The Hess Family

Happy Halloween!!

2011-11-01T16:52:00.000-07:00

I have totally forgot how to blog it's been so long!! We are still keeping as busy as ever. We had a blast this year for Halloween. Our friends had a huge trailer they pulled the kids around on. They loved it! The best part was the weather was absolutely beautiful! I hope you all are doing great and enjoyed your Halloween this year!

Super Update

2010-09-01T16:32:00.001-07:00

Wow!! Well it has been a while since I have been on here. Our life has been so extremely busy!! The girls started school on the August 19th which is when all choas hit. They love school and are really enjoying their teachers. Soccer has also started and has been a blast. Ryan is coaching Brinley's team and they are kicking booty! Bailey is playing competitive this year and they are also kicking booty! They have both won all their games so it has been really fun. They are also both taking piano and love it! Braxton is still growing up so fast. He is almost 18 months old. He has such a fun personality and is definitely a joy in our home. I am still the beehive advisor in YW and Ryan just got put in as the scoutmaster. So as you can imagine we are very busy! I will try and post some pictures soon! My mom and dad are coming to visit in two weeks so I am counting down the days. Then we are headed up north the end of September for the big BYU vs. USU football game. GO AGGIES!!!

Special Olympics

2010-05-25T16:27:00.000-07:00

This year for youth conference our ward volunteered for the special olympics that were held here in Cedar City. It was so much fun and such a humbling experience. To see this athletes and their excitement in being able to participate in this event was just amazing. The thing that I admired most about these people is there is no competitive spirit in them what-so-ever! They are just there to have fun and be a part of such a great event. During races they would stop and help someone running next to them and give eachother high fives after the race. It was just such a special experience not only for us as leaders but for the youth in our ward. So I am very grateful for the opportunity I had to volunteer and meet some of these special spirits that are living in our world today. It was AMAZING!!

Almost Summer!

2010-05-25T16:14:00.000-07:00

Wow! I can not believe the girls are done with school this week. I am so excited for summer to be here. We have been very busy lately with soccer and end of school programs. Soccer is now done and the girls both had a great year. Bailey has been asked to play on a summer games team so she is really excited about that. It should be a fun experience for her. She was also asked to play on a traveling soccer team this fall. And so it begins, right? The girls are both starting softball this week as well. We have had several fun weekends in Mesquite sittin' by the pool and swimming. We are going to Logan this weekend for Meagan's wedding and to visit with fam! I am so excited!! Then my family is coming down the following week to visit and have some fun. My aunt Nancy is even able to come along with my mom and Mind. We are going to have a blast. Braxton is now 14 months old and still just as fun as ever. He has such a funny personality already and is keeping us busy. We hope all of you are doing well and we miss you all very much!

More Pics

2010-04-28T18:30:00.000-07:00

Catch Up Pics

2010-04-28T18:24:00.000-07:00

Major Catch Up!

2010-04-28T08:10:00.001-07:00

Alright I have really been slackin' this month and of course it was a very busy month so I have lots to share. We had a great Easter times three. We did our stuff here at home and then headed to Mesquite for another egg hunt and dinner. Then the week after that headed to Logan and my mom did her thing with the kids. So Yes they were very spoiled. The girls enjoyed their spring break even though we got 7 inches of snow their first day off. So Ryan and I took them to St. George to the Sand Hallow aquatic center to swim. We also went to the red rock and took some hikes in Snow canyon. It was such a fun weekend!! The week we were in Logan we also had a shower for Meagan and it was so much fun! I am so excited for her and can't believe it is almost here! So we will be back in Logan over Memorial Day weekend for her wedding and to visit with fam. The girls have started soccer so we are very busy! They are both doing great and are so much fun to watch. Ryan is coaching Brin's team this year so she is excited about that. I can't believe the girls only have four weeks of school and then it is summer!!! I love it! Well I think that is the big things we have been enjoying lately. I hope you are all doing well and we miss you all a lot!

More Birthday Pics!

2010-03-15T13:04:00.001-07:00

Birthday Boy!!!

2010-03-15T12:43:00.000-07:00

Holy Cow!! Braxton turned one on the 12th and I just can not believe it has already been a year since this little guy joined our family. He is so much fun and we love watching him grow and develop. He is now on regular milk...thank the heavens up above! As you know he is walking, he waves bye, plays peek-a-boo, blows kisses, and will nod his head when you ask him questions. He has learned so much so fast. I forget how fast they pick up on things. He has been a very spoiled boy! We celebrated with my family a week early while we were up in Logan. He got tonz of fun toys that he loves to play with! Then Misty and Jason came and spent the weekend of his birthday with us. It was so much fun. He absolutely loved his cake. And he got double the cakes since we celebrated twice. The video is so funny so I will definitely post it soon. He also went to the doc today and got his shots. Poor kid!! He is 25 lbs. 10 oz. (85%), 32 in. long (96%), and his head is 19 in. (92%). So Yes he is still growing and very big for his age. But that's how we love him!

Brinley's Baptism

2010-03-02T16:48:00.001-08:00

Well I am a few weeks late but I just wanted to post the adorable pictures from Brin's baptism. It was an awesome day and we are grateful for those who were able to come and help us celebrate this special day. Brinley looked so pretty in her dress! She was very nervous most the day and especially when we got to the church. But she did great! When she was getting into the water she teared up a little bit and when I was helping her change she said,"Mom, I kinda cried when I was getting in the water with dad but I think it was just the spirit." It was so adorable and we are so proud of Brin and the example she is not only to our family but to all her friends at school and church. We love her so much and are so lucky to have her sweet but fiesty spirit in our home!

Braxton's First Steps

2010-02-20T16:20:00.001-08:00

Well I can't believe it is already here! Braxton is walking!!! For like a month and a half he would take a couple of steps and then sit down. Then the other night he was really excited about it and just kept walking back and forth to Ryan and I. So we caught some video of his first few steps. Now he is out of control walking all over. He will take off from the couch and walked all the way down the hallway the other day. Now to convince him it is easier just to walk then to get down and crawl. He is learning new things so fast and I am having a hard time keeping up with him. It is crazy to think he will be One next month!!! He is so much fun and I have loved being able to stay home with him.

2010-02-20T16:19:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmass, Happy New Year, and Happy Birthday!!

2010-01-10T20:07:00.000-08:00

I am a little late but I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. We were very spoiled this year and had a great time. Ryan's brother Aaron and his wife Tracey decided to come down to Cedar and surprise his parents on Christmas day. It has been over 5 years since we have all been together on Christmas. So it was a great surprise and we had so much fun. My girls just love their Aunt Tracey and were so excited when they found out she was coming to sleepover at our house. New Years was a change for me. We have been at my mom's every year and have a little New Year's party, play rock band, and visit with Jon and Sara since they are normally up north this time of year. This year we were home with just our kids having a little party. Which was still fun but we did not dare go bang our pots and pans at midnight like normal here in our new neighborhood. So we definitely missed that fun tradition. Last but not least Brinley had a birthday on January 4th. She is 8 years old!!! So crazy....so now we are preparing for a baptism the first of February and she is scared that her dad is going to hold her under the water too long! We are really excited for her and it has been fun helping her prepare for this special day. A little update on all of us...we are all doing great. My knee is finally getting better and I feel like someday I might be normal again. Maybe?? Was I ever normal?? Anyways Ryan's work is still great. He loves it and really enjoys the people he works with. Bay and Brin are both doing great in school and can't wait for spring to get here so they can start soccer. Bailey just started piano lessons again this past week so we are really excited about that. Braxton is still doing great and learning new things everyday. He now will wave bye and his dad thinks he has learned the sign for 3 pointer or touchdown. Little does he know I taught him "So big" which is why he raises his hands in the air. But hey whatever he wants to think is great. So all is well here in Cedar! We hope you are all doing great as well and we miss you lots!!

Treats and Toys

2009-12-18T15:08:00.000-08:00

I have to share this funny story about Braxton. I was getting ready to go to PT and had asked Bailey to watch Braxton real quick for me. The next thing I hear is Bailey screaming at Brinley,"Brin you are suppossed to be watching Braxton!" She comes running in to her room and tells me Braxton is eating something but she doesn't know what it is and she can't get it out of his mouth. So I run...well walked as fast as I could into the kitchen to find my adorable son sitting on the kitchen floor covered in chocolate. He had helped himself to a reeses peanut butter cup. Yup and as you can guess he had already devoured the whole thing. The only thing left on his lap in a pile of slobbery chocolate was the wrapper. All I could do was laugh! Another funny thing with this kid is he loves my swiffer vacuum cleaner. No matter where I hide it he finds it and hauls it around the house wherever he goes. Man-if I could just teach him how to use it properly!!!!

Ho Ho Ho

2009-12-15T14:13:00.000-08:00

Braxton finally got to meet Santa Clause the other day at our ward party. We had made bets that he would scream bloody murder when he sat on his lap. We were all wrong. He did not cry but he just glared at him and would not take his eyes off of him as you can tell by the picture. I am really excited for this Christmas season even though I am going to miss seeing my family. We are just staying home this year. But it will also be the first time in a long time that we have been able to spend Christmas with Ryan's family so it will be really fun. It has been fun putting up our Christmas decoration for the first time in a couple of years. Why do kids have to grow up so fast?? Bailey informed me she only wanted a couple of things this year. A four wheeler and a laptop! Man I hope Santa hits the lottery! Braxton is going to be really fun this year. All he needs is some wrapping paper and boxes and he will be happy. Brinley wants a Webkinz and a Nintendo DS. We miss you all very much and hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!

Happy Late Thanksgiving!

2009-12-01T14:16:00.001-08:00

What a great Thanksgiving we had this year! We of course headed up to Logan to be with my family. It was a blast! I love my mom's cooking more than anything and miss it a lot. Both my sisters and their families were there and it was so fun to spend time with everyone. Unfortunately Mindy's whole fam got sick while we were there but we were still able to spend some time with them. Mindy made skirts and sold them at the Novemberfest. They are so adorable and I was lucky enough to sit with her all day on Friday and sell them. It was so fun and I saw a lot of people I knew so it was a double bonus. We had a Rock Band party with the Gittins which you can't beat. We were able to watch Texie dance and I am just amazed by her. She Rocks!! Best of all we went to the Utah State vs. SUU basketball game at the spectrum. Man I miss those games. Needless to say Utah State won by 40 so we returned home to Cedar proud to be Aggie fans! A little update on Braxton...he is everywhere!! He has been crawling for a couple weeks now and can now pull himself up on things so he has torn my house apart a few times to say the least. He has his first tooth and it did not really effect him at all. He is still as cute as ever and still very big. I just took him for his second hair cut and man is he handsome. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!!

2009-12-01T13:52:00.001-08:00

A Month of Firsts!!!!

2009-11-10T11:48:00.000-08:00

Wow! October was so crazy for us here in Cedar. We had a lot of firsts happen for our family. We started with my knee surgery at the beginning of the month. It has not been a great experience for me and I just keep hoping that someday my knee will be normal. I have experienced my first with Physical Therapy. Now I know why I never have wanted to go!! Braxton got his first hair cut! So cute and now needs another one already. He also experienced his first Aggie football game and loved it! (Really) While at the football game he was on the jumbo-tron for the first time. And finally Braxton experienced his first Halloween. He was sick so we just put on his costume to take a picture and him and Ryan stayed home while I followed the girls around in my car while they went trick or treating. November has started out much better. The greatest part about this week is it is the first week I have walked without crutches for over a month. It feels amazing and I feel like maybe I can be a normal mom again. I have lots of cute pictures to make up for lost time so I will post them soon.

6 Month Check-Up

2009-09-18T14:17:00.000-07:00

I am still in shock that Braxton is already 6 months old!! He has grown up so fast and I swear he does something new everyday. He can sit up by himself and he will roll from his stomach to his back. He has learned how to throw a fit pretty good already too. We just love him so much and love watching him grow.....and I mean grow!!!! He is now currently 21 lbs 8 oz and 28 inches long. Yes he is huge but cuter that ever!

I'm not 19??????

2009-09-11T19:36:00.000-07:00

Well it has been a crazy couple of weeks here in the Hess household. My husband has helped me realize that I am not a youngster anymore. Some of my friends in Cedar asked me to play in a volleyball tournament at the Cornfest in Enterprise. Of course I was more than excited since I have not been able to play volleyball FOREVER.... well that excitement was very short lived. The very first play of our very first game I go to spike the ball and the next thing I remember is I am on the floor in the worst pain ever. My knee was killing me and not to toot my own horn but I tolerate pain pretty darn well and I could not believe this pain. So to make a long story short I got the news I did not want to hear from the ortho. I tore my ACL!!! On top of that I had a really bad bone contusion which made it so painful to walk. So yes I have been on cruches for a week and half trying to take care of a 5 1/2 month old wiggle worm. Thank goodness Ryan was able to take a few days off and his wonderful mom came and spent several days with me not only taking care of Braxton but cleaning, cooking, and doing laundry. His sister also was a huge help in keeping the girls entertained. I don't know what we would have done without them. So now I am preparing myself for surgery. Attempting to get all the swelling and fluid off my knee so that they can operate. CRAZY!!! Wish me luck!

Back To School

2009-08-20T11:18:00.000-07:00

Today I sent my girls back to school. I am still a litte confused about what happened to summer?? They were so excited and I had to beg them to let me take them for their first day instead of riding the bus. We had back to school night on Tuesday so it was nice for them to see their class and meet their teachers so that they felt a little more comfortable. They both seem to have great teachers. So now Braxton and I are going to have to figure out ways to keep ourselves entertained. Braxton will prob be really happy that he can sleep in peace and play by himself without his sister's trying to smother him. Me on the other hand am going to be pretty bored. We will see how it goes!

2009-08-19T08:28:00.001-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BAY-BAY!!!!!

2009-08-06T13:44:00.000-07:00

Today my precious little girl is turning 9 years old!! I just can't believe how old she is getting. The thing I am having the hardest time accepting is that she is in fourth grade.....two more years and she will be in middle school!! Where did my little baby go? As most of you know Bailey is one in a million. She has the cutest and most outgoing personality. She always has us laughing and can always make you smile. She is such a good sister and always such a great help to her mom! She is a great example not only to her friends but to her family. So HAPPY BIRTHDAY SIS! We love you so much and hope you have an awesome day! We are headed to Seven Peaks with my fam tomorrow for her birthday and spending the weekend playing in Park City so I will have lots of fun pictures to post once we get back. We love you Bay!!!

A Boy and his Crazy hair!!

2009-08-05T13:19:00.001-07:00

This picture just makes me smile so I thought I would share it! We bought a new swing out on our porch and Braxton loves to swing on it. He is definitely just like his mom! We sit out there just about every night and I just love it! He also hates his veggies but chows his fruit. Just like mom. He is now eating his food so we have made some progress. Bay and Brin are starting soccer and we are really excited about that. They both have great coaches and it is going to be a lot of fun watching them play. I can not believe school starts in 2 1/2 weeks!!! Where did the summer go???

Hooray for Food.....Or not??

2009-07-14T19:32:00.000-07:00

Braxton had his four month check-up on Monday and man is he a chunk!! His official stats are:

18 pounds 10 ounces 97%

25 3/4 inches long 80%

17 inch head circ. 75%

The doctor was laughing at him because he says most kids are 20 pounds when they are about a year old and he is pretty sure he will be past that mark next time he sees him. I love it though! He is so cute and such a happy baby. So I was all excited to finally feed him some real food and he will not eat it!! He spits it out and gags all the time. I am getting a little frustrated because I don't know what to do. I guess I will just wait a little bit longer and then try again. Maybe then he will be ready???? I just knew he was going to chow down but I guess I was wrong!!

2009-07-06T08:38:00.001-07:00

5 Years and Counting!!

2009-06-18T15:15:00.000-07:00

Today is our 5th anniversary and I can not believe how fast time has gone by. I have the most amazing husband! He is such a great dad and has been that rock for me in my life. We have been through a lot together. A lot of trials and also some great times. Here are a few of the many reasons why I love Ryan:

He makes me laugh!!!

He is my best friend!
He is an awesome DAD!!

I could go on and on. Thanks Babe for being such a great husband and dad. I love you so much and can't wait to see what the years ahead bring for us. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!!

Softball, Softball, and more Softball.....

2009-06-15T16:28:00.001-07:00

So there is one thing that has not changed since we moved from Logan. We are still at the ball park three days a week and believe it or not only one of the three is because of me. The girls have games every Monday and Wednesday and I play co-ed on Thursday. It has been so fun to watch them play and progressively get better. Brin got knocked in the face her last game by a grounder that took a bad hop. We thought she would get a black eye but her nose just swelled up on the side and that was about it. They have learned so much just in the few weeks that they have played. It was also the opening ceremonies for the summer games last week so we went to watch the fireworks. They were actually pretty good and Braxton loved them. I was worried that they would scare him but he just sat and watched in amazement. The girls invited Aunt Des to come and watch the fireworks and have a sleep over. Thanks Des for making their day!!! Friday we took them to St. George and did some shopping and swimming. It was a lot of fun and it was just what I needed. A little get-a-way with the kiddos. We are headed up to Logan on Thursday once again. I just can't get enough of that place! JD and Sarah are coming up from Iowa so we are really excited to see them. My mom says it has been raining up there for like two weeks straight so I hope it stops before we get there!!

Too Busy to Blog.....

2009-06-02T10:52:00.001-07:00

Snugglin' with Sissy!

Dad setting buddy up to watch T.V.

Well we have been having so much fun lately that I have been slacking a little on the blogging. We went to Logan for Memorial Day weekend and it was so much fun!! We did a lot of relaxing and hanging out with family and friends. Friday we rode the LTD bus up to Fredrico's for lunch and then walked to Aggie Ice Cream for dessert. The kids get such a kick out of riding the bus. Nancy came up to spend the day with us which was great. We even got my dad to ride the bus with us. Wish I would have got a picture of that! Meagan met us there and had lunch and ice cream with us. Then that night we were able to watch Takesha play softball. Her team is amazing!! I think they ended up winning the whole tournament. Saturday was a lazy day and we just hung out all day. Sunday we had a family bbq and my second family the Gittin's joined us. Dinner was followed up by a great game of wiffel ball and a bonfire with smores!!! It was just like old times! Man I miss it up there. We were even able to go to church there and it was great to be back in the ol' ward. It was a wonderful weekend.

The girls have started their softball and it is so fun to watch them. They do such a good job. It is machine pitch so they were a little intimidated at first but they got a hit every time they got up. Bailey plays short stop and Brinley plays second base. Can you tell they have a proud mom! It has been nice having the girls out of school and spending more time with them. We took them to Mesquite on Saturday swimming and I have a feeling we will be doing a lot of that this summer. This is also one of my favorite times of year not only because of summer but it is the College Softball World Series and man has this year been a blast!!! There has been some amazing games and it just reminds me how bad I want to attend it one year. I swear I will before I die. Anyways that is a long update on what we have been up to. Oh yeah....Braxton is still as cute as ever and it growing like a weed. He is our little man! Hope you are all doing great and enjoying your summer!

Summer is in the air!!

2009-05-13T11:20:00.001-07:00

Well we have been really busy the last few weeks but we have been busy having fun so I guess it has been a good thing. It was Desiree's birthday on the 7th so we headed to St. George for dinner. We left a little early and took the girls to this park..I guess that is what you would call it. Anyways it has fountains the kids can play in and also these little rivers and waterfalls. It was 95 degrees that day so it was a great day to cool off and have some fun. The girls loved it!! Of course we had to eat at Olive Garden while we were there to make Bay and Brin happy. Then on Saturday we headed to Mesquite. The girls went and got a pedicure and manicure which was heaven for me. Those of you that know me know I love getting my feet done up. It was also Patti's company party at the city pool so we went and swam Saturday afternoon. It was a blast! Sunday we just relaxed for Mother's day. After church Ryan and the girls made me waffles for breakfast. My favorite! But for the most part of the day we just sat around and relaxed. Ryan had training up in Salt Lake all this week so he left Sunday night and will be home Friday. So I have been a single mom all week! I have great kids so it has not been to bad other than we miss him like crazy. We are headed up to Logan next weekend again and this time Ryan is coming with us so it should be a lot of fun. I hope you all had a wonderful mothers day and I am so grateful for my mom and mom-in-law! They are both amazing women. Thanks mom for always being there for me through thick and thin! You are not only an amazing mom but one of my best friends! Love and miss ya lots!

Blessing Pictures

2009-05-05T12:49:00.001-07:00

Braxton's Blessing

2009-05-05T12:19:00.000-07:00

My heart is so full of gratitude to my Father in Heaven. I don't mean to get all churchy on you but I have had such a wonderful weekend and want to share my feelings. We blessed Braxton on Sunday and it made me reflect back on the road of getting him here. It was a rough one as most of you know. I am so grateful for the power of prayer and for all of you that prayed for us during that time. I can't imagine not having his special spirit in our home. We love him so much and he can always make us smile. The day went great and he behaved perfectly during his blessing. Ryan did such an amazing job and my kids are so lucky to have such a great dad! My mom and dad were able to come down and spend the weekend with us and it was so much fun. It is the first time my dad has been able to come so it really meant a lot to me to have them here. I wish my sister's and their families could have been there but I know they were thinking about us even though they were not able to come. Aaron was at a wedding in California so we missed him too. Ryan's parents, sister, and grandparents were also there to support us. It was such a great day! Of course Braxton looked as handsome as ever and the girls were so proud of their little brother. I am one of the luckiest people in the world to have such amazing kids and husband. I love my family(even my in-laws)and I am so grateful for their love and support in my life.

More PIcs from our trip

2009-04-28T19:23:00.000-07:00

I love my Shak!!

What is my mom doing?

Nancy and Braxton

Just the Four of Us!!

2009-04-28T19:08:00.000-07:00

Well as I said me and the kiddo's headed to Logan for the weekend. I was really doubting myself wondering what the heck I was thinking driving there all by myself with the kids. But they all were so great!! We did not have to stop once on the way there or the way home! Braxton did so amazing!! I just made sure I fed and changed him right before we left and it seemed to work. My girls were nothing but help and did not whine once the whole time. So thanks to my kids!! We had so much fun but also were very busy. We had stuff going on every second we were there. I was able to watch Kiah play softball. She is such a great player and has a lot of potential. The girls were able to get together with a couple of their friends which was great for them. We also were able to watch Bug play soccer. Man I miss all these activities! It was Misty's fam first time seeing little Braxton and of course they thought he was as handsome as ever. It was also my dad's first time and it was the cutest thing ever. Braxton just grinned from ear to ear when my dad started talking to him. Meagan taught all the kids the hoe down throw down off the Hannah Montana movie and it was hilarious! I almost have it down now because my kids do it about 20 times a night. Nancy came up on Saturday and we had a cook out and watched the Jazz game. Which was not so great! All in all it was so much fun to see everyone! I ran into so many people that I had not seen for a while and it was so good for me to be able to talk and visit with them. To sum it all up it was a blast!!

Weekend in St. George

2009-04-21T14:29:00.000-07:00

Well we had another busy weekend. Mindy and the gang came down to St. George for Texie's dance competition. They stopped by our house on Thursday on their way through. It was great to see them. I could not believe how big Tyker seemed to me. We took them to Discovery Park which did not go so well because it was freezing!! So we did not get to stay very long. Then on Friday I took the girls down and let them swim at their hotel and we took them to climb on the rocks in St. George.(I have no idea what that place is called) Saturday we were able to watch Texie dance. She just amazes me! She was definitely meant to dance and is very good at it. I am so proud of her because she is quite shy but she becomes a new person out there while she is dancing. It was a lot of fun! To top the weekend off we bought a new car. Well new for us! It is a 2003 Honda Pilot and I love it! We really lucked out because it has had only one owner which was an older couple so it has very low miles and is in incredible condition. We can finally all fit safely in one car! I don't have any pics right now but I will post one soon! So thanks Mindy and Fam for the fun weekend! Great job Texie! We love you and are so proud of you! Now this weekend we are headed to Logan to visit the crew up there. I can't wait to see everyone!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-13T19:01:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful and relaxing Easter. We just stayed out home and hung out together. We convinced the girls to wait and gather up all their treats from the Easter bunny after church so that we could sleep in a little bit longer. It was Braxton's first big outing to church. He did awesome and was a very good baby. Hopefully he stays that way. I have to teach in Relief Society on Sunday so I hope he behaves for his dad?? Then the rest of the day we stuffed our faces with Easter candy. It was great! Braxton had his 4 week check up today and believe it or not he is growing like a weed! He weighs 10 lbs 14 oz, 22 1/2 inches long, 15 1/2 inches for his head. So he jumped from being in the 40-50% to being in the 70-80%!! The doc said he is well rounded though and in perfect proportion. He is getting more alert and staying awake more which makes it fun for me. He does have thrush in his mouth though so he is on some meds for that. It moved from his bottom to his mouth! Other than that he is very healthy! I hope you all had a very happy and fun Easter!

Easter Egg Time!

2009-04-09T18:30:00.000-07:00

Braxton coloring his eggs!

Bay hard at work

Brin's golden egg

The kids colored their Easter eggs today and it was blast! Brin got so excited about it so I guess she forgot already how fun it was. The first thing they asked when we got done was when we were going to go roll them down the hill. This will be our first big holiday not being at home(Logan) so it really makes me miss my fam. We normally dye our eggs and roll them down old main hill so Brin decided that the small slant in our yard would work in place of Old main. It made me laugh! Braxton pretty much slept through the whole activity so Ryan and I did his for him. We have a lot of fun stuff planned for this weekend that I am excited about. We are headed to St. George tomorrow to get the kids pictures taken at Kiddie Kandids and to look at new cars. We are a little to big for our little Honda now so we are trying to find something a little bigger. I love the Honda Pilot so we have been looking at them. We will see!!! Then on Saturday we are having a girls day out. Me and Des(Ryan's sis) are taking the girls to the new Hannah Montana movie and to lunch. Also they have a easter egg hunt Saturday morning at the park so we are taking the girls to that as well. It should be a great and busy weekend!

Gotta Love It!!!

2009-04-07T17:30:00.001-07:00

I just love conference weekend for a number of reasons. The best is being able to lounge around all day and not get ready. No not really but that definitely is a plus. I love all the many great reminders we get on what we can do better in life. It never ceases to amaze me how right on the apostles and leaders of the church are on what we members need to hear and be reminded of. I don't remember who it was but they talked on change and how it is essential for our growth as members of the church and how those changes are meant to help us progress in our lives. Yeah....that talk was for me. It just re-affirmed my thoughts that this is where I am supposed to be and I will be able to help those around me here in Cedar in ways that I don't know yet. Conference also reminded how much I miss being able to look out a window and see the temple. It has been a while since we have been able to go so I am so excited to get back at it and go to a new temple that I have not been in before. We definitely took for granted having the temple so close. Now that we have to travel a little bit hopefully will help us realized how lucky we were and how important it is for us to go regularly. Well I could go on and on but once again it was another amazing conference and once again gives us that excitement and reminders on how to be better people. One of my good friends from up north stopped by for a visit too. I miss her so much and was so glad to see her. Her family is just adorable and provided us with a few laughs in the short time they were here. Thanks Brooke for stopping by and taking the time to come see us. It was so great to see you!!

Where's Braxton??

2009-04-01T18:26:00.000-07:00

Well I had a small scare the other night. Bailey a.k.a Blondie Mommie was holding her brother as usual while I was doing some stuff on the computer. Well she thinks she is like 20 so she thinks she has to walk around with him. So I get up and she is not where I left her. So I went in her room and she was there laying on her bed but no baby??? So I asked her,"Where is your brother." Well she just gets a big grin on her face! By this time I am not thinking this is very funny. Well as you can see in the picture she put him in her closet!!!! She was so proud of herself because she said she made him a little bed and he loved it in there. Thank goodness she did not shut the door on him and was smart enough to leave it open. I was so mad I did not even know what to do or say so all I could do was laugh. Needless to say she is monitored a lot closer now when she has her brother and she promised she would never put him in her closet again!!!

The Stats are in.........

2009-03-26T14:24:00.001-07:00

Braxton had his two week check up today and he is doing fine minus a few minor problems. He has yeast infection and has not figured out how to poop yet. I was worried because he would scream so hard and his face would go bright red but when he finally was productive it was not hard or anything so I could not figure it out. So come to find out it is normal for babies because they squeeze their bum together and tense up instead of lettin' it out. The doc says he will start to figure it out soon so not to worry. So other than that he is doing great and is still as cute as ever. Here are his official results:

Weight: 8# 14 oz. 53%
Height: 21 1/4 in. 71%
Head circ: 14 1/2 in. 44%

So he is definitely growing and will probably be a chunk before we know it. The nurses go on and on about his hair and they have all said he has big feet. Hopefully that means he is going to be an athlete!!!

Straight from Heaven!

2009-03-23T10:39:00.000-07:00

Well I have been very humbled having this new handsome young man in my life. I forgot how precious babies are. I never thought I could love anything or anyone more than I do this baby. I know I have said this a thousand times but he is such a blessing to us. He already is such a good baby and can always bring a smile to our faces. The girls are just in heaven and always say they have the cutest brother in the world. It is so fun to watch Ryan with him. He is very proud and is already such a great dad to him and an amazing husband!! He always is asking what he can do to help and doing everything he can to help when he is home. He even gets up in the middle of the night with him. I am so grateful for him and all his help. I am used to doing everything on my own and it is so nice to have someone there to help and support me. The first 4-5 days were a little rough. We did not sleep at all Wednesday night, a little bit Thursday night, and Braxton was up all night Friday so needless to say by Saturday we were pretty frazzled!!! We were both pretty overwhelmed. Thankfully the next two nights he slept really well. I am so grateful that my mom was here all week to help me because I needed her company. I thought once Braxton was here I would be a little better about being away from home but I have now decided it is worse. It is so hard for me to be away from my fam and all my friends!! I miss everyone so much and wish they could see Braxton!! My husband said he is sorry that I am so sad but he is not moving back to Logan to make me happy. I know this is where we need to be but it is really hard for me to accept that right now. I guess I need to fix my attitude and make the most of it. But I know that Braxton is here for a reason and everything worked out for that same reason so I could not be more grateful for that. We love you Braxton!!!!!

Our Special Delivery!

2009-03-15T18:35:00.001-07:00

Braxton Ryan Hess

2009-03-15T18:05:00.000-07:00

Our special little bundle arrived on March 12, 2009 at 9:58 a.m. He was 8 pounds 8 ounces and 20 1/2 inches long. He is a healthy and happy baby! He has dark curly hair which I just love. He was bound to have curly hair given his parents background. He is been such a blessing already and we love him more than anything. He has two big sisters who just can't get enough of him. Needless to say he is a very loved little boy. He is still trying to figure out his nights and days but he is getting better. He has a very proud daddy!

Baby Magic Hunt

2009-03-03T12:39:00.000-08:00

Alright....I am not very happy that the very best baby lotion on the earth is not available anymore!! I don't understand!!! So I need your help. If any of you know where I can get the Baby Magic Original Baby lotion(Not soft baby scent) I will love you forever!! I cannot find any online except for on E-baby and they are selling them for like $30 a bottle! You can apparently get them somewhere because they are buying and selling them on E-bay so I have got to find them. I don't know if it is just a Utah thing and maybe they sell it in other states still or what. So if any of you find some I would love if you could snatch it up for me and I would gladly send some money plus a tip for the trouble!!! (Cheaper than $30 a bottle) I am running out of time and did not realize I could not just buy it at the store. I can not convince myself to put the Johnson and Johnson on my little guy because it is just not the same!

Happy Valentines Day!!!

2009-02-18T14:21:00.001-08:00

I hope you all enjoyed your Valentines Day. I know I did!! Both my Sisters families were here and it was such a blast! We had a full house but it was a lot of fun. So much fun that I did not get any pictures. Bug had a soccer tournament in St. George so they just stayed here with us. She played awesome and they took first in the tournament. It is so much fun to watch her team play because they play so well together as a team for their age. So we spent all day Saturday and Monday watching her. Sunday we all just hung out at my house and played some Rock Band and watched movies. Shakiah brought her friend Whitney so we had a lot of fun!! Needless to say I have not done that much for a long time so Monday night I went to bed at like 8:00!!! Really unusual for me! I am so glad they came down and it was so fun to see them all. The only bad thing is they brought the Cache Valley weather with them so it was not very warm!! One of my best friends(Nicci) stopped by on Thursday on her way to St. George and it was so fun to see her, her hubby, and cute little Brin. I love her to death and look up to them both so much!!! They are great people and hope that she will be back to visit again when it is a little warmer. So my weekend was packed full of great visitors and fun times!! Thanks guys for coming down to visit. I love you all and miss you even more!!!

Thank you MOM & Mindy!!!!

2009-02-05T10:31:00.001-08:00

How could I forget to show you the most adorable wrag-time quilts that my mom made for our little guy.(And Mindy helped out a lot too!) I am so excited with how they turned out and can't wait to wrap him up in them!

Baby Photos

2009-02-05T08:29:00.000-08:00

Cute baby Braxton with his arm in his face!

Yes, he has a big nose like his daddy! But isn't he handsome!

Weekend Full of Family

2009-02-05T08:11:00.000-08:00

The Girls and Grandma

Grandma Hess, Me, Brin, Emily(Desiree's Roomate), and Aunt Des

Grandpa enjoying the game!

Brin and Des

Once again we had such a great weekend and week so far. Of course we had a Super Bowl party with Ryan's family. It was so much fun! We had sandwiches and snackies but the game was a little upsetting. I was really cheering for the underdogs. At least it was a good game and not a blow out. Then my mom came down Monday night and just left this morning. It was so much fun to have her here. We had our days full of activities which mostly consisted of shopping. We went to St. George on Tuesday and found her some cute birthday outfits. She was just loving the warm weather. We sat outside on the porch both days and just let the kids ride their bikes. It was so nice!!! So thank you mom for making my week!! We love you lots! Then we went to our doc on Tuesday as well and got nothing but amazing news!! Our baby boy is doing awesome and growing quickly. He is 5 pounds 5 ounces already so now they have pushed his due date up to the 14th instead of the 19. All good with me!!! She could not see any sign of a tear on my placenta so it has completely healed over and no blood clot!!!! I was so excited I could have cried. Once again something to keep my testimony growing. I know the Lord does look after us and answers our prayers! So I could not be happier with my week. I thought these pictures were so cute of him(I am hoping Braxton) but yes his nose is huge. She said he is really close to the surface so it is really smushed but he looks just like his daddy!!

Getting Comfy.....

2009-01-27T10:40:00.001-08:00

Well I am slowly adjusting to the fact that I really do live here. For some reason my brain keeps thinking that I will be going back home but this is home now. It amazes me how much closer we are as a family. Grant you we just hang out with each other every night but we spend more quality time together as a family. I really feel like one of the luckiest gals around. I have an amazing husband and two amazing kids who I love more than anything. The Lord has definitely blessed us in more ways than one. All the trials and struggles we have gone through to get where we are today have made us the people that we are. I am getting in to a routine and starting to feel a little more comfortable being here. We were able to go to the USU vs. SUU gymnastic meet lastnight and it was a lot of fun. The girls thought it was the greatest thing ever. We also ran into one of Ryan's old friends from Mesquite who used to live in Logan and now they are in Enoch. Which is right by us so now we know of a great family we can get together with which I am really excited about. They are really fun and great people. We were also able to spend last Saturday with the Hess's which is always great. Patti and I went and had our pedicure and let me tell you it was heaven. My feet were in desperate need of one. Then we cooked out on the grill and just had a great time together. It was like 67 degrees so we just enjoyed the beautiful weather and let the girls run around at the park. We go to our new doctor here on Thursday which I am extremely nervous about but I will let you know the update on our little guy then. He is still kicking his mom's butt and Ryan thinks he is trying to tell us to let him out of there. I hope that is not the case at least not for 5-6 weeks!

Pics. Continued....

2009-01-19T15:13:00.000-08:00

Party at Cold Stone!!

Bay and Shak

Lunch with the gals

Our little Aggies!

Our Visit to Logan

2009-01-19T14:57:00.001-08:00

Wow!! What a fun weekend we had for our first visit back to Logan. We arrived there late Thursday night and were greeted by my sister Mindy and all her kids. They came running out the door to give us hugs. It was great!! I missed them A LOT! The girls had a sleep over at the Neal's that night. Then Friday Mindy and I took all the kids to spend the day at the fun park. They roller skated, played lazer tag, and played in the soft play. They had so much fun and did not ever want to leave. We went to lunch at Grist Mill!..one of my favs, and headed to the doc. Baby is still doing great and we are only two months away. I am more than ready for him to be here. I am done being sick everyday and just want him here to play with. That night all my family went to dinner at Hamilton's while the kids stayed home with Shak and had a pizza party of their own. It was delicious!! I am still a fan of Copper Mill though. Saturday was a busy day. We started it bright and early with the girls doing a cheer camp up at Utah State. We watched Taydem play basketball which was so fun. He does such an awesome job!! Then I went to lunch with all of my favorite friends from the hospital. It was so great to see them because I have not seen them for a while. Then my mom, Mindy, and I were off to the fabric store so I could find some cute fabric for my mom to make a baby wrag time quilt. Which we did. My mom is so amazing. She can honestly sew one in like two days. So I am going to make her sew a couple!! Then that night we went to the basketball game. It was a sold out game so as most of you know it is one of the funnest things ever. The girls danced at half time and did great. Of course we won and it was a really fun game to be at. After the game we headed to Cold Stone for ice cream. And ended the night with Tyker falling at cold stone and cutting his lip open and having to have 3 stitches in his lip. I hated for the weekend to come to an end but it was such a fun trip!! Thanks to my fam for making it so fun and spending time with us. I can't wait for you guys to come down here where it is much warmer!!!!

Photo OVERLOAD!!

2009-01-12T08:57:00.001-08:00

HELLO from Cedar!!!

2009-01-12T08:01:00.001-08:00

Well things are finally starting to calm down for us here in Cedar. Our internet is finally working so now I can get back into the blogging world. So far things are great here in Cedar. I have only had one break down so I think I am doing pretty good. The girls just love it!! They think school is great, they love our house, and love our ward. Which has made the adjustment a little easier on me because I was worried about them. It hasn't even effected them at all. Ryan is in heaven with his job. He loves the people he works with and loves to feel important. They gave him his own office(with a window..his words), a new laptop, a new phone, and a company credit card. I know all of you are laughing but he is so funny. He says he feels like a big kid now. We really have been so blessed. All those years of sacrifice and being poor have paid off. School is definitely worth it!!! Now for me. I am SOOOO bored I don't know what to do with myself. I am not used to sitting home all day and it does not help that I don't know ANYBODY!! I miss my family more than words can describe! I love them all so much and have now realized to never take things for granted because I just thought they would always be right there so now that I just can't go see them or talk to them its hard. We are coming up to Logan this weekend and I can't wait to give all my cute neices and nephews a great big hug!!! I have tonz of pictures to post so I am sorry for the overload. So all is well in Cedar and I hope everything is going great for all of you. I miss you all and hope to see some of you while we are in town! Here are some pics of our house. I don't have any of girl's rooms or the master bedroom and bath because they were still a mess.

It's Official!!!

2008-12-08T06:48:00.000-08:00

Well I have some great news..... I think?? Ryan got his job in Cedar City so we are going to be moving sometime this month!! I am really excited for him but also really overwhelmed by everything. I love my job and hate to leave but now I will get to stay home with the baby which will be really nice. I am so proud of Ryan because he has worked his butt off to get to where he is now. I was telling him that I have been praying that this day would get here our whole marriage and now that it is here I am not sure I am ready for it!!! I am really sad about moving away from my family and will miss them more than I can say. I have learned to never take advantage of always having them around!! Thank goodness we are only 4 hours away so I am sure I will be up to visit A LOT!!! I hope they will come visit me as well. We have so many great friends in Logan and will miss them a lot too. So if any of you are looking for a job, mine is awesome!! Great money, great hours, and a great company to work for. We will miss you all and will be back to visit!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

2008-11-29T07:23:00.000-08:00

Meag and Tanner Rockin' out!

Shakiah and Tyker

Helping Granps put up lights

Bay strikin' a pose!!

Ryan and Brin making muffins.

It seems so crazy to me that it is the end of November already!! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We started our day off with a yummy breakfast. Ryan and Brin made muffins, while Bay made sausage and hashbrowns, and I attempted to help Bay. Which I was not of much help. I was trying to rip open the hash brown bag and as you can imagine the majority of them ended up on the floor. Mika and Rex really enjoyed that though.(My mom's dogs.) Then we helped my Dad get all their Christmas lights and decorations set up in the yard. They look great!!! I just love this time of year. Then we all headed out to Misty's for dinner. It was absolutely delicious and of course I ate way too much. The party then traveled back to my mom's house and we all hung out and played some Rock Band. Tanner, Sanda, and Meagan also joined us for the party. We even got my mom on the drums!! We had my husband and Jason dancing around the front room and Tyker made sure that everyone was watching him bust his moves on the dance floor. It was so much fun and just made me realize how grateful I am for my family. We have always been so close and always have so much fun together. I love them all so much!!! I hope you all had a wonderful and happy turkey day!!!!

Our Baby Boy!

2008-11-18T15:53:00.001-08:00

Yeah!! Pictures

2008-11-17T15:57:00.001-08:00

It's a BOY!!!!!!!

2008-10-31T09:21:00.000-07:00

I am so sorry I just can not keep up with this blogging thing lately. Well we went to the Doc this week and got wonderful news. We are having a baby boy!! I am so excited and of course the girls and Ryan are as well. I was honestly perma-grin all day after we found out. The blood clot looks about the same so I still have to be careful and pray that we make it through this. I tell you what this boy is a fighter and is all over the place. I am really getting nervous for when he gets bigger because he is moving constantly. I guess that is a good thing though. We have been really busy this last little bit. The girls did the Little Grizz Cheer camp and looked adorable! Of course we carved our pumpkins for Halloween with our friends the Halls which was a lot of fun. I promise I will post some new pictures this weekend. I hope??? Ryan's family is coming up this weekend so we will be busy. Nancy is coming up today to spend Halloween with the kids. MY mom has turned her porch into a spook alley so it is really fun for them. Anyways just a quick update for you all and I will see what I can do this weekend on pictures!!

Happy Fall

2008-10-01T19:44:00.000-07:00

This is my favorite time of year in Cache Valley. The leaves have started to change and it is so pretty up in the mountains. We took a family trip up Maple Rise in Wellsville and got some great pictures. Everything is still going good for us. Baby is doing great and we now don't have to go back for 5 weeks. Which is when we get to find out what we are having. We are so excited and have all placed our bets. Me and Bay say boy. Ry and Brin say girl. So we will see who's right. We will take whatever we can get as long as it is healthy. This whole thing has been a growing experience for all of us. It is true that our trials only make us stronger!! I am loving my new job and being able to spend more time with the girls. Ryan school is going great and he has a job interview in Cedar City so we will see what happens. I would love to stay in the valley but we will go wherever he can get a job.

Slacking as usual!!!

2008-09-18T11:46:00.000-07:00

Alright I am really not doing a great job on this blogging thing. I will get better. As I said last time Bailey got baptized a couple weeks ago and it was so special. Ryan did such an awesome job, of course, and Bailey was just glowing. It was beautiful weather, all our family and friends were there, and a bunch of Bailey's friends came which was really sweet! It was a very special day for all of us. We have some more exciting news in our family. We are FINALLY having a baby. The little one is due in March and we are so excited. We have had a little scare because I started having some problems and thought I had lost it. Went to the Doc and I have a placenta tear which has caused me to have a huge blood clot in my uterus. So they told us I was at high risk to loose it and that they could not do anything other than I have to stop doing everything I love to do. Which would include softball, volleyball, exercising(which I don't care for anyway). So I just have to sit on my butt and read books. When we first found out about it, it was really scary and they were not really certain on anything. We went back this week and it is already getting smaller but is still good in size. Baby is doing great and just going crazy in there. So those of you that have been praying for us THANK YOU and keep it up. Those of you that haven't please start!!! I will post some pictures tonight!!

Catch up Photos!

2008-08-27T20:32:00.001-07:00

Wow, its been a while!!!!

2008-08-27T19:38:00.001-07:00

Well I must admit life has been a bit crazy the last little bit for us. I started a new job and I am loving it. I am working at Wescor with my sister. It is a bit of a change to go from nursing to secretary work but it is great money and no weekends and holidays which is the best part. Besides the fact that I don't work nights anymore!!!! HOORAY! I thought the day would never come! But I do miss all my girls from the hospital. I love them to death!
So here is the low down on what we have done the last month. We have been camping, boating,my adorable neice got baptized(even though I was puking my guts out all day), and Bailey had a birthday. I can't believe she is 8 years old already. She is getting baptized next Saturday so we are really excited. She has such a special spirit and is so much fun for us to have. They have both started school. Brin babes is in First grade and has done awesome with the adjustment from half day to all day. She loves it and thinks it is so cool she gets to eat lunch. Bailey is in third grade and loves her teacher. Ryan went back to school this week so the countdown is on. Needless to say our lives are pretty hectic right now. Wish us luck and I promise I will try and keep updated on this blog thing!

My Husbands Post

2008-07-24T17:43:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to clarify the video that Ryan added to our blog. I figured he would at least write a little something to explain the video but no he just put the video. So I will give you a little background. Ryan and his friend Ben decided they wanted to go to the Rocky Mountain Revue. It was honestly like Christmas for them two. They were perma-grin from the time they decided to do it until the day actually arrived. They were able to watch Jaycee Carroll play and they saw a lot of former Aggies and present Aggies there to support him. Such as Spencer Nelson, Nate Harris, and Gary Wilkinson. They went at 10 o'clock in the morning and did not get home until after 11. So they were there all day long. The game that he has the video from is when the Iranian Olympic team played the Jazz. It was on KJAZZ and as you can see they made it on t.v. a couple of times. So they are really proud of themselves. They had a lot of fun and it was definitely worth the money and the trip!!

Men's Day

2008-07-23T18:11:00.001-07:00

Shout out to the Sparks!!

2008-07-17T15:10:00.001-07:00

We finally have our finished product of the boys remake of Sabotage that they produced while JD, Sara, and Rocco were visiting. Nick is on the drums, Cole is the guitarist, and JD is on the mic. I must admit Rock Band is just not the same without Jon!!!!

P.S. Pause the music on our blog so you can really get the full effect of Jon's wonderful voice!

Sabotage Video

2008-07-17T15:08:00.001-07:00

More Boating Pictures

2008-07-17T10:33:00.000-07:00

Our Boating Trip

2008-07-17T10:21:00.001-07:00

Once again I have really been slacking on my blog. We are all doing great and enjoying the summer. We have kept very busy. We have gone to Bear Lake, Lagoon, and of course the Logan pool several times. Meagan took us boating the other day and it was such a blast!! We had so much fun and are so glad that she took us. Bailey attempted to water ski but that didn't turn out so hot! She couldn't keep her ski's together but now I learned that there are ties that you can hook them together with so we will try again. But the first time she tried, after many times of telling her to make sure she let go of the rope if she fell, failed to let go and let the boat drag her for quite a while before she finally decided to let go. It made me a little nervous and needless to say after that I had to beg her to try one more time and that was all she would do. Of course after that none of the other kids wanted to try either. Mindy and I both rode the tubes and put on the old skiis. I must say I am getting much older because I definitely could not ski as long as I used to be able to and my arms hurt so bad the next day I could have cried. But it was such a fun day!! So thanks Meag for taking us and for the good time!!!

World's Greatest Dad

2008-06-15T11:14:00.000-07:00

Well of course we all think that we have the greatest Dad's but I truly am so grateful for my dad and also what an amazing dad my wonderful husband is. I am so grateful for him and everything he does for our family. He is such a special person and really is World's Greatest Dad!! I love him so much and so do his kids. I asked each of them why they thought Ryan was the best dad and this was their responses.

Brinley.....I like to jump on the tramp with him. I like to snuggle with him. I like that he is a good dad. We like to go on bike rides. I love you daddy!!

Bailey.....He helps me learn the gospel. I just think he is the greatest daddy in the world. I love him to infinity and beyond!! I am thankful for him because he goes to work so he can take care of me.

It was fun for me to hear their responses and quite impressed with some of the things they said.

I think Ryan is a good dad because he sincerely cares for our girls. He is also a very active dad and is always finding fun things to do with them. As a lot of you know he is a very spiritual person and has taught all of us so many things. I feel the same way towards my own dad. He is so laid back and can always make me laugh. He has helped me overcome many trials in my life and has always been there to support us. So I love you both and I hope you have a HAPPY HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!!!

Farewell David Family

2008-06-12T14:23:00.000-07:00

I am sad to admit that Jon will be leaving in a couple of days and Sarah and Rocco a week after that. We have had such a fun time with them. It was great to see Rocco for the first time. What a handsome man he is!! Kathryn planned a little get together for Jon's birthday which was great. It reminded me of the good old days. We had a bbq and then everyone came to our house for some Rockband. I have never laughed so hard in my life. Back in the day they recorded themselves in their undies pretending to be in a band so we were hoping to get a remix of that. As you can see in the one picture Jon did take his shirt off but that's the closest we got. It has just made me realize how grateful I am for our friends. Even though they are far away they hold a special place in our hearts. So thanks to Jon, Sarah, and Rocco for the last couple of weeks. It has been so much fun to spend time with you guys!

Ol' Hood Reunion

2008-06-12T14:22:00.001-07:00

Bus Adventure

2008-06-12T14:03:00.000-07:00

What a fun day we had!!! We started it off with a ward party which was fun and had great food! Then we took the kids to First Dam and let them feed the ducks. From there we went to Ryan's Place Park which is a playground that some parents built in honor of their son that passed away. It is a really neat park and has lots of fun things. Then after that we all rode the LTD bus up to Aggie Ice Cream for an ice cream cone and then home again. It was a long but adventurous day!!

School & Soccer Come to an End

2008-06-01T21:16:00.001-07:00

Well I have so much to catch up on. The weekend of Memorial Day Ryan's family came up and we had a blast. We met up with Keven's family at the Logan Cemetery and then went to Keven's sisters house for lunch. The girls had so much fun because Ryan's cousin Joel has adopted three of the cutest little boys and the girls just adore them so they were in heaven. And I must admit I was as well. Then we went to the Plymouth, Clarkston, and Orem cemetery to see all of Ryan's great grandparents graves. It was a lot of fun to hear the stories his mom and dad had to tell about them. Sunday we went to Aaron and Tracey's house for dinner and to visit. Tracey fixed a yummy dinner that she was used to having back home in Zimbabwe. She made Yorkshire pudding which was my favorite!!! It was so good!!! I am a picky eater and I loved it. We hated to see them all go home but were grateful for all the fun we had together. I have been a little stressed out with life lately so it was just what I needed. Then that Wednesday the girls had their last soccer game. I was sad to see it end. They have just loved playing this year and we have loved watching them. School has also come to an end for Bailey now as well. They had a little play in their class on Thursday which was just adorable. She just loved her teacher this year and was sad to leave the last day. But we are definitely ready for summer!!!!

Memorial Day Weekend

2008-06-01T21:15:00.001-07:00

Citizenship Award

2008-05-22T19:31:00.000-07:00

We are so proud of our little Brinley. Their last day of kindergarten was yesterday and they had an assembly for the whole school last night. They gave out awards in each class and each grade. We received a letter in the mail that said Brinley would be getting and award so we were excited to see what was going on. Well she recieved the Citizenship award for being the best helper to her teachers and her friends. We were really excited for her. She is such a good kid and is very kind to her friends at school. We love her so much!! I can't believe she is going to be in first grade! They gave her a cute little certificate and took her picture with her teacher and principal. She was very shy at first. She kept saying," Mom, I hope they don't call my name next." Well the time came and she did finally go up with a little coaxing by her dad.

Good Job Texie

2008-05-22T19:18:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday we were able to go and watch Texie's Dance Review for her last time of the year. We had a great time and we are so proud of her. She is an amazing dancer and is about the smallest person in her group. It was so fun to watch her! So good job Texie!! We are so proud of you!!!!!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

2008-05-11T11:46:00.001-07:00

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!!!

2008-05-11T11:09:00.000-07:00

Well I don't know about all of you but I have had a wonderful Mother's Day today. My kids made me the cutest little gifts and didn't know why mom was crying. They are so sweet and I feel priveledged to be their mom. Brinley made me a cute little pillow that has her handprint on it and Bailey wrote me a note and made a handprint poem. Her letter was so cute and I know you probably can't read it on the picture so here is what it says," Dear Mom, You are special because I love you so much more than a house. My favorite thing about you is you give me hugs and kisses and tuck me into bed. Thank you for everything you gave me and I love you so much. Love, Baily" It was so sweet!!!! I just love my kids to death and can't imagine my life without them. Which also brought to my attention what an amazing mom I have!! I would not be where I am today if it wasn't for her. She has helped me through so many trials in my life and helped me become the mom I am today. So I love you so much Mom and thank you for everything you have done for me and my family. Happy Mother's Day to all of you, too. I am grateful for all your friendships and love looking at your blogs and seeing your cute families! You are all great mom's or someday will be!!!

Spring has Sprung....I think?

2008-05-07T15:56:00.000-07:00

Well anyone who has lived in Cache Valley knows that the weather here changes daily. In the last couple of weeks we have had 70 degree weather, to a complete blizzard and waking up to snow on the ground. But I think we are finally warming up! Those of you that know me know I love the sun and hot weather so I just can't wait for summer!! The girls are done with school on May 30th and I just can't believe how fast time flies.

Tyker Trouble

2008-05-07T14:56:00.000-07:00

I have to say I love my nephew to death. He is so funny and can always make me laugh. He just had a birthday and so last week Mindy and I went shopping for him. We had looked at a bunch of clothes and then some toys and went to check out. Well while Mindy was loading everything on the register she pulled out this shirt and had no idea where it came from. Well as you can guess it was something Tyker had added to his gifts. The part that makes it so funny is what the shirt says!! If you can't read it on the picture it say," I'm definitely up to something!" It just fit the moment perfectly. So thanks Tyk for always making us laugh and HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY!!!!!

Pizza Anyone?

2008-04-25T16:36:00.000-07:00

The other night for dinner we decided to do something fun with the girls. It was actually Ryan's idea so I wont take credit for it. We bought stuff to make our own personal pizza's and just let the girls do their thing. They thought it was great that they got to make everything by themselves. It was a lot of fun and a great family activity!!

GOAL!!!!!

2008-04-25T16:33:00.001-07:00

Spring Soccer

2008-04-18T09:58:00.000-07:00

Well soccer has officially begun!! I am really excited that it is finally warming up here in Cache Valley. Bay and Brin had their first soccer game on Wednesday. It was hilarious as usual. They have goalies this year which they did not have last year. So Bailey played goalie the second half of the game. We apparentely need to practice drop kicks because the first time she tried she kicked it up over her ahead and almost in her goal. She caught it and then tried again but this time it went all the way over her goal behind her. It gave every one a good laugh. Bailey scored a goal and was the only one on her team to score. Brin is just funny. She is so small compared to all the other kids but she holds her own ground. Her face is always so determined and they are both really aggressive. I love it!! They are so fun to watch. Brin is feeling much better and goes back to the doc next week to make sure her ear drum has healed. Ryan has finals next week and he is so ready to be done with school and start working full time. Then all we have is one more semester!!! YEAH!

Slacking on the Job

2008-04-08T14:20:00.000-07:00

Alright so I really have been slacking on my blog! We had a crazy week last week with Brinley being sick. She has a ruptured ear drum and strep throat...again!! I took her to insta-care last Tuesday becuase she woke up with all this nasty stuff draining out of her ear. The whole side of her face was covered in it. So they told me that she had so much fluid and crap in her ear that they could not even see her ear drum. Assuming it had ruptured they put her on amoxicillin and gave her some eardrops with a steroid and antibiotic in it. Well I have had my kids to the doctor enough with ear aches that I know I do not like amoxicillin! It does nothing for them but of course I am just a mom so what do I know. By Thursday she was still feeling yucky and her ear was still draining like crazy! I called her normal pediatrician and he said to bring her in. So back to the Doc we went and she did have a large hole in her ear drum and definitely needed to be on a stronger medication. What do ya know??? So he put her on augmentin and she is finally getting better I think. We have to go back in a week to make sure the hole has healed back over. So we are praying for that!!! Friday night Ryan had an Elders Quorum party and that was the first time she had been out in the big world all week. So she was thrilled to see all her friends! It was a fun night and it was good to get out of the house!!

Happy Easter!!!

2008-03-23T17:58:00.000-07:00

We had a lot of fun this Easter. I made pink pancakes for breakfast on Saturday morning and tried to make them look like eggs but that did not work so great but they were still fun. Then we spent the day at the park. Ryan and I have started a new sport....tennis! I know it is scary but we are getting the hang of it. Sparks maybe by the time you come visit we can give you a run for your money. Actually we might need some lessons from a pro. Anyways then we dyed our easter eggs. Of course we had to buy sports one's!! Then Sunday morning we woke up early and had a little Easter hunt for the girls. It was quite cold so they zoomed through it rather quickly. Then we read the Easter story and we have a little set of eggs that tell the story of Easter and each egg has something that represents the scripture. It is really fun for the kids but yet they learn at the same time. Then we were off to church. After that we had our annual Easter dinner at my moms and her easter egg hunt. The kids just love it. We finished it up with going to Old Main Hill and rolling the eggs down. Tyker was hilarious!! He really caught some speed going down that hill and couldn't stop himself. It was a great weekend and a good opportunity to reflect on the life of our savior and the sacrifice he made for each of us. So HAPPY EASTER to you all!!!

Vacationing in Mesquite

2008-03-19T15:07:00.002-07:00

We just had an amazing weekend!!! We left for Mesquite last wednesday and got home Tuesday morning. It was so much fun I don't even know where to begin. I'll start by saying it was warm and sunny!! Which was the best part. The girls were in heaven! Along with me as well. They just wanted to be outside. As soon as we got to Grandma and Grandpa's house they went straight to the backyard. We pretty much just relaxed and hung out. We went swimming which the girls love. The pool's were a little too cold because obviously they are not heated so we pretty much just hung out in the hot tub. I spent most of my time sitting on the side watching. We took the girls to the park a couple of the days and I just read my book while they played. Of course we had our traditional manicure and pedicure party. Bay and Brin even got their nails done this time. Keven (Ryan's dad) is in the High Council so he was speaking on Sunday so we were able to go and hear him. He gave an amazing talk on service. It was a good reminder to all of us. I have always known he was a special person but being there and hearing his testimony and seeing the reactions of those people in that ward made it more real to me. I love him to death!! I am grateful that they have excepted us with open arms into their family. We had a bonfire one night and cooked smores. It was a little difficult finding fire wood but we finally got our hands on some. I think the girls cooked about 20 marshmallows and ate maybe two of those. Between passing them around to everyone else and burning a few. I remember when I was little that the funnest part was just cooking them not eating them. Needless to say when Monday rolled around I really was dragging my feet to come home. It was a wonderful week!! A little peice of heaven on earth for me. I am already planning my next trip back. So thanks Keven, Patti, and Des for a fabulous week full of fun in the sun!!!! Check out our pictures below!!

Heaven on Earth

2008-03-19T15:07:00.001-07:00

Rascal Flatts

2008-03-08T16:04:00.000-08:00

Last night we had a little girls night out and went to the Rascal Flatts Concert. Kellie Pickler from American Idol opened for them. I really liked her and she sang some really good songs. It was so much fun. We went down to Salt Lake early and went to dinner at P.F. Chang's. My favorite!!! Our waiter was a little bizarre and a flirt who liked to talk to us way to much! Then we went shopping at Gateway. It was a nice little get away. My friend Nicci got our tickets for us and she did an awesome job. We were on row 14...in the lower bowl!!! They had two stages so the one stage was right in front of us. It was a blast. My sister Misty and my niece Shakiah also went with us. I think my neice was a little embarrassed to see us old women dancing but she claimed she didn't feel good. It was a great night! Thanks for a fun night!!!!

Our Little T.V. Stars!!

2008-03-07T12:07:00.001-08:00

Farewell Aggie Seniors

2008-03-05T08:38:00.001-08:00

Well the day finally came. The last Aggie home game of this season. Once again they had a sell out crowd of 10,270. The last seven games have also been sold out so it has been a really fun season. They beat Fresno State to go undefeated at home.(17-0) This has only been done four other times. They also had the most home wins in a season and the highest attendance ever for a season. So as you can guess Cache Valley really loves this team. Or should I say Jaycee Carroll. The girls wanted to make some posters so we made some before the game. They really got a lot of attention too. They made it on the Jumbo-Tron more times than I can count. It was really cute. Ryan is going to try and see if he can get the video from the jumbo-tron so we can post it on here. It was a lot of fun and we are really sad that it has already come to an end. We are looking forward to next year but I am not sure it will be the same without Jaycee. Of course I thought that when Spencer Nelson and Nate Harris left. I am sure we will find someone else to admire next year.

Weekend in Provo

2008-02-27T13:50:00.000-08:00

We spent the last weekend in Provo with Ryan's family!! It was so much fun. Grandpa Hess took the girls to the Disney store and they thought they had died and gone to heaven. Brin got a couple of Barbies and clothing items for them and Bay chose a Hannah Montana notebook and microphone. Then we took them to Build A Bear which is always exciting. The boys cooked dinner that night for us at Aaron's house and we just hung out and played Rock Band and Wii. Grandma almost took Tracey and Grandpa out a couple of times as you can tell in the one picture Keven is guarding himself with pillows. We had a lot fun! We wish we could have spent a little more time together but we will take what we can get. Tracey brought us all gifts back from Africa which was really fun. She brought me some scrapbook pages from Africa which was really neat. So thanks to my wonderful In-laws!!! We love you so much and can't wait to see you again!

2008-02-27T13:49:00.001-08:00

Fun Park

2008-02-07T13:31:00.000-08:00

Our Little Scare

2008-02-06T15:52:00.000-08:00

We had a little scare yesterday. Brinley has been sick over the weekend with a fever. Monday night she said that her neck hurt really bad. She walked around like she had slept on it wrong. Well Tuesday afternoon Ryan lifted her hair up to look at it and she had a lump on the side of her neck. So we ran her up to Insta Care and she has strep throat. Then they sent us to a ear, nose, and throat specialist and she has tonsillitis and her lymph nodes are swollen. He says it is very common with kids who have strep. So they put her on steroids and an antibiotic and she has to go back on Monday to make sure the lump is getting smaller. He says a lot of the times they get abcess's on them and then they have to make an incision on the neck and go in and drain them out but he hopes we caught it soon enough that it will just get better. I am sure everything will be fine and we are praying for the best.

My True Color

2008-01-30T14:43:00.001-08:00

What's Your True Color?

My Result: Green

You're green, the color of growth and vigor. Good-hearted and giving, you have a knack for finding and bringing out the best in people. Green is the most down-to-earth color in the spectrum — reliable and trustworthy. People know they can count on you to be around in times of need, since your concern for people is genuine and sincere. You take pride in being a good friend. For you, success is measured in terms of personal achievement and growth, not by status or position. Rare as emeralds, greens are wonderful, natural people. It truly is your color!

What are you? http://web.tickle.com/rd/50651/color/index.jsp?testname=colorogt&resultid=C

Well Linds, I guess we are just a like. I answered everything honestly as well. Try it out it is pretty fun to see what it says.

Home Makeover

2008-01-29T21:22:00.000-08:00

For my mom's birthday my sister bought her some new paint and some cute wall stickers to put in her front room. So over the last several days my sister Mindy has been busy painting. One of her friends suggested painting a rectangle a little darker than the wall and then putting the writing in that. So she did. I must admit at first I was not real sure about the whole idea but now that I see the finished product it is really cute!

President Gordon B. Hinckley

2008-01-27T19:20:00.000-08:00

June 23,1910 - January 27,2008

As a family we just wanted to pay tribute to a wonderful prophet!!! We are very sad to see him go and are so grateful for all the many wonderful things he has done for the church. What an amazing man!!! He cared and loved everybody no matter what religion, race, or background they came from. He has left big shoes to fill! He is very dear to our hearts and has helped us become closer to the church and helped our testimonies grow in so many different ways. We love you President Hinckley! Thanks for being such an incredible example not only to us as parents but to our kids as well!

Hoopin' it Up

2008-01-26T14:35:00.000-08:00

Today Bailey had her first basketball game. It was so funny. Pretty much at their age they just let them play so they just run around and dribble maybe every 20 steps if you are lucky! She did awesome. She scored and was really good about passing it to her team. The funny thing is her and her cousin Texie are on the same team and so they just kept passing it to one another. It was really cute. Brinley really is feeling bad that she can't play but she is to young. So next year she will be there. When we go play as a family we just play on the 10' hoops. Well the ones in this league are only 7' so Bailey had to adjust a little bit. But she did great. It is just so fun to watch them. I tell you what just enjoy your kids while you have them because they grow up way to fast!!!

Party All Night

2008-01-22T13:26:00.000-08:00

Wow! It has been a while since I have posted anything. Life has been pretty busy lately. This last weekend we had my neices Shakiah and Takesha stay over and boy did we have fun!!! Of course we had to play some rock band with them and they loved it. Then they decied they were going to be rock stars so the one picture is them carting Takesha around because she is the rock star. They are so funny. Of course this last week was a huge week for us Aggie fans. Stew and Jaycee both broke the school records this week. Stew broke the record for most wins in school history and Jaycee is now the all-time leading scorer. So we were a part of history!!!! We even got some T.V. time. Both nights had sell out crowds and those of you who have been in the spectrum for a basketball game know how amazing it is. It is so loud and so fun!!

Family Fun

2008-01-08T21:29:00.000-08:00

Well we have had a lot of fun these last couple of days. We got another big snow storm so our neighbor Tanner pulled Bay and Brin behind his four wheeler in the snow. They has so much fun!! However their fun was promptly over after a cop drove by. We also bought the game Rock Band and have played it quite a bit together. It is pretty hard for the girls but they are getting the hang of it. We had family home evening tonight because I had to work last night so we took the girls to the Fun Park and then went to dinner at Costa Vita. It was really funny because one of Bailey's friends wanted to come and Bailey was telling her she couldn't because we were having Family Home Evening. Well her friend did not know what that was so Bailey described it to her like this," It is when our family just gets together and hangs out and talks about Jesus and stuff." It was really cute. It has been really fun to watch the girls learn and grow in the church. Although there testimonies are very small and they probably really don't know they have made Ryan and my testimonies grow so much! They are special little girls and we are so grateful for them in our lives!!!!!!