Summer vacations

After long deliberation and three years of growing, Ba decided to cut her hair. For women this is a very emotional experience, and this was the longest her hair had ever been. It is now cute and short.

We were east of Idaho Falls for a family reunion. We all made tie dye shirts, played endless games of fun, and enjoyed each others company. The "Ranch" where we stayed had a big forest to play in, a zip-line, water slide, two giant slides, golf course, 4-wheelers, ping pong, billiards table, fussball and so much more. It is a playground for any age.

This is LE's first time on a water slide. Ry looks scared, but she seems to be okay.

Ry's brother came home from his mission, and the boys went to climb Mt. Owen in the Tetons. It is the middle peak shown below with the grand on the left.

They had to use cramp-ons and ice axes to get up the glacier. During the day a bunch of snow melted so we had to repel down a rock chimney while getting rained on.


Ba and Ry are on the activities committee for the ward and decided to host a biathlon. It seemed like people enjoyed themselves and sister Little Debbie provided us with prizes. Mmmm.

Our neighbor has a pool that she keeps really warm, and invited us to take a dip. LE really liked it and her mother has plans for her to be swimming before she can run.

Sleeping is always an adventure because LE can now roll over. She gets arms and legs between the slats on her crib but she usually keeps on sleeping. Babies sleeping are just so adorable. If you have any suggestions of how to help babies sleep better, please impart your wisdom. We are first timers here and tips are welcomed.

LE is at the age where if anything is upsetting her we just say she is teething. She started to eat her restraint like it was corn on the cob...so we think she is teething.

Feet are the new "favorite toy". This is really nice because we won't forget to bring them along. She probably plays with her feet because she is teething.

Just Tri

As many know, we enjoy participating in triathlons. We have had several lately and they have been quite exciting. The first one Ry competed in, it rained really hard, and he almost crashed on his bike. Engineering should have taught him you can't go too fast on corners. Those skinny tires make you move like lightning, but don't grip well when wet. LE came to watch but wasn't very interested, and the loud noises were not her favorite. The trophies were gears with a biker cut out...epic.



Ba got back on track at another triathlon by being part of a team that Ryan's dad totally stacked in their favor. She did the swim section and although hadn't been in a pool for many months, she could still do flip turns. She passed a ton of people who were like shark bait in the water. Ry also did this race, and was super tired by the time he finished. His only goal was to beat his dad's team and he succeeded. We enjoy this form of exercise, and hope we can continue to do races. The picture is Ba's medal she won; it was also pretty sweet because it was made out of a slab of rock. We were doing a stake "Hele-man Triathlon" so the medal was meant to be rugged.



Next weekend Ry is doing a running race in Idaho and Ba thinks he is very unprepared. Ry will definitely be sore. Ba was originally signed up to be on the same relay team, but is not quite up to snuff after labor. Some day I am sure LE will want to join us on a team. If only there was a race to fill up the pool because LE would do great with all her drool.

18th Grade/Baby Blessing

Today we celebrated our trip last summer to Europe by eating a very hearty German meal. Good times. Here are some pictures of my graduation and of LE's baby blessing that both happened on the same sunny Logan day (a miracle).


LE likes to be outside, but sure hates the sun in her face. This day is a long time coming. I have been going to school since 1989 where I started in Kindergarten and I am now finished with my Masters of Science in Civil Engineering with a German minor. It still hasn't sunk in that I am done.


This group of very distinguished professors put my hood on. The robes are nonsense with all sorts of random dangling cloth, and the backward choking sash was a waste of $30. I bet this all came from the French, and is much worse than a tie.


I have never heard the Spectrum so quite, but I had a good book to read and sat between two good school friends so the 2.5 hours flew by. I guess they make you suffer through 350 names to give you enough time to feel like you have survived one last boring lecture.


Getting through college is really group work, and I wouldn't have survived without lots of help from my peers. Thanks team. Perhaps they should put other names in a smaller font on your diploma.


LE hardly ever cries except for when we were blessing her. Just too many people I guess. Her dress was made by my sister and looks amazing, and so does that other blond girl in the picture.


These cousins were all born within one month of each other. There are a few on the other side of the family as well. The 2010 plan is pushing forward. "Aren't they just soooo cute!!!"


I think all these babies are wearing newborn onesies, but the one in the middle sure fills hers out a lot more than the other two. Ba hates it when I comment on her size, but that sure is no little baby...I think it is the cream. When your rolls from your arm start to cover you hand, you know you have a healthy child. I think she is getting all the fat on her body in the first few months of life that she will ever have, and then it will just spread out.

One big happy family

When L-E (not the real spelling) was first born we took a picture of her in her car seat. She was 7 pounds and was 20 inches long.


Now L-E is over 10 pounds and 22 inches. She doesn't look much bigger but she sure has gotten quite a bit thicker. Just think if you were to gain about half of your body weight in five weeks. For me that would be 90 lbs (yeah, I'm not ashamed of my weight). That is crazy nuts. She still can't touch her arms over her head because her noggin is so big, and she has cute little stubby arms.


Ba gets pretty tired still, but she is slowly recovering. Sometimes we like to take whole family naps. Both of the girls sleep with their hands by their faces...tender... hopefully L-E doesn't learn how to roll too soon or the couch naps will have to stop.


This is a flume. It measures water through a canal, and is what Ry did his thesis on. He just turned it in to his professors, and we are all happy that he just has to work on editing now. School is basically finished for him, so now it is time to hunt for a job.


Ry was here while Ba was being an engineer widow, but that is over now. YEAH

Whose Baby is this?

Many people think they can tell where a child gets their physical attributes from, Mom or Dad. Let us know what you think, and participate in a poll near the bottom.

When I look back on pictures as a kid, I didn't know how to smile very well, so I decided making faces was better then smiling poorly. Obviously this complex has transferred. Funny Face...Dad. Sticking long tongue out...Mom.

No eyebrows or eyelashes...Mom for sure. I think she has my eyes...Dad, but Ba thinks it is a little too early to tell. The nose, who knows, ski jump (Mom) or flared nostrils (Dad).


Well she doesn't look Elvish or Vulcan, so that's a good sign. The ears are also a toss up.


Brown hair belongs to...Dad. The good/bad part is Ba thinks there are some blond hairs growing in the back. Hair might go to...Mom, after a few months.


The hitch hiker big toe...Mom. A phantom-tuck-under pinky toe...Dad.

I must admit this one is a little personal for a blog, but Ba is an Innie, and Ry is a half and half. It is looking like an Outie for now, but will it last. Let me know what you think.

Going to the bathroom all the time...Definitely Mom in her previous pregnant state. I think it comes from toting that famous water bottle around.

Spring Break Hotel - Baby

On Thursday, March 18 Ba started to feel some more consistent contractions. This may have something to do with the hills we climbed on a 3+ mile walk, but I really think it was the buzzer-beaters and upsets the first day of the NCAA tournament that really got her going. We checked into the Logan newborn center for our great adventure.

Ba looks pretty good still because we are just waiting. Contractions were pretty close together, but not close enough, so we had our doctor (Captain Kirk)(actually Kirkman) break the water.

The top red line is the babies heart beat, and the bottom blue line are contractions. From the pamphlet we received I would classify the high points every two minutes as an "angry face" level of intensity.

Not having her name changed yet, Blueberry is about 2min old at this time, and she is getting measured. Completely average on size, she weighted 7 oz, and was 20 inches long. She had a bit of a rough go with the chord around her throat, but she is doing just fine.

Check out those big beautiful eyes, moderately sized nose and one super long tongue. I guess she really got the best of both worlds. I hate to see some of our kids that will get the worst of both worlds.

Mega close-up shot. I was told to take lots of pictures, so I had to get a little creative to spice things up a bit.

First family photo with Capt Kirk. Talk about a dream team...everyone lived. Photo was taken around 9:30 PM just after birth. Ba doesn't even look like she was ever pregnant.

Blueberry really didn't like all the things the nurses were doing to her like take prints. At the very end they did give her a nice warm bath, and she really liked that. They also put her under a heat lamp for a bit, and she was totally spread out basking in the goodness... she gets it from her mother.

I hate to see how she looks as two year old when she is really unhappy... she probably gets that from her mother too.

I think I will go into some sort of Asian cuisine profession because I sure am excellent at the egg roll wrap. (also know as the Mexican burrito)

For scale effects, I let her hold my ring. Okay, so I mostly just put my ring on her hand, but they are pretty close to the same size.


Ba passed out a few times that night, but she still looks pretty good. What a trooper. As long as she has baby with her, she is totally content.

We decided to name her L-E (spelling has been hidden to protect the innocent). We just like the name, it is completely a coincidence that it is also her great grandmothers name. The German spelling was just to make it impossible for her to learn the "e before i" rules of grammar.


She really likes to be in her burrito, and if you take her out you are bound to get some good looks. We left the hospital Sunday afternoon and are really excited to start our family. It is so amazing how well everything works with a new little person. The way baby starts to breath and function, to grow and start developing, it really is a miracle. Yet another testimony that there is a supreme being that loves us and it looking out for us. Brianna had several complications, and our stay at the hospital was long, but all are doing very well and we get along great...until I have to do diapers. The first one I changed I had to do four times because she kept on pooping. I guess she really knows who her daddy is!!

USU Basketball

Ba says the final point that made her decide to go to USU was when she attended a basketball game. If you have ever been in the Spectrum, it is loud, and sometimes crosses over the line to inappropriate. This was the last home game that we went to as students and it was a hoot. Ry is holding up one of about 3,000 Jared Qualle masks that were printed and left in the student section to taunt the opposing team.

Everybody puts their hands up for a foul shot. These crazed fans have hand signals for every player, and little chants too. Don't feel bad for the other team though. We are students and are really good at studying. Some of the students publish the Refraction, which is a pamphlet about all the bad things the other team has done like arrests, citations, and anything about their personal life. To be honest, how they find out the information my not be entirely legal.
Usually storming the court rarely happens. It has to be a killer come back, beating BYU or Utah. In this case they were declared the outright WAC champions for the third year in a row.
The players get a chance to cut the net down, and do a little crowd surfing.

After having been to USU, it is wonderful to see this song called the Scottsman. The lyrics are super lame, but for some reason gets the whole crowd really excited. I still haven't figured it out. Enjoy.