The Christmas Suit

Rylan got this suit last Christmas from Keri (Aunt Kiki) and thanks to a recent growth spurt he finally fits into it. Today was the Christmas program at church and everyone was dressed in their Christmas dresses and suits so I thought it would be a good day to introduce "The Christmas Suit". He looked so dashing! Everyone commented on how handsome he was. He really did look so dang sweet I was so proud of him! By the way, this is AFTER I did his hair--it doesn't matter what I do to it--five minutes later its doing its own thing anyway!

New Traditions

I'm a little Post-happy today. I wanted to share our newest Christmas tradition. I got this advent Calendar last year after Christmas at Restoration Hardware. I fell in love with it's simple design right away. So I got those chocolate coins and put one in each day. There is something so fun and exciting about those coins, I guess because it's not something you have every day. Rylan knows that after dinner he gets 1 treat. So far it has been really fun and I hope that it is a tradition my children will always get excited about. My mom has an advent calendar she sewed and we always looked so forward to putting up the "ornaments" each day on the "tree". What a great way to count down to Christmas morning.

Trimming the Tree

So on Monday night we (meaning "I") decided it would be a wonderful family night to set up and decorate the Christmas tree(s). Seth is always a little less than thrilled at setting up the tree but he knows it is an inevetable process so he's a good sport and goes along with it. I told him that if he and Rylan would set up the tree and put on the lights (I hate that part!) then they could leave and I would decorate it. I actually helped get the tree up but Seth (with his little partner) did all the lights.


After the tree was up and lights were on, it was time for me to work my magic. As I was decorating the tree, Rylan and Seth layed down and watched The Polar Express. Rylan had never seen it and due to his adoration of trains, I thought it would be appropriate. He was in love and was glued to the TV for the whole movie. He just layed right by Seth the whole time. Then when it was over, he said, "Agaaaaiiiinn", so they watched it twice! I'm sorry to say that I also let him watch it again this morning. He adores that show now!!



Ok, so I promised I would post some pictures of our trees for Keri. She taught me all I know about tree decoration, and although I am no where near the professional decorator that she is, I still think this is by far my best tree creation to date. Thank heavens for the after Christmas sales last year! Now, taking pictures of a Christmas Tree stinks! The trees really are so pretty and then I take a picture of it and I'm like, "that looks no where near as pretty as it really is!" If you don't believe me, leave your computer right this minute and take a picture of your tree that you worked so hard on and I guarantee that you'll be so disapointed. I almost didn't want to post pictures simply because it makes everything seem ugly when its not. It's just not the same without the sparkle. Oh well, here goes nothing...


Ugg. Even now I'm discusted. I promise it looks sooooo much better in real life! By the way, there are flowers at the top of the tree by the star--that isn't all ribon. So, here are my favorite parts:


The "Let it Snow" piece. This thing is soooooo heavy and I love it to death. It was one of the first pieces I put on the tree and soon after it fell right off and broke. I nearly cried. But I found some extra strong adhesive and put it back together. This morning when it dried, I used wire to attach the sign to the "trunk" of the tree so now it's secure. Phew, that was a close one!


I adore these snowflakes that I got at Tai Pan. In all honesty, I think I could have a whole tree with just white lights and a bunch of these snowflakes, that's how much I heart them. You can't tell from this picture but they are ultra sparkly and beautiful when the lights are on and it's dark in the room. Actually, almost everything on the tree has at least a little sparkle to it.


Also, I think my absolute favorite thing on the tree are the miniature antiqued ornaments I got from Pottery Barn. You can see one right above the snowflake and then one in the bottom right hand corner of the picture. They are so small and dainty and I just love them to pieces! What in heavens name would I do without the after Christmas clearance sales (I'd have a boring house at Christmas time for sure) and also without the loving guidance of Keri!

Ok, now for the tree in the back room. I am actually very proud of this little tree although it does come out to be quite ugly in picture form. I have really taken a liking to the brown/copper tone ornaments available now. Again, lots o' sparkle on this tree so you don't get the full effect. However, it really is quite pretty for a monochromatic tree I think. Even Seth likes it.
So there you have it. I love Christmas trees. In fact, I still have two more! Actually, one is another Aspen tree for Rylans room that I'll do in more colorful, juvenile items--I may or may not post a picture of that one, and the other one is a small one for my front porch...nothing too exciting there. But I really think I would have one of them in each room of my house if I could! I just love the ambiance it brings into the home at night. So there you go. If you like them, tell me what you think (if not, keep your thoughts to yourself...hee, hee).

Deck The Halls

I came up with an idea this year for my little built-in bookshelf in my front room. While I was in Cache Valley recently I stopped by the REI outlet and picked up some Christmas themed scrapbook paper. Then I lined the back of my shelf with it. I know the picture is hard to get the pretty details of the foiled paper but you get the idea. I think it turned out really well:


I wasn't sure what to put on the shelves once I got them lined. I finally decided to drag out the old village I started painting with Tricia so so sooooo long ago. I still have so many pieces yet to be painted. Who knows if I'll ever get to it! I haven't brought it out for many years so it was fun to think of all those fun memories I have of painting with Tricia.



On the top shelf I put the "moose-tivity":

Thanksgiving Feast

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. There was a lot of good food (as usual) and good family.

We found out that day that Jared and Adriane are expecting another little soul into their family soon--congratulations to them!

Jared cooked the Turkey and although the picture makes it look a little less than delicious, it was actually one of the best Turkey's I've tasted! We all had a laugh about it when he brought it in though. It really does look ruined!

The next day was black Friday of course and I always look so forward to going to JoAnns for their cheap flannel fabric but couldn't go this time due to another episode of my chronic tonsilitis. Yuck! But we had a great weekend and its always so good to be around family and be reminded of all we have to be thankful for.

Christmas...Really?

I am terribly sorry to all concerned that 1. I haven't updated the blog in forever, and 2. That it is now Christmas themed even before Thanksgiving! Seth would die if he knew. He is against all Christmas until after Thanksgiving. However, I was so discusted with myself for not updating sooner and the dreary black screen of my previous blog design was totally depressing me so instead of changing it today, and then again at the end of the week, I'm jumping the gun a bit.

This past month has been incredibly busy. I finished working at my job so that has been a bit of a transition for me. I decided that without the responsibility of a job, it would be the perfect time to travel home to Utah to spend some time with family. Traveling alone with a two year old is definately a challenge and unfortunately I tend to get pretty sick on planes when I'm pregnant, so I'm glad I survived that! I wish Seth could have gone with me but he had to be the responsible one. Before you feel too sorry for him though, keep in mind that it is hunting season so I think he was a little relieved that his time was his own to come and go as he pleased without his nagging wife saying, "How long will you be gone? What if you fall asleep in your tree stand? Be sure to take a cell phone! Oh, can you pick up some milk on your way home?". In the end, I missed him a ton and I know he missed us as well. Our little house is not the sweet home it is unless we are all living in it!

Anyway, I didn't take my camera to Utah because Seth was sure he'd need it to document the huge buck he was planning on getting (no luck there) so the only pictures I have are courtesy of Alyssa. I love this one:

It was pretty cold outside this day but there were a few remaining flowers. I told Rylan to smell the flowers and he did! It was so precious and I'm so glad we got this picture of him.

My family just loved spending time with Rylan and he sopped up all the attention he could. Everyone loves the fact that even though he has a lot of my facial features, his body is shaped just like Seth's. He's such a cute little guy. One day my sister Keri teased that maybe this next one will have Seth's face and my body. That could be scary! I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Here is a picture we got of Rylan with an expression on his face JUST LIKE SETH...

Well, now that I'm starting to get back to our "new normal" I'm hoping that I'll be able to update a little more regularly. Especially since this time of year tends to be a picture-taking time, I should have plenty to share. Rylan's birthday is coming up, we're getting our family Christmas pictures taken this weekend, and then the holidays. So stay tuned for some special times...

peter pan

Try Not To Laugh

Frank Jr.

So today was a cold, semi-rainy day here. Rylan has gotten a cold so we decided to stay in all day. This afternoon I was sitting at the computer looking for internet deals and Rylan was playing with his trains. He has really started to sing "ABC" and "Twinkle, Twinkle" (well, tries to sing them anyway). As he was playing, he started singing all by himself and just kept singing. So luckily, my camera was right here and I decided to capture the moment. If you turn the music on the blog off, you just might here "twinkle, twinkle la la (s)tar". Oh, I love it!


P.S. Please excuse this highly messy room. This has now become the playroom and Rylan loves to spread himself out during the day. I do clean it up at night but usually by 7:00 a.m. the table has been moved and toys dumped out all over again for the day. I think tonight I'll weed out some toys...

Tire Swing

We all went to Grandma & Grandpa Tubaughs last weekend. Well, everytime we are there Rylan looks longingly at the tire swing and we always try to convince him to try it but he never would. Well, this time he saw it and decided he was big enough. So he ran right at it and was swinging away! We didn't even show him how to do it. After church I happened to have my camera and decided to show you all how cute our little "swinger" is.

Random Post Alert

Well, I think one of the best parts about being pregnant is the very detailed dreams you are blessed with once in a while. You know, those dreams. Well, I always think it's funny when I dream about someone I have not seen or thought of in years or from a movie that I haven't seen or thought of in years. This is what happened the other night. I had a very enjoyable dream about this:

MMMMM. Yummy. For those of you who don't remember who this is, he is in this movie:

That's right, I had a dream about James Bond. Don't be mistaken, it wasn't a dream about Daniel Craig, it was about Daniel Craig as James Bond. I told Seth about it (as I always do about my wonderfully random dreams) and we both laughed about it. Oddly enough, I was flipping channels that night and this movie was on! How crazy is that! So I watched it and got a double dose of my James. Then I put the 1st picture (from the ocean) as my desktop to be funny. Well, Seth got a laugh but in retaliation he put a picture of a swimsuit model. I laughed but it only stayed up for about 2 minutes. There's only so much I can take of that. Anyway, just thought I'd share. Aren't you jealous?

Do You Want To Go Nigh-Night?

This video is pretty self-explanatory but I'll just say that I was eating LUNCH one day not really paying attention and I looked over to see Rylan nodding off in his high chair. He NEVER does this. EVER. When I first looked over I said, "Rylan, do you wanna go nigh-night?" and his eyes flew open and he shook his head "nu-uhh" then quickly fell back asleep. It was so funny so I went to grab my camera to see if he would do it again. Here's is what happened... (by the way, I quickly took him to bed after this--he slept 3 hours!!!)

The Pumpkin Patch

So last Wednesday Rylan's daycare was scheduled to go to Kathy's Pumpkin Patch. This is the coolest pumpkin patch ever! For the last few years a bunch of young mothers in my branch have gone with their children and I have never been able to go with them so this year I really didn't want to miss out. So I took off work and went with Rylan and the daycare. He had such a fun time. It was a little chilly out but that's Autumn! There were 2 corn pools full of dried corn kernels and at first Rylan was a little unsure about all that corn, but once he got in and got playing he didn't want to leave. We found corn in some pretty crazy places that night!

After playing in the corn pool for a while, we all played in the play area. There were slides and water activities and little houses and cars and play horses and, and, and... Of course, Rylan mostly just went up and down the kid slide. He just loves those little slides! It's hilarious.

Unfortunately, the slide got him so excited that he pooped. So I carted him back to the car and attempted to change his diaper in the front seat. Too bad I didn't take the truck! So we finally got back to the playground and 10 minutes later---yep, pooped again! Argghhh! By this time he did not want to nicely comply and let me change his diaper again so I had to bribe him with some of my secret Symphony Bar stash (see below). After the poop fiasco, it was time to ride the tractor out to go pick a pumpkin. Rylan had fun riding in the trailer and going out to choose his pumpkin (I sort of helped him choose).

Finally, we went through a corn maze and he ran right through it:

It was really such a fun day and I'm so thankful that I was able to go with Rylan. It would have broken my heart to have missed such a fun day. He looked so cute running from one activity to the next with a huge smile on his face. It was one of those wonderful days that I was so incredibly thankful to be a mom to this little man.

Here We Go...

Well, I think the appropriate amount of time has passed. Here is the official announcement...I'm pregnant! Ok, I realize that the majority of those who check this blog found out within about 24 hours that I took the pregnancy test simply because I took it in Utah and I couldn't hold it in. I didn't get to break the news in person with Rylan so I was determined I would see the faces of my family this time! So for those of you who have been in the dark for the last three months here's the news. My due date is March 9th although the midwife thinks it will be more like the end of February. She also thinks this baby will be bigger than Rylan was (he was 8 1/2 pounds and almost 2 weeks early--yikes). It came as a pretty big surprise to both Seth and I, especially with what we went through with Rylan, so we are of course ecstatic! It's been a little rough physically the last 3 1/2 months but I'm really, really, really hoping things continue to improve. The morning sickness has subsided and the migraines have set in. So there is the info., perhaps more than you care to know! By the way, the above picture is NOT me, I just thought it was funny.

Wonderful Days

Last weekend my parents and grandparents came for a visit and although the time always goes by WAY too fast, I really enjoyed their time here. It is always so wonderful to see them and I wasn't sure they would be able to come out this year so I was so thankful that they found a way. They have seen pretty much all of the tourist-y sites within a 90 mile radius so we didn't really break any new ground other than going to Kalona, Iowa. Kalona was originally an Amish settlement and there are still quite a few Amish farms in the area. Unfortunately, it was raining that day so we spent the time riding in the truck looking at farms. My dad really wanted to see a horse-pulled buggy but no one was out because of the weather--bummer. We stopped by the cheese factory and then Stringtown, the Amish/Mennonite grocery store. I think mom and grandma enjoyed that more than dad and grandpa! But all in all, it was a good trip and I think everyone enjoyed their stay, I hope so anyway. It was really hard for me to say goodbye to them this time. It always is, I'm not denying that. But this time it was extra hard. I've been pretty depressed all week. I don't know when I'll see them again and I don't think I'll be making a trip to Utah until next summer. That is so hard for me. So much seems to be changing in my life and its hard not to be near my family during the transitions. Not that quitting my job and having a new baby isn't wonderful and exciting, just a little scary too. Anyway, this has turned into a depressing post which wasn't my intention. Here are some of the few pictures I took while they were here:

Thanks everyone for making the long drive! Hope to see you again in April or May!

Little Bits of Randomness...

I have a bunch to say that is most likely not interesting to anyone else in this world but myself, but I'm in the mood to blog, so here it is. First of all, today was a raining boring day. Seth decided that it was extremely important that he ditch me today in order to stock up on supplies for the upcoming hunting season. I was moping around all morning and complaining that it was raining outside and there was absolutely nothing in this world for me and Rylan to do. Of course I could have cleaned my house but who wants to waste a perfectly good Saturday doing something as mundane and blah as cleaning. Yuck. Well, the mood of the day changed after I took Abbie out in the rain to go "potty". She did her thing and when I went to give her a treat for her good work, I noticed we were almost out of dog treats. That's when I had my rainy day epiphany. Why not bake some dog cookies? So I dragged out my doggie cookbook and cookie cutters (I actually have 2 doggie treat cookbooks--is that wierd?) and chose a recipe for fruity pebble cookies. I just happened to have fruity pebbles--it was meant to be since I NEVER buy fruity pebbles! So I was a little doggie baker today and here are the results:

I know the last picture is a bit blurry but can you see the little dog bone cookie sitting on the floor? Well, I was so excited for them to cool down so I could give her a cute little cookie and she grabbed it and ran into the other room and then stared at it like, "what the heck"? I was really concerned she wouldn't like them after all that work but once she got a taste, she snarfed down the rest. So the boring raining day was a success after all.

Am I Extravagant?

Ok, here's another random post. Last weekend when my parents and grandparents were here I learned a little lesson from my good ole' grandma. Thought I'd share the experience. I'm sure the picture drew your attention right? Well, we had finished eating dinner at my house one night and we needed a little sandwich bag for some leftovers. I looked in my drawer and I remembered that I was out of the small size but I had a box of the large size bags, gallon size I think. I grabbed one and handed it to grandma and told her that I was out of little ones but just go ahead and use a bigger one. No biggie right? She looked at me and said, "that's extravagant, honey". I thought she was kidding at first so I fired back, "what can I say, I'm an extravagant person". She looked a little apalled and said, "You are not!". So in the end we wrapped up the leftovers in plastic wrap and for the rest of the week I was worried I was an extravagant person without even realizing it!!! One of the last things I want to be is extravagant--well, once in a while is fine as long as I know it! Well, a different day but similar topic, we were again cleaning up after dinner (maybe I'm only extravagant after dinner?) and we were loading the dishwasher. Earlier we had purchased some of the little plastic red cups (see photo). She asked if I threw them away or if I washed them. Washed them?? Wasn't that the point of buying them, so you could just chuck them in the trash and not have to wash them? Well, I got a lesson that night from our dear Betty. Apparently, those red disposable cups can be washed in the dishwasher up to approximately 10 times. Those are the only cups she uses. She told me that
you know when to throw them away when you put your ice and coke in them and it spills out the bottom. So there's a bit of Betty wisdom. So now I feel way too guilty to just throw them away and any one who comes to my house is sure to see a pile of red plastic cups in my cupboard. The wierd thing about this whole experience is that now I'm associating it with everything else. You know those steamer bags that are freaking awesome? Well I used one today and I couldn't throw it away! Now I'll be washing all of those too! Wouldn't want to be an extravagant person...Thanks grandma!

North to Alaska (without me)

It has been so long since I've updated that I literally forgot for a minute how to do it! Don't fear, all is well, I figured it out again! OK, so my blonde moment is over (for now--I've been getting them more and more lately. Why you ask? Stay tuned for another post). Anyway, Seth went to Alaska on a fishing trip along with his dad and brother (Jared). He had such a good time and although he would never tell me this for fear of hurting my feelings, I'm pretty sure he didn't want to come back. He did say he missed us, but he said nothing of missing Keokuk. Hmmm. Well, he had oodles of great experiences but since I run this blog by myself, I'm not going to tell you any of them. Instead, I'll share a few pictures and tell you what my life was like without him. We'll start off with a picture:

This is a 70 lb. Halibut Seth caught while on a charter boat. He was the lucky one to have caught the biggest fish that day. However, his brother Jared came close. I believe the fish behind him all belong to them but I'm not really positive so take that information with a grain of salt. All I really know for sure is that we have about 65 lbs. of Halibut downstairs in our deep freeze. I consider that foodstorage. If the power goes out---We'll take it outside and make fish jerkey (I'm pretty sure there's a way to do it using just the sun although how would I ever figure out how to do it without the internet?!).

Here is a scenic picture that Jared took. The first time I saw it I said "that's where I want to live". This literally looks like a little spot reserved in heaven for my future mansion (assuming I make it there). Oh, it almost makes me cry I love it so much. I bet on a sunny day it is breathtaking. For about a week or two after Seth got home he wanted to move to Alaska. And he was serious too, not just dreaming. Since I'm in my gypsy mode right now I was ready to pack up the house and head North (West) the next day. We looked at jobs, houses, everything. In the end however, we decided it was impractical and unfair for the wee one (and future wee ones) to be that far from family. Maybe when we're rich and retired. Unless we can convince family members to move with us. Any one? Any one? I didn't think so.

I don't know what to really say about this photo other than the three of them were on a fishing trip and here is a picture with some fish (I assume fish they caught). I'm guessing Salmon as we also have some Salmon in our deep freezer along with the Halibut.

OK, now onto the real story. Seth was gone for about a week and a half. I dropped him off at the airport early on Friday morning and then headed to Sam's Club. I have been in my food storage mode and thought I would take advantage of being close to Sam's. Rylan and I went to Sam's and got so much stuff that I couldn't push the cart around anymore. I'm pretty sure it weighed about 479 pounds, for real. I got out to the truck, loaded up and headed to my mother in-laws. When I woke up the next morning I took Abbie out and I was thinking "Hmm. What do you know? It rained last night". It didn't click until about an hour later that Rain mixed with the 50 lbs of bread flour in the bed of my truck doesn't make for very good food storage. Rats!!! So back to Sam's we went. It was my birthday so I treated myself to a new jacket that I had been eye-ing up. 20 bucks, wahoo! Anyway, new bags of flour, even more junk I don't need and the trip was over. I went home the next day and started my work week. I had the bright idea that while Seth was gone I'd work everyday (ideally 10 hours per day) to save up a bit of cash---or at least pay off my latest Sam's shopping trip! I found out really quickly that I just do not have what it takes to be a full time working mom. At least not right now. Man, that was a bad week. I felt like I didn't see rylan at all. And to be completely honest, when I got my check and realized that it was no where near worth it. I won't do that again just for nickels and dimes. It's never worth what you sacrifice. Well, at the end of the week I loaded the truck back up and went to Mother-in-laws for some food storage fun. Melyse, Elaine, and I put all our food up into mylar bags and that is so much work. At first it was fun and Melyse and I were giggling and towards the end we had had enough of that. But it was worth it in the end. My one year supply is almost done!!!! Well, I picked up Seth the next day and here is what I learned while he was off playing: I really love my husband. I NEED my husband. Now I know that is a huge cliche and people say that all the time and you're like "Yack. I just threw up in my mouth". But it is true. It's also a little hard to admit for me. At least the NEED part. I consider myself a pretty independent gal and all my friends around here know I'm pretty much a feminist. It's not that I couldn't do the everyday things on my own (although it is nice to have his help). It's more that I just don't feel the same without him. I constantly feel like a piece of me is gone. When I picked him up at midnight that night I was so exhausted but seeing him was like seeing my best friend for the first time in years. I guess what I'm trying to say after all this meaningless rambling is, I think I chose well for myself and I have never once regretted the choice.

God's Country

Well, I'm finally getting around to posting pictures from our big family trip to yellowstone. We had such a great time and not only was it so wonderful to see my family but the scenery was absolutely beautiful. The first couple of nights we stayed in this little log cabin and it was so cute. I had a ball and I think I could have stayed in that cabin all summer. Especially when we could just walk over to mom and dad's for all the food they prepared for us. They sure know how to cook! Rylan had so much fun with grandma and grandpa, and especially aunt Keri. There was a lot of riding in the truck and Keri was the one who kept him entertained pretty much the whole time. Dad kept track and at the end of our trip he said we were in the truck for 1000 miles. Little Rylan hardly cried at all! I couldn't believe it since he usually absolutely hates to ride. Thank goodness for auntie Keri!

We were able to see quite a bit of wildlife while we were there. Mom, Keri, and Seth even got to see a few buffalo a bit closer than they would have liked. But they lived through it and have a story to tell! Luckily, dad and I and Rylan had stayed back or else I would have been a nervous wreck! We saw buffalo, elk, deer, one black bear, a pack of wolves, a few coyotes (sp), and a chipmunk.

And my favorite picture of the trip:

It Must Be Summer!

Nothing says summer to me like a good juicy watermelon. This was the first watermelon I bought this year and I couldn't wait to cut it open and let Rylan dig in. We sat outside on our porch and almost ate the whole thing between the three of us. It was delish!

Girls Camp

There has been so much that has happened that I need to post about! So I'll start with Girls Camp and go from there. Girls camp was...an experience. We arrived on Tuesday and the campground was so beautiful. It was in the woods and there were cabins for each of us. The girls stayed in one and most of the leaders shared the rest. There were about 120 girls so it was a really good turnout for the stake. As evening approached the first night we were relaxing in our cabins and all of a sudden----COCKROACHES. And that's not all... they were FLYING COCKROACHES!!!!! They ranged from an inch to three inches long. For those of you that know me even a little bit, you know that one thing I cannot live with is bugs. I started having panic attacks right away and grabbed my sleeping back and went into my truck, locked the doors, and slept right there. The next day we went to walmart in the nearest city and picked up some bug spray. That night I really tried hard to stick it out in the cabin but when they started flying at me, I ran again! So the next day, we went for more bug spray (and a prescription for xanax) and tried once more. This time I actually made it through the night in the cabin. It was soooo gross! I contemplated renting a hotel room but I would have felt way to guilty doing that and leaving the girls. So in the end, it took about $100 in bug spray and a few xanax just to keep my sane. Other than that camp was fun. I think all the girls had a good time. I don't know if I've ever been more thankful to return home to my family (and shower) than I was on Saturday. Hopefully when we go to Yellowstone I won't have any cockroaches to battle!

Bath in the Sink

Well, Rylan refuses to take a bath AT ALL in the bathtub but he is ecstatic to take a bath in the sink. Every time I wash my hands he wants up so he can play in the water. So I figure as long as it's getting him clean and he's having fun, what's the harm, right? He is so cute playing in the sink. Although 18 months may be a little old to be bathing in the sink, it works for us. I'm planning on getting out our little kiddie pool in the backyard soon and I have a feeling he'll want to play in it often. Maybe after that, he'll be more excited to get back in the big bathtub.

Mowing with Dad

Rylan's been somewhat of a daddy's boy lately. The other day Seth was outside mowing the lawn and Rylan had to be out there with him. He had a really high fever but it wasn't too hot outside and I thought a little fresh air might do him some good so we went out for a little bit. At first Rylan was satisfied pushing his mower while dad pushed his but then he got frustrated and wanted Seth to hold him. So Seth mowed while holding him for a little while. Rylan's scowl is present because of his illness. He pretty much had this scowl on his face all weekend. Thankfully, he's feeling much better now.

The Great Flood

Well, as most of you have probably heard or seen on the news, the midwest is under quite a bit of flooding. Luckily, although we are living right along the Mississippi, we are too high to get any direct flooding in our home (thank goodness). However, our water supply may be cut off and all the homes near the river are in trouble. The weather has been really nice and it's hard to believe that there is potential disaster so nearby. This last Sunday our church was canceled (after sacrament) in order for people to go help with sandbagging. The National Guard has been called in and they are staying at the highschool which is a half a block away. It is so wierd to see a convoy of Army trucks driving by. For the last two nights I have taken Rylan for a walk past them and he gets so excited to see all the big trucks.