New Camera Lens

I just got me a new lens for my camera and took a few pix with it. I have been trying to learn all this photography mess and I never knew it was so complicated. I tried to sign up yesterday for one of the local photography classes. When the lady returned my phone call, she informed me that I am on the waiting list for the January of 2010 class. You have got to be kidding!!! She said that it is such a popular class that there are always waiting lists. Sooooo...I guess I will continue learning on my own until I can find another class to take. However John was so excited because he has been going to an institute class on the same night. When I told him the class was full he didn't believe me for a minute but was soon very excited. He didn't even act sad that I couldn't get into this class that I have been dying to take:) If I was smart I would have just told him that I felt bad that he wasn't going to be able to continue his class so I have decided to put mine off until next year. I'm always a little slow when it comes to things like that. If anyone knows of a good photography class let me know!!!

Big Sisters

I really thought that Brilynn and Maycie would get tired of having babies around. I was completely wrong. They play with them all the time and although they don't fight over who gets to hold the baby they do fight over who gets to hold who. Depending on the activity and who is fussy, they always seem to want to hold the same baby. Drives me crazy!!! The first thing Brilynn does when she comes home is say, "I'm home mom, are the babies up?????" I can't complain to much though because they are the best little babysitters!!!

Payge's Headstand

Payge is so funny when she crawls. John calls her "Mowgli" because instead of crawling on her knees, she likes to crawl on her hands and feet. I haven't been able to snag a picture of it yet (still working on it, she seems to stop everytime I grab the camera) but when she is done crawling, and is upset she puts her head on the floor and it looks like she is trying to do headstand. We laugh everytime she does it. I love watching the quirky things babies do.

Sweet Maycie

I love this picture of Maycie playing Webkinz on the computer. She is in such deep concentration, she didn't even flinch when I took the picture. She has been so bored since Brilynn has gone back on track and so I have really had to monitor the amount of time she spends on the computer. Dance, playgroup, and joy school just isn't enough to keep her entertained. She really misses Brilynn being at home and is always asking how much longer until "Bri" gets home. I'm just not as much fun and I can only play Littlest Pet Shop for so long. I am going to get my nephew this week since my sister just had her baby. Maycie is so excited to have Casen coming to stay with us so she will have someone to play with!!!

Great Harvest

We went to Great Harvest Bread Co. for a field trip for Mayice's preschool. They do such a good job with the kids and they give you a coupon for a cookie for the kids and a free loaf of bread on your next trip. Maybe that's why I love going there on fieldtrips. Anyway, when we got there, I was approached by a guy asking me if I was from the Preschool in Kaysville. After I told him what we were doing he explained that his wife had left him in charge of taking his daughter to her field trip but his daughter kept telling him that those girls weren't in her preschool. Poor guy. I explained that there are two Great Harvest's in Layton and that they were probably at the other store. Since he was already late, I invited them to just come with our group. So there are his two daughters in the pictures and I know nothing about them besides their mom gave their Dad a task to do and he was completely confused.

Preslee and Payge

Preslee is getting her two bottom teeth and has learned how to pull herself up to things. I am sure it won't be long until she is walking around like a mad woman. Church has become impossible with the twins since they are both wanting to crawl everywhere. Thank heavens I have such sweet friends who are always willing to help out whenever possible. Preslee just seems to do things about a month in before Payge does. Brilynn and Maycie are always saying, "We need to teach Payge how to do things like Preslee." Preslee can fold her arms, wave good-bye and quickly shakes her head "no" at us when we say "No, no Preslee." Payge just tries her best to stay as far away from Preslee as possible so that her toys don't get stolen. One of my favorite things to do is just sit back and watch how they interact. I never thought in a million years I would have twin girls. John and I feel so blessed to be able to have them in our family.

I've been tagged!!!!!!!!

So this isn't the first time I have been tagged and I apologize to any of my friends/family who have tagged me and I haven't done it;) Here it goes...

8 favorite TV shows...(not a big TV watcher but here are a few I watch when I get around to it. usually they are recorded and i watch them a few weeks later)
1. Surviver (have watched this since season 1 and can say I am a true FAN)
2. Amazing Race
3. Cold Case
4. Without a Trace
5. Any sport channel (not because I watch them but for some reason they are always on)
6. American Idol
7. 48 hours Mystery
8. Deal or no Deal

8 favorite Restaurants...
1. Los Hermonos (Mexican restaurant in Provo where we used to eat a lot during college, I still make it there once in a great while but I haven't found a mexican restraunt that compares)
2. Cafe Rio
3.El Matador
4. Applebees (don't like as much now that they don't have the fried pickles)
5. Red Robin
6. Brick Oven (Another college favorite)
7. Olive Garden (not my favorite but the kids love it!!!)
8. Really any place that I don't have to cook :)

8 Things I did Yesterday
1. Took Maycie to Joy School
2. Changed LOTSSSSSSS of DIAPERS!!!!
3. Took Maycie to Play group
4. Played the wii with the girls
5. Deep cleaned the whole house, top to bottom, all three levels...not the funnest thing but addicted to the smell and feel of a fresh totally clean house.
6. Made Cheese Tortellini soup for dinner (yes, I did cook)
7. Got new scrapbook shelves and organized all my scrapbooks.
8 Went shopping (after 8:00 p.m. without any kids) and made a fabulous find at old navy. They had an additional 50% off their clearance and then I had a $10.oo off of $50.00 coupon. Bought $208.00 worth of kids clothes for $42.00. I love stocking up on cute clothes for the kids for the next season. This made up for spending most of the day cleaning the house.

8 things I look forward to...
1. Spring, not a big fan of winter
2. Going to bed at night
3. Beach vacation in June
4. The funny things that Brilynn and Maycie say(they definetly take after their dad when it comes to humor. They have been quoting lines from Bedtime Stories ever since they saw it on Christmas day. I am always asking them where they heard that, or where did you get them from and recently the answer has been "from bedtime stories." Very cute show)
5. I total body massage from my dear husband (hint...hint)
6. In the next life being able to eat whatever I want whenever I want and not having on ounce of guilt
7. Seeing the movie Marley and Me
8. Having a night of hanging out with friends and no kids

8 things on my wishlist...
1. Being skinny and not having to work at it.
2. Going to Spain (this is really for John because he would love to take me to Spain but deep down I would much rather go to a warm all enclusive resort with nothing to do but RELAX but Spain would be fine as well)
3. That my girls can make it through their teenage years and not stray to far from the straight and narrow
4. To have my own Professional Chef to cook wonderful yummy healthy meals for my family...breakfast, lunch, and dinner
5. Be completely caught up on scrapbooking...so close yet so far away
6. Have twin boys (I really am done having kids but if I was 100% guaranteed twin boys I would do it in a heart beat. I can say that because I know it will never happen but this is my wishlist right???)
7. A day spa 1 hour massage everyday (ha...wouldn't that be nice)
8. A little more time in the day to do the things I need and want to do that I usually don't get to.

8 people I tag...
Okay, so I know a lot of people have already done this tag, so I Tag anyone on my blog who hasn't done this Tag!!!

Going to Boise...Never mind, Idaho Falls

We tried to go to Boise on Friday after Christmas to be with some of Johns family and have a Christmas get together. The rodes were so icey and after two hours in the car and finding out that the rodes were closed we had to turn around. Brilynn and Maycie were devestated and I felt like I had spent hours packing for nothing. It was a huge disappointment for all of us. John's sister and her family were going to Idaho Falls the following Monday to visit his other sister so we decided to go as well. Although it was a very quick trip, the girls enjoyed being able to play with their cousins and loved opening their gifts from their Grandparents.

Lovely Pedicures

Thanks to the gift from Grandma and Grandpa West, Brilynn and Maycie had a relaxing night doing their pedicures. They had been begging me all day to do the pedicures and so I used it to my advantage. Anytime they were being naughty or not listening I threatened them with the pedicure. Instantly they would stop fighting and start doing what I asked them to do. It was great. Overall they were very good girls so after putting the twins to bed we enjoyed a night of pedicures. They didn't think it was very relaxing though when I was trying to massage their feet, someday they will learn!!!

Payge is Crawling!!!

Once again Payge has caught up with her sister and is now crawling all over the place. She loves being mobile and being able to stay up with her sister. Although Preslee seems to meet all of her milestones first, Payge did beat her at something. She got her two bottom teeth and Preslee is still toothless. They are so much fun!!!

Sledding

Wade came and picked up the girls to take them sledding. Brilynn didn't want to go but later decided that she was missing out so John took her down to the park where they were going to be sledding. Brilynn has never liked the cold and I was shocked when she said that she wanted to go. The kids loved it!!! They can't wait to go again. Maybe Brilynn is starting to be a little more warm blooded.

Whahoooooooooo...It's Christmas(I'm just a little late posting)

Christmas Eve we let the girls open a few of their Christmas gifts in hopes that Christmas Day might not be so overwhelming to them. Sid and Jerry Stoker were so sweet to give the girls a Christmas gift (which was their favorite thing they opened on Christmas Eve) John and I were laughing so hard when Brilynn came into the Kitchen with her dazzling bright red lipstick on. Preslee and Payge had no idea what was going on but they loved crawling around and playing with the wrapping paper. Christmas day was very nice and quiet at our house. Since we don't have a lot of family close we had just our family together for Christmas. We usually go to my mom's on Christmas day but my parents were in Disneyland. Since we had no place to go we took our time opening gifts and just enjoying every minute of our Christmas day. It was very relaxing and the kids enjoyed playing with their new toys all day. In the afternoon, John took the girls to see Bedtime Stories and they absolutley loved it. We all really enjoyed a quite Christmas at home.

12th Memory of Christmas

I decided it was a good thing I didn't do the 12 days of Christmas because it took us all month to get through the 12 Memories of Christmas. We finished up our 12th memory on Christmas Eve. It actually turned out to be a perfect gift because we told the girls we were making Christmas Cookies for Santa. I had bought some frosting (or so I thought) to decorate the Gingerbread men, but i guess I bought the gel instead. NIGHTMARE, it was EVERYWHERE!!! I later pulled out a ziplock bag and regular frosting and it was much better. Make sure you look at Maycie's gingerbread man that is completely covered in jelly. Pretty tasty!!! This ended up being a really good Christmas Eve gift.

P.S. If you think the girls look a little strange in the pictures, it is because they plastered their face with their new make-up from Sid and Jerry Stoker.

11th Memory of Christmas

The 11th Memory of Christmas was a family serive project. This year the West Family service project took place at the Utah Food Bank. We filled out an application weeks ago and hadn’t heard anything, so we called on Monday the 22nd and luckily got someone. They told us we could come by on the 23rd and take food around Salt Lake City to 6 families. On the morning of the 23rd, we woke up to a blizzard! John shoveled the driveway while Amanda loaded up the girls in the car. So with white knuckles John drove down to the food bank. When we arrived, John ran in to find out where we’d grab the food. However, John had to go in and gather all the items and bring them to the dock. Six boxes full of food along with two yogurts, two bottles of dish soap, a gallon of milk, one frozen turkey, one bag of apples, one frozen pizza, a package of sausage and a partridge in a pear tree. So we put all these items in the back of the Aspen and got the 6 addresses where we’d need to go. Actually all 6 addresseswere in the same apartment complex so that made it easy, but then John saw the apartment numbers ranged from 400 to 800. The apartment center was basically a retirement home and the people were so excited to see Brilynn and Maycie. Amanda sat outside in the car with all the food as well as Preslee and Payge while John, Brilynn and Maycie carried the food up to each apartment. So picture this… Maycie carries the bag of apples and frozen pizza, Brilynn carries the two bottles of dish detergent and John puts the box of food under one arm and all the other in his left hand in wal-mart sacs with the frozen turkey hanging from his finger. Up they went 6 times to the 4th and 8th floors. It was so funny because several times people would get off the elevator and just stop to talk to the girls. Quoting John, “So there I stood holding all that food trying to keep a straight face while I watched the elevator door shut behind the people talking to Brilynnand Maycie. I would watch the numbers crawl on that 1970’s elevator up to the 10th floor and then down again praying I could atleast get on the next time. The second time in the elevator Brilynn got John laughing through his pain when she said (remember John is loaded and Brilynn is carrying two bottles of detergent), “Dad, you are gonna owe me big time for this!” Well we got it all delivered and were able to teach the girls that Christmas isn’t about all the gifts, it’s about how much you give to those around you through little acts of kindness.