Finals and Free Flights

Doug had a really nasty few weeks of finals this semester. He disagrees with me, but I think that we have it just as bad when he is gone so much. Every time finals roll around I can usually expect to see him for dinner one or two times a week. The rest of the week he packs a lunch and dinner and we don't see him for days. The kids go crazy...which leads to me going crazy! This semester turned out to be a little different though. Doug started working at Delta a couple of months ago and we are now eligible for free flights. It is a really sweet deal. He only has to work 3 nights a month and he has admitted that he actually enjoys it. I think that it is a good break to just throw bags and not have to think. So I took advantage of our flying benefits and took off for the worst two weeks of finals. (I think I counted nearly twenty finals that he would be taking while we were gone). I went to my moms and then Doug flew out for the weekend when it was all over. It ended up being a huge blessing for both of us. I didn't go crazy with the kids and Doug was able to have the silence that he needed to study. Two weeks apart is the most I think I could handle and we are so glad to be home, but it was a great trip.

The second day we were in Utah it snowed! The kids were so excited and wanted to go out and play. Having little to no experience with snow they went out and enjoyed themselves for all of about 2 minutes. Dallin came running in telling me that something was on his hands and was hurting and that he needed them washed off. Both kids started crying and the excitement was over. Frozen hands are no fun...and a little confusing.


We had lots of play time...

Lots of Relaxing...

watching cars with Grandpa...the kids loved it.

Lots of Cooking...

Lots of tasting...

We took several quick day trips to see family. Our first stop was lunch with Grandpa in Ogden. After lunch my dad was taking us around the office to introduce us to his colleges. After only a few introductions Dallin took over and said to everyone we passed, "Hi, this is my Grandpa and this is his daughter Jen and we are her kids." He was so proud of himself!

Quick trip to Provo to see Grandma and Grandpa Dester...

Quick trip to Orem to see Grandma and Gramdpa Prue...

Quick trip to Heber to see JJ and Chase...

Mother's Day was at Doug's brother Tyson's house in Lehi. The kids had tons of fun flying kites with Grandma and playing with the cousins. I left a little early and was able to talk to James on his mission. My mom was so excited and it made for a perfect Mother's Day for all of us!

Cousin Taylor's Birthday with the never missed "Candy Explosion". Since living in Florida we have missed one too many of these. It was great to get back!

The kids

A few things I learned with Dallin this week...
1. Water Balloons are more fun than anything else in the world. Dallin asks me hourly if I will fill up more balloons for him and Brooke to go "SNAP". He squeezes them until they pop all over him and Brooke starts cracking up. They can't get enough of the balloons.

2. Imaginary friends can entertain for hours. Dallin has a little friend that he holds in his hand. It can fly, you can't eat it, and if you want one too he will just lick his hand and another invisible friend magically appears. And they all have the same name....Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers! (Confused??? So are we!)

3. It's more fun to be a pig or a puppy than a little boy. For the last two weeks Dallin has pretended to be a pig or puppy, depending on his mood. He crawls around all day and requests that all his meals are served on the floor. This is great for me because the little boy that lives at our house can talk for hours and hours without stopping and the questions are never ending. However, the pig and puppy that live at our house don't talk unless it is absolutly nessesary. It has been a lot quieter at our house!

4. Besides water balloons, Dora and Diego are the best things in the world.

5. "Lizards love bugs...especially plastic ones."

5. Sisters are the best! Dallin and Brooke both love each other so much and are best friends. They think each other are so funny and can entertain each other for hours. Dallin loves introducing Brooke to everyone. "Hi, this is my sister. My sister's name is Brooke. She is my sister."




Things I've learned from Brooke this week...
1. She whines when she is sad
2. She whines when she is tired
3. She whines when she is happy
4. and She whines when she is just standing still.
Poor girl, just can't stop whining.
(She is getting teeth in, but we are just hoping for our happy Brooke back next week).

Peeps

Dallin came into my room and said, "Mom, Dad's eating a nasty, nasty, nasty bird!" I was a little shocked and started into the kitchen to find out what he was talking about. And yes, I was a bit nervous because it's Doug we're talking about...You never know! I saw Doug and just cracked up. He was standing over the stove roasting a peep! I agree with Dallin...Nasty Birds!

Shell and All

Brooke and Dallin loved decorating Easter eggs. However, they loved eating them even more. I was missing an egg and figured that Brooke had taken it. After looking everywhere, I found it under the place mat. She had taken a bite out of it...shell and all. Since then I have found several more eggs like this around the kitchen. I guess she just couldn't wait!

Easter

The Saturday before Easter Doug and I took the kids over to a local park for their annual Easter egg hunt. It costs $1 to get into the park and for that small price the kids get loaded with sugar and entertainment all day. We had a lot of fun!

Dallin loves the ladies!



Brooke loved looking for eggs. The poor girl was sweating like crazy
the whole day. It was eighty degrees out, but also really humid. We
all had wet hair by the end of the day.



Dallin was so excited to see Mickey. We waited in line, but by
the time we got to the stairs Dallin was a little nervous. Mickey asked
if he wanted to sit on his lap, but Dallin said, "No, I just sit by you."

Dallin's favorite part of the day was the Bounce House.
He's a great jumper!!

mascara

Mascara. What a horrible thing. Yesterday I was switching out the laundry and when I came back into the front room I was faced with a major disaster. Dallin had gone in the bathroom and taken my mascara. Within the few short minutes I was doing laundry, he managed to brush his teeth and Brooke's teeth with the mascara wand and then wipe the remainder on the couch. Not to mention the huge black puddles on the floor from all their drool! If I hadn't been so mad I would have gotten some pretty incredible pictures! I put Dallin in timeout which made Brooke go crazy! (She hates it when he gets in trouble)...and then I started to clean up the mess. When I went to get Dallin from his room and asked why he was in trouble, he said, "I brush Brookey's teeth??" I couldn't believe it. He really didn't see the harm in anything that he had done. After all, he was just trying to help her out.

Simple Success

Brooke finally figured out how to use the straw! She was so proud of herself.

Play Group

Dallin is in a play group with three friends every Tuesday morning (Kennedy, Ella, and Lane). This week it was at our house so I was able to get some pictures. They were having too much fun playing to stop and pose, but I did get some action shots.

My Florida Snowmen

Dallin informed me yesterday that they were snowmen. I'm surprised I got Brooke happy...she was not enjoying the bubbles on her head.

Sleeping or Studying???

I got after Doug the other day because every time he says he is going to our room to study, I find him asleep instead. The only way to get him up and back to the books is to stick a kid on him.

Doug claims that he rarely falls asleep, but admits that his Pharmacy class is awfully boring. Well, yesterday Dallin said, "Mom, where's Dad?" I told him he was studying. Dallin then said, "Well, can I go wake him up?"
I rest my case.

Nana and Papa

My parents came down to visit this last week for a few days and we had a great time. Dallin was so excited and Brooke loved following Nana around and sitting on Papa's lap. We are so lucky to have such great parents! Since they have been out to see us and Julie so many times there wasn't much we could do that they hadn't done before. So it was nice to just relax and enjoy each others company.

Elder James Dester

My little brother left on his mission at the beginning of February. He is actually already in Toronto, Canada and I can't wait to hear from him. He was supposed to be in the MTC until April, but because he already speaks Portuguese they ended up sending him out 6 weeks early. Last Wednesday was the day he ended up flying out of the airport, which also happened to be the day that my parents were flying to Florida to visit us. It was a great surprise when they ran into each other under the flight screens at the airport!! We are so proud of James and know that he will be a great missionary.

Dallin was especially excited when I told him that James was going on his mission. He was jumping up and down and said, "Yeah, Dames going on a mission...Dames coming to my house for dinner!" I guess we really need to talk to Dallin a little more about what a mission is. His only knowledge of missionaries is that they come to our house for dinner!