You'll never believe it...

We got the internet!! For my birthday, several months ago, Casey surprised me with a new laptop. My very own. I've never had one before, and let me tell you, I was SHOCKED!! I was altogether elated to see my new toy, but had to get one crucial question out of the way first: "Does this mean we're getting internet?" We have been living in the dark ages for two years. Did you get that? TWO YEARS with out internet! Luckily we live very close to our county library, but using there internet was just getting harder and harder. Every time I went there Dillon would find the closest book shelf and unload all of the books. Let me tell you, it was always a lot of fun... I can't even begin to say how wonderful life has been with the internet! At first I

seriously wondered, "What do people do all day online?" The only thing I knew to do was check my emails, which I get very few of (I guess I can't expect emails if I don't send emails...) Wow, but I quickly learned what to do with my time online. I found this website melskitchencafe.com. Got to say, I LOVE it! I have tried several of her recipes and loved all of them so far.

Anyway, so hopefully this means I back to the blogging world (although I'm making no guarantees). So, most recently, here's what's going on in our lives...

I GRADUATED!!

Yes, it actually happened. My laptop and the internet were also part of my graduation gift. Both would have been very useful during school, nevertheless...I made it. A lot because of Casey, really. I got discouraged many, many times, but he always really supported me, besides paying thousands of dollars in tuition for me to finish! Graduation was great though. My parents and Casey's both made the trek to the land of the Aggies. And to top things off, we ended the day with a fabulous meal at Maddox. I love that place.

WE HAD A ROMANTIC GET-AWAY TO CAPTAIN GUNNISON

We spent a fabulous weekend at lake powell with all the Dyrengs. About thirty-five of us stayed aboard captain gunnison for about 5 days. Dillon stayed at gramma and grandpa Christensen's (thankyou, thankyou, thankyou), and Casey and I soaked in the sun! Well...I soaked, Casey water skied(below). The highlight of the trip was watching the boys build the 50 yd slip-n-slide. They seriously spent at least a days work building the thing. But, it dominated every slip-n-slide I've seen to date. Lake Powell may be the best place on earth:)

IS THAT LIKE MAD COW DISEASE???

Dillon contracted hand, foot, mouth disease. Sounds awful, right? Apparently most children get it when they are young. But it was pretty bad. At times his temperature was at 104. YIKES!! This is how he spent most of his days: with the binki (and absolute soother), his blanket, the bike (a new favorite since visiting gramma and grandpa's), and some cartoons (Super Why to be specific). I never knew having sick children could be so miserable. There is one good part: Dillon (who avoids cuddling at all costs) always loves to be held at this time. I hope my next child is a snuggler...

LAST BUT NOT LEAST: FIREWORKS!!

Gunnison has a great celebration for the Fourth of July. This year the festivities included a concert by a Neil Diamond impersonator. He was AWESOME!! He even wore a silky shirt, rhinestones included! The fireworks began during his last song: "We're Coming to America." You can't beat that!! It really was a lot of fun! Dillon didn't quite understand the objective of the parade: scramble for as much candy as you can get your hands on. After he got a sucker, he couldn't figure out what all the fuss was about! Maybe next year;)

I don't deserve to be called a blogger anymore...

I can't believe it has been six months since I've posted. I probably still wouldn't be posting, but I wanted all my family (especially the ones who live far away) to see these pics. Dillon is just over a year now! Can't believe how fast time flies.

Everything else is great! I only have three more weeks of student teaching until I get my degree! HOORAY!! I thought the day would never come! I don't think I'll do anything for weeks after I'm finished except sit on my couch, watch movies, and eat bon bons (oh, and probably lay out at the pool)...

Anyway, until next time... happy spring from the soon to be college grad!!!

I love this one above! He looks so sneaky...

These were the only smile pics we got. The last thing Dillon wanted to do was sit still so someone could take his picture.

Above is Dillon's "I'm in trouble" face;)

Finally! An Update!!

There's so much to catch up on, but here's just a quick post of Dillon's latest pictures. He makes us laugh everyday. Some of his favorite new things are Casey's pens (which he instantly finds in Casey's shirt pocket the moment he is picked up), mason jar lids, the straw to my drink, and, of course, our cell phones and remotes. Why do kids prefer this stuff over their stuffed animals and rattles?

The Latest...

Last weekend was our ward camp out. I debated whether or not we should stay the night because of Dillon, but for Casey it was no question...We ended up staying. It got a little cold and rained on us a little, but Dillon did really well and slept awesome. He started sleeping through the night just a couple weeks ago, and I worried this might mess that up. Thank goodness it didn't. Good thing too, because I know it won't be his last camping trip.


Time to bring in July!! I can't believe June is almost over: the summer is already flying by. This is the latest in my cake making kick...
This is my nephew Canyon with Dillon. He is so cute to take care of Dillon all the time. He said someday he is going to teach Dillon how to ride a four wheeler.

This is Dillon with Grandpa Dyreng. We were in Gunnison celebrating Father's Day. Happy Father's day to my Dad, Richard, and Casey. I love you all!!

And...Dillon had his first hair cut. His hair was starting to get pretty gnarly on the sides. Casey didn't cut much-it was pretty difficult to get Dillon to hold still. I think next time we'll do it while he's sleeping.

Lately Dillon has been blowing raspberries and giggling more everyday, although he hasn't laughed for Casey yet. For some reason he always laughs just before Casey walks in the door. I think it's killing Casey. I'm sure he'll hear him sooner or later.

Piece of Cake!!!

Okay, not really. It took me a while to figure it all out, but I did it. After JaNae taught me how to make fondant cakes, I couldn't wait to try it out myself. Now, I seriously can't wait to make another one. It was a lot of fun!!! Thanks JaNae!!

He's growing up!!

Time flies so fast! Next week Dillon will be four months old. He's starting to talk, roll over, and laugh (the last two happened by accident I think). Here are some fun pics!



This was the first smile caught on camera. Kind of fuzzy, but definitely a milestone!

Matching ties and a double chin!

I laughed so hard. Dillon was in the tub just minutes, because he doesn't really like it. I pulled him out, and he had the most wrinkly toes. I've noticed since that it only takes seconds, and those little toes just shrivel right up!!

This reminds me so much of Casey!

Grandpa Christensen with Dillon. This is where some of those good looks come from...

Dillon and Aunt Manda at Jens's track meet.

Last but not least...can you think of anything that would make Casey more proud? This basketball actual kept Dillon entertained for quite a while!!

A Month of Play

May was an AWESOME month! It started with my 23rd birthday and our anniversary celebration. Casey planned a weekend get-away to St. George. We shopped, went to a movie, layed by the pool, toured Zion National Park, and just relaxed. It was so great to go some where. We really hadn't done anything since Dillon was born. Dillon was pretty good to tolerate the whole thing. We drug him everywhere with us, poor guy, but we really had a great time.This was Dillon's first real exposure to any sort of sunshine. So, we figured he needed the proper equipment. I loved this little ball cap, and he really didn't mind wearing it. However, the sunglasses we got to go with it are another story. We couldn't even get a picture of those because he hated them so much!

JACKSON HOLE!!

Then, for Memorial Day, Brady, JaNae, and Cambrie flew in from Chicago, and the whole family, minus Cleve and Amanda :( , went to Jackson Hole. Again, we played, relaxed, and toured the sites.

We made a special thought in Thayne WY for this picture. This is my dad's self titled town. Sure wish there was a town named Sam...

This is our self-sponsored birthday party. JaNae's birthday also falls in the month of May. Growing up we always had combined birthday parties, which might not have been much fun then, but we thought we'd do the same thing while we were together. So, we threw our own party ;) I don't know what everyone else thought, but I loved it!

Of course we had to tour Yellowstone while we were there, which was really a lot of fun! We decided to hike down to the top of this water fall, which was about a half a mile of switch backs. It was sunny when we started the trek down, but started pouring about when we got the brink. We basically ran back up the mountain. The adrenaline rush probably helped us a lot. It was a LONG, TOUGH hike! We were drenched when we got back to the cars.

The last night we went the Bar J Wrangler dinner/show. They are seriously incredible! I think Casey and I will definitely got to their show again when they come to Heber City.

River Rafting!! What a rush! Thanks to Dillon's awesome Grandma and Grandpa, who watched all the grandchildren, all of the siblings went river rafting. We loved it! The Snake River was nearing its peak in high water season, so we had some awesome rapids. The water was FREEZING! I was scared to death. The rafting company had us all suited up in wet suits, fleece jackets, and splash gear. We were prepared for the worst, but luckily all made it down the river in the raft. It was definitely one of the high lights of the trip!

After the weekend, Brady flew back to Chicago, but JaNae and Cambrie stayed for a little while longer. Look what we did!!! JaNae has been doing cakes for a while now. While she was home, she taught me how. I'll admit, I was pretty proud!