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!!

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.