Monday, December 29, 2008

Dad's 50th Birthday!

We threw a surprise party for my Dad's 50th birthday. It was great. He had no idea.



Ryder loves Grandpa. He has a great time pulling him around and getting him to do whatever he wants. Happy Birthday Dad! We love you!



We got Ryder snow clothes for Christmas, but we decided to bust them out early. He loves playing in the snow. He would stay out there for hours if we let him. Now we have to hide his boots and snow clothes because he tries to put them on by himself and then he stands by the door.



Ready to go!



He has a hard time walking in the boots and puffy pants, but it doesn't seem to bother him.



Brad has needed glasses for a long time. He was always asking what signs say on the road. (Things regular people can read!) He finally decided to take a trip in to the eye doctor. This is his new look. Handsome huh?

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

This was the only picture that I managed to snap on Thanksgiving before my camara died. Ryder is getting so big and starting to talk. He is at such a fun age.



Brad and I went to Vegas with Scott and Jess for our 5 year anniversary. It was really fun. We did a lot of shopping and a lot of eating! This is at the Bellagio (my favorte hotel on the strip). No, we didn't get to stay there, but our hotel was nice too. I can't believe I have been married for 5 years. Brad is a wonderful husband and he takes such good care of Ryder and me. I love you Brad! :)

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Adam and Alyson

I know that Halloween is long over, but I made Brad a banana costume this year because Ryder was a monkey. I had to post the picture. He was a pretty good sport.



My little brother Adam and Alyson got married yesterday. The wedding was wonderful and very pretty. Alyson looked beautiful!
Here is a picture of the happy couple!



Ryder wasn't very cooperative for pictures. (like usual!)



We got him to stop and say "cheese" in the hallway. In this picture he is getting ready to run away.

Monday, October 27, 2008

OCTOBER

Costume update! So Ryder's monkey costume came in the mail. It is really cute, except for one of the ears was sewn on backwards. If you look closely, no swirly on one ear. Luckily I was able to unpick it. Now I just have to sew it back together. Good luck to me. That should be a problem all by itself...



You can see that Ryder really loves the monkey costume. He feels the same way about any hat. He will most likely be a monkey body with no head this year.



We went to the Pumpkin patch at the Big Red Barn with Cass, Candice, Jess and their families. It was fun except by the time we got out to the actual patch, it was dark. Next year I will go earlier. We tried to get a picture of all the kids. None of them were having it...



Alivia and Brighton the two headed ghost. At least they were sharing. So cute!



Ryder is really into tractors and big trucks right now. He was loving the old tractor.



Our family at the pumpkin patch!



Ryder got invited to my Aunt Deann's annual Halloween party. Thanks Deann! He had a good time. Mostly playing in the water and running around. He was a little young still for some of the games. He did play hot potato, but he cried when he got out. I don't think he knew he was out, but everyone yelled, "Oh!" and it scared him. It was fun to see all the cousins in their costumes.



Ryder and Kylee. Ryder had to be a baseball player because the monkey was too hot.



Ryder spent a good amount of time standing by this tree. I think he thought he was hiding.



We went to Witches Night Out at Gardner village. We dressed up and had a lot of fun. This is Jessica cackling for coupons. I don't think we actually used the coupons.



Summer cackling for coupons.



The witches at Gardner Village.



We have had lots of girl's nights this month. For one of them we went to Thriller. It was so fun. They had these young zombie girls following you and trying to scare you before and after the show. The sad thing was, I was a little scared... I did jump a few times.



Sorry about the long post.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Future Fireman

We took Ryder to the SFFD to see all the big trucks. He has been really into trucks lately. His favorite part was following this little dog in the mini truck. It talked and played music. He loved it!



He wasn't so sure about the Sparky, but he did give him a high five.



Cassie's mom hooked Ryder up with some sweet firefighter stuff. Thanks Laurie!

Friday, October 10, 2008

Costume Drama!

Strike 1! I thought that Ryder should be a cow for Halloween because "moo" was the only animal sound he knew. I ordered the costume and this is what we got. The size was toddler 1-2. It was so tight. He actually looked really funny in it, but he could barely stand up straight because it was so tight. The arms ride up and even the hood is tight. We decided to send it back to the farm!



Strike 2! April taught Ryder the horse sound so that was choice number 2. Ryder is loving horses right now, but this costume didn't work out so much either. Again really funny, but not worthy of Halloween. Cassie taught Ryder the monkey, so that is what we decided on. The costume is still in the mail so hopefully we don't strike out!

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Vacuums and Camping!

I think I mentioned earlier how much Ryder loves the vacuum. I decided it was time to get him one of his own. He loves to push it all over the house and take the attachments out and then put them back together. The vacuum actually picks up. It is like one of those old push brooms that have the rotating brush with no suck. You are probably thinking that is great that he likes to clean, but there are two major problems with the vacuum. 1. He runs into everything. He thinks that it is hilarious to hit the walls and furniture. 2. He wants me to vacuum with him at the same time. It drives me crazy because I don't like vacuuming much. Our floors have never been cleaner...


I didn't realize it when I bought it, but Ryder's vacuum is the same model as our real vacuum. The Hoover Windtunnel. It is kind of funny because it has all the same features and attachments, just a different color.


This weekend Brad had a Hales and Warner campout. It was a lot of fun. The food was really great and Denice always has loads of fun games with great prizes. It was really cold so we didn't stay over night. Not to mention, Ryder is a terrible sleeper! He loved playing in the dirt and riding the 4-wheeler.


This is Ryder sitting out by the fire. He kept wanting to sit on this old stump, but then he would get nervous and want to get down. I think the real problem is that he can't sit still for longer than thirty seconds. He takes after his dad!

Homecoming

I have always loved the fall. It brings cool weather, fall leaves and football season. It is weird to think that I have been out of high school for almost 10 years! It is fun to see that the same traditions are still happening at good old SFHS. Cassie invited Kelli and I to the Homecoming luncheon. The food was great and it was so fun to see everyone.


These are some of the girls who graduated last year. We were missing two of them. They are still cute as ever and doing great things with their lives!

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Ryder's summer favorites

Well I realized that I hadn't mentioned Ryder for over a month so I thought I would let you know what he is up to. Here are a few of Ryder's current favorites. He loves chocolate or pretty much any candy. I'm sure that most kids do. We have a hard time getting him to eat good food. He is a really picky eater, but he is always happy to have candy or chocolate.



He loves to follow Brad around with his lawn mower. I'm not sure if he thinks he is really helping. His mower doesn't go so well on the lawn so he walks around on the sidewalk. He also loves the vacuum. He likes to follow me around with what he thinks is a vacuum, but is really a golf bag on wheels.



Taking a break...



Ryder has started to do this funny pose with his arms behind his head, but he only does it when he is in his car seat. He is probably stretching, but we think he is just chillin! Not a care in the world!

Friday, August 8, 2008

Baby Schwarz is here!

Kelli just had the most gorgeous baby on Monday! He is seriously so beautiful. His little head is perfect and he has gorgeous skin. He weighed 6 pounds 14 ounces and he is just perfect!!



Cassie, Summer and I took a trip to the hospital. It was so good to see sweet tiny Tanner. Jason was a good sport to let us hang out for a while.

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Trek

Brad and I were asked to be a Ma and Pa for our ward on the Trek this year. I really was not happy to go. I don't think I would have gone had I known what it would be like on the trail. It was so hot and dirty. At some points I didn't think my legs were going to keep moving. We pulled the carts for almost 30 miles over the four days. I just couldn't believe that the pioneers did this for months with worse conditions. That knowledge and the spirit kept me going. The worst part by far was the women's pull. I should have taken a picture of the hill, but I wasn't really in the picture taking mood. It was kind of a reenactment of when the men were called away with the Mormon Battalion and the women had to keep going on their own. They picked the steepest hill of the whole trek. My three girls and I pulled the cart up the hill on our own. I really thought that I wasn't going to make it. The boys stood at the top of the hill and sang. They weren't allowed to help us until we got to the top. I was so happy to see Brad and our boys come through the crowd. The boys were all really nice and helpful that night. Our boys said that Brad was really nervous the whole time thinking that it was too far and too steep. Ryder got an ear infection while we were gone so he wasn't very pleasant. Thank you to Grandma and Grandpa Hales for tending. He wore them out to say the least!
It ended up being a good experience. We got to know and love all of the youth in our ward. I think that Brad and I both needed something like this in our lives right now. All of the pioneer stories and devotionals were amazing. It was a really good week in that respect. When all is said and done it is fun to look back and remember, but would I go again? Not likely!

We didn't take many pictures, but here are some. This is one of the boys in our ward. He thought it would be fun to make stripes. This was what we looked like every night after treking. We were caked in dirt!!



This is Brad on the bus to go home. He is smiling because we are on our way to showers and Ryder!


My dirty apron and shirt. I wore these every day. I have never been so dirty!!


Our ward ready to get on the bus on day one. I grew to love all of these people!



My family! We had three girls and four boys. (Our family was considered small!) They were great.
Top: Sarah (she is holding Baby Maggie who we lost on the trek), Paris, Angalyn, me, Michael
Bottom: Alex, Bryce, Brad, Brady


Sarah, Paris, me, Angalyn


Ma and Pa Hales

Monday, July 28, 2008

Fiesta Days Baby Contest

Jessica and I put Ryder and Alivia in the Fiesta Days Baby Contest. I decided that I would make Ryder a baseball outfit because the theme was Celebrating Traditions. I ended up making the shirt. I am not good at sewing at all. In fact I had to call one of the Young Women over to help me thread my machine. I purchased some fabric and went to work. I had a little baseball shirt that I was using as a pattern. I just laid it on top of the fabric and then cut around it, Grinch style. I unpicked an old cheer jacket for the SF, then I wonder undered number 10 on the back. I sewed it all up and this is what we got. It was kind of a disaster, but it looked okay when I got the rest of the outfit on him. It was kind of fun to do it all on my own, but I think I'll ask for help next time.


Ryder's new Nikes. He loves them! He usually only likes his crocs, but now he'll wear these. It is a good thing because it is going to get cold soon and crocs won't cut it for the winter.


Ryder's picture at the contest. He didn't win the contest, but I had a good time making his costume. He pulls this face a lot lately. We think its really funny.


Alivia won the baby contest for her age group! She was so cute carrying her bag of prizes. This is her in the park right after she got her medal. She is beautiful!


This is Aliva on the night of the contest. She looks so darling. We tried to get her to do all of these poses and smile, but I couldn't get the picture taken fast enough before she would move. What a doll!