Happy 4th!

So, I know I am late in reporting about Independence Day, but I still gotta do it!

The night before we had a ward gathering called "The 4th on the 3rd" - catchy, I know. They had games outside, a pancake dinner and even a homemade parade! After all of that, we even had some entertainment - they went all out! I actually got asked to sing the National Anthem. I was doing good until right before I got up to sing. Then, my heart was pounding so hard that I thought I might forget the words. Thankfully, it was not a disaster - I got quite a few positive comments, so that made me feel better :) At least I did not forget the words! All-in-all, it was a fun ward party! Nice to celebrate with a ward family :)
Reed and Tyson getting ready for the ward parade - all the kids got pinwheels and bells! Nothing better :)

On the 4th, we had a great day - fun, relaxing, yet busy:) We went to a birthday party in the morning for one of Reed's little friends, Lucy. She is the cutest little girl and was actually born on the 4th! (That was Tyson's dream, but his mom was off by about 1/2 hour - probably because she was watching fireworks) We ate food, chatted, the kids played in the kiddie pools and it was much fun. Then, we spent the rest of the 4th with my parents and my niece, Sasha, who was in town for the weekend.

Tyson and I made homemade blackberry ice cream (a Walker family tradition) - it was scrumptious! Tyson got super excited to use his outdoor cooker for the first time to make french fries (also something the Walker family is famous for). The fries were a hit! We ate every last one. The cooker worked amazing and Tyson was pleased with himself! We also had watermelon and hamburgers - just so American to me.

We played some games and waited around for it to get dark and the fireworks to start. We walked over to Key Bridge (Francis Scott Key Bridge to be exact) and watching them shoot off the fireworks. It was great because we had a good view and only had to show up 1/2 hour before it actually started! Life could not get any better than that on Independence Day!

Reed absolutely LOVED the fireworks. He does have this obsession with lights and fire, so I was not super surprised. It was so cute! He would ooooh and aaaah and then look at Tyson and I, point to the fireworks and ooooh and aaaaah again (as if to say, "Are you watching this?! It's amazing!").

We went back to my parents house, did some sparklers and then called it a night! We actually ended up getting home a little after 11 pm....not bad for being in DC and all the traffic and everything! Good thing we did not take the metro - we did that one year and we did not get home until 1am! So, Happy Late Independence Day!

The fireworks!


Sorry about the lamp post

Part of the finale

I thought this one looked kind of like those pictures you see from the Hubble Telescope of stars.

Hapy Father's Day from Alaska???

I know I am a bit behind with all this blogging stuff. I have been super tired lately with this little baby inside of me, but am starting to feel human again! So, this week should be full of multiple blogs trying to get up-to-date with the Walker Family happenings. So, yes, for Father's Day both Tyson and I were in Alaska without Reed! Crazy, I know!

Tyson had to go to Anchorage, Alaska for a work assignment. Yeah, I know, pretty far away. He was not too excited to be away for 2 weeks at a time, but the plus side to it is that they would fly me out there for Father's Day weekend. I decided to take the free flight and go see some of Anchorage! I figured, "When else do I get to go to Alaska for so cheap?.....Never!" Reed stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Rowberry and I began the 11-hour journey across the United States.

I did have Reed withdrawals, probably more than he had mommy withdrawals. It was the first time I had ever been apart from him for over a couple of hours. It was very strange. However, Alaska was very beautiful and an amazing place!

After the long journey there, I was just so tired and exhausted, but decided that I needed to take advantage of the 2 days I had there. Tyson and I went on nature walks, ate at some amazing restaurants, saw a movie about the Northern Lights, saw a glacier!, saw bunches of mountains and snow, went to the temple, went to the Botanical Gardens, and even had time for some sleeping!

It was a great adventure, but colder than we were both expecting! It was in the 50s.....so, I was wishing I had brought a bigger coat, but the native Alaskans were shorts and t-shirts. So, I can never actually live in Alaska.

Since it was close to the summer solstice there were festivals going on with live music and everything! We stopped by and were amazed at how many people were there...it was a neat experience. But, the weirdest and perhaps, coolest thing was that the sun never actually went down. Even during the 4 hours of dark each night, it was basically like the sun was setting, but never actually set. Interesting.....

So, Alaska was great, but we are glad that we don't live in such a cold place! I would love to visit again and have a little more time to explore more of the huge state!

On our nature walk, we saw a train!

Go Alaska!


Although it looks like dusk, the sun actually never went down! It was really strange and cool! At 10:00 PM there were still little babies out and it looked like it was 5:00 PM. That's Alaska summers for ya!

The Anchorage, Alaska Temple





This was one of the hot spots for eating in Anchorage. They are known for their pizza and homemade beer and root beer. We got the root beer - yummy!

On our way to see the glacier, we stopped and looked at the amazing scenery

Yes, it was VERY windy (love the hair!), but beautiful

On our glacier tour, we saw waterfalls....

and a GLACIER!!!!!

Yes, it was freezing, even in the middle of June!


It is not dirty. The glacier is actually crushing rock that turns into silt.


The water is this really weird color because there is so much silt in it. Also, the sun cannot penetrate below the water due to the silt. Therefore, there is no living animals or plants in this water!




This was a real ice berg! It looks so little on the top, but it was not moving when the boat passed it meaning that there was a ton more of that under the water!

Our glacier was 4 miles long and 1/2 mile wide



This white stuff (I forgot the name) is the aftermath of a glacier on the mountain


On our drive back....

We ate at this restaurant and I ate te best seafood chowder I have ever eaten in my life!

Tyson ordered the Jumbo King Crab legs! He only finished about 1/2 of it - it was huge!

We went to the Botanical Gardens and found the Alaska state flower, forget-me-not!

Reed helping daddy unpack after he had been gone for two weeks!

More Las Vegas

So, I found some other pictures from Las Vegas that I had not seen since they were taken on a different camera. I thought they would be fun! Enjoy :)

Cute Carter at the Museum.....

The store area - it was really neat. They had boxes of stuff that the kids could 'buy' and Vance was the cashier - he loved opening and closing the drawer!

Crawling through the random holes...

Water fun!

I actually never saw this picture, but it made me laugh when I did. Reed discovered Otter Pops while we were in Las Vegas and loved them (obviously).

Vegas: Part June

So, June in Las Vegas was spent playing with cousins! Reed had fun with cousins from both sides - Vance, Carter, Natalie, Kylie, and Kenzi on Tyson's side and Mary and Evyn on mine. They played cooking....a favorite of all the kids, surprisingly!

We also went to the Lied's Children Museum. It was totally awesome! I had never been before, so I think I liked it as much as Reed did. We went with Kimber and her boys and Shauntelle and her girls. So, it was a great time discovering lots of cool toys! We even saw a demonstration on liquid nitrogen and got to eat frozen marshmallows after! Treats are my favorite :)

We went to a Russian restaurant and Jared ordered everything in Russian. It was really neat to hear him speak to the lady, but we all decided that it kinda sounds like they are fighting when they speak. I can't imagine what it would sound like if they were actually fighting!

The trip came to an end too soon, but we did get back on the plane and headed back to Virginia. Reed was much happier thia time around because he had his own seat and so when he fell asleep, I could lay him down. He slept for 3 hours! Woo woo!

It was a great trip and we already miss everyone! But, we won't be away for too long!

Cousin coking parties: (L to R) Vance, Kenzi, Mary, Natalie, Kylie, Evyn ....Reed left before I snapped the picture....


Ah.....I got him! Reed in his apron....no, it's not a skirt!

Cousins Vance, Evyn, and Mary fixing the car...

Where did the shirt go? Cousin Evyn had just taken it to wear it in the mechanic part of the museum!


Reed playing with pipes - endless fun for little tikes!

Cousin Mary showing Reed how to sit in the airplane chair....

A career choice? Maybe :) Reed has loved planes since he was teeny, tiny. He was amazed that he could steer the plane - so cool!

One of Reed's favorites at the museum - running water is always a plus for him!

Eating Russian food - I actually really enjoyed it!

My little boy is certainly growing up! I couldn't believe how old he looked in this picture! The flight was so much better since he had his own seat :) He is also starting to purposefully smile for pictures...you just have to tell him to smile and he does this super-cheesy smile.

Vegas: Part May

At the end of May - beginning of June, Tyson, Reed, and I journeyed back to Las Vegas for Jared's (Tyson's little brother) mission homecoming. For the past two years he has been serving in the Rostov-na-Donu, Russia mission. We were really excited to be able to see him again and for him to meet Reed. I was not even pregnant when Jared left, and now Reed is 15 months! It's all kind of crazy how much can happen in 2 years. It seems so short and yet, so long.

Our flight was non-stop, thank goodness, but was definitely not easy. It was completely full, so Reed had to sit on our laps (mostly mine). Throughout the etire 5-hour flight, he maybe slept 45 minutes. Yeah, definitely no good with a wiggly toddler! Thankfully, he did not cry, just was wiggly. We got to Las Vegas exhausted, but excited to await Jared's homecoming the next day. The 3-hour time change is a killer for babies, though. On Thursday morning, Reed woke up promptly at 4:30 am (7:30 in DC) and was ready for breakfast and everything else. Yeah, it was a REALLY long day for us!

Thursday was the day for Jared to arrive - the only problem: we had to wait until 9 pm! Yuck! I hate waiting....I really do. But, we played with nieces and nephews and got to meet little Carter for the first time. Cute baby! (I want another one of those!) We decided to keep the pregnancy thing a secret (except for to Tyson's mom) until Jared had been back a few days - real fun for me feeling crappy, but having to pretend I feel fine. Fun, fun......blah!

We made this huge sign for Jared which ended up taking most of the afternoon. The funniest part was that the paint leaked through the sheets and so there was a sign in the garage of the sign we had made! Luckily, it came off with a power washer and some scrub brushes!


Vance helping us paint....

Almost done with this huge sign! We sure must love Jared :)

Washing off brushes.....

Uh oh - our beautiful sign made it onto the garage floor as well....


Get that power washer out ...

Power wash and scrub, power wash and scrub....

Scrubbing and scrubbing.....

Aaah, all clean!

The finished product - not too shabby :)

The time was inching by, but finally, it was time to head to the airport and pick up the missionary! We loaded up and arrived there early, of course, so we had to wait around - anxiously awaiting his return! Tyson's aunt, uncle, and cousins ended up coming as well, so that was fun to be able to see them! Reed was pretty cranky - he just couldn't figure out what time it was and where he was at - poor guy.

Before Jared arrived - waiting and waiting at the escalator.....

Reed and Vance trying to be patient and wait....

FINALLY - he came down the escalator! As is only natural, the mom got the first set of hugs! They were standing so close to the escalator that the alarm started to go off. It was pretty funny! All the family members took turns hugging Jared and then, they reintroduced to some of the kids and introduced him to Reed and Carter for the first time. Jared seemed tired, but great! I could already feel a little bit of grown-up-ness (nice word, I know) in him! We all chatted and waited for what seemed like another eternity for his baggage. Finally, we were on our way to get him released and go home.

Hard to see him, but Jared is up a little ways on the escalator - the only guy in a suit!

The mom hugs!!!!!

The dad......

The brother..............

The oldest sister.............


Mom's second set of hugs :) Her baby is home!

Meeting Reed :)


Re-meeting Vance

Re-meeting Kenzi

The brothers - a must-do pose!

Welcome home Elder Jared!!!!

I love that look on his face :)

Vance finally saying something to Uncle Jared

Sleepy Carter

The showing of the battle-worn shoes

The eternal wait for baggage!

The shoes look worse in person...but he did great at keeping them throughout the mission!

It took a while to get him released, which I thought was a little weird. My releasing onl took like 10 minutes and Tyson said that his was only 5 minutes. But, ah well. We stoped at Taco Bell on the way home and Jared ordered. You can always tell if someone has been speaking a foreign lanugage for a while because of their intonation in English. This is what it sounded like, "I would like a Crunchwrap Supreme?, and also a rot beer?....." etc.... it just made us all laugh!

Then, the moment came that we had been planning for two years - to stop at the mailbox before going home. Ok, for those of you who don't know Jared, this was always the hugest annoyance to him since the mailbox is down the street. He would always get upset if his dad stopped at the mailbox before going home. So, we had to do it. So, stopped and Dave got the mail, but Jared did not say a thing!!!!! We all started laughing and Jared was like, "What's the big deal?" That made us laugh even harder because it was just so not what he was like before the mission! The mail was retrieved and we headed home. Tyson and Jared took a picture in front of the sign we had made and then, we all went inside to relax and chat.


Jared, Tyson, Reed, and taco bell ( Jared's favorite)

Jared unpacked his bags and told stories about all the people he had met in Russia. He put on some crazy hats and even told us that wehave been saying grandma (baboushka....i think) in Russian the wrong way! You put the emphasis on the first syllable, not the second! Thanks, Jared! I was basically falling asleep the whole time, but that is to be expected:)

Some Russian hat.....I think the soldiers used to wear them?


Some Russian knife. You look really scary, Jared.....really :)

Friday we went to the temple, and it felt so good to go! Later on, we took Walker family pictures and that is always a good time. We tried to take a photo of all the grandkids, but it didn't work out for well. In every picture at least one kid is crying! Awesomeness.....but, the pictures actually turned out really nice! Thanks Christy! You did great!

Saturday was the family pool party to welcome Jared home. Lots of Tyson's mom's family still lives in Las Vegas, so it was quite the event. Also, John, Shauntelle, Mary, an Evyn came! Always fun to see them :) We told Jared that night that we were going to have another baby. Everyone else had pretty much figured it out by then, but he was still clueless. Reed "wrote" Jared a card and let him know he was going to be a big brother. Jared seemed really excited at the news - yahoo for babies!

Sunday, Jared spoke in Sacrament meeting and did a fantastic job! I could tell that his mission had been hard, but awesome and so full of growth! You did it jar-head! Congrats! His only problem with being home was that he got boring doing the same thing for more than 20 minutes...I definitely know that feeling! But, it passes all too quickly!

So, the end of May was full of Jared, Jared, and more Jared - but we stayed until the beginning of June! Look for the Vegas: Part June update in the next couple of days!

Temple Day!

Fun uncle Tyson!


Kimber catching this bottle thing that was the entertainment when the individual families got their pictures taken.

Tyson getting ready to catch the bottle-thing...I don't know what it is called.

Cute Carter boy!

Crawling up the hill...phew....made it!

Reed attempting to drink out of Grandpa's 100 oz. water jug! That's right - 100 ounces!

We took a picture in the daytime of our sign with Jared in it, of course :)

A Blighted Ovum??

This is the roller coaster story of this pregnancy......

On May 2nd, I took a pregnancy test and the result was this.....

We were really excited for baby #2!!!!

Then, I called the doctor and set up an appointment for May 12th. Then, on May 8th (a Friday), I started spotting. This was very irregular for me, I thought. It never happened at all with Reed. So, going from experience, I got really nervous since it was not the same as with Reed. I called the doctor and it turns out that they are not open on Fridays, but there is always one doctor on-call. I talked to him and he instructed me to lie down and do as little as possible. I got a blessing from Tyson that just helped me to be more calm about the whole situation.

Saturday rolled around and I wasn't really spotting anymore - phew. I talked to the doctor again and he said to call if I had any cramping pains. Luckily, I did not.

I went to my appointment on the 12th and they took my blood and all the fun tests they do with that. I got a call the next day saying that it was a confirmed pregnancy! Yahoo! We thought the drama was done and I could stop worrying.

So, we set up an appointment for the next week, May 19th, to have a sonogram and figure out the due date of the baby. Since going off the birth control we had been using, I had not had a period, so the guess was that I was about 11 weeks or so.

Then, May 16th, I spotted a little bit more. I was again, really nervous, since I had not experience this with Reed at all.

The doctor's appointment the next Tuesday came not quick enough. Tyson and I were anxious to see the little bean. So, when we started the sonogram, I knew right away there was a problem - there was no baby in the sack! The doctor looked around and looked around and asked us some questions. Then, he said something that I had never heard before - it could be a blighted ovum. He also said it could just be too early since we didn't know when I was ovulating. Basically, a blighted ovum is when everything goes towards making a sack for a baby, but it never creates a baby inside of it. I was absolutely crushed. I just cried when I got home and could not believe it.

I looked up information online and even saw some stories of women who had been told that they had a blighted ovum and then at 9 weeks, there was a baby with a heart beat. I remember thinking that maybe this could be me. But, I was trying to not think too far ahead because I had another follow-up appointment the next Tuesday to see if anything had resulted within one week.

I got a call about a day later reporting that my hormone levels had increased (good sign) but not as much as they should have (not good). This doctor (a different one from the one who has done the sonogram) basically told me to prepare to have a miscarriage because it was highly likely that I had a blighted ovum. I was furious with him for talking to me like that. I guess I would have liked a little sympathy because it is quite a blow to hear something like that. He did not give me any. I actually considered changing my OB/GYN, but I really liked the other 2 doctors, so I decided to stay with these doctors (I have to see all 3 throughout pregnancy, because 1 of the 3 will deliver me, but it will just be whoever is on-call). The darkness began to really sink in, and I began to feel like a failure.

I know that sounds kind of funny, feeling like you are a failure over a failed pregnancy, but I just did. I have always wanted to be a mom so badly. I had also had a distinct impression that a baby needed to come to our family around the time it would have come. I also began questioning my ability as a parent and my righteousness - all those things that they tell you never to question over something like this. I knew, logically, that these sort of things happen all the time, but my heart was just so broken. I was trying to be strong, but again, felt like I was failing.

I began to semi-understand what it means in the scriptures when women talk about how they need to have children or else they die. I kind of felt similar. I know that I was designed to have children and I want to very much. So, possibly being denied that opportunity was a blow to me as a woman and mother. I also was beginning to understand all the women I had read about that had been diagnosed with a blighted ovum. I just wanted it to be over - meaning, if it was a blighted ovum, I wanted to miscarry and if it was not, I wanted to know. I am not the most patient person in the world. I was still feeling nauseous and wanted to know if it was for an actual baby or not.

I got another blessing from Tyson that blessed me with comfort to handle whatever was going to happen. That really helped and I grateful to a husband who worthily holds the Priesthood and is willing to use it to benefit his family.

We had one more doctor's appointment on May 26th, the day before flying to Las Vegas to see Tyson's brother (just got back from Russia). I was nervous and honestly, did not know what the outcome would be. However, I knew it would be ok. Being comforted always amazes me!

When the doctor did the sonogram it was VERY clear. There was a baby with a perfectly normal, heart beat! I just queezed Tyson's hands and said a silent prayer of gratitude. We determined that I was 7 weeks 5 days.....so, about 4 weeks behind where they thought I was. The doctor just said, "You see what can happen in one week. We were just a little bit too early." I was so excited that there actually was a baby in there!

So, we went to Las Vegas with good news, instead of heart-breaking news. But, in my mind and heart, I can still remember some of those feelings during the weeks of May. They were some of the most soberin weeks of my life. I am truly grateful for this next baby and get to hear the heart beat on Thursday for the first time!

Memorial Day ...

The Saturday before Memorial Day, Brandon and Kim and their 7 kids came to DC. We ended swapping to go to temple sessions and then ended the fun day at Clemyjontri Park and even got to ride the Carousel! Reed liked it, but would not smile for the camera.

I know it's a little belated, but I wanted to post pictures of our Memorial Day I was so excited for this holiday because Tyson actually had it off work! He didn't have President's Day off, so it was not very fun for us. So, we decided to check out these waterfalls that we had been told about. They actually ended up being about 10 minutes away from our house in Great Falls National Park. It is a beautiful park with lots of space for picnics and running around, but it also has these beautiful waterfalls! We watched a little movie on the falls and the Potomac and just enjoyed our family time at the park!


Yeah for Family Fun Time!!!!

Reed watching the crazy canoe man down below.....

The Falls

Crazy Canoe Man

What the Canoe Man was canoeing in to!

Reed watching an airplane - his favorite thing to do!

Another view of the falls

Later on in the day we met up with my parents at Arlington National Cemetery. I grew up with a father very big on Patriotism, especially on Memorial Day. I am very grateful for that. So, we visited some of the graves and it just imprinted in my mind, yet again, how many people have sacrificed for the freedoms we enjoy. Thank you!

We also visited the September 11th Memorial by the Pentagon. It was actually really neat. The lady who constructed it was, I believe, the same one who constructed the Vietnam Memorial. Each person that died has their own seat and they are facing different ways to represent if they were on the plane or in the Pentagon. Each seat has the person's name on it and every person born in a certain year is placed in the same 'year' row. It was actually really amazing. I want to see it at night because there are lights coming from each row. Hard to explain and I didn't take any pictures, but I will next time.

Overall, it was a great Memorial Day! I am so grateful for all who have dedicated and still dedicate their lives to our freedom!

The view from the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers

Just for Memorial Day, they set up flags in front of every grave at Arlington Cemetery. It was amazing!

Reed did come with us :) This is proof.

A picture I found online of the 09/11 Memorial