Take Time Everyday to do Something Silly!

Take time everyday to do something silly. We laugh a lot and with two little "turkeys" like Logan and Samantha it is not hard to see why. Our lives are in constant change, some good, some not so good. Keep a smile on your face! and do something silly!

Mark had plenty of practice with the new snow shovel. We received 9 inches of snow in two days!!

The picture above shows Logan being a double agent as he is downing both his and Samantha's juice.

Samantha and Logan are loving the DVDs called "Signing Time." Samantha is very quick to pick-up signs and uses them, with her words, all the time. Her favorite signs are hungry, cookie, and apple. The picture above shows her signing "apple."

Logan is sporting the new "box hat" style which fits right in with the wrapping season.

Logan and Samantha love hats! Not the typical type of hats, but the ones made out of everyday objects. Bowls, colanders and boxes are the all time favorites.

Our Pumpkin Patch

Our little pumpkins loved dressing-up. Logan hasn't stopped saying "pumpkin" all month. We went to the our Wards trunk-or-treat and both Logan and Samantha were more than willing to grab candy out of bowls presented to them. We bought a lot of candy figuring we would have trick-or-treaters, but alas we were wrong (only 2!). Our little pumpkins, Samantha and Logan

Samantha and Logan with Great-Grandma King

Samantha and Logan with Aunt Leigh and Uncle Scott

We have really been enjoying the Fall weather. Each afternoon we take a walk to get the mail (which takes about a half an hour), not because it is far, but because there is so much to see on the way. Logan and Samantha love their pumpkins and Samantha was even caught giving hers a hug.
Logan and Samantha playing in the leaves.

Weeds Sweet Weeds (aka. Home Sweet Home)

I can't believe that it is Fall already! The leaves are changing colors and you can feel the slight chill in the air. I love it! Mark and I have missed the amazing changes in seasons and are excited to be so close to these beautiful colors.
We moved into our new house about a month ago and are really enjoying it. Logan and Samantha love having their own play room and lots stairs to play on (only when mom forgets to put up the gate:). They will be 18 months tomorrow and are amazing me each and every day. YES, they are finally skilled walkers! Logan repeats everything and Samantha is quick to follow several step directions. This week they have discovered (much to my dismay) that hitting each other has interesting results. I am afraid that this week was just a precursor for the upcoming years. I have included a few pictures from the past couple of months.

OUR NEW HOME! O.k., this is what the yard looked like when we moved in. Yes, those weeds were about 5 feet tall. Since then they have been reduced to only a couple of inches. I can't wait until next Spring when we can get some landscaping. There is so many things that I like about our new home, but one thing that definitely stands out is the location. We are close to family, shopping, mountains, parks, church (our backyard neighbor in fact), lake views, and open land (at least for the moment).

Our family loves going to the local parks and feeding the ducks! We go 1-2 times a week and hope to go at least a few more times before the cold weather hits.

Uncle Scott and Aunt Leigh invited us to the zoo! We had a great time and the rain was just icing on the cake.

Samantha didn't know what to think of the BIG snakes!

Logan's smile says it all as he catches a glimpse of the the next zoo animal.

A Lot to Update!

Most of you have probably heard, but for those of you that are still in the dark-We have moved!! We are now closer to family, which was a definite factor in this important decision. Mark has taken a new job and we are currently frantically searching for a new home. Thanks to a wonderful family we are being well taken care of.

I have a little catching up to be so bare with me. We moved the middle of June. Logan and Samantha are fast learners. They say a few words and use 4 signs on a regular basis. They also follow many directions with the exception of "Don't play in Kitty's water dish!" A few new directions include: "Shake hands" "Hold hands" and "Fold arms."

Here are few pictures of the crew.

Bye, Bye. We will miss all of the wonderful people we have gotten to know over the past 6 years.

Logan loves to read books especially ones that play music. He definitely has rhythm.

This is Samantha's first ponytail. She loves to get her hair done and wear jewelry.

Logan and Samantha love to play with their grandparents!

Samantha loves her binkies (which we limit to nap time and bedtime) and her luvie.

Logan loves lounge on pillows. Check out the "I love you" sign made with his right hand.

May Update

Logan has learned to climb and loves to climb in, over, under, and on everything!

Samantha loves to cuddle with soft toys and has discovered the comfort of her "lovie" (small blanket) which she now sleeps with.

These little turkeys love to "talk" on the telephone.

We all had fun in the pool last Saturday. This was the kids first time "swimming."

A Pair of Ones

Taking pictures of these Twinkies is so much fun! Here are our final (sniff, sniff) bear pictures. I made a short slide show of all our bear pictures and even put it to music. Unfortunately, the program I used has some flaws and wont let me edit it. So, hopefully I will be able to fix it soon and get it posted.

Logan has been exploring the house with precision lately. He loves to stand-up and tries so hard to climb up on chairs, tables, and the couch. Logan gets frustrated when he can't get to the things he wants. He will tighten his fists, gets red in the face, and yells in frustration. I shouldn't laugh, but it is just so cute! During our "photo shoot" he discovered dirt and just had to taste it (repeatedly).

Samantha is still our little smiler. She is a very fast crawler and follows Emily and Kitty everywhere! She understands a lot and can already point to 5 body parts.

We have a play group! On Mondays our friend Gina comes over to play. Emily and Sophia (Gina's mom) get to socialize while the three friends play. Emily doesn't get out much so she looks forward to this time each week.

Happy Birthday TWO You!

One year old cuties!! This past year has gone by so fast. It has been full of challenges and indescribable joy. Logan and Samantha are growing and changing everyday. Below they are sporting their first birthday hats.

Logan and Samantha were wide eyed as they watched all of their cousins. They learned a lot from them and are now crawling (the traditional way) and pulling up on everything! Below they are with their cousin Dallin.

It meant the world to Mark and I to have our families together to celebrate Logan and Samantha's birthday. Below are Emily's parents and siblings.

Two Cute!

Easter Pictures of Logan and Samantha. They love to give their bears lots of hugs and kisses. They were both fascinated by the Easter basket, especially the purple grass we put in them. We hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!

We took these pictures earlier this month while playing in our front yard.

Mark often calls Logan "Blue Eyes" and this picture show us why.

Our little "smiley" Samantha.

Partners in Crime

Hello! Here are some recent photos of our pair. They are growing fast and are always coming-up with new games to play. Most recently they have taken to imitating each other. In the picture below Logan and Samantha have positioned themselves next to each other and are kicking the fireplace, which is their current favorite game. No matter where they are in the room if one starts to kick the wall/cabinet/piano/etc... the other will make their way over to join in the fun.

Logan and Samantha are all smiles and squeals when mom is eating an apple. They love it when she shares.
For Logan's and Samantha's 10 month bear picture we went to the park. They were fascinated by the other children.

Little Video Fun

Our Twinkies!

Almost 10 Months!!!

As promised, here are the babies 9 month bear pictures. They are sitting-up like big kids in front of their toy house. We finally captured a picture of Samantha's big smile!

Logan is always ready to have his picture taken.
Samantha loves to open and close the door and when the window or any door is open she must close it.
I wanted to include a picture of our little mess makers. They love prunes with apples, but it always turns into finger painting.

Peek-A-Boo Times Two

Logan and Samantha found a new game to initiate, peek-a-boo. They will roll over to the couch cover and get under it and wait for either Mark or I to say "Where's Samantha (or Logan)?" and then peek out and smile. We often hear them giggling under couch covers, burp rags, bowls, and blankets.

They both love to pull their socks off! Samantha will get a hold of both of her socks and pull at once resulting in a satisfied grin. Here are a couple of pictures of them sampling their feet.

Stay tuned for our 9 month (has it been that long already?) bear pictures coming soon.

Christmas Joy

Our little family had a wonderful Christmas! Logan and Samantha were not nearly as excited as mom and dad. Samantha couldn't keep her eyes and hands off the tree and was surprisingly timid with the wrappings. Logan was very focused and unwrapped like a pro.

Samantha and mom with her baby doll.

Logan and dad unwrapping shape sorting blocks (a favorite).
Grandma and grandpa came to visit a few days after Christmas so we had two days of Christmas! Below grandma is reading to Samantha from a new picture book.

Grandpa and Logan having fun!