It is FINALS time!
How is he handling the pressure?

GREAT! He isn't getting much sleep and is having to stay late at school a lot. We miss him, but he is doing really well. His first big final project is due Sunday. Then he kind of has Thanksgiving break off, then when he goes back to school he has 4 more finals on the Tues and Saturday for the next 2 weeks, which is a bummer. I am going to Provo to help throw a baby shower for my sister-in-law, which I am really excited about so hopefully that will help me pass the time til we can be together again. ( I know, I am so dramatic!)

Love this Kid!

Gavin is so cute and I often feel like he is getting the shaft with pictures since KD is such a camera and attention hog. Plus we never really got offical baby pictures of Gavin like we did when KD was first born. I got some done at Oran Mills but I didn't really like how they turned out, which is ok since they were free. So the other day I took some pictures of Gavin. I think they turned out pretty cute but this is my favorite so far. I am still working on editing them.

Playing at the Park

While on a walk we met up with some friends at the park. KD had a great time on the swings and doing a train down the slide with Arron and Andrew. She was very upset that Brandon counldn't make it. She waited for him to get out of the car and cried saying, "Where is Brandon?"
The weather has turned colder, meaning in the 60s, so I can't complain. I am hoping to enjoy the park all winter long. It is good for KD to get out of the house. She always has so much energy!

Our Kids

This most appropratly shows how life is. KD having a grand old time, and Gavin afraid for his life because KD has gone crazy.

Gavin @ 4 months

He is turning into such a big boy. He is so chunky and cute and We Love it! He is starting to want more and more attention. He loves being held by his Mom and Dad and loves it when KD plays
peak-a-boo and shows him books. He loves his pacifier and to eat. He is very alert and is always looking around checking things out. Sadly this has created a huge bald spot on the back of his head from rubbing it on the ground so much. It's ok buddy, it will grow back. He is funny when he sleeps, he has to be tilted on his left side. Which is always how I slept while I was pregnant, not sure it that has anything to do with it. But he is on his side and has to be tightly swaddled to fall asleep and would perfer the jazz music to be playing, but isn't nessary. And I am proud to say that he is finally starting to sleep through the night. It is still hit and miss, not sure exactly what I am doing different on the nights that he lets me sleep. Trust me, I play it back in my head over and over again trying to figure out how I can be getting some better sleep. But he is doing better. He is still our little spit up monster.He is rolling over and laughing all the time. He is such a handsome kid and we love the little Gav-Man!

KayeDean @ 2 years old

This little Miss, WOW! She is turning into such a little lady. Saying new things everyday. The other night she even said her first prayer all on her own, it went like this,
"Heavenly Father, thankful, Amen."
I am a very proud parent. She is awesome with saying "please and thank you". She loves playing dress up, and anything princess. She loves singing her ABC, well parts that she can remember and some High School Musical songs, Little Mermaid and that one Hannah Montana song that goes "boom boom Clap." We are trying to teach her why she needs to call Shaun and I Mom and Dad instead of our names. The other day Shaun sneezed, and KD looked and him and just said, "Shaun!" in a tone like, that was rude. She is still the pickest eater, besides her Aunt Kristi. I call her my little bird because she loves grains and fruit. We finally got rid of her pacifier, though sometimes she takes Gavin's and plays with it. And is doing very well at potty training. She loves going to the park and making new friends.

THIS

EQUALS

=

LOTS OF BANANA BREAD

Sporting my new apron that I sewed!

I am very proud of myself.

Trick or Treating
We have a Love Hate Relationship

SOOOOOOO MUCH CANDY!

These girls are too cute. KD had a blast trick or treating with her friends. Though when Steve suprized the kids dressed up in a gorilla costume KD was so scared! What can I say, we love the candy, but hate being scared! That is what halloween is all about.

Halloween Day

The costume parade and then then KD did a little Karoke to "If you are Happy and you Know it"

Sharpay Loves Troy

It is a HSM Halloween

The Gang is all herer

from left to right

Sharpay, Ms. Darbus, Troy Bolton, and Coach

Cute Troy

and the oh so fabulous

Sharpay

I tried to get the cute pumpkin patch pictures. It was such a great night! But it just didn't work out.

I am loving the fall in Vegas. There are some things I miss, like the leaves changing colors , and warming up with hot chocolate but I am not missing the cold! It is so great not to have to dress the kids in layers and go out to the car and warm it up before you get the kids out so they don't freeze! We are still enjoying morning walks and playing at the park. And don't get me wrong, I still drink hot chocolate, but it is because it taste good, it is plenty warm enough. Shaun makes fun of me cause it is 80 outside.

HoT DaTe

We finally went out! It has been awhile since Shaun and I had gone on a date just him and I. Gavin isn't taking a bottle very well so I hate to ask people to watch him in case he gets hungry. But luckily our Great friends the Martins were willing to take him, and their house was only 10 minutes away from the party so I could get to him fast if he is being a pill. KD loves playing with Brandon and Andrew and Shaun and I had a great time. I got to meet a lot of his law friends and the food was pretty good. The DJ was terriable though! He must have been a fan of the 80s he played Brick House several times. Ha Ha. It was so fun to get dressed up and go out. Thanks Martins for watching the kids!

IT's BAnaNaS!

That is RIGHT! Shaun hung about 50 bananas all over downstairs to ask me to his law school's cocktail party! Very creative. He is so cute!

Dress Up Center

I painted the saying on the wall and finally painted the shelfs for the flower pots

In Gavin's room I made him a giant G that hangs over his crib and

using rubber bands I hung a foam bat.

KD and Gavin's cheap room makeovers!

Yes Gavin is sleeping while this picture is being taken.

The other day I got the itch to do some fun things for the kids room. Mostly KD's but I have some fun ideas for christmas so I can't show you the rest til then. Thanks mostly to my friend Ashley's make it love it blog for inspiration!

FREE STUFF

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I LOVE FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

table and chairs

Lucky Us!

before

After

The other day our good friends the Herrings called us up to let us know about some people in their ward that were getting rid of their old dinning room furniture and heard that we were in need. So they just came by with a truck and dropped it off. I was so excited, there are no words. We needed a new table so badly. We out grew our pine wood derby table awhile ago and it was falling to pieces. It is such a nice table too! I will post more pictures of the other pieces that they gave us. I am not sure what I am going to do with them yet, so cheap ideas are wanted. Thanks to Rob we went out and bought supplies and he helped me turn this dated piece into something perfect for my place. I love it!

Here are some pictures from the day of the show. Shaun signed a contract that said we weren't allowed to say anything until after the show airs so that is why I waited on posting. The show is being filmed at the Tropicana that is only minutes away from Shaun's school. After he got out on friday he headed over to meet me and our friends the Martins in line. They had to fill out a bunch of paper work and did interviews which all took a long time. Lacey and I hung out with them while they waited in line then we headed across the street to see the lion at the MGM. We have gone several times but have never seen him move until now. He was walking around playing with his toys. They also had some baby lions that KD loved. Well if you didn't see the show you can go online to CBS and look up lets make a deal and you can see Shaun make us $900.00 big ones. He said he had fun and would recommend anyone to go. It is 1;18 odds of winning so I am going to get a group of girls together and we can all leave the babies with the boys and have a night on the town!

!!!BIG BIG BIG NEWS!!!

On CBS there is a new show called LETS MAKE A DEAL hosted by Wayne Brady, it is on right before The Price is Right. So at 9:00 am tomorrow morning (wed the 28th)look for Shaun. He is dressed up as a boxer!

That is right Ladies and gents!

Watch shaun become a day time tv Star! haha

Flamingo Buffet

Who are you kidding if you thought KD and I went for the food, the desserts were great! The boys chowed down on all you can eat meat and everything else while KD and I enjoyed chocolate milk, soft severed ice cream with mini m&m (which I LOVE for some reason! They taste so good smaller)and that plate of yummies pictured above. We had fun with Rob! Thanks for dinner!

It is that time again... Photo Shoot

this is mostly for the Grandmas

I tried, but this just wasn't her day

Gavin on the other hand was all smiles
His GQ look to the right

My cute little kiddos keeping me very busy these days.

They are fun and are starting to play more with each other.

HOnK hOnk bEep BeEp

GARAGE SALE FIND! I have to put some extra padding in because he sinks too low into it but he was all smiles while I was working on some other things while he hung out in his new ride.

Harvest Time

KD Played in the hay maze.

We ate Yummy food

And we had fun hanging out!

The Coolest Thing EVER!!!!!

One of the many reasons why I love living in Vegas!

Last week we went to the Venitian Hotel where they were having an auction for these dinosaur bones. The T-Rex could be the most complete skeleton frame in the world. He would be competing against the one in the Museum of Natural History (the one that plays fetch from the Night at the Museum movie). It was so cool. T- Rex was estimated to be sold at 6 to 8 million dollars, but going to see him was for FREE! One of the most interesting things is the dinosaurs bones were found in Montana or Wyoming within the last few years. Needless to say we had a blast. We though it might scare KD but she just walked around growling and naming the body parts of them. Great Family Fun!

The Oasis in the Desert

This is a picture of the rock with carvings dated back 3000 years.

Gavin was not having as much fun as KD

Well, things didn't really work out the way we planned. We don't have TV and this just in our laptop broke which is how we can keep up on our favorite shows. And our stake decided since every normal person has TV or the internet they won't set up conference at the stake center. So we had to be creative, I thought for sure it would be on the radio but it wasn't so instead we put my cell phone on speaker and I had my mom put her phone next to the TV so we could listen. We though it would be fun to go for a drive while we listened. We headed over to Red Rock Cayon. It is so pretty. Shaun and I both took geology in college so it is really fun to remember what we learned. Shaun is better at naming the rocks than I am but I think I didn't do too bad. Well our plan was going great til we got to the cayon and we lost cell phone bars so now we are going to be listening to conference tonight after shaun hopefully got the computer fixed. Anyways, we stopped at Red Springs, it looked a lot like Yellowstone, and we walked around. It was such a nice day, still feels like summer, and just enjoyed nature.

Finally He is Blessed!

The Blessing Boy

We Love The GRANDMAS

THE COOK

After trying once before to having Gavin's blessing the same weekend of my sister's wedding but then having to reschedule due to the fact it was just to much going on in one weekend, and then not sure of when we were going to do it, I am Happy to say he is Finally Blessed on September 27, 2009.

It was such a wonderful blessing. The spirit was so strong. Some thing that really stuck out was that Shaun blessed him with happiness and that he would have fun. I don't think I have ever heard that in a baby blessing before but it was perfect! Shaun then came home and was the master bbq cheif. He made awesome Kabobs that tasted so good. I tried making these things called cupcake pops that I heard about from some girls in my ward. Mine didn't turn out as cute as the picture but they tasted good. We are so grateful to everyone who was able to make it. A special thanks to Grandma Meng who made Gavin's blessing outfit. It was so cute on him! It was such a special day for our family.

FaMily in ToWn

Oh so Fabulous Cakes

The Fountains

our take on the ocean's 11 shot.

While we had family in town we thought we would hit the strip for some fun. We went to the Bellagio gardens and watched the water. Always a good time. KD was deathly afraid of the trees but liked the fountains.

9/21/09

5 years

Flowers + Pizza + Ice Cream = First Hot Date Anniversary

For Our first date Shaun and I went to DQ for some ice cream after we went to an insitute dance. So to celebrate that awesome day we go out for ice cream. It is a fun way to remember our dating years and include our kids. Shaun was so sweet and brought home flowers and I made homemade pizza which we ate at the park. After we went to Dairy Queen where I attempted to share an ice cream cone with KD. BAD IDEA! At 2, she isn't very good at sharing. Good thing she is so stinkin cute!

Stake BBQ

Yummy food! Don't you think? Homemade chips and hamburgers. We had a good time. We saw a lot of old friends of shaun's from high school. I swear he knows everyone or has a connection to everyone. KD played really hard and feel right to sleep when we got home.

Rockin Out to the Music

Cutest mall! I love places like this!

We went to this cute mall the other night and I made shaun do a photo shoot with me. I ended up not liking any of the pictures that I took except for this one of us. The lighting was really bad but the grounds were so cute. They had a live band playing and KD was going crazy with the other kids dancing and playing. It was a good time.

I lOvE sHoeS!

HaPpY FeeT!

I think Gavin is so cute in his nike shoes!

KD got a package from Grandma Meng and is loving her dress up clothes. She wears the shoes everywhere. The shoes and the tiara both light up and she loves them. Such a girly girl! We love it! Well I love it, mostly Shaun rolls his eye and laughs because he doesn't know what else to do.

Gavin Goes Swimming!!!!!!!!!!!

Cute little KD in her new swimsuit, ready to get in the water and show her little brother how it is done. At first Gavin was unsure if he like the cold water, but got use to it and then was just his normal self, which is "CHILL." He didn't stay in too long, Shaun thought he was getting cold so we wrapped him in a towel and went right to sleep.

Company In Town!

KD and Cali played so hard and had so much fun!

We had to get some energy out of thoes crazy 2 year olds so we had them run around racing after each other.

Then a snack and a quick rest!

Then to the Park!

The Giles and the Waltons were both here and came to visit us this weekend. I am sad that I didn't get any pictures of the boys and the Waltons but we had fun. It was so fun having the girls together again. Gideon and Gavin just hung out as the girls ran around like crazy women! KD and Cali have both grown so much and seeing them play together was so cute. Both having a lot more attitude about how things should be then ever before. We miss our Courtyard friends and wish we could get together more. This weekend was a blast and hope we can do it again soon!

What Do You Think?

Father Son!

I love these boys!

UPDATE ON THE LAW STUDENT

HE IS DOING GREAT! His only compliant is not getting enough sleep. His days go like this; wake up at 6:00 out the door by 6:30 sometimes earlier to beat the traffic. Studies hard til classes start at 9:30 in class til 3:30 gets home a little after 4:00. We party, eat dinner, swim, put kids to bed at 8:00 well, we try to at least. Then he studies til 12:00. Goes to sleep and we start the day over again. He is working hard and having fun. He jokes that after writing his first law school paper there was more red markings on it than black and white. He also found out leaving food in the fridge in the student lounge might not be there when you get back. Someone keeps jacking people's food. We just got him a new backpack which he is sporting in this picture. As shown before he has a lot of books so he needed something stronger to hold his stuff. And we rearranged our room for him to have a special study area which I can't touch so it will stay clean and clutter free. He is really liking learning about the law. He always has crazy case studies that he tells me about. Most of them give me the creeps. They are horriable stories about people and why laws were changed or made to help protect people from things happening like that again. I am excited for Shaun and hope he keeps up the hard work.

POOL TIME!

so tired!


We have gone swimming at least twice a week all summer. Shaun still took KD even when I couldn't go because I was recovering from having Gavin. Gavin isn't a big fan of the cold water but KD has become quit the swimmer. She can kick and get around the pool. She can even hold her breath when she goes under the water. It isn't her favorite thing to do, but she can do it. I love going to the pool as a family. We have so much fun! Shaun and I have jumping contests and KD and I have been working on our synchronized swimming. It consists of spinning in circles and kicking our toes out of the water. By the time KD is 16 we will be ready for the 2026 Olympics.

We just love to swim!

HapPy BirThdAy PaIge!!!

Her first birthday cupcake!

They are bound to be good friends!

Yesterday we got to go and visit Rish and Megan and meet their new baby Paige. She is such a sweetheart. It was fun to see them as new parents. We brought cupcakes from the cupcakery to celebrate. They were so good!!! Gavin and Paige got along really well, Gavin was such a gentleman. I know they will be "friends" as they get older. Congrats Newman Family!

That's right everybody, Shaun and I will be an Aunt and Uncle thanks to Jt and Kali! We are so excited! I waited on posting to brag until they posted on their blog. They were so cute and sent this onies to Gavin just a few days after he was born. Shaun and I were too excited for words. Shaun's face was classic, just like a little kid on Christmas. Except for extremely manly! It is way cool to have another little one on the way to the Meng family! Congrats JT and Kali; we hope you know what you've gotten your selves into!

This past weekend KD painted the prettiest pictures for her grandparents! Here are some picture to document the occasion. She did a pretty good job. Daddy was great with trying to teach her to dip the brush in the water then the paint then the paper. I think they turned out awesome!! GOOD JOB!

LAW SCHOOL BBQ

Fighting for the good stuff, and then enjoying the spoils! Thoes kids were crazy!

To celebrate the first week of school, the law school threw a big bbq. It was a blast for KD! She jumped in a blow up castle and got tons of goodies. I got to meet some of Shaun's classmates and it was a free meal!

(Shaun says this looks like a CD cover but I am having too much fun with editing photos)

(plus with the voice this kids got she is really going somewhere!)

Every morning when KD wakes up I ask her "Did you have nice dreams?" Usually she just looks at me and we move on to a new subject. But the other morning out of no where she responed in her cute little voice, "I Did!"

KD is growing up so fast! I can't believe it. Everyday there are new words and new things she shows me she can do. She suprised me when she sneezed and than said, "excuse me." I never taught her that is the poliet thing to do, she must have just picked it up. Now she does it every time, I am so proud of her good manners. She loves to run around and play in the water. I am always finding her in the bathroom trying to wash her hands. She loves the little mermaid and tries to sing like her. It is so fun to she her try to imitate what she sees, but also puts things in persective in what kind of enviroment I am exposing her to. She is such a fun sweet girl. Crazy and beautiful inside and out. Just today on the way home from church she was singing I am a Child of God. My heart felt so full to hear her sing. I know that she is building her testimony of Heavenly Father and it makes me want to be that much better as a mother to set an example.

aww

The Joys of Motherhood!

In Honor of Shaun's First Day of LAW SCHOOL!

Shaun leaving for his first day of class. KD is all dressed and ready to go with her daddy.

She hates to say good bye to him!

TiMe tO hIt tHe bOokS!

and man does he have a lot of them!

Well when Shaun left for his first day of law school, he felt anxious, but excited.

(ha ha inside joke)
Well the day started out with shaun getting in a car accident on the way to his first day of class. Luckily no one was hurt, someone ran into the back of the car while he was stopped.
But what a way to start Law school!

He went and met the other students, took an oath of professionalism (very offical)
Listened to professors talk about what law school will be like

and ate a delicious lunch.

He met a friend who he thinks will be his study buddy.

And already has 2 chapters to read for homework, about 50 pages.

He is feeling really confident he will do well.

I am really proud of him and all the hard work it took him to get him here! I know he will do great!

Here is to the next 3 years!

KD loves her little brother! Sometimes a little too much! She loves to hug and kiss and squeeze him! She always lets me know when gavin is crying, she comes up to me and says, "he's sad mama!" it is the cutest thing. Or the not cute thing she tells him to be quite and shakes her finger at him. She won't say his name, not sure why, but she always says "hey buddy" to him!
They are getting along great and I know they will be good friends!

A Day at the Beach

GET IT? GOT IT!

Newest member to the RICH family

JOSH

trying out what our camera can do

CLASSIC

Nothing is better than GRANDMAS!

Dolly has a Boo Boo!

It isn't anything a hug & kiss can't solve

Lets Go Fly A Kite!

There was no wind that day so Shaun had to run to make it fly.

KD loves how hard her Daddy tries to make her happy!

Shaun hates it when I do this but I loved how pretty the day was so we did a photo shoot!

Love this GUY!

While we were in Washington we went to Salt Water Park where my family went a lot when I was young and played. So it is always special when I get to go back. It was fun just to relax and bbq and enjoy spending time with family. It was so hot while we were there. I know you are probably saying "but you live in Las Vegas?" but in Washington no one has AC and it is really humid so it was worse! But we survived! We were going to swim but we had to go to the airport right after we left. KD had a blast running around and being the center of attention and Gavin wasn't put down the entire weekend. All in all a great trip!

Lindsey's Wedding

SisTeRs

My best friend Ashlee

Daddy Daughter Dance

The Bride

KD enjoying her spoils after stealing a cupcake when mommy wasn't watching

We went to Washington this past weekend for my sister's wedding. It was so fun and beautiful. She looked so perfect, just like barbie. We love her new husband, josh, and are so excited to get to know him better. The wedding was a blast. We danced and ate way too much junk food! KD had a blast running around my parents backyard playing with the dog TUCKER. Lindsey got married at my parent's house in their backyard. They worked so hard to get ready for the wedding and everything turned out so great! They were a little crazy, the day of the wedding they were still gardening up until 45 min before they were suppose to be ready. But we had so much help from awesome friends who came and helped! Everything from parking the million cars that came, to the gardening to just making sure everything was set up way the bride wanted it. The day was a little stressful but in the end it all worked out and we just had so much fun. It is bitter sweet that it is finally over. Though for my parents I am sure it is all sweet.

GAVIN: SUCH A STUD

KD: CRAZY & SWEET

jUST a RanDOm pOsT

Shaun and I haven't been getting too much sleep these past few weeks but man do we love our kids!