Fourth of July

We had a pretty tame fourth of July this year. It started out with a terrific brunch with Sarah's side of the family in Pleasant Grove. We had french toast, fruit, bacon, hashbrowns and buttermilk syrup. It was really yummy. Here are all the cousin's except Lincoln and Kristen and Ryan's coming addition.

We also went to the movies. Alex and my mom saw Hancock and the girls and I saw Wall e. I really liked Wall e and thought it had a nice environmentalist message without being too heavy handed. Following the movies we had the girls first backyard firework show. They enjoyed it. Alex seemed to enjoy lighting them off too. Jenni enjoyed the firework show too, but was also concerned that the yard would light on fire, so she became the fire marshall of the evening. She made sure to douse the yard with the hose between fireworks. We were pleased that Dave's wife, Cindi who was in town finishing some classes this summer was able to join the show a little later.

Off to see the Wizard

Engrossed in unwrapping presents from Lawrence, Kansas.

Well, this looks quite nice, I love the blue sparkles. I am not quite sure who Dorothy Gail is...but I know I am going to love this dress!

Wooooh! Red high heel slippers, they are gonna be so special on me.

Wait a minute, I think I might like to wear those.

Check out the sparkly evening gown version of Dorothy.
Thanks Aunt Kiki and Uncle Ryan! We love the Dorothy outfit and the ruby slippers are fabulous!

Day 1096 of Surviving Twins

Lately, the girls have been taking a pretty hard afternoon nap. I usually have to go and wake them up after a couple of hours. As I approached their bedroom at the normal time, I did not suspect anything out of the ordinary. The room was quiet. I walked into possibly the biggest mess I have ever encountered. Esmé had gotten into the cream and spread it all over her legs, quilt, sheet, stuffed animals and Sophie. The white cream is not very water soluble and due to the extent it had been caked on her and everything she touched--it was a real chore to clean up.

To top it all off, Sophie had had an accident in her underwear. (Which was most likely why they were up getting into mischief, unbeknownst to me.) I put them in the tub and had to turn on the shower to get the cream out of Sophia's curly locks. I am frustrated with myself for not putting that cream up higher or throwing it away since we never use it.

Update: 9:24 pm. I just walked into the girls room again because someone was crying because of fireworks. Esmé had found the A and D ointment and greased up her hands. Looks like the both of us will need to review what the purpose of cream is and where to store it.

C'mon new bike!

One of the most exciting things we have done this summer is to get a bike and trailer for the girls and me. (We are still working on getting a bike for Alex.) I wanted a cruiser bike, and I ended up with one that looks almost exactly like the one my sister Kristen had when we were kids. I was so jealous of that bike! Needless to say, with the rising gas prices it is nice to have an alternative form of transportation. We rode about 3 miles around the park today, the girls have enjoyed riding in the trailer thus far. I hope they continue to like it because they are pretty squished together in there.

3 years ago today . . .

We went for a car ride three years ago and things were never the same.

"And they all played games at the ladybug picnic..."

This year for the girls birthday I decided to have a ladybug picnic. I got the bright idea from the girls favorite show, Sesame Street. Alex and I remembered the catchy little tune immediately when it came on from when we were kids. I sing it so much that the girls have learned the tune.


We held the party at Liberty Park in the Tracy Aviary. Alex had a brilliant idea to get a really big sandwich. He was sooooo excited about it. At three feet long, it was only a little bit smaller than Homer's sub sandwich that he ate for a few months. Here we are eating the most delicious turkey sandwich, chips, veggies and dip and grapes. Esmé and Sophia's cousin Olivia is on the end, followed by Sophie, their little friend from church, Eve, and Esmé. (Oh, and Alex.)

Here are a couple of shots opening presents. It was pretty chaotic. We loved all the gifts--thank you everyone! Eve and Olivia were also very eager to open presents--and helped by opening about a third of them.

Here is Sophia and her new soccer ball. (Under the table.) The girls also recieved a Strawberry Shortcake baseball and bat, which Alex has been teaching them to use.

Ok. So this is not in chronological order, but we wanted to show the ladybug cake. After spending at least an hour looking online for bakery's that make birthday cakes. I ended up using our old standby bakery-the Lehi Country Bakery. (They also make fabulous square doughnuts.) We had wanted a cake shaped like a ladybug--because we have recently been watching a show on the Food Network called "Ace of Cakes." The folks on the show make the most amazing cakes.

Sarah was also concerned about the taste of the cake. She is picky about grocery store cakes.

The cake we got was cute, and was also tulicious.

And they did all play games at the ladybug picnic. This game is pin the spot on the ladybug. All the kids pinned their spots in the same place so the ladybug had one big mutant spot. I guess it didn't really matter that they weren't blindfolded.

Here are the small partygoers: Eve, Olivia, Esmé, Sophia, Lincoln. The grownups were Karen, Lindsay, Jenni, Cindi, Adam, Brittany, Sarah and Alex.

As the plans for the party were coming together I found these little stuffed ladybugs at the dollar store, along with red butterfly nets. We hid the stuffed ladybugs and the girls went on a ladybug hunt. The girls have been carrying their ladybugs around and sleeping with them. They even brought them to church today. They have been a big hit. All in all it was a really fun birthday.