A January Christmas after Christmas

A week and a half after Christmas, we headed down to Vegas for a long weekend and for our 2nd Christmas. Travis' parents spoiled us again with so many fun gifts. We enjoyed opening our gifts to and from one another and Dallen loved playing with all of his new gifts once we got home. We spent some of our time with the Starleys and went on a hike to the Arizona Hot Springs. It was a little chilly, especially toward the end, but lots of fun regardless.

We went out to eat at our favorite restaurants while in town and Dallen had a great time especially at the Mexican restaurant. Then as a fun family event, we went to Pole Position and drove the really fast race cars. Travis really loves it there and we all had a great time. It was a fun trip and so nice to spend some time in the warm weather. And having 2 Christmas' isn't that bad either. :D

White Christmas in Frisco Colorado

We had the most memorable Christmas this year. My parents went all out and rented a huge cabin and planned a couple of fun activities for us as our Christmas presents this year. We found the perfect cabin in Frisco Colorado; a quaint town on Dillion Lake in the mountains. We all arrived 3 days before Christmas and loved the Christmas anticipation and fun activities we did together. The first day we all went on snowmobile rides and took turns watching the kiddos. It was freezing but still way fun and a first for Travis and I.

Sunday we attended Church together and spent the day relaxing at the cabin. Monday was Christmas Eve and was the most perfect day of the whole trip. We all went sledding in the morning- even Grandma came to watch. The weather was perfect and we had tons of sleds. Everyone had a great time laughing and sledding together. For Christmas Eve we all went on a sleigh ride in our own sleigh fit for 21 people. We sang Christmas carols the entire way (hey!) and just laughed at ourselves for being so goofy and filling the air with music for all the other sleigh riders to hear as well. We were taken to a warm tent structure for dinner and entertainment and had so much fun eating a yummy meal and dancing to the music. It was more carols on the sleigh ride back and then off to bed to await Santa. It was the most magical Christmas Eve. I will never forget it.

Christmas morning was the usual-lots of wrapping paper and lots of wonderful gifts. Dallen enjoyed opening a couple gifts and then just wanted to check out the toys. It was so nice giving my gifts and being there to see the fam open them. Travis was so sweet and got me these super cute authentic cowboy boots and the bike trailer I wanted as well. It was a wonderful Christmas day. The rest of the trip and during down time, we played lots of games, Telestrations and Words of Wiz Dumb being the family favorites this time, relaxed in the hot tub, and played with the kiddos. We even squeezed in a professional family picture. I can't complain about any of it and I think I can say that it was the best Christmas I've ever had.

18 months

What I've noticed most about Dallen turning 18 months are the words he's saying and the jibber jabber he does throughout the day. It's so adorable. I love that he is a little talker. He's trying so hard to communicate and points to things all the time. He watches us when we try to get him to mimic what we're saying, but he rarely tries. Here is a list of the 12 words/phrases he knows right now:

Dada

socks

deer

fish

pixie

there she is

ut-oh

woah

no

hi
thank you
teeth

The phrase 'there she is' was learned because I apparently say that a lot when I'm looking for Lily and then find her. So he'll say it when he finds something or someone he's looking for. It's sooo cute! Socks is his favorite word. He says it whenever he sees socks being put on and I think he gets excited about it because he knows it means we're going outside. :) Pixie is really pronounced six-y and is the name of our dog sitter's schnauzer. To Dallen, I think Pixie represents going to the Harris' house and getting lots of attention, treats, and a fun place to run around. He loves being with them. It's so fun watching him learn this world around him. 

He's also getting into more and more things. I know I say that every time, but it's getting worse- the desk drawers, the kitchen drawers, still the toilet and dog food/water, DVD drawer and on and on. He loves looking at different DVD boxes and really just loves getting into things that aren't toys. Such a little stinker! 

He loves riding the Grizzly ATV with Dad and makes Mom so nervous! It's so cute though to see them take off together though. :)

Bolt is his favorite DVD by far right now. He doesn't have a favorite food because he changes his opinion all the time! It drives me crazy. He is a bink-a-nator and drags his blanket around like Linus. :)

I'm sure there's more I could go on about but those are the things that stand out the most about him right now. We're loving all of the different stages and sharing our lives with our little guy. Life just can't get any better. :D

Hicks Family Pictures

Here are our 2012 Family Pictures taken in September. We love them! Photography by Kate Gundersen. Sadly, she moved to New Zealand shortly after this shoot.

Birthdays Weekend

This year we lucked out and Travis had a 4 day weekend during our birthdays. So we decided to head up north to spend time together and do some Christmas shopping. We stayed with Jay and Tamara Starley, which we love because it’s so comfortable having their basement to ourselves. They have become good friends and another set of grandparents for Dallen. J We drove up on my birthday and that night they offered to babysit Dallen so we could go out for sushi with our friends. It was one of the best birthday presents ever! Just to have a peaceful dinner out, it was awesome. We went out with Ben and Elisha, Travis’ friend from PA school and had some yummy yummy rolls. I can’t remember the last time we had sushi! It was well over due. That day we spent a lot of time at Cabelas and ran a few other errands as well. Dallen loves Cabelas- looking at all the mounts and fish and running around the store; so it’s always fun to take him there. We went to Sarah’s as well and Travis removed a few skin tags for her while I let the boys run around outside. It’s always good to see her and her boys.

The next day was Travis’ birthday and we spent a lot of time at the new sports store, Scheels. It has mounts and fish as well and just lots of stuff to look at it, so we had a good time there as well. That night we went to Tucanos for dinner with Jay and Tamara while their neighbor, Lilly, tended Dallen for us. It was sooo nice of her to offer! So again we had a wonderful birthday dinner.

On Saturday the Young Women from Beaver had come up to go to Festival of Trees and see Savior of the World and since I’m the Laurel Advisor, I decided to meet up with them in the morning at Festival of Trees. I’d never been before so it was neat to see all the trees and items under the tree that people had bid for. All the money goes to Primary Children’s Hospital. It was a great charity fundraiser and fun to hang out with the Young Women for awhile. Afterwards I met back up with Travis and Dallen and we went to the Apple store to check out the iPad minis. We decided it was time to get an iPad and wanted to figure out which one we wanted. We will primarily use it for video and picture viewing (meaning road trip movies and trail camera picture scanning out in the field). They’re way nice. It was a long day of shopping and ended with us driving home that night to meet up with Travis’ parents back at home.

Linda and David came up for our birthday weekend for Saturday night and Sunday. We met at our house at 9:30pm and visited with Dallen and then opened presents. They are always so generous! They gave me a couple massage gift certificates, a couple Christmas movies, a griddle/grill machine, a BYU T-shirt, and an outhouse Christmas decoration. On my actual birthday, Travis gave me the new bed spread/quilt I’ve been wanting and LOVE it! My mom got me a nice lightweight robe and Dallen gave me a new Patagonia shirt. It was a wonderful birthday. On Sunday we just spent the day doing things around Beaver; ATV ride, shopping, and shooting. We sold our Ranger so the boys took the Grizzly out while Linda and I shopped. I definitely miss our Ranger and am looking forward to getting a new one next year. (Travis wants a bigger and better model). So it was a great birthday spent together the 3 of us, and with friends and family. Yeah for 31 and 34 years!

Quaint Thanksgiving

This year for Thanksgiving we spent as just our small little family. Travis’ family hosted his Grandpa Jim at their house in Vegas and Travis only had 2 days off, so neither of us could make the trip. So the Wednesday before Thanksgiving day we ventured up into the mountains to find our Christmas tree. We hadn’t been up the canyon in a long time since they’ve been doing roadwork all summer so it was fun getting out. We went to a few places before we finally found the one off the Jimmy Reed trail. It turned out to be a much nicer one than last years! Of course it was too tall again when we brought it in the house; they’re so hard to judge outside of the house. It was a great day and a great way to start Thanksgiving.

On Thanksgiving day I decided to make a turkey dinner for us with all of the usual sides. It was a big meal for us, but it just wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without a turkey and mashed potatoes and rolls and everything else. J It was my first time making Thanksgiving dinner by myself and it actually turned out really well. It took a lot longer than I thought, but I’m glad it all turned out.  When we look back on this year we feel so blessed to have Dallen in our family and really feel incredibly blessed overall. There is just so much to be thankful for!

Elk Hunt & Vegas Trip

This year was Travis’ Dad, David’s big bull elk hunt. Travis put a lot of work into scouting and preparing for this hunt. It was definitely the hunt of a lifetime for them. David’s been waiting 15 years for this tag. So Travis took 10 days off work and went out 5 days before the hunt started to find the big one. His dad met up with him a couple days later and they found the one they wanted to get on opening day. Erik Phillips met up with them for opening day and that morning, with Erik spotting and Travis getting David in just the right spot, he shot the big one with 2 clean shots. The Bull is huge and they all are very happy with it. Travis and David stayed an extra day to enjoy four wheeling and taking their time taking down camp and what not. The weather turned out to be really mild for the beginning of November, which made me kind of bummed because Dallen and I should’ve gone for a couple days since it was so nice. All well. Soon enough. Last year at the beginning of Nov it was a blizzard and freezing, so you never know.

So while the boys were hunting, Dallen and I went down to Vegas to spend time with Linda and family and friends. We stayed with Linda and Kristin over the weekend since the kids are with their dads. We hung out most of the time at the house which Dallen enjoyed. We played with the dogs and all the toys while Grandma watched and did a few things she needed to do. Before Grandpa left for the hunt we went out to dinner the 4 of us to Red Robin and Dallen did great and was being so cute. It was a nice relaxing weekend.

The next week Dallen and I went to Nick and Mindys’ to stay with them since Linda’s gets a little too crowded during the week with Brighton and David back in the house. It was very enjoyable being at Nick and Mindys’ and hanging out with Nicole and the girls during the day. We went to the park a few times, went for a walk one morning, attempted to do the gym daycare but Dallen cried the whole time and I only got to the do the warm up. L He’s still pretty attached to his mommy. He does better at someone’s house so Mindy and I went out with the girls one night while Nick babysat and ate dinner and saw the hilarious movie Pitch Perfect. It was so awesome getting out with old friends; I didn’t even feel like I’ve moved away. Church on Sunday was great as well; there’s just such a homey feeling going back to that ward and seeing the old ward family. I also went to the temple with Tyler and Nicole one night while Mindy watched Dallen for me. Her recommend expired so she offered to watch Dallen. It was a really nice trip. I love the Las Vegas Temple and that too feels so homey. So besides running some errands and doing some Christmas shopping, that was the trip! We definitely missed Daddy, but enjoyed visiting with everyone.

Pumpkin Patch, Halloween, and Mission Call!

This fall we went back to the Pumpkin Patch in Elsinore. This is Dallen's 2nd time there, but this time was so much more fun for us all. He tromped through the vines and holes and did a pretty good job keeping up. He liked carrying a couple of the smaller pumpkins and had fun on the hay ride. It was perfect weather and a fun little trip.

For Halloween, Dallen was a dinosaur. I found his costume at a garage sale this summer and it fit perfect! The weather was so warm that he was wearing a T-shirt and shorts underneath. We went to the Church Trunk-or-Treat in the early evening, but Dallen didn't quite care for it. I carried him around for awhile and then Daddy joined us after work and tried to get him to walk around and ask for his candy. We think there were just too many funny looking people around that he didn't really want to be there and kept wandering off. We finally got him to take a piece of candy and put it in his bucket. It was cute.

After the Trunk-or-Treat Daddy got called into work for a little while so Dallen and I went to an older man's house that we often visit with on our walks and then over to the Harris', our good friends who take care of Lily for us and are like Dallen's 3rd set of grandparents and a couple more aunts and uncles. :) After driving around, we met back up with Daddy and walked around our neighborhood to trick or treat. Dallen learned how to say 'thank you' and said it at every house when he got a piece of candy. It was soooo cute! His favorite treat by far was a snack bag of Doritos. He ate the whole thing when we got home and loved it.

 

Then the big news for the night was video chatting with the entire family and finding out where Emily is going on her mission- CHILE!!! Here's the screen shot of all of our reactions. It's priceless. :) I still can't believe she decided to go and got all her papers in and got her call all in less than a month! She's soooo excited and totally didn't expect to go foreign. It's going to be awesome!

David's Buck Hunt

While I was in Denver, this is what Travis and his Dad were doing in Nevada. He got one! It was David's tag and he ended up with this nice 3x3. Sadly they didn't find it until the next day so the meat was spoiled and they could only take the antlers. And the beginning of the trip started out with a rolled ATV trailer which totalled David's and Eddie's ATV's. Such a huge loss, but thankfully neither of them were hurt. I guess nothing stops these hunters because they went on with the hunt anyway. They all ended up having a good time.

Cozy Conference Weekend at Home

For the Nevada buck hunt, I decided to take a trip home with Dallen, Sarah, Jacob and Caleb. Sarah and I loaded up in the old family van and headed out to Denver. The weekend happened to be conference weekend so we were in store for a nice relaxing weekend with the fam. It's weird when I say the fam now because the only ones at home are Claire, Audra, Charity and Joy. It definitely was different without Joe there anymore and would've loved to have had Emily and Jess come out too. And of course Jordan is missed so much as well- we all can't wait until Christmas when he comes home! Anyway, it was the first snow of the season while we were there so we cozied up next to the fire and watched conference. Lily was definitely a pampered pooch and had lots of places to snuggle.

The biggest news of the weekend was the announcement by Pres Monson that the missionary age is now changing- 18 years old for men and 19 years old for women. I immediately thought of Emily and got teary eyed thinking that she could go on a mission now. We almost missed the news because it was during Pres. Monson's opening remarks on Sat. morning! I text Emily right away and she said she was freaking out and crying. We called her after that session and she said that she really wants to go. By the next day she had decided that she wants to go next semester! She got every one's opinions about it, which we were all very supportive with the exception of Claire only because she really misses her closest big sister already and would miss her even more which she was on a mission. I think it's been hard for Claire not having her closer older siblings around- like Jordan's been gone and Joe left home recently and Emily hasn't moved back since she left etc. Anyway, Claire's happy for her, but sad to have her leave. Anyway, Emily just felt like she received her answer from Heavenly Father about this being the time she should go in many different ways over the weekend and started her papers the following week. She got all of her appointments and things done within 2 weeks of the announcement and is currently waiting for her mission call to come in the mail! Unbelievable! I'm sooo excited for her but still trying to swallow this. She could be leaving as early as Jan 1st. Can't wait to hear where they call her to. :) 

The rest of the time at home was ups and downs for Dallen and I. He came down with a cold the night we got there, poor guy, and then I got sick toward the end of the trip as well. We didn't sleep well at all and I just couldn't leave him too much or drag him around shopping either. So we shopped one afternoon with mom which was a TON of work since all Dallen wants to do is run all over the place when we shop. And then I just had to let go of the rest of the errands I wanted to do and even meeting up with my friends. Once I got over the disappointment, I really enjoyed just being at home- talking to Dad and Claire, watching the kids play etc. We all did get to go to Tucanos for Claire's 17th birthday down in Colorado Springs. Sarah and I hadn't been there yet so it was fun to see a new restaurant, but it wasn't the best evening for me as usual when we take Dallen out to eat. He's just all over the place! Dad did help a few times so I could inhale my food so that was nice. :) We got to see Gma & pa Hayman so that was good too. So even though we were sick-o's, it was still really nice to go HOME.

A much needed McDonald's break on the way back to Utah. Movies on my laptop were the lifesaver of this trip!

A 60th Birthday Zippy Party

I have the coolest mother-in-law. For her 60th birthday, she wanted to do the zip line on Fremont Street! How awesome is that?! So Travis and I decided that as our present to her this year, we'd come down for 2 days and 1 night to be with her on her birthday. It was 2 days after we got back from the Cave Lake Camping trip so it was a quick turn around to head down to Vegas right after that. We met up with her in the early evening and got ready to go out to dinner at a yummy Mexican restaurant. Then we all went to Fremont Street for the zip line. You access it from the top of a parking garage and then it swing down underneath the movie in the sky part of the Fremont Street. It was sooo fun! Travis, Linda, David and I went at the same time since 4 people could go at once. I screamed only because I love screaming on things like that, not because it was scary. It was such a thrill and so fun doing it with Linda too. Why didn't we do birthday things like this all the time when we lived there?! Brighton was such a trooper and got all suited up to do it, but we too afraid to walk out onto the platform. She looked cute in the picture though. :) After the zip line, we headed back to the house for cake and presents. It made for a really long night, but it was worth it. The next day we went and visited Travis' Gpa Jim who recently moved down from Oregon. Dallen got to meet his other great grandpa for the first time. (He only has 2 great grandpas between mine and Travis' families). It was a quick trip, but so nice to celebrate with the family.