The girls 24 hour visit

I haven't seen my 4 little sisters since Christmas and wanted them to spend a little time with Dallen now that he's over his clingy phase. So because Claire and Audra were going to EFY at BYU and because Sarah was out in Denver the week before, she took the 2 of them as well as Charity and Joy, just for fun, out to Utah for the week. After EFY and on their way home, Jordan brought the girls to my house for the weekend. It was a whirlwind of a weekend. It was really only about 30 hours that they were here because Claire realized on Sunday that she had to work the next day so they ended up leaving early Sunday afternoon instead of first thing Monday morning. 

After lunch on Saturday we went swimming at the City pool, but with a stop at Alco first to buy Joy a new swimsuit since she forgot hers at Sarah's. Then it was nap time for Dallen so Joy and I picked and planted veggies out in the garden and I made some salsa at Claire's request. Once Dallen was awake, we went and played with the neighbor's puppies both Ashley and Lacy's. Joy could not get enough of them and let them climb all over her. It was hilarious. We had Spaghetti for dinner and brownies for dessert. I didn't sit down until 11pm that night and was exhausted from all the hostessing. It was nice to chat with Jordan and catch up with what he's been up to this last month and then hear all about EFY from Claire and Audra. Dallen also let the girls play 'I'm gonna get you' with him around the house as well as playing with him and his toys. I was so glad they were able to see his happy side.

So on Sunday we were planning on going to all of Church and then heading up the canyon to go hiking, but because Claire realized she had to work the next day while we were getting ready for Church, we just went to sacrament and then headed home. Jordan needed to sleep a little more before driving the whole way home so while he napped we went on a little hike in the creek in the pasture behind our house. I think Joy and Dallen loved the water hike the most, well besides Lily. Then I took the 3 little girls on a couple rides on the Ranger since we hadn't done that yet. We had sliders for lunch and then they were off. It was a crazy quick visit but I loved it and miss seeing them more often.

Manti Pageant Youth Conference

I've been in Young Womens now for almost a year and was excited to go to Youth Conference with them at the Manti Pageant. I'd never been before and wanted to spend some more time with the girls as well. It was great getting to know Aubrey, Erica, and Adela better on the drive to and from with the Bishop. We had fun playing games together in the park before the show which started at dusk. I ended up getting everyone to play 'Never Have I Ever', a game my brother told me about and I thankfully made note of on FB. It was a great group game for the kids and leaders and we had fun with it for a good part of the afternoon. Before the pageant, I walked around the temple grounds and enjoyed some time alone taking pictures. It truly is a gorgeous temple. The show was unique in it's delivery and stage location being on the side of a hill. The lighting and special effects made the show which was about the Joseph Smith story, excerpts from the Book of Mormon, and the trek to Utah. There were some great spiritual parts of course but it was a little longer than I expected. One of the funny moments of the trip was when 2 of the girls, Ashlynn and Haven were trying to hit on a cute boy in the next section over. So instead of them just ogling at this guy, I dragged them over and introduced them to him. It was pretty funny with the YW President from his ward yelling at us to get away, a Dad and older sisters laughing at the whole thing, me pointing out only one of the guys and telling the other, 'no, not you, him'...It was awesome. So fun being part of the checking out and hitting on excitement. Ha!

The Elk Mount

Let me introduce you to our latest home decor addition... Our HUGE Elk Mount. This is Travis' Dad's Nevada Elk from 2012. This is the only spot in our whole house that it would fit and allow us to walk by it, barely. It's bigger than a horse and we have it hanging on our wall. Don't get me wrong, I think the animal is very good looking, just not so much on my living room wall! But Travis is soooo excited and proud to show it off in our house, so since it makes him so happy I'm ok with it for now. For now meaning we live in a rental house and nothing is ideal so why not just have an elk in the room too. :P

California Beach and Animal Vacation

Our summer vacation this year couldn't have been better! We headed out to San Diego in a rented mini van with Travis' parents to a VRBO house a block from the beach in Del Mar. These first few pictures are us on the first day. We decided to relax on the beach and play in the sand. Dallen LOVED the sand and warmed up to walking in the calmer waters. He ran from the waves at first and then braved walking through them around a rocky point. Travis did a little boogie boarding in the freezing cold water, but it just wasn't worth it to me. The weather was just barely warm enough to be sitting on the beach in a swimsuit. So that's just what I did while Travis and Dallen took a nap and David and Linda went to the store. I sat on the beach and had some wonderful quiet time, all alone.

The next day we were up early and off to Seaworld! I'd never been to Seaworld and it turned out to be such a fun day! The exhibits were pristine and the shows were amazing. The animals were a lot more interesting to look at than I thought they'd be and they had a couple of hands on areas too- sting rays and star fish. The swim with the dolphins area was one of our favorite places to stay and watch. Made me totally want to do that one day. Our favorite show by far was the Shamu, Killer Whales show. It's just mind boggling to see what those whales can be trained to do. The park also had a kiddie play and rides area so Travis took Dallen on his first amusement park ride. A flying Elmo ride. He loved it except for the waiting in line part. To end the day, I chased him around a super high jungle gym playground thing. I was EXHAUSTED by the end of the day but loved every minute!

 

The next day we got up early again and headed out to the San Diego Zoo. Dallen had never been to the zoo before so we were excited to see how he would like all of the animals there. He really likes animals- animals on TV, his animal figurines, the farm animals around town, etc. I would say that he probably enjoyed running around the rain forest part of the zoo the best. We weren't as impressed with the zoo as we were Seaworld, but how can you compare animals sitting or sleeping in caged areas to animals doing tricks at Seaworld. Plus, the animal areas were not kid friendly if you were short or riding in a stroller. We had to pick Dallen up to see just about all the animals. We did the tram tour and then Dallen took a nap in the stroller while Travis and I did a speed walking tour of the parts of the zoo we wanted to see more of. David and Linda rode the aerial gondola a couple times until we met back up. It was a good day, but not my favorite activity of the trip.

 

The last day we decided to head over to the county fair just a 15 minute walk from the house we were staying in. We checked out the petting zoo and all the animals entered into their varying contests which were mostly sheep and goats. Dallen just loved running up and down the aisles in the barns while stopping to pet a few. It was a pretty busy day there so after meeting up with Travis' Aunt Cheryl, we headed back to the house for some food and then one last evening on the beach. We had lots of leftovers from all of the yummy dinners we had had the 3 nights before- OutBack, Mexican, and Olive Garden. Dallen got a lot of energy out that night running up and down the beach and even got in for a swim in the lagoon area.The sunset was gorgeous and made me want to stay and just be a beach bum for another couple days. The trip went by way too fast but we loved every minute!

Dallen at 2 years!

Having a 2 year old is so amazing. They learn at such a faster rate now, that almost every day I'm surprised at the things he's saying and doing. He talks all the time. His jibber jabber has at least one or two words in it that I understand so I get the gist of what he's talking about. He loves to tell either Travis or I what he's been up to when he comes back from doing something fun with one of us or the other. He likes to have jibber jabber conversations too. It's even amazing to me that he knows how to communicate by conversing. 

We got him an ipad around Christmas and he's learned how to play all the learning games on there in just a few weeks. He can totally navigate the device all on his own as well. That has been amazing to watch as well. He loves the 'pad' especially when he gets to watch his movies on it. He's rotated through quite a few favorites in the last few months- Bolt, Rio, Tangled, Tarzan, Nemo, Beauty and the Beast, and Toy Story. He stuck with Bolt and Rio for a really long time and is pretty attached to 'Dori' (Finding Nemo) now. 

As for eating, he's pretty picky like most kids are I guess. He rotates through the typical lunches- mac and cheese, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, PB&J, and Flautas. He loves the meatball from my spaghetti and is into dipping things. He especially loves salsa. He eats grapefruit almost every morning but use to have a Danimal yogurt smoothie every morning a couple months ago. He isn't a big breakfast eater anymore but use to love eggs. His favorite veggie and almost only veggie he likes is corn on the cob. On occasion I can get him to eat something else but that is rarely. He moved from his booster seat at the table to a step stool at the counter and now to a chair at the table. He still uses the step stool and stands and eats every now and then, but I realized that was a bad habit to continue so I'm trying to focus on eating at the table more. We took the bottle away at 23 months but he still likes his sippy cup with milk when he's sleepy. The binky is a whole other story. He's addicted. He only gets it when he's sleeping and right after he wakes up, but he sure does throw a fit every single time we take it away.

I can FINALLY say he's sleeping through the night. He's loved his crib now for a long time, but just couldn't get himself back to sleep in the middle of the night for a long time there. In just the last few weeks he hasn't woken up at all but it was a slow tapering out. I'm definitely enjoying my full nights sleep. 

Dallen is a very active little boy and loves to run run run. We take him hiking with us, and he does pretty well keeping up. He loves pushing his trucks down the street and whenever we go on walks he wants to push something. He loves 'swimming' and says it with so much excitement. He loves to throw rocks in the creek and when we took him fishing for the first time he couldn't get enough of throwing rocks in the lake. He loves the dirt and will play on the mini BMX track behind our neighbor's house, pushing his trucks around for quite awhile.  He loves horses, use to be fascinated with brushing his teeth, he loves to slide and climb, he loves the 'Beet Bee' (ATV's), and loves to follow his Dad around the garage fixing things, stealing Daddy's tools. It's adorable. He still loves the game 'I'm gonna get you' and will go run and hide in Daddy's clothes hanging in the closet. He's starting to play make believe a little bit with his trucks and animal figurines and plays alone better than ever now.

He's got a few funny quirks too- like if his blankets are messed up in his crib when I take him out he has me make his bed for him before we leave the room. He likes to line toys up too. Already mister organized. :D

Potty training is around the corner. I've been sticking him on his little potty for about 6 months now right before bath time. It's now become part of the bath time routine and he loves it. He recently learned how to say 'pee' and is catching on to going in the potty. I think I'm waiting until he has a few more potty words and will listen to me or understand me a little better. Not looking forward to potty training, but this before bath time method has been a pretty good buffer.

It's crazy how much more we love him and love seeing him learn and develop so well. We're such lucky parents.

A Two Year Old Birthday

Dallen's birthday was so much fun this year! He was more excited about his presents/toys than last year.  We decided to celebrate his birthday one day early since Daddy was scheduled to work 24 hour on call including the clinic during the day on his birthday. So on the night of the 5th I decorated the house with streamers, balloons and his presents. I really like the streamers on his bedroom door frame and think I'm going to do that every year on his birthday. 

In the morning we leisurely opened his presents and let him play with his toys. He loved the animal figurines from Gma&pa Heeb and his BBQ table from Gma&pa Hicks. We was pretty excited about his Beet Bee toy and bike from us. I was glad we found a lot of things he really likes. After all of the playing, he took his afternoon nap while I made his cake. I was happy with the way it came out and was glad he could tell it was a horse! We were going to have a bunch of our friends over for cake but most people were busy or gone so we decided to go hiking instead. Afterwards, we took Dallen to McDonald's for a special yummy birthday dinner and then did the cake late after we got home. We sang happy birthday and he was intrigued with the candles, but didn't really care for eating the cake. He wanted to poke his fingers in it but that was about it. So weird because he was the same way last year. All well. I'm still glad we had a nice cake for him. It was a fun packed day and was followed up the next day with a trip to the pool which he absolutely loves. It's so fun celebrating a 2 year old's birthday!