The Haircut

Monday April 15 - Ray got a haircut.

It was bittersweet. He has the cutest little curls. However it was starting to get really long. Long as in he would’ve looked really sweet if we put a cute little flower in his hair. And you never really want it to get to that point with your son. So we bit the bullet.

BEFORE {so sweet}:

 

DURING {so MAD}:

AFTER {a snotty, tearful, hairy mess}:

We didn’t plan on cutting it all so short. We started to do the top a little longer but this screaming wiggling mess of a child made it a little difficult. So we decided one length would be less painful for all of us.

THE HAIR {he had so much!}:

 

And after he had finally calmed down and thought it was all over, I started vacuuming his hairy ape looking back.

Poor kid. I think he’s probably traumatized from haircuts for the rest of his life.

But he looks so cute. And more mischievous…

Easter 2013

On Saturday, we enjoyed Easter festivities with all of the Bedke clan again. Harper loved dyeing Easter eggs this year. I think Ray just wanted to eat them…

The Xtreme Easter Egg Hunt was a hit as always. Harper did a little hunting with her cousin Jaden. She held his hand and walked around with him for a while. I don’t know how impressed Jaden was but Harper was sure loving being best buds. :)

Ray hung out with {or attacked} Grandpa most of the time. He loved being outside and watching all of the crazy egg hunting action.

 

A little snapshot with Grandpa, Grandma & Great Grandma.

Speak no evil; See no evil. Harper just looked at this picture and said “Harper and Daddy being silly”. That’s a good description!

Sunday morning the kids woke up to a little treat from the Easter Bunny and eggs hidden around the living room. Ray grabbed one and then sat with daddy and ate its contents. Harper happily filled her basket up with the rest of them.

After church, I had choir practice so Ryan thoughtfully tried to take a picture of the kids in all of their Easter cuteness {I had completely forgotten!} These were the 5 pictures he got:

Awesome, right?!? They pretty much tell a story. When I looked at them it reminded me of Harper’s pictures from last year’s Easter:

Do you notice a trend? I’m thinking I have a grumpy Easter girl on my hands. We need to remedy this…next year!

In an attempt to get one last cute shot of the kiddos, I tried to take a picture of them in their new shirts from the Easter Bunny.

Not quite what I was hoping for. Harper needed more than 30 min. to get over her Easter grumps I guess. And it’s a little blurry because Ray would not sit still. But hey, they’re still adorable!

HAPPY EASTER!

us.

{written 3.22.13}

Ryan is still busy being a cowboy. I’m pretty sure the best part of his job {for me at least} is that he runs around looking sexy in his cowboy hat and wranglers. He has been working hard feeding cattle and doing other little projects at the ranch all winter. It’s about this time of year however, that he is very ready to not be loading and feeding around 300 75lb bales of hay everyday. He is very eager for green grass so the cattle can be pushed out to graze for the summer. He is also very excited to start this year’s garden. It’s a bonus for me that he loves to do it and knows so much about it. Ryan was recently put in as the Teacher’s Quorum Advisor in YM. He is enjoying getting to know the boys.

 

 

I have been busy taking care of 2 adorable children, growing a 3rd in my innards, taking care of the hubby, cooking 3 meals a day, cleaning when I feel like it and napping here and there. Also, throw in a few meetings, activities, projects and visits due to my calling as Second Counselor in Relief Society {seriously, who knew I could ever have a calling like that? Not me!}. Not to mention the going back and forth to the ranch a couple times a week {which is very tiresome}. Needless to say, things are always exciting around here. Maybe that’s why my blogging activity has decreased so substantially? ;)

 

Harper is our little entertainer. She sings and dances and plays the piano. She is constantly talking and telling stories. She has an astounding memory. There are several landmarks on the way to the ranch and she knows what they are and who’s cattle are who’s. She learned it faster than I did!  She loves to go to work with daddy to feed bulls/horses on the tractor, check cows on the 4wheeler, or any other little thing she can help him with. She loves to bake/cook and often says “let’s make something”. Just this week, she started telling us when she needed to go potty {with no prodding from us}. And she’s had only a couple of accidents all week. She can say prayers all by herself and knows several primary songs. Harper is such a sweet bundle of energy {and a little drama queen} and is always keeping us on our toes. She is one amazing little girl and we are so lucky to be her parents!

 

Ray is our happy little guy. He always has a smile on his face {except for when he’s caught being naughty}. He is very ticklish and has the cutest laugh. He can wave hi/bye and crawl up on the couch. He loves his baths and loves to dance when he hears music {which consists of rocking back and forth or a little head banging}. He took his first steps at almost 10 months and just this week has started using walking as his primary mode of transportation {although he’s still a little unsteady}. Funny story about his first steps -

Feb 20 - I was standing by the stove and Ray was holding onto me. Harper was near our bedroom door pushing her stroller toward Ray and then backing up. I had to move so I peeled Ray’s hand off my leg. He stood there for a minute and then started walking toward Harper as she was backing up with her stroller. After he fell, she ran him over. It was pretty funny. I sent this text to Ry and grandparents “Ray just took his first 4 steps to Harper. Altho I dunno if he’ll ever try it again cuz when he fell Harper ran him over with her stroller. :)”

Ray loves to rearrange the dining room chairs at the ranch. He’s a mischievous little stinker tho. He constantly gravitates to things he knows he can’t have/do and then gets such a sad pouty face {or straight up bawls} when you tell him no or take it away. He loves to play rough. You always have to be on guard when you’re holding him because you never know when he’ll bite, pinch, scratch or head butt you. He thinks he’s being playful…ya, not so much.  But he is such a joy to have around and is always making us smile! We love our Ray Ray!

the love month

We kicked off the month of February with a little birthday celebration. No I did not turn 7, 8 or 17…they were just the only candles at the ranch. When you don’t bring up everything you need, you make do with what you have. Daddy and Harper made this delicious pineapple upside down cake complete with cherries. It was scrumptious!

And I may or may not have hung out in my pajamas all day at the ranch. Think what you want! ;)

For a little birthday/valentine’s day celebration, Ryan and I took a little romantic getaway to Twin Falls (yes, it’s only an hour away – don’t judge!) It was the first time I had ever been away from Harper for a night minus when I had Ray. It was so hard to leave the kids but such a much needed break for both Ryan and I. We went to the temple, ate sushi, went shopping and went to the Alex Boye concert. We stopped at Deseret Book to pick up a couple things after the temple and happened to run into Mr.Boye. Who knew! It was so random. We had a great time and are so grateful for everyone who made it possible!

We kicked off Valentine’s Day with heart-shaped pancakes. Yes, we are very festive around here. Daddy bought Harper and Mommy Valentine’s treats. Harper loved hers, if you can’t tell…

Harper finger painted for the first time. She did about 3 pictures and wanted to keep going. She loved it and was remarkably clean by the end!

In a 12 hr period, we busted Ray reading a book (which he was very pleased with himself over), playing hitler (compliments of his first oreo), and practicing being a cowboy (foreshadowing the near future?!?). Not to mention his wildly long, flowy hair.

And Ray may or may not have spent this day in his pajamas. Let’s be honest here – would you ever get dressed if you lived in a secluded place and never left your house or saw anybody besides your family?

No?!? That’s what I thought!!

Hope your love month was filled with as much awesomeness as ours!

once there was a snowman…

Harper loves to be outside. In fact, I’m pretty sure it’s one of her top 3 favorite things to do. Daddy is always so willing to take her out to work or play.

In January, they built this snowman in our backyard. She loved to show it to anyone who came over. And when it finally melted away, she kept saying “my snowman died”. Silly girl!

In February, Harper built this snowman at the ranch…

while daddy built this snow fort with it’s own personal Harper seat.

Daddy is pretty much the best!

The Reality of the Ranch

These “deep thoughts by Jacquie” are from August 2012 {I think}. It’s been sitting in my drafts and I decided I should hit “publish” just for documentation sake. Enjoy!

I’ve been thinking a lot this week. A lot. Mostly about how awesome my life is. How blessed I am. How lucky I am to be a mom. How much I love being at the ranch.

A few weeks ago, my story might have been different.

We spend different parts of the year at the ranch for different reasons. In January we come up to feed cows during the winter months. In the spring we’re here to change water (irrigate the fields). In summer we are here to hay with the rest of Ryan’s family. This year we weren’t up here for much of the spring because I had Ray and then we’ve been working on getting our new house ready. As moving day kept getting closer and closer, I was dreading it. I didn’t want to be in the middle of nowhere. I wanted the internet and the tv and the phone. I wanted to stay “connected”.

Here’s confession time…

Since I’ve been up here, I’ve realized I’m a terrible mom of 2 when I’m in civilization. Instead of getting down and playing with my kids, I sit on the couch with the computer on my lap hoping Harper will go play and Ray will stay happy in his swing. If either of them need me, I get so frustrated…they’re interrupting my online time. Ugh! I anticipate naptime so badly just so I can have a minute of quiet time…on the internet. Seriously…I’m terrible! Please tell me I’m not the only one like this?

This is where the ranch comes in. I don’t have the internet, tv or phone up here. So instead of wasting my time away on facebook, pinterest or google, I’ve been forced to get down and play with them, be there when they need me and love every minute of it. I try to make it so each of my children get a little one-on-one time with me. Ray and I snuggle and talk and practice rolling over. Harper and I play outside in the water and draw love notes to each other with chalk. Naptime is our favorite part of the day though. Not because Harper is going to bed and getting out of my hair, but because we spend a 1/2 hour in bed cuddling, reading books and talking. And then we fall asleep. It’s pure sweetness. I’ll sleep for 1/2 to 1 hr and then quietly sneak out of Harper’s room to go get a few chores done before the kiddos wake back up. I love when Harper wakes up and comes down the stairs and greets me with a big “Hi!” or “Mom!”. I spend all day thinking how lucky I am to have 2 beautiful children in my life.

I’m so lucky.

The ranch has saved me. Really. It always puts things back into perspective and helps me get my priorities straight. It’s so easy, in a world filled with so much stuff, to get lost in things that just don’t matter. But I remember what matters now…and it sure as heck isn’t pinterest.