Birthday Girl!!

Brooke is 2!!! I can't believe how quickly time has passed. She has been so much fun for our family. Up until a few months ago she loved cars, bugs, and legos. Over the last month or so she has turned into a complete girl. She was so excited about her little dolls and their little clothes and furniture. We love her so much!

Airports, Airports, and more Airports!

We made it home for Christmas!!! It took 19 hours and 4 airports, but we finally made it. Flying standby is a little tricking during the Holidays, but the kids handled it better than planned and we managed to get to Utah and back for a great Christmas. Dallin kept asking, "Is this the plane that is taking us to Grandma's or is there still 1 more?" We were so happy to get to Salt Lake!!

Tons of Snow!

The snow and cold was a big change for us! Luckily we have great family and we were able to borrow enough snow gear to go sledding with the family. It was so much fun. I was really surprised how shocked the kids were by the cold, but also by how much they loved it!

Chisholm Cousins

Dallin and Brooke had so much fun with the Chisholm cousins. I am so thankful that we were able to spend so much time with them this winter. Dallin & Brooke have been talking about their aunts, uncles, and cousins ever since we have been back in Florida. They were pretty much stuck to Taylor and McKenzie the entire trip. They had a blast, and it really helped me get a good break!! Thank goodness for family!!

Dester Family

We were able to go to Provo to see my Grandma and Gramdpa Dester. It was so fun to see my cousins, aunts and uncles, and all the new little ones. I am so thankful for the time that we were able to spend with my grandparents.

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve, my Grandma and Grandpa Prue were so nice and drove up to Bountiful for a late lunch. It was so great to see them and we are so thankful that they were willing to come and see us. Julie and I were able to put out kids down for their naps and the adults were able to enjoy a nice quiet meal!!

More Christmas Eve...

It was so good to have my Dad home the night of Christmas Eve. He had been really busy at work and unable to take any time off. On Christmas Eve, he summarized Luke 2 and spent lots of time with us and the kids. It was tons of fun and a great memory for us all.

Naughty...Naughty...Naughty!

This week was probably one of the hardest weeks with Dallin & Brooke that I can remember. Usually it is a day or two, but this was a week! They have always been really good friends...best friends! They would play so well together and take care of each other. This week that ended. For some reason they decided that they no longer like each other. In fact, by the look of things, they can't stand each other. They have been fighting all week...screaming matches, biting, pinching, hitting, and now kicking! What am I to do??

I told Dallin that I was done being the Mom and after looking around for a minute he said, "Well, I think you have to be because you are the only one here with long hair."

When the fighting hit a new limit I exclaimed, "Dallin, If you don't stop I'm going to ring your little neck!" He looked at me and said, "But Mom, my neck doesn't have a bell!?!"

Thankfully the week is over and I'm just praying that next week is back to normal. Doug has one more week of finals and then Christmas Break!!

Thanksgiving

With a few days notice, we flew to Utah to see the family for Thanksgiving. It was great to see everyone and it helped our family get more in the holiday spirit. We can't wait for Christmas!!

Doug's team for the Turkey Bowl!

Happy Halloween!

We had a lot of fun this October. The kids were entertained all month with pumpkin patches, Halloween parties, and trick or treating. Dallin was cracking up at every door we stopped at while trick or treating. He was really getting a kick out of the fact that all he had to do was say "Trick or Treat" or "Happy Halloween" and people would give him candy. What a great concept! Brooke refused to dress up for most of the activities, but we managed to get her to put on a bear noise to go trick or treating. Dallin was a Soldier for Trunk or Treat, but on Halloween he switched at the last minute into a Doctor costume. He loves to dress up and has a great imagination. Brooke on the other hand, prefers to be Brooke.

Lots of Diapers

Last week I started noticing unfolded clean diapers all over our house. I discovered that Brooke had taken every animal in her room and put a diaper on them. Within minutes she would start the process all over...changing them over and over again. There must have been 30 diapers on the floor. This task kept her busy for hours!

Birthday Boy!

Dallin was so excited to turn 3! When I asked him yesterday what he wanted for his birthday he said, "A football cake with candles." I love how easy Dallin is to please! He had a great time with his friends and his cake!

Little Fish

The only thing Dallin wanted for his birthday was a football cake and flippers for the pool. Brooke enjoyed the flippers quite a bit as well!

Great friends!

A couple of weeks ago I decided that Doug needed a break. He was just finishing mid-terms and I could tell that he was going crazy and just needed to get out of Florida. It is amazing how great it can feel to leave everything behind and take a quick trip North. So, with a days notice, we headed up to Philladelphia to see our good friends Zack and Danica. They were in the middle of moving, so not exactly the best time to show up on their porch. But as always, they were so nice and they let us stay with them and they took time away from their move to take us around town. We wished that we could have helped them more with their move, because they helped us by taking all of our stress away and made our trip a great vacation! We had lots of time to just relax and Doug was able to revert back to being his pre-dental, no care in the world self! Horray!!