Summer Fun

Can't believe the summer is almost over...here's what we've been up to.

Hawaii

To start off the summer, Pat and I took a vacation to Hawaii...it was beautiful!

I wish vacations could last forever.

The ocean was amazing...this beach had the prettiest blue water I've ever seen.

Cute little hula girls.

Pat and I, at the hotel lobby.



Driving around the island, we saw some pretty neat scenery.



Pat's appetite was a little crazy after a long day of sight-seeing.
(He ate the entire pizza, and some of mine also.)

We hiked through a beautiful rain forest, to see Manoa Falls.

The beach outside our hotel was pretty peaceful in the morning.

We went snorkeling here at Hanauma Bay.

Girls Night

Last month, when Pat went to the "Father's and Son's" camp out, we had a little girls night.

Here is Tehya with her two little cousins, watching a movie and eating popcorn.

Camping Out

Last week we camped out in my parents backyard.

After setting up the tent, Kyler and Tehya jumped right into their sleeping bags.

Tehya knows how to make herself comfy.

The kids helped Pat prepare the campfire.

Sitting by the campfire, eating junk food.

Tehya knows exactly what to do when her candy's all gone...

go for Kylers, of course!

Kyler still loves her though...he's a good brother!

They had fun shoving whole marshmallows in their mouth (or attempting to.)

In the morning, they went out and picked strawberries

from Grandma and Grandpa's garden.

Tehya had some major bed-head going on.

Smelling Grandma's pretty flowers.

We had so much fun!!! Thanks mom and dad for a wonderful weekend.

Roaring Springs

Kyler went on this huge slide, and loved it!

Kyler at the bottom of the slide.
The look on his face was a mixture of excitement and fear.
The cousins in their matching swimsuits.




Just Hanging Out

Brain-freeze!

Playing in the backyard.

Playing in the Water

Catching Up

It's been a while since our last post...time really slips by fast!
Here are some fun pictures that we took over the last few months

Some friends of ours (the Robinson's) invited us to stay at their parents ranch (May Family Ranch) in Clayton Idaho...and of course, we had to get a picture of our family under the Clayton sign. As you can tell, Clayton is a pretty big town :)

A picture of the Clayton museum. They were closed so we couldn't go inside.

These were some old run-down mines that we explored...Kyler loved it.

Pat and Kyler climbing the stairway.

I think Kyler's trying to figure out what kind of machine he's standing on, and what that dirty green puddle is.

Kyler found a little souvenir...he loved carrying it around with him the whole trip.

Back at the ranch, Kyler did some more exploring and found a John Deere tractor.

He knew exactly how to work it.

We also had fun roasting hot dogs over the campfire. Kyler's hot dog looks especially delicious!

Just hanging out by the campfire.

This was a nice little getaway for us...some other fun highlights of the trip were target shooting, soaking in the hot springs with snow falling down on us, eating the delicious home-cooked meals the May's prepared for us, and just enjoying a relaxing weekend.

EASTER PICTURES:

Tehya snuggling with her Easter Bunny. (She's not wearing any clothes because she got chocolate all over them.)

Tehya is experiencing our silly Easter tradition of attaching the plastic eggs to our heads. I think she's wondering what kind of weirdos her parents are.

Here she is, brushing her hair with her little barbie brush.

Kyler loves having eggs on his head AND in his mouth.

A couple "egg-heads."

A great family portrait.

Kyler even shared his Easter candy with Wall-E.

The kids enjoyed a fun Easter egg hunt at Grandma's house.

Kyler, searching for eggs.

Tehya seemed to know exactly what to do...she found quite a few all by herself.

Tehya and cousin Mylee sharing their Easter goodies

Yum!

Tehya's Day

Last week we celebrated Tehya's 1st birthday (Jan. 16th.) We can't believe she's already 1, time goes by so fast! Here are some of her birthday pictures...

Tehya, enjoying the view of her party, from the top of the stairs.

Looking at the cupcakes with a smile on her face (she seems to know exactly what they are.)

A close-up of the ladybug cupcakes

Having fun with the balloons. (I think she was a little annoyed with all the picture-taking.)

Eating her birthday cake (she didn't want to get her hands dirty,

but didn't seem to mind getting her face dirty.)

Licking the best part off the cake.

Finally, a spoon!

Yum!

Cousin Reece, enjoying the cake as well.

Relaxing in her adorable new birthday nightgown (thanks Mattie!)

Christmas Pics.

At the ward party...

Tehya sitting on Santa's lap for the first time. She was a little confused,

and didn't know quite what to think.

This was after she realized Santa was a little scary.

Kyler did well. He didn't really act to excited, but at least he wasn't crying.

Christmas Eve at Grandma and Grandpa McBrides house...

Kyler, Tehya, and cousin Mylee, in there PJ's.

Tehya enjoying Christmas Eve dinner, wearing her festive bib.

Christmas day at Grandma and Grandpa McBride's house...

Kyler showing off some of his Christmas gifts.

Tehya with some of her gifts.

Of course, she enjoyed playing with Kyler's laptop as well.

Overall, we had a great Christmas....hope yours was just as wonderful!

Slacking again.

Sorry, these Halloween pictures are a little belated. This month slipped by way to fast!

Kyler was a pirate for Halloween. He really loves Halloween...I think it is probably his favorite holiday (until he realizes how wonderful Christmas is.) He had lots of fun trick-or-treating. I think we had more fun watching the excitement on his face as he went from door to door. He couldn't quite figure out the right timing on when to say "trick-or-treat" so most of the time he would say it before the door was even opened. It was quite entertaining!

Tehya did really well for her first Halloween. She just tagged along with us, in her little pea-pod costume. She was very content, sucking her thumb the whole time. She seemed to know exactly what to do with the candy...I think Pat probably had something to do with that.

Slacking

Well, I can't believe it's been almost a month since our last post. Time really flies! This last month has been really busy for us...and with Pat in training, it feels like I hardly have time to do anything.

Kyler's birthday was on October 16th. He's now 3 years old! It's sad to see him grow up, but at the same time, it's exciting to see how he's changed over the years. It seems as he gets older, the birthdays and holidays are more fun to celebrate, because he actually understands what's going on now.

As part of Kyler's birthday gift, I took him on a train-ride. He had lots of fun, and I think he's even more obsessed with trains now that he's been on one (if you can believe that.)

Here's a picture of Kyler and his cousin Jonas, right as we got on the train. They were both very excited!

The train took us to a pumpkin patch, and we got to pick out a pumpkin to take home with us.

Here they are running straight for the train (don't worry, it wasn't moving.) This was after the train-ride. We had fun chasing them down, trying to convince them that it was time to go home.

Kamp'n Out

Last night, Kyler and I decided to set up camp in the back yard to enjoy the cool Autumn night, and test out the new tent. Kyler was excited to help me set up the tent and even more stoked about sleeping in it. We slept comfortable on a 2-man sleeping cushion, and stayed warm nestled in our thick flannel sleeping bags. We'll make it happen again soon.

Watermelon Fun

Today the kids enjoyed some delicious watermelon that came straight from Grandma and Grandpa's garden. Tehya LOVES watermelon, so I had to get some pictures of her chowing down. When she first saw the watermelon, she started panting like a little puppy...it was so cute. Here she is, waiting impatiently for a bite.

Here's Tehya gnawing away...it must feel good on her gums.

Proof that she loves it...







And of course, the funnest part of eating watermelon is playing in the mess. Here she's learning to fingerpaint in the watermelon juice.



Kyler also enjoyed eating the watermelon, but he wasn't quite as entertaining as Tehya.

Kyler & Papa at BSU's Homecoming Game

BSU 20 Bowling Green 7. We all knew Boise State would thump these guys, but something I was not so sure about was whether or not Kyler would be entertained the whole game. It was a flip of the coin, and it turns out he has orange and blue blood running through him. Not only did he attend the game with his old man, but he was an active spectator - ringing the cow bell and chanting "State" when the stadium yells "Boise" on one side and "State" on the other side. You can't help but feel the momentum during this 'war cry' because the yells shake the ground and ripple the airwaves.

Before the game, we went to the American Family tailgate where Kyler and I ate some King-Sized hot dogs, M&Ms and cookies. We watched the 1st quarter on a flat-screen under the tent, and then went in just before 2nd quarter. It was priceless seeing Kyler's initial reaction to the massive crowds, the stadium and the football players. After being stamped and making our way into the stadium, he told me, "Papa, es el partido de Football" (Dad, it's the Football Game). We found some seats next to a nice couple from CO who have a daughter on the BSU Cheer-leading team. Our seats were in the North End Zone so we had a nice view of the game, especially when the action was inside the Red Zone.

At the end of the game, Kyler and I made our way back to the car...parked 8 blocks away and headed home. We had an awesome time, I can't wait to take him again.

He Passed!

Today Pat passed his final insurance exams! All that studying has finally paid off. Next step is training (all of October and November,) and then he is all set to open up his agency in December. Congratulations Pat!

Fun at the Zoo

We took the kids to the zoo last week. There's Kyler sandwiched between his cousin Jonas and his friend Logan. (I'm surprised we got them to sit there and smile at the camera, all at the same time.)

The three boys...checking out the muir cats.

Kyler holding on to his Lightning Car (as always.)

All Over the Place

Tehya's modelling the new headband I made her, while she practices her crawling skills. She almost has the crawling thing figured out. Here she is, up on her knees...a little wobbly but she's getting there.

Back from Yellow Stone

This years annual Backpacking trip was in Yellow Stone. Those of us who went were: Ben Wadsworth, Kevin & Brad Beck, and me. We started at the Bechler Ranger Station and hiked 8-miles to Dunanda Falls where we stayed for 3 days and 2 nights at our reserved campsite. These falls are awesome! The river that runs off the top of these cliffs- fall over 160 feet into a secluded area surrounded by hot springs and green grass. We were able to climb behind the falls and even walk into them getting a nice massage on our back and neck. We spent hours marinating in the hot pools. We had a sweet view of the falls and the crashing water falling from the cliffs hitting the rocks created a mist that drifted over the hot pools giving a perfect temperature balance of hot soaking water and a cool wet breeze. On Saturday, we used a GPS device and went off trail about 6 miles into the Valley of Death which is a valley of boiling geysers. It's recommended you don't enter the valley, let a lone walk close to these hot pots, but of course, we did. In fact, we climbed beside them up to the top of the mount where we overlooked the hill of boiling holes and sunken pits. After eating MRE's and being eaten alive by mosquitoes, we hiked back to camp. As always it's a great adventure and we look forward to our trip next year... TBA.

Tehya's Revenge

We thought this was funny...the other day Pat was rough-housing with Tehya (as usual) and received an unexpected surprise! Maybe he'll learn his lesson, and be more gentle next time. Look at the smirk on her face!

Another Silly Kyler Moment

Every now and then, Kyler likes to torture his trains by hanging them on the fireplace...he's always making us laugh with the things he comes up with.

Like Brother, Like Sister

Here's Tehya doing the "backward finger suck" like Kyler...it must be in the genes! She doesn't do it too often (she's usually sucking her thumb instead.) We were glad to get a picture of it, even though it is a little blurry from her jumping around.

Family Update

Well, here's a quick summary of what's going on in the Clayton household. We celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary in May. We can't believe it's been 5 years already...time really flies! Pat is starting up a new job, as an insurance agent. He's glad to get out of the mortgage industry, and focus on something new. I enjoy staying home with the kids...it's the best job I could ever have. We now have 2 beautiful children. Kyler will turn 3 in October, and Tehya is 6 months old. We have so much fun with them, they are constantly making us laugh with their cute little personalities.

Kyler is very talented and intelligent. Pat's teaching him Spanish, and Kyler is catching on really quick! Pat and Kyler have full-blown conversations with each other. I only understand them about 50% of the time...but I'm learning slowly. Kyler has now memorized and can locate over 30 countries on the map. It's amazing how smart he is, we keep wondering where he got his brains from. He definitely got his energy from Pat. He's like the Energizer Bunny (just keeps going and going.) But he is full of life and brings so much joy to our family. He loves his little sister and is kissing/hugging her all day long. I have to keep a close eye on him at all times to make sure he's not smothering her to much. He's such a good big brother.

Tehya is growing so fast! We can't believe she is going on 7 months already. Her personality is really starting to show, and she is so much fun. She is such a beautiful and happy baby girl. She's constantly smiling, squealing and laughing at us. Her smile is very contagious, and uplifts our spirits. She's got the same energy that Kyler does. She rolls all over the living room, to get from one place to another. She's also learned how to do the "army crawl." Any day now, she will probably figure out the correct way to crawl (we're in trouble.) We are so happy to have her in our family, and we are very blessed to have such wonderful children.

Here we go...

Well, we finally decided to give this whole "blogging" thing a try. We figured it would be a good way to keep in touch with family/friends, while at the same time allowing us to keep a journal of what's going on in our lives. We are a little clueless when it comes to blogging, but I'm sure we'll learn as we go.