The Kays - Ryan, Neeley, Tripp and Piper

Punta Cana

2010-07-20T10:28:00.000-07:00

Ryan and I had a great time in the Dominican Republic in June. It was absolutely beautiful and relaxing. We loved every minute of it!
Our day consisted reading, swimming and napping on the beach. It was awesome!

The picture is a little foggy due to the humidity.

We went zip lining one day. I was surprised (and thrilled) that Ryan agreed to it. After a 45 mintute ride through the country (which was really depressing) we arrived for our adventure. The course consisted of 11 lines, the longest being 900 meters. The area was so lush and green.

Looking back to our resort from the beach.

Drinks were included!

I could totally go back.............

The first of six date nights!!! I had my husband all to myself, I was able to eat my dinner when it was served rather than getting two little ones squared away, We actually had conversations during the whole meal rather than between spills and requests. As much as I missed my kids, I loved the time spent alone with Ryan. Being together without any interruptions reminds me how lucky I am to have such an incredible husband and best friend.

View from our balcony.

What an amazing trip. I would highly recommend this place to anyone looking to get away and relax.

Did you know............

2010-06-15T11:14:00.001-07:00

1. I am a freakin' idiot

2. A crazy whirling sound coming from your car means your starter is out

3. You should bring a vehicle with enough power to get all your purchases home from the store

4. If you call dispatch they send out emergency vehicles

5. Husbands are sometimes (although not often) right

Tough lessons to learn in one day! Sunday was one of those days that you wish you would have stayed in bed! Ryan woke up Sunday excited to make his first Sunday Dinner in our new house, I ran to the store (this is when I found the starter had went out in the car) to get everything for him. I didn't let this get me down, I knew it wasn't a huge deal since we don't have to have two working cars right now. While the roast was in the oven I suggested we run "real fast" to Lowe's to get the materials we needed to put in the fence. Our quick trip ended up lasting almost 2 hours. The kind boy helping us knew less than I did about fencing which pretty much left everything up to me to figure out. This was a little tricky with two kids screaming and a frustrated husband. When all was said and done I had two pallets and two carts of materials. Before we paid one of the employees asked which vehicle they would be loading everything in, when I told him about our little truck he informed me that there would be no way our truck would be able to handle the weight of everything I was trying to purchase. I felt totally stupid as I had to walk out the door after having wasted my time, Ryan's time, nap time and employee time. I had time to think on the way home, and realized that it could have been worse. I will just go to Home Depot and get the materials next week! We came home to our Carbon Monoxide Monitor going off for the 2nd day in a row. I had just had them hung on Thursday and had replaced the batteries at this time as well. I couldn't figure out why it was going off again. When I asked Ryan what he thought I should do he told me to go buy a new one at Wal-Mart and see if it picked anything up. Instead of listening to my "oh so smart hubby" I decided to call the dispatch number and see if they had a number for a company that could come and look at it. The operator asked why I was calling and I casually explained that my alarm was going off for the 2nd day in a row. She freaked out, told me to get everyone out of the home and that emergency vehicles would be coming. I started laughing and told her that was not what I had in mind but it was too late. It was so freakin embarrassing. I had to hide out back until they came (with lights on) and try to put this whole thing to a stop (meanwhile Tripp is jumping up and down on the front porch with excitement). Great way to meet our new neighbors!

Piper Turns One.....Oh My!

2010-04-13T18:38:00.000-07:00

I had everyone who attended the party bring an old button to put on a picture frame that I had put "cute as a button" in vinyl lettering. I hope this will be a fun keepsake for her to have.

Piper really enjoyed her cake. She had a hard time diving into it at first but as you can see she figured it all out!

I can not believe that my little baby is one. Time has FLOWN by yet I don't remember life in our house without her. Piper is full of fun, I don't post often and for those of you that I don't talk to or see often I will give you a quick update Piper. I would guess that Piper weighs around 22 lbs. (much lighter than tripp was at this age!!). The week of her birthday she FINALLY started walking around furniture and grew the two largest front teeth I have ever seen! She is starting to show a little personality and can be a little feisty at times. When she gets really upset she throws herself backwards and screams at the top of her lungs, luckily this only lasts for about 10 seconds and it is not very often. Piper absolutely adores her big brother and thankfully he adores her just as much. She is still a really easy going girl; sleeps well, eats well, and goes with the flow. I would say my only frustration is that she will not take a sippy cup. I have visions of a 3 year old that I am still packing around because she refuses to walk and you guessed it.....she is holding a bottle!

Piper's Birthday Card

2010-04-05T07:57:00.000-07:00

I had to show off the cute card Ryan made for Piper's Birthday!

Tripp

2010-03-12T18:57:00.000-08:00

You have to check out the attached video of Tripp. Freakin' funny......Maybe not quite as funny as the inside out unders, stocking cap and boot get up that I found him in after nap time, but pretty funny!

Piper

2010-03-12T18:48:00.000-08:00

O.K. I am totally horrible! It has been forever since I have posted. Here are a couple of pics for you and a cute little video. I hope that Piper will love books as much as her mom, dad and big brother!

Santa!

2009-12-15T20:14:00.000-08:00

Piper loved Santa! He didn't love that she was pulling his whiskers off! Look close at Santa's face, Piper is definitely getting the better of him!

I LOVED seeing Tripp with Santa this year! In this picture he is saying, "look mom, it's Santa!, Talk to him, talk to him!" It was so stinkin cute!

All Wrapped Into One!

2009-12-01T16:59:00.000-08:00

Here are a grundle of posts all wrapped into one! I had great intentions about posting about each of these events. Instead of throwing them all out the window I have just grouped them all together.

These pictures were taken while decorating our house for Christmas. They were both such great sports!

Tripp and I (Ryan once again proved what an amazing husband and father he is by staying home with our sick little Piper) went to the Polar Express. He loved it! As long as Tripp doesn't change his story from now until Christmas I think Ryan and I will be safe. When Santa asked him what he wanted for Christmas Tripp told him "a present"!

He couldn't get enough of the first snow! He cried and cried when I made him come in. Mean Mommy!

Yes...... You are seeing this correctly!!! What better gear for playing in the snow than a cap, racing shirt, pj bottoms, light-up cowboy boots, gloves, jacket, and of course...a sand shovel and Tupperware!

Don't worry, they are not posing for me. They are watching TV. Duh Ryan!

I love the picture of Piper sucking her thumb. Although I don't like it, it is REALLY cute! She always sucks her left thumb but supports her left hand with her right. Piper is Grandpa Al's last hope for a lefty!

These pictures were taken exactly one week prior to the snow pictures. Tripp loved the leaves just as much as the snow. GG (great grandma) stopped by to see the kids. I don't know how many kids are lucky enough to have a GG like ours. She doesn't hesitate to get down on the floor and play with the kids, they all LOVE her!

This is the most recent "family pic" we have. This was taken at the pumpkin patch in October.

During Thanksgiving Break I had lot of time to think about all of the things that I am thankful for. We had taken Piper to Primary Children's for her echo and EKG. They found that her valve had gotten a little thicker but was still in the very mild range. They reiterated that if it continues to get worse, a stint will take care of it. Both Tripp and Piper were sick over the break which was no fun for them and not a whole lot of fun for Ryan or I either. These are such minor things when I look at the whole picture. I have been lucky enough to be blessed with two healthy, easy going, fun, loving, smart and super cute children! I have an incredible husband. I am really terrible at consistently showing him how much he means to me. I get so wrapped up in school, tripp and piper that he is often neglected. I couldn't have asked for a better husband or father to my children. I love everything about him. In my eyes he a kind, brave, hard working, determined man. I love you Ryan!

Tripp 777 Productions

2009-11-08T18:31:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone,

Ryan is trying really hard to get his videography business up and running. Since he is such a perfectionist in this area (I wish sometimes it were in other areas, like picking up his belongings) he does a fantastic job. He has just started a blog to help him in advertising and I am wondering if you would all be willing to post the link to his blog on your blog list. I know that lots of people surf blogs and thought that this may help him to get the word out there. His blog is tripp777.blogspot.com.

THANKS!

Halloween!

2009-11-01T19:08:00.000-08:00

Tripp and Piper had a grand Halloween. It began with breakfast together, cleaning the house and then the fun.......icing cookies! Tripp was in charge of putting sprinkles on the cookies. As I opened the bag of sprinkles they flew EVERYWHERE and I responded with an, "oh shit"! Tripp followed it up with, "oh shit mom, oh shit mom, oh shit mom...." Yes, I am a wonderful role model for my son.

We started our evening in Nephi, traveled through Mona, stopped in Springlake and ended in Payson. They both did really well and enjoyed showing off. Tripp struggled with the fact that he didn't get to eat every single piece of candy as it was handed to him! I think the best part of the night was getting home early enough for Tripp to open our door for the trick or treaters. He would open it up and yell "ar, ar" Most of the freaks just stood there and stared at him! Ryan and I chuckled at him every time...duh to us! He did tell a few of the kids that they needed to "go home and eat that candy, ok?" I think this must have been from the billion times that we told him, "we are taking the candy home to eat".

We had a really hard time taking a great picture of Tripp. He was NOT interested. This is a candid shot we took of him. It appears as though he is concentrating very hard. I think he must be contemplating how to get the rest of the "loot"!

Piper looked so stinking cute (I know, I keep saying that)! And she has finally mastered sitting up!

Yummy Yummy!

2009-08-31T20:22:00.000-07:00

These pictures posted in the wrong order and I am not talented enough to fix it! This was her second day eating. It was at least twice as messy as the first. I am pretty sure it is suppose to be the other way around! Piper was so funny. Everytime I put a spoonful in her mouth she would stick her thumb in her mouth. We had cereal EVERYWHERE!

She likes it!!

Open wide!!!

Piper showing off that darling smile!

My Derby Guy

2009-08-11T16:39:00.001-07:00

Ryan for some unknown reason thinks that climbing into a stripped out car and crashing it is fun! This year was no exception. He took his car from last year to the Juab County Fair Demolition Derby on Saturday. His main goal was to total what was left of his car. He accomplished his goal and even earned some aches and pains to go along with it! Even though I give him a little grief it is so fun to see him on Derby Day!

Ryan had lots of fans rooting for him. Here is one of his students, the sign is awesome and made Ryan's day. She put a lot of thought into the whole event. She is in an orange shirt and made her family where orange as well. Her sign has a picture of "Mr. Kay" and his fauxhawk.

See you next year!

Ahhhhhhhhh!

2009-08-11T16:30:00.000-07:00

So yesterday Ryan and I went shopping for school clothes (one of the major benefits of teaching is that you still get to go school shopping even at 31!). It did NOT go well. I am kicking myself in the rather large behind for eating all those burgers, cookies, fries, ice-cream, well you get the idea..... Ryan was looking at me with big eyes as I started to cry in the middle of the mall. I came home feeling terrible and like I needed a quick change. Today at my hair appointment I told Hailee to chop it all off, and so as you can see, she did! I think I love it, I only wish the weight could have went with it!

Lucky Me

2009-07-31T08:42:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in a while so I am making up for it with three posts today. I have the cutest video too but I can't get it to upload. I wonder if it is to long...... any suggestions..... I also can't get the date to show and it keeps saying "undefined" after the title of my post. I am new to this whole thing and will take any advice I can get!

Now on to the good stuff! We are having such a great summer together. Here are a couple of pictures that Ryan took while we were hanging out one night. He is exploring his talents as a photographer so anyone in need of a FREE photo shoot give him a call. He would love the practice.

Piper is still in the cooing and smiling stage. She is so much fun to watch and snuggle. She loves to watch lights and TV and has slept through the night for the past 5 days!!!! She is a very easy going baby. Lucky Me!

Tripp has been such a great helper this summer. This picture shows him helping his daddy with their daily watering. He loves to swim, dance, read books, and talk to his baby sister. His vocabulary is still growing at a rapid rate. We now have to be VERY cautious of what we say in front of him!

The other night we were outside and a horse pulling a wagon drove by. Tripp started screaming
"horsey arrr arrr". It took me a second glance at the horse to realize what he meant. The horse had black eye shades on that resembled pirate patches. Tripp saw his first pirate horse right here in Payson Utah! Everytime he tells the story I chuckle! Lucky Me!

Tripp and Piper

2009-07-31T08:30:00.000-07:00

He is so proud of his little sis. As you can see, she can get a little overwhelmed with him. Her eyes are constantly bugging out by his boistorous voice. The first thing he does when he wakes up is find Piper and talk to her. It is so dang cute.

Tripp and Piper share a common trait with Ryan. They all love watching TV!

Sleeping Beauty

2009-07-31T07:46:00.000-07:00

I can't get enough of Piper. I could lay and watch her all day and night (and I do!)

Our Family

2009-07-07T21:32:00.001-07:00

I continue to think how lucky I am to have a loving and supportive husband and two happy healthy kids. I laugh multiple times a day at my Tripp. He is in such a fun stage right now. His vocabulary is growing every hour and it melts my heart to see how loving and caring he is to his sister. He adores his dad and gets so excited whenever Ryan walks in the door (Tripp screams "my daddy, my daddy") even if he had only been gone long enough to get the mail. Piper is smiling and cooing at anyone who will look her way. My face hurts from smiling at her! I love being a mom!

Piper's Blessing

2009-07-07T21:03:00.000-07:00

Smiling at "GG" (Great Grandma Menlove)

Neeley, Piper and Marshall

Getting dressed wore Piper out!

Piper was blessed on Sunday June 28th. She looked absolutely beautiful in her blessing dress and knitted cap. I had to put a bow in her hair later so that she could show off all that hair! Piper is obviously loved because we had a lots of family and friends there to support her. My brother Marshall gave Piper her blessing, he did a wonderful job.

Four Generations of Girls

2009-07-07T06:29:00.001-07:00

I was excited to take this picture and post it. Four generations are not all that uncommon but four generations of girls is uncommon for us! My grandmother Lois had seven children the oldest being my mother (Lori) the only girl! I am the only girl and now we have Piper!

2 Months

2009-06-11T14:01:00.000-07:00

I can not believe that Piper is two months old already. It makes me sad to think how fast time flies. We took her to the Dr. for her checkup today and he said that everything looks great. She is in the 92nd %ile for her weight (12.12) and I am sure half of that comes from her adorable cheeks! Tripp is still loving being the big brother and runs to comfort her if she makes even the littlest peep! Amazingly she still has lots of hair left but it is thinning out and receding. She has started smiling when you talk to her and has even begun talking back.

St. George

2009-06-11T13:55:00.001-07:00

We took our first (of many I hope) family getaways the first week of June. We loaded up the car and spent four days in a condo in St. George. We had a great time being together and spoiling Tripp and Piper with our full attention. We hung out by the pool, cooked breakfasts and lunches together and enjoyed take-out for dinner every night since going to dinner with a two year old is not our idea of fun! This was the perfect way to begin our summer.

Pass It On

2009-05-22T14:04:00.000-07:00

I found this on my friend Darci's blog and thought it would be a lot of fun.........Can't wait to see what her crafty ass makes me!!!

The first five people to comment on this post will get something made by me.

My choice. For you.

Here's the deal:
I make no guarantees that you will like what I make.
What I make will be just for you.
It'll be done this year.
You have no clue what it's going to be.
It may be a story. I may sew, stitch, bake, or paint something. Who knows?

Anyone can comment (as long as I know you), it doesn't matter how far away you are.

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must re-post this on your own blog and offer the same deal to 5 of your own lucky blog readers.

So, the first 5 people to leave a comment telling me they are in, win a homemade gift by me!

East Meadows Baby Boom

2009-05-20T08:59:00.001-07:00

Apparently East Meadows is the place to work for expecting or new moms. The following was put into the local paper!

Spring Brings Foals and Fillies at East Meadows!

East Meadows Elementary has had an unprecedented number of babies and expectant mothers this year. Thirteen faculty members (missing from the pictures is Jalizabeth Hamberlin) have had or are expecting new additions to their families (there are a few more that have yet to be announced!...). The unusually high number has people joking good-naturedly about avoiding the drinking water! We are so proud of our East Meadows staff, and excited that such wonderful people will have the opportunity to make great parents. Congratulations and good luck!

Picture:(L to R) Suzanne Aguero, Sarah Lemmons, Lindsey Hughes, Jamie PintarPicture:(L to R top) Karlee Barlow(Max),Jami Martinsen(Olivia), Kristy Alger(Elly),Nichol Lyman (Kadence),Neeley Kay(Piper), Garrett Andersen(Nathan) (Bottom) Kerrin Jensen and Charla Andersen

Tripp Turns Two

2009-05-04T19:30:00.000-07:00

Tripp had a great 2nd Birthday. He started his day licking cake beaters! He wasn't sure what to do at first but once he got the hang of it he wanted "more, more, peeeaasssseee"!

I am giving my best at this whole mom thing and I made him a horse cake. This is his recent fascination. When we were eating it he kept saying, "howsee, eat"!

Ryan and I gave him a tricycle, I hope you can see the look on his face.l He loved it. We have been outside ever since.

Tripp is so much fun to be around. He is very thoughtful and high spirited. We just can't get enough of him.

I hate to brag, but......

2009-05-01T13:19:00.000-07:00

I know that I am a little prejudice but I just can't get over how freakin' cute my kids are!!! Here are some of the pictures that we recently had taken. We had them taken by Kristi Bowman. If anyone is interested in having pictures taken I would highly recommend her. Her website is kristibowmanphotography.com.

STILL ON LIGHTS!!

2009-04-27T12:09:00.000-07:00

We took Piper to the Dr. this morning (Monday) to have her billi levels checked. He pointed out that she was 17 days old today. I can not believe it. Things have been so crazy I can't wait to stop and take a breath. (I know, who knows when that will be.....). Her levels are down (yea!) but we are going to keep her on until Thursday to try to knock them down a little more. She is still on the billi-blanket which is wonderful because we can hold her anytime we want and even take her out of the house as long as there is an outlet where we are going. We spent Sunday in Nephi with the Kay's. It was nice to get out of the house for a little while.

Piper's Appointment

2009-04-24T14:36:00.000-07:00

Piper had a great appointment yesterday! She has mild pulmonary stenosis which is where the pulmonary valve is a little too thick. The Dr. feels that nothing will ever have to be done about it, but we will continue to monitor it periodically. She also has a very small ASD which will most likely correct itself over time. We were very relieved when we left her appointment.

We are still battling the jaundice. She has been off the lights since Monday but her levels have been increasing so today the Dr. has put her back on the lights. This time we were given the blanket so at least we can snuggle, cuddle and continue to show her off! She is a happy, beautiful baby and we are lucky to have her (even though she is causing little stress)!

Piper Update

2009-04-17T10:44:00.000-07:00

Piper is giving it all she has got to throw us through a loop. She is causing her daddy to get more gray hair and she is making sure that her mommy's tears are still working!! She is still on the billibed but her levels have finally started to decrease. The Dr. has told us that if they are down again on Saturday that she will be able to come off the lights. Ryan and I keep telling her to get her rest in now because as soon as she is off the bed she will not be set down. We have been going for daily Dr. checks (due to the billirubin) and yesterday the Dr. found a murmur in her heart. He sent us to Utah Valley for an echo late last night. They found a abnormality with the pulmonary artery and we will be taking her to a cardiologist at Primary's on Thursday. Aside from causing us lots of stress she is a great baby...eating, sleeping, pooping! We can't wait to show her off! Send good thoughts her way, I will update after appointment.

More Pics!

2009-04-13T19:41:00.001-07:00

Piper has jaundice and is spending lots of time "basking in the lights" Hopefully this won't last too much longer. I am not a big fan of not cuddling with her!

The amazing Dr. Andersen! He did give up his secret.......KY Jelly!

Tripp

Piper

EVERYONE has commented on how alike these two look. These were the best close up pictures that I could find. I can only hope that she grows up to be as adorable as Tripp!

Piper's Visitors

2009-04-11T20:44:00.001-07:00

Mom and Dad

Big Brother Tripp

Uncle Byrd and Aunt Jennie
Aunt Ashlee and Cousin Briley
Grandma and Grandpa Kay

Uncle Marshall Aunt Sabrina, Cousins - Wylie, Callin and Davin
Grandpa Bob and GG
Jed and Jennifer
Aunt Lori

Grandpa Al and Nanna

Piper had lots of family who couldn't wait to meet her. Thanks for coming to visit!!

She is Here!

2009-04-11T20:28:00.000-07:00

After having contractions that were 3 minutes apart for a little over an hour Ryan and I decided that it was time to head to the hospital. After being on a monitor for an hour with the same consistent contractions they told us to either go walk around for an hour or go home and come back when they were a bit stronger. We (Ryan!) decided that we would be power walking for the next hour. When we were assessed again they agreed that a baby would soon be on its way. After a very short labor (compared to Tripp's) we were greeted with the newest member of the Kay family, Piper. She was born on April 10th at 8:27 pm. She weighed 7lbs 14 oz and was 20 and 1/2 inches long. She had some respiratory difficulties directly after being born and was whisked away to the NICU. Piper was able to leave the NICU at 1:40 and was taken to the nursery for a bath and an additional assessment. We were finally able to sit down and enjoy her around 4:00 a.m. This made for a very long night but we were lucky to have her healthy and here. After finally relaxing we came to two very crazy realizations, we just had a baby GIRL and she has a head FULL of hair!

My Little Man

2009-04-09T07:57:00.000-07:00

Isn't he a cutie!!!

My First Date

2009-04-09T07:36:00.000-07:00

While Ryan was enjoying the sun in Las Vegas for his yearly Nascar trip, Tripp and I had some fun of our own. We went on our first date. First stop was Jumping Jacks. I didn't realize how much of a workout it was going to be for me! Next we hit Dairy Queen for a messy ice cream cone.

Tripp's New Bedroom

2009-04-09T07:29:00.000-07:00

Tripp moved out of his crib and into a big boy bed. Ryan and Brady spent all weekend painting and setting up his new room. He LOVED it!