The 4G Network

Family Pictures

2011-09-16T22:35:00.000-07:00

We just had family pictures done and I wanted to post some of my favorites.

2011-05-09T11:38:00.000-07:00

Our little guy Dallas is turning three. We will be playing outdoor water games and activities for kids of all ages. We hope everyone can come and play.

Elyse Janette Gross

2011-02-15T13:47:00.000-08:00

So I know it is a little late but better late than never. So we announced Elyse's birth on face book but I didn't blog about it yet. These were some of my favorite of her newborn photos. She was born on September 29, 2010. She weighed 6 lbs. 11 oz. She is so beautiful.

Hello Again

2011-02-10T09:46:00.000-08:00

Well it has been awhile since I have posted anything. Our lives have been so crazy and we have not had a working computer for awhile. But my wonderful husband got me a new laptop for Christmas and I have been itching to get back into blogging. I had every intention of taking family pictures and sending out Christmas Cards this last year but Christmas came and went before I even knew it. So we decided to do a family picture at our recent vacation to Disneyland. We had a great time and I will try to post some more pictures soon.

It's Official.

2010-07-13T03:48:00.000-07:00

We are having a baby girl. For months and months this modest baby has not wanted us to know her gender and hides every ultrasound. We have caught glimpses of what we thought was a girl but nothing for sure. But today she decided that she would like to try that crazy head down position and definitely a girl. We are so excited and I can't wait until she is here.

Dallas is turning 2!

2010-05-05T11:51:00.000-07:00

Since we have been in Texas for the past 4 years we have missed out on the big family and friend get togethers so we thought we would celebrate Dallas' birthday in style. I am not sure if I have everyone's email address or not so if you did not get an evite and would like to come just leave me your email address in the comments and I will make sure to send it to you. We will be having some younger kids carnival type games so if you think that is something you or your family would enjoy then come on out and celebrate with us. Below I have included the link to the evite with all the information.

http://www.evite.com/app/publicUrl/VBZRHSQAHKODZCGUSASC/dallasparty

Fun with Irrigation

2010-05-01T09:34:00.000-07:00

Dallas was amazed when he woke up and there was all this water in the backyard. So he had to run and play in it. His Uncle Josh helped him out. I used to have tons of fun playing in the irrigation as a kid and I am glad my kids will get to have some of the same experiences.

Swing Time

2010-04-08T17:51:00.000-07:00

Since we have moved to Arizona Dallas has discovered "outside." He is always looking for someone to take him outside. He had fun swinging outside with one of his Uncle Josh's. We will have to update his wardbrobe with summer wear.

Moving Day

2010-04-08T17:38:00.001-07:00

It was a cold blustery day that we packed all our stuff into this truck for the drive to Arizona. Dallas had tons of fun helping out and it was all I could do to try to keep him out of the way. He loves being where the action is. We are so grateful for all those that came to help us. We could not have done it without them and appreciate their sacrifice.

It snowed all night after we packed up. I can't believe all this snow in the middle of March. Crazy.

2010-03-28T07:12:00.000-07:00

Well I decided it was high time to start up the blog again so we can keep all our friends from Texas informed on our progress. For those of you who have not heard, we have finally moved back to Mesa, AZ. When we came down for Amanda's wedding I was able to get a job and Dusty passed his last test for his Chiropractic License in Arizona. So we had about a week to fly home and pack up our entire house in a moving truck and move it all to Arizona. It was a long grueling process that I don't hope to repeat anytime soon but we are so grateful for all the help we received from members of the ward and friends. We are sad to leave behind such great friends in Texas but excited to start this next chapter of our lives.
I start my new job at Banner Estrella this Monday and Dusty will be licensed to practice by the middle of April. So everyone mark your calendars and come down to see Dr. Gross at Opie Chiropractic. I am so proud of him and all the hard work he has done to accomplish this and can personally attest to how much chiropractic care has blessed my family. Dallas has been adjusted since he was born and he is such a healthy, happy child.
We also want to thank all our friends and family for all their prayers and fasting on our behalf. I know this is the reason we are finally here in Arizona. We are so grateful for all the blessings we have received.

Water Fun

2009-06-12T20:34:00.000-07:00

This is a video that i ,Dustin, took on my phone of Dallas and his friend Guy playing in the water fountain at an outdoor mall.

Last Disneyworld Post - I promise

2009-06-03T19:59:00.000-07:00

Ok so last post about Disneyworld, I promise. These are some of the pictures I liked from the World Showcase at Epcot.

This was in Norway with a Viking statue.

Germany

Italy

Japan. These drummers were really fun to watch.

Moroco.

France. We ate breakfast one morning at a bakery there. Yum.

A fish and chips restaurant in London. It was good.

China

Amazing garden statues

2009-06-03T18:58:00.000-07:00

At Epcot they had all these characters made out of plants, completely out of plants. They were amazing and I took a lot of pictures.

Ladies Man

2009-05-27T14:13:00.000-07:00

So we saw a lot of princesses while we were there. And the same thing happened each time. Dallas could not get away without a kiss and man those princesses where a lot of lipstick.

He spun Belle in a circle. It was so funny. She came over and got him and he walked her right around. It looked like a dance.

I think he is in heaven. The princesses liked him too. They spent a long time with him and said how cute he was.

They had these three princesses in a room and they shuffle you through in a line and you get to take pictures. Aurora was the first one we saw and his face just lit up when he saw her. He had a big smile and he walked right to her.

I love his face in this one. He looks like oh yeah, the ladies love me.

Characters

2009-05-27T13:15:00.000-07:00

Jack-Jack found his parents. We got a few comments about how he looks like Jack-Jack at Disneyworld too. So we had to track down Mr. and Mrs. Incredible for a picture. I think I can see the family resemblance.

Dallas was fascinated with the noses of all the characters. He kept trying to grab them all. We don't have a picture of him with Mickey where he is looking at the camera. He is too busy trying to figure out who that is.

The Hotel

2009-05-27T12:27:00.000-07:00

These are some pictures of our hotel. We stayed at the All Star Movies Resort. I think it was the farthest that you could get away from the park but it was cheap. But our room was very nice. One of my favorite parts about going on vacation is the hotel room. You leave in the morning and when you get home at night the bed is made, the floors are vacuumed, the bathroom is clean. I wish that happened at my house each day. Maybe someday when I grow up and become a lady of leisure.

The pool. We swam a few times and it was nice to cool off. Our room was on the second floor just to the right of the ballerina.

This was about as close to a Florida beach as we came.

Day 8 - Magical Kingdom

2009-05-27T08:46:00.000-07:00

This was our last day at the Magical Kingdom.

Dallas was loving his disney cup of water. We were able to get all the water we needed by having the dining plan. You are probably wondering about all the kisses on his forehead but we will get to that later.
I think this was Dallas' favorite part of the park. Forget about all the rides, he loved this little playground in Toontown. He loved crawling in and out of this house and there were a bunch of other kids in it that just loved him. I think it is so funny that other kids just love babies. There were two older boys and a little girl that kept following him around and trying to play with him. I love this picture because you can see him laying down and surrounded by his adoring fans. And he is just loving it and showing off for them.

The big kids around didn't scare him, he just climbed right up around them and then dove down the slide head first. No fear.

He is practicing his walking skills. I really think he learned to walk at Disneyworld. He walked all around that park holding on to a finger or pushing his stroller. He was always wanting to be out of his stroller and he loved to push it. He is not a very good driver yet and ran into and over everything in his path.

Mickey's house.

Minnie's House. Dallas liked it because everything was his size.

Day 7 - Hollywood Studios

2009-05-25T19:36:00.000-07:00

I think this is Dallas' way of saying "Seriously mom? Another line." We were waiting for the new Toy Story ride and we waited about an hour. Wow it was long. Dallas loved to shake the chains and escape under guard rails. He also liked grabbing the shorts of the guy ahead of us in line.

Outside of the Indiana Jones stunt show.

They had a really fun Jedi training stunt show. They had kids from the audience come up and they trained them to be Jedi's and then they helped fight Darth Vader. I think it was a good father/son bonding moment. Nothing says love like light sabers.

We bought him a little spinning, light up toy and he loved it. He loves to push buttons and he does it to everything at home over and over. Our poor roomba takes most of the abuse because he loves to chase after it and turn it on and off and on and off and on and off, well you get the picture. So we thought we would get him a less destructive button to push. He loved to watch it spin and he knew just what button to push but he kept wanting to see it closer and then making it bump into his nose. Pretty funny to watch.

The Hoop Dee Doo

2009-05-25T18:04:00.000-07:00

We went to a dinner show called the Hoop Dee Doo while we were there. We had to take a boat to the Fort Wilderness Lodge to get to it. It was the campground at the Disneyworld Resort.

This clump of trees was in the middle of the river and it reminded me of the pictures you see of the Florida Everglades. That was probably one of the biggest differences between Disneyworld and Disneyland, there was a lot of water around the park. And we noticed, in the little bit that we saw of Orlando outside of the park which would consist of the ride from the airport and then back, there were a lot of ponds and lakes everywhere. But luckily for us it only rained one of the days that we were there. And I was also concerned about the humidity there because I do not like humidity. We get enough of it here in Texas and it always makes me feel like I am going to melt. But the weather was beautiful in Florida. Most days we had a nice breeze. There was really only one day that I considered hot and I got a pretty good sunburn that day. But I am proud to say that Dallas came back just as translucent white as he left. I was very faithful with the sunblock on his little red head skin.

The food that we got at this dinner show was soooo good. We got to drink out of masons jars, eat off tin plates and our food was served in tin buckets. There was all you can eat cornbread, salad, fried chicken, barbecue ribs, mashed potatoes and baked beans. Yum. Dallas discovered his love for mashed potatoes. He could not get enough and he loves to feed himself. I think he might be wearing more than he is eating but he has a great time doing it. He really does a good job of feeding himself.

We watched a show while we ate and the actors came around to all the tables as well. The show was hilarious. So many funny parts. They did a lot of audience participation and that made it even more funny. Nothing says comedy like being able to laugh at all those people around you. It was a great experience and even made Dallas laugh. I don't know where he learned it but he has this little charity laugh that he does. When he sees everybody else around him laugh he does this fake sounding laugh like he had no idea what was so funny but he doesn't want to be left out. Where does he get these things?

This campground area was so cool. There were so many families around and so many activities to do. There were parks and volleyball courts and horse shoes set up. Also they had a lot of these sets of blocks out for kids to play with. It looked like so much fun I am almost tempted to camp next time we go. There was just so much else to do here besides a place to stay. I think Dallas favorite part was knocking down the towers that Dusty built.

You got to and from the campground by boat so of course there was a little beach. There were kids playing on it and chairs set out everywhere for people. This was Dallas' first experience with sand. I kept burying his feet and at first he was not quite sure if he liked it. But after awhile he was digging and playing around in it. They had an electric light show that was in the water and we were able to watch it from the beach. It was just like the electric light parade from Disneyland but they were all little boats and they played the theme song and lit up one at a time and changed to music. It was difficult to get pictures because it was so dark out but it was so much fun to watch. I would have to say it was better than the electric light parade because I got to watch it from on a beach.

We timed it just right so we were able to watch the firework show from the boat as we headed back to the Magic Kingdom. I love fireworks and Dallas watched them wide-eyed. You can see the castle lit up in the background of this picture.

In my opinion life needs more fireworks.

Day 6 - Back at Magic Kingdom

2009-05-25T17:25:00.000-07:00

On the 6th day we went back to the Magic Kingdom. We hit Fantasyland and did all the little kiddie roller coasters.

The Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. We actually went on it twice and Dallas had a lot of fun shooting the blaster.

The famous Tea Cups. They stopped the ride right in the middle of it and it was our fault because he was standing up on the seat and they stopped the ride and told us he had to sit down. Whoops. But he laughed and smiled the whole time.

The Peter Pan ride. It was so fun to watch in all the rides. He was fascinated by all the things to see in the rides.

Day 4 & 5 - Epcot

2009-05-24T01:44:00.000-07:00

Our 4th and 5th day was at Epcot. It was tons of fun and there was so much to see. I loved seeing all the different lands and cultures. We went to Canada, the UK, France, Italy, Morroco, Germany, China, Japan, Mexico, and Norway all in 2 days. Quite a whirlwind.

This was after the Finding Nemo ride. They had a huge aquarium with activities and dolphins, manatees and a whole bunch of other sea creatures.

GMC had a ride that was a crash dummy simulation. It went really fast and after the ride they had a bunch of cars on display that you could get in and explore. Dallas is in an Audi convertible here. I had to drag Dusty away from the new Chevy Camaro. We saw some really cool cars.

This was the entertainment at the German restaurant that we ate at. So good and Dusty said that it was pretty authentic. Dallas had so much fun playing here. They had a little dance floor for people to dance on when they played the polka. There were a lot of little kids down there and Dallas wanted to be right in the middle of them. There were two little girls that kept chasing him around and trying to hold his hand and touch his head. And he kept running away from them. Already leading on the ladies. It was so funny to watch.

Sven, Helga and Hans. Jah.

Ole. He spent forever with this basket of soccer balls. He thought they were so fun.

There were several ducks there too and they just wander around all the people. He loved chasing them around. He just laughed and laughed. This duck was wandering around all the people when we were sitting and waiting for the fireworks. Two dinsey workers were trying to chase it away but it wouldn't even move when they were trying to shoo it. And then Dallas came up running and screaming after it and that duck moved real quick. Then a litle bit later Dallas was sittting on Dusty's lap and the duck walked by and we saw something fly after it. It turns out it was Dallas' shoe. He took off his shoe and threw it at the duck. So funny. I can't believe he threw his shoe at a duck.

One of my favorite parts about Disney is the fireworks shows. I love watching them. And it was so much better with Dallas there. He loved them. One of the people by us came up to comment after that he had never seen and kid his age do so well. He wasn't scared at all. He was waving his arms around and clapping the whole time. And jumping up and down. At one point he even covered his ears. It was so much fun.

Day 3 - Hollywood Studios

2009-05-24T01:04:00.000-07:00

This is one of my all-time favorite rides the Tower of Terror. I love that feeling of falling. It is actually different from Disneyland's. But still so fun.

There was a spot with a bunch of statues and I had to get a picture of Dusty with Bill Cosby.

This was one of the stunt shows. We got to watch high speed car chases, explosions and gun fights. They also show you how they do all the stunts.

This is one cool kid. We bought him his own pair of sunglasses because he kept taking them off my head. But he never even wore them. Oh well at least he looked good in them. We spiked his hair up a few times and we always get a lot of comments.

Daddy and Dallas riding a Star Wars Vehicle. Dusty will be so dissapointed in me that I don't know the name of it. This was outside of Star Tours. They had a lot cool shows to watch. There was a Star Wars show and an Indiana Jones stunt show to watch and lots of other cool movie things to see.

This was the Beauty and the Beast Show. It was a lot of fun to watch.

Day 2 - Animal Kingdom

2009-05-22T10:21:00.000-07:00

Our second day we spent at Animal Kingdom and it was also Dusty's Birthday. The really cool thing was on your birthday you get to the park for free. I decorated the window of our hotel room. We had a really fun time here. We saw some really crazy animals that I have never seen before. They had a few good roller coasters as well. There was one and I don't remember what it was called but it was kind of like the Matterhorn on steroids. We also watched Finding Nemo the Musical and ate at some more great restaurants. Tons of fun.

These were the 3-D glasses for the Bugs Life movie. He seemed to like it. He will not keep any glasses or hats on. I brought a hat for him and he didn't wear it once. To take a picture we have to hold his hands and try to snap it before he takes them off.

One of the rides in Dinotopia. I think he likes being in control.

We saw a whole bunch of crazy animals there. Some animals that I hadn't even seen on TV or even heard of. It was so crazy to see all these animals. We also went on their safari ride twice and it was so cool. We saw lions, and rhinos, and elephants. Oh my. Also hippos and girrafes. The car you are in drives right by them. Really cool. The safari ride was really bumpy and he fell asleep on it both times. It was so funny because it seems to be a common theme to that ride because we saw several parents get off carrying sleeping children. But both times about half way through he was out and slept through all that bumping. But it was so fun.

Walt Disney World - Day 1 Magic Kingdom

2009-05-20T10:59:00.000-07:00

All right here we go. I am going to attempt to blog about our Disney World trip but this means that I have to wade through about 950 pictures to find the best ones so be patient with me. Also I think I am going to put all of them on my shutterfly page when I am done updating it so I will post that link if anyone would like to see them all. We had such a fun time and I am so glad that we went.

We have arrived. And who better to great welcome us to our room then Mickey Mouse. Our flight left Tuesday morning around 7 am and the man who checked us in was nice enough to put us in the last seat of the flight and block the middle seat so Dallas had his own seat. That was sooo nice. It helps so much to have extra room when travelling with a lap child. And even better he fell asleep and slept most of the flight. We had a great flight and even arrived a little early. It only took a little over 2 hours to get there. Then we arrived at the airport and went straight to the disney bus terminal. They picked up our luggage for us and delivered it to our hotel room so we didn't even have to mess with baggage claim. We got to the hotel around 11:30 and our room was ready for us even though check in time isn't until 3:00pm. So nice. So we dropped off out carry-ons and headed for the Magic Kingdom. Since we stayed at a Disney Resort all our transportation was taken care of and you could get a bus to anywhere in the park. We were the only people on the bus and we didn't have to wait longer that 15 min for any ride at the park. So the day could not have been much better.

Cinderella's Castle. It was so funny to watch people notice Dallas. We saw a lot of people stop and look at him and then nudge their friends so they would look too. He got a lot of Aww cutes and we heard a few people point and say, Look a red head, like he was an endangered species or something. I guess people don't see a lot of red headed babied. Or maybe it was his natural Mohawk that got their attention.

The Jungle Cruise.

The Haunted Mansion

In the shop after Pirates of the Caribbean. We were surprised how many rides he could go on. He didn't ever get scared on any of the rides we went on. In fact he didn't even seem that impressed by them. It seemed like just another day.

He learned how to take a nap in his stroller.

Dinner time. We loved having the Disney Dining Plan. If you are going to eat in the park this is definitely the way to do it. Lots of yummy food.

9 month pictures

2009-05-20T10:53:00.001-07:00

I know these are a little late but I wanted to add them in. These are some of the pictures I took for his 9 month pictures.

Chicken Coop

2009-05-20T10:37:00.001-07:00

So Dusty had to get creative and make a little house for our chickens. Dallas had fun helping him. I think he did a pretty good job.

We had 4 chickens. Two yellow ones which turned white and their names are Henny and Penny and the dark brown one is named Attila the Hen because she is the biggest and seemed to always pick on the others and the light brown is named Colonel Sanders. But sadly we are now down to just one chicken. The others have flown the coop. Literally. We don't know where they have gone they just disappeared. Our neighbors have a dog but they said they have not seen any chickens in their back yard and there is no sign of struggle, no feathers on the ground anywhere and no trace of them. We have seen hawks flying around and some friends of ours said they have seen some really big Texas owls so we are thinking something swooped in and got them. Our poor chickens. I guess we are not very good chicken owners.

Easter Pictures

2009-05-20T10:19:00.000-07:00

Well I decided to get in touch with my Lehi routes and kill two birds with one stone (well not literally, hopefully). We decided to get some baby chicks so we could join the ranks of pet owners and get pets that served a purpose, such as providing eggs, and then as a bonus we would use them for easter pictures. So here they are.

Easter Egg Hunt

2009-05-20T10:00:00.001-07:00

We had alot of fun doing Easter Egg Hunts this year. Dallas was able to go to 2 egg hunts. One was in our neighborhood and the other was at Dusty's school. He had a lot of fun but I think he was just as interested in pulling out the grass and eating it than the eggs.

He wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to do with this basket.

This was the egg hunt at the park in our neighborhood.

Spring

2009-05-20T09:31:00.000-07:00

Well I know it has been forever since I have blogged so I am going to try to catch up. These are pictures that I took at the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens. We went there with a friend from work and her little boy and had fun taking pictures. It was beautiful and Dallas had so much fun trying to eat all the flowers.

They had these little story book houses to play on.

Hooray!!!!

2009-04-26T00:19:00.000-07:00

Sorry it has been so long since I have blogged and this post will not even have pictures which I am sure is a first. But I just wanted to let the world know how great Dusty is doing in school. He PASSED part 2 and 3 of his boards. WooHoo. We are so proud of him. And he just finished Tri-7. So only 2 more trimesters and 2 more parts of boards and he will be Dr. Gross. We can't wait and Arizona here we come. He is working in the clinic now and really enjoys working with patients. He is doing such a great job and I am sure you all can't wait until you can be adjusted by Dr. Gross yourself.

The Sundevil in the Cupboard

2009-04-02T20:44:00.001-07:00

Dallas has become more and more mobile. He is a fast crawler and loves to pull himself up on everything but his favorite thing is getting inside of cupboards and drawers. He loves to pull everything out of them. Now can you tell his daddy dressed him on this day. He is definitely sporting some ASU pride. This shirt was a Christmas present from Uncle Marshall and the jacket was from Uncle Ben. Thanks guys.

Baby Mozart

2009-04-01T20:50:00.000-07:00

Here is our own version of Baby Mozart.

And sometimes he gets really into it and has to use his knees too. This kid really knows how to have fun.

The rest of the story

2009-04-01T20:32:00.000-07:00

Hey sorry for the lack of posts but things have been busy for our little family. I thought I would try to catch up so this is a continuation of our Valentines Day. Dallas and I went to a party with our moms club. Dallas was helping me get his valentines ready for all his friends.

There was a pretty good turn out for the party. Dallas was not sure about all these big kids. But he found a basket full of toys that he liked.

Then we got to open his bag of valentines. It was a fun day.

Cupid

2009-02-14T06:20:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentines Day!

New Toy Corner

2009-02-07T13:02:00.000-08:00

So Dallas got so many toys at Christmas time that we had to give him his own corner. We converted one of the corners of our game room into his toy corner. So it just proves that piece by piece Dallas is taking over the house.

My friend Laura from work gave us this jumper and Dallas loves it.

His favorite thing to do is to pull himself up on everything. Can you believe how big he is getting. Where did my little baby go. He is also crawling now. Pictures of this will follow.

Brrrr!

2009-02-07T12:44:00.000-08:00

Here are some more pictures from our ice day. I don't think Dallas was entirely thrilled to be all bundled up. But it was a fun day.

Dallas World Aquariam

2009-02-07T06:02:00.000-08:00

After we got back from Arizona Dusty had one more week off of school so we decided to go to the Dallas World Aquariam. We had tons of fun and saw all kinds of strange creatures. Here are some pictures of a few. (I know you're thinking "A few?? but hey I like taking pictures and I didn't even put them all on here.) They had a sloth that was crawling on trees right next to you. When we first went in they had all their birds in this rain forest area. And this little bird flew right onto the fence post right next to us. So I was showing him to Dallas and then I decided we should take a picture of Dallas with the bird and as I sat Dallas next to it, Dallas reached out his hand and the bird Pecked him. It scared me and I screamed but it didn't even bother Dallas. I don't think it actually came in contact but where was the sign to beware of the killer birds because I must have missed it. When you were up in the rain forest area you could look down at the water and we kept seeing this huge gray blob swim by and we kept wondering what it was. Then when we got down to the aquariam part we realized it was a manatee. I don't think I have ever seen one of those except in pictures. They also had a huge shark tunnel that you could walke through and we saw all kinds of sharks. Also all kinds of strange little fish I had never seen before. In one of the pictures if you look closely you can see Nemo hiding in his anemone. (Hope I spelled that right.) There was also a fish that looked like a cross between a seahorse and a plant. It was crazy. Dallas had a lot of fun looking at all the different creatures. He especially loved the manta rays. They had a glass aquariam that you could stand by and they would swim right by you. He stood up against and he was so excited that he just kept screaming and bouncing around. So at the gift shop we bought him a stuffed manta ray and on the way home he fell asleep holding on to it. We really had fun.

Ice Days

2009-02-05T19:33:00.000-08:00

Now here in Texas we have ice days instead of snow days. Dusty's school was actually cancelled a couple days last week due to ice. Now anyone from cold, snowy places would laugh at this I am sure. In other places they have to be snowed in for anything to be cancelled but here a little ice will do it. But hey we are not complaining. Dallas and I had a lot of fun with Daddy being home. We attempted to slide down our carport on a cardboard box. Dusty called it our redneck bobsled.

Funny Faces

2009-01-29T19:11:00.001-08:00

Dallas always makes the funniest faces. Here are just a few of my favorites.

I think this one will turn into his "I didn't do it" face.

This is his tough guy face.

Family Rocks

2009-01-29T18:59:00.001-08:00

We had a lot of fun with our families playing Rock Band Two. What a blast. We are so talented.

Dallas got in on the action too. But he mostly just wanted to suck on the microphone.

Feeling the Love

2009-01-29T18:53:00.000-08:00

Hanging out with Great Grandpa and Grandma Gross.

The boys showing their ASU pride.

2009-01-29T09:16:00.000-08:00

Hanging out with the Parker family on Christmas Day.

Dallas with Great Grandma Parker. He is a little tired in this picture.

We had a white elephant gift exchange. First Sarah started out with the pink slippers.

Then Ben stole them. And now to save his machoness he stole them so that I could steal them next and them end up with them. What a good brother. Even endured being teased for wanting pink slippers.But then on the very next turn my mother stole them.
And what every girl needs is a mannequin head. I guess I am just lucky.

And then here is Josh making friends.

Jolly Old St. Nicholas

2009-01-27T19:15:00.000-08:00

Dallas made out pretty good.

Reading The Grinch with the Gross family.

I'll be home for Christmas

2009-01-27T17:16:00.000-08:00

Christmas morning with the Heywood's.

Hanging out with Aunt Sarah.

Uncle Josh and Ben hanging Grandma's new knife rack. They both love their knives and power tools.

Uncle Ben and his machete.

Grandma Heywood cooking breakfast. French cinammon toast. So yummy.

Away in a Manger

2009-01-27T09:25:00.000-08:00

At the Opie Nativity this year Dallas was baby Jesus.

A Holly Jolly Christmas

2009-01-21T20:21:00.000-08:00

Yes I am still doing Christmas posts at the end of January but we have been having some computer problems. Then we got that fixed and then we had internet problems so I am going to try to catch up. We had our own Christmas here in Texas before we went to Arizona. It was so much fun. I know that Dallas will not remember any of his 3 Christmases but we had so much fun watching him.

All our stockings were hung by the chimney with care. It was so much fun to be able to hang another stocking this year.

Dallas had fun checking out the new rocking horse he got for Christmas.

He had fun taking all of his stocking stuffers out and playing with them.

Daddy got a new ping pong set for Christmas and we had fun playing with it. I think we have a future ping pong champion on our hands.

Up on the Housetop

2009-01-08T20:11:00.000-08:00

We had our friends from the ward over to make gingerbread houses. We cheated and got the kits but it is so much easier that way.

The men had to put on the finishing touches.

This is their son, Guy. Dallas loved playing with him. Guy would make one of the toys sing and then he would dance. Dallas would copy him and bounce around like crazy in the exersaucer. They were so funny. Dallas loves to watch other kids.

Santa Baby

2009-01-08T19:58:00.000-08:00

We made picture gift tags this year and this is the picture we used.

Our little Santa Baby.

Deck the Halls

2009-01-08T19:31:00.000-08:00

Dallas had fun helping us decorate for Christmas. He was playing with the beads when we decorated the Christmas Tree.

He had fun watching Dad put up the christmas lights.

O Christmas Tree

2009-01-08T11:44:00.000-08:00

Ever since Dusty and I have been married we have had a real Christmas Tree. They sure are messy but we love the way they smell and look. And I love not having to put together a tree and fluff the branches out. We were especially excited this year to take Dallas to pick one out.

By the end he was all worn out.

Way Behind

2009-01-08T11:22:00.001-08:00

Well I know it has been way too long since I have done anything with the blog. So I thought I would start from where I left off and do a Thanksgiving post. Our Thanksgiving had a lot of football in it. Some of our friends from the ward invited us to their house for Thanksgiving and we had a lot of fun and a lot of great food.This is a picture at their house. The boys were in watching a game while we were finishing up in the kitchen. If you can't tell, the Cowboys are on TV. I think it might even be Tony Romo himself. Dallas of course has a Thanksgiving shirt on because why would mommy pass up an oppurtunity to buy a new outfit. His shirt says mommy's little turkey. He enjoyed a delicious Thanksgiving dinner of pureed sweet potatoes. YUM! The rest of us feasted on the traditional turkey dinner and I attempted to make my Grandma Parker's famous pecan pies.

Daddy went to a Turkey Bowl in the morning and somebody stepped on his toe with cleats and he lost the toenail but I know there are worse casualties. I love this picture because Dallas has his tough face on too. I guess it must be an instinctive guy thing because the minute you put a football in front of them they can't smile but have to do the tough face.

What do you think?

2008-11-29T14:29:00.001-08:00

When Dusty was out shopping for Christmas presents one of the clerks at Best Buy said that Dallas looked like Jack Jack from The Incredibles. So we looked up some pictures and I can see some similarities. What do you think? If only Dallas had that much hair. We haven't noticed any super power yet but maybe those will come later.

Yummy Toes

2008-11-29T14:13:00.000-08:00

Dallas still loves his bath time but recently he has discovered his toes.

If you look really close in these pictures you can see that he is getting a little bit more hair.

Wouldn't it be nice to be this flexible.

He loves chewing on his toes. Especially when I change his diaper. It makes it kind of hard to put a new diaper on with his toes in his mouth.

More Daddy Time

2008-11-27T07:07:00.000-08:00

Having fun outside, grilling some steaks with my dad.

Playing the Wii with my dad. We were trying to see if it would give us a weight for Dallas but it always says that he is fidgeting too much.

Making Friends

2008-11-25T21:00:00.001-08:00

These pictures are from baby boot camp. I joined when Dallas was 6 weeks old and I love it. I love getting together with other mothers and being able to take Dallas to work out with me. And it is so good for us both to get out of the house and be outside. It is at a park right now and some days we will stay and play after that. We take out strollers and run around the park and lunge with our strollers. I am sure we look funny to all the other people who come to the park. I love the way I feel after going too. It is amazing how much more energy I have for the day when I start with a work out. I think Dallas likes to be with the other kids too. He seems like a pretty sociable kid.

Yes that would be my son, the one eating grass. All while his mommy stands back and takes pictures. Well, boys will be boys.

Peas Please

2008-11-25T20:23:00.000-08:00

Dallas loves his peas. He is doing great eating his vegetables. Some have taken a little more convincing than others. But so many times I think he ends up with more on his face than in his tummy.

New Highchair

2008-11-25T20:12:00.000-08:00

We finally got a high chair for Dallas since he was always trying to escape from his little chair.

At first he wasn't quite sure about it.

But we think he likes it.

Adventures with a sippy cup

2008-11-25T19:37:00.000-08:00

Yes, the Gross Family is alive and well. Sorry it has been so long since the last post. Things have just been busy here. We are all doing well. Dallas is growing every day and it is so much to watch his personality develop. He is such a happy baby. We have started to try to get him used to a sippy cup. He does pretty well with them. He loves water. If Dusty or I has a cup he just about jumps out of our arms trying to get to it.

But he is always happiest drinking out of whatever cup mom or dad has.

Ahhhh.

Pumkin Patch

2008-11-01T12:15:00.000-07:00

We went to a pumpkin patch with some people from Dusty's school. Dallas had a lot of fun playing with the pumpkins. We went on a hayride and he watched all the bigger kids jumping in the bounce houses. They also had a costume contest.

Our Little Monkey

2008-11-01T12:02:00.000-07:00

Dallas was a monkey for halloween. He was so cute.

A little monkey love for mommy.

Babies First Halloween

2008-11-01T11:30:00.000-07:00

Well since last night was Halloween I figures I would start with those posts and then work back. We had a Halloween photo shoot and these pictures were some of my favorites. This bib was sent to us in a Halloween package from Oma Gross. Thanks Dallas loved playing with everything.
Dallas is at that stage that he thinks everything goes into his mouth.

Oma Gross sent us this ghost hat.

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!

The Force

2008-10-30T19:51:00.000-07:00

Yes the Gross family is still alive and well. Sorry it has been so long since the last post but we have been a busy family. Alot has happened but our most exciting news is that Dusty passed his boards. We are so proud of him and all his hard work. So Dallas and I had to have another party to celebrate. We had a star wars party this time and Dallas dressed up for the occasion.

We got daddy a R2D2 Mr. Potato Head for he and Dallas to play with. You can bet he didn't have that one in his collection. Dallas thought it was pretty fun to play with. It even came with a hologram of Princess Tater.
The outfit says "Change me, I smell like a Wookie."

Yoda is wearing a sign that says "The force is strong with you, O wise one." We had alot of fun playing with Dad's Star Wars toys. We are so proud of him and excited to have one part done and out of the way. What a man.

Rice Cereal

2008-10-04T13:05:00.000-07:00

So this was our first experience with rice cereal. Dallas was not sure that he liked it very much. And he kept being distracted by all the flashes as his parents took picture after picture. We couldn't stop laughing because he was making some of the funniest faces.

Going to the Doctors

2008-10-04T08:17:00.001-07:00

We took Dallas in to the Doctor's office for his 4 month check up. They said he is doing great. He is now 15 lbs and 15 oz. So probably 16 lbs. after lunch time. And he is 26 1/2 in long now. He thought it was a fun game when they laid him down to be measured. I also took a picture of him on the scale but that involved some full frontal nudity so I decided not to post it for the world to see. Also our pediatrician recommeded that we start him on some rice cereal which we did last night and it was hilarious. So those pictures are still to come. Stay tuned.

Box Play

2008-10-04T08:12:00.001-07:00

Dallas had some fun pretending to be a special delivery for his dad. He also loves to chew on his fingers lately. It seems like he always has a finger or two in his mouth.

Mommy's Little Helper

2008-10-03T18:49:00.000-07:00

Dallas is such a great little helper.
First he helped me make some bread.

And then we did some laundry. Poor kid. His work is never done.

New Set of Wheels

2008-10-02T07:53:00.000-07:00

Dallas was trying out a new set of wheels when we went to the store. Everyone keeps telling up that time flies and he'll be driving before we know it. I guess they are right.

My Daddy at Work

2008-09-27T10:39:00.000-07:00

We went to see Dusty at the clinic this week. He is working in the student clinic this trimester and Dallas and I will be 2 of his patients. He did our physicals this week and Dallas did a great job at holding still for his daddy. When he did my physical he did it in front of his staff doctor for what they call a Q&A. They observe him and if they do everything right they are released to do it on their own from then on. He passed of course and now is on his own in the clinic. He has done a great job in recruitung patients and i think he is seeing 8 patients this trimester.

The Fire Station

2008-09-20T12:13:00.001-07:00

Dallas and I joined a mom's club so that we could have activities to do during the week. This was our first outing with the club and we went to the fire station. I think Dallas likes to get out of the house and he loves to watch all the other kids running around. We are excited for all the activties and we'll keep you posted.

He's a Survivor

2008-09-20T11:55:00.000-07:00

Dusty has taken a lot of hard tests that have required a lot of study time and hard work. So after he was finished taking his boards Dallas and I threw him a Survivor Party because he survived.

This is our entryway. I blew up some of those water ballons that look like grenades and when he came through the door we shot off some poppers.

This was the cake that we put together. I looked in all the stores because I just wanted to find some of those little army men to put on top of the cake but I couldn't find them anywhere so we just made do.
Dallas and I had fun shopping for some toys for Daddy's party and Dallas got all dressed up for the occasion.
This hat says My Dad Rules and we really do think that you rule. We are so proud of you and all your hard work. Oh and by the way we found out that he passed his Clinic Entrance Exam. WooHoo.

All Smiles

2008-09-18T11:51:00.002-07:00

Dallas is always such a happy boy. So I thought that I would do a post with all of my favorite pictures of him smiling. I love to go get him out of his crib in the morning because as soon as he sees my face his face lights up and he is all smiles. It makes a mothers heart warm. I love my sweet little boy.

The Boys

2008-09-18T11:51:00.001-07:00

I love this picture of Dallas in Great-Grandpa Opie's office at Opie Chiropractic. Hopefully Dallas' life will be as influenced by chiropractic care as his father's is, and that will keep him a healthy little boy.

We think they're GREAT!!!!

2008-09-18T11:51:00.000-07:00

Ok so I am finally getting up the pictures of Dallas with all of his Great-Grandparents. He had such a fun time meeting them.

Monkey Talk

2008-09-18T10:30:00.000-07:00

Last week when Leslie was at work Dallas and I were playing aroung and he was having lots of fun with King Louie. Icaught a little of it on my phone so it is not that high quality and there is a weird thing with the sound in the middle of it but I thought it was pretty funny.

Play Time

2008-09-16T12:11:00.000-07:00

These are some pictures of Dallas with some of his new toys.It is so fun to watch him play. He is learning how to reach for things and grasp them. He is just about ready to start rolling from his back to his stomach. He has been rolling from his stomach to his back since he was 3 weeks old. We have a hard time getting enough tummy time play because any time we put him on his tummy he just rolls over to his back. But he is doing well with his tummy time too. He is starting to lift up his bum. And when you put a toy in front of him he tries to get to it. He looks like he is swimming almost because his arms are turning and he is kicking his little legs trying to figure out how to move himself forward. I am a little scared for the time when he figures it out because it's kind of nice when they remain in one place. Keeps him out of trouble.

This is one of the toys his Grandma Heywood bought for him and he loves to play with it and look at all the colors.

This is his Bebe Pod. He likes to sit in it while we eat dinner and watch us. I love his look of concentration. He's not able to sit up very well yet so you can see him kind of leaning in this picture. We just have to keep proping him back up.

This is his new exersaucer. He does really well playing in it. He can turn himself aroud.

Ladies Man

2008-09-16T06:17:00.000-07:00

When we were in AZ we got to meet up with my friend Shelley Goodman and her daughter Braelyn. Shelley and I went to nursing school together and also worked together at Banner Mesa. Braelyn is about 2 months older than Dallas.

It was so funny to watch them stare at each other. Dallas has not been around too many other babies and I think he enjoyed it. Well of course look how cute she is.
They had fun playing together but were wondering why their moms kept taking so many pictures.
I think in this picture he was trying to bust a move but she wasn't interested. I think we are going to have to watch out for him, he's going to be a ladies man just like his dad. I guess his Grandpa Heywood will have to pass on the stick. (So he can beat the girls off as my dad would say. He always said he had to use it because all the girls were always chasing him. I'm not so sure about that.)

Cousins

2008-09-16T06:12:00.001-07:00

Dallas got to meet some of his fellow counterparts produced from the couples in the class of 05. I think there were 4 Opie cousins that got married in 2005.

Church Time

2008-09-12T05:09:00.001-07:00

Dallas wore his first tie to church this last Sunday. He wasn't quite sure what to do with it. He thought he was supposed to eat it.

So I don't know if you can tell in this picture but the shirt he is wearing is pink and navy blue. A bit risky for a boy but Dallas is comfortable with his masculinity so I thought it was okay. And it is so cute but this week at church I had 2 people ask me if he was a boy or a girl. What, did the tie through you off? Come on. One lady was trying to get my attention to tell me that he was spitting up ON HIS TIE and she said umm, your baby, is that a boy or a girl, is spitting up. Oh brother. One little boy, named Blake, in my primary class, who is about 5, said...

Blake: Is that a boy or a girl?

Me: A boy.

Blake: But he's wearing pink.

Me: Boys can wear pink.

Blake: Oh. Does his dad know he's wearing pink?

Ha ha. So I guess the world is just not ready for little baby boys in cute navy blue and pink shirts even with matching navy blue and pink ties and navy blue slacks. I think we will have to retire it for now and maybe try again with the next boy.

Yep I got a haircut. One morning I woke up and just needed a change and so I got it all cut off. I donated about 12 inches to locks of love.

ASU Men

2008-09-12T04:57:00.000-07:00

Ok so I am still working on adding all the Arizona picutures but I thought I would take a break and add these on because they are so darn cute. Dallas is finally big enough to fit into the outfit his Aunt Rhonda gave him. He looks so good in maroon and gold. Grandma Heywood bought him the socks that he is wearing. They look like little tennis shoes. They even have shoelaces. So cute. Man this kid is spoiled. So thanks again to Aunt Rhonda and Grandma Heywood.

Fun With Friends

2008-09-12T04:43:00.001-07:00

We got together with our friends. Of course we had a get together at Kathryn and Ryan's house. Poor guys every time we come into town we get together at their house. They are probably wishing we would just stay in Texas. But we had such a great time. It was so fun to see everyone and here what is going on in their lives. Everyone is doing so well. We also got together at Macayos so we could have our quota of Arizona Mexican food since Texans don't know how to do Mexican food.

Mission Friends

2008-09-12T04:38:00.001-07:00

We got to go see one of Dusty's mission companion and his family. This is Logan Blau and his son. He and Dusty were companions for awhile and got to reminisce about good old AZ since Logan was from there too. In fact he went to Mesa High and actually played against him in footbal. It is a small world. And look at them now. Responsible family men. Who would have guessed.

First Last Chance Trip

2008-09-12T04:17:00.000-07:00

Dallas had his first experience with one of the best parts of Arizona, Last Chance. I am not quite sure he enjoyed it though. He must get that from his dad because there are not many things I like to do more than bargain shoe shopping. This picture is of him in the cart of shoes we grabbed to try on. I learned this particular skill from my good friend Kathryn. You go in a group and one person grabs the cart and everyone else just grabs as many shoes as they can and piles them into the cart and then when you think you might be done you find a corner and try them all on.

We got there in time for the lecture of course. Oh nothing like the thrill when those gates slowly raise and everyone speed walks through and you have to fight the crowds to get to the shoes.

If you look closely at this picture you can see Dusty in the background trying to pretend that he doesn't know this crazy lady over here taking pictures in front of Last Chance.

Aunts and Uncles

2008-09-08T16:25:00.000-07:00

Dallas had so much fun getting to know all his aunts and uncles. He was spoiled by all the attention. After we got home he seemed bored with just us and i am sure was wondering where all his new friends were that held him and played with him. He was definitely well loved while we were in Arizona.

Grandpa Time

2008-09-08T14:00:00.000-07:00

Dallas finally got to meet his Grandpas. They were both home playing Mr. Mom when the grandmas came out and we are so grateful for that. He loved his grandpas of course and I think the feeling was mutual. He definitely comes from good, hard-working stock.

Dallas loved reading the newspaper with Grandpa Heywood. And yes my dad's blood still runs deep orange. Once a warrior always a warrior I guess.

Dallas had so much fun with his Opa Gross and he even got to visit him at Bass Pro a couple of times.

First airplane trip

2008-09-08T01:15:00.000-07:00

Ok I will try not to be too bitter but I think I was 16 before I rode on an airplane and now my son rides on an airplane at 3 months. What a crazy world. But he did such a great job. He didn't bother anyone around us. I don't think most people around us even knew that there was a baby there.

On the first flight that we took there was an empty seat in between us and so we laid him in it. He slept all through the take-off. It didn't even phase him but he woke up when the captain came on the intercom.

He loved looking out the window. He just stared and stared.

You can see the clouds out through the window. That is one of my favorite parts of flying in an airplane is looking down on the clouds. Such a cool feeling when normally we are looking up an them. I guess Dallas loves it too.

He had fun playing with his daddy on the plane. And you can't see Dusty's face here but I am sure that he was so excited and not at all embarrased of me taking pictures on the airplane.

Updates

2008-09-08T01:07:00.000-07:00

Well sorry it has been so long since there have been any updates. We had a whirlwind of a trip to AZ to see all the family and when we came back we went straight to work for me and board reviews for Dusty. So right now we are just trying to survive. But I will try to do a better job of keeping things up to date. Things are going well here. Dusty is getting ready to take the first part of his boards this next week. So please keep him in your prayers as he makes it through this first major hurdle on his way to become a chiropractor. He has spent at least 12 days in a classroom for 8 hours just reviewing the information for the test and on his short 2 week break from school. He is working very hard and doing such a great job. We are so proud of him. I am enjoying my new job and enjoying even more being able to be home during the week. Dallas is such a blessing and joy in our lives and I have such a fun time with him every day. We had a great trip to AZ and Dallas loved to meet his grandpas, aunts and uncles and spending more time with his grandmas. He is missing everybody and all the attention already.

One Cool Kid

2008-08-13T20:03:00.001-07:00

It is so funny to watch Dallas' hands when he is sleeping. He usually sleeps with his fingers spread out and if he gets startled while he is asleep they fly up and then slowly drop back down as he relaxes. While my mom was down we went shopping at Old Navy and as we checked out he was doing his hand thing and the cashier made a comment that that one of her favorite things about babies was how they were always flashing gang signs. I thought it was kind of funny and then right after we had dropped my mom at the airport I got of picture of him "flashing a gang sign."

I got this outfit for one dollar. Yes I know my mom will be proud. We finally found a hat that will fit Dallas' head and his dad decided he needed to wear it sideways. The outfit has little golf clubs and balls in case you couldn't tell.

Fun Time With Aunt Rhonda

2008-08-13T19:50:00.001-07:00

Well Dallas has made a new friend. Aunt Rhonda came for a visit and Dallas had such a good time. We are so grateful to her for coming out and helping to watch Dallas while I had to go back to work. I don't think we would have made it through the week without her.

Grandma Time

2008-08-03T18:55:00.000-07:00

We have been so blessed to be able to have visits from both Oma Gross and Grandma Heywood. Dallas has loved spending time with them. We are forever grateful for all their love and support.

Talking to Grandma

2008-08-03T18:51:00.001-07:00

It is hard to be so far away from family sometimes but we try to stay in touch. This is a picture of Dallas talking to Grandma Heywood. I put the phone up to his ear and he grabbed ahold of it.

Playing dress-up

2008-08-03T18:39:00.001-07:00

Well it all started when Grandma Heywood came into town. Whoever said that you couldn't have fun dressing up boys was wrong. It is just as much fun. These are a few of my favorite outfits that we have dressed Dallas up in. Now I know what you are thinking, poor kid, but really he loves the attention.

Swim time

2008-07-31T13:11:00.000-07:00

Well since our little guy likes his bath so much we decided to take him swimming. He is about 7-8 weeks in these pictures. I think he was a little suprised because the water was a little bit cooler than his bath water normally is but he had a good time.

I had so much fun shopping for his swimming suit. And of course had to find some matching sandals.

He is really good at his backfloats. We can just hold onto his head and he just kicks his little legs.

Swimming sure tires him out.

4th of July

2008-07-31T09:21:00.001-07:00

Well much to Dustin and Dallas' pleasure(ha ha) I got matching 4th of July outfits for everyone. So of course we had to take a lot of photos. We had a fun day. First we went out with Dustin's friend Raymond and his wife how were visiting from out of town. We took them to Babe's, one of our favorite restaurants here in Texas. Yumm! But Dallas just slept through it all. Then we went to the carnival that our little town was having. And we ended the day with a barbecue at one of Dustin's friends from chiropractic college house. And after our long day Dallas was pretty worn out. He loved to watch the fireworks. We had a pretty good view from our backyard and he just was mesmerized by the flashing colors and lights.

Quality time with Dad!

2008-07-30T18:03:00.000-07:00

Dallas is definitely a daddy's boy. He grabbed ahold of his dad's finger when he first came out and he's been holding on ever since. He loves spending time with his dad. Whether it is working on the lawn, playing computer games, and going to his dad's softball games. But of course their favorite thing to do is...Sleep.

Bath time!

2008-07-30T17:06:00.000-07:00

From the very beginning Dallas has loved his bath time. He always calms down the minute we put him in the water. He can never hold still though, he is always trying to wiggle down so he can get his head in the water. We have to be careful because if he gets his face in the water he will try to drink it.

It all started when two people fell in love,

2008-07-30T16:54:00.000-07:00

Dallas Duane Gross was born on May 16, 2008. He weighed in at 7 pounds and 5.2 ounces. He is such a sweet and patient baby. I have enjoyed learning how to be a mom and have so appreciated all the help we had from both of his wonderful grandmas.

The beginning

2008-07-30T16:44:00.000-07:00

So just for a little history. Dusty and I were married May 27, 2008. We moved to Texas in August of 2006. We miss Arizona and all our family and friends but we are happy with our life in Texas as well. Dustin is going to Parker Chiropractic College here in Dallas and is over half way through. Woopee! "

Here we go!

2008-07-30T16:38:00.000-07:00

Well I have finally decided to join the blogger revolution. I think I am pretty much the only person left that doesn't have one. And I thought all the pictures of Dallas are just too cute to keep to myself. And hopefully it will be an easier way to keep friends and family informed on what is going on in our lives. So I hope you all enjoy.