The Cake...

This is for no one but me...just so I can kind of remember and document what I tried to do so I can maybe do it again or remember to never try again---one or the other! :)

More Dax Birthday Fun

So this post was supposed to quickly follow the last one...weird that I am behind on my blog. We didn't have any big or elaborate party for Dax's birthday, but I guess that we should document that we did try to do something. Dax's birthday fell on Saturday this year, but Saturday only means one thing to us...ballgames! So we loaded up and went to the district baseball tournament in Holyoke and celebrated with the baseball team. It was a warm nice day and lucky for us, we like the baseball players families and they are always super nice to us. We made some cake balls and everyone sang happy birthday to Dax as he blew out his 3 candles. Don't worry that I didn't take my camera so my documentation is poor quality and low quantity cell phone pics. He was proud to tell everyone that it was his birthday though and that he was three and LOVED all of the attention. He is kind of a vain little child--what do you do?!

Blowing out cake ball candles at ball game (Lisa Reinick in the background)

Dax with one of his favorite baseball guys, Jaden

The next day we had our "party" or really I guess a few. We decided that we wanted to try to skype our families and let them sing to Dax and let him blow out candles for them. He was missing his Grandmas and Grandpas and his cousins. We had some technical difficulties, but we got to see all of the grandparents and had a fun time thanks to technology. Dax even got in a nerf gun war with Grandpa Lovell that had him laughing his little head off.

Trying to shoot Grandpa...

Got Grandma instead!

Blowing out candles during Skype party

After our skype party, we had a few friends from the branch come over to have some cake and ice cream. Our clan consisted of Lacy, Miguel, and Vander Echeverria, Glen, Phyllis, Makayla, Annika, Rylee, Sage, and Harper Harmsen and Val, Lisa, and Courtney Meredith. We were so glad to have them come celebrate and eat cake with us. It is nice to have a church family at least when your real family is so far away! Thanks for coming guys. Everyone gave Dax lots of fun presents. He got way too spoiled, but he loved every single one and is still playing with them almost daily. He got cars, water toys, bubbles, books, a nerf gun (from his  cousin Jordan with the cutest note ever!), a rocking horse, a Lightning McQueen scooter and last but not least a Lightning McQueen race track that he has been looking at in a magazine since the beginning of March telling us that he was going to get it for his birthday! He was so excited about all of it. If you haven't caught on already, the theme of turning 3 is Lightning McQueen. He is quite basically obsessed. He asked for a Lightning birthday cake and a Lightning race track and was so excited to see ANYTHING with Lightning on it. When he told me he wanted a Lightning cake I started looking online for ideas. I was trying to find something simple because we all know that artistic things don't come easily for this girl. Dax came over to help me look and saw a 3D Lightning cake and he was not satisfied with any other picture after that. I wasn't sure how in the world I was going to pull this off, but I called my wonderful cousin/amazing baker Pamela for a crash course in cake making over the phone and e-mail. I am sure she was tired of talking to me after that week of 40 million questions, but thanks to her help we did have a cake that was at least kind of what we were going for. It was full of flaws and tested every ounce of creativity in my whole body, but it was actually kind of fun! Then after days of work, we cut it up and ate it in 15 minutes! :)

presents...

presents...

more presents...(the race track!)

and more presents...

and still more presents and this isn't even all of them! Too spoiled!!

Blowing out candles with our friends-it is blurry but I loved Dax's face!

Thanks everyone for making his day special. We sure do love him and love all of you for being special people in his life!

My baby is 3!

Why do kids have to grow up so blasted fast?! It is just not cool! We do love this crazy little boy of ours and love to watch him play and imagine and grow.  I am going to try to write down some of the things that make up Dax right now so we can always remember his little 3 year old self. One of my favorite things about Dax right now is that he loves almost everything. He has quite an imaginations and he plays everything. He goes from playing cars to pirates to farming to playing ball and really almost everything. He especially loves cars and Lightning McQueen. He spends many hours every day driving or rather "racing" cars all over the house, outside, the bathtub, the ball field, etc. on his knees. Several of his pants have holes worn in his right knee where he drags it on the ground while he drives. He also pretends to be Lightning and "revs" his engine and runs all over the place. Dax goes most places on the run. He is not a still or calm child really. He is intense and in constant motion. Robert's boss commented one day that most kids like to sit down and take a break every once in a while, but not Dax. He loves movies and gets so into them, but doesn't even sit still watching them because he is trying to act them out. He especially loves Cars and Toy Story (all of them). He has his Lightning and Mack and has to have them while he is watching so that he can act out everything that happens. One of his favorite parts is when Lightning leaves to go to California and the sponsor guys say "don't drive like my brother." He totally says that as he loads Lighting in the truck, says "California here we come, Dinoco here we come" and then proceeds to sing "Life is a Highway" as he helps Lightning fall out of the truck and get lost. He is quite the entertainment.

Dax loves music. It is amazing that he can memorize almost everything that has a tune to it. We have tried to roll with this and he has learned quite a few primary songs, the alphabet song, and any other song we can make up to help him remember things. As Robert's profession involves commercials, Dax also knows a lot of the songs from ads like the napa know how song and subways 5 dollar footlong song and many more that I can't think of right now. If there is a catchy beat on anywhere he hears it and tries to go where it is coming from and is captivated by it. I hope that he continues to love music and that it can be a good thing in his life.


Dax LOVES his dad. He wants to know at all times where his dad is and when he is coming home. He loves to go to the radio station with dad and "work." He takes his toy lap top and has a little box that he calls his brief case and even answers the phone "good morning, KRDZ." He loves to play with Dad and he has a very good dad like that. They wrestle and play baseball and football and basketball. They do yard work together and just about anything that Robert will let him do. He insists that while they are playing any sports that Robert announces what is going on like he does at ball games and Dax does it when he is not around. It is pretty cute. He will grab his bat and say "and Dax comes to the plate..." You know that Rodney Adkins song "I've Been Watching You"? When I watch Dax and Robert play that is what I think of...

I've been watching you dad, ain't that cool

I'm your buckaroo, I wanna be like you

And eat all my food and grow as tall as you are

We like fixing things and holding mama's hand

Yeah we're just alike, hey ain't we dad

I wanna do everything you do

So I've been watching you

I wish that I had more of these moments captured on camera, but these are a few and hopefully I will be better at remembering to take pictures more often so I can remember this very cute stage.

I asked Dax some questions today that I hope to ask him for the next several years on his birthday to see how they change. I have seen several people do this...I hope I will keep it up.

What is your favorite color? Blue and Red        

What is your favorite toy? Lightning McQueen, Buzz, and Bucky (the pirate ship)

What is your favorite tv show? Jake and the Neverland Pirates

What is your favorite movie? Cars

What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Pancakes or Waffles

What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Sandwiches

What is your favorite thing to eat for dinner? Chicken and Rice

What is your favorite cereal? “They're Greats!” (Frosted Flakes)

What is your favorite fruit? Bananas

What is your favorite treat? Cake

What is your favorite outfit? Baseball Shirt and Baseball Shoes or his Pirate Ship shirt

What is your favorite game? Playing Cars or Pirates

What is your favorite animal? Cows

What is your favorite song? My Heavenly Father Loves Me, Jake and the Neverland Pirates song, and Life is a Highway from Cars

What is your favorite book? My Pirate Book

Who is your best friend? Vander and Maddie

What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play ball with Dad and ride my bike

What is your favorite drink? Chocolate milk and any kind of pop

What is your favorite holiday? Christmas

What do you like to take to bed with you at night? My Big Dog (“he protects me”) and my Brown Blanket

What do you want to be when you grow up? A clown

I feel so lucky to be this little guys mom! He is such a good kid most of the time and has been such a blessing in our lives. We love his little personality and his happy demeanor. He gives the best hugs and kisses and there is really nothing better than hearing his little voice say "I love you" or "you're the best!" My life was forever changed when he entered it and now I don't know what I would do without him!

Happy Birthday Dax! We love you and are so glad you are ours!!

A Wray update and Easter

So my Wray diaries leave a lot to be desired...what do you do? There isn't a much to tell really. We are doing well here. It feels more and more like home every day. I got a job at the hospital here and am working 1 or 2 nights a week. It has been a nice cut back that is for sure. We have made a few friends at our little LDS branch and a few at work. Mostly we just keep to ourselves like we always have! ;) Dax and I have followed Robert to almost all of the ball games that he gets to go cover. That has kept us busy and has been fun. High school sports are fun to get into, especially when you know the kids you are cheering for. We went to enough games that we know a good chunk of the athletes and their families and it has been fun cheering for them. Dax is nearly famous at the ball games because he is....well he is just Dax. He is loud and crazy and in good moments completely delightful, so he has become friends with EVERYONE! He is my little ice breaker and because of him we have friends at ball games that help me keep him entertained when it is just too long, and take him to the concession stand for treats, and just do kind things for us everywhere. That is mostly what I have found here...the people are mostly just good and kind. We feel very lucky to be here in such a good community. Our little house is working out good for us. There are a few small spaces, but love grows best in little houses right? We have a big, fun yard that I am loving. We are trying to get our grass green and we are even getting a little garden spot ready. Hold your breath and hope that it works out please! I am no gardener, but we have a space and I guess you have to start and learn somewhere, so here is to learning if nothing else! Life is good for us and we can not complain (or we shouldn't at least...I wish I never complained! ) Dax is growing up to be quite the little human. He keeps us running and laughing constantly. His imagination never ceases to amaze me. Just this morning he woke up and asked if he could be a super hero today and keeps going around imagining himself doing things and saying "I saved the day!" We love that boy.

We (and when I say that I really mean Robert) haven't really had many days off since we got here. They do Saturday ball games here, so we are doing something most Saturdays and he works Monday through Friday just like regular. But, we got good Friday off of work so we decided to take advantage of our one day off and went to Denver. We stayed Thursday and Friday nights and went to the temple, ate out at restaurants (yes that is a novelty now!) and played. We had a really fun time and it just kept going all weekend long through Easter. One of our Denver highlights was going to the aquarium. It was a lot of fun and Dax LOVED it. He still talks about it. We got to feed some sting rays and pet them. Dax got a sea horse painted on his arm. We got to see a mermaid show with the scary guy from Finding Nemo (a person in a scuba suit). We saw "Crush" and "Nemo" and "Dory" and sharks and lions and treasure chests and so many fun things.

On Saturday morning we headed to a baseball game-we still can't get a whole weekend off! We enjoyed a nice day of sunshine and ball games and got home in just enough time to prepare lessons for Sunday, open Easter surprises from various grandmas in Utah (all of which he loved), and go to bed. When we woke up the Easter Bunny had definitely found us and Dax thought he was in heaven with all of his new fun things and, of course, his mountain of candy.

Easter present from Grandma Lovell

Easter from Grandma and Grandpa Clove

Cheese Ball!

Thanks grandmas and grandpas for the fun presents

What the Easter Bunny left...what was he thinking? That is way too much stuff!

When we went out to go to church we found that another Easter Bunny had visited and left eggs on the front lawn. We have met a very nice family out here named the Valko Family. They have a son, Jaden, who is a junior that wrestles and plays baseball so we have seen them quite a bit at the games. They also have a daughter, Alyssa, who is in 8th grade that Dax loves. They woke up early and came and hid eggs for Dax before going to their church. Dax loved it and it was so nice of them. We also went to their house later in the evening for strawberry shortcake and a fun visit. We really like them and they have been so kind to us since we have been here. We will for sure remember them when we think of our Wray days.

After church some of our friends from the branch, the Echeverrias, came over for dinner and a little egg hunt. They have a little boy named Vander that is just a little bit younger than Dax. They are about as different as two little boys could be, but they are somehow pretty good little friends. I guess opposites attract sometimes. We ate yummy food, found eggs and candy, rocked out at the piano (oh ya I got a piano and I love it!!! The best part is that it was free and it is beautiful-it makes me happy), decorated Easter eggs the old fashioned way, and just enjoyed the nice warm day.

I love holidays and they have proved to be some of my hardest days out here because everything holiday to me is associated with family and I miss everyone so bad at these times. But, I decided that if I am never at home for a holiday again, I need to figure out our own family traditions so they can still be fun and memorable. Dinner wasn't as yummy as mom's and the eggs weren't as pretty as they seem to be at home, but it was our feeble attempt to make a memory and we did. The few weeks before Easter Dax and I sang songs at the piano. Dax loves music and can remember songs so well it is incredible really. One of my favorite Easter songs is "Did Jesus Really Live Again" out of the Primary Children's Songbook. As Dax learned the words to that song and started to understand more what nail prints in Jesus' hands meant he asked a lot of questions and was very thoughtful about what happened when Jesus died for us and how he "woke up" and left the tomb. I don't know how much he really understands, but I think he understands more than I know, but it was humbling for me this Easter to watch my two year old be so thoughtful of the simpleness of the message of Easter. It helped me be a little more thoughtful and helped me to be a lot more grateful this holiday that I know that Jesus died for me because he loves me and my little family. How blessed I am to know that Jesus really did live again and made it possible for all of us to live again. What better gift in all the world could we be given than that? Here is to trying to remember it and focus on that all year and not just at Easter. I am so grateful for a loving Savior and kind Heavenly Father who sacrificed so much for me to enjoy my life here and to have the hope of an even better life to come. What a Happy Easter!!

Grandma...

Today marks 9 years since my Grandma Tait died. As a result I have been thinking about her an awful lot. I was in bed trying to go to sleep and not being able to (the result of working nights I guess) and for the hundredth time in the last few days I found my mind wandering to you, Grandma, and before I even realized it, I was feeling tears running down my cheeks. I can hardly believe that it has been 9 years, but still I sit here and miss you so much that I can hardly breathe! So for my own therapy tonight I wanted to remember you and writing for me is usually that-good therapy.

I find that especially when I have hard things in my life and at moments where I need to dig deeper for faith and courage I tend to think of you because you are full of faith and courage. I am feeling so blessed right now that I got the opportunities to see you be such an example of that first hand and learn from you so closely. I love so much that I got to be great friends with you!

We sang "I am a Child of God" at your funeral because you wanted so much for us to remember that simple truth for our whole lives. Tonight I feel so blessed to really know that I am a child of God! I am grateful for a wonderful family-grandparents, parents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles and so many others who have taught me this for my entire life and continue to remind me of this reality daily. I know that He knows and loves little old me in Wray, Colorado. I am grateful for my knowledge that Jesus lives and because of that I will see and have many more sweet moments with you. A few weeks before you died we were all together and you asked us to practice our songs for the funeral-morbid? Maybe, but we did it anyway as you lay up in your bed listening. At one point I remember you saying "this is my heaven." I really believe that is what heaven will be...peace and contentment surrounded by the ones you love the best. Here is to that hope...no empty chairs!!!

There is a simple primary song that says "I wish every child in the whole wide world had a grandmother just like you." I really do wish that! I hope that my children get to have a relationship with their grandmothers like I have had. I hope that I can be even half of the grandma you were someday. I hope that when I grow up I have the faith, courage, wisdom and grace that you had your whole life. So for now, "I'll try to be good; I'll do as I should. I'll whisper I love you too." Because I really did have the best grandmother in the whole wide world and I want you for eternity! Love you forever!!