Better part of the weekend...

After getting home on Saturday after that horrible camping trip...we had to shower fast and get to Ryan's parents house for Zack-a-roni's birthday!!! He turned 2 on Saturday, so Shauna & Martin had planned a party for him!! The whole family was able to be there...so it was a good time!!! MUCH better then the previous day/evening!!! :)

Ryan & Zack were all smiles...ok well Ryan was!!! Klous was just excited to be able to stand up and play...he's getting TOO big for us!!! Likes to explore too!! :)
He was showing off for Grandma...showing her his cool clapping skills!!!
Auntie Shauna & Zack-a-roni posing for birthday pictures!!
Zack was cute and went to talk to his cousin (Klous) while he sat in the high chair. Klous was sick of the baby food...and wanted "big people" food...so he got some potato salad...
Then I had them look...and pose together!!!
Klous also tried some corn on the cob...he liked it...til he threw it on the ground!!!
Then came the cake...he wasn't so sure about that!! But he liked it after a bit...
It'll be interesting on his birthday to see what he does!!!
Klous was VERY excited to play with the balloon too!!! He thought that was pretty cool!!! :) :) :)
This was definitely a good thing to come back to and be able to participate in!!! Made us smile more then the camping trip did!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZACK-A-RONI!!! (that's what Ryan's called him since he was little) :) :) :)

Camp-out from HELL :)

Well...we had GREAT plans of going camping this weekend with our friends Matt & Lisa (and their girls)...we decided to also bring Matthew (Ryan's little brother) along too, since there would be fishing. Well let's just say the trip was really, REALLY talked up and sounded like it would be a great time!!! It wasn't....Ryan & Matt both took Friday off so that we could go Thursday night...things didn't work out for that, which was actually better...and we got on the road at 10:00 a.m Friday morning. We decided to stop for breakfast...TWO hours later we left from that...then things happened with Matt & Lisa's daughter, which weren't expected, and we in NO way blame them for that. It just really slowed things down, and put quite a few extra stops in the drive there...(for more info check out their blog if you want www.twogringosandamexifry.blogspot.com)...if not this is the short version of the story!!!
After stopping to remove a cast, clean up puke (which really was the last straw that made us have a pow-wow to decide if we keep going), and going on the LONGEST, BUMPY, & BUSIEST 4-wheeler road (for 21 miles...going only 25 mph)...we finally arrived to Joe's Valley in central Utah at 4:30 p.m....yep...that's right, 6 1/2 HOURS later. :( It was miserable and exhausting sitting in a car for that long. Once we finally got there, and found the campground we figured Matt & Lisa's friends were at...we couldn't find them...so we stopped at the first open campsite we could find. We got out, and it was very nice to walk around...and yet wonder if we really had enough food to get through the night since we only had our "assignments" filled for the meals. Ryan & Matt decided to go drive around a little more to see if they could find them anywhere...while Lisa, Matthew, & I stayed back with a couple of the kids...as you can see, Klous was REAL excited to be out of the car, and just be able to play in the dirt, ash, sticks, and rocks...

He had to show Mommy his prize stick...Smile for the camera...
Try to mix up the ashes in the fire pit...
Get a "closer" look at the ashes...
And get dirt, ash, and SNOT everywhere!!! :) Isn't he cute!!!
Finally Matt & Ryan found them at the same campsite we happened to be in...just down a road we didn't discover the first time through...so we packed the kids in again...and got in the car :( luckily only for a little drive...and FINALLY set up camp. The friends there...(which Ryan & I had never met)...could tell we weren't real excited about the 6 1/2 hour journey we had to make it to the stupid place, and actually Lisa & I had discussed the fact that we really weren't ready to "socialize" with anyone else yet. It was alright...we set up, had dinner, and things were actually "kind of" looking up. We got a campfire started and were all smiles for a bit...

Klous once again had fun with the sticks...eating rocks...and crawling around...
Here are the guys holding the babies...Matt's on the left with his baby Nicole, and Ryan with Klous on the right...
Even got some cute pics of Daddy & Klous smiling...
And Mommy & Klous too...(I think the ONLY smile I did the WHOLE time)...well not really...but close ;)
Matthew enjoyed playing in the fire...as any 14 yr. old boy would!!
Then the sun started to go down...the moon came out...
And the clouds came in...can you see the dark ones in the middle of the mountains??? We were nervous about those...wondering if they would bring rain...just to top off the trip!!! :)
Well no rain came...we slept "ok"...and got up at 6:30 a.m to go out fishing...we were told it was only 20 minutes away, and that the fishing was AMAZING?!?! So we were okay with going for the drive (even though the guy in charge said the rode was a little rough, but our car should be okay)...so we packed up Klous and all the fishing stuff and took off...COME TO FIND OUT...we have to take the dreaded DIRT ROAD again. :( We weren't thrilled about this, and wondered why this road would be rough on our car....we just had to drive on it yesterday??? Well, certain mile marks came and went, and we were ALL THE WAY back to the BEGINNING of the dirt road...which is 21 MILES, but an HOUR away...we weren't happy. We should've just packed up camp and left from there...which is what we would've done had we REALLY known where we were going. :(

Again...Klous didn't have a tough time...he liked the dirt, mud, and snacks Mommy brought along!!!
Here are the boys getting their fishing poles ready...Matthew by the water, Matt standing, and Ryan in the chair...
Klous just raked, scooped, and ATE the mud!!!
Ryan realized he didn't have enough line on his pole, so had to add more...and Matt had "fun" bringing his oldest daughter Vanessa along!! (see his bum in the background...he's talking with her)
Then Klous & Vanessa had a chance to play...once she decided she was gonna be gentle and not throw dirt in his face anymore!!! :)
Not that he didn't have enough on his face...in his hair...or in his mouth!!! :)
But as you can see from this picture, Klous was NOT happy...I think the attitudes of his parents were coming out in him too!!! After NO luck fishing...not even a bite...and wild children who weren't wanting to listen...we decided to pack it up...Matt had come with the "guy in charge" and his vehicle...but he and the others weren't ready to go...however Matt was!!! So we decided we could fit Becki, Ryan, Matthew, Klous, Matt, & Vanessa all into our 5 passenger Toyota Corolla!!! I drove, Matthew was in the back with the kids in their car seats...and Ryan & Matt "shared" the front seat. A little TOO much male bonding on that LONG, STUPID dirt road once again. 3rd time was NOT a charm...we were SOOO...irritated and ready to just go home. We got back to camp, packed up, and took the shorter, PAVED, and easier way back home. We stopped for lunch and then left our traveling buddies...it was sad.
It was a tough and hectic trip...and I know I wasn't pleasant most of it...but come on...what do you expect??? I was ready to come home...and it was only over night...but really it was great traveling with Matt & Lisa, and I'm glad we were there to help and laugh with them when we could. Some things couldn't have been prevented...where other things COULD'VE!!! Like we've all decided...the best part was having the walkie-talkies together...and being able to talk and communicate on the LONG and HORRIBLE journey!!! Thanks guys...we'll still hang out and camp again...sometime...closer to home...you know what I mean!!! :) :) :) :) :)

I'm FREE :) :) :)

Last night, Klous had his 4TH poopy diaper of the day...I couldn't believe it...but that's what happens when he's getting teeth!!! Anyways...he's to the point of when we change his diaper...he no longer wants to just lay there and "help" us...well his idea of helping is different then our idea of helping I think...

He didn't waste anytime rolling over and crawling away REAL fast....without a diaper as you can see ;)
He just wanted to watch the weather I guess and play with his baseball...
Then he looks at me like I'm the silly one??? Must say he's got an awfully cute lil' bum though!! (sorry if you don't like the bare bum look) :)
We were finally able to tickle him and hold him down to get his "bottoms" back on...he was all smiles and giggles about that... :)
Then he decided he needed to stand up and watch the news...he seems to do it best when he can hold one of his favorite balls!!! Baseball, basketball, or soccer ball!!! :)
I just think he likes this new "I'M FREE" feeling...whether it's without a diaper on...standing alone, or just roaming the house...he sure enjoys it!!!

Darryl Worley - Have You Forgotten?

Last night Ryan & I had the chance to go to the Scera Shell in Orem, and watch Darryl Worley. I don't know how many of you know him, but he is a country singer, and he was AMAZING last night!!! He sings "Have You Forgotten" which was for September 11th...it's a great song, and he did so good with it last night. I forgot to bring my camera to the concert, but had my phone to record him singing...and it actually worked!!! There were some pretty negative things written about him in the Daily Herald...but regardless of all those things, he is an amazing singer, songwriter, and performer. Ryan even had a good time last night...so that tells you it was pretty good!!!

SPAGHETTI :) :) :) :)

Well, Klous is really getting to the point of not liking the "boring baby food"...he doesn't like the smooth, pureed food anymore...he needs something with texture...and yummier taste!!! So...we've been sharing our dinners with him!!! He really enjoys pasta salad, mac n' cheese, rice, and last night we tried SPAGHETTI!!! He's had noodles before with a little Parmesan cheese...but last night I gave it to him with sauce....it wasn't Grandma Judy's homemade spaghetti sauce...just from the jar....the REAL stuff will come soon enough!!! Here are a few shots of his progress while eating it!!! :) :) :)








I think he enjoyed it...what do you think??? :) :) :) It wasn't a fun mess to clean up, but it was fun to watch him eat it!!!

One Man Band

Ok...so I know I've posted a LOT of videos...but at times, pictures just don't cut it to get the whole effect of what Klous is doing!!! He has really gotten close to his drum set...and so Ryan did this video of him!!! He really can be a one man band with all his instruments and pounding!!! Hope you enjoy the video!!!

Walking soon????

Klous Waving

Minor Surgery...

After probably 3 long years of having this weird growth on my face...I finally got it taken care of!!! My sister Kim has been hounding me for a long time to just go in and get it removed...with all our moves...having a baby...lack of insurance at times...and my own selfish reasons...I never did it!! Finally I went in this morning and got it removed...I don't know how many people have noticed it (really I don't know how you couldn't)...but no one really said anything to me about it, so I've put a few pictures on from before...and then after. Oh yeah, it's a benign "biglongword" cyst!!! I don't remember what the doctor called it??

Here is what it looked like before...just a big bump on my face that wasn't getting smaller...in fact it was getting bigger!!
And whenever I smiled...it looked even bigger, so I really didn't like that part...
But today...after having a small incision made, lots of squeezing and tweezing, and 2 stitches later...this is what it looks like!!!
Don't mind the purple/blue marks...it's not bruised...not yet at least. Instead just the pen the Dr. used to mark up my face!!
And look...when I smile...it doesn't pop out anymore!! WOO HOO!!! :) :) :) However...the Dr. did say that there's a gap in there...and my skin/body will have to take care of that somehow!!!
All in all, it went really well, and there was no reason for me to be so paranoid!!! I'll post more pictures once it's all healed and the stitches are out!!! I just thought some people...especially my family back in MN would like to see that it's GONE!!! :) :) :)

Klous' New Toys....

Klous seems to think it's OK for him to play with all the computer cords...no matter how many times Ryan or I tell him NO he still finds them amusing.
He thinks he's pretty cute and funny when he gets back there and looks at me just waiting for me to tell him "NO NO"...
The chair is completely pushed in and he manages to climb in, around, over, WHATEVER...just to get to the cords...but look how happy he is when he makes it...
It is quite a job to try and get him OUT of this predicament when he does it over and over again...our little boy can be quite a monster at times!!! :) But we still love him!!