RICKS FAMILY

One Day I Will Laugh About This...

2011-12-28T18:34:00.000-07:00

That's permanent marker folks. And this wasn't the only place we found it either. It was all along the walls in the hallway, on our front door, on our kitchen cabinets, & on our fridge. Luckily, Mark and I were able to get the marker off of the areas that were "public" but his room is the worst of it for sure. I'm pretty sure the only answer is to paint the walls at this point. Hopefully, this is the last we will see of Owen's artwork on our walls. Sadly, I am afraid this isn't the end....

Christmas Time 2011

2011-12-25T18:27:00.000-07:00

Christmas Time was fun this year, as always. We did our usual traditions of visiting the lights at Temple Square, the annual Parker Christmas Eve Party, and then of course the Feast at the McKoy's on Christmas Day. This year was extra special for me since I was the lucky winner of the Pickle! Go me :-) I told Mark I would think about sharing my prize with him...

Santa was extra nice this year. He brought our family a fish tank filled with lots of awesome tropical freshwater fish. The kids were pretty excited!! Merry Christmas to everyone & Happy New Year!

Mark's Bday

2011-11-27T18:02:00.000-07:00

Mark turned 29. Unfortunately, both he and I were violently ill on his birthday with the flu so neither of us really felt like celebrating. Owen, however; could not stand the fact of not making a birthday cake for his dad on his birthday. So, I managed to keep the vomit down and help Owen make this cake. Then we sang happy birthday and the kids happily enjoyed the cake while Mark and I cuddled up with blankets and tissues in the next room. Happy Birthday, Mark! I love you and can't believe you are only a year away from being 3-0!!!! It's pretty weird. You don't look one day over 28 :-)

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-25T17:54:00.000-07:00

It was another fun year at the Bear Lake cabin with the Ricks' family for Thanksgiving. We were lucky enough to have the Fischer's in town which always makes Owen's day since he loves spending time with his cousin, Treyvan (as you can see below). Good food, good company, what could be better!!

Kid Pictures 2011

2011-11-10T14:28:00.001-07:00

My favorites from the professional pictures I had done this year. Ages 3&2. Mollee was terrible at this shoot so we are lucky that we got any good ones at all!!

Las Vegas Ragnar

2011-11-01T16:05:00.001-06:00

Mark & I ran the Las Vegas Ragnar along with Jay, Cathy, Michelle, Ashley, Jami, Jon, and four friends: Spencer, Shelynn, Aaron, & Carrie. Was it fun? Yes. Was it awful? Yes. Would I do it again? Yes. These pictures are out of order, but they are a good summary of our experience. Ragnar 2011 - definitely an experience I will not soon forget!!! Oh, and yes, our team name was Better From Behind.

Halloween 2011

2011-10-31T16:02:00.000-06:00

Pumpkin Carving - Year 4

2011-10-10T23:26:00.000-06:00

This is our fourth year of carving fake pumpkins at my mom's house with the fam. As always, it was a great time and our pumpkin came out fantastic. This year we made a bat. Mark and I are very talented, as you can tell. :-)

Boo at the Zoo

2011-10-10T23:16:00.000-06:00

My mom was asked to play a fortune teller at our annual "Boo at the Zoo" fund raiser. My mom was an excellent fortune teller - so excellent that my kids didn't even really want to go into her fortune telling booth because they couldn't tell it was her! Besides waiting in line to get balloon animals from a clown, Owen & Mollee didn't want to do any of the activities - they were loads of fun! I guess that is how it goes sometimes....

p.s...didn't my mom make a pretty fortune teller? :-)

Welcome October!

2011-10-01T22:56:00.000-06:00

October is my favorite. I love the fall. I love cooler (but not yet cold) weather. I love the leaves changing color (probably one of the things I miss most about Virginia). October is also the month I will be running my first (and possibly last) Ragnar relay race. I am both nervous & excited - but mostly I really want to be done worrying about how it will go. Also, this October I found these two spooky skeletons walking around my house....I think I will keep them :-) Happy October Everyone!

Miss Mollee is 2!

2011-09-25T22:33:00.000-06:00

My little girl turned 2. So hard to believe- I know all mom's say that when their kids start to grow up before their eyes, but it is so true..time really does fly by. We threw Mollee a birthday party and invited all her favorite people. It was a great time - I think her most favorite thing about her birthday was definitely her balloons - or maybe the cupcakes- probably a tie :-) I took Moo to the doctor for her annual check up and they gave me a sheet of "things to expect from your 2 year old." She was right on the money with everything that was listed. My favorite part though, was the sentence that read: "your 2 year old may say "no" a lot and be very negative." It made me smile, because the word "no" or "I don't want that" is always her first response to every question or suggestion posed to miss Mollee. She is such a spunky little girl - I think I am in big trouble for the future with her! She keeps me on my toes!! Love you little Mollee Moo.

Bear Lake 2011

2011-09-07T16:16:00.000-06:00

Corynn's & our family went to Bear Lake for a weekend getaway. It was so fun & relaxing & the kids had a ball. We played in the lake, Ryan rented a paddle boat, played at the pool, enjoyed lots of games, good food, and a movie marathon. Now, back to reality....

2011 California Trip

2011-08-22T15:30:00.001-06:00

California Cousins.

Relaxing.

He wasn't quite sure about the ocean. I think it scared him just a bit.

Shamu!!! Owen loved him.

Posing with a friendly turtle :)

In the shark tunnel

Owen loves polar bears

This is a $9 meal...

Dip n' Dots...yum :-) Old School Mario Cart.

We went whale watching and actually got to see several blue whales which was so awesome. They are h.u.g.e!

Thanks Tasha, Nate & family. Once again, California was fabulous!!!!

Owen's 3rd Birthday

2011-08-16T15:28:00.000-06:00

Owen is mildly obsessed with Transformers so naturally, he wanted his party to be a "Transformer Party." It was a great day. Lots of fun presents, people and partying! I can't believe our little man is getting so big. He is so fun to have around. He has become so independent, wanting to do everything himself even when it takes 5 times as long he is very committed to getting the job done on his own. Our pediatrician always comments on how well Owen speaks whenever we go in for checkups. He is quite the conversationalist and has a lot to say! He is also potty trained (which is amazing for me - only 1 in diapers is so much nicer!!) and always on the move. I think my favorite thing he says is, "not quite yet..." when I ask him if he is done with dinner, or ready to go to bed, etc. I don't know why I think it is so cute, but I do. I smile to myself every time he says it. I am a pretty lucky mom to have such a great kid in my home. Happy Birthday, big guy - we love you!

It Was a Mud of Fun!

2011-08-13T09:45:00.000-06:00

Mud Volleyball. Always a good time.

Daily Summer Life

2011-08-12T10:45:00.001-06:00

A few of our daily summer activities:

Piano Playing

Backyard Pool Partying

Face Painting

Sliding

Balloon Animal Wearing

Duck Feeding

Lollipop Eating

Lake Playing

Trampoline Bouncing

2011-08-11T10:41:00.004-06:00

I'm really lucky to have my sister around. I think I've said that before, but I truly mean it. Sometimes she is the only thing that keeps me from going crazy! I'm also really lucky that she has great kids that Owen adores. These boys can't go more than a day without asking for each other. For some reason, all three of them insist on sitting in this chair together even though they don't really fit. Love you boys!!!

Garden Attempt #1

2011-08-11T09:55:00.002-06:00

This year since I was going to be at home, Mark and I decided to attempt a garden. We started early this summer tilling the jungle of a plot where our garden would go. That took a whole day by itself. We planted corn, pumpkin, cucumber, peas, & tomatoes. Sadly, the only thing that has survived is the corn & 3/4 tomato plants. We have a flooding issue on one side that killed off the cucumbers & peas and the pumpkins never came up. I'm not sure we will call this a "success" but we will have fabulous corn and tomatoes to enjoy soon enough!! Here are pictures so everyone can admire our hard work :-)

Pancakes

2011-08-10T16:55:00.002-06:00

So in January I quit my job to stay at home with these smiling faces. It hasn't been anything like I was expecting. It has been challenging beyond what I sometimes think I can handle. I feel like I didn't even really know my kids (even though I obviously thought I knew them) until I stayed home with them ALL DAY LONG. I'm sure many stay-at-home mom's out there are rolling their eyes and thinking to themselves, "what did she expect?" The truth is I didn't really know what to expect. I guess I was hoping for sweet, tantrum-free, obedient children that never fight with each other and take extra long naps. Is that too much to ask for? For a while there I was pretty miserable and dreading waking up everyday. It sounds terrible, I know - but then I decided to change my attitude and find things I like about being at home besides the obvious (that my kids get their mom around all the time). I started making my kids pancakes. Not just any pancakes, but ones with cool animals on them. I started doing things that only a stay-at-home mom with lots of time with her kids can do. I take my kids to the park, playground, pool, story times, the zoo, their cousins house, read to them a ton, etc. I decided I liked making pancakes, I liked my kids thinking I was such a "cool mom." So wish me luck going forward - Mollee turns 2 soon and believe me she defines the phrase "terrible two's." I love these kids with all my heart, but boy, they don't make my new job easy :-)

2011-08-10T16:49:00.002-06:00

Owen will hate me for this one day. But this is what you get when he pulls up his pants himself...you have to admit that is one cute toosh! :-)

The Meltdown

2011-08-01T17:27:00.000-06:00

This is so typical of Mollee. The life lesson we should all learn here: Juice solves everything.

Happy.

Attitude begins...

Crying starts...

I will throw myself against the door!

That didn't work, now I will fling myself to the ground!

Oh wait, is that my juice?

All better.

Floatin' on the Fourth!

2011-07-04T11:30:00.021-06:00

This Fourth of July we were lucky enough to be part of the Darrell's Appliance float for the Lewiston Parade. It was really fun, probably more fun than I thought it would be. We threw candy out as the Darrell's Appliance theme song played probably 150 times. The kids couldn't get enough of throwing the candy and bouncy balls out at the crowd - they loved it so much we ran out of candy about half way through and had to go the rest of the way with unhappy looks from bystanders who wanted their candy! You live and you learn, next year we will pace ourselves!

The Sink

2011-06-10T17:21:00.001-06:00

I will be sad the day that Mollee doesn't fit in this sink. This is where I do her hair, brush her teeth, and get her ready in the morning. She is a little mite so I figure we still have several years of her in this sink. But I can't believe she is growing up so fast.

Ponytail!

2011-06-02T10:31:00.000-06:00

Mollee's First Ponytail.

The Proof

2011-03-29T12:40:00.001-06:00

After 5 months of physical therapy...Mollee can walk!

What Stays in Vegas Stays in Vegas

2011-03-27T22:03:00.010-06:00

During Ryan & Natalie's spring break this year my parents took us on a family vacation to Las Vegas. The WAC basketball tournament was being hosted in Vegas this year at the same time, so it was kind of the perfect destination so Ry & Nat could still go to the games and we could all hang out as a family as well. I had never been to Vegas, so it was a new experience for me! I realize that the saying is not "what stays in Vegas, stays in Vegas" however, Mark stated this as we entered Las Vegas and we all decided it would be the trip motto.

We packed in a lot in 1 week. We went to 5 shows: Blue Man Group, Viva Elvis, The Lion King, Jersey Boys, & Le Reve. All of which I really enjoyed - they were all so different, but if I had to pick favorites I would say Jersey Boys & Le Reve. We had fabulous food - including Steak n' Shake & McCormick and Schmick (2 of my favorites!) Mom treated all the girls to a spa day - which was so fantastic I don't have enough adjectives to describe how much I loved my massage, manicure & facial. We drove out to the Hoover Dam which I had never seen before, so I checked that off my bucket list. We shopped, went to the aquarium at Mandalay Bay, saw the lion exhibit at the MGM Grand, bought "art" out of old cigarette machines at the Cosmopolitan, saw the world's largest LCD screen, attended a session at the Vegas Temple, had lunch with our friend Junior who is in the Viva Elvis show, discovered that the tram was NOT free, went to the Pawn Shop as seen on the history channel, spent an hour watching the fountain show at the Bellagio, and caught up on some rest. Good times were had by all!

We drove down in Corynn & Jer's minivan...

Mark & I outside the Pawn Shop. The guys from TV were not there - but we did get a glimpse of Chumlee at a BBQ joint across the street when we drove into town the night before (our only celebrity sighting)

The bottom picture is the set of Le Reve - so pretty. The top picture is a swim cap of one of the performers. He took it off at the finale and threw it into the crowd...it landed in Mark's lap!

Mark & I at the Shark Exhibit at Mandalay Bay

Our seats for Viva Elvis. So comfy & in the VIP section! We also got a backstage tour after the show from Junior :-)

The whole gang at McCormick and Schmick

Jer in a high heel at the Cosmopolitan

Blue Man Group.

Hoover Dam. There's a lot of concrete there...

A big thanks to Mom & Dad for the trip. It was tons of fun.

Birthday

2011-02-19T21:53:00.000-07:00

Well I turned 27. I like my birthday. I know some people dread their birthdays as they get older, but I don't mind it. Maybe I will feel differently after 30, but for now - I love my birthdays. Mark always does something super sweet for me and all my family and friends make me feel really special...who wouldn't like that? This year Mark has been really keen to the fact that I am struggling with this whole "stay at home Mom" job and planned a surprise weekend getaway just for the two of us. It was wonderful. We stayed in Park City for a night, and then Salt Lake the second night. We ordered room service, watched movies in bed, went to a monster truck rally (yup, you read that right!) and enjoyed being together with no responsibilities! Happy Birthday to Me! :-)

Kid Pics

2011-02-08T23:51:00.004-07:00

My mom has been bugging me for some time to get her a good picture of Mollee. So I finally had some professional pictures taken. Mollee wasn't super cooperative but here are my favorites:

My Little Chef

2011-01-15T23:14:00.000-07:00

Cookies Anyone?

Many Hands Make Light Work

2011-01-07T23:29:00.000-07:00

Give Owen a call if you need help with your driveway...he'll work for candy.

Big Boy Bed

2011-01-03T23:16:00.000-07:00

Owen moved to a bed. It has been mostly a positive experience for everyone. Originally we didn't have a rail on the bed, but after he fell out of bed the first and second night I went out and bought one. He has been sleeping peacefully since. (I was also surprised that the flash from the camera didn't wake him when I took these pictures) Grandma DeeDee made him the monster quilt that is on his bed. Owen LOVES it..he has to show everyone that comes over - and I mean everyone. A few days ago Mollee had a speech therapist session and he dragged the poor lady into his room to show her!

This Will Be Funny One Day..

2011-01-01T09:41:00.000-07:00

Yup. That is a Jeremiah sized hole in my living room ceiling. Right before Christmas we had a flood in our basement. It was awful. We had to remove all the carpet and our house turned into a mini rainforest with all the humidity while it was drying out. Mark and Jeremy decided they were going to find the cause of this flood since they are both qualified to assess such situations (note sarcasm). Jeremiah crawled up into our attic with Mark giving him a word of warning, "not to fall." He did not obey this direction and fell right off the beam into our living room. To say the least I was furious when I got this photo sent to me on my phone while I was at work...

One day this will be funny, I am sure.

Christmas Time

2010-12-25T22:58:00.000-07:00

Let me just say that Christmas is so fun with a 2 year old! Owen wanted a "car ride toy" translation for all of those who don't speak "owen" is he wanted a four wheeler remote control car. Santa came through and on Christmas morning his "car ride toy" had arrived. Mollee did pretty well ripping wrapping paper and taking in all our crazy traditions. The Feast at my mom & dad's did not disappoint and Mark surprised me with an iPad. What more could we ask for? We are healthy, happy, and loved!!

Temple Square

2010-12-15T22:41:00.000-07:00

So each year we try to go to spend a night in a hotel to see the lights at Temple Square. You'll notice I have zero pictures of the lights at the temple. That would be because we didn't actually make it to Temple Square. Owen could not wait to get in the pool at the hotel (I think he talked about it for the entire week before our weekend trip). So we played in the pool & spent the night in a hotel. It was nice - although a bit tiring considering our kids think hotels are an excuse to party all night long!

Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T22:32:00.000-07:00

Thanksgiving this year was spent with my side of the family and it was wonderful as always! We ate on the pool table all bedazzled by my mom. I forced Corynn to make 4 dozen rolls (of which I think about half were left over!) and I failed once again at making Vickie's orange salad (this was my 3rd attempt.) Mark said it tasted okay, but it wasn't the same...We ate, visited, and then of course spent the rest of the day scouring the ads for our game plan for Black Friday. This year, we didn't bother going to sleep at all since Walmart opened at 12 and Old Navy soon after. It was a successful Thanksgiving/Black Friday weekend!

Sundays

2010-11-01T13:27:00.000-06:00

I love these Sunday outfits. Wanted to share =)

Spooky Cookie House

2010-10-31T13:49:00.000-06:00

Mark, Owen & I attempted to put together one of those cookie house kits to help decorate our house for Halloween. Owen's contribution was pretty much eating the candy before we could get it on the house - but he is always good company!

The finished product

Aren't my boys cute? The house fell apart momentarily after we took this picture. Owen helped "clean up" by eating pieces as it crumbled. Fun night nonetheless!

Halloween 2010

2010-10-31T13:40:00.000-06:00

Halloween this year was a blast with Owen being 2. He and his cousins had a blast trick-or-treating and dressing up. Owen was a little tentative of his "Big Bad Wolf" costume made by his Grandma DeeDee, but once he got it on and saw himself in a mirror, he didn't want to take it off!

PUMPKINS!

2010-10-31T13:33:00.003-06:00

We carved lots of pumpkins this year. Owen loved this part of Halloween. Every night, he would go outside and turn on all the candles in each pumpkin (don't worry, they were the fake kind - we don't let Owen use matches just yet). He still talks about Halloween..I think it may be his favorite holiday....

Things I Want to Remember

2010-10-06T19:28:00.001-06:00

I've been thinking lately about how everyone tells you to write stuff down about your kids when they are little because they grow up fast and you won't remember the details when they're older. So I decided to make a quick list of things that happened this summer that I want to remember.

*Owen saw his first movie - Toy Story 3. He sat on my dad's lap for most of the movie, eating popcorn and completely fascinated. I was pretty nervous that he would get fidgety, but he did awesome!

*Mollee started rolling like a champ. She will start in the family room and navigate her way all the way down the hall into my bedroom if I am in there. I think this is why she has decided not to crawl - if it's not broke, don't fix it!

*Mollee screeches like an owl. In fact, we have been calling her that lately. It is so loud and annoying it definitely wears on you. This is not one of the stages we will look back on fondly, but she should know how annoying she was at times and yet, we still kept her around!! (We must really love her :-)

*Owen LOVES the story of the three little pigs. He will "huff and puff" and talk about the big bad wolf all day long. I'm not sure why this story really hit home with him, but it really is adorable to hear him help tell the story.

*Mollee hasn't tried to really communicate with us at all or even imitate us until conference sunday this last week. Grandpa Jeff was nodding his head up and down when talking to Mark and all of the sudden, Mollee copied him. She has been doing it all the time since. It is SO cute to watch (probably way cuter to Mark and I than anyone else, but still very cute!)

*Owen REALLY loved camping this summer. Each time we went, he would tell us about 1000 times that he was going to "sleep in a tent.." I wouldn't say that he "slept" much in that tent, mainly he liked to stay up and turn the flash lights on and off, but it was really fun.

*For some reason, we call Mollee, "Mollee Moo." I am not sure what started it, but it has definitely stuck. Sometimes it gets shortened to just "Moo" which she responds to!

That's probably it for now - but these kids do amazing, adorable things each and every day so there is much more to come!

Mollee - The 1 Year Old!

2010-09-25T19:44:00.001-06:00

Well, it happened. Mollee turned 1. Despite being behind her peer group with her talking, walking, and even crawling she still keeps us on our toes each and every day. She is full of smiles and personality. I am so lucky to have this little girl, she definitely is a special part of our family who is very loved. Her birthday party was owl themed, mainly due to her recent screeching we hear a lot of. Pics are below. Happy Birthday sweet, little girl!! and special thanks to my mom who made adorable Halloween owls to give to all of Mollee's guests!!

Utah State Fair

2010-09-17T19:16:00.000-06:00

I took a day off from work and we headed down to the Utah State Fair with my mom & dad, Jer & Corynn & family. I use to not be a big "fair" person...but Owen absolutely loves going and I have come to find that I think it's a pretty good time as well! O just loves seeing the pigs, cows & goats. There's nothing like walking through a hot, stuffy barn on a 90 degree day filled with livestock...how we love Utah :-)

Yellowstone/Jackson WY

2010-09-07T18:49:00.000-06:00

A few weeks back we packed up with Jeff, Vickie, Jill & Nick and headed to Yellowstone & Jackson for a few days. It was a way fun trip full of animals, parks, geysers, & lots of talk of the "big bad wolf" (Owen's current fav story). I haven't been to Yellowstone since I was about 10 so it was pretty much new to me. Such a beautiful place. Here is my documentation of the trip!

Owen Turns 2!

2010-08-16T19:00:00.000-06:00

I can't believe my baby is 2. I think he is one of the funniest people I know. Almost everything he says brings a smile to my face. Mark & I threw him a Thomas the Train birthday party and invited his cousins Wesley & Clay as well as Ryan, Natalie, Corynn, Grandma Dee, Grandpa Bob and Grandma & Grandpa Ricks. It was a great party. We had tacos (Owen's favorite) and a Thomas the train cake provided by yours truly. Yes, I did the cake myself - you can probably tell, but it was the best I could do and when Owen saw it he said, "Thomas" which is all I really wanted. Mark & I got him a wooden train track and a few new trains. We spent a good bit of time setting up the track the night before along with help from Ryan. All of our hard work was quickly "reassembled" by Clay, Owen & Wes but we had fun putting it together and seeing his reaction. We love this guy more than words can express. He is a joy in our home and I love watching him learn new things every day. I am so lucky to be his mom. Happy 2nd birthday, Owen!

Love

2010-08-14T12:44:00.000-06:00

Owen has been so good with Mollee. He brings her toys, gives her hugs & kisses (sometimes so rough that he knocks her over) and lets her share his chair. Everyone has told me that one of the advantages to having my kids 13 months apart is that they will be able to play together and be super close - recently this has definitely started to become a reality at our house! I was worried that Owen would be jealous of little Mollee and the time we spend with her - but he is so loving and sweet with her.

I am lucky to have such wonderful kids!!

Pool Party

2010-08-14T12:33:00.000-06:00

Well, not really a party. We just took the kids to the aquatic center. Owen does pretty good in the water. He is not completely confident, but he is getting so much better. Mollee loves just splashing around!! I really want my kids to love the water like I do. Mark took Owen down the big slide. I think it went a bit faster than they both expected and it was tough for Mark to keep O above water at the end.....the last picture shows them coming up after being dunked. Poor little Owen got more than he bargained for!! We asked him if wanted to go down the slide again and he simply shook his head and said "nope." Maybe next year.... :-)

Food

2010-08-14T12:30:00.000-06:00

Guess who has started eating baby foods?

The Sand Castle

2010-07-16T21:58:00.000-06:00

Yes, we went to bear lake and [we] built a sand castle. "We" being mainly Mark, Jer, Ryan & Natalie. Corynn & I contributed by keeping the kids from knocking it down before it was finished. It turned out to be a masterpiece!

Summer Fun

2010-07-06T21:13:00.000-06:00

We have had such an eventful summer so far with camping, boating, weenie roasts, a fabulous family reunion and lots and lots of sunshine!! Below are some picture highlights.

Mr. Wesley

Grandma & Grandpa Ricks enjoying their dogs

Falslevs

yummmmmm....

It was probably 50 degrees out that day, but we were all geared up so we had to go boating despite the weather!! Turned out to be so much fun.

Tough guy.

Little Owen on his first boat ride

Warming up by the fire

Me & my baby

I think Owen's favorite part was throwing rocks in the water

Just Chillin

We love Natalie (Ryan's girlfriend). He spent quite a bit of time roasting the perfect mallow and then handed it to her to hold while he prepared his s'more....as he walked away, she deviously ate it!! Wish I had Ryan's face on camera when he came back.

Owen has an entire donut in there courtesy of his Grandpa Ricks - thanks Jeff!! :-)

Owen & Treyvan at the Ricks' Reunion - two cute blonde boys.

There were snakes right outside of our cabin door. We didn't notice them until the last day, thank goodness or I would have been so paranoid the whole time!!

Cruisin'

All tuckered out.

So far, this summer has been a blast. More to come!!

Old Dominion & The Big Apple

2010-05-27T20:15:00.001-06:00

Mark & I had an amazing time on our long awaited vacation to Virginia & NYC. I have such wonderful friends and family that truly made the trip worthwhile.

My beautiful college roommates & I on the subway heading out to celebrate Kristen's birthday. I miss them like crazy!!!! They were incredibly hospitable and so fun to be with (as always.) I am so lucky to have best friends that are there for me even when I am 3000 miles away :-)

Mark & I went through the Manhattan temple. So gorgeous! We took the subway back to Jen's place all by ourselves - we were so proud of ourselves.

Of course we had to go to the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street...

Got a nice shot with the Bull...

Reunited with my little kitty, Brooklyn. I shipped her on an airplane last year to Jen to live with her and Mike in Manhattan. She loves it there and is quite comfortable and well loved.

Cait & Paul on the tour bus which turned out to be a lot more fun than I think we thought it would be. Our tour guide was quite informative and we were able to see a ton of the city in a short amount of time. I would highly recommend the bus tour to anyone visiting the city.

Me, Cait & Jen on the top of the Rock in NYC with the Empire State Building in the back.

Mark got to fulfill one of his childhood dreams of seeing the Yankees play. Here he is with Jen pregaming on hotdogs, cheesefries, and $7 sodas.

It was such a great game too. A Rod hit a grandslam, there was a confrontation between a cop and a polite young man sitting in front of us, Jay Z & Beyonce were in attendance, and a fist fight broke out a few rows below our seats! Mark really got the whole package.

We took a boat tour out to Ellis Island to get a good view of the Statue of Liberty.

There She is.

Mark, Cait & I walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. If you want to know why it is a famous bridge, ask Mark and he will give you the complete history. (It's because it was the first bridge to use steel instead of iron, fyi...)

We also went to Times Square, Grand Central Station, Ground Zero, the FINRA building, saw Wicked at the Gershwin theater (which was awesome), passed Michael Kors on the street, went to a street fair, got some street nuts, went to Joshua Tree, had Cupcakes by Melissa (delicious), spent a couple nights in the lovely city of Hoboken where we made Mark jog 14 blocks to Johnny Rockets for a late night snack, and overall tried to avoid being embarrassing tourists.

I can't thank Jen, Kristen, and Cait enough for everything!!!

One of our main reasons for heading East was to go to Brett's wedding. It was a beautiful day and Brett was a beautiful groom :-) We were so glad we could be there with him and Artimesia.

My parents think they are hilarious. I will admit this picture is pretty funny....

Outside the Washington Temple waiting for the Happy Couple...

The Washington Temple.

Here Mark & I are at Busch Gardens the first day we were in VA. Even though we were sleep deprived from taking the red eye the night before, we had such a fun time.

Yes, we left our children at home. By the end of the 10 days, we were missing them tons and it was so fun to come back home and smother them with kisses. Overall, it definitely was a vacation to remember.

Mark Clearly Missed His Calling....

2010-04-25T19:40:00.000-06:00

Cousins

2010-04-25T19:27:00.000-06:00

Owen loves his cousins.

Even enough to share his doughnuts with them

They enjoy jumping on the trampoline together (notice Wes in the back - hilarious.)

They work on their building skills together

And they simply enjoy one another's company. I swear Clay & Owen have their own language - it's so fun to watch them interact. I feel really lucky to have my sister around so our kids can grow up around each other! A lot of fun times ahead...

Logan Temple

2010-04-25T19:02:00.000-06:00

The Logan Temple on Easter Sunday.

Easter 2010

2010-04-25T18:40:00.000-06:00

This year was another beautiful Easter. Mark and I were talking about how it seems like no matter what the weather is like the day before, Easter Sunday always ends up being a gorgeous day.

Dying Eggs

Owen at the top of Old Main Hill getting ready to throw is first egg

Mollee wasn't thrilled to be outside, but she still looked cute with her pony tail :-)

Owen & Dad on the top of Old Main Hill

Grandma & Owen throwing eggs down the hill (this is a tradition here)

Owen has quite the arm

He never broke them on the first try, so he got lots of mileage out of his eggs!

I love Easter. Even though there are silly traditions that go with it, it always ends up being a nice quiet day for us so we can make time to remember what Easter is truly all about.

The Beginnings of Spring

2010-03-25T20:58:00.000-06:00

I'm so pumped for spring. Finally my kids can go outside!! Here are some pics from our outdoor adventures as we have been enjoying the nicer weather.

Mollee Moo

Climbing Up

Ready to go....

He stayed like this frozen until I picked him up...

Tough guy.

Jumpy Jump Jump Jump

Horsey!

This picture kills me. Owen is only 1 year younger than Clay, but this picture definitely shows that he's a short little mite. I predict we will spend 90% of the next 6 months outside because Owen loves it so much. I love it too - hello sunshine!!

Love My Little Girl

2010-03-10T21:29:00.000-07:00

Mollee - please don't grow up too fast. However, I cannot wait to do your hair, go on all day shopping trips, gab into the wee hours of the morning and laugh until our sides hurt.

I am so lucky to have this little girl.

2010-03-05T20:48:00.000-07:00

Owen & Mollee are both growing up fast. Mollee is 5 months old and Owen just turned 18 months - you know what the means.... NURSERY :-) Last week was Owen's first day in the nursery at church. He was pretty good when I left, cried just for a second before finding a book to read. Then about 20 minutes later...he curled up in the corner among the chaos and fell asleep. So sweet.

Mollee has scooting pretty good now, but hasn't attempted to roll over. She holds her head up, smiles like crazy, and on occasion we get a good giggle out of her. I'm having fun putting bows in her hair, dressing her in pink and calling her princess.

We love these two :-)

A Note to Nasdaq

2010-03-05T20:23:00.001-07:00

Dear Nasdaq,

I just wanted to take a moment to make sure you know we still love you. You spend a lot of time in the laundry room, but you still love us when we get home. You get yelled at when you go outside and get muddy feet and then jump on our couch, but you still love us. You have gone from #1 to #3 in 2 short years, but you still love us the same. You are loyal, beautiful, and smart. I love that Owen can say the word "Nasdaq" but associates it with a fluffy, black and white pup that follows him around the house. You are the best dog ever, thanks for greeting us every time we walk in the door.

Love,

Mark, Cristin, Owen & Mollee

New Camera?

2010-01-10T16:06:00.001-07:00

So I want to jump on the bandwagon and buy a digital SLR camera. I am so envious of you ladies out there with awesome pictures on your blogs taken by your SLR cameras. I think my kids are at a good age for it (meaning they make excellent material for pictures with their adorableness) and I would love to take a class or two to learn how to use it and learn a new skill this year. Anyone out there have advice for me? Brands, models, good idea to buy, bad idea to buy? I would LOVE any advice!!

Merry Christmas From Our [new] Home to Yours :-)

2010-01-10T15:00:00.000-07:00

New Year's Resolution - to be more proactive with my blog! That being said, I will now post some pictures from Christmas. I don't have very many, for some reason I was lazy with the camera that day, but here you go...

Our best (early) Christmas present would be our new home. We moved in on the 9th. I am a little crazy and wanted everything unpacked in a week - I cannot live in boxes!!! We got it done though, Mark was very patient with me :-)

Hope your Christmas was as wonderful as ours!

The Argument

2010-01-09T21:26:00.000-07:00

Owen: "Mommy, mommy, mommy."

Cristin: "Yes Owen?"

Owen: "Outside."

Cristin: "No, Owen...it's too cold outside."

Owen: "Mommy, mommy, mommy!"

Cristin: "Yes, O?"

Owen: "Outside."

Cristin: "No, O - it's freezing & dark, why do you want to go outside?"

Owen: "Mommy, mommy, MOMMY!"

Cristin: "Yes, bud?"

Owen: "Outside!"

Cristin: "It's late and snowing and dark and freezing, we're not going outside."

Owen: "Mommy! MOMMY! MOMMY!"

Cristin: "What, Owen?"

Owen: "OUTSIDE!!!"

Cristin: "Alright, let's go outside...."

He wins every time...

I'm Pretty....

2009-12-30T21:21:00.004-07:00

Guess who found his mom's jewelry?

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-12-30T21:03:00.001-07:00

So i'm a little late on posting this but better late than never! Thanksgiving this year for our family was spent in Bear Lake at a beautiful cabin with the Rick's gang. It was a wonderful time full of games, activities, a trip to the beach at Bear Lake, and lots and lots of delicious food! Hope everyone else enjoyed their Thanksgiving as much as we did :-

Anyone seen Mollee?

2009-12-30T20:58:00.001-07:00

Sometimes I misplace her....

Happy Golden Birthday Mark

2009-12-12T14:30:00.000-07:00

& Happy Golfing..

A Family of Four

2009-12-07T21:53:00.000-07:00

The very talented Jo was in town and took some photos of our family a couple weeks back....I thought I would share some of my favorites. Enjoy!

Mollee's Blessing

2009-11-22T17:50:00.001-07:00

Today we blessed our little girl. Mark gave her a beautiful blessing and we were lucky enough to share the day with many of our family and friends.

Here's the gang enjoying some food after the meeting.

Two of Mark's closest friends...Thank you Mark A. for coming all the way from AZ!!

Our little family :-)

Grandparents

Great Grandparents.

She shared some tender moments with both of her great grandfathers. (I snuck these photos when they weren't watching)

Mollee has been such a wonderful baby these past two months. I am so grateful for her in my life. She slept through her blessing which pretty much fits her personality perfectly. She is so mild mannered and gentle. We love her so much and are excited for all of the adventures that are in store for her.

Halloween

2009-11-01T21:01:00.000-07:00

This year our little family's costumes had a spider theme to it. We got Owen a spooky spider costume a few weeks ago and Mark and I hadn't really intended on dressing up but we were invited to a family activity that required us to dress up as well. I told Mark to come upstairs and help me get costumes picked out but when he took WAY too long to actually get upstairs - I took the initiative and picked his costume for him out of old costumes my mom owned. So that is how he came to be Venom. I think he should be grateful for this choice - the other costume I had in my hand was a whoopie cushion :-) To complete the trio, I went as a spider web.

Owen meeting Spiderman (his cousin Hayden)

Me & my spooky spider

We came across these menacing pirates - arrrhhh!!

Venom & Spider - Mark worked out for weeks to fill this costume out :-)

We wore this little man out

Mollee was a little leopard. Quite a cute little kitty if I do say so myself

Brother & Sister together :-) Hope everyone else had a fun Halloween!

The Corn Maze

2009-10-19T21:00:00.000-06:00

Corynn, Jer, Clay, Dad, Mark & I took Owen to the corn maze on Friday night. It was so much fun and Owen enjoyed every second of it.

This was a big hay pile that was made for kids to jump into. Owen isn't the steadiest on his feet yet, so Mark helped but he still loved the thrill!

Riding on the wooden goat....Mark and I will probably construct one of these babies for our new house - who couldn't use a wooden goat?

This slide actually went faster than it looked. I was pretty surprised Owen wasn't terrified, but he went 2X - once with Mark and once with me - we have a brave little boy :-)

This was on a little train they had set up that went around a small pond. I think this was probably Owen's favorite part of the evening. He was so amazed by the train. What is it with little boys and trains anyway???

There was also a small petting zoo filled with these little goats.

It was getting pretty late by the time we actually made it to the entrance of the corn maze. But here we are just getting started.

After the sun went down, it got pretty chilly so we bundled Owen up....he wasn't thrilled with it, I don't think he could move his arms but he was warmer!!

We made it out of the maze in decent time - about 30 minutes. I have to give Corynn credit for that since she was our navigator and obviously made very good choices when it came to which way to go. It was a fun evening - we are looking forward to going again next year!

Carving Pumpkins 2009

2009-10-18T21:03:00.000-06:00

For the second year in a row, my parents have hosted FHE where we get together and carve pumpkins. Last year, Mark and I did a fabulous job carving a pumpkin only to have some hoodlums in our neighborhood smash it to bits on Halloween night. RIP 2008 edition of our pumpkin. This year, we are hoping our pumpkin pulls through....

Here I am supervising Mark carving the pumpkin. I traced the design on the pumpkin first and then he cut it out. I obviously had the more challenging task, but someone had to do it!! :-)

Family photo (minus Mollee - she was still in the NICU) with our freshly carved pumpkin.

Our finished pumpkin. Can you tell it is a fake pumpkin? Hope everyone else has their pumpkins on their porches as well!

Miss Mollee

2009-10-18T12:13:00.000-06:00

It has been so wonderful having this sweet little girl home with us. She has been so good natured and we find her spending most of her time looking like she does in the above picture. Of course, I am a bit tired from being up every 3 hours throughout the night - but it comes with the territory :-) She continues to grow and hopefully will fit into her newborn-sized clothes soon.

We gave her a tub bath for the first time which I think she loved...probably felt right at home!

Owen is so enamored by her. He wants so badly to touch her (which I haven't let him do yet) and is always pointing at her and saying "baby." We can't get him to say "Mollee" yet, but we are working on it.

She definitely has Mark's feet. This picture makes them look tiny (which they are) but compared to her body, they are quite big!! Hopefully she will be able to wear normal sizes when she is grown up and won't have to suffer like I have!!! :-)

Our Talented Little Boy

2009-10-14T14:38:00.000-06:00

Owen has been learning his animal sounds. I thought I would document them while they were still so adorable to listen to (well, I think they are adorable :-)...Listen closely for his "snake" in the first video.

He is really into dogs & will bark at any that he sees around town or in a picture. Good thing we already own one!!

She's Home!

2009-10-13T19:58:00.000-06:00

After 18 long days, Mollee finally came home from the hospital today. She now weighs 4 lbs 12 oz and is doing great. Here are some current pictures of her. She is a bit sleepy and it's hard to get good ones of her with her eyes open, but we will keep posting new ones as she gets bigger & bigger :-)

Mollee Jean Ricks

2009-09-26T17:22:00.000-06:00

Our little angel was born Sep. 25 at 7:03pm. She weighed in at 4lbs even and was 16.5 inches long. She has been so strong!! She is in the NICU and will stay there until she is eating well enough to come home.

Words cannot describe how excited and happy we are to have this little girl in our family. We love you, Mollee.

What Did We Do This Summer?

2009-09-22T09:58:00.000-06:00

Today is the official first day of fall so I thought I would post some pics of things we did this summer. I already posted the big events like Jill & Nick's wedding and our trip to California, but we also managed to squeeze in some fun things here and there.....

This was at the Cache County Fair. Mark and I are eating cotton candy here - but my favorite part of the fair is, of course, the funnel cake. I LOVE funnel cake and you can really only get it once a year at the fair so I definitely enjoyed every bite :-)

This little boy has a stomach of steel. He had so much sugar - candy apples (seen here), funnel cake, & cotton candy. I thought for sure we were in for a long night but he never slept better! I think the candy apple was his favorite - he couldn't get enough.

Grandpa & Owen observing the mary-go-round. Maybe next year we will put him on it, but we really thought the fun would be lost on him this year. He was happy enough just watching the other kids and people go round & round.

No summer is complete without some kite flying, so of course we did our fair share.

We are looking forward to the fall - I love Halloween and Thanksgiving which are coming up fast and we will of course keep posting as the events unfold. This fall in particular means a new addition to our family which we are anxiously awaiting. Happy Fall to everyone!

California 2009

2009-08-31T19:58:00.001-06:00

Mark and I skipped out on our annual trip to CA to visit Tasha, Nate & Family last year since I was pregnant with Owen. We decided we wouldn't let another pregnancy slow us down this year so we hit the road with Jill and Nick and spent a long weekend in Sunny California.

The water was super cold and pretty rough, so I elected not to get in, but still enjoyed some time on the beach with Tasha & her two kiddos.

Since the water was so cold, Mark decided to wear a wetsuit...it took quite a bit of effort to get it on (the pictures don't quite do it justice)

Almost there..

Ta Da!

I will point out this is Mark's second attempt at getting in. The first time a wave came and he tried to swim through it but completely wiped out. All I could see were legs and arms being twisted about as he tried to regain composure - it was pretty amusing :-) Jill & Nick were quite brave as you can see - the water was SOOO cold and they toughed it out and enjoyed the waves anyway.

Pictures never do the waves justice. They were actually quite big that day..

Mark running away from a tiny little splash of a wave...I love his expression.

Treyvan also quite enjoyed the beach as you can see...too cute.

As we got back to Cache Valley, there was this beautiful rainbow. We had such a fun time, and are looking forward to next year already - when I will NOT be pregnant!!!!

Owen Turns 1!!

2009-08-16T22:18:00.001-06:00

We threw Owen a monster-themed first birthday party patterned after his monster quilt that my mom made for him. Despite not wanting to really touch his cake and get his hands dirty, I think he really enjoyed the day :-) He got lots of fun toys, books and new clothes from his aunts, uncles, grandparents, and of course his mom and dad. We love our little guy and have had so much fun with him this last year. He has grown up so fast in the last few months. It is crazy to think 1 year ago I was saying to Mark, "this would be a really bad weekend to have the baby..." (I said that because Mark was due to start his new job the following Monday.) Needless to say Mark wasn't able to start his job that Monday and we were suddenly parents before the weekend was out. Owen definitely has his own time schedule and has since the day he was born. He is only about 18 pounds, but has tons of personality! We love you, O - Happy First Birthday!!

Disclaimer: I cannot take credit for this cake - I am definitely NOT that talented in this area. My mom's friend, Misty, was kind enough to barter with my mom and make this cake and cupcakes for Owen. She did an amazing job - it was almost too cute to eat!

Jill & Nick's Wedding

2009-08-16T21:50:00.000-06:00

Jill & Nick were married June 27, however; Nick had some computer trouble and just recently got me a copy of the photos. I wanted to share some highlights - it was a beautiful day, Jill was a beautiful bride and we are very happy to have Nick complete the family :-)

Ricks' Siblings

Mark & Jill

Our happy camper

Cousins. I would like to point out that Owen (in the middle) is 3 weeks older than Treyvan (on the left)....

Smooches

Jill & Nick with all the nieces & nephews...i'm sure it won't be long before they have a house full of their own rugrats :-) Congrats you guys!

"Please Don't Come Back"

2009-07-15T21:43:00.000-06:00

I've never been so pleased to hear the words, "I don't want to see you again," as I was today when Owen's surgeon that we have been working with at Primary Children's Hospital for the last 5 months told us he didn't want us to come back again for any more check ups. We were told that Owen's deformity of his skull is so mild that we don't need to do anything more about it at this point. He is a normal, healthy little boy and we are SO relieved to have reached this outcome. No surgery, no trauma, no more terrified young parents.

O turns 11 months tomorrow - so hard to believe he is almost a year. He is crawling really well. The video below shows him army crawling which he only did for a week or two but it was way cute when he did it. He is really coordinated in the "food to mouth" area - doesn't miss too often :-) and he will pull himself up on furniture and take little steps. He doesn't say much - sometimes we get "dada and momma" but I don't know if it is completely deliberate or not.

He's been so fun. It's amazing to watch him grow and learn so fast day by day...

PINK or BLUE?

2009-07-15T21:39:00.000-06:00

Many of you will call us crazy....but Mark and I did not find out the gender of our new baby. Our ultrasound looked great though and our new little one is healthy as can be :-) Anyone care to guess whether we're having a GIRL or BOY??! Only time will tell - 16 more weeks....

Our Little Oddball

2009-06-22T22:13:00.000-06:00

Owen's pupils are oddly uneven at random times....is the difference noticeable to you? We love our little weirdo.

Father's Day

2009-06-21T21:56:00.000-06:00

I am one lucky girl to have this man as the father of my kiddos. Owen adores him (as you can see)....Happy first Father's Day, Mark - thanks for all you do for our family, We love you!

And Happy Father's day to my own dad:
who always has been a great example of what a great Dad should be. I can't remember any important event in my life he didn't attend or wasn't there for me. I love you, Dad!

Spring Cleaning

2009-05-30T20:51:00.000-06:00

Mother's Day

2009-05-10T13:41:00.000-06:00

Today is my first Mother's Day as a mom. I am soooooo grateful for my sweet son and the happiness he brings into my life each and every day. Even though he is barely 9 months old, he cracks me up like no one else. Sometimes I think he knows he is funny and will keep doing whatever it was that made me laugh just to see me laugh again! It has been so fun and such a blessing to watch him learn and grow. Many of you know it was somewhat of a struggle to get this little guy here in the first place and several dr's have told Mark and I that we can't have children naturally. With this information in mind, it was much to our surprise to find out a few weeks ago that we are having our

2nd baby on November 3rd.

That's right - with barely 14 months in between, we will become a family of 4. Despite being overwhelmed with this news, I am so grateful for the opportunity to welcome another baby into our home. We didn't want Owen to be an only child, so this pretty much seals the deal that he'll have to learn how to share, fight, bicker, and love a sibling.

Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's out there - especially my own mom who raised me to be the wonderful person I am today ;-) and continues to teach me and help me each and every day. She can read me like a book - I don't know why I'm always surprised when she tells me what I am thinking before I say it aloud....I love you, Mom, thanks for all you do.

Stop and Smell the Tulips

2009-05-07T21:00:00.000-06:00

Great People, Fun Places

2009-05-05T19:35:00.000-06:00

I was a brave, brave mom and decided to take my 8 month old with me on a week long trip to the East which involved a red eye plane ride there, a 7 hour drive and many many sleepless nights. Despite all of these obstacles, my little man was near perfect and we had a great time. Best of all, Owen got to meet 7 of my best friends, 2 Great Aunties and his Great Grandpa. I have to say a special "thank you" to my mom who helped make the trip so much easier for me by entertaining Owen on the plane rides, getting up with him in the middle of the night when I couldn't stop him from crying, and being a wonderful grandma all around :-)

Here are some highlights:

VERY tired...

1 Crazy Hair

2009-04-17T10:00:00.000-06:00

Owen has this one crazy hair. Can you see it? I am constantly debating whether or not to cut it, but someone told me if I did the rest of his hair would fall out and a part of me totally believes it so I won't do that. But someone tell me how 1 hair grows triple the length of his other hairs!!

Out with the old, In with the new

2009-04-11T10:44:00.000-06:00

Mark and I's little house has been a wonderful place to live for the last 3 years but we decided it was time to move on. We elected to keep it and rent it out. We had tons of help moving out of our old place and we got it done in 1 Saturday! Thanks to Ryan and Company, Dad, Mom, Jer, and Jeff for helping us get it done. It was kind of sad to leave but we got over the sadness as soon as we started looking for new houses though :-)

Yesterday, our offer was accepted on a new house - we close May 28 - as stressful as moving is, we are WAY excited to settle into our new home. (I have already compiled a list of everything I want to upgrade/change/buy new for the house!)

Here she is:

In the meantime, until we can move in - I have wonderful parents who have taken us in so we aren't homeless for a month and a half. Thanks in advance to all those who will be available on May 28th to help us move :-)

The BEST friends ever.

2009-04-11T10:24:00.001-06:00

Jen & Caitlin - my roommies from college came to see me all the way from NYC this past weekend and to meet our little man - they hit it off right away....

Mark is trying to figure Cait out in this pic - it definitely cannot be done in 1 weekend :-)

I had to take them to see all of the sights in Logan

Cait's face is priceless here....

Classic.

Mark was a very good teacher.

I Love you guys!! Thank you so much for coming to see me and getting a taste of the wild, wild west. Owen misses you already :-)

GREAT news!

2009-04-06T10:15:00.000-06:00

Some of you know about our little guy's recent cranial issue - but for those of you who don't I will fill you in. At Owen's 6 month visit, his doctor noticed a ridge on his forehead. He ordered a catscan. Owen did great in the catscan, but when we got the results, we found that his front cranial plates are fused together and WAY too early. Because they are fused, his brain can only grow toward the back of his head which can leave his head deformed and also increase the pressure in his brain. Our doctor sent us to Primary Children's Medical Center where there is a specialist who only focuses on infant cranial reconstruction. When we got down there, the doctor explained to us that usually when the catscan shows a fusion, there is no choice but surgery. Having my 6 month old undergo such a tramatic surgery made me sick to my stomach, and of course I lost it at the office. However, the doctor decided that he wanted to wait for 6 weeks and see how his head changed.

So here is the good news: we went back in last week and the doctor told us that his head hasn't changed at all and because of that he wanted to wait to do anything for 3 more months! Waiting for a decision is somewhat frustrating, however; if we can get through this without surgery at all - Mark and I would be ecstatic. Eventually, the doctor said he would simply shave the bone down where the ridge has been created so that kids wouldn't make fun of him because he looked different, but that would be a minor surgery and the best option overall.

We will keep everyone posted, but for now we have one happy little boy and 2 REALLY happy parents :-)

Growing Up.

2009-03-08T14:39:00.000-06:00

What is Owen up to these days? Here is a quick summary:

He's quite popular with the older kids, as you can see...

Him and Daq have long talks.

He's eating all sorts of solid food. His fav's are carrots, squash, & sweet potatoes. Of course we have to be careful not to turn him orange! He also loves pears, peaches, and applesauce.

He loves to spend Saturdays with Dad, catching up on what happened that week

Birthday Boy

2009-03-06T13:52:00.000-07:00

Happy 2nd birthday to our first born :-)

6

2009-02-19T16:59:00.000-07:00

As if it were not enough that our poor little guy had quite the rough start to his life, he was diagnosed with pneumonia on his 6 month birthday. He's doing so much better now, starting to sleep better and out of hospitalization danger.

I've learned so many things from Owen in the 6 months that we've had him in our family, here's just a few:

*The first outfit I put on for the day will be in the laundry before I leave the house

*The first outfit Owen has on for the day will also be in the laundry before he leaves the house

*No matter how excited I am for Owen to go to bed at night, I am always more excited for him to wake up in the morning

*No matter how mad or frustrated he makes me, his smile fixes everything instantly

*He's taught me what it's like to be truly unselfish

*I really can function on an hour or less of sleep

*It is important to change little boy's diapers quickly!

*I would do anything in my power to keep him happy.

I love watching him change and grow day by day....we're looking forward to finding out what other tricks O has up his sleeve for us...:-)

Happy 2-5 To ME!

2009-02-19T16:46:00.000-07:00

Mark took me skiing for my birthday this last monday. I had the day off work, so we dropped the kid off with my mom and hit the slopes. I forgot how big those mountains were!! My brother went with us - I didn't know how good of snowboarder he has become...it was fun to see. Thanks to everyone for all of your birthday wishes - here's to the beginning of my "late twenties":-)

It Had To Be Done....

2009-02-07T16:27:00.000-07:00

Mark bought me a Macbook for my birthday...so naturally I needed to post these pictures...

5 Months Old

2009-01-16T18:32:00.000-07:00

Our little man is 5 months old today! Here are some things he is doing....
*drooling (A LOT!)
*giggling (very little)
*attempting to eat cereal
*wearing 3-6 month clothing & size 3 diapers!
*scooting in his crib from end to end
*constantly sucking his fist and fingers
*holding his head up with confidence
*recognizing his bottle
*sleeping longer through the night (8-6:30)
*reaching for things in order to immediately try and eat them
*losing his hair :-(
*making pigeon noises
*solving advanced mathematic equations

Alright that last one is a lie, but one day.... :-)

Tub Time

2009-01-04T19:07:00.000-07:00

Owen's not much of a chunk, but he still looks cute in his tub.

He is constantly making sure he can still fit his ENTIRE fist into his mouth. So far, so good.

He looks a little caught off-guard here...but who wouldn't be?? No one likes their picture taken as they're getting out of the tub!

Sleepy. Smiley. Sweet.

2009-01-01T16:34:00.001-07:00

Christmas 2008

2008-12-25T14:54:00.000-07:00

We had a busy Christmas this year. All of Mark's side of the family was in town this year so there were lots of kids, lots of gifts, and lots of fun!! Here are some highlights:

We had to wake up Owen on Christmas morning - i'm not sure he was quite ready.... Nate & Tasha getting ready for the Candy Bar Game at the Parker Christmas Party...

Mark with Santa Clause.

Opening gifts on Christmas day with the McKoy's...

The Feast at Mom & Dad's.

Opening gifts Christmas morning with the Ricks' (we got there at 6:30am!)Grandpa Ricks, Owen, and Cousin Treyvan.
Showing off Owen's gifts from Santa...

Our little man on Santa's lap. We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a happy 2009!

Gingerbread Men

2008-12-06T22:58:00.000-07:00

For some reason, no bakery in this town makes gingerbread men during the holidays so Corynn and I decided to take on this task ourselves. We got a recipe, and made the gingerbread men you see below. Corynn started acting a little strange when she began talking to the gingerbread men as if they were actual people....but it got really weird when Mark began decorating his....(keep reading for further explanation) This is my little man - sweet and cute as a gingerbread man should be......

These are our friend Emily's men - one is missing his body because she got too hungry and couldn't wait (understandable)...
Here is Corynn's man - he is wearing a vest which is appropriate since it is winter....

But then we have Mark's gingerbread man. Let me explain what he told me when I asked him to describe his decorations. "This is a preppy gingerbread man who is wearing cords and a checkered sweater, he is evil, has claws, and has been shot through the heart....the red stuff ooozing out the right side is blood..." I was a little worried for Mark after hearing this but wanted to document his weirdness with this next picture...
Creepy, right!? I guess we can say he is just very "creative."