Outsmarted

Hayden is beginning to apply facts that he understands to everyday circumstances and often says the funniest things. It is funny to see how he understand things and even outsmarts our "baby" logic. Last night Dax told Hayden it was time to go to his room for bed. He tried persuading him for a minute and finally said, "Hayden, the sun is gone, it went to sleep so you need to go to sleep." Hayden looked him in the eye and in a matter-of-fact tone said, "The sun can't go to sleep daddy, it doesn't have any eyes." I looked at Dax and started laughing, he was stumped on that one. The days of simple logic are slipping away...too quickly.

Recommitted

I have been so horrible at blogging lately. It's not even that our lives have been extremely busy. I just haven't had a ton of motivation to be on the computer as of late and when I am I haven't had the inclination to type. My kids are doing new things every day though and because I write so slowly and it is so laborious to do(not to mention that being a lefty gives me some sweet pen marks on my writing hand), I am not a great journal writer. I need to find a system that works so that I can type my journals. Until then, I need to blog more about our lives! Lately...

Hayden:

• Still loves to fight dragons with virtually anything that even remotely resembles a sword
• Will randomly sit for 30+ minutes looking through books
• Is a hair taller than his daddy was at the same age
• Loves to go potty outside (something he discovered on our Utah trip...)
• Tells me I look so pretty often enough to boost my self esteem
• Has THICK, COARSE hair (Grandpa Wells' genes), his daddy's eyes and long thick lashes, and pretty much everything else is like his mama
  

Kyra:

• Cut 3 teeth last Thursday, bringing the total to 5
• Does an army crawl, can bring herself to a sitting position from lying down, and is a tiny bit from fully pulling herself to a standing position
• Has long, thick lashes (I'm dying to see them with mascara in another 12 years)
• Looks just like me at that age, except she has DARKer skin and hair, and has her daddy's LONG fingers and feet
• Loves to clap and babble
• Doesn't seem so much like a baby anymore (sigh)

Dax:

• Still commuting 45 minutes each way to work and is in charge of the biggest lift Genie makes, the 135 model (meaning it goes 135 feet fully extended)
• Has been working extremely hard to make something happen on the home building front (another post on it's own, but we'll see what happens in the near future)
• Worked with my Dad and brothers on a sprinkler, fence, sod job recently (taking up 2 entire Saturdays) to earn extra money. Combine the fact that he looks really good dirty and is getting a tan...what a HUNK!

Me:

• Being a mom, trying new recipes, learning to better organize, spending time with my kids
• Recommitting myself to working out. I seem to go through cycles of great determination and not so great determination. Toyed with Insanity and am settling into P90X more seriously.
• Recommitting myself to eating well. Let me rephrase: to eating less junk food. I eat really healthy things for my meals (ALL 100% whole grains, lots of fruits/veggies, lean meats and dairy), I just happen to add way too many calories on top of that as treats. The ironic thing is that I don't make or buy treats for that very reason. If I don't make them it is easy to stay away from eating them. A good reason we need to get our own house!
• Looking for a good book to read!

Happy Anniversary

5 years ago today we started our family in the Columbia River Temple. I had no idea what I was getting myself into at the time, but I was completely happy. I still am. When we got married, Dax and I thought we were so much alike. In the major ways we still are alike, but over the years I've come to see how different we are in many ways. Good ways. My biggest weaknesses are Dax's strengths, and his biggest weaknesses are my strengths. Example: my biggest weakness: (here it comes...) comparison, to everyone and everything. Dax does not have that problem and can steer me in the right direction when I get doing it. His biggest weakness: extreme moodiness when he lacks either sleep or nourishment (leave him alone when he lacks both!). I have the ability to be really pleasant when lacking both (I realized this with the addition of our children). I know it sounds cliche, but we really complete each other nicely.

I am thankful for Dax and for all that he does for our family. He works so hard for our family, and then comes home and takes our son to the park because he is standing by the fence looking so eager to go out. If anyone needs downtime when they come home from a job, it's Dax. Not by personality, but because his job requires so much brainpower. For those of you who don't know what Dax does, I'll give a quick description. He spends all day analyzing, fixing problems, and coming up with better designs for machines that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Just thinking about what he does stresses me out, so I'm glad that he loves it.

I love Dax for the husband and father that he is in our family, and really don't know what I'd do without him. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, HONEY! I LOVE YOU!

Sledding in Spring

Who says you need snow to go sledding? Hayden found this blue sled in my parent's back yard and one Sunday afternoon while he were out enjoying the sunshine in the yard he talked us into pulling him on it. Talk about a workout! He was loving it, and the look of pure joy on his face made it impossible to say no (until my legs gave out). :)

Kase's Wedding

Easter Weekend we were in Utah for Kase's(Dax's younger brother) wedding. The kids and I actually went down with my parents on Wednesday and I got to spend all of Thursday seeing my 4 "Utah siblings." Great to see them, and bittersweet thinking that it will probably be the only time I see them all year. One of only two reasons I would want to live in Utah is to be close to them. I got to go running with Kim in the morning. The altitude was a beast, but felt so good. We went to the rec center in Herriman in the afternoon to go swimming. Hayden has no swimming recollections besides a kiddie pool last summer. He needed some warming up to it (I think he is just like me and wanted warmer water!). Thursday evening we had a dinner with my family.

Hayden and Sienna-They are a couple weeks apart

Kyra and Ethen-Kyra is 6 weeks his senior

The wedding events were a whirlwind, but we enjoyed the time that we did get to have with Dax's family. The sealing was wonderful, Elder Bednar acted as sealer. POWERFUL is the word I would use to describe him and his speaking. We were grateful to be there. Brielle was a beautiful bride and I am so excited to have her in the family! The luncheon turned out fabulously. That goes for both the decorations and the food By midway through the reception we were ready to call it a night after an early morning and a full day of events.

The most handsome boys EVER

At the temple...I should have thought about turning them OUT of the sun, but Hayden wasn't happy about sitting there in the first place so I was in a hurry
The 8 siblings and spouses

The siblings and parents

I love my baby girl!

Sunday we made the trip back, this time with Dax and his brother Vard in tow. The kids always do wonderful on long trips until we reach the Hermiston area. It seems their patience with being in a car maxes out at the same time. I am grateful I only had to play entertainer for 1 1/2 of the 12 hours.

Yes, I let her gnaw on an entire carrot
This could not have been comfortable, but he loved wearing the huge headphones so he could watch Tangled, over and over