Happy 4th Birthday Rykie Rykster

This silly boy had his 4th birthday today. We have been celebrating for the past 3 days!! 

Ryker has liked the color green since he could point and pick things out. 

He is so fun to drive with because he is so good in the car and keeps me laughing with his silly comments.

He loves the water.

He would ALWAYS be outside if he had the choice.

His Nana and Pa took us to The Rainforest Cafe Saturday night for his birthday. He was so excited to see all the animals (his other favorite thing)

Sunday night we went to his Gama and Gampas for dinner and had his birthday cake. He wanted a chocolate dinosaur cake. 

Monday morning on his birthday. He is offically four and couldn't wait to open his presents.

Since Ryker has a love for animals Shaun and I took Ryker to the Wildlife Zoo and Aqarium. Thank you Nana and Pa for watching Millers so we could have some special time with Ryker.

First off , we had such a great time. Yes it was a little warm but not terrible. This place is way better than the Phx Zoo because the animals are so much closer. The white tiger looks like he is looking for some lunch!!

This was one of our favorite parts. You can buy pellets to feed the giraffes and they will lick it right off your hand. So fun and giraffes are actually really cute!!

The new aquarium is AWESOME!!!! So many things to look at and so many pictures but I won't make you go through all of them. This penguin was swimming back and forth so Rykre was following it.

Ryker LOVES snakes (he gets that from me) so he enjoyed looking at several different types and sizes of snakes.

The Wildlife Zoo is pretty far away and a little expensive, but totally worth it. I think a yearly visit is a must.  

Then we went to Olive Garden for a late lunch and back to Nana and Pas for a quick swim in the pool and dinner. Ryker got a few more fun things for his birthday but he is really excited about the "Skitter" he got. 

What a wonderful day and we had so much fun hanging out with our little man. I love him so much and as most of you know he has a very special personality. He has been a joy and lots of work since the day he was born and I wouldn't trade it for anything. At the end of the day when we tuck him in at night, the first thing he says is "we have to read scriptures and say prayer".  I love that my 4 year old is such a great example for us. I LOVE YOU RYKER-BOY!!!!!!!!

Whatever will I do!!!!!!

So as most of you know I'm a TV junkie!!!!! Reality TV is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me (ok maybe not the best thing).  Tivo is the best thing that ever happened to me because now I don't have to miss a thing. I know I know most say TV is a waste of time BUT I'm pretty much non-stop all day long so I need to do some unwinding AND I sit and do projects while I watch TV so it is not a total waste of time!!  But it is that terrible time of the year when all my shows are coming to an end!! Here is a run through of some of them:

American Idol has been amazing!!! I LOVE Kris Allen and if that pukey Adam Lambert wasn't here this season Kris would totally be winning. But for some STRANGE reason everyone likes Adam and I think he will win. But mark my words Kris will sell way more albums in the long run. He is so talented and humble and lets me honest, so cute. Adam has the worst high pitch scream and he performs like he is about to take his clothes off or something, trying to look all seductive like, BARF!!!  Sad that this show is ending next week!!

I just love this Survivor. I love getting to know all the people who are playing, I love the challenges, the rewards and their is always a few nut cases ever year!! This year it is Coach. I'm not sure who I want to win yet but I'm thinking JT or Steven.

This is my weekly dose of non-stop laughs. This is the only show Shaun and I both like (Shaun HATES reality tv) so we look forward to watching this every Thursday without fail. I think we are a little too obsessed and find it funnier than most.  Since we watch it on Tivo we stop and rewind often at all the funny lines.  I usually have tears rolling down my face and Shaun is rolling on the floor in laughter. I told you we were obsessed but pretty fun to watch it with =) Right now Andy is my favorite character.  But it is Creeds one-liners that I love!!

Then my first show to end was the Celebrity Apprentice. I'm so glad Joan won, I was cheering for her the whole way. She has more energy than me and she is 75 years old...CRAZY.  Annie Duke is not a nice person and even though she raised a ton of money she is way to into her self and only does things for the glory.

Well I do have a few more shows I watch but luckily my Bill OReilly is year round so I can always depend on him through the summer.  

Happy TV watching!! 

Cinco de Mayo

I hope everyone had a bueno Cinco de Mayo.  

We enjoyed a yummy assortment of our Mexican food favorites.

Pina Soda pop,  homemade salsa, and who can forget the churros.

(my stash fell off)

Meet Paco

Mmmmm caliente churro and the Pringles guy trying to take it away.

Buenos Noche!!!

17 Again

This week was filled with fun and I would say the theme was "Feeling 17 again".  Megann came into town and  that calls for a girls night!! Yummy Cafe Rio and some good laughs really makes for a wonderful night. I'm so glad you came to visit Meg. We missed the other Sista Friends who couldn't come.  Ladies next time I think we should avoid the "predator" talking or bad things happening to us conversations =) I'm glad Morgan ended the night with a hilarious hair drama story. I can't wait for June now!!!!!! Girls Road Trip!!!!! 

Gross it has been 10 since I was 17, blahhhhh.

I love summertime. For being the first of May the weather is PERFECT. Warm enough to play outside and have fun with the hose. Ryker has been going outside everyday and playing in the water, while Millers takes a nap. Well He was still out there and she woke up and didn't want to miss out in the fun. Amelia loves the water and was so excited to splash around.

We went to pick up a few more things from my preschool (sniff sniff) and my parents just got irrigation. Now that is my summer fun. I remember always being so excited when we got irrigation and we would play until it was all soaked up. OK call me white trash but I think everyone else is just jealous they didn't have a lake in their backyard!!

Then Saturday night Shaun and I (and his fam) went and saw 17 again. Ok I know what you are thinking... why didn't we see Wolverine and why in the heck did Shaun go see 17 again. Because a few weeks ago Leann, Missy and I said we were going to go see 17 again, well Doug invited himself so I made Shaun go (Nolan was off being a Policeman).  But Shaun  thought it was funny and we laughed a whole lot. Next week Wolverine all the way!! Man, Zac Efron one weekend, Hugh Jackman the next, now all that is left is to see that movie Matthew McConaughey is in =)

Shaun and I can always feel 17 again by talking about our good ol' Highschool years and all our old inside jokes!!  Who needs Zac Efron when I've got Shaun =) Now if only I can  find the secret to getting back in the same jeans I wore when I was 17.

Dollie and her Blankie

Amelia is just growing up so fast. She is so much fun and we love every minute with her because she is usually making us laugh.  She is 14 months now and still not saying any "real" words but she jibbers in her own language constantly. She LOVES looking at books and she will either sit and read them out loud to herself of walk around holding the book out while reading (i need to take a picture of her doing it). She smiles and laughs all the time and is so good at entertaining herself.  Millers LOVES her blankie. She must have it when she goes to sleep. When she gets tired she finds her blanket and get the corner and starts poking her nose with it. We say "Millie is picking her nose so she must be tired". It cracks us up every-time and she also as to have a paci as well.  A few other obsessions she has is cell phones. If I don't call you back ever it is because if the girl sees a phone she wants it. She also loves to hold chapstick.  Oh Millers, what would we do without you. We love Sister so much, thanks for being such a wonderful little lady.

Girls Camp and Boys Camp

As some of you know I'm our wards Girls Camp Director again ( I was 2 years ago- couldn't go last year, Millie was only a few months old). It is such a fun calling and this time it is even better because I'm actually in Young Women's as the Laurel Advisor this time so I already know the girls.  Well a few months back we planned  an overnighter with the girls to go and do all out pre-certification stuff.  Then a we found out the Elder Quorm Presidency (Shaun is the 2nd councilor)  planned their Fathers and Sons the same night (we planned our first though). Millie got to stay at my parents and I went to  "Girls Camp" and Shaun and Ryk went to "Boys Camp" - Ryker started calling it that after he keep hearing me talk about girls camp. =)

 Shaun is not much of a camper  so he got his easy pop up tent that he used as a boy scout. They were warm and cozy  in this tiny tent. But Shaun didn't care because he just had to fold it up to put it away.

Rykers favorite part was when they saw a snake. He would have brought it home as a pet if he could have.

We didn't go to far and everything was perfect!! The weather was great, the food AMAZING and it went rather smoothly. We had the girls put together a tin foil dinner right when we got their then while it were cooking we did our centers and they learned how to start fires and put them out and how to cook dessert in a dutch over.

The next morning we woke up to hot pancakes and eggs then I taught them basic CPR. 

Thanks Amanda for all the help. Who am I kidding, I helped you!! I had a blast and the girls seemed to as well.  Maybe we should do these once a month, hey the boys get to =)

2 extra kids and Sarah Turned 21!!

Well the past 2 weeks have been packed. A week and a half ago we had 2 extra member in our family. Out friends the Porters got to on a neat trip to Honduras so we were able to have their 2 girls for a few days. We started the day with a preschool field trip to Bashas. The kids have to wear hairnets, as you can see Ryker was not happy about it. He got over it though. 

That night for dinner the kids were so good and ate so well I gave them some gummi savers. Well Shaun was teaching them how to play with their food.  They were so funny and tried so hard to do what Shaun was doing.

 

One of the days it was warm and sunny so we busted out the swimsuits and  had a "Water Party" as Ryker calls it. Oh those summer days are coming!!

Then April 17th was my beautiful blonde sister's birthday!! We went over to my parents for some homemade pizza, cake and ice cream. Sarah thanks for being the best sister ever!! I'm so proud of you and who you have become. Keep being the wonderful person you are, even if you think I have *Narpy Pete* =)  And you are the BEST New York buddy ever!! I say we go again SOON.

Oh Sarah what can I say, you are just so much fun and hilarious to be around!! Here she is jumping and being crazy with the kids. 

After Sarah blow out her candles the kiddos wanted their own candle to blow out.

We are taking a family shot and Eden and Delia ran to be in it to, then Delia pulls a face like this I was laughing so hard.  =)  

Uncle Abeos gives the best bull rides.

We had a fun time with the Porter girls. When Amanda came to pick them up  Ryker started to cry and said "I don't want them to go".   I will admit 4 kids is more work but they all did great and had so much fun.  

No Nanny State!!!

We just got back from the Rally in Gilbert!! Their were tons of people their and it was great!!  All walks of life showed up to show their support. And you know I really think this is important because I stood in the wind for an hour and I HATE wind. 

So lets all CALL our CONGRESSMEN and SAVE CAPITALISM!!! If you just sit back and say "I can't make a difference" then you can't COMPLAIN when American goes down the crapper!! 

I'm really bummed I didn't have signs or something. I had preschool this morning so I ran out of time.

Amelias first Rally!! 

The different news stations were there and interviewing some passionate people!!

Also on a sad note, today was my LAST day in my amazing classroom. I'm so grateful to my parents for letting me have my preschool at their house and helping with my kids!!  I'm truly going to miss this and the sweet kiddos I teach.  It is hard because I've had many sibling and have grown close to many families, I will miss you all.   I can't wait for the day I can have another classroom like this.  

Umm what am I going to do with all my stuff???? Oh boy. =)

Tea Party!!!!

Who can go with me!!!  It is Wednesday April 15th Noon to 1:00pm at the Gilbert Town Hall Warner and Gilbert.

Dionne, where are you when I need you??? =)