All About the Heywoods

Disneyland in October

2009-11-04T20:29:00.000-08:00

We went to Disneyland as a family and we had so much fun! I will never forget this trip because the kids were so cute together and so kind to each other. Jacob would hold Kate's hand and they would walk and laugh together, and it was almost emotional to walk behind them and see them being good friends.

Highlights from our Summer

2009-10-13T23:37:00.000-07:00

We started off our summer with a trip to San Diego. We went to the beach, Sea World, and the San Diego Zoo. We loved San Diego, and had so much fun as a family in that beautiful place.

We also vacationed with family in Utah. It was wonderful to be together and go camping. I also got to go to my 20 year high school reunion, and that was actually so much fun!!!

Another highlight for Ryan and I was competing in our first triathlon. This was a sprint triathlon in Pleasanton, CA. Ryan later competed in an Olympic triathlon in Monterrey. What a fun experience, and certainly not our last!!

It's been way too long!

2009-10-13T21:55:00.001-07:00

I think it has been an entire year since I have updated my blog, and honestly, I couldn't remember my password or how to get in, but I figured it out! Life sure does seem to get busier year after year. Jacob is in 5th grade and Kate is in Kindergarten. Both are the loves of my life. I am busy with preschool as the owner of Little Learners Preschool and I have one employee, Tami Slayton. I am also serving in the Relief Society Presidency as the Education Counselor, a totally new experience for me. I am training to run in a half marathon next month. That's an update in a nutshell, and I'll give more later!

Our Trip to Lake Tahoe

2009-03-20T21:31:00.000-07:00

While the kids were off track, we were able to take a few days and enjoy the snow at Lake Tahoe. It was beautiful. Jacob and Kate learned to ski, we went sledding, and ice skating. It was so fun to enjoy the last bit of winter in such a scenic place.

Our Princess is Five!

2009-01-11T19:47:00.000-08:00

We had the world's fanciest party yesterday for Kate's 5th birthday! It was done by a woman from our ward, and she did an amazing job turning our home into a Princess Paradise! The girls got to wear beautiful princess costumes, rings, bracelts, and other jewelry, eat on real pink china with gold flatware, and crystal glasses! They got to put on real make up and glitter hair spray and enjoy all things fancy for the afternoon! Kate sat on the royal princess chair and each girl came up a royal carpet to curtsey before the princess! The girls were all in Kate's preschool class and had the time of their life dancing and twirling under a pink canopy! Kate was in heaven! We sure do love our princess and can't believe she is already five.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

2009-01-01T22:28:00.000-08:00

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2009-01-01T21:36:00.000-08:00

Here are some of our favorite Christmas 2008 pictures!

Happy Holidays!

2009-01-01T21:10:00.000-08:00

This year we did something we haven't done since Jake was a little boy in Houston, we went to Utah for Christmas! Honestly, packing up the car and driving in the snow was not bad at all! We had good weather, just put the backseat down in the van, told the kids not to peak, and we had a great trip! My favorite part of being "home" for the holidays was of course, being with family, but after that, it was playing in the snow! Monday before Christmas Alpine got the most perfect snow! We built a great big snowman and helped Devin make a big snow fort in the back yard. Later on, we went sledding and both Jake and Kate loved it! I had forgotten that if you are warm, snow can really be a lot of fun!

We spent Christmas Eve in Sandy with the Heywoods, and the Nativity was so cute with three angels, (Kate, Lindey, and Amy), and the big hit was Samuel the Lamanite, literally high on the city wall! Jacob was a wise man, which was perfect, because that kid just keeps getting smarter and smarter!

Christmas morning we were in Alpine, and had a wonderful time. Jacob got a iTouch and a big remote control car. Kate got her American Girl doll, and some super fun magnetic dress up dolls. Ryan and I enjoyed watching the kids, because isn't that the best part of Christmas anyway?!

It was a wonderful vacation, although I have to admit, it is nice to be back in California where it is a balmy 50 degrees!

We're Off Track!

2008-11-12T23:37:00.000-08:00

At George Kelly Elementary School we are on the Blue Track. This means that we have November, March, and July off from school. I was determined to stay busy, and boy have we ever! We've arranged lots of play dates to keep the kids from getting bored. Today Jacob and his friend Chris Maxfield made a box cart and pushed each other down the street. Kate and her friends Rachel Maxfield and Dallin Silcox had so much fun playing in the fall leaves! We are sure enjoying being able to play all day!

2008-11-05T14:48:00.000-08:00

October Memories

2008-10-30T15:49:00.000-07:00

We have had a very busy month of October! We started off the month with a quick weekend trip to Disneyland! We had probably our best time ever as a family. Jacob braved every ride and loved them all! His new favorite is the Grizzly River Run and the Mid-town Mania both in California Adventure. It was just a perfect weekend getaway.

The very next weekend, we took a last minute trip to Utah! And by last minute, I mean I had no idea we were making the 12 hour drive until a couple of hours before we left! Ryan decided we could make the drive Friday after preschool and school, and so we left and made it to Winnemucca, NV that night. We woke up to a snow storm and made it to Utah just in time for the BYU football game! We had a blast in the freezing temperatures, and enjoyed seeing our Cougars win a game inLavell Edwards Stadium. We visited with family and then took off Sunday morning to drive back home! Whew!!!

For me, I had another getaway the following weekend to NYC with my four sisters! This was an amazing trip! We got to do all of the things a girl would love to do in the big city! We made a big sign and made it on the Today Show in the morning, we saw Wicked on Broadway that evening, we shopped, we walked Central park, we stayed right in Times Square and saw the city at night, (amazing), we did sealings in the NYC temple, we went to the Museum of Modern Art, we rode the subways, and just had so much fun!!! I will never forget that trip with all of my sisters. It was wonderful!

So of all of the weekends in October, we have only had a couple at home. We enjoy being busy, but this might be a little extreme. Life sure has been interesting, and we are all healthy and happy.

Tomorrow is Halloween and Jacob is Indiana Jones, and Kate is a real Snow White bought at Disneyland, and they will both look amazing! We will then look forward to some quiet time at home, and a trip to Atlanta in November.

Kate the Jumper

2008-09-28T20:30:00.001-07:00

I just had to add this picture because it is so cute! Thanks to daddy for editing it!

On With Life

2008-09-28T17:50:00.000-07:00

I have been wallowing in self-pity for a long, long time. We were unsuccessful in our attempt to bring another little one into our family. This news was just about the hardest news I have ever had to bear. I still get teary eyed as I think about what was not to be. But, I am finally ready to get on with life. I have so many blessings. My children are healthy and happy. My husband loves me. I am a child of God. I know that He loves me and has a plan for me. Even though I do not know that plan, I will carry on and strive each day to remember my many blessings and strive to do my part to strengthen my family and build up the kingdom of God. I do have a wonderful life and so much to be thankful for. Three of my biggest blessings are Ryan, Jacob, and Kate.

Ryan: He was just made Director of Logistics for the Northwest Region!! He has been gone so much and working so hard. We are always glad when daddy comes home!

Jacob: A super smart 4th grade student. He has all A's on his mid-term. He has lots of homework and works hard every day. His favorite day is Saturday because BYU will most likely have a football game. Thanks to NCAA 2008 (the video game), Jacob has learned a lot about the game. He and Ryan went to a Cal Berkley football game Saturday, and when asked what play he would run in any situation, his answer was most always, "A Hail Mary". (of course!) Jacob also got some special time with dad on a last minute camping trip to Yosemite! They slept in the truck, hiked, and had a great time together.

Kate: A preschool pro. She attends preschool in three classes, although only one is her "official" class. She is such a smarty pants. Kate is also a leader in school. She climbed up to the top of the playhouse and saw a little boy in the neighboring yard without his pants. She then "sold" tickets to the "naked show" to all her friends! We are going to have to keep an eye on that girl! Kate also just finished a power tumbling class and did a wonderful job!

The Three Amigos

2008-08-02T17:07:00.001-07:00

We are now 10 days past fertilization of the embryos, and tomorrow will be a full week since embryo transfer. We are at the point that we could find out if Julie is pregnant if we bought a pregnancy test. However we are waiting to find out, like we have in other IVF cycles until we take our first blood test, which just happens to land on Julie's birthday. What a great present it will be, if we are pregnant!

2008-08-02T16:50:00.001-07:00

This summer has been absolutely great. We started off with a trip to the Wasatch Front for the fourth. We saw the family back at home and they are all doing well. We regretted not being able to spend more time with family, it went by too fast.
Here is summary of our trip:
We climbed Ensign peak, and unfurled our banners with the Heywood folks.
We went to Seven Peaks, and had fun in the hot Utah sun.
We played games with the family, with 5000 being the game of choice on this trip.
We had a Snowasis and played at the park.
We went to the zoo.
We went to a Bee's game and saw fireworks afterwords.
We saw the famous 4th of July parade in Provo.
And overall, we ate way too much food, and partied pretty hard.
When we got back to California we started our 4th In-Vitro Fertilization cycle. Julie now takes 6 pills and 6 shots a day. She has a constellation of evidence of the injections across her tummy. Like many professional baseball players and Tour de France athletes, she is getting tired of the injections. She promises, like many Californians, that her substance abuse is strictly for medicinal purposes, wink, wink.
One big day coming up will be next Wednesday July 23, for the TESE and egg retrieval. Julie has been carrying 9 follicles around lately, all carrying genetic information capsules known to most as eggs, 5 on one ovary and 4 on the other. Soon we will see the embryos fight through the miracle of life that is genetic recombination. When this is done, ICSI will be performed and we will need to rest and wait to see what happens. On Friday through Sunday, we will wait to see which embryos hang around for implantation. After this Julie will have her bed rest, (which is probably the only reason she wanted to go through all of this in the first place, a couple of days off). We could use prayers, and lots of them. We have our whole heart and soul in this effort, it is a very special time for us.Other less important stuff: Jake and I (Ryan) just got back from a 4 day trip through the Pacific Northwest. We flew to Portland on Tuesday, drove to Seattle on Wednesday, and flew back to Oakland today. It was a fun business trip. While I worked, Jake saw many movies, played games, and read books. He was bo – red. And now is ready to run and party back home here with his Mom and sister.Kate was unfortunately bit by our dog. Her perfect little cheek has an owee.We love you guys, and wish you were here to help us watch these little guys as we go through this procedure, fix us meals, etc. I’m kidding, we are getting by just fine. Jen and Sam have been a big help. We also want to thank Ruth in advance for coming to help us out. True to her name, wither we go, she will go likewise, and where we lodgest, she will lodge, our people will be her people, etc.

Water Fun

2008-05-26T08:13:00.000-07:00

We had a couple of 100 degree days in late May, and dad turned the sprinklers on to cool off Jacob and Kate. They had a blast running and sliding in the water! Bring on the heat (as long as there is water nearby, we'll be fine!

Go Red Sox!

2008-05-26T07:18:00.000-07:00

This year Jacob played on the Red Sox team in Minor B. He has played outfield, second base, and pitcher. We have two games left, and he has enjoyed every minute. Jacob loves baseball, and it has been so fun to watch him understand the game, and really have fun. Kate has made a few little friends on the sidelines and become quite a monkey on the bleachers. It's been a great season!

Happy Birthday Jacob!

2008-05-26T00:03:00.000-07:00

Jacob is 9! He is growing up so fast and we love him so much! Yesterday was Jacob's birthday and we began the day by opening presents after having slept outside in the tent (dad came in early, but Reggie made it all night long with mom, Jake, and Kate). Jacob invited a couple of friends to see the new Narnia movie "Prince Caspian". Then that evening, he invited a friend to the Oakland A's baseball game against the Red Sox. Jacob wore his Red Sox hat, and Kate wore Jacob's A's hat. The A's won the game, and we had so much fun! We would have been happy if the Red Sox had won too because that is Jacob's team this year. All in all, it was a wonderful day for a wonderful boy! We love you Jacob!

More Hawaii pictures

2008-04-30T21:30:00.000-07:00

Here are more pictures from the Polynesian Cultural Center and the temple.

We especially laugh at daddy on the raft!

Hawaii

2008-04-29T20:48:00.000-07:00

In March our family took a dream vacation to Hawaii! We had Ryan's frequent flyer miles to thank for the amazing vacation! (I knew all that travel last year had to be worth something!) We had to travel in two groups, so the girls left before the boys and arrived in Honolulu and rented a showy red mustang convertible! We picked the boys up at the airport and the fun began! We stayed at the Waikiki Banyan Resort on Oahu which had a kitchen and a great view of the beach from our window. We spent the first day playing at Waikiki beach, which was absolutely gorgeous and so much fun! The beach was not crowded at all, and boy did the kids love playing, swimming, and being in such a beautiful place. My favorite part about being at the beach was just watching the kids and not having to be anywhere or follow any schedule! What a way to relax after three months of preschool!

Our second day we went to Pearl Harbor, the temple, and the Polynesian Cultural Center. We weren't sure how much the kids would enjoy Pearl Harbor, but we all loved it! Jacob especially loved learning about the attack and the kind of torpedos used by the Japanese. It was fascinating to see the USS Arizona under the water from the memorial and even see the oil leak in the water. After seeing Pearl Harbor we spent the rest of the day at the PCC. We saw a Tongan man climb a palm tree and a man crack a cocout with his head! We loved the fire dancers and rode on a raft. Jacob jumped right into the water as the raft was nearing the dock! Kate looked so beautiful with the flowers in her hair. She and Jacob got tatoos and did the Haka too!

Next we went snorkeling at Hanama Bay, which was amazing! Ryan and I got to go out together and saw so many beautiful fish! We spent the whole day playing on the sand and snorkeling. Jacob even got to see some of the amazing fish under the sea. At the end of the day, we were lucky enough to see some whales in the distance! Thank goodness for an amazing camera!! We also saw a light house and some of the most beautiful scenery in the world!

Our next day we traveled to a resort called Ko Olina and spent the day on a private beach for touring some Mariott Time Shares, which some day we would love to own. The beach was one of our most favorite and it was just so beautiful. You know, we never did get tired of floating on the waves and playing in the sand. It was just so fun. Jacob especially wore himself out every single day swimming, and swimming, and swimming.

We did some shopping the following day at Aloha Stadium for some souvenirs, and Jacob had to be the winner of the best bargains! We gave the kids some money and he sure got the most for his buck. He was a good barterer (which he gets from his dad). Then of course, we headed for the beach back at Waikiki.

The next day we drove to the North Shore back to the temple and surrounding areas and found some very "local" beaches on the North Shore to enjoy. The waves were a little rough for my liking, but of course, Jacob loved them! This area was desereted and amazing!

Unfortunately, we couldn't stay on the island forever, the next day Kate and I drove Ryan and Jacob to the airport, then we got to spend the day at the beach and pool. Driving around Oahu was a nightmare for me, but we made it and were all able to safely arrive back home! It was definitely the vacation of a lifetime for me and something we will never forget!

Valentines Day

2008-03-01T00:55:00.000-08:00

Valentines Day began with a treasure hunt for dad, Jacob, and Kate. We all enjoyed chocolate dipped cookies this year for something different. Kate and Jacob had parties at school, and mom got to go to Jacob's class and help out. Lots of hugs, kisses, and treats were shared today! Happy Valentines Day 2008!

Basketball star

2008-03-01T00:29:00.000-08:00

Jacob finished a great basketball season on the Suns this year playing with the Tracy Boys and Girls Club. He played in a 6-8 year old division and that made him one of the tallest players on the team, and one of the most talented. He had a great year and scored points in every game! He was even one of the star players and learned a lot of pointers from playing outside with his dad. His good friend Zeke Page was also on the team, and that made the whole season a lot of fun for Jacob.

Fun in the snow!

2008-02-06T22:07:00.001-08:00

We took a quick trip up to Yuba to play in the snow. We borrowed nearly all of our snow gear and bought a simple sled on the way up. It was so fun to watch the rain change to snow and the temperature drop to freezing! Jacob and Kate were so excited to see snow! It was hard for Ryan and I to imagine our kids not really knowing how to play in the snow (being Utahans we thought our kids had that in their genes). We forget our kids are true warm weather people. Anyway, it was just so beautiful and more snow than Ryan and I had seen in a long, long time. We are definitely going to make this a family tradition.

2008-02-06T21:58:00.000-08:00

It is hard to believe Kate is already four! She is growing up so fast, and she is so much fun! She had a pink cake with sprinkles and looked so beautiful in the necklace her daddy gave her. What a princess!

New Puppy

2008-01-24T22:56:00.000-08:00

We have a new puppy! Reggie is a black and white Shi Tzu we got for Jacob for Christmas. He has been a little difficult to house train, but other than that, we all love him! I think he is a keeper, and that is coming from me, so he must be good!

Friends

2008-01-24T22:37:00.000-08:00

Jacob and Kate each have special friends. Jacob's best friend is Zeke Page. He was in Jacob's second grade class, but has switched schools for 3rd grade. We still get to see Zeke though, and Jake and Zeke are on the same basketball team this winter. These two boys are so much alike and love being together. Hopefully their friendship will last a long time.

Kate's best friend is Dallin Silcox. He is in Kate's class at school and church. They are very much alike too, both love to be in charge and you better watch out for these two in years to come! They are a hoot!

2008-01-17T22:18:00.000-08:00

January 2008 brought a big day for our princess! Kate is now four years old! For her birthday, we went as a family to Build a Bear Workshop. Kate picked out a darling puppy and named her "Cutie Pie". Jacob later convinced her to name the puppy Bella. Kate has a puppy at home named Cutie, and he thought it was just too much alike. We drove to Modesto and spent the afternoon shopping for bear (puppy) accessories and had lunch together as a family. On Kate's actual birthday, she chose to eat at Texas Roadhouse for the peanuts. We sure do love our princess!