Still Swimming

I can't believe that we are still swimming! It's no wonder that Thanksgiving has snuck up on us so fast. Dallin and Brooke have been begging me to take them to the pool or the beach all week and I finally decided to take them. The water was a little too cold for me, but it was really warm outside and a perfect day. Doug has been studying for the boards so the kids and I have tried to stay out of the house as much as we can. He takes the boards in 3 weeks and we will be so glad when they are over and he can enjoy the weather with us!

Primary Program

I've been in the Primary the entire time that we have lived in Florida. I have loved every bit of it and this is now my 4th primary program. Unfortunately, Doug was at a job interview this particular weekend and I was stuck by myself. I had arranged earlier for Brooke to sit with some friends, but when the moment arrived she refused to sit with them and insisted on sitting with me on the stand. This was a problem because I was sitting next to the podium helping everyone with their parts. Dallin was so sweet and let her sit in his seat with him and that seemed to work well...until Dallin gave his first part. After his part, Brooke stepped up on the stool to do what she thought was her part. Luckily we had a few kids missing and I just had her fill in for the little boy that was missing after Dallin's part. She did a great job and was very pleased with herself. She sang all the songs with the kids and I was relieved that I might be able to pull this off. But then Dallin had his second part, which lead to Brooke thinking she should have another part and when I wouldn't let her get up, she burst into tears and started screaming that it wasn't fair. I ended up halving to leave the stand and take her out! When I came back Dallin was mad because this was his program and not Brooke's and he was so mad at her. That began the worst 25 minutes as I tried to help the kids and do the program, while separating my kids and keeping them from killing each other on the stand. I refuse to do another program unless Doug is in town!

Is it Mother's Day?

I don't know what happened to my kids today! I woke up and they were little angels the entire day. Dallin made my bed for me (He said that "it has lots of lumps, but people like lumps in their beds.") They played so well together today, with almost no fighting! They helped me clean the bathrooms and fold the laundry, and later that afternoon my little Brooke picked flowers for my hair. They are such sweet kids and I'm so glad that they are mine.

Happy Halloween!

We had a great Halloween! We had some friends and neighbors over to carve pumpkins, eat dinner, and trick-or-treat. It was a great night and the kids had tons of fun. It was a really hot and humid night and probably our last really warm Halloween. The kids got way too much candy and both of their bags broke open about half way through the night. They were thrilled with all the treats!

So many Costumes!

There is nothing that Dallin and Brooke enjoy more than dressing up! I change them in and out of costumes and outfits all day long. So...every Halloween party we went to they dressed up in a different costume. Dallin's chicken suit proved to be way too hot for Florida, but the rest of the costumes were better for our weather here. My great friend Effie went to Old Navy the day before Halloween and picked up 9 costumes for us at $1 each!! What a great deal for such well made costumes. They have been great for dress up, and will be perfect for cooler Halloweens in the future. I finally bought Dallin a spider-man t-shirt to avoid our morning argument about where it is and is not appropriate to where his spider-man costume. Now he wears the shirt everyday instead of the costume...and I am thrilled!

OUCH!

The day after Dallin's birthday, I took him to the Dr. for his 4 year appointment. I proved to be not the smartest mom that day. He ended up needing 4 shots and he was absolutely terrified! He sat on the table and when she started I had to hold him against me and the table to get him to hold still. He was screaming, crying, and trying as hard as he could to get away from us. After the third shot, I turned around to make sure Brooke was still in the room (I had been slightly distracted with Dallin and forgot she had been standing right behind me). When I turned my head, I saw the poor thing curled up in a ball on the floor in the corner of the room with her hands over her eyes crying hysterically. I should have gotten a babysitter...what was I thinking!?! It took me twice as long to get her to calm down as it did to calm Dallin. She is really protective of Dallin and loves him so much. She is getting shots next month and I know it is going to be a mess! I had to take them to my eye Dr. appointment last week since Doug was held up in clinic and Brooke was a disaster the entire drive. She kept crying and saying that she didn't want them to give me shots and hurt me. I tried to explain that this wasn't that kind of Dr., but I think I traumatized the poor girl for life.

Dallin showing off all of his band-aids.

Happy Birthday!

Dallin is now 4 years old. I can't believe how quickly time has gone, it seems like we just moved to Florida and he was only 8 months old. Now we have just a few months left in Florida and Dallin is 4 years old!! He had a great Birthday and loved having all his friends come over to play. They all painted lizards (Dallin is really into Dinosaurs and lizards right now), had cupcakes, and they were so nice and brought some gifts with them. Dallin and Brooke both had so much fun and we are so thankful for such great friends!!