Memorial Day in Idaho

Saturday morning we woke up to a moose (baby or yearling) trying to cross the Snake River.

Cruz and I drove up to Idaho with my mom on Wednesday May 20th for the long weekend. We had a lot to do to get the summer home in Swan Valley ready for company this summer. Cruz did great on the drive up! On Thursday we spent the whole day cleaning, weeding, raking, putting the swing set up, etc. We worked really hard and Cruz was such a trooper. He played really well right along side of me or tried to help in his own cute way. On Friday the 3 of us drove up to Jackson Hole to get a few things at the hardware store and Kmart for the cabin. Grandma R took us to a nice lunch before we headed back to Swan Valley. We continued to work hard cleaning the deck and patio and cooking. Daddy arrived at about 5 on Friday evening. Cruz was very excited to see daddy, since for 2 days he would ask, "where's daddy?". Rebecca came up with some friends late Friday night and Cruz had fun the rest of the weekend trying to get his "new friends" to laugh at him. Really, Cruz is such a little ham! On Saturday we again worked in the yard, put the trampoline up, got the boat summer ready, and worked. It seems like fun work though....it is so pretty up there and it was such a beautiful temperature! Saturday afternoon the mountain clouds rolled in though, and we got some rain showers and the temperature cooled about 15 degrees. Sunday was not great weather, gray, cool, and rainy. We went to church in the morning and then drove over to Jackson Hole for something to do. We found a nice park for Cruz to play at and luckily the rain stayed a way for a little. On Monday the skies cleared and we had some nice weather again. We decided to take the boat out to make sure everything was working well. It was fun to get out on the lake. I wasn't crazy enough to get in the water, but leave it up to Shawn, he was!! The water was literally freezing!!! On Sunday night, Shawn also did a beautiful hike up close to baldy peak. I thought he was crazy for going because ti was getting dark, but he had a fabulous time. Overall, it was a very productive weekend.

My mom went back to SLC on Sunday night so she could leave flowers at my dads grave on Monday. I still really can't believe he isn't with us. Going up to Swan Valley sometimes makes me really sad because I know how much he loved it there, but then sometimes I just get this sense that my dad definitely checks in on Swan Valley and how we are doing there....I do feel close to him when I am up there!


Before Shawn started his hike up Baldy Mountain Sunday night, he took these pictures of this beautiful rainbow.

We saw lots of moms and babys-cows, horses, geese, birds, it was so fun to watch them!

After lots of play and work Cruz was pretty tired on the way home. This is the only picture I got of him this weekend, I was bad about getting my camera out!!

Play/lunch date with William

Cruz and I had a play/lunch date with William and Lindsey. William has had some difficulty eating lately so I suggested Lindsey bring William to our home for lunch on Monday. Eating is one area Cruz has no problem in, the kid loves to eat, and I would have it no other way! I thought if William say another little person eating, he would be more inclined to eat. Cruz really liked having baby William over to eat. They got to play a little after lunch and Cruz was being very sweet with baby William. It was time for Cruz to go to bed before William and Lindsey left so I quickly put him in his crib. I came downstairs and helped Lindsey load things up in her car. When I got back in the house Cruz had crawled out of his crib and was saying, "baby?" looking all over the house for William. I am hoping Cruz will be this sweet to the baby that will be coming to our home in November!

Bike

Cruz had a blast riding around on his bike last night as a bunch of our friends met to do the Temple Quarry ride. I think Cruz thought he was one of the big boys and was actually going to go on the trail. He was really proud of himself on his bike.....he kept riding and smiling. Good job Big Brother!!!

Our Garden

Getting the soil into the garden boxes.

On May 9th I planted my first garden. I had a lot of help from my mom, Shawn, and Cruz. On Friday night Shawn and I picked up 2 tons of dirt/mulch to put into our garden beds. I got a little ahead of myself. The house we moved into a year ago has 4 nice size planting beds. They even have water hooked up to each bed. Last summer was a little hectic with my dad, so this summer, me and my mom decided we would try a garden. Shawn, Cruz, and I put the soil in and mixed it up real good. As you can see in the pictures Cruz was such a good little helper. On Saturday May 9th my mom and I planted....and planted....and planted. Cruz tried to help out to, but he usually liked to take the seeds out that we had just planted. We made nice rows with a dividing line (for water) in between each row. We have beans, peas, chard, lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, squash, 1 pumpkin, rhubbarb, peppers ( to make our own salsa), basil, oregano, and chives. I think that is everything. We are going to bring down some raspberry plants down from Idaho over Memorial Day weekend for the 4th garden box. Stay posted to see what happens with the garden!!!

Cruz helping with his little wheel barrow!

Our EXCITING News!

So, Cruz is going to be a big brother!! We went to the doctor on Friday afternoon and as of today, I am 11 weeks pregnant, yippee!!! My official due date is Sunday, November 29, 2009. Since I went into labor on my due date with Cruz, I have a feeling we will be pretty close to that date. You never know with these little people, they can have a mind of their own too. I just told Shawn I hope I can make it through Thanksgiving! We had a little frustration with our Friday appointment. I had obviously been looking forward to go in for my first appointment with the doctor. My mom was watching Cruz for us and Shawn had to take off work a little early. We walked into the reception center for my doctors group and the receptionist looked at us like we were crazy. I said I had a 4:00 p.m. appointment and that I had an auto confirmation call last night confirming the appointment. To my disappointment all the doctors were out of the office. My doctor must have taken the day off. They said they tried contacting me but my phone number in their system is wrong. I said, "that's weird because I got an automated call on my cell phone last night confirming my appointment." I was really bummed out! We asked if anyone else could see me. The receptionist told me all the doc's were out of the office except Paul the midwife. We asked if he could see me. He ended up being very nice and accommadating. We listened to the heart beat and for an early mothers day gift he did a short ultrasound of us. I just wanted an official confirmation that the baby was there and that things looked good. So in the end, it all worked out!!

Two Year Appointment

Cruz and I went to his 2 year check up today. I was very relieved to find out he was current on his immunizations and didn't need any shots this trip! He is 36.3 Inches tall (91%), 30 lbs. (75%), and his head is 49.6 cm (74%). The doctor said, "this kid is a tank!" Cruz was very social with Dr. Pete and I felt very comforted that Cruz is doing typical developmental things for his age. Way to go little man!

Tulip Festival

Walt and Cruz taking a ride through the gardens. Look at Cruz's glasses they are totally crooked, I laughed when I saw this picture!

Cruz standing in front of a really pretty patch of flowers!


Cruz really got into smelling flowers but I had to tell him he couldn't smell ALL of the flowers!

My mom, Cruz, myself, Ali, and Walt went to the Tulip Festival this morning at Thanksgiving Point. The tulips were absolutely amazing. The boys had fun riding in the wagon and running all over the place. They have 250,000 tulips on the grounds. It is really breathtaking! After we walked around we ate lunch out on the deck that overlooks the grounds. It was a very fun morning. Cruz got a little crazy at lunch (partly because he is still trying to get back on schedule) but overall he did pretty good. It is nice that the weather finally feels like spring and we can do fun things outside!

Cruz trying to catch Walt!

Getting a little rest before moving on!

Cinco De Frye-O -#2

Funny man Cruz!


Yes, presents!!!

Our little guy turned 2 yesterday! I absolutely can't believe how fast time goes by! He had kinda a rough day, but typical of Cruz he just carried on. We got up in Wisconsin at 4:30 which is 3:30 Utah time. We were on our first leg by 6:00a.m. Wisconsin time, 5:00 a.m. Utah time. We had another layover in Denver and by the time we got on our flight in Denver at 9:00 a.m. Cruz was tuckered out, he slept the whole flight home. Grandma Raddon picked us up from the airport and took Shawn to work and took Cruz and I out for a birthday lunch! Cruz and I came home and played for a bit and then he was ready for another nap around 2. Because I knew today was kinda going to be crazy with our schedule and everything, we really didn't plan a big party. I invited my sister over and my mom came later for cake. Cruz got up at about 4 and we ran out to get some party supplies. We got "Cars" plates and cups, picked up our favorite take and bake pizza and stopped at Baskin Robbins for a yummy ice cream cake. Within an hour I had everything I needed for our little party (that is the great thing about a 2 year olds birthday, they don't really care)! Cruz loved his pizza and must have been starving because he kept screaming, "pizza" "pizza" while we were waiting for daddy to come home from work. Cruz was really into unwrapping his gifts this year, he loved the unwrap part. We got Cruz a train set that I still need to put together. He got a scooter from Grandma Raddon and he got a book, a puzzle, and a truck from the Frye's. The truck they gave him was the same truck that Shawn received on his 2nd birthday, I thought that was pretty impressive. Leigh and the boys gave him some trains to put on his new train tacks. We also gave Cruz a giraffe family. He really liked everything he got....now the dilemma, where to put everything!!

Cruz is our little ham. In the last couple of weeks, he has started talking a little bit better. He is still hard to understand sometimes and if I don't know what he is talking about I am totally confused. Cruz loves to laugh and he loves to get people to laugh. He has started to do this really funny fake laugh to get attention. I have to look away because it totally cracks me up. Cruz has a mind of his own and loves to do his thing. We are working on listening to mommy and daddy and therefore some time outs have been occurring. Lately Cruz likes to point his finger at whomever and say "no" if he doesn't want to do something, that is kind of a nasty little habit that he has also picked up. He loves to be outside! He loves to swing! Cruz loves to explore and smell flowers. He loves to help daddy (and Grandpa Frye) in the yard. Cruz has to pull up a stool next to me when I am in the bathroom or in the kitchen and "help". Cruz is a very good eater and will eat almost anything we give him. He makes me laugh all day and he keeps a smile on my face. I love this little guy more than words can express. My wish for him, a safe, healthy, and happy second year of life!!! We love you Cruzilicious!


Aunt Rebecca helping Cruz celebrate his 2nd birthday!

Cruz playing with the giraffe family!


Shawn's truck from his 2nd birthday!

Wisconsin Trip 4/30/09-5/5/09

Swing time! Cruz could spend hours on a swing, he just loves them!

Any trick the bigger boys did, Cruz had to try to. Also, he turned into a little copycat this trip....whatever they did, Cruz did! It was pretty cute!

We flew out to Wisconsin on Thursday afternoon. We had a short layover in Denver before heading to Milwaukee. I was pretty positive Cruz was going to sleep on the second half of the leg, but no such luck! He was pretty good for the most part, our little man just likes to move and check things out and on a plane that can be a little tricky! We got to Wisconsin pretty late so we hit the sack. Friday, Leigh came over with her 3 boys Nicholas(4 almost 5), Max (2 almost 3) and Caden (8 months). We took the boys for a walk to their neighborhood park in the morning. After naps we went to Rachel's (Shawn's cousin) high school soccer game. The boys had fun running around the field, I didn't see too much of the game but the boys had fun! That night we went out to pizza to celebrate Grandma Frye's birthday (her birthday was the day before). The boys each made a canvas finger painting to give her. They actually turned out very cute. On Saturday we drove out to this cute castle park about 30 minutes from the house. Cruz had fun swinging in the swings and playing on all the fun equipment with the other boys. Leigh and the boys came back over after nap time and we hung out and played at the house. We ate dinner and went for a walk in the woods. The boys got to check out their new flashlights grandma had bought for them.
Leigh, Brian, Nicholas, Max, and Caden

Grandpa and Grandma Frye with the 4 grandsons!


On Sunday we woke up to another nice day....we definitely lucked out weather wise. Friday was a little chilly but Saturday, Sunday, and Monday turned out to be perfect weather days! Sunday we went to the Milwaukee Zoo in the morning. After naps we went to Leigh's house to celebrate Cruz's birthday (May 5th) and Max's birthday (May 18th). Leigh and I made a cute train cake for the boys. On Monday we hung out at the house and played with all the toys that Grandma and Grandpa Frye have at their house. Overall the boys did really well together. They are pretty close in age but they did really well sharing and playing together. Coming home was our last free trip with Cruz, we will now have to pay for a seat. In some ways I am bummed about that but in other ways I am relieved he will have his own seat in the future!


The birthday boys-Max and Cruz
The Train Cake

Our birthday boy!