Swimming

This is going to be a great summer for the pool! Dallin and Brooke beg me everyday to go swimming and they are becoming quite the swimmers because of it. In Orlando I told Dallin that I would jump in the pool with my clothes on if he would jump off the side into the pool. Everyone in my family tried to get him in, but luckily for me...he was too scared. I've been trying ever since, and then one day he just jumped in. Now he can't stop!! His favorite trick is jumping over Doug and a close second is his cannon ball.

Orlando

I have been looking forward to this trip since Christmas! And it was more fun than I could have imagined. My parents, and Amanda & Kurt came down to visit and we all met up in Orlando at a house that they had rented for us. It was so relaxing!! The kids swam all day and when we weren't swimming with them we were reading or just talking by the pool. It was such a needed vacation for us all. My only disappointment was the Doug was not able to come with us. He has finals the week that we went, but he was thankful that I had something to do so that he could study without distractions.

Great Friends back in Florida!

Staci and Andrew came down and stayed with us for a few days this past month. It was so much fun!! We have missed them so much and it was a blast catching up on what we had all been up to since last summer. Since Dr. McFarland is a wealthy dentist now, he treated us to a great seafood dinner. We also were able to see Staci's parents and spend some time with them at their hotel and the beach. Doug was able to take a day off to come with us to the Lion Country Safari. We love them and their family and are so thankful that they made the trip to come see us. Dallin and Brooke both love Maddy and it was so fun to see them play together again.

Ft. Lauderdale Beach

Lion Country Safari

Dallin really enjoyed the mini golf game with Doug. Brooke preferred to sit on all the animals along the way.

Easter

This was the first year that the Easter Bunny came to our house. Brooke and Dallin were both so excited. They got kites, treats, and some new coloring books and crayons. The night before I cut out bunny feet and put them on the floor. The next morning as the kids came downstairs I told them that the Easter bunny must have come and stepped in some paint on the way (I couldn't find enough paper around the house in one color...I know, they are awful looking rabbit feet). They started to follow the foot prints into the front room to find their baskets when Dallin said, "Mom, I think that these aren't his real foot prints. I think that he just put these papers down because he didn't want his feet to get dirty on our so dirty floor." Way to blow my Easter. It was a huge insult considering I had just mopped my floor the day before. At least Brooke thought it was fun.

Last Play Group

We have had so much fun with Dallin's friends. A lot of them are leaving Florida this next year and we will miss them so much. Play group has been the highlight of every week for Dallin.


(Brooke sneaks into Dallin's playgroup more often then she should. It has been quite a challenge to get her to not scream every time I drop him off.)

Miami-Dade Fair

Our good friends Joe and Lucy go to the fair every year and we have been wanting to go with them since we got to Florida. We finally made it this year and we all had a blast! There really is nothing like fair food, great entertainers, and farm animals!

(The kids got to make their own butter. It was a major highlight for Brooke. She devoured hers in just minutes!)


My Nebraska Corn Husk'n Boys!

So Many Stickers

I thought at some point stickers would get old. Not the case with my little ones. Grandma Maggie sent them stickers in the mail and they had a great afternoon!!

Cousins!!

Dallin and Brooke love when their cousins come to visit. A few months ago Julie and Russ came down with their kids so that they could do some repairs on the condo. It was so much fun to see them!! They will be moving to New Mexico this summer and we are so excited for them, but will miss these little trips.













Brooke absolutly loves babies. She wants to hold them constantly and she always makes this high squeeking voice whenever she sees one. It doesn't matter who the baby belongs to, Brooke wants him or her!! Sadie was born in October and she quickly became Brooke's target! (My mom told me that when we were at her house Dallin told her that he needed all of her baby toys because when we move I'm going to have another baby. I've now heard that he has told multiple people this! Too bad he'll have to wait quite a bit longer).

Little Red

Brooke has grown so much over the past few months. She is trying hard to talk more and loves to copy everything that Dallin says. She definitely has her own little personality and is very difficult to reason with. Doug and I were talking about her last night and we really can't get enough of her cute little face. She loves to make us laugh and she has become quite the singer and dancer. She loves The Little mermaid and loves to sing like Ariel. The only problem is that she can't carry a tune. It is pretty funny to watch how hard she tries and how well she thinks she sounds. I heard Dallin say last week as they were playing, "Brooke, please just stop singing, Please!" She said, "No, me Ariel". It drives him crazy, but it is so fun to see her figuring out what she loves. She loves Dora and loves to be outside. She asks almost daily if we can go to the beach. That girl is going to need a lot of sunscreen this year!!!

Update on Little D

There is never a dull moment with Dallin. In fact lately I haven't had a single moment without Dallin. He is going through several stages right now. One of them is that he is absolutely scared of everything in our house. He thinks that there are monsters everywhere and he has to be right next to me at all times. Doug was home yesterday afternoon and couldn't believe that he wouldn't leave my side for even a minute. After a few weeks of this I have started to go crazy! I don't have a moment to myself and no matter what I say to reassure him, nothing seems to work. After my shower this morning I found him curled up next to the tub screaming and crying because he heard a "stomp". I hope this stage ends soon!!Dallin loves to pretend and use his imagination. We've gone through many phases with him and currently he is a baby. Although this is super annoying, it is a lot better than his last stage of insisting that he needed to be a girl with long hair. Every morning he would wake up and want me to tie a blanket on his head for long hair and he would stay that way almost all day. I remember several months ago he insisted that he was a puppy and needed all his meals on the floor in a bowl. He also went through a brief stage of being a pig. The baby thing has been rough, but at least I'm not worried about him really believing that he is a girl! I now know that it will end soon enough.




I never thought that I would have "that kid" in primary. You know, the one that gives away all the family secrets and always has to comment on every point to every lesson. Yes...that is Dallin. He is in Sunbeams now and after being told several comments that he has made, I am really nervous to take him anymore. When he says, "Well, my mom said..." I start to panic. I guess a few weeks ago they were talking about Laman and Lemuel and the bad choices that they make. Dallin kept raising his hand and pestering until they finally called on him again. I guess he had just one more thing to say, "Sometimes, Satin makes my mom and dad make really bad choices!" I was shocked so on the way home I asked him why he said that and what choices we make that are so bad. He say, "Well, all of them - all your choices are bad." He is a scary little one and sometimes I wonder if he is a child or a teenager!!!

A little Self-Reliance

Last Saturday we planted some veggies. I don't know that it was smart on my part, because I have killed nearly everything I have ever tried to grow, but I'm excited to try again. My good friend Effie said that she was headed to the local Nursery and wanted to try some tomatoes. I tagged along and we bought some tomato, bean, and pea seeds, and a pepper plant. I don't know that any of them will grow, but it was sure fun to plant them with Effie and Dallin. Dallin loved it so much that he tried to start his own garden with flowers that he picked off my bushes. He picked the flowers and then planted each pedal individually in the front yard. There were about 30 in total and it kept him busy for quite a while.

Dallin's Little Garden (you can barely see the little blooms by his feet)

Papa

The day that we drove home from Orlando, Papa Richie flew in to have fun with us and Aunt Birdy. We went to the beach, watched movies, and went to the SeaAquarium. Unfortunatly Doug was busy in class and wasn't able to do much with us, but the kids and I were sure excited to have some fun with Papa and Aunt Birdy. It was fun to have such great visitors all week!

Fun in Orlando

We had so much fun this Valentines Day! We were lucky that Doug's family decided to go on a Disney Cruise and stop for a day in Orlando. Aunt Birdy flew out and we all drove up to meet the family for the weekend. The kids had so much fun with their cousins and it was fun to catch up with family. We have the best family ever and it was great to see them. Aunt Birdy was a trooper and sat between 2 car seats all the way to Orlando and back! The kids loved it, but I'm sure it was a little rough on her. She also got the kids hooked on chololate milk...more reasons they love Birdy!!