Ryan is 29!

Twenty-nine years ago today Ryan was born in Columbus, Montana, so I thought I'd share 29 things about my one and only:




1. He's a trivia whiz. He knows things a regular person would never even think to think of. No one can ever beat him at Trivial Pursuit, and he has statistics to back up everything.





2. He's also a brainiac about things that matter. He was valedictorian of his high school and has known the answer to every single question I have ever asked him. His intelligence does not bode well for me in heated marital "debates" because my emotional responses always sound ridiculous in comparison with his logical ones.



3. He hates it when I try to nestle my freezing feet against his legs in bed at night. He says it's like being branded.



4. He played the clarinet in high school.



5. He was also captain of the football team, participated in the high jump in track, and won the district agronomy contest. Is there anything the man didn't do?



6. He's the only one who can get Marissa to sleep during church.



7. He desperately wants a gaming system, but realizes the chance of divorce sky rockets if he actually goes through with it.



8. He's worse than a girl about eating desserts. He wants some sort of dessert (preferably chocolate) every night.






9. He hates fiction and has fallen asleep while reading Harry Potter and a host of other great reads that are page-turners for the general public.



10. He has never once complained about what I make for dinner or that we eat a lot of leftovers.



11. If I had a penny for every time he was late . . . (no offense, babe).



12. His favorite 4 talking points are politics/economics, philosophical ideas, relationships, and sports. In that order.



13. Once when we were dating he was out of food. So he just squirted some ketchup in his mouth and went to bed.

14. He has a great build and height. It was one of the first things that attracted me to him over 7 years ago.

15. I always think of his build whenever I watch While you were Sleeping. Jack falls on the ice and asks Lucy to borrow some of her pants. She says, "If you fit into my pants I will kill myself." I feel confident that Ryan and I could never share pants and I love him for it.

16. He's a steak and potatoes type of guy. We usually go to Outback when we go out to eat, but the rare times we do branch out, he always says afterward, "We should have gone to Outback."

17. Riley and Marissa adore him. The second he gets home Riley is pestering him to play and Sissy wants to sit on is lap while he eats dinner.

18. He loves rain and overcast weather. I cannot understand this.

19. Most of our movie queue on Netflix are documentaries, although he enjoys many different genres. His favorite chick flick is Win a Date with Tad Hamilton.

20. He is fairly non-picky about his clothes. He has worn (and liked, I think) everything I have bought for him over the years.

21. He has lost 2 wedding rings. Does anyone know where we can buy a third one on the cheap? Odds are that it will get lost too.

22. He's not afraid of anything that I am afraid of: extreme sports, spiders, burglars, or the possibility of one of the kids getting injured. He's definitely the more easy going parent.

23. I do not trust him to drive on road trips unless I make it a point to stay awake and make conversation. Once when we were driving to Lake Powell (in the middle of the day) and on countless excursions to Montana I have looked over and his eyes have been closed.

24. He is very unselfish. I first learned this about him while we were dating and he didn't mind if his roommates borrowed stuff without asking (food, underwear, you name it.) Now he unselfishly sacrifices his time and money to his 3 liabilities.

25. He's not controlling or scary at all. I have never been afraid to tell him about running the car off the road, dropping the brand-new camera, bleaching his swimsuit, or losing important documents. (All hypotheticals, of course.)

26. His olive skin makes him look tan year round and I am incredibly jealous.

27. I think his idea of a perfect day is doing something active (golfing, hiking, whatever), relaxing with the latest non-fiction word (book or blog), and going out to dinner with me.

28. He has nicknames for everyone, even if they don't know about it.

29. There is no one I would rather talk to or spend time with. Happy Birthday Baby Beaw! I love you!

'Tis the Season

Things I love about Christmas:

1. Peppermint ice cream. Ryan's philosophy is, "If it ain't chocolate, it ain't dessert" but I love the light pink coloring intermixed the little bits of candy cane. (You can put chocolate syrup on top, babe.)

2. Buying gifts. I love this all the time but especially at Christmas.

3. Kids. Riley sort of understands Christmas this year and dictated a letter to Santa, which I transcribed and "mailed." Here is his list, verbatim:

--Bulldozer
--Vacuum
--Iron
--Mixer
--Grocery store
--Cash register
--Dump truck
--Trampoline

4. Josh Groban singing O Holy Night.

5. Yummy scented candles.

6. Packages in the mail, even if I know what's in them.

Things I don't love:

1. That annoying song about wanting a hippopotamus for Christmas. I can't decide if the voice or the lyrics irk me more.

2. Holiday traffic. One thing I love about not working is that I can run errands during the work week and not deal with Saturday traffic. During Christmas the traffic is Saturday x 10.

3. Eggnog. Quadruple yuck.

4. Tacky outdoor Christmas decorations. Lights are one thing, but we drove by a house the other day with a banner that said, "Happy Birthday Jesus." Our neighbors across the street have this exact Spongebob, among several other scary holiday inflatables.

5. Taking down inside decorations. It takes forever and is the biggest mess. Ideally all our stuff would be down by December 26.

6. Mindless Christmas movies like The Santa Clause and The Christmas Story, although I think I am the only person alive who doesn't like the latter.

It's A . . .

Thank you to everyone who voted in our baby gender poll! For the 44% of you who voted girl, you were right! The ulatrasound showed that the baby is healthy, active, and 100% girl (not even a chance for a maybe). We are excited for a new little girl in the family. Let the name debate begin!

Baby Gender

Ryan and I find out what we are having next Tuesday, so please vote in our baby gender poll!! The results will be posted sometime that day, pending baby cooperation.

Rough and Tumble

Every so often, when the weather is too yucky to go outside, we throw the couch cushions on the floor for some rough and tumble play so the kids can burn off some energy. I probably wouldn't recommend it if you have nice furniture, but we plan to use our couch as firewood the second we get a new one.

Even the Sister McBaby gets into it.

Double, double, toil, and trouble

Riley LOVED scooping out pumpkin guts.

I was hesitant to post pictures of our pumpkins after seeing Nathan and Lindsey's, but the monkey holding the princess was too cute to pass up.

Typically I'm not big on dressing myself up for Halloween (not that you can call cutting a couple of holes in a sheet dressing up), but yesterday I decided to be a fun mom and make a ghost out of an old paint sheet. It was super improv, and ended up looking more like a burka than a ghost, but the kids got a kick out of it. For that reason alone it was worth it.

Riley came home with a pretty big candy stash. Let's just say that half of it is already mysteriously gone and he didn't eat it.

Captain Underpants

I recently did something incredibly brave. I ran an errand with Riley while he was wearing underpants. I was terrified, but he didn't want to put a diaper on and I had to run the errand, so . . . I decided to chance it. At the store I must have asked him 100 times within 20 minutes if he had to go potty, even though he had just gone before we left. I whizzed down the aisles in record speed and was home in a jiffy--whew! Since then we have run many errands sans diapers, all disaster free. But I'm still a little tense about it. After all, accidents happen all the time to quasi-potty trained kids, and what would I do if he were to have one in the produce section of Walmart? Do I tie his jacket around his waist and make a beeline for the car, leaving a cart full of groceries? Am I supposed to pack an extra pair of pants and underpants so that I can just change him there? Will people smile that "Oh honey, I've been there" smile, or will they be disgusted? Maybe I'm just supposed to stay cooped up at home until I'm certain no accidents will occur (however long that takes). I'm looking for advice. Anyone?

Tate Farms

I'm always complaining that we never do anything fun as a family, so a few Saturdays ago we decided to be spontaneous and go to the pumpkin patch. Despite the heat (over 90 degrees), we had a great time. There were tons of things to do for Riley's age group, like a hay maze, sunflower maze, and cotton jump. At the end wetook a hay ride out to a huge field of pumpkins where Riley and Marissa each chose a pumpkin straight from the vine. We paid for our pumpkins, waved goodbye to the scarecrows, and got in the car just before heatstroke set in.

Riley made Ryan jump with him the first time, but did it twice by himself afterward.

They had these cute little corn rides that are pulled by a tractor. Last year he was too scared to go but this year he had a blast.

Later that day we found corn kernels in his diaper . . .

And in Sissy’s too.

The cotton jump.

100 Things

I've seen this done and challenged myself to think of 100 publish-worthy things about me. I don't know if I succeeded, but here it goes:


1. I used to be able to do the splits.

2. My favorite kind of fruit are Jonathan apples that only come out in the fall. Unfortunately, Walmart doesn't sell them so I can only buy them when I go to Target.

3. I was a shamelessly devoted fan of The O.C. for all 4 seasons. Who can resist the geeky but hilarious Seth Cohen?

4. I got my first kiss in Las Vegas. I was 19.

5. My mom did my hair until I was 17. No wonder I have no idea how to do it now.

6. If there's no chap stick or lotion in heaven, I'll choose hell.

7. I am not a napper.

8. I hate camping. There, I said it.

9. I wish I were a better mom. You know, the supermom type who make their kids' Halloween treat buckets out of paper mache and have every second of their lives documented on video and/or scrapbooks.

10. Cleaning baseboards is my least favorite household chore. I would rather clean 100 toilets.

11. I talk to my sister on the phone every day. We both need the company and we're on the same network.

12. I don't like drinking water unless it's cold, preferably ice cold. With lots and lots of ice. The crushed kind you get at gas stations is my favorite. It melts in your mouth.

13. I never once sluffed school. Even in college, I only ditched one class, one time freshman year. I guess you could say that I'm a little goody two shoes.

14. My favorite animal was a poodle we had growing up named Jumper. I loved that dog, but now I don't really like animals and don't want any pets. Go figure.

15. I think the no pet thing comes from Ryan. Once a co-worker was looking for someone to take care of his dog while he was in Europe. Ryan said, "I'll take care of him for you. Permanently."

16. The one frivolous thing I'm going to buy if I win the lottery is a boat.

17. Well, maybe some new clothes too. Most of mine are (sigh) from high school or college before I got married.

18. I used to want to name my first daughter Cora. Oh, how I laugh at that now.

19. I wrote in my journal religiously every night starting from when I was a senior in high school until I got married.

20. If you cut me open, you'd find that I'm 1/4 peanut butter (creamy Jif, precisely). Ironically, the taste or smell of it when I'm pregnant makes me gag.

21. I don't miss the mountains as much as I thought I would.

22. Fall is my favorite season. I enjoy raking leaves and eating Jonathan apples.

23. If you want to make me cry, force me to wear a turtleneck.

24. If I have to sing Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree one more time I think I might self-combust.

21. I love nutella. (It's especially good on top of peanut butter.) If you put me and it in a room together you'd have an empty jar in about an hour.

22. The best sound ever is my kids laughing those big belly laughs. Second best? The garage door opening signaling that daddy's home. Third best? Thunderstorms.

23. Biggest accomplishment to date: Keeping a straight face when, during bedtime prayer, Riley said, "Please bless that we can eat cake and brownies."

24. It rained on our wedding day and we had an outside reception. Everyone said it's good luck, and so far I think they're right.

25. I don't own one pair of high heels. I would break my ankle if I did.

26. The most recent Neftlix movie we saw was Big Trouble. If you haven't seen, make sure you never, ever do. If you have, I'm so sorry.

27. Easter candy is my favorite candy, especially Cadbury eggs. Ryan recently confessed that until we got married he thought there was real egg yolk in them. I bet they'd still be yummy even if it were true.

28. Two summers and two garden failures later, I have finally conceded that I do not have a green thumb.

29. I would never admit this to anyone, but if asked point blank I could not deny that our old nasty couch is nothing more than millions of dust mites holding hands.

30. I wish Ryan would let me buy flannel sheets. I love them, even in the summer.

31. I don't have OCD or anything, but I am picky when it comes to towels. I won't use a community hand towel and if someone has used my hand towel I have to get another one. And wet towels in general? Ewwww.

32. My favorite book is Les Miserables.

33. My favorite young adult book is Trick or Treat. I've read it so many times I've lost count and I'm still not sick of it. If you want to borrow it, just give me a holler.

34. I listen to Sarah McLachlan when I'm sad or stressed. Her voice calms me somehow.

35. I prefer bar soap over body wash.

36. Ryan and I both promised to get remarried if the other dies. This did not surprise Ryan's co-worker, who said, "Parker? Yeah, he'd take a date to the funeral."

37. My favorite girl scout cookies are Samoas.

38. I hate stepping on wet surfaces with bare feet. The worst is the shower area of any gym. If I forgot my flip flops, you can bet your bottom dollar that I won't be getting anywhere near the locker room.

39. A bookstore is the only place that I have ever wished I drank coffee.

40. When I was little I used to write articles for a make-believe newspaper. My pen name was Ricky Henderson.

41. I'm ashamed to admit that I took 3 years of Spanish in high school and 4 semesters in college, and still I can barely count to 10.

42. Not a day goes by that I do not wish I lived closer to my family.

43. Marissa's middle name is Cynthia, after my mom. I could not think of a more appropriate person to name my daughter after.

44. I went to Egypt for a week when I was in Jerusalem for study abroad. I would never go back.

45. I would, however, love to go back to Jerusalem. I miss the feeling of the old city, and hearing the call to prayer.

46. When our kids are older we are going to go on a Disney cruise.

47. Our next car will be a minivan, and I can't wait.

48. I worked at the law library in college, where my co-workers nicknamed me Punctual Parker. I hate being late. I also hate when other people are late. Too bad my husband doesn't have a problem with either.

49. I love spy movies, like the Bourne trilogy, but I also love How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and Sweet Home Alabama.

50. It scares me that I have started to pick up Southern slang like "fixin'" and "holler." Apparently, though, I can't be considered a true Southerner until I've eaten fried catfish and I'm sure that will never happen.

51. I really, really doubt I could live without my cell phone.

52. My hair was straight before I had kids. Now it's super curly but just in the back. It's horrible.

53. Clutter annoys me. I throw stuff out the first chance I get.

54. I named my first bike Sally. She had a pink and white banana seat and a pink basket on the front.

55. I despise texting. I guess it's a good thing I'm not a teenager or I'd have no source of communication.

56. One of my favorite songs of all time is Flake by Jack Johnson.

57. Changing my own kids' diapers doesn't really bother me at all. Other people's kids' diapers are another story.

58. I am not embarrassed to admit that come the first day of school, there will be a skip in my step rather than a tear in my eye as I walk home from the bus stop.

59. What I wouldn't give for a personal trainer.

60. I've never had a pedicure but would really, really love one.

61. You'd never believe the number of times I've been asked if my middle name is Jessica.

62. I was named after my grandad's grandmother, Sarah Ann. Except I'm Sara Anne.

63. Monday is cleaning day. The house gets trashed on the weekend, so what better way to start the week?

64. I put ketchup on my tacos and thought everyone did until Ryan told me it was weird.

65. I have a bachelor's degree in English from BYU with an emphasis in editing.

65. My minor is in TESOL (teaching English as a second language). It was a pointless minor, but they didn't have an editing minor at the time. They do now.

66. I have all my homework and lecture notes from college sitting in a big box in the shed. It's one of the few things I can't bring myself to throw away. Yet.

67. The first apartment Ryan and I rented didn't have a heater. In the morning there would be ice on the dishes that we washed the night before.

68. I'm hardly ever the perfect temperature. It seems like I'm always either freezing or burning.

69. We rarely call our kids by their given names. Riley is Bruiser, Bruise, or Bruisy and Marissa is Sissy or Sister McSusan.

70. One of the hardest things about being a mom is determining what is just a phase and what's going to be a habit.

71. I'm not huge on romance. Ryan's off the hook when it comes to flowers, jewelry, and giant teddy bears.

72. I wish I were more spontaneous. I've tried, but it's just not in my bones.

73. Giving up piano is one of my biggest regrets.

74. Kirk Cameron was my biggest crush all throughout the Growing Pains years.

75. I wanted to be an astronaut when I grew up.

76. I had mono in college.

77. One of my biggest gripes is when people wear overpowering perfume or cologne. It gives me a headache.

78. It took me many years to discover that Napoleon ice cream is really Neapolitan ice cream.

79. I wish my feet were a size 7. I wear a 9, and whenever I see a shoe I like and they bring it out in my size, I never like it anymore.

80. I'm not a big risk taker. I have no desire to bungee jump or skydive or do any other extreme sports.

81. I cringe when I see pictures of myself in junior high wearing overalls and a flannel shirt around my waist.

82. I've learned there is a difference between rewards and bribes. I think most seasoned moms have known this for years.

83. Speaking correct English is important to me. It hurts my ears when I hear things like, "Me and him", "They was", "I ain't", etc.

84. I've never been tanning.

85. Ryan and I are are debating what to put in the Christmas stockings this year. In his family the stockings were filled with candy. In my family they were filled with practical things like makeup and nylons.

86. I get car sick, bus sick, train sick, you name it. I also get sick on 90% of the rides at amusement parks.

87. My first job was working part-time at a snack bar at a swimming pool.

88. I only wore braces for 9 months.

89. I can name all 50 state capitals. Just ask me.

90. Shopping makes me happy.

91. I went rock climbing once, and my arms hurt for 3 weeks afterward. Apparently you're supposed to use your legs more.

92. Garage sales make me crazy. Spending all day looking through junk just to find one good deal is unfathomable.

93. Chinese jump rope was one of my favorite games growing up.

94. I don't know how to french braid.

95. I played softball for several years. My favorite position was first base. My least favorite was catcher.

96. Cran-apple is my beverage of choice on airplanes.

97. I never skip breakfast.

98. I don't understand guys and video games. What's all the hoopla about?

99. By the end of book 3 I was hopelessly in love with a vampire named Edward Cullen.

100. I never, ever thought I'd have 3 kids ages 3 and under.

Riley's Nap Struggles

I don't really consider myself a super-strict mom. (Ok, strict, but not super-strict.) I draw the line at things like eating candy for breakfast or using scissors and markers on things that are non-paper. But I don't have a problem with most absurdities that kids are bound to want to do. If Riley wants to wear his waaaaay too small Lake Tahoe shirt with his plaid shorts to the store, I shut my mouth. If he wants to get out every toy we own to put inside his pillow fort, and then leave it up for weeks on end, I won't bat an eye. But one thing I am Nazi about is nap time. Riley has been challenging me on this lately and it's making me crazy. One day last week he came into my bedroom while he was supposed to be asleep. When I told him to go back to bed, he whined and cried and whined and whined, obviously too tired to put two word together. Before I could say anything else he put his head on our treadmill and closed his eyes. He slept that way for about 30 minutes, snoring and all. A few days later he refused to take a nap again. I said he could have a candy corn if he stayed in bed and took a nap, and I guess he thought that was a good trade because he jumped in bed and fell asleep. Hey, I only said I don't let him eat candy for breakfast.

The aforementioned pillow fort.

Summer Vacation

We started out our summer vacation in Montana with Ryan's family. We had a great time, but neglected to download our pictures on the right computer. I'll try and post some of those later. After Montana, we met up with my family in Jackson, where we slept in cute little cabins and enjoyed the great outdoors. This particular day we took a boat ride across Jenny Lake to hike to some waterfalls on the other side. You can tell Marissa is really thrilled about being in the backpack.

Marissa has never missed a nap. Ever. If for some reason we're not home for naptime, she finds a way to catch her zzz's. After a long day of hiking, she fell asleep on the way down the mountain. And it was a very steep, rocky mountain. Another example: Last weekend Ryan's co-worker invited us to his parents' lake house on the Tennessee River. We got on the boat and Marissa immediately fell asleep on Ryan's shoulder, not minding that it was hot, humid, windy, and the sun was setting right in her eyes. It shouldn't surprise me though. I used to vacuum under her crib when she was a baby in order to get to to wake up after sleeping all day. And even then she still kept snoring away. Last October I got her picture taken in her Halloween costume. She fell asleep in the car on the way there, and didn't wake up the rest of the day. Not when I took her out of her car seat, not when I changed her into her costume, and not when the photographer was squeezing a rubber ducky and flashing the lights. Nope, I came home with pictures of a little Pea in the Pod with her eyes shut tight. That's just our Sissy. She really likes her sleep.

The best part about having a girl is being able to put a dress on her anytime, even when it's not Sunday. Here's Sissy on Pioneer Day, all decked out in dress, bloomers, and all.

Do you think Riley likes the water?

It's hard to believe Sissy and McKay are only 5 weeks apart.

Happy 1st Birthday, Marissa! She's looking a little apprehensive about the cake.

Cousin Collin, having a party of his own.

Grammy with the kids on Quarry Trail up Little Cottonwood Canyon.