Jolly 'Ol St. Nick?

It's been a while since we've taken the kids to see Santa, somewhere around 3 years, so this year we decided that since Liza has been so excited about Santa and Christmas that we better take her. We arrived while Santa was on break for dinner and when we got in line we were about 4 families back. As I got to the front of the line the woman who takes the picture approached us and I informed her that I'd like to take my own photo. She told me I was only allowed two photos and no flash. What? No flash, so you WANT my picture to look like crap? Santa took the kids up on his chair, very grumpily asked them what they'd like for Christmas and I got the camera ready. I counted to three and made sure everyone was looking and then to my utter shock and amazement Santa averted his eyes. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. He intentionally looked away. Santa was actually more worried about not getting paid for my picture than he was to see the magic in my children's eyes as they full filled a childhood dream. I was beyond disappointed by the treatment that we received from the Big Man Himself. I obviously was more crushed than the kids were and they didn't seem to notice which is good, don't get me wrong, but shouldn't Santa be jolly no matter what? My mother-in-law said that maybe the reason for his discontent was that it was getting late in the day and he was probably tired of having kids on his lap all day long. Uh-hem!! Isn't that in the job description? It shouldn't be a surprise when you show up for the job of Santa that children WILL be sitting on your lap.....ALL DAY LONG! Next year I'm finding a better, free, jolly Santa and not that jerk at the mall that is overpriced and over rated!

Happy 1st Birthday

Just look how far we've come. It's hard to believe how fast a year can go when you put it into perspective. I spent some time reflecting on that crazy morning yesterday. The rush of racing to the hospital and the shock and fear that came with delivering twins natural. The scary moments in the NICU and the moments when we were told how well they were doing. That was one crazy 10 days. I'm happy to say that I think I've survived the first year well.

Briley and Sienna have been such a joy to have in our family. They are developing right along and mostly on track. They just don't walk yet, which I'm not disappointed by in the least. They began crawling in November and love to laugh and be involved with their siblings. Just recently I've noticed that they actually do have quite a connection to each other. When one is feeling distress the other will show compassion and get worked up as well. Today while getting their check-up and shots they were both worried about each other. Before the doctor came in they were giving each other kisses. It was so cute and it made me laugh out loud. They also tolerate one another exceptionally well. Whether it be a poke, a toy getting stolen, or getting crawled over they deal with it.

Sienna weighed in at 15 pounds 4 oz. and is 26 1/2" long, putting her on the preemie chart at the 10%. Briley weighed in at 14 pounds 3.5 oz and is 25 5/8" long, putting her on the preemie chart at 5%.

It's been a great year!! Happy Birthday girls!

Dear Santa,

I've been a really good girl this year. I want this.

Sienna learned how to crawl on Friday. She's been working real hard the last month or so and it finally paid off. She is so cute to watch. It's bittersweet for me. It's always fun to witness the "firsts" and I get to do it twice. On the other hand this means that they are no longer stationary. I will now have to watch my step even closer. Briley hasn't caught on yet but I can only assume that she won't be too far behind. Then it will get really fun!

Spooktacular!!!

Our Halloween this year was nothing less than fantastic. The weather couldn't have been better, the candy sweeter and the trick or treaters more spooky. I think that we may have broken some records this year in terms of weather. It makes trick or treating so much more fun if you can actually see the costumes rather than be all bundled up. Liza picked up on the in and out of Halloween real fast and was happy to hold her bag open for many treats. Payton was a blood thirsty vampire this year and really looked the part. He would even say, "I vant to suck your blood!" Jared was the Unknown Phantom. He's wanting to be spookier each year.

After trunk or treating at the church we came back to our house with some friends of our and had soup. It a tradition for Halloween night to eat soup and apple cider. It was great catching up with old friends! After dinner the dad's took the kids out and us mom's staying behind handing out candy, preparing dessert, and feeding babies!

We hope yours was just as fun!

In memory

Our loving bunny of 6 1/2 years passed away yesterday morning. It was a very sad and guilt ridden morning. This past weekend we had frigid temps and we usually bring in the bunny when it gets too cold but didn't Saturday night, thinking that with her new and improved cage this summer that she'd be warm. Barry went out yesterday morning to check on her and he brought her in and she was not doing well. She had no tone to her muscles and she was making funny sounds. I ran upstairs for a blanket and wrapped her up and rubbed her to get her warm. She took one last breath and died in my arms. It was heartbreaking telling Jared. I had some extra fleece so we made her a blanket to wrap her in and the kids drew pictures to place in her "casket". Since there was ice all over the grass we have to wait for a warmer day to bury her, until then she is in a shoebox, wrapped in two garbage bags and in my freezer. I can't hardly even walk in front of the freezer right now. The funeral will most likely be tomorrow night. We will miss her!

Lacking football updates

I remember in years past posting newspaper articles and many updates on the happenings of Kadet football. This year however, there isn't much to report on. Barry probably wouldn't like it much if I posted each Friday with a single phrase saying, "we suck." We are now 1-4, which is bad...really bad. The first half of our season was supposed to be the easy half. Our team seems to be dwindling each week, either for ineligibility or quitters or injuries.

The most excited part about football, though, is watching the handsome ball boy. Jared is doing so well that he thought he's get in on the action and make a play last Friday. He literally TOOK ONE FOR THE TEAM. Each game he is instructed to stand by the ref and follow him along the sidelines ready to pitch the ball to him for the next play. He also runs behind the up-rights to get the PAT and return it to the team. He has done great and even finds time to have some conversations with said ref. This week as he was standing just where the play was coming, with no time to react he was tackled by not one but two football players, who were both in the air prior to the time of the collision. The sideline doc checked him out and said he'd be fine. He was more shook up than anything but did have a pretty good headache and Saturday complained of his neck being sore. I figured as much since it probably felt like he'd been in a car wreck. He's feeling much better now and will surely never forget that moment.

Jared's Baptism

Today was a very special day for our Jared. We had a wonderful time during the baptism and afterward all day celebrating this exciting milestone in his life. We are proud of him and his choice to make his first covenant with his Father in Heaven. We are also thankful for all the friends and family that came to support him today. Keep it up Jared! We love you!

Our week

This week week we've had Barry's brother and his family here visiting us and providing manual labor too. They mostly came for Jared's upcoming baptism tomorrow but we decided to kill two birds and have Brandon do our electrical work on our basement. He worked tirelessly Monday thru Wednesday and we now have beautiful lights in the basement. It looks fantastic! We have the HVAC guys coming tomorrow morning and then the plumbing is getting done on Monday! We are so excited to be this far already. I can't wait for drywall and have real walls! Last night was the funnest part of the basement finish. We demo-ed the stairwell wall! It was so fun. We gave each of the kids a hammer and told them to whack away. They had a blast. It was sure messy but it looks great and opens the living room up so much down there. It will look great with a banister and spindles when it's all done.

Jared started cub scouts this week and loved it! Doesn't he look cute in his scout shirt?


This is Liza being a good mommy and feeding her babies!

In honor of football season

Thought my blog needed a face lift, she was looking saggy and old.

Tonight kicks off Barry's football season. We face off against Pine Creek High School. Jared has been promoted to ball boy and Payton will tryout water boy for the night. He doesn't seem to excited about it, but we'll see.

So excited about college football to. I love Saturday's filled with team spirit. Also the Oregon Ducks were once again able to pull off a hideous uniform....again! Feathers? Seriously? Good thing they have that committee that meets to decided which uni to wear each week.

Some cuteness

Liza's hair has grown to a great length and I've been able to pull her hair up into cute "ponies" but it has a lot of different lengths within. I decided to give her a cut and even it up all around. She did good sitting still for me and it turned out super cute!


Briley and Sienna love sitting on the floor playing with toys and watching the world go bye. They are notorious thieves. I will give them a pile of toys to play with and they inevitably steal they other one's toy. It's really funny to watch. They tolerate it pretty well from each other thus far. We'll see how long that lasts.

When the babies nap had come to an end this afternoon I went up to get them and I found them in snuggling each other. They were face to face sucking their thumbs and as close as they could get to each other. They are rolling all over the place now and are never in the same place I put them in. It's fun to see them interact with each other and see the bond they share.

Payton's first day of Kindergarten

Ready to go!! He couldn't wait and asked all morning if it was time to go. We walked him to school and we couldn't keep up with him because he ran the whole way. He was so excited. His teacher is Mrs. Grosvenor (the s is silent) and she's great. She read "The Kissing Hand" and then I handed over my boy. He wasn't sad one bit, I shed a few tears just knowing that he's just a little older.


Liza's got her backpack on and she's ready for school too!

One last goodbye!

Another day at the pool! Liza just looks so silly to me with those goggles on!

Some happenings

They always want me to take their picture but once I get out the camera most aren't looking at me. Oh well it turned out cute anyway!

Yesterday Briley wasn't feeling well so she spent most of the day sleeping but Sienna was her normal cute self. Just look at those two!

Liza wants so badly to be apart of the going to school gang she can't stand it. She likes to wear Payton's backpack and pretend she's going to school just like Jared!

My friend Alicia call yesterday and asked if we could take her dog for the night. Ellie is such a good girl she has taken up residence on the corner of the couch against the will of her Uncle Barry!

Check out this blog. My friend is an aspiring photographer and she wanted to capture the twins. She came over the other day and got some good ones.

Monterey Casserole

I had to post this recipe. We went to a BBQ last night at one of Barry's coach friend's house and his wife made this amazing side dish. It was a party in my mouth!

1 c. cooked rice
1 7 oz. can green chilies
3 med. zucchini, parbroiled sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 large tomatoes
1 lb. jack cheese
2 c. sour cream
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp chopped green pepper
2 Tbsp green onions
1 Tbsp chopped parsley

Place rice in buttered casserole. Cover with chilies and strips of cheese, zucchini and tomato slices. Mix sour cream and spices and pour on top. Grate remaining cheese and place on top. Bke at 350 for 30 minutes. Can use more rice, tomatoes and zucchini if your tastebuds object to the above mentioned quantity!

We've had an eventful couple of weeks since our return from vacation. Barry successfully finished framing the basement excluding the soffets, Liza is mostly potty trained and Payton learned how to ride a two-wheeler. If only I could get Liza to listen better.

The past couple of nights have been a little rough for Liza. She keeps waking up in the middle of the night crying which is unusual for her. Two nights ago she woke the babies up and the only they would go back to sleep was if I nursed them, which is also unusual.

This morning was mass chaos which isn't unusual. After I nursed the babies this morning Briley projectile vomited on Barry, it's about time he got smeared with baby puke, usually it's me! Payton woke up with a bloody nose and after lunch Liza puked. It was GREAT!!! We did 4 loads of laundry due to the mass amounts of bodily fluids. Gotta love it!

Catchin' you up

We returned last night from our annual vacation. This year on the itinerary was Waterton Lakes National Park in southern Alberta. Barry's family has a reunion every 3 years there. All of Barry's siblings and 19 of 20 grand kids in attendance.


We decided to split the traveling up in to 5 hour days to make it easy on the kids. We left a day before we originally planned and stayed at our ex-bishop's condo in Grand Junction. It was great seeing them and we were so grateful for his hospitality even if he was laid up. Then on to Highland UT where we stayed with some of Barry's cousins for a few days. The kids had a blast and of course we did too. It was the best place to stay since they have 7 kids and our family of 7 was just absorbed into their daily routine. They had 2 boys just Jared and Payton's age and they were thick as thieves. We had a serious melt down when we pulled away from their house to leave for MT.


We stayed 7 days in MT at my mom's house. We took the kids to the park to hit baseballs and Jared is a slugger, Payton did great too. Jared was hitting balls clear out into the outfield. We caught up with old friends and hung out and ate a lot. I also was able to go to my favorite restaurant in all of Dillon, Sweetwater Coffee. It seriously has the best food around. It's a quaint little coffee shop with some of the yummiest sandwiches and drinks. Can't wait to go back next year. We enjoyed doing fireworks out at the ranch and it brought back a lot of memories. One of my favorite things about going to the ranch was when I walked in it still smelled like my great-grandparents...in a good way, not the bad old people smell. It was quite different looking at those chairs sitting empty. I have many a memory staying up late with grandma in that rocking chair in the same spot playing gin rummy.





Fishing with my grandpa. Payton reeling in this 15.5" 2 lbs rainbow. Jared was the only kid brave enough to eat some of it. Payton isn't much of an outdoorsman. When my grandpa went to cut it's head off he freaked out a little.


When our week in Dillon was up we loaded up and drove the 7 hours to Lethbridge, Alberta Canada. We attended at BBQ for Barry's aunt and uncle who celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary. Just days before we celebrated our 9th. We drove out to the farms that Barry's cousins own and rode dirt bikes, quads, horses, shot clay pigeons, and gophers. Al, Barry's cousin's husband is always good to take me out to shoot me some gophers.



Jared had a blast on that 50. He only spilled twice. Guess who wants his own?


Liza had some trouble touching Nikita at first then wouldn't get off her. She was a good old nag. Guess who wants one of her own?


On Sunday the 12th we checked into the Waterton campground. Barry's cousins had pity on us camping with the twins and offered us their trailer. Thank the Lord for that because it rained hard for 2 days. It was somewhat miserable on Monday and most of Tuesday but we were able to hunker down in a camp kitchen and build a fire for warmth and to dry wet clothes. I mostly stayed in the trailer for the first day as Liza was sick and running a fever and I didn't feel any need to take the babies out in the rain, plus I was exhausted and needed some rest myself.

When we woke on Tuesday it was more promising than Monday and we got out and saw 4 black bears. They were out in droves due to the rain the previous day. We rain was great for the area because the lake rose a couple of feet and water was rushing out of the mountains. We went on a small hike to Blackiston Falls which were beautiful and at some point during the hike Jared decided that it would be a great time to have to go #2....um where? Dig, squat and bury. As we came down from that little adventure it started to rain again. Grrr. Most of the reunion activities were cancelled so our little group plus Barry's 7 first cousins, spouses and kids all hung out in the camp kitchen. We got cozy.



This black bear was on the side of the road and we got about 8 feet away from it with our van. I opened up the sliding passenger door to get this picture. He was beautiful.


Jared with cousin Ethan wishing they could go swimming in Red Rock Canyon. Just a little too cold this year.


Wednesday was much better with sunshine and warmth. We went to Cameron Lake which straddles the US/Canada border. It was a great day to be at the lake. Some went hiking others kayaked. After that I took Payton to go repelling. Barry has a cousin, Patty, that is one tough broad. We hiked up a smaller portion of Bear's Hump, a popular destination and repelled off a 50 cliff. Payton had no fear and went 3 times. I went twice and nearly wet myself the first time and couldn't believe how brave Payton was. He now wants to be an avid rock climber and repeller.


Jared getting what he deserved!


Wilderness timeout on a stump!


The brave repeller! Guess who wants his own repelling gear?


We said our goodbyes Thurday morning and went back to Dillon for some R & R and to wash a stinky bag of wet clothes. Barry's brother Collins and his family tailed us to my mom's house for a much needed break of traveling. My great uncle Jim came over from Bozeman to visit us and meet the twins. We stayed one more night in UT Saturday night and got home Sunday night making our vacation this year a full 3 weeks.


We had a great time and enjoyed seeing all the family. It's so fun building relationships with the cousins and watching our kids make some of the same memories that Barry and his siblings made as kids. We are looking forward to next year's cousin reunion in Moab and also seeing all of my family in Dillon next July.



Look at our new trick! We can sit.



Sawtooth was carved by a Glacier on 3 sides. Native translation is "fingers that touch the heavens" Barry's dream is to hike it one day.

The Livestock

Our livestock was in need of some updating and Barry had some spare time on his hands, in between team camps that is, and fashioned this "holding pen" for our rabbit. I gave Barry a jigsaw for Father's Day and he was able to put it right to use. I was impressed with the final product. You're so handy Barry!

Getting excited!

This is the scenery we'll be feasting on in just a few short weeks. We cannot wait to get to Waterton and relax and visit with family. The mountains are absolutely breathtaking up there. I never thought that I'd be so excited to go to Canada but truly I am this year. I'm in need of some serious R&R, Barry too. This past year has been so crazy for our family and I feel like it's been a blur.

Watch out Waterton....here come the Clarks!

So dang cute!

Sienna

Briley

Payton and Liza

All ready for church. No pic of Jared, he's is Fort Collins with Barry for basketball camp this week!