Dallin Updates and a birthday - Turning FIVE!

Oh boy, this kids give me a run for my money sometimes! Preschool has been so great for him this year. He has a great teacher, Mrs. Travis and has made some really fun friends. 

For Saint Patrick's Day he came home with this cute little hat.... which he wore for several weeks afterwards. I one day found him wearing it, with his pants down, while peeing off the deck. It was hilarious!

 This was his first season of soccer. He was hesitant at first, but it helped that his dad was his coach! And his best friend Case was on his team.

 We had a lot of fun Monday dates together. He has school 4 days a week and Monday's off. So we learned to cherish that time together. Usually at Costco.

 One of his classmates, William, lives on a tiny little sheep farm. The class got to visit and do some work feeding them, cleaning up after them, tagging their ears and brushing out their fur.

He got a new suit for Easter and looked soooo handsome.

 And a fun play date with his friend Case, who is the sweetest friend. We are sad that he will be homeschooling next school year because I really wanted him to be in Dallin's kindergarten class.

 He was so sweet to help Dallin after the fell off the swing. Case checked him out to make sure he was okay.

 Dallin also started out our birthday season by turning FIVE! We celebrated at school, at the movies and at home.

 We brought Popsicles in to his class, and I read a story. And it was extra special because Dad was there!

 Then we went to see the Lego Batman movie, which was surprisingly enjoyable. I laughed out loud more than once.

 Then we celebrated at home early before school on his actual birthday.

 This was THE coveted gift that he wanted the most - the Lego Nexo Knights Fortrex. It took me over 10 hrs to put that thing together!

 Then we celebrated Nexo Knight style with his friends.

 They each got a sword and decorated a shield to help fight off the Lava Monster and protect the castle.

David got to be the Lava Monster and got sprayed with silly string!

 Koda even got in on the action with his own sword. Or perhaps he stole from one of the kids and they chased him around the yards forever trying to get it back.

We really had a fun time celebrating Dallin. He is so sweet and loves to snuggle. He can't go to bed without a story and he LOVES chocolate milk. He loves all things Legos and Power Rangers. He still needs his blanket but loves to go to school. He sure does keep things fun around here for us!

March Madness

 Wow, this was a busy month!  Grandma Bean came for a visit for birthdays, baptisms, anniversaries and volleyball. We spent quite a few nights at the middle school watching Carmen play volleyball. This is her first year playing and I think she did pretty great. We had to keep Grandma Bean calm several time. Her cheering got a little heated a few times! But what a fun sport to watch! I hope she continues to play.

Charlotte had some of her artwork displayed at the mall. She was very proud of her little piece of art and we all took the time to go see it and enjoy all the artwork on display. 

 Grandma and Koda made fast friends!

 Dallin introduced Koda Bear to bubbles. Oh the delight and sqeals of laughter that pursued!

 I spent some time thinking of my Grandma Teerlink and made this arrangement to go on her grave site. I think she would have really liked it. I tried to pick flowers and colors that reminded me of her.

 This kid is just silly. Not only does he say the funniest things, but he also promptly puts his pjs on after coming home from preschool.

 With Grandma here, we decided to drive out to Chiles Peach Orchard and see all the pretty trees in bloom. There was going to be a big frost the following night, so we took the opportunity to see the pretty blossoms before they were destroyed.

 Our friends, the Stradlings, invited us over for a Brazilian night! Everyone in our ward who served a mission in Brazil was invited to bring some cultural food and enjoy an evening of reminiscing about our beloved Brazil. I was adventurous and decided to make Pastels. We had a good assembly line for making them and while a little labor intensive, they were delicious and a huge hit at the party!

 I had to sneak a picture of me and Koda in... we just love each other! The girls and I often fight about who his favorite human is... I'm pretty sure it's me. ;) He even loves when I do crazy things, like put bunny ears on him.

 I got to attend an expo night at the middle school and see all the projects Carmen has been working on throughout the year. This particular book was really well done.

 Charlotte turned EIGHT! So that meant two super special things got to happen. She was baptized AND she got to go on her special daddy/daughter trip to General Conference. Here they were about to head out to the airport. And then David sent me the other two of them at Temple Square. I love that he does this. While I get a little sad at missing such a special opportunity, I know that spending that time with just Daddy is invaluable.

I guess another exciting thing happens when you turn eight, you get to start going to Activity Days on Wednesday nights. This was a unique night for us because it was Charlotte's first activity days and Carmen's last. She turned 12 shortly after this picture and moved up to Young Women's. But how fun that all 3 of my girls got to go together!! (And Dallin and I went to Sweet Frog for some frozen yogurt).