Aliya

Wow have you ever looked at one of your kids on their birthday and thought, "Wow I can't believe how old that are! time has flown by so fast!"! Well that is not this little girl! When we looked at aliya yesterday on her birthday we were shocked she was only 4! Most days she either seems 6, 10, or most days 17! She is so much personality and girl that I am always amazed at what she says or how she acts most days! We really do love her and who she is ( most days)! We are so thankful she is a part of our family!!! So to our baby girl HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!! Lets hope the next 4 years are a little less dramatic!!

skiing

Well I survived! Dan took me skiing for my very first time yesterday! And I have to say, Dan is the most patient and loving husband EVER!! He literally skied backwards most of the day so I could feel more comfortable! He took so much abuse from me all morning, I yelled at him telling him his "hobby" is stupid and crazy and I hated him for making me come ( ok so obviously I chose to come) He didn't yell back or call me bad names he knew this was hard for me and that I was trying to do something so out of my comfort zone I regretted it instantly! But by the afternoon I was more confidant and I was skiing sections on my own! I never really left the bunny hill but that bunny hill was intense, so all good! I do have to say that Dan is great skier, but I knew that before we went! But I am amazed at how good our kids are!!!! Dallin and Emma are amazing and did graduate from the bunny hill and from their wedgies (things that hold the skis tips together so they don't do the splits all the time)!! They were awesome!! The graduated from their class and and ran a race and won gold medals! Emma came down and the first question she asked was, " What place am I?"! They of course said first and she went off so excited! Dallin the older and wiser brother told her later in the car that she was not first place because everyone was first place! Funny! They love skiing and didn't want to stop at the end of the day! So I guess the good news about me is that I am willing to go back and try again! Dan says it takes three times befoer you really enjoy it! And yes I am veryyyyyyy sore this morning!!! One last note I am thankfull I am married to the greatest man in the world! It does make a difference!
Dallin after he won his gold medal!!

Me waiting for Dallin to come down the race. It was a hill and Dan let me take my skis off while I waited so I wouldn't keep sliding down the hill!

Emma waiting for her class! SHe was just tired so she kept laying down on the snow! SHe was sooooooo cute! And brave!

No picture of Dan he took them all and I wasn't thinking about taking pictures of him until the end and he had the camera! He looked great though!!!!

The most beautiful 2 year old in the world!!!

We feel so blessed with all of our children! And bringing Lilly into our family was no exception! She is such a joy and integral part of our family! She is already such a help and wants to learn everything she can to be the big girl in the family! She trys to be the mom to all the other kids and will "yell" at them if they get in trouble! She loves to sing and loves going potty in the toilet! Dan constanly tells me what a happy thought she is for him! Happy Birthday to our beautiful Lilly Kate!!!

Crazy new hairdo

SO I came up with this fun but "different" hair do for Aliya because her hair is shorter and the normal stuff I do on Emma just doesn't work on her! But she can pull it off!!So you start off with wet or really damp hair. Then part it on the side . you can do a straight or zig zag part. After that divide each side in to 2-3 sections. Then twist each section into a small bun and secure it with a small elastic band! I do one section at a time. The after all the buns are done spray heavily with hair spray! and then add a ribbons to each bun! SOOOOOOO cute!!!

Mean Mom

So the question is how did she get it on her head? Was she sticking her head in the toilet or wanting to wear it ?? Either way can you say GROSSS!!!! and yes we could not stop laughing as we dipped her in bleach! Not really bleach but a really good scrub down bath!

It is Great to be Eight!!!

SO this post is long over due but better late than never! Dallin turned eight in October! We had a fun family birthday party for him which he loved!! We decided to wait to have him be baptised until Jan for family rreasons! But every month would pass and Dallin would ask when it would be his turn! On Jan 2nd It was finally his turn and he could not wait!!
That morning we had a ton of snow! as we headed to the church we hoped all the family and friends would be able to make it out! They did not have dallin down to be baptised for some reason but we had done everything so he was good to go! they do it as a stake and then divided into wards. I reallly didn't like our ward and those of you who were there could see why but no more about that!
They asked who wanted to go first from our ward and dallins hand shot up! The water was ice cold because the hot had stopped working that morning! But he was still excited and you would have never noticed how cold the water was by how big his smile was! Dan too!
It was soooo amazing to have our big boy want to be baptized! He was very ready!
We loved having our family and friends there also! And having space for it all!
We are so very proud of dallin and the person he is becoming! I really want to thank his teacher from our ward in spokane! Sister she was such a huge part in preparing him for this day! Thank you!

life

Dan is teaching Emma to ski by letting her practice outside. It is dark and cold so he doesn't stay with her the whole time but watches from inside! Lilly is worried enough for all of them and opens the door to "check" on Emma every few minutes. then she slams the door and yells something to Emma and Daddy!
Aliya just came in and asked if I would name her Lisa! I said yes and she ran around the whole house yelling, "LISA!!!!"! She then announced to Dan that I said she could change her name! Dallin is enjoying life and cracks us up all the time! ok so every kid cracks us up! Lilly thinks she is the mom and bosses everyone around! ALiya thinks she is 17, crazy and eccentri! Emma thinks she is 15 and wants to be a rock star!! Dallin just improved his reading so much in the 5 months we have been here, that they kicked /graduated him from the after school reading program!! YAY!!! Dan is good! traveling a ton, but it does pay the bills! And I am loving my new home!!!!!!! I tell Dan every day how much I love this new home and how grateful I am for it!!!
I will eventually post pics and catch up on all of the events this past 6 months! We are hoping to get the wifi up soon! Any way, we love you all!!!!