Merry Christmas!

Merry CHRISTMAS!!! Our identical...ops I mean Fraternal TWINS!!! Can you guess which one is RHEAD and which one is Brooke? We ran out of pj's!

Carden amazed at what SANTA brought him!

We took Daddy to the ZOO! Carden got to show him his favorite, the HORNBILL!

The Glenn's going sledding at SIX FLAGS!

Riding Harold the helicopter with Lois!

Carden was actually really scared of all the rides until after riding the Thomas the train. After that he wanted to ride every ride! We are so glad he conquered his FEAR!

Well our Christmas was mainly our VAN that we luckily found on C.L.!! (thank you C.L., you got to love it!). It has been FREEDOM (the greatest gift ever)! But anyways we had a great Christmas. The Glenn family took us to SIX FLAGS which was AWESOME! Justin and I got to ride the Medusa 2x's in a row with no line! I could have ridden that ride all DAY and broken the record of 32X's! Oh I just love roller coasters!

Christmas Eve we went to the Glenns and had a YUMMY dinner. We ate a TON of HONEY HAM and funeral potatoes! We also made the CUTEST sugar cookies for Santa as we watched Santa go from continent to continent delivering MILLIONS of presents to the kids! We acted out the story of Christ's birth and I got to be Mary large with child (and I was just so thankful that I really wasn't large with child!). Carden made a great shepherd.

Christmas day was just us! Our little family of FIVE! It was quiet, but nice to just be able to sleep all day while the kids played happily with their toys! Carden got a TRAIN set from Santa (thank you Santa BEEVER!) He loves it. Rhead got a cool dump truck so he can now run around with one to match Carden's! Brooke got some cool clothes from Santa Beever!!! We also got some fun presents from Nana and Papi that we got to open on ichat which was really fun. Carden got two trains and slept with them all night. He is OBSESSED and I think I am as well. We just can't get enough TRAINS!!! They are just so cute and fun to play with!

We love you all and hope everyone had a MERRY CHRISTMAS!! Hopefully next year we can get out a Christmas card! I really wanted to do one this year, but things are still way too busy.

Christmas Early!

LOOK what Santa's Little ELF brought US!

Little update.

I think we are going to keep our blog open for a few more days/months. We keep going back and forth with making it private or keeping it open. I saved all of your emails so I will invite you when we make it private! I just get nervous sometimes keeping it open because I share probably a little too much information. But anyways we will keep it open for a couple more days (at least until Justin is able to think about something besides finals!). Anyways things are pretty CRAZY here in our home. The kids are EVERYWHERE and into EVERYTHING, which makes blogging really hard.

Justin ends finals on TUES!!! Oh I just can't wait. We are so proud of him. Can you JUST imagine being in LAW SCHOOL with THREE kids (under the age of TWO), having a JOB, and studying every minute of the day! Ohhh it kills me to think about how stressful that is. I know my days are long but I don't even have to study and keep things in my BRAIN! We just love our DADDY and think he is SO AMAZING!

Carden loves to RUN and ride his bike. He rode TWO miles yesterday at FULL SPEED which is why he fell asleep at 5:30pm and slept the WHOLE night!! He loves to talk, count, say his "ABC's" which he says whenever he sees letters! He also loves to make Brooke and Rhead laugh as well as any baby at the park. He is a good boy and really is so good with babies. We have been teaching him about stop signs and signals. He loves to say "GREEN BEANS GO!!" (green means go!) haa haa. He says beans instead of means and it really is just so cute. He still loves TRAINS and CARS and Thomas and Friends movies/trains! I have even started to LOVE everything THOMAS. We love our Mondays where we get to go with our cousins to the train museum! Carden loves his cousin Chase. He always says, "Mom, I need to go to Chase's!" It is really fun having cousins so close that we can go and play with. Lois is usually the leader and Carden loves to copy her.

Brooke is our little singer. She goes around the house screaming at the top of her lungs. She has quite the range! She also loves her song and dance to "I'm a little tea pot". She already knows the dance pretty good and gets so excited when I tip her upside down to pour her out! She loves to sleep and eat. She is starting to talk and it really sounds like REAL words. She takes a two to three hour nap now and sleeps pretty much from 7pm-8am! Now if only my BOYS would sleep!

Rhead loves to copy Carden. He loves to steal his toys. Loves to be tackled and loves to be a tease! He is really a little stinker. One minute you can be yelling at him and then the next laughing and hugging him because he is just so dang cute! He is a little smarty pants. He LOVES the swings and loves to blow out his tongue. He thinks this is just so funny and will laugh out loud forever if you keep doing it!

Well that is that. As for me. Well I have had the hardest month. Things have been really challenging but at least we are coming to a break! I am grateful for all that I DO have and I think sometimes I just loose sight of that.

What is your favorite Running SHOE?

Saucony Women's Progrid Guide 3 Running Shoe

So I went to Lady Foot Locker and wasn't impressed with their selection of running shoes. They only had one model of Saucony's which are usually my favorite. I tried on some asics but the cheapest model and really didn't like them too much. So now I am looking on amazon but really I think I want to stick with saucony. What is your favorite running shoe?

I actually tried on Rebox new ZIG running shoe and actually LOVED how light it was. I just don't know about REBOX though. Has anyone owned a pair? I was nervous because they look like they would probably fall apart real fast but I really did like them.

What shoe has worked for you?

HAPPY ONE YEAR!

We MADE it!
One WHOLE year with TWINS!
Brooke and Rhead FINALLY slept till 7am without waking up!
Finally A FULL nights SLEEP!

Happy Birthday Brooke and Rhead!
WE LOVE YOU BOTH!

More thoughts & pictures to come...

Carden's 2 Mile BIKE ride

Today Carden rode his bike TWO miles to play at Portuguese Park!
He rode so fast the whole way
and I had to walk at a good pace!
He didn't even ask to ride in the stroller and he wanted to keep riding his bike when we got home!
I was for sure he wasn't going to make it all the way home but he did it!
He really is getting to be SO BIG!

Now if only we can get him potty trained!

What we have been up to

Carden came and sat down ready to eat dinner. When we came to the table with his food we found him asleep like this! It was funny because we could hear him saying, "PIZZA BALLS! PIZZA BALLS!" Then all of a sudden there was nothing! haa haa!
Cool boys in their SHADES! Carden wore these the whole afternoon so he could look just like his COOL DADDY!
Brooke and Rhead are such good eaters (Carden is too), which is why we go through SOOOO MANY DIAPERS!! They love every vegetable, every fruit, every meal we make. I swear I can't believe HOW MUCH my kids can eat. They are TANKS! I get sooo tired of eating because all I do is FEED my kids.
So what do I do with ALL these BOXES of diapers we go through. I have made them into storage bins!

Carden found his goggles and wanted to swim in NOVEMBER! So he did! He swam a couple of laps in our tiny pool and it was the funniest thing ever! He was kicking his legs soo fast and putting his head down in the FREEZING cold water. He can't wait to swim again!
As for our CHEF! Well Justin is an amazing cook! He made me dinner the WHOLE weekend and it was HEAVEN! He made me SHRIMP tacos that were to DIE FOR!!
YUM YUM!

Sprouting Class!

I just went to a sprouting class for our ward and it was AWESOME!
I really LOVE sprouts. I am determined to grow sprouts and use them on my salads, soups, and sandwiches! I really love Alfalfa, broccoli, red clover and onion sprouts. I like sunflower as well but only by itself since it is more crunchy. But anyways it was a great class and I am so glad it was on a Saturday! Justin watched the kids ALL morning. I was able to sleep in, get DRESSED (actually wear regular clothes instead of my pjs), and drive in the car without crying babies, and have some fun with ladies in our ward! It was great! I have such a WONDERFUL husband! Thanks babe for letting me have a great Saturday free of kids!


Has anyone grown sprouts? Where do you usually buy your sprouts? What has worked and what hasn't?

Binkie VS. BITING?!

Okay so I have been saying how wonderful it has been to have NO binkies but now that I look at all the damage Rhead has done with bitting I'm not so sure now!

1. Our crib rail is totally ruined by Rhead running his teeth along it. The finish is completely gone! Hopefully Rhead won't die from harmful chemicals in the finish!

2. Our drawer that he ALWAYS opens to find all the kid's plates and bowls is now streaked with teeth marks as well. Should I be concerned that he is eating paint all day long? He has this annoying thing of wanting to bit and run his teeth along ANYTHING!

3. My clothes and some socks now have holes.

4. The bottles and sippy cups are all bitten up.

5. Our backyard has BARK and pretty much every piece has been chewed on!

I SWEAR as much as I love this boy he DRIVES me CRAZY! He makes my mood go so UP and DOWN it seriously is so ANNOYING! Our poor kids are probably going to die from chemicals but anyways I guess that is what happens when a baby is deprived of a binkie?!

October gone, November here!

COOL glow sticks from the ward TRUNK or TREAT party! They loved them. We even had a GLOW STICK bathtub time with the lights out and they didn't want to get OUT! They were PRUNES!

Carden and Rhead playing the games at the party! Check out that cute little tail!

Poor DOGGY has a SNOTTY NOSE :(

Daddy and his LITTLE girl!

Go COUGARS!

Chicken Little plays some good FOOTBALL!

COUSIN time at FAIRYTALE TOWN!

Going down the SLIDE! Wish I had one of these in our backyard!

The COWBOY and the COWGIRLS lost their pants! They ditched out on the horse and found a NEW RIDE!

The kids all dressed up for the COWBOY party!

Well October was a long month but we had a lot of fun. We celebrated (Asia, Chase, and Emmy) Birthdays, we went to a pumpkin patch, train museum, zoo, fairytale town, playing with cousins and Grandma. We finished off the month with a fun ward trunk or treat party! And the BIG one, Brooke learned how to walk!

Now it is NOVEMBER and I am really excited since Brooke and Rhead will FINALLY be ONE! No more nursing, no more having to haul them around on my hip, no more backwards facing car seats, no more babies! Just kidding. They are still my little babies but we are just that much closer to being more independent! It has definitely been the hardest year of my life.

Just the other morning Justin was telling me if I were like his family (but with no twins) that I would have a brand new baby right now. I told him immediately that I WOULD TAKE that over having twins! (don't get me wrong I LOVE Brooke and Rhead and seeing them grow together but it is just hard). I thought again about it for a moment seeing Justin, James, and Ashley are all really close in age and some might even say "you should have had triplets!" but honestly I think one baby at a time is easier even if you have to go through THREE pregnancies! Twins are hard. The hardest part is that you want to baby a baby but with twins you have to divide all your time. You never get a break. And you always feel tired. Your hands are ALWAYS full.

I LOVE having A baby. I really do. I love holding A baby. And I LOVE Brooke and Rhead, but I just feel like this whole year was a blur. I really didn't get that time to just relax and enjoy snuggling with a baby. (if that makes any sense!). But anyways, we are excited to celebrate their ONE YEAR!

Brooke and Rhead are so fun to watch. Rhead will pick on Brooke and Carden but he sure is a love bug. He loves to snuggle. He loves people. He loves to be like a BIG boy. He loves going down the slide by himself. He loves being pushed in the swing. He loves to EAT. He loves to TACKLE you. He always has his eye brows raised. He is a character!

Brooke loves to EAT. She is our "little tea POT!" She loves to go down the slide as well. She loves to be with MOMMY! She doesn't like it when you take things from her and she WILL put up a fight. She is quiet but when she needs to be heard she knows how to SCREAM!

November also means Justin and I will be CELEBRATING our FIVE YEAR ANNIVERSARY! Pretty exciting! Well I have to run to get crying babies.

Happy Halloween!

how to design a room with two CRIBS?

I decided since I don't have matching cribs or bumpers or anything matching that I would instead do a BOY side and a GIRL side. I found Brooke's fabric on her bumper at the goodwill. I absolutely love it! I wish I could paint the walls but we are renting. The purple walls will just have to do!
The baby mobile was from a library book that accidentally went through the wash! I like it now though since it goes with my Aunt's quilt that has the rough edges!
The rug is a "Mill" piece where I used to work. We are borrowing it from the Glenn family. We are so glad to have the rug now that it is getting SO COLD! Thanks guys!

I really don't know anything about design, but lately I have been so entertained by design blogs. Since I am not teaching dance or choreographing maybe this is my way of getting my creativity out- designing my house! I really am ready to get back to dancing. Dancing is FREE and I don't have to keep LOOKING for things to make my SPACE the way I want it!! I miss dancing, oh I really miss it!

Carden, Brooke, and Rhead

Brooke and Rhead love to play on the couch. Rhead has no fear and will climb on top of the couch and then throw himself back down (almost like he is trying to fly!).

Rhead is still walking like a champ. He is so fast and loves to follow me around the house.
Brooke likes to grab and take things from Rhead. Actually I should say that that is what Rhead TRIES to do to Brooke but she is so quick at taking it back and holding on that Rhead usually tries to tackle her to get it back! She is going to be one tough girl!

Carden likes THOMAS! He is obsessed. I don't know how it happened. But he loves to go over to his cousin's house and play trains with him. It is so cute because every Saturday I can hear Carden saying, "Daddy! Daddy, I need to go to Chase's house!" He will keep saying it until Justin replies.

Carden loves to ride his Bike. Hopefully SANTA will bring him a bigger bike! He can ride so far now and it really quite fast. He loves to smash bugs and "shew" flies with a "KIX" box of cereal! haaa haa! One morning I was trying to get this fly out of our house and so I just grabbed the cereal box to get him to fly. So now when Carden sees a fly he will go grab a cereal box and say "Shew fly"!!! It is really funny!

He loves playing with Brooke and Rhead. He is so gentle with Brooke and rough with Rhead. He loves swinging on the swings, going up and down the slides, and loves to play with cars and trains still.

tee shirt headbands!

WHAT TO DO WITH ALL THOSE TEE SHIRTS you don't want?

tee shirt headbands- just use all those ugly tee shirts in your closet!
I just cut the size around the head then layered a bunch of random cut circles and started to stitch them on until I liked the way it looked!

Carden training Rhead to walk

we've been wanting to post this for a while but kept waiting to edit this video so it was more "professional." finally we just decided to play the "bicycle" song twice and not cut anything out, so it's kind of long...but at least you get to listen to Queen!

enjoy...

Carden

I just love this boy!

These shoes make me happy!

I know they are just shoes. But they make me happy! They are REAL shoes and now my little babies feel more and more like little toddlers! My Aunt gave them to Brooke and Rhead when they were born and I am so excited that I finally get to put them on them. They love wearing their shoes! Rhead loves to walk around in them. He will go find them in his bedroom in the morning and hand them to me. I think he likes to hear them on the hard wood floor! Soon to come is a movie of Rhead walking...!!!! It is so cute! Brooke is taking steps but Rhead is full on walking (almost running!) and he just turned 11 months yesterday!

Carden and the "ack-a-tar"

Just wanted to document this real quick. Saturday was a fun day for Carden. We got up and went to the Stake Emergency Preparedness Fair. We saw lots of fire trucks, police cars and the coolest thing was a giant army helicopter that came and landed in the football field at the church. It was awesome and definitely made an impression on him. We also ate yummy muffins cooked in these cool stoves, got chocolate "coins", some cool colored "live-strong" style bracelets and a whole bunch of other stuff.

Later on that day we went to In-n-out (Marin and I's first time eating "out" by ourselves in quite some time...the kids were all asleep in the car) We then went to the Glenn's to watch the BYU game. Carden always loves to play with trains. I played soccer with all the kids and played a game on the tramp with them too.

That night when I get to lay by Carden and read him stories for bed we finished our stories and turned out the lights. This is one of my favorite times of the day as I get to just lay with Carden. He usually doesn't want me to sing anymore (I guess my voice stinks! :) ) so I just lay with me and if I get up too early he says "I want me to hold you," and I lay by him for a few more minutes. After a few more minutes I tell him I need to go get ready and he'll roll over and start snuggling with his pillow.

But that night after we turned the lights out he just started talking about his day. He was telling me details even I had forgotten about. He remembered the muffins that were "cookin' in da oven", and the "orange" wrapper that concealed the chocolate "monies". He remembered the giant snoopy-style dog at the fire truck that he gave a high-five. He remembered the color of his "live-strong" braclet. "Carnen has yellow...B'ook has poople...Weed has gween and Daddy has yellow."

I couldn't believe it. He remembered our soccer game that we played, the fun we had on the tramp. The Toy Story movie we watched in the morning while Mommy slept. (He remembered we had to turn the tv down "because mommy is sleeping"). He then went on for seriously 20 minutes about the helicopter or as Carden calls it, the "Ack-a-tar".

He kept saying how it was "way up high" and then "went aroun' and aroun'" and then "came down on the grass". He's doing all this with his hand, acting like it's the helicopter.

We seriously talked for 45 minutes about almost every thing we did that day. He even remembered the "Bye-You (BYU) football tackle"? I was shocked. It was the most I've ever heard him talk. It's like he morphed from a toddler using phrases and words to a boy, using sentences and remembering intricate details from throughout the day.

It was a great reminder of how "sponge-like" our kids are and how sensitive they are to everything around them. Most importantly they do remember EVERYTHING we do with them and it's our responsibility as parents to fill their minds with good things and good memories. They will always remember everything we do (and don't do) with them. Imagine if I spent all Saturday studying, working or watching college football all day...I'd miss all these great memories with my family!

Carden is really growing up into a cute, good little boy. Every time I see a "ack-a-tar" I will be reminded of "what matters most" (Uchtdorf) and a sweet little 2.5 year old boy who is waiting for his parents to teach and love and play with him. I think sometimes I choose family over school too much, but it's moments like this that I know I'm making the right decision.

HUNGER GAMES Series

Just finished the third book last night!
Wow, I LOVED these books and I don't even like to read!
I thought they were great! I read them so fast which is amazing because usually it
takes me months to read a book!

"Horn... uh... something?"

Tonight as we sat at the dinner table I was trying to tell Justin what Carden and I saw at the zoo. It was the first thing we went to go see at the Zoo and the name couldn't come to me.

"Horn... uh something?" I kept saying. "Hornpipe! Ha ha. No that wasn't it!"

Carden then replied, "HORNBILL!"

Justin and I both stopped laughing and looked at each other like "wow is that really what the name was?" We both didn't even think Carden was paying any attention to our whole conversation!

I couldn't believe it! Our little two year old boy remembered exactly what animal we had seen this morning at the zoo. I was blown away! I then thought, really was that the name. I ran to the internet and googled it and sure enough it was the bird we had seen!

I'm glad that I was able to take Carden, Brooke, and Rhead to the zoo. I am glad that I even took the time to read what animal we were seeing and all the facts about each one.

Carden was laughing so hard as Justin and I were trying to make the "HORNBILL" sounds. Then Brooke and Rhead started busting up and it was just hilarious. Brooke must have put the bad memory behind her because she was actually in tears as she heard the birds talk back to each other!