King of the Beasts...

Ryker's Halloween Costume 2009

Bad, Bad Blogger...

Hi All...

To anyone who is still checking our blog for updates... Thank You and I apologize. I had every intention of being a better blogger and keeping our page up-to-date... my good intentions are merely thoughts in my head- right before I drift off to sleep. I am now pledging to TRY harder- to at least update photos. I'm sure that's what most everyone likes anyway right?? Here's our update:

I have busy with work, travelling a ton, everywhere from El Paso, TX to Meridian, MS to Durango, CO. It's been crazy, but it's so fun! Along with travelling a lot, i've also gotten to spend a lot of time at home. I was lucky enough to be home the whole month of August, Yay! My how time flies! Scott is finally getting busy with work again, for a while there, you couldn't tell who 'worked from home'... me or him... but thank heavens things are picking back up...

funny how it slows down just in time for the Elk hunt!?! Scott spent a ton of time in Jackson, WY tracking and hunting the very elusive Bull Elk... disappointing enough to not bring one home... UNTIL the last weekend. He decided we'd all go up to Bear Lake and he'd head into Wyoming from there... all alone, not really expecting anything, he must of put his whole head and heart into it that day because to my (and probably his) suprise, he brought home a huge, trophy, spike. :O) Doesn't matter to me, elk meat is elk meat and now our little freezer is full! Way to go Scott!! We are so proud of him.

Ryker is growing like always... his favorite thing right now is 'Yo Gabba Gabba'. I swore the first time I saw this show would be the last... but it seems to have grown on me... and I know all the words to all the songs... Ryker loves it and he dancy dances like a mad man... it's amazing to me how much he learns just from watching that show... I know that sounds soooo stupid but he watches the characters and he does just what they do- if they dance he dances the same way... he marches like they march... he wiggles... he holds still... he even wants his hat on his head when he sees they are wearing their hats... it amazes me.

However... Brobie never invited crayons to the party in his tummy.

Lately he has been obsessed with his crocs... he wants them on his feet even when he has nothing else on... (notice the blue feet in the tub). Ryker was Max from 'Where the Wild Things Are' for Halloween... as soon as I get the pictures i'll post them, he was so stinking cute. His mom in all her craftiness sewed his costume but neglected to actually measure his legs and arms so his Max costume nearly fit Scott as well. Ryker had a hard time walking and getting his balance and while we were at gamma lucy's work, he was showing off his 'squatting' abilities and squatted his little nose right into the carpet... three times. Poor baby... the rug burn is just barely healing. We had a great time trick or treating with Cazley, she was a samauri princess... very cute.

Cazley is doing well too. She was baptized the end of July and she started the third grade and this quarter she got all A's!! What a smarty pants!! Well, that is the post-it note version of the last 3 months around our house... good start to my new resolve eh??

My All Boy Little Boy...

I must admit at the age of one, my little man is about as boy as they come. This was a pic of his first four wheeler ride. He knows when the helmet goes on... he gets to go for a ride. He loves it... riding around on the beach at Bear Lake or even up the hill to the dumpsters. His little knees are stained brown, I can't tell if it's perma-dirt or a little suntan. The other day I was out pulling weeds and he was helping, I look over and he was pulling rocks out of his mouth (anything he can't really chew, he pulls back out, thank heavens!!) My little all-boy boy started walking last weekend. Now he is all over the house... hiding toys, starting up the dishwasher and playing in the blinds. He even has the facial expressions of an all-boy boy, from naughty to nice before the milk even hits the floor!! He is such a good boy!!

What's the facination?

What is the facination with an empty (or better yet, full) dishwasher? Ryker could play in it for hours. Pulling out the rack, pushing it back in, opening and closing the flap doors. Now, if I could just get him to load and unload, we'd be set.

We're getting ready for Ryker's second surgery on Thursday. This procedure involves the soft palate repair, removing and replacing his hard palate prosthesis as well as replacing the tubes in his hears. We're hoping we'll be home in time for fireworks on Saturday.

Happy Fourth of July!!

I'm so lucky...

This week i'm spending 4 and a half days in Southern and Central Oregon. I flew into Medford on Monday, spent last night in Klamath Falls and today we drove to Bend, OR. Klamath Falls isn't the lucky part, the lucky part is that we got to drive by Crater Lake, we had enough time before our second observation session in Bend that we were able to take the scenic route right through Crater Lake National Park. I can't even explain the breath-taking beauty so here are a few pictures: Crater Lake was formed nearly 8000 years ago when a volcano called Mt. Mazama erupted, after the eruption, the top of the volcano collapsed in forming a huge caldera.

(Look at my impressive vocabulary!!)Can you believe it is 6 miles wide??

This one is hard to see but at the top of the little snow hill is the cutest little rock and log cabin.

The peak in the very middle of this picture is called Scott's Peak :O)

Flag Day

Ryker was all ready for Flag Day...

Here he is waving his very oversized flag:

Hey... Where's the parade??

Happy 5 Years!!

Scott and I have been married for 5 years today... The day we wed was identical to today... cold and rainy! We had to move our reception inside, we didn't get as many pictures as we wanted, everthing was wet, but it was wonderful!

5 years later, it's still wonderful! Our lives have changed so much from where we were 5 years ago but I absolutely love the path we walk and the fact we walk it together is even better. Scott is my best friend and i'm glad I get to share everyday with him.

Look at these beautiful flowers he sent me today... Gerbera Daisies are my absolute favorite!! What a sweet guy!!

Ryker's First Birthday!!

Yesterday was Ryker's first birthday!! I can't believe it's been a year. Time sure flies. It seems that all of a sudden he's eating big people food, wanting to do more things himself, trying hard to walk on his own, he's learning more about his emotions and how to express himself (lately that entails a ton of screaming with clenched fists) but he's also taking just a second or two more to snuggle, i've waited a year for this. He's such a big boy. I never imagined I could love someone so much. It's amazing. We had such a good day together. I made him french toast and jam for breakfast, we went to the Treehouse museum, had lunch with Lucy and had the grandparents over for ice cream and cupcakes. Ryker is such a blessing to us. He is such a sweet boy. My life, perspective and priorities have all surely changed over the last 12 months. I am so lucky to be Ryker's mom. I look forward to the year ahead and hope it's even half as wonderful as the year we just finished.

Ryker, we love you so much!!

Ryker and I got to spend the whole day together!

I love to look at this picture of the day we finally brought him home... look how much he's grown.

Mom and Ryker peeking through the hole in the tree at the Treehouse.Climbing through the stump.With Obama in the Oval Office.

Ryker and mom pounding on the drums.My sweet little birthday boy. (He banged his head on Sunday -oops)

Birthday Cake, Birthday Presents and Family....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RYKER!!

Birthdays at Bear Lake

We spent last weekend in Bear Lake. We had so much fun!! Our next door neighbors and good friends Clint and Kylie came with and we celebrated their birthdays there. Cazley came too and we brought her friend Kassidy Bailey (her mom babysits Ryker during the week). We had a houseful! We spent Saturday morning on the beach and when the clouds rolled in we played horse-shoes in the yard. Saturday night was great because all Kylie wanted for her '24th' birthday was a campfire and smores, luckilly the rain stopped just in time.

Here are some pictures:

(From left: Scott, Daisy our dog, Kassidy, me, Ryker, Dave, Cazley, Kylie and Clint)

Rykers first four wheel ride with Papa Dave.

How Did I Get Here?

This morning, I woke up in the most beautiful hotel in America (in my opinion). At 5:30 a.m. I began my day in Nashville, TN, in the Opryland Hotel. Things started off so smoothly, we attended our convention until around 11, tore everything down, got it ready to be shipped back to California and headed to the airport for a 5 p.m. flight to Indianapolis. When we checked in, there was an earlier flight to IN that flew through Atlanta but arrived at the final destination around the same time as our original flight, so we decided to stick with our initial plans. Little did we know we should of followed our gut instinct to fly through Atlanta. We finally boarded our flight to Indianapolis via Cincinatti. After a longer flight than I thought it should be, the pilot announced there was a storm in Cincinatti and we had circled for so long we needed to stop for fuel, in Louisville, Kentucky. We were worried we would miss our connection as it left at 8:00 p.m. and we were still in Kentucky at about five to. When we finally got to Cincinatti, to make a long story short: we missed our connection, there were NO MORE connections until 8:00 a.m. the next morning (our training session was to begin at 7:30 a.m.); our luggage was waiting for us in Indiana because it had been placed on the earlier flight because we checked in so early; because of the storm and all the delayed flights there were no rental cars; needless to say as I FINALLY go to bed tonight, it's 11:30 p.m. in Erlanger, Kentucky, i'm sitting in an old, run down Holiday Inn with no pajamas, no food, nothing except a t shirt given to me by "Sky Team" and a little overnight package with one serving of toothpaste (which I will save for tomorrow morning) and a funny little tube of deodorant. Good thing is we decided to reschedule our training session and I will board a flight to Salt Lake City at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow. Another good thing is I wasn't travelling alone today. I had a very good colleague traveling with me from the Nashville convention and she'll head home to Green Bay ,WI tomorrow as well. Sleep tight everyone...

Eating Leaves...

So, here's the story with this picture. I was out of town, my mom put Ryker on the lawn by the flowers to take this picture to send to me. She called me and told me that while she was trying to take it, he had ripped a leaf of a flower and eaten it. She said she tried to get it out of his mouth but he swollowed it. I said it was no big deal, he eats a lot of stuff he shouldn't, he'd be fine. Soooo... the next day, I get home and pick him up from Shelly's (his most favorite baby sitter). She said he'd played outside, ate a really good lunch and just woke up from his nap. I held him and his head felt sooo hot!! She said if he had a fever it had to have just hit. I rushed him home and took his temperature, it was 105 on my thermometer. I took him right over to the clinic and it was the same there. Long story short he only had a head cold BUT my mom was insistant she poisioned him with a flower leaf. She was so upset. Can you believe that coincidence?? His fever broke later that night and didn't come back, isn't that strange?? Anyway, this is the picture that accompanies that story...

Park Photo...

Our Future Football Star

Updates...

Most people have probably given up on reading my blog. I'm sorry and I'm embarrassed.

I'm spending this night in Denver, Colorado. I've had a pretty busy month with work travels. I was in Wisconsin, South Dakota, Iowa, Alabama, Colorado today, Nashville Tennessee on Saturday and Indiana on Tuesday of next week. (Breathe...) Then, it settles down. Just in time to spend a long weekend at the lake, celebrate Ryker's first birthday and get ready for Ryker's next surgery. Most know that we were scheduled to have our next set of procedures done on June 19th. We had an appointment yesterday with Dr. Grimmer, Ryker's ENT. Turns out, the tubes in Ryker's ears are fixing to fall out and will need to be replaced. The bright spot is, Primary's will get all of the doctors together to perform surgery at the same time so Ryker will only have to be put out once. The dark spot is all the ENT's are out of the office on the 19th so surgery will have to be posponed until July 2nd. This procedure should be a bit easier than the first. Dr. Siddiqi, the plastic surgeon will repair the soft palate, Dr. Yamashiro, the orthodontist, will remove and replace the hard palate prosthesis, and Dr. Grimmer will replace the tubes in his ears. I'm worried about his recovery, having him on pain meds last time was miserable, but this time he's eating more solid foods (or at least trying) so i'm afraid that will be tough. I'm sure it will all go well. Ryker is one tuff little man. I can't believe that he is going to be one. This past year has flown and I wouldn't trade the trials and changes this last year brought for the world, I know thanks to all of it, I've grown more than I ever imagined I could.

Let see, what else... Cazley is nearly done with school and has been dancing like C.R.A.Z.Y. the last few months. She loves dance. I'll have to figure out how to post video because she took a ballroom dance class and she and her little partner are fantastic. It's so cute, just like a mini 'Dancing with the Stars'. They have performed in a handful of competitions and won a bunch of trophies.

Scott is still working hard. We've been pretty lucky with such hard times all around us, he hasn't spent much time 'out of work'. (Knock on wood.) We've really been blessed, even the couple weeks he was home with no work from his employer, he kept pretty busy with side jobs and odds and ends. He kept pretty busy keeping the house clean too!! That was nice while it lasted. I'm happy to have him back on the job though.

Well, I guess that's all for now...

Ryker dumped the dog bowl full of water all over himself

Bath time is the BEST TIME!!

Ryker with his plastic surgeon Dr. Siddiqi

Ryker with his orthodontist Dr. Yamashiro

I feel so bad that I am so behind on my blog. I didn't really realize that so many people liked to read it, until I haven't posted for a couple months and everyone wants to tell me about it. Over the last few weeks, i've realized that it is a nice way for family so far away to maybe feel a bit closer.

The last few months have been nice. I haven't had to travel much for work so i've been able to spend a lot of time with Ryker. He is getting so big. He has 6 teeth coming in now and boy are they sharp. He is beginning to want to pull his knees under his little body and push himself forward, usually this results in his forehead being shoved across the carpet. We're working on our eating habits and Ryker loves his freeze-dried yogurt bites.

We had a consultation with our orthodontist, Dr. Yamashiro and also, our plastic surgeon, Dr. Siddiqi at Primary's a few weeks ago. They were both so happy with how Ryker's cleft repair is healing. Dr. Siddiqi asked to take pictures for his photo album. We are preparing now for our next surgery. Ryker will have his soft palate repaired and his prosthesis removed and a new one replaced on June 19th. I can't believe he will be 1. This last year has been so full of ups and downs but has gone so fast.

Ryker recently took his first airplane trip. I'll post pictures as soon as I can get them. I didn't take my camera but my mom did. My grandfather in Alabama had been sick for a while and so my mom and dad and Jyl and Ryker and I were planning to take a trip back to visit the middle of this month. We had been busy making flight reservations, hotel accommodations and everything else when my mom and dad got a call late on Thursday March, 5th that my papa jess had passed away in his sleep. It felt a little overwhelming. It wasn't necessarily unexpected but deep down I wasn't prepared. It had been almost 9 years since I had last seen him and I was really looking forward to our visit later this month. Now, all of a sudden we are packing our bags to make a quick trip for his funeral. We flew down late, late on Saturday night. Luckily, Ryker slept the whole time. We arrived in Birmingham, Alabama at around 11:00 on Sunday morning. We made a quick stop at the hotel and then at the Wal-mart to buy Ryker supplies. After that, we spent the rest of the day at papa's house. It was nice because almost all of our family was there, minus 3 cousins, it was the first time in over 20 years we were all together in the same place. Ryker was such a good boy and loved all the attention. The next day and a half were a whirlwind. Once the commotion settled down and everyone started home, we got to spend a few quiet moments at the cemetery before we came home. This was the most peaceful time. I am so lucky to know that even though I didn't get to tell him good bye, he knows that I loved him and missed him, and missed the time we didn't get to spend together, we'll be reunited again.

The flight home was late afternoon, Ryker slept the first half and then for the last two hours, he sat on my mom's lap with big earphones on, watching Madagascar 2. It was so funny. He didn't even mind the big earphones on. It was a great trip. Ryker did better than expected and the time we got to spend with our family was priceless. I hope they know how much I love them.

I swear i'm going to try to update more frequently. TRY being the keyword.

Christmas 2008 Pictures

Ryker and Santa

Cazley and her cousins Tasia and Hadley in their Christmas jammies

Ryker and his cousin Karson

Cazley, Ryker, Karson and Hadley with Santa