bon voyage

I was so lucky to be able to have Cassie and my mom here for almost the whole month of August. Caitlin loved having grandma and Aunt Cassie around to play with her (i think she gets a little sick of me sometimes) and it was so nice for me to have some extra help. We got to do lots of fun things together like shopping, going to lunch, running errands, sewing projects, going to dinner, more shopping, seeing the movie "The Help", getting pedicures, canning and cooking. It was just fun to more people around all the time to just hang out with during the day. It's the little things.

And now they are gone. My mom back to Texas and Cassie off to Jerusalem! She is doing study abroad over there for the fall semester and we won't see her until after Christmas! It's going to be hard having her gone for so long, but at the same time I am extremely excited (and a little jealous) for her and the adventures and sights she will get to see.

And it turns out her adventures could not wait to begin as she left Tuesday morning and flew from Salt Lake to Phoenix, then promptly got a cancelled flight and stuck in the PHX airport with 50 of her other classmates and completely missed their flight to Israel. GOOD LUCK!

If you want to stay posted on her travels for the next 4 months, you can check out her blog: http://www.classyadventuresofcassie.blogspot.com/

Love you and miss you both!   

half iron, full man

Paul just competed in his most grueling race yet. The "Utah Half" happened last Saturday (August 27th) and Paul, Jeff, Mike, Lorraine and (Melissa's mom) DeAnne all competed and -most importantly- compLeted the half iron man distance triathlon. The race started around 7 AM and i was so grateful to my mom watching Caitlin in the morning so she didn't have to wake up early on her birthday. Although it was funny because Paul and I woke up at 4:30 AM in order to get there and get set up on time and i was commenting that i didn't even wake up that early a year ago to go to the hospital to have Caitlin! 

Anyways, back to the race. Paul didn't have quite as much time as he was hoping to train in all three events to get ready for this so he set a goal time of 6 hours. I'm happy to report that he blew this time out of the water by finishing with a time of 5:23! He finished 10th in his age group. He had a really solid swim, a killer bike time, and a tired but good run time. All of the other competitors had really great times too, Jeff finished 17th overall and 2nd in his age group and Mike finished 4th in his age group. It was fun for them to all compete together (and against one another). It was also fun for us spectators to have so many people to cheer for and take pictures of. 

I'm really proud of Paul for accomplishing this goal.  He's been wanting to do it all summer so i'm glad that he was able to complete it and do it so well. He is definitely one of the most determined people i know so there was no question but it is a really big accomplishment. 

Total: 70.3 miles swim: 1.2 bike: 56 run:13.1

 So here's how it all went down in pictures:

 packet pick-up and pasta night carbo-loading at our house the night before

 (way-too) early morning set up

 good luck!

 Team Dickson

 figuring out the swimming route

 look at that form! paul has been working really hard to improve his swim stroke but he still has to swim with a snorkel because it hurts to twist and breathe where he broke his back.

Done with the swim. Jeff's out, Mike's out, Paul's out...

 on to biking! (Paul's favorite event)

 Lorraine was so happy the whole time. 

Check out all that intense biking! We were able to follow along in the car for the whole route. It was fun to catch up and cheer everyone on.

Jeff's off the bike, Paul's off the bike, Mike's done biking and then Lorraine and...

 the race is on

 "Team Dickson" supporters! (plus Stewart, we missed him in the picture)

 I love this one of Jeff crossing the finish line with Melissa and Madison looking on. This day was actually Jeff & Melissa's 6th anniversary.. what a good wife to come and spend the day supporting your husband! That's what marriage is all about!

 Cassie and Caitlin watching for daddy to cross the finish line!

 There goes Mike!

 that's my man!

 I love this picture of Lorraine giving all the high fives on her way to the finish. One thing is for sure: these boys love their mom and we are all so proud of her.

    Happy family happy finish.

one whole year

My baby turned one. One year ago, I thought it would be an eternity before this day would come. I remember so vividly the amazing mix of emotions when she was born and I saw her for the first time. I remember bringing her home from the hospital like it was yesterday. I can't believe it went so fast, yet I am so incredibly grateful that I have been there for every. single. day of it. There are little moments that I have had with her that are so special I just can't explain it. I am constantly thinking to myself "I need to remember this exact moment" I just want to lock them up in my heart forever and carry them with me. Just the cute things she does or the little snuggles she gives or when I know that she has learned something that only I see and they are so special between us. I love being her mom. She is the light of my life and the beginning of so many smiles. Paul and I are completely obsessed with her. She will always be our baby girl, even though she is growing up so fast before our eyes. I'm not sad that she's turning one though, i'm excited to see what new and exciting things the future holds for her because she is amazing and i have no doubt that she will conquer the world in her own little way. I love you my sweet sweet baby girl.

12 months old

-(has been going on for a couple months) She loves pulling things out of whatever they are in. For example: my shoes out of the shelves, clothes out of laundry baskets, DVDs out of storage racks, food out of pantry or fridge. Unfortunately, hasn't found the joy in putting things back in yet.
-(has been going on for a couple months) she loves to climb on our little step that goes up to our bath tub and turn on the faucet.
-Walks all over the place like a pro.
-She says dada. She babbles: yaya baba bubu. She's getting close to "hi" and "bye bye" she also says "moo" for a cow noise.
-She points to everything, especially things she wants.
-She still has two bottles: one at nap time and one at bed time.
-She LOVES her blankies. She has two: one regular size one and one little one and likes to have both and whenever we go to get her in the morning or after her nap she looks around and gathers up her blankets then stands up in her crib.
-loves music and has started to bounce when she hears it
-she will give kisses, but mostly only to mommy and daddy
-her favorite food is probably bologna. She loves it. She also loves most fruits. She also loves ice chips, she eats them like candy. 
-she is very opinionated about what she wants
-When we are in our backyard she loves to go and pick tomatoes and gnaws on them and then squishes them.
-still a great sleeper, one long nap in the afternoon then about 12 hours at night.
-stats: weight: 21.12 (51%) length:29.75 in. (72%) head circumference: 18.25 in. (84%)

Foto Friday

 

bahahahaha!

MOO

Caitlin has some new tricks: she says moo! whenever she sees a cow she will do a deep growling "mmmm" I got it on camera the other day. She also gives kisses! which i LOVE!
This is from the iphone so it's not the best but you can get the idea:

Foto Friday

 she's really into books right now. and also really into her aunt cassie

the day-to-day

home made sushi and movie night at Mike and Jenna's

 

 the mall with my mom and Cassie (Caitlin never snuggles like this it was so cute. she was so tired)

canning banana peppers from our garden.. 9 cans! very successful. I don't think we will be buying banana peppers for a very long time.  

Caitlin's P1nk Party

since family was already in town for the weekend, we decided to celebrate Caitlin's first birthday a little early and have her party on August 13th. We had a pink party! Let me just say, it was mayhem. Full of people, fun, family, friends, and pink. It was over the top and a little overwhelming for Caitlin. But, very fun. We had pink lemonade, pizza, fruit, popcorn, and veggies for lunch. We had a pink candy bar. Everyone played outside and then we read the book "Pinkalicious" and had pink cupcakes. Caitlin was not afraid of her cake at all. She dove right in and had lots of fun playing with it, and even got a few bites to her mouth. She got way too many cute gifts and had lots of help opening them from the other kids too. It was a great celebration for my greatest little girl. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

a day long awaited

PAUL GRADUATED! He finally did it. He's been doing the whole full-time work with part-time school things for 4 years now and with all of my prodding he is now done. I'm so proud of Paul for sticking with it and chipping away at school through such busy times, a broken back, a semester of mono and countless other reasons to drop out or take it even slower. And now he is a BYU alum! Seeing him finish and wear the cap and gown was one of MY proudest moments. 

Thursday we attended convocation in the Marriott center then had a big family dinner at our house. I gave him his graduation gift --a quilt I made out of all our old BYU t-shirts. Friday morning we attended the graduation for the school of Communications where he got to walk across the stage and get his diploma. Graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications: Public Relations and a minor in Business Management in true Paul fashion: he was the VERY absolute last graduate inside the Marriott center for the convocation after the big processional. And, when they announced his name to get his diploma, this was his response: 

 

 

 

 

 

Foto Friday

her first mini ponytail! and lots of (not-so-mini) sass to go with it.