Our new toy and Spring Break!

With some of our tax rebate money we got back, we decided to purchase a 2001 Honda EX Four Wheeler. It's always been Dave's dream to have a four wheeler, and he found an amazing deal on it, so we got it. Dave's been begging to get one and has always wanted one. He always tells me his sob stories about even from the time he was in elementary school, he'd look up at the Bountiful mountains and day dream about go-carting and riding bikes and four wheelers. He thinks off-roading is a great family activity, and so he thought it would be a great investment, so we went for it. Here it is being loaded up.

Emma was very excited about our four wheeler, especially that it was yellow. She's taking after her daddy, she always has loved riding on four wheelers/snowmobiles/motorcycles. Here she is on a little pink four wheeler she fell in love with at Newgate Motorsports. "We should get this for Emma!" she said. Maybe in a few years, honey! The next picture is of her at the Off Road Expo sitting on a little Kawasaki, which kind of looks like Dave's, only a miniature version. She loves making sound effects while she's sitting on them.

Here are a few pictures of Emma and her cousin Tayla on the four wheeler. Dave gives them rides around the yard at Grandma and Grandpa Ryerse's house, where we store our four wheeler. They have so much fun!

For Spring Break in March, we headed to Knolls, in west central Utah. It was about 30 minutes west of Wendover. We were going to camp there overnight, but the overnight lows were going to be freezing, and since we were bringing the kids, we decided to stay at the luxurious Motel 6 in Wendover. No, it wasn't too bad, it was pretty nice for what we paid. So we went and checked things out in Knolls on Friday night, rode a little bit, then went to explore the city of Wendover. It wasn't very big, but bigger than I thought. We went to eat dinner at Burger King (Emma picked it out, she wanted fries), and then hung out in the hotel room that night. Saturday, we drove back to Knolls. It's kind of like the Dunes, only the terrain is kind of different. We had a great time riding! Emma rode a lot, probably more than me. Dave goes really slow when he's riding with her, and Emma had a grin on her face the whole time! And so did Dave! He looked like a little boy on Christmas morning!

Here's yours truly riding it. It isn't automatic, and I'm not so great with manual transmissions and the whole shifting thing, so I am practicing. It's a fun machine, but I have a ways to go when it comes to driving it proficiently.

We bought a bunch of beach toys to play in the sand with. We made sand castles, dug holes (Emma's favorite), hid things to find, wrote in the sand, and more. Emma had a lot of fun. She wanted to wear her helmet all day, even while just playing in the sand!

This is Cal chilling under our canopy. He slept most of the day, but enjoyed listening to the sounds of dirt bikes.

Here is a picture of Emma playing in the sand, and me riding in the background. Knolls was a fun place, and we hope to go back there soon!

Some thoughts on hugs!

I just finished reading the book "The Official Book of Hugs" by Martha Bolton. The book is cute and kind of silly, but has some great truths in it. It’s an easy read, you can read it in a couple of hours or less, and it made me more aware of what hugs are all about. I’m making a goal to hug more and hug better! Throughout the book, I thought of the many people who inspire me with their love and hugs.




First of all, my mom. What is better when you’re a kid (or teen or adult), and you’re feeling down, or you just got hurt, sick, or going through a stressful time, than a big hug from mom? My mom always had her arms wide open to us kids at all times. And there really was nothing more comforting. Getting a hug from mom means everything will be okay. (Hers was the first hug I'd ever received.)




One of the first people I thought of while reading this book was my friend Camille Garner Rogers. Camille taught me that hugs have no barriers. She hugs everyone for anything, and they’re always quality! She has always inspired me in so many ways, and that was one thing I’ll never forget about her. The hugs that she gives just make you feel good. She's very good at making people feel good about themselves. (This was the day we dyed our hair with strawberry Jell-O!)

My favorite person who gives really the best hugs ever is my very own Dave (well, at least I think they’re the best ever). His hugs just brighten my day and make me feel safe and valued. Even my Aunt Christy always says that Dave gives the best hugs, it’s like a big teddy bear hug. He hugs so many ways and all of the time. I love his tender hugs! He's the best! R.R.F.! (Dave hugs...on our wedding day!)





My siblings are also great huggers. My little sister Amy is so loving and good to hug me, and Adam, though now it’s usually a long time between hugs, always gives nice hugs. Looking through our family scrapbooks, Adam always had his arms around me or someone else in our family. And let’s not forget little Marko. I hear from the ladies he’s a good hugger! (: No, from the time he was a little boy, and I a little girl, we shared some special hugs. My mom was just telling me a story last week about my sister Amy and I. She said that one night she heard us crying in our room (we always shared a room until I moved away) when we were very young. She opened the door to see what the matter was, saw we had our arms around each other and when my mom asked what was wrong, Amy answered "I don't want sister to be sick anymore!" I had kidney reflux disease growing up, and was sick quite often. Amy is still this way, very compassionate for others, as are my other siblings. I'm lucky to have them. (Me and "my sissie", Amy)

Grammie (Dad’s Mom) gives great hugs too, every time when we part with a “love ya”, “You’re neat”, or some other compliment that gives you confidence. Her hugs are building and make me remember where I've come from, who I am and what I want to be. (The day I graduated from Seminary, Grammie bought me the corsage sinc I had to speak/play.)





My friend Katie Midgley Bills gives awesome hugs! They are very sweet and big and genuine. She has always been giving me hugs, since probably the first time we met. She hugs everyone, and is such an example to me of friendship and love. (This was the day of the "Shrek Date" we took Brandon & Dave on, our sophomore year of college.)













Hugging my children is a tender thing. When I got to hold them in my arms the first time, it brought tears to my eyes. My Emma and Callahan are so precious and each hug is, too. Emma is very sweet about giving hugs. Even when we’re playing a game or something, if I do well, she’ll give me a great big hug and say “You did it!” It’s fun. Emma's also caught on to "Hug huddles" that we used to do in my family growing up. We get together with the family, or whoever is around, and get in a big hug circle and call out "Hug Huddle!" (Awww...I love these kids and their hugs!)

One of the most emotional hugs I’ve had was with my friend Marcy Valenzuela, after her son died. I really didn’t know what to say, but we just hugged each other really tight and cried. And it was so powerful.


I’m grateful to be surrounded by good huggers, and I hope that I can follow their examples and become better, too! The world really can be changed for the better, just by one simple hug at a time. This hug’s for you!

Don't Cry Over Spilt Milk

I have a condition. At our home, we call it the “Melsease”. It’s dropping and spilling and breaking everything in sight! It seemed like for a while, I’d do it all of the time! I’d spill juice pitchers as I’d get them out of the fridge, break casserole dishes, drop candles and crack the glass, spill the box of cereal all over the floor and more. I was getting frustrated with myself for a while. One occasion recently, I spilled our over-sized salsa jar all over the floor. It spattered everywhere, to the point where I’m still finding dots of salsa on the wall or behind the fridge! It got all over my clothes and Emma’s clothes, on the cabinets, on the floor, the walls, everywhere, except for in my mouth. I got so mad at myself and grumbled because similar things had happened many times that week. Emma got kind of scared that I got upset, I felt really bad after and apologized. But Dave came in, and said “Hey honey, let’s salsa!” and started doing some funny dances, and also asked later “Hey, where are the chips?” Then he started to clean up, as I just stood there not knowing where to begin. I’m glad he had a sense of humor about it, because I sure didn’t then. But I’m grateful for his light-heartedness and helping me to see the bright side of things when I get down sometimes! He also took some pictures, he thought it would be funny. I didn't think it was, at least then. But now I can laugh about it.

Splat!

The look that says it all!

This past week, Emma was getting out some Nesquick powder to make some chocolate milk, when it spilled all over. Luckilly, I’m getting better at laughing about it. Emma and I just giggled, and Emma saw nothing wrong with eating the chocolate powder off the floor! She ran before I could catch her, and was grabbing all of the chocolatey powder goodness she could fit in her hands and ate it. It was pretty funny. We just had fun playing in it, but I decided I’d better clean it up before it got tracked all over the house! Dave thought it was halarious when I showed him the video and pictures. We had a great time, and I've learned my lesson lately not to cry over spilled milk!

Valentine's Day!

I love Valentine’s Day (okay, okay…I know I say that about just about every holiday, but I guess I’m just a little festive)! This year, I decided to do the Fourteen Days of Valentine’s Day for Dave. Each day, I gave him a little something, or do something for him, along with a little note explaining the significance. Some were inside jokes, so you may think it’s lame, but Dave really liked it! Here are a few of the things we did.

· Love notes in his lunch (which I try to do often)
· The kids and I put on sunglasses and sang “You are my Sunshine!” for a singing telegram.
· A mini box of chocolates that had a big truck on it that says “I like the way you roll!”
· Some pictures we took at the photo booth in Kmart
· A new orange tie
· Valentine’s card
· A flute performance of “Valentine” by Lukas Foss
· Craft flowers Emma and I made
· Gum (because we’ve stuck together so long)
· Heart attack in his cubicle
· Homemade poppy seed bread
· Valentine’s breakfast

Here's the "heart attack" Dave took some pictures of. His favorite heart was the one below.

Our candlelight Valentine's breakfast


Dave is also very sweet and always sends cute e-mails and pictures he draws, and little notes. On Valentine’s Day, he brought me an orange flower, and chocolate marshmallow and cherry ju ju hearts. On Valentine’s Day, we had our special family breakfast featuring heart-shaped eggs, cinnamon chocolate chip pancakes and hash browns. That night, Grandma and Grandpa Stoddard came up to have a Valentine’s Day party with Emma and Cal (they had a heart-shaped pizza and ate popsicles, colored Valentine’s pictures, and watched Charlie Brown’s Valentine’s Day), while Dave and I went to the young married’s Valentine dance. We had fun seeing some friends we hadn’t seen in a while, eating Costa Vida for dinner, getting pictures taken, decorating sugar cookies, and dancing. We decided we’re such terrible dancers, so when Dave finishes school and we have an open weeknight, we made a goal to take dancing lessons or check out videos on how to really dance – the waltz, tango, salsa, ballroom, swing, whatever we can find. The night was fun and we did a little reminiscing together about our marriage so far. It’s been so amazing! I’m so happy I have such a fun spouse who makes me smile always.

Hugs and kisses for Callahan on Valentine's Day!

The Valentine's Dance

What's my age again?

I just had to post these pictures...

When going to the bathroom on the potty, Emma likes to take off her panties/diaper, and her pants. Whatever works, and gets her to go, right? One day at Grandma & Grandpa Ryerse's, Emma was going to the bathroom, and decided she wanted to take of her diaper and the rest of her clothes, as well. After she was done, she took off running, and I was trying my hardest to catch her and put her clothes back on, but she thought it was so funny, she just kept running and laughing! I had a hard time not laughing as well, and so I had to take some pictures! Hopefully, these pics won't offend you. If my brother Marko was around to see them, he'd probably cover his eyes and say "Ewww!"

Emma's little episode reminded me of the music video by Blink 182, "What's my age again?" that was so popular when I was in junior high. The three from the band are running around the neighborhood in their sneakers and socks, with no clothes on (of course, it's censored where it needs to be). Luckilly, Emma is little, and it's cute since she's just 2. I don't think anyone older would be able to get away with this and it would be funny.

Callahan's Blessing

Callahan Benjamin Ryerse was blessed on February 1, 2009 by his father, David Ryerse.
Callahan was blessed that his life would be productive. He was blessed to grow strong and healthy, and to grow in wisdom and gain knowledge, to know all required to return to Heavenly Father. He was then blessed that if he was to fall, he’d have the strength and courage to get up. He was blessed that he might increase his faith, and be an example to others. Last, he was blessed with the tools and all other things he needs in this life. In the circle: Dan Ryerse, Scott Stoddard, Jeff Ryerse, Randy Ryerse, Jerry Ryerse, Brian Ryerse, Kolby Rollins, Rex Lammers.

I am grateful to have our children born to us in the covenant. How the Gospel blesses families! I’m also grateful for the Priesthood in our home, and to Dave, who holds and uses it worthily. And we’re also grateful to now have Callahan in our family!

The day was a great one! I woke up early, and we were actually on time to church that day (well, 2 minutes late, but hey! That’s good for us lately!). Luckily, all of my worst fears were unrealized. He he! He pooped before getting into his blessing outfit, and no spit-up even got on it all day. Cal looked so adorable in his little romper I made. I sewed it all myself, except for the quilting on the vest, I was a little nervous about that, so my mom did that. I think the tie was my favorite part. While sewing it all together, I told my mom that maybe we should just make a tie and a white diaper cover (it’d be so much easier) and he could be a little Chip and Dale’s baby. My mom laughed SO hard, it was pretty funny. She’s amazing, and I thank her for all of my help. When I made mistakes, she knew just how to fix it. My other fear didn’t happen, either. He didn’t start crying or freaking out during the blessing. He’s usually pretty calm, and was perfectly alert and calm during the blessing.

After the blessing, we had a luncheon with the families, a full out nacho bar, and chocolate fountain with all of the fixings! It was yummy and fun to be with family. We have such an awesome family, so supportive and I love them all a lot! For a few more pics, visit my sisters blog at www.kolbyandamy.blogspot.com.

Enough to make a mother's heart melt!

So about 2 weeks ago, Callahan began smiling! Oh, how it makes me so happy to see him smile! He is just such a cute, happy boy. Here are some of my favorite smiling pictures we’ve captured of him. It seems that usually he’ll stop smiling when he sees the camera, though he usually smiles a lot. Go figure! That's why it took me so long to post these. So enjoy them!