Happy Birthday Talia!

Talia turned 2 on September 13th!

 We made a crown cake for her special day! 

 She had been patiently waiting to celebrate her big day!  And big sister even helped her learn to hold those two fingers up to tell everyone she's 2.

 The princess theme continued with Talia's birthday too (I know...shocking).  But she just worships her big sister...and loves princesses just as much!

Here's our big 2 year old!  She might have those tantrums perfected as only a two year old can but we still love her to pieces!  She's a caring, loving, energetic little girl!  And we could snuggle with her till there was no tomorrow!  We love you "short round!"

Mighty Keith

I love this beautiful family...my amazing cousin Darcee and her incredible husband and children have a special place in our hearts. 

They said goodbye to their sweet boy Keith as he returned to his Heavenly Father on September 2nd, 2012. 

He battled a brain tumor as only a super hero could.  And he is the bravest, mightiest super hero we have ever known.  It's hard to not ask why something like this could happen.  These are the times when we can only rely on our Heavenly Father and know that He has a plan for all of us.  

We were blessed to be able to attend his sweet funeral.  His twin brother Cole and little sister Ally brought a sense of joy to a hard day that only little children could.

We will miss you mighty Keith.

Two little fish...

Once preschool started we began to say goodbye to summer.  So sad...we had A LOT of fun in the pool!  These two girls could not get enough of it!

Doesn't this picture just scream 'summer break?'  Love it!

Eliza loves to jump into the pool.  By the end of the summer she was jumping off the diving board and swimming to the side by herself.



Talia loved jumping in too.  She discovered that she really liked water wings because of the freedom she has with them.  

My two little fish...it already makes me excited for next summer!

Preschool begins!

Eliza started Preschool on September 4th.  She was very excited and ready to start school.  She attends preschool at her teacher's house with a few of her friends and some new ones.  She's really been paying more attention to letters and sounds so we're excited to see what this year will bring.  Talia misses her sister while she's gone but we have fun running errands or hanging out at home together.

Labor Day weekend...

We spent Labor Day weekend at Cocolalla.  It was extra special because Grandpa and Grandma Great Hague joined us.

 Talia and Aunt Julie by the fire.

 Three pink cousins.  Yes, Brayden is wearing Eliza's pink IWI jacket.  He'll appreciate this picture when he's a teenager!  They are just too cute.

 Brayden teaching Grandpa Great how to work the 4 wheeler.  He's an expert...and never wants to get off!  He LOVES that 4 wheeler.

 Roasting marshmellows and having fun!

 Grandpa Great taking Brayden for a spin.  I am just in LOVE with this picture!

 Family fire time!

 We love when we get to have lots of family at Cocolalla with us!

 These three are a crack up!

We took the girls out on the kayak looking for turtles but didn't find any this time.  We had a good ride anyway.  Happy Labor Day!



Happy Birthday Grandma!

We celebrated mom's birthday on August 27th.

We had dinner and cake at our house.  Talia had been using it as a countdown to her own birthday.  We kept saying first Eliza's birthday, then Grandma's, and then Talia's.  Good thing time isn't real concrete in her little brain...she still had a while to wait.

Happy Birthday Grandma!  We love you dearly!

Birthday weekend...

Birthday weekend continued...

 Just because you're a princess doesn't mean you can't enjoy Grandpa's boat...

 ...or do a little yard work!

 Boy do we love playing on this beach!

 Eliza caught Grandpa taking a well deserved nap!  I had to include this picture because Eliza really did take it by herself!  Sorry Dad!

 Taking a breather with some snacks...

...while watching a game of horseshoes.  Life doesn't get much better than that!

Happy Birthday Eliza!

Happy Birthday Eliza!

Eliza turned 4 years old on August 23rd!

Can't believe our little girl is growing up so fast!

 Eliza and her Belle birthday cake.

 She woke up to find presents and balloons at the kitchen table to start her day!  Later we left for Cocolalla to enjoy a few days on the lake.

 Grandpa and Grandma were already there so when we arrived Eliza got to opening presents.  (I love Talia's face in this picture!  Those are the books that she gave Eliza.)

 For one of Eliza's gifts I framed a bunch of her princess pictures that we took at Disney World.  She has them all hanging in her room now.

 She was VERY excited about her Snow White dress up.  She didn't take it off all weekend...thank you Aunt Audrey!

 Princess poses...Eliza in the dress...and Talia in the slip that is supposed to go underneath the dress.  All younger siblings would understand this situation...but Tal was pleased as punch to be wearing some part of the pretty dress!

 Eliza's reactions never disappoint...she was very excited to open her stamp set from Grandpa and Grandma!

Happy Birthday Eliza!

We love you so much!

Fair time!

We took the girls to the Benton County Fair this year.  Eliza was on the look out for cowgirls...and wasn't disappointed!

 They chose one ride to go on...the dragon roller coaster!

They both really enjoyed it and talked about it for quite awhile!  I think we have a few roller coaster riders in our future...which makes their daddy and grandpa proud!

And no trip to the fair is complete without cotton candy (at least according to their mom)!

 We made a sticky mess in the car on the way home but boy was it good! 

Cousin Kylie!

Eliza and Talia LOVE staying in hotels.  So they were very excited when we got to spend a night in a hotel when cousin Kylie was born!

Just relaxing with some books before getting ready for church.

We got to join this cute new family for Kylie's blessing.  She is so sweet and adorable!

The Hague side of the family that gathered together.  Cassie's side of the family was there too...in fact, Eliza made a new best friend in Cassie's brother Trevor.  She was very sad to leave him so good thing we get to see him at church each Sunday!

Brayden is the lone boy cousin so far...but his girl cousins sure do love him!

Eliza holding baby Kylie...she is very excited about having another princess to train!

And of course Talia holding Kylie too.  She may not look very happy in this picture but she was thrilled to meet Kylie.  When she woke up the morning that we left for Portland the first thing she said was "Go see baby Kylie!" 

Congrats Cassie and Dallin!  We're so happy for you guys...you'll be wonderful parents!

Baseball game!

One of Darran's "must do" items for the summer was take the girls to a baseball game.

 

So we made it to Dust Devils game...took in the ball game atmosphere, ate some food, and sang 'Take me out to the ball game!'

 

These girls love watching sports with their daddy!