I love October

We got to do so many fun things in October. This is definitely my favorite time of year! This is the boys at the Scarecrow Festival in the kids haunted house. We had a lot of fun and will do this again next year.

This is Ty after our Halloween Cruise down the Provo River. Shawn was pretty much unwilling to get in any pictures while we were here!

Happy 4th Birthday Ty! This is Esmirelda (Ty's aunt Gina) at his birthday party. She comes to his birthday party and makes a potion. The kids love it and she is so great! The best was when she came in and Ty said "Hey you're not Gina your a witch." Thanks Gina, we loved it!!!

I can't believe he is 4! I love him like crazy!!


We have a huge tree in the back yard so we made a huge pile of leaves and jumped in.

Shawn doesn't really pose for pictures so here he is kicking his legs in the leaves.

These were our pumpkins this year.
And finally, Halloween. What a great day.
As you can see the boys chose to be chickens together, I was a witch, and Ethan was facebook.
Halloween night we went over to the Trunk or Treat party at the church and then set out for the real deal, Trick or Treating. The kids had the best time. The were running from house to house and trying to eat their candy in between running and trick or treating.
What a great month! We'll see you next year, October.

Summer's Outa Here!

It's pretty sad to say it, but summertime is pretty much outa here. It's not like we had a ton of time to enjoy everything this summer, but, nevertheless, it was a good one. We had the chance to do a few really great things as a family.

I (this is Ethan here) thought I would take the time to post some of my fav's from this summer. Interestingly enough, all my favorite times were with the family, doing little things and trying to make memories. Without a doubt, it's been the busiest summer of my life, but it will be one to remember. So...in no particular order, here they are:

1) Camping trip up AF canyon. I don't know how we do it, but we get rained when we go camping. Last year: rain. This year: rain. No good. But, it was really fun hanging out with the family in the tent. It's amazing how fun a bunch of pillows/sleeping bags and an air mattress can be for two little guys.



2) California. This was such a fun trip for our family. One of my favorites was probably the Dodger's game. Even though we didn't last too long, there's just something special about an MLB game! The kids won't likely remember it, but I will. You can't beat spending $40 on two nachos, two hot dogs and two drinks!

I was only half surpirsed at how eager our littlest one was to get it the water at the beach. Despite the water being FREEZING cold, he just didn't care, as evidenced by this video. These are the kinda kids you need to watch! Our oldest?? Not so much. He spent most of the time begging US to stay out of the water. Gotta love these two kids!



3) Rachel's Half Marathon. I was so stinking proud of my sweetheart for doing this race in August. It was pretty fun to get the kids bundled up to cheer her on -- even though I failed to get her on camera as much as I wanted to. She's pretty inspiring to me! This video shows us missing her on camera (kinda) then Ty being disapointed that she didn't stop and come home with us!



4) Fourth of July. I really love this holiday. It's been fun to start a tradition of getting up to see the hot air balloons. Our oldest isn't so scared of them now. I think watching the helicopter at the hospital come and go, and seeing some balloons take off here and there has helped out!



4B.) Learning that my oldest son looks totally awesome/weird in some of his photos. Check these babies out! He doesn't even look like he's from around here in these. Holy Cannoli. I got to talk to him about these.















5) I just gotta post about this project Rachel's been working on! Early this summer, Rachel was offered an older, out-of-date and out-of-style piece of furniture that has been in her family for probably like 60 years??? It had the laminate finish on it at the time. I was hesitant at first, just because we weren't sure how to best use it. But her awesome dad and she had a great idea to TOTALLY refinish and refurbish it. The result: it's beautiful. I just can't believe how well it turned out. The photo on the left below shows the left half of the "before" piece. It's tough to tell, but it was a pretty big change.

The steps of the project included:

A. Stripping all the laminate finish with a heat gun and blades. Then, they sanded down the entire piece.
B. Since they didn't want to or couldn't reuse some of the wood that was uncovered, Rachel's dad pretty much reconstructed the top part of the furniture by himself. He purchased all the wood (pine, bead board, trimmings, table-top, etc.) and created pretty much everything that appears new on the thing.
C. Rachel spent a few trips to and from The Wood Connection in Murray. They were very cool about teaching her how to refinish the furniture and get the look she really wanted.
D. After it had been sanded down and prepped, Rachel spent like 5 days, each a week apart, painting, sanding, painting, sanding, antiquing, sanding, finishing, sanding and finishing it.

It looks pretty impressive. I'm very proud of her. Now, we're hoping the kids get used to not being able to climb all over it BEFORE we put the hardware on it. That'll be the final touch.



Anyhow, life is totally crazy busy now, but I'm so glad to have the most important things in relatively good order (my fam may disagree!). But I'm sure a lucky one.

CA Trip

So we decided to take a trip to CA to spend some time together before Ethan starts his MBA Program. It was so much fun! We just kinda took it easy and enjoyed each other. The kids did great on the drive (besides fighting with Ty to eat a hamburger) and slept all night in the hotel.

We stopped at the M&M Factory in Vegas on the way.

Having some nachos and hot dogs at the Dodger's game. We made it through the 6th!

Dad and his boys at their first major league baseball game.

We spent a lot of time at the beach.

Shawn loved the water.

Ty loved the sand.

We also drove by the Newport Temple. Wow! It is beautiful!
We had a great trip. It was fun to just be together.

Good Weekend

The last few days have been so much fun!! Saturday I ran my first half marathon. It was so fun! I loved it! The best part was seeing Ethan and the boys cheering me on. They had these cute signs, so cute. Then at mile 5 all the sudden on my ipod I hear this little voice saying "go faster mommy you can do it". It was Ty, Ethan recorded him on his blackberry and put it on the ipod. I loved hearing it. It was awesome. Then at the very end one of my neighbors jumped out from the crowd and yelled, "Let's finish this." So I started running faster. Then he yells, "Pass those people." So I ran even faster and passed a few people and by the end I finished in a sprint. I loved it and I think I'll do it again.

Then on Monday my sister had her baby, Tanner Clayton Berg. He was 9lbs 8ozs, I know. I was able to hear his first cry. I loved it. I can't wait to hold him again (and put gel in his hair, he has the most amazing hair!) Love you big, little guy, Tanner!!

Sorry Shawn hit you, Tanner.

Our Camera Has Been Found!

Thank goodness! We needed some good news today. We found out today that out tenants have moved out, lost the keys, lost the garage door opener, left some furniture, and are, or course out of money. We are really not liking this situation so finding the camera was awesome! Now we can blog again!

The 4th of July.

The parade.

Balloon Fest, right by our house. We love it!

4-wheeling at the Berg's cabin.

My Dad and Shawn at Jill's wedding.

Ty had swimming lessons. The teacher marked the repeat this class box, but Ty did make some major improvements.

Giving hugs, so cute!

Climbed right in.

I'm so glad to have these pictures!

The Lastest

Sorry we have been a bit absent from our blog. So here's whats been going on with us for the last few months. Shawn learned how to give me kisses. It's the best.
He also, on the other hand, has developed an anger issue. He can throw some awesome tantrums.

Asleep at lunch time.

An example of the anger. Do not even think about taking this sock out his mouth. You will pay.

So Abercrombie, if you start a children's clothing line, call me.

Ty has been in a basketball and baseball class.

Right now he is obsessed with keys and pajamas. When he gets put down for a nap he makes sure to put on all his pjs (sometimes Shawn's) before finally falling asleep.
Today I found him naked in the backyard peeing wherever he thought it would be cool to do so.
Ty also has his own way of describing things, for example, "look mom those merican flags are not winding right now." Also, "Dad, I wiped Shawns crying things off his face."(Tears)

Ethan is so very busy. He was called as 2nd councelsor in the bishopric and still working hard on school.

Rachel is all registered for the Provo River Trail Half Marathon in August. So excited about it!!

We finally got our house in Cedar City rented out!
That's it!

Easter Celebrations

First we colored our eggs. This year we decided to do a little more than just color. It was fun. I don't think I can throw them away.

This is Ty at the Easter egg hunt in Cedar City. Aunt Mary's family has been so kind to invite us to join them. He loved it!

Shawn also enjoyed the hunt! He just crawled around and put every piece of candy he could find in his mouth. Then his parents realized the candy was gum. Check out that wod!

We had a great time in Cedar. It was so fun to see the family and play and visit at the church. We usually go to Zion, but it was bad weather. I grew up going to Cedar and Zion for Easter, it is a much loved tradition.

Ty on Easter morning before church. The Easter bunny has been delayed because he would not eat his oatmeal this morning, but he's still happy.

Oh Shawn, could you get any cuter!

Happy Easter everyone!

We love Shawn!

Friday was Shawn's first birthday! I can't believe how fast it's flown. He is such a great kid! I love him so much that sometimes when he is napping I start looking at his pictures because I miss him. His smile with his two huge front teeth always brightens my day. He is doing well and is happy as can be. He took about three steps on Sunday at Stake Conference. (Probably just trying to get out of there.) Anyway, it's been a great year and we are looking forward to next!

Our Townhome

Ok, so our townhome in Cedar City is up for rent again. I thought I would advertise in as many places as I could, for free. Anyway it's a great place, so if you know anyone looking for a place in that area let them know. Sometimes I really miss that place.

$950

3 bed 2.5 bath

My Little Valentines

I'm not a fan of the freaky smile, but Shawn sure looks cute.

Still a little freaky.

Much better!

Happy President's Day

So this a picture of my great great grandpa, John Whitehead Seaman. From what I know the other man is an actor dressed as good old Abe Lincoln. John Seaman was a very patriotic man. He would ride his horse with an American flag at the beginning of parades. It is also said that he was able to talk to President Lincoln about the Emancipation Proclamation and stood at his grave when the President was buried. I thought that was kinda cool.

Step, Bump! Step, Bump, Bump!

I have so much faith in our law enforcement officials after seeing this video. An oldie, but it's truly a classic!



Truth be told, this is an orchestrated clip (obviously) from Reno 911, a Comedy Central show that is usually pretty irreverent. Hope you enjoy.

These guys make me laugh!

Ty loves to put on my boots.

If he only knew.

His own worst enemy.

Christmas

Christmas Eve in matching pjs.

Hot chocolate and watching Rudolph.

Christmas morning

One happy kid! We had a great Christmas this year. It was so fun to be together!

Haircut

Before

When your mom is saying things like hey I could put your hair in piggy tails and you are a boy it's time for a haircut. Shawn got his first haircut. What a handsome kid! It's our tradtion that Ethan always do the boys first haircut and he did a great job.

During

During

After

Grandma Knutti

My Grandma Knutti died on Tuesday at age 92 and we had her funeral yesterday. I thought I would share a few thoughts I’ve been having about it.

My grandparents watched me while my mom worked the first three years of my life and man did they document my life. Tons of pictures and video. I don’t remember any of that, but in the videos she always had the sweetest voice with me. Some things I do remember are she would always drag her feet a little when she walked. She loved her cats, Grandma Cat and Tailless. At the funeral I remembered that they buried Grandma Cat under the porch.(?) She was great at sewing and made me several doily’s. We used to go over to her house every Saturday morning and mow her lawn. She didn't hear very well and would sometimes answer yes to every question because she had no idea what you said. She was so quiet and meek.
She suffered from extreme paranoia and just the other week my parents gave me a loaf of bread they had bought for her that wasn’t quite right. After which I told them I didn’t want it if it was poisoned. She and my grandpa lived the most humble lives. I have never met anyone more humble. Just a couple of weeks ago we went to see her and I am so grateful that we did. Little did we know that would be the last, but what I blessing to have that. She also received my Christmas card before she died and wrote a nice note back to Ty. Some might say this is a hard time of year to lose someone and it did add some stress, but Heavenly Father truly blessed my family and my Grandma. I also think what a great time when we are celebrating the birth of the Savior who has made it possible for us to be together again. It has been wonderful to see how much Heavenly Father was looking out for my Grandma.

Me and my Grandma on my Mom's ugly couch. We had that thing for way too long.


Me, a small piece of the documentary on my first three years.

Christmas Spirit

So if you looking to have that warm feeling inside this Christmas season our friend Alan Horne made us aware of a family who is in need of some help. Check out the blog. Merry Christmas!!

www.ChristmasForEmily.blogspot.com

Santa Baby

This year with Santa went much better than last. While waiting in line Ty was a little stressed about it and kept saying he didn't want to sit on his lap. So we got there and put Ty on his lap and as soon as he realized that it wasn't that bad he let out all that stress with a big laugh. We saw Santa at the Provo Library, they had an awesome night at the library on Monday. We had a great time!

Ty's Song Gone Bad

Ty is pretty good at learning new songs. He got started learning "Oh Home Beloved," one of the old songs toward the back of the hymn book. Upon his latest performance in front of the camera, he lost his balance and...well, just watch the video.

He's OK and still singing!

Happy Halloween!

Here we are dressed for the Cook's Halloween party. The theme was what you wanted to be when you were a kid, so Rachel went as Jem and Ethan as Chuck Norris. The party was a lot of fun and we were so excited we got to go this year. Thanks JR and Andrea!!

Shawn didn't mind this plastic thing on his head at all. What a sweety.

This year Ty was a remote and here he is pushing the power button. Halloween did not start out so well at our house after Ty threw up twice. So we just took it easy most of the day, which was so fun because I just got to just hang out with the kids. Then we headed out to trick or treat and Ty enjoyed that, even though he didn't feel too well and didn't really like wearing his costume. I've learned to go with something a little more comfortable next year.

Happy Birthday Ty!

Wow, can't believe he is already 3! What a great 3 years it has been. Ty is such a sweet boy and brings so much joy into our home. He is such a good big brother and is just a great kid! We love you Ty! Happy Birthday!

Shawn's Intro to Dogs

So Ethan's parents have a dog, but it's interested in nothing but meat scraps fallen to the kitchen floor. We watched the Jesperson's dog for a day and Shawn had fun seeing what dogs are all about. Ethan put together a video illustrating the introduction. We hope you don't get too weirded out by it.

Camping

So we are crazy and decided to go camping the last weekend in September. It was freezing! We had a good time anyway. Shawn slept the best out of everyone and Ty tried to talk to Ethan all night, thanking him for who knows what and showing Ethan his little flashlight. Its always fun to be together in the outdoors!

Getting to know Shawn

This is awesome. Shawn gets rides from Ty in the stroller. Keeps both of them happy and busy.

This means he is hungry.

Already getting into things! He knocks over our "ghost tree" about 3 times a day.
Boy do we love this little guy!

She's Fa-reakin' Awesome!

I'm pretty lucky to have my girl, Rachel! Have you ever seen a birthday cake for a grown, slightly overweight guy, look as good as this?? Holy cow, it was cool. Rachel worked really hard to make it a great birthday for me, and I really appreciate all her hard work. She woke up early and made me a great breakfast, brought the kids over to work so we could all go to lunch and even made Ty wear signs on the front and back of his shirt that read, "My Dad is 29 today!" (which he loved, by the way.)

She made an awesome dinner and then surprised me by getting me some golf cliz-ubs. She pretty much riz-ocks the hiz-ouse!

Thanks so much for all you do, babe. I've got a lot of planning to do over the next two weeks when your big day comes!

Yes, he fell asleep like that.

Tragedy

So it's been an emotional weekend for Ethan and me. We knew a few of the people in the plane that crashed on Friday near Moab. They where wonderful people who where good to our family while we were in Cedar City. They will be greatly missed by us and the entire community. As I was reading the Ellsworth family's statement I was touched to read of their testimony that families are forever. I am so grateful for the gospel and for those people who were such wonderful examples of service and love. We are shocked and heartbroken, but we too have a testimony of forever families.

Happy 6 months Shawn!

How many other 6 month olds can Riverdance in the bathtub? We love this kid!

Ty Visiting the "Little Temple" + a Song for Everyone!

This past weekend, Rachel's cousin was married in the Manti Temple. While nearing Manti, we kept trying to get Ty to notice the temple, only to hear him yell out, "Look! A tractor, mom/dad!" Anyhow, I guess the Manti Temple has a small building near the actual temple where they let the kids jump around, watch church cartoons, eat fudge sickles, drink lemonade from the drinking fountains, let them play Playstation 3, have them throw darts across the room at a small dart board, let them race go-carts around the parking lot, and many other wholesome activities. While nearing the temple's kidland building, Ty is yelling, "Dad, can we go in the temple?!" He ran up to the kids' center door, opened it and just ran inside. We then had to explain that it was just a "little temple" and that his parents had to go in the big temple while some cousins watched he and Shawn.

While waiting around for the sealing to start, I recorded him singing a couple songs. He's turning 3 years in late October and still loves to learn new songs. Here's one I thought would be fun to have on hand...

Ty Singing (again)

Our Twenty-Fourth

July 24th was a great day to spend with just our little family. We didn't do a whole lot until the evening until we decided to have a picnic at Fox Field (the open field just east of 300 West). It's kinda become our little spot when we want a place to hang out outside of the house. Our own yard doesn't quite work because we're uncertain as to the whereabouts of razor blades, nails, cigarette buts and shards of glass undoubtedly still in our yard -- all leftover from construction and demolition crews who worked on the house before we moved in.

Anyhow...we had Kneaders for dinner and tested Rachel and Ty's project: The Reflector Oven!
We got some supplies for Smores (s'more of what?) and went to it. It worked really well! Ty, of course, could not let the thing alone. Every time we took a break from eating to check on the treat, Ty would manage to rearrange the set up. It was funny.


After we had our dinner, we decided to light some fireworks in front of our house. It was fun, all until we broke out the sparklers. Dad was pretty dumb not to light a sparker first himself to show Ty how sparklers are "not something to freak out at." No, he had to have Ty hold one to experience it firsthand. Anyway, Rachel was there to catch all the catastrophic action with the camera. This shot below was taken right as Ty was freaking out. Ty didn't think to let go of the sparkler before jabbing it into his neck and hand. Dad was able to knock it out of his hand, but not before Ty got burned pretty good on his neck and thumb. But, he's really a tough kid and wasn't bothered by the small burns within a few minutes. We've been watching them close, putting some medicine and band aids on them (much to Ty's approval) and he should be all healed within a few days.Anyhow, back to the reason we celebrate the 24th...we're lucky to both have some great fore bearers who've made incredible sacrifices and strides of strength and faith to help care for their families. We can only hope to do our best to raise a good family and start our own sort of legacy.

The Glasses

I just wanted to say how glad I am some people remembered the glasses. They were a source of a lot of fun. It's been a long time since I dressed up as a nerd or a libarian.

Cute Kid & Growing too Fast!

Rachel brought out some old glasses she used for fun back in school and, of course, Ty had to try them on! We did his hair all slick-lookin and it made for some funny photos.

Ty has been carrying around a little teddy bear friend through the house. He has some good conversations with the thing and loves to have us dress him and talk to him. Anyway, we went to BYU's Bean Museum tonight for family night. Upon seeing the large taxidermied bears at the museum, he was pretty impressed. Rachel said, "That's teddy bear's great, great grandpa." About the only thing he wanted to do the rest of our visit there was "go see teddy bear's great, great grandpa, mom!"

Comcast came today!

We are back! We're still working on getting all settled in the house, but pretty close. This is by far the craziest summer I have ever had, but things are going well. We miss all of you in Cedar, a ton, but we're excited to be close to our friends here! The following posts are some pictures of whats been going on.

Happy 4th of July!The Kellis Reunion!

Just love that smile!

Shawn falling over on the couch and just falling asleep.Ty and his fee-lo in the children's parade.

The hot air balloons on the 4th.

Dad and Ty going for a scooter ride on the 4th.

Shawn taking a nap outside at Grandma and Grandpa Shumways.

Update

I thought I would give an update on our crazy lives. First of all this new post is dedicated to Holly, something new to look at while you are at work. So we are moving to Provo and renting a little house by the Utah Valley Hospital. We are moving our stuff Saturday, but the house will not be ready by then. So right now we are staying at Ethan's parents house waiting to move and our stuff is in boxes also waiting to move. Thanks to all who have helped us out. We already miss you all in Cedar!

Shawn said family prayer tonight.

Ethan took Ty on the Fathers and Sons activity. They had a great time together. Ty really liked the camp fire. He would walk up to it and yell "fire" and blow on it. When they where going to bed Ty just kept whispering to Ethan, "Dad we are sleeping in a tent."

So we are moving...

to some place in Utah County. Ethan accepted a job at the American Fork hospital there. We are excited about the new opportunity, but so sad to leave Cedar City. Ethan really loved his job here and I really love my friends here. Its been an awesome two years and it's hard to believe we are already leaving. American Fork here we come.

Shawn's Blessing 4.20.08

Ethan did such a great job on Shawn's blessing. It was a wonderful day for our family. Thank you so much to everyone who came and supported us! We love you all! Isn't he so cute in his little outfit?

Best Decision We Ever Made

Happy Anniversary Honey! We made 4 years. Its been awesome! (and happy ward conference.)

Shawn's Six-Week Photos

Here are a few of Shawn's six-week photos. He did such a good job during the little photo shoot and stayed pretty calm as long as we pointed a little heater fan on him. Surprisingly, that really calmed him down! Anyhow, the little guys are both doing very well. Ty's love for Shawn seems to grow more each day. Ty loves to alert his parents when Shawn wakes up, is asleep, needs his pacifier, etc. He's also quick to run to Shawn when Shawn is upset, only to pat him on the head and say funny things ("It's OK, Shawn." "Don't be sad, Shawn.")

I think one of our favorites is this one...

I just had to throw this one on here! Shawn is six weeks this week and still dreaming of who know's what. He's been great; still healthy and strong. He's got three big fans (his family members) who are lucky to have him around.

Today is World Autism Awareness Day

This made me think of sweet Devon and Dylan. I love those two little kids and hope they are doing well.

More Easter

All ready for church.

I love him.

Easter egg hunt at Aunt Mary's.

Ty at Weeping Rock.

Easter at Zion

Newborn Pictures

Such a sweet face!

Just Love Him

At 2 weeks he weighs 7lb 4 oz and is finally pooping!

Good Baby!

So far Shawn has been such a good baby. We have been able to get pretty good sleep at night and he is eating very well. Ty seems to be handling everything very well too.

He's Finally Arrived!

Today marked the arrival of Shawn Raymond Shumway, who was born at 10:55 a.m. (Feb. 20).
Weight: 7 lbs. 13 oz.
Height: 20.5 in.
Sass: 100%

Rachel did such an awesome job throughout the labor and delivery! Around 1 a.m., we were still up talking in bed (Rachel couldn't sleep cause of her discomfort and I had just finished some homework) when she thought her water broke. She almost dismissed it until it was soon apparent her water definitely broke. So, we grabbed Ty, hopped in the car and took Ty to the Wilson's home (friends of ours) to hang out for the rest of the night. We rushed to the hospital and, to make a long story short, had Rachel get an epidural, watched her labor progress until she finally gave birth just before 11 a.m. She only had to push for about 30 minutes. I'm so proud of how well she did!Now, for the kid. He's pretty much awesome. The funny thing is, he looks a lot like a mini version of Ty. They have a lot of the same looks. Shawn is just a little smaller (Ty was 8 lbs. 10 oz.). Shawn is eating very well (which we're really relieved about and keeping our fingers crossed that it will continue), he's sleeping well, and he's already starting to say a few words and laugh at our jokes.

Ty was pretty funny around Shawn while visiting today. During the first visit, Ty pretty much masterfully acted like the new one didn't exist. No eye contact, no desire to say "hello," no wanting to hold his brother. As his personality came around during the second visit, however, things got a little better. Two funny happenings: 1) Shawn is crying because he's uncomfortable. Ty very firmly looks at Shawn and says, "Stop! stop! stop! stop!" 2) Shawn is crying during Ty's second visit. Ty climbs on Rachel's bed to get a better look at Shawn in the little cart he's in and gently pats him on the head repeatedly. He even tried kissing him on the head to calm him down. There's some compassion in there somewhere.

Bottom line: We're very blessed to have experienced this day.

Tagged

I am no good at replying to being tagged! I thought I would at least do one and apologize to all I have let slip through the cracks. Just be warned that I am very flaky when it comes to the tags!

The rules of the game are posted at the beginning. Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

10 Years Ago
I was a sophmore in high school and had just gotten my license. My parents let me have their station wagon, it was huge. This was proably my favorite year in school, everyday was an absolute blast at school. Sometimes I wish I could repeat this year at least once.

5 things on my to do list
Put new songs on my ipod
Clean
Get Ethan something for Valentines Day
Do some stuff for Primary
Doctor appt on Thursday

Snacks
Anything that is chocolate, in my opinion if it does not have chocolate it is not worth the calories.

What I would do if I was given a billion dollars
Start building my dream house, buy a mini van, save some for the kids, give some to my favorite charities, tell Ethan to quit his job and school.

3 bad habits
Playing with hair
Wanting more money
Crying over Oprah shows

5 places I have lived (I only have 3)
Taylorsville, UT
Cedar City, UT
Provo, UT

5 jobs I have had
Secretary at Jody Wilkinson Acura
Discovery Zone (Kid Play Place)
Hogi Yogi
Longview Elementary after school program
Working with kids with Autism

5 things people don't know about me
Once I was on this candid camera type show on the travel channel
I love, love my family history
I read the Twilight series just to fit in
Once I was driving past a truck with livestock in it and poop flew all over my windshield and I was screaming and all by myself.
One of my biggest fears is turning 30

5 people I am tagging
Michelle Berg
Laurie Mackay
Heidi Phelps
Marie Lefler
Sally Anderson

Poor Ethan!

So last night Ethan was going to babysit while I had a girls night out. Well, he calls around 4:00 and says "They just found that couple that was lost and they are bringing them to the hospital now. I think I will be getting a lot of media calls so I probably can't babysit tonight." Of course I said, "They are alive?" and they where. So luckily I found a babysitter and had a great time, but poor Ethan was at the hospital until 12:30 am. He did two press conferences and then came home. The back of his head was on the 10:00 news and you could hear his voice telling the reporters who they could direct their questions to. I thought that was pretty cool because I hadn't seen him all day. Well he also had a test this morning in class so started studying when he got home, but the media kept calling till around 2 am, so after that he studied some more, then came up, showered, and said goodbye to me at 4 am, and left for work to take more media calls. Any way I feel so bad about his all-nighter. I hope he can come home and take a nap. So far he has had calls from all the local stations and other media, the Today show, Good Morning America, CNN, NBC Nightly New, CBS Evening News, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and Inside Edition. Crazy Night!

Will #2 Be Bigger?

So, we've been trying to gauge how big our second child will be. Here are some interesting stats:

Rachel's weight gain at 37 weeks with Ty: 37 lbs.
Rachel's weight gain at 37 weeks with this kid: 29 lbs
Stress of marriage during 1st pregnancy, causing slightly higher weight gain: Moderate
Stress of marriage during 2nd pregnancy: Medium (middle ground) because husband isn't home much with work/school.

Rachel's 1st Pregnancy vs. 2nd Pregnancy

Here's one of 3 songs by Ty

Ty singing at the Knuttis

Ty Singing

We've included a video or two to illustrate how much Ty loves to sing! He's crazy about it and has sure taken a liking to primary songs. We've had a challenge documenting his songs, because when we try to film him, he can't think of anything else but the gadget we're holding and its associated buttons. Enjoy!

Tribute to the Papa Kanewy Papa

You carry me everywhere I want to go. You give me everything I could ever want. I ask to call you at least once day. I miss you Papa Kanewy.

New Baby

So I am looking for any words of advice for the transition from one child to two. Especially anything to help out Ty. He has been such a good little boy lately and I am so worried he will become a monster. Anything you could offer would be greatly appreciated!

Santa!

So Santa was a little scary this year. While waiting in line we kept asking if he wanted to sit on Santa's lap and he said no every time. He was crying before we even got there. This is very ironic because Ty pronouces Santa, "Satan".

Here's Some Holiday Spirit From the Shumway Fam!

Watch this video we just put together. We dedicate it to all of you. And to all the little people in the world. Turn your sound on and click this link http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9544447171

Happy Halloween

Ty loved this, he was very excited when we put the light in the pumpkin. He said, "Cooool."

He was ready to go, would not eat dinner, just had suckers and some milk.

Philadelphia

Here are some pictures from our trip back east. We saw a lot of really neat historical stuff. We had a great time, but I have vowed to never fly on a plane or go on a trip that will involve a lot of walking while pregnant again.

City of brotherly love, not the nickname I would give Philadelphia.

Geno's Steaks home of famous Philly Cheesesteak sandwich, one star.

Central Park

Independence Hall, I thought this was the highlight of the trip. Awesome!

Liberty Bell

He's Two !!

Happy Birthday, Ty!

Ty had his second birthday yesterday, October 27. It's pretty crazy to think we've had him around for that long. He's been a great addition to the family and we love him!

Luckily, we live in a town where the mayor's #1 priority is to have as many "festival" events as possible throughout the year. He even has a forsaken street parade in the middle of December. Anyhow, it so happens the "Cedar City Livestock & Heritage Festival" fell on Ty's birthday. So we instantly had stuff to do to help us celebrate.

In the morning, we went to the, yes, you guessed it, parade, which was highlighted by 1,000 sheep marching down the street. Ty kind of liked it.

For the evening, we had Ty's great grandma and great aunt over for cake and ice cream. Rachel did a great job on the pumpkin cake! The scariest part of the celebration was when Ty's sleeve caught fire for a split second.

Rachel found the perfect gift for a kid who, no doubt, dreams about the next button he can find and push. He loves to open and close doors, push buttons, hear beeps, etc. So, Rachel found a toy microwave that he loves like crazy. He got a lot of great toys for his birthday this year, and this one is going to be used for a long time. Probably until he's at least 13.

Well, we're blessed to have him and look forward to child number two. Ty will definitely be a good brother.

You know you live in Cedar City when...

you call someone listed under "hair salons" to ask for prices, they don't answer the first time, but call you back and say, (in a very 57-year-old smoker-lady hickish voice) "D'yew ring me?!" You respond, "Yes, how much are your haircuts?" "They 16 doll'rs; yewantwun?!" All you can do out of fear of making a decision that would result in you leaving her place with a mullet is yell back, "no thanks bye" as fast as you ever have in your whole life.

Conference Weekend

Well, in between sessions we went to checkout the fall leaves. We listened to the last session in the car on the way home. We found this to be a much easier way of listening because we didn't have someone in our face saying "show"(asking for his own show) over and over again. Plus in the car Ty seemed to listen too, he said Amen after every talk and prayer.

Ty washing our TV stand.

It's a BOY!

It has been a wonderful day! We went in and had our ultrasound and its a boy. Boy oh boy!

MINE!!

Even while getting a diaper change he keeps his iron grip on the computer.

The Shumway Reunion

Horseback riding, crafts, football, opera and more. This is us at the Shumway reunion this year.

Helping Hallie with her makeup.

Camping

These are a few pictures from our last camping trip for the year. We went up Parowan Canyon and it was perfect.

Arrrrgh! This is at Ethan's work party. It was a pirate theme. They had a lot of fun stuff for the kids. When we went to search for treasures at the makeshift boat (the kind where you reach through the circle holes and pull out a toy) Ty had the hook ups. He knew someone behind the boat and he got like five toys. Ty had the most fun going down the huge inflatable slide, despite being boxed by girls like ten years older than him. Is this a sign of things to come?

Guess what! Baby #2 is on the way! He or she is due Feb. 24, 2008. We are all very excited, Rachel is sick, Ethan is the best husband ever, and Ty has no idea what is coming his way.

Here we all are at the Seaman reunion in Cedar City. Ty had a good time spraying himself in the face with a spray bottle at the park and Ethan and Rachel had fun dancing with everyone. Thanks to all those who planned the reunion, the book that was put together is really neat!

This is Ty and Ethan taking a short scooter ride. Ty really liked it, his favorite part was saying ba-bye to everyone as they would pass by.

Independence Day

It was a pretty fun day for the Shumway family on the Fourth. I woke up while Rachel and Ty were still sleeping and thought I'd make some festive red biscuits. They were nice for a change. I then had to take off and help put together the hospital's float in the parade. Well, it's not really a float, but a dancing brigade, I guess. The group insisted on a routine using hospital bed pans. I thought it would be funny to have a trough full of yellow-colored water on the back of the truck, in which I'd dip my bed pan and throw the water on people. Idea didn't fly.

Ty was fun to have on the parade route, too. He came last year to walk with me, too. This time, he sat in the stroller and danced to the music being played for the Bed Pan Brigade. He had a lot of fun. The best part is he thought people were clapping for him, which, he loved. He clapped along with them.

After the parade, we went home, had lunch and took naps. We got up and went to our friends' home for a BBQ they'd invited us to. It was a lot of fun.

When 8 p.m. rolled around, we made our way to Grandma Seaman's house for some more fun. We hung out with her and Aunt Connie, who flew in from San Fransisco. Ty loved to hang out with them and really show off. He pushed a stroller around the neighborhood and had some home-made strawberry ice cream with Rachel and Grandma. We then lit off some fireworks, which Ty was also pretty impressed with.

Ty

Tyson loves gadgets, man. He can tell when they're fake, too. Don't even think you'll trick him with a toy phone or computer. Thanks to D.I. and work surplus, we've given him a couple real phones, a laptop, computer mouse and more.