The Larsen Family

School is Out!!

2011-05-29T16:52:00.000-07:00

Last day of school! August with her new haircut.

Addison & Mrs. Christensen (we love her!)

Notice I didn't title this post, "Summer is here!" I don't know about where you are, but it's definitely not summer or really summer-like at all in Idaho. I was so excited for the kids to finish school but if the weather doesn't straighten up I may have to rethink my position. We have had a really fun school year this year. Both of the girls loved their teachers and classes and they both got all A's (or E's for kindergarten.) They both were in dance and we enjoyed the recital so much. They did great. I love watching them and I really love that the recital lasts only an hour. When I was in dance we had a marathon 2-3 hour recital every year. I don't know how my parents did it. So thanks Mom and Dad! Hopefully you were able to sneak in a snack or something. :) Now, speaking of recitals, performances, graduations (of the kindergarten variety), and such; they make me so emotional. Does that happen to anyone else? At the "graduation" they played the ever-popular slide show set to some song about kids growing up. (You know the ones.) Well, as I start to get teary-eyed I look around and I'm the only one. I mean this is only kindergarten!!! I fear I am in big trouble here. They are just growing up too fast! I already have Avery and Aiden on the preschool list for 2012, which sounds crazy to me. They are my babies, but I need to realize that they aren't babies anymore. That brings me to what else I've been doing this year: Potty training x 2!!! Wow that was fun. What a wonderful thing to be done with FOREVER! Avery caught on quickly and so did Aiden when she decided to try. For months she wouldn't sit on the toilet because it was "scary." She and I were definitely in a power struggle. Then when I gave up and she figured she had won she started using the toilet. Sigh. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm so HAPPY to be done with diapers but I now spend what feels like a major part of my day in the bathroom supervising 3 year olds. Fun times at the Larsen Home!

Brandon started his new job full-time in March. He works from home and we love having him around a lot more. Things seem to be going well so far. He is selling commercial-grade park and playground equipment again but with another manufacturer. So if you know any schools, cities, or developers in Montana or Idaho in the market have them give him a call. :) He was also just made the Elders' Quorum Pres. in our ward. We love our ward and he has great counselors so he's excited. He always does great in his callings. He's the most responsible person I know, and he doesn't get stressed out. Unlike another person I know who was just made a Relief Society instructor. I seriously feel like this calling is taking years off my life, but I'll save that for another post. :)

We just had our 11th wedding anniversary. That is just crazy! We celebrated by going to Lowe's and buying a curtain rod. Isn't curtain rod the traditional 11th anniversary gift? Haha! The longer we're married the more glad I am that we got married in 2000. No tricky math to figure out how long it's been. :)

Well that's what we have going on. If the weather ever warms up I see a lot of trampoline time, bike riding, and awesome little girl

tans in our future just like every summer!!

Eight is Great!

2010-11-08T11:02:00.000-08:00

August turned 8 last month! As usual her birthday fell close to conference weekend so we had a great weekend with lots of family. My parents came up for the festivities and we also had Pam & Leon, Brooke & Reese, Grandpa Larsen & Grandma Peggy, and Grandma King (GG) over on Sunday to celebrate with cake, ice cream, and peach pie. The weather was so beautiful we had the party in the back yard. She got spoiled with lots of great presents and was thrilled to get her very own rollerblades!

Let's title this one "Baptism Bling"

Our best friends the Finlaysons! Wow it's handy having them next door!

On November 6th August was baptized. It was such a wonderful day. When we went in for her bishop's interview Bishop Lords told August that I would be crying that day because all moms do. :) I remember thinking, "nah, I don't think I will." Well we were both sort of right. I didn't cry on the day of the baptism, but I cried almost everyday leading up to it for a week. I just felt in denial. My "baby" can't be eight ALREADY! Ugh. She just seems so mature lately, she's a great helper, and an awesome big sister. It doesn't help matters that she got her ears pierced for her birthday (after the soccer season), and we gave her new scriptures for her baptism. Aren't those grownup things for a tiny, little eight year old? :(

We had a lot of family come up for the baptism. My whole family made it and Brandon's sister Penny and two of her boys made the drive up as well. Then we had Brandon's aunt Debi and uncle Donnie, Grandpa and Peggy, Grandma King (GG), and Pam and Leon. It was so good to see everyone! Our awesome neighbors and the girls' best friends also came as well as Rhett, Karen and their boys. The weather was beautiful again, so the kids were able to play outside all afternoon.

After our little luncheon we all changed clothes and spiffed back up and drove to Ririe to get our Braegger family pictures taken. Leon, Pam, and Penny & boys met us there. It was a great setting and the pictures turned out great. I'm so glad Penny was there to help with all the kids! The last time we had professional (non-wedding) pictures was before any of us was married, over ten years ago! Sheesh...time flies when you're having fun, and getting married, and moving to Las Vegas, and having babies, and changing jobs, and buying minivans, and buying houses, and selling houses, and ...well, you get the idea. Hopefully it's not another ten years before our next photo shoot! When I figure out my scanner I'll have to post the old picture with the new one. In ten years we've added thirteen people to our family! Stay tuned for a post on our basement progress...

Fall Futbol

2010-11-03T07:44:00.000-07:00

We stayed busy with soccer this year. Both of the older girls played. This translates into two practices a week and two back to back games on Saturday mornings. That was a little stressful at times! (kind of glad we're done for this year.) I think both of the girls enjoyed it. August had a lot of her friends on the team and we had the same coach that we loved from last year. She is still pretty timid around the ball so we did a lot of yelling, "August run, go get the ball!"

Addison's team was fun to watch. She was one of only two girls on the team but that didn't stop her from scoring the first goal (and quite possibly the only goal) of the season. Addison's coach was great with them too. We also lucked out again this year with the weather. Fall soccer is always a gamble in Idaho but this year we had very mild conditions. :) (today it's snowing though...)

First Day of School

2010-11-02T15:39:00.000-07:00

I'm just trying to play catch up for a few posts so that I can print my blog book at Christmas and not have it be two pages long. :) This year August is in 2nd grade and her teacher is Ms. Staples. She really likes her teacher and her class this year. McKay, her best friend from next door, is in her class. The school sends out letters in the summer letting you know who your teacher is and McKay, having already received his, waited as we opened August's. Wow! It was like they had won the lottery. I absolutely love that they are friends. It will be sad when they each think the other one has cooties! When does that happen anyway?

Addison started kindergarten this year. I decided to send her in the morning, and it's working great. She does tell me on a regular basis how she hates getting up so early, but she's been a trooper about it. Her teacher is Mrs. Christensen and we love her too. Addison loves learning to read. She is my kid that has always loved books. As a toddler she would sit in her little rocking chair and look through books all afternoon. (oh why can't the twins be like that?) She is reading well already and asks her teacher for more books everyday.

This year I have been able to help out at the school more. My friend watches the twins for me on Wednesdays so I can help August's class with writing and then I take them with me on Fridays and help with Addie's class. It has been fun getting to know other moms and the girls' teachers better. I feel like I'm slowly getting my life back as the little girls mature. Hey, it's only been 3 years, not bad!

We are still working on the basement and it's coming along. I'm getting so excited! I'm sick of dusting upstairs everyday. Hopefully we can get it done in time for Christmas. (fingers crossed!) I'll try to post pictures of our progress soon.

Summer Catch Up

2010-08-29T21:25:00.000-07:00

Well, well...here we are less than 24 hours away from the beginning of the school year and still no summer post. Time flies when you're having fun, or chasing twin toddlers! (that can actually be fun sometimes) We actually had a great summer, much better than last year, with a lot of family adventures and fun times. Here are some that made our highlight reel. They include, but are not limited to: Brandon's BD, a visit to Grandma & Grandpa's (handcart rides included), Bear Lake and Lagoon. My parents also came for a visit on my birthday and brought my Grandma with them. She had never seen our home in Idaho Falls so it was fun to show her around and spend time with her. Of course I have no pictures of that...why do I even have a camera? My Mom came for 5 days a couple of weeks ago and we had so much fun starting quilts for the girls new bedroom. I think we hit every fabric store in town at least twice. We also ended our summer with a trip to Lava. (Also no pictures of this event, please someone e-mail me some!) My parents and every one of my siblings and their families were there, except Reese who was working. It was great weather and the kids loved it.

We also had many fun visits with Brandon's sisters this summer. We saw April twice, we got a 3-week surprise visit from Becka, and we saw Penny and her boys more this summer than probably the last 3 summers combined! :) Luckily they have posted great pics of their visits, because yeah I stink with remembering the camera. We have also enjoyed many backyard BBQs with Brandon's parents and grandma. They really do have a great backyard. The twins had their 2 1/2 year photo shoot with Papa and Nana and the pics look great as always!!

Now I just need to post about a few of the messes the twins have made for me this summer so I can make them feel sorry for me when they're older. I won't go into a lot of detail, I think a few key words should paint the picture nicely.

1. Red fingernail polish & carpet (really, need I say more?)

2. Broken lightbulb on bed (have you ever seen the pieces of a shattered lightbulb? teeny-tiny)

3. Chocolate pudding and a fan (I'm not making this stuff up!)

Well that's it for our summer. We're looking forward to fall and starting up with our schedules again. August is in 2nd grade this year and Addison is starting kindergarten. Crazy! Both older girls are in fall soccer and will start dance again next week. We are still working on finishing the basement. We're in the mudding and taping stage. We're getting there! Right now we're looking forward to the FAIR! Yahoo! Bring on the funnel cakes!

May Days!

2010-08-01T18:28:00.000-07:00

Isn't May just a crazy month when you have kids? Here are some pics of what we were up to. They include a dance recital, a visit from Aunt April, a preschool graduation, a field trip, another tooth lost, and a weekend retreat for our 10th anniversary, now just add some destructive duo episodes of smearing themselves with vaseline, then desitin for an encore, and completely obliterating five years of financial records on the computer and then you have some feel for life around our house! :) Hopefully I can play catch up and get our summer blogged before school starts. Let's be realistic here, probably not going to happen...

Avery & Aiden Update

2010-02-25T18:57:00.000-08:00

Okay, to satisfy the twin mother in me who cringes when I here "the twins" I will do a short individual update and then them together. I mean they are identical twins, they actually do have a lot in common. :)

Avery is very funny and pretty sensitive. She loves to say "Nnnnnnnno" dragging out the word like that when we ask her a question. Usually something like, are you ready to take a bath, go to bed, get in your car seat? She likes to make us laugh with her goofy faces and games. Avery is a great eater and she recently discovered she likes salad. She has preferences about which clothes she wears and which car seat she uses. Her favorite phrase is, "No, I don't want to!"

Aiden gets my attention by screaming "Mommy!" at me all day while hitting me for effect. I recently read that Aiden means fiery one or little fire, and she is living up to her name. Aiden tries to stop Brandon from going to work in the morning by blocking the door and she must give August a hug goodbye as she leaves for school or she's extremely distressed. Aiden gives the sweetest kisses and great big hugs.

Okay, now for the pair of them...they refer to each other as "Sissy." Isn't that the cutest? I absolutely love it. It's Sissy this, and Sissy that all day long. Aiden can actually say Avery's name...Avey is how it usually comes out, but Sissy is by far her favorite way to refer to her sis. They also have started tattling on one another and are constantly summoning Brandon and I to come check out the latest way their sister has outraged them. They love coloring, anything Elmo, watching Sesame Street & Caillou, and they could watch the movie Up all day long if I let them. They are starting to play really well together during the day. It's fun to catch them sitting side by side in their room holding their baby dolls. They are talking a lot now. They were a little slow getting started, but now they can always get their point across. Over Easter my mom gave them their first real haircuts. They had that baby hair mullet going on, so we took care of that. They look so grown up, like little girls, not babies anymore. At nap time they still curl up on my lap with their blankies to fall asleep. I love it! They are so much fun and I can't imagine our family without them. I'm posting pictures of their nighttime ritual...totally destroying their bedroom. I started tying the closet door shut and that seems to help. They just want to play all night, I don't blame them, being twins that share a room is like having a sleepover with your best friend every night. :)

Addison Update

2010-02-03T08:45:00.000-08:00

Addison turned 5 last month and is in preschool and dance lessons. She still loves to sit on her bed and look through books. She is very interested in reading and is pretty good at sounding out words and has some of the sight words figured out. She loves animals and said she'll be a veterinarian if she can take care of "nice" animals.

Last Saturday when I got out of the shower August informed me that she couldn't find Addison anywhere. Hmmm. We started yelling for her and looking in all her usual hiding places. In the meantime Brandon came home and Brooke came over. We sent August to the Finlaysons to see if she had gone over to play, and we kept looking everywhere else. Well, August came back crying saying that she wasn't there. At this point it had probably been 15 minutes of this. Brandon was heading out to cruise the neighborhood, and I looked behind the couch again. As I knelt on the couch I felt movement under the pillows and guess what...there was our sweet, adorable,severely in trouble, Addison! I wanted to kiss and spank her at the same time! The funniest thing was that August kept telling us the last place she saw Addie was on the couch. Well, that was accurate! Brandon made Addison apologize to August because she was really upset. While we were looking August kept walking through the house yelling (while sobbing), "Addison, please come out! You won't be in trouble." I can't believe she laid there so still and for so long, and that nothing we were saying compelled her to show herself! That's a good story to illustrate Addison's personality. She usually does what she wants, when she wants, regardless of the consequences! Sigh.

The other day Addison told me she wants to take guitar lessons. I think that would be cool, because I actually want to take lessons too! Maybe if I go to her lessons with her I can figure it out. She said that she won't complain about lessons like August always does. I thought that was funny. Does anyone know the right age for starting guitar lessons? Or a good teacher?

Addison's best friend is Anaya from next door. They are so funny together! They play dress up and like to make up songs and dances to perform for us.

Addie lost her first tooth on Sunday and that sort of blew our minds. Is she old enough for that to happen? Of course she is, but for some reason she is stuck in my mind at about 3 yrs. old. Nope, she'll start kindergarten in the fall. Yep, we're old!!

So long old friend!!!

2010-01-29T15:57:00.000-08:00

Today we said goodbye to a piece of furniture that has been a part of our home for the last 7 years. Our crib...that's right, our daredevil 2 yr. olds have consistently climbed out of their cribs all day today. (Our second crib was on loan, and is now heading back to Grandma's.) No naps today! If that isn't bad enough, I'm really nervous about bedtime. How is this going to work? I soooooo look forward to bedtime! Our other girls never attempted climbing out of the crib, and they were both older before transitioning to big girl beds. For the time being we're just going to let them sleep on their mattresses on the floor. When the basement gets finished they'll inherit the trundle bed from the older girls.

Update: I started writing this yesterday and last night was a little crazy. Initially they didn't want to stay in the beds, but we (when I say we I mean Brandon, I needed a break. Thanks Bran!) used Super Nanny's technique of not talking to them and sitting on the floor in their room until they fell asleep. That probably took about 10 minutes because they were so tired. Brandon works tonight so I'm flying solo. I hope I can do as well as he did! This morning we heard them wake up and start playing with their toys at 5:30am. I'm thinking I should start hiding the musical toys before they go to bed. :) Then there was a stretch of quiet and then Avery came into our room at 6:40. I went to check on Aiden and I found her asleep on Avery's bed...sort of. (refer to picture) Notice the state of their room, it was clean when they went to bed. Good thing they are so sweet because sheesh...change is hard on me. Talk about some major adjustments! My babies got rid of their binkies, turned 2, and started using big girl beds all within a couple of weeks. Sniff Sniff :(

P.S. I finally quit being lazy and found the cord for my new camera, hence pictures shall be coming in the future. I know some aunts that will be happy! :)

Update #2: Just got them to bed tonight by myself! 5 minutes flat!!! I love Super Nanny...and it didn't hurt that they were t-t-t-tired from getting up too early and not taking naps today, yet again. Oh well, I'll take what I can get!

Animoto.com

2010-01-27T12:39:00.001-08:00

August Update

2010-01-27T12:00:00.000-08:00

Instead of back-tracking too much I decided to spotlight each of the girls in the next few days...or weeks. We got a blog book for Christmas and now we'll be doing that every year. It's awesome and eases my guilty conscience concerning the documentation of my children's lives!
So basically this is for my posterity and anyone else this interests. :)

August turned 7 in October. Is it just me, or does 7 seem a lot older than 6? She is in 1st grade and loves it. She has never had her clip pulled (equivalent to having your name on the board) in her whole elementary school career. She likes to remind us of this on a regular basis. I'm a little concerned about what will happen when she does. Can you say perfectionist? She is mini-me I'm afraid, and I feel like my life has come full circle. The things she says I remember saying, and the things I say I remember my mom saying. Yikes! August is our little comedian. She has a pretty mature sense of humor. She likes to banter with Brandon when he teases her and she comes up with some pretty witty responses. At parent-teacher conference her teacher told us that she can always count on August to understand and laugh her jokes even when it goes over the other kids' heads. August still loves anything creative. She loves to design things and paint and color. We are trying to get our basement finished this year and on one of our trips to home depot we were checking out light fixtures. August spotted one and commented that she really liked that one because it had a lot of detail. I just agreed and tried not to laugh out loud. She totally caught me off guard with that one. What a character! We recently started chore charts with the older girls and August loves it. She's all about marking things off and getting credit where credit is due. She is still in dance lessons and I started teaching her piano lessons a couple of months ago. She is doing really well. I think it's more fun for me though. August is a great big sister and a big help to me. She is always giving us hugs and telling us she loves us. Just so people don't think this sounds too good to be true, I'll just say she contributes her fair share of drama to the Larsen home but we'll take it because the good far outweighs the bad! Love you Auggie!

Hooray for Hand-me-downs!!!

2009-11-05T13:31:00.000-08:00

There are some advantages to having our cousins a bit older than us...we get their toys when they outgrow them. Thanks Petersens for sharing with us! Addison seems to enjoy the four wheeler the most and Avery is probably a close second. August was in school during the video and Aiden was napping. We'll have to get a video of those two together tonight. (If Aiden is as brave as her sister!) Thanks again!

There is definitely some loud squeaking in the video, but if you listen closely you can also hear Avery's giggle!

Halloween Stress!

2009-11-01T10:54:00.000-08:00

Love this picture! Avery (ladybug) Aiden (pumpkin)

Living in a household of four little girls, Halloween really isn't that big of a deal. Everyday is a dress-up day of some sort. We usually don't stress that much about getting new costumes every year because their closets are already full of princess dresses, dance costumes, etc. Here's where the stress comes in though...between school, dance, pre-school, the trunk or treat (held on Friday not Saturday), and actual Halloween, I dressed up at least one kiddo five days in a row. Now, that's still not that bad, right? Well, you see when they don't have a set costume that leads to the changing of their cute little minds during the week. Oh joy! Good thing there is a lot of chocolate lying around during this time of year. I needed it this week! Good thing tomorrow is Monday and we can get back to our normal craziness, which is pretty much the same just with fewer bobby pins and less glitter. :) August was a princess the first 2 days of dress-up then shifted to Taylor Swift then to the more glammed up Taylor. Addison was consistently a ballerina during the week by made some major wardrobe changes, going from her dance clothes to August's old recital costume. Avery and Aiden only made one Halloween appearance as a cute ladybug and an adorable pumpkin.

Who doesn't love the fair?

2009-09-10T21:33:00.000-07:00

Yay! I love the changing of seasons! Isn't fall the greatest? I mean kids are back in school, the weather is more tolerable (we don't have A/C), and most importantly the Eastern Idaho State Fair is in full swing. Yahoo! We went this week on a weeknight. Definitely the way to go. The crowds were manageable, which is important when you're maneuvering a double stroller around. We do the same things year after year. But why change a good thing, right? We check out the amazing photography (yay Papa!), are blown away by the quilts and crafts, get STUFFED by yummy fair food, and finally pet all kinds of farm animals. (Don't worry, a good hand scrubbing is always part of our routine!)

Addison started preschool this week. She was so excited. I'm so happy for her. I didn't realize how hard it is to be the second child. It has been hard for her to watch August get big and try new things. I'm afraid Addie is not incredibly patient. Hmmm...wonder where she gets that?

Dance also started this week for the girls. Addison's best friend Anaya is in her class. They were dying of excitement on the way over there. What is cuter than two little girls all dressed up for the first day of dance lessons?

Soccer is in full swing. August is pretty timid on the field. She says she's afraid to hurt the other girls. I think Aunt Brooke needs to come over and run a training camp for her in the backyard. She likes her coach and the girls on her team and the game was entertaining, so that's what's most important, I guess.

Let's see, how do I describe Avery and Aiden these days? Let's just say staying one step ahead of them is becoming increasingly difficult. They climb onto the counters, open doors, and today Aiden learned how to get onto the changing table and slather herself with lotion. Now if she could just learn to change her own diaper while she's up there. :) Needless to say the house is full of gates, latches, and doorknob thingers. Wow, it's hard not to wish away this stage!

Back to School

2009-08-25T10:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was August's first day of FIRST GRADE! She seemed to do great. She ate chicken nuggets at lunch and enjoyed recess. That's about all the info she gave us. Aren't kids silly! I'm excited to be back on a schedule. All of our carpool arrangements are made and we're set for this new year. It shouldn't be as hard to load kids in and out all day now that Avery and Aiden are bigger. Addison starts preschool in a couple of weeks and they both start dance soon...so tune in for more pictures. August is also playing fall soccer and seems to like it so far. We'll see if that lasts when they're playing during some bad weather. :(

I finally tried out the "extreme coupon shopping" yesterday. (Thanks to my helpful sis-in-law...it's kind of confusing at first) I bought $90 worth of stuff for $32. Not bad for my first time. I can see how people get addicted to this!

Radioactive Mama

2009-08-08T18:20:00.000-07:00

Okay here is the story of my summer, and Brandon and the girls' a little more indirectly. I feel that I can now blog about it because I'm not smack dab in the middle of it. I'll try and make it short and sweet. I've had thyroid problems for years which causes me to take medication and get annual thyroid ultrasounds. This year it seems my little thyroid nodules decided to grow slightly, hence the need for a biopsy. Ouch. Not fun...it's just not natural to see someone coming at you with a needle...repeatedly! Biopsy showed basically nothing but they couldn't rule out cancer. Okay, that's helpful. My doctor felt like surgery was needed and we decided to just take the whole thyroid out. Yikes. I had my surgery on June 26th...again painful and unnatural. Isn't it a natural response to try and protect your neck against sharp objects? They actually did find a tiny cancerous mass, so I'm so glad I had the surgery. Ooh...I forgot the most pleasant little tidbit of this whole process -"The Low-Iodine Diet." (spoken with a creepy low voice) I started the diet before surgery and remained on it for 8 weeks. What is the Low-Iodine Diet you ask? The most horrific, torturous diet ever. In my humble opinion. It's a way to starve your body of iodine because the next part of this fun summer is receiving radioactive iodine to kill any remaining thyroid cells left in the body. We'll get to that next. I'm still not done complaining about the diet yet. I couldn't have any dairy, egg yolks, chocolate, anything with red dye (bye-bye Cinnamon Bears and Red Vines! ), basically anything with salt in the ingredients because you don't know if it was iodized salt or not! Ask me when I'll ever eat a corn tortilla or a fruit smoothie again. Ugh! Gross! It took me 7 weeks to get my levels low enough for treatment. That means I had to be tested twice. How do they tell your iodine levels you ask. Good question. With a 24-hour urine test. Yes, that's correct...collect your pee for 24 hours and store the big pee jug in your fridge! April and I are sure my kids' primary teachers probably heard all about that one. Can you just imagine that conversation? This Wednesday I received my radioactive iodine treatment at the hospital in the Nuclear Medicine area. It was pretty easy...I just had to take these two tiny pills. The catch is that I couldn't be around anyone for 2 days and pregnant women and children for 4 days. The girls are all in Utah with the fam and we're going to pick them up TOMORROW. Yay! The treatment made me tired and a little weak, but that's all. I actually started my thyroid meds again today...finally. I hope that I can feel like myself again soon. One of the side effects of everything is my manly voice. My vocal chords haven't healed yet from surgery so when I answer my phone people always think I've been crying or that I've been sleeping. Nope, just don't have a voice. Oh well, if that's the extent of the fallout I'm good with that. I want to thank our awesome families for taking such good care of us this summer. You've helped so much with the girls and we appreciate it tons. Hopefully we're done with the drama for awhile. Great, just jinxed myself! If anyone ever has this problem...I'm your girl. Give me a call and we can chat.

A Week in Review

2009-07-19T16:10:00.000-07:00

What a week! We have had a lot of fun hanging out with family and friends. Brandon got tickets to the midnight showing of Harry Potter on Tuesday night. He and August went with Leon and Brandon's cousin Jared. Yes, August liked the movie and did stay awake. We had her take a power nap beforehand which helped I'm sure. Then Brandon went golfing with a client (18 holes) on Wednesday after having 3 hours of sleep. He didn't care though. He likes golfing and RARELY (the annual Bear Lake outing) gets to go. On Thursday night we met Brandon's sis, Penny, and her family up at Palisades where they were camping. We didn't get to stay for long but it was a lot of fun. The kids ate hot dogs, and we all ate some yummy, "better than anything" cake. I had never been to Palisades and it is really beautiful. Thanks to the Petersens for the invite! Friday was my birthday and my mom came up for the weekend. Thanks Mom! We had dinner at Olive Garden and then were surprised by my Dad staying over that night. He came to deliver a load in Driggs for Luke on Saturday morning so he stayed the night and part of Saturday. Brandon went golfing (another 18 holes) on Saturday morning with his friend Rhett and cousins Cory and Jared. What are the odds...twice in one week! I thought it was MY birthday! :) On Saturday our great friends from Utah stopped by for a visit on their way to Yellowstone. It was awesome to see the Andersons and to meet Kami's boyfriend Kyle. In the afternoon Brandon watched the girls while Brooke, my Mom, and I went shopping and had a little girl time. Then my cousin Christalee and her kids stopped by for a visit. They have been in Utah visiting family and now they're vacationing in Yellowstone before they go back home to Minnesota. Sheesh...a lot of visitors huh! On Saturday afternoon our awesome neighbors took the big girls to Rigby Lake, the Rexburg splash park, and out to pizza. Thank you Finlaysons! The girls had a blast. Today we finished the week off with a BBQ at Pam and Leon's with birthday cake and ice cream. Whew! Can a person ever have TOO MUCH fun? Nah, don't think so.

I almost forgot to blog the most glorious event to happen to our family in the last 18 months! Our precious toddler daughters are now in NURSERY, and they love it...and so do we! Yes! We made it. I feel like shouting it from the rooftops... "Here we come sunday school, relief society, priesthood lessons. We're ready to learn again!"

Our Jackson Hole Retreat!

2009-06-04T22:17:00.000-07:00

Brandon and I celebrated our 9th anniversary in May. Whoa! A lot has happened in nine years, huh. (namely, having 4 kids!) Brandon won a three night stay in Jackson a while back and we finally decided to use it to celebrate the occasion. The last time we went away together was when August was a year old and we went to Florida for work. (and just as a side note, the Florida trip was about 10% fun-90% not fun at all...Huh Kam!) We had a really great, relaxing time this trip though. Before I forget I must thank our team of nannies (or manny in Reese's case!) my Mom, Brooke, and Reese made our vacation possible. Thanks team...we really appreciate you! We stayed in a great condo close to Teton Village. We went to Yellowstone on our first day. It's still an amazing place to visit. We went to Teton Village and rode the new aerial tram. It was a lot of fun! We got to watch some para gliders jump off the side of the mountain. I even got to read a new book! (The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins...I'd highly recommend it!) We had fun but it was great coming home too. The girls were so happy to see us and Avery and Aiden showered us with kisses!

Entertained...

2009-05-08T18:56:00.000-07:00

Isn't it funny what can keep kids entertained for hours!! Actually adults too, I guess. I watched my kids do all of this and I too was thoroughly entertained.

Hula Hooping: August has some sort of chicken-dance technique going on, but hey whatever works.

Cleaning like Mommy: this is a favorite because they can play peekaboo with each other and see themselves in the mirror.

Standing on bags of diapers: I really don't know how this one came about, but I'm all for getting my money's worth out of diapers! Notice how Avery went back to get her camera too.

Playing dress-up and posing for the camera: this is Addison and her best friend, Anaya

Oh the horror!!!

2009-04-26T13:59:00.000-07:00

This is what we woke up to this morning, April 26th! Why do I continue to be shocked and horrified by the weather? This is eastern Idaho...it snows in spring. It's just a fact. I still have vivid memories of our Ricks graduation(not BYU-I, I'm old I know). We were all lined up outside in caps and gowns, covered in snow. Yahoo! What an appropriate send-off from good old Rexburg, don't ya think. It's just so annoying that yesterday was gorgeous outside. Brandon mowed the lawn, we went for a walk, the kids played outside, and then when our guard was down...Wham! A blizzard. Okay, so I'm exaggerating a tad...the only reason I can really even talk about this rationally is because all the snow has already melted. Hallelujah!

Here are Aiden & Avery doing their new favorite thing. Brushing teeth.

Catch up!

2009-04-19T16:14:00.000-07:00

Well, we took a little Internet break for the past few months...and now we're back. A lot has happened! Aiden and Avery are into EVERYTHING! They love to pick through the garbage and dump things onto the floor. They just follow each other around all day wreaking havoc on our poor house! I was really proud of myself for making it through the baby (breastfeeding) stage with twins, but I'm learning the fun is just beginning!!! They are not quiet, little babies at church anymore. They scream and cry and run. Last week Aiden tried out her new eardrum rupturing scream in the middle of sacrament meeting. The bishop actually paused for a second at the pulpit so that people would be able to hear him. They are pretty funny though and we adore them. They had their 15 month checkup on Friday and they are doing great. They play pretty well together, but the occasional wrestling match over toys does occur. They love bath time and think it's hilarious to run away from us while we're trying to get their jammies on. August is still loving kindergarten and she just lost her first tooth. She says the funniest things. I really think she could be a comedian...her timing is perfect. Addison loves playing outside and loves all animals. She's finally started riding her bike around the driveway and she loves it. The weather is finally springlike around here and so we've enjoyed going to the park and playing in the back yard. Easter was a lot of fun. Brandon's sis April surprised us with a visit. We had an egg hunt, a trip to Bear World, a yummy Easter dinner and a lot of crafts and projects crammed into the weekend. A good time was had by all!

Birthday Mania!

2009-01-18T17:48:00.000-08:00

We have three of our four girls birthdays within five days in January. I wouldn't recommend it. For starters you have the whole Christmas hangover going on and then wham...Birthday Mania!!! Addison turned four this year. That's crazy!!! August turned four when we first moved to Idaho. Where has the time gone? She had a great party with a cake frosted orange and pink, just like she ordered. (Thanks Grandma and Aunt Brooke.) She is so excited to be four. She's a "big girl" now! The babies turned one on the 17th. Can I call them babies still? Well, they're MY BABIES. Avery & Aiden loved their cake, but didn't quite understand the present thing. This year has gone by so fast. It's all just a blur really. We have learned so much this year. We feel so blessed to have our four,beautiful, healthy, little girls. I think Brandon and I have learned to appreciate each other even more. Our life is very structured and scheduled (out of necessity) and it takes both of us to keep things running smoothly. My mom was here all week to hit both birthdays and she helped Brooke and I arranged furniture and hang pictures. It was a lot of fun...thanks for being the shuttle, Dad. Brandon's parents just got back last night from Arizona so we're over here visiting. They brought lots of grapefruit and lemons back...yum! Thanks for all the presents and cards everyone, and I'm sorry I had three kids so close together right after Christmas!

Random pics

2008-12-30T14:03:00.001-08:00

These are just some pictures from the last couple of months. I'm hoping this will buy me some time before my Christmas post.

I love Christmas!

2008-12-24T09:32:00.000-08:00

Well I hope we're ready for Christmas because here it is. Ah! Last weekend we went to Utah for a family Christmas party. It was a quick trip (in between snow storms) we figured we were only there for about 20 hours! It was worth it though. Every year we have a Christmas party with my mom's family. We've been doing it for as long as I can remember. We eat yummy food (of course), play bunco, and decorate gingerbread cookies. This year I think we had more babies than adults. The Wyoming and Colorado fams weren't there so we were few in number, but we still had a good time. My dad's family has a caroling party every year on the Sunday before Christmas which is also an awesome tradition. August has only gone once or twice when she was pretty little and she still talks about it. We couldn't make it this year because of the storms but maybe next year.

Tonight we are having a Christmas Eve dinner at Brandon's parents' house and then tomorrow morning we are going to Grandpa Larsen's for Christmas breakfast. All of Brandon's sisters (except Robyn who is in Korea-love you, Merry Christmas!) will be here this week some time. I really love this time of year so that we can reconnect with our family. Isn't that what it's all about?

Here is my new favorite picture of the babies, doing their new favorite thing...emptying drawers! Don't they look so proud of themselves.

We're back!

2008-12-16T14:22:00.000-08:00

Wow...it's been awhile! I guess my blog is a pretty accurate respresentation of my life. A lot of other things are being neglected in my life as well...ie: laundry, dishes, Brandon! :)

Instead of trying to catch up I'm going to start afresh with renewed determination to make this the best blog ever! (or at least a mediocre attempt to stay in contact with the few friends I have left)

August is as hilarious as ever! Today she added singer to her list of "what she wants to be when she grows up." The list also includes: moviemaker, author, and mom. She is extremely creative and writes and illustrates her own books. She wrote one titled, "Flowers" and took it to school for show and tell. Her teacher Mrs. Austin read it to the whole class (bless her heart) and August loved every minute of it. We've learned not to throw anything away around here. August can quite literally turn trash into treasure. Her book was written on some of our extra wedding invitations from 8 years ago.

Addie had her Christmas Dance Party today. They did their Christmas dances for us, Santa came and surprised them, and then we had some goodies. August was at school, Brandon at work, and Brooke babysat the babies for me so it was just Addie and I. She was funny during her dances. She would dance along, then stare at some of the other parents, pull some funny faces, and then do it all over again. When Santa came she looked shocked and confused, not necessarily happy. She told him she wanted a candy cane and a doll for Christmas...huh? She's been telling us for weeks she wants a bike and a Kung Fu Panda movie.
This was our ensuing conversation:

Me: Why didn't you tell Santa what you really want?
Addie: He wasn't the real Santa, so he doesn't have magic.
Me: Why do you think he wasn't the real Santa?
Addie: Because I saw his skin and it was different.

I don't know if she was talking about his beard, or what. At this point I'm just trying not to laugh my head off. After some more discussion I said that it was probably just one of Santa's helpers dressed up to make the girls happy. To which Addie replied: "but I wasn't happy, it wasn't the real Santa." HILARIOUS!!! She wasn't going to waste her real Christmas list on an impostor.

Avery & Aiden are getting so big! They each have 5 teeth and will be 11 months old tomorrow! They are very close to walking. Yikes! When I lay them down for their naps they stay up playing and laughing for about 20 minutes. I like to watch them from the hallway without them knowing I'm there. It's so cute. They like to touch hands through their cribs and they also swap binkies that way too. When I'm feeding them in their high chairs they like to hold hands sometimes. Precious. I don't want them to grow up! Sigh. Sniff Sniff.

Brandon is really liking his new job. He started about a month ago working at a local TV station. He still sells ad time but now on TV instead of radio. He liked his other job too, but this will be better for our family. It's hard for him to jump ship because he's so loyal and he'll miss all the friends he made, but we're really glad we took this opportunity.

I love staying home with the girls. It is so challenging some days, but extremely worth it! I'm basically behind on every aspect of keeping our home, but my kids are clean and fed and happy (with one 3-year-old exception that apparently can sniff out fake Santas).

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-30T20:22:00.000-07:00

Tonight was our ward's trunk or treat. Avery is sick...are they always sick? She is croupy and Aiden is acting like she will soon follow. Brandon took the big girls and I stayed home with the sickies. The girls also got to dress up in their costumes for dance lessons yesterday and then August dressed up for school today. They have had a blast. Addison especially loves the makeup and will do almost anything for glitter! She's such a girly-girl! If you can't tell they were Hannah Montana and a ballerina-princess-fairy (you get the idea, someone cute and sparkly...every 3-year-olds' dream, right?) This week has gone pretty good, considering. Brooke is gone, need I say more? Actually I'm just a big complainer, we're doing great. (minus the croup issue) August and Addison are really great with the babies and that helps me a lot. I put the pack n' play up so that I can have a quick shower if the babies aren't napping together. It's crazy that they're crawling...it really changes everything.

Anyone have any advice about croup? I don't think my other girls ever had it. Do the steroids really help a lot? Can they just get over it if it's mild enough? I see a doctor appointment in my future!

I hope everyone is doing well. Stay healthy! Happy Birthday Dad!! Love You!

2008-10-28T10:32:00.001-07:00

The Stomach Flu, Two Crawlers, & A Wedding

2008-10-27T16:36:00.000-07:00

We just got back home last night from my sister's Wedding Weekend Extravaganza! I thought I'd be relieved to have all the excitement behind us, but I'm actually having some post-wedding blues. We've had a couple of crazy weeks (actually months) around here. We've had a lot of wedding planning and many trips to Utah. The week before the wedding August got sick. I spent most of my time cleaning up throw-up (sorry, tmi) and doing laundry. I guess it was actually Avery who got us started with the throwing up, etc. I was feeling pretty lucky that Aiden & Addison had avoided it...until Addison started throwing up on Thursday night. We were already at my parents' house so they were a big help. My mom stayed up with her almost all night. Thanks!!

The wedding was Saturday at the Salt Lake Temple. The weather was gorgeous. We took all the kids and we had to leave Willard by 8:15 am. I was feeling so good about everything that morning because I had everything laid out and packed the night before. It takes a lot of planning to get 4 girls up and fed and beautified by 8:15! Then disaster struck! I couldn't find my recommend! Do you know why? It was in Idaho, in my closet, in my temple bag! Now, I am not really new to this predicament. I did the exact same thing when my brother got married. Only then my recommend was in Las Vegas, in my closet, in my temple bag. Brandon thinks this whole scenario is hilarious because I usually am so organized and I hate asking people for help. To add to the excitement of this long story...my bishop was in the hospital after just having surgery. Luckily they didn't even need to call him at the temple, they just look you up on the computer and give you a temporary paper to get in the temple. Actually they have a whole little office just for this situation and I even had to wait in line. That makes me feel a little less stupid.

The day was so fun. Everyone kept commenting on how good the babies were. They really were. It was a long day and we didn't stick to their schedule at all. All the grandkids looked so adorable at the reception. My nephew Tyson and Addison were especially cute. They held hands and danced all night. Tyson said that Addie was his princess. August was really into the whole marriage idea and had many, many one liners. At one point she asked Brooke if it felt good to be Brooke Evans? When Brooke & Reese left the reception August yelled, "goodbye Uncle Reese!" When we laughed she said, "well he is."

August had a hard time letting Brooke leave my parents' house that night. She just held onto her and sobbed. We all cried a little. It's good to be home after a long weekend away, but I keep finding reminders of Brooke everywhere. It's going to be an adjustment having her gone. We had so much fun this last year.

After the reception we were all sitting around talking and my mom asked where my dad was. She thought he definitely couldn't be in bed because the bed was covered with everything and anything you could think of. (a wedding dress included!) She came out of her room laughing and made us come look, he was so tired he just crawled under the covers under all the other stuff too. (refer to pictures!)

Did I mention that both babies are crawling now. It is so cute to see them crawling side by side. People always ask me if I can tell them apart and if they have different personalities. The answer is yes, I can tell them apart. It took about 4months though. They are identical and hence look very similar. Second question, yes, they have different personalities. Aiden is a little more reserved, she likes to observe a situation for awhile before jumping in. She is a great eater. She has 3 teeth and babbles more than Avery. Avery is a picky eater. She weighed 1/2 pound less than Aiden at the 9 month appointment. Avery has 2 teeth and is always on the go. She warms up easily and is very free with her laughs and smiles.

We're looking forward to Halloween this week and our first Parent Teacher Conference!

Uh Oh!

2008-10-06T07:17:00.000-07:00

Oops, I've been neglecting my blog. Let's just do a quick run down: We went to Utah last weekend for Brooke's bridal shower and stopped in Tremonton on the way down to wish my brother Shelby a happy birthday. (His 30th...welcome to the club Shelb!) The shower was a lot of fun. My parents have 6 granddaughters and our cousins also have a lot of little girls, so there were cute little girls running around all over. Brooke got a lot of great gifts and it was fun to see everyone and to meet Reese's mom and grandma. Back at home I had an activity days activity on Tuesday. (one of my favorite callings by the way) We decorated cupcakes and talked about talents, how we're all different-just like the cupcakes we decorated. (thanks sugardoodle!) The girls in my group are precious. They are so cute and helpful! On Thursday we had a friend birthday party for August. It was great weather here so we did everything outside. I think everyone had fun. We just did the usual: games, presents, etc. We did let them decorate their own cupcakes. We had a lot of cupcakes and sprinkles around here this week. :) On Friday my parents came for the weekend. It's awesome how August's birthday usually falls on Conference Weekend. Right before they came I blew up our microwave by cooking (burning) popcorn for about 5 minutes. They were greeted at the door by the nasty odor. Before you judge me-I do know how to make microwave popcorn...actually it's a staple around here. The number panel has been broken for some time so it's a mystery as to what cooking time you actually picked. Ooops I think I pushed 5 instead of 2. I'm glad I did that while they were here because they felt bad for me and bought us a new microwave. Wow, it's getting expensive for them to come visit! Okay...I'm running out of time: conference was great, August's family party was Saturday-Penny & fam and Becka were up, and April & Robyn were here via Skype. Whew! Okay I'll try to get some pictures up later!

You're gonna miss this...

2008-09-12T14:52:00.000-07:00

Have you heard the country song by Trace Adkins titled YOU'RE GONNA MISS THIS? This has been my theme song since I heard it. "What's that...you're tired of nursing babies 10 times a day-well you know you're gonna miss this someday, babies do grow up. Come again...you just cleaned the living room 2 minutes ago and it's already filled back up with the same toys you just put away...that's right you're gonna miss this too someday." It's hard to not wish away this crazy, demanding, out of control time of our lives so every once in a while I remind myself that I really am going to miss this. Or am I? It's hard to think that I'll ever miss baby food splatters on all my clothes, changing 16 diapers a day, loading and unloading the dishwasher non-stop, etc. But I know that it's the baby giggles, the kids' artwork just for me, FHE lessons taught by a 3 year old, and little girl hugs and kisses that I'll really miss. And who knows maybe cleaning my house and having it stay clean will even become boring eventually...Nah, I don't think so! So to all you awesome Moms out there going through this stage with me...hang in there, enjoy this time, it won't last forever! :( And to you moms who made it through this stage I salute you! Yahoo, great job, you made it! And could you just reassure me...do you really miss this? :)

Live-In Nanny/Housekeeper Wanted!!!

2008-08-24T16:30:00.000-07:00

It's official, my sister is engaged! We are so happy for them. I'm especially glad she found her future husband up here in Idaho while helping my family, then I don't feel so guilty. At least she got something out of it, right? I'm also glad that she'll still be living close, at least for a little while. I can't tell you how much I appreciate her and all she has done for me. She moved in with us when I was 5 months pregnant. She has done laundry, cleaned bathrooms, wiped bums, changed diapers, bought groceries, shuttled kids to school and dance, made dinners, fed babies, scrubbed floors, changed sheets, wiped noses, and on and on and on. She also stayed with me during the 10 long days in the hospital when the babies had RSV. She was there almost every day and a few nights too. She made the time there bearable and even humorous sometimes. Without her there I would have gone crazy. She also was one of my three breast-feeding assistants. :) Nursing twins can be tricky and it took 2 of us to get them fed and burped every feeding. She made middle of the night feedings fun. We would get laughing so hard (everything is funny at 3 AM)! We talked about all of our LOST theories and about our inventions that were going to make us rich. (baby armor) Looking back, how did she even have time to date? The other interesting tidbit is that she has done all this while living in our unfinished basement. A little Cinderellaesque don't you think? Hmmm. Does that make me the evil stepmother? Anyway, thank you Brooke for helping us so much. I don't know what we would have done without you. You're the best and we love you so much. We love Reese too, and know that you will be so happy together!

First Day of Kindergarten

2008-08-21T18:56:00.000-07:00

Yep! Today was August's first day of kindergarten. She did great! She did have to give me a few extra hugs as I dropped her off (which I needed by the way). I actually held it together...no tears from either of us. (Probably because I cried them all out last night! LOL) As she was eating breakfast I overheard her talking to herself and giving herself a little pep talk. She said, "Okay, I'm going to remember that I believe in Jesus and I'm going to listen to everything my teacher, Mrs. Austin, tells me." Isn't that the cutest?!

The babies are already 7 months old. They are so funny. It's fun to see their different personalities coming out. The both have 2 teeth, they sit up, and can somehow maneuver themselves around to their toys: they pivet, scoot, whatever it takes.

Grandma's Book Review: 5 STARS!!

2008-07-23T15:03:00.000-07:00

The babies had their 6 month checkup yesterday. The doc says they are doing great! Aiden weighed in at 15-15 and Avery 15-7. August and Addison weighed about that at 4 months! Oh well, they are growing that's the important thing. I think them being premature has made me obsessed with their weight. I find it a compliment when people call them chubby because I know how they started out...teeny tiny. Aiden also got her first tooth on Sunday. They are eating cereal and loving it. That brings me to my birthday and some presents I received.

My birthday was last week. Two weeks ago I was at my in-laws after a rather intense afternoon with the girls. The babies can't sit up yet, but they want to be entertained all of the time. We had been looking at bouncers, exersaucers, etc., but I hadn't bought any. Anyway I was saying how I really needed something to entertain them and pronto. They then decided to give me my present early...two, beautiful, life-saving exersaucers! They were the exact ones I wanted! I wanted to cry. My sanity was given back to me in the shape of two big baby toys. Thanks again Pam & Leon!

My mom came for a few days around my birthday and all 7 of us girls had a great time together. She bought me a second high-chair to round out what's become feeding station #2. (Feeding station #1 is the recliner in my room where I usually nurse the babies for what feels like 90 percent of the day!) So basically I got a lot of stuff for the babies but it makes my life so much easier. The night of my birthday my mom babysat and Brandon & I went out, like on a date. Do I need to repeat that...A DATE! As horrible as this sounds it's true... I can't remember the last time we went out, just the two of us. We had a great time. We ate at Johnny Carino's (yum) and then went and saw Indiana Jones (and it wasn't even at the cheap theater!) Thanks for the visit mom...we didn't want you to leave!

August and Addison had swimming lessons this month. They finished up while my mom was here so she was able to hang out at the pool with me and watch. The girls really enjoyed lessons and looked forward to them everyday. No olympic swimmers yet, but boy can they play a mean game of "Fishy in the Basket!" They both had "boy" teachers and they loved it. They guys were so cute with them. (Brennan & Addison-August & Sam)

I just finished reading my Grandma's life history. She is so amazing. She has always kept journals and has written a few books. She wrote her history, had it bound, and then gave one to all her family members. Brooke and I have enjoyed reading a lot of it together -it is so entertaining. It has been so fun to look back on her wonderful life (so far) and remember how great my childhood was with her. She lived just around the block from us and we would see her pretty much everyday. Not only is she wonderful beyond description, she is also hilarious. We love how she named sections of the book with crazy headings, trying to incorporate all that happened in that section. Here are a few examples: "MINERAL OIL AND A MELODRAMA", "A SNOW FORT & SCHOOL LUNCH", "WAYNE'S WAFFLES & LOTS OF KIDS." To all you family members out there that haven't read it yet...I give it 5 stars. It's a great read...you'll laugh, you'll cry, it has something for everyone. I love you Grandma, you're truly one of a kind!!!

4th of July

2008-07-10T14:42:00.001-07:00

We had a great 4th of July this year. It's my favorite holiday! We went to Brandon's Aunt Debi's the night of the 3rd and had hot dogs, smores, and watched fireworks. Some families in their neighborhood put on a great fireworks show. It was awesome! I didn't think the babies would last until the fireworks, but they did and they weren't scared of the noise or lights. Good babies!
The next morning Brandon took the girls with him to the parade. He had to drive the Arrow van along the parade route before it started and hand out flyers. The girls waved flags out the window and had a blast. After the parade we had a BBQ at Pam and Leon's. Lots of good food and good company. Brooke came too because Reese was working. The yard at the new house is just awesome. Lots of shade and space for the kids to play. All the cousins played great together. August, Austin, and Addie were pretty much inseparable. Becka and her friend Lisa had crafts for the kids to do and that was a big hit. They made cute, festive, visors.

I opted to stay home with the babies and not go to the BIG fireworks that night down at the river. Brandon said they were awesome as usual. If you've never experienced an Idaho Falls fireworks show you're missing out. They do them by the river and they reflect in the water. I could hear them...and we live across town! We had a great time with Brandon's sisters too. It's fun getting together and seeing everyone. Thanks for a great holiday everyone! I especially appreciate all the help with the girls.

KooKoo for Kookaburra

2008-07-04T20:29:00.000-07:00

I have always loved licorice. I always have a package of Red vines handy. My little sis introduced me to this new treat and I'm hooked. It's called Kookaburra Liquorice and it is soft, chewy, and Yummy!

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-07-04T17:15:00.001-07:00

The Vernon Reunion

2008-07-02T15:51:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went to Utah for a family reunion. What an adventure. On the way down we had to stop at Fort Hall to change a poopy blowout diaper. Real classy...we were in the casino parking lot changing diapers on the floor of the van. Then we stopped at the Malad Pass rest area to feed the babies in the van. Oh my goodness. I didn't think we'd ever get to my parents' house. The reunion was on Saturday in Hoytsville. It was a fun day. Brandon had never met that side of my family or experienced the Coalville/Hoytsville area in all its glory. We got to see adorable baby Eli for the first time, and all my cousins and their kids that we haven't seen for awhile. My siblings and I contributed 4 new babies to the family in the last 7 months, anyone that was baby hungry probably wasn't by the time the day was over. No, actually they are all really good babies. We came home Sunday afternoon and this time the babies slept the entire way. Yeah!

My Aunt Debbie from Denver came over for the reunion and then she is staying for the 4th at my parents' for a good old fashioned Willard Celebration! My mom, Debbie, and my cousin Cody came to visit yesterday. When Brandon got home from work we went down to the river. We ate Scotty's burgers and fries and then walked along the greenbelt and attempted to feed the ducks. I think they were already full, because they weren't interested in our bread.

This year we're spending the 4th here in Idaho. Three of Brandon's sisters will be here, and we don't get to see them much so we're looking forward to catching up. We'll miss you April! Just think, when you come to visit you'll get the girls all to yourself!

Happy 30th Birthday Brandon!!!

2008-06-17T20:41:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been awhile...I need to play catch up. A couple of weeks ago August got a haircut. She had been complaining about her hair always being snarly. She wanted it really short, but I chickened out. She did end up getting 5 inches cut off though. It was kind of a traumatic experience. (for me, not August!) She rarely keeps her eyes open for pictures so I feel pretty good about those two.

Brandon turned 30 on Friday the 13th, how appropriate huh! Pam & Leon, Grandpa & Peggy, and Grandma came over and we grilled some burgers. Brandon's parents gave him a trampoline. I told him I want to see him on it every day! Actually it's been more of a present for me. The girls are out there all day. It's the kind with the net around it and it is great for the girls and their neighborhood friends. Today Brandon was jumping with the girls and doing flips and my camera batteries died!!! Stay tuned...I promise to get a video of that on the blog.

The babies are 5 months old today. CRAZY! Time is flying! Tonight I took them for a walk and they screamed the entire time. I stopped at my friend's house and she helped me calm them down while we visited and then I put them back in the stroller for the walk home and they screamed the entire way back. I was thinking it would be nice to get out of the house and get some fresh air...well that was counter-productive. Anything but relaxing! I'll just keep trying though. They are such happy little babies, that's the weird part. They rarely cry and never scream like that. They just HATE the stroller...great! Are your necks kinked yet? I don't know what happened with these pictures...but something went terribly wrong! Sorry! Any assistance with this situation would be greatly appreciated. Avery left, Aiden right

I just had to add this last part. I think I'm getting old because I find myself talking about the weather all of the time. Sorry, but just indulge me... these pictures were taken on JUNE 11th! The middle picture shows my flowers I had just planted. AARGH!

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-06-01T18:42:00.001-07:00

2008-05-31T17:45:00.000-07:00

Stroller Fun

2008-05-31T13:52:00.000-07:00

Yeah! We got our new stroller yesterday. Isn't it funny what excites a person! I am really excited about it. (hence the pictures of it in our kitchen, I couldn't wait for a test drive!) Today we took the girls to the park and the second we put the babies in the stroller they started screaming their heads off! We were close to loading everyone back up and heading home, luckily we got things under control and had a fun time. The babies fell asleep so that was nice.

Let me just tell you about this twin thing though. I feel like I'm a first-time mom. We had to pack half the house just to drive across town. Most of the time I look at the babies and think, "wow, how lucky am I- TWO cute, adorable, little babies"...the rest of the time I think, "what did I do to deserve this?" Just kidding, but the words overwhelming & intense have been coming up quite a bit these days!! :) It definitely has been an adjustment, but we wouldn't have it any other way.

August is learning to ride her bike without training wheels. I hope I can get the video on the blog...it's pretty funny. That's me laughing like a hyena in the background. It was funnier up close watching Brandon zig zag behind her so she wouldn't crash. Too Cute!

We hope everyone is doing well. We're on baby watch for Shelby & Lynette. We can't wait to hear guys...good luck on Monday, you're in our prayers. My guess is girl- 8 lbs. 8 oz. What does the winner get? Dinner at Maddox!? :)

Preschool Graduation

2008-05-29T16:11:00.000-07:00

Well, last week brought a dance recital, preschool graduation, and a great memorial day weekend. August's preschool graduation was fun. They sang 17 songs (all about 20 seconds long, thank goodness!) and received their "diplomas." It was pretty cute. Afterwards we had Pam & Leon over for a "pizza party." That's what August kept calling it. It really wasn't much of a party, but we did eat pizza. :) Brandon's sisters Penny and Rebecca came with the kids over the long weekend so we were able to visit with them. We had dinner at Brandon's parents' house on Sunday afternoon all together. The kids had fun playing and us grownups just passed the babies around all afternoon. On Monday we worked in the yard and got our flowers planted. I love doing stuff like that. During the week Brooke and I deep cleaned the girls' bedroom and moved furniture. Man, I love cleaning and organizing!! It was a good week. The babies are getting big...they smile and giggle a lot. They still don't sleep through the night-big sigh...but they are going for longer stretches. Not much going on this week. Brooke went to Utah with her boyfriend for a few days, so I'm flying solo. Yikes! Actually all of the girls (all four) have been on their best behavior...luckily. I've been looking forward to tonight all week...Lost season finale! Yahoo! :)

4 Months

2008-05-22T12:14:00.000-07:00

We've had a fun week. August had her dance recital last night. We took up a whole row in the auditorium. We had Pam, Leon, GG, Reese, Brooke, my Mom, and our whole brood (babies included.) August had so much fun and did great! The babies had their 4 month checkup and both weigh over 12 pounds! They are smiling and giggling all of the time. The weather has been wonderful lately so August and Addison have been playing outside all day. We have awesome neighbors with kids their same age and they all play great together. My mom came yesterday for the recital and is going home today. We've had fun shopping and watching home movies. Tomorrow is August's preschool graduation. I'm really going to have a hard time when she starts school in the fall. Ugh! I got emotional at the dance recital...partly because I was reliving my childhood and partly because I can't believe I have a 5 year old daughter. G-G is back in Idaho Falls for the summer and we are so excited to spend time with her. We are so excited for summer...swimming lessons, 4th of July, family reunions, and Bear Lake! Yeah! I still need to find my double stroller, the more I research the more confused I get about which one I want.

3 Months (Avery happy, Aiden mad)

2008-05-03T09:21:00.000-07:00

The babies have made it passed their 3 month mark. We celebrated by having a photo shoot at Papa and Nana's. They took some awesome pictures! (as usual!) All the girls did really well. Avery was a little sleepy and mad at the end but for the most part they were angels. The babies are getting blessed tomorrow. Penny, Jason and the boys are already here for the weekend and stopped by last night with Pam and Leon. All the boys got to hold the babies and play with the girls. August and Austin played especially well together. I think August made Austin dance with her. She is obsessed with Dancing with the Stars, so she probably made Austin pretend to be Derek. :) My fam gets here this afternoon so we're looking forward to a fun day tomorrow with the whole family!

Idaho...we still love you! (I guess)

2008-05-01T14:40:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to let our friends and family in Las Vegas and Arizona know what they are missing. That's right...this is what we woke up to this morning! MAY 1st!! Aren't you jealous? I'm sure glad we waited for spring to bless the babies! LOL

Our First Road Trip!

2008-04-16T19:22:00.000-07:00

Well, we've had a fun few weeks. We have had a lot of visitors and our first road trip as a family of six! A few weeks ago (I think, I've kind of lost track of time-everyday feels the same!) Brandon's sister Rebecca came to visit and she brought our nephew Bryce with her. They were here for the weekend and got to spend time with the babies and big girls too. It was fun seeing them. Penny's boys are growing up so fast!

My mom came up last week because she was having baby withdrawl. I'm glad we live closer now so that she can just make quick trips like that whenever she wants. We had a lot of fun, we went shopping for the second blessing dress that we'll be needing soon. I thought it would be kind of tacky to have an intermission in order to switch the dress from one baby to the other! LOL Anyway we got a beautiful dress and accessories (they are girls you know), so we should be all set for their blessing day.

This Saturday my Dad called and said that he was going to be set apart on Sunday to be in the new Stake Presidency as the 1st counselor. Elder L. Tom Perry came to preside at the meeting and call the new presidency. We packed up the minivan with everything 2 babies could possibly need for the day and headed to Utah on Sunday morning. I'm not up to a sleep over yet! The meeting was really special and almost our whole family was there. Lynette stayed home with Tyson because he was sick and we really missed seeing them! (Love you guys!) We saw a lot of people from our home ward that wanted to see the babies and we got to visit with a lot of friends. We all got to meet Elder Perry too. After the meeting we all went to my parents' house and ate a yummy dinner with Grandma and Gordon. The babies mostly slept the entire way (there and back). Yahoo! I felt free at last. I hadn't left Idaho Falls since October! Can you say CABIN FEVER??!!

On Monday Brandon's Aunt Debi and cousin Angie and her kids came to visit. The kids all had fun together and it was fun visiting. Addie and Carter are the same age and the same exact size. They were so cute together. Brandon's friend Rhett and his family came to visit on Monday night. It has been fun seeing people finally. He and his wife Karen have two little boys and again the girls were excited to see people and especially glad to have kids to play with.

I am so glad it's finally spring. (Even though we woke up to 2 inches of snow!) My next big challenge is finding the perfect double stroller so we can be outside all summer. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know.

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-04-16T19:01:00.001-07:00

Happy Easter!

2008-03-24T08:03:00.000-07:00

We had a fun Easter. We went to a Easter egg hunt that Brandon's station was sponsoring on Saturday. It was sooooo cold! It was 20 degrees and we stood outside for about 45 minutes waiting for it to start. Brrrr! The girls ended up getting about 10 eggs between them and they had a lot of fun, but I think we'll have our own hunt in our backyard next year! I heard that Easter won't be this early in the year again until 2028. That's a relief, when living in chilly Idaho. This week is spring break so August doesn't have dance or school. Our niece Kylah is getting baptized on Saturday so Brooke is taking the big girls down to Utah on Wednesday and then Brandon is going down on Friday and will bring them back with him on Saturday after the baptism. They're excited that they get to play with kids this time instead of being quarantined. We're excited that spring is finally here. We're having the babies blessed on May 4th. A lot of our family haven't seen the babies yet, so it will be fun to get together with everyone.

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-03-24T07:58:00.001-07:00

2 Months Old

2008-03-20T09:06:00.001-07:00

The Two Month Mark!

2008-03-18T16:49:00.000-07:00

Before the babies were born I heard that the first two months with twins was the hardest. Well, we made it! We've had so much help though I don't think that has been the case for us. Today we had the babies' two month doctor appointment. Brandon was running a little late so I had to take the babies in by myself and then he met us there. I felt like super woman -carrying two car seats! Everyone was nice, opening doors for me etc., all while looking at me like "glad it's you and not me!" The babies are doing great...Aiden weighed 8-13 and Avery 9-1. They're actually on the charts now! They got immunizations too, and haven't been too fussy...YET. They have started smiling somewhat consistently lately but we haven't caught them with the camera yet...I'll keep trying. Those first baby smiles are precious. Brandon and I find ourselves doing anything (including making complete fools of ourselves) to make them smile.

We've had a fun couple of days. My parents brought August and Addison home on Saturday and stayed for the day to visit. (We banished the girls to Utah for the week when we had a chicken pox scare with August. We're pretty sure she had a mild case of them and didn't want the babies to get them.) Brandon's Aunt Debi and Uncle Donnie came and saw the babies on Saturday too with Brandon's parents. We had a fun visit.

Brandon's sister Penny and our nephew Tanner came and visited on Sunday and Monday. Tanner did crafts with the girls on Monday and Penny taught me how to make hair bows. (Thanks Pen, it's so much fun...and thanks for leaving the supplies for me to use! Also, you've made the girls favorite pastime of doing daddy's hair so much more enjoyable! Refer to photos!) The girls adored Tanner. He was a good sport and played whatever they wanted.

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-03-07T21:43:00.001-08:00

Dare we hope for spring?

2008-03-06T12:04:00.000-08:00

Okay, the snow is finally melting! We still have a lot on the ground and the current temperature is 15 degrees, but we've actually had some warm days with the sun shining. This is Idaho though so we're not holding our breath. We'll just take what we can get. The babies are still doing well and getting big. They have given us two nights in a row with 6 hour stretches of sleep. That has been nice!

We have had some visitors lately which has broken up our long days of confinement. Luke and Nicole came to visit a couple of weeks ago with Brighten of course. That was the first time we had seen baby Brighten. She is so cute! The girls loved seeing her and holding her. I'm glad they made the trip up here. Shelby stopped by on Tuesday night after he delivered a load here in town. It was fun hanging out together. August and Addison thought everything Shelby said was hilarious. What an ego boost!

Who is that masked man?

2008-02-22T19:32:00.000-08:00

We are still hanging in there. Thanks to everyone concerned about the babies. They are doing a lot better. They are still a little stuffy, but they are getting big (relatively speaking!) They are almost 7 lbs. now. They still just eat, sleep, and poop, and I'm grateful for that. I'm a little nervous for the stage when they need to be held and entertained all day. How will that work? I guess I'll find out! We are still aware of RSV season and so all visitors have to wash hands, and wear masks. It makes for some pretty funny photos. We have a lot of pictures with our whole family wearing the stylish medical masks! Enjoy!

Is Winter Over Yet?

2008-02-14T15:03:00.000-08:00

Who has babies in the middle of the winter? We do...and we've done it twice. The difference is that with Addison we lived in Las Vegas and not in the middle of a frozen winter wonderland. I really love living in Idaho, BUT this winter has been a tad long and intense for me. We have all been sick lately and the result of all of that sickness was that the babies ended up with RSV. We took them to the ER on the 4th because they were having a hard time breathing. We just got discharged from the hospital today...the 14th. Yes, that's right 10 long days in the hospital with newborns. I slept there every night and only went home briefly three times to see the girls. Brandon came every night after work and spent almost every night at the hospital too. When he didn't stay the night my sister Brooke did. The babies were on oxygen the whole time and had to have their tiny noses suctioned out. Not fun! We were really lucky it wasn't worse though. I'm sick of hospital food and I've even had my fill of HGTV for awhile (if you can believe it!) Today the babies are 4 weeks old and have only spent 2 weeks at home. Avery weighs 6 lbs. 2 oz. and Aiden 6 lbs. 3 oz. Well, we're just glad to finally be home! The moral of the story is...don't have babies during RSV season.

2008-01-31T20:33:00.000-08:00

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

We're Tickled Pink!

2008-01-31T16:08:00.000-08:00

The babies are finally here! They were born on January 17th and were four weeks early, but healthy and strong. We are so excited, and relieved. We had such a positive experience this time around. The babies were both over 5 pounds and were only in the NICU for 4 days. They both lost some weight in the hospital so we ended up bringing home 4 pound babies. That was different for us...we're used to big babies! We named them Avery & Aiden. Yeah, I know pretty crazy-all A names. Brandon says he has his own "A Team" now. They are identical and it still kind of blows my mind when I see them side by side. August and Addison are having so much fun being the big sisters. Whenever the babies cry Addie runs down the hall screaming, "Mama your babies are crying!!" At first she got upset and yelled it out of sheer terror I think, but now she is excited when she hears them. My mom is still here helping-thank goodness! And my younger sister, Brooke, has been living with us since October. She has helped us so much. Especially at the end of the pregnancy when I couldn't eat, breathe, sleep, drive, or tie my shoes. She has been our live-in nanny/housekeeper. We took the babies to the doctor for their two week checkup today and they are both back up to their birth weights. The doctor says they look great. Whew! So far so good!