16T14:40:00.000-07:00

April 16th was the 2nd Annual Legacy Duathalon. Since Chris' toes have some issues from running the SLC 1/2 marathon last weekend Chris decided to participate in the short race. It was a lovely day for a race and he did really well- it has a stagered start so that is why everyone is lined up ready to go. They do a run bike run. I have a hard time finding him in the crowd he wore his SLC shirt - finally he was easy to pick out wearing bright yellow!

Salt Lake City 1/2 Marathon

2011-05-10T13:28:00.000-07:00

Chris has really gotten into running and he said the other day that he was addicted to it. He has been training for the SLC 1/2 Marathon for a while and it finally came. We all got up early and headed down to SLC. We thought there woould be more traffic so we were there in plenty of time. Alana, Ryker and I waited by Sugar House Park and waited for Chris and Greg to pass by. Ryker kept running back and forth on the lawn so he is fuzzy.
Then there they were, Ryker got a high 5 from Dad, and we headed off to the finish line. I still have not been able to get a good finish line picture of Chris. I am lookingand looking and then there is he over the line, nuts. He had a great time running the 13.1 miles- 2:04:36!

Chris and Greg posing with their medals and Chris's nasty toes after the race they had blood blisters. The still look gross- there is a video of when he took off his sock but I think I will spare you from it.

Discovery Gateway!

2011-05-10T11:42:00.000-07:00

We had the chance to go the the Discovery Gateway with Megan's Joy school group. Ryker was running all over trying to take it all in, if I blinked or looked away off he would be. I had him dressed in red so I could see him easier but there was a large school group there and they all put on red smocks- so it wasn't very helpful. He loved playing in every area, construction, the house, water table. At the store you woud have thought he was on supermarket sweep he was zooming about and taking things that were in other carts if there was no one with them.
They have an actual medical helicopter outside on the roof that the kids can sit in the front and the back. I am not sure about the face he is making- Alana had a great time too especially when she fell asleep in the carrier.

Ryker loved playing at the water table, he kept going ack and getting mad that someone was playing with his green bowl. Funny Kid.

We went up to the capital building and had lunch the tree had losts of bees in it- I don;t think you can see them in the picture but it was buzzing. What a wonderful day!

St. Patty's Weekend

2011-05-07T15:55:00.000-07:00

Chris made a wonderfully green dinner for St. Patty's day. He was unaware of how a little green food coloring can go a long way. Ryker thought it was amazing to eat green food and will ask for different colored scrambled eggs although they don't look as good as the green ones do.
Chris' beloved Pamaw passed away at the young age of 96 and Greg came up and they celebrated her life by playing a round of golf with Ryker. It was supposed to be in the 60's but it was really in the 40's so they were a little cold.
We rounded off the weekend with a Pistashio Cake, WOW Delicious! I got the recipe from Tast of Home and highly recommend it! Alana was eyeing it and she isn't to solid foods yet.

Fun times with Family

2011-05-02T14:30:00.000-07:00

March 7-11 I watch my 2nd cousin Beckam while his family wentto Disneyland. They loved watching Dinosaur Train and we had some nice weather so we were able to enjoy the park together. Alana is great no mater where she is, especially if she finders her fingers. It was a fun week and when his parents showed up to take him home I think he finally reallized that he wasn't at his home and didn't want to leave.
My Mom came up one day and we went to Taste of Home Cooking Show. I love to get new recipes!

All Dressed Up!

2011-05-02T14:20:00.000-07:00

Ryker and Alana were all dressed for Church and we had a few minutes so here are some pictures.

Wild Wednesday at Hogle Zoo!

2011-04-25T14:27:00.000-07:00

Incase you don't know me I LOVE the zoo. I have some obsession with it and love to go as often as possible. The Hogle Zoo hosts Wild Wednesdays on the last Wednesday of the month in December, January, and February everyone who comes to the zoo gets in for free!!! The zoo and free, 2 of my favorite things Yipee!!! I didn't know about this until this year and only made it on February 23- what a wonderful visit to the Zoo.

Here is a recap of how things went. I really wanted to go with someone and my wonderful friend Stacy (who is 8 months pregnant and has 2 kids) said she would go with me at 9:15am, I wanted to leave around 9:30. Well Alana decided that she was hungry about 9:25 so I let Stacy know she still had about 30 minutes to get ready. I get over there and we proceed to put the needed carseats in and it taked forever -30 mins- since the seatbelt part had been pulled out too far and we couldn't get it to buckle. While this is going on Ryker and Stacys son are in the front using all the switches and runs down the battery. I know you are thinking in 30 minutes that's too fast to run a battery down. If you want to run down the battery in your car in 30minutes here is what was on- heater, lights, fog lights, hazzard lights, radio, windsheid wipers, door lights, gps unit, ceiling lights. So after we found a wonderful neighbor to jump our car we were on the road- yeah!

We had a great time the weather was awesome! It was a little cold outside so we ate lunch in the Gorilla house. There were a lot of people and I wondered to myself if the zoo was inside the gates or outside.

Ryker playing at the playland and a Howler monkey who likes his picture taken. The Gorilla who came to see what Ryker looked like.

This is an amazing Elephant sculpture that makes sounds and blows water out its trunk also Ryker showing his sharp teeth. Rounding out the pics are the kids on some neat animal statues.

Chris officially in the 30's!

2011-04-25T14:04:00.000-07:00

Chris said "I am officially in the 30's" I said "you turned 30 last year" "yah but you are still close to the 20's but now I am officially in the 30's". Since he is 31 that is good for him to recognize how counting works. We had a great time watching the Globe Trotters play and then came home and had a great Birthday dinner of steak with sauted onions and peppers, asparagus and scalloped potatoes. We finished it off with Turtle Cake, all of it was way too yummy! Chris and Ryker playing with his birthday present.

Tooele & Snow

2011-04-25T13:50:00.000-07:00

We went to Tooele to visit Kalani while Chris was at work on Feb. 15th. Ryker, Cole and Luke had a great time riding anything that had wheels. Two days later it snowed! Alana wasn't too sure about what was going on, Ryker and I built a snow Dinosaur train.

Let's Go Aggies!

2011-02-13T19:27:00.000-08:00

We had the opportunity to attend the USU Mens Basketball game- USU won 71-55 against Fresno State. What a blast and we got a foam finger!

Chef Ryker

2011-02-13T19:21:00.000-08:00

We went on a play date and Ryker dressed up like a chef and Alana was just relaxing.

Ryker's Hair Cut

2011-02-13T19:17:00.001-08:00

You can see that he really needed a hair cut. This was in January and it is about time to cut it again.

Finally some warm weather

2011-02-13T19:10:00.000-08:00

Weather is Utah can be different every 5 minutes. We went to the playgroung and had some fun.

I Just Won 30 Swag Bucks on www.swagbucks.com

2011-02-04T13:58:00.000-08:00

I Just Won 30 Swag Bucks on www.swagbucks.com

Chistmas 2010

2011-01-11T16:11:00.000-08:00

Christmas was a big time - I have it in three posts so make sure to scrolldown.

Yeah it is Christmas Eve! We had Christmas early here in Utah. You can see how Ryker likes to spread everything out. I am enjoying a lovly cup of hot chocolate. Ryker is sporting his cowboy pajamas and his backpack he got for our flight to Alabama.

Everyone flew well and we thankfully we didn't have any weather delays. When we got to the airport we had a great time getting through security were they had tpo scan our diaper bag 3 times for kliquids- it ended up being the apple that was setting it off. Chris hadd 3 apples in his bag and no problems. On the way back it was the baby powder - oh no what are we going to do with that- prevent diaper rash.

Christmas in Alabama - Roll Tide! Chech out that heavy duty truck!

Chris blessed Alana while we were there. I am grateful for the Priesthood in our home.

Christmas Video's

2011-01-11T15:54:00.000-08:00

Bob is an amazing woodworker here is the airplane Ryker got for Christmas.

Videos coming soon they are having issues.

Ryker cruising on his bike.

Christmas Continued

2011-01-11T14:54:00.000-08:00

It only took Ryker a week to let Bob read him the Jingle Bells book- then he wouldn't put it down.

Chris helped put insulation in the ceiling of Bob's woodshop

Ryker loves trains and with the tracks being about 200 yards from the house we get to hear them a lot. Ryker had stadium seating for when it pasted by, he gets excited. Chris and Ryker going for a drive down to the tracks.

Riding around on the "tractor" is always fun Ryker kept it at 10 and 2. We will eed to work on his parade wave for next time.

No trip is complete without a fire.

Family pictures PaMaw is turning 96 and Alana is 6 weeks.

Fun Times!

2011-01-09T20:05:00.001-08:00

Here are some fun random pictures. Mornings are rough, Alana will just be getting back to sleep and Ryker will wake up really early. Sometimes he will take a nap with me on the couch, we have a happier day when we get up at a reasonable time. Ryker likes to hold Alana for about 5 minutes and he also wears Alana's hat - they both have cute smiles.

Thanksgiving

2010-12-18T08:24:00.000-08:00

Started the day with the Macey's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Chris' brother Greg came up and had dinner with us. There is a pic of the spread- turkey, mashed potatoes, gray, stuffing, green bean casserole and rolls. Thanks to Chris and Greg for making most of the dinner. It was delicious!

Ryker got a sucker that was turned into a turkey he took the eyes off and stuck them on his head. He keeps us laughing!

Jaundice Sucks!

2010-12-06T15:28:00.001-08:00

On Nov. 22 we took Alana in for a check on her Biliruben and it was at 18.1. If it gets to the 20's it can cause mental issues. So Alana had to go back to the hospital. I got to stay overnight with her and we got home right as the "blizzard" was starting. You can see she looked yellow in the first picture. The second picture is her tanning bed.

Here is the Whole Story

2010-11-28T14:02:00.000-08:00

Well here is the whole story of how Alana joined our family on November 18th.
Just as I was deciding to get up and have my first breakfast of the day my water broke. This was at 4:44am Chris had just gotten out of the shower, I rushed in and told him and he says "now what?" I say "we go to the hospital." I took a quick shower and we were ready to go. We had my bag, a bag for Ryker and the car seat installed in the Highlander for the last few days.
I call my wonderful cousin Megan who graciously offered to watch Ryker in case we needed help and we dropped Ryker off at her home. I realize I didn't get my wallet so I didn't have any ID so we went back and got it.
We get to the hospital and check in and they check me out and see how I am coming along. I was dilated to a 6 and not really in any discomfort. They asked if I wanted to walk around to help get things going. "Sure!" We make the loop around the McKay-Dee hospital labor and delivery area for 45 minutes. We were told the faster you go the faster it happens so we were going pretty fast for being 39 weeks and 5 days pregnant.
We were then checked into our room and hooked up to monitors to see how the vitals were doing. The nurse said the variance was not quite wavy enough so I had to have an IV of saline to help stay hydrated. I also ate a root beer popsicle. While we waited Chris went and had some breakfast to keep his strength up. Just before he got back they said I was good to walk around again I was dilated to a 7-8 so around we went again for close to 45 minutes. We were told that 17 times around makes a mile- we guestimate that we went a little over 3 miles for the day.
I should preface this by saying I wanted to go natural with this birth. Ryker was started a week early and he did not want to come out plus when I got the epidural the anesthesiologist scraped my vertebra which was not pleasant.
When I got back to my room I was at a good 8 so they said I needed to stay there. This was 10:30am and they said that if I decided to have an epidural I would need to get it now because the anesthesiologist was going to be in doing a C-section and would not be available for 1 ½ hours. I said ok I think I will be ok. My nurse kept telling me that when I was having a contraction try to stay relaxed like a wet noodle, so I keep saying "wet noodle, wet noodle". She had had a baby naturally and had faith that I could do it.
I needed to go to the bathroom and they said if you just have to urinate that is fine but if I felt like I needed to poop that I couldn't go because they didn't want the baby to fall into the toilet- I am glad they are looking out for us! So I went and no one fell in the toilet.
The head nurse for the Labor and delivery area came in and offered to bring in some essential oils to have a massage with - this was Chris' job :o).
I had 2 different distractions from the contractions. Chris massaged my feet and it felt so good and really helped distract me - I was also working on a baby blanket that I have been knitting forever - who knew it would take so long to complete, I really wanted it to be finished when the baby arrived but I was not sure if that was going to work out. I had put some of the essential oil behind my ears and since it got on my hand it was making my knitting stick and it was getting frustrating so I was even more focused on getting my stitches right.
Dr. Deschamps came in and checked me and I was still at an 8. There was some talk about having Pitocin if things didn’t get moving so I asked to sit on a birthing ball – to see if some bouncing would help get thing moving down plus my butt was really hurting from stilling in bed.
I bounced around a bit and the contractions were lasting longer and getting bigger. Chris came and rubbed my back to help distract me. I decided to get back in bed and the nurse had to come and readjust the monitors since they moved when I was getting back in bed and said they were going to come check me at 12:45pm.
The nurse checked me and I was at a 9 yeah! They said in about a ½ hour I should be ready to push and they would come back around then to check me again. They left the room and I had this overwhelming urge to push so I did and urinated everywhere it was glamorous! Chris pushed the call button and as soon as they came on I said “I need to push!” ok it might have been closer to a yell. Everything went fast from there on the doctor was about to go into another room and they said you need to come in here first. They got everything taken care of for the baby to come 2 pushes and her head was out and one more push and out came the rest of her. The official time of birth was at 1:03pm. She was 7lbs 6oz and 20 inches.
Then came all the after stuff which was not great- my IV came out of my hand so they had to move it to my other arm and it left a huge bruise and I had to get sewn up and I could feel everything even if I wasn’t being touched it felt like it. Yowzerz!
Chris really was great through the whole process and I am grateful for his encouragement. He told me as long as we had the baby after Wednesday and by the week end we were good. She decided to come Thursday November 18th.
Chris and I talked a lot about what to name our baby girl and finally decided on Alana.
Pronounced like Atlanta without the “t”.
We would like to thank all of those at McKay-Dee Hospital for all their help and they have delicious food.

Pumpkin Walk!

2010-11-27T12:48:00.000-08:00

We went up to Logan on October 23 and got rained out of the Homecoming game which we lost to Hawaii it wasn't pretty. Later we went to the pumpkin walk in North Logan. It was fun here are some pics. When Ryker saw the pictures later he said "That's my head."

San Diego vacation

2010-08-09T17:34:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics from our San Diego vacation:...they go in reverse order, pics at the top are from the end of the trip...you get the idea.

Its a Girl

2010-07-07T17:36:00.000-07:00

We went to have the official ultrasound yesturday and found out we are having a girl!

Ryker photo shoot

2010-06-28T23:34:00.000-07:00

Here are Ryker's 2 year old pics