Thank you , Gwyneth!

ABout once a week for the past few months, no years, I have said that I am going to stop eating sweets. I usually last about a day. Actually, my record is 5 days. Well, last Sunday was one of those days. I was determined to not eat sweets for 2 weeks. However, the next day, I watched Oprah and Gwyneth Paltrow was on. She was talking about how she does not diet. Whenever she tries to restrict herself from sweets, it seems she eats more. So, she just eats what she wants, in moderation I am sure, and works out 2 hours a day 6 days a week. Yeah, I know - the whole working out for 2 hours is a lot and not easily do-able, but I try to exercise regularly. I agree with the idea of not eliminating foods from your diet - especially if love them like I love treats! It just makes life miserable and all you think about is the next time you can eat the thing you are try not to eat! On that note, I think I will go eat a cookie... just a small one :)!

And We Shall Call Him Mop-sy

Ryan has GREAT hair! We have had some fun with it lately!

Pay attention to Ryan's hair in this video... you have to tilt your head... technical difficulties!

I've been thinking.

Yes, I have been thinking. period. I was brought to the attention of this young mother's story and blog. When I read through it, I was filled with sadness for her, but also inspired by how she embraces and captures small moments of life, love and motherhood. I hope and pray that she and her husband will recover. Pondering her story has really made me want to enjoy all of the little moments in life more. I am a total task girl. I like to get things done. That is good most of the time, but I think that sometimes I let life get away from me. I am sure that precious moments happen everyday, but a lot of times I don't take the time to notice. Well, I am done with not noticing. She quotes Elder Ballard in her blog:

"Author Anna Quindlen reminds us not to rush past the fleeting moments. She said: “The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one that most of us make. . . . I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of [my three children] sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less”(Loud and Clear [2004], 10–11).

The day after I had pondered all this, I had one of those moments. I brought Ry into our bed to feed him. After he was done, he played around a little bit and then all of the sudden, he flopped down, put his arm around my neck, cuddled into my chest and fell back to sleep for about 5 minutes. I wanted those minutes to last forever. I just loved holding him close because I know that the times I have to do that will come to an end before I know it. The new, "live in the moment" part of me had to battle with the"task" part of me not to just get up. I am so glad I didn't. So, I hope you don't mind as I indulge myself at times by sharing life's little moments. It is not completely in my nature to do this, but I want to try. I know that as I start thinking more about these moments to "blog" about them, it will become more natural for me to enjoy them. So, my prayers go out the the Neilsons and I thank her for helping me to think about things. Period.

For Tyler

This is Brett reading Ryan's new favorite book.... This was an attempt to recreate an experience Brett had with Ryan the night before where Ryan laughed for about a minute straight at all of the different animal noises. It's crazy what parents will do to make their kids smile!

9 month old Ryan

Eyes that just melt your heart!
Enjoying one of his favorite things!

When Brett was watching Ryan, Brett was getting something out of the fridge and Ryan crawled under the fridge door and started playing in it. He grabbed a hold of the door and was walking back and forth until the momentum caught up to him, he lost his balance and shut himself in! Brett had to get a few shots in before helping the kid out!

(P.S. The scratch on his face was from previous fall.)

"Help me out, Dad!"

It is that time for the Ryan milestone update! He is 9 months and so much fun! It is really amazing how quickly babies can learn!

Milestones: Crawling and into EVERYTHING! He is walking along the furniture, too! I think that walking is in the not-too-distant future. He babbles a lot and is starting to wave - it is so cute!

Favorite Activites: Pulling stuff out of cupboards and drawers and knocking things off of tables and bookshelves. Reading and wrestling with dad. Listening to music.

Favorite foods: grapes, blueberries, bread and anything that anyone else is eating. When there is food, Ryan is there. My dad started calling him "pigeon" because he doesn't leave anyone who is eating alone!

Brett's New Bike

For Brett's graduation, my parents got him a road bike! He has been talking about how much he misses biking for so long, so he is pretty excited to get back into it. He went for his first ride today - up the street to watch the BYU game! We need to get Ryan a trailer so he can go, too! Thanks, Mom and Dad!

Distraction and News

Right now, it is 5:30 am and I am listening to my sweet baby cry... we are trying to get him sleeping through the night and it is so hard for me! I want to go get him and make him happy, but I know this is for the greater good. My heart hurts for him... so to distract myself, I thought that I would post some WONDERFUL news! My brother and sister-in-law are expecting their first child after 4 long years and an adoption that didn't go through. They are such faithful people and have been so good in being patient and trusting in the Lord's timeline. The deserve nothing but the best! Modern medicine is a miracle! Heidi is 12 weeks along and doing well. CONGRATS TROY AND HEIDI! (hope you're OK with us sharing the good news!)

A Little Bit of Heaven

It is time to bump that ode to me from the top... it is embarrasing! I do have a sweet husband though. He makes me feel special everyday and I am lucky to be married to him. Speaking of lucky... we were lucky enough to spend a wonderful week with my family in Encinitas ( not Mexico) by the beach. We were in a great beach house and just loved spending time with one another hanging out at the beach and playing games. Ryan loved being around his grandparents and aunt and uncles and playing at the beach. He really started loving it this trip. It was such a great week. I was sad to see it end, but then it makes me appreciate those family times even more. It really does make me grateful for eternal families. Now does anyone know if there will be a beach in heaven...?

More than a Martha Stewart

Almost on a daily basis, I thank Lisa for cooking such great meals or for cleaning the house while I was working. At times, she feels like I love her because she's a great cook or a great baker. Today, on her 26th birthday, I will prove that there are many more reasons why she is more than just a Martha Stewart. Lisa...

1. You are thoughtful. Your mind works 100 miles an hour when you are thinking about people--how you can help someone, how you can strengthen a friendship, who you can serve.

2. You are dependable. When you say you will do something, I know you will do it.

3. You are the best friend. You remember special days, keep in touch and share triumphs and trials. You have taught me a great lesson: Focus on being a friend rather than making friends.

4. You are spiritually-minded. You have an amazing ability to gain new insights as you study scripture and provide logical and faith-promoting counsel to other people who need it.

5. You are attractive. No matter how many times we move (from city to city), you have always seemed to attract a lot of friends. You radiate such goodness through your pretty eyes and pretty smile.

6. You are beautiful. Woot-woo! That's all I have to say about that.

7. You are caring. It has been so awesome to watch you as a mother in caring and loving Ryan. You sacrifice so much of your time, your sleep and other things that you love to do to develop and care for him.

8. You are compassionate. Without fail, whenever you see someone who is struggling, feeling lonely or who does not have much, you mention ways to help and act on it.

9. You are smart. You are so logical in your thinking and provide such refreshing insight.

10. You are ambitious. You are continuously looking for ways to improve or ways to make our lives easier or better.

11. You are creative. You have new ideas and don't always rely on the traditional or the routine.
12. You are funny. Sometimes you make me laugh when I don't want to...and it ends up being exactly what I need.

13. You are disciplined and committed. With your goals, ambitions, beliefs or traditions, you are dedicated in doing them. (We'll get to the handling the sweets sooner or later.)

14. You are pure. This was one of the first attributes I noticed in you, recognizable through your visible "glow" and selfless acts.

15. You are confident. You know who you are--your strengths and your weaknesses--and you embrace it. Before I even met you, this was one attribute that I also mentioned was an "essential" to me. To me, it is a sign of your faith, knowledge and devotion to God. "If men do not comprehend the character of God, they do not comprehend themselves."

16. You are sociable. If it's not being with people, it's talking to them on the phone. If it's not talking to people on the phone, it's chatting with them on Facebook or IM. If it's not that, it's e-mail. If it's not that, you're sleeping. You love people, and that's a huge reason why I love you.

17. You are authentic. Very much connected to your dependability, you are sincere in what you say. When you say it, you mean it. You rarely sugar coat; you are in honest in who you are.

18. You are musical. You have a beautiful voice that Ryan is so lucky to hear every night before bed. Sometimes I like to listen through the door since my Lisa concerts are limited.

19. You are active. You care about yourself enough to take care of yourself. I love that through your dedication to stay healthy and to exercise, I am motivated to do the same...just not quite at the same level (as with many of these areas).

20. You are enthusiastic. Just listening to you talk on the phone is one way for someone to recognize your enthusiasm, especially when it involves other people. You are enthusiastic about life and the opportunities that you create on your way.

21. You are balanced. You don't just excel at any one or two things--you are spiritually, intellectually, socially, and physically strong.

22. You have great integrity. You are always striving to do the right thing in all aspects of your life. You often sacrifice certain things in your life because you know it's the right thing and you believe there is more good in doing right than in doing what is convenient, popular or politically correct.

23. You have soft skin. Ryan's baby bumb or your face...that's a toss up! :)

24. We share storytelling skills (or the lack thereof). "So, do you remember when...?" I won't even go there. We'll just keep that skill to each other.

25. You are a great masseuse. Still better than any professional yet (in the two times I've been).

26. You really are a great cook (my favorite, in fact)! One of these days, I'll have to learn how to cook more than toast. There's no better time than the present, right? Well, let's hold off on this one for a while. Why take the chance of having nasty meals by me when you know you could have a delicious one from you, "ya know?"

Needless to say, I am..., I am..., I am the luckiest. You are an amazing wife, fabulous mom, and the best friend!! Thank you for being born 26 years ago. I found my pot of gold!

Family Fun

Brett's brother and his wife and kids came in to town this last weekend and we had such a blast with them! They came to CA with my sister in law's family to do an iron man relay. My sis in law swam a mile and my brother in law rode his bike 112 miles... it took him 8 hours! Could you imagine? Then they drove down to So-Cal and stayed in Carlsbad. We went down there one night to hang with them. Then we went up to Balboa Isalnd and showed them around a bit. We love spending time with them and were so happy to have them here!

Loving the ferry ride. I love Ry's little smirk in this picture!
The beautiful house that we stayed in in Carlsbad. Kristen's family knows how to travel in style!
Ryan is all boy. He could not get enough of the steering wheel on our bike surrey.
Ryan and Uncle Justin
Our attempt at a family shot on the bike...
My handsome little man