Saturday, September 17, 2016

summertime shenanigans

Here are some fun, random things we filled our summer with:
 Getting wet in the downtown splash fountains

 Morning snuggles while watching TV.  Told you guys that these two love each other!
We went to an awesome kite festival and saw so many amazing, brightly-colored kites.
 We caught a "few" Pokemon
 We went out for ice cream a few times, because that's what summer is for, right?
 We went on lots of walks around the neighborhood.
 We hit up the local amusement park


We went swimming 
 We helped with the stake family history fair, where we were in charge of the photo booth.  Ky and Kade were amazing at teaching participants how to use the Memories family history app.  Plus, they look awesome all dressed up!
 We went to the county fair, and Everly would have been content petting this bunny the entire day.
 The twins found this friend from school, who showed them his prize-winning chicken.
 We found the boys' GMO posters from school last year.  And they were surprised and happy to see that they had both won ribbons!

 Everly spent some time playing with grandma's dog, Yuri.
 We went to the zoo, where Everly happily fed the giraffe.



 The kids also spent a very long time feeding the goats.  It was definitely the highlight of the whole day.
 One day, Miss Everly was not feeling well at all.  She wanted to be held all day, which I was happy to do.  When it came time to make dinner, she still did not want to be put down, so we broke out the old wrap, strapped her to me and cooked dinner together.  It had been a long time since we used that wrap, and although she's heavier and longer than last time, it still was nice to hold her like that.
And, nearly every day, Everly has lined up her friends on this bottom step.  She will then sit by them, or make one of us sit by them.  Some days she finds so many friends, and gets so frustrated when they won't all fit in the same step.  She's at such a cute stage, and I'm trying to remember as many of the cute little things she does, because I know all too well, that she is going to grow up too fast and will soon stop doing them.

It was a fantastic, very full summer, and we hate to see it go!

ridin'

This summer, some friends invited us to their farm for dinner.  Part of the fun included riding their horses.  We all got a turn (or several), and we all loved it.  
 The twins each took a turn riding bare back.  I was pretty impressed, especially considering their lack of exposure to horses. 
 Everly would have ridden with her brothers for days if we had let her.  




 Krew was the most hesitant to ride, but ended up loving it as well.

This little video clip shows how Kade is going to be the next, "Man from Snowy River" if you get that reference.  Maybe we should buy some land and some horses. . .

momma and son dates

 Before the school year started, it was really important to me that I got to spend some quality one-on-one time with each of my boys.  Having four kids home all day every day during the summer, I feel like my attention is stretched very thin, and I never get a chance to really listen to, or enjoy being with, each of my kids individually.  So, I hired a babysitter for three different days, and I got to go on a date just me and one of my sons, three times!  They each got to pick a restaurant for lunch, and a fun activity to do together.  It was really interesting to see what each of them chose.

 Krew wanted to eat lunch at Hu Hot.  No surprise there.  He was pretty disappointed that they weren't serving octopus that day.
 When he wasn't creating stir-fry masterpieces or eating them, he was practicing his new card trick that we had just purchased at the dollar store as part of our date.  He was so cute doing his magic trick, and spent the next several weeks showing it off to anyone and everyone who would listen.
 For our activity, we hit the go-cart track and had a blast racing the cocky teenagers who thought they could beat us.  We proved them wrong!  Krew loved this and hasn't stopped talking about it since.
 Krew is such an awesome kid, and he's even more fun to be around when he's not competing with his siblings for my attention.  This summer was pretty rough on him as his older brothers got to do a lot of things that he just wasn't old enough to do.  He has a really hard time understanding the whole 6 years age gap thing.  So, to be out just the two of us, doing whatever he wanted to do was so good for him.



Kade chose to eat at Buffalo Wild Wings.  He said as we sat down, "The last four times I've gone to Buffalo Wild Wings, I haven't."  This is hilarious because he always wants to go there, and there have been several times (probably 4, because you know he wouldn't forget) that we have gone, saw that the wait was going to be forever, and decided to eat somewhere else.  So, imagine his joy when we actually got to go inside, sit down and eat there!
Nope, he's not posing for these photos at all, ;)

Kade's activity of choice was ice skating.  We had a blast, even though I was in pain the entire time.  Ice skating must use a lot of muscles that I never use, because they were aching after only one time around the rink.  Regardless of that, it was awesome being able to talk to this great kid of mine without any other distractions.  He has so many interesting thoughts, and I'm so proud of the young man he is growing up to be.

Ky picked the yummiest place for lunch.  It's a restaurant called Bleu and it is delicious and fancy.
It did not surprise me at all that this kid ordered a hamburger.  And I think he really enjoyed it.  We got to eat outside on the balcony and chat and enjoy the beautiful weather.  It made me wish that I could have so many more days like this, just Ky and me.  Mostly raising twins is just plain awesome, but one of the hardest things is keeping them separate in my thoughts.  Because of their age, because they like usually like it, and for convenience, most of the time they are together, and sometimes they become Ky&Kade, one entity.  However, when I get to spend time alone with one of them, I rediscover the ways they are so incredibly unique.  I'm so glad they have each other, but I'm also glad that they are are amazing as individuals too.
Lucky for me, Ky also chose to go ice skating.  So, after wandering around the mall for awhile, catching Pokemon, we hit the ice rink again.  My legs weren't quite as sore that day, and I think I may have become a bit better by the end of that second day. (Maybe not. . .)
Oh, and I can't forget to mention that I also get to go out on dates with this handsome guy too.  Wow! Four dates with four different guys?  I'm one lucky lady!

Friday, September 16, 2016

two sillies

Okay, okay.  I've probably mentioned this like a million times, but it is magical watching these two together.  I wish there was a better way for me to describe their relationship, but these pictures will give you some idea...



I think it's time they got a nickname for the two of them together, you know like celebrity couples do.  So, how about Kreverly?  or Everew?  Any other ideas?

packers fun run

All three boys participated this summer in the Packers 1K kids run.  They loved that they got to run through Lambeau Field, and get a cool football shaped medal.  They did not love that it was 100 degrees and super humid that day.  I still think everyone had a good time.


Krew took the race so seriously!  He didn't even want to slow down to see himself on the huge jumbotron.  I've known him for nearly 5 years now, so I guess that shouldn't surprise me!