Dildine Family of Eight

New Wheels

2011-12-31T14:38:00.000-08:00

Kiley took driver's training last Spring and had to drive for six months with a learner's permit. With the time getting near for her to start driving without one of her parents we decided we needed to get a car so she could get herself (and hopefully some of her sisters) around. We bought this car in October and since she couldn't drive it yet, I have been driving it when I don't have a bunch of kids with me. It is fun to cruise around in something small again. It is also a lot more enjoyable to fill up at the gas station.

A Walk in the Park

2011-12-31T12:08:00.000-08:00

Every year on the first Sunday in October we join all of the Dildines for a Sunday night walk in Kathryn Albertson Park. We had such a mild Fall this year that the leaves had not even started to change colors. It was nice to be with family on such a beautiful evening.

BSU

2011-12-31T10:22:00.000-08:00

This year we bought BSU football season tickets (at the very top of the stadium).

Tailgating

With Grandpa Baker

The gang heading into the stadium on a beautiful Saturday afternoon in September

Atlanta

2011-12-30T14:00:00.000-08:00

Over Labor Day weekend Brad and I traveled to the BSU game in Atlanta. We had a great time. BSU beat Georgia and we had fun together shopping, going to restaurants, visiting the World of Coca-Cola and the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial and museum.

An added bonus was having DragonCon in town that weekend. The streets were full of colorful characters.

1st Day of School

2011-12-30T13:30:00.000-08:00

Kiley- Sophomore

Hannah- 7th Grade

The elementary school gang

Lizzie- 3rd Grade

Kerrie- Kindergarten

Susanna- 1st Grade

Paige- 5th grade

Kerrie and Mrs. Wetherall (she has Mrs. Atkinson in the afternoon)

I think we are in for a great year.

9

2011-12-30T12:59:00.000-08:00

Lizzie's birthday was on August 30. For the second year in a row it was the first day of school. She invited a couple of friends up to the lake the day before for her party.

We had to get up bright and early to enjoy her birthday breakfast before heading off to school.

That night the whole family headed to The Cheesecake Factory to celebrate.

Happy Birthday Lizzie!

Summer's Last Hurrah

2011-12-28T14:26:00.000-08:00

We went for a very easy (but beautiful) hike in Ponderosa State Park.

What an awesome group!

We did a little tubing on the lake. Susanna hit her mouth on the tube and knocked her two front teeth almost out. They were hanging by a lot of skin and we were too chicken to just pull all that out, so I took her to the ER in McCall where they numbed her gums and snipped the teeth off. Isn't that one of the most attractive pictures you have ever seen?

We met the family back on the lake for a little more boating. Every year I take a picture of all the girls jumping off the back of the boat. Susanna was feeling better after her tooth loss and joined in, but Kerrie decided to sit this one out.

On our last night we found a campsite and had tinfoil dinners. They were delicious!

I am grateful for all the good times our family is able to have together.

15

2011-12-27T14:35:00.000-08:00

Kiley turned 15 on August 17. We had plans to go to McCall on her actual birthday, so she celebrated with friends the night before. She invited Courtney and Claire to dinner at Texas Roadhouse. Brad and I sat at another table across the restaurant. It was like a date night for us.

Later that night Hannah joined the party for U-Swirl.

Birthday morning- family gifts and a breakfast of blueberry pancakes with homemade buttermilk syrup.

Hannah made Kiley a duct tape wallet.

I think the iphone may have been her favorite gift.

In the afternoon we headed up to McCall. We stopped at Lake Cascade for some tubing.

We celebrated that night at Chapalas.

Later, I showed off my awesome mothering skills with a fancy Zinger birthday cake.

Happy Birthday Kiley.

75

2011-11-25T23:51:00.000-08:00

July 31 was my dad's 75th birthday.

We celebrated with a lot of good food, family and, of course,

a waterslide.

Back to the Mountains

2011-11-10T23:11:00.000-08:00

Also in July we spent a weekend at our friends' cabin with two other fun families.

Along with fabulous food and late night card games we enjoyed canoeing on the private lake,

playing on 4 wheelers and motorcycles (I learned how to ride a motorcycle. So much easier than I imagined.),

hanging out by the campfire (the helmet is to keep smoke out of her eyes),
being goofy with friends,

fishing for part of our breakfast,

playing in and on the lake,

hiking to Goose Creek Falls (the whole gang),

(if you click on this picture you can see Paige)

Gavin, Sammy, Chloe, Audra, Jeff and Cooper

Brent, Daidree and Gigi

and, of course, breakfast at the Pancake House.

It was a wonderful weekend that we will always remember.

Little House on the Lake

2011-11-09T13:20:00.000-08:00

In July we rented a cabin on Lake Cascade for a few days.

We enjoyed a lot of boating,

hanging out by the lake,

roasting/burning marshmallows,

beautiful sunsets,

breakfast at the Pancake House in McCall,

hiking at Tamarack (until we were chased away by mosquitoes),

ice cream with weirdos in McCall,

yummy dutch oven cooking by Susanna and Dad,

and of course, more boating (notice snow on top of the mountains in July).

The cabin on the left behind Paige is the one we rented. It was so much fun. I am grateful for the fun family time we are able to enjoy on the lake every summer.

We Promise We Won't Get Wet

2011-10-21T23:37:00.000-07:00

On a Sunday night in July we decided to go for a walk along the Greenbelt. It was hot and everyone wanted to cool off in the river. I didn't want them to get their clothes wet. They promised they wouldn't. They did.

The 4th Started Off With a Bang

2011-10-21T23:23:00.000-07:00

We hosted the Dildine 4th of July festivities at our house this year. We were expecting 50 plus guests for a late afternoon/evening party. Brad decided to go for an early morning bike ride in the foothills above Eagle. He called me after about an hour to come get him because he had wrecked. A quick trip to the emergency room confirmed he had separated his shoulder. I thought he was out for the day and I would be hosting the party.

The people with the water slide were supposed to show up at about 5. They came and set it up about 10 in the morning. My kids were in heaven. The four younger ones played on it for almost 11 straight hours with short breaks for food.

Can you believe it? A few pain killers and Brad was up and working throughout the party. He manned the grill and here he is getting ready to put on a spectacular (although not entirely legal) firework display in the street in front of our house.

All the cousins (and some of the uncles) had a blast on the slide.

The food was delicious.

We had a great time hanging out with family.

We love the 4th of July!

Rattlesnake!

2011-10-17T10:08:00.000-07:00

On the same day that we went rappelling, a rattlesnake was killed in the camp by one of the other leaders. Nobody wanted him finding a nice warm sleeping bag to curl up in. One of the men who was up there asked if any of the girls wanted to skin the snake. To my surprise, Kiley volunteered.

Hannah was so impressed with her sister's bravery. After she skinned it, it was cooked and eaten by the girls. They were feeling very tough that day.

Rappelling

2011-10-01T12:55:00.000-07:00

In June I was lucky enough to go to Girls' Camp with Kiley and Hannah in Eastern Oregon. We stayed in a camp on the Owyhee River. It was an amazing week and we had some really cool experiences. The picture above is from our hike.

The highlight of the week was day we went rappelling. It was the one of the scariest, coolest things I have ever done. I was so proud of the girls. They were really scared (some were terrified, including me) but they did it anyway. I think it was a very empowering experience. They realized they could do things that were hard and that really challenged them. In the above picture Kiley is about half way down and Hannah is just starting.

Hannah kind of froze at the top and thought she couldn't do it. The awesome guide we had put on his gear and came down with her. He did not want her to miss out on the experience.

Later that night the girls had a chance to share their thoughts. Hannah said it helped her realize that we need people in our lives to guide and help us. She (and a lot of the other girls) expressed thoughts about Jesus and Heavenly Father helping us, comforting us and guiding us through hard times and challenges in our lives if we will listen and trust. It is awesome what lessons kids can learn on their own through positive experiences like these.

And So Summer Began

2011-09-18T17:37:00.000-07:00

Swingset

Sprinklers

Happy to be out of school

Sprinklers and trampoline

Lots and lots of energy

I am thinking this was some attempt at a cartwheel. I don't remember any injury. Kerrie is a funny girl.

Back to the Pool

2011-09-18T17:10:00.000-07:00

The day after school let out for the summer we started swimming lessons.

(Lizzie executing a perfect dive)

Hannah took her last session of Level 6.

(This does not look like it is going to end well for Su)

The three younger girls took four solid weeks of lessons in June. Paige took more advanced and condensed lessons for two weeks. I love watching how much they improve every year.

(Kerrie has never been afraid of the diving board)

Spring Skiing

2011-09-11T23:27:00.000-07:00

More pictures from the phone. I think this was at the end of March. We enjoyed a gorgeous day at Bogus Basin. I skied the whole day without gloves.

It got warmer as the day went on. Girls were shedding coats and

Dad had to switch to shorts.

I think this family was made for Spring skiing.

Mexico

2011-08-17T00:43:00.000-07:00

Brad and I usually don't take pictures on the trips we go on without the kids. I found these on our phones from our trip to Cancun at the end of April. This was at Tulum.

Here is the view from right outside our hotel room. You can see the ocean between those little huts and yes, those sexy legs belong to Brad.

More pictures from our day at Tulum. It was a fascinating and beautiful place.

We took the ferry over to Isla Mujeres a couple of times. That really is the color of the water. Amazing!

Dinner at a restaurant on Isla Mujeres.

Of course we had to bring a pink sombrero home to a house of girls.

Kindergarten Graduate

2011-08-02T08:05:00.000-07:00

Susanna and her cousin Ryan at Kindergarten Graduation. Susanna had a great year and learned so much. Check out the perfect attendance certificate.

Susanna and Mrs. Atkinson after the program. Susanna really loved her teacher.

Four of my former preschoolers. Su is so tall and beautiful.

Performing for the crowd. I love when kids really get into a song.

Enjoying a treat with little sis.

First Family Adventure of the Summer

2011-07-26T08:13:00.000-07:00

The week before school got out we decided to take a quick mid-week trip to Shoshone Falls. After a busy school year and working with hectic schedules, it was great to get away for some fun spontaneous family time.

Right by the Falls is an elk reserve. It was cool to see these guys up close.

With the high water year that we have had, the Falls were spectacular.

Dad's Birthday

2011-07-20T10:25:00.000-07:00

Brad had his birthday at the end of May. He was a good sport and did the same pose as the girls do with their birthday gifts.

Do you think he is loved in this house?

Preschool Graduate

2011-07-20T07:31:00.001-07:00

Flower Field Trip

2011-07-20T07:11:00.000-07:00

In May, my preschool went on a field trip to Edwards Greenhouse. It is one of my favorite places to go. It is a magical place. One of my preschool moms gave me a gift certificate and I was actually able to buy some of my flowers there this year. So much fun.

Kerrie and her friend Kate smelling some herbs.

I love this cute group of kids.

Always sassy

Easter

2011-07-19T15:10:00.001-07:00

The Saturday before Easter the gang dyed some eggs. Kerrie and Su had to take their shirts off so they wouldn't get dye all over them.

Individual shots of them were cute, but I don't think they would like seeing their shirtless selves later on.

Everyone lined up while Dad checked if the Easter Bunny came. Hannah is way too tuned into her ipod touch to take a photo.

There we go. That's better.

Thanks Easter Bunny!

Grandma and Grandpa Baker, Uncle Mike and Aunt Tawnie and their kids came over for dinner and an Easter egg hunt.

This is serious business.

Susanna worked hard to fill that bucket.

Counting eggs to see who found the most this year.

Cousin picture

Mom's Day

2011-06-28T06:56:00.000-07:00

In April we celebrated Mom's Day at preschool. It is so fun for me to have one of my own kids with me. You will notice that Kerrie's hair is shorter. She started pulling on her hair and just couldn't leave it alone. We were finding her pulled out hair all over the house. We had her wear Brad's ski cap for a while, but the weather was warming up and we knew that couldn't last so we cut her hair short. She loves it and looks darling.

10

2011-06-28T05:59:00.000-07:00

Paige had her 10th birthday on April 3. Her birthday was during Spring Break and there were not a lot of friends around to invite to a big party. Instead, Paige invited one good friend, a couple of cousins (who also count as good friends) and of course her sisters to the movies. We saw Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules (very funny) and ate lunch at Guido's Pizza.

We decided to go against tradition and let Paige open all her gifts in the morning. She thought her see through Vans were her main present, but Dad had a trick up his sleeve. Earlier in the week she had gone with him when he was shopping for a mountain bike. She fell in love with a blue cruiser bike at a local shop. She talked about it nonstop all week. Brad told her he went back to look at it again, but it had been sold. She was disappointed.

Surprise! This happy hug was after he rolled it out from our bedroom.

Happy Birthday Paige! We sure do love this happy girl.

12

2011-06-26T20:13:00.000-07:00

Hannah had her 12th birthday on March 31. I think her favorite family gift this year was an ipod touch. It is so close to a cell phone.

She received this super cute candy-gram from her best friend Kate.

For her party she had a few friends come over and compete in an ultimate cake-off. Paige was lucky enough to join in so the teams would be even.

We sure do love you Hannah. You add a lot of spice to our family.

State

2011-06-24T17:51:00.000-07:00

Lizzie had her State Gymnastics Meet in March. She did awesome. Next year she will start competing for places. She is a good little gymnast and so much fun to watch.

The Green

2011-06-24T17:40:00.000-07:00

We always have a delicious breakfast on St. Patrick's Day. This year we had orange juice, lemon poppy seed muffins, fried eggs and hash browns with bacon, green onions and cheddar cheese. Yum! Kind of makes me hungry just thinking about it.

You will notice that Kiley is the only one sitting at this table. She was on the school dance team this year. Their practices were every morning at 5:45. Understandably, the rest of the family did not want to get up at 5:15 to eat with her. Or maybe it was me not wanting the rest of the family up at 5:15.

Everyone made it out of bed to eat together before Hannah left for middle school. I notice Brad is wearing red instead of green. I guess he was looking for a kiss.

Lizzie had a choir concert that day. She wore green in her hair so she wouldn't get kissed or pinched. What cute girls.

This picture shows their personalities a little better.

Kerrie posing in the preschool.

5

2011-06-24T17:16:00.000-07:00

Kerrie had her fifth birthday in March.

She had her preschool friends (and of course Susanna) over for lunch and a movie.

The traditional Dildine cherry chip birthday cake.

Ready for bed in her new princess nightgown.

We love you Kerrie!

The Farm

2011-06-24T17:05:00.000-07:00

In March we went on a preschool field trip to my friend Julie's farm.

The Gang

Kerrie feeding the lamb

Cuddling the lamb

Collecting eggs from the hen house

Mama's Birthday

2011-06-18T07:52:00.000-07:00

For my birthday this year we had a Chinese food feast from PF Changs. We had to have it the night before because, with our girls' crazy schedules, it was the only time we would all be together. (click to make this picture bigger so you can see crazy Kerrie)

We had double lemon pie from Marie Callenders for my birthday cake. There is no better birthday gift than spending time with my favorite people.

Cake Boss

2011-06-18T07:33:00.000-07:00

Hannah's favorite show on T.V. is Cake Boss. While Kiley and I were in Utah in February for a dance competition, Brad and Hannah got online and found the design for this zebra cake.

Everyone was pretty proud of this awesome creation.

Valentine's Day Pizzaria

2011-06-18T07:19:00.000-07:00

Usually on Valentine's Day we have heart shaped pizza from Papa Murphy's. This year Valentine's Day was on a Monday and because of dance we had to celebrate on Sunday. When I tried to buy our pizza on Saturday I was informed we were too early. We decided to make our own individual pizzas instead and a new family tradition was born.

Pizza makers hard at work.

The traditional Dildine Family Valentine's Day Dinner.

This year we added a lovely red velvet cake baked by Hannah for dessert.

A First

2011-06-09T10:44:00.000-07:00

Lizzie had her first gymnastics meet in January.

She is fun to watch. She is so strong.

Can you believe it?

2011-06-08T14:45:00.000-07:00

I have finally made it to New Year's Eve 2010!
(Check Kerrie out)

Once again it was filled with fireworks,

counsins, uncles and aunts,

and many, many toasts to both the old and new year.

The Morning

2011-06-08T14:07:00.000-07:00

Lined up waiting for Dad to check if Santa showed.

I think Paige liked her gifts.

All three little girls got new American Girl Dolls.

Henry looks like he has been up all night.

Traditional new toothbrush from Santa.

Hannah loves peace signs.

A delicious breakfast followed by a relaxing Christmas day.

Christmas Eve

2011-05-23T10:42:00.000-07:00

Brad and I were able to sneak out of town for a few days before Christmas. Our babysitter and the girls spent an evening decorating the kitchen with the most beautiful snowflakes. When we got home, it looked like a wonderland. I was so happy to have the kitchen decorated for Christmas Eve dinner. We had my parents and both my brothers and their families over for the festivities.

Kiley and Hannah at the adults' table.

The wildly excited kids' table.

My brother and his wife have two boys. Dallin's birthday is on Christmas day, and Zachary's birthday is on Christmas Eve. Tawnie, my sister-in-law, started a tradition of having the kids decorate train car cakes to celebrate their birthdays. The kids had a blast and were so proud of their creations.

After everyone left, the girls opened their new Christmas pj's and we watched Luke 2 and Mr. Krueger's Christmas. Then it was off to bed to dream about Christmas morning.

Angel

2011-05-15T23:43:00.000-07:00

This year Kerrie was the angel in my preschool Christmas program. She is such a good performer. She is confident and cute.

This is one of my favorite things about teaching preschool. I love being able to work with this age group.

Gingerbread House

2011-05-15T23:25:00.000-07:00

I love the excitement at the elementary school during the month of December. Our second graders always come home with a very elaborate gingerbread house. This was Lizzie's offering this year before pieces mysteriously started to disappear.

Snow Day

2011-05-15T23:03:00.000-07:00

On December 1 we were blessed with a snow day. If we have a day with a lot of snowfall, the kids have some ritual (sleeping with your pillowcase inside out or something) that will bring a day off from school the next day.

It worked! We got a ton of snow.

Kiley and a couple of her friends played out in the backyard with the three little girls for longer than I think my kids have ever played in the snow.

I think an unscheduled day off every once in a while is good for the soul.

Thanksgiving Day

2011-05-09T08:17:00.000-07:00

We spent Thanksgiving day at the Hotel Del Cornado.

We took our family Christmas card picture by the incredible tree in the lobby.

We had our best weather day on Thanksgiving. It was absolutely beautiful.

The hotel had set up an ice skating rink near the beach.

The five older girls and dad all gave it a try. Susanna was a lot like Bambi on ice at first. She kept at it though, and was doing pretty well by the end.

Oops!

This is how Kerrie spent the ice skating portion of the day.

We had our dinner in the Grand Ballroom overlooking the ocean.

We had a delicious dinner in a beautiful setting. This was a family vacation we will never forget. We are so thankful for all the great experiences we have together as a family.

Mormon Battalion, Phil's BBQ and Mission Beach

2011-04-18T11:48:00.000-07:00

The first stop on our itinerary for the day before Thanksgiving was the Mormon Battalion Visitor's Center. They had a really cool presentation inside and then we went out into the courtyard to pan for gold.

One of our family's favorite shows is Man Vs. Food. Brad and the girls got online and found one of the restaurants in San Diego that Adam (the host) had visited. Phil's BBQ was a big hit! These girls and their dad love ribs.

Hannah tried a yummy burger.

That is one popular restaurant. The place was packed.

Susanna and Kerrie leave NO meat on the bone.

Lucky for us they provided a lot of paper towels.

After our late lunch we paid a visit to Mission Beach.

Can't you just hear the Chariots of Fire music?

It wasn't warm enough to play in the water, but they had fun getting their feet wet and running from the waves. Of course the little ones ended up soaking wet and covered in sand.

We love the beach!

The Zoo

2011-03-11T20:08:00.000-08:00

I am going to (someday) finish up our Thanksgiving trip.

On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving we took the girls to the San Diego Zoo. What an awesome place!

Hannah loves monkeys.

Notice the panda over Kerrie's head. Susanna was honestly having a great time.

One more stop by the giraffes before we headed out of the zoo.

Family Pictures

2011-03-08T12:06:00.001-08:00

I am taking a break from Thanksgiving vacation pictures today.

In October we finally got new family pictures.

We had a great time, and I am so happy with how these turned out.

SeaWorld

2011-03-07T13:00:00.000-08:00

On the third day of our Thanksgiving vacation we enjoyed an awesome day at SeaWorld.

The little girls loved hanging out by the Bat Ray exhibit. They loved touching them as they swam by. It wasn't very crowded and the shows were awesome. We sat just high enough at the Shamu show that we didn't get splashed. That would have been great in August, but not so much in November.

I would have to say that the highlight of the day for the three oldest girls was being able to interact with the dolphins.

All suited up.

What an incredible experience! Now Paige wants to work with dolphins when she grows up.

Brad and I were able to do this once in Hawaii. It was fun to watch these three have this experience.

USS Midway Museum

2011-02-11T22:58:00.000-08:00

On the second day of vacation we went to the USS Midway Museum.

www.midway.org

It was raining most of the time we were there. Luckily, much of the museum is indoors.

This was so interesting. As you can see by the headphones, we did a self-guided tour.

These beds were in pretty tight quarters. It made me thankful for the big bed I get to stretch out in every night.

There were several planes and helicopters that the kids could play in. I would be frightened to have any of these people pilot my aircraft.

By the time we got up to the flight deck the skies had really cleared up.

The structure in the background is the "island".

All the navigating and decision making for the ship is made here.

These four are hanging off the very back of the ship.

After our tour we went to the mall and had dinner at California Pizza Kitchen.

Where to?

2011-02-08T14:49:00.000-08:00

In San Diego we rented a 12 passenger van. When we got back to the hotel our first night Brad pulled up to the front door and I got out and unloaded all the girls. I noticed two men standing on the curb. As I was closing the door they walked over to the van and reached out to open the door. Suddenly I knew what they were thinking. "Sorry," I said. "This is our rental, not the hotel shuttle bus." They seemed a little embarassed and made some jokes about our "sweet ride". I thought it was hilarious. If I had thought quicker I would have let them get in. I would have loved to see Brad's reaction to that.

Thanksgiving in San Diego - Day 1

2011-02-01T23:11:00.000-08:00

We can't seem to have a group picture without a pouter.

The Saturday before Thanksgiving we loaded up and flew to San Diego for a week of fun in the sun. The only problem was we didn't see much sun. It was mostly chilly and rainy. We were lucky though because most of the rain (the hardest rain I have ever seen except in Hawaii) came on the first two days and we timed our outside adventures between storms.

We landed in the early afternoon. After picking up our 12 passenger van, we headed to In-N-Out for lunch. Yum. That place makes me happy. After settling in at our hotel we decided to drive out to Mission Bay and have a look around. We got there between storms and were able to walk up and down the pathway next to the beach for about an hour. We enjoyed the sound of the waves and the beachy smells. We also decided which beach house we will buy when we hit it big. We called it an early night and headed back to the hotel.

Christmas Programs

2011-01-25T14:20:00.000-08:00

Paige started playing the cello this year.

I love this picture. If you look at all their feet, it looks like the perfect elementary school orchestra.

Lizzie's holiday program. I am not sure why she is the only one not singing.

Meeting her public (Kerrie and Grandma Jean) after the performance.

4th grade Christmas Program. Paige is one happy girl. She loves to sing.

Leaves

2011-01-24T13:14:00.000-08:00

With such a nice Fall, we didn't get many leaves on the ground until well into November.

The girls begged to go out and rake them up.

Strangely, the same amount of leaves were still out there after they had "worked" for an hour.

Some good old competitive raking.

The hardest working girl in the group.

Everyone hard at work.

Six

2011-01-18T11:28:00.000-08:00

Susanna's sixth birthday was November 8. It was on a Monday, so we had her cake (chocolate eclair) the night before when all the family was together.

The next morning she woke up to the traditional display of gifts on the kitchen counter.

She chose eggs, rice and sausage for her breakfast. She also opened her breakfast gift which was a pack of Silly Bands.

Kerrie and Mom brought in Krispie Kreme doughnuts to her kindergarten class. Susanna sat in the front of the class and was interviewed by her friends.

She then led the class in "follow the leader" back to their seats.

Kerrie joined right in with the big kids.

After school Susanna had some of her friends over for lunch and a movie. They ate Happy Meals and watched How to Train Your Dragon.

Later that night Susanna opened gifts from her family. She was very excited to get this Nintendo DS. Now she is just like the big girls.

Happy Birthday Susanna!!!

SYTYCD

2011-01-06T19:47:00.000-08:00

On November 4, I took Kiley and Hannah to the So You Think You Can Dance tour stop in Salt Lake City.

We met up with my niece Melissa for dinner at California Pizza Kitchen and then the show.

We had great seats. It was an amazing show.

I love watching talented people. Kiley and Hannah said it was one of their favorite nights ever.

The next day we drove up to Park City to go shopping at the outlet mall. Those girls can shop!

Instead of coming back down the canyon to Salt Lake, we went down Provo Canyon and surprised my niece Lauren working at Goodwood BBQ in Orem.

What a great couple of days. We will have to do more girls' trips in the future.

Family

2011-01-01T11:18:00.000-08:00

The highlight of the year for our family was having Susanna and Kerrie sealed to us on October 16 in the Boise Temple.

It was an incredible experience being in the temple with all these beautiful girls dressed in white.

We sure do love these two little girls. They bring a lot of joy into our home.

What a blessing it is for Brad and me to be parents to this awesome group of girls.

Halloween

2010-12-29T10:54:00.000-08:00

Halloween was kind of rushed this year because it was on Sunday. We didn't get home from church until about 5:45. After a quick dinner the girls threw on their costumes and headed out for some trick or treating. This year Hannah was an 80's punk princess, Lizzie was a Snow Queen, Kerrie and Susanna were both ladybugs and Paige was a jockey on a horse. Kiley did not dress up. She still looks pretty from church.

Maniacs!

Hannah posing with the jack-o-lantern she designed.

Happy Halloween!!!

Carving

2010-12-29T09:19:00.000-08:00

The day before Halloween the girls and Dad got busy carving jack-o-lanterns.

Dad is the carver and the girls are the designers

and gut cleaners.

The giant jack-o-lantern in the back is part of a beanbag game from my preschool's Dad's Day.

Pumpkins

2010-12-28T09:46:00.000-08:00

A week or so before Halloween we went on our annual trip to the pumpkin patch.

The weather was beautiful. Many years we have about frozen. This time it was warm and sunny.

Kiley and Kerrie searching for the perfect pumpkin.

We love our family traditions.

Sunday Evening in the Park

2010-12-20T00:25:00.000-08:00

Every Fall we go for a family walk in Kathryn Albertson Park with all the Dildines.

We had such a beautiful Fall that it still looked pretty summery, even in early October.

It is so much fun to take pictures of my beautiful daughters.

Fall Activities

2010-11-30T20:11:00.000-08:00

The start of the new school year brought back our busy activity schedule.

All six girls are in dance classes, including this little sassafras. Kiley is also on the high school dance team.

Lizzie is on the team at gymnastics this year.

Lizzie is also playing soccer. This girl likes to stay busy.

The four oldest girls are also taking piano. This should keep us on the run for a while.

Baptism

2010-11-10T05:44:00.000-08:00

Lizzie was baptized the first Saturday in September.

A girl in our ward did these pretty braids for her.

Lizzie and her dad in front of the font before he baptized her.

With the family after the baptism. It was such a beautiful day.

Sisters

Lizzie with Grandpa and Grandma Baker

Lizzie with Grandpa and Grandma Dildine

All the sisters and the cousins who came to Lizzie's baptism.

Later that afternoon we celebrated with lunch at Chuck-a Rama.

Summer Afternoon on the Trampoline

2010-10-26T08:13:00.000-07:00

Kiley really enjoyed the camera she got for her birthday.

Kerrie really enjoys posing for pictures.

Eight is Great

2010-10-21T21:20:00.000-07:00

Lizzie's birthday was August 30. It was also the first day of school.

The Saturday before her birthday we went to see Ramona and Beezus and ate lunch at Red Robin. There is nothing wrong with Lizzie's arm in this picture. She is wearing the ace bandage that is the most popular toy in our house.

Sassy birthday girl heading off to the first day of school.

Yummy McDonald's lunch brought to school by mom and ...

cute little sisters.

We took Jr. Fat Boys into Lizzie's classroom for her to share with all her new classmates. Her teacher puts the birthday kid's treat on this cute singing cake plate.

Opening gifts after school. This mermaid Barbie was what she most wanted for her birthday.

Happy Birthday Lizzie. We love you sweet girl.

First Day of School

2010-10-18T09:28:00.000-07:00

Kiley (and her friend Courtney) started high school this year.

Hannah (and her friend Kate) started middle school this year.

These three hooligans are in second, kindergarten and fourth grade this year.

Susanna in her kindergarten class.

Lizzie in line to go into school.

School Lunch

2010-10-07T12:33:00.000-07:00

The night before the first day of school we had school lunch for dinner.

So much nicer than the cafeteria.

Lizzie's birthday was the first day of school so we sang to her and had her blow out a candle on her school lunch dessert. These yummy things are homemade twinkies. I will post how to make them another time.

Roaring Springs

2010-10-04T15:00:00.000-07:00

For the last couple of years my elementary age girls have been able to earn passes to Roaring Springs Water Park by reading 600 minutes in the Spring. We save the passes until the week before school starts because some districts start earlier than our district and a lot of people are at The Fair that week. Lines are short and pools are uncrowded.

The three older girls spent most of the day on the big rides. I didn't get pictures of them because I spent the day watching the three youngers in the kiddie area.

They went on this tube slide over and over and over again.

It was a lovely way to spend one our last days of summer vacation.

Day 3

2010-10-04T14:00:00.000-07:00

On the last day of our vacation we drove to a campsite on the north side of Payette Lake and cooked a yummy dutch oven dinner.

The scenery was beautiful and we got a few good pictures of the girls.

It was very relaxing. The ladies all sat around in camp chairs and watched Dad cook dinner.

He did not disappoint. Hot buttered rolls and a delicious chicken and potato dish.

Hanging by the campfire.

It was cloudy that day. Not sure why some of us needed sunglasses.

Yummy s'mores for dessert.

We walked down to the water pump to wash up before heading back to the condo.

Day 2

2010-10-02T17:01:00.000-07:00

On Saturday morning we all went out to breakfast at The Pancake House. We were so surprised when we walked in and saw our friend Angie. She was one of our favorite babysitters for many years until we able to start having Kiley babysit. She is also one of the people we have counted on to stay with the girls when Brad and I go out of town together.

After a yummy breakfast at our favorite corner table Brad headed back home for the day to attend a very important fantasy football draft.

The girls and I walked down to Shore Lodge and played on the beach all afternoon.

These three were hard at work on some project for most of the time.

There is a fun water trampoline that the three older girls swam out to and played on for awhile.

That night we made individual homemade pizzas.

After dinner and showers the girls played a little Uno.

Tucked in after another fun day in the mountains.

Last Hurrah 2010

2010-09-17T15:42:00.000-07:00

The weekend after Kiley's birthday we went up to McCall for one last summer weekend of family fun.

We spent all Friday afternoon on Lake Cascade.

The older girls showed off their wakeboarding skills.

Kiley finally got Lizzie out on the tube for the first time this summer.

After dinner at Chapalas in McCall we had ice cream cones. Kerrie does a lot better with ice cream in a bowl.

We drove through Ponderosa State Park to scout camping sights for our Sunday dutch oven cookout. We drove up this road to a beautiful lookout spot above Payette Lake.

14

2010-09-09T22:01:00.000-07:00

Who would have thought that in five short years we would go from this cute little 9 year old to

this beautiful 14 year old?

Kiley is an amazing girl and we are blessed to have her in our family.

August 17 was Kiley's birthday. She started the day off with her breakfast choice of homemade bagel (the bagel was actually not homemade) sandwiches. These are made with a cinnamon and sugar bagel, ham, and scrambled eggs and cheese.

She received some lovely gifts from the family, including a cute camera.

We rented a big water slide for her party with friends and, of course, sisters.

Kerrie wasn't really into the slide.

We served bbq hamburgers for dinner.

Dinner break.

Dad working the grill.

Opening gifts.

Kiley has a nice, fun group of friends.

Kerrie posing as the new poster child for high school rivalry.

Chocolate eclair cake on the trampoline.

Afternoon in the Park

2010-09-08T21:58:00.000-07:00

In August we spent another beautiful day at the park. This time we went to Municipal Park. It is in a beautiful, older area of Boise with lots of mature trees. Everyone enjoyed our picnic food from Chilis on our last park outing, so we decided to do it again.

The younger girls enjoyed playing on the huge playground.

I tried to get a good individual shot of everyone.

I have great models.

This park also has a nice nature center. We finished up our relaxing in the shade and headed down the path to check it out.

This picture makes me laugh because I was taking the shot of Hannah and didn't notice Susanna until we loaded the pictures on the computer.

Goofballs.

It has been kind of cool and rainy today. These pictures make me miss summer and it is only early September. I am afraid it is going to be a long winter.

Trek

2010-09-02T10:31:00.000-07:00

Kiley had the most amazing experience this summer going on trek with our Stake. This is her "family" pulling their handcart into the final unloading area. It was three days of hard, dirty work, but she and all the other youth learned so much.

The rest of the family drove up to the Donnelly area to welcome them in at the end. It was a beautiful area for pictures.

I thought we would see them coming down a dusty road, but they came down out of the mountains. It really was an awesome sight. It was an emotional experience for me and I am sure for most of the people that were there to welcome them home.

The rest of the girls are all dressed up because Cousin Charlie was baptized in McCall that day and we had come directly from the church.

Lounging in the tall grass.

All the families welcoming them in lined the path and waved white handkerchiefs like the people did as the newly arrived pioneers made their way into Salt Lake.

Sweet Lizzie out walking through the grass.

I am thankful for the people who worked so hard to make this a great experience for my girl. This is something she will never forget.

Girls' Camp

2010-08-31T21:07:00.000-07:00

Kiley and I were both able to go to Girls' Camp at the end of June. It was the first time I had ever been to a Girls' Camp. It was so much fun. I enjoyed being with all the Young Women and leaders. We had some very cool experiences. I felt very blessed to share those experiences with Kiley. One of the most fun was the hike to Boulder Lake. This is the same hike we took our family on in July. It was amazing that within 2 weeks all that snow on the mountain behind us was gone.

Our Young Women's group.

Random Summer Pictures

2010-08-30T20:12:00.000-07:00

I love this picture. It seems like a sweet childhood scene to me.

Eagle Fun Days.

Lunch on the patio.

Hannah's newly painted room.

Chilis picnic in the park.

The girls all got coupons for a free ice cream cone from the sheriff at the lake for wearing their lifejackets.

Making a Splash

2010-08-29T21:09:00.000-07:00

We spent four weeks (up to 3 hours a day) in June at swimming lessons. It is one of my favorite parts of summer. I love to see how much the girls have grown and improved. Paige must have been in her lesson during the above celebrity shot.

This was Kerrie's first year of lessons. She was like a cute little fish.

Everyone was usually so good about sitting on the wall and waiting their turn. School starts tomorrow. I can't wait for next summer to start the fun all over again.

Tennis Anyone?

2010-08-29T02:20:00.000-07:00

In June Lizzie took a two week session of tennis lessons. I told Brad one of the reasons I wanted her to take tennis was to see her in that cute outfit.

She loved it! Lizzie is a girl who likes to keep busy with physical activities. She is usually good at anything she tries.

Kerrie and Susanna (and some random kid) enjoyed other activities offered at the park.

End of an Era

2010-08-19T23:39:00.000-07:00

Hannah (seen here with her BFF Kate) graduated from Eagle Elementary School at the beginning of June. She has been excited to move on to middle school since the third grade. Today we went to middle school registration. She would be thrilled if summer would end today and she could get back to school tomorrow. I think she is most excited to have a locker this year. We have three people moving on to new schools this year. Kiley starts high school, Hannah starts middle school and Susanna starts kindergarten. Nothing stays the same around here for very long.

This is a picture of Hannah with her fifth grade teacher Mrs. Bunn. This lady is awesome. She really gets the kids ready for middle school and they feel so loved by her.

Dance, Dance, Dance

2010-08-16T21:35:00.000-07:00

Kiley, Hannah and Paige were all members of performing dance groups for their studio last year. This was taken before a performance last Spring.

This picture is from our studio's recital in May. Everyone but Kerrie danced. She gets to start this year. It is so much fun to watch our beautiful daughters dance. I love them all having something they love to do in common.

Go Green Gummi Bears!

2010-08-08T22:30:00.000-07:00

Lizzie was the only girl we had playing soccer this Spring. She loves it. These pictures are from the tournament at the end of the season. Her team won. Yay! She loves playing goalie.

She is pretty speedy.

She also got a lot more aggressive this Spring season.

Way to go team. We can't wait for soccer to start again in a few weeks.

Our Day in Court

2010-08-07T23:45:00.000-07:00

The day after Easter, April 5, was our adoption completion day. The whole family went down to the Ada County Courthouse and finalized Susanna and Kerrie's adoption. The judge asked us some questions and then granted our petition.

We took a couple of pictures with the judge,

and then celebrated at McDonald's with 50 cent ice cream cones.

Mom's Day

2010-08-01T11:02:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite days in preschool is Mom's Day. In late April all of the moms come to school, we put on a singing program, and then enjoy a delicious treat(chocolate lava cakes) with them.

Even Miss Tricia got to enjoy the day with two of her own girls.

The picture below is the preschool all dressed up for our moms.

Another Trip Back In Time

2010-07-20T18:20:00.000-07:00

Easter Sunday was also General Conference Sunday. Kerrie is enjoying our traditional Conference Sunday breakfast of waffles with strawberries and whipped cream.

All the sisters lined up before going in to see what the Easter Bunny left.

Easter buckets.

We enjoyed a relaxing Easter morning watching General Conference together.

After the afternoon session, G & G Baker and Uncle Mike and Aunt Tawnie and the kids came over for dinner. The adults sat at the big table. Dallin, Lizzie and Paige sat at the counter.

Susanna, Kerrie and Zach sat at the little table.

The girls loved holding new cousin Addy.

Hanging out with Grandpa and baby Addy.

Waiting to be released for the egg hunt.

Go Lizzie!

Susanna didn't have to work terribly hard for this one.

Pick up the pace Kerrie.

These pretty girls helped hide eggs this year.

Lizzie takes egg hunting seriously.

Searching for every last egg.

Traditional Egg Hunt picture on the hill.

Mountain Adventures

2010-07-15T11:04:00.000-07:00

Last week Hannah went to a church camp just outside of Cascade with her friend Kate. She finished Friday, so the rest of the family drove up and picked her up for a weekend stay at Tamarack. Our cabin wasn't ready for check-in until 4 o'clock, so we went boating on beautiful Lake Cascade for the afternoon. Lizzie isn't interested in tubing or wakeboarding. She would rather help Dad drive the boat. The water was glassy, so Dad, Mom, Kiley and Hannah enjoyed some wakeboarding. Dad and Hannah both had pretty nasty wipeouts.

Kiley, Hannah and Paige like fast, crazy tubing. Kerrie likes slower, calmer tubing. Susanna likes to ride in the boat.

Friday night we drove into McCall for a fun dinner at Chapala.

Saturday morning the girls were well rested and ready to go back into McCall for a yummy breakfast at The Pancake House.

Then it was back to the lake. It was windy and choppy, so we just did some tubing and diving and swimming from the boat.

Some people are getting pretty tricky.

Susanna hard at work performing her boating duties.

Warm sun, comfy mom, sleepy girls.

Last month Kiley and I went up to McCall for Girls' Camp.We went on a great hike up to Boulder Lake. We were really excited to take the family. It is a four mile round trip hike. The girls did a great job. Whining was minimal.

Taking a rest on the way up.

Eating lunch at the top.

One of many attempts at a family shot using the timer and propping the camera up on a rock with sticks.

The awesome scenery wouldn't look as great without beautiful girls in the shot.

Taking a break on the way back down.

Posing with the cowboy in front of the cabin as we were getting ready to come home on Monday.

Someone is a bit of a ham.

4th of July

2010-07-05T12:20:00.000-07:00

The beautiful Dildine girls all dressed up for church on the 4th of July. For a fundraiser, the Boy Scouts in our area put flags up in yards on all the flag-flying holidays. It looks awesome driving through our neighborhood.

I've noticed in pictures lately how grown up Hannah is looking.

After church we had Brad's brother Mike and his family over for a barbeque. Yummy 4th of July food.

Later in the evening we joined all of Brad's family at Mike and Jennie's house for treats and fireworks. They have a fun kids 4-wheeler that Paige enjoyed giving her little sisters rides on.

Lizzie showing her dunking skills.

Kiley and Hannh during the fireworks show.

Lizzie and Susanna with a few of their 26 Dildine cousins.

One Year

2010-06-11T13:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the one year anniversary of Susanna and Kerrie coming home. What a wonderful, crazy, growing year this has been for our family. After swimming lessons we celebrated with a yummy lunch at Red Robin. We sure do love all these girls.

9

2010-06-04T08:46:00.000-07:00

Paige turned 9 on April 3. I am lame and have not blogged in forever, but I am going to get caught up. Starting now.

Our family enjoyed a fun afternoon at Pojo's Arcade Palace.

Everyone picked out prizes with all those tickets we won.

Paige's birthday was the day before Easter, so we dyed Easter eggs and then...

we topped off the evening with a delicious cherry chip cake.

Happy Birthday beautiful girl!

Spring Birthdays

2010-04-23T09:59:00.000-07:00

One of the things the girls enjoy doing with my mom is going out to lunch. She always takes them out around their birthdays. We now have three in March and early April. During Spring Break Paige, Kerrie and Hannah enjoyed lunch with Grandma and Mom at Red Robin. Little traditions like this are so important to kids.

One One

2010-04-18T22:14:00.000-07:00

Who would ever guess that this little cutie would get so old.

Our lovely Hannah turned 11 on March 31. It was during the week of Spring Break, so we made a fun day of it. She picked banana nut muffins for breakfast and then she and her sisters spent a few hours at the YMCA pool. I left my camera battery charging at home, so we got a couple of pictures on Dad's phone. (I will add those later) Hannah invited her friend Libby out to Red Robin for dinner with Mom and Dad. We picked up a dozen Krispy Kremes for a cake.

Here Hannah is leading everyone in a rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday".

We love you Hannah!!!

And so I give you St. Patrick's Day

2010-04-09T14:52:00.000-07:00

I am using this blog as sort of a scrapbook for my kids. So, even though I am way behind, I am going to keep on blogging about holidays and events in the order they came up.

We celebrate St. Patrick's Day with a big breakfast.

Kiley usually leaves for school before many of the other girls roll out of bed. Once again they were kind enough to get up early to eat with her.

We ate our traditional golden nugget scrambled eggs,

blueberry muffins (in gold foil muffin papers),

and golden orange juice.

This year we added hash browns with bacon, cheese and green onions. Yum.

My three elementary school hams in their Irish greenery.

All of the preschoolers took a picture in this leprechaun hat.

Most were giggling like this one.

Flashback Friday

2010-04-02T18:02:00.000-07:00

We were looking through the pictures on the computer for an old one of Hannah the other day to add to her birthday post. When we do this, I have a hard time stopping. I want to look at every picture of the girls when they were younger. I wish I could go back in time and squeeze their cute little bodies. We are going to scan in all the negatives from my old camera. Then I will really be in trouble. I wish I had pictures of Susanna and Kerrie when they were smaller. I know they had to be adorable. This one is from five years ago.

Movin' On

2010-03-24T13:15:00.000-07:00

Susanna had kindergarten orientation a couple of weeks ago. Her dad had to take her because I was teaching preschool. This girl is ready to move to the "big girls' classroom". She is so excited to go on the bus with everyone next year. I have loved watching her learn in preschool this year. She is very bright and is so eager to learn. Being able to go to all six sessions of my preschool every week this year has really been beneficial for both girls.

Four

2010-03-20T08:47:00.000-07:00

Kerrie turned four last Tuesday.

Life is a little crazy around here and we wouldn't all be together at home until 9 P.M. so we had her party at 7 in the morning.

She opened some gifts,

took a spin on her new big wheel,

and ate a delicious breakfast of rice, sausages and fried eggs.

It was a beautiful day. Kerrie shared birthday treats with 2 sessions of preschool. A couple of the girls brought her gifts. Very sweet. It was sunny at recess and she had a hard time keeping her eyes open for pictures. She is still sassy with her eyes closed.

Kiley made her a yummy pink cake.

Happy Birthday Kerrie!

We love you.

Springtime and Funny Preschoolers

2010-03-15T13:14:00.000-07:00

We have been having beautiful weather lately. These two girls love playing outside. We have this post (I don't know what it is for) in our back flowerbed. The big girls have always used it for a microphone. I looked out the window the other day and saw Kerrie and Susanna singing away. I like how seriously they are taking their performance.

They also love jumping on the trampoline.

I had two funny comments from preschoolers today. We were out for recess and one little guy was working on zipping up his jacket. I told him his kindergarten teacher would love if he could do that. I told him she would get tired if she had to zip up 25 jackets every recess. He said, "Yeah, it would be better if she only had to do 24."

I was testing everyone on what letters they know this morning. When I held up the card they could kind of see the picture on the other side. I was testing the funniest kid I know and when I held up the letter "c" (picture of a cat on the other side) he said "Meow". The best part was he said it high and squeaky like a real cat.

Teaching preschool is the best job!

Dr. Seuss

2010-03-13T11:42:00.000-08:00

Last week was Dr. Seuss week at school. The last day was dress up as a character or Dr. Seussish. We went for Dr. Seussish.

These two do not like to ham it up at all.

We also had a Dr. Seuss day at preschool. Everyone wore pajamas, we watched a couple of Dr. Seuss movies and made these cute Dr. Seuss fish.

Valentine's Day---Finally!

2010-02-27T20:11:00.000-08:00

This was before we went to church. What I love most in the world. You can even see Henry in the backyard.

This girl looked way too cute and felt way too sassy not to get her own shot.

After church everyone changed into their casual Valentine's Day outfits and prepared for our family party.

Every year we decorate the table with balloons, candles and Valentine tableware.

We eat heart shaped pizza and drink a red beverage.

Cute Kiley.

Happy Hannah.

Posing Paige.

Lovely Lizzie.

Sassy Susanna.

Kiss Me Kerrie.

After dinner the girls each go on a scavenger hunt for their Valentine's Day gift.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Dreaming of Summer

2010-02-15T20:03:00.001-08:00

Once Christmas is over I am ready for summer. I am surprised every year at how long it takes to get to Spring. Lizzie and I were looking at pictures tonight of all the fun we had last summer. This picture of Lizzie was from a party we went to in McCall with my family. I hate wishing any days away, but I can't wait for the hot, lazy days of summer.

Trixie and Coco

2010-02-09T08:23:00.000-08:00

We went to Zamzows to buy a new beta fish a couple of weekends ago and came home with that contraption. Yes, a gerbil house. Hannah can be pretty cute and convincing when she wants to be. They only order one gender at a time so that you don't end up with a load of babies. They had boys. I asked Hannah if she wanted to wait until they had girls. She said the boys would be fine because she would give them girl names and just pretend they were girls. Kind of like we name our fish girl names even though they are boys too. Lucky for Henry, the dog, we accept that he is a boy.

These guys (Trixie and Coco) are super cute. I bring their cage into preschool and the kids love watching them run around. Henry is obsessed with them. He used to bark at them, but now he just watches them for hours. I'm not exaggerating. The first thing he does in the morning when Kiley lets him out of their room is run in to see the gerbils. In fact, I can hear him right now barking to get into the room they are in. He would probably eat them if he could get to them. That dog is crazy.

More Hair

2010-02-07T20:56:00.000-08:00

Kerrie's hair is getting so long. She loves me to "do her head".

She is such a cute, funny little girl. Everyone around us is in love with her.

Go Cards!!!!

2010-01-14T23:57:00.000-08:00

Brad has a tradition of taking each of the girls with him on a fun trip. Kiley went to California when she was in first grade. Hannah went to Las Vegas in second grade. He and Paige finally figured out where he would take her this year.

They went to Arizona to last week's NFC playoff game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Green Bay Packers. Paige had a blast at the game. I think the best part though was having her dad all to herself for the whole weekend.