Mouse King Tea Party!

Macy & Mia getting all dolled up for the Nutcracker tea party.

The delicious salad spread Amy made up for us along with her yummy rolls!

All the little girls with their hair and makeup done!

A bunch of us got tickets for our little girls to go to the Mouse King Tea Party. It's a fun way to introduce the girls to the Nutcracker story and it's characters without them sitting through the entire Nutcracker ballet. We decided to get together for a little pre-tea party fun at a friends house. The girls had their nails painted, applied their own make-up and put on dress-ups while the mom's ate a delicious lunch. Then it was off to Corvallis High School for more treats and the telling of the Nutcracker story with small performances by the actual Nutcracker dancers. The girls loved it! Macy loved the ballerinas but started crying when she saw the Mouse King. He was too scary for her liking! After it was over, we let the girls run around and dance their little hearts out to Nutcracker music they left playing. It was so good for Macy and I to be together. I definitely need to take her out more often.

Macy at the tea party!

Sitting around the table having punch, candy canes and M&M's.

The girls were given these cute Mouse King cupcakes at the end along with a Nutcracker ornament.

Dancers from the Nutcracker

The girls posing with Clara from the Nutcracker!

Little Angels...or Not?

Okay, so I have to post these pictures of my kids taken one Sunday before church! They are little angels (most of the time) and I am so lucky to have them!

Macy clicking away at the computer working on her alphabet letters on StarFall.com.

Karlee getting in to the flour when nobody is watching!

Nicholas caught red handed getting in to the drawers! He loves to pull everything out! Definitley GUILTY!!!

Thanksgiving Roadtrip!

If only it was this blissful!

It has been six years since Mark and I have been home to spend Thanksgiving with family. We debated going since we knew we'd be making the same drive just two weeks later, but we decided to do it anyways. What's a 12 hour drive??? After all, we did move back West so that we could make trips home more often! Everything started off just fine, but quickly took a turn for the worst. Read on....

We are packed and ready to go by 1:30pm. I had made an appointment with the pediatrician to see Karlee on our way out since she had been pulling at her ear for a few days. Sure enough, she has a raging ear infection and so after the doc's, we run to Rite Aid to get her prescription filled. A half hour later, Karlee's prescription is finally ready but the pharmacy needs more information from the doctor to fill a second prescription since she also has an infection in her eye. The pharmacy is finally able to get the information they need from the doctor and then we wait another 30 minutes to get that prescription filled. We're finally on the road. About an hour into our drive, we make an emergency stop for Macy to go potty. This puts us right on track to hit rush hour traffic in Portland. The time is now 5:00pm. Remember, we left our home at 1:30pm. After sitting in traffic for an hour, the twins have had it and are screaming their heads off. They are tired, hungry, sick of sitting and need their diapers changed. Granted we are only an hour and a half from home and looking down the pipe at at least six more. I'm sitting in the back of the car yelling (nicely) at Mark to turn around. It was not going to be worth what we were going to have to go through to get there! Mark takes an exit and parks in some random parking lot. We sit their for a few minutes trying to make a decision. Bag the whole trip or endure! We just knew if we could get the babies to fall asleep, it would be smooth sailing. We decide to keep going! We no sooner get through traffic, than Mark decides he's STARVING and we have to pull over to get something to eat! Then Macy, once again, needs to go potty. I'm laughing to keep from crying at this point! We drive on. Everyone falls asleep and we drive like there is no tomorrow. We stop at a hotel in Ontario, Oregon to sleep (which is a little more than halfway to Logan). We pack all the luggage in and kids and by this time everyone is wide awake, loving the hotel and being able to crawl around. We set up the pack-n-plays and turn off the lights. The twins, of course, won't go sleep because they see us lying right there and they want us to get them out! We are so exhausted by this point, not to mention that it's midnight! Mark and I are lying so still in bed thinking that the babies will eventually just lay down. Well, it isn't long before Macy is up and out of her bed trying to comfort the babies. We tell her to get back in bed and to not move. After about ten minutes of screaming (I'm sure we woke up everyone in the hotel) the twins finally give up and drift off to sleep!As do we!

Despite a horrible first day and Macy getting the flu and throwing up one whole day, not to mention in the hotel room on our way home, it was a WONDERFUL trip! Really! We loved being with our families and going out to dinner and shopping. Macy loved seeing her cousins and everyone loved seeing the twins crawling around everywhere. I got to see my cute pregnant sister, Lezlee. We were out shopping bright and early on Friday morning with the rest of the crazies! Everything we wanted was gone before we could get to them and I think the things we did buy were NOT on sale! Of course! It was fun just being together and running into lots of friends from high school out shopping too!

We are home now and somewhat recuperated and yet... we still have the same drive to look forward to (or dread) next week! How soon we forget! At least, we know that Hawaii is waiting for us at the end of this next trip! WE DESPERATELY NEED A VACATION!

A Happy Halloween!

It was one of the funnest Halloween's we've had yet. Mark had the whole day off so we took complete advantage and played all day long. We had a lot of fun dressing up the kids and taking them first, downtown Corvallis Trick-or-Treating, then to a block neighborhood party, followed by MORE trick-or-treating. Macy was so excited to be a fairy princess, which was a very popular costume this year. There were wings everywhere! I think the release of Tinkerbell the movie had a lot to do with it! Nicholas made such a cute turtle and Karlee, of course, the always adorable, ladybug!

This video gives the whole effect of the turtle and ladybug costumes! I was loving it! Look at these cute little babies!

My REAL Life!

Laundry, diapers, bottles, dishes, screaming kids that all seem to need me at the exact same time, babies that panic if I leave the room, cleaning, sweeping, cooking three different meals to satisfy all the picky eaters in my house, running Macy to preschool and dance, practicing the piano for ward choir, emotional breakdown, Diet Dr. Pepper pick-me-up, playing on the floor and having babies crawling all over me, laughing and kissing soft little cheeks, reading stories, bathing kids, putting kids to bed, picking up toys, vegging on the couch then staying up late to catch up on everything I started but didn't get done that day, collapsing in to bed at midnight and then waking up at 6am to do it all over again. I keep telling myself that these days won't last forever so I'll try to enjoy them as they come! Somehow, I really do love it!




Inevitably, there are always a few moments like this!

Crazy Fun!

My cute mom came to visit last week again! We didn't have to bribe her too much to come up to see her grandkids! We always have so much fun when she is here and she is such a big help! For me, it's one less trip I have to make up the stairs to get one of the twins or pack them up in the car because Grandma always has one in her arms! It's basically a vacation! All my kids, including Mark, were just getting over the flu from the week before. That week could very well have been one of the worst weeks ever! I swore if I had to wash one more bed sheet, clean up any more throw up or change one more gross diaper, I was going to lose it! It was horrible! I was the lucky one that didn't catch it, probably because I was too busy taking care of everybody else. On top of that, Nicholas had 4 top teeth coming in at the same time...so yeah, he was way CRANKIE! Poor, little guy! Have you ever heard of that happening?

With everyone on the mend, we had a busy week with my mom! She was there to see Macy dance at her first dance recital, sit on the side at one of my rec volleyball games, and help me juggle the twins at their 9 month doctor appointments. On Saturday, we got out of town and drove up to Portland to Multnomah Falls which overlooks the Columbia River Gorge. It was a gorgeous day to be out and the waterfalls were beautiful! I would love to go back when the kids are older and hike to the top of them! We stopped to eat at The Cheesecake Factory at Washington Square on the way home and had dinner and of course, dessert. My mom's visit went by so fast and as always, so sad to see her go. We always cry at the airport but we know we'll be seeing each other again soon!



This video is a little long but so cute! Macy is on the far left!

Field Trip with Macy!

To go along with the October theme at Macy's Preschool "Down on the Farm," her school took a field trip to the Heavenly Harvest Farm here in Corvallis. My cute neighbor came over to my house and stayed with the twins so that I could go and be with Macy. Such freedom! The farm was absolutely adorable! They had dried corn for the kids to sift through and bury themselves in, a hay bale maze that was the perfect size for preschoolers, a fun tractor ride that took us out to a big pumpkin patch where we got to pick our own pumpkins, and the BEST part, rubber ducky races, where the kids got to pump the water to push their rubber ducks down the gutters. They loved it! We got a little rained on and a bit muddy but it all made for a fall day! I can see why every one here owns a pair of rain boots. Definitely a MUST HAVE! Macy had such a good time and packed her pumpkin around with her for the rest of the day! It was so fun to be with her and just a great all around day on the FARM!

And....They're Off!

Life just got a thousand times crazier now that both Nicholas and Karlee started crawling this week! Karlee has been flopping around for over a month now, whereas Nicholas just started army crawling last week. After seeing Karlee up cruising around on all fours, Nicholas was up and crawling too, within a few days of his twin sis. Now, they are both everywhere. I feel like I'm always stepping on or over babies. They are right under my feet. I've been busy re-baby proofing the house (putting up gates, moving garbage cans, household cleaners, etc) and keeping my floors clean before my other vacuums get to them. Karlee is still getting stuck in different places and Nicholas....well, he just follows Karlee around! My favorite is when I run upstairs for something and I come back to find this view (below) waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs. Karlee is already attempting to climb up them! She knows exactly where she is going!

Nick's First Hair Cut!

Okay, so I am totally regretting shaving these precious locks off but Nick's hair was getting way too long and fuzzy! Sunday night, Mark took the clippers and buzzed the poor kid! He does look really cute with his new do and I have to remind myself that it will grow back eventually (hopefully, the curls too)!

My Dancing Preschooler!

Here is Macy on her first day of preschool! She loves it! In fact, when I came to pick her up the first day she cried when she saw me because she didn't want to go! I didn't know quite how to take that. Does she not have fun at home with me or did she just have so much fun at preschool that she wanted to stay and play? I don't think she realized she'd get to come back. She goes twice a week to the Good Samaritan Preschool which is a darling little school. They have their own cubbies and coat hooks and her teachers are so sweet! Every time I ask Macy what she did at preschool that day, she always tells me what they ate for a snack. Must be some pretty tasty snacks! But the sweetest thing is when she gets in the car and sees the twins, she kisses and tickles them until they laugh. You can tell she has missed them. They go crazy when they see her too! We always miss our Macy when she's gone (but the quiet is nice)!

Macy is also taking a beginning ballet and tap class and is constantly practicing her ballet foot positions and plies . She would wear her leotard 24/7 if I would let her. It's usually the first thing she asks to put on in the morning. She is such a graceful dancer and tries so hard to follow the teacher. It's the cutest thing you've ever seen!!! My heart just melts when I watch her!

Karlee... the Great Houdini!

I don't know how this girl gets out of things or gets stuck where she does, but she seems to manage quite well! I'm not suprised anymore to find her half naked in the mornings or twisted around in her bouncer seat even when she is strapped in. She is almost impossible to dress or change her diaper because she just wants to flip over and "go, go, go!" I practically have to sit on her to hold her down. It's the craziest thing! She is such a funny little girl with lots of personality! We just love having her in our family! Nicholas and her both keep us laughing. Nicholas deserves his own post a little later but this one is for Karlee! We love you!

Karlee finding the air vent!

Karlee and Nicholas eating Cheerios and dancing to the music! Funny, that they already have such great rhythm.

Getting Crafty!

So, since I had to keep the twin's nursery gender neutral when they were born, I felt a little deprived that I never got to decorate for a boy! Now that Nicholas has his own room, I was excited to spruce it up and add some BLUE! I found this cute airplane bedding on sale at PotteryBarn and purchased a few art canvas' and made these pictures to go above his crib (a little something, something Cynthia taught me in South Carolina). I just traced the airplane off the quilt and used that pattern to trace on to scrapebook paper that somewhat matched the material. Then with a little bit of tape and Modge Podge... you get cute, fun and inexpensive decor! My next project will be painting his room!