Ladies and gentleman, we have a walker!

I can't believe my baby is walking! I love those wobbly little steps the first few weeks. Tate is also demonstrating his "cheeser" smile that he does on cue.

Ryan snapped this shot while he and his boy were watching some football together. Tate just loved it! Another proud moment for Dad.

Ruthie fell asleep while she was in time out. I think I left her a few extra minutes!

I have to share a Ruthie story that she will just love me for someday. I was at Target doing some b-day shopping for my baby. While on a toy isle, I look over at Ruthie and she is casually looking at toys while standing in a huge puddle of pee! Right then a girl from my ward walked onto the same isle! Bless her, because she stayed with Ruthie while I ran to my car to get wipes and a pair of pants I had bought at Old Navy not 30 minutes before. We made a barricade with our carts and I stripped her down and changed her right there! This was my first public accident experience and it could have been much worse. I got so lucky with the extra pants and running into Amber. Ruthie is usually very good about going on the potty. She has had only a few accidents in the past 5 or 6 months. If nothing else it is a great piece of blackmail to save for a few years!

Why I am not allowed to BBQ

A couple of nights ago I wanted to try to BBQ ribs on the grill. I even called and got my brother-in-law's special rib rub recipe. I am only ever in charge of pre-heating the grill for Ryan, but he said to turn on medium-low and put them on since it takes a long time for them to cook. He got home 30 minutes later and this is what he found.

I apparently didn't know there were nine heat settings so what I thought was medium was the 2nd hottest. The grill was up to 700 degrees! There were a few tears from me, then Ryan saved the night and just went and picked up ribs from Famous Dave's. Live and learn!

Horror at Homecoming

Dolly Dancer and Bobby Backer

Sally Spirit and Peter Pres

Gabby Backer and Larry Lineman

Cindy Sensational and Kevin Kicker

Clerical Katie and Coach Walters

Dr. Talk and Pricipal Simpson

Everyone arriving and reading their secret objectives for the evening.

Ryan and Daniel dancing??

Homecoming King and Queen! Well, at least for a minute or two.

Dancing the night away

Our cute pregnant dancer

We were dethroned by these two, whatever!


We had the best time last weekend doing a murder mystery date night with some friends in our neighborhood. The theme was Horror at Homecoming. The girls spent the morning decorating for the big dance with the classic streamers, lights, balloons and a photo backdrop from a real high school dance the weekend before. The costumes were awesome and everyone getting into their roles made for a hilariously good time! Ryan was perfectly comfortable playing the cocky quarterback, while mine was more of a stretch as I played the pom captain. I borrowed a dress from my sis-in-law and pom poms from Ruthie. We had a blast dancing and scheming the night away.

Halloween '08

The best picture of us all, a little dirty by the end of the day!

Some of the friends that stopped by.

Our super nice garage decked out!

Ry with his pride and joy(s).

The cheerleader and the football player.

Cute friends

What's in here?

We had a Happy Halloween with many of the traditional activities. The kids enjoyed a church party, a parade at our neighbors house and trick-or-treating with 50 other little kids at Ryan's office. They got grief from many Utah fans for their costumes, but we are teaching them the right team from the start! The night before Halloween I got the crazy idea to have a little party in our garage for all of the trick-or-treaters that came by. We had a neighbor that used to do it that just moved. We had fun doing it and went through 120 cups of hot chocolate and rootbeer, about 50 brownies about 50 cookies and 2/3 of my crockpot of chili cheese dip with chips! Luckily, my friend Melinda helped with the cookies and decorations. We will definately have to do it again.

A tag about me - I am

I am- the luckiest person I know
I know- I am a darn good diaper changer, a paid professional actually.
I want- happily ever after
I have- more than I deserve
I dislike- being told what to do (you’re not the boss of me!)
I miss- all of my family that is spread across the country
I feel- like being a mom is the best and hardest job in the world
I hear- “That Thing You Do” sound track, Ruthie is dancing to it.
I smell- Lasagna baking (a new recipe, cross your fingers!)
I crave- a little peace and quiet everyday
I cry- over any little thing when I am exhausted
I search- for bargains
I wonder-why Tate ate a marker and a stamp and how Oxy clean got it all out
I regret-not accomplishing more each day
I love- to plan
I care- much more about sports than I used to
I worry- way to much about things out of my control and things that ‘might’ happen. It drives Ryan crazy!
I remember- useless facts from my past.
I believe- families are forever
I dance- with Ruthie a lot lately. Twirling is our specialty.
I don't – look forward to the snow/cold coming way too soon
I argue- with Ruthie about why she has to wear shoes, pants, panties, which item just depends on the day
I write- lists. I am in my happy place when I can check things off.
I win- much more when Ryan is on my team
I lose- my cell phone
I wish- I was as much of a neat freak as Ryan
I listen- to Ruthie and Tate play together
I can usually be found watching- Disney princess movies
I am scared- of anything happening to my family
I need-to be more patient
I forget- to do anything that didn’t get put on my list
I am happy- when I am eating good food with good company!

Tag anyone who wants a little personal insight. It's fun!

The Latest

All ready for dance!

Tate stands alone!

Tate playing in the hutch. Ironically the day before his accident! I thought it was funny. Not so much now.

Love tubby time!

Ruthie started taking a dance class taught by a teenage neighbor of ours at her house. It has been wonderful for Ruthie to dance with her little friends an hour a week. She loves it!
Tate had had an eventful week. Last Friday he and Ruthie were playing in our hutch and he somehow fell out right on his face. He apparently tore his frenulum(sp?), that little piece of skin between your gums and your upper lip. Well, it typically heals on its own according to our pediatrician and our dentist. Unfortunately Tate's started bleeding again a couple of hours later and would not stop! The doctor ended up putting a stitch in it. Stitches before 1, yikes! Then Monday the poor little guy got his hand slammed in the back hinges of a door by the other small person in the house. He screamed and his fingers swelled up but he used them just fine after the first 15 minuntes. I'm just crossing my fingers that he'll survive all of this craziness called being a toddler/2nd child. On a more positive note he is standing and taking a couple of steps by himself now! I guess we will have even more bumps and bruises to report soon!

3 Years Old!

Ruthie turned 3 last week! We had a fun family party while some of the Tutts were in town and then I attempted to throw my first 3 year old party. We invited just a few friends from the nieghborhood to a park for pizza and cake. I thought this was a brilliant idea since the kids could entertain themselves on the playground after lunch. Well, the day ended up being freezing cold due to gusting winds! Needless to say, we had a very quick party! Thank you to all the friends for sticking around to sing "Happy Birthday" that is Ruthie's favorite part.