Thanks Nana and Pompa!

Hey Mom and Dad, Here's a little somethin' to show you how much Ryder loves his new birthday present! Really. He LOVES it.

Talent

With all this Olympic craze going on, it has made me think a lot about people's talents. I look at these amazing athletes and can't help but think that if they were born into any other circumstance than they were privileged to, they may not have discovered they were crazy talented in a given area. For example, what if Michael Phelps never encountered the coach who discovered his potential or for that matter, never had the opportunity to take swimming lessons? They showed feature stories on him over and over about how his abnormally long torsoed/short-legged/long fingered body making him as close to a fish as one can humanly get. This makes me wonder if every individual in this world could be a gold medalist at something. Whether its building skyscrapers or playing the violin, I think every person, if given the opportunity to discover it, and the mentors, and the education and the money, could be spectacular at something. Obviously, that's not realistic because on one had you have those who lack opportunity, or are lazy and on the other hand you believe in balance and wouldn't be happy pursuing perfection just because you could. So with that said, these thoughts have offered me the following...thoughts that are a bit more applicable to me.

• Share your talents. Obviously, it's a commandment for a reason. I believe Heavenly Father wants us to find joy in what we love and become good at it. I think it's an aspect of humanity that will come into play big time in the eternities.
• As a mother, I hope I can provide opportunities for my children to find talents they love.
• Is it to late for me to become a gold medalist at something? Seriously. The athletic route is out, but all my life I've been a dabbler. I dabble here, I dabble there...Jack of all trades--master of nothing. But lately my secret desire has been to become Amy Butler or Heather Bailey. Stop laughing. It encompasses everything I love and I could maybe make money at it one day (on a much smaller scale...I'm thinking like Etsy.com is all) Anyhow, is it too late for me (considering I got my first sewing machine at Christmas)?

As for the 2008 Olympic round-up: I hate to admit it, but I'm a little relieved to see the Olympics come to an end. Ya know, all things in moderation...too much of a good thing. Don't get me wrong I love watching them, but toward the end the staying up late, the ups and downs, scores, competition...it's starting to get repetative, plus I feel like the best stuff is over. I'm not really in to the teams sports that are finishing up right now (soccer, softball, basketball, etc) so I'm ready for that closing ceremony. I was a little annoyed by how we knew everything before we actually saw it...but my favorite things to watch were...

• Michael. He puts on a good show.
• Nastia taking all around gold.
• USA men's gymnastics team taking silver.
• Misty and Kerri. I love them.

Family Photo Session...Yes, we actually had one

I know, can you believe it? These are our first official family photos! Notice the coordinating outfits and everything! And finally, finally, we got some photos of our little guy. His official one-year old photos! I didn't have them done right when he was born, but I figure better late then never. My plan is to do his once a year and who knows how often we'll do a full-fledge family photo shoot...I'm so bad at these types of things. Anyhow, their random placement is because they files were to big to download so this was the quickest and easiest way for now for me to get them online for my mom to view :) So here you go mom! These are all our favorites. I'll show you the rest when I see you. If you click on a group of pictures it will make them bigger so you can see them better.

The Whole Family

Just Ryder

Ryder and Me...and Phil

Happy Birthday Ryder!!!

Ryder turned one today!!! We celebrated his birthday yesterday with Phil's family and I think it was a success. He seemed to enjoy himself quite a bit. I'll post photos from the birthday festivities later. Part of me can't believe he is already a year old. While I'm very happy he's a healthy, energetic baby boy, a little bit of my heart breaks to see him growing so fast. Oh how I love him. He brings Phil and I such joy and I can't imagine life without him. Here is a little look back on his first year...

Oh we love you little boy!!!

Baby Face

So lately, I've gotten enough comments about my age, that the randomness of them aren't becoming random anymore. I'm beginning to think I really look a teenybopper.

• The first one was in the airport in February. I went to go grab a treat for the plane ride and the lady was shocked I had a baby and in her Indian accent mumbled something about how she thought I was 14. I had recently gotten my haircut, so I blamed it on that.
• The other time was sometime in June when my friend Elizabeth and I were eating lunch at a restaurant in Tacoma and some lady came by and was cooing at our babes and was baffled that one was actually mine. She clocked me at 16. I was wearing a hat, so I blamed it on that.
• Finally, I was in Home Depot yesterday buying spray paint and a woman asked to see my ID. More surprised by the fact you had to be at least 21 to buy spray paint than the lady asking to see my ID, I easily handed it over and assumed this was normal protocol. She then sat their taking a long look at my driver's license and after seeing birthday did the calculation in her head and slowly said, "...sooo that would make your 24?" Mumbled something about people looking younger than they are, apologized and told me to enjoy it while it lasts. I wasn't wearing any make-up, so I blamed it on that.

Keep in mind for every single one of these instances, Ryder has been with me. I'm beginning to wonder whether or not I should take it as a compliment that people still think I look like a teenager (a troubled teenager for that matter). Hmm..or a I guess I should just enjoy it while it lasts. In other news...

• I cried for Alicia the other night. Not because she messed up, because I felt so bad she felt so bad. I later heard Shawn and Nastia stepped outside the bounds too. That made me feel better, but for some reason my DVR cut that part off.
• I'm wondering whether or not to leave both my boys for a quick trip to Utah. Leaving Ryder makes me nervous.
• Speaking of which he's up, so I gots to go!

Beijing 2008 !!!

Da, da, DA, DA, DA, DA...(Olympic theme music playing in background) Are you ready for the Olympics!!! Woo hoo! I'm so excited. I've been watching the Today Show coverage and Phil and I have been good about watching all the trials, so we are up to date on Team U.S.A. along with all the heart felt stories and athletes that make me smile. Here are a few I'll be looking out for: Women Gymnastics: Shawn Johnson, Nastia Lukin, & Alicia Sacramone. Of course, this is the sport I've followed the most. I love that Shawn just seems to get pure joy out of it all. You never feel as though someone locked her in a gym, stripped her of her childhood and made her eat, drink and sleep gymnastics and even if they did, she would be as happy as a clam. I believe that Nastia is the gymnast who I get the most joy out of watching. Her unusually long, extended lims make everything she does exquisite. I also love Alicia. She is kind of the 'if at first you don't succeed' story and I think she is cute and funny. Everytime she gets on camera she makes me laugh and I love that she doesen't take thinks too seriously. Women Weight Lifting: what? I know. But local, Melanie Roach, a mother of three including one autistic boy, is who I'll have my eye on. I sound like I'm writing a news story. Apparently, she was doing awesome but gave it all up for ten years to be a mom and now she's back at it and predicted to do really well. Back to you, Matt. Swimming: Of course, Michael Phelps (what is with the stash he's sporting?). I think he'll do pretty good. And there are a couple of girls I'll be watching, although I can't remember their names. (side note: you know people who know everything about sports, name, stats, it's really quite impressive...I'm not one of those people.) And finally, I have to say something about the medals. They did a cover story on them this morning and they are B-E-A-Utiful!!! The Chinese wanted to add a little somethin' somethin' of their own to the design so they all have an embedded ring of jade in them. The bronze has dark green jade, the silver has light green jade and the gold has white jade, which, of course, is the most rare. I want to buy one for whatever multiple amounts of grand they are worth and wear it as jewelry. Yeah, so for any of you athletes that care about fashion-this is the year you really want to win one of those puppies. (If you get second...its okay because you may have, indeed, won the prettiest medal...) If you haven't been in the loop, hopefully, this post gets you jazzed and updated for the Olympics. Opening Ceremony tomorrow night: Friday, 8-8-08! (Check you local listing for times :)