The Spann Fam

My first big furniture project

2011-10-17T16:04:00.000-07:00

My parents are remodeling, so they are getting rid of a lot of their old furniture. This was my Grandma's hutch when my mom was little. Even though I have no place to put it yet, I'm super excited to place it when I get my own kitchen/dining room or whatever. I decided to do white paint and black glaze to bring out the cool yellow bottle windows. I repainted the hardware with black spray paint. I lined the background with foam board and fabric so I can change it depending on my mood.. ha ha! I'm questioning the heavy black design and might change it to a lighter red and white or a blue and white pattern. We'll see. It is super easy and cheap to switch out.

Getting Crafty

2011-10-08T08:22:00.000-07:00

My friend has an amazing quilting blog, and making custom trick or treat bags was one of her more recent projects. I made these this week for the kiddos. It was really fun and remotely easy.

You can't really see it in the pic, but the spider wrote Tyson's name in his web.

Conference Weekend Fall 2011

2011-10-08T07:40:00.000-07:00

The whole Utah Hemmert clan sojourned up to Midway for general conference weekend. We stayed in a camp trailer at our cabin, Dan and Nat stayed in the cabin with our parents, and Matt and Julie and Jaime and Jared stayed in a Chalet at the Zermatt. It got chaotic at times, but after looking at the pics, we did a lot of stuff and atleast the kids had a lot of fun!! ha ha!

The colors were amazing up there!

After a disappointing dinner at Cafe Galleria (they didn' make us pay, thank heavens), we had a Halloween party during priesthood session. "Someone" stole the cookies and the kids were sent on a scavenger hunt to find them again. Super fun.

Baby Jess

Yummy peanut butter fingers with pretzel bones inside! Thanx Julie!!

My brother Dan organized soap boat races in the little river behind the chalet.

There is some serious engineering going on here...

The finish line!! We think Anson won... We lost a couple of boats to the waterfall, and Tyson's leaf sail flipped the boat... He was pretty upset.

That night we had dutch oven stew and pear-cranberry upside down cake. Then the boys had fun on the rope swing.

Easter

2011-04-25T12:09:00.001-07:00

Easter egg hunt Saturday morning. Holly loved hunting for Easter eggs. When her basket was full, she sat down in the middle of the field and downed all of the contents in .52 seconds. It was amazing.

Sporting their new Easter bonnets...

On Sunday, the Easter bunny left a little egg on our front porch after church. He lost our Easter baskets and he sent us on a scavenger hunt! ;) Tyson had a blast reading the clues while Holly ran in circles around the trees.

He found one egg at the top of the slide.

The giant munchkin attacks the kitty.

Playing peekaboo

Grandma and Grandpa's Easter treats.

MBA GRAD

2011-04-25T11:56:00.000-07:00

Finally tall enough!

2011-02-25T16:02:00.000-08:00

Best Birthday ever

2010-08-24T08:53:00.000-07:00

For my birthday, Devin got off of work early and we drove up to Disneyland! Disneyland birthdays are the best!!! If you wear a birthday pin, every employee in the park has to wish you a happy birthday. I was kind of creeped out at first, but then I embraced it. And I think the employees make a game of it too, because some of them would try to scare me on purpose with it! Anywho... It was so fun. We ended the day with watching the Magical Firework show while on the Casey Junior ride (My new favorite ride of all time). Devin Also bought the Hidden Mickeys book, So I have now joined in the quest for the hidden Mickeys throughout the park. More of that to come...

Firework show on the ride

Hooray for Casey Junior!!

San Diego botanical garden

2010-08-24T08:41:00.000-07:00

The Botanical gardens were beautiful!! They have such a variety of terrains and vegetation. I liked the bamboo forest and tropical rain forests the most. I don't know what Holly is doing in the first pic, but she had fun. She might have been more excited for her bath that night though...

The USS Midway

2010-08-22T08:46:00.000-07:00

The USS Midway is a retired aircraft carrier named after the famous battle if Midway in WWII and it is parked in the San Diego Harbor. It's full of twisted hallways, crazy stairs, old planes. and war-story-telling veterans. We knew it was going to be cool and full of planes but we had no idea it was going to take us 4 hours just to walk through the thing!! It was a long day, but it was so worth it.

I told Tyson to try and lift the chain. I know I totally set him up for failure. He sure tried hard!

I found some men sleeping in the barracks... (After a tour as long as this one I wish I was lying down too!)

Fighter jet, convertible style

Is that Radar from MASH?

This is inside a really big helicopter.

Awww Strawberry soda

2010-06-06T07:41:00.001-07:00

Phil's Barbecue in Point Loma. This place is crazy busy, and super delicious. The line to get in is ALWAYS atleast 30 minutes to an hour. It was really good though. These are some fellow MBA friends that are doing their internships out here.

Memorial Day

2010-05-30T10:09:00.000-07:00

This was early memorial day moment. You drive through this cemetery (Rosencrans Hill) to get to the end of Point Loma. It was very impressive. They have some people from the Mormon Battalion buried here.

On Rosecrans Hill

The following poem was written by Jeffrey T. Naas as a Memorial Day remembrance for those interred at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery.

This poem is dedicated to the more than 75,000 veterans lying in Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, San Diego, CA, who, in the course of four great wars, fought for the cause of freedom. It is adapted in part from the classic, "In Flanders Fields" by Maj. John T. MacRae, and gives voice to the question every American veteran, living or dead, might ask today.

- Jeffrey T. Naas

ON ROSECRANS HILL

On Rosecrans hill the grasses grow
Between the headstones row on row
That mark our place as in the sky
The gulls, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard against the surf below

We are the dead. Not long ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunsets glow
We chose for freedom's cause to die
And now upon this hill we lie
As grasses green above us grow

We knew the price we had to pay
To keep the enemy at bay
We gave our all, we fought the fight
To keep aglow sweet freedom's light
Remember this, we ask today

One thing we ask of those not slain
Will you fight on for freedom's reign?
If war returns, as it well might
Will you take up the gallant fight?
Yes, answer us! You who remain

And so we lie here, asking still
If you, our sons, will have the will
To sacrifice as we did then
That your sons, too, may live free men
As we wait still, on Rosecrans hill

* * *

Thank you for serving our country!

Much love,
Heidi

San Diego cramp-packed adventure of death

2010-05-30T09:23:00.000-07:00

Danya is here from Phoenix! She was so nice to join us on our quick tour of the San Diego area. We went to Old Town, Point Loma, Seaport Village and a sunset all in one day!

Jumping with joy in a covered wagon at the Mormon Battalion Visitor's Center. They have done a really good job updating the place, and you can see our friend, Andrew, as the lead in the movie!!

Channing, Holly, Cason, Cameron, and Tyson. Wagons West!!

Panning for gold... No luck...

Cafe Coyote in Old Town. Absolutely delicious!!

Cabrillo National Monument on Point Loma. Jaun Cabrillo landed here in the 1500's. He was the first dude in California.

Statue of Cabrillo. We are the group of kids waving on the right.

At the old Point Loma lighthouse. Devin is paying homage to his favorite area of California at Patrick's Point.

Cousins Tyson and Cason

The view from Point Loma

I think this thing was built in the 1800's, but it was too high for the boats to see, so they built another one lower on the point.

The tide pools at Point Loma... Slightly disappointing because the tide was too high. The conversation going on here is Devin asking Tyson why he is crying when we are the funnest place on earth.

The view from Seaport village. Fun place to wander around little shops and look at military ships, etc.

Pizza, finally!! We waited forever, but as you can see, it was thoroughly enjoyed.

Perfect way to end the day at the beach in Carlsbad.

Disneyland trip #1

2010-05-23T21:39:00.001-07:00

Spur of the moment, we went with some fellow internship-pers to Disneyland. The trip went pretty unenventful but I guess the quote of the day goes to Tyson. at 9:30 pm we asked him if he wanted to go on the Winnie-the-Pooh ride one more time. He responded, "I think I just want to take a nap." and not 10 second's later he was asleep in the stroller.

I'm very proud of this picture. No, he's not posing, that is just pure joy to be on the Casey Jr. train ride. He was jumping up and down the entire time waiting in line. The duration of the ride he continued to throw his fists in the air and yell "Woohoo!" over and over again.

Yarrr, I found the treasurrrrre Cap'n. When asked what his favorite kind of treasure was he replied, "Moneys....." That's my boy...

Meeting Pooh and Tigger struck Tyson literally speechless. He was in awe.

Strawberry fields

2010-05-23T21:23:00.001-07:00

There is a huge U-pick strawberry field near us that is in season from January to July. (I don't think we're in Utah anymore Toto...). The Strawberries were perfectly sweet and delicious as you can tell from the picture. The funny story for the day began when Tyson mentioned he had to use the restroom. We walked over to nearest port-a-potty, and I reached my hand forward to open the door for him. "Here ya go," I said. In my adult mind I think that he will walk in, do his thing, and we'll return to fields. I neglected to think like a 3-year old who had never seen a port-a-potty, and when I turned my head, I see Tyson with his pants down in front of some wild flowers, and his boyhood flying in the prevailing winds. "Ahh!" I scream, as the 30 or so Japanese tourists in the fields start snapping pictures of my nude child like it's going out of style... I quickly pull up his pants and toss him into the "john". Needless to say, we had a lot of fun, and got extremely messy. Holly enjoyed herself the most, I think. We made freezer jam later that night. Yum!

misc

2010-05-18T20:50:00.000-07:00

Holly sporting come occupational gear at Legoland. No pictures of Tyson, he was grumpy...

Beach pic that for some reason I couldn't add to the previous post...

The Beach

2010-05-18T20:30:00.000-07:00

Southern California

2010-05-17T09:52:00.000-07:00

We've finally arrived!!
Here is a list of firsts:
1. First time living outside of "the bubble"
2. First time trying to figure out how the heck to do my hair in humid climate
3. First time, in a year, sleeping in a room without a baby in my closet...
4. First time traveling with a potty trained kid. I kid you not, we pulled over on the side of the freeway FIVE times in the first hour of driving to let the kid pee...
5. In reference to #4, first time denying my child any sort of liquid for the period of 9 hours. "No, you are not drinking anymore apple juice! We're never going to get there at the rate of your bladder!"
6. First time living in a gated community
7. First time asking a stranger at 8:30 AM, "Hi, my son has locked us out of both of our bedrooms, and my husband is in a towel and has to be to his first day of work in 20 minutes. Can you help?" Tyson learned that the lock has to be horizontal not vertical, so as not to get in trouble. We eventually got the doors open with a wire hanger and a credit card.
8. First Sunday dinner alone in a very long time. (It was very lonely...)
9. First California sunburn from Sea World!! Woot Woot!

The San Diego Temple. (it's under construction, so Dev decided to hide it behind a tree)

Holly's Sea World experience

Elmo ride at Sea World

Disneyland here we come!

2010-05-08T09:48:00.000-07:00

So Devin has been in California all week looking for a place for us to live for the summer. After a lot of persistence, Devin officially has an internship with Callaway golf in Southern California. We will be leaving on Tuesday-ish. I have a lot of anxieties because I've never lived anywhere outside of Utah Valley. I've traveled all over, but living somewhere is much different than being on vacation. Good bye Utah, see you in September!!

10 months old!

2010-05-07T14:40:00.000-07:00

I can't believe she's 10 months already... These were taken by my friend Mckenzie Deakins. She does an incredible job.

random cuteness

2010-02-17T23:18:00.000-08:00

Our friends invited us to their cabin in a couple of weeks ago. This video just makes me smile...

Milestones :)

2010-02-17T22:43:00.000-08:00

It's been a big month for us! In just the past few days Holly sprouted two teeth, is crawling and is already trying to pull herself up onto things. She's only 7 months old, and I am not prepared for mobility yet. She continues to smile at anything and everything. We can't wait to see what she's like as a toddler, but then again, I wish I could keep her at this age forever.

Warning: kind of graphic material ahead! Proceed with caution!
In the land of Tyson, I feel confident in saying that, yes, we are officially potty trained! Woot woot! Don't ask me how I did it, because I don't know. It was a lot of frustrating moments, but now he's almost overly anal (pun intended) about making sure he gets to the potty on time. I swear this kid pees like 25 times a day. And even though he wears pull-ups at night he comes in at 3 AM to announce to me that he is going potty. We started by giving our diapers to Santa (okay, it was in mid-January, but he doesn't know the difference). After a couple of days he was peeing on the potty all by himself, but it took him about a month and a serious emotional breakdown from his mother (I was so sick of cleaning his underwear!!) for him to catch on with going #2. Seriously, ever since I bawled infront of him he runs to the bathroom even at the whisper of "poopies" coming. Then he smiles and says, "You're gonna be so happeeeeeee!!" Who knew I had such a softie on my hands!? k... I'm sure you all wanted to read about these gory details, but in diaperland, this is very exciting!!

He calles this is "daytime potty"

"Happeeeeeeee!" (He's gonna kill me when he's older for posting these...)

All that potty training plus going around the whole neighborhood on his scooter has worn him out. He NEVER falls asleep on the couch, and he was out at 6:30 tonight!!

Happy New Year!!

2010-01-05T15:02:00.001-08:00

We decided to visit my sister in Colorado to bring in 2010. We had so much fun! We visited Denver and stood on the "Mile High" step at the capitol building then went to Casa Bonita for dinner. If any of you are familiar with a certain South Park episode, this may sound familiar. Basically the food is atrocious, but it really is a once in a life time experience for the atmosphere. Whoever determined the menu there should be fired and put in time-out to reconsider their lives. The next day we went swimming, made bread bowls and yummy soup, played games, then pigged out on an orange chocolate bread braid. We visited Old Town Fort Collins, and I have officially decided that The Cupboard is my new favorite kitchen store. We also went to Avatar and Sherlock Holmes. Dev and I highly recommend both films.

New Years Eve we ate Chicken stir fry, Martinelli's, Key lime pie, egg rolls, and a yummy cheese ball. Devin performed a puppet show for the kids (He truly channels another spirit when he has a puppet on his hand...) then we popped balloons filled with confetti and fortunes. We had to say our favorite memory of 2009 and have a goal for 2010.

Devin: 2009 held a lot of great things for us. We got into BYU MBA school, sold our home, had a baby, and moved into my parents basement. Our goal for 2010 is to get an incredible internship for the summer which will basically determine our future altogether.

Heidi: One favorite memory was singing through an entire Christmas songbook late one night with my husband, in the kitchen. My goal for 2010 is to be as healthy as possible!

Tyson: When asked what his favorite thing was last year, he replied, "My life."

Holly: Hopes to crawl.

Afterward, we brought in the New Year stomping on bubble wrap and blowing cheap whistles for about 5 minutes. Thanks Hansens, for letting us come! We literally had a blast!!

This is how Tyson entertained himself during the Denver Capitol building tour. Dead man walking, anyone?

The puppet show. "Hoppie Moo Yee-ah!!"

Emily, Holly, Mara, and Hayley. The girl cousins.

Jeff, Mark, and Tyson

The candy bar game. By the end, Tyson figured out that he could just make the dice be doubles rather than rolling them. It was pretty funny.

No comment... Oh wait, by saying "no comment" does that mean I made a comment?

"Take me sledding mommy!"

Sisters

This was taken just before a very funny crash. Devin was a little over-confident on his sledding skills, when he tried to get a running start and jump onto his sled on his knees. He ended up sliding down the mountain like a belly-down star fish and his knee is still paying for it.

Devin tried to send her down the hill in her car seat. I said no. :)

Holly helped us drive out there for a while. :)

Christmas 2009

2010-01-05T12:20:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas!! This year was the first year for Tyson to truly believe in Santa, which made it very exciting for all of us. Santa came to our ward party and Tyson was so excited to ask for something he was about to jump through the roof while we were waiting in line. Well, Santa came through and not only got a scooter for Tyson, but he got one for Devin as well. You can catch them scootering around the neighborhood with their snow clothes on.

Devin's Aunt Cindy bought the little girl cousins matching Christmas dresses. Thank you Cindy! They are so adorable!

Jon, Jonah, and Tyson at the Spann house on CHristmas Eve.

Christmas morning! It's always tradition to take a picture on the stairs before we run to the Christmas tree and see what Santa brought us. That is the new cat that lives with us. His name is Gimli.

(These are a little out of order)
This is our annual attempt at the Nativity story at the Hemmert household. Someday I have a feeling we will get past the first two verses of Luke....

Yup, He's 30!!

2010-01-05T12:16:00.000-08:00

Devin turned 30 on December 7th. We were going to go to Pirate Island, but it was a million dollars to have a big party there, so I just threw some "congrats, you're 30" streamers around the house and got him the coolest Sponge bob cake ever. Thanks to everyone who could come!! I love you Babe!!

Happy Birthday Tyson!

2009-10-26T21:51:00.000-07:00

Tyson turned three years old today. We celebrated with my family yesterday and he opened a bunch of awesome books, and some really cool Word World toys. (Jaime, I have to tell you, he's been pretending to "build a word" all day today. He lines up the animal letters on the table, sings the song, does a little dance around the table and then puts the letters together. He LOVES them!)

Today, he's been walking around all day with three fingers in the air and telling everyone it's his birthday. I made him pancakes in the shape of Mickey Mouse for breakfast and then he helped me make his birthday cake. I kind of went crazy on the cake because I found some awesome cake molds in my mom's garage that hadn't even been opened yet. So I made a Devil's food chocolate cake with chocolate mousse filling and homemade butter cream frosting. all in the shape of a baseball with red licorice stitches. It was really fun and tasted awesome. He was so excited about the baseball cake, he couldn't sleep for his nap. I told him we couldn't eat it until daddy got home from school, so he wrapped himself up in a blanket and waited for Devin on the front porch as long as a 2-year old...excuse me...3-year old possibly could until boredom kicked in. Grandma and Grandpa Spann hopped over for a bite of dinner, some cake, and some presents (BYU sporting goods, an invitation to Pirate Island, Peter Rabbit, and The Tales of Beatrix Potter on DVD) then they came bowling with us.

Watching Tyson bowl is one of my favorite things. With a 6 pound ball in his arms he waddles up to the bowling lane. He then heaves the ball as hard as he can and kicks it after it rolls down his leg. It takes about 5 minutes for the ball to reach the pins, but he gets so excited when he knocks some down. He started lying down to watch his ball meander it's way down the lane. If it looks like the ball is stopped in the above picture, it's probably because it is...

We love you Tyson, and keep being the stud that you are!

Our Sunday

2009-10-12T08:23:00.000-07:00

We got a call Saturday morning to give talks in church the next day. Despite being nauseated about it, we were actually grateful we didn't have to stress about it all week. :) My parents were kind enough to offer to watch our kids while we sat in the front of the chapel, so I made an extra effort to explain to Tyson that Mommy and Daddy were going to sit in the front, while he could play with Grandma and Grandpa in the back. He nodded and agreed, in fact, almost sounded excited about it. Come Sunday morning (after writing our talks at 11:30 the previous night) we walked into the chapel. Devin and I started walking to the front while my mom tried to keep Tyson entertained. He threw a huge tantrum and burst into tears. We finally just decided it would be easier to have him sit with us behind the pulpit. This made our meeting much more exciting...

The entire sacrament meeting he was waving his sucker around to the audience, kicking the wall that separates the congregation and yelling numbers and letters out. I was so embarrassed, but it was still pretty funny.

That night we went to a one-year-old's birthday party. One of her presents was a baby doll with a toy crib and stroller, etc. After watching how I take care of Holly, Tyson kept pretending to rock the baby to sleep and would put it in the crib. When the One-year-old tried to play with it, he would pick up the crib with the baby and put it where the toddler couldn't reach it. I didn't think about it for the rest of the night until it was time to go. Tyson was holding the doll and was upset because he had to put the doll to sleep. I didn't see the crib anywhere, but Tyson took off so I followed him. He had put the crib in their laundry room and turned on the fan in the room, with the light off. Holly sleeps in our closet with a fan on, so I just thought it was really funny that he had to do it with the doll. I've never seen him play "dolls" like that before.

Maybe it's one of those had to be there things though...

family pics

2009-10-11T21:33:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Spencer Hall Photography we were able to get some great shots of our family last Friday night!! Here is just a taste of some of the great shots he got! Thanks Spence, you're the best! I still haven't chosen a family pic yet, so that will be posted soon!

Blowing raspberries at dad:

Devin's quote for this pic, (read in a very haughty voice) "And after I take this shot I'm going down to the yacht club for some tea and biscuits (hubbity hubbity)..."

My favorite... the after pictures shot...

A double victory!

2009-09-05T20:57:00.000-07:00

Victory 1:
Our beloved cougars represented despite the horrible odds against them! What a great game against Oklahoma! We are so excited for another season of BYU football.

Victory 2 (and the potty battle of death):
Tyson loves to "make bubbles" in the potty when he goes number 1, but he has refused to sit on the potty to go number 2. I've displayed several fabulous prizes for him if and when he ever decided to even just sit on the potty (it's a basketball... who wouldn't want to sit on a basketball potty!?). One such toy was a cool motorcycle toy. This morning however I thought all was lost. After changing a horrifically disgusting diaper (and gagging a few times...) I finally just said, "That's it Tyson, you are sitting on the potty today!" He screamed about how scared he was and decided just to go number one for me to end the battle (He stands up to do this). I decided to just show him what the cool motorcycle toy did so he knew what he was missing out on, while thinking in the back of my head that he wont do it for another year... I'm sure of it. Well tonight, folks, he grabbed Devin's hand and asked him to take him to the potty so he could play with the motorcycle toy!! He tried to go for a while, but Devin realized there just wasn't anything there, but the poor kid was trying so hard! We praised him for trying and let him play with the toy for a little bit. I talked to him later and he told me in almost a sad voice , "I tried mommy. I tried for the motorcycle toy." I told him how proud I was for trying and gave him a big hug. I'm just so glad he's not scared to sit on it anymore!! Anytime I've tried, he's screamed bloody murder and clung to me for dear life. One battle down... I wonder who's going to win the war...

taking the plunge!!

2009-08-25T22:49:00.000-07:00

Well, It took us all summer, but he finally went off of the diving board... over and over and over again.

Bon Appetit!!

2009-08-25T21:57:00.001-07:00

Well we've done it.
We saw Julie and Julia and were inspired to experience Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon for ourselves. Actually, I merely thought about it, and my dad put it into action. After a big shopping trip, a lot of hard work and 3 hours of heavenly scents wafting through the air, we were able to unanimously say, "Yum..." (You have to see the movie to get the reference:)) Good job Dad (and Mom!), and might I say it was a spectacular feast. I'm glad I didn't try to make it, because I would have totally ruined it!!
Thanks Julia!

smiles and frowns

2009-08-22T15:17:00.000-07:00

Cute video...

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Movie night!!

2009-08-22T14:44:00.000-07:00

Dinosaur jammies, pizza, homemade ice cream, cupcakes, popcorn, and a Monster's Inc... WHat more could a little boy ask for?! Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Hemmert for organizing Movie night for us. It was a big hit the all of the little boy cousins. We look forward to the next one!!

Holly's blessing day

2009-08-10T08:17:00.001-07:00

We were able to bless Holly in our home yesterday. It was very special, and Devin did a great job. We were so grateful to all of the family that came to support us and especially to everyone who prepared things for the dinner. (Thanks for putting it all together Mom!) We had quite the crowd here, so we decided to keep it just to close family members.
One of my Dad's nurses made her beautiful blessing dress. DOn't look too closely at her face though... The baby acne has officially arrived in full force. :)

"Let's just pick up and go..." The journey to West Yellowstone

2009-08-09T22:27:00.001-07:00

Devin only has two more weeks of freedom before his scholastic endeavor at BYU begins, so we decided to take advantage of it and journey into the wild of Yellowstone. Our cousins Justin and Ashley were kind enough to join us with their little boy. This trip has to be on one of the top 10 most enjoyable trips ever.

Trip perks included:
Staying in a nice condo with a Jacuzzi, being with fun easy-going people, driving and hiking through the wonders of Yellowstone, having a 4 week old baby that was perfect for traveling, the 511 restaurant in Ashton, seeing a black bear, bison, and a black wolf all in the same day, eating at the Roosevelt Lodge, getting manis and pedis with Ashley after watching the kids while the boys golfed, watching Tyson get attacked by a little fish, and being with my little family all day.

The not so great moments:
Being grumpy because of the sleepless nights with a newborn, (I officially nicknamed myself Eeyore), wasting a lot of money on the worst salad bar in history in West Yellowstone (our 3 attempts to eat in West Yellowstone failed miserably... Never eat there, ever, ever ,ever), and eating way too much crap that I felt sick (Okay, maybe that was really fun, but physically I feel totally gross).

At the Artist's Paint Pots: Tyson-"That made a mess!"

Old Faithful (Tyson is taking a picture too...)

Corgan and Mr. Fish

Cave Falls in the rain

Mammoth Springs with the Reeves family

He's saying, "I don't like her" after holding her for 5 seconds. He still gives her kisses though. :)

The infamous fish attack

Holly doing her best "slug in the rain" impression

Best $2 I ever spent was buying Tyson a fake camera. He took Pics of everything. We also splurged and bought him a Junior Ranger vest. He wore it the whole trip.

one week old

2009-07-13T19:30:00.000-07:00

So here are some better close-ups of Holly. I couldn't decide on the best one, so I put all three up. My favorite one is the last one since her eyes are cross-eyed so often. :) She is a very active and wiggly baby, and loves to look around a lot. I also discovered that she has a dimple in each cheek. We went to the doctor today, and he said Holly has officially broken the office record on the amount of weight gained back after birth. It looks like were going to have another chubby baby on our hands.

Tyson loves to look at her and give her kisses. I left them alone in a room together for a second, heard her sneeze, and Tyson responded, "Bless you Holly!" I'm just glad that he's kind of accepted her as a part of his life so easily. It has made a big difference to have Devin around to play with Tyson. They are like two peas in a pod. I'm so grateful for such a helpful husband.

AHH!! I'm cross-eyed!!

Holly Joy Spann 8.35 lbs, 19.5 inches

2009-07-09T09:07:00.000-07:00

She's finally here!! After moving from our town home last week, I had been having crazy pain all week, but she decided not to come until Monday. Everything went so smoothly and quick, Devin and I both couldn't believe that I had just had a baby. She's very healthy, and has a cry to prove it. :) Tyson is very excited to have a new baby sister and loves to look at her. He says, "Baby sister is so cute," then he does a silly laugh and grins. We had our first night home and Devin was instantly reminded of why babies make you so tired! Because things were so easy this time, I'm still full of adrenaline and don't feel tired at all. Hopefully I can get some more things unpacked before the exhaustion kicks in!! My dad took some better pictures of her that I still need to get off of his computer, so there will be more pics a little later!!

Palm Springs

2009-07-09T09:03:00.001-07:00

Devin's boss was kind enough to take us to Palm Springs as a thank you for all of the hard work he and his coworkers had done for Ken Garff. Granted I was 6 weeks from delivery but it was still beautiful and relaxing.

Memorial Day

2009-05-26T06:54:00.000-07:00

It was so nice to have Devin around on a weekday! In the morning we went on a hike in Battlecreek Canyon with some of the Hemmert family. The little boys had a lot of fun throwing sticks and rocks into the river. I was really proud of myself for not dying on the hike. I can't tell you how much of a difference working out has been during this pregnancy!! I was in better shape and had an easier time hiking it at 8 months pregnant than I did when we tried it two years ago when I was just totally out of shape.

Tyson kept looking for the Big Bad Wolf in the cave. We never found him...

Cousin's and uncle Matt. :)

The party.

Yes, I am a master at hiding my big fat prego belly behind a two year old and a black bag. Woot woot!

We had a bbq at the Spann's house for lunch. Devin, Emma, and Tyson had a lot of fun playing with the snowball tree in the backyard. I remember doing that at my grandma's house when I was little!
Funny story: During lunch I caught Tyson doing some funny things with his arms and sticking his lips out at Emma. I listened closer and overheard him say, "Look at my triceps! These are my triceps!" Like father like son, he was trying to impress a pretty girl with his muscles. :) There's a first for everything.

scrapbook page

2009-05-08T09:23:00.000-07:00

So I've been really bad a blogging lately... But here is a little scrapbook page of Devin and Tyson playing basketball in St. George a few weeks ago and another pic is of him in our little backyard. I promise I will be better at updating our lives!! Can I just say I love digital scrapbooking? This page took me 5 minutes! If I had done it in real time it would've been at least a half an hour and that's not including cleanup!!!

Early Mommy's day

2009-05-07T21:45:00.000-07:00

I snuck (if that's a word...) into Devin and Tyson's bedtime ritual and decided to film it. I edited the clip down a lot, but it's just something that makes me smile and happy to be a mom. Here is the shortened version. Whenever Devin Stops singing, Tyson fills in the word to the song. He got a little camera shy and decided to whisper instead, but it's really cute. And yes, he falls asleep in his rocking chair now... It works... don't mess :)

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Official Decision

2009-04-13T08:30:00.000-07:00

It's official! Devin got accepted to BYU and after some serious pondering we've decided to go stick around Utah Valley and go to the Marriott School of Business at Brigham Young University. It really was hard to choose between something we are so comfortable with and the fun international adventure that South Carolina had to offer, but we just couldn't justify the cost vs the level of education Devin would recieve at BYU. I'm excited for selfish reasons so I can help when our little baby comes in July!

AAAHHHHH!!!

2009-03-02T11:55:00.001-08:00

So Devin has officially been excepted to the International MBA program at the University of South Carolina. It's structured in a way that if we chose to go there we would live in Columbia, SC for about 6 months, then go international (possibly Germany or SOuth America) for 8 months, move back to SC, then international again for another 4 months. It's an incredible program, I'm just getting a little anxiety because Dev and I just found out the program starts June 30 which is right when our next baby is due!! We still don't know if we are going to South Carolina yet because we are waiting to hear from BYU and ASU. Regardless, all of this school, baby, and moving stuff is starting to become a huge reality to me. If anyone knows anyone who wants to buy a two bedroom townhome send them our way!!!

Announcement

2008-12-30T15:20:00.000-08:00

SO we've hopped on the baby band wagon and will be having Spann baby number 2 on July 10, 2009. We heard the heartbeat last week which was really comforting, because I haven't felt very pregnant at all this time. I was kind of starting to get nervous that it was all in my head! Yeah, I was a little nauseous and tired, but overall a TOTALLY different experience from last time around.

Our Disney Thanksgiving!

2008-12-04T10:46:00.001-08:00

We had the opportunity to watch my nieces clog at Disneyland over Thanksgiving weekend. For three days we were at the park from 8 AM until 11 PM. Luckily our hotel was close enough and my parents were kind enough to take Tyson back to the hotel with them a couple of times when he needed a break from all of the fun. But in reality he was great and loved everything (except for the whole waiting in line part.)

Tyson's quotable quotes:

After Fantasmic: "Do it again!? See Mickey Magics?" (as Devin's tearing up...)
While waiting patiently for the carousel: "Tyson's turn? Tysons TURN!!"
Name of horse on carousel: "I'm riding Paco." ( This is Devin's doing)

Favorite moments:
1. Tyson singing himself to sleep in his crib, "Winnie the Pooh, Winnie the Pooh." Which was his favorite ride.
2. Riding Matterhorn during the fire works show. That ride is super scary at night!!
3. Playing at Disneyland with my parents and my sister's family. I was super proud of my parents!! They totally went on the scary rides!
4. The fake snow blizzards by It's a small world. I'll admit it, I totally teared up...
5. Disneyland at Christmas!!!
6. The Blue Bayou! Yum!
7. Seeing Disneyland through a 2 year old.

The Blue Bayou of awesomeness. The only opening they had was at 9 at night!!

I somehow managed to catch the worst picture possible in front of It's a Small World.
Sorry Guys....

Hugging Mr. Toad. Tyson loved this ride.

Hitting the town with my nieces and the boys

My little boys on the carousel... I don't know if this is ride number 6 or 7

The submarine ride. I've never been on it before... The line wasn't worth it, but it was still really cool.

After Winnie the Pooh with cousins Mara and Jeffrey.

Devin's inspiration

2008-11-01T08:19:00.000-07:00

Palin, Beaker, Super Why and a really big bag of candy

2008-11-01T07:34:00.001-07:00

We had a lot of fun making Dev's costume this year. He won "best costume" and $15 to Target at work! Hooray!! I don't know what else to be, so I kind of sold out on Sarah Palin. How did we do? (My badge says "I love Alaska")
Playing in the leaves with Aunt Claudia, Dad, and cousin Emma. (Yes there is pink in our family...) Tyson is Super Why, a superhero that changes words in famous fairy tales to make them better. It's his favorite show. He's supposed to have a mask too, but that didn't last very long.

A distracted piglet and a Super Why deer caught in the headlights. They caught on to trick-or-treating pretty quick! They knocked on the doors said "trick or treat" and "thank you." Tyson was swinging his bag around at first and by the end of the evening it was dragging behind him. He wouldn't let any of us carry his stash for him. We were so glad we could go with Grandma Daphne, Claudia, Donna, and the Jacquarts. Tyson's quotabe quote for Halloween is "I've got lots of candies! I've got the candies!" while trying to carry his stash home.

Devin's Beaker pumpkin

My attempt at Jack the Pumpkin King

Is Devin the new James T. Kirk?

2008-10-28T08:11:00.000-07:00

So everyone has been telling us that James t. Kirk from the new Star Trek movie looks a lot like Devin. We decided to take a look today. What do you guys think? (PS- That's a snow flake on Devin's nose... not something else :))

"I can't believe he's so big" montage

2008-10-27T07:58:00.000-07:00

I just realized He's eating food in like half of these pics....

I remember that he was fat... but not this fat!!

His first Halloween

Tyson's birthday!!

2008-10-27T07:44:00.001-07:00

We were so excited that we could celebrate Tyson's birthday with everyone! He was lucky enough to have two parties (in a round about way). Devin's cousin Breanne threw a fantastic Halloween party for the Spann/Reeves family last Saturday. We've never eaten so much food before! We put some candles in a cupcake and sang happy birthday to him there. (We forgot our camera, so I will have to post pics later when I get them from Dev's cousin) On Sunday we opened gifts. We went to the Spann's first and then to the Hemmert's. Thanks to everyone for all of the spectacular presents!! He loves them. I made the mistake of having Tyson open the present from us (It's a race car track for toddlers) in front of 6 or so other little boys, so that kind of turned into a catastrophe. I definitely learned my lesson!! Our camera died, so luckily I was able to get some pics from my dad's camera. I still can't believe my little boy is two years old. I was kind of a deer in the headlights yesterday, because of it. I'm so sad I didn't get pictures of Tyson opening presents at the Spann house. Grandma and Grandpa gave him an awesome car garage and Claudia and Donna gave him some really cool building thingies. Thank you!!

I'll be honest...this cake really didn't turn out the way I thought it would... Breanne's cupcake from the night before was much more appetizing.

The race car track (It's totally awesome!! I've been playing with it after I put Tyson to bed...)

Fun blog

2008-10-23T08:11:00.000-07:00

When I first moved into my current ward, a neighbor told me about a crafty blog she had started. I didn't have any kids at the time, so I kind of forgot about it. Now that Tyson is turning two and the winter months are hovering in the air, I decided to look the blog up to find fun things to do with him while we are trapped indoors. I regret not looking earlier!! The whole site is loaded with fun, simple craft ideas to do with your kids. She graduated in early childhood education and taught kindergarten for four years, so she knows what she is talking about. Here's the link, and i posted it on the side of my blog as well.

Hayley and Tyson

2008-10-22T09:05:00.000-07:00

My sister, her husband, and one of her daughters have been visiting for the past few days. Devin filmed this with his phone last night and wanted me to post it.

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

2008-10-19T07:16:00.000-07:00

Last night we went to Cornbelly's Corn maze at Thanksgiving Point for a spur of the moment activity. We thought that it was just the corn maze so we went kind of late. We were totally surprised to find that there were tons of fun games and activities there as well!! The kids had fun going down hay slides, playing in corn pits, and having rubber ducky races. Tyson's friend Christian and his cousin Mason came along for the ride.

The Duckwitzes, Spanns, and sister-in-law Julie and Mason (Matt, we missed you!!)

Caught during mid-sentence "Coooorn"

Let us out!!

King of the Slide

South Carolina

2008-10-15T08:22:00.000-07:00

Last week we were able to make the trek back to Devin's roots in South Carolina. It was an amazing trip filled with history, family, and fun ( and creepy spiders). It was great to get to know Devin's aunts and grandparents better. It was also exciting to see where Devin gets a lot of his fun personality and good looks. :) We hope to make it out again soon! This picture was taken in front of one of the houses that Devin's dad grew up in. It's pretty old and absolutely charming after all of the work the family has put into it. It seems like everything out there was labeled as over 150 years old. There's even an old plow still stuck under the house .

Tyson was extremely excited to be walking around after the long flights. Lets just say they didn't go very well... The flight home was a little better and Tyson surprised us with some full sentences. On the flight from New York to Salt Lake he was turned around playing with the guy behind him and laughing. He turns to Dev and says, "ticka tske.. I made a friend dad! tsd," then turns back to play some more. I can't believe he's learning to communicate so well! Time goes by so quickly!

Denika and Tyson looking at birds at the County Fair. She was so sweet to help out with Tyson. She taught him a lot of fabulous new dance moves during some of our long drives. Notice he's pointing to his teeth. The only way we could get him to smile was to ask him to show his teeth. Close enough...

This swamp is called Swan Lake. We literally left Tyson to the birds here. He took so long to wind up with a piece of bread, the geese ended up eating him instead.

Tyson, Devin, and Dev's Grandpa Spann looking at the birds. Grandpa was charming and had a lot of great stories to tell about his time in World War II. I loved watching him play trucks with Tyson.

"So many birds, so little time. What's a boy to do?"

"Oh yeah! I think I'll run!!!"

Most of the trip was a big genealogy and history lesson. We enjoyed a lot of family history sites, and cemeteries. If you look closely Tyson is pointing at the name "Spann". Here's my bragging moment... He actually read it!! I think we were dodging fire ant pits of more than looking at the headstones, though. I've never been in a place with so many bugs.

Devin's cousin Patricia and her little boy were so nice to let us ride on her horses. I've officially deemed her the horse whisperer of the family. Tyson loved riding on the horse. He kept saying, "I'm on a horse!" and making horse sounds.

Fort Sumter!! Such a cool place. I was singing the Glory soundtrack in my head the whole time, because that battle from the movie took place just around the corner from here. And, yes, that is Devin sticking Tyson's head in a cannon...

Not the most flattering picture... I've discovered that there are far less pictures of me with Tyson because I'm always the one with the camera!!

This is in Charleston. I'm probably a horrible mother for posting this, but I just couldn't resist...

Grandpa, Dev and Tyson on a joggling board in front of Nathanial Russel's house in Charleston. It's just a really long board you sit and bounce on for fun...It's kind of the South's form of a hammock or a rocking chair or something. They had one that was over 80 years old at grandpa's house. Nathanial Russel was in the Import Export business during the slave trade, so he was a very wealthy man with a very big house. We paid for a tour, but Tyson was completely out of control from the very beginning so a little man/tour guide with a nasally voice came up from behind us and said, "May I offer you a private tour for you and your child..." How embarrassing! Dev thought they were going to kick us out! SO we walked through the house with Devin performing a circus act in the background trying to keep Tyson in his arms. It was actually pretty funny. We have a feeling our tour was a lot shorter than it should have been.

We were so excited Tyson fell asleep for a little while. He was so tired. Besides that, Charleston was such a cool place, filled with stories of ghost, pirates and battles. I was so bummed we were only there for half a day! I made a promise to myself that I would come back and stay there for atleast three days. The whole town felt like the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland. The food was fantastic too!

Tyson is sitting in the same chair that his great grandma sat in when she was a baby. The house we stayed in was filled with things from the past. It was so fun. Thanks to the South Carolina family for being such fabulous hosts and giving us the true southern experience! We love you!

The Dentist.... and boot camp

2008-09-09T08:28:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update:

So Devin made me finally go to the dentist after about 3 years (I think). The verdict is that I have to have a lot of work done (i.e.: replacing my metal fillings with better ones, and getting veneers, etc.). So my dentist will be seeing a lot of me next month. (He must really like me or something. :)) On top of that I started an exercise boot camp yesterday with about 15 other women. It's 4 days a week for one month, so hopefully that will be the last thing I need to get
myself into tip top shape. It totally kicked my patootie but it will be so worth it!! I'm super excited.

My little rocker

2008-09-04T12:34:00.001-07:00

For those of you that know Tyson, you may or may not have experienced his rocking episodes while he is sleeping or putting himself to sleep. ( It sounds like someone is nailing things into the wall!) He sits against the side of his pack-n-play and bounces off the netting until he falls asleep. This takes five minutes or up to two hours. :) Sometimes he sings Native American chants, or "Twinkle Twinkle little star.." I've always been concerned about it, but I guess it runs on both sides of our family ( Not me though!!). The doctor has reiterated to me that he does not have anything like autism, it is simply his soothing technique. (ugh) Needless to say I snuck(I know, it's not a word..."sneaked" just sounded really weird) into his room during naptime and found that he had fallen asleep sitting up and slightly fallen over. I couldn't help myself and stole a picture... He's such a funny kid.

boating 101

2008-08-27T21:51:00.000-07:00

My dad was kind enough (and brave enough) to let us take his boat out unsupervised this week. We had our maiden voyage two days prior to this specific excursion, but needless to say both trips went mostly unscathed plus or minus a few troubleshooting attempts at getting the boat trailer into the water without looking like retards... We are starting to feel a little more comfortable and hope to claim the title of "captain" soon. Thanx to our photographer friend, Spencer (kudos Sven!!), our last excursion was fully documented. White legs and all...

How embarrassing...

Spencer contemplating the purpose of a mitochondrian and, and why in the "H" he let his peers pressure him into getting on that joke of a flotation device...

Devin almost dying

Going, going, gone!! I did everything I could to toss him out of the tube, but that little sucker was persistant!

Cute Neeke... Injured and all, she braved the waters...

This is me pleading with Devin, "PLEASE don't kill me!!"

And we'd like to thank Applebeer for sponsoring this morning's activities... (oh sweet nectar of the gods)

Me piloting the boat and being awesome.

This is the ski that almost killed Devin. He was trying to get up on the slalom but the rope got trapped around the fat end of the ski. I started the boat and looked behind me to see the rope going into the depths of lake and no Devin. He was missing!! He had been dragged into the lake and the ski had gotten stuck in the mud on the bottom. SO scary!! He eventually popped up after he got his foot out of the ski. The rope was still stuck to the ski, so we were able to get Devin up and running again to take this fabulous shot.

Awesome stink face

Knee boarding is about the only thing I dare do behind a boat anymore.

No I'm not going to explain this picture. I just had to put it on the blog though. It makes me smile. Spencer was so good to humor us and go tubing. (He was also a master knee boarder)

bye bye baby...a mother's confession

2008-08-18T16:02:00.000-07:00

We weened Tyson from his binky about a month ago, and I was looking through my purse the other day and found it still sitting in the bottom. I could have taken it out and put it in his keepsake box, but I just couldn't bring myself to part with it. I realized that it was probably more a comfort to me than for him... I haven't really had any emotional moments with watching him turn into a little boy, but for some reason getting rid of that binky is one of the hardest things I have done. Is that pathetic? I think it will probably sit in the bottom of my purse for a few more months... *sigh* I guess it's time to think about having another one... well... I take that back... :)

Devin was on the news!!

2008-08-14T14:13:00.000-07:00

Watch this!

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=4006301

D-day

2008-07-30T11:57:00.000-07:00

Just had to tell everyone that Devin took the GMAT this morning for the second time, and he raised his score by 140 points!! I'm so proud of him! Special thanks to Cody for all of your math expertise. So we will be deciding in the next few days what we will be doing with our lives. Keep us in your prayers!

This picture was taken almost 6 years ago to the day. I can't believe we've come so far, and we are still at the very beginning of our lives.

My craftiness attempt

2008-07-17T08:42:00.000-07:00

Almost a year ago, Devin's mom bought me a lap quilt packet to make for Tyson. Here it is Daphne!! I've dabbled in making my own simplified stuff before, but I've never followed an actual pattern. This was super easy to cut and piece together, so if anyone wants a cute easy pattern to try out, let me know! It took me about 3 days. The scariest part was doing the detailing throughout the quilt. I've never done free-hand stitching on my machine before so it was a little overwhelming, but after about 2 square feet I got the hang of it, and it turned out to be really fun!! So don't look too close Daphne and Mom! :) I've never done a blind stitch before either. Come to think of it, I've never added binding before. At all the bridal showers I've gone to where we tie quilts, someone else has always done it. I got really frustrated when it took me an hour to go one foot, only to realize I was doing it totally wrong. It's really easy once you pay attention to instructions! Once again, don't look too close Daphne or Mom!!

Those are little dinosaurs in eggs if you can't tell...

This is the back. I had extra fabric, so I added an accent strip. I wish I had put it a little more off center, but too late now!!

Here is the detail work. I tried to make it look a little archaic to match the dinosaur theme. (At least that is what I'm telling people...) That's Tyson's toe in the top corner. He loves his dinosaur blanket.

Now I have to go clean my house because I've neglected it for the past 3 days...

There and Back again: The Oregon Trail!

2008-06-23T21:47:00.000-07:00

(Multnomah Falls)

At 11:00 PM, we pulled in last night from a week and a half vacation in Lincoln City, Oregon. The Hemmert family rented a beach house on the north side of the city, and the ocean was literally in our backyard. The view was breathtaking and it was only 43 steps (is that right Mara?) to the beach. Here are a few lists to summarize our trip. The pictures following are out of order, but it kind of gives you an idea of what we did.

Heidi's top 10 favorite things:
10. The outlet malls with no sales tax!! Woo hoo!
9. Dan Jr.'s talent at the family talent show. (imagine a cute 6-year-old boy singing along to Alvin and the Chipmunks "Funky Town". He didn't know the words, but he had a blast singing along!)
8. Picture Day. I know these are usually dreaded, but the sun was shining the entire day, and after our family pictures everyone spent the day out on the beach building sand castles, getting tan, and flying kites. It was so relaxing and will go in the books as one of the best days ever.
7. The food! Every night someone cooked a feast. We ate fresh halibut, tacos and homemade smoothies, authentic Italian spaghetti, gourmet meatloaf, and fresh crab and artichokes dipped in melted butter. (Sorry Kjell! I couldn't resist! You can kick me later :)
6. The jelly fish and shark exhibit at the Newport Aquarium.
5. Devin's attempt to fly glow sticks tied to a kite at night on the beach. (He was trying to do a prank on the kids and we were all supposed to think it was an alien or something but there wasn't any wind, and he was overshadowed by a spectacular fireworks show over the ocean by a local casino.)
4. Running the Lincoln City 5k with my family. (sorry no pictures yet)
3. Going to a strawberry field during a strawberry festival and picking them with all of the kids.
2. Being with my entire family and enjoying their company. (A special thank you to my nieces and nephews for playing with Tyson!!)
1. Being with Devin and Tyson every day! I've been so spoiled I don't want Devin to go back to work tomorrow!! I'm so grateful for him.

Devin's Favorite things:
10. Only having to cook and clean one meal for the entire trip!
9. Family picture day. (same reasons as explained above)
8. The Newport Aquarium. Tyson loved the fish and the Shark exhibit was amazing. The Japanese crabs were freaky too.
7. Climbing on the neighbor's roof with a ladder to get his fallen kite.
6. Hiking Silver Falls and Multnomah Falls.
5. Becoming friends with the raccoon that lived under the deck . (Devin and my brother Jon named him Rocky, and fed him food every night)
4. Tyson's new favorite hobby...throwing rocks into the ocean
3. Spending a lot of time with Tyson and Heidi
2. The outlet mall with no sales tax!
1. Dan's spaghetti

Needless to say it was a fabulous experience. The only negative thing was that after competing with 10 other boy cousins under the age of 7, Tyson got possessive over everything. So I send a written apology to all who were there... Sorry ! Thank heavens for a 7:30 bedtime!!! :)

Our crab feast...

Eating a sucker at the Newport Aquarium

Me going crazy at Silver Falls. (Some people got lost and were found again with the fabulous invention of the walkie talkie)

Underneath the waterfall at Silver Falls

Tyson excited to be out of the Ergo carrier after the hike.(Click on it to see a close up of his expression)

The Spruce Goose at the McMinnville air museum. That thing was HUGE!!

Tyson liked to lean his head back on every information sign... Maybe he thought it was a head rest?

Cool tank! (Devin made a funny 'Life is Beautiful" reference here)

Picture day, and our beach house's backyard. (That is cousin Mark on the left)

No, this isn't a doctored photo, and yes, I was terrified.

My dad chatting with some of his sons. left to right: Matt, Jon, Dad, Dan
Jared was up in the house I think.

Cowboy Tyson! Everyone was in charge of a devotional every night. For my Mom's devotional, she had all of the kids dress up like pioneers and had them gather around her. She told my Grandma Duffin's famous story about Indian Joe and the mountain lion. It was filmed for posterity.

Injun Joe... (Yes all of the boys tried to kill him after the story) Devin was voted to be Indian Joe because he had the best body. :)

Oh the power of DVD players and headphones!! My sister-in-law Julie made DVD's of Tyson's favorite show Super Why. It seriously saved our sanity for the long drive.

Cousins in Sasquatch's cave on the Multnomah Falls hike. :) In pic: Mark, Jeffrey, Anson Hayley, Tyson, Mara, and Daniel

(Daniel, Emily, and Mara)
Our wind breaker/fort!! It was really windy the first few days, so we made a wind breaker fort out of drift wood and rocks. It was so nice to be able to play in the sand without getting wind in your eyes! It was later converted into a fire pit for s'mores and songs. Yes, Tyson is eating rocks.

Did I forget to mention we cut off Tyson's legs? Just kidding. He actually really liked being half buried. Kind of weird...

Training and Church Callings

2008-06-09T08:59:00.000-07:00

As most of you know I've been trying to get in better shape before we think about having another kid. (I started my first pregnancy out in horrible shape, and now I'm paying for it!) So Dev and I signed up to run the 10k at the Freedom Festival on the fourth of July. So far I've gotten myself to a point where I can run for an hour without a problem, but I'm a little frustrated because I was only able to go about 5 miles! I'm so slow!! So this week will be my speed up week, and hopefully I will be able to do it without aggravating my shin splints too badly. My goal is to be able to run the 10k under an hour, which I know for my runner friends out there is rather slow, but for me who hates running that is quite a feet! What makes me the most frustrated is that Devin wont even train, and he will totally kill my time. Ugh... men... :) K... I'm done venting. I still have a few weeks to go, so I know I can do it.

Tyson came on our last run with us in a jogging stroller, and I was nervous about him getting antsy, gut he was great the entire hour! I was shocked!

On to Church callings... we have been teaching the 11 year-old-boys that turn 12 during the year in Primary. There are only two kids, so to be honest, it has been a very easy calling. I just got a phone call from our primary president yesterday, and they want to blend our class with another one and put us in the nursery. Here is my question... When do you start complaining about how long you have had a calling? We have been in the primary/nursery ever since we have been married. (5 1/2 years) It's been really fun, however, it has been extremely hard to form relationships in the wards that we have been in because we never get to know anyone. Putting us back in nursery will only make it worse, won't it? The president was desperate, and it's really not that big of a deal because we are totally physically capable and we don't have any other kids or babies to worry about. So it makes sense to put us there and we will totally do it, but at the same time... When is it okay to say, "Can we do something else for a change?"

There's a first for everything...

2008-06-02T10:41:00.000-07:00

I've been so proud that we have survived a year and a half with successfully having no bathtub poops. As of an hour ago, that is no longer. I was reading by the tub when Tyson became very upset, and lo and behold his bath water had fun brown floaties! "Yucky!" I exclaim. He responds with a sad whimper, "Mom! Yucky! Poopy!" He repeated the word the entire time I scrubbed the tub. I pray that he learned from this experience and it will never happen again. (Which I'm sure it will...) :)

ps...enjoy my new blog design!!

Memorial Day Weekend

2008-05-28T12:15:00.000-07:00

My family spent the weekend in Midway. We stayed at our cabin while the rest of the fam used their memberships at the new resort called Zermatt. (insert plug for their AMAZING prime rib buffet every Saturday night!! I have never eaten roast like that before in my life!!!) We went miniature golfing, swimming, carousel riding, wii playing, moose watching, and much more. Overall, it was a very relaxing experience despite the freezing weather and the rain.

Just chilling with dad our first morning there.

Picking dandelions on the side of the cabin with Mason.

Watching his cousins play Wii. He didn't look away for a half an hour...We're doomed...

Chandler is bowling, and Preston... Well, we think he's shooting something :)Feeding the ducks on Memorial Day with his cousins

New Hiding Place

2008-05-28T12:08:00.000-07:00

We had just changed Tyson into his Pajamas, and decided to let him play around a little bit more while we watched something on television. ( I think it was American Idol or something) After a few minutes it got extremely quiet back in the kitchen. I walked back there calling his name, and he didn't answer. I peaked around the corner, and he was no where to be found! He had simply vanished! I turned around and found that the closet where we had the washer and dryer was open. This is what I saw...

He didn't want to come out, so we let him stay in there. He didn't come out for another fifteen minutes.

Thanksgiving Point revisited....

2008-05-28T12:07:00.001-07:00

Well, the tulips decided to bloom at Thanksgiving Point, so my mom invited whoever could go to revisit the gardens about two weeks ago. Jared and his family (Jaime, Chandler, and Preston) and Julie and Mason came a long for the ride. The flowers were spectacular but hard to enjoy because, being a new mom, I had not been properly trained in sunscreen application. I avoided putting sunscreen around Tyson's eyes, but neglected to note the amount I put on the back of his hands. He made one eye rub, and then it was over. Rubbing them continually made it worse and worse. He cried the entire time, and couldn't open his eyes. His little face was red with white streaks of sunscreen tears. I felt so bad!!! We tried to flush it out, but it was never ending sunscreen eye . I still don't think he's forgiven me. :) He eventually calmed down by the end and managed to destroy some tulips along the way. (oops!) Here are some pictures anyways.

Mason and Tyson by the Italian gardens

Julie taking pictures

Uncle Jared with Tyson. (Saving my sanity!)

Look mom! These red things come off! (I'm screaming, AHHH!!!)

Chandler, Mason, and Tyson using their favorite snap shot techniques. (Which means they look away the minute my finger snaps the picture)

David Archuletta!!

2008-05-09T18:18:00.001-07:00

Devin saw him and gave him a high five!! He will update this later, but here is a little video clip from his phone for a preview! You[ll have to skip until about 1 minute into the clip for sound...sorry. I will fix that later...

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

2008-05-05T10:19:00.000-07:00

1. Who eats more? Devin can put more down in one sitting (especially spaghetti!) but I think I win overall
2. Who said “I love you” first? Devin. We had been dating for three weeks. He was pretending to translate a German Christmas concert and instead of translating he whispered IT into my ear. I didn't say anything for the rest of the night. I was kind of freaked out a little, to be honest. :)
3. How long have you been together?: Married 5 1/2, together 6 1/2
4. Who sings better? It's a toss up. :) Dev has a great voice from a very talented family.
5. Who’s older?: Devin by 3 1/2 years
6. Who’s smarter?: Devin graduated with a higher GPA, but who says that means ANYTHING. Just kidding.
7. Who’s temper is worse?: I lash out quicker and more often, but Devin can get mad like the best of them
8. Who does the laundry?: I wash and dry them... then we both put them away.
9. Who does the dishes? We both do.
10. Who is more cuddly? We aren't super cuddlers, so I don't know. I think we're the same
11. Who snores? neither. I talk in my sleep a lot though.
12. Who’s hair is longer?: Mine!
13. Who’s better with the computer?: Devin.
14. Do you have pets?: One hamster named Milton and a little boy named Tyson
15. Who pays the bills? Zion's bank :) I'm all about electronic bill pay.
16. Who cooks dinner? Me! Devin used to pitch in when we were both going to school and working. But it's my job now.
17. Who drives when you are together? Mostly Devin.
18. Who pays when you go out to dinner? Devin
19. Who is the most stubborn? Definitely me. It's my Dutch heritage.
20. Who is the first one to admit when they’re wrong? We both take turns in this department.
21. Who’s parents do you see more?: I see my mom a little more often because she watches Tyson for me on Fridays.
22. Who named your pets? We heard "Milton" during a sealing session in the temple. Yes, our hamster is named after one of Devin's dead relatives.
23. Who kissed who first? Devin tried to kiss me 6 times and was denied! I finally gave in and kissed him.
24. Who asked who out?: Devin threw a gumdrop at me, told me I was the cutest girl he had ever met then asked me to watch a recording of the previous nights Utah vs. BYU football game.
25. Who works harder? Devin
26. Who’s more sensitive?: Devin
27. Who’s taller?: Devin
28. Who’s stronger? Oh I am, by far...
29. Who has more siblings? I have 5 siblings, and he has 4
30. Who wears the pants in the relationship? I do love my jeans... :)

Nay saying...

2008-05-01T14:35:00.000-07:00

My brother was kind enough to send us a quote today that was very poignant for some situations that are going on in Dev's and my personal lives at the moment. Between work and friend problems, we've had our fair share for the week. Here's the quote:

It isn't as bad as you sometimes think it is. It all works out. Don't
worry. I say that to myself every morning. It all works out in the
end. Put your trust in God, and move forward with faith and confidence
in the future. The Lord will not forsake us. He will not forsake us.
If we will put our trust in Him, if we will pray to Him, if we will live
worthy of His blessings, He will hear our prayers.

Gordon B. Hinckley, Quoted in "Facing the Future with Hope" by Lowell M.
Snow. Ensign, December 2007, 48-51.

Thanks Matt (and President Hinckley)... for reminding me that it isn't as bad as I think it is. I tend to be a "Dooms Dayer" when things don't go as planned and always imagine the worst, but in reality, nothing is really that bad.

video experiment

2008-05-01T09:14:00.000-07:00

This is just a short little clip of Mason(Tyson's cousin) and Tyson in January, I'm just playing around with how to get video clips on my blog.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

2008-04-29T20:40:00.000-07:00

We went to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point last Saturday. My Mom, Matt, Julie, Mason, Jaime, Chandler and Preston came a long too. Tyson turned 18 months old, so we asked our good friend Spencer to come with us and take some pictures with his fantastical camera. It was freezing so the tulips weren't quite as spectacular as they were last year and Tyson's nose ran like race tracks down his face. We gave him a golf ball to entertain him, and he ended up throwing it around the ENTIRE park. Despite the impossibility of getting Tyson to stay facing one direction for more than a second, Spencer was still able to get some good shots in. I don't have the actual pictures yet, I just stole these off of Spencer's website that he uploaded earlier today. I will post more once I get the rest.

This is his Rico Suave pose...

That's my cute little bum!!

So nice!

2008-04-28T07:40:00.000-07:00

Tyson seems to think that anything that looks like lotion is mousse. He pretends to put it on his hand and rub it in his hair while saying, "So nice. So nice." Recently we've been letting him feed himself completely without any help from Mom or Dad. After church yesterday, I gave him a yogurt and went back into the kitchen. I hear a loud, "Oh my Gosh..." from Devin. I ran back into the dining area, and this is what we found...

Yes, Tyson... That is "so nice..." After the kid finished eating, Devin took him upstairs and rinsed him off in the shower. Tyson disliked it of course(He loves baths, but not showers), and when Daddy finally turned off the shower Tyson expressed his gratitude with an exasperated "Dank dyew!" (Thank you).

Deal or No Deal, Nursery, Pirates Cove, Paramore, and Jimmy Eat World = Our weekend

2008-04-15T07:02:00.000-07:00

We've managed to keep ourselves extremely busy the past few days. Friday night we decided to have a game night marathon with our best friends, Dan and Beth. We've added some new games to our repertoire on top of Ticket to Ride: Pirate's Cove, Colosseum, and Blokus. I just have to brag about the final stand -off in Pirate's Cove. It was Captain Devin and Captain Heidi battling over Treasure Island for the win. Both of their ships had done well but their cannons were down. Devin still had three cannons left and Heidi was down to two. One more hit and she would be sent to Davie Jone's locker, and Devin would win Treasure Island, along with the game. Devin aimed and fired with three misses. It was down to Heidi's cannons. She needed to roll two 6's on her two dice in order to sink his ship. With a shake and a prayer the dice rolled and low and behold....two 6's.
In our little world, this is like BYU winning the conference championship with a 3-pointer at the buzzer. I was so excited I ran into the other room and fell on the floor with my hand over my mouth, laughing like crazy. I couldn't scream because there were two sleeping babies right above me. This will go down in the hall of fame...Okay, I'm done with bragging now, on to our Saturday Events...

Saturday from 10AM- 1 PM, the Deal or No Deal castings came to Salt Lake City. Several of our friends and family called Devin to tell him about it, because he has always talked about trying out for the show. So on a whim, we drove to th RC Willey where they were casting it and got in line around 9:30. When I say in line, that means about 3 blocks and 30 parking lot switchbacks, and 30 inside-the-building switchbacks away from the front of the line. It was insane. We thought we were early!!! Tyson actually did great the entire time. He entertained the other people in line and ran around the grass for a while. He took a nap in his stroller and then started getting a little impatient when the seven hour mark hit. So I left and took Tyson to Liberty Park to watch the geese and run around while Devin got closer and closer to the interview table. After 8 hours and a sunburn, it was finally Devin's turn. The interview goes as follows: They take 10 people at a time and line them up in front of a table. They give you 20 seconds to talk about yourself, with the stipulation that you don't talk about your kids, just yourself, and then they choose from there. (There are about 6 tables doing this simultaneously) If you make it through that round you go to smaller and smaller tables, then they take your application if you survive those. Devin was first. He talked about his job and mentioned that he loves U2 and hamsters. (He's thought about it, and knows there were a million other things he could have said) He didn't get picked, but a lady who plays the indian flute did. I told Devin he shouldn't have given up his indian flute playing skills!! :) It was definately an experience we will never forget, and we've decided that we are going to send in a five minute audition tape. We haven't given up!! It was fun to see all the crazy people that were there and we are glad we did it.

Sunday was a big day for our little Tyson. :) His first day in Nursery!!! He's still not old enough to go the whole time alone(in two more weeks!), but Devin took him in the last hour to see how he would do. He immediately made friends with a little boy named Isaac, and they rolled cars to each other. Tyson was the only one saying words and letters (Ball, bubble, car, O, H, K, A). When singing time came around, I guess he was a little too cool for it, and just played with the toys. We're going to work on "Head Shoulders, Knees and Toes," so he can rock it next week!!! Tyson was doing so good, Devin just left him in there and joined me in Primary. After church was over the Nursery leaders said that he was great. He never stole toys from other kids and shared the cars and balls. I was shocked, because for those of you that know Tyson... He is extremely territorial right now! We'll see how it goes next week. Devin and I both are having major separation anxiety. When does that go away?!

Devin planned and organized a huge concert production last week at UVU with the bands Story of the Year, the Bravery, Ludo, and the Broebecks. He made a lot of connections and because of it, and can now get tickets to pretty much any concert we want. Jimmy Eat World and Paramore came to UVU last night, so we decided to go. (I really like Paramore right now) . It was really fun.

Devin left at 5 AM this morning to give a car away to Bonneville high school in Ogden. He has two weeks down for car give-aways and about 4 more weeks to go. He's averaging about 2 car-give aways a day. As soon as that is over, he is taking a GMAT study course for a month and then he will attempt the test again. I'm so grateful for all of the hard work he does for our little family.

My Easter Weekend, by Tyson Spann

2008-03-30T22:19:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, Mom and Dad took me to this really cool place with my cousins, Chandler and Preston Hemmert, where I could run around the grass and pick up pretty ball shaped things. Mom had been practicing with me the day before, and I don't think I did very well, but I guess I did fine on Saturday. Dad was sad because my little green bucket was so small.

I was ready to go WAY before they were going to ring the bell. I was mad at Mom and Dad because they kept bringing me back to the sidewalk.

Every time I found one I yelled, "Ball!," shook it, and then put it in my little bucket. I saw a bird and got a little distracted. I just wanted to see what it did when I barked at it and chased it. It ran away and my parents got be back to "ball" hunting.

At the end they gave me this yummy chocolate marshmallow bunny. My dad said, "Chocolate bunny equals success." I loved it.

On Easter Sunday we went to my Grandma and Grandpa Hemmert's house where we saw the real Easter bunny! My dad gave me a marshmallow peep, and instead of eating it I kissed it and gave it a hug. Dad ripped it in half and then I shoved the whole thing in my mouth.

We had dinner at Grandma and Grandpa Spann's house. My Aunt Claudia gave me an animal puzzle. I successfully carried the wooden giraffe all over the house.

Grandpa Spann played "Ring Around the Rosie" with me. Everyone laughed at me because I was so dizzy!
Overall, I'd have to say I had a very busy, but fun weekend!

Naughty boy

2008-03-04T09:51:00.001-08:00

As most new parents learn, with new found mobility, there is also an entirely new world of discoveries to find and messes to make. This is Tyson first learning to walk.

This is Tyson finding his baby snacks...

getting into Grandma's curlers...

and emptying a baby powder bottle...(Which I don't think I've even used or remembered existed. It's amazing what they can find!)

2008-01-25T23:19:00.000-08:00

Just went to the doctor...Tyson has a cold, croup and an ear infection...need I say more...

Once upon a time...

2008-01-25T12:19:00.000-08:00

Well, we've decided to join the world of the blogs. I guess I've been afraid of it because I tend to get consumed by new, fun projects. The best summary I can give is that we live in a small town home near both of our families. Tyson is 15 months old now, and just learned to walk last week, which has opened a whole new world of excitement and anxiety into my life :). Devin still does community sponsorships/ grass roots marketing for Ken Garff automotive group and really enjoys his job. I write newspaper articles for his company as well. That's all I have to say right now. I'm trying to upload a video of Tyson in the bath tub...we'll see if it works.