Carving Pumpkins for FHE

We decided that we would carve our pumpkins for family home evening. Since Brilynn and Maycie are not able to carve pumpkins by themselves, they decided that they would paint the twins pumpkins for them since their pumpkins were to small to carve.

John spent a long time carving Brilynn's skeleton head, so when it was time to do his own he was tired and wanted to do something fast. When I looked at what he was doing, I laughed and told him that his looked like "The Great Pumpkin Head." He laughed and had me take this picture.

We might not be the best pumpkin carvers on the block but it is something we enjoy doing together as a family each year. Just another fall tradition that we look forward to.

BOYS!!! Yuck!!!

Today Brilynn came home from school and had written a story. Brilynn loves to make little books for mommy and daddy to read. This past weekend Tiffiani (John's sister) was staying with us and she is dating a guy from Layton. She had waited all day for her "boyfriend" to come get her and come to find out he had been with a different girl at his house. Needless to say, Tiffiani was upset and Brilynn must have caught on and understood. Her story is entitled "My dad's sister." You've got to see the picture she drew. It reads as follows, "My dad's sister has a boyfriend and my dad's sisters name is Tiffiani. Her boyfriend has a different girlfriend." Amanda and I were amazed. She felt bad for her aunt Tiffiani and wants her to be happy. I know Tiffiani it's complicated but Brilynn made it seem so simple. Love ya Tee! We all want you to be happy.

Idaho Falls

We did a quick day trip to Idaho Falls to watch our Brother-in-law Galen play in a band at his sister's 50th birthday. John and I had heard that he played the drums and could sing very well but we had never seen him. When him and Lisa were first married he was offered to go on tour and be the drummer for the band "Little Texas." So that just tells you a little bit about how good he is. We enjoyed listening to the band and Brilynn and Maycie were on the dance floor most of the night and their favorite was doing the "chicken dance."

Galen put on a crazy wig to play the song "Celebration."

John with his three cute sisters, Beth, Tiffany, and Lisa

The girls doing the chicken dance.

Day Farm!!!

Going to Day Farm has been a family tradition since we moved to Davis County. It is something that we look forward to each year. I had second thoughts when I saw that they had raised the price again this year, but since it is our family "TRADITION" we decided to do it anyway. It was a little tricky finding the perfect pumpkin, holding the twins, and taking pictures. John got a free pumpkin because he answered the trivia question about who has restored "Oliver" tractors on a farm back east. The answer was Jerry Sloan, and since the question had somthing to do in a round about way with basketball, it was no surprise that he knew the answer. The driver of the tractor also gave the twins each a small pumpkin. So I guess the free pumpkins made up for the expensive prices. Hopefully we will have many years to came at Day Farm Pumpkin Patch.

Frightmares!!!

We only have a few more chances this year to use our season pass to Lagoon so I decided to take the girls for a few hours this evening while John stayed home with the twins. The girls and I really enjoyed watching all of the Halloween shows and entertainment. Their favorite thing was going through the spook alley for the kids where they went to different rooms and got treats and little toys. The next day we went back in the morning and did a few rides but it got busy really fast so we only stayed for a few hours. This will probably be our last trip to Lagoon for the year but we enjoyed it while it lasted!

Crash and BURN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

While I was in the garage visiting with my friend Diann, I heard the most awful loud shrill followed by multiple high pitch screams. As Brilynn came limping around the corner (still screaming) I looked at Diann and said, "Sorry, she's a little dramatic." Then as soon as I saw her forehead I immediately felt like the absolute #1 worst mom in the whole entire universe. She had wrecked on her bike and had multiple scrapes on her body and a huge goose egg on her head that was growing as I watched it. I first tried to get her settled down and then called John to see if he was almost home. I had Diann look at it to see if she thought I needed to have her looked at. We decided that she was probably okay but just needed to watch for signs of a concussion. John got home soon after the incident and we got Brilynn layed down in our bed, cleaned her cuts on her head, hands, and leg, got her a bubbly cold sprite, and turned on a "Goosebumps" movie for her. There's nothing worse as a mom then to see your children hurt and in pain.

Daily Bath Routine

I give the twins a bath every morning and it is something that they both really enjoy. Preslee loves to kick her legs which usually splashes Payge in the face. Trying to keep them warm, content, and cozy while I dress the other one is sometimes a challenge and I have learned to diaper, lotion, and dress them very quickly. I loved the picture of them looking at each other. They are really starting to notice and interact with each other. Today I gave Preslee and toy to play with. Payge reached over and grabbed it and Preslee's lip puckered and she started to cry. It was so sad yet so cute at the same time. I love to watch how they react to each other and I love being a mom to twins!

Once there was a snowman.

Brilynn and Maycie were so excited when they woke up Sunday morning to a winter wonderland. After church they begged to build a snowman. John and I took them outside and it only took about 2 minutes for Brilynn to start complain that she was cold. Brilynn has never been one to play for a long time in the snow. It's one of those things that sounds like a lot of fun and she can't wait to do it, but as soon as she does it, it's not as cool as she thought it would be. Anyway, we enjoyed building the snowman but we were sad when we looked out the window a few hours later and it and fallen over. All of the other snowmen we saw that day had also fallen over. It didn't stay cold for very long and our snowman melted small, small, small.

I have to wear a nightcap to bed!!!

I found the girls downstairs rummaging through all of the winter gloves, hats, scarfs, etc. When I asked what they were doing they quickly answered, "We need to get our nightcaps so that we don't freeze tonight." They have worn them to bed ever since it snowed outside. Whatever makes them happy!!!

Wow, you forget how messy baby food is!

I took the twins to the doctor on Monday. Dr. Brown (who we love as our pediatrician) asked how they were doing. When he asked how often I was feeding them solids, I paused for a minute and then sheepishly replied "just once a day." Dr. Brown kindly reminded me that now that they are 6 months they should be fed solids atleast 2 times a day. Feeding the twins baby food is a huge task and takes a lot of time to undress them, feed them, redress them, and clean up the mess. During this feeding Payge enjoyed rubbing the food all over her hair and forehead. Overall, Dr. Brown said the twins look great and are doing very well. Payge weighed in at 14.5 lbs. and Preslee was a whopping 15.10. At birth they were the exact same weight, but I think Preslee has gotten bigger since she always gets fed first due to her crying.

E.T Phone Home

Brilynn and Maycie were playing school today with their stuffed animals. I left them alone with Preslee while I ran upstairs to get Payge and do a quick diaper change. When I came down stairs, this is what I found.



I had a quick flash back to one of my favorite childhood movies. Does this look familiar to anyone?????

Preslee Sitting Up....Payge Not Sitting Up;)

So today was the first day that Preslee was really able to sit up all by herself without being wobbily. She really enjoyed being able to sit up and play with toys instead of laying on her stomach. Payge still has not accomplished this task yet and really isn't even close. One thing that I have really loved about having twins is seeing their different personalities. Preslee and Payge are very different and have been ever since I started feeling them inside me. Preslee has always been very active, was a little more high maintenace when she was first born, and always completes her milestones before Payge. Payge is much more content to lay around and her personality is much more layed back. She may look like her mom but has her dad's personality. I always felt bad when it came time for the twins to be fed because Preslee always got to eat first because she was the one crying. I felt like I was rewarding her bad behavior but didn't have a choice because I couldn't stand to listen to her scream. So once again Preslee has accomplished sitting up while Payge is just fine to still be on her tummie!!!

General Conference Fall Activity

We love fall and Halloween at our house and we have many family traditions that we do during this time of year. One of the girls favorite is getting to paint a few small pumpkins. Between conference sessions on Saturday we got out the paints and let the girls create their master pumpkins. Yes, they were still in their pj's and we took full advantage of taking the day off and just enjoying conference and not worrying about cleaning house or getting ready. I loved the change of weather and enjoyed the smell of the rain outside. I made a big pot of chicken noodle soup and we lounged around all day long. It was a very relaxing conference weekend.

Sick Again??????????

Poor Maycie has been sick the past few days. It has been really wierd because she throws-up in during the night and has an upset stomach but is fine during the day. I feel so bad for her because she just rolls around on the floor and we will find her laying in the bathroom by the toilet. I know, sad!!!! I am taking her to the doctor tomorrow, along with the twins for their 6 month check-up just to make sure that everything is okay with her. I hope she gets better very soon.

Field Trip for Joy School

Our neighbor Deena planned a really fun field trip for Maycie's Joy School. Since Brilynn is off track, she was lucky enough to get to go on Mayice's field trip. We rode the frontrunner from Clearfield to Layton. Although it was a short ride it was just long enough to keep the kids entertained. Of course we had to sit on the top floor so when the train came to a stop it took us a few minutes to get everyone down the stairs and to the doors. The train lady wasn't to impressed with all of our cute little students and told us that next time we needed to hurry because the train only stops for 30 seconds. So not only did the kids learn something new but we as parents learned that when riding the frontrunner with kids you need to stand up 5 minutes before the train is going to stop and be ready and waiting by the door or the train "master" will have to give you strict instructions. Anyway, we all laughed about it and made sure on the ride back that we were more prepared to exit promptly. When we got off the train in Layton we went and had a huge sweet roll. It was very yummi and between Brilynn, Maycie, and myself we were only able to eat about 2/3 of the roll. I had a nice huge Coke on ice to help wash down the thick sticky treat. So not only did Maycie have a great day at Joy School, Brilynn and I also enjoyed the little adventure!!!

Brilynn...Where's Preslee???

The other day I was cleaning house and asked Brilynn and Maycie to watch the twins. When I went into Brilynn and Maycie's bedroom, I saw Brilynn and Maycie sitting on the bed with Payge. I asked Brilynn where Preslee was and she told me that she put her in her crib. As I started to get a little upset and ask why she would have put her in her crib, Brilynn was quick to explain that she wasn't in her real crib but in the "fake" crib in their closet where they were playing house. I had to laugh when I opened the closet doors and found cute little Preslee sitting so sweetly and patiently in the closet. What a sweetheart!!!

Maysen (Maycie) Kay West

Maycie has been tagged by her friend Madyson Herbst. Here are five things about Maycie that you may not know.

1. Maycie is very shy and cries very easily if someone laughs at her expense. Sometimes she'll say something funny and we'll laugh and she'll start crying because she thinks we're laughing at her. She is very tender.
2. Maycie loves to ride her bike as fast as she can. She hasn't had an accident yet so her naivity keeps her going as fast as those little legs will let her go.
3. Maycie loves to sing and just make up songs. Before her Mp3 player was lost, you would hear her throughout the house singing the songs very loud; however, be careful because if you smile at her she might think you're laughing at her and she'll get upset.
4. Maycie absolutely loves her sister Brilynn. They play really well together and she used to copy everything Brilynn said and did. She calls her sister Bee'in.
5. Maycie would rather color, look at books or make a craft than watch TV. She really enjoys learning and doesn't want to go to bed until she has done some form of homework so she can be like her sister Bee'in.

Maycie Tags...

Cason Herbst

Roice Borup

Ben and Marcie Batty

Bekka Wentz

Stella Glover

Luke Weir

Brilynn Madison West

Brilynn has been tagged by her friend Lauren. Here are five things that we love about Brilynn.

1. Brilynn is a lifesaver for me when it comes to the twins. She will spend hours playing with the babies. Her favoite thing to do with the twins is to prop them up on the bed while she dances and Preslee and Payge giggle at her funny motions.

2. Although we have two full size playrooms, Brilynn's favorite place to play is in her closet. She draws dishes, tv's, food, clothes, and a variety of other items, cuts them out, and places them on her closet walls and has her own little house. Her and Maycie spend a lot of time playin house in their closet. Not sure why we continue to buy them new toys when they play more with the toys they have drawn on paper:)

3. Loves 1st grade and wants John and I to eat school lunch with her whenever possible.

4. Brilynn is learning how to spell and will now leave notes on the fridge for items that she needs me to buy her when I go to the store.

5. Brilynn will not allow me to cut her hair because she is convinced that girls have really long hair and boys have short hair.

Brilynn Tags...

Kaylee Borup

Casen Rooks

Chase Cooper

Nikki Batty

Dan Batty

Isaac Glover

Carson Weir