Daddy

I consider myself a fun and adventurous person. In the picture above I was completing my undergraduate work at Utah State University and I traveled to Belize to do research. We visited Mayan ruins. It was awesome! You can sum me up in 6 Fs: Faith, Family, Freedom, Football, Food, and Friends.
 I am a Nurse. I enjoy being able to help people and have had many difficult but rewarding experiences, especially when I worked at Primary Children's Medical Center. I am currently going to school (online) to further my education and become a Nurse Practitioner.

 

And RUNNING! I love to run! It's more of a very slow jog :) I enjoy trying to improve myself.

Jenny and I will celebrate 12 years of marriage this year. She makes me smile and I love her more each day. She has the perfect personality blend of spunk and peacemaker. She is supportive of me and my goals and works hard at taking care of our family.

Blaine came to our family via adoption. He wants to be a scientist one day and it shows in his personality. He is so analytically minded. He asks a thousand "whys" in a day and wants to be involved in everything. He loves to tease (which he gets from me) and make friends. Blaine is always saying he wished I didn't have to go to work and that I could stay home to play all the time. I love Blaine and cannot imagine our family without him.

Eli is our biological son. He is 2 years younger than his brother. Eli has the biggest and most tender heart. He loves to help around the house. He is fiercely loyal to his brother and loves to cuddle and give hugs. He enjoys wrestling with Blaine and me. They came up with a name for our wrestling matches: "Karate Hotsauce". We play it on a regular basis. 

Mommy

I love being a wife and mom! When I was growing up all I ever wanted to do was be a mommy. I am so blessed to get to be home with my guys every day. It is definitely crazy and hectic at times but I wouldn't trade it for anything! Tyson, Blaine and Eli bring me so much joy. I just love them so much!!
I am currently going to school (online) to get a bachelors degree in Elementary Education. I hope to teach preschool from my home once I am done. One day I hope to write children's books and maybe even some fiction novels.

I love running! Tyson and I started running a few years ago and we are now addicted. I love running because it makes me feel strong. When my mind is telling me to stop and that I can't do it I am able to push through those thoughts and keep going. Tyson is usually home on Mondays so we are able to run together while Blaine is in Kindergarten and Eli is in preschool. It's so fun having a hobby that we both love and can do together. Blaine and Eli even talk about running and they are planning on running in some Kids K races this year.  Ü

Tyson is such a great husband and father! I am so blessed to have him as my Hubby! It's funny to see how different Tyson and I are, but how our personalities compliment each other. I am more shy when I meet new people, then once I get to know them I am outgoing but Tyson is very outgoing from the beginning and talks easily with new people. When we met Blaine's Birth Mom for the first time I was so nervous and shy that I barely said a word the whole time! Tyson had to carry the whole conversation. Luckily Blaine's Birth Mom was shy at first as well.  Ü

Blaine is such a fun boy to have in our family! He is always making goofy faces and trying to make everyone laugh. But he is also very sweet and considerate of others. I had an ectopic pregnancy a little over a year ago. I was devastated! It was a very difficult time for me and on top of being so sad about losing my baby, I'd also had to have surgery so I couldn't do much for a few weeks. Blaine was so sweet to me. He drew so many pictures for me and wrote "I ♥ U" on the pictures, then taped them on the wall so I could see them. Blaine is definitely a momma's boy. He makes me feel so special because he always wants to cuddle with me and gives me big hugs and kisses. I love it!

Eli is such a sweet little boy. He has such a cute smile with adorable little dimples! I would do almost anything to see those cute dimples. When Eli was a baby, he cried a lot! He was not a happy baby. But he has definitely made up for that now. He is always happy and is so quick to help out and obey. We rarely have to ask Eli to do something more than once. Eli knows me very well. He likes to bargain with "I will give you a hug and kiss..." whenever he wants something. How can I turn that down?!

Blaine

 

Blaine was born in June of 2007. He is such a crazy, happy, fun-loving boy. Blaine has so much energy and excitement for life. He loves making people laugh and makes friends everywhere we go. Blaine's little mind is so creative; it's fun seeing the things he comes up with.

 

 We adopted Blaine through LDS Family Services. Blaine has his Birth Mom's beautiful, big, blue eyes. We love having an open adoption with his Birth Mom! We get together every few months and text often. It's so great seeing the relationship Blaine has with his Birth Mom. When Blaine was little, although he didn't understand adoption, he knew his Birth Mom was special and that she loved him; he acted differently with her than with other adults. Now when we get together, Blaine loves to hold his Birth Mom's hand and to sit with her.

Blaine's Favorite Things

Color:  Orange, Black and Green
Toy:  Bow and Arrow
Animal:  Tiger and Kitties
Drink:  Orange Soda (he doesn't get it very often though)
Treat:  Taffy
Super Hero:  Spider Man and Ice Man
Holiday:  Halloween
Movie:  Despicable Me 2
Food:  Macaroni and Cheese
Book:  Frankie Pickle and the Closet of Doom by Eric Wight
Thing To Do:  Play with Legos and the WII.
Subject:  Science

Eli

 

Eli was born in May of 2009. He is the sweetest little boy and has such a tender heart. Eli is quiet and doesn't really like being the center of attention but he always looks out for others and is very kind. He loves to play with Legos, build secret hideouts, play Mario on the WII and play outside. Eli especially loves to play with Blaine.

Eli has been such a blessing in our family. It was such a surprise when we found out we were pregnant; we'd been told we would never get pregnant. Eli was a very difficult baby but is now such a happy boy. He has such an infectious laugh and silly sense of humor.

Eli's Favorite Things

Color:  Blue
Toy:  RC Monster Truck
Animal:  Clifford the Big Red Dog
Drink:  Chocolate Milk
Treat:  Chocolate Chip Cookies
Super Hero:  Buzz Lightyear
Holiday:  Halloween and Christmas
Movie:  Ninja Turtles
Food:  Ramen Noodles
Book:  Hot Rod Hamster by Cynthia Lord
Thing To Do:  Build Secret Hideouts
Subject:  Play Time

Zoe

  Zoe is our sweet kitty. She is a Siamese Lynx mix and is 7 1/2 years old. Shortly after we got her we moved in with my parents for a few months. We were there over Christmas. My parents had these hideous little, red birds on their Christmas tree. Every morning, we would wake up and find a bird with half of the feathers torn off on the floor in our bedroom. During the night, Zoe would climb the Christmas tree and pull down one of the ugly, little birds. We think she was doing the tree a favor! Ü

 
  Zoe doesn't have quite as much energy these days but she still loves playing with yarn. She loves it when Blaine and Eli run around the house dragging a piece of yarn. She'll chase after them and pounce on the yarn. Zoe also loves to cuddle, especially with Blaine.