Since Christmas...

I know Christmas was a while ago, but with family that has just recently left and some that are still visiting, I feel like we are now just getting back to normal life. We had a great holiday season and it was so fun to see all of our family and spend some time together. Some of our favorite things about this christmas season were having our Pulley party at my brother's home and playing pictionary with words we made up ourselves. Sub for Santa, New Years at the Anderson's home, our traditional Christmas eve at Grandma and Grandpa Dahleen's, Anderson's bathroom remodel, Sledding, Zoo lights and hot chocolate with the Giles, Skiing, playing with lego's daily (Dax's new favorite activity), and getting Christmas cards from old friends. Here are just a few of the pictures from our Holiday.

Sweet times with Leah.

My sister Michelle, husband Travis and baby Leah were able to come home for christmas vacation and were able to be sealed together in the Bountiful temple. It was such a sweet experience and I am so glad they were able to do it here. When they brought Leah in she literally looked like an angel. We had such a great time with them. Michelle and Leah got to stay an extra 2 weeks to hang out with all of us. We miss them already!!

A needed vacation

We finally did it. I went away for more than one night with my sweetie. I know that sounds crazy, but we have never been away for more than one night since we had Dax (Yes I know and Yes he is 4 1/2).

Our weekend began with a ski day at Snowbird. It was great. The snow was great and we went with Aaron's sister Kathrine and her husband Jake. I love Snowbird because you can ride the tram up and it takes a long time to get down, so I personally never have time to get cold. Aaron got me new ski clothes for christmas which helped as well.

We stayed up at some condo's at Wolf Creek for Friday and Saturday night. We ate at Goodwood on Friday night and at McCool's on Saturday. We got to go sledding on Saturday morning with Aaron's brother Michael and his wife Shanna. Yes I felt like a kid again for about 30 minutes until I had an instant reminder of why sledding is not quite what it used to be. We had a crash, a major crash and I ended up sitting up in the middle of some trees, Shanna as well and Michael unfortunately was the one who got ran over at the bottom of the hill with a boot to the head and my head and neck to his knee.

So I just took Tylenol the rest of the time and a couple hours after sledding we got to go and have full body massages. It was great. The rest of the time we just relaxed at the condo and came home on Sunday afternoon. A much needed vacation I must say. Here are some pictures of our weekend.

Aaron and I at Snowbird

Before...

and after

This is what we were sledding on. Beautiful up close.

Still Snowing...

It started snowing yesterday, and we woke up to about 8 inches this morning. I love Sundays!! I have not updated in a while, so I thought I would let everyone know what is going on in our lives.

Aaron's sister Kathrine and her husband Jake who have been living in China since June and they were supposed to be coming home to visit on the 3rd of December, but they ended up coming the week before Thanksgiving. I guess China is very cold in the winter and they do not insulate very well, so they decided to come to Utah where they have some control of the temperature inside the house. It has been so fun to be with them and Dax loves having his cousin Riley back. They could play nonstop for days on end if we let them.

Another great event is that Aaron's other sister Heidi and her husband John who live in NY had a baby this last Tuesday. Aaron's mom got there in the evening, and they had the baby that night. Talk about good timing. The baby and mom are doing well, and they are so grateful that grandma got to be there, I am so jealous.

Aaron is loving his second year of residency. Right now he is working with an ENT from the hospital and is enjoying it. He loves to learn and that is what this month is all about. We are on the downhill as far as finishing residency goes, as long as he doesn't decide to do something a little different, which is always an option with these shoot for the stars kind of people. I made a decision a long time ago though, that I would always support him as long as he liked what he was doing. He has had a couple of jobs that he does not like and it is miserable. Aaron has gone from being 1/3 of a sunday school teacher to 1/2. He teaches with one of his resident friends and whoever is there teaches. He continues to run when he can and of course any other sport that comes along. We have been contemplating buying a treadmill because the weather here is so unpredictable, and we are sissies when it comes to running in the cold.

Dax is doing awesome. This change in seasons has been very different for us this year. Usually Dax has had 3 or 4 colds by now and he has not had one. We had his tonsils and adenoids out last March and he has been so different ever since. His voice sounds different, he eats and sleeps better. I am so glad we decided to do it. Dax is still loving pre school and is just soaking up everything there. He has met some great kids and has an amazing teacher. He has always been a sweet kid and he has started telling us both at least 5 times a day that he loves us and giving us hugs and kisses. It is so great and I know it will not last forever, so I am enjoying every minute of it. He loves to read books and has finally learned to play by himself sometimes. He has decided that his toys will call Aaron and I by our first names, it is really funny.

I have been keeping busy with work and home. I am always so surprised at how I think things are going to get less busy when just the opposite happens. I am still working 2 days a week and I enjoy the office and people I work with. I just finished up a volleyball season with a new team and they are so fun. Aaron and I also started back with our old softball team "Team Honk" and I must say that we feel a little older than we did 5 years ago. I had to play catcher for one game and my quads were sore for an entire week. I am enjoying being back in Utah and the fun things there are to do here.

We hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season and a great start to the new year.

Halloween 2009

We had our annual Halloween Party last night and it was a blast. Aaron was in charge of the games and that was a bad idea according to pretty much everyone at our party. We played the game where you feel what is in the bowl and try to guess it. Well we had everything from a fake boob to a bowl of cow stomach. It was disgusting. We then played name that tune with Halloween songs and it was a good time. We went all out with the decorating and it turned out great!! Enjoy the pictures.

Cowgirl

Rugby and Grapes

Eyeball and bag of leaves

Hipppie, Jesters, butterfly

V, Batgirl and superman

Old people

Pirate and Geisha

Dax's first 9 holes

Aaron has been working with Dax on his golf swing for a while now. We got him 3 of his very own clubs for his birthday and he has become very good in a short amount of time.

This was a great shot that Aaron got of him.

And the big finish. Look at that form. I think we may have a little golfer on our hands. Aaron said he played the entire course which surprised me because I could not get him to putt for 5 minutes with me before Aaron got there.

Dax's first day of Pre School

Dax started Pre School this last Wednesday and he was more excited than I think I have ever seen him for anything. He woke up and the first words out of his mouth were "Mom, lets get ready for pre school". This coming from a kid who normally wants to stay in his PJ's as late as possible. He is going to a Pre School in Fruit Heights close to Aaron's parents house. It is very convenient because Aaron's mom takes him on Wednesdays while I am at work and I get to take him Monday. He loved going and instantly loved his teacher Miss Georgia. Here are a few pictures from the morning of.

Retreat 2009

This picture is Daxton's first time in a canoe. We were at a BBQ with some of the sports medicine doctors from Aaron's residency.

At the Resident Retreat they had a guitar hero competition with all of the residents, and everyone dressed up like rockers from the 70's - 90's. This is Aaron and his friend Jesse rockin out!

I showed this picture to Aaron's mom and she did not even recognize him. Aaron cut the pants, jacket and placed the tattoo's himself. There were some great costumes. Aaron ended up winning for the best costume.

Our week with Leah

Dax and I were able to go to my sisters house and visit their newest addition. Leah is such a sweet baby. I was very surprised by Dax's reaction to her. He was so gentle and became known as the "Diaper boy", "Binky boy" and the best cousin ever. He just loved her and wanted to help whenever he could. He had no interest in holding her or helping to feed her, but anything else he was right in her face trying to help. I loved holding her and letting her snuggle up to me and fall asleep, or just snuggle. We even got her to give us a good belly laugh when Travis and Dax were wrestling. She thought it was so hilarious. It was such a great bonding time for all of us.

I chose this time to go out because Michelle is still going to coach the boys high school soccer team, and this was the week for tryouts. I have to say, any of you who know my sister know that she is the sweetest, most forgiving person on the planet, but not when it comes to coaching high school boys. I sat in awe as I watched them beckon to her every call. If they were late they had to run a mile with a medicine ball over their heads. Towards the end of the practice they usually scrimmage and they were yelling at each other, so she made them run passing a medicine ball for the last 25 minutes of practice. Talk about ruthless, but they respect her and listen to her, so I guess it works. It is just weird to see my sister in that setting.

Here are some pics from our time in Illinois.

Like I said, Dax had to be right in her face.

Yeah, ok me too.

What a cute mommy!

Puppet show at the Peoria zoo

Dax cheesing it in front of the lions

Meesh and Dax at the zoo

We had a 3 hour layover in Detroit, and this is the tunnel going between the different terminals. We walked back and forth about 10 times.

Raging Waters 2009

We went to our annual Raging Waters day with Aaron's family. Grandma and Grandpa fork out the money for this event every year and it always turns out to be a great time. This year it ended up being about 70 degrees after a couple of weeks in the 90's, but we still had a great time.

Me and my hubby.

Dax loved playing with all of the tubes and having us stack 10 or so on top of him.

Camp Timpanookee

We went to the annual Anderson Family Campout. This is a picture of most of the people who made it up. The campground is on the backside of Mt. Timpanogos and it is beautiful!!

We went on a hike to Scout Falls and it was amazing.

Dax hiked the whole way and still had energy to be silly for the picture.

Daxton's 4th birthday

Dax turned 4 last friday and so I thought I would post some pictures of his birthday day. We did not do an all out party for him, but we did get to go to miniature golfing at cherry hill, to Chuck e Cheeses for lunch and games, then we had a little party with my side of the family on Saturday in my mom's garage because it was pouring rain. It is so hard to believe that Dax is 4 years old. He is such a joy to have in our lives. He told Aaron the other day "You are my best friend Dad". So sweet!!

Dax and his cousins, thanks to Aaron, they are all laughing.

This is Dax's smile if you tell him to smile. It looks painful, don't you think.

This is his real smile, which is so cute.

Fun at Chuck e Cheese's

Dax insisted on a Batman birthday cake, so I gave in.