Happy 2nd Birthday Ricky!!!

I can't believe that Ricky turns 2 today! I was in the hospital room marveling at his huge body (10lbs 9oz) and fat cheeks right about now, only 2 years ago. I remember hoping he would be funny, smart, hansom, love his mommy & daddy and big brother. Well, he has been all of those things and more. Ricky has become (much like Jacob is) a funny little kid that makes us all laugh, a naughty one that bugs Jake and then kisses him, a curious little guy that gets into EVERY

THING, and a tender little hearted guy that loves to hear how much we love him. I truly would not change a thing about him. This year Ricky went from babble words to sentences and thoughts. He is articulate about things that matter to him like trees, Jacob, food, puppies, bikes, Shia (Arshia), Lyssa (Alyssa) & Lillo (Olivia), popsicles, parks, running and of course, our favorite phrase "LOOK AT ME"! What can I say? My boys love it all and they certainly are not shy.

Well, this year Ricky has mastered climbing everything and has the bruises to prove it. I have had to stack dining chairs on the table to keep him from using the table as a stage to dance on and dive off of. I have had to use gates well into his toddler hood and never leave out anything that I care about. Naughty and mischievous as he may be, he is so loving. I get a big smile and "Hi Momma" every morning, kisses every night and that cute grin to warn me about his thoughts that will turn into mischief. He loves to go on rides (because we give him a treat), and yells "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy", when Rick walks out of work each day. Each night he loves his bath, teeth brushed, and story with Jacob. It takes him about an hour to stop laughing with Jacob, but we never hear a peep from him until 8am the next morning. I figure there is always a trade off.

I have so many memories of Ricky this year but my favorites that come to mind have been:

1.Unsolicited moments when he turns to me and says "Mommy, I lubby do" (I love you)

2.Times that he said thank you after a diaper change or treat

3.Times that he thanks people that help us with a "Thank you Mam/Sir"

4.The times I hear a tearful "Sawwy" (sorry) after a naughty fit

5.And of course, the times his eyes light up when we see each other after we were away a few hours.

Ricky, we love you so much. I am so grateful that We decided to add you to the family. We would never have been as happy as we are now without you! You make our lives so rich, so full, so fun. What a great idea you were & we thank Heavenly Father for giving you to us every day.

I guess all that is left is to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY baby boy! We cant wait to have many more years with you and your silly smile! Here are a few scenes from Ricky's little family Birthday party at CiCi's pizza for dinner and Chucky Cheese for fun (or as Ricky says it "CHUCKY-EESE").

Cam Comes To Visit/Trip To Washington D.C. & Antitum

What a Trip! Washington DC, Antitum & multiple other historic battle fields all in about 24 hours. Cam came to visit us for a week and we loved having him here. We wanted a reason to get to DC before we leave so it was perfect. Cam came in and spent a few days with us before taking his M-CAT at the University of Pittsburgh. He finished up Friday at about 2pm and we hit the road. We set out for D.C. but as we thought about it, Rick realized that Antitum is only 60 miles from D.C. so we all decided to go and see what we could. We walked the battlefields, read the monuments, hiked to the birdseye tower and generally marveled at the terrain that the great battles were faught. Rick and Cam seemed to be in their element, as I just tried to keep the kids with us (little sneaks). The kids loved running along dugouts, sitting in the wheat fields and throwing rocks they found, despite moms protests!   We hung out there for a few hours and enjoyed the mild summer air.  It was eerie to walk where so many soldiers fell.  I dont always think about how much was given for our country but this whole trip made me think about how grateful I am for the sacrifices made for us.  I cannot immagine what could have happened to this nation had we gone in any other directions.  I really enjoyed the time there.  After a few hours of poking around the fields we got on the road by about 8:00pm for D.C.  We stayed in our awesome low end acommodation about 8 miles from downtown but enjoyed a clean bed for us and the boys to sleep.  That is all we ask after a day of driving and walking:)  (SEE OUR PICS FROM ANTITUM BELOW THE DC PICS)

We woke up early on Saturday and decided to drive into the city & walked to the Washinton Memorial to meet up with a walking tour we heard about on line.  The tour was okay but we found ourselves bored and too slow paced so we decided to hit the road on our own.  We saw the whitehouse, the Washington memorial and everything else you could see in DC.  We were too early for the cherry blossoms (I hear that is an unbelievable sight) but it was still quite a beautiful city.  My favorite thing was being in the Lincoln Memorial and looking up at that amazing and huge statue of him.  I loved standing at his feet and reading the words inscribed all around.  I think it was the place I felt most inspired.  I am glad that we went and I definitely think DC is a must see for any first timer!

Milestone: Jacob Lost His Two Front Teeth

After many hours of whining, crying, begging not to do it and telling us we are going to hurt him... Jacobs second front tooth has finally come out.  You would think he was dying after his ridiculous display night after night but it all finally came to a finish with the words "oh, hey that didn't hurt at all"!  Ridiculous huh!  I simply pulled the teeth out with my fingers after weeks of bending them down to loosen them up enough. The second set of teeth were already up behind them so Jacobs tooth was hanging on by a thread.  I finally had to threaten him with the pliers if he did not let me pull them out with my fingers.   You will be happy to know that the trauma is over for now.  He did not suffer and now he is going to get a few bucks from the tooth fairy.  He sure looks cute without his little teeth.  It reminds me of how big my little guy is getting.  Love ya kiddo.

Moving To UT

Well, we have finally gotten word.  Rick was offered a position as the Director of Clinical Neuroscience at The University Of Utah.  Basically he is running the Neuroscience hospital at the U.  Looks like we are moving to Utah!  I cant believe that we are going home:)  We are excited but he has to be there is about 3 weeks!!!! I will have to do the move and packing on my own because I have to stay here until the end of June so that I can fly to AK from Pittsburgh.  If I don't I will have to pay to change all of the tickets.  Well, Here we go!  Things could get a little wild from here.  We are sure going to miss this great city!

Daddy Comes To Visit

Well, it finally happened!  Dad finally got out to come see us.  I was really excited to spend some time with him and just have fun.  Dad came over a 3 week period but spend only about 2 weeks with me at our home.  Bob & Cheryl got him for a week of that time in SC.  Jacob and Ricky loved having Grandpa around to play and do projects with.  Daddy laughed as he watched the boys keep me busy all day long.  Most nights he would ask me how I do it!  I just looked at him most times and asked him how he did it with 5 kids!  Most evenings were spent playing games (I love to kick his rear at board games and card games) and talking.  I know life is always busy but it is fun to spend time with Dad any chance I get.  I think Dad had a great time too and that makes me happy!  Rick got a kick out of dad and his funny habits.   Favorite moments we still giggle at were: 

We went out for an evening and came home to dad grilling us steaks right outside our door because it was starting to rain.  Our house smelled like the mesquite wood chips he was using for weeks:)

Dad wanted to capture every moment of our time together and photographed prolifically.  We laughed as he got shots of us taking bites of the great steaks he fixed.  Not sure what he will do with those photos, but I am glad he wanted to capture it.

Dad turned Rick onto green chilies roasted over the grill.  Anyone from TX or at least the Southwest knows it is amazing, but Rick had his first when dad fixed it.  Rick always wants roasted chilies with his steaks now.  I had been telling him for years how great they are but he finally caught on.  Thanks dad!

Dad came to church with us one Sunday and it was Ward Conference.  The ward did a broadcast of a message from the First Presidency of the church.  Everyone in the ward was really friendly and dad felt welcomed.  The message was one of repentance and faith and I was surprised to hear dads reaction after we returned home.  It had touched him and made him really want to be better.  I think it was one of the very best parts of the trip.  Dad felt that his path was clear.... re activity in the church and a path of more study and strength in the gospel.  I am glad that he felt that way after being with us.   It was special to be there for his first real changes after years of numbness.''

I really loved playing games and cutting it up with Daddy each night.  We laughed until midnight or later every night.  I kicked his rear most nights and had so much fun as we talked trash and talked about everything going on in our lives.  I look forward to more times like that in our future.

Well, we wish he were closer.  It would be fun to have more time to spend and the boys would love to have him in their daily lives.   I hope dad comes back again soon to do it all over again!  Best Highlights: