Hallie

My little Hallie is soon to be two! I can't believe it!! I love her sooooo much!! She is such a funny girl and Nate and I often talk about the funny things she does--okay mostly I tell him the funny things she did during the day since he is so busy with school at the moment. I want to share a few cute things about her.

-Lately when she wants something she will tell me very quietly. She acts so shy and sweet about it.
-She is still copying most of the things Adalie does and LOVES Adalie to death!!
-Hallie was introduced to our ipod and ear phones--thanks Nate--and asked for "Jutin Beber"--thanks Adalie--and while listening to "Baby" she sang along to the chorus, "bay-ba bay-ba ooo"
-I was laying on the couch and she put a blanket on me and I asked her to sing me a song and quietly she sang some gibberish.
-She is starting to want to say prayers
-She loves to talk to people on the phone and computer--"Say daddy hi"
-While at the park the other day there were two little black boys, about ages 2 and 3, dancing to some rap music and Hallie walked over to them and started dancing with them. Her main move included her bending over (trying to do a summersalt) and sticking her bum up in the air.
-She loves to give Nate and I hugs one after the other and it goes on and on and on. We love it of course and try to get her to do it all the time. "Daddy queeze (squeeze), mommy queeze"

She seriously makes me laugh so hard every single day!! I love her sooo much!

I was making dinner and Adalie sneaked some lemons off of the counter and gave one to Hallie. I caught the girls eating them on the couch--like mother like daughter!! Please notice Hallie's outfit, just part of why I love her!

An update on Adalie: She is now interested in the fact that she will be a grandma and once again asked who the grandpa will be. She also is excited that Nate and I will be great-grandparents.

Nate is super busy with school, but will have a long break (sort of) starting tomorrow!!! We are staying very busy here and really liking it. The girls are adjusting and Adalie--the child having the most issues--is adjusting so well and I am so proud of her. She no longer tells me she wants to go back to Provo, but that she likes living here!

Adalie

I just want to share about my Adalie. She is such a funny girl. She is crazy and wacky, and I completely understand her--she is me! Anyone who really knows me, knows that I am a major planner. I have to know when things are happening, how they are happening, and what I need to do to make it happen that way. This part of me drives Nate crazy. He wants to sit back and let things happen and I can't. I just have to know. Poor Adalie is completely on that path to following me.

I plan things years in advance and I truly mean it. I want to know when, where and how we will be living our lives. Currently Adalie is stuck on figuring out how life will be when she is a mommy. It all started about 3 weeks ago when she discovered that I will be the grandma of her children. She was so excited. Since then she is trying to understand how every role will be played out. As of now we discuss that her and Hallie will be sisters who grow up together and be mommies, their kids will be cousins, and Nate will be a grandpa. This morning Adalie woke me up and asked me, "Mom, who will be the dad of my kids?" I laughed really hard inside and explained to her that I didn't know who he would be, but that it will be a boy that she loves and will marry. She was so excited because she knows that to get married you get to wear a big beautiful white dress.

I love this little girl so much and I know how she feels. She needs all the answers she can get so that she can play out her life in her head. When I was a little girl I remember so badly wanting to skip childhood to get married and have my own kids--no joke. I have a feeling Adalie will at one point feel the same way.

Ever night before bed I have to go into her room and tell her what we will be doing the next day in exact order. She has so many questions about how and why we are doing the things we are doing.

Tidbits

Some tidbits of the last month

My brother Kurt and sister-in-law Jessie had a little girl a few weeks before we left. We went to the hospital to go and see Kate and while we were there my biggest kid--Nate, decided to play on the wheelchair. Of course the kids wanted to join him and so they did. Grandpa Gary helped them to go really fast!
You might be able to see Nate's mustache--it was "Mustache May" so he and his male co-workers grew theirs out. I was used to it by the end when others still freaked out seeing it for the first time, but looking back at pictures I gasped!!

Adalie was a poppy in the Wizard of Oz ballet. She was so cute!! All of the poppys did such a great job! Adalie LOVED her ballet class this year and the final production was just what she needed. She lit up when she learned she was going to get to go out on the big stage and dance.

Did you freak when you saw the mustache?

I never let my girls sleep in the same bed, but this night I was feeling extra nice and about 30 minutes later I found this:

My friend Shelley and I got season passes to the Zoo and we went there for the first time last week. Shelley was sweet and took pictures of my girls--I forgot my camera--besides, hers is much nicer!! Our kids are all the same age so its nice that they have friends!

Silver Beach

Last weekend we had the chance to go to Silver Beach and it was a lot of fun! I knew there were beaches very close, but I didn't realize how close and how nice!! Very impressed! Silver Beach is in Michigan and was only about 35-40 minutes from our house. The locals said the water gets to 75 degrees in July--can't wait!!! Included at the beach are several restaurants, splash pad, merry-go-round, and a playground, and on Saturdays there is a farmers market. We will definitely be going back!!

This splash pad was insane! I have never seen one shoot this high in the air--we stood in the middle when it went off and it was so powerful!

The view of the beach from the pier

Hallie LOVED the water!

Daddy buried Adalie standing up

Where are their legs? They thought this was pretty cool.

Right when we got there! The girls were so excited to say the least!

Our first view when we pulled up. This beach is located in the cutest town!!

I would have to say that I think I am going to really like the summer here. We are finding that there are so many things to do here and I am lucky to be apart of FLC (Family Life Committee--keeping the spouses involved throughout the program) There is a new activity each week. Of course we also have our ward which is like a big family which is great! We have been given lots of information of the different activities here and nearby places to see. We are excited to cross those things off of our list!

The day we got here Adalie got sick and it was horrible, she had a fever, bad cough, and even threw up. Of course Hallie and I had to follow suit, we showed symptoms about a week later. I always feel bad for my girls when they get sick, but when I get the same sickness and see how bad it is I can't believe my girls went through the same thing. I would have to say I was miserable. Now we are crossing our fingers Nate wont get sick!! So many people I talked to said they all got sick when they first moved here--new germs I guess.

I love how there are so many trees here and how green it is. I feel like I am driving through a jungle while running errands --at least compared to Utah. The first thing Adalie said when we pulled into South Bend was, "Where are the mountains?" I missed them immediately, but the green and trees and helping make up for it.

Nate has finished his first week of classes and it is very intense because he is doing each class in 1 to 2 weeks. We hear it gets better so I am really hoping that is true. He has been very diligent in his studies which helps me out a lot because then we can see him some.

Part II of the Move!!

At the end of day three we stayed in Iowa. My friend Kerri lives there with her husband so we were lucky to be able to spend the night with them!

The next day we got up and drove to Notre Dame. I was exhausted in this picture!

During orientation week we were able to go and see the stadium and have lunch in the press box.

That afternoon we went to the "Golden Dome"--this shot does not do it justice because the picture is so bright :(

This was right before my Mom and Gary left

Of course "Touch Down Jesus"

Some highlights:
- After the truck was filled with all of our stuff the "check engine" light came on
- While driving 70 mph there were several times that the truck would die and Nate and Gary would have to put the truck in neutral and restart it
-In the women's car my Mom was in charge of the girls (NOT an easy job!!) during one of her MANY getting out of her seat belt to reach in the back for something, she fell into the aisle. I could not contain myself and laughed till I cried. What made it so funny was that she could not move and just laid there for a bit
-Hallie was lucky enough to get some little girl compact make-up in a cell phone--bling included--and got it all over her face and while Gary was riding with us she repeatedly told him "Grandpa, I beautiful"
-Hallie fell while on campus and got a few scrapes on her knees. When it happened she pretty much got right back up and was fine. Later after getting into the car my Mom pointed to her "owies" and said "eww ouch Hallie". Hallie then looked down and SCREAMED and cried about her owies. She continued to cry for 30 minutes!! At one point she was holding onto both of her knees and tried walking and acted as though her legs were broken. The next morning when I was changing her clothes she screamed again when she saw the scratches for about 5 minutes.
- We are crammed into a a 500 Square foot apartment--not a typo my friends

We are happy to be here and excited to see what the school year will bring!

GO IRISH!

We Made It!!

We made it to South Bend and have little if any complaints. My Mom and Gary were kind enough to help us along the move. Before getting here we heard that the city was ugly, but that the campus was amazing. Well I would have to disagree, because the city has character and I actually like it! There are also surrounding cities that are very nice--I am starting to find my way around this place ;). We are on campus and really like it because it is very social. We already have attended social gatherings and have a few more on our calendar. Nate starts school next week--its crazy because I thought that day would never come. I have several pictures from our trip out here so I will do two posts.

The day we got our truck and Adalie and Hallie thought it was so much fun to sit in the front seat.

Our first leg was a brutal 2.5 hours ;) to see my Dad, Londa, and Grandma

Adalie and Hallie loved playing in my Dad's Packard

At my Grandma's house right before we walked out the door to Nebraska

Our 2nd night we stayed in North Platte, NE and this was Hallie's first time sleeping in a big bed--I figured she would fall off so I layered the floor in pillows. We woke up to find her here and never heard her fall.

On day three we met up with my cousin Megan and her husband Travis in Lincoln/Omaha. We made a trip to the Winter Quarters temple.

At the temple there is a grave sight where many of the pioneers were buried and we found the name and burial spot of where Nate's great great great great Grandma Hill was buried. It was pretty cool.

Where Nate is standing was the actual spot she was buried--there is a memorial over top of many of the graves.