Stunning Mr. P

These are the pictures I took of my nephew, Payton today. Payton is such a big ball of personality! One day a few months ago Payton started calling me Diet Coke. I guess he heard us talking about Diet Coke and it sounded like Aunt Cole...So it's my new name! This morning Payton was wearing a muscle shirt so I said, "Hey, muscle boy...What's your name?" Payton's mom said, "Tell her it's Mr. P." Payton's reply was, "That's LITTLE P to you!" I absolutely love this kid!

Miles of Smiles...

My sister asked me to take some pictures of her family for her mother-in-law. These are a few of my favorites...Aren't my little munchkins about the cutest things you've ever seen in your entire life?

Top 10 things I miss about Dylan today...

Dylan is spending the next week at Grandma & Grandpa's house in Idaho. Whenever Dyl's gone I relax and take it easy, run errands and clean house. Then, after a couple days, I'm bored and miss Dyl a ton! I got home last night and my house was so quiet...It reminds me how lucky I am to have Dylan in my life...It reminds me of little everyday miracles that I tend to take for granted! Quiet time is so nice because it gives me a chance to appreciate having this little munchkin in my life!
1- Loud bouts of laughter
2- Questions about why Dyl can't have a gas-powered 4-wheeler and animals, like horses and cows, in the backyard
3- Hearing words like "holy sh**" and threatening Dyl that if he says it again he won't be going to the circus..
4- Cuddles and reading books...
5- The way Dylan sneaks into my bed at night...Then turns upside-down and kicks me all night long...
6- Somebody to bake cookies with and somebody to argue with about taking a Sunday afternoon nap. (Dyl isn't much of a napper!)
7- Noise
8- A jabbering kid in the backseat of the car. I rarely turn on the radio so it's REALLY quiet without Dyl in the car.
9- Pee all over the toilet seat and the complaints of having to clean it up
10- Hugs, kisses, and "I love you Mommy's"

Weekend in Poky

We got our family pictures taken with Mom, Dad, my siblings, and their spouses and kids. The kids actually cooperated so hopefully we got some good ones. It was a short trip but it's always a good time when we get together with family! Don't I have the 2 most adorable neices you ever saw in your whole entire life?

Payton and Dyl exhibiting their musical talents... Payton, complete with a rocker hair-do, was excited to have all the cousins over to play. Dyl and Payton played the drums and danced for us...
We celebrated Ryan, Kathy and Karla's birthdays. Dyl and Karly would never miss out on some birthday cake!

Made ya work for it!

My adorable neice, Karly, is so not emotional...She is about the cutest thing you ever saw in your life but she's just not a "warm and fuzzy" kinda girl. Karly rarely hugs (except for Daddy, of course) and I've definitely never gotten an "I love you, Aunt Cole" from her...Until today! Yippity skippity! Mark your calendars...'cuz today, I think I may have won over Karly's heart!

Junk in the trunk...

We were on our way up to Pocatello to get family pictures taken with the Findlay crew. Chase and Dylan were in the backseat picking on each other so we decided to have them watch a movie on Tracy's laptop. Chase wanted to watch "Scooby Do." Dylan, on the other hand, wanted to watch "Lady in the Trunk (translated: Lady and the Tramp)."

Cayenne pepper don't wash out

When my brother, Anthony, was about Dylan's age he began to have a potty mouth and there was nothing my mom hated more than to hear her children swear. Every time Anthony would swear she'd threaten to wash his mouth out with soap. Finally, when the soap trick didn't work, Mom took a little pinch of cayenne pepper and stuck it on the tip of Anthony's tongue. I still remember Anthony in the bathroom spitting and trying to wash the pepper taste out of his mouth and crying, "Cayenne peppie don't wash out!" It actually worked 'cuz I don't think Anthony swore for a long time after that! Anyways...So lately Dyl and Chase have learned a few potty words so I told Dylan about Uncle Anthony and the cayenne pepper. Yesterday as we were at the grocery store, Dylan was focused solely on purchasing cayenne pepper. He kept asking, "Mom, where do we find the cayenne pepper? Don't forget to buy cayenne pepper." I wasn't really planning on buying any but, since Dyl insisted, we went over to the spice isle...as I wanted Dyl to realize I was serious about him using bad words....The best 2 bucks I've ever spent in my entire life! Every time Dyl even thinks about saying a bad word he reminds himself of the cayenne pepper in the cupboard...And I haven't even had to use it! It's funny how Dyl took the initiative to solve his own bad habit!

Ladies' Man...

I was telling Dylan that we're getting family pictures taken next weekend. He asked who was going to be in the family picture. I named grandma and grandpa and all Dyl's aunts and uncles and cousins. When I got done with the list Dylan asked me who else was going to be in our family picture. When I advised nobody else would be in the picture Dylan's only reply was, "Well what about all my pretty girlfriends?"

...All in the family...

Dylan: If I'm your kid then why is my skin brown and your skin white?
Mom: Because you're 1/2 mom and 1/2 dad--Dad is dark brown and mom is white...And that makes adorable Dylan.
Dylan: I got white hands and white feet and a white butt so that means I'm your son!

Speedsters...

So Dylan's latest thing is to get me to drive faster and pass the cars next to us on the freeway. Tonight as I was driving Dyl piped up and said, "Mom...speed up!" I sped up a little and then told Dylan I couldn't go too fast or I'd get a speeding ticket. "Great!" he replied. "You can ALWAYS drive fast if you have a ticket to speed!"

Magical...

When we were camping Grandma introduced Dylan to hand sanitizer. He thought it was so cool that you could just squirt in in your hands and go without having to stop, turn on the water and dry your hands. We were in WalMart tonight and Dylan spotted some hand sanitizer on the shelf and shouted with amazement, "Cool, Mom! It's magic soap like Grandma has! We gotta buy some!" After listening to Dyl's mini infomercial about the amazing product he convinced me to buy the magic soap. Dyl continued to talk up the magic soap the whole way home, jabbering on about what a wonderful thing it was. We got home and Dyl marched upstairs to his bathroom and put the magic soap just within his reach, then ran back down the stairs. When asked where the magic soap went, Dyl said, "I put it up by the sink. That way after I go potty and can just grab a squirt and go and then I'll have more time to play!"

Kiss Up

Every night Dylan tries to bribe me to let him watch a movie before he goes to bed. Tonight he peered at me with his big, brown puppy dog eyes and asked if he could just watch one episode of Drake and Josh. I'd tivo'd it so I gave in and told him he could watch just 1. Throughout the show Dylan tried to grab the remote and rewind the show hoping I wouldn't notice. As soon as Dylan realized the show was coming to an end he gave me a big smooch, told me how much he loved me, and then rubbed my back. When I told him it was time to turn off the tv Dylan proudly said, "Mom, since I rubbed your back then you gotta let me watch just 1 more...It's a rule." It's a good thing I don't follow the rules!

Brown & Browner

Dylan has this thing about who's the most "brown." Grandpa Findlay, although white, has black (and gray!) hair and is very dark complected. Dyl's skin is a very light brown, except for during the summer when he spends all his time out in the sun. Grandpa and Dyl have about the same color skin but, at the first of summer, Dyl was darker than Grandpa--And he made sure to compare and point it out. One day I went to pick Dylan up after work and, on the way home, I asked what he'd been doing all day. He simply replied, "Oh...just hanging out in the sun and getting browner." Whenever we go swimming at Aunt Tracy's pool Dyl greases himself up with her coconut-smelling suntan oil and says, "Can you smell my suntan?" After he lays out for about 2 seconds he dives back in the pool. Anyway, on this particular day I asked Dylan why he and Shaylee had written all over their legs with a brown marker. Dyl's response was, "We're just trying to get a little browner!"

Yee-haw!

Aren't these the most adorable little cowboys you've ever seen in your whole entire life? Every year we attend that Famous Preston Night Rodeo and the kids have a blast! Of course...it would never be quite the same without Wranglers, cowboy boots, and 10-gallon cowboy hats! Dyl's favorite part every year is always the bull riders and, of course, the clowns. I grew up in a very small town but, after being gone for 17 years, it's always comical for me to go back and attend small town events like rodeos and parades. It reminds me of how simple life used to be and, although I'd never wanna go back, there's a part of me that misses the small town life. My parents still live where I grew up and we visit often...I feel lucky that Dyl gets to live a bit of both lives: The great opportunities and diversity of living in the city...and the calm, laid-back fun of country life. Somehow I can't get Dyl to quit talking about buying a goat, a cow, and a horse to put in the backyard...He's got his mind set on it!

Preston Parade

This is a picture of Dylan's Aunt Melissa, which is his dad's sister, with her son, Rodney, and Grandpa Bates. Melissa passed away unexpectedly this past Tuesday at the age of 42. Dyl didn't know her but he had spoken to Melissa on the phone once. Out of everybody on Thomas' side I wanted Dylan to have the opportunity to meet Melissa more than probably anybody but we haven't made it to California yet to visit. Melissa was warm and friendly and such a wonderful mother. I tried to explain Melissa's death to Dylan so that we could call and give Grandpa and Grandma our condolences. I explained that dad's sister died and that she now lives up in heaven with Jesus...but added, "She's going to be alright, though...She's happy." Dylan had all sorts of unexpected questions from, "Can we drive Grandpa's 4-wheeler to heaven and visit Aunt Melissa and Jesus?" to "I wanna call Aunt Melissa." I explained that Aunt Melissa can always live in Dylan's heart and, as he gets older, he can hear stories about how wonderful she was. RIP, Melissa! May we meet again someday!

...Burglars in the house!

The most mysterious thing happened today while we were gone. Dylan had a bag of water balloons that he swears he left on the coffee table. When we arrived home they were missing! Dylan was distraught and said, "Mom, did you lock ALL of the doors in the house when we left? Even the one in the garage?" When I told him I had locked all the doors Dyl responded with, "That's just what I was thinking was going to happen! Strangers came into our house while we were gone and they stole my water balloons!" It's a little odd that the burglars didn't take anything else...Nothing else in the house had disappeared...Maybe the water balloons were the most valuable thing in the house. Later when I found the water balloons Dylan said it was nice the strangers brought them back...And we had a nice little water fight with Chase and Shay...

Smooches...

Very seldomly do I ever watch tv but I've been setting the DVR this season for the show the Bachelorette. Tonight Dyl was on a walk with the neighbor kid so I decided to watch the season finale. The guy got down on one knee, made his wedding proposal, and in walked Dylan as the two were exchanging rather passionate kisses. Dyl did a quick stare at the tv and then in all seriousness responded with, "Mom, sometimes WE do that, huh?" I was trying so hard not to giggle when I blurted out, "NOT LIKE THAT WE SURE DON'T!" Dylan's answer to that was, "Well...sometimes we hug and kiss and stuff, KINDA like that." There's a reason we only watch cartoons and kid shows around our house!

Apricots Galore!

Our apricot tree produced so many apricots this year they were growing out of our ears! Chase and Dyl loved climbing up the ladder and picking the biggest apricots...

These two haven't been so quiet since...oh, wait...I don't remember when they've been this quiet!

Water-iffic!

One of Dylan's places to be when it's hot outside is the water park!!!!

Not-So-Secret Crush!

Here is Dylan and his 17-year-old girlfriend, Kenzie. Dyl is proud that he's got a girlfriend and likes to brag about it!

The Findlay Family camping trip was at Twin Lakes this year. This is the first year everybody in the family was able to make it: Grandma, Grandpa, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins...Good times!

Shaylee wasn't about ready to let Kyler steal her potatoes! Every time Kyler tried to move in for the steal Shay protected the potatoes with all her might, mind and strength...And Kyler cried till he got his own way!

Well doesn't this look like a lively bunch? Is this where the party is?

Faces only a parent could love! I love taking pictures of dirty faces...It shows character!

This is Dyl's dirt bike! Dyl would start up at the top of the hill and hope he could stop his bike by time he got to the bottom. I think he only biffed it a couple of times~

Anthony picking on the kids again...I think he forgot Zach is growin' up! Any guesses on who won?

Britt posing after she got drowned by Anthony in the Lake...She didn't wanna let me take her picture till I convinced her she still looked hot!

Ryan and Karly helping to prepare dinner. Karly looks like a little orphan Annie!

Of course there's always gotta be at least 1 wild one in the bunch! I have such a hot brother...and, ladies...he's available! (And not really wild!)

Chase and Grandpa hanging out and trying to cool off...Grandpa banned the kids from eating any more junkfood till dinner!

Silly bunch! They had such a great time hanging out...Great memories! I hope they always stay close...

The picture says it all! Dyl thinks he's tough...Need I say more?

Aunt Tracy, as always, entertaining the kids...There's a reason she's a school teacher and the favorite aunt!

A little bit passionate for a kiss between a brother and sister, don'tcha think?

Sexy Grandma posing for the next Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue...

This was our entertainment for the occasion! Can't wait to do it again next year!

Peer Pressure...

I'm very open with Dylan and think it's important to discuss things such as drugs, tobacco, and alcohol. He's still a little young but Dyl knows about cigarettes and what they can do to your body. Since the 4th Dyl and I haven't gotten to sleep till midnight or later and Dylan was so tired! On the 4th Aunt Kathy had to have emergency surgery to remove half of her colon. Today we went up to the hospital to visit Aunt Kathy. Dylan had fallen asleep on the way to the hospital but when we got there woke up...extremely grumpy! We got out of the car and headed towards the hospital and all of the sudden Dylan sat down in the middle of the road, crossed his legs, put a big 'ole skowl on his face, and refused to budge. I started off with the usual lecture about how a car was going to come and run over him but Dylan couldn't care less about what I was saying. There was a man putting some stuff into his car and I said, "Did you wanna take a boy with you? He doesn't seem to wanna come with his mom." With that, the man said, "Heck...I can be stubborn, too!" He went and sat right next to Dylan, crossed his arms and legs, and then pulled out a cigarette, and asked Dyl if he wanted one. I don't think I've ever seen Dylan move so fast as he got up and ran towards me, crying "MOMMY!" all the way...Hey...call me a bad mom...but whatever works!

Dyl loves Uncle Anthony!

4th of July in Po-dunk Idaho!

We've been so busy this summer doing so many things that I haven't found the time to sit down and blog...So here are a few of the things we've been doing this past month. Dylan went to the fireworks at USU with Uncle Ryan and Aunt Jamie on Friday the 3rd and then we went to the parade in Soda Springs, Idaho, on the fourth...Small town parades are the best!

After the parade we went to the park for a little more fun...A guy was pulling his 4-wheeler around with this little train...Dyl loved it!

Menu for the Day...

Dylan must be going through a growth spurt or something because he has been eating all day long! Breakfast: Oatmeal, blueberries and an apple Snack: a WHOLE bag of popcorn Lunch: 1/4 of a Cafe Rio burrito and broccoli w/ranch Snack: Strawberries Snack: A spoon of peanut butter topped off with fresh blueberries (I guess it's sorta like pb&J?--creative at the least!) ...And Dylan is still hungry! I guess it is almost dinner time!

Forever cousins, Forever friends...

Dylan is lucky to have such fun cousins...It's fun to watch each of them grow and learn about life and develop their own unique personalities!

Green thumbs and feet...

Changing colors..Shay, Karly, Dylan and Chase spent a fun week playing and hanging out...Oh, the crazy dayz of summer!

After the rain comes...Lots 'o green grass!

It has been raining a ton over the past few weeks in Utah and the grass keeps growing and growing and growing! Just as soon as the lawn gets mowed it's time to mow it again. Dylan spent a week on Grandpa's farm last week and has been saying ever since that he wants some goats to put in the back yard. Come to think of it, that may not be such a bad idea...At least we wouldn't have to mow the lawn! You'll never hear a complaint from the kids, though...They're such good little helpers!

Following Jesus...

So Dylan said, "Mom, I follow Jesus." When asked what that meant Dylan responded with, "I follow Jesus because I make good choices." After a short pause Dylan said, "But, Mom...Uncle Gary doesn't follow Jesus 'cuz he gets mad and puts us in time out." Do you think there's a bit of a contradiction here? Why would Gary get mad and put Dyl and Chase in timeout if they were always "Following Jesus?"

Grandma Dorothy and Grandpa Bates came out to visit for 4 days. They spoiled us and Dylan had an absolute ball!

Thomas the Train...

Thomas the Train visited the Heber Valley Railroad in Heber City...And so did we!

Wet paint...

This morning as I dropped Dylan off at Aunt Leslie's he opened the door and said, "Ew...there's bird poop on the sidewalk!" Then with a big 'ole grin he said, "But don't worry, mom...It's not like wet paint...So I can step in it if I wanna and it won't ruin my shoes!"

Leakin'

So my sister, Leslie, took Dylan with her over to her in-laws' house today. Grandpa Saddler was putting an outdoor swimming pool together, sweating as the hot sun beat down on him. Dylan watched with clear intent and the utmost curiosity. Finally, Dylan asked, "Papa, how come you're leakin'?"