Remind me again why I wanted to be a mom

Okay, so Wednesday night Rayden caught the stomach flu and I was completely amazed how he actually ran to the toilet and started....well you know what happens next. I got him a bucket and put him in bed and he continued to puke in the bucket a few more times before falling a sleep. I kept thinking all night how nice it was that I didn't have to clean anything up because he is old enough now to realize when he feels the urge to run to the bathroom.

Well, he seemed to be feeling better the whole next day, even though he didn't eat much and I thought we were over this thing. This morning he just laid on the couch and didn't want to eat breakfast so I thought he was still a little sick. When I asked him if he felt okay he just said that he was tired. Moments later I hear him yell, "Mom I need a bucket!" I dashed into the kitchen and grabbed the bucket as quick as I could and just about tripped over a million things as I went rushing back to him on the couch. I was dreading having to clean up throw-up, especially on my mother-in-law's WHITE CARPET.

Thankfully, I made it just in time! I was thinking yet again how wonderful it is to have such a grown up little boy and how fortunate I was not to have to clean anything up.
Little did I know....Ryker had a totally different agenda, as usual! I put him down for his afternoon nap and was enjoying a little quiet time of my own just reading my book when I hear this scream coming from his sleep area. Instantly I knew what had happened and I dreaded going to face a mess. Just as I thought, throw-up all over in the crib. Whew, at least not on the carpet. I rushed Ryker into the bathroom and washed him up and then bundled all the crib sheets together and threw it all in the washer. Lucked out again!!!

As I grabbed a new blanket and attempted to rock him back to sleep....yep you guessed it, throw-up ALL OVER ME!!!! I was completely covered in a matter of seconds! I just stood there frozen, holding a screaming baby and not knowing what on earth to do. I didn't dare move for fear of seeing or smelling the mess. After a few seconds later I decided that I had to do something so I ran into the bathroom with baby in tow. As I carefully peeled my clothes off I was hating myself for thinking I had it so easy the day before. Luckily, the washer hadn't been going too long from the previous mess so I threw all the clothes in once again and went to look at how much I was going to have to clean up on the floor. Luckily, most of the throw-up landed on me and I only had to clean a little bit off the chair. Whew, none on the carpet.

So, here I sit, with my baby wrapped in towels, and towels laying all over the floor and I feel so helpless for the poor little guy. There isn't anything I can do for him and I feel terrible that he is sick. And I just fear that I am next on the hit list of getting the bug and nothing is worse than trying to take care of children while being sick. I think mother's should be immune from sickness and disease. One of the wonderful joy's of being a mother I guess.

So long, Farewell...

Tribute to summer:
So we have had a pretty awesome summer this year and I'm sad to say that it is coming to an end. Summer is my very favorite time of year, especially in Utah. This has been our first summer in Richfield as a family and we have really enjoyed the central location to all our favorite things. We have had a lot of fun this summer going to Lagoon, camping, swimming, biking, rock climbing, going to the summer reading program at the Library, and even going to lunch at the park everyday. Rayden and Ryker sure have kept me busy outside and I have slowly gotten my tan back after 5 years of not seeing the sun! Here is the top ten list of our favorite things about summer:

10. Gardening
9. Camping/rock climbing
8. Sunny, hot days!
7. The smell of sunscreen
6. Swimming/boating
5. Bar-b-que's
4. Vacations
3. Fireworks
2. Snow cones
1. Being LAZY!!!

There you have it, my top ten list of summer LOVES!

Okay, so here are A TON of pictures of our last few vacations this summer. I know you have all been waiting soooo long, so enjoy!

Everybody go Surf'n

The summer would not be complete without a trip Lake Powell! I could live on Lake Powell if only I was rich enough to afford a houseboat!!! This was my first time in a long time going to Lake Powell, and sadly without a houseboat. However, we had a great time camping out on the beach. We learned to LOVE the sand because we practically ate, drank and slept in it!!! We had a few big sand storms come up and cover everything in sand.

We also had a great time at Bear Lake!!! The sand there was quite a bit different than the sand at Lake Powell. Rayden had fun getting burried in it. Ryker tried to get burried as well, but frieked out when the sand started to cover him. Oh well, maybe next year Ryker!!!

Rayden and Ryker had their first adventures at the Ocean in California. Rayden didn't like the salt water much, but he had a lot of fun jumping over the waves and playing in the sand.

My, oh my, what a wonderful vacation

Just a few photo ops from Disneyland. We had to have the classic pic in front of the castle but we were in somewhat of a hurry so it didn't turn out fabulous. We were soooo glad we brought along a spray bottle fan, to buy one at Disneyland was three times the price we payed for one at Kmart! It was a lifesaver while standing in the long lines!!!

Toon town was pretty much just a place to take pictures. I could've spent all day taking pictures with all the fun things there, but alas....we had rides to ride. Here are just a few of the many pictures taken.

The kids loved seeing Minnie and Mickey. We got there at just the right time and didn't have to wait long to have a photo op with them! Thankfully Rayden wasn't too interested in the character photos. We a couple with a few character's as we saw them walking by but didn't have to wait much in any lines to get a picture!

Of course Rayden had to have his picture with the Big "R" in front of California Adventure. Since his name starts with "R", he constantly refers to that letter as HIS letter. Rayden's most favorite ride at California Adventure was Soarin over California. Randy and I liked it quite a bit too!

The Happiest Place on Earth!

Disneyland this year was a blast with the Bytheway family!!! Complete with matching shirts and let's not forget the daily dose of DRAMA!!!! Rayden absolutely LOVED IT!!! He was the perfect age and could go on every ride except Indiana Jones. Honestly, I think he would've been a little too scared on that ride. Ryker even got to go on most the ride, that is if he wasn't napping. He had to go and get sick on the first day of vacation just like always. I swear that boy is constantly sick.

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Our favorite rides were Buzz lightyear, the Nemo submarines, and Splash Mountain. The first time Rayden went on Splash Mountain he said he was going to ride that ride every day. And we pretty much did.

We rode on the steam boat around the river and we also rode the rafts across to play in the Pirate's Lair!! The boys loved going through the caves and climbing around everything.

Another favorite was the Bug's Life world and Talk with Crush over in California Adventure. Rayden got to ask Crush how old Sea Turtles are but I don't remember what the answer was (Some mom I am).

Summer Fun

We had so much fun with the Riddle & Buchanan family at Seven Peaks!!! I could not get Rayden out of the pool, he just swam and swam and swam. He also LOVED the kiddy waterslides. I have to say that Seven Peaks is really kid friendly because they let the kids go on just about any waterslide. Too bad I was holding Ryker the whole time or I would've taken him on more slides. But, we had tons of fun!!!!

We also spent a lot of time at Lagoon-a-Beach this summer! Rayden's favorite thing was to go around and around the Lazy River with his cousins.

The Demolition Derby was an exciting thing for Rayden to see. It's the biggest thing to come to Richfield in the summer with the County Fair. It was fun to see all the cars crash into each other, not to mention LOUD as well!!!! Rayden and his Hunt cousins had fun submitting a lot of produce and baked goods in the county fair. Of course Grandma Riddle was a big help!! Altogether they made around $80!!

Soon to Come......

Updates on our exciting and crazy summer!!