The other day as we were driving home from Walmart, Ryan was coaching Pierscen by saying, "FISH! FISH!"
From the back seat Pierscen would repeat, "Sssshhhhh." Pretty dang cute. Since then he will either repeat the "sh" or the "f". I think both are pretty awesome.
On another note, there is something else I think is totally adorable. When I come inside, Pierscen is often waiting at the railing at the top of the stairs. The banister rods are a little farther apart than they should be (older model) but thankfully he hasn't shoved his head through. What he does love to do is as he sees me walking up the stairs he will shove his little Buddha belly through the railing so I can tickle it. He will giggle and pull back, then shove his belly through again. It is so funny. I love that boy.
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Thanksgiving 2012 part 2
The day after Thanksgiving was our crab and steak feast with Ryan's side of the family. We are so lucky to have Ryan's uncle Karl come up from Vegas with fresh Alaskan King Crab. It is so good! I am not a huge sea food fan, and this is usually my one time a year that I really dig in. This year the crab was especially good. It wasn't as... seafoodish as usual. Ha. I don't know how to say it. It was just more subtle and totally delicious.
The lighting for these pictures is horrible, but it was still really cool to get a four generation picture of our men! Stanley, Clair, Ryan and Pierscen.
Pierscen was quite happy to see Great Grandma H too. Pierscen was quite a fan of the food at this feast. He devoured almost all of my "Mormon potatoes" (to my understanding they are a twist on the funeral potato) and ate a bunch of my sweet potatoes too. Cute little bug.
I haven't done my hair down for forever, so I figured I would grab a picture. Proof that it's not always in a ponytail or bun. Just 99% of the time.
Pierscen loved playing with the nativity set at grandmas. I have been searching various websites for this particular set (Little People by FisherPrice.) It's not hard to find, but it's rather pricey.
Below is Pierscen and Kristopher enjoying some banana together Saturday morning while the boys went shooting.
That afternoon we went up to Cabelas again. Must. Have. Elk. Sandwich. Sadly, they ran out about 2 people ahead of us. Lame! I can only blame myself. I insisted on going running at the rec center before hand. Had I not, we would have been there early enough to not have a problem. Sad day.
Saturday night we went down to the Riverwoods with Necia, Bill and kids to see Santa. They had a really pretty house set up in the middle of the shopping area and this Santa didn't cost anything for pictures!
Pierscen was pretty tired at this point, so he didn't have any smiles for Santa, but he didn't cry either. He really doesn't care about strangers at this point. I am sure stranger anxiety will settle in at some point, but for now, he is good with pretty much anyone holding him.
This short little clip about sums it up. He totally zoned out. Time to move on. Thanks Santa.
Sunday we had dinner with Ryan's family and he invited over his old school pal Robert. Robert has gone camping with Ry's family a few times. He is a great kid and we haven't seen him in quite a long time. After dinner and putting P down for bed, we slipped out the door to spend some time at my parents. We spent a few hours there just chatting away. It was nice.
Unfortunately, part of that talk was discussing what to do with my dear old cat Cassie. Best we can calculate she is about 14. She has had a massive abscess in her mouth/cheek for a while now. She is still eating, but she has lost a TON of weight and is basically skin and bones. She only goes out if mom carries her outside and she had been peeing on my parents bathroom rugs for a while. It was pretty clear that it was time to have her put to sleep. It is a hard decision, and no one wants to do it, but it was time. Considering she really is my cat, I told my parents that we would do it.
So the following morning we came to the house, picked Cassie up and took her to the vet. It was absolutely the right thing to do, but I cried and cried and cried. Ryan even cried a little too. Not for the cat. But for me. I have a lot of great memories with her. She was a great comfort and companion when I first moved down to the basement when I was about 12. She lived a really great wonderful life.
It was definitely an awful way to end the trip, but I am grateful that I was there to do it. I know my parents really didn't want to be the ones to make the call, especially if I wasn't there. I will miss you Cassie.
After saying goodbye to both sides of the family, we stopped by the mall to say goodbye to Necia since I didn't get to see her the night before.
It was an incredible trip. I am so thankful for family and the great relationships that we have. There are a lot of us, but that just makes it all the more amazing and wonderful. We truly are blessed.
The lighting for these pictures is horrible, but it was still really cool to get a four generation picture of our men! Stanley, Clair, Ryan and Pierscen.
Pierscen was quite happy to see Great Grandma H too. Pierscen was quite a fan of the food at this feast. He devoured almost all of my "Mormon potatoes" (to my understanding they are a twist on the funeral potato) and ate a bunch of my sweet potatoes too. Cute little bug.
I haven't done my hair down for forever, so I figured I would grab a picture. Proof that it's not always in a ponytail or bun. Just 99% of the time.
Pierscen loved playing with the nativity set at grandmas. I have been searching various websites for this particular set (Little People by FisherPrice.) It's not hard to find, but it's rather pricey.
Below is Pierscen and Kristopher enjoying some banana together Saturday morning while the boys went shooting.
That afternoon we went up to Cabelas again. Must. Have. Elk. Sandwich. Sadly, they ran out about 2 people ahead of us. Lame! I can only blame myself. I insisted on going running at the rec center before hand. Had I not, we would have been there early enough to not have a problem. Sad day.
Saturday night we went down to the Riverwoods with Necia, Bill and kids to see Santa. They had a really pretty house set up in the middle of the shopping area and this Santa didn't cost anything for pictures!
Pierscen was pretty tired at this point, so he didn't have any smiles for Santa, but he didn't cry either. He really doesn't care about strangers at this point. I am sure stranger anxiety will settle in at some point, but for now, he is good with pretty much anyone holding him.
This short little clip about sums it up. He totally zoned out. Time to move on. Thanks Santa.
Sunday we had dinner with Ryan's family and he invited over his old school pal Robert. Robert has gone camping with Ry's family a few times. He is a great kid and we haven't seen him in quite a long time. After dinner and putting P down for bed, we slipped out the door to spend some time at my parents. We spent a few hours there just chatting away. It was nice.
Unfortunately, part of that talk was discussing what to do with my dear old cat Cassie. Best we can calculate she is about 14. She has had a massive abscess in her mouth/cheek for a while now. She is still eating, but she has lost a TON of weight and is basically skin and bones. She only goes out if mom carries her outside and she had been peeing on my parents bathroom rugs for a while. It was pretty clear that it was time to have her put to sleep. It is a hard decision, and no one wants to do it, but it was time. Considering she really is my cat, I told my parents that we would do it.
So the following morning we came to the house, picked Cassie up and took her to the vet. It was absolutely the right thing to do, but I cried and cried and cried. Ryan even cried a little too. Not for the cat. But for me. I have a lot of great memories with her. She was a great comfort and companion when I first moved down to the basement when I was about 12. She lived a really great wonderful life.
It was definitely an awful way to end the trip, but I am grateful that I was there to do it. I know my parents really didn't want to be the ones to make the call, especially if I wasn't there. I will miss you Cassie.
After saying goodbye to both sides of the family, we stopped by the mall to say goodbye to Necia since I didn't get to see her the night before.
It was an incredible trip. I am so thankful for family and the great relationships that we have. There are a lot of us, but that just makes it all the more amazing and wonderful. We truly are blessed.
Thanksgiving 2012 part 1
Thanksgiving this year was really awesome. Over the last several years, my side of the family hasn't gotten together much with extended family because there are just so many of us and it's too much work. Because of that, we typically have Thanksgiving with Ryan's family because they still make a big effort to get all the cousins and extended family together. Well, this year my family decided to go to Central (Richfield) and for the big Turkey feast with my dad's side. It was such a blast! There are tons of kids that are close in age, so it's really special for the cousins. It was really cool to see that next generation. It was totally worth the extra two hour drive. Besides, this is our "country" side of the family, and Ryan feels right at home. :)
Most of this post will just be a picture dump, but that's what people love anyway, right? Above left: My mom and Pierscen. Above right: Isabel (Necia's youngest.)
Above left: James and Preston. Preston was having a moment. Above right: Will, Kara, Samantha, and Hayzen.
Above left: True Blue BYU fan, Dad with Pierscen. Above right: Sabrina, Necia, Owen, Preston and Deiderik.
Above: Sabrina and Pierscen clapping. Below: Deiderik, Owen, Hayzen, Isabel, and Jacki.
We gathered all the second generation kids together for a photo. It was pretty funny because James kept telling them things to yell before smiling and so Pierscen kept looking at the kids.
...Until this picture below. As soon as the kids stopped yelling "Turkey" or "Thanksgiving" and smiled, Pierscen decided to yell at the top of his lungs. It was pretty funny. I am making it extra big so you can see. :)
The boys enjoyed a few rounds of Speed and regular basketball. The weather was absolutely gorgeous. Most of the younger kids went down to the park and played for a while. We should have too! I know Caroline got some great pictures of the kids there.
After we left, we stopped by Maple Grove, our old Spring Break fishing grounds. It was pretty darn chilly! Dad wanted to stop to collect some watercress for sandwiches which grows abundantly there. I remembered stopping there almost every trip to Richfield growing up, so when Ryan started taking me there to fish, it brought back great memories.
We saw a couple tiny fish. They have some growing up to do before next spring/summer!
Here are Dad and Kara collecting watercress. It's yummy stuff.
Mom snapped this picture of us before we climbed back in the car and headed home.
I am so glad that we were able to go to Central. We haven't seen a lot of those cousins in a long time. I wish it wasn't such a drive from Wyoming, but we will definitely make the effort to get together more in the future. Family is by far the most important thing in the world.
Most of this post will just be a picture dump, but that's what people love anyway, right? Above left: My mom and Pierscen. Above right: Isabel (Necia's youngest.)
Above left: James and Preston. Preston was having a moment. Above right: Will, Kara, Samantha, and Hayzen.
No explanation needed.
Above left: True Blue BYU fan, Dad with Pierscen. Above right: Sabrina, Necia, Owen, Preston and Deiderik.
Above: Sabrina and Pierscen clapping. Below: Deiderik, Owen, Hayzen, Isabel, and Jacki.
We gathered all the second generation kids together for a photo. It was pretty funny because James kept telling them things to yell before smiling and so Pierscen kept looking at the kids.
...Until this picture below. As soon as the kids stopped yelling "Turkey" or "Thanksgiving" and smiled, Pierscen decided to yell at the top of his lungs. It was pretty funny. I am making it extra big so you can see. :)
The boys enjoyed a few rounds of Speed and regular basketball. The weather was absolutely gorgeous. Most of the younger kids went down to the park and played for a while. We should have too! I know Caroline got some great pictures of the kids there.
After we left, we stopped by Maple Grove, our old Spring Break fishing grounds. It was pretty darn chilly! Dad wanted to stop to collect some watercress for sandwiches which grows abundantly there. I remembered stopping there almost every trip to Richfield growing up, so when Ryan started taking me there to fish, it brought back great memories.
We saw a couple tiny fish. They have some growing up to do before next spring/summer!
Here are Dad and Kara collecting watercress. It's yummy stuff.
Mom snapped this picture of us before we climbed back in the car and headed home.
I am so glad that we were able to go to Central. We haven't seen a lot of those cousins in a long time. I wish it wasn't such a drive from Wyoming, but we will definitely make the effort to get together more in the future. Family is by far the most important thing in the world.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
When Cousins Come To Town
The week before Thanksgiving we had an awesome thing happen: our first cousin visit at our house!
My mother-in-law had flown to Colorado to help Ryan's sister Jodi for a few days, then they were driving to Utah together. Coming to Casper technically adds two hours to their drive, but by coming this way and staying the night, it made the drive much more manageable. And besides that, it was a great chance for the cousins to come play!
It was a short visit, but a lot of fun. They arrived around 1 pm the first day and left the next day around 9 am. Maybe next time they can stay longer. :)
Pierscen loved having other kids to follow around. He did get beat up a bit, but nothing major. He isn't used to much competition, but his cousins are! It's alright, any younger sibling of P's will be the same way. Survival of the fittest right? ;)
Ryan really enjoyed spending time with Jodi and his mom. I made homemade Cafe Rio for dinner and it turned out pretty good. Not quite as delicious as the first time, but still yummy.
We were sad to see them go so soon, but now that Jodi has been here - and according to her, the drive was a breeze - maybe they will come again soon! Especially during the summer. There is a lot of fun stuff to do here in the summer time. Jodi is wonder woman. I don't know how any mother takes on more than one kid. Hahaha. I am sure someday I will know first hand what it's like, but for now, I am enjoying my one. :)
My mother-in-law had flown to Colorado to help Ryan's sister Jodi for a few days, then they were driving to Utah together. Coming to Casper technically adds two hours to their drive, but by coming this way and staying the night, it made the drive much more manageable. And besides that, it was a great chance for the cousins to come play!
It was a short visit, but a lot of fun. They arrived around 1 pm the first day and left the next day around 9 am. Maybe next time they can stay longer. :)
Pierscen loved having other kids to follow around. He did get beat up a bit, but nothing major. He isn't used to much competition, but his cousins are! It's alright, any younger sibling of P's will be the same way. Survival of the fittest right? ;)
Ryan really enjoyed spending time with Jodi and his mom. I made homemade Cafe Rio for dinner and it turned out pretty good. Not quite as delicious as the first time, but still yummy.
We were sad to see them go so soon, but now that Jodi has been here - and according to her, the drive was a breeze - maybe they will come again soon! Especially during the summer. There is a lot of fun stuff to do here in the summer time. Jodi is wonder woman. I don't know how any mother takes on more than one kid. Hahaha. I am sure someday I will know first hand what it's like, but for now, I am enjoying my one. :)
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