Family Reunion 09

This is a photo taken right outside Yellowstone. We drove up to Island Park for the Yates reunion and had an amazing time. The cabin was beautiful and the grandkids ran around outside 24/7. Cathy planned a duathalon that began with a lake swim and was followed by a run. I never realized my swimming lacked such skill until I resembled a drowned rat. Swimming never seemed so difficult until I regained memories of my childhood. I was always the old kid in beginning swim class, practically doubling their size. Diving was definitely my weak point; I have yet to gain that talent. Furthermore, I lost by a long shot as my dad ran along side the lake to ensure my safe trip to shore. Note to self, join Teryk's swim class next year.

Time Flies in Summer. Swift has a new tooth and is crawling!

I tried to take a picture of Swift's new tooth but she wouldn't have anything to do with that kind of torture. I have been thinking a tooth was coming for months now and finally one popped through, making 9 months the mile marker for grin building. She also began crawling last month with the worm and it is hilarious to watch! She can now do the regular crawl but adds a worm motion periodically. My little girl is growing up and I love watching her personality transform.

We finally took a family picture, even if it is on a dirt pile! Teryk chose the location and I am quite satisfied, although Swift's face was in the sun and she looked pretty angry. To the left of the photo would be our lovely 5th wheel and its splendid amenities. Teryk and Swift share a room while Trent and I have our own space as well. If anyone were to live in a trailer, a toy hauler is the way to go. Simply throw a carpet remnent down and you have a two bedroom apartment :).

This is a family photo in front of the shop but Teryk had to blink right when the picture was taken. Papa was working so hard to get Swifty to smile and did a great job. She fell asleep the second I put her in bed after this was taken. Normally she stands excitedly in her crib, a newly acquired talent. She pulls herself up and gets angry when her legs are tired. I am glad she enjoys standing but bedtime takes a while longer now. Teryk uses her as an excuse not to go to bed and talks to her the entire time. They love each other and that is all that matters.

The next pictures are in Grand Junction for Trent's Grandpa's 80th birthday. We played at the park all day and endured the scorching weather. The barbeque was great and there was enough cake leftover for two birthday parties, mmmmm. Aram was so cute crawling through the tunnel and Swift enjoyed starring at everyone else playing. Teryk and Jasper played frisbee and rode their bikes all day. The weekend was quick but everything went well with no one losing their lunch on the drive through Ouray.

Swift's tongue moves in the funniest ways. She can immitate me when I roll my tongue and frequently licks people. She also makes aa amusing kissing noise!

Teryk looks so happy crawling through the tunnel. He keeps saying he wants his training wheels off his bike but he was too scared when we actually removed them. Someday he will ride a bike without training wheels but I am glad I don't have to worry about that quite yet.

I was looking at old pictures of Teryk with his teeth and it doesn't look like him anymore. His toothless smiles is part of his personality and makes me smiles each time. He will probably be confused when his teeth finally come in and there is actually something to bite a hotdog!

Aram looks great with his new haircut even though his hair isn't quite as red. He and Swift can play together and steal each other's toys, which is hilarious to watch. He is all boy like Teryk. Speaking of which, Teryk just pulled his pants down with his bum at me and laughed, oh boy! I need to add a little modesty to his head.

Here is Teryk and Swift at the 2009 La Plata County Fair. We had a booth to promote our insulation business and Teryk still calls it daddy's work when we drive by the fairgrounds. The weather was hot but I prefer warm weather over the freezing wind at last April's Home and Ranch Show. Business is steady and I hope to be working on taxes next spring.

Swift Photos by Brookey

Thursday we went to the park to get out and enjoy the weather. We ate lunch with Grammy, Brooke, and the kids while avoiding the sun in the shade. I enjoy being in the sun if water is involved and I can cool off afterwards. I am glad to have family nearby so Teryk can play with Jasper and Swift can have an eye pinching match with Aram. It is amazing how age doesn’t matter as much as they get older. Before we know it, Swift and Aram will be running together and Teryk will be tailing Jasper in the playground as a little kindergartener. I am excited with every stage but the older they get the more I worry about them becoming teenagers making their own decisions. I keep telling Deb my kids will have a nine o’clock curfew in the summer and seven o’clock curfew in the winter. Right now I can at least keep track of my kids and try to protect them, even though I frequently fail because Swift and Teryk can’t live in a bubble, if only that were possible :).

Black and white always makes pics look great.

I love this pic. I wish I could pull off the pigtail look like Swift!

Adorable! I don't know how Brooke captures the perfect pics of my kids but I am never disappointed.

She looks very intuitive here. My next post will have to show loads of Teryk to make up for my little Swift update. Teryk used to be great at posing for photos but lately he gets excited when I try and make Swift smile. By the time she is happy, Teryk is laughing in the other direction.

Some Summer Pics

The summer has flown by and I am already dreading the snow. Putting school supplies out at Walmart is a dirty trick to make people look forward to Christmas, since that is the best part once the snow comes. Anyway, I have had a comparatively uneventful summer but still a great one. Teryk is running around like a crazy person, as usual, and Swift is just working on getting her tummy off the ground in attempts to crawl. She is adorable and finally wearing teeny ponytails; girls always seem to lack the most hair. Teryk and Swift are currently taking baths in our cute little trailer, or should I say rather large trailer. Our home is more like a mini apartment, aside the water hookups and sewage system. The kids love it here and Teryk thinks we are on a constant trip; popsicles are apparently a necessity when vacationing.


Before summer officially started, the kids and I went to Montana to visit cousins and grandparents. We had an awesome trip and I am excited to meet the fam again in a few weeks at Yellowstone; Teryk can actually remember them well this time. Steve, my brother, is great with all the kids. Teryk still talks about him and Swift seemed to enjoy him also; popsicle sharing had nothing to do with it I am sure. Going back makes me miss Montana and my family. I think I will steal some pics my sister took seeming how all photos come from my phone.



Swift is beginning to outgrow her hat but I love it on her! We were at the park with the mini McEntires and had loads of fun. Teryk called Cru his best friend and the whole family will definitely be missed.





These two photos were taken at the bottom of Forest Lakes, bringing back some “not so old” memories. Cru, Adrey, and Teryk sat under the play set nearly the entire time because of the heat. The temperature was in the upper eighties but the sun in high altitude feels like an oven.






The Fourth of July in Silverton had ideal weather with a few rain showers. Brooke and Aric came along with Deb and Mark to celebrate independence with parades and fireworks. The parade was bigger than prior years and Teryk got a huge amount of candy and necklaces. We started at the beginning of the parade and then went to our chairs in the back of Mark’s flatbed. After the parade, Trent took Teryk to watch the water fight between Durango and Silverton while I went with Deb and Brooke to keep the other kids from getting wet. We were on the opposite side of Main Street and rushed through crowds to get past the water fight. We were apparently unsuccessful as the screaming began and crowds began to part. Before I knew it water was shooting at high speeds right on Swift. Deb and I tried to cover her with our bodies but the hoses were directly in front of us, drenching everyone in its path. A man saw Swift and helped us carry her to the alley away from the high pressure. Turns out Deb knew the guy and we were grateful for the help; the gravel made it practically impossible to plow through with a stroller and fight mass crowds. The experience was amusing and I thought I was soaked until Teryk and Trent came along looking as if under a waterfall. The fireworks were also amazing and Swift slept through them all.

Trip to Sea World

I have to say that I have been better at following my Facebook page better than my blog. I never know what to put on here to be honest. I think Brooke's idea of a journal type thing is great. If I just add little posts to my pics then I won't forget. I would like to tell about our trip to California. We stopped in Flagstaff to visit Jackee and her family. We then went off to Indio where our condo was located. It was beautiful with a pond right out our door. Two mallard ducks would come right to the french doors due to our frequent bread feedings. Teryk actually walked into the glass door asuming it was open. This was just a day after he knocked his teeth out :(. Surprisingly, this didn't faze him at all.

To get into the teeth situation, Deb and I went to a Mexican grocery store in attempts to finding an Albertsons. On our way back, Mark called us saying Teryk knocked his teeth in. We managed to be in Indio for about 12 hours before this happened. He was watching penguins on Madagascar and jumped off the couch to the coffee table. He missed his hands and nailed his mouth right on the edge. His shirt was covered in blood and we used a towel for his mouth to make it to the emergency room. I felt so bad for the little guy. We waited for a half hour before they even took our name. After all that, Trent found a Tetadontist(sp?) just a few miles away. They took him right in for X-rays. I asked the assistants if it looked bad and they said they hadn't seen anything like it. I asked with concern if they were new to the office. He said he had been there a while; just lovely. The oral surgeon came in and said they needed to extract three of his front teeth. These will come in when he is between the ages of seven and nine. We just have to wait and see if the permanent teeth were affected.

This was the only downside of the trip. It was so sad when he talked through the goss in his mouth. He seemed like a one year old again. He started feeling better and wanted to go swimming. He ran through the sprinklers with a huge grin which gave me mixed feelings. I was extatic that he was happy but sad to see his gums so swollen and bruised. He broke the bones where his front teeth were pulled. Teryk loved the lazy river. He would spin in circles with his floaties. We hung out at the condo the next day swimming.

Wednesday we went to Sea World. Teryk LOVED it. The dolphins were awsome and he liked the sharks also. The last thing we did was Shamu. He was all Teryk could talk about. We sat in the front right next to platform Shamu would slide on. We even bought a poncho to keep Swift from getting wet. The show was amazing and everything I expected. Everyone got wet around us when Shamu did the circle. Trent's shoe got a few drops but that was it! I was pretty bumbed but slightly glad we weren't drenched that late in the day. Teryk picked out a Shamu of course; Swift has a cute little turtle with big eyes.

The next day we went to Soak City in Palm Springs. The water was freezing and there were a lot of people. It was still a lot of fun and the weather was great. I miss the 85 degree weather. Teryk's mouth was looking a lot better this day and he wasn't complaining about the pain anymore. We headed back the next day and Swift was actually slept a lot of the drive. We ended went through Phoenix and met up with Jackee, Papa Gene and Grandma Connie, and Deb's friend Marla. It was fun to see them all and eat Italian. I'm glad there isn't affodable Italian in Durango because I would eat a loaf of bread everyday.

That's it for this post since I can hear Swift waking up. Hopefully it won't take me four months to write the next one!

Swifts Blessing

Teryk loves his sister; maybe a little too much sometimes. Swift looked beautiful in her blessing outfit and Teryk was so handsome in his tux.

My cute little Swift! She was born on December 2 and weighed seven pounds. She is a very sweet baby and only cries when she needs something. We are very fortunate to have her in our family. She has a cold and was pretty stuffy when she was born; hence to why she gained the nickname stuffy from her daddy.