What a Man!

This post is dedicated to my main squeeze and was inspired by two things: 1) My cousin, Natalie's, post about her 8th anniversary where she listed things she loves about her husband. Danny and I celebrated our 4th anniversay back in December and I pretty much glossed over it on our blog. It was mentioned, but that was back in the day when blogging was a chore and I only posted once a month. 2) Father's Day, naturally.

I've decided to write about some of Danny's qualities that I consider to be perks or bonuses. When I was single, there were certain things I knew I wouldn't forego when thinking about the person I'd marry. I knew he'd be ambitious, attractive, an RM, a good prospective father, a worthy priesthood holder, the usual stuff - all of which Danny is. However, in the four and a half years we've been married, there have emerged other qualities that are equally important, but that I'd never considered. That's why I call them bonuses.

1) Danny is not a picky eater. In fact there are very few things he won't eat, something which I am always appreciative of. Who in their right mind would want to spend the time cooking dinner only to have her husband gripe about it? Not me!

2) Danny doesn't complain about my lack of organizational skills. I'm really not all that bad, but in comparison to the home he grew up in, there is room for imrovement. His mother is the most organized person I know and I'm far from that, so I know it must be frustrating at times for Danny. Not once have I ever heard him complain or make that comparison, though.

3) Danny is so even tempered. He rarely gets upset, and if he does, you'd hardly know it. He is so forgiving and so quick to say "I'm sorry". I have to admit that he's much better at these than I am.

4) They say when you marry someone, you marry the family as well. Lucky for me, Danny came with one of the best in the world. The Dixons are phenomenal people and I feel blessed to be considered part of their family. It's to his parents' credit he's the wonderful husband and father that he is.

5) Danny's not afraid to get down and dirty doing housework. He washes the dishes every night, literally. The only exceptions come when I ask to do them so I can have a little break from the kids. He does any other chores as needed without complaining - folding laundry, cleaning the shower, dusting, whatever. For the first three years of our marriage, he by far used the vacuum more than I did. He's always looking for ways to make my load a little lighter.

6) Danny is puctual, even early, in everything he does - a great quality to have. I'm quite the opposite and he's never complained when I make him late. His punctuality has even rubbed off on me and we're not late very often anymore.

7) Danny is totally understanding when he comes home and I'm tired and grouchy after a long or difficult day here at home. He doesn't ask why dinner isn't ready yet or why the house is a mess when it's been one of those days.

8) Danny is a home-body. He likes being at home more than any place else. And he likes being with me as much as I like being with him. He doesn't spend long hours at work when he doesn't have to. As a student, he went to school very early so he could be home at an earlier hour. He almost always got his school work done during the week so he wouldn't have to be gone studying on Saturdays.

There's a lot more I could mention. These are just a few of the things about Danny that make him so dang easy to be married to. I'm one lucky girl. I love you, Baby! Happy Father's Day!

Snip, Snip, Snip!

We gave Dallin Boy his very first haircut last Saturday, which was long overdue! I took advantage of having my mom around to coach me since I'm completely inexperienced in this area. Dallin did great and hardly noticed what was happening. He just moved his little head a lot, which made it tricky. Later that evening my brother, Brian, showed me how to cut Danny's hair. Mom Dixon has been kind enough to do it up until now, but since we've moved we have to look at other options. Danny and I think it's obscene to pay $15 to get his hair cut, so we thought I could give it a try. I feel it's a great thing for me to learn how to do, but it was pretty stressful for me and a lot of pressure. Danny, of course, was a good sport during the whole thing, especially since it took FOREVER. Seriously, we're going to have to block out a two-hour window next time! In the end, both he and Brian said I did a good job, but we'll see how it goes next time when I'm on my own. I'm kind of dreading it, honestly!

Before & After

More Family Fun

This weekend we had our second round of visitors, this time from my side. My brother and his wife (Brian and Heidi), my mom, and my niece (a different brother's daughter, Amanda) came Friday morning and stayed till Sunday evening. We had a full house and we loved it! We had a great time celebrating Heidi's birthday, eating in and out, yard sale-ing, swimming, miniature golfing, getting hair-cutting lessons, and playing games. Thanks for coming guys! We hope you had as much fun as we did!

I Love Saturdays!

That's because Saturdays mean that Daddy is home with us and I love it. We headed over to the community water park to have some fun in the sun. On the way to the pool, we stopped by the "train depot" so the kids could ride the train and they thought it was the coolest.

The kids and I had already been to the water park twice during the week, but it was so much better with Danny along. Among other things, I could take advantage of the extra set of hands and finally get some pictures of us there. Dallin seems to have more fun and is definitely more adventurous than Emily. She's content to just to hang out on the side and not get very wet. This time, though, with Daddy to take her in, she got in a little and even went down the slide with him. Saturdays are the best!

Happy Decoration Day

I guess that's what Memorial Day used to be called according to Dad Dixon, who's always full of random facts. We had a really great Memorial Day because we had VISITORS. It's still weird to have people come visit us and that we're "out of town" now. Our first visitors were Danny's family: his parents, his sister Stacy, and his brother, Ben. Actually, Stacy came the Friday prior to give us some reprieve after such a doozy of a week. So bless her heart for spending the entire weekend with us allowing catch up a little on the sleep I'd missed all week! The rest of the fam arrived Monday morning. They brought some fixings for a delicious Memorial Day lunch: fried chicken (a Dixon tradition for Mem. Day) with a whole bunch of yummy sides. Mom Dixon even brought her to-die-for home made caramel corn (also a Dixon tradition for Mem. Day) that we munched on all day . After lunch while the kids napped, some of us played a game, some watched a movie, and some napped. I tried a new recipe (chalupa) for dinner and that evening we went to our little park to fly our new kite. The weather was perfect with a nice breeze to keep the kite up. It was the first time Emily and Dallin had flown a kite and they liked it. They liked swinging on the swings most, though. The Dixons drove back to Mesa when the kids went to bed and it was a great day. We loved having family to visit and can't wait for times when we get to see everyone again.

Life after Maui

I couldn't decide what to title this post. Several would have been fitting: "The Week from You-Know-Where", "Enough Vomit to Last a Lifetime", "Emily, the Puke Machine", "The Longest Week of my Life", "Being a Homemaker Bites Sometimes", or "Amy, the Human Barf Bag".

So, we got back from Hawaii on the 17th, said our good-byes, and made our FINAL MOVE to our new home that very day. We live in Sahaurita, a little town 15 minutes south of Tucson. I compare it to how Queen Creek (for all you Arizonans) used to be. A little town outside of civilization where there's not too much around by way of shopping, restaurants, post offices, or pretty much anything.

My first day of real life (Danny gone to work and just the kids and I at home) began normally. Emily actually slept till 8:00, which was sweet. But at 8:30 after she'd had some milk and strawberries, she threw it all up. This was the first time she'd thrown up in her life. She didn't stop thowing up (day or night) for 2.5 days until we ended up in the E.R. on Wednesday at about 5:30p.m. She threw up on just about everything that first day - booster seat, couch, pillow, carpet, carseat, bed, me, especially Dallin's stuffed animals. Lots of changes of clothes for both of us and lots of cleaning and lots of laundry. I finally got smart and would just sit by her or lay in bed with her holding a big barf bowl. To top it off, Dallin had a blow-out that first day and it got all over me. A big chunk fell off my shirt onto my foot right between my toes where my flip flop was. Just the icing on the cake. It was awesome.

Poor Emily. She did a great job and hardly complained, except for being thirsty all the time and being tired (we'd gotten little sleep for a couple nights in a row). Since she was just lying on the couch all day, I put in her favorite movie: Cinderella, the only kid's movie we own (our kids don't watch very much T.V. at all - until last week). Can I tell you how sick of that movie I am? Those songs are still running through my head! But anything to make her happy in her misery. By the time we got to the E.R. on Wednesday Ems was so weak and gaunt, she looked awful. And I was seeing specks of blood in her vomit from her esophagus. That's what made me decide not to try and wait this thing out any longer. We didn't have TV or internet yet, I don't know a single person or any neighbors, I didn't know any roads or how to get anywhere, I didn't know where anything was - including a doctor's office, an urgent care clinic, or a hospital. It was a horrible feeling.

Once Danny got a computer at work, he could look some of that stuff up. We went into Tucson to an urgent care clinic first, but they said we should just go to the hospital because she'd need an I.V. and because of the blood, both of which they couldn't help us with. We were tipped off (a tender mercy) by a fellow urgent care patient to go to Tucson Medical Center instead of a closer hospital because it was better for kids. Inspite of the long drive further into Tucson, we were so glad we went. They had a pediatric E.R. and we got right in. They did a great job with Emily and even put on yes, you guessed it, Cinderella just for her. She got two different I.V. solutions and got rehydrated enough not to have to get admitted. She was very brave through it all. They told us she had some virus and that it's going around. We were there for six hours and got home at about 12:30a.m. She slept all night without throwing up and was mostly back to herself the next day. Needless to say, it was quite the ordeal. I wish I would've had my camera while we were there, not to exploit Emily in her low moment, but just to document the event. Her in the hospital bed, her arm all wrapped up with the I.V. in it, etc. I don't have any pictures, but that's okay. We're just so glad it's all over, that it was nothing life-threatening, that she's all better, and that Dallin didn't get it.

Random/Funny Memories from our Trip

Generic Cheerios, whole milk, and strawberries - our staple breakfast we ate every morming as not to spend a fortune on eating out for yet another meal. Generic brand was only $5 versus $7. Whole milk was $4 versus $7 for regular. Danny stole a bunch of sugar packets from the luau to give them less of a cardboard flavor. Every day for lunch we ate a turkey and cheese sandwich, Doritos, and shared an apple. Again, to save a little dough.

A toad we saw every evening by the stairs of our condo. We affectionately named him Mr. Toad.

Where I barfed after getting carsick on the drive from the airport the first day.

The grocery store we stopped at I think every day to pick up something or other. For some reason, whenever we walked into this store Danny had to use the bathroom - without fail.

Other funny things: (1)The weird guy who sat next to us on the plane whose medication made him looked totally wasted and made him have to use the bathroom every hour. Oh, and he had the window seat. (2)Our rental car would beep at me if I didn't put on my seatbelt after 2 seconds. (3)We were asked a million times if we were on our honeymoon. (4)I got carsick almost every time we drove a certain part of the highway. I don't get carsick so I don't know what the deal was. (5)How a pack of gum cost $50. No, not really. But everything truly is astronomically expensive in Hawaii. It was hard to stomach forking over so much for just regular stuff. (6)Being in the water would make Danny need to use the bathroom and he would have to go all the time no matter how soon he'd just gone. (7)I got the hugest sun blister/cold sore on my bottom lip from too much sun on our ocean raft excursion. Seriously it was the size of an almond. It's my second time getting this same cold sore (the very same spot on my lip and the very same size). The first time I got it was on our honeymoon. It was awesome.