And we're off...

So we're off for Christmas.. We are going to New Mexico again today (granted the weather holds up for us) if not we'll go when it is safe, but Kate has a lot in store for her this christmas (ha ha ha) she gets a potty! woo hoo. We figure that while she still doesnt get the whole Christmas thing she will love her new chair and probably all the boxes and bows and of course the strings to put around her neck. Anything with straps works for her. So there won't be many posts till after the new year for me.

Kate the Great!

Some of my favorite times with kate are when she is in the bath... she'd stay there all day if I let her, she can be so grumpy but you put her in the bath and that changes everything.






You gotta love those days where they are just run ragged that they crash in their highchair while eating. (this is VERY unusual for her, she sleeps only in her bed so she must have bee really tired this day.

Flashback Friday... Kitty wear

I mentioned earlier that Ryan and I met while living in the same apartment building, I lived with 4 roommates two of which I served in the mission. Melissa was my partner in crime, this incident the crime was called kitty wear. One of our roommates had nothing but leopard print everything in her room so in an attempt to cheer her up one morning we were in her room talking to her and started to put everything on that we saw, including the make-up. We all laughed and obviously took pictures but then Melissa was talking on the phone to Ryan and told him that we were in Kitty wear and that he should come over. Yes he did and I think that was the moment he knew I was the one :) rrrrrrahr...

Snow cave

Ryan building a Snow cave Saturday night.

Katie and Uillame

It was 7:00 at night and we all decided to go and enjoy the snow at our friends Katie and Uillame's house kate had fun playing with Rhyen their little girl, while Ryan and Uillame build themselves a snow cave.

Snow

Kate's first time Playing in the snow... She LOVED it!

Kate and Elle

Mandy came over a couple of times this week and Kate and Elle were playing so cute, chasing each other around the house and then Kate would jump on Elle and they would snuggle, it was all fun and games until Kate bit her tummy and then it was over... wooops, guess we need to start in on the biting thing. Sorry elle

Flashback Friday....Can anyone say BUCK TEETH?

So Mandy started a flashback Friday where she reminisces about her past... Well here's a couple of things that I think we can all relate to...

1. I think we all have a picture with the big bangs and the fluffed out sides as seen here in these pictures...

2. The dress in the first picture, I remember my mom made me wear that dress for pictures and there was a boy that always found something to make fun of with me (Daniel Bishop) So I didn't wear that dress to school cuz I didn't like it, but when it came time for pictures I went and changed into it and of course when I walked into the classroom there he was laughing cuz of all the frills. ( I wasn't, but I liked to pretend I was a tomboy in school so did Ashley my cousin she was more of a tomboy because she had all brothers, I was just a wannabe) So to wear a frilly dress was embarrassing to me.

Another funny fact about me is that all through elementary school I went by the name Wendy which is my first name. I've never been called that in my life but in kindergarten they called roll and called the name Wendy and I said "here" and was too shy to tell her that my name was Rachel or that I went by Rachel so K-6th grade I went by Wendy. My poor cousins that went to school with me had to flip flop between names when I was at school or with school friends I was Wendy and at home or family functions I was Rachel. By the time JR. High came I switched and now I'm back on track.

Oh and you gotta love when you only have your two front teeth that are huge cuz you haven't lost any others So hence the Buck teeth comment.

Bad hair day

Do you ever feel like this...?? physically or emotionally? well, I braved the crowds the other day and got all my Christmas shopping done I've heard people say how they hate Christmas, and I think I got a glimpse of what they meant. Kate was screaming as we went from store to store and by the end I was thinking, what's it all for???

Just about at my breaking point my sister called (mandy) and I vented my frustrations, she suggested that for her it helps to read Christmas stories, and I might add good music to help us remember the true meaning of Christmas so thank heavens for sisters right? They save the day.
I've now set a goal to read or do something this season everyday to help me get the spirit of it all and to remember why we celebrate this wonderful holiday.

woof woof

Here are two of Kate's favorite toys, one the bra around her neck (I've already mentioned that one but she found this piece of paper in a people magazine and tore it out, and at least once a day she will go in our room and find it and carry it around the house barking (woof woof) if you can't tell, the picture has a bunch of dogs on it, Yep she's an animal lover there's no doubt about it.

Anything with straps

On an earlier post I mentioned how Kate loves to put anything with straps around her neck, preferably bras, well the other day she came out of my bedroom with a bunch of my lingerie around her neck it was too funny, she'd walk around like that all day I think. (I hope this isn't too embarrassing for anyone)

Thanksgiving (a little late)

For Thanksgiving we went to New Mexico and Spent it with Ryan's parents. It was so relaxed and stress free.
Here is a picture of Ryan (to the right of the picture) looking through the mesh of the port-a-crib at Kate sleeping, I caught him it was so cute. I think he's got a thing for her what do you think?

Pheasant hunting

Here's Ryan right after he came home from pheasant hunting. (he said it was a long cold day but fun).

"Choo Choo"

Kate loved playing on grandma and grandpa's choo choo train.

Shooting

We went shooting and we even got Kim (Ryan's mom) to come and she really enjoyed it. She's picked up a whole bunch of new hobbies it's kinda fun to see. We had fun shooting and I got a feel for how our little gun works too.

Friends get together

It was a lot of fun to get together with some of Ryans friends while we were in New Mexico for Thanksgiving, we had dinner and got to talk and laugh a lot. (Katie) I forgot to take your family's picture while you were there oh well it was fun though.

dressup

We played dress-up with grandmas toys!

Kate as a celebrity

Britney Spears.... hmmm hopefully she doesn't resemble her in her actions later right?

Ryan as a celebrity

Ryans look alikes

My celebrity look alikes

So I don't know why there is a line under my writing, it's pretty annoying, anyway, Tori Spelling as a look alike, yuck, I think she looks like a camel oh well there you have it my celebrity look alikes.

Intro to body flex

Click on the bottom body flex frame (it's safe) to the right of this entry... it is a workout that this lady created, her theory is that if you flex your whole body including your whole face while you get all the air out of your lungs it will be more effective...

Get ready to laugh!

The other frames are spoofs off of the original I'm actually afraid to see what they are because they are probably inappropriate.

Ryan's birthday

We celebrated Ryan's birthday at Samantha's the Sunday after his birthday... We had cake and ice cream but we all forgot candle's so Jay decided that Ryan couldn't go without candle's on his cake so he rolled up some paper and lit it. Afterward I looked up and they were sharing a little brotherly bonding time "smoking". For those in our ward that are reading this, you don't need to tell the bishop on him cuz he' not really smoking just in case you were wondering. So now he's joined the 27 yr club.

ADVERSITY

Why is it that every time I verbally say what I'm thankful for, the opposite happens......?

ADVERSITY

Pres. James E. Faust said "Into every life there come the painful, despairing days of adversity and buffeting. Becoming New Creatures A rebirth out of spiritual adversity causes us to become new creatures.

In my attempt to "become a new creature" I've been challenged with some adversity as we all are...

The other day I mentioned how grateful I am for our financial blessings one including our cashback reward from our insurance that we will get in 2 weeks, its a reward because we have had a clean driving record since we got married (3 yrs.)

A week ago I got pulled over right by our house and explained to the cop that I have a clean record and always go the speed limit ( I really do try to go the speed limit because I really want that cashback reward, oh and I want to obey the law too.) I explained a few other things to him that for sure would help him to be more merciful so I thought phew... that was a close one. But no, he came back and GAVE ME A TICKET! ewwwwww I was so mad. He was one of those cops that had to get his quota in for the day and wanted a little extra power and authority. As for our cashback reward I'll have to look into traffic school to keep it off my record but seriously what a waste of time and money.

Adversity #2

2 days after the ticket incident was Ryan's birthday and we went to Tucano's for dinner, later we had friends over for dessert and to watch the office. At about 11:00 we peacefully went to bed but at 1:00 the volcano errupted, I made myself comfortable on the bathroom floor till about 5:30 , around 3:00 Ryan came to join me..... we got the FLU! I forgot how awful the flu is, the last time I had it was in Jr. high or something. Ryan the next morning thought he would brave going to school and teaching, about 1 hour later he came hobbling in the door. Anyway poor Kate got to climb over mommy and daddy while watching tv all day cuz we spent the whole day on the floor.

If you look at the previous entry below this one, you'll see how much I love to be sick...

ADVERSITY

I guess Heavenly Father had got to mold us into becoming new creatures somehow right?
If it doesn't kill you it'll make you stronger.

I have to say one thing that I am truly grateful for, Health. I know that might sound cliche but I really mean it.

When any one of us gets sick I become the grump. As a mom if you get sick you have to pretend like you are not and carry on with keeping the rest of the kingdom in tact. If Ryan gets sick I just feel awful and I can't do much but I try to "make everything all better".

We've been real lucky for this first year of Kate's life that she has only suffered minor colds but just yesterday we were driving in the car to go pick up Ryan and Kate had been so whiny all day and I was getting frustrated and then I looked in the rear view mirror and she threw everything she had eaten that day up. I felt horrible for being irritated. So the rest of the day she threw up a few more times but she slept ok, and today she is just like a noodle, so cuddly (I love that part) but I just feel so bad for her.

So to make a long story short I am thankful for our health.

Anything with straps

My favorite toy lately is to find something with straps, a purse a swimsuit or especially mom's bras and I wrap up in them and walk around the house till someone untangles me. Fun huh?

Hogle Zoo

Mom and me at the Zoo.

Rubber ducky you're the one....

Yes, for Halloween we were the Sesame Street enterage. For Halloween we have a few traditions,

1. We always go see thriller at kingsbury hall.
2. Since Ryan teaches 3rd grade we do the school parade. That is where we are here.
3. I guess a new tradition for us would be trick-or-treating. (not new for the rest of the world.)

This year we saw thriller with Sam and Ginny, and Katie and Uillame. It was fun to get out on a date and feel hip and cool.

On Halloween we went trick-or-treating with Jay and Jen and their kids, it was fun for the first hour but by 2 1/2 we started slowing down. So Ryan, Kate and I decided to walk back to their house, with their directions we thought we would make it back ok but I guess we missed a step and became lost. So we were standing on a random street in Spanish Fork dressed in our costumes scratching our heads trying to figure out where to go. We eventually called Ryans mom in New Mexico to get the exact address and went from there. After cutting through many peoples back yards we made it back to their house. Kate did great, she was just happy to be outside.

Family Picture

Fun in the leaves

We haven't seen the leaves all season and finally on Sunday we went up the canyon it was so beautiful, I wish it stayed like that all year long.

With the stregnth of Jean val Jean

Saturday we called a piano mover to come and move the piano to our house. Up 3 flights of stairs (36 to be exact) I was a little worried wondering how that would work out. But he had a cart that had 4 skis on it and he locked the piano in place then tilted the piano so it rested on the stairs. And on the count of 3 he got underneath it with it resting on his back and pushed it up the stairs using his legs. Ryan helped guide it but said that the mover did all the pushing. We are both still amazed about the whole thing.

Flat tires

So I started running today, I got my jogging stroller all ready... just 2 days ago my dad pumped up the tires, and everything went well...

It was such a beautiful day, Kate loved it and I was loving getting some exercise. So I finish my run and as I'm approaching my house I hear "ssssssss" coming from the tires. Nice.. after all that work getting them pumped up and ready, I rode them through a patch of thorns. So now there's a million holes in them and I have to fix them before Wed. so that I can run again.

Isn't that life though? you just have to laugh about it and move ahead.

Tagged

Here are the rules:

1. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves
2. At the end of the post the player tags 6 other people, and posts their names at the bottom of your own tag (so we know who has been tagged). Then the player goes to their individual blogs and leaves a comment telling them that they have been tagged, and asks them to read your blog for the rules..

I've been tagged by my sister Mandy, so here are 6 things particular to me...

1. I get nasty hangnails in the fall/winter time ( I mention this because I have one bugging me right now)

2. I like fancy food and trying new things so I'm not a picky eater, but I really like macaroni and cheese, pb& j sandwiches, also I like kids meals from Wendy's..... so basically I'm still a little kid at heart.

3. One of my favorite things to do is spend time with friends and family just chatting... although uninterrupted conversations are sometimes a difficult task with kids.

4. At the end of everyday (I call it my tornado time) because I spin around the house cleaning and getting everything back to where it belongs or where I started that day, toys, clothes, dishes, etc.... that is something that keeps the sanity levels in tact.

5. Mandy has talked me into starting running and I'm actually excited about it.

6. When Ryan and I have time together we love to play games (usually settlers of catan, or skipbo) we also like to play croquet, and mini golf.

And that's that.....( sent to: Lacy McDonald, Ashley Nielsen,

My new tricks

Peek- a- boo

Funny faces with dad

Cuddles with Sam and Genevive

Kate loves to play with Sam and Ginny

We went on a picnic up Provo Canyon one Sunday and Kate was so cute and cuddly with Sam and Ginny. I think she is trying to butter them up so that they will have a baby soon. :)

Winter is coming

I don't know about you but I am definitely not ready for the
cold weather that is on it's way. As a mother who stays at
home, I am looking for ideas or things that help you during
the cold days that are to come. Usually during some part of
the day Kate and I can go outside to get out of the house
and especially we like to run errands, but in an effort to save
money on gas I am stumped as to what I can do when I'm at
home so that I don't go crazy with cabin fever but also not
drive all around town either. HELP!

olive oil and epsom salt .... blahhh

For the last 2 weeks I had been having bad pains in my upper abdomen and I knew because of the location and the duration that is was lasting that this pain wasn't normal or like anything else I had experienced. First I thought it might be a parasite or some sort of nasty bug but having spent some time in a 3rd world country and experienced parasites, the two didn't connect, so I ruled that out.

Then I thought maybe it was an ulcer because of the symptoms. But after trying acid reducers and other things I ruled that out as well.

So then I thought maybe it was my gallbladder. So I went to herbs for health to get some ideas on natural remedies... but I remembered that Shauna Sparks (cousin) just recently did a gallbladder cleanse. So it was 10:30 in the morning and I call her and Todd and Shauna both sounded really sleepy. OOps they were in Hawaii and it was actually 6:30 in the morning. Anyway she gave me the instructions for the cleanse and I did it that night. It was nasty..

6 oz. of straight extra virgin olive oil
chase it down with a coke ( that part was ok)
Sleep all night on your right side
In the morning: 8 oz. water with 2 tbs. Epsom salt (natural laxative)
Have a bathroom handy all day long

Keeping down the olive oil was the hardest part I think but that sure did the trick. It took about a week to clean everything out but I feel 100% better. Next to having a baby I don't think I've ever been in so much pain. And the part that really stunk is that you have to keep living and working and being mom. Poor Kate got really bored those 2 weeks she watched a lot of baby Einstein while I laid on the floor, good thing she likes to entertain herself right.

One year old Kate

The Wells family

Kate's first birthday

Kate's birthday party with
the whole family, she really
is getting the hang of eating cake,
or I guess I should say wearing cake.