A Little R and R

History!

2010-03-14T20:30:00.000-07:00

We decided to go to the American Museum of Natural History today. This place was HUGE!!! It had four floors with a ton of exhibits on each floor. Needless to say, we only got through 1 1/2 floors before everyone was ready to go. It had been pouring rain and really cold and so when the rain finally let up it was good to get out.

Everyone was pretty excited to see the dinosaurs so we went and checked those out first.

Kaley absolutely loved the museum which surprised me a little considering most kids her age would probably be bored. There was a room that was showing a movie that had something to do with organisms and, seeing there was a movie, Kaley decided she wanted to sit and watch. Of course I thought that as soon as she figured out what she was watching she would not be interested anymore. Boy was I wrong! She stayed and watched it like it was the most interesting thing she had ever seen. She kept leaning over to me and saying "Did you hear what she (the narrator) said!? She said......" and she would try to repeat what she had just heard. It was so funny! It took a little convincing to get her to go to the next exhibit. She might have stayed there all day. :) She loved it all. As we were walking out of dinner later that night she said "I love the museum! It was fun!" Who knew?!

Tyler liked seeing the dinosaurs. He did ok at the museum. He wanted to be running around, but that got tricky since there were a TON of people and he kept running off. He ended up being a trooper and staying in the stoller for a good part of the time though. This was when we first got there and he was still free and loving it. :)

Richard told Kaley to go up to the dinosaur and roar at it. She got pretty into it.

This was an amazingly gigantic jelly fish. The picture doesn't really do the size justice...

Huge tree trunk!

This is how much I would weigh on Halley's Comet. Not even a pound...loved that. :)

This is how much Richard would weigh on the sun... 3,738lbs! Wow!

This was dinner. New York style pizza!!! Yum!!! And of course we folded the slices as we ate them.

After the museum we walked around for a little bit. It was interesting to see all shops and restaraunts. The entrances are all so small, but once you walked in it was a different story. As we were walking we stopped a couple and asked where they would recommend we ate. This was where they suggested and that it would be a place that would be more kid friendly than some places. They were actually headed there themselves and we ended up being seated right next to them.

Ice Skating in Central Park

2010-03-06T08:18:00.000-08:00

We went ice skating in Central Park!!! Just as a sidenote -- we skated on Wollman Rink which is the rink where they filmed Serendipity!!! Kaley has been wanting to go ice skating for a long time (especially after watching it during the Olympics and practicing in our living room). So we thought it would be a good birthday activity. It was so cute to see how excited she was! We were all pretty excited!

I had this idea in my head that I would get on the ice and glide along hand in hand helping Kaley learn to skate. We finally got to the rink, put on our ice skates and headed down to the ice. Kaley and I went first. We walked down and took one step onto the ice...stood there for a minute.....then stepped right back off. :) I quickly realized that there was no way that I would be able to skate very well (seeing as how I've only been once before in my life) and definitely not with Kaley. That would not have ended well for either of us. :) So we walked back up the ramp where Richard agreed to go with her and I would go by myself. I got on the ice and I froze (hee hee I couldn't resist). I realized that I was about to skate around a huge block of ice on a very thin blade and try not to run into anyone or fall and break something. But, I went anyway. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to go ice skating in Central Park no matter how pitiful my skating might be. :) The first time around I was as stiff as a stick and had a death grip on the wall. It was sad really, but I was glad to see I wasn't the only one struggling. I actually ended up going again and the second time was SO much easier. I wasn't stuck to the wall and I went a lot faster. I was definitely getting the hang of it. It was a blast!

Richard took Kaley several times around the rink. I don't know where and when he learned to ice skate, but he was really good. Trying to find a way to get Kaley around the rink was really tricky. This was how it ended up. Kaley would move her feet a little but mostly she was just pulled along. It was pretty funny.

Kaley loved ice skating!

Having fun!

After ice skating we decided to walk around Fifth Avenue a little. This was a cool sculpture that we saw.

We also stopped at FAO Schwarz. That is a really fun store to walk around and of course we had to check out the famous "Big Piano." (This isn't the best picture, but it's the only photo we have of us actually on it. Our time was up and I was trying to round up the kids.) :)

Richard even took Tyler. He had so much fun! The smile on his face was huge! I'm not sure why the video turned out so blurry when it was downloaded so you can't really see his face, but toward the end you can see Tyler moving his feet really fast. It is so cute and pretty funny too.

Four Years Old!!!

2010-03-06T07:27:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that Kaley is four years old! It's gone by so fast! We are so blessed to have her in our family and we love her so much! We had a family party for her a couple of weeks before her actual birthday since we were going to be in New Jersey. She had a blast being with everyone and we appreciate everyone who came to help us celebrate.

Kaley is very into princesses right now. She wanted a Belle cake so this is what I made. Aside from Belle being a little lopsided I think it turned out alright. (My measurements were off so I had a hard time fitting her in, but I made her fit...luckily). :)
I saw this idea on a friend's blog and decided to give it a try. Super cute and easy to make! They were a big hit with everyone!

Ready to blow out the candles. Kaley's favorite thing to do! I love the look on her face! That's what it's all about!

Opening Presents! She got a lot of fun things this year! Thanks everyone!

This is Kaley on her birthday in New Jersey blowing out candles on her breakfast biscuit. :)

She is very into wanting to do everything Richard and I do and helping with whatever is going on. She insisted that she help make her own birthday cake!

Make a wish!!!

Another successful birthday!!!

New Jersey!

2010-02-27T19:00:00.000-08:00

We made it to New Jersey! We are here for the next two months for work. Richard's company needed someone to come and work for Goldman Sachs during the tax busy season and we volunteered. It really is a once in a lifetime experience. I don't know when we would have another chance to have an all expense paid stay here in NJ/NY.

I was worried about how the kids would handle the 4 hour flight since this was their first time flying, but they did great! Kaley loved everything about it! The flight wasn't full so we ended up having 2 rows to ourselves which meant the kids had room to move around. There were little tv screens on the seats so that the kids could watch cartoons and they loved the snacks and drinks they gave us. I was grateful that everything went so smoothly.

We flew into JFK which is.....well....let's just say that most people try to avoid that airport. It was our only choice though because everything else was booked so there we were. We had 8 suitcases, 2 car seats, a double stroller and a couple of carry-on bags that we finally got into a van that was taking us to New Jersey (that was an adventure in itself). Getting from the airport to our apartment took two hours because it was rush hour (which is from 3-9pm we were told... long rush hour). Needless to say, we were very glad to finally get to our apartment.

We got lucky and got here just in time for the end of the worst snow storm that they have seen in about 60 years. :) The day after we got here it started snowing and it snowed for 31 hours straight. It didn't let up once during that time. I have never seen wind and snow like that, but I guess we can say we were a part of history. We are excited for all the things we will get to see and the experiences we will have.

This is the view from our living room window. Living in the city!

You can't really tell but the flakes that were falling were huge!

We decided to let the kids play in the snow by Richard's work. It is nice that he works so close. It's 6 minutes by Light Rail or about a 15 minute walk.

Waiting for the first ride on the Light Rail. They were both so excited to ride the "train."

Having fun in the snow!
This is the Goldman Sachs building. It has 42 floors!

Snow angel!

New York!!! Amazing!

This Statue of Liberty in the background!

This was the Korean War Memorial at the little park.

Jack-O-Lanterns!!

2009-10-27T22:47:00.000-07:00

Tyler drew a few lines on his pumpkin but he liked watching everyone else more.

Kaley did a good job with her pumpkin. Richard carved the eyes and then Kaley poked holes with one of the little pumkin carving tools. She had fun.

Showing off their pumpkins...

Pumpkins!

(Top: Kaley's Left: Dad's Right: Mom's)

Hee Haws!

2009-10-22T21:59:00.000-07:00

We had a good time at Hee Haws this year. It was very windy and cold but it was still a success.

Riding the little animal train...

This was a new little ride they had this year. You sit in the swing and someone pushes it around in a circle very slowly... Kaley got bored pretty quickly. :) This is her being a goof...

The big slide was definitely Kaley's favorite! The face is classic but she loved every minute of it!

Riding with dad and screaming all the way down!

Tyler, on the other hand, was not as excited about it... He went down a couple of times and this was the face he made every time they went. He doesn't like that "stomach drop" feeling. :)

The animals were Tyler's absolute favorite thing!

The big pig is always a hit. And it is BIG!!! :)

"Cheese!"

Another successful trip to the pumpkin patch!

A Night Out On The Town

2009-09-25T17:33:00.000-07:00

Kaley had been asking if she could ride the train so we decided it would be fun to spend time downtown.

We met Richard at his office and walked to Temple Square (which is right across the street from his office building). It was a beautiful day and of course very beautiful surroundings. It is so amazing and peaceful.

I LOVE this picture!!!

After Temple Square we rode Trax ("the train") to The Gateway to walk around and play in the fountains. The kids had a blast!!! I was surprised that neither of them got very wet since you don't know where the water will come out next. Tyler had just learned to walk not too long before and was loving his new independence. It was so cute to see how excited he was and how much fun they were both having.

We rode Trax back to our car when we were done playing and as you can see Kaley loved every minute of it! It was a great night!

This is Tyler loving the fact that he can walk and loving the fountains.

Swimming

2009-07-25T00:16:00.000-07:00

We had a family reunion at my grandma's and Kaley got to go swimming for the first time. She was pretty nervous, but had a lot of fun too. She went under the water a couple of times and she didn't like that at all. She loved jumping off the side though and she did a good job considering it was her first real swim.

Discovery Museum

2009-07-10T12:16:00.000-07:00

My mom took us to the Discovery Museum and it was a lot of fun. There was so much to do, see and discover. :-)

This is one of Kaley's favorite things to do at home too. She absolutely loves washing dishes which is more than fine with me. :-) (She was a little disappointed that water didn't really come out of this faucet).

Playing together. :-)

This was the water station that had lots of different activities.

Tyler having fun too.

Playing grocery store with Grammy.

Kaley was so excited when she saw this horse and she got to get dressed up, but once she got up there she was pretty scared. She was a trooper to stay up long enough to let me take a picture. :-) This is her "please hurry mom, I want to get down" smile.

All dressed up. ROAR!!!

This was Kaley's favorite thing in the whole museum.

A fun day at the museum!

Happy Birthday!

2009-07-09T20:47:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that Tyler is already one! He is so cute and such a blessing. He is such a sweet little boy. He is a mama's boy which is fine with me! :-) He loves daddy and thinks it's fun to wrestle. He loves to cuddle and he absolutely loves Kaley. It is so cute to watch how excited he gets when he sees her. He is such a good eater and a good sleeper and he has been since he was born. He loves to snuggle with anything soft and he always has to run his fingers through his hair when he goes to sleep. I am so grateful to have him and to have the honor of raising him. We love him so much! Happy Birthday Tyler!

The day Tyler was born.

One year later!!! What a handsome guy!

We took the kids to the park on Tyler's birthday and he LOVED it. His favorite thing was swinging of course. He was just laughing and laughing. It was so cute.

Cake! Yummy!!!

A few days later we had a big family party. We had it at my mom's house since she has a nice big backyard and swings! :-) It was fun to have everyone there to help us celebrate.

Tyler loves Blue's Clues so I made him a Blue's Clues cake.

Kaley blowing Tyler's candle out since he didn't know how. He still thought it was fun though.

Opening presents! Thanks everyone!

Lagoon!

2009-07-07T19:32:00.000-07:00

Lagoon was an absolute Blast!!! It was so fun to watch Kaley and the overwhelming excitement she had all day about everything! She had the time of her life! She was able to go on a ton of rides and she did just that! I was so surprised at how fearless she was! She wasn't afraid of any of the rides and she even loved the few adult rides that she was able ride. Kaley actually got bored with a lot of the kids rides and preferred the bigger ones. The kid bumper cars were her favorite ride. She did that one the most. It was a wonderful day for everyone!

This was the second ride she went on. She was so happy to just be at Lagoon.

Richard went on most of the kids rides with her since they spin a lot and I get motion sick pretty easily. Here they are on a mini Rocket type ride. It takes you up and then drops you a little bit at a time and it does that over and over. Of course Kaley loved it!

This is my absolute favorite picture!!! Her face is priceless! This is how excited she was all day! Her little cousin Collin got to ride with her. It was cute to watch.

Merry-go-round!

It was pretty hot that day so we took a break to play in the fountains.

Kim, Bryan, Jenny and Chase were all there too which was nice because that way we could swap kids so the adults could ride the big rides. This is Kaley with Kim and Bryan on one of her very favorite rides. It was the big pirate ship ride that swung back an forth. It scared me more than Kaley at times I think. This was one she rode over and over.

This was my favorite ride!!!

Successful day at Lagoon!!!

(Tyler stayed with my mom which was really nice. Thanks Mom!!!)

Fourth of July

2009-07-04T19:28:00.000-07:00

The Fourth of July was packed with fun activities. We hardly had a minute to breathe from one thing to the next. We decided that we would make the half hour drive to Provo for the parade. It was almost over by the time we got there which was just as well because it was WAY too hot to even enjoy it.

Kaley and Tyler trying to survive the heat. (Kaley ended up getting sunscreen in her eyes so that's why she looks like she's crying.)

After the parade we went to Richard's parents' house for lunch and to visit with family. Then we drove up to Park City to meet my mom, Dick and his family to ride the Coaster. I wasn't sure what to expect but it was AWESOME! It takes you to the top of the mountain and then it weaves you through the trees. I started to get a little nervous when I could see and hear grown, tough men screaming like girls on their way down. It was really fast, but it was a blast. Kaley and I screamed the whole way down. It was definitely the highlight of the day.

Richard was in the car behind us taking pictures. :-)

Here we are making the long climb up the mountain.

You can kind of tell how it winds through the trees in this picture.

We went back to Provo to watch the Stadium of Fire fireworks at the house where David lived. They weren't as good as they have been, but it was still fun to watch.

It had been a long day so we look little worse for the wear. Always need a family picture though. :-)

They did fireworks and sparklers in the street while everyone waited for the stadium fireworks to start.

Soaking Wet!

2009-07-01T20:17:00.000-07:00

We have had a lot of rain this summer and not just any rain, but very loud thunder storms and rain that floods the street within minutes. Kaley won't dare let the sprinkler get her wet, but she loves playing in the rain. :-)

Best friends playing in the rain and loving it!!!

Having a little ice cream party with the neighbors after a day of fun.

(Left to right-Kylie, Kaley, Katie, Kylie, Aubrin, Tyler)

"You're Trying On My Shoes!"

2009-06-28T19:03:00.000-07:00

Kaley loves wearing my high heels. She will spin around like a princess, but her favorite thing to do in them is jump. That's got to take a lot of talent in heels that are way too big! :-)

Haircut

2009-06-21T18:47:00.000-07:00

Tyler's hair was getting very long and shaggy so we had grandma give him his very first trim. It wasn't trimmed much. Grandma said she wanted to leave it longer so he still had a baby look.

He wasn't too sure he was going to like this. He absolutely hates wearing bibs so we had to nix the plastic apron.

He sat a lot better than I thought he would.

"Lights, Camera, Action!"

2009-05-29T19:24:00.000-07:00

The Disney movie Up came out today. Richard's firm rented out a theatre for the employees and their families and so we thought it would be fun to take Kaley. It was the first time she had seen a movie in the theatre and she ended up having a different reaction than I thought. It wasn't bad, but she thought it was very loud and got scared during the action parts of the movie. She spent a lot of the time on Richard's lap. When it was over she asked if we could see it again so I guess her experience wasn't too terrible. :-)

Kaley and Daddy waiting for the movie to start. Kaley loved the popcorn and drink part. :-)

I LOVED this movie! I laughed, I cried... it was full of action and adventure. It was a movie definitely worth seeing and one that we might have to add to our collection.

Wet n' Wild

2009-05-28T19:10:00.000-07:00

Kaley is already having some fun in the sun! Since it has been a little warmer, we have seen and met a lot of new little friends. It is so cute to watch Kaley having so much fun with them and they all love to play with her. They decided that they wanted to play in the water so we got out our hose and let them have at it. If you notice in the pictures the sun has gone behind the houses which made it pretty chilly, but that didn't stop them!

Kaley would run up to the water and let only a few drops touch her and then run away screaming. It was hilarious. She definitely didn't get near as wet as everyone else. At least she was having the time of her life. That's all that matters right.

Here is Kaley being like the big next door neighbor girls Kylie (10) and Aubryn (7). They are so sweet to play with her everyday even though they are a few years older than she is. :-)

Eventually Kaley decided it was way more fun to spray people than to be sprayed herself.

I told Kaley to spray Tyler just a little bit. So much for the little bit part! :-)

He cried at first because it was so cold, but then he didn't really mind it. ;-)

"Where A Kid Can Be A Kid"

2009-05-21T09:15:00.000-07:00

Kaley had been asking and asking to go to Chuck E Cheese. Every time we would pass it she would point it out and ask if we could go. She had only been one other time before (a little over a year ago). I guess it left quite the impression. :-) So we decided it was time to go again. :-) We had a blast! She was so excited about everything and loved every minute! It is so fun to go places and experience them through the eyes of a child.

Waiting for our pizza...

Kaley wasn't so sure about Chuck E. Cheese (I think that's his name) at first, but after the first couple of seconds she warmed right up to him.

"Where a kid can be a kid..." :-)

Tyler had a good time too!

This is a video of Kaley dancing to the band that plays while you are eating. It takes her a minute to warm up, but then she get into it.

Hats! Hats! Hats!

2009-05-19T11:50:00.000-07:00

We went to Target and Kaley decided to try on a few hats...

This one fits perfectly! :-)

My personal favorite...

Nature's Wonders

2009-05-18T19:26:00.000-07:00

There are two little ponds about two minutes from our house that are really pretty. There are always people fishing with their kids and walking the trail. It's a nice place to go relax and enjoy nature.

We got to see a pelican while we were there. It was beautiful and so graceful and the kids liked watching it try to find fish.

More decided to join in the search for food...

It was really cool to see them land. They glide on the water before they settle in...

Kaley loves pushing Tyler in the stroller even though it's a little hard since she can't see where she's going. :-)

Congrats to the Grad!

2009-04-24T18:44:00.000-07:00

My brother David Graduated from BYU in Biochemistry (very impressive). We are so proud of him!

Congratulations Dave!!!

Kaley really loves her uncle Dave!

The Mayan

2009-04-17T18:31:00.000-07:00

We decided to try out The Mayan restaurant a little while back. The food definitely left something to be desired, but the little show they put on was pretty exciting. Kaley loved the show as long as she didn't think the performers were getting too close. :-)

Diving into the pool down below...

It's quite the drop...

Boondocks

2009-04-15T20:12:00.000-07:00

We had been getting a little stir crazy so we decided to go to Boondocks and let Kaley try out the Kiddie Kove that they have. She had a blast climbing up and sliding down the big slides. It was nice to get out and to spend time together.

Being measured to make sure she wasn't too tall! ;-)

Richard played a couple of rounds of basketball! :-)

It was a huge (and very high) playground. The levels were made out of strong nylon strips and so there were spaces in between which made Kaley a little nervous. It took a little while for her to get used to it, but once she did she was like a little monkey!

2009-03-06T18:21:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that Kaley is three years old already!!! She is such a blessing in our lives. I go to bed every night thinking how blessed I am to have her. She is so smart, funny and cute! We love her more than words can express!

She had a very fun and busy birthday this year and she loved every minute! In the weeks leading up to her birthday I would ask her what she might want and she would always answer "candles." All she wanted was to blow out candles. It was so cute and so innocent. So I decided that on her birthday I would put candles in her meals during the day. It was fun to see how excited she was when she got to blow out the candles. On her birthday I took her to the store so that she could pick out a little present and she picked bubbles. She had a blast with those all day. The next day we celebrated her birthday with my dad, who came up from Las Vegas, and my grandpa. We had a good time and it was good to see them. If that wasn't enough celebrating already, the day after seeing my dad, we had a big family party with grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins. She had a blast and was so excited to see everyone. She is so lucky to have so many people that love her and we were so grateful to everyone who came!

Let's Go Fly A Kite!

2009-02-22T12:45:00.000-08:00

Here is Kaley with her new kite. It was so funny to watch her try to hold it without it dragging her along.

It was a perfect day to fly a kite!

I thought this was a cool picture.

Kaley wanted so badly to fly her kite by herself. She is obviously too little to really fly it, but she kept trying and trying. (Richard would throw the kite in the air and it would float for a couple of seconds. She loved it)!

2009-02-16T22:24:00.000-08:00

These are just a few cute pictures of the kids that I couldn't pass up...

For a while, Tyler would smile so big that his eyes would close. It looks like he's laughing but he is just smiling. It was so funny!

Kaley came and sat next to Tyler and this is what he did. It was so precious!!!

They love giving each other hugs!

Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T22:11:00.000-08:00

The week of Valentine's Day I decided to try some heart hair-dos on Kaley that I got from the "She Does Hair" blog. I think they turned out pretty cute and I thought I would share.

I need to put the point of this one down further next time, but I think you can still tell what it was. :-)

It was fun to get little gifts for everyone and to be together on this day of love with those I love very much!

For dessert we had chocolate bowls with ice cream and chocolate covered strawberries. I saw the idea for the bowls a few days before and decided to try it. I think they turned out alright for a first try. They sure tasted great! :-)

Happy Valentines Day!

We're Back

2009-01-19T14:22:00.001-08:00

I have been the worst blogger lately. There has been a lot going on and we have been pretty busy, but things have settled down so I will be playing catch-up. We moved the day after Thanksgiving and moving proved to be very hectic. We love it here and are glad to be settled in. The people are so nice, there is a lot to do, and everything you could imagine is close. Richard's commute is a lot shorter (which is very nice for both of us) and we can visit him at work now so we get to see him more. We have had a lot of fun these last few months so I apologize for the number of posts, but these are things that I want to remember. They are posted by the date of the event and they start on Nov. 9, 2008. I hope to be posting a little each day until everything is caught up. So, for those who are interested and/or have the time---Enjoy!

A Night On The Town!

2009-01-10T20:19:00.000-08:00

Every time we would visit Richard at work we would see the Trax trains go by. Kaley would get so excited and ask if she could ride it. So we decided to have a night on the town and it was a blast!!!

All bundled up in the lobby of Richard's building ready to ride the train!

Kaley loved riding the "train!"

We took the short train ride from Richard's work to The Gateway. It was very pretty with all the lights. In the courtyard area they have water fountains and they were programmed to spray with the different music they had playing (like a mini Belagio) and it was fun to watch!

I thought Richard did a good job with this picture! I really like it! :-)

Right by the fountains there was a fire-pit which I thought was pretty cool. It kept you fairly warm when you stood next to it which was nice because it was F-R-E-E-Z-I-N-G outside!!!

We had dinner, watched some people rock climbing in one of the stores, and just enjoyed being together. It was definitely a fun night!

Mini Photoshoot

2009-01-07T16:00:00.000-08:00

I started taking these pictures because Tyler was finally able to get his foot into his mouth. That may not seem like much, but he had been trying and trying for a long time. (It may have been harder for him due to the fact that he is a butterball.) :-) He thought it was pretty neat though and it made for some cute pictures!

He is so precious!!!

I have been experimenting with black and white so these next two are similar but I love them both.

The Kids

2009-01-05T20:03:00.000-08:00

Kaley absolutely loves Tyler! She is always helping him and making sure he's ok. She loves to give him hugs and he loves it! Lately he has started hugging her back and it is the sweetest thing to watch!

Tyler loves his big sister too!!! He could watch her all day! They are so cute together!

(They are definitely brother and sister!) :-)

Tyler also loves to hair! ;-)

Ringing in the New Year!

2009-01-01T15:35:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!!! We had fun playing games with lots of food and all with friends and family!

Kim and Bryan were there! Always love when they visit!

Tyler didn't stay up to ring in the new year (of course), but Kaley made it and so she was able to celebrate with us. This is Kaley modeling all the streamers from the poppers that we did.

My mom and her husband Dick came too. I have gone to my mom's house every year, but this year they came to ours. It was great to have them.

Christmas!!!

2008-12-25T10:50:00.000-08:00

This year was so much fun because Kaley is old enough to understand and get excited for Christmas. It was so cute to see the excitement and anticipation. She set out cookies for Santa and since we didn't have any carrots we set out lettuce for the reindeer. She colored a picture for Santa and across the top she wrote her letter. :-) Christmas morning came and she was so excited when she saw that Santa and the Reindeer had eaten the treats and took her letter. She got what she wanted (a toy kitchen) and loved opening presents. Celebrating Christmas through the eyes of a child makes it so special!

We do what many people do on Christmas Eve...

We open pajamas!

This is Kaley on Christmas day playing dress-up with the gifts from Grammy.

Tyler learned how to sit up on Christmas day! Merry Christmas to Mom!!! :-)

Cookies for Santa!

2008-12-24T10:23:00.000-08:00

So this year I decided it would be fun to have Kaley make some cookies for Santa now that she is old enough to help. Since she is allergic to eggs, making cookies doesn't really happen that often, but I found a recipe for "Melt in Your Mouth Butter Cookies"(with no eggs) and they turned out to be quite good. I wasn't sure if she would like making cookies or that she would stay with it the whole time, but it turned out that she LOVED it!!! Much more than I thought she would and she was so excited the whole time! Every couple of minutes she would go over to the oven and ask if they were done. This is something that we may have to start doing every year.

This is the best part!!! YUM!

She loved frosting the cookies and she was actually pretty good at it for being two years old.

Having fun!

This was the finished product. (I helped frost some too.)

And of course you've got to see how they turned out! :-)

Milestone

2008-12-20T10:45:00.000-08:00

Tyler started solids today. It was a huge success! He loved the cereal. He is a good eater which is very nice.

"Timber!!!"

2008-12-19T18:36:00.000-08:00

Tyler likes to lay by the tree. He likes looking at the lights and likes to try to reach the ornaments. Well, while I was in the kitchen I guess he had scooted himself over (which I didn't know he could do) just enough to barely reach the bottom row of lights and pulled. When I looked up, I saw this...

Yikes!!! He had pulled hard enough to make it lean like this. To this day, I still have no idea how he was strong enough to do that or how it tipped. Luckily, it didn't fall completely over. :-P

We couldn't get it to stand straight in the stand after that so we had to anchor it to the wall. :-)

Charlie Brown

2008-12-17T23:20:00.000-08:00

We found this picture the other day and showed it to Kaley. We asked her who it was and she said:

"That's Kaley!"

"That's right." We said

Then there was a short pause and she looked again and said:

"It's Charlie Brown!!!"

It was so cute and so funny!

Kaley is growing up so fast. It is definitely bitter sweet. It's fun to see her grow and change, but at the same time it seems like it is going so fast and I sometimes I wish I could slow down time and hold on to her like this forever. She is at such a cute age (2 1/2). She has this cute little voice and is always saying the funniest thing. She definitely has her moments, but she is also the sweetest little girl. Most mornings when she gets up she says: "Oh Mommy, I love you!" And she gives me a hug while saying it. She will say she loves us throughout the day. She loves to be held and to cuddle. She loves to dance and to sing songs and has started playing the piano and is so proud of herself. We love her so much and are so grateful to have her!

Movie Night!

2008-12-16T18:31:00.000-08:00

We went and bought the movie "The Polar Express" tonight. We thought that Kaley would like it and she did!!! She LOVED it!!! That was the only thing she wanted to watch for the next several days. It was cute to see her with her popcorn and drink watching the movie. Life's simple pleasures. :-)

Temple Square

2008-12-08T20:44:00.000-08:00

This is our visit to Temple Square to see the lights. It was COLD, but we had fun. We went with my sister-in-law and her husband (Kim and Bryan). Kaley loved seeing all the lights and the temple. Everything was so beautiful!

This nativity was right in the middle of the Reflecting Pond. I had never see that before and I thought it was gorgeous!

Kaley looking at the lights with Kim.

Kaley with Kim and Bryan.

Love Them!

These pictures don't do these lights justice. They were very bright and there were so many!

Richard took this picture of the temple and I thought it turned out really cool. This temple is so beautiful!

A Day With Grandparents

2008-11-15T19:50:00.000-08:00

My dad came up from Las Vegas this weekend and we had a lot of fun. We went up to Alpine where my grandparents (my dad's parents) live and Tyler got to swing for the first time! As you can see, he loved it!!! Later that day, we went out to eat at a Chinese buffet (yum yum) and then we went to Cabela's. This was our first time at Cabela's and it was pretty neat. They have a small aquarium with fish which Kaley loved and they have a little museum of animals that you can look at. It was a fun day and it was good to see Grandpa Healey.

Grandpa Healey and Kaley. She still loves swinging! What kid doesn't.

My grandparents have this huge tree in their yard which is great for climbing and sitting on. :-)

We had a little issue with the sun which Tyler didn't like, but here we are anyway. :-)

Kaley

2008-11-14T19:32:00.000-08:00

Kaley came walking in from the other room and I looked at her feet and this is what I saw...

The funny part was that she thought it was completely normal and didn't really think anything of it until we started laughing. She is so cute and I love all the funny little things that she does.

Then...

later that night she went into the bathroom and decided that she wanted to be just like daddy. She took his razor and shaved her lip like she has watched him do many times. She even completed the process by nicking herself a little (just like daddy-- sometimes). :-)

Tyler at Four Months Old

2008-11-09T19:09:00.000-08:00

His smile melts my heart!

Peek-a-Boo.

I absolutely LOVE his cheeks!

He is such a happy boy!

Happy Halloween!!!

2008-10-31T16:46:00.000-07:00

I LOVE Halloween and we had a great time this year!

We went to my mom's trunk-or-treat a few days before Halloween. There was dinner and a magician that performed and of course the trunk-or-treating.

I am not the most crafty person, but I have to brag a little about Kaley's costume. The tutu and the matching hat were easy and fun to make and I think they turned out really cute. :-)

Posing for the camera before Trick-Or-Treating.

We took Kaley to the mall to trick-or-treat again this year. It was VERY crowded which made it a little stressful and not very much fun so we went home and took her around the neighborhood which she loved! She didn't want to stop!

She's trying to be a good sport.

Tyler was just enjoying the ride.

Kaley found this and put it on before she went to bed. It was pretty funny.

Burger anyone?

Carving Pumpkins!

2008-10-29T15:58:00.000-07:00

Carving Pumpkins was fun this year. It was a little challenging with two tired little kids so we did it over two nights. Kaley really liked coloring on her pumpkin and also liked using the pumpkin carving knife. :-)

Hard at work with her pumpkin. She loves to color. She is quite the little artist.

"Yes!!!"

We were a little nervous about her using the pumpkin carving knife, but it wasn't too sharp and she didn't lose any fingers. :-)

This was the end of day one. Tyler had had enough of pumpkin carving for one night.

(Richard brought this hat down from upstairs and stuck it on his head. It was pretty cute.)

The next day was more successful and the kids weren't quite as tired.

The pumpkins turned out great!

(From left to right: Mom's, Kaley's, Dad's, Tyler's)

2008-10-26T18:51:00.000-07:00

Kaley loves to "jump" (as she says) when she goes upstairs to play with her cousins. It is something that keeps them occupied for a long time. They will put some of the pillows from the couch onto the floor and, well, the rest speaks for itself. Richard caught her in action and I thought they were great pictures.

A couple of days ago they were jumping and Kaley saw her cousin Aiden go backwards. Then all of a sudden we saw this...

Lately Kaley seems to have no fear when it comes to trying new things. I haven't figured out if it's a good thing or a bad thing. Maybe it's both. Only time will tell I guess. :-) But for now, I'm glad she is not too timid and is having fun.

2008-10-16T17:06:00.000-07:00

We went to Hee Haw's today. I have wanted to go do something like this for a while and it was so much fun! I think the pumpkin patch experience is something that we should make a yearly activity. :-) There was so much to do. Kaley loved every minute of it!

Being measured! Despite the look of terror on Kaley's face every time she went down, this was her absolute favorite thing to do while we were there. She probably would have been happy if this was the only activity.There was a hay ride...
and a small petting zoo. She wasn't so sure about petting the animals. This cow and a horse were the only animals she would really touch and it was a split second pat.
She also really liked the little train that they had.
Tyler was a really good boy through the whole thing. He likes being outside so he had fun too.

Photo Shoot

2008-10-15T16:28:00.000-07:00

Tyler at around three months old.

More Summer Fun!

2008-10-14T18:08:00.000-07:00

We have finally decided to join the world of blogging. We hope you enjoy. Here are some highlights of the last few months...

One of Tyler's first smiles caught on camera! Our future All Star!!!
We blessed Tyler on September 14, 2008.

Richard got a chance to drive a Porsche and an Aston Martin.

Here is a picture of the Porsche that Richard drove.

(Richard didn't get picture with the Aston, but he did drive it. This is his brother.) Tyler is one month old!

Kaley's first trip to Hogle Zoo. We had a blast!!!
We went with Richard's work for a company party.

We Had a Baby Boy!!!

Tyler Luke King was born on July 9, 2008 and was 7lbs 14 oz. Kaley really loves him!!!
Roasting marshmallows in the backyard!

We played a lot this summer!

2008-10-14T17:56:00.000-07:00

Here we are at Bridal Veil Falls. The water was cold!
This was one of Kaley's favorite things to do this summer!

Graduation!!!

2008-10-13T15:37:00.000-07:00

Richard gratuated from BYU in April with a Masters in Accounting and is working up in Salt Lake for one of the big four accounting firms.
We are so proud of him!!!