'Tis the Season

A chill is in the air and the colors are changing outside and inside my house. That can only mean one thing: MUST BE FOOTBALL SEASON!

Reminiscing

"Mom, tell us stories about when we were babies." Brayden and Makenzie request this on almost a daily basis. Every time Lexi does something new or gets into mischief I tell them if they did the same thing when they were her age. Now they can't seem to hear enough about when they were babies. All of this reminiscing reminded me of something I wrote when the twins were about 10 months old. So hop in, buckle up, and take a trip down memory lane with me!

A Day in My Life Circa Spring 2008

7:00 am
The twins wake up and start chattering. Is it morning already? (Insert Mommy groan here.) Neither Andy nor I want to roll out of bed just yet. So we lay there listening to them for a bit. We’re not fluent in “baby-speak,” but we think their conversation goes something like this:

      “Are you awake?”
      “Yeah, I’m awake. What do you think is for breakfast today?”
      “Probably more mushy stuff.”
      “I’m tired of mushy stuff. That’s all we ever get.”
      “Yeah, I know.”
      (Silence for a brief moment)
      “What’s taking Mom and Dad so long to get us?”
      “I don’t know. Maybe if we make more noise they’ll get in here.”
      (In unison) AAAiiiEEEHH!!! MA-MA-MA-DA-DA-DA-DA. . . .

8:30 am
Andy makes Makenzie laugh as he playfully kisses her goodbye. I can’t think of anything I’d rather hear than her cute little giggle.

10:00 am
The twins just went down for their morning nap. I take the opportunity to enjoy a long hot shower and get ready for the day. As I put on my new capris and start accessorizing I think to myself, “Just because I’m a stay-at-home Mom doesn’t mean I have to be frumpy.” I feel fabulous!

11:54 am
The Hitter and The Spitter (as I am affectionately referring to them right now) have managed to get food EVERYWHERE, including in my hair and on my new capris! Is it really necessary to swat at the spoon every time it comes near? Or continuously blow raspberries that make sweet potatoes airborne? I don’t think so!

12:08 pm
My own lunch is now in the oven and my capris are in the laundry. I begrudgingly put on outfit number 2. So much for fabulous.

12:20 pm
Did you know that when you accidentally line a baking sheet with wax paper instead of parchment paper it has the opposite effect and makes a sticky, gooey mess? Oops. I guess I’ll have a PBJ instead.

1:11 pm
Brayden, Makenzie and I are crawling around the house playing Follow the Leader. Brayden stops, turns around and waits for his sister who is struggling to catch up. (She closely resembles a wounded soldier when she crawls, dragging one leg behind her and grunting all the way.) He gives her a big smile when she reaches him. My heart swells three sizes.

3:00 pm
The kids are finishing up their pre-nap bottles. As I am burping Makenzie she spits up all over my shirt. Time for outfit number three.

4:30 pm
Brayden is so snugly when he wakes up from his afternoon nap. I cherish these moments. Now that the twins are mobile, they never want to hold still, let alone cuddle with me.

5:04 pm
I just walked past a mirror. Apparently someone slobbered on my shoulder while I was holding her and someone else wiped his nose on my shirt. (Note to self: Invest in some shirts that camouflage slobber, spit up and whatever else comes my way. Think of them as practical rather than frumpy.)

7:15 pm
It’s bath time, which means it’s time for outfit number four: a raincoat and snorkel mask. Those twins can really splash up a storm!

7:45 pm
I kiss both kids goodnight and put them in their cribs. I never thought this day would end. But as they pull their blankets up close and smile back and me I can’t wait for the morning.

***

It's funny how a day 2 years ago differs so much from a day now. Stay tuned for A Day in My Life 2010 coming soon!

Time for a Halloween Rhyme

It’s the Cat in the Hat!

Embarrassing costumes? He knows a lot about that!

He’s a cat and he’s oodles of fun.

With his hairy helpers Thing 2 and Thing 1!



Even Horton made her debut on this eve in the Fall.

Because, after all, a person’s a person, no matter how small.

But she didn’t like the big hat and started to bawl.

 Then off she went with a grunt and a crawl.

The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play.

Be that didn’t stop us on that cold, cold wet day.

We took to the street to get good things to eat.

And looked to the sky for a beautiful treat.

The afternoon before there was a party to attend.

Our Things had a blast with their little My Gym friends.

Those things ran about with big jumps, bumps and thumps.

I don't know if anything next year will be able to trump.

But we will all be anxiously awaiting

Next Halloween and more celebrating!

Pumpkins and Patience

On a windy Spring day, the twins helped Grandpa plant some pumpkins.

All summer long they excitedly checked the status of their pumpkins from the first sprout to the yellow blossoms to the small, green balls and finally, bright orange pumpkins! I know a lot of people use a garden to teach their children the value of patience; unfortunately, this was not the case with the twins. They wanted to pick and paint their pumpkins yesterday! It's hard to drive home the concept of waiting patiently to toddlers, especially in an era of Dora OnDemand and pre-made Rice Krispie Treats. I remember waiting all week to watch my favorite cartoon (The Smurfs!) on Saturday morning. Not so for this generation. Forget Generation X, Y, Z or whatever letter is supposed to define this age group. I am hereby dubbing them Generation NOW: Cohorts of Instant Gratification. But I digress. Back to the pumpkins. . .

A few days ago, on a nice Fall day, the harvest was finally ready.

Grandpa helped them pick their pumpkins and they took them back to our house.

This year I decided not to paint or carve the pumpkins. Instead I had a variety of craft supplies that they could simply stick on the pumpkins. We also spray painted a couple of little pumpkins black and used some pipe cleaner and googly eyes to turn them into spiders. It was a big hit!

Shhh. . .don't tell Makenzie but if you look in the background of that picture you can see that Lexi stole her sister's sippy cup and was helping herself to a drink while Kenzie was busy bedazzling her gourd. Once again I present to you Generation NOW.

If you visit our house, this boo-tiful array of pumpkins will greet you at our front door. The twins are quite proud of them and love showing them off!

Thanks, Grandpa!!

More Hiking Adventures

Wind Caves in Logan
The destination was awesome! The journey? Not so much. This hike was dubbed one of the best hikes with children in Utah, but it was fairly steep the entire way and longer than the guidebook or the signage at the trail head stated. Rating: 2.5 out of 5 fruit snacks.


Fehr Lake in The Uintas
A great way to spend a fabulous Autumn day. Even the moon wanted to stay out and enjoy the scenery. (That is what the tiny white dot in the sky is, this picture really doesn't do it justice.)This was a short, fun hike for toddlers and preschoolers alike. Lots of bridges, steps and water to keep them interested. Rating: 4 out of 5 fruit snacks.

Maybe someday when I am feeling ambitious I will create another blog devoted entirely to describing and rating my favorite hikes for children 5 and under.

LOVE IT/LOATHE IT

LOVE IT: Baby polar bears!
LOATHE IT: My bi-polar toddler.

LOVE IT: Feeling the sand between my toes when I walk on the beach.
LOATHE IT: Feeling sand on my bare feet when I walk into the twins’ bathroom.

LOVE IT: A hike on any mountain trail.
LOATHE IT: A hike on my property tax notice.

LOVE IT: New episodes of The Good Wife and Modern Family.
LOATHE IT: Reruns from the aforementioned bi-polar toddler.

LOVE IT: Spending money on a break.
LOATHE IT: Spending money on new brakes.

LOVE IT: The leaves turning red outside.
LOATHE IT: My walls smeared with red stuff inside.

LOVE IT: Mini candy bars everywhere!
LOATHE IT: Mega calories on my hips and thighs!

ROAD TRIP!

About three weeks ago, Andy & I decided that we needed a little vacay. We quickly decided on a road trip to one of our favorite places: Grand Teton National Park. This was the third visit for the two of us, but the first time for the kids. Each visit has been a completely different trip. We could go quite a few more times and it would still be different. It is a truly amazing place!

WEDNESDAY

Since it is about a 4½ hour drive, we decided to break things up for the kids and stop at Bear World in Rexburg. We drove through the park and saw elk (including a rare white elk), deer, turkeys, and (of course) bears. Lots and lots of bears.

Then we got out of the car and the twins rode 5 or rides that were very age appropriate. Lexi could only watch.

Brayden talked and talked about riding two trains. One was actually a roller coaster, but he could not be convinced that it wasn’t a train. Makenzie really liked “going up in the big tree that went ‘CHHHHTTT’ when it went down.” Brayden squealed with delight—or according to Andy, “screamed like a girl”—when they dropped.

There was also a pretty cool petting zoo at Bear World. It had chickens, mountain goats, pigs, deer, ducks, etc. Brayden didn’t really like the deer, however, because they were trying to nuzzle or lick him. He kept yelling, "NO! Don't eat me!"

After that we headed to Jackson Hole where we had pizza for dinner. Makenzie later told us that eating pizza was her favorite part of the trip. Seriously?! It was good, but not that good.

THURSDAY

We woke up to beautiful blue skies and enjoyed panoramic views of the Jackson valley from our condo in Teton Village. Brayden especially enjoyed watching the hot air balloons ascending into the sky. (I wish I would have taken a picture of that!) We knew the nice weather wasn’t going to last long and headed into the park hoping to get a quick hike in before the rain came.

The view of the Tetons at 9:45 am.

We took the ferry across Jenny Lake and hiked the ½ mile to Hidden Falls.

We were hoping to make it up to Inspiration point as well, but it started raining while we were eating our lunch. Andy pulled out ponchos for us and then showed off his mad MacGyver skills by fashioning some for the twins using a pocket knife and two kitchen size trash bags! We got a lot smiles and compliments on them.

It was an adventure high-tailing it down the mountain and riding the boat back across the lake in the rain.

The view of the Tetons from the back of our boat at 11:45 am.

It rained the rest of the day. :(

FRIDAY

We woke up to snow on the mountain just above us! We had been checking the weather constantly hoping that the rain would clear up. The forecast was for the showers to move out by 2 pm. So we drove to the other side of the park to have lunch and hike around Colter Bay. Unfortunately, the forecast was wrong. Many rounds of Rain, Rain, Go Away! were sung, to no avail. Our sense of adventure was gone. But we decided to get out and make the best of it anyway. The kids were very excited to try and fill up the lake with rocks, but their hands got too cold too quickly. So the mittens went back on and we kept walking.

The trail was very pretty, even in the rain.

The views across the lake weren’t bad, but would have been spectacular if it wasn’t for the clouds and the mist.

Then, as any child would, Brayden and Makenzie decided that it was more fun to walk through the puddles instead of around them. By the time we got back to the car they were soaking wet from their toes up to their knees. Oh well, from the smiles on their faces I’d say they still had fun.

SATURDAY

Enjoying the views from our condo one last time.

Our last day in the park boasted beautiful blue skies and a view of the mountains that we hadn’t seen in two days.

Our agenda for the day included a moderate, 4-mile hike on the Taggert Lake trail and a long, 374-mile drive home. It was 1.6 miles to the lake and the twins walked the entire way!

On the way up the trail we encountered a large pile of horse crap. Makenzie yelled, "Eeeew! Look at the horse crap. Uncle Brad needs to clean that up!" I'm not sure why that is Uncle Brad's job, but if your reading this Brad, please take care of that steaming pile ASAP!

We stopped for lunch at the lake where, as Makenzie is pointing out, two of our furry friends tried to join us.

Almost a nice family photo. . .if only my eyes were open and I didn't look like such a dork.

Lexi was a happy hiker! She LOVED every minute of it.

Brayden had a great time too.

The loop back around to the trailhead was 2.4 miles. We started off with Makenzie in the backpack and Brayden walking and planned to switch them out every 30 minutes or so. But Brayden fell asleep in the pack and Makenzie got tired of walking. Andy had Lexi on his back and carried Kenzie on the Daddy express for a while, but soon only the Mommy train would do. So this is how I finished off the hike. Now that was a work out!

It was sad to leave, but I was definately ready to sit down and trade my hiking boots for flip-flops!