Clint Nicole And Ryann

Valentine's Day

2012-02-13T15:50:00.003-07:00

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Haircut

2012-02-08T20:29:00.002-07:00

Ryann had her first haircut in January. The back of her hair was long enough that when she had her coat on it pushed her hair up and made it look like she had a mullet. So, when I went to get my haircut, Jacqi was nice enough to give Ryann a quick trim in the back.
Ryann was really good and held still...well still for a toddler.

Dog Bones

2012-02-02T21:05:00.003-07:00

I have said it before and it still holds true, Ryann loves her dogs. She hugs them, kisses them, and loves it when they kiss her. This girl thinks she is just like her dogs. Maggie licks the bottom of the shower door, well guess what Ryann has done. Yup, she has licked the bottom of the shower door too. Ryann has also licked water out of the dog bowl and will tell me "Mmmm" when I tell her the dog food she is eating is yucky. Whenever I give Sally or Maggie a bone, Ryann wants one too. If I don't give her one, she throws a fit...we have had may a fits. So maybe this one time I put an extra bone on the floor...

The stare down over the bone

Got a little bone

Why keep the little bone when you can have the big one?

Oreo Truffles

2012-01-29T13:40:00.002-07:00

Oreo Truffle anyone?

Ryann the Explorer

2012-01-28T15:49:00.011-07:00

Ryann loves to try new things and copy people. She recently learned how to undo the chest buckle on her car seat. Yes, you read that right, our 20 month old daughter figured out how to undo a car seat chest buckle. Luckily we had a back up car seat that has a buckle that is harder to undo. So I switched out the buckle, so I could keep the cute pink and brown car seat in my car, and now she is stuck and safe.
On one particular day Ryann kept climbing beside the couch and getting herself stuck. I would pull her out and straight back in she went.

I have no idea why she was doing it. There weren't any toys that had fallen down there, who knows what she was thinking.

Eventually I got tired of pulling her out so I just let her stay stuck and try to figure out how to get herself out. She couldn't get out, got upset, and of course mommy came to the rescue.
When I am getting ready in the morning I just shut the bedroom door and turn on cartoons for Ryann to try to keep her occupied. Of course that doesn't work for long and she wanders into the bathroom and begins pulling apart all the drawers. One time I thought she was just being so good because she hadn't come in the bathroom and pulled it apart. When I got out of the shower, I found this in the bedroom...

She had climbed into the box and was stuck. She wasn't upset at all. I pulled her out and she carried the box around the room...

and got back in and got stuck again. Silly girl!

Boxes are just too tempting, Ryann can't stay out of them. Luckily she doesn't get stuck in all of them. Most of the time she climbs into things that are big enough for her to move around in and get out.
Ryann found a new push toy...

her high chair. She will pull it out from the wall and push it around the kitchen. She puts her dolls in the opening in the back and pushes them around. She also climbs under it too. Amazing how many things you can think of to do with a high chair.
I'm not to excited Ryann figured this out...

She figured out if she stands on the step stool she can reach even higher. I could have done without her figuring that out.

Who know that under the rug was such a great place to sit and to put all your toys!

So if you come over to our house and the rug is lumpy, you'll know why.

Our ever curious Ryann, trying to lay/sit on her helium balloon.
Sometimes Ryann's curiosity makes a really big mess...

like when she decides she needs to pull out all the diapers.
Ryann recently started to be mean when she is mad or doesn't like something. She will hit, pull hair, pull the dog's fur, swat at me with her nails (like a cat), and/or bite. She doesn't bit people, yet and hopefully never, but she bites the couch, toys, blankets, and...

my clothes. It makes me so nervous that she is going to bite me!

Of course these actions aren't allowed and she ends up in time out.

She is so sad, but still so dang cute!

Through all the curiosity that leads to mess and sometimes her getting in trouble, I just can't stop loving that cute face...

even when her forehead has a bruise or two on it.

Yeah, the mess is certainly worth it.

Little Girly-Girl

2012-01-21T20:56:00.010-07:00

Ryann loves her purse. She will put her toys in it and carry it around on her arm.

Recently Ryann has started to want to put on jewelry. She also loves to wear my headbands. Now wearing her headbands, nope.

Grandma Greene knew just what Christmas pajamas to get Ryann.

Ryann is not particular about what she wears. The only thing she has an opinion about is when she finds one of her Minnie shirts she has to wear it. We have left the house with Ryann in two shirts because she wanted to wear her Minnie shirt. The red shirt around Ryann's neck is, of course, a Minnie shirt on top of her Minnie pajamas.

Apparently anything with wheels is something Ryann can ride. She does put her toys and dolls in the stroller and push them around.

Snuggles with her puppies.

Ryann loads up the shopping cart at her Grandma Greene's with her toys. She also pushes the shopping cart over and sits/rides in it.

Minnie is not Ryann's only love. She loves "Melmo" (Elmo) too.

Ryann's two loves: "Melmo" (Elmo) and "Ninnie" (Minnie)

Clint got Ryann a big Minnie that she sleeps with every night. She snuggled up to her Minnie and wanted her under the blanket too. Every night I go into her room and just watch her sleep. I love this girl so much! You know she must have been pretty tired that night, that she slept through her mom taking pictures of her with the flash going off.

Poor Maggie has lost her bed. Ryann has claimed Maggie's bed as her own. Don't feel too sorry for Maggie though. I felt bad that Ryann was always messing with her when she was on the floor and always steeling her bed, so I put a blanket on the couch and now allow Maggie to lay on the blanket on the couch.

Ryann has her little plastic Minnie wrapped up in a wet wash cloth. She always want her "bebe" (babies) wrapped in a blanket. Well, not a blanket. I've tried to give her little doll blankets but she wants her dolls wrapped up in hand towels and wash clothes. The wash clothes cannot be dry, they have to be wet. I've tried to give her dry wash clothes but she won't have anything to do with them. I've even see her go pick up a wash cloth that she left on the floor, felt that it was dry, and dropped it.

This Minnie's hand were sewn together. It bothered Ryann so much that they were together that I cut the string holding them together.

Minnie in her hand while she is drinking. Yeah, this girl loves her Minnies.

She loves her "bebe" too. In this case "bebe" means her silky blanket.

This picture had to have been taken before the Minnie obsession started. I love watching her pick up her dolls/stuffed animals and snuggle with them. I keep her dolls next to her crib and she will stand up and pull them in the crib with her.

Ryann is very motherly to her dolls. Her dolls never go thirsty or hungry. She will snuggle her dolls and pat them on the back. When I hold her, she will pat me on the back. Love it! Whole afternoons are spent wrapping up things in blankets for her to carry around. All her toys kiss.
Ryann is our little girly-girl.

Chores

2012-01-21T18:33:00.004-07:00

Ryann loves to help me around the house. She copies what I do when I clean. If I am cleaning with a Clorox wipe, she wants one, so I give her a diaper wipe. She will wipe right where I wipe. If I am dusting, she needs a rag too. Yeah, it takes me longer to clean when she is helping, but it is so cute!

She got "puppy" and "Ninnie" involved in decorating for Christmas.

She is always more the happy to help me pull things out of the box. Of course, she is also more than happy to climb into the box too.

Ryann loves to help cook. I'm not as talented as her Grandma Greene, I can't hold her and cook at the same time. So I put her in her high chair, gave her her pots and pans and let her "cook" Cheerios. She loves her pots so much she has even eaten dinner out of them.

Carefully inspecting the laundry.
I was pulling clothes out of the washer and when I go to put them in the dryer I find this. Ryann threw Minnie in the bath with her, so when she put Minnie in the dryer with her I figured it was the perfect opportunity to dry Minnie. When Ryann got out of the dryer she left Minnie in there. I shut the door and turned the dryer on...Ryann freaked out! She did not want Minnie left in there. Needless to say, Minnie did not get dry until Ryann was asleep.

Helping fold the clothes.
Ryann loves the laundry basket. She will climb on the clothes in the basket, throw some of them out, try to put them on. I don't fold laundry until she is asleep, otherwise I end up doing it twice.

Ryann LOVES the broom! She will try to pull open the door to get the broom. I got her a little broom and she will try to sweep with me.

Doing all those chores it hard work. She earned her snacks and drink.

Christmas

2012-01-21T08:08:00.005-07:00

It didn't feel too much like Christmas since Clint wasn't home, but we just did Facetime so he could see Ryann enjoy her Christmas.

When Ryann woke up I had her walk down the hallway towards her chair with her stocking on it. In her stocking she got a purple car, a Elmo sippy cup, Gerber Banana Cookies, mini M&Ms, and SweetTarts.

Of course Ryann wanted to eat her candy first, but her mean mom made her eat some breakfast first.

Luckily she was excited about her Elmo sippy cup and ate her breakfast without fighting me.

Even though we really celebrated Christmas in Texas, Ryann still needed something to open on Christmas day. I had put three presents from me and Clint under the tree for her. Ryan didn't even pay any attention to the gifts at first, but then I heard paper tearing. She had picked up a present and was getting started with the opening. I made her wait to finish opening it until I got Clint on Facetime to watch her. I put up the other presents so she could open them with her Grandma and Grandpa Greene.

Before we went up to Clint's parent's house we went to church. I decided that the wedding dress would also be Ryann's Christmas dress. I had to snap a picture quick to catch her with her headband on.

At her grandparent's, Ryann was more than happy to finish opening her presents.

Ryann wouldn't tear the paper and pull the present out, she would rip every piece of wrapping paper off the present and then investigate the present.

Ryann had already opened most her presents from Grandma and Grandpa Greene. About three weeks before Christmas Jeannie had a big box of stuff she ordered online. The box was covered with brown shipping paper. Inside the box was another box that had a Cabbage Patch baby inside. Well, Ryann found that box that was buried inside the box under all the shipping paper. She took the box up to her Grandma saying, "Bebe, bebe". Of course her Grandma let her open it. Then about a week before Christmas there was a doll stroller in a box that hadn't been wrapped yet from her Grandma and Grandma Greene. One night when Jeannie and Stan were watching Ryann while I was at work, she found that box and pushed it around the kitchen saying "bebe, bebe" until her Grandpa put it together for her. Good thing she doesn't know what Christmas is, and that she opened all her presents. The only present left with clothes inside just wasn't that interesting to her, but she still enjoyed tearing the paper.

Whew, opening presents is hard work.

After presents it was time to play with her new puzzle with Grandpa.

Ryann loved watching her cousins, Jackson and McKay, show off all their Christmas presents on Skype.
Last year Ryann was grateful for the paper her presents came in, this year she actually liked what was inside. It turned out to be a pretty good Christmas.

Stewart Family Christmas Party

2012-01-12T12:02:00.007-07:00

I think the best part about family Christmas parties is watching all the kids play together. Ryann loves and adores all her cousins and they are all so sweet to her.

While waiting for dinner, all the kids were playing on the sleigh in the room.

Rachael was the "unicorn" driving the sleigh.

Maci being the "unicorn"

Silly boys, Kayler and Gavin, wearing Christmas trees as hats

Everett playing under the sleigh

It wouldn't be a complete Christmas without...

a screaming picture with Santa. All the other kids were thrilled that Santa came to the party. Ryann really wanted the candy Santa was handing out, but not the picture.

Grandpa Stewart with almost all his great grandkids
Back: Grandpa Stewart
Back Row: Gavin, Maci, Ryann, Alli, Hallie, Sophie
Bottom Row: Kayler, Porter, Santa, Rachael, Everett

Playing "Reindeer Games"

I don't remember what this game was but it was so cute to watch Ryann. All the kids were sitting in a circle and Ryann was sitting a little ways out of the circle. She slowly started to scoot closer to the other kids, and of course got right in the middle when she saw...

the box of candy!

Grandma and Grandpa Stewart handing out all the presents to the great grandkids.

Ryann got a LaLa Loopsie doll. She loved it! She was so mad when Clint took it from her just to get it out of the box.
It was another good family Christmas party.

After the Wedding

2012-01-09T15:20:00.005-07:00

My camera died near the end of family pictures at the Temple, so I didn't get any pictures at the luncheon. Luckily I was able to get it charged enough to capture this moment after all the wedding festivities...

Some how the idea came up to jump in the pool and Jared and Jason did.

Justin and Lindsey watching their crazy dad and crazy uncle.

Clint added to the fun by spraying them with the hose.

Inside, dry, and warm Jason was sweet and climbed up and down the stairs with Ryann.

Ryann and her uncle Jason

Nathan and Candice's Wedding

2012-01-03T12:19:00.014-07:00

While waiting for Nathan and Candice to come out of the temple, I took lots of pictures.

Ryann (not tolerating her adorable headband) with her Great Grandma and Grandpa Hamilton

Ryann with her Great Grandma Bird (and Minnie of course)

Melissa and I got Lindsey and Ryann matching dresses. They were so cute!!! Justin looked handsome in his blue shirt and tie. This picture and the next are the best pictures we could get of the three cousins together.

Lindsey and Justin were jumping around Ryann. Ryann loved it and was trying to jump too.

Lindsey

Justin

Ryann admiring the flowers

Grandpa Hamilton, Kyle, and Grandma Hamilton

Ryann and Jared

Close family friends from Dallas, Brother and Sister Fruhling.

Ryann and Clint

Ryann loved getting a ride on Great Grandma Bird's walker

Tickle Time!

Clint and Justin

So CUTE! Ryann holding her Minnie like a baby. My Grandma Hamilton commented on how feminine Ryann is, and since then I have noticed that she really is. She is all girl!

Candice and Nathan at the Houston Temple doors
Candice's Parents
Candice's mom was so incredibly happy, I had to try to capture her happiness in a picture.
I guess they approve of Nathan:)

Grandma Bird, Grandma and Grandpa Hamilton, Nathan and Candice

Ryann and Justin stayed entertained during pictures by throwing leaves into the fountain

Grandma Bird
Waiting on the steps

Kyle, Nathan, Nicole, Jared, Kyle
Dad and Mom

Me and my brothers

Christmas in Texas

2011-12-29T21:03:00.013-07:00

I love that weddings bring the family all together. It was so wonderful to see my Grandma Bird and my Grandma and Grandpa Hamilton, and for Ryann to get to meet them and them to meet Ryann. Kyle was also able to be on leave from the Navy for the wedding. It was so wonderful to have so much family around.
Since we were all together, we celebrated Christmas Friday night. We had dinner altogether and after...

Ryann washed the dog. Maverick was quite patient with Ryann and she loved having him around.

Then there was wrestling with Uncle Nathan while we all gathered around to read the Christmas story.

Ryann getting a ride on the chair from her great Grandma Hamilton.Ryann walked around with a hand towel on her head...
and Lindsey could not stop giggling at her, which of course got Nathan laughing and the laughter spread.

Ryann, of course, loved the attention and laughter.

Grandpa and Grandma Hamilton
I made picture scrapbooks for the grandmas and grandpas this year. It was so nice to be able to hand deliver some of the presents.

Grandma Bird

Behind that box is Justin, excited to be opening his present

We got him a stick horse that makes galloping and horse noises, and of course a cowboy hat.

Lindsey loved her Cabbage Patch doll from us.We got Ryann and Lindsey matching dolls.

Lindsey was constantly hugging her doll, and Ryann was more interested in taking off her shoes.

Lindsey helped Ryann open her presents. Ryann didn't care, she was much more excited about what was inside the paper.She loved her bath time tea set from Lindsey and Justin. It is her favorite thing to play with in the tub.

This present got the best reaction, I wish I had recorded it...It was a Minnie Mouse with snap on clothes. When Ryann saw what was in the package she gasp and yelled "Ninnie!" (Minnie). I was so cute!
Last year Ryann was thankful for the paper her presents came wrapped in. This year she liked what was inside the paper.
It was fun to be able to spend Christmas with my family.

Texas-Thursday and Friday

2011-12-28T11:58:00.008-07:00

Off to Texas we went for Nathan's wedding. The first night, Thursday, we were there my mom gave Ryann her Christmas present. She wanted to watch her open it and see her play with it. There were two presents, but Ryann's attention span only lasted for one present that night.

She opened up a doll and then decided she wanted her doll and her Minnies to ride on Great Grandma Bird's walker.

The next morning my mom and me took Ryann to go feed the ducks.

Great Grandma and Grandpa Hamilton came along for the walk too.

Ryann did not want to get down with the ducks. These ducks are quite tame, you can reach down and pet some of them. But there are a lot of them and when they see you walk up, they all swarm over to get some food.

So instead of Ryann feeding the ducks, we put the bread on her stroller and had the ducks just eat near her.
Ryann didn't mind the ducks eating by her but she preferred to eat the bread herself. Ryann kept getting mad at the ducks because they kept trying to take the bread she was eating.
Grandma Hamilton feeding the ducks
Grandpa Hamilton just observing

After the bread was all gone and the ducks began to disperse, Ryann got out of her stroller.

She seemed to be curious about the ducks...

and enjoyed herself

At home, Ryann got a cup of goldfish and shared them with her Great Grandma and dumped them all over the couch too.

Jared and Melissa came over with my cute niece and nephew. Lindsey sat on Clint's lap...

while Justin was trapped by his feet.

Friday afternoon Candice went through the temple.

Jared, Dad, and Nathan
I love the face my dad is pulling in this picture.

The family at the Houston temple
Jared, Melissa, Gpa and Gma Hamilton, Nicole, Nathan, Candice, Mom, Dad, and Candice's parents

Temple Square

2011-12-28T08:06:00.003-07:00

My brother, Nathan, got married on December 17th and we flew out for the wedding. We went to Salt Lake a day early to make sure we could make our flights and not be delayed because of bad roads. We took Ryann to see the lights at Temple Square. Since we were going to Texas I hadn't packed a bunch of warm clothes to bundle up in, so Ryann ended up with her footie PJs over her clothes and her coat. It was a fight to get her to keep a hat on, but mommy finally won. It wasn't until her hands were icicles that she finally let me put her mittens on. Other than that, she stayed toasty warm.

Warm snuggles with her daddy helped keep her warm too.

I don't know how much Ryann really enjoyed the lights, she didn't cry so she didn't hate them. When we stopped at the statues of the shepherds she recognized the sheep and said "baaah", so she liked the sheep.
The lights are always so pretty, but living in Vernal it isn't something we get to see every year, so I was glad we could go and enjoy them this year.

Ryann and McKay

2011-12-27T07:19:00.003-07:00

Ryann has a Rock n' Roll Elmo, but she only likes him when she is sitting in my lap. She doesn't like toys that talk and move. McKay came over and loved Elmo. Ryann decided that Elmo wasn't so bad and since then she likes him a little better.

McKay singing with Elmo

Ryann dancing

McKay, Grandpa, and Ryann
Ryann had a lot of fun with her cousins. We wish they lived closer so that they could play more. You know Ryann liked McKay because she is okay with "PopPop" (Grandpa) holding him too.

Skateboarding

2011-12-26T20:11:00.002-07:00

Jackson was anxious to try out his skateboard. Once he got pads and a helmet he was out back trying out his skateboard.

Go Jackson!

Dinosaur Museum

2011-12-26T15:08:00.007-07:00

Clint and I went with Levi and Jenny to take the kids to the dinosaur museum. While waiting for a tour guide, the kids found the gift shop. Ryann found these two small stuffed animals and Clint got them for her.

She loved them and put them in her stroller,

and then took them for a ride.

The biggest part of the museum is a whole wall of bones that were fossilized in a river bed.

Jackson, McKay, and Clint looking at the bones

Ryann liked going down the ramp to the bottom story of the museum. She loved walking with her grandma, but...

...she had fun doing it herself too.
At the bottom you can touch the bones.
Ryann enjoyed the bench more. She would put her "bebes" on the bench and then crawl up herself. I finally had to carry her away from the bench because she would have spent the whole day there.
Ryann looking at a bone
T-Rex eating Jackson's hand while McKay watches.
Ryann didn't like the piggy back ride from daddy.
Ryann pointing at a bone
This picture makes me laugh. It looks like Jackson is about to kick McKay, but they are just playing with the rocks.

Ryann and Grandma

McKay in front of a partial baby stegosaurus

Outside the exit door there was a boot cleaner.

Jackson and McKay enjoyed cleaning their shoes.

Jackson's B-day Party

2011-12-25T21:10:00.005-07:00

Since Jackson's birthday was about a week before they came out to Utah, Jeannie threw him a birthday party. We went to the Jump 'n Jive and invited all the cousins. The kids all had fun jumping and climbing all over the inflatable slides and bounce houses.
I snapped pictures the best I could but most the time the kids were moving too fast for my camera.

Ryann did NOT like the bounce house.

Bouncing up and down on the floor.
They had interlocking foam floors all over and Ryann wouldn't step on them at first. But watching all the kids run around she finally got on them.

Everett, Macie, Rachael

Everett coming back up the slide and Porter coming down.

Everett and Rachael

Kayler making himself comfortable...off come the socks and down the slide they go.

Kolby and Kayler playing air hockey.

Porter and Kayler

Up and down the slide

Porter, Allie, Jackson, and Rachael

Porter, Allie, Jackson, Rachael, and Kayler

Ryann's turn! She enjoyed (tolerated) the slide with her dad better than the bounce house

This spoiled birthday boy got a skateboard from me,Clint, and Ryann.

Nora approved of the cupcakes

McKay with his party favor.
Nothing like ending a fun night of jumping and sliding with a bag full of candy.

Thanksgiving

2011-12-25T13:44:00.012-07:00

Since Levi and Jenny were out about a week before Thanksgiving, we had Thanksgiving early with them. There were plenty of helpers in the kitchen...

with cute aprons.

Official taste tester McKay

Grandma's helpers

McKay helping his mom, Jenny, with the pie crust dough

I love McKay's face in this one

Putting sugar on top the pie

Peeling potatoes...that were already peeled.
While the food was cooking the boys went out to shoot.

Levi and McKay

Jackson
After dinner it was time to play with toys...

and stickers.

Cousins Macie and Katelin came over to play for a bit.
But the best time was...

wrestling with Grandpa.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Greene Family Pictures

2011-12-23T16:23:00.012-07:00

Clint's brother and his family came out the middle of November and Clint was able to get off work to be home also. It has been about a year and a half since we have all been together so of course we did family pictures.

And do you even need to ask who did them...of course Mindy did.
Ryann was happy that morning but when Mindy pulled out her camera....

yup, that was Ryann the whole photo shoot. We still managed some really great shots of Ryann.

Ryann was happy as long as someone was holding her, but she wouldn't let go of her Tylenol bottle.

Jackson, Jenny, Levi, McKay

Yeah, I've got some pretty cute nephews

Jackson-7

McKay-3

We wanted the focus to be on the grandkids with grandma and grandpa.

We were able to capture the love that Jeannie and Stan have for their grandkids.
Even with a 3 yr old and a 19 month old, we still got some great pictures.

What Ryann has been up to

2011-12-01T21:17:00.006-07:00

What Ryann has been up to...

She loves her blocks...

Mommy doesn't because she just likes to dump them out and then will put a few back in and dump them out again.

This was, and still is, Ryann's favorite birthday present. It is too cold to take her in it for walks outside now but that doesn't mean she doesn't play with it EVERY day. She decided she would put her toys, drink, and snacks on the car...

and take them for a walk around the kitchen.

I tried buying her a remote at the Dollar Store. That didn't trick her, she knows which remote really works.

I don't know what it is, but I will have a pile of clothes to fold and she will find my sports bra and put it on her head and wear it around her neck. She doesn't bother with the shirts or pants or anything else, just my sports bra.

I had some wrapping paper out and Ryann took it and was walking our the house with it like it was her walking stick. It was a fight when I actually needed it to wrap the present.

Ryann is a blankie girl, but she doesn't limit what she feels is a blanket. She hauls around towels and wash clothes too.

Tech Baby

2011-12-01T21:12:00.000-07:00

Ryann has found You Tube on my phone

All Girl

2011-11-23T22:15:00.009-07:00

It is amazing how little boys can just turn everything into a gun and little girls can be so motherly without any one ever showing them these things.
Ryann has started to show her girly side.

She loves to put things in bags and buckets and carry them around.

Ryann will wrap her dolls up in blankets, or anything that is close to a blanket like a towel or washcloth (as seen above).
She will rock them in her rocking chair too...good thing they aren't real or they would have whiplash from it.

I looked in the back seat to find her giving her doll a bottle.
Since then she will share her drinks and food with her dolls. I caught her just today taking her stuffed bear and giving it a drink in the dog water bowl. The other day I caught her giving her Minnie Mouse doll a bath in the dog water bowl. We have had a few meals where she wouldn't eat unless her "bebe" (baby) was with her. She calls all her stuffed dolls, animals, and silky blankets bebe.

Carefully put her her bebes in the stroller and then...

pushing her bebes around.

Ryann put her toys, drink, and food on the car and then pushed it around the kitchen.

She has loved to dump out my make up bag for awhile
But she recently figured out how to open the cases....

and decided she needed to put makeup on too.

She is wearing my dark brown eye shadow on her cheek and chin.
Doesn't she look so pretty?

Ryann and Sally

2011-11-23T21:52:00.007-07:00

Ryann figures that if Sally can sit in the window, then she should be able to too.

Letting Sally take a lick of the bottle

Kissing Sally

Hugging Sally

Tasting Sally/pulling on her ear

Hanging out on the back porch with Sally

At Ryann's Grandma Greene's house she has another love....

this plastic pull along puppy. She loves it. It may be hard plastic but she still will snuggle it and kiss it and wrap it up in a blanket (hand towel) and carry it around. By far her favorite toy at grandma's.

She doesn't quite get that the string is there to pull it around.

Scrapbook Overnighter

2011-11-23T21:38:00.004-07:00

In October I went out with a couple friends to Salt Lake for my first Scrapbook Overnighter. My friend Nicole has been going for years and invited me and Mary to come along. It went from 5pm Friday to 5pm Saturday. It was so much fun. I won the award for staying up the latest, I was up till 4am. I would have stayed up longer but my friends left me to go to bed and it just wasn't fun all by myself.
I got so many cards made and even made a few scrapbook pages, which is a new thing for me to do.

Me making my first scrapbook page EVER!

Mary and her sister Trudy

They took up the whole table with all their stuff

Nicole

Nicole's daughter Shelby

There was a contest for best pajamas.
Trudy, Nicole, and Mary in their Halloween pjs

This lady won the contest. Onesie pajamas complete with butt flap. There was no beating that!

Lunch at Texas Roadhouse
Left side of the table: Trudy, Mary, me
Right side of the table: Shelby, Nicole
I had a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to going again next year!

How to Properly Sit Down

2011-11-06T19:40:00.006-07:00

How to Properly Sit Down-According to Ryann
Step One-Put your hands on the floor with your bottom high in the air.
Step Two-Look between your legs to get a good view of the surface you want to sit down on.
Step Three: Carefully lower yourself down to sit on the surface.
Good Job! You sat down!
Yup, our little Ryann has a pretty unique way of sitting down. I have watched her do it a million times and it still makes me laugh.

Anything or anywhere is a good place to sit.
Ryann thinks her Grandma Greene bought this cabinet just for her to sit in.
She loves to sit on her walk and ride dinosaur, especially since it has a place for her Tylenol...
and her toothbrush.
Of course a box is always good to sit on too.
Ryann's world is just full of seats that are begging her to back up and sit on...even if it is sitting inside the dog bowl.

Halloween Pictures by Mindy

2011-11-01T21:39:00.011-06:00

We did Halloween pictures with Mindy again this year. Ryan was a puppy, but she HATED to wear her hat. I stuffed my pockets full of treats and with a sucker in each hand we got a few shots where she wasn't screaming and trying to pull off her hat. I will look back at these pictures and just laugh every time I see them. They truly captured how she felt about this costume.
The pictures were all so cute...and funny...that I couldn't just pick a few to post, so enjoy all the pictures that Mindy took.

Notice who has the sucker
We also did some pictures with Ryann's friend Maycee.

How cute are these two!
Happy Halloween!

Work Halloween Party

2011-11-01T21:17:00.004-06:00

The past three years my work has done a Halloween party, so of course we headed off for the party this year too.
We invited along Ryann's best friend, Maycee.
There were games to play, like eating the donut off a string. Ryann was much more interested in the donuts still in the box.
Maycee gave it a try when her mom pulled it off the string for her.
Ryann actually spent the first part of the party like this. She was not too sure of the costumes and people. She wanted me to hold her constantly.
But then the pizza came out and she was happy. She ate almost that whole piece of pizza.
Who wouldn't cheer up for a plate full of cupcakes and cookies.
I made these delicious Witch's finger cookies. They are almond cookies and were really easy and fun to make.
Patrick...I mean, Captian America came and sat next to Ryann. He handed me his apple and told me, "Don't let your baby eat this."
After some food Ryann was ready to play a game. Well, she was ready to play with a pumpkin that was supposed to be for bowling.
We ended the night chasing a balloon with half a pumpkin shaped cookie in each hand.

Happy Halloween

2011-11-01T20:52:00.004-06:00

Sunday, Ryann and I headed over to Clint's parent's house to carve Ryann's pumpkin.
Ryann watched me scoop out the pumpkin guts and then I gave her a spoon and she did it too.
She didn't actually get anything on the spoon, but she was trying and didn't seem bothered at all by the feel of it.
After it was all carved, I put it on the floor for Ryann's approval. She poked her fingers in each of the holes carved.
She seemed to like it.

Monday I took Ryann Trick-or-Treating to a few houses...just family and friends. This kid is a total sugar addict! She hears the slightest crinkle of plastic and she fusses for it. Candy must be hidden completely out of view, and even then she still might sniff it out. She found her Grandma's candy bowl and quickly started to put candy in her bucket. Didn't take her long to catch onto this holiday.
Well, after a couple hours of Trick-0r-Treating we headed home to hand out candy to anyone who might wander by.
Ryann quickly found the bowl when I didn't put it up.
Down came to bowl to explore it's chocolatey goodness.Notice Sally sneaking up to check out what she might get a hold of.
Happy Halloween!

Moab with the Smiths

2011-10-03T21:12:00.009-06:00

No summer is every complete without a trip with our good friends the Smiths.

I love being able to get together with Kelly and Mark. As our families grow and the obligations of work and school keep us busy, I am always so happy when we can line our schedules up to get together.

At the beginning of September we met up in Moab for the weekend.
We stayed at the KOA in their "shacks". They had a swing out front that Ryann loved to play on.
It was windy that first night, but she stood up and put her face into the wind.
That first night we were in Moab, Kelly and I hung out with the kids while our husbands went on a guided Razor tour through Hell's Revenge. Lucky them. They had fun, but of course no pictures from that.

The next morning we headed out to Canyonlands, since none of us had been. We put on our hiking shoes and loaded up the kids in back packs and went for a short mile hike.
Kian was ready with his Camelbak and sucker.
Clint carried Ryann on his back. She was not a happy camper. I think she was teething and the back pack was new to her. Between those two things she alternated between being ok and fussy the whole hike.
The trail description said that there were rails on the steeper parts. Well, we could could see the holes where the poles had been, but there was nothing to hold onto.
We got to this rock near the end of the hike and I looked up and literally started laughing. It looked like it went almost straight up. Clint was up it first, even with Ryann on his back. We all made it up, but it was so steep...this picture does not do it justice.
The view from the top was well worth the short hike.
Kian came over and checked on Ryann.
Coming back down that steep rock didn't seem quite as bad.
Mark (with Keston on his back), Kian, and Kelly
Kian was such a good little hiker.
After our hike we stopped at a look out point. The view was amazing!
Kian loved having Clint around to help him get as high as he could...
and climb down
I just can't get enough of Moab
On our way back to Moab we stopped and played in the river. Lucky for Ryann she has a dad that helped her get wet.
She wasn't too sure of it at first...
but she grew to like standing in the water...
but she did NOT like having to sit in it.
Keston got some water time with his dad too.
He didn't seem to mind
Ryann preferred playing in the sand.
I love this look on her face.
Kian playing in the sand
Ryann adored Kian. She watched everything that he did and would just laugh and smile at him.
Time to wash up.
Ryann knows how to stay well hydrated in the Moab heat!
Thanks for the trip!

Pool Time with Cousins

2011-10-01T15:12:00.006-06:00

Some of the cousins got together in Joyce's backyard to play in the pool and hang out. I took Ryann over to play too...and to see Aubri's new baby!

Me and Carson
I love watching Ryann and Nora play.
Ryann shared her Grandma's lap with Nora
Ryann started walking in the grass and then just stood like this for a couple minutes. She was done walking but didn't want to sit in the grass and touch it anymore than she had too. It was funny to watch her bend down and then realize she was going to touch the grass so she stood back up.
She finally sat down but then proceeded to pick one foot up off the ground at a time so that she didn't have too much of her touching the grass.
She eventually got her own chair, but don't you know chairs aren't for sitting.
Porter relaxing at the picnic table
Katelin and Porter fighting who gets to ride the trike
Porter got his own and instead it was bumper trikes.
Katelin enjoyed throwing all the toys in the pool while Hallie and Alli told her no.
When the kids were done swimming they picked apples. Ryann got one too and loved it! The apples were a little sour but Ryann didn't seem to mind. But she still got a good sour shiver through her body a couple of times.
Ryann decided she was going to share with Grandma, so she rammed it into Grandma's mouth so Grandma didn't even get a choice. What a good sharer she is.
Ryann loves her apples!

Greene Family Reunion

2011-09-29T20:58:00.004-06:00

At the end of August some of the Greene family came down from Wyoming for a mini family reunion.
Ryann loved meeting her cousin Brandon. He enjoyed playing with her and Ryann enjoyed the attention.

Ryann is "blowing" the bubbles

Ryann trying to get her Great Grandpa Greene to open the door and let her out.
It was fun seeing the family and spending the weekend together.

Ryann Walking

2011-09-21T18:33:00.013-06:00

We have a walker!

Getting back upAlways exploring and trying to get into things.
She kept trying to go down the hallway to find her "Pop-pop" (grandpa)
Ryann loves her books
Walking to mommy Ryann loves to look out windows and go outside Ryann cooperated so well. I was afraid she would just not feel like walking, but she loved walking towards Mindy.

Thank you Mindy!!!

Ryann Reads Curious George

2011-08-31T21:40:00.005-06:00

How lucky am I to have such a wonderful friend that is such a talented photographer! Mindy has once again captured a special moment . Ryann loves books and Mindy has captured that love.
I love how she carefully turns the page and it looks like she is actually reading the book.
She is making her "oih, oih, oih" noise, which means she wants something.
Ryann wanted all 3 books in the bucket with her.
This one, where you can just see her eyes above the books, is one of my favorite pictures.

Dinner on the Mountain

2011-08-30T12:31:00.008-06:00

A couple Sunday's ago, Ryann and I tagged along with Clint's parents to have dinner on the mountain with some of their friends.

There were 8 puppies up there and Ryann was in HEAVEN!
She loved it until one scratched her face.
But back over by where we were sitting one kept wandering over and loved being by Ryann. Ryann of course was not going to turn down attention from a puppy. The puppy was so good with her, even when she grabbed both its ears and pulled. She was soft at first, but got rougher the longer he stuck around.
Ryann enjoyed crawling around in the dirt and didn't mind getting dirty.
She was fascinated with all the things that she could pick up, but not too happy no one would let her eat them.
Ryann had a chair for herself...
but she liked to do this and...
and this more than just sit in the chair.
Ryann loves cup holders and she found one on my chair so she helped me pull my camera case out and put it back in the cup holder.
I know this pictures is a little blurry but I love the look on her face that I caught.
We had hamburgers, hot dogs, and corn for dinner. Ryann ate a whole hot dog and a slice of cheese! I was so surprised at how much she ate and how much she loved the hot dog.
She got to try some corn on the cob.
She would not put her corn down. She didn't get too much off it, but enough for her to know it was good.
She then got some zucchini bread for dessert but of course the corn could not be put down. She got a drink from Grandma and still wouldn't let go of her food.
After this she was tired and let us know it was time to go home.
Ryann's little face was so dirty, the picture doesn't do it justice.
We had a lot of fun, especially Ryann.

Trash Eater

2011-08-28T20:50:00.003-06:00

All I did was walk back into my bedroom to change into my skirt. I walked back up front to find this...

I quickly realized that she was eating the tops of the strawberries I had just cut off. Luckily I had cut the tops off and put them back in the plastic container before I put them in the trash.
She was feeding herself and sharing with Sally. I guess my girl really likes strawberries!
(I took these pictures and then put the trash can up so she couldn't get into it.)

After this incident the trash can now also goes on top of the table, along with the dog food and water, if she shows the slightest interest in checking out the contents.

Mommy's Little Helper

2011-08-28T20:28:00.004-06:00

Ryann knows just what cabinets and drawers have latches on them. She will goes to the ones that she knows she can get into. I usually just laugh at what she has done and try to snap a picture.
I forgot to put the baby lock back on the handles and Ryann helped herself right to the contents behind the doors. She loves the boxes because they slide across the floor when she pushes them while she crawls.
The latch on this drawer had broken and after she did this mess, I sure fixed it pretty quick. Not only did she pull all the boxes of bags out, she also pulled all the bags out of the boxes. She does these things so quick there is always a huge mess in just the blink of an eye.

The next set of pictures you will notice she is in the same outfit for all of them. This is because she did all of these things the same afternoon. She was keeping me busy with her trail of destruction.
I cannot load or empty the dishwasher while Ryann is on the floor. She "helps" me, so I end up loading everything twice or having to put it back in the dishwasher to wash again.
At least these are dirty dishes.
After the silverware, she will try to pull out the racks and see what she can unload for me there.

She figured out that her arm will still fit in the drawer even with the latch.
She just had to be careful and not lean on the drawer because then she would pinch her arm in the drawer. It still didn't stop her from pulling out her bibs.
She figured out that there isn't a latch on the cabinet that Clint keeps his shoes in.
At least she was cute and tried to put on his shoe.

Get the Food in my Belly

2011-08-28T20:10:00.002-06:00

Sometimes the way Ryann eats just cracks me up.
If I attempt to feed her, on a very rare occasion, it still takes three spoons. When I just let her do it herself she has found that it is easier to just dip the spoon in and lick the yogurt off.

She's happy with the result.

I got a shaved ice and put some in a bowl for Ryann. I was eating mine and when I looked back to check on her I found her like this...

Not only is her face in the bowl, she was trying to lick the melted ice out of the bowl.
Maybe she is spending too much time with the dogs.

Chairs and Climbing

2011-08-26T23:01:00.006-06:00

Ryann knows how to relax. For her there is nothing better than a bottle and her silky blanket. But for those times when she has more energy, everything becomes a chair or a tool to step up on to reach the treasures above her head.
Sitting in a box
But it is much more fun to sit in the box with mommy's gym bag and pull it apart.
Her toys are chairs
She even sat on the carpet cleaner while I was cleaning out the dirty water tank.
Ryann really loves to slouch and relax in the chairs on Grandma and Grandpa Greene's back patio.
One of Ryann's all time favorite places to climb into and sit is the laundry basket. With or with out clothes, does not matter. If it is on the floor she gets into it. She also has started insisting that she have her toothbrush. When we go into the bathroom she will reach for it and make her I want it noise.
For whatever reason she put the box of wipes in the laundry basket and climbed in with a toy in each hand.
Ryann loves to sit on step stools. I have left this one up against the couch so she can climb up on the couch herself and she doesn't have to always fuss at me to pick her up.
Then she realized that not only could she sit on the step stool, she could also push it around and reach things on the counter tops.
She also used to enjoy sitting under the table on the foot rest...
well now she is trying, unsuccessfully, to climb onto the chairs from the foot rest. You might soon come over to my house and find all my chairs turned around backwards if this continues.
When attempts at climbing on the chairs failed, she went for the stools...
this took ended with her getting stuck but she has found a new use for the stools...
she figured out she could push them around the kitchen. I have a feeling she will soon be climbing on them.
Geez, I'm really in for it!

Grandma Greene

2011-08-26T22:35:00.006-06:00

Ryann loves her Grandma and Grandpa Greene. She is so lucky to have them close by, and I am so lucky to have them help me out so much, especially when Clint is gone. I don't know what we would do without them.
Ryann and I have a routine when we get to their house. Ryann has started when I get her out of the car she will say "PaPa". I love that she recognizes where she is. She doesn't call her Grandma anything, but she still loves her all the same. Then we go up to the door and she touches the door bell. With my help we ring the door bell and then we peek through the window in their door. Grandma will come to the door and peek back at her.
Eating popcorn with Grandma.
She finished it off and got made when Grandma wouldn't let her eat the kernels.
Grandma!!! I'm right here, you left me inside! (she is banging on the window)
She was so desperate to get to her grandma that she was trying to turn the knob. She has seen everyone else do that so she thought she would give it a try.
Ryann loves to have Grandma put shoes on her feet. This is something she does just with Jeannie. She will find Jeannie's shoes and give them to her to put on her feet.
She tries to walk in them and then gets frustrated when they come off and insists that her Grandma put them back on.
Recently a horse got put in the field behind Jeannie and Stan's house and Ryann loves to go see it. She isn't too keen on touching it, but she loves to look.
Checking out the horse with Grandma.

What a lucky little girl Ryann is!

Movin' and Groovin'

2011-08-26T20:37:00.009-06:00

Ryann is growing up way to fast. She still mostly crawls but she has taken a couple steps on her own and with us encouraging her. She stands up on her own all the time and walks along things like a pro. She is just taking her time walking. I was dreading her walking because I knew that meant she would get into stuff more because she was "taller", but it won't change too much. Since she can stand up so well and walk along things, she does just fine getting into everything!
Her favorite word is "puppy". She says mama, dada, PaPa (her Grandpa Greene), Uh-Oh, doggie, puppy, Maggie, kitty, horsie, hi, bye, buack (it's her quack noise), and she hisses like a snake. She will also wave good bye and blow kisses.
Ryann standing and drinking her juice. She is quite talented.
Ryann loves to copy what others do, even if it is what the dogs do.
The dogs went behind the couch, so she went behind the couch.
When your hands are busy, just carry it with your mouth.
Ryann loves her bag of blocks. She loves to dump out the bag and sometimes she puts some of them back in too. If you zip up the bag she gets really mad because she can't dump them out. She will yell at me until I unzip it so she can make a mess.
Ryann's other favorite toy is her ball popper. She loves to push the button to make it go and then crawls around putting the balls that fall out back in. Occasionally I have to take out miscellaneous other toys that get put in too.
She is trying to lick or bite the ball.
I made this skirt for Ryann. She was not in a picture taking mood, so this was the best shot I could get.
I bought Ryann a remote at the Dollar Store thinking that maybe she would leave the actual TV remote alone, well that was wishful thinking. She loves remotes and will point them at the TV just like she sees everyone else do.
Ryann loves books. She will find a book, put it in my hand and sit in my lap. She loves to look at books and loves to be read too.
Ryann loves to look out windows. If I go outside she likes to wave at me and thinks it is funny if I knock on the window.
Looking out the back door at her "puppies"
Maggie is incredibly patient with Ryann. She lets her crawl, sit, stand, etc on her her. She even lets her poke her eyes while sitting on her, as seen above. When Maggie has had enough she just carefully gets up and moves, which happened just moments after I took this picture.
Sally spend the day on our front window seal. She barks at anything that moves and has been found sleeping in the window too. Ryann figured if Sally could look out the window, then she should too.
Maggie is even patient when Ryann takes over her bed. I think she is sticking her finger in her belly button in this picture.
Ryann doesn't just relax in Maggie's bed, she also plays in her bed and pulls all of the clean towels into the bed too.
I was playing with Maggie with the laser pointer and Ryann took it away from me. She thought it was funny to watch Maggie run around. She had no idea why Maggie was running around but she was happy to have what I had and Maggie was happy to chase the red light.
Playing Angry Birds with Grandpa Greene
Just relaxing with Gma and Gpa Greene eating treats.
This kid will just slouch back in a chair (or on the floor against a pillow) and relax. If you sit her up straight, she will actually scoot down a little so she is slouched.
Touching the water, getting ready for bath time.
She gets quite excited and tries to get in herself.
I looked in the crib and found her sleeping like this. Ryann has to have her silky blanket touching her face when she falls asleep. She moves ALL OVER her crib in her sleep.
There is something really good down in the bottom of the diaper bag...
She pulled out a bag of her spare clothes and then insisted I open up her crackers for her. I have to keep the diaper bag zipped up or she will dig through it and find the treats.

Opa Visits

2011-08-21T21:35:00.003-06:00

I got a call from my dad on a Wednesday. He said that he was supposed to go golfing in Salt Lake but plans had fallen through so he wanted to come out to visit and take me and Ryann out to lunch tomorrow. Of course I dropped all plans I had and Ryann and I got to spend a few hours with her Opa. Apparently they needed a speaker at the last minute for EFY at BYU-Idaho and they asked my dad to go. He was flying out of Salt Lake airport so he wasn't too far away. It was great to see him, even if it wasn't for very long.
Ryann and Opa
Ryann was less than thrilled when we tried to get a picture of her and Opa.
She had more important things on her mind, like puppies. This kid loves dogs!
Away she goes!
Thanks for the visit dad!

County Fair

2011-08-21T11:38:00.010-06:00

At the end of July we went to the County Fair.

We took Ryann to the "Little Red Barn". The 4H Club sets up a little area that the kids can go through and participate in farm activities. Nothing is real except a few caged animals for the kids to look at.
Ryann and Daddy picking an apple and putting it in her basket.
Then she had Daddy help her plant a seed.
On the other side of the the sand box the pick the vegetable that they "grew".
They gathered an egg from the chicken coop
They looked at the chickens...
and the bunnies.
There was also an area that the kids could milk a "cow" and put a small bail of hay in a trailer and pull it with a tractor (a tricycle).
At the end Ryann got a ribbon, which she thought tasted pretty good.
But she also got to pick something from the "store" and so I chose fruit snacks for her. She liked them better than the ribbon.

At the carnival Clint took Ryann down the slide. She didn't cry, but she grabbed hold of her dad.

There was a talent show.
We went to go see Sydney sing in it.
Ryann sat with Lori while I video taped it.

We went to Alive After Five, which is a singing competition that goes on once a week for a month, but starts during the fair. Each week someone is eliminated and the top four people win money, first place winning the most of course.
Ryann is now fine with sitting in the grass, though she won't crawl in it yet.
She enjoyed the hot dog from my corn dog.Ryann was just pretty happy as long as she was eating.
And drinking out of mommy's drink. She is so good with a straw now and wants anyone's drink if it has a straw.
She thought it was also fun to pull the straw out of the cup.Lori enjoying some homemade root beer.Sammie enjoyed some red licorice and her mom's lemonade.
It was a fun couple of days that we spent at the fair. I was glad Clint was home so we got to do it with him. Next year, Ryann will hopefully have fun and we won't just be dragging her to everything for our sake.

Girls Camp 07-15-11

2011-08-15T21:46:00.003-06:00

Friday we ate breakfast and loaded up the truck. We cleaned out the cabin and after getting everything checked off by the senior missionaries we were on our way home. It was a great week, filled with memories I will hold with me forever. I didn't think I could love my girls any more, but I do love them even more after spending a week with them. I am so lucky to have my calling and get to know these girls.
Lori and I went to hook the trailer up to the truck and take it down to our cabin to load up.
Samauree vacuuming the bunks
Sara helping Samauree
Mindy mopping the floor
All loaded up and ready to goOne last group picture
From left to right
Back row: Nicole, Lori, Sara, Syree, Marinn, Savanah, Aubrey, Mindy
Front Row: Samauree, McKenley

Now just to see what next year brings...

Girls Camp 07-14-11

2011-08-13T21:20:00.019-06:00

Thursday morning brought our turn to make breakfast for everyone.
President Seitz, Sara, and Mindy cutting up strawberries for a waffle topping.
Bishop Feltch cooking sausage, egg, and cheese rollers.
Lori making buttermilk syrup.
Me cleaning the stove.
At morning roll call we were "encored" and did our skit again.

We had a "Town Fair" after breakfast. Each ward had an activity that had to do with their assigned medieval group.
There was crown making, homemade root beer and bowling, three legged races, jousting, and a relay.
Since we were the jesters of course we taught juggling! Luckily Lori can juggle, so it was more like Lori taught juggling. She showed the girls how to do it, then once they had all tried she put them in a circle and did team juggling.
Even President Seitz got in on it. Mindy helped him learn to juggle.
Syree and Sara juggling
Sara is an awesome juggler
Savanah juggling
Since Lori had things under control, Mindy and I wandered off to check out the other activities. We decided to do the relay race.
First we had to put on an apron and gloves. Then we ran over to a broom and swept a grape past a line. Then we put on high heels and had to walk around a pole with a book on our head. If you look close you can see the picture where I "helped" Mindy's book fall off. Then we had to hula hoop and get to the finish line. I won...but I also cheated:) Mindy you're such a good sport.
Aubrey got her mom to do some jousting with her. Aubrey won both events.
It was a lot of fun to see President Seitz get in on all the activities and let the girls beat him with swimming noodles.
After lunch we went to Legacy lake to go canoeing. While the girls hiked to the lake, me, Mindy, and Lori drove to the front of the camp to make some phone calls and check on our families.
It is a really pretty lake, but the girls are not allowed to swim. Just canoeing and paddle boats for the leaders.
We got there early so the girls played in the sand to keep busy.
President Seitz and Lori buried one of the girls.
Savanah and Samauree on the sand pile.
Finally they got to get in their canoes.
The leaders getting into the paddle boats
Carrie came up for a few hours and her and I went out together. She didn't want to get wet, but sadly she ended up being the wettest one on the lake! Savanah and Samauree attacked us.
We preformed our skit, again, for Carrie to see before we went up to the lake.Sara in her canoeLeaders weren't supposed to be in the canoes but these two girls were really scared and Lori ended up going with them.Savanah and Samauree...the culprits for getting Carrie wetSyree and Marinn

The bishoprics all came up Thursday night. Our first counselor Mike Neilson and Bishop Randel Mills came up.
Mindy french braided A LOT of hairAubry writing in her messy book
Mike learning how to juggle.Lori got her husband (Bishop Mills) to wear her jester hat
While waiting for dinner to start Mike was such a good sport and let the girls teach him the cup game.
Group picture with our crestWe had Bishop Mills and Brother Neilson do our evening roll call cheer with us. They were good sports.
We did our skit AGAIN for everyone!

After the evening devotion we headed back to our cabin and had a testimony meeting. Then the bishopric had to head home and we broke out the goodies for roasting-Starburst and Smores. I had my first roasted Starburst. The girls all love them. I don't get what is so great about them, but I tried it. Just taste like a warm Starburst to me.
This night had to be the funniest. Every night I went to sleep listening to the girls talk. Well this night it was the opposite. The girls all went to bed and the leaders were up laughing and giggling. Poor Sara, everything she said we wrote down in our messy books (like a journal/scrapbook). Such great memories.

Girls Camp 07-13-11

2011-08-10T13:47:00.009-06:00

Wednesday was hike day. As leaders, we went with the 1st years since our Stake Girls were taking the 1 st years and our only other girls going were our 1st years.
First we hiked to the top of the mountain. It was such a pretty view.
The girls were taught more things for their camp certification.
Then back down the mountain we went and hiked about 3 miles.
Aubrey with her group of 1st years.
Lori and I stayed in the rear. We encouraged these two sweet girls to keep going up and down the hills.
Lori and me
It was a really pretty hike.
We hiked to Legacy Lake and saw this mommy duck and her cute ducklings swimming.
Our 4th years, Sara and Savanah, returned from their over night hike!
We had quite the down pour, but Sara had fun playing in the rain with her rain boots. After the storm we had a great double rainbow.

SKIT NIGHT!!!!
Who doesn't love skit night!
The Stake Girls
They did Dorothy going back to Oz and following the yellow brick road to make right choices and get home.
Aubrey the ScarecrowSamauree as Dorothy

We did our skit last. I posted it on Facebook. It was hilarious! From right to left:
Sara-farmer, Savanah-mother, Nicole-nurse, Marinn-hippie, Syree-boy scout, Lori-football player, Mindy-rapper
Our skit was so well loved we ended up doing it another 3 times!

After Skit Night they had the girls go back to their cabins and read 1 Nephi 8.
Then someone from the stake would come and get the girls from the cabin and took them on a faith walk. It was a really neat experience. The girls were blindfolded and had to hold to the rod. Along they way there were some of the stake girls that would try to tempt them to let go. They would tell them things like, just hold onto me and I'll help you get over this log that is coming up, or get through this puddle. They were so convincing that I was even looking around for the log or the puddle. Me and Mindy encouraged the girls to hold fast to the rod. After they got to the end and took off their blindfolds, there was a tree that was covered in white lights that represented the Tree of Life. It was so beautiful. A really wonderful way to end the evening.

Girls Camp 07-13-11

2011-08-07T20:47:00.009-06:00

With rain storms come puddles and Sara had to get her boots in the puddles. She was having so much fun other girls ventured out to play.Mindy took the greatest pictures of Sara having fun in the rain.

Girls Camp 07-12-11

2011-08-05T21:02:00.013-06:00

I got to celebrate my 28th birthday at Girls Camp! The girls made it a pretty special day for me. I went to brush my teeth that morning and came back and didn't see anyone in the cabin. I was just thinking, "Where did they all go, all I did was go to the bathroom" when they jumped out and yelled "Happy Birthday".

The big activity for this day was the Challenge Course. There is the high level course and the low level courses. I was in charge of one of the low level courses, Mohawk Trail. The story was that the tribe's princess was sick and they had to get to the other side to get her the medicine. The ground was hot lava so they could only balance on the wire to get across. It was fun to watch the girls try to figure it all out. All the activities would finish up and we would take 5 minutes to look at the spiritual side of the activity. There were 6 low level courses that the girls rotated through.
The highlight was the high level course. We had to climb a rope ladder, walk across planks, and go down the zip line. We were 25 feet up in the air. The course is designed to help us over come our fears and build confidence. As the girls jumped from the platform and went down the zip line the Sister missionary told them either "Your Heavenly Father loves you" or "Take a leap of faith". I was able to watch a couple of our girls go and I was able to go also, but since I was in charge of a low level course I had to hand my camera over and let someone else take the pictures. Sorry if some of them are blurry.Getting harnessed up and waiting for their turn. SaraSavanahMe! I am afraid of heights, but I did it! It took me two counts of three to jump off the platform to do the zip line but I went. I was shaking pretty good once I got down. The Sister missionary told me to "Take a leap of faith".Mindy

LoriMarinn
SyreeMcKenleyAubreySamauree
They had an amazing speaker, Laurel Christenson, come and do an afternoon fireside. She did a really cool thing, standing ovations. She told us about how she was having a really bad day and told her friends about it. When they got together they gave her a standing ovation and it made her feel better. How can you not feel better with everyone cheering for you. Then she picked a few girls and had us give them a standing ovation. One of the girls felt so special she started to cry and that just got us leaders going. Sister Christenson brought such a wonderful spirit. She told us about how she ran her first half marathon. In the middle of her race she got a horrible cramp in her leg and didn't think she could go on, but she did. When she was almost to the finish line she wanted to give up. She could see the huge balloon arch and felt, I see the finish line, that is good enough. But then her friends and family were there cheering her on and she finished. How can we not continue and finish with everyone cheering us on. She spoke about "If you believe these three things you will seek after them: 1- You are a LITERAL Daughter of God. 2- Your Father in Heaven know YOU by name. 3-Heavenly Father has a plan for ME." Going back and reading the things I wrote about her talk still brings that wonderful spiritual feeling back to me.
This camp was so wonderful that it allowed me to feel the spirit so easily. I don't remember having these spiritual moments when I went to Girls Camp as a youth. Our girls are so lucky to go to this camp that has the luxuries it had to allow them to better feel the spirit.
Lori's daughter, Jacqi, came up to camp just to bring me cupcakes for my birthday! Sadly, the container fell open and all the cupcakes landed in the gravel. We just scrapped off the gravel and ate them anyways, they were too good to waste:) The gravel looked a lot like toffee and Syree thought it was and she tried to eat it! We had a good laugh.The fourths year, Savanah and Sara, leaving for their over night hike.Aubrey and Samauree were reminiscing about a previous year at camp and climbing from bunk to bunk, so they decided to reenact the memory.The jeans I was wearing and the folding chairs did not agree. Whenever I stood up the chair would get caught in my pants. That night I was so tired and so fed up with it happening I just walked around with the chair in my pants.

Girls Camp 07-11-11

2011-08-01T21:02:00.013-06:00

I have been putting this off long enough...it is finally time to do the Girls Camp pictures. I haven't been putting off blogging about my week because I didn't like it, I've been putting it off because I took around 300 pictures!!!! Yes you read that number right. I've just been dreading having to decide what pictures to use, will I put them in a collage, turning them the right way, etc. But I shall finally suck it up and get to blogging.

I had so much fun going and I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to go. We went to Heber Valley Girls Camp. It is a camp built just for Girls Camp. It is Gorgeous! You drive in and there are the flags of the YW values.
This is definitely luxury camping. We had an ice maker and water station to fill up at. There was a walk in freezer and refrigerator. There is a purpose behind the luxuries though. They are there so that the YW can focus on building their testimonies and feeling the spirit.
Deer wandered around and in the camp all week.
These little guys were all over getting food that had been dropped.
We were in cabin 3D. Since we are a small ward we each got our own top and bottom bunk.
Momma bear and her two cubs...just statues.
The theme this year was "Quest for the Best" and it was a medieval theme. We were the Jesters and our value was Divine Nature. Here is our shield.
After unloading all our stuff, Sara found her rain boots and had to try them out in a puddle.
First activity for our girls was certification. Here is Samauree teaching them water purification.
Then came craft time. They stained the wood, etched the temple on glass and glued on a saying.
The stake girls at roll call. Our stake girls were Samauree, Aubrey, and McKenley. They were the Wizards.
This was such a cool devotional. The girls all read scriptures while the leaders were painting. The middle was the last part they painted so when they step away you can finally tell what they were painting. It was really neat.
We won the coveted Spirit Stick the first night!
Marinn enjoying the Spirit Stick.
We tied a piece of blue ribbon on it to leave our mark on it.
From left to right: Lori, Sara, Savanah, Syree, Nicole, Marinn, Mindy
All group pictures included a regular smile, mad face, and of course a silly face.
The night was finished off with the girls taking our two first years, Syree and Marinn, snipe hunting. They got them to put toothpaste on their faces, because the snipes like the smell. They had them bring pillowcases to catch them in. It was pretty funny and they were good sports about it.

Ryann and Friends

2011-07-18T21:51:00.006-06:00

BEST FRIENDS
Ryann and her friend Maycee, they are just 2 weeks apart. They were SO cute on the couch. They were crawling around and jabbering to each other.

Maycee liked the squirt bottle
When it got a little darker we did sparklers for the girls and some bigger fireworks for the parents.
More fun with Maycee.
Kiera and I took our girls to the craft fair. It was really hot and so afterwards we got some shaved ice. It ended up a wet sticky mess all over the floor, but it was worth it to watch them enjoy their shaved ice and have fun. These girls are too cute together!

PLAYING WITH COUSINS
Nora and Ryann checking each other out.
Maci was so sweet to Ryann. Ryann does not like the feel of grass. She was going hysterical when we put her on it. Maci got the rocking horse and was so sweet to her. Eventually Maci got her to sit on the grass and not freak out.
Watching Everett jump on the trampoline

LIFE
Someone recently asked me if now that Ryann was older if it was easier for me to get things done.
Well, no it isn't easier. In fact, it's harder to get things done. I do things twice now when she is awake. I do it once and she pulls it apart to double check my work. I just usually don't try to do too much till she is asleep, or locked in her high chair eating.
I was trying to fold towels and Ryann started pulling all the towels and blankets towards her and made herself a nice little seat.
Sally loves a pile of fresh out of the dryer laundry. She jumped in the basket and then Ryann climbed in too.
My smart little girl. I opened the fridge and she pulled out her juice while I was getting something else out. Then she crawled over to her car seat and sat down in it and drank her juice. It was really cute.
Ryann is such a smart kid. She will take my phone and put it to her ear. Sometimes she will even have it to her ear and say, "Dadadada." Hmmm, wonder who I talk on the phone to the most:) I caught her tonight with the TV remote pointing it at the TV. Nothing gets by this kid.
She says Mama, Dada, doggie, and puppie and actually knows what they mean. Except every animal right now is a puppie. She even says Maggie too. She will sometimes copy things that we say but she doesn't make an association with them yet. I did catch her with her rubber duckie making sounds that sounded like her version of "quack, quack".
Ryann still isn't walking by herself but she can walk really well with her walker or holding a hand. What she does do really well...climb. Everything and anything she climbs on or tries to. We will let her climb but if she gets up she has to get down. So sometimes she will fuss for a little bit but most the time she will figure out how to get back down. Sometimes we do still have to rescue her. Figure if she can get up, she can get down. As much as this girl climbs, I do NOT want to be rescuing her all the time.
Ryann loves bath time. When she hears me turn the water on, she will crawl right to the tub and tries to get in. After her bath I bush her 9 teeth.Yup, this kid has 9 teeth! She has her four front top, four bottom front teeth and has a molar on the top left side. The molar isn't all the way it, the front and back have broken through but the middle hasn't yet.
Ryann is constantly on the go. It is so fun to watch her grow and learn, though I do wish the growing part would slow down a bit. It has all gone so fast!

4th of July

2011-07-08T07:07:00.011-06:00

For the 4th of July we went to the parade. Clint was out of town so I went with Clint's parents.
While waiting for the parade to start, Ryann wanted to sit on the curb.
Mommy and Ryann waiting for the parade to start.
Ryann had found a nice little pebble, and Grandma took it away when she tried to eat it. Ryann wasn't too happy about it.
What is a Vernal parade with out a dinosaur:)
Watching the parade drinking her chocolate milk. Thanks Grandpa for walking to 7-11 to get it!
Two of my Young Women are in the drill team and I had to see them on their unicycles. They had been practicing really hard to be able to be in the parade.
The left arrow is Samauree, the right arrow in Larissa.
Larrisa on the end.
Another one of my Young Women, Shae, on the Student Council float. She is the one in the middle on the back with the bag partially covering her face.Clint's cousin's two girls, Allie and Maci, were on this float for their singing group.
Allie on the end of the bench
Allie and Maci. Maci has her back against Allie.Ryann could have cared less about the parade...until the horses!
Ryann and Grandpa watching the horses.That evening Clint's parents came over and did fireworks with me and Ryann.

We started out with an all exciting sparkler!Ryann actually kind of like them.
She would like the sparkler and want to touch it until the sparks got too close to her.
Next we went to the even more exciting worms...or snakes.
She got excited about these.
Looks like flaming poop to me...but Ryann had to be held back because she really wanted to touch it.
Then we did the fountains.

Ryann wasn't too fond of them.
We had fun with our little fireworks just for Ryann.
Happy 4th of July!

Food

2011-07-06T23:12:00.004-06:00

Ryann is a self feeder. If I try to feed her then she clamps her mouth shut. If I want to feed her with a spoon then I have to put the food on the spoon and then give her the spoon so she can put it in her mouth herself. I have also started giving her a fork and showing her how to stab her food. I just love watching her try new things. She is so observant and will try to copy what others are doing.
Ryann using a spoon to eat her yogurt. She would dip the handle in the yogurt and lick it off. After a couple times of that, she just used her hands. She covered her whole face and both her arms in the yogurt.

Eating shaved ice. She starts with picking it up with just her thumb and index finger. Then she just licks it.
Licking a pretzel goldfish off the table.

I took my Mia Maids to Farr's for an activity and of course Ryann came too. I put my ice cream down and Ryann was instantly putting her fingers in it to try it. Then when I gave her a spoon she was using that to eat my ice cream. I just let her have at it and get messy. I thought I had it all cleaned off of her till we got in the car and she lifted her leg. She even had ice cream on the back side of her leg!

Ryann, Sally, Maggie, and a cat

2011-07-06T22:57:00.005-06:00

Ryann loves Sally. Sally, well, she loves the food that Ryann drops. Ryann is quite good at getting a handful of Sally's fur, but Sally is a good dog and just moves spots so that Ryann will leave her alone.

Sally investigating what Ryann has
Going in for the lick

Ryann playing Tug-O-War with Maggie.
Maggie is so gentle with Ryann. When Ryann has something she really wants, Maggie will gently take it from her. She lets Ryann crawl and lay on her...
and she shares her bed.
Ryann loves to lay in Maggie's dog bed. So here is my daughter, laying in a dog bed with a dog bone in her hand.
I was at a friend's house and their cat was laying in the window so Ryann started to knock on the window at the cat. It was cute. Ryann isn't quite as fond of cats because they don't pay her any attention like dogs do.

Father's Day

2011-07-06T14:09:00.006-06:00

Clint was gone for Father's Day:( but at least we are around family and Ryann got to spend it with her Grandpa Greene and Great Grandpa Stewart.
She had quite the busy and adventurous day. First, she figured out she could climb into my laundry basket.
Then she learned how to climb into her recliner by herself. From this new height she figured out that she could reach everything that I put on my TV stand, guess I have to find a new "safe" place for things.
After taking off her own sandals, she tried to put them on herself. It is so cute to watch her try to do new things.
Then we headed over to see Grandpa. There she had to put Grandma's shoes on.
Ryann knows right where her Grandpa sits in the house, so she headed off to his room to see him.
We made a stop at Great Grandpa's to say Happy Father's Day to him too.
Who needs toys when you have the toy box lid to play with!
More cousins stopped by to visit too.
Hallie playing with Ryann.
Ryann sitting on Hallie's lap. Ryann loves her cousins and all the attention they give her.
Great Grandma Stewart has these ceramic birds that Ryann is OBSESSED with. Every time we are over there she has to have the birds.
Ryann is a total Grandpa's girl.
Hugging her teddy bear and getting loves from her Grandpa.

Stuck

2011-07-06T13:37:00.004-06:00

Our all too curious Ryann gets stuck quite a bit. Being the wonderful mother I am, I usually try to snap a picture before I help her. I have to capture these moments, they are priceless:) Though Ryann maybe into EVERYTHING right now and naps are becoming shorter, I do enjoy watching her explore and I love getting a laugh when she gets stuck.
Ryann loves to sit under her high chair. This time she tried to get out from under it the wrong way.
Ryann LOVES to climb up on her step stool. Only problem is....
she hasn't figured out how to get off it yet.
Ryann loves this car and usually can get in and out without too much problem. But sometimes she gets stuck backwards...
or can't figure out how to get one leg on the other side.
Ryann doesn't just get stuck in positions, she gets things stuck on her.
Ryann found Maggie's rope toy and was crawling around with it.
She decided it fit nicely on her head.
But it did require a good tug to get off.
The other day Ryann decided that instead of climbing on top of the foot rest under our table, she would go under. She got herself stuck but figured out how to get out before I could get my camera out. Don't worry, I will be patiently waiting for her to try that one again:)
This is Ryann ultimate stuck nemesis. She definitely thinks she is stuck when she has to be in her car seat.
Even at almost 14 months I still find myself just staring at her while she sleeps. I sure do love my little girl.

How Many Spoons?

2011-07-05T21:51:00.003-06:00

How many spoons does it take to feed Ryann yogurt...
at least three!
And a Sally too, waiting patiently for something to drop.
Ryann needs one spoon for each of her hands and one for me. I put the yogurt on the spoon and she takes it from me and feeds it to herself. She will refuse to give up the spoon again so I have to get out another spoon. I put the yogurt on the spoon and she will drop one of the spoons in her hand to grab the spoon with food on it. If I do not you the three spoon method and let her try to feed herself we end up with yogurt all over her face and arms and always some in the hair.

POPSICLES

I was introduced to the mini slow melt Popsicles and she loves them. They melt slow enough and they are small enough she actually can eat the whole thing and it makes a pretty minimal mess.

She finished her first one and loved it so much she fussed till I gave her another one.

My cute Popsicle loving girl!

Grandma Oehring Visit

2011-07-03T11:32:00.005-06:00

At the beginning of June my mom came out for a visit. I saved some of my projects and had my mom helped me do them. She helped me plant some flowers and decorative grass in my front flower beds and we painted the wooden things Clint and I had gotten Ryann for her birthday. It was great having her here and Ryann loved having extra loves and hands to spoil her.
Ryann playing outside while we planted. I pulled out an umbrella to help shade her, but she decided she wanted to play with it instead.
Shaved ice break. Grandma got Ryann her first shaved ice, bubble gum flavored. Yummy! Sally thought so too.
Grandma and Ryann taking a shaved ice break
Ryann loved her cousin Justin's water table when she was in Texas. Lucky girl, her Grandma got her one and she played with it while we planted flowers.
Ryann and Grandma playing in the water
Ryann LOVES her pink car. She doesn't care if she is getting pushed inside or outside, just as long as she is getting pushed. We had a couple really windy days so Grandma pushed her around the house instead of going for a walk outside.
Ryann loved it!
Grandma got Ryann and her cousin Lindsey matching pajamas.
Story time before bed. Since my mom was around I'm actually in a picture and she could capture our story time together.
Thanks for coming out mom. We loved having you!

Dog Food

2011-06-18T11:27:00.002-06:00

If I don't put the dog food up...

The food has to go up on the table because Ryann figured out how to crawl under the chair by watching Sally.

Things Ryann Has Learned

2011-06-18T10:26:00.008-06:00

Ryann has been busy the past month. She is into EVERYTHING! I just have to shut all the doors and put the dog bowls on the table when she is on the move. If she sees me coming towards her and she is near the dog bowls then she crawls a little faster to get to them. Her favorite room in the house is the bathroom. She will hear me turn the water on for her bath and she will crawl right into the bathroom. I had the bathroom door shut one time and I found her kneeling in front of the door banging on it. She is very observant and is learning how to do new things all the time.
Ryann loves to lay on Maggie's dog bed.
Ryann is very proud of herself that she has figured out how to push the button on her ball popper and make the balls pop out.
She likes to drink out of water bottles.
I was folding the clothes and Ryann grabbed a pair of her socks. She was being so cute and laughing and rolling all over the blanket.
One of Ryann's favorite things to do is crawl over mommy.
Then when mom tries to take pictures of it, she tries to grab the camera.
Last night Ryann had crawled into the bathroom and came out with her towel in the her hands. She was dragging it everywhere and rubbing it on her face. I was taking pictures of her acting silly and she came and sat in my lap.
Ryann LOVES this car. It is her favorite birthday present. This week she figured out how to climb in it herself. She can get out of the car, and slowly it is becoming more graceful and not just her falling out of the car.
Ryann thinks the kitchen table is her personal playground. She has been caught putting her foot on the bottom rung of the chair.
Ryann has found herself a new spot to sit. She sits on the foot rest we have under our table. Only problem is she hasn't quite figured out how to get down.
Ryann loves to push the buttons on the DVD player and pull out the ipod deck. She has started to cry whenever we tell her no.
I was talking to Clint on the phone and looked over and saw this....
I have a climber on my hands.
Ryann isn't walking on her own yet, but she this week she did start to walk with her walker.
She pulls herself up on everything. She will get up on her feet and hands and it looks like she is trying to push herself up into a standing position.
Sometimes Ryann's exploring gets her into some tight places....

Ryann is ONE

2011-06-13T15:02:00.002-06:00

There is nothing like that first birthday cake. Ryann at first was very dainty and would pick up each sprinkle with her thumb and index finger. Then she would dive head first into the cake.
Thanks Mindy for helping me capture that moment.

www.melindasmithphotography.blogspot.com

Step Stool

2011-06-09T17:13:00.003-06:00

For Ryann's birthday I bought her a step stool that I was going to paint for her. Before I got it decorated it was just sitting on the floor. She loved to pull herself up on it. Though one afternoon she figured out how to climb up on it. She got stuck and could not figure out how to get down.
So of course instead of helping her, I took pictures...then I helped her off.
Clint got her a rocking chair and little rocking horse for her birthday. She learned how to put her bear in the rocking chair. This was, of course, a lot less traumatic.