December

I can't believe how fast December has gone! So many things seem to happen in December. I did blog the boys birthday and the nostalgia that it brought.

The girls always have parent watch day in Dance class. Ava was adorable!!

A week later Deneile had her parent watch day. She is getting to look like a little ballerina. I can't believe how lovely she is.





We also had Scott's brother and sister in law's annual Christmas brunch, which we always enjoy.

Of course we have the school Christmas concerts. This year is the last that the boys will do at preschool. It almost made my eyes misty to think that next year they will be in kindergarten, and we will have no more preschool. We have been going to this preschool for 5 years strait! I really enjoy the preschool and am sad that this is our last year there. But they are so cute. This is the first year that I didn't go alone. We were lucky to have Grandma and Grandpa and even a few of the cousins. It was wonderful that we were able to have our family there on the last year that they did it.


Then there was Deneile and Ava's concerts. Because their school is so big they split the school in half and have the same concert played by each half of the school on two different nights. So the first night Deneile did her concert and the second was Ava's. It was fun to watch them and they loved singing with their class and in the choir.


It was also a fun time to go to our ward Christmas party! I am so grateful for the wonderful ward we have!


What a busy month! I don't know why but I also had to throw in dentists appointments for me and the kids on two different days and a chiropractor appointment that happened to hit one of the days of the dentist appointment. Whoo! I feel tired again just thinking about it!

FIVE!!!

I can't believe that they are 5!! I couldn't get myself motivated this year to have a birthday party for them. So instead we went just our family to the swimming pool and had a fun time. I made a cake and the boys said they had a great birthday. It is funny how we feel like we need to do big parties, spending hundreds of dollars when they are just as happy if we do something small and they have just as much fun.

As I write this I think back five years ago December 3, 2004. I'm huge!! I'm waiting.

I have to go in to get induced in the morning and have my first epidural, (not because I wanted one but because my doctor said with twins he always gave epidurals) and the room is full, I mean really full. I think there was 1 OB and 2 students for the birth, then there was 2 Pediatric doctors (one for each baby) and then a student for each of them as well. Then a nurse for me and one for each of the babies and I had my midwife and my sister and of course my husband. And of course me not caring that there is a room full of people here to enjoy my pain and suffering. Just kidding. It actually wasn't that bad because of the epidural (although after having both two natural births and one with an epidural if I had to do it a again - which I never will!- I would go for natural). Well finally at 10:15pm I start pushing and at 10:25pm I have had 2 beautiful baby boys. Dallin was born first and Alex came next feet first!! Amazingly there were no stitches and everything went quite smoothly.

We have had an interesting 5 years. They boys had to be hospitalized for a week 2 weeks after they were born for pneumonia, Dallin had to go to the hospital, and have bone scans, X-rays, MRI's and a spinal tap, when he was 2 for 8 days when he had Guillain Barre Syndrome, and then six months later Dallin had to go to the hospital again when he ran into the corner of a wall and had to get 5 stitches.



It has been a crazy time running, cleaning, running and cleaning. I have fuzzy memories of their first year... well maybe their first few years and I wish I would have written everything down so I would remember. There have been lots of hilarious things said and done and some not so funny, (painting their room, when they were 2 years old, with their poo was one of the more NOT funny times and unfortunately my friend who was babysitting at the time had to deal with the first time they decided to be 'Poo'casso's). Sometimes I have a hard time remembering yesterday, or today for that matter. I am grateful, though, for these wonderful years. I have learned much patience and what wonderful friends I have here who help me, and give me such wonderful examples to keep me going everyday. I am so glad that I have these wonderful children. It is hard and I sometimes feel like have have lost myself in being a mom. I don't really know what I like to do any more because I don't have time or energy to have hobbies. Then I realize that it is such a blessing to be a mom and that I haven't lost myself, I have found a new self that has many different talents and blessings that I would never have had if I didn't have these wonderful children.

Too Smart for Me!!

I try and try to out smart these boys, but they always get the better of me!

I made a lock or a cupboard that keeps a bit of food storage and medicine and tools.

And it worked for a while but here they are out smarting me again!

Phone Call

Saturday night was Scott's work Christmas party. Yes I know quite early. Since I don't get to go out for a nice dinner too often I decided I wanted to dress up a little... I even curled my hair and put on make up! (Amazing I know) Scott was in our room and I was in the bathroom trying to remember how to do my hair and the kids where playing a game, yelling and screaming down stairs in a playing sort of way, chasing each other yelling, "Help, help call 911, get the police". Well a few minutes later Scott was wondering what the heck I could be doing in the bathroom for half an hour, came into check on me. As we were discussing the fact that it does take quite a while for myself to make myself up and how grateful he was that I didn't feel the need to do this every day, when Ava comes tearing up the stairs yelling, "The boys just called 911!" Scott went tearing downstairs, but by the time he got there they boys were no where near the phone. A few seconds later, the phone rings. Scott answers it and I hear him talking to the 911 operator. He explaining about the kids and she saying (I am sure) how it is not OK for kids to play with the phone. "Yes, yes I know." he says. He hangs up. Walks back to the bathroom and says, "The police are on their way."
"What?!"
"When 911 is called the police have to come and make sure that everything is OK. Especially when they here in the background, 'help, help call 911, call the police!' and 911 is called twice!"
"Oh dear." Is all I could muster.
"BOYS!"
Did they come in with their heads hanging down in humility? I don't remember. But after we told them the police were coming they were none to happy. They cried and bawled for the full half hour before the police arrived worried that they were going to be arrested. I told them they wouldn't be arrested if they said they were sorry and that they would never do it again! I know I shouldn't have said it but I hope it worked. They begged me to stay and help them say they were sorry to the police and that I would make sure they would not be taken away. I said they wouldn't be taken away and I stayed. We saw the police cars (yes there were two of them), drive up. Then all the screaming started again. We went to answer the door. The boys and girls ran upstairs. The police were very nice. They had to come in and inspect every room and closet to make sure all was well. I ran upstairs to let the girls know that they were coming so they wouldn't be scared out of their mind when two police officers opened the door to their room. I found them huddled together in Ava's room crying.
"Why are you crying?"
Deneile sobs, "I don't know."
I am thinking, Oh great, what are the police going to take this to be... all 4 of my children bawling. Well they made their rounds and were heading towards the door. I said to the boys that they needed to apologize to them and let them know they will never call 911 again unless it was a real emergency. Then Alex start crying again saying, "I don't want to be arrested!". The police officer lifts his eyebrows in surprise and says, "What did he just say?" I repeated it to him and explained that when they were coming the boys thought they were coming to get them for calling. The officer was very nice and said to Alex that they were not going to be arrested, and Alex and Dallin both said that they were sorry. The police officers then left and all the kids calmed down.

I am grateful that if something was going on we would be protected and that the police officers would come to help us, but heaven help us that we will never have to call 911 again!

Home Coming

Scott and his brother's went to Mexico, where one of his brother's owns a house,

for a boys week together. It sounds to me like they had a pretty good time.

Fishing,

ATVing,

sight seeing,

and swimming.

Unfortunately while they were ATVing, Scott couldn't avoid a washout in the road and went head over heals flying over 12 feet from his ATV. So for the last 3 days he was pretty much laid out not able to move too much.

Although he was laid out on the beach so leaving the pain aside I think the beach is pretty nice to be laid out on.

Self portraits

In preschool the boys like to draw. What they usually draw is Mom, Family or themselves. Today Alex drew Mom and Dallin. Dallin drew our family...

Notice Dallin on the left. He has drawn a scar on his head.



This is a picture of me... Alex said, "Mom, I drew your nostrils!"

Then Alex drew Dallin. Again he also drew him with a scar on the head... This is how they tell themselves apart when they draw!

Halloween

"Trick or Treat"

This year we had a very busy and very Fun Halloween. Scott had been away all week on Vancouver Island for work so I was very tired. But on Saturday it just compiled on itself. Ava had dance class at 9:40am to 10:40am. (which we missed because I just couldn't do it all), then she had a birthday party at 10:15am. Then Deneile had Dance class at 10:35am to 11:35am. Dallin and Alex had soccer at 11:15 to 12:15. Then we had to go and pick up Ava at 1:00pm from the birthday party and then go strait to the church because I was supposed to be there at 1:oopm to help set up for the kids Haunted House! My BFF helped me out and met me at Deneile's dance class and picked up the boys and took them to soccer for me, then after Deneile's dance class we met them there and then headed out to pick up Ava.

The party was fun we had a trunk or treat from the back of peoples vehicles (I, because of all the running forgot our candy at home and the decorations for the back of the van. Thank goodness for friends again, I borrowed some candy from another friend and people donated some decor as well.) And I didn't help much for setting up the Haunted House, and the CD I brought didn't work... Ya I know... anyway finally Scott came strait from the ferry to the church and we had him with us again! Whew (wipe the sweat from my brow)! Well after the activity we went home and relaxed for, oh, 1 hour and we were off again.

My Friend from Deneile's dance class (and also her daughter Deneile's friend from dance class and her son) and a friend from Church (and their family) went to my friend from churches house and walked up from there to a neat neighborhood.

Just a little Video on our way up to trick or treating.

Cool houses and decorations

seriously these houses were amazing!

All the houses are heritage or look like heritage homes. So they already had amazing character, then add some Halloween decor and you have the best place for trick or treating! We thought it looked like the movies. It was a beautiful night, the houses were decorated and there were tons of kids running around the neighborhood. It was so fun!!




The loot was pretty amazing as well. The kids got a few cans of pop and a couple of big chocolate bars and from one place they got, can you believe it, Webkinz!! I couldn't believe it either.

It was a great night, I think the company and the ambiance made it the best halloween!