Florida

We weren't planning a vacation this year. Work was busy for Wade and the summer seemed shorter than usual. Wade called me from work one day after he learned about a death in his family in Florida. My tenderhearted(yes, that is Wade) husband decided, without hesitation, that we needed to be at the funeral to let the family know that we love and support them. That is one of the things I love about him; his love and dedication to family. He would do anything for family.

This was a long trip to make in short notice but we arranged it and left as soon as we could. We could only be gone a couple of days and our children understood the purpose for our trip and that it was not a vacation. We attended the funeral and spent some time with family. I was so proud of the kids and how they behaved. They were great in the car and respectful at the funeral. Since we had traveled so far we decided to spend one day at the beach before we headed home.


We rented a condo on the beach. The kids LOVED the condo. It was the perfect size for our family. Lucas especially loved the "bed-couch" were he and Gage slept.

The kids had never really played at the beach before. On our first trip to Disney World several years ago we stopped by a beach to let them see the ocean. Macy was a toddler and Lucas wasn't even born yet. We were only there for about 20 minutes so this trip was a whole new experience for everybody.

We walked down to the beach from our condo as soon as we finished breakfast. The weather was perfect. The water was perfect. Not too cold and not too seaweed-y. I was amazed at how well the kids played together. They had so much fun together. They fight so much at home sometimes I wonder if they will ever get along. It's nice to know that they can :) At lunch time we walked back up to our condo to eat. The kids ate on our balcony and loved it! Then back down to the beach we went for the rest of the day.

Macy was being her typical 'social' self. Chatting with any other kid that walked by. She loved watching the waves. Her main mission though was...seashells. She hunted for seashells the entire day. Her daddy helped her find some really good ones.


Lucas liked the water a little bit but LOVED the sand a lot. I have never seen anything entertain him for longer than 10 minutes but he played all day in the sand and didn't want to leave. He was a very happy boy.

Gage loved swimming in the ocean and trying to make a sand castle. He and the girls worked on their sandcastle a lot but could never stay out of the water long enough to finish it. The big girls loved swimming in the ocean too and trying ot dive into the waves.

Of course, no beach trip is complete without burying somebody in the sand. So everybody took turns burying each other in the sand...even daddy.

Even though our trip was out of unfortunate circumstances, and we only spent one day on the beach, it was the most relaxing 2 days we have had in a long time. Maybe ever. We were humbled by the reason we were there which made us love each other more and squeeze each other harder. We enjoyed the simple time and just being together more than we have in a while. We watched our children play together for hours without one single argument. The entire trip reminded us of the importance of our family and how much we love it!

Another Birthday...or 2!! Our miracle babies turn 11!!

Its hard to believe that these girls turned 11 years old! I can remember when the Doctor told us that we were having twins. It was over 11 years ago but seems like just yesterday. We were both in shock but so excited.

We barely had time to get used to the idea when I went in labor at 23 weeks. I was terrified. I could not imagine a baby being born that early and surviving. After a very long week of trying to keep them from being born, my water broke on July 7, 1998. A tiny little Riley was born at just 1 lb. 5 oz. and at only 24 weeks gestation. I got a quick glimpse of her before she was whisked off the the N.I.C.U. to be hooked up to ventilators and machines to keep her alive. Her little lungs weren't quite developed and she had a little bleeding in her brain. Because the girls were fraternal twins and in separate sacks, the doctors were able to keep Tyler in utero for a little longer. 5 days later she was born weighing 1 lb. 7 oz. and joined her sister in the NICU. She was also so little and fragile. She had a little bleeding in her lungs that went away in time.

The first few days and weeks were critical and scary. They had good days and bad ones. Wade and I visited the girls in the hospital daily sometimes more than once. We would sit next to their isolettes and talk to them for hours. They were so tiny and yet so perfect. We weren't able to hold them until they were about 6 weeks old and only then for 5 minutes every other day. They continued to grow and develop at a rapid rate. They surprised all of their doctors and nurses, especially the ones that that said that they would never live.

After 2 1/2 months we were able to bring them home. They came equipped with apnea monitors and oxygen which we used for about 6 months. They saw many many specialists during that time who monitored their progress.

Now here we are 11 years later celebrating birthdays. I am so grateful for the Doctors and nurses who were so good at their jobs. I know the spirit lead them to the good decisions that saved my babies. I am grateful to all of the people who prayed for the girls. I was told of many church congregations in other parts of the country that prayed for my babies. They may not have been the same faith as me but were obviously faithful people. People whom I have never met and probably never will. And of course our family and friends who supported us. All of those who fasted and prayed for us. The girls received many priesthood blessings during that time. How grateful I am for the priesthood. Heavenly Father has blessed us so much!! I am so glad that we were given an experience that helped us to grow and become closer to him. He has watched over us and our family and for that I am truly grateful.

The girls obviously have different Birthdays (which they love by the way). But they still have mostly the same friends so we usually have a party together. This year they decided that they wanted and 7o's themed party. We had some dancing in the backyard and lots of yummy snacks. We had a disco ball although it didn't work outside very well. After a little Cha-cha slide and some glow-in-the dark kickball they all got to Tie-Dye a pair of socks which they loved.
Then we came inside for cake and ice cream. I made a Tie-dye cake (thanks to my friend Betsie who I stole the idea from. Thanks Betsie!!) It turned out really cute and the girls all loved it. In fact, there wasn't much left.
Of course there were SIXTEEN girls!! I guess that's what happens when you have 2 sweet girls with lots of friends.
Happy Birthday Riley and Tyler!!! We love you so much!!!!! I am so proud of you!!

Lucas the Menace

Do you see the resemblance? Don't let those dimples fool you...


Maybe this will help. Lets see if you can see the resemblance now...

Ahah! You do!! Hot pink fingernail polish ALL over the bathroom. And this was round one. Between taking this picture and cleaning it up he found another shade of pink and filled in the rest of the white that he had missed before. I was over pictures by then.

I'm not quite sure what to do with this child. None of my other children did stuff like this. Not even the twins. I was not like this as a child. I was pretty well-behaved and mild mannered. I'm not sure about Wade but I honestly can't imagine him putting forth this much effort to mess something up. Where does he get it?????? This is seriously EVERY day at our house. Sometimes its kind of funny. Other times...not so much.

So I'm sure you have a lot of questions for me. I'll do my best at trying to answer them.

Q: Where did he get the fingernail polish?

A: We have 3 little Divas in our house...go figure.

Q: Did you get it off?

A: Yes, mostly.

Q: How did you get it off?

A: Fortunately, we happened to have a gallon of acetone in our garage.

Q:How long did it take you to get it off?

A: Oh, about 4 hours on and off.

Q: Did he get punished?

A: Abso-freaking-lutely!! (although I don't how much it helped)

Q: Were you sooooo mad??

A: Initially, yes. But, after being in a room with a gallon of acetone I wasn't feeling it as much.