A Little Laugh

We were sitting at the table eating our dinner last night. Rylan was shaking his head back and forth for some reason (he does this often and I just assume it's normal behavior!). Kevin started asking him questions like "Do you want daddy to help you put your pajamas on?" or "Do you want daddy to brush your teeth?". Of course Rylan was shaking his head "no" so Kevin would reply "OK, mommy will do it". (Isn't my husband hilarious??!!) So after several questions Kevin asks "Do you want to watch monkey?". Rylan stopped shaking his head and said "Yes, OK!" to which Kevin and I started laughing. I'm sure Ry didn't really know what was so funny, but he joined in the laughter and forced out some fake laughs of his own, which made us laugh even more. When the laugheter died down, Rylan said "Monkey, yes, ok!", he paused, his eyes shifted from me to Kevin and back to me, waiting for us to laugh...because hey, we laughed the first time! We just burst into laughter watching our little boy try to make another joke. He continued saying it and fake laughing even long after it was no longer funny. But still, to think about his shifting eyes and his pause, waiting for us to laugh...I just laughed writing this out! Isn't eating dinner together as a family a joy??

July Picture

Here's our picture for July, taken a few days ago. We're missing Deborah who wasn't at our monthly family dinner. Amy's due date is today! I'm anxious to hear what the doc says at her appointment. We are all so excited to have a newborn in the family again. These 2 year olds are just getting so big!

I wore a maternity shirt for the first time yesterday. Not because I don't need to wear them, but only because shirts these days are so complimentary for us pregnant girls. I have several shirts that are not maternity that I've been able to wear because they are nice and flowy and leave room for my growing belly. I decided to go shopping this morning for a few more maternity shirts. It wasn't very fun! Of course I had Rylan with me who likes to hide in the clothes racks and leave me in a panic. Luckily he calls out "mommy, where go?" so I can track him down. I did get to buy a couple new shirts though so it all worked out. On our way home we stopped at Quiznos for lunch. When I was pregnant with Rylan I ate the Sierra Smoked Turkey from Quiznos at least once a week. (They have since discontinued that sandwich and I'm still bitter about it!) With this baby I cannot get enough of the Italian from Quiznos. YUMMY! How embarrassing that it's only Wednesday and I've already had that delicious sandwich twice this week! Ahhh, I love to eat!!

St. George

This past weekend we went to St. George with Kevin's brother Mark and his wife Heidi. St. George in the middle of the summer is certainly not the most comfortable time to go, but we had fun nonetheless. It was so miserably hot. For those of you in Arizona and Florida...how do you survive??

Several months ago I suggested to Kevin we go to St. George to the Tuacahn to see Les Miserables. I was desperately wanting a vacation and I thought it sounded like fun to get a hotel for a couple nights, spend lots of time at the pool, and just relax all I could. Well, one thing led to another and our vacation was post-poned until the middle of July so we could go with Mark and Heidi. It certainly was not the vacation I had in mind, but again, we had fun.

Mark has a few friends that live in St. George so we ended up staying with one couple at their house. Not the hotel I had originally planned, but it was free and the bed was comfortable and they have a nice home. We went down on Friday and went to dinner with said friends at the Texas Roadhouse which was absolutely delicious. We're gonna have to head up to Sandy so I can enjoy that food again! We decided to go see a movie afterwards. Since Batman was sold out, we saw Get Smart which I thought was pretty funny! I admit, I fell asleep a couple times...c'mon, it was the late show...but I'd like to see it again and get the full humor (Redbox, here we come!). Rylan was with us and about halfway throught the movie he laid on the floor, munched on a few stray pieces of popcorn (oops, I should have paid more attention to him) and fell asleep.

Saturday morning Letisha made some yummy crepes for breakfast. Mark and Dustin had some business they had to take care of so they left for a couple hours. So Letisha, Heidi, Kevin, Ry, and I went to Target to get a cheap swim suit for Heidi, and then we stopped at the outlet mall for a quick browse in a few stores. I bought a couple outfits for this new growing baby and a couple shirts for Rylan. We met the other two boys for lunch and then headed off to another friends' place to go swimming for a couple hours (yeah, I got my swimming in! Too bad I didn't get the tan I was dreaming of! But I do love swimming while pregnant, how the water just lifts my belly--nice!). We went to dinner that night (this time it was Wingers which I'm always a fan of. And Dustin said he makes the famous Wingers sauce by mixing Franks Red Hot sauce with brown sugar...in case any of you wanted to try that out. I sure will!) and then headed to the Tuacahn for our show. The scenery is really gorgeous, with all the red rock. The show started at 8:30 and I thought Ry would fall asleep by 10:00. Nope...it was so incredibly hot I think that kept him awake. Kevin and I took turns walking around with Rylan up top while the other one sat in our fantastic seats, sweating, enjoying the show. Finally Ry fell asleep about 11:30...Les Mis ended at midnight...grrrr!!! Overall Les Mis was very good though and what I saw and/or heard was impressive. Someday I'll be able to go on vacation without my dear sweet child...someday, but not any day soon!


We desperately wanted to sleep in on Sunday but had to make a quick getaway. Actually, the plan was to leave at 8am so Kev and I could be back for 1:00 church. Well, we didn't get away until about 10:00 so we missed sacrament meeting. But we were there in time to teach our sweet primary kids :) We were exhausted after church and took a nice nap afterwards!

So yes, I would highly recommend a visit to the Tuacahn...just not in the middle of July!!!

Here's a Fun Picture

I hope my sisters are okay with me putting this picture up. And I'm sure you can guess what's going on here. Yep, we are all preggers together--Surprise!! And aren't we all so cute :)

I really don't know why I haven't posted anything before now and in fact, I've strangely had a hard time telling people that I'm pregnant. I was more comfortable with people asking me rather than coming out of nowhere and announcing my special news. Let me assure you though and I am very excited about this! So my due date is November 7th which puts me at 24 weeks. That doesn't sound like very far along to me, until I express it in months and that means I am 6 months...WHAT?! Yeah, that sounds like a lot to me. And then when I realize that we are already halfway through July...wow, this is going fast.

My doctor had guessed several times from listening to the heartbeat, that it was a boy. The first time he told me that I started crying. Why? I really don't know because I thought I was hoping it was a boy. Kevin was guessing that it was a girl so maybe with all his girl talk I got confused and wanted a girl. So by the time my ultrasound came along I really didn't know if I was hoping for a girl or a boy. And the results of the ultrasound? Baby is developing properly and it's a BOY!! So Rylan instantly has a best friend and I'm very excited about that. I'm glad that Rylan is so laid back because I've seen mothers with 2 or 3 crazy boys and I admire them for all the energy and patience they must have. Here's to hoping that boy #2 will be just as laid back as Ry :)

The above pic was taken almost 3 weeks ago, which surprises me because I am much bigger now. At this point, in this pic it looks like I can kind of hide it...no longer am I in the hiding stage! From left to right, here's some info (I hope I get all the due dates correct): Amy (sister-in-law) due July 23 (and we are all anxiously awaiting the arrival of this little boy who will be here so soon), Kacy (sister) due September 27, with a boy, ME! due Nov. 7th with a boy, and Deborah (sister) due January 25 with a ???.

So life is great and I feel great and I love being pregnant...especially when I get to share this time with such beautiful girls around me. (I also have a sister-in-law on Kevin's side who is pregnant with a boy due in September!) When I was prego with Rylan, my oldest sister Tami was pregnant with her twins...my first child and her last children. I feel so lucky! And with all these new boys around, life is sure to be full of excitement!!

6 Wonderful Years

Sadly I don't have a recent picture of the two of us together. It's always one of us posing with Rylan while the other snaps the shot. But I do love both of these boys dearly and I think they are so incredibly handsome!

Happy Anniversary to my dear hubby! Six years ago today we were married in the Mt. Timpanogos, Utah Temple and what a blessing it is to be sealed to this man. I can honestly say that all 6 years have been absolutely wonderful. Okay, so six years isn't a long time, but I have full confidence that we will have many many more years to share together. He brings me happiness and joy and love. He is my best friend and I feel proud to call him "husband". I love you Kev!

So to celebrate we took Rylan to see Kung Fu Panda this morning (first showing of the day...my favorite!). We used to take Ry to the movies all the time and he'd sleep through it all. Well that only lasted until he was about 1 year. So it's been awhile since the three of us have been to the theatre together and I'm happy to say that Rylan did quite well. He did throw his empty box of raisins, but luckily no one was sitting in front of us! Not much of a celebration, right? Well, Kevin had to go to Scout Camp today so we couldn't really plan much. He will be back tomorrow and we're hoping to go to dinner. Maybe next year we'll have to plan something big!!

Yellowstone

We had such a great time in Yellowstone! I have way too many pictures to post and I'm having a hard time picking some of my favorites. So this may be overloaded with pictures, but I know I'm leaving out some really good ones. Enjoy!!


We went up on Friday, July 4th. I was behind of course, so we left later than planned. Our 7 hour drive turned into 12 hours because of a car wreck right at the entrance to Yellowstone. We had to wait about 3 hours for them to clean it up. I think it happened about an hour or two before we even got there. My parents were the only ones who made it through before the wreck, so my two sisters and I (and our families) were stuck behind to wait. We got to our campsite late, so rather than setting up our tent, Kevin, Rylan, and I slept in my parents trailer. We were so cozy and comfy and Rylan slept the whole night through...nice!


Our first day was full of mud pots and geysers and steaming pools. We made lots of stops on our way to Old Faithful. Old Faithful was scheduled to go off about 30 minutes after we arrived so we felt like we had pretty good timing on that one. Before Old Faithful erupted there were several other geysers nearby who erupted. One in particular was very exciting and we found out it only goes off once a day...lucky for us to see it! Compared to that one we were all a little disappointed in Old Faithful, maybe expecting it to be bigger and better. We figured that maybe the once-a-day geyser stole the power and force from Old Faithful. We were still happy to have seen it but even happier to have seen the previous geyser (it would help if I knew the names!).
We had a picnic lunch there by Old Faithful and then drove on to see more geysers and mud pots.
Our second day was the best for everyone. We drove through the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, and it was a day full of waterfalls and wild life. It was a nice cool day with a few rain showers, but the cool air was very welcome! We were blown away by the gorgeous waterfalls and Rylan especially loved the water. He was continuosly asking to go into the water, which is kind of scary. How do we teach him how dangerous a waterfall is? But they sure were pretty. We took a hike down over 500 feet (which consisted of 328 steps and some decline walks) to see the Lower Falls up close. Kevin carried Ry in a back pack and after seeing the waterfall in all it's glory, Kevin helped me back up that 500 feet while carrying Ry. He was winded and sweaty by the time we got up, but I felt great!!


We also went to Artist Point to view the Lower Falls from up top, and it was spectacular! Seeing Dragon's Mouth was also a very cool stop, even though it was the absolute stinkiest stop we made. That sulphur is not a pleasant smell!

Our way back to camp is when we saw most of the wildlife...maybe because it was evening and they were all out enjoying the cool. We saw a bear, loads of bison, elk, birds, and my personal favorite, 2 white wolves playing in a field of purple flowers. It was so exciting!
Our third day there was mostly driving the scenic side of Yellowstone. We made a stop at Mammoth Hot Springs which was neat.

Other than the scenic drive and that one stop, there really wasn't much to stop and do this day. Oh wait, we did stop at the Petrified Tree where we saw another bear, but it was sleeping in the shade and didn't move much. We had an early dinner back at camp and enjoyed a bit of relaxing, and of course, some delicious s'mores!


We did set up our tent for the remaining 3 nights. Rylan woke up each night, we're guessing because he was cold. Kevin and I had cots to sleep on and we put Rylan in his pack n play. I was surprised he actually went to sleep in it but he almost acted excited to sleep there! Halfway through the night he would end up in bed with Kevin while I slept peacefully in my own cot :) The last night Rylan was up multiple times and was hard to console. Everyone else said they heard him but of course, no one complained. I just hope our neighboring campers were able to get some sleep! We had a sweet old man camping next to us in his motorhome. He came out on our last day apologizing for his loud generator. We laughed because our 8 kids were much noisier than his generator. He was sweet enough to tell us the sound of the kids was a welcome "noise" since all his kids are grown and away. Hearing the kids play made him happy...how sweet :)



So overall it was a fantastic trip. Of course the drive home wasn't fun, just because I just wanted to be home. Rylan was a little unhappy to be buckled in the car for 7 hours, even though he watched Curious George 3 times!! We got home around 6pm which was great for some cleaning up and relaxing. How happy I was to sleep in my own bed! Nothing is better than the comforts of your own home, even after a great vacation!!

Bear Lake

We took our annual camping trip with the Doyle family and this year we went to Bear Lake. We seriously had such a good time. I keep saying it was nearly perfect, because it was! We went up on Thursday, set up, had dinner and enjoyed a nice relaxing time around the campfire. Our tent is super small...we've had it since we got married and it was perfect for the two of us on an air mattress. We've even used it with Rylan in the past and the three of us slept decently on the air mattress together. Well this year we decided to be even more comfortable and we borrowed some cots. Two cots with an air mattress on top in a small tent creates major claustrophobia for me...not good. Throughout the night I had to get up and stick my head out of the tent to get lots of air and see the open area. We are going to Yellowstone this weekend with my family so we were quick to snatch up a much bigger tent from Kevin's brother. A nice large tent will be a purchase we will have to make soon!

After a delicious breakfast the family headed to Bear Lake and we spent the entire day there. The weather was perfect! We set up some umbrellas and pavilions and we stayed nice and cool under the shade all day. Even being out in the sun wasn't killer until you were out there for quite some time. Kevin had a blast playing frisbee and soccer with his brothers and his dad. The waverunners were of course in constant use and even most of the kids had a blast on those. We took Rylan for a ride and he was not thrilled at all. A few minutes of him holding onto me for his dear life and we took him back to shore. But he did LOVE playing in the sand and water all day. Rarely did he come under the umbrella to cool off...he just sat in the water!

We went on many walks around the campsite and just loved being outside. In fact, being outside 24 hours a day made Rylan a very happy boy. He was loving life the whole weekend and I know he can't wait for Yellowstone! (And really, I can't wait, either!!)