American Girl...

American Girl dolls were a huge deal to me when I was a little girl. Last summer I brought my childhood doll to our house from my moms. On a few rainy days, the girls and I would get her out and sort through her collection of dresses. The girls were in love!

Hailey really started wanting one (we had attempted the knock-off "Our Generation" doll, but she totally knew the difference). So one day we started a little money jar, put a picture of an American Girl doll on it, and Hailey started "saving". That afternoon a big box showed up on the front porch, and this is what was inside....

An American Girl DOLL!!

That smile doesn't get any bigger! And there tears of joy!

 

And a Bitty Baby for Mellie!!


So Hailey didn't quite grasp the concept of "saving" (put a few coins in a jar and a package shows up on the porch!)
These were from Dustin & Dena! Dustin & Seth have known each other since Freshman year at Ferris. They were both hired in by Chrysler at the same time, moved to Denver, and even moved to Montana around the same time. Dustin was out in the area a few weeks ago so we were able to visit with him. The girls absolutely adore "Mr. Dustin", and that must be when he picked up on their love for AG! What sweet friends we are blessed with!!

Easter

This Easter seemed different than most. I attribute it to the 27 degree weather we had and the still slushy snow piles dotting the yard.  Thankful to be celebrating our risen Savior though!

We attempted ONE outdoor picture and none of us could tough the cold!

 

I am jealous of my sister's amazing photography... and warmer weather!

Funny story on the girls dresses... I always love shopping around for Easter dresses... trying to find unique ones so all the girls don't show up matching at church on Sunday. This year was a success:) until I pulled up Facebook and saw my sister's Easter pictures. Sure enough we had picked the exact same dresses (different sweaters) for our girls. We are such soul sisters :)

Egg hunt...

She is forever being the ham!

 

Sledding!

We have been heading up into the mountains to go sledding the past couple of weekends. We don't have any snow down in the valley, but there is plenty up there!
It isn't sledding without hot chocolate, so we always make sure we have a thermos of it for the trip home.

Girls all ready to hit the hills!




I was literally falling into thigh high snow, and feeling sooo claustrophobic!



Silly Moments

Mellie has this crazy fetish of putting things on her arms. Most days it's my hair ties or mounds of bracelets. This day we found her at naptime with 10 of sister's undies on her arm...

Mellie looking ever so beautiful. Pretty sure sister helped her.

We were headed out to take the girls for a sled ride and Mellie made herself quite comfy in the sled before we got out the door.

Headed out for a sled ride!

Daddy stayed home from church with Mellie because she came down with croup again. She gets really fussy if things aren't just so, and I guess she kept whining about her blanket. Daddy's remedy was to tuck her into the couch!

Trip to Missoula

Seth took all of us girls to Missoula for a trip this past week. We were attempting to get in family pictures, but it was way toooo cold. We stayed at the hotel that has the little kids waterslide area, and the girls had a blast. We spent several hours at the pool (such a rough life, I know).



Now that Melanie is a little bigger, she can manage the slide all by herself!



I think I took a hundred pictures of Hailey coming down the slide. She wanted to see it after every time down.

Hailey was in her own little moment singing at the top of her lungs, "I'm so thankful God made the whole world!" She would finalize it with throwing her little hands up into the sky. 

The girls have become the bestest of friends, and love playing with each other.

Such a good traveler. They don't even bat an eye at a 3 1/2 hr drive!

First Snow Fall

November 5th was our official first day of snow here in Montana!! The girls were out in it by 8 in the morning.

Gotta love these years where she is so bundled up she can hardly move!

Snow/Grass Angels



Daddy & Hailey's pumpkin girl!



Harvest Carnival

Every year on October 31st, our church puts on a big Harvest Carnival as part of our outreach to the community. We had hundreds of people come out to it this year. Seth was very involved and spent many hours working on the props, setting up, and running a basketball booth. The girls loved it and Hailey has looked forward to ever since last year.

Mellie Mae the Beautiful Bee

Hailey Girl the Gorgeous Butterfly

The Bounce house was a definite favorite

Being a bee makes a girl thirsty!

We had to put her wings upside down, because she was getting mad with them in her face!

She loved the horse... she rode around with her eyes closed like it was the most relaxing thing ever!

This was definitely Hailey's favorite. She was terrified of the horses last year, so it was a big deal!

Snack break!