Oh what do you do when it's warm outside?

So, we have had six long months of cold, snow, cloudy skies. The sun finally came out for an afternoon and we were ready to go outside. The girls were so excited to ride bikes, scooters, and chalk. Paige loved chalking all over her clothes, her body, and her sisters drawings. Hollyn loves to color and draw and write all of our names and anything else she can spell. Her drawings have really changed over the last few months. She use to draw more stick figure like people, but now she gives them bodies and even draws real eyes. She said that Nonni taught her how to draw eyes. You draw a u, close the u, and then draw a line in the middle. I loved that she taught me how to draw better eyes. Hollyn is so ready for kindergarten and can't wait to have a lunch box. We are still trying to decide if we want her to do full day or half day. If it was up to her she would go all day. Hollyn has also started to read books. They are definitely at a kindergarten level, but she is so excited to be able to read. We are so proud of her and really can't take credit for most of it. This kid loves to learn and if you ask her where she learned something most of the time she says, "from my brain."
Paige, well Paige is such a crazy kid. She loves to try to do anything her big sister is doing. She is not afraid of anyone no matter how big they are. If she wants something she goes after it, even if she gets pushed down in the process. She will also let you know what she wants in a loud voice. Paige loves to do her own thing and she is just fine being left alone in the playroom. She loves to get into the jewelry and put on as many necklaces as possible. She also loves to play with the kitchen and feed us or her baby pretend food. Paige just started putting two words together this week. She says things like more banana which really sounds like, "mo nana." She has really started to talk and it's so fun to hear how she says things. Some of her favorite things to say are, more, banana, milk, cheese, yogos, uuhh huu(for yes, I couldn't figure out how to spell it), no, hi, bye, I love you (which really sounds like iluvu, all one word) sissy, mommy, daddy, go, uh ohh and I'm sure there are more I am forgetting. She also loves to shake her head yes and no and still loves to sign animals and do animal sounds. We love this kid and she is always surprising us. She is also the first kid in our family to write on something other than paper, the floor. At least it was only with a pencil and came out.



This is a picture Hollyn drew of me. If you notice my belly button is showing. I guess I have been busting out my belly shirts lately.

I'm so glad when Grandma visits glad as I can be!

My mom was here visiting the last two weeks. We had asked her over Christmas Break if we could fly her to Lincoln for two weeks to watch the girls while I worked. She was immediately on board and Hollyn started the count down the day we came home. It was so great having her here. Although it was hard to go back to work full time, it was nice knowing that Hollyn and Paige were in good hands. My mom helped with the cooking, cleaning, taking Hollyn to school, taking the kids to Dr.'s appointments, making sure Dan and I were able go to the temple and on dates while she was here, and not to mention the kind deeds she did for us everyday. Needless to say the girls hardly even missed me. My mom left on Sunday and we are already missing her. We miss her delicious cooking, especially her yummy salads (I just can't make them like her). I miss shopping with her and having someone to go to the gym with, go on jogs with, and hang out with at night while Dan is studying. We love and miss you mom. Thanks Dad for letting us borrow her for two weeks. It must have been hard without her.

Sick on Valentines Day

I would like to say this was the best Valentine's Day ever, but I can't, so I will say it was the sickest Valentine's Day ever. It all started on Thursday when we found out Paige had strep. Then on Friday night Hollyn was up all night throwing up, so the next morning I took her to the doctor and we found out she had strep too. I was feeling sick on Saturday and decided to go to the doctor too. Fortunately I didn't have strep, but by the end of the day I was certain I did have the flu. The kind of flu when your whole body aches and your stomach is in knots. Mine and Hollyn's diet consisted of gingerale and saltines for the day. Well to top it all off Dan was up all night Saturday throwing up with the stomach flu So for Valentine's Day we stayed home from church sick and trying to recover. We drank lots of gingerale, ate lots of saltines and took many naps. Dan surprised us all on Saturday with Valentine's Day gifts. Usually we don't get each other gifts so it was a surprise and a good one at that. Hollyn got some smelly colored pencils and a Fancy Nancy sticker book. Paige got a book and a little dog she calls Pup Pup. (which she now takes naps with and sleeps with. It's the cutest thing ever to go in their and see her little hand wrapped around it) Lastly, Dan got me some slippers, which I badly needed, and one of my new favorite books These is my words. Dan nailed every single one of the gifts. He is really thoughtful when it comes to gifts.
On Tuesday we finally made our annual heart shaped sugar cookies when a few of her friends were over for playgroup. I should have taken a picture of my house afterwards and the cookies. They were both full of frosting and lots and lots of sprinkles. I guess you can never have enough sprinkles on your cookies or on your floor. The girls had a great time though and they always have so much time together.

Daddy Daughter Valentines Dance

On Friday Dan and Hollyn went to the Daddy Daughter Valentines Dance at the YMCA. It has become a tradition for them to go each year, and every year Hollyn comes home beaming from ear to ear. Hollyn loves to dress up in her favorite dress and Dan even lets her pick out his clothes too. This year Dan came out in jeans and a nice button down shirt and asked Hollyn if she like what he picked out. She looked at him and said, "Dan, I really want you to wear your Easter tie." So Dan went back in the closet and got out his Easter tie and nicer clothes. They had a great time dancing and eating cake, m&m's, candy hearts, and drinking punch. Hollyn couldn't stop talking about it for days. She sure loves her dad. When they got home from the dance Hollyn was able to stay up late because she had earned her 40 Broadbent Beans. Each day she has the opportunity to earn beans by making her bed, putting her toys away, being a good helper, clearing her dishes, practicing her letters and so forth. She can also loose beans for not making great choices. Every time she earns 40 beans she gets to stay up later and watch a movie of her choice. This time we watched Image That and had home made ice cream shakes. It was a cute movie that Dan and I even enjoyed.

I love to read!!

I have loved to read ever since my 5th grade and 6th grade teacher Mr.and Mrs. Barnette introduced me to great children's novels like Hatchet, Maniac Magee, Number the Stars and many more. A good book can really change you. A comedy can put you in a good mood and make you laugh out loud. A drama can make you cry and be thankful for what you have. A good action novel can keep you on the edge of your seat and keep you reading until you loose track of time. A good romance can have your heart pounding and put a smile on your face. Very rarely do you find a book that does all of these things and changes your life at the same time. I just finished one of those rare books, it was called These is my words.
It was an amazing story about a strong women who overcame everything you can image during the settling of the AZ territories. She was the kind of women I hope that I will be someday and the kind of women I hope I would have been if I was alive during this time. She was brave, doing anything she could do to protect her family, without a second thought. She was honest and true to herself. She was strong and never shirked her duties or let someone tell her she couldn't do something. She was smart, always trying to learn and extend her knowledge about the things around her. She was religious. She was kind, always taking care of other and seeing everyone as equal. She loved with all of her heart, not only to her children but more importantly towards her husband. I hope that I have or can gain a fraction of this women's character. If you haven't read this book it's a must read. Hopefully it will change you as it has me. I hope the sequel is as good.

Back in the Saddle Again

We have been back in Nebraska for about a week now, and I will have to say I'm glad I missed the crazy snow storms. The snow piles all over the city are amazing. Most of them are taller than I am. I was just talking to Dan today about how nice it was to have 35 degree weather today, and then I thought about it for a minute and said, "did you ever think we would be grateful for 30 degree weather?" My perspective on what real cold weather is like is forever changed. For the first few days we were back Hollyn kept saying that she wanted to go home. When I told her we were home she said, "no back to AZ where the cousins are." We sure were spoiled over the break, especially Hollyn. She had constant entertainment from family and friends. Let's just say life here isn't quite as exciting. Dan has started his final semester of law school. I can't believe we are a few months away from being done with school forever. These last three years have gone by so quickly and although they haven't always been easy, I can honestly say I am grateful for them. We have grown tremendously as a family and I have grown as an individual. We have also met some amazing friends that we will have for a lifetime. Don't get me wrong, I can't wait for Dan to graduate and be done with law school, but I will truly miss our friends here in Nebraska. Speaking of leaving, we know for sure where we are going. Dan received a job offer in Arizona so we are officially moving to Arizona when school is over. I am so proud of Dan and all the time and dedication he has put into school. The majority of his time has been spent in a stuffy library, but it has been worth it and we couldn't be happier. In other news, I just found out today that Paige needs tubes in her ears. I know many people thats children have had tubes in their ears, but I'm still a little nervous knowing that she will be put under. I'm just hoping that this will stop the ear infections and help her sleep better at night. We love our little Paigey, and as Hollyn likes to say she's our little "mischief maker."

Disneyland and Birthdays

December is a crazy month for our family. In a less than a two week period we have Christmas Eve, Christmas, Dan and Hollyn's birthdays, New Years and our anniversary. Two days after Christmas we had Dan's birthday. We had fun plans for his birthday to hang out with some friends, but Dan ended up getting sick and we had to cancel our plans and Dan went to bed. We were able to celebrate on his actual birthday, Sunday, and make his favorite meal, Sweat and Sour Chicken and open presents. The next day we headed for California to spend Hollyn's birthday at Disneyland. We were able to go with most of Dan's family and most importantly the cousins and stay at a hotel right across the street from Disneyland. Tuesday morning, Hollyn's birthday, we headed over to the park. Hollyn was so excited because she got a fun Disney pin that said It's My Birthday and all of the cousins were able to wear pins that said Celebrate. Every ride we went on the people who work there would tell her happy birthday. The smile on her face was priceless. The kids were able to ride on almost every ride, thanks to fast passes and lots of parents who love their kids enough to wait in line for a long time. Hollyn's favorite rides were Space Mountain and Thunder Mountain. The only ride she did not like was The Tower of Terror. Let's just say my sister in law and I had never been on the ride before and didn't know what to expect when we took our 5 year old daughters on the ride. It was so cute to listen to them talking after the ride. Hollyn said to Kate, "I had my eyes close the whole time," and Kate replied "Me too!" Then Hollyn turned to my and said, that frightened me Mom. Boy did I feel like the mother of the year. After the parade, we headed back to the hotel for dinner, Hollyn's choice pizza. (I almost forgot to mention, at the parade Mrs. Clause turned to Hollyn and said Happy Birthday.) Once we finished our very nutritious dinner a few of us headed back to the park. Dan was very happy to volunteer to stay and put Paige to bed while I took Hollyn to California Adventure. Hollyn made it until about 10 pm and then was done, and told me she was ready for bed. We had so much fun at Disneyland and the best part was that all the kids were able to enjoy it together. This may be our new traditon when our kids turn five, going to Disneyland on their actual birthday.


On another note Dan and I celebrated our 9th anniversary on the 3rd of January. I can't believe we have been married for 9 years already. One thing is for sure I love him even more now than I did when I married him. These are my top ten favorite things about Dan:
1. I love that he is goal oriented.
2. I love that he works so hard for our family.
3. I love his sense of humor. No matter how mad I am at him, he can make me laugh and it make me crazy.
4. I love that he holds and honors the priesthood.
5. I love how personable he is.
6. I love that he makes me a better person.
7. I love his smile.
8. I love how focused he is.
9. I love how he loves our girls and interacts with them.
10. I love that he will be graduating from law school in May.