Making the Rounds!

Great-Grandma Anderson & Rylie
Uncle Matt & Rylie

Allie's Birthday party
Rylie & Emma's belly!
Emma
Rylie & Emma playing with each other
Garrett & Connor in the sand box
It was great to be able to see family when we got back to UT. We were able to make the rounds and see a bunch of family. Connor & Rylie really, really enjoyed playing with all of their cousins! We were fortunate enough to see all of them this trip! We even got to see Great-Grandparents, a couple of my cousins, and an Aunt & Uncle too! There's nothing I love more than getting together with family! Our family is infamous for playing games together. Which is where I get my competitiveness from! We love to play Pit, Pinochle, Rummy, Panic (if Mom lets us play it)and anything else that we come up with. On Labor Day we usually go to a parade, etc. Well, it rained out this year! So, my whole family (27 people w/out Mike)hung out in my parents house all day. We played games, ate yummy food, teased the heck out of each other, made bows, did the much-anticipated NFL Fantasy Football Draft, and even got some 4-wheeler rides in! I LOVE FAMILY!!!!!

Willow Park Zoo & Swings

Connor
Emma & Garrett
Connor

Emma & Garrett
Connor
Garrett
Emma

One of the 3 Elk
Emma
Turtles playing tag!

Connor checking out the ducks!
Emma, Connor, Garrett
Mr. Quack

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My brother and I took our kids to Willow Park Zoo and also played on the swings. The Zoo is tiny and consists of, I'd say, 90% birds/ducks! It's kind of funny! There were other things like: Elk, fox, owl, bobcat, turtles, and maybe a few other things. The kids really had a good time though. After walking through the zoo we took the kids to play on the swings and slides. We ended up being there for about 2 hours because they were having so much fun!

The Joys of My Life

Sometimes things happen that make me take a step back and realize say how grateful I am for my little ones! They are so precious to me and I know I take them for granted! It's sometimes hard to have the perspective I should. These are Heavenly Father's children. He has sent them to me to take care of. I wish that I could be the mother that I have envisioned for them. I'm trying though. All I can hope for is that they know that I love them with all of my heart and that I would do anything for them!

Swimming at Logan's Aquatic Center

Another thing we did while up in Cache Valley was swimming at Logan's Aquatic Center! They have 2 slides, a regular pool, and a kids wading pool! It was the perfect day and happened to be the last day for swimming there. We went with my sister, Stacey, and her family and also my brother, Matt! We really had a great time and it was nice to play in a pool where I didn't have to worry about my kids freezing to death, like our pool in Michigan.

Camping In Dry Lake!

While visiting my family in Wellsville, we got to do a lot of fun things! One of my favorite things that we did was spending time in Dry Lake. A few years ago my Dad & brothers cleared an area to make our family campground. My Dad put his new camper up there, along with a grill, firepit, chairs, tables, and even some spots for tents! It's a beautiful area, peaceful, and just a great place to go and spend time with family. It's also fun to see the deer that come out to eat the grain! There are some nice buck this year! Anyway, we had the chance to go up to Dry Lake two times. The first time, we went up there with my parents, and my sister and her family. We roasted hot dogs, smores, ate yummy food and just hung out! The second time, we went up there with my parents, my brother & his fiance', and my sister. We roasted hot dogs, marshmallows, and then my parents, Connor, Rylie, and myself slept over in my Dad's camper! I tell you what, that camper is AWESOME! It even had heat, air conditioning, cable, DVD player, radio, a master bedroom, 2 extra beds, and an awesome bathroom. So, I guess you can't even call it camping. You won't catch me complaining though. It was easier that way, since I didn't have Mike to help. We had a little adventure during the night. I came up with the idea of giving Connor a glow stick to sleep with so that he wouldn't be scared of the dark. It was working great and then, all of a sudden, Connor screamed this blood-curdling scream!!!! My Mom was laying down with him at the time and told me he had bit open the glow stick. Well, it was all over his hands, which he rubbed his eyes with. It had gotten into his eyes and was stinging his eyes! We turned off the lights to see how bad it was and his eyes, hands, and sheets were glowing. So, I called Poison Control (they are AMAZING!)to see what we should do. The end result was that my Dad held Connor in his arms so he couldn't move and I dumped water in his eyes. We did this for 15 minutes, with 2 minute breaks off and on. Talk about scary!!! It worked though and he is fine!!! Never a dull moment, right? I can't wait for our next visit to Dry Lake!

Final Night in Michigan & Pictures From the Move!

The Girls!!!
Amberly & Laura
Laura & Rylie
Rylie at Logan's Roadhouse
Connor at Logan's Roadhouse

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"Aaaaaah! Time to stretch my legs!!!!"

Dinner Time!

Megan, Zoey, and catching up on "Twilight"!

Video of Allie and I playing catch while we were taking a break at a gas station!

Entering the "beautiful" state of Wyoming!!!

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The night before we moved from Michigan we did a couple things, besides the obvious packing and cleaning of our apartments. First, Megan and I took a break from packing/moving to go to Rylie baby shower! We weren't going to but changed our minds. I am so glad we did!!! Yes, I looked like a slob! However, you have to remember I had been working my tail end off all day, although my tail end still appears to be intact. So, all I had time to do was shower and go. We had a great time at Rylie's shower. It really meant a lot to see everyone before we left! I love the girls there and have enjoyed them so much!!!! After we left there we went back home and continued getting the remaining items packed and began cleaning our apartments. We got hungry so we went to Logan's Roadhouse for dinner! It was YUMMY and was great to take a break from EVERYTHING!!!!!

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I included a few pictures of us moving. I only got shots of us when Megan, myself, and our girls made a stop at a gas station. I was tired and needed a break. The boys (Mike, Connor, and Justin) were a ways behind us. So, we took advantage of the time and stopped. I believe we were in Nebraska, just about to stop for the night. Or was it Iowa? I don't know, don't remember, oh well. The first night we stayed in Des Moines, Iowa. The second night we stayed in Nebraska. The next day we drove the rest of the way to SLC. I stayed in Tooele (where my sis. lives) and Mike continued driving to St. George. The Call's, of course, stayed in their new apartment. I am so glad we made the trip with the Call's. It made it so much fun and it was great to have the help for each other. I know it would've been a very long 3 days if it had just been Mike, myself, and the kids! I do have to say that Megan got the raw end of the deal. She did most of the babysitting since I was driving the majortity of the time. THANKS MEGAN!

Connor & Daizy!!!!

As many of you know, Mike's Mom and Sister (Shannon) have poodles. Mike's Mom has 3 (Pepe, Tigger, and Fi Fi) and Shannon has 2 (Daizy and Shasta). Yesterday Shannon had her 2 poodles over for a visit because Daizy was getting her hair cut and Shasta can't be left alone because she whines. Connor absolutely loves, loves, loves all the poodles. He keeps calling them his dogs. Daizy loved Connor! She was all over him! It's fun for him to have pets to play with!

Another Milestone

6 MONTHS OLD
5 MONTHS OLD

Here are some updates of Rylie at 5 and 6 months old. Her most recent milestone is that she has started saying "Momma"! It started on the 18th and now, whenever she gets upset or tired, she repeats, "Momma!" over and over. It's so cute! However, I think I may need to change my title since I have two kids saying Momma now!

Just When You Think You've Got Your Kids Under Control!

On a trip to the grocery store, Connor kept begging for a sucker. So, we took advantage of this (yes, Dr. Phil would be very disappointed) to use it as bribery to get Connor to behave in the grocery store, for once. Well, it worked. So, he picked out one of those candy bottles where the "nipple" is candy and inside the bottle is powdered candy. We opened it up for him before driving home because he had earned it. Well, after our 10 minute drive, we arrived to discover that Connor had been sharing his treat! Wasn't that nice of him?!?!?!?! Unfortunately, at the time, we didn't see it that way. We were really worried that Rylie would end up sick to her stomach or something. Apparently she is definitely my daughter because it didn't affect her one bit!!! Except she absolutely LOVED it! We then took advantage of the opportunity to teach Connor about what things Rylie can and cannot eat.

Packing the Truck!

Rylie all tuckered out from watching me pack!
The 26'' truck we rented!
Mike & President Sybrowsky
Where the heck should we fit this????
Phil, Anders, and JustinThe Moving Crew

Rylie & Phil

Tiffany, Laura, and Christie

Allie in happy land with her Diet Pepsi

Happy Girl & our AWESOME Home Teacher!

The Missionaries

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On August 19th we packed up the moving truck. The morning of the move the Sybrowsky's and Arrington's fed us a DELICIOUS breakfast! We then went and picked up the truck we rented to share with the Call's. We were so nervous that all of our things wouldn't fit! However, with the help and creativity of everyone involved, the majority of it fit!!!! It worked out perfectly! The day of the move came so fast for us. We had an amazing turn-out of people that came to help us move. We had about 16 people that showed up! President Sybrowsky came really early, because we were able to get the truck sooner than we thought. He and Mike got the majority of our stuff loaded. Then the rest of the crew showed up to help the Call's load their stuff. Tiffany was an ANGEL FROM HEAVEN because she came and took Connor, Rylie, and Allie for the day! That was a HUGE HELP to us! We were able to get so much done! Then, Christie went in my apartment and cleaned the heck out of it! I don't know what I would've done without her help! Jack and Abby even stepped in to help! We were so blessed with all the support we received and will be forever grateful!