These Four...

I'm pretty sure this is what the inside of my heart looks like.  :)

Screen Time

Less than 2 hours/day--"just five more minutes!"--your brain is a big ball of MUSH! Don't tip your head or it may dribble out your ear!--go outside and play!--can i play a game on your phone, mom?--can we watch a show on Netflix, Mom?--put the phone down, Josh--today we're not fighting it--Dad.  Daaaaad!--i hate my phone--Let me look that up...--"Mom, Micah's pushing the keys on the computer!"--we are taking a vacation from screen time today

Dad's Back Surgery

February 25 was the day of Dad's big back surgery.  He's been in pain for quite some time, and has been putting this major surgery off as long as possible.  But his pain finally got to be too much and he decided to follow through with fusing up to his ribcage.  Spinal stenosis.  What a pain.

I went down for the day of surgery, after dropping Micah off at Dianne's, Gracie off at school, and Joshy at preschool.  It was a very long surgery, so even getting there at 11 left several hours to wait.  Mom and I visited, went to lunch, visited, scoped out the gift shop, and visited some more while waiting for Dad.  When his bed finally rolled out of the recovery elevator, we knew it was him from his groggy bass song.  He was playing "name that tune" with the recovery nurses and was feeling QUITE fine.

The surgery was successful and Dad was a champ.  I took a selfie with him just to prove to him that I was there--just *in case* he didn't remember after he became fully awake.  :)  And then I thanked him for not croaking right before my birthday.  That would've stunk FOREVER.

Everyday Moments

Climbing, taking pictures with Mom's phone, and legos.  All in a good day off with BOYS.

President's Day OFF

Pebbles and Bam-Bam??

We headed back from the farm on Monday...

...and when I saw this in our bathroom at home I had to chuckle.  This is SO our life right now.  Who needs a fresh roll of paper?  A re-rolled works just fine.

And this is the steampunk lamp that my dad made me for my birthday!  I was HOPING for one, as Katie and Ben already had one of their own...but who's keeping track, anyway?

Its final resting spot...it looks so great in Micah's room!

Cousin Chad

Chad Crocker Ryle

February 26, 1992--February 13, 2015

During that birthday celebration, we got a call from Sheyanna.  They had just learned that Chad was found dead in his trailer.  They weren't sure at that moment what had caused his death, but in the next few days we would learn that he died of massive cardiac arrest.  This news rocked us to our very core, and I was so grateful to have everyone together when we got Sheyanna's phone call.

Chad was a chatter-box.  He was goofy.  He chose to do things his way, even if they didn't go so well.  Chad loved family.  He loved to laugh--loudly.  :)  He loved his mom, whom he lost at an early age, and he loved Jerry and Sheyanna (Auntie) who did their best to guide him along his rocky path.  He had great stories to tell.  He was my birthday buddy.

Jerry and Sheyanna's week was suddenly filled with making plans that they didn't want to have to make, and Jeff and I returned to Colton a week later for Chad's funeral where hundreds of family members and friends said their goodbyes.

Sheyanna did such a beautiful job on his obituary:

"You have to be odd to be number one.” - Dr Seuss 

“I'm not high strung enough to say I'm number 1, but I love how well this fits me.” - Chad Crocker Ryle 

Chad Crocker Ryle, 22, of Uniontown passed away unexpectedly of a massive cardiac arrest at his home on Friday, February 13, 2015. Rosary will be recited at 7:00 p.m. at St. Gall Catholic Church in Colton on Friday, February 20. Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday February 21 also at St. Gall’s. A reception will follow. Viewing will be held at the Rosary and one hour prior to Mass time at the Church. 

Chad was born on February 26, 1992 to Ronald W. “Chip” Ryle and Shayla-Marie Crocker in St. Maries, Idaho. When Chad was five, he along with his younger brother Erik Martin and his mother moved to Colton, Washington to be closer to her sister. He attended kindergarten at Colton and did his early elementary education at Guardian Angel St. Boniface Catholic School. His mother married Grant Mesa in 1999 and the family moved to the Boise-Eagle area. In November of 2000, his mother and step-father were killed in a car accident. This prompted Chad’s return to St. Maries where he lived with his father and attended Heyburn Elementary. Eventually, Chad’s desire to be closer to Colton, a place he always considered “home” lead to his return, where he lived with, and was raised by his aunt and uncle, Sheyanna & Jerry Weber. During that time he also maintained a relationship with his father Chip in St. Maries. The two families shared a mutual respect and dedication to raising Chad. He finished his primary education at Guardian Angel-St. Boniface Catholic School and then went on to Colton High School, graduating in 2010. Chad was a member of the Colton Knights of Columbus at the time of his death. 

After high school, Chad attended Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston for a year. He worked a variety of jobs and did spend six months working in the North Dakota oil fields. At the time of his death he was a delivery driver for Papa John’s pizza in Lewiston. He also worked part-time for Garlinghouse Memorials in Lewiston, setting headstones at area cemeteries. 

Chad was an incredibly bright and determined person. He was very loyal to his friends and would give them the shirt off of his back, sometimes to his own detriment. He had a huge heart and was not one to hold a grudge for long. He was genuine and caring and fought many obstacles in his life. He was truly an inspiration to those who knew and loved him. 

Just as Chad’s life events were unconventional, so was his family. Family is more than blood, and extends far beyond the traditional social definitions. He is survived by his father Ronald W. “Chip” Ryle and wife Suzy of St. Maries, his uncle Jerry & Sheyanna (Auntie) Weber of Colton, his grandparents Rozanne Ryle of Hayden, Idaho, Bill & Candy Crocker of Fernwood, ID, LeRoy & Trudy Weber of Colton; siblings Erik (Abby) Martin of Coeur d’Alene, ID, Shelby (Ken) Henderson Baum of Spokane, WA, Shalene Mesa of Pleasant Hill, Oregon, Levi Weber of Colton, Nathan (Lindsay) Weber of Pullman, and Sarah (Adam) Wood of Lake Stevens, WA and numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, extended family and friends. 

He was preceded in death by his mother, Shayla-Marie Crocker-Mesa and stepfather Grant Louis Mesa, his grandfather Ronald Ryle, and his uncle Tom Weber and uncle Bob Moore. 

Memorial contributions in Chad’s honor are suggested to the Guardian-Angel St. Boniface School or to Whitman County Humane Society. Kimball Funeral Home & Crematory has been entrusted with funeral arrangements.

The Lost Coin

Actually, it was the lost WEDDING BAND.  While at the farm, Jeff changed our van's oil and sanded/stained our ruler height chart for my birthday.  Upon finishing these activities, he noticed at the lunch table that his ring was missing!  We searched the shop high and low, and after several hours of searching we still hadn't found it.  Jeff was afraid that he may have wiped his hands with a paper towel, sending his ring in that towel into the shop's stove.  He poked around the logs and ash and didn't see it.  My dad was napping during all of this, and when he got up and came to stoke the fire in the shop stove we all sort of looked at him funny.  The ring may be in there!  He wasn't aware any of this was going on--he was asleep, people!  He and Jeff got to work with a screen and buckets and started sifting through the ash.  Nearing the last scoops from the bottom of the ash, Jeff's almost tossed the circle that looked yellowish--his ring was white gold.  But as he picked the ring up to inspect it, he noticed the slight shimmer...

My mom lost her wedding ring back in the day...and it was found in the last scoop of ash in our burn barrel.  So I guess we've learned...that gold is heavier than ash.  :)

In the meantime, I was supposed to go visit G'ma Trudy and Papa LeRoy and they were starting to wonder where I was, so they called and heard about the ring commotion that was going on.  They decided to come over instead of having me come to them--and they brought a Baskin Robbins' Valentines Day ice cream cake!

Something was wrong with Millie's cake...and I cannot remember what it was...

Later that night we celebrated my birthday with a monster-sized meatloaf and mashed potato dinner and delicious lemon cake with huckleberries and whipped cream.  Dee-eeee-licious!

I love that little Lauren sucks her middle fingers.

Micah loves the farm--but he especially loves the ceiling fans, the ficus tree grass, and the touch lamp!

Valentine's Day 2015

Cupid tripped over our kitchen table on the 14th--leaving all sorts of LOVEly treats for the Lochheads.  We were heading to the farm this weekend--after Gracie's basketball game--to celebrate my birthday early.  And it was nice that we had Monday off for Presidents' Day.  No rushing back on a Sunday night for school the next day.

Jeff's Adventures

Jeff usually loves the four seasons in Spokane.  But having a mild winter this year allowed him to ride from Post Falls to CDA on a snow make-up day...on February 13!  It got him thinking about moving to a warmer climate so this would be the norm...

What we are up to, these days...

Micah flushes toilets, unrolls toilet paper, and torments his mother

by going for the plunger when she's not looking.

Joshy takes pictures on Mommy's phone whenever he spots it lying around, without a chaperone.

He also plays well on his Mondays home from preschool,

and still spends quality time in front of the movie wall at the library.

Micah uses anything his height that moves as a walker,

and continues to think that the dishwasher is his jungle gym.

Joshy loves his legos.  (this one arrived from Yancey for Valentine's Day!)

And Gracie continues to lose teeth.

(EIGHT baby teeth gone, folks.)

Oh, and Micah is often seen tossing a baby doll into a stroller and driving her into a corner before asking for, "Hep! Hep!" to get the stroller turned around.

What a sweet life we live.

January/February Birthday Peeps

The Jan/Feb Birthday adults in our family decided to share a party this year--so here we are... Kevin, Jen, Ellie, and G'ma Dorothy.  (Micah was the birthday mascot).

Brooke, where are you going to go to college?

She's taking her talent to Whitworth, folks!!!  And Jeff and I feel like we've won the lottery...

Brooke and Brady came up for a college visit and went home having decided that Whitworth is the place for Brooke next year!  We celebrated by taking Brady out to dinner while Brooke bonded with WU soccer players overnight.

He said he wanted a lemon, so I obliged...  :)

...and Joshy is always up for a silly dare.

But there is NOTHING "bittersweet" about having our Brooke so close to us next year!!!  Pure lemonade!