SNOW!!!

This is what we woke up to this morning! Snow! In March! In Texas! You wouldn't believe that the high this past weekend was 76 and we are forcasted to be back in the 70's by this weekend. I actually went out with my ruler and measured 4 inches of snow. Today is absolutely beautiful and will warm up to 60 so I'm sure most of it will be gone by the time the kids get home from school. I'm a little sad that we didn't get to play in it.

Crazy Texas Weather!!!

All About 'Him'

So Becky "tagged" me. I have to admit that I'm not a huge fan of these tags. Don't get me wrong - I love to read everyone elses, I just don't know that other people care to know so much about our boring little lives. But, to be a good sport I will answer these, since I know you are all dying to know the answers to such perplexing questions!

What is his name? Ryan James
How long have you been married? 11 years! Wow time flies when you are having fun!
How long did you date? Well, I don't think we ever even defined ourselves as boyfriend/girlfriend or dating. We just hung out for 5 months - were engaged for 3 months. So that makes a total of 8 months. I was one of those Ricks girls that had a ring by spring.
How old is he? 33
Who eats more? Him, but I can definitely hold my own!
Who said, "I love you" first? He did.
Who is taller? He is 6'2 and I am 5'4. So yep, he is much taller!
Who can sing better? Ryan. He has a very nice voice. Still trying to convince him to join the ward choir. My favorite is to overhear him singing to Erin at night in hopes of getting her to sleep.
Who is smarter? Ryan. He is one of those jack of all trades. He can figure anything out!
Who does the laundry? That would be me. It is a never ending job around here. He is good about putting his things away though.
Who pays the bills? Ryan.
Who sleeps on the right side? Ryan.
Who mows the lawn? Ryan. He loves to pudder around in the yard and he takes pride in a good looking yard. He likes to do the usual "drive by" so he can show off is hard work.
Who cooks dinner? Me. It isn't gourmet but we eat!
Who does the dishes? When Ryan is home he does. Thankfully, McClellan boys do dishes. I cook you clean is the rule around here.
Who drives? Ryan - He can't stand to be a passenger! Even on our trips out to Utah he maybe allows me 3 hours behind the wheel. I think it is because he would rather I have the job of keeping the kids content.
Who is more stubborn? Me. Ryan is so laid back and easy going.
Who kissed who first? Ryan kissed me first! In the backseat of a car - I know, how romantic. He will deny this claim. We were on our way back up to Rexburg over Presidents Day weekend. Oh the memories!
Who asked who out first? Actually, my roommates set us up for our ward 'buddy dance' in Nov. I thought he was such a cutie but I also thought he was a little stuck up. I soon learned that he is just shy and quiet. We had a great night together but we were both in other relationships. After the Christmas break he came and sat next to me in sacrament mtg. one Sunday and never really left my side.
Who proposed? Ryan - on bended knee.
Who is more sensitive? ME!
Who has more siblings? Ryan. He is the oldest of 6 -3 boys/3 girls. I am the oldest of 4 girls.
Who wears the pants? Mmmm....guess it depends. He would say me so he wouldn't get in trouble :) but I tend to think that we really do work together and share the responsibilities.

As you can see Ryan does so much for me! I'm one lucky girl. Guess I should do more to help out around here! So, now that you know more than you ever wanted to about us, it is time to pass this precious opportunity on to someone else. I 'tag' Emily, Kim, Stephanie, & Heather.

The Beard

I thought I would blog "the beard" since many of you haven't yet seen the new Ryan. I have to admit that facial hair really isn't my thing but he is doing it for a good cause I suppose. He and Seth were asked to participate in a Book of Mormon Pageant for the Scout Encampment this year. Seth is Jacob and Ryan is Lemuel. They asked all men involved to stop shaving to give it a very authentic look. So this is what he has grown in the last month and the performance isn't until March 22nd!! That's a whole month away! Thankfully, he isn't too fond of it either and looks forward to the big shave. He says it itches and catches crumbs but I do think he looks kinda like a rugged handsome mountain man.

Stitches!!

You would think by the title that one of the kids got stitches - well it was actually me! I'm 30 yrs. old and had never had stitches till yesterday! Notice no pictures attached....it's not very pretty! I have 8 stitches on the side of my hand. How? Well, I was just about to make some lunch for Erin and we decided on tamales. (yes, the kind that come in the can but hey they sounded good - I have been told that this was my first mistake - never to eat tamales out of a can). We have such a terrible can opener and honestly I have been putting off getting a new one because Emily was having a Pampered Chef party and the only thing I REALLY wanted was their groovy can opener. Well in my attempt to open the can I pulled out the spoon to kinda pry it open since my can opener didn't do its job right. As I pulled - the lid flew right up and sliced the side of my hand. I could tell right away that it needed stitches and thankfully Emily was on her lunch break and ran right over to take me up to the ER where Ryan met me. After a 2 hour wait I was all taken care of. Another friend, Tresa showed up at the hospital and took me home and cleaned up the blood off the floor for me. What good friends! I will admit I have a really weak stomach and almost passed out while they were actually stitching me up but I survived. The funny part was the first thing the nurse said to me after checking me out was "You really need to get one of those Pampered Chef can openers!" How ironic! I think I was a pretty good spokesperson at the party last night for why you need their can opener. It cuts below the can edge, leaving no sharp edges - right up my alley! At least I am now current with my Tetnus shot.

Erin's First Haircut

a happy Erin with her bribes when it was all said and done

she wasn't quite sure what to think at first

Erin got her very first haircut today! She has been quite shaggy lately and will not keep any barettes or elastics in - stinker! So we at least got her bangs trimmed so we can see those beautiful blue eyes. She also took a little weight off by layering the back and it made her curls kink right up! Super Cute! She was a little nervous about the whole process but bribery seemed to work in this case. M&M's always do the trick and it helped to have an Elmo video on!

Missouri

Grandma Smith with all of her grandkids

The great-grandkids practicing their song

Last week we made an unplanned visit to Missouri to attend Ryan's Grandpa's funeral. Grandpa Smith passed away at the age of 82. We were grateful for the opportunity to be just a days drive away so that we could all attend to honor his life. As sad as funerals can be they are also an unexpected family reunion. It was so good to visit with all of our family there. The funeral was a beautiful service and I learned alot that I didn't know about Grandpa Smith. What a wonderful man he was. Grandma even had some of the older great-grandkids sing 'I am a Child of God'. They did an amazing job! We are so blessed to have such wonderful family members!

Hannah Montana Mania!!!

Last night Emily and I took the girls to see the Hannah Montana 3D concert movie. They were just giddy with excitement and they are only 6!!! I have to admit though it was really easy to get caught up in the moment of it all. I found myself singing along and swaying to the music. She really is a cute 14 yr. old girl - hopefully she stays good. Then the Jonas Bros. came on stage & performed a couple of songs. The girls went wild! I think I now have a glimpse of understanding of what my mom had to put up with when life revolved around the New Kids on the Block! (have you heard they may try for a comeback? - crazy but true!) I'm so sorry Mom!! She actually camped out with me to get tickets to their concert when I was 12! Paybacks right? Well I think I have many more years to go before Emma outgrows this stage. It has started way too early. One thing I did decide is 3D concerts are the only way to go to a concert these days! Much cheaper, less crowds, better views and it really does give you the illusion that you are actually there. In fact, U2 is doing one soon -it looked really good! Maybe I can convince Ryan to go...