Our makeovers

With the new year just around the corner we decided to undergo some changes. Ryanne decided she need a new dew. She went and got her hair chopped. She has not had it short in a long time and with scarf season upon us she did not want to hassle with her hair getting caught in her scarfs. Casey upgraded to a new pair of glasses. Ryanne got fed up with Casey squinting all the time so she had him go in and get his eyes checked. Turns out that Casey can't see far.

So here we are all new and improved!

Christmas 2009

This year we spent Christmas with Ryanne's family in Libby, MT. We had tons of fun and was able to see everyone in her family. On Christmas we woke up to a tree that was swallowed up by all the presents under it. I guess we were all very good this year.

The tree that was swallowed up by all the presents.

 

The two, sorry, the three of us on Christmas morning.

Opening gifts at Ryanne's dad's house.

Casey, Ryanne, Ryanne's mom Leslie, Ryanne's sister Amber, Ryanne's brother Josh and the dog Steve

 Opening gifts that Ryanne's mother gave us.

Casey Face

While we were in Libby, MT. for Christmas we were able to spend time with all of Ryanne's family. Ryanne's sister's son, Justin, was lots of fun to hang out with. While we were there he kept wanting to show everyone his "Casey face." I'm not sure where he got it from but it's pretty funny.

Do I really look like that?

25 weeks

It's about time! At 25 weeks Ryanne has finally started to show. She has been waiting for this since she found out she was pregnant. 

Blacktail Skiing, Lakeside, MT

Before leaving Libby, MT. we wanted to have one last hurrah. Casey did not have anything going on, the joys of being a teacher. Ryanne was able to get the day off from work. Scott had the hardest time asking for the day off but he was able to convince the powers that be to give him the day off.

We decided to head up to Blacktail Mountain. It was going to be a first for all of us. It was a bit overcast and on the cold side. Thank goodness for the hand and feet warmers or else we would not have made it very long. Because of the weather conditions there were not a lot of other skiers on the slopes. Both Scott and Casey were worried about Ryanne the whole time. We made sure she took it easy and stayed away from the jumps. By the end of the day we were all tired and ready to go. Over all it was a great day and we all had a great time.

Scott, Ryanne and Casey

Ryanne and Casey at the top of the mountain

 

 Ryanne showing off her skills and yes she is 25 weeks along.

 Scott showing how it is really supposed to be done.

Casey just having a great time!

Dental Fashion

My brother Brady has started dental school and is loving it. When he started he went to a dental fair where companies were offering items that would be useful to him becoming a dentist. Brady was on the lookout for dentist glasses. He found a vendor offering what he was looking for and bought them. When we last visited him he took them out and we had some fun with them. Who knows, anyone of us may be looking into your mouth the next time you open up.

Brady

Jennelle

Casey

Ryanne

Christmas Gifts

To keep things simple this year we made the above boards for Christmas gifts.  This past summer my mom picked out the strips of wood from her friends property in Montana and since then they have been taking up space in our small apartment.  And, Casey's school let me borrow their Cricket machine so that I didn't have to handpaint all the lettering which would have taken so much time.  It was so much fun making these with Casey.  He did help with sanding the wood, drilling the holes and attaching the wire - all things that I wasn't crazy about doing!  Anyway, I just wanted to post a picture so that my mom could see the final product since she didn't make the gift list:)

Getting ready for the baby

One morning (3:00 am) I woke up with an epiphany that we should switch rooms in order to make room for the baby. While Casey slept I measured the square footage of both rooms, our bed, our bikes, our dressers, etc. By morning I knew we would be making the move to the smaller room however; I gave Casey a few weeks to get used to the idea. So now we have a babies room, sports room, and office all in one. We don't think the baby will mind sharing since it has one whole side of the room to itself.

20 Weeks

We have hit the 20 week mark. We were able to go and get our ultrasound. The baby was being very cooperative. We were able to see everything! Well everything except the boy/girl parts. We have decided to wait till the baby comes out to know exactly what we are having. We are so very exited about everything.

Ryanne at 20 weeks

 Look at that belly!

Are you sure you are 5 months along?

We could not believe how clear the profile is.

 r

This is a bottom view of the feet.

They look like running feet to me.

 

 Here is one of the hands.

It looks like it will be able to use it while it is swimming and will even be able to grab onto it's aerobars while it's in a aero position on its bike.

Pregnancy Moments

Due to morning sickness or should I say "all day" sickness and a horrible case of the flu I haven't been the most diligent about blogging - sorry friends! Now that I'm feeling better I promise to be better at posting pictures.

After being sick for a week we decided to take a pregnancy test. Sure enough it came out positive-yeah.

The first couple of months of pregnancy weren't fun at all. It seemed like all I was doing was throwing up or fainting and neither of them are fun. The only food that would settle was cheese and crackers. We figured out that if I woke up in the middle of the night to eat a snack that I wouldn't faint the next day. So here is a photo of me eating in bed which has become a staple activity for me.

This is me at 17 weeks. Casey was upset that I was pushing my stomach out for the photo, but I so desperately want to have a belly so that I look pregnant. There's nothing wrong with that, right?

Our new apartment

We have been so busy with so many activities we have not had a chance to show anyone our new apartment that we moved into back in June. Here is a picture of us in our front room.

And, since we love playing games we thought we would play one with all of you. Scroll down to the next photo and find the 5 hidden items. If you find all the items you'll know our exciting news!

St. George Marathon

2:42

This was my first marathon. Over all the years of running that I have done, I have never ran a marathon. I have ran many 5 and 10Ks. A few half marathons and one 32 mile trail run but never an actual marathon. I was supposed to run it with my buddy John Emmett but unfortunately he was left out of the lottery picking. So I got a new buddy, Tyler Okerlund to go and run it with. We drove down on Friday night and shared a hotel room with our two families.

This is Tyler and myself at 5 in the morning.


This is me at Veyo and mile marker 7. Ryanne drove out to cheer for me and refill me with gu. As I came through Veyo I was excited knowing that she would be there. But I forgot that I wanted to take off my gloves and arm warmers. So instead of being ready with them off and ready to give them to Ryanne and maybe say hi, get a kiss and keep running, I found myself running past her trying to rip off the warmers and gloves, throwing them off to the side of the road and continued running. Thanks babe for driving all the way out there.


After finishing all the pain came at once. I'm sorry Ryanne did not have a picture of me right after finishing. When I finally saw her and walked over to her she congratulated me and then my complaining started. I told her my legs hurt SO bad and that I did not want to sit down but that it hurt to walk and kept asking her what I should do. She looked at me and said, "Everyone is in just as much pain as you are." She was so right but I wanted some sympathy. I was not going to get it here. I could tell she was getting tired of all my whinning so I had her call some good friends of ours who are physical trainers for any helpful advise. It came down to me just having to suck it up. Finally the pain eased up but did not leave me. I made it over to the massage table and my face shows how good it felt to be off my legs.


After all the crying and pain left me this is how I looked after running a 2:42 marathon!



On our way out from the race my buddy Tyler and I stopped for a photo shot with our finisher medals.


Of course I could not have achieved any of this without the love and support of my wonderful wife.

Daddy Daughter Fly Fishing Trip

Each year my dad and I go on a fly fishing trip on the Elk Rivier in Fernie, Canada. This year ended up going a little differently than we had planned.

We got up early on Friday morning so I could work before we headed up to Canada. To save time my dad bought my fishing license online. We packed the car and just as we were pulling out of the driveway my dad asked "do you have your passport?". My heart instantly sank because I realized that I left it sitting on the kitchen table in Utah. I'm so organized that I couldn't believe that I would forget such an important document. It reminded me of the New Zealand Temple all over again. My dad handled this all too well which made me feel a pinch less horrible about forgetting my passport.

We quickly decided to head south to the Clark Fork River in Montana. Neither of us had fished on this river before so we thought we'd give it a try. After 3 hours in the car we arrived. We asked a local guide which part of the river would be the best and what flies were being used that time of year. We ended up on a 13 mile stretch of river that was supposed to be the best. Well, as our luck would have it we ended up having our worst day on the river. My dad had to paddle 11 out of the 13 miles and I only got about 5 bites on my line. By the end of day both of us were exhausted and we decided it wasn't worth it to stay the night. We headed back to Libby.

Our second day on the Kootenai River didn't end up being that great either. Between the rain, strong winds, and occassional lighting we didn't get that many bites. However at the very end of the day I did catch one fish (above). Even though it was tiny it wasn't an easy one to catch. It somehow wrapped itself around a log underwater and I thought it was going to die.

The past 3 years we've had excellent fishing trips so it probably was about my time to have an off year. And, really it isn't about the fishing, it is about the time spent with my dad. I'm looking forward to next year and a few more fish:)

My dad on the Kootenai River

Lotoja Bike Race

This was Casey's 3rd year of participating in Lotoja. For those of you who aren't familiar with this bike race, it starts in Logan, Utah and finishes in Jackson Hole, WY. The race is a total of 206 miles and is accomplished within 1 day. This race requires that you have a support crew and Casey was fortunate enough to have the BEST crew ever. It consisted of his dad, Ron, his sister, Aymee, his brother, Patrick, and myself. We not only provided food and drinks, but extra cheering at non posted pit stops, funny signs and positive pep talks. along the way. Unfortunately this year he didn't get to spend as much traveling as he would have liked to so he didn't beat his goal time. There's always next year though, right?

Casey with his good friend John Emmett. John is the one that got Casey involved in this race and many others. We love John!

Casey just about to cross the finish line

Casey with his dad and brother after the race

The team healing their leg muscles which seems so painful to me. I hate cold water!

NOTE: I was at the race even though I'm not in any of the photos. I guess since I was taking all the photos I forgot to ask someone to take one of the two of us.

Camping in the Great Northwest

Lake Coeur d' Alene

Each Summer my mom (Leslie), my sister (Amber), my brother (Josh) and I get together to go camping. This summer we had two additional family members come with us - my husband and my sisters pug (Steve). To keep things an adventure we choose a new campsite each year. This year we went to the Heyburn State Park outside of St. Maries, Idaho.

My mom brewing the morning coffee and steamers (hot milk).

Amber and Steve waiting for their morning coffee!

Casey and I relaxing before heading to the beach

Josh showing off that he can pitch his own tent!

I think I can speak for everyone when I say that one of our favorite parts of camping is the food. Half of our planning time is spent on deciding what we will have for meals and snacks. My mom and I tend to be the ones that cook, but we don't mind because we like it. This year we had to limit the amount of treats because last year Amber threw up. No one was watching her so she ate a smore, a cinnamon & sugar scone, and a chocolate banana boat. I don't think she'll ever do that again:)

Our first night we had smores. They were so yummy that I didn't mind the chocolate running down my face!

My mom thought it would be funny to bring grab bags for each of us. In each of them was a personalized plate and silverware set. Amber got a princess set, Josh got a dinosaur set, Casey got a monkey set, and I got a dog set. Mine was the only one that didn't quite fit with my personality so it was extra funny.


For some reason Steve doesn't like the water so he made sure to stand on someone while we were floating.

Each day was spent at the beach. We couldn't pass up catching some sun and relaxation.


Sitting down for one of our many family dinners

After dinner we would play cards and chill together

Steve after a long day of playing in the sun

Girls vs. Boys.......who looks happier in the photos?

Josh holding Steve back from attacking one of the neighbors. For some reason Steve didn't like anyone else to come into our campsite area which is great, but difficult when the water pump was right outside our campsite.

Our campsite was right next to the Coeur d' Alene bike trail so 2 out of the 4 days we went on bike rides together. The first ride ended up being close to 20 miles which was a lot for me since I had just gotten my bike a week before. My butt was pretty sore the next day, but that didn't stop me from getting on it again for another long ride.

All of of us saying our final goodbyes before going home to shower.