the Grahams

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Horsey Ride Out, Neck Ninja In!

This is how we roll

I'm a little late to the party on this one...but all that matters is that I am documenting it now! We were so excited to have Duane's parents stay with us and go see a strip show (wow that came out wrong...it means a show playing on the strip..dirty minds people....you should be ashamed of yourself). Duane and I don't get down to the strip too often although we live about 20 minutes away. We got to see La Reve at the Wynn (the one with water :). I can honestly say that the show was everything it said it would be. It was over so fast because there was something amazing happening all the time! I wanted to watch it again right then. We topped the night off with some fantastic desserts at a nearby restaurant. Yum!!! The waitress helped us settle the argument about Donny and Marie's show. It sucks! I won. End of story.

Tony and Edna!

Looking a bit tired...but ready for more :)

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Care for an M&M?

We decided that we had lived here too long to not have seen the M&M factory on the strip. So we headed down and saw some art galleries at the new City Center on our way to the M&M excitement. The 3-D video was a bit dated and fuzzy but the colors were bright and Taylor sat and watched without the glasses which makes us think that he may NEED glasses, hmmm? We topped off the night by buying Taylor his own travel backpack. He walked around the whole store wearing it so we thought he was rather attached to it and would keep it on long enough to carry things in the future. Besides, it is adorable.

Duane and Taylor but an awesome glass exhibit at City Center

awesome glass pieces! pictures do not do them justice

inside M & M world

Taylor's backpack and him by the balls..he is definitely ALL BOY

4-wheeling

While we were in Oregon we went on a four-wheeling adventure around the mountains of Duane's home with Wendy, her adorable son, Atticus (coolest name ever!), and Val. It was a blast and since they are great photographers we have some awesome pictures to show for it!

scaling to new heights!

ready to go!

Wendy, Atticus, and Val before we left

beholding the power of the Off Road Vehicle

oooooooooooooooooo it is pretty here, one of my favorite shots of Taylor

Tyler Graham- You will missed!

As many of you already know... my brother-in-law, Tyler, passed away at the end of January. It was a sad time but we all feel very at peace with it now and know that he is having great adventures of his own! He had just recently returned from his mission and we were able to spend Christmas together this year. Now the only lingering sad thought is that Taylor will not have any cousins (in this life) on the Graham side. I guess we better get going on getting him a sibling!
If you have any comments that you would like to leave for the family you can go to a memorial website for him. www.tylermemorial.blogspot.com and write a comment.

Thank you all for your love and support!

Monday, February 8, 2010

An afternoon at the Park

Taylor is a serious outdoor person. That is all he wants to do is be outside and explore. Also, Taylor got an awesome four wheeling car for Christmas and we had to try it out. He rode it there and we carried it back. You know how it goes.. Enjoy!

lovin his new ride!

he is such a big boy doing everything by himself!

loves Peek-a-boo (wish the lighting was better)

with mommy

with daddy on the see-saw, my favorite from the day!

Duane's Birthday Duck

Duane's birthday is right after Christmas and it is always so hard to celebrate it with the right umph. Let's face it, we are tuckered out after our Christmas festivities. This year, Duane's dad, "Grandpa Tony", took him duck hunting. It must be a man thing to think that going out really early in the morning and freezing your butt off is a treat but they were so excited. Duane even came back with the only duck they saw! I had the pleasure of emptying its body cavity and deboning it just recently. It actually turned out rather well. I'm sorry I don't have any pictures of it but the orange sauce that went with it was amazing. We also went to Roadhouse to celebrate Duane's 28th year of life. Happy Birthday, honey!

Duane, his duck, the gun used to kill the duck

enjoying his complimentary sundae and toilet liner necklace

of course Taylor and I had to try on the official birthday boy hat as well

Uncle Tyler looking on with laughter

When is my birthday going to be here?

"Don't worry about it son, just relax and enjoy the ride."

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Christmas Part Two: the Real Deal

The Grahams love Christmas! There is no half-way doing the festivities, it is all out. It was so much fun to be there for a week and enjoy the time together. The hour after I arrived with Taylor at the house it started to snow. I always joke that I bring that weather with me (mainly because I am NOT a cold weather person). So Taylor got to wear lots of layers and see some snow for the first time in his young toddler life. Tyler and Duane got to Oregon on the 24th, Christmas Eve morning, after having driven all night from California. Tyler took off within a half hour after they got there to do his Christmas shopping. One of the most memorable parts of that day was when Tyler got back and tried to hide the presents by running like a maniac from his car to his room so that no one would peek at his bags.

After that we ate lots and lots of food and enjoyed some Christmas videos. We also helped Tyler and Duane finish up some wrapping (which was no small feat!). The next morning we got up with Taylor and I got to organize all the presents! I was itching to dig in. We took our time, each of us taking turns, until we reached the end...the biggest present of all. Edna, "Grandma Edna", got a new laundry room with new countertops and cabinetry. It was beautiful and I was so impressed by Tony and the work he had done.

After we opened presents (5 1/2 hours later) we got ready and went to Grammie Graham's to be with Tony's family. What a party! We always have a potluck dinner and white elephant gift exchange (these presents are actually nice!). The best part of the process is when a present gets "hot" and is stolen a bunch of times. Without the possibility of a steal it would be boring, right? Then we went home and dreamed of all the goodies we had collected throughout the day.

On our way back to Nevada we stopped in Burns to visit with more family and more gift exchanging. Duane was able to get a massage for his birthday as well.

the tree..11 ft. Nordman Fir..Gorgeous

Taylor on Christmas morning

getting anxious

Duane and me

Tyler, Duane, me, and Edna

Tony's huge elk looking on with satisfaction

trying on his Oregon gear

Tyler and his pug, Xena

presents organized and ready to go

Yeah!! We love Christmas!

Christmas Part One

We own and operate Christmas tree lots so we HAD to have a Christmas tree, even if it was only for 4 days. So I drove up with a small Grand Fir (they smell the best...just FYI) and we decorated it simply and put the Fishback presents underneath. Then the day before we left we had a little Christmas celebration with just our little family. Taylor loved the presents he got and we enjoyed seeing him fully realize what presents are...he hadn't tried opening any of them under the tree. The decorations on the bottom half of the tree didn't last long. The ornaments were shaped like balls...not a good idea on my part. Next year, I am just not going to decorate the bottom half. That half will sport the natural look. We celebrated Christmas day with the Grahams in Oregon this year (Christmas Part Two). P.S. Don't ask me why Taylor is pantless in these pictures. He usually is clothed but lets be honest: all boys and MEN like to be naked whenever possible. :)

our little Grand Fir and Taylor "helping"

Taylor enjoying some of his loot and Duane holding up the rest :)

Friday, February 5, 2010

December= tree harvest= time away from home= stress= a living

We had two Christmas Tree Lots to run this year in Chino and Walnut, CA. It was a race against mishaps and rain but we came out alive. I stayed down with my folks while Duane drove back every weekend after he finished a week of teaching. I am tired just thinking about it. However, the good things about this time were the special explorations of Papee and Taylor. My dad, Papee, and Taylor really hit it off because all Taylor wants to do is be outside and Papee likes to "wander" around discovering new things too. He also didn't mind going out ALL the time (as opposed to Mommy who wants to stay inside especially during inclement weather). These are a few pics I got of them together in the rain, like I said..inclement weather.

pushing the bin around the back porch

I LOVE this picture but I can't clean it up anymore (I was far away and let's face it, I need a new camera)

Soooo Cute

I love my Papee!

He is hitched!

That's right my little brother, Bradford Leland Fishback, married Catherine Parker in the Los Angeles temple on November 24, 2009. It was a beautiful ceremony and reception. We enjoyed the lovely weather that only southern Cali can have right before Thanksgiving. It was so nice to see family. Taylor loved spending time with his cousins although he did throw himself (literally) into his port-a-crib at the end of the day. It was a tiring but exciting turn of events.