swim Lessons!

The kids did 2 rounds of swim lessons this year, the first round was a bit crazy,  only because there were a million other kids taking swim lessons, okay not a million but Grant had 10-12 and he was in the beginning, non-swimming level, Dallin had 8 in his, just-barely-can-swim level and Katelyn had 4 in her swimming-like-a-champ level.  Granted they did have 2 teacher for each class, regardless it was still crazy.

In the second session Katelyn and Dallin both had one other person in their level and Grant was alone in his class.  so they moved Dallin up to Katelyn's class and the other boy in Dallin's class down to Grant's level with still 2 teachers per level.  it was Great!

if not a bit cold...

since she was itty bitty Katelyn has been a fish in the water, she loves it and can swim everywhere in the pool, she is amazing.  she loves to dive deep and get things on the bottom of the pool.

 Dallin started swimming a bit last year but was just getting the hang of it when pool season ended,  so I wasn't sure how good he would be this year, but he picked up right where he left off and is now swimming like a champ.  he has a bit of a funny frog like kick that I smile at every time I watch him, but it works and it gets him where he wants to go, He and Katelyn swim all over the pool,  I still keep a close eye on him because there are times when he tries to tread water in the middle of the pool for so long that when he tries to swim to the edge he is tired and calls me over to help.

 Grant loves swimming and has gotten good at it.  he can swim about half way accross the pool, not too bad for a 3-year-old.  he hasn't quite figured out how to take a breath while swimming so when he swims to me he  stays under water the whole time, but that will come.  he loves to turn around while he is swimming, he'll be swimming to me and then decide to turn back to the wall.   he loves to dive for rings in the water,  and he is really good at it.

 going off the diving board.

my 3 little swimmers, growing up and saving China.

Cake Decorating

As my due date approaches, time is ticking and I am feeling the desprate need to actually do the things I've been meaning to do, you know the list, the one you have for when you have time, someday, well I've realized lately that "that day" either needs to happen now or it will be a while before it does.
  one of the things on my list is to take a cake decorating class,  I have always liked artistic things and I've played around with cake decorating for a while  but I wanted to take a class or two before I am completely swamped with caring for twins.  so I did it.  Above is my first cake.  among other things we learned dots.  or blobby balls, or what ever you would like to call them.

we did Cupcakes the 3rd week,  the day after this class we had some kids over to play and Katelyn never tired of telling her friends that her mom makes the best cupcakes... if only she would stay this easy to please...

then the last class we did a final cake, I had done a lot of research on the internet to find something that looked nice but wasn't actually too complicated.  This is what I found from Fantasticake.  It looked easy enough, yet very cute.

well... this is what mine turned out like...

It actually looks better in the picture then it did in real life.  Granted I had to do it from memory because we did it in class and my printer is down.  but still, I think it will be a while before I go professional...

 The class was fun and I would totally do another one when I can. 

The morning Fortress

We've always had a variety of things for breakfast, waffles, pancakes, eggs and toast, sausage, oatmeal, french toast,  you get the idea.  But many mornings we have cereal and even though my kids pick the same cearel every day: Dallin-honey bunches of Oats, Katelyn- Strawberry awake (Walmart's special K with Berries) and Grant- Honey nut cheerios, I still get out every box of cereal from the pantry and line them up on the table so they can "choose."  If ever I just pull out the cereal they are bound to choose, without lining up all the different choices, tears and sure to fall.   so lately the kids have decided to create Fortresses with the boxes,  they set them up and hide from us as they eat their breakfast in seclusion.

 Dallin's always the first to finish and always the best at remembering to put his bowl in the dishwasher.  

 Katelyn was the first to start this fortress idea,  she loves to hide behind her boxes

Grant is so happy in the morning,  he only likes to eat a few bits of breakfast and then come back half an hour later "Starving"  we're working on that...

They all have so much fun.  I love listening to their conversations, they love each other so much.

32 weeks and going strong

 for being 32 weeks pregnant with twins life is pretty good,  yeah sure I don't sleep great these days, and picking thing up off the floor has become a chore,(I can't tell you the number of times Dallin has said, "Why can't you pick that up, it's right by you?")  but overall I feel great, if not a bit big,  and a bit hot... okay more then a bit hot, but I'm pretty sure everyone here in Texas is feeling that way.  The babies are doing great, they seem to have completely recovered from the fifth's disease and are growing right on target.  such a blessing.

This week we have been busy.  

 Cameron and a friend from church put in a back splash,  it looks beautiful and they did the whole kitchen in 3 hours, the last hour was spent cutting random pieces to fit around the window,  now we just have to grout and seal it,  it may take us another couple of months to get that done but hey it steel looks great.

 Grant decided that he wanted watermelon and wasn't going to wait for mommy to cut it for him.  taking matters into his own hands he grabbed a knife and hacked away and of course there is juice that needs to be taken care of.  He has also entered a stage of orneriness,  he has decided he doesn't want to do anything that we want him to do.  Thankfully we realize it's a stage and we aren't too concerned about this becoming a new personality trait.  Although I hope he passes through this stage quickly.

 Dallin lost his first tooth yesterday,  it's been loose for about a month,  he was so excited to put the tooth under his pillow so that the tooth fairy could give him money to put in his piggy bank, it's funny to see the difference between Katelyn and Dallin when it comes to losing teeth, Katelyn begged to keep her tooth so we wrote a note to the tooth fairy asking if she could keep her tooth,  Dallin couldn't care less about the tooth he just wanted the money but when he woke up this morning he came to cuddle with us before he even checked under his pillow. He is a funny kid.

Katelyn is such a great big sister, she is so sweet and nice with the boys,  they love to run and play together.  not a day goes by when I don't think about how blessed I am to have such great kids, I love listening to them play together,

What's in a name?

we are notorious for being indecisive when it comes to names, we are the type who bring a list to the hospital and make the final decision there, not because we need to see the baby before we feel right about a name but because we have a deadline...and we will not leave the hospital without filling in a name on that birth certificate.

so Grant has decided we need a little extra help in that department and today out of the blue he piped up and said, " I know what we can name that little baby girl," 

 so I said, "what should we name our baby girl?" 

 Grant looked up with a huge smile and said, "Barbie a fairy secret!"

 Katelyn rolled her eyes and said, "Grant, That's not a name!" 

 so Grant said, "how about Dora?"

to which Katelyn replied "We Can't name babies after people on TV."

 Dallin spoke up and said, "don't you have a kid named Diego in your class,"

 Katelyn nodded, 

Then Grant shouted, "We could name our babies Dora and Diego!" 

 Everyone thought that was a great idea.

so there you have it, if the kids were in charge these things would obviously be much easier.   

a new skill

The kids learned a new skill this summer,   it may not seem like much but just like when they finally learn to properly pump their legs on a swing, blowing up a balloon is surprisingly helpful.

They have been practicing all day for the past 2 days, and of course what fun is blowing up a balloon if you can't release it and let if free fly around the living room.  our house has never been so full of deflated balloons.  

Texas 4th of July

 What do you do when fireworks have been completely outlawed... I'll give you a hint.  it involves soda and mentos...  and I think they are called soda pop bombs, but I'm probably just making that up... pretty sure I am, but they should be called soda pop bombs.

 We weren't sure how explosive it would be so we kept everyone at a safe distance... clearly that was not completely necessary but at least none of us walked away sticky... well, not totally true because after we finished the kids decided to run trough the puddles.

Grant and Dallin were happy to sit and watch. but Katelyn wanted to try her hand at making the soda explode.

She had a hard time getting the Mentos to all go in the soda so it didn't go very high, but she sure had fun doing it. 

Everyone had a great time.  who needs fireworks?   so over rated.

We've been busy around here.

Summer time is always full of activities and fun and this summer is no different except that we have started learning how to do chores.

with some inspiration from a friend I created a routine chart, and we follow it pretty strictly around here... well at least in the morning, we haven't had too much luck following our afternoon routine.  here is an example of a typical day. 

 First we wake up... I figured that would be a great way to start the day. 

 we get dressed, naturally. sometimes this part involves a bit of a tantrum

 we put our jammies in the laundry, or in a drawer.. depending on how strong they smell... Grant has yet to put his back in his drawer...

Next it's breakfast, 

This is not how katelyn usually looks for breakfast

and of course cleaning up our dishes always follows.

 Then we brush our teeth.

 The electric toothbrushes makes this part fun, most  days

Then we move on to getting our bag ready for the day,  some days we go to the library, sometimes swimming or play group,  they have to get everything in the van and ready to go so that we can leave the house at a moments notice... because most days I lose track of time and we are rushing to get out the door. 

Then we do chores.  if it's a chore they have never done I spend that time training them while doing it. 

 They love washing windows, making their bed, dusting, emptying the dishwasher and taking out the trash. 

their least favorite thing is picking up their toys, and hanging up their clothes. 

They also do things like water the garden, wash the doors, mop the floor, disinfect the bathroom, and clean door knobs. 

 Taking out the trash.

 Emptying the dishwasher.  

and of course somewhere in there I brush Katelyn's hair, that's not something she can do on her own and I'm usually busy encouraging and training so sometimes that doesn't happen for a while. but it always happens

 after chores Grant and Dallin practice writing their letters.

and Katelyn practices the piano,  when they are finished with all of that they can have free time.

somehow we are able to finish all of that and get to our 9am swim lessons on time.  The kids get a prize each Saturday if they have done well on their charts,  they get a check for each thing accomplished and two checks if they do it without being reminded.  and without complaining.  so far it's working pretty well, we have our bad days but we have more good days.
Hooray for summer time!

Impromptu Picnic

Dallin really really wanted a picnic today... there is only one problem, it's over 100 degrees outside.  and I am 7 months pregnant. Thankfully he was happy to have it in the backyard. 

we spread out a little blue blanket, grabbed a basket, made bean and cheese burritos and grabbed some fruit and veggies out of the fridge then headed out.  

 The picnic lasted about 10 minutes before everyone got too hot and headed to the air conditioning, but it was a great 10 minutes. 

Grant had already eaten spaghetti-os inside but he was happy to sit with Dallin and eat strawberries and carrots.

Katelyn had also eaten spaghetti-os but she was happy to pose for a few pictures. 

 Dallin was so happy to have everyone hang out with him at his impromptu picnic.