Dickson Family Fun House

Happy Anniversary

2009-11-06T08:04:00.001-08:00

Today James and I have been married for 8 years! I never saw it coming that 8 years after being married we would have four kids, two of which were twins! Life throws some really fun curve balls!! I could never have imagined how happy I would be either!

Now..... a look at the past......

Just before we were engaged at my sister Jeanne's wedding.

Our engagement photo.

Happy Anniversary James! I love you!

Been a Wee bit busy...

2009-11-04T20:38:00.000-08:00

Life has been a little busy lately.

*Colby started Kindergarten and is loving it.

*Abby started preschool and dance class. She loves it!

*The twins are crawling EVERYWHERE. Up the stairs, under the table.... if they can fit, they are there. It has been really fun.

* I am teaching piano lessons, and loving it. We have a recital coming up in December that I am getting everyone ready for. It will be fantastic!

* I am the ward choir director and I am getting the choir ready for Christmas. I love Christmas!!

*We all got the Swine Flu about 3 weeks ago...... it was terrible and my ear drum ending up rupturing, but hey.. we are alive! We need t-shirts that say "We Survived the Swine Flu"!

*Halloween was really fun this year. Colby dressed up as Darth Vader, Abby was a mermaid, and the twins were Pebbles and Bam Bam. My mom ending up helping me make the Pebbles and Bam Bam costume. They turned out really cute!

*AND I am scrapbooking again. Oh, I have missed it so much! It feels good to be making some progress. I am only 1 & a half years behind now.

BUSY, but FUN! Here are some pictures of the last couple of months.

Meet the Flintstones....
Pebbles and Bam Bam..... they stopped eating the straw for just a moment for me to snap this photo.
Scariest Darth Vader I ever saw!
The most beautiful mermaid!

Wow! They can sure make a mess.... in no time flat!

Never mind Tyler is in the way... just go up and over!

Abby's first day of dance class.
Colby's first day of school.
Abby's first day of Preschool.

Tyler.... aw! I love you!

2009-06-24T14:51:00.000-07:00

Both babies are sleeping and Colby and Abby are playing, so I have a few minutes to update my blog. The twins are 6 months old now! Man time flies! They are doing better at eating cereal... practice makes perfect......about 4 weeks of practice and I think they have it. They are really sweet together. They look at each other and laugh. It is so cute! I caught them holding hands the other day!

Abby turned 3! I can hardly believe it! She is my little Princess. And she totally is in a princess! We had a princess party for her. I am so proud of the cake I make her. It was a princess castle. She loved it!! She got princess dress up outfits, and a new bike....that she won't ride. She prefers Colby's old one. Don't ask why. I don't know. She had a great birthday!

Colby is playing the piano.... and it might be because I am his mother..... but, he is really good! I think he might have some natural talent. What other 5 year old plays the piano, and can read notes? I don't know anyone else. He played so good! He had a song memorized and then we played a duet together. It was really fun! Colby got to play on a grand piano. Wow! Beautiful! When Colby was finished I think I was beaming!! I was so proud of him! I had 6 students and they all did really well. I didn't know that teaching piano would be so much fun!

Well that is about the last month or two in a nutshell. We are getting into the swing of things, and the twins don't seem so hard anymore. There is something really special about twins. They are so fun! Not all the time, but most of the time. I have really good kids, and I am so lucky!!

Colby Graduated from Preschool!

2009-05-16T16:27:00.001-07:00

I can't believe Colby has graduated from Preschool! His program was yesterday, and he did so good! He has grown up so much since he started Preschool. He can write his first and last name, he can count beyond 100! He is such a good big brother to his younger siblings and helps me so much with the twins. He was so cute at the program! He was a jester in the program and it was so funny!! He didn't tell me he would be wearing such a cute hat! But he did very well! Congrats Colby! We love you!

New Pictures

2009-05-01T13:47:00.000-07:00

Life is kinda crazy and I don't have a lot of time to blog anymore, so I will just post some pictures. The twins are so much fun! There is something special about twins. They are so connected and aware of each other! When they are laying next to each other and one is crying, the one that is not crying will lay his/her arm across the others chest. It is so sweet!! I think they are trying to comfort each other. Colby and Abby are doing great! They are the loving and adoring older brother and sister. Colby has been playing soccer and doing great! Abby will be starting dance class in June, both of us are so excited!!

Sorry about the spit up on his vest..... he doesn't wear anything without "decorating" it a little.

Twin Photo Shoot & Survival

2009-03-06T19:02:00.000-08:00

One of my friends, Angela, took pictures of the twins for me. She has a studio in her basement, and really took some great picture of the twins, and a few of Colby and Abby. It was really fun!

Our family is currently in survival mode, we are spending all of our energy and time just trying to make it each day. Having the twins isn’t really hard, it’s just very, very, time consuming and exhausting. Take everything you do with one baby and times it by two and you have the wonderful world of twins. It seems like its non-stop feedings, burpings, diaper changings, washing dirty bibs and cloths, washing bottles, mixing formula, and holding of babies, a non-stop cycle of being on the go!

However, it’s not all doom and gloom. We are finally getting our family into a routine, which is helping to get everything back to normal. Everybody is adjusting and finding their place in our dramatically different family. Colby has been such a huge help, he loves to feed one of the babies a bottle, and is so wonderful with them. Abby is a good big sister, even though she has been struggling to find her new place the family, she isn’t the baby of the family anymore and is struggling with that. However, she sure does love her new brother and sister, at times it’s just a little to much love.

Tyler and Julie sure are growing; they have grown out of preemie clothes and diapers and are actually getting the classic, Dickson Chubby Baby Cheeks. We had somebody from the state health department come in this past week to check their growth and development, Tyler is now 12lbs and Julie is 11lbs. They are such good babies, they hardly ever cry, and are beginning to develop their on little personalities. Tyler is a little formula vacuum and Julie is our little gremlin. Julie almost never cries, but instead grunts and “meows” as loud as possible and makes funny noises. Tyler is such a patient little boy, when he gets hungry he makes a few little noises, sucks his tongue, but almost never cries and patiently waits for his bottle. I can't believe Tyler was ever in the NICU for 2 1/2 weeks because he wouldn't eat.... now he hardly ever stops!!

We LOVE the twins! Twins are so much fun, and I can't imagine ever having had them separately. They are just such a pair! Meant to be together!

New Pictures

2009-02-07T17:34:00.000-08:00

I don't have a lot of time to post, so here are some updated pictures.

Colby's 5th birthday. He wanted a Transformer Birthday Cake. I think it turned out ok.

Abby dancing with her cousin Logan aka "Loggie"

Craziness!

2009-01-09T09:42:00.000-08:00

Wow! Having two small babies is sure time consuming! I hardly can find time to eat.... seriously. Tyler weighs about 6 lbs 11 oz now and Julie is around 6 lbs. They are still eating every 3 hours. So..... it takes about 1 hour to change them, feed them, burp them, and for me to pump. Then I have two hours off, and it starts all over again. The hardest part is at night time.

I am so glad that Tyler is home. Having them both home is such a joy! I am loving every minute of it!! Babies are so sweet and precious. Tyler and Julie really don't look that much alike. Julie looks more like Colby when he was a baby and Tyler looks more like Abby. Funny! Tyler's hair has a reddish tint to it and Julie's hair is dark. They each already have their own personalities. They are sure fun! Colby and Abby both love the babies!! They want to see them and hold them all the time. It is really cute. Colby says "I want to see Julie and Tyler's cute eye. Oh.... how cute!" He is so sweet and has been a real big help to me.

Here are some pictures of our Julie photo shoot. Tyler wasn't feel well because he had his circumcision that day..... we are going to reschedule.

Tyler is Finally Home!!

2008-12-26T12:01:00.000-08:00

Our little family.... now big family.... Thanks to Julie and Tyler..... Is finally all together at home! We got a wonderful surprise this morning when we arrived at the hospital for Tyler's 10:00am feeding, IT WAS TIME TO GO HOME!!! Last night the nurse said if he continued to eat his minimums, and kept doing so well we might, (with a big emphasis on might) be able to take him home today, in the evening. However, to our wonderful surprise he was ready to come home this morning!!

Finally the twins are together again and were a complete family now!! It was really hard having Tyler in the hospital, we just felt like something was always missing!

Update on the Twins.....

2008-12-17T16:49:00.000-08:00

Life sure has been crazy in the Dickson household for the past week. We are being pulled in a million different directions and its hard having to be in two places at the same time.

Tyler still is in the NICU at McKay Dee Hospital. He is doing well, however, he is just exhausted and does not have very much energy. He currently only has a feeding tube running into his body, which is a step up from the oxygen and IVs he had earlier.

He does improve each day, albeit very small steps, but he is progressing and getting better. Sometimes its a big step forward, then half a step back, other times its a tiny step forward, but key is, he is progressing. He has been upgraded to a crib type thing, which has to be nicer than the "box" he was in before. They even gave him his own little outfit to be in, which has to be nicer than just hanging out in a diaper.

In order for Tyler to come home he has to complete a four step Oral Feeding Transition program. He has to pass a few "Feed Me" Cues, which include; Being awake and alert, rooting and sucking on a pacifier, and waking himself up before feeding time. As soon as he shows the "Feed Me" Cues, the doctors will determine a minimum feeding volume, which he has to meet at each 3 hour feeding for a 24 hour period. Once that occurs and he meets his required minimum volume for that 24 hour period, the

feeding tube can be removed. The last step then is to gain weight, he has to be gaining around 10-15 grams per day and once he has accomplished all of the above and is gaining weight, we can bring him home. We are hoping and praying that we can get him home by Christmas, but we also understand that we don't want him to come home to early.

Julie is doing great, although she sleeps for about 20 of the 24 hours in the day. She is so tiny and precious, even the preemie diapers drown her, a newborn doesn't even come close to fitting and makes her look even tinier. We cannot get over how tiny she is, yet everything is just perfect. When Colby saw her for the first time, he said, "Wow! She has tiny hands, and a tiny nose, and tiny fingernails." He couldn't get over how small she was.... Yet she is perfect. She is such a great little baby, never cries, never fusses, we simply wake her up to eat, she eats very well, smiles at us a little, then its back to sleep. Julie looks a lot like Colby, she has the same nose and facial features as he does.

Each day she seems to be waking up more and being more and more active. Colby and Abby just love her, Abby especially. Abby follows us around and is a big help. We let Abby hold the clean diapers and give them to us when were ready. Abby also loves it when we put Julie in her swing, she will sit by the side of the swing and watch Julie rock back and forth.

I think Julie misses her brother, in the bassinet that we have, Julie has to snuggle up to the side in order to sleep well. I know that she misses her brother snuggling next to her. We are so excited to get both of the twins together, they are now over a week old and we still don't have a picture of them together, we can't wait for the day when our double sized family will be together at home!!

The Twins have Arrived.....

2008-12-08T17:09:00.000-08:00

Tyler Thomas Dickson and Julie Joan Dickson arrived today at about 1:15pm and 1:30pm. Wow! What a delivery! Julie was first and pretty much shot right out. Tyler.... He was a different story, to make a long story short, it took the doctors about 15 minutes to work him out. (If you want to hear the entire story, let me know, its pretty crazy). As soon as he was born, they wisked him away to make sure everything was ok. He is doing ok, but it currently in NICU, due to his lungs being a little under developed. He will probably have to spend a few extra days in the NICU, but hopefully will be home by the weekend.

Julie was 18.5 inches long and weighed in at 4lbs 10oz. Tyler was 19 inches long and weighed in at 5lbs even. The both look like their brother and sister, just skinnier! I can't believe how tiny they are, but together, it was almost 10lbs of baby.

Stephanie is doing awesome, she was such a trooper, she was great in the delivery room, even when things wern't going as planned. She is such a great mother!

Another Unexpected Hospital Visit....

2008-12-04T17:26:00.000-08:00

Well.... We spent the afternoon up in Labor and Delivery. Stephanie was feeling some contractions and pain, and having some "other baby related things" going on, so we decided she should call the doctors office for their opinion. The doctors office recommended that she come in to get checked out. The doctor checked Stephanie and decided she should go to labor and delivery to monitor for contractions.

They hooked Stephanie up to the monitoring machines and saw that she was indeed having some pretty good contractions. The doctor still thinks it best to keep the babies in, as they are barely 34 weeks, so Stephanie was given a shot to stop labor. About an hour later, after the contractions had stopped, we were sent home. Its more wait and see!

Dickson Family Back to Normal??

2008-12-01T21:34:00.000-08:00

Well we got the good news from the doctor today. As of tomorrow, Stephanie is off of bed rest! YIPPY!! Does that mean she will be able to cook a wonderful Sunday dinner, or go out shopping? No! But, at least she can be up and about the house, go outside, go to church, go and get some dinner, and visit family.

Stephanie is now 34 weeks and everything is looking good. The doctor said that Stephanie has "exceeded her expectations" and that she did really good and bed rest did the job. Stephanie really did a great job with the bed rest, I only had to get after her a few times. I couldn't imagine having to lay down all day, everyday, she was amazing! Good Job Steph!

During our appointment today the doctor "checked her" and she is now dialated to a one and is 50% thinned, meaning things are progressing and progressing well. The babies should be about 5 1/2 pounds now and growing each day. On average, twins gain between 4-5 ounces per week, as opposted to a single baby at about 5-7 ounces per week. Hopefully, the babies will be here in the next couple of weeks and be healthy and strong when born.

Surprise!!! We are throwing you a Baby Shower....right now!

2008-11-15T20:41:00.001-08:00

So I am 32 weeks (8 months) pregnant with the twins. I have been on bed rest now for 6 weeks, and believe me, it is no fun! I have not left my house in 6 weeks, and boy, a lot has changed. Gas was somewhere in the $3.50's when I was put on bed rest. We have been getting a lot of help from our family and friends, and they have truly been life savers!!

Well, today I was on the couch doing my Sudoku puzzles and I hear this rustling sound upstairs. I go upstairs to check it out and my friend Monica is in my kitchen with food and presents. I was like "What are you doing here?!" She says "We are throwing you a baby shower... today!" It was a surprise Baby Shower and I had no idea!! I can't believe my neighbors and friends kept it a secret from me!!! I was totally surprised! My friend Kaylene brought her daughter Kylie to do my hair, it looked so cute! (I haven't done my hair in quite a while....it was nice to have it done!) I honestly have the best friends, family and neighbors anyone could ask for! They have really helped us out in a time when we really needed it. It was so nice to see everyone and talk to other people...James can only handle so much talking!! (Bless his heart, he tries!) The shower was so much fun and really sweet. Thank you Everyone!!!!!!!!!

Halloween Fun

2008-11-15T20:35:00.001-08:00

We had a fun Halloween this year. I spent most of it from the couch......

Here are some Pictures

I have tried to put away Abby's Princess costume several times.......she will have none of it. She is wearing it every day. Oh well, it is so darn cute on her!!

Pumpkin Fun.....

2008-11-05T07:14:00.000-08:00

The kids loved carving their pumpkins this year. I found an application for my iPod Touch that allows you to choose a pumpkin face from a bunch of different face types. After Colby and Abby choose their face, I outlined it and tried to carve it the best I could. And to my amazement the faces actually turned out pretty good. The kids loved the feel of the "pumpkin guts" and both loved to pull the "guts" out of the pumpkin, who would have knows that "pumpkin guts" could get all over the entire house? I am still finding pumpkin stuff all over the house. It was a fun night and the finished products were both scary and funny!

Family Update....

2008-10-28T16:52:00.000-07:00

Everything is going well for the Dickson Family, considering Stephanie is still on bed rest. Stephanie for the most part is following doctors orders and staying down, however, there are those times when you just can't lay down anymore and she is up a little. James is going crazy trying to keep the house in order, there is just so much for one person to do around the house, in addition to all the time having to be dedicated to bishopric stuff. James took a day off to get the yard prepared for winter, the flowers, garden, lawn and sprinkling system are now ready for snow.

All in all everything is going pretty well. Stephanie is now 29 weeks, so that leaves about 3 more weeks of bed rest. If Stephanie keeps doing well, the doctor should take her off full bed rest at 32 weeks! It can't come soon enough!

Good News and Bad News for Check-Up #1....

2008-10-13T15:34:00.000-07:00

First the bad news, Stephanie is still on bed rest. Now the good news, the bed rest is doing its job. Stephanie is better this week than she was last week. The doctor is encouraged about how this past week went and the results that she saw today after the week of bed rest. The doctor wants Stephanie to continue on bed rest until she hits 32 weeks, which is Nov 18th. So lets hope Stephanie will continue to follow doctors orders and stay down. Its going to be a long five more weeks, but we will make it!

False Alarm... Thank Goodness....

2008-10-06T20:40:00.000-07:00

So today we went for the routine two week check-up with the baby doctor.... Which turned out to be anything but routine. Stephanie mentioned to the doctor that she had some pain on Thursday, but that it went away after a good nights sleep. As the doctor went through the things a "baby doctor" does, she immediately got worried look on her face, sat down, and started the next sentence with.... "Remember when we originally talked about twins and the high risk they present.... Well.... were there now!" All this was due to Stephanie's cervix being "too soft". So the doctor immediately called Perinatology and got us in for a very quick ultrasound. Then we were off to Labor and Delivery, where Stephanie was admitted, quickly hooked up to all plethora of monitoring devices, and then closely watched for signs of labor. Six hours after our supposed "routine" visit, we were finally released from the hospital and allow to come home. Luckily everything checked out fine, but Stephanie is now walking a fine line. The doctor says if anything changes over the next few weeks, she will have to be admitted to the hospital.

As it stands, Stephanie is now on in home bed rest! YOUZA! She can get up to goto the bathroom, warm-up some lunch and take a shower and that is about it. We go back to the doctor in a week to see if she has improved, or will have to continue on bed rest. James will now get to play both mom and dad! Hopefully, we can survive on "man meals", Mac and Cheese and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches until Stephanie has the babies! Which better not be for another 8 weeks!

Colby is playing the piano!!

2008-10-03T17:08:00.000-07:00

I started teaching piano in August. I am really having a great time, right now I have 3 students. I just started a new student on Wednesday. After the lessons were over, Colby came up to me and asked me if I would teach him piano. I was joking with him and said that the girls I teach pay me to teach them. Colby ran off and I didn't think anymore about it. Then Colby comes up to me and hands me a whole bunch of change and said, "Mom this is all the money I have in my dinosaur bank, will you teach me to play?" It was the sweetest thing ever! I told him that I would teach him for free and he got really excited. I started right then. He is doing so good!! Holy cow, this kid loves to play the piano! He has learned a song, and now can read the notes on the music. He really is catching on fast. He wants me to teach him something new everyday. I told him that my piano students will have a recital in May and he could play a song too. He is such a cute boy! He told me that when he grows up he wants to be a football player and a piano teacher! CUTE!!

Our Ward is Split!!

2008-09-29T19:53:00.000-07:00

I am really sad to say that our ward was split on Sunday. The only changes to the Midland 1st Ward is: it is now called CountryLane Ward and; my street was moved to a new ward. I am so very sad!! I have been in the ward now for 6 years, ever since it was formed. I have made some really close friends, and it is really hard to get used to the idea that I won't see them each week. I feel like I have really grown as a person since being in the ward and serving with the people in it. I kind of feel like we are moving and I didn't get to say goodbye. It is also hard because the ward we are moving into the only change was that our street was added, so, everyone knows each other but us. James was also put in the bishopric as the 2nd counselor. My first thought was....what in the world am I going to do on Sunday when the twins arrive, with a 4 year old, a 2 year old and brand new twins by myself, in a brand new ward, where I don't know hardly anyone? But thankfully, before we could even ask, people have volunteered to help me. I am so grateful to them.... they truly are answers to my prayers! So we are in for quite a few changes in the next little bit. James is worried about getting talks for Sunday, and having to ask people he doesn't know to accept callings. I am worried about my kids. All of Colby's friends in his primary class are gone now except one, and I am worried Abby will be nervous at nursery. But I know that things will work out. This is another opportunity to increase my friendships, and cultivate my own testimony. But I am sure going to miss everyone in the Midland 1st Ward!! We are going to have to stay in touch!!

Deja Vu.....

2008-09-26T10:26:00.000-07:00

Last night at 10:45 we heard the dreaded noise that every mother hates.... the sound of my daughter throwing up in her bed. Sound familiar.....ya, me too!! Abby is sick now too. It is funny because she threw up almost to the minute that Colby threw up on Tuesday night. She is in pretty sad shape. This is the first time she has ever really thrown up, and it was so sad. Poor little girl! Colby is better now, so it looks like this is the 24 flu bug. Sorry to gross you all out again....

Oh the joys of Motherhood.....

2008-09-24T07:33:00.000-07:00

At 10:45 last night we heard the dreaded noise that every mother hates........my son throwing up in his bed. Poor kid. I spent the entire night cleaning up throw up instead of sleeping. I am hoping that the throwing up is over now, I just hope Abby doesn't get whatever bug Colby has. Heres to hoping that I will get small nap in today!

Our week of firsts......

2008-09-07T18:25:00.000-07:00

We have had a lot of first this week. Colby had his first day of Preschool. He had a great first day. His friend Ian was in his class again from last year, as well as Bridger Pope, and Dallin. Mom is loving the free time! I did some Christmas shopping this week with only one child. One word........heaven.

Colby also had his first soccer game on Saturday. He was so excited! We bought him his cleats and shin guards a couple of weeks ago. He used to pretend that his boots were his cleats....funny! He doesn't have to pretend anymore and has been wearing his cleats and shin guards around around ever since. It is so cute!! The game was the funniest thing I have ever seen!!! Colby was not intimidated at all by the other kids. He just got right in there and tried to steal the ball. Colby even made the first goal. It was pretty exciting!! For some reason Colby kept ending up on the ground. I can't figure out if his legs were getting kicked out from under him, or if he thinks he is suppose to fall......either way, he was on the ground a lot. One time he got kicked right below the eye....and that is how Colby got his very first shiner!! I tried to use it as a teaching moment to let him know that you are suppose to stay on your feet. I guess we will see if it worked. It was a lot of fun!! Colby was upset when we left because he wanted to play another game.

So that is our list of firsts.......

First Day of Preschool

First Soccer Game

First Shiner.

It was a fun week!

BYU Football Saturday.....

2008-09-01T09:50:00.000-07:00

So football season is now upon us! YEAH BABY! We went to the BYU Football game on Saturday and watched BYU beat-up on UNI. It was one of the hottest games that I have ever been too. Both my Mom and Stephanie got sick cause it was so hot. The paramedics even had to make a call to help a person in a section over from us.

The kids were all decked out in their BYU garb. Colby and Abby both wore their BYU cloths made by Grandma Peggy! They got more than a dozen complements from other fans who loved their cloths. Even the BYU Cougarettes loved the cloths when we walked by and the kids got their picture taken with them.

Colby did awesome, he loves the games and watches attentively the entire game. He knows what is going on and when a good play, or bad play has happened. All the other fan around us are amazed that he knows the game so well at such a young age. Colby just loves going to the games and always has a fun time!

BABY NEWS!!

2008-08-25T20:34:00.000-07:00

Drum roll please.............. we are having a boy and a girl! We are so excited! Both babies are doing well, and are looking great. Colby was really excited that he will have a baby brother. The next step is to get out all the baby clothes and go through them. Talk about lots of laundry!!! I really felt like we were having a boy and a girl, but I didn't want to say anything, just incase I was wrong. Anyway, we are both very excited, and glad that both babies are doing well!

Any Guesses?

2008-08-18T09:00:00.000-07:00

I am one week shy of being 20 weeks (5 months) pregnant with the twins. One week from today I will find out what we are having. Any one care to take a guess? I will post next monday what we are having.

Back From Lake Powell & our Yard Sale

2008-08-17T17:15:00.000-07:00

We got back from Lake Powell on Monday. We had tons of fun! The kids were really good and it was a relaxing weekend. It did storm on us a little and rained, but we got to see some really cool waterfalls right by our houseboat. It was a lot of fun!

We had a Yard Sale at our house on Saturday. I was kind of nervous about it, but I had so much fun! It was fun to see all the people that came and the stuff they bought!! Stuff I thought for sure wouldn't sell did! Funny! I am already thinking about having another one after the twins are born and we need to get rid of some of the baby stuff. Colby was so funny!! He wanted to earn money, but didn't want to sell anything. He finally found something he could part with...a used sticker coloring book with all the stickers missing. We put it out, and it sold! (to grandma) It was pretty cute! Then someone came by and bought something and handed the money to Colby. He said "Be sure this gets to the owner" Colby turned and starting running away and said "Heck no! I am headed to my piggy bank!" It was so funny!! Colby is trying to earn money so we can go back to Disneyland. So cute!

New Blog

2008-08-15T18:20:00.000-07:00

Due to problems with our previous blog, I have started a new one. Here it is. Let me know if any of you have any problems with this blog.

Lake Powell here we come!

2008-08-05T09:12:00.000-07:00

Well, we are off to Lake Powell tomorrow. I have been packing and cleaning and doing laundry like crazy to get ready to go. And in the middle of all that I found time to do our beans. I picked them, snipped them and pressure cooked them myself. I have got 11 quarts so far!! Yum!

Memory Game

2008-07-21T09:12:00.000-07:00

Here is a fun little game... leave a comment on my blog of a memory that you and I have had together. It doesn't matter if you've known me for a short time or a long time, anything that you remember! Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It is pretty funny to read the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you are playing and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't have a blog don't worry you can still leave a comment! On your mark... get set... blog those memories!

Summer of Bad Luck Continues......

2008-07-17T09:10:00.000-07:00

So my summer of bad luck has continued. Last night we were enjoying a wonderful dinner at the table. Stephanie made her famous chicken, stuffing, casserole that everybody just loves. I dropped something off the table, as I was beginning to bend over to pick it up, Colby who was playing with his fork, had it slip out of his hand and the fork flew directly in my eye. I immediately knew it wasn’t good what just happened, as I jumped from the table screaming like a baby. Poor Colby, he felt so bad, he was crying the entire time we were deciding what to do.

I ended up going to the ER (only after Stephanie talked me into it) to make sure everything was ok. We got a little scare when the first (young) doctor came in to examine me. He got out some dye drops and a florescent light that checks for bleeding and oooozing from the inner eye. As soon as he looked in my eye with the magnifying glass/florescent light thing he said, “Oooohhhhh....... I am going to go and get the other doctor.”

The other ER doctor came in and checked me out and said it went into the eye, but luckily not deep enough to penetrate the eye ball. So I had to get a tetanus shot and some ointment to ward off infection. The doctor said she is worried that if I exert myself to much that I could rupture the eye and then inner-eye fluid could leak out... Which can’t be good. Needless to say I am home from work and taking it easy today, cause I really don’t want to pop my eyeball! The good thing is that the eye heals very quickly, so I should be back to normal in about 3-4 days.

I really hope my summer of bad luck is over!

My Sexy Girly Leg....

2008-07-11T09:07:00.000-07:00

Well the cast has finally come off and I am now left with a sexy girly leg. My once manly leg is now puny, ugly and still swollen. As soon as I got home from getting the cast off I jumped in the tub to soak my disgusting leg. When I walked into the bathroom and stepped on the floor with my broken leg and the floor felt so cold and wet, it felt like I was walking done on floor. I had Stephanie look at the bottom of my foot and all the muscle and padding is gone. Weird!!

The doctor says I have to remain in a boot for four more weeks. However, after two weeks I am able to take it off inside, then after the forth week I can take it off for good.

Here are a few scar pics. I can even feel the metal plate in my leg when I touch where the bone area.

Survey...Does our blog take forever to Load?

2008-07-06T09:06:00.000-07:00

Ok, I need everyones help. I have been told that our blog takes forever to load. I can’t figure out what the problem is....if our blog takes forever to load, please put on a post here and let me know. I guess it doesn’t take forever for some people. Anyway let me know either way. It will help us track down what the problem is. Thanks everyone!!

4th of July

2008-07-05T09:02:00.000-07:00

The Dickson family had a fun 4th of July day. We were able to get together with the Dickson and Christensen families and have a good time. We started off the day by going to the Christensen family cabin. All the family came along for a fun day of relaxation and 4-wheeler riding. We were even lucky enough to three deer and a big cow moose.

Colby and Abby both loved riding on the 4-wheelers. Colby would always say, “Daddy go faster.... faster Daddy.... faster.” So Daddy obliged and we went fast. Abby also loved ridding the 4-wheeler, even thought she didn’t think it was very important to hang on.

After a fun day of 4-wheeling and mountain adventures we journeyed down to Hunstville and stopped by the Dickson Family. We had a wonderful cookout with lots of good food. Special Chef Tommy D. cooked up a few steaks and chicken that were gilled to perfection.

After dinner we lit off a few of our own fireworks, the kids especially loved the sparklers. Then we watched the Huntsville fireworks!

We had a very fun day!

The Surgery Aftermath!

2008-06-11T09:00:00.000-07:00

So today I got the stupid soft cast and am now in a BYU BLUE hard cast! I will be in my new best friend for 4 weeks, non weight baring the entire time, meaning crutches.... Ah...... After the cast come off, its into a boot for another month as I transition into walking again. I won’t be in the boot full time just when I walk distances and get use to walking again! The new cast is so much more comfortable and lighter! I can even go swimming with it and take showers, etc.... That will be so very nice!

They also took out the 15 stitches that they put in me and showed me the 6-8 inch incision that they made for the surgery, pretty ugly. I am going to have a very nice scar!

I now have one tiny, puny, skinny, bird leg. I can’t believe how fast you can lose your muscle mass when you don’t use your muscle!

Its Twins....

2008-06-08T08:59:00.000-07:00

So were having twins, HOLY CRAP! There have been a lot of things going on in our family the past few weeks and now TWINS! We have been planning on trying to have another kid for the past few months, but we were not trying for TWINS!

James had his leg surgery on Tuesday and Thursday we found out were having twins. I guess that is what happens when you pretty much put a cap on how many kids you want, three, and your family is suppose to have more. So be careful when you start putting a number on the amount of kids you want. Lets name out the positives..... Um.... Were for sure done now and..... and...... and..... Yikes... This is going to be interesting. We are really, really, excited, however, at the same time very nervous.

We will post more as we go and let everybody know how everything is going.

Broken Leg Surgery

2008-06-05T08:58:00.000-07:00

So after talking with a few people and wondering myself about the care I received from the local IHC clinic I decided it would be best to visit an Orthopedic Surgeon to make sure everything was fine and that the leg will heal properly.

On Friday, I went and visited the Orthopedic and I knew something was wrong when the nurse who was looking up my x-rays said, after she got them pulled up, “That boot is all they recommended for you?”

Then the doctor came in, took a look at the x-rays, looked at my boot, looked at the x-rays again and said, “A boot would not be my recommendation at all.” He recommended surgery so I wouldn’t have any complications down the road. He said with the seriousness of the break and how much it is displaced, plus the fact that the bone is now a little shorter than it should be, he pretty much guaranteed that I will have ankle problems down the road. So I decided on getting the surgery to make sure everything will be ok down the road.

So on Tuesday, I went in and got it taken care of. I guess it took a little longer than they thought it would, it took about an hour and thirty minutes. I guess they also had to use some metal wire in there as well. However, the doctor told Stephanie that everything went very well and I should have a full recovery.

The worst part was after I woke up, it took me about five hours to recover from whatever frekin anesthetic they gave me. I was so sick, and nauseous, dizzy, and had a huge headache I couldn’t see strait. Finally about 4:30pm I threw-up and everything seemed to go away enough so we told the nurse that we were going home.

Recovery has been long and slow, I finally stopped taking the Lortab early today and since then I feel so much better. I think the Lortab was making me continue to be dizzy and nauseous. The extreme pain has mostly gone away and now I just have to sit so I am comfortable! Hopefully tomorrow I will really start feeling better so I can get up and go downstairs and do something as opposed to just laying in bed.

James broke his leg....

2008-05-22T08:57:00.000-07:00

That’s right people....James broke his leg. About 2 years ago he had knee surgery in his left leg...I guess he felt like it was time to pay a little more attention to his other leg, so he broke his right leg. It happened on Monday. He was in the outfield and called for the ball. The other guy must not have heard him and there was a collision. James stood up and was like “I can’t walk”. But then he got up and batted his next up at bat! He hit the ball and then ran/hoped to first base.... with a broken leg. He ended up not being able to drive home, so he had someone drive his car home and he got a ride from someone. The next day he went to work, for 6 hours! (Men!!) Finally, on Wednesday he decided to go to the doctor. It was broken, all the way through. You can see the break at the bottom of the x-ray. They have him in a boot right now.

He will go back in on Wednesday to see if it is healing ok. If it isn’t, he will have to get a cast...and we will kiss our Lake Powell trip goodbye. I am just glad he decided to go to the doctor. Wish us good luck!

Bonus Night

2008-05-17T08:56:00.000-07:00

Tonight was our semi-annual America First Bonus Night, held in Salt Lake at the Grand America Hotel. Its a night of food, fun, rewards, and laughs as Johnny Biscuit is the host and Johnny is hilarious. Last year he ripped off a routine on Scrap booking that had me rolling on the ground cause it was so funny.

Tonight was a unique trip in the fact that we rode FrontRunner down, jumped on Trax and got dropped off one block north of the Grand America Hotel. What a wonderful trip, it was so peaceful and nice, we didn’t have to worry about the drive, parking, getting out of the parking lot and the drive home. If at all possible whenever we goto Salt Lake it will be on FrontRunner

I’ve been tagged

2008-05-14T08:55:00.000-07:00

What your supposed to do.....delete my answers and type in your own. Don't forget to tag four people.

A)Four places I go over and over:

1. Walgreens
2. Work
3. Page’s Preschool
4. Burger King

B)Four people who email me the most:
1. Pinching Your Pennies
2. Jeanne
3. Claire
4. Facebook

C)Four of my favorite foods:
1. Hard Rolls
2. Chick-fil-a Sandwiches
3. Reeces Peanut Butter cups
4. Pot Roast

D)Four Places in which I would rather be right now:
1. Hawaii
2. Lake Powell
3. Disney Land
4. Any place quiet

Four people I'm tagging:
1. Melanie
2. Carmen
3. Ashley
4. Sarah

F)Four movies I would watch over and over:
1. Princess Bride
2. Mr & Mrs Smith
3. Indian Jones
4. Home videos

Disappearing Abby

2008-05-12T08:55:00.000-07:00

Early Sunday morning about 2:00am, we woke up to Abby crying in her room. Stephanie got up and went to check on her and to comfort her. When Stephanie got into her room she pulled back the covers, but Abby wasn’t in her bed, Stephanie, still mostly asleep couldn’t figure out what was going on. Finally she got down on her hands and knees, lifted up the bed skirt and there was Abby! Somehow she must have fallen out of bed, hit the pillows we placed there for her safety, and some how rolled under the bed and scooted towards the wall. Stephanie had to get down on her hands and knees, grab Abby by the ankles and slowly pull her out! Poor Abby was a little scared after that, but she did go back to sleep.

Abby's Big Girl Bed

2008-05-08T08:53:00.000-07:00

Abby is now in a big girl bed. She is about the same age Colby was when we put him in his “big boy” bed. However, she seems so much smaller than Colby did when we put him in his bed. Last night was her first night in the new bed. She did good, except for the fact it took about 2 hours to get her to sleep as she kept getting out of bed. After taking two, thirty minute shifts each at putting her back in her bed every two minutes, we finally got the baby gate out and gated her in. She cried for about 15 minutes, then laid down near the door, Stephanie went up and put her in bed and finally she fell asleep.

Abby didn’t move a muscle all night long. We were worried she was going to fall out of bed, so we packed her floor with pillows just in case. Lucky she didn’t fall out of bed and slept like a little princess all night, she even slept in about thirty minutes.

Now if she can just go to sleep in less than 2 hours it will be great!

I spent $5.33

2008-05-08T08:52:00.000-07:00

All I spent was $5.33 and that includes tax. There was a sale at Albertson’s when you spend $20 general mills cereal you get $10 off. So that made them $1 a box, and then I had $1 off 2 boxes of cereal coupons. So that was another $5 off. I was very excited, considering I should have paid $42 if I had bought then at regular price!!! I went back and bought 10 more. Now, where to store all this stuff.......

Guess How Much I Spent....

2008-05-05T08:51:00.000-07:00

I had so much fun with this on my sister Jeanne’s blog, I decided to give it a whirl. Guess how much I spent....

I bought 10 boxes of General Mills Cereal

-5 boxes of Cinnamon Toast Crunch normally $3.99 a box

-5 boxes of Lucky Charms normally $4.49 a box

Post how much you think I spent and I will reveal tomorrow the winning number!

I love to find good deals.....when I am pulling into the parking lot of the store I am getting the good deals at, my heart rate increases, and I get really nervous... My mom introduced me to this sport of finding good grocery deals. I use to think she was nuts....and now it looks like I am nuts too!!

Jeanne---you can’t play....payback! (jk..I know you know how much I spent...you are nuts too!)

Potty Training Round 2

2008-05-03T08:34:00.000-07:00

This morning we woke up and Abby was saying, Ouch... Ouch... Ouch... and was holding herself. Stephanie asked if she needed to go potty, Abby said... “Yeah” so we sat her down and amazingly she went potty in the potty. YIPPY! So we decided we might as well start trying to get her trained. James was home with her all day and had her go on the potty every 45 minutes. She has been dry all day so far, except for after her nap, but we can work on that.

James decided it was time to get some bribing material, so he took the kids to Wal-Mart and Abby got to pick out three packages of “big girl underware,” a new doll, for when she fills up the “potty sheet” with stars, and a bag of M&Ms, which are her favorite. From now until she is trained, every time she goes in the potty she gets to have five M&Ms. Hopefully that is enough bribing material and in the next few days we will have a potty trained little girl!

I found this old picture...

2008-05-01T08:32:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of me when I was little. I loved to dance, still do. Holy cow!! Don’t I look a lot like Abby! I can just totally see her being shy and posing the way I am in this picture. I wish I was that cute now!

It is really fun to look back at old pictures. Time sure does fly!

Front Runner

2008-04-26T08:31:00.000-07:00

So the commuter rail train, Front Runner, began service today. So I (James) decided to take the kids to the Roy station at 8:30am to welcome the train. When we got there we were able to grab a couple sandwiches, milk and juice and go and stand by the fence to watch for the train. At about 8:45am it arrived and we were able to wave to it and watch it come into the station. Colby though it was really neat and wanted to get on right then, I told him we would be able to ride it later in the afternoon.

We were planning a day trip to SLC, leave on the 3:15pm train, go to SLC, take TRAX to the Gateway, eat some dinner then head home about 6:00-6:30pm. What a great plan! So when Stephanie got home and we quickly got in the car and headed to the station. When we arrived, we encountered a huge line and the attendant said it was at least a 5 (that’s right...) a five hour wait, as they were only letting 30 people per station ride. We decided it wasn’t worth the wait and came home. Colby was very sad and upset cause he wanted to ride the train, we told him we would on a different day.

About 5:30pm, Colby was still sad because he still wanted to ride the train, so to help cheer him up we told him we would go to Wendy’s for dinner. After we were done eating dinner, we decided to just drive by the Roy station to see how busy it was. When we got there the lines were short, so we decided to go for a ride. The line to Ogden was very short and we waited about 30 minutes for the next train to arrive. Once we were on the platform the UTA guy said the lines were getting short up and down the line and if we wanted we could ride into Ogden, stay on the train all the way back down to SLC and then ride back to Roy, so we did it.

What a fun ride! The train is awesome, we were able to sit on the upper deck and get a great view of peoples back yards, and the back of their houses, and even see what a few were eating for dinner! When we got along side the freeway we easily were traveling just as fast, if not faster than the cars on the freeway, plus the ride was so smooth, it hardly felt like you were moving. Some of the seats had a little table so you could get our your laptop on the ride down and use the free internet access available on the trains, what a great idea! The seats were comfortable and spacious and the views were great! It was a fun afternoon!

Steph's 100

2008-04-18T08:30:00.000-07:00

ok, here is my 100 list. A list of 100 things about me. Next week we will do 100 things about James, then Colby and Abby’s lists will follow.

1-I once fell out of my bedroom window. It was a two story window, and I didn’t break anything.

2-I play the flute.

3-I play the piano.

4-I love to find great deals on anything.

5-I am a chocolate lover. Cover almost anything in chocolate and I will eat it.

6-I love music.

7-I like to dance.

8-I taught dance to little girls at Dance Image for about 2 years. It was really fun.

9-I don’t eat Ham.

10-I had a dream about Hampton the pig (he was a cartoon). It was terrible dream and at the end of it Hampton ended up on a pizza. It still makes me sick to my stomach.

11-I was in a car accident when I was eight. I got over 100 stitches. Some in my head and some in my right knee.

12-I have two kids.

13-My oldest son Colby is a really good kid, but can sometimes be wild. My mom says he is the boy version of me.

14-People use to call me “Step-on me”. It was a nickname from full house. I didn’t like it so I would step on them.

15-I put my arm through a glass door when I was a kid. The glass door brought and cut up my arm really well. I thought I was in trouble so I ran away from my mom when she tried to get me.

16-I love Lake Powell.

17-I used to go hunting with my dad when I was a kid.

18-I love the mountains.

19-I am a BYU fan. I kind of have to be with who I am married too!! But I have to say, after almost 7 years of marriage, I do love BYU!

20-I went to Europe for my high school graduation trip. I stayed for over a month and visited Greece, Italy, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, France, England. It was a blast!

21-When we were in Paris, France won the Europe cup for soccer. Our tour bus was attacked by a mob. It was actually really scary. People surrounded our bus, and even jumped on our bus and tried to get it.

22-I married my husband when I was 4 days away from being 20.

23-James I dated for 6 months before we got engaged.

24-We were engaged for 5 months before we got married.

25-I don’t like tomatoes, but I love salsa.

26-I was voted one of the nicest people in Rocky Mountain Junior high when I was in 9th grade. There were 2 people nominated. I was the girl and Seth Hancock was the boy.

27-I was in the band in high school.

28-I work 9 hours a week at America First Credit Union as a Senior Loan Officer in the Indirect Lending Department.

29-I have worked at America First for 8 years.

30-I am related to Abraham Lincoln.

31-I was raised with 2 sisters.

32-I love it when it rains, and we have thunderstorms. I lay awake at night and listen to it.

33-I love to get the mail. I watch for it to come. Weird!

34-I wish my skin wasn’t so.......pale. I tell everyone I am creamy-but let’s be real, I am pale!!

35-My first car was a 1985 ford tempo.

36-When I turned the wheel of my car it would squeal. Everyone could tell when I was coming.

37-My car once started smoking...but I kept driving. I was almost home.

38-I have only gotten one speeding ticket.

39-I have pretended to be my sister on the phone. She has a phone phobia.

40-My piano teacher called me Zelda Marie.

41-I once toilet papered someone’s house and got caught and chased in the car!

42-I am not very patient.

43-I had braces.

44-I broke my wrist doing backhand springs. I had no idea and just kept doing them.

45-I was a cheerleader in the 9th grade.

46-I tried out for cheerleader for the 10th & 11th grade. I didn’t make it and thought my life was over.

47-I went to San Francisco with my high school band in the 11th grade.

48-I get really nervous and say dumb things under pressure.

49-I love to scrapbook.

50-I love to read.

51-I have read the Work and the Glory series twice.

52-I would love to travel to Jerusalem.

53-I have never drank, smoked or done any drugs.

54-I stole an eraser when I was little. My mom found out and made me take it back. I never stole again.

55-My mom once told me I would have a little boy who would keep my hands full, but I could handle it. WOW, that came true!

56-My great grandma is from Holland.

57-I am a Latter-day Saint (Mormon)

58-I love to sing, but I am not a good singer.

59-Sometimes I sing opera to my kids. My mom did that to us when we were kids.

60-I grew up in Hooper.

61-I have always wanted to name a little girl Abby.

62- I met my husband at work.

63-I love ancient history.

64-I don’t like Math.

65-I have an Associates degree from Weber State University.

66-I hate Sponge Bob Square Pants.

67-”Stephanie” is a greek name. It means crown.

68-I would love to be able to dance like the people on Dancing With The Stars.

69-I graduated from high school in 2000.

70-People tell me my feet are weird.

71-I love to decorate my house.

72-I had a crush on a foreign exchange student in High School.

73-I am a dork at heart.

74-I have driven to Salt Lake only once.

75-I like to go for drives in the car.

76-I love animals.

77-I have one brown eye, and one eye that is slightly lighter and more green looking. Basically I have two different colored eyes. I depends on what I wear if you can tell or not.

78-I tend to be a little dramatic.

79-I love accents.

80-I don’t like confrontation.

81-I sell Mary Kay Cosmetics.

82-I am not a good liar.

83-I love to travel.

84-I have been rafting down the Snake River. Intense! I used to go every year.

85-I like to buy stuff on the internet.

86-I love Christmas time.

87-I don’t like to take medicine.

88-I love to play with my kids.

89-I love nap time, when I get to relax a little.

90-I love to eat out.

91-I don’t like Las Vegas.

92-I have so much toilet paper in my closet, I don’t know where to put it all. But I keep getting it because I got it free.

93-I get nervous when I am in front of people.

94-I am a very religious person.

95-I believe we are all children of God.

96-I always wanted to go on a mission. And then I met James

97-I am a back seat driver.

98-I am not a shoe person, I am a purse person. I love purses.

99-I am afraid of the wind.

100-I am very organized and carry around a planner.

And there you have it!

Survivor

2008-04-18T08:29:00.000-07:00

I am a big survivor fan. I watch it faithfully every Thursday night. And last night I was shocked! How in the heck was Ozzy dumb enough to get voted off survivor last night?! I am so mad at him. He knew there was trouble and didn’t even play his immunity idol! Wow, I was completely shocked! I would have liked to have wiped the smile off Jason’s face. Jason was the one who should have got voted off last night. He really annoys me. Any way, I am completely shocked and horrified that he was voted off. I still can’t believe it. Now I don’t know how I wanted to win!

Byu Spring Football Game

2008-04-12T08:23:00.000-07:00

It was time for the annual Dickson Family BYU Spring Football Game extravaganza weekend and boy did we have a fun time. Check Out The Pictures Here..... We started our wild and crazy adventure by going to Chucky-Cheese on Friday night... And WOW!! That was one crazy place, there were kids running around crazy everywhere... Grandpa Dickson had to only beat up a few kids to get to play ski-ball.

We then went to the Hampton Inn just off of the freeway in Orem and went to our room, which was very nice. Grandpa and Grandma had bought some fruit and we spend the night eating grapes, strawberries and oranges! While the kids ran around crazy. Finally about 8:30pm it was time to get the kids to bed. Two hours later, about 10:30pm they finally fell asleep, I guess being in a new place and the excitement of the game the next day wouldn’t let them go to sleep.

The next morning we went and ate breakfast at IHOP and now Colby wants to eat breakfast every morning at IHOP. We then went back to our hotel room and played a few card games and finally after a little bit it was time to make the drive to the stadium.

When we got to the stadium Colby quickly found our seats for us, right on the 3rd row and waited until it was time to go out on the field for the kids clinic. Once we got out on the field Colby ran a few drills and got some autographs. In the picture below Colby was so fast running the linebacker drill, mom missed him, but you can see his leg in the picture, right below the blocking pad.

Colby got a bunch of autographs on posters that were handed out at the front gate. Colby even got to give a player his autograph.... We were walking around the field and saw Travis Bright, I asked Colby if he wanted to get “Brights” autograph, he said he did so we walked over and asked for his autograph. Travis Bright was so nice, he bent down and talked with Colby, asked him his name and asked Colby where he wanted to him to sign his poster. After Bright was done signing the poster, he then asked Colby for his autograph. Colby looked at him with a stunned look on this face, finally Stephanie got the marker and helped Colby write his name on Travis Brights forearm (which is the size of my leg).

We also got our picture taken with a few other players. Like Max Hall, Austin Collie, and Jan Jorgensen.

Colby ended up with about seven autographs, he got autographs from David Nixon, Shawn Doman, Max Hall, Austin Collie, Travis Bright, Brett Denney, and Jan Jorgensen.

All in all it was a great day.

Play Date with Cousins

2008-04-07T08:21:00.000-07:00

We had such a fun day today!! Colby and Abby’s cousins, Ethan and Logan came over to play. I think it was the easiest afternoon we have had in a long time. Ethan kept Colby entertained and Logan kept Abby busy. Colby and Ethan played Transformer with Mega Tron and Optimus Prime. Abby showed Logan around the house. Then they found a tub full of balls and decided it would be fun to throw them down the stairs. Abby and Logan were just laughing!! It

so funny!!

At dinner time we set everyone around the table. It looked so cute! The kids were really good. Ethan said the prayer, I can’t remember what he said, but it was really sweet.

Then we went outside to play. Abby and Logan played on the slide for a while and then Colby and Ethan decided to come outside too. They were so cute playing together. I enjoyed watching them so much, I actually got to make dinner without breaking up a fight between Abby and Colby!! I think I will see what they are doing tomorrow, maybe we can have a double header!!

Chick Day

2008-04-05T08:20:00.000-07:00

Dallas Green has chick day every year. On saturday they had over 300 chicks and ducks at their store. By the time we made it there around 4:30 they only had 30. They went fast!!! We took the kids over to see the chicks at Grandpa’s work. Colby and Abby were fascinated. Colby and Abby even got to hold a duck, Colby only dropped it once...oops!!! They had such a good time. Colby wanted to bring one home...fortunately for us, we can’t have them in Roy city. (good excuse!!) Maybe next year.

Abby Doodles Playhouse

2008-04-05T08:18:00.000-07:00

Doodles is a little nickname that somebody (maybe Grandpa Dickson) came up with for Abby. Today, I found a quilt that we usually keep upstairs stuffed away in brothers closet. So we dragged it back downstairs to help keep everybody warm, as soon as Abby saw it, she wanted to make a playhouse. As this long lost blanket, is the playhouse blanket. So we pulled the cushions off of the couch and stacked them up length wise in front of the couch, leaving a little opening just big enough for Abby to crawl through and then put the blanket over the top.

She was excited to have a play area all for herself and dragged all of her little toys and blankie inside. She wanted it all for herself and got mad whenever brother would try and climb in.

Help!! Colby bitting his nails

2008-04-04T08:17:00.000-07:00

I need some advice....Colby is bitting his finger nails (& toe nails, gross!!) and I can’t get him to stop. He hardly has any fingernails left. He does it when he is nervous or concentrating. I think I am going to have to bribe him to stop. He said he wanted a BYU wall. I think I am going to make a BYU helmet and put stars on the helmet when he is doing good and not bitting his nails. When he gets the BYU helmet poster all filled up I will take him with me and get some vinyl lettering vinyl lettering and put “Brigham Young Cougars” on his wall. What do you guys think? Any other suggestions...I am desperate!!

Piano Girl

2008-04-04T08:14:00.000-07:00

Abby is our little piano girl. She absolutely loves to play the piano. We will hear multiple times a day, Abby’s little feet running across the room, the sound of the piano cover going up, Abby grunting as she pulls herself up on the piano bench, then her sweet little music. Abby also loves to play the piano with mom, whenever mom is playing the piano Abby is sitting right next to her trying to play the same song.

I think Abby is going to be a talented music person, she loves to sing and dance. Every once in a while we will catch her singing a little song she learned in nursery; Head Shoulders Knees and Toes and Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree are two of her favorites.

Once A Year...well, kind of

2008-03-29T08:12:00.000-07:00

Every year we get together....well, ok. This time it was a year and a half in between. All of us got together for dinner at the Olive Garden. Going counter clockwise from the left is Rainee Bell, Melanie Posell, Me, Michelle Hancock, and Staci Simmons. Our waiter kept coming back to see if we were ready to order, but we couldn’t stop talking long enough to look at the menu. He was probably so annoyed!! I think he came by three times!! We ate a lot of food and then got The Frost Rock ice cream and went to Staci’s house to talk. We got caught up on what had happened in the last year and a half. Rainee is cooking baby number three-a girl; Melanie is recovering from surgery on her arm; Michelle is building a house in Plain City and Staci is coping with 2 year old twin boys. We shared potty training tips, parenting tips, primary notes, Young Women notes, and if your ward has you bring dinners to parties, and reminisced a lot. We also got caught up on what had happened to everyone we knew. It was a really fun night. It was long over due!! I have got next years outing already planned in my planner......

Puppet Show

2008-03-29T08:07:00.000-07:00

Today, Colby, Abby and Daddy, put on a puppet show for everybody to see. Colby made up his own show and then wanted to share the Las Vegas Bowl story. Abby also made up her own show......

I will work on getting the video on here.

Sometimes There is...

2008-03-26T08:06:00.000-07:00

Colby loves to play his BYU football play station game. And Colby, I have to admit, is pretty good. But sometimes when his team doesn’t win.....well......Colby cries. James always tells Colby “There is nocrying in football” Well, yesterday Colby was playing his game, Byu against Utah. And Utah lost. (Sorry Mel) The game showed a Ute football player on his knee with his head in his hands. Colby turned to me and said, really sweetly, “Mom, sometimes there is crying in football.” It was so funny!!

Super Eggs

2008-03-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

We decorated Easter Eggs today. It was a lot of fun!! Colby and Abby were excited. We boiled the eggs and got the dye ready.......and of course....one spilled!! AHHH!! I wish I would have taken a picture of it now. oh well. Colby and Abby colored while we waited.... Colby colored on paper...Abby colored the counter top. At least it wasn’t permanent marker this time.... unlike our poor couches...but that is another story. We dipped our eggs, and wrote the kids’ names on them. I drew some shapes on one. Then we decorated them them with glitter. Somehow one ended up with Byu written on it........ We had a really fun time. The kids can’t wait to go to the Jansen Family Easter Egg Hunt tomorrow. Colby was asking me today where the Easter Bunny lives. I told him he lives in the forest. Colby was not happy with that answer. He wanted to go looking for him in the forest. He needs to know what color his fur his, and if he has long ears.

Bunny Ears

2008-03-20T07:57:00.000-07:00

Colby had a really fun day at preschool today. They played pin the tail on the bunny and had an Easter Egg Hunt. At the end of class they made bunny ears for all the kids. Colby looked so cute!! He is excited to have the Easter Bunny come to our house on Sunday. By the time we made it home from school, the candy Colby found at the hunt was about gone!! Figures... he is truly my son!

Abby had to get in the picture and show her dress. She is such a funny girl!!

Black Eyes and Hair Cuts

2008-03-18T07:55:00.000-07:00

I took Colby and Abby to see Horton Hears A Who yesterday. It was really a cute show. The kids were really good....until Abby fell off her chair in the middle of the movie. I was helping Colby then turned around and saw Abby falling. I grabbed her and took her out. She finally calmed down and I took her back in and she fell asleep. It wasn’t until I got home that I realized the she was going to have a “shiner”. Her eye was so swollen that she was having trouble opening it all the way. Today it is a deep purple, and it is pretty sore.

Colby got his hair cut today. Pretty cute!! He said he wanted to spike his hair like his friend Ian. Now, we can spike it. Cool!!!

Girl Hair

2008-03-14T21:23:00.000-07:00

Girl hair is so difficult!! Boy hair is so much easier...comb it to the side, maybe spray it a little and bam, your done! With Abby, I basically have two options at this point, a clip or two piglets. Well today I decided to think outside my two hair option box. I did 3 knots at the top of her head. It was so cute!! I decided to take a picture.

Snow Day

2008-02-04T07:32:00.000-08:00

James’ parents got a ton of snow this year. We went up to Huntsville to help his mom and dad shovel off their roof. The drop from the roof to the snow was not very far....so James jumped off. Colby thought it looked like fun so I took him up and we both jumped off. It was really fun! They have so much snow that it went up to you shoulder...I am not exaggerating at all. Wow!

Colby's 4th Birthday

2008-01-31T07:26:00.000-08:00

Colby turned 4 on January 31st. I can’t believe he is 4!! He wanted to have a BYU football birthday party. We went to the birthday store (Zurchers) and bought football decorations, plates and napkins. If you know us very well, you know we are BYU football fans. Colby new all the football players in 2006 & 2007 by their numbers.

We even potty trained Colby using a BYU football jersey for a bribe!! Anyway, back to the party. Colby had a good birthday.

The next day we had a friend birthday party for him. We had 13, yes 13 3 1/2 year olds at our house. It was crazy, but so much fun! We played the football walk (aka the cake walk) pin the football on the football player. And we had a football pinata. One word-Dangerous! But we made it out lucky-no one got a bloody nose. The next day was Super Bowl Sunday and we had a Super Bowl party. It was definitely a football weekend at our house!

Las Vegas Bowl Game

2007-12-22T07:10:00.000-08:00

For the third year in a row we made the trip to watch BYU play in the Las Vegas Bowl. This time the game was the Saturday before Christmas, so it was a quick weekend trip to Las Vegas. This year the entire family James, Stephanie, Colby, and Abby made the trip down to the game, including Grandma Peggy and Tara, we all had a very fun time. The morning of the game we all took a walk down to see the fountains of Bellagio. The only problem, the fountains weren't on that day. We did however, get a nice group picture of everybody.

While we were walking back to our hotel we happened to run into John Walters of nbcsports.com, he interviewed us for his Bowlnanza report he was doing and put our interview up on the internet.

This year was Colby’s first year going to the Vegas Bowl. Colby loves BYU Football so much that before bed each night he doesn’t want a story read to him from a book, rather, he wants to hear the Las Vegas Bowl story. Grandma Peggy was nice enough to stay back in the hotel room with Abby while the rest of us went to the game.

We had a fun time at the game even though it was an abnormally cold night in Las Vegas. We found our seats and got ready for the game, after talking with a few fans around us we found out that a UCLA fan was sitting right behind us. During the first part of the game the fan kept cheering for UCLA. Then the funniest thing happened, after BYU scored a touchdown to go up 14-3, Colby turned around and said right to UCLA fan, “BYU 14, UCLA only 3, GOOOOO COUGARS!!!!” Everybody around us got a huge laugh out of it.

The game was a nail biter and came down to a last second field goal of about 28 yards for UCLA to win. The call went something like this, “The kick is up.... It is low...... It is no good.... It is no good...... It is no good.... Who got it...... The Cougars win it.... The Cougars win it..... 17 to 16.... How did that just happen?” What a finish to a great game. Everybody in the stands just started going crazy, we grabbed Colby and took off to storm the field.

Colby got a see a lot of the players and was absolutely amazed that he was walking on the field where the game was just played. You can check out all the other fun photos of the trip here.

It was a very fun trip, everybody had a great time! And BYU WON!!!