2013 Update

It has been along time since my mom has been blogging so I Ashley decided to take over the blogging.  I am getting really excited to do this so here it goes.  So now we are in 2013.  It has been a crazy year with alot of fun and busy things going on.  It seems that the year has gone fast and has been a fun year.  My siblings and I are out of school.  As all of you know, I graduated from high school.  It was very sad for me because I will not be able to go to school and I love school!  But it was nice to graduate from high school.  Right before graduation I got my braces off.  It was the day when I had graduation practice.  I was so happy that I got my braces off and now I am enjoying it. Now on to Travis - Travis is going to be a 12 grader.  Crazy right?  He is looking for a job and hope that he finds one.  He is now 17 years old and he is a good brother to me, also to Courtney.  Courtney is going to high school for the first time.  She went to girls camp as a 3rd year and said she had a good time up at camp.  Finally on to Jared.  Jared is going to be a fifth grader next school year.  I think he will have fun being a fifth grader.  He loves to play pretend school being a PE teacher and enjoying every minute of it.  Now that was the update on me and my siblings.  now it is time for my parents.  My mom had a brithday this month.  It was a good birthday.  We ended up celebrating on Monday because Courtney was going to Girls Camp the next day which was on my mom's brithday.  My mom is doing good and she is a good mom to be with.  My dad is doing good.  He has been working hard at his job and he has been a busy man but has time for his family.  Hope to see you guys soon- Ashley Richards

Travis Eagle Court of Honor

March 5th was a BIG day in our family. We started the morning with Jared's baptism and finished the day with Travis' Eagle Court of Honor. What a GREAT day! Travis had his Board of Review on November 18th, but finally got his letter of Recognition at the end of December. Travis wanted to have some family come to his Court of Honor so he planned it while family was here for Jared's baptism.

We are proud of our Eagle Scout! Congratulations Travis!


Having his picture on the cake was a big hit

Travis taking the Eagle Scout oath

Travis played a couple songs on his trumpet

The Richards Scouts

Grandpa, Travis, Randy and Shawn

Jared's Baptism

Jared's baptism was on March 5th. We were blessed to have a lot of family come into town for the big weekend. Jared was so excited and happy to be baptized. We are so proud of him and his decision to be baptized.

Here is Jared and Randy before the big moment
Jared was excited to get his own set of scriptures

Jared started Cub Scouts

Jared was so excited to join Cub Scouts! He feels so grown up in his uniform. He went to his first meeting a couple days after his birthday. He LOVED it!
The next week was the annual Blue & Gold Banquet. They really had a fun night planned for the scouts and Jared knows he will love Scouts.

Jared making noises with his straw. A big hit with all the boys.

Jared and Randy

Jared's 8th Birthday

I know I am way behind in blogging, but hopefully better late than never. Here is Jared on his 8th birthday. He was so excited! Does it show at all in his smile?

Randy had this great idea of making a 3-layer cake. When Jared was 5, he had a chocolate cake, chocolate frosting and chocolate ice cream. When he turned 6 it was a vanilla cake, vanilla frosting and vanilla ice cream. Then at 7 it was strawberry, strawberry and strawberry. So this year they made all 3. It was a big hit! Way to go Randy!

Jared blowing out his candles

Jared was wanting the 3 Ralph & the Motorcycle books. He loves them!

Jared has been asking for a violin for about a year. He was excited to finally get one. He has been excited taking violin lessons for 3 weeks now. It is fun watching his progression.

Jared's Birthday Party

Jared has been so excited for his birthday party. He has been wanting to have a party where they get to make their own pizzas. The thought of having 10 kids make pizzas in our kitchen didn't sound like much fun to me. My aunt told me that my cousin had a party at a pizza place where the kids made their own pizzas. It sounded just perfect!

Here is Jared carefully placing his cheese on his pizza
The whole gang busy at work

Jared's finished product

Everyone enjoying their cake and ice cream

Courtney's 12th Birthday

It's hard to believe that our little girl is now 12! It just seems like a year or two ago when she was born. Where does the time go? She is so happy and lets me know daily that she is no longer a little girl. She is excited to be in Young Women's at church and be with the older girls. It is fun to see the transition.

We had our typical pizza dinner with strawberry cake and rainbow sherbet ice cream. She was so excited to get the Wheel of Fortune wii game. She LOVES Wheel of Fortune!


12 things about Courtney

1 - She loves to laugh!
2 - She is very structured. When the clock says a certain time, she moves on to whatever needs to be done.
3 - She is always on time. She gets up, dressed and ready to go to school without any promptings.
4 - She is very helpful - especially to her mom.
5 - She always asks how everyone else is doing. She is very caring.
6 - She loves babies!
7 - She loves spending one on one time with her mom or dad.
8 - She is very loving. She loves to give hugs.
9 - She loves playing with her brother, Jared. They are best friends.
10 - Even though she is little, she can pack away a ton of food.
11 - Her favorite food is pizza and pretzels.
12 - She will always be our "little girl" - but we will enjoy watching her grow into a beautiful young woman.