This Blog is Officially Retired

Yes, it's come to this.

I was in the middle of uploading a host of pictures for a post the other day when google kindly informed me that I'd used my fill of free photo storage on picasa web albums. 

I really resented being forced into paying a few bucks a month to get more storage space in order to be able to continue posting pictures on this blog. 

So, after 5 good years and 1 GB worth of pictures, it's time to say adios to dixon1.blogspot.com.

But, lest you fear my blogging days are done, you can click HERE to see how I beat the system (this old blog was under Dan's account, so I just made a new account under my name in order to make a new blog). 

Here's to a new blog, another five years, and more free storage space!

Memorial Day

We had a great Memorial Day!

First thing in the morning, Dan and Dallin went to play in a ward soccer game.  Next, we all went to the kids' first swim lesson of the summer.

For lunch, I met up with my cute cousins, Natalie and Nancy.  Natalie lives here by us, but Nancy lives far away.  It had been years since we've all been together.  It was SO fun to eat and chat and eat and chat for as long as we wanted.  Once upon a time we were college roommates.  I still consider those years some of my very favorite. 

In the afternoon, we had are good family friends, the Slivkas, over to try out our new slip-n-slide.  The boys really took to it and had a ball.  Every picture I had of Dallin sliding, he was making really goofy faces - trying, I think, to keep his face from getting sprayed.

That evening, we went over to another family's house for swimming and a BBQ.  I love holidays! 

Karate-Chopped Tooth

Dallin lost his very first tooth this evening!  Emily gets all the credit.  She accidentally kicked him in the mouth while they were rough-housing. 

His tooth had been hanging by a thread for several days now, but wouldn't come out (granted our attempts at pulling it were pretty weak).  Nothing like a karate chop to the teeth to get a tooth out!  I love his new smile.  

Addendum the day after: We TOTALLY almost botched the whole Tooth Fairy experience for Dallinboy.  We went to bed as usual, forgetting to replace his little tooth with a dollar.  At 3-something a.m. Dallin came into our room concerned that the Tooth Fairy hadn't come yet.  I couldn't believe we'd forgotten!  I was so glad he came in because I would've felt SOOOO bad if come morning the tooth remained and he realized the Tooth Fairy didn't come for it.  The bad news is that he came back in 15 minuts later with the same concern, and we were in and out of sleep for an hour waiting for him to fall back asleep so we could slip the tooth (which was in a potentially noise-making plastic baggy) out from under his pillow.  Whew!  That was a close one.  It was almost another one of those why-I-won't-win-Parent-of-the-Year stories (we have had some good ones). 

New York City (Part III)

Our 3rd and final day in New York city proved to be as equally fantastic as the others.  Our first spot to visit was Central Park.  I was amazed at this huge, green refuge in the center of a bustling metropolis.  We just meandered whatever pathway we wanted, soaking in the scenery.  Again, I have to comment on how much I loved the lush, green, leafy foliage.  I can't get enough of it.

After the park, we went to visit the Empire State Building.  Whoah, that thing is tall! 

Apparently, the lines can be horrendously long, so we spent a little extra money to get express passes.  We were glad we did.  (We were also glad we didn't have the unfortunate/laughable experience our friends had when they visited years ago: after waiting in line for two hours and only minutes away from their turn to go up to the observation deck, everything was shut down for the day because some wacko jumped!) 

We went to the 86th floor observation deck.  The elevator went up so fast our ears popped multiple times.

The views were spectacular in spite of the haziness.  I can only imagine how incredible they'd be on a clear day.

Then it was off to Little Italy and China Town for food and a little shopping.  I bought my very first scarf in Little Italy. 

How do you choose where to eat out of hundreds of restaurants that all look like they serve delicious food?  We finally settled on one and ate outside on a quaint, shaded, lovely patio. 

Our last stop was to see St. Patrick's Cathedral.  The architecture and detail were amazing.  It was so ornate and beautiful.

By this time, we'd seen everything on our trip we'd set out to see and we'd been to all the places we'd planned to visit.  We couldn't think of anywhere else to go, so we called it a day at around 5:00 p.m.  We were glad to relax in our hotel room for a while before preparing for our early flight out the next morning.