The Kids

Cute Dallin on St. Patty's Day. They say red-heads look good in green. I have to concur!

What's in the cup? Is it lemon juice? Bitter beer? Nope. Just plain, old, watered-down apple juice. Needless to say, Dallin's not a fan.

We went to AZ Mills mall with Grandma the other night while Danny was at a school function till late. This is Dallins first carousel ride.

We just bought Danny a bike for $25 at a garage sale so we could also buy a bike carriage for the kids (one of Danny's birthday presents). The both freaked out the first time riding in it. Now they like it, luckily.


Emily loves dressing up. This is Aunt Stacy's play jewelry and Emily insists on wearing every necklace and ring, carrying every purse, and strutting around vain as a peacock.

Emily and cousin Brooklynn cruising the town for dudes in their pink Barbie Cadillac.

With Grandma at AZ Mills mall.

Emily's dress that she didn't get to wear on Easter since she was sick.

Happy Birthday, Danny!

We celebrated Danny's 28th birthday yesterday, the 30th. This year turned out to be the birthday that just kept on giving. He and I went out to Pei Wei for dinner on Saturday. On Sunday morning he opened presents here at home. Then after church we went over to his parents' house for a delicious birthday dinner, cake, and more presents. Tonight, we had cake and ice cream and more presents here with my side of the family. How awesome is that - having a three-day birthday?

Going once, going twice, SOLD!!!

That's right. Our house sold about two and a half weeks ago. A true, mondern-day miracle!! The average number of days on the market for houses in our neighborhood is over 100. Ours was on the market for 30. We even got it for just under asking price, which means we made money on it - an anomaly in today's maket. At this point, it appears that it will all go through and we'll move out the end of April. We feel extremely blessed and have no doubt that this is one of the Lord's tender mercies in our behalf.





With the selling of our house came the first item of business: hot tub removal, by order of the buyer (it's been broken for years). Unfortunately, this blog post doesn't even come close to relating how utterly amusing or dangerous this whole process was, but hopefully it gets the general idea across. So we put an ad on Craig's List last Friday ("free hot tub; if you can move it, you can have it"). Within minutes we had calls coming in. It was arranged that Saturday some guys would come get it. They ended up being two (that's all the man power they showed up with) LDS YSA's who thought they were pretty hot stuff and could take care of the job in no time. They sorely underestimated the job, to say the least. They brought a dinky, little dolly - one that would be used to haul soda cases or something. They were smart enough to somehow arrange bringing a forklift, though it was too small for the job as well. They couldn't even get it into the back yard because it got stuck in our neighbor's soft dirt in the front yard - and that was after they broke part of that same neighbor's curb by attempting to drive the forklift up it. Soon enough, Danny and his friend/former coworker Harold Stradling (also a tender mercy of the Lord) got roped into this whole process too. They tried getting it onto the dolly to get it to the front yard, but it couldn't get over the bricks surrounding our grass. Once they realized that, they decided to ditch the dolly momentarily and roll the hot tub itself. Yes, roll a square hot tub. It took a couple of rolls to get past the grass and bricks. Then they somehow managed to get it back on the dolly and through our side gate (with only inches to spare on either side). They could only go so far on the dolly and had to again resort to rolling the hot tub to make it to the sidewalk, where they laid it to rest mostly in our neighbor's yard. The next task was to load it onto the forklift. But not so fast. The hot tub was far too big for the short little arms of the forklift; it would've toppled right off or gotten it's underside punctured under its own weight. So they strapped it on with one measly harness and began lifting it into the air. At this point I had to go inside, not wanting to see the strap break and the hot tub fall. I fully expected to hear a big crash and go out to take pictures of it in a shattered heap in the middle of the road. To everyone's surprise, the strap held and they got it to the truck only to find that the hot tub was slightly too wide for the truck's bed. So they had to lift it even higher. I don't know how, but they finally got it into the truck and ready to be hauled away. Then they went back to the back yard to get the gazebo, which shortly fell apart on them as they were trying to get it out. They ended up disassembling the rest of it, planning on reassembling it later on. "They'll never figure that out!", is what I was thinking! Oh, and the best part was that I overheard them as they were working on the gazebo say, "Dude, where are we going to put it, that hot tub?" I couldn't believe my ears! After all that, they had no idea what to do with it. Truly, some very bright young men. When all was said and done, it was about a four hour ordeal with several miracles occuring: 1) nobody got stung by scorpions or bitten by black widows, both of which were seen in or around the hot tub during the process; 2) nobody got injured or killed, both of which were very likely; 3) our house wasn't damaged in anyway - there were a couple of close calls; 4) they actually got the hot tub out in one piece - we're wondering how they did once they got it to Casa Grande; and 5) our neigbors weren't completely ticked-off at us for ruining their curb or jacking up their front yard.

Happy Easter!

Our Easter festivities began the Monday before when we dyed eggs for FHE. It also happened to be St. Patrick's Day and it was strange having these two holidays coincide this year.

We did most of our celebrating on Saturday (on Sunday morning we had a little Easter lesson about the Savior). The night before Danny and I laid out around the front room eggs, candy, and a little ducky for the kids to collect in their baskets. Since Dallin doesn't eat candy, he got to collect Teddy Grahams and Fishy Crackers. Everything was strategically placed: Dallin's eggs and goodies were down low and Emily's were higher. Emily mostly abided by the rules and did a good job "helping" Dallin collect his eggs. Unfortunately, Emily had gotten sick with a fever and a bad cold the day before, but still enjoyed herself in spite of it.

In the afternoon, we went over to Grandma and Grandpa Dixon's house for more sugar and Easter fun. They hid eggs, a cookie, a basket, a present, and a stuffed animal for the kids all over the backyard; in the grass, in bushes, in trees, and in the garden. Emily and Dallin both had a great time celebrating Easter with their grandparents and Aunt Stacy.

Danny, the Gourmet Chef?

Practically! And who knew? He's made dinner before, but never anything so intricate or fancy. It all started a few weeks ago when I made monthly meal calendar for March. I don't mind cooking dinner at all; it's the thinking of what to cook that I struggle with. So I made a meal calendar for the whole month, with the exception of Saturdays and Sundays. Danny kindly volunteered to do the cooking on a couple of the Saturdays and had the idea to try making shish-kebabs. He researched several recipes and decided on lemon herb chicken. He chose for the vegetables red peppers, onions, and zucchini. He also threw on some pineapple. He planned for the sides a rice pilaf and (my favorite of the whole meal) grilled asparragus. He had this all planned out for about a week and we looked forward to it very much. We certainly weren't disappointed in the least. It all turned out to be very beautiful and even more delicious. Besides that, he looked awfully cute working in the kitchen! Well done, Honey!

Chopping veggies.

The goods: asparragus, zucchini, red pepper, onion, pineapple, marinating meat. Mmmmm.

Loading the skewers.

He's a barbecue connoisseur!

It all looks so pretty!

The finished product. Isn't the presentation lovely?

Bon Apetite!

2 Visits to the Temple

I decided to take the kids to the temple grounds since the weather has been so pleasant lately. Besides that, they've only been to our temple at night to see the Christmas lights. I wanted them to see it, but I especially hoped they would feel the spirit of the temple. During the drive there, we purposely didn't listen to any of Emily's favorite children's songs and we discussed many things about the temple. I told her about the importance of white clothing in the temple, about how people can be sealed there for eternity, and how it's the Lord's house, etc. I told her how Daddy and I were sealed there when we got married and, because of that, we can be a family forever, even after we die. I told her that Daddy and I want us all to be together after we die because we love each of our family members very much. Her only comment: something about how much she and Lammy love each other too. Nice! And once we finally arrived at the temple, all they were interested in were the guys on the riding lawn mowers. Oh well. I tried. As can be seen from the picture, they're thrilled to be there.




Soon after that visit, we all went to the visitors' center to see the display of Mark Mabry's photographic depictions of events from the Savior's life. It was very inspiring and, he and the temple display people did a fantastic job. I'm so glad we got to see it before it ends. Dallin seemed to really enjoy it too. Emily wanted to go back outside after about 30 seconds. Good times!

What Makes Us Tick

I was thinking a while ago of documenting some of the things that our children like and dislike because often they are funny, quirky little things. For example, Emily always is telling me that she doesn't like purple whales, but that she does like blue whales. Then I decided it would be fun to share some of the quirky things that Danny and I like and dislike too. I've kept a running list of our likes/dislikes (in no particular order) for the past couple of weeks and can see how a lot of this stuff is part of what makes us tick. So here's a little glimpse into the strange world of the Dixons.

Danny's likes

• Wheat bread• Non-fiction books• Playing with his kids• BYU football• Eating out• Unwinding before bed• Fantasy sports• Sweden/anything Swedish• A good watermelon• Pei Wei• Waking up early• The Fray• Taking long showers• Eating pretzels, Ramen, or popcorn as a pre-bedtime snack every night• Loungewear• Collective Soul• Shaving with a new blade• Books on CD• Serving in the YM• Practicality• Playing games• The Phx. Suns• Soup• Henry Weinhard soda• Poached eggs• Using idioms• Getting things done early• Folding the whites• March Madness

Danny's dislikes

• Mushrooms• Playing softball• Noisy eaters• Raisins• Fluff/extravagance• Dancing• Chunky salsa• Spiders• Being called “buddy” by waiters• Dishes left in the disposal side of the sink• Being in the spotlight• Pineapple• Soggy cereal• A crowded personal space• Shopping• Using lotion• Clueless walkers• Chick-flicks• Anne Hathaway• Oatmeal

Amy's likes

• Her Honey Bunny• Not having to make dinner• George Strait• Going to bed• Bath & Body Works lotion• Her kids’ laughter• Magic Erasers• Home made Mexican food made by real Mexicans• Wet babies• Cold cereal as a pre-bedtime snack• Motherhood• French onion soup• Shopping with her mom and sisters• Date nights• The Phx. Suns• Pillows• Attending the temple• Younger guys (namely, her husband)• Gap Long and Lean jeans• Disinfecting things• Taking naps• Really spicy food• Dance parties• Saturday mornings• Chocolate milk

Amy's dislikes

• Being barefoot• Handling raw meat• Cheese curds• Getting zits at age 28• Pets• Having sick kids• Over-ripe bananas• Waking up early/to an alarm• Germs• Poorly folded linens• Bugs• Back hair• Her ever-increasing number of gray hairs• Semi-sweet chocolate chips• Exercising• Grocery shopping• Underwire• Mustaches, goatees, and beards• Un-rinsed dishes• When Danny goes out of town• Cheesy musicals• Cleaning out Emily’s little potty after a BM

Emily's likes

• Balloons• Lammy• Books• Raisin bran• Coloring• Singing• Blue whales• Riding her trike• “The Farmer in the Dell”• Shadow, the neighbor’s cat• Afternoon snacks• Her grandmas• “I Am a Child of God”• Dogs• Anything sweet• Going on morning walks• Stuffed animals• Peanut butter• Dallin’s toys• The park• FHE• Sleepovers at Grandma’s• Helping Mom cook• Dressing up• Home movies of herself• Lollygagging

Emily's dislikes

• Zucchini• Brown footballs• Sharing anyone or anything with Dallin• Male strangers• The blender• Oatmeal• The windshield wipers• Ibexes• Using the potty• Purple whales• The blow dryer• Any deviation from her routine/the norm• Chicken• Having dirty hands• Going to sleep without Lammy

Dallin's likes

• His Mama• Daddy• Emily• Balls • Standing up in the bath• Dropping things• Shadow, the neighbor’s cat• Eating things off the floor• Being mobile• Books• Sucking on his last three fingers• When Mommy gets him out of bed• Sleeping on his tummy• Cheerios• Kisses from Mommy• Imitating others • Crawling under things• Table food• Banging on the wall while in his crib• Dancing whenever he hears music• Ceiling fans• Pulling the books off the bookshelf• Watching other kids

Dallin's dislikes

• People rummaging in his mouth to extract something inedible• Getting his face wiped• Juice• Having his mobility restrained• Not being held by Mommy when she’s in sight