Our Big Weekend

Our little family just got back from our big trip to Oakland, California. We all flew out to see Dallen's Uncle Matt get hitched!! We had so much fun and took probably 100's of pictures. We got some really good ones and wish we could share them all, but there are some that Uncles and others took that I haven't yet received. And of course there are the things that didn't get caught on camera like: Dallen reading the newspaper on the hotel bed in his diaper, sleeping with Daddy's cell phone is his hand and so many other faces that unfortunately are not only un-capture-able but indescribably adorable!!! I had some fun with the pictures I did capture using the editing software on my computer and I think these pictures turned out pretty great, if I do say so myself. Here are a few pictures to help tell the story of our weekend...

Thursday Daddy came home from work early to help Dallen and I pack. Dallen just wanted to make sure we didn't forget anything, or anyone! Then it was off to the airport (thanks for the rides Tanner and Leann).

Friday We went to the Oakland temple for Amy Nicole. It was such a beautiful temple and a wonderful experience. Later that night the girls (bachelorettes) and boys (bachelors) got to stay up late and party, seperately of course. Thanks to my parents taking Dallen for the night, Mark and I were able to stay out late!!

Saturday Morning It was the big day :) Everything about the wedding was fabulous and we felt so blessed to all be there. I thought that I would wait to post pictures of Amy and wedding parties until she gets to put them on her blog. I just know that if I had a blog at the time of my wedding, I would have been kinda sad if someone put up a spoiler, so I will post those in a few weeks probably and provide a link to her blog which will have much better (professional) pictures. While Matt & Amy took lots of pictures which I can't wait to see, we had to find ways to keep Dallen entertained and ended up taking lots of pictures of our own!! Dallen was sooo busy, most of the pictures he's not looking right at the camera but cute nonetheless. Dallen found lots of things to keep him busy such as:

The grass
The water-less fountain
Grandpa
Mimi
Mommy & her accessories
Daddy
And new friends

*You've gotta watch this ADORABLE video clip (turn up the volume)*

Saturday Night The reception was great at a little seafood restaurant by the bay, right on the water. The food was yummy and the company fantastic!! Dallen was all about the dance floor. His date for the evening, his cousin Avery. She is a little ballerina and would not leave the dance floor. She was dancing with anyone and everyone and totally hammed it up, so cute!!

First, she asked Dallen to dance:
Dallen was just a little too slow:
So, he watched for a while as she danced...
...and enjoyed her piece of wedding cake: Dallen's favorite part of the evening was when he got to remove his tuxedo pants and run around "risky business" style:

Sunday Dallen did really well on both plane rides and cheesed it up for the camera on the way home!! All in all it was a great weekend and we owe many thanks...

Thank you Brackens for a wonderful wedding weekend. Thank you Mom and Dad for the free babysitting. Thank you Matt and Amy for letting us be a part of your big day. Thank you everyone for the wonderful memories!!

Fun & Hats

Mark's parents came to town for Memorial Day weekend to play with little D. We went over to Aunt Joan's house where her little girls just smothered him with love. They put this adorable yellow hard hat on him and he kept it on while they played. Dallen also had lots of fun with Grandpa's hat. He was so sleep deprived over the weekend but we sure had lots of good times!!

Crashed

I just cherish these moments!! Can you believe how big this man is?

Behold Wonder.

Dallen has recently learned to pull himself up on anything and everything around the house. His favorite new place to play is in his crib. He plays this little game where he pulls up and falls down over and over again!! It keeps him busy for a long time (at least on a baby's clock!) He is so proud of himself and his accomplishments, as are his parents. The only problem with this new found talent is that several times in the middle of the night he pulls up and is too tired to figure out how to get back down. Which means, I have to wake up every couple of hours and help him back down. At least I got these cute pictures out of it. I couldn't choose which ones to post because they all turned out so cute!! Best of all, I got a little video, enjoy!!

Sidenote: Since these were taken we had to move the crib mattress down. He is refusing to sleep at night and Momma just can't hack it anymore!! Sorry D :)

First Baseball Game

Last Friday night our friends invited us to Dallen's first baseball game. Although I am sad that his first wasn't the Angels, we couldn't turn down 2nd row tickets!! Dallen was a champ :) He did so good. I was worried because the game would go into his bedtime, but would you believe he actually fell asleep at the game?!?! I was so impressed with my little man. He loved it!! His favorite part was getting to sit in his own seat. Our little man is all about his independence. As you can see by the bruises on his little forhead :( Thank you to Jared and Heather for taking us to the game, let's go again soon!!

My First Mothers Day

I had a beautiful first Mothers day. I am so blessed to have 2 great men in my life to treat me like a princess. I got some really wonderful gifts, one of which you have already seen. Mark has made a tradition (which I love) of getting me Swarovski's for special occasions. This is my fourth piece and it is absolutely adorable. For Mothers day he picked a baby bear with a little blue bottle and binky. I love it, thank you Mark.From Dallen I requested a small art project. It was not such an easy task, but well worth it. I used the paint colors from Dallen's nursery to make these hand and feet prints. They could have used a few more, but little D was not a very willing participant. I still think they turned out great!! Thank you boys for a fabulous Mothers Day!!

Happy Mothers Day

TO ME
My sister Aubrey gave me this painting from her friend (http://www.littleshopofshavs.com/) for Mothers Day and it is absolutely perfect!! I love it sooo much :) Some of you may have seen it on Aubrey's blog, and I just can't wait to get it on my wall!!

I also want to thank my Mom for the sign language DVD's. I am excited to watch Dallen learn. I am sorry your gift will be late this year, I really dropped the ball. I have a much greater appreciation for this day this year and am thinking of you Mom!! I hope that you have a wonderful and happy Mothers Day. I wish we could be there with you because we love you!!
And a Happy Mothers Day to all the mothers and soon-to-be and someday-will-be mothers in my life!! I hope the blessings of motherhood bring you every happiness they have brought to me! Enjoy your day :)

Free For All

The Tempe Beach Park Splash Playground at Tempe Town Lake is so much fun and it is all for free!! I can't believe it has taken me a year to discover this amazing place. Dallen and I took Charee and Chloe Thursday morning and decided we want to go back every day. We were having so much fun that we didn't take quite as many pictures as I would have liked. There was so much more to this park than what we got pictures of. There were 2 slides and a bunch of little pools that Dallen crawled through like a champ. There were fountains of water shooting from the ground and waterfalls. Dallen loved sticking his head under and getting all wet. This little boy loves water. He was pretty timid at first, but about 10 minutes into, he was loving it :) I can't wait to go back!!

Per Your Request

Can you believe this little munchkin?!?! Sorry, it's kinda long, but it gets better as it goes. I wish I knew how to put it to some cool music or something, feel free to play your own :) Enjoy!!