G-nawing

Ashley the other day noticed Tanner going to town on a watermelon rind and announced, "Tanner is g-nawing away!" It took me a second to figure out what she was saying and then a minute or two to try and explain the whole silly "silent g" rule.

Let's get this thing started (again)

Here's some pictures from our annual Temple Square spring flowers photo excursion. We got some good ones this year, and hope you like them.

Okay, so I haven't done a good job with my blog. In my last entry, Tanner was 2 months old... and now his 1st birthday is coming up. I'm not gonna try to catch up too much, but just start from where we are now. So here goes. It's the end of April 2008. After a terrible 20 month build, we're finally in our new house and have been here about 7 months now. It's taken that long to get over some of the bitterness of the build and finally start to kinda feel moved in. But it took good care of us over the winter and now with spring finally here, we're looking to get some grass and landscaping in and get the kids outside to play a little more.


As far as our happenings, I just ran the Salt Lake Half Marathon 2 weeks ago. It wasn't a spectacular time (1:59.48) and I didn't look particularly swift as I ran it, but I did it and can check off one of those pesky New Years resolutions. I hope to keep running through the summer. I don't know if I have too many more half marathons in me -- 13 miles is a long way, no matter how you look at it -- but maybe a 10K here and there or something.


Speaking of New Years resolutions, Tami is keeping hers by joining a community symphony orchestra a few weeks ago and is getting ready for her first performance with the New American Symphony this weekend in Ogden.


Kaitlyn is counting the weeks down til school is out and she gets baptized. She is becoming an outside girl and loves to rie her bike and scooter and can't wait for a playset in our backyard. She is also fascinated with science, an interest that I hope we can sustain for the next many years.


Ashely remains our bookworm and loves to read and reread everything she can get her hands on. We have a fair number of books in our house and she has read all of them several times, so it's a challenge to keep her supplied with reading material. I almost have to force her at times to get outside and play a little!


Lauren is nearly potty-trained!! We are so excited. It's been a long road, and we're happy to see the end near. The gumball machine reward was what finally clicked for her, and we couldn't be more thrilled.


Tanner remains the official Cutest Baby Ever. He is the happiest little guy you'll ever meet and just a wonderful baby. He's no quite walking yet, but thinking a lot about it, so maybe he'll get there by his birthday in two weeks. I guess we'll see.

Tanner Boy

Hard to believe Tanner is 2 months old! He's a very good baby. He's been a good eater and sleeper, and just this past week discovered his smile. He loves being held and occasionally will sit in his swing, but usually Lauren tortures him when he sits in it. He gets more attention than he knows what to do with from his 3 big sisters, but generally tolerates them well.

Summer Fun!

So I haven't posted for awhile. Too busy with summer activities and a new baby, I guess. Or at least that's my excuse.

We're still waiting for our house to get finished (looking like mid-August right now), and so we've been living with Tami's parents for the past 2 months. It's worked out well and they've been very kind to let us invade their house with our 4 (!) kids and all the clutter and noise that comes along with that. It's been fun to slowly watch our house take shape. With each step, it transforms itself a little bit more and slowly is becoming what we've been picturing in our mind for the past 18+ months that we've been working on this thing.

Here's some summer pictures of the girls. This is at the Handcart Visitors Center at Martin's Cove in Wyoming. (We were in Casper for a medical meeting).

Kaitlyn turned 7! Hard to believe! She had a fun birthday party taking her friends mini-golfing.



Here's Lauren playing ball with me while at her big sisters' T-ball game.



And Ashley trying to cool down during one of the hottest summers in Utah history.

It's a Boy!

We are thrilled to welcome the newest member of our family! Tanner Kent Richardson was born yesterday, May 14, 2007, at Davis Hospital in Layton, UT. He checked in at 7 lbs 15 oz., and measured 20 inches long. He's got brownish-reddish (too early to really tell) hair and people think he looks kinda like his dad (poor boy!).




Everything went pretty well with the delivery and we couldn't be happier! His sisters are all very exciting and welcoming. It's taken Lauren a little bit to warm up to him (mainly just wanting some attention from her mom more than anything), but gave him some kisses tonight and seems to be happy he's here. Kaitlyn and Ashley are thrilled and have both taken many long turns holding him and drawing 'Welcome Home' signs for him and everything.

Easter Beauties

Here are some pictures from Easter on Temple Square. We took the girls down to see the flowers and were amazed at how many there were. The gardens were all in full bloom and the girls did a good job posing for some fun pictures in their Easter dresses, but also enjoying the beauty all around us.

G'day from Down Under

I just got back from a week-long adventure with Ray in Australia. We had a great time, with lots of interesting sites, sounds and experiences as we toured New South Wales. We did a little bit of everything as we covered almost 2500 kilometers in our rental car, from hiking remote bushtrails in the Budawand Mountains to walking across the Sydney Harbor Bridge with a thousand of our closest Aussie friends. We rode bikes through vineyards in Hunter Valley and spelunked through the amazing Jenolan Caves, camped with kangaroos and survived a downtown youth hostel with even wilder animals. We were amazed at the Snowy River's beauty, confused by Aussie slang, and befriended by nice people all around us. Some of the highlights:

-Wildlife! We were amazed to find animals and birds of every description, from the most colorful and exotic birds ever imagined, to kangaroos hopping across roads and past our tent early in the morning. We especially enjoyed a dolphin-watching cruise in Port Stephens and the amazing Sydney Aquarium, which showcased fish and wildlife from across Australia including sharks, giant turtles, penguins and exotic fish from the Great Barrier Reef.

-Driving on "the wrong side of the street." It took some courage and some constant vigilance, but we both figured out the whole driving thing. The trickiest part was remembering which side the turn signal and rear-view mirror was on (opposite than US cars) and mastering the ever-present Aussie roundabout.

-Hikes. We went on several walks and trails, but also tried our skill at two day hikes. We hiked to the summit of Mount Kosciusko, the tallest mountain in Australia and also Pigeon House Summit, and enjoyed many scenic views and vistas.

-Sydney. Wow! What an amazing city! We were excited to see the famed Sydney Harbor and iconic Opera House, but also enjoyed many other parts of the city, including Darling Harbor, the Royal Botanic Gardens, the Government House, the Rocks, Bondi Beach, Botany Bay and so forth. We were lucky to be there as the Harbor Bridge celebrated its 75th birthday and joined in with a giant party across the city to celebrate. We also had great Thai and Japanese food and had a great time in Sydney.

-People. We met several very friendly Aussies through our travels, including a very kind couple, Selmar and Lisa Nebalung, who rescued us from near disaster when our rental car had two flat tires within a couple minutes time on a deserted dirt road. Very thankful!

We had a great trip Down Under in Australia!
Melvin

For a slideshow of our trip, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjJOhDwyJpU