Rigby Family

Great to Be Eight...Already?!

2011-11-13T19:25:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's true...my baby turned eight this year. Can you believe it?! I feel like there is no way he is old enough for this already. When did this happen? Anyway, he turned eight on Wednesday and was baptized on Sunday. He had both sets of grandparents here for the big day. Uncle Josh , Aunt Tressa and their clan also made the trek to show their support.

And just 'cause he is cute...super cute in his Sunday duds, here is a peek at Luke these days!

I cannot believe Ty is already eight and old enough to be baptized. He is such a good boy. He helps around the house, is a life saver when it comes to helping out with Luke, cares about other's feelings and always tries to choose the right. He has a good heart that is going to make him an amazing person. We are very proud of him and cannot wait to see the kind of man he will become!

Overflowing with the Force

2011-11-12T15:30:00.000-08:00

So, for Halloween this year, we decided that we had to go with a Star Ward theme so Luke could be Luke Skywalker. I started looking around at how to make some costumes when a friend told me that another of our friends had dressed her Kids in Star Wars costumes the year before and that I should check with her to see what she had. Thankfully, my friend did have a bunch of costumes and was willing to let us use them. The problem was that the perfect sized costume for our little Luke was not Luke Skywalker, but Yoda instead. I got over the disappointment really quickly, though, when I saw what a cute Yoda he was.

She also let us borrow a Princess Leiah (sp?) outfit and parts to Tyson's Anakin costume. The only thing I had to come up with was something for Dal and I to wear. With my newfound sewing skills, a trip to the dollar fabric store and lots of direction from my friend, Jen, (thanks, Jen) I was able to whip up some jedi robes. I know...we were not in full costume, but it beats having nothing at all, right?

We sported our costumes at the annual Trunk-or-Treat at the church. It was chaotic, noisy and a little stressful this year, but the kids seemed to have fun.

One last picture, just for kicks...Kelsie went on her first field trip to the Avila Barn. I love going there this time of year to see all the pumpkins. Luckily, we were able to go with her class, because our schedules have been so crazy lately that we would have missed it entirely otherwise.

Hunka-Hunka

2011-08-06T09:34:00.000-07:00

Just thought it had been a while and you might be curious about what our little one was looking like. He is 4 months old now and a cutie-patootie. I think he is working on teeth, but nothing has popped through yet. He is not interested in rolling over, but really wants to sit up. He loves chatting with people, especially his family, and gives the best smiles when you talk to him. He sleeps through the night, but doesn't believe in naps. His hair is finally thinking about staying down for small spurts of time. I never thought I would say it, but I think I am going to miss the crazy hair! We love, love, love him.

Big Day

2011-06-08T16:06:00.000-07:00

Luke was blessed on the Sunday before Memorial Day. We were lucky enough to have both sets of his grandparents here, along with some cousins and aunts and an uncle. My parents and sister, Heidi, drove up from Idaho and my brother, Josh and his fam drove from Ridgecrest. They came for the weekend and we were able to have fun for a few days before everyone headed back home. Mama and Papa Rigby drove up the morning of the blessing and brought lots of fruit from their trees. Thanks to my mom, he had a cute outfit for the blessing. (the one Tyson wore was to small for our little chunka!)

I love this picture...it is such a Luke look. He is smiling more now, but he makes you work for it, so this is his expression most of the time.

We had a great time with all the family and feel so blessed to have such support. Welcome to the family Luke!

6 Weeks and Counting.

2011-05-19T14:34:00.000-07:00

I know...I am a slacker (but are you really still surprised?!) I have been getting all kinds of guff for the lack of pictures posted of our latest cutie. So to remedy...here are a few pictures. I don't have time for a novel about how wonderful life with a newborn is (insert a hint of sarcasm...then me saying "no...really he is fun!"), so just enjoy what I am offering and maybe sometime soon I will feel pulled-together enough to write more.

You knew with the name he would be a Star Wars fan from day one. No really, we watched Star Wars, literally the first night we were home from the hospital.

Dal didn't believe our cutie could smile, so I had to take some pictures to prove it. I had a better picture of an actual smile, but liked this picture even better. Don't you just love those cheeks?!

And now...for what Luke is known for...the HAIR...

He has the CRAZIEST hair ever...and a ton of it. I am nervous that when he rubs a spot off the back of his head, he will then have a mullet. Nobody else seems to share my concern and I keep getting all kinds of opposition to wanting to cut his hair a little. Not buzz it or anything...just clean it up a bit around the ears and in the back. I know there is nothing to be done with the stuff on top. I have tried gelling it, but nothing works, so we are letting it go free these days.

Just pictures

2011-04-18T13:35:00.000-07:00

Some people were having troubles getting the slide show to load, so here are a few pictures for them to look at. If you already saw the slide show of Luke, there is nothing new here. Sorry!

Welcome to the Family!

2011-04-15T18:03:00.000-07:00

I am sure that most of you have heard already, but for those of you who haven't, we welcomed our third child to the family last week. Luke Noel Rigby was born on April 6th at 1:06pm. He weighed in at a hefty 9 pounds 14 ounces and measured 20.5 inches long. I will spare you all the details, but just say that all went well and mom and baby are both happy and healthy. No complications or problems. Here are some pictures for your viewing enjoyment.

Thanks for all the well-wishes and help so far. We are very blessed to have so many great people in our lives!

We've been busy...really!

2011-03-07T08:54:00.000-08:00

I know, I know...almost 1/4 of 2011 has already gone by and I have not posted anything on this blog. I aplogize, but, really, are you surprised? It's not like I have deviated that much from the norm here, so nobody should be terribly shocked. Doesn't pregnancy excuse you from having to do anything?! I wish that I had been sitting around doing nothing at all, but that is not the case. We have been busy here in the Rigby household getting ready fro the arrival of Baby Rigby #3.

As usual, what started as "Let's paint the baby's room" turned into a month long project that we are almost finished with. Dallan has been working hard, every day after work, redoing the bedroom completely. He started by scraping the cottage cheese ceiling and replastering it himself. You can't really see it the picture that well, but he did an amazing job. It looks great! Then the painting started...

Pottert Barn got invlolved and changed our small painting job into a little more work than anticipated. I don't know what you call what we did, so here is a picture to show you:

We contemplated replacing the carpet at the same time, but we were just too tired to make any more decisions and decided to wait until we move Ty back into the room to do carpet. (mostly because replacing carpet meant scraping the ceilings of the other two rooms and I couldn't handle the thought of tearing the entire house apart again right now) As of Saturday, there is furniture in the room and it is starting to look like we might get everything done in time for Baby Boy's arrival. Now I just have to get sewing so we can have some curtains and blankets ready. Wish us luck!

Luke 2

2010-12-23T15:52:00.000-08:00

Okay...so Tyson was asked to memorize Luke 2:1-14 for our ward christmas party. We started working on it a while ago and practiced everyday. I think this is the longest thing he has ever memorized before. Now, for your viewing enjoyment, here he is...

Funny thing was that apparently, Kelsie was listening whenever we were practicing. The other day, I realized that she had the whole thing memorized too! Funny how kid's can do this! Oh yeah...don't mind the mess behind them...I was mopping the kitchen and had a bunch of stuff on the Family Room. Just look at the cutie in front.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I know a secret...

2010-11-30T15:40:00.000-08:00

I have a secret, but because I like you all, I am going to share it with you. I went to the doctor this week and had a little ultrasound done. Luckily, baby was in a very cooperative mood and we were able to see what kind of baby will be joining our family soon. We'll work our way up to it...

Here is a nice profile. No that is not a random growth on the forehead...it is a hand. That's how Dal sleeps too!

Here are two little feet. We checked and all the toes are there. Fhew!

And here's what we were all waiting to see...

Yep...it's a boy! Kelsie is bummed and Ty is stoked! He says he knew it was going to be a boy because he was born before Kelsie. I'm not sure what that means exactly, but he is so smart! Dal and I are just happy that he looks healthy...nothing obviously wrong. The technician said he is on the big side and will most likely be bigger than the other two. Oh goodie! I'm hoping that just means we are totally off on the due date and that he will come much earlier than expected! Now we just have to figure out a name. Some of the suggestions so far...Bruce Wayne Rigby, Bob the Builder Rigby, Clark Kent Rigby...we need a little help!

The moment you've all been waiting for...

2010-11-19T16:11:00.000-08:00

No...I will not give you the satisfaction of a close up of this cake. I tried so hard...really I did. Who knew it would be so hard to get it into a shape of a unicorn? And who knew it was so hard to get the hair to look half-way decent? Once again...she liked it and that is all that matters. Right?

Kelsie's day was all about being pretty. We did special birthday hair and painted her nails. She got to wear a new shirt that she called her birthday shirt. At one point in the day, she told me, "Mom, I'm all all birthdayed up!" And she was.

The one thing she wanted to do was go to the park with her friends. Luckily, a couple of friends were available last minute and Ty had a short day at school, so we were able to fulfill that birthday wish.

For dinner, we nixed McDonald's as a choice but let her pick where she wanted to go. Luckily, she wanted a cup like Ty's and chose Olive Garden. A little pricier than McDonald's but much tastier. She ate like two bites of her dinner and was ready to go home. Dal and I enjoyed dinner and she says she liked it. Another successful birthday.

I'm a good mom!

2010-11-19T16:07:00.000-08:00

Many of you may remember last year when I got the "Mother of the Year" award for missing my baby's first awards assembly on accident. Yes...I did cry. Well...I remembered to go this year! Yes...I am a good mother.

Tyson had a good, good day. He received the academic acheivement award for his class (one girl and one boy from each class get it). He also received an award for perfect attendance. I think that is the first time that has happened since he started school. And I made sure to remind him that it wouldn't happen the next trimester because we were skipping a couple of days for Disneyland. Then, there was a drawing from the students who had earned slips for good citizenship. He was one of the kids picked and gets to attend an ice cream social with the principle. Wahoo! Here are a few pictures for your viewing enjoyment...

Three awards in one day?! Why yes...he is the smartest, kindest, best behaved kid in his class! How did you know? No really...we are very proud of Tyson and all that he does. He is a great kid!

Back in October...

2010-11-19T15:57:00.000-08:00

Halloween is something we all look forward to around here. There was a lot of other stuff going on around that time, though, so it wasn't celebrated with quite as much oomph as usual. We got the basics down, though.

Jack was designed by each family member submitting their ideas and then a vote being taken to determine each facial aspect. My eye brow design was chosen...I'm not sure what happened in the carving process...they must have gotten tired. The eyes were Kelsie's idea. The nose came from Dal's design and Ty was the mastermind behind the mouth.

I asked the kids what they wanted to be this year. (I even remember to ask way early because Kelsie had a storytime Halloween party at the beginning of October she was supposed to dress up for.) Kelsie said she wanted to be a ballerina and Ty wanted to be a Lego Knight. I love my kids. These were both things we already had in the dress up box. We added some sparkles to Kelsie and fixed Ty's shield and we were all set. Nothing could have been easier!

It was a good thing their costumes took no effort whatsoever because I stressed over ours for quite a while. I was determined that Dal and I were going to dress up this year because we always feel lame on the years we don't. The trouble is that I am a firm believer that spending a bunch of money on a Halloween costume is pretty much the biggest waste ever. This makes coming up with costumes much harder. Through much debate, discussion, many sleepless nights, and tears, this is what we went with. (OK...Dal knew what he was wearing from the beginning... I just added the hat at the last minute to make it look like Dumb and Dumber) I changed my mind about 10 times but waited until 2 days before to look online for pregnancy Halloween costume ideas. Duh! There were tons of ideas. This was the easiest so we went with it. In case you are confused...I'm a cat...a cat who ate the fish...Really? You don't think it's cute? Oh well. I liked it and it took like an hour to put together.

We had a great time, as usual, at the ward dinner and trunk-or-treat. You won't believe it but somehow I managed to win the chili cook off this year. Yep...first place. Apparently my recipe has improved enough to jump from third to first place over the last year. Is that bragging to tell you that? Probably. Mostly I think it is funny. Hey...whatever they want to do is fine with me. If they want to give me a prize, I won't turn them down.

Since Sunday was the actual holiday, we spent the night at home, handing out candy. We had some friends over for our annual spooky dinner. Sorry...no pictures this year. It wasn't quite what it was last year, but it was yummy and we had a good time. Hope you all had a great Halloween too. (Yes...I know it is now after Thanksgiving!)

What's next...College?!

2010-11-19T15:37:00.000-08:00

My baby had another birthday and it's really stressing me out (big shocker, huh?) He is 7-years-old now. Maybe you didn't hear me...SEVEN! I like to tease him and say that he is grounded if he grows any more. He used to play along and think I was funny. The other day, he said to me, "Mom, you're being really annoying when you say that." Nice, huh?!

I tell him that pretty soon he will be driving, going to college, getting married, having kids of his own and buying me a new house. He still thinks that is pretty funny, but doesn't buy it. Then I say, "Pretty soon you'll be going on a mission." He nods and says, "Yeah...pretty soon." I love it!

Anyway, here are a few pics from the big day...

I woke him up with the camera! What a happy 7-year-old! Since it was Tuesday, I was already volunteering in his classroom, so we took some sprinkled chocolate covered doughnuts along to share with all his classmates. Yummy!

He wanted a dinosaur cake. Yes...dinosaur...not rhinoceros! This is what happens when I attempt the cake on my own, without Becky's help. The goal was to not make it look babyish...apparently spots would have been babyish so that was nixed! Yellow and blue were approved, non-babyish colors.

Dallan finally got his way and we didn't have a party this year. We went out to dinner at the restaurant of his choice, McDonalds. (I think that McDonalds will be outlawed for future birthdays. I almost couldn't finish my dinner...yuck!) Then, Ty got to have his best friend, Blake, over for cake and ice cream. It was a school night so festivities were kept on the short side.

Now stop laughing at my cake 'cause it gets worse with Kelsie's birthday, two weeks later. Much, much worse! He liked it and that was all that matters.

Her Own Sense of Style

2010-11-19T15:21:00.000-08:00

I know...I know...it has been a long time since I have posted anything. There has been a lot going on around here, but instead of getting to the important stuff, I thought I would start out my blogging spree with something just funny. Kelsie has her own sense of style. She has very strong opinions about what is cute and what she will and will not wear. My sister, Stan, suggested I start taking pictures of the outfits she puts together. I haven't been great about it, but every once in a while I remember to break out the camera to document her crazy looks. Here are just a couple of them for you to enjoy and appreciate...

Hair accesorizing is her forte! The more the prettier!

These boots go with everything...no really...EVERYTHING!

She had a tight stage going on for a while. Her black tights were her favorite. But to stick to her true self, the flip flops had to be included as well!

Did you hear the news?!

2010-10-04T16:52:00.000-07:00

I know that if you have talked to Dallan lately, this comes as no surprise, but I thought I would make a real announcement for those who have not had the good fortune of chatting with my husband as of late.

I am now 12 weeks along and it has been a REALLY long 12 weeks for all of us. The end of the misery is in sight (hopefully) with the coming of the second trimester, though, and we are looking forward to the next few months.

I had my first ultra sound today and found that this baby is no more cooperative than the last (shocker, huh?). The technician couldn't get a good picture for us to take home, but was able to get all the measurements he needed and baby looks good. I did get to see the top of the head, bottom of the feet and a glimpse at some arms crossed in front.

Kelsie, of course, is hoping for a girl and Ty wants a baby brother. When I showed the kids a video online about what the baby looks like at each week of the pregnancy, Kelsie said, "Aww...Ty's right. It's a boy!" When I asked her how she knew that, she said, "'Cause our baby has no girl hair. It's a boy." It was pretty funny, considering that we were not looking at our baby and that she thought it would have boy or girl hair already. I tried to explain this to her, but who knows how much of it she really understood. I didn't mention the fact that she didn't get any hair until she was at least 3-years-old. (ok...maybe it wasn't that long, but it seemed like it at the time)

Anyway...that is the reason for the no blogging lately. Okay, who am I kidding? I never blog anyway, but now I at least have a real excuse! Maybe something exciting will happen soon and we will have something to share with you all. Until then...Have a happy day!

A Glimpse of our Lives

2010-07-30T10:53:00.000-07:00

So, a couple of months ago, I decided, with some of my friends, to do a project. I love projects. The idea was to take pictures of EVERYTHING for a week and then make a scrapbook called "A Week in the Lives of the Rigby Family" or something like that. Great idea, huh? Yeah...I realized that I stink at remembering to take pictures and I just barely uploaded the pictures to the computer (2 months later). Anyhow, I thought that I would make a little clip of some of the pictures so that I can feel like it was worth my efforts, even if I don't ever get around to making the scrapbook (not that that would ever happen, right?!).

I know you all are dying to get a little peak into our lives on a daily basis. These pictures have not been edited in any way, shape, or form...this really is what our lives are like! Enjoy!

Ragnar Pictrures Part 2

2010-04-28T13:13:00.000-07:00

Once we finished our first legs, we had A LOT of time to kill. I don't remember what time we finished those first legs Friday morning, but luckily we ended up with a beautiful day!

If I am to be completely honest (And why wouldn't I be?), this picture was taken while our last runner was still out. We started the relaxing without her. (Sorry Patricia) We were a little nervous about leaving this exchange point because we didn't know what the next one would be like and if we would have a place to lay down and enjoy the sun. We talked ourselves into it, though and weren't at the next exchange for that long anyway.

The majority of the day was spent at this park. Don't ask me what city we were in...I really have no idea. Nothing too exciting...just trying to sleep, eat and stretch before we had to run again.

You can't get a feel for the experience without the van. We rented a 15 passenger van and took out the back 2 benches. It worked out great, but was a bit of a beast for parking and turning around. Side Note: Patricia was a star sleeper. You think I can sleep at any time, any place? I'm an insomniac compared to her.

SoCal Ragnar 2010

2010-04-28T12:45:00.000-07:00

OK...I promised pictures...so here are a few. I think we will have to do this in installments, because I have a million things I should be doing other than this. Now that I have had a few days to recover, I can look back and say, "I had a GREAT time!" No really...it was a blast and I would do it again...probably! So here, for your viewing pleasure, is a little glimpse into my little race adventure...

Here is the whole team. Well, technically this is half the team, the other half was in a different van and we barely saw them the whole time. So for ease, we will call this my team. From left to right...Patricia, Me, Kandie, Sabrina, Tara, Shannon. This is actually a picture of us at the end of our race...so probably shouldn't be starting with it, but I think it is the only one we got with all six of us.

This is me (obviously) before I ran my very first leg. I was really nervous...and cold!

This is me (again, quite obvious) at the end of my first leg. That was fast! (Don't I look like I have all the energy in the world...no stress whatsoever? Yeah...that was nice!)

Here's a little looksie at our van. One of the girls on our team came up with some great suggestions for team names, but they were all vetoed. I don't really want to talk about it. Anyway, we decided to put all those names on our van anyway (yes we are obnoxious). I like to think that we were serving others. I can't count how many times we saw people reading our van and laughing. We brought a little sliver of happiness to those peoples' lives and we can be proud of that! Missing in this photo are "Bummer...I just did my hair" "Proud to be Silicone free" and "Will Run for Post Race Meal" I thought they were all very clever. I have to say, though, that my favorite team name that we saw in the race was "Does this skirt make my butt look fast?" I thought it was hilarious...I so wish we had thought of that one!

So, that is going to have to be all for now. I will work on round 2 of pictures when I get another chance.

You won't believe it...Tiff running?!

2010-04-26T11:19:00.000-07:00

I kind of forgot to mention on this blog what has been consuming much of my time, energy and thoughts for the last 6 months. So now that it is over, I thought I would mention it. (I know...I am a horrible blogger)

I have been training for a Ragnar race. You probably have two questions right away. 1) What is a Ragnar and 2) Where did the Tiffany go that I used to know...she HATES running and would NEVER EVER run any kind of race? I will address both questions presently...

First, a Ragnar is a relay race that does not stop when the sun goes down. In other words, crazy people take turns running through the day, the night and then the next day. The Southern California race (that's the one we did), started in Ventura and ended at Dana Point, approximately 200 miles away. Now, don't start thinking that I am now some freakish runner...no where close. There are 12 people on a team, so it gets all divided up. To further unimpress you, I snagged the shortest legs, so I really didn't run very much at all. If you are interested in more (I'm not sure why you would be, but it seems appropriate to include a link) you can go to the Ragnar website here: http://www.ragnarrelay.com/losangeles/index.php Does tha explain a little? Hope so...now on to question 2...

I am still the same Tiffany I have always been. I still don't like running and am not quite sure, myself, how I got roped into running this race. I think the fact that I am getting old and my metabolism is slowing down had a lot to do with me starting to run. When I drop Ty off to school, Kelsie and I go for a little jog each day. Then, one of my friends who I work out with, needed some bodies to fill the 12 slots of a team for the Ragnar. I said no thank you. How I got signed up is still a little fuzzy in my mind. I am pretty sure I never agreed to any of this. Eventually, when I realized there was no longer a chance that I could get pregnant in time and have a fail-proof excuse for not running, I got excited about the whole thing. (Not excited enough to run any of the hard legs, but enough to actually get in the van and go)

Anyway, the race was this last weekend and I survived. That is the bottom line. I was not the photographer, though, so pictures will have to be forth coming. When I get the pictures I will give you all the nitty gritty details of the race too. Something for you all to look forward to! Until then , be comforted by the fact that I still do not like running, but have found that the benefits are necessary for my 31 year old body! Happy Day!

Gettin' Our Groove On

2010-03-18T08:34:00.000-07:00

Not sure if we can say that we had any kind of "groove" but we did attempt some dancing at our ward conference activity last month. We had a good time and made fools of ourselves more times that youcan probably count. Isn't it great, though, to be old enough that you just don't care anymore? (That is my attempt at convincing myself that I don't care what other people think anymore. Dal will tell you differently, I'm trying really hard not to care though, and I think I have made tremendous progress!)

Last time we went home to IF, we raided the shop's basement for some of the old-school tuxes. We picked up a few for Dal, crammed them into our ridiculously full trunk and hauled them all the way back to Santa Maria. "What for?" you may ask. No clue! Luckily, though, our ward planned this dance and we knew that it was the perfect occasion to bust one of those bad boys out. The hard part was deciding between the baby blue tux, the lime green one or the cream one with brown trim. And don't even get me started on picking what color of shirt to put with each one. Anyhow, we finally decided on the following:

I am sure that you can imagine the reaction when we showed up that night. It was fun! I think this tux is magical too...it gave Dal some extra dancing skills for the night. He was going crazy! For those of you who have been dancing with Dal...he had an endless supply of his signature moves! Now we just need another reason to get out the other colors!

The Second Child

2010-03-18T08:16:00.000-07:00

Kelsie wanted her own entry in the blog, so as a loving mother, I felt I had to oblige. I think I am in state of denial that she is getting so big too. What's up with all these kids growing?! Sometimes Dal and I just sit and watch her and are blown away by the things she is saying and doing.

She just got a new bike and wants to ride it everywhere. I love this picture...notice the tongue sticking out in concentration and the beautiful necklace she put on for her bike ride. (A girl's always got to look her best)

Dal and Tyson were at Tee Ball practice the other day and I was in the kitchen making dinner (how domestic of me, huh?) when I realized I hadn't heard anything from Kelsie in a while. This is usually not a good sign. When I went to look for her, this is what I found:

Apparently, she had been so exhausted that she had literally FALLEN asleep. I have no idea how or why she was in this position, but she must have been comfortable. How? I have no idea. I obviously grabbed the camera before I switched her to a position where she would still be able to move her neck when she woke up. What a good mom I am!

I'm Not Sure I Can Handle This...

2010-03-10T16:04:00.000-08:00

So, yesterday, we were running some errands when Tyson announced that when he pushed his tongue against his tooth, it wiggled. I have to be honest, I just about cried right then and there! I know...ridiculous, but true! I told him he needs sto stop growing so he can still be my baby. He laughed. I wasn't kidding! I was hoping he was mistaken, but when we got out of the car, he showed me. Sure enough...it wiggled...a lot!

There was one glimmer of happiness from the whole ordeal though. When we got home, he pulled me aside and asked, very quietly (I'm not sure if he didn't want anybody else to hear or what), "When you were a kid and lost a tooth, were you still able to eat?" I quickly assured him that he could still eat and then smiled inside that he still needs his mommy for stuff like this! Hopefully when he is 16 and doesn't want to be seen with me in public, he will still ask me questions like that and I can smile inside and be reassured that he still needs his mommy!

Then, to make matters worse, while he and Kelsie were playing today, he comes running out of his room with a big grin on his face and a tiny tooth in his hand. It's official...he is no longer my baby. He's going to school and losing teeth. I might as well get the car gased up for him!

Yeah for Lindsay!

2010-03-09T16:10:00.000-08:00

Yep...Linds and Nate are having a baby and we couldn't be happier! Congrats to them! Let me explain a little...whenever I talk to Lindsay, she points out that I am a slacker and have not updated my blog in a while (she puts it very nicely though). So, when I got done talking to her today, I thought I would make a post just for her!

For those of you unfamiliar (really...can't think of too many people who would be reading this that don't know who she is), Lindsay was one of my roommates at BYU. We met freshman year at Heritage Halls and stuck together from then on, until Dal broke us apart! Luckily for me, she looked past my incredible immaturity and selfishness and stayed friends with me all these years.

Now she is having a baby and I am so excited for her. I wish she were not clear across the country so I could throw her the baby shower she deserves (she has definitely put in her time with planning showers).

Anyway, gotta run now, but Congrats! Congrats! Congrats guys! We love you and miss you and are super excited for you!

Christmas in a NutShell

2010-01-21T10:06:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas in Ojai this year with Mama and Papa Rigby, Jana, Dave and Zola. We drove down Christmas Eve and had to be back for church on Sunday, so it was a quick one, but we enjoyed every minute.

We got up early Christmas morning to sounds of the kids trying really hard to be good and quiet in their room. There were WAY too many presents this year (I don't know how that happens). Hopefully we can remember this next year, when we are shopping for too many things again.

Christmas dinner was done Santa Maria style with tri-tip and garlic bread, with Salmon and a few other things thrown in for good measure. Yummy!

We continued to eat way, way too much the whole weekend, but it was SO worth every bite. On a healthier note, the tangerines were DELICIOUS this year. I love this time of year when the tangerine tree is overflowing and we get to eat as many as we can handle. (I really need to be better about taking pictures to document stuff...this would be a great place for a picture of the tree...it really was FULL this year)

Here are some pictures of the festivities in no particular order (you know how I stink at this whole posting pictures in the right order thing!):

The next day we headed to Ventura for some serious thrifting. It was great...Grandpa watched Ty and Kelsie so that Dal and I could ride the bikes to Ventura. I have always wanted to do it, but never gotten around to it. It was a little on the cold side at first, but really fun. We, of course, let Jana and Dave ride back home (uphill) and drove back with Mama Rigby.

We love that we got to see the Lunts for a few days...Zola is a cutie! And love that we had Mama and Papa Rigby back this year for Christmas. We realized, more than usual, this year how incredibly blessed we really are. We are grateful for the innumerable blessings we receive every single day of our lives, including all the amazing people in our lives. What a great life we have!

Yep...still here!

2010-01-21T09:57:00.000-08:00

Okay...so it has been pointed out to me (by many, many people) that I have neglected my blog for quite some time now. I know. I apologize and promise to do better. The holidays were extremely busy in the Rigby household and it is just barely calming down. To tell you the truth...I don't even have very many great pictures to show.

For Thanksgiving, we visited Shauna (Dal's sister) and Jeff and clan up in the Seattle area. We left with Papa Rigby the Wed. night before Thanksgiving and arrived Thursday night. We had a great Thanksgiving feast the next day! We had a great time seeing the sites and hanging out with the boys. We got to see Nick play basketball, Chase became Kelsie's best friend and Zack and Ty had fun playing. They were great hosts and were cracking us up the whole time.

To keep the peace in our family, I will not write about the ride home. Okay...I will just a little bit and hope Dal doesn't get on here and read for a while. It took us about 17 hours to drive up to the Cardon's house which was fairly enjoyable. We added an additional 10 (yes, that is a 1 and a 0) hours to the drive home so that we could see the Oregon coastline. Yes it was beautiful and it was cool to see the red woods, but we live by the ocean...pretty much the same as what we saw and the big trees weren't any where close to worth TEN additional hours in a cramped car. I will stop there because I don't want to say something I will regret. I was bratty and grumpy the whole second day of our drive home and I am not proud of that. It's a good thing that we had such a great time while we were there. I might think about doing it again (minus the Oregon coast).

Unfortunately, I forgot the pack the camera, so we have nothing. Jeff took some pictures on his phone for us, but I don't have them yet. Which reminds me...Jeff and Shauna, could you send us those pictures, please? Thanks!So this becomes a lame post due to the lack of pictures, which hopefully will be remedied soon. You all might be wishing you hadn't asked for me to post not, huh? To make up for it, I will include some random pictures of my cute kids...

A Little Different Post

2009-11-19T09:26:00.000-08:00

Okay...so this post is not about my family. If you know me at all (which I assume you all do), you know that I LOVE to get a good deal. In my quest for free stuff, I read a lot of blogs. One of the things I have come across that I really like is SwagBucks.

Swagbucks is a search engine (just like Google), that randomly awards you points for performing searches. You can redeem your points for lots of different things. What I am planning to do, is use my points for Amazon.com gift certificates that I can use to buy Christmas presents.

I have been using Swagbucks as my search engine for a few months now and already have 175 swagbucks. You need 45 swagbucks for a $5 Amazon gift card. Not a HUGE return, but since I don't have to do anything (besides search the Internet...which I do anyway) in order to get those swagbucks, I like to think of it as free money. Who doesn't want free money?!

So, now, the shameless plug. If you are interested in trying it for yourselves (no pressure of course) you can do it through my referral link and then I get swagbucks when you get them. So not only do I get points for doing nothing extra...I get points for you doing nothing extra too. It is the epitome of laziness! You just have to click on the box on the top right of this blog. Or you can go to: http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/BiffanyRuth

I am not a big fan of multi-level anything, but I figured you all might want some free money. So check it out and try it. I don't even care if you use my link or not. Let me know if you have any questions and I probably won't have the answer, but I'll sure try. Good luck!

Fancy Nancy's got Nothing on Kelsie!

2009-11-10T15:57:00.000-08:00

I know...some of you are beyond shocked that I have pictures up the same day as the party. To tell the truth, I am so tired that I don't really want to do anything, so I am using this as an excuse to sit at the computer and not stand on my aching feet any longer!

We had a GREAT time today with Kelsie's Fancy Nancy birthday party. All of her friends came in their fanciest attire and we beautified them even more when they got here. We had boas, beads, bracelets, rings, glitter and nail polish for everyone.

My sister-in-law, Tressa was here and was a life saver. We stayed up last night, after the kids were in bed, and decorated like crazy. I have never seen so much pink in my life.

When all the kids got here, we painted finger nails and added a little more fancy to everyone's outfits. Then we took portraits and had a fashion show. Next was lunch...we had pb&j on pink and purple bread, chocolate dipped strawberries, fruit pics and frappe. Yummy!

After lunch , they each got to decorate a frame that will hold their portraits. The girls were very cute and did a great job. There was a whole lot of glitter, bling and flowers going on. The whole thing was a raging success, thanks to a whole lot of help from Tressa and all the other moms who cane to party with us.

You have GOT to be kidding me!

2009-11-05T16:33:00.000-08:00

Okay... so funny story. I do not write this blog to toot my own horn or anything of the sort. I just think it is hilarious, so I want to share with you all.

This year, we had a chili cook-off at the church for part of our Halloween party. Since I sign up for pretty much everything that gets put in front of me, I signed up for the contest. Don't think that I have ever made chili before in my life...'cause I haven't! I called Stan and my Dad to get their recipes and advice (Funny how you get VERY different advice from different people). I figured I would use their recipe, but it was a busy week and I didn't feel like going to all that much trouble. Saturday was crazy busy, so I came up with my own version of "chili" that was quick and easy and headed off to the church.

I am sure you can see where this is going, but it is my blog and I will drag out a story if I want to! I had no idea what my chili tasted like because I didn't feel like tasting it when I was making it. I tried to get Dal to do a taste test, but he didn't feel like it either. Oh well...I was just trying to provide some chili for the millions of people who would be there. Imagine my surprise when they called my name for the third place winner! Seriously...I was completely embarrassed to go up there and wanted to say, "You have GOT to be kidding me, right?!"

Since I figured I would offend somebody with such a comment, I just smiled, turned bright red and accepted my white ribbon and gift certificate to Chilis. Who would of thunk?!

And no...I don't think I could replicate what I did ever again. I have learned that a chili cookoff has nothing to do with skill and 100% to do with luck! I am sure that even the same judges would probably pick entirely different kinds if they were to do it again! Oh well...I will bask in my glory while I still can!

A Haunting Halloween...

2009-11-05T16:16:00.000-08:00

Jack Rigby returned this year, looking pretty much the same as last year. (Ty has a very firm belief in how a jack-o-lantern should look.) Ty was the artist, Dal was the carver and Kelsie and I drew with markers on a different pumpkin (sorry...no picture).

I thought, for some strange reason, that a witch would be VERY appropriate for Kelsie's costume this year. Seriously, I just thought she would be a super cute witch...was I right? Luckily, she readily agreed and we practiced her witch laugh for a few weeks before the big day.

Grandma Rigby found a great karate outfit for Ty and he easily became Karate Kid! (No...he has not seen the movie, but he has seen a few clips and he LOVES the final fight scene from Karate Kid I where Daniel-son stands on one foot, crane style, and kicks the mean guy in the head. I'm not sure how I feel about how great he thought that was...such violence!)

I told Ty to show me his best Karate move and this is what he did. Awesome!

Kelsie, of course, wanted to do just what big brother did, so this is her picture: (I love that she tries to be like him. It drives Ty crazy sometimes, but I hope she keeps it up...too cute!)

Another Halloween come and gone...fun times, but I am glad it is over. By the way, we have planty of candy for anyone who wants some. Come on over and we would love to share!

Spooky Eats

2009-11-05T15:55:00.000-08:00

I have always wanted to have a special Halloween dinner. Well, I finally did it this year, thanks to one of my new favorite blogs, http://theidearoom.blogspot.com/ I pretty much took all my good ideas from her site, so I can't take credit for anything. It was really fun. We had pumpkin- shaped bread bowls with corn chowder. How cute are these?

I made the most disgusting looking worms from Jello. They were very spooky, but way too much work...don't think I'll be doing these again! (besides, my kids are un-American or something and won't eat Jell-O!)

The chocolate covered pretzels were a family effort (thanks, Dal!). We made a bunch of these on Thursday and took them to a few friends and neighbors.

Since I knew my kids wouldn't eat corn chowder, even in a pumpkin bread bowl, I also made mummy dogs for them. They thought they were pretty cool, but of course insisted on wiping off the eyes first. Eeww...mustard!

I am excited to try new things next year. Halloween food is the best. Any good ideas?

Six?! Is that Possible?!

2009-11-05T15:45:00.000-08:00

My baby boy is SIX YEARS OLD! I cannot believe it. I guess that means I really can't be 21 anymore, huh? This year's party was chaos...complete and utter chaos. I think it went well though. Once again, Becky helped me make a spectacular cake. Okay...let's be honest...she made the cake...I assisted. I did actually bake the cake, put a filling layer in and crumb coated it all by myself! Oh yeah...I was master boat shaper (rice crispy treats) and I made the sails for the ship. That is about it, though. I have to give credit to Becky for all the hard frosting stuff. I am getting good at helping her mix frosting colors. Do you think there is a career in that?

This was the first year where we had just kids at the party, instead of their whole families. I thought that would make it easier...less people, you know? Ha! Besides the fact that we invited 12 kids, their were fewer adults to help manage the chaos and help entertain. Luckily, I have some good friends who were able to stay and help. It really was a good time. We walked the plank, found hidden treasures, ate Pirate grub, made our own coins and searched for gold. What more could you want for a pirate party?

Not to mention the fact that I got to burn the edges of a bunch of stuff...invitations, signs, treasure maps, sails. Who knew that could be so much fun!

Oh yeah...this isn't the best picture, but look at the treasure chest behind Ty and Kelsie in this picture. I made that! Can you believe it? It was a really fun party to plan and I think Ty really liked it. (He better have or this may be the last!) Dal is trying to convince him that it would be more fun to just have one friend over next year on his birthday. We'll see how that goes. Now...time to plan Kelsie's party!

Is that really necessary?

2009-11-05T15:28:00.000-08:00

Okay...so we like to have fun with Kelsie's hair...especially on Sunday mornings. I came across this website(http://www.princesshairstyles.com/) and have become a bit obsessed. I wish that Kelsie had longer hair so we could try more of the things, or that I had any hair skills whatsoever! We stick to the MOST basic hair styles we can find on the site and do them over and over and over. This one was just so stinkin' cute I had to take some pictures. Cute, huh?!

You can't see this one very well, but it is the EASIEST thing to do ever and looks super cute. You can look on the site to see a better picture. I think it is called a Cinderella style or something like that. How fun are cute little blonde haired blue eyed girls?!

Camping at Big Sur

2009-11-05T15:18:00.000-08:00

Back in September we got together with Dal's cousins, Brant and Randy and their daughter, Lakin, and her husband for a little camping up at Big Sur. We have been wanting to go camping there since we moved to California, but hadn't quite made it for no reason at all. It is a beautiful area, right along the coast. Thanks to Brant, we finally made it up there for a couple of days.

The funny part about it was that when we planned the trip, the fact that Tyson would be in school didn't even cross my mind. I wasn't used to this whole have-to-be-somewhere thing that school creates. So, being Parents of the Year, we had him miss a day the second week of the new year. Oops. Oh well...it's kindergarten!

We got a great camp site (thanks again Brant!) that was just across the street from a beautiful beach. We walked down there both of the days and the kids played in the sand and water, Dal jumped off a big rock and I sat in my chair. Everyone was happy!

Our campsite was a little further south of the main part of Big Sur, so we headed up North one day to see what was there. We found this great stream where everyone was just sitting around on chairs in the river, eating ice cream, chatting and cooling off. It was great!

The kids absolutely love camping. They love going to bed in the tent, getting dirty, making fires, throwing rocks and dirt, swimming, eating smores and pretty much everything else that has to do with camping.

At the end of the day, Ty and Kelsie were both so tired that they just wanted to go to bed and we couldn't convince them to stay up and sit around the fire with us. No worries, though, we just had our s'mores after breakfast the next morning. I think I must be getting old, though, cause I just can't take chocolate in the morning like I used to. It is a sad day!

It was a great trip. We will definitely be heading back up that direction again!

I've lost him...forever!

2009-08-25T17:00:00.000-07:00

OK...so the pictures are in reverse order, but we all know I am no genius when it comes to the ins and outs of blogging. The point is that my baby started kindergarten last Monday!!! I cannot believe it has finally come. I think the only thing that got me through the whole ordeal was the he had Kinder Camp this summer. He went to the school for 3 hours each day (M-TH) for the entire month of July. It was like a practice run for him and more importantly for me. If it hadn't been for that, I would have lost it that first day of what we call Real Kindergarten.

So, life as I know it is over and I have entered the world of alarm clocks, snack preparation, knowing what time it is at all times, and schedules! Actually, I think we have adjusted quite well so far. Here's how it works:

Wake up at 6:40 (yeah...that is at least an hour earlier than I am used to)

put on my sweats and running shoes,

Wake up the kids,

Pour the cereal (so much for visions of hot breakfasts to increase their brain power),

Pick out clothes for Ty (don't think this is going to last all that long) and get Kelsie dressed,

Fix Kelsie's hair (I figure one of us should look presentable...got to represent the family),

Pack a snack in the backpack,

Make sure I have my three items (I have to count every morning or I forget something...cell phone for time, garage door opener and keys for locking up Ty's bike),

Load Kelsie in the stroller and get Ty helmeted up (Safety First!),

And we are on our way at 7:35

It takes us approximately 8 minutes to get to the school with Ty riding and me jogging/walking (driveways slow down our progress because Ty insists on going around them for fear of tipping over on the slant). We have a great crossing guard who has the light waiting for us each morning as we get to the corner. Locking up the bike adds another 2 minutes to the process and we are at the door to Kindergarten with a few minutes to spare each morning! Look at us go.

I know...more information than you wanted, but this is our life right now and I wanted to share. The best part is that I get home, work out, shower and get dressed, eat breakfast and it is already time to go pick him up. And we get to do this 5 DAYS A WEEK! Wahoo.

Oh...how cute!

2009-08-25T15:28:00.000-07:00

These are the moments every mother lives for, right? If only they were this sweet all the time! Don't get me wrong, Ty and Kelsie actually get along quite well (in my own opinion). They love to play pretend with each other and Ty is a great big brother. As I am typing this, they are playing baby pony (Kelsie) and daddy puppy (Ty). They also have their moments of being...how should I say this...demon siblings?! The other day, though, I saw this and had to snap a picture (just in case I need to remind them someday that they DO like each other). Notice that Kelsie does have a chair of her own, right next to Ty's, but she wanted to be closer, I guess. Being the good big brother that he is, Ty didn't say a word and they played on the computer like that for another 10 minutes.

Along the same lines, I sometimes need to be reminded how cute Kelsie can be. Therefore, the following picture will be very valuable in keeping my sanity. This one tries my patience (which I have discovered was never all that great to begin with). She knows my buttons and loves to push them. She is at that stage (please, tell me it's just a stage!) where she has to test all the rules and see just how much she can get away with. If I tell her not to take her food out of the kitchen, she sits on the floor with her legs in the living room, but her food still technically in the kitchen. If I ask her to do anything, she refuses, waiting until she sees me getting up out of my chair to take her to time out, before she runs as fast as she can to do whatever I asked in the first place. You get the idea. I have said on many occasions that it is a good thing she is as cute as she is or she wouldn't have made it this long. She is definitely a character (Mom and Dad...stop laughing) but one that we wouldn't trade for anything.

Yes...we are still around!

2009-08-25T15:22:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I know we disappeared off the blogosphere for a while, but we have been busy. We spent a couple weeks in UT/ID with family and are in the midst of the whole back-to-school chaos for the first time! Anyway, I was wasting time today, not doing all the things I need to, and thought I would update the ol' blog a bit. Before I get to anything too serious, I came across this clip and it made me smile. It has nothing to do with anything, but who doesn't need a little pick-me-up now and then. Watch it and I promise you will smile. If you do...I promise to put a real post up about the Rigby fam too!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RI-l0tK8Ok0

Girls' Night

2009-05-12T15:08:00.000-07:00

Call it a midlife crisis, call it crazy, I like to call it Girls' Night. Last week was the Father Son's campout for our Stake. Since it was just Kelsie and me, I volunteered to watch a friend's girls (she was going out on a date with her husband...no sons so no campout) and another friend's girls while she ran some errands for the YW fundraiser. Fun times. The only rule was that we had to do things that boys don't do. We painted nails, curled hair, danced like ballerinas and watched Cinderella. Yeah...I think I am feeling a little old lately and am trying to recapture my youth. Kelsie had a great time, though, and still shows everyone she sees how pretty her nails are. I guess it was worth it, then!

How Precious is This?

2009-05-12T15:01:00.000-07:00

You can thank my blogging mania on a phone call from one of my best friends in the world, Lindsay. She moved clear across the country and I never get to see her and I am quite sad about it. Anyway, she called and needed my blog address again because it got lost in the move. I sent it to her of course, but thought to myself, "Tiff...you need to get on it...you haven't been updating your blog much lately." Since I always listen to myself, and in honor of Lindsay, I am blogging like crazy instead of cleaning my house.

I was trying to get some stuff done around the house the other day, so I let Ty play on the computer for awhile. I came into the family room and this is what I saw. Awww! If only they could be that cute and nice to each other all the time!

T-Ball Tyson

2009-05-12T14:55:00.000-07:00

It is hard to beleive, but my little baby boy is playing T-ball. We debated between soccor and t-ball. Due to intense peer pressure, we went with the t-ball and his best friend, Blake.

I don't think I have ever laughed harder in my life, than I did the first few practices I watched. It was hilarious. Kids were running in every direction (besides towards first base) and most of them were doing anything but watching what was going on. Bugs and dirt were common distractors.

Things shaped up as the season progressed, though. I'm not counting on the majors, but there was definitely some improvement. I think there was one game, even, where Ty ran all the bases without having to be reminded. He actually watched the hitters and ran as soon as the ball was hit. I've never been more proud.

My favorite part of the whole thing was Ty's thumbs up. Anytime he looked at us in the stands or at practice, he would get this goofy, toothless smile and give us a big thumbs up. It was super cute.

Below, is his "ready position." I'm not sure why, but he always kept his legs together and then leaned over. Note to self...work on ready position.

Ty turned out to be a pretty good hitter. He didn't hit a grand slam every time, but he was consistently good. The second half of the season, the coach would pitch them three pitches. If they didn't hit it, they got the tee. It was hit and miss whether he hit one of the three pitches, but I think he did more often then not. Here's our Number 2 getting ready to bat:

The season is now over. The last game was Saturday and I just can't say I am all that sad about it. It was fun, but I didn't like being tied down. Two practices and a game a week. Come on now...I can't have that much structure in my life. What am I going to do when he started kindergarten?!!

May I Present...Our Fireplace

2009-05-12T14:44:00.000-07:00

Okay...so it might have taken a titch longer than it should have, but the tile around the fireplace is complete! Wahoo! I still don't get the honor of calling it complete due to the lack of mantel. Someday...

Fun With the Bishops (Part 1)

2009-04-16T21:57:00.000-07:00

We had a great time with the Bishops here last week. For those of you who do not know...that is my sister and her family from Utah. This is their second annual Spring Break Trip to California. I can't say we had the best weather, but it wasn't as bad as we had anticipated, so we will count ouselves lucky! It is getting late though and this is more blogging than I have done in the last year, so this is going to be brief!

Bon fire on the beach! You're welcome, Stan, for not putting the picture of you when you fell over in your chair! The kids were freezing and asking to go home as soon as the s'mores were over, but I thought it was fun times!

Jake loved trying out the 4WD on the dunes. He didn't even need the shovel!

Kelsie was in rare form this week. I am not sure what has gotten into her, but she was throwing tantrums left and right. Here she is at the park, throwing her flip flops to let everyone know she is mad. What she was mad about, we never did find out!

Hiking out to Oso Flaco. The walk out was great. The beach was ridiculously windy. The kds were crazy enough to go in the water, but once they got out, the wind was whipping the sand against their legs and the fun was all over!

More fun to come when I get another chance to sit down and blog. Really...I will try! Have a great one!

Easter Cuties

2009-04-16T21:48:00.000-07:00

As requested...pictures of Kelsie in her Easter Best (and Ty isn't looking to shabby either!) Look at the cute cousins! Kayli let Kelsie borrow her dress for Easter since it is too big for her. Wasn't that generous?! It really was just about the cutest dress I have ever seen. Kelsie LOVED it. She loved looking so pretty for Easter and loved it when people commented on how cute she was.

Some mostly finished pictures...

2009-04-16T21:33:00.000-07:00

I hesitate to say "finished" because it seems like nothing is completely finished. There are little touch-ups to do in pretty much every area. We are living in it, though, and I think that deserves some recognition.

Here is kind of a cross shot from the family room, across the ktichen into the Living Room.

Here is the bookshelf. We obviously added the crown moulding, but not so obviously, we also beefed up all the edges and shelves. They used to be pretty skinny, so we ripped them all off and replaced them with some thicker stuff to make it look a little more substantial. What do you think? (I know...you would think I could at least clean off the shelves before taking a picture for my blog, but I don't care and neither should you!)

Look...we even have drapes up in this room! A new room from ceiling to floor. What else can I say?

This is one worth noting...the light fixture in the kitchen. Paula found a light we both loved on Crate and Barrel's website, but it was WAY out of the price range. We thought, "How hard can it be to find something similar for a lot less money?" The answer...a lot harder! Paula spent days and days looking and my head was about to burst after spending a few hours looking. I took a break though and when I came back, this is what Paula had found. Cute, huh?!

Unfortunatly, it took so long to find that we didn't get it up before the Nielsen clan showed up. Sorry Jen and Dave that we had no light in our house while you were visiting. Wasn't it worth the wait though? The only question now is whether we hung it too high. We are morally opposed to hitting our heads on the light, but we may have taken it a little too far. What do you think?

Okay...that is all the house energy I have for the evening. Ask Dal...I am burnt out. In between the Nielsens and the Bishops, I couldn't motivate myself to do anything. Now that Spring Break is over and we are all alone again, I still don't want to finish anything. The only motivation we have is that we have a lot of tools that we need to return to their rightful owners, so we need to get it into gear and finish this baby up. Here we go again...

More work in progress...

2009-04-16T21:22:00.000-07:00

I have to say a BIG THANK YOU to all who have helped us on our little project. We couldn't have done it on our own. We had Bishop over here pretty much anytime he wasn't working for a while, Paula has been our interior design consultant every step of the way (yes...we needed a lot of hand holding), Alex helped out with all our electrical stuff, tons of people let us use tools, other friends entertained our kids on the rough days and Laura actually cleaned my house for 4 hours one night...without me...even my bathrooms! We have the best friends in the whole world. My family is amazed whenever they hear what everyone has done for us...I think we almost have some of them convinced to move to Santa Maria!

Now on to the pictures...a little bead board in the kitchen with crown mouldings installed throughout the living areas.

It got a little cold at points throughout so sometimes I had to move my painting inside. How lucky are we that paint doesn't stick to our new floor?!

My litte Dally...all grown up...usong a saw! Dal has been a real trooper...he works all day and then comes home and we work until all hours of the night!

Don't think this wasn't a family affair! Tyson and Kelsie loved to help whenever they got a chance. Thanks to Home Depot, they were dressed to impress and ready to work!

Don't worry...there are more pictures to come. I am just trying to do this in chronological order...kind of!

The Long Awaited Update

2009-04-16T21:00:00.000-07:00

Ok...so the house took over our lives for a while and I had NO TIME to blog or do much of anything for that matter. I cannot say that we are done (as much as I wish I could), but we have definitely made some progress. The fact that my sister Jen and her family were coming at the end of March helped push the work along as fast as we were able. I'm not sure what day of the remodel we are on now...lost count after 30!

So let us start with what is not done...the fireplace. Oh the fireplace! This has to be the worst part of the whole project in terms of how much stress it caused. The stress came, not because it was hard to do, but because we couldn't make a decision concerning what to do with it to save out lives. We still have the tiling to do and then comes the hard part...deciding what to do about a mantel. Here is the progress so far:

We start with the lovely pink tile and even more pink grout. Please take note of the lovely brassy gold finish around the fire box and the knotty wood paneling behind!

Say good-bye to the wood paneling and hello to some serious clashing! It really is a good paint color...I promise!

Who knew a can of spray paint could work miracles on a fireplace?! This picture doesn't do justice to all the work that went into this. As much fun as Ty and I had kncoking out the old tile, it left a HUGE hole in the wall when it knocked out all the sheet rock behind it. Dal worked very hard to rebuild it with backerboard (another nightmare you will have to ask me about) in prep for our new tile.

Anyway, not all that exciting because it is not done, but I don't want to spring it all on you at once. You will have to wait and prepare yourselves for the next update when we actually get the tile in .We have made many of the cuts already, though, and plan on making some serious progress this weekend. Cross our fingers!

I'm so HAPPY!!!

2009-03-06T08:19:00.000-08:00

Yeah...the floor is finally going in! The original plan was to finish all the painting first and then start the floor, but we ran into a few glitches. The kitchen wall was a mess and needed to be sanded, puttied, sanded and repainted. The Family Room had a few spots too so that still needs a nother coat after a few repairs. Dal also got pretty burned out, so we needed a break from painting. We made sure the hall was done and since the Living Room doesn't have to be painted, we were good to do that side of the house.

Thanks to our friends, the Espinosas, we got all the hall laid and about 1/3 of the Living Room. Wahoo! I can actually envision what it will look like now. It was so exciting A big Thank You to the Espinosas for all their help. Before they got here last night, we had no clue where to even start. Now it looks like it might be possible and we might even get it done before all our visitors at the end of the month!

So Dal actually has tomorrow off work so I think we should be able to make some good progress. We are hoping to get the LIving Room floor done, finish all the painting, knock out the fireplace and maybe do a few other odds and ends. I an taking a tiling class at the Home Depot on Saturday to try to figure out what we are doing with the fireplace. Any suggestions are welcome. Wish us luck!

It's Painting Day!

2009-03-06T08:09:00.000-08:00

After much deliberation, we decided to paint the kitchen and Famiyl Room ro match the Living Room...keep it neutral. We taped, primed and painted our little hearts out. This picture shows how we finally convinced Dal to paint the wood wall behind the fireplace. I stand by that decision, but as you can see, we now have to redo the fireplace because that pink tile just doesn't match anymore. Dang!

Bead board will be going up on the lower half of the kitchen wall, so I thought I would leave a little something for whoever redoes the kitchen next time. Precious! When Tyson saw my grafitti in the morning, he was quite upset that he was not represented. The wall looks a little different now with the addition of Tyson's and Kelsie's names

Oh yeah...we painted the same color down the hall...doesn't it look great?

Sorry for the Delay...

2009-03-06T07:58:00.000-08:00

Okay...so the whole blogging our progress each day didn't quite work out. Sorry about that. Where did I leave off? We had to plastic all the walls in the house while the ceiling texture was put on and then painted. We hited somebody to texture and Dal and I painted it ourselves. It looks really good. There are a few areas where the paint didn't go on quite as smoothly as we would have liked, but we are okay with it. Please refrain from pointing these spots out when you visit us...we are fully aware of each and every one.

We were so excited to finally take the plastic down. We had to duck underneath it to enter or exit the house, duck as we walked in and out of rooms and it kept me from being able to get into a several of my cupboards. Happy Day that it is down. Now comes the fun part...

Family HOme Evening

2009-02-16T19:39:00.000-08:00

Now the fam is waiting for me to join them for FHE "Remodel Style" The kids are hoping this never ends!

Days 2, 3, 4 & 5

2009-02-16T19:36:00.000-08:00

I haven't blogged the last couple of days for several reasons
1) I have been DEAD TIRED at the end of the day and haven't felt like it
2) My computer is acting like the family television while ours is in the garage so it hasn't been available much
3) For as much work as we have done, you can't really tell int he pictures so what is the point?

Okay...so we got the carpet padding out, pulled up all the carpet tacks (which Kelsie and Ty hated because it was so loud!) and found a guy to put the texture on for mot too much. All that was accomplished Friday (Day 2).

Day 3: I cleaned up the ceiling in the Family Room by scraping all the little stuff we missed in our original scraping of the popcorn. It was a very dusty job, but I suceeded. Ty and Kelsie grabbed whatever toys they could find to put over their heads so they could stand under whereever I was scraping. Good family fun! We then had a birthday party to go to and it was Valentines Day so we called it a day!

Day 4 was the Sabbath so we took it easy watching movies on the computer. My little family is now getting too big for us all to fit into our queen-sized-bed comfortably. Did you know you can watch Karate Kid online? It is great!

Day 5: The rain comtinued to pour down so Ty had to splash around a little bit outside. He loves to get out the rubber boots and umbrella. what a cutie!

Today we finished cleaning up the ceiling and filled in all the imperfections in preparation for the texture to come. Dal is ready to quit his day job and become a drywaller. The texture won't be happening until Thursday so we are going to tak eit easy for a couple of days...doing little jobs here and there...making our daily trips to Home Depot...you know...the usual!

Day One

2009-02-12T23:02:00.000-08:00

Okay...so we hit the ground running on day one of the remodel. We tried to sleep in (Dal woke me up at 6:45 because he couldn't sleep in). We had a nice waffle breakfast and started working at 9:00.

The popcorn came off great and we were pretty much done with the major scraping in the Living Room by 10:00. Not too shabby! Here's Dal at 10:00 this morning:

Next the carpet got hauled out to the side of the house. Good-bye forever!

And finally...at 9:30 tonight this is where we are. Our goal for the day was to scrape all hte ceilings and get all the carpet out. Check! We did it. Day One was a success!

I know it looks like there is still carpet in these pictures, but that is just the foam underneath. We didn't take it all out because we wanted a little cushioning for the other work to come.

Oh yeah...sorry if you tried to call us today...I took down the computer which happens to also be our telephone. It is now back up and running, though, so feel free to call once again.

And I just wanted to say thanks to Shannon for taking the kids to the library and park today. They loved it. Kelsie kept telling me all afternoon that she got to go to the park with "kinzie." For those of you wondering what they did the rest of the day...they were banished to the garage to watch movies all day. Tyson has been looking forward to this since we started planning this remodel. I wonder how long that excitement will last for him. Kelsie is already over that.

I am dead tired and need to go to sleep now. Bring on Day Two!

The Before Pictures

2009-02-12T22:00:00.000-08:00

So I started to take before pictures and somehow got distracted. So here are pictures of the Living Room once we got the furniture taken out and before we started any of the fun stuff. The Family Room looks just the same...same nasty carpet (probably worse), same popcorn ceiling, not same paint, etc.

Here goes nothing...

A New House for the Rigbys!

2009-02-11T19:13:00.000-08:00

Okay...so we don't really get a new house, but we are fixing this one up. Starting tomorrow, we are changing a few things around the place. (I guess the fact that our house is now worth next to nothing so we will not be going anywhere anytime soon as we originally thought has finally motivated us to make some home improvements!)

It all started with our nasty carpet. I have wanted to replace it pretty much since we moved in almost five years ago. (I will post pictures of its nastiness later) We decided that since we have small children who believe food tastes better off the floor than from a bowl, new carpet was never an option. Thus we are extending the Pergo from the kitchen into the living room, family room and down the hall. Since we have to clear the house out to pull up the carpet, we figured we might as well scrape off the oh-so-trendy popcorn ceiling while we are at it. And of course, once the popcorn is gone, I am finally going to be able to have the crown molding I have always wanted. Nobody in their right mind would put up crown molding without replacing the old mini-sized base boards that are original to our 50-year-old house. And while we are at it, there are a few rooms that could use a fresh coat of paint. You see how it goes! Who knows how many more projects will be added to the list before the couches come back into the house.

You may be thinking, "Why is Tiffany rambling on about all this in so much detail?" Because it is my blog and I can write what I want to! Just kidding. I just wanted to warn you that I would be offline for who knows how long. I know I don't blog all that much so you probably won't even notice my absence for the next few weeks, but I thought it polite to mention it anyway. So with that...I must go move all my furniture out of the house. Wish us luck (The before and after pictures will be forthcoming) If I find somewhere else in the thouse to set up the computer, I might even get around to posting some action shots of the process so you can all feel bad that you're not here helping us!

This Day Will Go Down in History

2009-01-11T19:24:00.000-08:00

Yes...this is a day to be noted in the history books. We will forever more remember January 11th as the day that Kelsie had cute hair at church! It's true. She let me put pretties (a bunch) in her hair, asked for a bow, and left them in all through church.

You may be thinking, "That is a little gutsy, Tiff, to put that much effort into her hair when she has never before left anything in for the entire 3 hours of church. Why not start with something a little simpler?" Here at the Rigby house, we don't do anything half-way! It's all or nothing!

OK...really? I have been experimenting with pretties and bows over the last week. She really likes them, and I found that if I told her to keep it in to show Daddy when he got home, she could make it 2 out of 3 times. So, I will admit that this is not the first day her hair has been "done" but it is the first time we have attempted anything so fancy! It was pretty funny...everyone we saw at church (no that is not an exaggeration...everyone!) commented on her hair. Some people said they didn't recognize her at first...others were curious as to how it came to be (knowing the temperament of my adorable 2-year-old), most were just plain impressed.

Now I just have to work on getting my parts a little straighter and perfecting the use of gel and hairspray and I can see great things in our future. Wish me luck!

Side Note: This picture WAS taken after church...so the hair is a little fuzzy. It looked better in the morning...I promise!

Lookin' Good!

2008-12-26T16:41:00.000-08:00

Okay...so I got Dal a suit for Christmas which ended up being two suits. I am not going to go into the long story of why there ended up being two. The short of it is that we might be keeping both, but are hoping to just keep one. The problem is, though, we can't decide which one we like better. I think Dal is just too good lookin' no matter what he has on.

Despite that, we need some input on which suit to keep. Here are the two choices, in no particular order. Make sure to answer our poll on the right to let us know which one you like best...we'll probably take your opinion into consideration!

Christmas Continued...

2008-12-26T16:22:00.000-08:00

Santa came through with a stroller for Kelsie. Now if we could just get some clothes for her babies!

While with the fam over Thanksgiving, I made name signs for each of the kids' rooms. I think they turned out really well. They might not have been the favorite present this year, but they liked them and have already chosen where they want them hung in their rooms.

Tyson also got a Planet Heroes space ship from Santa. It was just what he wanted. We didn't get around to writing letters to Santa this year, so we had to call him on Christmas Eve. He was busy with the elves, making toys, so we left him a message. Apparently he got it in time since we each got what we asked for. What a great Santa!

Now that Kelsie has her bright neon orange purse and yellow heels (thanks to big brother, Tyson) she is ready for the world. She has been clomping around in those shoes since she got them. I am a little nervous she is going to break an ankle or something. The price we pay for beauty!

Since I was nervous to spend the holiday with just our little family (I am used to millions of people around on Christmas) I decided that we would have the missionaries over for dinner. That way I would be able to cook a big meal (and not waste it all) and keep my mind off of being away from family! It worked. It gave me plenty to do all day and we had a great time. The meal was excellent and the missionaries, as always, brought a great spirit into our home.

Most of our day was spent lounging around, playing with our new toys. In fact, none of us even got dressed until right before the missionaries showed up for dinner at 6:00. It was a great day. I hope you all had a great Christmas too.

It's HERE!!!

2008-12-26T16:04:00.000-08:00

The anticipation for Christmas this year was more than I had ever imagined possible. All day Christmas eve, Ty was counting down until Daddy got home so that it would be almost Christmas day. We had a great Christmas Eve dinner at some friends' house, set out our doughnuts for the big guy and even got the kids to bed at a decent time. Thankfully, Ty let us sleep until around 7:00 before he couldn't stand it anymore. WE read Luke 2 in our bed and then ended up waking up Kelsie...I guess she didn't remember that it was CHRISTMAS!!!

In Rigby style, we hung the sheet to keep any sneaky eyes from seeing stuff they weren't supposed to. Dal explained to Tyson that the youngest family member gets to go into the Living Room first. He insisted that Kelsie was not the youngest and that he should go in first. It wasn't until he realized nobody was going to get to go in unless it was done that way, that he gave in.

Kelsie was just SO excited about the treats in her stocking that she couldn't have cared less about anything else...that was until we started opening presents. Her stocking treats were soon forgotten in a flurry of wrapping paper!

Dal was the present master this year. For some reason he REALLY likes to do that...does it have something to do with when he was growing up...a power thing? I don't know. He did a great job. We did it one at a time so that it would last as long as possible...still wasn't that long. I am going to have to get used to this small Christmas thing.

Note to self...the kids liked the presents from the dollar store AS MUCH IF NOT MORE than the more expensive gifts. Dal tries to remind me this every year, but for some reason I feel like I am jipping them if all the presents come from the Dollar Tree. This is going to have to be continued a little later...gotta run and make the house look like I have done something productive before Dal gets home from work. To be continued...

Ginger Bread House...Move Over!

2008-12-22T09:35:00.000-08:00

Making Ginger Bread Houses is a great Christmas tradition...just not one for me. I love the idea. What's not to love...eatible houses covered in frosting and candy...Yum! The trouble is the ginger bread. Have you ever tried working with that stuff? First, you have to have the perfect recipe. Then you have to cut your house pieces EXACTLY right. Then bake them the right amount of time to get the correct firmness. Then comes the fun part...trying to get the pieces to stand up and stay standing up with all the decorations on top. I guess I just don't have the patience or talent for it. The last time I tried, at Enrichment several years ago, my roof pieces didn't quite meet at the top. I decided it would be a sun roof. The sister teaching the class was appalled that I would leave it that way. What can I say...I am not a perfectionist.

My parents had the right idea. We made Christmas trains out of graham crackers when we were kids. Same idea...glue it all together with frosting and decorate with candy. You just didn't have to deal with ginger bread...that was the key. Yeah, we had a lot of broken crackers, but who cares...it's a broken cracker!

Fast forward to 2008 and my attempt at starting fun Christmas traditions for my kids. I decided that I would take any chance out of the equation. We made rice crispy treat houses. I would say they can't fail, but you just have to look at the pictures to see that the roof presents a bit of a challenge. My friend, Eimile, and I got together with our kids last week to make houses. We made the kids' houses first, so we learned from our mistakes. The roofs were a bit heavy to withstand all the frosting and candy and eventually became flat. I think a flat roof is perfectly acceptable. After all, the house I grew up in had a flat roof.

Kelsie couldn't care less that her roof was flat. In fact, the only reason there is even any frosting on her house is because I helped her put a knife-full on. The rest went straight into her mouth. I think she finally got a few pieces of candy on the top too...the ones she didn't like very much.

Tyson, on the other hand, really struggled when his roof came down. He kept saying, "It's not perfect...it's not good enough." I tried to explain that it was my fault the roof fell down, not his, but he wouldn't listen. Once again, we have been traumatized by a Christmas tradition gone bad (Letter to Santa didn't go too well last year). I think this one can be remedied next year though with a little more stable construction.

I cheated a bit with my house after seeing all the roofs collapse on the kids' houses. My roof had a little cardboard and a couple of chop sticks to help it maintin its shape. Anyway, the point is...rice crispy treats are the way to go. If you want it to keep it even simpler, buy the ones from the store and cut them into bricks for your house. They are the perfect consistency for building. And they taste way better than stale ginger bread. We used a combination of homemade and store bought on ours. I think we have found a new tradition for the Rigby family. We will never do anything but Rice Crispy houses from now on!

Merry Christmas from the Rigbys

2008-12-22T09:03:00.000-08:00

The Christmas Card Process went a lot smoother this year than last. We had one photo shoot and were able to get a decent picture. I am not sure if it is on-the-wall-for-the-next-four-years-quality, but it was cute enough for a card. And yes...it is still going on the wall so that Kelsie can finally be represented on the family wall in the living room.

I even got the cards sent out on time. Most of you reading this should have received it by now, but just in case something happened (freak act of nature, malicious post man, etc.) and you haven't received our card...here is the picture for all to enjoy!

We hope you all have a great Christmas and have fun over the holiday season. We miss seeing all of our friends and family, but love getting updates on what is happening in your lives. Merry Christmas!

We are still alive!

2008-12-22T08:11:00.000-08:00

OK...so by now, you have probably noticed that I am not a very consistent blogger. I promised myself when I started this blog, that I would not let it consume me and take over all my time. I think I have done a pretty good job of that...maybe a little too good of job! Sorry! We have been busy (like everyone else) and this just hasn't made the list of things to do until now. So, like usual, you may get several posts today (depending on how long I can put off working out this morning) and then who knows when the next post will be. I apologize, but that is just how it has to be.

So anyway, we went to Idaho Falls for Thanksgiving and two weddings...my brother, John and one of my roommates from BYU, Lindsay. Dal, of course, had to be back to work the week after the holiday, but the kids and I stayed for another week and a half. It was great fun. I think we ended up going to temple square three times while we were there. It's funny how we never seemed to make it there when we lived in Salt Lake, but this trip I couldn't seem to stay away. Thanks to Jen, we actually got some pictures.

The weddings were both great. We got to hang out with family and to make everything even better, it didn't ever get that cold. It was great. I was extrememly nervous to come home for several reasons. First, I knew I had to do all the things I had been putting off for weeks when I got home. Second, I had to drive home by myself with the kids. It was the first time...Dal wouldn't ever let me before. With a lot of prayers, the drive went PREFECTLY. The kids were gems and we made record time. It makes me think I can go visit whenever I want (Dal doesn't agree). The icing on the cake was that I made the trip for less than $45 in gas. Can't beat that. Too bad gas is going up again. Merry Christmas to us!

It was fun spending time with friends and family...sorry if we missed you. Now that I know I can drive by myself, though, I can come more often and get to visit everyone on the list. See ya all soon!

Happy Halloween

2008-11-02T18:42:00.000-08:00

Halloween has come and gone and we had a great time once again in the Rigby household.

Tyson was a knight in shining armor and Kelsie was a dragon so cute that no knight would even think of slaying her!

Kelsie staked herself out with her friend on the minature golf game at the ward activity and pigged out on candy. Luckily, Mackinsie didn't mind the fact that Kelsie was eating all the candy from her pumpkin!

Kelsie LOVES my friend, Becky. Dallan keeps asking if it makes me feel bad that she likes Becky more than me. I think it is great. I know my baby still loves me, but she loves to play with Becky. As Becky points out, she even says "Becky." OK...so it sounds more like Kee-Kee, but we know what she means. It was kind of funny today at church. Becky was home sick so when Kelsie went to sit with her (a weekly occurance), she was so sad not to see her there. In fact, she didn't believe her eyes and had to go back several times to make sure Becky still wasn't there.

Jack O Rigby

2008-11-02T16:38:00.000-08:00

I know you have all done it already and it looked a lot like this, but nonetheless, here is our pumpkin carving 2008 experience!

Dal and Ty bought the pumpkin (yes...at Food Maxx...we ran out of time!), Ty drew the face all by himeself, Daddy did the carving and Mommy (with minimal help from the kids) cleaned out the gunk!

Yes on 8!

2008-10-28T08:25:00.001-07:00

A New Princess

2008-10-26T21:06:00.000-07:00

My friends, Eimile and Shannon, threatened to give Kelsie dress up clothes for her birthday. They both have three girls each and the princess-ness of their houses always make me laugh. Well, they followed through on their threats and this was the result. All the other little girls were very helpful in showing us how it all worked and were so proud of the finished work!