House of Crums

McCormick Stillman Train Park

2011-12-11T09:41:00.001-08:00

Tis the season to be jolly, fa la la la la la la la LA!

We visited the train park on opening weekend with our good friends the Bower's.

It was packed and we only waited a full hour in line to ride the train around the park and see the lights. It was a fun night filled with friends and holiday cheer!

Our afternoon with the Posti's

2011-12-11T09:37:00.001-08:00

We ended our perfect vacation with a perfect ending...... a fun afternoon with our old time friends the Posti's!!

They traveled to Orlando from their home town ST. PETERSBURG, an hour and a half away, to spend some time with us. They Picked us up from our hotel and we headed to Downtown Disney for lunch at the (Ryan says, "Over Priced!") (ha ha)Dinosaur Cafe. It is a super fun interactive, LOUD, resataurant decorated like the dino age. Every hour their was a "meteor shower" and all the dino's roared and grunted along with the lighting and thunder crashing. Pretty exciting, just didn't make for good conversation time!

REAGAN and CARTER

ME and Miss Amy in front of the Lego Store. Carter was in HEAVEN in this store, he just started getting interested in Lego's this year and he wanted everything he saw. They had amazing statutues of WOODY, a tourist lego family, the dragon in Sleeping Beauty annd many more.

We went back to Scott and Amy's hotel after Downtown Disney and changed into our swimsuits to enjoy their fabulous swimming pool and lazy river there.

The storm clouds lingered and the kids lips started to turn blue in the bigger pools so we pulled them out and moved them to the HOT TUB.

It's been a few years since we have gotten together with the Posti's but it felt like ol' times. The kids got along famously and I loved catching up with my girl AMY!

Gratitude Day

2011-12-11T09:24:00.001-08:00

GOBBLE, GOBBLE, GOBBLE!!!!!

We had the best Thanksgiving day ever this year with our friends the Johnson's. Tim had to work until 3 but Bethanne and Gracie came over in the morning to spend the whole day with us. Bethanne and I planned out our menu, grocery list and kid activities the week before so we would be ready to totally enjoy our THANKSGIVING DAY!!

We filled our day with lots of cooking in the kitchen, super cute crafts with the kids, EATING, and chatting. I made homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast (they were AMAZING if I can brag a little) and we pulled together some appetizers to nibble on throughout the day until our BIG FEAST at 4. Bethanne made some delicious cheese balls and we had veggies and dip, apples and caramel dip, and chips and queso. (I am salivatiing just thinking about all the yummy food we had)

Below is my bestie BA and I before we put our BIRD in the Oven.

Our dinner included Mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, stuffing, pumpkin pie, Carmel apple cheese cake and (I hope you don't mind my bragging AGAIN) but we had the most moist, flavorful turkey I have ever had in all my 33 years of life, made by yours truly.....ME!!

The kids had a BLAST playing washers out back and football with the guys

Bethanne brought the goodies for the kids to make Turkey's and Pilgrims Hats. I think they ate more of the candy and frosting then they used for decorating.

Ryan Carving the turkey

and last but not least we put our pilgrim hats and bonnets on and enjoyed our wonderful FEAST!!!

Happy Thanksgiving....we are so grateful for our wonderful family and friends!!

Our Big Birthday Boy

2011-10-25T21:39:00.000-07:00

ATTENTION ALL SUPER HEROES!!!!!!!!

CARTER IS TURNING 5!!!

We had a SUPER fun party for Carter's birthday, we invited all his little friends and they dressed up in their super hero costumes and joined us for a few fun games, a movie in the bat cave, dinner and cup cakes and ice cream!

All the boys were so cute and had so much energy, I would have been a little out numbered but my friend Tiff volunteered to help me with crowd control (THANK GOODNESS)

We played a little game of "Capture the Villain"

Tiff and I dressed up in masks and capes and the the boys had to tie us up with a roll of toilet paper, the first team to finish the roll won.

We also played a little game of "Captain Freeze Dance" the boys moved about striking super hero poses and when the music stopped they had to freeze....it was hilarious to watch!

Super Hero dinner

The "Bat Cave" Movie

I feel so grateful to be in an area with so many great families that have sweet little boys that are Carter's friend.

Happy Birthday to my little Bat Man Carter!

LABOR DAY WEEKEND

2011-09-27T16:57:00.000-07:00

We left the hot desert and ventured to the mountains in hope of some heat relief Labor Day Weekend and we found it!!! It was a great weekend to spend at the cabin with our friends the Johnson's. While it was 110 degrees in the valley we enjoyed high 80 degree temperatures during the heat of the day and mid to low 70's in the morning and evening. Um, yes it was AMAZING!!!

The kids had a great time playing together, they just had to be careful to avoid any kind of flying, crawling, or hopping insect for Grace and that was a little difficult at times ( since we were surrounded by nature ;0)

This is the prime spot to enjoy some R & R! The adults enjoyed sitting outside and visiting, eating, watching the sunsets, eating and more eating...yikes!

Every trip we take to the cabin we enjoy that place more and more!!

We look forward to many more trips to the hills!

Rylee's Baptism Weekend

2011-09-11T21:32:00.000-07:00

Rylee chose to be baptized and become a member of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints and we are so proud of her for making her own decison. That weekend my parents and my sister Trudi and her kiddos drove down here to be here for Rylee's special day. Rylee had so many friends and family members there to support her and it meant so much to all of us! Ryan baptized her and our nephew Harrison, who just got home from a 2 yr mission for our church, confirmed her a member of the church and blessed her with the gift the Holy Ghost.

I was sooo emotional that day and I loved watching my daughter step into the baptismal font with her daddy there to help her and both of them dressed in all white, the peace and joy I felt in my heart is unexplainable!

Back to School

2011-09-11T21:06:00.000-07:00

School started way too quickly this year for my sweet little girl, she is in 3rd grade and I cant believe it! I started Rylee at a different school this school year and a few of her neighborhood friends attend there. We were very ready for a change for her with the hopes it would help her to enjoy going to school a little more. She came home from her first day of school with a huge smile and the good news that she aboslutely adores her teacher and has already made new friends! She is doing so well at her new school and we are thrilled at the results from the change.

Rylee's Late Birthday Party in August

2011-09-11T20:42:00.000-07:00

8 is great!!!

Rylee wanted to have a birthday party with her neighborhood friends when we got home after our summer excursion. So we pulled together a "Late Night Late Birthday Bash"! Rylee requested that they have smoothies and get their hair done and have facials, so that's what we did!! The girls all had a super fun time and we stuffed them full with smoothies, candy, chocolate lava cake and ice cream.

We had a fashion show after all their hair was styled and they walked the runway and then the girls had mud mask facial and relaxation with cucumber eye pads on their eyes! They were so cute!

Going to CHURCH

2011-09-11T20:09:00.000-07:00

ERIC CHURCH CONCERT

We met up with our good friends, Tim/Bethanne and Jeff/Kim in Tempe and boot scooted on over to the Marquee Theater to listen to Eric Church get his country singing on!

To set the stage for you, it is August in AZ which means incredibly hot temperatures accompanied with high humidity from the Monsoon season, the theater was packed the minute we stepped through the front doors with our tickets and there was a huge line still outside the theater to buy tickets to the sold out show. When we stepped through the doors we hoped to feel a little relief from the hot and sticky weather but we stepped into a building with little to no air movement...UGHHH!

We decided to stay and endure because Ry is a die hard fan of Mr. Church and we all had hopes of a great performance. 2 hours after getting there I was completely soaked with sweat, gross right! And then Eric Church FINALLY takes the stage he put on an awesome performance but I think our group was way OVER IT! TOO MANY PEOPLE IN A SMALL SPACE WITH NO AIR FOR TOO LONG = not happy campers :)

I had to to get all countrified for the concert :)

Church Groupies

Marquee Theater

BFF'S

Tim and Bethanne

Kim and Jeff

Mr. Eric Church

The Days of December

2011-08-14T21:44:00.000-07:00

Ryan's Holiday Work Party

Ryan and I had a weekend away together due to his work holiday party. They flew us up to Denver and put us up into a hotel for a couple of days. It was wonderful to sleep in and relax together away from real life.

ZOO LIGHTS with our friends the Bower's

Carter, Cooper, Rylee, Brielle

CHANDLER LIGHT PARADE

Rylee's dance studio had a float in the parade

Rylee's in class Ballet recital

ANNUAL NEIGHBORHOOD CHRISTMAS ACTIVITY

We love to go with our friends and neighbors every year to this fun train park to ride the train and look at the decorations and lights the park displays. We started this tradition about 5 yrs ago and it keeps getting better!

The Silverio family

A train filled with friends

Carter and I were the only ones who got to attend this fun event. Rylee decided to have an enormous melt down before it was time to go so Ryan stayed home with her and put her to bed.

CHRISTMAS BREAK

The kids and I left home and headed north right after Rylee got out of school for Winter Break. When we got to Utah it Snowed and Snowed and Snowed. The kids had a blast playing in it every day and I was surprised that they would stay outside in the cold as long as they did.

The kids visiting Santa at the mall; we had to make sure they go to tell the ol' man what they wanted for Christmas.

When the kids weren't outside playing in the snow we were inside making goodies.

Ryan holding the 2 youngest grand kids in the family.

Briggs and Bree

making more snacks

CHRISTMAS EVE

We have our traditional prime rib dinner with my whole family.

Annual NATIVITY play put on by the grand kids
(costumes were designed from grandma's linen closet :0)

Pajama time

CHRISTMAS MORNING

Rylee got just what she asked for from Santa and American doll that looks just like her!

Carter's dreams came true when he opened 3 large boxes filled with GEO TRAX train sets from Santa!

This is a little boys heaven with all the GEO TRAX trains tracks set up

Rylee and Maddee and their American Girl dolls

The dads cookin' up our traditional omelet breakfast Christmas morning!
Jenni, Leslee and I trying out the kids new Just Dance 2 game! Wow, it was such a workout and so much fun! I am so uncoordinated!

Telila and Kaelee playing T's Christmas present DJ Hero

The girls adding their musical voices to the game

The kids bustin' a move to "Just Dance 2"

NEW YEARS EVEThe kids wanted to celebrate the evening with our cute little neighbor friends, Bailee and Paige, but because Ryan and I were going out to spend the eve with the Johnson clan and the kids were heading to G & G Crum's for a sleepover and party with the Cook cousins we had an early celebration with the neighbor girls. We had kid hour d'ouvres of all kinds (chips, soda, popcorn, etc) that we made and had dance music blaring, WII games going on and art projects. At precisely 7:59 we started our countdown and handed out the sparkling soda for a toast and they cheered on the new year at 8:00 pm! They had a ton of fun and the kids got to do it all over again a few hours later at G & G Crum's house.
....on to the next party....

As for Ry and I's New Years Eve festivities we gathered at McLaws home with the whole Johnson family. The WII game "Just Dance" was the hit of the evening, everyone took their turn on the dance floor and it was HILARIOUS!

We nibbled on yummy appetizers and had a white elephant gift exchange and of course our New Years Eve toast and fireworks to bring in 2012!

We always have a great time hanging out with our besties, Tim and Bethanne!

November Events

2011-05-07T16:24:00.001-07:00

This picture was done out of fun, but my oh my some days I feel like Rylee and I go the rounds, makes we wonder how teenage years are going to be. I am so grateful she is so sweet the rest of the time so I can make it through the battles! Love her!!!

Carter loves sleeping with his BIG Sister. They really are so sweet to each other and play really well together.

I love this picture of my babies!

Rylee's dance group danced at a local High School's basketball half time show during Thanksgiving Break

Crum Thanksgiving Dinner

at Randy at Shawna's house

Emily and Chloe

Grandpa Crum and Susan

Now that's my idea of what to do after eating a yummy Thanksgiving meal!! Kick back and relax

Carter, Chloe and Joshua

Shawna and I searching the Famous Black Friday Ads

"Tangled" Drive-In Movie NightHeather, Rylee and Brielle

We went to the see Disney's "Tangled" at the Drive-In movie theater with our good friends the Bower's. We grabbed Sub's for dinner and loaded our cars up with blankets, chairs, hot chocolate, and treats. It was a ton of fun having dinner there and letting the kids play before the show started. Ryan brought his bike speaker system with us and it worked awesome, we could hear the movie loud and clear! (You may be thinking bike speaker system?????? Yes, my husband put together a little speaker box with a CD player and speaker that fits in the basket of his cruiser bike...ha ha!!)

CARTER and COOPER

We all fit in the back of Ryan's truck to watch the movie, talk about a close family!

BRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!! It was so cold and Ryan thought I looked hilarious with my hood on, I know.....I really do!

Halloween Events

2011-05-07T15:56:00.000-07:00

Halloween was on a Sunday this year so our church put together a Halloween trunk-or-treat party in our church's parking lot on Saturday. We invited our neighbor girls, Bailey and Paige and my sister Melanette, who has been living with us went with us. Ryan even got dressed up for the party as a NASCAR Driver, he was hilarious!!!!

We enjoyed eating chili dogs and nachos for dinner!

Costume Parade, Melanette is never shy, she joins right in with the kids.

Rylee's School Costume Parade

Rylee chose to dress up as an orange leopard fairy for Halloween

Melanette and Carter wanted to dress up to go watch the parade at Rylee's school. It was a lot of fun!

October: Qaurtzite's Country Bash

2011-04-01T23:05:00.000-07:00

In the beginning of October, we took the kids on a small trip to a small town in AZ that was holding a concert in the park and the artist performing happened to be one of Ryan's favorite small time country singers, Harry Luge. The kids were so excited to go to a "real concert" and we all had a great time! Everyone in the town was so friendly to us; I think we were the only "outsiders" there. The kids did karoke before the concert started and played on the grass and when Harry started singing we all did a little country dancing....YEE HAW, it was quite the "Ho-down"

OCTOBER: Planting our Garden and Carving Pumpkins

2011-04-01T22:54:00.000-07:00

I finally got on the band wagon and started a few small square foot garden boxes. Our back yard is pretty small and the soil is very hard so this type of gardening works awesome for us. I built these boxes and filled them with Mel's mix and added some veggies, VOILA!!

After getting the garden planted, our neighbor friend, Bailee came over and helped Rylee carve her pumpkin!

Rylee's School Picture Day

2011-01-26T20:23:00.000-08:00

This is the ONE day a school year the Rylee lets me actually do her hair, PICTURE DAY, and she is was somewhat sweet about it!! So I take FULL advantage of it! I am a hair stylist for Pete's sake and my only daughter HATES getting her hair done!

Our usually daily morning routine with hair goes something like this...

me "did you brush through your hair yet?"

20 minutes later...me "Did you brush your hair YET!!!"

Rylee "NOT YET!!!"..

me "Come in the salon so I can do your hair it is almost time for school"

Rylee "NO, I HAVEN"T BRUSHED IT YET!!"

me "TOO LATE, GET YOUR BUTT IN HERE!!"

LOUD SCREAMS AND SOUNDS COME OUT OF Rylee's MOUTH it sounds like she is going to die from getting her hair brushed!!!

me "Rylee, calm down, I brush dozens of other people's hair and they don't scream at me like this, TOUGHEN UP!"

Rylee "IT HURTS SOOOO BAD!!!"

If I try to sneak in a style that is anything but a low ponytail!

Rylee.."I HATE MY HAIR LIKE THAT!!"

me.. "Sorry, I am not redoing it"

Rylee thrashes around until she eventually destroys her hair style and then I end up putting it in a low ponytail just like she wants! UGHH!!!!

GIRLS!!!

TRAINS, TRAINS, TRAINS

2011-01-26T20:17:00.000-08:00

Smitty and his best lil' buddy Coop's

These two boys play together so amazingly, all they need is some open floor space and their trains, usually they pick one type of train to play with and Coop's will bring up his Geo Trax or his Thomas, or Carter will take his Geo Trax or his Thomas trains to Coop's house. But this day was a rare occasion where they decided to get out every train in the house and set up the tracks. THEY HAD A BLAST pretending trains!

Smitty's 4th Birthday

2011-01-26T19:48:00.000-08:00

This little guy has to be the BEST Little buddy EVER! I can't believe how much I love him and what a sweet mamma's boy he is! He loves to play with his friends and isn't afraid to let people know how much he loves them and how great they are. He is way into trains of all kinds especially Thomas and GEO TRAX (All Aboard).

He is such a light in our lives and I can't imagine life without him!

LOVE YOU SMITTY

THE ZOO

I invited just a few of Carters friends to join us for some water fun at the zoo! We saw a few animals, but it was still SO HOT!!!

THE CAROUSEL

Cooper, Carter, Wolfie, Gracie

THE SPLASH PAD

Aunt Mel, Bethanne, Carter, Cooper, Gracie, Wolfie

For dinner we went to Carter's favorite place PETER PIPER PIZZA with our friends the Johnson's!

My baby boy is in "FREESCHOOL"

2011-01-20T19:52:00.000-08:00

Smitty was SO excited to start "FREESCHOOL" as he calls it! He got to pick out his first back pack (WOODY) and he feels just as old as his big sister because their schools start at the same time and we have a carpool with the big kids and the preschool kids!

I still can't believe my little buddy has grown up so quickly! I will miss him so much!

Dancing at the Diamondback Game

2011-01-20T19:36:00.000-08:00

We hit up a Diamond Back game this fall with our friends the Johnson's. The main reason for our attendance to the game was to see the cutest little dancer ever dance in the outfield with her dance studio team. She is such a performer and I love to watch her dance, I am such a baby because I tear up every time I watch her perform!

TIM and RYAN

"THE STAR OF THE NIGHT"

warming up and stretching

GRACE and CARTER
"Young Love"

PRE-GAME PERFORMANCE

Back to School

2010-08-17T16:50:00.000-07:00

Isn't this

THE CUTEST 2ND GRADER

in the WORLD!!!!

I love her toothless smile and the sweet freckles on her nose and cheeks!

WHAT A SUMMER!!!!

2010-08-17T14:12:00.000-07:00

WHAT A SUMMER ......WHERE DID IT GO!!! Those are the phrases the kids and I have said about our summer vacation. We had a great time but sadly Ryan wasn't able to play with us all summer, someone had to stay at home and work. Ha Ha! We spent a total of 3 weeks at home and the rest was on the road.

Payson Pool for swimming fun

On June 11th my sister, Leslee's, twin babies were born 10 weeks early. It was a scary night, buy all three of them came out of the experience doing well!

BRIGGS

BREE

JUNE 30th - July 3rd

We came home for a week and brought our cousin MADDEE.

The days I wasn't booked with appointments we went swimming with our friends

Christi, Kenzie and Kate

LAKE POWELL

July 4th-10th

July 11th-23rd

We were home again and celebrating

Rylee's 7th Birthday

with friends at Stapley Swimming Pool

July 15th

Ryan's Boss was in town for business with Ryan and surprised us with a wonderful gift of a night stay at the Marriott where he was staying. Our family enjoyed a great evening spending time with Arnold and swimming at the Resorts pools and then going out to dinner.

July 20th

MORE SWIMMING FUN WITH FRIENDS

My friend Heather and I took the kids to ride the Flow Rider at the one of the Mesa Pools. It was Rylee's first time and she was a little timid.

On the road again!

July25th and 26th

The Damn at Lake Powell

All the times we have gone to the Lake we have never taken the time to stop at the damn to take a tour. The kids and I finally stopped and we were amazed at the size of it!

July 28th-30th I was lucky to go to BYU Idaho Education week with my mom and all my sisters but LESLEE ( she had to stay home to be at the hospital with her babies. It was so much fun to be without kids and just be me and be uplifted and renewed!

July 31st

Celebrated Maddee's birthday at G & G's house

I crocheted all the girls hats for their birthday's

AUGUST 1st

Leslee's birthday and these way cute babies came home from the hospital...what a birthday present!

Welcome home Briggs and Bree!

The kids and I stayed a few extra days to help Leslee and the babies and we got our baby fix for awhile.

Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay 2010

2010-07-25T23:10:00.000-07:00

This event was one of those life changing moments when you realize you are a lot stronger than you think! I spent 36 hrs in a big green van with six great people, we were the first set of runners on our 12 person relay team and we started the race Friday morning in Logan, UT and finished the race Saturday late afternoon in Park City, UT! The course was a little over 188 miles long and our team finished it in just over 36 hrs. It was very inspiring to see the many ages and shapes of people who ran in this event and watch their determination in running their legs the best they could, we each ran 3 legs in the race and always in the same order! My mom and my sister Jenni were in the van with me, along with my cousin Sue Ann and two college kids that were the siblings of one of Jenni's friends. We had a great time supporting our team member that was running and people watching along the way!

It was so very hard, but this is definitely something I want to do again!!!!

STARTING LINE MY FIRST LEG OF RUNNING (6.7 miles, UGHHH)

JENNI AND ME

MY AMAZING MOM RUNNING IN TO HAND OF THE BRACELET TO SUE ANN

VAN 1 RUNNERS

WAITING AT THE FINISH IN PARK CITY FOR THE LAST HALF OF OUR TEAM!

IF YOU LOOK CLOSE YOU CAN SEE A MEN'S TEAM OF SPEEDO RUNNERS THAT CAUGHT EVERY ONE'S ATTENTION :)

THE LAST 300 YDS OF RACE...WE WAITED HERE AND ALL OUR TEAM RAN TO THE FINISH LINE WITH OUR LAST RUNNER

OUR ENTIRE TEAM

Mother of 6 (for a week)

2010-07-25T22:35:00.000-07:00

My first week in Utah I got to watch my sister's Jenni's kids for a week while she and her husband, Josh, went on a cruise for their 10 yr wedding anniversary. The oldest boy, Kaden is 8 and their youngest is a spirited little girl, Kinnli who is 1, so 6 kids 8 and under.....need I say more! We had a lot of fun, but to Jen's neighbors, I am sure it looked like pure CHAOS!

Memorial weekend camping

2010-05-31T19:12:00.001-07:00

We had an AWESOME weekend camping with our neighbors/friends, Mike and Jess, in Payson. The weather got a little warm during the day but cooled down to PERFECTION at night!!! We hiked, went on bike rides, played softball, four square, ate lots of yummy food, and of course RELAXED! The kids played hard and slept so great night!

Mike helping the kids build a habitat for the caterpillars they found

MMMMM! Eating smores by the campfire

Mike was our grill master

Carter and Paige pumping up the big wheel tires, too bad their are plastic!

My Birthday Week

2010-05-31T18:59:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year when I get another year older, eeek, but I had a wonderful birthday! It started out with a weekend away with my sweet husband, we got a hotel room close by and went to a movie, did some shopping, went out to dinner and RELAXED!!! Some of my girlfriends took me out to dinner and for ice cream, it was so great to have girl time and just gab about anything and everything, Thanks Heather and Tiff!!! Then my birthday came and so many family and friends called and or sent me birthday wishes it was wonderful! In the evening we took the kids to dinner and to see Shrek the final chapter (it was amazingly entertaining) . What a great birthday week, thanks to everyone who made it so speci al!

Rylee's End of the Year Dance Recital

2010-05-31T18:37:00.000-07:00

We made it through another year of dance!!!! Rylee loves to dance we love watching her, but it keeps us in and out of the car shuttling her around for classes.

This years recital was fabulous, Ryan was even in it! They pulled a few dad's together and Cali choreographed a dance for them, he went to 4 or 5 dance practices and they did awesome!!! The girls loved seeing their dads out their dancing. I have a video of the dance, but Ryan made me pinkie promise not to put on here, so you will just have to use your imagination.

Rylee had a lot of family support for her recital, Grandma and Grandpa Crum, Aunt Ruthie and Aunt Shawna and Chloe.

Last Day of MOM SCHOOL

2010-05-31T18:28:00.000-07:00

This last school year I organized a MOM'S School group with some of my friends who have kids Carter's age. We met once a week and rotated homes, we had eight kids in the group (they were all sooooo cute) so each mom taught MOM'S School 4 times the whole school year. Carter had so much fun and grew and learned a lot through the year, and I had a free day once a week to run a few errands, work or clean the house without disturbance! It was such a great experience that I am going to do it again next year! Carter will be in preschool 2 days a week already but he is so social that I know he would love an extra day in there to get together with friends.

I FINISHED IT!!!

2010-05-31T17:49:00.000-07:00

BEFORE

AFTER

I have been wanting to refinish our kitchen table and the kitchen island we have for quite some time and I finally finished them! It took a lot longer than I anticipated because I could only work on it a few minutes here and there! My husband is very grateful to get our kitchen table back in the kitchen and our garage freed up to park the car in it again!

Mother Daughter Party

2010-05-31T17:36:00.001-07:00

I put together a fun little evening for mommies and daughters where I brought out all my stuff I have to make hair flowers and taught the moms how to make them while the girls had glitter toes done by my little sister Mel. We had yummy goodies to snack on and everyone had a great night!

Heather and Brielle (Brielle is showing off her new glitter toes)

Reagan modeling the flower her mom made

Erin, Bailee, and Paige

Gretchen and her two daughters

Scott and Tom's SURPRISE party

2010-05-10T22:55:00.000-07:00

We headed out to the HANEY'S house in New River to help set up and celebrate Scott and Tom's birthday's. We arrived early and met CJ and Jenni there..we unloaded and then took our quads out for a little ride in the desert mountains so Scott wouldn't find out about the surprise party. Our ride was great; the desert was so green thanks to all of the rain we have had this year. While we were out Tom and Danielle took Scott and Simone out on their horses for a ride. We came back when the coast was clear and decorated and started getting the food ready.

The weather was fab and it was awesome spending time with friends and chillin' by a fire (oh and also having a night away from the kiddos, since my lil' sis is here we get to spend more time as a couple on dates and getaways.....LOVE IT)

Rylee's Hip hop workshop

2010-05-10T22:32:00.000-07:00

Saturday Rylee attended a workshop that the ASU hip hop dance team put together. It was a great experience for her to see different styles of dance and work with different dance teachers.

OHHHH HOW SWEET

The heat is on!!

2010-05-10T22:10:00.000-07:00

The temperature has heated up enough to start playing the water. The kids love, love, love the slip slide and it fits so nicely in our teeny weeny backyard.

We also started swimming lessons with Miss Allison. Rylee is an awesome swimmer and just needed one session to refresh her skills. Carter on the other hand was a first timer and needs a lot of help. He stopped screaming after the first day and after the first week he started to like putting his face in the water. We are now on our second session of lessons and he jumps off the diving board all by himself and is starting to use his legs and arms to swim. He absolutely loves his swimming lessons and looks forward to each lesson.

As for the heat we are so close to those temperatures where we don't like to hang out outside unless we are swimming. Here comes SUMMER!!!

NASCAR April Race

2010-04-24T22:51:00.000-07:00

Ryan I had another fabulous NASCAR weekend at PIR. The highlights of our weekend were

1. Our BFF's Tim and Bethanne came out Friday and Saturday.

2. Our friend Jenni pulled a bunch of us together and we bought tickets for the race on Friday and sat all together.

3. The weather was fabulous, hot during the day and cool enough at night for a jacket.

4. ....and last but not least 2 great nights of listening to HARRY LUGE rock out at the Speed Cantina.

Easter Dinner with the Crum's

2010-04-18T22:21:00.000-07:00

Our Easter Weekend was so wonderful! The weather was great and it was perfect to be able to spend the day with family!!! We had our annual dinner and egg hunt with Ryan's family on Sunday and as usual the food was as fabulous as the company!

Easter Morning

2010-04-18T22:06:00.000-07:00

Our Easter bunny nicely leaves the kids baskets outside the door for them Easter morning. This Easter Rylee and Melanette also had an extra surprise. Ryan had promised Rylee a new beach cruiser if she learned to ride her bike without training wheels and she finally did it!!! Melanette is here without a car so we thought a cruiser would be great for her and give her a little more independence.

Coloring Eggs

2010-04-18T21:59:00.000-07:00

Rylee had some of her friends, Macy and Lauren, over to play and we decided to color eggs.
I saw this great idea on some one's blog about using wire whisks to dip the eggs in the dye it was a lot less mess and the kids had a dandy time!!!

Neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt

2010-04-18T21:46:00.001-07:00

My friend Jennifer organized the greatest little afternoon at the park for us on Good Friday. A big group of our friends and neighbors all gathered for a picnic and egg hunt. The weather couldn't have been better and everyone had a fabulous time!!!

Using what my mamma taught us

2010-04-18T21:35:00.000-07:00

My mom taught each of us how to crochet when we were younger, i remember many a night sitting as a family and watching a movie and my mom had her hands busy crocheting a afghan for someone.

Well....Melanette (my lil sis) and i finally are using the wonderful skill our mom so patiently taught us to make these SUPER cute headbands. They are one size fits all, because the headband is adjustable and we have made them in many colors already. Mel is quite the sales girl for them because she has one that matches every outfit. So if any of ya'll would like one for you or your little girls let us know.

Flower headbands are $8

and they come in

light pink

dark pink

white

cream

dark brown

light brown

black

grey

light purple

light yellow

turquoise

bright orange

and red

Nighty Night

2010-04-18T21:23:00.000-07:00

Carter decided he wanted to be roommates with Rylee so I took the plunge and moved both beds into Rylee's room. They both love it and go to sleep sooooo much easier. Carter seems totally secure in his masculinity and sleeping in a pink princess room doesn't phase him. At least he sleeps in a race car bed right?

We always check on them before we go to sleep and this night in particular I had to have a picture of them sleeping. I think they fell asleep holding hands.

Sigh Sigh, so sweet!!!

Spring Break in Utah

2010-04-05T21:52:00.000-07:00

The kids and I left our home early afternoon on Saturday to drive to Utah to stay with G & G Ras. We made it to Paige before the storm started and from Paige to Kanab it was snowing pretty hard so we called it a night in Kanab and spent the night in a nice warm Comfort Inn. We got up Sunday mid morning to continue our drive and the roads were still slushy and icy and I started to wonder "Where is spring?" We left our home and the beautiful weather to spend a week in snow and cold weather, UGHHH! Miraculously, just after Scipio the snow was gone and the roads and surrounding areas were clear of snow. We had a great week playing with cousins everyday and visiting a ton with my sisters and mom.

Ryan flew in Wednesday to work in Utah for the rest of the week which was so GREAT! On Saturday my niece Kaylee and Nephew Kaden were baptized and Ryan gave a little talk on baptism. Kaylee had specifically asked for Ryan and was so excited when she found out he was coming.

We left Utah after the baptisms Saturday afternoon with one extra body in our car. I convinced Melanette to come home with me to stay with us for a few months and work with me. She just finished beauty school and passed her practical state board test and we are working on studying for her written board test.

It is great to have her here and to have a little extra help with the kids when we need it.

G & G Rasmussen's visit

2010-04-05T20:54:00.000-07:00

My dad and mom came down to Scottsdale for a medical conference and stayed for 4 days at the fabulous Fire sky Resort right by Scottsdale Fashion Square. On Thursday after Rylee got out of school and Ryan came home from work we all headed over there to go to dinner at the Cheese Cake Factory. Mmmmmmm delicious!! Then on Friday the kids and I headed back over after Rylee got out of dance and the kids did a little swimming. They absolutely had a blast swimming and didn't want to get out of the water even after it was dark. It was so great to visit with my parents and spend time with them. I think they enjoyed the weather and relaxation while they were here also.

Bruce and Mauren's wedding day

2010-03-14T21:11:00.000-07:00

BRUCE AND MAUREN CRUM

MARRIED MARCH 12, 2010

We are so happy for this super cute newly married couple. The weather couldn't have been better and the festivities couldn't have been nicer! We wish these two many, many years of happiness!

While we were waiting for the new couple to come out of the temple Carter was having a dandy time with his cousin Bennett! Bennett was so sweet to Carter and kept him entertained, he talked about his best friend Bennett ALL DAY and was so excited to hear that we got to see him again later the night at their reception!

Carter got a BIG BOY BICYCLE!!!

2010-03-14T20:58:00.001-07:00

Carter scored big last Saturday and got a brand new bicycle!! Ryan took my cruiser in to get the tires fixed and got a hankerin' to get Carter a bike. He has just had his big wheel and it was time to move him up to bigger and better, especially since his best buddy Cooper is riding without training wheels now. Carter is the new proud owner of his very own motorcycle bike, it is a tad big for him but that didn't stop him from figuring it out!

An Unexpected Surprise

2010-03-14T20:48:00.000-07:00

Ryan had a very unexpected phone call from some old friends, Buddy and Kristin, from his mission one Friday afternoon. Ryan worked closely with this great couple while serving in Boise. We have kept in touch through Christmas Cards until they made their way down to the valley of the sun to visit Kristin's sister. We were so excited when they remembered we were here and called to find a time to get together. We all met at Red Robin for lunch on Saturday with our kids. They have two just like we do, Bella and Moses, they are the same age as our kids also....kinda crazy, huh! It was so great to visit with them and catch up. Rylee and Bella became close friends in a matter of a few hours and Carter and Moses were busy being 3 yr old boys at the restaurant. It was such a great afternoon!

Sand Dunes with the Evans

2010-02-28T09:25:00.000-08:00

Rylee and I made a sand man sculpture

Rylee driving through the crazy eight

Carter and Payton on their quads

Reo playing with the kids in the sand

Carter got stuck on hill and we watched as he tried to push that heavy quad back down the hill.
After a few minutes of watching his efforts Ryan went over to help him out

Reo, Meredith, Ryan and me

We finally got to go to the sand dunes this month and it was soooooo much fun. We planned a trip with our friends Reo and Meredith and their boys. Ryan and Reo grew up together and their families would go to the dunes together. We left on a Thursday night and took our trailer and Reo and his family met up with us Friday. We stayed until Saturday afternoon and then we had to began the terrible process of packing up to head home. Rylee and Bryson are the same age and so are Carter and Payton and they all played so great together. We went on a few cruisin' rides in the prowler and their rhino but the majority of the time was spent watching the kids ride their quad around camp and digging and playing in the sand. It was so relaxing and enjoyable while we were there and the kids are already asking when we are going back to the dunes again.

Practice Riding session

2010-02-28T09:11:00.000-08:00

Ryan spent a few evenings with his friend Reo working on the little 90 quad we have for the kids to get it running again so we can take a trip to the sand dunes with them this season. It has been over 3 years since it has been used out at the dunes and it needed some TLC to get it going again.
Carter and Rylee are so excited to have it working again so we have taken a few evenings and Saturdays to go practice riding the quad. Rylee is a great little rider, she is cautious and very careful when she rides. Carter picked it up pretty fast and loves to go "berry fast" as he would say. Ryan had to set the rules of riding down pretty firm with him because he liked to experiment and be a little adventurous. So when he disobeys no more riding for awhile and he doesn't like that. Here is a little clip of Carter driving.....

Monster Truck Jam and Pedicures

2010-02-17T20:58:00.001-08:00

One of our favorite things to do with the kids is spend one on one time with them, where we can give them our full and undivided attention. I feel like I learn something new about their little personalities each time we do it and keeps the line of communication open with our kids.

Ryan got a steal of a deal on tickets to Monster Jam and promised Carter that if he could give up the diapers for big boy undies he could go see the monster trucks. Carter did advance to the big boy undies just in time to go hang out with Ryan and have boy time. So of course Rylee and I had to have girls night and we decided on pedicures and a movie. I took her to a nail salon and she had her first full pedicure. Her eyes were wide with amazement at how fast the Asians talked, the big soft massage chair, and the hot stone massage on her calves and feet. She absolutely LOVED it and even got a flower on her big toes to boot! After we were finished we headed to the theater to see The Tooth Fairy, the movie was super cute and it even got Rylee a little choked up at the end, she gets her sensitivity from her daddy.

Ryan and Carter had an awesome time at the monster truck jam. I got a text from Ryan about an hour into the evening and Carter was saying he wanted to go home. Ryan used his daddy creativity in distraction and they both made it through to the end. Carter's favorite truck was the doggy truck and he brought home a souvenir of the truck.

Cute idea for Valentine Breakfast

2010-02-13T20:32:00.000-08:00

I found this idea on one of my many blog surfing sessions and I thought it was soooo cute, and who doesn't love CINNAMON ROLLS!!!

I'll add a little pink cream cheese frosting and some orange juice and we will have a delicious breakfast in the morning!!! I can't wait to eat them!

To my Valentine

2010-02-13T20:09:00.000-08:00

I wanted to make you something from the heart so I came up with this....I am so grateful to have you as my sweetheart. The last 9 yrs have been filled with so many great memories, thank you and I love you so much!!

(I turned this picture collage into a mouse pad for Ryan's work computer)

Valentine Cards

2010-02-13T19:54:00.001-08:00

My friend Heather gave me this cute of idea for our Valentine Cards this year from the kids. We took their pictures one Sunday at Mesa Art Center and then I did a little photoshopping to get them like this. Then we punched a few holes and added a lollipop and VOILA!!! I think they turned out so cute and I didn't have to sit there with the kids while they wrote their names on them. :)

Happy Valentines Day to all of our family friends!!! We love you all and we are grateful to have you in our lives! We hope your day is filled with love and happiness!!!

GO SUNS!!!

2010-01-24T08:52:00.000-08:00

Rylee's Dance group was asked to perform at the Suns Game for Half Time. The kids were super excited to go to the basketball game. We checked in at 430 and watched the players warm up and then we sent Rylee off at 7 to the practice gym to warm up and they also got to take pictures with the Suns Gorilla. Ryan Carter and I went up to the upper level to our seats but when Carter saw the Gorilla's tree house play area he no longer wanted to watch the game. We played in there until almost half time and then went down to the floor level to watch Rylee perform. The group did such a great job, I would say it was their best performance i have seen them do as a whole company over the last two years.

After we picked Rylee up we ended up leaving because it was getting pretty late and they were both showing it!!!

Rylee with two of the Suns Dancer

This is how Carter posed for his picture

This is a little segment that Rylee's age group did. The whole dance routine was pretty long so we couldn't record it all on our digital camera. Rylee is the girl in the center.

Cabin Trip with our friends

2010-01-24T08:39:00.000-08:00

We had a long weekend thanks to MLK so I decided at the last minute to head up to the Crum cabin with my friend Heather and her two kids. I love the cabin because the kids find new ways to entertain themselves and I get a lot of free time to work on projects I want to do but don't quite get around to it at home.

We spent 3 days and 2 nights up there and the weather was beautiful the first 2 days. The kids played outside a lot and we went on a little walk to the creek one day. The kids loved making their own pizzas and cooking marshmallows over the fire for S'Mores. YUMMY!!!! Every day we were there was of course "the best day ever" according to Rylee and Brielle.

As we were cleaning and packing on Monday to head home it started to snow. It snowed just enough the kids had their snow fix. Carter was excited because he links the snow to Christmas so he thought Santa was coming again! The snow made Heather and I pack a little faster so we wouldn't get snowed in up there and we headed for home before noon.

IT STARTED TO SNOW ON US ON MONDAY...This is what it looked like when It started snowing; it was just a lite flutter....

about 20 minutes later it looked like this....

about an hour after the snow started it was really coming down and we decided to pack up and leave so we wouldn't get SNOWED IN!!

NAP TIME!!

2010-01-24T08:38:00.000-08:00

I came home one afternoon after taking Rylee to dance to see this super sweet scene in my bedroom!! I love my boys!!

We LOVE the ZOO!

2010-01-24T08:34:00.000-08:00

During the second week of January Rylee had early release from school all week for Parent teacher conferences. One of the afternoons we snagged the opportunity to go to the zoo with some of our good friends in the neighborhood. We stopped by the new Kamodo Dragon exhibit and the newly finished Discovery Farms area. We only spent a couple of hours there and the kids had a blast!!

We get so much use out of our Zoo passes, it's definatley worth the investment!!!

Rylee and Cooper

Aubrey, Carter, Cooper, Rylee and Brielle

New Years Eve

2010-01-24T08:28:00.000-08:00

We brought in the New Year with our neighbors the KRACHT'S and TYLER AND HOLLY.

Poor Carter spent the day and evening sick with a stomach virus and was asleep well before 2010 came ringing in.

We built a fire in the back yard and played the WII.

It was a great to end to a great year spending such a fun evening with family and friends!!

May 2010 be as great if not better then 2009!!!

Christmas Morning

2010-01-23T21:46:00.000-08:00

Santa left quite a spread for us when we woke up!!!!

Rylee was so excited that he ate all her cookies she left for him and signed her letter she wrote for him...

DEAR SANTA

THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTS THE LAST 6 YEARS..

I WOULD LIKE A WII AND A LIV GIRL AND A MUSKETEER DOLL.

DO YOU LIKE THEM

SIGN

Santa came through and gave Rylee a WII

..and Carter asked Santa for Thomas Stuff and the Jolly Ol' Man brought just what he asked for;
A train table with lots of tracks and trains!

I gave Ryan Band Hero for Christmas, ( it is amazing how I some how knew Santa was going to give Rylee a WII.)

We had a blast playing with it all morning

Rylee is quite the performer and I found out who she got it from (and its not me :) )

Christmas Eve

2010-01-23T21:30:00.000-08:00

We met up with our friends the Johnson's the night before Christmas at one of our favorite little restaurants for some yummy Chinese food. This is one of the first traditions we started with our little family on the Christmas's we spend here at home.

Carter, Gracie and Rylee

After dinner we headed home to make some peanut butter cookies for Santa....

{I love the pre-made dough you can buy in the store, it makes life so much easier!!!)

The kids were so excited to open their Christmas jammies

The kids were SO excited ALL day for Christmas!!! Amazingly enough after we finished the cookies and watched a movie about JESUS, the kids went to bed so easily and stayed in their beds ALL night, so Santa could do his work!

Rylee's Christmas dance performances

2009-12-21T18:29:00.000-08:00

Rylee had back to back dance performances; one on Friday and one on Saturday.

Friday she danced to Rudolph the red nose reindeer and Saturday her dance group danced at a special christian dance show celebrating Jesus Christ's life. They dance to Love one Another.

She did such a wonderful job. I love to watch my little angel dance!

McCormick Stillman Train Park

2009-12-21T18:15:00.000-08:00

THIS IS A FUN ANNUAL EVENT RYAN AND I PLAN FOR OUR NEIGHBORHOOD FRIENDS EVERY YEAR. WE MEET AT THE PARK AND HAVE HOT CHOCLATE AND DOUGHNUTS AND RIDE THE TRAIN AND CAROUSEL.

Me and the kids

Our group of friends chatting and enjoying the goodies

The Hill Family

The Morris's...Bergeson's...and Ryan

My kiddo's with the Kracht's and the Bower's

Some of our cute kids

ITS ELMO!!

AND CAT IN THE HAT!!!

Chandler Lights Parade

2009-12-21T18:12:00.001-08:00

RYLEE'S DANCE COMPANY HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO PUT A FLOAT IN THE CHANDLER LIGHTS PARADE. IT WAS SO GREAT TO START OFF OUR CHRISTMAS SEASON WITH THIS FUN PARADE.
RYLEE AND SOME OF THE OTHER GIRLS ON THE FLOAT.

IT WAS PRETTY CHILLY THAT NIGHT....
THOSE CUTE GIRLS WERE TROOPERS IN THEIR DANCE OUTFITS!

RY AND SMITTY

MY TWO HANDSOME BOYS

SMITTY AND ME

WE HAD TO KILL SOME TIME BEFORE THE PARADE STARTED SO WE HAD A PHOTO SHOOT.

Crum Family Christmas Party

2009-12-21T18:08:00.000-08:00

WE HAD OUR CRUM ENCHILADA PARTY ON SATURDAY THE 12TH.

WE TOTALLY LOOKED FORWARD TO EATING THOSE DELICIOUS ENCHILADAS.

THE KIDS DID THE NATIVITY, RYLEE WAS SOOOOOO EXCITED TO BE THE STAR AND CARTER WAS THE CUTEST COW I HAVE EVER SEEN BEFORE. WE HAD A LITTLE PROGRAM WITH SINGING AND A BOOK READING AND AMY RECITED FROM MEMORY THE ENTIRE STORY OF HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS {TOTALLY AMAZING}

AND THEN THE KIDS EXCHANGED ORNAMENTS.

CRUM NATIVITY SCENE

JOSH SHEPHERD, RYLEE STAR, CHLOE ANGEL, CARTER COW, KIMBALL SHEPHARD AND AMANDA SHEEP

RUTHANN AND AMIE

GRANDPA CRUM AND RYLEE ENJOYING DINNER

SOME OF THE CROWD

A beautiful winter day at the park

2009-12-21T18:03:00.001-08:00

I LOVE THE WEATHER HERE.....

COLD ENOUGH TO WEAR A JACKET IN THE EVENINGS...

WARM ENOUGH TO PLAY OUTSIDE DURING THE DAY!!!!!

FUN DAYS AT THE PARK

Thanksgiving weekend

2009-12-21T17:54:00.000-08:00

Carter doing his favorite thing when we go to UTAH.

Riding with Grandpa on the Tractor!!

THANKSGIVING DAY
Dinner's on!
Melanette, Kinlee, Telila, Leslee and James

Grandpa Ras is the greatest cook!

I look forward to his Thanksgiving cooking all year long

The three cutest six year olds around.. they are like peas in a pod!

Brinlee, Rylee, Maddee

Thanksgiving Day we started our shopping MADNESS at 11 pm

MADNESS is a very appropriate adjective to describe our Black Friday shopping.

So we left lil' old Nephi at 11 pm to hit TOYS R US at midnight.

We got there and decided the line was soooooo long it wasn't worth the wait so we headed to SLC to go to the mall.

We ended up going to Toys R Us later in the early morning hours and also went to Shopko, Target, Wal Mart, Home Depot and also headed up the mountains to Park City to shop at the outlets. We came down from PC around 2 (pm) and decided to rest and take in a movie and dinner so we went to Jordon Commons for dinner at the Mayan and a little vampire/werewolf action in New Moon. We hit a few more stores on our way home after the movie and arrived around 8 pm.
I don't think I have ever shopped so many hours straight in ALL my life! But it was so much fun to be with my mom and sisters.

Trudi, Jenni, Leslee, Mom, and me
Our little rest at the Mayan for dinner

The husbands and Grandpa Ras entertained the kids all day Friday by setting up a riding track around my parents lot that they could ride quads on. The kids had the greatest time ever.

NASCAR Weekend

2009-11-22T16:24:00.001-08:00

It's November and time for us too pack up our trailer and head out to the Phoenix International Raceway for the NASCAR race. We look forward to this twice a year in April and November and we have made some really great friends at the races.

Ryan went out to the race starting Wednesday and I came out Friday.

Thursday morning Ryan and the other guys in our camping group went golfing and had a great time.

Here are the cruisers. Our bikes are our mode of transportation out there, it is amazing how many trailers and people are out there.

My sweet cousin Nikki came out and stayed with us one night! We had a ton of fun going to the Cantina for a concert and hanging out!

My new FAVORITE Craft Project

2009-11-22T16:14:00.000-08:00

I "craft lifted" this idea from a picture I saw in the bathroom at the salon I get my hair done at and I just had to have one. This is the one I made first for my bathroom (it is so much cuter in person) and then I caught the flower bug and started making a few more.

I made a couple of these little cuties for my nieces

and I made this beauty for my dear mother for her birthday.

If anyone wants to make one I will help you or if you just want to buy one let me know, I will customize it for you home!

Halloween Day

2009-11-07T08:37:00.001-08:00

We started our day out with a awesome bike ride to the park. We loaded the kids up in the bike trailer along with their bikes and Bauer our dog and cruised down to Freestone Park. The weather couldn't have been better. We met Time and Gracie there and they brought bread to feed the ducks. The kids loved and so did Bauer, he got so excited watching the ducks he fell into the icky pond.

I told the kids if they were good they could ride the train and of course Carter was so excited because he absolutely LOVES trains! Rylee started in on her tantrums so while Carter and Grace enjoyed the train ride......

She spent her time crying and screaming at me on the grass. ( why is it no matter how much fun we have there is always a tantrum) :)

That night we visited G & G Crum's house to show off the kids in their costumes and have some soup and then we came home to trick or treat in our neighborhood. This was our first year staying home and it was so much fun. All our neighbors were here and we sat outside and visited. Rylee went trick or treating with her friends and the only thing Carter wanted to do was get his costume off and ride his bike around.

Halloween Fun

2009-11-07T08:23:00.000-08:00

The week of Halloween was filled with fun activities! Wednesday night Rylee and I went to our church carnival and G & G Crum's Church Carnival. It was a wee bit chilly and our noses were bright red from the cool night air, but we had a super fun time! Friday was Rylee's school costume parade and then I stayed and helped in her class doing activities. Rylee was so excited to have her mom in class and I had such a good time getting to know the kids in her class and her teacher a little bit better. Rylee and two of her friends from school

Friday night we went out to our best friends house to carve pumpkins with their families. This year Rylee did her whole pumpkin almost on her own and of course Carter had no desire to help with his so mom did it. We had a fun night with the Johnson's eating yummy food singing Halloween songs and carving pumpkins!
(The pic.'s were taken from our phones so they aren't the greatest)

Dancin' at the D~Backs Game

2009-10-03T16:27:00.000-07:00

Rylee's Dance Company, Higher Ground, were invited to perform before the Diamond Backs Baseball Game on September 18th. They have been practicing so hard during class time and at Saturday rehearsals and they did such a great job!!!! Rylee had a little moment of fame when the camera crews zoomed in on her during the dance, I was amazed at how pointy and straight her leg was in the shot (she is the one right in the middle)!

We didn't stay for the whole game because the kids got really tired, but we were there long enough to enjoy the game and a few amenities the stadium has to offer.

GREAT JOB RY GIRL

WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU!

One on One time with my parents

2009-10-03T16:09:00.001-07:00

My parents were at Lake Powell the week following Labor Day staying on their houseboat. Because school had started none of my sisters were able to go but Carter and I ditched Ryan and Rylee and headed to the Lake for some R&R and one on one time with my dad and mom! YEAH!

Carter and my Dad started the day with breakfast and a fishing expedition! Carter absolutely LOVED hanging out with Grandpa every day all by himself! They caught fish, played on the beach and watched Thomas and Diego movies! I on the other hand spent some much needed time reading and relaxing. I really didn't have to lift a finger; my dad cooked every meal for us (which were so FABULOUS) and Carter was so entertained with Grandpa and Grandma and his movies. I loved, Loved, LOVED being with my just my parents! I love all my family, but when we get together, there is 12 adults and 12 grand kids and things get a lot louder and very busy!

Carter's Birthday party

2009-09-21T20:22:00.000-07:00

I planned a small party for Carter at Freestone Park with his friends. My hopes were that it would be cool enough to enjoy lunch and cupcakes, feed the ducks in the pond and go on the train that circles the park. When Carter and I arrived at the park at 10 am to set up it was 92 degrees and wasn't too uncomfortable yet, but by the time the party group arrived the heat was on!!!! We still fit everything in, I just pushed it along a little quicker.

Carter had the greatest time......he loved having all of his friends there... loved every gift he received....loved getting sang to and blowing out the candles......and loved, LOVED, LOVED the train ride!

Rylee was so anxious to open presents she could hardly wait for Carter to do it...I think she ended up opening the majority of them for him!

Carter had to take his Thomas Train with him to ride the train

The Party Crew

{aren't they so cute}

Our Train

Thanks to all of our friends and family who came and made Carter's birthday so memorable for him and for us!

Happy Birthday Smitty

2009-09-21T13:56:00.000-07:00

Happy 3rd Birthday baby boy!!!!

You are such a joy in our lives!

Pajama Party for dance

2009-08-30T16:47:00.001-07:00

We hosted a party for Rylee's dance co. group Friday night. I thought it would be a FABULOUS idea to have them come in their favorite PJ's, have a Ice Cream Sundae Bar and watch the newly released Hannah Montana Movie. We had 9 lil' dancin' drama queens show up; I stuffed them with lots of sugar and then said okay "Sit Down, Be Quiet and Watch the Movie"

WHAT WAS I THINKING!!!

The first 15 of minutes of the movie the girls looked like this {above picture}....the last 89 minutes of the movie they looked mostly like this. LOL

The girls had a wonderful time and I was so grateful to have a few moms there to help me do crowd control.

{Maybe next time I will cut down on the sugar content}

A few fun changes in the house of Crum's

2009-08-24T20:28:00.000-07:00

Good- bye CribHello Race Car Bed

......and Rylee lost her first tooth!!!

Well actually Ryan helped yank it out with a string {that is his area of parenting, I totally don't want to have to do that, ICKY!}

YES, there were a few tears, I think it scared her more than anything!
But her excitement was beyond measure!!!
HERE COMES THE TOOTH FAIRY!!

Saturday Family Outing

2009-08-15T20:08:00.000-07:00

We decided to fill up some of our free time today by going to the driving range to hit some balls. When Carter saw Ryan pulling out his golf clubs from the closet he asked "Dad you going?" Ryan said "You get to come too bud" and the expression on his face when he heard that was pricelss. We borrowed some clubs for the kids from some kind family members and went out into the heat. The kids had the best time hitting golf balls, they were both so determined to hit the ball. After an hour it got a little too warm to stay out any longer (107 degrees) and the kids faces were the prettiest shade of red, so we loaded everyone up and headed home to cool down and hydrate.

Back to School

2009-08-15T19:55:00.000-07:00

I have a 1st grader.....I can't believe it!!! Rylee started school on August 12th and our summer vacation is officially over. We had such a fun summer and I am going to miss seeing her cute little face during the day. Already she loves her teacher and has made many new friends.

Summer Fun to the Firehouse

2009-08-15T19:50:00.000-07:00

My friend Heather organized a super fun field trip to the fire house for us at the beginning of the summer. The kids loved it, but I think the mom's liked it more. I thought it was so cool to see how fire fighters jobs work and to see the different types of fire engines and all the stuff they store on them. The kids climbed in the fire engines to look around and even got to try on a fire man suit and after the tour they snuck in some TV time with the fire fighters on duty. FUN, FUN, FUN!!!

Rylie Posti and Carter

Fire Fighter Rylee

Fire Fighter Carter

Summer Vacation cont....Lake Powell Week

2009-08-15T19:37:00.000-07:00

We arrived at the lake on Rylee's Birthday; we had been driving most of the day and Ryan just dropped us off and headed home becuase he had to work that night. The kids and I were the first ones to arrive on the house boat and we decided to go to the marina and buy some ice cream treats to celebrate her birthday a little more.

My parents were the next to arrive and they didn't get to the lake until late that night. Then the rest of sisters and their families came down next day.

We absolutely love going to the lake with my parents, and we look forward to it every year. Grandpa and Grandma provide the boats and fun and we just get to show up and help with meals. We took the house boat out and found a lovely beach to anchor to. My dad's birthday is the day after Rylee's so we celebrated his birthday and also the three girls birthday's AGAIN.

The house boat works out perfectly for our family because usually the husbands stay home to work during the week or only come for a few days of the trip so the environment can be more relaxed. Ryan came up to the lake to play for the weekend after working for the week and I was grateful to have him there not only because we missed him but it is nice to have help keeping an eye on the kids.

Some of our favorties from this trip were that Carter loved going on the tube this year behind Grandpas boat, Rylee loved knee boarding. She tried water skiing and got up for a few yards. Rylee and I also did a little cliff jumping and I was able to get my old bones up water skiing.

Our Lake Powell trip was the perfect ending to our wonderful vacation to Utah.

Eating ice cream is never a clean process for Carter

My sweet 6yr old Birthday Girl

Sight Seeing Boat rides are the perfect thing to do to get the kids to fall asleep

My amazing dad blowing out all 54 of his candles
{I love all the kids faces, they are trying to help him blow out the candles too}

The girls blowing out their candles

Uncle Brad took the girls out for a boat ride, he was the motor!

Grandpa and the three lil boys.

Dyllie, Smitty and Mr. B

Uncle James took Rylee, Kaelee and Jalynn out fishing and the boats motor gave out about 150 feet from the shore and he was stuck paddling them back. The girls look totally enthused!

The triple tube pull with the house boat in the background.

The kids would spend hours digging holes in the sand. It was great entertainment for them.

Me, Carter, Rylee and Brinlee on the tube

Ryan took this picture of Rylee with his hat and glasses on. The coolest part about the picture is the reflection in the glasses of the red cliffs at the lake.

Rylee totally passed out on Ryan {doesn't look very comfortable}

Summer Vacation Cont...Rasmussen Family Reunion

2009-08-15T19:29:00.000-07:00

My parents were in charge of the Rasmussen Family Reunion this year and the kids and I were so excited to go. Because we live out of state it makes it harder to attend the reunion every year, but this year we made sure we could go. We camped at my cousins Jay's ranch in the mountains up Spanish Fork Canyon. It was a beautiful place with so many fun activities for the kids. There was a tree house with slides and all kinds of swings and big swing tied to a very tall tree that would swing out over a creek and back. The kids had a blast playing in the dirt and camping with Grandpa and Grandma. (Our kind of camping is in trailer with running water and toilets :))I loved getting to see cousins I haven't seen for years and catching up on their lives.

Ryan was able to come for one day of the reunion; he flew in from Colorado after he finished a business trip there. We hadn't seen him for a little over two weeks so it was SOOOO nice to see my Sweat heart. After the Reunion he helped me drive with the kids to Lake Powell which was also the real day of Rylee's birthday! So it worked out perfectly that Rylee could have her daddy there for her birthday!

Grandpa Ras., Carter and Jay

Craft time!!!
Jen and I were in charge of the crafts for the kids. They made bug jars, bow and arrows, necklaces and sun catchers.

Brinlee, Kale, Rylee, Kam on the tire swing.

Summer Vacation cont....Ute Stampede Rodeo

2009-08-15T19:26:00.000-07:00

Rylee and I attended Nephi's Ute Stampede Rodeo and Carnival with Aunt Leslee, Uncle Brad, Brinlee, Brecken, and Uncle Josh, Kaden and Kale. We snuck in for the last half hour of the rodeo which was plenty of rodeo for us to watch. After the rodeo was finished we took the kids to the carnival and let them ride a few rides.

Rylee and Brinlee

Kaden and Kale

Summer Vacation cont...Girls Birthday party at the pool

2009-08-15T19:20:00.000-07:00

Another day of Birthday Celebrations for Rylee and her two cousins Brinlee and Maddee. We had a little swimming party at the Payson pool with all of her cousins. We had pizza, cupcakes, gifts, lots of swimming and sooo much fun!!!Aunt Jen and the kids

Cupcake Time

Gifts

Rylee was so excited to get the HSM 3 Barbies!!!

Rylee in the lazy river

Carter swam for a few hours and then asked to put his clothes on, he was done swimming!

Carter and Brecken

Brinlee, Rylee, Kaelee, Maddee, Jalynn and Brecken

Summer Vacation cont..Birthday fun

2009-08-02T09:51:00.001-07:00

Rylee and my nieces Brinlee and Maddee were all born within the month of July {we call them our triplets} As part of their birthday celebration my sisters (their mommies) and I took them to see their Auntie Melanette at beauty school for make-overs. They walked in looking like normal 5 yr old girls and walked out all sparkly and beautiful. After their pampering we took them to lunch at Red Robin and their favorite part of lunch was when their birthday dessert came. The yummy chocolate cake disappeared so fast that the mommies didn't even get a lil' taste. It's hard to believe they are all turning 6!!!

The girls and Aunt Melanette

Brinlee and Melanette

Maddee

Rylee

Summer vacation cont.. Fourth of July Celebrations

2009-08-02T09:48:00.001-07:00

We love to visit Utah over the 4th of July. There is no better way to celebrate our Country's Independence than in the small town of Nephi. I made all my nieces these cute pillowcase dresses out of a red sheet and some of my mom's extra pillowcase fabric. I found the pattern online and whipped them up in a couple of days. {I was surprised how super cute they turned out.} Anyway back to celebrating our Country's Independence, we went to Nephi's town celebration at the city park. There was a little carnival type think with bounce houses and games and a few rides. The kids played games and won tickets to put towards bigger prizes, they rode the train rides, we ate snow cones and watched bits of a talent show they had going on for entertainment. It was so much fun! After the park festivities we headed back to my parents house for a BBQ and some DELICIOUS GRUB. The only sad part of the whole day was by the time it got dark enough to go watch the fireworks a huge storm rolled and rained out the firework show.

Summer Vacation cont..A day in the Manti Mountains

2009-08-01T20:59:00.000-07:00

My Dad had July 3rd off work so we all decided to pack up the quads and the kids and some food to make tin foil dinners and head to the mountains for a little riding and fishing. The weather was absolutely fabulous up there and it was so green and lush. We drove quite a ways up into the mountains before we found a little spot to make camp and unload the machines. The mountains up there are filled with these small little beaver ponds filled with trout. We stopped at one little pond and Grandpa took all the grand kids on a walk to look for Beaver houses and they found one pretty quick; the kids thought it was so cool to look at. We loaded back up and went up into the mountains a little farther before we stopped at our final beaver pond. The kids started fishing and one by one they all had a turn fishing and caught a fish. It never got old watching the excitement on their faces as they reeled their fish in. The beaver house hole

Dylan and Carter in the back of Grandpa's Prowler

All the Rasmussen Grand kids (aren't they cute)

Maddee and Rylee fishing

The Beaver pond

My cute niece Kinley took a sip of my pop and she would not give it back to me much to her mothers dismay.

Carter was a little frightened of his fish, it's a good thing Uncle Josh was there to help.

Brecken was terrified of his fish

Summer Vacation cont..Drive in movie fun

2009-08-01T20:33:00.000-07:00

I found the cutest party idea on a blog about a drive-in movie and decided we had to do it at my parents house while we were there. We gathered up boxes for the cars and stapled paper plates on for wheels and painted headlights. We used material for the straps to go over their shoulders to hold their cars up and folded in the tops and bottoms of all the boxes. Jen, my sis, has a preschool so she had all the paint and decorating supplies for the cars. My mom gave out grandparent dollars ( index cards with dollar signs) out all day when she observed the kids doing good deeds so they could buy concessions for their drive in movie that night. It was so cute to watch them get excited about earning "G" dollars. After the kids decorated their cars they had a car show and car race with Pappa. It was sooooo fun to watch them display their cars, even my little nephews who are almost 2 were totally in heaven painting and showing their cars off. After the car show the kids brought their cars in and parked them in the movie theatre room for the movie. They bought their treats from the concession stand and then settled in their cars with their jammies on and blankets and pillows to watch Tale of Despereaux. My parents also let all the older kids stay for a sleep over...they are super troopers.

As we rated the fun evening we had the next day the kids all said it was the funnest activity they have ever done. We all loved it!! The kids and my parent in the theatre room watching the movie.

Brinlee and Rylee in their cars.

The Concessions stand

Isn't that the cutest dirty little face.

The car show.

Kaelee and Kam painting their cars

Rylee showing off her fancy car.

Carter painting his car.

We will miss you!!

2009-07-25T22:58:00.000-07:00

Some of our dear friends, the Posti Family are leaving us here in the Valley of the Sun to go to Florida.

We will miss them so much! We love guys!

"Oh, What do you do in the summertime"

2009-07-24T10:41:00.000-07:00

"What do you do in the summer time when the temperature's 109?" Do you stay and endure or leave town for sure, .....is that what you do.....so do I..."

We chose to get out of town this summer for 3 weeks and spend it with my family in Utah. I started my vacation a few days earlier than my kids... they were getting two days of daddy time so I left Friday the 26th of June for St. George for a little quality R & R Girl Time. The Rasmussen's girls (some my aunties and cousins) have the tradition of meeting up for a weekend in St. George to take in the plays at the local outdoor theatre, Tuacahn, every summer. This year we rented one big house to hold all 21 of us and we saw the plays "Annie" and "Footloose". In our free time we relaxed by the pool, went shopping, played games, we saw the movie "The Proposal" (it was such a cute "chick flick") and stayed up late chatting.

It was so therapeutic for me to go, I was able to relax and remember who I am, I so frequently get too wrapped up in being a mom and a wife and trying to keep up with who I think I should be that I forget me. Anyway...(enough of that), I remembered my ol' weird self and I had such a great time! I love my family and I love getting together with them every year, sometimes that is the only time I get to see some of my aunt's and cousins. I am already looking forward to next years Tuachan adventure.

So...my R & R ended on Sunday when I met Ryan on the border (of Utah and Arizona) to pick up the kids. Ryan had to stay home and work and provide for the family so he didn't get to enjoy our three week vacation.

I used some of the time we were up there to catch up with some old friends. We first met up with one of the families we grew up with in Bountiful, the Smiths, we got together at the Lehi Pool for some swimming fun for the kids. Connie, Jessica and Megan were able to come and meet us, Connie is one of my mom's best friends and we used to a lot together as families when we were young. We were able to connect again through Facebook after 6 years. We had a wonderful time seeing Jessica and Megan's kids and hearing how their other siblings were doing.

I have to give a big shout out to the pools in UT, they are so nice, with a lot of fun things for the kiddo's. The kids were entertained for hours and hours. My sister's and I had to pry our kids out of the water, they did not want to leave.

I also met up with 2 of my BFF's from high school. We met at my friend Tanya's house in Tremonton and we had lunch and let the kids play outside with water balloons and jump on the trampoline. Lysney came up from Ogden with her three boys (triplets) and Tanya had her four kids there. It had been three years since we have gotten together but it felt like we hadn't missed a beat. We caught up with our lives and talked about all the crazy stuff we did in high school and when we all lived together in Logan after high school. We had sooooo many good times, we have been friends for over 17 years. (that made me feel really old :)

Tanya, Michelle, Lynsey and Moi

1996

I love those girls and miss them!

{more summer fun to come....to be cont.}

Music Theater Recital

2009-06-14T20:08:00.000-07:00

Rylee was in a two week Musical Theater Class from Higher Ground Dance Studio with her friends Brielle and Reagan. They went to class Monday through Friday and learned songs and dancing, acting and improvisations. Rylee had an absolute blast in the class and loved putting on a show for the parents. Here are a few clips of there musical numbers and pic of the girls together after the show.

Zoo play day

2009-06-14T19:43:00.000-07:00

My girlfriends Heather and Amy and I took our younger kids that were not in school to the zoo a day in the end of May We took a break and ate lunch at the Little People Farm at the zoo and we had a big feathered friend who lingered around and wanted to join us. This peacock was not afraid of us at all and cleaned up all the crumbs the kids dropped on the ground. Poor Reagan was very nervous about the peacock and when she was finished with her lunch she chose to hide in their stroller from the peacock. It was so funny!

This is where Reagan hid from the Peacock that kept lingering around our lunch table.

Carter, Riley, and Grace

It was hot enough that we didn't walk around to see the animals for very long. The Zoo has two fun water areas for the kids to play at and we spent time playing at both before we had to head home.

Reagan and Cooper

Grace

"What time is it"

2009-06-12T09:07:00.000-07:00

"What time is it, summertime, it our vacation..Schools out, scream and shout, it our vacation...."

We are officially in the 3rd week of our summer vacation. We have had some fun times so far this summer. Rylee ended kindergarten just before memorial weekend. The day after school got out she spent the day at Mesquite Jr. high all day for her dance rehearsal and then that evening was her dance recital. She was in 5 different dances which meant 5 costume changes which meant I had to run back stage from the audience and help each time. The dance recital was wonderful and of course Ry and I felt so proud of our little performer.

Sunday the 24th came and we were visited by the puking fairy. Rylee got it first and then I got sick (on my bday) then little Smitty and finally Ryan, it left none of us unscathed.

We soon started swimming lessons, Rylee started her music theater class, our summer movie pass began and we bought a swim pass for all the city pools. Needless to say there hasn't been a dull moment yet.

We had the our friends two little girls stay with us for 4 days last weekend. They have a little girl Rylee's age and a little girl Smitty's age. They all had so much fun playing every day. It was a lot of work to keep all four them happy and entertained for four days. We made cupcakes, went to the library, played on the slip-n-slide, had water balloon fights, made ribbon flip flops, had a movie fun night and so much more.

One of the cutest things to listen to was at night Smitty and Doodle slept in the same room and they would sing each other to sleep. We heard renditions of Twinkle Little Star, A B C's, You are my Sunshine and a few more I couldn't recognize.

Saturday night Rylee and Reagan wanted a bubble bath in my tub so they could turn on the jets. The jets made so many bubbles and they had a blast playing in the tub. The water was only as deep as their belly buttons and the rest was bubbles, they stood up and wanted to show me their bubble suits, they thought it was soooo funny looking!

"Let's Play Music" Recital

2009-05-11T21:27:00.000-07:00

Rylee has been taking a music class from my BF Christi. I am really excited about the program and what she has learned in just a year. Last Friday she had a year end recital and it was so neat to see all that she has learned about music. The "Lets Play Music" program is a three year program and at the end of the third year the kids can compose and play the piano. It gives them a good base and knowledge of music to use in many ways.

Our house full of girls

2009-05-11T21:12:00.001-07:00

Friday night we hosted a make over party for Rylee's dance team. The girls all came over after their last dance class on Friday and we had pizza and root beer floats. Then they were pampered and had their nails painted, their make-up done and their hair styled in an up-do. Thanks to Jheri (who put it all together) and Calli and Suzanne and Bethanne who helped me in pampering the girls, the girls had a blast. I was worried they would all want their hair done differently but to my surprise they all wanted it just like Rylee and Ruby's hair ( who were the first two to get their hair done). Hooray, it made my night so much easier. Carter had a great time teasing the girls and making them scream. He showed his true character that night. At the end of the night when I was tucking Rylee into bed she thanked me for her "best day ever". I love when all the hard work pays off with a wonderful thank you.

Here is a few pics of the glamour girls....

Mothers Day

2009-05-11T21:03:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful Mother's Day I had..... last week I was invited to Rylee's school for a special program the kindergartners did for their mothers. They sang beautifully and Rylee gave me a sweet card and a flower she had planted and grown from a seed.

Sunday morning I woke up to sweet sounds and smells of breakfast. My wonderful hubby and sweet kids made us a wonderful breakfast and gave me some beautiful flowers and a gift certificate for one of my favorite things...a pedicure....and I can't wait to use it. They were all on their best behavior the whole day. We enjoyed a wonderful Sunday nap and nice dinner at Ryan's parents home. I hope every mother had a fabulous day.... we deserve it ;}!!

Singing Time

2009-05-11T20:54:00.001-07:00

One of our favorite things to take video footage of is the kids singing. My kids love to sing! Rylee has loved to sing from day one and I occasionally hear Smitty break out in song and it makes me smile. They love Taylor Swift and a few pop songs and of course the lullaby's we sing them at night. I wanted to post my all time favorite footage of Rylee singing and our most recent of them both singing together; forgive me for the nudity of my kiddies in the tub but it so fun to hear them sing.

Boogity, Boogity, let's go racin'!

2009-04-26T13:29:00.000-07:00

The NASCAR Race at PIR is one of the highlights on Ryan's favorite things to do list. We have a good time going out there and camping and there is oodles of people watching to do and socializing. I heard on the radio that the racetrack becomes the 5th largest city in AZ when it's race weekend it's amazing how many people are there.

Where the wild things are...

2009-04-26T13:20:00.000-07:00

Smitty

Cooper splashing around

Smitty thinking about attempting to go down the slide

Smitty and Gracie entranced by the elephant

I share a zoo pass with a few BF's and we absolutely love to go. It gives Smitty and I something we can do together in the mornings to get out of the house and spend time together. I love to watch him learn about the animals, play in the water areas and have a good time; it's definitely worth the little bit of $$$ we payed!!!

Easter Pictures

2009-04-26T13:09:00.000-07:00

The kids and I got back in town late Saturday night. Our Easter Sunday was very nice and laid back. After attending our church meetings we later went over to G & G Crum's house for dinner and an egg hunt. The kids love hunting eggs and finding what treasure is inside. G & G put all kinds of candy and money in the eggs and we hide them all throughout their huge yard. As the grandkids get older they search for the eggs that have money in them, it so fun to watch.

California Fun

2009-04-20T13:41:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Ras. we got to spend a whole week in California with all of my family. They took to us to Disneyland for 3 days of adventure and excitement; we stayed right in Disneyland at the Disneyland hotel. It was so fabulous to be so close and to swing back by the hotel for mid afternoon naps or swimming breaks at the hotel pool. It was so amazing to watch the excitement in all the kids eyes as they experienced Disneyland and California Adventure. I remember going as a child and everything seemed so big and so elaborate. I dreamed of sleeping in the castle like a princess and living in Toone Towne with Mickey and Minnie. Going back as an adult definitely changed things, everything looked a lot smaller but being there with my kids and hubby was priceless. Rylee's favorite part of Disneyland was meeting the characters and getting her picture with them....Carter's favorite part was riding anything that resembled a train. There was one night that my parents watched all the kids and me and my sisters and our husbands went out to play and enjoy the rides without the kiddo's, it was so much fun. The train we rode many, many times goes all around the outside of the Disneyland

Ryan had to fly home to work after we left Disneyland, but the rest of continued to San Diego to stay in the fabulous Bahia Resort on Mission Bay for three days and to go see Sea World. The resort was fabulous with a ton of amenities for guests. They had activities planned for the kids from 10-3 we could sign up for, an arcade and swimming pool, a seal pool, all kinds of boats to use, bikes to ride, beautiful beaches to play on with a playground, little cabanas to sit in, a ferry boat river cruise... and so much more. We had a blast and I found that we quickly ran out of time before enjoying all that there was to do. Thanks a million, billion times to my parents for the very WONDERFUL, MEMORABLE vacation. Here are a few pics from a amazing trip.

Rylee and Carter loved watching all the shows at Sea World.

Carter calls Shamu "Shampoo"

We loved playing with the sting rays.

SOOOO TIRED

Pirate Treasure Hunt

Dance Performance at Porter Elementary Carnival

2009-04-01T22:21:00.001-07:00

"Hit me with your best shot"

"Oh so Quiet"

Spring Break

2009-04-01T22:08:00.001-07:00

For Rylee's spring break we jumped in the car and made the drive to UT to visit my side of our family. I like to leave around 4 am so the kids will sleep most of the drive. I thought it was hilarious how sprawled out Rylee was.We all had so much fun hanging out at Grandpa and Grandma Rasmussen's house and the kids played and played with all of their cousins. The weather was gorgeous up there and I even was able to sneak in a visit with some of my cousins and aunts at my cousins baby shower.
Grandpa is very busy with work but he made sure to find time to spend with my kids. He took Carter for a drive to the local John Deere Tractor store and then took pictures by all the tractors and climbed in them and pushed buttons. Carter had the time of his life and has the cutest little book of pictures they took of that day that Grandpa made him. Also while we were in town, my little sis Mel tried out for Miss Nephi. She did such a great job and I am so proud of her for trying something new and being so brave. I am so grateful for the time we all get to spend together, because I really miss being far away and not in on the daily lives of my sisters, parents, nieces and nephews.

Our little ring bearer

2009-04-01T22:01:00.001-07:00

On March 13th Ryan's nephew Tyler married his long time sweetheart and little Smitty was the ring bearer. I may have a biased opinion but he was the cutest ring bearer I have ever seen. He promptly walked all the way down the aisle without a nervous bone in his body. I was a little nervous about the evening but he proudly wore his suit and bow tie, just no shoes.

The wedding was beautiful..... Congratulations Tyler and Holly.