The Nutty Nunleys

The Birthday Gift

2012-02-06T10:00:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share a few pics of John's surround sound system. He is so adorable when he nerds up! I love the kid at Christmas look that he gets when he plays with his electronics. I love how patient he is with Ryenn when she is trying to "help" set things up. I love this guy! He deserves all he wants and more!

(Sorry about the quality of the photos.....apparently my iPhone won't let me edit my pics after I upload them to my computer.....really need to fix that!)

27th Birthday Extravaganza!

2012-01-30T14:21:00.001-07:00

Ok, ok. I admit it. There was no glamorous party or red carpet event, but John and I spent some quality time alone in Tucson for his birthday.

It started with our annual Priceline negotiation to get a lovely resort room at a decent price. We have been getting lucky and have stayed in the Westward Look Resort for the last two years. This year we got a resort, but it was El Conquistador Golf & Tennis resort. It was absolutely beautiful. It was only too bad that we don't actually spend much time in our room! The pool area was magnificent, and even had gigantic fire pits with a small bonfire in each one.

We had dinner at a restaurant called Cafe Poca Cosa. It was a terrific little Mexican food place in downtown Tucson. It wasn't your typical tacos and beans, but a much ritzier version. The menu items even change once a day. The food was delicious.

We then attempted to visit with a few of John's friends (or at least the ones that received the invite....sorry Bryan).

The next morning we enjoyed our breakfast at Mimi's Cafe, and went to the Tucson Mall for shopping at H&M. I love the clothes there, and John agreed to play the dress up doll. He looks amazing in his new clothes. After clothes shopping we did what John was really excited for.

(lol get your minds out of the gutter). I let John in on my Present plan. Let's be honest; I am not exactly tech savvy. This year I planed on getting him a surround sound/ home theatre system. We went to Best Buy to do some research. He plans on ordering it online, and hopefully having it ready for the super bowl.

In Saturday we had a lovely dinner at Ida's home. She made delicious steaks and shrimp for John, and I supplied a White Texas Sheet Cake. We had a wonderful time with the Nunleys. John even got a air soft pellet gun from his brother Daniel. He used Travis for target practice.

It was a wonderful weekend, and I am very blessed to be John's wife. He has given me smart, beautiful daughters and so much more!

Under a Rock?

2012-01-24T11:37:00.001-07:00

With two young children, I am sure you are not surprised to find that I spend a vast majority of time tuned into Nickjr. This station provides preschool worthy cartoons with very little commercials. The ads that are shown are very children driven. So I know all about the potty dance, bowls that rotate for zero mess, and just about every toy in the book!

While John and I enjoy watching programs such as Grey's Anatomy and Person of Interest, we have to record them because they air on the same day at the same time! With DVR I hardly ever watch commercials for adults. Now, imagine my shock when I see Harry Potter (yes, i realize that isn't his name) is doing a horror film! I couldn't believe it! He even has facial hair! Mr. Radcliffe is definitely not a baby anymore, and determined to prove he can be more than the Prince of Wizards.

I generally don't watch scary movies. I enjoy sleeping, and when I do I really don't want to be interrupted by my imagination after a horror flick. I think John might actually manage to get me to go to this one.

Another One Bites the Dust

2012-01-23T10:32:00.001-07:00

I am sure that you remember the angsty fairy that has been demolishing our electronics at a whim? Well, she has struck again. It was some time ago that our vacuum cleaner started emitting a horrible sound. This had been going on for sometime before I mentioned the problem to John.

Being the engineer that he is, he ordered replacement belts. He took apart the vacuum, changed the belts, and discovered that the rolling brushes were broken. So he decided that we might be able to use it without them. After a few attempts a new strange sound began.....then the smell....then the SMOKE!!!! Yes, smoke. I was so scared that the vacuum was going to explode on me!

John began researching various vacuums online (also due to the inner engineer), and we went down to Walmart and bought one. It is the Shark Navigator Lift-Away Pro. Ryenn was disappointed because the display model was purple, but when we pulled it out of the box it was white. John put it together, and then proceeded to hog it! I am not sure it I have ever seen him vacuum so much! I finally got to use it today, since he is working, and I have to say I am very impressed. It is small, light, easy to maneuver, and really powerful. It even comes with a hardwood floor attachment. (shown above). Seriously worth the money, and hopefully destructive fairy proof.

I'm a Big Girl Now!

2012-01-17T21:05:00.002-07:00

On January 10th something amazing happened!!! I bet that you would not suspect the awesome person that is me to be afraid of traveling unaccompanied, but it is true. I had never before made a long trip on my own. This was a special occasion, however, as I flew to Mississippi to visit Robert, Mariah, and their precious baby Natalie Addison.

The flight from Sky Harbor ended in New Orleans, where Mariah and her precious bundle met me. I instantly feel in love with her! As soon as we walked out of the airport, I knew I was not at home! The humidity, even in the winter time is ridiculous! I felt sweaty, clammy, and cold all at once. I can say I don't miss that at all. However, they had beautiful trees. The magnolias were my favorite! I wonder if they can grow here?

While there we spent a good amount of time avoiding the very dangerous wildlife. How do you do that you ask? You simply stay indoors and watch "How I Met Your Mother" and "Bones" in marathon style via Netflix. By the end of my trip we made it to season 2 in both shows. (i guess i might have to petition hubs to get our subscription to Netflix back) We also played a lot of Monopoly Deal. I promise I will buy it, and attempt to get my killer instinct back.

The first full day of my visit we made a trip to the outlet mall. There I bought a few things for myself, but mostly for the girls. The Disney Store is a terrible place for a mother with small children to venture. You can spend way to much money and so quickly! Ry loves her Cinderella light-up, high heeled, jellie shoes.

Mariah took me to the Bayou Country General Store. The front of the store contained merchandise in a very gift shop feel. The back was reserved for the restaurant. I ate a very delicious Chicken Po Boy and a Sweet Corn and Crab Bisque. Then I bought a few things for the family. I also met the incredible 1 gallon jug of Tabasco sauce. I bought the girls some super cute water bottle holders. They have adorable little animals, and a shoulder strap. Unfortunately, Leah's broke within the first hour of my being home. I guess they are more cheaply made than I thought!

We tried to attend a Pampered Chef party at one of Mariah's friend's home. Natalie, however, had different plans for us. She cried so much that we had to leave. We didn't even get to eat!

On my last night in town Mariah took me to Chili's so we could watch the Denver Broncos get smeared across the field by the Patriots. It was a long night, but it was still a nice time.

My return trip was awful! When I got to the airport, the baggage conveyer was jammed. It took an hour to fix. I got a little lost leaving the airport, but I made it home safely. Thank you to the Cases for a wonderful time.

Just the begining......

2012-01-07T13:32:00.003-07:00

I am incredibly annoyed! I have been attempting to blog for several days now, but something always ruins it! I think I may be having a small aneurysm and/or elevated blood pressure! It all started with trying to upload pictures to my computer from my phone. The computer stopped recognizing my iPhone. I HATE MY PHONE RIGHT NOW!! Anyhow, finally (after a great deal of stress, yelling at inanimate objects, and my husband talking at me like a 5 year old) I was able to fix that little problem. Then, I couldn't get the pictures to upload. Now, I can't make some of the pictures rotate because of property issues! I am so angry! I don't know what to do now! So, we are experiencing technical difficulties. Do not try to adjust your computers or mobile devices.

After our very uneventful New Year's Eve/Day we took a trip to the zoo for the Zoo Lights Extravaganza! I was so excited for this experience with the girls. In my mind, I had pictured "Ooohs and Ahhhs" to make Garfield the cat jealous. I did not, however, expect the complete lack of interest Ryenn showed. We drove 3 hours to get there, and she was more impressed with the root beer float she got at dinner, than with the lights on display! Unfortunately, our night didn't get better. Somewhere in the zoo we lost Leah's bottle, and our lifeline to peace and sanity. Without decent pictures, I will have to conclude that the trip was not worth the effort.

We celebrated baby Kason's 2nd birthday, and will be celebrating Travis Jay's 24th birthday. It has been a busy week. On that note, I really need to start packing for my very first trip alone. Eeek! I am making a trip to MS to visit the miracle that is Natalie Addison Case! I can't wait, but I can't pack either! Maybe John will make a list of things I need. HAHAHA! He loves his lists. I am also hoping that my wedding ring will be back before I leave. We sent it off to the jewelers to get it "dipped." It has been a very strange week and a half without it.

Guess what! After all that ranting, I can't get the pictures that I want to load. I am going to end this post before I destroy something!

Christmas 2011

2012-01-01T19:00:00.001-07:00

"If you really love Christmas, come on and let it snow."

This year, like every year, we had a crazy Christmas day. We actually had to wake the girls up at 7:00 am to get the ball rolling. The girls were both spoiled this year by our family and loved ones! We really are blessed to have such a wonderful family.

Ryenn loved her Mulan Barbie so much, that she took it to bed with her! She also decided to have a mini fashion show. We bought the girls a Wii this year because the system provides a ton more child friendly games. Travis bought the girls a child controller that Leah decided was better suited for a necklace. (better keep an eye on that little development)

With our gifts opened at home our rush to get to John's parent's home to visit with them began! The girls had a wonderful time playing with their cousins, and Leah only occasionally beat up on the other kids. Ida got me the cutest Paul Frank PJs! They are my new favorite! I was only able to spend a few hours with them, but it is always entertaining. I came home early to begin my mom's birthday dinner. I baked the cakes on Christmas Eve this year, and I think it made them taste even better!

Christmas Recital 2011

2011-12-15T13:53:00.000-07:00

This is a video of the first, of many, Christmas Recitals. I love the way 3-4 year olds don't have an attention span!

Holiday Card

2011-12-13T13:02:00.000-07:00

Okay, so now that I have our family pictures I am using them everywhere. I am also too excited to make you wait for a view of this (especially since i super procrastinated this year.....ooops) I love using Shutterfly to make copies of my prints, and to make special items. I have created a photo book and calender with them, and every single one of Ryenn's birthday invitations. Hope you like it!

Photo Card

View the entire collection of cards.

The Nutty Nunleys 2011

2011-12-12T12:49:00.001-07:00

We have had a terrific year! So much has happened, and through it all we have been together! I am so grateful for my husband. He is the most loving husband and father. He has given me the best gifts ever; our two beautiful girls Ryenn and Leah! Today's post is dedicated to our family pictures for the year with Megan Robbins. She is a terrific photographer! She did a fabulous job. http://megrobbinsphotography.blogspot.com/2011/12/mini-family-session-safford-az.html

Lots of Leah

2011-12-11T12:48:00.001-07:00

I realize that Ry tends to be the star of the majority of my posts. I am sure that you don't tire of it because who am I kidding, she is hilarious. Today is going to be dedicated to my tiny "Beast Mode."

Leah is presently 21 months old. She went from speaking a few words, to making small sentences in a week span! She is a very impressive and intelligent toddler. I love her to bits. As mentioned before, she is a bit of a bully. She has picked up on the fact that Dad is constantly terrorizing Uncle T. Now when she sees him she gets in a few punches after her hugs. When she gets hurt she will come to you and say, "Ouchy," and present the wounded part. She tricked me by coming with an open had, when i got close to kiss it, she made a fist and got my face. She thought it was hilarious.

Right now she loves to watch "Wow, Wow Wubbzy," "Yo Gabba Gabba," and "Team Umi Zoomi." Leah loves dinosaurs, and pretending to be a puppy. She crawls, sniffs, and even occasionally licks. Her favorite shirt has a puppy wearing a bow. She even found it herself at Kohl's! This week, she found the shirt in her laundry bin and asked me to put it on her. When I told her it was dirty she had a very small (for Leah) fit, and carried it around for a few hours. It was almost like Linus and his blanket.

Gold Star

2011-11-18T11:41:00.000-07:00

Each child is different. I really have no idea how many times I have heard or said it. Although, it is a terribly overused statement, it does not change that it is so very true. My girls are as different as they can possibly be. Leah is independent, rough, and not always very friendly. She loves pretending to be a puppy, and eats her dinner without any begging!

Ryenn, however, is my shy princess. She sticks close to mommy everywhere we go. Even if it is the home of a family friend, she is still hesitant to wander by herself. She plays dress up, but doesn't like doing it alone, and getting her to eat solid foods is like trying to move a mountain.

In August we discovered that Ryenn wouldn't meet the cut off date for kindergarten. She would have to be 5 by August 31st. Unfortunately, her birthday is in September so she misses the date by two weeks. They do, however, test 4 year olds into school. I have decided that it is our best option. It would be detrimental to her social skills if she spent another year alone with mom. There aren't a great deal of activities that a mom can do with her young children in the area. We had already tried dance, but she was intimidated by all of the kids.

I knew that she had to be enrolled in preschool, but I was really nervous that things would not go well. When her first day arrived I didn't know what to do. I was excited, scared, and sad all at once. Daddy loaded up the car, and we headed to school. We walked into the room, and with the smallest hugs Ry says, "Bye," and runs into the group of kids. I was sure that I was going to make it home, and the teacher would be calling to tell me that I needed to pick up my hysterical child. After 30 minutes, I was a bit shocked, but I continued by wait. An hour went by, and then another, soon it was time to get her! I was so proud when she skipped over to me and declared that she had so much fun!

Here we are a semester later, and she is still so excited to go to school every morning. We were given her first progress report, and it was a special moment. She scored all "U's," the highest marks possible! This is what her teacher had to say about her:

"Ryenn is such an amazing little girl. She is super smart and probably the most polite girl I've ever met. She is excellent at making friends and helping others feel included."

When it rains

2011-11-11T16:17:00.001-07:00

I really don't know what has gotten into our belongings!?!? I have even started questioning the existence of an electronic breaking, super angsty, punk-rock loving, purple-haired fairy dressed in static crashing about our house destroying everything in her wake.

The backlight in our computer monitor has burnt out. It sits mockingly working, but not revealing it's secrets.....unless you turn out all the lights and hold a flashlight to it. So, a few of the blogs I had planned will just have to wait until we replace it. At least I finally found an app for my phone :-).

We also had an incident at our home today. The bedrooms in the house all have sliding glass mirrors. We have had some small problems keeping them on the tracks, but we are all really good at using the doors safely. Ryenn has even learned to be cautious while around them. Today, our niece was visiting, and for some reason she is drawn to the mirrors like me to brownies. After the umpteenth time of telling her to be careful, I hear a loud crash.

Now these mirrors have fallen on several occasions, but there has never been any real damage. I was not so lucky today. Imagine tiny, sparkling glass shards littering the floor and furniture of a child's room. On chairs, the bed, and on toys. I don't think she is going to be able to play in there for days!

This Little Piggy

2011-11-08T12:50:00.000-07:00

Ryenn is a girl with many obsessions. She flutters from one thing to the next and back again with such an extreme passion for a four year old. Her interests vary a great deal. She loves Lady Gaga, assassins, Orca whales, flowers, and all things princess. I may or may not have mentioned that on of her new favorite things are piggy banks. She found her first during our trip to California. She carries it around the house with her, and not surprisingly she has lost the cork that keeps the coins safe inside. (she also found a very expensive one in a fashionable boutique in downtown Ventura, but that was not purchased)

Leah and I made our usual trip to Walmart after dropping Ry off at preschool. We were rushing past the jewelry section (making our second trip to the opposite side of the store...i always forget something) and out of the corner of my eye I saw it! A piggy bank all dressed up with a tutu and tiara! I couldn't help myself. Before I even knew I was doing it, my phone was out, and I was placing the call to John. (yeah, i call and make sure i can spend money on random items) He is such a sucker when it comes to making his little girls happy, and he quickly agreed. I bought one for Leah too.

Time: Harvest and Otherwise

2011-11-07T19:18:00.004-07:00

I know that it is entirely cliche, but where did the time go?? I mean seriously. My little baby girl Leah is almost 2 years old, and Ryenn has become a teenage girl in the matter of a few years. I remember the autumn season last year. I was so glad that Leah could finally sit up. I was looking forward to taking some pictures of my lovely girls with their pumpkins. It really was something special. Here we are again, and I almost didn't do it. I hate to admit it, but I think I have finally reached the phase where I am more reluctant to pick up the camera. So much of the girl's moments are going undocumented! :-/ What a horrible mommy I have become. I didn't even carve pumpkins with the girls this year! SIGH! Yes, I realize that I am ranting.....(back to the topic at hand)

Ryenn and Leah are exactly two and a half years apart, and John and I have been considering trying for a third baby Nutty Nunley. We are now at the time of year where if we (ahem) get started, then Leah and B.N. #3 will be 2 1/2 years apart as well. I am really at the point of wanting a baby, but without all the baby (for lack of a better word) stuff. We are finally sleeping more....ish. Leah isn't potty trained, but might be.....someday. Who am I kidding! We still have a baby. It would be nice if we could magically have a two year old. I guess between diaper changes and the late night bottle feedings I will continue to sleep on it.

Here are photos of the current Nutty Nunleys :-D

Latest Nutty Nunley Trend

2011-11-06T11:41:00.015-07:00

I think it is safe to say that our newest family trend is breaking our electronics. We had a scare this week with our XBOX. I was sure that we were visited by the dreaded "Red Ring of Death." I fiddled with it for a few hours, and I came to the conclusion that it was unfixable. John came home and made one adjustment and voila! Magic! I will continue my defense of the Kirkwall Mages....lol.

As you know, our computer was broken, and we thought fixed. Sadly, this was not the case. Our motherboard shorted out again, but John was able to work his magic. So, here I am gracing you with my presence once again.

However, yup you guessed it, these things come in threes. Our camera has decided that it wants to be broken. During our lovely vacation to California we introduced it to sand. Not the best idea. John tried to work his magic, but the camera has thwarted him.....for now. He is not ready to admit defeat. (updates to follow) We were able to remove the pictures from the memory card, so without further adieu.

1) Mommy and Ryenn looking fashionable 2) Leah and her very dirty Cheeto 3) The Nutty Nunleys on the Ventura Beach!

1) Leah playing in the back yard 2) Ryenn striking a pose 3) Me and my Mommy!

1) Daddy keeping Ry's feet dry 2) Daddy keeping Ry warm 3) Ry trying to keep herself dry

1) Showing off her castle 2) Yes, she does have an endless supply of poses

1) Burying sister's foot 2) Joining in on the fun 3) There it is!

1) Grandma Lisa and Leah enjoying the view 2) One more time

Did you miss me?

2011-10-03T09:21:00.002-07:00

Why of course you did!! I know that you have been quite desolate without me, and all of the nonsense that I bring. Well, it is your lucky day!! You are now discovering that John has, in fact, managed to fix our computer! It was a long process, that was made longer because of John's genius. He is too smart sometimes.

Anyhow, I am sure you are excited to hear all about our goings on, but I really have no idea how to sum up all that we have done. We spent a week in Ventura, California. It was wonderful. We did nothing but explore the beach, and eat some seriously awesome food. Leah loved the water, and spent way too much time sprinting towards it. Ryenn decided that it was her job to scare the birds and waves away. I don't think she was very successful with the waves, but she is an excellent bird chaser. I have plenty of pictures of this adventure, but I can't seem to find our camera. (a frequent occurrence)

The girls are both doing very well. Ryenn has started attending pre-school, and she enjoys it a great deal. She is making new friends, and losing her "stranger danger" mode. They have both been in for their well checks recently. It may, or may not, surprise you to hear that Leah weighs about 4 lbs. less than Ryenn. Someone forgot to tell her that Ryenn is the oldest.

As it has been a while, I will leave you with a large conversation that John, Ryenn, and I recently had with each other. Hope you enjoy.

October 1, 2011

As we drove past the mountains on the way to Apple Annie's Pumpkin and Produce Ryenn decided to educate us about bears. She decided that bears are scary, and wanted us to know just how terrified Grandma Ida and Grandma Lisa would be if John had to shoot two bears. John still has difficulty hearing everything that Ryenn says, as it sometimes sounds like a high pitched tiny dog howling at the moon. So at this particular time he was busy reassuring her that there was no need to be afraid. He didn't hear that he was to be battling multiple bears with a gun and grandmothers. The rest of the conversation went like this:

"I think if we are nice to bears they will be nice to us," Ry said.
"Daddy replied, "That's true, but you still shouldn't get too close to bears."
"Why not?"
"Well, bears don't always know that you don't want to hurt them."
"You have to remember that bears are animals, and they don't think like people do," said mommy.
"Well, we can just tell them," Ry replied.
"Bears don't speak English so they won't understand."
"We can tell them in Bear."
"Can you speak Bear, " asked dad.
"No, but they just say this, 'Aaarrr.'"

Wonderland?? More wonderful, not so wonderful?

2011-02-01T16:16:00.002-07:00

I have always loved the Walt Disney version of Alice in Wonderland. It is a terrific, crazy, well...wonderful movie. The way that Alice runs amok in a world of her imagination. I have always been somewhat of a crazy person myself that I can totally identify with her. The Cheshire cat, the hatter, the sheer madness of it all. I watched the fabulous live action version, and I can't get enough.

As you may, or may not know, I really love reading. Any book I can put my hands on usually gets read. For a very long time now I have been wanting to read "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass." I finally decided to squeeze it in between a few books in a long series that I am reading (yeah, still trying to get over the hump in the wheel of time). I have officially finished Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and I really enjoyed it. Alice reminds me so much of Ryenn. I was a little disappointed that my favorite scene of the Disney movie where the cat and Alice discuss which direction the rabbit has gone, and whether or not she can stand on her head......is so not in the book! I love that part. I was almost holding my breath in anticipation. Still, such an awesome book. 4 STARS! Woo-hoo.

Another "Seriously" moment

2011-01-22T21:17:00.003-07:00

As you may or may not notice, I have nothing to blog about. I have nothing interesting to say, nor have I done anything worth note..... The highlight of recent days are as follows:

We decided to ditch cable t.v. services. Expensive crap. So the big day came and now we have shiny Direct TV, but we had to wait on our Internet connection. "Why?" you ask. Well it was said that they couldn't get anyone out to connect it. Okay, reasonable enough. A week later I am preparing for a Qwest person to come and give me Internet.....what do I get.... A knock at the door and a UPS guy hands me a Qwest envelope. HMMMM. Usually I let John open important stuff because, if you remember, I am a lazy person. Well, I am just curious. I open the envelope, and inside are two papers with an activation code/date/time, and a disk for self-installation of the Internet. Seriously? Yes, SERIOUSLY!

You are going to have to make due with my crazy rant. I tried to upload pictures, but it didn't work. I am not just lazy....I am impatient as well. ;)

Yeah, yeah, yeah

2010-12-13T16:27:00.004-07:00

I realize that it is December, and I have not posted anything in 2 months. It's okay, you really haven't missed much. We are getting ready for Christmas. The tree is up, and Pancho hung our outside lights (john was feeling sick). Oh yeah, I think our mail person may hate me. I tried to go to the mall in Tucson about a week ago, and it took about 15 minutes just to find a parking spot! Yeah, yeah, I know. Ridiculous. Then I went into the stores, and could I find anything in the sizes that I was looking for...no (unless of course you don't count the stuff i got for me! haha)

Anyhow, I had already done most of my shopping online, so I wasn't too disappointed. I really think that everyone should have an Amazon wish list. SO, for the last week and a half I have been getting a few packages a day. (maybe i should click the box to have them send it all at once?) I know what you are waiting for and here they are! (so impatient)

1)Ryenn and daddy climbing 2) Ry with Jaxs

1) Leah with Jaxs 2) Leah eating mac & cheese

Pumpkin Carving

2010-10-25T09:54:00.003-07:00

This weekend I took the girls to the Harvest Festival on Main Street. There were booths set up for local vendors and community members to sell items. We bought some home-made hair bows and an adorable apron for Ryenn. Leah didn't get anything. I think she is still upset about it.

The kids were also given a free pumpkin. When we got home I set up for a mini "My Kids are Freakin' Cute" photo-shoot. Ryenn as usual didn't have her A game. She brought her crazy face.

Then, Ryenn and I searched for the perfect pattern for the job. She decided our pumpkin should look like a kitty. She almost couldn't wait for Dad to come home. (i have no clue where that trait came from)

First time for everything!

2010-10-15T15:45:00.002-07:00

Last night we had an awesome time hearing The National at Marquee Theatre! The venue is tiny, and you will always have a fantastic time. The lead singer had so much energy, and he even took a tour through the crowd! I was almost decapitated by the microphone cord (or wire or whatever the thing is called) It was also the first time that one, Mr. Travis Jay Nunley, had ever been to a concert! I am so glad that he decided to come with us, and that he had a good time!

Unfortunately, we came home to a very sick Leah Jae Nunley. She spent the entire night throwing up! She was diagnosed with her very first ear infection! Yuck! Fortunately, we were able to get her seen today (by none other than dr. smith), and antibiotics were prescribed. Hopefully we can weather this storm without many tears or sleep deprivation. I will keep you posted!

Graham County Fair 2010

2010-10-13T11:44:00.006-07:00

Fall is coming, and as you know that can only mean one thing... The County Fair! We have only been to the fair once when Ryenn was 1 year old. We looked at pigs and other animals, but we were unable to ride anything. We missed her second fair season when we went to visit Bob and Mariah in Texas.

This year we were excited, but also a bit nervous about the experience. Ryenn is not very brave. She doesn't like to be tossed into the air, or swung very high. I was scared that we were going to get in line, wait forever, then she was going to back out.

The carousel is very tame, and she has ridden one before, in other words....instant success! Then, we made our way to the Dragon Train. (you know what i am talking about, the rides they have are the same, ancient rides that queen elizabeth rode) Here is the scene:

John and Ryenn wait in line. I see the fear creep into her face. (i take a picture, i couldn't help it) She hands the Carney her ticket. Walks up to the dragon, climbs into the seat, and turns around demanding to get off! The Carney let her pick the color of ticket she got back. (that was cute, some of the other guys were seriously jerks about it) John tells me, she could see the floor and the tracks and panicked!

Okay, so we try a few more things....the little fun houses with the mirrors/obstacle courses. Then she decided to ride the spinning Bears. I got a few pictures of her in the bear, but then she wants to get off of those. (this carney was the rudest) Ryenn is starting to lose even more of her bravery during this time. SO we decided to put her on a cute little princess train. The line was full of little girls just like her. She had a fabulous time, and even got to ride in the front. She rang the little bell and pretended to steer. It was cute.

Then we looked at the animals for a bit, but she didn't enjoy that. She said that they were smelly, and she wanted to go back to the fair. The last ride we got on was the Speed Racer. I thought that she was going to be afraid, but the look of pure joy on her face was worth the entire trip! She rode it twice.

These pictures are just for your amusement! Hope you like them. The PJ's glow in the dark so of course Ryenn thought they were a must have!

Dear Santa

2010-10-10T08:37:00.002-07:00

I realize that this is a bit early, but 3 year olds are very big on the, "I want, I want, I want!" So I told Ryenn that she needed to write a letter to Santa. She wanted to take it to his house in the North Pole. I told her that if people continually dropped by Santa's House then he wouldn't have enough time to build all the toys. So, this is how the letter went:

Dear Santa,

My name is Ryenn. I am a beautiful girl. My mom is a beautiful girl, too. For Christmas this year I wish for a music player (not really what it is). I hope your deer like me.

Love,
Ryenn Nunley

Our very first paint job!

2010-09-06T10:01:00.003-07:00

During the 5 years of our marriage, John and I have only ever been renters. The general policy has always been that if you wanted to paint you could, but the walls had to be white again when you moved out. If you don't know me yet....I am incredibly lazy! Why would I take all that time and effort to pick and choose my colors, paint some walls, and then change it back! Too much effort!

Yes, we have owned our home for around 9 months now, but we hadn't painted a single thing. Our darling Ryenn is such an inspiration! By that I mean that she took a Sharpy to the kitchen wall.

While scrubbing the mark off, I realized that I was also taking the majority of the paint with it! Ahhh!

Okay, major freak out!

Okay, calm down a bit!

Okay, awesome! I have an excuse to paint!

So, John and I head to Home Depot to pick some colors for the kitchen. While we are there John shows me a Tinkerbell Room plan that he wants to use for Ryenn. (yes, we are getting side tracked) I am instantly in love! We then leave Home Depot with paint samples for her room....and some for the kitchen, too.

Needless to say, we went back to Home Depot on Saturday morning because of the 3 day weekend. We purchased all of our supplies, and recruited Travis to help. I wish I had taken before and after pictures, but our camera needed charging. (*see i am lazy)

This room took a whole lot of time, energy, and painting tape! I am totally going to relax today and enjoy my awesomeness!

P.S. We never got to the kitchen!

Ok, I retract the statement

2010-08-26T08:37:00.005-07:00

I looked at the recent pictures of Ryenn. She isn't totally scary. I remember now that I always delete those pictures quickly! I don't want any ammo for future boyfriends. Way too tempting!

Gravity is increasing on me

2010-08-25T19:38:00.004-07:00

She is so cute

No not really, but I had to come up with some excuse for not blogging in quite a few forevers. (was it good enough??)

Leah's 1st swimming event....she got tired

I don't really have a whole lot to report. My brain hasn't been very connected to my spinal cord lately. Leah is officially 5 months old. She is eating rice cereal. She has taken to eating like a true Nunley. She ate every bite of her 1st bowl.

She actually started to grab the spoon!

Ryenn is about to turn 3! I am seriously scared! She is too cute. She wants a Dora themed party, but with a dinosaur cake. We are going to paint her room in a Tinkerbell style.

She scared herself rolling!

We are getting ready for Halloween already. I had envisioned a happy little family dressed up as something awesome. I was ready to dress Ry up as little Alice, John as the Mad Hatter, Me as the Queen of Hearts, and Leah as the Cheshire Cat. (i imagined that she will be crawling then)

This is a piece of her monkey costume

Two year olds, however, with throw a fork in the plans every time! Ryenn insisted that she wanted to be Belle. We couldn't think of a family theme for everyone else....that would be affordable. Princess Ryenn always gets her way! She is going to be Belle, Leah is going to be a cute monkey, and John and I are going to be cave people.

Yes, I do realize that I have another daughter. Ryenn is now going through a phase where every single picture has a look at every single one of my teeth...oh and check out the uvula please. Ha! I am hoping that it will end soon.

2 year olds, like parrots only cuter!

2010-06-21T07:57:00.005-07:00

Ry sitting in the backyard

I love my daughter, but sometimes her large vocabulary just frazzles me. I feel like I am stuck in a room with that girl from high school that just won't stop talking. You know who I mean.....she will talk to you about shoes, makeup, boys, or what she ate for lunch until your ears start to bleed. Yeah, well I guess you got the idea. I really do feel like I need to lock myself in the closet, and wait for her to loose interest in talking at a door that isn't answering back!
1 & 2 Bath time for Leah

Now she has starting quoting movies! After the Mystery Gang solves another crime (scooby-doo...keep up people), the villain says, "I'm so ashamed." SO, she has started saying that all day. Weird coming from a 2 year old....what she has to be ashamed of, I still have no idea! Plus, she sings songs that she hears. I caught her singing Lady Gaga's "Alejandro." I am scared!

Tummy-time

Leah is such a wonderful baby. She is growing quickly, and has a super adorable smile. This week she let us hear her very first laugh! I was one of the best moments ever!

Showing off her smile

Pictures....easier than words

2010-04-23T12:36:00.004-07:00

Beautiful Baby Girl

2010-04-03T16:41:00.002-07:00

Yes, this post is way over-due. I had planned to do this a while ago, but I have recently discovered that having two children is much more difficult than keeping up with one. Especially when the oldest child is self-sufficient. Oh well, to business.

Our day of inducement arrived!! March 24th 2010. We had a very beautiful little girl and named her Leah Jae Nunley. She was 8lbs. 3oz. and was 18.5" long. She did have the unfortunate luck as to get stuck, and as a result got a clavicular fracture.

Since then we have been to two pediatric appointments, and I am very happy to report that her collar bone is healing nicely. We no longer have to take the precaution of pinning her arm down to prevent too much movement. She is also gaining weight well and is 9lbs. and 20 3/4' long. That puts her in the 75% for both weight and height, and is very different from Ryenn. (my daughter whom spent most of her life in the 25% for everything but head circumference)

Life is going well her at our house. We are experiencing a bit of jealousy from Ryenn, but we were expecting it. She does love her sister, and announces to anyone listening, "This is my baby, baby Leah." Our new edition does have her days and nights mixed up. I am feeling a bit zombie-ish these days. Oh well, a newborn does that to you.

Picture Perfect

2010-03-16T12:31:00.009-07:00

We are scheduled to induce labor on March 24, 2010. I have absolutely nothing else to say....I have zero energy....I am cranky.....these are pictures from my cell phone. Enjoy!

1) Ry and her "cow baby 2) Pretending to be Tinkerbell

1) At the park 2) At Texas Canyon Rest Stop

1) Playing with Tio Pancho 2) Laughing at Tio Pancho

1) Ry and Cy kissing Tyvien 2) Making faces

1) Halloween Costume 2009 2) Wearing Halloween Costume 2008 in 2009....yes it still fit her

1) Dad feeding Ry 2) Ry feeding Dad 3) Ry giving dad a smooch

1) Ry's first movie trip 2) At the Alamo Drafthouse in Texas

1) In the giant sandbox at ACL 2) ACL

1) Trying to blend in 2) Giving Kai-Lan a ride

1&2) Blowing bubbles

End of 8 Months

2010-02-22T09:00:00.004-07:00

My lovely friend Mariah has recently put to my attention that I don't have any pictures of pregnant me posted. I think it may be because I feel like those hippos in tutus on Disney's "Fantasia." Oh well. So I finally let someone else wield the camera...as I am usually the best photographer in the family it is my job.

I finally watched Disney/Pixar's "UP." I have to say that I absolutely loved it. It was adorable, funny, wonderful plot, but it was so sad. I guess it could be the hormones talking, but I was secretly bawling!!! I would totally recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it.

Valentines Day

2010-02-17T06:41:00.003-07:00

John and I usually don't make a big to do about Valentines day. We have enough going on in our lives, that it never really seemed important enough. This year we decided to give it a shot. We took Ry to the Nunley's house, and went to watch a movie. (my being 8 months pregnant and super exhausted kinda puts a damper on things) I know what you are thinking......"She made him watch Valentine's Day." No, I didn't. If you know me at all you know that "Chick flicks" aren't really my thing.
We saw "The Wolfman" with Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt, and Benicio Del Toro. It was pretty entertaining. I found that I was giggling at the mad antics of Anthony Hopkins character. I just love the way he portrays someone. So instead of ducking my head at gruesome maulings and dismemberment, I was busy enjoying myself. I think I liked the movie more than John did.
After the movie, we wandered around Wal-Mart looking at car stereos. (which is the valentine's gift that john is receiving...i could probably write about how much he hates the standard one our car came with, but that would take way too long) Eventually we ordered some pizza, took it home, and watched some Olympics Pairs Figure Skating. All in all a pretty enjoyable day.

Nothing New to Report

2010-02-03T08:00:00.003-07:00

1) Ryenn wearing a dress and TuTu 2) Ry making art

I don't really have much to say today. I am just bored. Lately I sleep lousy, but wake up before 8 o'clock. So my house has already been cleaned (nesting I am sure), and I have eaten breakfast. Ryenn won't wake up till around 9 or 10. So here I am.

Striking a pose on the kitchen floor....I think that is her favorite face to make

John turned 25! We spent the night in Tucson by ourselves in a lovely Resort. We should have sprung for the couples massages (they offered a prenatal massage), but we didn't. It was nice to just sleep in a comfortable bed without having two kids kicking at me. (surprisingly, leah does the most damage)

Ry and Cyrus sitting on the bookshelf

My Ob doesn't think that I will make it all the way to my due date, which is March the 26th. Based on what she sees at my next appointment, she will schedule a date to induce labor. She said that I still have to make it to that date though!! Ha ha ha. Maybe I will sit still like a lump for the next month so I have a better chance. Except I doubt that I can because the sight of a messy room drives me crazy!

Ry in our awesome bathtub

Voodoo!

2010-01-15T11:37:00.002-07:00

We had an OB appointment in Tucson yesterday. Of course we took advantage of the many opportunities there....like shopping and eating good food. We ate at a delicious Vietnamese restaurant called Pho 88 (where Jeff Case used to work). They have the best egg rolls ever! My stomach is growling just thinking about them. Anyhow, when I was pregnant with Ryenn, the wonderful owner told me that I was pregnant with a small baby girl. She was right. It was amazing. So, when we walked in yesterday she asked after Ryenn and my mother. Then she asked about the new baby. She told me that it didn't matter what the doctors had told me because she was sure that the baby was a boy. She was also certain that it was coming next month!!! I hope this time around she is wrong, but maybe I should make some emergency plans???

A New Nunley

2010-01-07T15:53:00.003-07:00

My Brother-in-Law Daniel and his wife Casey welcomed their new baby boy Cayson Daniel Nunley early yesterday morning. He was 6lbs. 12oz., blond hair, and from what I understand he is a little on the short side. Casey was having some symptoms of Preeclampsia so he was delivered early.

Baby Update

2010-01-03T10:21:00.003-07:00

Ryenn being adorable

We had our Glucose Tolerance Test appointment recently. I don't have the results yet, but I seriously doubt that I have Gestational Diabetes. I do however have some suspicions that I am going to get Preeclampisa again. I have some of the warning signs, so I am trying to take it easy.

Ryenn being angry

During our last appointment, our Dr. confirmed that our little Leah Jae is going to be small. Not Ryenn small....hopefully....but small nonetheless. I hope she is around 6 lbs. So now I am going through all of the clothes we saved of Ryenn's. I am looking for all of the Preemie and 0-3 month outfits. I am officially 28 weeks pregnant and in the 3rd Trimester. Yea for me!

Ryenn and Tyvien..don't forget Tinkerbell

Sadly, our Christmas tree has been taken down. I love Christmas....just for the tree, lights, and ornaments. I already can't wait until we can decorate next year! It's too bad that we don't have any fun holidays to decorate for soon.

1) Cyrus playing with a water hose 2) Smiles from Tyvien

Christmas 2009

2009-12-31T15:03:00.005-07:00

1) Tio Pancho helping Ry opening gifts 2) Excited about her DVD

We had a blast this Christmas! This year Ryenn was interesting in all parts of this holiday. She wanted to help decorate the tree, wrap presents, then bake cookies. It was so much fun! She was even excited about opening the gifts. Each year I have had to open every gift for her. It always seemed rather silly.....I would wrap something for her, but to have to open it again. Waisting valuable time, and wrapping paper.

1) Ryenn not wanting to share her gifts 2) Ryenn opening her doll house from Grandma Ida

We spent a pretty quiet morning with the Nunley family. Quite a few of the bunch were spending holidays out of town. While it is fun to be with everyone, I think we had a nice intimate Christmas. All of the conversations were held to a normal volume. We didn't have to scream over each other to be heard!

1) Opening more presents 2) Tyvien would rather eat her fingers 3) Ryenn and her "Cow Baby"

Then after lunch we came home to open gifts with my family. We had the added bonus of celebrating my mother's birthday. I made her a pineapple upside down cake. It was delicious!!

1) Why do the kids always play in the boxes? 2) Ryenn, John and I 3) Gaspar, Mom, Me, and Pancho

Halloween Pictues

2009-12-17T15:19:00.006-07:00

I was putting this off because my favorite pictues of Ryenn helping with the Jack-O-Lanterns are still MIA. I was hoping that John still had them on his work laptop, but I keep forgeting to ask him about it. So here are the ones that I have.

New Braunfuls Pictures/Austin City Limits

2009-12-07T09:27:00.006-07:00

Here are some of the pictures from our trip to Texas to visit Bob and Mariah. I know it isn't all of them, but I don't know what happened to the rest.

1) Ry is checking out the rain....she is an Arizona girl and doesn't know what it is 2) "I wonder if it tastes good?"

1) Mom made her stop playing with the rain 2) She traded me in for them cause I was so mean

She likes her dad because he lets her run in the rain

1) She looks like she really knows what she is doing 2) She will be a gamer like daddy

1) Enjoying her first bus ride 2) The Nunleys at Austin City Limits

Trying to decide what to do about the puddles

Still not sure

Taking a break in the giant sand pit

1) Smiling goofy at mom 2) We are beat

Eating some of Bob and Mariah's watermelon

1) Hijacked the watermelon 2) Mmmm, dirt flavored

1) She discovered that the puddles were awesome 2) Almost the end of the festival...she was done

X-Mas Photos

2009-12-06T08:10:00.004-07:00

Cyrus being handsome

Yesterday we took Ryenn to Andrea Stanley Photography for her holiday photos. We took her two years ago, and she did fantastic. She was such a ham! (you know posing, smiling, dancing) So I figured this time around would be a breeze. For the holiday photo one of the parents dressed up like Santa, and the child was set up to like she was hugging the big belly. We elected John and got to work. (although my belly may have been more impressive than his stuffed one)

1) Ry ready to play volleyball (don't underestimate her she has a sharpie and a potatoe chip) 2) Ry getting smothered

Ryenn was being very friendly to the photographer in the receiving area. Discussing mundane topics repeatedly like: this is my mom, this is my dad, my mom has shoes, look I can jump......okay....right. Then when we moved to the set she freaked out. She kept running away from John as if she had never seen him before. It was terrible. I believe she was overwhelmed by the people in the room. (the photographer and two assistants) Oh well. We get to see the proofs on Tuesday via the Internet, and Andrea Stanley was sure that we may have gotten at least two good shots of her.

Balloon bath

I am tired of not having pictures on my posts so I am going to put some on here from my mom's camera...Enjoy!

Ry wearing high heels and knee highs. Ready for the runway!

Oh Yeah!

2009-12-03T12:00:00.002-07:00

I was looking at my blog and it doesn't mention John and I bought a house. It belonged to his brother Ron and wife Brigette. I love it. The only problem is that Ryenn hasn't quite gotten used to this being her home. She is constantly looking for her cousins. It is really cute.

I figure once we paint her room and make it more like hers rather than Kaylee's, she will really enjoy it. We are going to do a ladybug theme. I am super excited. I will be taking pictures of the place to show you what it looks like. I want to wait until John has put up our Christmas lights.....and I will have to find my USB cable......ah yes...then you will be disgusted with the amount of pictures in my post.

Awesome Christmas already!!!!

2009-12-03T09:14:00.001-07:00

Ok. So a while back ago our computer finally decided that it had had enough. Of course it was pretty old. We bought it used, and we were pretty hard on her. So my wonderful nerd of a husband decided that it was his opportunity to go into the phone booth and change into "Super Nerd!!" (this is where you imagine a flying man with his glasses, polo shirt, along with pocket protector and pens, but the calculator is optional) He got us a new Dell computer with Windows 7. He was way geeked out. I am just happy that I finally have access to the Internet again.

We also went out on Black Friday and bought a brand new t.v. Our old t.v. was an awesome wedding present from the crew of Water St. It was almost five years old, and it started showing signs of dying. I love our new t.v!! Who wouldn't if Peyton Manning and Justin Timberlake told you to buy it. It is a shiny 46 inch Sony Bravia. It is pretty sad that we mostly use it to watch Spongebob and The Little Mermaid, but when Ryenn gives up the remote we can use it for our viewing pleasure.

Our Christmas tree is up, and I have become the Warden of Christmas ornaments. My daughter was doing a very good job of leaving the balls in place. Once Cyrus came over it was a totally different story. He had all the balls that he could reach on the floor behind the tree in about four seconds. I was putting clothes into the dryer and when I came out I noticed that my tree looked very bald! Oh well. It was semi-easily fixed. If you haven't yet seen me put up a tree you are unaware how stressful it is. I have to place the ornaments in just the right spot. I don't think Mariah will ever come over to my place again if she knows it is tree time!!!

I was hoping to put some pictures up, but our USB cable for the camera has mysteriously disappeared again. I think I may need to buy a new one so that I always have the chance of one being around.

It's A Girl!!

2009-10-28T19:17:00.004-07:00

These are Leah's tiny feet

John and I have unofficially done it. We have broken the great Nunley family tradition. Each member of the family, starting with Ida, has a firstborn daughter and boys to follow.

Ida and Stan- Liz, Ron, Dan, John, and Travis
Liz and Tim-Vicki
Ron and Brigette- Kaylee, Conner, and Noah
Daniel and Casey- Lilliann, and they are expecting Casen (sp?)(a boy) in January 2010.

and John and I have Ryenn and are expecting baby number two in March of 2010. We had our anatomy sonogram recently. The Tech stated that she was 97.5% sure that we were having a baby girl! Her name will be Leah, like Lee-ah, and no not the princess. (middle name is up to John)

This is what they are looking at when they decided it was a girl

Pumpkin Carving

2009-10-18T17:55:00.002-07:00

I have been wanting to take Ryenn to the pumpkin patch to pick out a few pumpkins. I finally gave up on the idea and bought a few at Wal-Mart. I have never carved a pumpkin before (weird, yes i know). I was very worried that I would screw everything up. Last year we received a carving kit as a welcome to the neighborhood gift from a friend's mother. So we pulled it out of the closet, and we set to work. Ry decided not to help once she felt the inside of the pumpkins. She really doesn't like getting her hands sticky!! John made fun of me because I wanted to use a pattern from the book. He on the other hand made a sketch of the face and went to town. (mine certainly is beautiful)

Again...I promise pictures once I am able to upload them to my computer.

New Braunfels, TX

2009-10-15T17:03:00.003-07:00

We had the most awesome week in New Braunfels with Bob and Mariah!!! Of course it started with an early 3:00 am road trip that lasted about 12 hours, but our little critter did it like a champ. We made very few stops, and all without whining!!

The week's highlight was our trip to Austin City Limits. We braved the excitement, humidity, and mud all with a two year old. Ryenn had a blast. Usually she is not allowed to jump in puddles or play in mud, but she had free reign on this day. The headliner was Pearl Jam, but my poor little lady was so tired from her adventurous day that she slept though it. She was trilled by the bus ride to the event, and would yell "BUS!" if we saw anything that resembled one.

Mariah and I did some shopping, and I got my first ever pedicure. We went to an awesome spa with a wall fountain. They even offered a variety of beverages. It was amazing. We took Ryenn to see her very first movie in a theater. We watched "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs." The adults found it to be funny, while Ryenn was less than amused. We were at the Alamo Drafthouse so for the first few minutes she was entertained by the movie and the food. Soon she realized that she could complain and be taken into the lobby. A bit later she discovered that the isles were connected and she could run a muck between the seats. Luckily there were only about five other people in the theater (not including our party) to witness my disgrace!

We spent the rest of our vacation laying a bit low. It was a good way to spend it. We relaxed and John got to sleep quite a bit more than he normally would. Finally the day before we left Mariah introduced me to the wonderful world of Hobby Lobby! If John hadn't been with us I may have left the store in quite a financial mess. I would have bought everything in sight. The fall and Christmas decor was absolutely charming! I did assist Mariah with the spending of her money as she was able to go into the store without her husband. (aww how i envied her)

Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures of this wonderful trip. We can't find the USB cord for our camera to upload the pictures to our computer. As soon as I do I will post to be sure!

Thank you to The Cases for the wonderful time!

Ryenn's 2nd Birthday

2009-09-17T08:55:00.005-07:00

The cake...pooh pops out of the honey pot!

This year we had a Winnie the Pooh themed party. He has become her latest obsession. (i would have done kai lan, but she is still too new and there aren't enough party supplies yet) We had it at the fair grounds near the duck ponds. She was more excited about those ducks than any of the presents or other festivities. We even had bread crust (from the tea sandwiches i made) to feed them with. We almost couldn't lure her away from the edge of the pond.

Pinata busting time

Papa Stan and Grandma Ida saved the day when they brought her present. A very large stand alone slide. She thought it was wonderful. She was so busy between the slide and the ducks that I had to open all of her presents on my own!!! I guess at 2 you don't care much for sitting still and opening clothes!! She did however wander her way to me when she heard a noisy toy being unwrapped.

1) singing happy birthday 2) she was shy when we started, but got used to it 3) found something noisy enough to be explored

1) helping momma with one 2) found the kai lan music maker/projector 3) using her ridiculous nunley rhythm to dance it!

(I realize that this post was forever in my edit file......sorry for that. I was being lazy!)

Where did the time go!?

2009-09-08T09:56:00.004-07:00

Believe it or not, Ryenn is about to celebrate her second birthday!! I don't know when she changed from the squawking, wrinkly, crying newborn into the fascinating, animated, monster that she is today. It happened much to quickly.

She has her own special personality. She thinks she is a ninja. She makes an adorable pirate. She can be very demanding, and she loves to use the word "now." Then she does a 360 and is generous. She gives big, slobbery kisses on the cheek. She even says "I love you momma (and daddy, too)."

Ryenn is currently in denial about the upcoming baby. If we ask her if the baby is in mommy's tummy, she will deny in every way possible. About a week ago she gave the baby bump a kiss and said, "I love you baby tummy." It was the cutest thing ever, and a moment I will never forget!

For Procrastinators Like Me!!!

2009-08-12T13:05:00.002-07:00

Last year while I was ordering Ry's Halloween costume I was shocked at how quickly things had become out of stock. I even ordered her stuff at the beginning of September. I decided that this year would be different. So yesterday I spent the entire day looking for the perfect costume for my little lady.

To my surprise others must start even earlier than August. So many of the cute costumes labeled "New for 2009" were already beginning to sell out!!!! If you don't want to miss your chance at an adorable costume or a child or a spunky one for yourself......YOU BETTER GET ON THE BALL!!! I found the most luck at www.buycostumes.com. We have used them before and absolutely loved the products that we got!

This year the Nunley family will be going as Pirates. Ry loves to run around the house saying, "Pirates....ARRRR!" She also is fairly good at sword fighting thanks to Connor's tutorials in using a light-saber!!! Mine is even a maternity costume. I can't stop eating and I haven't even been nauseous enough to vomitt! That can only mean one thing. This child is going to make me larger than a freakin' elephant.

Departures and Arrivals

2009-08-11T08:35:00.006-07:00

She decided it would be best to start with book 1

It has been a crazy couple of months since my last blog. I am sure that I will forget to add all the details of what has been happening to us.

Ry in a lifevest thingy

Sadly, Ron and Brigette have moved away. They left us for a better job....and for a smaller town?? Are there towns smaller than Safford?? Apparently so. They went to a small town in Northern Nevada. We will miss them, but we wish them nothing but happiness.

1). Ry and Lilliann discovering eachothers matching outfits 2). Lilli and papa blowing bubbles

We had a girls weekend out for Brigette. It involved my first trip to IKEA!!! (it may actually be the most magical place on earth...sorry disney land) We also went to Wicked at Gammage Theater. We sat dead center in like the 15th row. It was amazing. I loved every minute of it. I even bought an awesome "Wicked" hoodie! I can't wear it yet.....you know how Arizona is......but I love it! I was a bit skeptical about the musical, because I have read the book.....but it was made light and funny so it made my worries disappear like Glinda's bubbles!!!! (haha...you would have to see the show)

Ry making a splash

Last weekend we played in a softball tournament, that we took first place in!!! We are number one. I also hit a in the park home-run!!!! I am still a beast!!!

Team Hit it and Quit it!! 1st place

This weekend the Nunleys went to Balmorhea, TX. It is a State Park with a pool made out of a natural spring. It is huge! At one section of the pool it even goes about 28 feet deep. There are fish and turtles in the pool too! Unfortunately we didn't see the turtles while we were swimming, but we had lots of fun. There was a turtle in the little creek behind our cabin. It was freaky and looked like an alligator/lochness monster!

1) T blowing bubbles for Ry 2). The lochness turtle 3). Ry wearing goggles

John and I are also expecting baby number two! I am 7 weeks along!! Our due date (which always changes after the ultrasound appointment) is March 26, 2010. Cross your fingers for a boy!

A baby and books

2009-07-07T15:06:00.007-07:00

Tiny Tyvien

These last few weeks have been very eventful for me. Not at all in the way that you would think. I still haven't left my house for more than a few hours at a time....but I have read quite a few books and got a new niece.

Gaspar's new baby girl was born. Her name is Tyvien Reina. She was 7lbs. and 18" long. She looks just like Sunny.

Holding the baby

I finished reading the Gemma Doyle trilogy. The books are titled "Rebel Angels" and "The Sweet Far Thing." This trilogy was an awesome way to take your mind off things. I really enjoyed this debut from Libba Bray and am looking forward to reading her next novel, "Going Bovine."

I also read a Nora Roberts novel called "True Betrayals." This was a time filler. I had ordered books from Amazon.com, but they hadn't arrived yet. A day without a book for me is a pretty empty one. Thank you Ms. Roberts for writing novels that require no thought....I think they call them leisure books. (even though we know they are just cheesy romance novels!) It definitely wasn't a favorite of mine, but it got me through my reading-dry-spell.

After that I got the first of the Shadowdwellers series by Jacquelyn Frank called "Ecstasy." I don't have much expectations going into the paranormal romance novels that I read, but I was surprised. It had a few unique ideas that I hadn't read in fantasy novels involving supernatural beings before. If you don't mind the romance end of this book, it might be worth checking out. Again....it requires very little thought. My only problem with novels of this variety is that the author introduces characters, and you develop a liking for them. Then you want to know how their relationships turn out, but they begin the next book with a different character.

I then moved to the second book in the Tairen Soul series by C.L. Wilson. This novel is called "Lady of Light and Shadows." I am enjoying these books because it is a paranormal romance, but without all the baby-making.

I am taking a break from reading for today, but I am about to trade three books to my sister-in-law Brigette for three more of hers.

"The Lord of the Fading Lands" - C.L. Wilson

2009-06-15T10:09:00.004-07:00

"Ver reisa ku' chae. Kem surah, shei' tani. Your soul calls out. Mine answers, beloved." -Rainier

From time to time I find myself with nothing to read. I devour books so quickly that I don't leave enough time to order the rest of the series or I forget to line up the next book. I made a trip to the Safford Public Library, and found it lacking. So I applied to Brigette, and she gave me this recent read of hers. I believe that I have mentioned it before, but she is a huge fan of the paranormal romance novels. I enjoy them, as well, especially as she keeps her suggestions to me rather tame!!

The Fae, are magical beings that are able to use the worlds elements to create objects, heal the wounded, and of course wield as a weapon. They are close to extinction due to the mass murders at the hands of their ruler Rainier vel'En Daris. He scorched the world after losing his love in the wars. To save his people he seeks the aid of the "Eye of Truth" an oracle of his people. In it he discovers a woman that calls out to his soul. His one true life mate.

Ellysetta Baristani, an orphan child raised by a woodcarver and his wife, is shocked when the Fae King announces that she is his One true beloved. She believes that she is not special. She only knows that a great evil lives inside her. So she tries to hide the magic that lives within at all costs, even from Rainier.

FROM C.L. Wilson's Website:

Lord of the Fading Lands
Book 1 of the Tairen Soul series
Leisure Books ~ October 2, 2007
ISBN: 0-8439-5977-0

Long ago, in the magical holocaust known as the Mage Wars, the immortal Fey and their allies fought to defeat the grasping evil of the Elden Mages and their dark-gifted supporters. During those wars, in a fit of grief-induced madness caused by the death of his mate, Fey shapeshifter Rain Tairen Soul nearly destroyed the world in a blaze of tairen fire.

Now, a thousand years later, the fierce Fey king must fight to save his race from the brink of extinction and once again stop the evil rising in the homeland of his enemies, the Eld. The key to his success lies in the mortal city of Celieria, where the Mage Wars began, and with a young woman whose soul sings to him in ways no woman’s ever has, whose presence reawakens the primal fury of the tairen within his soul, and whose vast, untapped power can either save or destroy him and his people.

Colossal: WotW #5

2009-06-13T19:14:00.005-07:00

I realize that this blog is a bit past due from my normal Monday or Tuesday posting, but our keyboard recently suffered the wrath of Ryenn. We had to buy a new one after John decided it was not something he could repair!

co·los·sal (k-lsl)

adj.

Of a size, extent, or degree that elicits awe or taxes belief; immense. See Synonyms at enormous.

[French, from Latin colossus, colossus; see colossus.]

co·lossal·ly adv.

I have no reason for choosing this word. I just really liked the idea of blogging about large things.

1). Mt. Everest
2). Everything in Texas.....you know...like the toast
3). Super Blow Pops

4). The Great Wall of China
5). Chuck Norris' fists (they pack a colossal punch)

6). Costco cupcakes
7). My nephew Noah (he happens to be in the 100 percentile for weight)

8). Bob's Head (sorry, i need to continue to bring the hate....you can't move far enough away from it)
9). The Stay Puff Marshmallow Man
10). Space-"Space, says the introduction to the guide, is big. Really big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind bogglingly big it is. And so on. "-Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Wonderful Wedding

2009-06-09T18:30:00.009-07:00

1). A very neat looking ash tray??? 2). A Cowboy 3). Children playing

This weekend John and I (yes...we were ry-less) made the trip to Overgaard, AZ for his boss' wedding. We stayed at the Bison Ranch Resort. It was lovely, and very cold. I wasn't prepared for how windy it would be. Still, it was great to be without our little lady for the first time. I didn't get many pictures from the actually wedding because I was helping with Noah. (brigette was a member of the wedding party) I did take a lot of pictures of various statues and mountainy views. I also bought an awesome stuffed Bison, and I named him Bruce. I love it. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

1) A scary boy 2) The tree that I pictured would have a Patrick Star voice if it was alive

1) A Cowboy 2). John and Kaylee at the reception

1) Brigette and Kaylee 2) Kaylee peeking out of a cabin

1) John and the Nunley kiddos 2) John being a kid again

1). Me and John 2). Bruce the Bison 3). Me and Bruce

1). John...Don't Jump!! 2). Pretty 3). Sparkly

Inspirational: WotW #4

2009-06-02T21:15:00.006-07:00

This weekend marked the beginning of the Women's College World Series.

Teams Competing:
Arizona State Sun Devils (last year's champions)
Arizona Wildcats
Florida Gators
Washingtion Huskies
Michigan Wolverines
Alabama Crimson Tide
Georgia Bulldogs
Missouri Tigers

The games were awesome, even if John was getting tired of watching. While our Arizona teams didn't make it to the finals, Washington kept the trophy in the Pac 10! Way to go Huskies. I was busy living in the softball dream with these ladies and the only word that came to mind was.....Inspirational!

in·spi·ra·tion
Pronunciation:: \ˌin(t)-spə-ˈrā-shən, -(ˌ)spi-\
Function:: noun
Date:: 14th century

1 a: a divine influence or action on a person believed to qualify him or her to receive and communicate sacred revelation b: the action or power of moving the intellect or emotions c: the act of influencing or suggesting opinions2: the act of drawing in ; specifically : the drawing of air into the lungs3 a: the quality or state of being inspired b: something that is inspired inspiration>4: an inspiring agent or influence

— in·spi·ra·tion·al \-shnəl, -shə-n^əl\ adjective

— in·spi·ra·tion·al·ly

1). The Washington Huskies!
2). Kristin Schnake (senior shortstop for the Georgia Bulldogs) -She was the most animated athlete on the field. She had so much energy, and she instantly became my favorite player of the entire tournament!!!

(photo courtesy of the Georgia Bulldogs' website)

3). Grand-Slams!! -The previous record was one for the WCWS. This tournament had four, breaking the record!
4). Freshmen stepping it up: One in particular was Niki Williams. This freshman from Washington broke the record for most RBI's in one game when she drove in 7 runs. Hitting two homeruns.

(photo from ESPN.com)

5). Alabama beating the UofA Wildcats 14-0!! While Bama didn't come from nowhere....it was still pretty spectacular for them to run-rule the 8 time Champions. Even if I wanted the Cats to win, I still have to tip my hat to the ladies of the Crimson Tide.
6). Super-Awesome diving plays

(Brittany Rogers: Senior Center Fielder for Alabama)

7). Chelsea Thomas and 74 mph fastballs!!
8). Kelsi Dunne and her back-to-back no hitters.
9). Glittery headbands.....all the good teams have them!!
10). Teamwork. I love the way softball brings athletes together for a common goal and dream!

"A Great and Terrible Beauty" - Libba Bray

2009-06-02T20:21:00.003-07:00

In the Victorian age when it is of the utmost importance for a young lady to be seen and not heard a young woman named Gemma Doyle struggles to thrive. She feels she has been banished to the rather unfashionable India, although she longs desperately to join society in England. After the shocking and scandalous death of her mother (that she foresaw in a vision) Gemma is placed in an English boarding school.

Here she meets and befriends the orphan Ann, the lively Felicity, and the tag-along but beautiful Pippa. All of whom are secret cast-aways. Together they discover how to use Gemma's extraordinary power, and try to piece together the mystery of the Mary Dowd's past and the downfall of the Order.

Amazon.com Review
A Victorian boarding school story, a Gothic mansion mystery, a gossipy romp about a clique of girlfriends, and a dark other-worldly fantasy--jumble them all together and you have this complicated and unusual first novel. Gemma, 16, has had an unconventional upbringing in India, until the day she foresees her mother’s death in a black, swirling vision that turns out to be true. Sent back to England, she is enrolled at Spence, a girls’ academy with a mysterious burned-out East Wing. There Gemma is snubbed by powerful Felicity, beautiful Pippa, and even her own dumpy roommate Ann, until she blackmails herself and Ann into the treacherous clique. Gemma is distressed to find that she has been followed from India by Kartik, a beautiful young man who warns her to fight off the visions. Nevertheless, they continue, and one night she is led by a child-spirit to find a diary that reveals the secrets of a mystical Order. The clique soon finds a way to accompany Gemma to the other-world realms of her visions "for a bit of fun" and to taste the power they will never have as Victorian wives, but they discover that the delights of the realms are overwhelmed by a menace they cannot control. Gemma is left with the knowledge that her role as the link between worlds leaves her with a mission to seek out the "others" and rebuild the Order. A Great and Terrible Beauty is an impressive first book in what should prove to be a fascinating trilogy. (Ages 12 up) –Patty Campbell

My new favorite phrases!

2009-06-01T08:46:00.003-07:00

Ry in her makeshift pool....actually a sandbox

Ryenn continues to be more animated every day. While watching Harry Potter she clamped her hands over her mouth and exclaimed, "Oh my gosh!" She was shocked that Harry was being attacked by dementors. After falling from his broomstick she said, "Whoa dude!" I thought it was so cute.

She loves her Tio...

I also love to hear her say "holy cow" and "shiny."

can you tell??

"The Thirteenth Tale" - Diane Setterfield

2009-05-27T11:16:00.002-07:00

Vida Winter, renowned author, has spent most of her life hiding one story....the story of her life. Many biographers have had the pleasure of hearing some tale or another. Each as imaginative as the next. Needless to say young biographer, Margaret Lea, is a bit skeptical when she receives a letter from Miss Winter requesting that she record her "true" tale.

"Once upon a time there were twins..."

So begins the tale of a crazed love, a bond between sisters, a lonely ghost (is there a different kind?), and the tragedy of losing everything. A story in which Margaret not only learns about Miss Winter, but also about herself. I was so immersed in the story that I was caught unprepared for the ending. I was following what the author wanted me to without considering the "subplot." This was really a fascinating read, and I am not a huge fan of mystery novels.

Amazon.com Review
Settle down to enjoy a rousing good ghost story with Diane Setterfield's debut novel, The Thirteenth Tale. Setterfield has rejuvenated the genre with this closely plotted, clever foray into a world of secrets, confused identities, lies, and half-truths. She never cheats by pulling a rabbit out of a hat; this atmospheric story hangs together perfectly.

There are two heroines here: Vida Winter, a famous author, whose life story is coming to an end, and Margaret Lea, a young, unworldly, bookish girl who is a bookseller in her father's shop. Vida has been confounding her biographers and fans for years by giving everybody a different version of her life, each time swearing it's the truth. Because of a biography that Margaret has written about brothers, Vida chooses Margaret to tell her story, all of it, for the first time. At their initial meeting, the conversation begins:

"You have given nineteen different versions of your life story to journalists in the last two years alone."

She [Vida] shrugged. "It's my profession. I'm a storyteller."

"I am a biographer, I work with facts."

The game is afoot and Margaret must spend some time sorting out whether or not Vida is actually ready to tell the whole truth. There is more here of Margaret discovering than of Vida cooperating wholeheartedly, but that is part of Vida's plan. The transformative power of truth informs the lives of both women by story's end, and The Thirteenth Tale is finally and convincingly told. --Valerie Ryan

Flamboyant: WotW #3

2009-05-25T20:08:00.006-07:00

See #3

flam·boy·ant (flm-boint)adj.

1. Highly elaborate; ornate.

2. Richly colored; resplendent.

3. Architecture Of, relating to, or having wavy lines and flamelike forms characteristic of 15th- and 16th-century French Gothic architecture.

4. Given to ostentatious or audacious display.

I chose this word because I am a fan of Kathy Griffin....and we love the gays!!!! Needless to say she gets the top spot!!

1.) Kathy Griffin
2.) The Taj Mahal
3.) Bob-a-licious
4.) Nathaniel Marshall from AI Season 8 (i love you "headbands"-my pet name for him)

5). Flamingos
6). King Julien's crown

7). Michael Jackson
8). Zhang He
9). Game shows featured on Telemundo/Univision
10). My lime green bat bag (it's resplendent! i hope to have a matching headband soon...with glitter)

Perhaps? A Baker??

2009-05-25T18:17:00.005-07:00

Front view

Having a hobby is essential in the life of a stay at home mom. (and no, cleaning does not count) I tried to teach myself to knit. I made it to lesson 16...and was so bored that I quit. It also made it difficult that everything I started Ry decided it would be a good idea to unravel.

Soon after that I decided that I would try to be a gardener. Hahaha! I planted some flowers in the back yard and Avery quickly saw to their quick demise. The two that were planted in the front yard were killed by me. Not enough watering, then too much. I guess I don't have a green thumb.

View from the top

I decided to try my hand at baking. (stop laughing mariah!) This weekend we celebrated Ida's birthday. I remembered that she liked carrot cake, and as it was my job to bring a birthday cake...you get the idea. I found a recipe online for Citrus Carrot Cake. It did not look overly complicated, so I went shopping and began on my experiment. (knowing full well that i might have to make a second trip to get the emergency store bought cake) After all was said and done it turned out quite good. I did run into a bit of a snag when the recipe called for a 90 minute baking time, and I only had about an hour. We used two small pans and it baking in about 45!!

Side view

I also made a terrific looking diaper cake for an upcoming baby shower. While I realize that the diaper cake hardly qualifies, I may have discovered a love for baking!

"Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" - Lisa See

2009-05-19T10:10:00.003-07:00

This novel begins with the painful regrets of an 80 year old Chinese woman. Lily is in her "Sitting Quietly" time awaiting her turn to die. She has outlived her husband, a few of her children, and many of the people she has loved. Most importantly she has lost her laotong, or old same.

Lily is born to a so-so family. While they are not poor, Lily expects her life to follow the path of all girls around the county. Her feet will be bound at age 6, she hopes to marry out to a family from the nearby village, and join a group of sworn sisters. When the diviner comes to predict the most prosperous date for her binding, her life is changed forever. She suddenly gets pushed into women's intrigues when the matchmaker predicts that she, with proper foot-binding, may have the smallest feet in the county. Lily will have the chance of a very advantageous marriage and gain a laotong, Snow Flower, a girl from a very prosperous town (whom was born on the exact year, month, day, and hour) to be life friends with. Together they use the secret women's language, nu shu, to send messages to each other to share life's happiness and tragedies to form an unbreakable bond.

All comes to pass as predicted, but life has come out of balance. Much sadness comes to Lily's and her family. She also learns that Snow Flower has betrayed her. It is a story of ultimate friendship, life, and forgiveness.

FROM LISA SEE'S WEBSITE:

“This is a fascinating portrait of a time and place alive with beauty and brutality.”— USA Today

“You can relish See's extraordinary fourth novel as a meticulously researched account of women's lives in 19th-century China, where it is ‘better to have a dog than a daughter.’ (And where the girls' feet are bound in a stomach-turning ritual that See describes with admirable precision and coolness.) But you can also savor See's marvelous narrative as a timeless portrait of a contentious full-blooded female friendship, one that includes, over several decades, envy, betrayal, erotic love, and deep-seated loyalty.” —Entertainment Weekly

A language kept a secret for a thousand years forms the backdrop for an unforgettable novel of two Chinese women whose friendship and love sustains them through their lives.

This absorbing novel – with a storyline unlike anything Lisa See has written before – takes place in 19th century China when girls had their feet bound, then spent the rest of their lives in seclusion with only a single window from which to see. Illiterate and isolated, they were not expected to think, be creative, or have emotions. But in one remote county, women developed their own secret code, nu shu – "women's writing" – the only gender-based written language to have been found in the world. Some girls were paired as "old-sames" in emotional matches that lasted throughout their lives. They painted letters on fans, embroidered messages on handkerchiefs, and composed stories, thereby reaching out of their windows to share their hopes, dreams, and accomplishments.

An old woman tells of her relationship with her "old-same," their arranged marriages, and the joys and tragedies of motherhood—until a terrible misunderstanding written on their secret fan threatens to tear them apart. With the detail and emotional resonance of Memoirs of a Geisha , Snow Flower and the Secret Fan delves into one of the most mysterious and treasured relationships of all time—female friendship.

Cantankerous: WotW #2

2009-05-18T21:01:00.009-07:00

can·tan·ker·ous (kn-tngkr-s)

adj.

1. Ill-tempered and quarrelsome; disagreeable: disliked her cantankerous landlord.

2. Difficult to handle: "had to use liquid helium, which is supercold, costly and cantankerous" Boston Globe.

Yes, welcome back to "Word of the Week!" (i know you have been quivering with anticipation)

1). Dr. Perry Cox

2). The evil kitty trying to attack Pon & Zi (pictured above)
3). Ry at diaper changing time
4). Most old ladies when without prunes or hard candy
5). Sea Bears

6). Steven Colbert on the subject of the proposed soda tax (and bears too....but what about sea bears??)
7). Lewis Black
8). Librarians
9). Martians (what's with all the probing?)
10). Llamas

"Sunshine" - Robin McKinley

2009-05-18T08:52:00.003-07:00

"I never heard them coming. Of course you don't, when they're vampires."

I have always enjoyed books written by Robin McKinley. Strangely enough I always have the same complaint: the narrator's thoughts are generally not sequential. It seems to be a part of McKinley's unique writing style, but it does get a bit frustrating from time to time. This book is no exception, in fact, it may be the worst to date. Despite all that, I still enjoyed it. I must admit that the first 3 pages were a bit much. I, quite lamely, had to take a break and re-think what I read.

The book is set post the "Voodoo Wars" in which vampires have just run a muck. Much of the world is now unlivable, with patches of "bad spots" lying about. (areas stained with evil residue that makes a person feel "bad") Rae Seddon, or Sunshine, is taken by vampires, and no one escapes from vampires. She has one trick up her sleeve....she is the daughter of the most talented magic-handler in history. Rae proceeds to use her magic to remove her bonds, and free a fellow prisoner....one that just happens to be a vampire....oh yeah, during the daylight hours!!

This novel, while a crazy roller coaster of a young woman's thoughts, is a fascinating read. Rae and the vampire Constantine share a bond that is their only hope in destroying the evil bent on their destruction. Definitely worth the confusion.

If you read, and enjoy this novel, you will also like:

*Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast
*The Hero and the Crown
*The Blue Sword
*Deerskin (retelling of Donkeyskin by Charles Perrault...heavy subject matter)
*Rose Daughter
*Spindle's End

all written by Robin McKinley.

FROM ROBIN MCKINLEY'S WEBSITE:

Sunshine originally appeared in 2003. Reissued by Berkley Trade (October 7, 2008) and Transworld/Bantam UK (August 14, 2008). Available from Amazon US

Rae, nicknamed Sunshine by her stepfather, is the baker at her family’s coffeehouse. She’s happy getting up at 4 am to make cinnamon rolls for the breakfast rush, and dealing with people and food all day. But one evening she needed somewhere she could be alone for a little while, and there hadn’t been any trouble out at the lake for years.
She never thought of vampires.
Until they found her.

"Sunshine is a gripping, funny, page-turning, pretty much perfect work of magical literature that exists more or less at the unlikely crossroads of Chocolat, Interview with the Vampire, Misery,Beauty and the Beast." Neil Gaiman and the tale of

"McKinley knows very well—and makes her readers believe—that ‘the insides of our own minds are the scariest things there are.’" Publishers Weekly, starred review.

I am a Softball Player......(& i am the best!)

2009-05-17T17:33:00.004-07:00

I am only kidding.....I might be second best....(might) We had another tournament this weekend. I played even though my foot hasn't quite healed. Our team (not quite the same members we took first with) did ok. We won our first three games, but lost our next two in a row. I did win the women's home run derby for the 2nd year in a row!!

Random

2009-05-13T17:30:00.004-07:00

Ry playing with the hose and bath toys in a sandbox! (no sand of course)

All of the shiny new summer blockbusters currently in the theaters have me almost itching to see...well something....anything. It has been a very long time since John and I have seen a movie together. (pirates of the caribbean 3 to be exact) Spiderman 3 was the last movie John has seen, and Twilight was the last one for me.....much to my regret and shame.

The day after opening night for "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" we attempted to go see it. Ron, Brigette, John, and I went out for dinner. We thought we had time to kill and went to Chalo's for a drink. We arrived about 15 minutes early for the showing, but we were turned away as it was sold out! (at least i got a ry-less dinner....no screaming or food throwing out of the deal) Still, how sad is your life when you are envious of your 4 year old nephew when he tells you that he has not only seen the new X-Men, but he also really liked the new "Star Trek."

Kick, kick, kick

As far as the potty training......it is at a stand still. Ry understands when she is wet (or dirty) and proceeds to remove her diaper and throw it in the trash. Sometimes she alerts me when she needs to go, but refuses to sit on the potty. Occasionally she will pretend to go just so she can play with the toilet paper, and so she can play with the water while we wash her hands. She also says, "Bye Bye pee-pee!" when we flush the toilet.

1) Us in the pool 2) Me, Ry, and the lion

Oh yeah. A week ago we hung out with Tikon at his house here in Safford. It was Ry's second experience with a pool. This one of course is heated, and was wonderful since it was nighttime. She absolutely loved it. While sitting at the edge of the pool she was doing kicks that would make aunt Mariah proud. (they were so forceful that she propelled herself into the pool...scary moment for me) She would even kick her little legs while we were pulling her through the water. I guess I will be signing up for Mommy and Tot classes at the public pool this summer.

Preposterous: WotW #1

2009-05-12T20:50:00.007-07:00

pre·pos·ter·ous (pr-pstr-s)adj. Contrary to nature, reason, or common sense; absurd.

This is the first installment in my new idea...."Word of the Week!" I realize that this idea should have been introduced yesterday, but I figured you had heard enough from me! This word is one of my favorites. I really think that it describes my personality (in a lot of ways).

So here are 10 preposterous things: (in no particular order)

1). The size of our 1st place trophy
2). Sugar free chocolate syrup mix
3). Tye dye clothes
4) Twilight
5). The play of the AZ D-backs as of late
6). St. Olaf stories
7). The Geico money pile

8). The color puce
9). Wide ruled notebook paper
10). The sandwich pictured above! (can you say myocardial infarction?)

I hope you have a wonderful day!

A Beautiful Thing

2009-05-11T19:29:00.003-07:00

"Show me the books he loves and I shall know the man far better than through mortal friends."
~ Dawn Adams ~

I love reading. It is one of the most wonderful outlets, and a delicious treat for my down time. I am not saying that I don't love my daughter....I am just admitting that sometime I would rather be reading an awesome novel than watch her play with her baby or color.

While I am still certain that my all time favorite novel is Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice," I love to find new books to read. I am a huge fan of the fantasy genre, and my current favorite series is "The Kingkiller Chronicles" by Patrick Rothfuss. I am still awaiting the second book in the series entitled "The Wise Man's Fear." I really enjoy reading "The Farseer" and "The Tawny Man" trilogies which tie together, and were written by Robin Hobb.

I recently bought five new books as part of my Mother's Day gifts:

1) "A Certain Slant of Light" by Laura Whitcomb
2) "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" by Lisa See
3) "The Thirteenth Tale" by Diane Setterfield
4) "A Great and Terrible Beauty" by Libba Bray
5) "Sunshine" by Robin McKinley

I read "A Certain Slant of Light" and discovered that it was a different read from my normal cup of tea. This book had some difficult themes (like adultery and teen suicide), but was really too short to make it effective. I still enjoyed it, but did spend some time being a bit confused. (i will give you the scoop on the others as soon as I have finished them)

Mother's Day Weekend

2009-05-11T10:28:00.008-07:00

1) Ry showing off her muscles. 2) Us

This Mother's Day weekend was very busy for the Nunley family. John and his friends spent Friday night on Mt. Graham to celebrate Bob's graduation. He is graduating with a Mechanical Engineering Degree from U of A! He is also finally moving to Texas with his lovely wife Mariah.

1) Future star! 2) Grandma and Ry getting a drink of water

I, meanwhile, dropped Ry off at Grandma Ida's house so I could play in the 3rd Annual Gordo Borjon Memorial Softball Tournament. It was awesome! There were nine teams involved, and it was a round robin tournament. That meant a lot of softball! Friday night we played two games and won them both.

1) Ry and Tio Pancho taking a break 2) Some of the team, scouting the competition

Saturday had us playing at 9:30 am. (not bad considering we could have been playing at 7!) It was a very hot 103 degrees! We finished the tournament with a 7-1 record, and took 1st place! That's right! We are the Champions!

1) Gaspar, Me, and Ry waiting for the next game 2) The champions: Matt, Geoff, Pancho, Gaspar, Justin, Me, Jordan, Syanna, Lauren, Kayla. (a few members not pictured: Mario, A.J., and Janessa)

Mother's day was spent hanging out in the E.R. I over-ran first base and hit the very edge of the back of it with my heel. It instantly went numb, then after about twenty minutes all I could feel was terrible pain. I would have sworn it was broken, but it wasn't. It was decided that I messed up the tendons in my foot. I am now using crutches for three days. (wish me luck...i don't think that ry will be so accommodating)

What's in a name?

2009-05-06T22:42:00.003-07:00

So this is Tibs

We finally did it. We broke down and named the stray cat that has been coming to our house at night. We discovered that it was actually living behind our tool shed by day, and it hung out in our carport at night. Although we haven't a clue as to it's gender (it is a skittish cat and won't let us touch it) we have decided that for us it will be a girl. (i have always wanted a male pet, but i have never been that lucky...i didn't figure it would start now) We call her Tibs.

Scary a little!

We have bought the kitty food and dishes to feed and water her. She has even ventured into our house a few times when we left the door ajar. Ryenn loves this crazy animal. We think it is a little crazy. It has some ridiculous hair growing out of it's ears, and if I had decided that it was a boy I may have named it Dumbledore. I don't know why it's hairy ears remind me of the wizard, but they do.

See the hair?

On a different note:
Our volleyball team is out of the tournament. We ended pretty well, but only started to play like a team towards the end of the season. We made some seriously awesome plays. I am sad to think that I may not play next year. John and I will be working on baby number two within the next couple of months! Ryenn really needs a sibling. She is a huge brat! Wish us luck.

Amazing!

2009-05-03T22:03:00.000-07:00

Tonight...the first ever night with the potty....Ry had success!

Here is the story. John was putting the dishes away, my mother and I were reading at the table, and Ry was playing with her potty. She suddenly comes past us with diaper in hand and puts it in the trash. Then returns to the potty. She sits waits. I went to see how she how she was doing. Lo and behold....pee! It was the second (but most enjoyable) time in my life that I was thrilled to see pee. (the first being when she was sick and had not urinated in like three days). My daughter is amazing!!

From the mouth of babes

2009-05-03T16:21:00.001-07:00

Cy and Ry taking a bath

We bought Ry at big girl potty today. It is a huge step, and needless to say I am nervous about it. She is ready. She will tell me "My butt," and take off her diaper. Then comes the "Ewww" noise. I hope it goes well.

1) Cy making a splash 2) Trying to touch the new hair cut

Here is a list of all the wonderful things Ry says:

My butt
Ewww
Up
Down
Ball
Mine
Cheese
Chair
Shoes
I want more
Spongebob
Grapes
Hair
Eyes
Nose
Face
Mouth
Feet
Toes
Mama
Daddy
Dog
Kitty
Book
Candy
No thanks
Thanks
Uh oh
Ouch
Sorry
No
Juice
Yeah Yeah Yeah
Bath
1, 2
Hi
Bye Bye
Help
Banana
Berries
I don't know
Baby (babies)
Who's that?
What's that?
Ready
Potty
Outside
House
Hot

I seriously keep adding more every few hours....I guess I didn't realize how wordy she was.

Lame!

2009-04-29T09:55:00.000-07:00

We lost. (so much for my keen observations) I don't want to dwell on this loss, but I will say that I was pretty glad that we played well. It went all three games. We made some pretty awesome plays. Hopefully we will redeem ourselves Thursday night.

Big Dolores

2009-04-28T10:24:00.000-07:00

Have you ever seen the movie "Hope Floats." It is a chick flick with Sandra Bullock, and it teaches a valuable lesson about learning to love again. Well there is a part where her daughter Bernice is trying to fit in at a new school. She instantly gets picked on by the biggest (in more ways that one) bully at the school.

In one scene she accidentally hits the girl (Big Dolores) with a volleyball. This action gets her the beating of a lifetime. Big Dolores even has a gang, it's called Big Dolores. Our volleyball team has been using this as an inside joke for the last couple of weeks. A recent opponent, with the same fiery red hair as Dolores, was rather relentless. Their team came from the "A" bracket to play with us. Needless to say they were difficult competition. She put the pounding on us, quite literally. I managed to block her twice, and had the bruises to show for it. I am glad to report that she was unable to block me! Ha!

Due to my recent play (pure awesomeness) I have been promoted to my team's Big Dolores. My aunt Lydia, a member of the team, said that she wanted to be the gang member that held onto my lunch box while I beat up on the other kids. (yes this blog is just me bragging about myself...you can stop reading if you want) With only two games left our record is 5-5. Due to my scouting of the other teams I have good reason to believe that we should win them both. Hopefully I won't be giving a bad report after tonight. Wish me luck.

Awesomeness

2009-04-27T19:35:00.000-07:00

So this is a few of the pics from Rocky Point. Most feature a combination of Ryenn, Kaylee, and Conner. A few are of Noah, and one has Ry's boyfriend Aaden. (i love that little guy) There are way too many pictures to post them all, so I figured a collage of my favorites would do.

A Long Lost Friend

2009-04-27T18:33:00.000-07:00

Ry with her arms across her chest....showing the attitude

It has been a very, very long time since my last post. My life has not gotten any more hectic, I have just become even more lazy! (i know we all thought that was an impossibility) Well here I am world. It is time to love me again.

1) John and Noah 2) Ron, Travis, and John

So a great many things have happened in the World of Stephanie. We have picked up our much loved brother Travis. He was away serving a mission in Argentina. His flight arrived in Phoenix on April the 8th. We missed him and we are very glad that he is back. I congratulate his seamless re-entry into our lives. (i am sure he is hiding any awkwardness well)
1) Ry twirling in her beautiful dress 2) Uncle T and Ry blowing bubbles

The day after his return we were a part of Daniel (another of john's brothers) wedding. We had a great time, and everything went off smoothly. Ry did very well in her role as a flower girl. Only once did she fuss overly much. This little snag was fixed by giving her candy. She looked absolutely darling.

Simply adorable!

On the 10th of April we had our first family trip since Ryenn's birth to Rocky Point, Mexico. (despite all of the warnings about possible be-headings) The weather cooperated, and it was Ry's first experience with water. It is sad to say, but my little lady has not had her first swimming pool experience. She had a blast. It will be a vacation that we hope to revisit. (i will post some of those pictures as soon as i can figure out what i did with them)

Girls just wanna have fun

Ry's new obsessions

2009-03-08T21:28:00.000-07:00

1) Ryenn dancing about with a pot on her head... 2) a close-up

Ryenn enjoys doing a great many things, and she can be quite dramatic. We have seen her go through many phases....like the evil stare (that doesn't happen very often anymore. Her two favorite pastimes are putting a blanket on Avery. It is like the dog is perpetually cold. I find this latest game very annoying. When I search for a blanket to cover her it is always covered in dog hair! Covered!!

1) Ry pushing cousin Vicki's kitty on a toy stroller 2) Ry and the stray....please ignore how filthy Ry is

We have also semi-adopted a cat. This little grey cat comes to our house at night, and occasionally during the day. So, if this cat is anywhere near Ryenn has to play with the thing. It is sorta cool since it hangs out on our window seal, and wit will follow your hand all about. The sad thing is that Avery doesn't like the cat. (something about she being a dog...and the cat being well a cat)

We also had a birthday celebration for Ron (february), Liz (march), and I (march) at Ida and Stan's house. It was nice for all of us to get together. We learned that Daniel (um...john's second oldest brother...if i haven't mentioned him before) and his girlfriend are getting married in April. Travis will be returning one day before the wedding, and all of us will be apart of it. Ryenn is even going to be a flower girl. I hope that she is up to the task...she isn't exactly old enough to follow simple instructions.

1) Papa Stan, Ry, and Lilliann (daniel's daughter) 2) Ry, John, Lilliann, Daniel, Ron, and Noah

Win some, sadly lost one

2009-03-06T13:06:00.000-07:00

So we had our first volleyball game yesterday. It was really fun and exciting. Lamely enough I had butterflies almost all afternoon before the game. We won the first game, lost the second by two, and lost the third by two. We could have won (and probably should have) but I think we were all suffering from first game jitters.

I was serving the ball into the stands (not too surprising). So when I tried to tone down the muscle I only succeeded in serving it into the net....or rather embarrassingly under the net. I did get some awsome hits though! My mom got an ace on her cute underhand serve! I purchased knee pads to save my poor legs, but I still managed to get a bruise! Oh well. It was so much fun. I even overheard that the team we played practices....so I guess if we did too we would be awesome. Hopefully my next report will be better.

Crazy Technology

2009-02-26T09:25:00.000-07:00

Ry looking thoroughly ashamed at her actions

It has been a while I know. I have been very upset with our computer. We have a virus. It is one of those really annoying ones that make pop-ups every couple of seconds and searches for random things. I have been avoiding this computer like the plague! John is pretty nerdy so he has been trying to fix it, but he doesn't have a lot of free time.

1) Ry showing her dominance 2) Ry and Cy playing 3) Ry taking Avery for a walk around the house

The volleyball season for the Thatcher Women's league starts next week. I am seriously excited! Still, I have been getting a headache thinking about it. We could pay the fees ourselves, but most teams have a sponsor. It is only like $80 to have a team, plus matching shirts, but we haven't' been able to find one yet. It seems like everyone already has the sponsor that we have connections with. I am getting frustrated.

Cy learning to walk

Gaspar and Sunny are expecting again. They just found out yesterday that it is going to be a baby girl! I have been teaching myself to knit, and I will be trying my hand at making a blanket for my new niece. (if she has blue eyes too i might just have a heart attack!!!)

1) Noah being adorable 2) Ry and Conner 3) Noah fell over

Belated Birthday Bash

2009-02-14T22:21:00.000-07:00

As you know John recently turned 24. We had a small dinner for him here at the house, and his mother made a lovely dinner for him as well. Unfortunately the Other Nunleys (ron, brigette, and the kiddos) were unable to make it due to a prior engagement. They made it up to him by planning their own celebration.

We left Ry in the care of Grandma Lisa and went to The Apache Gold Casino. (which also marked the very first occasion that we have left ryenn for a full night) I was a bit skeptical about renting a room at the casino's hotel, but it had wonderfully decorated and comfortable accommodations. We arrived around 8:00pm and ate dinner. There was a delicious all you can eat seafood buffet. (which included crab legs...yum)

After eating, Ron and John made their way to the Blackjack table. They played for about three hours. At one point John was up $90, but he didn't back out and only ended up losing a few dollars. (silly man) Brigette and I wandered around playing different penny machines. We have both sworn never to play Wheel of Fortune again!! The next morning John got some redemption as he sat back down at the Blackjack table. He won about $35. It was an entertaining experience to say the least. I think we have even been talked into going back next month for my birthday.

Funny Story

2009-02-13T16:35:00.000-07:00

This is going to be a very short blog, but it is a very cute, funny story. Ryenn started off as a baby that hated shoes. She would kick, scream, and cause any sort of mischief to keep shoes off of her feet. I could put shoes on her and she would curl up her body so that we couldn't put her down to try them out. She was a year old before she would even allow us to put them on for even a few minutes.

So, it is quite the turn for her to be a little Jimmy Choo. She loves shoes. One lovely morning Ry decided that she wanted to wear a pair of shoes. Unfortunately she didn't have socks on. I told her to get some socks. (at the time i was sorting laundry) She found a pair of mine in a pile, and brought them to me. I explained that those were mommy's socks, and she would need to go to her room and get a pair of hers. She sorta looked at me spun in a little circle, and ran to her room. In just a few seconds she returned with socks. They were two different socks, but it was cute nonetheless.

One Crazy Wednesday

2009-02-12T10:38:00.001-07:00

I know that you are excited to hear about AI Night. So, here is how my Wednesday went:

I received a call asking if I could watch Cyrus (one of my beautiful nephews). I said that I would, and he arrived at 10:00 am. If you can imagine a person can't get much done while watching a 17 month old and a soon to be 10 month old. Especially if one of them is Ryenn. She didn't want Cyrus playing with particular toys. It was really funny to see what she deemed him unworthy to play with. If he happened to get a hold of one of her precious toys she would try to get it back. He would retaliate by biting her hand. (she cried a little, but it didn't stop her from continuing her quest to get her toy) After a while she was just putting her hand in his mouth. I thought it was a strange thing to do....as would most people I am sure...but that did not deter her much. After a time I was able to get them both to sleep, but it didn't last long. Grandma Lisa was nice enough to spend a few hours with us to help me keep my sanity. Cyrus was on his way home by 6:00.

I finished preparing the food. (which was absolutely delicious) My tiny front room was filled with five couples and a mother and daughter. The younger children, my rugrat included, were running back and forth through Ry's room, the living room, kitchen, and hallway to our bedroom. They were "watching" at movie but in reality they were being as loud and messy as they could be. Kale brought huge R/C Trucks for his boys to play with. It wasn't long before the kids had them rolling from the top of the couch to the floor. I am pretty sure that they didn't make it home unscathed. At one point the kids had Ry's little plastic tricycle on the couch and were continually falling off of it on to the floor. (which was the reason they keep getting hurt) Children are a serious example of Mob mentality. I am glad that it isn't my turn to host for at least another 6 weeks!

Snowy February

2009-02-10T11:01:00.000-07:00

1) the front yard...from inside (i wasn't about to go outside) 2) the back yard

We awoke this morning to a wintry surprise. For the second time in just a few months our yard was covered in snow!! It actually stuck to the ground!! The snow didn't melt until around 10:00 am or so. Mount Graham looks great as well.

The view of Mt. Graham from my front window

(rya, nope....i bought them at wal-mart. the style is called "erika." i don't think they would be too hard to make though)

American Idol Night

2009-02-09T15:20:00.001-07:00

I don't really watch much reality television. I would even go so far as to say that I really dislike it. The only show that I watch on a regular basis is Jon & Kate Plus Eight. I am really fascinated how they go about their lives with eight small children. All of the planning that goes into their daily living is amazing. I have to say that I am nowhere near as efficient a parent. Ryenn doesn't have planned nap times or bed times. I wish I had started that sort of thing at an early age. Oh, well enough on this tangent.

We have recently joined a group of friends that get together every week to watch American Idol. I have not previously been a fan of the show, and I still will admit to not enjoying it. Why do I do it you ask?? We take turns hosting the event, and of course the hostess/host provides dinner for the night. So far we have had a lot of fun eating, talking, and making jokes at the expense of all of the contestants. (even the ones that we like have not been spared)

Ry washing her hands in her play sink

This week is my turn to play AI Hostess. I have been very busy preparing Ryenn's room for the children that will arrive to play while the adults are glued to the t.v. Until recently it has been filled with boxes from our move. (yes we are slow at un-packing) So this is what Ry's room looks like now. I am so glad that she finally has a place to go and destroy rather than the rest of the house! I may not like AI, but at least it did help me to get off my lazy bum and clean her room.

Who Knew??

2009-02-08T06:08:00.001-07:00

So, I have been awake since around 5:00 am. I really dislike nights like this. Ry has been a pretty cranky sleeper as of late. I can't decide if it is because she is getting a few more teeth, or if she is just a brat. She still prefers to sleep on my face. (which is less than preferable to me) I don't really understand how that can be comfortable.

I have been surfing the web, updating my Shelfari account, searching for new music on Napster. I would really just like to go back to bed. I don't know what could be worse than knowing that you will not have the energy to keep up with the little one. I guess I am just lucky that it is a weekend. (john can chase her around) I might also start to read the latest edition to my library "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell" by Susanna Clarke. I hope that it will prove to be an interesting read. I haven't read a book that wasn't suggested to me by a friend in a long time. (i'll let you know what i decide)

Music is an awesome distraction. I have found that I really enjoy listening to Grace Potter and the Nocturnals and Beth Orton. They both have wonderful voices and lyrics.

Well enough rambling on my part. Good morning! (oh yeah...i supplied you with the grey's character quiz...mariah....don't hate me)

Ryenn

2009-02-05T12:37:00.001-07:00

My very intelligent daughter has been learning a few new tricks. I thought that it was about time that I shared them with you.

SHE HAS LEARNED TO/SHE HAS BEGUN TO:

1: give a very evil stare. She narrows her eyes and glares. Her and Pancho have a glaring contest that is very adorable. (the picture is not a very good one, my camera wasn't fast enough to capture the moment)

2: bump fists. (you know like president obama and the first lady michelle) It is hilarious! (again she mostly does this with tio pancho)

3: place her arms across her chest in a display of impatience or anger.

4: wander about the house while brushing her teeth. (i am very guilty of teaching her this one) She periodically stops to spit....but doesn't really. She sorta makes a spitting noise then continues her grooming.

5: pretend to read a book. I read often, and if I am reading while she is awake, she will grab a book and read along side me.

6: attempt doing the splits. It never works and I am afraid that she will rip a pair of pants.

She is a charismatic little girl. I love her so much. I really can't believe how fast she is growing. I was looking through pictures of her that we have developed to place in frames on the walls...I totally realized that we don't have any recent ones. I was freaked out to see how different she looked from her baby days. Still, more ridiculous that that is how tiny she still is. She is the oldest of the most recent baby Nunleys, but she is not the largest. In fact, her cousin Noah (pictured below) is the youngest baby Nunley and he weighs more! She is 16 months while Mr. No is only 6 months! My comfort is that she is taller, and will hopefully continue to be a petite little girl for the rest of her life.

1) Ry and Mr. No 2) Ry and Kaylee at the park 3) Ry going down the slide

Married to a Grandpa!!!

2009-01-31T14:18:00.000-07:00

Opening his gifts....

No, not literally!! We have celebrated John's 24th birthday! Hooray for him! He really isn't that much older than me...perhaps about a month and a few days, but until that birthday rolls around for me I am going to call him "Gramps." We had a lovely dinner for him here at the house, and he opened his presents. I bought him a MP3 player. If you don't know it, he is a bit of an electronics nerd. He loves to put things together or figure out how things work. So he spent a great deal of time playing with the thing. (adding music, photos, and other stuff)

Showing off the MP3 Player

I love that he has the patients for my mockery. He really is a special person. John doesn't make fun of me for all of my ridiculousness (not often), or get angry with me when I worry too much. I feel as though he is a gift everyday. So, I am thankful that we get to enjoy another year of his life together.

Thank you Shonda Rhimes!

2009-01-22T13:30:00.000-07:00

I was getting worried. It is hard for me to find a t.v. show that I actually enjoy enough to watch on a regular basis. Most shows are just too far fetched and characters end up being rather annoying. I don't watch many dramas for this reason. John and I watch "Scrubs" (they don't try to be realistic, plus zach braff is just hilarious), and we are starting to get into watching "Lost." (although it is an interesting story line i am having a hard time liking it)

Which brings me to my love of "Grey's Anatomy". At first it was an interesting show. They don't really focus on the medical side, but rather the relationships between the characters. They also show how their interactions shape each other and the hospital (seattle grace) as a whole. When the medical side does come through it is more or less the reality of it. The doctors don't regularly run about finding miracle cures to the most unstudied of diseases. (like the ever annoying "house")

Lately, however, I have been at a loss. The sudden firing of a lesbian character is not the only reason. Izzy (the once-upon-a-time model turned physician) is sleeping with the ghost of a dead fiance! I absolutely hate this story. Not that I don't find Denny Duquette (jeffrey dean morgan) ruggedly sexy! Seriously. Come now people. How could a physician seriously walk around the hospital having flirtatious conversations with the air and nobody notice. Yes, her circle of friends do notice, but others??? How could they not. The likely hood that nobody would report her actions, with the well being of patients in mind....

That is why I was so relieved that in the last episode Izzy finally asked the ghost to go. If he does return in following episodes I will probably stop watching. It makes me sad, but I am sick of the whole thing. So, thank you Shonda Rhimes for putting a wonderful show back to its former glory! (let's not even get started on the sexual antics in "private practice")

Crayola Tadoodles

2009-01-12T11:00:00.000-07:00

As I previously mentioned, Ry got a marker set for Christmas. It is not a typical set of markers. They are rounded to fit the shape of little hands better. This is supposed to give a toddler better control. All of the markers have a cute name (roary red, achoo blue...you get the idea) and look like a cute animal (a chick, an owl). The actual marker tip is on the little animal's head. The base for the markers makes noise, sings, and is a bit annoying. This, however, is Ry's favorite part. She gets rather distracted by it.

She still has trouble putting the marker to paper. You have to flip the marker, hold it in your palm, then color. Ry just puts it in her hand and goes at it. The result....a rather colorful palm, floors, and walls. How do the floors and walls get marked on if the paper doesn't you ask?? As Ry's hands get more and more colorful, she uses them to stand, uses the walls for support, and voila! I have to follow her everywhere with a wet cloth. Luckily these are made for children and are completely washable. I seriously wonder at the motives of my sister-in-law?? Subliminal message to let me know that she really despises me?? Perhaps.

Snowy Safford

2009-01-05T11:21:00.000-07:00

Ry...all bundled up

I was looking through our photos and realized that I forgot to mention a spectacular event! The day after Christmas it snowed! Not just on Mount Graham, but in town....at my house! Craziness, I know!

1) Ry and Momma 2) Ry sitting near some collecting snow (it isn't salt...i promise)

We bundled Ryenn up, and took her to the back yard for her first snow adventure. She had so much fun. While we were playing the snow wasn't sticking to the ground yet. (the pictures are lame...in that you can't really see the snow falling)

John and Ry picking a grapefruit

It is really crazy because we have a very successful grapefruit tree in our backyard. It shouldn't grow in a climate where it is cold enough to snow. When we decided to bring Ry in because of the cold she was so angry that she had a fit in the middle of the kitchen. (my daughter is a brat...seriously)

Ry in the middle of a fit!!

The Holidays

2009-01-04T07:13:00.001-07:00

Yes, I am aware that you have been waiting to see just how exciting the holidays were here at the Nunley home, and I have been ignoring my duties to you. Here I am to amaze you!!

1) Ry watching dad start the fire 2) Santa Cy and Ry saying "Merry X-Mas to eachother 3) Ry opening a gift

Christmas for me is not just Christmas, a day for opening presents and being with family, but also my mother's birthday. I realize that with having so many siblings she was regularly swiped of a birthday celebration. So Christmas morning I made cinnamon rolls, cookies, coffee, and hot cocoa. We opened gifts, made a mess, and enjoyed time with my family. This was Cyrus' very first Christmas and I hope he enjoyed it. (as much as a 9 month old can) We visited at my Grandmother for about an hour soon after.

1) the litte white speck is Ry trying to sneak a present 2) Santa Cy 3) Pancho

After semi-cleaning the living room, we went to John's parents and opened gifts and had lunch. It was a nice visit. The kids were less excited with gifts of mine because I only buy them toys for their birthdays. I am always the practical aunt that purchases the gift of clothing. Ryenn got the messiest toy from Ron and Brigette. The color wonder horrible marker set. (funny stories and pictures to come...i am sure)

1) Sunny and Gaspar helping Cy with his gifts 2) John and his new t-shirt

I lovingly prepared enchiladas, rice, and beans for a birthday dinner for my mom. The food was great. I tried to make her a cake as well, but I am not a baker by any means. It was disastrous.
How can you ruin a cake from a box do you ask. (if you are me it is not that difficult) First, I didn't wait the appropriate length of time to try removing the cake from the pans. It fell apart! Grrr. Then, I re-assembled the cake only to find that my cake dome was not large enough to fit the cake. It smashed one whole side. I was very frustrated, but was able to let some of it go when i tasted my masterpiece. (delicious)

Grandma Ida reading to Ry

New Year's was a bit of a different story. We enlisted the aid of Grandma Lisa and went off to spend an evening with adults (and their children) at John's boss' home. We played board games with Ron and Brigette, Kale and Julie, and Josh and Dusty. We had a blast. I hope that your holidays were filled with many blessings, and wonderful memories with your loved ones.

Christmas Eve

2008-12-24T18:50:00.000-07:00

1) Pancho, Ry, (her x-mas present tigger), and Grandpa Frank 2) Cy and Grandpa 3) Cy "opening" his first ever x-mas gift!!

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope that you are all having a safe and happy holiday season thus far. We were lucky enough to get to spend some time with my father, his wife and step-son today. They only visited for a little while as they were on their way out of town. I only got a few pictures, but I will share them with you. (i almost didn't think to take out the camera until they were almost ready to leave)

1) Pancho, Me, Ry, Tigger, and Grandpa 2) Bubba, Ry, Cy, and Grandpa

Some late complaining (if you have yet to see the Twilight film, and want to....I would suggest turning back)

2008-12-23T03:21:00.000-07:00

This complaining is late...in more ways than one! First of all, yes, I am up at frickin' 3:30am. I don't know why, and I have no way to explain it. I really do wish I was asleep. It is also late in that I watched the Twilight movie just a few days after it first came out. I figure now is a good a time as any to complain.

I didn't really have any expectations for the movie at all since I really disliked the books. (not part of the bandwagon..on either team jacob or edward) I went with my mom (whom had read the books and loved them), Brigette, and her mother (both of whom had yet to read the books). Brigette was basing her decision on whether or not she enjoyed the film...I told her not to hold her breath.

So we get to the theatre, the lights go dim, the collective breath is held. I have got to say that the actress that played the role of Bella was Awful! (yes that deserved a capital A) It was physically painful to watch her do everything....from walking to any facial expression. It really seemed as though she was reading her script aloud for the first time. With the first glimpse of the "preternatural vampires" all I could think was that they looked like someone slapped clown's make-up on them. I couldn't even suppress hearty laughter! My mom all but smacked me. (*I have to take a time out for a crying baby*)

Okay, I have returned, and at the more reasonable hour of 11:00! YEA! On with the rant. For those of you who were not lame enough to read the books, Edward belongs to the Cullen Family. They are a coven of vampires that do not stalk human as their food source. They drink the blood of animals and such. Jasper, the newest addition of that family, is supposed to be struggling with restraint. He is trying not to attack an kill every single student he is enrolled with. In the film his character just looks like he is struggling with the inability to control his bowls. (not a pretty picture, but honest truth)

These vampires are also extremely fast. The special affects to display this quality....blurry, fast moving appendages. Seriously. This was way to cartoon like for my taste. They are also supposed to have prismatic skin while in direct sunlight. Could that effect have looked any more like little girls pretend make-up? Shiny Barbie glitter rubbed on Edward.

I honestly don't know how many times that I laughed during the film. I even think that at one point I was falling asleep. Afterward my mom told me that she was embarrassed to be sitting next to me. Oh well. If I do attend the second movie in the Twilight series, it will be out of my deep love for my mother.

2008-12-22T09:06:00.001-07:00

This is courtesy Autumn...again. She rocks!

my first baby

1. Were you married at the time? For almost three years.
2. What were your reactions when you found out you were pregnant? I was so happy, but shocked. It was supposed to take some time....oh well!

3. How old were you? 22
4. How did you find out you were pregnant? I was sick for about a week, but didn't think that I could be pregnant yet....haha!
5. Who did you tell first? John was with me....so after that I called my mom, and the rest of my family. Meanwhile John called his family.

6. Did you want to find out the sex? Yes, it is easier to shop when you know. I was itching to start!
7. Due date? September 17, 2007
8. Did you deliver early or late? I was induced 5 days early.
9. Did you have morning sickness? Every day without fail.
10. What did you crave? Chicken Tacos and milk.
11. What irritated you the most? I was still working, so I would have to say being large and doing four 10's for a perfectionist of a surgeon.

12. What was your first child's sex? Girl
13. How many pounds did you gain throughout the pregnancy? 22 lbs.
14. Did you have any complications during your pregnancy? I developed pre-ecclampsia.
15. Where did you give birth? TMC

16. How many hours were you in labor? I arrived at 10:30-ish, but they didn't start the meds. to induce labor until 2:30. Then @ 6:00 they moved me to a L&D Room, and amp'd up the drugs. She came at 11:22. (roughly 9 hours later)

17. Who drove you to the hospital: John

18. Who watched? John and my mom. (and of course the necessary people) My dad and older brother were outside waiting.
19. Vaginal or c-section? Vaginal
20. Did you take medicine to ease the pain? Who wouldn't. I got the Epidural, and was able to sleep through contractions!
21. How much did your child weigh? 5 lbs 1 oz

22. What did you name him/her? Ryenn Justine
23. How old is your first born today? 15 months
24. Who did you name him/her after?It was a name I always wanted for my daughter. Luckily John liked it too.

25. How many more children do you want to have? 2 depending. If my second pregnancy is as complicated as Ry's was....we may adopt our 3rd. child.

Weekend in the city

2008-12-15T08:54:00.000-07:00

1) Ry and John with the Lion 2) Ry handing daddy rocks!

Ry is now officially 15 months old. I can't believe that we have made it this far. I seriously remember being anxious for her to start crawling, then wishing she could walk, then wishing that she would just sit still a minute! Ahhh, time really does fly. Anyhow, we had a well-baby check this weekend. Ry still sees the pediatrician in Tucson. We spent a great weekend visiting with my dad and John's friends. (he still mourns the loss of his friends due to childhood...yeah...he should grow up ;)

1) Me and Ry with the turtle (looks real huh) 2) Ry, Daddy, and the monkeys

My dad lives in Rancho Sahuarita. A huge, shinny subdivision near Tucson. This place is crazy! It has its own water park, multiple play areas, and a really neat place called Safari Trail. It has huge bronze animals from Africa, and a few desert creatures as well. We thought Ry would have a good time checking out the animals, but she would much rather play with the fancy gravel and grass. (oh well) While playing at the park she loved the slide, but she hated the swings.

1) Daddy, Ry, and the elephant 2) A tight fit! 3) Ry on grandpa's Harley

Her appointment went well. She is in good health, and is always very well behaved for the doctor. The nurse administering the shots did a great job! Ryenn didn't even cry, or react, to the first shot. The second and third shot was a different story! She cried hysterically. (which is what we have come to expect.)

1) Momma, Ry, and the gorilla 2) The slide!!!

We also went to the 4th Ave. "Street Fair." It was the first time I had even been. It was awesome. There were vendors selling different things. Plenty of artists, good food, and novelty items. We purchased an awesome mosaic tile turtle, a small guitar for Ry, and a purse/bag hand-made in Nepal. It is gorgeous. I will have to get a picture of it.

Christmas Questions

2008-12-11T10:19:00.000-07:00

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Mostly wrapping paper. I am a fanatic!

2. Real tree or artificial? artificial. I hate having to take care of the tree.

3. When do you put up the tree? The day after Thanksgiving.

4. When do you take the tree down? The day after New Year's (apparently).

5. Do you like eggnog? I don't think so...It has been a while since I have tried it.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? P.J. Sparkles

7. Hardest person to buy for? My brother Pancho

8. Easiest person to buy for? My mom.

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Nope

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Neither....maybe I'll have to change that....next year

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Um...The mani-pedi idea that never came to be!

12. Favorite Christmas movie? How the Grinch Stole Christmas

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? I don't really have a set time....when the opportunity presents itself.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I don't think so?!

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? How about....food? I am a big fan of food.

16. Lights on the tree? What isn't on my tree??

17. Favorite Christmas song? Um...the one on the movie Elf....where Jovie is singing in the shower.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home...our first year ever!

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Don't think so

20. Angel on the tree top or star? star

21. Open presents Christmas Eve or morning? morning

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? shopping in the store for regular things....but everyone else in the world is there for their Christmas things.

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? Ours is currently silver and blue. (according to some trusted friends the blue is hard to see at night. we may need to change our theme next year)

24. Favorite Christmas dinner? Once again.....food!

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? I'm always game for pajamas and toe socks. (don't care how juvenile that is)

A Picture of our lovely tree, it looks better at night. Trust me!

Family portraits and reunions

2008-12-10T09:43:00.000-07:00

Recently we had our family portraits taken. I am happy to report that we have finally received our order. I am so happy with the way they turned out. (not happy about the cost of nine photos...grr) I will post them, but keep in mind that I don't have a scanner, and my current camera does not have the "take picture of picture" setting. Needless to say they will look slightly crappy!

(yes i said there were nine, but my camera isn't up to the awesomeness)

I also have two other family related topics. My sweet little brother-in-law has been on his mission in Argentina for almost two years now. We were so pleased to learn that he has received his flight arrangements to come home. He will be back in the states on April 8th, 2009 at 8:00am! In the time that he has been gone he has missed the birth of two nieces and one nephew, the death of two uncles and two grandparents. (the count maybe up to three grandparents by the time he actually gets here) I hope he will be mostly unchanged. I miss the innocent, boyish, gamer that left us. So the count down to Travis' return begins. 119 days until he is back!

Travis and Conner at Travis' high school graduation

Also, Avery found her way home! She came at 4:00 am, and I could hear her whining outside of our bedroom window. She was filthy, as it was raining, and covered from head to toe with mud and stickers. I gave her a bath, and she is enjoying her time as an inside dog. (for now and only in certain rooms of the house) Still, no sign of Ashe, but I will keep looking. (too bad she is the dumb one!)