The "journaling" for the walking video!

We have been trying to get our little man to walk forever!! He just out right refused and we knew he had the skills because he would forget to hold onto something and be standing just fine and then collapse the second he realized he was not holding onto something...... We finally backed off from the walking practice and a week ago he stood up all by himself and took off across the room! Luckily both Russ and I were there to witness the event!! He has been our walking man ever since! It is sad that he is grown up!! It is so weird to see this little man walking around the house!! We are as proud as proud parents can be!!!

MORAL OF THE STORY: Everything is on HIS time frame! He will do something when he is good and ready to do it!! (He sure put us in our place!!)

"Camping Grunge" the new "Khaki and White Shirt" look for all your family photo needs

This is the only picture that my family has of all the grand kids and in-laws from my side!! It has taken forever to get this shot!! The unfortunate part is that the small window of time (literally a few hours) that all family members were present was while we were camping without showers and in our grubby clothing...oh well!! Good thing we are so good looking :) !! Thanks to Raylene for taking the photo!! It was great to have the whole fam-damily together!! (Now that we finally have a complete family photo, my bro went and got engaged last night!! We are excited to welcome my bro's fiance this fall!!)

I am a fan of the primping and coordinated clothing for family photos but the "camping grunge" look works too! Maybe this will replace the "khaki's with a white or black shirt" look!! (You know y'all have family photos with your GAP Khakis, Polo Shirts, and favorite white T!!)

Mr. Walking Man

Glamor Shots by Russell

Rylan was playing with a fan and had a certain model wind-blown look so Russell decided to do a a photo shoot!

This is the look Russ was shooting for:

Rock Chip Repair

We are in need of someone who is excellent at Rock Chip Repair.....Rylan has chipped both front teeth chewing on rocks that he randomly finds! (And you wonder why I try not to put him down on the ground outside? Can you blame me?) Actually, we will leave this chip alone....besides- things like scars, chipped teeth, or a missing tooth really make your kid look tough!!

Magnolia

Our Magnolia tree bloomed!! As you can see from the picture it is bigger than Rylan's head!

Summer Rain

We have been getting awesome summer showers!! It pours and pours!! In fact, I even made homemade chicken noodle soup this week to celebrate our cool wet weather!!

I let Rylan play in the rain and he loved it!!! He did not want to come back inside but he was totally soaked to the bone so I brought him in and opened a window so he could watch the exciting weather!!

Monkey see, Monkey do!

My little monkey is back at it....figuring out every possible way to climb on anything and everything and make a huge mess!!

He figured out how to climb on top of our computer desk...go figure....the kid can't even walk yet!!

I guess he likes the view from the top of his walker tray!!

We also discoverd that he takes after his momma and loves chocolate.....he found a hot cocoa packet & ate through the packaging!! I started smelling a strange sweet smell and looked down to see him sitting in a sticky pile of cocoa powder!! There was no time to take a picture of the mess in the kitchen....it was straight to the tub for this one.... He literally took a hot cocoa bath! It did wonders for his skin!!

Fireworks

Rylan LOVED LOVED LOVED the fireworks!!

OOOOHHH! AAAHHHH!

We were able to have a BBQ and watch the fireworks display with Russell's cousins family who also live in TX!! We came to the conclusion that fireworks are an absolute blast becuase of the kid's reaction and excitement!! It was so fun watching Rylan watch the fireworks! Yeah for the USA!!

Fourth of July

Wimberley Parade!

"Frump Float" - there were about 6 old ladies with these "Bikini" T-Shirts on....it was rather funny!

Cypress Creek

(check out Rylan's cheesy smile....he just started doing this the last couple of days....)

Family, Friends and a Farm

We had the opportunity to go to UT for a family reunion. While there we got to see our friends, family, and visit my dad's family farm.

Rylan and my brothers sweet little girl

The good ole Combine Harvester that my dad spent countless hours on while tending to the farm in his younger days.

Pictures of my grandpa's farm.....trip down memory lane!

This is the IFA building that you see in the Napoleon Dynamite movie.

We got to spend some time with Russell's sister as well. We enjoyed seeing them and the view from their home!

Rylan and Russell got such a kick out of petting and feeding the horse!

Rylan sporting shades.

I had the chance to meet up with some good ole friends from college and feast at Cafe Rio....The other baby in this picture is 8 months younger than Rylan....and I thought Rylan was good sized

There were 95 people at my family reunion....that 95 consists of just my dad's parents & siblings, my first cousins and there kids...

While at the Lake I accidentally got sun screen in Rylan's eye....he liked being on the lake but was too miserable to really enjoy our paddle boating adventure...poor little guy!

Russ took Rylan for a little dip....Rylan kept dunking his face...I hope he didn't swallow any water!

Four generation picture!

Rylan and Cora

My cousin Andrea and her baby Nash

Me and Andrea!

Me and my sister!

Rylan fell asleep in his car seat while I was feeding him... Just Kickin' it!

Rylan and Grandpa

Rylan and Grandma at the Church History museum making a stained glass window

While at Temple Square this baby bird hopped right through our picnic.

Salt Lake Temple

Bright Blond hair and bright blue eyes! Rylan and my cousin Morgan!

We had a wonderful trip! (My mother always said that it is a "trip" when you take kids and a "vacation" when you go by yourself!) It was great to see everyone!

Upon arriving home we had mountains of laundry but of course my little helper was kind enough to help with the laundry!! He loves it....maybe that is why he messes so many outfits!!