The Parks

Halloween 2010

2010-11-03T08:07:00.000-07:00

This Halloween we went to a Fall Festival at Ryan's school where they boys got to do pumpkin bowling, tossing the bean bags into the pumpkin and ghost, play in the bouncy house, get pictures taken, do a cupcake walk, dig for buried treasure, trick or treat, and lots of other fun things. Later that night we went to our church for our ward trunk or treat. The boys had a blast and got a lot of candy, of course. It was a great Halloween except that the boys got sick on Halloween day but we had our trick or treating done by then so it all worked out.

It's been awhile....

2010-05-28T15:29:00.000-07:00

So it's been quite awhile since my last post. Since then a lot has happened and there is no way I could possible tell you everything so I will just sum it up. In March we took a trip to Utah. I had a wedding cake that I made and just made a long trip out of it. Ryan came the end of the month for his spring break and we spent Easter there and celebrated Rafe's 3rd birthday with my family and Ryan and I celebrated our 7 year anniversary. We had a great time there and we did a lot!! In April, we celebrated Rafe's birthday with his friends here in Colorado. Rafe started gymnastics and he LOVES it! He loves his coach and loves doing flips, a.k.a., front and back rolls. Ryan continued to study and work hard in school and did AWESOME!! May has come and is almost gone. Ryan finished his last semester of his 2nd year of Med. School and, like I said before, he did AWESOME!! We are so proud of him! He has been taking a Kaplan course to help prepare for the Boards, which he will be taking on June 14th. He just took a practice Boards test yesterday and did really well on it. He was very happy with his score. His Kaplan course ended yesterday and so now he has a few weeks to study study study until he takes the actual Boards test. Finn is growing so fast and in a month will be one year old. I can't believe it!!! This past year has gone by faster than I could have imagined. Finn is almost walking and is starting to say words. He says, "Hi!" to everyone and is learning and developing so well. I have been continuing to run when I can and still plan on running my first 5K. I just have to choose which race I want to run. I have a new found love in running.....which is so weird because my whole life, I've never cared to run long distances. I was mostly a sprinter but I very much enjoy running with my boys. So that is it for now. I will try to be better at posting more frequently.

My Handsom Boys!

2010-02-17T20:22:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since my last post and we have been busy busy busy. Ryan is doing excellent in school and me and the boys are trying to stay busy. Ryan is preparing for the Boards in June along with his normal studies for this semester. He is very dedicated and it is paying off. He is doing very well in school! I had a great birthday surprise from Ryan. He bought me a ticket to Utah for my 29th birthday and it was filled with events that he planned for me. So I packed up the boys and off we went. I loved being able to celebrate my birthday with my Mom and to be with my family. We had a wonderful Christmas break and enjoyed our time with Ryan between semesters. My sister came to visit for a weekend in January and we went to two Colorado Eagles hockey games and stayed the night in Loveland/Ft. Collins. Jess' good friend, Mike Mole is the goalie for the Eagles so he got us tickets and we went to a couple of his games. We had a BLAST!!! Rafe loves hockey and Finn enjoyed it too. They both dance to the music that was playing and just had a great time. My sister has me hooked now. I really enjoy watching hockey. I had never been to a game until last December when we went to see the Utah Grizzlies play. It's awesome and so now I look forward to watching USA's hockey team play in the Olympics more than before.

My friend, Jamie Fitzgerald, took these beautiful pictures of Rafe and Finn for practice and she did a FANTASTIC job!!

Thanksgiving week!

2009-11-29T15:47:00.000-08:00

For Thanksgiving this year my Brother, Jed, his wife, TomiLee, their little boy, Sawyer, my Mom and Dad, and my Brother, Jordan all came to stay with us and have Thanksgiving together. It was so nice having family here for Thanksgiving. We went ice skating at an outdoor skating rink in Lakewood and had such a fun time. Rafe was a little hesitant at first, but once he was on the ice, he was loving it and didn't want to stop. We then went to one of my all time favorite restaurants, The Cheesecake Factory. Yu-um!

The next day we drove up to Winter Park Resort. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful drive. The kids got to play in the snow and loved it!

Rafe and cousin Sawyer got to color a giant turkey that our friend Taylor Weitzeil made for my mom to bring. We used it for the Turkey shoot on T-Day. It was a hit!

Rafe sporting his Turkey hat that Grama La-Li brought for him and one for Sawyer Doodle. Now he is ready for the turkey shoot and the prizes he got for each shot.

Finn also got a chance to shoot for his prizes and he was a natural. All I did was position his hands and then.........(notice the orange dart in the second picture down....) Now you see it.....

Now you don't!!! He shot it on his own! He literally pulled the trigger all by himself. I was so surprised! What a little stud!

Cutest little Turkeys EVER!!!

Pa and La-Li with their grandies. The boys LOVED being with them!!! They all had such a fun time. I'm very grateful for my family and that they could come and be with us for Thanksgiving. I'm very thankful for my amazing husband and all of his hard work and love for us. I'm so very grateful to be a mother to two of the sweetest and cutest boys. I love my three boys very much and am thankful for the joy and happiness they bring to my life.

Halloween!!

2009-11-02T20:42:00.000-08:00

Woody, Momma Angel, and my little Giraffe at the Halloween lunch at Ryan's school. They provided a lunch and had a costume contest and then we got to take the kids trick or treating through all of the offices.

Rafe had a blast trick or treating. He knew exactly what to do. He would run from house to house. This picture of him holding Ryan's hand was a one time thing....we couldn't contain the energy. He would go up to the doors, say "Trick or Treat" and then try to go inside the house. He even trick or treated the same house twice within a minutes time. He definitely knows what Trick or Treating is all about. It was so fun watching him! We could barely keep up with him.

Good Times...

2009-10-29T15:50:00.000-07:00

We went to Nick's Farmer's Market and picked pumpkins and then had a great time carving them on one of Ryan's snow days. On the night of the first snow day, Ryan and I went to see WICKED and LOVED IT!!! It was so awesome!! I have wanted to see this for years and I am so glad they came to Denver so we could. The next day, another snow day. So we were so lucky to be able to have Ryan home two days in a row. We went to our friends home and the kids went sledding and we had hot chocolate and just hung out with all of our friends and had a good time. We have over 24 inches of snow and it's still snowing. Driving around in it is exciting. So after our fun time with friends, Ryan and Rafe had a great time playing in the snow. I can't believe all of this snow. We didn't get anything close to this last winter.......and it's not even winter yet. It's been fun to see Rafe playing in it and have a good time.

2009-10-08T14:33:00.001-07:00

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My little soldier and smiley boy.

2009-10-08T14:06:00.001-07:00

Ryan had a military symposium one day and was dressed in his blues and when he came home we put his hat on Rafe and taught him how to salute. It was so cute! Finn has been a smiley baby from the day he was born and he smiles more and more each day. He is such a happy baby. I am so blessed to have such wonderful boys and I love them so much!

Aurora Reservoir

2009-09-13T11:41:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday we went to the Aurora Reservoir for our play date. We had so much fun and it was so beautiful. I felt like I was in a different state, maybe Maine, although I've never been there before. It had a nice breeze, clear clean water, and beautiful buildings that where white with blue shutters. Rafe had so much fun playing in the sand and swimming in the water. Thanks Jill for introducing us to this beautiful place.

Finn's Baby Blessing

2009-09-10T11:37:00.000-07:00

The Garden of the Guys...I mean Gods

Rafe got to see Bob the Builder at Elitch

Finn's first Carousel ride

We were so blessed to have so many family and friends at Finn's Baby Blessing. My Mom, Dad, Grama J, Jess, and Jordan drove from Utah. It was so fun having them here with us. We went to Six Flags Elitch Gardens and had a great time there as well as went to the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. It was hard to say goodbye as always but we enjoyed their company. We are extremely blessed to have little Finn in our lives and part of our family. He is such a sweetheart and a little angel. We all love him very much. Rafe loves his little brother so much. I have two great little boys and a WONDERFUL husband!

Finn's Baby Blessing Photo

2009-08-31T08:04:00.001-07:00

Finn Michael Parks

To Be Blessed Sunday September 6, 2009

Strawberry Thief

2009-08-17T18:52:00.000-07:00

I was feeding Finn one afternoon and I had cut some strawberries up for Rafe to have with his lunch and left the rest on the counter. Well, I was tied down feeding Finn and then I noticed this hand reaching up to the counter and snatching strawberries and then the whole container was pulled off onto the floor. I went into the kitchen and saw this.....

My Boys!

2009-08-10T09:00:00.000-07:00

Rafe loves to hold his baby brother and give him lots of loves and helps momma take good care of him.

Summer Vacation

2009-08-06T09:21:00.000-07:00

Rafe and Dad roasting marshmellos

Finn's little sleeping nook. He probably slept the best out of all of us.

Good Ol' Faithful

Rafe LOVED his smores!

Funniest picture EVER!

Hiding under a tree to get our of the rain at Hidden Falls

We got soaked hiking to Hidden Falls by Jenny Lake but my little Man stayed nice and dry and warm. He was my little heater.

Dragon's Mouth

Rafe took his cousin Sawyer's hand and walked over to play in the water. It was the cutest thing ever!

Over the 24th we went on a summer vacation with my family. My parents rented a large motorhome and my family, with the exception of Logan, Amanda, Jed, and Landon, went to Jackson Hole and Yellowstone. We had a good time and saw so much beautiful country. It was the first time we had all of the little cousins together. Evin, Sawyer, Rafe, and Finn all had a chance to play with each other and get to know each other. We went to see the Bar J Ranglers and loved it like we always do. We saw the Mud Volcano, Dragon's Mouth, and Old Faithful. We went and saw Lower Falls and a bunch of other parts of the river. And of course we saw the only thing Rafe cared to see......."BUFF-I-LO." It was a beautiful as it always is. While we were in Utah my Grama Smith had a Great Grandson picnic at the park. It was so much fun being with family. Finn was a great little traveler. We were on the road a lot and he was a little trooper.

Baby Announcement

2009-07-12T11:16:00.000-07:00

Finn Michael Parks

2009-06-30T20:36:00.001-07:00

Finn Michael Parks arrived at 7:02 am on June 30th 2009. He weighed 6 lbs 7 oz and measured 19 3/4 inches. He had to be taken by an emergency C Section due to the umbilical cord around his neck, causing his vitals to lower dramatically during each contraction and when Lacey would push. The placenta had separated and ruptured, so it was good that they did the C Section. He is a strong and healthy little boy doing great! Mom is doing great as well. Finn is a quick learner, much quicker than his older brother, Rafe, as he is breastfeeding like a champ.

Aerospace Medicine Training in San Antonio

2009-06-29T08:35:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to let everyone know about the Air Force training I just completed in San Antonio. I was stationed at Brook’s Air Force Base in San Antonio for two weeks, where I did Aerospace Medicine training. Actually, it was more of an introduction/sales pitch to get us interested in becoming Flight Surgeons. A Flight Surgeon is a doctor for a specific Flight Squadron. You are that squadron’s only doc, so you would be responsible for everyone in that squadron, plus their families. If they get deployed, then you would go with them. You would fly in any aircraft that they fly in. So, you could be assigned to an F-16 Flight Squadron, C-130, C-17, etc. It will depend on what you can physically handle. If you can’t handle all the G forces that an F-16 pilot has to experience during combat maneuvering, then you would be assigned to a C-130 Flight Squadron or something similar. A Flight Surgeon is considered the top of the medical profession in the Air Force.
At my training, I had a lot of fun. I flew a T-38, which is the training aircraft for pilots, in a flight simulator. So, not the actual thing, but pretty close to it. I took off, flew around a bit, and then landed the plane. The simulator was set up like an actual cockpit of a T-38. I was also able to use the parachute simulator. They drop you at an altitude of 5000 feet, and you have a target on the ground that you should aim for. Through the helmet that I wore, I could see that I was falling but without the sensation of it, and I knew where my target was. You can actually steer the parachute. The coolest, but also most physically challenging part of the training was the centrifuge. The centrifuge is a machine that spins you around while sitting in a pod that is setup as an aircraft cockpit. You can’t see out of it. They first had me do a gradual increase up to 5 G’s while staying relaxed, and then brought it to a stop. Then I went straight to 3 G’s and held it for 15 seconds and stopped. Finally, I went straight to 5 G’s and held it for 30 seconds. The gradual increase was the hardest because I was relaxed the whole time, and wasn’t allowed to use the techniques I learned to help prevent decreased blood flow to the brain. I had tunnel vision, and felt like I was going to lose my vision, or in other words go to sleep, but I didn’t. In the fast ascent to 3 G’s and 5 G’s I was able to use the straining technique and breathing technique which allowed better blood flow to the brain, so my vision was normal and I felt fine except for the weight from the G’s of course. I have video of it, so I will try to make it available for you all to watch. It’s kind of funny to watch.
Another neat experience was our tour at the Brooke’s Army Medical Center (BAMC). This is where a lot of the injured soldiers from Iraq go to recover. I was able to meet some of them and it was a humbling experience. One soldier had burn scars all over his body and if you saw a picture of him before the injury you wouldn’t even know it was him. Everywhere I turned there were soldiers with missing limbs. These people are truly heroes. The majority of the patients are from 18-25 yrs of age. Twenty percent of injured soldiers go back to the field. Others would go if they could but their injuries are too severe. The facilities at this Medical Center are amazing. They have technology that nobody else has. It is used to get these injured soldiers back to or close to a normal life.
My second Monday there, we went by bus to Houston (3-4 hrs away) to tour NASA. We were able to see how the astronauts train, we saw the Mission Control Centers that were in the movies: Apollo 13, Armageddon, etc. (Houston we have a problem!). People were working at those desks and talking w/astronauts at the Space Station. We saw them on their big screen floating around doing their work. Air Force docs can also work for NASA and be assigned to a group of astronauts and go to space with them. Cool stuff! Some of the other things we went over in the training were: how to transfer injured soldiers from the field onto ambulances and aircrafts, we went in an altitude chamber and wore the helmets and oxygen masks that pilots wear and experienced scenarios that pilots might, such as a hole in the plane causing rapid depressurization. Overall, the training was very informative and it gave us a taste of what it would be like to be a Flight Surgeon.
In the evenings and on the weekend I was able to see some of the tourist sites, such as the Alamo and the Riverwalk. I went tubing down the Comal River, and went to SeaWorld for free (Military gets in for free at SeaWorld and at Busch Gardens).

Centrifuge

2009-06-28T18:07:00.000-07:00

Gradual ascent to 5 G's

Rapid ascent to 3 G's for 15 seconds

Rapid ascent to 5 G's for 30 seconds

Altitude Chamber

2009-06-28T17:53:00.001-07:00

See if you can find me!

NASA

2009-06-28T17:47:00.000-07:00

This is the Mission Control Center used for the Apollo 13 mission
Mission Control Center used today

The Alamo

2009-06-28T17:40:00.000-07:00

From left to right: Lt. Ellis, Lt. Hu, Lt. Parks, Lt. Bernardo, & Lt. Thordal

Parachute Simulator

2009-06-28T17:30:00.000-07:00

What a Friday!...

2009-06-28T15:13:00.000-07:00

So Friday was a big day.....emotionally. First I had my Dr. appointment at 1:00. I went in for another ultra sound and fetal monitoring to check my fluid level. We did the ultra sound first and found out that baby flipped and is now breech. I felt him flip Wednesday night but didn't know that's what was happening at the time. My whole stomach was cramped and I could barely move and I had no idea what was going on inside. Come to find out....he flipped. So my Dr. went over a few different scenarios as to what could happen. She told me of a position to get in and have Ryan massage and help coax baby the turn back. If he doesn't flip back then we would schedule to go into the hospital and have the Dr. try to flip him back and in the event of distress would do an emergency c-section. If baby does flip, then we would probably schedule an inducement to get him out in case he tried to flip again. If he doesn't flip and everything is fine, we will just schedule a c-section. So after finding this out, I talked to Ryan and then later found out that his plane was delayed a few hours due to mechanical problems and that they were trying to fix it. So after almost two weeks of him being gone, his return was anything but quick. In fact, his flight ended up being canceled and he was put on the waiting list for the next flight out but there was only one seat available and that was given to someone else so he got bumped to fly out the next morning. After the news of the baby and then not getting Ryan back until the next day, I was pretty emotional. But he is home safe now and we are still working on getting this little guy to flip back. But I'm thinking it's not going to happen and I am preparing myself for the news of a c-section. I will keep you all posted.

April-May trip to Utah

2009-06-23T13:47:00.000-07:00

Napping with Pa!

Uncle Oozie's Graduation from Snow College

Evin, Logan, Me, Jordan (aka Ooze), and Jess

Dinner at the Garden Room at the Joseph Smith Building

Grama Hoo Hoo, Grama La-Li, and Little Honey at Temple Square with the beautiful flowers.

Four Generations!!

Hogle Zoo and the Black Bear Exhibit

Rafe and cousin Evin at the Dinosaur Park.

Yummy, yummy ice cream at Macey's Grocery Store after the Dinosaur Park.

Beautiful Thanksgiving Point during the Tulip Festival.

These are pictures of our last trip to Utah. My camera wasn't working so I had to have my mom email pictures to me. So for those of you who have requested pregnant pictures, here ya go. Now, I'm a lot bigger now that I'm 11 days from my due date but you can imagine what I currently look like based on these pictures from April and May. My camera still doesn't have batteries. Rafe lost them so I have to buy new ones.

Catching up...

2009-06-12T17:56:00.000-07:00

"Long Neck"

T-Rex!!

T-Rex trying to eat Rafe

Rafe loved the "Buff-i-lo"

The Garden of the Gods

It's been awhile since I've posted anything on here so let me do some catching up. A few weekends ago we went down to Colorado Springs and walked around this place called The Garden of the Gods. It reminded me a lot of Southern Utah. It was very beautiful and a nice little walk. Ryan finished his first year of Med School on June 9th and I am so proud of him. He worked so hard and did very well. This week we took Rafe to the Denver Nature and Science Museum. Rafe and I had been once before but this time we were able to take Ryan with us. Rafe loves to see all of the animals and, of course, the Dinosaurs. We have loved having Ryan all to ourselves these past few days but won't get him for long. He leaves Sunday morning, early, to San Antonio, TX for Air Force Medicine Training for two weeks. We will miss him on Father's Day again but are very proud of all he does.

Yesterday I had a Dr.'s appointment and everything is on track for July 4th. Baby is doing well. They did an ultra sound and at this point he is measuring 6 lbs 12 oz, which is already bigger than Rafe was when he was born. She said his head is very large....."off the charts" she said....."I don't even have a number for how big it is". "His torso is good in size which means he'll be at least 8 lbs." So this "little" guy will be good sized, I guess. My amniotic fluid level is on the higher end. 21 to 22 is considered high and I'm at 19.8 something. So they are going to keep an eye on it to make sure everything is ok. I'm not worried because I had TONS with Rafe. I'm just an amniotic producing momma. But she said if it gets to a point where she feels it's something to worry about she will induce me any time as soon as next week. I told her, "I hope not because Ryan leaves Sunday for two weeks." She said that if it keeps going up but everything is fine, then she will just let me go on my own. But I haven't dropped yet and I'm, once again, completely closed. Not dilated one bit. So that leads me to believe it won't happen while Ryan is gone. Let's keep our fingers crossed. I'll keep you all posted.

Easter!

2009-04-15T14:05:00.000-07:00

On Saturday before Easter, we took Rafe to an Easter Egg Hunt at the park down town. It was his first real Easter Egg Hunt and he caught on really fast. He had so much fun picking up the eggies and putting them in his basket. That night he got sick with a fever and was sick for Easter Sunday. But we still had an Easter Egg Hunt in the house for him. He had a good Easter, regardless of being sick.

Rafe's 2nd Birthday!

2009-04-10T13:48:00.000-07:00

Rafe turned 2 on April 8th. My Parents and Grama J came out from Utah to celebrate his birthday with us. We had his birthday party with a Cars/Lightning McQueen Theme the Saturday before while family was in town. It was a great party and we enjoyed spending time with family and friends. Thank you all for coming and celebrating Rafe's birthday with us. On his actual birthday we had a little birthday celebration with me, Ryan, and, Rafe and I made him another cake. Can't get enough cake!

6th Year Anniversary!

2009-04-06T14:02:00.000-07:00

Ryan and I just celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary, April 3rd. It's crazy how fast time goes by. We went to eat at that Grand Lux Cafe because we love it there and wanted my Dad, Mom, and Grama J to experience it. They flew into town on the 2nd for Rafe's 2nd Birthday Party. We had a good day. Ryan only had school until 10am and then he and my dad were off to go golfing while me, my Mom, Grama J, and Rafe went shopping and made Rafe's Birthday cake. That evening is when we met at the Grand Lux Cafe for a nice dinner. I love Ryan so much and can't believe how lucky I am to have him in my life. He is a great husband and father and I am so proud of him and all of his hard work. I love you Ryan!

Spring Break!!

2009-03-24T15:41:00.000-07:00

So for Ryan's spring break we decided kinda last minute to go to Utah. We couldn't find the sense in paying a ton of money on airfare to go somewhere warmer like Florida, as much as we would have loved to go there. We had a great time in Utah. Ryan went golfing a few times with my Dad and brother, Logan. I got to go to 3 of my friends baby showers, which I am so glad I didn't miss. We played at the park a lot and had a few picnics, celebrated my nephew, Evin's, 4th birthday, went to the Clark Planetarium with Grama and Evin, and spend a lot of time with family and friends. I got to spend a day with my sister that I love so much! Rafe loves his Aunt Sissy! We look like twins with our short hair cuts. As long as the drive was, it was worth it! It was a well needed break for both Ryan and I.

Dodgeball Champs!!

2009-03-22T16:26:00.000-07:00

Ryan and a group of his friends from school get together every week on Wednesday nights to play dodgeball at the church. It's a nice way to take out some aggression from school. Well, a guy on their team entered them into a Dodgeball Tournament. There were 16 teams and it was double elimination. They had won every game but one and because they lost one it put them in the losers bracket causing them to play the same team they lost to again. They ended up winning against that team and that sent them onto the championship game against a team that was undefeated. They had to play two series of games, best out of 5 and they had to win them both in order to be the champions. They did and it was so much fun to watch them. We were so proud!

Ryan's Birthday!

2009-03-11T12:26:00.001-07:00

Ryan had his birthday this past Monday. He had school until around 3:00 and then for dinner we went to the Grand Lux Cafe which was delicious. After dinner we came home and had ice cream cake that I made for him and opened his birthday present. It was a nice evening and Rafe loved the cake.

Uh Oh, Tractor Pa!

2009-02-20T11:28:00.000-08:00

My mom sent us a video of my dad plowing tons of snow on his tractor. Rafe LOVES to ride on the tractor with Pa and so he loved watching this video of Pa. When the video would end he would become so concerned that Pa disappeared. All he would say over and over again was, "Oh No, Pa!!! Tractor, Pa? Pa, Tractor? Uh Oh, Pa!" It was the funniest thing the first time he watched it. My mom and I were laughing so hard. This is a more mild version of him watching Pa on the Tractor.

IT'S GOING TO BE A BOY!!!

2009-02-10T08:32:00.001-08:00

We went to the Dr. yesterday and I was thinking we were going to have a girl but based on that thought I had a feeling it was going to be a boy just because I felt Rafe was going to be a girl. The second the Dr. started the ultra sound she said, "Oh, it's a BOY! 100% Boy!" I was kind of surprised but in a good way. Ryan had a feeling it was going to be a boy. So we are pleased to annouce that we are having our second boy. Rafe is excited to be a big brother. We asked him before we went to the Dr. if we wanted a brother or a sister and he said, "Bother". So a "Bother" he will have and his name is going to be Finn Michael Parks.

Hmmmm.....

2009-02-04T07:32:00.000-08:00

Humoring Rafe by wearing his superhero pajamas on our heads. All Rafe's idea. He likes us to wear his clothes in our heads for some reason. Once again.....Silly Little Bean Head. First picture of me since I chopped my hair off in New Years Eve.

Fashion Statement!

2009-01-27T19:03:00.000-08:00

Rafe was setting a new fashion statement. Diaper and Lightning McQueen shoes. Silly Little Bean Head.

Martin Luther King Day Weekend.

2009-01-19T14:44:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a nice long weekend with Ryan so we took advantage of that. Saturday we had such nice weather that we decided to pack up a lunch and take a walk in a really nice neighborhood in Parker. We looked at so many nice homes and there were a few for sale that were 6.2 million + dollars. These houses were huge and we had a really nice walk together with Rafe. Then after that we went for a drive to Castle Rock while Rafe napped in the car. He fell asleep eating his Cheetos. His hand was still in the bag. It was so funny.

Then today we went to the Denver Zoo. It was even nicer weather then Saturday. It was in the 60's and so nice to be outside enjoying it. Rafe loved the Zoo and especially the Zebras. We call them striped Ahsti's because he calls all horses Ahsti (one of my mom's horses). It was a great day and we had so much fun at the Zoo.

Fun over the Break!

2009-01-14T11:48:00.000-08:00

The day after Christmas we left to go to Utah for a visit. The flight was a rough one for me. I was very sick on the way to the airport and felt like I was going to lose it at any second. Every smell was getting to me and I was able to wait until we got to our gate. Once there I ran to the bathroom and vomited. After that, I felt much better but once we got on the plane....it hit me again and I couldn't get up because we were taking off. There was so much turbulence because we were flying into a storm that once it started I grabbed my barf bag and lost it. I can now say I know someone that has had to use a barf bag on an airplane.....Me! It was pretty embarrassing but thank goodness it was noisy because no one heard me. Ryan couldn't even hear me. I was miserable for 24 hours but then was much better. It was great to see my family and be with them. While we were there we were able to see some of our dear friends that we love and miss so much! We had a great time. Rafe got to ride on the tractor with Pa and plow lots of snow with him. He even fell asleep on the tractor. We had such a fun time and it was a great break for both of us. I have been very spoiled these past 5 months. I have been able to see my family each month since September. We have been lucky enough to find some cheap airfare and Rafe is still free so we've been taking advantage of that. From this point on, it will be few and far in between with my visits to my family. But Rafe and I have been blessed to see them as much as we have.
Ryan started school this past Monday and so far so good. So now it's back to the grind. I am so extremely proud of him and his hard work. He is doing a great job in school and has balanced his time very well to be able to spend time with Rafe and I. He is an amazing man and I am so lucky and blessed to have him in my life.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

2009-01-10T13:36:00.001-08:00

Christmas Eve we had a nice time. We had some friends over and had yummy finger foods and played games until it was time to get ready for Santa to come. After they left we had Rafe open his Christmas pajamas. Rafe got Super Hero jammies and he loves them. Once we got him all ready for bed we read the Nativity story from the scriptures and then it was time for bed. Christmas morning about 7am we heard from the family room, "Mama, TRACTOR!" We got out of bed and went in to see what Santa had brought Rafe. It was his very own tractor that he could ride. He was sitting on it in the tree because it was so close to the tree. He was so excited!! He got so many neat things from Santa, Mom and Dad, and from other family members. He got giant building blocks, lots of puzzles and books, a race track with cars, a space backpack, lots of clothes, and CANDY from his stocking. He had so much fun playing with all of his toys. He would put them in the scoop and/or trailer of his tractor and haul them all over the house. It was so fun to watch him. His nap was so short because he was so excited to play with his toys. Ahh Christmas as a kid.....what great times.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

2008-12-16T13:41:00.000-08:00

Rafe loves Gin-gi from Shrek as well as all of the other characters and I love gingerbread men and have since I was a little girl so I thought it only appropriate to make them and decorate them together. Rafe did a great job helping Mom decorate them and then would immediately lick their faces off and eat them. We had so much fun together making our Gin-gi's. And the cutest part was Rafe in one of my aprons. So stinkin cute!

More Twilight!!.....I just can't get enough.

2008-12-12T18:59:00.001-08:00

La, me, and Amanda with our goodie bags. As happy as little clams in our Twilight world.

2008-12-12T18:57:00.000-08:00

Jess and I, dressed to impress.......uh.....Edward?.....Nope, not so much.

2008-12-12T18:53:00.000-08:00

My sister-in-law, Amanda, and I anxiously awaiting the time we get to go into the theater.

Catching up...

2008-12-07T20:58:00.000-08:00

Since my last entry Rafe and I took a trip to Utah in November. For my Birthday this year, my La (aka Mom) bought me a VIP ticket to the Red Carpet Premier of "TWILIGHT"!! We went to the Preshow party at 9:00pm on Nov. 20th. It was a formal event and it was a BLAST!! They had a live DJ, dancing, drawings for prizes, a buffet, and a red choc. fountain and treats. At 11:00pm we lined up and got our gift bags and headed down to our theater where we walked through a mob of fellow Twilight fans waiting to get into their theater. They gave us free refreshments and once we were seated they open our theater up to the general public. We had so much fun and the movie was FANTASTIC!! Ryan joined us in Utah for Thanksgiving on the Tuesday before and we were so happy to be with him. We had a great time with family and friends.

Dec. 7th.....Today is my birthday and it was a good day. We went to church and then Ryan had his Military Symposium from 1-5 and then a dinner at 6pm, which I went to with him. Dr. Lt. Andy Baldwin of the US. Navy was a guest speaker and a guest at the dinner. Now for those of you that don't know, he was a Bachelor a few years ago on the Reality show, "The Bachelor". I was excited to meet him because I watched his journey to find love. He is a very genuin down to earth guy and has great passion for the humanitarian work that he does. Ryan got to meet him and talk to him for a little bit and we were able to get a picture with him. He is a very nice guy. So that's all for now. Oh and there's a picture of our new condo family room all decorated for Christmas. Will post more pictures of our condo soon.

Halloween Fun!!

2008-11-04T19:53:00.000-08:00

Rafe and I had a blast in Utah. We went to the Corn Belly Corn Maze and had so much fun. We also went and picked a pumpkin with Grama and Grama J. I had my annual Witches Night Out with the Girls!! I was able to see a lot of my dear friends and loved to be able to be with them. Grama played dress-up with Rafe and dressed him up in all sorts of Halloween costumes. And, of course, Rafe's trip wouldn't have been complete without a ride on Grandpa's tractor. We had a great time with our family! On Halloween Day we went to Nick's Garden and Farm Market and picked pumpkins to carve together. Once we had the pumpkins we wanted, they had bathtubs for you to wash your pumpkin in. It was so much fun there. They had mazes, tractor rides, blow-up toys to play on and lots of other fun things. Rafe had so much fun carving his pumpkin and did a wonderful job. Later that night we went to our ward Trunk-or-Treat and then met up with some of our friends and went Trick-or-Treating with them and their kids.

The Cheesecake Factory!!!

2008-10-11T20:50:00.000-07:00

Jed, TomiLee, and Little Sawyer Man came to visit Colorado to go to a Bronco's game and we were able to meet up with them at my all time favorite restaurant, The Cheesecake Factory. We had a great time and loved being with them! We miss our family!

Rafe 1 and a half now!!

2008-10-11T20:39:00.000-07:00

We had a little get together with my cousin, Alice, on Rafe's one and a half birthday. I love Halloween and cake so I made a Halloween cake. Go figure. Any excuse I can get to make cake, I'll take. The next day, I came home from a meeting to find Rafe had built his first fort with Dad. It was so neat and fun to watch them play in it. It was just Rafe's size......Ryan on the other hand...Not So Much!! But kids of all sizes are welcome in the fort.

Catching up

2008-10-11T20:34:00.000-07:00

So it's been awhile since I've been able to post on my blog. During that time we have found a condo we love, that Ryan hasn't seen the inside of yet, put an offer down that was accepted and now are waiting to close. We are so excited! It is located in Parker, Colorado and is about 2 miles away from Ryan's school which is what we were wanting. Save money on gas, WAHOO! We can't wait to start working on fixing it up. We'll keep you posted.

Ahhh Fall,,,,,My favorite time of year and it's here!!.

2008-09-12T10:21:00.001-07:00

Casper my Baby Powder Ghost!

2008-09-12T09:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had just finished changing Rafe's diaper and when I put powder on him I always say, "Poof Poof". I usually twist the Bottle closed right away but didn't do it this time and Rafe grabbed the powder and shook the bottle and said, "Poof Poof" and got powder all over himself. It was so funny!! He couldn't even open his right eye because it was completely covered with powder so I had to wipe some off before I took these pictures. Just wanted to share that funny things Rafe does on a daily basis.

Growing up so Fast!!!

2008-09-06T08:57:00.000-07:00

So a week ago Rafe got a pretty miserable cold, that he is still fighting, and he has always had my old bed in his room next to his crib/pack 'n' play that he has slept in since he was born, which he is now way to big for. Well, I felt that I should sleep in his room with him because I knew he would be waking up a lot in the night. So we decided to just sleep in the big bed together. Since that time he has now graduated from his crib to sleeping in his big boy bed. He loves it and hasn't fallen out yet that we know of. We lowered it to the ground so that the mattres and boxspring wouldn't keep falling off the bed frame. He is growing up so fast. I can't believe it!!

Salt Lake City Fun

2008-09-03T20:02:00.001-07:00

Before we left for Colorado, we spent the day in Salt Lake City. We went with Grama, Aunt Amanda, cousin Evin, Uncle Jed, Aunt TomiLee, and cousin Sawyer and took the Front Runner down to Temple Square where we had lunch at the Joseph Smith Garden Room. We then walked around Temple Square and went to the Gateway and played in the water and went to Build-a-Bear where Grama bought her three grandsons their own individual bear. It was a great day!!

My Little Boy...not so little anymore.

2008-08-04T20:59:00.000-07:00

Rafe is growing up so fast. He loves to read, read, read, and climbs, climbs, climbs. He is a very active little dude, persistent, and mischievous. His Grama and Grandpa say he's a "Jed". His uncle Jed was just as active and always getting into things he wasn't suppose to and was very persistent. They are two in the same from what I've heard. But we love him very much. He had his first REAL hair cut. Yep....I finally brought myself to doing it. I never really wanted to cut his hair because I didn't want my baby to grow up and look grown up. But I had to face it....he is growing up so BIG!! I have trimmed him up a few times but this time I really cut his hair. Half way through it I was regretting it. I looked at him and didn't like it but then again, at that point he had a mullet because only half way finished. He's not my Baby any more, he's my little Boy. It makes Mama sad.

Ryan's White Coat Ceremony

2008-08-04T20:51:00.000-07:00

Last Thrusday the 31st of July, Ryan had his White Coat Ceremony where he received his white Dr.'s coat. It was an awesome experience for him and for us to celebrate that with him. We are so proud of him. He is now Student Dr. M. Ryan Parks, 2nd Lt. United States Air Force. WOW, what a title!! Very honorable if you ask me. It was great to be able to be there to watch such a neat event take place. Ryan with Matt Malivuk with whom he went to COT. And Rafe is so proud of his Dada!!

Memory Keepers:

2008-08-03T16:53:00.000-07:00

Here are the directions:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you know me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

Trip to Utah!!

2008-08-03T15:43:00.000-07:00

In July we surprised my family and took a road trip back to Utah for Pioneer Day. We completely took everyone off guard and surprised them. Their expressions where priceless and we had a great time. It's weird to say that we took a vacation to Utah since it's the place I was born and raised but that's exactly what we did. We went on a very fun drive with Grama La to Brigham and ate lunch at Maddox then went on our drive to Bear Lake where we got their famous fresh raspberry shakes. We took some time to play in the Lake with Rafe. He had a great time splashing in the water. We went to Snow Basin and played disc golf with the family and some ward friends. It was so much fun!! We saw a lot of friends from work and just had a nice time. Ryan, Rafe, Aunt Amanda, cousin Evin, and I went to Hogle Zoo and we had a great time together. We saw the albino alligator that they call "The Ghost of the Bayou" On the 24th of July was Pioneer Day and we went down to a local celebration. Ryan, Jordan, my Dad, and I entered into a volleyball tournament where we took 2nd place. It was long, hot, and so much fun!!! They had a candy drop for all of the little kids and dropped the candy from a hot air balloon. I went horseback riding on Rohan for just a short time but loved it. Rafe's favorite things where riding on the tractor and on the motorcycle with Grandpa. So needless to say we did a lot but wished we had more time to do more. We miss Utah very much and our family and friends there.

Our Alaska Trip

2008-08-03T15:10:00.000-07:00

In July we went to see Ryan's family in Alaska. We had a great time and enjoyed being with each other. We went to the cabin, went fourwheeling and on a boat ride, we went to the Zoo, we hiked Thunderbird Falls, went to the Anchorage Temple, and Rafe had his own personal hot tub, Grama's kitchen sink. Rafe really loved being with his cousins and getting to know them as well as a lot of his Parks family. Rafe was able to meet his Great Grandpa Parks and we enjoyed being with him. We have a four generation picture; Great Grandpa Parks, Grandpa Winkey, Dad, and Rafe. There were plenty of people there to play with Rafe and he loved being with his aunts, uncles and Grama and Grandpa Winkey Parks.

Sweet Reunion

2008-07-15T20:48:00.001-07:00

Ryan's Commissioned Officers Training

2008-07-15T19:48:00.000-07:00

Ryan will be going to Medical School and doing it through the Air Force. He left on May 27th for COT in Montgomery, Alabama and was gone for four and a half weeks. It was hot and humid and the first two days were grueling but after that it was much better. He made great friends there. I'm proud of his hard work and dedication. He came home on June 29th and it's great having him home.

Departing out cruise ship...SAD!!

2008-07-15T19:32:00.000-07:00

Rafe at Sea World

2008-07-15T19:03:00.000-07:00

Our BIG vacation!!

2008-07-13T22:42:00.000-07:00

In April we took a trip to Florida where Ryan and I went on a cruise to the Eastern Caribbean for our 5 year anniversary!! It was a blast and so beautiful!!! I love the beach!! When we got back from our cruise we took our little boy, Rafe, to Disney World and Sea World with Grama!! What an amazing time we had. One last hurrah before we have to buckle down for at least 4 years while Ryan is in Medical School. I can't wait to go again.

Colorado...

2008-07-04T23:39:00.000-07:00

As of June 22, 2008 we are now official residents of Colorado where Ryan will be attending Medical School for the next 4-6ish years. We are excited to start this chapter in our lives. Rafe is getting bigger and smarter every day. It's so much fun watching him grow. He talks and talks and talks.....only not quite speaking English yet.