Disneyland 2010

Grandma and Grandpa Neilson decided to give us all a trip to Disneyland for Christmas this year! It was instigated a little bit on my behalf, because Lacey would be blessing Mckinley in January and so why not do Disneyland too!  It didn't take long for me to realize that I would be taking a two week old baby with me! What was I thinking!  I had to go though, I didn't want Dexton and Ocianne to miss out on the trip.  I didn't get to spend much time at Disneyland because it was cold and rainy, which made it hard to go out with Gabrielle.  Kevin took the kids everyday and they had a great time despite the rain.  Grandpa decided to hire a guide for a few hours one day through Disneyland.  This allowed them to jump as an entire group to the front of the line on any ride they wanted!  I don't think Disneyland will ever be the same for them, Kevin said it ruined it for him, how can he be expected to wait in line ever again!  The trip is a little bit of a blur for me because Gabby didn't sleep very good in the hotel so I was extremely tired. I am glad that I went though so that I could be apart of some of it!  The kids had a great time!  Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for a wonderful trip!

Neilson Clan Disneyland 2010!

All the Cousin's!

Dexton had his face painted like a pirate! RRR!

Dexton, just hanging out.

 Ocianne, just saying "Hi!"  Trying to stay warm.

 Hanging out in the hotel.  Dexton thought me wearing the pirate hat was hilarious! 

 Waiting in line at It's a Small World.  Lacey and I with the babies!

 

Just waiting.

Riding It's a Small World.

  Dexton can't get enough Pirate! Eating at the Blue Bayou. 

Draper Days and Ute Stampede Rodeo

Every year around July 16th we have Draper Days and the Ute Stampede Rodeo.  This has been a tradition we have done with Grandma and Grandpa Neilson for about five years now.  We usually miss Draper Days because we head down to stay in Scipio to attend the Ute Stampede Rodeo in Nephi but this year we decided to go over to the Draper Days carnival for a few hours before driving down to Nephi.  The kids had a great time and wanted to buy everything in sight because the Draper Days carnival doesn't have much in the way of rides! LAME!  Dexton bought a Harry Potter Wand and Ocianne bought a red sequin purse and a red  matching necklace with dangle earnings.  They also got their faces painted.  Dex had a big black widow painted on his cheek and Oci had Minnie Mouse painted on hers.  After about an hour or two we piled in the car and headed down to Nephi.  The fun continued on!  Nephi knows how to put on a carnival and a rodeo!  The kids rode rides and ate hamburgers and cotton candy.  We then went into the arena and watched the rodeo.  It was great, as always.  We had amazing seats this year, they were actually in the bleacher section and covered so we weren't in the sun!  The best part was that our bums weren't rubbing up against the strangers legs behind us like in years past and the kids weren't wiping their sticky cotton candy hands on the ladies shirts in front of us!  We actually had room to breath!  Thanks Grandpa for finding us better seats than usual! We had a wonderful time!

Dex with his Black Widow

Ocianne with her Minnie Mouse

Dex is the third one from the left, then Jennaca, Jaylynn, and Kelli

Ocianne and Dawson (you can see her purse here!)

Dexton and Ocianne at the Ute Stampede Rodeo!

Primary Parade

In July the kids had a primary parade.  It was really cute.  The kids all came to the church with their bikes, scooters, roller skates or whatever they had to ride around the church parking lot with.  We however broke all the rules and brought the power wheels Jeep.  Because we had been out of town for much of the month of July we were unaware that they had banned anything that was motorized.  Yes, we were a little embarrassed but we sure as heck were not going to squish it and the kids back into the car to trade it for something else.  We had barley been able to get it to the church as it was.  We were trying to fly low under the radar but of course there were a few people here and there who couldn't resist teasing us about breaking the rules.  One person, however, went a little too far.  They thought they were out of hearing distance and made a rude comment regarding our mistake.  It was hard not to take offense, but we did our best to not let it ruin the fun.  The kids had a wonderful time decorating the Jeep.  Dexton drove it around while Ocianne waved like a true princess!  She already has the wave down for when she is crowned royalty and standing on a float in a real parade one day! It was so cute!  We couldn't help but laugh and comment about her prince driving her around and her smiling and loving every minute of it.  It was if she "knew" everyone was there to see her! It was adorable!  Too bad we didn't quite catch the wave in the picture.

Dexton and Ocianne

 

 

 

 

Forth of July Weekend

Just before the Forth of July holiday I had a little scare.  I started bleeding a little.  I was afraid that I might be loosing my baby girl.  My doctor had me come in for an ultra sound to make sure everything was okay.  Thank goodness all was well.  To my surprise the doctor said we could go on our family vacation to Lake Powell, as planned, and not to worry.   We headed down to Powell for some fun with Grandma and Grandpa.  Grandpa said we could take the "Big" boat to the beach, which is a treat these days.  Ever since he has gotten his slip and ski boat he rarely lets us camp on the beach.  What fun is Lake Powell without the beach!  Well, we found a great beach for the kids and were having a great time.  On day two, we were all lounging about and my Dad was cleaning the boat, a common occurrence.  None of us were paying any attention to the weather.  The wind was slowly picking up and this is usually a sign to batten down the hatches and secure the anchors. Well, by the time we realized how bad the wind was, we were in trouble.  We had backed the big boat up to the beach the wind had pushed us further back.  The props were hitting the beach and one of the side anchors was coming loose.  In hindsight my Dad made a tragic decision, to pull the front anchor and have Kevin pull the big boat out from the shore using the ski boat.  Keep in mind, the only able bodies were my Dad, Mom, Kevin, and well Me!  I threw the kids down into the cabin of the big boat and frantically told them to put on their life jackets on and not to come out no matter what!  Kevin jumped into the ski boat and tied a rope to the back of the boat.  My Mother held the end of the rope and climbed onto the bow of the big boat securing the rope to the railing.  As Kevin headed out into the middle of the Lake the rope began to tighten.  He was being bounced around by the waves and having a hard time controlling the ski boat. My Dad started the engines of the big boat and let the front anchor loose!  This is when all heck broke loose.  Kevin couldn't get the ski boat to pull the big boat away from the shore.  Every time he floored it he was yanked sideways along the shore line.  In a matter of seconds the big boat turned sideways as well and was parallel to the shore! My Dad jumped out to try to push the boat off the shore and I couldn't help myself from joining him.  He yelled at me to stop and get back on the boat, but I was stubborn and wouldn't.  My Dad and I couldn't get the boat to budge, the wind was too strong. Kevin kept trying over and over again to pull the boat out.  He was frantically working to  keeping the rope out of the prop and making sure he didn't hit the beach himself.  He was having a difficult time. After what seemed to be a long time, and feeling like getting the big boat off the shore was hopeless, we stopped and thought things through.   I convinced my Dad to let me onto the ski boat to help Kevin with the rope.  After a couple of tries we got the big boat straightened out and away from the shore.  My Dad was pretty upset by the whole situation.  He felt horrible that I had done so much to help and was worried I had put the baby in jeopardy.  At the time, I thought I was making all the right decisions.  Looking back I shouldn't have tried to help push the boat away from the shore.  Luckily I didn't hurt the baby and we made it back safely to the slip.  We decided to spend our last two nights in the slip and only venture out to the beach during the day with the ski boat.  We found out the hard way that we just didn't have enough capable adults to manage the two boats in a storm!  We ended up having a wonderful time and all ended well!

Ocianne on the ski boat!

Ocianne being a diva in the cabin of Grandpa's boat.

My Dreaded 3oth Birthday

Monterey California

I have been scared to turn 30 for the last two years!  When I was turning 28 I thought it was my 30th Birthday!  I guess I just wanted to get it over with or something.  My Mom was the one who reminded me that I was only 28 that year.  My sweet Husband who knew how much I was dreading this and planned an amazing trip for the two of us. We drove to LA to spend a couple of days with Darren and Lacey because Kevin and the boys were going to a Dodger vs Yankee game with his Dad.  I was able to go shopping with Lacey and spend some time with her while the guys were at the game.  We had a great time.  We then headed  North up the PCH, a dream of Kevin's to drive.  I was worried I would get car sick being that I was pregnant but other than being jerked around here and there I did fine.  We stopped off at Hearst Castle on our way.  It is an amazing Castle built on a hill top in the middle of nothing but fields.  Other than the view of the ocean, it reminded me of the land of Scipio.  I couldn't help but suggest to Kevin that maybe he could build his French Chateau on Todd's Scipio property one day!  We had a great time touring the castle.  We then finished our drive up the PCH to Monterey CA.  We arrived that evening at our hotel and went to dinner at a delicious Mexican restaurant.   We loved the town of Monterey.  It is a quaint little town with a lot of unique shops and restaurants.  We spent the next day, my birthday, walking around the Fisherman's Wharf and eating lunch at Bubba Gumps.  That night we went to a great French restaurant for dinner and to a movie.  It was a very relaxing vacation and we had a wonderful time together.  I love you honey!  Thanks for making me feel special and planning such a wonderful vacation! And a great BIG thanks to the Grandma's who were willing to watch the two little ones while we were gone!

Kevin at the Dodger vs Yankee Game

Driving up the PCH

Hearst Castle

Outdoor Pool at Hearst Castle           

Indoor Pool at Hearst Castle

Lunch at Bubba Gumps

Fisherman's Wharf

The sea lions stunk so bad!

Bee's Game

In June we were able to go to the Bees Game with the Neilson family.  The kids had a great time!  Kevin bought us all hats, except Oci she wanted a we're number one hand.  Dex caught one of the baseballs from the game!  We had a wonderful time!

Kindergarten Graduation 2010

Dexton standing with his class for graduation.

Dexton holding his diploma.

Dexton graduated from Kindergarten June 2010.  He looked so handsome.  They sang some very cute songs and the principal presented them with a diploma. 

Animal Report

In May Dexton had to do an animal report for kindergarten.  He was assigned the platypus for his report.  He had to find out some facts about his animal and make a diorama. He made his platypus out of clay and decorated a shoe box to look like it's environment.  It turned out darling.  

Dexton's Sixth Birthday

Dexton turned six this year!  The kids get to have a friend Birthday Party on the even years so he was very excited!  He wanted to have his party at Boondocks.  He invited his cousins Jennaca and Ashlyn and some boys from the ward.  The kids had pizza and cake and played arcades and in the jungle gym area.  They had a great time.  Dexton's big birthday gift was a  DSI XL!  He also got a new baseball bat and a Razor scooter that sparks when you hit the break. Dexton is growing up so fast I can hardly believe my little boy is six!  He is so much fun and says the funniest things!  He is wise beyond his years.  He remembers things like his Dad so I have to be very careful what I put into that brain of his!  He loves Dinosaurs and knows everything about them.  He is also very curious about science.  This year in Kindergarten he learned about germs and I wish he would have stayed home that day because now hand sanitizer is his best friend and he washes his hands a ridiculous amount! The biggest problem with his cleanliness is that his hands are becoming dry and cracked from all the washing!  And being that he hates lotion I have no choice but to tell him no more hand sanitizer!  Kevin keeps telling him he is going to be a plastic surgeon because he likes washing his hands so much!  He responds and says he is going to be a scientist and Kevin tells him that a doctor is a scientist. He is defiantly smart enough to be a doctor that's for sure!  I love him so much and I am so proud of him!  He is such a good heart-ed boy.   I tell Oci all the time that she doesn't know how good she has it, because she has the best big brother any one could ever ask for!  

Happy Sixth Birthday Dexton!

Opening Gifts at Grandma Neilson's

The Party at Boondocks!

The Third Edition

The night before I ran the Salt Lake Half Marathon I found out we were expecting our third child!  This was a little bit of a surprise. My due date was December 18, 2010.  We were hoping for a February baby.  Kevin was not happy that this poor child would be having a December birthday, he thought that was a crappy deal for the child. But what could we do!  I was certain we were having a boy because I was so sick!  I actually had to go on anti-nausea medication.  I was a little sick with Dexton but nothing a few crackers couldn't fix and nothing bothered me with Ocianne.  So when they told us it was a girl you could have knocked me over with a feather! 

My Second Half Marathon

I ran my first half marathon back in November 2009.  It was the Snow Canyon half in St. George.  It didn't go so well for me.  I wasn't dressed right so I was hot and it was a lot harder than I had expected.  So when my Mom asked me back in January to run in the Salt Lake City half marathon this April I wasn't all that jazzed.  I agreed to do it though because I decided I needed to do it at least twice just to see if it was really that bad or if it would be a better experience going into it a little more prepared this time.  I have to admit, it was a lot better!  I new what I was getting into and I trained really hard for it!  I know it was hard on Kevin to let me go run for three hours every Saturday, but it made a huge difference!  I ran the entire race!  I had to stop a little toward the end to stretch my knee.  I was so mad!  My knee didn't bother me the entire time I trained but the last three miles my knee started aching!  Oh well, a quick stop and I was on my way again.  There was no way I was going to walk across the finish line!  Kevin and the kids came to cheer me and my Mom on.  My Dad was there too!  However, about a minute before I crossed the finish line the first marathoner crossed, it was a big deal.  He finished in like 2 and a half hours.  So Kevin and my Dad missed me.  They were too busy talking about the marathoner!  Oh well!  I finished in 2 hours 22 minutes.  Not too shabby!  My Mom finished a little behind me.  We had a lot of fun!

Ocianne's Third Birthday

I can't believe how fast the last three years have gone!  My baby girl is no more a baby!  She will be starting preschool in the fall and she can't wait!  She has been wanting to go to school for a year now and we keep telling her she can go when she is three....so why can't she start now?  She is so grown up for her age in so many ways.  She wanted her own makeup so I bought her some eyeshadow and she has to wear it every day and put it on when I put mine on!  Easter morning she wanted to put it on before going out to do the Easter Egg Hunt.  She was all upset when I told her there wasn't time.  What am I raising!  I tell her she is just like her grandma Shauna!  We do have a few guidelines, like no makeup to church and there will be no makeup at school either!  She loves to dress up.  She is always dressed up like one of the princesses!  It varies from month to month.  Right now she is always Ariel.  She always refers to me as Belle when she is a princess and I am to call her by the name of the princess she is dressed as or she corrects me by saying, "Mom, I am not Oci, call me..."  She cracks me up!  Sometimes she drives me crazy but that is usually when she is acting like me!  She is a lot like me in so many ways it is scary!  She loves to talk my ear off, especially in the car!  And when I am not listening she try's to get Dexton to listen.  A funny story about this is when we were in St. George over Easter.  We were driving in the car and Oci kept on saying, "Dexton!"  He finally responded by saying, "Oci, I am not talking to you any more!  For the rest of the trip I am not going to talk to you in the car!"  She sat there for a minute all upset.  Then she yelled at the top of her lungs, "DEXTON!"  Kevin and I just busted out laughing!  Dexton started laughing too!  She stuck out her lip and said, "Stop laughing at me!"  She is such a sweet girl and she is definitely all girl!  We love her so much!

For her Birthday she wanted an American Girl doll like her cousins!  We bought her a doll and few clothes to go with it.  Probably her favorite part was the bag full of accessories for her dolls hair.  Grandma Debbie bought her a beauty station for her doll.  It came with pretend nail polish and stickers for her dolls nails.  She calls it her "tollish"!  Grandma Shauna and Aunt Michelle bought her the Strawberry Shortcake Berry Cafe and some of the accessories to go with it.  She is definitely spoiled!  She also wanted an Ariel cake and insisted that Ariel be in her pink dress, not her shells!  She got it, it only cost me an arm and a leg and going back to the store twice because the first one fell!  Luckily they took the fault for it falling and made me a new one for free!

Happy Third Birthday Ocianne!

Opening gifts!

The Ariel Cake!

Easter

We went to St. George for Easter with the Neilson clan.  While it wasn't especially warm, it was better than the cold weather back at home.  The kids had a great time with there cousins.  We went swimming at the Washington County Rec Center a couple of days....this is always a must while we are there!  The kids can't get enough of this place.  It worked out great because it is indoors.  We also went to see the movie How to Train a Dragon with the kids.  It was such a great show!  If you haven't been it is a must see movie!  Kevin even liked it and he normally "hates" kid shows!  The kids had an Easter egg hunt on Easter morning around the house and over in the rocks across the street.  Me and the kids stayed down there for an entire week to help fill Dexton's two week Spring Break!  It was great!

                                                                  

                    

Looking through Easter Baskets and

the Easter Egg Hunt!

Disney on Ice

Grandma Shauna took all the grand kids to Disney on Ice.  We had a great time!  We got there early so we could see Tianna and the other princesses.  Oci was so enthralled!  The kids enjoyed the entire performance.  When Ariel came out, Oci was upset that she wasn't in her dress.  She didn't like her dancing in her shells!  I'm pretty sure it was just due to the fact that a princess is supposed to wear a dress, although I wish it were a modesty issue!  Maybe one day when she gets older that will be more of an issue! 

Riley, Dexton, and Ocianne

Ocianne, Jack, Grandma, Riley, and Dexton

Dexton's Karate Promotion

Dexton received his orange belt in Karate.  This promotion was bigger than he had been used to.  His other promotion always took place in the studio.  This one was at a local Jr. High auditorium.  There were a couple hundred people there.  They combined the Riverton and South Jordan studios.  All the kids had to go through and do three routines. It was fun to watch and Dex did a great job! 

The New Car

Kevin bought a new car in February!  He bought it online from Georgia.  They were not able to ship it to us because of all the crazy weather we were having across the country!  When does it ever snow in Georgia!  So we set off for an adventure and flew to Georgia to pick it up and drive it back ourselves!  And what an adventure it was.  The first day we drove from Georgia to Tennessee.  We spent the night in Tennessee.  The plan was to head north and then west.  Well when we woke up there was a thin layer ice and snow covering the ground!  We watched the weather and it was going to be snowing the entire way if we took our planned route.  We decided against this for two reasons, first we figured no one new how to drive around here in these conditions and they had nothing to properly remove the snow, second Kevin's car was rear-wheel drive.  So we decided it would be safer to head south and then go west. The Weather Channel showed that this route would be dry.  As it turns out, we still had snow!  So much for the Weather Channel!  We drove from Tennessee to Little Rock.  While we were there we stopped for lunch and were doing some other things.  While talking in a parking lot, Kevin's car started to over heat!   Smoke was coming from under the hood!  I was freaking out!  I thought the worst, we bought a lemon!  Kevin quickly found an Infinite dealership close by and we drove the car there.  We got there minutes before they were closing.  We ended up staying in Little Rock for 2 days!  Nothing major was wrong with the car and most of it was covered under warranty.  What and adventure!  It was definitely more than we had bargained for!  Needless to say, we were in huge hurry to get home to the kids because of this little set back.  Once the car was repaired, we drove from Little Rock to Albuquerque.  I took over driving through Oklahoma for the first time.  I guess I was a little too anxious to get home because there I got my first speeding ticket ever!  I was so mad!  The guy was so rude and didn't even lower my speed!  How rude! The last day was the longest, we drove from Albuquerque to good old Utah!  We got home at around two in the morning!   It was a long trip!   We had a lot of fun together despite our little set back!  What a way to celebrate ten years together!  

Waking up in Tennessee!







The windmills of Oklahoma...right where I got my ticket.

The Hoover Dam...so close to home, yet so far to go!