Lincoln's preschool graduation

We have been amazed at all the things Lincoln has learned in preschool, thanks to his awesome teacher. It has been a tremendous blessing to have him in Miss Jamie's class because it was the perfect opportunity for him to really come out of his shell a little more. We are really proud of him!! We told him we wanted to do something special on his graduation day (Colby didn't have to work) and his eyes got really big and he said, "like what?" and I said, "Well, what would you want to do?" and he said, "CHUCK E CHEESE!!" So that's what we did...

He is really into getting as many tickets as possible so he can get those dinky little trinkets that we end up tossing a month later, but it's worth it to see how excited he gets when he's picking out his "prizes." (He calls it picking out his "surprizes.")

So after some good times at Chuck E Cheese, we went to his graduation. He had memorized two sentences for his part in the program and I was wondering how he would do with the whole shyness factor, but he did great! He walked right up to the microphone and said his lines without a problem. It was awesome. Another HUGE step for him.

Here he is playing his guitar over his head like a real rock star. (The theme for graduation was that the kids were "rock stars").

And of course he couldn't resist showing his rock star abilities for Tessa the next morning. (It's funny, but I remember seeing a picture of a 3-yr-old Colby playing the ukalele for his baby twin brothers, similar to this picture, except I think Colby was just sporting his underwear and t-shirt).


After graduation, Lincoln had to tell Grandma all about it on the phone, so he got comfy on the couch since he knew he had a lot to say and would be there awhile. He's such a little adult!

To Cut Or Not To Cut

Tessa has continued to lose her hair until she just had this scraggly stuff in the back, which would stick out at odd angles, giving her the appearance of having horns at times. Feeling sorry for our otherwise cute daughter, Colby and I tried to help her out by covering it with hats...

Until finally we decided we should just buzz it. We did this to Lincoln when he was about the same age because of a similar problem (although his was more of a horseshoe balding problem); however, we wondered if it was the right thing to do to give our daughter a buzz cut. See for yourself if we made the right decision...

Colby and I think it's 100% better although we know there are those who would disagree.

Colby's 30th birthday!!

We heard it was going to be a nice day on Colby's birthday, so we decided to go to "the shore," as they call it on the east coast (for all you west coasters, "the beach"). We had never been down to Cape May on the tip of New Jersey before, so we decided to go there. On the way, we came across a really cool and FREE (donations are accepted) zoo in Cape May that had tons of fun and exotic animals. For those of you living out here, it is definitely worth the trip there!


After the zoo, we went to the beach to fly our kite and look for seashells, etc., but contrary to what the weather was SUPPOSED to be like, it was windy, cold, and really foggy so we didn't stay very long. Supposedly it was a really nice day in Philly while we were gone! Classic for us, for sure!



Colby's favorite birthday dessert is chocolate mousse pie, which I always make from one of those jello dessert kit things. But this year I got all ambitious and decided to make it from scratch (okay, not exactly from scratch since I bought the premade crust, but that's close enough to scratch for me). Surprisingly, it wasn't bad! At least it wasn't worse than the jello kind.

Anyway, I'm really glad Colby is finally joining me in the decade of the 30s. (After almost 3 long years of being here by myself, I was excited for some company!) Here are 30 reasons I am one of the luckiest girls on the earth.
I have a husband who:
1. loves me even when I'm grumpy.
2. is dedicated to having FHE every week.
3. rubs my swollen legs when I'm pregnant.
4. helps clean up after meals.
5. loves to wrestle his 4-year-old son.
6. holds the power of the priesthood and is able to use it to bless our family.
7. writes in our grateful journal daily, even though writing is not his favorite thing to do.
8. makes killer smoothies at least 3 times a week.
9. wants to raise our children according to gospel principles.
10. gives me back rubs.
11. would do anything to help his brothers and sister.
12. always tells me what a great job I'm doing as a mother.
13. is not afraid of doing laundry or cleaning the house.
14. finds the positive qualities in others.
15. kisses and hugs me when he's leaving or coming home (and all the times in between).
16. never needs me to remind him to be responsible.
17. can laugh hysterically with me in bed when it's late.
18. wants to go on a mission with me when we're older.
19. actually VOLUNTEERS to change poopy diapers!
20. accepts the fact that his ties and suits he wears to church will get munched, spit upon, and thoroughly trashed before the day is over.
21. arranges his work schedule so he can have a date night with his wife every week.
22. isn't afraid to be goofy to get a smile or laugh from his 4-month-old daughter.
23. loves the Savior and tries to be like Him.
24. works as hard as he can, even when he's exhausted or sick.
25. secretly puts his sleeping pad under mine when we're camping so I can be more comfortable and I don't find out until the morning when I'm rolling up our sleeping bags.
26. places his family as a top priority.
27. sends his mom flowers on HIS birthday to let her know how grateful he is for her.
28. provides an example I always feel comfortable following.
29. is just as excited about Daddy Donut night as his son is.
30. is someone I not only want to spend the rest of my life with, but also to be sealed to for eternity.
I could keep going and going on this list, but we'll save the other things for when he turns 100.
No one can argue that I hit the jackpot when I married this guy!

Our trip to Utah

Tessa's blessing day at my grandpa's house in SLC


4 generations of mother/daughter relationships!



The Dobson fam



Tessa and Grandpa

She was pretty much ticked for the whole blessing, as well as before and after. I couldn't figure it out, because she is normally so good. When we took her dress off, we discovered the culprit: the dress had given her sensitive skin a rash all over her back! We like to refer to it now as a beautiful torture dress. Luckily, Jami took some more pictures on a different day when Tessa was happier. And the pictures turned out awesome! Thanks Jami!

Heather made the journey from Cedar City to SLC just to say hello. What committment!

The Stanger Fam

Great Grandma with two new great grandchildren

Lincoln and his cousins

Karleigh's wedding day!

Catching up (I can tell I'm not going to be too good at keeping things current)

Lincoln's first real suit. This picture was taken AFTER church, of course, when the shirt is untucked, shoelaces are untied and he has a cool CTR badge he got in his class that day. I'm just impressed he kept the tie on all day long.



Family photo: Where is Tessa? She said she wasn't feeling up for pictures that day.



Lincoln's first time feeding Tessa and he LOVED it. So now he always wants me to pump so then he can feed her the bottle.



Lincoln's first official hair cut (by someone other than one of his parents)!

Dads and Donuts night at preschool. Lincoln had been looking forward to this night since last September when school started. They both had such a good time! Lincoln has one of the best teachers around.

My three prego friends who all happened to be wearing white shirts the same day so I couldn't resist taking a picture!