The Dixons

Smiley Riley

2012-01-27T18:32:00.004-07:00

We have been rhyming a lot at our house. Jasher is obsessed with it and usual rhymes at least one word each sentence. I am officially "Mom bomb," while Grandma was here she was "Grama Bama," and unfortunately for Dave he is now "Fatty Daddy." And now we have...Smiley Riley. (His smile really is so cute but impossible to catch on camera so here is the best we have...)

Precious...

2012-01-27T18:24:00.002-07:00

Riley Quinn

2012-01-01T11:42:00.002-07:00

You Know You Are Spoiled When...

2012-01-01T11:34:00.002-07:00

...your presents on Christmas take up more space than your tree.

...your stocking is taller than you are.

...you cannot stop smiling all of Christmas.

He's Here!

2011-12-23T15:18:00.004-07:00

Riley Quinn Dixon is here! He was born at 10:09 pm on Monday, December 19 weighing 8 lbs 7 oz and 21 inches long. We are so in love with this beautiful little man!

Halloween

2011-11-07T14:34:00.004-07:00

We had a great Halloween. Jasher dressed up like a lion (yes, the same as last year...it still fit) and loved his costume! He loved carving pumpkins and had us light up the pumpkin nearly every night until it rotted. He was so excited to go trick-or-treating. He was asking to go all day, but when it came down to it, he was a little timid. And of course, he loved the candy!

Smile?

2011-11-07T14:24:00.003-07:00

I've wondered why I haven't been able to take any good pictures of Jasher lately. After looking at these, I realized why. This is what happens every time we say "Jasher, smile!"

And, he has had a haircut since then...

All Boy

2011-11-07T14:12:00.005-07:00

Jasher is all boy...usually. We play baseball, football, catch, and frisbee EVERY day. Here he is doing his "touchdown" pose.

But, like every boy, Jasher has his not-as-manly side as well. He still LOVES to cook! Here he is making bread with Mom (I remembered this day why I usually wait until he is asleep to make bread) and making cookies with Dad (even sporting an apron to keep the church clothes clean...it didn't work).

Jasher

2011-10-04T16:16:00.007-06:00

The amazing Amy Dixon has done it again...given us priceless photos of our little man!

Boys

2011-08-25T11:51:00.004-06:00

Baby BOY Dixon #2 is on his way! We are so excited! He should make his arrival in December.

Birthday Boy!

2011-08-24T15:55:00.006-06:00

Jasher is TWO!! We had a celebration before we left Wisconsin with the Taylors and a celebration when we got back to Idaho with the Dixons. And, since we were in Boise on Jasher's actual birthday we had a little celebration in the hotel with a huge cinnamon roll and sparkling cider. Jasher was quite spoiled this year. We are sure glad he is part of our family and are so proud of him!

Boise

2011-08-23T14:31:00.005-06:00

After driving from Wisconsin to Pocatello with no air conditioning, we hopped back in the car the next day to go to Boise where Dave had some work meetings. Jasher and I played all day while Dave sat in meetings. We had a good time. But, we're done with the car for a few months.

SUMMER!!!

2011-08-21T21:06:00.011-06:00

We have had the BEST summer! Dave enjoyed his internship. I loved being home and being able to spend so much time with my family. And Jasher absolutely loved all the attention and fun things there! It's hard to come back to reality after living the dream for a few months. Here's a few photos from the summer.

Wisconsin

2011-07-18T13:22:00.003-06:00

We have been having so much fun in Wisconsin this summer! Jasher loves Grandma, Grandpa, and Shae. He always wants them to be playing with him. He has to give them each a hug and kiss every night before he will go to bed. He also loves playing with his cousins! He follows Zach around and tries to be just like him. We have loved playing baseball, swimming, going to parks, going to the zoo, kayaking, lots of walks, and just being with our family here.

Road Trip

2011-07-17T20:06:00.004-06:00

At the beginning of June, we left Pocatello and drove to River Falls, Wisconsin with a quick stop at Mount Rushmore. We're spending the summer mooching off of Jana's parents while Dave does an internship at the Kinnickinnic River Land Trust. The drive was long, but we're loving the summer here in Wisconsin.

May

2011-07-17T19:48:00.004-06:00

It has been a while since we last posted. We thought these pictures were worth sharing.

MLB Tryouts

2011-05-04T15:24:00.003-06:00

Jasher must be preparing for future baseball tryouts. We have not taught him any of this, but since going to my cousin's little league games, he has LOVED baseball. He uses a pipe for his bat, must wear a hat, uses a glove, and has the funniest stance. He hasn't quite figured out the swing yet, but if the ball hits the bat, he yells, "Hit! Run!" These videos and pictures do not do this justice, but he practices for at least two hours a day and it's quite hilarious. And, his favorite movie is now Sandlot.

Seattle!

2011-04-11T21:23:00.007-06:00

We just had a wonderful, short trip to Seattle! Dave presented at a history conference there about Mormons and the environment. So, Jasher and I tagged along. I have an old roommate there who I absolutely love and convinced another wonderful roommate to come with us, so it was great for me to have someone to do stuff with (and help with Jasher which I was so grateful for...I'm pretty sure I couldn't have done much with just Jasher and me). We took a ferry to an island, saw a seagull attack and eat a crab (our own National Geographic moment), saw starfish, ate fancy ice cream, went to several parks, went swimming, watched PBS kids, walked downtown, went to Pike Place Market, drank bubble tea, walked along the water, ate fish and chips, went to a tulip festival, ate amazing Indian food, saw the boat locks, walked through a beautiful arboretum, saw the gum wall, and enjoyed Seattle.

A quick stop in Salt Lake for a visit to temple square, dinner with Becca, and a sleepover with Jasher's cousins before we caught the plane in the morning.

Ferry ride.

The tulip festival. Although the tulips hadn't really blossomed, the daffodils were pretty.

The boat locks. Jasher has a new obsession with boats! Too bad they are hard to find in the inland state of Idaho.

The gum wall at Pike Place Market.

Jessica and Traci - I love these girls and was so happy they were there to hang out with and help me!

Evolution of the Bathtub

2011-04-05T15:27:00.005-06:00

At 20 months, Jasher is on to his fourth bathtub! His good dad spent a large chunk of his spring break putting a bathtub into our bathroom (with a lot of time and help from some great people who actually knew what they were doing). We are all happy to say goodbye to the Tupperware (yes, we bathed Jasher in a Tupperware for a good six months) and hello to our new tub!

Adventures with Coconut

2011-04-01T15:38:00.006-06:00

One day we cut open this...(Coconut)

After snacking, we made this...(Coconut Milk...ours wasn't quite so white and pretty)

Out of that we made this...
(Delicious curry)

And this...
(Curry #2...not as delicious but prettier)

And most importantly this...
(Coconut Cream Pie...the coconut milk made a huge difference and it was TASTY!)

What didn't turn into this...
(Coconut Milk)

From this...
(Coconut)

Turned into this...
(Coconut Flour)

Which made this...
(Supposed Coconut Cookies...we'll just say I'm not sure the lady on YouTube was right in saying that what I created was "flour". Good flavor, but the cookie was more of a burnt dough. I didn't bring them to my friend with a wheat allergy as I planned. And, I gained a lot of respect for those of you who learn to cook without wheat and enjoy it for one reason or another.)

And this...
(Coconut Breaded Chicken)

I had a great time experimenting with coconut. I had NO IDEA that one coconut could do so many things. It's a good thing I hate wasting food...

Our Helper

2011-03-31T14:41:00.003-06:00

Jasher loves to help - sweeping, vacuuming, cooking, cleaning dishes, mopping, and of course helping the little one we babysit. He loves to give her a bottle, now feed her with a spoon, and even change her diaper. His help is always appreciated...

A True Daddy's Boy

2011-03-31T14:35:00.004-06:00

While I was folding laundry, Jasher insisted on wearing Dave's shorts. It took a few tries, but eventually one leg was in each hole. The shoes were just an added bonus!

And, like his shirt says, Jasher is lucky to have a great dad who adores him, who plays with him everyday after long days at school and work, who is interested in everything he does and says, who teaches him, who helps him, and who loves him. And, Dave is lucky to have a boy who absolutely adores him, who wants to be next to him whenever he is home, who calls his name whenever he his sad/mad/angry/happy/anything really, who tries to do what he does, and who loves him.

First Car

2011-03-03T10:41:00.006-07:00

The other day we made a car with Jasher - complete with wheels, a steering wheel, custom crayon work, a door, a handle, and Jasher's favorite part a keyhole. I was struggling to figure out how to keep the sour cream lids on with packing tape and how to make the steering wheel turn without a brad when Dave came home and said, "I can do it." So, he got out his drill, nuts, and bolts, put Jasher to work on his hammer, and worked his magic. Jasher has been playing with it for three days straight. He always puts the key in the door, opens it with the handle, and then proceeds to get in (or make one of his parents get in until he lets us out).

1 1/2 Years!

2011-03-03T10:38:00.003-07:00

To celebrate Jasher's 1 1/2 year birthday, we went to get some ice cream. Jasher got his very own cup. (He let his mom and dad have a few bites!)

Happy President's Day!

2011-02-22T12:50:00.004-07:00

Dave belongs to Phi Alpha Theta (the history club) here at ISU. They are supposed to do fundraisers in order to help pay their way to conferences to present papers and such. Dave is going to a conference in Seattle in April (Jasher and I are tagging along and I'm so excited), so he enlisted my help to make a cookbook to sell. We put together recipes from all 43 US Presidents with a little blurb about what that President did and a blurb about the President's food preferences. Here's a sneak peak! It was fun to put together and I learned a lot! If you're interested in one, we could probably arrange that!

Who Needs Toys When You Have A Hallway

2011-02-17T11:36:00.002-07:00

Sorry this video is so long!

Chef Jasher

2011-02-16T16:41:00.009-07:00

I know we have mentioned before that Jasher loves cooking. Even from when he was tiny he would watch each step of the process intently. And, of course, he always loves the final product as well! So, now Jasher's love of watching cooking has evolved into participating in cooking. He is a great "helper". The other day he found a potato, a grater, a rolling pin, a beater, and some spoons. He grated, rolled, and beat that potato with lots of gusto. I'm not sure how he knew exactly what to do with each of those utensils, but he did. He scooped some bites with his spoons for himself and of course needed to share his creation with his mom. Even after all that work, it still tasted a lot like raw potato. But, who knows, with a little more practice we could have ourselves a new Iron Chef...secret ingredient, raw potato.

And then there was Valentine's Day! He was a pro at cookie decorating! We had some of Jasher's little friends over to decorate cookies and he was by far the most interested in it.

For our Valentine dessert we had a little fondue pot. Jasher preferred the dunk, lick, dunk again method.

And here he is helping his dad make cookies - Jasher-sized cookies.

Friends

2011-02-16T16:21:00.002-07:00

Jasher loves his stuffed animals (and blanket). They ALL have to sleep with him, and when he wakes up, they ALL wake up and must come out of his crib and play. Jasher calls them each by name, feeds them, gives them drinks, hugs them, and shows them off to anyone that cares. It's actually pretty cute!

The Weather Outside is Still Frightful...But, Jasher is Not

2011-02-16T14:43:00.009-07:00

For whatever reason - perhaps the Goodwill boots purchase, the learning how to throw snowballs, or the being cooped up inside all day everyday - Jasher has accepted winter and once again LOVES to be outside.

Especially with his dad.

Christmas in Wisconsin

2011-01-11T11:29:00.005-07:00

We loved spending two weeks in Wisconsin for Christmas! We relaxed a lot and ate even more!

Sledding. Jasher wasn't a huge fan, but surprisingly loved the snow bank when we got home.

That shirt says "Grandma's Official Cookie Taster." That turned out to be true.

All of Jasher's Taylor cousins minus Cooper who was born just a few days after Christmas so we got to meet the him! Adorable! (Notice the ping pong balls in Jasher's hands...he carried those around the whole vacation!)

We had our own little Christmas before we left. Of course Jasher's favorite present was a set of cars that we got for 75 cents at DI. If only we would have known we could have done Christmas in 75 cents...

2010

2010-12-06T13:35:00.001-07:00

All Wrapped Up Christmas Card

Shop Shutterfly.com for elegant Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

The Weather Outside is Frightful...Literally

2010-11-30T11:22:00.004-07:00

After the big snow storm in Idaho, twenty minutes of preparation to go outside, and lots of excitement and anticipation of great snow play, this was the Jasher's reaction to playing in the snow...

He hated it! Maybe next time...

Our Little Lion

2010-11-01T13:56:00.004-06:00

Career Exploration

2010-10-25T15:49:00.010-06:00

At age one, Jasher is already starting the process of exploring careers he might be interested in! Impressive! He and Dave are having a race to see who can decide what he wants to do when he grows up first. My vote is with Jasher. Here are a few of his options -

CHEF

Perhaps the most likely career for Jasher. He spends probably five nights a week in his backpack watching the entire cooking process of dinner over his parent's shoulder. He is absolutely fascinated by it. And, of course loves the end result.

SCHOLAR

Jasher loves books! But, of course he has to empty the whole shelf before he picks the one he wants. He's also becoming quite the artist with his new fascination with pens. Perhaps we have an aspiring author/illustrator.

SECRET SPY

Jasher loves hiding. But, I will admit he may be a bit to quick to expose himself to make it as a spy.

ATHLETEJasher still loves all kinds of balls! Throwing is perhaps is favorite past time. He is also quite the bowler scoring a strike before the age of one (that's not a joke!), but as you can see above, he does get a little tired by the end of a game.

CONSTRUCTION
Jasher carried a shovel and rake all summer long! He loves digging. And, he could probably do his own electrical work as well considering his new obsession with light switches.

MATHEMATICIAN

Yes, his toys of choice this day were fraction blocks and a calculator.

MUSICIAN

Our little drummer has turned the the harmonica! He plays this for at least an hour a day. He has even learned how to bend notes. One day Jasher was super upset and I couldn't find anything to cheer him up. I finally gave him the harmonica. He knelt down on the kitchen floor, grabbed it, and started playing the blues. It was hilarious!

FARMER

So far Jasher has good luck at the farm! His name was pulled to win a huge pumpkin at the corn maze/pumpkin patch!

JANITOR

Not only is Jasher obsessed with the vacuum and the broom, one day after lunch he grabbed the kitchen towel and started to mop under his high chair!

COUCH POTATO

Or perhaps he'll simply be a mooch living his parents basement, provided his parents ever have a basement!

With a persistent personality like Jasher's (he is already a pro at getting whatever he wants when he wants it), we know he will be successful at whatever career he chooses!

Farewell to Summer

2010-09-02T11:52:00.007-06:00

Sadly, summer has come to its end. Dave is now putting in long hours at school and work, trying to stay on top of the hundreds of pages to read and write. My job has also started so Dave plays stay-at-home-dad for about ten hours a week while I go to work. It's not the ideal schedule for any of us, but we sure have a lot of fun when we are all together! Jasher gets more and more fun everyday as he learns new tricks! Here's a few pictures of our final summer celebrations.

Anniversary Number 2!
Two of the best years of our lives! Thanks to my cousins, we even got to enjoy a dinner without Jasher!
Swimming!
It took some getting used to, but Jasher finally started to enjoy the water.
Hiking Mount Timpanogos
There are no pictures of this event (a touchy subject), but Dave and I left Jasher for the first time and went to Utah to hike Mount Timp. It was long, hard, and well worth it.

The Cabin
We had a great weekend of relaxing and fun at a beautiful cabin near Logan. Just the three of us were there the first night and then Dave's entire family joined us for another night. It was so nice to have no responsibilites, cell phone service, or worries for one weekend. We LOVED it! Jasher had another little birthday celebration there.

Many, Many Memories and Laughs at Home

Jasher Turns One!

2010-08-17T21:05:00.007-06:00

At around 7:30 am Jana and I began to hear noises coming from Jasher's room. We were too giddy to wait any longer. So we ran down the hall and entered into his room and starting singing "Happy Birthday." I don't think he really knew what was going on, but he seemed pleased that we were excited and happy. And he made the most of that during the day. Jasher had a very happy birthday indeed. It was a day filled with food, friends and fun.

We love our little boy so much. We can't believe how quickly time passes, but are enjoying Jasher as much as we can while we can. Here are a few pictures.

Here's our little family on the big day!

Jana's first cake! Doesn't it look amazing? The little one is especially for our little guy.

We practiced blowing out candles the day before his birthday, but that nearly ended with our house on fire. I made sure his arms were trapped this time. We're still working on him blowing candles out.

It was hard to find a spoon big enough for the occasion, but he settled on this one.

Once he started feeling happy and content with his dessert he moved to a smaller spoon.

And here we see Jasher drunk on cake.

Jasher not only ate cake and ice cream, zucchini bread for breakfast, and his favorite grilled cheese for lunch, but for supper we decided we better have all of his favorites despite the strange combination - watermelon, cantaloupe, strawberries, grapes, peaches, peas, avocados, cheese, noodles, and graham crackers. He loved it!

Oh, the anticipation of that first gift! It was a play cell phone and set of keys from our very kind neighbors, by the way.

I just liked this one. That's all.

And finally, Jasher celebrating after a big day by shaking his new maracas with his very full belly. It was a good day.

We sure love our boy!

What We Are Learning from Our First Garden

2010-08-16T20:28:00.004-06:00

We have learned much in the few months we've spent tending to our garden. Here's just a few of the many things:

1. It takes water pressure for a garden to grow (something we lacked until just a month ago or so).
2. The neighbor kids are so anxious to help you plant and weed the garden that they obliterate any chance there may have been for carrots.

Here are a few more with pictures:

People make fun of us for trying to grow corn in Southeast Idaho.

planting nine tomato plants in a 2' x 2' area is a bit excessive.

Squash plants spread like suburbs.

Eating the fruits (or in this case vegetables) of our labors is satisfying on so many levels. We feel so healthy, productive, environmentally responsible, and blessed by our abundant harvest.

freerice.com

2010-08-04T14:24:00.003-06:00

Over the past few months Jana and I have been watching various movies and documentaries that draw attention to the inequalities ongoing throughout the world. In particular, we have been shocked as we've seen footage and listened to stories and statistics on the problems of hunger throughout the world. Writing about it doesn't do the problem justice. Films such as One Peace at a Time, Hotel Rwanda, God Grew Tired of Us, Kite Runner, and Invictus are not pleasant to watch, but they drive home the responsibility that we have as fortunate people to help. Although we still complain often about our situation, we have realized that we are incredibly blessed. To simply have clean water, food, shelter, education, freedoms, the basic necessities of life make us among the wealthiest in the world.

As Jana and I have wrestled with the problem of how best to do this on our small budget apart from our regular Church donations we came across the website http://freerice.com. This website makes it possible for lazy people like me to help. The website has a series of questions from various topics that it asks. For each correct response 10 grains of rice are donated to the World Food Programme. It may not sound like a lot, but last I heard 50 billion grains had been donated.

From now on we will have a banner for this website on our blog. We encourage you to take a few minutes when you have spare time and use it for a good cause. Perhaps we could even have a competition. Feel free to leave comments regarding the number of grains you've donated.

Bear Lake

2010-07-25T21:07:00.008-06:00

In remembrance of the LDS pioneers settling the Salt Lake Valley, we decided to make absolutely no sacrifices and go have fun this weekend. This included a camping trip up Montpelier Canyon in Idaho, and then a trip to Bear Lake the next day. We had one of Jana's cousins, all of Jasher's cousins on the Taylor side, as well as Kelli, Becca, Mark, and Tiff. We thought we got quite a few good photos, so we are posting quite a few.

Here we are at Bear Lake on the North Shore. Jasher is really digging his beard. He really enjoyed grabbing a handful of sand and sticking it in his mouth. It was problematic trying to serve him watermelon on the beach. It was crunchy.

Kelli was valiant in her attempts to get Jasher accustomed to the water. Unfortunately, he is still a bit of a wimp when it comes to cold water.

Okay, so this is not our child, but it's a cute picture anyway. This is Zach with his Aunt Becca. Jasher could learn a thing or two from him about overcoming his fear of the water.

Jasher with his two cousins (soon to be four in a few months!). Jasher loves his cousins Zach and Grace. They had lots of fun together on the beach.

Like I said, he really enjoyed the sand.

He enjoyed the sand so much, that when I started to confine him in it like a cruel parent, he smiled instead of cried. Go figure.

I think his faux facial hair looks quite nice, don't you?

Jana and Jasher playing in the sand together. Little does she know it, but while this picture was being taken Jana's shoulders and back were being fried in the hot sun. She is still paying the price.

Still loving solitary confinement.

The interpretation of his face here? "Sweet, I am getting crazy dirty and mom and dad are encouraging it for a change!"

This is Montpelier Reservoir.

And here is the whole fam with Montpelier Reservoir in the background. This was a very fun trip.

Idaho Falls

2010-07-22T11:33:00.004-06:00

Since Dave is only working about 20 hours a week with no classes, his internship has pretty much fallen through, and my job training has been stretched over months, we have had LOTS of family time this summer. It has been so great! The other day we decided to head to Idaho Falls to see what we could find there. We did a little shopping, went out to eat, walked by the river, and went to the temple visitor's center and grounds. It was a fun little day trip for us!

Say Cheese!!!

2010-07-15T20:48:00.004-06:00

Jasher is starting to learn how to get our attention. One of his new favorites (and one of our favorites as well) is a fake smile and a fake laugh (pictured above). He'll just keep doing it until we look at him. It is so cute and sure beats the little tantrums he learned in the past few weeks!

Another favorite way is to initiate peek-a-boo in the curtains. He'll just hide there making little noises until we say, "Where's Jasher?"

A highly enjoyable way is saying "ba" (which means ball). He would say it all the time when he had a ball, but now he has learned that we love it so much so he says it all the time...even when there is a not a ball anywhere in sight.

This child also loves dogs. Whenever there is dog (stuffed or real), he will say "Hff hff" (which is ruff, ruff). He also knows we love that and always looks at us for attention.

Our little man is growing up so fast. He learns something new everyday!

Thanks for the Cool Breeze

2010-07-13T18:09:00.005-06:00

Written by Dave

We have the absolute best neighbors in the world. For all those who are afraid to live in a trailer park because of the people who might live there, we can tell you that from our experience you have nothing to fear. However, you should definitely fear the quality and durability of the building materials of mobile homes. I swear we live in a glorified cardboard box.
Anyway, our neighbors are actually the Jones', and let me tell you it is very hard to keep up with them. A couple of months ago we had quite a bit of rain up here. We had water leaking in the house, so we thought if we put some rain gutters up it would help. So we get all the stuff and get ready to put everything together when Bob (the dad) says: "You know you are doing that wrong?" So, for the next 5 hours Bob and his son help us put up rain gutters so that they actually stop water from leaking into the house.
Fast-forward a month or two. Now we are sweltering in our home with no air conditioning. We have an AC unit sitting on the side of our house, but little did we know what installation would cost. When we found out, we figured we were just going to have to get used to 90 degree temperatures inside our house. So Bob comes along and says that he has an extra swamp cooler and it just needs a couple of things. Roughly $75 later we are living it large in 75 degree cool air in our fancy trailer. Jasher must think he is living it large in Hawaii by the looks of his outfit and smile on his face. It is so nice to be cool; not to mention that we are doing it at nearly a quarter of the cost of central AC.

Nature Walk

2010-07-13T17:10:00.007-06:00

We have had quite a bit of spare time this summer. Today, we went to Cherry Springs picnic area to go for a nature walk. This is up Mink Creek Rd. near Pocatello, ID. Jasher just loves being outside. We got some pretty good pics. Here are a few of them. The "artsy" ones are from Jana. More on Jasher's cheesy smile to come!

Here is Jasher sporting his 7 teeth...four on top, three on the bottom!

Camping Trip!

2010-07-07T10:22:00.003-06:00

Becca came up to visit us for the 4th of July weekend. We LOVED having her here! On Friday we decided to go camping. We went to a place that was only about 20 minutes from our house and discovered that Pocatello surprisingly has some beautiful parts to it! This was Jasher's first camping trip so we weren't sure how he would do. He absolutely loved it! Of course he loved being outside the entire time. He loved watching the fire. Playing in the dirt was definitely a highlight. He liked the tent. And, he even slept more than the rest of us combined (we let him sleep in style though and brought his playpen to put in the tent). Dave made all of our food and it was delicious! Jasher even got his own tin foil dinner that he went to town on. It was so nice to spend a little time together and to be with Becca. We really did have a great time!

Outside

2010-06-21T14:03:00.008-06:00

Jasher loves playing outside. He would stay outside all day if he could. He loves playing in the grass, the rocks, the sand, the dirt, anything to keep his hands (and mouth) full.

He even helped us plant the garden!

Two Thoughts Meshed Together

2010-05-18T14:22:00.006-06:00

Thought #1:
Secretly, I wish I was an interior designer. I really wish I had the money and know-how to make everything look EXACTLY how I want it to look. I know absolutely nothing about it, but I really wish I did. That said, I've been trying to think of what needs to go down our hallway.
Thought #2:
Since being a mother, the song I Am A Child Of God has taken on a whole new meaning. It is an incredible song! Not only does it clearly define our divinity as children of God, but it is an absolute plea of children to parents to help them, lead them, guide them, and teach them. Children need parents. Parents need children. This song has really helped me to recognize my vital role as a parent in helping my children, my family return back to our Father in Heaven.
Two Thoughts Meshed:
One day I thought of this great idea to put words from that song with some of my favorite pictures (mostly thanks to Amy Dixon...I love having a photographer in the family!) and put it down the hallway. Hopefully this will help me remember to be kind and dear and to remember the importance of teaching my children so that we can all return to live with Him someday. Now, it's not professional, but here is what I have come up with. Next step, print them out, mod podge them to some boards, and hang them in the hallway.

Catching Up

2010-05-16T14:33:00.008-06:00

Jana's Mom came up for a visit recently. It was so fun to have her come. Jasher really loves to see his grandparents.

Kelli also came down from Rexburg to see Mom and, of course, Jasher.

After months of persuasion we were finally able to get my parents and a few of my siblings to visit us in the trailer park. Jasher just loves visitors, and so do Jana and I!

When we found out we were going to have a little boy, we took a trip up to Park City to find some clothes for our forthcoming son. We got a smoking deal on this little number. We longed for the day we could put him in it. I think he likes it.

I remember doing this for some of my younger siblings. Jasher really enjoyed it. Please note how white my legs are, a theme that is prevalent in some of the pictures to come in this post.

Let's face it, this is what people really want to see. Because of my inability to learn how to push a button on our camera, the vast number of pictures on our blog tend to either be just Jasher, or Jasher and me. Fortunately I was able to get my sister to take a few pictures of my two favorite people ever!

The shorts are a Mother's Day gift from Jasher. They didn't fit Jana, so he's just wearing them. I'm a big fan of the ensemble, though. I wish I could get away with wearing shorts to church. I just can't seem to pull it off.

So it was a rough first day for Jasher playing baseball. But he's just a rookie. Again, look at those white legs. Don't they just brighten up the photo?

You've got to love baby bathtub pictures. Jasher has discovered that when he hits the water with great force it's enjoyable. He also enjoys soaking his parents, the floor, and anything else in sight.

Rachel's Run

2010-04-26T16:38:00.002-06:00

My friend (Jeff Klis for those of you who know him)'s wife was recently diagnosed with cancer. There is a fundraiser 5K for her on May 22nd in Provo, Utah. So, for any of you who are runners, wanna-be runners, walkers, or anything in between, here is a great way to support a fantastic young couple!
http://rachelsrun.blogspot.com/?spref=fb

2010-04-12T11:38:00.002-06:00

There's nothing I love more than watching the two boys I love love each other!

Park

2010-04-12T10:59:00.007-06:00

We went to the park the other day to play. We brought the camera along to get some cute pictures of Jasher. He seemed to get a little distracted with all of the new things at the park. Can you sense a theme?

Happy Easter!

2010-04-12T10:55:00.004-06:00

Jasher got these window clings from his grandma for Easter and he loved them...putting them on the window, taking them off the window, stretching them, ripping them, poking them, rubbing them on the dirty floor, and of course tasting them.

First Day of School

2010-04-01T11:10:00.004-06:00

Jasher really wanted to go to school with his dad this morning...

When Did He Grow Up?

2010-04-01T11:08:00.002-06:00

Family Visit

2010-03-28T21:05:00.004-06:00

Here are some photos from family visits that have taken place within the past few weeks. It was fun to see everyone!

Jasher Crawls

2010-03-28T20:52:00.002-06:00

A few weeks ago, Jasher started getting into the crawling position. But Jasher didn't stop there. He thought he should show us just how strong he is by doing push ups for us. It was a lot of fun to watch. With Jana's parents coming out for Spring Break and a trip scheduled to see my parents in Utah, we thought it would be perfect. He would woo his grandparents and aunts and uncles by showing just how advanced he was by crawling around with ease. It didn't happen. We left my parent's place happy, but also wishing that he would have put on a show. The next morning. Jana got him out of bed, plopped him on the ground, and he immediately started crawling--we were so close! While this video may not be his first crawling experience, it's a pretty good reenactment.

Class Clown

2010-03-22T11:10:00.002-06:00

A while back Jasher started putting the pacifier in his mouth like this. We thought it was pretty funny, and so did he. Could he be a class clown?

Jasher's Glamor Shots

2010-03-21T21:03:00.009-06:00

On the rare occasion that Jana has spare time looking after Jasher and trying to turn our trailer into a suitable place to live, she enjoys using her artistic abilities to document the adorableness of our son. Here are a few examples.

Daddy's All Star

2010-03-21T20:58:00.003-06:00

I never made any all-star team growing up, so you can only imagine how excited I was when I came home one day to discover that Jasher had done it! He made the all-star team. We're both pretty excited about it.

Swinging for Real!

2010-02-21T17:16:00.002-07:00

2010-02-21T16:57:00.002-07:00

Jasher in his snug church outfit reaching toward the light.

Very blue eyes

Mesmerized by the camera

Jasher and Droopy have the same cheeks.

All By Myself...

2010-02-17T14:59:00.003-07:00

Jasher decided this weekend that he could sit all by himself! He can usually roll/scoot/maneuver his way around a room to get what he wants as well. Mobility begins...

We Can't Get Enough of this Boy!

2010-02-17T14:57:00.000-07:00

Mmmm...Carrots

2010-02-17T14:56:00.000-07:00

Best Shirt Ever

2010-02-17T14:54:00.000-07:00

...and so true!

Sweet Boy

2010-02-17T14:53:00.001-07:00

2010-02-01T14:34:00.003-07:00

Jasher is sharing his high chair with his new best friend (next to his dad of course)! So cute!

To Rexburg...

2010-02-01T14:23:00.005-07:00

We decided to go visit Kelli in Rexburg one day. While there, Jasher had his first experience swimming! He really liked it! He stayed in the pool for about half an hour just playing and splashing. He lasted longer than Dave!

First Bite of Rice Cereal

2010-02-01T14:19:00.002-07:00

The first bite of rice cereal was a success! The past long while Jasher would get so jealous of us eating real food. He would stare at it, lick his lips, and grab for our food. So, we decided it was time he try it! He seems to love it! He will keep going back for more and more. He even wants to put the spoon in his mouth all by himself and gets frustrated when he cannot do it.

All Ready for Church

2010-02-01T14:11:00.002-07:00

New Duck Bath

2010-02-01T14:05:00.001-07:00

Square-Face Dixon

2010-02-01T13:59:00.005-07:00

Jasher has such big cheeks now that when he puts his mouth and chin a certain way, his face looks square! It is so cute and really hilarious. It reminds us of the old man on Up. It's hard to capture on camera, but here are a few attempts!

We Made it to Pocatello!

2010-01-31T17:15:00.003-07:00

On January 2, 2010 several family and friends were kind enough to help us pack all of our belongings into a rental truck. Fortunately, all of our belonging filled up the truck about half way. We attended our Provo ward for one last time the next day, and then on Monday did some final cleaning and we were off. But it wasn't a direct trip for us. Our brother-in-law's sister had just moved into a home with spare washers and dryers all around. So being the cheapskates that we are, we purchased some at a very reasonable price. We are so excited to have a washer and dryer. No longer do we need to wait to wash our jeans until they are looking more white than blue from being vomited on so many times (perhaps there is a post by itself here).
Anyway, from there we finally made it to Pocatello. I was in charge of moving everything in and installing stuff, Jana was in charge of putting things away, and making everything fit, and Jasher was in charge of demanding all of our attention so that we couldn't do anything. Fortunately, we had Kelli to help us for the first hour or so, but then we were on our own. Jana is a miracle worker, because no matter how fast I brought her boxes, there was a space to put the next load when I came in again.
So here we are roughly a month later, and I would say 95% moved in. We appreciate all of the help we received from everyone, and hope to see everyone soon!

Farewell to Fanciness

2009-12-29T21:43:00.002-07:00

As one of my gifts for Christmas Dave invited me to a "farewell to fanciness" held in my honor at Communal. This is a new restaurant just three blocks away from our apartment so we walk by it a lot. Every time we do, we stare longingly into the windows just wishing we could go there because the it looks so fancy and the food looks amazing! (A guy in our ward actually works there so we were telling him a while back how we always walk by and look in and wish we there and he said, "Oh yeah, I think I've seen you guys looking in the window before." Kind of embarrassing!) So, since we are soon to be trailer trash students in Pocatello, Dave decided to treat me one last time. It was INCREDIBLE! We had extremely high expectations for this place and it actually exceeding our expectations. We were so impressed with everything we ate! I have honestly never seen Dave so excited about food before. The guy in our ward even gave us a free dessert and I have never had a better dessert at a restaurant. If any of you live anywhere near Provo or are traveling through, you HAVE to try it! Lunch was reasonably priced as well! Although it was an amazing lunch, it is a little sad that it was the farewell...

Christmas

2009-12-29T21:37:00.002-07:00

We had a wonderful Christmas! It was great to be together as our little family. Jasher was so happy Christmas morning and even opened his own presents! We were impressed! For saying we were going to make it a simple Christmas because Jasher couldn't care less this year, he sure came away with a lot! He's already spoiled!

Bathrobe

2009-12-29T21:34:00.000-07:00

I love this face!

Giggling

2009-12-29T21:33:00.002-07:00

2009-12-16T22:56:00.000-07:00

We really hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!

Christmas Parade

2009-12-07T20:58:00.003-07:00

On Saturday we went to the Christmas parade on Center Street in Provo with Becca. It was actually really fun! We were standing right at the end of the parade, so everyone still had tons of candy. They were throwing handfuls to us. Many people were giving lots of candy to Jasher in his stroller as well. One girl even asked us, "Does he want some?" We thought it was pretty hilarious. He cannot even eat rice cereal yet, but he won us lots of candy canes and taffy. He must have looked older in his huge snowsuit or something.

Jasher and only a portion of his winnings

Jasher loves his Aunt Becca
His face says it all...
Perhaps one of my new favorite photos of sweet Jasher

Thanksgiving

2009-12-05T17:00:00.004-07:00

My whole family was here over the Thanksgiving break! It was SO great! It was the first time Jasher had met his Grandpa Taylor and his Uncle Shae. And, only the second time seeing his Grandma Taylor. He really seemed to love them! He laughed for nearly the first time while Grandma was playing with him, looked and smiled a lot with Shae in the car, and was telling Grandpa all kinds of stories. He also loved his other aunts, uncles, and cousins! We had such a great time together. He sure got a lot of attention and he loved in. (Maybe a little too much attention since this week he has been DEMANDING attention...every time we turn our head he cries until we come back and then he'll smile really big for us.)

It looks like Jasher is happier as a prep than a skater!

2009-12-05T16:55:00.002-07:00

Call us crazy...

2009-11-13T22:06:00.001-07:00

Call us crazy, but we just bought a TRAILER in Pocatello, Idaho! We're moving up there in January so that Dave can go to graduate school. We searched several options for housing and amazingly, this seemed like one of the better options for us there. We're hoping we can enjoy it and make it our own. We have also promised ourselves that we will move out before Jasher has any memories. We don't want him to know that we forced him to live in a trailer or that his parents are really trailer trash at heart! Here's some pictures...judge us as you will!

Jasher in his new home...the best part of the trailer!

The worst part of the trailer...yes, it is pink! We're thinking we can just hang a Mary Kay sign outside and do really well selling it! Dave says this paint is the first thing to go when the snow melts!

The little yard. We're excited about the shed so our bikes won't be in the living room anymore! There's also a little garden patch that I am excited for!

The living room.

The other side of the living room...the sliding door out to the porch.

Jasher's room. It is TINY, but we're hoping we can make it work for him!

Our room. There aren't any closet doors so the last owner put up curtains. That lace will surely go!

The bathroom.

The kitchen.

More Halloween

2009-11-09T10:16:00.003-07:00

Here are some more pictures from Halloween! Thanks Amy!

Halloween - Jasher the Dragon

2009-11-01T18:31:00.005-07:00

Jana was obsessed with dressing up Jasher for Halloween. Don't get me wrong, he looks pretty darn cute. It's just that day after day I would wake up to my son in some sort of "outfit." I leave it to you to let me know if she was justified in this. We are so grateful to Mark and Tiff and for the wonderful Halloween costume and outfit.

We also had a little bit of a date around Halloween. We decided to carve pumpkins. You can probably tell which one Jana did. Oh yeah, after we finished Jana thought it would be cute if she juxtaposed Jasher with the pumpkins in a few photos. Big surprise. I admit, these are great photos.

Trip to Idaho

2009-11-01T15:38:00.005-07:00

In order to be a little more prepared for the big move to Pocatello in January, Jana and I decided that we would drag our poor little son on a two day journey to Idaho. I met with some of my professors, and we looked for housing as well. Would anybody terminate our friendship or disown us from the family if we lived in a trailer? Because that is looking like our best option at this point, and frankly, it was the nicest place in our price range.

Since Jasher required some stops along the way, we visited my sister Jen, and our niece, Natalie. Jen didn't know that we would be coming that day, but Natalie sure looked cute that day.

We also got to visit Jana's Aunt Mary Lynn and family. They were gracious enough to let us stay in their home. We look forward to living near them, and for her daughters to babysit Jasher. It's so nice to have family close.

We also got to see Kelli in Rexburg. It was so fun to see her. Jasher definitely misses her. She fits right into a college setting.

Enjoying Fall

2009-10-24T15:00:00.002-06:00

We went to a corn maze the other day to give us something to look forward to. It was really fun to enjoy a little "family time." Yes, that is Jasher's hat popping out of Dave's jacket. It was a little colder than we anticipated.

We went on a little hike up Dry Canyon one afternoon. The fall colors were beautiful!

Church

2009-10-11T18:30:00.004-06:00

We got Jasher all dressed up for church today and we thought he looked adorable! In our eyes, he did pretty well at church. We only had to take him out of Sacrament meeting once for 15 minutes or so, Sunday School once for 10 minutes or so, and Relief Society twice for 20 minutes or so. Despite that, so many people still commented, "Ohh...poor baby!" "He's so sad!" "Does he have colic?" He has come miles, but I guess he still has his crabby moments! We still thought he was pretty cute though!

2009-10-11T18:26:00.001-06:00

Mom and Dad, why do you have to bundle me up and strap me down in this seat?!?

Jana's Birthday

2009-10-11T18:18:00.002-06:00

For my birthday, Jasher decided to let me stay up a lot of the night with him. So thoughtful! But, he made up for it the moment he cuddled up to me and smiled at me in the morning. Dave took me to the Chef's Table for lunch. It was so fancy! I loved it! They opened the door for us to come in, pulled out our chairs, and placed our napkins on our laps for us. There was a rose on every table with white table cloths and lots of silverware we weren't quite sure what to do with. The food not only looked incredible on the plate, but tasted amazing! It was quite the treat! We felt rich for about an hour an half. It was a great birthday!

Trying to Capture Jasher's Smile

2009-10-11T18:08:00.000-06:00

2009-09-29T12:12:00.001-06:00

Only a Few of Jasher's Sleeping Positions

2009-09-28T13:09:00.004-06:00

The Peaceful Position

The "Dad, I've had enough college football" Position

The Superman Position

2009-09-28T13:07:00.002-06:00

This is one of Jasher's favorite positions. How it is comfortable, I'm not sure. He can wiggle his way all the way over the top of that pillow as well! He's an active child!

Our First Family Excursion

2009-09-22T19:14:00.005-06:00

On Monday, we were feeling ambitious enough to go on a lengthy family outing. We decided with autumn approaching we would go into the canyon to see the colors. So we took a ride through the Nebo Loop. For those of you who have not been up Payson Canyon, we highly recommend it.

We went on a couple of hikes, and even had a picnic together. We thought since Jasher loves to look at the trees outside our apartment that he would love hiking in a national forest. Well, I'm pretty sure he didn't even know we were driving the Nebo Loop because he slept pretty much the entire time. Jana and I loved it at least. Here's some photos from the outing.

Also worth noting is that it was Jasher's first time wearing pants. Don't you hate pants? Well, he did okay in them, and we thought he looked pretty cute.

Jasher's First Smile

2009-09-15T11:12:00.002-06:00

Last Sunday, Jasher smiled for the first time...at least we think it was a real smile. We didn't get the best ones on video, but here is a taste. He is adorable!

Like Father, Like Son

2009-09-03T13:16:00.002-06:00

The other day Dave was sleeping next to me and Jasher was sleeping on me. I looked at both of them and they were in the exact same position. It was so cute!

Thank You Grandma!

2009-08-25T18:36:00.003-06:00

We have been so lucky to have my mom here this past week to help out! She has been absolutely amazing! No one tells you how much work it really is to have a newborn (but of course it is worth it). My mom has done so much to help us out. She held Jasher when he was happy, cooked every meal for us and left the leftovers, held Jasher when he was sleeping, cleaned our whole apartment (twice), held Jasher when he was crying, ran to the store for diapers, held Jasher when he was screaming, not to mention took care of Jasher for at least half of the night every night she was here! We really couldn't have survived this first week without her help! She left this morning and I am definitely wishing that Wisconsin wasn't so far away. I am absolutely terrified for tonight without her. We'll see how it goes...

Thank you so much Mom! We love you so much!

2009-08-25T18:33:00.000-06:00

Cousins

2009-08-25T18:25:00.005-06:00

Jasher has officially met all of his cousins now. Jen and Nate brought Natalie down for a photo-op recently and Tiff brought Zach and Grace down on Monday. We had a lot of fun with them!

Four Generations and More

2009-08-23T22:13:00.004-06:00

Now that we have Jasher in our lives, we feel like we actually have a reason to post pictures. There really is no reason for us to do this with the exception of family. Just six days into his life, we feel like Jasher has grown and developed quite a bit. We just wanted to post some photos to show his growth (as well as some of the sweet clothes he was given by so many generous people). I suppose the only picture with a story is the one above with Jasher in his great-grandpa Dixon's arms. I wanted to get this shot because of the great respect and admiration I have for these men in my life. I would be very pleased if Jahser turned out to be the kind of men that my father and grandfather are. I would also love it if Jasher were to turn out like Jana's father and grandfather. He definitely has some great examples to which he can look in his life, and we are grateful for that.

Jasher David Dixon

2009-08-18T18:24:00.005-06:00

Well, he definitely showed up late (August 7 was the "due date"), but he was definitely worth the wait. Jana and I feel so blessed to have a little son in our lives, and just wanted to thank everybody for your help throughout this process.
After 10 days of waiting, plus 14 hours of induced labor we finally got to see our son for the first time. We fell in love with him (even with the ginormous cone-head) the moment we saw him, and hope you do as well as you take a look at these photos.
Jana and the baby are doing well. Again, we appreciate your help, your thoughts, and your prayers.
Jasher weighed in at 8 lbs 8 oz. He is 20 1/2" tall.He was born at 8:46 pm on Monday, August 17.