Adorable Ashlynn Kay...3 Months today!

So we spent the weekend in Pocatello at my sister Ashley's house and had a fabulous time hanging out. While there I took some pictures of my cute great-neice, Ashlynn. I must say I just wanna squish those puffy little cheeks!

From the looks of it (by the mischievous 'lil grins on their faces) Dyl and Ash appear to be related! Wonder where Ash learned that facial expression from?

Mo, Mo, Mo-Hawks!

So I thought I'd save a few bucks and have my brother, Anthony, cut Dyl's hair since we were in Idaho and had plenty of time and nothing better to do. Uh...maybe next time we should think twice before playing barber shop? Anthony took it upon himself to create his own little masterpiece...And Anthony didn't just get ahold of Dylan's hair! Sometimes you gotta wonder which one is the adult!

The bird of paradise...

Dyl has always been a little bit scared of Grandpa's bird and hasn't quite known if he wanted to let it get so close. He was so brave and, as soon as he got it on his shoulder, ran to me to get his picture taken as proof he really wasn't terrified of it. I'm very proud of him!

Graduation Day...Time to celebrate!

Dyl made it through a whole year of preschool at 2 schools. Graduation day was super fun and Dyl was super good at singing and saying his speaking part. Way to go, Dyl! Mama loves you!

Take note of the favorite food...

Thief in the neighborhood...

Dyl went on a bike ride up the street and, when he returned, had a wonderful bunch of flowers. He was so proud of himself and couldn't wait to surprise me with them. Sorry to whichever neighbor owns the tree Dyl kifed the flowers off of! Dyl wanted his picture taken with the flowers and then couldn't quit posing for me...

Egg-cellent!

I thought this was such a cute idea and couldn't quite figure out how Dylan's preschool teacher got this all to work without the egg breaking. It's the shell of an egg w/grass planted inside. By time I captured a picture of Dyl's Easter egg it was cracked a little bit and the grass was growing all over the place. Dylan was so excited to "cut it's hair" every time it began to grow out of control. Very cute!

...More signs he's growin' up!

Ok...I know these milestones are of no significance to anyone else, but I'm just having a really hard time lately dealing with the fact that my baby's not quite a baby anymore. From the loss of his pure innocence clear down to the soles of his big 'ole feet (clear back up to the height of a 7-year-old)... I'm just trying to treasure all the tiny details about everyday life. Everybody always says how fast their kids grow up and I'm beginning to realize what they're talking about. When Dyl was 2 then everything was about Elmo. We had all the movies and toys and everything ELMO! Since then I've gotten rid of everything Elmo except for a wall hanging I thought was cute and couldn't part with it. Yesterday Dyl took it off of his wall and put it in the garbage declaring, "Mom, Elmo is for babies." (Of course, I had to remove Elmo from the garbage can for one last photograph!) The other thing that made me realize Dyl's not so "little" anymore is this announcement he made tonight: "Hey, Mom...Look at me shake what my mama gave me...I've got some junk in my trunk!"

Holy Moly!

When I think about summer I think of relaxing, hot days at the pool, sunshades and suntans, BBQ's and fun camping adventures, etc, etc, etc...But the thing I'm most excited about this year is...da da da da...SHORTS! Summer canNOT come quickly enough! Since last fall I can't even begin to tell you how many pairs of jeans I've purchased for Dyl, only to discover holes in the knees shortly thereafter...And it's not like I buy cheap jeans, either! Oh well...Enjoy life, play hard, Dyl!

Brave as a bear...

I know I'm going to have a total meltdown when the first day of kindergarten arrives. Today was Dyl's 5-year-kindergarten check-up and it was harder on me that it was on him! Although I'm getting a little better I absolutely hate it when Dyl has to get shots. Before we got to the doctor's office I told Dyl he was going to have to be big and get some shots so he'd be healthy for kindergarten. "That's okay, Mom--I'm tough and it will only hurt for a minute." After Dyl's usual flirting with the cute nurse, all the little tests, pee in the cup, and exam.. it was TIME. In went 2 of the needles and Dyl let out a big "ouch" and did a great big squeeze on my hand--And I could tell it hurt like mad...But Dyl was so brave and didn't cry out one little peep! He was so proud of himself he wanted to rush right over to Aunt Leslie's house. "Hurry, Mom...I don't want the shots to disappear before she can see how brave I was!" Luckily, by time we made it to Lez's house the shot marks were still there. ...Just one little glimpse how tough it is to grow up. What a trooper!

Reflecting back on the day...

I know private nightly prayers shouldn't be published but I couldn't resist: "Thank you, Heavenly Father, for letting me go to my 2 schools today and play with my friends. I didn't kiss Hazel. Thank you for my hot date with Aunt Tracy at Red Robin's...The mac and cheese was yummy. Thank you for the hail that came down and hit me on the nose. And Heavenly Father, thank you for my awesome mom but please bless her not to be such a grumpy pants next time she wakes up! I gotta say amen now 'cuz Mom is tired and it's way past my bedtime and I'm already in trouble. Amen."

Dying Easter Eggs...and so much more!

Need I say more? Egg photography courtesy of Dylan.

Deep Thoughts by Dylan Findlay...

"It doesn't really feel very good when you get whacked in the face. Sometimes you wonder if your face is on fire but, even if it was, the fire station is just up the street."

Findlay Grandkids

I love, love, LOVE to take pictures of those I LOVE! Dyl always has so much fun with his cousins...Can you tell why?

Windbreaker Socker

Dyl says this is his "windbreaker socker" he made at school today. We proudly hung it out in front of our house and today was a perfect, windy day!

Karate Champs...

OK...so tonight we got home from karate and I just wanted to snap a few photos of Chase and Dyl in their karate outfits. Is it too much to just ask for a little cooperation? I was getting irritated because they wouldn't just pose normal so I could take their picture. They were being goofy and were getting on my PMS nerves! The goofy pictures turned out way better than any "normal" pictures I would've taken so: Lesson learned today: sometimes I just need to chill out, enjoy the moment, and remember how fun it was to be a kid and act silly and get on my parents' nerves!~ What a couple of goofs!