Soccer

Tyler wanted to play city soccer this year, so we let him! He was kind of shy at first but had a neighbor boy named Parker that was on his team that helped break him out of his shell. His favorite position was goalie and he was really good at it! He never scored a goal but was close a couple of times. His team only one 2 games, but I think that Tyler enjoyed it enough to want to do it in the Spring again. In fact, he keeps asking when he can play soccer again and I said after the snow comes and is gone again. Here are some fun pictures from soccer.

Rate My Teacher.com

So I got on to load pictures of the boys fall sports but decided to google Ryan's name to see what would come up, since he is searching for a new job and just wanted to see what employers would find out about him. So then I had to google my name too and my school homepage came up and right under that I saw rate your teacher, so I clicked on it to see what there was and 2 students have rated me! Only one of them wrote comments and here is what he/she had to say:

"She is a way good teacher. She can come across as a **** though. She is really strict on her work and when it's due. DON'T BE LATE ON THE WORK. But she helps you understand the math."

So I guess that's not too bad and just had to share! Hopefully this weekend I will get Tyler's soccer pictures and Riley's football pictures on the blog. And Ryan has an interview tomorrow morning so please pray that this will be a good job for our family...it's even in Layton!

Clark County Fair

On Friday August 5 we were able to go to the Clark County Fair in Vancouver, WA. This was the first time that I had been back to the fair since 1999! It was also going to be the first time that Ryan was going to go, but he had to fly back for work so we got to go with the help of my parents. Friday morning was opening day so they had a free pancake breakfast and free admission between 8-11. We got there about 10 and ate about 11. The boys ate really good too. Then it was time to go on the rides! Grandpa Dave took Tyler to do on the little kid rides while Grandma Sharla pushed Brock around in the stroller as Riley and I got to do all the big rides.
The first ride that Riley wanted to do was the ring of fire. I don't think I have ever been on it and it wasn't the best ride to go on right after breakfast! It rocks back and forth 4 times and on the 5th time you barely go around and then you go around for a few times and then you barely make it over and then it switches directions. Riley got scared and I don't think we'll ever go on it again, but it sure was fun!


We did several other rides and Tyler was able to go on a couple of the bigger rides.




It was overcast in the morning, but was great in the afternoon! We ate lunch with my parents and then went to see the animals and spent a good hour doing this. All 3 boys loved seeing all the different animals and were able to pet them.








At 4 we went back to the house so that Brock and Tyler could sleep. Of course, they slept in the car and as soon as we got back they were wide awake again. So I left Brock with my parents and took Riley and Tyler back and we stayed until 9:00. We all loved it...the only one missing was Ryan!

Tylers 4th Birthday

On August 2, Tyler turned 4. We were at the beach that whole day. Tyler got up super early and asked if he could open his presents and we said he had to wait until Grandma and Grandpa got there. So all day he kept asking when they were coming! The kids got to play down in the water, we went to the local arcade and let the boys play and then drove to Astoria to go over the big bridge that goes between Oregon and Washington. We were going to clock the miles but forgot.

Grandma and Grandpa drove over that night and stayed with us. We had pizza for dinner and then cake and ice cream after. Then Tyler finally got to open up his presents! He loved all his presents! He got transformers, a DS game, and a star wars lego, some cars that make noise and money. He didn't want to go to bed and had a hard time sharing his toys with Brock. It was a good birthday and can't believe he is only 4!

Below are the only pictures we have which I took on my i-phone and I'm sad that most of them are really blurry. Usually my phone takes great pictures but these aren't that great!

Washington Vacation

We took our annual Washington vacation the first week of August to visit Sheree's family. Our first stop was Kennewick, WA to visit Sheree's younger brother who has 2 boys and identical twin baby girls (the first girls on Sheree's side of the family!) It took us 9 hours to get there, but the boys did really good with a stop in Boise for lunch and a bathroom break a couple hours later. I will admit I was hesitant about seeing the babies cause I am extremely jealous, but it was fun to see them. (Note: I am not baby hungry and there will not be any more babies unless I can accept the fact that it is okay to have another boy and our basement is completely finished.) Riley played really well with Cole and Brock and Maddox had a "funny" relationship, where they'd follow each other around and want what the other wanted, but didn't really play together. Below are some pictures of our kids with their cousins and the cute baby girls!






We stayed over night and then drove to Seaside Oregon on Sunday to stay at our timeshare for the next 3 nights. This is probably one of our favorite places to stay and we make sure to go every summer. The property is right on the beach, so we could go out on the balcony and see the ocean...we loved it! The boys loved playing in the ocean, playing in the sand, swimming in the swimming pool,going to the arcade etc. But the favorite part was going to the tiny Aquariam and feeding the sea lions. You could pay $1 and get a little tray of fish and the sea lions would beg you for the food. All 3 boys loved it!






While we were there, we decided to get an old time photo family picture. Tyler was adamant about not participating but we think that the pictures turned out cute!



This was the first half of our vacation, but it will update the rest soon...

Riley's baptism

On Saturday June 4, Riley got baptized! (Look at how tall our 8 year old is! We sure hope he majorly surpasses both Ryan and I, and that he ends up being super tall!) It was major stressful getting the house ready, making sure that Ryan had white pants that fit, (he's been renting pants at the temple cause his legs are too big with muscle from riding his bike :)) and knowing which church he was getting baptized at. Yep, we told family the wrong church and didn't find out until 10pm the night before the actual church! I really shouldn't have stressed as much as I did because it was the actual ordinance of Riley getting baptized that was important. It was a beautiful program for Riley and Lexie (the other girl getting baptized) and Ryan only had to dunk him once! (But we forgot towels! Not my fault, cause Ryan got everything ready, but thank goodness Grandma April had a clean towel in her car!) Riley was really nervous about the whole thing and tried to run away after getting baptized and before getting confirmed. Ryan gave a great confirmation blessing that really focused on Riley's behavior needs, so I really hope that Riley understands how important it is to have the Holy Ghost and how he really can overcome his behavior challenges and try to be calm before he escalates. Grandma April gave him money for new scriptures and he has loved reading out of the Bible ever since. Before, he only had a copy of the Book of Mormon and now he is elated that he has his own Bible and scripture set like his dad! We are so proud of Riley!

This is Ryan's mom April and her husband Brent who came up from Hurricane. Ryan's dad was there in Spirit. Both Ryan and his mom felt his presence, so that was super exciting!

This is my parents, Dave and Sharla who flew in from Washington State, and my sister Amber and her husband Jake and their baby Gregor, who drove up from Pleasant Grove.

We loved having the family that came and for the friends in the neighborhood as well!

Riley's Birthday

Since it's been a month, it's time for another blogpost! On May 12, Riley turned 8. He got just one present, a new bike! And since his dad is a cyclist, Riley got a pretty cool bike! We all went to a couple bike shops and rode a few. We were hoping for a Trek, so he could be just like mom and dad, but he really like a Giant, so that is what he got. He can't wait to be able to go ride in the mountains with dad. He sure looks good with his new bike!

(Look at the beautiful dirt behind Riley...it goes well with the neighbors grass, don't you think!? Hopefully soon that beautiful dirt will be cement!)

Since Riley got his beautiful bike, we didn't let him have a birthday party, so we took the family to Boondocks for the day. It was supposed to rain and it was very windy, so not many people went there that day. We got there just after 10 and didn't leave until 6! The first thing we did was ride the go-karts and Riley was the only one on the little track for the first few runs! At first, he was very hesitant, and didn't go very fast, but like most drivers, that didn't last long! Brock couldn't go on the go-karts, but Tyler could ride with either mom or dad. We wished we had had a helper for Brock so we could all go ride at the same time, but it was still lots of fun! Brock's favorite part was the miniature golf and video games. Tyler and Riley loved it all and Tyler keeps saying that he wants his birthday party at Boondocks as well! It was a great day spent with our family!

Stressed!!!!

The end of a school year is always stressful! My classroom is a disaster and I'm trying to find papers that students swore they turned in, collect books, get grades done, clean and organize so I can leave on June 3 and be done with school!

The house is a disaster, but it was actually looking pretty good over the weekend and now it's a disaster again! We've been busy all week with karate, end of school carnival, and a faculty dinner.

AND the big news is Riley is getting baptized on June 4 at 10am, the day after school gets out! (You are welcome to come and join us!) So that adds even more stress to the pile! Trying to get my house spring cleaned is not easy! We don't have much family coming in town, but it still stresses me out and having a gathering for lunch, stresses me out even more! I am not a caterer or party planner. In fact, both boys who have had birthdays so far this year did not get a cake! How mean am I?! I just can't do it! So I need to remember what is most important...the ordinance of Riley getting baptized! Who cares if the house isn't clean enough for my family and Ryan's family! They already know I suck at cleaning, so what's another day of a messy house! (I'm blogging during my lunch break at school, so I'm not actually neglecting my house cleaning duties at the moment!)

We have seen numerous blessings come about lately as well...Ryan was supposed to go to Boise for work on June 1 and 2, but his boss didn't buy his plane ticket in time, so he's not going until June 6 and 7, so at least I'm done with school! Riley has had a great time off track. Brock has been sleeping really well at night which has been a huge blessing! I'll get a small raise next year for work, but insurance costs did go up, but at least I'll have money to pay for it! We have lots of fun pictures to post of Riley's birthday celebration at Boondocks and the daycare carnival for Tyler and Brock, but I don't think I'll be able to post those until my house is spic and span! I'm sure the next 2 weeks will go by fast and I hope that I can enjoy it!

Captain Jack Sparrow!

One of the hi-lights from our Disneyland trip was meeting Captain Jack Sparrow! We had just gotten off the pirates of the caribbean ride and were trying to find our stroller, when we were shocked to see Jack Sparrow! And the line was way short! So we got in line to meet him and man, he looks just like him! He never talked, but he would look at you funny and do some random things. The boys thought he was hilarious and the adults couldn't believe that it wasn't the real Johnny Depp!