This is how Brayden Rolls. . .

. . .and how he unrolls.

Good or Evil?

MAKENZIE: Look at me! I am soooo stinkin' cute. . .

. . .there is no possible way that I could be the evil twin.
BRAYDEN: Oh pa-leeease! What a load of crap!
MAKENZIE: Wait just a minute.
MAKENZIE: That's MUCH better. Now I don't have that stupid bow on my head. Ooooh, look at the shiny camera. It has lots of buttons that I can push. Must. Have it. NOW!
BRAYDEN: Aaaaaaaah! I wish I could walk too. Wait for me!

MELINDA & ANDY: Thanks Brian & Jen for the cute t-shirts!

We're Ba-ack!

ALOHA! We just got back from our trip to Kauai. I was looking forward to this vacation forever. I wanted to sleep in, lounge on the beach, and hike in the rainforest---most of which I got to do. Here's how it all went down.

Tuesday, August 5

9:00 pm We just dropped the kids off at Grandma & Grandpa Rhodes house. Our house seems strangely empty and quiet now. I'm not sure what to do, but Andy sure does. He wastes no time throwing in a Metallica album and cranking up the stereo. Our packing party begins. . .

9:30 pm The party abruptly comes to a halt when my vase full of rocks comes crashing down off the top of the entertainment center. Apparently the vibrations from the sub-woofer were a bit too much.

Wednesday, August 6

9:00 am We haven't even been away from the kids for a full day and I already miss them. Much to Andy's chagrin, I have been oohing and awing at all the cute babies I see in the airport. Then I see a double stroller and my heart melts faster than a delicious Fudgesicle on a hot summer day.

Thursday, August 7

4:00 am Sleeping in? HAH! There are about 10 roosters outside our condo that have other plans. Apparently, the things run rampant on the island. And they are EVERYWHERE. I hate roosters!

8:30 am We get an early start on the day and head up Waimea Canyon to do some hiking. We stop at the visitors center and are greeted by this. . .

. . .I vow right then and there to eat more chicken! We take a couple of disappointing hikes and then drive to the lookout point at the top of the canyon. Spectacular.Friday, August 8

4:30 am What a surprise. My friend the rooster is outside making noise. I! Need! Sleep!!


4:00 pm We are on boat tour up the Na Pali Coast. I wouldn't mind being stranded on a beach like this (as long as there weren't any chickens on it).

From the boat we saw bottle nose dolphins, spinner dolphins and a Hawaiian monk seal. We went snorkeling and saw all kinds of cool fish. It rained on us for a few minutes, but what an amazing sight the rain brought.

Saturday, August 9

4:12 am YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! I am soooo glad we are staying somewhere else tonight.

9:00 am We drive up to the north shore and hike to Hanakapiai Falls. There are no words to describe how beautiful this hike. From start to finish I am in awe.

Sunday, August 10

8:34 am Wahoo! Once upon a time I considered this getting up early. Now it's sleeping in and quite a luxery.

1:00 pm Today we are just taking it easy. We are just finishing up at the beach where we lounged around, read and swam. Despite the fact that I applied SPF 50 twice in just over 2 hours, I'm afraid my porcelain skin still got sunburned.

3:36 pm Back in the hotel I grab a bottle of aloe vera and rub all over my legs. It feels kind of sticky. That's weird. I take it out in the room and ask Andy to put some on my back. He just starts laughing and informs me it's actually his hair gel.

Monday, August 11

11:45 am We are back in SLC. I had a lot of fun on the trip, but it's good to be home.

1:00 pm I just found out that Brayden took his first steps yesterday. I can't believe we missed that! It's a good thing I didn't find that out until now or I would've spent my last night in Hawaii crying.

2:00 pm Andy is still laughing about the hair gel incident. He's going to get some mileage out of that one. (Sigh.)

1 Year Stats

The twins finally had their 1 Year Checkup today. Brayden weighs 21 lbs 5 oz (10th percentile) and is 32-1/4 in tall (95th percentile). Our petite little Makenzie weighs 18 lbs 6 oz (10th percentile) and is 30-1/4 in tall (75th percentile). They both have GINORMOUS heads in the 95th percentile. It is amazing that they can even remain upright with such big heads. But, as you can see in this picture, they can and are in constant motion. Makenzie even took her first unassisted steps last week!

Confessions

Yesterday after we went hiking in the Uintas, we stopped at Dick’s Drive-In for some dinner. Brayden refused to eat his banana and promptly threw his pieces off the floor. We didn’t have anything else to feed him, so I ended up feeding him some of my shake for dinner. That’s right. I fed my son ice cream for dinner! Something I never thought I would do. In just one short year I have found myself saying or doing many things out of necessity that I never thought I would do. They range from things I’ve done in the privacy of my own home---making my son wear fuzzy purple pajamas adorned with flowers and kittens---to things I’ve done in public---using the bathroom in Macy’s with the door open because even in the handicap stall, the double stroller wouldn’t fit!

Now it’s your turn to ‘fess up. I want comments from everyone (yes, even you Sonya!) telling me what kinds of things you have found yourself doing that you never imagined you would do.

Birthday Recap

Today was our first birthday! Look at the cute shirts Mom bought us.







Mom and Dad took us to the zoo to celebrate. The rides were LOTS of fun. The animals were OK, but kind of smelly. Maybe they should have taken us to Lagoon instead.





We LOVED our presents! The paper was just as fun as the toys inside. We even played together for a while. We can't wait to wake up in the morning and play with them some more.





Mom worked really hard to make these things, whatever they are. We didn't really groove on them too much. That's why Brayden immediately threw his on the floor. Mom didn't look too happy. She should've mashed them up for us. Cake tastes much better when it's mashed and smeared everywhere. Wouldn't you agree?

One-derful!

What a one-derful year
We can't believe it's done
Only a few more days
Until our twin-fants turn ONE!