The Trimbles

Lots of Charts

2012-01-20T12:09:00.000-08:00

My friend sent me these fantastic charts. We've been using them all over and the kids have really responded to them. They get to put a dot on the giraffes when they put thier own dishes in the sink. (VERY helpful). And they get an icecream scoop whenever they brush and floss thier teeth. And Claire's potty chart is going great! Guess who's icecream cone is the chocolate one :)

Maxie Mooms

2012-01-19T12:12:00.000-08:00

Max is 2. My perfect baby turned two. Turned into a TERRIBLE two. Max is throwing tantrums. Throws himself on the floor. Flails his body, throws his arms around, hits things but only makes sure you are watching first. But when he's not doing that...

The only word Max can say clearly and knows what it means is "Tickle Tickle". Which is something he is VERY and LOVES to do. He also love "go high" and likes to touch the ceiling, and "again" for just about everything else he loves.

Max loves peek-a-boo.

Max LOVES to wrestle. If Im on the floor for any reason, he's usually dog piling on top of me. Makes my workouts a little difficult, doing push-ups with 30 lbs sitting on top of me.

Max is also a cuddler but not as frequent as Jack. But when he does want to, he makes good and sure that you know it. He wont let you get up and sits very very still. He'll sit there for an hour and not wiggle at all.

Max's favorite thing to do is be chased. He runs crazy all over the house. And loves it most when Daddy chases him and he hides behind me.

Max is happy. ALWAYS happy. Great big grin and curly hair, and those big blue eyes, who doesnt love him.

He doesnt give kisses very often, but when he does they are so sweet.

Max is very content to play by himself and usually on a different level of the house. He does get excited when Tangled comes on though. He doesnt watch the TV hardly at all. He loves cars and TRAINS. LOVES TRAINS. And balls.

Any food is his favorite food and he is ALWAYS hungry. The twins will finish first and then Max will stand up and move to Jacks seat and finish his dinner and sometimes Claires as well. No wonder he is as big as they are (does not bode well for the body flailing.) If I cant get dinner on the table fast enough he's usually pushing on my legs or he goes straight for the fridge and will eat anything he can find. Usually grapes or some fruit in a bowl I dont mind him grazing. The other day he brought me the carton of eggs downstairs. Crazy boy.

Max LOVES being outside. Nothing makes him happier then when he can escape. He loves running and throwing balls and LOVES the sidewalk chalk. But his all time favorite is the Lake. That boy comes alive at the lake. He cant get out of his carseat fast enough and we have to take him kicking and screaming when we leave. Nor can he stay out of the water. His feet inevitably get wet. Throwing rocks into the water is his favorite. And while we arent at the lake, he either plays in my plants outside after it rains and they are full of water, or inside he'll stand on the toilet in the bathroom and play in the sink.

Max also likes teeth. Im convinced he'll be a dentist. He giggles when I brush his, he likes to look in my mouth and he says "awwww" while I do it and he runs his fingers along my teeth and likes to feel the retainer I have. Odd obsession but it makes him happy.

Most of all, Max is sweet.

Jack

2012-01-19T11:40:00.000-08:00

Jack is 3. I know! So cliche, where does the time go.

Jack is love. Thats the only word for him.

Jack is my snuggler. He will come and climb in bed with me every morning and stick his little cold feet between my knees. He would be happy to lay there with me all day.

Jack is tenderhearted.

Jack is sensitive.

Jack doesnt respond to anger or yelling. Jack HATES timeout and comes back to me seconds later bawling broken hearted. If he's whining, the only way to deal with him is to pick him up and hug him for a minute. Then he forgets whatever was so upsetting.

Jack whines alot and when I ask him to not, it turns into mumbling.

Jack LOVES CHOCOLATE. ANYTHING CHOCOLATE. Its kind of a problem. He is my sweet tooth but is skin and bones.

Jack loves running. He'll sit and do laps around the dining room table. "I run FAST."

Jack is ALL BOY. Trucks, airplanes, dinosaurs, dragons, Buzz and Woody, firetrucks, rocks, digging in dirt, shooting hoops, ROCKETS AND THE MOON. These are his current obsessions.

Jackson is ticklish, Claire, not so much.

Jack gives kisses freely and often.

Jacks favorite food would be yogurt, favorite movie probably Toy Story or maybe the Princess and the Frog. His favorite TV show right now is Spiderman from the 1960's (Thank you netflix).

Jackson also likes to clean. Thinks the vacuum is hilarious and loves to play tag with it and suck his fingers up the hose. Loves to sweep and mop and will often get those two things down on his own and just start. I'll often find puddles of swiffer soap where he tried to mop for me. He also likes doing windows.

Jack has some social issues. Not as outgoing as Claire, crys when I take him to sunbeams. A little concerned about preschool later this year. NO interest in potty training right now.

Jack also loves his big boy bed and needs more sleep then Claire. Naps dont happen very often with them anymore. Mommy is going nuts.

Jackson has very good manners. Always says please and thank you and good morning and have a nice day. Especially when we are out and about. People are THRILLED when leaving the store and they all pipe up with "Have a nice day."

Jack has NO FEAR. He loves to jump off of things and those things are getting higher and higher. The latest is the stage at the church. Walked right up and bailed off. Geez.

Jack is love.

Claire

2012-01-19T11:16:00.000-08:00

"Mommy, I just a kid."

Claire is 3. THREE. This pic is of our special outing to buy her minnie mouse big girl undies. I know she looks pained, buts she's trying to give me her biggest "cheese". Potty training round 2 is about to commence.

Claire is hilarious.

Claire is kind.

Claire loves her big girl bed but also still loves her blanket and is kind of a packrat. There are more toys in her bed then anywhere else and she "needs" them all. We're working on that.

Claire is compassionate. Today we went to the doctor and she got a 2 shots. She bawled and cried but then got over it. The real fit came when it was Jackie's turn. "JACKIE DOESNT WANT A SHOT. And just bawled out of compassion for Jack. "NO JACK, NO SHOTS FOR JACK." Inconsolable that I had given Jack a shot too.

Claire is concerned.

Claire is bossy. Claire is the enforcer, espeically with Max. But she's also very concerned about "The Boys." "Where are the boys? What are the boys doing? Let's go boys."

Claire is a negotiator. "Just a little bit mommy." "Just 1 minute" "Just 1 more" "This is almost over".

Claire hates timeouts and even the threat of it works wonders.

Claire is loving. She loves holding Jackie's hand and giving hugs and kisses when saying sorry.

Claire is mommy's helper. She loves to unload the silverware, put her dishes in the sink, she can make her own sandwhich and help me cut pineapple with her dull knife. Anything done in the kitchen isnt down without her help. She likes to clean and wipe things up, wash windows, but HATES the vacuum.

Claire is smart. I only have to say things to her once and she remembers forever. She knows her colors and we're working on numbers. She mixes them up. "One, two, three, six, eight, nine, ten."

Claire bounces back and forth between being Mommy's or Daddy's girl but loves them both "THIS MUCH".

"Babies" make her happy and is sad when she "gets hurt" but LOVES playing with bandaids. "Babies" make her laugh.

Caillou is her favorite show. (She's my worst TV bug). Her favorite color is pink. Mary Poppins is her favorite movie. Our friend Ellie Christensen is her favorite person. Her favorite food is either corn dogs or pizza. Claire loves playing with dolls and Jessie and her kitchen but doesnt mind driving a desiel here or there.

Claire is perfect.

Paintings # .... I forget already

2012-01-18T08:37:00.001-08:00

Papa Ryan and Grandma Becky Visit, Birthdays, New Years, and so much more!

2012-01-18T07:29:00.000-08:00

The festivities in our house dont end with Christmas. Not even close. We were so lucky that Ryan and Becky came to visit after thier Christmas in New York. The kids were over the moon to see them and I think G&G were maybe just as excited. We got to have them for almost a week. And boy did we try to pack in the fun. Date nights out, days playing with the kids. The twins turned 3 on this visit. We took G&G on a tour of the hospital and then we were treated to a day at the aquarium. The kids love it there. Its hard, no strollers (!!!) and we unfortunatly went on the busiest day of the year. The dolphin show was the best until we got sprayed, they didnt think that was very fun. For New Years Eve we sent the kids to bed and we feasted on Prime Rib and creme brulee to celebrate my birthday and Ryan's 60th birthday and the new year. We had a crab feast with Jake and Allie, and then just a movie night with us. Another favorite was Claire's belly dancing outfit that G&G brought her from Turkey and they took her down to Target and let her pick out her very own new baby. Baby Boos. She told me she liked that one because it has pink lips. But its a darling doll, it dances and talks to her and she'll sing back to it. Cute. Mommies Birthday was on the 3rd and Daddy had the day off and let me take the whole day and get a pedicure and see a movie with the friend and just shop and run errands and not come home until I was good and ready and then he took me out again that Friday for dinner and a movie. He gave me the best present ever. A Garbage Disposal. A friend told me thats when you know you are an adult, when your birthday presents are responsible. HAHA. Made my every day life so much easier. Then... a week later, Max had his birthday. Although he already opened all of his presents, we couldnt let the day go unnoticed so we made cupcakes and let him blow out candles again. The kids were surprisingly ok with it just being Max's birthday this time. And now, only NOW can I say the festivities are finally over. We start partying in Oct and dont stop till now. We need some quiet normal time around this house I think. :)

Like Claire's play glasses? On upside down. Almost :)

Christmas Day 2011

2012-01-18T07:22:00.001-08:00

So I know some people think its a wonderful thing to have Christmas on Sunday. And yes in theory it is. But not when I have these 3 and they just now are getting it. We talked for weeks about what to do about presents in the morning. Well, Santa decided to leave the kids a letter saying that they could go peak at thier presents but then they had to go to just a "little bit" of church before they could open them. It was, after all, Jesus' birthday and thats where he would want us to be. Lets just say we didnt make it to the end of sacrament. And it, to be honest, made everyone mad and cranky, and stressed out and put NOT a wonderful christmas spirit in our home. We should have just stayed home. And I thank heavens that the next time christmas falls on a Sunday wont be for 6 or 7 more years. But the kids were excited to see the presents. Buddy and Santa moved them all downstairs. Thank you everyone for the gifts you sent the kids, they were indeed spoiled. Jack indeed got a dinosaur from Santa which he LOVES. Max got a firetruck from Grandma which is what he wanted, but Claire, I think her kitchen wins. Santa Elves must have worked very hard, because it turned out really cute. They finished under the stairs into a hide out. Claires kitchen and high chair were under there, and a chalk board for Max, and a pirate ship with a flag they can change and glow in the dark stars. It turned out really cute and I dont think they came out of it until 4 days later and would have slept in there if we would have let them. Santa also made them a table and chairs so there is room enough for everyone plus a friend to color and eat and play without running into each other. We spent the rest of the day playing and opening more presents, and then napping, and then more presents, and then mommy made a delicious ham with potatos and the works. Daddy was impressed. :) It was a good day.

Christmas Eve 2011

2012-01-18T07:17:00.001-08:00

Christmas Eve we spent just here at home. We played and got ready and were excited all day. That evening we watched together the church movie "Joy to the World". And then we let them open thier Christmas PJ's that Buddy brought us from Santa. It was kinda sad, Buddy was sitting in the tree above the presents and the kids started playing with him and knocked him out of the tree. It was VERY sad. Buddy almost lost his magic. But they kissed him better and told him sorry and we had to write a note to Santa saying that we didnt mean to. Good thing that Santa was coming tonight and could take him home and help him get his magic back. Then when we went to bed, it was so sweet, the kids were more interested in looking out of thier window to see "Jesus' new star" then if Santa was out there or not. And true to excited kid fashion, they were still awake at like 11 pm bouncing around thier rooms looking out the window. We voted and decided that we would leave icecream and carrots for Santa and Rudolph. Jack REALLY REALLY wanted that icecream. He cried for a while, but then decided that it would be a good idea to share it with Santa.

Miracle on 34th Street

2011-12-23T18:18:00.000-08:00

34th Street in Hampden MD. There's a neighborhood close to downtown that is 34th street and every year they make a light show that MUST be visable from space. These houses are decorated Griswald style (if you dont get that reference, go rent National Lampoons Christmas Vacation) . So to start another MD tradition we loaded the kids up and went. Pretty cool! Note to self, next year get out and walk. The kids really like going to see the lights. They get especially excited about Candy Canes and there's a blowup santa in a Helicopter that couldnt be cooler.

Thanksgiving

2011-12-22T14:04:00.000-08:00

Ok, I know its almost Christmas. Im sorry, but thats my excuse. Getting ready for Christmas takes a lot of time. But we had a Wonderful Thanksgiving with Jake and Allie Townsend and Baby Liv. They drove up from VA to spend the weekend. We had it all, a beautiful turkey and all e good stuff that goes with it. The best part? All 4 babies slept while the adults actually were able to share a nice meal on my good china and everything. Claire is my little helper and HAD to baste the turkey every time. She was so careful to not touch the hot oven and she figured out the baster real quick. I give her credit for the perfect bird. CT carved the turkey while Jake held the Ipad with a youtube video of how to carve a turkey! What happened to fathers and sons teaching the special craft of carving the bird? I dont know, but how would we live without the internet? :) After Dinner we went to the Loch Raven Res to feed the geese. Max was so excited that he started running and slipped several times in the mud. Poor kid, wet and muddy, but about as Happy as he could be. Thanks Jake and Allie for coming up.

Aunt Ashy and Unc-Peter's Visit

2011-12-22T13:05:00.000-08:00

Temple Christmas Lights

We were so lucky to have Ash and Peter come visit us too this weekend and we loaded up the van to head down to the DC temple to see the lights. It was such a fun evening! The kids werent very excited, they had fallen asleep and werent thrilled to get out into the cold, but then they saw purple trees and that suddenly made it all ok :) The kids LOVED the lights but even more LOVED LOVED having Ash here. I think Jack has a special place for Unc-Peter in his tender little heart. Jake and Allie met us there too. We are so grateful we have so much family so close.

Christmas Houses

Then on Sunday after Church we made graham crackers houses. Lets be honest, the kids ate most of the candy, but they thought it was really fun. The left the houses alone for a few days but then the draw of the candy on them couldnt be resisted anymoe.

Buddy the Elf

2011-12-20T23:42:00.001-08:00

We have an elf. His name is Buddy. He comes and stays with us all of December and runs back at night to give Santa his report and then is in a new place in the morning. The kids LOVE looking for him again. And last night he took our letters to Santa just

in time. Phew, thanks Buddy

RSNA Flash Mob

2011-12-20T11:45:00.000-08:00

All of the radiologists from Amyrsis in Salt Lake where CT worked a few years ago. World renowned brilliant people. HILARIOUS to see them like this! Who said Radiologists were fun people people?!

Other Christmas Activities

2011-12-20T11:27:00.000-08:00

Ward Christmas Party

We got there early to get a good seat and sit on Santa's lap without drama. There's always Drama. Claire did for just a minute but the boys wouldnt go near him. They did tell him though, Claire wants a "pink-kitchen-microwave-highchair" And Jack wants a Dinosaur, and Maxie needs a firetruck and a trike. They were cute. But I chose the WAY wrong table. We sat right by the desserts and it was all I could do to keep the kids out of it while we waited for our turn at dinner.

Loch Raven Santa Firetruck Ride

Our neighborhood assocation takes my hefty $40 a year HOA and gets Santa to come visit the neighborhood on a train of firetrucks and police cars. Again, crying, and then Claire panicked and realized her chance was almost over to ammend her previous request, she needs new barbie clothes too. So between sobs and panick she did happen to blurt that out, and once the boys were off his lap again they were able to give their requests. Such funny babes.

Towson Tree Lighting

We also went to the Towson tree lighting ceremony. We met the grinch, got glow sticks, and just as things were getting started, Jack tipped the stroller over. We did see the lights go on and Santa on the fire truck, but really, the night was short lived. Poor Jack. Check out his head!

RSNA 2011

2011-12-20T11:19:00.000-08:00

Christopher ditched us for the RSNA in Chicago again this year. Im always bummed when he goes because who doesnt want to go to Chicago every year and we have other radiology friends, namely a mission companion of mine, who goes too. But I let him go this year because the text book he's been writing and editing and eating and breathing for the last few years was published and it was released there. I took some pics for everyone to see it. We have one if you want to see the real thing, but basically CT wrote one chapter, co-wrote several others, and no other page, image, table, diagram, or anything else went into the book without Christopher's hand being all over it. Im so very proud of him and one of these day's Im sure he'll have another one with his name on the cover.

Setting up Christmas

2011-12-20T11:13:00.000-08:00

Well, we didnt set up the tree the Day of Thanksgiving like I would like to, but that Sunday it was finally ready for ornaments. This tree is more then 25 years old. It was CT's when he was really little and has traveled all over the country. I dont think we can ever get rid of it now. Christopher ditched us for the RSNA (another post) so the kids and I had a blast putting up Christmas without him.

Out of the mouth of babes...

2011-11-18T10:20:00.000-08:00

When I get after the kids I usually get down on their level, look them straight in the eye, tell them what I want, and then seems I always add "You got that?" Jack looks up at me with the most sincere face and most matter of factly and replies "Yes Mom, I got that. " How can I be stern when that is his answer?!

Today we were having ramen noodles for lunch. But in an instant Jack declared "Look! Noodle snakes!" And now they are "crawling" all over my table.

Claire can be dyslexic when she talks sometimes, switching up letters and words. A lemon is an Emel. A shopping cart a "copping shart." "Puk it." Thats another one. "Puk it back." "I have pockets in my crackers." And she has a problem with me. Look what Me got. Daddy's coming to me house. "Give to me back it." That one made me chuckle. Oh, and if Jack is crying, its 99% probably Claire's fault. But like I said before, she'll tattle on herself. Come and tell me that he's crying and what she did to him. Or if I ask her what happens, she always tells the exact truth. Which is really nice and wont last. But for now, if ANYTHING happens, she'll tell me exactly what, even if that means she gets time out.

And Max... poor max... He still hasn't said a word. He says No and Go. And Yeah, and sometimes Daddy. But I dont think those count. As for real words, names of things, not a peep. Lots of babble and blowing raspberries at me, and fake coughing (something Claire taught him...) Other then that? Not a word.

Williamsburg Day 2 Afternoon

2011-11-14T21:15:00.001-08:00

We spent a little bit of time in Jamestown. Its mostly museums now, even though it was the first town ever in America, no one lives there now. So we mostly just stopped for a snack and potty break and then back in the car back to Williamburg. We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around Williamsburg again before we met Uncle Peter for Pizza.

I have to insert here that these are definetly my children. See those ropes that are supposed to keep them out from where those cannons are? And notice in this picture of me on my mission standing on the edge of a water fall and that sign that says "keep out, Dangerous..." We dont listen to little signs like that. And apparently my children dont either.

Then since the babies had the hardest time going to bed the night before we thought for sure if we went swimming after a day like today that they would just crash. But wouldn't that be our luck that they wouldn't. They were still wide awake at 11 that night. Dang babies. Ashley works at the Marriott and with her employee discount we had a really nice room with a kitchenette that made everything so much nicer. Jack and Claire slept (or didn't) sleep together in the hide-a-bed and Max was in a crib. But I think its the last he'll stay there. He kept getting out and wanted to be in bed with the other two. Part of why they wouldn't go to sleep. They slept horizontal in the bed, there would have been room... Poor Max. We had such a wonderful time and the next morning we had to load up and just come home. The Verdict? Amazing vacation to see family and some of the oldest historical sites in the nation. We are so glad to have Ash and Peter so close to us. We need to go back maybe when the kids are older so we can do Jamestown again and some of the museums in Williamsburg. Good thing we all still have 4 more years to be together here.

Williamsburg Day 2 Picnic

2011-11-14T20:50:00.001-08:00

After the fun morning at the beach we drove up the road a little bit and found these awesome cannons still aiming out over the river. This place is just full of historic sites and plaques everywhere talking about the wars both Revolutionary and Civil wars. Amazing stuff. We had a picnic, climbed trees, played on the cannons and then decided to try to make the babes nap in the car while we took the ferry across the James river over to Jamestown while we took a driving tour of the area. While driving we read of Wikipedia all about the area and John Smith and Pocahantas. These people actually lived there!

These three are Battling the Union Army as they come up the York River to attack Richmond...

Williamsburg Day 2 Morning

2011-11-14T20:30:00.001-08:00

Day 2: We spent the whole morning at the York River and Yorktown VA which is part of the American Historic Triangle including Williamsburg and Jamestown. Even though it was in the a nice day, it was still fall, but these babies wouldn't keep their clothes on or out of the water no matter what we tried! So we gave in and embraced the crazy. Like people going to SoCal in the fall and still getting in the water at the beach. To the locals they are crazy, but you cant pass it up. After convincing them to put their clothes back on we walked the boardwalk, the piers, and then headed to lunch.

Williamsburg and Aunt Ash and Uncle Peter Day 1

2011-10-31T21:04:00.000-07:00

Day 1: Drive 4 hours to Williamsburg and meet up with the fam in Colonial Williamsburg. Jake and Allie and baby Liv came down too and we spent the rest of the afternoon just walking around and stretching our legs and playing "baseball" with an apple because we didnt have baseballs. Playing in rocks, throwing leaves, and saying hello to the cows. All things wonderful that you can do in the fall in such a beautiful place.

Hiking with Na-Nee, Micah, and Peter

2011-10-31T21:02:00.000-07:00

So since I've been trying to really enjoy this beautiful fall weather, my friend Renee and her son Micah found a great little park that starts at an acquestrian center and then follows a trail through a forest to a little river. Perfect length for the kids but its for reals hiking on a trail in the woods with dirt and leaves and animals... It was such a wonderful morning out. And again, just more throwing rocks in the water. It doesnt get any better then that I guess :)

I like Claire's muddy pants. She faced it first thing but trooped on anyway.

Loch Raven Resivoir

2011-10-31T21:00:00.000-07:00

Our new favorite place to go is the res to feed the geese. They have so much fun throwing rocks in the lake. I cant keep Max out to save his life though. His feet are always in the water and its cold! Max loves it the most though. He could stay there all day just sitting on the shoreline. The twins atleast run around, but Max, he's more like me. He could stay there all day and be perfectly happy and I have to drag him away bawling all the way to the car every time. I think he and I will be the campers. The rest can all stay home.

Halloween--a truly scary day.

2011-10-31T20:49:00.001-07:00

I tried really hard to make this Halloween day fun. We woke up and had orange yogurt, then we had our friend Bennett and his mommy Erin come and play. We colored on pumpkins and taped them to the wall to make a pumpkin patch where the "great pumpkin could rise." We watched the Charlie Brown Halloween special. We had a yummy lunch and then naps. Then we carved pumpkins. It sounds fun right? WRONG. These babies were SO NAUGHTY all day long. Jacks face says it all. They cried and cried and bawled and were mean to each other and were fighting and I was so embarassed for Erin and Bennett. Then I thought for sure after naps they would be better, but nope. They cried some more, Claire cried that I wouldnt walk upstairs and get her blanket. Jack cried for who knows why. He cried because he wanted to go outside and then he cried when I let him and then he cried when I came in and then cried when I went back out. They cried when I wouldnt let them color on my wall on the pumpkin patch, I had to finish the pumpkins by myself By 4:30 I had had it so bad, I just wanted to spank thier little butts and give them a reason to cry. So I locked myself in my own room, put in my ear plugs, and watched shark week on my iPad until Daddy nearly came home. They sat at my door and cried some more. I came out and made them dinner (forget the fun dinner I was gonna make.) They still cried and didnt eat it. So I told them I was done and we were NOT going trick or treating. No way after all that. And then Claire REALLY cried and I didnt care. I dang nearly canceled Christmas right then and there too. And just as Daddy walked in the door they miraculously stopped crying. Made me so mad he had to take over. They had thier baths and went to bed. no costumes, no candy, no scary stories in bed with a flashlight. No. Grounded, in bed, dang babies. I guess today really was a scary terrible day. Isnt that the definition of Halloween? Too bad because I really like this day.

Pre-Halloween Festivities

2011-10-31T20:41:00.000-07:00

Christensen Halloween Party--

Such a fun night with friends around the county. Liz and Bryt Christensen invited us over for a fun night. The kids played games and had so much fun wearing their costumes and checking out everyone else too. All Jack ate for dinner were brownies. That boy wouldnt eat a hogie to save his life! We had a contest for the best halloween treat... I brought deviled eggs and WON! HAHA. It wasnt even a treat, but they were apparently pretty yummy.

Ward Trunk or Treat--

Then we dressed up again for the ward Chili cook off and trunk or treat. It was rained out so we moved everything inside. We invited a bunch of our non member friends too and no one showed. Its ok, people are busy. And the night was nuts, it was packed. One pic is of the kids waiting for the parade with their favorite friend Bennett. We did a parade across the stage and Claire thought that was pretty fun to march across and wave at everyone and once we started trick or treating at all the classrooms, oh they really got the hang of it. They were so excited to come home and combine thier candy and see all thier loot!

Paintings 2, 3, and 4

2011-10-27T20:40:00.001-07:00

So my painting class ended last night. I did 4 total, 2 in class, two outside. Here's the second one I did in. The one on the left is the original and the right is mine. What do you think? My professor came and looked over my shoulder and then informed me that he hated me. Apparently after 50 years of painting, he struggles with circles. Mine are perfect. A little trick my mommy taught me years ago. Put your little pinky on the painting to stabalize and use a slanted brush and pivot like a compass. He got mad I used my pinky and told me to use a mahl stick instead. Guess what? He uses a mahl stick and cant draw circles. I'll stick with my pinky. Tee hee hee.

Then when they found out the first is another oil painting and not a photo we had a little conversation about forgeries... so THIS is the original.

Then I LOVE these. $600 for the set and they arent real oils, just canvas prints of them. So I decided to try to do them myself. The originals are palete knife paintings and that was a first for me too. My professor didnt like the originals, doesnt like palet knife paintings, and grunted a minor approval when I brought the first one in. Now that I look at them side by side, there's a reason hers are $600. They are better. Best part about oils... nothing is permanent.

2011-10-18T09:51:00.000-07:00

For the last year I've hesitated putting Max in the swings because every time I do he just cries and cries. I would push him very gently and slowly thinking maybe it scared him. I wanted to break him in easy--what kid doesn't love swinging?! But this last week, after he started crying I thought, what the heck, he's already crying, so I pushed him high. I gave him an underdog like I do the twins. And what would you know? GIGGLES, laughing hysterical giggles. The poor boy has been crying for the last year because Mom is a sissy and he just wanted to go HIGH! Com-on Mom! Get with it!

Max

2011-10-18T09:15:00.000-07:00

Max is so tender. He rarely gets in trouble. Probably because the other two are so crazy. So when I actually get down on his level, look him in the eye, and get after him. HIM. He looks at me first like he cant believe this is happening to him, then his eyes get even bigger and then the chin starts quivering and he collapses just devastated. The most sincere tears and sorrow. Saddest thing ever. SAD. haha.

I LIKE Halloween.

2011-10-17T11:14:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite holidays. I dont know why. Maybe its because I like to dress up still. These are for my reference too, so I can remember next year where I put stuff. But if ya'll want to see our decorations... I have a strobe light for the outside for Halloween night too. LOVE IT! I want to be the crazy scary Halloween mom. The front of the house has our cemetery and spiders web. A big Mama and her 3 babies. I've never been any good at the webbing, but I was inspired by another house in the neighborhood and I will admit that I've been stalking that house. Sitting out front in my van with the windows rolled down studying her technique. She should probably call the cops on me. I'm kinda proud of my webbing this year. More spiders in the house (Im kinda proud of my paper mache techniques as well. I paid attention in the 2nd grade when we learned that) with cats and squirrels and owls, and skulls, and several skeletons just hung all over the house. I want to drill in my flag pole finally so I can hang a ghost from it on the outside too. Sorry, TMI.

North Run Farm

2011-10-11T22:34:00.001-07:00

We spent the weekend on the farm checking out the pumpkins, the animals, the tractors, the hayrides, the "corn" boxes instead of sand boxes, a very cool corn TeePee, a mini maze, haystacks to climb on, and a 3 mile long corn maze that we didnt actually dare do. Be warned. Lots of pics and even more to come when we went back to actually buy the pumpkins we scoped out. And also be warned... lots of cute babies here. :)

Oil Painting #1

2011-10-11T22:16:00.000-07:00

I wanted just pumpkins. Our professor added the bottles. So I did my best to squeeze them out. But this is my first painting from my class. I decided to hang the easel on the wall so A) the kids couldnt touch it, B) display my current work, and C) remind me to actually paint. I kinda like it there. On to #2. So this eventually got painted over because there was more I disliked about it then liked and too much to fix so I just decided to start over with something else. Trying not to waste canvas :)

2011-10-10T10:41:00.000-07:00

I bought Jack this white chocolate truffle today. When he opened it he about freaked out and started yelling "Chocolate Moon!" Like it was the greatest gift I had ever given him. He's carried it around with him all day, he will probably never eat it. I could have given him the real moon and he wouldnt have been as excited.

Its our house now.

2011-10-07T11:42:00.000-07:00

So there have been requests to post pics of what we have done to the house. These are before and after shots of a few of the rooms that are basically done. I like posting these too so I can look back through the years and see where we lived. So I hope you enjoy.

Living Room before:

Living Room After: Yes, the kids are sweeping :)

Kitchen Before:

Kitchen After: Just a rug

Dining Room Before: Black and Beige and Boring

Dining Room After: Teal and Grey, almost died of color shock, but now we love it.

Before Purple Bathroom:

After Teal Bathroom: The kids were in the tub and Max was playing peekaboo--stink wouldnt leave the curtain shut. :)

Max's Pink Room: This was not ok.

Max's Room After:

Twins Purple Room:

Twins Room After: Fun stripes and the Alphabet (that I've since taken down because Naughty Claire wont leave it alone. Maybe in a few months I'll put it back up.) And a book shelf for their night time books. They had their lanterns too but they pulled them down and tore them into pieces too so no more lanterns for them.

More to come as I finish things up....

The Sandovals on the Mall

2011-10-07T11:24:00.001-07:00

We miss California. We miss all our friends and loved ones. We were SO HAPPY to have Susana and Jose Sandoval come out and make a special day just to spend with us. Susana was the assistant director in my office and she helped us find the miracle house where we brought home all the kids and she was our next door neighbor during all of it. We love them both dearly and were so happy to spend the day with them. The DC Zoo was rained out, but that didn't stop us. We headed to the Mall instead and spent time in the Air and Space museum to see Kitty Hawk and then over to the Archives to see the Constitution, Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence, the Magna Carta... You get the idea. After a wonderful day we had dinner at their hotel. The kids were so good all day and scarfed down their dinners and Jack started eating his ice cream by the handful he was so happy. Susana treated them with a toy plane and Jack has now commandeered them all and we cant go anywhere without them. Thank you Jose and Susana for making the effort and for the wonderful day.

What we do on a rainy day

2011-10-07T11:21:00.000-07:00

Airplanes in the Park

2011-10-07T11:19:00.001-07:00

We love Pop!

Fort McHenry

2011-10-07T10:57:00.000-07:00

Did you know the Star Spangled Banner was written in Baltimore when Fort McHenry was under attack by the British? All night long the write watched for the flag in the light of the bombs. So we had to go see this wonderful place. I cant even hear the song without nearly crying, forget singing it. This is an amazing place. My parents came to visit and we were so lucky to go downtown and see it. What a gem in the middle of the Inner Harbor. Later that evening we went down to have a crab feast with John and Jolene Sevey and family in Silver Springs. We had so many crab we literally couldnt eat them all and left several cold on the table. Shame.

Im Probably as Smart as my Daddy

2011-10-07T10:46:00.001-07:00

Go FAAAASSSSTTTTTTT!

2011-10-07T10:43:00.000-07:00

Johnny Appleseed Days

2011-09-29T06:32:00.000-07:00

I've missed the orchards in Spokane. So I started digging and turns out there is a really nice one just 2 miles down the road where we can go pick our own produce. They were having Johnny Appleseed Days last weekend so we went. CT was worried they wouldn't be old enough to really have fun with everything they had, but he was WAY WRONG. These kids couldn't have been happier. Hay rides, gunnysack slides, duck races, straw mazes... And apples the size of their heads. They were HAPPY.

2011-09-29T06:30:00.000-07:00

Mommy: We are going to the doctor today so Max can get a shot.

Claire: Mommy, I want a shot!!! I want a PINK shot.

A little NON-Mommy time

2011-09-20T20:41:00.000-07:00

I've decided I need something for me. Something I like to do. Somewhere to go that isnt running errands or church. So when we moved here I decided to look into the community college. Just to see what fun-ness there is out there. And boy, I had a hard time choosing! So for my first class tonight I've decided to take an oil painting class. Sailing sounded too cold and basket weaving too boring. I painted in high school and really liked it but then life happened and in college you dont have much time to take all the fun classes then you have to be a grown up and get a job and then when you have kids who has time to paint? So this is it! I like painting. I havent painted in 15 years. Im going to paint. Come spring who knows... dancing? I was a little jealous of the people walking into the Spanish class. Even though I speak Spanish, it wouldnt kill me to brush up in the advanced class I think. I think this is gonna be fun!

Catch Mommy

2011-09-16T11:59:00.000-07:00

Now that these kids are talking, they crack me up. I wish I could have taken a picture of this one... I've been working on the attic floor. Only about 1/3 had flooring so we could walk and use it as storage so I've been putting down more. The kids have been helping a little. They like the climb up the latter and they sit very still or hand me screws. Well, last night while Daddy was bathing them, I was finishing up a few minor things and starting to move boxes over on the new floor. Chris folded the latter back up just half way so he could walk under it but the door was still open so the kids could see me. But I couldn't get down until he folded it back down. So I just sat there and when Claire got out she immediately started crying because Mommy was stuck. Jack came over and with the biggest grin on his face and his big grey eyes and naked little body wet out of the tub said "Jump, I help you". And then held out his arms as if he was gonna catch me. He was so persistent and sincere and just completely believed that indeed he could catch me if I jumped. What a man! I love my little guy.

Camden Yards

2011-09-15T12:02:00.000-07:00

Our wonderful Realtor Lynn was so thoughtful and as a welcome to Baltimore gift got us tickets to this Tuesday nights Orieles game. She said they were good seats... BUT GEEZ! I would be a fan of ANY SPORT if I got to sit THIS CLOSE! We were on the second row just to the side of the visitor dugout. Home plate was maybe 20 feet away. Growing up we had tickets to see the Utah Jazz. I knew they were good tickets because I could smell their sweat and hear the banter on the court. Well, these were those kind of seats. We could hear them talking in the dug out and see the sunflower seed shells they were spitting out. It was AWESOME! Not to mention that we won and no babies were allowed. Home run in the bottom of the 8th made for a very exciting victory. :) Thank you Lynn and Go O's! (Sorry Angels, we dont live in LA anymore. ) We'll have to try Mormon night at Camden Yards next year with the babes. Jack will love it.

Air and Space Museum

2011-09-12T08:07:00.001-07:00

You would think it would be boring and that who would bring a bunch of 2 year olds to see stuff about space... but it was full of AIRPLANES! And THAT is something that Jack knows a little bit about. He and Claire couldnt have been more excited. We went with Jake and Allie and Olivia Townsend and Max and baby Liv couldnt have cared less I think. But these other two and the rest of us were pretty impressed. We saw the first Boeing. A Concord. Lots of War Planes, an F-14. The Enterprise space shuttle. Oh, cant forget the Helicopters. Yes, Jack was in Heaven.

How about that weather?

2011-09-08T11:04:00.000-07:00

What a welcome to the East Coast. Record breaking heat. Ever. In hundreds of years not this hot. Record breaking rain. Ground so saturated mature trees are uprooting themselves even without wind. Easy as pulling weeds in a freshly watered garden. Earthquakes. Did you know the east coast DOESNT HAVE EARTHQUAKES? Of course, not until we move here. I got a few dirty looks when I told people we moved here from SoCal.

I promise I didnt bring it with me. I hate them. Oh, and did I mention a Hurricane? Irene was fun. Actually, really quite unimpressive and boring. Lots of people lost power. We didnt. But what do we do during a hurricane? We make caramel popcorn and cookies. Take extra long bubble baths. Watch movies with the kids and finally turn in at midnight because nothing was happening. We had flash summer thunderstorms WAY worse then Irene. But it did teach me that I was indeed prepared. We had food and water enough for a few weeks if we needed. We had flashlights and lanterns ready to go. Lots of batteries. There was no rushing the store for me. I did get some cash. And I did take the kids to the store the day of to buy more butter for the popcorn and to get out. The store was a madhouse. Probably not worth the butter, but it took up an hour of our day. We did tie everything down and only Christopher would hose off the patio before a hurricane :) Im grateful for a church who teaches us to be self sufficient and prepared. With this storm raging, I felt completely calm. The crazy neighbors felt like it was doomsday and were kind of psyching themselves out. Another neighbor didn't bother doing anything. We were somewhere in the middle. Better safe then sorry, but no need to freak out. I know others had it worse then we did. I was grateful for the dry run.

Nothing funner then a hose on a warm day

2011-09-08T10:53:00.000-07:00

Screaming at the Dinner Table

2011-09-08T10:42:00.000-07:00

Its normally not ok. EXCEPT when they are yelling "NUUMMMEEEE Mommie! More Peas Please, Kank you!" Yelling. Again and Again. Shoveling them in their little faces as fast as they can. They can have all the peas they want!

A little Target fun

2011-09-08T10:37:00.001-07:00

When we have nothing else to do, we go to target to get popcorn and play with thier toys. The kids love it and they havent kicked us out yet and I get a little shopping done. Everyone is happy.

So serious

2011-09-08T10:32:00.000-07:00

This girl likes to paint. She has helped me paint almost every room in this house. I just love this pic, she was telling me something so serious, like "stop taking my picture Mommy, Im busy."

Unsafe

2011-08-26T09:51:00.001-07:00

Recently I have been feeling unsafe or nervous about where we live. And I dont like it. We felt good about this community, its clean, nice people live here. The homes are well taken care of. We've been warned of petty crimes to support drug habits, but I guess I thought that wouldnt happen to us. A few nights ago our neighbors work truck was broken in to and all of his tools were stolen. I thought, oh geez, thinking that was the incident on the block for a while. But then just 2 days later our bikes were stolen out of the back yard. They were right up by the back door and they did it in the early evening. Daylight. The audacity. Unerving. How could I not have noticed? They luckily ditched Christophers on the corner because the tire was flat and chain was off. No quick getaway. But mine is gone. And Im the one who likes to ride my bike! It wasnt new or even nice. 15 years old but it worked. Then today at the park at the community center just a few blocks away a mom chastized me about Claire's diaper hanging out the bottom of her shorts. She told me that I never knew when pedofiles were lurking around. I thought to myself "oh geez, I worked with sex offenders. Im not too concerned today." But then not 5 minutes later a police man showed up because there was a drunken man laid out on a picnic bench not 100 feet away that I hadnt even seen. I came in from the other side. But those moms saw him when they came and called the cops. I dont think he was a pedofile. Fact is though, I didnt see him. Then when I was loading up I noticed the contents of my purse scattered all over the front seat. Turns out it was just Claire hunting for my chapstick, but it doesnt make it any better that my first response was that someone had been in the car and I was counting cards and money just as fast as I could. It had been parked 20 feet away, but based on my record, apparently someone could have gotten in and I not notice. Im distracted and I dont like it. I dont like feeling on edge, I prefer a bubble. But I guess no where is safe anymore. We were robbed in Provo on campus. Someone threw a boulder through my window and stole my purse. I guess 1 bike casualty is enough and I need to wake up. Pay attention. Count heads and all possessions. I dont like it.

USS Constellation

2011-08-23T12:30:00.000-07:00

Not only do we have family on the Trimble side, but I have another cousin, Sarah and Chad Lee, who live here in MD as well. So many of the Sevey clan came out this week to visit and they were so nice to come up and see us in Baltimore. We are becoming pros at picnics. We had a picnic at the tables on the Inner Harbor and then the plan for the day was to see the ships and end the day with Fort McHenry (where the Star Spangled Banner was born), but the kids only lasted through the USS Contsellation and the USS Torsk submarine. They were really excited to go down and see the "Big Ship". We then went home and made some yummy chicken enchiladas and the Seveys joined us for dinner. It was so fun to have everyone here.

I love this cute pic of Claire and her cousin Clara. :) Two cute girls!

Naughty

2011-08-23T12:20:00.001-07:00

I told CT tonight that I need security cameras in every room in this house that all feed to my phone so wherever they are I can see them. Just today Jack and Claire thought it would be great fun to scribble all over my bedroom walls with a permanent marker. I thought I had thrown them all out for that very crime before and I still dont know where they found it, but leave it to them to find the only one in this whole house. Then this afternoon in the 3 minutes Claire was alone in the kitchen she climbed up on top of the counter, threw all of the eggs on the floor (which I hid on the counter because Jack was "counting" them before) then she took off her diaper and was giving herself a bath in the ktichen sink. She had emptied the entire bottle of dish soap all over herself. THEN during naps they somehow (I still dont know how) climbed on top of thier dresser and threw the fishfood on the floor pulled all of the fish accessories out of the tank and then threw the lid on the floor too. Amazing the dang fish survived. I lock them in with child proof locks on thier doors but they have learned to open doors even with those on so now I have to tie thier doors shut with a rope. And Max is no better. Although he cant get out of his crib yet, he has an attitude just like the rest and is actually my biggest. The next morning a bunch of clanking noises woke me up. The kids had gotten out of their room and I found them in the kitchen, another dozen eggs cracked on the floor, they had gotten into my cooking cabinet with the flour and sugar and chocolate chips. They dumped all my sliced almonds, black beans, and raisens all over the floor. Jack was licking his finger and eating the sugar. Then that afternoon they got back into the cupboard and emptied the chocolate chips all over the floor. They had taken handfuls and squashed them together to make little balls... I had to double check to make sure they werent poop balls. They took those up the stairs, so then the carpets had to be cleaned.

The good news... Claire will tattle on herself. And they will help clean up. So off to wash walls and pick everything up for them! Not to mention a little time out. Claire will tell me honestly if she did something and if I ask if her brothers help she will honestly say yes or no. Funny baby. I love them.

National Zoo

2011-08-23T12:02:00.000-07:00

Now that half our family has moved to the East Coast we had to have a little get together before Uncle Peter and Uncle Jake start school. So we all met up in DC to see the National Zoo. Which as part of the Smithsonian is free. Really weird, no fences or gates, you just start walking down a side walk and then all of a sudden there are lions :) Getting to DC is always a fun experience with the traffic. And when we did get there we didnt want to pay for parking, so we parked a mile away and when we got the stroller out we found 3 flat tires. Like exploded tubes and tires off the rims. What are the odds that around the corner from where we parked there would be a bike shop? And then we got lost trying to walk there, BUT once we got there we had so much fun with Ashley and Peter and Allie, Jake, and little Olivia. The kids loved the turtles and elephants, but mostly the cows. :) Theres a little petting zoo and the cows were the best part. Jack sat and moo'd back at the cow for several minutes. We are so lucky we have family close.

Chocolate Factory for my Chocolate Boy

2011-08-23T11:37:00.000-07:00

Jack Loves Chocolate. I blame Grandma Becky who during his first Christmas, thats about all he ate. So now living within an hours drive of the chocolate factory of the world, we just needed to take Jack there. A few Saturdays ago we packed a picnic and drove up to Hershey PA to see Chocolate World. They kids LOVED the ride and the animated singing cows. They loved seeing the rivers of chocolate and even more eating the free samples. But then it rained. And everyone at the waterpark and amusement park came crashing into where we were and we couldnt do it anymore. Especially when they have a no stroller policy. So we got out. But the kids loved it. We chowed on a bag of reeses peanut butter cups on the way home.

Look what CT found!

2011-08-01T12:26:00.001-07:00

Only CT is tall enough to find this stash of dozens of empty vodka bottles, a crack pipe, and heroine needle and spoon hidden in our storage room above the AC ducts. Our neighbors said the previous owners were party'ers but really? They didnt seem the type. They weren't dusty which means they aren't old. 1 in 10 people in Baltimore have a serious drug problem. Lots of petty crime to pay for it. Maybe they WERE the 1. Hmm...

Potty Training... or Not.

2011-08-01T12:15:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking that for months Claire was ready. We got the little potties, we made the chart... And by morning Max had torn them off the wall and into pieces. I think it was an omen. Claire went in the little potty once and that was it. Its been over a week now and no interest whatsoever. So I guess we'll wait a little while longer. (sigh)

Settled?

2011-08-01T11:02:00.000-07:00

I would still say no, but I'm getting there. This month has been hectic trying to unpack and paint and settle in. The kids have been such troopers. Our best days are when I dont do anything except just play with them and be normal. ie take them to the park... For the first few weeks Claire would ask in the sweetest voice that "I wanna go home." She says please in such as sweet almost desperate tone that I have a hard time saying no to her. We would be standing in our new house when she would say it. I have to stop and explain again that this is our new home. And I think they day they started referring to this house as "Mommies house" which is what they used to call the Spokane house was a good day. I think they understand now that this is our house and they are home. We got them twin beds since I sold thier cribs and they have loved it. They go in and jump and play. Half the time I find them on the same bed asleep and sometimes I'll go in and cant find them at all only to catch a glimps of them asleep under thier beds. :) The church is really nice here. The boundaries are HUGE. To the PA border to downtown and an hour on both sides. Its a large ward and there are several other residents that are at Johns Hopkins. Which instantly gave CT a complex. There have got to be other Mormon residents at UMD, we just cant figure out where they live. But it has been nice to have so many others in our same boat. We've gone on several playdates now, trying to find our niche. I dont think I've found it yet, but the kids have been entertained. We went to the library, the Zoo, several parks, a few different swimming pools (all private and all $600+ a year to join). The heat this summer has been incredible. 115 120 degrees. 80% humitidy. I complained so much about Spokane being so cold... I will not complain. But I think I have decided that Im going back to SoCal where its a perfect 80 every day. :) There have been some complications--every time I turn around someone else wants $500. Our management co in Spokane wants $500. Our dishwasher broke the day we moved in. $500. I washed my iPhone. $500. A new shed. $500. The utility co wants $500 deposit since we've never had service with them before. Anyone want any? Apparently Karma thinks I just have $500 to give out to anyone who asks. The neighbors have been ok. At closing the old owners described them as "very nice" and then the wife kicked the husband under the table when he started saying more--which I saw. Point taken. I did have a section here about what I really thought, but if I cant say anything nice... But here are a few examples of our most recent interactions. One day they came over and asked Christopher to write a perscription for thier grandma so she can have a medical excuse to have a cat in her apartment. They said she had cancer. CT politely said no. I asked him later what medical reason does a cat have anything to do with cancer? He said nothing just that the apartments wanted her to get rid of it. They have a dog that thinks its ok to jump in our yard and pee on the grass. A habit I hope we have rid him of already. Claire doesnt like dogs. But she's getting better as long as it stays on thier side. They came over yesterday to ask if they could use our lawn equipment indefinetly. Im trying to be a good neighbor. They both smoke and on several occasions have thrown the butts in our yard. When I confronted them they blamed the people who go to an early morning AA meeting a block away. Im trying to be a good example. Maggie had a colonoscopy this week. We took her flowers. But what do I do about these other issues? Oh, neither work so they are home all day every day. The neighbors on all other sides have been very nice. Quiet. Polite. Private. Welcome to homeownership. Im going to make a video to send to HGTV for them to come and redo my backyard. Maybe they'll put up a privacy fence. :) On the good side, all boxes are in the attic. The bathroom, kitchen, and Max's rooms are done done. The rest are functional if not pretty. It may take years since it all costs $500 :) But we are here, making this our home, doing our best to settle. CT is happy at work. Home by 5:30 every day. His schedule is VERY NICE this year. No call or weekends all year. He'll have to work extra hard next year but the kids will be in preschool so hopefully that will help. But this is it... Home Sweet Home. Anyone wanna come visit? Give me something to look forward to :)

4th of July

2011-08-01T10:58:00.000-07:00

Our new neighbors, Chris and Maggie, invited us next door to have a 4th of July BBQ and party. The kids played in the pool all day and then we dined on hamburgers. I was really hoping to get to see the fireworks but the kids were OUT by like 7. So out in fact that Jack walked out of Max's room and by the time he got to the stairs not 4 feet away he was asleep. So feeling a little bummed (since the 4th is probably my fav holiday) I went out back to see if I could see anything. Maggie had told us that we could probably see a few from our back yard since the field where they let them off is just 3 blocks away. But she underestimated! We could see the WHOLE SHOW FROM OUR BACK YARD! It was so awesome I almost cried.

Thank Heavens for Family

2011-08-01T10:56:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to thank my parents, Sally, and Ryan and Becky for coming all the way out here to help us unload. Sally, Mom, and Dad flew in with the kids the same night we got there and then just hung out until after closing. Then they stayed for a long weekend to help watch the kids while we unloaded the truck as quickly as possible. We truly couldnt have done it without thier help. Ryan and Becky were so nice and took the kids one night while we went out to dinner with my parents and Sally. When in Rome... We had to eat Crabs. Dozens of steamed fresh crabs. We had to have a lesson from the waitress on the proper way to deshell one and what to not eat. It was amazing to watch a little girl on the next table, man she was a pro... downing crab after crab. What a whirlwind weekend. Thanks again everyone for your help.

Things to see along the way

2011-08-01T10:46:00.000-07:00

On our drive we stopped at several places along the way to see things we've never seen before and probably wont make the trip to see again. For starters, the MissleMan rockets in South Dakota. Did you know about these? Hundreds of rockets burried all over the northwest all aimed at Russia? Did you know there are hundreds still active? Kind of scary? We drove out into the middle of this guys field to what looked like a water station or power house but it was an 80 ft pit with a massive Nuke facing back at you. Im feeling a little relieved that the Cold War is over. No wonder when I was little my dad used to scare us into going to bed by saying "the Russians are coming." Scott and I were terrified of the long dark hallway in the trailer that led back to our rooms because we were sure there were Russians back there.

We stopped at Sturgis SD. I hope the next time Im there is for the annual Harley Davidson rally and Im on my own Harley Sportster 880. With flames painted on the side. :)

We stopped at Mt Rushmore and spent the evening. We dined on Bison Burgers. Yum Yum!

What an incredible thing. What patriotism, something I think this country is seriously lacking right now.

We also stopped to see Custards Last Stand. Amazing park. You can go stand right on top of Little Big Horn and they have all the grave markers there. You can look out to see where there were thousands of indians camped and you can also see why they didnt see them. Very hidden down by the river.

We took extra time to stop at Nauvoo and Carthage Jail. These really are places where you can spend days, but we just had a few short hours. So we took a wagon ride all round Nauvoo so we could see everything. Then we went back to a few specific places like the gun smith, the blacksmith, the Smith family graveyard where Joseph and Hyrum are burried. We went to the little red brick store which was Joseph's. We saw many homes like Brigham Youngs. But one of the most spectacular things for me was the Nauvoo temple. The last time I was there was 16 years ago and it was just a big grass field with the corner stones still there. So to see it standing so beautifully up on the hill was amazing.

And Carthage, what a sweet calm spirit there. There wasnt hardly anyone else there. What an amazing thing that the church has restored all of these sacred places.

From Nauvoo we tried to make really good time to get to Towson before too late on Wednesday. But what a fun ride and fun way to see the country!

New Car Smell

2011-07-12T10:14:00.000-07:00

Look what Mama got! For Christopher's 30th Birthday we went car shopping for me. Since we told the Tahoe I have been carless and its been kind of rough being so homebound since we've been here. There are plenty of things within walking distance, but with 95 degrees and 80% humidity... who wants to?! And I guess this is my prize for cleaning up poop all day. These babies have officially pooped on every floor and surface in this house! 3 times yesterday alone. But the worst was Jack pooped at the top of the stairs and then slide down the whole stairs on his bum leaving a poop streak down the stairs. Awesome. This is a Hona Odyssey. Its bran spankin new (we leased it, surprisingly cheaper then buying used). It had just come off the truck when we test drove it. It had .7 miles on it! HAHA. New car smell. Love it. But really, getting a minivan has been a little bit of a pride issue for me. I swore Id NEVER get one. NOT ME. Im not that mom. (but as you know from other posts, I am exactly that mom.) This is what I would prefer... one day.... When we got married CT promised me he would never make me get one. And he didnt. It was my decision. Reluctantly. nd trust me, I LOOKED at other SUVs. The Acadia... I need 8 seats, I could have got it. But the determining factor is that the stroller wouldnt fit in anything else. And we all KNOW how much I NEED that stroller. But today after running errands all morning, I can see why the automatic doors are convenient. And the space. This is how they should let people test drive them. Take them for 4 hours with kids to run errands. Not the little predetermined route around the block. I appreciate it more this morning. I think it looks like a beetle though. It should just grow black hairy legs and crawl away. So maybe thats what I'll call it. The Beetle . :)

From Sea to Shining Sea

2011-07-04T21:56:00.000-07:00

In Iowa we couldnt get out to take the pic because the whole place was under water. We had just passed a bridge and the off ramp near the sign was underwater.

Indiana didnt work because we were trying to not die in a tornado. We were outrunning the storm and that night there were 40 different tornados from that same storm. Thank heavens we just missed it! And the closer we got to Maryland and the bigger the freeways the more difficult and dangerous it was to stop, but we did our best.

And Finally, after 4 days in the car we arrived in Maryland on Wed June 22.

The Moving Truck Came

2011-07-04T21:22:00.001-07:00

Yup, we rented a whole diesel. The kids were pretty excited when a "Tschruck" actually came to our house. They were able to play in it for the short while it was empty. My parents flew out and helped up load along with our amazing neighbors and friends the Beans. Hazel was our faithful babysitter. They were from England. Anways, with Pete's help he saved us 4 feet in the truck which ended up saving us $500! WaHoo!!!

Without our furniture we did what we could... the kids were so tired they both fell asleep in one bed. And we used the tool box as a table and sat on floor to eat breakfast. Such little troopers!

Once we were done my parents took the kids and flew home so CT and I could start the crazy drive across the nation. We figured they would have more fun playing with the cousins and we figured we couldnt do Barney for 4 days straight. :)

Transitional Year Graduation

2011-07-04T20:51:00.000-07:00

At the end of this whole experience in Spokane, CT had his "graduation" from the internship or transitional year. It was one final night that we were all able to get together and have dinner and talk and celebrate before everyone scattered across the country again. Kids were invited but just to save everyone we left ours home. There was a wonderful dinner and the Docs got their certificates but it was mostly fun to just see everyone again. We made some really great friends this year that I hope we will be able to stay in touch with. Congrats my darling on finishing this year. We survived it!

The transitional year spouses

The Good Docs

Our Table with the Heiners and Schleissers

The Whole Group!!!

Last TY Ladies playgroup

2011-07-04T20:40:00.000-07:00

We had the most amazing group of transitional year resident wives. Lots of members of the church and everyone with little kids. And with all of us in the same boat--only there for a year-- it kind of made for instant friends. We had play group every monday and for me it was a life saver. The kids just LOVED the other little kids... Kody and Kaia, Josie and Anya and baby Gracie, Taft and Lukie, Ben, Ashley, and Jamie... these were the regulars every week. But there were so many more that came when they could. Thank you ladies for keeping me sane. We miss you all! It was quite the task getting all of these wiggly darlings to hold still to take this pic. It was the best we could do ;)

Moving on...

2011-06-05T13:55:00.000-07:00

The other day I took my car in to get the battery checked. Jack about had a melt down when he saw the other guy come out with the keys and get in the car to drive it away. He just started BAWLING "Mommies car! Mommies car!" Tears streaming. He thought that guy was taking my car. I guess they know something is going down. They did ok at the yard sale yesterday too. But I was nervous for last night and today. I sold thier cribs. My babes will be in twin beds when we move. And the lady came today to pick them up. Jack didnt see them go, but was ok while I was taking them down. He helped. And Claire even helped us haul it out to the lady's car. Such a good helper. Maybe they will do better with this move then I thought. Every once in a while Claire will ask where Daddy's car is. I just tell her I dont know and suggest we buy him a new one. She gets excited about that. And I ask them all the time if they want a new house and try to get them excited. I think they are doing great. So until we move and get settled, the twins will be sleeping in pack n plays. Maxie boy does still have his crib though. Thought I'd better keep atleast 1. :)

We hosted a yard sale yesterday. Several other residents who are living in apartments brought thier stuff and we had pretty good success. Here is Jen Sunseri, Becky Schleisser, and a very prego Michelle Guyette. It was the first sunny day in weeks and lots of people were out and about. We made over $100 on random stuff which is awesome! At noon we had several more residents come and we had a huge steak fry. We needed to finish off the steak and hamburger before we move and that did the trick! It was so fun to have one last informal get together with everyone. People stayed all day and we just chatted and hung out. What a fun day!

Nursery

2011-06-05T13:40:00.000-07:00

My darling Max is officially in Nursery. Today was his first day and they said he did just wonderfully. No surprise. He was so excited to bring me his homework after class. What a darling. Poor baby even has 4 teeth on top coming in, and he was still an angel. It was weird to sit all through sunday school and relief society without him. So quiet. Now what am I gonna do with myself!

Daddy has an Owie

2011-05-31T00:21:00.000-07:00

So says Claire. Its true though. This week CT went in and had a septoplasty and an epidermoid cyst removed from his chest. Ashley had a septoplasty earlier this year and it got CT thinking. So he called up a surgeon buddy and went and got checked out. Turns out his septum was severaly deviated. And guess what? Covered 100% by insurance so why the heck not? Just a few days later he was under the knife. And while he was there he had the doc check out a little bump that has been on his chest for like forever. We always thought it was a lypoma or a little fat lump. But its been getting bigger over the years and the doc thought maybe it was this other epi-whatever. Which it was. Not serious, but would have just kept getting bigger and bigger and eventually needed to be removed. Why not now? I always called it his button. We thought it was about the size of a ping pong ball maybe? But the Doc said after it was really the size of a baseball. A BASEBALL was in his chest! Holy cow! Poor guy though... it got infected and he got the flu on top of it all. Hasnt been a very good week. But the kids have liked having Daddy here all week. At first they wouldnt go near him with that bandaid under his nose. Espeically Claire, but they warmed back up to him and was gentle with him. He shaved his goatee for the first time in 7 years. People say he looks younger. I dont know... I miss it. :) Sometimes people say funny things when they wake up from surgery. Not this guy. Nope, he was all business. Grilling the nurse wanting to know every detail about everything... what kind of drugs he was on, why they intibated instead of some other thing, how much blood he had lost, things the nurse had no idea and had to scour his charts to find out. And then he would ask the same questions over and over again. All while eating a blue raspberry popcicle she was so nice to crush for him. I peeked out to ask them another question and all the nurses at the desk chuckled and said that Doctors make the worst patients. It was pretty funny. Who asks all those questions? Who cares? I would just want to know if A: I was still alive and B: if they fixed it. Then Yeah! But not him... All business. Even when drugged. He must truly be a doctor. :) We love you honey. We hope this helps you breath better.

More of Easter Vacation

2011-05-21T22:29:00.000-07:00

Im so glad Ashley took these pics of the Parson Pizza Factory party :) Twice now when we have driven through, Grandma and Grandpa have rented a room out and the whole fam has come to see us. Well, not us, I guess we just give everyone another reason to get together :) It was so fun to see everyone, especially since it will be years before we see most of them again. Ash took Claire and Grandma Becky... well she just cant help but spoil Jack. All he ate that night was a massive cookie!

And these darling pics were taken and Lindsey and Forrests new house. Baby Sarah was born just days before and we were so happy to go love on her a little before we move. The kids had so much fun playing with Davis. You can tell they were happy to have thier picture taken (Jack...) :) Jack was so TENDER with Sarah. He kept giving her kisses on the top of her head and patting her hand. I know what a brute he can be, so to see him be so soft with her was pretty cute. Dang boy, I know he has it in him.

Goodbyes

2011-05-18T14:54:00.000-07:00

Many goodbyes as of late... First and foremost: Our Tahoe. Affectionatly known as the Beast. This is a 96 Tahoe and Ryan and Becky were the original owners. CT has had this car since he was 13. He learned to drive in it, drove it all through high school, college, and our goal was hopefully it would survive Med school. Which is did, plus a year for the MBA. Then on a half thought, maybe it would survive internship too. And it did. But sadly, the Beast cannot join us on the East Coast. We are happy to sell him here, he will die with his boots on, here in the dirt and mountains where a 4X4 can truly be appreciated. Christopher is suprisingly sad. Sharp looking rig after all these years. Guy called us tonight and drove off with it 30 minutes later. Cash in our hand.

A very nice man came and bought the BEST anniversary present I EVER recieved, which was my portable air conditioner. We almost died in Irvine during the summer on the 3rd and 4th floor of the student housing. The summer CT lived in Philly's extra cold basement doing an externship at Amersis I boiled in our apartment. So for our anniversary that we spent apart, he bought an AC and had it delivered to me. Better then any flowers he could have ever sent.

Last but in no way least--The Farmers. Rose Ellen, Tyler, Natalie, and Becca. They have been our good friends and neighbors this last year. The day we flew in with the kids moving here, not an hour after arriving, Rose Ellen was on my door with a pan of fresh baked cinnimon rolls. It was the nicest thing EVER. It was such a help to not have to worry about breakfast for the next few days while we tried to quickly unpack and get settled. Tyler just graduated from law school and they are moving to Yacuma WA. Rose Ellen, however is from Arlington VA, close to Baltimore, so we are hoping to see her again when she comes out to visit.

Lots of sad good byes.

Sleep Habits

2011-05-13T12:50:00.000-07:00

For some reason, I dont do well when they are transitioning thier sleeping habits. When they were newborns, it stressed me out when they stayed awake after a feeding. Then it stressed me out when they went from sleeping all day to just two 3-hr naps a day. Then when we moved here we went from 2 naps to 1 3 hour nap. EVERY DAY. I know, Im lucky. But now that they have learned to climb out of thier cribs nap time has become a fight. It stresses me out so much when I hear them back there playing. Isnt that dumb? They are fine, happy, apparently not sleepy. But they do things like destroy thier bedroom, or last night with the babysitter, Jack fell asleep right here in front of his door and I nearly nailed him when I went in to check on him. Most days they still do eventually fall asleep, but the days they dont are always bad days. By the end of thier "naptime" Im so wound up because they didnt nap that I just want to kill them. So today, they are not asleep, jumping and giggling, I just need to relax and tell myself they are still quarentined in thier bedroom and out of my hair and just let them be for an hour.

Mothers Day

2011-05-08T23:58:00.000-07:00

My darlings came bopping in this morning, each with the plastic flower that they couldnt destroy (and Claire quickly claimed them all to be hers). So when I looked over the foot of the bed I just saw tops of heads and bopping flowers coming running in. Such darlings. CT gave me a gift certificate for another massage (even though I gave myself on yesterday :) A girl cant have too many massages can she?). But then in sacrament first thing this morning, all Jack wanted to do was go to nursery so he could play with the basket ball, I eventually had to take him out and when I got up to walk out the side of my skirt was plastered with fruit loops. Awesome. So my thoughts on this day, as Im sure many moms do, we look at our weaknesses and how terrible of moms we really are. Im find myself lost most days. Am I doing enough? Who needs me most? When Jack slams Claires arm in the door do I take a minute to console her or do I leave her crying while I discipline Jack and take the time to explain to him why it was wrong or why he wasnt listening to mommy. I chose to stop the tears, and by the time I get to Jack, he's so far past that moment that it wouldnt make any sense to him anyway. So how am I ever to discipline them? Or teaching them anything... Im sure if I had lots of 1 on 1 time I could do it. A friends daughter born the day after mine knows her ABC song. Another friend who's child is almost 3 knows his letters and is starting to write them. If I even give my kids crayons they color on the tv, my couch, thir own faces.... I have a hard enough time keeping them on paper, let alone helping them learn WHAT to draw. Reading to them is a joke. Mine will be illiterate. I admire so much mothers who have more then 3. How they do it I dont know.

I swore I'd never complain. And my heart hurts today for those friends of mine who would take my 3 in an instant. And with all my "fails" every day, my darlings are beautiful and wonderful and sweet and Im grateful to be thier Mommi.

Home on the Farm

2011-05-08T23:27:00.001-07:00

These pictures make my heart happy. So while we were house hunting the kids had an amazing time on the farm. It makes me sad that they cant experience what I did growing up. Being there, riding all the time, cows... There's just something about it. Mine will be the sad city kids who fly in to spend 2 weeks a summer on Grandpa's farm. NOT THE SAME. Sad. But Im so glad they had this week. Jack apparently really took to it, and Uncle Scott became his favorite. Whenever he came over Jack was ready to go out with him. He LOVED driving the lawn mower and the cows. After we came home, our last day was spent doctoring the new calves. A production that I really miss every year. But this year we were actually there to help and see thier new techniques. We used to run them through the chute to brand them, but now they rope them, a little more classic cowboy. It was fun to watch. And my darling Claire was up on the fence watching the whole thing, loving it. Jack played on the pipes like I used to and Max, well he slept through it. Although he did love the cows... no fear that boy. It loved seeing them out playing in the dirt.

And I, well Dad call me a week before and said he had a horse for me. Its been (Im ashamed to admit) 4 years since I've ridden a horse. And I couldnt have been more happy to be in the saddle. BUT Im even more shamed to admit that I got bucked off for the first time in my life. I knew better, I let his head get away from me and he started hopping around and off I went. In my defense, it was the horses first time out this spring, they are always more jumpy in the Spring then they are in the Fall after they've been ridden all summer. Still, I knew better. So nothing hurt by my pride. My ribs disagreed for a while and my knee still bugs, but dang I was embarassed. I was told, however, that I had good form. If such a thing exists. Tuck and roll. I'll take it I guess.

We had to leave at noon that day to start the journey back home. We stopped to see Lindsey and her new darling baby Sarah, and we saw the Trimbles, and the Parsons really cam together with a pizza party at the Pizza Factory. We wont see most of these people again for years. Literally. What a wonderful long day. But we spent the night in Idaho Falls and finally made it home the next day.

House Hunting

2011-05-08T22:23:00.000-07:00

After a wonderful Easter day we put the kids down and CT and I ditched them with my parents and flew to Baltimore to house hunt. We spent 3 wonderful days with our agent Lynn Plack who had been good to us from a far, but she far surpassed our expectations while we were there. She really took care of us, drove us everywhere, had us to dinner at her house with the most remarkable crab cakes. She is amazing. Her husband is a cardiologist in MD. We appreciated so much that she suffered through residency with a couple small kids too. She understands us completely. Its funny too because she is my height and her husband is 6'7". So as oddly they were us 20 years ago. It was so fun to spend time with them. But this was not a vacation by any means. House hunting was really stressful. How to make the right decision? Which city even to live in? We had 3 options. Catonsville, Owings Mills, and Towson. All wonderful and had pros and cons for each. So surprisingly after a very long first day in Catonsville and Owings Mills we were very confused and upset. Day two was spent in Towson and the very first home we walked in to I almost cried. The neighborhood was wonderful and all thought of the other two cities were gone. Towson and Loch Raven Village was for us. But now where... LR is split in two by a major road, one side a different zip code and less desirable then the other. Home values are less so we could get more for our money, but might be harder to sell. So for the next two days we saw atleast 20 more homes on both sides. And in the end we went back to Utah still just as confused. And with what seemed like no more help from the Lord we were at a loss we to what to do. So we made a list and started making offers with the prayer that if it wasnt right then it would fall through somehow. What a gamble to make. We made our first offer on what was my favorite from the beginning. And they flat out rejected us. We made a second offer $20K higher, not a token raise. And they still declined. Funny since thier house has been on the market for nearly a year and it wasnt that far off thier asking price. So we moved 4 doors up the street to our next favorite and made an offer, with the same prayer. Let something happen... And funny thing: The people fell off the planet. They literally didnt answer thier phone for 3 days. So they didnt even know there was an offer on thier house and it expired before they even knew about it. But even then they declined the offer. Divine intervention. Who just doesnt answer the phone when there was interest in thier house? We couldnt believe it! What were we supposed to do now? We were discussing our options when a new one came on the market. Perfect street, perfect house. It had everything we had asked for. On the better side of town. So amazing that within 2 days of being on the market we had decided to put in an offer but so had another couple. Awesome, a bidding war. This was ridiculous! So we put in our best offer, higher then what we really wanted but because of a wink wink from thier agent, we believed we would get it. AND WE DID! But again, I think a little bit of divine intervention... the other couple had put in a HIGHER bid and more earnest money then us. But the sellers chose us anyway. We were told that it was because of our financing. Our loan is a "doctor loan." Special for residents where they dont take our student loan debt into consideration. I guess they thought that sounded more secure, a better bet then the other couple. So even though our offer was lower, we got it. We couldnt be happier. The other two homes were slightly bigger but this is by far the nicest, especially the basement where if the winters were anything like this one in Spokane, we will be living down there alot. Its equal distance (maybe 1/2 mile) from both the park and the elementary school where the kids will do preschool-1st grade. And probably the same distance from a huge shopping area with Target, Walmart, Babies R Us, Giant Food... just about any other store I use frequently. Great for walking. So here are a few pics of our new house....1637 Cottage Lane, Towson. :) Just needs a little paint to make it ours. I dont think the boys would appreciate the pink and purple bedrooms. Although Claire might put up a stink when she sees them.

And as for that higher asking price... funny thing, yesterday when we actually applied for the loan, we found out rates are dropping so instead of a 4.75% which was our original APR, we are now at 4% which is a $100 decrease in our mortgage every month. Which makes the house even cheaper then the offers we put on the other houses even though it cost more... I cant help but see the hand of the Lord in this even though going through it we felt no direct revelation or direction from him. Isnt it funny how its usually in hindsight. We have a perfect house in a perfect location for a perfect price.

Easter 2011

2011-05-08T22:01:00.000-07:00

This year we were so lucky to be able to go home for Easter. We left the Friday before and drove all night long since CT had been working nights and I staying up really late it wasnt hard at all. We arrived in Fillmore at 8 am just in time for breakfast. The kids slept really well in the car except for when we stopped for gas.

We colored eggs before we left and the kids had such a fun time doing it... too bad I forgot them and left them in the fridge! But the Easter Bunny didnt forget where we were. He came to Grandma's house and left all sorts of treats all over the back yard. It was such a fun time for the kids. We had plans to hit the sand dunes after all of our naps, but trust a Millard County wind to spoil it. Oh well. We had such a wonderful feast, it was wonderful to be home after such a long time.

About the Happiest Baby Ever

2011-04-25T19:59:00.000-07:00

He's so busy. We love Max.

Duct Tape

2011-04-25T19:55:00.000-07:00

Yup, halarious thing taking off thier diapers. Im tired of cleaning up poop all over when they do it. So we busted out the tape, I even got pretty turquoise tape. And this was Claire's response. She hates it. I dont care. Sorry Dolly, Mommy wins.

Dollar Store Balloon

2011-04-05T18:40:00.000-07:00

Tonight I took the kids to the dollar store to stock up on summer things like frizbees, toy boats, kites and bubble blowers. I let them each pick out a helium balloon before we left. I had Max in my arms, and I was trying to scurry them to the car, Jacks arms were filled with his loot, it was a busy parking lot and I was just trying to get all three kids to the car without incident. Jack wasnt watching and tripped over a speed bump. Fell face first it into the asphault. And even though I tied his balloon to his hand, somehow we sat there and watched it fly away. He was devastated and crying and I scooped him up to get him out of the road as quickly as possible. Claire was standing by the car like a good girl. And I don't even know where Max was by this point. I was loading them as quickly as I could to just get out of there when a man and his daughter appeared right in front of me out of no where with another balloon. He gave it to Jack and said "here's your balloon" but it wasn't his. I was sitting there perplexed wondering how he had gotten it when I had just seen it fly away. I was so frenzied that it took me a minute to even realize that that man and his daughter were giving Jack thiers. He disappeared just as quickly as he appeared. And all I could do was stand there and cry. He was my angel today. The Lord loves us and is aware.

Working Nights

2011-04-03T14:15:00.000-07:00

Daddy has been working nights again so I've been trying to keep the kids busy in the late afternoon so they will crash early. Night time routine is not easy by myself. So Im resorting to icecream bribery, picnics in the park, and playing at the mall. Can you blame me?

Love

2011-04-03T14:08:00.001-07:00

Its been raining alot, so I bought them umbrellas... Really it was just to make them stop screaming in Walmart, whatever, I caved. But they LOVED the umbrellas and it turned into entertainment all day. I finally had to hide them, but only after thier naps :)

Spokane Valley Bounce House

2011-04-03T13:51:00.000-07:00

All winter we've tried to find things to do with these babes. One of our favs has been the bounce house! They LOVE it of course but its pretty hard to go by myself. So on our last day on the punch card, we saved it for when Daddy could come see us be crazy too! Claire and Jack LOVE LOVE LOVE the big slides. Claire will do that the entire time she's there. Jack loves the balls they have, and it frankly scares Max a little. But this time he seemed to warm up to it. Maybe because it Daddy's help I could actually get in and play with him.

One of the nicests things someone did for me this winter happened here. I went by myself one morning when the kids were exceptionally crazy and I was having a hard time watching all three by myself. Jack was in a different bouncy, I was holding Max (who weighs a ton) and Claire was doing the slide. I was running back and forth between the two kids trying to watch them both. There were several little kids on this particular slide, all about 2, and they were sliding and running into each other at the bottom. Most of the time it ended in giggles and we tried to clear them out as quick as possible. I turned to look at Jack and Claire came flying down and she bonked heads with another little girl. Claire was just fine, but apparently the little girl had bit her lip and it was bleeding. The mom kind of freaked out. She rushed her to the office and made them get some ice for her. With Max in one arm and Claire bawling in the other, I left Jack to go see if that little girl was ok and appoligize to the other mom. It took me a minute to find her. She said it was ok and that it happened but then she left immediatly. Apparently it was not ok. But what was I supposed to do? So I ran back to check on Jack, who was still jumping with his basketball simply oblivious. But for the rest of the hour Claire nor Max would leave my side but I still had to try to play with Jack. It was all I could do to just not sit down and cry my eyes out right there in the jump house. I looked up and there was another mom standing by the slide still watching her boys and she winked at me. A few minutes later I went back to the slide with Claire and she started talking to me. She had been standing right there watching the whole thing go down. She had 3 year old twin boys who were going nuts on the slide and she was just so kind to talk to me and not judge me for the madness that I was that day. We had the same pediatrician and she gave me some advice on thier talking... We didnt talk about anything of any importance really. But instead of judging me or looking at me like I was nuts, she understood. She made me feel less like a freak and that accidents happen, and it was ok. It makes me almost cry even now just typing it. Bless that woman forever for her kindness to me that day. I'll never forget her.

Easter will not be forgotten!

2011-04-03T13:46:00.000-07:00

I'm determined to make Easter fun and so they know it exists... I got out thier eggs and baskets from last year. This is what they turned in to... Hats. I guess we need to have a few practice runs with finding the eggs. :)

We Love Daddy

2011-04-03T13:44:00.001-07:00

And his guitar!

Jacks new trick

2011-03-24T12:57:00.000-07:00

After about 10 minutes of me pushing him and pushing on his knees saying "move your little legs, push push" he finally got it! He still has a hard time starting and turning, but the boy can peddle! He was so proud of himself! And we are super proud of him too. :)

Boogie Game

2011-03-23T22:25:00.000-07:00

I taught Claire how to pick her nose. I know, awesome parenting. But the little darling, all winter had the hugest hard boogies in her nose and I would see them every time I changed her diaper. So we would play this game, I would let her "get my boogies" or pinch my nose and in return she would let me pick them out. Which she really didnt like so I started showing them to her and saying "See, arent you glad that isnt in there any more." Now that its spring and they are feeling better, no more boogies. We havent played it in a while. Until 2 days ago, we were in public, and I saw her fiddling with her nose. Then she turned around and handed me the dried boogie she had just fished out. Awesome. Apparently I need to redefine the rules of the game.

St Patricks Day

2011-03-21T23:22:00.001-07:00

Came and went, just like Valentines Day... without my kids even knowing it existed. I need to be better.

Sweet Relief

2011-03-21T21:21:00.000-07:00

So after this long winter we had the most amazing chance to go home to Orange County and thaw out. We couldnt have been happier to go and the Good Lord knew we were coming and ordered PERFECT weather for us. Not to mention the most amazing company ever. We were able to see and do so many things Im not even sure where to start. We got to have Aunt Ash come for a long weekend too which was so fun to see her and give her a chance to snuggle with the babes--we made "cacorn".

We visited the hospital and all our loved ones there, and then my office and my wonderful co-workers. They shut down the office early and ordered pizza for us. It was like we never left.

We had our wonderful babysitter and friend Lydwina and her sister Lizzy and friend Sheryl come a couple times so we could go out as adults and let them have a chance to see the babes.

(this is Jack sh'shing the terra cotta horses :) And Claire pouting because we left.)

We had a wonderful dinner with Tiffany, Zaylin, and Bram. Too bad that darling baby girl of hers couldnt make an appearance. We just missed her by a few weeks.

We set up a play date with the girls from our old ward as well. Lisa, Goldie, Lynelle, I miss you girls more then you know. Thank you for taking the time to come play.

Max's sad face about breaks my heart. I think he was just thirsty, but he just looks devestated. And Claire doesnt believe in shirts. Often we have to have the "we are in public, you need a shirt" discussion.

We tried to go to the park every day. Did I mention shopping? We shopped a lot. :)

Claire hasnt stopped asking for the "Pak" since we came home. Every day.

We had to hit the beach a couple of times of course.

But we really liked just hanging at Grandma's.

Max's favorite was to play in the quilt rack. We thought he kept getting stuck, but he liked it in there--quilt jail. And we did our best to keep him from eating the plants! HAHA

Jack took his watering duties very serious!

We did have some sickness while we were there. In fact, all three threw up, and 2 got blessings from Daddy and Grandpa. But the worst was Jack. We were all ready to go to the symphony, just minutes before walking out the door... Jack came over on my lap and I had about .5 seconds warning before he threw up all over me. Then again. And then again. 3 awesome waves of chocolate milk and grapes all down my front, down my sequins and heels, all over the floor... Lydwina walked in right in the middle of it and ran upstairs to start the bath. I took a quick shower and CT and I went anyway while Grandma and Grandpa stayed home. Lydwina stayed anyway to watch the kids while they cleaned up. I was so torn, it was hard to concentrate when I just wanted to be at home holding Jack. He was so sick, fevers, aweful. But Im glad I went.

More then anything or anybody we were so happy to go visit Grandma and Grandpa and thank you so much for letting us come. 11 days is a long time, but we enjoyed every busy minute. We miss having you so close. So thank you for the sweet relief. We left winter and came home to spring. I think we survived.

Acceptance

2011-02-26T21:36:00.001-08:00

Its been a long winter. I thought I really missed the seasons, but Im ready for Spring to come. I think everyone understands that sensation. But lets be honest, it has been a really rough winter. I guess I knew that this year would be difficult in general. Difficult hours for CT, difficult ages for the kids, a super tight budget, no sunshine from Oct-May. I knew these things coming into it, but living it has been a different story. Its been really hard. Im trying to not have a pitty party, I know lots of people are living in difficult circumstances, Im just telling how it is. The darlings in particular have been very frustrating. The twins are in full blown 2 year old mode and Max thinks he's just as big. He's not a baby any more, walking around, giving me attitude. :) (teeheehee, like he could ever, angel baby.) They dont eat, they scream at me all day, they throw things, they are staying up later. Jack has been super clingy, almost an Oedipus complex. He bawls whenever I leave him or even put him down. Here is the house even. Its so frustrating to have him stuck to me. Its been really stressful. Christopher will come home and Im about at the end of my rope and ask how my day is. And it seemed everyday was a "bad day". All of this stress I turn to food and coke, now diet coke thank heavens, so my diet has been thrown out the window. Im a total stress eater. The 60 lbs I lost is now only 50 (which I know, I should still be grateful) but it makes me that much more depressed. Like I have no control over that either. Its just one more thing to add to my list of worries and discouragements. Thats it, Im depressed.

So Im trying to be better. I try to keep busy, have someplace to go every day, have a project or something big to look forward to. I've decided that I cant have every day be a "bad day". Who can live like that? So Im trying to accept my situation for what it is. Fact is, I have 3 toddlers. And when they dont eat dinner, they get down happy and come in and start playing like nothing. It doesnt bother them. So why am I in the kitchen pulling my hair out over the hotdogs still sitting there. They arent worried about it. So why should I be? The budget is what it is, why should I stress about it? Its not going to change. Christopher's long stretch of difficult rotations is over. Spring is coming... the sun will help and getting out to walk again and will help my attitude and my waistline I think. So Im looking to the future, trying to keep a good attitude, and accepting things darlings for what they are--Just that. How could I not love them completely. They are just so halarious. And instead of being mad at Jack for being so clingy, Im trying to enjoy the attention because I know too soon he wont want to cuddle with me anymore. Im trying to enjoy being his #1. Oh, they are so exhausting. So on that note... Im off to bed.

Valentines Day

2011-02-26T21:32:00.000-08:00

Although Christopher and I went out the week before, VDay itself was kind of a flop around here. In fact, the kid's vday cards from me are still in the drawer. I know. I really wanted to do a big thing for them, but lets be honest, Im exhausted. After all of the holidays and birthdays, I just didnt do it. But CT and I did go get massages (his first real one) and a nice dinner. Which was awesome. So Happy V day all.

2011-02-20T20:39:00.000-08:00

Daddy: "Claire, what does a duck say?"

Claire: "Crap Crap."

What? No more bottles?

2011-02-05T22:00:00.000-08:00

Yup. Sorry Max. But this was your last. I put away all the bottles. I was looking at older posts from when the twins were born, this was 1/2 day. 24 bottles a day between the two. From that two years ago down to this one... Im tired of making and washing bottles. Maybe we'll give Avent a break. :) Oh, and if anyone can figure out how to rewind time, after looking back at those pics, I wouldnt mind going back to having just those two teeny tiny darlings for a little while. Let me know?

YMCA

2011-02-05T21:43:00.000-08:00

We are so lucky to have a membership to the YMCA. Its a full on gym and pool and it has 2 hrs free daycare every day. (Too bad Jack cries every time I've gone and we've had to leave after 30 minutes. Im hoping he gets used to it.) But this week for a family night we tried to go to the pools. AWESOME. They have this amazing splash pad, basically a playground in 10 inches of water. I think their faces say for themselves how much they loved it. I cant do it on my own unless I check a couple into the daycare and do one at a time, but with help, this is super fun!

Popcorn Party

2011-02-05T21:28:00.000-08:00

Did anyone else, growing up, have popcorn parties on Sunday night while watching the Disney movie? One would come on Sunday nights at 6. Different every week. Mom would make homemade popcorn (the good stuff) and we'd get our blankets. Well, my babes love popcorn. And Disney. Monsters Inc and Nemo are dailies here. Sometimes I can sneek in Cars and Toy Story. But this is a tradition Im sure we'll keep up.

More flour

2011-01-21T14:13:00.000-08:00

Who doesnt like playing in Flour?

2011-01-21T13:53:00.001-08:00

I guess every kid has to do it sometime right? I must confess sometimes I still like running my fingers through it, it is really soft and usually cold. And I must also confess that I thought it easier to clean up the mess they made then deal with the screaming and fighting that would have commenced after. And after all that, they didnt even eat the pizza!

Warm Weather, sort of.

2011-01-17T00:26:00.000-08:00

And I love it. Who said 50 degrees is warm? It was 76 in Santa Ana today. But enough about that. Friday we went out and built a snowman before the snow all melted (which it did, including our cute guy by the end of the next day). And today was stake conference, no way I was even going to attempt it. (Judge if you like.) So we packed a picnic and went to the park in Cd'A for some much needed fresh air. It was chillier there next to the lake, but the kids had a great time anyways. Then nothing better then a little cuddle time on the couch this evening.

Moms of multiples are freaks of nature

2011-01-16T23:41:00.000-08:00

I've had this conversation verbatim. Multiple times. I almost cried the first time I saw it (after a long day). But really, just hilarious. Just had to share.

Who are these people?

2011-01-12T22:58:00.001-08:00

I dont even recognize them! Such funny babes. We went on a date last night just to dinner and when we got home, they were still up 2 hours past thier bed time. Our wonderful baby sitter Hazel said there was a mas revolt and Max was the ring leader! MAX! Poor Hazel had a cold even, I was hoping they would give her a break. No dice. This is what Claire looked like when we walked in and she was in their closet getting out a bag of 100 balls like it was going to be a totally fun time. Hazel was holding Jack, and Max was over in the rocking chair jumping up and down with a big grin on his face. I love it when he squints at the camera. :)

Yeah for Ipads.

2011-01-12T13:30:00.000-08:00

Christopher wont play board games with me. Atleast he wouldnt until now. We play on our iPads over the Wi-Fi. Who needs a board? Atleast he'll play with me now. Maybe I'll get him to play Phase 10 with me after all.... ;) Thank you Apple. You just made my marriage happier.