Riley

Riley has changed so much in the last few months.
-At the beginning of the summer (June), he couldn't walk yet. He would take a few steps and then around the end of June he was walking but fell alot. Now he runs all over the place, climbs on top of chairs, couches toys, whatever he can.
-At the beginning of the summer we used to have to lift him up to go down the slides at the playground. Ever since around the end of August/beginning of September (sometime in there), he has started climbing playground equipment and can go down the slide all by himself. We still have to remind him to hit down sometimes as he gets so excited and then trips. Once forgot to sit down and went headfirst down the slide. He went so fast I didn't have time to catch him. He got a mouth and nose full of sand. He was crunchin on sand for a few hours it was so gross. It didn't help that he had his mouth open when he fell as well.
-He loves waterslides, a few months ago he was scared of them.
-He doesn't take much, he says Mum, Mama, Dad, Go, Caca (which means cookie), the C sound (which means car).
-He loves making sounds with his lips, and tongue and voice. He likes people to copy him when he does this. He thinks it's funny.
-He likes to scribble on paper. He has finally learned not to eat the crayons.
-He still loves Baby Einstein and has since he was 9 months old.
-He thinks it is hilarious when Jesse twirls a couch pillow on his finger!
-He loves turning the TV on and off and loves to pack the remotes around the house.
-He loves to sweep the floor (I hope he still does when he is a teenager)
-He is the most affectionate little boy, he loves to give hugs and kisses and he will kiss anyone who will let him even if he doesn't know that person! It's cute!
-He loves swimming
-He loves playing with his cars, shape sorter, and basketball hoop.
-He loves books, mostly ones that have flaps, or pieces he can take out, or feel.
-He loves playing with Mommy's hair.
-He no longer takes a bottle and hasn't for almost a month!!
-He loves it when Jesse or I sing songs with him. He likes to do the actions to "Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, Bringing Home My Baby Bumble Bee, Popcorn Popping, and Zoom Zoom Zoom!"

I am sure there are more things that Riley likes or how he has changed but for now that is enough. We love Riley and are having so much fun with him.

Warm September

Jesse and Daddy at West Edmonton Mall

Well this post is a bit late but oh well, better late than never right? We had an amazing September here in the Edmonton/Sherwood Park area. It was so warm almost everyday of the month with temperatures reaching as high as 34 degrees celcius. It got that hot the first day of fall and a few days after, which is amazing. The warm temperatures even broke some records for this time of year. This month definately wins the prize for nicest month of the year, too bad it took so long and couldn't be like this for the whole summer. Riley and I did some fun things during the day. Who would have ever thought of going to a Spray Park in the middle of September? (I forgot my camera though so I didn't get any pictures).

Jesse and I also took Riley to the Waterpark at West Edmonton Mall. There is a new splash/spray park that was built for kids. The water was a little cold though. Riley loved going doing the waterslides in that area though with either Jesse or me. He also really likes the kiddie pool and the wave pool.

Jesse also started school again in September. He has been extremely busy. He did more work the first 2 weeks of school than he did all last Semester. He has been busy with group projects and such. Riley and I hardly see him. Many times he comes home visits with us until after supper and then down to the basement to get his homework done. We can't wait until April when he will be done. Then the great decision of where he is going to work and where we are going to live.

Here are some pictures of our lovely almost 18 month old. He will be 18 months old tomorrow. All of these pictures are him when he was 17 months old.

Fell asleep while I was preparing his lunch.

We thought he could be a big boy and not use his tray anymore. Well we were wrong. When we let him sit up to the table with us he did this!! He thinks his feet need to be on the table. He then pushes off and almost knocks himself over backward in the chair. So I guess he will use his tray a bit longer for safety reasons lol!!


Playing in the sand, he does this for a few minutes after each time he goes down the slide.

Loves to swing

Close up shot of my handsome boy and his gorgeous brown eyes. How can you say no to a face that that eh?

Fell asleep on the floor after playing with the peanut butter lol!

The pictures before actually happened after this, they are in the wrong order oops! He loves to throw the peanut butter. Not sure why! He winds up like this lol!

Watersliding with Daddy

Watersliding with Mommy

End of Summer Fun!!

We did a few fun things the end of August before Jesse had to go back to school. We took Riley to the Edmonton Zoo. We were watching a bird show and Riley wasn't too interested. He kept trying to get down and walked so we walked away from the birds. For some reason Riley wasn't too happy about that and he started screaming and crying. We walked for a bit and saw some cute little ponies. We walked over to them, Riley was still crying. The lady said he was big enough to ride one as long as one of us walked beside him. As we walked into where the ponies were Riley was instantly happy. I don't think I have ever seen his face light us and a smile so big as I had when I put him on that pony. He loved it. He loved it so much that when it was time to get off he wasn't too happy again. He got over in a few seconds later when he saw the elephant so it was all good.

We also went to the ledge one hot evening. For those of you that don't know what the ledge is, it is some pools, fountains and sprinkler like things. There is a place to swim, there are places to wade in. It is lots of fun. It is by the Legislature building. Riley had a blast and again didn't want to leave when it was time. We would have stayed longer but it gets dark earlier now.

Riley riding a pony at the Edmonton Zoo. He loved it!!!

Playing at the Ledge in Edmonton

Camping at Aspen Beach

We decided to go camping somewhere that we hadn't been to before because there are many different campgrounds and lakes all within an hour drive of Sherwood Park. We went to Aspen Beach which is on Gull Lake. It is close to Lacombe and Sylvan Lake. We camped at Brewers Campground. We went with Mark and Lindsey Still and there girls Abby and Sariah. We got there on Friday August 21. We set up camp and spent the rest of the day at the beach. There is a playground right on the beach. The Lake is shallow and warm and there is a lovely beach. We spent a lot of time at the beach the first 2 days. We had a good time. Riley loved playing with his beach toys and going in the water. He was a really good camper. He slept good however the first night we had a wicked Thunderstorm and he didn't fall asleep until after it stopped which was 11pm. Oh well he slept good and even slept in. We were kinda bummed because we were supposed to stay until Monday but ended up leaving Sunday. It was cloudy and overcast and was supposed to get down to 4 degrees that night. We decided we didn't want to be cold or wet. Riley was ready to go home, he played too hard at the beach. We had a good time and kind of wish we would have waited to go for another week because of course it was hot the next 2 weekends after. What are the chances of that in late August and September??

A cute close-up of Riley with the beach in the background. I tried many of these and he would not look so this is the best one I got.

This pictures is out of order, it is supposed to be at the end. It just wouldn't let me put it there for some reason. This is how Riley was after playing on the beach all afternoon, passed right out.

He lets Mommy play with him

He didn't want Jesse to play with him, he wanted to do everything by himself! I am glad I got this picture on camera cuz he does this quite often. He thinks he is Mr. Independent all of a sudden! He does this to me too not just Jesse. He just decided that day that I could play with him and Daddy could not lol!

Riley playing with Abby and Sariah's boogie board.

This is how shallow the water was for quite a ways out on the lake. It was fairly warm and perfect for little ones to play in. This is Riley walking in the water all by himself, don't worry I am very close by that I could grab him if I needed to. I just wanted a picture of him walking in the water. This is Riley being brave, he rarely would let me leave his side!

He tripped because he was walking too fast. At least the water isn't deep. It kind of shocked him at first but then he realized he liked it and sat there for awhile!

Riley and Mommy

Walking in the Lake with Mommy

Walking in the Lake with Daddy

He enjoyed his walk with Daddy!

Riley loved sitting in the water playing with his sand toys. He was very determined to get that purple thing on top. He has another one at home where there is a little bucket that goes on top and then the water goes through the little hole in the bucket and makes the wheel spin. He was sure that this one did the same thing but it didn't. It's funny the little things kids pick up on.

He finally got the purple thing to stay on top and he is proud of himself, notice him clapping his hands. He always claps for himself after he does something that required effort. LoL he is so funny!

I finally got a picture of Riley smiling. He hardly ever will look at the camera anymore which kind of makes me sad :( He is too busy for mommy and is growing up!

He loves it when Daddy swings him back and forth in the Hammock

He absolutely loved laying in it. He always wanted to get in it whenever we were over there and he could see it!

He looks like he is sleeping here but he is just chillin!

Some cute pictures of Riley!!

Riley playing Patty cakes. He does the actions now when I sing the song, it's really cute!

He loves watching his movies while standing infront on the TV. He won't sit on the floor or on the couch with us anymore. He likes to be right up there close.

We bought Riley his own little chair so that he had something to sit in when he watches his Baby Einstein shows. When he first saw the chair this is how he would sit in it lol!! He would just push down on one side and half sit down and stand up.

Riley finally sitting the right way in his chair.

A Week in Cardston

Riley and I went to Cardston to spend the week August 2-9. Jesse had to work so he stayed home and came on the Friday evening. We had a good time visiting with family and friends. We did a lot of indoor visiting. It rained and was cold almost everyday we were there except for Friday and Saturday. I did get to see some friends that I have not seen in a very long time such as Jill Williams and Leslie Redford Anderson. Riley had fun playing with his Papa and going for walks when it wasn't raining in the wagon.

I had a good visit with my grandparents and aunts and uncles. We didn't take many pictures due to the rain. Riley fell asleep during the whole parade on Saturday so I am sad we didn't get any pictures of that cuz it was a good parade. Oh well next year I am sure he will enjoy it more.

Riding in the wagon that was given to Julie for her 1st birthday. I know, it is old and still working great!!

Riley playing by the creek with Papa!

Playing basketball

When Nana first showed him the basketball hoop and threw the ball through the hoop it kind of scared him and he started crying. We had no idea why he was crying and he kept crying everytime one of us would shoot the ball through the hoop. By Saturday (our last day there) he deicided he liked it and always wanted to play with it. That cry eventually turned to a laugh and big smile. He thought he was pretty clever for putting the ball through the hoop again and again. What a funny kid!!!!!

The McMurray family

Back L-R: Don, Jack, Mike, Robbie Olsen, Jon, Brady Olsen, Grandpa, Jared, My Dad

Top Middle L-R: Karma, Catch, Grandma, Carol, My Mom, Riley, Jesse, Me

Bottom Middle L-R: Jaunita, Lynda Olsen, Mandy Secretan, Scott Secretan, Reggie Olsen, Shawn Olsen

Bottom L-R: Logan, Alisha Woolf, Melissa Olsen, Josh, Mitch Olsen, Emily Olsen, Mike Olsen, Easton Secretan, and Seth Secretan

As long as I can remember, back when I was a kid and even now my family has always played in the family softball tournament in Cardston on Parade weekend. My uncles were always the main ones playing when I was younger but now they are getting old so some of the grandkids play now as well as some of the uncles. We have to have at least 2 over 40 playing, 2 girls and 1 kid 15 years old or under but at least 12 years old. We always have such a good time. This picture is all of the family that were there to play and to cheer on the team this year. We made it to the final game winning all of our other games but lost in the final by 1 run. Too bad!! We had fun though and the weather was really nice considering it rained all week.

Riley was so tired after spending all day outide at the park, parade, and softball games. He had a nice much needed evening nap.

Riley with Papa! He had so much fun with Papa this weekend. Riley has this barn with all the aminals and inside the barn there is this little button that you can press and it plays 2 different songs one at a time and then you have to press it again to hear the next one. Anyways, the songs are Old MacDonald Had A Farm and The Farmer in the Dell. Riley would press it Papa would start singing the song. It got to the point that Riley would press the button and then turn and look at Papa expecting him to sing. It was so cute. Riley actually started doing this when they came to visit us in Sherwood Park. Then if Riley and I were reading a story and Papa walked in the room, Riley would immediately want down off my lap and he would run over to his barn press the button to play the song so Papa would start singing. It is way too cute and funny. I am wishing I would have had my video camera. I guess I will next time if he still does that next times we see Papa.

Riley with Nana and Papa McMurray

We were just getting ready to head back to Sherwood Park and we thought we better capture some pictures before it started raining again (it had been all week). Anyways that was our week in Cardston thanks for stopping by!!

Swimming Pool

These pictures are actually from July about 3 weeks ago when it was hot out. He hasn't gone in his pool since because it has been so cold. Like seriously WHAT HAPPENED TO SUMMER???? It didn't stop snowing until the end or May and then it rained the first half of July, then was really really hot for almost 2 weeks and now it has rained for half of August and to top that all off we got frost here this morning. I was talking to a friend today and she told me it seems like we have had only 2 seasons this year, WINTER, JULY (for 2 weeks) and now we are starting on the third which feels like fall. We skipped spring and most of summer this year. Thanks for reading my venting about this cold summer. I just had to get it out. At least it ends with pictures of a cute cute kid and you too Jesse.

Cute little Riley

Riley in his pool

Riley and Daddy

Capital EX 2009

Jesse and I used to always go to Capital Ex every year we have lived here but we didn't go last year because we had Riley and he was too little. We decided to go this year to see how Riley enjoyed some of the rides! He loved them. It was a super hot day about 32 degrees celcius. We were grateful for the air conditioned Northlands Agricom that we were able to go to when we got too hot. When we went into the Agricom there were some performers there from China that we watched that could do lots of tricks, lifting (one guy stood on a ladder, it was not against anything and he lifted 2 girls on his shoulders and stood at the top of the ladder and then 2 girls stood on his knees and pointed outward, I was a little nervous they would all fall), flipping, and moving in cool ways. Riley actually liked watching it. It was called Cirque de Soleil for those of you that may have seen it before.

We took Riley on a few rides. He went on the Merry Go Round which was he most favorite ride, the Bees, and the Ferris Wheel. It was too hot to stand in line for long so we didn't take him on too many. Plus it was so expensive to ride the rides. Ya wanna know something ridiculous?? Well, they tell you a child 6 years old and under gets into the park free with no admission. For adults it is $10. A ride ticket is $1 each and some rides are like 4-6 tickets to on. If you buy the $35 ride all day pass that includes riding as many rides all day as you want as well as admission. Well we thought because it said kids under 6 were free that it wouldn't cost much to ride the ride especially for a child under 2 which is Riley. We thought he would be free because he is under 2. At the ticket booths if we wanted to get him a pass to ride as many rides as he wanted all day it would cost $43. That is more than we paid for ours!!!! Isn't that insane?? A baby costs more than us?? Oh well we just bought some tickets and he had fun, he wouldn't have lasted all day anyways.

Jesse and I took Riley home around 6pm and got a babysitter so Riley could relax and play with his toys. We went back to Capital Ex. We were there almost an hour and these massive dark clouds start forming and it started pouring. We were on the flying ride when it started so we were soaked when it was done. We thought maybe it would pass so we went in and looked at some of the exhibits and shopping booths in the Agricom. In an hour it stopped so we went back out and rode on the rides again. We went on like 2 rides and were just about to get on another one when they closed the rides because there was lightening and because there were 3 funnel clouds and the wind started blowing hard. We though we should run for it but if any of you know where the Concordia College is, that is where we were parked so it is quite far when ya got Golf ball sized hail falling hard. We made it to our van and home to our frightened babysitter who had no power for over an hour. I felt bad because we didn't even think to tell her where our flashlights were. We were a little bummed that we had to come home an hour early and that for over an hour and a bit that we were there we couldn't do anything we wanted because of the rain.

We did have fun earlier though but we are sad because this is what it did to our yard and our beautiful canopy that shaded our yard really good. We only put it up 2 weeks ago and now it is completely ruined :(

Here are some pictures of the fun before the storm!!

Riding the Ferris Wheel with Mommy!

Riding the Bees with Daddy!

The new Classic Riley face! He always does this when we tell him to smile or look at the camera!

Riley riding the Merry Go Round at Capital Ex with Daddy! It was his very favorite ride of the day! Before the ride would start he kept rocking back and forth on it and saying "Go, Go!" So cute!

Ward Campout

This blog entry is totally late but oh well, we have been busy, I mean I have been busy chasing a 15 month old and making sure he doesn't eat things or put things in the garbage, vents, or toilets lately. So I haven't found a spare minute for awhile. We went on a ward campout in June 26-27. It was fun meeting new people in our ward since we just moved into the ward the beginning of June. It was also Riley's first time ever camping. We didn't go last year since he was very little. We had fun meeting people but it was super cold. It was a very windy when we left to go there Friday and Jesse and I were trying to decide if we should go or not. We just thought the wind would stop by the time we got there or at least for the next day. When we set up camp it was very windy. We almost decided to leave before we were all set up but people had already seen us and some of our friends decided to camp next to us so we decided to stay.

It was such a long night. Around 8-10pm it got cold and we tried to put Riley to sleep. He did sleep for about an hour and then he was shivering and so cold so he ended up snuggling with Jesse and I for most of the night in our airbed. He slept for about 5 hours the whole night and was awake at 5am because of the bright sunlight shining in our tent. It was rainy and cold in the morning as well so we ate breakfast and went home and had a good nap. I was kind of upset because they had activities going on all day and we left because we were tired and cold. As soon as we left our friends told us that the sun came out. Go figure!! Oh well we were tired!! I really really hope someday while we have small kids we can get a trailer cuz then we could at least be warm and get a good nights sleep.

Riley didn't want to stay in the tent. He kept opening the doors and trying to get out. We thought it was kind of funny so we just had to take a picture.

Trying to keep warm, it was very cold.