Caution! Construction in progress...

To those of you who don't know Derrick very well, he's very ambitious! Don't get me wrong, he likes a day of rest. But just one day. When he sees something that needs to get done, he just goes at it! This spring, he's decided to attack our living room and he's doing a great job! Here are a couple before pictures. Our upstairs living room is the entry for our guests (we usually use the garage door into the kitchen.)

We wanted to make this space more inviting and welcoming to our friends and also more open. The living room seems so isolated to us. The picture on the left shows the doorway opening that leads into the kitchen/dinette area. (The door is just a coat closet.) On the right, you can see our red door (to outside) and the small wall right to the right of the door. There's no lighting in the ceiling.

Then he let Madison and Breanne go after two walls with a hammer...

He removed the stubby little wall that closed up the entry and made the opening that leads into the kitchen/dinnette area 3 times bigger. Of course, that will be another railing, but it's awesome to sit at the dining table and see out the front window. And amazing to stand by the front door and see into the rest of the house.

If you look closely, you can see the can-lights that Derrick installed. He's placed eight in the room. We'll keep posting pictures as this project progresses.

"Swimming and Disneyland"

Ask Madison & Breanne what their favorite part of our family vacation was, and the answer will be swimming & Disneyland.

We left for our first big family vacation on March 5th. We were very fortunate to get cheap airfair and flew directly to Phoenix from Billings and the girls all did wonderfully! We couldn't ask for better travelers...and listening to other children scream the entire flight to Phoenix reminded us just how thankful we really are! We picked up our rental car and some lunch at Chick-fil-a and we were off to Tucson. Unfortunately, I came down with one whopper of a cold the day before we left, so I was a bit miserable by the time we got to Arizona. We made it to Tucson and went to Catalina State Park and tried to do a little hiking. Unfortunately, Breanne wasn't interested in that even a little. And poor little Aliya seemed to be struggling with a tummy ache and just couldn't fall asleep. We did manage a few pictures. And Madison & Breanne pointed to the sharp pokies on the cactus. It was our first time to see cactus, they are quite amazing plants! Derrick is standing next to the biggest cactus we saw on that hike to give you an idea of just how big it was. After our time there, we met Melissa and followed her to her apartment and had pizza for dinner. I took some cold medicine and was in bed by 8pm.

We left for San Diego on Friday morning and the girls were quite excited for a "road trip." We got about 15 miles outside of Tucson when the van broke down. (It was a KIA, figures...) We were able to make it back to Tucson and exchanged the van for a running one that did us quite well for the duration of the trip. As we left Tucson again, Breanne in such good spirits said, "San Diego, take 2!" It was a really pretty drive across Arizona's desert and also California. I tried my best to take pictures as we drove, without making Derrick stop 20 times.

We stopped just inside California at about 4000 feet and it was really cold!

We made it to our hotel north of San Diego just in time to watch a gorgeous sunset at the beach. The beach was just a 10-minute walk from our hotel, so we visited often! The girls immediately loved running along the beach and into the water. Breanne loved it so much, she fell in! She was pretty freaked out, but Derrick did well to warm her up in his big sweatshirt. Family pictures were out for that night, but we did get some other great pictures. We only set our alarms twice during vacation. The day we went to Disneyland was one of those crazy early days! We left the hotel by 6am to be to Disneyland when it opened at 8am. The only California sunrise we took in. That day was fun! The girls loved it and they say that it was one of their favorite things about vacation (probably second to swimming..we'll get to that later.) Breanne will tell you that meeting TinkerBell was her favorite part of Disneyland (yes, we stood in line to meet the princesses!) They also got to meet Ariel, Jasmine and Belle. They met Eeyore and Tigger. I also encouraged them to meet Mickey Mouse, but they weren't near as impressed with him (however, he did kiss Madison's arm, it's for sure healed now!) We stayed all day and it was soooo cold after the sun went down, but worth it to see everything lit up and let the girls go on even more rides!

We slept in Sunday morning. It was my favorite morning because I got to take a short nap on the beach!!! It was a gorgeous morning at the beach and even felt warm as we sat in the sun. The big girls found it so much fun to look for sea shells and even found some sand dollars on the beach. (We found out that they're purple when you find them because they're alive. After they die, it turns white.) We grilled on our deck for lunch and after a nap for the girls, we headed for Sea World.

Here you can see the girls do their best "afraid face" as we walked through the Shark Encounter. We also went to a 4-D Sesame Street Show. The girls liked that a lot! Madison and Breanne put on their glasses early and were making silly faces while we waited for the show to start. Aliya spent lots of time in the stroller hanging out and napping. Vacation can be rough on a little baby and I think she liked having this place that was hers.

The evening Shamu Show was Derrick & my favorite part of Sea World. I took probably 200 pictures (I love taking pictures!!) but I'll share just one favorite with you. Here Derrick, Madi & Aliya snuggle to stay warm for the evening show.

On Monday, we went back to Sea World to see the rest of the animals. Our favorites were the Beluga Whales, Shamu, and walking under the sharks. (The manatees were pretty cool too.) Madison really liked Shamu and they both loved the kids area: Abby's Sea Star Spin ride and Oscar's Rocking Eel. =) Derrick also talked Madison into going on a roller coaster with him. She said it was "good" but she wasn't interested in doing it again that day.Sea World closed at 5 that night and so we went back to the hotel to make dinner and relax. Here enter the swimming. Madison and Breanne became part fish. It was just above 60 degrees and they couldn't get enough of the pool. Derrick was such a good dad and constantly got in the pool with them to swim. This is also when Aliya rolled from her back to her belly for the first time. What a big girl!!

On Tuesday, we visited the San Diego Zoo. We really liked the Koalas, gorillas and the panda bears (and I love zebras and giraffes). We were impressed by the grizzly bears and mountain lions and were anxious to add that we NEVER want to see them hiking or camping here in Montana! We posed for two pictures after our day at the zoo. In the first one we're all acting tired and silly (it's a lot of walking at the zoo!!) and a nice one too.

On Wednesday morning, we went to the beach one last time. The waves were huge and there were lots of surfers! Then we checked out the Wild Animal Park. It was okay, but probably not the thing to do after you just the entire day prior at the zoo. The highlight was see the agriculture on the drive out there and spotting the fresh strawberries and oranges at a roadside stand! They were sooo yummy!

Thursday we woke the girls us and asked them what they would want to do on their last day in Southern California. We could swim, go to Sea World, go to the beach or we could go to Disneyland one more time. Initially they wanted to go to Disney...until we told them we wouldn't get to go swimming if we went to Disneyland all day. They INSTANTLY both changed their minds and decided we should just go to SeaWorld and the beach and then come back and go swimming. So that's exactly what we did (and I even got to take a nap!!) We saw everything we loved at Sea World one last time and then took a picnic lunch to the beach. A great theory, until you get there and remember there is sand...EVERYWHERE and in EVERYTHING! Oh, well! Good memories. We drove up to La Jolla Cove where a friend told us we would see the seals sunning. It was amazing! Like 100s of seals sunning on the beach, swimming and such. The views were breath-taking as well.

Friday, we drove back to Tucson. The girls did remarkable on the drive! Here you can see Breanne in her SeaWorld hat (too cute!) And even Madison got wore out in California and had to take a nap! We stopped at a "Rest Area" by the sand dunes. It was the worst ever. Derrick and the girls are giving it a thumbs down rating. We were able to go to Craig and Amy's (Derrick's cousin) house for dinner Friday night. The girls had soo much fun playing with Sydney. It was terrific to visit with family we haven't seen in so long! We're so glad we got to do this!

On Saturday, we slept in and went mini-golfing with Melissa. Madison was really into it and Breanne even figured out how to tee off, then pick up your golf ball, set it right next to the hole and tap it in. "I'm the winner!" Then we enjoyed some good Mexican food and let the girls run around a city park. We drove back to Phoenix and swam again. By the end of our trip both Madison and Breanne had improved remarkably in their swimming and bravery around the water.

This morning, we woke up at 4am (the only other morning we needed an alarm) and were home in Billings by 9:30am. "I'm sad, I don't want vacation to be over," Derrick sighed as he drove in to the garage. The girls and I were maybe a little more eager to be back at home. The first thing the girls wanted to do was play barbies! We had a great time together and Breanne would like to go to a hotel again (as long as there's a pool.)

Fishin'

Breanne & Madison had fun this afternoon playing outside. They love to pretend they are fishing from in the creek. The ice is melting and now there's a little water along the edges where they can "fish."

Aliya was in for her 4 month check up this past Monday. She weighs 14 pounds (50th percentile) and is 25 1/2 inches long (90th percentile). The doctor said she could probably start cereal and some fruit soon. I'm hoping to hold off until after our vacation since she seems content for now. She is still pretty happy to be around and smiles pretty easy. I took this picture of her, Derrick & I to see who she looks like...her dad. How in the world does he get all 3 to look like him?

Happy Valentine's Day..a day late!

Thanks to Grandma Barb ("the grandma with hard tape" on the packages says Breanne) for the cute Valentine Jammies! I thought I'd give the girls a chance to show them off "live" via our web cam and posted it here. (The girls really liked seeing themselves as they recorded.

The girls had a great Valentines Day. They both had parties on Friday. Madison with preschool and Breanne with her Harvest Church friends. They got lots of valentines, candy, stickers and tattoos. On Valentine's Day, they got to spend the whole day playing with Riley Jo and Dustin. I am so very grateful for my good friend who watched all three girls for the whole day so Derrick and I could go skiing together in Red Lodge. The girls seemed to have a great day playing and Derrick and I had a fun day together as well. I only fell once as I kept putting my ski over Derrick's when I would get off the lift. And I was only "out of control" twice...no "yard sale!" as Derrick says they're called.

We LOVE spring!

The DeWilde girls have been loving the spring-like weather the past week! Thank you God for the chance to be outside playing for a little each day! However, I am amazed how quickly each day goes by! It's crazy. We've been on some walks/bike rides and also played in the backyard: sandbox, swing set and trampoline. Derrick even went on a bike ride with Madi yesterday. =) Aliya is usually just along for the ride (she could care less here we play-inside or outside), but I'm very thankful for the cute and cozy snow suit that cousin Abigail sent her so I don't worry about her getting cold. Plus, she's so stinkin' cute in that and her pink hat.

Madison had snack today at preschool so this morning we set out to make "Edible Igloos." We saw the idea in her Clubhouse Jr. Magazine and thought it could be fun. Breanne even helped her. We cored the apples first then cut them in half. I smeared peanut butter along the outside of the apple and Madison and Breanne arranged marshmellows on the outside, leaving an opening for the "door." Of course AFTER I had all the supplies ready and such, Madison informs me that she doesn't like peanut butter on apples. I convinced her to just eat the marshmellows and scrape off the peanut butter and eat the apple. What a crazy kid. The girls love to do crafts and the like, so it was a fun opportunity to get them a little creative in the kitchen.

Outta the Mouths of Babes

Every month Madison gets a newsletter home from preschool to inform parents on what the kids are learning, pictures of activities, upcoming events, etc. One section is called, "Outta the Mouths of Babes," and it highlights some of the crazier things kiddos say. Madison was quoted as saying, "If you take a fish out of the water and a shark is coming by, that would be stinky!" We read it and asked her what that meant. She laughed and said, I don't know. Kiddos...what will they come up with next?