Dustin-Megan-Rhiannon-Cy

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1. Where did you meet your husband? Our moms hooked us up...imagine that. (and who said arranged marriages don't work out--ha ha)
2. How long did you date before you got married? 3 months...I know, I know!
3. How long have you been married? 5 1/2 years
4. What does he do to surprise you? He constanly surprises me. Dusty has an amazing skill for the most thoughtful gifts, though. He always comes up with something I would never think of for my birthday and holidays.
5. What is your favorite feature of his? Most DEFINITELY his smile.
6.What is your favorite quality? His loyalty.
7. Does he have a nickname for you? explicit...ha ha.
8. What is his favorite food? Anything that has the word "burger" in it.
9. What is his favorite sport? football
10. When and where did you first kiss? At the good ol' in-laws. Classic huh.
11. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? Anything that includes us and together.
12.Do you have children? 1 boy, 1 girl, 1 on the way
13. Does he have any hidden talents? He is a meticulous cleaner.
14. How old is he? 26
15. Who said I love you first? He did.
16. What is his favorite music? He like a lot of different stuff but mostly 80s rock.
17. What do you admire most about him? His desire to do well in everything he does.
18. What is his favorite color? Blue
19. Will he read this? Nah, I don't even think knows how to look at our blog.
20. People I tag. Anyone that would like to.

Do you have plans for June yet?

It looks like I do!

Quick Preview

This is a quick preview of Victoria's work...I hope I don't get in trouble for posting in this not-so-good format! ;)

Family Pictures

I just have to give a GIGANTIC shout out to our family photographer...Victoria Hale! Thank you so much for taking such awesome pictures! I haven't technically gotten them in a format that I can be using yet, I just saw them on her website and I was so dang excited about them I had to get them on my blog some how. She did a fantastic job!

Cute Little Slide Show

We still do exist...

I guess that it has been like an eternity since I have last blogged. I don't think I have any fabulous excuses, but I have had other stuff going on that has made me put it way on the back burner. Also, my camera died some time in June and I just BARELY got a brand new one. I haven't used it yet, but I definitely will!

In the time I haven't been on:

*Rhiannon turned four!!!
*Dusty finished summer school
*Cy has mastered the terrible two stage
*I got a different job (still at Gold's though)
*We've had tons of fun picnicing and park hopping as a family
*The kids have LIVED in their little pool
*and many other small little details that I won't bore you with

I still have a busy few weeks ahead but hopefully I will get a chance to use our little camera and post some pics. In the madness of it all, though, I have been keeping track of all of you on your blogs. More to come very soon...

Catching up

So I guess my last post wasn't completely accurate; I didn't really "come back"! I have been crazy busy at work lately and playing with my kids in this warm summer weather as often as I can, so I haven't taken the time to blog like I thought I would. Acutally, Dusty just asked me tonight if I had given up blogging. I guess it seems as if I have, however, I have been missing it. I will try to be a little better. Our camera is on the fritz and I am not sure how much longer it will be with us, but I will do what I can.

We had our big Grand Opening at the gym yesterday and it seemed to go really well. I did a little marketing on the radio which turned out to be pretty fun. I was nervous at first but I guess it turned out okay.

Last week Nat, Brice, Sierra, and myself took the kids swimming at Ross Park. It was TONS of fun and we are already planning to get back there some time next week. Sierra spent all week at our house which was also lots of fun.

I guess there is no really big news...oh wait...for those of you that hadn't heard, NIKI is getting married! (Dusty's little [and only] sister) We are all really excited for her.

Tomorrow Dust and I are sneaking away to take the kids camping. We can not wait. So if you aren't able to get a hold of us for a couple of days, that is why. I hope you are all doing well and I hope to hear from you soon.

I'm Back...

So it really has been forever since I've updated. We have just completed the GIGANTIC move from our preview center at Gold's Gym to our brand spankin new facility. It was a few extremely long days but it was actually quite fun. We opened for business this morning and it went well. The new Kids' Klub is bright and airy...I LOVE it. There are actually windows in this one which helps enormously. My lovely little grandparents were so sweet and took the kids for me for a few days last week so I could get things moved and organized over there. I still have a quite a bit of "management" loose ends to clean up, but as for taking kids and stuff, we are back in business. Anyway, that is what has been comsuming me for several weeks now so hopefully things will get back to normal soon. I will post some pics of it all in the next couple days.

Once in a life time...

Cutting Grandpa's hair.
Grandma helping.
Snip, snip, snip.
Finished! Pretty snazzy huh.

It's not very often a three year old girl gets permission to cut her Grandpa's hair! She had a blast.

Sunshine Makes Me Happy!

I just wanted to post a few pictures from our sunshiney weekend.

Always posing!
Look at that...Cy, you know you're not supposed to have pop.

Book of Mormon Stories

Tonight Rhiannon, Cy, and myself were all sitting together in the front room enjoying a nice chat about life while Dust was outside taking care of some ward business. The kids were in their pjs and it was a little past their bed time. It didn't look like Dusty was coming in any time soon so I suggested to the kids that perhaps I should get them to bed tonight. Now you have to understand the routine in our house: Dusty ALWAYS rocks the kids before bed. It's been his time alone with them because he isn't able to have many moments like that during the day.

So the ritual always begins with each of the kids choosing two songs that Dusty sings with them as he rocks each one individually. Then, he tells a story from his mission to England just before they lay down to sleep. My motherly duties end right after scripture study and prayer and then we part our ways as they make the trek upstairs to have daddy put them to bed. It's truly one of the most precious things I have ever witnessed! Even though it makes me feel terrible when they cry for daddy if I ever have to substitute, I am willing to take the blow as I know how much this daddy time means to each of them.

Anyway, back to tonight...so the kids and I are chatting and I suggest that it's getting late and I may have to take them up to rock them Rhiannaon, being the intuitive little thinker that she is begins stalling. She's like, "Mommy, you wanna hear the song I'm gonna choose for daddy to sing to me tonight?" Because of the sweetness of her tone, I couldn't resist. And so she began singing Book of Mormon Stories. She sang the first verse nearly word for word---and then the second verse began (posted above). I was laughing hysterically by the end of the song. I asked her where she learned that version and she just smiled and said, "That's what Daddy sings to me!"

When Dusty finally got inside I asked him where he had learned that verse of the song and he told me he had to make it up one night impromtu. One night he sang the first verse to her and that didn't seem to be good enough. She told him that there was more to the song and because he didn't know it, he just made it up. I thought it was totally creative; so creative, in fact, that I didn't believe that he made it up. (So if any of you have indeed heard it before, please clue me in.) I am so grateful that my children have such fabulous father figure in their lives. I love ya Dust. I thought this was an absolute documentable moment and I couldn't wait to share it with all of you.

True friends are difficult to find, hard to leave, and impossible to forget.

Cy and his adorable friend Haley.

He is going to miss her tons!
Too bad their family trees connect because they'd be such a cute little couple ;) This weekend had been one of change for us. Some of our best friends in the whole world left Pocatello to start their lives in Preston today. We are so happy for them as they are getting their "life-after-Pocatello" started, but we are going to miss them terribly. Dusty and I have been talking about how hard it is to see friends that you grow to love leave the area when we still have over a year left here. We know that we will remain life time friends, but it just won't be the same in Avalon Park without them. I keep trying to convince her to blog but she hasn't quite caught that blogging fever yet, but it's bound to happen sooner or later right?

On a more positive note, we did get to see some friends that we haven't seen for a while yesterday. Victoria brought her kids by yesterday and it was SO good to see them. Em and Adam are getting so big and so dang cute! It was so good to see you guys. Let me know how Joe likes your hair Victoria! ;) I didn't get any picture because I was so busy doing hair...I hate it when that happens!

A thought from our stake conference-

You can tell but never teach until you practice what you preach.

More randomness from Megan...

“Under the plan of heaven, the husband and the wife walk side by side as companions, neither one ahead of the other, but a daughter of God and a son of God walking side by side. Let your families be families of love and peace and happiness. Gather your children around you and have your family home evenings, teach your children the ways of the Lord, read to them from the scriptures, and let them come to know the great truths of the eternal gospel as set forth in these words of the Almighty.”
( Ensign, Mar. 2001, 64.)

“This is my prayer for all of us—'Lord, increase our faith.' Increase our faith to bridge the chasms of uncertainty and doubt. . . . Grant us faith to look beyond the problems of the moment to the miracles of the future. . . . Give us faith to do what is right and let the consequence follow.”

There has been a lot for me to think about as several events have transpired in my life the last little bit. It seems like there are so many times when I think, "that will never happen in my family" or "no, never to us!" But you know, the Lord does have a plan and some times things do happen that may seem hard to swallow. I have always known that He is there, and I will never doubt that, but at times I guess I just believe it more than others. Now, I know that I need to increase my faith and I know that the Lord allows for me to do this through trials, but some times the trick really is to do what is right and let the consequence follow.

Truly, that is what this life is all about. It's about Dusty and I walking side by side learning to roll with the punches and trusting that the Lord will provide; even when it seems difficult. It is about my children. It is about us as an eternal family unit working together to ensure no seats are empty. I guess some times I have experiences that ground my faith and realization of the truly important things in life; I am grateful for those growing times. I am grateful for all of the small moments that I share with my little family and I am especially grateful for the impact that President Hinckley had on my life. The above quotes have brought me a lot of comfort in times of great need.

I guess I am not completely certain of the reason for this post...maybe just to say that I am thankful for my little life and the people that are in it...which is to say---thanks to all of you reading this!

Happy Birthday Cy!

Update...

Let's see, it's been over a week since I have last posted so I guess it I will just have to start from the beginning---

Dusty sprained his ankle terribly at last week's soccer game. He is embarrassed about how it happened for some silly reason so he hates when people ask about it. I hate that it puts him out of comission in the coaching world as the responsibility falls down hill to me. He does a much better job at taming the wild 3 year old soccer stars than I do, so I am hoping for an extra speedy recovery. Pretty nasty looking huh.

Next,

I was feeling a little drastic this week, and thus, Rhiannon got a haircut! A nine inch haircut to be precise. We were having a stressful hair morning so I threatened to just cut it. In rebuttle, Rhiannon just chimed, "Fine, cut it." Dusty happened to be home in the midst of all of this and he just encouraged us to get the issue resolved, and from his perspective, chopping made complete sense. In the heat of the moment I thought I might have regrets, but I have actually really enjoyed it. I think its adorable and she had gotten millions of compliments. It's much easier and takes a lot less time which is ideal for Rhiannon. So, there you have it, a hormonal day at the Reno household; well the beginning of the day anyway...

Then later on in the day---

The hormonal rage continued on. I chopped my hair off as well. I am having a lot of fun with it, and suprisingly enough, I don't miss it much either. So we are all through being drastic for a few weeks, I hope. Until next month I guess ;)

Also this week, we had planned on going to the circus for several days. We had gotten Rhiannon all hyped up and excited for the event so when we got to the doors with our "free coupons" and realized that tickets were nearly $30 PER PERSON, and there was more fine print on the ticket than the naked eye could see, it was more than devestating to try to explain to her that we didn't feel that we could justify an expenditure such as that on our college budget. We felt like terrible parents as we didn't follow through with what we had promised...life lesson, don't underestimate the cost of the circus just because it's in Pocatello, Idaho.

I am currently trying to finish a project that has been stretched out over the course of the week as well. I am stuck right now and maybe a few opinions would help me complete it. What do you all think?

Add star to top? leave plain but cut the dowel down? or add dowel cap to end? Dusty thinks a star would make it too much--what do you think?

Anyway, our week was topped off with a nice weekend-long celebration of Cy's birthday. I will post a slideshow of those festivities shortly.

All Skiwampus...

I can't figure out why my tag post is so messed up. Just ignore my computer/technological illiteracy. I don't really know how to fix it but I'm sure you get the idea.

I've Been Tagged (like forever ago--sorry Rachel)

Use only google images...

My favorite color:

My favorite animal:

I guess it's kinda sad, but I don't really care for a ton of animals all that much...sorry!

Bad Habit:

Favorite Food:

I just have too many...that's my problem!

Favorite Hobby:

Crafts and

My Kids!
My kids are a huge part of so much of my time and I thoroughly enjoy being their mother, so yes, they are totally my hobby.

Favorite Song:

My favorite song is constantly changing. I love a ton of different music so it just depends what's new and my mood at the time. I have been listening to this new girl Leona Lewis a lot lately. I love the song Bleeding Love. Check it out if you haven't heard it.

Favorite Author:

I don't really like to read books a ton, but I love magazines. If I am looking for casual, easy reading, I always grab a copy of the Hers Muscle and Fitness Magazine off the stand. I love it!

Favorite Dessert:

Banana Splits!!!

Picture of ME:

I don't care for pics of myself, but I thought I could publish Rhiannon's work...here is a recent pic courtesy of our little Rhiannon!

Whew, that took a little bit! I tag: Sandi, Mandy, Kwinnae, and Ashley.

Soccer Saturday

Dusty and Rhiannon had their first soccer game yesterday and it was an absolute blast!! The weather was freezing cold, but the kids were tough and played anyway.
This is Coach Dusty reminding Rhiannon which goal to score in. Most of the game was spent reminding the children which direction to go.
Here is Rhiannon trying to figure the whole soccer thing out. I asked her after words if she had a good time and she said, "Soccer is way fun, but I don't really like running!" Needless to say, Dusty is planning on incorporating a little conditioning into the next practice! Ha, ha, ha.
(I've added several posts today so be sure to scroll all the way down to catch them all.)

Just Bein' Cute