The Rice Krispies

I'm back

2012-02-13T11:15:00.001-07:00

So I am back in the blogging world. Things have been really crazy lately so I have taken a break, that and our laptop screen got cracked so I really couldn't see what I was doing. For a while I am going to try and catch up our life one post everyday, I hope it works and the baby works with me and lets me do it.

First day of Kindergarten

2011-09-22T22:20:00.004-06:00

Ryan started school this year and was super excited. I don't know if he was more excited to be able to ride the bus or to actually go to a big school. On the first day I went with him to the bus stop and then he asked if I would meet him at the school and go with him to his classroom. So that is what I did, it was really weird leaving him there. It was a little sad, but I was more excited for him to meet some new friends and learn so many fun things. He loves school and is bored when he gets home, I think he will have know problems with staying all day next year. He is doing amazing at school and loves to come home and show me is papers and do his homework.
not so sure about all this
He has the toy story back pack
outside his classroom
was quite sure if he wanted me to leave or not

Just pictures

2011-08-08T14:23:00.009-06:00

I am going to have this a picture post of the boys and what they been up to this summer. Also my nephew Carter got to come and stay with us for a while and we had lots of fun with him.

Hanging out with Daddy!

2011-08-08T14:04:00.009-06:00

We signed up Ryan to play tee ball this summer, so Chris decided he wanted to teach Ryan the basics of baseball. We took Ryan's tee ball toy he got for Christmas and go to the park. The boys had a great time running around, playing catch and being with daddy. I just sat and watched them and tried not to get sick.

Ryan had a fun time playing Tee ball, but he did get bored at times. Next summer we are going to try another sport besides tee ball.

Sorry!

2011-08-08T14:02:00.003-06:00

I am sorry to whoever reads my blog, I have been very lazy and not wanting to blog lately. I have been super tired and sick with this baby, plus trying to keep up with the boys and cleaning the house. I will be updating our summer in the next couple of days. I hope you enjoy!

Easter eggs hunts

2011-04-26T23:11:00.013-06:00

We went to Boise the weekend before Easter for Holly's baby shower and was invited by Lane's Family to go to their Easter egg hunt. Of course the boys wanted to go so we went and had lots of fun. Their family has a huge backyard and the kids got to find lots of eggs. Then they brought out real bunnies for us to hold and play with. We had such a good time and always like to hang out with the Ranstrom family.
Look how cute Holly is!! so is the bunny
The load they got.
Saying goodbye
Then on Sat. we went to the high school Easter egg hunt. We went with our friends Natalie and Grant and their two little girls. There was lots of people there, so Jackson only got one egg , Ryan got five, and Sienna got two. The kids were a little sad that they didn't get more so Natalie and I went and got eggs and candy and invited Natalie's friend with her girls. Natalie and Grant got 22o eggs so the kids got tons of candy and had such a good time. Next year we decided to just have our own since we had more fun and the kids got a lot more candy.
This is what they came home with. What a load!!
For Easter we aren't big on the easter bunny so we decided to get the boys some toys for summer and things to do outdoors. We found a trampoline at Broulims that they were selling. The boys fell in love with it and begged us all day. Also it came with an inflatable basketball hoop, and so Chris broke down and just bought it for them. It has been the best money spent. The boys have been outside since we got it playing on it and having a great time. So come on over and play in our backyard!!
We started putting it up and only got this much up since it got dark, but it has a net. More pictures of them playing coming soon, when it is in the daylight.

Oh the stress in our lives

2011-04-04T19:58:00.003-06:00

We have had a lot of stressful things going on. Chris has been looking for a new job in the Banking industry and things have been slow. Also Jackson has decided that he doesn't want to sleep anymore. He would get up at 2:00 every night and stay up till 3 or 4. Not a fun time of no sleep, he also stop taking naps during the day. We thought that would be good so he would sleep all night, we thought WRONG!! We have discovered that if he gets a 2 hr nap during the day he sleeps better at night. Weird I know, but he is a night owl, so he usually just sits in his room until about 11 till he falls asleep. I am actually ok with this because he is sleeping through the night and at this point that is all that matters. Things have been going good with that for about 2 weeks.
Life is just crazy when you don't know where you are going or going to end up. We hope we find a job soon that Chris can use is skills and degree. We will let everyone know when we know.

Happy Birthday Ryan! 5 years old

2011-03-16T16:35:00.004-06:00

My little boy is not little anymore. I can't believe it has already been five years since he was born. I remember the day like yesterday and it was a scary ride waiting for you and a little bumpy when you did come. We love him so much and are grateful he came to our home. He is such a good big brother and loves to help and play with his little brother. He is a very independent kid and likes to do stuff by himself, but still likes when mom and dad helps him. He loves video games and comes up with the funniest things to say. He is starting to tell jokes that are funny and some are not, he also loves to tell us stories and half the time we can't understand him but we just nod and smile. We love our little boy and still call him our baby which he does not like. We can't wait to see how much more he will grow. More pictures of him when he was little click here March 18 post

Jackson's birthday party

2011-03-14T19:13:00.006-06:00

Jackson's birthday party was a sports party, he loves anything to do with sports so this was perfect. He was so excited because we ended up having it where Chris works. They have so many fun things to do there like a pool table and a basketball hoop. We also got our kinect out and had that for the kids to play with. He was of course spoiled rotten and loved every minute of it.
Awesome cake that my wonderful friend helped me with!
Great birthday present, a tiny wagon!

Jackson is 2

2011-02-17T21:15:00.006-07:00

I can't believe this day has come. Wow how the time flies by, I feel like just the other day he was a tiny baby. Well he wasn't tiny for long, but he is not my baby anymore even though we all say he is. Jackson is such a fun little boy to have around. He loves to play with his brother, play basketball, throw footballs and is learning to kick the soccer ball. He is such an athlete and loves to have anyone play catch with him. He also loves to take baths and watch mickey mouse. He is such a big boy and can wrestle with Ryan and sometimes win. He has really started talking and will talk your ear off if he has something to say. We may not always know what he is talking about but we just let him say what he needs to say. He is so cute that sometimes it is hard to get mad at him and it is hard to discipline him because he just laughs at you. We are so glad that he has come to our home. We are also excited to see him to continue to grow. We love you Jackson!!!

These Crazy Kids

2011-01-25T21:02:00.012-07:00

So I have noticed that I haven't updated about the boys lately.

Ryan is energetic and so during the winter he is out of control with boredom. Here is so hard to figure out something to do for the entire winter. We don't have many indoor places to go and play so usually he sits at home and plays the Wii or watches movies. I am trying to get him to play with Jackson and all the toys in their toy room. He doesn't seem that interested in playing toys. He was going to a preschool that he loved, but we didn't know if we were moving and we couldn't afford it this semester so he is pretty upset about that. We are excited for him to be able to go to kindergarten. He is learning things everyday and has a mouth on him. He has learned to talk back and we have learned we need to watch what we say. Ryan is such a joy to have and is such a ham, he makes us laugh everyday and is such a big help for me with Jackson and with the house. He is our resident toilet cleaner and he loves it. We can't believe how big he is getting.

Jackson is also a whirlwind at our house. He is also full of lots of energy. He is talking and learning new words everyday. Chris is concerned something is wrong, but he is doing fine and he has a lot more to learn. He is really hard to discipline because he just laughs in my face and thinks it is funny. We are trying to learn new ways to get it through to him that he can't hurt people. He knows what he can give us a cute smile and we will melt. I am learning to try and get over that and giving him what he wants. He is such a mama's boy, but likes to watch basketball and football with daddy. He loves to throw the ball and is excellent at basketball, pretty much anything to do with a ball he likes. He is such a joy to have in our family and can't believe how fast he is growing. He isn't our baby anymore and it is sad.

Rice Family Christmas party

2011-01-05T20:21:00.009-07:00

While all of Chris' brothers and sister was here for his graduation we decided to have a Christmas party with them. We went to Chris' work and had a nice dinner and then played some video games, opened presents and Karaoke. It was so fun to have everyone there and to see how good they were at singing.
Holly
Michal
The boys singing with Holly
Dancing while Holly and Lane are singing
Lane and Holly singing, don't they look in love!!
They can be a part of each other's world

Christmas at the Rice's

2011-01-03T16:45:00.007-07:00

We decided to stay home and have Christmas with just our family. Christmas eve we hung out at and played games with our friends the Daniel's since they didn't have any family around. We had lots of fun playing games and eating lots of food. Christmas morning came and Santa left us lots of presents for the kids. We had a quite morning at home playing with toys and then off to Grandma and Grandpa Williams to have lunch and chat. We had lots of fun having lunch with them and LaDawns family. After lunch we went sledding with my nephews and the Daniels. It was so much fun and the boys loved it. Jackson loved it and wanted to go all the time. He even went part of the way by himself. We have to go again before the snow melts. That night we just hung out at home and played with the toys and things we received. What a wonderful holiday to celebrate. We missed family and friends this year, but had a good time with just our little family.
Jammies from Grandma Rice
Ryan's stuff
Jackson's stuff
Both of their stuffPlaying toys together

He Finally Graduated!!

2011-01-03T16:19:00.012-07:00

Chris finally graduated from college in Dec. We had his family come up for the graduation and my parents. It was so nice to finally have it all done and finally be on our way to a real job. Friday night the 17 was the commencement where he got to walk across the stage and then on Saturday the 18 was the big graduation with everyone in the new Byu-Idaho center. It was really fun to see the new auditorium and listen to the speakers.

Putting up the tree

2011-01-03T16:10:00.004-07:00

We had lots of help with the tree this year. Ryan thought it was the best to put the tree up. He was a little to much help, as any 4 year old would be.

amidst the decorating, Ryan got a bloody nose and thought it was funny to put the tissue in his nose.
All done! How pretty

Thanksgiving

2010-12-14T14:37:00.004-07:00

Thanksgiving was lots of fun. Ryan's school had all the parents come for snack and to watch the kids perform some songs. We had lots of fun getting to watching the kids sing songs. Ryan loves his school and is going to miss it when it is over. For thanksgiving dinner we went over to my parents house in Idaho Falls with my other brother and sisters. We had lots of fun hanging out with family. As we were walking in the door Jackson fell off the step and cut his ear open. That was a lot of fun trying to get to calm down so we can eat. His ear ended up being just fine and he played the rest of the day. Chris took the kids back home and I stayed at my parents so I could go shopping for black friday. My sister and I ended up going to some places that night. We ended our shopping at Walmart at about 2:30. My sister-in-law came with us and wanted to go to Khol's at 3 so the dummy I was went with her and didn't get home until 4:30 and had to wake up at 8:30 to go to another store. All in all it was fun to go out with my sisters and fun to see the crazy people that go shopping. My sister and her family came and stayed with us the rest of the weekend and we had a great time playing Wii and talking. We had the best thanksgiving weekend with family.

Playing in the snow

2010-12-14T14:25:00.005-07:00

The kids love to play out in the snow. I am not a big fan of this because it takes longer to get them dressed then how long they play out there. Ryan loves to make snow angels and they both love to eat the snow. We are trying to teach them that snow is not good to eat, but they don't really listen. They also love to help me and Chris shovel the driveway and sidewalks, pretty much anything to be outside. It has been hard for them to stay in all the time. They have been fighting a lot more and it is hard to not just shove them outside to get some energy out. This is going to be a long winter already.

Halloween 2010

2010-11-09T16:52:00.005-07:00

Halloween this year was fun, but not our usual plans. I was getting over the bad head cold and Chris was in the middle of it so we didn't get to do lots of things we usually do. We didn't get any pumpkins and carve them, which is sad. We also only went out to a couple of houses besides the ward Trunk or Treat. The boys loved to dress up and loved getting to pick out what they were. Well Ryan picked it out, but Jackson loved it and went along. I want to thank my mom, Grandma, and Aunt Vicky for helping me with the costumes and patterns. They were a hit!

Introducing Mario and Baby Luigi

6 Years and still kicking

2010-10-19T12:52:00.007-06:00

Saturday Oct. 16 Chris and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary. Wow how times flies, I can't believe it has been that long. It doesn't seem like that long ago. It has been a crazy ride, but a fun one. I just wanted to wish Chris a wonderful anniversary and can't wait to see what the next 6 bring!!! I don't have any wedding pictures on my computer because the cd won't work for some reason, but I have pictures of our engagement. ENJOY!!!

Last camping trip of the season

2010-10-08T19:24:00.008-06:00

The last part of Sept. we wanted to go camping one last time before the weather changed. We ended up going up to Island park to our favorite spot down by the reservoir. We had lots of fun being together as a family. We played eye spy on the way up and had a fun camp fire. The next day Chris went fishing so me and the boys just hung out at the campsite. The boys found a big hole of dirt, so they took their trucks and played in the dirt. We then went down to the water and let the boys play and throw rocks in the water. Jackson like water, but only if it is just a little bit of water. He wouldn't go near the water until Chris was next to him. It is nice, because I know he won't just go jump in the water like Ryan did at that age. We then just packed up and headed home. It was a really good time together for one more camping trip. I think next year will be better because the kids will be older and help out more.

Our fun summer end

2010-10-08T19:02:00.007-06:00

We had fun this summer, well we actually only get 6 weeks of summer because Chris goes to school the first part of the summer. We had lots of fun. I thought I would let you know what we did the last couple of days of summer. We got to go to Lagoon and Ryan loved it. He went on some of the big rides this year and did really good. He got a little scared, but at the end he ended up loving them. He also started preschool again, He loves it and I feel he is learning so much. He is doing good with writing his letters and learning about different animals. The preschool I found was my sister -law Shellie's cousin. It is great!! With the weather still warm into Oct. we have had fun times playing out side and taking bike rides. We went to the nature park and got to feed the duckies and of course throw rocks in the water. Jackson loves to play in the water and throw rocks anywhere. Jackson is growing up so much, he is started to say more words everyday and loves to try and keep up with Ryan. They are so cute together and love to play together, even if sometimes they fight and wrestle.

Rice Family Reunion

2010-09-22T22:49:00.015-06:00

We went up to our brother -in -laws ranch up by McCall for our family reunion this year. We had such a fun time. The cabin was super nice and lots of stuff to do around the ranch. We went four wheeling, which has become Ryan's favorite thing to do. We couldn't get him off of it. The best part was just hanging out with family and relaxing. There was a nice porch out back and we just sat in chairs, read books and talked. It was nice to talk to Chris' sister and mom. We also went up by a river, had lunch and played in the water. We didn't to a ton of stuff, but had a great time just relaxing, playing games and being together as a family. What a great time we had!!!
They had a smaller 4-wheeler for Ryan, he loved it
Grandpa Rice got on the 4-wheeler
Even Grandma Rice went for a ride with Holly
Playing by the creek with Grandma
Jackson loved playing with the cowsLane and Holly hanging out after dinnerMike and his girlfriend Melissa lounging aroundGrandma and her boys
Grandpa and his boys
Lane posing for a picture, showing us all his manly body

Yellowston fun

2010-09-01T14:51:00.008-06:00

Our good friends the Thompson's came and visited us here and of course we went camping as always. We found a really good camp site by the reservoir. We went to Mesa falls and up to Sawtelle. The next day was the free day at Yellowstone so we decided that would be fun to go. We spent the whole day there going to old faithful, painted pots, and lots of other good places. The kids had lots of fun and loved to see all the animals. We had such a good time and are glad when we get to hang out with the Thompson family.
Jackson and Sadie playing together
The boys love to camp

Summer Fun

2010-09-01T14:33:00.003-06:00

Not much has been happening this summer. We have gone to the park, bike rides and played with friends. Chris has been working and getting ready for his last semester of school. We are really excited about that, but scared about the real world we have to go into again. It has been a nice cushy little life here in Rexburg, but we are ready to move on. The kids are growing so big and they are getting crazier everyday. Jackson is the cutest and most destructive kid, he has to dump everything out and throw it across the room. He is learning more words everyday, but still likes his own language of grunts and screams. Ryan is getting excited to go back to school. I found a preschool in someones home to go to. He keeps asking me when school starts and won't stop talking about it. It will be good for him to get away from me and get to socialize with other kids. I can't believe how big Ryan is getting and how curious he is about things. He is to smart for his own good and asking questions about everything.

All picture post

2010-08-28T22:43:00.009-06:00

This is all pictures from 4th or July in Boise and boating.

A fun fourth of July weekend

2010-08-03T21:25:00.009-06:00

Late post

For the 4th of July we decided to go to Boise and go camping with our good friends, the Thompson's. It is always a good time with the Thompson's. We went up to a place called Silver creek Plunge and after a while finally found a place to camp. We set up and was hanging out ready to make a fire and it started raining, so we ran into our tent and hung out until it stopped. It stopped for a while for us to start a fire and make some hot dogs, it started to rain again. We all ended up in our tents going to bed early. The next day we hung out at the campsite until the afternoon where we took the kids swimming at the pool made from a hot spring. They had the best time. Ryan loves to swim and Wendy taught him some ways to swim better. He is getting so good. Jackson on the other hand would have rather thrown the ball in the water then get in. We then just hung out and the next day we packed up and went home. We showered and had to go visit family and take back our truck we rented. We went and saw both of Chris' grandparents, we had lots of fun seeing them because it has been a while since we had seen them. Then back to our friends house to have a barbecue and went to the park to watch the fireworks. The kids loved the fireworks and playing at the park. Monday morning we ended up going boating with Brian's family and playing at the park. Ryan went tubing with Chris and loved every moment of it. Jackson wasn't so sure about the whole boat, water thing. We had the greatest time with our friends even though it was crazy. We are excited for them to come to good ole Rexburg in a couple of weeks and go camping again in Island Park.
we had to rent a truck to go camping, we fell in love with it. Someday we will have one of these

Boys will be boys

2010-07-25T22:53:00.007-06:00

I have been lazy and not been wanting to blog lately, but Chris is keeps telling me that I need to update so here we go. Jackson keeps me going daily, if he can get his hands on anything he dumps it out, candy, cookies, chips anything. I go around and clean up after him, he also likes to mess up whatever Ryan is playing with or doing. We love him a lot and just keep on dealing with him. He has discovered hats and loves to walk around in them, he is so funny and gets really excited when he finds one. His two favorite right now are a cowboy hat and mickey mouse ears.
Jackson is learning new words but his in no hurry to really talk. He has is own mumbling language that works for him. He knows dog, hot dog, thank you, daddy, mommy, grandma and grandpa and he calls Ryan, Wywy. Chris thinks he should be speaking a lot more, but he will speak when he wants to. Jackson has a little bit of a pigeon toe and a little bow leg. We have been talking to the doc and they are going to look at it more at his 18 mon. checkup. We will probably have to go to a orthopedic dr, I will update when we know more.

Ryan is growing so fast everyday. He loves to ask questions and sometimes I don't know how to explain to him the answers. I usually will have Chris answer because he can explain better. He was riding with training wheels until one day I was fixing his bike and Ryan lost a nut to the training wheels so Chris decided he need to learn how to ride a bike. He learned had to ride in about three days and went on his first real bike ride with us after about 4 days of learning. We went to go get ice cream on the other side of town by our old house. We ended up riding 6 miles and going up the big hill up to the temple. He did awesome only complaining a couple of times. While we were hiking up the hill I was telling Ryan how good he was doing and he said "Mom, that is because I am a super kid" I laughed and said that is right Ryan you are a super kid. He is so funny with the things he is saying. He picks up on everything and loves to play the Wii and to eat. This kid is always hungry lately, probably a growth spurt. He keeps asking when he is going to go back to school and I keep telling him that it is summer and most kids don't go to school in the summer. I am trying to get him in to the school at the college and hope I do or he will get really mad at me. He tells people that I won't let him go to school. Ryan also loves the water and to swim. The other day we went to St. Anthony where they have a little place to play in the river. They have a diving board, so Ryan of course had to try it. He jumped off all by himself and loved it. He has learned how to doggy paddle and of course he wears a life jacket.

My new haircut

2010-07-11T15:39:00.003-06:00

This is my new haircut. I went over to my friends yesterday and she pampered me all day. She colored and cut my hair however she wanted and this is what came out. It is totally different then I have ever done and I love it. Thanks again Natalie!!!

Mesa Falls and Big Springs

2010-06-06T22:20:00.008-06:00

While it was nice on a Saturday, we decided to up towards Island Park and go to Mesa Falls. We haven't taken the boys there yet so we thought they would like it. We went at the right time and it was free which was great. Ryan loved it and thought the water was cool. Jackson was a little scared, but didn't want to leave the water. I haven't been there since I was little and forgot how pretty and relaxing it was. What a hike up the stairs though, we also got a workout, since I had to carry Jackson since we had the stroller.

on our way down to the falls, it is nice to have someone to push the stroller

Then we had to go to Big Springs where you can feed the fishes. We go every year multiple times and the kids love it. Ryan know when we go up to Island Park we have to feed the fishes. This is the first time Jackson really knew what was going on. He loved it and wanted to just jump right in with them. We have found that the fish love cheese, so we always bring some kraft singles with us. Ryan always asks me if we brought the cheese.
He loved to look at the stream and wanted to go into it.
My cute boys!!

Boys update!

2010-06-06T21:40:00.006-06:00

I found some pictures still on my camera so I have some pictures to post. I thought I would update on the boys. They are doing great and growing so much.
Ryan is learning more about recognizing letters and have been working on workbooks. He is so sad that he can't go back to school and asks me all day if he can go back to school I am trying to get him in for the fall season at the College. He doesn't understand why he has to go to church every week but can't go to school. I told him church is free and anyone can go. He is really funny and saying the funniest things. We are learning that he remembers a lot and do be more careful what we watch with him and say. He has discovered Star Wars and we have been fun watching all of them with him. He keeps us on our toes and way fun to be with.
Jackson is growing up way to fast. He is starting to sign more and say more things. Today he has started saying dog so that we can understand him more. He is a monkey climbing on everything, he climbs on our couches and then climbs on onto the next couch. He has also started to try and jump. It is hilarious!! I will have to get a video of it soon. He is a daredevil and has a lot of courage. He can climb up our stool and play in the sink, so I have to keep the sick pretty clean. He is so funny and so cute that he melts our hearts. He is hard to discipline because he looks at us with those big blue eyes, we are in trouble. We love him and the joy he brings to our home.
At Aunt Vicki's house he was pulling the stuffing out of the chair and giggling as he did it
This is what I found while cleaning another room, he was eating the soap, YUMMY!!

Sad Day

2010-06-01T17:30:00.001-06:00

Our computer crashed and we had to reboot everything. I lost all my pictures, but we did a recovering program that should get our pictures back. It may be a while till I put more pictures up, which makes me sad because I have lots of cute pictures to post. Hope I can find all my pictures.

Boise Vacation

2010-04-26T21:48:00.009-06:00

The weekend before Chris started school we took some time and went to Boise to visit family and to some fun stuff. We got a hotel room for one night just for fun. Ryan thought that was awesome, he wanted to stay more nights. We got to go swimming in the pool and have a great time. We stayed with his sister Holly and her husband Lane for a couple of days and had lots of fun with them. We went out for dinner and just hung out with them. We then went to our friends Brian and Wendy and got to see their new baby and Ryan got to reunite with his good buddy Kenzie. We found out that the discovery center was free on Sat. so we decided to go there. It was really fun, but not a lot of stuff for little kids, but it was still fun to figure out all the little science things. Ryan got his hand and face painted and ended up on the news. Chris and I also were on the news briefly. We then went and got stuff for a picnic lunch and went to the park and had a picnic with Holly and Lane and Brian and Wendy. It was the perfect weekend to hang out outside and have some fun. Chris found out that Boise State was having their spring scrimmage, so he and Brian took the two older kids and went to go see the game. Ryan thought it was cool for a little bit and then got bored, but I think that over all he had lots of fun. Sunday we had a fun barbecue at Holly's house and played games. Chris' cousin Candace was their and it was fun to see her family and hang out with them. Ryan found a new friend in their little girl Mercedes. I hope in the future we get to hang out with them more. What a fun time we had before Chris started school and school life began.
All ready to watch a movieTuckered out at the end of the night

Easter

2010-04-26T21:30:00.004-06:00

For Easter we just stayed at home and hung out together. Sat morning the kids got to go on an easter egg hunt. We just put the candy around and the kids went around and picked it up, Ryan thought this was the greatest thing on earth. All the rest of the day he wanted to play easter egg hunt. Later that night during priesthood session we went over to our friends house to have another easter egg hunt with his little friend and dye easter eggs. Ryan has never dyed easter eggs so I thought I needed to be a good mom and make sure he gets this memory. Well the kids weren't to interested in the egg dying. My friend and I were surprised, we thought they would like it better. Maybe next year we will try again. For Easter day we just watched conference and had a lazy afternoon. Since I didn't have a ham or plan anything we had chili dogs in honor of open day of baseball. It was fun!

Ryan's 4th Birthday

2010-04-25T21:54:00.010-06:00

I am way far behind, so here is Ryan's birthday and party.

Ryan has been talking about getting a bike since last summer, so we decided to get him a bike for his birthday. He was so excited, except he asked why he didn't get the green one he wanted. The red one was a little cheaper so we went with that. Even though it isn't green he still loves his bike. On his real birthday we took him to the Rex to play on the bouncy slides and then went to pizza hut for pizza. We made cupcakes so that he could have some cake on his birthday. He also got a batman lego shirt for his birthday shirt, he loves it because it matches his batman game.
We didn't have any real candles so 2+2=4 that is what we told him.
RYAN'S PARTY
For his birthday he wanted a batman party. We had fun decorating the house for his party. Chris' sister and brother came in to town for it and we had fun hanging out with them for the weekend. Ryan wanted to go lazer tagging so we took him and his cousins Brady and Carson to go lazer tagging. He had lots of fun and then he got to play some games and won some prizes.
all the boys lazer tagging
The rest of the pictures are from the party and decorations.

I am very proud of this cake that I made all by myself!!
My mom made pj's and pillows for all the grandkids this year. These are my cute boys in their matching jammies. Thanks Grandma W!!

Busy boring life

2010-03-06T11:09:00.004-07:00

I haven't had the motivation to blog lately that and anytime I am near the computer one of the boys tries to either pull the cords out or complain that I am on it. So I don't get very many chances to be on it. Not a lot has happened lately. Ryan started school three times a week and loves it. He is learning lots and loves being away from home for a while. It is also good for me, it gives me a chance to hang out with just Jackson, but I am not very fun Jackson misses Ryan. We are just getting ready for Ryan birthday that is coming up in a couple of weeks.
What a cutie on his first day of school!!!

Jackson is finally 1!!

2010-02-23T13:28:00.010-07:00

I can't believe that this has finally come. It doesn't seem that a year has pasted by already. I have been really sad about this child turning one. I think with your first one you are so excited that he is growing up that you want all those things to come because you never been there before. Now with the second you want them to stay a baby as long as they can. I almost cried when his birthday got closer. We had lots of fun celebrating his birthday. We went out to eat with Grandma and Grandpa Rice on his real birthday and then had a big celebration on Sat. with our family.
Jackson loves Mickey Mouse so we decided to have a Mickey Mouse party. We made him a Mickey mouse cake for him to eat and also had a mickey mouse pinata. We loved having the cousins that could come be with us to celebrate.

The birthday cakes and decorations.
his birthday present from us. He loves his couch.
Ryan hitting the pinata
all the cousins picking up the yummy candy!
The beautiful Minnie Mouse Afton!
He wasn't really into the cake, he tried for a little bit and then just cried.
The cute jammies that Grandma Williams made him along with a pillow for his bed. Aren't they cute!!

We had a very fun time celebrating Jackson birthday!

Jackson is 11 months!

2010-01-25T15:56:00.007-07:00

I can't believe in little less than a month my baby will be 1! I am excited and really sad about him growing up. He is the cutest little boy ever. He has the walking thing down and it now trying to run all over the place. He gets into everything that he can reach and tries to destroy it all. He is such a happy little boy and wants to be do whatever Ryan is doing. Sometimes he thinks he is such a big kid and I have to tell him that he is still my baby. We are working on trying to get rid of the bottle but I don't think it is going to be as easy as it was with Ryan. We also are trying to get him ready to be in bunk beds with his brother. Chris really wants to get the boys bunk beds, so we decided to change his crib into a toddler bed and see how he does. BAD IDEA!!! He is definitely not ready. The first night he got out of his bed and I think he played in the toilet before crying so I could figure out where he was. We turned his bed to face the wall for the rest of the night. Maybe we will try when he is a little older. He is also the best eater in the the world he will eat anything we feed him. We love having him in our home and love getting to play and see him grow everyday. We are excited for what the future brings with this little boy!
Such a cute boy with his new sweater on!!
He thinks he is so cool when he sits and eats like this at the table.
Loves to play with Cousin Noah
He also has to get the last of his food.

Christmas in Boise

2010-01-14T15:18:00.010-07:00

Sorry this post is so late. I will admit I have been to lazy to post. Better late than never right??

This year we went to Boise for Christmas. We stayed with Holly and Lane for a fun filled christmas celebration. We love to go and hang out with them and our friends that we have there. We got to go to dinner with our good friends the Thompsons. We had lots of fun catching up and playing games. Why is it that you try to go somewhere on vacation and you end up more tired and busier than being at home. They were so many things we wanted to do while we were there. We had a family Christmas party with Rice side and had lots of fun doing the nativity and having santa visit. The boys got lots of presents and toys from Great Grandma Rice. They had lots of fun. Ryan got to be Joseph in the Nativity. For Christmas eve we went out to lunch with Chris' family at our favorite Japanese restaurant and then made sugar cookies. We then went to our Brother-in-laws Lane's parents house for their Christams eve party. They had a pinata that the boys got to hit and lots of candy and presents came out. They gave lots of presents and had lots of yummy food. They also had us do the Nativity scene and Ryan got to be a shepard. He loved being able to act. We had lots of fun at that party to. After all the fun we went to see our favorite light display. It is so great, you can walk around the guys driveway to see all the lights. We then came home and had donuts and waited for Santa to come.
Ryan was Joseph
Jackson wasn't so sure about the whole santa thing
Ryan does not like santa at all
Sitting with Great Grandma Rice reading a story

Christmas morning was really fun. Ryan woke up and said he had to go to the bathroom, we had a bathroom in the room we were staying so I thought he was going there. Well he came back upstairs and said that santa and brought a tent. I got mad, he had gone down stairs looked down the hall and ran up stairs, well we had to get up at that point. The kids loved looking at all the toys. Jackson really didn't care all he liked was trying to grap and touch as many toys as he could. Ryan couldn't believe what Santa had brought him, it is alot more fun as he gets older to see how Ryan reacts. We had fun opening presents and just relaxing. Then for lunch we went over to Grandma Rice's house and had lunch and played more WII. That afternoon Chris and I got to go to the movies with Chris' sister and Brother. It was nice to get away without the children for once. I can't remember the last time we saw a movie just us.

Christmas morning in their new jammies (excuse the one in the back)
Ryan got a new tent, he has been sleeping in it since we got home.
Just happy to have something to play with

To round out this great week we had Chris birthday the day after Christmas. We went shopping and he got all kinds of stuff and then we had a party with family and the Thompson's with good pizza and cake. What a fun time we had are glad we could celebrate this wonderful season with family and friends.
One last thing, I have been trying to finda babies first christmas shirt for Jackson to wear on Christmas. Well they don't make them for big babies just little ones, I was very sad. I was telling this to my niece and so she brought over this shirt the she had made for Jackson to wear since she knew that I couldn't find one. I was so happy and it was so cute. It will be staying in the family for a long time. Thanks Kayliegh!!

Temple square lights

2009-12-20T20:39:00.005-07:00

While we were in Utah for Thanksgiving we decided to go see the lights on temple square before heading home. Ryan has never seen them and I love to go see them. It was crazy with a lot of people there, but still fun. We went by the temple and Ryan got to touch the temple and was so excited. He kept saying "I got to touch it" We also went to the visitor center to see the statue of Jesus. Ryan couldn't believe how big it was. We had lots of fun, but will have to go another time when there aren't so many people.
Beautiful nativity on the water
The boys with Jesus

Jackson is 10 months!

2009-12-20T20:08:00.005-07:00

Another month has come and gone. Our baby is 10 months, where does the time go. Time is going faster and faster as I get older. Jackson is so much fun and still chubby. I am a little sad to see him walking because I don't want the chubbiness to come off. He is walking lots better but still can't stand himself up in the middle of the room he uses objects to get up. He still needs to have better balance but over all loving the walking thing. He is slowly sleeping through the night, he has his really good nights and his not so good nights, someday we will figure that out. He is a very happy baby and loves to play with Ryan and follows him everywhere Ryan goes. At night he get very upset when Ryan has to go to bed, because he still wants to play. He is saying MAMA when he is tired, but still won't say DADA. We are working on it daily. I hope this month doesn't go by as fast.

New House

2009-12-20T20:04:00.002-07:00

I have been such a slacker at this blogging thing lately. For those of you who don't know we moved again. It was a really fast move, as in 2 weeks. We love our new house, it has three bedrooms , living, and family room and the best of all a backyard. We are way excited and love the space for the kids to run around. We are also excited about the backyard when the snow clears. I will have to remember to take pictures of the house soon.

2009-12-07T11:24:00.001-07:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Jackson is 9 months!

2009-11-30T11:02:00.005-07:00

Wow how fast time flies! I can't believe it is already Dec. and my baby is 9 months old. He is a bundle of energy and will climb and get into anything he can get to. He is about 22 lbs still, he hasn't gained much more since he is crawling, but he is still chubby. He has decided that he wants to walk so he has been working on his balancing skills and will take off and walk on his own. He loves it and thinks he is the greatest when he gets to where he wants to go. He also gets very angry when he falls. I think it is a matter of weeks and he will be walking. I don't know how I feel about him walking yet. He loves to play with his big brother and follows him around the house. Jackson has become a big mommy's boy. He grabs onto my pants and just walks with me around the house. This is very annoying when I am trying to do something or clean. I hope he come out of that phase real quick so that I can get more done. We love having Jackson in our family!!
Playing with Ryan

First Snow of the season

2009-11-06T18:57:00.003-07:00

We had our first snow of the season a couple of weeks ago and Ryan was so excited about it. He wanted to go outside and play with his friend Sienna in the snow so we buddled him up and away he went. He had so much fun playing with his cars and jumping in the snow. He decided to get his bike out and try to ride it in the snow, but was very upset because he couldn't go far. I told him he couldn't get through the snow, but he didn't want to listen to his mom. He soon figured out that bikes don't move in snow. He had fun anyway and can't wait until it snows again.
Ryan and friend Sienna
Ryan and his bike

Carvin pumpkins and Trick or Treating

2009-11-06T18:31:00.009-07:00

We carved pumpkins the Thursday before Halloween. Ryan thought it was great this year, it is fun to see him understand holidays better every year. Chris found a Scooby doo template on the internet for Ryan's pumpkin. Ryan really likes Scooby doo right now so that was perfect. Chris of course did a Boise State pumpkin for the third year in a row. I think he is trying to perfect the design. I just carved our name in my pumpkin and Jackson's we just drew a face. It went really fast and way fun.
Grandma Rice helping out
Ryan wasn't so sure about cleaning out the guts.
Ryan and his pumpkin

For Halloween this year we went down to Idaho Falls and go trick or treating in my parents neighborhood. My sister and brother's were in town with their kids, so Ryan got to go trick or treating with his cousins. Chris stayed to hand out candy and I took the kids out. Ryan loved it but he wouldn't say trick or treat, just thank you after they gave him candy. Maybe next year he will get the concept. Ryan was Superwhy from the PBS t.v. show. My sister had made the costume for her little boy last year so we just borrowed it. He loved it. Jackson was Chicken Little, we bought the costume for Ryan on his first Halloween. Jackosn was so cute with the giant chicken head on. We had lots of fun on this fun holiday and can't wait until next year when Jackson will be more into it and the boys can walk around together.
Our Chicken Little!!

Super Why was not into taking pictures
There so cute!
Ready to go with Cousins Landon and Afton
Cute boys trick or treating

Ryan's first encounter with leaves

2009-11-06T17:55:00.005-07:00

We went over to my grandmother's house to help her rake up her leaves in her backyard. She has a huge backyard with a huge fun climbing tree. Ryan has never really had a yard where we had to clean up leaves so this was a new experience. I told him to come and jump in the leaves and he thought that was really fun. My mom and my Aunt Vicky were there to help, so my aunt Vicky went out and they had a leaf fight. Ryan loved it and was such a big help. Jackson on the other hand hated it and cried as he crawled through the leaves. Maybe next year he will think it is more fun. Fighting with Aunt Vicky
Jackson not so sure about all this

our happenings

2009-10-26T13:59:00.002-06:00

I has some time, while Jackson napped to get caught up. I hope you enjoy our family. I finally finished up summer and will try to do better about keeping up. It is just hectic in our house lately so I will do my best. ENJOY!!

Jackson is 8 months!

2009-10-26T13:44:00.006-06:00

I can't believe how fast time is flying. Jackson is already 8 months old. It is sad how fast your baby grows. This kid is a handful, he is our climber and likes to get into everything. He has discovered the stairs and love to go up them, and gets mad when I put the gate up. He loves Ryan and follows him everywhere. He also hates baby food, so we are having a hard time figuring out things to feed him. He is still chubby as always and has been put into the big boy carseat already. It is a facing forward carseat and he loves being able to see outside. He is learning about balance and really wants to walk and stand up by himself, but just quite can't figure it out. He is about 22 lbs and growing. He has the best smile and laugh and we love having him in our home.
He loves Popsicle's!
He loves his daddy

HAPPY 5th Anniversary!!

2009-10-26T12:42:00.010-06:00

I didn't get to write on our anniversary so sorry it it late. We have been married for 5 years on Oct. 16th. I can't believe that it has been that long. It doesn't even feel like we have been together that long. Crazy how time flies when your in school and have two kids. We have had some great times and I am so happy that I married Chris. He is awesome, he is the best dad and husband. He is also my best friend and I love being with him. Happy anniversary Honey!!!

Chris tricked me for our anniversary. We were just planning on going to Utah and doing some things down there. He surprised me with a trip to LA and San Diego. I was so excited and couldn't believe that he did that. We flew into LA on Thursday night and stayed in a hotel there and then Friday morning we drove through LA a little and then headed down to San Diego. We had gone to San Diego on our honeymoon, so it was really fun to go back. We found our hotel and then headed to the beach on Coronado Island and played in the water and looked for shells. It was such a nice day, but the water was really cold. We then went back to the hotel and decided to walk around downtown. We went to there outdoor mall and looked around.
On Saturday we headed by the border and went to the outlet mall and to a flea market to find some t-shirts for the kids. It was really fun to be able to look across and see Mexico. We then headed to Mission Bay and went on this really fun wooden roller coaster on the beach. It was so much fun. We looked at the shops and we were going to play on the beach but it was really misty and you couldn't really see anything, not even the water until you were at the water. So we just found another place and just looked for shells because it was getting colder. That night we just walked around downtown again and went back to the hotel and ordered pizza while we watched a movie. We had so much fun and just had a great time relaxing from our hectic life.
Los Angeles Temple
San Diego Temple
On the beach

Nice hydrolics!
Lovely Mexico

All about Ryan

2009-10-26T12:04:00.008-06:00

I haven't written about Ryan for a while. He is such a funny kid and growing up way to fast. He loves to play outside and right now is really sad that it is getting colder. He has discovered the computer and plays, playhouse disney games all the time. He has also discovered Scooby doo and loves to watch it. He is getting more and more used to having a little brother, but always tells me that Jackson is "Driving me Crazy" I am going to put some fun pictures of Ryan up for you to see.
He told me that his bike was really dirty so he washed his bike and then we went in the back and hosed it off. He had so much fun!
He loves to play Chris' Risk game, he calls it the horsey game. He gets mad because he can only play it when Jackson is sleeping.

Idaho Falls Zoo

2009-10-26T11:45:00.007-06:00

This summer we went to the zoo. I wanted to take Ryan there, since the last time we went to a zoo was when he was a year old in Salt Lake. Ryan was so excited and couldn't stop talking about going. We went and there was a lot of things that were closed. We started at the petting zoo and Ryan got to pet the goats and comb their fur. He thought that was really fun, but everything else was under construction so that wasn't real great. We went through the zoo and the animals were all sleeping and either weren't outside or were sleeping so the zoo wasn't that great. The best part was that as we were leaving they were letting the penguins out for a walk and Ryan got to see them. He got in trouble for trying to pet one, but loved it anyway. It was kinda sad that there weren't many animals and wasn't that fun, so hopefully next year we can go to Salt Lake again. Here are pictures of our adventure.
Ryan combing the goats
Jackson loved being out of the stroller
Jackson thought the gorilla was really weird
The cute penguins

Jackson is 7 months!

2009-10-04T20:38:00.003-06:00

Jackson is getting so big and is still chubbier than ever. He is now 7 months and getting into everything. He loves to crawl and is now standing up to anything that will keep him stable. He loves to follow mommy around and whine. He loves to play with Ryan if they play nice, but Jackson always ends up crying somehow. He hasn't been weighed officially, but we think he is about 22 lbs and close to getting into his big boy carseat. We are having trouble's with the whole baby food thing. He won't eat it very much, I don't know if this is because he is teething or if he just would rather eat a bottle or people food. So he eats lots of baby snacks and bottles, we are hoping that he will get over that real soon so he will eat more than just bottles. He got two bottom teeth in and are working on the top two. He has been sick lately with teething so he isn't much fun. We love to play with him and hear him giggle. He is such a fun and happy little boy!

He is better at crawling now, but this is so cute!
Such a chubby baby, at his cousin's birthday party!
He was crying until I put the camera up to his face and he would start to laugh

Chukars Baseball game

2009-09-21T21:02:00.005-06:00

Chris' boss invited us to go with his family to see a Chukars baseball game. It was lots of fun. Jackson got to stay with Grandpa and Grandma Williams for the night, since we didn't think he would have any fun. Ryan thought it was cool, but got bored half way through. After the game was over they got to run the bases with all the kids that were there that night. He had so much fun, but we won't be taking him to another game until he is a little older.

Running the bases with Daddy

Family Reunions and Friends

2009-09-20T19:46:00.012-06:00

I need to get going on all our fun summer events. We went camping every weekend for about three weeks. You bet I was way done with camping for the year. First was my Family Reunion at Camp Cumorah in Bone Idaho. It was lots of fun to see all my Aunts, Uncles and Cousins. We also liked seeing all my family since everyone was there, which is hard when you have seven kids in your family. There was lots to do and explore, Ryan loved to play with all the other cousins and swim in the lake. Didn't get a lot of pictures, because the camera was lost for a while so we only have pictures of swimming.
Ryan got to make a sword and shield. It was a Renaissance theme
Jackson and Noah meeting for the first time. We love cousins!
Taken a ride in the boat with Tyler
Such a long day

Next weekend we had our wonderful friends the Thompson's from Boise finally come and visit us. We had so much fun. We went camping for one night and then we just hung out here in good ole Rexburg. What great fun we have whenever we are with them. We miss them lots since we moved from Boise. Ryan and their little girl Kenzie always love to play together. They are great friends.

The whole gang!
The best of friends!

The last and final weekend of our camping extravaganza was going to Yellowstone and camping with Chris' brother, sister and of course our brother -in-law Lane. We had lots of fun and even had matching t-shirts. It was a really great way to end our summer of camping.

Chris' sister Holly, her husband Lane and Uncle Michal with Ryan
Aunt Holly bought Jackson this cute hat, because it was hot and she thought he needed it!
Our cute Ryan!!

We had so much fun being with people we love!

Jackson is 6 months

2009-08-23T19:50:00.008-06:00

I can't believe how fast time is going. Jackson is now 6 months old. He is a chubby little thing weighing in at 20 lbs and 27 1/2 inches. He has started eating more foods, but isn't quite sure about the whole thing. I forgot how hard it was having to remember to feed someone like that again. Ryan will eat whatever I am eating so he is easy. He is sort of scooting/crawling. He gets up on all fours and then flattens to his belly and scoots and then back up on all fours. He hates that he can't go faster and gets really frustrated about it. I can't believe how big he is getting and almost want him to stop because soon he won't be a baby anymore. He is really fun to play with and a very calm baby for the most part. He just plays on the floor and rolls around until he gets what he wants to play with.
My favorite church outfit, Chris doesn't like the hat, but I love it.
One night we went on a bike ride and I got Jackson out of the back of the bike and I set him by Chris the next thing I know he is asleep next to him. It was really cute!
This was when we went to Old Faithful.

So far behind

2009-08-23T19:13:00.003-06:00

I am sorry, I have so much to blog about our fun summer activities. I don't get much time to myself on the computer these days. So it will be lots of pictures. Here we go

We went to Rigby lake with some of our neighbors one Saturday and Ryan loved it. He got to play in the water and sand with his friend Ty. Jackson wasn't to sure about the water or the sand.

Ryan came to sacrament meeting from Primary with these paper ears on his head. I thought it was so cute and that they had just learned about ears in primary. Then he started talking about how he was like President Monson and started to wiggle his ears. That is so clever. They learned about Pres. Monson by telling him the ears story. He now loves Pres. Monson and talks about it all the time.

We went to the Splash Park and played in the water, and Ryan's little friend Ella was there so they played together.

Since Jackson has gotten huge, we tried on some pj's that Chris' Aunt bought for the boys a while ago. They are 12 month jammies and actually fit him. So we put them on one night and had to take pictures. Ryan loves that he has matching stuff with Jackson.

Here are some random pictures of the boys and us.

Jackson at 5 months

2009-07-28T18:00:00.007-06:00

My tiny man is growing to fast. I can't believe he is already 5 months. He is such a chubby thing. We like him that way. We went to a WIC appt. today and he weighs 19 lbs and is 67 cm. he is huge. He is such a happy baby and loves to just play and roll around on the floor. He just sits on the ground and smiles and talks to you. Ryan still can't keep his hands off of him. We have to constantly tell him to leave him alone. It usually turns into Jackson crying. We have started him on some food, he isn't to sure about it but we continue to try. He is trying to crawl and we are hoping that anyday now he will figure it out. He can get up on all fours and rocks, but he just ends up moving backwards. He is a little grabber and if you aren't careful he will get into everything and of course everything ends up in the mouth. We are excited for what comes next with him, but I still want him to be my little baby a little longer.

How we celebrated the 4th

2009-07-11T10:43:00.005-06:00

We had a great 4th holiday. We went to Idaho Falls for the parade down there because my sister's came into town with their families. The parade was way fun and Ryan sat in his chair by his cousin's and didn't move for a long time. He loved it and got lots of candy and a flag. He kept saying how is loves the harade. Jackson wasn't so sure about the parade because it was really bright and sunny. He loved that he got to have lots of people hold him. After that we went to my mom's and had a fun barbecue with lot of good food.
Ryan loved having a flag to wave
For the fireworks, we took Chris' parents and brother and we went to Freeman park and had a some food while we waited for the fireworks. We were close to my family so Ryan could play with his cousins. We had fun hanging out with everyone before the fireworks started. My camera's battery died after we took our family pictures so the other pictures are on our disposable camera so I will have to post those later. We had lots of fun and the fireworks were way good. We had a great day with family.

Funny pictures

2009-07-09T21:43:00.007-06:00

I just have some fun pictures to show you of the boys. Lots of Jackson smiling and playing and Ryan one day got a blanket and made a picnic on the side of our house on the grass. It was so cute, he ate his lunch and snack out there and played most of the day. Sorry just pictures!
When Jackson wants to be picked up he squeals and chews on his hands until someone pays attention to him.Jackson loves his daddy. What a chubby little man!!

Ryan little picnic area
Jackson loves to play on the floor

"R" Mountain Hike

2009-07-09T17:12:00.005-06:00

Chris came up with the idea of climbing R Mountain. For those of you who don't know where this is, it is outside of Rexburg and it has the R on it for Ricks college. I thought oh that will be fun. As we were driving out there we got stuck in traffic due to construction. Jackson started crying and Ryan says "it's okay baby we are almost to the swimming pool we just need to be patient" Chris and I started laughing, but trying to hide it. Ryan says why are you laughing mom? What do you say to that. We finally made it to the mountain and started up. Wow I am out of shape I couldn't breathe and we had barely started. Ryan was running up the hill and Chris was carrying Jackson. I was far behind trying to breathe when Ryan came up to me and said mommy I will help you and grabbed my hand and helped me. After many stops we finally made it up and it was really pretty. We decided we need to do that more often to get into shape. We had fun and plan on doing it again.

Happy Father's Day!!!

2009-06-21T11:00:00.004-06:00

I just wanted to wish all Father's a Happy Father's day!! I also want to say what a great husband and Father for my children Chris is. I love Chris so much and all that he does for us.He is so good with both of our kids. Jackson and Chris have become buddies and Chris takes him at night and puts him to sleep. Jackson doesn't like it if he doesn't get enough time with Chris. Ryan also loves his daddy and they play and joke all the time. I also wanted to say how great my dad is and how much I love him and am grateful he is my dad.
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!

Jackson is 4 months

2009-06-21T10:44:00.004-06:00

My little baby is already 4 months. It is going by fast, but not to fast which is nice. I hope it doesn't go by to fast. We went to the doctor and got weighed. He is now 17lbs and 261/4 inches long. He is just a chubby baby. I love how chubby he is. He is a pretty good baby very content and calm, except that he is sick and kind of cranky right now. He has been sleeping through most of the night this week and hope it continues. He is also trying to sit up on his own and does pretty good for a while and then gets tired. He really wants to grow up and play with his brother.

Randomness

2009-06-21T10:20:00.006-06:00

I just thought I would put up some fun pictures for all of you. We had a fun time with our cars. We needed new tires for our car and our truck was leaking fuel into the engine so we needed to figure out how we were going to pay for all this. We finally got tires on our car and our neighbor told us he could help us fix our car so Chris and him took the truck apart and figured out that it was a fuel injector. So we ordered the part and waited. Having only one car is hard when you are used to having two cars. Putting the kids in the car in the morning to take Chris to school and work is really hard. We made it through, and finally got the part. They started working on it on Friday and got most of it done. Our neighbor told me what to do to finish putting it back together and said I should finish it. I wasn't so sure and couldn't get to it for a while because of the kids. But at about 5:30 I decided to start working on it. I got most of it done with the help from our neighbors babysitter before Chris and our neighbor got home. We finished it up and started the car, still the fuel was leaking so we had take it all apart again and fix the fuel injector and then put it all back together. It was fun, but frustrating at having to redo it. We finally got done at 10:45 that night. The car works, but something is wrong with how we put something in so we have to go back and redo it. A little upsetting but am proud of how Chris he stuck with it and learned a lot of cars.
The work begins
We forgot to get a picture of me working in the car, but I promise I did I have the black fingers to prove it.
Just another quick thing. We were going to go on a bike ride and We had put the bikes in the truck to go on a bike ride in Idaho Falls, so we were putting them together and Ryan says look mom Mickey mouse. He had put the tires so they looked like Mickey Mouse ears. What a funny guy!

Jackson at 3 months

2009-06-13T16:05:00.005-06:00

Jackson is growing way to fast for me. I want him to stay a baby as long as he can. He is getting so big and chubby. I think he is about 16 lbs and about 24 1/2 inches. He is wearing 6 months clothes. He doesn't have many summer clothes that big so he will have to wear some 3-6 months. He is such a happy baby and smiles and laughs a lot. He loves to hang out with daddy and thinks Ryan is so funny if Ryan isn't bugging him all the time. He used to not like laying on his tummy but he is started to like this. The other night we put him on his stomach and he rolled to his back. We were so excited we put in on video.

Ryan thinks he is so funny and wants him to be bigger so they can play. Ryan still won't leave him alone, but we are working on that. We love Jackson and can't wait to see him develop more as he gets bigger.
Best buddies
Cute Boy!!

LAGOON!!

2009-06-13T15:34:00.007-06:00

Sorry I haven't been able to post very often because our internet hasn't been working that great, so you are going to get a lot at once.
For memorial day weekend Chris wanted to take Ryan to Lagoon. Ryan was so excited to go and we took our nephew Carson went with us to help with the kids so we could go on some rides. My sister was going to take Jackson, but she had a garage sale so we took him until the afternoon. He didn't like it because he couldn't sleep comfortably and he doesn't like the sun that much. He still was a good baby. Ryan had the best time riding on all the rides. He still talks about it today and how he wants to go back again. We keep telling him we can't this year maybe next year. He was so brave and went on a lot of rides and didn't get scared. My brother and sister-in law came and hung out with us for a while. Ryan had lots of fun with his cousins. Chris and I didn't get to go on a ton of rides but still had fun. We also went to Lagoona beach, but it decided to be really cloudy when we went there and the water was freezing so that wasn't that fun. All in all we want to go again and had a great time. You will have to ask Ryan about it and you will get an ear full.
Jackson wasn't so sure about all this
Ryan and I on the Dragon
Ryan loving the rides
Ryan and Carson riding a fun ride, Ryan was actually a little scared

Our little scriptorian

2009-05-26T21:05:00.005-06:00

We were walking home from church and Ryan wanted to carry Chris' scriptures home. When we got home he sat down on our front step and started reading his scriptures. It was so cute that I had to take pictures to share with everyone.

Bike Ride and a fun picnic

2009-05-26T19:33:00.004-06:00

One Saturday we decided to put the bikes in the back of our truck and drove to Idaho Falls and went on a bike ride around the Greenbelt. We had so much fun and even stopped to feed the ducks. Jackson doesn't like the bike trailer that much, but he is getting used to it. I took a video of Ryan feeding the ducks, it is really cute.

Ryan had lots of fun feeding the ducks. We had lots of fun doing that.
That next day was Sunday and was a great day so we decided to go on another picnic at the same spot that we had gone the previous weekend. We made a good lunch and took the bikes and headed up to the mountains. We had a good lunch and Ryan loved that he could run and play. We thought we would find a trail and go on a bike ride. So by the time we got everything together the mosquito's were really bad. We biked for like 2 minutes and then hurried and packed up the kids before we got attacked. We had a lot of fun except the bugs.
Jackson loving being outside
Ryan our little model

Looking for Camping spots

2009-05-21T22:19:00.006-06:00

Chris loves this time of year because he can scout out new camping spots for the summer. A couple of weeks ago we went up by Mesa falls and found a new campground. It was a little scary getting there because it was a dirt road and there was still some snow. We took our truck and had to have it in four wheel drive the whole time. We almost got stuck a couple of times which scared me, but we made it. We brought a picnic and ate. We then went to Big Springs to see the fishy. There was still lots of snow and only 2 fish. Ryan wasn't so happy about there not being many fish, but we still had fun.

Jackson at 2 months

2009-05-07T17:27:00.007-06:00

We took Jackson to the Dr. for his 2 month check up. He weighs 12 lbs and is 24 inches long. He has doubled in weight since the last time we took him there. He is such a chubby baby, but we love that about him. He is such a good baby, he is smiling and cooing at us. He is a really good baby very calm, but when he is hungry or tired he can get really mad at you. He is doing better at nights and gives us at least 4 hours to sleep. Ryan loves him and sometimes loves him too much and kinda bugs him. He loves to pat him on the head and to have Jackson sit by him and share his blankets. Ryan is growing bigger everyday to. He wants to go to school so bad, so I have been looking for preschools to put him in the fall. Both boys have been sick since we got home from Boise. Which Ryan doesn't like because I would let him go outside. He has been really bored sitting inside.
The only new thing is Chris has started school again and so he has been busy with school and work. We are adjusting to his new schedule and trying to find time to still spend time together. Here are some cute new pictures of the kids.
We actually had a warm day so we went on a bike ride, Jackson liked it and fell asleep
Ryan thought this was so fun to push Jackson in the stroller
Ryan loves to feed Jackson and share his blankets
Jackson has discovered t.v. He loves to watch baby einsteins and playhouse disney with Ryan
Jackson and daddy They look so much alike

Our Trip to Boise

2009-05-06T21:23:00.008-06:00

At the end of April we went over to Boise because Chris's brother got home from his mission and wanted to go home to Boise. I went over early with Chris parents so I could spend time with the Thompson's. I had so much fun visiting with Wendy and Ryan loved to play with their little girl Kenzie. We just relaxed and shopped. I had the best time having girl time and being taken care of by her. We sure miss them since we have moved to Rexburg, I can't wait until we move back closer to them.
Chris brother Michal came home on Friday afternoon so we met him at the airport and then went and got lunch. We spent the rest of the day at Chris' sister house and hung out. Saturday we went and took family pictures which they turned out really cute even though it was really windy and cold. That night we had a barbeque and just hung out some more. We got to see family on Sunday at his homecoming and brunch we had. All in all it was a great and fun weekend.
The whole family
our lovely little family
Aren't they the cutest!!
Holly and Lane
Ryan at the airport with Michal
Kenzie and Ryan playing in his sleeping bag, such good friends

Easter

2009-04-16T21:24:00.005-06:00

Our Easter wasn't that exciting. On Wednesday last week we got invited to a easter egg hunt with our friends down the way. They had one as an enrichment activity so we went and did that. Ryan had so much fun playing with his friends and finding the eggs. On Saturday we thought we would go down to Idaho Falls and go the big Easter egg hunt at the park. Since we are still trying to figure out how to get ready with two kids, we ended up being late and missing it all. We let Ryan play at the park and then headed home. I was not feeling good so I just rested for most of the day and Ryan and Chris went outside and flew Ryan's new kite he got for Easter. On Sunday we went to my parents for dinner and then flew more kites outside. Hopefully next year we will be able to go to a Easter egg hunt. Here are some cute pictures of the boys in their Easter outfits and with their baskets.
Their Easter baskets, also Jackson is giving a thumbs up
Cute Boys!!
So funny!!

Best Buds

2009-04-16T20:32:00.008-06:00

I thought I would just post some pictures of Ryan and Jackson. Ryan loves Jackson and thinks that Jackson needs to be up and playing with him already. Ryan loves to watch T.V. with Jackson and got mad at me today for taking Jackson away. Jackson was crying and ready to take a nap. Jackson is growing so big and getting chubby. He is getting to the point where he doesn't like to lay down he likes to sit up and big with the family. I love how Ryan and Jackson are already becoming best buds. I can't wait until Jackson gets a little older where they can play together.
Ryan loves to read stories to Jackson
He isn't so sure about this whole thing
Helping Papa out in the yard

Ryan loves to help feed Jackson
Daddy is still his #1 buddy

Jackson's blessing

2009-04-02T21:32:00.012-06:00

This past weekend we blessed Jackson. We had such a fun weekend with family. We hung out with Chris' sister and her husband on Friday and went to dinner and then on Saturday we had a big dinner with my family and Chris' family at the institute that my dad used to work at. It was lots of fun playing games and being with everybody. On Sunday we blessed him and it was such a neat experience. I love that my husband is able to bless our children. It was a little crazy because our ward is from 1-4 with Sacrament last so everyone had to rush home after church. I felt bad because there was a huge blizzard that decided to show up. We had a great but exhausting weekend with everyone and are glad that everyone could make it.
P.S look on my facebook for more pictures of the blessing and the family
Everyone hanging out at the dinner.
Holly and Lane coloring with with Ryan
Tyler with Jackson
My mom says there isn't enough pictures of me, so here you go with my sis Tylynn
Our little family

2009-04-02T21:32:00.001-06:00

Catching up

2009-04-02T20:36:00.009-06:00

I haven't been very good about updating this blog. Things have been a little crazy and by the end of the night I am exhausted so now I have time. I don't think I have updated on Chris, he finally got the cast off and got put in a boot. He has wedges that elevate his heel that he has been taking a wedge out a week so that when it is time he can walk in a shoe. He is doing good and able to do more, but his leg still hurts. He is also nervous because he doesn't get the boot off until a week before school starts so we will see how that goes. Ryan has been doing good. He loves his little brother and has been really good to him. It is really hard having two kids and I am tired all the time, but I am getting used to that and trying to learn how to juggle two kids, housework and taking care of a husband that still needs some help. Jackson is a good baby for the most part. We are trying to still figure him out and get him to sleep longer during the night. He actually is not doing to bad. He does like to cry a lot late evening and we are trying to figure out if he is hungry, tire or gassy, it usually ends up he is hungry for more. He likes to eat a lot more at night time for some reason. He is starting to smile and Aunt LaDawn was the first to get him to smile more than once. Chris says he got the first smile. I will be doing a couple of post of just pictures so for now that is it and I will try not to wait so long to blog.
Ryan trying out his new bike he got for his birthday
Ryan new favorite thing is to shovel the remaining snow we have
Ryan and I were having fun playing his new memory game he got for his birthday

Jackson's first pair of nike's
Such a cute baby!!

My little boy is 3!

2009-03-17T22:38:00.004-06:00

I can't believe that Ryan is three already. It just seems like yesterday he was born. I don't feel like I should have a three year old. He is so big and is such a good helper. He is hilarious with the things he says and is such a copy cat. We are learning that we have to watch what we say around him. On Sunday we had a family party with my parents and sister. He got lots of presents and really spoiled. Every time he opened up a present he would say Oh my Gosh!! What a funny kid. Then Monday was his real birthday so we ran some errands and bought Ryan some balloons for his birthday. After Chris came home we made his cake, which did not turn out the way we wanted it to. Ryan wanted a Boise State Cake, so Chris attempted the logo, but didn't work out well. We ended up with Happy Birthday. Oh Well we will try next year. We took Ryan and one of his little friends to Leo's Place in Idaho Falls and let them play in the playland and have pizza. They had lots of fun. We decided to get Ryan a tricycle for his birthday and he loves it. He hasn't been able to ride it outside, but hopefully soon we will be able to. HAPPY BIRTHDAY RYAN!!

Something is going on with our internet and won't download pictures right now. I will have to put pictures up later. SORRY

Cute Baby!!

2009-03-07T09:35:00.006-07:00

Here are more pictures of the little one. I got in trouble because I haven't posted anymore pictures. I will update you first and then post pictures. Things are a little crazy here, Jackson is 2 1/2 weeks now and we are just trying to figure out a schedule. At first he was a great night sleeper, but that has all changed. We are trying to figure out formula situations so his tummy doesn't hurt. I haven't gotten much sleep in the last couple of days, but we are trying to figure out different ways to get sleep at night. Ryan loves the baby, but is a little impatient with having to share mom. He doesn't like it if I don't get what he wants right then because I am feeding or doing something for Jackson, but we are working on that to. I got sick last weekend with a fever and that was miserable, because I felt horrible and still had to take care of two kids. Everything seems to be better this week and now the countdown begins to when Chris gets his cast off and starts walking. We are all very excited for that. He gets it off on the 18th of this month. That is all for now, but I promise I will do better about updating with pictures.
They both fell asleep by us in our bed.

This is the outfit ryan came home in, I found the picture of Ryan and they look a lot a like.

Had to take a picture of Ryan, he had been playing with his toys so good that day.
My favorite jammies ever!!

Picture post

2009-02-22T08:56:00.013-07:00

I know I have promised you more pictures of Jackson, so here they are, there are a lot of them so here goes!

Sorry about the ugliness of me and my fatness, but what can you do!!
So here you go I hope you enjoy the pictures

Jackson Christopher is here!!

2009-02-19T20:43:00.003-07:00

Our little boy decided he wanted to come and be with us. It was kind of a crazy journey, but we are glad he is in our family. Since we got sent home from the hospital on Sat. I was determined not to go to the hospital to just be sent home again. So Sunday I was having contractions, but they were still not that close and would stop after I would lay down. Monday came and I was still having contractions, but decided to clean my house. It was nice to get that done. I think my nesting was kicking in. So Chris got home from work and said that we were going to go take Ryan to play on slides and then we were going to Walmart to walk this baby out. We walked through walmart for about 45 mins and nothing was really changing so we went home. That night I started to get them really hard and I didn't sleep at all. They were getting stronger and stronger, but they were still 6-7mins apart. I was told not to do anything until they were 3-5 mins apart. So finally at 5:30 a.m. I had had with it all and woke Chris up and we came downstairs to see how things go. I was in so much pain, so I called my mom and she said to call the dr. I called the answering service and said I thought I was in labor but didn't really know, she said to go to the hospital. I was not going to do that just to get sent home again. I thought I would just wait until my dr. appt. at 10 that morning. I took a bath to see if that would help and it didn't, so I called the dr and they said to come in asap. Getting everything together we got to the dr. office at about 9:15. My parents were there waiting for us to help with Ryan and to be there in case something was going to happen. I got checked and he said that I was at 7cm. I couldn't believe it, so off to the hospital we went. I got there and a nurse was supposed to come down and get me, but 10 mins later she still hadn't come so we just walked up there on our own. My dad took Ryan into the family waiting room while chris and my mom stayed with me. I got my epidural soon after that because they didn't know how fast I would go. That was the best thing in the world, I hadn't felt that good in months. After I got the drugs, my contractions had slowed down, so they put me on a little postosum to get them going again and we waited for the doctor to break my water. He came and broke my water and soon after that the nurse decided to check me and I was 10 cm. So the nurse had me push once and said that this baby was coming. Well there were two other women that were ready to give birth also. The dr. came in and I pushed twice and then he had to go deliver another women, so I just sat there and waited. Chris' parents had come and so I let his mom come in and be there. The dr. finally came back and another three pushes later he was here. It was great to finally have him and I got to hold him right after and he stayed with me the whole time. It was a lot different than Ryan, he had lots of things wrong so they showed him to me and then took him. It was nice to be able to hold Jackson and have everyone else see him. After I got done being cleaned up we just sat and talked with each other. My sister LaDawn came and took Ryan for the night. I got to my recovery room at about 5:00 and had an enjoyable night. I decided to come home the next day since I was fine and Jackson was fine, so we waited until he could go home around 2. I didn't want to stay since, Jackson stayed in my room with me all night, and I would rather be at home in my own bed. It was really fast and a way different experience than with Ryan. He is such a cute baby and sleeps all the time.

Sorry forgot stats of him
Jackson Christopher
7 pounds 21 inches long born at 1:55 p.m. on Feb 17th
He has dark brown hair and it was curly when he came out, but it isn't curly anymore.
I am way to tired tonight to post pictures so tomorrow morning I will do a whole post of pictures. Sorry!

New Cast and a fun Valentine's

2009-02-16T08:27:00.005-07:00

Chris finally got into his new cast. As soon as he got home from work, he set Ryan to coloring on it. Ryan thought this was great, it looks a little like graffiti, but really cute. Chris really likes this cast a lot better than the soft cast. He feels like this leg is more supported and it doesn't hurt as much. So 5 more weeks of crutches and then he gets to walk on it. He is better at getting around, he has been trying to make me not do as much stuff for him.

Our Valentine's day was not very exciting, but in our 4 years of marriage, I don't think we have had a normal one. I went to my parents since he worked all day and then we went over to his parents to watch basketball. We were going to go to the movies, but yet again we ended up at the hospital. My contractions started at about 8:45 that evening. We went home and got Ryan to bed and then his parents watched Ryan as we went walking around. Where in Rexburg do you go walking at about 10:00 at night. We went to walmart and walk around for about 45 mins. I didn't know what to do so we went home and talked to his mom. We said a little prayer and felt that we should just go get checked in case. I also hadn't feel him move all day so that concerned us. It was really funny because at the ER the nurse came to get me in the wheel chair, luckily she brought a friend since Chris needed a wheel chair to. So we both got wheeled up to Labor and Delivery. They thought this was so funny, so they played a joke on the nursing staff and brought Chris in first. They all looked at him and was wondering how they were supposed to help him. Then I was wheeled in and they laughed. I think we made their night. So I was checked and monitored and had changed to a 2 cm. At least I had changed, but my contractions had stopped being really close, so I walked around the hospital for an hour. That is not exciting at all they aren't very many places to walk around there. Chris got to ride in the wheel chair as I pushed him around. Then we found the waiting room in Labor and Delivery, so for the last 30 mins. I just went on my own to walk and Chris watched some T.V. After the hour, which at this point was 1:30 she checked me again and she said maybe was a 2 1/2. So I was once sent home, but at least I know that my body is changed in it's own and this is going to end soon. We didn't get home until 2:30, we were so tired and spent yesterday trying to catch up on sleep. I have been having alot of contractions that are really strong but they aren't that close, so we are going to wait until my appt. tomorrow and see what the doctor's says unless something exciting happens today.
I hope the next time I update it will finally be with a cute picture of a baby on it.

Surgery Update

2009-02-09T17:11:00.004-07:00

I am tired of posting post that are not upbeat and I feel like I am complaining, so I wanted to wait until I had something different to blog about. No there is no baby yet and yes Chris still can't walk well, but today as Ryan and I were playing he has discovered that blankets are the best thing in the world to play Hide and Seek with. He had put his cars in the blanket and then started rolling around. It was so cute. I got some pictures for you to laugh at instead of hearing about our trials right now.

So now the fun updates.
Chris had his surgery on Thursday and things did not start out good. My parents came and picked up Ryan to have him stay with them. While I was leaving the house I locked the keys in the house, this has happened before so Chris tried to use a credit card to open it. Well he couldn't so my parents had to give us a ride to the surgery place because we were going to be late. Then we were told that the insurance company was denying Chris. I was so upset, so as they took Chris is I was on the phone with the school insurance. Well the mess with the insurance got straightened out. Chris went into surgery and it only lasted about and hour and an half. They came and got me when he finally woke up and was talking. The Doctor said that for as big as Chris was it looked like something exploded in his leg, but they got things cleaned up. I then had to call Chris' parents to come and pick us up since we didn't have a car or keys to the house. His parents tried to get our door open, but they couldn't either. So I just called my neighbor and got her husband to get some tools to open the door for us. He finally got it open so we got to come home to our house rather than to somebody else's house until I could call a locksmith. Chris was really tired when he came home and he just slept and hung out on the couch the whole weekend. He did get up and go to work today which I think is really good for him to be out of the house and concentrating on something else besides his foot.

As for me I am miserable and want this baby out. I thought I was in labor on Sat. so we went to the hospital and they said that I was just dehydrated and tired. I hadn't changed from the week before. That was really upsetting. I had my dr. appt today and I was only a 1 cent. with no change. The Dr. said let's wait another week and then we can make an appt. to induce if nothing had changed. I was really mad and cried of course, so now I am going to do whatever I can to put me into labor. I have been having lots of contractions, but apparently they are doing crap.

That is it for now I hope the next time I blog will be more uplifting or a baby, but I am counting it will be something more uplifting than a baby. So just keep checking!!

Update

2009-02-03T09:12:00.002-07:00

I thought I would write and update everyone on what is going on with Chris and I. Yesterday was spent at the doctor's office. I had a dr. appt. and was hoping that something was happening and the doctor said nothing was happening. I was really upset since I have had a lot of contractions lately. I cried had my pity party with my friend next door and got over it. There is a reason why he isn't coming yet, I just need to be more patient. Then off to Chris appt. to see what was really wrong and what to do about it. Well he has a full rupture of the tendon and has to have surgery. The doctor said that this happens a lot with young guys that play basketball and he has even seen it happen with people playing church ball. He also said there was nothing Chris could do to prevent this and that this is a freak thing that just happens. So with that Chris is having surgery at an out patient surgery center on Thursday. He is a little nervous and really tired of this already. He went back to work today, because he is tired of staying on the couch with nothing to do since we have no t.v. Then later in the afternoon yesterday we had to take Ryan to the doctor because he is waking up about 6 every morning with a really bad cough and it has been making him throw up, so we found out his acid reflux might be back so we got a prescription and hoping that will work. Also he has a runny nose and a cough. I hope he get over this soon, because between the two of them, I am really tired. So that is the latest update with us. I will post another one after Chris gets his surgery on Thurs. Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and comments.

Hard times at the Rice's

2009-02-01T20:04:00.004-07:00

Well this weekend was not what I expected. I was expecting I end up in the hospital having a new baby, but Chris decided he wanted to beat me there. Saturday he had another basketball game and while he was running he ended up tearing his Achilles Tendon. We ended up at the hospital for Xrays. Not what we wanted to be doing on our Sat. So he is down and can't walk, except to hop with some crutches to the bathroom. I have been running around trying to take care of him and Ryan. Not very easy when you are 9 months pregnant and have contractions of your own. So tomorrow we go to my dr. appt. and then to the Orthapedic Surgeon to see what is really wrong with it and maybe have to schedule surgery. On top of all of this we may not have insurance from the school to help us with this. Oh how we love the trials in our lives. Last night Chris slept on the couch and didn't want to sleep by himself, so I got the air mattress out and slept next to him. At about 6:00 a.m. Ryan got up crying and coughing, so he got to come down and sleep with mommy, so we were all having a sleepover. We all slept in until 10:30 which was nice. I will update when I know more about Chris or me.
fun sleepover

Basketball Time

2009-01-25T20:25:00.005-07:00

I thought I would keep everyone updated on what Chris has been up to these days. He feels left out when I only post about Ryan. Chris got on the competitive league at school, he is on the Hawks team. The only thing that is bad about playing is he has practice at 6:00 a.m. twice a week. He has done really good about getting up so far. He then comes home changes and goes to work by 8 a.m. This past Saturday was his first game so I took some pictures to show everyone. He is number 50 and he is in the Maroon Jersey. His team won by one point and he scored 10 points. That is really good, since he wasn't a starter and came off the bench.

Ryan is such a boy!!

2009-01-25T20:04:00.008-07:00

I thought I would just post about funny things Ryan has done this past week. Nothing major has happened with the baby so this post is all about Ryan. He is definitely a 2 year old lately. He has an attitude with us. He loves the word no and he has learned how to talk back. I wonder where kids learn that. But he is getting more funny everyday on the phrases and words he picks up. We still love him and can't believe how much he has grown. Here are some random pictures of Ryan being funny.
Ryan doing shoulder excercises
The naked Guitarist

Ryan thought it was funny to take his clothes off and put his shirt on as pants.
What a silly Boy!!!
Playing video games with dad!!

One last fun trip

2009-01-19T19:00:00.005-07:00

Chris came home last week and suggested we go to Utah for one last trip before the baby was born. We needed to get some things that my sister was giving us for the baby. I was a little worried in case something happened, but I was fine and things went well. We got there on Friday night and just talked. Saturday morning we got up and went to the DI in Layton, to see if they had any good strollers. We gave away our stroller that came with our car seat, so we needed one. We found one online that was a good price and it is pretty new. We were excited about that! Anyways we found some fun things at the DI for the baby. We then went to lunch at Chris' favorite place, Panda Express. We don't have one here so whenever we go anywhere that has one we have to eat there. Saturday night we invited my other two sisters and there families over and we snacked and played a really fun game. We played Ticket to Ride, very interesting game that is something I would love to get someday. We had lots of fun being with family and catching up. Ryan also had lots of fun with all of his cousins that were there. That night my sister's boys wanted to have a sleep over in the living room so Ryan decided to lay by them. That did not last long, but he gave it a try. We headed home on Sunday after a fun day of hanging out. It was a nice getaway, but we wish it was longer.
I went to the doctor today and he said things look good, so we just sit and wait until he wants to come. I am getting anxious and ready for him to get here. It almost seems like it isn't real that we are going to have another one, but it will be fun.
Playing Rock band with daddy

Side note: My dad had shoulder surgery for the second time this past month, so we has to do exercises at home. We were over there and Ryan wanted to help papa with his exercises that day. I thought it was really cute.

Update

2009-01-16T12:52:00.002-07:00

We are going to close the name poll. I think we are going to go with Jackson Christopher, unless he looks like another name. I hope he doesn't though because we don't have another name picked out. We are getting prepared for baby by getting things in order. I want to be prepared for this baby, I wasn't to prepared for Ryan since he came so early. We are ready to see what this little looks like and how Ryan reacts to him. He is always talking about baby brother's bed that we put up in Ryan's room. Chris' gave me a prenatal massage for Christmas, so today I decided I better get it done. What a wonderful experience!! I recommend this to everyone, if I was rich I would get one done once a week the last month of my pregnancy. Other than the baby coming, Chris is off this semester from school so he is just working. He tried out for a competitive basketball league and got on a varsity team. He is really excited except he has to practice at 6:00 am which he is not looking forward to but excited to be able to play basketball again. I am excited for him to be able to do something for himself. Not much else is happening with us, just everyday life. We will keep everyone posted on baby news.

New Year

2009-01-09T21:30:00.003-07:00

For New Year's my sister and her family came down to from Utah to hang out so we went down to my parents and hung out and played games with everyone. Then we hung out and ate snacks until the ball dropped. It isn't as excited anymore when you start having kids and grow up because you can't really party much. It was still really fun. Then next day we hung out more with my sister and Chris and my brother-in-law took the kids sledding again. They loved it.

Not much else has happened since then, we have just been thinking more and preparing more for this baby that is coming soon. We are way excited for this little boy to come to our home and I am more than ready for it to be over.

Christmas and more

2009-01-09T20:55:00.006-07:00

Sorry this has taken a while, our computer cord broke again, so we had to wait almost two weeks to get us a new one, so here we go.
For Christmas we hung out at Bethany's parents house and with her sister and her family. We decided to stay the night so we could wake up and have Christmas with them. Christmas eve we went to dinner with Chris' parents, Bethany's parents and her sister's family. It was way fun to be all together. We then went and looked at lights, then back to the parent's house for the traditional hot chocolate and donuts. Bethany's sister came over and brought a fun game, so we decided to play. It was lots of fun.
So we decided that Ryan really didn't need a lot of toys since he has a big closet full of toys so this year we just got him one big toy and a couple of other little things he wanted. He ended up with a great christmas with lots of new things. I woke up at 7:45 and gave Ryan and Chris till 8:00 a.m and then woke them up. Ryan was so excited to get his fire engine and Mr. Potatoe head.
It was a very quiet and great christmas. Chris took Ryan and my nephews sledding and Ryan went down the hill by himself. I was a little scared to know that he went by himself, but apparently he loved it.
The next day was Chris' birthday so we lounged around in the morning and then we went to IF to Olive Garden and then to exchange some presents. We then went bowling to the bowling alley here in Rexburg. It was way fun, then came home and had cupcakes.

Christmas party and fun times

2008-12-28T22:27:00.005-07:00

Sorry it has been a while since I have posted, I have just been really lazy. We went to Boise to go to Chris' family Christmas party the weekend before Christmas. We had a couple of days to hang with friends and family. On Friday we hung out with our friends Brian and Wendy and ended up at the mall to do some Christmas shopping. Ryan discovered the escalator and wanted to play on it, so while we were waiting for Wendy, Chris took him up and let him go down and up by himself. He was so cute holding onto the railing and just taking the ride. I was a little sad, because he is getting so big and loves to do things on his own. He thought this was the greatest thing ever. Then he got a little brave and started to climb the stairs while riding.
We also tried to sit on Santa's lap again, but Ryan was not having any of it. We also went out to eat with Chris' sister and dad, and at the place there was a motorcycle game that Ryan asked to ride on, so Chris sat on the back and helped him play. He loved it.
On Saturday we headed over to Chris' grandmother's house for the Christmas party. They did the nativity and
Ryan and Chris were wise men, Ryan
did really understand what was going on we had lots of fun and Ryan got spoiled with lots of gifts from Great Grandma Rice.

Christmas Letter

2008-12-16T18:06:00.003-07:00

This year I thought that more people would read a letter this way then if I sent something in the mail. I haven't written a letter about us in a while so I will just update on us this year.

Chris is still in school and hopefully will be done with in the next year or half. It feels like we have been in school forever, but we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. He really enjoys school here at BYU-Idaho and his classes. He is studying Business Management with emphasis in Finance. He is such a trooper, he has been going to school on Mon, Wed, Fri. all day until 3:00 and then trying to fit in about 2 hrs of work and then on Tues. Thurs. working a full day. It has been crazy and we haven't seen much of him, but we are sure proud of what he is doing for our family. We used to take Chris to school and Ryan used to say, "Mom I go to daddy's school to" I would tell him he would have to wait. Chris is off the next semester and is looking forward to just working and relaxing with the family. He is lucky to be working for a Dish satelite company. He has been working there for about a year now and loving it. He has been doing sales and now his boss has him working with the finances to give Chris experience in this field.

Ryan is growing so much everyday. It is crazy to think that he will be three soon. It has been fun this year to see him learn how to speak better and to watch him learn about the world he lives in. He has learned his alphabet and is now working on learning to recognize his letter, he just learned his colors and loves to tell me what color everythingn is. He is learning new words like crazy, it is funny what this little guy comes up with. He is growing really tall and people can't believe that he is only 2. He is wearing about what a 4 year old is wearing and growing more each day. We moved in may to a town home in Rexburg and he has had lots of friends that live by us and have had a great time getting to know them. During the Summer we would just go outside and play with everyone. Now that it is snowing, it isn't much fun to just stay in so we try to take turns watching each other's kids, so they don't go crazy. We are excited for him to turn 3 and what that has to bring this next year. I can't believe my baby is already that old.

We have had lots of fun this year. We have been camping lots of times and visited with family. We are expecting our second in Feb. so we have been mainly focused on getting ready for that and getting Ryan ready for the idea of a baby brother. Bethany is ready for the baby to come already, but can't believe how fast it has gone. She is still loving staying at home with Ryan and keeping the house in order. Bethany's parents came home from a mission in November and she has been loving having them so close to go visit and be with them.

We hope everyone has a good Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Love, The Rice's
Chris, Bethany, Ryan and Baby

Fun Sunday family night

2008-12-09T09:11:00.005-07:00

On Sunday's we have been trying to be better about not watching t.v. and just hanging out with each other. We usually let Ryan pick some movies to watch together. Well this Sunday we were just playing with Ryan and got out his sleeping bag and taught him how to go down our stairs in the sleeping bag. It was so funny to watch him go down. Of course Chris was at the bottom of the stairs to catch Ryan and we told Ryan we only do this when mom and dad are with him. He was having lots of fun. After that fun time we all sat down together and watch Sword in the Stone and ate Popcorn. What a fun time we had just being together! I have a video of Ryan going down the stairs, but don't laugh to hard at me!

We also put up a decoration on our kitchen table and Ryan loves to play with it so Chris got some pictures of him playing with it.

Christmas Lights

2008-11-30T18:00:00.005-07:00

Last night Chris decided we needed to put our Christmas decorations. We put the tree up and then he went outside and put up the lights outside. Ryan loved it, he got to go outside and help. We still need to decorate our christmas tree with ornaments, but we at least have the lights on it. What a fun time of year we are at. I love this time of season and can't wait to teach Ryan more about christmas now that he is understanding more and more. The other day he was looking at a toys r us ad and decided he wanted a fire engine. He kept asking for one and I told him he had to wait until Santa brought it. It is fun because we went and saw Santa and he is understanding who he is.

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-30T17:39:00.004-07:00

This year Chris and I hosted Thanksgiving at our house for his family. His sister came into town and his parents came over for a nice meal. I got to cook my very first turkey, made gravy for the first time and made rolls from scratch. It was really fun to cook it and it was really easy. After dinner we played games with his sister and her husband the rest of the night. The next morning I got up and went shopping with Chris' sister. We didn't get up to early but we got what we wanted and had lots of fun just girls shopping. What a wonderful season to be with family and lots to be thankful for.

To Boise we go

2008-11-24T19:53:00.005-07:00

So since gas prices have been going down, Chris said we needed to take advantage of it before they went up again and go on a road trip. We decided to go to Boise to visit our friends and family there. Chris' parents said they would like to come with us, so Friday we got in the car and went to Boise. Chris and I decided we wanted to stay with our friends Brian and Wendy since we don't get to spend much time with them. It was fun to see them and hang out. Also there little girl Kenzie and Ryan got a long well and loved having each other to play with. We just went to the mall and a couple of stores, but not much for the weekend. We have been looking at a comforter for Ryan's room that is Boise State, so we searched for that while we were there. We found one and put it on his bed when we got home. Ryan was so excited he kept jumping on his bed. He also found a Boise State bike that fit him perfectly while we were at the store. He was starting to get the hang of it, but we had to go. He was so upset about it, so he may be getting a bike for his birthday. Anyways we also hung out with Chris' sister and Brother in law at there new house. On Sat. we did get to hang out with some other friends of ours Sherm and Juliette. We went to dinner with them and Brian, Wendy. It is fun to have friends that we can catch up with and see how they are doing. We had lots of fun, but are very glad we are home and now are thinking about the holiday coming up.

I was tagged again!

2008-11-12T21:02:00.002-07:00

I was tagged.
The rules of the tag are simple....I have to post 7 random little known facts about me and then task 7 more people to do the same.
so here we go

1. My parents went to Israel before I was born and that is how they came up with my name Bethany. I was named after the town

2. My second toe is freakishly longer than my first toe.

3. I can play the Clarinet, even though I haven't played since my freshman year in High School.

4. I love candy and sometimes it gets really bad. I am not the only one in my family that has a sweet tooth.

5. I met Jerry Springer at the Plaza hotel in New York City. He bumped into me as I was coming out of the bathroom. ( I have a picture, just not digital)

6. I hate being called Beth. My name is Bethany not Beth

7. I love to wear PJ's. If I could that is all I would ever wear. I am in them by 6:00 every night. I get it from my mother.

The people I want to tag are:
Nicole
Jessi Morgan
Emily
Jessica
Tylynn
Shellie
LaDawn

Crazy Week

2008-11-12T20:53:00.002-07:00

This past week and weekend have been lots of fun and crazy. Monday the 4th my parents came home from their mission. Ryan and I met them at their house this a sign and balloons. It was fun to see them and actually know they are close. We helped clean out their car and put some stuff away. Then this past weekend my brother and Sister's came in to town for their homecoming talks and luncheon. It was fun to see everyone and visit. Ryan loves to play with his cousins and everyday since we came home he asks to play with them. Chris took Ryan home on Sat. night while I stayed at my parents with my sister's and had a sleepover. It was nice to have a break by myself and let the boys have a night together. The next morning we went and listened to my parents give their talks. It was really fun to hear their experiences of what they did and how they helped so many people. I know they will miss their mission, but I am so glad to have them home, especially since I am having a baby soon. I just need my mom in times like this.

We had a fun time on Sat. and Sun, but came home and Sun. night Chris got the flu and was up all night. Chris stayed home from school sick and I wasn't feeling very well, so we sent Ryan to Chris' parents so he wouldn't get sick. Well as Chris was feeling better, I got really sick and we found out the Ryan did get sick after all. We all just stayed home and inside on Tues. to feel better. I hate when we are all sick, but I hope that this is over for the season. So sorry no pictures this time, nothing really exciting for pictures anyways.

Halloween Fun!

2008-11-01T23:43:00.006-06:00

We had a really fun Halloween with Ryan this year. He is starting to understand the concept more each year. It is crazy that is understands so much. He really didn't know what he wanted to be so daddy decided that he should be superman. We found a costume at the store. The first time we tried it on he wasn't so sure, but after a while he kept saying, "I'm superman." He loves it and wants to wear all the time. We dyed his hair black, which was not a fun experience. He loved being able to walk and get the candy. He didn't want to say trick or treat, so he just grabbed the candy and left. We have got to keep working on that for next year. So hope you enjoy the photos.

Pumpkin Carving

2008-11-01T13:48:00.006-06:00

Chris likes to wait until the day of Halloween or the day before to carve pumpkins. This year we did it before we took Ryan out. Chris' parents came over to celebrate with us. This year someone made Boise State templates to carve pumpkins so of course that is what he did. We just carved a simple smiley face on Ryan's and I was tired of carving, so just took a sharpie marker and wrote our name on it. I know really lazy, but it still worked. After Ryan's was done, he had to be like dad, so he carved his pumpkin.

Trunk or Trick

2008-11-01T13:28:00.004-06:00

On thursday we went to our ward's trunk or treat. He had lots of fun and ran around with all his little friends from nursery. We just had table's up in the Cultural hall and walked to each table. It was fun to see all the fun costumes. Ryan thought this was great because he got candy and what more could you want as a little kid.
This is Ryan's friend Kenzie, they love to play together

His friend Ryder