Get ready! Get set! GO!

We're getting ready to go to Lake Powell! We're all very excited! My family has been going to Lake Powell since the beginning of time (30+ years). It's our favorite vacation. My grandparents have a house boat, and we've always gone. Paul and I have never gone together. Our first summer married, we were in Oklahoma City for Paul's internship and were unable to go. Our second summer, I was pregnant with the twins and due in September. The doctor said NO BOATS and absolutely NO water skiing. Last summer, I was pregnant with Ewan and having some heart issues and a little preterm labor scare. SO...we're not expecting this summer. We're off to Lake Powell to enjoy the sun (not like we don't get enough of it...!), enjoy the food, and more importantly enjoy family! We (me) cannot wait! We're not going the whole week, but Thursday to the end of the trip! We've been preparing a little bit. We've also been enjoying some pool time with our buddy Amelia, and her little brother RE. Ewan and RE like to play on the floor while Lisa and I talk and the girls play.

Playing at Amelia's in her pool.

They loved splashing and laughing at each other. Aislee thinks Amelia is hilarious!

Cooling off

Aislee practicing her backstroke.

Olivia practicing how she will fall asleep in her life jacket (probably more than once) this week

Aislee

Thanks to Amelia, we've learned to smile when somebody says CHEESE!

Paul and I have been doing a little resistance training when he gets home from work. He's so good to help me with my training! I really like working out with him. I wish we could work out a way to run together. We put Little Eistein's on for the kids so they're not crawling all over us. It's the only time they get to watch it, so they get pretty enthralled!

Ewan walks around the table all day long. He's learning that it's very dangerous to let go!

Sitting at the table. Aislee's my little mother. She keeps him safe. Olivia is very good to unplug the fans when Ewan crawls too close.

Olivia's bruise is healing nicely.

Aislee loves to show Ewan how to play with toys.

We do a lot of playing. I don't really know how to have structured time when they don't really get what I'm trying to do. Maybe when they're a little more past 2.

He's my kid!

He loves to crawl into the pantry when the eating chairs are set up. As long as the sisters don't shut him in their, he's a happy camper!

Sleep? I never heard such a thing!

The learning curve of being a parent can be somewhat...I dunno! Paul and I have been trying to figure out how to get the twins to stay in their bed and go to sleep. We have tried everything! We have now come to conclusion that twins feed off of each others energy! One will be utterly exhausted and the other will want to play. Guess who wins? The one who wants to play. They would be up all night long, talking and playing in their room if it were upto them! After staying up from 2am to 8am Sunday, we are tired! We're tying to make bedtime not such a horrible thing with stories and songs and a lot of hugs and kisses. Nap time (some may say that they don't need a nap, but they do...we've tried the no nap thing), has become a little nicer with more books, songs, and me just laying with them. I've learned that Aislee will go to sleep by herself if Olivia's not there to play with. Olivia absolutely has to have the stuffed dog (Mendenhall) or sleep will never occur. Other than Paul and I being totally and completely exhausted, life is good. Ewan is getting bigger and pulling himself up onto everything. He wishes he could walk, and most days I wish he could walk too! He's getting to be such a kid! He just wants to play with the sisters, eat what they eat, drink what they drink...it's a good thing he doesn't want to wear what they wear! We've also spent some time up Mt. Lemmon to cool off. It's 15 degrees cooler up there and has a lot more shade! Maybe next weekend, we'll go for a picnic. We're getting ready for Lake Powell next week. We've gotten life-jackets for the kids. They don't seem too terribly comfortable, but they'll learn that it's just the way we roll at the Lake.

Ewan likes broccoli. I know Paul hates to hear it, but his kids like their vegetables.

Why did I buy new toys?

Olivia's goose egg. Yes, it's HUGE! Paul scared her a bit, and she ran right into the corner of a door. It was just the right spot. It's getting better.

Best friends. Hopefully they can continue being friendly, and maybe a little more friendly.

Aislee's angry face. I think Paul asked for the phone.

Ewan is just happy to sip on some cold water.

Playing in the forest.

My happy kid.

Aislee and Olivia were happy to wander. We're looking forward to having a yard that they can wander around.

Trying to get some family pictures.

It's hard to get them to sit still long enough to do anything!

Daddy and Ewan

It's nice when they realize they need help. Olivia saying, "hand".

Mt. Lemmon doesn't really feel like the desert.

Olivia walking with Paul.

Aislee didn't want to wait for me.

Isn't he such a kid?!? He's such a good little guy. I think he kinda looks like me in this picture, a much more handsome-boyish me.

Ewan tries to eat their food. Before he could eat it, they were always trying to share. Now that he can eat some of it, they get kinda bugged at him when he tries. Sisters!

Changes!

Well, I'm still trying to post more often, but I need to be better about taking pictures more consistently. I take the camera with me, but I always forget to snap a shot. I'd have to blame it on the fact that I don't usually have a free hand to hold the camera! So, for an update...We've moved everybody around! The girls were back in a crib for a few months, but it was getting very crowded. They wanted two big pillows, big blankets, all their stuffed animals...there wasn't any room for kids! We had gotten a mattress a while ago, but weren't quite ready for more loss of sleep, but the crib arrangement was getting out of hand. They're now in a bed! They've done pretty well. They like to have one of us in their until they fall asleep. It's kinda hard, but they'll learn, right? At least that's what people keep telling me. For naps, they'll go and read a book and fall asleep. They know that they have to stay in the room and on their bed. Ewan is now in the crib. We think he likes it okay. He sleeps. The first night he woke up, but we think he was probably a little chilly. With that fixed, he's been doing pretty well in his new bed.

nap time. Ssshhhh....

I'm hoping they'll learn how to sleep in more conventional positions.

Olivia is sporting my running shoes. I have ten weeks left of training. I'm upto 8 miles on Saturdays. It's not so bad. Sometimes, 5am comes way too quickly, but it'll eventually cool off here and I'll be able to sleep in until 5:30!

Aislee and the running shoes. I just hope they'll be good little travelers for me. I'm optimistic, but I'll never know what I can do until I try.

I just love his tummy. He likes graham crackers, bananas, yogurt, Fish crackers, and really anything he has tried (except for green beans).

Isn't he handsome? He's just so cute!

My three kids playing.

So this is one of my latest recipes. I found a broccoli cheese soup recipe similar to Panera. I really like bread bowls, but Quiznos has stopped making them, and we do not have a Panera. I found a recipe online for a bread machine bread bowl. The rolls looked really good until I added the egg wash. Then they fell. They were fine, just not as "bowl"-y as I would have liked. Good thing I can always try again!

Teeth, Toys and T...bloody noses!

Happy 4th of July! We love three day weekends when Paul gets to be home a little bit more! We spent yesterday cleaning the apartment and swimming. Tomorrow, we plan on going to the Children's Museum and going swimming. We love it when Paul is home because we get out of the house more. It's hard for me to get out by myself with all three of the kids. I don't have enough hands. My mom always says that with each child, women should get another set of hands. We'd look funny, but they'd be useful! You'd be amazed at how many things you can do with one hand (and how many things you can't!)!

Breakfast. The girls got new eating chairs after one of them broke and we couldn't handle taping it over and over every meal, especially when they learned how to rip the tape off. So much for child-proofing the dvds!

Ewan loves to be thrown in the air. I think I'll have to get all of them into gymnastics or something. They all love to be flipped, thrown and tossed. What we really need is a yard with a trampoline!

Aislee at the pool.

Olivia at the pool.

So, here's the story. I was getting dinner ready in the kitchen. Paul had put Ewan in his eating chair and given him a cracker to keep him busy while Paul helped me with a few things. Aislee was trying to be the "mommy" and rock Ewan. One of their bedtime books says, "They rock, and rock, and rock to sleep." She was trying to rock him to sleep. Both our backs were turned when we heard him cry. We turned around and he was face down in his eating chair which was tipped forward. Aislee tried to help him up, but Paul got their faster and saved the day. Ewan only cried for a second. He got plenty of kisses from Aislee and lots of, "I nice baby". She came into the bathroom while I cleaned him up so that she could help. She was quite concerned. Ewan is just fine, a little bruised, but just fine. I've never had a bloody nose, but he makes it look not-so-bad...

Ewan is also sporting a pair of teeth. Sorry for the blurry picture, but the flash just made it really bright. He likes to chomp on things, but luckily for me, he's usually too busy eating to bite!

Olivia loves to play with Ewan under the table.

The twins run and hide under the table when I need to get them to do something (diapers, nap, say Sorry).

After nap hair, lovely isn't it?

"We're so glad when Daddy comes home!"

I ordered some new toys. We haven't gotten new toys since Christmas. This was mainly for me, not for them, but they like them and I like that they like them!

"Ring around the Rosie's!"

I tried to do curlers in their hair for Church, but I don't think I put enough in. It didn't turn out as well as I hoped. It's good thing they're young and I can keep trying.

I think I need to do two rows or so.