howdy blog world

I didn't have time today to post something special. I watched over my Grandma who just got out of surgery today. It was fun. Right now, I am just praying that Tyson decides to sleep tonight. We shall see.

Passing the time

Dusty is gone -again- with wrestling for the whole night, so I have nothing better to do than stuff like this. :) As some of my family members know, we have a cool photo booth on our imac. So, I thought I would post some of the better ones. Much to the chagrin of my family I'm sure. Happy viewing!

Our little Jailbird

When I first put this outfit on Tyson, Dusty said "he looks like he's escaped from jail". Well, I highly disagree. I think it's adorable. I was just glad to get some smiles from my fussy little one today. He seems to be in a grumpy mood. I want to give out shout out to Kiki! Probably the one from my family who checks this the most. Maybe when she's 24 she can get a blog too!

Tyson said to say hi to all of his fans. And to Lily, who is learning so much. Hopefully she can teach him to dance when she comes down.



Those feet look really yummy!

I'm officially off of the blog!

It looks as if Jess effectively kicked me out of blog world with the girls! She changed the profile to her likes and booted out mine. Well, I for one don't get kicked out of blogs especially one I created, so this post is officially reinstating my position as alpha male.

Tyson's Wish List

I was looking on online today for winter clearance clothes for next winter for Tyson. I did find some cute clothes at Old Navy, but of course I had to look at the regular clothes of course. Since we are on a budget (dang it) it's no-can-buy new clothes for us. But, I thought I would take you around and show you just how cute some of the clothes I was drooling over are. First, check out this cute outfit. Soooo cute. Next, this one kills me. The rainboots! AHHH. Can it get any better? Of course it can. I know these aren't clothes but next time I know where to go when I want bedding. But then it would have to compete with this. As if that's not enough. Here's where this darling outfit is. And this. While we're at it, why don't I pick up one of these for myself. This is a pretty fun little safari yeah? I'm just getting started. This eye candy is pretty fancy. This is something I might actually get some day. Well, I had better stop, or all ya'all might think I'm getting a little overboard. Chao!

Dinner at Grams

Usually once or twice a month we have dinner at my Grandma Challis' on Sunday afternoon. It is pretty fun. She has quite the spread of food (enough for all of us to eat about three times) and then we play games. She does well at this considering that she is 80 years old. Tyson is just getting to know her and it's fun to watch them interact. Some days we stay for hours. I am glad that we have been able to get to know her better too. I have had dinner at her house since I first came down to school as a Freshmen. Things have changed since then, she's moved, I've gotten married, Sara's come down to school, then Lauren came, but one thing has stayed the same. Sunday dinner. We love it.

News

Nothing fabulous is happening to blog about! BOO HOO, just kidding. Today, Dusty and I went on a date. It's been a while. This is the first weekend he's been home from Wrestling in a long time. We went out to lunch, then to the public library, and then to the D.I. I know, I know, sooooo exciting. Who goes to D.I. on a date? But everything is exciting when you are doing it with someone fun. Lauren watched the little boy for us. Also, we finally got new renters in our basement apartment! A new little married couple. They haven't quite finished moving in yet, and we are grateful to have the added income again. I hope everyone's weekend is good!

Friday's Post Questions

As per Allie's instructions. (I'll regive them so that anyone reading this will have a good idea what the heck is going on. )

1. Copy the questions, remove my answers (after joyously reading them of course!)

2. Pull out the music player of your choice (iPod, mp3 player, Windows Media on your computer, maybe the radio, whatever) and turn it to shuffle

3. As the songs come up, use the titles to answer the questions...in order. NO CHEATING!

How does the world see you?
Clocks, by Cold Play. Just this morning my Mom was talking about how I never waste any time (a personality thing), and that I am pretty intense. Pretty true, I can never go anywhere without a watch on.

Will I have a happy life?
Home and the Heartland by Bill Whelan from the Riverdance soundtrack. It's a loverly song, very cheerful, I think it could be taken as a yes.

What do my friends really think of me?
You Must Love Me, from the soundtrack Evita. Is that a command, or just a realization?

How can I make myself really happy?
What Will I Do? from Clannad. iTunes must know that I always need to be doing things in order to feel happy.

What should I do with my life?
Through Heaven's Eyes from the Prince of Egypt. Does that mean I should read my scriptures more?

Will I ever have children?
Miserere, by Gregorio Allegri. It's a baroque vocal piece that sounds very forlorn, yet very beautiful. I already have a child, so maybe they'll be my hardest yet most beautiful moments.

What is some good advice for me?
Empty Chairs at Empty Tables from Les Miserables. I guess I should invite people over for dinner more often.

How will I be remembered?
Moondance by Michael Buble. It's a very romantic song. I like that thought.

What is my signature dancing song?
Watermark by Enya. Newage, Bohemian, I like it.

What do I think my current theme song is?
I Dreamed a Dream, again from Les Miserable. I do dream too much of more time in the day, more sweet stuff to eat, more trips I want to take, more books I want to read.........

What does everyone else think my current theme song is? Broken Vow by Josh Groban. I hope people don't think I'm that false in nature, although I do sometimes tell teeny little white lies.

What song will play at my funeral?
Gollum's Song from Lord of the Rings. So sad! It's about how he never has had anyone to turn to, no place to go, no home. Yikes.

What is my day going to be like?
Reel Around the Sun, again from Riverdance (is this on shuffle or what?) A very exciting, full-of-movement song. Yippie!

Should I publish this meme?
Gabriel's Oboe by Yo-Yo Ma. This is one of the most gorgeous songs I have ever heard. I'll take that as a good sign to share this with the world.

One teensy weensy little gripe I have

Okay, so basically me and Dusty are pretty cheap when it comes to entertainment. We hardly ever go to the movies- maybe once or twice a year if the movie is really good-, we rarely rent movies because they charge too much. We don't get cable or digital tv for the same reasons. We seem to have a good time in other ways, like on the computer, or game night, but if we get the hankering to sit back and watch some TV, we do get some channels the old fashioned way. On the air waves for free. Just 7 local channels. We can usually see whatever we really want to see, most of the major sitcoms etc. But lately our channels haven't been coming in. All we see is no signal at the bottom of the screen. Not usually a problem except for when I want to watch The Office, or Grey's Anatomy! AGGGHHH! Who do we call about a problem like that? Anyone who cares? I mean, it's free. What can we expect? Well, it better work tommorow when the networks show the replays. That's all I have to say.

Blogging Challenge

Last night Allie emailed me to make sure I joined the all-cool-totally-spend-way-too-much-time-in-front-of-the-computer-blog-club! We have to blog for ten days in a row. I'm not sure that I am that interesting or have that much to say, but here's for day two.

In the middle of the night, up for one of the a.m. feedings,( which by the way are becoming fewer and fewer) I was pathetically thinking about my next post. And I thunked up a good idear. I have one of those question jars, you know the kind where you draw out a strip of paper and are supposed to answer the question on it? I have always thought if I ended up answering them all, the somebody who read them would end up knowing a lot about me. It has gotten pushed aside for years, I think I made it in Young Women's, and has been gathering dust just waiting patiently. So why not do one today? Sorry people who are not that interested in me, but only want to see pictures of my cute baby (hee hee).

Question: Describe two traits that you inherited from both parents.

Answer: I guess I'll start with my Dad first. This is very hard to do by the way. There are lots of things to choose from and it's hard to put my finger on who exactly my traits have come from. After thinking about this, I suppose I have recieved the ability to organize from him. My mom does a good job at this too, but my Dad seems to take enjoyment in it as I do. I like to put things in order, label things, have my spaces tidy and things put where I can find them later. (can you tell that I am a red personality?) I remember my Dad's office and books being in order all of the time. So are his spaces at home.

I think I also inherited the ability to put my thoughts down on paper from my dad. He is good at saying what he needs to very succinctly and fluently. I enjoy writing as well. I don't do it as much as I used to, but I love it. Thanks Dad!

From my mother I recieved the itch to dig around in the dirt. I love to weed the flowerbeds, weed the garden, plant flowers, go to buy flowers from the nursery, read books about plants etc. I remember starting to weed the flower bed once, enjoying the whole process, looking back at the places I had done and being very pleased with my work, when my mom came out of the house and said "You can't finish it all, because I want to weed some too!" We are wierd people.

Another thing from my mom is the ability to throw things away. We are of the mindset that if we don't use something for a month or so, why hang on to it? I find myself going through things and taking stuff to the DI very frequently. I am pretty brutal too. Poor Dusty, has to save his stuff from me all of the time! How is it that I need to go through my junk so often? I have no idea. Maybe the stuff fairies drop things off in the middle of the night, or maybe somebody needs to stop shopping on Ebay so much?

How's this for a bold statement?

When we got back from the Christmas break, I was itching to make some changes to the house. Of course, most of them will never happen (i.e. tear down whole back of house and add on the master bed and bath) so painting seemed like the most appropriate challenge. Luckily, Dusty helped me out and we got it done in one day. I kept thinking red walls in my mind, but after reading up on how to paint a wall red and hearing all of the horror stories I started to get a teeny bit apprehensive. One day I happened upon this Pottery Barn color "Phillipsburg Blue". The rest is history. Needless to say, I am very pleased with the outcome. I love to look at the walls and how the colors have come together.

This one was taken in the morning; the only angle that could withstand the glare.


These photos happened tonight.



Here's one of Tyson just for good measure

Do Re Mi Fa So...........and so on

I know, I know, I have already posted one today already (this is for you Megan, since you complain when I don't blog enough. Twice in one day! Hah Hah!) I was playing the piano this morning. The regulars, Chopin, Beethoven, Mozart (who needs to buy the baby Mozart CDs?) and something amazing occurred. Tyson has always enjoyed listening to me play (I guess) but today he did something new. He started making this loud noise. Not quite a scream, not crying, but I suppose.... singing... He would start up when I started a new song. The louder one the better. And when he got really loud, I would stop to make sure he was okay, and he would just look up at me and smile. So I would start playing again, and the "singing" would start back up. Interestingly enough Tyson had to be louder than whatever I was playing (hard to do with Beethoven) so we would get to forte together and then get softer together. My child's first attempts at music. This momma is proud.
PS I'll let you know when it starts to actually sound on tune.

Tyson, Lily, and Cael: Pretty much the cutest cousins that I know of

For a neato checklist of Tyson's and Lily's similarities check this out

Thanks, Allie for being such a creative blogger!

the growing boy

We took Tyson into the doctor's office yesterday for his 6 month well-check. All is good. He weighed 19 lbs. 4 oz. Pretty large boy, if I do say so myself. Sorry Allie, but he might overtake Lily soon (and he is in size 3 diapers now too). He loves to listen to me sing songs to him. His current favorite seems to be Wheels on the Bus. But Old MacDonald..... is a close second. He also has this new laugh/cough thing going. He gets started and I think he knows it's pretty funny, because he cracks himself up and it just keeps getting louder and louder! And it makes us laugh hysterically too! Here are some shots I took today.








This is Tyson's 6 month picture with PUPPY. Look how it compares with his newborn one.



He doesn't even look like the same baby! Poor little rashy cheeks!

Dusty Ray

I realize that most of my posts have to do with my boy Tyson. He's so darned cute and occupies so much of my time. However, there is another boy in my life who occupies my time, is pretty darned cute too, and a little more independent than Tyson. Dusty is a "fab" husband. I pretty much love him tons. So, I've been thinking of a way to tell him this this Valentine's Season. I don't know if he checks the blog often, but if he checks it soon, he's in for a treat. So are all of you. Some of you know Dust pretty well. He has different relationships with all of you. Brother-in-law, son-in-law, or simply brother or son. Perhaps good friend. But to me, he is my best friend. Let me elaborate on a few of the reasons I love Dusty:

These are in no particular order, but are all pretty special to me.

*Dusty will take out the heaping load of garbage in our kitchen every day because he knows its my least favorite thing to do. And he only complains about it a little bit.
*He gets up in the morning with Tyson almost every day and gives him a bath, "and his vitamins because I love him so much" ( as he informed me one day)
*Dust keeps our vehicles running smooth. Which I am grateful for because I am pretty clueless when it comes to anything with machinery.
*He loves to listen to me play the piano, even if he does fall asleep every once in a while. I tell him that I play for myself. But that's a lie if he's around. I play for him.
*Dusty pillow-talks with me. I love to lay and listen to his voice and what he has to say. We have our best communication time before we slip off to sleep. (usually)
*Dusty has accepted my family as his own. He as such a good relationship with my sisters and brother. He takes good care of my Grandma, and loves my parents. (Most of the time anyway) (hee hee just kidding)
*He has the same goals about family and the future that I do. He wants to raise a close knit family strong in the gospel.
*Dust does my "honeydew" list, which isn't usually very long, but made of things I can't do. This list is mostly comprised of things like hanging up impossible shelves or rotating pictures on the wall (which require a drill that I only use if I absolutely have to) Also carrying in and out about 20 totes of decorations a year. Thanks Dusty!
*He takes me on Sunday drives around Cedar. On these drives we look at houses and new developments that are springing up all over. Dusty and I have extremely similar tastes when it comes to houses. And as Martha Stewart would say, that is "a good thing". I love this bonding time for us. It gets us out of the house and somewhere where we can talk about whatever.
*Dusty is in a perpetually good mood. He always has a smile to pass around and something cute to say to us.
*He gets emotional when he bears his testimony. It embarasses him, but I find it endearing and that it draws me closer to him.

I could go on forever, but that is enough for this V-day. I better save some for next year. Dusty, I love you so much!

For all of you still reading this, congratulations, and I hope you know what a fantastic guy Dusty is.

Prioritizing

So I basically been saying since Tyson was born "I am going to start scrapbooking again today after I finish my chores." I think in my head after that, " yep, after Tys is down for his nap, I'll put in a movie and get going. I have enough time to do at least one page." I even have some great ideas bouncing around up there just waiting to be put down on paper. And wouldn't you know it. Nothing happens. No thats a lie. Things happen. Good things too. Tyson gets fed, played with, laughed with. Dusty gets to eat dinner, and Lauren, and Megan, and Ashley too. My bedroom gets painted. We have clean clothes to wear to our friend's houses. Games get played up a Grandma's on Sunday. The weekly menu gets planned. The piano gets played everyday. But.... no new scrapbook pages. I have done a few mini albums. I guess those kindof count, but nothing with the bazillion of pictures I have in my photo box. Obstacle numero uno. Scrap crap is in Tyson's room. The only place for it really. Everyone says" Why don't you scrap when Tyson is napping?" Well, Tyson is a pretty light sleeper. Case and point. Can't do it in his room. Obstacle B. It takes about an hour to move everything somewhere else in order to do the scrapbooking. By the time I move it all to get ready to make a page, time is up. I would leave it all stacked in the kitchen, but the clutter drives me insane, and Dusty hates it too. Tyson doesn't really care, but that's beside the point. Something must be done. Any ideas? I guess I need a goal. At least one page a week. I think I can do that. Ironically, I probably could have done part of a page while typing this. Well, Tyson is ready for a nap. What should I do when he's sleeping?

Something fun

Since Tyson is getting so "old" we decided to give him a try with some rice cereal. It was sort of a spur of the moment thing. In fact, Dusty actually got out the camera and started snapping away! Yea! We got this little portable high chair because it fits well in our tiny kitchen. At first he wasn't sure what the heck we were doing to him. Now he gobbles it up. In fact, I think it is helping him sleep better. I hope I haven't been starving him up to now. Maybe next week we will try a vegetable. That will take him for a ride I'm sure!

My Boys

Well folks, we made it through Christmas and New Years, and we had a blast. We are glad to be home and back to our usual bad habits, but we loved staying up in Star Valley! (Thanks parents, for letting us invade for awhile and holding our little Tyson. I swear that he wants to be held every second now!) During the holidays, Tyson learned how to "eat his feet", roll over from back to front, and look at books. He is acting so much like a little infant and less like a newborn. Here are some random pictures of the break. Most are of my boys because I am usually taking the pictures.



Because Tyson is so little I don't think he got much out of Christmas morning, but at least he was awake during present time. He looked so cute in his little Santa hat!



Dusty and Willy, my little brother, liked to play out in the snow. They choose an especially nice day where temperature was warmer and the snow very wet.




At the Maxwell Christmas party, Tyson got his first swimming lesson with his daddy. He loved it the entire time. He probably was wondering why we were giving him another bath.



Among the other swimmers were Shaydan and Zebbe. Say cheese!







A rare one of me!