"Noctober Tweff" finally arrives

"Noctober Tweff" (as Ry has been calling it) has been the most talked about/anticipated day of the month around our house-Ry turned 3 today! I couldn't imagine life without this crazy, full-of-life, active, energetic, enthusiastic kid. He has been practicing showing how old he is and gets so proud of himself when he can get all 3 fingers up.


This is what I got when I asked for another smile




Having lunch with his friend Joey at Noodles-Ry's favorite Restaurant




We went to Pirate's Island with Pete's family to finish off the day of celebration





Happy Birthday Ryan! We love you and are so HAPPY to have you in our family.

This poor guy...

...has been to the hospital 3 times in the past three and a half weeks-one time being while we were down at Lake Powell. 2 of the times because the kidney stone he got in Switzerland decided to let him know it had never really passed and the 3rd time for multiple blood clots in both of his lungs. Unfortunately, he was admitted for the last of the visits and since they have no idea what caused the blood clots Pete won a life-long ticket on blood thinners. We really are VERY lucky to still have him with us since many people are killed when blood clots travel to the lungs. We wanted to thank everyone for all the love, support, and concern we were shown over the past week-we really appreciate it.

...One of the Big Boys...

I had to work both Friday and Saturday so Pete and Ry decided to go camping with a bunch of friends since I wouldn't be around. Ryan was SO excited about going and talked about it for days. Some of the boys decided to make it "white-trash" camping and Pete had Ry join in on the fun and bought him this awesome outfit. Ry called me on his way up there and told me he was a "cowboy". They hung out, fished and it sounds like Ry had a great time being with the big boys.

...The 3rd time's the Charm...

A couple of weeks ago we headed down to California with Pete's family-it was my third time this summer and I had only planned on going once back in April-I am not complaining though I LOVE California and I think it was our best trip yet. It wasn't super warm, but we still hung out at the beach, ate great food, and went to Disneyland. The lines were not too long and so we got to ride a lot of rides and and thanks to Ryan for being extremely tall at age two-we didn't have to buy him a ticket and he was tall enough to ride all the good rides:)

Read anything good lately...?

I feel like I read so much more in the summertime and it seems like a lot of people are the same way. So I am wondering what have you read this summer that you have loved? I have read a random assortment including: The Agony and the Ectasy, Hunger games, Ella Enchanted, and am currently reading the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. But I am starting to run out of ideas so let me know if you have read anything worthwhile:)

You wouldn't believe...

...Who decided to surprise me and come home two weeks early! (It happened 2 weeks ago, but we have been so busy I haven't posted about it till now) I was in complete shock and had NO idea-Ryan was so excited I think he hugged Pete for 30 min and could only say "Daddy you're here! Daddy you came back!"




You also wouldn't believe what I did this past weekend ... We attended the 3rd Harry Potter Extravaganza at my Grandma's house. (Yes it is okay to think we're slightly nuts!)

Pete was Lupin as a werewolf (Ry wouldn't let him wear the mask) and I was Tonks-we were some of the tame ones too.




Two of my other sisters were also Tonks




My step-Grandpa made a nice Dumbledore-Ryan kept calling him "Santa corn" for some reason




Some of the other costumes
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It turned out really cute and the kids had such a great time dressing up, attending classes, making crafts and buying stuff from little shops that had been set up.

Better than I imagined...

One positive thing about Pete being gone for the summer was it gave me the excuse to go over and visit (My mom and sister also joined in the fun). We spent three scenic days in Switzerland and three crazy, jam-packed days in Italy. Both Countries were beautiful and surpassed all of my expectations and to make it even better I got to spend some long overdue time with my Hubby:)


Having lunch on the banks of Lake Geneva




Outside the church in Lausanne, Switzerland were our ancestors joined the church.




spending time together in Geneva




The beautiful Lauterbrunnen valley-my picture does not do it justice. I wish you could see how many waterfalls come over the cliffs into the valley-it was incredible.




Florence, Italy




One of the many outdoor restaurants in Italy-minutes later a bird pooped on my head!




St. Peter's Basilica inside the Vatican-it ended up being one or our favorite places in Italy.




The view of Rome from the top of St. Peter's Basilica




The Colosseum




The sistine chapel-we were not supposed to take this picture and right after we did a security officer started yelling at anyone who was taking pictures




We had such a great time eating gelato two to three times a day, walking for hours down city streets (my mom's feet were covered in blisters), getting ripped off because we were Americans ( One restaurant charged us $30 for some fries), and seeing as much of these beautiful countries that we possibly could see. These pictures don't even begin to show all the things we did while we were there-thanks to my sister Catherine for all her many hours researching what to do in Italy-we didn't have a dull moment. Thanks also to my mother-in-law who watched Ry so I could go on this adventure.

A million miles away...

I received a phone call, in the middle of the night last night, from Pete calling to tell me he was in the hospital over in Switzerland. He had been in excruciating pain that had gotten increasingly worse by the minute to the point where he couldn't walk (he said all he could do when he got to the hospital was lay on the floor and wait for someone to help him). They discovered he had a kidney stone and later sent him home with a bunch of pain medications. I felt like we were millions of miles apart and I was helpless here in Utah. I am so glad he is okay now and grateful we only have 3 weeks left...

What would we do...

...without Grandpas?