I'm going Bonkers in Yonkers

Last week we packed our girls and our stuff in our Honda and drove 3 days to Yonkers, New York- just a half hour north of Manhattan. The drive was intense. Kaylee and Riley sat right next to each other in their careseats with the third space was occupied with stuff up to the ceiling. Jake drove the whole time, but I don't feel that bad cause I spent the majority of the time turned around in my seat (real safe, i know) feeding Riley and trying to entertain Kaylee. She watched the Backyardigans movie Super Secret Super Spy probably fifteen times. We were pulled over twice for not having license plates (new car) but both times the officers saw the girls squished in the back and let us be on our way. We stayed one night in a city in Iowa wher we go a little room the girls could run aroung in and we could watch American Idol. We all needed a serious break from the car.
So we are here now and let me tell you this place is nuts! We live right on the Hudson River in a sweet apartment- see www.hudsonpark.net. There are so many great things close by- there is a main railroad station with trains that take you to Grand Central Station in 25 minutes. There are tons of restaurants, a library, a boardwalk by the water. It's kind of a wierd place though. If you walk about 3-4 blocks away from our building, it's like you are in a different state. There are very few white people. It's mostly black and hispanic. There are tons of vacant buildings, like 4 Dollar stores in a two block radius, little corner grocery stores that sell produce and a variety of other shops and such. All of the stores though are so crammed. It's hard to get my double stroller through the aisles. I definately feel safe here, just a little out of place.
Since we didn't bring out a lot of stuff, my days are long trying to keep these kids entertained. It doesn't help that Kaylee has been waking up before 7am every morning. Thank goodness we brought the princess tent. It has been the best toy ever (thanks Brian and Heather). We've also been watching a whole lot oh Beesh (Finding Nemo) and Peetah (Peter Pan). She asks for them every morning with out fail.
It's really late and I haven't really gotten into why I'm going bonkers in Yonkers. Basically these two little girls are rocking my world. I think I'd be going bonkers even if I was in Utah : )

she's not even 2 yet

Kaylee has become my horrible addorable. She thinks everything in the house is "mine!" and is quite particular about having things her way. She wants the green sippy, not the pink one. The water is not the right temperature. She needs to be holding her shirt and all of her blankets when she gets out of bed. She loves to push the stools around the kitchen to get into the cupboards- on the search for candy or someting sweet. She has developed a new high pitched scream, which is a joy to hear when she wakes up from her naps. She likes to throw, hit and push and has become pretty familar with timeouts.

Her vocabulary is growing every day which is so cute. It really makes up for the annoying things she does. She loves to say Riley, Daddy and Toby- her favorite people. She also loves to say no, mine and stop frequently. She's having a hard time saying her f's : beet (which is really feet), beesh (fish), broot (fruit).

Kaylee and Riley in the princess tent. Ok Kaylee, you can be a nightmare as long as you are sweet to your little sister : )

finally some pictures

A few weeks ago we took the girls on a last minute trip to Florida to see our dear friends, the Hydes. John and Shelly and Goldie showed us an amazing time.


We stayed in the Gator Suite at Shelly's parents incredible home near Orlando. We went to the authentic Orlando attraction... Gatorland! We saw these gators jump out of the water to snatch up chicken hanging from a rope. There was a guys wrestling gators, but mostly a bunch of bug, fat, lazy gators just lying around.





On Sunday of that weekend we spent some time the Quigley's house in Melboure. Nate Quigley, Shelly's brother-in-law took us out on the boat to go fishing. We had been gone maybe 30 minutes when we ran out of gas. Luckily my kids were at the house because we had to wait for almost two hours for someone to come tow us back to the house. It was a ton of fun because we saw dolphins jumping nearby, enjoyed the sunset and did a little fishing. I just wish I had more pictures. It was one of the funnest vacations we've had.

Need to post

Our camera is being fixed so I have no pictures, but if I don't post now it might be another month before I put anything on here.
Last weekend we took a surprise trip to Seattle. Jake had some work to do and me and the girls were missing grandma and grandpa grandpa. It was Rees' 3rd birthday so we were lucky to be there to celebrate and spend time weith Brian, Heather, Rees and Lucy. Riley and Lucy really enjoyed each other, chatting and rolling towards each other. Kaylee and Rees mostly got a long, but every once in awhile they wanted to show the other who was boss. The weather was great and our flight home was a breeze (thanks to a little help from the Backyardigans on the Zune).

When we got home at 11pm that night, all of pout lights were on and our house was cold. We went downstaris to the thater room and the window was broken out- WE WERE ROBBBED!!!! They took a bunch of electronics, Jake's shotgun I got him for his birthday and his motorcycle! We called the police right away and made our reports. Thankfully we have insurance that will cover everything. Now it's just a matter of paperwork and waiting. Kind of ironic that my alarm selling husband got robbed. The total stolen adds up tp 14000.00

In other news, my little brother got his mission call to Tampa, FL. He reports to the MTC on April 24.
Oh, really has been awhile since I've posted. We are moving out to Yonkers, New York this summer for Jake's job with APX. The plan is to be out there April 15th. I realize I haven't said anything about his change of companies. In a tiny nutshell, the company he had been with for four year, Firstline, went bankrupt. He is now with one of the biggest competitors int the alarm industry, APX. It has been a big blessing, better oppurtunity, and way less stress, and more potential for pay. Because of the switch from firstline to APX Jake hasnt really had to work for 4 months. we feel very spoiled to have vacationed and had so much time together, Jake has been able to snowmobile as much as he has wanted. other than these few updates the Dahl Family is trucking along and lovin life.

A busy December

The past few weeks have been busy busy busy!! On the 12th we went with the top management and performers of Firstline to Kauai. We brought both girls with us, which was fun, but made for a very different vacation. On the last day of the trip, Jake was fiddling with the camera and lost all of the pictures we had taken. These are at the hotel, the Grand Hyatt in Poipu. You can see it was pretty windy, but we did get plenty of sun: )

After a week of playing in the pool (because Kaylee hated! the sand) we flew home for 2 days before going to Seattle for Christmas. While we were in Utah, we had the annual Dahl family fish fry. Normally they do it on Christmas Eve, but they moved it up for us since we were going to be gone. We had shrimp, crab, salmon, tons of appetizers and yummy desserts. We exchanged gifts and had a visit from Santa.

Kaylee loved! getting together with all of her cousins. She was bouncing to the music of someones toy. She was not prepared for for what was about to happen....Kaylee hated! Santa. She did not want anything to do with him. We packed up again and headed to Seattle. Kami got home from her mission earlier in the month. It was so fun to be with her. Everyone in the Knudson clan was home for Christmas. We took family pictures- here is one of Kami and Riley.

On Christmas morning we woke up around 9am. We gathered around the tree and were overwhlemed by the amount of gifts. Mama Santa was sooo generous.

The Dora sit and spin was a big hit. Once the music turned on she just could not resist dancing.

The holidays are over and we are so happy to be home. The girls proved to be great little travelers, but I think they are happy to be home too.

Finally back to blogging

It's been too long since I've posted last. A lot has happened this month. We officially moved back to Lehi, back to our house, our ward, our family and friends- it is so good to be home. We officially named our new baby Riley. We are blessing her tomorrow, so I guess it will be more official then.

We went on a cruise with Jake's company to southern Mexico. We lost our camera right before we left so we have no pictures. The girls stayed in Utah, so me and Jake had some time to ourselves. We enojyed the beaches, nice weather and good friends.

For Thanksgiving we went to Jake's grandma's house in Rexburg. Jake got up at 6am to fish for trout in the lake. He caught 2 and we ate them for breakfast! We spent most of the weekend at the cabin in Island park with Jordan and Jandee Jones. Of cousre the girls worked the boys in canasta! We enjoyed the fire and tried to enjoy the snow but the girls are just too little. We enjoyed the snow from the window : )

Kaylee is in love with her little sister. It might be hard to tell from this picture, but Riley was minding her own business in her swing and Kaylee just wasn't close enough looking at her on the ground. She climbed up by herself to sit right next to her. The other day Kaylee grabbed one of Riley's diapers and lifted up Riley's legs and tried to figure out how to put it on her. She also likes to put a blanket over her, give her kisses and pat her head.

We took family pictures with all of Jake's family down in Mapleton. We haven't got them back yet, but here is a picture from Jake's phone. Kaylee sat down on the stairs and her cousin Derek sat right by her. Look closely, she actually has her hair in pigtails!

Jake got a new 08 GMC Dirtymax. Fun fun fun!

We really did lose our camera so I'm a little short on pictures. I will try and take more on Jake's phone. Maybe Santa will see what a good girl I've been and bring me a new camera!

Little Girl

Our new baby is one month old today and we are still undecided on a name. We know for sure it will not be Madison. She just does not look like a Madison. We’ve been trying out different names for her to see what fits. So far we’ve tried Macy, Gracie, Abby and Riley. The only one that I think fits her is Riley. We are still a little unsure about it- sometimes we love it and sometimes it seems weird. Kaylee and Riley… there’s a cute little ring to it.

Kaylee just loves her little sister. She always gives her kisses and pats her back. She tries to climb into the pack n play whenever Riley is asleep in there.

Daddy loves his little girls!!