The Van Dyke's Life

Creative Overload!

2010-03-20T19:37:00.000-07:00

Wow! I am experiencing a creative overload. Not that it is a bad thing mind you, actually, so many wonderful and exciting things are happening!

Ooh La La Flowers is taking off and I am getting ready for the debut of both the Esty.com site and the blog site. I learned that I can make banners and buttons and backgrounds using different design software. It's amazing! The options are endless when you start designing things yourself. Luckily, I was refereed to a wonderful girl that knows her stuff and she is going to help me create a business logo and design the blog for me. It would have taken me much longer, I'm sure, to do it myself.

Along with that a friend of mine that has actually published books, read an article that I wrote a while ago and suggested that I submit it to the Ensign. So after I have a few people grammar check it for me I am going to send that out and see what happens!

And then I decided to sign up for photography classes! I have been taking photos for friends at weddings, for maternity and new born and decided it would be a good idea to take some classes and then hopefully start doing that professorially.

So between Home School, healing from my surgery, making flowers, designing banners, writing, getting ready to move next month and being Mom, Wife and Friend, whew! However, I am grateful for so many amazing things happening. I have always wanted to own my own business and to have it take off like it is is very fulfilling. Things are busy, but I'm loving it!

I have so many new family photos to post, hopefully I will be able to get to that soon!!

But for a quick update-

-Allana is loosing teeth by the handfulls! Seriously, I think I'm starting to get concerned! She is doing amazing in school and actually tested into the Gifted program. Janzen and I are so excited for her!

-Sarina just got her first "short" haircut and she looks so precious!

She is also doing school (mainly because she sees Allana doing it and wants to do EVERYTHING Allana does!) and doing well in it. She continues to be the clown of the family

(everyone who knows her knows what I mean!).

-Eli is HUGE! he weighs 16 pounds and just turned 4 months! Talk about a happy baby, this little guys is almost smiling non-stop with his little dimpled grin. He is reaching so many milestones I feel like the are flying by!

It truly is such a precious thing to watch the girls interact with Eli. So sweet the way they care for him, it warms my heart everyday!

So thats a brief update, photos to come soon!!

Happiness

2010-01-18T19:52:00.000-08:00

Happiness is when the sun kisses your cheek,

love caresses your soul,

laughter tickles your ears,

smiles touch your eyes,

beauty warms your heart and hope fills your life.

Photos With Koenig Photography

2009-12-29T21:40:00.001-08:00

These were taken when:

Eli- 3 weeks old

Allana- 6 years old

Sarina- 3 years old

Eli Grayson Van Dyke

2009-11-26T20:59:00.001-08:00

Eli Grayson Van Dyke

Born November 17th at 3:44pm

Weight: 8 and a half pounds

Length: 21 and a half inch

Eli on Thanksgiving.

James and Sarah brought over this adoreable bib!!

Snuggling with Mommy

Lost in deep, deep thought!

Daddy and Eli

Sweet sleeping baby boy.

All ready to brace the chilly, rainy weather!

Eli sporting the adorable hat Aunt Rachel made him!

He didn't care for the half naked shots we were trying to get though.

My favorite photo of Allana and Eli!

Eli's foot and Daddy's hand.

Precious, sleepy little baby.

The first time Sarina meet Eli!!

Mommy and Allana kisses!

Hungrey little man!

Pure sweetness.

Eli, right after his first bath!

Eli gave us quite a run for our money! On Monday the 16th we had another ultrasound done because the doctors said he was measuring pretty big and they wanted to check his size. During the ultrasound we found out that Eli was sitting breech! Everyone was pretty amazed that a baby that size had changed positions so late in the game.

Because Eli was breech the first doctor suggested trying to turn him head down and made an appointment for the next day with a surgeon who was going to attempt this and could also schedule a C-section if moving him was unsuccessful.

We showed up on Tuesday the 17th to see if the doctor would try and turn him, the doctor felt my belly, looked at me and said there was no way he was going to attempt to turn such a large baby (the ultrasound was measuring Eli at 9 pounds at the point). But he did have some good news, he said Eli felt as if he was facing down and wanted to do a quick ultrasound to see if this was true (I was pretty sure it was, because that night I had felt A LOT of painful moving in there!!). Sue enough the ultrasound confirmed that he was face down. So the doctor asked us if we were ready to have a baby today! I was already having contractions, so they were going to try and induce me to see if we could go ahead and do a natural birth before Eli decided to flip around again.

I was excited and scared at the same time, we weren't planning on having a baby that day, he was two and a half weeks early after all!! So Janzen made some phone calls and asked the wonderful people watching the girls if they could hold on to them for the rest of the day, thankfully they said yes and then we headed upstairs to get this little guy on out!

Up stairs things went pretty quick, they inserted a balloon type thing (I can't remember the name of it) that blew up once inserted and put pressure on my cervix to get things moving along. I asked them how long it could take for this to work and they said on average 6 to 8 hours, but because I was contracting already maybe less. Well..... after an hour, I was already dilated to a 4! I was felling a little better about things and getting excited because it seemed like my labor was really going to move along fast... when... I felt a whole bunch of kicking, turning and just very painful moving in my belly. I looked up at the doctor and told him I thought the little turkey flipped again. They were hesitant to listen to me as it's so unusual for babies to do that when they are so far along... but the ultrasound proved I was right. He was not head down, he was now laying transverse. A baby that is laying transverse is even more dangerous then a breech baby, because they are sideways, if my water were to break he would land on his cord and suffocate within minuets. So my natural delivery turned into an emergency C-section.

I was pretty nervous on the way to the operating room, I had never really thought I would have a C-section since my previous two births went soooo well. I didn't know what to expect, I hadn't read up on C-sections and I was nervous because I knew if my water broke things were going to get scary!

So yep, they take you into this HUGE operating room, strap you down and pull a baby out! LOL

I had a spinal block which worked very well and allowed me to be awake through the entire procedure (although it took 6 pokes to get it in right and those things hurt!!). I don't know how to describe the feeling when the pulled Eli out, it was... well... just VERY FREAKY. It felt like all my guts were being taken out. No pain, just weirdness.

But I can describe the first moment I saw Eli, when the whisked him to his little table. I couldn't believe the wave of love that swept over me. I had a baby boy now! I felt this unconditional love for him, this pull, this feeling that let me know we were bonded forever. I couldn't stop crying, I was so happy and so in love at fist site.

All in all this pregnancy has been the hardest for me, the delivery was a surprise and this has been the hardest recovery. But I can tell you, it all was so worth it. I would do it again in a heartbeat (and those of you close to me know that I didn't feel this way a few weeks ago!!).

Thank you to everyone who has visited, brought dinners, gifts and for all the messages and calls. You have made us feel very loved and have helped out so much! Special thanks to the Lovell's and Choate's for watching Sarina and Allana on such short notice! You guys are awesome!

*** Official announcements will be sent out very soon!!***

9 month prego belly pics and new haircut and color!

2009-11-13T00:17:00.000-08:00

So this is me at 9 months! I waddle, I sometimes tip over, I can barley roll over and sometimes it feels like I have a giant trying to kick his way out. lol

But over all, I must say I am proud to be sporting this belly. It means I have a little, healthy guy growing like a weed there and I can't wait to hold and cuddle him!

In the first photo you can see my new haircut and color! It sounds like such a simple thing, but it really does boost your spirits to get a new do! Thanks Sarah, you did an awesome job!! =)

Halloween- 2009. Pirates, princesses, rain, pumpkins and candy!

2009-11-12T22:48:00.000-08:00

Halloween this year was very eventful!! We had a lot of fun get togethers, some cookie decorating, pumpkin carving a party and the kids got to trick-or-treat two days in a row!

Pumpkin carving with the Veaters!

A few of the cookies we decorated at our Halloween preschool.

Trick-or-treating with the Veaters at Microsoft. Microsoft did an awesome job with their Halloween fun house. There was a whole building dedicated to themed rooms like Candy Land, Pirates of the Caribbean, Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory and many more!!

Sarina had a fake spider touch her and it freaked her out! Poor thing!!
The dessert I made for the Halloween Dinner, nice and creepy!

All of us ready for the church trunk-or-treat!Sarah and I at the Wagners Halloween party with our big bellies!

Ashley, Stephen and I at the church trunk-or-treat.Eileen and I, braving the rain at the trunk-or-treat. It was amazing how many people turned out despite the rain!
Janzen looking super rad awesome as pirate!! He even let me do his makeup. =)

Me, getting my prego pirate thing on.......Allana and Sarina in their adorable costumes!!

Playing around after all the festivites. Eileen thought I would make a good Middle Easterner. LOL

3D photos of Baby Eli Grayson Van Dyke!

2009-10-27T18:48:00.000-07:00

Today we had an ultrasound of Baby Eli because the doctors were concerned he was measuring so big and they wanted to get a better idea of how large he is. He is weighing in at 8lbs right now and I am only 35 weeks along. Gonna be a big baby! =)
We lucked out and the ultrasound tech did some free 3D images of Eli and we even got to watch him real time in 4D. So exciting!!

Pumpkin Farm!

2009-10-14T17:49:00.001-07:00

The Pumpkin Farm is a family tradition we look forward to all year long!

I mean come on, pumpkins, kettle corn, petting zoo, giant Washington State corn maze, hay rides and more, you can't beat that!

This year we went with our friends the Veaters and everyone had a blast! The only downside to that day was none of the kids wanted to smile for ANY photos. It's quite frustrating, especially when you are in such a great setting for photos. I even resorted to bribing Allana and Sarina, but that didn't even work!!

Sarina especially fell in love with a goat that kept sticking his nose through the fence, her squeals of delight when he licked her fingers cracked me up, it doesn't take much to please that girl! Both Allana and Sarina were able to pet and hold little kittens and bunnies and as a result I have been hearing almost daily how we REALLY should go back and adopt one.

By the time we reached the pumpkin patch to find us some mighty fine pumpkins, it felt like I was carrying around a load of rocks in my belly. It's getting harder and harder to stand and walk for long periods of time as little Eli's birthday draws nearer and nearer.

In the pumpkin patch the girls kept trying to pick these giant pumpkins for their own. Finally we said, "If you can lift it, then it's yours. Otherwise you need to look for a smaller pumpkin!". So they spent a good deal of time trying to lift different pumpkins (One good way to keep the little ones entertained!!). LOL

With Allana and Sarina we had a tradition when they were babies (because they both were only a few weeks old this time of year) to stick them in hallowed out pumpkins and take some quick photos. Eli will miss out on the pumpkin photo shoot (I'm sure he wont mind) so we'll have to make sure and find a Christmas stocking big enough to hang him in. =)

Summer Adventures, Growing Belly and More.

2009-09-09T11:55:00.000-07:00

This summer has been a whirlwind! From camping and hiking trips, ballgames, the Zoo, sprinkler parks, the Children's Museum, the Science Museum, petting farms, swimming trips, the Seattle Aquarium and not to mention birthdays! It's been a super fun summer with lots of great memories with family and friends. I know this is a lot of photos, but believe me, this is only a FEW out of all the ones I have. I'm going to get better at posting more frequently so I don’t end up with "photo" posts like this one. But everyone requesting photos should be happy (especially you Mom and Dad!!).
Check back for more fall and holiday adventures… there is always something going on around here!

Allana working that pose!

Sarina passed out in her car seat

This is a new fav around the house, they could do it for hours!

Janzen first night home from his shoulder operation. Sexy tights they made him ware huh??

Getting ready to go in for his shoulder operation!

A throw out to all my So-Cal peeps!
Sarina, not wanting her photo taken! I sure hope this is a faze! It drives me crazy!

Can anyone say STYLE!

Apple butterflies I made for our preschool class snack!

Not looking at the camera again!

Sarina playing with her new Birthday toys.

Sarina carrying her new favorite toy from the park to the car. She REALLY wanted to make sure it didn't get left behind!

Friends at Sarina's party!

More birthday friends.

Sarina's birthday cake!

Being all cute and shy.

Sarina on her Birthday morning! She was soooo happy!

Sarina found a box, hauled it into her bed and decided to sleep in it. And I caught her!

Allana practicing her rock star skills and using the vacuum as a microphone.

Rock star in the making!

Sweetness

Gotta pick that nose don't ya know!

Unwilling to look at the camera yet again!

That's right, my girls know how to box! Watch out!

7 months prego

Around 7 months

6 months prego

5 months prego

The Janz man and me. =)

Last ballgame of the summer!

Allana and Kristen at the Science Center

The Gorge- Nickleback concert!

Waiting for Nickleback to come on stage!

The Gorge

Ashley and I on our camping trip!

The view from our drive/hike!

Janzen.. in a creek/waterfall

Allana

Nothing better then throwing rocks in a river half naked!

Gotta love that smile!

A beautiful river we found while camping

Sarina all snuggled in for the night in our tent

Kristen, Allana and Hannah!!

All the kids roasting marshmallows!

Janz and Sarina

Me.. in a creek/waterfall......

One of Sarina's favorite things to do while camping, DIG IN DIRT! All the time, 24/7. It was halarious!!

Allana taking a little nap before church in her birthday dress with Charlie

Sarina playing in the playroom just before bedtime

Eileen, four of Allana's best friends and I at her tea/spa/makeover birthday party!

Allana all "made-over"

Sarina all "made-over" as well!

Cutie!

Allana and Lenna showing off the STYLE! LOL

Thanks to Rachle for the awesome welcome sign!

Everyone enjoying the tea party!

Allana's birthday cupcakes!!

Sarina and her new earings!!

Allana at Edmond's City Park

Sarina playing with the hose and sprinkler! The water was a bit cold!

This is what happens when Sarina helps me do laundry. She tries it all on and it's all usually Allana's clothes!!

Allana at Lake Forrest Sprinkler Park

Sarina eyeing down a goat at the petting zoo

Sarina loves her sea creatures. Seattle Aquarium

Her exspression when she saw what had been painted on her face at the Aquarium !

Allana loved her sea horse

Little miss cutie loves to draw on herself!

My little swimmer, Allana!!

Family Photos

2009-06-14T15:23:00.001-07:00

Here ya are!

Some silly summer family photos.

Seriously, we were lucky to get the ones we got, the girls saw the park near by and were acting like wild monkeys!!! We barely got them to sit still and look at the camera for an instant.

The two photos below are just some cute ones I got of Allana and Sarina this month. Happy Summer everyone! =)

It's A Boy!!!

2009-06-11T22:03:00.000-07:00

We are super excited to announce that it's official, it's a BOY!!!

No denying this little guy, it was very obvious! =) And talk about the little guy kicking up a storm in there, at times we just had to stop and wait for him to settle down long enough to see anything! AND, he is measuring large! We are positive on my dates and my due date, so it means only one thing, Janzen's giant genes are already kicking in! I'm just hoping I don't end up with a 12-15 pound baby!

What a surprise (not necessarily that it's a boy, because this pregnancy has been sooo different from my others) but that we got to find out the sex today. We weren't expecting it, we actually were going in for a checkup ultrasound because last week I started having contractions and got put in prison, I mean bed rest. =P

Felt like prison!

What a week it's been, I have never been on bed rest and thankfully, sooo thankfully, it's going to end soon. I was starting to loose my mind just a wee little bit. We didn't know if the contractions were going to stop, they were very painful and I'm not a bed rest kinda girl. Not to mention we had just killed our cable (too much garbage on there for us, even some of the kid stations were getting questionable!) and I wasn't in the "movie" mood and Janzen had job interviews and side jobs, so it was hard. But thankfully, some friends took time out of their lives to visit and call which really helped the time go faster!!

A few positives about being on bed rest, I started writing down my thoughts more and got caught up with my journal (Yay, because I have such a hard time getting myself to do that!), I had more time to ponder all the blessings in our lives right now and received a few answers to our prayers, junked out a TON of clothes (if you know me well, you know this is HUGE!), planned quite a few adventures for when I'm NOT on bed rest, re-realized how much I love my family and friends and spent a lot of time talking, giggling and reading to my girls. Having orders to take time and smell the roses can really put things back into perspective!

So far the contractions have slowed quite a bit and almost died out, I'm not on bed rest as much(make sense?) and they think it was an RH factor that was causing everything and that things are going to be just fine now (trust me it would take way to long to explain on here!).

When we had the ultrasound at the beginning of the week and the contractions were coming on strong and everything was up in the air, one of the photos they printed off for us of the ultrasound was the little guy giving us a thumbs up. Have to be honest, I broke down a bit and started sniffle, I thought to myself, what are the odds that they would catch a thumbs up from the baby?? That and previous blessings told my heart that things would be fine.

Today as soon as we were told it's a boy, Allana immediately said "Well, great, what are we going to name him? I only have girl names!!" So most of tonight has been spent going through all of Allana's boy names... from Tony to Coda, Turkey, Hot Dog, Mighty Baby and so forth.. it's been too darn cute. As far as Sarina in concerned.. well she's still telling me that the baby "Really, really, really..... in MY belly!".

So now that I am having a boy it's like having a first baby all over again! I have baby girl bedding, toys, clothes and everything else under the sun... but no boy things. So if anyone has any boy clothes they are willing to part with, send them my way please! =)

Thanks everyone for all of your thoughts, prayers and concerns. We love you all! =)

Spring Adventures

2009-05-26T19:31:00.000-07:00

Well, this spring we have had quite a few adventures.

The cold weather turned warm, the trees bloomed and now summer is just around the corner! All this warm beautiful weather brings out the adventurers in us.

The weekend after Mother's Day we went to Ocean Shores with our friends Will and Eileen. We stayed in the Cordels ADORABLE little condo and enjoyed the amazing beach. We found sooo many sand dollars and lucked out on the last day, it was so warm the kids just ran around on the beach naked!

This last weekend my friend Janelle who I have known since I lived in San Diego came up to visit. We decided to go on a road trip and drove up to Vancouver Canada, then took the ferry over to Victoria to see the famous gardens. Such a beautiful drive. We had many adventures within that adventure, we had to get a ride from a strange man and got stopped at the border and had the car searched just to name a few!

Memorial day was spent BBQing with James and Sarah, Will and Eileen and Kate and Ian. We had a game of soccer and frisbee and then swimming and a movie.

And this weekend were planning on a trip to Leavenworth, it's so beautiful up in the Cascade mountians!

So as you can see, spring and summer means Adventure!! We have a bunch of trips, camping and other fun things planned. Just good family times. =) We have even managed, a few bike rides, kayaking and a little hiking so far.

The girls are growing so much and getting so big, it's amazing to watch and makes me realize just how quickly time is going bye.

Baby number three is growing like a weed (for real, it's amazing how fast they grow!) I am 13 weeks along, this will be the last week of my first trimester and into the second one we come. Hopefully the nausea will die off!!

Allana and Sarina are going to do dance this summer and Allana will enter into First Grade and Sarina will start Preschool in the fall. They are both super excited.... so am I. But honestly.. I wouldn't mind it if they would just stop growing!!!

More to come later, but here are a few photos of our trips!

Were Prgnant!!

2009-04-17T21:11:00.000-07:00

Ta da!

Here is baby number three's first photo!

On Tuesday we had an ultrasound and were able to hear the babies heart beat!

I'm just about two months along.. and feeling it!

If you haven't seen me around much it's because this little one has me puking almost 24/7. Very different from my other pregnancies and seriously not fun!

Allana and Sarina are super excited that they are going to have a baby brother/sister. Although, Sarina likes to argue with me and tell me the baby is in "HER" belly! And Allana, well... she just wants the baby to hurry up and come out!

My New Cut!

2009-03-24T21:06:00.000-07:00

All ready for spring with my new cut from Sarah! The ever changing colors of my hair are still changing... so it's always something new. Good thing I have healthy hair that hasn't fried and fallen out yet!

Silly Time and 2nd Missing Tooth!

2009-03-04T20:47:00.000-08:00

We dropped in on Auntie Eileen and this is what Allana found! It's never a bad time for a quick dress up session. I just thought these were too cute and had to post them.

And yesterday, Allana lost her 2nd tooth! Some how, even with her two bottom front teeth missing.... she doesn't have any problems with her S's. =)

The Creator Within Us

2009-03-04T14:17:00.000-08:00

Sharing the Love

2009-02-25T22:21:00.000-08:00

Okay, I won on my friend's blog, so now I get to post this:

Lucky you!

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me!

My choice. For you.

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!

2- What I create will be just for you.

3- It'll be done this year.

4- You have no clue what it's going to be. It may be a story. It may be poetry or an article on properly cleaning your face before a masque. I may sew or paint something. I may bake you something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure!

5- I reserve the right to do something extremely strange (but awesome of course!).

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog. Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!

Allana's First Tooth!

2009-02-25T13:07:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Allana lost her first tooth! A few days ago we noticed the her two bottom front teeth looked a little crocked and upon further investigation we realized that they were loose AND she already had her two adult teeth coming in behind them! So we wiggled them quite a bit and last night while we were at Eileen and Will's home we realized that at lest one of the teeth was VERY ready to come out.
I know this is going to make me sound like a wimp, but truth is, when I was trying to help her pull it out and I felt and heard the cracking of the few roots that were left attached to the tooth, it made me want to puke! I don't know why, but I was having a really hard time stomaching it!
So we waited for Janzen and Will to get home and Janzen saved the day again. After much crying and nervousness Allana finally agreed to let him tie dental floss around her tooth. Aunt Eileen promised Allana a popsicle after the whole ordeal, (which served as great motivation!), so with popsicle in sight and a cheering crowd Allana let Janzen yank it on out!
The tooth flew across the room, we found it thankfully.. Allana cried a little bit, but was pretty excited that the Tooth Fairy was going to come!
Because it was her first tooth, we got her the mini princess set she had been wanting for a while, she also received a handmade card from the Tooth Fairy and 3$.
She was so excited going to bed and even more excited when she saw what the Tooth Fairy had brought. All in all, a pretty cute experience. And I learned the teeth being pulled out (especially when it's my kids) freaks me out!!
Here are some photos of her missing tooth, the tooth it's self and some photos of Sarina cuddling with Dad. Couldn't resist putting those last ones up. =)

Allana and her missing tooth!

Sarina showing everyone her teeth are still all intact!I was trying to get Allana to say "awe" and Sarina was helping
Sarina and Daddy cuddling in her room, she wouldn't let him get up!

I didn't fall off there Earth and here is proof!

2009-02-23T21:06:00.000-08:00

Janzen and Allana: Cannon Beach

Sarina

Me

Cannon Beach

Allana

Cutie knows how to pose!

My silly Sarina

Sisters

Allana in her beach bike!

Janzen and the crew

ATVing in OR sand dunes- Janzen and Allana

Sarina and I, kicking up some sand!

CA beach- don't know the name!

My handsome man

Daddy and Daughter

Good thing we took the car and not the Durango! It never would have fit!

Mr. Giant Paul

Japanese Garden in Portland

Wow, it's been a while since I've posted on here!!

So many things have been going on, it's been hard to find the time to sit and actually complete a new post.

So to catch you up a bit...

Christmas was amazing.. one of the best yet. It's too sweet to watch Allana and Sarina open their presents and start to truly grasp the meaning of Christmas, start to really believe in Santa Claus, understand giving rather then receiving, helping me wrap (and not play) with presents for family and friends and most importantly to hear them talk about the true meaning of Christmas and the birth of Christ.

For New Year's Eve we had a super fun party with some of our amazing friends. It's a sad day when you realize that midnight may be a wee bit to far past YOUR bedtime.

Allana and Sarina are growing so fast it makes my head spin and my heart ace a bit. School has made Allana such a big girl and every day I see Sarina trying more and more to be like her. I snap as many photos as I can and try to be content (even though I tell them both all the time I wish they would stop growing for a year or so) although watching them grow up makes me even MORE baby hungry.

Allana has two adult teeth coming in behind her baby teeth which are about ready to fall out! Her hand writing in school has improved so much since she started kindergarten and she is reading very well already!

Sarina is saying more and more words and making sentences. Her love for animals and cars is ever increasing and even though she is a tomboy, she impressed me with her femininity by selecting hot pink sandals with a large sparkly fake diamond in the middle (her cowboy boots are still her fav though!).

As far as photos go, I wanted to post some of my favorites from our late January road trip to Oregon and California. We had so much fun, we drove through the redwoods and a redwood tree, enjoyed the nice warm beaches, visited some friends in Oregon, road beach bikes on Cannon Beach, ATVed in the sand dunes, stayed in an amazing hotel in Portland and visited the beautiful Japanese gardens and the kids had a blast at the Children's museum. It was a busy road trip, but one of our funnest so far! We even brought Charlie for the whole trip!

In early February we went to Forks with Will and Eileen to see the home town of Twilight ( I know, don't laugh). I can't post all the pics.. well... because some are simply to embarrassing and involve a cardboard cutout of Edward. Enough said. =)

And for Valentines day.. Janzen and I threw traditional out the window and got romantic at the shooting range. I forgot to bring the camera though, so, sorry, no rock awesome photos of us with guns. =P

More photos later!

Thanksgiving (yummy food, friends and movies!)

2008-12-05T00:48:00.000-08:00

This Thanksgiving was spent with Aryn and our good friends the Jueschke's.

That morning Aryn came over and the great cooking adventure began. We made pumpkin pies, stuffing, cranberry salad, pistachio salad, rolls... and a few other things I can't remember.

The girls were big helpers, although most of their helping seemed to be in eating whatever they could find that was sweet!

We later arrived at the Jueschke pad to find an amazing turkey, divine cranberry sauce, spiced pear pie, mashed potatoes and an unbelievable gravy!! ( I can't believe I'm talking about food this much, but you have to remember, Thanksgiving is my favorite meal of the year man!)

After much gorging and silly photo taking, we settled in on Dave and Rach's freaking huge, man eating couch to watch Wall-E.

All in all, very pleasant day!

I love the holidays, you get to spend time with friends and family, decorate and cook amazing food!

Lollipop Conversation....

2008-11-15T22:31:00.000-08:00

Allana walks into the office with an extremely serious look on her face.... "Mom, Dad, Sarina snucked a lollipop! I know she snucked it because I saw it in her mouth! She SNUCKED it!!!!"

Both of us try to look at her with equally serious faces, however, the word "snucked" is not one we often hear (well... actually never hear) and for some reason the word along with the way she said it struck a funny bone. We started laughing. Not just giggling... but full on laughing. This unfortunately made Allana even more upset, instead of confiscating the "snucked" lollipop in a professional parent manner.. we sat there and.. laughed.

Seriously, though.. we weren't laughing to be mean, or bad parents. It's just that Allana can be VERY over serious at times and that alone can be funny!
So after we gathered our selves, received the evil eye and disappointed frown from Allana we went to check out the case of the "snucked" lollipop.

As we rounded the corner to the kitchen we found a giggling and extremely pleased Sarina sitting on the counter top with a mouth full of sweet toddler delight.
Fortunately, we were able to not bust out laughing at that sticky, yet somehow cute mess and I asked Sarina "Did you snucked this lollipop? Where did you get it from? Did you ask?" She looked at me and stopped smiling and said in her high pitched fairy voice "No". I asked again, "Did you snucked this lollipop?" She she replied even more serious this time "No". "Sarina," I asked "Are you sure you didn't sneak it?" "Yes, YUMMM!" was her answer.

As it happens, a two year old can out smart a 5 year old when it comes to proper grammar. =)

Meet Charlie, the new member of our family!

2008-11-14T13:09:00.000-08:00

This is Charlie!

Charlie and Sarina Chilling....

As you can see.... we have some pretty silly little people around here. Allana and Sarina were "posing" for these pics in the office.

The girls simply adore Charlie, he is the perfect match for our family! They all chase each other around the house and keep each other busy. Although there are times when Charlie is used as a partner in crime... were fighting through all the red tape with the legal system to get a child and doggie prison installed in our house for crimes such as: toilet papering the ENTIRE house, hair soap bottle dumping and chewing, refrigerator opening, raiding and eating, and stuffed animal murder (more for Charlie on the last one). Over all though, Charlie is a fluffy, white, bouncy little blessing that loves to cuddle and were excited he has joined our family!

Personal Blog

2008-11-13T11:30:00.000-08:00

Some of you are saying that you are getting confused with my personal blog and the family blog. This is the Family one (hence the name) and has family updates and (seems to be the much sought after) pics of the kiddos.
My personal blog: http://rozemaryzzr.blogspot.com/ is an outlet for my crazy, silly, serious and sometimes rad awesomeness.
Ciao!

Babies, Halloween and super awesome pics!

2008-11-05T17:24:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note before all the super anticipated Halloween photos (you all know we Van Dyke's rock Halloween). Quite a few people have been asking a wondering and I just wanted to let everyone know that on Sunday we lost our baby. I was 2 months along. It's been a very painful and emotional ordeal. I have never lost something I was so thankful for, however, we do understand that the Lord has everything happen for a reason and we trust in that and have faith that He will allow us to be blessed with another little one in His own time. Thank you for your prayers and concern, it has meant so much to us.

Now...... Halloween pics!!!!

As you can see, we all had a rocking good time. We went to the trunk-or-treat at our ward and then to a few friends homes. Sarina especially, was completely blown away that people were throwing candy at her and that Mommy and Daddy were okay with it! Her mouth would drop open every time someone put more candy in her bucket. Allana had a blast dancing around, talking and acting like a real princess. Janzen and I got a few strange looks from leery kids, they didn't really know what we were. And... well.. neither did we!

The dry ice was quite a hit with the girls and the cats! Excitement and suspicion were just a few of the emotions that played across their faces as Janzen got the dry ice to fill the whole living room. Pretty funny.

Yup, Here it is!

2008-10-20T09:41:00.000-07:00

All right, I decided to start a "family" blog to write about everything that's going on in our crazy, busy, exciting, Washington life. Hopefully this will help keep family and friends updated on the kiddos that are growing like weeds. Don't blink. I blinked and went from having a newborn to having a 5 year old and a 2 year old!

Right now our life consists of Kindergarten, training for a 5K, church callings, fishing and hiking trips and everything else in between that keeps us going.

Allana LOVES school and riding the bus. She amazes us everyday with how much information she takes in so fast. Little kids have sponges for brains! I'll be displaying some of her art on here very soon, she is our budding artist, dancer and singer.

Sarina is getting kick out of having mommy one on one time while Allana is at school. Library story times and play groups crowd her calender. She is also a budding artist who can shake it better then any other two year old around. Purses, shoes, trucks and stickers are big with her right now. She is constantly cracking us up with her new words, silly faces and wrestling techniques.

Janzen and I... well... were doing our thing. Our days never seem to have enough hours and our months never seem to have enough weeks. But, life is good! =)

Stay tuned for more photos and silly stories of the ever happening Van Dykes life.