Christmas 2011

This year we spent Christmas with just our little family. Christmas Eve we decided to have Christmas Fettuccine for dinner, my special hawaiian drink mix, and watch a Christmas movie.

Dawson finished the countdown by placing the last ornament on the tree. He also is wearing his new church clothes from Grandma Shelley. He looks so handsome!

He also got to open one gift on Christmas Eve.
He was truly excited to open this gift, but he thought he would get to open the rest which made it really hard to wait for Santa to come.

SCOOBY DOO! Dawson loves Scooby Doo and was so excited about his jammies! He wasn't ready to get into them for bed- in Dawson's terms "The sun was still awake" therefore it's not time for bed. He is so smart!

After explaining he didn't have to go to bed and to just put them on, he was full of gratitude! He thought just mom got him the pj's...lol!

He is such a cute little boy! We love him so much!

Then when we thought he'd be up til 11:30 like a normal night- he was out at 10! So J.D. and I hurried and cleaned the house and left out some cookies and milk for Santa! Uncle Choc showed showed up at our house as a suprise and Santa had already came! However, we decided to go back to bed until morning. Dawson slept until 8 AM!! We had to wake him up and tell him "Santa came!" but Dawson's reply, "Mom- I'm so sleepy. Just let me sleep please." J.D. and i busted up laughing. Then we told Dawson that Uncle Choc was out on the couch...Dawson was confused, but finally got up. All of the sudden on his way out he heard, "Choo choo..." Dawson bolted to the living room to find

HIS POLAR EXPRESS TRAIN!!! Santa brought it!
Dawson, "Santa.....my train.... oh my gosh.... Santa brought my Polar Express Train!!!"

Dawson wouldn't let go of the controller for the train. He sometimes let mom hold it while he opened his other presents. This is the reaction to every other present
"Mom will you hold this (the controller)." -
Picks up another present-
opens it- "Wow! Thank u mom and dad!" -
puts the present down -
grabs the controller and continues playing with his train.

Notice below how he is excited for his fire truck, but he still is holding onto the controller. :-)

Dawson
From Santa: his train, a red radio flyer wagon, 2 scooby Doo movies, toothbrushes, and socks
From everyone else: fire truck, McMissle car station, buzz lightyear bubbles, Toy story huge coloring book, huge dog bean bag chair thing, Cars 2, Kung Fu Panda 2, and a McQueen watch.

Afterwards, Dawson just laid by his train and watched in go around and around and around. He ran out the batteries Christmas Day.

It was such an amazing Christmas! We loved having Choc come down. Since Choc came down after Dawson fell asleep, Dawson now thinks Uncle Choc is Santa Claus! He tells everyone, "My Santa Choc brought me my Polar Express train!" So Uncle Choc has a lot to live up to now.

J.D. got new shoes, a extremely nice shop vac, a new jacket and shirt, we both got a set of new amazingly soft sheets plus new pillows, new cologne, and his big present hasn't arrived yet....

Jenny is a new proud owner of a Dyson. No more sweeping or feeling like my carpets are dirty. I'm SO EXCITED! I also got earrings, a cute hair flower clip, Awapuii shampoo and conditioner (the best stuff ever! I could fall asleep to the smell), Sensual Amber lotion, perfume, and spray stuff, new shoes, and a jacket.
It's funny how J.D and I got each other vacuums...lol! J.D. went and used his that night, and I used my all day long. Our cars are detailed and our floors are SO clean! :-)
We still have Christmas to spend with my family and J.D.'s family... so more to come soon.

3.8!

I only got 1 B out of the 6 classes this last semester! My GPA went up! I am so stoked about this. One more semester with 19 credits and I will have finished my college degree. I'm so excited to graduate! This is something that I've worked so hard on and I can only hope and pray I don't get the 'whatever' 'i just need a C' attitude. lol! I'm afraid if I think that way, then I might not pass and really not graduate. lol- that would be horrible, so horrible that I can only laugh at the thought.

This break has been so nice for me to catch up on housework, crafts, and other need to be done things. It's almost been unrealistic to have this break where I don't have homework at all. It makes me start to day dream about what life is like not going to school...... I can't wait to just be a mom and get more involved with things.

On a not so happy note- Dawson caught the virus going around- high fever, no throwing up, just diarrhea. Poor little guy. AND on top of that he pinched a nerve in his neck and can't hardly get up from the couch it hurts so bad. He wants to be held, but once I hold him he cries with pain and wants back on the couch. It's so sad. I'm hoping it all fades enough for him to really enjoy Christmas.

What does he want for Christmas??

Every day for about 2-3 months now, Dawson keeps telling us that he wants the Polar Express for Christmas. For the record, that's not the movie, it's the actual train that he wants. It looks like my son has expensive taste like his dad. How did this start...?? Well, one day we were walking through sears and stopped to look at the Christmas section. That's where Dawson found the coolest Polar Express train ever! He didn't want to leave and wanted mom and dad to buy it for him right there. We kept saying, mom and dad don't have enough money. His reply, "I have money in my monkey bank! I have the money!" Well, he has money, but not 200 bucks. lol! We told him to ask Santa or his Grandma's. lol! Since then, Dawson wakes up asking to talk to Santa on the phone to ask him for the Polar Express Train. He never forgets, it's unreal!

We went to see Santa last weekend. Dawson's reaction to just seeing Santa reminded J.D. and I of the magic of Christmas. He was mesmerized by his movement and words. We got in line and Dawson was SO EXCITED! As we got closer to being next in line, I crouched down to be at Dawson's level. He looked at Santa and then whispered in my ear, "Mom, that's Santa." It was so magical the way he said it. He told me that the reindeer were up on the roof waiting for Santa to take him home. Then.... we were next! Dawson ran right into Santa's arms and sat on his lap.

Santa "What do you want for Christmas?"
Dawson "I want the Polar Express Train!"
Santa "Oh wow! Do you like trains?"
Dawson "Ya"
Santa "Make sure you're a good boy and we will see about getting you a train."
Dawson "okay"

Then Santa gave him a coloring book. Afterward, Dawson just wanted to sit on a bench and watch Santa. It was so much fun. :) Dawson is making Christmas so fun for us! We honestly can't wait for Christmas! It's 3 days away!

Grandma Beil's Birthday Reunion

My Grandma Beil turned 86 on December 3rd! She is amazing for how old she is! My mom planned this suprise for everyone to come that weekend to Pheonix because my Grandma was going to be there. She traveled all the way from California with my Uncle Jim's family. We had a big birthday lunch for her! She got to wear a birthday crown too! lol!


Here is her beautiful cake! The numbers are backwards because Dawson took the picture from behind. BUT- he took all the pictures at the party! I was lucky to have him so photo happy otherwise I wouldn't have had any pics!
Here's my mom! She was so happy just to be with her mom!


We went to see where my Grandpa was buried. We changed the flowers out and added a flag this year. It was neat to see his headstone, and my aunt Lela's and Uncle Carlton's headstones as well. My Grandma putting the flag in.

Here is Grandma and Cousin Casey (the one from France).

Here is his headstone.

Dawson snagged the camera again, so I thought i'd add this picture since I rarely have pics of me on here). lol!

My cousin Casey came all the way from France! We last saw him 2 years ago, so this was a huge suprise for everyone, especially Grandma. Grandma was speechless when he walked in and she started to get tears in her eyes. My Grandma only had one brother, who adopted 2 sons. So this is one of the two nephews, with my Aunt Sonja, and sister Kortni. I missed pictures of Dawson touching the headstone. He was rubbing the stars around the vase; it was so cute! He wanted to run around instead of look at the headstone afterwards, so hence why he's mad in this picture. :-)

We had so much fun with all of the family. Dawson just played and played with all of the cousins. We had a little rain hit us, but it was so much warmer than the snow in Cedar city. Dawson was shy with Grandma Beil at first, but he warmed up quick when he found out it was her birthday. He loves birthdays, so he couldn't get enough of the birthday candles (fire), and the balloons. After that, he was more than happy to give her hugs.

Thanksgiving 2011

Thanksgiving was so much fun this year! We spent the actual day with the Stevens side. Dawson absolutely loves his cousins. We chased some horses down, did a little black Friday shopping, worked on our Christmas present for Lucas and Molly, and ate way too much!

Uncle Chet and Aunt Bobi Sue brought these bad boys down! They found them in the dumpster!! They were so much fun. :-) Here's Jetta and Taylee racing down the street....going about 2 miles per hour...maybe. haha!

Chet was able to get it going pretty good, but it looked like a lot of work! lol!

Here's Brant and Dawson! Dawson didn't want to get off, he thought they were the coolest thing ever! which they were.

Little Monkey

This little child of ours crawls and climbs on everything and everyone! He's actually becoming quite the coordinated little boy. It amazes us how he just figures everything out. He can jump off anything without any fear and make it! He has managed to clime onto the car, or truck, and just keeps trying to get higher and higher! He definitely gives us a scare, but we are proud of him for learning how to get around more and more.

We are loving Dawson more and more everyday! We love how he is learning so much and mimics everything we do. It's hilarious! He truly is the funniest little man. When we are acting goofy, Dawson will say, "You turkey lurkey!" or "You stinker!" We love how much he loves holidays and family. i don't think a day goes by where he brings up a holiday or wants to see his cousins, grandmas, grandpas, and aunts and uncles.
Dawson we love you and love watching you grow!

Crazy, Special, Funny, Smart, Beautiful

I'm a bad, thought I was funny, mother. Awhile ago i told Dawson that dad was 'Crazy!' So Dawson went up to J.D. and said, "Dad! You're crazy in the head!" I couldn't help but laugh because I just said crazy, Dawson made up the 'in the head' part. How can one not laugh?

J.D. laughed and said, "No you're crazy in the head!"
Dawson, "NO!!! I'm not crazy in the head, you're crazy in the head. I'm funny."
J.D. "Well what's mom then?"
Dawson, "Mom's funny. Dawson's funny, and you're crazy in the head."

It was the funniest thing ever! Unfortunately, Dawson is still saying all of this and has been for weeks.

Yesterday J.D. told Dawson, "You are so special."
Dawson, "I'm not special!"
J.D. "Yes you are. You are special. You are smart. We just love you bud."
Dawson "No! I'm not special, I'm not smart. I'm Dawson James Stevens. I'm funny."
J.D. tried to explain what special and smart were....but Dawson doesn't quite understand yet. So J.D. said, "Well you are special and smart and funny. You are a good boy!"
Dawson, "No dad! You're crazy in the head. Dawson is funny."
Me "Dawson, mommy is special and daddy is special. It's a good thing to be special."
Dawson "NO mom! Dawson is funny. Mom's not special, mom is beautiful."

Isn't that the sweetest thing? I couldn't help but just smile and leave it at that. He is the sweetest boy and even though he may not understand some words, he does have some good ones down for now! :-)

Halloween 2011

I'm horrible and didn't get hardly any pictures. I didn't even get any of J.D. and I :-( However, I want to remember what we did. Last weekend was my birthday! I am a quarter of century old now. J.D. took me to get some new dress boots and black shoes. It was so much fun! My mom took us out to eat at the pizza factory. Then- Jori's ward had a trunk-or-treat that night, so we dressed Dawson up as Thomas/conductor and went trunk-or-treating! Dawson was LOVING it!

While we were there, there was some cute princesses dressed up. Dawson pointed to each of them saying, "And that one is mine, and that one is mine, and that one is mine, and that one is mine, and hers is mine,........MOM! I got all my girls! YES!" J.D. and I busted up laughing- Dawson called dibs on all the princesses there! lol!

Daddy and Thomas Conductor! Dawson just won the cake walk!

Fishing pond! Dawson got a glow in the dark ghost eraser and spider ring!

All week he's been going around saying "Trick or treat!" He wanted to go every single day.

on Monday, we had a crazy busy day. We had all these plans, but in the end we went trunk-or treating again, then trick-or-treating, and then to a party. Dawson was buddy the dinosaur on Dinosaur train. We bought face paint stuff and Dawson was ALL FOR IT! He did his own make up , and then we covered it with orange with blue triangles. He was so stinking cute! He absolutely loved how he looked. I was a dead nurse, and J.D. was a dead hunter. We have my dad's 4-wheeler, so j.D. drove that around as part of his costume. It was so awesome! I would dare say J.D. is way better at putting on make up than I am. I remember he had to do my make-up when I had my picc line from being pregnant. My arm was so sore in the beginning and he did my hair and make up for about a week. No one could tell the difference. He has skill! lol!

Jori and Carson were here as well with our fried Brittney and her kids. We got SO much CANDY! Dawson was singing on the streets between houses, "Triiiiiick OOOORRR Treeeeaaat!" It was so cute- everyone was laughing and saying how cute he was. We cruised through one of our old neighborhoods! Dawson kept saying how cold it was, we'd ask if he wanted to go, and he said, "No- I gotta get all the doors and all the candy!" He was the most amazing 3 year old trick or treater out there!

This was the only pic I got of Dawson in his Buddy the dinosaur (from Dinosaur Train) costume. He had a head topper thing, and his face was orange with green triangles.

When we got home....11...lol, I went to clean off Dawson's face and he said, "NO! I want to be orange!" He didn't want to take it off. The next morning, he wanted to be orange again and go get more candy. :-( we explained that the next holiday is Thanksgiving and he gets to see Taylee, Brant, Kyson, Jetta, Tilden, and Destry. He flipped! He kept repeating all of their names and is now so excited for Thanksgiving.

One thing we have really found that Dawson has a passion and love for is holidays. He LOVES them. it makes it so much fun for us! So stevens' family- see you at Thanksgiving. We are already ready at our house! lol!

Lake Powell

My sister Amy got us a weekend on a houseboat! It was so cool! This houseboat had 4 queen beds, and HUGE deck on top, a deck out front and back, a paddle boat, an enormous living room with a big flat screen, and huge kitchen. This thing was the bomb dot com. We took it to the big sand hill by lone rock, and then parked at lone rock for the weekend. The weather- amazing. Everyone else had clouds and wind in utah... but not Powell. It never seems to fail us.

This is us at the sand hill... I'm in the white pants and Amy is in the black... and my mom is in the gray. It took us 15 minutes to climb this thing! All 3 of us were so out of shape! By the time we got to the top, the kids had climbed up it three times! lol! BUT we made it all for the thrill of running down it! Not much for the climb...lol

Here are the kids at the top....for the 4th time! lol! I think they got more of thrill out of running down it than the adults did.

James dug this hole... and kept digging..and digging... until he could stand in it and have his head covered. James is 6'3! It was so cool! He dug so far down that water started coming up through it. It took them 15 minutes to fill it back up again! lol! The things we do for entertainment!

Here is my lovely mother! Her pig tails are so cute!

My mom is this amazing braider for hair. When I was little, my favorite way she did my hair was a circle braid. I felt like Heidi (ya know the movie- I loved it). Anywho, it was so hot and my hair was not working out so well...so my mom came to the rescue. Isn't this amazing? I kept it in til I went home and showed J.D. ( J.D. went hunting with Chet, so he missed out on Powell. :-( Anywho, I got home, excited for J.D. to see my hair. I said, "HUN! do you like my hair?" His reply, "um...you look like a polygamist, so no." I guess I won't be doing my hair like this ever again. We caught a huge cat fish! We were going to grill it, but it didn't sound good for dinner so we let him go. Lucky sucker!

Here is some of the crew on the paddle boat. These guys thought they were going to go far out on this thing..... they didn't get very far. haha!

My sister's friend borrowed a razor! Dawson wanted to ride this thing all day. He was in his glory!

Here is 9 year old Tason driving this thing! Plus Layne, Rylee, and Dawson!

A huge THANK YOU to Amy for getting the houseboat and inviting us to go! We had a blast!

Yuba with the Stevens'

This year we had only two lake trips, but they were AWESOME! We first spent a weekend at Yuba with J.D.'s family for labor day weekend. Chet and Bobi Sue brought their boat, and mom and dad Stevens brought their jet ski's! It was a blast! As you can see from the pictures below. We camped there Sunday night and it was so amazing. We went tubing, a little fishing, and little jet ski scrambling, and enjoyed some yummy smores!

J.D. did a little wake boarding...

He is just Oh So Fine!

Here are the girls! Bobi Sue, Loni, Destry, and me. It was so much fun! We went for another tube ride on Monday, and the wind was so strong, the waves were like ocean waves! it was unreal crazy!

Dawson got to ride for a bit on the tube- he didn't like it too much. He was brave and tried it, but then he just wanted to ride in the boat.

We put J.D., Parker, and his friend on the tube....needless to say it was just way to tempting to make sure this was a rough ride! lol!

If you can click on this pic to make it bigger, do it. Uncle Parker's face is priceless!

Everyone went on rides and I decided to stay on the beach for a bit and create this masterpiece! This is the best sand castle I've ever built. I would have kept going, but my sweet Dawson decided this was too good to be true and had a blast kicking it over.... little turd!

I think Dawson would have ridden the jet ski's all day if he could. He loves to go for rides on anything and especially loves it if he gets to drive.

It was such an unforgettable weekend! We can't wait to go again!

Happy Birthday Dawson!

Dawson turned 3 TODAY! it's not official until 5:26 pm (the exact time born). lol! Today, he woke up singing "Happy to ME! PRESENTS!" It was the cutest thing ever! Everyone he talks to that's what he says. He never fails to include the 'presents' part. AND... Dawson asked for a shark cake and fish.... so that's what we got him! We got him EIGHT fish! and the shark cake is in the works... lol!

Dawson- we love you so much! You never fail to make us laugh and keep our days full of joy. You are so much fun to be around, and we are so lucky we get to spend so much time with you. You are growing into such a gentlemen. Today, without mom or dad reminding you, every time someone said, "Happy Birthday" to you, you immediately smiled and replied, "Thank you!" We love how you remind us to say prayers every night. As of today, it changes often,
you love sharktales,
can repeat most lines in any cartoon movie,
love pizza, homemade orange chicken, especially love POP (pepsi or coke),
LOVES talking to people on the phone or face to face,
you are a true cowboy in every way,
have a sincere and fun love for family,
you always want family or 'the kids' to come play,
you are definitely in the stage of everything is 'mine,'
you are still really tall and thin compared to the average,
you're attention span is unreal long for a person of your age,
everyday you want to go to school with mom,
you are very coordinated in shaking your bum ...and you shake it while you say,
"Bou chicka wow wow" or "Shaka bum, shaka bum, shaka bum bum bum"
you care for everyone and have show extreme concern for others when they are sad/hurt,
you are officially potty trained and never fail to remind us that you still want stickers for going potty,
you took a big hit catapulting over your bike yesterday (hit a huge rock with your head) but you got back up and rode again after a little lovin' from your mom,
and you hate to be called anything but DAWSON.

On your birthday this year we had pizza and a green shark cake. Grandma Shelley, Jori, Carson, and Sari came over to join. So far you've gotten 8 fish, 2 huge battle ships with sharks, an outfit, and a history book from Grandma. We love you and love watching you grow. :-)

Lightening Storm

First- I seriously am regretting leaving my camera in Holden. Last night was UNREAL! I've never seen or been through anything more life threatening. So...sorry no pics- just use your imagination.

My niece, Dawson, and I went to the Kanab Cowboys football game in Enterprise last night. We got there, started watching the game...randomly we would see lighting that lit up the entire sky. It was pitch black, and then BOOM! At the time, it looked so cool and I started wishing I had my camera to take pics. With 8 minutes left in the fourth quarter- we notice the lighting was getting really close....and we were sitting on metal bleachers...with no cover... and water everywhere because it had been raining. Did I think I was in the red zone... yes at the time...until later.

The ref's called the game- told everyone we had to get in the gym, in a car, or under the pavilion. My family and I went to our individual cars. I turned on the radio just to kill time and it was perfect timing to hear, "Severe lighting and thunderstorm warning for Iron County, Northeast Washington County, especially 12 miles north of Enterprise and hitting New Castle. Destructive hail storm. Winds up to 70 mph. Stay AWAY from windows, find shelter immediately. Storm lasting from 9:25-!0:45." Needless to say I was really freaked out. I was going to head south to my mom's and go the st. George route, but we decided i could probably get ahead of the storm. I was nervous because anyone who's been the Cedar route to Enterprise knows that there is a turn off just about 12 miles north of enterprise at the junction.

We start driving..I'm trying to hurry to get ahead of this thing, but instead I drove right into the middle of it. Hail the size of golf balls..possibly bigger was beating on us in every direction. I thought to myself- maybe this is actually the red zone of danger... It was kind of scary, but we were okay. Then, we made it to the turn...started over highway 56...little did I realize there were power poles and power lines crossing over highway 56 for a good 5 miles. All of the sudden- about 40 yards in front of us BOOM! Lightning hit a power poles, I swear the ground lit up, and sparks were flying EVERYWHERE! I tried to gradually slow down because we didn't want to get hit by the power line. We made in through, but hail and lightening were flashing every 2 seconds all around us. You could tell when it was hitting the ground too. We quickly said a prayer and we DID beat the storm to Cedar City by 20 minutes.

Now... after we made it to the beginning of the storm and just passed, on the left side of the road was a HUGE herd of deer! Here we did slam on our brakes because they were everywhere! I would say over 20 deer. I wish my thoughts were to look for a buck...but they were

"Great...now we have to worry about deer!"

For some reason, after what we'd been through this seemed to be so funny. lol! Anywho- I know most of us heard and saw the north end of the storm... so hopefully you have some kind of idea of what the middle was really like. After we got home and watched the storm hit cedar, I watched with a little worry. In the sense that, I'm no longer naive about lightening never hitting me and the realization of how 'real' lightening can me.

The Handiest Handy Man injured

While he was replacing the parts on the truck. ... he was under the truck, front bumper behind him. He was trying to loosen a part ..it came loose and J.D.'s fist back fired right into his upper lip. His head went flying back, hit the bumper and he was knocked out. When he came to, he sat up, and when he looked down blood was EVERYWHERE. It was literally dripping all over! He hit his upper lip so hard his tooth cut right through! He could stick his tongue through the hole!!! DISGUSTING! He just cleaned it up, his buddy Dan helped get it looking alright. He came home shortly after and that's when I saw it. I wanted to throw-up everything in my stomach. I went so pale and sick looking, it was making J.D. sick to look at me.

We don't have any insurance anymore, so we decided to home remedy the hole. We got it bandaged and today it looks like it's healing good! J.D. can't stick his tongue through it anymore- which means the hole isn't a see through hole anymore. lol! Poor guy. He can't shave- and for all those hairy hubsters out there... you know how bad it can get. HOWEVER- the positive side of this is that hunting season is about, SO J.D. blends in just fine. What takes most guys months to grow, only takes J.D. 3 days. :-) He looks great aside from the home remedy tape job.

Now- at first I wanted J.D. to go to insta care, but he said no. Why did he say no...well- first he's a man. Second-

he said, "I'm going to have a scar with stitches or without stitches."

That's true...but the size of the scar without stitches....

He said, "Chicks dig scars. You'll like it- I promise."

As far as chicks digging scars.... i seriously think its a myth. I think other men like showing off their scars to other men, not women.

He said, "Trust me, I'll be like John Wayne.... and you love John Wayne."

Yes, John Wayne was a hottie for his era, but talking out of the side of his mouth wasn't my favorite feature.

Needless to say, we didn't go to insta care and I have my own personal mouth side talking John Wayne at home. Please .. no autographs.

Small update...big update...

Well....I completely forgot my camera up in Holden, otherwise I would have been able to update about Labor Day weekend (AMAZINGLY AWESOME), and taken some hilarious photos of Dawson. Since I don't have a camera for the time being, I just want to update on a couple of things before I forget.

First- It's official! I turned in my graduation papers and paid the diploma fee! I graduate in May! YAY! I was nervous about taking all psychology classes next semester, and I didn't really feel that good about it. I really enjoy Family Life and Human Development. It's been so amazing to learn things about the family. SO- I made a small switch and things worked out more perfectly than planned. I feel so good about my degree, my classes, and what is expected to take next spring. I couldn't be more proud of myself. I came home the day I turned my papers in for graduation and said, "HUN! You're going to be married to a college graduate!!" lol! He just laughed and was so excited for me. This is personal and I don't want to put a downer on people not being college graduates- heck my whole family minus my brother and sister in law aren't college graduates. BUT this is something that is PERSONALLY important to me and my self worth. Doing this and getting a diploma just boosts my own perspective of myself-which isn't very high..so this diploma is huge. :-)

I truly am loving school and what I'm learning. I feel like I know myself better, I'm becoming a better person, and a better wife and mother. I love applying what I am learning to my own life.

Second- Just know- J.D. is doing great. He is seriously becoming the handiest handy man I've ever known. I need to brag a little- he can build ANYTHING, fix just about any motorized vehicle, and fix any yard thing ever possible. anything about building a house- carpet, laminate flooring, plumbing, electricity, roofing, sprinklers, washers and dryers, clogs, refrigerators, doors, window installs, installing cabinets, or any other household item, and does it all within a budget. He's amazing! Our truck needed some major repairs on the idler arm and pit arm (somewhere by the tires). Our tires were getting worn SO bad on the outside. Anywho, we took it to a mechanic once and it was going to cost over $1,000. Took it to a second mechanic at Bradshaw's and it was going to be $700. My husband fixed it in 2 hours and it cost us....$112. Yep! He's amazing.
*We will recommend Bradshaw's to anyone - they've been amazing to us with our vehicles and their prices are so reasonable. They have amazing mechanics.

third- Dawson's birthday is coming up and we ended up giving one of his gifts to him. (We don't really care, he's too young to remember anyways). His attention span on this toy is blowing our minds. This has been over a week and he will sit for hours ..yep hours! playing with this toy. He is so imaginative about what goes on. It reminds me of the little boy Andy in toy story.

His new thing is to wear swimming trunks...to him it's like the best underwear of his choice because it's connected to the shorts. (easier to deal with) and it's shorts. He's definitely still into no clothing, well.. I guess to better say it, he prefers ONE piece of clothing at all times. We can't keep shoes on, socks on, shirts on, shorts on, hats, ...etc. It's swim trunks, or underwear and that's all. He's so like his father.

J.D. comes home and strips down to his G's any chance he gets.

The whole thing kinda gets to me with J.D. because this just means- he hides out when guests come, he never has to answer the door, and while he's hiding out he gets to relax, play games on his phone, watch movies, and ignore the fact that it would probably be nice if he just got dressed and came out to talk to our guests.... I am pretty sure the thought hasn't crossed his mind. lol! Heaven forbid I do that...lol! All you wives know exactly what I'm talking about.

Well- this ended up being a big update. :-) Until I get my camera back...

"I'm Rapunzel!"

While I was studying at the desk, Dawson came in and took off our fitted sheet from the bed. I didn't notice because I was trying to focus on reading. J.D. was in on the couch taking a nap. Next thing I know, Dawson comes running in from the living room looking like this!

J.D. came in after him and said, "Jenny listen to Dawson."
Dawson, "Mom! I'm Rapunzel!"
Apparently Dawson went in to J.D., woke him up and said, "Dad! Wake up! I'm Rapunzel!"
We were totally impressed by his creativity!

GENIUS!
HE IS SO SMART! We couldn't believe that he came up with this all on his own with a fitted sheet! He is so creative!
After he told us who he was, Dawson left and started singing the 'flower gleam and glow' song. It wasn't perfect, but we could tell what song it was. Then he went to get the DVD and said, "I want to watch Rapunzel."

Mr. Commando!

I hope when Dawson reads this when he's older he doesn't resort back to his old way...lol! He has gotten into this new thing of not wanting underwear! It's HILARIOUS! I totally understand why too. It's kind of like putting a top sheet on your child's bed. They are never able to make it just right because the darn sheet is so hard to get straight and tuck under again. Dawson can't get his underwear on right...they are backwards, inside out, or twisted on him. SO- he just doesn't put them on. We've caught him several times asking, "Hey... are you wearing underwear?" or "Where's you underwear?" He just smiles and runs away! lol!

An update on his potty training...well i guess there is no more potty training. So, just an update- he hasn't had one accident in over a week! EVEN through the night! AND he is an expert at the whole thing, we NEVER have to ask. Needless to say, J.D. and I are LOVING it! lol! I think we are more excited than Dawson. After J.D. or I use the restroom Dawson will come up to us and say, "Good job! You get a sticker! Whoo hoo!" He never fails to make us laugh!

Good job Mr. Commando! We love you lots!

My First Day of School

I thought about doing a picture for the beginning of this school year.... I think I'll pass. It will be more exciting getting a picture of me graduating! Technically this is my 5th year going to school...not too bad when most people graduate in 4. I went to school for 3 years, had a baby and took a 2 year break, started up again a year ago (which was a complete waste unfortunately), and here I am on my last year and SOOOO ready to be done.

Last year was a waste because I did online schooling and nothing of what I completed counted towards SUU...therefore I am in the same exact spot. If I would have started at SUU last year, I would have graduated with J.D....so now you can see why is really was a waste.

I have 17 credits and 3 freshmen classes... I think I'm pretty excited for the freshmen classes because...well it's just entertaining to watch the new little ones come to college. I remember my first year of college... I didn't get a thing about college. It was SO confusing! Although, I was at the University of Utah and didn't know 1 person, and my classes were literally 400-600 people. It was insanely crowded and hard to get to know anyone. You would think with so many people I'd have more opportunity to meet people, but it wasn't. If you met someone one day, your chances of catching them again through the semester were EXTREMELY slim.

I know this is probably a boring post, but I just wanted to share how excited I am. I don't plan on using my degree in any career thing other than being a mother. Which my degree fits in perfectly. I mostly wanted to get my degree because all those years of schooling, money, and time would have been a waste with no proof I ever went to college. Now days people with a bachelors get paid more just for having a degree...so if I ever need to get a career then I will be better off (hopefully that never happens.) And third, I really am high on success for myself. That's just for me personally. I just really need this degree for me. Fourth, I really feel like finishing school with be so satisfying. Mainly to have proof of something of success that I finished myself. I really feel that finishing will allow me to move forward and help me finish other things I want in life. Plus, I get to do the thing I love most, be a mom! YAY! I just can't wait...even though I have to wait for 10 months... haha!

Wish me luck!

He Did IT!!

Dawson is officially potty trained!! We ran out of diapers and so Dawson just said, "okay..." Since then he hasn't had one accident in 4 days! We never ask him if he needs to go! EVER! He is completely independent about his whole the whole thing. He loves his big boys! AND since he is potty trained and has got all of his stickers...................He got his bike!!

We call it the dinosaur bike because it kind of looks like it has a dinosaur, but it's also green and orange! He is AMAZING on it! He cruises on this thing! He is getting stronger and stronger in his legs and being able to push forward on the petals. He leaves skid marks all over the side walks because he loves to go fast and slam backwards on the petals to stop. It's hilarious!

We are going to give it a couple more weeks and then our new goal is getting him to sleep in his bed in his room. He sleeps in our room on the floor, but I know it's because he gets scared of being alone... yes I think that part of him really is genetic because my whole family struggles being alone. BUT I think we will do another sticker chart for Dawson and let him pick out another prize...lately he keeps asking for a guitar and a real train.... lol!

Missouri

I didn't get any pics- I even had my camera! I'm so disappointed in myself. This last weekend we had the opportunity to go to Missouri and see my brother Chad and his family. We had a blast! Every night we stayed up until at least 1 am, if not later. None of us wanted to go to bed because we were only their for a short period of time and and wanted to get the most out of it. At night, it was the only time our kids would be sleeping and the adults could chat. And then in the mornings, we'd force ourselves to get up so we could spend as much time as possible with the kids. We are still trying to re-cooperate.

We had a blast! Dawson absolutely loves his cousins! This is the brother that has twins that are only 6 months younger than Dawson. These are his only cousins his age. Of course there is Carson and Taylee who are 11 months older than Dawson, but the twins will be in his grade for school. They had so much fun together! We played and played and played all day long! When it was time to go, Dawson just bawled! He cried and cried the whole way home and kept saying, "Mom, I want the kids!" I wanted to cry too- we hardly ever get to see these guys. Time went by too fast and we just wanted more time. I guess we will always want more time though. :-(

A side note: Dawson loves to go on airplanes! He didn't want to get off the plane when we got home. When we got off the plane in Vegas, Dawson woke up from his 10 minute nap he decided to take while we were landing. He freaked! "Mom! I want the plane! I want the plane! I want to see Miki! I want the kids! I want the plane!"

A day with Dad

Of course when J.D. and Dawson spend the day together...there aren't any pictures! Even though, J.D. told me that Dawson pulled out the camera, there wasn't any pics taken. BUT I need to write about it anyways.

I have been so busy trying to finish up summer school and needed a Saturday to do some work, so J.D. took Dawson for the day. The first thing they did was go fishing at the lake here in Cedar City. They had a blast! J.D. said Dawson was loud and trying to talk to the fish...they all got scared away. lol! Then, they went to McDonalds, got there food and went to a park to play for a couple of hours. Dawson loves it when dad goes to the park because he just acts like a kid with Dawson. They are best friends.

They were gone for 5 hours! Couldn't have been a more perfect day to spend time with dad, but it got better..... Grandma Shelley, Aunt Jori, and Carson came over to go spot lighting up on Cedar mountain with us! We saw SO many deer (some bucks and little baby deer too). The other night we were up there and saw an ENORMOUS buck- we were hoping to find him again, but we didn't. We'll probably go up several times because this buck was picture worthy! Dawson and Carson kept saying, "I see one! There's one!" Even if they didn't see one, they just wanted to join in! lol! It was so cute! When they both really saw one, they flipped out! Aunt Jori said, "It's Bambi!" After that, every deer was Bambi for the boys. It was Grandma Shelley's first time spotlighting. She loved it!

I have to tell a quick story so the kids can have something to hold on Aunt Jori when they grow up.... For some reason, anytime Jori or I ever go hunting with anyone, they always get a deer. (I was with J.D. for the first time hunting together and he got a deer..need I say more?) This has happened to us so many times, and the story I want to tell is of our first time hunting. The Shelley boys were on their annual hunting trip (not Elk this particular year). The girls all went up to their camp for a day and Jori and I really wanted to go experience what hunting was all about. So Choc jumped in his beater truck and took us around to the points. At the third point we saw a huge buck! Jori and I were freaking out- there was a buck, a doe, and two little fawns. Choc jumped out, and shot at the deer twice. There was a huge hill behind the deer and we thought it fell down it... anyways, Jori started bawling! At first she said, "Get him!" but then she went hysterical. She kept saying, "You shot Bambi!" Choc and I just started laughing! Jori was probably 6 or 7, so she didn't really understand...and Bambi was a bigger movie back in the day that we watched a lot. To this day, we never let her live it down... and she still believe Bambi is out there.....jk...maybe.

We tracked the deer down and then Jori said, "You shot Bambi's dad!" She was horrified that Choc would do such a thing...and when we got back to camp, she just left and didn't say another word about the buck. BUT she brags about how we got a buck 'that one time..' And since then, anytime Jori or I go hunting, the boys always get a buck. :-) Maybe they should start taking us on the Elk hunt...

Happy 26th J-dizzle!

J.D. turned 26 on the 31st of July (yesterday). He is getting so old! lol! We were all pretty sick, so we didn't do much. Some of our friends brought by some cupcakes, so we put some candles on them just so J.D. got to make a wish on his birthday. That's about all that we did besides sleep. We put candles on a cupcake for Dawson because he absolutely loves this part of anyone's birthday. We would light them, sing, Dawson would blow them out, and we would re-light again. lol! It was so cute! Then, I decided to shove a cupcake in J.D.'s face... so Dawson followed. :-)

Of course, J.D. didn't laugh when I got him, but he couldn't help but laugh when Dawson got him...over and over and over again.

And finally J.D. got to taste his cupcakes. haha!

Thank you to everyone who called or messaged for J-dizzles birday. A big thanks to Dan and Brooke for the cupcakes. Happy Birthday J.D.! We love you!