June 2012

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Games We Play

Reed loves doing so many things now, it is hard to keep track of everything! He recently has become an expert sweeper, utensil taker-outer (great word, I know), block picker-upper, and diaper thrower-awayer! I figure that he needs to learn responsibility and chores ASAP before he starts to hate to do them :) There are lots of others games we play together, some of which I happened to get on several videos! Enjoy them!


The expert sweeper :) almost....


I had this toy and was blowing it. Apparently, it was the funniest thing ever...or maybe Reed was just laughing at me?!



"Where is Reeder?" game is one of the all-time faves!


This video doesn't show how hard Reed was laughing just before I started filming (of course). He loved the stick coming up from the holes!

Monday, July 20, 2009

Friends and water fun....

So, these pictures are actually from June, but I must post them because they simply are cute and fun!

Reed has now experienced the wonderfulness called brownie batter! I let him lick the spoon; he was pretty excited about it! It's just one of those things that every kid needs to experience :)


Giving it a try......


He officially likes brownie batter.......yes :)

Just before Tyson went to Alaska we made a trip downtown to see the monuments. We went to my favorite - the World War II memorial. The water had been filled back up and the fountains were ust beautiful. We decided it was the Bellagio water of the East. The cutest was when Reed and Tyson were sitting down looking at the fountain. It was just one of those photo moments! Tyson was probably just telling Reed not to go in the water, but it looks like they are deep in conversation! My fave :)



Love the view.....





Seriously, how cute is that?!





Oh yes, we fountain baby fountains that Reed could touch!




His cheesy grin :)


Next, we had to say farewell to our old neighbors and friends, the Olsen family. They used to live two doors down in our apartment complex and it actually worked out quite perfectly! They were a super fun family, but sadly for me and hapily for them, they moved to Lithuania! Yeah, I am a bit jealous and miss my neighbors, but I guess I will survive! It was so much fun getting to know them and hopefully, we'll be able to see them when they get back in a few years!


L to R: Me, Mel (our old neighbor), Jana (still lives here.....still friends :) )


Our kids! L to R: Taryn (Jana's), Lorenzo (Mel's), Jamus (Mel's), Maylie (Jana's), Bradly (Mel's), and Reed (Mine)

Friday, July 17, 2009

Happy 26th!

Happy 26th Birthday to my fabulous husband, Tyson! Ok, so it was on the 5th of July, but at least I am getting some pictures up in the month of July, right?! I think Tyson is still in shock that he is 26 - apparently he thought he might not ever be that old :) But, it was a great day!

We went to church and I participated in my new calling which is chorister in primary! I was a little nervous, but more than anything, excited! The kids are really great and I love music! So, hopefully, we can have a good time together - oh any ideas for singing time are always welcome!

When we came back we immediately started our part of the dinner - ribs and Nauvoo potato casserole (aka funeral potatoes). I had made the cake before church, but still had the frosting to do. 4 hours later, everything was done and the guests were arriving - Ryan, Barb, my mom, my dad, and Sasha.

Before dinner, Tyson 'opened' his presents (they were not wrapped, so I guess he could not really open them). Reed and I got him an itunes gift card with the restriction that $10 were to buy the new Dave Matthews cd. I was going to buy the actual cd, but it was cheaper on itunes, so I thought the card would be a good idea, so Tyson could get some other music he keeps talking about downloading. Tyson also got a new pillow. His old pillow was simply pathetic! It was so flat it was almost as if he did not have a pillow. So, I bought this cool therapedic pillow that is designed for side sleepers, which we both are! It even has a 5-year warranty! I did not even know pillows had warranties! It works great and I may steal it soon :) Tyson also got "When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions." If you know Tyson at all you know that he LOVES space and astronauts and NASA. This gift was so fitting! He was super excited about it! So, I think I did a pretty good job this year!

The dinner turned out fabulous! My mom brought a salad and we had almost the exact amount of ribs for everyone who came - just enough for Tyson to have leftovers for one day at work! The potatoes were completely wiped clean, not super surprising since they are super fatty and delicious! Then, it was time for dessert! We had leftover ice cream from the 4th and had birthday cake! I actually put 26 candles around the cake...man, that's a lot! You are officially an old man Tys (I guess that makes me old as well since I am 10 months older than him....aaaahhhh!) He had some helpers (Sasha and Reed) in blowing out his candles. I think he even did it in one shot - power lungs! All-in-all it was a great day!

Happy birthday Tys! I love you, even if you are an old man!


We are currently almost done watching the series


The pillow....it's the one on the bottom since it's for a king bed :) Those pillows are super huge!


The card! Yes, Dave has already been purchased :) I really like it!

The cake


The helpers...

Good job Tys!

Saturday, July 11, 2009

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.

Monday, July 6, 2009

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!

Thursday, July 2, 2009

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).