April 25, 2008

Our 5-year Anniversary (April 25, 2008)

5 years ago today, we were married for time and all eternity in the Washington D.C. Temple. We were talking about it this week and we both came to the conclusion that it has not been a short 5 years. We've heard people say that the years just flew by, but we really aren't in that camp. We must acknowledge that there have been a lot of challenges, opportunities for growth, and struggles along the way. There have been wonderful times, happy times, sad times, and downright miserable times in our marriage. We are confident that the Lord will continue to bless our lives as we live up to the committments that we've made to each other and to him. Through it all, we are more in love with each other now than we were the day we met, and we are much more committed to one another. Below are some of our favorite pictures of the Washington D.C. Temple. For us, these pictures stand as a representation of the dedication and committment we have to the Lord, our marriage, our children, and our families. They are also a symbol of our hope and the glory that eternal marriage will bring to our family.







For our 5th anniversary we decided to go somewhere we've been wanting to go for a while...The Melting Pot. Everyone we've talked to raves about this place and we thought it would be fun to do something new. Since Sawyer's birthday party was the next day, grandma Haws and Eliza's sister, Christina, were visiting. They were kind enough to offer to watch the kids while we had a night out. We sincerely appreciate them for this wonderful gift. If anyone hasn't been to The Melting Pot, we highly recommend it. It's a 4-course meal including a cheese fondue appetizer, a salad, the main course, and chocolate fondue for dessert.


The menu and empty pot waiting at our table.

For our appetizer, we ordered the Fiesta Cheese Fondue, which is made with Mexican herbs, spices, jalepeño peppers, and salsa. They bring out fresh veggies, tortilla chips, granny smith apples, and fresh bread to dip in the cheese. We were surprised that the apples dipped in spicy cheese were amazing (by far our favorite part of the appetizer).


Bowls of veggies and other things to dip in the cheese fondue.


The big pot of cheese where you dip the appetizers.

Cody got the House Salad and Eliza ordered the Tropical Salad with tomatos, mangos, palm hearts, and coconut crusted cashews. That's pretty much all we have to say about the salad.

For the main course, they bring you a plate of all varieties of raw meat (lobster tail, filet minon, sirloin steak, chicken, pork tenderloin, and shrimp) along with squash ravioli and fresh vegetables. You choose the type of broth you want to cook it in and cook each piece separately with the skewers they provide. There are about a dozen different dipping sauces for the meat, so you get to try a bunch of different flavors. Neither of us are big seafood fans, but it was nice to try out some things we normally wouldn't order.

For dessert, you choose the kind of chocolate fondue that you want (we chose milk chocolate, caramel and chopped pecans), they fill the pot with it, and they bring you a plate of dippers (strawberries, bananas, rice-krispie treats, marshmallows, brownies, cheesecake, and pound cake) to enjoy with the chocolate. This is by far the best part of the meal. It's hard to pick a favorite dipper because all of them are so tasty.

The plate of "treats" they bring you to dip in the chocolate fondue. Did we sell you on going to The Melting Pot yet?

April 24, 2008

Sawyer's Fourth Birthday Party (April 24, 2008)

Congratulations to Sawyer!!! She is now 4 years old. As her parents, we are so proud of her (excuse us for a minute while we brag about our daughter). She is a bright, happy little girl and she brings so much peace and joy to our lives. We have had Eliza's sister, Emily, and her two kids, Savannah and Maddox, staying with us for the past few months. We are extremely proud of Sawyer because she has learned how to share pretty much everything she has with her cousins. Sawyer has a brilliant little mind and loves learning new things. This year she learned how to recognize and write all of the letters in the alphabet. It came so natural to her. She loves coloring and for a 4 year-old she is a little perfectionist. She stays inside the lines and her teachers at pre-school say she colors better than anyone in the class. This year she also learned the first 8 Articles of Faith by memory (yes, it took a little bit of bribery). She also knows all the books in the New Testament, all 16 latter-day prophets from Joseph Smith to Thomas S. Monson, the names of the 12 ancient Apostles, and she is currently learning the 50 States (she knows about half of them by memory). She is a huge tease (Savannah and Ryder can attest to that). She loves riding her bike, playing "Old Maid" and the memory match game, playing dress-up, doing puzzles, and being outside. She is a social butterfly as long as we are somewhere where she is comfortable (it took her a couple months to come out of her shell at pre-school). As her parents, we couldn't be prouder of our daughter. We love you Sawyer! Happy Birthday!

After having taken the kids to "Enchanted" in the theatre twice, Sawyer told us that she wanted a "Giselle" themed birthday party. Here are some of the pictures from the party:


Sawyer's cousin Kaitlyn enjoyed the fruit kabobs, cheese and crackers, pink lemonade, miniature shaped sandwiches, and veggies and dip at the princess tea party.


This is where the girls had the princess tea party.


The "Enchanted" themed cake and presents table.


Cody's opinion is that this party was as much fun (or more) for Eliza as it was for Sawyer. Eliza created and printed off menus and nametags from the computer and was able to find "Giselle" place settings to match everything else. She even broke out the "china" that we never use (at least the 4 year-olds got some use out of it). She was pretty much consumed with this party for a couple weeks, but she had a smile on her face the entire time.


Sawyer posing in front of her "Enchanted" cake.


Kayla Calvert, Emma Stephens, Savannah Pudder (cousin), Sawyer, Gabriella, Madeline North, and Kaitlyn Stout (cousin) all get ready to break the "Enchanted" piñata.


Sawyer giving the "Giselle" piñata her worst.


Sawyer opening presents with Madeline North, Ryder, and Kayla Calvert.


Sawyer enjoying her princess tea party.


Sawyer's cousin Savannah was all smiles at the tea party.

April 17, 2008

Day Trip to the Pittsburgh Zoo (April 17, 2008)


Sawyer and her cousin Savannah holding hands down the big slide.


Ryder's checking out the fish in the aquarium.


Eliza and Ryder at the elephant exhibit.


Ryder pointing out the sea lions.


Emma Stephens, Savannah Pudder, Sawyer, and Ryder all join hands to go down the big slide.

April 2, 2008

Ryder's 2nd Birthday (April 2, 2008)

Congratulations to Ryder!!! He is now 2 years old. As his parents, we are very proud of him (please excuse us for a minute while we brag about our little guy). Ryder is a sweet, cuddly, happy little boy. He brings so much happiness and love into our home. For the past few months, Eliza's sister, Emily, and her kids have been staying with us. We are so proud of Ryder because he has learned how to share his sister, Sawyer, with his cousin, Savannah. Ryder adores Sawyer and pretty much wants to do everything that she does (but we no longer allow him to try on Sawyer's princess dresses). He follows Sawyer around and repeats almost everything she says. Ryder loves being with his family. When Cody comes home from work, Ryder is the first one to scream "Daddy's home" and come running to the door with his arms outstretched. It is the highlight of Cody's day. Most mornings Ryder is the first one up (usually before 6 am) and he loves watching his early morning cartoons. Cody is oftentimes late for work because Ryder, with puppy-dog eyes, begs Cody to let him join Cody in the shower (how do you resist that?). This year Ryder has been learning his ABC's and almost has them down. He has learned to say prayers (with help), and reminds us that we need to read scriptures before bed almost every night (he's probably just stalling his bedtime, but it's a good example to us nonetheless). Ryder loves being outside, likes getting his hands dirty, and loves it when we have people over to visit. It is so cute when he shakes hands with them and says "Nice to meet you." Ryder is so excited for the new baby to arrive. He kisses Eliza's belly daily and talks to the baby. We love you Ryder! Happy Birthday!

We don't really know how or why Ryder likes Spiderman (he has never seen any movies or books about Spiderman), but he is into Spiderman. Here are some pictures of his "Spiderman" themed birthday party:


Ryder's spiderman cake that Eliza made.


Can you see the excitement on his face as he is about to open up his first present?