Happy Easter!

We had a wonderful Easter!

Molly, Teresa, and Emily cooked up a first class dinner of Rack of Lamb, beet salad, horseradish mashed potatoes, cherry glaze, and homemade strawberry lemonade. It was very delicious!

The kids had fun with their cousins looking for eggs. They also got some new sunglasses and gum boots to wear in the rain and in the garden. Grammy and Grampy Canada gave them MegaMind and some pretty Easter dresses and toys. Brayden got a big truck to push around, and of course, there was lots (LOTS) of candy!!! Yum.

Spring Is Here!

Spring time is here already! With the temps already hitting 90 and even a couple of days in the 100's already, it seems like we almost skipped spring! So this is what the Chan Clan has been up to...

Rylan -

Has taken a new position at the hospital. He works a lot with cardiac patients and has seen some pretty amazing things. The learning curve for cardiology has been steep, but he has really enjoyed it so far. He works with a great crew of 5 mid-levels and for the most part, they get along great with the doctors. The only hard thing is switching from 12 hour days to 12 hour nights.

Rylan has also started P90X as the rest of the family has been getting into shape. I must tell you, that P90X is a BUTT KICKER of a workout. I don't know if I have ever been so sore in my life! The goal (as it is every year) is to get into shape and hopefully do another triathlon.

He has also gotten pretty involved with emergency preparedness. Recently got CERT - trained and certified, and has a TON of information on how to prepare your family in case of emergencies. This has helped him rest a little more peacefully at nighttime. He figures that with all of the calamities world-wide, it is only a matter of time before we have our own emergency here in the states.

Molly -

Molly is our inspiration. She wakes up regularly around 5-something in the morning - every morning, and goes running. She found a new running partner in the ward a few weeks ago and after not running for years...goes out and runs a brisk 4 miles. In a few short weeks, she is already running over 4-5 miles a day and just completed the Pat Tillman 4.2 mile run with Jessica. Her next running goal is a 10K, then half marathon!

In her spare time, she keeps pretty busy with the kids and tries to juggle 2 callings in church. She also planted the garden and helped pull a ton of weeks from the landscaping. Hopefully the garden will be more productive than it was during the winter!

Aubrey -

She is 5 now and in a great school! She is attending kindergarten and is already reading books and doing fractions in math! Seriously? Fractions in kindergarten??? She is pretty smart, considering she is one of the youngest in her class and got a late start with a transfer early in the school year. She tries really hard to be good, but sometimes has a hard time listening because she is being too social (she must get that from Molly)! Aubrey LOVES Disney princesses and right now, her favorite is "Blondie" (Rapunzel from Disney's Tangled). She loves to play with her little sister Addy and is a super big help with Brayden.

Addison -

Addy keeps us in stitches. She is SOOO funny. Her facial expressions are so enjoyable to watch and she has the cutest little "sing-songy voice." She's getting better at praying, but is still so active that she has a hard time staying still with her arms folded because there is just so much to see and do! Addy loves to play with anyone and is SUPER SOCIAL...definitely gets that from her Mom! She is a great eater and is super adventurous. Addy loves Kai-Lan and is pretty good at speaking in Chinese. She loves "Syi-gwa" (watermelon).

Brayden -

Brayden is a boy. ALL BOY!!! He gets into sooo much and is also a total Momma's boy, but he loves his Dad too - just not as much as him Mom! He is super adventurous and figures that anything his sisters can do - he can do to. He loves to run around and chase and be chased by his siblings. Brayden is constantly giggling and LOVES to dance. This kid can shake it!!! Anytime music comes on, his head will start bobbing and his little shoulders and butt will start shaking. It's really hilarious. He loves the outdoors and interestingly enough - he loves shoes. Any shoes. And they don't even have to match! Addy is his best buddy.

Thanks for checking in...

I'll try to download some pics and video later...

Show Low Winter Storm 2010

Just after Christmas we decided to visit Grandma and Papa Great up in Show Low. We wanted to give the girls a chance to play in some snow. Little did we know that a 3 day trip would turn into 5. We watched over 16 inches of soft powdery snow fall in 24 hrs and temperatures plunge to -2 F. We got snowed in for two days and finally made it back to the valley after driving a turtle-like 30 mph on icy freeways while passing half a dozen overturned, crashed, or otherwise abandoned vehicles - victims of a massive winter storm.

We all had a wonderful time. The girls were bundled up and played in the snow for hours. Afterward, they enjoyed hot chocolate, Christmas goodies, and watching Scooby Doo. Rylan watched an "IRON CHEF" marathon on tv, and we all had fun hanging out with Grandma and Papa Great.

Brayden Walking

Brayden started taking his first steps a couple of weeks ago - but today was the first time that he actually walked around for a bit. We caught it on video. It was pretty fun to watch!



Then he really started to get the hang of it!

2010 A Picture Year in Review

Christmas 2010!

It has been quite a year for the Chan Clan.

Brayden is now one year old. He is getting big and took his first steps about a week before his first birthday. We can't believe how fast he is growing! He is super chatty and is ALL BOY!

Addison is three and in pre-school. She LOVES pre-school and loves to learn. She is our little candy lover! Addy is now taking dance classes and loves it as well! Addy asked Santa for a purple lollipop and an orange popsicle for Christmas!

Aubrey is five and in kindergarten. She hates doing homework, but loves school otherwise. She is doing the Spalding curriculum and is already working on first and second grade material! (She is already doing fractions!!!). She loves to play princess and dress up. More than anything, all she wanted for Christmas was a "Blondie" doll (Rapunzel).

Molly keeps busy chasing the kids around and coming up with new designs for her vinyl business. She is really creative and is constantly getting comments on her fantastic designs. She is now in a couple of boutiques and hopes to expand her business in the coming year.

Rylan has been busy with work at Urgent Care. He is about to start a new position opening up a new unit in a local hospital, but the start date keeps getting pushed back. He's excited, but nervous about the change. He keeps busy in the meantime working on getting the family self-sufficient helping Molly with the wood working.

Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year!

Here are some pics of the kids over the past couple of months...

Breaking News!!! Chan Clan Update!!!

Holy Cow! We haven't posted since October!?!?! Well, a LOT has happened...be prepared for a LONG post.

I'll try to get you all caught up on the happenings of the Chan Clan!

OCTOBER...

Of course, it was Halloween. We had fun. Almost everyone stayed around in the neighborhood this year so it was fun to see the neighbors and walk around. One stroll around the block and the kids were loaded up with plenty of candy!

Molly was almost 8 months pregnant at this time!

Aubrey with radishes from our square foot garden! Yummy!

Addy getting a good bite into a homemade caramel apple.

Aubrey eating her apple!

Speaking of apples - funniest thing...the girls have watched "Enchanted" about a million times. So now when they eat apples, they will fall on the ground and let the apple drop out of their hands and roll on the ground - like they have just been poisoned by the evil witch. Pretty funny. I must get that on video!

Dad and Addy enjoying a moment together after going out on Halloween.

The two pregnant sisters! I think Emily was due about 6 weeks before Molly.

Aubrey aka Tinkerbell

The whole gang of cousins at J's and Kristi's house.

Hmm...which pumpkin should we choose? The pickings were slim! :)

NOVEMBER...

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner and got ready for Christmas - our favorite time of the year!

Molly displaying her goods at Kristi's backyard boutique.

The cute pregnant lady - just a few weeks away!

Aubrey and Addy waiting for yummy Thanksgiving Dinner!

Addy's favorite decoration was the colored balls. Most didn't make it much further up the tree.

Addy apparently felt like the tree looked better with multiple balls on the same branch. Some branches had about 5 balls all together!

DECEMBER...

We had a wonderful Ward party for Christmas. We each walked through different rooms where different families were celebrating Christmas. It was very moving and the Spirit was very present.



The kids got their annual photo done at Bass Pro Shop in Mesa. They had fun playing all of the toys available, sitting on ATVs and looking at the fish and the taxidermy.



Then, on December 15th, just after 1 am, Molly started to experience contractions. We were praying that the baby would come naturally as Molly wanted to attempt a VBAC (vaginal birth after caesarean), but the baby was late and we were doing EVERYTHING possible (except castor oil) to get the baby to come. Rylan found a website that recommended acupressure and GUARANTEED that the baby would come within 24-72 hrs. So we tried it and Molly was a trooper for putting up with the extremely sensitivity that developed from massaging the pressure points, but it worked!!!

Her contractions were starting to come on pretty heavy and she tried to "walk" through them. At about 3 am they were about 3 minutes apart. We decided to call Molly's dad to come over so we could drive up to the hospital. As soon as we got there, we were triaged and Molly was already at about a 5. We were moved to a room, where she was then a 7. She got an epidural and Dr. Layton broke her water, after which she quickly progressed to a 9-10 and we started pushing! Molly must be super sensitive to the epidural, because it made her totally numb and they hadn't even hooked it up yet! She pushed like a trooper and at 6:24 am, Brayden Rylan Chan was welcomed into the world! There was a slightly tense moment right at delivery as the cord was wrapped pretty tight around his neck and he wasn't breathing. The nurses said he was being a lazy breather as his heart was beating strong. After a few seconds (which seemed very long) he was crying and breathing normally. Phew. We were so happy. Both of us were crying. It was so quick and so wonderful, except that Molly got a spinal headache afterwards from the epidural. She has since been in therapy to correct a really messed up back! Mom, baby, Dad, and the girls are all doing wonderful!

Funny enough, earlier in the week, Molly had mentioned that most babies don't come on the weekend, but Tuesdays had a higher percentage of births. Ironically, that also happened to be the day of Brayden's birth AS WELL AS Rylan's organic chemistry final! He called his professor to let her know that we just had a baby. Rylan almost decided to take the final that day, but since he hadn't slept, he postponed it until the next day. Fortunately, he ended up with an "A" and a 4.0 GPA! Yeah! Next step...that *!(*$&@ MCAT. :)

Here are some pics of the newest addition to the Chan Clan!






Brayden was our Christmas present, but we still had a wonderful time. The girls were spoiled once again.


JANUARY 2010...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

The baby and the girls are doing great! We had a real fun time out at San Tan Flats in Queen Creek. The kids were able to hang out by the fire and make smores. It was a super cool place to go and I hear they have live music on the weekends.

Brayden catching some zzz's at San Tan flats.

Addy being bashful with Grammy and Papa.

Aubrey shows off her rodeo form to the delight of cousin Louisa.

The girls had a blast with the recent winter storm. We got a lot of rain and the girls were able to play with their umbrellas outside in real weather! It got pretty windy, but unfortunately, the pictures don't really do it justice. We have some trees in the front yard that are leaning quite a bit.

Aubrey enjoyed being outside in her new jacket and gloves. She was busy throwing leaves in the air and watching the wind carry them away. Oh - the simple pleasures of childhood!


Our two adventurous girls brave the elements during Arizona's winter 2010 "storm."

The girls love to blow bubbles. Here they are on the back porch blowing away! Coco had a good time too chasing down all the bubbles!


Addy being a big sister!

Tonight we had family night and Smores were the dessert. The girls had a great time, of course, and loved roasting marshmallows.

ANGELIC OR DEMONIC???

Aubrey 15 months old...

I know I haven't posted in a while (Rylan has been picking up the slack). Plus, we hardly ever post earlier than 2 months apart. However, these needed to be posted by me, since I was the one who witnessed such DIFFERENT aspects of my beloved 4 year-old's PERSONALITY. Please refer to pictures and explanations.

Now, first you might be thinking...'oh, how cute! A sleeping girl in a baby bassinett, with her book about colors'. Let me tell you the rest of the story. Today she has been constantly whining, crying, and uncooperative. Now I get that she is 4, however when it was during nap time she found a sheet of paper that was sentimental to me. Not only was it sentimental, but it was all written in color marker. So, she finds this sentimental paper and then got a sippy cup and filled it with water. Then she poured water all over the paper so she could observe how pink, purple, and blue water would slide off. The colorful water ("magic water" in Aubrey's words) would then stain her clothes, my carpet, side table, and hands. Okay at this point in the day, I have had it! I sent her up to her room for the rest of naptime. While I am working in the office I hear THUMP, BUMP, THUMP! I am concerned that it will wake up Addy, but I don't interrupt because atleast it's in her room and what could she possibley be doing besides jumping off her bed. Well, I had decided that it was time to get her out of her room BUT I can't find her in her room. I look in my room, in my closet, in her closet...I can't find her ANYWHERE. Then I noticed that all of her books that were in her book case were on the floor AND that is when I see her asleep in the baby bassinett. So, I SMILE and grab the camera.
Now, I think she is cute! So who is this girl? Story #2, it is shorter!

It used to be that when I did laundry there were generally 2 piles of laundry. My whites and my colors. I have had more kids, more messes, and now more laundry. On this laundry day while I was folding the first 3 loads of laundry on the couch. My last load of towels were done and I hear the buzzer going off. Aubrey then goes to the laundry room, puts all of the clean, dry towels into the basket and carries it to me in the family room. Now, Aubrey is not a BIG girl and this was not a LITTLE load of laundry. I just thought it was so sweet and helpful. What a darling! She continued to hold that heavy laundry even though I had to run to the car and get the camera.

So, I ask you ANGELIC OR DEMONIC?

I guess that halloween outfit was soooo appropriate. 90% little angel.

Camping

This was our first time camping with both girls. We went with Rhett and Emily and their family. We went to a place called Powell Springs up by Prescott. It was a lot of fun. The girls had a blast, but unfortunately, Aubrey picked up a fever the next day. We can't wait to go camping again.

What would camping be without Oreo's? There are better pictures, but probably too disgusting to put on this blog!

The irony with the picture is what is written on Addy's shirt.
Wow! Addy, your dad must be a looker! Dirt, juice, cookies, crumbs and all!

The kids hanging out in their camping chairs.

Addy helping place rocks around the fire ring.

Aubrey and Louisa sharing a moment together!

Cheese!

Good morning, girls!

The gang hanging out around the campfire.

Fold your arms, raise up young left arm, raise up your right arm! Tickle! Tickle! Tickle!