Cleaning the couches!!

This last Friday we had our carpets cleaned by a guy named Ryan who my Ryan went to high school with. They do a great job and don't soak your carpets. They use natural products and he always gives us a good deal. Maybe because we always call him to clean the duplex carpets so he knows he has our business!! Chloe decided that I was having too much fun so she decided to help!

I think she likes to clean :)

Before the cleaning, talk about gross, between drool and sippy cups and who knows...

After the cleaning...There was pen on the back that scrubbed out easy before I even started to shampoo the couches. I am just thankful that we were able to get everything out! The couches are softer after cleaning them with the machine vs. just a washcloth like I usually do.

Our weekend!

This last Saturday was my ten year high school reunion but unfortunately I forgot the camera in the van and forgot to bring it out! I know some of you took pictures so hopefully I can steal those! But I promised the kids if they were good we would go swimming in a real pool!!

The kids had a lot of fun playing with all the other kids while I got to catch up with some of my classmates and Ryan was meeting them! I am sorry that we missed some of you but we will see you in 10 more years :)

Cooper loved the water! He was all over the place because he was JUST tall enough to be on his own in the shallow end!

Cooper being brave and seeing how far he can go out by himself! Chloe was excited until she took a stop onto the bottom of the pool and wasn't quite tall enough and didn't like the water unless she was clinging to Ryan or I!! Reese on the other hand LOVED it! She would not stop kicking, splashing and squealing!

And of course when we were done we had to hit the Burger Factory for some milkshakes! And then it was peace and quiet the whole way home!

Reese before we got out of the parking lot :)

I just thought Cooper's lips were so cute I made Ryan take a picture! I wonder if he was dreaming of kissing a girl......

I am glad that we got to get out of town for a day! Well two days because Sunday we did go to Pinehurst with Ryan's parents for church and stayed at their house for a couple hours. We headed home after that because Ryan's allergies are pretty bad and my throat and head were pounding! Not to mention the kids needed a nap!

I didn't forget Father's day either, Ryan is getting a wetsuit for his present this year, he just has to figure out which one! I am so proud of him riding his bike to and from work, when it isn't raining, then running and sometimes lifting weights downstairs after that...He is working on the swimming and is SO determined to learn all that he can to do his BEST in this triathlon! I am excited for him! I am grateful to my husband for being such a good example of being positive about everything and being so good with our kids even when they don't listen! Also I am grateful for my own dad who is a great example of how to take everything one step at a time and try and focus on the good in life! I have an awesome life!

family life is great

(Reese getting so big!)

We have been having so much fun this summer, minus today with about 10 thunder and lightening storms all day!! And of course I tried mowing the lawn! It did get done it just took 2 tries!

This month has just flown by! I can't believe it is half over!

(her cute little pony tails)

Reese has started to crawl and pull herself up onto things but only to her knees so far! Those that know our kids, especially family, this is the soonest one of our kids has crawled! Even Chloe was 10 1/2 months old before she did! She is so fun and loves to clap her hands! No teeth yet and just full of giggles - especially when her siblings tickle her! She loves to cuddle and hates for me to put little pig tails in her hair! She is about 19 pounds and personally I think she looks a lot like Cooper while Chloe is also looking more and more like him!

(Chloe is obsessed with her tongue so her and Grandma Dawn sticking their tongues out waiting for the cruise for Car d'Alene)

Chloe is potty trained. Well, most of the time! She was at night for the first like 3 weeks but not anymore! During the day she is good as long as she isn't too distracted playing! She talks a ton and is hilarious when she tried to yell at Ryan and I :) She is always smiling and wants to play and run! She is an awesome runner, not quite as fast as Cooper but I have a feeling some day she might beat him! Chloe's favorite thing to do is put on skirts on twirl around and say "pretty".

(Cooper and Grandpa Ron at Car d'Alene! Cooper was so excited to see the flames come out of the exhaust pipes of the old cars!)

Cooper, well he is addicted to the Wii...Right now it is Star Wars Legos and honestly he is really good but when he gets stuck, he has no patience. He does ask for help but sometimes I just shut it off! He is very helpful with his sisters and is still asking for a brother....Oh so a cute story! About a month ago I got stopped in the hall at church on my way to change a poopy diaper and our primary chorister asked me if I had something to announce...HINT: are you pregnant? I said ah I don't think so. She said Cooper had made an announcement in primary (where are the kids 3 to 11 years old meet) that baby Ryker was in my tummy! Ah how cute, NOT! So I said oh no, no, no, unless he knows something I don't! Which he doesn't. So I had to tell her to tell the other parents if they asked that we were not pregnant. If you ask Cooper where baby Ryker is, he will say in Heaven! Cooper will be starting T-ball soon and we hope it goes great!

Ryan has been busy with work and he is training for his FIRST triathlon! He is excited and I am so proud of how much he has been training! He has been riding his bike to work, he just started to swim on his lunch break, then biking home and has now started running after her gets home...And if he still has energy he lifts some weights downstairs! I am excited for him!

Me, gosh I am trying to finish up little projects! Finishing the girl's dresses, painting some projects, teaching Ryan how to sew, cleaning up clutter, and yard projects! Wow, just a lot of projects!

(BUSTED! Grandpa Ron trying to give our baby Pepsi! Just kidding she can't suck out of a straw yet so he got lucky!!)

We have a lot going on these next 3 weekends and I am hoping to be on top of posting!!

Ah, crap!

This past week I thought I would let Chloe take pictures of Reese while we were outside.  Usually she is really good at doing this and maybe gets her in one out of ten pictures but next thing I knew Chloe was pushing on the camera, the part where it comes in and out!!  So I take it away from her and think oh it is okay the batteries are just dead.  NO!  She broke the camera!!  I dont know what she did but it wont close all the way and the pictures are blurry!  I wouldn't mind it if didn't close all the way but the pictures are still blurry!  Not good!  So now we are cameraless, is that a word??  

Needless to say I am sad!  But hopefully we wont go too long without a camera and I can convince Ryan to get me a new one!  Until then.....maybe some postings but no pictures!  

Fun stuff!

I am trying to get better about posting pictures!  Ever since our computer crashed I just don't bother downloading them but I should!  Here are some highlights for us from the last week!   This is Cooper on his FIRST fishing trip and holding his FIRST fish he caught which I think he caught two but will have to check on that one!  I can't believe he is holding it!  Thanks to the Formans who have the boat to go out in!

My parents were in Spokane this last Friday and so the kids and I met them at Manito Park...It was fun and of course the kids loved the play structures!  My mom was showing the kids the games on her GPS!  Dad you are the only one looking at the camera!

Ah my little Chloe!  This is such a cute picture of her!  Thanks Dad, I think she is watching another kid go down the slide but this was probably the only time she was still the whole we were there!  

 Reese and my dad - dad you could have smiled!!  Just kidding but Reese I think was trying to do raspberries but it looks like she is puckering up for a kiss!  

Yesterday for Memorial Day we hung out at home - Ryan and Cooper went fishing in the morning and Chloe, Reese and I stayed home weeding our front - side yard!  I really don't mind the weeds, it is the nasty bushes that are ugly and need to be ripped out!  On Sunday we had a fun BBQ with a family from church, the Arnalls!!  Then yesterday with the Formans we had a spur of the moment BBQ and it turned out great!  

Ryan and I have decided to rip up half of our backyard and put in some cool stuff so we will do pictures once it is going!  We have our square foot garden almost done, we just need to put the grid on it and plant our seeds and plants!!  My goal is to keep the kids out of it for the summer!  

MY SUPERWOMAN

So this is my (Ryan's)  first "posting" on our family blog.  No, you are not delusional this really is me and I am posting for something very special, or someone rather.  Sometimes it is more meaningful to show one's love and admiration besides just saying it.  To this end, I would like to say how proud of my wife I am.  Yesterday she finished a half marathon and ran her heart out.  Cooper, Chloe, Reese and I tried our best to cheer her on at different points during the event.  Probably annoyed some of other runners, but that's just too bad, because we wanted mommy to know that we supported her!  I know that she had trained fiercely for this because I was with her for a portion of it.  This is only one of the many things that my wife has accomplished.

My beautiful Carrie is working very diligently on her Young Women's Personal Progress.  Since she is a convert to the church she never had the chance to do this, but now being in the Young Women's organization in our ward has afforded her this opportunity.  One of the things that she has set out to do is to learn how to sew.  She has already made some dressed for Chloe and Reese and she has been making cool burp rags and bibs too.  I just admire her so much for her natural ability to work hard and learn things.  Not only that, everything she attempts she accomplished and does a fantastic job on top of it all.  

Here are a few pictures from the Half-Marathon and her new handiwork as well.  Carrie you are MY SUPERWOMAN and I thank you for saying yes, nearly 6 years ago.

I love you,

-Ryan.

Maybe some progress...

Cooper playing soccer! This was on his first day! We have forgotten the camera since but will take it this Saturday! The first day it rained and the poor kids just played and kind of had fun! His team is so cute and we are going to miss hanging out the new friends we have met! He will be doing T-ball this summer also but we can't sign up yet! He says he doesn't want to play soccer again but we will see...

What have we been up to?? I, Carrie, have been running a lot, sewing summer dresses for my girls and other little girls, finishing my personal progress, cleaning, and trying to get some naps in!

Ryan is injured so he can't run, yet, he wants to hopefully do a triathlon this summer but needs to get his leg healed first! Ryan has been working hard at his new job at Nighthawk Radiology Services, busy with his calling for church, working on our soon-to-be garden, and watching the kids so I can run!

Cooper is almost done with soccer on Saturdays, which has been fun and a great learning experience! He has 2 more games but will miss his last one due to my race being next Saturday! Cooper is a Wii stud, his latest is Super Smash Brothers where he is actually really good, he gets frustrated sometimes but as long as he is Sonic he is usually good to go!

Chloe is starting to potty train and might actually be trained if I was consistent! Just in the last two days she has been learning bladder control where she wont pee for hours and gets a little mad cause I make her sit on her little potty or the big one if she wants but never pees in it! Even with chocolate in her mouth! Then I stick a diaper on her for nap and bam! So I am going to try and be good and consistent so hopefully she can get it down soon! She can say and repeat almost anything, and is just so stinkin cute!

Reese is fun! She is 8 1/2 months old now, no teeth yet but you would think she did by now with how she SHOVES everything in her mouth! She rolls everywhere and kind of army crawls on the floor! No hurry there!

Overall we are busy and doing good! Just trying to balance everything and I am excited to be done running, even though I have taken this week easier due to my knees hurting and the rain! I am going to spinning to help keep my muscles going and trying to do some leg exercises but next Saturday the 16th is the race and I am excited for it! I am sad that Ryan wont be running it with me but know he will be there at the finish with the kids and that is all I need to finish strong, hopefully! Ryan and Cooper are going on their first campout together this Friday! Cooper is excited and of course Ryan is since he loves to camp! We are excited to go camping this summer when it eventually stops raining! Seriously this is ridiculous, one week of warm summer, swimsuit weather and now downpours with hail?? Mother Nature must be a little off this year!!

And just an early Happy Mother's Day to all the mother's or soon-to-be that read this!!

Computer working again!

Some of you know that our computer decided to go quits again all last week. I was going through withdrawals for about the first two days even though Ryan would bring his work one home and I could log on but after that I really like the fact of not having one around. I would think about things and then forget about them because I could not just jump onto the computer! Now that it is back I feel like I have so much to do!
I guess we really aren't that exciting. We have been super busy with running, well, I have been. Ryan is still injured and it doesn't help that he waits a week then goes and runs 3 miles in 25 minutes. I know that doesn't sound too fast but it was for me as I was pushing 60 pounds worth of kids! Anyways, he is back to being injured and I am still on track for running this half marathon. I was really excited for it about 4 weeks ago when I could say it was 8 weeks away but now that it is getting closer I think I am getting nervous for it. Natalie, Sarah, and I all ran 11 miles this last Saturday not together but throughout the day we all ran it at some time so we are all on track for this training schedule we have been doing and it is really fun having this in common. I am not speaking for them but I am kind of excited to have my life back in the evenings and not be running! That is the only time I can go and especially with the mileage getting up there during the week the time goes even faster!
I hope Ryan sticks with the training and maybe will do the half marathon in June in Seattle, maybe we will do it together! I do have to say when it comes to losing weight it is not fair men vs. women. I have been training for a couple weeks longer than Ryan and even with him being injured he still lost about 10 pounds and me NOTHING! I do have to admit my body has changed I really do feel like I am in better shape and my clothes fit a little better but overall the scale says NO! Seriously not fair but I love that he has lost weight and so quickly! I think being pregnant three times now is enough weight gaining and losing for me!
I hope everyone else that is training for a half marathon is doing great and getting excited! I expect updates on blogs!

Finally Recent Pictures

Finally I have gotten around to uploading pictures and here are just a few...I still haven't accessed my old ones from before the computer crash! (sorry it is so spacey I tried to fix it 10 times and the same thing kept happening)


Reese after getting her ears pierced. We did it on her 7 month birthday not on purpose we just kept forgetting and she is growing too fast! She was pretty mad during it but this is after and she is just fine! She doesn't touch her earrings and they have healed just fine!

I was doing something in the kitchen and next thing I knew it was quiet, Cooper was actually not talking, and I look over into the living room and don't see him and there he was cuddled up with Reese! He loves to sleep in her crib or on the floor with her...I think they might have a special bond!

























This is Chloe and Erin, the little girl I watch during the week. Don't be shocked but I made this dress! I am going to make one for Reese also when time allows! The only way I could get Chloe to wear it was to tell her Cooper was going to and finally she put it on...She wouldn't let me measure her through the whole thing so I am pretty proud of how it turned out considering I had to eye everything and my sewing machine messed up at least 100 times!

Definitely brother and sister!

One of the hardest things...

Seems like when life goes great for a long time there is trying times ahead. I am not one who deals well with these and often have very evil feelings to go along with it...

After this last weekend of General Conference I have learned that every day I need to focus on what is most important to me and what my goal throughout this life is: Being Christlike and returning not only me but my family to our Father in Heaven.

The first talk in Conference was on not coveting the people around you. I got to thinking man, I wish I lived in pioneer times...Seems like things were so much easier even though I know they weren't. So Ryan and I got thinking how can we simplify our lives and what are our needs vs. wants. We started to feel guilty about our minivan but checked out the trade in and realized it was worth keeping. Also we thought about everything from landscaping our yard to material things, clothes, DVD's, etc. Then there are the things that people do and say to you that makes you feel like you are a bad person, even if you did nothing wrong. We all have to make decisions in this life and reap the benefits and consequences. I started to think about how I need to be more Christlike. My husband is an amazing example of this and is so much like his Dad in that respect of having a huge heart and giving people what they want and need. Not me. I am the realist - that is what I tell Ryan. He is the more spiritual one if you ask me and lives his life like the Savior did and wants to serve the best he can and share his talents and whatever he can. Thanks Ron for being a great example to us on how we are always give more even when we think we can't.

It is so easy to look at the world around us and get caught up in buying everything everyone else has and being the best as someone else. We are all different and blessed with different talents and situations. Looking back at Ryan and I's life it is amazing the change we have had from where we have lived to both of us switching jobs to the blessing of each of our children in our lives. I honestly believe that things happen in life for a reason and I am TRYING to embrace each trial with acceptance. It is really hard BUT good for me. I know it will make me a stronger, better person if I act Christlike.

Moral of the lecture is this is more like a journal entry for me than anything. I know I can be a better person hopefully inspiring others around me to want to be more Christlike daily.