La Jolla and Seal Beach, San Diego, CA (May 21, 2008)

It was a little chilly, but we had a wonderful walk along the shores in La Jolla Cove in the early morning.


Bundling up.


Seal Beach...hundreds of seals just laying there. We watched them wake up and were able to walk all the way down on the beach, just 3 feet from the seals. The kids were in awe.


Seal Beach.

Mission Bay Park, San Diego, CA (May 20, 2008)

We wore ourselves out trying to fly our kites. We are terrible kite-fliers, so we gave up and moved on to the playground.


Ryder hanging on the monkey bars.


Sawyer kept climbing to the top of the dome and swinging herself down through the cracks into the sand below.

It's a Boy!! (May 19, 2008)

We found out today that we are having a little boy. The due date is October 13th. Eliza now has to take the girly bedroom set that she bought last week back to the store. Sorry Eliza, maybe next time.


A pretty good profile of our little guy.


Here he's either laughing at us or getting a drink.

Cody Finished His Last Final Exam of Law School (May 14, 2008)

Cody finished up law school today. It has been a long road for us. For the past 4 years, Cody has been working full time and heading up to school after work (usually 4 nights per week). Normally, he is not home before 9:30 pm. Needless to say, we are happy that we are just about past this phase in our lives. Cody still has to pass the bar in July and will be taking bar preparation courses at night for the next couple months, but at least there is light at the end of the tunnel. Below are some pictures of Duquesne University and the Pittsburgh skyline:


This is the Duquesne Arch that you drive through to get to campus.


This is the law school. Cody spent a good portion of the past 4 years in this building.


Most people don't realize what a beautiful city Pittsburgh is. This is pretty much what it looks like at dusk on a clear summer night.


Pittsburgh has more bridges than any other city in the world with the exception of Venice, Italy. A little piece of trivia that we learned while on a riverboat cruise for Eliza's birthday last year.


Here you can see that Pittsburgh is situated at a point where the Allegheny River (coming at you from the left side of the picture) and the Monongahela River (coming at you from the right side of the picture) meet to join the Ohio River (exiting the bottom of the picture).

Cutting the Grass (May 10, 2008)

We bought a used riding mower this week. Our lawn was getting to be pretty ridiculous as we haven't spent any time taking care of the yard since last summer. When Cody mowed it for the first time it was more like "plowing a field" than "mowing a lawn". For those who have been to our house, our lawn is deceptively big (Cody's brother Kyle can attest to that as he was the first one to mow it last year when Kyle and Whitney were living with us. He mowed it with a push mower and it took him over 5 hours). Not only that, but our front yard is on a very steep hill (the picture below is taken at the crest of the hill, but the picture doesn't do it justice). Ryder, Sawyer, and Savannah (cousin) took turns mowing the lawn with Cody. Needless to say, the yard looks 100 times better than it did last week.

Look at that grin on Ryder's face. He could do this all day long.

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?

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.

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.

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?

Easter Sunday, (March 23, 2008)

We colored Easter eggs as a family about a week before Easter. The kids were intrigued with all the colors. The kids plastered the eggs with "Shrek" themed stickers. Ryder was only familiar with the plastic eggs that open and spill out candy when you throw them on the floor so he kept throwing the hard boiled eggs on the floor hoping that they would explode with candy. Much to his dismay, these were very boring eggs and there was no candy inside. All the colors and stickers were just a show.

Easter morning, Ryder and Sawyer were up pretty early to check out what the Easter Bunny brought them. When they saw their baskets, they came running. It was great to see the excitement in their little faces. Along with the candy, Sawyer got a Polly Pocket car and Ryder got "Shrek" and "Donkey" action figures. To their surprise, all the eggs that they had colored the week before were missing. Sawyer quickly figured out that they were hidden throughout the house. Sawyer found most of the eggs, but she was nice enough to let Ryder find some too and to toss some of the ones she found into his basket. Easter is pretty new to Ryder, but he's beginning to understand the deal.


Ryder in his new easter suit.


Ryder felt like such a big kid in his suit.


Sawyer in her new Easter dress.


Our little girl is growing up way too fast.

Valley Worlds of Fun, Fairmont, WV (February 18, 2008)

Eliza's sister Amy Baranek and her 2 kids, Riley and Garrett, flew in from Mesa, Arizona to visit the family in Bridgeport, WV. Eliza and Emily, Eliza's sister that is living with us for a few months, took Sawyer, Ryder, Savannah, and Maddox down to Eliza's parents house for about a week, leaving Cody home to fend for himself. Ryder and the girls had a good time with grandma and grandpa Haws and all of their many cousins. Eliza's sister Ellen Ortega drove in from Washington D.C. with her 3 boys, Mikkito, Matthew, and Jayden. Eliza's other sister Christina Stout also made the trip up from Charleston, WV with her 2 kids, Kaitlyn and Andrew. Eliza's brother David made the trip up from Virginia as well (he is going to college at Southern Virginia University).

The highlight of the trip was Valley Worlds of Fun, a small children's theme park in Fairmont, WV. The kids were able to ride some small roller coasters, play laser tag, and go bowling. Ryder and Sawyer felt brave as they would throw their hands up in the air on the roller coasters and scream. Since Eliza is pregnant, she couldn't ride with the kids, so they were lucky enough to have uncle David and grandma and grandpa Haws to ride with them. Sawyer didn't like the laser tag; we think she was scared. A special thanks goes out to grandma and grandpa Haws for getting everyone together.


Sawyer riding the roller coaster with her grandpa Haws.

Tired of Winter (February, 2008)