so many pictures so little time

yahoo! so august was fun. and its hard to remember it all. so i might not explain a lot but the pictures tell a great story. the biggest thing is that i was able to go to utah with alicia and go to the shakespeare festival plus a few other plays. it was so amazing! i had so much fun. ryker stayed with my mom and siblings in colorado and justin had to stay in north dakota for work. so we were in 3 different states! it was crazy and i was super nervous, but it all worked out. ryker did great on his first plane ride. he played with another little girl the whole way to colorado and then slept half way through on the plane ride home. it was good and im so glad he did so well. without justin i didnt know how it was going to go and i hoped he wouldnt scream.

alicia and i and madeline drove tuesday all the way to utah and had a show that night at the tuacan theater. it is an amazing place. for my trip i really will let the pictures tell the story because i could write a 12 page paper on what we did and all we saw. the tuacan shows were amazing. the shows we saw in cedar city for the shakespeare festival were astounding and i was blown away with the quality of their performance. i would go every year if i was able to. it was that good. by wednesday my tailbone was so sore from sitting down but i still enjoyed all the shows we went to. we ended up going to 11 shows in 5 days. it was going to be 12 shows but tuesday night we went to see the little mermaid and the storm scene got a little too real and they had to cancel the show because of weather issues. sad day. so we got reimbursed and were able to see it again friday night but that meant we missed another show that we were planning on going to. little mermaid was so  so so worth it. i have a small little boy crush on flounder. he had a great voice and was so precious. i wanted to take him home with me and have him be rykers big brother. so here is our schedule play wise.

Tues night - little mermaid - tuacan theater
wed morning - 6 seconds - shakespeare festival
wed afternoon - into the woods - shakespeare festival
wed night - joseph and the amazing technicolor dreamcoat - tuacan theater
thurs morning - breakout - shakespeare festival
thurs afternoon - sense and sensibility - shakespeare festival
thurs night - the wizard of oz - tuacan theater
friday morning - hamlets shakespeare - shakespeare festival
friday afternoon - twelfth night - shakespeare festival
friday night - little mermaid again (was supposed to be measure for measure) - tuacan theater
saturday afternoon - comedy of errors (i have never laughed so hard in my life) - shakespeare festival
saturday night - henry IV part one - shakespeare festival

then we drove home early sunday and i was able to pack everything and go to sacrament meeting before ryker and i headed to the airport.

the ones we saw in the morning were plays that were still in production. so they were still being developed. they were good. some better than others. but i enjoyed them. basically i loved everything. they all did so amazing. actors in the morning and afternoon were all in 2 or 3 shows. and then all the tuacan performers were in the same 3 shows. i just cant get over how awesome it all was.

before we get to pictures, just a little family update. we are settling in well here in minot. it is about to get a lot colder and we are expecting our first snow on thursday. justin and i got callings. we both help out in primary as well as cubscouts. justin is a leader and i am a committee chairman. which means i do a lot of paperwork and making sure all the boys are where they should be. haha. it should be fun! i am excited. primary and cubscouts are all new to me so here we go!

we figured out that we are expecting a little girl this december. we are so excited to have her join our family. it will be fun to have 1 of each haha. she already has justin wrapped around her finger. its adorable.

ryker is doing great. we still dont have words yet but he is learning more consonant sounds. we have been teaching him sign language a little bit. he has gotten really good at pointing to what he wants. he now can sign thank you, more, and food. with accompanying sounds but not real words yet. he can fold his arms to pray and say amen. well his version. he can now crawl up and down the stairs no problem. he is really good at saying and waving hi or bye. still only 6 teeth but with the drooling i think more are on their way. he loves to dance to commercials. he is phasing out of his afternoon naps which make me a little sad. that is when i get the most done like write on this blog! haha. he is doing great and is so happy. i have lots of smiling pictures of that little boy. he is growing so fast!

okay. i think thats all about us. in utah we learned how to take a panorama pic where we could be in it like 3 different times. i hope they upload so you can see. they are awesome. enjoy!

they both just sit and watch car shows on saturday mornnings. seriously they are the same person. 

loves being with dad

okay we have fun too. look at those chompers!!!

we went to the park and he loved it! the slide was fun and confusing all at the same time

he got good at climbing to the slide

loves the swing!

he always needs to be involved with dinner, so this is the easiest way to use both hands and keep him happy. we do this often shopping in stores too. haha

still loves his big trucks. and has learned to put stuff in the bucket to haul around

little girl coming end of december!

when dad is home that is all he wants. just cuddle with dad. clearly dad doesnt mind. 

just got into denver! loopy but happy!

went to the pool on monday. took him some time to get used to it. but by the end he loved it and didnt want to leave

yay lazy river!

he loved the wheel, but didnt like getting splashed. he eventually got used to it. and enjoyed the play place

his favorite was pushing his floatie. he would go till he was neck deep. it was a great stabalizer

on the road to utah!

little boy is having so much fun with auntie beez. not missing mom much

it was cold and rainy at the little mermaid, but we were determined to stay and stick it out!

in front of the building where we saw the morning shows in cedar city

having fun with statues on campus

issac newton i think? we both have great hair....

i hope you can make them bigger and really see. they are so awesome

peach cobbler as part of dinner. it was super tasty

in the rain after they cancelled the show  :(

might as well play a little bit!

madeline and rachel were with us

an awesome hat i found at the shakespeare festival

at red rocks in st george close to the tuacan theater

she looks so pretty!

i was tired and hot, but rachel took a cool pic anyway

enjoying the rain waiting for it to let up. we wanted to see the show so bad!

huddled under 1 umbrella

rachel and i huddled under ours. 

we thought it fitting since we were wet anyway

acting like einstine

bench around the theater where the shakespeare festival was. 

sitting with falstaff. 

lady juliet

we finally got a pic with all 4 of us

different bench still cool pictures

i think its king lear? maybe king henry? 

more great hats

who wore it better? haha i think alicia does great face. it compliments medusa very well

beautiful view at the red rocks in st george

i loved when i found a shady spot

front sign at the tuacan theater

we let madeline see a friend real quick in town and they gave us mints from the hotel. we got home and realized they turned our mouth green!

these were some awesome masks we found

just chillin with shakespeare

flotsum and jetsum from the little mermaid! i really loved them. they were so flamboyant. it was perfect. a close second to flounder

alicia found a rockin mask. it was so perfect

the steps at the tuacan

side note, prince eric/joseph was a beautiful individual. alicia loved seeing him in egyptian attire meaning without a shirt on for most of the show. haha

this is where the shakespeare festival was held

on fri night when alicia and i went back to the little mermaid we got a pic with ariel and prince eric

a cute little french bakery we found. they had some very tasty desserts. 

eating leftovers in the hotel

the back of the fake globe theater they have here. this is where we sae henry IV part 1

and had fun on the stage before the show

these came from a souvenir program. but these were the actors we saw.. so so so great! amazing job

so hilarious. i cried laughing so hard at this show

andrew agucheek. he was hilarious. also died laughing at his antics during 12th night

i know he isnt smiling. but he really did like grandad!

and auntie fae

i am 23 weeks i believe?

riding on dad. a new favorite game

dancing to a commercial. man i love this boy

playing with grandad! took all week but they had so much fun

he loved!!! the drums at grandmas house

he still loves the swings and i still love his happy giggly face  :)

 

i hate moving

im just going to start the post with i hate moving. i have done it 3 times in a little more than a year and im kinda done for a while. i tend to minimize things every time i move. whether thats to a different room at home or in college moving rooms or moving apartments, i will cut down and get rid of junk. but dang it we have so much stuff! i wanted to get rid of all of it this past move. haha. my mother in law helped so much with packing for our move from idaho to california and i reallly missed her help packing for north dakota. my darling son was no help. he wanted to take the bubble wrap off of everything and unpack all the boxes and generally keep me occupied so i couldnt do what i needed to. but i love him! i need to remind myself of that too but i do love him!

but even before that! justin did great the last week or 2 of his job in california. kept busy but still had time to help at home when needed. he had the 4th of july off so we spent the day as a family. we went to the zoo in the morning. it was already super hot! but ryker loved it. the animals were calm and staying in the shade. but it was a small zoo so we wernt planning on spending the day there anyway. ryker loved the reptile house! the rattle snake started hissing and shaking his tail but ryker thought it was pretty fun. and it was cooler so that helped. he liked watching the bobcats. and a lady came by with a small hawk named apalo. ryker loved him! loved the sounds he made and wanted to hold/pet him real bad. but i dont think the bird would enjoy it as much as ryker would have. i cant remember much more of that day. but it was good to spend it as a family! no fireworks in california. its too dry. but we live in the ghetto so that didnt stop some people. our fireworks were more police sirens and red and blue lights. yay california.

justins birthday was the 10th! i made him a delicious cheesecake. he loved it. he had to work and we didnt have a babysitter... so it wasnt too exciting. but after ryker went to bed we watched a good movie of justins choice and enjoyed some cheesecake. justin was also preparing for his FE exam the next monday. which by the way! he did fantastic! on saturday he took a practice test online and didnt do so hot. so he wasnt feeling super confident. but he did great and felt okay about it. we got the results about 2 weeks ago and he passed!!! so exciting. i am so so so very proud of him. he has worked so hard for his degree and now has a diploma and a certificate as a reward.

Beez also came to visit! she got in on sunday night (before justins test) and then promptly took off for a few job interviews in san francisco area. she was gone till wed afternoon. but it all worked out! she got a job! so happy for her as well. now we have a family member in every time zone haha. that will make coordinating a little more tricky. but she did great while she was here to help keep ryker so happy. they played and stayed out to help us pack the car. it was nice.

so now onto moving! after justins test we spent the next day packing. there was a man new to our ward there that was a professional mover and he helped us pack the pods that would ship our stuff to ND. he was super helpful. had dollys and knew how to maneuver things. it was great. the missionaries came and helped out too. it was awesome. so we spent tues and wed packing. then thursday morning at 3 am we took off for manassa 24th celebrations!

that was a super long drive... starting at 3 am california. getting in at 1030 pm colorado time. a good 18 hr day. if you count that and im wrong dont judge. im leaving it. the 24th was so great! its my big holiday for the year since i will be too pregnant to travel much for thanksgiving and christmas. so i loved seeing all the family. we spent friday mostly at the ranch visiting grandma and grandad reed. ryker loved it there! new people that he quickly got used to. (took a little longer for great grandad reed. haha  big strong men are intimdating!) he played on the tractors with auntie beez and aunt carlee. he loved them! loved steering and playing with all the levers. he was so sad whenever he had to get down. they made him so happy. we got some cool pictures with 4 generations. great grandad, grandad me and ryker. justin joined in the pic but it was still great. Amber and her family came too so we took a pic of all the great grandkids with the grandparents. the whole weekend whenever i said grandma or grandpa it was very confusing. i could have been talking about 10 different people!

saturday we saw the parade and then went to the babraque for lunch. so tasty! we took ryker home for a nap and played cards at aunt kristi's for a while. then after we went to grandmas across the field and played more there. justin and i along with alicia, carlee, beez and fallyn all went to the hamburger stand for dinner and then the demolition derby. mom watched ryker and put him down that night. the demo derby was good! a little long. but the trucks at the end made it so worth it! it was a lot of fun to watch. maybe justin will take ryker in a few years. im sure they would have a great time.

so sunday after sacrament we headed off to north dakota. well half way. we stopped in rapid city for the night and then finished the drive monday. the only downside was the hotel we stayed at had an ac problem so it was super hot and humid but we were tired so we slept okay anyway. we were so glad to be done driving on monday! we got here around 1 pm and were able to get the keys to our new place. we unloaded the cars and settled in to live out of the few boxes we had for the next week. we didnt have a lot but the town home is so great. i love the space and i love the look. it really is perfect. the town is a good size too. not huge like bakersfield was, but not tiny either. there is plenty to do and enough to get what we need.

that friday we were able to get our pods and unpack the rest of our stuff. the missionaries and a few ward members came to help. a few families were moving in or out so it was a little busy that day. but thats all the help we needed! we spent the next week unpacking. we are basically done now. all moved in! we got a new washer that came in on saturday. we also bought some couches and a new recliner for the living room that will be here in a few weeks. i love our new place! you can see bits and pieces from some of the pictures, but i will get more up later.

i think thats it! at least from what i remember. lots of family and moving and driving. but now we are happy in our new place! of course they are not in order. but are they ever?

walking to grandmas from aunt kristi's

yummy otterpops at the parade thanks auntie fae!

oh ya! im finally gaining weight! i think im 16 or 17 weeks ish here? 

great grandparents and great grand babies

yummy bbq!

4 generations!

loving the bobcats at the zoo!

he liked the rattler even if it didnt like ryker

on saturdays they dont watch cartoons, they watch car shows! 

playing on the tractors!

sorry beez i know its not a great face. but he was so happy in this one!

yay! more otterpops from fae

grandma helped him ride his first horse!

the petting zoo! we didnt pet any... but he liked to look at them

ellie on the miss pioneer float! she looked to beautiful

ryker enjoying some bbq too

he really wanted to pet apollo

he also loved the trampoline! auntie beez is so good to him. 

more of the trampoline

he also learned to give rasberries! haha he thinks its hilarious. 

dancing to a new fave video from aunt licia! thanks!

loving the new space! playing with dad

a lot and then nothing

hello! i missed the month of june.... i was doing so good and then i forgot. i guess not a lot happened in june  but then again a lot happened in june. it also went by really fast. i dont know. but im here now! just for you, whoever reads this, even if its just me in 10 years.

so! since i last left off, Alicia came to visit the weekend after memorial day. it was so fun to have her around. we were able to let her not sleep in for all of her days off. ryker loves to wake up at 7 so 7 it was. she was a good sport about it. and who can resist that face. i mean really. we had lots of fun! she let justin and i go out on a date. we went to a movie and saw xmen days of future past. it was super good. i recommend it. we played a lot here in the apartment. we went to the beach! its about 2 hrs away so its kind of a one time deal. but it was good. colder than i thought it would be. temperature was in the 60's there with a wind chill. i needed a sweater but of course no one thought to bring one with the 90+ degrees in bakersfield. i have not even touched a jacket since moving here. but it was good. justin set up a small wind break that helped. ryker was lathered in sunscreen and promptly fell in the sand and covered himself. but he had a lot of fun. we all just lounged but he was up and moving and having a great time. tried to run across the sand lots. made sand castles with aunt licia. we went and touched the water. all the good stuff. Alicia and i on monday went to see maleficent. it was good! we decided the effects and actors were great, but the story was a little half baked. it could have been really really good. it was just missing substance. but thats okay! we still liked it.

lets see... then in mid June justin had a trip to North dakota. it was actually pushed back a week in order to not conflict with another supervisor that was going. he had a great trip and they let him use thursday to find a place for us. and he did! found us a 3 bed, 2.5 bath, 2 story, 2 car heated garage thats attached. its in a great neighborhood. he is 5 min from work. its awesome. we are so excited and anxious to get this move started. gah! so much space! he did tell me we can even look into getting real couches. not just the futon in our living room. and a mount for the tv so it can be high and ryker wont play with it. that will help a ton. as well as a few other things. but we need to recover financially from the move first before we start buying furniture. but we are still so excited!

right before the trip someone decided to try and steal gas from our truck. that was very rude of them... they were not successful and security caught them, but they did make a hole in our gas tank. we were able to collect what was dripping. then after work justin found a way to plug it up. good work. but this means we get to replace the gas tank before we move. awesome....

so while justin was on his north dakota trip i decided that i didnt want to spend a few nights alone with ryker in a place where i hear sirens every night and i cant take a walk around the neighborhood. so we went to visit carlee! she came up for my birthday so it was fun to go down to mesa. we got to see aunt daryn and her family. missed uncle doug, but i was told he is doing well. i got to see aunt jill and her family. her little brooklyn is a doll. a chunker, but a mighty cute one. i saw clay one night, and lindsay and josh, and i got to meet ambers whole family. that was fun. i didnt get around to seeing aunt penny and uncle edd, but i can see them for the 24th. so it will be okay. we had lots of fun being with carlee and going with her to activities. i only felt minorly awkward that im married with a baby and its a singles activity. but i went along anyway and we had a great time. singles ward was the weirdest i must admit.

anyways, life is pretty good here. we are a few weeks away from moving and are so ready to get out of the heat! visiting arizona it was 110 and i wanted to die it was so hot. but here its only 90! except now its july and we are getting to 110. so that means i will never go outside! haha! beat that.... i will do all my shopping and such before 9 am. that will fix everything.

i guess in other news mostly because its been spread around anyway. i am expecting baby deitrick number 2! its been good. i have been sick like before, but i know better how to handle it which is nice. i have only thrown up once or twice. but i am still loosing weight. darn i always forget that im supposed to gain my first trimester... it is getting better though. i did go to the dr once while i was here in bakersfield just to make sure everything is okay before we move. he said size feels right for how far along i am and the heartbeat it strong! so little one is doing good.

I know they are not in order. i still dont know how to fix it. dont judge. also im trying to do this before little boy wakes up so im in a hurry to get it done and too lazy to move them around. enjoy the pics! its what you get. love you all! even though im the only one reading this in the future.

he gets a bit dirty changing the gas tank. this is a common weekend sight here at our place. 

playing superman! could work better with a shirt that has a tighter collar

mr big shot! in tribute to all family sports fans. because we are not. 

teaching him how to drive the truck early  ;)  its an important skill. 

i know its blurry, but i cant make a 1 year old stay still and smile for a pic. 

rykers fathers day gift for justin! 

walking in dads shoes! i think the steel toe is still a little heavy to lift. 

selfie with aunt carlee. im dying his face is hilarious. ive never seen it before. glad we caught it!

playing peekaboo with dad under spike. 

family at the beach!

lounging with dad. he hardly does this anymore. gotta take advantage of the little cuddle moments

burying our toes on the beach with aunt licia

i am clearly not trendy. cant even take a selfie right. but carlee and i are making cookies! they were delicious. 

more fun at the beach

this is a day i was feeling real sick so i stayed on the couch mostly. but ryker was good to play around me and on occasion on top of me. that didnt feel as good. 

our little relief from the wind. 

he loved playing on this ball at aunt carlees. he would roll it around the whole apartment. 

me at 14 weeks. a lot of it is extra skin from baby number 1. but its getting a little more roundy haha. 

he wanted to help dad get some gloves for his project. so he took them all out

lounging watching top gear with dad

playing with aunt licia at the beach!

a good family photo before things get too exciting with baby number 2

i like this one the best. 

Rkyer at the water at the beach. He really did enjoy it

Playing at the beach. Man he is cute

we put him in time out and he decided to play a game to get out of it. we were laughing so hard it wasnt so much a punishment anymore. 

He loves the opening credits scene from any show i watch. he loves to dance along and stomp and wave his arms. its hilarious

He had so much fun playing with Londyn and Channing. they were nice enough to share their toys and he had a ball.