Fun with Family

August has been fun and busy! On August 21st my parents came into town. We love to see them because it doesn't happen often! Ohio is a long ways away! They got here just in time for Brayden's first soccer game and first day of school.

First day of 2nd Grade!

He says he likes soccer and he sure looks cute in his uniform. Josh volunteered to be a referee and he enjoys it except when the parents get a little out of hand or the coaches don't like the calls.

Alayna isn't a huge fan of people and usually cries but Grandpa Vermillion won her over!

It took a little while for her to warm up to Grandma Vermillion!

The whole reason for the trip... Carl and Ashley had a baby! They named him Preston James. He is so cute and cuddly! The kids just adore him and Alayna likes to point at him and attempt to say baby. On Sunday September 11th they blessed him.

Grandpa and Grandma Vermillion just adore him too!

While we were in Rexburg for the blessing and luncheon we drove by the Temple and visited the Gardens at BYU Idaho.

Anthony's family came up and enjoyed the baby as well. Mason seems to enjoy playing with the kids just as much as my kids love having him to play with!

 They asked me to take some pictures for them while they were here too!

We got to also go tour and check out the B17 and B25 used in WWII while they were here at the airport.

We got to go inside the B17 and look around. Watch out for the Dawson boys they are attached to the guns!

We also spent some time up at Rigby Lake. Alayna loved it and it wore her out!

Both big and little kids loved it!

Congrats Carl and Ashley! We will miss you Dad and Mom! Can't wait for another visit!

Alayna Turns 1!

Alayna is growing up so fast! It doesn't seem like she could be one already but time flies when you have fun! She is such a happy child and is so tolerant. She still loves Brayden so much! She is getting much better with other people as well. There for awhile I don't think she liked anyone but now she is slowly becoming a little people person. She has mastered the stairs, using a sippy cup, standing up without support, walking around the room holding furniture, playing peek a boo, and pointing! She doesn't get into to much trouble and when she does it is usually instigated by one of the other kids. She is a super good sleeper and here soon she will be sharing a bedroom with Kaytlin. She has two teeth which in her mind entitles her to eat whatever she wants! We have been feeding her adult food for a bit now and she loves it! Her favorite was spaghetti the other day!

She is also now big enough to be in a big girl carseat! I think she enjoys this much better because she can see everything!

She sees me do Kaytlin's hair most days and tries so hard to put clips in her own hair which is so cute. Her hair is long enough for a little pig tail and growing so much each week that I tried pigtails. I asked Brayden how she looked and he said "She looks like a moose" and I said "at least she looks like a very cute moose!"

Just last night we got together with the family to celebrate her birthday! It was stormy out, raining buckets but it was fun! She opened presents first! She wasn't to thrilled about the whole process.

Her favorite present was her bumble bee pillow pet. She also got some clothes that were super cute! 

We then had cake and ice cream! We got a fishy cupcake cake from Walmart.

We also got her a little Pooh cake that she was able to enjoy!

Today we took her to the doctor for her checkup and she is growing great! She weighs 22 pounds and is 29 inches long. She wasn't thrilled with shots either! At least we found out her toe isn't broken from dropping a can of food on it yesturday! Even with all that she is happy and playful! 

We hope for another great year and more smiles! Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!

Happy Birthday Brayden!

Brayden turned 7 this past Saturday so we had to celebrate!

We started out by getting up and making cake to allow to cool while we went and played! I made a red lego cake but forgot to get a picture of it! We ran a few errands and then we went to Funland! The kids earned a free ride pass from the summer reading program at the Library! Shame they only give you one ride pass for each but they still enjoyed it. They chose to ride the merry-go-round for their free ride!

After playing for a bit we did some shopping with Grandma Dawson for some new church shoes.

We then headed home to finish cake and get the girls to have a nap before the party!

We had his party at Peterson Park in Ammon!

I caught him stuck in here but he wasn't stuck for long! They played for awhile on the toys while we waited on everyone to come for cake and ice cream!

Some of the bigger kids even had a stick fight. Here Andruw(cousin) and Hailey(friend) were dueling it out!

Probably my favorite picture of the day! Brayden loves Alayna and vice versa! They spend a lot of time together and he is so good with her!

Then we all had cake and ice cream! Then presents!

Soccer ball for the upcoming season that he is playing in!

 Camera that he begged us for and was so excited to use! He has taken tons of pictures that I should do a blog entry on for you all to see my son's great work!

Squirt Guns!

They have been played with and played with because the temperatures around here have been hot!

 Penguin Pillow Pet! This was Alayna's favorite toy! I hinted it to Carl and Ashley because Brayden was looking at them online the other day.

Grandma and Grandpa Dawson got him some new duds! What a cutie pie!

All the cousin's on the Dawson side! Grandma Dawson wanted a pic of all the kids together so this is what I put together for her! They were pretty squirmy as you can imagine... but I took a half dozen pictures while they were sitting there and I used three of the pics for this one. From Left to Right: Joseph, Cadance, Brayden, Alayna, Sydney, Kaytlin, Andruw, and Landon!

All in all it was a super fun day!

Turning 7 means no more carseat! He was thrilled!

I still can't believe my little guy is 7! He is such a big helper and we are so glad he is in our family! We love you Brayden! Happy Birthday!