Merry Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas. We started our Christmas on Tuesday when we exchanged gifts with Jason's family. Christmas Eve we drove to Durango to visit Lori's grandparents and great grandparents. Then we returned to Farmington to drive around and look at Christmas lights. We went back to Lori's parents house to go to bed so Santa could visit. We woke up early Christmas morning (thanks to Dylan) and played with our gifts from Santa. Ryan got a big Thomas the Train set from Santa and Dylan got a cute little toy dog. Once Liana, Larry, and Natasha (Larry's fiance) got up to the house to join us, we ate breakfast and opened gifts. After we got the many toys out of the packages we got ready and went to Bloomfield to visit Jason's family for a while. Afterwards we drove back to Lori's parents house for Christmas dinner and games. We stayed another night there before we went home Friday afternoon.

It turned out to be a great week filled family, food, and presents. The boys truely enjoyed everything about Christmas. We got so many wonderful gifts from everyone, thanks!! It was a beautiful Christmas with all the snow we recieved. We couldn't have asked for a better holiday!!

Christmas Flashback

On a friends blog she put pictures of last years Christmas up, which got me to looking at my own pictures from last year. It is amazing how much the boys have grown in just a year. Dylan was crawling all over the place last year, had very little hair, and babbled all the time. This year he was running, talking, and has lots of beautiful blonde hair. Ryan was and still is a big ham. He loves being the center of attention and he is always singing or talking about something, both then and now. He has grown a lot over this year plus he is now potty trained! The are both becoming big boys now!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas...

..in Farmington because we got our first snow! We woke up Sunday morning to a few inches of snow. (May not sound like a lot to some of you but to us in the Land of Enchantment that is a big deal.) So after a warm breakfast we bundled up and went outside to play in the snow! There wasn't enough snow to make a snowman so maybe next time. Ryan enjoyed throwing snowballs at us. Dylan just walked around trying not to slip on the ice. They both liked making snow angels with me! After dragging the boys inside, because they didn't want anything to do with coming indoors, we made hot cocoa and watched a movie! I couldn't have asked for a better Sunday!


(Ryan is licking the snow.) (Dylan is refusing to go inside to warm up.)

Tis' the season!

We have been out and about enjoying all of the wonderful holiday events that the four corners has to offer. We started our day by visiting a few local craft fairs. One of the craft fairs had Santa there visiting. Ryan was very eager to sit on Santa's lap and tell him exactly what he wants for Christmas. Dylan was not too sure about Santa so he wouldn't go near him but he did sit next to him for a quick picture.

Tonight we decided to bundle up and walk through the colleges luminaria display. It turned out to be perfect timing because it wasn't too cold. There were so many luminarias, what a beautiful sight! When we were done there we drove to Aztec to take a carriage ride through the Fantasy of Lights. With the lights being right by the river it was very cold but we all really enjoyed it! To help us warm up we grabbed some hot cocoa on our way home.

Light Parade!

We went to the Farmington parade of lights last night! The night started really well but half way through the parade it got very cold. The boys really enjoyed seeing all the floats, bands, animals and more that were in the parade!

Our Thanksgiving!

We had a simple Thanksgiving this year. We started the day by going to Denny's for brunch with my mom, step dad, sister, and littlest brother. Afterwards we came home and cooked a few things for our turkey dinner. We stayed home and just enjoyed dinner together. Liana, my sister, also spent the day with us which was wonderful!

It was my first time baking a turkey and it turned out good. We also enjoyed mashed potatoes (my mom cooked them just for us), gravy, deviled eggs, black olives, and rolls. Plus two very delicous pies; chocolate and pumpkin. It was the perfect day.

We have so much to be thankful for that I couldn't begin to name them all, but I will say how thankful we are to have our family and friends!!

Ryan's Sad Eyes

Well Ryan's had surgery today. He had to have his adenoids removed and tubes put back in his ears. It all went well. He was a little upset afterwards because they had put an IV in while he was sleeping. All the nurses and doctors got a kick out of him because he didn't want to wear the gown they gave him so he went into surgery with only his pajama pants on. He was making dinosaur sounds at them and showing everyone his muscles. So needless to say that even when he is not feeling good he is still a funny little boy!

After only being at the surgery center for a couple of hours, we got to go home. He wasn't all that interested in eating or drinking at first but he came around once he smelt lunch. He seems to be recovering very well! He wanted his picture taken this evening. The first picture he was crying because his throat was hurting and the next two pictures he put on his dinosaur breathing mask (they gave him it after his surgery today)!

Family Christmas Photos!

We just had our family photos taken at Wal-Mart photo center. I think they turned out really good! (Although I would warn others that their prices have gone up significantly since Sears Portrait Studio bought them out.)

Ryan loves to have his picture taken so he was easy to get a smile out of but Dylan on the other hand was more interested in playing with the toys. They both did a great job though!

Halloween 2008!

Here we are in our costumes on Halloween! Every year we choose a costume theme for our family. This year we went with the Wizard of Oz theme. I was Dorothy, Jason was Scarecrow, Ryan was Tin Man (well he decided he really wanted to be a robot so the technical name of his costume was "Tin Man the Robot"), and Dylan was Lion. We had a great Halloween!!



Our Halloween started when the boys and I went to our MOMS Club Fall Party. We ate lots of yummy food, decorated treat bags, and had a parade of costumes. I got first prize in the MOMS Costume Contest! (This is a picture of MOMS Costume Contest.)

















After naps we headed to Bloomfield to show our costumes to all the family before we headed to Jenny's house for a Halloween Party. What a great party it was too. Jenny had lots good food. After dinner we took the kids around the block to trick or treat then brought them back to Jenny's for fun games. Dylan ran a fever all afternoon and evening so we had to call it a night to get him home and to bed. (The first two pictures are of Ryan, Dylan, and Jason trick or treating. The last picture is Ryan pinning the nose on the pumpkin.)

Ryan really enjoyed the whole day. Dylan on the other hand wasn't too sure about the costume but kept it on. Both boys can't wait to do this all again next year!

More about us....

Jason and I are highschool sweethearts. We married in June of 2004 but have been together since November of 2000. We decided to start a family right after we got married. We welcomed Ryan Blake to the world in July of 2005 and Dylan Jase in April of 2007. We see a couple more children in our future...hopefully at least one girl. We own a home in Farmington. We are hoping to upgrade to a bigger house next spring or summer, but we probably won't be leaving this area for a while.

Jason works for BJ Services in the oilfield. Jason does play the fiddle from time to time but does not compete right now, maybe once the kids are a little older. Lori is a stay at home mom that wears many hats depending on the day. She is currently the President of the local MOMS Club and volunteers for International MOMS Club to oversee many chapters in Utah. Lori also babysits her littlest brother, Aaron, full time.

We love spending time with our family and friends. We are lucky enough to have most of our family near us. We do miss all our family and friends that don't live near us.

We are new to this blog thing...well we have been using myspace but this is so different. We will try to keep you updated on how the kids are and any other family news. Lori loves to take pictures so you will get to see lots of pics on here!

~Stay tuned.