Oct & Nov. 2013 Pictures...

Here are some more recent pictures...

 Pregnant bellies!

 After my ultrasound.  We are having a GIRL!!!!

 Duck face Dalia!

(photo possible by Tesila? or taken by Dalia?)

 Playing in the leaves!

 Rock helping me make pie crust!

 Rock likes to cuddle with his mama!

(his mama likes to cuddle with him too!)

 Red, White, & Blue day at school to celebrate Veteran's Day!

Rock likes to turn the barbie house into a Train!

September 2013 - Second Half

September 2013
We still had nice weather in September so of course we spent it playing outside!  Rock loves the sand box!!
 

Brian worked on preparing our old deck space for a new deck or patio.  We had a had time deciding which to create.  In the end we decided on a patio.  So he began preparing to make an awning first!  Rock enjoyed digging in the dirt and playing in the dirt with his trucks while dad worked.  We were able to help out at the Annual Northwest Day of Service that our church does every year to commemorate the 9/11 attacks.  We were filling holes with dirt and sand at a local park.  Rock so enjoyed playing in the huge piles of dirt and sand!
Rock has also taken to a certain Cabbage Patch doll.  He calls it "Baby".  He likes to take care of baby and take baby places.  He also likes baby to be wrapped in the blue hoddie blanket.  And he doesn't like his sisters to mess with his baby.  It is very sweet.  He is such a good little daddy.  And it is giving him good practice for being a big brother!!   In September I was feeling better than i did in August, hooray!!  My morning sickness was getting better!  I even had some really good days!  Then some bad ones.  Still every day i felt nauseous in the mornings, but it would usually go away as along as i ate.  I never wanted to eat, but I would eat because so i wouldn't feel so sick.  And I was very picky about what i would eat.  Overall, I was glad to be feeling somewhat better.

Brian had a Birthday!!!  We chose a spider theme for him since he loves spiders, he says they are his friends and he doesn't like me to squish them.  We decorated with spiders and at first Rock was scared of them.  Dalia & Tes would tease Rock and chase him with the fake spiders and Rock would CRY! a terrifying cry.  So I told Rock to tell the spiders, "No Spiders" and they would run away from him.  So that is what he did and it worked (thank you to his sisters).
We made Brian a Rice Crispy shaped spider cake with 12 eyes.  And Brian's ongoing tradition for his birthday is that he goes swimming in a natural body of water.  So far it has always been a different body of water.  This year we drove over to Lake Stevens and he jumped off the dock while the rest of us watched.

We played dress-up!  Princess Tes was marrying Prince Dalia.  I was Princess Britni needing to marry Prince Brian, but he was not home at the time of our dress up party.  My tummy is kind of poking out, not enough to by noticed yet.  I still feel yucky.  I do have some better moments, usually during the end of the day.  I only eat certain foods: mac-n-cheese, french toast, apples, ice cream, and subways sweet onion chicken sandwich.
Rockwell has taken to one of my old cabbage patch doll babies.  He likes a particular one that i named Ashely.  He likes her to by wrapped up in this teal blanket that has a puppy dog hood.  He calls her "baby!"  He doesn't like his sisters to play with her or take her out of her blanket.  He likes to take her to the store and to church sometimes.  He likes to cuddle and sleep with her.  He gives her hugs and kisses.  He is really sweet to his baby.
Dalia is enjoying her piano lessons!  She likes to practice and she likes to sing while she plays!  It is fun to watch her!

Rock is enjoying climbing.  He climbed on the kitchen counter and found himself a sucker!  He was so proud!  I also found him in the front yard on top of Brian's car jumping up and down!  Scary for his mama. But he was so proud!  Rock also likes to help Brian as he works outside building anything, but most recently the awning for our backyard space.
Dalia and Tes like to make fire pits out of rocks and sticks!  Here Rock is roasting a marshmallow over the "fire".
Dalia gave a talk in Primary that she mostly wrote herself.  She choose to give her talk on the 10 commandments.  She did a great job, she read her talk and spoke loud and clear!


Rock playing with his baby and making sure baby had cars to snuggle with!
The truss for the awning is up!!!!
Pirate Dalia & Pirate Tes!  They love to play pirates!
We went to movie night at their elementary school!
We had a tea party on day after school.

Canoeing & Palmer - June 23 & 26, 2013

 

We had so much fun canoeing on Grandma's lake!  It was fun to see Dalia rowing!  Also, Cameron, Dalia, & Tes play so well together.  They were outside playing make believe for awhile.
Sunday evening we played games and made cookies!!
Belinda, Aubrey, & Cameron came over for dinner.  Wendy was there too!  Tyler missed his flight home from back east where he was at a concrete canoe tournament so we missed him again.
Dalia enjoyed playing with Lucy, teaching her games, making her dance, and giving her dog treats

Our last day we spent it in Palmer.  We went souvenir shopping ate lunch at a cafe in downtown Palmer, and went to the Amoosement Park!  We also stopped by our friend Ginger's house to visit with her and her two kids and husband.

Back at G&G's we had a big family dinner with all of us there, even tyler!  (where was my camera?!?!)  I was probably thinking about packing.  We ate, talked, let the kids play for a few more minutes, finished packing and then we were off to the airport for our midnight flight back to Seattle.

We had the BEST time in Alaska!!!  It was the perfect vacation for our family!  We had so much fun and did so much!  And I thought to myself a lot, "why don't we come visit more often??"  We really need to visit more often then every 6 years.  So here is to hoping that our next visit will be before 2019.  Thank you Mark & Dixie for having us!!!  Hopefully we will see you sooner rather than later.

Our kids are such good travelers.  Brian sat by the girls and I sat by Rock.  As soon as we were in the air Rock feel asleep and slept the entire way!  It was a good flight, but we landed in Seattle about 5am and I was so tired.  I don't know how Brian went to work but he did.  The kids and I got home and slept until 3:00pm in the afternoon.

Jim Creek - June 25, 2013

I think one of Brian's favorite things about Alaska is Jim Creek!!  Where he can go forbyin'
He really likes to drive his jeep through the mud, hills, and water!
He showed the girls a video of him driving through water and Dalia said, "Dad I want to go to Alaska so that we can drive on water!!"  So that is what we did!
 

We packed out three kids in the back of the jeep and drove off to Jim Creek!  The three of them bobbed around back there and giggled the entire time!  They had so much fun!!

Now, we didn't just go to Jim Creek alone.  We took a whole expedition.
Brian's Jeep: Brian, Britni, Dalia, Tes, & Rock
Mark's white Dodge: Belinda, Aubrey, Cameron, & Lucy
Mark on his 4wheeler
Dixie on her 4wheeler
Tyler & Wendy on the old 4wheeler (which died while crossing Jim Creek, so they hopped in the dodge)
Ryan & Lacy on a green side by side.

Ryan's side by side got stuck pretty bad so Brian got his jeep over and hooked up to pull him out.  But then the jeep got stuck.  It took them a good hour to get us both unstuck.  We were on our way again!

We found a spot to stop to eat and play in the water!  My kids had so much fun playing in the water and the mud!!  The enjoyed burying their feet in the mud/sand and having to pull them out.  It was really sticky mud.


We had a cookout with hot dogs and hamburgers followed by roasted marshmallows!  It was so fun!!  Then we played in the water some more.


Rock sure enjoyed playing on grandpa's 4wheeler.  He liked wearing the helmet and pretending to ride!  Grandma took the kids for little 4wheeler rides.  Rock also loved playing in the mud!

We had hoped to make it to the glacier, but once we realized the water level was too high and that we would not make it we turned around.  Brian was disappointed that we weren't going to make it to the glaicer.

On our ride back Dalia rode with grandma on her 4wheeler.  I was a little scared, but Dalia was so excited!!  We rode to the sand dunes and played!  Tesila and Rock feel asleep on the way to the dunes.
Brian & Rock had competitions to see who could jump the farthest.

I felt sad that Rock & Tes were missing playing in the sand so I went to wake them up.  I could not wake up Tes.  Rock woke up but I could tell he was still tired he didn't want to play.  Brian and Dalia had too much fun playing in the sand and then the water and back in the sand, turning themselves into sand monsters!!!!

When we were done playing and getting back into the car Dalia said she had to go to the bathroom.  Brian took her back into the creek and told her to just pee right there while she was standing in the creek.  So she did, she thought that was so funny and likes to tell others about her funny story of the time her dad told her to pee in the water.  Dalia was wet and sandy all over.  So we changed her clothes and she wore my shirt on the ride home.  It was a great day out at Jim Creek.  It is so beautiful there and I loved spending that time with Brian doing something that he loves.  He had so much excitement in his eyes the entire time he was driving.

Hatcher Pass & the Office - June 24, 2013

Our Hatcher Pass Adventure!!
 

We spent the day at Hatcher Pass.  We drove up and parked got out and all of the other people there were walking up a paved trail to see the mine buildings.  But we were not going there.  Brian asked Dalia, "Do you want to climb up this ridge (pointing to the right) or that ridge (pointing to the left)??"  Dalia said "This ridge" (and pointed to the left).  So that is were we went.  We began hiking left following no trail at all.  We just hiked through the brush following each other.  Brian is the best and carried the girls over the stream!

Our girls are such good hikers!!  It was fun when we found snow!!
We made snow angles!  and threw snowballs at each other.  Rock even hiked for a bit on his own.

When we got up higher we found more snow fields!  The kids had fun using their dad as a sled!
It was so beautiful up there!  It reminded me of the sound of music!

Rockwell tripped and fell into a very cold puddle of water.  He was not happy.  Thankfully we had some extra clothes and coats we were able to change him into for the hike back down.
We ended up crossing the stream at a different place where there weren't rocks to hop on.  Brian carried all 4 of us across so only he got his feet wet.  He really is the best!

After our hike we went out to Dairy Queen for Ice Cream and then over to G&G Ha.'s office!!  When we were last here in the fall of 2006 Brian was helping to cut down trees on the land where the office would some day go.  So this was our first time to see the office.  It is a great big space and nice to have it out of G&G's home.  Rock had fun playing on the lawnmower & throwing rocks.  Dalia enjoyed playing with Lucy.

Disneyland Day 2 (Part 2) - April 5, 2012

Disneyland Day 2 (Part 2) - April 5, 2012
Mickey Mouse Day
 

We met Aladdin!  He was so cool and so very nice to us!  I really felt like he was the real Aladdin (because of course he is, we were in Disneyland!!)  We walked around the statues on main street of Walt Disney & Mickey and the characters!


We went to Tom Sawyer Island!!

We rode on the "Sailing Ship!"  So cool!  Tes says this and the carousel are her most favorite rides!!  She is my slow moving girl!


Dalia's favorite rides was "Slash Mountain!!!"  Mine too!  She thought it was so cool going down the waterfall!  She loved the songs too!  Tes didn't want to ride on splash mountain.  First, Brian & I took Dalia while Jami waited with Tes & Rock.  As soon as we went down the waterfall Dalia said, "Tes will like this."  So we told Tes she had to try riding it just once.  Next, Jami, Dalia, Tes, and Britni rode on splash mountain and Tes did not like it.  Dalia then got to go one more time with Aunt Jami & her dad.  She still talks about loving splash mountain.
We got Pineapple Ice Cream Floats in Adventureland!

Jami had gotten two fast pass tickets for the Indiana Jones ride for her and Brian.  But after we realized that Dalia liked Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain, Jami thought Dalia might enjoy the Indiana Jones ride.  So Brian took Dalia to ride Indiana Jones.  Turns out it was a bad idea.  Dalia hated it!  She said it was so scary.  Dalia kept talking about this part where there is something and the eyes pop out and are scary.

We were lucky enough to catch the parade again today!!!  I loved watching the parade!  I loved watching my kids watch the parade and how excited they got to see the characters!  We also had a great view with the Matterhorn behind the parade floats.  (So sad the Matterhorn was closed while we were there).  It was so fun to see Rock get so so excited to see Mickey Mouse!  And awesome because he didn't even know who mickey mouse was until we came to Disney.  I felt like as soon as he saw Mickey he just loved him instantly!  True Creek blood in this boy!!

Brian had never rode on the Haunted Mansion before and i felt that he needed too.  But I didn't want the girls to ride it.  So Jami watched the girls while Brian, Rock, and I went on the Haunted Mansion.  It still scares me as an adult.  We then rode on the Carousel!  Tesila's other favorite ride!!  Jami & Brian took Dalia & Tes to ride on the Autopia track while i fed Rock some baby food.


That night we watched the firework show again and ate cotton candy!  It was so magical!
It was the most perfect two days in disney that i could have asked for.  I am so very grateful to Jami for coming to disneyland with our family!  It made things that much easier having an extra adult!  And I am glad that my kids got to share the disney experience with her too!
We LOVE DISNEY!!
(Well, Brian might not, but the rest of us do!)

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Disneyland Day 2 (Part 1) - April 5, 2012

Disneyland Day 2 (Part 1) - April 5, 2012
(Yes, that was SO long ago.  But i figured I want to remember it and my sister Callie is taking her girls to Disney for the first time next week. They are going to Disney World!!  I am so excited for them!)
 

Day 2 was our Mickey Day!!  My kids wore their mickey & minnie shirts and we bought the girls Minnie Ears!  Aunt Jami got some too!!  When we walked in the park Mickey Mouse was right out front with a short line to see him.  We got in line and he signed Dalia's book and then signed Tesila's book with Dalia's pen not hers, that is why she is sad in the picture.  Our first ride was Peter Pan!!  We almost didn't ride this ride because I was afraid of the wait line.  But the day before we met Peter Pan and he asked if we rode his ride and told us that his ride is the best in the park.  So of course Dalia wanted to ride it!  And I am so glad we did, I really do love that ride!  Since we got in line right away it wasn't that long of a wait, maybe 30 mins.

Dalia insisted on riding small world again.  She really really loves that ride and kept singing the song and smiling from ear to ear!  Next up was Toon Town!!!

We saw Goofy, Minne, Mickey again, and Tes & I ran into Pluto when the others were in line for a ride.

We toured Mickey and Minnie's houses!

Played around toon town and took advantage of the photo opportunities (aka - all the cars).




Toon town was a lot of fun!  

September 2013 - First Half

September 2013!!
We started the month off with 2 more day with G&G Ho. & Labor Day!

Brian finally got Agatha (the Cadillac) licensed and registered!!!  So of course we drove her to church!!  There are only 3 seat belts and all in the front seat.  It was nice to have G&G here because they took Tesila to church in their car.  That way Brian, Rock, & Dalia fit in the front seat of the cady with the seat belts and i sat in the back.  On the way home from church we switched little girls and let Tes ride in the cady!  It was a beautiful sunny day!  And so fun to see our kids so excited to be riding in daddy's car!  That evening, Brian took Dalia, Tes, & G&G Ho. for a ride around the lake.  On the other side of the lake they ran out of gas.  Brian hadn't filled the cady up since before it broke down back in Dec. 2006.  Lucky they were in walking distance to a gas station and some people were kind enough to loan them a gas can.  It is always an adventure when Brian is around!
 
Labor Day was the day G&G were starting their drive up north to Canada.  They wanted to drive up the North Cascades Highway.  We decided to caravan with them for a portion of their drive.  Even though i felt pretty awful, I decided that if i could fly all the way to the Middle East when i was pregnant with Rock and felt even worse then, then i could survive this little trip.  I did make sure that I drove and was picky about what I would eat.  We stopped a lot along the way to see neat things and go on a few little hikes.  We stopped at a cute little church, Dalia & Tes were so excited!  We went to a visitor center that had a lot of interactive kid things and a tiny walk.  We also found this awesome old Train engine!  You could climb all over the train and even ring the train bell.  Ringing the bell was Dalia's favorite part!  Then we went on a little hike to some falls.  (It was a very short hike, but beautiful).  We then drove up towards Ross Lake and looked out at some viewpoints and then said Goodbye to G&G.  They kept driving North to Canada and we headed back home!  It was so nice to spend time with them!

The Wednesday after Labor Day was the First Day of School!
The girls were so very EXCITED!!  They both woke up so early and got dressed right away and went downstairs and started making their breakfast!  Tesila started Kindergarten with Mr. K. and Dalia started Second Grade with Mrs. R.  I love how they are holding hands in their picture before Brian drove them to school.  They both picked out these outfits and were so excited to wear them!  When we were shopping for school clothes Tes saw this black and white striped dress and said, "This is what i'm going to wear on my first day of school!!"  and she was very adamant that she needed to have "lumpy" hair!  I wanted Dalia to wear a different outfit, but she really loves this "Hi" and "Bye" shirt and had to wear it!  They also really wanted to make sure i got a picture of their backpacks!  They are such sweet sisters and the best of friends!!  They talked about where they were going to meet up for recess, at the hopscotch!
Since Rockwell stayed home with me i gave him a new car!  It is a little transformer car and he LOVES it!  because he LOVES transformers!  Mostly Rescue Bots!!!
Rock was SO excited! to see Tesila when we picked her up from school!  And I think Tes missed him too.  After school we had cookies and talked about school.  Tes said she was going to have a funner time tomorrow.  She said that today they were learning all the rules.
Rockwell does not like that his dad and sisters all leave together in the morning and they don't take him.  He wimpers and is sad as they leave.  As soon as they are gone he finds a blanket and then comes to me and says, "cuddle."  So we cuddle!  We talk, sing, tickle, read, or he makes car sounds and drives cars all over me.  I am enjoying my morning cuddle with my baby boy!

Rock has found a new game that he loves: taking all his clothes out of his drawers.  Not my favorite game, but he thinks it is so funny.  Rock still loves cars and you can find him most of the time making some type of car/machine noise with his mouth!  Rock also loves to brush his teeth!  I will find him quite frequently upstairs in the bathroom brushing away.  The night before school Brian gave Dalia & Tes a father's blessing.  Rock sat very UN-reverently so i was surprised that when the girls blessings were done he went and sat on the chair, folded his arms, and bowed his head and was sitting so reverently waiting for his turn.  He is adorable!
Dalia & Tes on their 2nd day of school just because i thought their outfits were so cute!  They insisted on being "scared" in a picture!
*****Big News**** Dalia started Piano Lessons!!!!!  She started asking me when she was about 4 or 5 when she could learn to play the piano.  I realized in the summer that we do have a keyboard that she could practice on.  So the first week of school she started piano lessons from my friend Amy who is in our ward.  Amy also used to be Tesila's nursery teacher and Tes loves Amy so much!
Before I signed Dalia up I asked her, "Dalia do you really want to take piano lessons or just kind of?"  Dalia said, "I really really want to take piano lessons.  Mom, I only know how to sing I don't know how to play any instruments.  When I grow up I am not going to have any toys in my room just instruments".  So she is now taking piano lessons every week and practicing everyday!  She loves it.  I love to watch her play and sing as she plays.  She is looking forward to the day when she can play primary songs for us to sing to!!


Tesila was the first one in her class to get "Super Bee" for having Super Beehavior in kindergarten!  She got to bring Super Bee home and play with him all weekend!!!  Tesi's picture is of her and super bee laying on the blanket watching the fireworks, all you can see is their heads.  And it says, "Me and Super Bee went to watch fireworks at Mukilteo Beach."  We went to the Mukilteo Lighthouse Festival Firework show!  My favorite!!  I actually felt like eating today!  It was awesome!  I wanted Wendy's so we got salads and hamburgers and ate dinner at the beach while we waited for the fireworks to begin.  Rock did not like the fireworks, he hid his head under the blanket until the show was over.

Picture of 2 year old Tes!!

Tesila Rose (2 1/2 years old) - December 2010

I came across this picture today!  Isn't it so cute!  I love this little girl so much!!  I love that she has her tongue sticking out and is concentrating so hard on her drawing!