Happy 30th

So today was the big 3-0 for me. It just seems really weird to think that I am no longer twenty something. I have so much to be thankful for and couldn't have asked for a better birthday.I have always said that I wanted to be done having kids by the time I was 30 and so the twins were able to help me reach that goal. Thanks Preslee and Payge!!!

John and I went out on Saturday while Tiffiani (thanks again by-the-way) kept all four of the girls. We had a great time and I was able to get some things for my birthday. When Brilynn and Maycie woke up this morning, they went running downstairs and then quickly returned to my bed where I was taking advantage of sleeping in on my birthday. They were both very upset and Brilynn said, "Why are there no decorations?" Maycie quickly added, "And where are all the presents." My birthday has been a huge disappointment for them. They couldn't believe there were no decorations or presents already sitting on the table. Through out the day Brilynn has continued to ask, "Mom, when are we going to start your birthday party?" It just is so funny to me that they are so upset that my birthday isn't celebrated the same as theirs. Anyway they were both so excited to give me their gifts that they made me.

Brilynn came in this morning and said "Mom, I wrote you a poem." and gave me the paper and read it to me. John and I were both laughing. It said, "On mom's birthday's she was on twenties, now she is on thirties." I thought it was hilarious.


Later on she gave me a gift bag with a card. I thought it was funny how she used my name on the card instead of saying "mom."

This was the gift that was in the bag. When I took it out and told her how much I loved it and gave her a big hug and thanked her over and over again for the "beautiful" gift. She replied, "Your welcome mom, I got the stick out of the garbage. It's from the popsicle you ate last night" Once again she had me laughing very hard. It's the thought that counts right :)

Maycie was just as proud to give me her gift. She had it hidden behind her back and was so excited to show me the "paper doll" that she had made me. I actually thought it was really good and very creative for a three year old to do all by herself. When I thanked her she smiled and said, "Your welcome mom, Brilynn tells me I am a artist"

This has been a great birthday thanks to my wonderful husband who is taking us out to dinner tonight, planned an evening on Saturday without the kids, and let me buy whatever I wanted for my birthday. Brilynn and Maycie have added the extra special touch to it with their comments and gifts. I couldn't ask for a better birthday.

Loving the Learning Palette's

So these pictures tell two different stories.

Story #1

I got these learning palette's when I did an Usborne party for my sister in law Beth. They have been some of the best learning manipulatives that I have purchased and would recommend them to anyone. We have started doing them each night as part of our bedtime routine and the girls really look forward to doing them. We started doing it about a month and ago and Maycie has learned all of her letters and most of the letter sounds. There are only a few that Maycie can do but it has taught her so much. It is a way that they can learn and a game at the same tme. I remember getting so frustrated trying to teach Brilynn her letters and sounds. This way Maycie has learned them pretty much on her own. There are a variety of things that Brilynn can do and some of her favorite are the math, rhyming, and geometry sheets. Thanks Beth for introducing us to the Learning Palette's.

Story #2

The nightgowns the girls are wearing in the pictures are a new addition to their wardrobe and they are so proud of them. We went down to see my mom in Provo this weekend. We went to dinner with my mom and Dan and Nikki at my favorite restaurant Los Hermonos. That is my favorite restaurant ever and is a whole post in itself (maybe I'll do that later). After dinner we went to the University Mall and the girls dragged my mom into the disney store. Brilynn showed her a nightgown that she liked and asked if she could have it. Of course Grandma Batty said yes and told her to go get Maycie to pick one out. As soon as we got to Dan and Nikki's house the girls changed out of their clothes and put on the nightgowns. The next morning Maycie came into my room and climbed up on my bed. She said, "Do you know why I slept so so so long last night?" when I asked her why, she replied "Because these jammies are so so so soft." Brilynn and Maycie have worn there jammies straight for the past 5 nights and I even had to do an extra set of laundry just to wash the nightgowns. Thanks Grandma Batty for such soft and cute nightgowns.

My aunt Renee had us over for dinner to celebrate everyone's birthday in September. While we were there Linda was sitting in Grandma Great's chair and wanted her picture taken with the twins. I loved this picture because it reminded me of my Grandma Mae who passed away shortly after the twins were born. She loved to sit and hold both the twins and was so proud of them. I know that my Grandma is watching over me and my family. The girls talk about their "Grandma Great" and how they miss her mac and cheese. Nobody will ever make mac and cheese like she did. We love and miss you Grandma.

Cereal Straws Anyone????

Everytime the girls saw the commercial for the cereal straws they got so excited and begged me to buy them some. When I went to Smith's and saw that they were on sale, I decided to buy them. The next morning when the girls went down to eat breakfast I had these on the island waiting for them. Maycie was so excited and said, "That is just what I have always wanted." Brilynn gave me a hug and said, "Thanks for buying them for us mom, but next time can you buy the fruit loop ones instead. They have all different colors instead of just brown." So I guess I was a good mom for trying but next time I need to do better:) Anyway, the girls had a great time blowing bubbles with the cereal straws and then taking a bite of the straw now and then. I did have to put an end to the fun fairly quickly because Brilynn was going to be late for school. I grabbed one and started to eat it on the way to take Brilynn and realized that these little straws were actually really good. I was so impressed with these tasty straws, the first thing I did when I got home was grab another straw for myself and then took another one up for John to try. So, if you want a fun tasty treat and some add excitement to your breakfast, try some cereal straws. They are worth the splurge!!!

Crafty Corner

Brilynn is off track for the next three weeks. I have tried to plan some things to help entertain her and Maycie. This was a foam craft that I had bought at Michael's a few weeks ago. I thought we would try the foam haunted house (or treehouse) instead of the gingerbread haunted house like we had done last year. The craft was still a little advanced for them and I still had to help them hot glue a lot of the pieces. I helped Maycie quite a bit but Brilynn did most of hers by herself. Overall the project was a lot easier and not as messy as the gingerbread haunted house and turned out just as cute.

Say Cheese

I wanted to take some pictures to replace some frames that have some old pictures that I have in the house. I had taken some pictures of Brilynn and Maycie about 3 years ago in the fall and still had them in some picture frames. I loved how they had turned out and thought that while we were on our bike ride to the park I would try to snap a few pictures. I am still struggling with the fact that I am not going to get perfect pictures of all four girls at once. John and I were both getting very upset because each time I would get a good picture of both the twins, Brilynn would have a scowl on her face because she was tired of getting pictures taken. Maycie was crying and throwing a fit because all she wanted to do was go play on the slide at the park. After I raised my voice (okay, yelled) at Brilynn and Maycie for not cooperating, I realized that there was a family across the street watching our commotion. I was really embarassed and realized that it was time to stop trying to take pictures and use what I had. Maybe next time.

Cruising on the BIKES!!!

On Sunday after church we decided to go for a bike ride. Brilynn and Maycie couldn't wait to wear their "stunning" glasses on a "really really really" long bike ride. I am sure we were quite the site trying to get ourselves, the twins, Brilynn, and Maycie across 1000 west in Syracuse which tends to be a very busy street. I thought that Maycie would have a hard time and complain that she was tired on our bike ride, but she surprised us and didn't complain once. John and I were laughing as she was peddeling downhill because her legs were going so fast and her wheels were going 90 miles an hour. We both thought her training wheels were going to go flying off at any second.

Payge and Preslee weren't to sure about being propped up in the bike trailer. I know they didn't appreciate the big flower on their head but I took care of it by giving them a bottle to distract their discomfort. They actually did very well on the bike ride and were both asleep as we got home and parked the trailer in the garage. I hated to wake them up in order to put them to bed. We all enjoyed spending our Sunday afternoon on the adventurous bike ride.

I love scheduled playgroups

I am much better at letting my kids have friends over when it is a scheduled playgroup. We have done playgroups with kids in the neighborhood ever since we moved here. I love that it is already on the schedule, I don't have to make a phone call to see if friends can play, and they learn how to play with a group of girls.

It's What Fun is....LAGOON!

I talked John into getting season tickets to Lagoon this year. My mom wanted us to go with her for her company day and so I reasoned with John and told me that if we were going to pay the $32.00 to go once we might as well get season passes for $72.00 and it will give us something to do with the kids this summer. I think John has regretted his decision to agree with me ever since. Especially when he asked me what I wanted to do for our anniversary and I said, "Well maybe we can go to Lagoon by ourselves without the kids. I know he thought I was joking but I was dead serious. A free date, imagine that. Anyway, last Saturday we got up early, got to the park by 9:45 and left at 11:30. The twins were content to sit in the stroller and they each took a small cat nap (at different times, of course.) There were no lines and we were able to ride everything, including the new big rides, play a few "promised" waste of money games, and grab a bag of pink cotten candy. John was impressed that it was such an enjoyable morning for our family at lagoon.

Brilynn finally is liking dance!!!!!

Brilynn has been in dance since she was 2 1/2 and has never LOVED it. She is fine once she gets there but complains all the way there. This year I decided to try it one more time and made sure she had a frien in her class. So not only can we carpool, but having her friend Londyn in her class has made all the difference. I think we have finally solved the not wanting to go to dance issue. Whew!!!!!!

Dancing Queen (in training;)

Maycie had her first day of dance. Carpooling is a great thing and I made sure Maycie had a neighbor friend "Eva" in her dance class so that we could share the drive to dance. Maycie couldn't wait to go do dance like her sister. When she got home she showed me how they did "shuffle step, shuffle step" but her favorite thing was "hotscotch" I wasn't able to watch her because they only let the parents watch the first time each month. She contiues to run into my room early every morning and ask if she has dance. As soon as I tell her no then her second questions is "Do I get to go to school?" I feel bad that she gets so board during the day while Brilynn is at school. She will be starting playgroup next week with a bunch of girls in the neighborhood so that will give her one more thing to help entertain during the week. Oh, and yes, her dance outfit is a little big, but she'll grow into it right?????

Bumbo Chairs

I love having these little bumbo chairs for the twins. Since they are still not sitting up on their own...they seem to be a little more content sitting in these chairs than lying on the floor. One thing I have learned with twins is that I can't expect to get pictures of both of them smiling. It is hard enough to get a good picture of one baby let alone two. So, I have had to learn to except the fact that I am not always going to have "picture perfect" shots with the twins. Preslee was in a much better mood whereas Payge had been up longer and was ready to go to bed. Atleast I got a big smile from Preslee.

I'm to old for "Princesses"

The night before we were leaving Vernal, Brilynn was cuddling with Grandma Batty. The girls were watching Hannah Montana and I told my mom about the following conversation that Brilynn and I had had a few days before. Brilynn said, "Mom, everyone in my class has a Hannah Montana back pack and I am the only one with princess back pack." I replied "Well don't you love Princesses, that is why you have 3 princess back packs." She looked at me and wrinkled her nose and said, "I am too old for princesses." I personally don't think that she is too old but it made me realize the influence that other kids at school already have on her at such a young age. So, Brilynn and my mom had a conversation about getting a new Hannah Montana back pack. The next morning as soon as we woke up we went into the kitchen and there were brand new back packs for Brilynn and Maycie. My mom had gone to Wal-mart before work and had brought them back for the girls. I couldn't believe that she had done that. She is so thoughtful and the girls were beyond excited. When Brilynn saw the back packs she said, "Oh that's perfect." I was sad that she had outgrown her princess back pack and I would have made her use it for the rest of the year, but her grandma came to the rescue and upgraded her to a brand new Hannah Montana. Atleast Maycie got a cute Minnie Mouse one and didn't ask for a grown up Hannah Montana. She was perfectly pleased with a cute little girl red and white polka dot "Pack Pack!"

First day of "Doy Schoo" aka Joy School

Maycie was so anxious about being a big girl and getting to go to school like Brilynn. While they were eating breakfast this morning I was listening to their conversation. Brilynn said "Maycie your not going to school with me because your not even in kindergarten" Maycie responded quickly with a little bit of attituded and said, "I know dat Biynn. I'm goin to Doy schoo. I know evyting so stop talkin to me." I thought it was hilarious that she rambled on so quickly and Brilynn didn't know what to say. Brilynn and I just looked at each other and smiled. We both new that Maycie thought she was pretty cool getting to go to school.

She was so excited to take her "pack pack" to school and made sure her water bottle was secured in the side pocket. Although I was sad in a way that she is growing up so fast, I am glad that she has something to go to. She gets so bored with Brilynn being gone to school and I can only entertain her for so long. At school today they learned about weather and the letter "A". She continues to ask when she gets to go to "Doy Schoo" again.

Tummy Time

Preslee and Payge really don't enjoy spending time on their tummies but the doctor has suggested this to help strengthen their neck. Also Preslee started getting a flat spot on the back of her head. We had to take her to physical therapy to help strengthen her neck so that she wasn't always rotating her head to the right. The doctor said that the more she is on her stomach the better it would be for her head. Since then the have gotten very good at holding up their head and pushing up with their arms. They can both roll from front to back and from back to front and we are encouraging and working with them so that they can sit up and be a little more content then laying down all the time. I'll keep you posted with the progress.

Tire Swings (are these still safe)

Everytime we go to visit my parents, the first thing the kids want to do is have someone push them on the swings. I secretly hope each time that they won't remember because I know that I am going to have to stand out side and give each of them multiple turns on the huge tire swings. These swings have been in our back yard ever since I can remember. Everytime the kids swing on these I wonder if these are still safe since they are so old. While we were watching Grandpa swing the kids, my mom reminded me of the time I decided to take the family dog (mittens) for a ride in the swing. I had forgotten about the incident but soon remembered the horrible experience. I don't remember how old I was exactly but I was pretty young. I thought the dog would love to go for a ride in the tire swing with me. I was so proud that mittens was sitting in my lap and not trying to jump out of the swing while we were swaying back and forth. Before I knew it, Mittens was starting to dry heave. I wasn't sure what she was doing but before I could stop swinging she projectiled pink vomit all over my lap. Needless to say, that was the last time I ever took Mittens for a ride in the tire swing.

Labor Day In Vernal Utah

We decided to take the family and spend the Labor Day weekend with my family in Vernal. The plan for Monday was to spend the day with family and take the toys (dirt bikes, 4 wheelers, and the dune buggie) into the hills and spend the day riding with the kids. Of course since we had a fun outdoor activity planned, it rained and rained and rained. Since the hills were completely muddy we weren't able to follow through with our plans. Later on in the afternoon once it stopped raining we decided to take the kids on a short ride around the house. It probably wasn't as fun as going up in the hills, but we were still able to take a spin on the dune buggies. A big thanks to Linda for giving these to my dad and our family. We have really enjoyed having them.