Update!

Hey everyone. I am trying to keep up on my blog mostly for me but I do like comments. Anyway, I am just going to use this post to update what has been going on since the new year.

First off Ryker is getting so big. He says so much now and I can't hardly keep up learning all his new words. Some of my favorites are:
Munga (milk)
baka (bark)
juie (juice)
cucky (cookie)
reeree (treat)
Homie (horton)
Carz (cars)
He is soo funny. He has started walking up the stairs which makes me a little nervous but he seems to be pretty good and it and he has started saying no alot. It is so cute when he says it that I can't keep a straight face. I will have to try and get him on video saying it!

Next Jason is back at work after our vacation to Utah. He is planning on making some changes and is grateful that we are finally getting all the insurance crap worked out (a whole year later). I still think he is having a hard time adjusting to life in Idaho and living with my parents. It has been a rough year but we made it through without too much damage. Hopefully we will be able to get our own place in the coming year.

As for me I am teaching dance once a week and have been really committed to losing weight and get in shape. I have been playing volleyball twice a week on a city league and I have been to the gym everyday since the New Year. So far I have lost 5lbs and I am feeling almost the best I have felt since getting pregnant with Ryker. I have two more pounds to lose and I will be at pre-baby weight again. It is nice to start feeling like my old self again. And for those of you who are wondering when Jason and I are having another one. We decided that we are going to wait until moving out of my parents starts looking more plausible.

As for little miss Millie we are planning on breeding her soon and she is loving having all this room to run. She is such a fun part of our family and we love her dearly. Sorry this is long and I don't even have pictures but now you know what is going on in our lives.

Vacation...Whoot whoot!

I do love myself a vacation. We didn't take a huge exciting vacation but anything that gets us out of Burley is wonderful. We decided to come to Jason's parents house for a week. We have been hanging out here in Utah and finding fun things to do. We started our trip with a late Christmas. We weren't able to come up here before so they saved our presents until now. Ryker got an awesome train and a sled. While Jason got a gift card to get some new clothes and so did I. We also got a salad spinner which I can't wait to use. Then Ryker and I got caught napping on the recliner. So we added to our already wonderful Christmas.

We decided today to take Ryker to "The Living Planet Aquarium". It was fun and Ryker really enjoyed it. We got to introduce him to a lot of new things. It was so fun to see his little face. The aquarium had a little place where you could touch some of the animals. Ryker didn't want to do that but Jason touched a few. They also had a fun little coral reef exibit where the kids could walk trough tunnels and see the fish face to face. Ryker loved that and didn't want to leave. We finished our adventure with an ice cream at Calypso's Cafe. It was a little cafe they had there. It was really fun to spend some time just the three of us. I love taking Ryker places like this where I can watch the wheels turn in his head. He is so fun and always keeps me on my toes. I couldn't be more blessed!

Christmas 2009

We had the most wonderful Christmas. Ryker got spoiled right along with the rest of us. We got more that we could have ever asked for, I cooked my first prime rib, and we had tons of fun with family. Ryker got a big dump druck and a slide. I got clothes, and Jason got 2 new coats. We are ready for the snow. We played tons of games and had Derek and Jessica over for dinner along with Grandma and Grandpa Despain. Below is a slide show with a few pics that we took of Christmas eve and Morning. We didn't take any pics during dinner.

Despain Family Christmas Party!

Every year, just before Christmas, my mothers side of the family all get together at this big day care center in Burley to have a party. It is so much fun to sit around a talk with family that you don't see all the time. There is great food, conversation, a gift exchange, and a few rounds of lightning (basketball).


We all gather and eat until everyone is stuffed. Then we do the children's gift exchange. This is for all the kids who are under the age of 12. They each have the name of another child in the family and get to buy that person a gift. I am still not sure who had Ryker, but I hope they didn't feel bad because they bought him the cutest stuffed horsey. Although it was darling, Ryker has developed a fear of horses. I tried to convice him it was a dog and he gave me the funniest look, but still didn't want anything to do with it.


Then all the kids go and play while the adults have our white elephant/gag gift exchange. We used to get some really crazy gifts but people have started mixing in a few nice ones. It is always so funny to see some of the things people come up with. The best was when we gave Jason's old Iphone away (it was destroyed after being in the pool in J's pocket for 2 hours.) all of the younger cousins started fighting over it. They were bound and determinded that they were going to be able to fix it.


After the gift exchange is over we clear all the tables and chairs and play lightning. It came down to Jason and Derek this year. Derek won on a lucky shot!


After the party is over some of us go to Derk and Amy's house to play games. That is usually our favorite part of the day, because we just can't stop laughing. We play catch phrase and my mom always gives the worst clues. Like she gave the clue "alcoholic beverage" and that was it. I started naming all the beverages I could think of and then of course I got teased for knowing so many. Another highlight of the night was when my grandma gave her clue for nightmare. She said, "It's like when you go to sleep and wake up like AHHHHHH!" She actually closed her eyes and then started screaming. We were all laughing so hard the other team couldn't even start giving clues.

We play games until everyone is so tired we can't stay awake much longer. That ends the night of the Despain Family Christmas Party! Can't wait for next year. Here are a few pictures of the event.

Halloween!

I started this post the day after halloween and I am just getting it posted. Sorry.

We started out Halloween by getting Ryker a pumpkin. We got it in Utah at a patch by Grandma and Grandpa DuBois'. They had a really cool place right next to the patch and we took some pictures of Ryker and his Pumkin.

Then we had our "Souper Pumpkin Carving Party" on Monday the 26th. We had some awesome friends come over which included. Ashley, Jason, and Hudson Hull; Luke, Lindsey, and Tyler Coats; Terrence and Callie Smith and their kids: Aleah, Ethan, and Tracen. We also had Derek, Jessica, Halle, and Reese Wilkinson. (They just added one to their clan on the 30th of Oct. Congratulations you guys!) And we had Mike and Hilary Ramsey and their son.

We had such a blast. It was so fun to sit around and eat everyone's yummy soup and chat with adults while the kids played. We also had fun at the end of the evening carving pumpkins. We usually take lots of pictures but neglected to this year.

On Wednesday we went to a ward Halloween party where Ryker enjoyed playing the little games they had set up and even won some prizes at a few of the booths. We then went out into the freezing cold and did a "Trunk or Treat" It was fun but very, very cold.

On Halloween the weather turned out perfect. It was warm enough that we could walk around the neighborhood but cool enough that Ryker wasn't hot in his costume. We dressed him up as a monkey...which is very fitting right now. He loved the costume and loved trick-or-treating even more. He would go up to the houses and knock on the door himself, (it wasn't loud enough so I would knock too) and then when the person would come to the door he would say "treat" in sign language and then when he received his candy he would give them a big smile and say "Thank you" in sign language also. He was so well behaved all night and I had a blast taking him. He is the sweetest boy and I can't believe how fast he is growing up.

Me, my dad, and Carli...

So this month has been full of parties and it isn't over yet. My dad turned 50 this year on the 9th, I turned 24 on the 10th and my sister turned 19 on the 11th. We usually have a joint b-day party if we have one but this year I decided to throw my dad a surprise party. It was a lot of work but turned out really well. I invited all of his family and my moms family, and some of their closest friends. I made a cake and everything was decorated in black and sliver and "over-the-hill" decorations. I think he really enjoyed it. I have a few pictures below of the cake but Carli took most of the pictures during the party. We have also enjoyed a visit from Grandma and Grandpa DuBois and we are throwing our Souper Pumkin Carving Party on the 26th. We will miss all our friends that we did it with from Portland, but wanted to keep it going here because we enjoyed it so much. So look forward to a post from that.

As for me, some of my really awesome friends brought me over some cupcakes and some gifts. It was totally unexpected and I loved the gifts. Ashley and Callie you guys are so sweet. It really made my day. I had received my gift from Jason earlier in the month because we celebrated my birthday with his family when we were visiting. He spent two whole days looking for my gift and he bought me an absolutely beautiful coat. I didn't help him one bit. It was the right size and everything. I love it so much. He did a wonderful job and made me feel so special. Thank honey!

That night Jason, Carli, and I went to Albion to go through the "Haunted Mansions". It was really neat, and I was scared most of the time. They have this old college there that they decorate up and you go through three different buildings, each one getting scarier as you go. It was a lot of fun. I had a great time this year. I will post a few pics from the evenings, but I don't really have anything fantastic.


Callie, Me, and Ashley when they brought over my cupcakes they made me and their gifts.









A picture of my cute family before we left to get scared silly.

Me opening my gifts. And I am wearing the amazing coat Jason got me! Good job babe. :)

My Dad's awesome cake! The hill looks more like a pool!

We have really enjoyed the month of October so far and are looking forward to taking Ryker to the Pumpkin patch next weekend, visiting the DuBois in Utah, Our pumpking carving party, and most of all Halloween. Ryker is going to be a monkey and I can't wait until his costume shows up!

Yet another head wound.

We have at our house something we call the curse of the grandpa. It just seems like whenever Ryker is standing anywhere close to my father he gets injured. This particular injury occurred when Ryker tumbled off the front step onto his head. It caused a nice mark and the pictures below show it well. It never seemed to dampen his spirits though. He is such a happy boy all the time. I love this little boy.