iChat with Grandma

Last night before the kids went to bed they got to chat with Grandma. Above is a pic of the blessed event.

Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving in D.C.

The Washington D.C. Temple

The Potomac River

Kirsten and Michelle's Thanksgiving Creation

The Battlefield of Bull Run in Manassas

The booth in the Ford's Theatre where Pres. Abe Lincoln was shot.

Ken, Tressa and I had a great vacation to D.C. for Thanksgiving. Bryan and Kirsten are quite the host and hostess. If you ever want a great time, they can show you how. Ken and I were able to see the Potomac River, the D.C. temple, the National Zoo, Bull Run Civil War Site, the National Air and Space Museum and downtown D.C. We also went to the Ford's Theatre and the room across the street where Pres. Abe Lincoln died. Kirsten and I made an awesome Thanksgiving dinner, we were quite proud of ourselves. If you want to see more pictures of our vacation you can click here:

http: g2_view="core.ShowItem&g2_itemId=9339"

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Don't eat too much turkey.

Dear Spencer,

Thank you for a most entertaining butt crack, I mean family day, at your ward. It was good times. Please keep us posted on the girl situation.

Love ya!

Happy Belated Halloween

Here are some pics from Halloween. Hope you all had a Happy Halloween.

She's finished!

Let's all give a big "Good Job" to Mom for finishing her Master's Degree.



GOOD JOB, MOM!

Halloween Fun!!

Isn't she adorable in her little duck costume? Here she is at the zoo sitting on a haystack pile surrounded by pumpkins.

A couple of days ago, I gave Tressa a bath. When I was done drying her hair, this was her new hairstyle. Pretty devilish, since Halloween is approaching. I guess, Tressa just can't wait to dress up.

Tressa was invited to her second birthday party. A friend of ours has a daughter that just turned 1 on Friday the 13th. My friend, Nicole, wanted all the little kids to dress up for the occassion in their Halloween costumes. Tressa decided to go as a duck.

The following day, we went with a couple (the husband goes to school with Ken) and their two little girls to the Louisville Zoo for "The Largest Halloween Party Ever". They gave the kids little trick-or-treat bags and there were candy stations every 20 to 30 feet. They also had Disney characters walking around for pictures. (Don't ducks lay eggs? :) )

Getting cuter every day!!!

Here are some updated pictures of Tressa at 2 1/2 months. Since we here in Kentucky do not have ichat, I thought I would post some pictures for you guys to see.

IT'S A GIRL!

Again.

Catoctin Mountain Park

This weekend little Buddy and I went on our stake fathers and sons campout in Catoctin Mountain Park, Maryland and we had a blast.





Meanwhile, his little sister finally had some peace and quiet.

Tressa's blessing

The Falls of the Ohio in Clarksville, Indiana

Tressa in her blessing dress.

Grandma and Grandma with Tressa, Isaac and Clara

Tressa with her mom and dad

Tressa and Ken going through Fat Man's Misery at Mammoth Caves

We had a great time over Labor Day weekend. We had a lot of family come for Tressa's blessing. On Ken's side of the family, we had Arlyn (Ken's dad), Colleen (Ken's mom), Trav (brother), Carl (brother) and Tiona (Carl's wife). On my side of the family, we had my mom, dad, Spencer, Bryan, Kirsten, Isaac, Clara, Aunt Joan and Uncle Fred. Friday night we went to the hotel and went swimming. Tressa really enjoyed the water, especially the hot tub. On Saturday, we drove about 100 miles south to Mammoth Caves. We went on the Historic tour. It was neat to learn the history that occurred in the caves and what they were used for. After the blessing, we had a big luncheon. Later that evening, we went to the Falls of the Ohio and then went to see the Louisville Temple. It was great to have family visit after living here for three years. I guess it did take a baby to get family out here to visit. :) Ken and I had a great time. We want to thank those who came to support us and participate in the blessing of our little Tressa.

Tressa is smiling!!

As of yesterday, Tressa is now six weeks old. Last Sunday she started to smile. At her last checkup appointment, she weighed 10 lbs. 5 oz. and is 22 1/4 inches long. She is growing like a weed.

already playing cards at 2 weeks

Tressa has found a new hobby. She loves playing SkipBo with her dad. The other day, we were playing SkipBo and Ken gave her his cards. We were surprised when she had hold of them. She is sure growing everyday. It is amazing how fast they grow.

iChatting between a PC and a Mac

This is for you Ken and Michelle:

http://www.mvldesign.com/video_conference_tutorial.html

We're going to try it tomorrow with my in-laws machine, so ww'll let you know how well it works.

Tressa Jeanette Richards

Michelle and I had a new addition (or spawn as others have indicated) to our family. Michelle's water broke at 2:30 AM and Tressa was born at 1:59 PM EDT and was 8 lbs. 4 oz., and 21 in. long. Tressa is a family name. My great grandmother was nick-named Tressa because of her long beautiful hair, and my mother's first name is Tressa (although she never went by it). Jeanette I believe is a family name, although I am not sure from where.... :) During the delivery, the OB/GYN was playing with our duaghter's hair, trying to give her curls (which is part of the reason we opted for Tressa).

I thought I would include some pics. More pics will be posted at

http://community.webshots.com/user/krrich01

Michelle, Tressa, and Ken


Father and Daughter

Weighing

Not a picture of the baby per se, but thought you might like to see Michelle a month prior to delivery.

On the road again...

... we'll be taking off tomorrow.

See all y'all real soon.

;)

Happy Father's Day

This goes out to all of us... Sean, Jared, Bryan and Ken (almost there).

Congrats on Fatherhood.

... and a big hug to Dad, you've been a great father for over 30 years!

This afternoon, as I was flipping through my Missionary scrapbook that Mom put together for me, I found the first letter that I wrote home, the one that I wrote to you. It's been almost 13 years since I wrote/read it, so I pulled it out and read it.

In case you don't remember it, It old you a bit about my life at the MTC and shared my first experience of giving a blessing. The funny thing about rereading that letter, I don't really remember it, but the principle of that moment has stayed with me for long after that.

Want to quote a part of the letter for you:

"I thank you: for your teachings; for your strict but gentle hand; and your priesthood power and many other things.

"I'm proud to be here. Proud to serve, and proud to have you as my father. I love you."

Elder M. Clayton (Sept 9, 1993)

Sorry I didn't send a card, but we are going to see Superman Returns that first weekend that I'm in UT (it opens 6/30).

Have a great day!

Aaron's Baptism

We plan on having Aaron's baptism on Saturday morning, July 29th at 10:00 AM at one of the Stake Centers in Roy, UT.

We'll let you know details before they happen.

So mark the date...

... it's the day before Spencer's "talk in church that coincides with him coming home from his mission" so Grandma Clayton and Donna will be there.

#3!

Yep, that's right folks. We have spawned again. I still can't imagine myself with 3 children! Aren't you supposed to be a grown-up for that? I'm still 18, right? Well, I always said I didn't want to be having kids after 30, and I'll be 30 in August, so I guess I jinxed that one. Feel free to send gifts.

Clara's Blessing

Finally!

Happy Birthday to the Birthday Boys!

Happy 21st Birthday Spencer!

Happy 32nd Birthday tomorrow Mike!

Happy 2nd Birthday to Alex!

One more Clayton girl has just arrived.  Congrats to Jared, Kristen and Abby on the arrival of Claire!

Long time, no see

Spencer sent me this photo via international snail mail a few days ago.

The photo that he sent sucked.

But as you can see, he hasn't changed much.

Just gotten uglier.

;)

There are Easter pics over in Min's Room (link)

Mom and Michelle are headed back to SLC here in a bit, so we put some pics up over on Min's blog. Here's the link:

Min's Room pics - Egg Hunt; Easter Sunday; Grandpa's T-Shirt

Enjoy!

Here's a pic of Andee in her blessing dress.

Our iChat (04/14/06)

Here are some pics that I snapped while talking with Bryan and Kirsten. In the little pic in the corener you can see Gpa, Gma, Michelle, Min and me.