Good Bye Peoria

We finally moved to Joliet. It's been a long couple of weeks. The people came to pack our house up last Wednesday. They thought it was going to take 2 days to pack our house, and it ended up only taking about 5 hours. So we spent a lot of time at our friends house for a couple of days since all our stuff was in boxes. The movers came on Friday and loaded the truck. We spent the night at Dallin's friend's house where they gave us a bed and yummy food. The kids had a blast playing with their friends, and it brought tears to our eyes as we parted and left to Joliet.
We got the keys to our new house on Saturday afternoon. The kids loved running around an empty house. They thought it was so cool to eat our meals on the floor.
We saved their big Chrsitmas present for our new house...a kitchen! They loved it, and it kept them entertained for a long time.
On Monday the movers came and delivered our stuff. Dallin stood at the back door and watched as they brought everything inside. He was SO excited about every little thing, especially his bed.
Alyssa was so worn out when the movers were there that she fell asleep in Jeff's arms. She has to be REALLY tired to fall asleep being held.
The movers made Dallin one happy boy because they let him come check the truck out. What more could a boy ask for?
We went to Costco one day to get some food, and the kids loved getting to sit next to each other.
The unpacking is coming along. We had to take a break so we could build Dallin's roller coaster. The kids just thought it was fun to throw the k'nex all over...

Best Buds

We had our good friends over the other day one last time before we move :( I don't know what Dallin is going to do without his bud Caleb. All 4 of them are just so cute! Getting a picture of 4 kids looking while snacking is impossible.

I Think I'm a Big Girl Now

Alyssa is into everything now, and her new favorite activity is climbing. She finds smaller boxes or things to stand on to get to higher things. She thinks she can do everything Dallin does. Here she is trying to take apart Dallin's car just like he does.

Here she is playing on the computer. She loves to climb and sit in chairs now. She gets so proud of herself because she can do it all by herself.

Dallin made some yummy homemade ice cream for our dessert tonight. Alyssa kept begging for more...

Dallin LOVEs flying his helicopter. He was so proud of himself because he landed it on the high landing in our house.

Happy New Year!

We went to Iowa Wednesday through Saturday to stay with Jeff's sister. Jeff's brother and his family also came so it was a full house, but it was lots of fun. We had fun hanging out, playing games, and eating yummy food. The kids loved playing with their cousins.

Dallin had to show off his helicopter skills.
Jeff's mom bought a new dog that Dallin liked to hold.
Alyssa was obsessed with these table and chairs. She only fell off once...
The best part for Dallin was going to Jumping Jims. Alyssa had a blast too!

Chuck E Cheese

It was so nice to have Jeff home for the week. One day we went to Chuck E Cheese. Both kids had a blast.

Dallin loved playing air hockey. I thought it was so cute!

When we got home, Dallin and Jeff played some donkey kong together. Dallin was really getting into it.

Dallin's first bowling experience.

Jeff's parents came and stayed with us for a couple days on Christmas day. Jeff's brother Greg and his wife Ashley also came along. It was great getting to see them. On Monday we went to a newer place called Jillians. We all went bowling. Dallin bowled a 55, and he is very excited to tell everyone he tied his uncle :) Then we placed a bunch of games in the arcade before heading over to Five Guys, which we think is very yummy! Jeff, his mom, and Dallin scored a record amount on the basketball game with all 3 of them going:)

Christmas Morning

We had a good Christmas this year. On Christmas Eve we had a yummy turkey dinner, and then the kids got to open up new pajamas.
Christmas morning was fun. Dallin and Alyssa enjoyed opening all their presents. Alyssa was better at opening her presents than she was on her birthday. She got Uno Moo.
She thought it was fun to climb on her presents.
She got a baby doll that she actually likes. We didn't realize it was so heavy so she has a hard time carrying it around, but she loves feeding her baby.
Alyssa got her favorite snack in her stocking. After she saw it, she only wanted to eat them and could care less about her presents.
Santa brought Dallin some fun presents too. He got a grill that he is sharing with Alyssa. He has cooked us several hamburgers and hot dogs.
A new scooter.
He got a chainsaw that he loves, and he has spent way more time with it than I thought he would.
His favorite is his new helicopter. He would fly it all day if we let him. He is getting a little better at flying it.

The kids enjoyed helping mom and dad open their presents.
Dallin was so excited to give Daddy the tie he picked out for him. On the day we bought the tie, Dallin told Jeff we went to the store to buy him his Christmas present which was a tie. Silly kid!