Since I do a monthly post on Ryan it feels like I haven't been posting as much about Ethan and Ally. I thought I would do a post on each of them to share what they have been up to the last few months.

Sometimes I can't figure Ethan out. He is so brave and daring in some areas of his life and so shy and reserved in others. He'll ride and 4-wheeler and motorcycles and spin donuts and jump hills, but he won't put his face in the water in the swimming pool or go downstairs by himself. Maybe all kids are like this. Anyway, he's a funny kid and it's been fun to see him grow up. He asks so many questions, he is really observant and likes to know the "what" and "why" about everything. He is really into friends and always wants a friend to come over, when we don't have a friend over he is "so bored". I can't believe this is starting already.

Ethan taught himself to do a front flip, first he practiced into a giant pile of pillows and blankets in the living room and has since moved on to the trampoline. He is pretty proud of his accomplishment.


Last fall he finally learned to ride his bike without training wheels. His bike was still a little tall for him so he took the training wheels off Ally's bike (by himself) and rode that around for a long time. It was pretty funny to see him cruising around on her tiny little pink bike. I got a bike for mother's day and so now his favorite thing to do is take a ride around the block on our bikes. He's a good rider and likes to do jumps off the curb, Javan taught him how to skid in the gravel the other day. Ethan, Garrett, Ryan, Ally, and Ashlynn on a bike ride.


Last year we started a little business where we were selling kids 4-wheeler and motorcycles. We aren't doing it anymore but we had this little motorcycle left over so Javan told Ethan he could have it. It's really heavy so it's hard for Ethan to maneuver it around, but if you get him started on it, he'll ride for quite awhile. Javan loves his motorcycle and wants Ethan to have the same love so he got him all the riding gear for his birthday, he looks pretty cute.


A little video of Ethan riding on the track in our backyard.


Ethan and Garrett figured out that they could climb the trees in the front yard. They thought they were pretty cool. We have quite a few birds nests in our trees and they were happy that they got one down. I had to explain that that was where the bird lived and laid eggs and we can't take their nests down. Boys!


Beth gave me the idea of having the kids paint the bread for their sandwiches. So we tried it out one day. The kids thought it was awesome, and they ate their whole sandwich. Even Garrett who is a really picky eater. (For those that didn't see Beth's post, just mix food coloring with milk and have the kids paint it onto their bread with a regular paint brush, then toast the bread and make a sandwich) So fun, thanks Beth!


Here's the proof that they really ate it, and liked it.


Ethan wanted to play T-Ball again this year. He did much better this year and actually enjoyed himself. He had a couple of friends on his team this year and it really helped him branch out, his coach was also really good and got the kids excited to play. He was a lot more aggressive and went after the ball and hit really good too. We didn't have to go onto the field with him once and he was actually excited to go to the games.


Ethan in the cattle chute at Spring Creek Ranch over Memorial Day weekend.


Ethan and Spencer caught these lizards on our hike to see some Indian ruins. As you'll see in the next few pictures, Ethan loves to catch and hold little critters.


See what I mean about being brave. He loves to hold snakes but is scared of spiders. (I guess I know other people like that too.)


This is Davis' chameleon. I think it's name is Rico.

Ally is growing up too fast. She has been such a happy and pleasant little girl to have around. You always hear how hard girls are and how dramatic they can be, and we haven't experienced it until recently. Ally has started to get an attitude where she likes to tell me no and melts down at the drop of a hat. But she is still really sweet and so cute. She loves to play with my phone and on the computer, she's really good at figuring them out. She talks all the time, has lots of questions, and points out the obvious. She's full of information. I love her to pieces.

Lots of times when we go camping with our friends Ally is the only girl, so she likes to do her share of boy things, like playing with trucks, catching bugs, riding 4-wheelers and so on. But she is also a very girly-girl. While she WILL NOT wear dress ups, she loves to have her hair done, finger nails painted, play with make-up, and be pretty. She got these fingernails in her Easter basket and loves to play with them.


Ethan and Ally spend so much time at Becky's and Josh and Keira are some of their best friends. We like to have them come play at our house too so I can get to know them more. It's nice to let Josh and Keira play with Ethan and Ally's toys instead of just sharing theirs all the time. These kids get along so well, I am so happy that they can be friends.


Ally wasn't very excited about having this picture taken. She loves to ride her bike with Ethan. For a long time she didn't know how do push back on the pedals to put the brake on and would just drag her foot to stop. It was working pretty good for her until we were going down a little hill one day and she got going a little fast and tried to slow down with her foot and skinned her toe all up. This kind of scared her away from her bike for awhile and rides her trike a lot too. I taught her how to use the brakes though so hopefully we won't have that accident again. She absolutely loved those snow boots. I finally had to put them away because they were her go-to shoes, she wanted to wear them all they time.


Ally loves to have friends over to play. She loves Ella, and Ella loves Ally too. Ella loves to do whatever Ally is doing, and it so cute to watch them play. Ally loves to mother Ella and take care of her. I thought they looked so funny on this day, all dressed up, and ready for something.


Nice. I was so sad when Ally came and showed me that she had gotten her hair stuck in the comb. I thought we were going to have to cut it off. Luckily I was able to get it all untangled and only had to pull out a few hairs.


Ally at Newspaper Rock, on one of our camping trips.


This video is hilarious. The kids were begging us to fill up a swimming pool, or turn on the sprinklers, or something because they wanted to get wet. It's just funny because it shows that girly attitude that I'm learning about, where emotions change like the flip of a switch.

I cut the movie off too soon, but Javan said "I thought you said you wanted to get wet." Then Ally said, "Well, I didn't want to." Isn't this just typical of women, we say one thing, but mean another. Why can't they figure it out.

Ally had some cavities that she had to have filled. I know, the daughter of a hygienist is supposed to have great teeth with no cavities, but she is also the daughter of a mom that LOVES candy. My family can testify to that. So I guess it's a good thing I work in the dental field. Ally did excellent in the chair for me, 10 times better than Ethan did, but she was pretty nervous to have Dr. Goodwine work on her. She did great though. I'm very proud of her.


Ally's painted bread sandwich, she loved yellow on that day.


Ally and Cydnee playing at Spring Creek Ranch over Memorial Day weekend.


In the cattle chute at the ranch.


Now that the weather is warm Ally loves to be outside. One of her favorite things is swinging and she always wants Javan or I to push her on the swing. They love to jump on the trampoline or play in the sand.


She loves to show us her "tricks" and dances around the yard and house. She recently learned to do a somersault and is very proud of it. She likes to show it off.

Just like on Mother's Day, we have lots of father's and grandpa's too. We are so thankful for the examples, and role models they are to us and our children. We feel so blessed to be a part of their lives and to have them be such an important part of ours. We are lucky to live so close to all of them and be able to spend time with them. We love you Grandpa Glade, Grandpa Kelly, Grandpa Mike, and Grandpa Craig!





And to Javan, the father of my children. Thank you for giving me these 3 beautiful spirits, and for loving them. Thank you for working hard so we can live the way we do and have the things we have. Thank you for playing hard too. Thank you for teaching our kids all your little lessons. Thank you for being a dad that tells stories. We all love you sooooo much. Hope you had a Happy Father's Day!


(Note: Ethan fell and hit his head on the concrete at Grandpa Kelly's and wasn't feeling too good. So he's not looking real chipper in the pictures.)

Last week my kids, my mom and I took a trip out to see my brother Nate and his family in Nevada. It's about 800 miles one way. I had planned on going by myself but my mom and dad weren't comfortable with me going alone so my mom decided to go with me. She has been out a couple of times but has always flown. I thought it would probably be cheaper to drive, and my mom said she will never drive it again. I am glad she went though, she was lots of help taking care of the kids while I drove. It would have been a lot harder on my own.

On the way to Nevada we had been driving all day and Ethan and Ally asked a million times if we were almost there. The had fallen asleep and Ethan woke up just as we were pulling into Fernley and asked again if we were almost there. I said "yep, we're here." Ethan got so excited and started yelling, "Ally, wake up, we're here, we're already at Avada." He had forgotten so quickly how long we had been in the car. I just thought it was funny that he said we were "already" there.

We had a good time visiting though. We don't get to see Nate and Adalia very often so it was fun to spend some time with them and see their new house. The kids had a great time playing with each other too. Ryan loved the house and was so good and was so independant and just crawled around and played by himself the whole time. He does not do that at our house. He was such a good boy, even for the long hours in the car.

Dale had worked a graveyard shift (she's an RN) the night we got there. We wanted to let her have an easy going day and not make her take us out somewhere so we took the kids to the park to play, which is always a hit.

Ethan, Paige, and Eden made friends with some other kids and played tag for quite awhile. Ethan gets worn out trying to keep up with the older kids and had to take a breather.


Ally and Ledger playing on the little slide.


All the kids. Ethan wasn't very happy that it was time to go. And the sun was in their eyes.


After the park we came home to rest. Ryan was pretty stoked that he found this ball of yarn, and that we let him play with it.


The kids played in the pool in the back yard.


The next day we went to Lake Tahoe. It was kind of an over cast day and the water was pretty chilly but we still had a good time. This is a picture looking out on the lake, it was really pretty.


Then I turned 180 to get a picture of the mountains, that still had snow on them. See the dark clouds.


Ally at Lake Tahoe, she wasn't up for getting in the water but had fun playing in the sand and laying under the blanket.


The kids playing in the sand, Ledger didn't want to sit down for the picture.


Ryan loved the beach. And loved eating the sand. The sand was different than I had ever seen. It was really coarse, it was nice cause it didn't stick to you, it brushed off really easy.


Ryan playing with the sand toys.


Nate taught Paige and Ethan how to bury their feet in the sand. Ethan thought that was a pretty cool trick.


Grandma and Ryan relaxing at the beach.


All of us at Lake Tahoe.


Just as we were getting ready to leave a huge flock of geese flew in, there were hundreds all along the beach. It was so cool. We started feeding them some popcorn and pretzels. The kids loved it. Then as we turned to leave there was a park ranger sitting behind us. I thought we were going to get in trouble but he didn't say anything.


Then we drove into California to Emerald Bay State Park to view a beautiful lookout of Lake Tahoe and a huge waterfall. Oh my gosh, it was so pretty.


Ethan climbing all over the rocks at Emerald Bay.


The next day we took the kids swimming at the Fernley City swimming pool. Again they made some friends to play tag and keep away with.


They had a fun kiddie pool that Ethan and Ally loved. It was only 2 feet deep so they could touch and had a blast. They were starting to get brave by the end and were going under and laying on their backs.


On our last night we went bowling, it was Cosmic Rock-A-Bowl night. The bowling alley was dark and they had a disco light going and loud music playing. Ryan was freaking out, he didn't like the flashing lights and loud music. He had a death grip on my mom and I. By the end of the night he was doing okay though.

Ethan was proud that he could bowl all by himself. Doesn't he have good form? He bowled a 72.


Ally wanted me to help her bowl. We had pretty good form too. We bowled a 63, she probably could have done better on her own.


Uncle Nate using Ally for his bowling ball.


All the kids after a cosmic bowling game.


1,866 miles
1 very close run-out-of-gas incident
lots of rain and road construction
6 kids happy to see each other
fun visit to see family
great trip

Thanks Nate and Dale for a fun visit. We had a great time. Wish we could have stayed longer. We'll just have to come again. Love ya!