The 4 Boys

This last weekend we went Leavenworth, WA to attend a wedding of one of Ryan's best friends from High School. During high school Ryan hung out with three other guys Dusty, Shayne (groom) and Shaun. They practically did everything together, including pick on me!!! Well this was the first time since school (10 yrs.) that they were all together. So we had to document the fact. Shayne was the one getting married, Dusty was the pastor that married them, and Shaun was the best man. We didn't know if we would be able to make it so Ryan wasn't in the wedding. It was fun to be there and catch up a little with good friends. We also met their wonderful wives Gretchen, Chandra, Brandy, and Dusty's sweet little boy, (he has two more at home). Good times!!

The Park

We went to a cool park today to let Ayden ride his bike. It has a bike path that goes the perimeter of the park and you can watch them the whole time as they ride. He was enjoying that and I was pushing Lauryn around on Meysa's bike. I heard a someone crying and I thought Oh, someone is sad. The kid just kept wailing and then I realized that it was MY kid that was crying. Ayden had bit the dust!! He scraped some knuckles and his knees. Lucky for him he had his helmet on or he would have had road rash up his face too. As it was he ended up with a bloody nose. I am sure that this won't be the last time he and pavement meet. My kids are happiest when they are swinging. They like the other toys at parks but not quite as much. So I got some good pictures of them all enjoying a nice sunny day swinging.

Ayden loves to see how high he can go. Of course he has go higher than his sisters!! Mr. Competitive!!


Meysa just giggles the whole time and wants to go "faster and faster"



Lauryn just chills out in her swing. It must be very relaxing for her because she seems to zone out.

Groovy Baby!!!

The kids had fun doing their own tye-dye shirts the other day. It was so easy and fun that I honestly wanted to do one for myself. Doesn't it take you back to a time that seems like so long ago. Fun summer activities!!!

Impromtu

Well if any of you have ever taken a speech class in High School you remember the speech that you had to do without any preparation. You are given a topic and have to speak for about 5 minutes on it. This last Sunday Ryan and I had a refresher course. About two weeks ago now Ryan and I were asked to speak in sacrament meeting, well without asking Ryan what week would be best I went ahead and agreed. Wrong thing to do, with Ryan's schedual he had no time to prepare a talk and so I called the Bishop and told him that this Sunday wasn't good for us but we would speak another time. He said, "not a problem and that he would catch us again". Ryan and I didn't think another thing about it. Well we walked into church on Sunday and looked at the program and saw to our horror our names typed in bold letters it seemed. Before Ryan could go up to the pulpit and talk with the Bishop, the Bishop stood to start the meeting. Ryan asked if I even had called the Bishop, which I defensively said I had. Well I don't remember much of the sacrament being passed or the songs sung. I was frantic and praying that the bishop just forgot to tell the person printing the program there had been a change. We were not that lucky. The Bishop called me up there after two very short testimonies from some young men and it was only 11:27. Holy Cow!! Well the topic quite appropriately was "purpose in suffering"!!! I informed the congregation that I was totally unprepared, and that it was the Bishop's fault, in the most respectful way I could. I can't honestly tell you what I spoke about for 15 minutes, but I think it had to do with pioneers and some of my ancestors, I actually read a scripture. Ryan did a great job as well and shared his conversion story. The Bishop had about 10 minutes at the end to make up and he apologized for having "forgotten" that I had called him!!! All is forgiven, we survived, but I hope the next time I speak I am more prepared!!

Look Mom no training wheels!!

Ayden is finally riding without his training wheels. He is a funny kid. For the longest time he has been asking for us to take off the training wheels and then once we do, he decides that it may not be such a great idea. So we raised them up a bit so when he was riding he still had to balance somewhat. When I didn't hear the training wheels scratching along the road I told him it was time to take them off completely. He replied with just one more day, please!! Well that day came and he crashed a few times and wanted to give up. He said he would never, never ride again!! Well I made him get back up on the "horse" and try again and again. Next he had to conquer the starting and stopping. That took him a few more days and a few more "I'll never ride ever again." But he finally got the hang of things and he loves to ride his bike now. He told me the other day that he was proud of himself for learning to ride his bike. To think if I had let him give up!!!

4th of July

I am here in Idaho while Ryan is at home working. I came to spend some time with my family, some whom I haven't seen in about two years. The kids have had an amazing time playing with cousins and just getting dirty. Ayden and Meysa come inside after playing and you would have thought that they had just layed down and wharlered in the dirt. They have been helping feed the chickens and gathering the eggs, which they find so fun. It has been over 100 degrees here, so they have lived in the sprinkler and slip and slide. I have been having fun picking apricots and making fruit leather and also drying some. I got a 28lb. bucket of strawberries today and enjoyed putting those up too. My mom, sisters, and sister-in-laws and I have been having a great time finding fun fabrics and making the best aprons. Ryan is working hard. Almost done with his first week. We kind of had a funny thing that happened the other day. I called the tri-care appointment number to schedual some doctors appointments (for Ayden, Lauryn and I). I was schedualing my yearly exam with the OB/Gyn clinic (which Ryan happens to be working this month) and wanted to schedual it for July. The nice lady found a day that would work for me and said, "I have a 10:30 appt. with a Dr. Ryan Heitmann on July 25th." It took me a few seconds to realize that she was trying to schedual me with my own husband to do my yearly exam. Kind of chuckling I told her that that was my husband and she replied, "so I guess you wouldn't want to see him, huh?" When I told Ryan this later that night, he said "thanks for the vote of confidence, my own wife won't even come to see me." Things are moving right along, it is hard to think that we are already into July. It seems like just yesterday that we were counting down the days till graduation.