Happy Father's Day

Father's Day was extra fun this year because we were able to celebrate with all 3 fathers since Craig was in town.  Nolan came into our room at 7:30 am, which is a great father's day gift all by itself.   We pulled out the gifts we had for Ryan and gave them to him.  We gave him a new bike bag and flat repair kit.  Nolan had made this list of things about Ryan and gave him a bag of kisses with a cute note:

Daddy I love you

For all that you do.

I'll kiss you and hug you

'Cause you love me, too.

You feed me and need me

To teach you to play

So smile 'cause I love you

On this Father's Day.

I thought it was pretty cute.  We got a good chuckle out of the list of things Nolan said about Ryan

 

Craig came in town on Thursday night to fly up to Portland to help Kirsten move to SLC for a few weeks before moving to Thailand.  We were able to go to brunch with him on Sunday before he headed back to Arizona.   

We went to my parents house and were able to see everyone before Collie and Zach headed to Zach's parents house.  We had a nice dinner and watched the NBA finals - Spurs won the series! Wahoo!!

I am thankful for my dad and all that he has taught me so far.  He has taught me the value of work, being honest, and many other things.  I'm thankful for Ryan and all he does for our little family.  He works very hard and is a great dad.  I love seeing him with Nolan and how much Nolan looks up to him and copies everything Ryan does. 

Raylie Lynn

Raylie Lynn was born on Monday, June 2 @ 9:00 am.  She weighed 6 lbs 14 oz and has lots of dark hair!  We sure do love her!!

 

 

Collie and Zach didn't want to find out whether it was a boy or a girl, so this whole time we were all wondering what it was going to be.  When Zach sent the picture that she had arrived, he didn't give it away.  We would have to go to the hospital to see for ourselves.  Ryan and I went during lunch to see the baby and Collie - that is when we found out it was a girl! 

Memorial Weekend

I really enjoy going to the graves each Memorial Day.  I like thinking about the people we go visit, and their impact in my life. 

More of Nolan's Art

Nolan has been drawing, coloring and painting a lot of pictures at school.  He loves having them on the fridge.  At school they are learning about seeds right now and he comes home with new leaves, pine cones, seed pictures, and stories each day. He moved up to the Bumblebee class and tells us everyday that he is a Bumblebee, not a Ladybug anymore.  

Weekend Fun!

After work on Friday, Ryan was itching to get out and explore. We drove out to the Great Salt Lake and caught the sunset - it was beautiful.  If there hadn't been so many bugs, we would have enjoyed it more.  Funny story, the gate was closed due to some construction and Nolan had let us know that he needed to use the bathroom.  We asked they guy at the gate if we could go past to use the bathroom, he let us through but told us to go there and then right back.  We did just that, but not without taking a few pictures first.

Saturday, Ryan went on a bike ride with Jared up City Creek Canyon.  I took Nolan to Smith's, Walmart to buy a bike helmet for him.  We got home and had a picnic lunch out on our front lawn, and I took him around on his bike.  We didn't make it very far on his bike before he wanted to go home but it was a fun first experience for him riding his bike outside.  He has been riding it around the house until this point.

Saturday night we went to the Real Salt Lake since my mom would be recognized at half time for being teacher of the year at her school.  The whole family was there, and we took Trax to the stadium.  There was a fun carnival set up outside the stadium, we had snow cones, Real won the game which is always good and had a great evening!  Thanks to mom and dad for a fun night out!

written Monday, May 19, 2014

Mother's Day 2014

Yesterday was Mother's Day and Ryan made sure it was a special day for me.  He made us heart shaped pancakes for breakfast.  Ryan had picked up a nice card and a new blazer for work from H&M.  Nolan made a cute book, card and flowers at school for me.  We went to church, where we received flowers after sacrament meeting.  We all took naps and Ryan made the pioneer woman's taco soup.  Jared and Annie came over to have dinner with us.  It was a nice day. 

 

We celebrated Mother's Day with my family on Saturday and had a nice lunch and opened gifts.  Macy made a delicious pasta salad, and my mom had prepared a normal salad, fruit and rolls.  I had a baby shower to attend for my boss at work, so Ryan and Nolan just stayed at my parents house.  Collie did our hair and we trekked home around 9:00 pm.  It was a fun Saturday!

Another U Graduate and other weekend happenings

I can't believe my little brother graduated from college - is he really old enough to do that???  Thursday night, May 1 was the commencement ceremony for the entire University.  Alex Smith was the commencement speaker and he did a great job!  Friday afternoon was his college of science convocation, and that was nice as well.  Josh was pretty excited to be done and we were all happy for him.  He is going to Weber State in June to start the masters in athletic training program.

Saturday we ran a few errands, Ryan went on a bike ride in city creek canyon with Brandon Lake for a couple of hours.  Nolan took a nap and then we went up to Heber to celebrate Zach's birthday.  We had a BBQ and played minute to win it games.....it was a lot of fun!

On Sunday, Nolan made it through another entire block of church meetings - for the second week in a row.  We couldn't believe it.  We went down to my parents for dinner and watched Despicable Me 2....it was a cute show, but I don't need to see it again.  I love weekends like this that are spent with family and enjoying the nice weather - I love where we live!!

written for Thursday, May 1 - Sunday May 4, 2014

Happy Birthday Nolan!

I can't believe we have a 3 year old in our house.  This morning as I was getting ready before Nolan woke up, I looked at the clock and it was 6:16 am - the same time Nolan was born.  A flood of emotions came over me as I thought about his birth and seeing him for the first time, seeing Ryan with him for the first time.  It has gone so quick, and still seems like yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital.  I can't imagine life without Nolan in our family.  He keeps us on our toes and keeps us laughing.  

A few things about Nolan at this age:

*He loves eating macaroni and cheese, chicken nuggets, chocolate milk, peanut butter, broccoli, string cheese, applesauce, peaches, cookies or and dessert for that matter, white yogurt, pancakes, rice and chicken.

*Frozen is his favorite video right now and we watch it daily

*He usually gets up in the morning around 6:30 am

*His bed time is 8:00 pm

*He loves being outside and I wish we had a yard so he could be outside all the time

*Tractors, construction equipment are his favorite toys right now

*He likes to floss his teeth

*Only gets 1 chocolate milk per day

*Likes to watch You Tube shows while he eats - his favorite shows are shows in Chinese or Russian...I'm not kidding

*He is so good at playing by himself right now - and loves playing with his trucks in the front room which I am grateful for

*He likes to help us say prayers

*Loves going to church and nursery.  We made it through sacrament meeting for like the 3rd time ever last week.....it was a great day!

*Still takes naps at school each day and most weekends with us if we aren't too busy

*Knows his A, B, C's, colors and how to count to 10 in order.  He knows other numbers but mixes up the order

*Listens to everything that is said and if we are talking about him, he will ask "Is that Nolan?"

*Likes to sing songs - the Utah fight song, if you're happy and you know it are some that come to mind and of course all of the Frozen songs

*Is very observant and notices the little things - bugs on the sidewalk, smoke coming from a building

*Very into asking "OR" questions.  For example, "Red or blue?"; "Yes or no?"

*Very concerned for others and notices when they are sad or happy

*Loves all of his cousins

*Wants to know where we are going, where we are, or who is going to be there.  He knows Ryan's parent's live in Arizona, cousin Alec lives in Denver, Collie and Zach live in Heber with Corbin and Easton, he knows the way to mormor and morfar's house

*Loves going to Dee's restaurant on 7th east for pancakes

*Spontaneously says "I love you" and will give us hugs which melts my heart

*Asks "why" for everything

*Says "I don't like that" at least once a day to us and i'm sure more to his friends at school

*A little daredevil - he goes down the slide face first and jumps off everything. 

For his special day, we had pancakes for breakfast, he played with his trucks and watched Frozen before going to school for the day.  We went to Wendy's for dinner, played at Liberty park and he blew out a candle on his cupcake!  We sure do love this little guy and can't wait for more birthday celebrations in the future!

On Monday, May 5th we went to his well visit.  Here are his stats from that:

Weight: 32 lbs  (54th percentile)

Height: 38.5 in  (75th percentile)

BMI: 15.2 (24th percentile)

Viva Las Vegas, Griswold Style

For Jared's birthday, Craig and Dianna bought tickets for everyone to see David Copperfield at the MGM in Las Vegas.  We left after work and Jared's exams on Friday, April 18 at 4:00 pm.  Traffic wasn't bad, which was surprising since it was Easter weekend and spring break for a lot of people.  We stopped in Beaver, St. George for dinner at Cafe Rio and rolled into Vegas around 10:30 pm. We were staying at the Tropicana which was fun, since I hadn't stayed there before.  We chatted with Craig, Dianna, Ezzi, Alec, and Kirsten for a bit before heading to bed.  Ryan went out with Dianna and Kirsten to walk around.

Saturday morning we ate our snacks we had packed for breakfast, including chocolate milk for Nolan.  We got ready, and left the hotel to walk around before it got too hot and crowded.  We walked over to the Luxor where we ended up meeting with everyone for a breakfast buffet.  Dianna left breakfast early with Nolan, Ezzi and Alec and went to the aquarium at Mandalay Bay.  After everyone else had finished breakfast, Craig, Kirsten, Annie and Jared went back to the hotel to hit the pool.  Ryan and I went to get the group at the aquarium.  Nolan absolutely loved the aquarium and Dianna bought him a sting ray shirt and he had to wear it right after she bought it.  We wandered back to the hotel, changed into our suits to hit the pool.  Nolan was in heaven at the pool.  He stayed on the steps with me until Ryan came in and took him swimming/splashing around the water.  We wanted to make sure Nolan got a nap before the show at 4:00 pm, so we went back to the room a little early to put him down.  Ryan, Nolan and I fell asleep until our phone alarm went off.  We got ready to go to the show and walked across the street to MGM.   Originally, I hadn't planned on going since Nolan seemed a little young to attend a magic show where someone could be cut in half.  Ashleigh and James ended up not being able to make it, so there were 2 extra tickets.  It made sense for Nolan and I to take those tickets, but I was still a little nervous about him going.   When we walked into the showroom, I was put at ease a little bit because I had thought it was going to be more like movie theater seating, and I just knew Nolan wasn't going to make it though.  However, it was set up so that everyone had their own booth and no one was sitting behind us.  The show started a few minutes late, but once the show started Nolan was hooked.  During the show a duck walked across the stage a few times and Nolan kept asking where the duck was.  David Copperfield appeared on a bike and Nolan loved that.  The show was fantastic and the audience was very involved which made it fun.  After we went to dinner at Rainforest Cafe.  Ryan took Nolan back to the room to go to bed since it was close to 9:00 after we finished dinner.  Everyone else took the tram to Caesars Palace for some frozen hot chocolate and other desserts.  We stopped by the fountain and watched that a couple of times.  Craig, Dianna, and Alec walked back to the hotel.  Jared, Annie, Ezzi, Kirsten and I went into the shops at Caesars Palace and took our time walking back to the hotel.  It was a fun night!

 

Sunday morning, Dianna had an Easter egg hunt in their room for Alec and Nolan.  They also gave him his birthday presents which he opened, and it was a bunch of trucks.  Nolan was in heaven and had to carry all of them around for the rest of the day.  Eventually we had to put them in Ryan's hat to carry them around.  We got ready, packed up the rooms and loaded the cars.  We ate lunch at Wendy's before hitting the road home.  We stopped in St. George again for gas and some frozen yogurt.  It was a great weekend with everyone and a huge thanks to Craig and Dianna for making it happen. 

Friday, April 18 - Sunday, April 20, 2014

This Is the Place

I wanted to take Nolan on a fun adventure and since the baby animals were at This Is the Place park, I thought he would like that.  I enjoyed spending some time with Nolan doing something fun.  We saw all of the animals, rode the train around the park and had some Brigham donuts. 

written Saturday, April 12, 2014

Conference Weekend

Friday night Collie, Zach and Corbin came over to give Ryan a haircut.  We went to dinner at City Creek, where everyone could get what they wanted. Nolan played in the dinosaur play place, and that place was packed!  I haven't seen that many kids in there....ever! 

Saturday we watched the morning session of conference,  went to Smith's with Nolan and then we all took a nap that afternoon.  We must have been exhausted!  Saturday night the girls went to Hire's and shoe shopping at DSW - I love this tradition!  The boys went to priesthood and to Chuck-A-Rama. 

Sunday morning we went to the Bullough's house to listen to the morning session of conference with Ryan and Josh's home teaching families.  There are 3 girls that Nolan gets to play with when we get together with them.  After the session was over, we went to my parents house to watch the afternoon session with everyone.  We had ham, funeral potatoes and sara salad for lunch.  I love getting together to watch conference, I look forward to it! It was a nice weekend listening to the prophet, apostles and other leaders of the church.

Teacher of the Year

Today, my mom was presented with the Teacher of the Year award at her school.  The students, parents, faculty and PTA voted on who they thought was deserving of the award.  A separate committee decided on who would be presented the award.  My dad had been in touch with the principal of the school and she told him to keep it a surprise.  Dad, Josh, Collie, Easton, Corbin and I were all at her school bright and early, 8:30 am.  They were having a short assembly at 8:45 am announcing who the teacher of the year would be.  They called mom's name and everyone was so excited - mom started to cry.  They gave her a couple of goodie bags with treats and Real Salt Lake tickets.  On May 17th at the Real game halftime, she will be on the field with the other teachers of the year from the district.  Everyone will attend the game.  I'm so proud of my mom and she really goes above and beyond for her kids.  At the end of the assembly the principal had every student stand up that had been in mom's class and there were a lot of kids that stood up.  They had a little breakfast set up for us in one of the conference rooms - it was a great morning!

 That night we went to an open house for our good friend Jill Markham and Alex - they had Coldstone ice cream for their treat, and Nolan loved it!

written Friday, March 28, 2014

The Madness has Begun!

I love March Madness and I love that my family has a tournament each year - this will be Easton's first year filling out a bracket!

Bryce Canyon National Park

Over the weekend we met up with Craig and Dianna in Panguitch Utah.  We left after work on Friday and the drive down was pretty uneventful.  We had eaten dinner at our house before we left, so we didn't need to make any stops.  Nolan looked out the window for the first couple of hours and then played on the iPad for the last little bit.  We stayed in a Quality Inn, just out of town about 20 miles from Bryce Canyon.  The town was still in shutdown mode from the winter and a lot of places weren't open yet.

Saturday, March 15
We ate breakfast at the hotel before heading to the local market to pick up a few snacks for the day.  We stopped by Subway to get sandwiches and made our way to Bryce Canyon.  There wasn't much traffic, and really it was the perfect time to come down.  It was a little chilly (45 degrees) and very windy all day, but the sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky.  We drove around the park getting in and out of the car at each pull off spot.  Nolan had to take his construction trucks with him everywhere he went.  He cracks us up.  At the first stop, we put him behind a fence so he could play with his trucks while we looked the other direction.  Within 5 minutes of putting him there, he had say in the only mud puddle around and was covered in mud.  Luckily, we had bought paper towels at the market that morning so we used those to wipe him off the best we could.

We went back to the hotel for a couple of hours in the afternoon before eating dinner at Cowboys in Panguitch.  It was very good - they had just opened for the season and didn't have their card reader hooked up yet.  Good thing we all had some cash to chip in.  We drove back to the park to try to make sunset.  We ended up missing it, but still got some great pictures.

Sunday, March 16
I can't believe i'm typing this, but we all slept in until 8:00 am! We must have all been exhausted.  Ate breakfast at the hotel before packing up and hitting the road home.  We took the scenic route home along Highway 89 and 123.  We drove past a lot of small towns, stopped at the Manti temple and in Provo to see Nik and Tiffany.  We made it just in time for dinner at my parents house where we watched Captain Phillips with Scottie and Seth.  It was a great weekend and I can't wait for our next adventure.