Ryan Reichman a.k.a "the womanizer"

Ry came home from school the other day and said to me:

"I kissed Kate at school today, now she is my girlfriend and I just love her, we hugged and I really just love her."

Kate is a darling little girl and we know Kate's mom so it has made for some funny facebook messaging. The problem is that this isn't just an isolated incident. The night before this conversation we were at our neighbors and I heard Ry telling his friend Lilly that they needed to kiss-I intercepted this one and saved Lilly from having to kiss Ryan, but it didn't stop him from holding her hand:) He told Lilly's older sister that he is going to marry all 3 of the girls in their family (we need to explain polygamy isn't okay). And this past summer we found out that Ryan asked out 12-year-old neighbor out on a date to get coffee-where he got that we will never know. So needless to say we are going to have to keep our eyes on that kid....

Vulnerable

I feel so vulnerable writing this post, I have thought about it over and over and have been debating back and forth about whether or not to actually post it, but here it goes...

I want another baby-I have actually wanted one for years and haven't been able to.

I really, really don't want to seem like I am complaining-some days are just harder than others and lately things have gotten hard again.

I miscarried in February of 2009 and after that things were hard all the time. The desire for another child became all consuming-sometimes I felt like I was drowning in it. I put walls up around my heart to block out any emotion because I got SO tired of feeling the pain of it breaking each month. I welcomed the stress of applying to law school because it completely distracted me and helped my heart to heal a little bit. I have decided my coping mechanism of feeling numb all the time isn't very healthy so I am trying to let myself hope again. But learning how to hope again is so scary because it opens me back up to feeling things that make me raw inside...

Life is hard, definitely not perfect, not easy, but it can still be wonderful. I know there are things I am learning thru this experience and am so grateful for the gospel to know there is a plan that is so much greater than my understanding. Miracles do happen, I just have to be patient...And I realize the miracles may not be what I expect or want, but they have already happened and will continue to happen.

I am not writing this to get sympathy, or for you to feel bad for me, I want to write this in case there is someone who reads my blog that is going to thru the same thing. I think too often we only post the good things, but no life is perfect and I just want others to know they are not alone in difficult times.

I have fallen in love....

... with running in the freezing cold. I always looked at the people who ran when it was 20 degrees and thought they were crazy and now I have become one of those crazies:) Usually when the cold weather comes I just run on the treadmill-which I kind of hate-but this year I invested in some real running clothes and I can't believe how much I LOVE running outside in the cold. I am sure the people I pass probably wonder why I have the biggest cheesy grin on my face, but I don't care, I am enjoying looking psycho. I just wish I could warm up after I come inside....

the other half

When I asked pete if I could get a plane ticket for my birthday to go to San Francisco to see the other half of the art exhibit i saw in August, he was in shock (usually I just ask for clothes that I have usually already purchased:) ). My sister and 2 of her friends came along and we had SUCH a great time. We went on some really incredible runs-such a great way to see a city-biked over golden gate bridge and down to Fisherman's Wharf, went to the art exhibit and shopped. I loved spending time with my older sis and her friends, but was so sad it didn't work out for my friend Margaret to come at the last min. We had perfect weather-it was 75 and sunny in Nov, but I sure was happy to see my boys when I got home.

A little bit late...

I know halloween was 2 weeks ago, but things got a little crazy around here and so I am just getting around to posting these pictures. This was the first halloween that Ryan actually "got" the glory of trick-or-treating! It was so much fun to see him run from house to house with his friends, and this year he actually wanted to go to more that 2 houses without crying. Lucky for us, Ry forgot about most of his candy after the next day-which is probably best considering the whole teeth fiasco. Pete did tell me though that I was the evil halloween mom since I sent Ry to the house that gave out full candy bars twice:)













all pics from my iphone

genetics

When I was pregnant with Ryan I had to get some dental work done. While I was there the dentist said to me in a very loving tone, "I really hope that your baby doesn't get your genes when it come to teeth (I get cavities super easy), let's hope he gets your husband's genes (Pete has had 1 cavity his entire life)."

Well we found out today that the genetic lottery was not in Ryan's favor...
8 cavities-8!!!! I promise we brush his teeth :(
Possible crown (who knew they even did that on baby teeth)
An Anesthesiologist will have to brought in

So much worse than we ever imagined...

Ry's New Best Friends

We, along with the rest of Utah, spent fall break in Disneyland. We partied with Pete's mom, his younger sister and our 3 nieces. It was magical:)

The best thing about being 4 years old

For Ry, one word sums up the best part about being 4 years old-SPIDERMAN! I asked him what his favorite thing about being four was and all he could tell me was "Spiderman". He current obsession made it super easy to buy him presents and his excitement for every little thing makes it so fun to celebrate with him. We still have to set a date for his spiderman/chuck-e-cheese (help me) birthday party, but we've had a great few days celebrating this wonderful, stubborn, passionate, determined, strong-willed and incredible little boy! Happy Birthday Ryan!

I can't help but smile....

...every time I look at this picture. Ry was "learning" to roller-skate:)

p.s. sorry for the large picture-it was my first time posting from my phone and I haven't quite figured it out yet:)

Randomness

Some of the random things we have been up to lately

In August, I went to San Francisco with my parents and little sister-first on our list-a chocolate stop:)




I loved this art exhibit so much I am going back in November to see the other half.




My dad surprised us all and got tickets to see the play




Day trip to Arches







Ry's first day of preschool-I couldn't get him to look at me or make a normal face




The wedding of a really, really good life long friend-I don't know if I have EVER been so happy for someone!





Happy Thursday!!!

8 Years

Three days ago Pete and I celebrated 8 years of marriage-EIGHT years!-that sounds like so many to me and I can only hope to spend 8 times that together. They have definitely not been perfect years by any means, but they have been years that have brought us closer together as a couple, taught us how to love on an entire new level, and made me realize how lucky I am to be married to this man.

Before the chaos of August began...

...we had an extremely relaxing vacation in Cabo with Pete's family. I really have never been on such a chill vacation in my life and it was wonderful-I went to bed every night around ten, got up, worked out and then we just hung out at the beach or the pool. It was so nice to have so much time together before this crazy month began.

Drumroll please...

So many of you have wondered why I have been so elusive when it came to where we were moving to, and the answer to that question is because up until Thursday night we didn’t know 100% where that place would be. Pete had been accepted into law school, but none of the schools felt like the right “fit” for our family. We felt like it would work out, but we didn’t’ know exactly how that would be or when it would happen. At the beginning of August we were moving to California, then a few days later it was to Washington, and a few days after that we found out we could actually stay here.

To say it has been an emotional rollercoaster is an understatement. I went from finishing my job of four years, to packing a house and preparing myself to say good-bye to family and friends to going back to work, unpacking boxes and scrambling to put my life back together. I don’t even know what I feel anymore. I am excited, shocked, homesick for a place I never got to move to, and relieved all at the same time.

Don’t get me wrong-I am happy that we get to stay here it's just that the end result was SO different than we ever imagined it will take some adjusting. We really are excited and more importantly Pete feels like a huge weight has been lifted off his shoulders-enough so that he is FINALLY sleeping at nights. So what more could I ask for???

So without further adieu, I give you the end result of this craziness:
BYU called and offered Pete a spot in their 2011 class so he actually won’t be starting law school for another year. Maybe that will give him some time to finish his master’s of public health thesis :) and for us to enjoy life without one of us going to school. And i really am grateful to have more time with family...

I am an official Gleek

Ry got sick this weekend and since I was sitting at home with nothing on TV I decided to download Glee from itunes because I had heard it was really good. Bad Idea. 14 episodes of Glee in the past 30 hours later, I am more than addicted. I have issues....esp since my to do list is ginormous and includes packing up an entire house. I am in denial...

In his element...

With everything going on, I just realized that I never posted about Pete's latest Vaccines for the Philippines adventure. I wasn't able to go this year because I didn't dare leave Ry after what happened when Pete left for Cambodia (nightmares, sickness, abandonment issues, etc.) and I was sad to be missing out-This year sounded amazing. They did two free medical clinics, but spent the majority of the time building a birthing center in a rural area-they even managed to squeeze in the Cebu temple dedication. Pete had 25 other volunteers go over with him and he said they were an incredible group. To say Pete loves the Philippines is an understatement-he would move there in a second if I would let him. I am so proud of you babe and everything you and the group accomplished-you literally changed peoples lives!

Supermoms-Wasatch Back Relay 2010

Somehow I find myself drawn to this race every year-it is fun in a crazy/insane sort of way (this is the relay race where you run 188 miles with 11 other runners). I joined my older sister Catherine's team again and had a blast during all the adventures (minus me getting sick after my second run and staying sick 24 hours and another run later). I switched it up this year and was in the second group of runners. I got to see a different part of the race course and finally got to see the infamous "Ragnar"-the lovely mountain that two teammates run up-and yes, it really is a mountain. The team was awesome and we just found out we took 12th place out of 127 women's teams!!! Thanks for all the memories ladies!



My sis and I before all the madness started




The team minus me-I was running one of my legs when they took this pic




Because of the horrible traffic getting to the finish line we missed when my sister crossed, but we made sure to get a picture when we finally found her.

17 again

One of the things that kept me occupied while pete was in the Philippines for 2 weeks was going to YW girls camp for a day (I couldn't stay any longer b/c of Ry). I felt like I was in YW all over again and was surprised how much I didn't want to go home at the end of the night. The girls in my ward are awesome and thought it was so funny that everyone up there thought I was one of them and not a leader. I am going to be so sad to say goodbye when they release me to move.












Pete arrived home safe and sound this past week and once again I survived. Ry and I jam packed each day with friends, swimming, picnics, swimming and more swimming. We were both exhausted at the end of each day and he slept in almost every morning-one day he slept till after 10. We are happy to have pete home!

The million dollar question...

Question: Have you guys decided where you are moving to yet?

Wish I knew... Still waiting to decide till we hear from a few more schools-could this process take any longer?

growing up

(ry was really happy to be at graduation)

Lately I have felt like we are really growing up, pete graduated with his masters (pending he finishes his thesis by july:), he turned 29, and we have been trying to decide what state we are going to move to in three months. I have very mixed feelings about all of this, but I know it will all work out just how it should (or so I am told).

I heart N.Y.C.

My wonderful friend Lauren was going to hang out with her parents and play in NYC on her way to run the Boston marathon and she invited me to come along. I was MORE than excited for the invitation considering I have always wanted to visit NYC. She was so great and let me check off my huge list of things I wanted to see and do: Central Park, the Brooklyn Bridge, Wicked, Time Square, the Statue of Liberty, SoHo, Little Italy, Chinatown, shopping, Rockefeller Center, Fifth Avenue, Dylan's Candy bar, Donut Planet, Fat Witch Brownie and the list goes on... As you can see it involved eating a lot of desserts-my favorite:) I even got to sneak in a visit with my cousin Lara whom I hadn't seen since I was pregnant with Ryan.




In honor of the show Felicity





Even better than I remembered


My luggage very inconveniently decided to break as I was rushing thru Manhattan trying to meet my cousin. I still have bruises on the back of my right calf from my luggage hitting it so many times


My cousin Lara and her darling kids in Bryant park



Central Park


my heaven

Just as a side note, do you ever get really frustrated posting-me and blogger are not friends today as you can see by the weird question marks that are showing up in my post and the fact that this post took WAY too long to create.

The Latest Adventures of Peter Reichman

Ry and I were a little excited when last Tuesday finally rolled around. It may have been an ordinary day for the rest of you, but for us it meant that Pete would be coming home from his three-week stay in Cambodia. We were so excited in fact that I got to the airport forty minutes early:)

Pete went over to do research for his final project to finish his Master's in Public Health. He had a few hiccups along the way (ie. he got his luggage four days after he arrived), but overall he had a great trip. We both had some lonely moments without each other, but I kept telling myself at least it wasn't the two months he left for last summer. I was just glad he got to take advantage of such an AWESOME opportunity. Here are some pics from his latest adventure.


Buddist Temple



Some of the delicious food offered in Cambodia. Ry was obsessed that his Dad was going to eat bugs so Pete tried some crickets just to tell Ry he did.



Handing out disposal cameras to elementary school students. This was part of his research method he used called Photovoice. The kids took pictures of things that made it hard to stay clean and healthy.



A temple at Ankor Wat-part of the movie Tomb Raider was filmed here



A buddist monk at one of their temples



This land mine was right outside Pete's bedroom window, an unfortunate sign of the horrible civil war Cambodia experienced.