The Unexpected Birthday Surprise

Saturday was going to be "the best day of my life" according to Dallin. He was so excited about his birthday party he could hardley stand it. He even decorated his own Lego cake and was so proud of it. He was so anxious to play with all his friends and to do the zip line (because the birthday boy gets to go twice). All his friends arrived and he was having so much fun.....for the first 10 minutes at least.
That's when I realized he had injured his arm in the inflatable obstacle course. He's a pretty tough kid, but he just could't stop crying. I knew it was bad when he told me he "wished he never had a 7th birthday" and he just wanted to go home.

Luckily, dad was able to play the superhero and run down to the office and bring Dallin a splint. The support of the splint helped him at least enjoy the end of the party with his friends. He was so sweet to say it was the "best party ever" and "the best part was spending time with my friends."

He did so well with the splint that we decided that we could wait until monday to take him to the doctor for an x-ray. He rarely complained about the pain, but he was very guarded, expecially when the brace was off.

So it turns out he fractured his arm! He was all smiles when he found out he was getting a cast! He called it another birthday present. He chose a waterproof, camoflouge and glow in the dark cast and it is really cool! Casts have sure come a long way since I was a kid!

It was not quite the way I had planned his birthday party to go, but I'm so happy he was able to have a good time, despite the broken arm. I sure do love this kid!

Here's the cake he was so proud of, but just didn't feel like eating.

Opening presents seemed to cheer him up a bit.

Just happy to be spending time with his friends.

Ironman

May 1st was a big day for Dave this year. Last year on May 1st he called me from work and said that Ironman St. George had just opened. The date of the race: May 1st 2010- a whole year away. It can be crazy how quickly some of these big races fill up, so for some crazy reason I did it, I signed him up despite my fears of him doing something this big. Little did we know that very soon things would get even busier for Dave making it impossible to train. It was his buddy Rob, who finally convinced Dave to follow through, without feeling the pressure of turning out a good finishing time. Soooo.... around March 1st Dave officially began his training. He faithfully headed to the gym at 5am every weekday morning and worked out for 2 hours. He spent longer at the gym on the Saturdays he was in town, ran when he was out of town, and rested on Sundays. His only goal: to finish.

For those of you who aren't familiar with what an Ironman is I'll lay it out. 2.4 mile swim in a reservoir, 112 mile bike ride followed by a 26.2 mile run. This was the first year for the St. George Ironman and they are now saying it is one of the toughest courses in the US. The bike and run were all on very steep grades. Dave said he saw guys walking their bikes up the hills. Luckily in the past he has done rides with a lot of vertical incline, which is what carried him through, despite never riding outside this year before the race.

I'm happy to say that HE DID IT! Dave is an IRONMAN! He finished in 16:32, (at 11:30pm) just a half hour shy of the cut off and he loved it! It was very inspiring just to be a part of it. It was especially great to have both of our parents there to cheer him on throughout the day. Dave's parents, the kids and I, and Rob were all able to be at the finish line which was awesome!

Congratulations Dave! We love you!!!

More on the rest of our trip later.

Happy Birthday Dave

34 things

Happy Birthday Dave! I am the luckiest girl to have you in my life. In honor of your 34th birthday, here are 34 things I love about you:

1. You are humble, even too humble sometimes.


2. You like to "tornado" the house, and can do in an hour what it would take me all day to do.

3. When you set your mind to something you don't contemplate it forever, you just do it!



4. You have an excellent work ethic. You take pride in your work and you work just as hard for your employer as if it were your own company. You turn around projects for patients in record time and often after hours. Not because you have to, but because you know it would be nicer for them to have their product sooner.



5. You love your family more than anything.

6. You can't go to bed without peeking at your boys while they are sleeping.

7. You build me beautiful furniture. You don't even need a plan, just a picture and you're good to go.


8. You love me and think I'm beautiful even when I can't see it myself.


9. You try to get the most out of life.

10. You are kind to everyone.

11. You don't mind having burritos for dinner.....again.

12. You like looking at model homes or furniture stores with me.

13. I trust you completely.


14. You are like a kid when you get to go dirt biking with your motorcycle gang.


15. You help me with the dishes.


16. I never get tired of being around you.


17. You always want to do the right thing.


18. You love my family and they love you back.

19. You set big goals for yourself.


20. You are an Ironman.

21. I can talk to you about anything.

22. You were my first true love.

23. You iron your own clothes.

25. You bring me flowers.


26. You don't watch much tv.


27. You are grateful.


28. You want your boys to have opportunities.


29. When we met, you wanted to be a ski bum. You are no bum, but now you are skiing with our boys.


30. You work extremely hard, but I always know that your heart is at home with your family.


31. You made your own motorcycle chest protector and used it for 6 years until Irealized what the other guys were wearing and got you a "real" one.

32. You don't complain. I may complain about stuff you are dealing with, but you don't.

33. You are easy to like and easy to love.

34. You are my best friend.


I love you! Happy Birthday!

The thing about boys...

Dallin came home from school today really wanting to do a science experiment. I brushed him off a little since we did made homemade ice cream from his science book yesterday, and because I'm having company tomorrow and had just cleaned the kitchen floor. He was a little bummed and he basically told me that I always say, "we'll do it tomorrow" or "I don't really want a mess in the house" etc. What can I say, he is right. The thing about having boys (at least my boys) is that they would do science experiments or crafts everyday If I let them..... which I would love to, but reality is that once I have everything all out and ready to go they will sit at the table and participte for about 5 minutes or less and then they are on to the next thing and I'm stuck cleaning up for the next 20 minutes. Today we made musical instruments and literally I had time to grab my camera and take about 3 pictures and they were done and moving on! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE doing this kind of stuff with my boys, It would just be great if they could enjoy the moment a tiny bit longer! Is that too much to ask?

Easter Eggs

Skiing

 

 

 

 

Last month we took the boys skiing for the first time and they did amazing! Dallin went to ski school all day and Dawson got a private lesson and spent the day playing in childcare. When we picked up the boys from their classes they were begging for more, so we skiied until closing time. Dave was one proud daddy that day! It was a perfect day and we can't wait to do it again!

 

 

 

 

Legally Blonde with Allie

Lucky me! My little sister Alli came for a visit! I was so excited to find out that Legally Blonde the Musical would be in Denver while she was here. It happens to be one of our favorite movies so I just had to get tickets! Loved it! After that we walked around downtown searching for the 16th Street Mall until my feet could not handle walking in heels any longer! Turns out we were at the 16th street mall..... there just wasn't an indoor mall like I "remembered". I guess once a blonde, always a blonde, right?

Valentine's Day

 

 

 

It was fun to have Allie here with us for Valentine's Day. She was so sweet to offer to babysit the kids so Dave and I could go out on a date, but I really love spending Valentine's day with the whole family! I'm a pretty lucky girl to have 3 special valentines! I Love my boys! We had our annual fondue party, shared valentines, and earlier in the week made these yummy treats (thanks for the idea Trinnette) We also made a cute valentine's mailbox to put in valentine's treats and notes through the week. Love to all my family and friends XOXO!