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Dale's second hair cut! Dale has surprised us with his hair from the day he was born. Brighton and Adaira were both completely bald for nearly the first 18 months of their lives (around 18 months it would finally start growing out longer than just the baby fine peach fuzz). Here is Dale pre-haircut (umm....this picture was also taken to document what he did to himself after waking up from his nap and waiting for someone to come get him. He was put to bed with his shirt on correctly and his overalls completely on and buttoned...) and by the way, the shoe he is holding has soles made out of that foam plastic stuff, and Dale likes to take them off in the car and EAT them, so the front tips of both of them are gnawed off... Earlier in the day before his haircut: Later that evening after we tortured him with the clippers: Dale just got over his ear infection and then the whole house became sick again, hence his red eyes below... Oh yeah, just further documentation of the fact

Valentines Celebrations Just a quick post about Valentine's Day. We sort of celebrated early on the Saturday prior (after going to Rawhide) since our stake was having a Valentine's dance. It called for "formal or Sunday attire" so we opted to dress up a little. Good thing we made some friends in our old ward before it split, because nobody from our ward even went! LAME. We got to visit with old friends, though, and dance to a few dances. At least we went out to eat beforehand... Brighton wanted to snap a picture of us before we left (he was funny, acting like a parent when they send their kid on a date) and then he told us to have fun. As for my Valentine from Justin, let me just start by saying that Justin is so amazing and thoughtful. I honestly don't know where he thinks up these things, and he really sacrifices to find time to make them and takes great measures to keep me from finding out. He's woken up at insane hours and lost sleep making them. I

Head em up move em up   Move em on  head em up   Rawhide !  Rawhide is an outdoor cowboy western town theme park of sorts in West Chandler. I had heard of it though never been, but we got a flier about the 40th anniversary of Rawhide and they had free admission and free attractions, so we decided to go! Turns out everyone else did too.... It was super busy, but the kids did get free hats and bandanas,   we got to see someone get arrested and put in jail (for $10 you can have the sheriff arrest someone for you and take 'em to jail),   saw a loud drunk man (above, obviously) storming through every so often, Justin commented several times how that would be the best job to have EVER except he could never do it since he just could never compete with that dude's belly. We waited in line for about 45 minutes to ride the train (they had other rides as well but with the lines we just had to pick one and call it good).  Even though it's only February, it was getting prett

  WOW.... So a few nights ago Justin and I decided to sit down with Brighton and have "the talk" with him. Not so much because we really wanted to, but because Brighton has been asking questions, very specific questions, relentlessly for the past year. We had decided that when each of our kids turned 8 years old, we would have the SEX talk with them and tell them everything about it. But Brighton is still 6! I really didn't want to go there yet, he's not supposed to care about any of that!! Unfortunately for me,  Brighton has been asking questions since Dale was born: "How does the doctor get the baby out? Does he cut a hole in your tummy?" No Brighton, the baby comes out of the Mommies private parts area. "What does it look like?" I looked up an illustration of the female anatomy to show Brighton what the "place" looks like where the baby comes out. "Why do boys have their privates on the outside, but girls have them on the inside

When I mention Dale's signature evil grin when he knows he's doing something wrong, this is what I'm talking about: Watch out! Here comes trouble! I know some of you probably wonder, why doesn't she just buckle that kid in? I would if I could, but I cut the lap belts off with my older kids because I never had a problem with them and the belts were always getting in the way. I regret it now!

I got my tree ! I learned from a coworker that a man is judged by the tech (TV, Computer network etc.) in his home. While he was being partially facetious, I know that tech isn't high on my priority list. In fact it is probably higher on Audra's list than it is on mine. What is on my list? The Silk Floss Tree! While on my mission in Argentina (1998-2000) I fell in love with this tree. It is called Palo Borracho or "Drunk Stick or Tree". I think the drunk part comes from a bulging trunk that on many trees looks like a fat belly. While attending ASU (2002-2003) I saw a Silk Floss Tree on campus. I even saved seeds to try to grow my own. I knew I wanted one in my yard someday. I have known for over a year that Bakers Nurseries in Phoenix sells this tree. Yesterday I finally purchased it. See this trunk beginning to bulge? Older trees (I couldn't find a good picture online, look really unique). This tree is not good for climbing due to the nasty fat thorns. Un

  Hiking, Surviving, and the Zoo (again...) Last Saturday we decided to take the kids on a hike. We opted to go to the smaller mountains in the Papago area since it was right next to the zoo and we could hit the zoo for a bit after our hike. We arrived around 10am and put Dale in his beloved backpack and were on our way. There is one mountain nearby that has an amphitheater on the backside that Justin wanted to show the kids, so we headed that way. It was probably about a mile from where we parked, but mostly just trail walking up and down through various washes. " Look Dad! That rock looks like T-Rex! See the head? "  Do you see it? Adaira is such a Daddy's girl. This picture says it all... As much as I dislike this angle of me in pictures, I have to throw myself in there sometimes to document that I attended as well... Letting Dale out at the amphitheater so we could stretch his legs and have some snacks Adaira is always up for a pose lately. You tell them you