Twins 1-Year Old Pictures (finally)

Oh my goodness I love these babies! And I love the adorable pictures that my sweet cousin Amanda (check out her photo website) took right before the twins turned ONE! I really need to get some of them printed and hung up in their rooms - I just can't get enough of them. Thanks Amanda!

I Held a SNAKE!

I finally took a break from unpacking and finished scrapbooking Matthew & Gavin's Reptile birthday party. We had Scales and Tails Utah come and they put on a FABULOUS show. They put on a 45 minute show and then the kids (and me) got to "play" with the reptiles. I had NO intention or desire to hold a snake but the kids were squeezing it (which makes the snake think a predator is attacking them - not good) so I had to be the adult and hold it. I did love getting to "play" with the big tortoise! It was one of the best parties we have had! Even Ed LOVED it!

I had the kids arrive 30 minutes before the Reptile Show started to make sure they were all there and were able to run and get some of their energy out. We lucked out and had FABULOUS weather (only in the 70s with a slight breeze). After the amazing show, the kids ate cupcakes (that I put together to make a fun snake) and the birthday boys opened their presents. It really was a lot of fun and not tons of work for me!

Splish! Splash!

It took a couple of weeks to get the pool "swimmable" (new walkable cover that wasn't ripped, pool cleaned, 14+ bags of salt, gallons and gallons of chlorine, etc.), but we finally did (almost 2 weeks ago) and we were able to go swimming in our pool! The kids were so excited! They had a GREAT time! They LOVED the diving board and the slide - pretty much everything! The water was a little cold, and there was a breeze so after an hour or so we opened up the hot tub and got in (it really wasn't hot, it was just warm - but it felt good). Cameron missed out - he was in bed like Kesley was suppose to be - he got to go swimming the next day so hopefully I will scrapbook that soon.

Gavin's Shiner!

Last night when the boys were playing hide-n-seek (or some game) in the basement, Gavin dove to hide on the side of the couch. Too bad he didn't see the black subwoofer hiding in the dark next to the couch. Luckily, his eye was okay - but he is going to have a really nice black eye (it looks much worse in person). He was really upset and kind of freaking out when it happened. He was really worried about getting a black eye. Then he said,

"Do I have to put steak on my eye?"

Apparently on his favorite show, Phineas and Ferb, Doofenshmirtz (the bad guy) got a black eye and bought all the steak he could and made glasses out of steak to put on his black eye. Gavin was worried he was going to have to do that - silly little boy!

One-Year Check-Up

Okay - it is 12:43 am and I need to be in bed but Ed is going out of town for work and needs clean clothes (too bad I didn't realize that hours ago). So, I am waiting for the washer to stop so I can put his clothes in the dryer - UGH! I figured I might as well make good use of my time so I quickly did the twins' one-year check-up pages (which look funny with no border around them). Anyway, the twins are doing GREAT! They are both healthy and happy! I didn't get good pictures at their appointment but I think it is so cute to see the two of them on the floor at the doctor's office.

I love going to see how big my kids are - but this time is was so strange because neither of them was off the charts (like most of my other kids). Actually, neither of them was even close to off the charts. Cameron's weight was only 75% and Kesley's was only 50%!!!!! Good size but so small for our kids!

Starting to Walk and Pig Tails!

I have been so busy unpacking that I have NOT had any time to scrapbook and/or blog - it is killing me. So, I thought I would put up a couple of pictures of the twins real quick to show we are all still alive and doing well. Kesley's hair is "long" enough for pig tails (I just need a LOT more practice) and Cameron is finally starting to "try" to walk! He will take a few steps here and there - he is going to be running before we know it. Anyway, hopefully I will be more consistent at blogging here again soon - but for now, I have boxes to unpack and things to organize (not to mention six kids to take care of)!

Reptile Birthday Party (ok - just a little bit)

Okay so I really need to be unpacking but I had to do a LITTLE bit of Matthew and Gavin's really cool birthday party! Hopefully there will be more to come but for now you can see the cool/scary/gross 15 foot, 110+ pound snake they wrapped around each of my boys - they loved it!

And we are closer to getting internet (I have limited access right now) and phone. We were going to get Digis but Ed didn't want a huge dish put right on top of our house in the front. So, now we are getting QWest - well, that is after I call them tomorrow and schedule it. I can't wait to have phone and internet again! I miss blogging and checking everyone else's blogs.

We're In!!!!

We made the BIG switch - meaning the cribs, mattresses, and washer & dryer went so we all went - on Thursday!!! I still have a million boxes to unpack - and still tons of boxes to pack. We don't have internet or phone yet (silly Comcast says our house in "unserviceable" - it isn't in the middle of nowhere) so I thought I would put a quick post up while I am over at our old house packing more and cleaning since we still have phone and internet there. Anyway, that is the big update - we are in and trying to get everything fixed that the lovely (NOT) people we bought the house from BROKE. But it is a fabulous house and I am loving it! I can't wait to be all unpacked and settled (which will take forever - but that is okay) and have internet (boy do I miss my email and the internet).

Dallin's Birthday Invite & Movie Ticket

Here are the invitations for Dallin's Movie Night Birthday Party. I cut them out (so the popcorn stood out more) and attached a movie ticket to each invitation (sorry - I should have outlined the movie ticket and movie money). When the kids came to the party, they turned their tickets in and got 12 movie dollars to use at the concession stand. The kids LOVED getting to use their money to buy treats. It really was a fun and easy party. I will do it again someday!

Happy 9th Birthday Dallin!

Last week my baby turned 9! I can't believe how fast it has gone by! And what a great 9 years it has been - he is such a GOOD boy! Happy Birthday Buddy!

This year for his birthday, we had a MOVIE NIGHT party. It turned out to be such a simple and fun party (I really needed the simple right now). We sent out a movie ticket with each invitation that the kids were suppose to bring to the party (I will try to post all of that in the next couple of days). When they got here, the kids played a game until everyone arrived (I put stickers on their backs with Disney characters and they had to guess who was on their backs - they really had fun with it). Once everyone was here, we made our way down to the theatre in the basement. The kids had to turn their tickets in to get into the theatre. In return, they got an envelope with 12 movie dollars for concessions. They spent the next little bit picking out what candy and drinks they wanted. We were lucky enough to borrow a movie theatre popcorn popper from our friends (thank Taylor's) - that really helped it feel like a movie theatre! Then we started the movie, Planet 51.

Halfway through the movie we had an intermission and had cake and ice cream and opened presents. I think the cake turned out really well and was super easy (I got the idea for the cake and party from my friend Angela - she does the cutest things - thanks Angela). I bake an 11x17 cake (which is 2 cakes mixes) and frosted it with cream cheese frosting. The red stripes are just fruit by the foot. To make the popcorn, I cut big marshmellows into thirds and laid them out like petals on a flower and then cut more big marshmellows in half and put them (with a little frosting) on top of the petals like the flower bud - then I placed them on the frosted cake with red stripes. I added little signs - a "9" and "Happy Birthday Dallin" to personalize it. I think it turned out really cute and the kids all loved it!

The only thing I wish I could have done differently was to have it outside. But, since it doesn't even start to get dark until 9:00 in Utah in July, that just couldn't happen. We had to have it in the basement - which worked but it would have been more fun outside.

Busting at the Seams and MOVING on!

Yes, it is true! After over 9 years in our house, we are MOVING! I am so excited for the new house but I am so so sad to leave our FABULOUS neighborhood and our WONDERFUL friends. Luckily, our new house is just over a mile away (but different ward/stake and different school) so we won't be too far. I haven't said anything until now because the house we bought was a short sale (if you look at the grass in the picture it looks dead in some places - that is because the former owners turned off their sprinklers a couple of weeks ago) and we weren't sure if everything was really going to work out - but it all became official today and we got the keys! So when the twins wouldn't sleep tonight and Matthew's baseball game ended, we hurried over to show the kids (they hadn't seen it yet). They are so excited! It was fun to watch them run around and figure out where things are going to go.

Our moving and packing has contributed to me being a slacker in the scrapbooking/blogging department - that and croup last week and this week it is sinus infections (both me and Brecken). I still am going to try to scrapbook the reptile birthday party and Dallin's birthday and party from yesterday SOON.

Anyway, we really are excited - we just wish all our friends could move with us!

PS If you know anyone that wants a great house with a FABULOUS yard in a wonderful neighborhood, let me know - we have one for sale!

Reptile Birthday Party Invites

It has been killing me that I haven't had the time to blog/scrapbook the birthday party we had for Matthew & Gavin 2 weeks ago (but sick kiddos and sick mommy make getting much done hard). So, once again, their invitations will have to do until I can find some time to scrapbook the party - and it was a really fun party (if I do say so myself)! Anyway, this was a bigger party than we normally do but we didn't do parties last year (with the twins being born) and I decided to combine the two parties so it could be bigger. I made two different invitations - one for Matthew and one for Gavin. That way the kids that were invited didn't feel like they had to bring a present for the sibling they didn't know - I know that would have bugged me. Hopefully once I do Dallin's party this Wednesday (the last for this birthday season - yeah) I will have a little time to scrapbook (who am I kidding).