Happy Birthday, Aliya!

Today is Aliya's 5 year birthday. We went to Cracker Barrel for Aliya's birthday dinner. Our present to Aliya this year was a small fish tank so that she could bring Peter home (see The Story of Peter for details).

After dinner we rushed over to Petsmart to find Peter. We only had about 20 minutes to look before the store would be closing. I helped Aliya search for Peter. I went through the top two shelves without finding him. About halfway through the third shelf, I held up an orange Beta fish and asked Aliya if this was Peter. SHE SAID, "YES"! I showed her a few more fish just to make sure she was sure... and she was. This orange Beta fish was Peter!

We took Peter to the cash register, and Aliya paid for it with her birthday fish gift card. She had a smile from ear to ear. When we were walking to the car, she held Peter underneath her coat so that he wouldn't get cold.

When we got home, Niah helped Aliya get her new tank set up. They washed everything and then decorated the tank. Finally it was time to put Peter in his new home. I poured him into the tank, and we all watched him for several minutes just swimming around in his new home. I think that Peter is going to be very happy--I know that Aliya is!!!

Happy Birthday, Aliya! We love you very much!

--Daddy, Mommy, Niah, and Kiahna

Home for Thanksgiving

Last night we arrived back in Oklahoma after spending the Thanksgiving holiday with our family in Arkansas. We had a wonderful time! The day before Thanksgiving, my sister Betsy and I jogged 4 miles! Can you believe it? It was really cold, but we decided that we should prepare ourselves for the upcoming Thanksgiving meal. The day after Thanksgiving, I also went to the gym with Alex (my brother-in-law) and worked out for 80 minutes. I think this might be the first holiday that I won't be GAINING any weight--now that's an accomplishment!

For many years now, we have decorated for Christmas during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. That's exactly what we did in Arkansas. The kids enjoyed putting up the tree and decorating it with all the ornaments. Niah is responsible for arranging the nativity scene, and Aliya was responsible for putting the angel on top of the Christmas tree.

The best part was when Niah got to climb up in the storage space above the closet in Nana and Papa's room to put back all the empty Christmas boxes and bins.

It didn't take long before Aliya discovered what Niah was getting to do and of course, she had to join in!

The fun couldn't stop there--Taya and Kiahna also wanted to "help". They wanted to stay up there much longer than either TJ or I wanted to watch them. After several minutes we finally made them come down.

We had a great time, and we will be returning in December to spend Christmas there. But before we return, we will be celebrating Aliya's 5th birthday!!! According to her calculations, she has been waiting a VERY LONG TIME!!!

What a Mess!

Kiahna found a tube of Aliya's lipstick. Unfortunately, her aim isn't very accurate yet! I guess she thought that her legs and arms needed color, too! I think it's really difficult for kids to understand that they are being scolded for doing something wrong when they see that their parents laughing at the same time.