Ryan's Farewell

A few weeks ago was Ryan's mission farewell. He was called to the Colorado Denver mission. The whole family was there to watch him speak. I was so impressed with him. He did great. It was the first time I had ever heard him say that many words at once. He is such a quiet kid. I know that he is going to do great. My mom and dad took him to the MTC the following Wednesday. He has been gone a week now.
The bright side to the weekend was that we were able to get the whole family together. It was great. I had a really good time hanging out with all my nieces and nephews, but especially Crystal and Alyssa. They were a lot of help with Dalley.
On Saturday morning I got Dalley ready and let him spend as much time as he wanted outside. He hasn't been able to do that before then because it is always so cold here. We went and fed one of the baby calves and then we hung out with one of the colts for awhile. Dalley loved every minute of it. Then when they got all of the cows in from the pasture we went up to help them brand. Dalley loved it. We even let him ride one of the smaller calves. He thought it was quite alright. i was amazed that he didn't even get scared.
After they got done branding my mom and I took all of the grand kids up to the Schofield Cemetery to see my grandparents graves. Then I left Dalley with my dad and mom and Luke Ryan, and I took the kids up to the Mt. Irish petroglyhs and up to Logan City. I can't believe I had never been there before. They were some of the best petroglyphs I had ever seen and they are like ten miles from the ranch. We will definitely be going exploring there again.
On the way home I had Crystal, Alyssa, Tifnee, and Kate in my truck and we spent the whole ride telling funny stories and jokes. It was funny. Tifnee who is only four told the funniest jokes.
It was a great weekend. i am going to miss my little brother,but I am so proud of him for his testimony and his dedication.

Here is my dad out back of Windmill Ridge the day of Ryan's talk

Ryan goofing off with the kids

Britnee and Lukie are always glued to Ryan whenever they see him. They would get a little jealous so most of the time he carried both of them.

Crystal by one of the petroglyphs

Alyssa and Kate

The sign by the petroglyphs

All of the kids in the back of the truck coming back from the cemetery

Dalley riding the 4-Wheeler with his grandpa and great grandpa. They are laughing at him because he was getting impatient that they weren't driving yet.

Ryan and My Grandpa bringing the cows in to brand

Dalley with Little Joe, Luke's horse

Dalley petting a calf on the table

Dalley and Dustin on Homer

Dalley's first calf ride

Nobody's Happy

This is an e-mail I recieved that I thought was funny and true

Dalley's Birthday Weekend

Last weekend was special because of two major events. First my little brother Ryan went through the temple and second Dalley turned 1. Because the St. George temple was closed Ryan decided to go through the Manti Temple, and since they were coming up I planned a birthday party for Dalley. It was soo much fun. Luke and Kayce came on Friday evening with their kids and we had a good time visiting and playing at the park. Then my parents and Ryan arrived and we had dinner. The next morning everyone got up and went to the temple. Shawn and Stina met the family in Manti and Celeste watched Ira while everyone was with Ryan. I think her and Ira are best friends now. Then everyone came to Circleville and we had a birthday party for Dalley. I was so nervous that there wouldn't be enough food. Then people started cancelling on me so I was worried there would be too much food. In the end it all turned out perfectly. Because mine and Dustin's nieces and nephews were coming we planned a pinata for the kids. It was a success. I think the kids really had a good time and then at the end of the party I gave all the kids treat bags that I had made. We had about 30 people there, i don't think it could have gone any better. I love my family so much and I am so thankful for all of them to make an effort to spend time together. I put a lot of work into feeding everyone all weekend and providing beds for them and they all were very appreciative.These family gatherings are becoming few and far between and I am so glad that they all feel that it is important to participate instead of letting other priorities get in the way of spending time together.
On Sunday everyone got up and went to church then they left. My house felt soo empty after having so many people there. I can't wait to host another family get together at my house. We are thinking on having everyone there for Christmas.
I just want to say how proud I am of my baby brother for making the decision to go on a mission. He is such a good and obedient kid and he is a really good example to me. I am thankful my kids get to have him for an uncle.
I also want to say how much I love my baby. Yesterday was the anniversary of when we actually got to bring him home. I remember how happy I was that day a year ago and how we couldn't wait to leave the NICU. Driving home with this little baby that was on oxygen and a heart monitor scared me to death. But today he is a happy healthy kid and the joy of Dustin and my lives.

Here are some pictures of the awesome weekend:

Kate on the swings at the park
Dalley and L.E. sharing the baby swing. They are only 4 months apart

Dalley LOVES the swings

Luke road on the twisty slide with all of the kids. He even convinced me to go down it a couple of times and it was pretty fun. We have a fun park in Circleville.

Dalley catching a ride with L.E. on the walker

Buckaroo Ira and Calamity Jane

Dalley's horse cake that Jill helped me make. She is very talented at cake decorating

Jill decorated this sheet cake so we would have enough cake for everyone

This is the cake we let Dalley dive into. He had a great time playing in it. My dad drew the horse head on it for Dalley

Uncle Shawn, Aunt Stina, Aunt Celeste, and Cousin Ira at the party

My brave husband holding the pinata. We didn't use a bat because we thought that would be too dangerous so we just had the kids punch it. It was really cute watching their faces as they balled up their fists and punched as hard as they could

Ira chilling in the walker after the party

Kate showing us some of her dance moves

The belt Uncle Allen made Dalley for his birthday

Dalley on the rocking cow we got him for his birthday




Yesterday was Dalley's one year checkup. I was kind of nervous about it because he is so skinny. He is 17 lbs and 31" long.I was afraid that they wouldn't think he was healthy. The Dr. told me that he is healthy, he is just going to be a skinny kid. I was relieved to hear that. They have stressed me out about his weight since he was born. He was so good when he got his shots so after the Dr. we went and bought him a new slide. He thinks it is pretty fun.

Dalley in his new PJ's and hat. This kid loves hats. He has pink eye that is why he looks so miserable.

Playing on his new slide