Thirty-four!

 

Someone turned 34 yesterday!

Our handsome and dashing Dad.

I made my first chocolate cake from scratch.

It turned out pretty well and miraculously came out of the bundt mold 

that I freaked out about all afternoon.

It wasn't much to look at - especially with the from scratch frosting.

(I know, look at me go. ;) 

But, it tasted good.

We sure love Ryan.

It makes me happy to know that we're growing OLD together. ;)

In the meantime, look who's started pre-school.

Miss Olivia!

 

 Henry wasn't too sure what to do the first couple days Olivia was gone being the only one at home.

(I almost didn't know what to do either! This is a first for us - only ONE at home.) 

But he found some things to do.

Date Night

Last Friday afternoon, I drove across town to pick up Ryan's first sign.

That evening for date night we went and put the sign up at his first listing.

Now, because Ryan is such an awesome realtor, there was already 

an offer before his sign was even up.  How's that! ;)

Let's rock and roll!

November 7, 2007 - Enter Honey Mary

I asked Ryan last night if he'd written down the time that Baby Honey was delivered. He said he didn't think so. I asked if I could check his journal - I knew I hadn't written it down, nor could I remember. With his permission, the following is from his journal:

November 7, 2007

Well, my little one, you were delivered to us at 1:32pm today. It has helped immensely to have you here. After all the pain I have expressed, I would be remiss to not express my relief and gratitude.

We have been strengthened beyond belief. We have been blessed by great peace. When you were delivered, the nurse had to untangle you from the cord that wrapped around your leg, across your chest and around your neck three times. You poor little thing.

It was a great comfort to Mom and I to hold you, cradle you and love you. We will always love you, but it was a comfort to hold your fragile little body and rock you gently.

You have beautiful little fingernails and tiny little toenails. Your limbs and body are perfect. Your sweet face still holds a little resemblance of the glow you would have had.
Please don't think less of us because of our relief. We love you and find great comfort that you are well now.

We will call you Honey Mary; our sweet little one.

October 22 - Enter Ryan

I actually don't know anything about Ryan's birth - except he was born on a Sunday. I didn't want him to feel left out on the birthday series this year.

This past week, I've thought a lot about what the important things in life are and how things can change in an instant. I still follow the blog of the sweet little family that lost their dear wife and mother. I'm not sure why I it seems I am so drawn to tragedies of strangers, but I find that it never hurts to get those reminders of what the truly important things - and people are.

Last Sunday, I found out that the wife of the first counselor in our Stake Presidency had taken a turn for the worse and that doctors treating her for ovarian cancer for the past 4 years could do no more. She passed away yesterday. She turned 54 this year and welcomed a couple grandchildren. Truly a remarkable woman leaving behind a remarkable family. My heart hurts for them and I pray for their peace and comfort.

My mind wanders to what I would do without my family; what I would do without my Ryan. It's not hard to tear up. I love him. As cliche as it sounds, he is the love of my life. He is what's important to me. The promises we've made to each other, the promises that extend beyond this life are what's it's all about. (I feel uncomfortable when people write mushy things about their spouse on their blogs, so I'll stop.)

Ryan, I adore you.
Happy 33rd Birthday.
I look forward to forever.
With you.

Heart Run

I thought it would be fun to watch the kids do their mile runs. I thought it would be even more fun to run with them. But, then I remembered how much I dislike running – even at a child’s pace (hence, also not having a double jog stroller). Not up for running 3.5 miles that morning, I charmed Ryan into coming. And running.

The kids and Ryan rocked it. Everyone ran the whole mile (Lucy did .5)and all came in the first few in their classes.

Definitely a fun run day. Right, Ryan?

Breakfast with Dad

Learning More and More

I'm learning more and more about myself.
Apparently, I'll do anything for a free t-shirt.
Like run races....and eat one pound hamburgers.
(the weight AFTER being cooked!)

Holding my picture to go on the Wall of Fame.

I ate it.
All by myself.
In less than 30 minutes.
I kept it down, too.
I only had meat sweats for one night and didn't eat again until after lunch the next day.
BUT, I got my free t-shirt:

I ate the
POUNDER
Cheeburger Cheeburger
Lonetree, Colorado

Go me.

I'd like to thank Henry, who is a champ nurser and leaves me constantly hungry - I couldn't have done it without him. And, also, my husband Ryan, for his love and support. You're up next, baby!

Halloween & Movember 2010

The perks of Halloween 2010:

5 Bags of Candy (twice!)

and . . .

Not paying a dime for any costumes - thanks to my fabulous Mother! and our dress-ups.

Check out this looker!

I wish I could say this was Ryan's Halloween costume, but alas it wouldn't be November without Movember. So yes, I have to look at this man ALL month. While it's for a great cause, I say once he hits $1k in donations he needs to shave!

I think there should be donations for the wives if your
hubby's gonna look like this for a month!

Click here to go see Ryan's page.

Clean Shaven

And, LOVING it!

The Triple Bypass 2009

Besides being father and brothers, what do these guys have in common?

The Triple Bypass!

This was the day everyone was waiting for. The day that these guys trained months for. The day that separates the men from the boys!

A 120 mile ride climbing 10, 310 ft over 3 mountain passes - over the continental divide!

It was such an exciting day! The women and children headed up to finish line mid morning as to not miss anyone cross the finish line. We knew they were all going different paces and didn't want to miss a thing.

While driving up I-70 I started to notice riders. All the boys were in matching jerseys so I kept my eyes peeled. My heart leaped as I saw Ryan riding up to Loveland Pass. I let out excited beeps on the horn that he heard and waved. I can't say I didn't start to cry as I watched him climb. This is a pass that taxes our van getting over - I can't imagine doing it on a bicycle. I was so proud!

Up just a little further we passed Aaron and let out our wild beeps as well. If I had thought of it sooner, I would have gotten of the next exit to cheer these fellas on. But it was too late, I was up and over Loveland and had to go through Keystone before we could stop and wait for them to catch us. I couldn't pass up the opportunity though to see these guys. I pulled off in Keystone along the route of the ride. Just as we pulled off and looked on as the riders came through, Jason came cruising by. Go Jason! About an hour after Jason Dad came through! Go Grandpa! Go Grandpa! This was exhilarating - seeing all our guys in action!

Ryan and Aaron came through about an hour after Dad and I was thrilled. Everyone was going strong and looking awesome! ( I guess I should note here that it was less than 2 weeks before this ride that Ryan was in a bike accident and separated his shoulder - but that didn't stop him!)

Once they came through the girls and I headed to the finish line. The scenery was beautiful and I couldn't help but think of the perseverance of these men. It took 90 minutes in the car for us to get to Avon where the finish line was. These guys would be riding almost all day to get there - AMAZING!

Unfortunately, I missed Stuart and barely missed Jason crossing the finishing line.

We didn't miss Grandpa though!

Would believe that he turned 60 just 10 days earlier?! He trained so hard and accomplished this wonderful goal.

After Dad had come through, it started to get chilly and the storm clouds began rolling in. Please don't rain, please don't rain. Well, it did. A bunch! Angela and I could only think of our husbands riding through this nastiness. We weren't sure if Ryan and Aaron were going to stop and wait it out or if they were pedaling harder right through it. It was the latter. They pedaled hard right through it. And, don't think for a second they didn't feel that rain, coming down that last pass, Vail, getting hit by large raindrops at 30 -35 miles an hour..OUCH!

But they did it! In just under 10 hours in the saddle and under 12 overall!
We hooted and hollared and cheered as they came through!
YAY YAY and YAY!

Ryan

Aaron

So happy!

Congratulations, you guys
YOU DID IT!

The Triple Bypass 2009

Weekend Fun

Happy, happy birthday to the sweetest boy in the world!

This past Friday, Clay turned 6! We celebrated the boys birthdays on the day in between their birthdays as they were headed off camping (with Kaycee in tow) the afternoon of Clay's big day.

Here they are blowing out their candles. Here's to another great year gentlemen!

I ordered Ryan's gifts just a day shy of a full week before his birthday. I two-dayed the shipping to make sure it would be here on time as the website indicated orders made in that time frame would be shipped out the following Monday. Yeah, they didn't get here until the day after his bday...thanks for nothing! Oh well, he still really liked his Dwight and Michael bobble heads which now adorn his desk at work.

KC: "I have WALL*E eyes." Yes, yes you do.

And, cute, cute "O-E-Ah" (as Lucy says) talking with Grandpa H. She cooed for the first time!

Clay and KC in the back of the truck waiting to leave for their adventure. Everyone was invited, but these two were the only takers. I was so glad they didn't freeze. I was worried the whole night and slept as though I was camping as well! (Yeah, not a big camper... Ryan would add "yet" here!)

I was very happy to have the babe, Lucy and Rylee keep me company.

And, I was happy they were here to meet my cousin Maggie, who came by with her husband, and parents. It was so good to see you Maggie & Justin! We're so happy to have you in CO. Hopefully we'll get to see each other again before too long.

It was a fun weekend.

Oh My Word-y, Look Who's 30!!

Happy Birthday Dad!

We love you so much!
~ Rylee, Clay, Kaycee, Lucy, Olivia & Mom~

Join us in wishing our Dad, Ryan, the best 30th birthday ever!!

Husband Tag

My SIL Mindy tagged me and I didn't want to pass up the chance to let you all know how fabulous my Ryan is. (I tried to post pics, but it wouldn't let me...I'll keep trying.)

1. Where did you meet your husband? I met Ryan on a blind date. He was my sister Reecy's boyfriend's high school lacrosse coach who was also attending BYU. I was living at home and had no social life (whatsoever!) and told Eric (the boyfriend - now my BIL) to set me up. Ryan called me a couple days later.

2. How long did you date before you got married? We dated for 11 weeks (not months, weeks!) before we got married. We met the middle of May, got engaged July 1 and married July 29.

3. How long have you been married? 8 years this past July.

4.What does he do that surprises you? He can do anything and everything! I am always amazed at what he can do (except for buying a car without my permission - that surprised me. But, we won't mention that..) He's also good at bringing me treats.


5.What is your favorite feature? I love Ryan's chest. Really. He's got a nice chest. And, I love his hands too. They're always warm and soft (I didn't mean to copy your answer Mindy. It was a good one). Much softer than my own. And, I love his calves. He's got some sweet looking calves. Okay, so that was more than one feature.

6. What is your favorite quality? Ryan is very generous. He is so good to help anyone and everyone out.

7. Does he have a nickname for you? Hon, or dear (we sound like a 50 year couple).

8. What is his favorite food? Ryan is a mean griller. He loves meat - good meat, grilled to perfection.

9. What is his favorite sport? That depends, he's got a few. Lacrosse - watching or coaching, Wrestling - watching and he'd like to coach, and then college football - USC Trojans and BYU Cougars.

10. When and where was your first kiss? Our first kiss (and his first kiss) was a month after we met and knew we wanted to get married. It was on my parents couch in their living room. Ironically, he'd ready my dad's story The Sacred Kiss (in an EFY book) as a teenager and followed his advice - Ryan saved his kisses, just for me.

11. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? We like to rent movies. So, after all the kids have gone to bed, we pull out the goodies and enjoy a good flick.

12. Do you have any children? I'm not sure how to answer that when people ask me now. I usually just say 5, because we have 5 at home, but really we have 6. I'm not sure how much people care to know about me and often times I don't like to share that experience casually with strangers or just in passing. So if you know me and our family, and you hear me say 5, we haven't forgotten, it just seems easier. Sorry, that was really long.

13. Does he have any hidden talents? Ryan is incredibly talented - it makes me sick! :) He's athletic, artistic, musical, culinary, mechanically (cars) talented and is so intelligent. In flipping this house, he has become a painter, a plumber, an electrician, a carpenter, a dry waller (is that a word?), a window replacement-er and the list goes on. He does it all. He can even sew!

14. How old is he? He'll be the big 3-0 on Wednesday!!

15. Who said "I love you" first? He did. It had only been about 2-3 weeks since we'd met and started dating. He was so cute!



16. What is his favorite music? He seems to enjoy every type of music, especially the kind I make him listen to. :)

17. What do you admire most about him? He is so stinkin' smart! (he married me, right?) :) If he doesn't know something, he learns it - then he teaches me. He's so ambitious. I can't wait until he can see his dreams become reality!

18. What is his favorite color? I don't think he's actually ever declared one. He does own a lot of blue though..

19. Will he read this? Yes, because I'll tell him, I mean, ask him to.

20. Who do you tag? Like Mindy said, whoever would like to pay a little tribute to their husband. (all of you, right?)

He did it! He did it!

A huge congratulations to my handsome hubby, Ryan, for completing his first century ride!! Yesterday, Dad H, brother Aaron and Ryan ventured out to ride 100 miles - and completed it in under 7 hours! (can you imagine being on a bike for that long!!) With Ryan's 30th birthday coming up this year (in Oct) he thought it would be pretty neat to do a century. We are so proud of him for accomplishing this goal! He wasn't able to do near the training he wanted to, but alas, HE DID IT!! (and he's still up and about today!)

Way to go Ryan, we are so proud of you!

(now, I have no clue where he put the camera cord, so you'll have to comeback soon to see some pics - after the ride.)

Thumbs up!