OUR LITTLE FAIRYTALE!

HOORAY I CAN BLOG AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-11-29T06:08:00.000-08:00

So my trusty ol computer has been on the blink pretty much right around the time I gave birth to our baby girl Sam and it has made me very sad because of course I wanted to tell about her birth story and show her off and now that I've had a pro help me out the computer is up and runnin again. I've got a lot of catching up to do so here is where I will begin, with our story of a little babe named Samantha Jane born on July 8th 2011!!!!!

Our 4th and final little girl!!!!!!

There was a lot of this going on.......(just another day @ the virtual office)

This is the calm before the very short storm

We showed up at the hospital around 4pm to be induced and I don't know if it's due to the mass amt of babies born here in UT but I swear they cranked my pitocin way the heck up and even with an epidural I felt those contractions like never before and with 2 fast pushes around 7:30pm she was born!She was our smallest baby at birth only weighing 7lbs 8oz. and 19 1/2 inches and she was blondie which all the girls have come out dark so we were somewhat surprised with that and the bruising poor little girl! I think she was a little mad about her trip into this world not only did she come super fast, she had the cord wrapped rather tightly around her little neck, and she was jaundiced as well which we've also never experienced before (the jaundice that is).

Sweet Husband of mine looking over his newest baby girl!

The girls meeting Sam for the 1st time!

My sweet little peanut!

Ever heard of Violet Bauregaard from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory??? Samantha taking a snoozer!

Sam and all her sisters!!!!!!

Mama and baby ready to leave the hospital!

She is an awesome baby and completes our little family so nicely, we are so so so grateful to have her here with us.taken @ 2 1/2 months

Mom I'm Famous!!!

2011-06-24T09:11:00.001-07:00

This was a fun surprise the other night.... When we first moved here to Utah our neighbor down the street who is a professional photographer asked if Alyssa and I would be models for a photo shoot in the kitchen, we thought it would be fun so we said sure! He sells these pics for advertisements but doesn't know when, where, or what they'll end up in, but if they ever hear of where our pics go they'd let us know.

So I was on facebook the other night and came across a post from my friend Heather in our ward at church asking if we had ever taken a pic making a pie, because she thinks its us in the LIVING magazine??? Could this be....one of those pictures we took almost a year and a half ago? It killed me that I was home that night by myself with the ladies and they were already in bed so I couldn't just run to the store and see for myself. I had to wait until morning and when we got to Walmart and opened it up I could not believe it..... there we were in a full page ad. The most fun thing was Alyssa's reaction. I hadn't told her why we were there looking at the magazine so when I found the page I turned it around and showed her and she looked confused for a minute and then said "Mom that's us, oh my gosh, I'm famous".

We have been told that some of the other pics they took that day have sold they just don't know where they went!

Missing my legs (warning...rated scary)

2011-06-10T20:35:00.000-07:00

I am not (okay maybe a little) trying to brag but I used to have the best legs, until my sweet Bella was about to enter our world. Late into my pregnancy with her my legs swelled to a ridiculous size, so much so that as I was delivering her I asked our dr. when I could expect for them to get better. He told me 2-4 weeks. Well I am just here to tell you almost 5 years later he was wrong. She was worth it just to be clear.

Trying to find answers for this crazy pitting swelling (which is mainly in my right leg) I have been to a cardiologist, a vein doc, had ultrasounds, had vein mapping done and worn compression stockings (like the old ladies I took care of in the nursing home) and finally been told last year I have Lymphedema.

I have always been in control of and taken pride in my physical appearance, so this has been very humbling to say the least. When I am pregnant it is obviously worse due to the extra weight, which is a large reason that this baby girl who will be here in 3 and a 1/2 weeks will be our last baby. The doctors have a hard time understanding why I have this condition since I have none of the symptoms a typical lymph patient has such as morbid obesity, previous cancer surgery, trauma to the leg, burns, brake or fracture. The only thing I can think is Heavenly Father is trying to keep me humble. I know that there are far worse conditions or afflictions I could have and so I have to take this all in stride. There is no cure..... only treatment, which really consists of compression with the stockings and elevation which I have loads of time for. But I just have to say I really miss my legs.....

those were my legs back when Ry and I were datingthese are my legs now on a bad day......when I've been on them all day
This was an especially bad day.
pretty sexy huh?!

Kids Fun Run!!

2011-05-24T21:26:00.000-07:00

Our girlies have wanted to enter a kids race for a while now and I was so excited to find one at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi! It is so cool to watch them compete and enjoy something that is so near and dear to my heart!

So we pull into the parking lot and were a couple minutes late and as we are pulling in their kids run is starting and I'm watching all the kids (from inside my car) take off and my heart sank. Seriously, they had been waiting for this at least a couple months now.....and originally the plan was Ry would run along side them and Layna and I would be the cheerleaders but Ry was driving when we pulled in and he looked at me and said "Mom I'll park the car you go run with the girls hurry!!!!!" So out the 3 of us jumped and we ran all the way from the parking lot to the starting line and so began our race, luckily it was chip-timed, so we would know their actual times at the end. (I know they're just kids; what's the big deal right....but it's fun to know how they did) I did feel like I was torturing them just a little because no sooner did we get thru the start maybe a minute into it and Lys wanted to walk but I pushed her to keep going and held Booboo's hand as we ran the 1 mile course thru the gardens and farm country. Such a fun race!!

Here's sissy lyssy kickin on the turbo speed at the end for a great finish!!

Here's sweet Bella boo and prego mama hand in hand!!!!
Just after the finish with their medals!!!

These sweet sisters sure love each other!!!

In the End Alyssa came in the "6 and under females" category

9th overall and 6th of the 6 yr olds with a time of 11:37 and

Miss Isabella finished 11th overall in the same category and 1st place of all 4 yr old females with a time of 11:43!!!!

WAY TO GO MY LITTLE CHICKS!!!!

Easter 2011

2011-05-02T20:52:00.000-07:00

Easter this year was a lot of fun!! We had our family Easter Celebration at Ryan's parents new property in Lehi and it was a blast!!
These 16 little faces are a large part of why we moved here to Utah! (#17 baby Preslee was not pictured and #18 isn't quite here yet!) Love each and every one of them and yes I can tell you all their names, ages, and birthdays.

Daddy and Laynie sharing some yummy food!!!
The Loot, Easter Morning!
Our dear sweet Aunt Chani hooked lay lay up with this Sa-Weet Elmo basket after learning of her nieces' slight obsession with the fuzzy lil red guy, and yes she is in the midst of smooching him. Might we have something to do with this obsession??? Maybe a little.......
The ladies in the Easter dresses after church (unfortunately Melayna wasn't pictured she was taking a nap.)

We also had a small Easter gift given to us by my friend and visiting teaching partner Tanya this year that ended up being very very cool. If you haven't heard of "Resurrection Rolls" and want a cool and yummy way to explain the real meaning of Easter to your kids, let me know I will be happy to pass it along!

I'm Back!

2011-04-16T20:05:00.000-07:00

Today was so fun! Back when we lived in Oregon I developed a love for running 5 and 10k's. One of the things that made it so much fun was our friends JoeLisa. I think that actually may be a big reason that in the year and a half we've lived here I haven't done one because I've been missing my running partner.

Well the show must go on and today I had something.....(not quite sure what) to prove. Maybe the fact that I am 34, have lymphedema in one leg and am a few days shy of being 7 months pregnant I don't know, but whatever it was I'm glad I did it. I ran the Easter in Lehi 5k, my first in Utah, and it felt soooo good, (- the slight amt of pee that trickled out as I ran,geez.....)!!

Ry kept putting on the pressure last night saying what if you won honey and I said I'm not doing this to win, I'm just going for a personal victory in that I've never done a race this prego before and that was my mindset going into it. Well you can guess how shocked I was when I rounded the corner close to the finish and could see the clock; 28:45 it said and I could'nt believe it. I kicked it into gear once I saw that and ran my big belly right thru that finish at full speed with my little girls that met me at the finish to run thru with me at 29:05! What in the world???? I'm not sure how I managed to do that this far along I've only trained a handful of times in the last couple weeks but whatever it was it really did feel so good to be doing one of the things I love again!!

A Path of Destruction!

2011-04-11T20:18:00.000-07:00

Well I have never (that I remember anyway) had a destructive child before this sweet little Thing #3 Miss Melayna Lynn came along......... For quite a while she has had the nickname Dr. Destructo for good reason. Let me show you the path of destruction. Look at that sweet, naughty little face, (hmmm...maybe its her diet!) #1) Whenever Mom wasn't looking she would stand on the dishwasher door unhinging the whole dishwasher from the countertop. (*Take note that now the bottom rack nearly slides out onto the floor, which I usually have to catch with my leg before it crashes). #2) This, like the dishwasher, has already been repaired once before. The first time it was a mere crack, this time she went for it all the way and my cute TV stand is now not so cute anymore.

#3) See anything missing above the slider?

Really I don't know that it's all her fault the child is 19 months with her father's brute strength I swear. These curtains she merely gave a good tug and down they came, right out of the wall.

#4) this is a favorite past time of hers also when Mom's not looking or upstairs and I know I should move them somewhere higher up but its sort of entertaining. Usually it's just the foil that is her fave but this time she was goin for broke and brought out the wax paper too!! Weeeee :)

#5) This was some of her best work yet. It was one of those days I felt like Wow my house is actually pretty clean for a change and I'm upstairs busy with something come down and at the bottom of the stairs see this little face covered in flour. I had to laugh knowing there was going to be a sweet mess waiting around the corner and sure enough, she didn't disappoint.

Thank you Melayna for keeping us entertained and laughing. Tough to be mad at that sweet little face.

Little Sister #4

2011-04-04T21:59:00.000-07:00

I feel weird I haven't posted about this yet but we are HAVING ANOTHER BABY!!!!!!!!!! I'm really happy that I feel so happy and excited just now writing this, when I've had days like the ones I've been having lately. I have felt a little scared and questioning my ability of being a mother to 4 kids all under the age of 6, as Ry is gone a lot of the time with work. I am truly excited and grateful for this last baby to join our family.

We are due July 13th so I am almost 26 weeks right now and we have very solid evidence it is another little girl! And yes, just to be totally honest we were both hoping for a boy this last time around but we know that Heavenly Father is sending us all these precious little girls for a reason and we couldn't be any more in love with each and every one of them. We are all so excited to meet baby Samanfa as Bella lovinly calls her when she talks to her thru my belly and kisses her, can't wait!

Our Florida Adventure!

2011-03-17T19:05:00.000-07:00

First of all I just need to start this post by saying how grateful I am for such a hard-working man who earns us these fabulous trips. THANK YOU HONEY I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!! This is a completely company sponsered trip that I look forward to every year. The only thing you pay for essentially is souvenirs, and lunches. It is vacationing in a way we would never dream to since we both have these practical sides to us that don't allow us to spend money on staying at the Ritz or paying for room service!! We are so grateful to be a part of this amazing company and also extremely grateful for the great friends and fam that helped with our sweet daughters while we played! This was my first time to Florida!

This was the entryway in our room, which was beautiful!!

I'm so happy to be there with my man alone for a whole week!

The view from our room!

Room Service for breakfast every morning!

Yummmmmy Eggs Benedict!!!! So good!

Day #2 prenatal massage in the spa and Ry golfed most the day!

Night #2 out to dinner at Flemings Steakhouse! Sooooo good! Day #3 at Universal Studios it was such beautiful weather!!!
Doh! Where's Homer?!?!?!

Ry loved this one, wish I could've gone but couldn't in my current condition!
one of the guys from Mummy Returns attraction

Theme party night!

I love my handsome man!

Day #4 we spent mostly at SeaWorld and we loved it! Also my first time there and it was a blast!

These truly are the most precious things on the planet I'm pretty sure! They were amazing and the show they put on WOW....is all I can say!

Ry guy petting a stingray! Region Managers/Reps pre-dinner party!

Day #5 was raining and 40 degreesish so we stayed in most the day and napped, which was wonderful how often do I do that anymore really?? And Ry had a massage at the spa!

And Day #6 was spent traveling home to our precious babes!!!!

Alyssa

2011-01-25T12:41:00.000-08:00

My precious girl is 6!!! This child has my heart completely from the moment she was born. She is beautiful on the inside and out, extremely thoughtful of her sisters and parents, she already has a love of reading the scriptures and going to church, she's been bearing her testimony at church since she was 2, is doing so great in kindergarten this year and we are so proud of her.

We've loved this little beauty from the start!!!

And who knew 6 years later she would share her birthday with a Duck National Championship Game?!?!?!?!

Ryan and I built this birthday banner the night before the morning of her B-day!

Grammy and Papa were in town and shared a fun birthday breakfast at Ihop!

Later that day she went to school where she was treated with a crown and cards from the whole class and handed out treats to all her friends!! And then Ry's whole side gathered at Aunt D's for more celebrating Alyssa and her cousin Ty's birthday's and to root on the Ducks!

Dad loves his little Duckie!Gotta have the balloons!!!

This is just part of the crew from her birthday party the following Saturday at Monkey Island!

Did my girl have an awesome time? I think this pretty much says it all!

Cute friends!

After Monkey Island we rushed back to our house did pizza, cake, ice cream and pinata and opened presents!!! Happy Birthday my baby I love you forever and ever!!!!!!!

Thanksgiving/Christmas!!

2011-01-18T09:08:00.000-08:00

Yes almost officially caught up! Here is the lowdown on Novemeber/December in a nutshell!

This is what Alyssa made at school prior to Thanksgiving break!!! So cute!!!

And she couldn't wait to let Bella try it on!

Traveled to Cali for Thanksgiving so Ryan could have one last chance to see Grandpa before he passed and this is us at Grammy Marty's side get together.

Ryan and his cousins.

Ry doing what he loves best -coaching football for the Lehi Junior High Freshman team!!!!

Ryan's boys - He helped take these guys to a championship in November!!!

On to Christmas Here is Daddy and his baby girl Christmas Morning!!

Let the gift opening begin!

Honestly think this has been played with maybe three times since Christmas

The hair Christmas morning was unusually out of control!!

With such an amazing season of Duck Football I had to get Ry a picture of Autzen Stadium, he needed that especially since we can't just drive by it anymore.

And we also surprised the girls with the news that we are pregnant with BABY #4!!!!!

October Stuff!

2011-01-03T20:30:00.000-08:00

Okay only a couple more months to get caught up on I promise!!! So here are the highlights of October!

My sweet sweet Isabella boo bear turned 4!!! This is the morning of.......

my pretty girl

pics from the party! New hello kitty rain boots yay!!!

Part of the birthday crew at Kangaroo Zoo

Birthday Daddy Daughter Date time!!!!!

The Chicks took part in a dance clinic held by the Lehi High Drill team along with their friend Auni and got to perform at half time at the high school's football game! They had such a blast! And they got their hair done by the Paul Mitchell hair school

My awesome hubby was sent this yummy arrangement by his boss for being the recruiter of the quarter!!! WAY TO GO BABE!!!

I know the lighting is bad but I found this on the craftysisters-nc.blogspot.com and made one of my own it was a lot of fun!

This is baby Laynie's Gnome costume! Aren't they cute together!!!!

Bella Boo was Batgirl!!

Miss Alyssa was princess Tiana from Princess and the Frog!

We went to the Lehi Legacy Halloween Party with friends!

Here's the crew at the church trunk or treat held inside due to yucky weather! And Ryan surprised us with a costume of his own at the last minute!

And this is trunk or treat Utah style!

34

2010-12-12T12:57:00.000-08:00

Still feels weird to say 34 but I don't mind it.

So my sweetheart this year said honey you should go somewhere for your birthday (a little weekend getaway). I could not believe this was coming out of his mouth. He is very money concious and this was not really something I ever thought he would come up with. I was so excited and called my best friend Julie in Oregon and told her what Ry wanted me to do for my birthday and she said let's go to Arizona. Since the nice weather is almost a guarantee there I said let's do it! So we picked a date, booked flights and Julie had hotel arrangements made since she works for Hilton and has great hookups virtually anywhere we would want to go. I have never been away from my kiddos that long and Ryan had never had the kids by himself that long so I made him lists of all the important things to remember which of course made him think I that I thought he didn't know what he was doing but there's lots of little everyday things Dad's don't really ever deal with. In the end I don't think he used my list and every time we talked he kept telling me how easy it was with the kids! Right..... Anyway I am blessed for having an awesome husband who loves me enough to send me away for some R & R and will never forget it. The only problem is I want more trips like this one now. It was the best!!!

Julie and I just back from the pool!

Julie and I out to dinner on my Birthday,

having my favorite food - Sushi yummmmm!!!

did a lot of this!!!!

Treated ourselves to a massage, pedi and

mani at the spa in the hotel

My buddy!

Went to Mac in the mall and got our makeup done!

Snuggled!!!!

It was an absolute blast and gave me such a good chance to relax and catch up with my friend who I really don't see much now that we aren't in Oregon anymore. And when I got home I had this waiting for me!!!! My family is too good to me!

And they helped me blow out the candles!

Please bear with me on the old posts I just have to play catch up until I'm caught up!

Rewind / Catch up on Summer time......

2010-10-10T21:40:00.000-07:00

It was rough going in the beginning watching my frustrated child in tears/ until.........I looked up " teach your kid how to ride a bike" on youtube. I swear I LOVE youtube for its tutorials. After her Coach and I watched the video and got her out on the street with our newly learned skills, she had it down in a matter of a couple hours.

We went to California for Ryan's grandma Cassies' funeral in June. She was a great woman whom we are all missing dearly especially her husband of 62 years

Celebrated 8 years of marriage with this guy!

Lots of this going on over the summer with our cute friends/neighbors!!!!

Enjoyed a quick but much needed visit to Oregon!

Stood in line at Deseret Book in downtown Salt Lake in July on a 100+ degree day with my little troopers for a chance to meet Glenn Beck.

When it was my turn I thanked him for all he is doing and snuck a hug in there. He was very kind and asked each of my girls their names.

Mission Accomplished.

Ryan has a hard time finding people his own size to pick on but all his kids, neices, and nephews think he's pretty fun! This was Pioneer Day with the fam!

And Lys with her awesome swim teacher Jamie really made huge strides with her swimming and loves it.

Bella has not really ever loved swim but with the help of her teacher also named Jamie she is much more comfortable and had a ton of fun with it this year.

Ok now I feel better almost like I've been cleansed and I can move on to some more recent happenings! Thanks for making it all the way down this crazy long post!

BABY LAYNIE IS ONE!!!

2010-08-16T22:57:00.001-07:00

It seems so crazy that one year ago we were spending our last night together as a family of 4 in Oregon.

I still remember the pure joy of holding this beautiful, precious little baby in my arms for the first time.

And now our big girl is ONE, WOW!!!!

I tried my skills in cake building and constructed this out of fondant. It was fun and I had to do it because I'm trying to keep up with the Jones's out here in Utah.

And she loved every bite of it!!!! We had a fun party at home with all of the aunts, uncles, and cousins and it was a great time! We are so grateful for this sweet little spirit and the joy and hillarity she brings into our family. She's always making us laugh, is vocal when she sees food and it's not in her mouth, loves to help wash the girls hair in the tub and eat the bubbles, is beginning to walk but isn't in a hurry which is fine with me and is a snuggler only on her terms tho and at her one year check weighed in just under 24 lbs so she is a great arm workout for me!

Father's Day!

2010-07-16T21:44:00.000-07:00

This year we spent actual Father's Day driving home from California from Ryan's Grandma's Funeral so we didn't do too much celebrating that day. So the girls and I made it up to him the next day when he got home from work. We had been working on the sign for a couple weeks prior to Father's Day and the girls and I came up with an idea to play restaurant. He had no idea what or when we were going to do for Father's Day so it was fun to have it be a suprise. They both wore little aprons and hats (Bella a visor and Lys a crocheted princess crown) but you get the idea! Anyway, they greeted him at the door and Welcomed him to Loftin's Diner and seated him at our table, which had him laughing right away. We made his favorite Spaghetti Pie, homemade garlic breadsticks, salad, and he had a milkshake for dessert and we had a couple Hughson Football highlight videos transfered onto DVD for him so he could actually watch them again, which was a fun surprise!

I am very grateful for the father that Ryan is to our children for too many reasons to list. Just as an example as I write this he is downstairs (after a very long day driving home from Idaho where he's been almost all week) having a "Slumber party" with the girls.....it's things like that that make me want to cry happy tears and make me feel very blessed in life.

D-land

2010-06-27T15:28:00.000-07:00

Our First trip to Disneyland was splendid and full of twists and turns.
Right after we left our house Ryan was on the phone (working) with someone important and I heard a strange but somewhat familiar noise in the back and turned around to see Izzie barfing up her entire apple she had devoured right before we boarded the SS Loftin not even on the fwy yet. Pulled over and took care of that little mess and on to St. George we were.
The next day we drove the rest of the way to Irvine where we were staying at the Hyatt. No puking hooray!!

Dad and Lys patiently waiting for the tram.....

Can u tell this crew is a little excited!!
Just off the Peter Pan ride and they loved it, then they had the misfortune of going on the snow white ride and are still mad at me for it.

Alyss, Mom, and booboo
Sheer happiness - this kid loves horses and would've been fine

just doing this all day long.

tea cups!

By far my very favorite pic from our trip!!

chillin in Minnie's pad

meeting beautiful princess Aurora!

If she could've granted a wish I would've wished for no more puking. However, on the 2nd and final night Lys started complaining of a tummy ache and loh and behold started barfing in the bushes at Disneyland during the firework show and again before we boarded the tram to go our car that night, and again at 4:30am. The next morning when we were heading out to go home Ryan said he wasn't feeling well so I got my supermom cape on and got all the luggage, Ryan, baby, and the girls down to the car, checked out, grabbed some breakfast in the hotel and came back to the car to assume my position as driver and found Ryan BARFING in the bushes. I drove all the way home while Ryan had uncontrollable hiccups that lasted literally ALL day all while clutching his trusty barf catcher. Did I feel a little sick while all this was going on heck yes but I held my ground. You might wonder did we have a great time???? HECK YES we did!??!?! Did we mark our territory every where we went..... YES. Did we build lasting memories and strengthen our family bond......HECK YES!

OUR FAMILY TRIP TO DISNEYLAND WAS PRICELESS!!!!!!!

Like Father, Like Daughter!

2010-06-10T22:04:00.000-07:00

Check out Bella Boo's face in this pic.........

and now Ryan's in this one. (another blurry one dangit)

These were two random pics not related whatsoever.

3 Years!

2010-06-02T21:31:00.000-07:00

The title of my post is how long Alyssa has been in Preschool for.....in hindsight maybe it would have been sufficient to just go with 1 year but the child was so ready for it by 2 years old I had to go for it and at the time I wasn't really thinking ahead that it would be 3 years but nonetheless I wouldn't have done it any other way! She is such a bright, responsible, smart, great big sister, and is genuinely excited about learning and we're so excited she's a pre-school grad and ready to move on to the big time now!!! WOOO HOOO way to go SIS!!! I love this sweet face so much

Teacher Jennifer, Alyssa and Jessica
Jaxon and Alyssa! Way to go guys( and yes those are garbage bags)!!!!

Gymnastics is fantastics!

2010-05-25T20:45:00.000-07:00

The eldest Loftin ladies are both in gymnastics and we attended there first "Exhibition meet" last week!

Ta da!!!

ooooh the concentration!

This pic is priceless!Dangit all to heck why did this have to turn out blurry.

Great job ladies! You rocked the floor!!!

PROOF!!!

2010-04-09T20:38:00.001-07:00

You can get too much of a good thing!

13 Going on 30!!!!!!

2010-03-27T21:24:00.001-07:00

This cute guy turned 30 in February!!!

He made me promise that I wouldn't do anything for his B-day besides something simple with the kids or whatever.So he got that but YAAAAHHH RIGHT........ I mean 30 IS A BIG DEAL RIGHT?!!!!!!! So we went out just he and I to Tepanyaki, or so he thought........ I went easy on him just inviting the fam dam tho - don'tcha think?!?! He was happily surprised and we had a lot of fun!!!!! Love u baby so much and I'm so glad you can't give me anymore crap about being in my 30's.

Valentines!!!

2010-02-22T14:18:00.001-08:00

Valentine's Day is always fun and I enjoy having a day to celebrate LOVE!

It is also special to me as 8 years ago Ry proposed the day after V-day just to throw me off his trail. Turkey!

Ry outdid himself first by taking the big girls Lys and Bella out on a daddy daughter date Friday night to Ihop and Kangaroo Zoo! This is my favorite tradition our fam has started.

Saturday was Mama's night out with dad complete with flowers, a trip to a yummy Thai food place / a movie, and a couple gifts!! He had made me promise not to get him anything and "honor his wishes" and so I didn't (except a little gag gift) so I kinda felt like a jerk. However, we had a great long overdue date and loved every minute of our time together! My sweetheart

V-day breakfast!!
The big girls out on the town during their daddy daughter date!!
At Ihop on their date with Dad!
Special V-day do!

Lyssie's do!
Can you feel the love?!?!?!

Australia

2010-02-05T16:40:00.000-08:00

Our trip to Australia turned into......

a trip to

Timpanogos

Regional
Hospital

The day before we were supposed to leave for Australia

our sweet 5 month old baby who already had croup was

diagnosed with

Pnuemonia in the

morning

and later that same night

in the ER

with RSV.

They admitted her the day we were supposed to leave. I probably analyze things too much but for me the timing of this was all too strange. And as disappointing as it was to miss out on a trip like this to Australia (all paid for by Ry's company) we knew where we were needed and were humbled by it all.

We were there from Sunday night to Wednesday afternoon.

We received numerous calls from friends and family offering their love and support while she was there and even when she got out.

Sweet tired tan Ryan with his little sickie baby.

This was the scrumptious meal prepared by our VT's Wednesday night when we were able to bring Laynie home.

A whole chicken

with potatoes

and

carrots, (rolls not pictured)

Jello salad w/sprinkles
(a big hit with the girls :)

especially since I am not a jello maker at all.

And a chocolate cake to top it all off! This was a big hit with Ryan :)

These sweet ladies went all out for us.

In the end we have a happy healthy baby, are saving lots of money from all the stuff we've been returning from our trip(plus not having to pay taxes on the trip), are still kinda tan since we had to build our base tan before we left, and have discovered a whole new appreciation for our children and the love we have for them and that we would do absolutely anything in our power for them. We've joked that one day when Melayna is a teenager and angry at us about something we'll tell her "We love you so much and we can prove it.."

The Disposable Sweater!

2010-02-01T22:22:00.000-08:00

This is how my sweater looked when I bought it

This is how my sweater looked after it's 1st wash on delicate of course like the tag says

And unless you want to hand press every individual freakin petal (who has that kind of time, not I) this is a one time- wear / throw-away / disposable sweater.

So I was in a mood last week...... one of those moods where you don't really worry about saying exactly how you feel. And I was out shopping for my trip to Australia in my new found favorite store where I previously had purchased this sweater and I had to say something about it and this is how it went.........

Me: "you know that flower sweater that is so cute that I washed once and all the flowers have shriveled up and now looks like GARBAGE, and I can't wear it now?"

Manager: Oh yeah I got the same one washed it once and same thing happened to mine so I had to get rid of it.....

Me: (growing angrier by the second) "Well I'm sorry but that's not ok with me, I don't buy things to wear them once and get rid of em" and (quite frankly in my opinion she is just silly if she is going to accept that) I want to talk to your...........looking at her tag ohhhhhhh she is the manager. Hmmmm....

Manager: "Well I can't really do anything on my end I'd have to talk to corporate about this (this store does not return things. And when and if they do it's for in-store credit and they are very strict on their 30 day policy) and my 30 days was long up and gone.

Me: "Yes please you call corporate I will wait right here."....... I'm happy to report that once she got ahold of corporate a few days later she granted me a return for in-store credit.

Moral of the story ladies is we do not have to take crap like this laying down or standing up!! When something doesn't make sense question it. The End!

Alyssa turns 5!

2010-01-24T16:12:00.000-08:00

My how fast the time has flown since my precious baby Alyssa was placed in my arms and I got to look in her beautiful eyes and meet her for the first time! And now she's 5........When did that happen?

Alyssa is a smart, beautiful, and sweet young lady. She's currently enrolled in pre-school, is working very hard on her reading and writing and in the fall will be moving on to Kindergarten! She loves her gymnastics class and also wants to take karate, dance, basketball, and swimming. (however, I like to keep the classes down to one at a time otherwise I think it's a little overwhelming for them and me). She misses her Oregon friends a ton but is enjoying playing with her cousins. She is a huge help with her sisters and loves to bake with me! We love her dearly and are so proud and happy to call her our daughter! Happy Birthday Sweet babe! LOVE YOU BIG - Mom, Dad, Bella, and Layna

The night before her big birthday bash with the big family (all the cousins,aunts,and uncles) She and Ry had a daddy- daughter birthday date!! She was able to pick whatever she wanted to do and wherever she wanted to eat and she chose bowling and McD's!! She was so proud that she beat daddy and bowled a score of 99! This date will be a new tradition in our family for the girls on their birthdays, as she felt so special and was beaming when she came home!

The next day we had her big family party complete with swimming (her fave) at the Legacy Center in Lehi and back to our house for pizza, pinata, cake, and ice cream which was a ton of fun!

The next day was her actual B-day on Sunday and we saved her big present for then and let her open it after dinner of her choosing

And last but not least her special request was to get her first pedicure at the salon with Mommy and we were finally able to make time for it yesterday!! It was so much fun

(had to crop this to cut out the cankle I'm currently sporting. Hopefully getting surgery on that soon!)

1st Christmas in Utah!!

2010-01-20T21:32:00.001-08:00

This Christmas was a chance to take a much needed pause from the hustle and bustle of our every day lives..............and that's just what we did! It was our first Christmas in Utah in our new home!

Ry and the girls bundled up to hunt for that perfect tree!

A) Do they look a little cold to you???

B)Take a good look at that beaut, cuz it's the last real tree we'll have while living here in Utah. ( A cool $50 later, seriously??? We all know where those trees come from.........)Our first big snow! So much fun!!!! Bella loved trimming the tree!
Our friend Joseph who just left for his mission was there to help too!
Bella and Lyss's pre-school Christmas program
If this isn't the real santa?!?!?!? We believe!!! My sweet Lys :)
This pic of the cousins cracks me up! Tyce, Jackson, Bella, and Lys
.......and I want a pony, a barbie, etc. etc. etc, are you getting all this santa?! My sweet girls and I Christmas eve night. I was diagnosed with strep on the 23rd and got a gnarly penacillan shot in my hip/back and bam it was gone by Christmas. I love modern medicine, just wish I would've taken a pic of the softball size bruise it left it was awesome!!!

We missed and celebrated our friend, Kevin Michael's 30th birthday on December 24th by watching one of the last movies he was in.

My sweet little Layna snow angel baby
My favorite pic from Christmas Day!
Let me show you how this works Layna!

And the girls rode off into the sunset with their Daddy by their side!

2009 for the Loftins

2010-01-05T21:28:00.000-08:00

I'm afraid to say this but I don't know that we could have crammed more life changes into one year than we did in 2009. I'm grateful for the trials and challenges and blessings that we went thru this last year and so thankful for the friends and family that were there with us to experience them all.

January - Had our first doctor appt .......after we learned we were expecting baby #3

Alyssa turned 4!!!

February - Ryan turned 29 and celebrated in Cali with his very best friend, Kevin Michael in San Diego doing what they love best; on stage - making music together

playing there gig at the cafe in SD

The boys...Ryan and Kev

Ry was promoted with Federated to District Mktg Manager

Bella tried out Dance class and loved it!

March - brought Grammy Judy's 60th B-day And .....Papa's 60th B-day

An incredible trip to Hawaii

April - Grammy Marty turned 60!!
and we put our sweet little house on the market........

and after only 25 showings and 4 months later we sold it!

May - brought the annual trip down Waterloo for the boys!!!! (boy are we going to miss this.....)
And Alyssa finished up her soccer class which she loved!Bella scored her first basket ever and Alyssa cheered her on all the way!!!
June .... we enjoyed the beautiful summer weather in Oregon!

July - brought two of our very best friends JoeLisa their first baby!

PETE!!!

An awesome visit from one of our best friends Kevin Michael which we are so sad to admit the pics were lost.

And an offer for a new position in Utah for Ryan

August - brought our beautiful baby girl #3 Melayna Lynn
September - we went a house huntin in Utah and found one in a week...

We attended the Oregon Alumni Reunion and connected with old friends

You can't see her but Melayna is in the Bjorn on Ry's chest, Ryan, Jason, and Kevin

and we blessed our sweet new addition on Sept. 19th
October - Bella turned 3 but we celebrated on the 3rd!

Three days later on the 6th (her actual b-day) we said goobye to friends and family and moved to Utah to a house that wasn't ready.....

(We were finally able to move in October 21st)

6 days after that on October 12 we received the devastating news that Ryan's life long best friend Kevin Michael had passed away in a car accident the night before and on October 30th we attended his funeral service in California which Ryan spoke so beautifully of his friend and sang at his service.

Kevin's beautiful babies Tyler (1) and Mia (2)

Kenneth (Kev's brother), Ryan and I

Kevin's dad, Ron Michaels and Ryan

November - brought Thanksgiving and a trip to California to be with Ryan's family

December - brought a peaceful relaxing 1st Christmas in our new home which we enjoyed very much, and will be my next post!

Isabella Grace turns 3!!!!

2009-11-12T22:44:00.000-08:00

We were so very fortunate to be able to celebrate Miss Bella Boo's Birthday 3 days before we moved out of town. We have built such a strong connection with sweet friends and family and it was so nice to be able to have one last party together!

We went to Bella's favorite place in the whole wide world Chuck -E - Cheese!!!! The chick goes crazy for Chuck. I don't know what it is about that giant mouse...... anyway, we had a blast like usual with everybody. Bella's favorite memory is that she got to hug chuck and that they pounded it (fist-bumped)!!!!

We love our Bella so much!!!! She has brought so much laughter and joy to our family. The other day Kendra was over and was helping me get the girls down to bed for the night and said "whoa Bella's your kid with sass huh?!?!" Yes Kendra yes. She has a firey temper and is such a lover all at the same time. It's very hard to be mad at her because she is so darn cute. One of her favorite phrases is "try to get me" and then she runs away waiting for you to chase after. The other favorite right now is "Uh..Duh" (this we will have to work on) She is so much fun to be around and wants to be like her big sister in every way! She is so very special and we love her to pieces!!!!

Modeling her new snow white dress-up

Chuck-E's backup singers!!!
lovins from Gram!

Her main man Chuck!!

The gang!! Gweni, Lys, Belly, Addie, Gweni and Maci

Blowing out her candles!

The Fife fam

Bell loves her Auntie

Happy Birthday sweet Baby! And it would make her so mad to know I called her a baby......shhhh don't tell :)

Note to self................(beware sort of pg-13)

2009-09-12T21:39:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick little *NOTE TO SELF* (and others) if you don't already know better, which I'm sure you may. I'm the girl that didn't know you can get gum out of hair with peanut butter.....still sooooo much to learn.

DO NOT..... I REPEAT, DO NOT tell your young children when your mind is heavily occupied by what could be any number of things, i.e. having a baby the next day in my case "Oh ya girls go ahead and take the library bag and go pick out some books for yourself" or you just might end up checking out something like this.

You can imagine my horror when Ryan called me into the girls room asking me what the heck this book was all about and why we had it. YIKES.

INTRODUCING.....MISS MELAYNA LYNN LOFTIN!!!

2009-08-16T23:13:00.000-07:00

Our beautiful baby Melayna is here!!!! She came into the world Friday Aug. 14th at 6:44pm and weighed 8 lbs 13 oz. and was 20 1/2 inches long! The delivery went awesome and we are home and recovering. More details to come.......

Thanks to all who were there and supported us, we truly appreciate you all!

Only Ry can tell you why he turned this into delivery / toga party.......

We call this birth control!

My best friend Julie and my little sis Laurie!

minutes after she was delivered!

It's crazy the amount of love that you feel after you deliver your child together!

Dr. D with the rest of who we call "team birth"!

Melayna and Mama!!!

I love my daughters!

We are a happy family!

Officially a family of five now!

Little punkin

This really says it all for Bella boo, silly!!!

Sportin her baby bling!

proud big sis!

Fun with the Belly!

2009-08-11T22:13:00.000-07:00

Tonight I asked the fam if they wanted to paint the belly before it's gone and it was too much fun, so I had to share!

JUST TWO DAYS LEFT TO WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BIG CHANGES FOR THE LOFTINS........

2009-08-06T21:13:00.000-07:00

Well cat's out of the bag........we are officially Utah Bound. Ryan has accepted an offer to relocate our family to Utah and open up the state for business by October 1st. So between now and then we will be very busy selling our home, having a baby, looking for a new home, getting in as many Duck games as we can, blessing our baby and spending as much time with Oregon friends and family as we can. So much to do.........

His primary responsibility in the beginning will be to find and hire a sales team, which in this poor economy wouldn't seem like a big task with unemployment being what it is but believe it or not it IS. So much so that finding a replacement for one of his guys in Portland has his stress level at a critical point and his Ulcerative Colitis is rearing it's ugly head again. Anyway, I have faith that he will be blessed with a huge pool of super star candidates ready to get to work in Utah!

This is a huge change for our family as neither one of us has ever lived there, visited yes but never lived. Ryan has been dying to get out there to be closer to his brothers and sisters and their families and now the time has finally come and he is thrilled. I am excited for the opportunity for our girls to be able to spend time with their cousins and remember how much I enjoyed that from my childhood! We are hoping it will lend us a better chance to get to the temple more often and let's face it the shopping will be a bit of an improvement from what sweet lil Albany has had to offer us. We will miss all our friends and family dearly and I say that tearfully.

In the meantime ......we are still waiting for our baby girl to make her arrival and can't wait to meet her!!! I'm praying and hoping that she gets here soon. If she is not here within this next week she will be evicted via induction on Friday the 14th!!!

Here are some of the ways we have been biding our time waiting for this kiddo!

Welcoming new friends into the world!

Discovering the fish that is Alyssa
Painting fingers

.........and toes!

So pinkalicious!!!

Taking a ride down the slide at the cool pool!!

And finding new homes for these adorable lil friends!

What a busy month......

2009-07-11T10:04:00.000-07:00

Our June was filled with all kinds of craziness which I appreciate, as it makes time fly by being pregnant!

We celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary!! I am soooooo so grateful I am married to this man!

1st their was the princess pool, which the girls loved until...... Alyssa decided our cat Tink should go swimming with them too

Then we threw a shower for our dear friend Lisa to celebrate her upcoming arrival!!!!

Here's the lineup beginning with Lisa (due 7/3), Jess (due 7/17), Alicia (due 8/5) and Me (due 8/16) all within just about two weeks of each other and yes it has been fun!!!

Then our cat Tink had kittens, 5 of them, thanks cat. I guess she was just throwin another thing in the mix to keep me busy till the baby comes. Kittens are ready for new homes 8/2 by the way for anyone interested!!

Here is one of our kitten handler / trainer Bella boo with Snow White in the pocket of her snuggie.

Then Lyssa Lou started T-Ball which has been a ton of fun and she loves it!
Swing batta batta s-a-wing!!!
Little studmuffin! She's dying to get her hands or mit on the ball!

And last but certainly not least my hard working man got to make a long awaited purchase! And wouldn't you know it it's already in the shop.......yikes.

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-21T14:54:00.000-07:00

I love celebrating my husband on this day as Ryan is to me, everything that a father embodies. It takes a special kind of man to raise all girls and Ry is soooo great with our girls and such a good sport to go along with all the pink, and frills, and dress up, and things that come with having little ladies. It chokes me up thinking of how much our little girls love and adore their daddy!!!!!

Way to go Auntie!

2009-06-08T08:34:00.000-07:00

My baby sister Laurie graduated from high school this weekend! I am so very proud of her and know it has not been easy but she did it and it was an awesome night. We know that great things are on the horizon for her and can't wait to take her to Disneyland at the end of the year!

My beautiful lil sis in her in her post ceremony afterglow!

Laur's friend Missy, our bro Billy, Auntie, Ry, Bella and Lys

Auntie, and My Mom

Thanking heaven she is done at last!!!!

Best Friends!

I'm so happy to be there! So proud of my sis

Sweet Daddy and his girl

graduating class of 09 (295 in the class)
Hip Hip Hooray!!!!! my bro asked me how do you find your cap after this?

Memorial Day Trip to the Zoo!!!

2009-05-31T22:14:00.000-07:00

Every year we daydream about camping over Memorial Day weekend and then when it comes down to it..........we look for last minute campsites online and come up empty handed (nothing the 3 p's wouldn't fix :), seems we'd learn our lesson by now. I think we must still be traumitized from the last actual reservations we made for Memorial day weeked probably 3 years ago, we were so excited to go and proud of our pre-planning only for it to pour down rain that whole weekend, so we've been a little skeptical ever since then.

Anywho......we always end up having a nice weekend! This year we went to the ZOO!, cheered on our friends participating in a triathalon and Ryan and Joel made their annual run down "The Waterloo rapid". It was a beautiful fun weekend, oh and my camera broke and my sweet husband allowed me to splurge on a new one (not without me being accused of breaking the other one on purpose, which I did not do)nonetheless he hooked me up and I am grateful!

Bella boo and Lyssa Lou with the resident Zoo bears!

I love the upside down sunglasses and the cheeser grin on Lys! Her upside down glasses get more comments than you would believe, but that's how she likes em best! Everyone needs a "Line Leader" and that's just what Lys was complete with her map and all!

Bella and Daddy! She likes to pull his hair on this ride!

Alyssa showing us Gloria the Hippo!

This was awesome, this little guy curled up in this little box! Too cute.
Me and the girlies watching the bird show, which made me extremely uncomfortable as A) I do not like birds and B) I promise a stupid bird dive bombed my head and almost mamed me.
Ry and Joel goin into the rapid
Whoaaaa nellie, just another day at the office!

Close-ups of the girls! Had fun trying out the new camera!!!

Hawaii

2009-05-01T20:33:00.000-07:00

Yahoo, I finally have a working computer again! I have missed blogging about the Loftin Happs. I'm so happy that its been resolved and I'm back.

Anyway, March 20th - 26th we went to Maui with Ryan's company Federated, and loved every minute of it!!! They completely pamper you while you are there and it is for employees and their spouses only darnit..... Thank you Federated and thank you honey for getting us there!

I don't think my jaw came off the floor until at least the 2nd day we were there. It being my first time to Hawaii I was amazed at the pure beauty of the flowers, the ocean views and lets be honest the resort we stayed at. All lived up to my expectations and then some.....

We so enjoyed ourselves and felt so very blessed to know that our children were in such capable hands as Aunt D's and Uncle Bill's and their boys in Utah, not to mention the rest of the fam that assisted in looking after them!!! Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts!!!

Just arriving kinda sleepy from the early morning flight to our beautiful hotel the Grand Wailea

Here are some of the things we saw and did while we were there!

View from the helicopter ride!!

What a guy! I'm so proud of my guy and all he's accomplished! Thanks for getting us to Hawaii honey!

Can you feel my excitement?!?!?

Anyone see the Jon & Kate plus 8 episode of them renewing their vows??? Here is that same little chapel right outside our room, at our hotel Welcome reception; me and my sweetie!

Scott, Ryan, and Nate - these are Ryan's guys who make it happen!! Way to go guys!

Me and the prego belly ready for the pool!

Anyone see my beast in that crowd??? Hey muscles come here often?

Lovin the helicopter ride......Weeeeeeeee :)
No that is not a fanny pack!
Katie, Adam, Ryan, and me
Managers and spouses

The final night!
Hawaiin babes wearin their souvies!

Pull-Up Party!!!!!!!!!

2009-03-04T22:17:00.000-08:00

Lys and Bella can't stop talking about JoeLisa and the fab time they had with them one night last month when Lisa graciously offered to watch the girls while I tended to my YW duties while Ry guy was out of town. She is such a great friend......a treasure really. So I left and came back

and found these pics on my camera later on, and laughed hysterically!!! We love you JoeLisa and appreciate all you do for us and love the fun spirit you bring into our home.

JoeLisa

Joel and the chicas! Doesn't everyone where pull-ups on their head???

Happy girls!
Wowwee these are the most impressive mohawks ever, this is the work of JoeLisa.

Champs!!!

2009-02-14T11:29:00.000-08:00

I know this isn't the clearest pic but here is Ry's Boys' and Girls' Club Basketball team! We love all these boys and Ryan had a blast being a part of this team, such a great outlet and a fun way for him to be involved in sports again. They just finished there season and did great finishing their last game with a score of 95-54 (or something like that). Anyway, just thought I would put their cute team pic on here, even though I know they'll be ticked off with me if they happen to see it. According to them I was supposed to take their pic before the sweat. Sorry guys, better than no team pic at all though right?

From left: Joseph, Pewter, Scottie-2-hottie, Coach, Riley, Anthony and Josh,

next row: Reed, Nick, Ryan, and last but not least Cody Ray!!!

Team huddle; which Lys and Bella made sure to always be a part of, strange actually that we don't see them in there!I

They were seriously doing spirit fingers in this huddle I promise Ry told me it was hang loose but I know what I saw and those were spirit fingers inside this huddle.

Promotion!!!!!

2009-02-08T14:12:00.000-08:00

Ryan was suprised last month after doing a routine ride-along for a day with his boss Luke (whom our whole family completely adores) that Luke was going to be moving onto another company. For Ry and the rest of the crew this was sad news as Luke truly has been such a great boss; and has been so instrumental in ensuring Ryan's success with the company. So as we were very sad and disappointed to lose Luke, Ryan had had conversations with another boss previously that he was the top of the list for promotable guys in the region. This conversation had only taken place a short time before we found out about Luke leaving and we thought maybe a promo to Luke's spot was possible but maybe sooner than management had been thinking.

Well shortly after Luke's anouncement he got a call from his other boss and..........long story short, after flying the two of us to Sacramento to talk about it, he received the offer to become the Manager for the State of Oregon for his company!!!!!!!!! All his hard work has really paid off and I can't be more proud of my man and all that he has accomplished in a very short time!

I am so grateful for Federated and the company as a whole it has been such a blessing in our lives. I'm thankful they are entrusting him with this new position and can' t wait to see him rise to the challenge. He is sooooo excited to have his own team and see them kick some A!

Ryan, me, and Lukeeeee in Arizona together last year!
Ry and his boss Wendy!

You did it honey :) WAY TO GO!!!!!!

She's 4 Now!!!

2009-01-21T21:19:00.001-08:00

January 10, 2005 Our sweet baby girl Alyssa was welcomed into the world!!!
Then she turned 1 :)
Then she turned 2 and played soccer with Dad!
Then she turned 3 and went crazy!!!

And Now She's 4. I can't really believe it, everyone tells you enjoy every moment because it goes fast and well, there right about that. (Ry and I made this cake together. It was a lot of fun)

We have wonderful friends who opened up there home/pool to host a pool party for Lys's B-day!

This was interesting all the sudden I turned around and Ryan was pulling everyone in the pool while they held onto a water noodle!!! It was pretty stinkin funny!

Look out below!

Daddy and the Birthday girl havin a ball, these two are so cute together!

There she is my big girl, happy Birthday Lys! We love you and have cherished every second with you. You are a blessing to our family and you are a beautiful girl inside and out.

The Haircut.

2009-01-14T21:53:00.001-08:00

It's been 4 years and I have not touched this child's hair, not even a trim.
We mentioned the idea when her hair really took off growing that maybe she could grow it long one day and donate to kids who are sick and have no hair, as soon as we mentioned it she was all about it. This has been a long time coming though I think we mentioned it to her when she was 2 and 1/2 maybe 3. We knew the time was coming as it was getting really long, (down to her bum when it was wet) so we asked if she wanted to do it around her birthday and she liked that idea! So the day before her B-day after pre-school the whole fam went over to Great Clips who does Locks of Love cuts for free and finally went through with it.

I was getting really attached to this beautiful hair. Sweet girl, she was so calm.
Here is the point that I really lost it and started bawling. Since I've never cut it that was her actual baby hair she was born with, thanks a lot to whichever friend of mine made that point. I don't usually think that deep but when that was pointed out to me it made me cry that much harder.

As I'm wiping tears away (husband next to me consoling me) Alyssa still remains calm as a cucumber and says "Mom, Everything's gonna be okay", "Mom, are you okay" , Mom, don't cry it's okay" "Okay mom it's gonna be alright". I eventually pulled my hormonal self together.... how embarrasing.
We are soooooo proud of this kid and the kind heart she's developed for others. Way to go Alyssa and we loooove her new look.

New Year's Day (whaddu do?!?!?) / THings I enjoy about being pregnant!

2009-01-04T14:10:00.001-08:00

So Really..... what are your traditions on New Year's Day???? I really do want to know, anyone who knows me knows that I am not so creative but love to use other's great ideas (which I usually give full credit to the creator of the idea, promise!!!).

So New Year's Eve was spent with Ry @ home with the ladies and me chapperoning the youth dance. I waited till last min. as usual to find a sitter which is why my sweet hubby didn't come with me. Sorry about that honey, I still feel bad about that. Anywho, I didn't get home till about 1:00am so needless to say (and being pg) I was a little tired the next day.

New Year's Day Ry worked on the attic project and I worked some around the house and hung out with the kiddos. That evening feeling still tired Ry decided we should go out to dinner!!!!! YES!!! I was off the hook for the night. So we went to a local pizza joint and when we pulled up I noticed on the sign it was"family kerioke night" Oh boy oh boy oh boy...... I instantly knew this was going to be a good time and it was. So all in all it was a nice New Year's Eve and Day. I hope your's was well and that you all have a terrific New Year!!!
Wondering what I was doing trying to sing Gwen Stefani, "Hollaback Girl". They didn't have much selection so I thought I'd give it a try and it was way too fast for this chick. So I sang a little Lauren Hill and redeemed myself, on the way out the door a lady eating her pizza said your mommy has a good voice to one of the girls! Thanks lady I owe you one.

Ryan and his backup singers! Not gonna brag but he may be in the wrong line of work. Dang my husband can sing.

The girls sang together with Ry "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and did a fine job!

Here's Izzie singing Jingle Bells, rockin the mic! I was just there to keep her from swalloing it, and yes for some reason Jeapordy was playing on the TV behind her, no idea why?!?!?!

I love zits! These are always delightful little visitors that I so look forward to when I'm pg.

Our Christmas Miracle!!!!

2008-12-28T21:22:00.000-08:00

This Christmas was really great! We had a ton of fun with the girls watching the sweet, excited, surprised expressions on Christmas morning, caroling and dropping off goodies to friends on Christmas Eve, teaching them more about Christ's birth, sending and receiving the Christmas cards and putting them up for display, playing in the snow, attending Christmas parties, going to Grammy Judy's for Christmas and just being together! I love my family and feel very blessed.

For the Miracle part......we found out we are pregnant and due in August and are very excited! For me and my sweet family that was the very best Christmas present of all. Alyssa is already asking me daily "Mom, what does the baby look like today?"......maybe I shouldn't have told her quite so early but its fun to have the girls involved!

Beller opeing her gift from Lys on Christmas Eve (princess flashlight)
Alyss opening her sweet purse from Booboo

The girls is their awesome princess jammies from the Fife's! They looooove these, thanks guys!

Alyss in one of her Christmas sweater's (really mom a Christmas sweater?.......)

Christmas morning in the new dress ups!

Bella on her prize possesion and is it just me or does Alyss look like part of that box?

Daddy and his girls getting ready to play in the snow!

Christmas dresses!
Settling down for a long winter's nap!

This is how Ryan found them snuggled up together in Lys's bed on Christmas night, how sweet are they!

Takin one for the Loftin Team :)

2008-12-11T22:06:00.003-08:00

This picture is a little blurry, my apologies. For our ward Christmas party last weekend there was a talent portion. There was a sign up sheet that floated around one Sunday and I of course signed us up to sing and dance! I continually told my family all week "ok guys we've gotta get somethin together for the Christmas party but nothing......... So it came down to Ryan asking Alyss that morning if she would like to sing at the talent show and she said "yeah dad, sure!!" She practiced up on I am a Child of God and when it was her turn (Ry had coached her with her intro before hand), she bravely went up in front of a packed gym full of people chowin down on their dinner and said this "Hi Everyone, I'm Alyssa.........Merry Christmas!" and then she sang the sweetest 1st vs. of I am a Child of God I have ever heard.

Way to take one for the team sweetie, you did a beatiful job and made mommy cry happy tears!

Bella did try to make a grab for the microphone and not knowing what she had prepared Ry snatched it from her. But she stated that she wanted to sing too. Later on this week we were driving home from somewhere and Alyssa said, (totally out of the blue).....Dad, Heavenly Father is going to put you in time out for not letting Bella sing.

Would love to show you our Thanksgiving pics...............

2008-12-03T20:40:00.000-08:00

However, my sweet 3 almost 4 year old decided to be in charge of taking some pics at some point while we were at Grammy's and erased all of our Thanksgiving pics. You may ask yourself was I angry or frustrated about this??? Let's just say after I gave Alyssa a good talking to about how the camera is not a toy.... yada yada yada, I put myself in timeout. About an hour later I told my mother in law it was time for me to stop pouting about it, what's done is done. But seriously though one of the pics I had was truly priceless and I have thought of re-enacting it but don't think we'd do the original justice. I guess this helps us to know what to get her for Christmas! So...... this is a tribute to my precious girl who I cannot stay upset with !

So the skinny on Thanksgiving or the fat whichever way you want to look at it:
1) taught Uncle Kent how to make/eat the oh-so-yummy white choc. covered rice crispy treats 2) watched movies every night after the kids went to bed w/Uncle Kent until we were delirious
3) Turkey Din din with all the trimgs at the church with Gram Marty's Fam @ 1pm
3.5) Time to purge ourselves and get ready for Round 2!
4) Turkey Din with Great Gram and Gamp Loftin back at the Loftins same day @ 5pm
5) Black Friday Shopping with Marty, (didn't get up too early tho and still got the deals which we were very proud of :)
6) Bowling extravaganza with Uncle Kent
7) The guys took their ritual fishing trip
8) And we finished our trip with a GLORIOUS VICTORY over the BEAVS!!!!!! 65-38 GO DUCKS BABY!!!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving Lyssie Lou Who!!!

Pretty hard to be very upset with this face darnit.

Lys and Bellie Boo snuggling!
Dance your lil jig girl. :)
And here is the Head Turkey!

Hughson H.S. Reunion / Trip to Cali

2008-11-20T21:12:00.000-08:00

October 18th, 2008 was the big 10 Year Hughson High School Reunion for Ryan!!! (GO HUSKIES!!!)

With high school being one of Ryan's fondest memories there was no question that we would make the trip (not to mention that even if it meant driving all the way to Cali, it was worth it to be able to go on a date). It was a lot of fun, great food, fun pics from back in the day to look at, and lots of reminiscing going on. Although we were missing a lot of Ryan's close friends we were glad we made the trip! Below are some pics from the reunion and our visit to the pumpkin patch!

Lys said she wanted the Biggest horse they had!! (mind u this was her 1st time on a horse ever, brave girl)
Lys is trying to figure out how to feed her sister to the giant wooden pumpkin thing.Bella had a great time on her pony ride!!! (do you see the sheer terror?)

At gram's house, this is how we found them sleeping after coming in to check on them.

Pumpkin patch!Reunion pics

Sorry this is pretty pointless its very hard to see anyone but what the hey!

More reunion pics......(you can't really see it very well but the guy in the white shirt had the coolest mustache ever!)

True story!

2008-11-16T22:43:00.001-08:00

These are our pics from one of the last races we ran which was the Oregon State Fair Run in August which includes free admission to the fair and a shirt. Who can pass that up right? Even though you are all sweaty its a good time for the whole fam!!! So I felt like I prepared harder for this race than I had in comparison to other races I had run over the summer and really wanted to see what I was made of so.......I lined up along side Joel who is faster than lightning and took off trying to keep up with him at the start which was almost painful in a way just getting the breathing figured out at that pace, once I allowed myself to slow down I was doing alright and clipping along at a decent pace, Ryan was somewhere behind pushing the girls in the double stroller (which is so fun and I have such an awesome hubby to do that.....you rock honey!!!) anyway, on the homestretch of this 5k I felt people steadily start to pass me at which point I was muttering things of a competitive nature that I cannot repeat about the people passing me which surprised me because typically I'm a little more tolerant. I rounded the last corner and was soooo happy in seeing the finish line just down the stretch, so I turned it on, I really wanted 1st in my age group (when I have placed it's always been 3rd place, it's tough though all these other 30-somethings really have something to prove, I guess :) anyway I could feel someone right on my heels so I gave it all I had and as I exerted that extra bit of energy I could feel leaking and I realized I was peeing myself . (This was horrific and I immediately attributed it to birthing two babies ) However, as a 30-something myself with everything to prove I ignored it and carried on through the finish line with a small trickle of pee running down my leg and you better believe I beat that guy that was right on my tail (good thing I had dark shorts on)!!! I am proud to say I finished that 5k with a Personal Best time of just around 25 min. and I placed.......(you guessed it) 3rd!!! And my amazing double stroller pushing husband pulled in around 28 min. and placed.....3rd in his age division. What a stud I was so very proud of him especially since with the stroller & girls it tacks on an extra 70 lbs to his 250 he's already carrying. We each got a ribbon and finished off the morning with the fair which the girls absolutely loved! I'd like Joel to know if he reads this how very appreciative we are for running this with us just to try to win some Doodle Bop tickets for our girls. And this was the day before he and Lisa went on their month long amazing journey through Europe. (Last year Joel ran so fast and won like 6 tickets to any concert of his choosing at the fair but for some reason they didn't have the rockin prizes like they did last year just some weird black hats with a catchy "NO METH" slogan on them for the big winners woohoo!!)

Hi Ho Silver..........and away!!!!
Our Cheerleaders!!

The Crew (Joel, Bella boo, Ry, Lys, and me) post race

Bella and a cute little mini horse at the fair (just her size)!

Bella's my cautious baby she doesn't like riding on the horses yet!
How cute are they?!?!?

My Two Dorothy's

2008-11-10T22:23:00.001-08:00

Here are the chick-a-deez dressed as Dorothy's. Bella insisted on being Dorothy after figuring out that's what Lys was gonna be. They looked super cute and we sprayed sparkles in their hair. This was a super fun Halloween. We crashed our old ward's Halloween party cuz for some reason our ward's not hip on the Halloween action yet, which is all good (we're a new ward so still lots of kinks to work out). But that was fun and we took the chicks trick -or- treating at the mall and in the sweet neighborhood where they hand out the full size candy bars so they did quite well for a being 2 and 3(and so did mom and dad), we just shared a large snickers from one of there baskets a few minutes ago!!! The weather was AWESOME, best weather I can remember for Halloween in a super long time.....no rain, and almost 60 degrees!

Our girlies
In case you can't read Ry's shirt it says "You can't scare me I have daughters"

Some nice TMNT artwork on Ry's face by one of his former seminary students

Waiting in line for the goods at the mall

Ahhhh...There's no place like home!

My Sweet Bella's Birthday

2008-11-02T22:16:00.000-08:00

This is my sweet 2 year old Baby Bella in all of her Birthday glory and (sister in the background claiming her stake on one of Bella's gifts from Mom and Dad). I love my sweet Bella soooo much she is a joy to our family and makes us laugh constantly. Her favorite new word is Wookit and she has recently taken on an English accent which is hysterical. She wants to do everything Alyssa does and they are truly best friends it is a beautiful thing to witness the love between sisters.

Mommy loves you Bella, here is a shot from our Chuck-E-Cheese Birthday Extravaganza!!!

Such a big girl now and yes that is the same birthday hat from the year before I'm from Eugene, I recycle, that's what we do.

Bella's 1st B-day!!! I'm also trying to show off my cake decorating attempts

Fiesty from the get go!! Bella just a couple days old!

New Talent Discovered!

2008-10-28T14:33:00.000-07:00

So our friend Keith Halladay in our ward offered to take some pics of our fam and so we let him :) and he was FANTASTIC!!!! Since we've never had a 1 year pic of Bella we figured it was high time to go for it. We love Keith and the awesome job he did and believe he is Albany's newest up and coming Photographer!! GO Keith!!!!!! Here are some of the beautiful pics he took!

Catch up.

2008-10-21T22:11:00.000-07:00

This is my oldest child declaring war on everyone smaller than him......
This is our departing photo op of all the cousins from our Reunion 08 at Bear Lake
Hey sometimes $#@* happens!
My oldest is learning the fine art of being a true lady!!!
Aunt D with Lys and Olivia tooo cute!!

SUMMERTIME HIGHLIGHTS!!!!

2008-08-11T22:20:00.000-07:00

Alyssa walking the plankLearning the art of floating :)
Cheeese!!!
Miss Bella boo stealing sis's flip flops

The girls in their new Princess sleeping bags on their 1st camping trip together!!!
Sweet Daddy
We had so much fun on this trip to Detroit Lake!
Alyssa and Gweni Ward at swim lessons......ah sweet friends :)
More pics of the gang from swim lessons!!! Swim Lessons are always so much fun!!

Visiting friends on their birthday. Happy B-day Mal!
An awesome visit from Papa! The girls sure love their Papa
This is our crew (Lisa, Joel, Ry, Alys, and Me)

after the annual Butte to Butte 10K on the 4th of July!!

Interesting pillows Alyssa has found........

Also please note the wonderful shirts my dear friend Lisa

hunted down and purchased for all of us they are from the

Office (Rabies Awareness) episode one of our faves!!!! Thought you might want to see this twice I love my Sis

Sweet Sisters
CHeeeeeese!
Bella trying to talk Alyssa out of getting married at such a young age
Third place ribbon in my "age group (30-34)" hmmm.... for the Silver Falls 5k trail challenge

Can anyone guess what movie this is from?!?!?!

2008-08-06T22:10:00.000-07:00

JIM 5K IN MAY

2008-08-04T22:51:00.000-07:00

Ready to Roll!!!
Me and Lisa just after the finish line of the JIM 5k back in May
The Whole Crew!! (from left) Stacey, Lisa, Andrea, My Bro Justin, Bella,

Alyssa and Ryan! This was a fun run down in Eugene and it was for a great cause too!

A Day with the Ducks!!!!

2008-05-20T22:22:00.000-07:00

An and the girls balancing.........
Dad and Lyss
Little Lady :)
The other little lady :)

Easter 08

2008-04-09T21:18:00.001-07:00

We had a wonderful Easter !

Bella Boo, Ry, Uncle Jack, and Alyssa on their way in to the Annual Elks Lodge Egg Hunt!!

The Happy chicks with their loot!!

Ryan, Uncle Jack, Alyss, Belli, and Annie

Bella -n- Mom catching a snuggle

Bella, Mom, and Lys after church and chocolate.......(can you tell Bella's ready for her nap)?

The Ladies!

VACA (cont.)

2008-04-01T00:05:00.001-07:00

So we went on vacation and it was heaven! The girls got to stay and play with their grandparents in Cali while Ry and I continued on to sunny Arizona for a few days of R & R with Ryan's company Federated Insurance! Ryan worked soooo hard to earn this trip with the help of his boss Luke and ended up earning it in a record amount of time. I am so very proud of his hard work and efforts and am grateful every day that I am married to him. It was very exciting as we sat at the awards ceremony the morning after we arrived and realized the crazy potential there is with this company, we are so happy to be a part of the Federated family and are thankful every day that we've been blessed with such a wonderful opportunity.

So our trip consisted of a beautiful resort called "The Phoenician" where we laid by the pool, read, got a tan, golfed, napped, played volleyball, tennis, visited the spa daily, danced, and ate wonderful food. We've decided it is something we would like to make a regular habbit out of!! Andrea did have a tought time settling into the whole vacation mode early on thinking the girls were going to have such a rough time of it without her but sadly they did not! They had a ball with Grammy Marty, Kent, and Poppa who spoiled them rotten as they bowled, went to the fun zone, played with cousins, did arts and crafts with Gram, and attempted to go fishing with Poppa!! Once mommy spoke with Alyssa on the phone and asked" Alyss do you miss mommy or not really?" and Lys said back "Not really.........but I do", then she decided it was okay to let her hair down and have a great time. Here are a few fun memories from our trip!

Bella Boo just waking up on the way to the Sacramento Airport!

Chillaxin before the party
also chillaxin on the way to the SAC Airport
The landscape was beautiful this was right outside our room!Ry's new girl

VACATION (March 08)

2008-03-31T23:47:00.000-07:00

Steady there Big Boy!
Ry and Lukeeee
Soooo fun! Our southwestern company party
Watch out baby it's loaded
There's a new sherriff in town

Angel face

2008-03-30T22:40:00.000-07:00

SNOW DAY!!!!!

2008-01-30T22:03:00.000-08:00

Jumping for Joy
Trekking to church in the snow
Mom and the girls
This is all she wanted to do.......... what a sweet little snow angel!

They were really upset to see the white stuff falling!!!

Pizza King 1/11/08

2008-01-23T23:16:00.000-08:00

Then on Friday is when the party really got crack-a-lackin at Pizza King. Holy cow I think 1/4 of Albany's kids were there having birthday parties that night because that place was packed up in there. The face painting was a big hit with most of the chicks attending. Some were afraid of the clown and understandably so. So in spite of having to leave the party (because of the soda spillage on the birthday girl) for a wardrobe change and almost losing the baby it was a good time had by most! No, truly we had a blast and love and appreciate all our friends who were there. We love our Alyssa soooooo much and can't believe she is 3. Such a great helper to mom, smart, warm, caring, and full of energy. She is a joy in our home!!!!!!

Alyssa's 3rd Birthday!! 1/10/08

2008-01-23T22:51:00.000-08:00

We had a great time with Alyssa's B-day!! Seems like she's been 3 forever already for some reason......hmmm. Mommy and baby Bella got to attend pre-school with Lys on her birthday and disrupt the class the whole time we were there which was fun!!! We brought princess cupcakes and shared them with the class and Alyssa felt very special on her big day! We love our girl