Ry, Meg, & Cooper

Super Bowl XLVI

2012-02-14T12:19:00.000-08:00

We did our traditional Super Bowl celebration out at my parents. We only had a minor glitch (that almost turned major, at least for Ry). We have started a tradition of getting jerseys for the team we want to win, so once we find out the two teams that are playing we go out and get our jerseys. Ry ordered Cooper's jersey and we thought we would look locally for our jerseys, which proved to be an epic failure. This year I thought I would try and save us some money so I found a website and sent it to Ry, he ordered our jerseys, and we never got a tracking number, needless to say our jerseys didn't show up until this past week. Ry went snowmobiling the Saturday before Super Bowl with my Uncle Ronald and stopped in Idaho Falls on his way back, his knee was killing him so he sent his little brother, Tyler, in to see what their Fanzz store had. He ended up buying a sweatshirt for Ry and a child's medium jersey for me, since that's what he thought I had last year. I could tell Ry was REALLY bummed that I had screwed up our tradition by being cheap, I told him he could be in charge in years to come. Anyway, I tried on the jersey he got, and looked at my last years jersey, which is a youth, not a child, so that didn't work and I could tell Ry wasn't thrilled about a sweatshirt. I called a zillion stores in Idaho and Utah (I was willing to drive where ever to get him his jersey,) the closest one I could find that has the jersey he wanted, was in Reno Nevada, and Ry didn't want me driving that far, I felt SO bad. Sunday morning rolled around and Ry said he was going to Idaho Falls to find us some jerseys, nothing like cutting to the last second. I went to church with Coop, and taught our Sunday school class, all the while getting text updates on every store Ry was going to and how none of them had jerseys. He ended up finding a sports store that was a few stores down from Fanzz in the mall that miraculously had two left, so he bought them (not the number he wanted, but he settled). So our tradition wasn't broken, and I am officially going to let Ryan handle all of the upcoming Super Bowl jersey purchasing!

We had SO much food, by the end of the game you couldn't even tell anyone had touched anything. We had wings, chips and dips, spinach artichoke dip, veggies, piggies in a blanket, helmet and football jigglers, tuxedo cake, and TONS more. And may I say, that Coop was SO cute in his little jersey!?!!!

Happy New Year 2012!!!

2012-01-31T12:44:00.000-08:00

We had a great New Year's Eve this year, we went to a matinee of Sherlock Holmes with Ry's family and then joined them for an early dinner at Road House. After dinner we went to Ry's parents' to play some games before we headed up to my Grandparents to play some games and enjoy some yummy snacks. We played some games then Coop dozed off and I think we ended up leaving a little bit before the official count down, (we made up our own at about 11:30) and then headed home so we could start our New Year off with some sleep.

We thought we would have a great start to our New Year, but it turns out that that wasn't in the cards for us. On January 3rd Ry was playing in a City League basketball game that was getting pretty heated, and of course, the dumb refs were not helping the situation by making horrible calls or no calls at all. During the last quarter Ry went in for a lay up and was literally tackled by three of the other teams' players, and no foul called, surprise surprise, Ry couldn't get up without help and was in TONS of pain. He was telling me what he heard/felt when it happened and I knew instantly, from experience, that he probably tore his ACL. Our friend Nic checked him out and thought he tore the athlete's triad (ACL, MCL, and meniscus) so he wrote us an order for an MRI, we got the results back and he completely tore his ACL, meniscus and partially tore part of the other meniscus. We met with the surgeon and he wants Ry to get as much range of motion he can before operating so that recovery is easier so he has been doing his exercises to work on that.

Ry has continued to coach his girls team and had their last game this past week against Twin, they won and had a great season. Now Ry is helping with the varsity in their preparation for State, which will be mid February. He wants to put off surgery until after the State Championship, we meet with the doctor again this Thursday, so we will see what he says.

Ryan is in Boston right now, he is in the process of starting his own business and hopes to get it up and running by September 1st, it's very exciting, scary and is going to take lots of faith, so I hope everything goes as planned and it all takes off smoothly.

Cooper is developing such a funny personality, he is becoming more and more independent. He has tried lots of new foods this month; squash, which he hates, blueberries, avacado, sweet potatoes, banana, broccoli, and apples. His favorites are blueberries, broccoli and sweet potatoes, he likes apples and bananas if he can eat them like finger food, he won't eat them off of a spoon. He hates pureed apples and squash, and he is bored with his oatmeal, so I try mixing in foods he likes with it. He watches everyone and everything around him and tries mimicking sounds all the time. His latest sound is growling, he got a new book with a lion and a bear, and ever since we started reading that he growls, it's hilarious! We have been working with him on crawling, but he only scoots backward and then gets so frustrated that he throws himself on the ground and buries his head in his hands. He would much rather stand and jump than crawl, i'm going to try and find a jumper seat to hang from the doorway, I think he would love it. He is getting extremely good with his fingers and hands, he was introduced to the bead roller coaster at my parents' and is obsessed with it. On January 15th Coop's first tooth poked through and eight days later is second one popped through, teething has definitely been a bit of a challenge. He is just not himself, doesn't feel well, and wants to chew on anything he gets his hands on. I cannot believe he is already seven months old, time is flying so fast, before I know it I'm going to be planning his one year birthday party.

Cooper's first New Year's Eve, such a fitting picture... isn't he darling!?

After his little cat nap...

Our little family!

Goodnight litte one, and Happy New Year 2012!!!

Mischevious little face.

Coop has been enjoying his Christmas toys...

And he loves sitting up by himself, it's his new found love.

Ry and his team, he has had so much fun coaching them and is definitely sad that the season is already over.

Cooper giving Grandpa kisses!

Coopy loves his broccoli!

He is very vocal, as you can see!

M.... blueberries!

Seven months old

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!!!

2012-01-06T12:29:00.000-08:00

This Christmas flew by WAY too fast, I feel like we barely got to enjoy that Christmas feeling. I love this time of year and the reminder we get to reflect on our Savior and his birth along with all of our many blessings. Christmas is even more magical having a baby, Cooper loved everything about Christmas; the lights, the music, the tree, ornaments, gifts (mostly the paper and ribbon), and all the family we were surrounded by. Ry's family has a family Christmas party the day before Christmas Eve every year, but sadly, this year we were unable to make it. Both my boys were super sick, Ry was achey, feverish and literally could barely drag himself out of bed, and little Coop had a cough, runny nose and just didn't feel well, so we stayed in and I took care of the sickies. Coop started feeling a little better for Christmas Eve but Ry still felt pretty crappy so we couldn't go to our annual Christmas Eve day movie with his family. After resting all day, Ry rallied and got ready for our Christmas Eve festivities, still feeling bad, he was such a trooper. We started our traditional progressive dinner at my parents house with delicious appetizers, wassail and egg nog. Cooper fell asleep for a while while we were out at my parents and I was hoping he wouldn't stay asleep the whole night, because I was so excited for him to enjoy his first Christmas Eve. After my parents' house we headed to the Wood's for yummy soup, salad, bread and rolls. We ended at my Grandparents' for the main course and my personal favorite ris a la mande, which I did not get enough of this year. After dinner my Grandpa read the Christmas story from the Bible, we sang some Christmas songs and opened gifts and enjoyed being with our family.

Cooper enjoying the tree and playing with his presents, he started sitting by himself on December 5th, such a big boy!

One of Coop's favorite decorations was the mistletoe, he had to touch it every time we walked by.

He would much rather stand that sit and thinks he is much bigger than he really is. He gets very frustrated when he's on he tummy reaching for a toy because he can only scoot backward and hasn't mastered forward movement yet.

You can tell from this picture he was not feeling himself, poor little guy. I cannot believe he is already six months old!! This has been the fastest six months of my life, I really wish time would slow down a bit so I can savor all the sweet moments with Coop.

CHRISTMAS EVE 2011

Happy Christmas Eve family photo op at my parents house.

Great Grandma snuggling our little tired gummie bear before he crashed...

Christmas Eve naptime...

My cute Grandparents.

Ry playing with the Wood's kids, he's such a kid at heart.

Uncle Marcus enjoying some quality time with this little nugget.

Cooper loved feeling the tree and looking at all the lights.

Cooper enjoying his books from his Great Uncle Scott.

Coop with his Great Grandpa Miller and the outfit he picked out for him. My Grandparents gave Coop this darling track suit and have been VERY excited to give it to him since they bought it a few months ago. My Grandpa kept asking when he was going to wear it anytime I would visit and I had to remind him it wasn't Christmas yet, so Coop didn't have it.

Uncle David and Uncle Scott

Coop enjoying some more wrapping paper.

CHRISTMAS DAY 2011

Christmas morning was SO fun, Ry and I enjoyed watching Cooper with all of his new toys. Santa brought lots of fun things for Coop this year, he will be entertained for years to come with all of his fun toys. We could have got Cooper a water bottle and some wrapping paper and he would have been just as happy, and we decided for next year we won't go so overboard with all the toys. After we opened our gifts at home and had a nice Christmas morning together Cooper and I went to church (Ry was still feeling sick so he went back to bed). Toward the end of the meeting I saw my phone light up, it was a text from Mareesa saying that Mckaid was on the phone to hurry out there. Since Ry was still feeling bad, I ran to the car with Coop and hustled out to my parents so I could talk to Kaid. He sounded so great and it was so nice to talk to him. He's such a wonderful missionary, he has a cute little accent and we could tell he is loving everything and everyone on his mission. I miss him so much and can't wait for his return in nine months!

Mckaid sent us this pic for Cooper, he's is so excited he's an uncle and is looking forward to September so he can't meet him in person.

Kaid playing with baby lion cubs, SOOOO darling!

Unwrapping gifts...

Coop and his Christmas morning haul...

Coop's Christmas teddy from Ry's parents.

Opening gifts at Ry's parents.

Coop opening some gifts from my parents...

The day after Christmas we went shooting together. My Dad, Mareesa, Kirsten, Uncle Scott, Sheridan, and Marcus.

Ry and his 22, he hasn't shot for almost two years now.

Marcus trying out his new rifle, his Christmas present to himself.

Scott trying out Marcus' bow...it's much harder than it looks.

Me shooting my Christmas present, it's a little revolver that shoots 45's and 410 shot gun shells, love it, thanks Ry!!!

Cooper with all of his Christmas loot, he had a fabulous first Christmas. We had such a nice time with all of the family that was able to be here. Ry is finally feeling better and Coop is back to his happy little self.

More December Fun...

2012-01-04T06:35:00.000-08:00

Although it hasn't snowed much there were a few frigid days, so Coop got to dress nice and warm in his bear suit from his Great Gma and Great Gpa Sims. Doesn't he look comfy and cozy?

Cooper was a great assistant as I wrapped gifts, he loved the ribbon and paper!!

He loves his chubby little feet and anytime he finds his toes he sucks on them. He is such a happy boy and we LOVE it!!!

Ry's girls team had a three day tournament in Utah, Cooper and I drove down on the last day to watch their last game. They took second place and are improving and playing much better together as a team. After the game we headed to Salt Lake for a little bit of Christmas shopping, there were an insane amount of people and it wasn't a very fun or successful shopping night. After shopping we went to Macaroni Grill for dinner and we were planning on going to look at the lights at Temple Square but while we were eating dinner the temperature dropped into the teens so we decided it was too cold for Coop, so we just drove around for Coopy looked at the lights and LOVED them.

While Lauren had a Jamberry party our boys got to play. They are SO cute together, they reach for each other, smile at each other and notice each other's toys, hats and shoes... LOVE them!

My Dad's friend, Mike, also known as Santa, has visited me as Santa since I was born. We have now started the exciting tradition with Cooper, for a second generation, how fun!!

He loved sucking on the wrapped candy cane and he was surprisingly happy to sit on Santa's lap!

Santa brought Cooper a darling little Union Pacific RR bear, i'm not sure which he liked better, the wrapping paper or the bear.

Year 26 of Santa's visits!

Kicking off the Christmas Season

2011-12-21T12:12:00.000-08:00

It always feels like the Christmas season right after Thanksgiving and it wouldn't feel like Christmas without the official kick off events like the annual lights parade!! Usually my Dad has a float in it for the Water Dept. but he hasn't done one in two years now. I have mixed feelings about this; I love helping decorate the float and walk with it handing out candy canes but it was really nice to just watch the entire parade snuggled up with my little babe this year. It was very cold this year so I had about seven blankets, heat packs, hats, and gloves for my little nugget to stay warm. He absolutley loves Christmas lights!! He was mesmerized the entire parade and just sat on my lap watching all of the floats go by. Ry has been coaching freshmen basketball up at Highland again so was unable to make it to the parade. After the parade was over we went out to my parents for soup and hot chocolate.

It has now become very difficult to get everyone together for family pictures, with Marcus working in another state, Mareesa being a busy teenager, my parents both super involved in work and church, and us with our busy lives, but luckily we got one one Sunday evening!

Our little Coop is such a joy to have around, he brings such a happy spirit to our home and is continually making us laugh. He is growing WAY too fast and is such a smart little guy, he watches every move we make and reaches for everything we have in our hands. His newest thing is to grab our glass and suck on them, he loves the feel of glass, he thinks he's such a big boy already, which makes me a little nervous for the future. He doesn't really take a pacifier anymore unless Ry holds it in his mouth to make him go to sleep...something that I am not fond of.

Happy December!

I know I give Cooper a lot more attention than I have been giving Ry so I decided to make a little Christmas surprise for Ry. I got the idea off of Pinterest, surprise surprise... they are little compliments or love notes, Christmas activities, and little surprises for each day, after a few hours of scrapbooking Ry's Christmas Countdown was complete and he LOVED it.

I had a fabulous birthday this year, honestly it was the best one i've had since i've been married! Ry let me sleep in and he took care of Coop. We headed to go out to breakfast but decided against it when we saw the parking lot and decided on Starbucks. While we drank our drinks we wandered Fred Meyer and went to Hallmark to find our ornaments for this year and tried to find a "Baby's first Christmas" (which I have still yet to find one I love,) but we did find these cute little ornaments that are mugs with marshmellow mom, dad, and baby snowmen that says Mom, Dad, Son 2011. After our morning outing Ry had his girls practice, so I dropped him off and headed home to get ready for the day. I went to Ruby Tuesday with my Mom, Grandma and Cousin (Kirsten) for my birthday lunch, since Ry had his girls' practice.

The Festival of Trees always takes place on or around my birthday, so we picked Ry up and headed over there. Mareesa was dressed as an elf and my Dad was Santa, it was SO cute!!!

My Mom and Santa...

Our first family Santa picture!

Coop LOVED Santa, and pulled on his beard...a lot!

So precious!

The only one I got with both of them looking at the camera.

Coop loved looking at all the trees and tried to pull the ornaments off and probably would if I would have let him.

After Festival of the trees Ry treated me to a shopping spree with my boys. While we were shopping Coop had a huge blowout and Ry wisked him away to change him while I continued shopping, another reason I love my birthday, I get to do anything I want and Ry does everything for me! I got two pairs of beautiful new boots, suede tan wedge boots and flat leather riding type boots. (I've had serious problems with purchasing too many boots this year, but let's be honest, is there such a thing?) I got a few other things and we went home to relax for a while before we headed to El Herradero for dinner and then it was out to my parents for more presents and tuxedo cake!

I've been wanting a thick gold band for a long time now and Ry surprised me with one, it was the perfect ending to my 26th birthday! Thanks Ry!

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-15T09:43:00.000-08:00

We had a great Thanksgiving this year! We usually spend Thanksgiving with Ry's family, but they went to Provo to be with Caz and Ashley, so we celebrated early (on Wednesday night) with his family. And on Thursday we went out to my parents for football and LOTS of delicious food! We went around the table to talk about what we are most Thankful this year...and this little man was at the top of my list among many other things.

I was reflecting on all the many blessings I have in my life and I am SO thankful to live in this amazing free country, to have the gospel in my life, to have such an amazing husband and baby, to have such a wonderful family (with a lot of them pretty close), good friends, for our health, our home, and all the other many luxuries we enjoy.

I'm so grateful for such a wonderful, fun, and loving family, they truly are amazing!

Our first Thanksgiving together!

Cooper was the first to drop off for his Thanksgiving nap, the rest of us followed suit shortly after. My Mom, Mareesa and I went out into the madness at 10PM for the start of Black Friday sales, while the boys watched football and Christmas movies. We started at Wal-Mart and it was actually INSANE, people were SO greedy and it was just utter chaos. My mom luckily got some of the things she was getting for people and Mareesa and I got a couple things but definitely were shoved, almost knocked to the ground, and squished to pieces; we hustled to checkout before the midnight wave of people came through and decided we would be done there. It was not worth risking our life for a good deal. And we were actually pretty disgusted my the behavior of a lot of the people out and about. It's so sad that we just finish this great holiday to remember all of the things we are thankful for and rush right into the greed and the mentality of more more more. We decided we were ending our shopping spree where we started, we really didn't need anything and we wanted to get out of the craziness, so we headed home to be with the boys. We played some games and had a relaxing evening together as a family.

My Beautiful Boy...

2011-12-08T12:38:00.000-08:00

This little man keeps me very busy and I love every minute of it!!!

Look at those beautiful, big blue eyes!!!

Coop started single grain organic oatmeal the beginning of November and LOVES it!!! We have had to take a little break in it because he was getting too backed up and upset and I haven't wanted to introduce anything new just yet. It's so convenient not having to worry about bringing his food with us that I am not in the habit of carrying it with me, ( I know that sounds so lazy, but one less thing to worry about when i'm running out the door is one less thing) so I think we'll wait until things slow down a bit and we are in a better staying at home in the evening type schedule to start up again. And no, he is not starving.

We have been having fun with our friends the Hales, Coop and Kolt are SO cute together, the acknowledge each other, grab at each other's hats, clothes, toys or whatever is in reaching distance. We love watching them interact and look forward to watching them grow up together.

He still loves his playmat but is getting so strong that he will pull it down on himself or he will kick the sides so that it falls all the way over and he looks like a giant burrito.

Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING he touches goes straight to his little curious mouth. He loves those cute toes and it's SO funny... anytime he sees them or remembers that those are his little piggies he grabs on and pulls them up to his mouth.

He is still a very relaxed baby and is pretty much up for anything we do, he loves hanging out with Dad, playing peek-a-boo, he laughs non-stop, (so much that I start laughing with/at him and can't stop), he loves looking at new things. We have our Christmas lights up and he just stares and talks to them, it is SO cute!!! Everytime I go to the store I get stopped by perfect strangers telling me how cute he is and what a beautiful, good baby I have. I know I am mildy biased, but I must agree with them, and I know I got super lucky to get such a wonderful baby!

We've had to make lots of fires lately as it's been SO cold, so he gets toasty warm and conks out. Look at those darling little cheeks, I love to gnaw on them, this is another thing that makes him laugh uncontrollably. Basically I am obsessed with him and more in love with this little human than I ever imagined was possible.

Family Pictures 2011

2011-12-02T06:01:00.000-08:00

Getting ready for family pictures this year was a bit crazy. I spent hours figuring out which outfits for us to wear and finally narrowed it down to a choice I ended up being super happy with. It was very touch and go for pictures, it was the beginning of November and our typical Idaho weather would change daily, I just kept praying we would get a small window of good weather on the day of our pictures. Ry had a lesion on his lip that had been bugging him so he went to the dermatologist a couple weeks before pictures and had it biopsed and removed and of course, the week before pictures it came back, so he ended up having it cut and sautered the day before pictures. So he had a huge black spot on hit lip, it hurt to smile, he hates taking pictures, and to top it off we cancelled pictures due to weather and then uncancelled them, so he was not the happiest camper in the world. You wouldn't know it from the beautiful job Bobbi did on these pics, but it was freezing and windy this day and having a four month old out in it was not the easiest task. Cooper did great though, and he was super smiley most of the time...all things considered we got some gorgeous family pictures

Addiction?

2011-12-02T05:41:00.000-08:00

I don't know why I always feel the need to fill every second of my life with something, I swear I am ten times busier not working than I was working. Thanks to nap time and my addiction to Pinterest my never ending list of things to do/make/buy is growing at such a rapid pace i'm starting to feel a little overwhelmed. I know, that's SO ridiculous, right?! But I thoroughly enjoy all these new crafts and skills I am learning, see for yourself...

This is a chair I stole from my parents basement for Coop's room...the before.

And after...I spraypainted it lime green and then stained it with an ebony stain. My Bestafar (great-grandpa) was a professional painter, and after doing this chair I can see why he enjoyed it so much, I thought about him the whole time I was doing this. OH, and notice the entry way floor, I decided to redo that as well, it was a little harder than I had planned and still needs a couple more tiles fit it, but I've found I am no good when it comes to cutting that stuff!

My other project took much longer, exhibit A, my ugly kitchen stools, I decided to reupholster, paint and distress these . After a few trips to JoAnn's and Lowe's, a few hours ripping out staples and nails, some sweat and a little blood, painting, sanding, and staining---I am quite satisfied with the outcome!

The finished product!

Happy Halloween 2011

2011-12-02T05:15:00.000-08:00

We had a great Halloween!! This was our first year of making the rounds to all of our family's houses to show off Cooper's costume and trick-or-treat. We started up at my grandparents' and they thought he was pretty cute, my grandpa thought that he was a lamb, I guess the green floppy ears?? After Ry enjoyed Cooper's candy bar for him we headed to Ry's parents and visited with them for a little while. Then we ended at the Halloween House of all Halloween Houses, my parents.

Baby Yoda and Great Grawma...

Great Grawma and Grawpa...

Proud Grandma, she was glad we came out since Mareesa was out with friends, Marcus was in South Dakota and my Dad got called into work.

Out at my parents for the most festive nights of the year!!! Happy Halloween!!!

4th Annual Halloween Party!!!

2011-11-25T10:32:00.000-08:00

My sweet little angel is growing SO fast!!

October wouldn't be complete with out dressing up for hip hop; which is usually Thriller, but this year was a Monster dance, equally fun!!!

We had our 4th annual Halloween party, and I was really bad at taking pictures this year! The spread included tombstone cheesball and crackers, salted carmel and chocolate creme cupcakes, brain jello (of course,) veggies and dip, mummy bread, "ghoulamoli" and chips, spinach artichoke dip with homemade crusty bread, hot cider, and apple witches brew.

Cooper was getting super tired by the time everyone arrived and he did not love his Yoda ears. Our friends Whitney and Brian brought there darling boy, Hazen, who is a couple weeks younger than Coop, he was their monkey and they were bunches of grapes, so clever, I really wish I had a pic!!!

We were Luke Skywalker, Yoda and Princess Leia (if that wasn't obvious). My parents came and got Coop right after the party started so he could get some sleep.

Tied for best costume was Mickenzie and Brett, "bun in the oven and and bun maker"...this is how they announced their new addition, how cute!!!

Also tied for best costume, Nic and Lauren, as mimes, so funny!!!

Our winners of the Newlywed Game, Whitney and Dustin, mustard and hotdog...so fun!

Lyndsey and Justin as 80's workout buddies, and not pictured, are Trevor and Angie as Boise State fans. We had WAY too much fun playing the Newlywed Game and we didn't make it to our other two games, Ghosts and Goblins and Celebrity. As always, we had some heated arguments on some answers but it really made for a fun night! Thanks everyone for coming and dressing up, until next year!!!

Carving Cooper's First Pumpkin

2011-11-25T09:43:00.000-08:00

For family night the week before Halloween we carved our family pumpkin, I wanted to carve one for each of us, but Ry hates the slimey insides of the pumpkins, so we ended up only carving one this year.

Cooper sat in his Bumbo and kept feeling the pumpkin and watching every move Ry or I made, it was the cutest thing! I really wanted to carve our biggest pumpkin and put Cooper in it, but Ry did not want me to put our little nugget in a "slimey, cold pumpkin".

Feeling the pumpkin with his little chubby fingers and toes...

Hopefully I pass my affinity for Halloween onto my litte Coop, I'm still working on his father.

Our finished product, and our really red eyes, oops!

Four Months Old and Family Halloween Party

2011-11-17T10:21:00.000-08:00

Coop loves his bath time!!! He use to get so upset when I took him out, because he HATES being cold so now I set up a heater right on his bouncer and towel so it's nice and toasty when he gets out; and instead of wisking him away to his changing table in his room I let him hang out in the bathroom for a while. This has become our new routine, and Cooper just loves it and I get the added bonus of getting ready while he sits in front of the heater.

We had such a nice October this year, no snow, which is pretty unusual for us so we took full advantage. I took a hike up Gibson Jack with Sheridan (Marcus' dog,) and put Coop in my ErgoBaby. Coopy slept almost the entire time, Sheridan ran her legs off, and I thoroughly enjoyed the gorgeous leaves and changing colors!

Cooper got to meet my girlfriend, Candice, while her and her hubby were in town visiting...Candice is also Maddux's cousin, so our little guys got to hang out, aren't they adorable?!?!

Napping with Grandpa, he's got the touch!

Cooper is 4 months now and I can hardly believe it!!! His 4 month check up was rough, the nurse wasn't very gentle when she administered his shots, and Coop screamed louder than I have ever heard him cry. He weighed 15 pounds 11 ounces, 67th percentile, he was I cuddled him a ton, he was super tired the first day, so I let him sleep as much as he wanted, and the next two to three days were horrible!! He had a fever for the next few days, his leg was sore, he was so sad, and on top of that he's starting to show signs of teething. Needless to say, Ry and I took some long drives that weekend, it was the only way to get him calm enough to sleep. It seriously breaks my heart when he hurts like that, I think that has been our most challenging week so far.

My happy little bug, SO in love with this guy!

And he's got his Daddy wrapped around his finger, they are buddies already, I love seeing Coop's face light up with his little grin everytime Ry gets home, it's so sweet!

We had our annual Halloween party at my parents' house (usually it's on fast Sunday, but this year we had to move it down in the month). My cousins, Abby the pirate, Liz the witch, and Thomas as Optimus Prime; children after my own heart!

Another rough evening with Coop, he fell asleep with my Dad rubbing his sore little gums, but seriously so precious!

Proud Grandpa!

Coopy getting cuddled by Liz and Ab...

Hanging out with Great Grandma, he is SO loved by everyone, what a lucky little man!

Halloween Bunco!!!

2011-11-05T14:11:00.000-07:00

I gladly volunteered to have our Bunco group to my house for Halloween, it being my favorite holiday. I did have some requirements for our Bunco party though, costumes are a requirement, bring a Halloweenie snack and obviously have fun!! Mareesa came to watch Coop when the girls came over, thank goodness!

Everyone got there own ghost cup and cute skeleton straw...

Everyone abided by our rule 2, Halloween snacks...we were all SO sugared out by the end of the night, it was ridiculous!

More Halloween treats...

And almost everyone abided by my costume rule...I give Kourtney a pass because she was our last minute call for a sub and Emily because she is going to have a baby any second. From left to right; me as a witchy and Coop in his monster jammies, Lindsay the Hawaiian hottie, Kasi as a golfer, Ang as a cat, Cali as the cutest troll, Emily as Juno, Kaylee as Joe Dirt (she won best costume), Mickenzie as a football player, Kambree a cute pirate, Annie as white trash mama and Sarah as a fab fifties gal!!!

More October Fun

2011-11-05T11:29:00.000-07:00

Cooper has started to be extremely vocal it is the cutest thing! He is especially talkative in the morning and when he wakes up from naps, he sounds like a happy little bird.

He LOVES reading, and I obviously had to get him some fun Halloween books, which he loved. He also loved looking at the Halloween decorations, especially the spider lights, I can't wait to see his reaction to Christmas lights!

Our happy little man, sweetest cheeks on the planet!

He loves playing with the elephant that his Aunt Randi sent him, it plays music, and Coop loves singing with it and snuggling it!

Mareesa's volleyball season has come to an end...she did a fabulous job this season!

With winter right around the corner, Ry has been seasoning his snowmobiles, selling old ones and purchasing new. Here are my boys at TGIFridays when we went to sell Ry's favorite sled in Utah.

Happy 80th Birthday Grandpa!!!

2011-11-04T17:59:00.000-07:00

OCTOBER 15, 2011

My Grandpa Miller turned 80 on October 15th!!! We had an open house slash birthday party for him up at their house. We had lots of yummy food and my Grawmpa was surrounds by family and friends on his special day. He does not seem 80 at all, he is witty as ever and still loves traveling with his sweetie. I still remember when I was 12 years old and my Grandma's mom, Bess (my great-grandma) turned 80, how time flies as I get older!

My Grandma made him a kransekake (pronounced krawzeyhkayuh) cake, isn't it so cute?!

It was a bit windy that day so coop had to stay inside most of the time, he had so much fun and met his Uncle Scott and cousin Bart for the first time.

I just can't resist his cuteness, I am thoroughly obsessed with this little man and he brings so much joy into our family, I love it!!! Happy 80th Birthday Great-Grandpa!!!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-30T11:19:00.000-07:00

Coop is growing SO fast and he is SO much fun to be with. He has the best little personality in the entire world. He is already into his six month and six to nine month clothes!!

A couple weeks ago we went to Swore farms, where they have a corn maze, little mazes and activities for kids, and the pumpkin patch. We went with our good friends Lauren, Ash, Jackson, and Kolty; when we got there the lady made us go through the corn maze, and we were really just wanting to go through the pumpkin patch. The corn maze had questions for the kids at every turn to help us find the way, but we still ended up getting lost a few times and took advantage of one of the emergency exits because the kids were about done and Coopy was REALLY done.

Exploring some of the farm equiptment...

Looking at all the cute pumpkins in the pumpkin house!!! How fun would it be to be a pumpkin farmer!?!

I just couldn't resist, it was the perfect little spot for a Cooper picture!

A wheelbarrow full of baby pumpkins for my baby...SO cute!

Love these chubby little hands and he's getting so good with them!

We are enjoying our October and all of the fun activities that come along with it. I am sad to see it coming to an end but excited for the upcoming season.

One Year Ago Today...

2011-10-18T20:29:00.000-07:00

I can't believe a whole year has passed since those two pink lines showed up, that one word, "pregnant" turned our world upside down and turned "we" into "three". As unexpected as that was, it truly was the best thing that has happened to us to date. Even though we didn't think it wasn on our timeline right then, I know Heavenly Father knew better and I'm so happy he did. I'm so grateful for our little Cooper and cannot imagine living another day without him. He is such a blessing in our lives, and I would do anything for him. Even though I absolutely loathed being pregnant, (and i'm not looking forward to it for the next one,) I would do it all again if it meant getting such a sweet little spirit into our home. I'm so lucky to have such a wonderful husband who makes it possible for me to stay home with our little angel bug and soak up every second I can with him. I don't mean to be so lovey, dovey, mushy gooshy...but I love them both more than words can ever explain!!

Pumpkin Painting Party!

2011-10-18T20:12:00.000-07:00

I know these pictures are all very similar, but I really couldn't choose the cutest one, so sorry for the overload. My girlfriend Lauren had a fun pumpkin painting party for all her kids' friends this past week. We had so much fun, and Cooper was such a little Picasso, obviously, hehe, no he did have fun seeing the other kids, he loves to people watch.

Cooper lights up when he sees Ashlyn, it is SO sweet, I look forward to seeing these little munchkins grow up together!

Perfect Evening for a Hike

2011-10-18T09:11:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday we had the best day, it was one of those perfect days where we got to spend the entire day together, as a family, uninterrupted. That morning we went to the Farmer's Market, (like we do every Saturday) and picked up our box of fruit and veggies from our little farmer friends. While we were there we also picked out some super cute pumpkins to add to the collection on our porch. We had a nice, relaxing breakfast together and hung out at home for a few hours and then decided to take a drive. We have been thinking about buying a house for a while and want to find the perfect one; so one of our favorite activities is driving around looking at houses for sale, and getting ideas of what we like best. Today was a perfect day for that! We drove all around down and ended up out Mink Creek and Gibson Jack and we found a gorgeous house on the top of Mink Creek that had a 360 degree view. Ry and I wandered around looking in all the windows, and we could tell it had been for sale for a while because the yard was over-grown and shingles has started blowing off, so we thought to ourselves that maybe since it had been on the market for years and in was in need of repair that it could be a steal... The garage happened to be unlocked so we were looking in the garage when I decided to try the door into the house, it was unlocked! I walked in and told Ry to come with me and as soon as we started looking around I heard this tiny little "beep beep beep"---we're pretty sure it was an alarm, so we looked around super fast and ran to the truck, it was quite the adventure. After looking the house up on the broker's site we decided we A. don't need a house over 7,000 square feet and B. it maybe a bit out of our comfortable price range, we can still dream right? On our way back down we went up Gibson Jack and decided to go to the trailhead for a little evening hike, it was gorgeous!

Our little sweetie ready to go, good thing we dressed him warm because it got chilly fast!

My cute boys, the stroller didn't last long because the trail got too steep and way too bumpy for poor little Cooper, so we ditched the stroller off to the side and walked up.

Notice the snow in the background...it was getting a bit too cold for Mommy and Coopy.

This photo-op was way to precious to pass up. Ry didn't trust me hiking back down holding Coop so he took him and headed down. I was taking pictures of the mountains so I was back behind a bit and I could hear Ry just talking with Cooper and Coop loving every word and cooing and ahhhing back; it was just the sweetest moment. I treasure all of the moments like this and wish I could keep them on a video reel in my brain forever!

Our night finished off stopping at my parents' house and enjoying this gorgeous sunset, I wish we had more days like this.

Fall Love

2011-10-16T11:25:00.000-07:00

Although our Fall seems to be flying past we are thoroughly enjoying it! Of course I had my Halloween decor up by the first of October, Coop loves when I walk him around the house and look at all the Halloween things. He loves when I make the sounds of whatever we are looking at, and he always responds with a "oooo" or "gooo" or a high pitched "ahhh" I LOVE it!!! He also enjoys all of his new Halloween books and his sensory books. He enjoys petting the animals in his touchy feely books and tries very hard to mimick the animal sounds we make for him, his favorite sounds are those of the cow, duck, ghosts, kitty, and puppy.

He's very good to sit on our bed while I get dressed, he is getting closer to sitting up, but I think his head is so heavy it's hard to keep himself stable. He has also started to notice his cute toes, he has grabbed them a few times, no oral exploration of them yet, that's still Momma's job.

My growing boy...he gets bigger and more fun by the day!!

This is Cooper's new favorite thing to suck on, his bottom lip!!! We try to make him suck on his gummy toys or something other than his fingers and his lip, but he likes those best. Sometimes I wonder if he's starting to teeth because he loves chewing on things and drools like crazy, but I can't feel any litte teeth yet, which is not a bad thing.

My girlfriend, Alicia, and I have been going on morning walks down by the river by my house for a while. We decided since the leaves have been changing that we should take the kiddos up Cherry Springs before it gets any colder. Her daughter, Avery, is a couple weeks younger than Coop. We had a little photo shoot with them while we were up there, I think that us Moms had more fun than they did.

Look at those thighs and that buddah belly, isn't he a doll?! I just cannot get enough of this little man, he's the sweetest thing on earth!!!

I loved conference, as always, and really enjoyed all of the talks on families, it just made me feel even more blessed with my little family and all the love I have for them. While the boys went to the Priesthood session my Mom and I went shopping and then made our mummy latern craft, it was super easy and they turned out so cute!!

Coop is enjoying tummy time more and more, he can now roll from belly to back and back to belly, he's getting so strong! He holds his head up so high and kicks his little legs and will get tiny little scoots out of it, I don't think that he is intentionally moving himself, but it sure is fun to watch. He loves his "crinkle" toy as we call it (it has a papery/plastic crunchy sound,) and of course all of his toys go straight to that little mouth of his. Lately when Ry or I come to get him in the morning he has turned 90 degrees and is kicking at his bumpers and talking at his picture wall above his crib. This morning Ry found him with his legs between that slats of the crib, makes me a bit nervous, but I don't know how to get him to stop being such a rollie little wiggle worm.

September in a Nutshell

2011-10-11T19:56:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love this time of year; the leaf changes, football, cool nights, the yummy fall smells, the overwhelming urge to cook and bake, it seems like a cozy feeling just comes along when fall rolls around, and of course ideas for my favorite holiday start dancing around in my head. September was extremely busy for us and I can hardly believe that we are already half way through October!

Cooper and Grandpa watching Mareesa play volleyball, i'm sure his first word is going to involve some sort of ball, basketball, football, volleyball, golfball... it's bound to happen in this family. Mareesa made Varsity and is such a wonderful player. She brings so much team spirit and pride to the team, she's kind of like their own little built in cheerleader.

We had a fabulous crop of vegetables from our little garden this year!! Tons and tons of zucchini, roma, grape, beef steak, cherry tomatoes, four cucumbers, and one spaghetti squash. We had so many tomatoes and we could only eat so much salsa and raw tomatoes, so my Mom taught me to can them. I felt so accomplished and canning is very nostalgic, not to mention, working with all the boiling water keeps your warm on the cold Fall nights. Didn't they turn out beautifully?!

My little angel just keeps growing faster than I can even handle, he is the sweetest little baby and I cannot spend enough time with him. He's been laughing more and more it's hilarious!!! He loves rolling over, he loves when we sing to him, he could read books for hours, he loves to sit in his bumbo while I cook or clean, he is very alert and seems very observant. He is getting very vocal too, he babbles alot and has started to mimick sounds that Ry and I make to him, it is the sweetest thing in the world!

Ry is starting Coop out early...watching snowmobile videos. It's been cold enough for our mountains to be white tipped, so of course all Ry can think about right now is snowmobiling. Ry has already found a little snowmobile for Cooper... I am making him wait until Coop can actually drive it, or walk for that matter, before he purchases it.

My cousin, Kirsten, returned from her mission in the Czech Republic. It was so great to see her and reunite with lots of family members that I haven't seen in a while. Her homecoming talk was wonderful and she had some really neat experiences while on her mission. We had a little luncheon up at my Grandparents after church. My mom and I relaxing in the back while people got there food. My mom has frozen almonds and ice on her poor knee and ankle, she tripped down the stairs while carrying food outside, Grace Kelly.

Cooper meeting Kirsten, his great Aunt Judy and her husband, Jaq, cousin Karli and our Uncle Kurt, it was so great to be able to reminisce with everyone.

And of course it would not be fall in my family without Sunday night (and Monday night, and every other night) football!!! We usually go out to my parents every Sunday for dinner and the game. My Daddy is so in love with Coop, and Coop is pretty fond of his Grandpa as you can see in the pic.

Coop got to see his great Uncle David, he hasn't seen him since the day after he was born.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE these little toes, I probably kiss them at least a thousand times a day!!! I have been playing around with my camera more because there are a millions settings and I feel like I should really learn how to use them. But I love this shot of his cute, chubby little toes, doesn't it make you want to kiss them!?

My little bug is already 3 months old, I can hardly believe he was in my belly such a short time ago. He gets more fun by the day, and I love getting him dressed, Ry makes fun of me and says he is just like a live baby doll, which in part is mildy true, but even better!

Mareesa went to her first school dance, Homecoming!!! She had a volleyball tournament in Twin Falls the weekend before the dance and still hadn't found a dress. I took her out and found the perfect dress. I did her hair and makeup and helped her get ready, it was SO fun, it made me miss those days!!

Her with her cute date, doesn't she look gorgeous!! My little sissy is growing up WAY too fast for her own good. I can't believe she'll be a Senior next year, how time flies!

My OLD MAN husband turned 26 on the 24th!!! Poor Ry had the worst Birthday weekend of his life, he got the flu. Ry never, ever gets sick, and he has never been so sick in the 4 1/2 years that i've known him. He lived in the bathroom and on the couch, it was sooo sad, especially because I love celebrating birthdays! I kept Coop away from Ry and kept sanitizing everything because I did not want a sick husband AND a sick baby. Ry loves snuggling Coop, so he was super sad that he couldnt' hold him or be around him for three days. I still made a cake, and Ry felt like he could hold down Chinese (ewe,) so I went and got take-out, for the first time in our marriage, and we watched a movie on separate couches for his birthday evening, it was quite pitiful.

Coop and I made Daddy a footprint birthday card...yes, I am obsessed with this little man's feet! Ry loved it!

To round my busy month off I went to the broadway show "Mary Poppins" in Salt Lake with my girlfriend, Lauren. Since Ry was still sick I left Coop with my parents and had anxiety the entire day, I called no less than twenty times to check on him. That was the longest I have ever been away from him, but of course he got spoiled and had a blast with Gammie, Grampie and Auntie Ween. Lauren and I had so much fun, the show was absolutely phenomenal!!! We ate some delicious Thai food, did some speed shopping and headed back home to our little babes.

Ry's Latest Toy

2011-10-04T11:46:00.000-07:00

When we got back from Coeur d'alene Ry was ready to go back and thought we 'needed' a boat the next time we went up. His mom's friend's dad just happened to be selling their boat so of course, Ry had to go get the scoop. It ended up being a super good deal for a nice older boat, the kind of boat you want to learn things on so you don't mess up a really nice boat. Ry loves toys, ie. snowmobiles, jetskis, 4-wheelers, boats, etc....so of course he ended up buying it. It has been fun the few times we have been able to take it out, i'm sure it will gets tons of use next summer.

As soon as we got out to the reservoir the clouds rolled it, so I stayed in sweats and a sweatshirt most of the time, but it was still fun to see Ry play with his new boat.

Cooper's first boat ride...he slept the ENTIRE 4-5 hours, he must have loved the constant movement, it probably reminded him of being in my belly.

Ry won tickets to a comedy show up in Idaho Falls called the Water Coolers, a comedy group from New York, I highly recommend going to their show if they ever come to your town. It was our first official date together since we've had Coop, we left Cooper with Gammie and Grampie and they had a blast together at a tailgate and football game.

While we were up there we stopped at Sports Authority (we don't have one anymore, of course,) and got a big tube which Ry wanted to try before it got too cold.

Staying Busy

2011-10-04T07:33:00.000-07:00

The remainder of the summer just flew right by and we stayed incredibly busy!! We played with our friends at the park, went to Book Babies at the library (one of our favorite activities), watched Daddy play softball and lots more!!! Cooper is growing so fast and is so fun to be with, he is constantly doing new things and he makes the cutest sounds i've ever heard.

This is a picture of Cooper and his friend Kolton (they are exactly 10 weeks apart) at the park when Coop was 3 weeks old and Kolty was 13 weeks...

Cooper and Kolty 10 weeks old and 20 weeks old... It's so fun to see them interact with each other. They love looking at each other, Kolton will reach for Cooper and Coop smiles and stares at Kolton. It will be so fun to see them grow up together!

This is one of Cooper's other friends, Maddux, he is 4 days younger than Cooper. Above is when they were about 3 weeks old. Justin (Mad's Dad) and Ryan have been bestfriends since highschool and are already planning which sports they will have our boys play together. I am sure these two will cause lots of mischief as they grow up together, especially with their two competitive fathers.

Here are Coop and Madd at 11 weeks old over at Justin's parents, they hung out with Maddux's Grandma Marcie while we all played volleyball!

Coop has enjoyed play dates at the park...me with two??? Ry is ready already, me, not so much.

At the park with my girlfriend, Lauren, and her cute kids, Ashlyn, Jackson, and Kolton...they are all going to be such good buddies, it's so cute to see them interact with each other.

Cooper makes an array of funny faces, this is one of them, I hope I can capture all of them before he stops making them!

Coop loves going on our morning walks, see his little grin?

Another one of his favorite things is his swing, he could literally spend hours swining, listening to the music, babbling at the bears and pushing the toys back and forth.

Coop also LOVES bathies, he could sit in there forever if the water would stay warm enough for him, he likes super warm baths and if it gets 2 degrees cooler than he likes, he lets us know that it's time for warm water or to get out!

We have started to go back to all three hours of church and Cooper has done surprisingly well considering it is right in the middle of morning nap time and his late morning feeding. We are loving having this sweet little spirit in our home, he is growing so fast and he is getting so smart, we LOVE him SOO much (I bet you couldn't tell)!!

Boise Weekend

2011-09-12T19:54:00.000-07:00

Ry played in the Idaho Men's Mid Amateur up in Boise two weeks ago and Coop and I decided to tag along. Ry placed 26th overall, which wasn't too bad considering he took an 8 on hole 16. While Ry golfed Coop and I went shopping...Cooper did not make a very good shopping partner this trip. He loved walking around in the stroller but anytime I stopped to look at clothes he would start fussing, so it was a very unsuccessful shopping weekend. While we were up there we met up with our good friends Holly and Lucas, saw there new house and found out they are pregnant!!! We couldn't be more excited for them, and of course we are happy our kids will be close in age. We went to a yummy Mexican restaurant, while the boys reminisced about mission stories Holly and I caught up with each other on everything that has been going on and of course, talked all things baby!

Cooper enjoying his new swing, it's his new favorite thing to do!

Taking a nap on the hotel bed, what an angel.

Cooper snuggling with Daddy before his golf tournament. I didn't intentionally pack them matching outfits, but it totally works!

Two Months!

2011-09-12T17:54:00.000-07:00

I can hardly believe that Cooper has turned two months old, time is flying faster than I ever imagined!!! He had is two month check-up, and was a little champ. He weighed in at 12 pounds 8 ounces, 85th percentile, was 24 inches long, 80th percentile, and he was 75th percentile in head circumference. He had four shots and the rotavirus which was an oral vaccine, he screamed when the nurse gave him the shots but as soon as I picked him up and cuddled him he calmed down. (Note to self, don't wear a light yellow shirt, blood doesn't come out very easily.) The rest of that day Coop was worn out and slept more than he normally does, which was nice, I accomplished lots as well as had lots of nice cuddle time with my snuggle bug.
He has started to bat at his toys that are on his playmat, tummy mat, bouncer and swing and he will sometimes grab them, I don't think he has complete motor control with his grabbing action, but he's definitely getting close. He is so strong and likes when Ry and I plant his feet and tell him to push, he scoots on his back and absolutely loves it. He loves sitting in is Bumbo, he can't hold himself up by himself but he does love looking around while he's sitting in his Bumbo. He will sit for hours while I read to him and he looks like he is thinking and concentrating so hard on the pictures and words, it's SO cute!! We have been going to "Book Babies" at the library, where they read children's books and sing songs, he recognizes the songs that we sing at home and is enthralled by the other kids there. He loves going on walks and is so interested in new environments, he loves looking at other kids and animals. Coop is growing out of some of his 3 month clothes already and into some of his 3-6 month clothes. He smiles a ton and is SO close to laughing and I can't wait for that! He babbles and coo's lots and has the CUTEST little voice I have ever heard, he also responds well when we talk or sing to him. He is still sleeping through the night and he's starting to stay awake more during the day, which has been really fun, despite not accomplishing as much...but it doesn't matter because I don't want to miss a thing.

Playing on his tummy time mat, practicing rolling over, he's getting there.

His 2 month pic..he's getting HUGE!!!

LOVE!

Relaxing in his bouncer after his shots...

Coeur d' Alene Trip

2011-09-11T13:38:00.000-07:00

We had a family trip planned to go up to Coeur d' Alene with my family for the middle of July. Marcus is working up in the oil fields in North Dakota and ended up not being able to come and Mareesa had two-a-days for volleyball and opted to stay home, so it basically turned into a couples trip with my parents and of course, Cooper. We drove up Sunday afternoon to Missoula Montana and stayed the night there, (we weren't sure how Coop was going to do with that long of drive,) but he was an absolute angel. He slept most of the drive and we only had to stop twice on the way up to Coeur d'Alene to feed our little Chunky. The drive up was beautiful and we took the scenic route through Montana and made a few stops at some scenic places as well as some historical sites.

Here is our little man at one of our feeding stops, he is really the best traveler, which makes me think that we should plan more trips while he is still in this stage.

While we were driving we pulled off by this beautiful river and wandered around for a bit, we both wished that we would have packed our fishing gear, because this would have been a perfect little fishing spot.

Cooper enjoyed his first stay in a hotel, he slept in his bouncer while we were in Montana because we hadn't unpacked his pack and play yet and to be honest, didn't realize how easy it was to set up and take down; but no surprise, he slept on schedule and woke up at his normal time to nurse. I am amazed by how lucky we got with this little guy, he truly is perfect.

When we got to the resort in Coeur d'Alene we were too early to check in and we both forgot about the time change from Southern to Northern Idaho so we were really early. We were both tired and really just wanted a nap and to get settled in after our long drive. Our resort was on the opposite side of the lake, which was a mild inconvenience considering we had to drive all the way around to go to any sort of store. We decided to kill the time by getting our groceries for the week and grabbed a bite to eat while we were in town. When we got back to the resort they had just finished cleaning our room so we checked in, got settled in and waited for my parents to arrive. Our room was on the corner, so we had a perfect view of the lake and had lots of windows to enjoy our view and lots of room to spare since Marcus and Mareesa didn't come. Once my parents arrived and unpacked, we all ate some dinner together and went on a walk down to the lake, it was so nice!

Walking down by the marina, it was a pretty night, perfect temperature and beautiful sunset!!!

Some lodge pole pines that I could not resist capturing, aren't they pretty?!

Cooper's first time in his pack and play...It has a set up for a bassinet for when they are this small, and Coop thoroughly enjoyed it, he LOVED the bear mobile. He would lay there and babble and smile at the bears as they spun, it really was the cutest thing in the world! Despite his sleep environment he slept through the night and woke up just as happy as always.

Ready for the beach... our second day we headed down to a little spot on the beach we had discovered while driving around the lake. We packed some lunches, beach chairs and headed down for a day at the beach.

I would daresay that Gampie is one of Coop's biggest fans, he really is a baby-hog and would've held Cooper all day if we would have let him. It was so fun to be on vacation with my parents, they both really needed a relaxing weekend away.

My handsome boys at the beach. We had a great time soaking up some sun and enjoying the perfect weather. Ry bought some snorkel gear and did lots of snorkeling, he found lots of fish, a golf ball from the resort, some cool rocks and got toasted (he was not very good at re-applying his sunscreen).

We ate dinner almost every night out our the deck, the view was gorgeous and the temperature was SO nice.

Wednesday we went to the amusement park, Silverwood, not something I would advise with a seven week old baby. We had fun, but probably went on a total of 4 rides all day and didn't find out that they did "baby-switch" until our last ride. By the time we made it to the water park it was getting too cold to enjoy. Ry and I went around the lazy river once and decided that was enough. For some reason the day we chose to go was abnormally busy, at least that's what people were telling us, and I haven't mastered the art of being discrete while I nurse, plus Cooper detests anything covering his head while he eats, which was another drawbackl. So it was a long and tiring day to say the least. I think next time we go we will go to the water park first and finish the day off with a few rides.

Ah...heavenly.

My parents watching Coop while Ry and I went on the craziest rollercoaster ever; it was similiar to the one in Six Flags that takes you up straight and then drops your through some loops and turns and then does the whole thing in reverse...I must be getting old because I was shaking when I got off.

I can't believe my baby turned 8 weeks, he is growing up WAY too fast for me!!!

Enjoying our last night in Coeur d'Alene, we spent the entire day at the beach and came back for a relaxing evening while my parents went into town and walked around the little shops and down the boardwalk. We had such a fun trip and can't wait to plan another trip to Northern Idaho.

We came home to a garden full of giant zucchini, lots of delicious tomatoes, and big juicy onions. We have been enjoying lots of grilled zucchini, zucchini bread and cake, homemade salsa, grilled onions and mushrooms and much more!!!

Cooper's Special Day

2011-08-23T09:50:00.000-07:00

Coop's blessing day was so special and beautiful!!! He was so happy when he woke up (this is normal for him,) he ate breakfast and then we got him dressed in his cute blessing outfit, (which coincidently was named Archie), and then we headed to church. There were five baby blessings that day!! We were second in line, and Ry gave Coop an amazing blessing and it was SO special to hear and feel the spirit there. I got up to bear my testimony, and tried really hard not to cry, I failed... but it really was a perfect day! After the blessing and sacrament meeting we headed out to Gammie and Grampie's for a little luncheon with family and friends.

Ry helping getting our little man ready...

Finishing getting Coop ready, he's such an angel!!!

My cute, sweet little bug, isn't he adorable?!!

Four generation pic with my Dad's Dad, (Great-Gpa Clint), Gampie, Mommy and Cooper.

Coop's friend, Maddux, who was born 3 days after him and his Mom Lyndsey.

Coop and his proud Daddy, aren't they precious?!

Family hanging out in the front yard enjoying the perfect weather on this perfect day!

Four generation picture with Great Grandma Miller!

Worn out after his big day...

Very worn out...

Busy, Busy, Busy!

2011-08-11T17:12:00.000-07:00

These past couple weeks have flown by and we have been SUPER busy!! Ry's sister went through the Idaho Falls temple two weeks ago. Luckily, my parents could ride up with Ry and I to watch Coop and walk around the river while we went through the session. We haven't been to the temple forever, so it was so great to go and be there for Ashley. Afterwards we went to Johnny Carino's with Ry's parents, and Caz, his parents and my parents; I was completely famished (I swear I am more hungry nursing than I was pregnant,) so I thoroughly enjoyed that delicious dinner!

Can you see the resemblence?

Watch out world this little girl just turned the big 16!!! We had a surprise birthday party for her and her bestfriend, Courtney, on July 25th and a family party on her actual birthday. I can't believe that she is already 16 and you know the boys have been lining up to go on dates with her. Her first official date was the day of her birthday and she went horseback riding, so cute!

Yes my little angel bug turned 5 weeks...he's growing up so fast I can hardly stand it!!!

I absolutley love snuggling with Coop and I especially love when he falls asleep on my shoulder and just melts into my body, he fits perfectly!!

Coop loves his Daddy's black and white hat and Daddy loves talking to his little babe, aren't they the cutest thing you've ever seen!?

Gah... he turned 6 weeks, growing like a weed!!!

Ashley, my sister inlaw, got married this past Friday, August 5th, in the Idaho Falls temple. It was a gorgeous day and Ash and Caz were so happy!

My cute boys in their matching ties, ah they melt my heart!!!

Happy Family

The happy couple, congrats you two we're so happy for you!!!

Three Years...

2011-08-03T13:50:00.000-07:00

July 31st 2008

I can't believe three years have already flown by since I married my bestfriend and love of my life!!! So much had happened in these short three years that we've been married. We have had the best three years ever and I am looking more to millions more together! I am so grateful that we were sealed for time and all eternity, it means even more now that we have our little Cooper addition. Since our anniversary was on a Sunday this year, (and we have thousands we owe in hospital bills,) we decided to just have a low-key, relaxing day together. Ry grilled Saturday night and we ate out in our backyard and enjoyed the nice weather, he made me breakfast Sunday morning, (steak breakfast burritos---yum) and we spent the day together relaxing and just being together.

I can't imagine my life without my boys, I love them to pieces!!! Happy three year anniversary... here's to many more!!!

Busy Month!!!

2011-07-27T07:29:00.000-07:00

This month has flown by SO fast and SO much has been going on. Cooper is already a whole month old and we can hardly believe it!! I don't know where time has gone, it seems like just yesterday we were tucking him into his crib the first night he was home. We have thoroughly enjoyed our little addition, he adds so much to our home and I can't even imagine life without him! Above is his two week picture, his two week Doctor's appointment might have been tougher on me than him. I cried the whole way up, and neither Ry or I could go in for his circumcision. Coop is the best baby and rarely cries, and when they brought him back from his metabolic test and circumcision he had the SADEST cry I have ever heard! I nursed him as soon as they brought him back to the room which mildly comforted him, but I could tell he was still hurting, it was horrible. He weighed 8 pounds 12 ounces, 60th percentile and he shrunk a quarter of an inch (apparently that's common, since their little heads are a bit elongated at birth,) so 211/4 inches, 40th percentile. Everything else was perfect, we love our pediatrician, Dr. Fulks, but I am not looking forward to Coop's two month appointment, he gets his first round of immunizations, they may just have to sedate me.

My cute boys!!! Ry loves cuddling Coop and one of Coop's favorite nap places is his Daddy's chest, (I think that is one of Ry's new favorite nap positions as well).

Cooper had his first visit to the park with his friend Kolton (he's 3 months older than Coop), not that either on of them can do much at the park, but his mom his one of my good friends Lauren. So it's been nice having someone to do things with who has a baby around Coop's age, and her other kids are darling and so fun to be with.

Cooper's three week picture...how time flies!!! He has been enjoying walks with me, he loves stroller rides and usually falls asleep. He is SO strong, I knew he was strong before he was even born the way he was constantly moving around inside me. He already holds his head up, he has a super strong grip and loves hanging on to our fingers. He is starting to find his hand and use them as self soothing sucking, which has been a nice break for me. He sleeps almost through the night, he usually wakes up around 2:30AM to eat and then will sleep until about 6:00AM. When he is awake he is VERY alert and wide-eyed, he loves being read to and looking at the visual stimulating book that his Gammie gave him. He responds immediately to my voice as well as Ry's, it's so amazing how smart babies are at such a young age.

This was Cooper's first visit to the zoo with his friends Kolton, Jackson and Ashlyn. Obviously he was very interested in all the animals and told me every detail about each one, haha just kidding, he slept the entire time.

The little ones were out for the count, they both took a very nice LONG afternoon nap after their afternoon feeding, maybe I should take him to the zoo every morning.

Cooper's first bath was an adventure for Ry and me. I had Ry draw up the bath while I got all of his other bath stuff together. I made sure I waited until Ry could help me bathe him, because i know how slippery that baby soft skin gets and I didn't want to drop him (my carpel tunnel is still pretty bad). I'm not sure if the water was too cold or he just didn't love being wet, but it was a very short bath to say the least. Maybe he will grow to like them or maybe mom and dad will get better at giving them.

My bestfriend, Ashton, and her husband, Jade, and their daughter, Peyton, stopped by Pocatello on their way to visit their family in Driggs this week. We were SO excited to see them, it has been way too long. Ash, P, Coop and I hung out at our house for a while and the boys went golfing. Ash snuggled Cooper while Peyton napped and then we got ready to go to the pool. Peyton asked me if we had a zoo while she got her bathing suit on, I told her the ten whole animals that we had and she seemed more interested in the zoo than the pool. I've been to the Portland zoo with her and I know our zoo is absolutely no comparison. But regardless, she wanted to go to the zoo rather than the swimming complex. So we got ready and headed to the zoo and had a wonderful time!! After the boys got done golfing they met us at the zoo and we headed to Ruby Tuesday's for dinner. We had so much fun with the Thelins and can't wait to see them again soon!

My little Coop at four weeks old, can you believe how long he is!? He may just be taller than his Daddy and Mommy!

This is Cooper's first tummy time... he loved it!! His tummy time mat helps his little eyes focus, he goes cross eyed whenever he catches a glimpse of his little nose or looks at pictures that are to complicated for his eyes to process.

Coop's first nail cutting experience, I was too nervous to cut them and my Dad is a pro. Thank you Grandpa Archie, (whose new name has become "baby hog"). He is so in love with Coop and whenever we are with him you know you can find our little guy snuggling with his Grandpa.

Coop hanging out in his bouncer, and yes, he is mildly cross-eyed in this picture, but still darling! We are thoroughly enjoying being parents and loving our little man, he is truly the best baby in the world and we are so blessed to have him in our family!!!

Cooper's First Photo Shoot

2011-07-13T14:47:00.000-07:00

We had Cooper's newborn photos take when he was eight days old (they say it's best to do it within 4-10 days of birth because they are super 'moldable' during that time). He did great, and we got some gorgeous pictures of him. He really is an angel baby and was such a trooper during his 2 1/2 hour photo shoot. Here is a little preview of a few of our favorites!!! ENJOY!

Happy Fourth of July!!!

2011-07-11T15:24:00.000-07:00

The fourth is one of my favorite holidays, next to Halloween of course!! I love celebrating our freedom and remembering what our country stands for as well as remembering all of the men and women who have fought to keep it that way. We had a pretty laid back Fourth this year. Ry and I just hung out and relaxed with Coop all morning and afternoon. We went to Ry's parents for a late afternoon BBQ which was followed by a HUGE rain and hail storm, typical Idaho weather. We had a great time hanging out with his family and Ashley's future inlaws. After we were done at their house we headed up to Wood's for our annual celebration with my family. We enjoyed more food, played croquet, and waited for it to get dark so we could set off some fireworks. Cooper must have been worn out because he slept the entire time we were up at Wood's. My dad "visited his cousins in Fort Hall" (his words, not mine,) and of course had a selection of illegal fireworks to set off before The Biggest Show in Idaho!! Ry and I stayed and enjoyed some fireworks and then headed home to put our little angel to bed since he was dead to the world. This may be the first year we haven't watched "The Biggest Show in Idaho" but I don't really feel cheated, since it is the exact same every year, and we had our little firecracker to enjoy instead.

Our little Coop in once of his 4th of July outfits!

His other outfit, he spit up on this one about an hour after I put it on him, good thing he had two.

My cute boys!!!

Snuggling my little man, isn't he sweet!?

Enjoying the fireworks from the back of our truck, as you can see, Coop is completely out.

Sparklers!!!

This is how Cooper enjoyed his first holiday of his life...

The Labor Story

2011-07-07T21:04:00.000-07:00

My doctor was out of town for my 40 week appointment and the NP who was covering for him thought I would go before he got back, as did I. She set up a 41 week appointment for me just in case I didn't go into labor before then. The 21st rolled around, my doctor was back in town, and no real signs of labor, I was beginning to think that our baby was never going to come! Dr. Jones checked me at my appointment and said I was still dilated to a 4 and 70% effaced (where I had been for about 4 weeks). He stripped my membranes and said that I should go soon and he set up an induction for Thursday the 23rd if I didn't.

We called Wednesday night to find out what time to come in and they said to call at 5:00AM the next morning and they would let us know. I went to Ry's 10:00PM softball game and when we got home I could not sleep, so I took some Benadryl hoping it would help me get some sleep before the big day. Ry gave me a wonderful blessing before we went to bed that night. I woke up at 5:00AM to call Labor and Delivery, they told me to eat a light breakfast and come on up. I showered and choked down some toast and orange juice and rechecked my hospital bags to make sure we had everything we needed. I was so anxious, nervous, and excited that I was making myself sick; I almost threw up in route to the hospital.

Once we arrived the the L and D floor, we checked in and found out that the charge nurse for the day was our good friend, Tammy, who had conveniently assigned herself to by my nurse. I was SO relieved when she told me that, she gave me a big hug and got us all set up in our labor room. She drew my blood and started me on pitocin at 7:30AM, my contractions were showing up on the machine, but I couldn't feel a thing. Ry and I walked the hall, I rotated and bounced on the birth ball, I paced around the room, and Tammy increased my pit to 16 and still nothing was happening. I had a popcicle and drank tons of water, I was surprised by how thirsty I had become. Dr. Jones had come in to check on my and told me he would come break my water in a couple hours if I still hadn't progressed. So 1:45PM rolled around and I was still only dilated to a 4, so he broke my water, what an insane sensation!!! I seriously felt like I was peeing and had no control over it...and it didn't stop flowing. As soon as he broke my water the contractions hit me like a brick!! They were SO strong and coming every 2-3 minutes, so in the back of my mind I thought "this will speed things up and I should meet my sweet baby in no time". I couldn't have been more wrong. I decided to get in the jacuzzi tub and labor in there for about a half hour, Ry was so great, he helped me with my breathing and rubbed my back, yes, I had BAD back labor. After I got out of the jacuzzi tub I thought maybe sitting on the ball would help alleviate some of my back pain. By now my contractions were 1 1/2 minutes to 2 minutes apart and I started throwing up because of the pain and I felt like I wasn't getting any breaks in between contractions. After sitting on the ball for a while I decided to get back into bed and try to relax, that didn't happen. They turned down the pitocin because my contractions were literally every minute and I felt like I was going to die. Ry and Tammy asked if I wanted anything for pain and by this point I really didn't think the whole all natural labor was going to work anymore. So I caved and got a shot of nubaine, which didn't do much but make me feel super tired and really loopy. Ry was practically begging me to get an epidural and Tammy kept reminding me that healthy baby is my number one goal. I said I would wait an hour and see how far I had progressed and go from there, I figured if I progressed quickly that I could tough it out. So an hour had passed and Tammy checked me and I had gone from a 5 to a 5 1/2, I was absolutely devastated, I really really wanted to try and go natural, but by this point I was sick of throwing up from the pain level, I was completely exhausted and all I could think about was meeting my sweet bundle of love. So I decided to visit with the anesthesiologist and ask all my questions and make sure that this was going to be a good decision. I have heard lots of stories about epidurals slowing labor, working only half way, and lots of other awful things; I was one hundred percent at ease after he told me that once you are past a 5 that it can actually help speed labor, and that all the other risks I was worried about happen very very VERY rarely. By this time it was 4:00PM and by the time the anesthesiologist was set up I was dilated to a 7 and literally felt like I was going to pass out with every contraction. Once he put the epidural in I was in heaven, I have never felt such a sense of relief in my entire life! I pretty much fell right to sleep for a couple hours, which was much needed considering what happened next.

I woke up around 7:30PM and looked at Ry and said, "babe, I think I need to push" I was feeling contractions again and I had the urge to push. I called my nurse in, she checked me and said that I was to a 10 and to hang on while she grabbed Dr. Jones. From the time the nurse left the room until she and Dr. Jones got back, Cooper's heart rate kept decelling with every contraction. The second Dr. Jones saw that he told the nurse to call the surgical team because I was going to need an emergency C-section. When I heard this I just looked at Ry and started to cry, after laboring all day I was not about to be sliced open. I asked if I could just try pushing as Dr. Jones was throwing on his scrub gown and he said go ahead, so I pushed and pushed and pushed my guts out!! As I was pushing I kept praying that I would have the strength to get him out quickly and that there would be no need for a c-section. I didn't have any breaks between contractions, they had my push through them because Coop had to get out ASAP. As soon as Dr. Jones checked me he reached up and had to turn Cooper because he was facing posterior, (which half killed me by the way,) and then saw that the cord was wrapped around his neck. Knowing all of this just helped me push to get our little guy here as fast as I could, seven LONG minutes later they laid a purple and blue baby on my chest. He wasn't moving and he wasn't crying, I just looked around in shock waiting for someone to say or do something. The nurses wisked baby over to the nurses' station and started suctioning and rubbing him and that little cry that finally came out was the sweetest sound I have ever heard!!

While Dr. Jones was sewing me up, (I tore pretty good) I just listened to my sweet Cooper's cry and fell in love with him the instant I held him. He is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen!!! Ry was on camera duty while they stiched me up and finished cleaning up all the mess. Ry and I are so grateful that our little guy made it here healthy and whole, 7 pounds 9 ounces, 21 1/2 inches long, and just as darling as can be! After they handed him to me he looked up at me, and Ry and I just stared at him, he was so alert for about 2 hours after birth, it was truly an amazing and spiritual experience. After I had been holding Cooper for a little bit the nurse asked if I wanted any food, and I was famished so I told her some juice and crackers would be great. She brought me grape juice and graham crackers which tasted so delicious after throwing up all day and having absolutely nothing in my stomach. Mareesa was standing next to me looking down and Coop and I told her to hand me the barf bag fast, she grabbed it and shoved it onto my mouth (not in front of my mouth) so bright purple throw up didn't go in the bag but all over me, all over Cooper, all over the bedding. I felt SO bad, they took Coop to the nursery to get cleaned up, they had to change everything I was wearing and all my bedding. After that was all done I got to snuggle with my little bug again.

I'm so grateful for such a supportive husband who cheered me on the entire labor, helped me breathe during the horrid contractions, and did everything in his power to make my labor the best it could be. He is the best Daddy in the world, it's so sweet to see him with our little Cooper. Having Coop in our home the past two weeks has been such a blessing and a miracle, I can't imagine our lives without him now that he's finally here. I'm so grateful that I get to be a Mom, it's such a huge responsibility and I am beginning to mildy understand the love our Heavenly Father must have for each of us. I thought that my love for Ry was as much as I could love, and then our baby Coop came along and my love for both of my boys has grown immenesly!!!

One last look at the pregnant belly...whoop whoop!!

On our way into the hospital, excited and so ready to be parents!

The best nurse in the world, Tammy!

Before the hard labor hit...

Isn't he the most precious thing you have ever seen?!

Finally holding my sweet little Cooper, he is the sweetest thing in the entire world!!!

Our first family picture!

Proud Grandpa, he could not be more excited!!!

Gammie loving and talking to our little Coop.

Proud Uncle Marcus, (we're SO sad that McKaid couldn't be here) he will be getting lots and lots of pictures from us.

Excited Auntie Weenie!!!

Our handsome little nugget, look at those long feet!!!

Ry admiring our little one, and making sure he's still breathing (just like worried Dads do)...

Coopy meeting Aunt Ashley.

Our beautiful little man, i'm so in love, can you tell!?

Grandpa Mike

39 1/2 Weeks and Counting!!!

2011-06-11T11:34:00.000-07:00

I have been horrible about journaling my pregnancy, mainly because I feel like most of my experience has been extremely negative and I haven't wanted to turn my blog into a negative, woe is me party. I have decided that before this little one gets here I should reflect on the past 39 1/2 weeks because I know I won't have times once he arrives and i'm sure all the negative will magically be erased once I get to see his sweet face and hold him in my arms. This is my journal i'll keep most of the details o be warned, this may not be the most entertaining or positive thing you've ever read.

It all started back in September, the 24th (Ry's birthday and the day my had his heart attack). I had a trip to St. George planned for Ry's birthday, and after all the events that unfolded the day of Ry's birthday we were hesitant to go, but reassured by my Dad and Mom that there was nothing we could accompish by staying home. My Dad was out of surgery and stable and was getting great medical care as well as lots of family and friend support. So, Ry and I headed to St. George that night and arrived super late. The weekend was full of golf, sunshine and fun! The week before this we decided I would stop taking my birth control and that if we got pregnant it was meant to be and that we were ready. Since my family history is full of women taking years to get pregnant along with my hormonal imbalancesn we weren't too concerned that this would happen anytime soon. About a week after we got home from St. George I noticed my boobs were super sensitive, so bad that it hurt to wear clothes!! I had a yearly appointment with my OB, I told him that I have stopped my birth control and was a bit concerned that my new onset of sensitivity was a sign of pregnancy. He said "there's no way that you would get pregnant that fast, it usually takes about 3 months for all the hormones to get out of your body, this feeling is probably your body getting back in balance with itself" he went on with the exam and I didn't think anything more.

My favorite month of the year rolled around, October, and here I am 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 days late for my period. I had been taking pregnancy tests every morning at work and every single one was negative. Now, this was supposed to be my first period after going off the birth control, so I called the nurse up at my OB's office, just to ask her to ask him what he thought. His response was that it may take a bit for my body to have regular periods and that I shouldn't worry. Again, i trusted him, and thought, my body will probably take a bit to get back into the swing of things.

Week 3: On October 18th, 2010 I went to work just like I had been and took my morning pregnancy test and two lines showed up!!! My first reaction was "oh shoot!" then I called in my coworker "Shalynn, what does this mean?!?!?" and her response was "Meg, you read these everyday, it's positive". I just started crying hysterically, I had every emotion imaginable run through my body at that point, I wasn't sure if I was excited, in denial, scared, happy, sad, mainly I was thoroughly shocked. After I stopped sobbing, I had Shalynn draw my blood so we could see how far along I was. I couldn't focus on work at this point, so I ran my blood up to the lab and told them we needed results STAT!!! After I dropped the blood off I went to the store and bought a bunch of different pregnancy tests, a box, ribbon and wrapping paper. I went back to work and took 20 more pregnancy tests (as if they were going to be negative) wrapped them all up and called Ry to meet me at home for lunch.

I set up my camera in the livingroom so I could capture his reaction on video. He slowly opened the box and pulled out one of the tests that spells out "pregnant" and he looked at me and said "Oh my gosh, you are? no, you're not...are you really? No!, you really are?" after he got over the shock he gave me a big hug and we talked about how our lives were about to change forever. We talked about how we were going to tell our families and when, we decided Christmas was perfect, that way I would be through my first trimester and we would be able to have our first ultrasound to make sure everything was growing the way it needed to be. That night we had a big BBQ at the park with my Mom's side of the family, our cousins Katie and Bart were in town, and Ry kept saying, "I just want to stand up on those rocks and shout it out". Luckily he was able to keep it in and our surprise didn't get ruined.

Week 4: This is the week that I started feeling super nauseous, completely exhausted and unable to eat anything. When I found out I was pregnant, I thought, great, my Mom LOVED being pregnant and never had any problems, didn't get sick, nothing. So I didn't understand why I was so sick and the thought of food repulsed me.

Week 5: Again this week I am extremely sick, running to the bathroom every 20 minutes. I can't hold any food down. The only thing that sounded remotely appetizing was McDonald's french fries, which I never ever eat. We started calling baby "blueberry" since that's about the size he is this week. I have also had all the symptoms of a bad bad bad period with the blood, awesome.

Week 6: I couldn't even get out of bed today, I'm completely exhausted and hope this doesn't last much longer. We are super excited for our appointment Wednesday, we get to hear the heart beat!

Week 7: No change, still feel like crap, and can't eat anything.

Week 8: I look fabulous minus the 800 bumps that have popped up all over my face, neck and upper back! I look like a 13 year old hitting puberty, my doctor referred me to a dermatologist. Neither doctor has any idea what this rash is, it's now PUPS because that usually manifests itself on your belly and never on the face. My liver enzymes are also a bit high, my doctor said we'll keep monitoring that throughout pregnancy, again, no apparent or obvious explanation for any of this, other than, I swear my body hates being pregnant.

Week 9: Our first appointment was today with Dr. Jones' nurse, Sandy, love her! She told us our official due date is June 14th, 2011!!! I have a bit more energy, I have been able to get enough energy to return to my normal workout schedule and my house is so happy because I have been able to handle cleaning more than one room at a time. The nausea has mildly subsided, my throwing up has slowed down to about every hour now, much better than three times every hour.

Week 10: My hormones must be kicked into high gear, because I have been an emotional nut case this week!!! I cry over the dumbest things. I haven't gained any weight, in fact I think I am losing weight since I can't hold anything down. My boobs have grown at least one or two cup sizes, i'm way over due to go bra shopping. My energy feels like it is going up still, which I am very excited about!

Week 11: We have been listening to lots of Christmas music, we went to Harry Potter adn the Deathly Hollows. I'm reading three books right now, Mockingjay, What to Expect..., and Your Pregnancy and Birth. My skin still looks like crap, bring on the make up baby!!!

Week 12: Yay, today marks the end of my first trimester, I made it! I have finally slowed down on the throwing up, thank goodness! Ry and I are counting down the days that we have to find out what we are having and we couldn't be more excited to tell our family! We can tell everyone in 19 days... Christmas Eve!!!

Week 13: Things are going well as of late, I am started to feel a bit bloated by bed time, but still haven't gained any weight. We cannot wait to tell our parents!

Week 14: We had a little scare this week... I started spotting and bleeding some bright red chunks, this lasted two days. I rested and tried to stay down which I think really helped. We went to Twin Falls for Ry's work party and spent the night in Jackpot. I have started to get sick at night again, I guess that's a good sign, but I am sure sick of throwing up so much. Only 6 more days until we can tell our family!!!

Week 15: My hair is fabulous, it's super thick, luscious and shiney (maybe the only positive I have had?) my skin on the other hand, is horrendous!!! I have been sick every single night this week, it's becoming part of my nightly routine. The rash is all over my cheeks, chest, and back, my liver enzymes are still elevated and the dermatologist gave me some cream to try and get rid of this ugly rash. My family was absoltely ecstatic to find out our news!! We told my family Christmas Eve and Ry's Christmas morning, and Kaid Christmas day when we talked to him! Best Christmas present ever!!

Week 16: Happy New Year 2011!!! My skin still looks horrid, i've got a follow up with the dermatologust, the cream he gave me seems to have made the rash even worse, hopefully he can figure out what is wrong. I have still been throwing up every single night, i'm just kind of getting used to it. Our next appointment is on the 10th, which is the day we'll find out what we are having! I have been searching for cribs, bassinetts, and changing tables, it will be easier once we know the sex.

Week 17: My appetite has finally increased a bit, I actually feel like I am going to die if i don't eat every 2-3 hours. If I don't eat this often get super nauseated and throw up. My rash on my face and neck are slowly improving, they still don't know what it is. My dr's theory is that I am allergic to all the extra hormones my baby is making my body produce. I am keeping my fingers crossed that my perfect skin will come back.

Week 18: My rash is almost gone but my skin texture is still not back to normal. I am feeling pretty good this week, I have only thrown up three times this week. I have gone through a whole jar of shea butter and have ordered for more. My stomach is starting to feel really tight, it's not flat anymore, and people that don't know i'm pregnant they probably wouldn't notice. We heard Baby's heart beat, it was beautiful!! We find out what baby is this week and could not be more excited!

Week 19: Well I officially "feel" pregnant, i've got a small bump that I feel is super noticeable. I have been getting really hungry lately, but I have still been super conscious of what I eat. I want to be able to get pre-baby body back fast after i'm done. Our ultrasound took a bit over an hour, he was such a wiggle worm and didn't cooperate very well. But luckily we got all the views we needed, everything look great, heart, kidneys, bladder, arms, legs and face are all perfect! Baby Ray is a boy, we were both very surprised but can't wait to meet him!

Week 20: I feel great this week, my only complaint is I have been having tons of low back pain. I have gained 5 pounds so far and my tummy feels like it has a little solid orange in it and my boobs are gigantic.

Week 21: I have been getting up about 3 times a night to pee, I still like sleeping on my back, I know as I get bigger that will probably become less comfortable. Ry got to feel the baby move before the super bowl this week, it was truly magical for Ry to be able to feel that and for us to experience it together.

Week 22: I am feeling bigger by the day, I have been loading on the shea butter. I have most of my energy back, which i have been loveing. Baby has been very active, I feel him almost all day and night, I just love him! We ordered his crib, dresser and changing table today. I can't wait to see it and set it up.

Week 23: I have been listening to lots of Disney music, country and workout music. My workouts have been great lately, I hate feeling fat though, ugh!

Week 24: WOW, I can't believe it's the end of the second trimester, how time has flown! It's been strange and taken a lot of getting used to my growing belly. I can feel that I need to slow down on my workouts, i've starting getting contractions if I push it too hard, this has been really hard for me to face. I know my body is the best indicator of what I should be doing and I am going to have to deal with this and listen.

Week 25: My belly is definitely growing, my jeans are starting to get uncomfortable and it's time for bra shopping, again. Baby is such a wiggle worm, I swear he never stops moving. Ry and I really enjoy feeling him move so much, and it really is comforting.

Week 26: Well...today I caved and ordered my first pair of maternity jeans, mine just won't stay up, even with the belly band. Baby is super low so it almost pushes my pants down. I have had a bad sweet tooth this week...weird.

Week 27: We got our changing table and set it up today, it was quite the process to say the least. It took forever, and then when Ry was putting the last drawer together and I was putting the knobs on the second to last drawer I accidently walked through the last drawer that Ry was building and broke it to pieces. We just looked at each other, I almost cried and then we both just laughed. It was a long day, but we did get a lot done.

Week 28: I have never been so emotional in my entire life!!! I have cried like three times this week over nothing... my hormones are definitely on the up and up. I'm feeling a bit better now. Sweet Ry got up and started setting up the baby's crib, I got up and helped as much as I could, it looks great! Bedding is on its way, which is good because I am 100% nesting mode. Baby is insanely active, he really moves non-stop, and we just love him sooo much!

Week 29: I watched conference today and along with my ever moving belly. Working out has been a challenge, my contractions are getting progressively worse. I can't believe how fast time has been flying.

Week 30: My skin is absolutely horrible, it has been uncontrollabley itchy! Mareesa said my nose is the size of Kansas, and Marcus said "you're HUGE"--- so i've felt pretty ugly this week. We started our birthing class this week, we go every Wednesday this month. Ry was so sweet, at the end of our classes we learn breathing techniques. Ry rubbed my back and belly while we practiced our breathing, it really help me relax, i'm so grateful he is so willing to come to these classes with me and be a supportive birthing partner. Baby's room is almost done!

Week 31: My skin still looks pretty bad, and it itches like crazy! Our birthing class is going well, my favorite part is the end where we get to practice our breathing techniques. Working out is pretty limited to yoga and lifting at home, any type of cardio puts me straight into pre-labor.

Week 32: My skin is slightly improving, and baby continues to be a wiggle worm. When he stretches I almost die! We had our maternity pics today, our friend Jen took them and we can't wait to get them back. There's one pic that Jen showed me that you can see the baby sticking out a pointy appendage right under my rib, so crazy! My first shower is next Saturday, i'm super excited.

Week 33: I had my first shower today, it was super fun and I got some super cute stuff for baby. I have officially developed pregnancy onset carpel tunnel, it's awful, my hands are numb all the time and I also get shooting pains with certain movements. Contractions have become a daily occurence, mostly at night when I have been on my feet all day. I'm trying to take it easier, but it's hard. I am also starting to get swelling in my hands and feet, mildly painful.

Week 34: I have officially developed two small stretch marks on the outside edge of my belly button. It makes me SO sad because I have been so faithful with my shea butter. My nose is gigantic, I look awful and try to stay away from cameras lately. My other shower was today, it was fabulous, Mom did a great job! We've got almost all of our essentials for baby!

Week 35: People can't believe I am 35 weeks, I keep getting "you look too small for that" but believe me, I feel very large! I am getting more and more swollen, it's getting pretty painful. I 've started to get tired lately and my carpel tunnel is getting progressively worse. We went on our Babymoon this week to Boise, we went to Wicked (Ry surprised me with tickets). We had a wonderful time together, did some baby shopping, and enjoyed being together.

Week 36: I've nahd diarrhea for about 5 days now, tons of low pelvic cramping and lots of increased pressure. baby feels like he's grown a ton and he's still very active. We're getting super excited to meet our little man. My skin is slowly improving, the texture is still bad, and my tummy is getting more stretch marks, boo!!

Week 37: I've been trying to finish up the four books I have been reading and finish baby's room. Life has been crazy lately, time is flying and we can't believe the clock is ticking down so quickly.

Week 38: I'm feeling pretty good, i've had a couple rough episodes of contractions this past week and super bad bad back pain. The past few days I have had tons of energy in the morning and then by the evening I am totally drained because I have been going non-stop all day. Baby's room is ready and Ry and I are getting really ready and very excited for him to come. My hadns and feet are extremely swollen and my nose is absolutely gigantic!

Week 39: I have been dilated at 3cm for almost four weeks, 50% effaced for two weeks and 70% effaced for the past week. I really thought this baby would come this week, but maybe I was wrong, I have been doing everything possible to get him out! I've tried raspberry tea, evening primrose oil, long walks, vacuuming, massage, accupressure, and yes, even sex. But our little guy seems stubborn and I guess he'll come when he wants... We are keeping our fingers crossed and we can't wait to meet him!

Fabulously Fifty!!!

2011-06-11T08:09:00.000-07:00

My mom turned the big "5-0" on May 25th!!! I really wanted to throw a big party for her, but she absolutely refused anything of the sort. She was really struggling with the thought of turning fifty so we all decided to make her big day super special and let her be the center of attention with just our close family. Dad took care of her all morning, breakfast, massage, hair appointment, lunch, shopping, and a pedicure. The rest of us met up with them at Red Lobster for her birthday dinner followed by the movie she really wanted to see...

Which was suprisingly good, the past couple I fall asleep everytime I attempt to watch them.

After the movie we headed out to my parents for cake, ice cream and presents.

She had chocolate on chocolate cake and of course her favorite, tuxedo cake. She got some beautiful flowers from Aunt Judy, Jac, and Karli...and we gave her the gag gift of the first season of Modern Family. Ry and I LOVE that show and have been trying forever to get her to watch it with us, so now she has to. We made her watch a couple of episodes that night, and i think we have officially got her secretly hooked!!

The night before her birthday Ry and I went out to "watch a movie"...after the movie we waited for all the lights in the house to go off so we could bring out our arsenal of car decorations. We knew she would be driving around a ton the next day so we got window chalk, princess and birthday gel stickers and just went crazy on her car. We wrote "honk it's my birthday" on her back window, so you know she got zillions of honks the next day.

Happy 50th, you are fabulous Mom!!! We love you!

Wicked Babymoon

2011-05-20T16:28:00.000-07:00

Ry and I have been trying to figure out a good weekend for us to take a quick babymoon before Baby Ray gets here. Time has quickly been ticking down to where I am not supposed to travel very far from my doctor and our weekends have become very limited. A couple months ago I got a phone call from Ry while I was at work... He said "Meg, Wicked tickets went on sale this morning, I hope you bought tickets today because they are completely sold out already!!" I was devastated because I have been wanting to see Wicked for years now. My sad reply was, "well babe, I know you will take me one day..." then he said, "how about May 10th at 7:30?" I was SO excited and completely surprised!!! Since we have been struggling finding a weekend that we can both get away we decided to make this our Babymoon.

We left for Boise pretty early so we could get a few baby items before we checked into our hotel. We had a great ride up, (only three pee stops,) I was pretty proud of myself. We navigated around Boise and found a Target to finish off our baby shopping list so I could be a bit less stressed about this little guy getting here. We found almost everything we need, and with Ry as my shopping partner it took about a quarter of the time that it would have otherwise. After our quick shopping spree for baby we did a little shopping for ourselves and then headed to our hotel.

We got ready for the show and stopped for a delicious meal at Johnny Carino's. I wore a really cute dress and darling heels (which i'm so disappointed we didn't get a full body shot,) but by the end of dinner my poor feet were already starting to swell. When we got back to the car I took them off, praying they would still go back on once we got to the theatre. I turned the AC all the way up and put my feet up on the dashboard, i know, so lady like. Luckily, the swelling went down enough to get my feet back into my heels.

We arrived to the show with time to spare, so obviously we had to look around at all the vendors of Wicked garb, I wanted one of everything, and ended up settling on a comfy sweatshirt (comfy is all i'm drawn to lately,) needless to say it's currently my favorite item of clothing and it is getting lots of wear.

Words cannot describe how absolutley phenomenal the show was!!! I literally got chills and it took every fiber in my body not to stand up and sing with them. I'm so glad I had flip-flops in my purse for after the show because there was no way my shoes were going back on. Ry and I had a blast together on our short trip and are trying to enjoy every second of our short time left as "just us". Thanks for a wonderful trip Ry, I love you, you are the best!!!

Baby Showers

2011-05-09T07:20:00.000-07:00

BABY SHOWER 1

Last Saturday my girlfriends, Jen and Chelsie threw me a baby shower and we had a blast!! Baby Ray got very spoiled and he is going to be one stylish little guy.

We played some fun games, the one pictured above is the "bottle sucking race" was SO fun, but really hard! My tongue was literally bleeding after this game, poor babies have to suck so hard to get anything.

Belly shot!!!

My girlfriend, Erika, is due two weeks before me with a little girl for Baby Ray to hang out with. We are both SO ready for our little ones to get here so we have can have mommy play groups and strolls in the park!!!

Baby Ray's crib full of all his presents before I organized them, I told you he is going to be one spoiled boy!

BABY SHOWER 2

My mom and Mareesa threw me a fun shower two days ago. We had yummy food, fun games, and great company. Once again Baby Ray got very spoiled and has almost all he needs.

Darling diaper cake a couple of my girlfriends made for me!

Party favors (Jordan almonds with a baby rattle and "it's a boy" ribbon).

My mom got us our pack and play that has been completely sold out everywhere! Luckily my Grandma found it, and we could not be more excited!

I'm so grateful for all of our family and friends who have given us so much love and support through our little journey in bringing our little cutie here. We love and appreciate you all and can't wait to meet this little wiggle worm!

Belly Pics

2011-05-08T15:33:00.000-07:00

I know it has been ages since I have posted anything. Ry and I have been incredibly busy with life as well as preparing for the arrival of our little guy. I can't believe we only have one month left, time has absolutely flown by!!! We have his nursery almost 100% complete, so as soon as it is complete I'll definitely share. Our friend Jen took our maternity pics and did a beautiful job, here are a few of my favorites:

Baby Ray is a...

2011-02-12T07:24:00.000-08:00

BOY!!!! The ultrasound was truly one of the most surreal things we have ever experienced. He was super active the entire time so it took a full hour for us to even find out his sex. It is such a miracle how fast and fully they develop. We got to see all four chambers of his tiny heart, his kidneys, his brain and spinal cord, his cute legs, arms, fingers and toes, his lips and nose and of course his little boy parts. We have been busy planning and starting to get his nursery in order. We cannot wait to meet this little guy, I felt him move a few Sundays ago and last Sunday (Super Bowl Sunday) was the first time Ry got to feel this little acrobat. We love him so much already and are looking forward to see him in a few short months!!

Christmas Day

2010-12-31T09:45:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas morning this year. I didn't get to sleep in because Ry got up at 6:00AM and made me get up with him, you would think he was five years old. We opened our stockings from each other and then headed out in the cold to Ry's parents' house to share our news with them. They were all very excited for us! We watched Jeffery open some of his presents and then headed to my parents house for Mckaid's phone call from Africa!!!

It was so great to hear his cute little voice, he's doing well and had lots of stories for us. He and his companion finally got rid of the fleas. He's getting used to the curry and even said he is starting to like it, poor Kaid must be starving. He said Christmas morning they delivered a bunch of little gifts and treats to the poor areas, and the kids' faces lit up and were so grateful for the small gifts. He said it was one of the most incredible experiences he has ever had, it's so humbling to hear all about his experiences with people who have next to nothing and are still happy with their lives. He was SOOO excited when we told him we are expecting (i'm still trying to figure out how to upload the video*). He says he can't wait to be the favorite uncle and is definitely planning on it. It was really hard to say our 'goodbyes' to him, we all really miss him and the great spirit he brings to our home. Africa is so lucky to have him for two whole years and get to feel the spirit he brings. He has been asking for more "post" so we all need to be better at sending him letters and help him get through all the trials he faces. We sure love and miss him!!!

After we talked to Kaid, we had some traditional Christmas morning breakfast casserole, it was delicious as always!! Then we headed back up to Ry's parents to open the rest of our gifts and hang out with them for a while. We invited everyone to go snowmobiling and sledding with us Christmas Day afternoon and had a blast. Uncle Scott, Mareesa, Marcus and the Wood family joined us up in the fields for an afternoon full of fun!

Ry digging into is stocking at six in the morning, and if you look at his right leg, Toby thinks there is a present for him in there too.

Trying to be awake enough to take a picture, ah so early, that's why I look so pretty!!

Up so early we got to enjoy a beautiful sunrise... I guess it was worth it.

Sledding with Liz and her giant chunk of snow she sucked on all day long.

A great pic of Ry giving rides to all the kids. He is already planning on getting a small snowmobile for baby Ray...he thinks it will start riding at age three, hmmm...not sure how I feel about that.

Sister picture!! Taking it easy while we watched the boys go off jumps, I think Mareesa is done trying jumps. Last time we went she hit the jump SO hard she flew forty-five and was over twelve feet in the air. As she flew through the air I just kept praying we wouldn't have to rush her broken little body to the hospital. Luckily, she landed her jump, her helmet and goggles saved her face that hit the kill switch and handle bars, and she came out with a few bruises on her knees and shins, but other than that she was ok.

Ry and I taking a little ride together...

Uncle Scott enjoyed his time out with us, but next time we'll need to find some snow pants, the sweats didn't keep the freezing snow out too well.

Tyler, Marcus and Ry going off the jump at the same time...

The sunset and last ride of the night, it was beautiful!!!

Ry taking Liz down to the car.

Christmas Eve 2010...the BIG REVEAL!!!

2010-12-27T13:31:00.000-08:00

We had a fabulous Christmas Eve this year!!! We have been holding our big news in for a very long 15 weeks now, and it was definitely worth the wait to see the reactions we got. We started our traditional Christmas Eve progressive dinner at my parents house. Ry and I got there early because we wanted my parents to open our surprise before everyone else got there. We had an eleven week ultrasound picture framed in an "under construction" frame for my dad and a frame that says "Miracle in the making" for my mom. Their reaction was fabulous, and we got to tell Mckaid when he called on Christmas morning and his was great as well.(**Video to come shortly**). The rest of our Christmas Eve we had our h'our dourves, eggnog, and wassail at my parents, went to my Grandpa Sheppard's to let him in on our surprise, then up to Wood's for yummy salad and fruit, and then ended at my Grandma and Grandpa Miller's for the main course, dessert, singing, presents and of course, the reinactiment of the nativity. Everyone is excited to use Baby Ray next year for our baby Jesus!!

Grandma and Grandpa Miller's news for their first great-grandchild...they were both very excited and Gma shed a couple tears with the news.

Aunt Laurie and Grandpa Sheppard, he told us it looks like a little chicken and when we left told me, "bye, mama chicken" it was really sweet!

Excited and proud future parents of Baby Ray!!!

Ry's mom and Mike enjoying the news Christmas morning!! Everyone is very excited, including us. Although this came faster than we had originally planned we know that there truly is a personal plan for everyone, even if we don't think it fits into our personal timeline perfectly. We are so happy and so grateful we could spend time with family this Christmas to share our happy news. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

Holiday Hustle and Bustle

2010-12-23T15:27:00.000-08:00

THANKSGIVING 2010

We have been extremely busy this holiday season. We spent Thanksgiving at Ry's parents' house and then went out to his aunt's fields to snowmobile...we didn't last too long because without the windchill factor it was negative six degrees!! After snowmobiling we headed to my parents to play some games and warm up.

25TH BIRTHDAY

I can't believe I turned 25 years old, or a quarter century as Mareesa and Marcus like to rub in. Although, I will always believe age is a state of mind 25 seems to sound much older than age 20 to 24. I had a wonderful birthday, Ry made me homemade french toast and brought it to me in bed, very early. I went to lunch with my mom and did some shopping, got my toes done and had a great family party at my parents that evening.

THE NUTCRACKER

My grandma got us all tickets to go see the Nutcracker Ballet. My mom, sister, Aunt, cousins and grandma all went on Saturday. It was a beautiful show and made me miss my good old dancing days.

Weenie and I wasting time during intermission...

HIGHLAND RAMS 2010

Another activity that consumes most of our nights is watching Ry not only play basketball on his city league, but he is also the head coach for the freshman girls at Highland Highschool. I absolutely love watching him coach, he is a great teacher and a very patient coach. I watch some of the other coaches of teams he plays and they scream and yell at their girls, while Ry calmly tells them what they did wrong and what they could do to fix it. He's a fabulous coach, if I do say so myself.

TWIN FALLS/WORK PARTY

Ry's work party was in Twin Falls this past weekend, so while we were up there we did some last minute shopping and went down to the falls. We spent the night in Jackpot because the roads were super slick that night and then came home for our annual...

SANTA VISIT

My dad's friend, Mike (or Santa as we know him), has been coming to our house since the year I was born. It is such a fun tradition and it has stayed strong for a whole 25 years!! Sheridan was terrified of Santa, when he walked in she growled, barked and went absolutely nuts. She finally calmed down once we gave Santa some of her treats and she saw us all sit on his lap.

Are you ever too big for Santa's lap??

I wonder what Ry asked for...

We are so excited for Christmas this year, for the time to spend with our families and the special time to reflect on the 'reason for the season'.

Disney On Ice!!!

2010-11-27T08:27:00.000-08:00

We went to Disney on Ice last weekend...it was absolutely fabulous!!! You could feel the Disney magic and it just made me want to go to Disneyland even more than I already do!! It was called Mickey and Minnie's Adventures and they 'took us to different places'. The first was to Africa with all the Lion King characters, then we went Under the Sea with Arial and friends, then to Hawaii to meet Lilo, Stitch and the gang, then to London to meet Mary Poppins and then the Darling clan, then we flew to Never Never land with Peter Pan and Tinkerbell, it was AMAZING!!!

John, Michael and Wendy waving goodbye to Peter Pan and Tink as they flew back home!!!

Timon and Pumba, aren't they cute?!

Lilo and Stitch doing a little ice dance for everyone, they were sooo darling!

Minnie and Mickey waving bye to us, and you can see Nala and Simba in the background too!!

All of the characters doing one last performance before the curtain closed!! I am so happy that Ry consented to go with me and that we had such a great time!!

Halloween Party

2010-11-20T08:56:00.000-08:00

Ry and I had a super fun Halloween party with a few of our friends the Saturday before Halloween. I spent all day getting the food together while Ry went to Rexburg for "more important things" namely buying new snowmobiles. He sold mine and said he was going to get a better one. He called me on his way home to inform me that he had to buy two more and his reasoning was " I couldn't resist, they were such a good deal!!" I know i've probably used this phrase numerous times, (but on much smaller purchases,) so there wasn't much I could say, but get your bum home and help me finish getting our party together. He finally got home and helped me finish getting things together and we had a fabulous night!

Famous black-bottom cupcakes with my mom's "very secret" frosting and little candy dishes full of treats (Ry's contribution).

Mummy bread, monster finger breadsticks with bloody sauce, a cheeseball headstone and guacamoldy with chips.

Heart jello, mummy dogs and deviled egg eyeballs...

Ry the pirate getting the witches brew together (doesn't he look great as a pirate!?)

A rambunctious round of Ghosts and Goblins followed by a fiesty game of the Newlywed Game!!

Pirate's Booty

Cute, pregnant Charish and her husband, Clayton came even though she was exhausted and ready to pop, we excused them from the costume rule. Nat and her husband, Justin drove all the way from Twin; we have such awesome friends, thanks guys!!!

The whole gang (minus our cute pregnant couple). Lyndsey as Minnie Mouse and her husband Justin as a dork, Ry and I as pirates, Ang as a pirate and her hubby Trevor a great hunter, ShaLynn as a cute witch and her soon-to-be fiance as a nerd/geek, and Nat as Cleopatra and her husband, Justin as a roman soldier. Great costumes, fabulous friends, yummy food, equals a fun party!!

The girls of the party!!!

Beehive Halloween Party

2010-11-19T19:23:00.000-08:00

I have the greatest little Beehive class, and for one of our class activities in October we had a Halloween party at my house. The girls all made Halloweenish food, we watched Hocus Pocus, played Ghosts and Goblins, and the Mummy game---the girls had the time of their lives!!

All of us surrounding the grub; mummy dogs, witch fingers, human (jello) heart, witches brew and much more.

Playing Ghosts and Goblins...

The after math of the Mummy wrap game...my livingroom was a disaster!!!

The girls decided that they should wrap up "Sister Ray" before the party was over, it just added to their fun.

Family Halloween Party

2010-11-19T19:05:00.000-08:00

We have a Halloween Party at my parents' house every October fast Sunday. We always have the most delicious and appropriately themed food as well as fun games and family fun.

My traditional mummy bread...very scrumptious, if i do say so myself.

The spread, including pumpkin meat pie, spider spagetti, mummy bread, Halloween jigglers, yummy salad...

Ghosty cookies, spiderweb cheescake, eyeball cookies, jars of Halloween delights!

Two very competitive people ready to play Ghosts and Goblins, don't let the smiles deceive you, we were out for blood!!! (Aren't our ghosts cute?)

The whole gang playing our traditional Ghosts and Goblins...we had such a blast. My parents house couldn't get anymore "Halloweeny" complete with monsters, punkins, music and much much more!!

Halloween Week at Work

2010-11-19T18:39:00.000-08:00

I work with the greatest, most fun group of people!! Everyone who knows me knows that I LOVE Halloween, it is my most favorite holiday... so, I talked everyone into dressing up everyday the week of Halloween and everyone got really into it and we had an absolute blast! Here's a review of each day:

Monday: Blast from the past 80's style!!

Tuesday: Wizard of Oz/Wicked

(Scarcrow: Andrew, Dorothy: ShaLynn, Glenda: Melinda, Dorothy: Me, Munchkin: Jill, The Wizard: Scott)

Wednesday: Witches and Vampires

(Vampires: Andrew, Jolyn as Victoria, Scott as Edward, Melinda as Alice)

(Witches: ShaLynn, Jill and Me)

Thursday: Pirates

(We played Pirates of the Carribean soundtrack all day, it was fabulous!! Yo ho, Yo ho a pirates life for me!!!)

Friday: Biker Babes

(My big group pictures was too blurry to see, so hear or the sexy biker babes!!)

September 24, 2010

2010-11-01T11:44:00.000-07:00

Ry's 25th birthday was on September 24th, I woke up SUPER early to make him birthday breakfast before he had to go to work. We were all packed to head to St. George so as soon as we both got off we could hit the road.

I had been at work for about an hour when my Dad pulled into the parking lot and came into the clinic looking awful. I knew immediately that something was VERY wrong, I took him to a room and had Scott come, as I took his vital signs Scott listened to what my Dad said through labored breaths and words. Scott listened to his heart and said "Meg, you need to take your Dad to the ER right now!!" So through teary eyes and me trying to force myself to be calm I grabbed my stuff and helped my Dad to the car. I tried talking to him on the way to the hospital, but he didn't have the energy to talk to me. We walked straight into the emergency room through the ambulance bay, and they took him right into a room and hooked him up to an EKG machine. As soon as I saw the EKG I knew my dad was having a heart attack, shortly after that thought came to me the doctor told him, "sir, you are in full cardiac arrest" they gave him aspirin, nitroglycerin, and started running other tests. As all of this was going on I was making calls to find my Mom, who of course, doesn't have a cell phone. Ry came up immediately and my Mom made it up in time for them to transport my Dad up toe the Cath Lab at the Cardiovascular center. Ry and I followed the ambulance up to the CV unit... the next two hours were hell. We sat in the waiting room while he was in surgery waiting and praying that everything was going to be alright. Finally, two long hours later his very nice nurse, Cori, came and told us that he was okay and that we could go visit him for a short while. He had a major blockage in his descending artery, which is connected to the left ventricle, or major pump of your heart. Marcus and my Grandpas gave him a very nice blessing, and we visited him for a while and then let him get some rest. We are so greatful that he made it our of surgery and that he came in when he did, he has minimal heart damage, one stent and he is doing much better. It is truly amazing how short life is and how fast it can change, this event has made us all take nothing for granted and truly treasure every moment we have with each other.

After a very long and stressful day, Ry got off work and we were debating whether or not we should still go to St. George for his birthday trip. After we visited my Dad again, he said "I am fine, there's nothing you two can do now, just go have fun," so we did, and I am happy we did, because we did have a great time!!!

Golfing with my favorite boy!
Steph and I got talked into going with the boys this evening, it was a hot one!

Doing what he loves, great form Ry!

The Birthday Boys!!

Bowling date night, it was a blast!!!

Happy Birthday Babe, you're the best! I love you!!!

Off to Africa...

2010-10-24T07:33:00.001-07:00

Our last look at that handsome little face.
Loves with Grandma and Grandpa Miller.

Brekka and Kaid saying 'bye'. No more hugs.

One last hug with Mom and Dad...

Elder Sheppard flew out of Pocatello at 6:00AM, so we were all out to the airport around 4:45AM to say our last goodbyes before he headed out to South Africa. He was so ready to go and he looked great! It wasn't as hard to say bye to Kaid as it was for Marcus, maybe this is just because we have done it before and know the blessings are worth the wait. We're so proud of him and can't wait for him to come back!

All of us back together...for a very short while.

2010-10-23T13:47:00.000-07:00

The whole family back together again!!! We had family pictures the day after Marcus got home, so as soon as I get copies I will post them. It was such a blast to be back together, all six of us in the same house was just a huge party!
Crazy eyes, Mckaid and Mom...savoring the last few hours with him.

We love this boy and miss him SOOOO much already, I hope his two years will go by as fast as Marcus' did.

Cuddled up together in Dad's chair, so happy, except maybe Marcus, he was over any sort of family pictures before they even started.

Welcome Home Elder Sheppard!!!

2010-10-23T13:35:00.000-07:00

We're so happy to have Marcus home, the past two years have really flown by. He looks great and we know he was a wonderful missionary in the South Dakota mission.

The first time we have seen Marcus in two years!!! Doesn't he look darling!?! **Notice the shoes he is wearing, they're cowboy boots!**

For family night that week we got together and made 'welcome home' signs for him:-)

Friday Night Lights

2010-10-16T13:05:00.000-07:00

Ry has been coaching the Century Varsity defensive team this year and has been loving it. He goes to practice every week night and then Friday nights are the games. The games are prety fun as long as it's in the dome or not too cold. Their team doesn't have much size in numbers or physically and not lots of talent yet, but the future is looking better. He has been loving what he has been doing so much that now he will be the head coach for the Highland Freshman girls basketball team.

Mini Anniversary Get Away

2010-10-11T18:18:00.000-07:00

Ry and I took a little mini trip to West Yellowstone and Yellowstone Park. Beauty and the Beast was playing at the Playmill Theatre, and I have been begging Ry to go all summer. Finally, he let me get tickets and we spent the day up there. When we got into town we were both starving so we went to this little place that had burgers. I had a buffalo burger and Ry got an elk burger, both were SO delicious!! After we had our little bite to eat we walked over to the Playmill for the show. It was absolutely phenomenal, the music was amazing, the actors and costumes were fabulous, and the entire production was magical!

Chip and Ry...Isn't she darling? She was the cutest actor and had the prettiest little voice.

Cogsworth, incredible costume and he and Lumiere were so funny together!

There were tons and tons of elk out, it's so funny to see how many people actually stop traffic to look at these little guys.

Us in front of one of the waterfalls by Fire Hole...so beautiful!!

A cute little chipmunk by Fire Hole, her cheeks were so full!

We took our time driving through the park and stopped at all the little places we felt like. This is on the path to one of my favorite places, the Paint Pots.

One of the many beautiful pools... and no, it's not Morning Glory, just looks very similar.

Another beautful stop...

In front of the White Dome Geyser, so pretty.

The whole time we were driving through the park I kept my eyes peeled for a bison...and finally on our way out this big guy was walking two feet from our car, I seriously could have reached out and slapped his bum. We stopped at a little pizza place on our way back home and then hit the road. We are so glad we got to go on this get away together, we had a blast and it was a gorgeous time of year to explore the park.

McKaid's Farewell

2010-10-10T07:26:00.000-07:00

JULY 29th 2010

The night before Kaid's farewell I was just hanging out in his room waiting for Ry to be down with a fantasy football draft down at our friends' house, for some reason no one was around that night. Kaid got home and it was just us two; he turned on his music since he can't listen to it for two years and instead of writing his talk he and I had a dance party for about an hour, we had a blast and this will be a little memory that I will cherish forever. His talk the next day was amazing, he is so prepared and he is going to make the best missionary. The people of South Africa are so lucky to have him for two years and we are all really missing him already. He is such a great brother who has such a sweet spirit, he sets an amazing example of what the Savior would want him to emulate and I love him so much.

After his talk we had a big barbecue at our house, we had lots of family, friends and neighbors join in on the fun to wish Elder Sheppard luck and give him their love.

A few of Kaid's good friends, Mark, Jace, and Cody--- Little cuties!!

Reily's Wedding

2010-10-10T07:11:00.000-07:00

One of my good friends, Reily, got married in the Bountiful temple and I was fortunate enough to get work off and make it down in time for the sealing. The ceremony was wonderful and Reily and Tyler couldn't have looked any happier, congrats you two!!

(**I don't know why the last pic rotated, but I can't change or erase it :-(**)

The Best Two Years

2010-10-10T06:46:00.001-07:00

JULY 31st 2010

I can't believe that two years have flown by since the day we were sealed in the Rexburg temple. We have had a fabulous two years and can't wait for the many more to come.
For our anniversary this year we went to breakfast together, and then got our traditional couples massage, which was fabulous! We went home after the massage and we were so relaxed we slept through the Peter Pan play we were going to go see, so instead we went shopping for my new camera and found one that we both loved! We went to SALT, great movie, and then we went to dinner at the Sand Trap and had a relaxing rest of the evening.

Happiest Place On Earth!!!!!

2010-06-16T14:15:00.000-07:00

We just got back from a great family trip to Disneyland!! It was Mareesa's first time and Ry and my first time together... and it was SO magical!! My family flew and stayed a little longer than we did. Ry and I made the LONG drive and listened to three books on cd, overall it was a wonderful drive. We got a three day park hopper and made FULL use of it, we were there on all the days from almost open to close. Get ready for picture overload!!!

The only character pic that Ry would take with me...so cute right?!
Kaid and Weenie...feelin the magic!

The castle during the firework show... they had Tink fly over the castle AND Dumbo, it was so amazing; I swear I will never get sick of the Disney firework shows. We also went over to the Fantasmic Show which was also ridiculously amazing, but none of our pics turned out.Right after the fireworks...the castle was gorgeous, I should live there.

Ry pretending to be a bug in Bug's Life...

We got to meet Mickey!!!!

And Cinderella...I'm thinking I should try out for the part of Belle?

Tower of Terror...We went on this ride a thousand times all of us LOVED it!!!

Kaid and Ween scared before the Tower of Terror.

Indiana Jones...Single rider, I think so!

Ry and Me on the Alice and Wonderland Ride.

Anyone see the resemblence?!

In line for the Matterhorn... this ride has been broken the past few times I have gone and Ry hasn't been on it since 8th grade! It was still as fun as ever!!

Teacups...can't do the ride anymore, I get too sick, but this was a perfect photo-op!

In line for Indiana Jones, another favorite...

On the way down the escalator to enjoy our last night of Disneyland...tear.

In line for California Screamin'!!!

Dad meeting his favorite character and talking in Donald Duck language, Donald loved my Dad, it was HILARIOUS!!!

Love Donald Duck~

Buggies:-)

Sully, so darling and he gave us big kisses!

Cooling off in the Tiki Hut with a pineapple whip---yum!

HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH with my best friend!

Indiana for the tenth time...

Aladdin and Jasmine

Big Thunder Mountain!!!

In line for Big Thunder...

Thunder Mountain here we come!

Pirates... We love this ride!

Memorial Weekend

2010-06-16T13:56:00.000-07:00

Every Memorial Weekend we have a tradition of camping up at our lot in Warm River, the weather is usually rainy, but this year we got the surprise of not only rain but snow! Other than our little snow shower we had a wonderful time together. Luckily Ry's parents let us take their trailer so we played lots of games, watched lots of movies and had the heat cranked up.

Grandma's headstone, this was the first time we've seen it, it took a while for them to get it set up, it's so beautiful!

Mareesa feeding the massive fish on our way out of town (also a tradition we do on our way out of town every year.)

Ry and me above Bear Gulch, my Dad's favorite fishing place as a child.

BEAR GULCH
So gorgeous, I wish I could live here!

The Warm River view of the Teton Mountain Range, you can barely see it through the cloud cover.

We all caught a few fish...and a stick or two.

Ry, Brekka, and Kaid fishing off our favorite bridge.

Portland Day Four

2010-05-20T12:17:00.000-07:00

That about sums it up...

Pretty Starfish at the aquarium.

Cannon Beach

The cute seals...oh I love them!!!

In front of the million flavors of jelly beans.

My last day in Portland Jade made us yummy waffles and we went to sacrament meeting. After sacrament Ashton and I headed to Cannon Beach, where the beautiful rock formations are and Seaside, where all of the cute little shops and boutiques are. We enjoyed our day walking the beach, visiting candy shoppes and wandering through the cute boutiques. We also made a stop at the aquarium where the obvious highlight was feeding the darling seals!!!

I had the best time with my sister, I couldn't have asked for a better trip. Thanks so much Ash, love and miss you!!!!

Portland Day Three

2010-05-19T11:23:00.001-07:00

Saturday we slept in super late which was heavenly! After we got ready we drove up to the Portland temple, it was breath taking; just a gorgeous white temple nestled in the forest. If you can't tell, I am officially in love with Portland, we should probably move there.

After we looked at the temple we headed down to the Farmers' Market. It was ridiculous compared to our Farmer's Market, they had everything you could think of. Lots of yummy food, homemade soaps/oils, and lots of fresh fruit and veggies. I noticed while I was there how green everything is, like tree-hugger green, and I loved it!! They have recycle bins all over the place, places to refill your water, dim lights in the grocery stores and lots more that I wish Idaho had.

We ate some food and sat by Lake Oswega and enjoyed basking in the sun.

After we were done there we got some things to plan Peyton's 2 year birthday party. We made a cute happy birthday sign and got some really fun things for her.

Portland Day Two

2010-05-19T10:57:00.000-07:00

Ashton planned a fun day for us on Friday. We woke up and had breakfast with Peyton (she's soooo cute!!) and then headed over to Ashton's sister in-laws yard to see if there were any baby deer. Jade had told us the night before he had seen some so we had our fingers crossed that they would still be there, and they were!! After we saw the baby deer we went to the museum OMSI, it had lots of stuff to keep us entertained. They had earthquake simulators, light refraction displays, and so many other fun things. We went to the physics lab and the chemistry lab, which are surprisingly much more fun than the physics and chem labs from college classes. OMSI is right on the river, so we went out on the dock and enjoyed the beautiful sunshine. After playing around at OMSI we took P home for a nap and while she napped Ash and I oiled up and laid out and read our books.

Everday I was there was absolutely gorgeous and warm!! After Peyton woke up from her nap we headed up to the Zoo. Our first exhibit we went to see was Africa, it just confirmed my desire to save up to pick Kaid up from his mission, the animals were so pretty!! We had a blast looking at all the different animals and hearing Peyton talk about the "baby animals" she called everyone a baby, it was the cutest thing ever!! After we were done at the zoo we were SOOO tired; Ash had a babysitter coming a little later, so we called her and told her to come even later because we needed a nap. We tried to have Peyton nap with us, but she would not have it, so she went in her room for quiet time while Ashton and I were dead to the world until the both our phones rang (Abby, the babysitter's mom and Ry) luckily they called to wake us up, or who knows when we would have got up.

After the babysitter got there we got ready and went to dinner at PFChangs, it was so yummy! We were going to go to a movie but missed the first time and then decided shopping would be more satisfying than a movie, and we were right. We both found a few things we could not live without and went home full and happy. We definitely slept well that night...

Dinner at PDChangs...delicious.
Napping polar bear, love him!

The mama deer and her two babies!!

The view from the OMSI dock, gorgeous right?

Besties in front of the Zebras.

In the Chemistry lab at OMSI.

Peyton "riding" the earthquake simulator, she could not get enough!

In front of the elephant exhibit.

Portland Day One

2010-05-19T10:48:00.000-07:00

I went to Portland this weekend to visit my bestfriend Ashton, we haven't seen each other in almost two years so this was a much overdue trip. I flew into Portland Thursday evening and could hardly contain my excitement while I was waiting for my bags. Ash picked my up from the airport and we headed to downtown Portland to a famous donut shop called VooDoo Donuts. They had the most insane flavors you could ever think of; for example, sour grape, dirt, maple bar with actual bacon on top (sick), lots of different ones sprinkled with cold cereal and tons more. After tasting the three we got we headed to her house, Peyton was already asleep, and I haven't seen her since she was a tiny baby so I was sad I had to wait until morning to see her little face. We stayed up talking and catching up on each other's lives.

McKaid's Mission Call

2010-05-19T10:27:00.000-07:00

APRIL 23, 2010

Kaid was so eager to get his call, he checked the mail faithfully and would get SO mad/sad when it wasn't in there. So it finally arrived on Friday and we could not wait for him to open it!!! Guess where.... CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA!!!! He reports to the South Africa MTC September 9, 2010 and he flies out the 7th, Marcus gets home September 2nd, so it will be party central those four days they get to see each other.

OPENING THE CALL

Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo 2010

2010-05-19T10:15:00.000-07:00

It has always been a tradition for us to go to the rodeo when it comes to town. We went to the Thursday night show with my parents prefaced with dinner at Mama Inez (this is also part of the 'Rodeo Tradition') which was fabulous. The rodeo was great, we love watching muttin' busting, the bucking broncos and my personal favorite, the bulls!!!

It was Tough Enough To Wear Pink night at the Rodeo to support breast cancer awareness; so they died the sheep pink! Cute huh?

Yeeee haaaa!!!!
Loving the Rodeo:-)

Craft Night With the Girls

2010-05-19T10:08:00.001-07:00

I have super fun group of girls I get together with for craft nights monthly. This month our craft was vinyl lettering on any medium we chose. I have been wanting to make one of these since we got married, I bought the stuff for it literally years ago, and i'm so glad I finally got around to it. I should have taken pictures of us doing our crafts but between cutie kids and all of us playing with Crikets we didn't get around to taking pictures.

I'm still looking for some cute ribbon to hang mine with... so any suggestions would be appreciated.

I made this one for my mom's birthday, which is May 25th, but you know I already gave it to her because I could not wait!!