Life is Wonderful!

I have been tremendously blessed these past two years and I am so very grateful for my life. I have had many great things happen and I couldn't be happier! Among having happy children, loving family and supportive friends, the opportunity to go back to school and fulfilling my church calling, I have been given another blessing in which I am feeling much gratitude for at this time that comes in the form of a MAN. That's right! I am dating again and I have been made a believer that love can happen for me again, because it has. I am grateful for his kindness, patience, understanding, righteousness, spirituality, humor, athleticism, determination, dedication and love for life. His list of qualities do not stop there. Here is his Blog debut!
Mr. D!! We love and adore him.

Yeah, I Can Sew.

I'm heading off to be on the food committee for our Stake Youth Trek soon and I get to wear pioneer clothes. I borrowed a couple of dresses and bought a skirt but as I was thinking about my "outfits" I realized I needed one more skirt. Sew(haha), I broke out my sewing machine I got for Christmas and made me a pioneer skirt. I Googled "how to sew a pioneer skirt" and I found a blog that had step by step directions. It was fun. I'm trying to find more things to sew! My mom is SEW happy that I finally put my skills to use :) .... I forgot to mention that I made it out of a bed sheet! It took me several hours to do this, and my mom whipped up an apron to go with it within an hour. I'm all set!

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Silver Star

Slade was such a tough guy when he got his filling, or as the Dr. called it, a silver star. Luckily he will lose this tooth and hopefully I can help him floss better :) He and I made a deal that if he fully cooperated and didn't cry when he got the shot in his mouth, I would get him more Hot Wheels to add to his collection. He was the best 5 year old patient and said he didn't even feel the shot! I am so proud of him! The hot wheels are waiting for him on the counter when he wakes up. Can't wait to see his reaction!

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Shades

Grandma Stock sent down Easter gifts for the kids and Slade received some sweet shades! He was SO excited about them and demonstrated several ways to wear them. I can't get over how much he looks like Skylar when he wears sunglasses. I love it! I'll have to find a picture of Skylar wearing some to compare. So far, a very sucessful *early* Easter gift!!

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Smashed

Several months ago I dropped a can on my toe. About a month after that, my toenail fell off! It is starting to grow back but in the meantime, I made myself a new one :)

BTW, I posted this from my cell phone! I am amazed with how far technology has come everyday. And if I'm way far behind with figuring out this "blogging from smart phone" technology, please don't tell me. I'm enjoying it :)

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"Is Maylee Bigger Yet?"

Maylee celebrated her 2nd birthday on the 3rd! Its hard to believe that she is 2, but she sure acts like it! She is lucky to share her birthday with her daddy, who would have been 29 this year. Maylee has always been my best sleeper, so on the morning of her birthday Slade and Daisy kept asking me when they could see Maylee. I soon realized they were so anxious to see her because they thought she was going to LOOK bigger! Haha! They were disappointed when she woke still the same small peanut she was the night before. For breakfast she enjoyed a pink sprinkle donut (just the frosting and sprinkles, of course) and a nice big sippy cup of milk. We took her to Build-a-Bear to get her very own bear, went out to lunch, went clothes shopping and then out to dinner. She enjoyed being the princess of the day!!

She went in for her 2 year well check yesterday and weighs a whopping 21lbs! She is still in the 2nd percentile for height and weight but she IS growing! It was determined to keep her on a modified gluten-free diet, seeing how it helped a bit. She is done with shots until its kindergarten time and the doctor was impressed with her speaking skills. He said there are no concerns at this time and I am thankful for that!!

RUN!!

I finally did it!! Each year that London's Run comes around, I tell myself that I am going to run in it. Well, most years I was either pregnant or nursing so I wasn't able to participate. This year I am neither and had NO excuse not to run. Three weeks before the event, I signed up for the 10k. I had been sick the past two weeks and hadn't ran since before Thanksgiving but my mind was set and I told myself I would do it regardless if I had to walk the whole way! I ran three times a week but could not run more than 3 miles! The night before the race I started my "ladies days" and I ate at Olive Garden at 9pm! I knew then and there that I would not be able to run the whole race and mentally prepared myself for not reaching my goal of running the entire time. However, as I started the race, I felt great and energized and with each mile I told myself I would run just one more mile before having to walk. As mile 4 passed, I told myself it would be silly to have to walk the last two miles, so I kept going. I ended up running the ENTIRE time! It was a great feeling to cross the finish line knowing I had accomplished my goal!! During the race, I could hear Skylar's voice telling me that I could do it. You know, in his "why do you think you can't do it?" voice. My thoughts wondered to wonderful memories and it motivated me to keep going. It also helped to have pictures of the children that had/have cancer along the course, with encouraging words. It turned out to be an emotional race and I didn't expect that at all. It was an AMAZING feeling knowing that Skylar would be so proud of me for running the whole time and not giving up. I DID IT!!

My official time was 1:08:52, or 11:05 minute miles :)

1 YEAR

I sure do miss him. The kids and I talk about him everyday and although Maylee was a baby when he passed, she still recognizes his pictures and has to kiss each of them. Slade told me today that he just wants to be a dad right now. He explained to me that he just wants to do eveything that daddy did, so in his mind he needs to be a dad in order to accomplish that. It was cute. Daisy tells daddy about everything! I listen to her playing in her room and she pretends that he is playing right along with her. I love it. We love and miss you Skylar!

Halloween 2010

We had a fun Halloween this year with a few parties and handing out candy to trick-or-treaters. We carved one big family pumpkin and the kids enjoyed lighting it up each night. Slade made sure not to eat too much candy this year so he wouldn't throw up like last year :) Daisy changed her mind about her costume about every 10 minutes up until it was time to get dressed up. Maylee was pretty good at sneaking candy! She has a sweet tooth like her mom!

Slade was a handsome Cowboy! He originally wanted to be Batman but decided he didn't have a cool Batman shirt, so he switched it up to being a soccer player. After being a soccer player for his preschool party, he decided to be a Cowboy for our ward party.


Daisy made the perfect Batgirl. Her personality really came out with this costume!

Slade asked me to be a Cowgirl along with his Cowboy costume and I agreed. I usually don't dress up but it was hard to say no to a sweet loving Cowboy. My talented sister Kendyl captured this photo of me :)

Daisy is MIA in this photo. I believe she was in line for the fishing game at our ward carnival. Maylee made a perfect Tinkerbell!!

We all had a great time!

Maylee Rayne at 18 months

Miss Maylee had her 18 month well check a couple weeks ago and she had only gained 7oz from her last appointment. She is still in the 2nd percentile (18lbs). Her DR was disappointed as he had hoped she would have had a growth spurt by now. I mentioned to him that she has had diarrhea for several months now and so after discussing a few things, he wanted me to take her off of gluten for two weeks and see if the diarrhea would go away. If that didn't work, I was to take her off of dairy for two weeks. It was either that or get her blood taken which would have cost me $530. So, for the past two weeks she hasn't had any gluten and it's helping! I am new to the gluten-free diet so its been difficult for me to find and make food for her. I went to the Gluten World store and spent $36 on 5 items. I don't want to do that anymore! I feel the need to take her off of dairy for two weeks to see if that is a problem as well because that runs in my family.
Otherwise she is doing great! She is officially in a size 3 shoe and 12 month clothes. She talks a lot and has the cutest voice. She loves Barbies, animals, babies and her blanket. She climbs on everything too! Her DR gave me permission to put her in a forward facing carseat although she isn't 20 lbs yet and she LOVES it! Grandpa Stock gave her the nickname Just Big Enough and it fits her so well. She is tiny but she keeps up very well!

*I let Maylee pick a picture of herself for this post. She would look at the picture and then look at me and pretend to eat something just like she is in the picture. She would then giggle and do it again and again...

Little bit of Skylar

Skylar's 2nd love (after me of course) was bow hunting. He had found Elk antlers on his last hunting trip and I remember him calling me the day he found them. He was so excited about them because they were huge and he couldn't wait for me to see them. Well, as you know, he didn't come home from that hunting trip, but the antlers did. Skylar's brother Beau, had them mounted for me and I was able to bring them home from Utah. The antlers on the top are from the Elk Skylar shot right after his mission. The ones on the bottom are the ones he found. He was right! They are huge!! I don't know the specifics on them but they are impressive!

The other day I received a letter in the mail along with this drawing. It turns out that Skylar drew this in sixth grade while attending Neely Elementary. His teacher, Mrs. Elston was the one who sent it to me. She explained that her classroom was named the Elston Eagles and Skylar also nominated her for the Silver Apple Award, which she won. (I also have the application he sent in.) Skylar was always doodling his drawings always surprised me because they were so good! I remember helping him review for a test for the fire department and all over his notes were pictures that he drew. Thank you Mrs. Elston!

Side note- It turns out that Mrs. Elston lives down the street from Skylar's station that he worked at, at the time of his passing, yet she never saw him.

Utah

Daisy wants to be a cowgirl princess ballerina and Slade wants to be a cowboy fireman policeman worker. Both want horses so they were more than excited to ride Zee. Thanks Beau for taking them the whole 10 miles, haha!

Maylee loved Beau's dog, Girl.

Guess what?! Slade learned how to ride without training wheels in Utah! Grandma and Grandpa Stock both worked with him and he can do it! He was very nervous at first but after a few crashes he got the hang of it. He is growing up! (Tear).

Utah

For some reason I can only upload 4 pictures at a time, so the post above will have the rest...

The kids and I were able to take a trip to Utah in August and I am so happy we did. The drive was long but the kids were very well behaved thanks to a dual DVD player :) Maylee wasn't able to be forward facing yet, so she got her own screen while the other two kids shared. It was perfect! Anyway, while we were there we went fishing!! Four of us fished and we all caught one. Mine is the smallest one but it tasted yummy!

We spent a lot of time outside and at one point I lost track of Slade. I didn't know where he was so I yelled his name and he didn't respond. I knew he was probably by the horses, and sure enough, he was! He said he heard me yelling but he didn't want to scare Zee. Grandpa Stock had been teaching him to not spook the horses and he knew better than to yell. He was just standing on the horse trailer talking to and petting Zee. It was really cute.

I brought a sword home from Disneyland for Slade and he packed that and a wooden stake to bring up to Utah so he could sword fight Uncle Beau. It was a pretty good match!

The Boy

This post goes along with the one below....

Grandma Stock gave Slade a really fun nerf-type toy. You pump the rocket and it shoots into the sky. Slade absolutely loved it! Then he stuck his middle finger into the hole and he couldn't get it out. Grandpa Stock tried everything to loosen up the finger and slide it out but nothing worked. NOTHING.

So, Grandpa Stock cut the toy down so it would be easier to work with.

This is the only time he will EVER be allowed to pose like that for a picture.

After about an hour or so of trying different things to get it off, cutting it off was the only option. Slade did a really good job and didn't ever cry. The butter knife was placed inside the toy and over Slade's finger so he wouldn't get cut. Grandpa Stock was able to saw through the plastic and finally release Slade's finger. His finger was very swollen and had a red ring around it for a couple days. The only time he did cry was when his toy was thrown away.

Taylor

For Pioneer Day in July, the kids and I drove up to Taylor and met Skylar's family for a little reunion. It rained a lot, but we took advantage of the sun while it was out. Grandma Stock bought all the granddaughters matching tutu's and shirts to wear for fun. They looked so cute!!

They are showing off their twirling moves! They are all pretty close in age besides Maylee, but she still keeps up pretty good.

Slade riding his horse, Shooter. So far each of the grandkids has a horse named after them besides Maylee. Shooter was Slade's nickname Skylar gave him while in the womb because we found out he was a boy at 13 weeks :)

Slade, Kinley and Daisy having fun in the barn.

It was a fun trip, although short, it was nice to see Skylar's family again.

Hamsters

Our first pet! We haven't had a pet in our home since Skylar brought home a rattlesnake and named it Fluffy. No joke, but I made him get rid of it when Slade was born. I was going to start school soon, so I was trying to think of ways to keep the kids occupied while I was doing school work and the hamsters turned out to be the perfect pets for them! We have two of them, hopefully both male, and they have been named Slade and Daisy. Maylee doesn't have one yet but if one of the males turns out to be female, she just might get one... The kids love them! I don't let them out of the cage often, or really ever, because my kids are mean to them but they are fun to watch!

June

Back in June, Slade and Daisy did swim lessons with Jennifer Johnson. Jennifer and I grew up in the same ward in Gilbert and is was so much fun having my kids take her class. She is wonderful! Slade can swim all by himself now and Daisy can as well, but she is still a little timid. They loved it!