Ode to Mom

I was looking through some old photos the other day and came across this one taken of my mom and I in Yellowstone when I was around L&L's age and I started thinking about daily life right now. Luke's had colic for the last three or four weeks now ... I've lost track of time ... and Layne's convieniently fussy for about two or three hours each night at the same time as her brother. Guess she doesn't want to be shown up. I've been thinking a lot about how my parents survived 6 kids the last month or so, and when I asked my mom about it the other day, she replied, "Kendra, we had no choice. We just did the best we could, and there were a lot of days I wasn't that great of a parent, and you all survived, didn't you?" Mom, this goes out to you -- and all the other parents of screamers out there! Wait, this is all just payback, isn't it?

We had just as much fun as the kids, between emergency potty breaks that didn't end well, to feeding two newborns in a public park, to stealing fake pink cell phones from three-year-old-girls, to batting practice. One thing we learned for sure, don't mess with a redhead and her phone.

Layne

Layne's our baby bird. She's growing fast, but is still tiny in comparison to the rest of the kids, including Luke. She's also gettig more and more fiesty each day. Runs in the females of the family ... and I can say that because I am one.

Luke

Koria let me know a couple days ago that Luke told her that he was her "Chubba Cheeks" and that he's "just a stinker." I guess both apply.

Koria

Koria's a teenager, trapped in a 3-year-old's body. She's been obsessed lately with her princess cell phone, and we catch her having fake conversations with her cousin, Micah (yet another redhead) daily. The shot taken on the park bench was not approved by her in any way whatsoever. Makes it that much better.

Kimball

Yeah, the picture blogs are definately the way to go for me. I took some shots of the kids this weekend as we were out for a picnic in the park and on a drive up to Joe's Valley. This entry's all about Kimball. Jared told him to keep his eye on the ball when he was pitching it to him, and he started to give the ball the stare down, as seen in the shot of him at bat.

New pics

Since I'm the queen of posting on our blog, I thought that I would keep this simple and just put a few recent pics up. Gotta run. A baby's crying.

Announcing Luke & Layne

Born on August 13th, Luke at 7:50 am and Layne at 7:51. Luke weighed 7.10 and Layne 5.3

We're happy, excited and tired!

Thanks Steph

Great pics taken by Steph. They grow up fast!

Yeah, It's Been Awhile!!

It's looking like August the 13th is the likely day of delivery for our next set of twins. Due to the extreme pressure we have been under (and I'm not talking about Kendra's stomach) - to give up some information about the soon-to-be-born twins, we have decided to come up with a little game. We are going to reveal that the names we have chosen for the new babies do start with the same letter. So we are including a set of names for every letter of the alphabet. In this list ARE the real names for the twins.

You'll have to evaluate each set of names and come up with your top 3 picks for what you think the names will be. You also need to include in your guess, what you think the genders of the babies will be. Have fun!

A: Ashlyn & Alex
B: Bailey & Braxton
C: Camden & Connor
D: Devan & Damon
E: Eli & Evan
F: Fanny & Fabio
G: Gage & Gabe
H: Hannah & Hayden
I: Ian & Isabella
J: Jake & Jaren
K: Kailie & Karmon
L: Luke & Layne
M: Madden & Mason
N: Noel & Noah
O: Orrin & Olivia
P: Page & Payson
Q: Quinn & Quade
R: Reese & Raegan
S: Serenah & Sean
T: Tyson & Tallyn
U: Umbach & Udders
V: Violet & Valeen
W: Weston & Wade
X: Xavier & Xena
Y: Yve & Yordon
Z: Zack & Zoe

Watch Out!! Kendra Has a New Camera

Every since my sister Steph got her new camera, we can't be around her without constantly being the subject of new pictures.
Well, Kendra's big present this year was a new camera, and I'm a little afraid that it will be the same thing around the house now. Here are some of the first pics taken with our new camera. We still don't really know how to use it, so they'll get better.

We had a great Christmas up in Sugar City. Lots of board games and lots of fun. We love our family!

Can you see all of the sneaky ideas going on in the mind of this 2-year old?

How did this happen? It is positive proof that children have outside influences.

Jared likes the fact that Kendra is slightly annoyed by the fact that he now has a fan club for the VERY occasional time he plays a videogame. Hey - at least he keeps it to games rated "E" for everyone.

Making a gingerbread house with two two-year olds.

Merry Christmas

I know of at least 5 people who will croak when they see that we have updated our blog.



Just remember that we are WAY busier than you are.




Since it is impossible to recap the last 3-4 months in one blog entry - just a couple of highlights. First, Kimball & Koria both decided within a week of each other that it is cool to throw up. In September, we got in the truck and drove up the mountain to enjoy the fall colors. 20 minutes into the trip, we were faced with our first case of toddler vomiting - all over the car.

Sure enough, within a week, Kimball had to have his turn on the way to Cedar City.


Since that time, we have had numerous other cleanups - because it is obviously "the" thing for 2 year olds to be doing right now. We have experienced washing off clothes and car seat upholstery in everything from lakes to rest stops. In fact, the next time you go to a rest stop, try washing vomit off of multiple items of clothing and blankets with the faucet that you have to push down every 5 seconds in order for water to come. And try doing that while people are come in and out, wondering what you could possibly be doing. It's pretty awesome.

As a sidenote, we love Chuck the TV show. Give it a try.

Back to stories. Halloween was a hit with the Kids. Kendra caused quite the stir at our ward trunk-or-treat with her costume. Kimball & Koria loved being Robin Hood & Maid Marian.

Finally, we were thrilled to go look for Christmas trees this year. Where we live, most people hunt year-round. And in case you didn't know, yes, there are hunts at all times of the year. It's not just the deer hunt, ok? Well, we don't hunt, so hunting for a tree is as close as we get. Thus, Kendra was extremely excited when we bagged this trophy tree.

Merry Christmas!

Go ahead and comment...

Article from the 1955 Housekeeping Monthly (Seriously)

** Disclaimer ** I know that Kendra will want me to say that she does not endorse this post. This is only to show how times have changed. Enjoy!!

GUIDELINES FOR HOUSEWIVES:

Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal ready, on time for his return. This is a way of letting him know that you have been thinking about him and are concerned about his needs.

Prepare yourself. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh looking. He has just been with a lot of work-weary people.

Be a little more interesting for him. His boring day may need a lift and it is one of your duties to provide.

Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives.

Prepare the children. Take a few minutes to wash their hands and faces (if they are small), comb their hair and, if necessary, change their clothes. They are little treasures and he would like to see them playing the part. Minimise all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer or vacuum.

Be happy to see him. Greet him with a warm smile and show sincerity in your desire to please him.

Listen to him. You may have a dozen important things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first - remember, his topics of conversation are more important than yours.

Never complain if he comes home late or goes out to dinner, or other places of entertainment without you. Instead, try to understand his world of strain and pressure. Don’t complain even if he stays out all night.

Don’t ask him questions about his actions or question his judgement or integrity. Remember, he is the master of the house. You have no right to question him. A good wife always knows her place.

Thrill of the Ride

Our annual Black Family Day At Lagoon this year didn't start off as smoothly as we had hoped, but it sure ended well. Kimball decided to smear mud all over my khaki capris at 6:30 a.m., just as we were headed out for a week-long Fourth of July trip to Idaho, started off by events at the amusement park. He had broken away from Jared and I as we were trying to get loaded into the car and I ended up tackling him on the newly planted grass (a.k.a. mud hole) in the back yard. Believe me, it WAS the only way to stop him. With mud-caked sandles, I threw the punk over my shoulder and headed for the car. Unfortunately, I didn't notice the mud-stains until two hours into the trip. Uh, ... dark brown marks and khakis all day at Lagoon ... I don't think so. We took a quick detour to see Catherine the Queen and buy some new carpis (I wasn't complaining about the fact that I HAD to buy new clothes -- you do what you have to as a mom), followed by a quick stop at Artic circle for lunch. The corndogs were not a hit. Neither was the sunscreen that found its way into Kimball's eyes. He was so badly effected by it that his face broke out in hives, his eyes swelled up past the point of recognition, and his cries of despair turned into wails of agony. No, I'm not exaggerating. It was that bad.

By mid-afternoon, some of the wails had turned into moans, thanks to a few hundred runs in the waterslides at Lagoon-A-Beach. I even made a classic Kendra run on the one of the kid slides, causing a few raised eyebrows from the teenage lifeguards on duty. Can't adults scream as loud as the kids on the kiddie slides too? Anyway, the water did us a great service and took away the sting of the sunscreen from the few hours previous and the afternoon that followed was nothing short of "magical" for the kids ... and their parents.

There must be some sort of craziness that comes with red hair, because Koria was nothing short of insane on the rides. Jared taught her the art of the arms-in-the-air-scream which she mastered by her second roller-coaster ride. Kimball couldn't wipe the grin from his face, and neither could we.

With one final trip to Rattle Snake Rapids, we came out looking like one sunburned, exhausted, very wet family. Next year, we're not using sunscreen. At least not before noon.

Dough vs. Doneness

There's been a long-contested battle in the family as to which is better -- cookie dough strait from the mixing bowl, or fresh-out-of-the-oven, oozing with newly-melted chocolate cookies. Koria and Kimball set out to discover the truth for themselves. Since both versions contain extreme amounts of sugar and butter, obvious problems arose with scoring. We may never know the answer.