The Monsen's Est. 2005

Saryn's New Do

2012-02-06T17:00:00.004-07:00

THIS KID!!!! She makes me smile so much. Poor kid is so bald, and unfortunately, she knows it! She is always asking me to put clips in her hair and hair ties. So, because I'm a good mom, I go ahead and do as she asks. My two year old baldo-baby walks around our house with a clip barely hanging on to the strands of hair that make up the top of her head, and a rubber band that holds together the stings of her mullet. So during the SuperBowl yesterday, I just solved all problems and gave her a baby doll wig. She smiled for TWO seconds and then promptly removed the wig, threw it at me, then frowned. But not before I got this perfect picture :)

Sharing Time vs Sleep

2012-02-03T19:50:00.002-07:00

I am sure most people know, but most certainly not everyone; I am now the Primary President of my ward. With that being said, I am suppose to do Sharing Time this Sunday and I SHOULD be focusing on my lesson, but I am soooo tired! I just want to sleep!

My girls are on the couch though and just hanging out so I might have a few more minutes to mess around on the computer before I put them in bed and then work on my Sharing Time.

THEN SLEEP!!!!

Yeah I suck..

2012-01-29T18:16:00.002-07:00

So it seems that I suck at this blogging thing lately. HOWEVER - I finally got a new computer from my wonderful husband for Christmas! I am going to try to start blogging all over again:D

So lets just start from today forward, shall we? I have been super sick the last week and a half and am finally starting to feel better. I had double ear infections that led to "infectious myringitis." Basically it means that I have developed blisters on my ear drums from having such awful ear infections! Thankfully, I am starting to feel a bit better and that means moving forward with my plans!

The plans I speak of you ask? To lose the additional 35 pounds left to hit my goal. In the last year I lost 30 pounds and this year I made myself the promise to lose the rest! Starting tomorrow morning, I am beginning the Body by Vi challenge. It seems like almost ALL my friends on the FB from H-town are losing weight with this product, so I am going to give it a try and add it in to my exercise and diet routine.

My husband is doing wonderful and is loving his job. Carys is loving dance and is excited about her preschool program in May, where she was giving the role of "Jesse" from Toy Story! She is so excited! Saryn is beautiful and bald and full of stubbornness and personality. She makes my days for sure! The two of them love each other and I couldn't ask for better kids.

So here we go - I'll keep you updated on life as much as possible!

Life

2011-07-22T18:48:00.002-06:00

GEEZ!!!!! I suck a this whole blogging thing now huh!? It seems like there is no time in the day to get anything done, let alone blog! However, I PROMISE I haven't given up hope. We need a new computer. Like I've said before, our computer is so slow that it takes at least 30 minutes to upload EACH picture. But I'm hoping that pretty soon we will be able to get our new computer and finally be able to catch up our family and friends on our life.

Catching UP

2011-04-13T17:48:00.003-06:00

My girls have been growing and its been a lot of fun! We had a pretty crappy winter with all the cold weather and both the girls got RSV. Carys missed Pre-School and Dance for almost a full month and was not happy about it. Saryn, that poor kid. She had double ear infections, RSV, and AND was getting her molars all at the same time. It was awful. We had to take her to the hospital every 8 hours or so to get her suctioned out just so she could breathe! It was pretty scary but we all made it through. With that being said, we finally made it outdoors a few weeks ago to let the girls get some nice fresh air. It was still a little chilly but it was good for them to be outdoors.

Saryn hanging out in her chair next to Carys

Saryn probably meaning to say something like "OH COME ON"

Carys with her long beautiful hair, haning out in the chair

My Carys Marie - getting so big!

These girls LOVE each other :D

Saryn Update

2010-10-18T21:40:00.003-06:00

Here is my blue eyed Saryn Kate. She is now 13 months old! Here is her attacking her birthday cake on her actual birthday. She is TOTALLY bald and her features are so different than Carys. She has blondish hair in the front and it gets darker the further back you go.. Carys is all brown hair. Saryn obviously has the blue eyes and Carys has hazel. Saryn has a lighter complexion like her daddy and Carys is more olive like me. Opposites. But they 100% love each other!

Saryn is a super DIVA. She has learned that by crying she can get Carys in trouble even if she isn't around her. Okay that is our faults as parents, but still.. She is a MOMMY'S GIRL!!! YAY! Carys LOVES her daddy way more than her mommy. I know that. I have no shame in it. But Saryn, she's all about her mommy!

Saryn is tiny. She looks like a 9 month old and is even in 9 month clothing! Shes like this little tiny person but stuck in a super small infant body. At her 1 year check up she was in the 5th percentile for her weight and only 15th for her height! Good thing she's so darn cute!

The girls love to play together. Carys is usually in charge and doesn't want to share her toys, but everyonce in a while they get in their giggle moods and it melts my heart to watch them together. As I said about Carys earlier, she loves to cook with her kitchen toys. So she has all these fake kitchen utensils. One of which is a can opener. Saryn was crying hysterically one day and when Carys appeared before me and I asked why Saryn was upset she held up the can opener and said so nonchalantly, "I'm just cuttin' baby sisters toes off." I froze and said, "Excuse me?" To which she replied, "Just cuttin' her toes off." At that same moment Saryn came crawling in and I looked at her toes. Indeed, Carys was trying to cut her toes off with her plastic play can opener. Every single one of Saryn's toes was RED in the middle because of Carys' surgical brilliance. She has even put Saryn under a laundry basket and sat on top of the laundry basket so she couldn't get out and "choke and die" by playing with her littlest pet shop toys, which Rob and I have explained are not allowed to be played with by Saryn because she is too small. They keep me on my toes for sure! I love these girls!

I am SURE that Saryn will be the handful, NOT Carys. Carys is a bit bratty here and there, just like a three year old anywhere would be from time to time. She is mainly pretty calm and easily entertained. Saryn.... Different story. Always moving, always into everything, always crying, always wanting up then down then up then down... Accident prone and fearless! I can't wait to see how things go over the next few years and see how the girls develop into their own personalities! So exciting! And... Draining :D

Carys Update

2010-10-18T21:16:00.002-06:00

Its been about a year or so since I have posted any pictures of the girls, so let me start with Carys. She started Pre-School this year! She is my big three year old and she is such a helper. She goes to the same pre-school that Rob went to when he was a little kid so its special for him. She loves going every week and always tells me she is going to go see "all the kids that are my friends." I'm happy that she enjoys going and spending time with other kids her age while learning!

She also started taking Dance this year! She LOVES to dance and always shows me her "super spins." I am sure that she didn't learn super spins from dance but from her former favorite TV show, Little Einsteins. The Little Einsteins have been replaced by Tom and Jerry. I'm totally okay with it because I'd watch Tom and Jerry ANY DAY over the crap they play on TV now!

She really reminds me of my friend who passed away while I was pregnant with Saryn, Meghan Veronie. Sometimes I look at her and swear that she could have been Meg's kiddo. I'm blessed that she is my baby girl and brings so much joy and love to my life. However, when it comes to dance, she has the SHORTEST attention span of any kid in her class. I was able to go and sit in on one of the classes and most of the time I couldn't even tell you what she was looking at or thinking about. At least she loves to dance!

She is such a happy girl! She loves being a big sister and every time she sees Saryn she is all smiles. I will say, having two has its downs, but I am so happy that the ups out-weigh them! After dance one day I caught her trying to show Saryn how to walk on her tip-toes like in dance class. She was not very happy when Saryn sat on her bum and looked at her crazy!

One of my favorite new things that Carys LOVES to do is cook. She will play with her kitchen and play kitchen toys ALL DAY LONG! I bought this super cute apron from Swiss Days this year and didn't know she would like it as much as she does. For the first few days she would keep it on constantly. I would have to pry it off of her before bed time! She loves to make real food with me any time I'm in the kitchen and loves it when she gets to bring food to the table for the family. She is so wonderful! I can't wait until she can make all the dinners...

WOW

2010-09-14T20:55:00.002-06:00

I can't believe its been almost a year since I've blogged! Main reason? My computer is a dinosaur and it takes HOURS to post pictures and navigate the site. We are supposedly getting a new one very soon (fingers crossed) so I will be updating more. Side reasons: having two kids and working and maintaining a marriage is tiring!!!!! I'm sure most of you already know that!

I'll post pictures as soon as I can! My girls are getting so big and we are loving every minute of it! Carys just started Pre-School and Dance this past week and Saryn is going to be 1 on Thursday! She is walking but acts like she doesn't know how - D I V A!!!!

More to come.. I PROMISE!

The Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-18T12:32:00.002-06:00

Yesterday we went to the Pumpkin Patch and let Carys pick some pumpkins for the family.

She wanted to sit next to the tractor..

Rob and Carys with two pumpkins she found.

Carys, Saryn and I at the pumpkin patch :)

Carys holding Saryn at their first Pumpkin Patch.

She didn't know what to think of all these pumpkins to choose from at first!

Once she realized she was allowed to touch them and pick them up, she was all for it!

"Here Daddy, I found one!"

"Orange pumpkin!"

She found a little yellow one that she wanted to show us. Then she began to count them for us!

Fall Party

2009-10-18T12:24:00.005-06:00

Connie, my mother in law, always has the cutest little get-togethers for the family. We had one last Sunday afternoon, and it was so fun! Here are 7 of the 10 grand kids playing Hot Potato. They were having so much fun!

Okay so this was my favorite to watch.. Here are the kids lined up, each holding a marshmallow on a spoon. When Grandma says "GO!" they were suppose to run to her and the first one there wins!

So Grandma Connie yelled "GO!" and the kids took off...

Most of them... Carys and Ryan were SOO funny! They just stood there eating their marshmallows!

Maybe next year they would get it.. :0)

My Saryn Kate

2009-10-18T12:20:00.002-06:00

Just a few more picture of this cute baby girl. Her eyes are very blue like Robs. Who knows if they will stay or not. Carys' eyes are hazel with a lot of green in them, so only time will tell!

Even the binky looks gigantic in her mouth.

The Bling..

2009-10-18T12:12:00.002-06:00

Here is Saryn before we added a bit of bling to her life..

I pierced her ears when she was two weeks old. She didn't cry too much, and since I had already gone through it when Carys was 3 weeks old, I made my mom hold her. Then I took her back when she was done so that I wasn't the bad guy :0)

They look so huge in her tiny little ears!

Better to do it earlier though so I can be in charge of making sure they don't get infected. Plus she looks so cute and now nobody can mistake her for a boy!

Going Home

2009-10-18T12:07:00.001-06:00

Leaving the hospital - on our way home to start a crazy journey!

Carys wanted to hold her every minute of every day! We figured the easiest way to let her do it on her own was to let her use my boppy pillow. It works wonderfully!

Once again, giving her sweet kisses :0)

more Saryn...

2009-10-18T12:00:00.002-06:00

Saryn about 3 hours old.

Bekkah now lives in Croatia for the next 10 months, but she sent her new niece a cute Longhorns hat for her first little piece of Texas:0)

The little newborn diaper just swallows her whole!

Carys stopped by the next day to say hello to her little sister. In fact, that is what she calls her, "Where's Little Sister?" or "Where's baby?" And she always says, "Hold baby? Please Mama, hold baby?"

She LOVES her!

Saryn Kate Monsen

2009-10-18T11:35:00.003-06:00

I know its been forever since I have updated my blog but I'm finally making time now!! I was induced on September 16th, one week before my due date. Labor was about 4-5 hours by the time the actual contractions started. My sister in law Melanee told me that I wasn't allowed to have an epidural until I experienced real contractions, so to humor her, I lasted as long as I could. I made it to 7cm dilated before I was crying uncontrollably and begging for my epidural! When they gave me the epidural, it was only working on my right side for a couple minutes so I had to adjust the way I was laying to make some of it go to the left side. The epidural was wonderful once it started working on both sides, however it was somewhat pointless because 30 minutes after I had it administered, I was fully dilated and ready to push. The nurse told me to do a practice push and when I did she said "STOP PUSHING!" So I stopped and looked at her confused and she said, "That was a great push, the baby is about to come out let me get the doctor." So a few minutes later he came in and one push later Saryn was born!

Saryn Kate Monsen was born on September 16, 2009 at 6:50 pm weighing in at 6 lbs 13 oz and 19 1/2 inches long. When she came out, she looked JUST like Carys!

She was so tiny! I felt like I was going to break her! Carys was 7 lbs 6 oz, so this little baby is the smallest I've ever held! But she is so adorable!

Yes, I cried a little :0)

Rob was so good the whole time I was in labor. He always surprises me at how good he can handle things. He was an excellent coach, and was wonderful as he held my hand through those agonizing contractions! Here he is with Saryn after she was weighed and measured.

DONE

2009-08-20T22:04:00.002-06:00

I am so done being pregnant. It has been forever since I made a post, and I'm not even in the mood to! ME! I love to blog. I'm just so tired of being the size of an orca whale. I have no patience, I have no desire to do just about anything, and to top it off - the damn grocery store didn't have the chips I wanted to go with my XXX Vitamin water.

Just a bit of venting before I go to bed...

Two Year Pics

2009-06-21T08:21:00.002-06:00

Here are Two of the Six Poses we have from Carys' two-year pictures we had made for her at KiddieKandids. I love that place! She is such a big girl! (My favorite picture is on the right hand side of the page...)

Little Brother

2009-06-21T08:17:00.003-06:00

Jordan, or as I affectionately call him, "Little Brother," graduated from High School! I am so proud of him and wish I could have been there! Now he is off to play golf at the University of Houston on a scholarship and will be living away from home for the first time. I can't believe how fast the time goes by! Congrats LB, I love you!

(Rebekkah, Jordan and Christian)

Just Had to Post

2009-06-21T08:13:00.004-06:00

I had to post this picture because it is SO Carys! I took her out of the bathtub one day right after her birthday and was trying to dry her off and comb her hair, etc.. Not the most fun thing to attempt when 6 months pregnant and sick with a UTI on top of it..

Anyways, I took her in her room to get her diaper and clothes on and when I turned around to lay her down and start dressing her, she had disappeared! So I hurried to find her simply because she is diaperless running through my house... and I found she had jumped on her Tinkerbell four-wheeler butt naked and took off across the living room! So hilarious! I love the face and the slicked-back-biker-hair!

Carys is TWO!!

2009-06-21T08:00:00.003-06:00

Carys turned 2 on June 3, and I can't believe how big she is now! I can still remember bringing her home from the hospital, trying to breastfeed, projectile vomit in my hair, eyes, and mouth, the first time she pooped on me, and so much more! Now she is a big girl that feeds herself, walks and talks constantly, and is very independent! Still working on the potty training thing though.. :)

Eating some yummy ice cream in her "Birthday Girl" shirt!

Playing with her dolly- she LOVES this thing! If any of you have a 2 year old girl, get her a Snap and Style doll with as many outfits as you can buy- SO CUTE!

Still brushing her hair...

Two new Disney/Pixar Movies: Cars and A Bugs Life.

And this is what she got from Rob and I: a tinkerbell four wheeler. SHE LOVES THIS THING!!! Its so cute! She doesn't quite know how to turn yet, so she constantly runs into things, but she just giggles and laughs while on it!

She also got a Radio Flyer Wagon complete with drink holders and a canopy from Grandma Connie and Grandpa Jeff, a Butterfly sandbox/sitting pool from Grandpa Craig - yet to be set up because it has rained for two weeks straight, and because of my hospital stays (to come in another post), a super cute Build-A-Bear named Candy that is pink, orange, and yellow multicolored from Pops and Candy, and an adorable American Girl BitsyBaby from Granny! This kid was a bit spoiled just from parents and grandparents!

GOING PRIVATE!!

2009-06-12T13:38:00.001-06:00

We are making our blog private as soon as we can. So, if you are interested in still checking up on the Monsens, please send me your email address. If you're lucky, you'll get an invite!!!

Cool Pictures

2009-06-01T17:56:00.003-06:00

I downloaded this new application for my iPhone called ColorSplash. It takes your pictures and turns them into black and white and then you can go back in and add the color back to only what you want to be colored. It makes for a pretty awesome and dramatic affect..

These pictures are at least 6 months old, but you get the jist of what the application does, regardless of how much Carys has grown since then!

Funny!

2009-06-01T17:48:00.003-06:00

Some of you may have already seen this, but since my blog is for my friends and family in Texas who don't have the opportunity to watch our family grow, I thought I'd share with them since they deserve it- and its pretty funny!

A few weeks ago Carys woke up from her nap and wanted to watch TV for a few minutes, so I said okay and she climbed up on the couch. She asked to watch one of her princess movies, I can't remember which one, so I put it in and continued cleaning the kitchen. After a few minutes I went to check on her and I saw she was covering her eyes. She does this sometimes if she thinks something on the movie is scary. But I knew that the movie she was watching wasn't to any "evil witch" part, so I went to check on her..

SHE WAS ASLEEP!!!!! She just woke up from a 2 hour nap, but must have still been tired! This kid cracks me up! I can't wait to have her little sister here too and see what kind of crazy cute things they do!

FOUR YEARS!

2009-05-24T21:29:00.003-06:00

On May 20th Rob and I celebrated our four year wedding anniversary. I know - I can't believe it! It seems like just yesterday we were getting married, then moving into our house, find out we were pregnant with Carys, and now we are having another little princess! And I'm sure in the blink of an eye it will be 5 years and then 10 and then 50!

We have been through a lot that has made us stronger as a couple. I love you babe, and I'm so glad we finally got married. It took four years to get there, but now its been four years of bliss to be married to you. I love you!

My Beautiful Friend

2009-05-24T21:20:00.002-06:00

On May 12th one of my best friends passed away. Meghan Layne Veronie. It has been a hard few weeks but every day seems to get a little easier. She fell asleep one night and didn't wake up. They think she had a brain aneurism in the middle of the night. It is so sad and so terrible. I am grateful that I have the gospel and that I know what happens when we pass on to the next life. I think that is one of the greatest things that is getting me through. I try not to think or talk about it because then I get all weepy, and since I'm pregnant, I have a hard time stopping the tears...

SO - I started to bake and cook instead. If I bake or cook, I keep my mind off of it! So Rob has had a whole slew of treats lately.

I'll miss you Meghan, and love you! :0)

Carys Is Getting....

2009-04-16T22:19:00.003-06:00

A BABY SISTER!!!!!

We went to the doctor today and found out that we are having another baby girl! We were hoping for a boy but are absolutely thrilled to be having a girl! Anyone who has a sister understands how fun and special that bond is, so I am excited for Carys!

Now our only ordeal will be to come up with a name for her. I have always liked the name Savannah, but also like the name Adalyn. But for some reason, neither one of those seems right. So we will be in search for a name and once we have chosen it we will let you all know!

Baby Girl Monsen was looking so cute on the ultrasound. She moves around like crazy and I can feel her little body squirming and kicking all the time. She kept turning and looking at us during the ultrasound and then her little fingers would wiggle like she was waving "hi!"

If you have any name suggestions please feel free give us your opinion!

Carys' Big Girl Room!

2009-03-23T10:43:00.005-06:00

Because we are having a new baby, Carys moved into her new big girl room a few weeks ago! Its been a hard adjustment as far as sleeping is concerned, but once she actually gets to sleep its not so much a problem!

Here is Carys her first night in her new room. She looks so peaceful!

Here is her new bow hanger. I had the "A Princess Sleeps Here" hanging in her nursery, but it was light pink with a different ribbon. So I just decided to re-use and repaint then add a few extra ribbons for her bows to hang out without getting flattened.

Here is her little stand we got to put all her toys in. Those pink and green baskets are huge! The only problem with this stand is the piggy bank. Its glass and she loves to carry it around. I am so afraid she is going to drop it one day!

Her toy box at the end of her bed..

And her cute little bed and night stand! The lamp is a touch base so she constantly has it turned on, which sucks, but as long as it keeps her in her room at night, I'm okay with it. I still need to get a few more things for her room, but overall its complete and I love it!

And I must say, Rob did a wonderful job of hanging the chair rail and painting everything for me. He hasn't ever done it before but it looks like a professional came and installed it! I love you babe! Thanks!

~Announcement~

2009-02-15T09:26:00.003-07:00

We are so excited to announce that we are expecting our second baby! He or she will be here September 21st! I will be 9 weeks on Monday. I feel okay, although still sick. It is not nearly as bad as when I was pregnant with Carys though, so I am very grateful!

It was exciting for us to find out this time because we found out on my birthday, January 10th! Rob didn't want to tell many people until after my first Doctor's Appointment, which was on Friday. Everything is looking good so far! The baby's heart beat was 170 which the doctor said is very normal this early but will probably slow down in the next few weeks. I can't wait to meet the new baby and see Carys' reaction to it all! My house is a constant mess, and I can't remember the last time I actually put on make-up but we are so very excited!

After a Nap

2009-01-31T23:05:00.004-07:00

Okay, this isn't the most flattering picture of Carys, at all, but I love it. Carys went down for a nap fully clothed and with pig tails in her hair. She woke up like this...

PRICELESS.

Chicken and Smiles

2009-01-31T22:53:00.005-07:00

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Colton has THREE chicken nuggets in his mouth and stopped to smile for the photo op!

.... So once we died with laughter at Colton and his full mouth, I swear Carys had a little chat with him here.....

..... and then decided to do it herself!!!!!

24th Birthday Dinner

2009-01-31T22:45:00.003-07:00

For my 24th birthday this year Megan and Garrett were in town visiting so we went out to dinner at Tepanyaki. I love sushi and Rob, Megan and Garrett got to enjoy the chef cooking at our table! The kids were scared at first, but eventually they really started to enjoy it!

Garrett, Megan and Colton at dinner. Poor Colton, Carys was territorial about her GoldFish, so we had to move them as far away from her as possible!

Here is our little princess trying to figure out the chop sticks! This was really cute! She finally stabbed a piece of chicken and then she was happier.

Snow Play!

2009-01-20T23:00:00.002-07:00

Megan, Garrett and Colton came for a visit and the snow was still on the ground so we let the kids go play. Here is Carys and Burton, he eats the snow, and she slaps him on the head...

Colton and Carys digging in the front yard.

The three kids playing! It seriously was so much fun to watch them!

Little Miss Carys smiling her smile, while Colton is in the background smiling behind the bink.

Christmas Morning

2009-01-20T22:54:00.002-07:00

Santa brought Carys a few good things this year!

"Here Dad, talk on my phone that comes with my Kitchen!"

Mom and Carys with the cute ear muffs given by Aunt Bekkah.

"Open! Open! Open!"

Catching Up!

2009-01-20T22:36:00.004-07:00

We haven't updated in a while, but lets start here! Carys was the Angel in the family Christmas play this year! She was so cute!

I love her grin in this picture! She steals my heart every time I look at it!

She looks confused but still cute...

The Monsen's and The Sanjurjo's

2008-12-07T22:50:00.004-07:00

Here is a picture of the Salt Lake City Temple that I took when we were there yesterday.

Here is Carys and Izaiah just hanging out. Carys kept saying "done" by throwing her hands out.

The kids sitting next to each other for a photo op. Carys, of course, moved before we could get the photo we wanted, but still kindad cute!

Carys looks like a crazy child in this picture, but Izaiah is so dang cute! I love them both to bits and pieces!

Myself, Rob, and Carys on the Temple grounds taking our Christmas picture. The ONLY way we could get Carys to smile was to say, "Show us your muscles!" So... that is what she is doing!

This past weekend we had our friends from Vegas come up for a visit. Rob and Ereca Sanjurjo and their adorable little boy Izaiah. Rob Sanjurjo and Rob my husband served their missions together in Houston, Texas and have been friends ever since. We had a great time visiting and hope to see them again very soon!

I LOVE CHRISTMAS!

2008-12-03T14:22:00.004-07:00

I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!!!! It's my favorite time of year! The beautiful tree...

The stockings all hung by the chimney with care...

8 lb 6 oz baby Jesus... (a little humor for the Will Farrell fan...)

And the poinsettia's and cinnamon scented pine cones!

I love the holiday season!

Thanksgiving

2008-12-03T14:17:00.003-07:00

We went to Houston for Thanksgiving this year and it was a blast! Here are some pics from the trip! First - Carys and Rob on the plane ride home..

Mom and Rob at the Shooting Range.

Rob and Carys

Mom and Carys playing!

Rob, Carys and Bekkah at the Outlet mall.

Thanksgiving

2008-12-03T14:12:00.004-07:00

Dad, Myself, and Jo

Frank being all Frankish! :0)

(BTW - Monsen family, we will be frying a turkey for now on.. Its the BEST!)

Carys and Bekkah

Dad, Myself, and Carys

Thanksgiving

2008-12-03T14:05:00.003-07:00

We say, "Carys smile," and this is what we get...

Megan, myself, Colton, and Carys at the park.

Bekkah and Carys

She LOVED the cats!

Christian, Me, Dad, Mom, Carys and Jo

Thanksgiving

2008-12-03T13:29:00.002-07:00

This picture is awesome. I said, "Dad, get Carys and the three of you take a picture." So, he picks up her high chair instead of her! lol.. classic!

Jo and Me

My mom and Rob

Jordan, Carys and I at my dad's house.

Dad and Carys love to read books together!

Thanksgiving

2008-12-03T13:21:00.004-07:00

Rob and Jo at dinner in Houston.

He's a good Uncle!

My handsome little Brother and beautiful Baby Girl!

This was adorable! Colton was ALWAYS kissing Carys! Then after they'd kiss, both of them would grin and start clapping! So dang cute!

Carys and Colton hamming it up for the camera!

Twilight

2008-12-03T13:11:00.004-07:00

Oh Twilight! Here is the first night I saw Twilight. We went the opening night to the 12:10 showing! Here is Terah and I waiting patiently!

Here is Melanee and her friends she works with. They were all really excited!

Brenda probably loved it the very very most (but I have since seen it two more times...) with Darcy and Shannon.

Brenda, Shannon, and Terah.

Terah prepping for Twilight's EDWARD!!! She wanted to kiss someone since it was her 10 year anniversary and she chose Edward over Dylan.... :)

Lets.. GO... U T A H !!!!!

2008-12-03T13:02:00.004-07:00

This was after Utah beat BYU! This guy dressed up as Jesus. You can see the front of his sign, but the back says "Even I don't like BYU and I'm Jesus." A lot of people didn't approve of it, I thought it was hilarious!

Here is the sign I made for the Utah vs. BYU game. A lot of people didn't like my sign either. BUT after we won I had at least 15 people come up and ask if they could take a picture with the sign! The game was so much fun!

This was after we beat TCU at the blackout game. This game was awesome! Both TCU, Oregon State, and BYU we rushed the field! What a fun time! Here is Amy, Myself, and Melanee.

Go Utes!

Here is Brenda (Melanee's mom, Amy and Myself with Greek God Paul Kruger. He's a freakin' stud on and off the field!

The Best Place To Read A Book

2008-12-03T12:57:00.006-07:00

I walked into Carys' room a few weeks ago and this is what I found! How funny! She loves to read books so this was just too cute.

Trick-Or-Treating

2008-11-13T11:09:00.002-07:00

Amy and Dustin had the best Couple's Costume at the Party. Weren't they cute!?

Carys didn't want to walk while we were Trick-Or-Treating. So she sat down and waited for someone to go pick her up!

Rob and Carys out Trick-Or-Treating. Carys loves her Daddy, can't you tell?

Carys and I on Halloween night.

Random Halloween Pics

2008-11-13T10:56:00.004-07:00

Here is Rob's brother Randy at his and Melanee's Halloween Party! He had the best costume! He was trying to be Barrack Obama, but when that didn't work out he got this instead. When I walked into the party I had NO idea who he was for a few seconds!

I thought this was a funny pumpkin carving that Randy and Melanee's kids did!

Mom - here is the closest thing I could get of the cute shirt you sent her! Sorry her face looks funny, but at least she was adorable in the shirt! Thank you!

Grandpap Comes for a Visit

2008-11-13T10:45:00.007-07:00

When we went Trick-or-Treating they were finally pals!

Grandpap, Carys and Rob at Melanee's Halloween Party

Grandpap and Carys, she at least let him hold her at this point and shes okay with it... sort of..

She didn't even want him to hold her at first.. but it got better!

Grandpap, my Dad, came in town for Halloween weekend! Carys didn't know what to think of him at first, but after a while she got use to him. Actually, the morning he left, Carys walked into the living room and walked in circles for a minute trying to find him. She kept mumbling and pointing to the couch then looking around again. It was cute! Good thing we are going home for Thanksgiving so she can spend more time with him and the rest of the family!

Halloween at Rhodes

2008-11-13T10:37:00.004-07:00

Rob and Carys while at Rhodes

Getting the hang of it!

Mom and Carys

My little Spider!

Every year Connie's work has a Halloween Party in the morning. All the kids and grandkids of the employees come dressed in their costumes and go trick or treating and then have a little lunch. Its fun to watch the kids walk around and see the costumes. It was especially fun this year because Carys got to try out trick-or-treating all on her own this year!

Witchapalooza~

2008-10-21T15:26:00.004-06:00

THIS WAS SO MUCH FUN! Last night Connie took all the girls to a girls only event! Witchapalooza! AND IT WAS GREAT! It was a dinner show, with super yummy food and music pretty much the entire night! Witches would run around and sing songs from each decade. Melanee likes to give me grief because I was born in the 80's and don't "know good music" so she was testing me all night long. Finally, after I was able to sing almost every song she said, "Okay, I guess we can be friends.." LOL! Seriously I was dying laughing at some parts of the evening! Amy and Melanee were singing all the 80's songs like they just came out yesterday, so I made sure to catch them in the moment! Thank you Connie! Last night was MUCH needed!

Oh and Connie - just so you know, when I got home last night after explaining to Rob how much fun I had he responded with, "Good, I'm glad you had a good time. Now I wonder what she is going to do for us." Apparently you have to now plan something for a boys night out! :D

Family Pictures

2008-10-21T15:17:00.003-06:00

Sunday we went to Wheeler Farm to take some pictures of all the grandkids together. Since we were there we decided to just have a little mini-photo shoot with just us. It was hard to get Carys to look at the camera long enough to smile, but we got only a few where she wasn't looking down or not looking at all. We had two outfits for the kids to wear. One with all the brown and khaki which is my favorite ever! And then we had all the Utah shirts. The kids looked soo cute!

Leaves

2008-10-21T15:13:00.002-06:00

At Gardner Village last Friday, Carys wouldn't get out of the stroller for anything except the leaves! She loved them! I tried to post this pictures last week but the website wasn't working too well. So here you go!

Gardner Village

2008-10-17T20:11:00.006-06:00

Today we went with all the girls and all the kids to Gardner Village for the fun Halloween Festivities! It was PACKED! But still a lot of fun! We looked at a few shops, got a bite to eat, and let the kids run around for a while! We tried to get a picture of all the grandkids together, but Berkeley wasn't having it. So we have Riley holding Ryan, then Gracie, Rushton, Dawson, Carys and Marlie, then Berkeley in the second one! Then we have all the sisters/moms. Tori and I are standing and then on the front row sitting down are Melanee, Amy, and Courtney.

Our Home

2008-10-17T19:54:00.003-06:00

We have been making some improvements and upgrades on the outside of the house for a while now. So here is the finished product! We just finished getting new shingles this summer, as well as new sophit and facia and rain gutters. Then we built a garage last winter and everything is hung and painted to Rob's specifications. We have tall canna lilies, white and purple allyssum, and pink day lilies and dahlias. We also finally painted our red "U" for our support of the Utes! I am so happy with how everything has turned out!

Kids Are An Adventure...

2008-10-01T13:31:00.007-06:00

Last Saturday was one of the Utah games, which we love going to. Right before the game started Rob ran to the front of the stadium to give a friend of his a ticket to get in, and Carys and I were sitting on the bleechers eating a hotdog. I turned to put my hotdog down to give Carys a drink and as soon as I turned I heard WHACK! And then Carys started screaming. So I turn and she wasn't sitting next to me anymore. She, I can only assume, leaned forward and fell face down off the bleecher. On her way to the sturdy cement below she smacked her head on the bleecher one row below us.

I hurried and picked her up and, naturally, started losing it! I kept looking at her face to see if she was okay, but I didn't see any blood so I thought she was. Then Brenda, Melanee's mother, said "HER HEAD, HER HEAD!" I looked at the top of her forehead there, right in the middle of her hair line, was a goose egg the size of a golf ball. It was already poking off her head half an inch and was starting to turn purple.

I didn't really know what to do in the split second I saw her poor head, but before I could react Dustin, told me to go get some ice for her. And before I knew it, I was already at the top of the stairs with my screaming child running to the concession stands. I walked right into the back of one but instead of asking for ice I asked for the EMT's. One guy ran out and said he would get them for me.

Rob was coming back towards our seats when Dustin found him and tried to explain what happened. I felt so horrible. I just started crying because my little baby was so unhappy. But how can you be happy with a giant bruise on your head!

The EMT's came over and checked her out, which of course made a crowd. So here I am holding screaming Carys and I'm trying to be brave and talk through my tears explaining what happened. They checked for any sign of concussion and checked her body for any other bruises or anything we over looked.

Thankfully, they said she would probably be just fine but to keep on eye on her for any odd pupil dilation, vomiting, trying to go to sleep, etc. I made her stay up and active and awake for the next 4 hours just to be sure, but she seemed to be just fine. She laughed and played with the kids, and Aunt Amy even showed her a slide show of pictures on her camera and let her take a few herself!

I took a picture at the game of her bruise, but more than anything it was just swollen then. You can't see it too well, but its raised up off her head quite a bit. Today I also took another picture because now its green. Its about an inch long and three quarters of an inch wide.

She Looks Like A Kalana

2008-10-01T13:23:00.003-06:00

I took this picture the other day after she woke up from a nap and when I look at it I think of No'a and Kai. My cousins. They are adorable and for some reason she really looks a lot like them in this picture!

Carys Has Moves!

2008-09-26T15:36:00.003-06:00

Yesterday I was watching The Bourne Supremacy and when the credits started rolling and the music started playing, Carys started dancing. I hurried to grab my camera to watch, but then she wouldn't dance as much or for nearly as long. But still we got a little piece and its perfect! She shimmies her shoulders, waves her arms, stomps her feet and wiggles her waist! Move over Brittany Spears...

Utah Game

2008-09-15T16:58:00.003-06:00

Here is a few pictures of Carys in her University of Utah attire. She is such a doll. She LOVED the game. She cheered and clapped and yelled with everyone else there! She thought it was great! My favorite was that sooo many people came up to us and told us they loved her and they would watch her down in front (we have second row seats) because she was so much fun!

~My Baby Girl~

2008-09-15T16:54:00.003-06:00

My baby girl isn't a baby girl anymore. She is so big now. Almost 16 months! This is one of my favorite pictures of her because it totally captures her cute little personality! She is always laughing and smiling and eating! I tried to crop most of it out, but you can still see a few crumbs on her mouth and teeth from a cookie she was eating!

Michigan vs. Utah

2008-09-15T16:46:00.004-06:00

UTAH BEAT MICHIGAN!! YEAH!!!!! And Rob was so excited because he flew to Michigan the night before with his brother, Randy, to watch the game. He said he had a great time and was so happy that he got to go! Go Utes!!!

Pops and Candy

2008-09-15T16:31:00.002-06:00

Pops and Candy, Frankie's parents, came to Utah for a short but sweet visit! Carys was a little nervous at first, but once Pops sat down on the couch with her and read her a book he soon became one of her favorites! Pops also had a fun time with Burton, our weimaraner. Candy was so sweet as usual and it was so fun to catch up with her! We went out to eat dinner at Famous Dave's in Jordan Landing before they had to leave. It was delicious! Thanks for a fun evening and a great meal! We love you guys and can't wait to see you soon!

The Cabin

2008-09-15T15:50:00.006-06:00

Over Labor Day weekend we, all the girls in the family, went to Swiss Days. We stayed a night in Melanee's family's cabin. It was so much fun! We went to a cute little diner for dinner, then went back to the house and talked and laughed for a few hours. We saw deer, a moose, and we made a fire. Amy and I thought it would be funny to make Melanee laugh, so we filled the fireplace full of wood, so much so, that the door couldn't shut! We were rolling on the floor with laughter! It was so funny! Maybe you had to be there... but at least we had everyone laughing and we had a great time!

~HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE BROTHER~

2008-09-11T17:19:00.002-06:00

To my dearest little brother: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! He is 18 today! I can't believe how fast the time flies! Its incredible! AND, I can't believe that I am stuck in Utah with the perfect cloudless skies and the cool breeze in the air, while all my family and friends get to have Hurricane Ike visit this weekend!

No, I'm not crazy, I just like crazy things.. and that includes massive rain and thunderstorms, and sustained 80-115 mph winds. Christian told me today that if he still had his surf board he would be down in Galveston already taking advantage of the rare 'big' waves there! When I asked him if he was preparing for the storm he said, "Yeah, with a cooler, a lawn chair, and my shades!" Jordan is just happy because he doesn't have to go to school tomorrow. And Rebekkah said I can't be jealous because I get blizzards and they don't. Touche. (Although, I would rather have the hurricane!)

I hope all my friends and family stay safe in the storm! We love you! :D

Quick Update

2008-09-09T14:12:00.002-06:00

The past two weeks have been crazy! Lets start off with Swiss Days! The Second Happiest Time of the Year! IT WAS A BLAST! All the girls drove up to Melanee's cabin and spent the night there. We build a fire and laughed and joked for hours before going off to bed around midnight. Then we had to get up early so we could be at Swiss Days FIRST! If you don't know what Swiss Days is, you don't know what you are missing! The first year I was married I didn't want to go to some "crafty-type event" and tried to get out of it. Then when i came home, i was just counting down the days until the next year! I LOVE SWISS DAYS!

We got home after Swiss Days at about 12:30 or so. Rob and Randy were leaving at 1 to go the Michigan for the Utah Football Game. They made their flight and were on their way! So Saturday I was in the house and all of the sudden the lights go off. I called my mother-in-law, Connie, and asked her if hers were off too. She said that they were doing work over on 3500S and that they had hit a powerline and the electricity had been on and off all day long. Well since I had no electricity I had no way to get into my garage to get my car out. So Carys and I hung out all day long watching movies and scrapbooking.

Sunday came and we picked Rob and Randy up from the airport and then went to church. After church Rob needed to go look for something at the mall so we left. We couldn't find anything at the mall and then when we were done we went to dinner. On our way home we noticed that over near our house the clouds were dark and creepy looking! So as we drive closer to home it starts raining. When we get on the streets near our house we start to notice everything looks dark and dreary. Then, one stoplight from out house, we see that a powerline snapped in half and nobody in the immediate area had power... AGAIN! So we hurried home to light candles before it was too dark to see anything.

Then the rain came. We don't have very good rain gutters on our house right now, so when it rains, it literally pours on us! Not ten minutes into the storm Rob had to go out and push the water away from our house. But since we couldn't get into our garage to the push broom we had to go to Amy's to borrow hers! When he came back, I was watching him struggle to get the water away it was beating down on him faster and harder. Carys was in my lap and the dog was trying to squeeze his large butt on the couch with us, when all of a sudden, I see our neighbors rain gutters burst open and a waterfall of water comes gushing down towards Rob and our driveway!

At this point I ran downstairs to see that mud and water were seeping through one of the window wells and into our basement, and made a small stream down into our storage under our stairs. Then I ran into the basement and since it was so dark I couldn't see anything, but i could feel the water under my feet near the two other window wells in our house. So I ran up to get Rob who helped me grab towels and try to put them along the wall to stop the water from ruining our carpet and furniture. Rob's dad came up to help move stuff out of the way, and I went to Connie's to get more towels.

While at Connie's she told me that they were going to stay at a hotel because the power wasn't suppose to be back on until 1 or 2 in the morning. I thought about it and decided that me and Carys would go with them since she needed a bath, and I didn't have a microwave or gas stove to warm a bottle for her, and our house was already getting hot and sticky with no A/C.

Within the hour we were driving down the freeway in the storm. The lightening was just like I remember in Texas, lighting up the whole sky! I secretly loved it! Then, after one bright flash of lightening, the power on the freeway went out. Then on our exit towards the hotel, we start to see transformers blowing. Within 30 second of that we get a call that says the hotel lost power since they blew a transformer.

We detoured to a Wendy's to grab a bite to eat and wait to see what we would do next. After a while Rob called and said the electricity had finally come back on and we should just come home. We decided that we would and made it home safe and sound. What an eventful weekend that was!

Then, this past weekend, we went to the first Home Utah Game. We have season tickets so we never miss a game! Its so much fun. We took Carys and she loved every bit of it! All the fans loved Carys too! They kept coming to us and telling us how cute she was and how they loved her fun personality! She clapped and cheered with the rest of the crowd!

Rob's tooth started to hurt and by Monday morning it was so bad that he had to go to the dentist. He ended up having to get a root canal! I dropped him off to get that done while i took Carys over to her 15 month check up. She is in the 79th percentile for her height at 31 inches, and in the 34th percentile for her weight at only 21 pounds and 12.5 ounces. So it looks like she is going to be tall and slender. Dr. Jackson said she is completely healthy, and even a little ahead for her age when it comes to her facial expressions and her reactions to things. He was lucky enough to get to watch her throw a temper tantrum! She stomped her little feet at me, whined and then threw herself on the floor. What a lovely display...

She got two shots and cried for just a split second. Once we were done there I went and picked up Rob from his appointment, then headed home. We picked up Rob's painkillers and then him and Carys went home for a nap.

Hopefully things are going to calm down a bit! Carys is great after her shots and Rob is great because he has medication for his poor mouth!

More Fun!

2008-08-24T23:49:00.002-06:00

Here are the rest of the pictures from Berkeley and Tommy's Birthday Party. All the kids loved the hammock! Once they discovered it was there, it was the best thing around! Carys loved it, so Marlie wanted to try. Both of them sat there swinging back and forth until it was time to open presents! Maybe we should get one and then she would go down for a nap outside!

Berkeley's B-Day Party

2008-08-24T23:44:00.002-06:00

Berkeley will turn two in a few weeks so we celebrated her and Tommy's birthday party on Saturday. It was so much fun to watch all the kids running around and playing!

Blueberry Yogurt

2008-08-24T23:33:00.002-06:00

Learning to Use Utensils

2008-08-24T23:31:00.001-06:00

Carys is starting to learn to eat with utensils. Its pretty entertaining! But here is some stuff from her first time with a spoon! She did well at first, not getting anything on herself. Then I walked out of the kitchen for 15 seconds and I come back and she is covered in blueberry yogurt!!!

Rob Wakeboarding

2008-08-24T23:09:00.003-06:00

Rob is getting pretty good at wakeboarding! Here is a short video clip of him. The color is kinda off, but you can still see him pretty well.

Lake Trips

2008-08-24T22:47:00.004-06:00

We have gone to the lake a few times this summer and everyone of them has been fantastic fun! Carys loves the water, Rob loves to wakeboard, and I like to sit there and do nothing. Maybe one day when I'm not still 20 pounds over weight Ill get on the wakeboard again! Here are just a few lake pictures from the summer! One with Rob on the board and me on the tube, one with Carys in her life jacket, one with Carys walking around the camp ground, and the last one is funny to us. We were driving home from the lake and Rob turned around and saw that Carys had taken a pair of his pants and put them around herself like a shaw! It was funny!

Thanksgiving Point Video

2008-08-24T22:40:00.005-06:00

Here is a cute video of Carys at Thanksgiving Point. She gets so excited when she sees water! She flaps her arms up and down like she is going to take off flying at any minute! The color isn't that great since the video was shot on my digital camera, but you can kinda get the gist!

Thanksgiving Point

2008-08-24T21:50:00.003-06:00

We had a fun day at Thanksgiving Point a few weeks ago! It was cute to watch all the nieces and nephews run around the gardens and mazes. The best part was Noah's Ark at the entrance. It was a huge ark with animals sticking their heads out the window and spraying water on the kids. Its made to look as real as possible, it was even in about a foot of water. Carys loved it and Riley was such a good helper with her! She loves her cousins!

~Random Cuteness~

2008-08-24T21:42:00.004-06:00

Here are some totally random but cute pictures of Carys. We have her in a cute little pink and brown outfit that Grandma Angela gave her, she looked so adorable! There is also one of her drinking from the hose outside while we were working in the yard. It was cute! Then there is a picture of how she fell asleep one day in her crib, LOL! It was classic, and then last but most assuredly not least, is her and her gigantic drink. Rob got a slurpee from the Seven Eleven and gave her a drink. But then she didn't want to give it back...

Playing Dress Up

2008-08-24T21:38:00.003-06:00

Having a girl is so much fun! We play dress up all the time now, much to her dismay! She doesn't quite like it yet, but I am confident she will soon!

Splash Pad

2008-08-24T21:33:00.002-06:00

I know its been a long time since my last post, but these past few months have been busy! So lets get started!
They built a splash pad across the street from my house at the Magna Pool. I took Carys there hoping she would like it and she did! She didn't know what to think at first, but after about 30 seconds of watching the water, which she loves, she started having a blast!

Camping and Boating Trip

2008-07-06T22:41:00.005-06:00

We spent Fourth of July weekend camping and boating! It was great! It was Carys' first time to camp and she did super! She also loved the water and playing in the sand! Rob wake boarded and I am too chicken so I went tubing. We can't wait to go again! Even Burton had a good time relaxing in the sun. Yay for summer!

Berkeley and Carys in the wagon.
Berkeley, me, and Carys playing in the sand and water.
Me and Carys just playing!
Mommy and Baby Girl!
Carys in her cute little babyGap giraffe suit! Stylin'!
Burton... he had his own personal umbrella on the sand next to the lake.

The Fourth of July

2008-07-06T22:28:00.003-06:00

Carys was in the Magna Fourth of July Parade on Grandpa Jeff's float for his plumbing business! She got to ride with her cousins, Gracie, Dawson, and Marlie and her Aunt Amy! She was happy throwing candy over the side of the boat until some people started shooting water guns and got her wet! Her surgery was just 2 days prior and she wasn't very happy, I think a little water got in her ear. Other than her crying for a few minutes, it was cute and fun! Then we had a BBQ at Rob's parents house and she was tired so she took a nap in her bathing suit on Grandma's floor.

Carys' Surgery

2008-07-06T22:12:00.004-06:00

For the past 3 weeks Carys has been very sick. She has had chronic ear infections since she was just a few months old and they just never seemed to go away. After finally having her scream for 3 nights straight, even after being on antibiotics, we took her to an ENT doctor and he said we should go ahead and put tubes in her ears. We scheduled her surgery for the following Wednesday, July 2nd. What was really hard was just the weekend before her surgery I got Bronchitis, and now I have double ear infections! Its been a rough few weeks at our house, but Carys' surgery went nicely and she seems to be in little or no pain now, and my bronchitis is just about gone! Just another few days of ridiculous pain in my ears and then we hope to be all back to normal!

Here is Carys laying on Rob when she was sick. She loves her Daddy.
Such a sad girl.
Not happy at all. I think she knows what is about to happen.
Playing with a few toys right before the doctor took her in.
In the recovery room trying to get her to drink a bottle of juice and calm down. This was a really tough hour.

DaDa!

2008-07-06T22:01:00.003-06:00

I took this video of Carys walking around for my family in Texas to see. It was filmed on July 1st. Its short, but cute. She is way good at walking now, sometimes she gets so excited she tries to start running, once she does that we will put another video on!

Swimming with the Nelsons!

2008-06-21T14:41:00.003-06:00

Yesterday we went swimming with Mandy and her two kids and two of the kids she watches during the day. It was fun, but hot!
Elsie and Carys just hanging out pre-swim time. Carys was drinking her apple juice and loving it!
Still sitting on the blanket just basking in the glorious sunlight! :0)
Carys HATED the water at first. She cried for 20 minutes. She finally relaxed and just laid back in her float and played with her toys.
She fell asleep literally 2 minutes after I pulled her out of the pool once she started whining again. She slept in the shade under a towel. The tree she was under had seeds that fall all over the place and she got covered!
Here is Ethan, Gatlin, and Jaxon. The three amigos. They are funny!

A Day at the Zoo

2008-06-21T14:29:00.003-06:00

We had a fun day at the zoo! My sister in law Courtney and her daughter, who is 9 months older than Carys, Berkeley, came with us! They loved to look at all the animals and ride the carousel!

Carys and Berkeley in their strollers just hanging out watching the monkeys.

Me and Carys on the Carousel Ride at the zoo!

Courtney and Berkeley on the Carousel also

"Come on Berkeley, lets go ride the Carousel!"

The two girls watching the ride go round and round...

One Year Pictures

2008-06-15T23:10:00.003-06:00

One year pics! The first one in her dress is actually her 4th of July outfit, but I wanted to just get it over with now so I did both outfits in one sitting. I really like the other two pictures. My mom liked the boarder around the last picture. I didn't mind it, but i got mine made without the boarder. Either way, she is beautiful and so big now!

Helping in the Garden

2008-06-15T22:43:00.004-06:00

We planted a few more flowers in our front yard and Carys had woken from her nap and came out to help. She was really good at first, she sat on her blanket and played with her toys. Then we looked up 15 seconds later and she had crawled across the yard to where the Peat Moss bag was. She decided it would first be fun to throw the old flower heads I had cut off into the bag. The she realized she could touch the brown stuff in the bag. Then it was ALL over her. Rob thought it was way funny, and so did I at first. But the she decided to pick up a handful of it and shove it in her mouth. Not so funny then! She started crying and I ran her inside to the sink to get her cleaned up. It was hard to get it out of her mouth. But that was a week ago and she is doing just fine now. The last picture we took just after we cleaned out her mouth. I love watching her explore new things!

Mama Mac's Visit

2008-06-15T22:37:00.002-06:00

Mama Mac came to visit for Carys' first birthday! It was so fun and Carys took to her right away. It has been awhile since they have seen each other but you couldn't even tell! She bought a stuffed Ty Beanie Baby Giraffe from a store up here called The Quilted Bear and Carys WONT put it down! She loves him! We call him 'the baby.' I posted a picture with all three generations of women standing in front of the airport, its pretty exciting to think about!

Birthday Time!

2008-06-15T21:47:00.005-06:00

Carys turned 1 on June 3rd! We had a birthday party for her at Hunter Park with all our friends and family. It was so much fun! But I did get stung by a bee. :0(
The best part of the party was when Carys ate her little mini-birthday cake we got from the store. She tore into that thing like there was no tomorrow! Then someone said "oh isn't she just so big now.." and when you say "So Big!" to Carys she puts her hands up over her head to show you how big she is. Needless to say, she put her hands up over her head and into her hair while eating her cake. It was so funny! Everyone laughed! She loved opening presents and playing with her cousins the whole time! It was great fun!

Beautiful Baby Girl!

2008-06-03T21:08:00.003-06:00

Today is Carys' first birthday! She was born at 11:58PM one year ago today! So here a few pictures to show you how big she is getting! The one where she is standing on the driveway in her khaki shorts and pink tank top was taken today on her actual birthday. The other two I just think are really cute.

Random

2008-06-03T20:55:00.003-06:00

Here are a few random pictures of Carys. There is one in her cute Pottery Barn church dress, and then there is one where she looks like a WHO from WHOVILLE from the Grinch Who Stole Christmas. She loves to push every button on my cell phone and watch the screen turn colors. I love her new car seat we bought for her birthday. Its pink and brown and adorable!

:0(

2008-06-03T20:39:00.002-06:00

This is a not so fun game that Carys LOVES to play. Over. And over. And over again. She pulls out ALL the TupperWare and throws it across the kitchen floor. Its loud, it clangs, its annoying, she has cracked 3 different pieces, and I truly wish it would end. But, she laughs the entire time like its the best thing in the world!

Tired Baby

2008-06-03T20:26:00.003-06:00

LOL - Carys was sooooo tired one day when I was picking up my niece, Riley, from school. I gave her a book because she was being grumpy and within a few minutes, she was quiet. So when I got to the school I looked back and she fell asleep holding the book! It was so cute! She was so tired she couldn't even lay it down (or throw it down rather..)

Carys Is Walking Good!

2008-06-03T20:22:00.002-06:00

Carys started walking around 11 months or so, and now she is pretty good. I took this video about a week and a half before her first birthday (today!) She is better now, but I still think this one is so cute!

Sooooooo......

2008-05-10T21:36:00.002-06:00

For the past few days Carys has NOT been sleeping well. She wakes up just screaming multiple times a night. I had noticed one day about a week and a half ago that she currently has 6 teeth coming in! Her 4 front top teeth and two more bottom teeth. So this morning I decided to take a look inside her mouth, which is a tough task with her, she never opens her mouth, and ALL 4 top teeth are trying to break through! Her poor mouth must hurt so bad. I can't even imagine how much pain she must be in. :0(

But on a better note, she has been taking more and more steps everyday. Today she did stand up all on her own from the middle of the living room and walked right over to Rob standing a few feet away. I don't think it will be too much longer until she is cruising all over the place on her own!

Ryan Michelle Ford

2008-05-05T17:45:00.004-06:00

Tori, Rob's little sister, finally had her baby! She was born on April 24th at 10:12 P.M. She was 7 lbs 2 oz. She is beautiful! I got to hold her not too long after she was born.

Rob got to hold her the next day. That same day Carys came with us and got to see her cousin for the first time. She was very interested in what the baby was. Carys and Berkeley sat together in a big purple chair and hung out. They were so cute together! Its sad to think that Carys isn't the baby of the family anymore!

Bouncin' Off the Walls

2008-05-05T17:38:00.002-06:00

We took Carys to a birthday party at a super cute place called "Bouncin' Off the Walls." Its a huge place where there are enormous jump houses. She had a great time. There was a big blow up basketball court/football field. She LOVED it! We had to help her around just because she was so small compared to all the other kids that were playing, but I know she loved it! One day we will have to have a birthday party for her there! It was great!

Visit From Our Friends

2008-04-08T13:34:00.003-06:00

We had a nice weekend of our friends coming up from Houston, Megan and Garrett Reed, with their son Colton. It was very fun! Here are a few pictures from the trip. There are cute ones of the kids, one where Carys is having her first taste of Spring colored Oreo cookies, there is also a hilarious picture where it looks like Carys is saluting the camera! One of our friends little boys also came to play for a day. His name is Jarrett. He was born 6 days after Carys. Colton is the oldest, he will turn one on April 27th!

EASTER 2008

2008-03-31T21:59:00.002-06:00

Here are a few pics we took from Easter Sunday. She loved getting her little egg from the easter egg hunt! Rob is in one of the pictures with her, and there is a picture of Aunt Tori holding Carys as well. Aunt Tori is going to be having baby Ryan any day now, and Carys can't wait for her to get here!

Carys' First LolliPop

2008-03-31T21:56:00.004-06:00

Burton got attacked by the neighbors dog pretty badly so we took him into the vet to get looked at. Carys was being a fussy girl so the vet gave her a lollipop! She LOVED IT! I had to take it away a few second later just because she was getting it all over, and the dog hair was sticking to it..gross :0(

Carys and Elsie

2008-03-31T21:39:00.002-06:00

This is Carys' friend Elsie, she is a few months younger but they love to spend time together. Mostly, Carys crawls right over her, takes her binky, pokes her in the eyes, and shoves her fingers in her mouth. Poor Elsie, she just takes it...

Crawling!

2008-02-27T09:40:00.004-07:00

Carys started crawling right at 8 months old. She is all over the place now! The first day after she started crawling, I was cleaning up the house, and I walked into her room for a second and when I came back out I couldn't find her! I started looking all over the house, I thought she fell down the stairs at first, but I just couldn't find her! Then as I put my head in my hands in the middle of the kitchen about to start freaking out, I see her. Sitting underneath the table, on her bum, looking up at me and just smiling so big! She gets into just about everything! But the truth is, we LOVE that she can crawl now. I can't wait until she can walk!

Me and Grandpa

2008-02-27T09:35:00.003-07:00

Grandpa came in to visit this weekend. Carys is helping him out on the computer! There is another picture of her in her car seat. She was laughing the whole way to P.F. Changs. She would talk to herself, and then just started laughing! It was cute!

Just Hangin' Out!

2008-02-27T09:29:00.003-07:00

Carys looked so cute in her little outfit here, so I thought I would put it on so y'all could see it! The Second picture you can kinda see the color of her eyes, they are beautiful. They are blue on the outside, then green, then a little bit brown in the middle. I love them! ( Although the face she is making is kinda goofy!)

My baby girl!

2008-01-31T20:29:00.000-07:00

I can't get the videos to upload so i will post a few pictures instead. Here is Carys right before Church, in the yellow dress, and Colton and Carys having a drink together on the floor in their church clothes at my Grandpa's funeral.

The Monsen's Est. 2005

Saryn's New Do

Sharing Time vs Sleep

Yeah I suck..

Life

Catching UP

Saryn Update

Carys Update

WOW

The Pumpkin Patch

Fall Party

My Saryn Kate

The Bling..

Going Home

more Saryn...

Saryn Kate Monsen

DONE

Two Year Pics

Little Brother

Just Had to Post

Carys is TWO!!

GOING PRIVATE!!

Cool Pictures

Funny!

FOUR YEARS!

My Beautiful Friend

Carys Is Getting....

Carys' Big Girl Room!

~Announcement~

After a Nap

Chicken and Smiles

24th Birthday Dinner

Snow Play!

Christmas Morning

Catching Up!

The Monsen's and The Sanjurjo's

I LOVE CHRISTMAS!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving

~~~~~~Twilight~~~~~~

Lets.. GO... U T A H !!!!!

The Best Place To Read A Book

Trick-Or-Treating

Random Halloween Pics

Grandpap Comes for a Visit

Halloween at Rhodes

Witchapalooza~

Family Pictures

Leaves

Gardner Village

Our Home

Kids Are An Adventure...

She Looks Like A Kalana

Carys Has Moves!

Utah Game

~My Baby Girl~

Michigan vs. Utah

Pops and Candy

The Cabin

~HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE BROTHER~

Quick Update

More Fun!

Berkeley's B-Day Party

Blueberry Yogurt

Learning to Use Utensils

Rob Wakeboarding

Lake Trips

Thanksgiving Point Video

Thanksgiving Point

~Random Cuteness~

Playing Dress Up

Splash Pad

Camping and Boating Trip

The Fourth of July

Carys' Surgery

DaDa!

Swimming with the Nelsons!

Twilight