yes, we went to disneyland and no, it hasn't lost its shiny happy place in our lives. this trip was marked by a weekend with the Rowley's at their place that included zip lines, chickens, the superbowl, homemade brick oven pizza, and lots of time with great friends. thank you!
while our kids aren't opposed to giving hugs to each other, the number of hugs given in a given day multiply by ten at disneyland and this last trip was no different. anytime my kids are hugging each other is a good time.
amy loves it when i snap photos of her as if she were a supermodel. and while she is a supermodel to me, you can see the slight irony/exasperation in her expression here...who better to spend a family trip to disneyland with than her...
ella continues to carve out her own personality and niche in our family. it was on full display this last trip...
michael is a joy in my life. he is fun, intelligent, happy, curious and handsome (if i do say so myself...)
the rowleys!
i like to think that i contributed to mitt's recent rise in the california polls--outpacing santorum by 20 points in the most recent rasmussen poll...
some of the kids most favorite parts of disneyland can be done at the local carnival--the merrygo round and bubbles...
so serene. abby is an example of finding joy in the simple parts of life.
a character..:)
what better scenes than to have your children embracing each other. may it always be so.
this ride ranks 2nd to last in the park next to the tea cups. i gracefully waited this ride out to take photos...
i definitely prefer my girls to gain a little attitude to help weather life's waves...
my little bekah is growing up. she loves to explore her surroundings, she likes to try out her new ideas verbally with us and i love being around her...
It is Mother's Day... a day that means more to me each year that passes. As my children get older, my heart gets bigger. I care more. I worry more. I am more invested. I have more experience. I have more happy/sad/silly/hard stories. I am tougher than I've ever been. I'm more sensitive than I've ever been. And I'm on my knees more than I've ever been in prayer for the good of these little people I care so very much about.
I want to just record my thoughts in this quiet moment on Mother's Day, when my heart is full of love for my children and gratitude for the opportunity to be a mother.
Michael--my sweet, smart boy. You are so tender and thoughtful, fun and personable. Through the years of dad's medical school and busy residency, you became my friend and buddy. I am so glad it continues to be that way. I enjoy so much your maturing sense of humor and ability to get inside jokes. I love to see your beautiful mind work out how the world works. You are keen and smart in so many ways, including how to be a friend to your mother. Thank you for the love you have for our family and the good way you treat the women in your family.
Abby--my lovely, loving girl. You are full of affection and life. You feel things so deeply, and I love experiencing the excitement of life through your eyes. You make me grateful for hugs and kisses and sweet words. I love the honest way you express your feelings, and the cute ways you explain your thoughts. I learn from your friendly spirit and you bring out the fun side of me. Thank you for loving us so very much. Thank you for always requesting mom to put you to bed. It means a lot to me.
Bekah--my thoughtful, thinking girl. You are always thinking of what to do next. Where to go. What to make. What game to play and whom to invite. I love your constant stream of love notes and pictures. We all love your heartfelt goodbyes and welcome homes. I love your determination to do whatever you think is best, and your desire to do what is best for others. You love to make us all feel loved, and you have a mothering way of treating your siblings that is endearing and sweet. Thank you for caring about us so much.
Ella--my cute, cuddly girl. You are the youngest in our family, and you are adored by us all. You love to hug and be held, and I love that I could cuddle you for hours each day if I only had the luxury of sitting still for hours each day! Your imagination draws us all into your world of cuteness, and I have loved the impromptu songs and dances you have been doing for me this week. You are often the comic relief in the comings and goings of our schedule, and you love to be toted around to whatever is planned for the day. Thank you for being a cute goonie bird.
Paul--my adorable adoring husband. Thank you for being my second wind and my saving grace. I could not be the mother I am without your understanding heart, willingness to help, and ability to infuse us all with your spunk and spontaneity. I appreciate so much all that you do with the kids. You carpool, cuddle and read, and do music practice in a pinch. You manage them better than I do in public, and don't sweat the small stuff. You are the best dad to them, with abilities that bring out the best in all of us. You are a tender and emotionally connected father. You are encouraging in all the right ways. Plus... you are a whole lot of FUN!!! Thank you for valuing my role as mother, and helping me in all the most important ways. I love you.
Thank you to my family for making motherhood a fulfilling, challenging, and happy experience. I love you all!!
After the day of the birthday party, we had a family birthday dinner at Grandpatty and Grandpappy's house.
Grandpatty knows that fun candles and pretty frosting are important to girls...
Bekah...
Abby...
I love having family members love my kiddos. So fulfilling...
Paul taught them about making a wish and never telling it to anyone. Man, what excitement came when they got to make their wish! Abby still hasn't told me hers, but every now and then she'll say something like... "Mom! We got to have our favorite treat tonight! (with a sly grin...) But that wasn't my birthday wish... !!"
Blowing out candles...
And they know our family and share our obsessions...
Also from family members: cool crayons, markers, and paper! Tiny princess jewlry! Books! FUN!
This is the day they got to open their presents from us. Clothes, art supplies... and the thing that I talked Paul into... PAINT!! for their rooms. They got to pick the color, I got to pick the shade. And they were so, so, so excited to paint with mommy. (more to come on that...)
Orange for Bekah... (geesh!)
and purple for Abby...
During all the excitement, Ella decided to busy herself with her own project of changing the toy giraffe's diaper...
She was very serious and deliberate about the whole thing with the wet wipes and all.
Oh, Abby and Bekah... when did you get so old?? Certainly some days it seemed like this time would never come. That I would always be changing your diapers, nursing you, feeding you squishy food, or pushing that clunky double stroller everywhere. Now I am reminding you to flush the toilet, helping you clean the food you spill at each meal, perpetually restocking the markers and paper supply, reminding you to keep your seat belts on, and filling out your kindergarten registration forms. When did it all happen?? 5 just seems too old.
But you don't think so... 5 is just right!! You'd been anticipating birthday number five for months and months. In the fall, I would name all the holidays from Thanksgiving to Valentine's Day, telling you that after the New Year and just before Valentine's Day we would get to celebrate. The cake choices ranged from Sleeping Beauty, Kitties, 5-tiered tall cakes with lots of candles, butterflies, flowers... then finally a few days before the big day... a decision was made: Rainbows. A big rainbow cake for Abby, and lots of rainbow cupcakes for Bekah. Thanks for giving me a couple of days to pull together a rainbow themed day.
But be forewarned that I will try to talk you out of any cake that requires me to mix and make 8 colors of frosting. It just takes too long...
But I didn't mind the extra late night too much. You loved seeing the finished products. And that is always worth it.
(with a "cloud" missing due to Ella's careful fingers...)
You invited some of your funnest friends to celebrate with you. They were a lot of fun.
We played the game you requested to play: Duck, duck goose... but we changed it to orange, orange, purple... your favorite colors.
Grandpatty made delicious flower sugar cookies to decorate in rainbow colors.
Aunt Hannah bought a rainbow of nail polish choices to decorate your fingers and toes.
You requested a dance party and chose your favorite songs. "Halo", "You are my only" (Down), "Single Ladies", and "Broken Heart."
We sang Happy Birthday to you, and your candle blowing was a success!
We enjoyed a rainbow of snacks and opened fun presents.
Then we ended with your most anticipated and favorite activity... a Pinata!!! I hope it all went the way you daydreamed. The rainbow unicorn delighted you both when we found it, and Bekah declared "this is the best ever!" as we filled it with the treats and toys we picked out. You planned for it to be the crowning event at your party... and I think it was!
And if you don't want to watch a bunch of kids whacking away at a pinata, you simply must see what a fun daddy these girls have. After resisting and resenting, Paul finally resigned and in the end REJOICED and fully embraced the joys of the pinata.
Here is a video of pinata time. I'm so glad no one got hurt! Phew! If you don't want to wade through all the kids and their hits, you smiply must go to minute 2:40 to see how Paul finally embraced the spirit of the pinata. :)
No wonder you girls love your Daddy.
I loved seeing you both delight together as you shared your special day. You have become such good friends and special sisters. And while you know which buttons to push to send each other into a whirlwind of fury and emotional madness... you also know each other's favorites, save seats for each other, congratulate each other on the good things you do, and take turns being the princess or the mommy or the baby or the kitty.
As I watch the novelty of a twin sister relationship, I feel a little envious. Being raised as the oldest with 5 younger brothers, I always wanted a sister to pal around with and be friends with. You each declare the other as your best friend, and I always hope it stays this way. You deserve each other, and I hope you always look after each other and remain a blessing to each other.
You are definitely a blessing to me. You've taught me so much about myself. You've blessed me by showing me my weaknesses and giving me chances to make them stronger. You delight in girly things, and have opened up a world that was not fully discovered in a house full of boys... a world of embraced frills and fanciness and fun. We help each other to be emotionally honest, and deal with it all in a hopefully healthy way. I hope we always express and share in ways that help us become better.
Certainly the craziness of twin girls is still rampant in our home. I think I've become resigned to know that it always will be. But with the changing years, there is a change in which joys and challenges you bring. The last 5 years have been quite a ride... I can't wait to see where we're going next!
At the beginning of the month, Abby and Bekah premiered at their first violin recital. The past 5 months have been spent learning about posture, bow hold, and fingering. It is a detailed process just to hold everything correctly. Their teacher is Ramona Stirling... and she is wonderful with them. In her 30+ years of teaching, she has never had a set of twins, and we are always experimenting with how to structure lessons and practicing to see what works best.
We are learning the twinkles right now (variations of twinkle twinkle little star), and for the recital they had "polished" some pre-twinkle songs: The E String and A String Concerto, and "I'm A Little Monkey." What fun!
They loved practicing for the recital. They would walk in from the other room... with a very serious face, announce the piece, and play it with various degrees of refinement, and take a deep bow to my applause. It was fun to see the fruits of practice and anticipation displayed on the stage of this little recital hall.
They are lucky enough to have a daddy who can accompany them. They love playing with their daddy.
I was sitting to the side, and should have moved to get better video. You can barely hear a little voice announcing the songs, then Mrs. Stirling (who is sitting right in front) gives them reminders about their posture, etc.
Here is Bekah playing E String and A String Concerto.
Bekah playing I'm a Little Monkey
Abby playing E String and A String Concerto and I'm a Little Monkey
Grandpatty came, and so did Aunt Melinda and cousins Aaron and Baby J. It is always fun to have a cheering section.
As practicing with the kids takes up more and more of my time, I am realizing the value of having this one-on-one time with them. Time working toward goals. Time being productive. Time doing hard things. Time to motivate and inspire, and exercise patience and long-suffering. It is bonding and it is meaningful.
It varies in success. Sometimes there are tears and grumpy faces, but often there is willingness and excitement. It is always work for me. It is usually emotionally draining. It is always hard to fit it into the schedule... between Michael's cello and piano, and Abby and Bekah (who need separate practices now) it should all take around 3 hours out of my day--and some days it just doesn't happen. Because sometimes we skimp... and sometimes we just skip. But I am always remembering the scripture that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass (Alma 37:6).
I love seeing their confidence bloom. I love cheering for them. I love sharing hard work and success. I love that they love music. And I love that they can make music.
we got a piano! after 10 years of marriage and my patient wife dropping hints from day one, we purchased a piano... it had to wait for other large purchases in the marriage including mountain bike, road bike, house and 3 different computers. each of those purchases passed and amy (and my mother) lamented mildly the lack of a piano in our home. what kind of musician am i? how did this happen? well, the final straws were watching our sweet kids practice their let's play music on the floor in the front room. in december, amy organized a musical presentation for the young women and i found myself sitting on the floor of the front room looking up at those for whom i was accompanying. the time had come.
and so a new era begins in our home.
each of the kids have climbed onto the piano separately to sample the musical wares.
michael has daily (or so) practice for his let's play music songs. and i have enjoyed accompanying for each of the kids string instruments!
by the light of the christmas tree..:)
and even a small dance party in celebration of its arrival!
here's to years of productive learning and performing on our new friend...
the alpine aerials group that bekah and abby are a part of let us know on fairly short notice that the group would be performing at half-time of the utah flash game.
the girls had a ball.
michael loved the ambiance as we were courtside for the rehearsal. abby may not show it here, but she too loved it.
the girls have been taking gymnastics for a year and have loved each week. they have learned a lot about their bodies and have enjoyed the social nature of their weekly practices...
they are learning cartwheels, and if you watch the video you'll see how they are in the very early stages (ie. they've got the hands right, but the feet are lacking.)
anyway, it was a surprisingly good time watching these two cuties give it their all in the gym...
