Leila's BIrthday

Yay It hasn't been months since I've last posted!

This last weekend (the 24th) we went to Cheyenne for Leila's second birthday. For those of you who don't know Leila is Rylee's best friend. Leila was the first name Rylee learned and she loves playing with her. We went up to Cheyenne on Saturday and spent pretty much the whole day there. Ryan went golfing during the party because he missed the course there because it's a lot less crowded. After the party the girls played and we talked for a while before we had hamburgers and hot dogs for dinner. We ate quickly because we all decided to go to a showing of Captain America at the cheap theater there. I really should have brought a jacket to the theater because i have never been so cold in a movie theater before. I huddled next to Ryan just to stay warm. We didn't stay the night because i had several assignments due the next day for school, but it was a fun weekend and it was nice to get out of Colorado for the day.

Leila blowing out the candle on her birthday cake.

The girls playing in her new ball pit, Rylee is a pro since she has one too.

Getting started early :)

Trying to help Amy get Leila's "fake computer", as Joseph calls it, out of the box.

Rylee and dad watching the Broncos game on Sunday.

Stupid blog

So when i wrote those last posts i wrote them from "Moving" to "Labor Day Weekend" that's why they seem backwards when you read them.

Labor Day Weekend

This last weekend we went up to Cheyenne to see James (Ryan's cousin basically) who was home from Afghanistan where he flies medi-vac for the guard. It was a nice day we had lots of good food and played some fun games. I enjoyed watching Ryan, Brandon, Hannah, Amy, and sometimes James play Mario brothers. It's always fun to watch people play a game they aren't the greatest at, but try their hardest. I would have played but i can't even make it through a level without dieing, but oddly enough i used to be pretty good at play Halo. The rest of the weekend we were kind of lazy, Ryan went golfing and i finished a blanket that I've been working on for about the past 2 weeks. It took me so long because we were gone a lot and i can't sit and work on a blanket all day when i have a toddler. Also it's the biggest rag quilt blanket I've made, and i made the squares on the small side so that didn't help either.

Well that's all for now. I will try to post more frequently now that things should start to slow down, and maybe we can get used to this place.

Some of the edges hang over so it's bigger than it looks.

The close up of the blanket. It's a gift for a friend.

August

Well August was just all around not a great month. At the beginning of the month i didn't have a pretty fun few days in Arizona with Debbie, and Jenni at Ryan's cousin's wedding and baby shower. We had some amazing food, and stayed at one of the nicest resorts i have ever stayed at. There were a few downs like Ryan not being able to go. It's just not the same to go to a wedding and have no one to dance with. Also the drive was someone miserable, and i felt like i was going to melt in the heat. Oh my goodness! I hate being that hot! Jenni made fun of Debbie and i all weekend, but i don't care i hated being hot. I did enjoy sitting by the pool in the sun and not completely frying (because we were lower in elevation), but other then that i enjoyed the evening when it was still pretty warm but there wasn't any sun beating down on you. When i got back Rylee finally decided she would call me "mama", which she has said before, but always decided to call both Ryan and i "dada". That made me happy, but it was short lived, she now doesn't call me anything, but rather whines at me. Oh joy.

The rest of the month Ryan had to work and the one weekend that we weren't gone we were down at one of the apartments our family owns down here painting. I really am not a big fan of painting unless i benefit from it, but it had to be done and we will probably be back down there soon finishing it since we weren't able to get it all finished. Later that month we had a death in the family and we were up in Riverton two weekends in a row one to say good bye and the second one was for the funeral. It was nice to see nearly all of Ryan's family i just wish it had been for a different reason.

Ryan's first classroom"The wall" He mad the graffiti art i suggested the brick paper, it turned out great!

Walking with dad to the park in Hudson.

Rylee swinging on the big kid swing.First time on a marry go round, and thought it was fun. Mommy used to think it was fun until i got motion sickness.

Camp

Well later in July i went up to Lander to visit with Kara, and some other people from camp. This was Rylee's first time up at camp. She loved the open spaces for her to run around in. It was very different from when we were younger. There are so many people that don't go any more or just didn't go to camp this year. It was a little sad that the people i didn't know out number those i did.

But on a positive note i had a top ten funnies moment for me while we were up there. So Kara and i went up early and got to camp to visit about 10 am. So when all the campers went to have cabin rest (a nap) we went for a drive to hopefully get Rylee to take a nap, which she did. So when she was good and asleep i pulled over by a lake so i could get some pictures. Well we decided to try to get a picture together which meant propping up the camera and using the timer. Well we found a good spot because there was a large rock by the lake for us to stand on and there was a large rock across from it to put the camera on. Here is the problem in between the rocks there was sand. Well on one of the......oh 7 or 8 takes (we're picky, her more than me I've accepted i won't like it no matter what) i set the timer and set off down rock 1 towards rock 2. Well half way down the slanted part of rock one my foot hits some of that oh so lovely sand, that has mad it's way onto the rock, and from that point i slip backwards and somewhere in mid-slip me being the talented person i am twisted and ended up face planting in the sand at the bottom of rock 2. What happens i hear Bahahah coming from Kara (which is when the camera takes the photo) and i start to guffaw as well even though my knee was killing me. Like they always say it's better to laugh then cry. Below are the photo's that captured this lovely sequence of events, feel free to laugh as well knowing it's what I'd do.

Okay here is the sequence

We tried pulling our hair back because of the wind, it didn't work so well.I barley made it up on that rock before the picture took.Stupid windI didn't realize i had already pushed the timer button so i didn't even try to make it into this one.

Kara laughing at me after i biffed and landed on my face. I'm at the bottom of the rock she's on.

Moving

So i know i said i would try to write more frequently so i don't have to sit down and write these really long posts, but since my last post at the end of June we have been so busy it's like we didn't even have a summer. At the beginning of July we put our house up for sale, and had a few people come look at it right off the bat, but all real potential buyers stopped coming after our first open house. By the second weekend in July we were packing and on our way down to Colorado Springs. My dad, being the saint he is, offered to pay for our Uhaul because Ryan and i were just going to put everything on flat beds and take a couple trips. That would have been the worst decision we could have made. We managed to get 99.9% of our stuff in the one trip with the Uhaul, Debbie's truck, and my car. We made another trip about two weeks later to go get the house ready to be rented since we couldn't managed to sell it and we couldn't afford to pay two house payments. Although it would have been nice to have the house sold we were very relieved to have good renters move in quickly so we only had to pay half a months mortgage on the vacant house.

We have now been moved in and unpacked for almost two months. It's felt like an eternity though! We have tried hard to have an open mind, but every time i leave the house I'm reminded how much i don't want to be here. I have never seen such terrible driving in my LIFE! I swear i get flipped off at least twice a day, cut off at least 5, everyone races from one stop light to the next like they're starving and there's a cheeseburger at the next light, and people have a problem with stopping. I swear once you pull up to a "stop" light, NO ONE STOPS! NO INSTEAD WE ALL CREEP LIKE WE'LL DIE IF OUR CARS ACTUALLY STOP! Plus if YOU stop the person behind you is in your trunk by the time the light turns green which is 5 minutes from the time you "stopped"! On another note people's bubbles around here are like waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too small. If i can hear you breathing behind me your too close, or if i can't take one step backwards without hitting your stupid shopping cart your too d*** close. Sheesh i miss my wide open spaces and my large bubble! But we will survive and hopefully only have to be here this one year.

Crazy Busy Recently!

WARNING LONG POST!!

OK, So we've had a lot on our plate recently and this is the first chance I've had to catch you all up on what's been going on recently. That last time i posted it was Easter and since then we've had two graduations, a wedding, 3 Birthday parties, and we are now selling our home ourselves and moving to Colorado Springs. I know pretty darn ridiculous to cram all that into two months. In upcoming events we have two moves we have to do (ours, and my parents), another Wedding (in Tuscon), and Ryan starts his new job. So about September things should be calming down.

Alright well lets get this ball rolling. In May i graduated with my Associate of Arts degree from Laramie County Community College. I am so glad to never have to take a general class again! We only had a few family and friends come because i wanted to save the large party with everyone for when i get my Bachelors Degree, hopefully in two years. It was a nice ceremony because i didn't have to sit by some stranger that i barley knew. Some good family friends (basically our family here in Cheyenne), were also graduating with me. I was able to sit with Hannah and babble through most of the boringness. It was a night ceremony so the next day was when we got to celebrate with all three of us graduates (Melissa, Hannah, and myself).



The next weekend in May Shawn (Ryan's little brother) graduated from High School. Shawn is the youngest of four and Debbie's last to graduated High School. It was lots of fun. We had Shawn's party the day before graduation because Riverton is weird and has their graduation on Sunday, which is the same day we all had to head back home for work on Monday. Anyways it was fun and we had a lot of family drop by to congratulate him. Unfortunately I'm waiting on my lap top to be fixed before i can post any pictures of Shawn's graduation. :(

The weekend of June 11th we were in Riverton again for Levi and Maria's Wedding (Levi is Ryan's cousin). They had a beautiful Wedding at St. Margret's church. It was my first Catholic wedding, but it was much shorter than i anticipated. Afterward we went to the reception where we ate yummy meats balls and cheese and crackers. It was really neat instead of an Alcoholic bar they had a candy bar since neither of them were old enough to drink. Ryan and i had mom and dad watch Rylee that night and I'm so glad we did. After watching everyone one else with young kids either leave early or struggle to keep them happy, we were really glad we didn't bring Rylee with us! We were able to dance and eat and take pictures to our hearts content knowing Rylee was fast asleep at mom and dads and we'd have a happy baby in the morning. We had a great time at the wedding and i hope you enjoy a few of the pictures i got there.


The day after the Wedding there were two birthday parties. First Lesley Grace had planned Allie's first birthday in the morning. They had a great breakfast there and all the girls had fun playing with the toys that Allie got, and loved the beach balls that someone was smart to bring to entertain the kids. Ryan and Chad decided to go golfing in the morning instead of going to the party, but i think they needed some guy time since we out number them when we're all together.


After Allie's birthday Grandma Treese had planned a surprise 80th birthday party for Grandpa Treese. Grandpa was unable to attend the wedding the night before so it was nice to go to Hudson and see him. He was so happy to see the whole family there to support him. We had a large BBQ where Dee Dee made some delicious wings, and Reg and Gwen cooked the burgers and hot dogs which were also really good. I love BBQ food so I'm in heaven whenever we all get together.

When he first saw all of us standing in his living room!

Here Recently we went up to Buffalo to celebrate Marshall's first Birthday! We went up a day early so Ryan and Chad could go golfing again, and later that day we went to Gillette and swam in the pool at their new Rec center there. We initially were going to go to the lake, but it was pretty chilly and the forecast was scattered thunderstorms so we decided not to freeze our butts off. Anyway it was fun and i think all the kids enjoyed it too. We went to dinner at Humphrey's (which is just like a Sanfords) after swimming, and not 5 minutes out of town (on the way back to Buffalo) all three kids were passed out. I'm glad we went up early and got to spend more time with them.

The next day we celebrated Marshall's birthday with a BBQ (yet again in heaven!), and some cake, and presents. All the kids played on the new swing set that Chad and Jenni spent two days putting together about a week before. They all loved to swing and go down the slide. It was a great weekend with the family. :)

Alright last but not least is the story about us moving. When Ryan accepted the job here in Cheyenne last year we knew that it was only a one year contract, meaning he'd have to find another job this year. Well we took a gamble that we would be able to get another job here in Cheyenne since everyone always says that the hardest part about getting a job here is getting into the district. We had done that so we were hoping that Ryan would get hired for a more permanent job this year. He applied for the only two secondary math openings in the district. He was interviewed for both, and he missed them only because the other applicants had more experience. That was a hard pill to swallow because we love where we are right now. Well we had to find a job somewhere so we started applying places where we had family and could stay with them if we needed to. Mid May Ryan got a call from Colorado Springs and a school there wanted to interview him, so we went down. About a week later we found out that he got one of the positions there. So for now we at least had a job if nothing turning up closer to Cheyenne. Also at the end of May Riverton called, and wanted to interview Ryan for a one year contract they had up there. Initially that sounded great because it was more money, but in the long run we would be living apart nine months, and we would be guaranteed to be in this same situation next year. But if we lived in Colorado Springs i would eventually take over my brothers job when he got a better one and the two incomes together would be a good chunk more than if he took the Riverton job, we wouldn't have to live apart, and there is a possibility that Ryan would have this same position next year. That being said we made a large pro's and con's list, and decided we'd take the risk and move to Colorado Springs. Just to clarify we do intend to move back here someday. We will just have to keep applying for jobs here in Cheyenne each year until we can come back to Wyoming. I'M SO NOT A COLORADO PERSON, I LOVE ME SOME WYOMING!

Well that should catch you up for now, and hopefully i don't wait another two months to post, but like i said we'll be busy. Don't worry I'll post eventually. Oh and P.S. this was way too long for me to want to spell/grammar check so if i completely screwed up on spelling or said something wrong please forgive me for being lazy and not wanted to go back through it all. :)

Easter Weekend

We were in Riverton for Easter this year. We arrived on Thursday because Ryan's schedule was changed and he had a half day on Thursday and didn't work Friday. We spent Friday playing games, and dying eggs. Rylee was able to dye eggs too! I thought she was going to just tip the dye or get bored with watching everyone else, but she did really well. She took the spoons and stirred the egg and liked to take the eggs out when they were done. It was cute, with most of the kids shirtless and dying eggs!.

On Saturday we woke up early to go to an Easter egg hunt that Smith's Grocery puts on, and has happened every year for a long time. I mean i went to this hunt as a young kid and they had been doing it a while before i went. OK so a long time, we get up to the College (CWC) and nothing. No Easter egg hunt! Want to know why? Someone wasn't sure who put it on, and said that CWC put on the Easter egg hunt and Smiths got their feelings hurt and instead of being the bigger person or group they decided to not put it on and not tell anyone that it wasn't going to happen. Thanks we just told a three year old that she gets to hunt Easter eggs and now nothing! So we went to eat at the airport and plaster our kids in the window to watch the airplanes take off (sound familiar dad?), before a different Easter egg hunt at a different park. Once we got to this Easter egg hunt we lined up around our children's age groups. Thank goodness they split them up because if not we wouldn't have gotten the one egg and few pieces of candy that we did get. There were so many people there, i must say it was because it was the only Easter egg hunt that day. It's OK though it was more for the experience than the candy she can't eat anyways because it's mostly taffy.

Later that day we took the kids back to the park because it was just too packed right after the Easter egg hunt. Both Rylee, and Marshal loved the swings i have videos of them both just cackling. Chloe is such a little explorer, she wasn't afraid to try anything. She climbed up the climbing wall, did the monkey bars, and even went down the fire pole. This child is three and isn't afraid of heights, not sure whether that's good or bad.

Once the children got home we put them in Debbie's (Ryan's mom) big bath tub and put in all the Easter eggs they'd been playing with for the last two days. It made for lots of fun and cute pictures with all three kids in the tub. When they got out we put the girls in their new matching Pj's. Not the first time Chloe and Rylee got matching pj's, but it was the first time i got pictures of them together in them. It's fun to see Chloe and Rylee play together even though Rylee's a few years younger. She's old enough to interact with Chloe now, and followed her around all weekend.

On Sunday we woke up and found our Easter baskets. Rylee got a cute little yellow teddy, and lots of candy. She mostly eats the peeps, but she can eat some of the chocolate too. Later we got all dressed up and went to Grandma and Grandpa Treese's for Easter "breakfast" which was at noon so it was more like lunch. It was yummy, lot's of bacon, eggs, potatoes, and pancakes with applesauce in the middle and strawberry's and homemade whip cream on top, YUM! Afterward Ryan and Reg (Ryan's Uncle) played some guitars and we watched the kids run around. Unfortunately most of the kids had to leave early so we didn't do an Easter egg hunt like we normally do, but we'll have a great one next year when Rylee and Marshall will be able to understand what's going on a bit more. We had to leave early so we could get back to Cheyenne and Ryan could get some planning done for class on Monday, so we didn't get to stay as long as we would have liked. Well that's all for now enjoy the photo's :)

Dying her first egg with Aunt Amber
Stirring the egg
Her first Easter Egg! :)



Our Family eggs
The kids playing with all the plastic eggs
At her first Easter egg hunt
Getting the first piece of candy

Getting her only eggSwinging after the hunt

Chloe the monkeyLoved the swing

She would just hang there and she liked it
Marshall in the swing at the park
Jenni and Marshall
In the "bubble" (stole that from Jenni and Chad)
All three kids in the tub

Matching mini mouse Pj'sRylee in her Easter outfit

At Grandma and Grandpa Treese's
Rylee and Chloe
Rylee in Ryan's sunglasses
Found her Easter basket
Her dress was just too hard to play in so this is what she ran around in most of the time.