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.

Happy 7th Birthday Riley!

Seven years ago, we became parents! It was the day after Mother's Day and Sheree awoke at 4am with major pain! She waited until the contractions were 5 minutes apart, and at 7 am we left for American Fork Hospital. Riley was born at 11:30am. He was a super good baby but hardly slept! He has always been really tall for his age and has played better with older kids. He is super smart, loves to read and play videogames and put together his Star Wars legos. He is a joy to have in our family!

It was fun to go back and look at all his baby pictures cause there is definitely a resemblance between Riley and Brock!

Happy Mothers Day Sheree

Everyday should be mothers day, at least at our house. Ryan has briefly hijacked the blog in order to let Sheree and everyone else know just how grateful I am for Sheree. She is the one who keeps us all together, keeps us moving down the right road, though try as I might to take a detour. Sometimes it is hard on both of us when all 3 of the boys want her at once and you know that 2 are going to end up unhappy, but it is a testament to her. Riley, Tyler and Brock just adore her and want to tell her everything and be where she is. She can keep them calm and defuse situations easier and better than i could ever dream of. i think that she just lets me do stuff so that I will feel needed when in actuality I probably make thing more difficult that it needs to be. She just seems to know what we all need and when we need it. She sacrifices so much of her time to let the boys or me do our thing. She is the constant good thing in my and the boys' lives. It has been fun this year to get the cards that the boys have made for her. This isn't much but there is not enough time to list every way that she makes our lives better. Sheree, I love you and your kids love you. We couldn't ask for anyone better. Thank you for all you do everyday. Happy Mothers Day Sheree! Love, Ryan, Riley, Tyler and Brock

Happy Mother's Day!

For the most part, I enjoy being a mom. If I could change anything, it would be to stay home with my kids. However, its not even a possibility so I need to get over it and quit feeling guilty. One day soon, I believe we can make it happen. When I was expecting Riley I said that I would stay home if he was a girl...well 3 boys later I am still working, so unless I get a girl...! The one good thing about working, is that my boys made the cutest gifts at their daycare centers and school. Since they brought them home for me yesterday, I just thought that I would post them...they all made me cry! What wonderful boys I have!

Brock is such a sweet little baby! These handprints are so precious! His favorite thing to do with them is to eat them and he has been chewing on them so much that his hands are starting to get raw, so we have started giving him a binky. He is grabbing at everything he can and continues to grow way too fast! The saying on the picture says: "Sometimes you get discouraged because I am so small, and always leave my handprints on the furniture and walls. But everyday I'm growing big, and soon I'll be so tall, then all my little handprints will be hard to recall. So here are special handprints just so you can say...this is how my handprint looked when I placed them here today."

Tyler is way too wild! He is definitely all boy and there is nothing that scares him or stops him! He wants to be just like Riley and his favorite activity is sneaking in Riley's room to play with all the cool big boy toys! He is very lovable too. He has his 3rd ear infection since the first week of April as well as a fever virus...had a temp of 103 last night! Hopefully it goes away quick!

Riley is getting super big...can't believe he will be 7 on Wednesday! He is doing so well academically and socially...look at how well he is doing writing! He wrote this note at school and brought me home a flower. He is done with 1st grade on May 28. He is becoming such a great big brother and setting a really good example for Tyler and is so patient with him. His favorite activity is still to play video games and he loves to play with his friend Robbie too!