Happy Independence Day!

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We spent Sunday night in St. George. My dad and brother Matt drove all the way from Colorado, so we had an AMAZING BBQ! It was so nice to finally see them- it's been way too long! After the BBQ we watched Knight and Day, then had our own firework show. The pics tell it all!

This is Jori and Carson!

Here's Dawson and me!

Carson and Dawson would cheer after every firework! It was hilarious!

YAAA!!!

Jessi, Carson, & the 'wowed' Dawson!

My hottie husband! To this day I feel like I am way out of my league marrying this hunk!

Dawson and Jessi

Another YAAAA!!! These two loved the fireworks!

The sparklers were Dawson's favorite because he got to hold it himself.

The next morning we headed to Kanab! I love their parades- short, sweet, no advertising, and LOTS of candy and fire trucks spraying you down.

Here's my niece Lyndee lou- cheerleader in the parade (she's driving)

Dawson didn't get a ton of candy, but he was so proud of what he did get! He didn't even finish the parade, he just wanted to go sit with dad and eat his candy. :-)

After the parade, everyone heads to the park and plays...and plays...and plays!

and plays....

After the parade we were able to go eat with my dad and brother one of the most amazing restaurants. Dawson loved being around all the cowboys- it was cloud 9 for him. He kept saying, "Mom! is that a cowboy?" He was mezmerized!
That night we saw the most amazing fire work show. J.D. took Dawson swimming at the city pool (which is right next to the park). Then Dawson played his little heart out. We ate, and cuddled during the fireworks. It was a great day!

Phone Man

It's funny to hear that kids mimic us and learn to love electronics sooner that we could ever imagine....but to actually see it is hilarious! These are the phone shots I got of Dawson. He is talking to his cousin Carson and Aunt Jori. I was in the kitchen, Dawson came and asked if he could talk to 'my Jori.' I dialed the number and gave the phone to him. Next thing I know, he's running into the living room to talk by himself. I figured, what the heck, I've got to study, so whatever.

Then we find Dawson like this...sick of holding the phone, so he presses it against the couch and continues picking at his toe nails... (sound familiar)Still pressed against the couch, unhappy about what's being talked about, and in a way awkward position

Turning the body again to get comfy while still talking..

This is the spot... does that look familiar?

Then I find him like this... hold the phone with your shoulder, no hands (we've all done this)Talking, but multi-tasking by watching his stomach roll...any of you done this?

Sick of the phone to my ear..I'll just look at it and yell...

This big hit- crossing my legs, totally into the conversation! (I've done this)

And he finally notices the camera... so here's his 'CHEESE!' I'm not sure what's up with his side ways cheeser, but it's cute!

Total phone time.... 37 MINUTES and 46 seconds! I'm glad they had plenty to say to each other! :-)

Cute Little Cowboy

We all know Dawson loves cowboy stuff, but he REALLY likes daddy's cowboy stuff! Dawson is under the impression that dad's stuff is real, and his is not.... either way, he's a cute little cowboy!

Tote Swimming

It's been extremely hot here in Cedar City, and we were in dire need of swimming. I didn't want to go to the aquatic center because we wanted to wait for J.D. to be able to go with us. SO.... I pulled out a tote, emptied it, and filled it with water!

This is Dawson and Andi (Dawson's gf)! They have so much fun together! It was so stinkin' cute to watch these 2 try and swim in this tote! I didn't have to worry about them drowning...so I laid back and tried to tan my legs while they slowly emptied the tote by splashing each other.

I had a hard time getting them to 'cheese' at the same time...lol! stinkers!

They are the cutest best friends!

The Last Four Weeks

After Kanab, we came home and I started school at SUU. This was a spur of the moment decision, but so worth it. I had 2 years left at WGU. With our future secret plans, this was just not going to work. So I called up SUU, activated my admittance, and I graduate in May with a 4 year degree in Family Life and Human Development, Education, and Psychology. I'm so excited to see an end to my schooling. There's a lot more to it, but I will have a degree and be able to be a mom, FINALLY! So there is the revealing of just one of our 'plans.'

My really good friend Jessica has been doing craft night once a month. I'm LOVING it!! It is a win win situation, because I get to talk with some way fun girls, some I've never met, and create an amazingly cute craft to put in my house! THANK YOU JESSICA AND JESS'S MOM! The first craft was in an earlier post, this is the 2nd and 3rd.

This is my first and only 4th of July decoration! :-) And here's my family sign! You can't really see, but the sign comes out from the wall quite a ways, so it looks even better in real life! I LOVE IT!

Dawson is a #1 fan of 'mantis chicken!' Dawson calls it mantis chicken, my brother chad's family calls it Panda Bear Express Chicken, and we had this for our wedding day luncheon. I've learned to make it at home because my son's cravings were getting expensive. :-) BUT, he loves it more home-made! We buy the Panda Express sauce at the store, but everything else is home-made.

Here is Dawson saying, "I love MANTIS CHICKEN!" with his mouth full of it! And a pepsi on the side I might add... lol! He's got Shelley blood that's for sure!

After three weeks of J.D. being gone, we were really needing him to come visit. He came home for four days! He completely suprised us! We went to St. George for a day and once again Dawson stripped. This little guy loves to be naked! He just takes everything off and when he has to go pee he just runs outside on the grass...sounds gross, but whatever!

I came in to find him naked at my mom's while in St. George... I asked, " Dawson, what the heck?"
His reply, a mischevious grin and a "PEACE" sign! lol!

The naked story continued...well Dawson has learned to unlock, and unbolt doors... he does this, runs outside to pee, and comes running in to me saying, "Mom! I went potty!" He cracks me up! We haven't had any cops or neighbors catching him, so I'm still good until we get a lock up high on the door. He still isn't potty trained, but it's not that he doesn't know how... he just doesn't want to. I really don't want to force him if he isn't mentally ready to go big boy all the way. So he decides on different days when he wants his 'big boys' or a diaper.

While J.D. was home we went fishing, swimming, to the movies, on lots of walks, made cookies, had a small bonfire with just us three, and spent lots of time together.
Here we are fishing at the new lake in Cedar city! Dawson scared all the fish away because he was so excited and loud! haha! But we had fun!

He really had a blast! It was so fun to just see him try and fish.

J.D. left for another three weeks, but we got to see him after 2 at the Stevens' family reunion. I didn't get any pics, but there was a huge bouncy slide for everyone, lots of food, and lots of people! Dawson cried and cried when he had to say goodbye to J.D. It was so hard to explain to Dawson that dad wouldn't be coming home with us. Dawson officially hates mom and dad going to school, but he wants to go to Dawson's school.... lol!

BUT........J.D. is officially home again! We couldn't be happier to be together again. We have lots of new exciting things that we hope to work out the way we want, but sometimes it's not what the Lord has in store for you...so we will just update as things start to fall into place. :-)

Dawson is growing up so much! He is talking and becoming quite witty and clever! He catches us off guard all the time! He still loves horses, driving, all animals, dinosaurs, his sleep, SWIMMING, mantis chicken, and working with dad. He is starting to help out with cleaning up his room on his own. I just say, "Go clean your room." and off he goes. He tries to make his bed too! He still has a way with horses... J.D. went to clip his dad's horses feet and he didn't have to chase them down. Dawson was right there and the horses walked right up to him in the truck.
J.D. and I are doing good too! We have been so blessed while he's been gone to have a peace of mind about all of the changes. Until next time....

Kanab for 2 Weeks

On Tuesday Dawson and I headed for Kanab. We did so many things, but once again I didn't take hardly any pics. However, I have some REALLY FUNNY stories.

While packing, Dawson decided he wanted to go as baggage....don't ask how he fit in there, but he did.Hello my cute luggage!

We got to Kanab and started working on my parents home. We are re-modeling the inside. J.D. and I have completely re-modeled the kitchen and dining room. My mom and I cleaned the whole house a couple months ago...and since the house is used as a storage unit as well, I had to move everyone's things into the storage room downstairs. This was my first task. So everyday, this is where we would end up and that's what we did.

Before we got to my parents home to work, Dawson and I would take our time in the morning getting ready. One day Dawson came running in saying, "Mom! No diaper." He was grinning from ear to ear. I followed him outside to find his diaper!
I just said, "K, just don't go potty in your pants or on Amy's carpet. Go potty in the toilet k?"
Dawson replied, "K, no diaper."


The diaper usually helps with holding Dawson's pants up, so he had to go to other extremes to hold up his pants.

After a few minutes I started to hear water... my thought, "Oh no! Where's Dawson." I looked over and saw the door open. And yes, I found my son completely naked peeing on Auntie Amy's front porch! I got a pic on my phone, and sent it to Amy. Perfect gift from her nephew right? Neighbors saw and when I went to grab Dawson after he had finished, they were just laughing their heads off! Really!
I wasn't mad, and usually I would take the time to teach a lesson, BUT he did exactly what I said! He didn't go potty in his pants, and it wasn't on the carpet. I was so proud of him for going outside too! He really is so smart!

Story doesn't end there...this peeing on Auntie's front porch became a daily routine! I'd find Dawson outside, naked, and a puddle on the front porch! lol! What a stud! In a way, he's kind of potty training himself little by little.

Dawson learned to rely on the kids for getting him a bottle without mom knowing too. I am pretty strict now days with how many bottles (sippy cups) Dawson gets each day. Dawson, the little smarty pants, would go around to all of his cousins and get them to give him more bottles after me saying no to him. It took me 3 days to catch on, but when I did Dawson figured out how to open Auntie's fridge....yes, milk all over is how this one ended. He is SO SMART in finding a way to get what he wants. He then started waiting for me to leave the room to ask the other kids. The kids would ask,"Did mom say yes?" and Dawson replied, "Ya, come on! milk!"
Then, the kids would yell and ask me. This is how I found out about his new technique of waiting for mom to leave.

Dawson learned to LOVE Auntie Amy's pops! He would ask all day, "Amy's pepsi pleeeeaaasssee?"
He also started talking SO MUCH MORE! People understand him over the phone and he has gotten so good at explaining his frustrations. This has been such a huge step because Dawson has been acting so much better. He was almost always acting out in frustration, but I could never figure out what he wanted. This led to tantrums and yelling all the time. After being around 6 older kids all day long and learning from them, Dawson is now able to speak so clear! He was talking tons before, but some things were really hard to understand. He isn't using his tongue for 's' anymore either! He's grown out of it completely! The only letter he has a hard time with is 'v.' He uses a 'b' sound instead of 'v' sound. So 'TV' is 'TB.' He will get there, he's only 2.

Kanab was so much fun! We swam, watched movies, swam some more, had pizza's, drank plenty of Pepsi, played at the park, and played TONS outside at my parents house. It was truly the best adventure to get us through the next two weeks.

Holden

Two weeks ago we went to Holden for 24 hours, literally. We got there 3 pm Friday and left 3 pm Saturday. We met J.D.! Unfortunately I didn't get any pics of hardly anything we did, so let me tell you about it.

Friday night, Dawson and I were out playing on the play tractor the Grandpa Steven's built. As you can see, Dawson LOVED it!

He is so stinkin' cute! He loves us to take pics of him, and he loves taking pics!

Back to our story- after the tractor, he wanted to play soccer. So Dawson and I were kicking the ball back and forth, running around laughing when all of the sudden we both look over and J.D. is just standing there with the biggest grin on his face. Dawson screamed, "Daddy!!" We both ran to give him the biggest hug. J.D. got a little teary eyed because he had missed us so much. After our moment, lol, we played some more soccer and J.D. got up on the tractor with Dawson to really play! We went and saw the new baby colt! It was the most amazing thing, the colt and mom walked right up to us! In a way I'm not surprised because Dawson has a gift with horses...not even kidding.

The next day we went to watch Uncle Parker's soccer game (he is probably the next recruit for SLC Real). We went to a baby shower, and headed home for Destry's 1st birthday! She was so happy opening her presents and eating her cake. Dawson was in his glory playing with all of his cousins. He cried and cried when we had to leave. We all had an extremely hard time leaving each other again. It would be two more weeks until we saw each other again, so I headed to Kanab to help me get through.