The Tidwell Blog

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-08T19:24:00.018-07:00

Halloween was fun times around here! I love Halloween and this year was the first year that Ivan actually shared in the joy with me:) He was our master pumpkin carver this year. Ivan loves gutting them (because that means he gets to eat the seeds later), but Tyson wanted no part in it.

Carving with Daddy. Tyson thought it was fun to put the triangles back in the holes and have us pop them out over and over again:).

Tyson really did love the jack o' lantern, he was just mad that we were taking a picture because he couldn't look at it. Sorry bud.

Tyson was a lion for Halloween. If you asked him what he was being, he would say "lion and a tiger" because the whole week before I kept asking him which one he wanted to be, but he couldn't choose. So Ivan finally did. Tyson was pretty dang excited to go Trick or Treating. He mostly just loved his bucket. He did not let go of it all night, especially when it was filled with candy.

For the first round of trick-or-treating we went with Tyson's friend and our neighbor across the way, David. They have so much fun together. Tyson just loves David!

Tyson thought it was necessary to take the candy from the people and put it in his bucket himself.

For the second round of trick-or-treating we went over to Ivan's parents house. Tyson was pretty excited to go with them and kept saying how fun it was that we were going "all together!" The goods. The book is much more interesting apparently.

Tyson didn't want to wear the hood all night, but we had to get at least one picture with it, and this is what we got. The angry lion. The tradition continues (last year it was the angry elephant).

After some book reading, we finally got this one. Happy Halloween!

Happy Birthday to Me!

2011-11-04T17:18:00.018-06:00

I had the most AWESOME birthday this year! Ivan didn't get to take labor day off because of busy season, so he had a few days that he could take off. He used one on my birthday and we got to party all day! It was seriously so much fun. I could not have asked for a better birthday from my boys! We slept in (as long as Tyson would let us) and Ivan insisted that we have birthday donuts (because we weren't having cake that night) so he went and got us some donuts for breakfast. So yummy! Then we went to Bishops Pumpkin Farm. So fun!

We got to take a hay ride out to the patch and then we got to choose our own pumpkin. Tyson wanted to walk around the whole patch. He had a blast!

He found The One!

A fellow maternity ward patient:) Hopefully I don't get that big!

Petting the pony.

Brushing the goats

Feeding the goats.

We got to go on a little train ride around the whole farm. It was really fun. Tyson's breakdown when we were getting off will attest to that.

We went home and got some lunch and took Tyson over to Sister Wunderli's house so we could go on a little date. We went to Petroglyph. It is a ceramics place right down the street from our house. We painted a cake plate together.

Don't mess up Ivan!

We were pretty pleased with the finished product!

We stayed home for dinner and had lasagna. My favorite dinner and the one I always choose on my birthday. Then we finished it off with a delicious pumpkin pie milkshake. Seriously delicious! It was definitely one of those times that you wish it was your birthday every day of the year! So fun! Thank you for the wonderful day my boys!

More Oakland

2011-10-30T22:01:00.014-06:00

We got to go to Oakland to see our friends, Britta and Shay, and their little guy Cal. We are so happy we got to go! It was so fun to see them and catch up with them. They live right by the Oakland Temple in the cutest little apartment. So fun!

They took us up to this lookout point. It was so pretty! You could see the whole bay, the Golden Gate bridge, the Temple. It was the real deal. Awesome!

They took us up to a little train park. Tyson is in love with trains right now so he was pretty excited. It was a great ride. The train is steam powered and run by the most friendly people around.

The cute Brunson family!

Tyson was pretty broken up about getting off of the train, so we tried to cheer him up by taking a picture with the conductor, super nice guy by the way, but it didn't really work. He continued to cry for about 5 minutes.

After that, we went to a little animal farm where you can feed the animals and pet them. So we grabbed some lettuce and celery and headed up there. It was really fun!

Tyson was pretty dang nervous at first. He liked watching Ivan feed the animals, but wanted not part in it himself. Once he got over his initial nervousness though, he loved it!

Cal got pretty brave too!
Can I just say that cows have the longest tongues ever.

A piece of celery fell on the ground while Shay was feeding the cows and he kept trying to feed it to all the animals, but none of them would eat it. Apparently they get pretty picky when they are fed regularly. So finally he hid the celery in some lettuce and tricked a goat into eating it. Victory!

We went to this amazing crepe place for lunch and it was so good! It is so fun to go to the city and get to try the little mom and pop shops. They don't have many of those in Roseville. We also drove right past Occupy Berkeley. Ivan was pretty dang excited. He has been wanting to see an occupy movement for a while.

Thank you so much Britta and Shay! You guys are the best!

Stanford and Oakland

2011-10-30T21:02:00.013-06:00

On Thursday, October 20th, Ivan's mission president and his wife were in Oakland and they invited all the missionaries in the area to go down and have dinner with them. We jumped at the opportunity to see them and were super excited to go. The dinner was SO fun! It was great to see President Fotheringham and his wife and some of the elders that Ivan served with. Our camera died before we could get any pictures (so sad) so we are waiting to get them from the other guys. We decided to make a long weekend of it and we headed down to Stanford to stay with Heather and James and their boys Talmage and Everett. We got to tour the campus, which is gorgeous by the way, feed the ducks and go on an adventure. We had so much fun with them! Heather spoiled us. We had "cupcakes" for breakfast and received the royal treatment. Tyson was in toy heaven that's for sure! She had the most amazing white chocolate macadamia nut cookies I have ever had and Ivan loved the s'more bars. So yummy! We also got to see Heather's parents, which are old family friends of Ivan's family. They are such a blast!

At the top of Hoover Tower. It looked out over all of the campus. Gorgeous. We are so glad we got to see it!

A reproduction of the Burghers of Calais by Auguste Rodin.

In front of the Memorial Church on campus. It is beautiful!

They have a pretty awesome community park right in their backyard so we couldn't pass that up. The boys played on the toys, passed the football (and Ivan taught Talmage how to tackle, sorry Heather), kicked the soccer ball, and took a ride in a red wagon. Ivan pulled them around for probably about 20 minutes. They loved it! The only thing they couldn't decide on was which way to go. Tyson wanted to go backward and Talmage wanted to go forward. Decisions, decisions. So Ivan made the executive decision and they went sideways. So funny. Then they played a game where Ivan pulled them through the rope swing and the boys had to try to dodge it. They thought it was pretty funny. Tyson especially liked it when it hit his head. Sometimes we wonder about this kid:)

Ivan also taught Tyson to throw the bread at the ducks heads. He seems to have a knack for teaching kids naughty stuff:) He justifies it saying that he was aiming for their mouths, but we all know the truth. Tyson thought it was pretty funny though. He loved to see the ducks scramble after the bread. I wish I could see into this kids head because he thinks the wierdest things are so funny. Pretty sure he has the cutest laugh ever though so I don't mind!

The two boys throwing together. I love Talmage's face. Classic.

Talmage deep in thought about the ducks.

We went a little further down the road from the duck pond and found a little inlet of water. We went out on the dock and Tyson thought that the bird poop was rocks, so naturally he picked it up and threw it in the water. So gross. Talmage and his grandpa were causing an earthquake on the bridge and the boys thought it was pretty funny to hear their voices while they were bouncing. We also got to see some guys windsurf. It was pretty cool. Then the guy fell.
And Tyson crashed on the way out.

Thank you Wiggingtons for having us! You are Be-awesome! We had a blast!

Fairy Falls

2011-10-30T20:12:00.013-06:00

About a month ago, we went on a hike up to a waterfall just outside a town called Wheatland. It is by a lake called Camp Far West (random name for a lake, right?). It was really fun though. The train is nice enough that we could take the stroller on it for Tyson, even though he didn't ride in it much on the way up. We passed by a huge blackberry patch right along the path and decided we need to make it an annual hike and go right during blackberry season. We caught the tail end of it and got a few good ones. We are excited to get lots more next year!

Having fun on Daddy's shoulders

All of us at the top. Tyson was not very happy about taking pictures. He just wanted to throw the rocks.

And...throwing rocks

The waterfall was actually flowing pretty strong for that time of year, we were pretty impressed.

Near the bottom of the waterfall, we found this little pool to play in. It was really perfect for Tyson. So fun! Even though it was freezing.

Ivan said the current of the waterfall was perfect to swim against.

On our way down, we ran into a group of people who told us about a rope swing just past the parking lot, so we had to check that out. So glad we did! It was way fun!

And then Tyson's diaper exploded from playing in the water too long, which was probably a good thing because he was pretty worn out.

Splash Parks

2011-10-27T17:27:00.005-06:00

They have some really awesome splash parks here in the area. They are really fun! We got to go quite a bit over the summer. One is at the Fountains complex here in Roseville. They have a little train ride you can go on and the splash park and playground right by it. We went with our friends Crysta and her son Jacob. Tyson loved the train ride and then the boys went to play at the splash park. I am so bummed, but I can't find my pictures of it! So sad! I have some of other splash parks though. Tyson loves them! Especially when Daddy played with him!

Train Museum

2011-10-27T16:12:00.006-06:00

Over Labor Day we went down with my friend, Jenna, and her 2 boys, Weston and Benson, to the Train Museum in Sacramento. They were having Gold Rush days down there and the museum is free over the weekend. It was way fun. They deck out the streets with old-town decorations and hay and horse-drawn carriages. There were people dressed up in old John Wayne style clothes (some more appropriate than others). The boys loved the horses, eating lunch by the river and the candy store.

We briefly walked around the first 2 floors of the museum, but there was nothing brief about our stay on the 3rd floor, where the Thomas trains are.

This was Tyson's first encounter with trains and train tracks and he loves them!

Thanks Jenna, Weston, and Benson for coming with us!

Just a little side story, on our way out of the museum we went up to the mall to let the kids play at the play area and there was this little boy, about 2 years older than Tyson, that took a liking to Tyson. He climbed in the play boat with Tyson and carried on a conversation with him for 5 minutes. Tyson pretty much just stared at him, but the kid just kept on talking. It was so cute!

Nimbus Fish Hatchery

2011-10-12T23:09:00.008-06:00

About a month ago we got to go to the Nimbus Fish Hatchery here in Folsom. Apparently the best time to go is in October because that is when the salmon come to mate and jump and all that good stuff. So hopefully we get to post about that soon! It was pretty quiet when we went, but we had a lot of fun. We got to check the place out so we are more familiar with it when we go back. We got to explore the visitors center and watch the video about the harvesting they do. Outside, they have large tanks where the fish are kept and you can pay a nickel for a handful of food. This was definitely Tyson's favorite part. Whenever he threw a piece of food in, all the fish around it would jump to get it and Tyson thought it was the best thing in the world! He just laughed and laughed. It was so cute!

Tyson and Daddy in the sharks mouth!

Tyson pointing out something very important to us. Not quite sure what inspired the foot flip:)

I couldn't really catch his excitement on camera, but I promise he loved it!

Maidu Park

2011-10-12T22:49:00.008-06:00

We live really close to a park/school here in Roseville. I love it! We are there at least once a day, or so it feels like. Especially during the spring and the fall. I am just loving this fall weather by the way! During the Summer though, we could only handle it during the morning or at night. It was one of our favorite family activities to go to the park at night, where there was always a baseball or softball game going on, and watch. We would usually bring a frisbee, baseball or football with us too and play some catch.

This particular night, Tyson thought it was more fun to roll in the dirt. Love this kid!

Cheering on the softball players.

The game is much more interesting than taking a picture Mom.

"Going to work"

2011-10-06T22:57:00.006-06:00

Ivan has been riding his bike to work since around the beginning of the year and Tyson can't help but want to be like his Daddy and go to work. It's pretty dang cute when he puts on Ivan's helmet and declares that he is "going to work."

He usually comes back in when I remind him that he doesn't have any shoes on. But only long enough to put his shoes on:) Then he is right back to "going to work."

The odds will be even!

2011-10-06T22:34:00.007-06:00

In February of 2012 we will be welcoming into our home a little baby girl! We are super excited for this new adventure! Ivan feels much more at peace and prepared after hearing Sister Dalton's talk during the Sunday morning session of General Conference:) Things are going well and looking great with the baby. Tyson makes her feel loved with all of the tackling and wrestling he does with her, or rather, with her through me. He is such a little boy now and we am so excited to see him become a big brother!

I sure do LOVE these boys!

A Love Affair With Water

2011-08-28T18:27:00.007-06:00

Tyson loves everything and anything that is water. It is so cute! We take regular walk/runs around our apartment complex. We live next to the car wash station and there is often water running to the drain or water in puddles left from the sprinklers or whatever. Before I can stop him, Tyson is splashing in the water and clothes are wet. A couple times he has just plopped down right in the middle of the puddle. What can I do but laugh? Well I have failed to get pictures of this, but I do have some of normal water activities. We have had so much fun in the pool and running through the sprinklers this summer. We are so happy to have a pool in our complex. We have been able to go to the lake a few times this summer as well which was way fun. Thank heavens there is so much water around to cool down in!

In the turtle pool at his friend, Ryan's house.

Running through the sprinklers at Grandma's.

Playing in the watering can at Grandma's.In the swimming pool with Mom and Dad.

California State Fair

2011-08-09T08:57:00.010-06:00

A couple weeks ago, Ivan got off work an hour early so we could head out to the State Fair! Ivan has fun memories from going when he was younger and Tyson and I have never been so we thought it would be fun to go. Well we were right! It was still pretty warm when we first got there so we went around to the vendors (that is one of Ivan's favorite parts, although I don't get why because he hates shopping. He must like window shopping:)) and then we went around to see the animals.

We saw cows, sheep, pigs, which had just had baby piglets and they were cute:), chickens, goats, horses, bunnies, roosters, ponies, and some other animals I can't remember. Tyson loved looking at all the animals. He got to pet a few of them and feed the cows. He thought that was "so cool!" It was really hard to get pictures though because of the gates and stuff so that is why they are really far away.

There was a corn box in the kids area and Tyson loved playing in it. He was pretty mad when that girl stole the bucket from him, but otherwise it was a great time!

For some reason, Tyson thought it was hilarious to stick our heads through the hole. So cute!

Making music with Daddy on the farm instruments.
Tyson and a really weird-looking chicken.
They had an area with a bunch of fish tanks and all sorts of fish, turtles, and crawdads. Tyson was a little scared to touch the fish, but he held a turtle. It was the highlight of the fair for him. He told grandma all about it.
Tyson loved the golden bears at the entrance of the fair grounds. Don't ask me why, but we had to get a picture with the bear.

We got a ticket for buy one get one free admission into the fair and then we found free parking so overall it was $12 to get in instead of $34. We were pretty excited. We had some good food, one amazing cinnamon roll and 6 fun filled hours together as a family. We were all exhausted by the end. While walking back to the car, we saw fireworks as well and Tyson absolutely loved them!

Foodfight!

2011-06-11T15:42:00.008-06:00

Over memorial day weekend, Ivan and I invited a few families in our ward and the sister missionaries over to have a food fight. Ivan's family used to have them on Memorial day, but they haven't had one since we got married. I guess due to the fact that all the kids had moved away, but still unacceptable. So naturally, I have been bugging them for the 3 1/2 years of our marriage to have one. Well, Ivan and I decided to take matters into our own hands and plan one. We did it at Ivan's parents house (thanks again Donna and Mike!) and it was a BLAST!

The Ammo: mashed potatoes, oatmeal, pudding, applesauce, yogurt, mayo, cottage cheese.

BeforeIvan wanted to do a war tribute, so we stood on the front line while Mike commanded the shots. This didn't last long...
And the real battle begins. We thought the kids would love it, I mean, they get to throw food! But when we started throwing, all the kids started screaming. It was funny and sad at the same time.
The damage. It was everything I had hoped for and more. Totally recommend it!Our dirty family! Tyson was not very happy. Neither was the lawn. Pretty sure there is still molding food on their lawn a week and a half later. Fertilizer right?

Tyson Tidwell is TWO!

2011-03-13T16:17:00.008-06:00

On February 24, 2011 our little boy turned 2! We just can't believe it! What an adventurous 2 years it has been. On his birthday we played lots, went on a long walk to the park and threw the rocks (his favorite thing to do), and ate some good food. I usually have class on Thursday nights, but my class happened to be canceled:) So we got to have some fun that night and we opened his gift from my parents.

A Buzz Lightyear tike bike!

On Saturday we had the real celebration. We started the day off with the BYU vs. SDSU game and the Cougs won! A good omen. Then we got some balloons and went to Petsmart to let Tyson look at the animals. After his nap, he went on a walk with Ivan while I finished up dinner and then the festivities began. Ivan's family came over and we had an awesome Taco Salad (a humble brag!), a baseball piñata and a baseball cake with some homemade ice cream, YUM! Tyson LOVED the baseball piñata! He loves baseball and hitting the ball so we thought it would be fun and it was! He wore himself out swinging at it (video coming soon...)

The Birthday cake in all of its glory

Tyson blowing out the candles

No hesitation.

Grandpa reading one of his birthday books to him (thanks Hil and Eric!)

Pumpkin Patch

2010-11-24T19:01:00.008-07:00

The week before Halloween we went to a pumpkin patch. I don't know if you have ever done that before or anything but apparently people tend to like to do that. Like my wife, she loves pumpkins and pumpkin patches. My "pumpkin" loves pumpkins. (wow I am good) So we took Tyson and went to this sweet pumpkin patch.

"Yeah Dad...This is the one!"

Tyson got in the wagon and loved it. Until he fell out.

Tyson would not let go of the pumpkin...we had to buy it.

Me and the most beautiful pumpkin I saw at the patch.

Pumpkins and 'Mater the truck!

You can't see it but this is Tyson and I on the tractor pulled hay ride. It was awesome.

Halloween!

2010-11-24T18:42:00.006-07:00

I am so bad at Halloween! I think it is such a fun holiday and this time of year brings about many of my "favorite things" in life, but I always seem to be caught off guard and utterly unprepared when it comes around! I was, at the last minute of course, trying to throw a costume together for Tyson when our good friends, the Tanners, let us borrow one of their old costumes. Lifesavers! So Tyson was an elephant. And a dang cute one at that!

Sometimes a mad one.

We had a blast painting pumpkins (I thought Tyson would do better with that) and roasting the seeds of course. And on Saturday night we went to the ward trunk or treat. Dinner and dessert were great, but Tyson wasn't. The poor kid was a little overwhelmed by the huge crowd, so we didn't get to stay for the actual trunk or treat. But we did have one success of the night, I won the award for best pie! It was really exciting, because I totally didn't expect it and because I have never one anything like that before.

Brush and hand, of course.

"Good Things to Come"

2010-11-16T23:03:00.003-07:00

At this time of life, with so much uncertainty and so many decisions to make, it is such a blessing to have living prophets who remind us and encourage us to have faith. I saw this message today, and it just struck me. Maybe because of all the car problems Ivan and I always seem to have, but I think it was something more too.
What great things we have to look forward to if we just endure to the end and bear our burdens well. And how comforting to know that those who went before us struggled with many of the same hardships in life that we do. One of the tender mercies I have received from the Lord today.

Amen!

2010-11-15T21:46:00.003-07:00

Let me paint a picture for you. We are sitting in church the other day, on fast Sunday, and the last person gets up to bear their testimony. It has been a fairly calm and uneventful sacrament meeting (a good thing). Tyson is sitting on my lap looking at a book when the last person to bear their testimony said "amen" to end their testimony. Something this guy said must have struck Tyson because a very passionate and loud "Amen" came out of his mouth. Everyone's heads and eyes turn our way. All we could do was laugh!

A Day in the Life of Tyson Tidwell

2010-11-15T21:16:00.003-07:00

-Wake up. Eat oatmeal and maybe a banana.
-Kick the ball down the stairs (Tyson could do this all day if I would let him).
-Play outside. He loves hitting the baseball off his tee but even more he loves to pitch the ball to me and let me hit. When he hits the ball off the tee, he runs in a circle and yells "run the bases, run the bases." So cute!
-Play with toys.
-Snack and lunch somewhere in the mix.
-Read books and nap time.
-Go to the park.
-Go on walks around the block where Tyson proceeds to point out every rock, tree, fire hydrant, "pretty flower," and car that goes "vroom vroom." He also says hi to everyone we see and then says "I sweet" after because I tell him he is sweet when he says hi to people. I think he has memorized where all of the basketball hoops in the neighborhood are because he never misses pointing one out. He also reminds me of where we saw the "peatocks" a couple weeks ago. He kicks the leaves as we go and loves when I lift him up to touch the leaves. He can recognize an airplane from the sound it makes and stops every time one flies over. He pauses whenever the wind blows and says "wiiinnnd." And every few houses he runs up and down the driveways a few times. But his favorite thing of all is to look up in the sky and see the moon. I don't know why, but Tyson has an obsession with the moon. Anytime we color I have to "make a moon" for him. So, on our walks, every few minutes he stops to find the moon. Ya, it takes about a half an hour to walk around the block with Tyson, but I love it.
-Play some more.
-Dinner, after which he always requests a bath.
-Bedtime routine, during which he gets toothbrush and toothpaste and he loves it.

I just had to write this down so I can remember it in 20 years.

GIANTS WIN THE SERIES BABY!

2010-11-01T21:47:00.006-06:00

Growing up in a small northern California suburb, many years you don't have a lot to cheer about. The Kings have had their up years but never really cracked into Championship status. The 49ers had their days but last time they won was 1994, Steve Young was the quarterback and I wasn't even 9 yet. I guess you could go watch the Sacramento Rivercats but they are triple A baseball team I don't think they even have championships. So I am just saying, cheering for sports isn't always easy around here....

THOSE DAYS ARE GONE!!! After 16 years with none of the teams of my youth winning the Giants came through! THE GIANTS WON THE WORLD SERIES! Katie and I have been following the Giants all year through the ups and downs. They barely made it into the playoffs but breezed through them to get their first World Series championship in 56 years.

Some of our friends decided at church to watch the game together on Monday night. We got together with the Dressers, the Porters, and the Haneys to root on the Giants! The Freak, aka Big time timmy jim, aka Tim Lincecum threw a gem and Edgar Renteria hit a three run blast to win the game. We were going crazy. Here are some pictures of the post game celebration.

Chris Porter, Mike Dresser, Yours Truly, Adam, Evan and Braden Haney

Megan, Maciel, Marlene, and Yours Beautifully

Katie and the monsters!

Fun night. Good food. Great Friends. GIANTS WIN THE WORLD SERIES BABY!

Family Pics

2010-10-17T22:26:00.014-06:00

While we were in Montana at my family's cabin, we had my sister take a few family pictures for us. She is taking some photography classes at SLCC and we were more than willing to be guinea pigs. It was super fun and such a beautiful setting. Thanks Shauna!

Oh, and I know I have caused some question as to the color of my hair so here is the story. I am a natural blond, but I went dark right before we moved to California. My sister does hair so I have gone dark a couple times before, once in high school and then again my freshmen year of college (Ivan and I actually met when I was dark and he didn't believe me when I told him I was a natural blond). I thought that our move would be a fun time to do it again! We will see how long it lasts! haha.

Mommy sandwich. I get that a lot.

What a Stud.
I think my curse in life is having a child that doesn't smile in pictures.
Ok. I know what you are thinking. He is only smiling cause it is candid. Lucky shot.

Catching up: Camping Trips #2

2010-10-06T22:06:00.005-06:00

One of the last weekends before we left we went camping with our good friends, the Bonds. We went to Utah Lake again and had a blast. We spent the night around the campfire talking and roasting s'mores. We followed it up the next morning with some time at the lake.

The cutest and dirtiest face ever. Love this kid.

Playing at the lake again.

Catching up: Camping Trips

2010-10-06T21:15:00.009-06:00

As a family we went camping over the 24th of July to the Utah lake campground. We originally wanted to go up the canyon, but all the places were full so we went down by the lake. It ended up being a really fun campground and we got to go over and play in the lake the next morning so it was great. Tyson discovered fire, which he thinks is awesome, and once again, couldn't get enough of the dirt.

Tyson and Daddy making dinner.

Playing by the water while dinner was cooking.
Throwing rocks in the lake Saturday morning.
Tyson and Daddy playing in the water.

When we got home, there was a celebration at the park across from our apartment so we decided to stop by for a little bit.

Probably the closest we will ever get to a Rolls Royce.
Tyson watching the Ducks.
Now if that's not the cutest wanted face ever I don't know what is.

Catching up: Cabin Trip

2010-10-06T20:30:00.009-06:00

Every summer my family takes a trip up to our cabin in Montana. It is pretty much my favorite place on earth. So this year, because Ivan wasn't working then, we got to go up for a whole week was just awesome! We were up there from August 13-20. We got a few days with just my parents and us which was so nice because it was right before we moved to Cali. We spend the week hiking, biking, skiing, playing, roasting s'mores, shooting, doing our family triathlon and just enjoying the beautiful country up there. I love it! And Tyson loved it that's for sure. We didn't even try to keep him clean. It would have required baths every few hours. This kid could play in the dirt all day long if we let him.

Ivan relaxing our first night there.
Tyson playing at the beach.
Us girls braving the cold water.
All of Tyson's cousins that were up there. And Tyson is actually smiling for the camera! Yay!
The girls out for girls night!
The guys working on the cabin. So handsome.

Catching up: the Fourth of July

2010-10-06T20:18:00.003-06:00

I know people. This is pretty pathetic, but we have to catch up. So for the 4th of July we went to Idaho because my nephew Noah was getting baptized. It was a great baptism and super fun to be with the fam. While we were up there we got to go to fireworks, which was way fun. Quick story. While we were walking to the place where we were going to watch the fireworks, right in front of us this fight breaks out. Ivan turned into papa bear and made sure Tyson and I were right by him. It was pretty crazy. Oh and the guys girlfriends broke it up of course.

Family picture at fireworks.

Tyson walking home with Grandpa after the baptism. I just love this picture.

2010-09-30T16:53:00.003-06:00

This morning I was leaving to class. I enjoy my class but it is always to hard to leave Ty. I was on my way out and gave the little guy a hug and said bye, when he replied with "Bye Bye" and then reached his little hands up and said "tisses" (kisses in Tyson language). My heart just melted right there. I bent down and got a big, wet kiss from my sweet boy. Oh how I love this little guy!

Suggestions would be great!

2010-09-12T17:38:00.002-06:00

So, our blog needs a desperate face lift. I have been searching desperately for a new blog template because the one we have now is just not working for me. And I cannot find anything that I like that is also free. If any of you blogger savvy friends out there have any recommendations, I am happy to take them! In other words...I need help people! Thanks a million!

Katie

We are Here!

2010-09-09T23:41:00.002-06:00

We successfully made it to California! We packed up on Thursday, Aug. 26 and left early Friday morning. After 12 hours in the car, we made it to the Tidwell's house and neatly fit all of our earthly belongings into a third of their garage. Tyson did remarkable well on the car ride. There was a very minimal amount of crying and a few yelling outbursts, but other than that just a content little boy. Ivan's mom came out to help us with the move, which she did. No questions asked. She drove our car so I could sit in the back with Tyson and keep him entertained. So nice! Ivan drove the truck. What a stud! We are doing great! We are all settled in and keeping busy with life! More updates to come...

Yogurt Time!

2010-08-04T21:26:00.006-06:00

Tyson's first experience feeding himself with a spoon. This is how it all went down...

Dad: Here, let me help you.

Tyson: I can do it myself Dad.

Tyson: The 2 spoons aren't working, so...

I'll just use my hand. Much better.

I do have to say the yogurt mustache looks good on Tyson though.

Mommy's little Helper

2010-08-04T21:15:00.005-06:00

Tyson loves to help in the kitchen. Anytime I am making anything, even doing the dishes, he pushes me away from the counter until I offer to let him help. It makes for a much longer time, but a much more enjoyable time. I just love this kid!

Most the time, he just ends up eating whatever I am making or the ingredients of what I am making. Like Father like son.

Back to Memorial Day! (Part II)

2010-08-03T09:35:00.012-06:00

Okay so Washington was the weekend of Memorial Day. We got back on Sunday and were actually back in Bountiful for Monday, which happened to be Memorial Day. So we hung out with the family and did some fun stuff. Like hiking Ensign Peak. Never done it before.
This is Pops Sheffield, Aunts Rachel, Mary Jane, Shauna, Tyson and yours truly.

Here is a picture of Tyson Hiking!

And here is Tyson getting distracted while hiking!

And here is Tyson hiking after getting distracted a lot!

Well we eventually made it to the top! And we had a really good time. We also got a chance to go the coolest grave yard in the Salt Lake Valley. It is where all the prophets were buried. Tyson got to see his Great great great great grandfather John Taylor. We also stopped by to say hi to J. Golden Kimball. Pretty fun!

P.S. formatting pictures is a waste of time.

Back to Memorial Day!

2010-07-31T16:10:00.008-06:00

I think there has been like 8 holidays in between now and Memorial Day. But there has been like 8 holidays in between now and the last time we blogged. For both of our faithful readers...I sincerely apologize. If we have more than two faithful readers....I sincerely apologize again. Okay here we go.Last summer I was flying between California and Flordia and volunteered to give up my seat. I was given over $500 in vouchers to use. (Lesson learned: Always give up your seat if you have the option.) Anyway we decided to go out to Washington to see Katie's sister.

We hopped on a plane early on May 27th and flew into Seattle, WA. Here is Tyson and his bellybutton on the airplane:Katie and I had never been in Washington before. I have heard good things. I had heard bad things...like it rains all the time. And guess what, everything you hear about Washington is 100% correct. It was green, there are lots of trees, and it rains all the time. It rained everyday we were there. But that didn't stop us. We decided to head out, throw Tyson in a backpack and go enjoy a hike in Washington. This is what Tyson thought about that:"What the heck dad???"

We had a really good time. It was really pretty. There were waterfalls and nice tree cover and all. Here is my beautiful wife and my nephew, Bronson and niece Clara.
The hike was pretty sweet. Not gonna lie. Then we went home and hung out at the house. It was pretty fun. Bronson and I grilled for the family:We were having a great time. Don't ask me about the pliers Bronson is holding while we were cooking hamburgers. Again, we were having a great time. Overall it was awesome trip. It was good to hang out with our nephews and niece and sister.

Tyson got to go in a bounce house for the first time. I think the trip was an overall success.

Update Ur Blog!

2010-07-25T20:44:00.002-06:00

When best friends threaten you with pictures like this...you know you need to update your blog more often....more to come....been a busy summer....
(This picture has not been altered by the author!)

HE'S GRADUATED!!!

2010-04-27T22:03:00.009-06:00

This is the face of Ivan Tidwell coming home, victoriously, from taking his last final at BYU. Pretty unbelievable.

What a momentous day. After 5 grueling years, Ivan has graduated with his Master of Accountancy from BYU. He is pretty amazing if you ask me. And pretty relieved. Well, for the time being at least. We will see if grad school comes or not. But for now, we are celebrating! Graduation was on Fri. at 5:00 p.m. in the Marriott Center. It was a great meeting. Great in quality and length. There were a lot of graduates. After Ivan walked, he snuck away from his chair to come sit with us. I guess that Tyson got pretty excited about it and he tripped and cut his head open on one of the chairs. Happy Graduation Ivan! Tyson never ceases to make our life interesting. Well, we took him to the medical room at the Marriott Center and she bandaged it up and he was back to the races. This kid never stops.

Ivan with his mom. She came out for the festivities and Hilary joined us at our house after.

Everyone from my family that came.
Our little family. Tyson with his little band aid. Scratch that, HUGE band aid.

Rach, I just can't figure our which one of us was more crazy?! They must have had a scheme planned from the beginning.

Afterward, we went back to our house for some pizza and ice cream. It was so great to have family with us. I got Ivan this picture for his graduation present. It took place of the family picture the moment he saw it. I think he liked it. He also got a book and a new electric razor. Thanks guys!

Congrats babe! I am so proud of you! You are AMAZING!

funny pics

2010-04-06T14:33:00.002-06:00

So, one of my favorite things to do is take goofy pictures. You know, the ones where you make funny faces for a few minutes and take as many pictures as you can. Well, me and my sisters did this all the time and you come up with some of the most hilarious pictures. I made Ivan do it with me the other day and I just had to post some of the best ones.

We were trying to make our faces as small as they would go.
Making our faces as big as they would go.
No explanation needed here.

A semi cute one.

I just have to say that I think my funny faces are much better than Ivan's! haha. I will have to get him to practice or something.

Cute Stuff, really

2010-03-31T13:32:00.005-06:00

Lately I have been kind of obsessed with the shirts and sweaters with flowers on them. I think they are so cute! I saw a girl in my class making these cloth button things and I got an idea. So I decided to make my own flowers to just pin on my shirts and sweaters. This is my first set, but I am going to get some more fabric to make more. I know someone more creative out there has thought of this, but i am really excited!

Ivan Tidwell...Where Amazing Happens

2010-03-31T13:06:00.007-06:00

Us with the cake Hillary made.

Well, I have to admit that I am pretty embarrassed that Ivan got a post in before I could post about his birthday. It is not any indication of how much I love him though. His birthday was on the 23rd and he turned 25! The Sunday before, we had Ivan's sisters over for dinner where Ivan broke out the grill. Then we had some cake and Ice cream and played a game. It was so fun to have them over and enjoy seeing them. Tuesday wasn't the most eventful day, probably my fault, but it was still wonderful. Ivan had 2 tests that week, so he didn't have a ton of time to celebrate, but that night we had a nice dinner and some cake provided by Ivan's sister Hillary. It was delicious! Me and Tyson sang to him and we all took a little time to celebrate together. Me and Tyson gave Ivan the first member of his electric tool set, a drill. We have started a new beginning here folks. Now the trick is getting him to use it. I just have to say that I am married to the most wonderful man. I love him so much and am so lucky to have him. Love you Ives!

Ivan doing the Tool Man grunt.

GOOOOOOLLLLLLLL!!!!!!

2010-03-30T22:40:00.003-06:00

No, I did not misspell GOAL. It just is goal in Spanish. Anyway, Katie was the MVP of our intramural game tonight! She had four of our teams 8 points! It was a 8-0 shut out! I, on the other hand, got rocked by a girl! I had the ball and she came over and stole the ball from me and smacked me in the face with the back of her hand! It was one of those shots to the face where you think your nose is broken.....but no worries for all of you who were concerned.....it is not broken! But Katie is awesome! And she is pretty darn cute when she plays soccer.

And I must add, I assisted one of her goals today. It was a pretty sick pass if I don't say so myself.

I couldn't resist

2010-03-23T22:32:00.003-06:00

Whenever we go shopping, Ivan tries to sneak away and play the display/tester thing video games in the electronics department. I usually just laugh, maybe roll my eyes, and proceed shopping. He eventually runs and catches up with me. But, the other day we were at Wal Mart and he runs off of course and I just could not resist this picture.
Yep, the only two people fighting to play the video games were a ten year old kid and my husband. For the love. I just don't understand the fascination. Maybe he has to get in all the practice in that he can because we don't have one at home? Maybe he is just a guy? Or maybe he is just Ivan. I can't help but love him.

Crazy Boys

2010-03-23T22:02:00.005-06:00

Every day I realize, more and more, what a ride I am in for with these two boys. There is constant craziness when they are together, which is a result of Ivan being a little kid in a big kid body. But sometimes, it is just so dang cute that I can't help but love it! Ivan loves basketball, and as a result of that, Tyson probably has about 5 basketballs of his own. But, he usually prefers Ivan's over his own. Ivan always spins the basketball on his finger (which is impossible for me do) and Tyson just LOVES it! Every time Ivan starts doing it, he runs over and sticks out his little finger to do it himself. It is just the cutest thing!
Another result of Ivan loving basketball is Tyson loving it too. Grandma Tidwell came down a few weeks ago and we had tons of fun seeing her. She got Tyson his birthday gift, which was a Little Tikes basketball hoop. I don't know who was more excited, Ivan or Tyson. When we first played with it, Tyson would not shoot the ball. He screamed when we put him up to the hoop because he didn't want to let go of the ball. Apparently it was going to disappear into the white void called the net. Hilarious. But, he has realized the net won't eat the ball and stands by the hoop with the ball in his hands until we pick him up and help him shoot. He then proceeds to clap for himself before picking the ball up again. I am pretty sure these 2 boys could play all day long if they had the choice. Oh man, I just love these boys!

He just couldn't let go.
The beloved ball.

1 year stats

2010-02-25T22:09:00.003-07:00

Today we had Tyson's doctor appt. Everything is looking good and he is developing great. He did get a few shots, which he didn't like, but he handled it like a champ. He is 31 in. tall and in the 75% , 20 lbs. 12 oz. and in the 25%, and in the 75% for his head. Something interesting; he has actually dropped just a few ounces in weight from his 9 mo. appt. Weird. I definitely wasn't expecting that, but the doctor said that everything is fine and to not worry about it. He did really well at the doctor today. Usually he hates it and cries even when they listen to his breathing, but I was pleasantly surprised when he did so well. I think he likes it a lot more now that he can walk around and play with all the toys. The world of food has now opened up to Tyson. He can eat anything now! Well, anything mom will let him eat. Enjoy little man!

31 inches tall, 20 lbs. 12 oz, BIG Brain...USC just offered him a scholarship! Heisman Watch 2031!

Tyson is 1!

2010-02-25T17:15:00.008-07:00

We just can't believe that one year ago little Tyson joined our family. Time has gone by faster than we ever thought. We are so grateful that he came into our lives and we couldn't love him more. He is just the cutest little guy ever and never ceases to make us smile. We had a great day yesterday. We played lots, read some books together, and made Tyson's cake. He couldn't really help me with that, but he got to play while I did it. We had a little party for him last night and it was so much fun. Some of his friends came over to celebrate with him and we were so glad to have them over. When his piece of cake was put in front of him, it was very anti-climactic. We were definitely expecting him to dig right in, but he poked and prodded at it for a few minutes before he finally picked it up and shoved it in his mouth. And all over his little body. Once he started though, there was no stopping him. He was even grabbing for the crumbs when I tried to take him out of his seat. Then we opened presents. He needed a little help with that part. He is a loved and spoiled little boy. He loves all of his gifts, especially the balloons. He was just going crazy with them! It was so funny. After all we do, a balloon does the trick. Needless to say, it was a happening time! We love you Ty Ty! Happy Birthday!

Tyson and his friends, Tyler, Corbin, and Makenzie. Such cute kids!
Balloons, balloons, balloons!

Randomness

2010-02-16T19:49:00.007-07:00

Tyson is officially walking! It was crazy. About 3 or so weeks ago, he just decided he could walk. He had taken a few steps here and there and was walking between furniture, then one day, he took off and has not turned back since. He is so fun to watch and getting so good at it. We have realized that much more trouble comes with the growing age and abilities though. I have really been thinking about what is the best way to teach and discipline Tyson. He is the cutest thing ever and I couldn't love him more, but he is also a pill sometimes (hopefully I am not the only one who feels this about their child). It is a good thing that he does so many cute little things. It makes it hard to get mad at him. He thinks that getting in trouble is funny. Anytime we say his name with a firm tone, he just starts giggling and running away. How do you resist from chasing and playing with him? And how do you teach a kid he is being naughty if he thinks it is funny? Frustrating, but also so dang cute! He has also started to cuddle more, which I love! He will come over from playing and just lay his head on my leg or shoulder. He also loves to cuddle with his blanket. It just melts my heart. Another thing that is so cute is how he shares. He loves to share things with people. Especially food. Anytime we let him feed himself, he picks up his food and gives it to us. So sweet. Hopefully he keeps the desire to share as he grows up. We love this kid! I guess we'll just figure it out as we go! Good thing I have an amazing husband by my side!

Tyson sharing with Daddy.

Ivan and I had a great Valentines. We got to spend time with friends and some time alone as well. Ivan was so sweet and made dinner for us on Sunday, which was delicious. We had Cafe Rio pork and then cheesecake for dessert. He is pretty amazing. We then proceeded to make a fort in our living room. I have been begging Ivan for weeks to make a fort and we finally had a chance! It was so much fun! Tyson definitely agreed with it as well. The kid was going nuts. The entrance to the fort was not quite tall enough for Tyson to walk into it, and he is not quite coordinated enough to bend over to get in. So, there were a few times that he attempted to get it and almost got clothes-lined. Ivan could not stop laughing, as you can guess. I have to admit it was funny to watch, but I always gave in and helped him out. Ivan favorite part about the fort was the safety pins we had in the middle connected to yarn and tied to the ceiling light. He was very proud of it. It did make a big difference in the fort, so he can bask in his brilliance all he wants.

Ivan and Ty in the fort.

Tyson and Mackenzie Bell are about 3 months apart and just love playing together. And it is so fun to watch them too. They also love holding hands and it is just the cutest thing to watch. It usually starts with Tyson reaching for her hand and she gives in to him. So funny. I just couldn't resist getting a picture of it. Apparently Tyson has a valentine of his own.

We love Christmas!

2010-01-05T11:21:00.007-07:00

This Christmas season was just wonderful. We had such a great time enjoying family, friends, and celebrating our savior's birth and love. My family came into town a week or so before Christmas and we spent some time in Bountiful hanging out, playing games, sledding, and laughing with the kids. It gets pretty crazy with all of us staying at my parents house, but we wouldn't have it any other way. Tyson is getting much less shy and was having tons of fun playing with all of his cousins. Ivan, me and Tyson got to take our own trip to temple square, which we loved. It was a pretty busy night there, but Tyson loved the lights and we got to enjoy the beauty. Ivan and Tyson got me a little gift together and gave it to me while we were there.

This is my favorite angle of the Temple, especially with the lights.

My boys are so sweet!

I just love this picture.

On Christmas Eve, Ivan's parents came into town and we spent the evening celebrating with Hillary's, Ivan's sister, in-laws. I loved it because we did what my family does, we read in Luke and sang the Christmas carols along with it. Then we opened gifts because Ivan and I didn't see them on Christmas. On Christmas morning, we stayed at home and opened our gifts. We had so much fun watching Tyson. We were hoping that he would understand it a little more, but he seemed to gain the most joy from just banging on the boxes. Then we went up to my parents house and had wonderful dinner and watched a movie. The next day we went to Savior of the World. It was such a great production and really portrayed the sacredness of Christ's life. My family left and we hung out with Ivan's family the next few days. We went to a movie, made some treats, and just hung out. For New Years, we did my favorite thing. My mom's side of the family has a tradition. Every year we have a huge treasure hunt that takes us all around the city. My sisters and dad did it this year and it was so fun! I love this tradition and will be so sad when I can't go to them. We were so blessed to have such a wonderful holiday season and around so much love.

All the kids when Santa came to visit at my parent's house. The kids just went crazy!

Tyson opening one of his gifts.

Thanksgiving!

2009-12-10T15:22:00.008-07:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Nothing too exciting, but it was great to hang out with family. The weekend before Thanksgiving, we had a huge family party with my dad's side of the family. There was delicious food and tons of family. Tyson had so much fun playing with all the other little kids. After that, we went to my parents house and saw my mom in her play. She is in "A Christmas Carol" and she was awesome! She is just the funnest person to watch on stage and it was a great play. For Thanksgiving, we hung out at my parent's house. We played football in the morning with my sister, Rachel, friends, which was tons of fun. Ivan of course was quarterback. I wish I had pictures, but my sister Shauna didn't play so she has them all. Then we went home and all helped mom in the kitchen with dinner. It was pretty crazy, but then, when is family not crazy? And the craziness is one of the things that I love so much. We had a great dinner and then played some volleyball up at the church after. We, like all of you, love this time of the year. It just warms my heart to hear Christmas music playing, see the snow on the mountains, and be with the ones I love. What wonderful blessings we have in this life and what a great time to give thanks for them.
We were also lucky enough to go out that Friday night and get our Christmas Tree! I love this little tradition! It was so fun to take Tyson and start celebrating his first Christmas. We had so much fun showing him all of our ornaments and even telling him some stories about them. He loved the lights, of course. He has been pretty good at leaving the tree alone. I thought it would be a big problem, but apparently it is not as cool as we thought it would be.
We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and have a wonderful Christmas!

My macho boys

Cutting off some branches so it would fit in the base
Tyson checking out the lights
Tyson decided the ornaments were better to eat than put on the tree
The finished product!

Tyson's First Real Haircut!

2009-12-01T12:59:00.008-07:00

Yes, I finally broke down and let Ivan cut Tyson's hair. He has been bugging me for months now and I have held strong until lately. Tyson's hair was just getting a little bit out of control. he doesn't have a ton of it, but it was just long and wispy, so Ivan took the clippers to it. It ended up being a little shorter than I was wanting, but it is super cute. As Ivan says "He is a stud!" At first Tyson was scared at first and curious about the clippers, but after a while, he froze every time he felt the clippers on his head. It was so funny. What a sweet little boy we have been blessed with. And extremely handsome, if I may say so myself.

Our little stud!

Look at all the hair!

Just a few fun pics....My two boys showing a little bit of their feminine side! Haha

Tyson in one of my scarves and loving it.

Ivan wearing one of my headbands, he said he likes how it massages is head when he put it on. Oh man, I love this guy.

Ivan wanted to put Tyson in the dryer, so we amused him for a few seconds.
What a wonderful life.

Birthday!

2009-12-01T12:45:00.006-07:00

Well, this is a bit embarrassing. My birthday was over a month ago and I am just getting around to blogging about it. It was a very exciting weekend, I am just a tad behind. Well, my mom and my sisters came down on the Friday before my birthday and we had a girls night! It was so fun! We went bowling, where my little sister, Mary Jane, got 7 strikes in a row! Ya, she is amazing! I don't think she meant to be amazing, seeing as how she got less that 100 on her first game, but she dominated all of us on the second game. Go Mary! Then we went to get frozen yogurt and came home to crowd in the bed and watch a movie. It was so fun to have the girls down and party.
Ivan was sweet enough to watch Tyson so we could have some fun. Then, on Monday our dear friends, the Wrights, offered to watch Tyson while Ivan and I went on a date. We went to Color Me Mine, a classic, and made a utensil holder and went out for ice cream. It was a wonderful birthday weekend and I am so lucky to have such amazing family and friends!

Legless is making a run in the playoffs!

2009-11-22T19:11:00.002-07:00

So after a completely defeated season of 3 on 3 basketball Team Legless has turned our fortunes around and are on a one game TEAR!!!! Well, we won because the other team forfeited...but who cares! We are on to round two in hunt for the coveted intramural t-shirt! So that is the exciting news in my not too eventful life lately. Since I have no pictures of it...check out my stud muffin son.

Tyson's Fall Pics

2009-10-29T11:26:00.010-06:00

We just think this little kid is the cutest thing ever! We are allowed to because we are his parents. Well, we had Mary Anne, who many of you know is just AMAZING, take Tyson's pictures. He is about 7 months in the pictures. I know, kind of a random age, but I wanted to have the leaves in them, as many of us do. We went up Provo Canyon and found a little place with lots of leaves and had a blast taking pictures of this little guy. So, here he is!Don't ask what this face is about. I don't even know! It is so funny though!

He just loves to suck on his bottom lip lately. So funny.

Good Ol' Cali

2009-10-29T11:06:00.007-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, we got a chance to go out to Rocklin (where Ivan is from) for his little sister's wedding. We drove out on Wed. night and she got married on Sat. So we had a few days to play around and have some fun. It was awesome. They got married in the Sacramento Temple and it was just beautiful. The wedding turned out great and it was so much fun to be out there with friends and family!

We took a trip up to apple hill with Lindsey, and the Wright family and did some shopping and just enjoyed ourselves. We had to take some pictures of Tyson with the pumpkins. So Cute!
We were over by the apples and look what came out on the rollers! I didn't know Apple Hill produced Teresas and Ivans! I wonder how much they cost?
We went miniature golfing the night before the wedding and played boys vs. girls. This is Hillary, Lindsey (Ivan's sisters), and me after we all got a hole in one!

The happy couple! Yay Hilly and Eric!

Tyson is crawling!

2009-10-19T09:32:00.003-06:00

Well, it's official. Tyson is crawling! Just the other day, he took his first few real-boy crawls. Up until this point, he was just army crawling. He started doing that at about 6 months and he is dang fast at it. We have been trying to teach him how to really crawl, and have probably looked ridiculous a couple times down on our hands and knees, but he finally got it! He is still pretty slow at it, and will usually take a few real crawls, then plop on the belly and army crawl (because he is so much faster at that), but he is getting it. He has also started pulling himself up on things. He has been trying for the past little while, but it has been in vain. Just a few days ago though, we were getting ready to take off for California and I turned around and found him like this!

What a stud! He is getting so strong and just growing up too fast! We are so proud of our little man! We love you Ty! We are not excited to further baby proof the house though.

Fall, Fall, Fall

2009-10-12T12:57:00.006-06:00

I just have to blog about this because Ivan is sick of hearing me say it. Fall is, without a doubt, my favorite part of the year! There are many reasons, here are a few: the beautiful colors of the leaves (I love it!), this is the time of year that orange season starts (for those who don't know, I am pretty much obsessed with oranges, I could eat them all day, every day), pumpkin time (I love pumpkins! Love the squash, the seeds, and definitely the desserts they yield), Halloween (possibly is my favorite Holiday), the most perfect weather all year round, and my Birthday! Could it get any better than that?! I submit that it cannot! Oh, I love Fall! What a wondrous time. I just had to blog about the many little blessings that fall time brings into my life.

Ives and I took a hike up in the canyon the other day. It was super fun! We went to Stewart Falls. It was a beautiful hike and very enjoyable. The falls were great. We think they were a little low on the water, but they were still very pretty. We didn't get that great of a picture because the camera died. We took Tyson and he had more fun than we did! He was just jabbering the whole time. It was so cute! This kid loves the outdoors and so do we.Picture of the Fam on the way up.

Looking down the canyon. What gorgeous colors!

I thought this hillside was just beautiful.

The falls. Sorry again for the picture! You have to look very close. I didn't realize the battery on the camera was so low!

The Tidwell Crew Rooting the Cougs over Tulane!

2009-09-13T13:02:00.006-06:00

BYU has jumped in the rankings up to #7 and the Tidwell Family is pumped. Katie went out this week and made sure that we were all appropriately dressed for the big game this weekend. Tyson woke up and was begging us to put his jersey on and he begged his dad to let him wear his nike headband.

I did have one problem with this picture...I thought to myself, "Self, why are you sitting and watching the game on a red couch?" I replied, "Becuase the red represents the four letter word to the north [UTAH] and just like we sit on a red couch we are going to sit and squash Utah at the end of the year!!!!" It is never to early to dream of whooping up on Utah. BYU laid the boom on Tulane with a 54-3 score. I would like to go ahead and nominate the Cougars for team of the week. (I am not biased at all!)

Here are some cute pictures of BYU's future QB and Heisman candidate!

USA!!!

2009-09-09T11:43:00.005-06:00

My sister Shauna and I had the amazing opportunity of going to the USA men's soccer game on Sat. It was AMAZING! They played El Salvador and won 2-1. Altidore scored one and Dempsey scored one also. It really should have been 3-1, but the ref made a really bad offsides call on Altidore. It was a beautiful game and a beautiful experience. It was awesome to look at the stands and see numerous flags and red, white, and blue everwhere. Shauna and I left the game on a patriotic high yelling and screaming that we love the USA and soccer! haha. It was sooo much fun! Funny story, one of the guys from the Real Salt Lake team was playing for the first time and Shauna though his last name was Beckevich, so we were screaming that name during the whole game. Come to find out, his name is really Beckman (I don't know how to spell it for sure, but you get the idea). The people around us probably thought we were crazy. Ya it was pretty embarassing. Oh well, we had a blast and got to cheer for the USA!

USA on El Salvador's side of the field.

Cheering after the game. We are #1!

Kind of hard to see, but this is the scoreboard. It says 2-1 at 90:00! YA!!!

What is he thinking!?

2009-09-04T09:26:00.004-06:00

So for the last 5 months or so, I have been cutting Ivan's hair. I have no formal training, but my sister is a hairstylist so I had her teach me how to do it with the clippers. Surprisingly, Ivan lets me. The first time I cut it, it took me about a half an hour because I was so scared, but I have gotten a little faster each time.

If any of you are looking to save a little money, it is worth it. We bought the clippers in April and we paid them off on the 4th haircut. We are now making money each time I cut his hair. haha. We like to tell ourselves that. I haven't messed up yet though. Well, actually, if you have seen Ivan's buzz lately, I accidentally took the 2 to his head and not the 8! haha. Just kidding. He really did want the buzz.

It has been a blast! I have learned how picky Ivan is about his hair though. Just kidding, he is not that bad.

6 months

2009-09-04T09:09:00.004-06:00

Well, we just can't even believe how fast this little kid is growing! It is so crazy but so fun at the same time. It's amazing how we just love him more and more everyday. We got back to Utah last Wed. night and a few days before we left, we made a discovery; Tyson has a tooth! His first little tooth was breaking through! It was so cute! He was such a good kid too. We thought he might be teething because he was drooling a lot and chewing on his fingers a lot, but he was not that fussy. What a tough cookie! So then just a few days ago, we discovered another tooth! His two bottom, middle teeth are coming in. What an adventure! ( More for Tyson than for us, but we are enjoying the ride). Tyson also had his 6 month appointment a week ago and the doctor said he is doing great and is right on schedule. He weighs 18lbs. 6oz. which is 75th percentile and he is 27 1/2 in. tall which is 90th percentile. What a stud! Hopefully he will be tall like his Dad! He is not quite crawling yet, but he makes his way all over the floor rolling, scooting, and pushing up. Ivan is glad he is getting bigger so he can wrestle with him a little bit. He is just so much fun and we love him to death!

2009-08-21T12:41:00.010-06:00

A couple of weeks ago I went with my family up to our cabin in Montana. We go up there every year and it is my absolute favorite place on earth. I was so excited to go but Ivan couldn't come with us because of work so I took Tyson all by myself on a plane to Utah and then with my family up to the cabin. I was super nervous about the plane ride but Tyson did so well. I couldn't have asked for better so I was happy about that. The cabin was amazing as always. We spent our time on the lake skiing and swimming, in town and in the park. My brother and sister-in-law planned some activities for family olympics and it was so fun! We all loved it and have declared it to be one of our new traditions up there. We also did a triathalon that was way fun. We had some of the little kids out running with us. I got to spend 10 days up at the cabin and they were wonderful. It was definitely sad without Ivan and Tyson did get sick for the first time but it was great to be with the family and at the cabin. Meanwhile, in California, Ivan got to go to Orlando! I know, he is spoiled. The company he is interning for took all the interns out there for a conference and he got to enjoy the beautiful weather and Disney World. So I didn't feel too bad because he got to have some fun too. haha. Life is great as always.

Tyson with Grandma Sheffield on the drive up.

Tyson with cousin Jackson, So cute!

Grandpa and Grandma with all the grandchildren.

All the Sheffield women. SO Precious.

A picture of the Lower Falls in the Park.

Empire Mine

2009-08-05T13:39:00.005-06:00

You know why San Francisco 49ers are the San Francisco 49ers? Well, in case you don't know California had a big gold rush in '49. (There was a hint of sarcasm in that introduction.) Anyway, Katie and I had the opportunity to go up to the empire mine up in the Sierra Nevadas. It was a hot day but it was a lot of fun. It was the longest operating gold mine in California. Some of the mine veins go 8,000 ft. down. 8,000 ft!!!! Can you believe that? The cities around the area would literally collapse if there were an earthquake because the mine veins go everywhere!
This guy above who obviously isn't interested in the picture with us is a blacksmith...
Thus the blacksmith attire. He made us a little baby spoon out of a horse shoe nail. It was pretty sweet!

Here us our little family at the mouth of the vein that goes down 8,000 ft. Yes again...8,000 ft. Anyway, I had a fun time. And my wife and son are cute so that is why I posted this blog!

Updating Blog

2009-08-05T13:36:00.001-06:00

Per the request of faithful followers I am updating the blog. I have no pictures (Katie has the camera with her on vacation in Montana) and no cool stories (I am interning as an accountant!) and so I have nothing....consider the blog updated! SMILE!

Tyson the "California Dream Boat"

2009-07-11T14:23:00.002-06:00

Tyson's trip to California has been life changing. Everything he knew has been turned upside down. He has decided that he is too cool to allow the sun to get in his eyes! I kid you not! Katie and Mom were just cruising the aisles of Tyson's favorite store, Babies 'R' Us, and they passed the sunglass aisle. Tyson jumped up, did a back flip out of the cart, landed on his feet, grabbed some glasses and high jumped back in his car seat. I think he even took this picture of himself. He is a stud. Even with his double chin.

4th of July at Lake Tahoe

2009-07-05T15:20:00.008-06:00

We went on a day adventure yesterday! The Rocklin Jubilee, the main fire work show in Rocklin CA was canceled due to budget problems! (Go figure, budget problems in California!) So we loaded up the car in search for a good fireworks show. Grandma and Grandpa, Tyson, Katie and I jumped in the Subaru and took off for the mountains. We figured we would cruise up to Lake Tahoe to see the fireworks up there!

The Sierra Nevadas are awesome. They are one of my favorite places in California! On the way up we got a little side tracked. We pulled off on one exit to do a little exploring near a resort called Rainbow Lodge. A sweet little swim area on the side of the Yuba River!

We hopped back into the car and cruised down to Donner Lake. We drove down along the shore looking at the lake and trying to avoid getting hit by other cars because it was real busy! It was really pretty cool. I guess when the Donner party went through that winter there was 22 feet of snow! There are trees that they have found that the tops had been chopped off for fire wood and it was around 22 feet up! CRAZY...and really sad.

We grabbed some stuff for a picnic and we ended up in Tahoe right on the edge of the lake to watch the fireworks! It was sweet. You could see about three fireworks shows at any given time. There were a couple across the lake. Here is a really bad picture of the show. But the view was awesome live. Notice the almost full moon in the background, the fireworks and the light shining off the water!

IT WAS AWESOME! GO AMERICA!

Californ-I-A

2009-07-05T14:54:00.003-06:00

We are here in California! Ivan (that's me!) has an internship with Ernst & Young in Sacramento. We made it here even though we still can't find a car to buy! For those of you who don't know our car was hit in the middle of the night last month and we have been left without a car! Anyway, we took a rental car out here and we are loving it!

I spent 2.5 days in San Francisco for firm wide orientation and I will spend 2.5 days in San Jose, CA for tax specific orientation. So that is fun except I miss Katie and little Tyson a TON!

We are loving the clear skies. It is hot though which we are still adjusting to. Katie has been spending her time playing with Tyson and Grandma. She has started a quilt with Grandma for Tyson and that has been fun. Yesterday my dad commissioned Katie with the responsibility to draw up plans for a landscape of their front and back yard. It needs to be redone and Katie took a landscape design class last term and she is going to put that to use. Anyway, things are great and we encourage all those here in California to LOOK US UP! Otherwise we will be calling you shortly!

Here is a picture or one of the adventures we went on yesterday!

Ciao!

Tahitian Noni...More than just a DRINK

2009-05-17T20:55:00.003-06:00

All this time I thought Tahitian Noni just made drinks that were too expensive for me to even try. Well...for those of you who thought the same, we were all wrong! Katie and I went to the Tahitian Noni building here in Provo to check out their garden for Katie's landscaping class. The garden is sweet. As evidenced by the picture to the left. We spent close to two hours walking around and looking at all the cool plants. The flower looked sweet, like someone had taken red paint to this nice yellow flower. Anyway, for those of you looking for a cheap family night, Tahitian Noni does movie family nights that are free every Monday night. So Katie, Tyson and I will see you there. This is Ivan Tidwell signing out for the day.

2009-05-11T12:02:00.003-06:00

Tyson got a little bored...
Mama's little boy.

More Family Pics

2009-05-11T09:47:00.004-06:00

Like father, like son.

2009-05-10T20:32:00.004-06:00

We took family pictures on Friday and these are some of them.
He is just such a cute boy! And it doesn't hurt that MaryAnne
is an amazing photographer!

Only Ivan...

2009-05-06T19:18:00.002-06:00

So...only Ivan would decide to start a water fight at 10:30 at night. Last night, he drank all of my water bottle that I had gotten for myself, so naturally he went to go fill it up while I locked the door. He asked me what I would do if he poured the water all over me and I told him I would jump on him and get him all wet. Then...you guessed it, he threw the water on me! Oh man, I knocked it out of his hand and it got all over the kitchen floor. Then I picked it up and threw the rest all over him. I definitely won! He now knows better than to mess with me at 10:30 at night! It was great. I guess that is one of the millions of reasons that I love Ivan. He never ceases to make me laugh.

Tyson's First Smile on Camera!

2009-05-03T19:59:00.002-06:00

This is Tyson's first smile caught on camera! Our son is the cutest thing ever. Too bad that outfit probably last all about 30 minutes before he spit up his breakfast all over it. It is funny that Tyson really doesn't do too much but we go crazy whenever he does. He recently has been smiling a lot. We talk to him and he will get some big smiles on his face....the next goal....get a picture of his little lower lip when he pouts. It folds out and it is probably the cutest thing ever.

Too many Tidwells???

2009-05-03T19:50:00.002-06:00

Four generations of Tidwell men! My dad came into town this last week to bless Tyson (Danger)! Just so happened that Uncle Bruce (far left) and Grandpa Tidwell (middle holding the baby!) came to town for graduation at BYU. We all met at Uncle Tony's house (far right) for dinner. It was a lot of fun. It is really neat to have had my grandpa hold Tyson. Four generations of Tidwell men in one picture! Pretty intense......really scary!

2009-04-23T16:53:00.004-06:00

Earlier this week, Tyson had his first blow out! It was pretty intense. The crazy thing is none of his poop got in the diaper! It just went all up his back. Lovely. We just took him to the bath and hosed him off. It was quite an experience. He is starting to smile though and it just makes us forget all about the blow outs. He can actually focus on things now and makes the cutest little noises. He is getting so big and starting to show some of his little personality traits. My favorite is how he sucks on his upper lip. He can't quite keep it in his mouth so it makes a smack every time. It is super cute! He has also learned how to stick out his bottom lip when he gets sad. It just melts my heart. Tyson also got a new bed last night! He has had quite an eventful week. We just put together his crib for him to sleep in. He is a big boy now! Tomorrow is his 2 month birthday and we just can't believe how fast it has gone by! Today he got his 2 month shots so his little legs are sore. He was such a good boy though. He just zonked out right after. Well, as you can tell, we are just loving this little kid and are so happy that he is ours!
Ivan is so excited to have the semester over with! He took his last final on Tuesday and we had a celebration. He has done great this semester! Just one more year left! We are super excited to have the family in town for Tyson's baby blessing. It will be a great weekend before spring term starts.

It took us a while

2009-03-16T16:58:00.002-06:00

Our beautiful little boy, Jay Tyson, was born on Feb. 24, 2009 at 9:19 in the A.M. He was 7 lbs. 14 oz. and 20 1/2 in long. It was a long night leading up to it, but it is wonderful to have him now. He is just the cutest thing ever and has the funniest little mannerisms. He never ceases to make us laugh and smile. At his two weeks appt. he had gained 1 lb. and grown a whole inch! This kid is packing it on. It is crazy how fast they grow. When he was born he looked almost exactly like Katie's baby pictures but every day he starts to look more like Daddy. It is just amazing how much we love him, even though he wakes us up at least 3 times a night! Ha Ha.
Things are great though, despite the tiredness. Ivan is still plugging away at school and work. He is doing great. He has some tests coming up this next week, kind of a bummer cause his birthday is on Monday! Katie is super excited to spoil him! But he is a little stressed about those but he will do great as always. Katie is just trying to get used to being a mom and staying home all day. She has a hard time finding things to do sometimes, but is expanding her horizons. We have to mention the exciting news, Handicap Parking is going to the playoffs! They will dominate! On Thursday, Tyson had his first opportunity to go see his Dad play basketball. It was a very exciting day for both of the boys. We also got to take him to his first baseball game on Saturday. He lasted for 4 whole innings. We were very proud of him. He is definitely a great blessing! We love him lots! Life is great!

We're Bloggers!

2009-02-21T22:55:00.004-07:00

Well, the baby hasn't come yet, so we have decided to start blogging! We have had a fun and exciting weekend so far. Ivan just got done with his first test week of the semester and he did wonderfully. So we have had a nice break from the stress of school. Ivan is working on his masters in accounting right now at BYU and Katie is taking the semester off to have a baby! We'd like you to respond to the poll just to see what your opinions are. We have had a pretty difficult time deciding what this kid's name is going to be! Danger is not really an option, but Ivan has insisted on it being his nickname. Heaven help us all.