We are really enjoying spring. This morning the boys and I, sat out on the back patio and watched the hummingbirds fight. I never knew that bird watching could be so fun, but we have some really aggressive hummingbirds. They are constantly dive bombing each other and running into the windows.

The two colts in our neighbors pasture were really going at each other as well, biting and bucking, and I said, "look those two horses can't leave each other alone." Dylan said, "they must be brothers," and Dawson and I both agreed.

When Emma woke up, I gave her some breakfast, and she still is refusing to use her hands to eat. She will hold the utensils, but prefers to just stick her face in her bowl, and try to suck up her food. Hopefully she will grow out of this, but until she does, I think our trips to the zoo are on hold.

I have tried to let the boys' have some independence with their clothing choices, but I may have to rethink that after Dawson came out this morning dressed in his "Squirrels Gone Wild" t-shirt, camouflage cut-offs, and moon boots. Although, that passes for formal wear in Oakley, one day, I have hopes for my children to move on to bigger and better things.

We sold our house and plan to start building another one in a few weeks. This is what our property looks like now. I am so excited not to have neighbors, and to be able to have a little farm. The boys are so excited to get a dog, and have thoroughly enjoyed being able to pee outside every time we go to the lot.

Tonight was the first t-ball game of the season. T- ball is so stinking funny to watch. Dawson and Dylan are on the same team this year and Dave got suckered into coaching. I think he secretly loves it though. He is really good with the kids, and has emphasized having fun and just learning the game. I think he will be successful, if the kids' learn to run to first base. The game was hilarious and none of the kids' have any idea of what to do after they hit the ball. Dylan ran out into the field and zigzagged around the other kids, smacking them when he passed, but never actually touched any bases. Dawson spent most of his time on base socializing, and ran with both hands in his pockets the whole time. It was really fun to watch. Dawson was telling people, "Good Hit!" and Dylan heckled all the batters. They both had a great time and can't wait for their next game.

Holy crap. My kid is a genius. Today I took Dawson to the elementary school for his pre-Kindergarten assessment. When we got there, one of the Kindergarten teachers sat us down and asked Dawson if he knew how to spell his name. Dawson took the pencil from her and asked her which hand she would like him to use. He is dominantly left handed, but does equally well with his right. To make a long story short, he got 100% on the assessment and 100% on an advanced assessment, which apparently is unheard of. They asked us if we would be interested in some kind of class that he would take, and then skip 1st grade next year, but I declined. I still need time for his college fund to grow. Holla!

Ah, graduation season. Dyl graduated from his first year of preschool today. Jeff and Mall, and Hannah came to the graduation, and Dylan was so excited. He really got into the chicken dance and had some killer dance moves. We were all laughing so hard at how cute the kids looked, especially my little guy. It was a great program, and Dylan was just beaming. I was very proud.

Dawson has officially graduated from preschool! He loved going to school, and is really looking forward to Kindergarten. On the way home from his graduation, he said "I already miss preschool." My favorite part of graduation was when all the kids' said what they wanted to be when they grew up. Dawson wanted to be a rodeo driver, (thanks Taylee). But the best was when Colby, Dawson's best buddy, said he wanted to be a policeman. It was very ironic, since Colby's dad was arrested during preschool pick up this year. It was a good graduation.

Dawson's Christmas came early this year, when he was able to go to Taylee's house to ride horses. Taylee is his friend from preschool and he plans on marrying her. They had a great time riding horses and playing "King and Queen" in the hay barn, whatever that means. I have to laugh when Dawson talks about Taylee, because he is so openly in love.

This morning we were struggling to get out the house on time. Dawson was supposed to go to school dressed as the occupation he is aspiring to be. I was at a loss on what Monster Truck Drivers' wore, so then he decided to be a cowboy. He went as cowboy as we get, Levis, a t-shirt, a rope, and flip flops. When we got in the car, he told me that he chose a cowboy, because he wanted to spend a lot of time with his family, and they only work on the Fourth of July. I hated to tell him that they work a lot more, it's just his mother can only stand to sit through one rodeo a year.
Dylan had school pictures this morning so it was an all out war trying to get him dressed. Usually I don't care what he wears, I am just glad he is able to dress himself, but for pictures I wanted Dyl to look nice. He absolutely hates wearing jeans, but I forced him into a pair. Unfortunately, he had not worn them in so long, every pair he owns, is 2 inches short. We pulled it off though, he looked very metro in his capris, and button down shirt.

We spent the rest of the afternoon, playing in the back yard. The boys are getting pretty dang good on their skateboards. Dylan especially surprises me because he is almost the same size as Dawson, and I sometimes forget he is only 3.

Mutha's Day

My mother's day mostly sucked. I was accidentally put on the schedule for work, so I had to work most of the day. My first patient was a jackass and I spent a good portion of the morning wrapped up in the trauma bay curtains, crying and feeling sorry for myself. My morning had started out so well too. As I was leaving the house at 5:45 am, I noticed the accent lighting in the kitchen on, and smelled something delicious. Dave had made me orange rolls through the night. I never even heard him get up, but apparently he kept setting the alarm so he could get up and raise the dough and bake the rolls. They were freaking delicious, and he over frosted them, just like I like them. I have no words to describe the love I have for that man.

When I got home from work, I arrived to a smorgasbord of gifts and treats. The boys' were so excited to show me the cards and gifts they had made. Dawson even made me a piece of cinnamon toast cut in the shape of a heart. It was delicious.

I never had the burning desire to have children. I didn't babysit growing up, I didn't coo at infants, (I still don't coo) and they just seemed so irritating and sticky. When Dave and I got married, we were told we would have an uphill battle even conceiving. That pissed me off and made me want children more than anything. In retrospect, it was more the fact that I could not get pregnant, than the actual desire to have a little bundle of screaming joy. We had a rough couple of years filled with Dr. appointments, drugs, excitement and extreme disappointment. I remember driving home with Dave after spending a particularly hard day in Provo, where everyone is pregnant, and having the "I'm done" talk. We were about to move into the first house that we built together, and I remember saying, "Let's just have dogs, and travel."

A few weeks later I was huddled in the employee bathroom at work, with a pilfered pregnancy test, trying to figure out what the hell two lines meant. I drew my own blood and sent it for a stat confirmation. Dave and I were watching t.v. on the couch, when the lab finally called about 10:00 that night. When I hung up the phone, I told Dave, and we just kind of stared at each other. It was so surreal.

Since that night, we have had a lot of ups and downs. I now have two handsome boys, I lost a daughter, and have a beautiful baby girl, and nothing will ever been as important to me, as being the best mother I can be. Everyday is a struggle for me, because I have a laundry list of faults to overcome, and a lot of growing up to do myself. But I never could have imagined the love I would have for my family, and that is worth any amount of work I have to do.

I think Emma was impressed at the zoo yesterday. She has refused to use silverware, or even her fingers since watching the animals eat. It doesn't help to have the boys' laughing and encouraging her, because now she thinks it is funny.

Dylan was very excited to come home from school and show me the present he made for Mother's Day. All the way home, he kept saying how it was a surprise and his teacher said he couldn't give it to me until Sunday. When we laid down for our naps, he had the present hidden under his blanket and asked me if he could just show it to me. I said, that I would love to see it and it was a cute little hand print poem. After a few minutes, he made me promise not to tell Dave and Miss Teri, that he had shown it to me early, and made me swear that I would act surprised on Sunday.

Dyl is also really enjoying the Luchidor wrestling masks we bought in Mexico. That kid loves his 'Nacho Libre.'

This morning we headed to the zoo with Dawson's preschool class. It was gorgeous weather, and had a slow walk through the zoo. Being a season pass holder, my kids' are pros at navigating the zoo. First thing in the morning, we haul balls to the far side of the zoo and make our way back, which helps to avoid the crowd. But for Dawson's field trip, we started at the front of the zoo with the other 4 million kids on field trips. I did get to formally meet Colby's parents though, which was nice. It was way less awkward than the last time, when Colby's dad was thrown up on the hood of his car and cuffed by the fuzz. I exchanged phone numbers and police brutality stories with them, and I think it has the makings of a beautiful friendship. Anyway, it was slow going, and Emma was pissed off that she had to be strapped in her stroller. When I finally let her out at the reptile building, she was so excited she couldn't even walk straight. She was running around, and ran smack into the porcupine cage, it damn near knocked her unconscious. She was alright though, she still had enough energy to lock her body into the 2x4 position, making it impossible to buckle her back into the stroller.

My boys' like the reptile house the very best at the zoo, but all those live snakes paled in comparison when we saw a dead one in the road tonight. We went down to our property to drop off some fencing material and there was a huge (8ish inches) water snake lying in the road. It was disgusting, but the kids loved it. I would never have bought that piece of land if I had known snakes would be anywhere near it. We are getting closer to selling our house. The couple is coming to walk through it again tomorrow. Cross your fingers.

Happy Cinco De Mayo. Pretty much my favorite holiday, considering my Mexican food addiction. We went to the skate park this morning and spent a few hours. The boys love riding their little bikes all over and do remarkably well with the bowls and the stairs. Dawson is getting closer to earning a new bike, and he really needs one. I am amazed at how well he maneuvers his current bike, even with his knees hitting the handle bars. The weather was beautiful, and Emma was content to climb around on the concrete and slide down on her bum. We only have 3 more weeks to enjoy the skate park, because when school lets out, it gets pretty busy with the bigger kids. The boys' rode their bikes for a couple of hours and then we went home and had a glorious nap.
We went to Don's for nachos and margaritas tonight in honor of the holiday, and since I haven't been for like, 10 days. Even in Mexico, we didn't find any better salsa than Senor Pedro makes. It was a good night and to top it all off, we might have a buyer for our house. I won't say any more in case I jinx us.

Mexico was a freaking blast. I came back totally refreshed and ready to fight again. We went hiking, rock climbing, repelling, and did some zip lining in Cabo San Lucas, which was really fun despite the fact that I brought two left shoes and had to wear them the whole time. We shopped and golfed in Mazatlan, and went scuba diving in Puerta Vallarta. We got sunburned and ate a crapload of great food, 7 pounds to be exact, but it was worth it. Dave and I really made a name for ourselves on the boat. The second night we did some karaoke, I performed 'Baby Got Back', with Dave doing the intro.. "Oh my gosh Becky, look at her butt......." for me. It was pretty awesome for the 10 or so people who weren't a hundred years old. Everyone else was just confused or offended. The next night, we were picked out of the audience to be a couple for the newlywed game. We were picked as the "middle aged" couple, since we have been married for 10 years. We pretty much humiliated ourselves with our different answers to " Where is the craziest place you have made whoopee?" Especially in comparison to the Newlywed couple, ( their answer.. a king size bed), and the old married couple, ( their answer....Australia.) We pretty much seemed like porn stars compared to them. After that show, there were a lot of hushed conversations and pointed fingers as we went around the ship. Whatever.....jealous.