I WON"T DO IT!!!

Ryan is such a stink. He absolutely REFUSES to crawl. We have bribed him, begged him, helped him and attempted to force him... All to no avail. He wants absolutely NOTHING to do with it. It's kind of funny. Any time you put him on the floor in an effort to help things along- he sits there on his hands and knees, and then ducks his head and cries. And we're not talking little wimpy cries- huge alligator tears start streaming down his cheeks, his lower lip sticks out a mile and he just WAILS!

A walk in the country... More than you would expect!

My in-laws are always teasing me that I can never tell anyone what happens when we go to Declo- because it would just be too scarring to others like me, that didn't grow up around/ in "the country." I would like to state here- that I never promised Jacki that I wouldn't tell... And I'm about to spill ALL the beans! :)

All kidding aside- we usually have a lot of fun up in Declo with Shaun's fam

ily. And I do love all of the new things that we are exposed to (okay- not ALL of them... but most!). This last month, Papa Orllo needed to take care of his cows- meaning, they had to have shots, ear tags, brands and I think something else.

Anyway- Shaun and Orllo herded all the cows into the corral and then lined them up for the squeeze-chute (okay- my big-cityness is showing and I can't gurantee that I will do all of these country processes justice or cal

l them by the right name, but this blog is for posterity and I'm doing my best!). Ty was super excited to be able to help THE MEN do the dirty work out in the field, so he stuck right by his grandpa, making sure that he was "helping" him at every turn.

Ty, unfortunately did NOT count on both the smell and the noise the cows made when the branding started to take place. He quickly decided that he would rather be inside with Grandma until the cows quit making all the noise!

Heros and Villans

Can someone technically be a hero if he was the villain in the first place? I mean if you think back to the melodramas that they used to have on TV and in plays- picture the evil man with the thick black moustache that ties the pretty lady to the train track. What if he had a change of heart and decided to save her instead. Does that make him a hero? If someone is given the opportunity to have a change of heart (for the better) or a change in circumstances, do they then deserve accolades?

Ty is our hero/villain of the hour.

Let me set the scene for you. Shaun is out of town and I had the two boys in the tub this evening. I washed them and got them out and took Ryan into his room to put him in his jammies. Once he was dressed, we went into Ty's room to do the same for him. After I walked in, I set Ryan on the bed and turned to get Ty's PJ's out of his dresser. His bedroom door slams shut. I turned around and asked him to open it back up. He told me he couldn't because it was shut. I tried the knob. It was locked. From the outside.

Initially I didn't panic. I pulled a bobby pin from my hair and attempted to pick the lock- after all it was something I used to do daily when I lived at home. I had to lock my bedroom door because my little sister liked to sneak in and thug things when I was out. It's all good- it gave me the practice to free my sons from Ty's bedroom. I tried for twenty minutes to get that thing unlocked and it just wouldn't click.

So I went over to his window to pop the screen out (my mother in law had to do this when she got locked in Ty's room two years ago). But when we had our windows washed, the screen got put in backwards- so the little pop-out handles were on the outside. Lovely.

When I finally figured out how to get the window to fold out and I figured out a way to yank the screen up a little, I realized that I would NEVER be able to fit through the tiny opening at the bottom of the window. Then I realized that I was locked in a room with a little monkey.

Up and out the window went Ty. I felt bad- the drop from the window to the ground was a little more than either Ty or I had anticipated. So I had Ty hanging out the window- totally stretched out and he still wasn't on the ground. I told him I was going to drop him and he got all wide-eyed. But like a good little trooper- he said okay. I dropped him into the bushes and he climbed out and went running for our next door neighbor (we had already talked about what he needed to do once he was free- I'm just glad for once that he listened!!). He ran over there yelling at the top of his lungs, "WE NEED HELP! HELP US! HELP US!" Joyce, my cute 65 year old neighbor comes flying out of her house in her pajamas, remote in hand and starts asking Ty what the matter is. I have my head stuck out the window and I'm trying to yell over to her that we're fine- we just need a little help. She was worried that there was a fire or something. I told her that I just needed her to go to the side of the house, put in the code to the garage, climb through the mess that's in the garage to the back door. Then she needed to come into my house and come and unlock the door. I thought she was going to pee her pants laughing.

Thankfully Joyce did get us out. But Ty got all the credit for being the hero that saved us. So, I ask again... can the villian become the hero? Or do you think he's just masqureding until the next time?

Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to me!!  And all the rest of you mom's out there!  Of course- I only got to hear the message from myself.  Ty came in to wake me up and informed me that it was "Happy Boy's Day."  When I asked him about it, he told me that he was upset when Grandpa JB told him it was Mother's Day.  He thought that HE deserved a special day.  Ah well- maybe I should have built him up for it.  Happy Boys Day to the rest of you.

Happy Anniversary!

I bet you all forgot that Shaun and I had an Anniversary this month!  We have officially been married for seven years and we're still doing pretty good.  

I asked Shaun what he was the most thankful for the last seven years and I was abruptly told "All the nagging."  Ahhh... What a sweetheart.  Somewhere deep down I'm sure he's glad we're still married.  Deep, deep down.  

To celebrate this year, we dropped the kids off at my mom's (thanks grandma Janet!!) and headed up to Midway, Utah where we spent some time at the Johnson Mill Bed and Breakfast.  We LOVED it!  Midway/Heber areas have really grown since I was last there and I was impressed!  The Bed and Breakfast was really nice too- if any of you are looking for a fun place to stay- we totally recommend it.  The place itself was at one time a mill and has been totally redone.  It was beautiful.  

Too big.

Ryan is now ten months old and when I took him to the doctor for his checkup, he weighed in at 18 pounds and he is pretty dang tall for a kid his age.  In fact- it was time to switch car seats- he just got too long for the baby carrier car seat.  Ty helped me install the new seat in the Jeep and we got to try it out for a long drive to Logan.  Ty and Ryan sat in the backseat giggling almost the whole time.  I swear Ty is the only one that can get Ryan to laugh like he does.  

Strange fetish...

Ty loves the Utes.  His grandpa JB started indoctrinating him before he could even talk.  And now- he is a staunch supporter of the University of Utah... and don't try and tell him anything else.  Lately though- he's taken it to a new level.  It is starting to warm up around here (finally), but Ty still won't leave his little Ute snow hat at home.  He still wears it to the grocery store and around the house.  The other night when I went in to check on him in bed... he still had the hat on.  When Shaun asked him about it- Ty told his dad that he kept it on because his head was cold.  I checked for drafts people... it's NOT cold in there.  He's just silly.

Two in the tub...

As scary as it may sound to some of you... we have finally upgraded Ryan to the BIG tub.  And what's more... he's now subjected to his big brother's splashes and anticdotes for that half hour of every evening.  

Okay- in actuality they both do really well in there together.  They love to splash each other and all that you can hear in there is giggles.  A word to the wise though- if you are bathing them- prepare to be just as wet as they are.  

Happy Easter!

Easter was a little different this year- it was the first time that we didn't go anywhere for the holiday.  It was really strange actually having to host dinner (even though it was just the four of us) and make sure that the Easter Bunny didn't forget anything.  In all though I think we did pretty good.  Ty and Ryan woke up and really didn't have a clue.  When Ty finally figured out that he was supposed to look for his Easter basket- it was almost time for church.  But Ty and Ryan did get a chance to put on their very cool new sunglasses.  

After church we went out back to see if we could find the Easter eggs hidden around the backyard.  Ty thought it was a lot of fun... though he had to have a couple of hints since the Easter Bunny thought he was being clever and hid the eggs a little too well.  Ryan was just happy to be outside... though the grass still freaks him out a little bit.  

We tried to make dinner a more formal affair.  By formal, I mean a table cloth and placemats.  But I really worked hard on dinner.  I had to call my grandma to get explicit directions on how to make some of her signature dishes.  And her instructions must have been good because the funeral potatoes, fruit salad and yams with apples turned out really good!  I think all of us had second helpings of everything... even Ryan!  

It was also an interesting holiday because for once- I wasn't excited to really talk about why we have the holiday.  I know that we celebrate it because Christ was resurrected... but I really didn't want to tell Ty the entire story.  The mother hen in me wanted to gloss over some of the more gruesome parts of the story.  But when we finally sat down to talk about it, Ty did really well and we focused on the resurrection as much as we could.  I know it sound stupid, but this part of being a parent never really crossed my mind as I sat dreaming about my baby (long before Iwas ever pregnant).  Anyway- it was a good Easter and I'm glad we had a chance to try it out on our own!

Spring Break

Spring Break was a few weeks ago and we headed down to St. George, Utah to get away from all the snow that still surrounded our house.  I was actually getting pretty close to taking a hairdryer to the snow drifts that were piled around the front yard.  Thankfully though- we got to escape to a place of swimming pools and flipflops for a few days.  We went down to Salt Lake and picked up my parents- who were good sports and agreed to go along with us.  

St. George is actually a place from my childhood.  My grandparents had a condo down there for as long as I can remember and my family would often escape down there.  Shaun isn't such a fan because of the heat- but he's pretty good to go along with things that the rest of us want to do.  

The first day we were there it was actually pretty windy so- Ty got to learn how to fly a kite out in the commons area.  I'm not sure that the kite was exactly flight-worthy because it never stayed in the air longer than a few seconds.  To be fair- it was a dinosaur.  Whatever happened to the plain old diamond shaped kites?  I remember our green one flying pretty well...  

Anyway, we hiked in Snow Canyon and swam at the pool... and had dinner at the Pizza Factory- a St. George tradition with anyone that goes down there.   We had a lot of fun and grudgingly went back to Montpelier when the week was over.  

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Small Town

Just when you think you are adjusting to small town life, you see a horse running down the middle of main street.

Pop Tarts

Would any of you in your right mind feed an eight month old a pop tart? Of course not. There are things in there that are not appropriate for a baby to eat and of course there is the added worry of choking. I would never do it. Ty, however, has no such scruples. I was getting dressed this morning and Ty came running in with a very excited look on his face.

"Mama! Guess what! Baby Ryan likes Pop Tarts too!"

I had told Ty that he needed to finish his breakfast so that we could go to the gym. Instead of finishing it himself- he decided to feed his brother instead. It's like having the dog that dad won't let us have.

I had to make it VERY clear that Ty is not supposed to help feed Ryan yet. Maybe when he gets a little older. I think it about broke his heart. Ty was so excited that he had shared something of his and that Ryan liked it.

One of those weeks

I am behind on blogging. I have never been so busy or flustered. Mostly because of my oldest. Ty is really a force to be reckoned with. It's unbelievable to me how many things a three year old can get into and how many things will leave you scratching your head. Case in point:

Last week we finally had a couple days of nice weather. It was nice and sunny- and it was about 56 degrees outside. So I took both boys outside for a little bit of sunshine and exercise. I was walking Ryan back and forth on our sidewalk and we turned to go back towards the house and I see Ty standing in the middle of the snowy lawn with his pants down to his ankles.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
"I've never peed in the snow before mama!"

Really how do you argue with that?

And he now has a nice black eye because he wouldn't sit still and eat his dinner the other night. He was sitting on a barstool next to the table and wiggled and wiggled. I think he had been told 20 times to sit still. He didn't. And he ended up smacking his head (or his eye rather) on the edge of the table.

Sigh.

The Rope

Picture this. I am working my way through a pile of emails this evening, when Shaun and I hear a scream from the bathroom, where Ty is currently taking his evening bath. I run in there and he is standing up in the tub in a panic. He is flailing his arms and bawling.

"What's the matter kiddo?"
"I swallowed it."
"Swallowed what? Are you okay?"
"I swallowed the rope!" (as a side note here- he has a little piece of string that he has been playing with in the tub for the last couple of nights. It's about a foot long and we didn't think that it posed any kind of a problem. He ties it to his other tub-toys and pulls them through the water)
"What do you mean you swalloed the rope? You swallowed the whole thing?!"
"Nooooo. Just the end!"

The silly little kid had bit off a chunk of "rope" and swallowed it. He was in such a panic. I sat down on the toilet- while Shaun left the bathroom choking back laughter, and told Ty to settle down. He looked up at me with the most pathetic look- tears streaking down his cheeks.

"I think this is why we don't put things in our mouths that isn't food Ty."
"Yeah..."
"But I don't think you need to worry about it- you'll probably poop it out in a couple of days."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"That's good. I really didn't want the rope to stay in my tummy forever. I would get sick and have to go to the hospital."

He finally settled down and had a glass of milk after we got him out of the tub. Why is he so silly? Is this something that happens to all three year olds? Or does Ty just have a serious case of brain damage?

Wha..Wha..Why..?

I don't understand three year olds. I sometimes wonder just what in the world passes through Ty's little head at any given moment. Take for example, Sunday morning. Got up, got dressed and ready for church. We pull up to the chapel and get out of the car- Ty wasn't standing there alone for more than two seconds, when I turn my head just in time to see him jumping into a massive puddle. Nothing below his knees was dry. I just stood there in disbelief. What is wrong with three year olds?!?!

Saving the Universe one three year old at a time...

I love it when kids play well together. Ty has a friend named KC that lives on the next street over and we had him over to play today for a couple of hours. Ty and KC are more than happy to be entertained with projects that I may put in front of them, but they are just as happy when I leave them alone and to their own devices. I sat and listened to the two of them this afternoon and I was laughing so hard. Their favorite game to play is what they call "Robots." KC's favorite movie is "Ironman" and Ty's is "Starwars." So, KC pretends that he is Ironman and Ty is Darth the Vadar and everytime the two of them are together, they do thier best to eradicate alien invaders from the area. They pretend to fly, fight and they come to me constantly with their "ow-ies." This afternoon though- they got bored of pretend aliens/bad guys and decided that I would be a better target. Until I fought back and chased them back into Ty's bedroom (aka: their pirate ship- why Ironman and Darth the Vadar live on a pirate ship is beyond me) with the Dirt Devil. It was such a fun afternoon and we can't wait until KC comes back over to play!

I don't have any pictures for this post because I'm not sure if KC's mom would be overly thrilled with me posting pictures on the internet of her son.

New Pictures!

I love pictures. I love pictures of my family even more. This last week, we had new pictures taken of Ryan (his 6 month ones) and a couple of the two boys together. So freakin' cute!!! Though I am a little biased. But seriously- check these kids out! Sorry the pictures are so small.

Ty goes skiing!

I remember when we had Ty- Shaun and I talked about what the future held for the little baby that we held in our arms. While we were excited about having a baby- we were also so excited about the things that were to come. The first steps, the first day of school, the first time that we got to take him to the playground and teaching him how to ski. I can't believe that we have hit so many milestones already. And last Wednesday- Ty hit another one. He's just growing up so fast. My dad took off an afternoon while we were down in SLC and we all went up to Alta to ski on the little rope-tow (it's free). I think Ty was a little skeptical at first, but once Grandpa told him that it was fun... he was off and running. Or skiing rather. It was gorgeous weather and he did so well! The rental place was out of the "edgie-wedgies" so Ty just had to hold his ski-tips together by himself. He mostly skiied between Grandpa's legs, but after a while, he wanted to ski to me. So Grandpa and I took turns sending Ty between us. So much fun. Ty just kept saying, "One more time Grandpa. One more time." So Grandpa would take him between his legs and pull him up the rope tow one more time. Finally, the lift shut down and we had to take Ty home. As we left- he turned to us and said, "Let's come again tomorrow okay guys!"

SLC

I think that friendship is one of the most important things that we can cultivate in this life. I have been extremely blessed to have had the opportunity to make wonderful friends through the years. They have helped me through tough times and have been there for the happiest. Recently, I've been kind of going through a rough patch... It's been a little hard to adjusting to baby number two and the isolation of our little town. So this last week, Shaun sent me away to Salt Lake- which I just love him for. While in town, I was able to meet up with Rach, J. and K. (J and K prefer to not be mentioned by name on the Internet). And I know it sounds corny- but it was such a balm for the soul. I went to dinner with J and K, where we had a chance to catch up and gossip about some of our other friends and reminisced about some funny times we had in the past. I went away feeling so uplifted. Rach came over to my mom's house on Thursday morning- and it was the same thing. It's just so nice to catch up. It's not that I don't have friends here in town, but there is just something about an old friend that is so comforting. Thanks girls. I owe you one!


I know that this picture has neither K or Rachel in it... but it was the only one that I have on my computer. I'm working on scanning in all of my old pictures- but it's a huge project.

Let it Snow...

I have found that I don't mind the snow so much as long as I am not required to do a lot in it- like drive. Playing is okay. Especially with Ty. He's loves the snow. And he loves it when we get dumped on because then he is guaranteed to get outside with mom, since I like to shovel before Shaun gets home. Ty he claims he likes to play with me but the reality is that he just likes to throw snowballs at me. It will be nice when Ryan gets old enough to go out with us because then it will give Ty another target.

Sitting...!?

No. Ryan is not sitting. But we're getting there! My mom sent Ryan a package in the mail and it was a BabyPod- it's supposed to help babies sit a little better. I thought it was the funniest thing I have ever seen- but my mom hasn't steered me wrong yet so I put Ryan in it. So cute. And what's even better is that Ryan seems to like it too! It has a little tray on the front of it where you can hook little toys and he just thinks that is the greatest thing EVER! Ty thought it was funny that Ryan had his own "chair."

Primary

I know I'm a little late in posting this since it's the last week of January. But a few weeks ago- Ty hit a big milestone. He went to Primary!! Ty is offically a Sunbeam and was so excited about it. When we said prayers that night, he made sure that he told his Heavenly Father how much he loved his new class and his new teacher (and has subsequently made the same declaration in his prayers ever since). I sometimes can't believe that Shaun and I don't have anyone in nursery anymore!!

Too Big

I hope that I am not alone in thinking that there are moments out there when you are so struck with something that you have to stop for just a minute to either admire or think about it. I had one the other afternoon. I had given Ty his bowl of Mac and Cheese for lunch and had then taken Ryan into his room to change his diaper. When I came back out into the kitchen- I was really struck with how BIG Ty has gotten. I sometimes can't believe that he's THREE!! I know that three is little, but it's big too. Anyway- as I looked at him eating his Mac and Cheese- I just couldn't help but marvel.
Maybe it was because of what he was wearing. Last year before we left Boise, we bought Ty a Bronco's jersey and it still fits. Maybe it was the jersey that made him seem so old. Or maybe that he was just chowing down at the kitchen table. I'm not explaining myself very well. Oh well. Anyway- this second picture is for Ty's uncles, Chad and Chase. All Ty wanted for Christmas was a Bronco hat. So Shaun and I figured we'd get him decked out in his Bronco gear just for our Boise-ites. I know the picture is sideways, but I'm not talented enough (or patient enough) to turn it.

Attack of the hair clippers!!

We did not give Ty his first haircut until he was eleven months old. Ryan however is a hairy little beast, and Shaun and I gave him his first hair cut last night! Ryan used to have the cutest little mohawk- but it was starting to get a little long and kept flopping over. Mohawks are only cute when they stand up.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

THE DAMAGE:

Sunday Night Football

Unfortunately for me, on any given Sunday night there is some kind of sporting event on TV. Since it's January- Sunday Night Football is all the rage around here. Shaun was watching the Steelers/Ravens game and Ty had gone to bed, so Ryan and I decided that we were going to work on sitting. Ryan is six months old now and it's time to have some new pictures taken- but I don't want him to be a slug again- so we're practicing on sitting. Truthfully it's not going so well. But despite that- Ryan seemed to have a good time.

Green Jello

When I was in high school, I had a really hard time coming up with subject lines for emails to my friends- so I would pick a word or subject that had absoltely nothing to do with the content of the email. Apparently coming up with titles is something I still haven't overcome. I'm just not sure what to title an odd assortment of pictures and activities. Not that it really matters though- this is my blog and I can (and will) do whatever I want.

Shaun had another home game tonight and we went to watch. They played Malad... and they... WON! Yay! The last couple of games the girls have come close... but haven't actually been able to finish victorious. Tonight- they even went into overtime, but ended with a win. The boys both really like going to the games. There is enough noise and movement going on to entertain Ryan and Ty is just a sports junkie. He looks forward to each game in order to get his fix for the week. What kills me is when the girls are out warming up. Ty sneaks down to the bottom step of the bleachers and sits and watches the girls. He wiggles and sometimes stands up- you can just see that it's absolutely killing him not to be able to get out and go play too. He also LOVES to tease his dad. Shaun's team colors are blue and white. True to Grandpa JB's "Go Utes" teachings, Ty will NOT cheer for anything that looks like it might be blue- so he cheers for the opposing team everytime.

Meanwhile- our "little" guy isn't so little anymore. I can't believe that he's already six months old. Isn't that nuts!? Ryan is eating cereal and baby food- his favorite right now is peaches- which kind of suprises me since they are kind of sour. He absolutely HATES mashed potatoes. When I tried to feed him a bite the other night- he tasted it for half a second before he stuck out his bottom lip and burst into tears. Then he buried his head in his dad's chest and wouldn't look at me for a good five minutes. I think he was making a point. We haven't tried potatoes again. He's also sleeping through the night now- I put him in bed at about nine 0'clock and I don't hear from him again until about eight or eight thirty. The other day I went and checked on him at eight because I hadn't heard any noise yet- and he was just in there sucking on his thumb and watching the ceiling fan. I can't believe how good he is. He's our little snuggle bug and always has a smile waiting.

Okay fine... I'll post something, but I'm warning you that it's a LONG ONE!

Okay- so it's been a while. But come on people! It's Christmas! We had such a great time the last couple of weeks- it's hard to come back to reality and much to my kid's disappointment- bedtimes made a big comeback. This December was a lot of fun- Ty is old enough to understand some of the finer points of the holiday season and we had fun putting together a Christmas chain.

We also got a chance to go and visit Temple Square down in Salt Lake. It was pretty cold and it snowed the whole time- but it was a lot of fun to go and see it again. Growing up in Salt Lake- I think that I took having the temple so close for granted, and especially the lights around Christmas time- they are gorgeous!! This was Ty's first time down at Temple Square and he was in awe. He couldn't believe all the lights and thought the Nativity was pretty cool. But I think my favorite part was when we took Ty into the visitor's center and took him upstairs to see the big statue of Christ. I took Ty's hand and we stood right up underneath him, and as I was whispering into his ear a few things about Christ and Christmas- I couldn't help but notice that we were surrounded by six or seven other parents with their own kids, saying similar things. And I was almost struck dumb. It just hit me- we, as parents, have such a huge responsibility in this life. We are entrusted with this little souls, and we are given the charge to bring them up righteously... and look at everything that they need to be taught to be able to cope with the world around them. It was so overwhelming that I just burst into tears. Why in the world would Heavenly Father trust Shaun and I to do this? We're just a couple of idiots- how are we going to be able to teach Ty and Ryan all that they need to know?! The more I thought about this- the happier I was that we both have great parents and siblings that will help with this teaching process, as well as teachers from Church and friends. Anyway- it was my "AH-HA" moment for the season.

We spent Christmas at my parents house. It was so nice- Dave and Nat flew in from Minnesota for two weeks and Mark and Melissa spent Christmas Eve at the house too... It was so strange to have everyone there- but it was so much fun. My parents were both so sweet to allow Shaun and I to introduce a few family traditions of our own to Ty and Ryan in conjunction with what we had always done as a family. Shaun is a big believer that Christmas has become too commercialized and in an effort to make sure that our children understand why we have Christmas, we wanted to read the Christmas story on Christmas Eve as a family.

We also got to leave out milk and cookies for Santa- which Ty loved! On Christmas morning- that was the first thing he checked. Ty had left two Oreos out for Santa (which from what I can remember growing up- are his FAVORITE!), and Santa ate one and only took a bite out of the other. Ty was just in awe- it was like proof that the big guy had been there. Santa left a bike for Ty and a drum for Ryan.

Shaun unfortunately had to go home the day after Christmas because he had basketball practice- but Ty, Ryan and I took advantage of my parents hospitality for a few more days. It's just so nice to have extra arms to help and more people to help entertain. Ty became my dad's little shadow- in fact Grandpa had to chase Ty out of the bathroom a couple of times, telling him that there are just somethings that Grandpas like to do alone- and peeing is one of them. I'm not sure the message sunk in though- Ty just kept trying to break into the bathroom. I think Grandpa had fun though- he took Ty outside to build a snowfort on the front lawn- it was pretty big. I'm not sure Grandma was too impressed that they used one of her comforters as a roof... but she didn't complain too loudly.

Ryan stayed inside most of the time, it was a little cold and he was a little irritated. Not only did he get a new drum and rattle for Christmas- but the poor little guy also got two new teeth. I don't think he was all that excited about them and Ty found out first hand how sharp little teeth can be. Ty didn't believe me that his little brother had teeth- so he stuck his finger in Ryan's mouth and (obviously) got chewed on.

I also got the chance on Sunday to go down with my grandparents to Nephi to visit my great-aunt Carol and her family. I haven't been down to Nephi for years and it was so much fun to see everyone again. My grandma grew up in Mona (near Nephi) where her parents owned a small ranch. Growing up, we spent a lot of time down there. It has since been sold and is now a home for boys that are working on becoming better members of the community. The old barn is gone and so are the corrals... It was so strange to see. There have been some changes made to the old ranch house too- you can still see the original structure- but it was still a little heart wrenching to see so many childhood memories gone.

On Monday (okay, so my "few days" that I spent with my parents turned into a week. So sue me.), I took Ty to the mall so that he could spend his "Build a Bear" gift certificate that he got from grandma Janet. Now, this is a business that I wish I had thought up first. It's so silly that it's brilliant! Ty wandered through the animals making sure that he got to pick out the best one. He saw the green dinosaur in the corner- and it was love at first roar. The guy helping us was so sweet- he let Ty push the button that filled the dino full of fluff. Ty was in heaven. He was so impressed with the "roar" that the first thing he did when he got home was shove it in Ryan's face. Ryan didn't think it was such a great thing and burst into tears. Ty kept telling him that it was okay and then tried to get him to push the button. It was so funny!

In all- it was a crazy week- as evidenced by this last picture. It was about seven at night and my dad and I walked in to find Ty, Ryan and my mom sound asleep on her bed.

We were also lucky enough to be visited by Shaun's parents a few days later. They came down for a second Christmas and they wanted to see Shaun's game. I have to admit- he's pretty impressive in action. Granted the Varisty keeps taking away his best players, but he keeps plugging along. They almost won on Saturday. Almost.
In all it was a fantatic Christmas and Christmas season. I am so grateful for both my parents and for Shaun's parents (who gave us half a cow for Christmas- it may sound silly- but the meat is sooo good and it's awesome to have meat ready to go in the freezer all the time), who love us and treat us so well. We are so lucky and have been so blessed. My mom took the time on Christmas morning to read a letter from their Stake Presidency. In it was a quote from one of the inmates at the prison, who said that when we look at what we have we are rich, but when we look at what we don't have we will always be poor. I hope this is a message that we can all keep with us in our hearts as we start into this new year.