what have we been doing?

I've been having a really hard time thinking of things to post about lately. Usually I post about the things that we have been doing, but this past month has been so cold that we haven't done much of anything. I had to think really hard about what have we been doing the past month?

We have been playing games, a lot. I've been looking forward for a long time until the boys were old enough to really play games, and it's so fun now that they can. These pictures are of the boys playing games at our friends' house. The games that they like to play at home are Candyland, Crazy Eights, the matching game (a.k.a Memory), and the Butterfly Game (which I made, after the boys played a similar game at a New Years Eve party). Luckily, they aren't too competitive (yet) and don't care at all who wins. In fact, sometimes they get mad when they win because that means the game is over.

One Friday night Bart went to a basketball game, so the boys and I went on a date to Fazoli's. It was the perfect place to eat, because Ky asks for noodles for lunch all the time, and since Kade won't eat any noodles, I rarely make them for Ky. So, at Fazoli's, Ky could have noodles, and Kade had pizza. Of course, they liked the Strawberry Italian Ice the best.

Also, when it's really cold outside, what's better than staying in, baking some yummy treats and licking the beaters?

Today we got out the playdough. The boys are at a great stage right now where they can really be creative with the playdough by themselves, and play with it for quite a while. Today, I gave in and finally let them mix the colors. Usually I am so paranoid about them mixing the colors that no one has any fun. I'm not sure where this compulsion comes from but I've never (as far as I can remember) liked the colors to mix. But today, I gave in...and it all looked really cool! The boys got so excited when they put in a few different colors into the press, and they came out all swirled on the other end. Yes, the playdough will eventually all be gray and brown, but for today, I think it was good to give in to their creativity. I wonder what other things I should stop worrying about and just let them have some fun?

the valentine's day curse

Growing up, I always thought Valentine's day was a great holiday. I loved making my Valentine's box in elementary school (some of which won awards!). Even after I became boy-crazy, I never stressed about it the way some girls do. I just thought it was a cute holiday and a good excuse to eat pink candy! However, since we've been married, I have come to realize that Valentine's Day is cursed. Let me give a recap of each of our Valentine's Days to illustrate:

1) The first Valentine's Day we had together was six days after we got engaged. So, we had just had a very romantic evening, and Bart had to work till after 9 anyway. So, he came over to my apartment at about 9:30, I had baked a heart-shaped pizza. We ate, we laughed, I'm sure we kissed, and he was home by 11:00. I'm not complaining, this was the best Valentine's Day we've had!

2) The next year was our first Valentine's Day married. And for our date, Bart took me to the student health center for a strep test, because I was sick, sick, sick. I was so disappointed.

3) The next year we went out to eat the weekend before Valentine's Day, so the actual day, was totally unmemorable. I know Bart met me at work on my lunch break and we went to Subway. Other than that, I can't remember anything. Which, given our luck means it was a better than average Valentine's Day.

4) The next year we had six week old twins. This means that we were both totally sleep deprived, cranky, etc. There was no way we could go out, so we had planned to pick up some food from a restaurant and eat at home. We spent nearly an hour arguing about where we wanted food from. When we finally decided, I went to pick it up and Bart called several times to ask what was taking so long, to please hurry because both the babies were hungry and there was nothing he could do for them. The rest of the night was spent holding crying babies, trying to get them to sleep, eating cold take-out with one hand and crawling into bed completely exhausted when we finally got babies to sleep.

5) The next year, Bart's mom was visiting us in Florida, so we were able to go out to eat with a group of friends. We went to one of those Japanese restaurants where they cook your meal in front of you. We waited an hour for a table, and then, 45 minutes after we sat down, they still hadn't taken our drink order, much less our food order, and some of the couples we were with were worried they wouldn't be able to get their food before they had to leave to get their babysitters home. So, we all walked out and ate at a fast-food place across the street. When we got home, I remember staying up late talking to Bart's mom, while Bart went to bed. Which, I'm sure was lots of fun for me, just not very Valentine's dayish. So, this wasn't a terrible Valentine's day, just didn't go how we wanted, and not terribly romantic.

6) Last year I had planned a romantic candle-lit dinner for two. I had bought some fun decorations and glittery heart plates. Both of which I got out for the first time this year, unused. We both had bronchitis (and I had pneumonia too) on Valentine's Day. We watched a movie in bed, but we were both too weak to even keep our heads up to see most of the movie. We had planned on celebrating later, but by the time we both got feeling better, it was way past Valentine's Day, and we gave up. Worst Valentine's Day ever!

So this year, I'm not sure if I should try to plan something special, get Bart a nice gift, and try to finally have a good Valentine's Day, or if I should pretend there is no such thing so I'm not disappointed. Or worse yet, if I plan to celebrate, maybe something worse than bronchitis and pneumonia will happen.

Wish us luck!

budding photogs

We got Kade and Ky cameras for Christmas, and they love them! I spotted them in a Black Friday ad and knew that was going to be the gift. In fact, as I was running through Target at four minutes after six that morning, I was worried that I wouldn't get them. When I got the last two, I nearly cried. Hurray for great Black Friday shopping finds! Unfortunately, there is quite a delay on the camera from the time they push the button and the image on the screen freezes, and the time when the camera actually takes the picture. So, there are a lot of very blurry pictures. But they are learning, and it is so much fun to see what they take pictures of.

Taking a picture of grandpa taking a picture

I have no idea what this was, but the effect is awesome, don't you think?

Daddy at work

Kade in bed

Uncle Jonathan

Grandpa and Buzz

Mommy and his brother (no, I can't tell from this part of his head who is in the picture and who is taking the picture)

Grandma checking out the other camera

talking about the weather

Right now outside it is very sunny. It's also 16 degrees below zero, with a wind chill of 38 degrees below zero.

And just for the record, no, I'm not complaining, just stating fact for those who may be interested.

the big one

Tonight the Gators play for the National Championship...again. We will be wearing our orange and blue, eating orange and blue snacks, cheering for Tebow and Percy, and watching the Gators win the National Championship...again!

Our family two years ago today, watching the gators win! Go Gators!

outer space party

Kade wanted an Eve (from the movie WALL-E) birthday, and Ky wanted a Buzz Lightyear birthday, so we combined the two and had an outer space party. It was a small party, just Bart's mom and sister, and our friends Adam and Greta and their kids, Lily (who is just a few months older than Ky and Kade) and their baby Joey. It's kind of sad to me that got presents on Christmas just four days earlier, so these presents just seemed like more things. The curses of having a December birthday. Oh well, they are still young and didn't seem to mind as much as I did. It was fun, the cake was yummy and the boys are still talking about the party. Happy Birthday again, Ky and Kade!

Possibly the easiest centerpiece ever! This is a bad picture, but I want to remember the Happy Birthday sign made out of hanging stars. It really was fun in person.
Buzz cupcakes for Ky

An Eve cake for Kade. It's a good thing she is such a simple character to turn into a cake!


They can't even sit still while they open their presents. Such excitement! I just love these boys!!

christmas with little ones

I just have to say that having little ones made Christmas morning so much fun! Their enthusiasm for everything is inspiring. They wanted to help everyone open their gifts, cheered at each gift that was opened, and didn't have a meltdown even once. With twins, each gift that they opened was a race. Either it was a gift to both of them and they raced to see who could tear off the most wrapping paper, or they each got a gift and raced to open it first, since their brother got the same thing every time, it lost some of the surprise when they saw their brother's gift before they could get their own open.

Ky's face illustrates what I mean by enthusiasm. This is just the beginning, and he's content with what he got in his stocking

Again, I need to have this attitude for all my blessings. I mean, it's not like he's never had an orange before, but he was so excited!

Kade's gifts from Santa

Christmas was a great day, and a fun way to wrap up our long trip. It was such a great trip. It was so fun to spend some time with my family, and for them to be with Kade and Ky. We got to see some great friends who we haven't seen for years, I got to see all of my grandparents, and we got to eat at Cafe Rio and Pudding on the Rice. We were sad that because of bad weather which kept postponing Christmas parties, and because we were there during the busiest month for everyone, I didn't get to see hardly any of my aunts, uncles, cousins (and I have a lot), or my best friends from high school. Hopefully we will be able to make a trip back to Utah soon and get to do some of the things we missed.