Back to Jacksonville

My little brother James has less than 2 weeks left before he heads into the MTC and then off to Toronto, Cananda. Since Julie and Russ weren't able to come out to Utah for Christmas, he was nice enough to come out to Florida to see all of us before he leaves. James is such a great brother and uncle and we all really enjoyed the short weekend that we had together. It was also Parker's birthday so we had a little party which added even more excitement.


On Parker's birthday, Doug took the boys out to get donuts for breakfast.



Dallin got Parker a Motorcycle for his birthday.
Parker liked it so much he tried to ride it!


This is the Turtle cake that Julie made Parker for his birthday. Dallin talked about this cake for days before we even arrived at their house. Everyday the topic of conversation between the boys somehow involved this cake. Julie did a great job and it was really all Parker wanted for his birthday. Dallin now is telling everyone down in Ft. Lauderdale about it and has informed me that for his birthday he wants a Lion cake!!



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On Saturday we took the kids to the
Museum of Science and History in
Jacksonville.












































On our way home from Jacksonville we stopped off in St. Augustine to see some old American History sites. It was a lot of fun and we were able to walk to through the colonial Spanish neighborhoods, seeing sights from America's oldest city. We didn't have a lot of time, but we did manage to see the Castillo de San Marcos. It was pretty impressive and the kids had a lot of fun playing on the cannons and seeing all the old buildings.

Birthday Girl!!

I can't believe how big Brooke is and how fast this past year has flown by. She turned one of January 8th and we had some friends over for hot dogs and cup cakes. I think Dallin was just as excited as Brooke. She was so excited to get some new books, dolls, a stroller, and some princesses. It was a great day for the whole family. Brooke also started taking her first steps this past week. Shes up to about 5 steps, but still prefers to crawl.

The Joys of Traveling

Christmas was extra busy this year. We were lucky enough to go to Utah and spend the holidays with both my family and Doug's family. This was a great treat and a well needed break from Dental School. I will say that every time we arrive home from a trip home I tell myself that I will never fly with kids again. But, even with Brooke throwing up on me three times during the flight home, I would gladly go home next week if I had a ticket. We really enjoyed spending time with our families and are so thankful to have had such a perfect holiday.

Christmas with Nana, Papa, and James

Dallin eating Nana's famous Cinnamon bread and Brooke opening her first
Christmas gift on Christmas morning.

Bowling
I don't think that any of us had bowled in over a year, but we sure had fun. Dallin rolled two balls down the lane for a total of 3 pins!

We had a great time with Nana, Papa, and Uncle James. Lots of relaxing, playing games, watching movies, and visiting. Brooke mostly roamed around the house and hung out on the stairs all day. Dallin loved helping Nana make bread, and was so excited to see Papa when he got home from work every day. Doug and I were just thrilled to be with family!!

Kids are scared of lots of things...snowmen should not be one of them!

It started snowing at Nana's house during our Christmas break in Utah and Doug went out to help shovel one morning. He was outside for nearly 2 hours and we were starting to wonder how many neighbors walks he was also shoveling. When he finally came in, he was soaking wet and so excited for Dallin to come out and see what he had made. Dallin seemed quite excited as they walked out the door and towards the front yard. However, that instantly changed as they turned the corner and saw the giant snow man waiting for him. Dallin was terrified and kept screaming , "Snowman get me Daddy...Snowman get me!" The entire day he has been scared to go close to the outside door. He also kept looking over his back while playing to make sure that the snowman hadn't come inside to "get him". What kid is afraid of a snowman?!

Dallin sledding with Papa, Uncle James, and Daddy

Christmas Day in the Emergency Room

Christmas Day was the day that we were going to move from my parents house to Doug's families. However, at about 1:00 that afternoon Dallin started crying and saying that his arm hurt. Doug had been playing "airplane" with him but didn't think that he did have anything different that usual. We decided to put Dallin down for his nap and see how he was acting when he got up. About an hour later he woke up screaming and we knew that something was defiantly wrong. We took him to the emergency room and after about an hour learned that he had "nursemaids elbow". A few twists and pulls from the doctor and a lot of crying from Dallin and we were home. Unfortunately for me, even a trip to the emergency room on Christmas day has not stopped the boys from all the rough housing. I'm sure we'll have another trip soon!

Christmas with the Chisholms

Our first stop with Doug's family was at Jason and Michele's for Christmas Eve. Dallin had a great time with his cousins. I think there was a period of almost 4 hours that I didn't see or hear from him. It was great for everyone!!










Our second stop was Kurtis and Jessica's house in Heber. We attempted gingerbread houses, but unfortunately all of our efforts went into getting the roof to stay on. When we were finished we finally realized that we had neglected an entire wall that had completely caved in. Gingerbread houses proved to be a lot harder than we had imagined.










Our final stop was Tyson and Ani's house in Lehi. We spent most of our time relaxing and enjoyed the rest before heading home.

A Perfect Day For Doug