Once there was a small snowman....

From this.......

To This!!!!!

They had so much fun playing in the snow, sledding and building snowmen!

Catching up....

This was taken on Thanksgiving......I know I'm way behind on my pictures!!

Rayden is sending his letter to Santa. He is so excited he can't even wait. He even got a letter back from Santa!!

Aren't they so cute!?

Rayden was so excited to sit on Santa's lap and tell him all the toys he wants for Christmas!

LAZY!

I have been soooooo LAZY! I haven't wanted to post anything for a while, not because I don't have tons to say, but I just have been too lazy. I can't believe how fast time is flying by. Each day feels a little monotonous, but overall, time seems to fly! Ryker is already six months! Wow I just am shocked! He is starting to eat baby food and makes the funniest faces because I don't think he totally knows what's going on when I shove the spoon in his mouth! He's catching on and doing pretty good. The only problem is that now his spit up is colored and it is staining everything! His acid reflux is a lot better but it is still a little frustrating! Rayden is loving preschool and his speech is getting a little better. He's so excitied for Santa to come. He wrote a letter to Santa telling him all the toys he wanted and we got a response from Santa in the mail today. He was pretty excited about that! Randy's last day of work for the year is today and then he has 2 1/2 weeks off!! I really wish we could go on a nice long trip but of course that's not going to happen! I guess it wouldn't be much fun anyway, with me nursing and all. I have so many pictures to post but my computer is being retarded lately and I can't get my pictures downloaded. So, I guess you'll just have to wait to see my wonderfully cut kids!!!

Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!! I know Thanksgiving was a few days ago but I have been so busy with all the family that I haven't had a chance to do much as far as the blogging world goes. Anyway, I got up early this morning before all the crazy kids came over and I was actually able to get ready for the day without any interruptions! Having a little time to myself I was thinking of how fast this year has gone by and how wonderful it has been! I have so many things to be thankful for that I just can't number them all! Most of all I am thankful to my Heavenly Father for blessing me with such a wonderful husband and children! I love them all so much!!! I also am so thankful that we can spend so much time with our family and friends! This has been the first Thanksgiving we have been with all our family since Randy and I have been married. It was so nice to just relax and enjoy all the kids running around, laughing and playing! Rayden just loves all cousins so much. We have had a lot of fun over the last few days cooking, sewing, shopping and most of all laughing! It's nice to know that with all the troubles going on in the world we can still find time to enjoy the simple things in life! Happy Thanksgiving!

Obsessed!

I think I am officially obsessed with Twilight! I read the first three books a while ago and loved them but didn't get too much into it. When I read the fourth book I loved how it all ended and thought it was good but never thought I would ever want to buy the books for myself or read them again. Then......I saw the movie with my sisters!!!! I am so totally obsessed that I can't contain myself. I just loved it so much!! I think having a picture in mind to go with the story has really helped this infatuation grow. Although I think some parts of the movie were a little cheesy, overall I just loved it! Can't wait to see it again and read it again!!!

Exhausted.....

Need I say more?

Once there was a snowman.....

This is the snowman that Rayden and Daddy made the day it snowed. Let's just say it only lasted a few hours and then it melted.

Trick or Treat

Our Halloween was pretty fun! I took Ryker and Rayden to a carnival at the college on Thursday. It was fun for Rayden to play some little games and get some little prizes. On Friday we went to the trunk or treat and then we went to a neighborhood and did some trick or treating! Rayden had so much fun with daddy! Randy decided to be blue man again this year and I decided that since people in Utah haven't actually seen me in my leapord costume I would wear it again! Rayden wanted to be spiderman and I just put Ryker in a dinosaur costume. As we were going around to different houses there was a family by us where the boy who was about Rayden's age was also dressed as Spiderman. It was so cute to see them running together to the houses. Rayden kept trying to put his arm around him and asking him to be his friend. He is such a friendly little guy!

Just our luck...

Two days until we were going to close on our house and the people decided to back out. Supposedly the bank wasn't going to give them the interest rate they were initially promised so they decided not to buy the house. Bummer for us!!! Now we are heading into winter and not knowing what to do with our house. We were so close I just can't believe it :( Anyway, I guess that just shows you what kind of luck we have this year. Oh well, maybe our next buyer will offer us more for the house!

On top of the depressing house news, Ryker has been teething this week. Ugh. I have had to hold him all week and by holding him I mean stand up and walk around with him. If I lay him down or sit down while holding him he just screams so loud! How is it that babies know when you're sitting down or standing up? I think someone should do a science project on it! Let's just say I haven't done a thing this week because I haven't been able to put him down. I feel pretty useless when I can't do anything. I guess that's what husbands are for! And mine is sooooo wonderful I don't know how I would live without him!

Catching up

Wow, what a busy week it has been and it is only Wednesday! Over the weekend our family decided to go down to St. George and go on a little climbing trip. Of course it was one of the coldest days so far but it was still a lot of fun. Rayden actually climbed up one route with the help of daddy! I was so proud of how brave he was! Randy's boss and his family also came with us. They are such great climbers and we just had a great time. It's probably the last time we will go this year because the weather is getting too cold, well for me anyway, Randy would climb all year round in St. George if he had his way.



On Monday we had a little birthday celebration for me..... not really but Rosalee had a few cupcakes she had made with some left over cake batter from a cake she made for a funeral. The little cousins sang happy birthday and it was pretty cute! Thanks to all the family who called, it made me feel pretty important for the day!



Today I had a great time going with Rayden on his fieldtrip to the pumpkin patch! He is just so cute! We got to go on a wagon ride through the pumpkin patch and then the kids all got to pick out a pumpkin. Then they rode around on a little train pulled by a tractor. All the preschool kids were laughing and waving and having a great time! It is so fun to be around four year olds, they say the funniest things and they are so carefree. If only I could be four again!



Ryker is growing so much. He is getting better at rolling over and he looks so cute when does! He tucks his knees up like he's going to try and crawl and then he pushes out and throws himself over! I just love watching him grow but it makes me sad because I just want him to stay tiny forever! I love the stage he is at right now! He also loves sitting in his bumbo seat and it is so handy.

Life is GREAT!

Smokey the Bear came to visit Rayden at our house! Rayden was a little scared at first but then he warmed up! Rayden learned all about Smokey and got a lot of cool stuff!

Rayden rode around the block a few times with his cousin in his grandpa's big truck! Aren't grandpa's just great!

Ryker is almost four months old now. I can't believe how fast it goes. I just want him to stay little forever. He has rolled over a few times and is smiling and laughing a lot! His spit-up is getting a little better with the new medicine but it is still pretty bad (can't you tell with the spit-up all over his shirt in every picture?). I'm almost fully recovered and I'm starting to enjoy food again. Hopefully I can still eat pretty healthy. Randy is loving his job more and more each day. It makes me happy knowing that enjoys what he does. I also really love that I get to spend most of the day with him since he doesn't go to work until the afternoon. He is also never really stressed about work so we just get to enjoy time with each other and with the kids! He and Rayden spend the morning playing wii. Rayden is getting so good at bowling that he pretty much kicks our behind every time we play. It is so funny! I'd like to take him to the real bowling alley and see how he does! That is pretty much our life right now and I wouldn't trade it for anything!

Circus! Circus!

We had so much fun at the circus with all the cousins! Our favorite thing was the tigers and elephants! Doesn't Aunt Amanda look fabulous in her clown nose? I had never been to the circus before so it was a lot of fun. Even Ryker was really good the whole time!

Recovery

Surgery is finally over and I'm onto recovery! I have never had the worst two days of my life! I had my gallbladder taken out on Monday and then I was sent up to Provo on Tuesday morning to have another procedure to get a couple stones out that had passed into my bile duct. I had to have a tube shoved down my throat and through my stomach. It took me all day Tuesday to wake up from being put out. Now my throat is sore and my abdomen is so tender. It has been tough to get back to life but I guess it could be worse. Ryker is having a tough time adjusting to nursing after finally getting used to the bottle. He is so lazy from the bottle that he won't suck. I guess he'll just have to starve until he can get the hang of it again because there is no way I'm doing the formula thing. It is just too time consuming. Although it was kind of nice handing him off to dad to feed! Anyway, thanks all you out there who have helped me out this week. I couldn't have survived without my mother-in-law and my husband who have been so wonderful to watch my kids and wait on me hand and foot. It is nice to feel loved and to know that others are thinking of me.

Dessert anyone?

Here is my fabulous Key Lime Mousse Cake!! It is so yummy! I just love key lime pies and I thought I would try this recipe and I love it! Too bad I can't eat it! I have gallstones and pretty much can't eat anything until I get my gallbladder taken out in a week! Yikes, I am so scared.

Preschool

So far Rayden is loving Preschool! The bus comes and picks him up and he has lunch at school. I went yesterday to help out for a little bit and to see who is in his class. It is a huge class! There is also an older boy that is kind of a bully to all the kids. Rayden's teacher mentioned to Randy that Rayden gets picked on a little bit but that Rayden really knows how to defend himself. I guess that is a good thing but I feel bad that he gets picked-on. When I went yesterday I found out that the bully kind of picks on everyone. I guess it's not just Rayden. I've also started to go pick him up instead of letting him ride home on the bus because the bus ride home is almost an hour and we only live 2 min. away from the school. He is the last to be dropped off so that is why it takes so long. Anyway, he loving being at school. Next week is when he starts speech therapy! I am excited for that because then maybe I'll start to understand him better.

Good News!

Lots of good news for the Riddle family! I'm so excited we got an offer on our house and if all goes well we should be closing sometime in the next couple weeks. That is just one less thing I have to stress about. Also, Rayden got accepted into the Head Start Preschool! He will be doing speech therapy at the District Preschool a couple days a week and then going to Headstart four days a week. The bus even comes to our house and picks him up! It will be fun for him except that he goes right during his nap time so I hope he is not too tired. I'll have to start getting him to bed earlier so he gets some good sleep at night.

Randy is really enjoying his new job. It is fun to have him home in the mornings and I don't really notice too much at night that he is gone because I am busy watching my favorite shows! I haven't had TV for five years so it is nice to just be able to watch something. However, sometimes I still wish we didn't have it. All Rayden wants to do is watch cartoons so I need to find something else for him to do. Since all his toys are in storage it is hard for him to stay busy. I'm sure going to preschool will help. Well I guess that is all the good news I have for now!

Pictures!

Here is what we have been doing this last month:

Ryker and Kylie in the bike trailer. We rode around a bike trail by Bear Lake. It was tough work but we had fun!

Rayden and his cousins Braxton and Rylan swam in the pool at the Bear Lake Lodge. Rayden didn't think he needed his life jacket and almost drowned! Luckily Aunt Sarah was there to rescue him!

All the girls had fun getting pedicures! Our favorite thing to do!

Rayden had lots of fun at the State Fair! We rode rides and saw all of the animals!! We even stayed for the Rodeo!

This is Rayden "milking the cow" at the State Fair

The Hunt cousins put make-up on Rayden and the played dress up!

This is all the cousins at the county fair. They all participated in the Kid Rodeo.

These are our family pictures we had taken the day of Ryker's blessing. Doesn't Ryker look so cute in his little outfit. I wish I would've gotten better pictures of just him but it was a crazy day!

Crazy life!

Sorry, still no pictures. Just as I got my computer set-up I decided to take a trip up to mom's house. Now I have a million more pictures to post but I have to wait until I get the internet set-up on my computer. Here is just a few ideas of what to expect when I get up and running on my own computer:
Rayden playing dress up with the Hunt cousins. They went a little overboard on the make-up!
The Bytheway cousins stripping down to their nothings outside on the tramp. (don't worry the pictures turned out dark and I took it as they were all getting dressed again)
Swimming at the Salina pool.
Family pictures! (very crazy when there are more children than adults)
Ryker's baby blessing - He was soooo cute in his little outfit but I was so busy that I didn't get very good pictures of just him.
Trip to Bear Lake

Yah it has been pretty crazy! We have had a lot of fun since moving out to Utah but it has also been pretty stressful. Ryker finally got some medicine for his puking problem. It's amazing how big he has gotten in just a week of keeping down some food. Rayden is also getting pretty big! I need to take him clothes shopping with his birthday money because he will be needing some new clothes for school. He starts pre-school on Tuesday and I am just so excited, I'm sure he is too! In fact, today I am heading back down to Richfield for his pre-school screening to see if he qualifies for speech therapy. I haven't decided if I am coming back to mom's for the holiday weekend. I think I will because Randy' works all weekend and all my family will be having a party. I just wish gas wasn't so expensive! Even my prius costs so much to fill up! I can't imagine what it would be like if I didn't have my hybrid. I guess I better not get pregnant again for a while so I don't have to get a bigger car! Ha Ha, as if I have control over that!

Hopefully in the next week or so I will be back to a normal schedule! I can't wait to finally get settled so I can find a routine that works with the little baby! The poor thing has been through a lot!

Getting settled

Randy finally made it out here with the rest of our stuff! Now we just need to find a storage shed for all of our junk and we will be set! Randy started his first day today. He will be training all week so I'll have to let you know how it goes. I have so many pictures to post of the last week but I'm waiting to get my computer set up. Rayden has had so much fun playing with cousins. All the girls dress him up and put make-up on him it is so funny. They also went to the county fair and participated in the kid rodeo. I couldn't get Rayden to do much but he did like the boot run. I'll post the pictures later. Right now I got to get back to work getting moving stuff done.

Yahoo!!

We finally have moved back to Utah. I have been so busy packing and moving that I haven't had a chance to post anything. I don't even have all of my stuff moved out here yet and my computer is still in Missouri. Randy is coming out next weekend with the rest of our stuff. Anyway, Randy got a job offer here and we decided it was time for a change and that we wanted to be close to family. Randy's parents were going out to Missouri to pick me up and bring me to Utah for a long visit and it just happened to work out that they were able to bring a truck and trailer and move a lot of our stuff for us! So, I basically had to pack my whole house in about two days! It was crazy!!!!

While I am excited to be here, I miss a lot of people back in Missouri. Since I moved so quick I didn't get a chance to say good-bye to anyone in Missouri. I guess I will have to call some of my closer friends. Anyway, it's good to be back and Rayden is having soooo much fun with all of his cousins. I guess that is all for now, I have so much to do still with all the moving so I better get to work!

Sleeping through the night

For the last two nights Ryker has slept from about 10:00 pm to 6:00 am. It has been pretty nice. He is still a little fussy and has puked all over me a couple time in the last two days but other than that he is doing good. He is starting to get some fat rolls on his legs and his cheeks keep getting chubbier! I'm so excited to go out to Utah next week so some of you all can finally see him! Pictures just do not do this kid justice. He is just "so cute" as Rayden would say!

In other news, my face is getting a lot better. I still can't close my eye all the way and my top lip still can't move all the way. If I smile with my mouth closed you can't tell at all but once I try and do a big cheesy smile it still looks a little funny.

Randy was working hard in the garden picking all the beans for me. He and Rayden were having fun sticking them to their shirts and making designs. My friends came over and helped me bottle the beans. I didn't have a whole lot to bottle but it sure took us all afternoon. I ended up doing about 13 pints and 3 quarts. We only had one casualty. One of the jars burst and there were beans all over in the pressure cooker when we opened it up! Then I decided to bottle some more peaches. I did about 10 quarts. However, 1 quart burst and 1 quart I decided to just eat. I was thinking of doing some more this weekend but I probably won't because I have a lot of other more important things to do.

4 years old!

Okay, I know Rayden's birthday was a few days ago but I have been so busy I haven't been able to put some pictures up. We didn't really do much for his birthday this year. I was going to try and make a spiderman cake but as you all know, things never turn out the way you plan. The spiderman cake was a disaster and so we turned it into Sponge Bob Square Pants. That actually turned out better because little did I know, Randy had bought Sponge Bob wrapping paper and the cup cake holders I had were Sponge Bob. We had some friends come over to the park and eat cake and ice cream and the kids had a lot of fun!

Summer life

Randy and Rayden were having fun this morning putting mulch around all the trees in the yard. Rayden found a toy gun in the yard from the neighbors and was having fun playing. They also found some turtle eggs in the big pile of mulch!

I wanted to get a picture of Ryker in his cute summer outfit but I look like death in this picture. If you look close you can see my retarded face! I went to the doctor and they said it is most likely Bell's Palsy. They sent me over to the hospital to have an MRI just to make sure everything was okay. The MRI was negative so that is good. My doctor wanted me to see a Neurologist just in case because I am postpartum. The Neurologist just said it is a mild case of Bell's Palsy and should go away on it's own in a few weeks or months. They also drew some blood to run some tests just to check things out. I have to go back in two weeks for a follow-up. So I guess it's not so bad, I just feel really funny looking. It could be a lot worse so I'm trying to stay positive!

Here is some of our garden. It is pretty pathetic this year. We haven't gotten hardly anything so far except a few small tomatoes and a little squash and a little peas. Hopefully our beans will pull through and the cantaloupe and watermelon.