The Richardson Times

Already A Slacker;)

2011-02-17T15:04:00.000-08:00

So......Yeah....3 days in and I already missed a day in the 30 day blog challenge. That's why I didn't make any promises people!

Yesterday"s question was "Who was your 1st Love". Very easy question for me to answer and quite a story but I will keep it brief. MY HUBBY. I first layed eyes on him when I was 15 years old and knew I was gonna marry him...I did and the rest is history. (PS...He's still my crush even after 3 kids and all these years together!)

Today's question is to blog about my parents. My mom and dad completely rock! I am soooo glad that we live close (with the exception of my daddy's job which takes him out of state for periods of time). What would I do without my mom on Thanksgiving??? We'd be eating instant potatoes and a premade turkey! I love that we are able to spend holidays together. My mom is a pillar of strength. She has great advice whenever I need it. My daddy is the most generous and compassionate guy. He has wisdom in a crisis and he gives great hugs! Love you guys!

30 Day Challenge Question #2...

2011-02-15T15:11:00.000-08:00

"What is the meaning behind the name of your blog?"

When I was first starting my blog I had to think of something quickly just to get it going. All I could think of was that it was going to be my familys' online version of the "New York Times"...a daily update about the goings-on of our family...hence "The Richardson Times" was born. It has been more of a periodical newsflash rather than a daily one, but it's so fun to go back and remember what highlights we have had througout the year. That's the story =o) See you tomorrow!

Hello Again...

2011-02-14T11:44:00.000-08:00

So it's been a while since I've fallen from the "blog-wagon" and I was thinking about hopping back on when my sisters issued a 30 day blog challenge. It's apparently where we have a theme each day to write about on our blogs. I'm not promising a daily dose of myself...I'm gonna ease back in, but I will do my best to not have too big a hiatus from my online family journal again =)

Today I'm supposed to post a recent picture of myself and introduce...so here ya go. My name is Cee Cee Richardson. I'm married to one amazing man, have 3 awesome kiddos and enjoy paper crafting, chocolate, and being with my friends. I love music (and sometimes think I should have been a pop star...if I could actually sing that is!) and I love to watch shows that encompass great tunes...aka: Dancing with the Stars, So You Think You Can Dance, American Idol, etc. I'm addicted to word games like Boggle and Bookworm. I adore giving amazing gifts full of thought and packaged cute! That's a wrap about me for today. My most recent picture is from Christmas with my family...so here we are ...The Richardson Fam.

Right of Passage

2010-09-19T14:50:00.000-07:00

Kyle turned 12 this year, so his dad decided it was time to teach him how to use some heavy machinery. I couldn't help capturing this picture of Bill's teaching moment with Kye. It's a "Right of Passage" for the Richardson boys to learn how to drive a tractor.

Ohio

2010-09-19T14:00:00.000-07:00

We had the pleasure of going to Ohio for about a week to visit family...and had a blast! It was especially great because not only does Bill's dad and aunts and uncles live there, but my brother and his family just moved there too! We got to visit family on both sides and Auntie Cee Cee especially got to eat up her sweet neices! I couldn't get enough of cute Christina, Eden and Melody (although they probably got sick of me!) We got to go to Kings Island Amusement Park, had a huge bar-b-que at Bill's dad's place and enjoyed some great visiting time. Here is some documentation of our trip...

Brynlee and Eden on the bumper cars at King's Island

Christina got tuckered out at the amusement park.

Girls waiting in line for their turn to ride.

Eden was hilarious on this ride! She laughed and laughed when it whipped around the corners! So Cute!

Christina on the other hand wasn't much of a fan. Poor sweet thing!

No fear!

Riding the air bus with the neices.

Adorable Christina with momma:)

Bryn and Eden waiting to swing! Weeeeeeeeee!

Wouldn't be a Richardson get together without some serious cornhole!

Very handsome, and serious, Kyle.

My Bryce.

Oh how I love her! She is soooo gorgeous!

Need I say more...stunningly beautiful!

Eden hanging out with the guys!

Had to post this because aunt Sue doen't "allow" pictures to be taken of her. Sneak in a baby and she can't resist the camera as easily! LOL!

Eden and Kye giving some love.

This is one adorable baby girl! Man she is cute!

Sweet Melody.

Eden loving her playset loaded with a firehose! Fun!

Lovin' the water works!

Kye, Bryn and Eden at lunch in Findlay, Ohio.

Boating!

2010-09-13T14:55:00.000-07:00

It wouldn't be a real summer break if we didn't take the boat out at least once! We had a blast on Boyd lake with friends. We cruised those tubes all around that lake for hours. The kids had a blast...and I think the dads did too!!!

Hmmm...I wonder who wanted to go slower!

Tube wars with Matt and the boys.

Bryn and Andrew cruisin' the lake.

My babies makin' wakes.

Of course we had to bring "The Moxenator" in her life vest aboard!

My boys getting a crazy ride!

Kyle surf/tubing! LOL!

Road Trip

2010-09-13T14:27:00.000-07:00

Bryce had the opportunity to fly solo to North Carolina to help my brother move from Raleigh to Findlay, Ohio. His flight travels were quite the adventure. Missing his connecting flight at the Dallas/Ft. Worth airport is where it all started. Luckily, my dad was in Texas at the time and was able to rescue my poor kid until he could catch the next flight to North Carolina the following morning. Grandpa took him to see where JFK was shot and fed him a steak dinner. The next morning (bright and early!) he flew to Raleigh and found after he had been landed for a few hours that he had left his wallet on the plane. So he had no money, I.D. or driver's permit with him for the remainder of his trip. TOTAL BUMMER! But uncle Bubba took great care of him. Bubba's wife and daughters were with his in-laws in Idaho, so it was just Bubba and Bryce who were packing up and driving cross country to Ohio. They had a blast on the road together. They went to Washington DC and Gettysburg. When they got to Ohio, they went a couples hours south to where Bill's dad lives. They were taken under the wing of our family out there and then Lon left Bryce with his grandpa for a few days. Grandpa treated him to a day at Kings Island amusement park and got to spend some quality time together. It was a memorable trip for Bryce and a lesson in how to keep track of your stuff!!!

Bubba and Bryce in front of the Lincoln Monument.

Bryce at the Smithsonian.

Lincoln Memorial.

Colorado boys!

Washington Monument.

Bryce at the White House.

Outside the White House.

Brynlee's 7th Birthday

2010-09-13T14:09:00.000-07:00

Brynlee only had ONE thing on her birthday wish list. It's actually been on her list for years if I'm being honest. This year I finally decided that maybe we (aka: I) was ready to grant this wish. It has taken a lot of time and research (and money) but her wish bacame a reality. She got a PUPPY for her birthday!!! We drove a 3hour round trip drive on Bryn's birthday to Sterling, Colorado where we picked up her black and white little female shih tzu. She was just 9 weeks old and precious and adorable as could be. Brynlee named her "Moxee". She wanted her to have 2 "e's" on the end of her name like "Brynlee". So here she is on her birthday with Miss Moxee Girl. Bryn also was able to invite some friends over for cake and ice cream and show off her new addition to the family. I think it was quite a memorable birthday!

I made chocolate cupcakes with giant chocolate "b's" on them in honor of the birthday girl. Yummy!!!

Lighting and singing!

Sharing:)

Driving home from Sterling with her new puppy!

Meeting sweet Moxee for the first time at the breeder. I think it was love at first sight!

Besties Sleep Over

2010-09-13T12:48:00.000-07:00

"Just Dance" on the Wii!!! So much fun!

Adorable Besties!!!

Brynlee and Kaydra were so excited to have their bestie, Emily, come for visit from Canada this summer. They had a super fun sleep over at Kaydra's house. They did a little b-day party and opened presents from each other. They all wore matching jammies and necklaces. They played "Just Dance" on the Wii and had a complete blast together! Best Friends make the world go round! We miss you Emily!!!!!!!

Brynlee's June Dance Recital

2010-09-13T12:41:00.000-07:00

That's my girl!

Black and white baby!

What a Wonderful little Ballerina!

Brynlee participated in her studio's Dance Recital in June. The theme this year was "Colors". Each of the dances featured a song that had something to do with a color (or two). Bryn was in 3 dances. Her ballet was set to "What a Wonderful World" which talks about "blue skies". She loved performing it. Her jazz routine was a flashy little number to a song called "Think Pink". She had a blast doing it. Her very favorite dance (and the hit of the night!) was the hip hop danced to Michael Jackson's "Black or White". She absolutely loves being on stage and the rush of performing for an audience. Thanks to all of the family and Mr. & Mrs. Grim who came to support her! She can't wait to perform again soon!!!

American Girl

2010-06-02T15:44:00.000-07:00

A brand new (and much awaited for) American Girl Doll store opened in Denver in March. My girlfriend and I decided to surprise our girls and pull them out of school for a very special girls day out. Brynlee and Kaydra are BFF's and had been fantasizing about getting a REAL American Girl Doll (no more knock off's please mom!). The four of us spent the day in Denver and had a good time...except for the fact that there must have been a thousand other mom's who had the same idea that day! LOL! We were definately fighting some American Girl crowds. But in the end the girls each got a dolly that looks like them and will have a lifetime to dress, accessorize and play with them! Brynlee ended up with "Julie" for those of you who are familiar with the American Girls. She has long blonde hair and is the girl who represents the 70's. She's a hippie all right (her daddy just LOVED that! Ha ha!). I hope the girls remember that we did this special thing for them and I know they had a great day!

This is the video of us telling them what was going on. They got up and ready for school that morning but instead of going in the direction of school, I stopped the car in front of her bestie's house. Poor Bryn had no clue what was going on! The video is a little funny...I think they were just super caught off guard by it all! Maybe Amber and I were just more excited than they were to begin with. Either way...it turned out to be a blast!!!

P.S. I was VERY disappointed (but not surprised) to find that the "American Girl Doll" is made in China. Just so you know.

Easter 2010

2010-04-05T14:18:00.000-07:00

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter with your loved ones. Here's some serious documentation of our day...

The kids piled in the hallway before going to see what the easter Bunny brought them.

The bunny loot.

Dad playing with Kye's basket loot.

Where does she get all that attitude????

My daddy taking a pic of me taking a pic of him taking a pic of me.

P.S. His hat is a riot! He got it at the senior PGA shop in Texas. Gotta love the mop of grey hair attached to it!!!

Stopping for one second so I could snap a pic of her that wasn't a blur from running to find eggs!

My boy.

Jon (Mary's beau) helping little Brynlee get an egg out of a high branch. Thanks Jon.

Seriously?! He is rediculously gorgeous!

My boys. Oh I dig them!

Cousins. So nice to be together.

Gma and Gpa with most of their grandkids.

Court and Steve and their kiddos.

Mi Familia.

I love my man.

My sweet babies. Even though they keep getting older, I can't stop calling them my babies.

Mary and Jon.

Mary and Jon again. To be continued.....

We had to take a "sisters" pic. The funny thing about us is that none of us really look alike. We are all so different, maybe that's why we blend well together...we all bring something different.

Melody's Blessing Day

2010-04-05T14:02:00.001-07:00

It was wonderful to have Melody's Blessing at Grandma and Grandpa Petty's house. Steph's family was able to make it in from Idaho and Utah and we had a great time visiting with everyone. Melody looked gorgeous in her blessing gown and her daddy gave her a very sweet little blessing. We took tons of pix and had lunch afterwards. I love family gatherings!!!!

Me and my man. I try to take pictures of us together whenever opportunities present themselves. I think Bill gets tired of having to pose, but we will be glad we have pictures of us to look back on as we get older. Right?!

My little family trying to keep our eyes open in the blinding sun! ha ha!

Cute little family of 4! You guys are catching up to us quickly!!!!!

The Farmers. We love you guys!

Wow! We look like we're taking over the world! It's nice to know there are so many people in this world who love each other and got each others' backs!!!

The men in Melody's Blessing circle.

The Kreger's in Colorado

2010-04-05T12:27:00.001-07:00

We were thrilled to have Lon and Steph and their precious girlies come visit for 10 days in March. We had a blast doing all sorts of things. The main reason for the trip was for Melody's Blessing, but we also went to Build-A-Bear with eden, went out to the shooting range, went out to dinner and had tonz of fun just visiting and hangin' out. Here are some pix of our time together...
Lon was thrilled to have Steph come shooting. He is a walking billboard for conservatism! LOL! Gotta love the Obama shirt and NRA hat;)

Bryn and Eden getting her new bear dressed.

The new bear getting her 1st bath.

Eden putting her heart inside her stuffed friend.

Daddy helping her "stuff" her bear. So fun!

She found all of Brynlee's little totes and purses, plus the stroller and she's ready to go!

Cousins...Kye and sweet Melody.

Cute with curlers in her hair!

Bathtime cousins Bryn and Eden.

Sweet Melody.

Oh I love that baby girl!

These girls LOVE to be together and Brynlee cries because she misses her sooooo much!

Bubba and his baby girl. He's training her early! Ha ha!

Belated pix from Kyles 12th B-day...

2010-04-05T11:42:00.000-07:00

Kye and his dad after his ordination. So sweet!

Kye and grandpa Petty. We were so glad grandpa could be here for Kyle's special day.

Mmmmmm....he's so cute!

Thrilled about his 12th B-day present...I-pod touch! YES!!!!

Yes...I'm that bad of a mom that the only candle I had in the cabinet was a giant "1"...

Bryn and the boys in front of a hadrosaurus.

Bill's got the whole world on the tip of his finger.

Kye opening a few gifts outside the museum during lunch.

Brynlee, Bailey, Kyle and Bryce at lunch before the museum.

Our sweet Kye-Guy turned 12 on March 18th and I have been a serious blog slacker, but have to take a moment to brag about my amazing kid! I cannot beleive he is already 12 years old! He made honor roll...again...so far his whole middle school career he has made the honor roll. Now he's set the bar pretty high and we EXPECT it of him! LOL! He works so hard and gives his best. He is the kindest, most generous little man, he is our comedian and engineer. He is so special and necessary in our family. He was VERY excited to have uncle Bubba and auntie Steph and the girls in town right before his b-day so we could celebrate with them. He adores having all the family around. We did a little family thing at our house. On his actual b-day, he was on spring break so we let him bring a friend and spent the day down at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. We topped off the day with pizza and cupcakes. The last sunday in March, we were able to ordain Kyle to the Aaronic Priesthood. Next Sunday will be his first one passing the sacrament at church. It makes me have goosebumps to think about it. What a special thing for him to have the priviledge to do. I am grateful for the gospel and for my sweet Kye. My heart swells for him!

Valentine's Day

2010-02-21T15:53:00.000-08:00

We had a "Love"ly Valentine's Day and hope you did too. We started a tradition to have a candle light dinner with our kiddos every year. They love it and look forward to the special occasion. This year we made heart shaped individual pizzas. I also decided to make a caesar salad and made our own croutons in sweet little heart shapes too. They were yummy and adorable. We had Valentine cupcakes for dessert. Soooooooo good!!! The kids woke up on V-day morning to find what the "love bug" (aka: mom and dad) had left for them. Brynlee got some accessories for her Zhu-Zhu pets, a Tinker-Bell book and some candy. The boys had an extra-special treat of tickets to go see their favorite comedian...Brian Regan...live. They were thrilled! They also got a giant Reeces heart to enjoy. We went to the Brian Regan show on Thursday and it was awesome! Brynlee got to have an extra-special night at home with auntie Mary while we went.

My hubby did something sweet for me too for Valentine's day. He got together with the hubby's of our friends and they all made invitations for us wives. We were presented the invitations at the same time, on the same night. They were little boxes with an invite that told us that they were taking us to dinner and told us to RSVP. We also got movie tickets and a gift card to Victoria's Secret (hmmmm...was that for US or for THEM??? LOL!!!) They ended up taking us to the Melting Pot for dinner (YUM!) and they had gotten the coveted reservation for Valentine's way in advance. Way to go guys! We went to the movie and enjoyed the night thoroughly! Gotta love the day of love!

Our New Years Dinner with the Kiddos

2010-01-23T11:00:00.000-08:00

Yummy lettuce wraps.

Our favorite restaurant!

The kids are happy to be having such a treat:)

Mom and her boys. Why does Kyle pull faces in EVERY picture??????

Bill and I started a new tradition last year now that the kids are older and well bahved. The first Monday night of the year we take them to a nice dinner for Family Home Evening. We plan our family goals for the year and have them practice manners and just enjoy each other. We went to P.F. Changs last year and the kids chowed! They LOVED it! We were thinking of trying a hibachi grill this year, but the timing didn't work out with our schedule and the kids really wanted P.F. Changs again...so that's where we ended up. Our list of family goals in 2010 includes:

*Having family scripture study more regularly

*Going camping this summer

*Take turns being charge of Family Home Evenings

*Have a more peaceful home by: being selfless and working together.

*Review the goals to make sure that we are acheiving them

Hopefully we can stick to our goals this year. They are pretty attainable so I think we will be successful:) I love this new tradition and it makes wonderful memories for us each year. After posting these pix...I'm suddenly craving lettuce wraps! YUM!!!!

A Ton of Pix of New Years Eve...

2010-01-23T10:00:00.000-08:00

Some of the kids in one of the rooms playing X Box.

Bryce and Greg "blowing" (instead of "ringing") in the New Year! It was louder than "ringing" would have been for sure! LOL!

Me and my girls...Deb and Stacie, just after midnight. We had been to the pool and been lounging out, hence the slugged out look! Ha ha!

Deb, Jay and Ileigh Padilla.

My babies on New Years Eve. I adore them.

Kissing at midnight.

Stacie trying to get us to guess who she was acting out.

Matt actig like...a duck?????

Padilla egging us on in our guesses at his charades. Ha ha!!!

***We had a complete blast on New Years Eve this year. Us and some friends rented a block of hotel rooms at the Embassy Suites in Denver. We just hung out all night together. The guys and kids played X Boxes hooked up in various rooms. We took the kids to the pool and swam. We played hilarious games...and I do mean hilarious! At midnight we blew horns and popped poppers and sprayed silly string. We drank some sparkling ciders and ushered in 2010. By the time we all went to bed, we were exhausted, but we had such a blast...it was completely worth it! The hotel served an amazing breakfast the next morning and we all went home to squeeze in a much needed nap. Hoping for an amazing 2010!!!!

Our intense game of charades...too much fun!!!

Ileiegh, Kye and AJ just hanging out.

Ileigh and Brynlee in the pool.

The kiddos hangin' out in the hallway and overlooking the hotel courtyard. I think we were on the 11th floor. It was pretty high up!

Belated Christmas Pix

2010-01-13T13:27:00.000-08:00

The kids waiting to see their loot on Christmas morning...

Brynlee with bows on her head and a bike under foot:)

Yay! Santa knows what I want! Cold, hard cash!!!

The boys digging thru their santa loot!

Bryce opening a present from Auntie Julie, uncle Scottie and Christina.

The only thing Bryn asked for this year...her dolly.

Thanks Auntie Julie, Scottie and Christina!

Kye opening his phone. He couldn't believe that we broke down and got him one. (Don't mind me in the background there...remember...Christmas MORNING! Lol!)

Brynlee and I in our ADORABLE matching aprons from Grandma Petty. So cute!

***We had a really mellow, beautiful Christmas. It's so nice having older kids that don't wake up at the crack of dawn. They take their time with presents and have patience to watch OTHER people open presents. We really enjoyed the day. The kids made out like bandits (as always!) and they have come to appreciate the true meaning of the season.

HaPpY HoLiDaYs!

2009-12-26T20:00:00.000-08:00

Hope Your Christmas was...
...and hope the New Year brings you all wonderful new adventures!

Love,
The Richardson Family

My Amazing Kye!

2009-11-21T11:58:00.000-08:00

My sweet Kyle came home from school yesterday with 2 awards. We knew he had made the A/B Honor role, but he was also awarded "Student of the Trimester"! The school had an assembly where they handed out these awards and apparently he was nominated for this award by the teachers, principal and staff. What an acomplishment! We could not be more proud of him! For those of you who do not know, Kyle struggles with profound dyslexia and dysgraphia. One is difficulty with reading and the other is difficulty with writing. I have been doing a ton of research about both of these learning difficulties and it is amazing how the brain works differently for everyone. Kye has a mountain of support at school from the staff, but it was told to me at his conference that he is the most pro-active learner these teachers have ever seen. They refuse to take any credit in his success. It brought tears to my eyes to read the comments from all of his teachers this past trimester. They adore Kyle (who doesn't!!???) and he is becoming successful by his work ethic, desire to succeed and the many tools he has access to. It makes me swell with pride for him. He is proof that if you work hard at anything...you CAN succeed. Great work kiddo! Congratulations!!!!!!!

Pumpkin Patch and Halloween

2009-11-03T15:20:00.001-08:00

Holidays at the Richardson house are certainly mellowing as the kids get older. We had a "low key" halloween. Bryce spent the weekend at my parents so he could hang out with the NOCOFOCOMOPO (translation...North Colorado, Ft. Collins, Mormon Posse! Ha ha!) He dressed up as a blue crayon along with a large group of teens who were other colored crayons. He had a good time and came home with huge amounts of sugar. Kye spent halloween night at a friends house and dressed up as a "smartie pants". He had a blast with the guys and had a bit of a sugar crash when he got home the next day. Brynlee is at an absolute loss when her brothers are gone. She had her school party where she got to wear her doctor costume. We did the traditional trunk-or-treat at church and then she trick-or-treated the neighborhood with her bff, Kaydra. She came home, bathed and watched the new Tinker Bell movie with her dad and I until she fell asleep. I could get used to "low key" holidays!

We enjoyed the pumpkin patch this year and got a few good pix. Bryn and Bill put together a "Mrs. Potato Head" pumpkin and it was too cute!!! Now we just need a "Mr. Potato Head"!

Brynlee and BFF Kaydra at the Trunk-or-Treat.

At the school costume parade.

Mr. Smartie Pants...appropriate!

Those are some cute kids!!!!

Our fam.

She poses like a gap model! Ha ha!

His eyes slay me!

Oh my handsome teenage son! (Sorry...I think my kids are super adorable!)

More gap model pose-age:)

Gorgeous...enough said.

Another Lost Tooth

2009-10-23T10:04:00.000-07:00

My beautiful little girl is entering the dreaded "ugly duckling" phase. I still think she's adorable, but the gaping holes in her smile are increasing exponentially. In come the oversized, often crooked and mis-shapen adult teeth in her little tiny mouth. She gets sooooo excited every time a new tooth starts to wiggle. She looks forward to showing her teacher the new emptiness in her mouth and to the dollar under her pillow in the morning from the magical fairy who collects children's teeth. It's so much fun for the kiddos, but for the mommy...*sigh*...I miss her full set of chompers.

Hawaiian Day at School...

2009-10-23T09:51:00.000-07:00

I have been such a "Blog Slacker" lately! The kids had homecoming week at their school a few weeks ago and one of the themed days was Hawaiian Day. Brynlee looked like a real little hula girl (with the exception of the jeans and long sleeved shirt! Ha ha!) and Kyle, my little comedian, was a real ham. He decided that he was going to wear a coconut bra to school with a grass skirt. It was a hit! He cracks me up! The kids really had fun going all out on this one. They also had a dressy day, spirit day where they wore the school colors of blue, white and grey, and they had a sports day too. It's kinda fun to have all my kids at the same K-12 school where even the elementary and middle school kids get to participate in things like homecoming.

My goof ball!

Hula Bryn.

Belated Pix of Bryce's 15th Birthday...

2009-10-22T19:54:00.000-07:00

Mary and the roomies.

Bryce blowing out his funfetti cupcake.

The new BYU I hat from auntie Mary;.

I have been terrible about updating lately. I will try to do a little better. My son turned 15...yes...15....on October 11th. I'm still in shock:) We had a "low key" year for his b-day this time. We just hung out, did presents, went to Old Chicago for pizza and the traditional room decorating (in this case it was the downstairs living room because that's where he fell asleep...ha ha). My sister, Mary (who is at BYU Idaho) and the majority of her roomates came down to suprise Bryce for his b-day. They got stuck in a snowstorm in Wyoming, but made it safe and sound and joined us at Old C's for pizza. It was really fun to watch everyone's suprised faces when she walked in:) I hope he enjoyed his day. He is busy with high school, seminary and the teachers quorum at church. What a guy. We treasure him.

My Husband-"The Extremist"

2009-10-08T15:09:00.000-07:00

The inside of the mansion tent.

This isn't even fully set up...the chimney isn't in this shot...believe me it adds to the whole concept of "extremism"! It felt like a scene from M.A.S.H. in my yard!

Setting up the mansion.

A peek inside one of our 3 very full freezers. Wow!

Our farm tomatoes ready for blanching.

Homemade salsa. Soooo good:)

Padilla and Bill in between sealing jars.

P.S. That's my kitchen in the background...more pix to come on that:)

Homemade grape jelly. YUM!

The guys canning whole tomatoes.

My Husband..."The Extremist". That would be the new nick name he has inherited through his efforts of food preservation, tent purchasing, ammunition stock-piling, and other overly-preparedness efforts. LOL! It's all in good fun of course, but here are some of the details of my hubby's extreme life...

This summer, the church opened plots at the stake farm to members for community gardening. We went in with 4 families and planted, weeded and harvested 8 100 foot rows of veggies. We planted carrots, onions, peppers, tomatoes, peas, green beans, and jalepenos. Every week we would weed our little brains out and reward the kids with a trip to Dairy Queen afterwards. Finally it was time to harvest and preserve. The goal was a year supply for each of the 4 families. The guys did all the canning, blanching and freezing...the ladies went to movies and shopping! Have we got it good or what???!!!! Turns out the guys REALLY enjoy food preservation. So every weekend for the past 1 1/2 months, my kitchen (or our friends')has been a cannery. They froze the beans, carrots, peas and some peppers. They also went out to the farm and picked truck loads of corn which they shucked, de-silked, blanched and froze and even de-cobbed a bunch. My freezer is SOOOO full!! Then they made tonz of canned salsa, green chile, whole tomatoes and tomato sauce. In the midst of all that, they got at least 40lbs. of grapes from a friend...so they made and canned grape jelly and homemade grape juice. Whew! It makes me tired just thinking about it. Needless to say..our food staorage has had quite the boost this year. I am reaping the rewards of my hubby's extreme behavior:) YUM!

Next on the list of "extremism" would be the tent he bought for hunting season this year. He wanted a military tent that has a stove and chimney and open floor. And he found one. It's HUGE!!! Granted, there are 6 guys going hunting together this year, but still..it took up the entire backyard! I think the neighbors are still talking about the "house" behind our house.

Anyway...I love my husband, the "extremist"...I just wish he would get extreme about things like..shoes...or monthly pedicures! For now I will just settle in with some chips and homemade salsa along with a cup of his grape juice and enjoy the fact that I'm married to a man who takes such good care of us:) Love you babe!!!

A New Favorite Quote by Pres. Monson!

2009-10-04T14:52:00.000-07:00

During the Sunday morning session of General Conference today our prophet gave an awesome talk about service and helping one another. He is such an engaging and motivating speaker and he encouraged me to keep my priorities straight by telling us not to "Get caught up in the thick of thin things". I actually think I'm gonna have a vinyl printed of this quote and put it in my hallway to help us remember to stay focused on things that REALLY matter. I hope you all had a moment during this conference where you were inspired too!

My Next Big Adventure...

2009-09-15T13:03:00.001-07:00

You read it right...I'm off to college! I will be attending school after I drop my kids off at theirs! Crazy! I enrolled in the CNA (certified nurse assisitant) Program where I will be wearing something like this.......

and using tools such as this......

and I'm quite excited! It's a quick program which starts November 9. I will be in the classroom, doing labs and then clinicals. Then I will take the state certification test and hopefully find a little job that I enjoy! I am just getting my "feet wet" with this class and may end up going on into the radiology or nursing program...only time will tell. But for now, I'm excited, nervous and anxious! I'm happy to have something to do during the day that belongs to JUST me (unlike the laundry, dishes, bed-making...you catch my drift! Ha ha!). I'm lucky enough to have a girlfriend go through this course with me too which makes me feel much more comfortable :) (We'll have a blast Shannon!) Wish me luck every one! I'm gonna need it!!!!!!!!!!!

Bryce + Golf = True Love!

2009-09-08T11:31:00.000-07:00

Bryce in his Team polo, hat and carrying his team bag.

My boy.

S-W-I-N-G golfer, golfer, SWING!

Bryce started high school this year and his sport of choice is golf. His high school, being a small charter school, doesn't have their own team, so he is playing for another local high school in town called Northridge. He is the only freshman on his team and the only one from another school, so it can be a little intimidating, but he is really enjoying it. The other night our family went out to the driving range for Family Home Evening and everyone hit golf balls (except me...I was taking pix! Ha ha!). It was fun to watch Bryce since his sport isn't one where you go to a game for an hour or two and watch. We mostly drop him off at the course and then hear all about it when we pick him up. It's been a neat opportunity for him and I think he's learning a lot and improving his game with all the time he spends on the course. He is there almost daily. He really enjoys his coach and has gotten to know pretty much all the guys who work at his course, which is fun for him. The season is pretty quick here with the changing weather, so he'll be wrapping up the end of this month.

Soccer Season Is Here Again!

2009-09-08T11:09:00.000-07:00

Our little "goalie girl"!

Hmmmm...which one of those girls is BRYNLEE? Lol!

Brynlee, teamate, and Kaydra:)

Brynlee just started fall soccer and had her first game on Saturday. She loves soccer but it's especially fun because she gets to play with her BFF, Kaydra. A big bonus this year is that Kaydra's daddy is the team coach. He does an amazing job with the kids and they LOVE him! The girls are now 6 years old which means we've moved up to a new league where teams are all girls and the fields and goals are much bigger, not to mention the games are little bit longer. Their game last weekend was actually kind of "intense". They lost 2-5, but I'm sure they will have a nice, big come-back now that they know what to expect. Bryn had the opportunity for the first time to play goalie and I was amazed at how well she did. She hasn't ever played positions before and when he put her in, I wasn't sure she would even know what to do, but she protected her goal with all her little might! It was super cute!

The New Dan Brown Novel Is Coming Soon! Yay!

2009-08-25T09:55:00.001-07:00

And They're Off...

2009-08-20T08:07:00.001-07:00

...to school that is! Today marked the first day of school for my kiddos. It's a BIG year for each of them. Bryce started high school...can you believe that?!!! Our sweet Kye started middle school (6th grade) and Brynlee began 1st grade. So many emotions are blowing thru me today. Bryce has a lot on his plate strating this year and it's not gonna let up till he graduates. He started early morning seminary too which means he gets up at 5:15am everyday to attend a church class where he has reading assignments daily. Then he starts school at 7:35 and then goes straight to golf practice for a couple of hours. Then he'll have to squeeze in homework and try to get some sleep then do it all over again the next day. Whew! I know we all survived it, but I still pray that he will be able to juggle it all and be successful. Poor Kyle has been so worried about handling middle school. He is nervous about finding all of his classes at the right times. He is worried about remembering and being able to work his locker combination. He is also concerned about the work load which he is anticipating to be too much. I know he will feel better after the first day and I keep reminding him that he is not alone...everyone feels nervous at the beginning of middle school. And then there is Brynlee who is excited and anticipating tonz of fun in first grade. Her teacher is super cute and her classroom seems comfortable. Today she will eat lunch at school for the first time (and I will eat lunch alone...sad!). I keep thinking about them and wondering how and what they are doing. I can't wait until 3:10 when I can pick their little brains about their day.

Any of you with older boys may know what I'm talking about when I say "good luck getting a first day of school picture!" I had to sneak a shot of Bryce in the car on the way to school and then as he was walking into the building. Kye had the same attitude about taking pix at school. Bryn is a supermodel (or so she thinks!) so she will pose like a princess whenever I want. That would be why there are more pix of her than of those pesky boys;)

Sneak shot of Bryce on his way to high school. *Sniff, Sniff*

There he goes...

My Kye getting up the nerves to handle his day. He'll do great!

Somebody is excited for school at least!

There goes my baby...

She is one cute little 1st grader!

In she goes to her classroom with Mrs Grim. *Sniff, Sniff*

Introducing Christina!

2009-08-11T16:13:00.000-07:00

I am sooooooo excited to officially introduce you to the newest (and possibly most awaited) member of the Richardson side of our family....Baby Christina Eileen Sosnowski. Bill's sis, Julie and her hubby, Scott, have been going through the adoption process for 4 long years. It's had it many ups and downs, but it's all finally worth it. They traveled to China in July to get their sweet
new daughter. They were in China for 2 weeks and then got back home to settle in to being a family. We were DYING to meet her so our little fam took a quick weekend trip to welcome her to the family. It was so wonderful to meet her. She is 1 year old and sweet as sugar. She let us each hold and love on her and we enjoyed every minute of it. She actually turned one just a couple of days before Julie and Scott got her, so they had a little party for her while we were there. We are thrilled to have her as a niece and cousin and we love her sooooooooo very much! Congratulations to Julie and Scott!!!!!!!!!!

WARNING!!!!! Lots of pix to follow:

Bryce and cousin Christina

Our sweet new addition

Me and my lucious new niece!

Bryce giving her a bottle....sweet!

Uncle Billy and baby Christina

Oh what a cutie pie!

Girlie cousins:)

LOVE this pic of these two...such beautiful children!

She seemed to really LOVE her blue boucy ball:)

Birthday cake face!

Our Richardson side quick family pic.

Grandpa R and all his grandbabies!

Family Visit

2009-08-07T08:21:00.000-07:00

Aunt Sue walking with my kiddos...so cute:)

Grandpa and Brynlee at the zoo.

My babies at the zoo.

Our fam in front of a giant elephant cut-out at the zoo...ha ha!

Grandpa and the kids:)

Kisses!

Cousins Sherry, Bill and Kathy

In Rocky Mountain National Park.

Our fam in one of our favorite places.

grandpa and his grandbabies:)

I haven't been very good about blogging lately, but I definately needed to post about the trip that Bill's dad and aunt Sue and aunt Kathy made to visit us in July. They made the loooong drive all the way from Ohio and Michigan to see us. (That's Love!)We are sooooo thrilled they came all the way out to Colorado to spend some quality time with our family. We had a blast! We enjoyed a trip to Estes and Rocky Mountain National Park, to the Zoo and to Cousin Sherry Fellers house in Evergreen Colorado. We cherish our time together and it makes us wish we lived closer so that we could do it more often! Love you guys!

Brynlee's 6th Birthday Weekend!

2009-07-14T19:43:00.000-07:00

Our baby girl turned six last Friday. I can't believe she's getting so big! So she woke up on her special day to a room decorated with balloons and streamers. We spent the afternoon at the pool with her cousins and had a ball. Grandpa Petty had surgery on her b-day too, which made her really upset. She was worried about him. So after swimming we popped over to the hospital to see him and I think she felt much better after seeing that he was doing so well. On our way home from the hospital, she decided she wanted to have dinner at "a birthday resteraunt that sings you a song and gives you a treat". So...Red Robin it was! She enjoyed her dinner with the fam, cousin Brielle and Brett and Brittany and baby Calan. The three things she wanted for her b-day were...an i-pod, a puppy, and a pink mustang (that she could actually drive!). Is she only 6???? So, we fulfilled the i-pod dream. She's pretty excited about it too! Kyle got her a little stuffed puppy. Not quite what she ordered, but she loved it just the same. And Brett and Britt topped of her b-day wish list with a pink Barbie mustang. It was pretty cute! On Saturday morning, she had a party at the Build-a-Bear Workshop with a few of her friends. The kids had a great time. Then, like clock work, Sunday morning she woke up with her 1st loose tooth. She turns 6 and the teeth start falling out! Jason Padilla is the master of tooth-pullage, so she entrusted her little mouth to him amd sure enough, on the first try the darn thing popped right out...the same day that she noticed it was loose! So it was the perfect end to a perfect birthday weekend!

Waking up in her "party room"!

Party time!

Birthday swimming!

Grandpa Petty on his surgery day and Brynlee's birthday.

Getting her b-day song at Red Robin.

Build-a-Bear birthday party! FUN!

My attempt to make my daughter some summery birthday cupcakes. They were tasty!

Jason Padilla rippin' my daughters tooth out of her head....

Ta-da! She is down one tooth and many more to go!

Dance Recital

2009-06-25T18:04:00.001-07:00

That's my daughter on her head:)

The "doctors".

On her head again...she's got the "moves"!

My "Supermodel".

In her "Supermodel" attire.

The "mommy" ballerinas. Sooooo adorable:)

Dancing "mommies".

Bryn dancing with her "baby".

Kyle and Avery with their hip hop crew...they're "Firefighters".

Two of my 3 children and 2 of my 3 nieces were in a dance recital this June. It was tonz of fun getting to do rehearsal together and performing together too! This year the theme for the recital was..."When I Grow Up..." Each dance was about occupation or personality. It was really cute! Kye was in an awesome firefighter hip hop. Bryn did triple time and performed a beautiful ballet to Josh Groban's "You Raise Me Up" (which made me cry every time I saw it!) and the girls were Mommies in that one. She was also in a "Supermodel" dance for her Jazz/Poms class. And last but not least, she performed an adorable hip hop as a doctor wearing cute blue scrubs. This group danced to Alvin and the Chipmunks "Witch Doctor". I got most of the dances on video, so I'll post those if you wanna check them out. My niece, Avery, was in the firefighter dance with Kyle and my other niece, Brielle, did a cute Dentist dance. Recital is a crazy night, but we LOVE it all the same!

Two-Wheel Rider...

2009-05-27T16:53:00.000-07:00

My daughter cracks me up. She decided yesterday that she wants to learn to ride a two wheeler, so she talks her brother, Kyle, into talking off her training wheels. I know that all of this is going on, but I am up to my eyeballs in to-do's so I just let the two of them do their thing. Next thing Iknow, Bryn is zippin' up and down the cul-de-sac. She can even do curbs and everything! I went out with Bill last night when she wanted to show her daddy her new trick and took some pix. Bill and I couldn't stop laughing! It's actually funny, but neither of us has taught any of our children to ride a two wheeler. Our nanny, Jill, taught Bryce. Bryce taught Kye and now Kye has taught Bryn. Just another little milestone in the daily life of the Richardson's:) Guess what she wants to do now EVERY second of EVERY day?!!!!

Cute Sign!

2009-05-19T09:34:00.000-07:00

This is video of Brynlee doing a sign version of Brown Bear, Brown Bear with her Kindergarten class at "Mother's Day Tea". It was soooo cute! I love that they learn sign at school:) I never cease to be impressed with what kids can learn! Bryn has friends Lexie and Shane on either side of her in this video. Love it!!!!

Hole in One!

2009-05-19T08:33:00.000-07:00

Bryce got his first Hole In One yesterday afternoon at Boomerang Golf Course! He is riding the high! It was on hole 3. He hit a pitching wedge on a par 3. It was 139 yard hole and he was playing with a couple of guys from school...so there were witnesses! He is the youngest player to get his name up on the "Hole in One" board at the clubhouse. He marked his ball with a sharpie that says the date, his age and "hole in one" on it. I'm sure it will be one of his life long treasures! It's unbelivable! He parred his first hole at age 3...now a hole in one at age 14...Maybe we have a Tiger on our hands here! CONGRATULATIONS BRYCE!

He is out playing as much as he can this summer so that he can keep his game up to "par" (pun intended!) for high school team try outs. Go Bryce!!!!!!!!

At the Park...

2009-05-07T14:00:00.000-07:00

Bryn had a Friday off of school not too long ago, so on a whim, my sis and I planned to have a picnic at the park with our kiddos. It was GORGEOUS outside and the kids loved being out in the sunshine together. We played on the swings, did a little hop-scotch and blew bubbles! Pretty much a perfect Spring day off of school if you ask me!

Bryn's Dance Competition

2009-04-20T09:03:00.000-07:00

The "Fabulous" Girls!

Auntie Mary came to watch...Love you Mar!!!

Grandma too...Love Grandma! Thanks for coming to support me!

Coach Amber talking to her girls.

Ah...they are sooooo cute!!!!

Brynlee had a little dance competition in Denver last weekend with her Jazz/Poms class. They performed it at last years recital and it was all the rage, so we decided to give them the opportunity and experience of competing. They absolutely LOVED performing for the judges and asked if they could do it again after they were done. They are such a great group of girls! They have been friends and have danced together for almost 4 years. This dance was to "Fabulous" from High School Musical 2. They had bath poufs for their poms and they loved wearing their super sparkly cute costumes. In the end, they enjoyed the competition. They basically got 3rd place (it's a wierd scoring system...they were "Emeralds"), but they got the experience and want to try again. Not bad for as little as they are and it being their first one:) This years recital will bring a whole gammet of new dances. I've seen the practices and they are ADORABLE! Can't wait to see them on stage:)

Easter Pix...

2009-04-20T08:34:00.000-07:00

I finally can post pix again...Yay! Here's some of our Easter Shots :)

An Easter Story...

2009-04-14T10:17:00.000-07:00

I feel like this should be part 2 of a "Series of Unfortunate Events" about holidays at the Richardson's. I don't know what my kids have against holidays, but one of them ALWAYS seems to get sick on them. Don't worry, we don't have any video of vomit this time, but poor little Bryn was sick again! She was fevering and had a horrible cough. I had been sick and lost my voice, Kyle was complaining of tummy trouble...we were a little bit of a mess. But it all turned out all right. We opened easter Baskets while Bryn took a few breaks to just lay down. Then we bailed on our 9am church and stuffed Bryn with some Motrin and all went back to bed for some much needed relaxing. Everyone felt much better and so we dressed up and went to my sisters ward to take the sacrament on Easter Sunday and hear Courtney give her talk on "The Resurrection". She did a great job (of course!). Then we headed over to my parents for the egg hunt with cousins and a lovely dinner. It started off rough, but ended well. The weather was a little on the cool side for spring attire, but we braved the outdoor egg hunt anyway! Bryn is still fighting her bug, and we hope she gets better soon. Hope you all had a wonderful Easter!

P.S. My pictures won't post...still working on "why". Will post when the darn site will let me:)

Bows and Arrows...

2009-04-14T10:10:00.000-07:00

Our Kyle has been enjoying an archery class at the Rec Center the past month. He loves to shoot at targets:) It's been a good class and he may end up taking it again because it was tons of fun. They let the kids shoot at targets with ballons on them so they can pop them with their arrows. Kyle LOVES this kind of recreation sport. He looks so cool making his shots:)

My Sweet, New Niece...

2009-04-08T09:57:00.000-07:00

I've been absolutely DYING to share this on my blog!!! I finally figured out how to get these pix all transferred over. This is my beautiful new niece, Christina. Bill's sis, Julie, and her hubby, Scott, have been going thru the adoption process for about 3 long years now and we just got word on Friday that there is this sweet little "China Doll" (as grandpa Richardson calls her) waiting for her mommy and daddy to come and get her in a little over a month. There were lots of tears and cheers and hoo-rahs with that call last week. We are soooo grateful that this precious little girl will be joining our family!!! She is 9 months old, born July 8th of last year. Scott and Julie are preparing for parenthood (you two are gonna be AMAZING parents!) and for a 2 week trip to China in June. Can't wait to finally meet her in person! WELCOME Baby Christina!!! We LOVE you!!!!

Sisters...

2009-04-08T09:47:00.000-07:00

Lets start by being VERY clear...each and every one of us hates this picture for some reason or another! We had a very long and detailed cyber conversation about it on Facebook. However, I did want to post it because it reminds me how lucky I am to have so many beautiful, wonderful, funny, loving, talented and all around AMAZING sisters! I love you girls!!!! Next time we are all together we will caputure a, shall we say, more practiced, flattering pic of us?!

Steph and Eden's Trip to Colorado...

2009-04-08T09:31:00.001-07:00

I FINALLY got my pix loaded onto my computer after having some difficulty with my sd card drive. (Thanks Brett!) So, even though this already feels like it was FOREVER ago...here are some pix of precious baby Eden with my kiddos on their trip out here last month...

2009-03-24T09:24:00.000-07:00

Pay it Forward

Good luck!-

The Rules-
1. Be one of the first FIVE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me - something crafty or yummy, who knows?!

2. Winners must post this challenge on their blog, meaning that they will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift -anything!- for the first FIVE bloggers who leave a comment on their post about this giveaway!

3. The gift that you send to your friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought That Count!

4. When you receive your gift, please feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate pictures and comments! If you are not one of the Top Five Commenters on this post, you can still play along.Go ahead and start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same! SO, REMEMBER…Pay it forward!I do have the comment moderation turned on... so please make sure you leave me your address in case I don't already know it! This should be fun!!!

*Thanks Rachel:)

Phantom, Friends and a Factory...

2009-03-22T18:36:00.000-07:00

Me and My Man at the theater!

The girls!

Cheesecake factory! Yum!

jason...happy b-day!

he looks good, huh?! LOL!

We had the joy of going to see the Phantom of the Opera last night at the Buell Theater in Denver. Oh is it good! My girlfriends and I all got tickets for our hubbies for Christmas. I had seen it before, but Bill hadn't. He LOVES our HD DVD of it though, sooooo I thought he would really love the stage version. It's impossible NOT to! It delivered, as always. Afterwards, we hit the 16th Mall in Denver and enjoyed a long meal at the Cheesecake Factory. Today is our friend, Jason Padilla's 35th B-day (happy birthday Jay!) so we went to their house and gave him our b-day gift. We have a tradition of getting each other "gag-gifts" for b-days, so, naturally he was a little scared about what it could possibly be this year! He is one of our favorite cooks in the world, so naturally we decided that an apron would be appropriate...this is what we found. Hilarious! We had a great time last night with the friends, food and entertainment.

Happy 11th B-Day Kyle!

2009-03-18T13:28:00.000-07:00

What would I do without my wonderful Kyle? I can't even begin to imagine. He is my sweet, golden-hearted, easy-going, fabulously adorable, kind and good boy:) Today he is 11 years old. I can't believe that he has become such a young man already. I know I just blogged about him, but I really can't say enough about how lucky we are to have him right smack dab in the middle of our family. WE LOVE YOU KYE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My Sweet Kye

2009-03-11T07:53:00.000-07:00

I LOVE going to Kyle's parent-teacher conferences! I always leave completely smitten by my sweet boy! For those of you who don't know, Kyle has struggled with severe dyslexia and recall disablities in reading and writing. He has a great staff who work with him at school and we have even hired outside tutors for him, but he will never completely overcome it. He just has to learn some tools to work with it. He is such a trooper though. He is genious in other areas like science and art. He designs the most incredible things in his mind! He also remembers verbal information like nobody's business. So his strengths out-weigh his difficulties by far. The thing I love about conferences is that I get to hear what other's perspectives are about my son. I am told that he is an amazing person...he is incredibly kind to ALL whom he comes into contact with. He is apparently always on task. How often do you hear that about a BOY? Mr. Hurt, his 5th grade teacher, says he is a very hard worker and does his very best at everything he tries. He would rather be right at answering a question than getting it answered first in the class. I love that about Kyle. He WANTS to succeed, and because he wants it, he does succeed! His grades were fantastic despite his reading hurdles. All A's and B's! What a guy!!! Ms. Bonnie, who helps Kyle at school, is wonderful and helps make it all possible. She mentioned to me that they are going to look at having Kyle use a computer that he can talk into that will type what he is saying for next year (middle school) so he won't have to spend so much time doing the actual writing. Writing is so time consuming and painstaking for him. He is becoming quite the typer though. I am so grateful for the technology and people who are such great resources for my sweet Kye. Thanks everyone for supporting my great Kid! I Love you Kye!!!!! Great job kiddo!

Still Struggling with Paint....

2009-02-24T12:45:00.000-08:00

My madness...

All my paint samples...

I don't know what color to paint my house! I am so afraid to commit to anything. I've spent $23 on paint samples...glad I did because they look WAY different on the wall than on the paint chips. I can't even tell you how much this is stressing me out. I actually need to decide on the main color and then I need to add 2 accent colors in the same family. I really like the monochramatic look, but it's tougher to get than I thought! Here's a pic of my "sample wall"...all of the letters above the colors represent the names of the colors...English Tan, Gobi Desert, Desert Fortress, Coconut Milk and Antique. They are way darker...or way lighter...on the wall than on the chip. It's terrifying. I guess I'll be settling on something this week, and believe me, I will let you know what it is!

My Kiddos

2009-02-24T12:36:00.000-08:00

Playing Chess is a favorite game around here lately. Notice the multi-tasking...Brynlee eating a cheese-stick, Kyle playing legos AND chess...they crack me up!

My boy

Love this face!

Springs in her feet!

The kids have been such troopers thru the madness of the home projects we've been focused on. I had my camera out the other day and captured them just hangin' out and being themselves. I love my sweet babies:) Thanks, kids, for hangin' in there through your parents' constant need for home improvement!

What a Sweetie!

2009-02-24T12:27:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday Bill and I were laying in bed after church and just vegging out. After all it has been a little exhausting around here with the house projects...and we had both caught colds to boot. The kids all came in and wanted to play. Bryn wanted daddy to come jump on the tramp with her (after all it was a gorgeous day outside). We responded to the kids by telling them that we just wanted (needed) to rest. Bill told Brynlee that he couldn't jump on the tramp cause he wasn't feeling very well. I began to ask the kids why they can't just wait on us like we do for them when they are sick and tired...clean up, make food and serve it to us bed???? At this point Brynlee disappeared. When she returned, she brought with her this pepperoni and mustard sandwich (YUCK!) on one of her special zoo pals plates for her "sick and tired" daddy. It was so cute!!! We laughed and hugged her to bits and pieces:) It's times like those that make the tough job of parenting all worth it.

Vegas Valentines Baby!!!

2009-02-24T12:04:00.000-08:00

Matt and Space...I mean Stacie;)

My man and his "show girl"

Deb and Jay

Our idea of a "Vegas" dining area at the "Kelly Casino"

Our very creative and cute invitation:)

This past Valentine's Day was yet another themed dinner night with our good friends. For those of you who saw my blog when I first started it last year, you may remember that my girlfriends and I planned a "Little Black Dress Event" for our hubbies which included formal invitations, black dresses, a fondue dinner, etc. It was such a blast that we decided to make it a tradition to plan something fun together every year for V-Day. This year we went with a "Vegas" theme. We made cute invites, decorated with lights and (tried) to dress like "show girls". We had a "buffet" dinner of P.F. Changs take out (YUMMM!) and cheesecake for dessert, and watched "What Happens in Vegas"...which was actually a really great movie surprisingly.We also made (virgin) margaritas and had a blast! Here's some documentation of our night.

P.S. The girls all wore these REALLY long and Sparkly eyelashes...it was fun, but they drove us nuts!!!!

Tan????

2009-02-13T16:03:00.000-08:00

Picking paint seems like fun until you come to terms with the fact that there is no such thing as TAN...or at least not in the sense that I thought of that color before now. Did you know that ALL tans have either a pink, yellow or green undertone? There is no such thing as a true tan. At the home improvement stores they have paint chip cards that read...yellow-toned neutrals, rose-toned neutrals and green-toned neutrals. Isn't that an oxymoron? Oh neutral...where are you???? I just want a lovely tan interior that doesn't feel like the warm glow of the sun, flower petals or the grass. Picking paint colors is almost as stressful as finishing the hardwood floors. This would be so much easier for me if it was someone else's house!

Change...

2009-02-13T15:58:00.000-08:00

Today...

2 weeks ago....

What a difference stain can make! The house is gonna look completely different when this is done. The maple cabinets come in about a month...so we still have a long haul ahead. But it's good to see progress:)

A Glimpse into My Life...

2009-02-13T15:29:00.000-08:00

The tops of the washer and dryer have become "workspace".

The living room is the "catch-all". Notice the fridge, island, table, trash can, kids play space, etc...

Our box of food for the past 2 weeks..PB&J's anyone????

My carpet pulled back from the project area...watch your feet!

HELP! I've been living like this for 2 weeks! Those of you who know me well can attest to the fact that I REALLY like my space to be organized and clean. The floor project has been a tricky one. Too much sanding, too little sanding, too thick on the top coat, too many bubbles in the top coat...this is a total art people! So here we are (figuring out this art through trial and error) and living in this nightmare! The floor looks pretty good about now (as long as you don't look too closely), but we still have to keep the appliances and furniture off of it for 72 hours after the last coat of polyurethane. The oven and dishwasher have been in the garage, the fridge in the living room along with the old kitchen island and our table. We have been eating out of a box of food in the living room on plastic and paperware. My carpet is pulled up in various locations exposing the spikes that aren't pleasant to step on. There has been dust EVERYWHERE! It's been fun so far:) We are hoping to start the painting next week. Yay! So here is a glimpse into my life lately.

Peanut Cheerleaders

2009-02-04T13:34:00.000-08:00

This is a (long) video of Bryn doing cheers, chants and a dance with the Northridge High School Cheer squad at a varsity basketball half-time. She loves to perform, so this was right up her alley! She still walks around doing her chants at home:) She a girl after my own heart! Soooo Cute!!!! I know the video comes thru a little fuzzy, so just watch the girl with the white tennis skirt and blonde hair in the middle...that's our girl:)

P.S. You may want to scroll to the bottom of the blog and pause the music before you start the video so you can hear it.

Here's the deal with my house...

2009-02-03T16:19:00.000-08:00

We do something kinda major every year to the house during Bill's down season. One year he finished the basement, another he installed tile floors, we've redecorated and painted rooms, etc. It's been great to watch the house "bloom" year after year. This year Bill wanted to refinish the hardwood floors and paint the interior of the house. While those were valiant winter projects, there was one part of the house that was even more deserving in my opinion...the kitchen. When we built this house a little over 8 years ago, the builder had installed the WRONG cabinetry. He put in white-washed oak rather than white. It's always looked "pink" to me and I have LOATHED it from day one. The reason the builder would not rectify the cabinetry is because we already had paid for all of the flooring and lighting in the house ourselves, not to mention that Bill actually had installed the hardwood floors and tiled the kithen island before we moved in. We were pretty locked into buying the house no matter what. (Virgin house builders...we learned A LOT!) So when we decided to refinish the floors, we began to think what better time to replace the kitchen cabinetry...which leads to new countertops...which leads to new tile around the fireplace...which leads to painting and using the old cabinetry to build a kitchenette in the basement ...which leads to painting the kids' bathroom vanity while we've got the paint sprayer and color set up and ready to go. Whew! So here we are...embarking on a very long journey (6-8 weeks...I'll be counting down the days and hours and minutes for sure and blogging it all). I have to keep reminding myself it'll all be worth it when it's done! We ordered our new cabinets in maple...they are gorgeous! The finish is called cognac...yummy:) We are planning on installing granite tile on the countertops with a stone tile backsplash. We will match the tile on the backsplash to the new tile around the fireplace. I'm still in the process of picking out my paint color for the interior. This is all the current plan..it could easily change. But I will be keeping you all posted and be getting my therapy through this HUGE project by posting about it. Wish us luck!

My Kitchen Tuesday Afternoon, Feb. 3, 2009...

2009-02-03T16:15:00.001-08:00

My Kitchen...Monday Morning, Feb, 2009...

2009-02-03T16:11:00.000-08:00

Baptism Weekend for Avery

2009-02-03T16:03:00.000-08:00

My sweet niece, Avery, got baptized this weekend and it was so great to be a part of it. My aunt Robin and cousin Rachel and her cute daughter, Haylee came up from Texas. We absolutely ADORE them...so it was a blast to see them. We stayed up all hours of the night just visiting. These are some of the pix of the baptism day.

Kyle's After School Snack...

2009-01-25T19:44:00.000-08:00

I took these pix after school last week when Kyle came home with the munchies. He cracks me up! He put together this lovely appetizer tray and sat down at the table to scarf. He ended up having to share because it looked so formal and appetizing to the rest of us! Kyle is GREAT in the kitchen...just like his daddy. If any of you have girls about his age...I'm just gonna telll you to watch out for my son...he's gonna be a catch with these kitchen skills of his!

Christmas Decor

2009-01-14T15:02:00.000-08:00

Okay...so I blogged earlier about how I have a hard time putting out my Christmas decorations. I think it's because I know that I eventually have to take them back down again. (For me that means the day or two after Christmas.) But there is one thing that I have a hard time parting with..my display of Christmas cards and newsletters from family and friends. Yes people...I still have some signs of Christmas in my house! I always hang cards and letters on the back of my front door as they arrive. It's fun for people to enjoy when they come over to visit. Plus...it just reminds me of how lucky we are to have soooo many loved ones in our lives. So, before I take them down this week...I thought I'd take a pic. I bet you'll see yours up there if you look!

Black Eyed Peas and Ham Hock

2009-01-14T14:28:00.000-08:00

I know what you're thinking....GROSS!!! But it's actually not that bad. (Or maybe we are just so used to it by now!) It's what we eat on New Years Day every year. My daddy, being from the south, kept this tradition as long ago as I can remember. One year my daddy couldn't make it home for New Years Day for some reason and so my hubby took the job of making this "delicacy" and he's been in chrage ever since. The reason behind the tradition is to eat a humble (and extremely cheap) meal on the first day of the year to remind you of your blessings and to know that if times get bad, you can always stomach black eyed peas and ham hock (and corn bread). We are also supposed to each keep a few uncooked beans all year to bring us luck in the new year. I'll let ya know if it works;) In the mean time, just know that we have a pretty good supply of black eyed peas...if you hit hard times...we'll share!

Happy Holidays

2008-12-27T17:45:00.001-08:00

From the Richardson Family

A (sad) Christmas Story

2008-12-27T15:37:00.000-08:00

Hope you all had a very happy holiday. Ours was a little rusty. Good, but rusty. It all began with the eye surgery I had to repair the tear duct that has been giving me grief for over 4 years. I had to take the opportunity to have the surgery because our HUMONGOUS deductible had been met for the year...so it had to be done by December 31st. So, needless to say, 9 days before Christmas I went in and had my face cut open and the repair done (it better freakin' fix the problem!!!). So I am recovering from surgery and have an incision on my face. Yay! Then Brynlee developed a high fever on Tuesday before Christmas Eve and a "barky" cough. NOT GOOD. We think it was croupe. Yuck! She muscled through it and we alternated advil and tylenol with a cough supressant for a couple of days. On Christmas Eve we had our traditional dinner at my mom's house. We had a good time and Bryn seemed to feel fine as long as she had some drugs in her. All she had asked Santa for Christmas was a 3 story Barbie Dream House, which I COULD NOT locate for the life of me...until 4 days before Christmas. So Christmas Eve, we put the kiddos to bed and started the "Santa duties" which included Bill spending an hour setting up the 3 story Barbie Dream House. When I went to bed at midnight...I was finally excited for Christmas because I knew the kids were gonna be thrilled with their santa loot. The boys came into our room about 1am carrying Bryn and said she wasn't feeling well, so I kept her in bed with us to make sure she was breathing okay (the croupe makes their lungs full of junk and it can get hard to breathe...kinda freaks a mom out!). It was miserable from that point on. I gave Brynlee some Tylenol at about 6am because the fever was back. Those of you with kids know what I'm talking about when I ask...you know that split second before your kids barfs when you know it's coming, but it's not enough of a warning to actually do anything about it??? Well, we got one of those right before Bryn chucked all over the back side of Bill. Merry Christmas daddy! So here we are, bright and early on Christmas morning starting laundry and baths and showers. And so the morning went on. Bill was driving around town Christmas morning trying ot find any store that was open to get some Sprite and saltine crakers and motrin. Finally he found a 7-11 and paid WAY too much for those three items. Brynlee spent the morning in and out of sleep and vomiting. The boys were trying to be sympathetic, but really they wanted to get out into the living room and do what they had been waiting all year to do. Of, course they each made a comment here and there about maybe not getting to do Christmas this year and I, being the stressed out mom that I was, snapped at them and asked them to go find something to do as long as it didn't require them to leave Kyle or Bryn's rooms. (I couldn't have them go into the living room and REALLY wreck our Christmas morning!) So they went to Kye's room. When I checked on them they told me they said a prayer for Bryn (I'm sure for the salvation of their Christmases too!) and had made her a "get well" card. Finally around 9:30am, Bryn woke up and decided that she wanted to go see what santa had left her, but that she needed daddy to carry her. So I got the video camera rolling and filmed as the boys walked in and started their "Oh wow's" and their "Cool's". Daddy walked, with Bryn in his arms, towards the much saught after 3 story Barbie dream House and just as he did.......Bryn starts vomiting again. On video. To make things even better, we happen to be dog sitting for some friends...a cute little maltese puppy named Fenway. He positioned himself right under the barf zone and so now we had to clean the carpet, the dog, and do MORE laundry. I'm sad that Bryn's reaction to her Dream House was a major gag, but she spent the rest of the day telling me how much she loved santa for bringing her that house. So...my eye still has stitches, the laundry is finally done, the presents have all been opened and palyed with, and most of all Brynlee is feeling much better. But it was definately a Christmas to remember. Watch our video and keep your eye on Bryn...it's only a split second at the end of the clip where you see her start to lose it. I, of course, turned off the camera and threw it down to go catch barf the minute I realized that's what was going on. Anyway...go ahead and laugh...we couldn't help it when we watched it either! I think we might win the craziest Christmas prize this year. What do you think???? Hope all of yours were wonderful and much less eventful than ours!

Daddy/Mommy Daughter Date...

2008-12-27T15:30:00.000-08:00

Bill was a very good sport and took his girls to see yet another ballet...the "Nutcracker", right before Christmas. It was fun to get all dressed up and go out...just the three of us. Brynlee was so excited for the show that she was counting down the days and telling everyone that she knew that she was going. Her ballet teacher, Mrs. Shana, was one of the directors. Bryn thought it was fun to see her in the program. Thanks for a great date daddy!

A Funny Question from our 5 Year Old...

2008-12-21T15:46:00.000-08:00

Our kiddos know that when we get in the car to run errands...they could be enclosed for a while. So they always prepare for the "journey" by gathering snacks, nintendo DS's and games, i-pods, notebooks, etc. Yesterday, while running the proverbial errands, Kyle offered his little sister a brown sugar cinnamon pop tart in the car. Bryn replied with a question..."Kyle, did you bring a toaster in here?"

I guess no matter how prepared you think you are...you are always without SOMETHING right???

Glitter is the Herpes of Craft Supplies!

2008-12-19T16:22:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I plagerized my blog title from a really funny comedian we saw on T.V. late one night. I can't remember his name...but he was hilarious! It's always the true stuff that's the funniest! My Christmas decor is a little heavy in the glitter department. The garland, ornaments, flowers, ribbons...you name it. I swept my floor the other morning and my pile of dirt looked like fairy dust! It's on the carpet, in the grout of the kitchen island, on the furniture, everywhere! The best is when we go out in public and notice that one of us is glistening on our forehead or in our hair. I'm a little like a goat when it comes to liking shiny things, specifically glitter...but I think I'm getting over it!!!!!! I think we'll be finding glitter in this house until NEXT Christmas!

Snow Fun!

2008-12-04T17:30:00.000-08:00

My kids came home from school and were begging to go play in our fresh 6 inches of fluff. I had to help Brynlee get all bundled up and join her brothers for some freezing fun! The moment just begged for my camera! So here are our first snow pix of the season...

Christmas Decoration #1

2008-12-04T17:20:00.000-08:00

Okay, okay. So I'm NOT that girl who gets all excited about putting up the tree and trimmings in the name of the Christmas season. I have a problem with clutter. I think it may be genetic. Anyway, we typically set up Christmas decorations the weekend after December 10th (my mom's b-day). Then I take everything down the day after Christmas. It keeps me from having to dust around the mangers on display and vaccuum around the tree skirt for too long. Maybe it's a little "scrooge-ish" of me, but I can't help it. Not that I don't like my Christmas decor, but come on people...how long do we gotta celebrate ONE holiday. Anyway, Bill brought our bazillion Christmas boxes home from our shop and they are staring at me from the garage...so I'm beating my usual tradition of waiting till after the 10th, and getting a little jump start. Yay me!! Of course we had to start with Bryn's princess tree in her room. So here it is folks...my Christmas Spirit is slowly,but surely kicking in.

So Thankful...

2008-11-29T19:30:00.001-08:00

I know it's a couple of days post-Thanksgiving, but I've been wanting to publicly post a list of my many blesings, so here goes...

1. My unbelievably wonderful husband and kids, of course.
2. My extended family on all sides...I'm so grateful for you all
3. My wonderful friends who hold a place in my heart right next to the fam
4. Our home that is beautiful, warm and full of lovely things of comfort
5. The business which my hubby has created to support us and keep us happy
6. Our great nation where our freedoms are a gift everyday
7. The men and women and their families who serve to keep our nation free everyday
8. The gospel which makes life simple and beautiful
9. Health and safety
(now the list gets a little frivolous, but here are some of the things I am grateful for everyday)
10. concealer
11. Hot showers/baths
12. DVR's
13. American Eagle sweats
14. great jeans
15. My "hair goddess"
16. chocolate
17. cell phones and all technology in general
18. Facebook and blogs to connect me to loved ones everyday
19. shoes
20. great books
21. cameras and candid shots of my kids
22. sunshine
23. paper crafts
24. windex, magic erasers and lysol antibacterial kitchen cleaner
25. ice water...never leave home without a glass

I'm sure that my list could go on forever, but I'll stop at 25 for now:) I am so grateful for my beautiful life. It's good to have a specific time of year to really count your blessings. I hope that you all took the opprtunity to reflect on the good things surrounding you too. Happy Thanksgiving(-ish)!

Ballet

2008-11-21T10:04:00.000-08:00

We got tickets to go see the BYU ballet company perform at the Union Colony Civic Center on Wednesday evening. I decided to make it a family event and even drag all the boys! We are trying to expose our children to all sorts of arts and entertainment...not just movies and video games:) We all got dressed up and went out for our evening of classical entertainment. It ended up feeling a little long for the boys (big surprise), but they were all good sports...thanks guys. Brynlee thought it was pretty awesome and could even name some of the movements they performed because she has been taking ballet for 3 years herself. It was pretty cute. We topped off the night with a trip to Dairy Queen which ended our family night out just perfectly!

Bryce and his Elk

2008-11-15T11:04:00.001-08:00

Here is a pic of Bryce's first Elk. The shot went right through the animal's lungs and heart so it didn't suffer at all. It was a perfect shot. You gain a profound respect for the circle of life by hunting. I am grateful that Bill has taught our kids to repect animals and nature in hunting. It was a great experience and it's so nice to know that by gardening, canning, and hunting, we can become self sufficient. In addition to all of that, it was a priceless time to spend together for Bill and Bryce. All they had was time and each other's company. That is a treasure too. Anyone for an elk steak???!!!

Hunting Trip Success!

2008-11-14T07:31:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to post a quick update about Bill and Bryce's hunting trip. They have been up in the mountains near Craig, Colorado since Tuesday to hunt during elk season. Bill went to the same place last year and came home empty handed, but he only went for 2 days and it was his first time. This year he took Bryce (who saved up a ton of money to purchase a hunting rifle) for the first time too. This morning Bryce got an elk and shot me text message saying it was big! We are thrilled for him! It makes the cold, wind, sleepless nights in a tent and waiting quietly for hours and hours all worth it. Our freezer is about to be extremely full! Bill has such an interest in food storage and being self-sufficient that this is one more step in that direction. We are very grateful for the opportunity have and store food for our family. Hopefully the guys remembered to get out the camera and take some pix with all of the excitement! I'll post them as soon as I get them! I imagine that they are learning right now how to field dress the animal to get it off the mountain. Luckily they are with a group of somewhat professional hunters who are willing to teach my guys all the ropes! Bryce has such a sharp eye and a steady hand that I'm actually not surprised he was able to get one. I will get all of the fun details and post them as soon as I can.

How to properly dispose of pumpkins after Halloween...

2008-11-09T07:24:00.000-08:00

Our family and some of our friends went out yesterday to the grasslands and had our "2nd annual pumpkin blow out". To prepare for it, I went to Walmart this week and loaded my car with 40 pumpkins. We had great weather,which is a bonus because it is normally pretty cold and windy out there this time of year. There were about 20 of us who attended and participated. We set up the pumpkins filled with tannerite (an explosive powder you mix together and put with whatever you are blowing up and it explodes when a high velocity bullet hits it) so everyone could have a turn. Please enjoy the video.

After the pumpkins were disintegrated, we set up a place for the kids to shoot some of the 22's, then we did a "closest to the bullseye" competition with prizes, and finally some skeet shooting. It was a good time and I think everyone had fun. Gotta love blowing things up!!!!

I Think We May Be In Trouble With This Girl Of Ours...

2008-11-07T08:44:00.000-08:00

Brynlee and I were watching a recorded "Dancing With The Stars" episode while I folded laundry the other day. We love all of the dance shows. On this show, there was a group Cha-Cha where the guys were wearing these silky orange shirts and at one point in the dance their partners ripped open the shirt fronts to expose their (tan and ripped) chests. Brynlee told me that she liked those guys' shirts ripped. I asked her why and she replied..."Because they are sooo handsome!" Hmmmmmm. Maybe no more dance shows for Bryn. She cracks me up and I think we might be in trouble with this girl of ours!

New Prez...

2008-11-05T07:37:00.000-08:00

Well ...we officially belong to an "Obamanation". Lets all pray that our new president does right by the people of this country. Pray, Pray, Pray.

Halloween Happenings...

2008-11-01T10:29:00.000-07:00

My little Mad Scientist!

My little Butterfly Fairy with sparkly eyelashes!

Pumkin Patch loot!

My babies at the pumpkin patch!

This Halloween was pretty mellow around here. We did the costume thing for just Bryn and Kye, I didn't set out Halloween decorations until Halloween night, and it was warm enough outside that the kids didn't even need jackets. Kyle and Brynlee wore their costumes throughout the week for dance classes and school parties. On Halloween night, our good friends, the Padilla's, came over and we made nachos for dinner and the older boys took the little kids trick-or-treating while Bill and Jason canned the last of the tomatoes. It didn't feel like any Halloween I've ever had before...but I liked it:) And from here it's a constant pull towards the most stressful holiday of all! Bring on Christmas!

Recovery...

2008-10-23T07:37:00.001-07:00

Bill's surgery went really well (or as well as can be expected). He was able to come home on Tuesday night and sleep in his own bed...thank goodness! He hasn't liked having to come off the anesthesia, but he's feeling better every hour. He ended up with a massive headache, and a sore throat from being intebated. His nose is a tiny bit swollen, but there is no bruising. I also need to give a shout out to my momma! I thought I would be just fine to stay at the hosital all day alone, but realized as soon as my hubby suited up in the lovely hospital gown and booties, that I was gonna need some company and moral support. I shot a text to my mom and she cleared her calendar for the day and came straight out. I had someone to talk to and pass the time with. It was nice to have her there to eat lunch with too. Thanks mom:) I love you! Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. I truly have felt all of your support for him:) On a funny note...he can taste!!! In the recovery room after waking up from surgery, they gave him some red jello to try and get down so that he could take his pain meds. I was slowly getting little bites of the jello into him and he commented at least 4 times about how "tasty" the jello was. It cracked me up! He has also been breathing through his nose since he came out of surgery. So far I feel like the desired effects from all of this are actually a reality. He is feeling better all of the time and I expect him to be back to normal by next week. I am so thankful that we live in a time when physicians and technology can help us regain our quality of life. I will keep the posts coming when I can. Thanks again for all of the support.

Surgery Day Has Arrived!

2008-10-21T06:39:00.000-07:00

We have been working up to today's surgery for Bill for a long time now. He has something called Samter's Triad which includes severe allergies, nasal polyps and asthma. He has not been able to breathe through his nose in about 10 years. He hasn't been able to smell anything or taste anything either. Today is the surgery to remove the polyps that have all but taken over the inside of his head....it showed on the CT scan that they had even begun to grow through his cheek bone. Yikes! So pray for him this week as tries to get to the other side of this thing! I'll keep the posts coming for updates on how it all went today and how his recovery is going. Thanks and love you all!

Salsa Baby!

2008-10-15T09:35:00.000-07:00

So the tomatoes have reddened up and we went to our favorite chef for a lesson on canning homemade salsa. (Thanks Jason!) We used green bell peppers from our garden too. We blanched the tomatoes, added the remaining ingredients and boiled the goodies together until we put it into jars and completed the canning process. Can I just tell you how delicious it is?! I think that chips and salsa is what we are having FOR dinner tonight! Who needs a main course when you could eat this stuff with a spoon...it's soooo good! I love having food storage from things we have grown ourselves in our own backyard. If you haven't ever thought of planting a garden...consider it! I never in a million years thought I would enjoy such a thing, but what a rewarding and fun experience it is for the whole family. I thought for sure I would kill everything that tried to grow, but look at me now! We still have the red potatoes in the ground, but we'll be harvesting those soon too. Then we'll give the garden a rest until spring when we start again. It's an amazing process.

14 Reasons You Make Me Smile Birthday Boy...

2008-10-10T19:26:00.000-07:00

1. You have soooo many friends because YOU are such a good friend to others.

2. I hear that you are respectful and kind from your teachers and leaders ALL of the time.

3. You remind me of your daddy in so many ways.

4. You adore your baby sister and help me with her everyday.

5. You always seem to notice when others have a need and help them when you can...like the time we were at Baskin Robins and I turned around and you were gone. Come to find out, you saw a woman who worked at the store who was bringing in large boxes and you went to help her unload. So sweet.

6. You are funny. You have a way of delivering one-liners that crack me up!

7. You are an amazing little golfer. I never could imagine that you'd still love that sport after you parred your first hole at the age of 3.

8. You don't complain about doing chores around the house. You seem happy to help me out. You can't imagine how much I appreciate that!

9. You're cute. (I don't care how old you are, you'll always be "cute" to me!)

10. You always tell me I'm right when I'm trying to lecture you about something...and it takes the fight right outta me.

11. You love little kids. It's so fun to watch how you light up a toddlers face by playing with them.

12. You still tell me you love me everytime we say goodbye...even if you're in front of your friends. Good boy! Never stop!

13. You live the standards of the gospel and continue to learn and enjoy the good things it teaches.

14. You are MY sweet son! That always makes me smile:)

I love you my teenager...HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRYCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Super Kick!"

2008-10-10T18:55:00.000-07:00

Hello...airborne soccer player! This is Brynlee post kick! WOW!
Ballerina/soccer girl!
Go baby Go!

Bryn is wrapping up her 3rd season of soccer. She is a riot to watch!!! She has been dubbed "Super Kick" because of her powerful, yet very elegant soccer kicks. I often worry that she is gonna put someone's eye out with her pointed toe and high swingin' leg. She also seems to have some springs in her feet as she is often aloft during the game:) She loves the sport...but she is definately injecting some of her ballet training into it!

When Life Gives You Cucumbers...Make Pickles?!

2008-09-11T15:30:00.000-07:00

Okay, maybe it's not a good life analogy, but it's what happened at our house this year. So... we're still new to this gardening thing and I learned that 1 or 2 cucumber plants are plenty for next years garden. This year I had about 5 or 6 plants and therefore...an overabundance of rather beautiful cucumbers. Luckily we know a guy...Jason Padilla, who actually learned his way around a kitchen from his awesome of a cook mom. He came over and

schooled us on how to make and can dill pickles. I'm a picky dill pickle girl, so I was a bit skeptical that I would even like them, but they turned out amazing! So we have spent the last 3 weekends canning our homemade pickles. Good thing they have a shelf life of about 5 years because we have about 70 jars to eat! We still have cucumbers growing too! Whew! So we've built up our pickle food storage.....time to move onto our massive amounts of tomatoes. They are still in the ripening process, but when they are ready, we'll be back slaving in the kitchen over a hot stove making salsa and canning whole tomatoes. It's nice to see our food storage grow from the food we've grown in our own backyard. Such satisfaction! Come on over for burgers and we'll top 'em with our home grown pickles!!!

Golf Galore!

2008-08-21T19:39:00.000-07:00

Here's Bryce's passion. He's got his little brother and sister sucked into his favorite hobby now too. He has played golf every chance he can get. Earlier this week I dropped him off to play nine by himself. He was put into a three-some with a couple of boys from the Greeley West High School golf team. He told me that he ended up beating their scores. When I was at the course taking these pix the other day, I met the Greeley West High Golf coach who recognized Bryce. He confirmed that Bryce beat some of his guys and told me he was a "good golfer". I think this is his nitch. We don't mind paying for golf, but we're hoping golf pays for college! He's been dubbed "Tiger" now and then by people he's golfed with. Keep it up son!

Back to School...

2008-08-21T19:18:00.000-07:00

The kids went off to school this morning. I have an 8th grader, 5th grader and Kindergartener this year. I'm feeling super old! The boys didn't really want to be photographed and didn't really need me, so it felt a little anti-climatic for me. They saw some friends and were off. "Bye mom. Love you. See you after school!" was all I heard as they popped right back into their old schedules. Bryn was a little more exciting being in Kindergarten this year. She goes everyday in the afternoons. So we got her ready after lunch.She was a little nervous. She wanted me to stay with her. I drew a little heart in the palm of her hand and kissed it so she would know I was thinking of her while she was in school. I got a few good pix of the kids before and after school. Can't believe how they grow every year! Thank goodness for amazing teachers...my kids came home just thrilled with the teachers they get to spend their year with! Kudos to all you awesome teachers out there...you make the world go round! Also, for those of you wondering why Bryce chose a bright pink t-shirt for his first day of school outfit...he didn't. He is what's called a WEB leader (an acronym for "Where Everybody Belongs"). He was nominated by teachers and had to submit an essay and then was chosen from there to be a WEB leader. He is one of 10 eighth grade boys chosen for this opportunity. He gets community service hours and so it's a pretty cool program. The shirts were a mandatory part of their first day of school duties. Good thing he looks good in flourecent pink!

17 Things...

2008-08-17T12:37:00.001-07:00

I love about you.......................................
1. your red hair
2. you adore my children
3. you remind me of me sometimes
4. you are super creative
5. you are always willing to give of yourself
6. you live your gospel standards
7. you love to be with your family (even though you're a teenager!)
8. your smile
9. you seek advice...and even take it! :)
10. you are funny and fun to be with
11. you take your neices and nephews on "dates"
12. you always do your very best at everything you try
13. you are trustworthy
14. you are thoughtful
15. you make the best built-in-babysitter in the universe
16. you are the best friend anyone could ask for
17. you belong to me...MY little sister!
HAPPY 17TH BIRTHDAY BABY SIS! I LOVE YOU WITH ALL MY HEART!

Weekend in Idaho...

2008-07-23T10:21:00.001-07:00

They did it! Congratulations guys!!!
Cute little Family on Eden's Blessing Day.

Our Family on Eden's Blessing Day. Daddy and Brynlee looking at the horses behind the Farmer's house.
Cousin Kyle has the touch...she's one content little baby in his arms.

Meeting Baby Eden...

2008-07-23T10:09:00.000-07:00

We FINALLY got to meet our newest family member, Eden Meridith Kreger, last weekend when we took a trip to Idaho for her blessing. My brother and his adorable wife graduated from BYU Idaho on Friday and then Eden's Blessing was on Sunday. It was a quick trip and lots to cram in, but I'm glad we were able to kiss this baby at last!!! How cute is she???!!!

Bryn's Birthday Party Invitation...

2008-07-23T10:02:00.001-07:00

Just had to show off the cute invitations for Brynlee and Kaydra's Birthday Bash!

Bryn's Birthday Olympic Party

2008-07-23T09:44:00.000-07:00

The Cutest Birthday Olympian ever!!!!
Birthday girls Kaydra and Brynlee.
Shoe box hurtles.
Making wishes!
Present time!

Brynlee and one of her BFF's decided to do a combined b-day party because they are only 4 days apart and have all of the same friends and hobbies. It was a great idea and turned out sooooo cute! We themed the party as the "Birthday Olympics". Brynlee has been enthralled with the Olympic trials of gymnastics on T.V. so we went with it. Plus it's an olympic year so it seemed appropriate. We sent out invites with the Olympic rings on the front (in girly colors instead of the traditional ones). On the inside was a picture of our girls running down the street with torches in their hands. It was adorable! We set up an olympic arena in our backyard with all sorts of "events" to attend. We had shoe box hurtles, a jump rope station, a bean bag toss station, gymnastics station, hula hoops and of course, a water balloon toss. We also had a trampoline exhibition. The kids had a lunch of hot dogs, watermelon, chips and gatorades. They recieved a prize at each station that they added to their Olympic treat bag. Each "athlete" had their picture taken with a gold medal around their necks standing in front of the American Flag. All in all it was a total success and a very cool party.

Bryn's Birthday-July 10th!

2008-07-15T19:18:00.000-07:00

Waking up ready to party!
Girls afternoon out...
at Build-a-Bear!

Getting sung to at Red Robin!

Bryn had a very fun 5th b-day...she woke up to her room all decorated with streamers and balloons. She got all ready for the day and met grandma Petty and Aunties Mary and Lizzie at Build-a-Bear for some birthday spoiling! She had a blast! They took her to lunch at Chik-fil-a too! Bryn and I spent the afternoon shopping for things for her Olympic b-day party. We finished off her day by taking her Red Robin for dinner so that she could get a special song sung to her and recieve a yummy ice cream sundae too. She didn't know what to do when they were singing to her! She got really embarassed as you can tell by the pix. I think she had a pretty fulfilling day. After all, you only turn 5 once right!?

Bryn's "Fabulous" Dance...

2008-06-28T20:04:00.000-07:00

Toe touch!
Going into her lift
Bryn's medal
The Fabulous girls...Kaydra, Kaylee, Brynlee and Alyssa. Such attitude!
Brynlee and Emily after the recital with their boquets.

Bryn's Dance Recital...

2008-06-28T19:22:00.000-07:00

The Princesses
The dance
Check out Bryn's leap...

Bryn and one of her BFF's, Kaydra in the dressing room before the show.

Brynlee danced 2 dances in her annual dance recital this year. The theme was "A Tribute to Walt Disney" and it was adorable! Her 1st dance was the "Princess Dance". She was Gisselle, of course, from our favorite princess movie ever...Enchanted. It was a darling performance. They were the opening number. The next dance she was in was the closing number and it was to High School Musical 2's "Fabulous" song. It was AWESOME! Their costumes were super adorable too. She had a great time. Granddad was in town so he came to watch along with great Aunt Pat and aunties Liz and Mary. So sweet. Daddy brought roses to give her at the end of the show. She also recieved a metal for all of her hard work and practice this year. She's a dancer...a really cute dancer!

Boating with the Gonzos and Padillas...

2008-06-28T19:06:00.001-07:00

We went out to Boyd Lake on Wednesday evening to take the kids boating and let them ride the tube. It was pretty choppy water, which was optimal for tubing. They caught some serious air a few times and had a blast!

Cousin Shannon's Wedding

2008-06-28T18:54:00.001-07:00

Handsomest ring bearer ever!
Shannon and Ben with Kyle and Flower Girl, Avery.
Our fam at the wedding.
The car, of course...and the happy couple was off...!

Shannon and Ben got married on June 14, 2008 in Ft. Collins. Kyle was the little ring bearer...he was sooo handsome. My aunt planned and executed the whole thing and it was GORGEOUS! Aunt Luann is now dubbed "The Wedding Goddess"! It really was a beautiful wedding and the weather was perfect. Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Grocott.

Brynlee's new Bike!

2008-06-28T18:49:00.000-07:00

Bryn got a big girl bike this summer and wants to ride all over the nieghborhood. We already have made the long pilgrimage to Walmart and back. She is quite the biker chick!