The Zoo

Last Friday we went to the zoo with Grandma April and cousin Sloan. It has been a long time since Riley has been and I think that it was Tylers first time to the Utah Hogle Zoo and of course it was Brocks first time going. Our favorite activity was the bird show. Seriously, it was amazing and so entertaining! Several times birds flew over our heads or right in front of us. Tylers attention was captivated the whole time which is amazing for an almost 3 year old who wants to run away and cause whatever problems he can! It was a lot of fun to see the baby elephant too. I think that the monkeys were a favorite too. Below are some pictures of our fun outing!

Our Vacation

We were able to go back to Sheree's hometown, Vancouver, WA, for our vacation this summer. The last time we went was for Amber's wedding which was in November 2008, so this trip was long overdue! We left Friday at 2:30 and drove to Kennewick, WA to stay with Sheree's sister Alisa and finally meet her 16-month old son for the first time! He is such a cutie and it was so fun to finally meet him! Then we visited Sheree's grandparents and had a good time, despite Riley and Tyler fighting way too much and embarrassing us, but I guess that is going to be the story of our lives for a long time! It was weird saying good-bye wondering if this is the last time to see them here on Earth. Grandma has had some health issues recently and we were glad that she was doing really good the day we visited and it is harder for Grandpa to get around. Here is a picture of us with them that day.

That same day we visited Sheree's brother's family and met their new baby boy Maddox who was born in September. Riley and Tyler loved playing with their cousin Cole that day while Sheree enjoyed visiting with Lacey. We left about 4 to drive on to Vancouver. It was fun to visit with family that we don't get to see much at all, usually only during our annual visit!
It was fun to go back to Sheree's ward that her dad is now Bishop of, but since the boundaries just changed, there weren't many people left that Sheree knows, so it doesn't seem like her "ward" anymore. That's what happens when you've been away for 10 years! On Monday we had a picnic with Sheree's parents and Sheree's older brother's family and their 4 boys. Tara took family pictures for us that we anxiously waiting to see (hint-hint Tara!) It was a nice day with little rain. Then we had rain most of the rest of the week, so the next 2 days we pretty much stuck in the grandparents house. We did venture out to visit Grandpa's hobby stores and bought each of the boys a fun lego and we ran into tara at Toys R Us in Portland...what are the chances of that happening!? Here a few pictures of the boys haning at and Grandma and Grandpas! Brock was my parents 10th grandson...they have 11 grandsons and now granddaughters...that is so crazy!



Thursday June 10th, we headed over to Seaside. It was Ryan's and my 10th anniversary! We celebrated by going over to our time share for 2 nights, but we took the boys as well for our annual beach trip. We stayed in a 3 bedroom penthouse unit overlooking the beach...definitely the nicest condo we have ever stayed in! Unfortunately the weather outside was rainy on Thursday and Friday but super nice on Saturday when we had to leave! My parents stayed with us Friday night so Ryan and I got up and walked on the beach Saturday morning and then Ryan and Tyler went out just before we left, so here is a picture of those two, taken from the balcony of our condo! I also included our first date picture, engagement picture and favorite wedding picture from 10 years ago! Sure wished that I looked that cute now!







Finally, Brock is now 5 months old! He is getting so big and so fun! So glad he is part of our family, even though he was another boy!

Memorial Day Weekend

For Memeorial Day weekend, we made a quick trip down to Salina and Richfield to visit my (Ryan) Dad's grave. He passed away in Aug of 2003 after a battle with Melanoma. It had been a while since I had been to the grave. There are always mixed emotions going there. Riley understands it all but Tyler just thought it was a different place to play. My Dad and I were always pretty close but the older I got the more I appreciated him and all that he did. Even the Sunday drive with no radio was great and for a teenager I think that is something. When he was sick, it was a unique opportunity to try and help and serve him. Sheree and i would go see him when he would come up to Provo for dialysis and then later through different stays in the hospital. He said he would be here until Riley was born, and he was but not long after. He was doing great at the time Riley was born and was able to stand in the circle at Riley's blessing, but it was all downhill from that point. In fact Riley's middle name is Bruce, named after my dad. We were going to go down and see him the next weekend when mom called. I miss him. He would love my boys. I like to think that he met Tyler and Brock before I did. In fact we joke that he was the one cursing us with boys. When Sheree was pregnant with Riley she really wanted a girl and was somewhat disappointed that she was having a boy and my dad told her that there was nothing wrong with having boys, especially since he came from a family of 4 boys!

Thomas the Train

On Saturday we drove to Heber to ride Thomas. Tyler has been waiting for this for a long time. Riley went twice when he was little and loved it too. This was Tyler's and Brock's first ride. The weather was okay, had little bits of rain off and on, but the activities were all under tents so that was nice. It was fun to be able to take the boys up there.