Things that have happened to Hayden today:
-got clocked in the head by a cupboard (thanks Aunt Krystal :) )
-fell down my parents' stairs (luckily it was only the last 5 though)
-fell off (or I should say crawled off) our bed
He's really got some nice bruises on his head and face right now.
When do they learn to respect the limits of nature?????
We are alive, despite being disconnected from the outside world for 2 1/2 months. I keep saying I'm going to get the internet, but then I look into prices and then decide I'm still too cheap. :) I'm sure in the near future I will give in, but until then this is what we've been up to...
We've all had a birthday! In September I turned 23, at the beginning of October Hayden turned 1 year old, and TODAY Dax turns 27! Happy Birthday Dax!
Hayden once took baths in this tub...I can't believe how he's grown!
We had a Halloween party and decided to really dress up this year. We went as Thing 1, Thing 2, and Thing 2 1/2.
Hayden is growing and always on the move. He loves getting into EVERYTHING...even though he knows well the things he shouldn't be doing by now. He always watches my reaction when he gets into things he shouldn't be. He climbs on chairs (and thus the table), can open every door in our house (we now have to lock the bathrooms and the front door), loves to play in toilet water (which I discovered when I heard a splashing sound coming from the bathroom!), help mom around the house (if I don't let him help he gets angry), play outside, dance (I'm amazed at his coordination for 13 months) climb on his glider and "read," talk (he says mama, dada, light, hi, hot, icky, and for everything else he says "that"), give hugs, and climb, climb, climb! He's still as happy as ever, and we enjoy watching him grow and learn. It is AMAZING how fast they pick things up. Hayden started wiping off the coffee table with a wet wipe one day after seeing me wipe off the table! He now has 8 teeth. He has a milk allergy, so he has to miss out on the joys of dairy products, all except butter. It's incredible how many things you can't eat, or have to change when you can't have dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt).
Dax is really enjoying his master's program. He took on quite a heavy load, 4 graduate classes (he only has to take 8 total...just to give you an idea). He likes the challenge his classes present. What I love about his master's program is he's been home by 6 every evening except for 4 or 5 days! Dax is also playing on a flag football team, they are playing in the championship game in the near future.
I've been busy chasing Hayden, trying new recipes, improving my sewing skills, and I am the enrichment committee leader. I'm trying to improve the organization in my life as well, so if you have any organization tips let me know!
We are spending Thanksgiving with some of my siblings who are in the Provo area, so we are missing family, but are excited to see them for Christmas.
The view out our window
Random pictures of our lives
We are still alive and well, we just don't have internet right now (I'm at the library) and we've been busy getting settled in and Dax is getting into school. For those who don't know, we just moved to Provo for Dax to start his Masters of Engineering program. Getting moved in has been pretty hectic, but everything is slowing down thankfully. We were supposed to live on the 1st floor of a 5 story condo building, but the morning we were going to move in we received a call from the manager saying that they found mold on the wall/carpet so we couldn't move in there. She gave us two other options, another on the 1st floor and one on the 4th floor. Long story short, we took the one on the 4th floor. Although it can be a little climb up the stairs it isn't bad. Our parking garage is also on the 2nd floor, so it takes out a flight of stairs. The upper level condos are usually more expensive, but because we already had a contract for a lower price they are giving us the condo for what our contract says...hooray! Our living room window and Hayden's window have a BEAUTIFUL view of the mountains, I'll have to post pictures when (and if) we decide to get internet. We can look right out and see the Y on the mountain, without anything obstructing the view.
Dax is enjoying school so far, it's nice not to have a crammed schedule of classes...he is enjoying more flexibility. He also found out what project he will be researching and is excited about what he will be doing and the friend from BYU-Idaho that he will be working with.
Hayden and I are just trying to learn our way around a much bigger city than we are used to. Flagstaff is about 60,000, but it doesn't feel that big because of the trees and how spread out everything is. I feel like everything is so crammed together here. Everyone always seems to be in such a rush here as well. We went to the duck pond on the edge of campus yesterday and Hayden enjoyed it. He has no physical association with the animals in our books, so I'm hoping I can show him some in the near future. We haven't been up to a whole lot besides that and getting our place organized. I'm working on overcoming a recurring knee injury, and I have some "vacation weight" that I need to work on. I have 5 of my siblings in the area, and Dax's brother is going to BYU as well, so we'll have a lot of fun with family in the near future. I for one am excited to be in this atmosphere without the stress of school!
Hayden is getting so big...every morning I get him out of his crib I swear he's grown. He took 5 STEPS yesterday! He was so proud of himself he did it over and over again. I'm sure we'll have a walker on our hands soon. He's into everything, and is still such a happy, cute little guy. He really just is so darn cute! He LOVES taste in the food he eats. He won't even eat anything plain (besides fruit and veggies). I tried to give him plain cooked black beans and he spit them out every time, but he ate the black bean soup I made. He won't eat bread plain, only if it has butter or something on it. Unfortunately he has a milk allergy, which we're hoping will go away in his childhood years. In the meantime we try and stay away from yogurt, cheese, and milk products.
Well that is about what we're up to, hopefully I can be better at keeping up on the fun things we do while here!
We went to a pond and went canoeing and fishing one afternoon during the reunion. There were 4 canoes and plenty of little (and big) boys who wanted to catch a fish!
Josh and Lauren navigating a canoe
Nicole making Lachelle do all the work (typical):)
Braxton (Shandiin’s oldest) caught a fish! Dave fishing as well
Shandiin and her boys 
Grandpa and Hayden
Ozkar (Josh’s oldest) getting ready to board a canoe 
Our little family 
Some of the women who went canoeing 
The males who went fishing and canoeing 
During the reunion we also played bingo, with a full-on ball wheel that Dax and my brother Ben drew the numbers from. It was a lot of fun!
Dax and Ben at the prize table
Some adults awaiting a BINGO on their cards
We did relay races one afternoon as well, from filling mason jars with water from sponges to carrying an egg on a spoon in your mouth.
Lydia (David's little girl) and I in the 3 legged race
Me coming in to the finish line of the 5K race
We also had a little ultimate frisbee action going on
My family got together in Washington the second full weekend in August for the first time in 4 YEARS!! We've added 9 people to our family since then. Three siblings were married and 6 grandchildren were added (almost 7). In total there were 10 siblings, 7 spouses, 16 grandchildren, and my parents. It was so much fun, and definitely needs to happen more often than every few years. We probably took over 700 pictures...I'll be posting lots of them!
The whole family right before the 5K race. The kids and some of the adults did a mile run/walk and the rest of us did the 5K.
The 3 leaders of the 5K race: Paul, Matt, and Dax
Our little family with our medals after the race (everyone got medals and the winners got miniature trophies).JPG)
Karston (belongs to Shandiin) enjoying his 5 lollipops after the pinatas. Adorable!.JPG)
Kim (7 months pregnant) taking a whack at the pinata. We had 2 HARD pinatas, so the kids and all of the adults got to have a turn.
Hayden is now 10 1/2 months old, and is getting so big and active! He is crawling and cruising everywhere, and loves to pull himself to a stand and then let go and stand on his own. He is so happy and is so full of energy. He definitely keeps me on my toes! He has 4 teeth (2 on top and 2 on the bottom) and is a very good eater. He is still at the top of the charts for height and weight. He says "Mama" when he is sad, tired, or wants something, and says "Dada" when he is happy and excited. He likes to snuggle when he is tired or sad. He knows when he is doing something he shouldn't because he squeals and kicks into a turbo crawl! We love him more each day and love to watch him grow and learn. 
My Mother let me borrow this book when they came down to visit. I am most of the way done with it, and I HIGHLY recommend it. It is seriously one of the best books I have read. Every single page makes me want to become a better person, but doesn't make me feel bad about where I'm at. The book talks about 12 gifts that women have been given, and how to enhance them and better ourselves. There is a chapter on the gift of joy, humor, trials, self-worth, etc. There is even a chapter on the gift of refinement in appearance, and she talks about makeup, skincare, and other basic ways to take care of yourself physically. She said that most women just don't want to put in the effort to make themselves look good unless it is a special occasion. However, so often the way we look translates into how we feel about ourselves. I can definitely relate to this, as I am at home all day and don't know many people here so I don't get out much and don't do much with myself. When I don't put on any makeup or get dressed for the day I don't feel as good about myself. Basically, when I look like trash I feel like trash. Anyway, she talks about how you can look refined without spending a lot of money, it just takes a little effort, but it is worth it. The author is Barbara Barrington Jones. All you women out there, go and get this book to read, you'll love it.
Dax and I have finally been able to enjoy our anniversary gifts to one another. For our anniversary I got Dax a Topsy Turvy tomato planter. He has been longing to grow something, and it was the best I could do under the situation. We picked our first 2 tomatoes on Saturday and they were delicious! We're hoping to transport the plant to Provo and keep it alive because there are 10 tomatoes on it in different stages and more buds still growing. Next year I'm going to buy another one and we'll grow peppers in it or zucchini or something! We've enjoyed it.
Dax got me a one hour massage at Massage Envy for our anniversary. It took me so long to use it because I knew that once I used it that was it, so I was trying to save it for a good time. I'd never had a professional massage before, it was great!! Massages are so expensive, but it was a nice once-in-a-lifetime thing to go and do!
Our little family at the Grand Canyon. Hayden and I didn't do the hike this year...it was too hot for him and we didn't have a pack. I say 'we' didn't do it this year because I did the hike last year while I was pregnant with him :)
Kase and Laryn at the end bottom of their hike to Ooh Aah Point in the Grand Canyon
Mom Jensen at Canyon de Chelley
Kase was nice enough to babysit Hayden so we could go to the Mesa temple before our company arrived...he took Hayden to a delicious (but dirty) Mexican restaurant. You can tell how Hayden felt about it...
