End of Summer Concert

To celebrate the end of summer... my good husband took Noah and Ethan to see one of their favorite bands "Deathcab for Cutie"... fun name, huh??!!  They had an amazing time!

Ethan says... "Our Dad's the coolest!"

Noah found some of his friends at
                the concert!

Jackson Hole--Part 2

   Our trip to Jackson Hole was a blast!  We really enjoyed getting away for a few days before school starts...  Next time we need the WHOLE family!

 Ethan going up the chairlift

 Noah enjoying the scenery with Ben's camera

 Heading down the Alpine Slide

They had an awesome park with a rock climbing wall!  Look at those mountains!

The famous Elk Horn Arch in Downtown Jackson (doesn't Noah look thrilled?!)

James' colleague brought his family and they had 3 great kids!  Noah and Ethan had an awesome time with them... thanks for all the fun Ball Family...let's do it again next year!  While the parents were at a dinner, these kids went to an awesome rock climbing place and had a great time!

Ethan even found his "friend" Abraham Lincoln!

Jackson Hole--Part 1

   James had a conference for the city in Jackson Hole, Wyoming... and Noah, Ethan and I tagged along!  We had so much fun.  We started the week with a whitewater rafting trip down the Snake River... I know it is hard to believe, but yes, I even went!  It was a BLAST!!  We were soaking wet and laughing the whole way!  James was a main rower in the front of the boat and Noah rowed in the middle.  Ethan and I just held on for dear life!  I had to buy these pictures to have proof I did it...

Ethan the swimmer!

Ethan was able to work with a swim coach this summer and he has LOVED it!   Ethan was real sick at the beginning of summer with Mono... swimming has helped him get his strength back and he has found out that he is really good and wants to join the swim team!

Coach Tara! His first swim teacher, Cousin Ally, would be proud!

Working on his strokes!  Breaststroke and Freestyle are his favorite!  He is also great at the Backstroke...the Butterfly is "hard!"

Working on his dives was his favorite!

Grama Dixon was here for the weekend and was able to go to one of his lessons.  He kept looking over at us to make sure we were watching!  He was so excited!

Keep up the good work Ethan... we are proud of you!

Tuesdays to Remember

Several years ago, Mom gave Dad the OK to come up and take a wood carving class.  He is so talented with his engraving, he really wanted some advanced training in carving wood.  He came up to Provo and took the Grandkids that were there, out to dinner.  Fun memory!

 Dad sharing a poem with Noah!

 Calder with Ivy... We got to meet Ivy before Ric and Mary did!

The whole gang!  Amy and Ally are in the back with Kelly and Tyler and Mayce, too! 

 

I think Dad and Ethan have matching shirts on!  We always knew they had a special connection!

Xtreme Sports!

     In the Dixon home... one of our most favorite memories is watching the X-Games together.  In 1997 we were in San Diego and saw a sign for X-Games 3.  We thought... "Why not?"  We really hadn't heard much about it, but we knew the boys would like it.  That decision 14 years ago with Tyler, Brad and Ben in a stroller has turned into a "family tradition"!!!  We saw in person some great xtreme athletes like Tony Hawk and Dave Mirra.

 

 

     Tyler gave a talk in Stake Conference on Mother's Day this year.  Since it was Mother's Day he thought he should say something about his Mother... (to embarrass me I'm sure ;)  "I have the coolest Mom ever... and I will tell you why...  In 1999 my brothers and I were watching the X-Games on TV.  Tony Hawk was trying to land the 900 in Vert Skateboarding, a trick nobody had ever done before.  It was really intense... we were jumping up and down, screaming, on the couches when he finally landed it!  Amazing!!  I looked over to see my mom crying... she had been cheering for him right along with us and was so thrilled for him!  That is when I knew... my Mom was the coolest Mom ever!  She even checked my brothers and I out of school to go to a parking lot in Salt Lake where Tony Hawk was putting on an exhibition.  He had a young 11 year old kid skating with him that day that nobody had heard of before... a kid named Shaun White!" 

      I think that was an awesome tribute!  I have always loved seeing my boys so excited about things they have been interested in... such joy! Good thing their Mom is a sports junkie... (I learned that from my Mom ;)

     A couple of days ago... we were watching again as a now 23 year old Shaun White won the same competition we watched Tony Hawk win 12 years ago...  Crazy!  This time I was texting Tyler and Brad who are thousands of miles away... (Text from Mom)..." X-Games delivers again!"

     Of course Shaun White is even better known for his Olympic Snowboarding Gold Medal!

     Here are a few pictures of my boys doing their own extreme sports. Someday I will find more pictures... but for now here we go:

    Teaching little brother, Ethan, to Skateboard:

    We have even been known to throw a little boxing into the mix!

     And a scooter race with Dad!

     One winter when we had a ton of snow, Ben built a ramp up to the roof of the house so he could snowboard off the roof.   I recall saying "If you get hurt, I am NOT taking you to the Emergency Room!"

   Brad... the day he came home from his mission... admiring his snowboard with fondness:

   To tell the truth, who my boys really want to be is their cousin Justin... the REAL extreme sports nut in the family!  

   I am sure grateful for fun memories and just a few injuries so far...