The Murphy Family

Back to School!

2010-08-24T12:14:00.000-07:00

Hailey's first day of FOURTH Grade in Mrs. Clark's rockin' roll class!

Megan's first day in Mrs. Bigler's very "Hoppy" Froggy themed class.

Hailey with her good friend Audrey Eyring from last year's class. She's sad that she won't be in the same class this year but I'm sure they'll play at recess, etc. Nice family and friend.

Hailey and Megan posing outside their school before the bell rings. They were so excited and organized in the morning before school. They even showered and practiced piano before school! Way to go girls!

Happy 9th Birthday, Hailey!

2010-01-29T19:13:00.000-08:00

Hailey turned 9 on Wednesday, Jan. 27th! It's amazing how well she's growing up and enjoying life as a responsible 3rd grader. She's a great kid and is a big help at home. She wanted to go to a fun place to eat dinner and so we found the Mayan in Sandy, UT. Here's her birthday "lava" cake at the Mayan Restaurant. It was pretty impressive with the firework shooting off in the middle! You can't really blow it out as it just stops on its own but has a big "wow" factor!

We took her to dinner at the Mayan which features an ancient Mayan ambiance with real divers who dive off of these cliffs into a pool of water below inside the restaurant. It was fun! The kids had a blast and even liked the food! It turned out to be the perfect night!

Matthew Walks!

2010-01-29T18:53:00.001-08:00

We are so excited to report that Matthew took his first real steps at Grandma and Grandpa Murphy's house on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day! He's having a blast with his new-found freedom. Here's a short clip of him walking in our kitchen and even turning around mastering his new skills! We just love this little guy!

First Snow!

2009-10-27T10:18:00.000-07:00

Amazing! The first snow of the year! Here's a view out our front door looking onto our neighbor's yard and the street. It's coming fast and furious with no end in sight for today! Please say I'm dreaming.....

Looking to the side yeard from our porch! Snow everywhere!

Crazy, aye! I couldn't believe my eyes this morning when I woke up but it's true! The snow is still coming down and I'm in shock! I scrambled to find old snow boots for the girls to wear to school but I couldn't find any gloves or hats. I know I should've picked up some snowpants already but I haven't. It's incredible and took me off guard. I know it's getting close to November but I'm still in denial:O Time to get out the gear and shovels! YIKES!

New Twin Cousins!

2009-10-24T21:15:00.000-07:00

The proud parents of twins! This is my "little" brother, Tim, and his amazing wife, Sage, with their new baby boy twins named Oliver Arthur Pearson and Anders Stuart Pearson. They are so stinkin' cute! Anders slept during the whole visit and Oliver was looking around not making a peep. This was a week after they arrived and are doing so well. I don't know how Sage makes it look so easy;) You go girl! Thanks for letting us come visit!

One of the twins trying out his new swing. Let's see what he thinks...........

Thumbs up mom and dad! We have the coolest relatives. Aunt Jenny got us this Awesome swing! She rocks! (I think Hailey or Megan took this shot. I thought it was cute.)

Group shot with the cute Momma Sage in the background. We were so happy to greet these adorable twins into the family!

What a cutie this little Oliver is! I'm a proud Aunt Jenny!

Ryan smiling knowingly.....Tim and Sage's lives are changed FOREVER! No good sleep for awhile guys! We pass the torch to you...

Megan is all smiles!

Grandma Pearson being a super helper! They now have 9 grandchildren! Who-hoo! Who will bring it to an even 10? Melissa? Heather?

Hailey and Megan looking like pros on the baby holding front! Future babysitters right here!

Matthew wasn't quite sure about these new baby cousins! I'm sure he'll be getting them into trouble in no time showing them new tricks and things to get into! We're so excited for future playmates! Way to go Tim and Sage!

Apple Picking!

2009-10-24T20:49:00.000-07:00

We found it! A real Pick-Your-Own apple orchard in UTAH! It took us a long time to get there but it was worth it. I'll have to say the apple cider was not as great as the East, though. But it was sure a fun day!

Here is a great view of our drive into Paradise Valley, Utah. It was fun to be in such a rural landscape and drive on a dirt road to get there (i guess we took the back way thanks to mapquest) It was super bumpy but very picturesque!

Megan loved the taste testing part best of all!

Hailey was a pro at finding the right apples to pick. She was very thorough and conscious about avoiding the nasty worm holed ones! She wanted me to shoot every angle of apple picking...but I'm not a great photographer unfortunately.

"You're letting me pull this off the tree?"

"Is this OK to put in my mouth?"

Our cute trio of kids posing after a fun bout of apple picking...and sampling:P

A successful day of Apple Picking and Pumpkin snatching! Who knew it would be sooo difficult to find a Pick-Your-Own Orchard in Utah! But it was worth the 3 hour roundtrip drive!

Hello Again!

2009-10-12T20:50:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't been blogging but it's been a crazy summer and now it's finally settling down a bit.

So much has happened! We moved to North Salt Lake, UT to our new home, Ryan started his new job and had a birthday, the girls started first/third grade, Matthew turned 1, and we are somewhat functional and stable;) I'll just post some pics and do more later. We feel so blessed and happy! Thanks for everyone's prayers and support!

Our family on a nice afternoon on Temple Square after the Music and the Spoken Word broadcast. Ryan's second official broadcast conducting one of the songs. He did awesome! We're so proud of him!

Here's a picture of us in the Tabernacle in front of the organ. Ryan's new office is underneath the tabernacle which is pretty cool.

Ryan's thirty-something birthday! The girls designed the cake and I helped them decorate it. It was a fun! We love you daddy! You don't look a day over 25;)

Hailey with her new third grade teacher Mrs. Kidd at their new school Orchard Elementary. They were a bit nervous but mostly excited and have adjusted well to life at a new school.

Megan with her new first grade teacher Mrs. Deaton on her first day of school. She was so excited! Hailey and Megan both have great teachers!

Matthew turns 1 year old! We celebrated with some our friends Abbie and Tyler! I can't believe it's been a year already! He's such a great kid and I can't wait to see what his future will hold. He's finally crawling "normal", pulling himself to standing, climbing the stairs, and has 7 teeth. He loves music, chasing his sisters in his walker, getting tickled, and laughing when I say "no". An all around good natured soul!

Chillin' at Boston Common

2009-06-16T19:53:00.000-07:00

For some reason, I always love a good Carousel ride to kick start the summer! This was put up for a few days at Frog Pond on the Common. I realized my girls were almost the biggest kids on it.....can't they stay little forever :( The lady running the ride was a stickler for making adults pay if they "rode" on something instead of standing. One dad sat it the tea cup seat with his 2 kids and the lady went bolistic because he didn't pay for himself. Come on! Where's the friendly family spirit in that!

Lying on the green grass with daddy....we realized later that there was a sign that said to "keep off the grass". Oops! But aren't the boys adorable?!

Matthew playing in the grass....he's getting so stinking big and strong! Even though he's just turning 9 months in the morning he weighs 20 lbs and is wearing 12-18 month size clothes! Linebacker? He rolls all over the place getting himself into mischief and just cut his first tooth!

The trio that survived the Swan Boat ride....no one fell in....I was so tempted to push someone in;)

Ryan and the girls on the swan boat. Those pedalers must have great legs doing this all day, everyday...maybe that should be my new part-time job so I can get my legs back in shape:)

Ryan Graduates and we're moving to Utah!

2009-06-16T19:38:00.001-07:00

He did it! He really, really graduated! I was seriously so excited for him even though for some reason I'm not smiling very big in this picture! It was a L-O-N-G seven years in Boston to get this single document! So much has happened during our stint in Boston. We added 2 children to our family and survived the Nor'Easter crazy weather storms and braved the wacky roads with their crater-like pits in Belmont. Our children received a wonderful education and made many amazing, life-long friends! We'll always have a soft spot in our hearts for Boston!

The girls were so proud of their daddy and of course fought over who got to wear his hat! There was a wonderful reception afterwards for all of the graduates and their families. It was a mob scene but it was fun to celebrate and enjoy the evening.

Ryan pictured with his proud parents and his mentor Dr. Ann Howard Jones. Everyone breathed a huge sigh of relief that day and lots of prayers of gratitude were given!

I can't believe what's transpired since January!
Ryan GRADUATED and received his Doctorate of Musical Arts in Conducting on May 15th!
He landed a sweet FULL TIME job with BENEFITS!!!
We're trying to buy our first home!
And we're moving to Utah on July 8th.
We feel very grateful for this new phase in our lives! We're extremely sad to leave the East Coast and our friends we've made here these last 7 years in Boston. We hope to vacation here next summer and keep in touch with you all! Once we have an address in Utah you are all welcome to visit!
More to come.......

Matthew's Blessing

2009-01-05T20:15:00.000-08:00

Here's a rare picture of our family:) We had a wonderful day celebrating Matthew's arrival and having the privilege of dear friends helping with the blessing.

There was Jonathan Clark, David Sundahl, Paul Baratta, Bishop Beecroft, Randy Peterson,and my dad in the circle for the blessing. What a sweet experience to see such wonderful men who honor the priesthood standing there holding an infant in their arms giving our sweet Matthew blessings from Heaven. There's nothing so beautiful!

Thank you all for your support, prayers and good thoughts for our family.

Here's a picture with Grandma and Grandpa Pearson.

We were so blessed that they could come for Christmas and so we arranged to bless Matthew while they were here. They blessed him in church on Dec. 28th and it was so wonderful to have my dad be there for it. I just realized that my dad has been at every one of our children's blessings. That really means a lot to me.

Ryan did an absolutely beautiful job as a righteous priesthood holder giving our son a sincere blessing and pronounced some amazing blessing on Matthew. The spirit was so sweet and tender and I could feel that Matthew is an incredible person who will be full of compassion and understanding of others, sent to our tender care straight from Heaven.

Me snuggling my little prince....I just can't get enough of him!

I love to laugh at my silly mommy taking a zillion pictures of me!

Matthew was blessed in a "vintage" outfit having been worn by to my older brother Chris. It looked adorable on him even though it's not very wintery! It has a neat textured material with a darling Peter Pan collar, three stitched crowns down the front and some pearly buttons on each side of the crowns. I tried to find little shoe but they all had a huge cross on them. And a simple white sweater was impossible to find. SO... here you have it. His blessing outfit minus the matcing hat since I thought it made him look like a dork...sorry mom:)

Handsome fella! It's funny how every picture I take of him makes him look so different each time:) But isn't he just sooooo handsome and charming?!

Daddy has a Mowhawk!

2008-12-18T18:15:00.000-08:00

About a month ago.....To help Hailey not feel too sad about Megan being at a birthday party I told her that we could play "Hair Salon" and she could help me cut daddy's hair. His hair was getting pretty long! She was so excited and we decided to give him a Mohawk! You can see the delight on her face and Ryan's cringe. HA! HA! HA! He did get a decent cut after we took a few photos:)

Here's a back shot....can you tell?

Tough guy? I think he would have been beat up if he sported this hairdoo:) Sorry! But we love him!!!!!!

Electric Shock Hair!

2008-12-18T18:04:00.000-08:00

I don't know if you can tell but I gave Matthew a bath and towel dried his hair and came up with this "Electric Shock" hair doo. I thought it was hilarious! His hair is getting so long that I'm tempted to trim it. But it's too much fun playing with and making funny hair styles. Who knew it would be this much fun with Boy's hair:)

Got LICE????

2008-12-18T17:34:00.000-08:00

So, now that we're all feeling better from the Flu......Megan goes to school and gets sent home because they say she has HEAD LICE.....All Over! YIKES! Luckily, Ryan is home to go pick her up (while I feed/attend to Matthew)and we plop her in the shower to get her ready for the Lice Shampoo Treatment. To our horror, the label read that it should be applied to DRY hair. OOPS! So out she goes, Ryan dries her hair, applies shampoo....wait 10 minutes (an eternity for Megan) then rinse. Next, the gel and comb through to get all the dead lice/nits out....my job. Well, I carefully apply gel to 1/2 inch sections to look for the lice.......I can't find ANY.????Perplexing. I do find lots of DANDRUFF....HMMMMMMMMMMMM.

So, my friend calls up...need any help she asks. YES! Am I blind? Well, she can't find any either but concurs about the dandruff. Her daughter had it the day before and she found 25 total so she knows what to look for. HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM. Then back in the shower to rinse and do regular shampoo just for fun. 3 Showers for Megan;)Feeling a little lucky and grateful that maybe it's a false alarm. I'm washing everything just in case. Good thing there's just one more day of school left til vacation. I checked both girls tonight again and NOTHING! I think I'll take her to the nurse in the am to have her take a looky to be sure. Wish me luck!

YUCKY FLU:(

2008-12-15T20:04:00.000-08:00

SO we got hit with the flu this weekend. Megan woke up Sat. night around midnight and proceeded to vomit every hour until morning. Ryan and I took turns with her throughout this ordeal. YUCK! There's nothing worse than cleaning up vomit! She first threw up in the bathroom sink and it wouldn't drain so I had to reach in admist chunks of Dunkin Donuts Egg and Cheese Croissant Sandwich and Green frosted donut pieces to pull out the drain stopper. EWWWWW! Then she felt better.

Ryan left to go play organ for St. Malachy and took Hailey to sing with the Children's Choir. During the service she made her way off the stand to say she felt sick. She was able to lie down in the rectory. Then they had to rush to the Mormon choir practice and she had to tag along since there was no time to bring her home. Once they finally made it home....she threw up in the toilet. Way to hold it in, girl!

Next, around 5pm I started feeling off and proceeded to throw up once and then a second time around 7:30. I was supposed to help with the Primary Baptism Fireside which Hailey was going to attend since she'll be turning 8 in January. I had made a crock pot chicken soup for the fireside and made Ryan run it up to the church. Apparently A LOT of kids from our Ward got the flu this weekend so we're wondering if it came from the Ward Christmas Dinner from Friday night. Hmmmmmmmmmm? We were just getting over nasty colds from the week before (which Matthew, unfortunately is still suffering severly from:(

There's nothing worse than having the flu, except being pregnant and feeling that way 24/7 for many months! But we're all feeling better now and we'll let the kids go back to school tomorrow (Tues) since they've been feeling great all day today while I recouped. I seem to have had it the worst. I just hope Ryan and baby Matthew don't get it next......knock on wood. Ryan was such a trooper taking care of us all and getting up with Matthew to feed him in the middle of the night.

This all happened towards the end of two very stressful weeks for Ryan having had concerts last Saturday in Wakefield, Sunday at Walnut Hill School in Natick, then St. Malachy this Saturday and Ward Choir Christmas program on Sunday during the flu attack.

We need a VACATION! Sorry, I don't think you want pics of flu event:) and I forgot the camera for Ryan's concerts. But they all went GREAT!

Hilarious Pop Singing Parody at it's BEST (worst)!

2008-12-12T09:37:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-12-04T10:45:00.000-08:00

Here's a few pictures from Thanksgiving and our short list of what we're thankful for....

We're so thankful for little Matthew's safe arrival!

Here he is in his bib that Grandma Pearson sent us that says "Baby's First Thanksgiving"!

I couldn't get any smiles but he's such a good boy with a very sweet disposition and we are so very lucky to have him in our family.

The Monday before Thanksgiving he weighed in at 11 lbs. 3 oz. and is 22 3/8 inches long (he's almost doubled his weight in 2 months!) This kind of growth has never happened to my other kids so it's kind of weird:) He's growing sooo fast and changing so much!

He really likes to "coo" more and gives smiles that melt your heart:)

We're so thankful for family, friends, and the Gospel!

Here we are gathered around the Thanksgiving table with Grandma and Grandpa Murphy and 2 Elders from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We had such a wonderful day visiting, eating yummy food, singing, and expressing our gratitude for the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that's been restored here upon the earth.

How lucky we are to know that God loves us and cares enough for us to send his only begotten son to show us how to live, to Atone for our sins, and to give us the wonderful Plan of Salvation so that we may return to live with our Father in Heaven as an eternal family.

We're so thankful for a wonderful DADDY!

He played a ton with the kids over the break! He's such a wonderful person who always thinks of others, works hard, is giving of his time and talents, and loves his family!

We're thankful for our children!

We're sooooo blessed to have wonderful kids who are kind, thoughtful, and caring towards others.

We're so thankful for sleep!

Here's a rare photo of grandma sleeping while holding little slumbering Matthew! (please don't hate me but I thought this was a sweet picture!)

Grandma Murphy worked so hard to put together a GREAT thanksgiving meal and to take care of all of us over the holiday week.

Mommy got lots of sleep over the break since everyone let me sleep in every morning and took care of Matthew!

Thanks Grandma!!!

We're so thankful for Grandparents.

Here's Grandma Murphy snuggling me and giving lots of loves on my first Thanksgiving.

We have such wonderful grandparents!

HAPPY (BELATED) THANKSGIVING!

Matthew turns 2 Months!

2008-11-22T12:48:00.001-08:00

It's so fun to smile!
Posing in his new big boy outfit!
We go to the doctor's on Monday to see how much he's grown and to get his yucky immunizations:(
He's such a great boy! We're so lucky and blessed!

Introducing...... Matthew Ryan Murphy!

2008-09-30T14:00:00.000-07:00

Proud parents, Ryan and Jen holding baby who? We couldn't decide on the name. Finally we decided later the next week on Sept. 22 that his name would be Matthew Ryan. See the next post for details on the name and birth experience. Sorry this blog is messed up. I'm still figuring it all out. Hope you like all of the pictures!

Yeah! What a team! Here's mommy, Matthew, Dr. Hardiman and the wonderful nurse that helped me the whole time. She was a crack up. I wish I could remember her name.

Thanks ladies!

Mommy and Matthew......he finally lets out a big howler to get his lungs going. What a glorious sound when you know they're breathing! This was truly one of the only big screams he let out! He's a pretty content little guy. Phew! Mommy made it through the delivery.

Smiles all around:)

Where am I? What's going on? Who are you strange people? Where's the party?

"What a very lucky boy!" exclaimed Dr. Hardiman. When Matthew was born he came out with the cord showing a big, but loose knot! Wow! Another miracle in this birth story:) Thank you! Our prayers were answered in so many ways!!!!!!!!

Drum roll............he weighs in at a whopping 6 lbs. 3.6 oz. and measured 19 inches long. What a peanut! We thought he'd be at least 7 lbs. or more but hey, we'll take it! Easier for mommy:)

Matthew's first bath at the hospital! Thanks for politely covering my bottom:)

Proud sisters HAILEY and MEGAN holding their new baby brother, MATTHEW RYAN during their visit to the hospital.

Matthew Ryan Murphy.... arrives safe and sound!

2008-09-30T13:16:00.000-07:00

Here's daddy kickin' it with Jen as he patiently waits and keeps the ice chips and water handy! Boy, what hard work:) Read that magazine and take it easy.........I luckily got him out of rehearsals and piano lessons so he was pretty stoked:) Oh, I keep forgetting to do the pictures in reverse order. Sorry, a picture of Matthew at home safe and sound is below:) I'll try again.

Ughhh! Here I am posing in my HOT outfit at the hospital the morning of Wed. Sept 17th. I was feeling pretty good! My water apparently ruptured the night before but I wasn't sure since it was draining slowly and in spurt. I thought that maybe I had lost utter control of my bladder or something. I didn't know a slow leak could happen, but I guess it can if the sack breaks up high enough. So I went to my doctor that morning and said I wasn't sure what was happening but something definitely strange was. Sure enough they confirmed that it was amniotic fluid that I was leaking and my doctor asked me why I didn't call her the night before?! Well, I wanted to sleep and didn't realize what was happening:) Sorry!

So they rushed me upstairs to Labor and Delivery (since my doctor's office is in the hospital...convenient, aye) and started the IV's. I had been dialated the week before to 4cm and about 70% effaced. I knew I was a walking, ticking baby time bomb! I wasn't feeling any contractions but they said I was having some pretty good ones. Around 4 pm they gave me my Epidural and started me on Petosin (sp?) to help speed up and regulate the contractions. It finally kicked in around 7:30 as they began to get stronger.

Around 9pm the doctor asked if I was feeling any pressure and I said "no" then quickly changed my mind as I suddenly felt a lot of pressure. The doctor checked my and said.....He's COMING NOW! So within 3 more contractions I pushed him out quickly and with a little tearing. Sorry if this is toooo much info! But he arrived safe and sound:)

Here he is...........Matthew Ryan Murphy!!!!!!! Born on Septmember 17th, 2008 at 9:18 pm. He weighed 6 lbs. 3.4 oz. and 19 inches long. He looks like a mix between Hailey and Megan, I think. He has some really blonde hair on the sides and slightly light brownish-goldish hair. His eyebrows and eyelashes are blonde-ish white! We're not sure about the eye color. Hailey thinks/hopes they'll be brown, but I think they might be hazel or blue. We'll see:)

He is such a sweet boy! He doesn't cry very much (of course, when he's hungry). We named him Matthew because in Hebrew it means "gift of God" (which he truly is after all of our worry about his health and my puky pregnancy) and because it sounds sweet, yet strong and nice with Murphy as well as fitting well with the rest of our names. His middle name is Ryan after his daddy's first name. We feel sooooooo BLESSED to have him in our family. It feels so right!

Hailey and Megan ready for School!

2008-09-30T09:46:00.000-07:00

They're so cute as they pose on our front steps. Ahhhh, the excitement of a fresh school year! I can't believe they're both in school together! Kindergarten and Second Grade.

My how the time seems to fly by. It seems like yesterday that Hailey and Megan were born. It's crazy to think that when we moved to Boston that Hailey was just 19 months old and Megan wasn't born until that next May. Now they're "big girls" and taking on the world of education:) I hope the year goes well and that they make some really good friends. You always hope that they'll be nice to everyone and that everyone will be nice to them and that they feel loved and satisfied with life.

Megan's First Day of Kindergarten!

2008-09-30T09:11:00.001-07:00

Here's the proud and excited Kindergartner with her butterfly backpack on and ready for her first day of school!

Here's Megan, Hailey and Daddy "running/walking" to school for Megan's first day of Kindergarten on Sept. 4th and Hailey's second day of Second Grade. We were running a little behind schedule, of course! I'm waddling my pregnant self slowly behind. It was a gorgeous day and nice to walk the 8 or so blocks to the school. My body didn't quite agree by the time I got home but it was worth it and fun to see them so excited:)

Here's the sign on the wall that greeted the students as they entered the classroom. Mrs. Ryder is a fun teacher who does some really fun chants and songs with movement so the kids can get their wiggles out, like "Banana Split" (It's hot in here, I said it's hot in here. There must be bananas in the atmosphere. Peel to the left, peel to the right. Peel down the middle and ("Ummm" munch sound) take a bite. Go, go, go-go bananas. Go, go, go-go bananas. )and "The Volcano Blows" but I can't remember it- I think it goes "I don't know ch-ch. I don't know ch-ch. I don't know when the volcano blows. (exploding sound and jumps up)." The other day they sang "She'll be comin rund the mountain" and "The Ants go Marching". My kind of teacher:)

Whoops! Sorry this is backwards! But here's a last minute picture of Megan sitting in her classroom awaiting a name tag from her teacher, Mrs. Ryder. She's sitting next to one of her best friends "Peach" (aka. Christina). This is just half of the class from last names A-N for the first slow start introduction to school. The other half of the children went the next day and then they all came together the following Monday. They all look a little shell shocked:)

Here's Megan on her way to line up for the first day of Kindergarten. Oh, sorry, the sun was shining in her eyes:) It's fun to see the mass of parents and children as they get ready to say goodbye for a few hours and to see the mixed emotions of the little ones.

Hailey's First Day of Second Grade!

2008-09-29T19:40:00.000-07:00

So, I'm trying to catch up on all of the things that have happened in September, like the beginning of school, etc. Sorry for the delay but I wanted to share these cute pictures of these momentous events!

Look how cute Hailey is in her first day of school outfit! It took her a long time to pick out just the right look that she wanted. Hailey's first day of Second Grade is mixed with excitement and nervousness.....will she like her teacher, what will her class be like, who will I sit by, who will play with me, etc. She was a little reluctant to go but at the end of the day she said she had a great time and was so excited about her new teacher, Mrs. Messing. Phew!

See you later! I'm going to school now! :)

Cape Cod....AHHHHH!

2008-08-30T14:17:00.000-07:00

This is Hailey's "Cape" design in the sand....can you read it? We were soooooo lucky to get a last minute invitation to spend the week on the Cape. A surprise gift to get away and celebrate our 12th Anniversary!

The Murphy clan posing outside of the Cape Cod "Cottage" in Falmouth, MA. An awesome friend owns this amazing place on the Cape and called us up on Tues. the 19th and said it was suddenly available until that Friday for us to enjoy if we wanted to. SURE! We quickly packed our bags and headed for some fun in the sun! The house was AMAZING and decorated to the T inside, only 3 houses away from the beatiful beach, and the weather was spectacular! We were in HEAVEN! The water was over 70 degrees which is unusual for Mass. and the sand was so white and pretty. We caught some baby jellyfish, boogey boarded, found seashells, and dug in the sand. What a perfect last hurrah before school starts! THANK YOU Nancy!

Cute daddy catching a break from playing with the kids in the water!

Beach babes ready for fun in the sun! Aren't they adorable!

Megan proudly displays her lovely shell. There were so many around on the beach!

Hailey and Daddy trying to boogey board on the small surf:)

Hailey and Megan buried in the sand! They had so much fun burying each other in this beautiful white sand so we got a picture of them both buried. We tried to draw mermaid tails but you can't really tell. They were so cute!

Mama Jen catches some rays and rubs the belly........ahhhhhhh! How many more weeks? It's the final count down! Now if it wasn't so uncomfortable to sleep.................

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

2008-08-18T06:46:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDY, DADDY!!!!!!

Hailey and daddy posing with his presents from Hailey. Hailey and mommy made a "daddy" keychain out of Beadkins. Hailey picked out all of the bead colors and we put our heads together to figure out how to make a boy shape. (He thinks it looks like Elvis:) Hailey made a birthday card and decorated it with buttons. She was so excited to have him open his presents....she couldn't wait until after we sang "Happy Birthday" and cut the cake! She helped her little sister Megan with the creation of her presents and gave the OK when the decorations were just right:)

Megan drew a picture of her and daddy on his birthday card and she made a picture frame displaying a picture of them swimming together. She was sooo proud!

Ryan, blowing out all 5 of his birthday candles......well, we didn't want to start a fire! :)

Happy Birthday, Daddy! Ryan turned 37 yesterday on August 17th. The girls were soooo excited. We made a birthday cake, decorated our apartment with streamers and birthday banners and then surprised him when he got home from playing the organ at St. Malachys. Here's daddy and Megan making funny faces for the camera (Hailey took this picture).

2008-08-10T20:09:00.000-07:00

Life is Good!

2008-08-10T20:01:00.000-07:00

Hailey and cousin, Emery showing off their "tatoos" for the Life is Good Festival where we saw SteveSongs perform.

SteveSongs at Boston Common

2008-08-10T19:52:00.000-07:00

We love SteveSongs ....he's now so popular he's on PBS doing a 10 sec. cameo at 8:57 or something every morning. Go Steve! We knew him when.......;)

2008-08-10T19:44:00.000-07:00

Cousins cooling off in Frog Pond!

Eltons Visit Boston- Day 1

2008-08-10T19:24:00.000-07:00

My (Jen's) sister, Melissa, made the trek East to Boston with her family to visit us. We were soooo excited! This was a first since we usually travel West to Oregon to see them.

The first full day we took them on the "T" (train) downtown to the Boston Common to see our favorite kid's singer SteveSongs, but the weather was HOT! and we were melting:) It was a long day as we tried to do too many things with young children on a hot day. But, luckily we brought the kids' swimsuits to take a dip in the Frog Pond in the Commons! We missed the Duck Tours which was our main goal of the day. SOLD OUT. ARGHHHH! Get them early, we advise!

We went indoors to cool off and watch WALL-E which I thought was strange and a blaring commentary on environmental issues. The kids seemed to enjoy it, though.....well, those that stayed awake;) Then we took them to Quincy Market/Faneuil Hall and got dinner and ice-cream. OK, so it was my idea b/c I was starving and everyone grudgingly went along. I think all of the walking and heat did us in! Boston by fire! (well, they really didn't get to see much of Boston....sorry guys).

Life is a Rollercoaster!

2008-07-15T07:34:00.000-07:00

So....this past week has been a total rollercoaster ride. First, we had our second ultrasound for the baby to check on his Echogenic Bowel condition. We were told it could be a marker of many different scenarios which ranged from possible birth defects like Down Syndrome or Cystic Fibrosis to maybe being as simple and non-threatening as just some swallowed blood in the baby's system which would pass through. WELL......the ultrasound revealed that it had disappeared and that everything is ABSOLUTELY FINE!!!!!!! What a relief!

Second, that same day, Ryan was offered the Choral Director position at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas. We prayed and prayed to make the right decision and we kept getting opposite answers from each other and then flip-flopping back and forth. We went to the temple together, prayed, and tried to seek spiritual guidance. There were many pros/cons to each choice.....

In the end, we decided to turn down the offer which is one of the hardest things we've had to do. We've been waiting years for Ryan to finally have a full-time college teaching job but, in the end we felt he needed to stay and finish his dissertation and be completely done with his Doctorate degree and have a better chance at more job offers for next year.

So it looks like Boston is stuck with us for one more year. We love it here! It's just so darn expessive to live and you get a tiny apartment! The winters linger on f-o-r-e-v-e-r but the summer and fall seasons are spectacular. There's comfort in being able to have our baby here in Boston where we have the best medical care and we still have all of our wonderful friends and Ryan's family whom are 7 hours away for support.

We know that God in mindful of us and that he hears and answers our prayers!

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Dance Recital

2008-07-14T12:14:00.000-07:00

Hailey and Megan danced in their first dance recital on June 21st. They were so darn cute:) They were in the same class together learning ballet and tap. It was neat to see their amazing progress and to see Megan hold her own even though she was the youngest and smallest and to have Hailey be so wonderful at helping her little sister learn the routines.

Ryan bought them flowers and gave it to them after the recital. They were so excited! They felt like stars and beemed from ear to ear! Afterwards we took them to Friendly's with some friends, the Poulsens, for dinner and dessert. It was a blast!

Fun in the Sun at Delaware

2008-06-27T11:20:00.000-07:00

Hello all! We're kickin' it in Delaware with the in-laws, Grandma and Grandpa Murphy. We're having fun relaxing and swimming everyday at the neighbor's pool! SWEET!

Hailey has turned into a fish and is swimming independently in the deep end and she's learning how to dive off the diving board. Megan is learning to swim with her "big arms" and is getting pretty good at it. Daddy is trying to teach her how to doggy paddle:)

Jen's enjoying the free-weight feeling the water offers as her weight and belly is expanding daily:) Tomorrow will be 28 weeks and starting the 3rd Trimester. Sleeping comfortably is getting harder every night! We're still having a hard time picking out a boy's name.....

Daddy's getting a lot of "fun" time with the kids and much needed R&R:) But he's never far from the piano or his manuscript paper, always creating arrangements for this or that.

For this, sunday he's arranging some music and composing some flute and trumpet parts for the Pastor's last service at St. Malachy where Ryan is the choral director/organist. It's never really a vacation, aye! He's also preparing for a job interview for a choral director position at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas. We'll see!

Well, hope everyone's enjoying some R&R themselves and catching some much needed sunshine:)

Hello Blogger World!

2008-05-29T16:25:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I'm actually doing this! I've been wanting to do this forever and was finally motivated by my friend's new blog. This will be so much fun and I hope you're all patient with me as I blunder my way around this great tool!