Hurdles

I used to be a "hurdler". I ran track for many years but I think that my favorite race to run is the 100 meter hurdles. (4x100 and 4x400 are close seconds) The 100 meter hurdles is a rush. You get into the blocks and look down the track all you can see are seemingly endless waves of hurdles. In your mind you know that there are only 10 of them but it looks like a little tunnel that won't ever end as you place your feet in the blocks. You know from past experience that the race will end and in fact be much shorter than it looks. Your adrenaline is pumping and muscles are tense waiting for the gun to go off. BANG!! You are off running as fast as you can. It takes all your concentration to count steps, hurdle, try to run faster and if you are lucky keep track of your opponents out of the corner of your eye. Before you know it the race is over, you are out of breath and you have this major rush of endorphins as you look back over the race you just ran. And strangely there is an urge to do this crazy thing all over again.

Around Thanksgiving time I was looking at the calendar for the upcoming month and it gave me the feeling of getting into the blocks for a 100 meter race. I could see all that I needed to get accomplished... parties, decorations, shopping, doctor's appointments, end of year stuff, etc. It looked like an endless sea of events. But I knew that at the end... Christmas afternoon... I will feel that rush of endorphins (and maybe a little exhaustion) as I look back over the "Christmas Season".

So if we have been absent from our cyberspace community, we are running our 100 meter hurdles as fast as we can.

In the spirit of hurdles here are 10 pictures of our latest escapades as a little family...

Luke learning to show love to his brother.

Playing in the snow

Noah is always ready to smile for someone!

Ok maybe not always ready... He looks a little scared for his life.

Luke's favorite past time is pushing this dump truck around with all his precious stuff... you know... cars, elmo, more cars, stuffed elephant and more cars.

Just hanging out looking for a good time.

Fun Thanksgiving with half of the Rasmussens.

Luke and Ryan hunting for the perfect Christmas Tree

Found it!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

No news is good news

My little sister is exacting a bit of blog revenge. No, we are not pregnant, unless Annalyn is now playing Wheel of Fortune with someone else. We are having a hard enough time with the two we currently have. Luke and Noah are both neglected enough at this point. The other day I walked in from work and Luke gave me the "Oh look who decided to show up" face. He gets it from his mother.

Big News

It's true, Annalyn is pregnant! What can I say, my boys can swim. We are trying to see how close together we can get our kids.

Monsters, Babies & Time Outs

Monsters:
In my humble opinion, one of the best part about Halloween is pictures of little kids dressed up. I love to see the creativity... or lack thereof in my case... of the kids or their parents. I look forward to browsing blogs for costume pics. So not to disappoint others like myself here was our Halloween.

Olivia, Noah and Luke visiting Great Grandma Benson for the Halloween Party. Luke's mask is on backwards. Honestly, I am surprised he kept it on that way. What kid size 2T is going to keep a mask on that has mesh over the eye holes? Anyhow traditionally Ryan and I are kind of party poopers when it comes to halloween. No decorating or throwing parties, etc. Don't get me wrong we do love to handout candy to all the little munchkins,but things change when you have kids to share it with, at least it has for me. It becomes more fun and worth the effort. So for the first time in a long time I set out to carve a pumpkin with Luke.

It was actually quite fun. He didn't really get the point of it all but was pleased with the results.


Babies:
Last weekend we went to Utah to bless Noah with his cousin Little Josh. These two were born the same day and so we thought it would be fun to bless them together. Josh and Roxanne put together a little program to invite the spirit and teach us about families. (We did it on Saturday so there wasn't sacrament meeting to do that.) They did a great job. Baby blessings will always be a tender, very sacred thing for me partly because that is the one life experience that we had with our quadruplets and partly because I believe the veil becomes thin and you can feel each child's different spirit. This was especially neat for us because Little Josh was born with Down Syndrome and so to get a glimpse of his true spirit and potential was wonderful.

Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of them in their blessing outfits. They both needed to eat right after the blessing. Noah had the biggest blow out he has ever had while I was feeding him. Yep, all over that little white outfit and all over me! I had to run home and borrow my sisters shirt, which Noah promptly spit up all over, and then rush back to the church to glean what I could from the left over lunch we served. Lucky for us Grandma Rasmussen bought the boys matching outfits for their blessing. So the next day we lined them up for the photo shoot.

Well, lined them up as much as you can line up 2 2 month-old babies. Trust me, they looked adorable.

Noah was a little suspicious of this kid his size dressed like him!

Time Outs:
The time has come for Ryan and I to put together a discipline plan for Luke. This includes the ever-so-popular Time Out. I decided that I had to get it together and start teaching Luke what was appropriate behavior and what is not. So I was using time outs quite frequently during the day. Our time outs are not long but frequent. Anyhow I was feeding the baby and Luke decided to do something naughty, since I couldn't physically put him in his time out I just threated, "Luke, do you need to go to time out?" I guess he decided that he did because he walked over the mantle (our time out spot) and sat down and looked at me with a serious face.

It was so hard not to laugh. Somehow I got out the "No hitting your brother" before I turned away laughing. Ever since he is really good about putting himself in a time out. We just threaten and he goes to the nearest fireplace and sits himself down. Sometimes he will even start shaking his head and saying "No, No". I am not sure if this is a good thing. I think he might like it? I don't know. Maybe he likes the "Say your sorry and then give Mom a hug" at the end of the time out. Sometimes he will hit something and then walk himself there without me saying a word. So do I make Time Out something less pleasant than sitting on the fireplace or just count myself lucky?

Enjoying the Moment

I was talking with some friends in church today and we were talking about the ups and downs of raising kids and pregnancy. There is an older sister who was sitting by us. She spoke up and reminded us that someday we will miss these days and that each stage of childhood is precious and we should try to enjoy it and treasure it. As she was saying that I looked at Luke, who had just let out an earsplitting scream and thrown his car across the back of the primary... sometimes it is hard to enjoy it all. I have been thinking about this and promised myself to do better. Here are some pictures of our stage of life right now.

There are few things better than an ice cream cone and sunshine! Just ask Luke.

Noah being rocked to sleep by his dad... more smiling than sleeping but who can blame him?

Family outing for pizza: You can't tell but we had just watched Luke stuff 12 raisins, 3 olive slices, a corner of a breadstick, a bite of pizza and 2 pieces of pasta. NO JOKE! One of his stages is stuffing his mouth so full he can hardly chew and gagging on it about 50% of the time.


Ahh... the joys of baby portability. This is Noah at our family pizza outing. He is such a good little guy.

If there is one word that describes Luke's phase it is CARS. He loves them! This is Uncle Jacob's truck. When Luke came out of house and saw this he said "Woah!" Like a man admiring a fine piece of machinery.


We had to let him try it out. We got to see Jacob and Deidre on our way to and back from California a couple of weeks ago. We are so grateful that they let us crash at their place. We don't get to see them enough.

Luke's first carousel ride. We went to the Santa Ana Zoo while in warm sunny California. Always a good time at the zoo, especially with Grandma, Aunt Casey and Kevin.


Noah ready for bed and waiting for Mom to feed him. We love having this little guy around.

My current stage of life is trying to get back into running and exercising post baby, trying to get all the fall yard work done before it is too cold, and needing to get my hair done in a bad way. Ryan's is staying busy with work, fighting sleep deprivation from helping out with Luke's current waking up at night phase, and trying to fit in a couple last motorcycle rides before winter really hits.

We are all looking forward to blessing Noah this coming weekend with his cousin, Little Josh. We love it when we can get together with family and friends.

Final Catch Up Post

After this update I can cross "Post on Blog" off my To Do list! I have been figuring out how to fit everything in with two kids. Some days I feel like I am making progress and others I am sure I will never be productive again. Whenever I say that my mom reminds me that my kids are happy and well fed and that is a feat in and of itself, the rest will be there tomorrow.

Our warm days are numbered here and so I am trying to get out with the boys as much as possible before the house arrest of winter sets in. This week we took them to the zoo. Luke liked it more than ever and Noah behaved himself very well.


Luke is adjusting to having a brother around and is even starting to like him.


He has been loving the extra daddy time that he has been getting. Ryan has been such a big help I don't know what I would do without him. 4-wheeler rides, movies, games of hide and seek, stargazing... you name it and they will do it together. He is turning into quite the daddy's boy.

Unfortunately, when Ryan has to work and I am trying to feed and take care of Noah we have turned to the movie "Cars" It is Luke's favorite. He can't get enough of it. As you can see...


All in all we are loving having Noah in our family. Like Ryan said when he first came home, our family feels that more complete. He has been a good baby and is growing fast. Before we know it both of the boys will be running around wreaking havoc in our home.

Twin Cousins

So 5 days after Dad graduated, I went into labor and had Noah. We were calling home to talk to my parents and when my dad answered he told us that Roxanne had gone into labor and their baby probably would be born that night! We were so excited. Roxanne wasn't due until the 5th of September but Little Josh decided that he didn't want to wait. Joshua Willard Benson was born also on the 19th of August. He was a bit smaller than Noah but every bit as cute. So to add to my belated congratulations to Dad here is one to Josh, Roxanne and little Josh.

We are sure they are going to be the best of cousins... even if they aren't convinced of that yet. They came up to Idaho so the boys could meet and for Grandma's 90th birthday. We tried to get a good picture of the two of them but this is the best we got... feeding time for Noah. I am sure there will be plenty more pictures to come.

Belated Congratulations to Papa Bear

I have been meaning to post for awhile but just haven't done it... so much to catch up on the pressure gets overwhelming. But I really have wanted to congratulate my Dad. He graduated in August from BYU with his MBA. (Here he is with Madison, Angie's baby. I didn't have any other picture of him with cap and gown)


He went back to school to get his masters, something he has wanted to do for 30 years. Trying to raise and provide for 11 kids made it impossible for many years. Finally a couple of years ago he decided it was time and went for it. I am so proud of him for chasing his dreams and not giving up on what he wanted. He is an inspiration that it is never to late to achieve those life-time goals you have set for yourself.

To celebrate we managed to get all 11 children, 7 spouses and 6 grandchildren to his graduation. This was a big feat for our family coming from all over. It was so fun to have everyone home and around for a couple of days before families started splitting off to their respective homes, and new adventures across the country and oceans. Here we all are!


And here are the 5 pregos in order of closest due date... if it isn't obvious by my bulging belly.

Noah Aaron Rasmussen

We welcomed Noah into our family on August 19, 2009 at 5:58 pm. (He couldn't get here soon enough as far as I was concerned!) He was 7 lbs 6 oz and 21.5 inches long. The best part is that he is completely healthy and we were able to take him home the next day. A new experience for us... I would recommend it. Here are some photos of the little one.

This is right after the nursery was done with him in the hospital.

Snoozing today at home in the bouncer. (His feet are not really that big, I promise)

One of those rare moments when he was wide awake.

Summer Fun

Here are a couple of things that we have been up to this summer. (With our camera on the fritz our pictures are few and far between)

Hanging out with cousins: Luke and Olivia chilling with Ryan

We were lucky to get this one shot of the both of them not moving neither one looks thrilled with the situation but they are getting to be better friends all the time. It is really good practice for Luke to have another baby around. With more cousins on the way (Congrats Roxanne, Deb, Em and Liz) these pictures should be popping up more and more.



Emily and Levi were in town to play and so one of our outings was to the mountains to do some 4-wheeling. Pete, Heidi and Olivia joined us. The first ride was a scenic one down by the river that Moms and babies went on. Then the serious riding began while Heidi, Olivia, Luke and I cooked dinner. This was as close to camping that we have been with Luke. He loved the campsite and loved the dirt even more.

He would push the truck around from rocks to dirt to rocks and so forth. Dirty as ever but happy as could be. We tried out the sunscreen mohawk and both decided we like him better without the rebel look. But... why is it no gel will hold his hair in place for church but sunscreen will stick it straight up for hours on end?

Feeding the Dog

Why is this such a big deal? Luke has finally realized that dog food is for the "goggie" and not for him to eat. All he has to do is ask and I will give him much better tasting stuff. This is a milestone for us. No more juggling Biscuit feedings with Luke on the loose time.

We have been lucky to have lots of friends and family come and pay us a visit this summer and are looking forward to more this weekend and even more in August. We are hoping to juggle the delivery of baby #2 around my dad's graduation, visits from family and a work schedule. But mostly just hoping the little guy comes soon.

Guess who's back..

To steal from the great American poet Eminem,

Guess who's back, back again... Ryan's back...tell a friend..


I have decided to return to the world of blogging. My hiatus can be attributed to a couple things. #1 as much as I love to blog, we all know those little dots in the map are 99.9% Annalyns friends. I like you all very much (accept for whoever visits from Thailand and has me scared they are stealing pictures of Lukey for their diabolical endevors. WHO ARE YOU?!?) But you come to see what Annalyn is up to, not to here me ramble on about how awesome Teen Wolf is. (Awesome x 23 quadrillion) and #2 simply writers block. The only time I sit down to write letters are to travel agencies to complain about these things... They are working on it.

P.S. I typed number 2.

I did get the opportunity to travel to SLC by myself this last week and downloaded Michael Jackson music for the trip. Am I the only one who has gone from thinking that Michael Jackson was awesome, to Michael Jackson is a pervert, to Michael Jackson might not have been a pervert after all? Martin Bashir, I blame you.

Don't read too much in to my waffling opinion, I also think that we never landed on the moon.


And lastly, our iphones have replaced cameras around our house. So the 12 megapixel (not quite a QUADRILLION) camera gathers dust, we have grainy pictures of the cutest boy in the world.

As the french guy who worked at Lowes in the lawn and garden quoted Mark Twain to me when he asked if Luke was mine...

Motherhood is a certainty, Fatherhood is a rumor.

My Arch-nemesis

I heard the word nemesis the other day and while working in my garden I realized that I have an arch-nemesis. THE THISTLE.


While this weed may look harmless it is the prickliest, worst weed ever. The spot where my garden is used to be pasture grass... there is still a lot of grass in the garden, some days I don't know whether to weed or mow the garden... anyhow when I killed(thinned out) the pasture grass to make room for my plants, the thistle decided it was time to move in.

I wear gloves and the stickers poke right through and get you. I have been poked so many times that I am becoming overly bitter and have reached the point of declaring the thistle my arch-nemesis. I even want to kill the random ones on the side of the road so they don't spread to my yard. The only good thistle is a dead one.

(this is the pile of dead weeds out of my garden) Hopefully the rest of the garden will survive the summer. It has all grown a lot more since the heat has come but then Biscuit likes to "mark" my tomato plants. One is dead...
I can't blame it and the other shows signs of wishing it was dead. See the brown leaves at the bottom?


Other than gardening we have had a fun week. We had Grandma Rhonda visit after all the Bensons were here for the 4th and Olivia's blessing. We recruited everyone and had them be in the Idaho Falls Parade with our old car and some residents.

I am not sure how much they enjoyed it but we sure had fun with them. We wish they could come up more often. As they were leaving Ryan's mom pulled in for a little visit. We sure enjoy her company. We went to the zoo with her and Grandma Benson.

I didn't have a picture of Grandma Rhonda and Luke but she was there and helped juggle the diaper bag, stroller, wheelchair and baby. We were sad to see her go.

Summer at Last

We have been enjoying the heat that has finally arrived here after our month of rain. Unfortunately I have been a slacker about taking pictures so I don't have much to document. Here are some pictures of our little outing to Rigby Lake. They have cleaned it up a lot and they let Biscuit join in the family fun.

The Gang

Tasty Rocks

Fun with Dad

Enjoying the Beach

After this adventure my camera is on the fritz and won't turn on. I will work on that and post more later.