Two Years Ago...

today, this little miracle came into our family. How lucky are we?

Five minutes old (I'm still getting stitched up)

Two hours old, and I finally get to hold him! (Hoyt had to stay in the nursery for a little while because of some fluid in his lungs)

Three days old - sometimes you wonder why they have to grow up so fast!

Lake Day with Dad

With summer almost over (sigh!) I decided that Ryon needed to come up to the lake with us for the day. Luckily a few other husbands decided to go to "lake day" as well, so Ryon did not feel like the only guy there!

Hoyt loved the water, boating with mom and dad, building sand castles, and throwing the football to dad over and over and over again. Too bad Ryon couldn't come with us every week - I was even able to get some sunbathing in!

Hoyt has turned into our "little fish"

Fillin' up the sand truck...

And the bucket

So much fun!

Going for a ride with mom and dad



Trying to feed the birds...SAND


Hoyt's idea of "swimming"

One of my favorite pictures of the day



Every day of summer should be like this!

Tuesday Nights

Most Tuesday nights, from about 5:00 on, Ryon can be found roping out in Washoe Valley or Spanish Springs. Last Tuesday we decided to tag along. Hoyt loves to run around and play in the dirt, climb the fence to watch Ryon rope, and beg for rides on Annie when it isn't dad's turn to rope. When we got home at 9:00 it was definitely time for a bath and bed!

Ryon and Matt roping a good one!

Hanging out on the fence enjoying the show

Another good shot of Ryon

Going for a ride and pretending to rope

What I Love About Summer...

is spending a lazy afternoon at the pool with my two favorite guys, eating watermelon, then taking a nap. It doesn't get any better!

Baseball Fever

One of Hoyt's favorite pastimes these days is playing with his baseball tee. He'll hit the ball, run the bases, and pretend to slide. The other morning he came downstairs and asked to watch baseball or football on television. In fact, he started to cry until I could find something on ESPN that he could watch. I definitely think I have a problem on my hands!!

We took Hoyt to the Ace's game last Friday, and (no surprise) he loved it. He lasted the entire game, and even enjoyed the fireworks afterwards. He went to bed at 11:00 that night, slept until 10:00 Saturday morning, and woke up wanting to play baseball with dad. Definitely all boy!!

What a great view

Ryon made sure that he didn't fall out of the box!

One of the best parts of the night was the popcorn

More popcorn please

Being silly with mom

What a great night!

60 Years Young!

A few weeks ago, we went "over the hill" to celebrate my dad's 60th birthday. We saw some friends we hadn't seen in years, spent time with family, and hung out in the pool. Hoyt loved spending time with his cousins and loved walking around my parent's house saying, "gramma...gramma...gramma"!

The best gift at my dad's party had to be from my sister Holly and her two girls. My nieces, Kaylee and Kaycee, had just raised some turkeys for the county fair. They decided to give my dad a turkey for his birthday (a 35 pound turkey!) and told him it could be Thanksgiving dinner. Nothing like a live turkey birthday present....great photo opportunity! The poor thing met its demise the next day, so consider this an invite for everyone to come to the Hoyt home for Thanksgiving - I'm sure 35 pounds of turkey will feed quite a few!

Kids in Ootah!

As Ryon and I figured, Hoyt is going through a bit of separation anxiety because he no longer has his "kids" right around the corner!

The other morning I walked into Hoyt's bedroom (he was yelling "Mom...I get up now!), and I asked him, "what are we going to do today?". I had told him the night before that we were going to go to grandma's house and swim, and he was pretty excited. Instead of responding that we were going to grandma's, he immediately said "Go to church and see the kids!"

I reminded him that we were going to grandma's house and then I asked him, "Hoyt, where are the kids?" He replied, "kids is Ootah...Matt in Ootah...Allison in Ootah." Sounds to me like we need to plan a trip to Utah, or Ootah, however you want to say it!!

A Girl's Night Out

Does it get any better than dinner - and dessert - out with some of your favorite girls? (Well...if this wasn't our last girl's night out with Allison it would have been perfect!) While trying to find a night that would work with five very busy schedules was nearly impossible, we finally got together and had a great time.

We had dinner at Bertha Miranda's (great Mexican food) and then forced ourselves to get dessert at the Chocolate Bar. By the end of the evening, Allison and I were driving home telling each other how sick we were because we had eaten far too much!! Sounds like a perfect night out to me!

Dinner!

Dessert!

One of my Favorite Days

To the only guy I would want to spend eternity with....Happy Anniversary! Here are a few things to love about Ryon Murray:

- He is pretty darn funny (we laugh a lot)

- He works hard to provide for his family

- He is a great dad

- He's got sexy legs, and the greatest eyes!

- He talks to himself all the time

- He tries to help out around the house (he clears a mean table)

- He smells good

- He honors his priesthood

- He hates fans and air conditioning (I'm trying to love this one!)

- One of his favorite words is "budget"

- He loves to take Hoyt on horseback rides

- He loves me

I could keep going....but I have to stop somewhere. Here's to a great day babe - and thanks for getting me those Pottery Barn bells that I've had my eye on! (hint, hint)

Look Mom!

The other day I heard Hoyt calling from the playroom "look mom, look mom"! When I walked in he said "I build a tower".

I probably hear the phrase - look mom - at least a hundred times a day. I rarely grab the camera when I hear it, but I thought he looked pretty cute this day building towers with his cowboy hat on. I had to take just one!

Road Trip - Part II

Well...one day after Hoyt and I returned home from Idaho, we set off for California. We decided that we needed to have some rest and relaxation beside grandma and grandpa Hoyt's pool. We took about five days and swam...swam...swam.

Hoyt decided that he absolutely loved the pool, especially jumping in both the shallow and deep ends. He turned into a little fish and since we have returned to Reno asks me daily to swim in "gramma's pool"! He routinely tells me now that he is going "upstairs to put on swim clothes" - I definitely think we need a big pool now!!

Jumping into the shallow end to mom

Getting ready to jump off the rock into the deep water!

Swimming back to the side after the "big jump"

Playing Lego's with cousin Isaiah and uncle Caleb

Enjoying a favorite summer treat - the Otter Pop

This one was a bit sour!

Another fun spot at grandma and grandpa's - the trampoline

A night out with some of my favorite ladies. I didn't get home until midnight...I don't think I've stayed out that late in years!!