The Dixon Blog

Halloween

2011-11-01T09:36:00.006-06:00

Well, it was Cormac's first Halloween last night. It wasn't easy finding a costume for a 2 1/2 month old baby, but we finally did. He was a firefighter! We only had about 5 trick or treating groups stop by, and Cormac really wasn't interested in being social so close to his bed time, but it was still fun. And next year we'll be able to go out with him and make the rounds!

Cormac Scott Dixon

2011-09-08T19:59:00.003-06:00

We have a new baby boy! Cormac was born on 8/15, my birthday. He came c-section, so our first family picture is in the operating room!

My aunt Ragan took some wicked cute pictures of him just a few days after he was born:

We love him so much already! He is struggling a little to gain weight like he should, but he's perfectly healthy and we are so blessed to have him. It will be hard not to spoil him too much!

New Camera

2010-10-07T19:32:00.007-06:00

We bought a new camera! We wanted to get into photography, so we got a Canon T1i. We're having a lot of fun learning about it all -here are some of our first shots with it, in Provo Canyon. Someday soon we'll be taking wicked amazing pictures!

Denver

2010-07-04T09:00:00.014-06:00

We went to Denver last month, as an early anniversary trip. Our anniversary wasn't until 7/13, but when we saw the Red Sox were coming we decided to move our trip up! They won in extra innings, thanks mainly to my hero Pedroia. It was a long game, but my Red Sox played hard for us and did not disappoint!

The next day we went to Elitch Gardens (formerly 6 Flags). It was a little stormy that day, but luckily the rides all stayed open, from what we could tell. A couple of the good ones were broken though, which was too bad. It was wicked hot, so we got nice and soaked pretty soon after we got there, and then it wasn't so bad to stand in the long lines.

We also went to the aquarium. it was much bigger than we thought! It took quite a while to go through it all, and we saw plenty of sweet fish and sharks and everything else!

And we couldn't go to Denver in the hot summer without going to Waterworld, so of course we had to spend some time there. It was huge! We didn't even see it all -we noticed another whole section on our way out...

We managed to get in a temple session as well, so we took a few pictures outside afterward. It was a smaller temple than I thought, but really pretty.

And though the drive was long, we had a great time! You can tell, from the picture of me singing, but for some reason Scott didn't take any pictures of himself when I was driving, just scenery...

All in all, a perfect vacation.

Shea's Wedding

2010-01-06T18:56:00.003-07:00

My little brother, Shea, got married! He and his beautiful new wife, Gretel, were married in the Salt Lake Temple. Scott and I spent the weekend with them and the rest of my family. Here are a few pictures:

Another Billadeau marriage down, two more to go!

Palisades

2009-06-01T18:14:00.003-06:00

We went off for one last Idaho-hurrah with our neighbors. If you haven't been to this area, you are missing out because there are beautiful trees and mountains and rivers... What more could you ask for?

We crossed this river barefoot and it was wicked cold and I thought I would never feel my toes again! I was fine once we got out, of course, but it sure was the toughest part of the hike! We want to find some places to go while we're in Heber this summer, so if you know of some beautiful hikes nearby (that are easier than Timp -we need to work up to that one), let us know!

Zions and St. George

2009-05-23T17:03:00.003-06:00

Well as most of you know, Scott and I have quite a bit of time on our hands still these days. So we recently drove down to Zions National Park to hike around and have some fun.

We got to visit the temple too, which is beautiful. We went on a bigger hike the next day and saw some great views, so the three hours we spent getting up were totally worth it!

Just to let you know, Scott got an internship and we will be in Heber for the summer. After that, who knows! We sure don't...

Spring Adventure

2009-05-02T19:28:00.011-06:00

We took a trip to see the Craters of the Moon. On the way, we noticed a couple of things that didn't seem to match the Arco, ID landscape -a submarine and a torpedo by the side of the road! We had to pull over and check it out. A little old man stopped in his van while we were there and opened up their 'museum' just for us! He wasn't crazy about getting his picture taken, but I wanted to show him off to all of you! Turns out they used to train Navy soldiers in Idaho's deserts, and taught them how to use reactors. They also tested battleship deck guns, airplane engines and nuclear reactors. We were surprised to learn that the submarine, the USS Hawkbill, was one of the famous submarines to break through the ice at the North Pole in 1998!

We then went on to Craters of the Moon. It's an area where there used to be a lot of volcanic activity. It mostly looks dead and old, but when you look at the ground and formations closely, it's amazing how the lava rock is stuck -a lot of it still looks like it's in motion!

There was quite a bit of hiking involved, not like entire mountains or anything, but the hikes up to the tops of hills and craters got pretty steep! And just when we thought we'd reached top, often there was another hill to go over... But the workout was always worth it!

We even went into a cave, which is a big step for Scott's claustrophobic wife! It was fun, and the perfect end to our day in the craters.

Graduation

2009-05-01T22:24:00.003-06:00

That's right, we finally graduated! We are done with school and ready to move on... As soon as Scott gets an internship. Currently, we're still in Rexburg. There's a chance we'll move to UT for the summer, and a chance we'll be back in ID for the fall, but none of that is for certain. Ah, how good it feels to be able to move on after college... Or something.

Just An Update...

2009-01-10T20:17:00.004-07:00

Well, we have no fun pictures or anything wicked exciting, I've just had a lot of people ask me if we are in Las Vegas and what's going on, so here goes.

We were headed to Vegas for my student teaching, but one of my teachers managed to lean on the right person and I landed a local placement. I am teaching 8th grade English at Rigby Junior High! And so far, I love it.

Scott still needs an internship to graduate, but finance internships are scarce right now. So he's planning on deferring for a semester, and hopefully getting a summer internship. Then we'll both be done, and head to wherever we're supposed to go! We have no idea at this point, but we'll be sure to let you all know, when we do!

Holidays

2009-01-04T19:52:00.008-07:00

Well Christmas break is over, but we sure had a great time. We had our own little Christmas early, in Rexburg -which consisted of opening presents in bed and having chocolate for breakfast! Then we went down to Heber and stayed with Scott's parents for about a week. It was fun spending time with them, here are some pics from our Secret Santa gift exchange:

Then we spent some time with my relatives in Salt Lake. I got to see my new little cousin, Jay, who is wicked cute. It was crazy as always, with so many kids, but it was fun to see those cousins of mine growing up so fast!

Among other things, Scott got a hot new sweater, and I got my hair cut. Scott tells me it looks good, and I've decided to believe him :)

Yellowstone and Jackson

2008-10-17T11:48:00.012-06:00

Well, Scott and I decided to skip out on some classes and get away for a long weekend. We will be leaving Idaho soon, so we figured we should get to Yellowstone before it's too far away!

We saw a lot of great springs and geysers, and amazing waterfalls! And boiling, spitting mud holes...

And we smelled the delicate smells for which Yellowstone is so famous!

Maybe delicate isn't the right word... Anyway, we enjoyed the great views of the waterfalls the most, they were breathtaking, even when some involved a little hike, they were worth it.

There were plenty of random holes and towers of mist, and some animals that got a little too up close and personal for our taste.

And of course, Old Faithful. Not quite as faithful these days, but we had perfect timing and got there 10 minutes before it went off! We would have had to wait another hour and a half, so we were pretty glad we made it, and it was just before the sunset, so we had a beautiful ride to Jackson afterward.

The next day, we spent some time around Jackson. We walked through Gaslight Alley, where Scott proposed to me over a year and a half ago, and then caught a tram in Teton Village. We saw a Mormon cricket, and some great views!

Look -it was wicked huge!

And we walked over by Jenny Lake as well, which was simply majestic.

It was a great trip, and hard to go back to school after having so much fun together! Good thing we're in our last semester!!

Goodbye Lola

2008-09-20T11:28:00.002-06:00

Lola the Lumina Dixon
1990-2008

On August 30th, 2008, Lola left the Dixon family after a long power-steering illness. Her passing was peaceful and she was comforted by having her family by her side.

Lola was a true blue friend. She was always one to offer a lift to those around her, often when they needed it most.

Lola spent most of her life in New England, where she first joined the Dixon family. She enjoyed the cosy roads and clean air. In 2007, Lola made her first major move across the country to Idaho. She spent the rest of her time in both Idaho and Utah, basking in the beauty of the mountains.

Lola is survived by Scott and Chelsea Dixon, who currently reside in Rexburg, ID.

The Derby

2008-08-01T18:03:00.012-06:00

Last weekend we went to the Demolition Derby, here in Heber. It was wicked awesome! With the exception of the Powder Puff heat, they were all pretty intense and we managed to get a few sweet pictures, even if they are a little dark.

It was raining a little, and there was some not-so-friendly lightning heading our way, so we took cover for a while. Of course, the blanket only helped against the rain, so we were lucky the lightning didn't get too close to us -or our metal bleachers!

Uh oh, looks like Rachel didn't completely escape, her teeth are glowing...

The drivers were pretty aggressive, which made the heats that much better! Here are some exciting moments with smoke, flames and pile-ups -even one that delayed the derby while they flipped a truck off of another one!

The end. There really isn't anything else to add, these pictures definitely tell it better than I could!

Trip to New Hampshire... And then some!

2008-05-31T17:33:00.010-06:00

That's right, we finally got to go back to NH! I was wicked excited to see my family, and Scott got to go candlepin bowling, so he was happy, too :) We went to the Boston Temple on Thursday with my mom and it was great. So beautiful, too, since they'd just put in all their new flowers!

That night we got to see my brother Ry play his last high school lacrosse game. They didn't win, but it was sure fun to watch! We cheered him on as he made hits and got hit, and had a couple shots on goal -though we didn't get to see him score. It definitely made me miss playing, I'll have to look into coaching someday when I'm a teacher!

(Here he's getting whacked and if you look closely you can see the ball right below his glove. Good thing he's tough!)

(This one is Ry in the face-off! )

(Umm, this is just my dad, making a great face!)

Then on Friday we went up to Wells, Maine with my parents. We walked on the beach and fed the seagulls and collected seashells. Then we ate amazing seafood, like scallops wrapped in bacon and fresh oysters and lobster... mmmm!

When we went back, it was time for Brahms' track meet, so we went over to the school. He did really well, he won his race and jumped pretty far, though when I asked he was never sure of his numbers, he really doesn't ever care much about that part!

(Here he is -WINNING! He's so far ahead of most of them that you can't even see them)

Saturday we went down to Taunton, MA to visit my Uncle George and his family. We picked up my grandma on the way and then ate incredible pizza at their house. You haven't had real pizza until you've had it Greek style, trust me. Anyway, we tossed a frisbee around until we were eaten alive by gnats and went inside. My cousin Cameron provided the entertainment all night, I've never met a more hilarious little kid! He was making cookies and we said something about coming to party for Brahms' birthday and he was like "It's your birthday?? Why didn't you tell me?" And Brahms was like "Does that mean you're making me a special birthday cookie?" Cameron just laughed and said all patronizingly, "Sure Bo, of course..." You probably had to be there. He also said to a few of us, "Look, I can break the speed limit!" And took off around their living room, running as fast as he could. He gets funnier every time I see him. The things he says...

Sunday we celebrated Brahms' birthday with a cake, and serenaded him in the worst way we knew how. It was fun, Brahms' piece of cake was like a fourth of the entire thing, but he managed not to get sick!

And of course, we went bowling! Scott and I actually went again by ourselves before we caught our plane home! We didn't really bowl better, but it's pretty tough switching from 10-pin to candlepin, you throw a few gutter balls when you are warming up!

All in all, a great trip! We are excited to go back again next year :D And I know you are all excited too, so I can post a wicked long entry like this one again!

Grandma's Wedding

2008-04-19T16:16:00.011-06:00

Thursday was a pretty long day in Salt Lake for us. In the morning, we attended a session since Chelsea's pre-missionary cousin was going through. Then we went to lunch with some of the family at the Garden. It was tasty, and fun! We also walked around Temple Square, which wasn't kind to Chelsea's feet -don't worry, no pictures of her blisters are posted. Still, it was nice to relax and just walk around with Chelsea's mom and other relatives.

That evening Chelsea's grandma got remarried, and we attended the sealing, dinner and reception. It was fun to have so much of the family all together, and definitely a little crazy.

Finally, Friday night was their reception. We ate some good food, made up some crazy dance moves and watched them take off in their TP'd car. It was cute to see them drive off all blushy and stuff! Mostly we people watched and passed the time that way. My little cousins were the most entertaining by far!

Bowling Champs

2008-04-05T23:48:00.002-06:00

Well, Scott managed to carry my sad scores and take us to the Intramural Championship! Our friends John and Jessie were fun to bowl with and now we all have these great t-shirts that let the world know we are champions. And they even look cool when you wear them backwards, like Scott.

Valentine's Day

2008-02-15T22:07:00.004-07:00

Well, yesterday Scott picked Chelsea up from class with a rose waiting for her on her seat. He is just that sweet! She made him a cake that was pretty sweet, too, and they celebrated with a much needed afternoon-long nap! They decided to head to The Olive Garden for dinner in Idaho Falls, and only had to loiter around for about an hour to get in --and there was a complimentary wine-tasting buffet set up for the ever-growing crowd, so they didn't mind the wait! ;) Of course, they went mainly for the cheese... Anyway, after a scrumptious dinner they drove back to Rexburg and took some photos of the beautiful new temple. It was so gorgeous with the lights on and the clear night sky... All in all, a perfect Valentine's Day for the Dixons.

Another Semester Begins

2008-01-06T22:25:00.000-07:00

Well we're back in Rexburg. We have a lot of work ahead of us this semester, so it's a good thing we had about a month of vacation to get ready!

Scott will be working on his emphasis this semester, in retail finance. He has heard it's even harder than the IBC program he just survived, so it should be interesting! He will also continue to hope for work from Lava from time to time.

Chelsea is taking some of her last classes and will be teaching in a local school 4 hours a week. She is also still a TA in the English department and decided a bowling class was necessary this semester so she has one easy class -and a chance to be competitive at the lanes someday!

We're still figuring out our plans for the summer, though we'll probably end up back in or near Heber so Scott can work for Lava. He loves it and Chelsea can find a receptionist job anywhere. Now all we need is somewhere we can live...