Home again, Home again

Well we have made it back alive. You may have noticed I did not post as anticipated while away, it turned out the condo did not have wi-fi so I (gasp) made it a whole week without checking anything on the computer. Amazing. I only had several hundred emails when I got back--it's giving me something to do at work. So, let me just say that we had a great time. There were highs and lows but overall it was a LOT of fun. It was also very busy and full full of exciting and interesting things. The boys held up better this time than last year but still had a few moments. It was a lot of stimulation for them with little good rest or down time. They have spent the whole time since we have been home doing puzzles and coloring and just chasing each other around the house. They are happy to be home. There is a LOT to share but for journaling purposes and because there are just SO many pictures, I am going to give each day of our trip its own post. It may take me a little while to get them all on here. So . . .Day 1:

The drive wasn't too bad at all, as far as 10 hour drives go. I do not like driving but worse I hate driving during the day. It just drags and drags for me. At night there is nothing to see anyway and it is easier to sleep. Since the kids have joined us it has become necessary to drive at night. So we left just past midnight and I drove all the way to Vegas. The boys did not go right back to sleep as we had hoped, I think they were up until nearly 4 am. They weren't cranky though, just excited--they sat back and watched movies and were fairly behaved. I listed to Twilight Book one on my ipod. Let me say that I am pretty anti-anything hip or trendy. I won't read a popular book until its fame has died down and this book I was not interested in at all. Not my type of book I reasoned. Give me my Michael Crichton (did you hear he died? So so sad!) and Tolkien not this sissy girly stuff. But my mom got the CDs and with 5 hours of driving through the nothingness ahead of me I joined the throngs of Twilight fans. The first bit didn't catch my interest too much but about half-way through I became intrigued. I became very enamored by Edward (swoon!). So yes now I am a fan and will have to buy all the books and read them. Ugh. Oh well. I still have 2 chapters left of book 1 and I'm interested to see how 3 more books could follow, but I guess I'll see in time. For now Edward, for a fictional character that is, is ever-so dreamy. I have been avoiding telling Lowell I like the book because I know he will make fun of me but I guess the gigs up. I might have already given myself away as I listened to it today while making dinner . . .So . . .after Vegas I caught a couple of hours of shut eye before the sun came up and brought the boys with it (Mom, the sun is up, it's time to wake up!). We found a Burger King with a playplace and gave the bubs a minute to run around. We made it to Anaheim and just to torture the kids my brother had us drive by Disney (Davis:We go Disneyland today mommy? Me: Sorry babe, tomorrow. Davis:Waaaaahh!). We headed to Newport Beach to bridge the time until we could check into the condo. The ocean is still so magical to me, I love the sound, how it seems to go on forever, the animal life, the way the sand washes out from under your feet. Delightful! It was overcast but not too cold. Here's some photos:

Carter baby--he fell in the water and got wet and sandy, still happy though

Our little family at the end of the pier

Big Davis

My sisters Cyndel and Hillary
Running to the ocean--this was the best game, chasing the waves, they'd run in then let the water chase them back out.
Carter running, so happy to be free . . .he's a free spirit and loves the ocean like me
Davey boy running. Makes me wish we lived closer to an ocean, I can still hear them laughing
Robbie with the kiddos walking on the pier--they sure LOVE Uncle Robbie!

Wet and sandy little pants

Such cutie little feets

Davis watching the water--I can't get enough of the background!

Big D getting splashed!

We then did our grocery shopping for the week--the condo had a full kitchen so we planned as many meals as possible there to avoid all the junk and also save some money. By now the only 5 hours of sleep boys were getting pretty grouchy. I was also tired of the bowel issues that plagued me the entire drive, I can't tell you how lovely it is to use gas station toilets all along I-15, gross! We drove around for a while looking for a play place and ended up just getting Jack in the Box take out and hoping for early check-in at the condo. Mmmm . . .I love Jack in the Box--we don't have them here. No luck with the condo so we made the 15 minute walk to Downtown Disney and did a little shopping to kill time. We were all VERY tired. Finally we got into the condo and got some dinner going. Bath and bed and the very over-tired boys took some coaxing but we all finally got some rest. Stay tuned for day 2, DisneyLand!

Farewell my friends . . .

Farewell my friends, I go on to a better place (name the children's movie!--and no it is not lost on me that the character in question is vastly wrong). Tonight we leave for the great land of Vacation. In years past this traveler has made many journeys to Vacation with Spouse and had a splendid time. As time has passed we have added Temper and Tantrum to our caravan and the land of Vacation has changed. Perhaps some of the joy has gone with it. We used to enjoy travels to Museum and Scenic Overlook where now it is the quest for PlayLand and Happy Meal. We live in fear of side trips to MissedNapville and Schedule-out-of-whack-ton. Our trusty steed used to contain a quickly packed duffel and a couple of sodas and now requires a 2 page list of items, 3/4 of which belong to Temper and Tantrum. This wily traveler added a trap door in the land of Vacation where Spouse and I will get some time minus the dynamic duo. In a beautiful room where we hope for a visit from the most sought-after of parental dreams, a visit from the Sleeping-In fairy. With a balcony overlooking the ocean that does not have to be welded shut lest we forever lose Temper and Tatrum. And with dinner reservations at a locale that does not even have chicken nuggets on the menu. While this traveler is anxious for this repose with Spouse and a reminder of things gone by she is also looking forward to the new joys that Temper and Tantrum bring to the land of Vacation. Side trips to Awe and Wonderment are bound to be plenty. The "Mom I just met Buzz Lightyear" and first real roller coaster experience exits should delight. While change is not always welcomed, sometimes it proves to make what you already love oh so much better. So that when "Are we there yet" meets "Can we go again?" we can remember that the expedition that is Family is never-ending and abounding in love, joy, and miraculous discoveries. Wish us luck! Oh and at the condo in the land of Vacation there is supposed to be a Wi-Fi fairy so updates should be expected--though as all travelers know, expectations are not always met, so we'll see.

Here's our itinerary
Sunday-travel and settling in
Monday-DisneyLand
Tuesday-Universal Studios
Wednesday-DisneyLand
Thursday-Sea World (our night off in San Diego)
Friday-San Diego Zoo
Saturday-DisneyLand
Sunday-Travel home

And just in case you want a peak at our previous travels to Vacation, here you go:

Busy Monday

I guess I don't really need to title any of my posts, "busy" any more as it may just be assumed that we are always busy! Lowell made a mistake today that he often avoids, he told me ahead of time that he had a day off and of course I scheduled it up. I don't even know why I do it, it is subconscious--Lowell's off let's do this and this and this. So today we went to the Draper temple Open house. I had been thinking about it and Lowell said he thought there were no reservations left and that you had to call a 1-800 # to get them. I trusted him but thought I would check the website just in case and turns out there are plenty of spaces still available. I was amazed at the organization for the open house--parking attendants (note there are separate parking lots and you can only park in the color you are assigned) ushers in the church house, sister missionaries playing a video, ushers for the bus, lots of attendants in the temple, more sister missionaries at the church after the tour (cookies are provided), more bus people, etc. Lots of volunteers involved to share this beautiful temple with the world. And it was beautiful, smaller than I expected but that may be because the Timp temple is rather large. The boys did not do well for the video but were fairly well behaved inside the temple. We had been talking about it and they were very excited this morning to "go see the temp-ull" and "go to Jesus's house". Such faith-filled kids, every time we go to "Jesus's house" they expect to actually see Jesus. I guess who I am to say they won't. In fact there was a bit of an odd moment when Davis went right over to this one particular chair, stroked the seat and said Jesus. It made me think of a story I had heard about Jesus actually using the carpentry shops inside the temple (Lowell used to work at the Timp temple--who knew they had shops like that?). Who's to say He didn't make that chair? It was a simple chair but well crafted. Hmmm . . .My Davey boy and I also had a nice moment in the sealing room where I pointed the mirrors out to him and how they went on forever. I told him his mom and dad were married in a room like this and so our family is forever. I asked him if he wanted to get married in the temple too and was very sure he did. Sweet boy. I debated on bringing them to the open house, and though I felt a bit rushed and nervous they weren't going to be behaved, I am still glad that we did. There are only so many opportunities they will have to see a temple as a youth (usually only adults use the main portions of the temple) and I hope somewhere in their hearts they will remember and set that as a priority in their lives. So we rushed out and were loading the bus but of course I wanted a photo. I took one and it looked really weird but it was so bright I couldn't tell for sure. Today was very sunny and between that light and the reflecting light off of the snow I totally washed out the pic. I played with it a little and this is the best I could get.
I still can't really figure out what happened, pictures later today were fine. It is almost like the temple itself is glowing. You can make out Lowell and the boys, the bus on the left, the church house on the right and just barely the Angel Moroni spire in the upper left center. But you can't see the temple itself at all. Strange but also kind of cool.

Here's one the bus gal took for us, same thing.

So then we headed over to Discovery Gateway, a children's museum in Salt Lake. We have been planning to visit for a while and today seemed like a good day to go. Even with a coupon it was $25 for the 4 of us, but only $65 for 6 months or $95 for the year. I hated to shell out the big bucks but I wasn't going to pay $25 for a one hour visit either so now we have a whole year of fun ahead of us! Trick's on them, if anyone can abuse a season pass, it is me. And the boys loved it! Carter got up way to early and was pretty edgy and hard to remove from the museum but other than that it was pleasant. I can certainly see the boys spending a lot of time there.

Playing in the "beehive"--they could send balls going in lots of directions using different tools.

Carter playing at the water table

Best of all--a real full sized helicopter. Yep, that was a hit.

My little pilots.

Busy, busy. Plus I had a Dr. appt and now 14 hours of work so it is a full day. Saturday we had a much better visit to the zoo than the previous one with no accidents and happy boys. Sunday Carter stayed in sunbeams for the whole class portions, hooray! Davis stayed with me in nursery and was oddly well behaved (not complaining!) but neither of them would even enter the sharing time room. Oh well, all in time. We had Lowell's family up Sunday night to not watch the Super Bowl--really it was to watch it but no one did, we just used the excuse to eat bad food and visit. We did catch the last 10 minutes or so which I always say is the only part worth watching. We recorded it to go back and watch the commercials too--just too much fun eating and chatting to worry about it.

Tomorrow we'll go to Jumping Jack's and Wednesday is shopping for the trip and starting packing. Fun times.

Cutie Patooties!

Once in a while the boys spoil me by being cute on camera. Always makes my day. These were yesterday morning on the way out the door to the gym. They felt like dancing . . .
And hugging . . .
And kissing!

They really are the best of friends and I just LOVE it! Like all friends they fight from time to time too but their connection and how they talk to each other and cheer each other on is one of my favorite things in life. I know all siblings have a special connection but I do believe twins have something a little different, a little deeper. It's almost like they were so close in the pre-existence that they didn't want to be apart and just came together. I've enjoyed being their buddies the past few days too. Tuesday and Wednesday I was off so I got some rest and we had some really good family time. I got to sleep in my own bed with my warm and darling hubby--it was just a good couple of nights. We took the bubs to the dino museum on Tuesday and they parked themselves on the computers playing memory. Oh well, they were happy and of course now I am trying to find that game! I am trying to de-stress myself a little over potty training and I think it is making us all happier. They are almost perfect with peeing, hardly ever an accident--even after going to 3 different stores over 3 hours on Wednesday (Davis even peed in a different stall without me, I still don't know how he did it himself so well). They just can't seem to figure out #2. We can get them to go once in a while and praise them joyously and shower them with treats but it doesn't seem to be making a dent really. We also make them clean up their own messes and though they hate it, they are still doing it. I have just given in to the fact that they will get it in their own time. I will keep trying and encouraging and heaven knows they have spent a lot of time on the potty after meal times the last little while but to keep my sanity when they then fill their diapers 3 times once we put them to bed I have had to give in a little. Any ideas are welcome though! I finally took some pics of Davis's self-hair cut but it has filled in some and luckily the kids has very full hair.



Today we went to Jumping Jack's--I think that make 6 or 7 times so far on our month pass. This time, I brought my camera!

The best part, wearing the kids out--they went down so easily for nap, if I didn't have to work I think I would have also. Seriously, climbing the big slide 3 times in a row is a work out!

Sliding

Climbing

Sliding some more

Yep, they love it! We also met up with my dad and brother for lunch and the on-going discussion of our trip. One week and a day to go--it is getting exciting.

Amazingly I just don't have a lot to say tonight. I am thinking about my silly monkey boys and how they drive me crazy but I can just eat them up every day. I can't believe how quickly they have grown already and I know even this age is fleeting. With all the trials comes unlimited hugs and kisses and "love you too mommy"s. I am a very lucky woman to be Davis and Carter's mommy, and Lowell's wife. The Lord has blessed us so much and continues to do so. I hope the same is true for all of you. Loves!

A picture update!

Good news! The Nikon just had a dead battery and charged up nicely. So even after its dunk in the tub it is working and will pitch hit until the new camera can get sent off and fixed (I would complain more about that but actually the Nikon had to be sent off too and has worked great since so I am keeping my fingers crossed). I was sharing a memory card between them so I was able to retrieve the infamous pictures the boys took when they had snook out of their room before I was awake. And yes, as suspected they were playing on the counters.

Doesn't Davis seem proud of himself posing for his brother? He's holding a box of candy he got from on top of the fridge that was mostly eaten when I took them away. Sheesh, stinkin' kids!

So I met the boys' preschool teacher and though the facilities weren't quite as great as I could hope, their teacher was even better than expected so I went ahead and got them registered. I was having a tough debate between a home based preschool and a center based one and ultimately I felt like the one I chose will be the best for them. The teacher was understanding of active boys who have trouble concentrating and was fine taking time to help them. I am worried in a larger setting they may just get kicked out for being disruptive. This gal seemed to genuinely love children and had some great ideas about teaching, not just teaching letters and shapes but how to function in a school environment, be a good friend, and control your impulses. I also loved that when I described some of my concerns with the kids she didn't say, wow your kids are brats!, she said, "Sounds like a 3 year old." The bummer is school is still 7 months away and I am ready now! We'll just have to have our own fun until then. Friday night was a little rough for me I was just feeling very defeated. Lowell came home to me all stressed out and after a long shower I was able to reason a bit better and realize no one is their best after 3 consecutive 4 hours of sleep nights and running all day long. I hate to admit that my temper is much shorter when I am that tired, though I think that is true for a lot of people. Last night I crashed hard and feel a bit better today.

Last night we went to my niece Hannah's 3rd birthday. I can't believe all our kiddos are growing up so fast. My boys are the only grandkids on my side and 2 of 5 on the other so it is especially fun to get together with their cousins. Before the party I snapped a couple of shots to make up for the last few days without a working camera. I forgot to get a picture of the chunks Davey took out of his hair, I'll catch it someday!

My cheeser

Carter on the trampoline. We haven't been able to jump in 6 weeks or so because it has been totally snow-logged but the rain from yesterday melted a lot and Lowell shoveled off the rest. It was slippery and wet (and still raining!) but we had fun. The snow is re-accumulating today so I am glad we got the brief chance yesterday.

The tramp is the best toy I never would have bought.

When I took the boys shopping for Hannah I let them each pick out a gift for her and they seemed to really like that idea. Davis wanted to wrap his himself too.

Here are the boys playing their drums (it was a music party) at the party.

Davis being Mr. Cool in my nephew Dylan's sunglasses.

Playing their whistles after party.

All in all last night was a great improvement over the previous night. The boys stayed dry the whole party as well, something they struggle with sometimes since they are having too much fun to pay attention to their potty needs.

Today I am in my quiet lab while poor Lowell is wrestling the monkeys who did not sleep well last night and are cranky today. Sorry honey! I work on a 2 week rotating schedule so it is natural for me to think about what we will be doing 2 weeks from now, the next time I would work this shift . . .by this time we should be on the beach in sunny California. As I look out at the never ending mounds of snow that sure sounds great! We'll be there from Sunday to Sunday with my folks, brother and 2 sisters and I am so excited for the break. Traveling is always a challenge especially with my children but I am hoping things will go smoothly and we will all just have a great time.

Side note I keep forgetting--when I thanked Lowell for my ipod on Thankful Thursday I neglected to also thank my brother Robbie--he is the one who loaded it up with all the goodies from his personal stash. As I hit shuffle and flip through over 2600 songs I always laugh and think of him and how eclectic his taste in music is. I am also thankful for Robbie being such a great uncle. Every Sunday he comes to visit the boys and play with them. He also will meet me for lunch so I can take them to a play place. Carter and Davis just adore him and have learned so much from him, like how to blame your fart on the dog (boys!) and to sing the song from the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. And can you believe he is single? So if you know anyone, Robbo has a good job, nice car, even owns his own house and is great with kids! Call now! ;) Here's a reminder of what he looks like:
Rob's on the left of course, the one on the right is SO taken. He is so handsome though I know you are all jealous ;)

Rough and Tumble Week

Well it has been a bit of a rough and tumble week, just trying to stay afloat sometimes. We are blessed beyond comprehension, but I think I am still entitled to feel like I've had a hard day sometimes. For instance, Tuesday I woke up to find Carter had gotten into his closet, into a drawer in there and pulled out all the papers from my mom's big book of genealogy. Family group sheets just strewn about, my great-great grandparent's journal pages crumpled in a corner . . .I have no clue what inspired him to do that. I was pretty frustrated but still took a picture to humor myself (hopefully) later. I picked it all up and packed it in the car to take to my mom's house so we can sit down and reorganize it where it will be safe. So, want to see the picture? Well, a minute after I took that shot the camera went capoot. No reason why--the LCD screen went white with an ugly black splotch and nothing works. The good news is it still covered under warranty, the bad news is it has not been easy to file my service request. I am wondering if this model has had a lot of problems. Oh well, I'll keep trying. (Side note, Carter's Fisher-Price camera went capoot this week too, sheesh! Working on that one too). So while I was on the phone with Samsung trying to figure this out the boys were (of course) up to no good. I could hear them playing from what I thought was the basement play room. No such luck, now that they can get through the door locks they were in my bathroom. Carter was spraying himself and everything else with hair spray and Davis took a few good chunks out of his hair with Lowell's nose hair trimmer. It's not too bad but it seemed like it in the moment. Wish I could show you a picture, oh wait, my back up camera that was working now isn't again and I can't find the power cord to see if it is just dead. Ugh! (I wanted to share with you the pics they took earlier this week when Carter first figured out the door locks . . .and got up before Mommy . . .and played on the counter and with knives . . .and took pictures of themselves doing it! But it will have to wait for another day) That was all by breakfast time. Then we headed to the twin club's play group at Jumping Jack's and that was great. We had a new gal come which is always fun and a bunch of other kids. The boys loved it and I enjoyed visiting. I was less thrilled with the boys' potty training that day--between diapers and in their underwear they pooped no less than 9 times by nap time. Blech! I am so sick of poop. They both also managed to get slightly bloody noses romping around and Davis got a dandy rug burn from one of the slides. That night I got to go to dinner for my mom's birthday and then we met with our mortgage guy until 11 pm. It was a long day. Wednesday I woke up feeling quite sick . . .Lowell says I tend to overextend myself . . . does that sound like me? I had already had part one of the boys' cold which weakened me for part 2 which is still in process. Made for a great day Wednesday when I was swamped at work but wasted from the cold. Oh well, grateful to have a job.

Let's see what else did we do this week? Saturday at Davis' request we went to the zoo but didn't get to stay long because Carter peed his pants. I did catch a great OshKosh sale on the way home, spent $90 saved $333. Add to the ebay deals I got over the weekend, 48 shirts for $60 and the boys' summer and fall wardrobes are looking good. Monday Lowell was off work but all we got to do was go to the gym which lasted about 2 minutes because Carter peed his pants again (why his mommy didn't bring any extra pants is beyond me! Something about he won't pee through his plastic pants). I was feeling pretty exasperated with potty training but then yesterday I took the boys shopping to 2 stores and they had no accidents at all. So nice!

And even though I feel like giving up, I have a new inspiration with training because I am meeting with the boys' probable preschool teacher tomorrow. I say probably because I haven't met and confirmed the choice but I think this is who I will go with. She is a former school teacher, comes with great recommendations, has a good curriculum (kid friendly with play learning plus field trips and even a Christmas performance), and seems to genuinely love kids. She sounded so sweet on the phone. It is a home based preschool but with 3 team teachers helping the main gal and only one class at a time of course. The price is good too so as long as her facility looks good that's what we'll be doing. Crazy how emotional it makes me though. 2.5 hours of "free time" twice a week is nothing to be too upset about. It's just so weird to think of them doing things independently. They are still my babies. I was holding Carter this morning and rocking him like a baby and I asked him if he was my baby. And he said, No, I'm your boy. So true. I was tickling him after playgroup Tuesday and asked if I was his friend and he said, No, you're Mommy, Andrew (one of Reva's twins) is my friend. That works for me I love Reva and it's great they have friends but I am still loving that they turn to me for hugs and loves and to rock them. Those days are numbered I know, so I soak up all the little boy love I can get. I just can't imagine them going on field trips without me, I am sure I will sign up for every one! Plus with my kids, I would be worried everyone would come back in one piece without a little extra help.

Anywho, so that's what we're doing. Hoping for a better week next week which I think I also said last week but this time I think it will come true. The boys are feeling much better and I am a twinge better than yesterday and with a nap and a full night rest tomorrow I'll probably be up and going. We're going to Jumping Jack's again tomorrow and then my niece's birthday party on Saturday so there's some fun things already in the works. Here's hoping there is good weather, good health, and fun things going on wherever you are. Loves!

P.S. I just posted this but I have to add and addendum. Lowell just texted me to let me know the boys are taking turns peeing on each other in the tub. Gross! Why are little (and sometimes big) boys so icky?

Ugh!

I debated on writing this post, but I am not one who is quiet about my political mind. (By the way I have already been interrupted 3 times in writing this, sheesh! doesn't ER know I am busy and the 20-year olds they have down there are not having heart attacks. Trust me). Anywho I have been able to push the election out of my mind and enjoy the holidays but alas tomorrow (inauguration, blech!) day is looming and I am all spit and vinegar. I just DO NOT like Obama. I am very anxious and worried about the "change" he wants to bring about. My Dad says he won't be able to meet his campaign promises and all I can say it, PLEASE DON'T! My greatest blessing would be if he is a pansy and does nothing he committed to do. The greatest thing weighing on my mind tonight is his commitment to have his very first act as president to be passing the Freedom of Choice Act. I have signed the petition and will pray excessively that this will not happen. Maybe some of you will join me. Why you ask? Because this act will make abortion easier and more accessible in every possible way. Minor, sure you can get an abortion without parental consent, too far along--partial birth abortion (how disgusting can you get?) is fine for you, your state is quite stringent, not any more!, your doctor doesn't perform abortions? We'll make him or we'll take his license. I have been morally against abortions as long as I have known what they were but since having children my disgust for the practice has increased exponentially. It is murder of the most innocent blood and I am not ashamed to say it disgusts me. It is wrong, that's all there is. And this man wants to make it easy and cheap. If that doesn't make you question his character, I don't know what will. There are PLENTY of other things I disagree with him on but this is my topic for today. Heaven help us (please!).