My Two Sons

A lot of people ask me how my twin boys are different from each other. They are as different as any two siblings are, but because they both tend to run around screaming and like to play with trains, it's harder for people to notice those differences. I never know quite how to explain how they are different without labeling them so I generally try to bow out of the question. They are always changing so quickly that it's impossible for me to say who's the "quiet one" and who's the "outgoing" one. They are both loud and outgoing and they are both reserved and shy. It just depends on the situation.

I had a fun experience, though, that helps me illustrate a little bit about how they are different. One day last week Michael refused to take a nap. After hoping he'd fall asleep for over half an hour, I got him out of his crib and told him he could play with some toys or come help me iron. He decided to come hang out with me while I ironed Josh's dress shirts. For about an hour he played in Josh's shoes and ties, saying "Bye. I going to work" and, blowing me a kiss. he'd walk out the bedroom door and close it behind him. I don't know what he did in the hallway, but a minute or so later he'd come back in and say "Hi, Mommy! I back from work!" Then we'd sing "I'm so glad when Michael comes home" like the children s' song. He'd give me a kiss, change his tie and then go off to "work" again. I got through the shirts and he got through the ties. It was such a peaceful little time together.

Wednesday I had the same situation with Sam. He wouldn't nap so I got him up and let him decide if he wanted to play with toys or help me iron. He decided to help me iron too. The game he thought up was to get inside the cabinet and pretend he was taking a boat ride. I asked him where he was going and he said "to the city." I asked him what he was going to do there. Will you do some shopping? He said, "Yes. I get some hot dogs." This from the kid that won't touch hot dogs these days. (See December post on that!) Then he ran and got his stuffed animals and took them with him on the "boat." Somehow it turned into an airplane and instead of going to the city, he was going to the mountains . . . but still to get hot dogs! He played at this for about an hour and it was, similarly, such a peaceful, pleasant experience to have him quietly playing with me.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

So, that's my attempt at giving you a peak into how these guys are unique. That, and a million other ways!
This is how they usually spend every waking moment - completely united and together whether they like it or not. I am loving watching this lifelong relationship develop!

If You are Going to San Francisco

So I didn't see anyone "with flowers in their hair", but I did see my little "gentle people" in San Francisco on Saturday! It's only about an hour and a half to San Francisco from Sacramento. We popped "Mary Poppins" in the DVD player in the van and went for it Saturday morning. It is so beautiful and it was so warm! We had a great time!
Here's "Mr. Cheeks" at the beach. He has the most kissable cheeks in the world and we take advantage of them often! He didn't like walking in the sand barefooted and cried until we put his shoes back on. The super-clean-gene lives on!


I showed Sam how to draw in the wet sand with a sand dollar and he did it the rest of the time we were there. He was hooked and loved the water!

My new wallpaper. I LOVE this picture!

Precious little guy looking out at the big ocean.


Moe and Monkey came too.

My super-cutie pie.

We ended at the Oakland temple. That was the whole carrot for Michael. He couldn't wait to see it! I don't think he even noticed that there is no Moroni. He just loved being there. There was a visitors' center with a Christus and both Michael and Sam talked about seeing Jesus for the rest of the day. I'm so glad they love him more than the bridge or the ocean.

The Circle of Life

Oh the irony. Today I watched some of "The Lion King" with Sam and Michael. They found the VHS cassette and thought it looked like fun to watch. They loved "The Circle of Life" so I rewound it a few times and we watched it over and over together. We heard Mufassa explain to young Simba that although lions eat the antelope, they still respect them because, as part of the circle of life, the lion's die and become grass, and then the antelope eat the grass. Got the point. The food chain, all of that.

So, when I saw this today under my kitchen window I had a dilema: should I let the spider (tiny thing to the left of the ladybug) finish spinning its web around the ladybug and save it for later like the disgusting spider in Lord of the Rings, or do I save the ladybug's life and wonder how it got inside my kitchen.

I decided I couldn't watch the slow death so I scooped them both up on a butter knife and washed them down the kitchen sink. I guess, as someone at the top of the food chain, I intervened. I hope this doesn't bring on a ladybug infestation.

Episode VII: Return of the Younglings

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

The train track is his horn.

California Here We Came

Here are the pictures of our move out to California. Josh arrived two weeks ago tonight, to an empty house, at midnight, sick with the stomach flu, and the boys and I arrived the next day. We are so glad we're here and getting settled! I went to Enrichment tonight and met some more women in the ward. They are all so nice and come up to me and introduce themselves to me and say " I think we're going to be great friends!" Wow! I think so too.

Watching Rudolph on the laptop with their friend Elizabeth while we finished packing.
Saying goodbye to my best friend Melanie and her daughter Elizabeth.
All ready to go 860 miles to St. Louis.

The boys spent the time watching movies, thank goodness, and were mostly good in the car.
Sam screaming and getting a lot of stares in the McDonald's in Washington, PA. Turns out he had a nasty diaper rash. I would have been screaming too.Michael kept his head and talked to me over a juice box and an enormous ice cream. (Don't worry, he didn't eat more than 1/4 a cup of it.)

I let Michael dump salt on the table and draw in it while I held Sam. Unfortunately, it became a habit we then had to break.
Sam settled down once I let him play with my credit cards.
Dinner at Sbarro in the truck stop 30 miles east of Columbus. They ran in 2 different directions.

Ah, at last. The Hyatt in downtown Columbus, Ohio. On the 16th floor and with a bubble bath to help them wind down, the boys settled down for the night, mostly sharing the bed with me.
A rest stop in Indiana. A nice woman helped me keep both of the boys in the bathroom so I didn't have to chase them all over the place while I changed their diapers. Hurray for Grandma! In Terra Haute, IN my parents met me for lunch at Bob Evans and drove the last 3 hours home with me.

This makes it all worth it. Reading books with Grandpa by the fireplace and the glow of the Christmas tree. The boys had so much fun playing in the big basement and enjoyed their "Grammy" and Grandpa.

So, now we're here and initiating ourselves into California. Here the boys are eating their first In and Out hamburgers, and loving them. They're still up to their old tricks, even in the new house.

Fortunately, this potty has not yet been used for it's intended purpose and the food is plastic. Let's hope they catch on soon.

Sam can still wear his apron and help me in the kitchen. With the help of his new stool he can even lend a hand with the "biggies" (hand-washable dishes).So, there you have it. The trip of a lifetime. Like I said, never move across the country in the winter, with toddlers. Just take my word for it. But, California appears to be worth the effort. Josh is enjoying his job, I love our home, and we all love the weather! Once the house looks decent I'll put up more pics of it.

Christmas Is Here Again & The Temple

Christmas is back . . . at least in photos! I finally found my cord and figured out what was blocking me from downloading the pictures, so we'll start with Christmas!

Here's Michael loving his new Angel Moroni "action figure Santa put in his stocking, while sitting on his new tricycle Santa brought. Wow, that Santa sure knows what this kid likes!


Moroni quickly became part of all of our family activities. Here he is on the Christmas breakfast syrup. Note the paper plates. We had already packed the dishes.

I think Sam looks great riding his new trike around! He was so excited about it and ran straight to it that morning. Here we are reading the new kids' Old Testament stories together. Sam demanded his hood be on all day long, by the way.

This was our 2nd to last night in DC. We went to my nephew's wedding reception and Josh stopped by the temple on the way home. We went to this temple on our honeymoon. When we decided to try to have the boys we came here a lot and had special experiences that gave us hope and strength. We will miss it for the familiar faces we see within its walls, but . . .
Tonight we took the boys to our NEW temple in Sacramento and it is beautiful! I felt the same spirit there as I have at the Washington temple and we look forward to finding a good babysitter and going inside!
This video is hard to see, but it's Michael saying goodbye to the temple. He just loves it there! Yesterday I told he we would be going to see it and he was awake in his crib talking about the temple for a long time. We are really enjoying ourselves out here!

So Far Today

So far today I've pulled one grocery bag full of crab grass, changed six poopie diapers and prepared and cleaned up two meals and a snack. I am going to take a nap.