Facebook Anyone?

So I have found my new-found addiction to be, well just that....Very addicting! I've decided I really like Facebook better than this blogging thing. I've been haggled long enough by friends to jump on the fb bandwagon, and i finally caved. So with that said, catch me on Facebook for all of my new and exciting, real life, in real time, fantabulous life updates.

What do you want Santa to bring you?

So I'm talking with the kids tonight asking them what they want from Santa this year. I come around to Brynn to ask her. (As she's thinking, her little brother is climbing ALL over her and making farting noises...) So, she thinks about it for a minute and says..."Well, I can tell you what I DON'T WANT for Christmas..... ANOTHER LITTLE BROTHER!" I laughed sooo hard I almost wet my pants.

Caramel Apples

As a celebratory tribute to Fall, we made caramel apples as a family. Fall is my favorite time of year. My "grouchies" go away when the cool weather approaches. Making caramel apples reminded me of a song we sang as kids...."Caramel apples on a stick.. Makes my tummy SICK SICK SICK!" The kids loved getting sticky and messy without mommy putting a stop to it, and we all agreed that the "sick tummies" were well worth it. The apples were absolutely scrumptious!

My babies are 9!

Where does the time go? For those of you who don't know the girls' story....they were born at 26 weeks at weighed only 1lb13oz and 1lb14oz at birth. They are truly miracles and I'm soooo blessed to have them in my life. For some reason this year, I've reflected more on their oh so scary and fragile entrance into the world. I always knew since the time a was a little girl that I was gonna have twins, I just didn't expect to have to go through so much to get them here (and keep them here!). The Lord has blessed our family so much for allowing these two angels to "stay with us" on earth and teach us what miracles are all about. Today, Kassidy and Kinley are strong, bright, happy young girls and I can't imagine my life without them. I love you girls!

It's a bird, It's a plane, no....It's SUPER SLADE!

Here's my Man of Steel. It's soo good having my little man around the house to protect us from evil. Daddy is rarely home with all of his responsibilites, so a mini hero definately comes in handy now and again. Slade can be caught multiple times a day asking people to feel his huge muscles. He is pretty strong for a 3yr. old, but something about those round baby browns and his foot long eyelashes....yea, not so very intimidating.

Fancy Shmancy

For Activity Days, Kassidy and Kinley had a Make-Over night. The girls had so much fun putting on make-up and doing nails. They came home quite fancied up...the bummer part of the whole thing was by the time they came home, it was bed time and they had to wipe off all their freshly applied make-up! So sad.

Crazy Kids

The other night we snapped a few silly pics just for fun. I had the camera out and the kids decided to make funny faces. As my 3 yr. old Slade would say.... we just "beed silly!"

Back to School

Kass, Kinley, and Brynn on the 1st day of school. The girl's are now riding the bus in the morning, which they aren't too excited about. But they are dealing with it. At least they have each other. School has been great for Kass and Kinley so far, cause they havn't had any homework yet! The second week of school will certainly prove to be a little less desirable as they have to get back into the whole home work thing. I for one, have definately welcomed the daily routine of "back to school." I feel much more balanced now that we are all back on a schedule.
The girl's all have great teachers. Brynn has the same teacher that Kassidy and Kinley had for 1st grade, so that's fun for her. Kassidy and Kinley's teacher seems great as well and we have heard good things about her from friends and other family members who had her. So here we go back to the grind!

Happy 4th of July!

Summer Fun!

The kids all took swimming lessons again this year with our FAVORITE swim teacher Kara. She is soo good with the kids and I must say that after many tears, hard work, beads of sweat, and a good amount of $ spent... we have ARRIVED! All four of my kids are swimming. This is quite an accomplishment. We began the year with Kinley and Kassidy refusing to take lessons as they were very afraid of the water. And Slade was totally new to this whole water thing. But they did it. They worked through their fears and are now great swimmers. Of course Slade needs some more work, but he is doing GREAT!

Happy 6th Birthday Brynn!

Brynn had so much fun with all her friends at her b-day party. Our "Brynn-bear" is such a great girl. She is sooo sweet and loves to just have a good time. I really think Cindy Lauper's song title "Girls Just Wanna Have FUN" was written expressly for Brynn!

Jenn's Fresh Strawberry Pie

Ok, so most of you know that I LOVE food but don't really enjoy cooking it. Out of all the things I make, I would have to say that making desserts would be my favorite of all to do. So with that said, I decided to make Bryan a fresh strawberry pie (yes all from scratch!) for his birthday. I have to say it turned out so delish!!! Maybe there's something to this "cooking thing" after-all. I do think that the reason I don't LOVE to cook is because you slave in a hot kitchen for hours, with kids at your heals, wanting everything to turn out perfectly, and it all just gets gobbled up SO quickly and usually there's not even a "thank you!" I know I have issues, but I guess slaving in the kitchen is just too much work with not enough appreciation. Because cooking for my family is a part of life, I've learned to just make it as pain free and easy as possible...except on BIRTHDAYS!

Cute Kass

My pictures of Kassidy w/ her award didn't turn out, but this is her the morning of the award's assembly. She's so excited for her big day!

Brynn and Friends

Here's Brynn at her awards assembly with two of her best friends from Kindergarten. She is in the middle proudly wearing her award.

Kinley w/ her award

Last Day of Scool-Awards Assembly

I have to brag for just one minute cause I am so proud of my 3 daughters. Kassidy and Kinley(my twins) graduated from 2nd grade on Fri. from Noah Webster Basic School. All year long they were on the 1st honor roll which means their grades were continually in the 95-100% range. They have worked hard this year and deserve to be recognized. They had an award assembly in which they were given a medal by the school principal. Hooray for them!
Also, my little kindergartener, Brynn received a special medal as well for being on the top honor roll all year long. She actually had the hightest score in all her class! It was quite an honor for her to walk up onto that stage at the Kindergarten Awards Assembly and receive a special award from her pricipal. She was so excited when her name was the very 1st one they called! Too fun. Way to go girls! We're so proud of everything you've accomplished this year!

Boy's Night Out...

Here are a few pics of Slade and Bryan at our ward's Fathers' and Sons' campout. Last year, Slade had a blast and the whole experience was very enjoyable for both of them. This year, however, was described as "a pain in the neck." The area where the guys stayed was very hilly, and Slade kept falling down.... a lot! Because he kept falling, he wanted Bryan to hold him the whole time. He was whiney and miserable and Bryan was excited when they finally made it home. It's really too bad because me and the girls (Kass, Kinley, and Brynn) rather enjoy it when the boys go camping over night! Guess there's always next year. Hopefully Slade and Daddy will have a better experience then.

Hangin' Out W/ Daddy

So I came home from grocery shopping a few weeks ago and Daddy was sprawled out on the floor with each of the kids tickling an arm or leg. Too cute! Can you ever imagine a "lets tickle mommy session" or a rub mommy's feet session with all the kids? I just don't see that happening. Mommy's can't lay on the floor and relax for very long without seeing how dirty the floor is, or looking up to see a ceiling fan full of lint, or some other project she needs to work on. Nope, mommy tickle time just doesn't exist. (Not in my world anyway!)

Crazy Life

Ok, so the past couple weeks has been crazier than normal. Four kids and a husband and a dog usually equals pretty crazy around here, however, nothing compares to the last few weeks. So, here goes. Two weeks ago, (Mother's Day) I was sustained as our ward's new Primary President... a little crazy. Ok, kindof a lot crazy. I love primary and am excited but a little overwhelmed. It will be fine as soon as I get into my "groove". Ok, then this last Sunday, my dear husband Bryan was called to be ......1st counselor in the Bishopric!!! Double wammy!!!
I know many of you are thinking to yourselves "I thought they didn't do stuff like that...especially to a family with 4 young kids still at home!" And yes, you would be right. That's what I would say in response to learning of this situation if I were hearing it about somebody else's family too! But I must say that when you know something is right, you just do it and don't second guess it. Even when you don't know how it will all work out.
It has been so amazing watching the blessings pour out as we serve the Lord. And somehow, we'll eventually get it all figured out(the crazy schedules, the meetings that we are both supposed to be at at the same time) and all the other stuff! And I'm sure that by the time we think we have it down pat,one or both of us will be released. Just seems to work that way. I actually enjoy the fact that life is constantly changing and at this point in my life, I find I am truly happiest when I'm serving. It is a blessing for me to keep busy in my life. I tend to get into trouble when I'm not. My personality is the type that needs to stay focused and productive. I enjoy seeing myself stretch and grow. SO with all that said, here we go! The crazy life begins. I have to take it a day at a time or I'd go a little in sane. One sweet day, we'll pass this test we call life. I just hope that I've become all God had in store for me to become.

Yes, I'm still alive...

Life has been crazy busy lately. I was recently called as Primary President. Yikes! Thanks for missing me my fellow blogging friends! I will get myself back in gear one of these days... We recently had family pictures taken so I'll post more of them when I get 'em back.

Amazing Jake's

Last night we went to Amazing Jake's to celebrate a friend's birthday. The kids had an absolute blast, and we all ate way too much! My normally non adventurous kids shocked me as time and time again they rode those BLASTED tea cups. They couldn't get enough! I was sick just watching them! Slade finally talked me into going on with him. I figured his begging and screaming to ride them had to stop SOMEHOW so I gave in. Assuming he wouldn't want to spin too fast; I thought I was safe.... boy was I wrong!!! That kid was brutal. He had that thing spinning like a tornado and loved every second of it.(pretty brave for a 3 year old!) Let's just say.... when you're over a certain age, spinning in cirlcles just isn't as pleasurable as it once may have been. I'm sure I looked "impaired" as I tried to step off that dumb tea cup(which was still spinning as I got off) and stagger back to the rest of the gang. Pretty pathetic. Think I'll reserve that kind of excitement for the little guys next time!

A happy 3 yr. old

'Round And 'Round They Go!

Waiting in line to go on the "Frog Hopper"

The "Frog Hopper" at Amazing Jakes was another crowd pleaser. The kiddos screamed so hard each time they went on it that they barely had any voice left at the end of the night. Again, the enthusiasm our kids showed going on the rides surprised us a bit. For those of you who know my kids, they are kindof "scaredy cats" when it comes to stuff like this. Maybe they're just growing up and getting braver as they age...it's great to see them let go an have a good time! Even Slade did the frog hopper and jouned in with the big kids. He looked sooo TINY up there on that big ride. Everyone around smiled at him and pointed at him as he braved "THE FROG". Too fun!

The "Frog Hopper" Ride

Happy Easter!

Hippity, Hoppity, Easter's on it's way!

If you can't BEAT 'em...... JOIN 'em!

QUESTION: With 3 very "girly" older sisters, what's a little guy to do???
ANSWER: He plays dress up of course!!!

Thankfully,
After he's had his fill, it's back to his cars, trains, and dinosaurs. (Daddy is VERY happy that he likes boy stuff too!)

Macuttas Island

Brynn was invited to her friend Alexander's birthday party at Macuttas(sp) Island. She had a great time playing with her friend Cami at the party. Daddy actually took Brynn to the party. When they got home, I asked Brynn if she had fun playing with Alexander.(mind you Brynn talks about Alex A LOT at home) She said, "No I didn't really see him the whole time." I thought that was funny since it was His birthday they were celebrating! I guess when it came down to it the boys stuck with the boys and the girls all stuck with eachother. So cute. Kindergarteners are sooo fun! I do love this age.

Sweet Moments

I adore the bond Slade and Brynn have. I think most of the time Brynn enjoys being the "little" sister; I also know that she is a really great "BIG" sister too! She cares for her little brother like she's his mommy and helps him every day. The two of them are very cute to observe. I like sneeking up on them and listening to their conversations. It's always very entertaining....until I get caught that is; and the fun's all over!

Slade and Mommy

This is an older picture, but I love it. Slade's cute little smile warms my heart. They grow up too fast!

Adorable

What can you say? Brynn is what we like to call... "Adorable"!

Bottoms UP!

The kids were having a contest to see who could play "dead cockroach" the longest. It was a pretty funny sight with all those little tushies in the air! They have some suprisingly strong abdominal muscles for those little bodies.

Best Buds

It's so fun having twin girls. When I was young, I told my Mom that I was gonna have twins. I'm not sure she or anyone else truly expected it to happen. I am so blessed and lucky! I love watching them grow and become better friends as the years go by. They are as different as night and day, but they share an incredible bond and love for eachother that I'm certain only twins can share.

Trip to Shnepf Farms

Last fall we took a trip to Shnepf Farms in Queen Creek. The family had a great time watching the pigs race, going through the corn maze, riding the rides and ponies, and of course eating a yummy BBQ dinner. It was a fun family time that we'll remember for a long time.