A very funny video and another engagement???

Maybe one of the funnier videos we have seen. Just getting ready for the Olympics in China!!

And...

Kevin and Natalie are engaged!!!!

We are excited for these two and we love Natalie. We knew there was something special when she ditched Kevin to watch LOST with Hill and me. And possibly the most exciting thing - we are coming back to Utah for another wedding (the third Dahle wedding in 10 months). We can't think of a better person to round out the Dahle sibling spouses. We will see you soon. We love you

Stay tuned for Claire goes bowling

Why we love Claire!!!! and other things to catch you up

Claire is so much fun these days!!!



Here are some of my favorite things about Claire at age 13 months.

1 - The other day Claire and I were playing together on the floor with her animal cards. Out of nowhere I hear a little "roooaaar." I look over and she is holding the picture of the bear. I can't even describe how cute it was. She now knows the bear, the dog (you should hear her say roof, roof), and the cow. We are currently working on the pig and the duck.


(Here is Claire practicing her bear pose)

2 - Claire loves bathtime. She now loves to bend over, stick her face in the water, and blow bubbles. On Thursday, I was drinking a glass of water while she was playing in the bath. She of course wanted a drink. Since she was in the bath, and wet already, I handed her the cup. She took a drink and then she went for the big drink. She doused her whole face with cold water. You should have seen the look of shock that followed.

3 - Claire is getting better in the car. And we have grandma Dahle to thank. Last year for Christmas, she gave Claire a book called "Dear Santa." It is a board book with flaps that hide the presents. She rides along, with her feet crossed, giggling every time she opens a present. That book is the gift that keeps giving all year long.

4 - Claire loves to help mama pick up trash. Today, she picked up one of my socks, walked right over to the trash, put it in, and walked away. Luckily I saw her do it. Otherwise, I would still be looking for the sock.

5 - Claire loves to leave little hints for mom and dad. She loves to play in the drawers that have our tupperware and towels. We find many things that make their way from other parts of the house into those drawers - puzzle pieces, bouncy balls, silverware. Yesterday we found the picture of the pig in the drawer. We both wondered what message she was trying to send us.

6 - Claire may or may not be the playground bully. She had a play date the other day with RJ who is significantly smaller than Claire. She walked up to him, started squaking and then proceeded to push him over. Nice job Claire. Needless to say, there has been no follow up play date.

7 - Claire is walking like a champ. Does she fall over frequently? Sure. Does she have bruises and scrapes all over her body? Sure. Is Hill worried about Child Protective Services showing up at the front door? Again, yes. It is just so cute to see her stumbling around. But she is improving.


We had a great outing to the Charlottesville Downtown Mall. Claire loved the squirrels. She loved the ice cream even more


Claire is a Little Piggy!!!

Claire had a great time at dinner this night. I really can't telly you what happened other that she loved the watermelon. She really is such a good eater. She eats just about everything. She only recently learned to spit things out. The funny thing is that she will eat a bunch of stuff, and then she will eat some other stuff, and then about ten minutes later she will just spit out a big blob of food - mostly the stuff she ate first. I am guessing that she stuffs her cheeks and then has nowhere else to put food so she then swallows it.

The Burtons have left the building!!!!

It was a sad day in Charlottesville two weeks ago when the Burtons loaded up the car and moved back to Utah. We were so sad to see them go and we wish them luck out there.

Prior to their departure, Claire would see her good friends, Emma and Ellie, 3-4 times a week. Claire and Mama just haven't been the same since they left. Sam's Club just hasn't been the same since they left.

They made one last stop before they made their ways out of the shadows of the Blue Ridge Mountians. Good luck in the Rockies. We miss you and love you!

Happy Birthday....

HILLORY!!!

To the best mom and wife, we love you.

Continue reading below for our fourth of july fun!

The emotion is raw, but the hotdogs are cooked!

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!

We had a great day yesterday as we celebrated the Fourth. It was announced about a week ago that President Bush would attend the naturalization ceremony at Monticello - the home of Thomas Jefferson. It was a tough ticket to get, but fortune shined down upon us. One thousand general admission tickets were available to the public and the line to get those tickets started well before I awoke on Wed morning. But, I thought I would drive by the visitors center on the way to work to check it out. My radio was on and they were interviewing people in the crowd. 6th in line was one of my attendings - who had the intention of getting only two of her four available tickets. I was able to flag her down and convince her that she should get me the other two. How often do you get a chance to see the President of the United States and hear him speak - unless you have a fortune to boot.

Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, Claire was just elated for her first ride on the bus. It sure was an early morning for the whole family. Every time we have to wake her up, she always seems so shocked and confused. She was very serious as she prepared for the president's address.

Claire contemplates the stars and the stripes. Obviously she will never remember this event, but it was so great to be there as a family to celebrate the birth of our country and the see the newest citizens take the oath.

Love being together as a family

You've seen them in the movies - and we saw the snipers in real life.

The entire morning I kept singing to Claire - duh, duh, duh-duh, duh, du-duh, du-duh, du-duh, duh. Regardless of your views of the current president, it is quite a sight to see him make an entrance.

Jefferson's home is a great place to visit on any day, but yesterday was quite a display. It was very well put together and an experience we will always remember.

Unfortunately President Bush's address was not without interruption. There were multiple outbursts of protest regarding the President's policies. Although not unexpected, it was in very poor form and a big distraction from the ceremony. There is a time and place to disagree, but this was definitely not that venue. Fools and Fanatics!!!

The swearing in of the new citizens by the judge. After the repeating of the oath, they were given the chance to get up and express there feelings. It was moving to hear of their love for the country and their hopes and dreams of success. At the end of the ceremony, Hill defined it as one of the top ten events in her life. It was very cool.

Claire was a champ. About midway through the ceremony, she got ahold of an apple core and just would not let go. She chomped and chomped and chomped for the rest of the ceremony. We tried to pull it from her hands when she fell asleep, but she would have nothing to do with it. As we waited for the bus at the end of the ceremony, she entertained the crowds with her big smile, her babbling, and her apple core.

After waiting for the bus for quite awhile (among the common folk), as President Bush and others made their way off the mountain, we finally made it home. Claire was exhausted. So were we. But, we were able to enjoy the national hot dog eating contest and see Joey Chestnut take down Kobyashi in a sudden death eat off. After taking down nearly 50 dogs each, it was the first one to finish off the next five. Pretty intense. We will make it a fourth of july family tradition.

In the afternoon, we were invited to the Old Trail Picnic and boy did it not disappoint. Crozet, Virginia is one of the most beautiful places we know. Claire was at her best during the party. Just a few pictures with the lush Virginia green with the Blue Ridge mountains in the background.

Happy Fourth of July to everyone. We love and miss you all. God bless the U.S.A.!!!