Oh Canada!

Today was Canada Day. Its the day celebrating their independence. Rhylan and I tried to make it special for Riley.

We made Canadian flag place mats and used them during dinner!

We made Rice Krispy "squares" (that is how you say it in Canadian). And decorated them as mini Canadian Flags!

Ate Red strawberries!

I even dressed Rhylan in Red with matching bow.

And we used our Canadian kitchen towels!

It is really fun to have new holidays and traditions that Riley can share with our little family! We love Canada and we love Canada Day!!

A few to compare!

These pictures were taken about 25 days before my due date with Rhylan. (Right now I have 24 days left until my due date)


I have tried on that shirt and it doesn't even come close to covering my belly now! But I look about the same everywhere else I think. No real significant difference that I can see just a bigger baby inside there, what about you? So my guess is that he will be just a tad bit bigger than she was (8 lb 4 oz). Oh and my hair was way cuter!

Less than 4 weeks!!!

Rhylan wanted to pose like this! She grabbed my arm and put it around her right before we took the picture. She loves her baby brother!

Riley's Mom, Dad, and sister came into town for a short visit. We decided to take them to the River Walk in downtown Memphis. This was Riley's first time too! Everyone had a great time and the weather was nice in the shade- where I tried to stay.

Here is our little family --I am standing funny it makes me look a little goofy but thats okay. There won't be many more pictures like this of our family!! In the background you can see the Mississippi River and a HUGE boat/barge going up river.

Twins!! On accident.

Rhylan warmed up to Grammy C. fast! The whole weekend she wanted to be with her, Papa, or Markee.

Here is Godzilla terrorizing mini Memphis!

Markee was so good with Rhylan. Rhylan bossed her around all day and Markee was happy to do whatever she wanted. Rhylan loves her Auntie Markee.

MJ

So as you all know Michael Jackson died yesterday. I just wanted to say that I am a huge fan. Well let me clarify, I love all the old Michael Jackson songs not the weird and creepy guy he has been for the last 10 + years. I even listened to "The Ones" -- his greatest hits CD on Tuesday while I cleaned the house. Rhylan has even learned to like his music. My sisters and I would dance with our disco ball to Michael Jackson just a couple of summers ago! Anyway I just wanted to know if any one else was a fan too!

And yes, I know this dance!

Two little braids

Well I finally tried to put Rhylan's hair in braids. I think it turned out SO precious. She even liked them. But she looks a lot older with this new hair style, don't you think?

A busy Saturday

We had a really busy Saturday! First we went to check out the Pink Palace Museum. I heard on the radio that they had a great new dinosaur exhibit and thought Rhylan would enjoy that...NO. The dinosaurs moved and made noises. The T-Rex scared her and we rushed out...trying to prevent future nightmares.

But we did enjoy some the other other things! Riley loved this huge gun! I'm in the pic so you can see just how long it is!
Rhylan of course loved the Animal exhibits. Owls are her new "thing" right now. She loved getting so close to them.
Then we went out to eat at Central BBQ. Riley has been several times and many friends have recommended that place. It happened to be on the same street as the museum so we had to stop in.

Here is Rhylan enjoying a pulled pork sandwich! I do not like BBQ and got a turkey sandwich...I think it was one of the best turkey sandwiches I have ever had. We will definitely go back for more.

Riley loves living near the BBQ capitol!!
THEN... In the evening we went out again. Riley's school adviser wanted to take us out to eat to celebrate the end of the school year! We got to go to Olive Garden. We even got to order dessert--we never do that! Rhylan loved the Chocolate Gelato, so did I. There ended up being a lot more on her face and clothes that shown here.

My dad

Well its Fathers Day! I just wanted to tell you all a tiny bit about my dad. He is the greatest. Really he is.

He loves to hike and camp. He is even going on his second 50 mile hike this summer.

He likes to read (fantasy and self help books.)

He is smart and clever.

He can build anything. Just last summer alone he made a picnic table, a potting bench, and a porch swing.

He can also do anything. He has done so many remodels on their house over the years almost all by himself (sky light, new kitchen, 2 new bathrooms, garage turned living room with a fire place, new master suite, green house, and the list goes on and on)

He is spiritual. He was put as the new Bishop of his ward in May. (see pictures below)

He loves his children. Just yesterday, he called just to talk to me. We talked for almost 40 min.

He is a great papa. He is Rhylan's favorite person besides Riley and I. Every time she picks up her play phone she says she is calling Papa. She loves to look at his picture and talk about him. It was so sweet, Rhylan didn't always see how great he was. When she was 6 months old at Christmas, she was afraid. He would wait until she was asleep and then beg to just hold her. Or he would pick her up from behind and just walk around the house not saying a thing, so she didn't know who was holding her. He sure is in love with this little girl (his only grandbaby so far.)

He is also one of the funniest men alive. He can make a joke out of any situation. He can make anyone laugh, and he always has something witty to say.

He is nice...lame I know but its true. He is so friendly and kind. Anywhere we go there is always someone there who knows him. Everyone who meets him is instantly his friend. He instantly accepted Riley as a son! (Mauricio too--my bro in law) He treats them just as he would his own kids.

There are so many things about him that make him wonderful. These are just a few.


Love you dad, happy fathers day!

Holy Cow!!

So being that we are POOR students still and for years to come, we make negative income. It does have its perks. We qualify for a lot of help. Last time I was preg, I was on WIC. I loved it. We could barely drink all the fresh milk I got a month. Then we also got free formula for Rhylan--that stuff adds up fast ($100 a month). So I have been putting off applying for WIC becasue I needed to do several things first. Anyways today I finally did it!! It only took 3 HOURS. Surprisingly Rhylan was so good during the whole thing. She even had to get her finger pricked and didn't even wince. Then we went and got our food for June:


Between Rhylan and I we got:
24 quarts of shelvable 2% milk
8 quarts of shelvable chocolate milk
8 cans of evap milk
1 bag of pinto beans
1 jar of peanut butter
3 pints of liquid eggs
4 packs of dry eggs
6 boxes of cereal
4 lbs of cheese
12 can of juice con.

Some questions:
How in the heck can I use all this in one month?
Where am I going to store it?
What is dry eggs?
What is shelvable milk going to taste like?
Does anyone else get exhausted hauling all this stuff from the car, up the stairs, to your house in 90+ weather?

Danc'n

This is one of those singing cards. It plays the chorus of "I Melt" by Rascal Flats. She is so funny. This is not how I would dance to this song but she does it every time.

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

P.S. She likes to wear these Elmo panties over her diaper!