Thanksgiving

I unfortunately did not take any pics from our Thanksgiving adventures, but I do want to write about it and share. As most people eat their dinner during the afternoon, the Shelley's don't eat until 7:30 ish.... right about the time Thanksgiving is ending. It works perfect for Shelley folk because we tend to enjoying sitting around and watching the hours pass by until we finally decide that someone should really start cooking if we are going to celebrate this holiday the traditional way. So about 2 or 3 we started putting everything together. We didn't have a ton of fancy things... we used left over dinosaur napkins from Carson's birthday party, paper plates so we didn't have to do a ton of dishes, and we made the main course favorites for the dinner. We did manage to bake a few pies- of course we couldn't leave out dessert!

Dawson wanted to say the prayer... which was short and sweet, but in our hearts I know we all were thanking the Lord for more. J.D. and I scarfed down as much as we could so we could make it to the Hurricane Walmart for some Black Friday shopping! We made it there, split up to our designated items we were in charge of getting, and still had 10 minutes to spare! I was in charge of movies... needless to say I am an amazing shopper with really quick hands because we got every movie and more of what we planned on getting. You can't beat those $2.00 deals so any action necessary to get these movies had to be taken seriously. J.D. succeeded on his items too! We met up with all our items  standing in line for the next rush which started at 10 pm. We made it home later that evening with another successful Black Friday Adventure and no bruises or black eyes.

We headed up to Holden for some Christmas Tree hunting with the Stevens'. We made it just in time and hours later we found some beautiful Christmas trees for our families. We didn't get one because we borrowed a fake one from my mom. With how much we are gone during this month, its much easier to not have to worry about watering or picking up pine needles. We ate some snacks and headed back home to take some long naps. We stayed the whole weekend and had such a good time sledding, visiting, building furniture, going to the movies, seeing the light parades, and riding in a horse buggy thing. Grandpa Stevens drives the team and pulls people around for a ride during the holidays. Dawson got to ride up frontwith him and had the biggest smile on his face the whole time.

Now- during the light parade they always feature Santa on the fire truck. We were pumping up Dawson to wave to Santa and he couldn't hardly stand there waiting. FINALLY the fire truck went by and Dawson started to wave really BIG and say "Hi....sssaann"and it ended. He got this confused look on his face and then turned to us saying, "That's not Santa. That's just some guy in a costume." Yes our 4 year old can tell if it's Santa or just some guy dressed up. So I said, Ÿa, Sant couldn't be here so this guy is helping him out."After that, Dawson didn't care to even go sit on his lap. He just said, "No, I don't need to tell him because he's not Santa. I will just wait until the real Santa comes."

It was an awesome Thanksgiving spending time with all of our family. We did go up to Andee's grave and decorated it along with J.D.s sister's headstone, Aunt JoAnn's, and Grandpa Stevens'. We put glow in the dark snowmen, and poinsettas. Dawson thought the snowmen were a good idea so Andee wouldn't get scared in the dark. He's such a good big brother! :-)

Andee M'lee Stevens

Andee M'lee Stevens was born on November 7th, 2012 weighing 6 lbs 6 oz., and was 20 inches long. She was born 4 weeks early and was stillborn. She was honestly the most beautiful baby with precious features. She looked a lot like my baby pictures except she had more hair- beautiful brown curly hair.

The birth was the most spiritual experience and it continues to leave the biggest impression on so many lives. One week prior to her birth I had gone in for kick counts- she felt like she was slowing down compared to her normal ways. Everything was fine- it was like murphy's law. The Sunday before she passed away our sweet Dawson and I were waiting in the car and 

Dawson said, "Mom- Andee needs to go back to Heavenly Father and Jesus."

I replied, "Why would you say that? That makes mommy really sad."

Dawson, "It's okay mom. Don't be sad. She's happy. She's with family. . . . She'll come back to us though."

I had a great concern fill my heart because since I'd gone in for kick counts, I had been telling J.D. all week that she just wasn't as active as she'd been. I told J.D. what Dawson said and we both didn't quite understand if 'coming back to us' meant the second coming or if she was just going to leave for a bit and come back to earth to be with us here. The next evening I stopped feeling her move. I wanted to go in for kick counts again, but last time they had made us feel really dumb for coming in because she was doing just fine. So we didn't go in- however I'm pretty sure that's the day her spirit left.

The next morning we went in for kick counts, and we couldn't find a heartbeat. The doctor informed us our baby had died. It was words that will never be forgotten and I still hear them. We scheduled to be induced the next morning. During the rest of that day was the longest day and night of our lives. My mom came to be with us as soon as she found out. 

The delivery was truly amazing. J.D.'s brother Lucas and his wife Molly, and Loni came at 7 am to be with us the entire day. I can't describe how much comfort that was for us to have them be there the entire time helping us through that hard day. I was already dialated to a 3.5. I was checked at 9:00 and had made it to a 5. Then at 10:30 exactly the nurse came in and we decided she'd check me again at 11. She walked out and I turned right to J.D. and said, "Go get her, I think it's time and she needs to check me now." She checked me and sure enough, it was time. She hurried and set up, the doctor rushed down and within 2 pushes, less than 30 seconds, Andee M'lee was born. No stitiches, no tearing, and she beat Dawson's delivery by 1 push (I only pushed 3 times with him). Everyone kept commenting on how beautiful she was! It was true! She had color and features that were so stunning. Dawson was SO PROUD! He wasn't scared at all and understood that she wasn't coming home with us, however, he understood her spirit was right there with us as well.

J.D.'s brother Lucas and his wife took care of everything with the funeral. J.D. and I were able to just hold Andee at the mortuary all day Thursday and Friday and Saturday morning. The funeral was so perfect. So many answered prayers and support. My brother drove his whole family from Missouri, my dad drove from Colorado, J.D's aunt and uncle came from Idaho, tons of family from everywhere came to be there. J.D.'s parents and Chet and Bobi Sue were coming home from a cruise- and because of the storm, a lot of flights right after theirs were cancelled to fly into SLC. It was a huge blessing they were able to make it. The snow was prayed for by J.D. He asked that if we were to have any precipitation let it be snow. We were driving home the night it started to snow and just felt like it represented Andee's pure spirit and also that it covered up all the bad in the world to make her funeral more pure and clean of any bad in this world. 

Dawson and I made a bracelet for Andee and Dawson was so excited to put it on her. He is so proud of her and I know he has a special bond with her even though she isn't physically here. He continues to love her everyday and reminds us of it- it's the sweetest thing.

 Saturday morning we got her smelling like a little baby and made her look beautiful for the day. We'd asked my mom and J.D.'s mom to be there to help us. It was one of my favorite memories because it was the first time and last time here on earth that I would be able to doll up my baby girl. The dark spot on her cheek as discoloration happened that morning- before that she stayed pink. The dark spot was a blister that had dried up which was invisible to everyone that day. Only the pictures show it was there.

 J.D.'s parents gave us some golden baby shoes with diamonds in them to hang in our window. It's so when the sun shines through, rainbows are reflected everywhere which is to remind us of Andee. Dawson shook them and just kept trying to keep her happy he said. It was really  like her spirit was there and he was interacting with her.

 We got lots of pictures and family photos because this is all we will have of Andee here on earth. Dawson was loving showing off his sister and kept introducing her to everyone. He is so amazing and we couldn't be more grateful for him being here with us.

Everyday and every moment is a struggle, but we know her spirit is here. Dawson tells us so many things about Andee- it's so neat. We don't know what we'd do without him. He keeps reminding us of how happy Andee is and how she is with Heavenly Father. He's our little spiritual giant and gets us through most days. I can't describe all the spiritual experiences we continue to have, and how Andee's passing has truly opened our eyes. We know she must have been pretty special to only need 36 weeks here on earth to accomplish he mission and then be granted celestial glory immediately. We definitely miss her and can hardly wait until we get to raise her. Thank goodness we have the knowledge of the gospel to help get us through- I can't imagine going through this without the gospel knowledge. 

As we left the graveside to go to the church for a luncheon that the Holden ward had prepared for us (THANK U) we looked into the sky and this is what we saw. The heavens opened and I could only imagine Andee holding hands with Aunt JoAnn and walking away to the spirit world. 

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us and supporting us. :-)

Family Pictures 2012

 We went up the mountain to find some fall leaves to take some family pictures....we haven't done this for 2 years sadly. We found one spot, but the lighting just wasn't right, so we continued to drive over the mountain until we found it- the perfect spot. The sun didn't glare us out or make us squint, and the leaves were perfect. We had to chase 2 deer off because they were right in the spot when we saw it. We had so much fun doing this together. It was more than just pictures, we let Dawson play and we shook leaves all over him. Those are the pictures that always turn out- the ones where you are truly enjoying yourself and acting natural. 

 Dawson and his daddy! He truly loves his dad and wants to be just like him. We took several shots of Dawson rubbing his dad's beard, telling him secrets "you're fired" and laugh, and listening to his heart.

I have wanted pictures of Dawson and Andee in my tummy for awhile now, but everytime I had a chance for someone to do them I just wasn't feeling very pretty or picture worthy. We finally got some and I couldn't be more excited. Dawson found a TINY acorn and wanted to show Andee. He found leaves and showed her. He would talk to her and then in a tiny voice pretending to be Andee, "oh cool." Then he look at me and say, "Mom, she likes them!" It was so cute to watch and listen.

 This turned out so cute and yet I was just taking a break letting Dawson give leaves to Andee. He would set them on my tummy until he found the perfect one for her to keep.

 J.D. was shaking leaves on us and we were just laughing so hard at him trying to take a picture, hold his balance, and throw leaves at us. He's a pro photographer because he managed to snap this one!

 Dawson trying to catch the leaves falling from above. He was loving life!

 Now that we'd let Dawson play, he started to be a turkey about taking family pictures. We'd set the tripod up, and the timer. I would click the button and have to run clear down to get in position. Needless to say, it took about 15 tries to get Dawson to do what we wanted. He would be perfect, and then once I sat down he'd put a leaf on my head, or poke me with a stick, or put his chin down on the log. It was actually pretty funny. We finally got a couple that worked, but I'm suprised it didn't put me into labor all that running and getting up and down. Of course, Dawson thought it was hilarious!

 So.... after all that running we decided to let Dawson play photographer cuz he really is good at it. We set the camera so he could just keep clicking over and over...and that's exactly what he did. J.D. and I just stood down there talking, smiling, and doing our own thing while Dawson just kept pushing the button.

 Dawson has his father's photography skills- we couldn't believe all the amazing shots he got. These are just some of our favorites. When we looked through the pics later, Dawson took over 40 pictures of J.D. and I in just 3 minutes or so!

Afterwards we went to Todd's and ate dirt burgers and relaxed for a bit. We then drove around and looked for spike elk to fill J.D.'s tag. We saw plenty of deer, but no elk. Dawson even saw a couple bucks that J.D. and I had completely missed. 

We had an awesome day and it was so nice to spend together as a family. We are really excited to have Andee come and be able to have more days like this with her. Dawson really can't wait- every day he comes up to me or J.D. telling us how excited he is for her to come. It's so special and brings tears to my eyes because I can already see how amazing of a big brother he is going to be to Andee and how he will continue to make our life special with her here.

Pregnancy Things

I wanted to write about a few things that we've been experiencing so we can look back and remember what it was like being pregnant with Andee. As of today, we have 45 days left and I am 33.4 weeks along! WHOOHOO! She is EXTREMELY ACTIVE! J.D. and I can't believe how much she twists and turns and flips. We both are in shock watching my stomach move. How can she move that much in such a small space? We've compared her movement to the Twilight movie where Bella is pregnant and how strong the baby is because it's half vampire half human....... sooooo we either have a boxer or a half vampire half human baby.

Today at the check-up the doctor couldn't get a good listen to the heartbeat for a bit because she kept moving. He'd put the monitor on one side and she roll to the other side. He kept trying to follow her and was laughing because you could see her move. You could also see where she was at.... she didn't have much option for hiding spots in the hide and seek game, but she sure was fast at moving.

Dawson is still really in-tune with her. He will randomly come  up to J.D. or I and say, "I'm so excited for Andee to come." It's the sweetest thing. He also will feel her move and tell me, "That's her feet mom! She kicked me!" It's crazy that he knows how she's turned and what part is her feet- he's always right too.

I'm definitely experiencing a lot more pain that I ever did with Dawson. If I'm not dialated, I think I might cry because things have been so painful. I've had the braxton hicks contractions going on since about 24 weeks. The past 2 months they have gotten SO strong I literally can't walk, talk or breathe. Anywhere I am at, those contractions stop me in my tracks for a good 2 minutes. When telling the doctor he just said drink more water, empty my bladder more, and it could be the result of chasing Dawson around. Last time I didn't have anyone to chase around, so it makes a difference.  There is a lot of pressure... A LOT! I also have pelvic bone pain randomly strike.... I can honestly say that if women could have an epidural at 32 weeks I think more women would get pregnant more often. I want to have this little girl because I don't want to be in pain anymore, but I really want her to be fully developed and healthy so ..... 6 1/2 more weeks here we go.

The other day I was lifting something I thought I could handle and turned while bending back up and TEAR all across my abdomen. That with pinching my sciatic nerve all the time just about makes me want to put myself on bed rest. It is killer! lol! I laugh because I still have to learn the hard way for things.... they tell you to take it easy and be careful. However, I guess i haven't grasped the concept of listening to others rather than trying to be so independent.

As far as getting ready for this little one.... its definitely different than with Dawson. With Dawson I truly went through a nesting phase, and had EVERYTHING ready to go before he got here. With Andee.... we've been slowing getting ready, and focusing on the necessities of what we actually need. We don't have a lot of room and we don't have a ton of money, so it's changed our mindset of getting ready. J.D. and I joke that when it is actually time to go to the hospital it's going to completely catch us off guard and we will regret not getting serious about getting more things ready for her arrival and waiting until the last minute. It makes me wonder if that's going to be more her personality though. I wonder if that's why i haven't been able to know of her arrival date like I did Dawson. She probably doesn't know either and will just decide on a random day that she's coming. .... after she's born I will tell the story of when I think and have felt she will be arriving. After having one baby, we've realized what we actually need and what we can go without.

Since the beginning of the pregnancy I have told J.d. that I just don't think she will be very big. With that, I haven't even gained half as much as I did with Dawson- thank heavens! I am measuring good as far as being on my own track, but I'm not huge by any means. J.D. will say I definitely look pregnant, but not ready to pop in any way.

All in all- it just feels surreal that Andee will be arriving shortly. I just haven't totally grasped that fact that we will have 2 children. I think it's because it will feel so normal for her to be here. Since we've found out it was a girl J.D. and I have had such a complete and whole feeling. It wasn't a suprise and it's the right time for her to be here. I'm not sure how to explain it, but we are excited and can't wait to meet her.

Dawson turns 4!!

I can't believe our little man is 4 years old! We were so blessed to have so many people come celebrate his birthday with us. We feel extremely grateful for all of our family who drove so far to come and all of our friends who were able to make it. 

We asked Dawson what he wanted for his birthday and he said, "I want my family to come play." For a 4 year old, we were completely amazed by his answer. That's all he wanted even when we asked him if he wanted toys or what kind of cake, Dawson just wanted to play with his cousins. He has the sweetest and biggest heart ever and once again, we couldn't be more blessed that God chose J.D. and I to be his parents. 

We had a small party later that day, but then had the real party Saturday. It was absolutely amazing! We went to the Canyon Park to have cake, ice cream, and a pinyata. It couldn't have worked out to be more perfect- we went to pick out a pinyata and they had a PIRATE PINYATA!!! What are the chances?! 

Story: I was looking up at all the pinyata's haning in walmart and suddenly I hear Dawson gasp and say, "Oh MY GOSH! It's a pirate!" I looked down and it completely blew my mind to see a pirate on the shelf. Dawson's next response, "Holy freak mom- I'm freaking out." HAHA! Of course, I busted up laughing and we threw the pinyata in the basket. :-)

I also attempted to make a pirate ship out of rice krispies for his cake..... I froze the rice krispies into a block and my amazing husband with his amazine perceptual abilities and manual dexterity skills carved out a pirate ship. We kept the ship frozen until it was time to put it on the cake..... well, a good note for next time is that rice krispies don't hold very good once they start to warm up again. Needless to say, it kind of fell apart. BUT it still looked pretty cool.

Dawson and Kage (and Carson in the background)

 Make a wish Dawson!

Dawson received so many amazing gifts! He got LOADS of pirate stuff- treasure chest, gold, telescopes, beads, patches, hats, scarves, swords, hooks, and a compass. He also got a microphone with an amp, race tracks, books, pirate stickers, a 'Dawson size' football, a mini hymbook (he has wanted one forever), book of mormon action figurines, guns, yummy treats and drinks, and a huge castle. He has not stopped playing with everything since then! THANK YOU to everyone who was able to make it and for all the gifts.

AAARRRRGGG!!

 Here's Carson and Dawson with Dawson's new pirate stuff!

At the party when we finished, Dawson ran to every single person there and gave them a hug and told them 'Thank you.' He really has the biggest heart and really loves everyone.

Visitor from California

My best friend since I was 3 years old came to visit from California! She has a daughter that is 10 months younger than Dawson, and is the CUTEST thing ever! We had so much fun just catching up and they came on Dawson's real birthday, so they got to celebrate with us.

Dawson was more than willing to give her loves and take pictures with her... I'm not sure what she thought, but you can decide from the picture. lol!

 One of the best parts about our kids is that they both LOVE pirates! So, since Dawson is pirate every day, he was able to share his pirate stuff with Addison and his cousin Carson. We had an extra pirate costume thanks to Aunt Jamie who's let Dawson borrow one (THANK YOU JAMIE). We decided to get Dawson his own since he has a pirate addiction.

 Dawson was pretty sad that his friend had to go. Afterwards he kept telling me how  cute she was. Now he asks for his cute girl friend to come play.

It was such a great day to see my bestie and let our kids play. My sister Jori drove up as well and let Carson play with Dawson for his birthday as well. It was so much fun! Dawson just wanted his birthday to last forever.

Primary Program Practice

Dawson has his first primary program coming up, so we have been practicing his line. To make it official, Dawson wanted a microphone like at church to practice with.... so we got a microphone and improvised since we don't have a podium. 

 We even turned on the primary children's songs CD and Dawson practiced singing songs as well as saying his part. It was the coolest thing and he's a pretty good singer!

 His part is, "Noah, his family, and the animals were safe because Noah made a choice to follow God."

Dawson has the 'Noah made a choice' down which is pretty awesome I think. I got to listen to him practice in church that day too, and he did so good! He sang so proudly and kept waving to me- it was the cutest thing ever! I'm so lucky to be his mom. :-)

Seeing Miss McKynlee

It took us a couple weeks to be able to go see McKynlee because we had all been sick with a cold. Mckynlee was put in the NICU because they couldn't get her jaundice count to go down- it was pretty scary. She was in there for about 3 1/2 weeks under intensive light therapy, and special formula (which was super nasty). Together they finally were able to get her count down and to stay down so she could go home. 

Here is the little one under the lights in the NICU. Dawson didn't get to go in and look at her inside the NICU, so we had to come back a week later when she was able to do the light therapy in Jori's hospital room.

 Here is Dawson's first visit with Mckynlee! He was so intrigued by her. He kept touching her hands and fingers saying, "Mom, they are so cute and tiny." It was so sweet. He just kept watching her and would get so excited anytime she would move. He absolutely loved feeling her hair- it was so soft! It made me more excited to have our own little Andee arrive. Dawson is going to be such a sweet brother.

 J.D.'s first time holding her. It was unreal to see how small she was up against his biceps and hands. His arms were huge next to her small body. She was so calm while he held her.

 Dawson giving her lots of kisses- it was soooo sweet!

 And.... I FINALLY got to hold her after a much anticipated wait!

Mckynlee is home now and doing so much better. In fact, while in the hospital Jori really tried to push for her to be in Jori's room and sleep there instead of the NICU. When they finally allowed it, McKynlee's jaundice count automatically started dropping. It's amazing how a mother's instinct and presence can change the life of a child. It really makes me feel more confident in my decisions for my children as well. I can't wait for Andee to get here- only 10 more weeks! Holding McKynlee just keeps making me more excited for Andee.

FALL is here

Fall is here- at our house anyways! It's my FAVORITE season with my favorite holiday- Halloween. Fall is such an amazing time of year. There are so many reasons I love it. I had J.D. bring home all the fall decorations and they are up! I'm dying because I want to do more and more every year. 

We even have a pumpkin carved! 

 Dawson isn't much for the 'scary' part of fall because he likes things to be happy and content. You might not guess that with his temper, but he really likes everyone to be happy. So...he found a happy face for him and his dad to carve into the first pumpkin. It will probably go bad soon....but we will just keep carving more all season. Dawson is so proud of his pumpkin. He even helped get the goey seedy mess out of the pumpkin.

He is so handsome!

When the fall decorations were opened up, Dawson went crazy with helping putting it all up. His memory of what goes where and what is used for what amazes me! I put up the scarecrow and he said, "Mom we can play some funny jokes on people with the scarecrow!" and "We need to get candy to put in here." he said that for our little guest candy jar. We are so excited fall is here and Dawson is dying for Halloween to come. He could almost care less about his birthday because halloween is so cool. lol!

McKynlee's Birth

I had the most amazing experience of being able to be there for my niece's birth. It was like nothing I'd ever expect. It was the neatest thing. My other niece, Sari, my mom, me, and my mom's friend were all there to see McKynlee come into the world a little after midnight.

This is my younger sister and I minutes before McKynlee arrived.

 This was the first picture of her, and she was even still attached to the umbilical cord. She had been here for less than 20 seconds!

 Look at her big lips! The next day all the swelling went down and she looked totally different. She weighed 8 pounds 8 ounces, was born 2 1/2 weeks early, and was 23 inches long. I can't imagine how big she'd have been if she was born on her due date.

I'm grateful my sister let me be there because it was such a neat experience. i still have yet to hold her because we left a little after she was born. J.D. and Dawson have been sick so we are waiting until they are completely better before going around her and her family. It makes me more excited for our little Andee to arrive.... 3 more months!

Snowflake Road Trip

Soon after the reunion we headed down to Snowflake Arizona to see family and attend a good friend's reception. The trip took about 6 hours, so we did stop a couple of times on the way. 

Dawson decided to 'share' his candy......

 We stopped at Glen Canyon Dam to show Dawson the bridge and the dam. He thought it was cool, but kind of scary. I will agree with the kind of scary- the bridge would move as the cars drove over it and the wind was blowing so strong!

We stayed at my Aunt Kathy's house. (My dad's brother's house). My cousin lives with her parents so Dawson had cousins to play with. They had so much fun! it was beautiful weather and their house is right below the Snowflake temple. 

Saturday night we went to our friend, J.P's, reception. We were so excited to see him because we hadn't seen him for 5 years! The story behind J.P.: we worked at the Village Apartments for 2 years and while working there, J.P and his brother came in looking for an apartment. I noticed they were from Taylor Arizona so I immediately got excited because that's where my cousins (the other Shelley's) lived. They knew them and seemed pretty awesome people so i offered J.P. a job. He and J.D. became way good friends and we knew it'd be a life long friendship. He is such a genuine person and we had some awesome memories with him. We weren't about to miss his wedding, so here we are. 

 When we walked in, we stood back for a second just seeing if J.P. would notice us or even remember us. I told J.D. I didn't think he'd recognize us because we both have gotten fat. lol! His face made the trip all worth it. He just got big eyed and opened his mouth with shock. He was the only one there who knew who we were and so EVERYONE was giving us confusing looks like, "who are these people..." J.P. just left the line and grabbed us both. He started crying because he was in disbelief. We started tearing up because we all knew that our friendship was so much more and had missed each other so much. It was such an amazing night and the BEST reception ever. 

 Dawson was WAY into the girls and dancing. He'd go up and ask them to dance. It was the cutest and yet hardest thing as parents to watch. He'd slowly make his way towards the girl he wanted to dance with and right as he got upto her, she would run off or walk away (SHE didn't realize Dawson was right behind her when this would happen, so it wasn't like she was turning him down.) Dawson would then look at us and you could see he was disheartened. However, he tried over and over and over again. Finally, I gave him a little help by actually asking the girl and getting her attention... so here he is. Isn't he so handsome!???

 He did come ask me to dance first before any other girls. It made me feel so special. He wanted me to dance all night with him, but I had to let him venture out and see other girls.

I was the happiest mother ever. 

The next day we went to Heber to show Dawson and J.D. a little Shelley history. The Shelley's have been a part of Heber from the beginning. This is the Heber house the my dad and Uncle still own. 

 Here is a road named after the Shelley's.

 We went to the cemetary to see my grandparents grave sights. Dawson wasn't super into pics today, but we got a couple.

 This is my grandma and grandpa Shelley. I have little, but fond memories of them. My sister Amy always says that out of all the kids, I look the most like my grandmother... so we looked at pics of my grandma when she was younger and its funny how much resemblence there really is. I know where I get my face shape, my cheeks, and curly hair. (curly hair also comes from my mom's mother as well).

 This is my dad's other brother who passed away when he was 13, Gary.

 Dawson picked wild flowers and kept putting them in my hair- it was so sweet.

It was neat to show Dawson a little history of my family. He now thinks that every cemetary is where my father's father died. Little kids are so innocent and sweet. Sometimes their understanding makes life seem so simple. 

We had such a good time and really enjoyed the weekend. It was short, but it was filled with amazing memories and we left feeling like it was more than worth it to come. We were so happy we could make the trip.

Shelley Family Reunion 2012

This year my family rented out cabins at the highest functioning city in the United States, Alma Colorado. It's basically the top of the rockies. It was BEAUTIFUL! 

We started our trip Wednesday evening and drove to Grand Junction to stay the night. We didn't get there until 1 pm, so we were extremely grateful that we had a hotel room to sleep in. We had breakfast the next morning with my mom, Kortni, Jori, and Carson. (they stayed the night in Grand Junction as well). The boys thought it would be cool to pretend to have a professional breakfast.

 We rested for a bit before check-out and then headed up the road again. We did end up stopping to let me walk a bit and use the bathroom.

 Dawson thought it was cool to see if we could make our feet touch the tracks with the camera. He totally has my legs- lol!

 We were so excited to almost be there, be away from home, be in the mountains, and with family.

 We stopped for a good 30 minutes to let Dawson stretch his legs too, which he loved as he climbed on the fences and showed us his mad skills.

We were the second family to arrive at the cabin behind Chad's family. We were stoked when we pulled up and saw where we would be hanging out the next few days, The Dolly Varden Ranch. It included our own personal pond and jacuzzi!

 Chad's kids were already kayaking and fishing! This cabin was INCREDIBLE and HUGE! The bathrooms and showers were decked out with spa equipment and luxury. 

We went kayaking....

 Jaidon above and Miki and Dawson below. Dawson was a little scared in the beginning, but he soon learned that this was awesome!

 We cruised around (slowly) in the paddle boats...

 We fished, and fished, and fished every single day and night! Grandpa was a good help with this!

 We played TONS of card games, even the little ones got involved!

Sometimes we would just hang out and chillax because we stayed up so late and played hard all day. We are a big movie family, so we were glad there was a big screen TV to satisfy our movie need. Of course, Dawson had to have his daily dose of chocolate milk as well. :-)

 J.D., Sari, and Layne enjoying the good times. We have an incredibly funny family and ended up laughing so much! There was never a dull moment- honestly!

 Uncle Choc getting Dax to sleep. This is a genuine moment because if you know my brother, you know that he has a hard time holding babies. He is a pretty big and strong dude, so he has a fear of the babies not liking him, being scared, but mostly he gets nervous he is going to hurt them because he's so strong and big and loves to play around with them. Once they can walk, he is usually okay to hold them. Daxon has probably seen Choc a total of 3 maybe 4 times in his life and he's just 3 here. When Daxon's mom and dad were gone he started to get tired, and I was getting him some chocolate milk. I asked him if he wanted me to hold him and he said, "No, I just want Uncle Choc too." So I handed him to Choc, and he was out. I think it made Choc feel good that he was wanted and known by the little kids.

 We had a t-shirt day as well! Every sibling had a different color for their individual families to wear. Our color was tan. You can see each family by the color of shirt. The only one missing is my brother Matt. :-(

 Above is the big family picture together. Below is the nieces ranging from age 19-3. (L-R: Rylee, Miki, Lyndee, Sari, Jessi, and Breslynn)

 AND the nephews...who are clearly living upto the goof ball shelley boys stereotype. (L-R: James, Jaidon, Dawson, Chase, Carson, Daxon, and Layne).

Dawson's only request for the cabin was to have a party (his most favorite thing to do). He wanted a pinyata and a cake. So we made that happen. I set up a treasure hunt for the kids and the prize was the pinyata and cake. It was so much fun to watch those kids run all over the ranch finding clues. You'd think they would've gone to bed good, but the candy reversed that....

 All the kids got to hit the pinyata except Sari...which means this pinyata went through 13 grandkids! James broke it in the end. Here is Dawson taking his turn. The pinyata was hand chosen by Dawson....it was such an ugly dog. lol!

 Since Sari didn't get to hit the pinyata, we decided she could wear it. Thanks to Uncle Choc, the kids split up 20 WHOPPING pounds of candy!!

We also had several 4-wheelers that we all rode all over the place! J.D. even took them clear up to the top of the mountains where he found GOLD! We have had it pass a couple of tests by jewelers to see if its real and so far it is.... 

 The rest of the time was filled with plenty of entertainment, AMAZING food, and lots of memories.

Daxon, Jori, and Sari

 Jessi read books to the kids and they loved it! Here is Jessi, Breslynn and Daxon.

 Here are the 3 year olds, Bressi, Daxon and Dawson.... partners in crime.

 this re-iterates 'partners in crime.'

 Our personal jacuzzi!

 My sexy husband! I didn't know he could lift his leg this high....

 Me and my little prego belly. We told our family at the cabin what the gender was. It was so much fun and Dawson loved showing off his shirt.

 The old man- my awesome dad!

 My awesome mother- she was so happy to have her kids all there. We really did miss Matt though. :-(

Dawson and Daxon eating their candy....such silly boys!

 

We monkey'd around the cabin... that's James holding Dawson up!

 The kids played several games of pool

 And Dawson wore his pirate costume non-stop the last 2 days. He is in love with pirates and being one. I found the hat when we went shopping in Breckenridge one day and couldn't resist. This was the topping on the cake for Dawson.

After all was said and done, we had an emotional goodbye with all the family. No one wanted to leave. Dawson cried himself to sleep....in his pirate hat. 

We really had a blast. Dawson told us that he wanted to have a birthday party with just his cousins. He has dreamt of going to the cabin for month and it finally happened. He just loves family so much and I love this about him. He truly wants to be with his cousins all the time every single day. 

We drove the whole way home Monday and stopped every couple of hours with Amy and her kids. That made the drive much better because Dawson could get out and play. It helped keep us awake. We can't wait for the next reunion.