The Hales Family

Happy Birthday RYDER!

2010-06-07T08:49:00.000-07:00

Ryder turned 3 in May! He is getting so big. He is crazy about trucks and digging. He is so fun! We love him!! Happy Birthday RY!

Baby Ryder "flying"! Ryder used to cry a lot as a baby. Flying made him stop...

Ryder one-year-old! Golfing with Daddy!

Ryder 2 years! These are Ryder's favorite boots to "work" in. He still wears them, but they are getting tight.

Ryder 3 years! King for a day...

Ryder and Aunt Alyson blowing out the candle.

Ryder and Daddy before the party!

Trip to Palm Desert

2010-05-04T10:40:00.000-07:00

We got to take a trip to Palm Desert with Grandma and Grandpa Hales. The weather was so nice. Low 90's!! We had a great time swimming and relaxing.
This is Ryder on the airplane.

Eating at Sevilla. It was a Spanish restaurant in Riverside. Brad and Emily were so excited to go there. I don't love Spanish food, but my meal was actually pretty good.

Ryder ran back and forth from the pool to the sprayers. He loved it!

Em and Ry on the waterslide.

Rafe chillin at the pool.

Digging with Grandma! Ryder's favorite part was the sandbox.

Perfect temperature! I could live there...(at least in April!)

Heroes and Aquarium

2010-04-10T09:59:00.000-07:00

The Aquarium is so fun! We bought a year pass so I am really excited to go back. It was hard to see everything because it was really busy the day we went. We still had such a fun time!

Ryder and Makenna were not interested in taking pictures! There is a giant snake behind us!

Rafe was so good. He loved watching everything from the stroller. This was the only time he got out and he was loving it. The penguins were so cute!

Kylee is on the SLCC softball team and she does a Heroes assembly for the local elementary schools. She did such a good job and she was so cute with the kids.

Introducing the Heroes!

Ryder loves Aunt Kylee!

Ryder - Tonsils!

2010-02-06T10:03:00.000-08:00

Ryder has had strep eight times in the last year so we decided it was time to get his tonsils out. He did really good. This is a picture of him before the surgery. He was cute and very brave!

This is Ryder after the surgery. He wasn't very happy and he slept most of the day. He hated having all the monitors and tubes attached to him. We got to go home that evening. He asked for french fries on the way home! He has been eating and drinking pretty good. He wants to play all day, but he gets tired fast. We are happy with how things went. He is doing really well!

The Boys!

2010-01-16T12:41:00.000-08:00

I have been looking through old pictures. I think that my boys look a lot alike. This is Rafe at 4 months and Ryder at about 4 1/2 months.

Christmas Fun!

2010-01-09T10:53:00.000-08:00

We had so much fun this year! Ryder loved Santa and all the attention. :)
My Mom got Ryder and Rafe matching dump truck pajamas. Rafe is getting so big and starting to look so much like Ryder.

Our family on Christmas Eve

All of Ryder's cousins were here this year. He LOVES them! He had so much fun playing with them. This is all of the kids at the cabin. It was a long night, but it was really fun. :)

Madi and Kamilla on Christmas Eve

What?

2009-11-10T17:25:00.000-08:00

This post is for me. I think that this might be the month of many colors and I wanted to remember this one. I had Chrisi dye my hair. I think more for entertainment than anything else. It is a reddish dark brown. It is a little darker than I had planned, but I will keep it for a bit.

October Fun!

2009-11-01T19:38:00.000-08:00

Rafe's costume, not very creative. :)

Brad and Ryder were worker men for Halloween. Ryder got sick on Halloween and didn't want to go trick-or-treating. Maybe next year...

We had an activity day and made these hand spiders and pipe cleaner spiders. They turned out cute!

Livi and Kenna frosting/eating sugar cookies!

Jessica is so patient. It took a couple of tries to make Ryder's hand spider. :)

Rafe's Blessing

2009-11-01T19:33:00.000-08:00

We blessed Rafe this month. It was a wonderful day with family and friends!

Rafe's special day

Our family

October

2009-10-20T14:28:00.000-07:00

Ryder is going to be a construction worker for Halloween. We took some shots out by the backhoe. He is really excited about his costume this year. (The last two years he has screamed when we put his costume on.) It will be his first time trick-or-treating!

Witches night out! We made our own tutus. They turned out cute.

We took the kids to the zoo! We are trying to enjoy some of the last good weather days. It was really fun and the baby animals were so cute. My favorite was the baby elephant.

Makenna, Alivia and Ryder

Peyton and Sayla

Pictures of the Boys!

2009-10-08T14:15:00.001-07:00

Sarah Ward took Rafe's newborn pictures and Ryder's 2 year pictures. Here are some of my favorites!

Baby Rafe is here!

2009-09-03T19:25:00.000-07:00

We had baby Rafe on August 26th. Everything went really well. They started me at 8:15 AM and I had him at 10:11 AM. It was so fast. He weighed 6 pounds 15 ounces and he was 19 inches long. We named him Rafe William Hales. He is just a week old, but so far he is a pretty good baby.

Ryder is wearing his "I'm the big brother" shirt. He was so excited to wear it.

Ryder loves Baby Rafe. He is always giving him kisses.

Our family of four!

NEW NEWS!

2009-04-19T14:26:00.001-07:00

I guess it has been a while since I updated our blog. A lot happens in four months! First of all, we are expecting another baby September 3rd and we just found out that it's a boy! We are really excited to have another boy. Ryder will have a little brother to keep him company. I am hoping that they can entertain each other. I hear that works out real well. Also we have moved! A little over a month ago Brad asked if I would mind if he put our house up for sale. I said that I didn't care because I really didn't think anything would happen. Then 8 days later, someone bought our house. I was shocked and a little upset at first, but I feel good about it now. We are building a house this summer pretty close to where our old house was. We are staying in the Hales' basement while we build. We took this picture on moving day after we cleaned out the house. I was kind of sad to leave, but I am excited about our new house.

Easter Fun!

2009-04-19T14:15:00.000-07:00

Ryder is really into construction trucks right now. He knows all the names of the trucks and their function. The Easter Bunny brought him some trucks and truck books. He was loving it!

We tried to get a picture of Ryder in his Easter outfit, but he wasn't really interested. We probably should have tried before church instead of after.

Hunting Easter Eggs!

We went to the Salem City Easter Egg Hunt this year. It rained, but Ryder didn't seem to mind. It was short and sweet!

Ryder got a new helmet for the four wheeler. He wasn't real excited about it at first, but he finally figured out that he had to wear it to go for a ride. Now he can ride around safely and legally!

Girls Trip!

2009-04-19T14:06:00.001-07:00

I got to go to California with Cassie and McKenzie to watch their cheer competition. The girls did an awesome job and we had a great time. This is my favorite picture from the trip! Cassie got her face painted at Knott's Berry Farm! Magical, right?

At the competition with McKenzie and Cassie. We spent some time walking around the sponsor booths collecting free samples! Good stuff!

We went to Disneyland for a couple of days. I got to go on a few rides, but it was a busy weekend there. This is Soarin' Over California, Me, Aubrey, Cassie and McKenzie.

Dad's 50th Birthday!

2008-12-29T13:25:00.000-08:00

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?

2008-12-09T14:24:00.000-08:00

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! :)

Adam and Alyson

2008-11-16T13:48:00.001-08:00

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.

OCTOBER

2008-10-27T12:39:00.000-07:00

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.

Future Fireman

2008-10-19T20:21:00.000-07:00

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!

Costume Drama!

2008-10-10T12:20:00.000-07:00

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!

Vacuums and Camping!

2008-09-13T12:43:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-13T12:34:00.000-07:00

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!

Ryder's summer favorites

2008-09-03T15:03:00.000-07:00

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!

Baby Schwarz is here!

2008-08-08T14:14:00.000-07:00

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.

Trek

2008-08-03T14:56:00.000-07:00

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

Fiesta Days Baby Contest

2008-07-28T14:02:00.000-07:00

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!

Seven Peaks

2008-07-25T11:15:00.001-07:00

This summer a bunch of my friends got season passes to Seven Peaks. It has been a lot of fun. We try to go about once a week. Some weeks we go more. Ryder has learned to love the water. The first time I took him, he was kind of a boob. Now he is a crazy man in the water. It worries me a little because he is so comfortable, but hopefully some good swim lessons will do the trick. I haven't taken any pictures of my friends at 7 Peaks. I don't usually bring my camera and also I don't think most of them want to be on my blog in their swimsuit.
Evelyn, Madi and Kamilla have been visiting for the month of July. We have been able to do some fun stuff with them. This is Evelyn and Kamilla. I got to take Evelyn to the doctor for an ultrasound. It was so cool and the baby is definitely a boy. Yay!

Cliff and Lynda

Madi and Emily

Happy Birthday

2008-07-21T12:16:00.000-07:00

My Mom's birthday was on July 20th. I really don't know exactly how old she is. I could figure it out, but I'll just say she is still pretty young. She is my favorite shopping partner. She helps me with everything. She is always offering to tend Ryder even though he is going through a bratty fit throwing stage. (At least we hope it is a stage.) My Mom is an example to me of the right way to live and treat people. I am thankful to have such a wonderful Mom. Happy Birthday!!

Kylee's birthday is on July 22nd. She is going to be a Senior in high school this year, which is really weird to me. She is so talented. She is an amazing softball player and and even more amazing person. She always does the right thing. I always think it is kind of funny because she is the youngest and could probably get away with anything. Ryder loves her. He gets so excited when he sees her.
My Grandma Bufton had been talking about going to Kit Kittridge because she was about Kit's age during the time of the movie. I took my Mom, Grandma and Kylee last week. It was a cute movie. Here we are outside the theater.

Emily's birthday is the same day as my Mom. Emily is such a great sister-in-law. We love her! She seriously helps with the kids all the time. She is so good to do anything for them. She is for sure their favorite! This is her with all of them at the family reunion. Happy Birthday Em!

Hogle Zoo!

2008-07-20T14:31:00.001-07:00

Powell Family Reunion

2008-07-17T15:40:00.000-07:00

Just a few weeks ago, we went to a family reunion in Teasdale with Lynda's family. It was such a pretty place. We stayed in cabins and just hung out with family. It was fun to see everyone. It was supposed to be two nights, but Ryder wouldn't sleep. We stayed in a cabin with Brad's Mom and Dad. It doesn't have bedrooms so we just had Ryder's port-a-crib in the room with us. He was so stubborn. He screamed and fought to go to sleep until 3:30 AM. We finally took him on a ride at 3:30 and then we slept in the car for an hour to make sure he was really asleep. We felt bad because we kept Brad's parents up too. (And I think they were already really tired!) Brad's Aunt Andrea took our family picture in the morning. It was a really pretty morning, but windy. I don't think Ryder cracked a smile the whole time. He was tired from his fit the night before and not very cooperative. Here are some of the pictures. Some of them turned out really cute.

This picture was taken toward the end. Ryder had just head butted Brad, and was beyond upset. We left shortly after pictures and Ryder slept almost the whole way home!

4th of July!

2008-07-13T20:21:00.000-07:00

Ryder didn't know what to think about the fireworks. Some of the neighbor kids came over and we lit a few small fireworks. I think Ryder mostly liked hanging out with the big kids.

Ryder and Alivia in their red, white and blue!
Shannon, Chrissi, Cassie, Anika and Jessica

Girls Night Out!

2008-07-13T20:12:00.001-07:00

Girls night out is the best idea. I don't know why we didn't start it sooner. We just get a bunch of girls together. Seriously anyone can come! The only rules are no kids and no husbands. We decided that we didn't want to do a club where we always have to go to someone's home. We try to get out and do something different every month. We went to a movie in May. We went to dinner at Red Robin in June. We have so much fun when we are together. We had a slumber party at the cabin for July. It was really fun to just eat junk and talk. We stayed up so late. I was shocked that I made it that long!

Family Night at the Golf Course

2008-06-26T08:51:00.000-07:00

We missed out on Jessi's 7-Peaks birthday so we went to the golf course for family night with the Higginsons. Brad and Scott picked the location, but it was actually kind of fun. They let us play a little. We even got to use the "good" clubs. I am not very good, but I am thinking about taking up golf.

Scott, Jess and Alivia!
Ryder and Alivia puckering up!
Ryder is ready to go. He fit perfect in the basket. Don't worry we didn't leave him in there.

Cabin Fun!

2008-06-26T07:47:00.000-07:00

We had a little BBQ with Kim and her kids at the cabin. Ryder got to help mow the lawn. He didn't love it...
Lily has been asking to have a fire at the cabin so we built one and roasted marshmallows. The kids didn't like the smoke, but they loved s'mores.

Father's Day Weekend!

2008-06-19T21:12:00.001-07:00

Happy Father's Day Brad! I thought that I would share a little bit about why I love Brad. He is a wonderful father. Ryder absolutely loves him. Sometimes in the morning when Brad leaves, Ryder will get his jacket, walk over by the door and hold his arms up like he wants to go too. Brad takes such good care of us. He makes sure that we have everything we need. Brad lets me be unreasonable. It seems like when we talk about things like shopping, money, plans, etc., I am almost always pretty unreasonable. I know I should stop, but it is a hard habit to break. Brad is always pretty nice about stuff. He usually just smiles this smile that seems to say, okay but you are crazy. Brad is always making plans for the future, calculating and mapping things out. Sometimes I get annoyed, but I know he is working hard for us. Brad will strike up a conversation with just about anyone. It doesn't matter where he is or what he is doing. He is just really friendly. These are my two boys! I love them more than anything. Happy Father's Day!
Our weekend was kind of crazy. We went down to Las Vegas to watch Kylee play softball. She is really good! (I didn't get any of this ability, in case you were wondering.) She hit a homerun while we were there. It was really fun to see her play. We only got to see one whole game because it was blazing hot! It felt kind of like a blowdryer in your face. I had a hard time sitting in it, I don't know how Kylee played softball in it. This is Ryder and Kylee. Ryder loves his Aunt Kylee. He gets excited when he sees her. It is so cute to see him play with her. Kylee always gets the most hugs from Ryder.

This is Ryder driving one of those bucking cars at the mall in Las Vegas. He really likes steering wheels. Brad and I actually spent quite a bit of time shopping. Brad was a pretty good sport. I think he thought it would add on some casino time.
We can't leave our wonderful fathers out on Father's Day! This is Ryder with Grandpa Hales. He always comes to visit us and Ryder always puts a smile on Grandpa's face. Ryder loves him. Clifford is always saying that he can't wait to pick Ryder up in the truck to get a treat at Fast Gas and help him run errands. Clifford does stuff for us all of the time too. We appreciate him so much! I really don't know where we would be without him. Brad learns so much from him. Brad is working at Hales & Warner so he gets to spend a lot of time with his Dad.
This is Ryder with Grandpa Bufton. My Mom taught him to say "grandpa" today. He still doesn't say mama, but grandpa he can say. My Dad was a huge help to us this year when I was in school. We had a lot of days when we didn't have babysitter and my Dad tended Ryder quite a bit. Ryder loves him. He gives him whatever he wants all the time. I think that Ryder knows he just has to point at something when he is with Grandpa, and it is his.
Ryder at IHOP in Las Vegas! He is pretty happy sitting between Grandma and Grandpa. He likes to be the center of attention. You can't see, but Kylee and her friends were sitting across from them. I swear he was flirting with them. He gets that from his Dad.

Brooms!

2008-06-19T20:44:00.000-07:00

I mentioned in an earlier post that I got tickets to Stomp for Mother's Day. It was a really fun night. Stomp was amazing and also kind of funny. The night felt like a real date. I think mostly because we went to dinner first and then we were out pretty late. Thank you for tending Em!
They use brooms for the first scene of Stomp. It was kind of funny for us because one of Ryder is loving brooms right now. He prefers the big push broom, but really anything will do. He also thinks that shovels and rakes are brooms. Anytime he sees one he gets real excited and says broom broom! (which really sounds like boom or bwoom)
Ryder is also really into the hose right now. He is getting pretty good at handling it, but at first it was similar to a firehose for him. He sprays himself in the face and it takes his breath away. It is so funny. You would think that it would be scary to him or too cold, but he loves it! He is happy to share a drink with you, but don't try to take the hose while the water is on...

Ryder has cousins!

2008-06-10T14:57:00.000-07:00

Lately Ryder is really into small chairs. He loves to crawl up in them and sit. He is always so proud of himself. He usually crawls up, smiles at himself and then claps is hands. His clap is one fist and one open hand. It is pretty funny.
So Ryder does have some cousins. Kim and her kids are here visiting for the whole month of June. I think Ryder is still a little young to understand what is going on, but it is fun to see them play together. Ryder isn't very good at sharing. Hopefully he will get some practice! This is Ben, Ryder and Lily.

Brad, Ryder and new baby Kate. She is the sweetest baby!
Ryder giving Ben a birthday kiss. Happy Birthday Ben!
Lil and Ryder... Ben was done with the pictures.

A Sticky Situation

2008-06-01T21:22:00.001-07:00

We went to Brick Oven this weekend for Kat's birthday. It was really fun to spend some time with them. For some reason we decided to take Ryder. He was pretty good most of the time. Cassie took him to get a sucker after we were done eating. He loved it! However, when Cassie took her sucker out to eat on the way home, he squealed for it. Cassie of course gave it to him. So needless to say he was pretty happy. He was sticking the entire thing in his mouth and then pulling it out while spraying spit everywhere. He alternated sucking on his two suckers making sure they each got the same amount of attention. It was pretty funny. Why have one when you can have two? I think Cassie is his new favorite. He wasn't too happy with me when I took the suckers away...

HELLO SUMMER!

2008-05-29T14:43:00.000-07:00

Today is one of the most blessed days of the year also known as the LAST day of school! It is such a good feeling to get some freedom for the hot days to come. This year was a little bitter sweet for me. We are losing our "award winning" principal to Brookside Elementary. I say award winning because she has seriously won awards for her greatness. I will miss her more than I can even imagine now. I meant to get a picture of all of my colleagues who are leaving, but I was in a hurry to get that baby of mine. This picture is of DeAnn and Amanda. Both of them are going to Brookside. Yes, that is Trace in the middle. DeAnn will have the pleasure of proudly displaying him somewhere. Hopefully in her home where she can embarrass her three daughters. Amanda started at Canyon the same time I did. She just got married last month and has yet to return to earth. Canyon will not be the same without them.
This is Melissa Holmes. She left us this year for 1st grade but we still got to see her quite a bit. Her husband is headed to med school so of course she is off. It will be a little weird to come back after summer vacation and not see some of my old friends. Farewell and good luck to all of you!

BBQ

2008-05-28T21:09:00.000-07:00

We had a little BBQ at Wells and Chrisi's house which by the way is so cute! Chrisi is great at decorating. Scott and Kat are in town for the week. It was so fun to see them. They just had little baby Sophia a couple of weeks ago. She is just precious and beautiful like her mom! She is so tiny. I wish I would have gotten a close up of her. Kat of course looks phenomenal two weeks after giving birth. This is all of the girls + Ryder.

The kids! Carter is a cute big brother!The boys...

Ikea!

2008-05-28T20:51:00.001-07:00

After Ryder's birthday, we were in need of toy storage. We took a trip to Ikea. It was a little overwhelming, but we got some good stuff. Don't worry we did not let Ryder ride in the cart like that the whole time.

Karate Kid!

2008-05-18T12:42:00.000-07:00

I told Brad that I wouldn't be posting anything on the blog for awhile because we don't really have a lot going on, but I was wrong. If any of you knew Brad when he was young, you know that one of his all time favorite movies was Karate Kid. If you know him now, you know that he can't sit still and could possibly need some medication. I was making a snack in the kitchen when I heard "hi-ya". Ryder was laughing so hard. We have some balloons leftover from Ryder's birthday that are losing their juice. In order to make Ryder laugh, Brad was jumping up and kicking them. A little bit like karate kid... I got a few shots to share with you. (Especially Kim, Emily and Scott) This is my husband...

Sprinkler Time!

2008-05-15T20:35:00.000-07:00

This is Brad. This is my first time posting. We had the sprinklers on and Ryder ran directly into them, no fear. You can't tell, but Ryder is soaking wet. It should be a fun summer...

Happy Birthday Ryder!

2008-05-14T21:53:00.001-07:00

I took the day off for Ryder's big first birthday! Here he is ready to go. We went shopping and to McDonald's. We had a lot of stuff to do to get ready for the big party. It was a really fun day. I am so excited for summer. This day was just a little taste of the sweet freedom to come.
I wore Ryder out before the party! Don't worry, after a quick nap he was back in business.
We did the traditional personal cake for Ryder. He played in it for a minute, but it turns out he didn't like the sticky frosting all over his fingers. Maybe he just likes to be clean? Probably not...
It was so nice to have family and friends over for Ryder's birthday. He is such a lucky little boy because he has so many people who love him. Happy Birthday Ry!

What a year!

2008-05-14T21:24:00.000-07:00

Last week we got Ryder's one year pictures taken. Our neighbor and friend, Sarah Ward took them for us. She is an amazing photographer! Ryder was not very cooperative and she still got some amazing shots. We love them and couldn't be happier. Thank you Sarah!

Ryder has been pulling this face lately whenever we take something away or tell him NO. We call it his "stink face". It is so funny!

Mother's Day Fun

2008-05-11T20:42:00.000-07:00

Today was my first official Mother's Day. Last year I was overdue and waiting to pop. This Mother's Day was much better. I feel so lucky to be Ryder's mom. He is so fun. He can always make me smile. I just love him! My sweet husband cooked breakfast and got Ryder ready for church. He also gave me tickets to Stomp, which I am very excited about. We had a nice day visiting family. Here are some pictures of the special mothers in my life.

Ryder showing off those rabbit teeth with Grandma Hales.

Ryder and me with Grandma Bufton and Great-grandma Ludlow.

Ryder and Great-grandma Bufton.

My mom and me with Adam and Kylee.

Ryder and Grandma Bufton.

Congratulations John!

2008-05-11T20:27:00.001-07:00

If you are not sure who these kids belong to, I'll catch you up. Zane and Tavell (red shirts) belong to Michelle. Cooper and Crew (blonde hugs) are Kelli's. McKenna (cute girl in front who I couldn't get to look, but look how cute her hair is) belongs to Summer. My Ryder is wearing stripes and wondering what all the big kids are playing with. Ryder is still a little young, but the other kids loved playing in the water at the ranch.

John just finished law school! Three cheers for John!! I can't believe they are home for good. Summer and I will be spending hours at the pool with the kids this summer. It was fun to see everyone. Thank you so much Summer!

Are you sure?

2008-05-09T21:46:00.001-07:00

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Family reunion - Free family tree template

Go UV!

2008-05-06T17:54:00.000-07:00

We took Ryder to his first baseball game last night at Utah Valley. He loved all the action, but he cried every time someone near him cheered loud. We will have to work on that...

Ryder's new kicks

2008-05-04T21:15:00.000-07:00

Ryder started walking about two weeks ago. We decided that it was time to get him some shoes. He loves to walk, but he hates the shoes!

Trip to Cancun!

2008-05-04T20:59:00.000-07:00

"Could you rub some lotion on my back Brad?" No comment needed!

Jessica and I rode the city bus all the way to Wal-mart to buy lounge floats. We got to Wal-mart and all we could find were these floating animals. I got a sting-ray and Jess got an alligator. We had a hard time communicating because we didn't know Spanish. On our way home we found the floating lounge mats at a flea market for half the cost. Oh well.... we had a good time.

Brad promised me a trip to Cancun last fall. We finally made the trip over Spring Break with Scott and Jessica. It was so much fun. We spent five wonderful days on the beach. We sure were excited to get home to see our babies!

Easter

2008-05-02T21:04:00.001-07:00

Ryder is still too young for Easter egg hunts, but he loved playing with the eggs. He did not love his Easter outfit.