catch up time!!

Wow the last few months have flown by! For halloween we met with our very good friends and went out with the kids to trick or treat for the first time. It didn't take them long to figure out that knocking on doors meant getting candy! They had a blast doing this with their little buddies!

Thanksgiving we spent with Troy's brother and wife and their family in Sdeattle! We had a great time and the twins really loved seeing their cousins!!

For Christmas we are headed down south! No, not somewhere warm! But down to Gooding to see all the family. We are excited to see everyone but dread the drive! We pray for good weather and lots of naps!! We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year!!! Love to all!

Here are a few random pictures over the past few months!!

First snow!! guess who likes it and who doesn't!!

pillow talk!

silly kids!

My perfect Christmas gifts!

Pumpkins, pumpkins and pumpkins

Fall is here! Even though I really love this time of year, it reminds me that winter is just around
the corner, which means lots of time spent inside the house, which means cabin fever and a crazy mommy! But I guess up here winter is unavoidable.

We recently went up to our favorite place this time of year, Green Bluff. Lots of pumpkins, apples, beautiful scenery and the petting zoo! We picked the most beautiful, sunny day to do this, it was absolutley gorgeous. With the exception of Kamryn getting her first bee sting, it was a pretty successful day.

On a different note, I have always heard the twins tend to have their own special language, I didn't think ours really had one until now. Kamryn keeps saying this word "Comino" and her speech is pretty clear to where we usually know what she is saying. So she kept saying this and i asked Ry what she was saying and he knew exactly what she was meaning, he said "comino for ry ry" and she kept saying no comino for daddy, but we are still are unsure what she is meaning! too funny!

Giddyup!!

Kamryn and her future husband!

CHEEESSSSEEE!!!!

Long day, exhausted kiddos!!


So for Troy's B-day present he was given a hall-pass to go fishing for a weekend! He and his brother had a great time and Troy caught a 7.5 lb bass!! Here is his proof!!

Quotes cont.

I thought of a couple more funnies. The other day Kam was sitting in her car seat with her finger clear up her nose(just like her daddy) and I said "what are you digging for in there" she came back with "butterflies". Who knew?
While sitting in their highchairs one morning, Troy had just left for work, and Ry looks at me with concern and says "where did my special daddy go"?

Say What?

Ok for those of you who are in or have gone through the two year old stage know that it comes with frustration, lots of no's, messes and time outs!! But also very funny things that come out their mouths! So here are a few of my favorite quotes that have recently been said: Kam thinks medicine is the answer for everything so it leads her to believe with every bumped head or stubbed toe, she needs medicine to fix it, so she frequently is telling me "I'm not feeling well" in order to get her "medicine" which is most of the time water in a syringe, but she doesn't seem to know the difference yet. She also has a big opionion when it comes to my hair or what I'm wearing, today she told me " I don't like your coat". Thanks sis way to make your mama feel good about herself. She does tell my often that she does like my hair though.
Ry is very much into trying to be a big boy, so everything he is doing starts out with "only big boys". So he and sissy were in the tub the other night, and she was pulling on his "thing" and laughing(which I'm surprised she hasnt discovered it long ago). I told her "Kam that is Ry Ry's pee pee and only Ry Ry can touch it k". He comes back with "yeah only Ry Ry and big boys can touch my pee pee". I think you better rephrase that one buddy! The other night we put them to bed and Kam usually goes right to sleep while Ry sits in bed and sings songs and practices his ABC's, so about an hour after they were put to bed, Ry was still talking, and we hear him say "is that fine sissy, sissy, SISSY" then he starts crying and saying "I'm scared, where's sissy" I go in there and tell him she's sleeping, he had to make sure for himself that she was in her bed, so I had to get him out and go look at her. The other day I was getting ready for the day, and I hear them talking in the living room, which they usually communicate to each other in high pitched, sweet voices. So Kam was telling Ry "I'm going to the store, I will be right back give me a kiss", I looked around the corner just in time to see Ry look up from his trains he was playing with his lips puckered up and Kam bending over and they gave each other a sweet kiss, so precious! They are both aware of their emotions and what kind of mood they are in, although not very accurate at times, they still can give me a pretty good idea about how they are feeling. Kam will tell me frequently "I'm so happy". Ry is really into saying "I'm crabby" in his most grouchy voice. Sometimes I wish I could push the pause button, cause all too soon they will be big kids in school!

Family pics and summer time!

We recently got our family pictures done by a good friend who did an amazing job. It is really difficult to take photos of two moving targets and get good pics but she did it!!

We have had a busy but fun summer so far, first week of july was spent with both mine and Troy's families in Gooding. We had a good time with the families, had a couple stressful moments and sad ones too, losing our family dog Fletcher was really hard.

Two weeks ago Troy ran his first marathon in Missoula, MT. The kids and I were there to cheer him on. He did a great job and suprisingly wants to do another one soon. CRAZY!!!!

Below are some of our favorite family pics taken!!

Guess how this ends up!

Kamryn -1 Rylan - 0 (although it is usually opposite)!

Troy here. Thought I'd share a bit of what happened with Fletcher. As Katie mentioned above, we did suffer a very tragic loss while in Gooding on vacation. Fletcher had been in Gooding for over a week without me there - Katie, the kids, and Fletch went down a week before me. He was staying at my parents' house which is bascially dog heaven - 20 acres with a little river, quail, deer, pheasants. Fletcher loved that place. For a reason I'll never understand, after being there for a week, he got lost or decided to wander off, or both. Despite hours spent looking for him, we were unable to find him. A few days after he disappeared, a person saw a sign we had placed in a local grocery store. He called and told me that he had seen a dog matching our description laying in the grass on the side of a highway near town. My brother and I drove out there, and it was Fletch. He had obviously been there for a while, leading us to believe he likely got hit the day he disappeared or the day after. Definitely one of the saddest days of my life. For those of you that met Fletcher and know me, you then also know that the term "man's best friend" was made for this dog and me. Fletcher was almost 8 and he had a great run (often literally) in that time. It was devastating to lose him the way we did, but it is very fortunate our kids aren't old enough to have the emotional connection or understanding of what happened. That would be unbearable. They know he's not around, but they just think he went "night night". We'll definitely get another dog and it too will become part of the family, but it will take a little time before I'm ready for that.

shootin' hoops

Troy here. As we've mentioned on the blog a few times, Rylan has quite the spirited competitiveness about him. He has also (much to my excitement) taken quite the liking to basketball - and by "liking" I really mean "addiction". And, I can honestly say he has developed this little addiction all on his own. Yes, I may have put a ball in his hands when we brought him home from the hospital a couple years ago, but that was all I had to do with this!

He loves nothing more than to "shoot hoops" on his little hoop at home, and going to the "b-ball gym" with daddy. We were at the gym a few nights ago, and while I was shooting around I realized Rylan was trying to copy my every move. He was watching very closely to see what my hands did when I was shooting the ball, and then he was trying to hold the ball the same way. I snapped a few quick pics with my phone. Then I tried to help him a bit, but that only resulted in something we hear 20 times per day - a very loud and direct "No. Ry Ry do it!".

I'm expecting an epic battle next month trying to keep Rylan contained in his stoller and off the courts at Hoopfest. Maybe I should just put him on our team!

mama's helper

Kamryn has moved quickly into the motherly role, poor Rylan now has 2 mommies!! She is quick to tell him not to do something, and the other day we encountered our first, Im sure out of many to come, tattle tail!! I was standing around the corner so I can't see what Ry is doing, but I have Kamryn in my visual range, she starts screaming "Ry Ry hitting kitty", I come around the corner and sure enough he is wailing on the cat! Kamryn also likes to assist in the changing of the diaper department. I walk into the kitchen with Rylan bent over and Kamryn has his pants and diaper pulled out, looking down his pants saying "checking for poopies", once again she was right, big ol'poop!! When I am changing his diaper she likes to wipe him too.
My 2 little comedians make me laugh at least 10 times a day! They were both in the tub the other night and Kamryn started making bubbles with her bum bum(tooting), Rylan starts laughing hysterically and says "do it again, do it again"! They take such good care of each other and are beginning to have a really special twin bond. It is so fun to watch them grow and laugh with each other! I am truly one blessed mama!

Happy Easter!

I find myself anticipating every holiday, outing, and vacation because the twins are at such fun ages. They understand things more everyday and can actually get involved! Troy sometimes has to keep me grounded and remind me that they are still only 2 years old, and I as the mom may be more excited about things then they are, so not to get too dissapointed if they don't react the way I want them to. I still love to watch the look on their faces when doing and trying new things for the first time!

We had about 3 mock easter egg hunts before the actual day. I knew that our little, competitive Rylan would need some practice runs so we wouldn't come game day and have him smack some helpless child over the head with the easter basket because they touched his egg. They both did very well and had a blast gathering eggs. There were only a couple melt downs, and although Rylan did get a bit competitive, he did not smack anyone. We also dyed some eggs for them and they were able to put on stickers. Only 3 eggs ended up cracked during the sticker applications, which I thought was pretty good! We ended the Easter festivities with a wonderful church service, which reminds us of the true and only reason for this season!!

Nana "Rocky" got to come visit us for a few days, and was able to enjoy being with the kiddos. We had a a couple days of wonderful sunshine and spent each second that we could outside! We had a lot of fun with Nana and can't wait to see everyone again in the summer!

Tender heart

I knew my boy had a sweet and tenderness about him from the moment he was born. He would open up his tiny little eyes and peak to see if his sissy was laying right by him and then would lean his head over close to hers and fall back to sleep! His sweetness still melts my heart to this day.

Kamryn cut her finger last night and it was bleeding quite a bit, so she was cuddling with me and crying. Rylan walks over to her, hugs her, and says, "sorry sissy", and gives her a binkie and her blankie.

So today, they were both sick. While cuddled up together watching Toy Story 2, it came to a very sad part. I was trying to hold back the tears (yes i cry during toy story), I look at Rylan and he turns to me with big tears in his eyes. At that time, I wasn't crying because of the movie anymore! Love those moments!

Couldn't resist this picture!

Wrasslin'

Rylan long ago discovered that he likes him some rough-housin'. Unfortunately, the usual target for his fun-loving aggression is his not-so-aggressive sister. This means when Rylan gets the itch to wrestle, the result is usually him laughing and Kamryn screaming (it is mean, but usually it is mom and dad laughing too).

But, every once in a while, Kamryn decides she is ready to participate and not just run for protection. The other day, at a friend's birthday party, she got the upper-hand on Rylan. Although she thought she was really tormenting her brother with her relentless attacks, he was actually loving it and it left him thinking she was fair game for a wrestling match anytime he wants to throw down.

So, Kamryn's plan to put Rylan in his place backfired just a bit, but at least she had a brief moment of glory - and we ended up with some funny pics for the blog (thanks for snapping these, Connie).

And by the way, the nice little wound on Rylan's head is not from his sister and her expert wrestling moves. That would be a self-inflicted wound from slamming his head into the carpet during a fit (a fit he was probably throwing after getting in trouble for trying to wrestle with his sister!).

...and we're 2!!!

Two 2 year olds in the house can be entertaining, frustrating, and hilarious all within the same 5 minutes! I remember looking at my newborn babies, thinking toddlerhood is soo far away, but we are already there. I can't believe it. I heard this saying the other day, "the days seem long, but the years are quick". So true. Some days seem to drag on, but in the whole scheme of things, it is such a short time that they are little. Even through my most trying and frustrating days, I try to cherish these moments, because my 2 little blessings are literally growing before my eyes!

We had a Shrek themed party for the b-day. We invited their 3 best friends, who we get together with at least once or twice a week. It is so fun to watch toddlers with their besties. They hug and giggle and five seconds later are fighting over the same toy!! They really develop a sense of relationships at such young ages. They had a blast playing together, eating tons of cake and wearing their shrek ears, even though 3 out of the 5 kids had diarrhea, it was still a success! We also got to enjoy nana Karen coming to visit us for the week!

Rylan's verbal skills and vocabulary have really increased over the past month or two. He repeats everything we say, I mean EVERYTHING!! He doesn't miss a beat! His favorite phrases right now are, "I love you sunshine" (we are into loving everything), "sissy's funny" and "I did it". He is hilarious to listen to! He is ALL boy - busy, destructive, loves to build, is obssessed with B-ball (thanks to daddy), loves cars and airplanes - but, he still has a very caring and tender spirit.

Kamryn is a little sweetheart/spit-fire!! She loves to cuddle with mama and is always aware of where I am at. She is a big show off, especially for her brother. She loves making him laugh, which is quite often. Her fashion opinions have alreay started. She picks what shoes she wants to wear, even if it doesn't go with the outfit, I let her choose! We are slowly easing them into potty training, and Kamryn has gone potty on the big girl potty 3 times. Who knew that would be so exciting for us parents! Even though our interest in the big potty has passed for now, we will try again later! I love my amazing job, being a mom!

Here are some random pics and photos from the birthday party.