Merry Christmas

I'm not sure what happens in the month of December. Instead of enjoying a relaxing season, life gets crazy. My goal next year is to get cards and shopping done earlier so that I can spend more time enjoying the important parts of Christmas. Luckily Zane is taking some vacation time for the next two weeks, and we are living up enjoying spending time as a family.

We had a great start to our Christmas season by seeing the lights at Temple Square before we left Utah. I haven't seen these in many, many years, so I enjoyed the music, lights, and spirit immensely.

Merry Christmas to one and all. I hope everyone enjoys spending time with friends and family while celebrating the birth of our Savior.

Silly and Sweet

My dad started calling Dallin the little terror in a joking way. What he means is he is a very active kid. He will never be one to sit quietly on the sidelines and just watch.

Dallin at his cousin Drew's soccer game finding something to do and trying to join in

Besides the running, jumping and silly side, he also has a very sweet side. How else would he get his grandpa to run him around on his shoulders over and over again? All Dallin has to do is smile, say more, and do his sign language. Hearts melt and he gets more.

When grandpa gets too tired, daddy is there to start again.

You really see the sweet side when he is around his cousins. There is the occasional fighting, but they are such good friends.

I think Dallin's favorite part of our vacation was waking up every morning in the pack-n-play and seeing his cousin Drew sleeping in the same room. Through the monitor we heard the cutest conversations between the two of them. Drew would start asking Dallin questions and Dallin would say his random words back. It could go on for awhile. One morning we heard Drew trying to lift Dallin out of the pack-n-play so they could go play. Too bad he isn't quite strong enough yet. The best moment was when we heard Drew say to Dallin, "Dallin, I love you. You are the best cousin." So sweet.

Luckily the kids are so sweet because every morning grandma and grandpa got their wake up call by little boys jumping on them. My parents slept on the sofa bed in the living room, so as the kids walked out of their room, the first thing they saw was grandma and grandpa. You can imagine the shouts for joy and smiles. I doubt my parents minded being woken up by these cute kids.

Sledding

After the snowfall Sunday night, we begged and borrowed snow gear from extended family in order to go sledding. Our clothing was actually pretty funny since we made sure the little kids had all the proper snow gear (thank you Nikki), but the adults just wore whatever was warmest from our suitcases. I'm sure the other people sledding thought we were really weird because we were so hyped up about sledding and the snow. There really wasn't tons of snow and by that afternoon, I'm sure this hill was melted.

Dallin enjoyed playing in the snow all week of our trip, but sledding wasn't his favorite. He was extremely tried this day and hated the snow that got in his face when the sled hit the bottom. He still was a good sport and made a few runs with each of us.

A tired boy

The big boys decided to go sledding their own way. We soon learned which of the borrowed sleds were better than others. My little brother Clayton is on the left, Zane on the right, and my dad wiping out in the middle.

Zane's turn to wipe it!

What a fun morning!

I just wanted to compare the snow in Utah to our first snowfall here. If you look closely, you can see the snow on the fence and the ground. Can you see it? You might have to squint, but its there!

"If all the snowflakes were candy bars and milkshakes, oh what a snow it would be. Standing outside with my mouth open wide. Ah, Ah, Ah, Ah, Ah, Ah, Ah , Ah." Dallin's singing the Ah's trying to catch some snow! Thanks Barney!

Snowball Fight

We arrived in Utah (our vacation over Thanksgiving for my brother's wedding) the Friday before Thanksgiving. By Sunday night, it snowed! We were all sitting around playing games and getting to know our soon to be new sister-in-law when my dad announces that it is snowing. Although almost all of us went to BYU (and of course Zane grew up in Utah), it had been awhile since we had seen snow like this. We jumped up and ran outside still in our church clothes and grabbing whatever shoes we could find (notice my attire) to see the snow. Like most families, it wasn't good enough to just watch the snow. Instead, a snow ball fight started...me against Matt, Zane, and Jared. Luckily Zane took pity on me and joined my side. If you have seen me throw, you know why I needed help!

Jared, Matt and Me

Matt discovered that he could be a lot more effective if he just poured snow over me using the snow shovel. (Zane is in the corner)

Yep, snow shovel was very effective. Too bad I couldn't get my hands on it! Can you tell who is losing!

Dallin came out in the middle of the snow fight (luckily with a coat.) He loved the snow and tried to help his parents. (My brother Clayton is in the right corner, Zane is in the back.)

A picture of all the fighters.

Taking a picture with Jared "getting me" one more time. (He's shoving snow in my face.) This is typical behavior of my older brother. He has always loved teasing me, making fun of me, and well just terrorizing me!

Drying by the fire place with wild hair

Wedding

We went to Utah over Thanksgiving week for this couple.

My little brother Clayton got married to a wonderful girl named Kara. We flew in the Friday before Thanksgiving and met her the next day for the first time. I'm sure we overwhelmed her with our loudness especially the kids. She married my brother anyways!

The wedding took place on November 27 at the Draper Utah Temple. It was a cold, windy day, but the happy couple didn't seem to mind. My sister, sister-in-law, and I all bought matching outfits for our boys.

Don't they look so reverent and handsome!

The colors were black, white, and yellow, so of course we dressed the princess Sam (the only grand daughter) in yellow so she stood out. My mom made her dress.

The boys cheering for Clayton and Kara. Apparently Sam wasn't so happy about the wedding.

My brother sang "Amazed" by Lonestar for his new wife. Don't we all wish we could be serenaded?

This is Dallin with his Aunt Lindsey who is on a mission. She sent a flat Lindsey so that she could be part of the celebration too.

Family picture at the wedding. Dallin will smile for any picture unless its a family one. So stubborn.

Drew taking care of Dallin. He is always looking out for the younger cousins. Sometimes he might get a little bossy with his role as the oldest, but most of the time, he does a great job watching over his cousins.

Honey Do Projects

Like many projects on a honey do list, they get started with good intentions of finishing within a couple of weeks, and instead a couple of months go by. Zane tries hard to get done with everything, but he is just too busy sometimes (Sometimes? Most of the time!). We had some water damage on our outside wall. Zane and my dad started working on it in September and then Zane started helping a neighbor rebuild a roof along with other men from our church. The roofing project took longer than they thought, and all of sudden it's October and our back wall project was still unfinished. I am sure most families can relate to this. I don't know where our Saturdays go, but Zane rarely worked on the project on Saturdays. Instead to get it done, he did most of the work after coming home from work during the week starting around 8:30-9:00 and working until late. By the middle of November Zane was done with everything and it looks great! He figured out what to do as he went along (with a couple of mistakes). Zane is a perfectionist, so he just keeps working until he is satisfied. Thanks Zane for all your hard work. It looks fantastic!

Grandpa and Dallin working together

Fixing the outside first

Tearing out the base boards and part of the wall

Dad's best helper

All Done!

Within three months, Zane has learned the following skills: replacing shingles on a house, replacing sheetrock, and texturing sheetrock. He also replaced the baseboards and the boards around the door.

First Girlfriend

My friend Mikkyn and I have been trading babysitting for the last few weeks. It has been great for Dallin to have friends besides his cousins and to be left without me for a little. He is really struggling in nursery and cries every time I leave him. Each time I drop him off at Mikkyn's house, the crying gets less and less. Hopefully soon he will be running into her house ready to play instead of clinging to my leg. He always has a great time and loves his new friends Ruby and Tate.

While at my house we decided to go on a wagon ride. As soon as I put Dallin in next to Ruby, he immediately put his arm around her! During the walk, he would periodically kiss her on the head. This picture though I told them to kiss. They were more then willing!

Dinosaur in one hand and a girl in the other! Should I be worried?

Fun in the Mud

During October we had a lot of rain. Whenever it wasn't raining, Dallin and I were outside getting my flower gardens winter ready. Normally I can do about 45 minutes of yard work before Dallin is done, but because of all the mud, we spent two hours outside one day. As long as Dallin could dig in the mud, he was happy. He is a great helper digging holes and pulling out weeds or dead flowers. We spent so much time though pulling things out, he had a hard time remembering not to pull out the new flowers we just put in! Although we were a mess, our hard work is paying off now as everything is growing nicely.

Part of living here is dealing with fire ants. As I was cleaning out beds, I stepped in an ant pile. I threw off my gardening shoes and socks as quick as I could. If you have ever had a fire ant bite you know how painful they are. The only other shoes I had left to wear that I was ok getting muddy were my flip flops. Luckily I stayed away from any other ants.

One of the problems with Dallin helping is his attraction to bees. My Mexican Heather (in picture below) attract bees and so Dallin pushes his way through the bushes trying to touch them. I'm constantly pulling Dallin back away from the bees. Luckily the bees like Dallin because he has never been stung. They don't seem to mind him trampling through the flowers (I do though.) Dallin now calls bees "ouchie".

Man's Best Friend

One of Dallin's favorite places to visit is the "doggy house." We have friends in our neighborhood who have three dogs, one for each of their boys. Dallin loves going over and chasing the dogs. One of the dogs just had adorable puppies and if you ask Dallin if he wants a dog, he gives a resounding yes. This is a tough one for me. I'm not the biggest dog person mostly because I like things clean and I don't liked to be licked. On the other hand, when you know how happy it will make a little boy...well you see how tough it is.

Pictures!

My friend Carla took our header picture, and all the pictures on the side (check them out.) Not only is Carla a good photographer, but she is amazing with Photoshop (thank goodness for us!) I had such a hard time narrowing down the ones I liked, so she edited a lot for us. The only problem with our picture day was trying to get all three of us to smile, look at the camera, and look good all at the same time. With a two year old, it was nearly impossible. We have plenty of pictures though of Dallin making funny faces. His faces got even funnier when food started hanging out. Carla figured out the trick to get Dallin to smile and be patient through a long photo shoot was to give him Smarties. Towards the end, he had a Smarty in his mouth for every picture. It made for cute faces though!

If your interested in using Carla for a photo shoot, email me. (This is totally free advertising. She has no idea I'm doing this.)

Changed For Good

"It well may be that we will never meet again in this lifetime.

So let me say before we part

So much of me is made of what I learned from you.

You'll be with me like a hand print on my heart

And now whatever way our stories end

I know you have re-written mine by being my friend.

Who can say if I've been changed for the better?

I do believe that I have been changed for the better.

And because I knew you...I have been changed for good."

"For Good" from the musical Wicked

Dallin's birthmom passed away on the 31st. I'm not sure if anyone, besides those on the adoption path, can understand a relationship between a birth mom and an adoptive mom. He is never just my baby. Yes Dallin is meant to be in our family and is sealed to us, but he has two moms who will impact his life. I feel like I have an extra responsibility to be the best mom because someone else entrusted me with the care of her baby. Dallin's birth mom gave him the precious gift of life and now Zane and I are giving him a life with an eternal family. I didn't understand true sacrifice until that moment when she placed Dallin in our arms. Not a day goes by when I don't look at my son and say a prayer thanking Heavenly Father for bringing Dallin's birth mom to our lives and for her sacrifice. She is our angel, our hero.

At placement

Dallin at 14 months on our Las Vegas trip

The Pirates Life For Me

What a fun Halloween! Last year Dallin was too young to understand. This year, he got it! Zane and I decided last minute to throw together pirate costumes to match Dallin. Friday night was our church carnival. Dallin got to stay up later and eat some candy, which meant he was pretty hyper. By the end of the night we were exhausted from running after him. Dallin tried to play a couple of games, but he found it easier just to take a piece of candy instead of working for it...tricky pirate. Every time he would dash off without me, I would find him with a new treat. I think he just smiles at people and they give him what he wants. Amazing powers of persuasion.

Dallin wanted his face painted. He held still while the girl painted the spider's body, but then he was done. He walked around with a big black spot on his face.

On Saturday we went to a friend's party for dinner and activities before heading out trick or treating. Here is Zane and Dallin in their matching costumes.

Dallin loved trick or treating. At first he would knock on the door and then run back to me. After a few doors though, you could see his mind finally getting it. Knock on the door, get free candy, say thank you...HEAVEN!!! Dallin went out trick or treating with his cousins Drew and Caleb. Zane pulled an empty wagon all night until right at the end when Caleb and Dallin climbed on in weary from all the hard work. Their bags were getting pretty heavy but neither one would let mommies hold it for them.

I think this is Dallin's favorite holiday...well until Santa comes.