Trammit!!

So, it's been a while since I was able to do this so I figured I'd hurry and get one in. This weekend we went up to Snowbird with J, L, G-pa N and Becker to ride the tram on "free tram day". It was perfect weather for us...blue sky and pretty warm. Even at the top of the tram @ 11K feet, it was probably 50 degrees or so. We started the afternoon off at the Pie Pizzaria in South Jordan. I can't believe some of the graffiti I saw there....I didn't think you could write some of those things in public. Utah County surely would never let that go. The tram is really pretty nice. We packed N and T in their snuggly's and they worked out great. We had tons of people comment on our cute kids. The tram is the next best thing to flying and the views are incredible. We looked over so much scenery, it was really great. Then to top it all off BYU lost horribly to the Irish and the Utes beat the pants off UNLV. What a nice ending to a great day.

Labor Day....it was a labor anyway....

Well, it's been longer than it should have been. Lots have happened in the last little while, but it's not that important, right? Our biggest adventure was Labor Day weekend and the chaos that is mounting with every new grand-kid born. Teeny and I are finding that holidays are more of a labor than what they used to be...figures with three kids under 3 huh? We had a great time sleeping at Granny's and golfing, eating, parading, eating, playing, eating....you get the picture. A had a hard time sleeping one night so I spent a half an hour at 1am driving around Payson trying to get him to sleep...it worked after about five minutes. Poor kid was too tired to sleep. N and T were super as they always have been. I need to take a minute and just thank Teeny for her work while I'm at "work". She amazes me. She sacrifices so much for our family and I try to tell her how much I appreciate that, but it never seems to be enough. It's great having her in my life. She is the fun in my life. During the last three months (hard to believe) you'd hardly be able to tell we have twins. Our home is clean and in order, our kids are happy and well taken care of, and she still manages to make dinner even on days she is pushed to her limits. We've been throwing around the idea of moving to something bigger before we can't afford it anymore. Our neighborhood is in the process of moving out it seems. Three houses right next to ours have gone up for sale and sold within the last three months. We'd love to build our own home if we can. We've checked out different places for us to put our roots down again. Utah County isn't as cheap as we'd thought it would be though, so we'll see. I've been fighting gas prices on my bike and fail to understand how some people just keep driving around like gas is a dime a gallon. This last weekend was great. We had nothing on the agenda and did just that. We still got out, but for the most part our house was our haven this weekend. After a couple weeks of crazy we were ready for it. Yesterday we all took a nice fat Sunday nap together (same time, different rooms). It was nice to relax and be just our family for a bit. Our hearts have been with those in the Hurricane disaster lately and we wish them all well. The atrocities that reciprocated during the aftermath in terms of human behavior are beyond animalistic. It's as if people, or at least the slime of that community, enjoyed devastation. I know there are heros out there as well, but in these times I don't know how everyone could not be heros helping each other instead of committing crimes against thier neighbors. That's my two bits...

Lagooney....

So, we just want to thank G-ma and G-pa J for the great family get away to Lagoon. A is still talking about going on the planes and cars, etc... He had a great time. It was great to see everyone there and hob nob around with the bunch. Luckily, A had his cousins to support him on the rides. McKenzie was great for him to start out with. She made sure he didn't get seperated from her (love that grip!) and then helped him on and off the rides. She was great in setting up the rest of the day for him. We went on Puff, the planes, boats, swings, helicopters, space ships, Rattlesnake Rapids and others too!

He only cried twice, both times when he got wet on Rattlesnake Rapids and the slide ride with Teeny. We even got to go on some big rides thanks to being with family. I think the Spider was probably my favorite, but I laughed pretty good on the Samurai as well. I took A to see if he could win a big prize, but the kid has the same kind of luck I do. He still had fun picking ducks though. All in all it was a great time, and we want G-ma and G-Pa J to know how much we appreciated it, especially this year. Being able to get out and do something that fun after spending all of our time with our new ones was a really nice break for us. Thanks to Beckster as well for watching them and taking such great care of them. It'll be fun when we can take all of our kids to Galoon!!

Pagan no more....

This weekend N and T left the realms of savagery and were blessed. It was really interesting blessing two babies the same day. I'd thought of a lot of things to say, and when the time came I was afraid the blessings would be very similar. They were pretty similar, but different as well, which I'd hoped for. It's always a special thing to take your kids and bless them at church. I was more emotional than I thought I'd be....dang sissy. Afterwords it was craziness at our house. We had quite the gathering in our little abode. It all went well though and it was super seeing everyone and having you all be a part of their special day. We are blessed and lucky to have such great kids. We love 'em all. After all was said and done, we realized that we hadn't taken nearly enough pictures. That is primarily my responsibility and I slacked off big time.

This week Teeny had a cousin die, Stacy, and attended her funeral. It's always an awakener going to those. I am so glad that we still have our wonderful mom and my amazing wife. We don't like to think about life without each other.

Before this gets to sappy I'll mention that Teeny also went to Stef's bachelorette party. Wild and crazy that Stef. She had a great time. Stef, if you ever read this, know that we are excited for you in your new endeavor, and wish you and "G" the best. Nothing in my life has been better than stealing Teeny for my own, nothing.....

Chubby Chubbuk and A-Poky....

Idaho.....what a place huh? We had the pleasure of visiting the potato state this last weekend and I'm just thrilled. It's actually quite Utah-ish once you get past the lotto. Wish we had that here. I could use a couple million right now. R and D are there so I guess that more than makes up for what it lacks aesthetically. Those two are lookers, and that Ava, she's a cutey too. It's almost sad that this summer our vacationing has been in Poky. Next year we have some major work to redeem the beloved vacation. On our way up we stopped off at Tracy Aviary to let A mess with the birds. That kid can run, I'll tell you what (Hank Hill). He'd run from one bird cage to the next, "Mama, Dada, come here....wook....big birdie..." He liked all the birds except the Condors. He thought they would get out and eat him I guess. Peacocks are all over that place just walking around aimlessly. He wasn't too fond of them either, but did enjoy feeding the ducks. We had a fun time at the hotel in Poky. A could have swam all day long. He was hyper at the pool. All that energy trapped up from the long drive maybe...who knows. He'll forever think that the hotel is Pocatello though. When we got home he wanted the Pocatello with the pool....so sorry.

Beckster trying to keep those peepers open...

D did fantastic in hiding the tears when he blessed Ava. I couldn't even tell. I might have R punch him once just to see what a big guy crying is like. I'd do it myself, but he's bigger and I'm afraid he might be able to out run me as well. We saw what he could do in Payson with the police speed monitor thingy. All in all it was a super trip. Glad to have been there for that, even though we miss L and J more and more at each event.

I thought I'd just throw this one in too. This is how we carry all three kids in one double stroller. N and T hang out in the back together (pretty cozy huh?) and we stick A in the front. We love our nightly neighborhood walks. Anything that gets us out....sheesh.

Giddyuppppp!!!!

I should probably clarify first that A learned how to push his pedals, not actually ride a bike...yet. You think people would be calling to put the kid on Letterman if he actually could ride a bike. I don't think I learned until I was four or so. Maybe my brother in law D was riding around two years old though, crud he was walking out of the womb!

Well, if you ever need to see a man about a TV I know just the man. Friday we got together at J and Larry's and watched 'Revenge of the Sith' on the big screen. I didn't feel like I could sit far enough away. It's like being on the front row at a movie. It's great getting together with friends though. A had a great time with the kids there, especially Chase, his couch jumping buddy of the evening. Poor kid doesn't have much leg strength. He'd launch off the couch and barely have enough to keep his face off the floor. He takes after his mom's leg strength, except for the kick in the pants I'll get when she reads this.

This weekend we visited the County Fair. A was all about seeing the "aminals". It wasn't as scorching hot as it had been either, which was nice. We asked A if he wanted to go on a ride, and he'd just shake his head 'no' and move on to the next observation. He is quite the observer, and he's got a great memory too. As soon as we got over to the animals, he got out of his stroller and just started jumping around like it was the best thing he'd ever done. Makes you feel like you're actually an OK parent.... He loves to look, but has a hard time touching animals, except for Rocky our turtle whom he can't keep his hands off. We got him to touch the baby cow and he fed the horses corn. There was a train display that he could have spent all day looking at too.

It was amazing the detail someone had put into it. There was also a show that kids on bikes would "jump into sky Dada..." He's such a great kid and so funny lately. We have been so lucky with him and he's been SO great for us. He's the best to his new brothers and just wants to be happy all the time. He's still two and does crazy things, like jump off the couch and land on his head, but he's a sweet stinkin' kid.

N and T are growing like crazy too. We put them in levi's for the first time (thanks L and J) and they were pretty stinking cute. They are all belly these days. They're two months now!! I know, ALREADY?! Insane. They were stroller dwellers this weekend....again. N is close to all out laughter, and T just keeps eating.

Good enough....take care.

A the pedaler...

So, he did it. That's right, we have a pedaler in the family! We've been waiting all summer for this to happen and we couldn't be prouder of our little man. Teeny actually got him to do it...somehow. He was pretty proud of himself. Teeny really got my hopes up when she just mentioned the Tour de France and how A could be the next Armstrong......yeah, I can see my DNA being in the Tour....(where am I and why is it so cold!). I just hope that the potty training comes soon too. Everytime we change his bum, we just can't wait til he's really ready for that.

Here are some pics of our three smiling monkeys:

T N

A

Even if they just have gas, especially A, they're still pretty fun. N and T both jabbering a little too. Sometimes I'd swear they're chewing me out for something. They have plenty of reasons, I just wonder which one it could be....

Number Two...

Pretty creative title huh? Well we had a wonderful weekend with everyone, hope you all had as great a weekend with us. We finally have taken the cell phone plunge, officially. Doug brought us phones and we've used them ever since. It's nice having for that time the madman driver takes me out on my bike. Seriously, what do cars have against bikes? I had a couple close calls yesterday, but escaped unscathed. People are nuts when it comes to driving.

Saturday was a blast at G-Pa and G-Ma S'! What a fling. It's nice being with family, especially when they take your twins for at least a little bit. The food and visiting were just splendid. Beckster graciously set up an appointment to get four of the new ones pictures taken. So, for all who missed it, it was crazy. We put them all together crying, screaming, wiggling you name it and when I stopped to look around, Beckster was no where to be seen. Ironic isn't it? But after the madness was over, she showed up surprised that it was over. Smart Beck...very smart. We owe her a ton for getting that all set up though. The pics will turn out just smashing, I'm sure.

Ava, Fish, T and N

We finally made it to our first Payson band concert too. What a piece of America! A spent most of his time off with Grandpa N watching the band, and N and T were with Ma and G-ma. My favorite thing was showing Grandpa S his two new great-grandsons. He seemed pretty tickled as I'm sure he is with all his new ones.

Monday I had work off (good ole gov't) and we took A up to the Thanksgiving Point Childrens Garden. They have some great water fountains he loved playing in, bear caves to explore, lighthouses to climb, fish to see, etc... It was a great time. We feel lame for not have gone there before, or taken anyone there. What good of Utah County folk are we anyway?! N and T were stroller dwellers while we were there. I'm sure they'll appreciate it someday too though. Monday night we had the fam over for the 24th of July Spectacular, aka homeshow. I think we had more fireworks than most of our neighbors. A lot of smoke and lots of fun. Cole and Maggie really seemed to get into it with A too.

So, that's it for us. We got Jess and Lin's Hawaii pics and are super jealous they got to go, but one day...

Start of something new...

So we'll see how long I actually keep this up. I thought it kind of looked fun, and it should give me something to do when I get bored at lunch hour. If you're reading this, you should know who I am and our little, but growing, family.

Little N and T are seven weeks old and are doing splendid. They both started smiling just about a week ago and it just melts you to see it! We're still just amazed at how different they are from each other! They sleep about seven hours every other night, and eat plenty, not to mention the post eating bit....lots and lots of that.

A is turning into a real chatter. The other day he was saying that "Rach, Doug....Pocatello". Don't worry Lin, we got him saying "Jess, Linny.....Denver" too. I think his ultimate dream would be playing in the park with the sprinklers raging and a sucker in his yapper, or watching a little basketball with his dad and some popcorn. Tough call.

Both Teeny and I are out to loose some poundage, me a little more than Teeny cause I got a lot more to loose. We started June 24th, and after almost a month of dieting, biking 200 miles, and running about 25 miles I have lost a whole ten pounds. What happened to my metabolism?!! If I had done that a couple years ago, I'd look like Gumbi (remember the little green flexy guy?). So, I've slowed way down. Teeny looks great and has probably lost three or four pounds herself. We're moving into the cell phone era too. Just have to make some last decisions. That's all I really feel like writing for now. Maybe more later.