The Campbell's Condesned Version of Our Summer so far...

The past month has been exciting for our family! June 26 brought the return of my little brother, Mark. We are so excited to have him home now. Here's Emma with the sign we made for him. We also decorated his room with balloons and signs. He got a kick out of them.

"Hey Emma, do you remember me?" is what Mark said to Emma. He loved being the cool uncle before he left, and he's now resumed his post, though it took Emma a couple of weeks to get used to him. She wouldn't even give him hugs, but now she laughs and always asks me "Mom, where's Marko?" "Let's go see Marko!". (Sorry, my camera was turned on the wrong setting, so lots of these pictures were blurry)

Here's the group who picked Marko up from the airport. Marko served in the Chile Antifagasta mission. He looks about the same, though he's got a great tan and wears glasses a bit now. He also acts about the same, though you can detect that Chilean spanish accent still, and he'll be talking in English, then slip into his espanol. It's pretty funny.

Marko with his sisters! We all love Marko, he's such a great kid! A few days after Mark got home, he was off to Michigan to see our oldest brother, Adam. So we haven't all been together for over two years, but hopefully we will all reunite this November, when Adam, Meghan & their new little baby Steven will be coming to visit us in Utah.

We had a great time the day he got home. We had a steak lunch, and then just talked and listened to stories and caught up. Marko also brought home some souveniers and trinkets. Here's Emma trying on a soccer jersey he brought home.

The family group shot after Marko's homecoming. He did a great job speaking and our little Marko is not so little anymore. He's grown up now! It was so good to hear his testimony also. I'm grateful to have family members who are going in the right direction.

Marko and Cal have already bonded (it didn't take long for Callahan, like it did for Emma). Here they are playing together. Mark is so fun with kids, they all love him!

Classic Stoddard sibling pic (Adam, we can photoshop ya in!). We've used this pose since Adam left on his mission several years ago.

Mark loves helping out with the kids and playing with them. Here he is after feeding Cal. Marko adjusted pretty quickly to life at home. The day he got back, he was cranking his SKA and rock music up loud while he took a shower, and asked to pull the car over to get a jr. bacon cheeseburger at Wendy's on the way back from getting mission pics at Costco. He's pretty funny.

Ah, the dog days of summer. Emma and Cal love summer, as I do. Somuch fun and so much to do!

One night, we went to the Mayan for dinner, and then to the REAL SL soccer game. Emma had so much fun playing on the statues outside while we were waiting. She loved sliding down and climbing on them.

Once we got inside the Mayan, it was a different story. "This is spooky" Emma kept saying. Se did like the waterfall, and the food, but I think the lighting, sounds, and cliff-divers scared her.

Here's Dave & Emma at the Real Game. It was pretty fun, and REAL actually won, which was great, because they haven't been doing so hot this season. It was a pretty exciting, fast-paced match.

Cal, the little soccer fan...
Emma is having a fun time with Callahan, and he's able to handle a little more now. She is very sweet to him (99% of the time! There are occasional incidents) and loves to help me with him and play with him. She calls him "Handsome Man", "Little Boy" and "Cal Boy" the most. My favorite is when she speaks to him in "Motherese", that high-pitched Mom to baby talk.

Our day at the Zoo was fun! Emma loves the Merry-Go-Round (She thinks it's called the "American Round") but doesn't like the animals that go up and down.

The waterfountain, it's a classic! That's one of the things I remember from a young age about Hoagle Zoo. Here Tayla and Emma are enjoying a drink.

Callahan was a happy boy at the Zoo! I personally think he could get away sneaking in with the Chipmunks exhibit, with his cute two front teeth. Oh wait, they don't have chipmunks at the Zoo.

"How do you measure up?" Most ask if Callahan is 4 or 5 months, but he's almost 8 now. He's always been a little guy!

Little Pioneer Girl! Emma had a great time with Pioneer Day. Her most recent favorite song is "Little Pioneer Children". She sings it all of the time. And the oxcart one. She likes that one too.

Emma and Callahan in the parade! Yee-haw!

For our ward's playgroup, we created our own "covered wagon" and entered it into the Ogden Pioneer Days Children's Parade. We had a great time! Here's what we came up with:

I don't know if you can see them, but we had "seagulls" flying from the truck. It looked kind of fun (great idea, Natalie!)

Here are some of the ward buddies in the float. From left to right, Natalie Chesley and her little girl Alexia, Vladimir Canro, Arianna and Amanda Canro.

Emma and Arianna on the float after the parade. Arianna thought it was too loud and had her hands over her ears the whole time. Emma said during the last few minutes "Mom, are we done yet?" and she began crying. She was done. Good thing this parade wasn't very long!

We went to the rodeo, and our own little rodeo queen had a fun time at her first rodeo. She really liked those horses!

Callahan at the rodeo. He really liked trying to eat the camera, like he's doing here.

The Ogden mounted police possee. That was pretty cool. They were making all kinds of cool formations and doing fun tricks. I didn't know they existed!

Pioneer Day! The Bountiful Handcart days parade. Emma and Tayla loved the candy and marching along with the music. It was hot, but worth it, it was a fun parade!

Emma watching the fire engines pass by. "They're too loud!"

We had a yummy pioneer-authentic (or as close as we could get...I'm sure the pioneers would be living it large with this food) dinner. Here's Kolby, Emma, Mark, Dave, and Cal helping finish up the dutch oven cooking. We had ham, baked beans, pioneer salad and dressing, homeade whole-wheat bread and jams, and peach cobbler and homeade ice-cream for dessert. It was fun.

Later on the 23rd, we saw the Meuller Park fireworks. Callahan has loved fireworks this year, and Emma still does. He was also fascinated by the glow sticks, which Grandma Sue has in large supply.The Handcart Days festivities at the park. Emma loved swinging more than anything (well, and the snowcones!). Phew! Okay, I'm done now! I tried to keep it brief. Hope everyone is having a great summer!

She thinks my tractor's sexy...

When I saw the John Deere tractor background from thecutestblogontheblock.com, I just had to add it as our blog background! For those of you who don't know, Dave is a huge JD fan. He served his mission in the south (Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Missouri) where the tractors are everywhere, and ever since then has loved them. Here's a pic of Dave in Oklahoma with his JD hat on and his "backwoods" hick teeth. On the back of the photo, "Billy Jo Ryerse" is written.

Dave has driven the tractors, done work with them, and enjoys all of the JD toys and memorabilia as well. Here's another picture he took on his mission (2001-2003). Now that's one crazy tractor!

Our first date was to the state fair, and we make it a point to go each year. Every year, we have to check out the tractors on display. Here we are three years ago posing next to a happy tractor.

Dave's Mom jokes that we need to name one of our boys John Deere Ryerse. When Emma was born she went hog wild (and still does) buying John Deere liscenced clothing. Here's a picture of some cute John Deere socks...we love fun socks!

One year for Christmas, Dave and I sewed matching pajama pants for us and Emma. I also made shirts, his said "Nothing Runs Like A Deere" (I always tell him that nothing runs like my dear, and his signature on his outgoing work e-mails say "Nothing Runs Like a Ryerse") and Emma's shirt said "John Deere Baby".

Like father, like daughter! Em now points out tractors or JD stuff when she sees it and gets very excited!

Dave's ladies!

Dave's parents began a demolition/remodeling project a few summers ago. Dave had a great time working the tractor!

Love to backhoe! He was like a little boy on Christmas morning working with that!

I also made a dress recently for Emma that had JD logos over it. She looks so cute in it! You can't see the logos very well, but they're on there. Here she is doing her Cabbage Patch doll's hair, which happens to be dressed in what else? John Deere overalls and shirt.

Callahan wearing the same JD pants Emma used to wear. (Emma decided to stick one of Dave's bike stickers he got on his head.)

Some day, we're planning on decorating a John Deere bedroom or kitchen in our house. I'm excited to do that. Bedroom/kitchen...hmmm....maybe we'll end up doing both.

Recently, we saw a JD Snowmobile at the Ogden carshow. We were excited about it!

So now you know why we like John Deere so!

Happy birthday, Ryerse Sprinkles Blog!

It's been a year since I began our family's blog, and to celebrate the one year mark, I thought I'd explain where the name "Ryerse Sprinkles" came from. No, it's not the itsy-bitsy delicious confectionary toppings I'm talking about, though we do love those kind of sprinkles, too.

A few have wondered what the name of our blog, Ryerse Sprinkles, means and if it has any significance. Dave and I randomly came up with a family handshake a few years ago (yeah, we're pretty cheesy, but it's fun!) and we call it "Ryerse Sprinkles". It consists of putting out one or both hands, and wiggling your fingers together with the other persons hand(s). Go ahead, you know you want to try it, it's catchy! It caught on and we do it at random times, to encourage each other, when we're playing games or times like that. It's like our family "hi-five", I guess you could say. Emma got into it several months ago loves doing it. She says "Sprinkles!" and has to do the handshake with everyone in the room. Does that answer your question?...

And now for a much-needed update the past month or so. It's Sprummer time, as we call it in our family. Not quite full-fledged summer, but late spring and nice, perfect weather! We've had so much happen in our family and have also been able to do some fun things and have been busy, hence the reason it's been a while since any posts. Here's the Campbell's condensed version.

We went camping in May with Amy & Kolby down to the sand dunes, or Little Sahara, UT. We had a blast with them! We just hung out around the campsite the first night, talking and enjoying one another. Kolb and Dave showed off their fire-making skills and we made s'mores, of course! We also did some night riding, which was sweet.

Emma loved jamming out to the music from Mamma Mia!

Emma loves playing in the tents! Here she is with Amy sneaking an oreo. Speaking of Oreos, on Saturday, Emma got some sand in her mouth from all of her hard-core playing. I told her to drink some water or a drink to get it out. She kept asking if she could have an oreo all day, and I told her after her lunch she could have some. Instead of the water idea, Emma got a bright look on her face, and said "Hey Mom, maybe an oreo will help get the sand out of my mouth!"

Here Emma is playing in the World's Largest Sandbox, as they call it. She had fun with her sand toys and sliding down the hills.

Cal with Kolby. Callahan peed all over Kolby's camp chair - oops!

It was so much fun going camping with you, Kolb and Am! Another funny story about camping. In the morning, we were changing in the tent, when Emma saw the shadow of Kolby walk by, and Kolby just happened to be eating some licorice. Emma got such a worried look on her face, looked at me seriously and said "Mom! Kolby is smoking!". I looked at what she saw, and it did look quite a bit like someone smoking. I had to explain to her that it was just a piece of licorice.

We went to the 2009 Air Show at Hill Air Force Base. We went 3 years ago, when I was pregnant with Emma. I loved it then, and this year, it was even better. If you ever get a chance to go, I'd highly recommend it. The planes were neat to see, they did some spiffy tricks. We got to walk on and tour some large carrier planes. It is pretty amazing what these machines (and their drivers) can do. There were so many people there! It was crowded, but well worth it.

"Look at the airplanes!"Re-enactment of some fight during some war...he he! I don't remember which one.

Having some high-flying fun (I know I love puns!)

Wow! Enjoying the air show with Daddy!

The wild blue yonder. These Oracle trick planes were my favorite!


For Memorial Day, we visited the graves of those who've gone before. It was a good teaching moment and a time to remember. We had a BBQ lunch with the Ryerse side. With the Stoddard's, it was tradition to go boating in the past. But now the boat is not quite working so well, so we decided to make Memorial Day a luau instead. It's a fun tradition.

Aloha!

Riding the pink flamingo.

Here's the table, set and ready to be filled with fine Hawaiian food such as coconut shrimp, ham and pineapple shiskabobs, Hawaiian rice, south seas slush, and more. Yum!

Callahan and Great-Grammie. Cute.

Lagoon fun! We went to our stake Lagoon day, and it was rainy...again! I do love the rain, but we were pretty cold and soggy by the end. We had a great time together, though.

We're at "Lagoonies"! Emma started calling it that. We watched Goonies a few nights before, and thought it was funny she thought it was named after that.

Riding the Merry-go-Round! Mommy and Daddy took turns riding the rides with Emma. Most of the pictures turned out blurry, but this one was okay.

Cal on the Animal train

Getting wet in the fountains! Splash!

In addition to being ward organist, I got called a few months ago to be a playgroup leader, which is one of our Enrichment interest groups. We've done some really fun activities, but I keep forgetting to take pictures. Here are some pictures of a flop activity we did last week. We went to go see the Mickey Train at the Union Station, but the wait was 3 hours long!

Emma and her ward buddy, Uakea, playing.

I thought this picture of Emma and Maverick was cute. They held hands really well, just like we asked them to.

Emma and Cal at one of the interactive displays. The movie should be great because it's Disney and Christmas! I'm excited to see it.

Needless to say, we didn't think the kids would last out that long. So we saw what we could, then we went swimming over at the Stratford's condo. Emma loves swimming! She has such a fun time. And it was great to have a sunny day. It has been raining so much lately, and so cold, so we haven't been able to go out much. Emma kept begging to go swimming, and was feeling a little cabin fever, so finally I decided to blow up our little kiddie pool, and fill it up in our very own living room, on conditions that Emma wouldn't splash much. (Parents, don't try this at home - jk!) Anyways, we had a fun pool day indoors!

We're silly! Our indoor swim day!Surf's up, dude!
Emma's broken goggles. The picture turned out really blurry, but I love the expression on her face. She is a very dramatic, expressive little girl.

And now to finish off, a sad, yet happy event. Grandma Lilly, Dave's grandma, passed away. Last weekend, we went up to Twin Falls, ID for her viewing and funeral. We stayed with Uncle Mac (my Mother-in-law's brother) and Aunt Marsha. They are great people and it's fun to be around them. The viewing was nice. They had a slide show of pictures, and that was really fun to see some old pictures of Grandma Lilly I'd never seen before. Lilly has been living with Dave's parents for the last three years, as her health has been declining, so we've gotten to know her pretty well. She is one of the sweetest, gentlest ladies I've ever met. For the funeral on Friday, Dave said the family prayer, after the morning viewing. I played the flute for the service. Grandma Lilly told me years ago that she wanted me to play my flute at her funeral, which I always laughed about and told her it would be a long time before she would go. I played a version of "Each Life That Touches Ours for Good" that I arranged for flute and piano, specifically for this event. The opening song was my favorite, Hymn #136 "I Know That My Redeemer Lives", and that hymn always makes me cry, but I held it together pretty well. Mac did the life sketch, then Marsha and Melodie sang, Peter (oldest grandson) spoke of the memories all of the grandkids had, then I played, and then Dad Ryerse spoke. A lot of the emphasis in Dad's talk was the atonement and resurection of Christ, which I though it was perfect, because it is true that Christ is the reason for everything. Many spoke of how Grandma hasn't been herself since her husband, Bert died. She always spoke of him to me and how much she missed him. She is with him again, and I'm sure they're so happy. We also got to spend lots of time with the Idaho cousins, which was fun. Mac & Marsha have 5 boys, and 4 of them are married and have kids. Emma loved playing with her "Idaho cousins". We love and will miss you Grandma Lilly, but are so happy you're on to the next phase in the plan! Here are some pictures from the event.

The palm bearers. All of the Grandkids participated.

Families are forever

"Love you" is the last thing she said to me before she died. I went into her room and visited with her and brought the kids in, having an idea she would be gone soon.
Emma will miss Grandma Lilly. She shares with her the love of singing and butter. Grandma Lilly slathered butter on everything, just as Emma does.

'Till we meet again...