Our little man is 9 months old!
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Tyler's First Haircut
Tyler received his first haircut today! Our good friend Kara is well known for her haircuts. All the boys in the neighborhood get in a line, and Kara cuts their hair on her porch. Since today was such a beautiful day, all the boys lined up to get their monthly haircut. It just so happened that Tyler was in bad need of a haircut, and we couldn't resist. Before we knew it, Tyler was in line for his first haircut.
Here's a picture of Tyler before his haircut...
We weren't sure how Tyler would handle this new experience, especially since he's never even been around a set of clippers. To our suprise, Tyler never moved a muscle. I think he loved all the attention he was getting while he was in the chair and honestly I think he thought he was pretty cool!
In the end, our little man received his first buzz!
Tyler looks pretty dang cute!
Thanks Kara – you did a great job!
Here's a picture of Tyler before his haircut...
We weren't sure how Tyler would handle this new experience, especially since he's never even been around a set of clippers. To our suprise, Tyler never moved a muscle. I think he loved all the attention he was getting while he was in the chair and honestly I think he thought he was pretty cool!
In the end, our little man received his first buzz!
Tyler looks pretty dang cute!
Thanks Kara – you did a great job!
Thursday, November 6, 2008
8 Months Old
Our little Tyler is 8 months old today! It's hard to believe he's growing up so fast.
Tyler has six teeth (four on the top and two on the bottom). Russ says Tyler's teeth look like Michael Strahan's (notice the gap).
He loves to eat anything and everything.
Our little man is pretty mobile these days. He can roll around with the best...we call him our "little steam roller"! Aside from rolling, he has also learned how to crawl...well it's his creative crawl! Tyler can grab the carpet and pull himself forward. Maybe it's his take on an army crawl! The funny part is, he gets his face involved when he moves forward. Hopefully he doesn't get a carpet burn! As of late, Tyler has also learned how to crawl backwards. He is so tricky!
Tyler is the sweetest little guy around. He is such a joy to have in our home, and he makes parenthood worth it. Tyler brings so much joy and excitement into our lives. Everyday Tyler has a something new to show us, and we love it! Happy 8 Months Tyler...we love you!
Tyler has six teeth (four on the top and two on the bottom). Russ says Tyler's teeth look like Michael Strahan's (notice the gap).
He loves to eat anything and everything.
Our little man is pretty mobile these days. He can roll around with the best...we call him our "little steam roller"! Aside from rolling, he has also learned how to crawl...well it's his creative crawl! Tyler can grab the carpet and pull himself forward. Maybe it's his take on an army crawl! The funny part is, he gets his face involved when he moves forward. Hopefully he doesn't get a carpet burn! As of late, Tyler has also learned how to crawl backwards. He is so tricky!
Tyler is the sweetest little guy around. He is such a joy to have in our home, and he makes parenthood worth it. Tyler brings so much joy and excitement into our lives. Everyday Tyler has a something new to show us, and we love it! Happy 8 Months Tyler...we love you!
Monday, November 3, 2008
Happy Halloween!
This year was Tyler's first Halloween. It was a full day of food, family, friends, and fun!
Tyler's first experience with carving pumpkins was a hoot. Let's just say he loved every minute of it! After posing with the pumpkins that were about to be carved, Tyler was ready for the next big event.
He didn't hesitate with getting the "guts" out from the pumpkins. He dove right in and started to go to work!
Like we've mentioned before, Tyler loves to put everything in his mouth. I guess there's no exception with pumpkin guts. He thought they were pretty tasty!!
Here's a picture of the final product...Tyler and Reno sitting next to their pumpkins out on the front porch.
Tyler was able to go into work with me on Halloween; it was such a treat to have him there! Every year, the Forest Service has a Halloween luncheon and trick-or-treats for all the employees and their families. We invited Penni, Tucker and Dalli to attend the festivities, and boy did we have a lot of fun. The kids were able to trick-or-treat around the office, watch Hocus Pocus, eat good food, and make new friends with all the ghosts and goblins. Tyler was also able to see a few of his grown-up friends!
Tyler was a cute little mouse this year for Halloween. He loved to wear his costume as long as we were outside...it was a little too warm to wear inside. Take look at our cute little mouse...
To complete Tyler's costume, we included Reno. You guessed it; Reno was a piece of cheese!
After the Halloween party at the Forest Service, our little family when to Millard County to visit all the grandparents. After our visits, we went to the Holden Ward Halloween Party. This was a special treat for me because this is how I celebrated Halloween as a child. It was great to see the tradition is still alive! We were able to see a bunch of our hometown friends and yes we even won a plate of homemade candy! At the end of the day, the Ivie's could say "We had a great Halloween".
Tyler's first experience with carving pumpkins was a hoot. Let's just say he loved every minute of it! After posing with the pumpkins that were about to be carved, Tyler was ready for the next big event.
He didn't hesitate with getting the "guts" out from the pumpkins. He dove right in and started to go to work!
Like we've mentioned before, Tyler loves to put everything in his mouth. I guess there's no exception with pumpkin guts. He thought they were pretty tasty!!
Here's a picture of the final product...Tyler and Reno sitting next to their pumpkins out on the front porch.
Tyler was able to go into work with me on Halloween; it was such a treat to have him there! Every year, the Forest Service has a Halloween luncheon and trick-or-treats for all the employees and their families. We invited Penni, Tucker and Dalli to attend the festivities, and boy did we have a lot of fun. The kids were able to trick-or-treat around the office, watch Hocus Pocus, eat good food, and make new friends with all the ghosts and goblins. Tyler was also able to see a few of his grown-up friends!
Tyler was a cute little mouse this year for Halloween. He loved to wear his costume as long as we were outside...it was a little too warm to wear inside. Take look at our cute little mouse...
To complete Tyler's costume, we included Reno. You guessed it; Reno was a piece of cheese!
After the Halloween party at the Forest Service, our little family when to Millard County to visit all the grandparents. After our visits, we went to the Holden Ward Halloween Party. This was a special treat for me because this is how I celebrated Halloween as a child. It was great to see the tradition is still alive! We were able to see a bunch of our hometown friends and yes we even won a plate of homemade candy! At the end of the day, the Ivie's could say "We had a great Halloween".
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Pumpkin Patch
Last week we made our first trip to the local pumpkin patch as a family. We’re a little embarrassed it took us so long to get there, but we finally made it and boy did we have fun. While we were there, Tyler experienced a lot of “first time adventures”. To begin, we took a tractor pulled hay ride out to the pumpkin patch. We’re pretty sure this was Tyler’s favorite!
While we were on the hay ride, Tyler decided to snack on a handful of straw (Tyler is at the stage where everything has to go in his mouth).
Once we were in the middle of the field,we were able to walk around and pick out the pumpkins of our choice. We quickly realized the pumpkin patch had been hit pretty hard with cold weather and lots and lots of people, but this didn’t stop us at all. After a little searching, we found the perfect pumpkins.
We had such a good time while we were at the pumpkin patch…this will definitely be a tradition in our family!
While we were on the hay ride, Tyler decided to snack on a handful of straw (Tyler is at the stage where everything has to go in his mouth).
Once we were in the middle of the field,we were able to walk around and pick out the pumpkins of our choice. We quickly realized the pumpkin patch had been hit pretty hard with cold weather and lots and lots of people, but this didn’t stop us at all. After a little searching, we found the perfect pumpkins.
We had such a good time while we were at the pumpkin patch…this will definitely be a tradition in our family!
Monday, October 27, 2008
Buck Hunt 2008
The deer hunt has always been and still is a special time of year for me. For me it is a time of tradition and an opportunity to enjoy our public lands. I enjoy the opportunity to harvest an animal, but that is just a small piece of the overall experience.
This season I had several goals. The first, enjoy a hunt with my favorite hunting partner, my wife Jill. Second, enjoy the season with family. Third, harvest an animal and have a picture take with my boy and the buck.
All of my goals were met. Jill was a trooper; she made it to the area after an arduous two hour hike. We spent a lot of time with our family. I was able to harvest a nice young buck and had a picture taken with my boy.
The buck that I chose to harvest was a nice young buck. I was able to make a single off hand shot at 167 yards that cleanly anchored my harvest. My independent attitude forced me to refuse any assistance in the field dressing or the pack out. I was able to pack the entire animal out in a single trip. The challenge and work involved adds to the experience, gives me an appreciation for the animal, and makes the memories more fond.
This season I had several goals. The first, enjoy a hunt with my favorite hunting partner, my wife Jill. Second, enjoy the season with family. Third, harvest an animal and have a picture take with my boy and the buck.
All of my goals were met. Jill was a trooper; she made it to the area after an arduous two hour hike. We spent a lot of time with our family. I was able to harvest a nice young buck and had a picture taken with my boy.
The buck that I chose to harvest was a nice young buck. I was able to make a single off hand shot at 167 yards that cleanly anchored my harvest. My independent attitude forced me to refuse any assistance in the field dressing or the pack out. I was able to pack the entire animal out in a single trip. The challenge and work involved adds to the experience, gives me an appreciation for the animal, and makes the memories more fond.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Thursday, October 2, 2008
He Ain’t No Cow Dog
Reno spends a lot of his time riding in the truck and on the four-wheeler through the mountains and valleys of central Utah. Ever since his youth he has had a fascination with cattle. At first sight of a critter of the bovine genus he stiffens up, gets a mohawk, and becomes aggressive. Jill and I have discouraged this sort of behavior. As a result of the yearly and expensive trips to the veterinarian to mend Reno’s self inflicted wounds we have not encouraged Reno pursue his dream of becoming a cow dog.
As temperatures become cool, leaves begin to change, and hunters make their way up the mountains strings of cattle make their way for the valley to winter. Some of these cattle rest and wait to be sorted and claimed at the Saw Dust Pits west of our home. This location is the same area that Reno and I go for a nightly run.
Reno rides on the four-wheeler until we reach the Saw Dust Pits and then he jumps off and runs behind for nearly a mile and a half. Reno has run hundreds of miles on these roads. He has run them so much that he has figured out shortcuts that take him cross country. This night his decision to take the shortcut answered me many questions of the character and demeanor of ol’ Reno.
I looked over my shoulder and no Reno. I was not alarmed because Reno often detoured this portion of the course. I proceeded to the dike on the east side of the Saw Dust Pits and found Reno running at full throttle cross country to try and meet up with me on the four-wheeler. As I proceeded southbound and Reno eastbound I noticed not one, but three bovine standing in a small depression adjacent to a culvert chewing their cud. I froze! It wasn’t clear to me exactly what was going to take place. As the guardian of this dog should I wave my arms into the air, whistle, and chase the herd off and pick Reno up like a hard ground ball up the third base line? Should I just stand back and let Reno fulfill his dream of becoming a cow dog? Because of the lack of trust that I have for bovine I chose the latter.
As Reno topped the depression his eyes locked on the small herd. His four legs locked up like the disc brakes on a new Ford pick up. The hair of his back stood up and formed the familiar mohawk, his back arched like that of a Halloween cat, and his tail stiffened and pointed forward. He stood in this position for sometime like that of a pointer over a covey of quail. What was to Reno going to do next? Was he just sizing up the herd deciding which way to push them? Was he waiting for my command to let the ol’ girls have a piece of Reno?
He began to pace while remaining in this awkward position. He growled a bit just to remind the bovine ladies of his position on the food chain. Then it happened… One of the ladies took a casual step toward him. He let out a sound that I am unable to describe. He then fell out of the awkward cat like position, switched his tail position to folded tightly beneath his torso, and sprinted to the north at a speed that resulted in a rooster tail of dust. After nearly 25 yards he looked over his shoulder to make sure of my health and location. He noticed that I had not moved. He stopped, caught his breath, then very cautiously, giving the bovine an extremely wide birth made his way back to me on the four-wheeler. He ran the rest of the route, but stayed on the east side (left side) of the four-wheeler. This kept the four-wheeler and I between he and the bovine. He ran so close to the tires of the four-wheeler that I was nervous that he may become pulled beneath and suffer injury. As our run concluded I picked him up, sat him on the four-wheeler for the ride home, and told him that he ain’t no cow dog. He didn’t argue.
As temperatures become cool, leaves begin to change, and hunters make their way up the mountains strings of cattle make their way for the valley to winter. Some of these cattle rest and wait to be sorted and claimed at the Saw Dust Pits west of our home. This location is the same area that Reno and I go for a nightly run.
Reno rides on the four-wheeler until we reach the Saw Dust Pits and then he jumps off and runs behind for nearly a mile and a half. Reno has run hundreds of miles on these roads. He has run them so much that he has figured out shortcuts that take him cross country. This night his decision to take the shortcut answered me many questions of the character and demeanor of ol’ Reno.
I looked over my shoulder and no Reno. I was not alarmed because Reno often detoured this portion of the course. I proceeded to the dike on the east side of the Saw Dust Pits and found Reno running at full throttle cross country to try and meet up with me on the four-wheeler. As I proceeded southbound and Reno eastbound I noticed not one, but three bovine standing in a small depression adjacent to a culvert chewing their cud. I froze! It wasn’t clear to me exactly what was going to take place. As the guardian of this dog should I wave my arms into the air, whistle, and chase the herd off and pick Reno up like a hard ground ball up the third base line? Should I just stand back and let Reno fulfill his dream of becoming a cow dog? Because of the lack of trust that I have for bovine I chose the latter.
As Reno topped the depression his eyes locked on the small herd. His four legs locked up like the disc brakes on a new Ford pick up. The hair of his back stood up and formed the familiar mohawk, his back arched like that of a Halloween cat, and his tail stiffened and pointed forward. He stood in this position for sometime like that of a pointer over a covey of quail. What was to Reno going to do next? Was he just sizing up the herd deciding which way to push them? Was he waiting for my command to let the ol’ girls have a piece of Reno?
He began to pace while remaining in this awkward position. He growled a bit just to remind the bovine ladies of his position on the food chain. Then it happened… One of the ladies took a casual step toward him. He let out a sound that I am unable to describe. He then fell out of the awkward cat like position, switched his tail position to folded tightly beneath his torso, and sprinted to the north at a speed that resulted in a rooster tail of dust. After nearly 25 yards he looked over his shoulder to make sure of my health and location. He noticed that I had not moved. He stopped, caught his breath, then very cautiously, giving the bovine an extremely wide birth made his way back to me on the four-wheeler. He ran the rest of the route, but stayed on the east side (left side) of the four-wheeler. This kept the four-wheeler and I between he and the bovine. He ran so close to the tires of the four-wheeler that I was nervous that he may become pulled beneath and suffer injury. As our run concluded I picked him up, sat him on the four-wheeler for the ride home, and told him that he ain’t no cow dog. He didn’t argue.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
A weekend full of Grandma's and Grandpa's
This past weekend, Tyler and I went over to Millard County to participate in the Harvest 5K. Thank you Roper family for putting together such a wonderful event. After the 5K we spent the rest of the day visiting our wonderful grandparent’s. Here are some pictures of Tyler with all his grandparents and great grandparents. We sure do love each and every one of you!
Tyler and Great Grandma Wade
Great Grandma Wade brought out this great big beach ball for Tyler to play with. Tyler made every attempt to put the ball in his mouth but just couldn’t make it happen. That’s okay; he had a great time playing with it anyway!
Here’s Tyler with Great Grandma Larsen. Notice the homemade bread in the background…yummy! Thanks for sharing grandma.
Tyler was so excited to greet his Great Grandpa Larsen as he came home from his mountain trip.
Here’s Tyler with Grandma and Grandpa Larsen right after their overnight mountain trip. Someday, Tyler will be up there helping you with the cows!
We missed Grandma Ivie on Saturday so we asked her to come over and spend the day with Tyler on Monday (since Miss Cinda couldn’t watch him that day). Thank you Grandma Ivie!
Tyler and Great Grandma Wade
Great Grandma Wade brought out this great big beach ball for Tyler to play with. Tyler made every attempt to put the ball in his mouth but just couldn’t make it happen. That’s okay; he had a great time playing with it anyway!
Here’s Tyler with Great Grandma Larsen. Notice the homemade bread in the background…yummy! Thanks for sharing grandma.
Tyler was so excited to greet his Great Grandpa Larsen as he came home from his mountain trip.
Here’s Tyler with Grandma and Grandpa Larsen right after their overnight mountain trip. Someday, Tyler will be up there helping you with the cows!
We missed Grandma Ivie on Saturday so we asked her to come over and spend the day with Tyler on Monday (since Miss Cinda couldn’t watch him that day). Thank you Grandma Ivie!
I have the best husband in the world
Well, it’s that time of year again when 90% of what goes through Russ’ mind is the Muzzleloader Buck Hunt. Usually I’ve been of some help in getting him ready for his big hunting adventure, but this year was a little bit different. Let’s just say my plate was extremely full with being a fulltime Mom, a BLM employee, and a Mormon! I pretty much did nothing to help him prepare for his hunt. Sorry babe –maybe I’ll be of more help next year! I can’t say Russ was completely abandoned while he prepared for the hunt; he did get some good help from his two “little men” while he was packing his pack.
The day before opening day came quickly, and aside from my exhaustion I wished Russ the best of luck and sent him on his way. After dropping Tyler off at daycare, I hit the ground running trying to complete several projects at work. Later that morning I received a phone call at my work desk. I was asked to pick up a package in the front lobby of the BLM. I was curious to know what the package was since I hadn’t ordered anything. Once I arrived in the lobby, there sat the most beautiful bouquet of red roses and a perfectly wrapped gift with my name on it. I couldn’t believe my eyes…nobody ever sends me flowers (with the exception of when I completed my classes from USU…thanks Mom and Dad). I quickly opened the card on the bouquet to see who they were from. Tears immediately fell from my eyes when I read the card and realized it was signed by Russ. I can’t even begin to explain the feeling I had as I walked back to my desk holding the beautiful bouquet of flowers and a darling “Willow Creek” figurine…let’s just say I was grinning from ear to ear! Thank you Russ for all you do for me – I appreciate every little and BIG thing you do for me. I love you great “Big & Tall”.
The day before opening day came quickly, and aside from my exhaustion I wished Russ the best of luck and sent him on his way. After dropping Tyler off at daycare, I hit the ground running trying to complete several projects at work. Later that morning I received a phone call at my work desk. I was asked to pick up a package in the front lobby of the BLM. I was curious to know what the package was since I hadn’t ordered anything. Once I arrived in the lobby, there sat the most beautiful bouquet of red roses and a perfectly wrapped gift with my name on it. I couldn’t believe my eyes…nobody ever sends me flowers (with the exception of when I completed my classes from USU…thanks Mom and Dad). I quickly opened the card on the bouquet to see who they were from. Tears immediately fell from my eyes when I read the card and realized it was signed by Russ. I can’t even begin to explain the feeling I had as I walked back to my desk holding the beautiful bouquet of flowers and a darling “Willow Creek” figurine…let’s just say I was grinning from ear to ear! Thank you Russ for all you do for me – I appreciate every little and BIG thing you do for me. I love you great “Big & Tall”.
Canning 2008
I absolutely love this time of the year! There’s something about eating and preserving fresh fruits and vegetables out of the garden and orchards. With that said, I have to mention how grateful I am for my very talented Mom and my two special Grandmas’. These wonderful ladies taught me the art of canning from a very young age, and I’ve enjoyed it ever since. Thank you so much for instilling this talent into my life. It is a great feeling to know that I CAN stock my shelves with home grown bottled fruits and vegetables. I am so grateful for all the many things I’ve been taught throughout my life. It’s truly paying off now that I have a family of my own!
Here are just a few of the vegetables we picked from our little garden this year.
This year was our first attempt at bottling pickles. We successfully bottled dill and sweet pickles, since we love to eat them both. Take a look at our tasty pickles – they turned out so good!
I have the best Mom in the whole world. She offered to come spend the night and help me out with bottling my salsa, peaches, and pie filling. I am so grateful for my Mom. She is always willing to help me out when I need it; and yes I needed the help this year. I could not have done it without her! I look back and see what all we accomplished in such a short period of time, and its amazeing what two additional hands can do to accomplish such a big canning project. Although we were up late cold packing the bottles, we had a lot of fun. It was also a great opportunity to spend some quality time with my Mom. Thanks Mom for all you do for me and my little family. I love you so much!
It just so happened that Penni was home alone with her two little ones the same night my Mom and I were canning. So Tucker, Dalli, and Penni also came over to the house to join in the festivities. All in all we had a great time, and yes the three little ones did great!
Here’s a picture of Tucker sharing his tractors with Tyler. Thank you Tucker for being such a great cousin to Tyler!
In the end, this is what we accomplished. There’s not an empty bottle left in the Ivie house!
Here are just a few of the vegetables we picked from our little garden this year.
This year was our first attempt at bottling pickles. We successfully bottled dill and sweet pickles, since we love to eat them both. Take a look at our tasty pickles – they turned out so good!
I have the best Mom in the whole world. She offered to come spend the night and help me out with bottling my salsa, peaches, and pie filling. I am so grateful for my Mom. She is always willing to help me out when I need it; and yes I needed the help this year. I could not have done it without her! I look back and see what all we accomplished in such a short period of time, and its amazeing what two additional hands can do to accomplish such a big canning project. Although we were up late cold packing the bottles, we had a lot of fun. It was also a great opportunity to spend some quality time with my Mom. Thanks Mom for all you do for me and my little family. I love you so much!
It just so happened that Penni was home alone with her two little ones the same night my Mom and I were canning. So Tucker, Dalli, and Penni also came over to the house to join in the festivities. All in all we had a great time, and yes the three little ones did great!
Here’s a picture of Tucker sharing his tractors with Tyler. Thank you Tucker for being such a great cousin to Tyler!
In the end, this is what we accomplished. There’s not an empty bottle left in the Ivie house!
Saturday, September 13, 2008
6 Months Old
A lot of changes took place at the Ivie house this past week. Tyler turned 6 months old on Saturday, he received his first two teeth on Sunday, and we started the "weaning" process on Monday (Tyler started daycare). It seemed as though everything was coming all at once! You can imagine how hard the whole daycare thing was for us, especially since Tyler has been able to be at work with us for the past six months. Russ and I searched high and low to find the best daycare provider for Tyler – we wouldn’t settle for anything less. Believe it or not, we found the perfect lady in all of Sevier Valley to watch our "little man". Her name is Cinda, and she is awesome! Monday morning came quick and we tried to be as prepared as possible. It was hard to leave our “little man” behind, and an eight hour work day never seemed so long. To be honest, we all had a few rough days adjusting to our new routine, but we managed to make it through the entire week. Let's just say, our weekends have a whole new meaning now. We love being together as a family! Thank you Miss Cinda for all that you do – we appreciate you so much.
On the 5th of September, Tyler and I made our first trip to Provo. Our mission was to have his 6 month pictures taken and pick up a few odds and ends. I expected this day to be a complete nightmare for both of us! Surprisingly, Tyler was a complete angel until the ride home! Let’s just say Tyler let me know he’d had enough just as we passed Nephi. He exercised his vocals all the way to Richfield. We’ve never been so glad to be home! Below are a few of our favorite pictures of our little 6 month old. Considering the long day of shopping prior to these pictures, we think they turned out pretty cute. Thank you Aunt Casey and Cousin Kael for spending the day with us...we couldn't have done it without you!
On the 5th of September, Tyler and I made our first trip to Provo. Our mission was to have his 6 month pictures taken and pick up a few odds and ends. I expected this day to be a complete nightmare for both of us! Surprisingly, Tyler was a complete angel until the ride home! Let’s just say Tyler let me know he’d had enough just as we passed Nephi. He exercised his vocals all the way to Richfield. We’ve never been so glad to be home! Below are a few of our favorite pictures of our little 6 month old. Considering the long day of shopping prior to these pictures, we think they turned out pretty cute. Thank you Aunt Casey and Cousin Kael for spending the day with us...we couldn't have done it without you!
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