The Switch-a-roo

The twins pulled a "switch-a-roo" on me for the first time tonight.

Since they can climb ever so easily in & out of their beds these days,

I am placing them back into their beds multiple times

lately before they actually stay. Even after stern warnings

with that "I'm serious" voice & some swats to the buns, they

have the "best time" w/ each other.

Thus we will be changing them into toddler beds

here very soon!

I have also found them sleeping on the ground

or the double rocker lately during their nap time, but

I'll save more of that for another post.

First let me state that both Merrill & Grant know

who's bed is who's, who's binky's are who's, & who's little

snugglie blankie is who's. So I go in & see one baby is in Merrill's crib

& one is out, so I assume it must be Grant that is out & proceed to lay him in

his crib until I glance at his face & could swear it was Merrill, but couldn't be

b/c its Grant's little giraffe snugglie as well that he's holding.

So I run my finger along his left eyebrow to feel for his little strawberry

mark & am still not sure who it is, since it's starting to fade.

So then I pick him up, carry him over to the remaining dim light

coming from the window & sure enough, it is MERRILL!

And GRANT was lying down in Merrill's crib w/ Merrill's snugglie!!



Those sneaky little totts!

So, of course I switched them back as their "giggling"

all the while,  & then of course they're back out of bed again

w/ in two minutes & they pull the same trick again

quite easily on me since I can hardly see any detail

in the dark of their room & can't remember which

twin I put in which pajamas. Sometimes I still color coordinate them;

Grant being Green & Merrill being Blue; or at least try to have one

of the twins wearing his color in a set of coordinating outfits.  This was not

one of those nights.

Usually, I'm pretty dang good at always telling them apart,

even from behind or by picking a twin up, or by their voice, but alas,

they are def. twin brothers, & if I'm not paying close enough attention,

I can "switch" them. :)

4 on the 3rd

Four years ago today you joined our family, Cole. You started our parenting career for us! And boy, have you taught us soo much! Especially patience & how to be firm. :)

These days you really like . . .

- Cars
-Jumping on the tramp
-Playing outside
-Riding your trike
-Going on nature walks
-Animals, dogs, cats, horses, cows, birds
-Your stuffed animals, especially Brownie the Bunny
-To read. To be read to & to read to your animals
-Playing board games w/ mommy & puzzles
-Tickles w/ daddy
-Running w/ brothers around the wall between the fam. rm & the kitchen
-Preschool
-Gymnastics
-Playing w/ your friends, older or younger, boy or girl, it doesn't matter.
-Asking "why" A LOT
-Bath time w/ bubbles & toys
-Nutella on wheat bread
-Warmer Honey Milk
-Candy
-Sun chips
-Ranch dressing w/ almost anything
-Popcorn
-Story time
-Talking at the dinner table almost constantly
-Playing w/ little brothers when they don't mess up your toys
-Using your imagination
-Super hero action figures. ie, Batman, Superman, & Spiderman
-Max & Ruby show
-Disney movies
-Earning prizes
-Earning money for your train bank
-Singing
-Listening to Alvin & the Chipmunks Christmas song over & over & over again, no matter what time of year it is
-Reading/Repeating scriptures everyday at nap time & bedtime
-Talking to yourself in bed each night
-Made up stories from mom & dad w/ you & your friend stuffed animals in them
-Trying new things all by yourself

We are so grateful that you are in our family! You are one smart boy!!



Why? . . . Why? . . . And Why? . . .

This crazy, fun loving, smart as whip 4 year old

is all about asking "WHY?" these days.

He's always been a curious kid & asked

plenty of why questions before, yet this

last week he's all into asking,

"why?", "why?", & "why?" somemore; followed

by "why?" once the previous question

has been answered.

He's become "irritatingly inquisitive".

But I'm sure we all must have done that

to our parents at one time or another.

At the same time, its prob. better

than being a bump on a log kid.

We'll keep him! :)

Dayton's Legs

Inspiration for your day.

It brought tears to my eyes to see the amazingly hard work

 & dedication this young man had to helping

his friend finish the race strong.

Another inspiring story from my 2nd home town

of Gilbert, Arizona.

It is a beautiful town that Jace & I love

since we spent our first 4 years of marriage there

& where Jace grew up.

Wow Butter!



Have you heard of this stuff?

I discovered this Peanut Butter replacement today while

grocery shopping.

I'm super excited!

Especially since I love PB so much.

 Now we can have "peanut butter" so to speak

in the house & breathe easier for little Grants sake.

It really does taste almost exactly like PB.

It's actually made from toasted soy which I can

taste ever so slightly since I've had actual

toasted soy nuts before.

I am so glad to have found a fantastic compromise

for us that's healthy too!

Check out their website here!

195 Dresses

This was so fun for me to come across this on our church websites
 main page while going there to listen to our latest
 General Conference talks while I fold mounds of laundry
 (extremely exciting, I know! ;)

She's from my hometown, good 'ol Mesa, Arizona! And perhaps

related to one of my good friends who's maiden name is the
 same last name as this cute girl.

What an amazing & great idea! How wonderful to have so many

beautiful & modest options all in one place for hardly anything!
And they also show the prom dates
eating at one of my all time

favorite restaurents in Mesa just about 3 miles up the road

from where I grew up - Tia Rosa's! Their Stuffed Chicken Quesadillas

are my fave!

I certainly remember those days back in high school of searching

for a modest prom dress for hours, that fit right, & for the right price.

Not as easy as it sounds, so what a blessing to so many girls

& their moms, too!

Fun stuff!

Triple - First Date!

Since all 3 of us couples, The Hoffmans, Saumwebers, & Stapleys have known & enjoyed each other; now being over 2yrs.,

we had not ventured out on a couples date night w/out all of our kiddos.

Which would total 8 kids, all under 4 yrs. between us couples.

So, we made it official tonight & had a BLAST!

First we enjoyed wonderful Carrabba's Italian Grill

& LIVELY conversation w/ lots of laughs . . .

And then we acted like teenagers again & went

Indoor Go Cart Racing!

Check! We're ready to go!

Ka-chow baby!

No Bumping! - Yeah Right! - This is serious business!

 The "Race Marshall" jacked up the speed of our cars since it was all adults on this round. Heck yes!



 

Tires were squealing & rubber was burn'n!
 Seriously.
 You could smell it.

"Shake N' Bake"!

Adios Mary!



Defeat! Spin out baby!

Needless to say, we wondered why we hadn't done this sooner!

Oh yeah! Maybe because of all those cute little things we left at home. :)

We look forward to the next time around!