Reed Kids

Lake Powell 2010

2010-06-26T13:38:00.001-07:00

My Mom's husband Jeff has an obsession with boats-- lucky for us he lets us all tag along on all his adventures to the lakes around Utah. This past trip to Lake Powell was the first trip that we took that we didn't stay on his big boat--for Jeffery has a new toy. A really pretty, fast, shiny, fun ski boat with an open bow, absolutely perfect for a weekend out with family enjoying the water!!! We are really grateful that they let us tag along, and Aunt Katie even got to come on this trip, we had so much fun.

First it was the girls birthdays so Aunt Katie made some really cute Cup cakes and we celebrated with presents from Gma and Gpa and Katie.

After that we went down to the water to check it out-- we had heard that the water was pretty cold and that we wouldn't enjoy swimming in the lake like we wanted to. Our fears were put to rest when we reached the water-- it was pretty much perfect!!!

The rest of the trip was typical Lake Powell get up at the crack of dawn and see the amazing sunrises, try to go back to sleep, sweat in the tent, get uo, go out on the lake all day, swim, eat, play, and crash in bed at dusk only to wake up and do it all again the next day-- what a perfect trip. We are so lucky and my kids are the coolest ever!!! Taven and Aspen tried the knee board for the first time, Ry and I wakeboarded, we had a blast on the tube, caught tons of big fish, and even with all of that-- relaxed (a little bit!!!)

" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487192250187025330" />

Dancing Girls!!!

2010-06-26T13:23:00.000-07:00

The girls have been taking Ballet and Tap for the past few months and just had their first recital. Aspen loves to dance and make new friends, but for Berkley it wasa successful day if she wasn't kicked out of class for being a disruption! Too funny!! They both performed really well and liked to be on stage. I am so proud to be a mommy of such wonderful children they make me smile each and everyday!!!

"It's about time---AGAIN"

2010-04-17T20:05:00.000-07:00

I noticed that it has been quite a while since I last even thought about posting anything on this here blog-- Better late than never right! Here is a run down on what the Reed family has been up to lately: 1) We bought a house!!! And I absolutely love it. We moved to North West Las Vegas and it seems to be a great fit for us. 2) Taven is in the middle of his first year of coach pitch little league base ball and is doing really well. I am going to post a video of him hitting a home run this past Friday. 3) Aspen as always has made the transition to her new school extremely well, she has tons of friends and has me going on playdates at least twice a week! 4) Berkley has become a little girl instead of a toddler- she has full on conversations, and knows what she wants, helps around the house, and keeps me smiling all day long. 5) The girls both started dance in January and have their first recital in June. Aspen is going to be a cowgirl tapping to "Achey Breakey Heart", and Berks is a Mermaid. Too freaking cute!!! 6) I am still working on school in between carpooling back and forth from the kids school, and games, and practices, but I guess this is what life is all about right? 7) Ryan is still really enjoying his job (thank goodness) and can't wait until they move offices this summer so his long commute will be cut in half. 8) All in all we are all doing really good and couldn't ask for anything more. We are really enjoying being closer to family-- we get a lot more visitors here than in Texas- go figure! Thank you everyone for coming out and seeing us we love having you! 9) Thats about it!

2010-01-26T11:49:00.000-08:00

Our new house hopefully!!!

2010-01-26T11:04:00.000-08:00

More for Lynette!

2009-11-13T22:51:00.000-08:00

This one is for you Lynette!!!

2009-11-13T22:24:00.000-08:00

I know it has been way way too long since I have written or even thought of writing anything in this here blog, but I guess it is time at least to update on what is going on with the Reed family.

Ryan graduated FINALLY from law school and got a job in Las Vegas so here we are!!
I started school- with Ryan being done we thought that it was time for me to be tortured. I am working on my Elementary Education degree, it should take me two and a half years but I am excited to finally be doing something.

The kids are doing great and love living in Las Vegas because we have a POOL in our apartment complex and have been able to swim most days. My kids have become little fish, and the weather has been nice enough that we were even able to go out tonight.

Ryan is liking his job and got sworn in last week, it is official-- he is a lawyer and we are all so proud of him. We are busy and are loving where we are in life. We miss being around family, but the good thing is that living in Las Vegas we get a lot more visitors.

That is all for now, and hopefully I will post again soon--don't hold your breath!!!

Skittles anyone?

2009-04-19T19:02:00.000-07:00

Taven being of school age and interested in all sorts of things decided that he wanted to do a science project to take to school. We attended science night and learned how to make the board and all of that so I said why not. Well yesterday we got the stuff to "Scientifically see what color of skittles has the most per pack" He and Aspen opened the packs and did a good job of recording the numbers. The rest was up to me to put it altogether, I think I worked on the stupid thing for 5 hours before I was finshed. I can already tell that I am going to be the mom that fusses over her kids homework to make sure that it is perfect- I don't want to be, really I don't- but what choice to I have? Anyway he takes it to school tomorrow and for now we have a ton of Skittles to eat! YUMMY!

Tea Party Time!

2009-04-15T11:47:00.000-07:00

Santa brought Aspen a realy tea set for Christmas, so one day when her friends where over we had a tea party! She is such a fun girly girl!

Palo Duro Canyon

2009-04-15T11:38:00.000-07:00

For spring break we headed north to Amarillo and went hiking in PaloDuro (the grand canyon of Texas-ya right!!!) We went with our friends Nicole and Brent Nelson and their little girl Danielle. The kids had a ton of fun and although it was a little breezy it is still so great to get outside and do something. We don't really get very many chances to be in the great outdoors in Lubbock! If you have been here, you know what I am talking about!

Taven spent a majority of our hike looking for the elusive chinchilla! I think he really thought that he was going to find one. This is Ryan narrating on the Chinchilla adventure!

Close to my heart!

2009-04-15T11:35:00.000-07:00

If anyone remembers Ryan from high school you will know why this picture is so close to my heart. (Taven is the Catcher in this picture!)

THE WATCH

2009-04-15T11:31:00.000-07:00

Ryan has an obsession with all things watch related so naturally when he decided that a watch is what he wanted for graduation there was much tossing and turning at night to pick the perfect one. He finally made a decision and found a Haurex and it is HUGE! It looks great and we are all so happy he found the watch of his dreams!!

I Know!

2009-04-15T11:24:00.000-07:00

So once again I have neglected my blog. Here is a little update. Ryan has now officially 24days until graduation! Holy cow--we are almost done!!! Taven is all about T-ball again and of course playing with his buddies and reading- his new favorite book is called "I want to be a Jedi". Aspen is taking gymnastics and she really seems to like it- I think she is sick of preschool and wants it to be summer so that she can stay up late! And Berkley is potty training kindof- she won't tell me yet when she needs to go, but if I put her on the potty she knows what to do, so it is only a matter of time now. And then there is me- I have just been working and taking care of the kiddos. That is about it!

Student Of The Month

2009-04-15T11:17:00.000-07:00

Taven was student of the month for February! He is such a good little student, and really loves school!

2009-02-25T12:02:00.001-08:00

CaMPinG!

2009-02-25T11:50:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was officially the nicest day weather wise that we have had this year. We took the opportunity to go outside and play a little. Taven found our old 4-square ball- Ryan and I had a fun time playing 4-square together, and when we went back into the garage to get the base ball stuff out. This is what we found-- our three kids sitting in their camp chairs around Ryan's baseballs aka. Camp Fire, Arrows aka. Hot dog sticks, and of course their drinks. I asked them what they were doing they all said camping! What great imaginations they have!

It is kind of sad when your kids think that camping in the garage is fun. We really need to get out more!!!

Dirrrrrty!!

2009-02-25T11:46:00.000-08:00

We had T-Ball Tryouts this past Saturday, it was a really pretty sunny but windy day at the ball park. Good news this year, Taven is on the Diamondbacks and his coach seems to be a really good guy. The league also got new fields this year, they are going to be really nice, but right now there is alot of dirt where the grass hasn't grown in yet. This is a picture of what you get when you let a 20month old play at the ball park!

Another Sleeping Angel

2009-02-25T11:26:00.000-08:00

Berkley is getting to be such a big girl. She still sleeps in her pack-and-play (I know I am a horrible mom- she wouldn't sleep in the crib, can you blame me?)
Every night when I go in to check on the kids I look at her and just want to pick her up and hold her. I don't want her to be getting so big. It makes me sad to think that she is starting to talk and be just another one of the kids and not my baby anymore!

Sleeping Angels

2009-02-25T11:21:00.000-08:00

So Taven and Aspen wanted to sleep in the same bed the other night. It wasn't a school night so I thought what could it hurt right?-- Well, they did end up sleeping in the same bed, but honestly I have no idea how kids can fall asleep in the positions that they do. They were on opposite ends of the bed, so I couldn't get a picture of both of them at the same time. Hope you laugh with me!

FAMILY PICTURES

2009-01-13T11:12:00.001-08:00

FAMILY pictures

2009-01-13T10:59:00.001-08:00

Keri just got this really kick butt digital camera and we asked her to take our family picture. All of our kids were actually smiling, and I think that we got some really good shots. Hope you like them as much as I do.

p.s. I just noticed that they aren't coming up with the whole picture, especially the right side. owell I still like them!

No Christmas Pictures!

2009-01-13T10:55:00.001-08:00

So when Ryan and I got to Utah this year for the Holidays we realized that we didn't have our camera charger and so we didn't take any digital pictures of our Christmas fun. We did end up breaking out our emergency disposable camera and took some cute shots- I forgot how annoying it was not to be able to see exactly what you took right when you took it. Oh how spoiled I am!!! Anyway, if and when we get those developed--- I will scan or do something so that everyone can see that we actually did have a fun christmas full of love and surprises!

Backgrounds!

2009-01-13T10:52:00.000-08:00

Since coming back to Lubbock after Christmas the weather here has been absolutely beautiful. The week we came back it was 75 degrees and has just started to come back to a wintery feel. Needless to say I was already starting to get Spring Fever-- (oh no not already!!!) So I decided to change my winter blog background to something more bright and springy.

Photo Shoot

2008-12-04T08:46:00.002-08:00

When my mom was out here for Halloween we took the kids outside to take pictures in our backyard. I had alot of fun taking pictures with my moms awesome camera, and I think the kids had fun being the center of attention!

The Kids

2008-12-04T08:46:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving Games

2008-12-04T08:39:00.001-08:00

THANKSGIVING

2008-12-04T08:20:00.000-08:00

We had a blast this Thanksgiving! We made the annual trek down to Temple, TX to visit my brother Ryan and his family, this year Mom and Jeff came so we had a house full! Ryan and Heather are so generous to open up their house for all of us to come and take over.
Our kids have been waiting for this trip since last Thanksgiving so getting there was long! They were constantly asking if we were there yet, it was a very loooong 6 hours. We went to the Waco Zoo the morning after we got there and had so much fun. The Zoo was small, but not confined- the kids had a blast, but really they wanted to get to the playground at the end most of all.
After the Zoo we had dinner, a great steak affair by Jeff. Then we put the kids to bed and the adults made the traditional Apple and Pumpkin Pies, then rounded up for a game of "Beans" (quite possibly the most fun game ever!)
Thanksgiving was sooo much fun. Heather is an amazing cook and had everything under control, so we were all able to go outside and enjoy the great weather and play football, have scooter races, play catch, and just have fun together. Ryan took the day off from studying and was able to come outside and play with all of us- yeah we love our Daddy!
Dinner was great, and the rest of the trip was fun also- Heather and I went shoppiing, while Grandma and Grandpa took the kids to a movie. Then we went to the park, and finally it was Brandt's Birthday dinner at Olive Garden (his choice!)- thanks again guys, you rock!
Then time came to say goodbye, until next year!

My Mother

2008-12-04T08:18:00.001-08:00

My Mother

2008-12-04T07:55:00.000-08:00

Does everyone think that their moms are the best,not to mention the most beautiful? Well, mine really is! She does so much for me and my family,coming out when she can and always keeping in touch. Mom I love you so much and hope that we can do all that we wish to do together! Thanks for being there for me wheneve I have needed you- a recent experience comes to mind when you were there for me. This Halloween when you came out and I got sick- you took great care of me and my family! What a vacation huh? Thanks again.

Finally Halloween

2008-12-04T07:46:00.003-08:00

I know Halloween was over a month ago, but for those who wish to see my amazing kids all dressed up, here you go!

Pots-N-Pans

2008-10-05T17:25:00.000-07:00

Taven and Berkley decided to play drums with ALL of my pots and pans, it was quite loud and didn't sound like music, but they had fun. I really like to see my kids playing together, it makes the times that they fight that much more tolerable.

Saturday SOCCER

2008-10-05T17:10:00.000-07:00

This year we have both Taven and Aspen in Soccer. Taven is a Tornado again, and Aspen is on the Cupcakes.

Aspen likes to get all dressed up in her uniform and talk with her friends, it is definately not competitive for her.

Taven on the other hand has picked up the intensity a little bit, and is really trying to be the best. His speed has improved and he has a really good kick!

We love going to watch them play, even if it takes up our whole Saturday. Thank goodness their fields are in the same complex!

Mom and Dad's Bed

2008-09-26T14:05:00.001-07:00

I think every kid loves to lay in their parents bed. Berkely has recently become a big girl (she thinks) and so now she gets to get up in our bed and play with her older brother and sister. It is just really fun to hear them in there giggling and playing with each other, they are all such good friends.

Walk the Line

2008-09-26T13:49:00.001-07:00

Aspen's new favorite movie is "Walk The Line" The story about Johnny Cash. I think she likes June Carter singing all her songs. Aspen walks around all day long singing- I'm Going to Jackson, and I've Got Lips. It's too cute! So here we were sitting down at dinner and she started singing. She has a mouh full of food, but I couldn't resist taking a small video of her.

Cotton Country Sprint Triathlon

2008-09-26T13:33:00.000-07:00

So when I got back to Texas after being homeless this summer, one of my friends asked me if I wanted to do a Triathlon with her. I have been wanting to do something like this for a while but never had the will power to go through with it. So this time I decided that I was going to train and give it a go. I really enjoyed working out and training, although I think that if I did it again that I would train for longer, 3 weeks was enough to get me through the race, but I could have done better with a little more training- (I think!) and a better bike, let's just say Mountain Bikes were not made for Road Racing!!!

All in all I had a great time and have a good sense of accomplishment. I hope to be able to do another one in the near future! Also my friend Krystle (who rocked the race by the way) has more pictures, so when I see them I will post a few!

What a Blessing

2008-09-12T16:30:00.000-07:00

Berkley has added alot
to our family since she was
born a little over a year ago.
She has become a
total "Mommas Girl"
and I love it!

4 Generations!

2008-09-12T16:19:00.000-07:00

I love that we were able to bless Berkley in Utah. It was really cool to be able to have our family there with us. I know it was over a year ago, but I just had to put this picture up- 4 generations!

Singing in the RAIN

2008-09-11T17:53:00.000-07:00

Today was one of those days, we woke up with the rain, went to school in the rain, ate lunch with the rain, picked up kids in the rain, well you see where I am headed with this- we had a torrential down pour all day 6" so far, and it is still pouring!

Aspen has been asking me to go and play in the rain with her ever since I told her that I used to love to play in the rain when I was a little girl. So after dinner I asked if she wanted to go outside and play, Taven decided to come along and out we went. I tell you I haven't had so much fun playing in the rain ever! It reminded me of being a kid again, I just let all my silly stresses go and got drenched with my munchkins. We had a splashing water fight, races, and even took a trip across the street where the water was running up to Aspen's knee! I tell you if you havent played in the rain lately, go ahead and give it a try, it's worth it!

Expected Visitors

2008-08-20T18:59:00.000-07:00

Ryans parents came out to visit us this Spring (I know I am a slacker- but give me credit for trying to catch up!) We had a lot of fun, just hangin around- Keli came with her little one Stetson, he and Berkley are only 5 weeks apart, so we hope they will grow up and be close cousins. The pictures of the babies in the stroller are the "Before the Walk" and "After the Walk" Thanks for coming out guys, it really means a lot!

Last Dance

2008-08-20T18:54:00.000-07:00

These are a few pictures of Aspen on her last day of dance. She is done with dance for the moment, and is onto soccer in the fall- heaven help us!!!!

Summer is OVER!

2008-08-20T18:03:00.000-07:00

We have had a great time this summer, going from place to place, but it is always nice to come home to my own house, MY OWN BED! (I can't tell you how much I have missed that) and my own life! We have decided to move this Saturday into a house that is down the street, so right now we are busy getting the kids ready for school, Ryan has already started school, and I am in charge of the packing- it is going pretty well, but annoying at the same time- why do I have so much stuff? This I will never understand, I don't need any of it. All I need is my family, my bed and some clothes- hey we already lived out of a suitcase all summer so I know we don't NEED any of the extra, let's be frank, CRAP! But alas, I seem to be attached to it all the same and am packing and unpacking it all up anyway. What a waste!

Catching UP!

2008-07-01T08:27:00.000-07:00

I know it has been a while, a very long while! But I think I am ready to post a few things- where do I start? Since spring break we have done alot. Aspen is now officially 4 years old, I thought the day would never come. Berkley turned 1, and is still not walking. We moved to Amarillo for 6 weeks for a clerkship, then moved again to El Paso- where we are currently, until August when we will be heading to Utah for 2 weeks (for a much needed vacation!) So I'll see ya'll soon!

Berkley at 9 Months

2008-04-09T11:44:00.000-07:00

Beautiful Berkley is quite a crazy girl these days. She is really social and wants to be in the middle of everything. She can now wave bye-bye and she also claps whenever anyone says yeah! It is just the cutest thing ever! She also gets a very triumphant look on her face when she has done something new- I can't believe that she is getting so big already!

100 Day

2008-03-03T18:02:00.000-08:00

Taven had a big party for his 100th day of school. He was told to put 100 somethings on his shirt and wear it to school. Well he decided he wanted to put candy on it- and we decided to do a wrapped candy- (for the temptation!) What ended up happening was his shirt weighed about five pounds and really pulled at his neck. But he loved it and wore it all day long- the shirt has since been ripped-eaten-and thrown away!

80's STYLE!

2008-03-03T17:54:00.000-08:00

So just to show you I still can work it- we had an 80's day at work and we all were suposed to dress up. This is the magnificent 80's hair that I came up with! I know it was FANTASTIC!!!!

FaT gIRl SmILE!!!

2008-03-03T17:47:00.000-08:00

Oh what can I say about my littlest? She is the most determined baby! She started to crawl and that same day decided that was enough and wanted to reach for the stars- by pulling herself up on EVERYTHING!!! She really has a determined personality, she already knows what she wants and will climb-crawl-throw everything that is in her path! Ryan calls these big smiles with her eyes closed her "fat girl smile" She really is a crack up!

It's about time!

2008-03-03T17:44:00.000-08:00

Well I have been asked to updte my blog- the only problem is I haven't been doing a whole lot of fun things lately. We have all been extremely busy with work, school, dance, T-ball, baby, working out, cleaning- after all that in a day we have all been exhausted and have just wanted to chill. But enough excuses. I love being busy and running around with my kids- that's what life is all about right?

More Christmas Time

2008-01-14T10:36:00.000-08:00

We were very fortunate this year to see all of our family. Just a few more pictures of the kids during Christmas!

Christmas Vacation

2008-01-14T10:26:00.000-08:00

We had a fun round of vacationing this year in Utah. We started our trip off with the long drive from Texas to Utah about 15hrs - our kids are amazing travelers- who knew a 5-3-and 6 month old could last all day in a car! Once we got to our destination we had alot of fun. Berkley was pretty sick the whole time so no one was able to see her happy personality, better luck next time! She did get two teeth for Christmas- she woke up Christmas morning with her two bottom teeth. I can't believe my baby already has teeth! Time goes by way too fast.
We went sledding a couple of times, I went skiing, and Ryan went snowmobiling, all in all we had many adventures and got to use our gear- we don't get to break it out all that often living in Texas.
The whole trip seemed to go by way too fast, and all the sudden we were in the car driving home. It does feel good to get back to our schedule, but we truly miss being around all the chaos! Hopefuly someday we can make it back for good, but for now we are happy where we are.

Little Orphan Annie

2007-12-11T09:12:00.001-08:00

Christmas Lights

2007-12-11T09:07:00.000-08:00

I got the kids all excited to go and see the "lights" at the Tech heritage center. Well it turned out to be a few lights- not Christmas lights- on a path in the dark that led into some small houses- the houses were actually pretty cool and we did end up getting to the Hot Coa-Coa which Taven couldn't stop talking about after about two hours on a freezing trail with the kids. I guess it was still a memory!

Taven and Brandt

2007-12-11T09:05:00.001-08:00

Taven thought that it was pretty cool that he and Brandt had the same shirt!

Smiley

2007-12-11T08:59:00.001-08:00

Berkley is full of smiles these days. That is unless she is bundled up in the freezing wind!

Dancer Girl

2007-12-11T08:21:00.000-08:00

Aspen has been taking a small community dance class. For her last lesson they performed a small Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer dance, it was really cute! She seems to like dancing and we are planning on putting her in another class this January

THANKSGIVING

2007-12-11T07:51:00.000-08:00

This Thanksgiving was a ton of fun. We went to Ry and Heathers house in Temple, TX. Our kids had a blast playing- although we noticed there can be too much time with cousins- they got a little tired out after a couple of days so we went home a day early to keep everything cool!

We visited a town called Salado (I think that is how it is spelled). There was a really cool little stream/river that we all played in. We couldn't believe that it was November 21 and we were barefoot- others were bare naked- swimming in a river. It was a blast!

The next day was Ry's Birthday the big 28, which just happened to fall on the same day as Thanksgiving. We had a great meal early in the afternoon and went outside for a little rumble football "smear the queer" style. The crazy thing is that it was freezing cold! We went from swimming in the river one day and the next day we were as bundled as we could get in our winter gear. CRAZY! The babies didn't like it much so we took them on a short walk- the wind was really strong so they didn't like that either!

Next it was inside for a round of X-Box we laughed, and played games and just had a ton of fun being with family. It is still really crazy to see family and realize just how much you miss being around them all the time. I hope that we will be able to see more of everyone but who knows what life will bring.

TAVEN STRATTON REED

2007-11-12T11:55:00.000-08:00

Wow what a big man! Taven has grown up alot since he started Kindergarten. He has become such a big boy, he is reading some small books and loves to show off his new skills. He has a great teacher Mrs. Wood, and does music, P.E., and gets to take a lunch to school sometimes! We just finished soccer, Taven really improved and was one of the better players on his team "The Tornados" We loved to watch him run and get into it. I didn't think that he had a very competitve spirit, boy was I wrong. He wants to win, and when he doesn't win he wants to practice to get better. MMMM I wonder where he gets that from? (DADDY!!!) He is a great big brother and takes good care of his baby sister Berkley. I couldn't ask for a better, sweeter, more loving, with a streak of "leave me alone!" son.

ASPEN LYN REED

2007-11-12T11:44:00.000-08:00

PRINCESS--DANCER--GIRLY-GIRL--SPARKELY--MAKEUP--DRAMA-QUEEN--PINK--LOVEABLE--HUGGABLE--KISSABLE--FUN! I know you can't put into words all that my beautiful Aspen is, but those are just a few. She acts like a twelve year old, but never forget she is not quite 3 1/2 what have we gotten ourselves into? Aspen is really into being a girl these days, every morning when we are getting ready for school she goes through my make up bag and finds her special "lip-stuff" that she can put on while I do her hair. She loves bags/purses any thing that she can pack her world up in and haul around with her. She is loving preschool and has fun doing her work- what little I can get her to sit still to do! All in all Aspen is growing up so fast, sometimes I look at her and my life flashes before my eyes- please slow down and enjoy your childhood!!!

BERKLEY COE REED

2007-11-12T11:35:00.000-08:00

Finally, Pictures are coming up and I am gettin in the groove. Well things have been going really well around here for all of us. Let me start with the littlest-- Berkley, she is getting big so fast, already rolling and trying to get her move on. She is a really smiley happy baby for which I am eternally grateful! There are days when she looks a lot like Taven and then others (espically today)when she is the spitting image of Aspen--without the cheeks of course. Although I am sure the cheeks will come in time!

Reasoning

2007-11-11T18:23:00.000-08:00

I figured it was about time to start a family on line blog thing! Yes that is what I am calling it a "thing" what else could it be? Our family is growing and what better way to share the ups and downs then with an online looksee!