Hailey is 7

Hailey turned 7 back in November and I can hardly believe it. Seriously, just today I asked Kyle if he thought it was crazy to think that we have 3 kids. We both agree... totally crazy. And on top of that the oldest is 7. 7 years ago we became parents!

Hailey is a fantastic girl. She plays the part of oldest child exceptionally well. She nurtures and cares for Keira and Kacey. She tries to keep them in line and sometimes I have to remind her that she isn't the mom. But she loves her sisters and is always willing to help whenever I ask. She plays with Keira and reads with Kacey. This morning I was pleasantly surprised to come out of my bedroom to find Hailey, Keira and Kacey all downstairs in the kitchen, Hailey with a bowl of cereal in hand for Kacey. Hailey had been kind enough to drag help Kacey out of her crib and make her breakfast. What a great way to start Saturday morning! 

Hailey has lost 2 teeth. Her second one she lost at school while I was there eating lunch with her! Currently, her top two teeth are loose and have been for months. We're just waiting for those two to fall out!

Just this past week we had parent/teacher conference at Hailey's school. She has two teachers, one for homeroom who teaches math and science and the other for language arts and social studies. They had nothing but good things to say about her. We couldn't be more proud of her! Her reading fluency is well above 1st grade, in fact it is near where it should be at the end of 3rd grade and her comprehension is 2nd grade. Her math level is 2nd grade as well. Somehow in the car we got into a discussion on multiplication, a topic she could definitely grasp with just a little practice.

Hailey is our scientist who currently aspires to be a geologist or a meteorologist. She has an interest in learning, which I admit, we need to do more to harness. She loves watching science videos on YouTube with Kyle. Their latest video was on mosquitoes and malaria.

Hailey really is a sweet girl who tries her best to do what is right. She offers the most sincere and thoughtful prayers and is quick to keep us in line for evening family prayers. She really is a pretty easy going kid who loves everyone. 

Here are a few Haileyisms from the last year:

1. A conversation between Hailey and Kyle about a copy of the Book of Mormon we have: 

Hailey: "Dad, where did you get this book?" 

Kyle: "Probably the MTC."

Hailey: "The empty sea?"

2. It was raining and Hailey said that the clouds must have put on their thunderwear!

3. I love that kids mix up words based on what it sounds like to them. Hailey said she wanted to "bury her testimony".

HAILEYISMS: 6 YEARS

Here's another round of the funny things Hailey has said lately.

1. After doing some shopping, we were in the parking lot getting into the car, Hailey asked if we could run some errands. I said, "Like what?" She pointed to the store adjacent to us. It was called Aaron's. "I want to go to Aaron's" she said. (One point for awesome reading skills.)

2. Hailey was playing I Spy with Papa Hill. They were looking for something gray. She said, "Papa's hair!"

3. While building a Lego set, she was digging through the Legos looking for the pieces she needed. "Where are those naughty pieces?"

4. Before Christmas Kyle and I bought Kacey a doorway jumper. I planned to use it as a Santa gift for her. Kyle was dying to let her try it out, and thought I was absolutely ridiculous to hold on to it until Christmas. She has no idea about Santa. But the other two do! So I held my ground. 

One day Kyle was trying to convince me to pull it out. "Let's get a certain something out"  he said. I hesitated, "Buuut... buuut..." Hailey piped up, "Use your words mom!"

5. Instead of singing "Hallelujah! Hallelujah!" for the chorus to the the Christmas song "Hallelujah", Hailey thought it was "Jalepeno! Jalepeno!"

6. Kyle likes to turn on music while we eat dinner. He and the girls refer to it as his jams. One song came on titled "Easier to Run". Hailey said, "It's easier to run! But not for babies."

7. Kyle was teasing Hailey about having a mustache someday when she gets older. Hailey became quite defensive and responded with an angry forceful deep voice, "I will NEVER have a mustache!"

HAILEY TURNS 6!

November brought Hailey's 6th birthday. Six! That is just two years away from eight. Suddenly she is feeling so grown up. I think a mixture of kindergarten and age has led to her increased maturity. I don't know why, but it feels so odd to see her being a kid. Like a real kid. You know... starting to experience kid things I remember experiencing.

Hailey made a couple of changes to her look over the fall. The first one being her first major haircut. I mentioned to Hailey that we'd take her to get her haircut. I had a trim in mind. She had a totally different idea. She said she wanted to cut her to hair to her chin and she wasn't budging. I realized it is her hair and she surely is old enough to have some part in deciding her haircut, so I took a deep breath and let her do it. She cut off about 6 inches. Turns out it is an adorable cut on her! Such a good move. 

The second big change was the addition of bright pink glasses. On our trip to Washington over Fall Break, Papa Hill noticed some far-sightedness in Hailey and recommended glasses to help reduce any eyestrain. She was so excited! Of course, those paired with her short hair look super cute. Too bad the novelty has worn off of the glasses and I need to remind her daily to wear them (which I'm not very good at remembering.)

Hailey is a fun girl! She makes friends with everyone. When we go to the park or out to play somewhere she always finds a new friend to play with. Hailey explained it to me once. Basically, you just ask someone if they want to be your friend. They say yes. You tell each other your names, and then you're friends. Easy as that.

I love watching Hailey and her train of friends as they leave sacrament meeting at church and head off to primary together. After the closing prayer Hailey grabs Keira and they go around collecting friends and walk together. 

She is good at including everyone. Sometimes she needs a little nudge or reminder, but then doesn't hesitate to ask others to join in on the fun. Hailey is friends with everyone and easily alters her play to match theirs. I just love that about her.

Legos are a favorite toy. She is now old enough to sit down and follow the directions on her own. Occasionally she needs a bit of help, but generally she can do it herself. She will sit and play with Legos for an hour or two at a time. The play is ever changing, but the fun never ends.

Hailey is our little scientist. She is inquisitive, always wondering how things work. Her latest kick has been earthquakes and tornadoes. She loves learning as much as she can. Hopefully that sticks with her.

She is a fantastic reader. She reads everything, including my text messages. It has been so fun to see her reading blossom. Suddenly I feel like she can read just about anything and everything put in front of her.  

She's pretty fantastic. I think we'll keep her. :)

HAILEYISMS: 5 1/2

It's time for another round of Haileyisms. 

1. Keira had a monster sneeze with snot shooting out of both nostrils and oozing down her face. Hailey's reaction? "That. Was. Awesome!"

2. Totally out of the blue: "Mom, do you wear your underwear in the shower?"

3. While eating a salad Hailey said, "The ranch always gets my little box right here." (Pointed to her neck) "The box with my voice in it."

4. Hailey asked to see what Kacey's dirty diaper looked like. So, I obliged and showed her the yellow mess. "Eew... It looks like mustard! Our poop is brown. Like your hair."

5. I bought some beginning reading books that are full of animal facts. Hailey was reading one on her own about tigers and began sharing facts with me that she had read. 

Hailey: "Did you know tiger cubs stay with their mothers for 2 years?" 

Me: "They do? That's a long time."

Hailey: "No. A thousand years is a long time." 

6. Another of those books is about whales. Hailey has read and informed me and anyone who will listen that the blue whale is as long as a basketball court, it's eyes are as big as softballs, and it's tongue weighs as much as an elephant. She also tells us that the sperm whale can dive the deepest of all the whales. 

While swimming Hailey jumped into the water from the side of the pool. When she surfaced she announced, "I went as deep as a sperm whale!"

7. It is soccer season again. During one of Hailey's first games she scored a goal. She was of course overjoyed. She exclaimed, "It went in just like a squirt bottle!".

8. I don't remember the exact details of the conversation, but Hailey mentioned something about Kacey being a big sister. I kind of discounted that idea. I'm not so sure that she will be a big sister, she may always be the little sister. Hailey countered that idea and told me, "I think you have two more eggs."

Hailey reading Keira books before her nap.

When she isn't at school in the afternoon, Hailey has taken over the duty of putting Keira in her bed for a nap. She takes her to the bathroom to go potty, then brings her in her room and reads a few books in her bed, turns out the light and closes the door. Such a huge help for me! Plus, Keira actually listens to her. Keira tells me she isn't tired and puts up a fight. This way I can do what I need to, which usually is to feed Kacey, Keira actually gets a good solid nap in, and Hailey gets in some practice reading. Yay for big sisters! :)

KINDERGARTEN HERE WE COME!

THE day has come. The day Hailey begins her seemingly endless educational journey. It starts with kindergarten.

Ok, so the journey isn't endless. Someday she will be all grown up and have completed her formal education. But right now at 5 all I see are years and years of school ahead. That's not a bad thing, I am all about education and will especially encourage my girls to continue on to college and beyond. The thing that gets me is that this is the beginning of a whole new chapter for our family.

We now belong in the elementary school. I am a school mom. I paid my PTO membership dues. I signed up to volunteer in her classroom. I work with Hailey each afternoon/evening to get in her 10 minutes of homework each night. I walk her to the bus stop, chat with other bus stop moms, and pick her up from the bus stop. I put in my phone call to the transportation department complaining about said bus stop. I am a school mom.

Hailey loves kindergarten. We've now hit our one-week-in mark. I think she feels big and independent, and all sorts of awesome. She's a big kid now... she goes to elementary school. 

I actually have been pretty impressed with Hailey's maturity so far in dealing with all things school. I know it's still novel and exciting, but she is generally quick to get ready, happy to do homework, and ever anxious for the time to set out the door to meet the bus.

Me? I've handled it pretty well. Hailey has been ready for a while now. I think she could have gone last year and been just fine. With that fall birthday she was extra ready to start school. I've had the past year to stew over this new transition. That seemed to give me enough time to accept it and be happy with it.

Honestly, I'm happy Hailey is attending public school. Though deep down in my heart there is a part of me that is aching to homeschool and join her in every bit of her educational journey. I battled with myself all of last year, agonizing over where to send her to school (public school, charter school, homeschool, online school...). There are too many choices! Of course I just want what is best for her and best for our family. As I seriously researched into homeschool, looking at different curriculum, getting ideas on how to handle teaching from home, I came to realize that Hailey will succeed wherever she is taught. As much as I would love to homeschool her, I found that the timing this year just wasn't right. Now that we're here, I totally agree with that. And I don't know if it ever will be. It might. But for now I'm happy Hailey is getting this kindergarten experience. 

Hailey is loving school. And I can't lie, I'm loving the 2-3 hour break I get in the afternoon, especially when I get the two littles napping at the same time. I've felt a bit lost with some of the quiet time! And routine... by the end of summer I had been craving routine. I'm looking forward to getting into a weekly rhythm. 

So far, so good. I think we're going to have a good year!

Poor Keira is stuck at home with me. Though she tells everyone she is going to go to "Baby School". (She is obsessed with being little and being a baby.) I guess I need to get myself in gear and come up with some fun things to do at home with Keira for her "Baby School". Actually I've been hoping this school business would provide me with more one-on-one time with Keira. It's hard to teach Keira things when Hailey is always butting in with the answer! :) 

Summer Is Officially Here!

Summer is now in full swing! And that means F.U.N! We started our summer off with two weeks of swim lessons for both girls. Our mornings began with breakfast, then straight into swimsuits for 45 minutes of refreshing fun. 

Keira is on the younger side, but I knew she would love it. Love it she did. She had a blast splashing and playing in the water. At her size it's all about having fun and learning to feel comfortable in the water.

This was Hailey's third season of swim lessons. She worked on her back float and front crawl. She needs more practice before moving on to the next level, but I'm happy that she is feeling more and more confident in the water. She loves to bob up and down, fully submerging her head, and is able to navigate herself around the pool on her own with the assistance of a floatie. Maybe next year she'll be more ready to attempt to tackle swimming on her own. At least if she can touch the bottom, she feels comfortable to play in the pool floatie-less. I take that as a success.

We have also spent time swimming at Papa and Rara Park's neighborhood pool, a trip to the splash pad, multiple outings to Lagoon (where just this weekend Hailey was able to ride on the BIG rollercoasters, the ones I refuse to ride. She loved it. And Kyle loved it. I'm glad they have each other to ride with.), playing in the water with friends, walks on the Lagoon Trail to see the animals and stay cool in the shade of the trees, a free summer movie at the movie theater, and occasionally indulging in popcicles and ice cream.

So far our summer has been off to a busy start. Now we're just waiting for baby sister to arrive and slow things down for a bit. Until then we'll continue to try to find ways to have fun and keep cool. That 100 degree weather has hit and it's hot!

Recently

As is life, things are going on around here. Here's a little bit of the noteworthy as of lately:

Hailey completed her reading chart!

Hailey has always loved books and had a knack for remembering and quick to learn. After she mastered all of the letter sounds I began teaching her a few sight words last spring. This past fall we began pushing reading a bit more and she has taken off! Honestly, I think a lot has to do with the computer program she uses everyday. The UPSTART program is provided to us from the State of Utah, free for any child the year before they enter kindergarten. She has learned so many words from doing this program since August. I'm proud and excited for her!

To help encourage her to read outside of the program I made a reading chart for her. The goal was to reach 100 total points and then we'd head to the bookstore and pick out a new picture book for us to read together. I gave her points based on the difficulty of the book. Simple two word sentence books earned her 1 point. Books with longer length and more complex sentences earned her 3 points. As she improved in her reading I phased out the 1 point books because they became too simple. It was no easy task, it took her a few months to finish the chart. We didn't read everyday, sometimes she'd read a couple books in a day, and then it'd be a week or so before we pick up another. We weren't consistent, but at least we were doing it. When she was 9 books away from finishing she pushed through and read 5 in one day and 4 in another!

Keira is potty trained!

Potty training Hailey was what nearly swore me off of having any other children. Really, it was my own doing, she just wasn't ready when I was. When Keira started showing signs of readiness before she turned two I was worried and not prepared to start. I really, really was hoping to wait until she was older and make it easier on all of us. Turns out Keira took matters in her own hands and made it easy on us. Afraid of losing my window of opportunity, I decided to start potty training the first of February. We picked a weekend and just went for it, straight to undies, no pull ups, and a lot of trips to the bathroom. Once that girl went in the potty it was relatively smooth sailing from there. She caught on quickly and began to go immediately after she sat on the potty, every time. There were still plenty of accidents, we flew through underwear those first few weeks. Now a month later I've gotten brave enough to take her out in public sporting her undies. She is doing awesome, and I feel like I haven't done anything to help it along. Honestly, I kind of slacked off for a little while and some days she ended up in a diaper most of the day, but she still kept it dry. Last week she started waking up in the morning completely dry. I'm shocked! Unfortunately she's waking up at 6:30 instead of 7:30, I think from a full bladder. That I'm no fan of... but to have my 2 year old potty trained, I'm a HUGE fan of. Just in time to stock up on baby diapers. :)

The Hill (big) girls went to a fashion show

Kyle's sister Brittany is tall and skinny, and of course beautiful. She has modeled in a few fashion shows put on in Provo, just for fun. She was asked to do it a couple years back and has done it twice a year since. Rara Hill drove down and all the grown up Hill girls went to the show to support Brittany. 

I always enjoy the fashion shows. It's just fun. I'm not one for fashion, not at all. But I love going and seeing the designs local designers have come up with. For this show Brittany sported a long sleeved spandex wedding dress. Of course it looked fantastic on her!

Pictures courtesy of Chelsie. :)

Kyle went rabbit hunting

One funny thing about me and Kyle's families is that both of our sisters married hunters. Neither of our families are into hunting, though Kyle's is much more firearms friendly and enjoy the occasional shooting outing. It is funny how hunting has slowly crept it's way into our lives. 

Corinne and Taylor used the rabbits they caught as bait for coyotes. They set them out in front of Taylor's trail camera in hopes of spotting coyote activity. Instead eagles have been snatching them away. I stole this awesome picture they captured on the trail camera from Corinne's facebook. :)

Kyle was invited to go rabbit hunting with my sister and her husband. Kyle invited his brother-in-law. The boys were so excited about going. I was excited for Kyle to go. It's good for him to get out and do something he enjoys every now and again. While the Hill girls were away at Brittany's fashion show, the boys (and Corinne) went out looking for rabbits. We were sent the picture of Kyle with the caption, "For the fashion show." Ha! They only nabbed a few rabbits, but I'm pretty positive they still had a blast.

Jaden's archery tournament

Kyle has some cool cousins who are each busy with their own sport. These cousins live in Colorado and are busier than ever. Seriously, I don't know how they all manage it. Aunt Jen is busy with rabbit shows (they have 40+ rabbits at their house, they show some and breed some. Each of the girls have at sometime shown rabbits in shows), Jenna is a swimmer and working at the local rec center, Jill plays competitive softball and travels for tournaments (she was just in Las Vegas and will be in Park City this summer), Jaden is busy with archery and competes mostly in Colorado, but recently made the trip to Utah to compete in Salt Lake City. 

The Saturday/Sunday portion of the tournament was a national tournament. Such a funny sight to see her shooting next to grown men! (Thank you to Brittany for the picture!)

We were so lucky to have Jaden come compete in our area! Andrew and Jaden stayed the weekend with us and it was awesome. Jaden's tournament was 3 days, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Kyle made it to all three days to cheer Jaden on. We took the whole family Friday evening to watch her compete. We were shocked at how many kids were there competing, it was so fun to watch! Keira wasn't so into it, archery isn't the most fast paced sport to watch. I ended up taking the girls home early and stayed behind Saturday with Keira while Kyle took Hailey to watch some more.

The critter in the fireplace stove pipe

Two Sundays ago while laying down for a nap in the afternoon we heard scratching noises coming from the chimney/fireplace. Upon inspection, Kyle determined there was something trapped in the stove pipe of our wood burning fireplace. I was a little bit panicky... we had no idea what is was, a mouse, a rat, a bird... (Luckily we were positive it wasn't a raccoon. :) Whatever it was, it had to come out. This is what really made me nervous, figuring out how to pull off the stove pipe, while still keeping the critter contained and not letting it loose in our house. Luckily the stove pipe came off super easily, easily enough we could pull it just slightly loose, just enough to slide layers of saran wrap over both ends of it. Then we had the dilemma of where to release the beast. We didn't want it in our yard and were afraid of letting it loose out front and having it run right back into the house. So... all 4 of us went for a nice Sunday afternoon walk to the field behind our house. We put the stovepipe in the back of the stroller and walked it around the block. When we took the saran wrap off of one end both Kyle and I were expecting some sort of rodent to scurry out. Instead a starling flew out and away! I am sooo glad it was a bird, otherwise we would have the problem of figuring out how the creature got in, in the first place, and how to keep them out again. It wasn't as bad as we had feared, and put a little excitement into our calm Sunday afternoon.

Kyle took Hailey fishing for the first time

Two Saturdays ago Kyle took Hailey fishing for the first time. Kyle's coworker was taking his boys and invited Kyle to come along. While Keira and I ran errands, Kyle and Hailey relaxed by the pond. I say they relaxed, but I'm not so sure it really was all that relaxing. Hailey became bored after a while and quit watching her bobber. Apparently she missed out on some fish a couple of times. They didn't catch any fish, maybe next time. She may have complained of boredom, but after they left she said she wanted to go again. Kyle is totally down with that, hopefully they'll get out again this summer. 

Kyle said on the way out to the pond Hailey brought up the point that they forgot a bag to put the fish in. Seems Hailey had the idea they would be bringing home a new pet. When Kyle explained that the only reason they would bring home the fish was to eat it. Hailey thought about it, then said, "I could do that." She may be the only one... we aren't much of fish eaters around here.

We celebrated Pi Day with Pie

Pi Day is a favorite holiday of mine. It may not be a standard calendar holiday, but it should be. A day with the perfectly good excuse to make and enjoy pie! Really, I only make pie twice a year, for Pi Day and for Thanksgiving. We deserve to have pie twice a year, right?

This year we invited our friends the Burgins over to celebrate with us. We made some pizza pie (pepperoni and BBQ chicken) and then enjoyed some dessert pie after we digested a bit. There were only eight of us total, but I made three pies. A bit overkill? No! Never... Ok... maybe, we still have pie in the fridge. But, I always make my favorite pie, pineapple sour cream. Kyle's family traditionally enjoys chocolate pudding pie, and Kyle also requested cheesecake, which really isn't pie, but it's in a pie pan, so I'll count it. It's hard to decide on just one pie, so why not three? 

A Birthday Party for Leo

Last week we awoke one morning to 3-4 inches of snow outside. The girls were so excited. Hailey quickly ate breakfast and the next thing I knew she came bounding down the stairs in her snow gear ready to play. I helped Keira get ready and then sent them both outside to play while I cleaned up breakfast. That play lasted a whole 10 minutes before they were inside asking for hot chocolate. What were we going to do with the rest of our day!? I had no desire to leave the house, nor did I have anywhere to be. A day at home it was, but doing what?

And then Hailey informed me that it was Leo's birthday. (Leo is Hailey's imaginary friend Dideh's cousin. Don't be mistaken, Leo is a girl, Dideh is a boy. Leo is also Hailey's friend and occasionally comes around without Dideh. We don't see as much of them as we used to, but she still brings them up now and again.) 

Hailey began straightening up, even washing the banister, getting ready for our "visitors" who were coming to help celebrate Leo's birthday. And then she said we needed to decorate. That girl is all about the decorations. So, decorate we must.

Now, to be honest, I REALLY was not in the mood for partying and decorating that morning. I was not in a fun-mom mood. But... she REALLY wanted to, and what the hey, maybe it would pull me out of my funk. So... to the basement we went to gather streamers, gift bags, a plastic tablecloth, and even a happy birthday banner. Hailey directed the decorating and I followed directions, adding my own input here and there. 

After the decorating was done, we needed cupcakes. What is a birthday party without cupcakes!? Lucky for those girls I had froze leftover cupcakes from Keira's birthday a few months before. We pulled out three cupcakes and quickly defrosted them in the microwave. We had cupcakes, but we didn't have frosting. What we did have was the next best thing: Nutella. I spread a nice layer of Nutella on top and added a little shower of sprinkles. 

Quickly this birthday party evolved from being for Leo, into being for both Hailey and Keira. Each of them wanting to blow out a candle. So, to avoid any sort of fight, plus who cares, we're already eating cupcakes at 10:30 am for no reason other than the 5 year old suggested it, I placed one candle in each of the girls' cupcakes. We lit them on fire, because why have a candle with no fire? We sang a jolly round of Happy Birthday to You, stopping halfway to relight Keira's candle which she prematurely blew out.

And then the presents. Of course there had to be presents. Hailey put some of the girls toys in bags and stuffed in streamers and blankets to act as tissue paper. There were four presents, two for each girl to open. It was funny how excited they were about it, even though it wasn't anything new. Maybe I'll have to try that at their next real birthday. ;)

After Hailey opened her presents she exclaimed, "Now I'm six!" and then Keira chimed in with "I six too!" Wait! Stop! Don't grow up so fast! At least give me this year to enjoy before you add another year!

It was nearing lunchtime and I decided it had suddenly become a very special day, which requires a special lunch. We made personal pizzas and picnicked in front of the projector for a movie. Making their own pizzas is always a hit at lunchtime. We do it a couple times a month. It never grows old, not even for me. 

So, what began as a "I-don't-want-to-deal-with-today" day for me, blossomed into a morning of fun and even spilled over a bit into the afternoon. Sometimes it pays to listen to the 5 year-old's suggestions. Thanks for the fun day Hailey! 

Haileyisms- 5 years

I am a bit behind writing this post (isn't that about typical for me these days?) Most of these quotes come from months ago.

This is one of my favorite posts to write. Hailey can be so funny.

1. While shopping for clothes, the attendant helping us asked Hailey what her name is. She responded with "Batgirl". We have since had talks about how she needs to be secretive and not let people know she is Batgirl. Batgirl hides her identity. So Hailey has instead changed her name to Rachel, so no one will know she is Batgirl.

2. After making some kind statement (I really don't remember what) Hailey ended with "Entertain that!"

3. While driving in the car from the back seat Hailey said to me, "Mom, you are my masterpiece. You are good and great to me. I love you!"

4. Again, while driving in the car, Hailey asked Rara, "What is the train called that Papa rides to work?" Rara responded with "The Frontrunner." Hailey then asked, "Are the other ones the Backrunner?"

5. After a quick bathroom break at Lagoon Hailey was attempting to throw away a paper towel. She stood a few feet back and tried to throw it in and missed. And missed again. And again, and again... After finally making it into the trash can Hailey exclaimed (in a Batman voice) "First try!" (That is a quote from the Lego movie, if you haven't ever seen it...)

6. Kyle introduced Hailey to Smash Bros on the Wii. She loves it. One evening she asked Kyle to play. Keira tried to repeat Smash Bros. Hailey said it again for Keira to repeat again. Keira made another attempt. Hailey said, "No! Not marshmallow!"

7. After eating a filling Christmas Eve dinner Hailey sat back in her chair and said, "I am a wild beast!" And then, "I am stuffed like a tomato!"

8. Hailey has been learning to read and is picking up on words everywhere. My parents took the girls to see a movie at the movie theater. Hailey spotted a sign that said "Box Office." Confused, Hailey asked Rara why the sign said "box of ice?"

9. Hailey's logic is hilarious. She loves to play Apples to Apples. My parents found a version with pictures and Hailey is obsessed. When given the word "clean" Hailey put down a picture of a man with a camera who very obviously was a tourist. Her reasoning was that he took a shower and then went to Hawaii. When given the word "fun" she put down a picture of a dinosaur skeleton, because it is fun to go to the museum and see the dinosaurs. She won both of those points.

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Hailey's birthday may or may not have been 4 months ago... and I finally sat down to record her yearly interview. I think my favorite part of the interview is what she wants to be when she grows up: a scientist, a doctor, and a cashier. :)

Fall Photo Dump: November

I finally have part 3 of the Fall Photo Dump ready to share! (Part 1 and Part 2) 

November was a busy month. Really, once we hit Halloween life stays fairly busy until the new year. Hailey's birthday is a week after Halloween, Kyle's is a week after Hailey's and Thanksgiving is just two weeks after Kyle's. Of course after Thanksgiving it's all about Christmas and then we relax. :) 

Hailey's birthday fell on a Saturday this year. She had a busy day. Her partying started Friday night when my parent's took her via the train to Salt Lake City to make her own bear at Build-A-Bear. Saturday morning we hosted a birthday party, then Hailey was wisked away to lunch with her fabulous Aunts and Uncle, after which Kyle took Hailey out to the movie theater to see How to Train Your Dragon 2, and then it was dinner and opening family gifts. Whew! That is a lot to do for a 5 year old! She had a blast of a birthday.

We don't do birthday parties every year- too much work and money (and she gets way too spoiled with presents)! But, turning 5 is a big deal, so it merited a birthday party. Not just any birthday party, a Batgirl birthday party. We had masks and capes for all of the attendees, a photo booth, and Kyle set up a batcave in the family room with bats hanging from the ceiling. The girls practiced their Batgirl skills by tossing bat-a-rang bean bags, and by playing pin the bat-a-rang on the robber. Of course we finished up with cupcakes and presents. I was a little unsure how the Batgirl party would be received, it's not the traditional princess party most of the girls her age have. The girls loved it! They all wore the masks and capes and were super excited about entering the batcave. A big part of this party wouldn't have happened without Kyle. Like most of it. I did the masks and capes, cupcakes and invitations. Kyle did the rest. He is awesome, boy am I lucky!

And then came Thanksgiving. We drove to Colorado to spend Thanksgiving with Kyle's family at his aunt's house. It was the perfect weekend. We had a blast. There was a Turkey Table Tennis Tournament complete with brackets (both winning and losing), a night of Bingo with Target dollar spot item prizes, a fun run (2 miles, 4 miles, and a kids 100 yard dash), the girls watched enough movies to last them an entire year, we ate amazing amounts of delicious food, mostly not the healthiest-and loved it, did some shopping, and just relaxed. It was great. We were sad to come back home to real life again.

Admittedly, I didn't even bring the camera. We were packing so much stuff already I didn't want to add another thing to our load, and I just felt like enjoying the week and not feeling any pressure to document it. Luckily Kyle's mom snapped pictures on her phone and shared them with me!

Ok. Now we're all caught up. Bring on Christmas!