PiCTurES!

My friend, Natalie took these AMAZING pictures of Ethan and Nyah for their 2nd birthday. I wanted to capture them in this fun stage and do it more candidly. I just loved how she captured their personalities. Is it okay to be totally obsessed, crazy in-love with your own children?!!! Ummmm...I say YES!



Thanks Natalie for doing such a wonderful job! We will cherish these always!

The Twins are TWO!

Okay,...so this post is super delayed but I am determined to celebrate the twins turning TWO! We can't believe that TWO years ago we were blessed with our spicy little Nyah and our sweet little Ethan! WOW-----I just get emotional thinking about it!

Ethan and Nyah are so amazing and I can't imagine my life without them! They bring so much joy,...(even with the lack of sleep, I still suffer from) and we marvel everyday at how much they are learning. It is a true gift --being their parents!

Ethan and Nyah turned 2 on JUNE 14, 2009. We celebrated ELMO and ZOE style amongst family and friends! It was a great day! Here are a few pics for ya'll to enjoy! (Thanks Aunt Machelle for all your creative help with the cakes!)

Fruit and Vegetable Co-op...

For the past couple of months we have been partcipating in a fruit/veggie co-op. ! It has been AWESOME! Basically, we contribute $15 towards bulk purchasing, and get about $50 worth of fruits and veggies! Some of our friends, family, and co-workers have been wanting more details,...so here goes!

If you are interested, go to wwww.bountifulbaskets.org. Currently, there are 4 locations in Utah that I know of: Roy, Clearfield, West Point, and Brigham City. They will be adding more locations as the need increases! Every two weeks they provide the service and you aren't contracted to order if you don't want to.

Each order varies, and you don't know what is coming. It's like Christmas! Here are the items we got this week at the co-op!

(1) stalk of brocolli

(2) stalks of celery

(3) yellow squash

(7) Cucumbers

(3) Bags of Carrots

(2) cantaloupe

(8) oranges

(10) apricots

(6) plums

(3) bunches of bananas

(7) apples

ALL FOR ONLY $15!

I've had to get creative using all this produce, but it helps to get our fruits and veggies in for sure!

No more BLACK THUMB....

.......I hope! I finally planted my vegetable garden! I've planted an assortment of tomatoes, zucchini, jalepeno peppers, green chilies, and pumpkins. I am excited to see what happens. It has taken me several weeks to get the planter boxes ready because they were SOOO overgrown with weeds and grass! Luckily, my kids take long afternoon naps,...so I was eventually able to get it done!

BEFORE

AFTER WEEDING

OUR GARDEN

Tender Mercies...

WARNING: LONG POST....but GREAT STORY!

Okay,....so I just have to say that I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father and Savior who are fully aware of little ME and seem to lift me up just when I need it. Today started off as a typical day. The twins were up early as usual, we ate our yummy oatmeal , played, and read books all morning. Afterwards, I took them to the grocery store because we were out of milk and bananas (which is never good!) The trip to the store was uneventful and we returned home for lunch and naptime. All was well until.....they BOTH woke up from their nap SUPER GRUMPY! This rarely happens! I tried every trick in the book to get them back to their sweet little selves with no success. I am not even kidding,...they were so cranky! Eventually, I threw my hands up in the air and proclaimed...."We are going for a drive!" At the time, I didn't know where I was taking my sweet babies, but it seemed like the only thing left to try. Ofcourse, it took me an hour to get out the door because of all the things I had to pack, the shoes I had to find, the sippy cups I had to fill ,....etc, etc! Not to mention, I was feeling pretty frumpy, so I wanted to change into something else and fix my hair! All the while, Ethan and Nyah were following me around in constant turmoil which only added to my stress and anxiety at the time. While preparing to leave, I kept running different scenerios in my mind. All of them seemed a little too overwhelming because I had to fit dinner in somehow,....on the go! One thought, however would not escape me...GO TO THE TEMPLE,...in Salt Lake! It didn't seem like the best idea because it was far, I would be alone with the kids, and I still didn't know what to do for dinner. (Marty was teaching a night class) Ignoring all logic and concern,...I took the kids to the temple! Once we got into the car, they both sat quietly and seemed so content! (Sigh) All the sudden, I heard Nyah say,.."AMEN!" I turned to look at her, and she was folding her arms. I echoed her Amen and we kept driving. A few moments later, I noticed a huge garbage can right in the middle of my lane on I-15. SCARY! I was able to dodge it without any harm or accident. I'd like to think Nyah's prayer kept us safe. :) Soon after, we arrived at the temple and I found a parking space yards away from the entrance. (Sigh) I found enough change in my purse and car (which I never have) to pay the meter for almost 2 hours! Things were going so great and the kids couldn't wait to get out of the car. I put them in the stroller and off we went. We entered the temple grounds and I immediately pointed up to the temple and asked the twins what it was. Their little sweet eyes lit up and they exclaimed, "TEMPLE!" They had seen pictures, but hadn't been there SINCE......... AND THEN I realized it! I looked around, saw the beautiful tulips in bloom which brought all the memories back! TODAY is the 1st ANNIVESARY of our SEALING to the twins in the TEMPLE! I am so bad with dates (even more now that I am a mom) and I completely overlooked what day it was. I stood there in complete amazment. Here I was with my sweet babies, outside the temple, exactly one year later! I even called my sister and Marty to confirm the date. We spent the entire time walking around the grounds. Ethan and Nyah absolutely loved every minute there. They didn't want to leave. It was so fun to watch them chase eachother, flirt with the couple missionaries, and stare and point at the temple. (I'll upload pictures later!) I can't even tell you how awesome it was to sit with them and tell them about that day, exactly ONE year ago, when we were sealed as a family in that very temple! I know that this little gift was a tender mercy from the LORD. I would have been so sad to have missed such a special day of celebration. Now, it will be our tradition!

How they've grown...

Ethan and Nyah are CHANGING so fast,...so I can't help documenting some of their latest and greatest!

--ETHAN--

Favorite Song: 5 Silly Monkeys Teasing Mr. Alligator

Favorite Toy: Balls

Favorite Food: Bananans, pizza, oatmeal, and water

Sweet Moments:

**Plays with Nyah's hair

**Wants to go wake up Nyah if he is the first to get up

**Is devistatingly in LOVE with his Daddy. Knows just when Daddy's work day ends and wants to call him. He says..."Da!" and brings me the phone!

**Loves to say prayers and tells us when it is time as he folds his arms, bows his head, and says..."hmm, prayer."

**Contagiously giggles and squeals when playing with other children who fascinate him

**When he hears a song playing he likes, he will either dance or lead the music!

**Will go into the bathroom, grab a big handful of toilet paper and "blow his nose!" (he really just makes sounds with his lips....but it is so darn cute!)

**Says..."March, March, March," when I ask him to follow me!

** Is now signing everything that he learns on Baby Signing Time. His favorite: "Boat!"
**Is starting to like water more. He will actually "swim" in the bath tub!
**Loves to RUN, play chase, and tackle anything in his path. (Daddy is his favorite)
**Still loves to cuddle with Mommy and gives the best hugs ever!
**Loves Jesus! Even from the time he was very small, Ethan has had a very strong connection to the Savior. He loves to hold pictures tightly in his hands and investigate everything Jesus is doing in that picture. In the Draper temple open house, he was in "heaven" seeing all the pictures of Jesus around every corner. Whe we say it is time for scriptures and family prayer he obediently follows and says...."Jesus Book!"

--NYAH--

Favorite Song: Itsy Bitsy Spider
Favorite Toy: Anything she can stack, sort, count, name,..etc
Favorite Food: Chicken nuggets, milk, avacado, and cheese

Sweet Moments:

**Nyah loves feeling the wind in her hair

**Nyah is her own cheerleader. She tells herself "Go baby girl,..go," when she is walking. We used to say it to her when she was learning.

**Nyah is quite the talker! These re some of our favorite Nyah phrases: "Ethan, hey you monkey",...."Ethan, no buttons." ,...."Hi ma-ma, hi da-da, hi Ethan, hi puppy, hi ma-ma shell, hi guam-pa, hi tanner, hi baby girl...."(all in the same breath)

**Just recently initiating "big" hugs and when I say,..."I love you,." she responds, "I wuv too!"

**Likes to help mommy clean up. She will say..."Ma-ma,..here ya go," and hand me something.

**Counts...1, 2, 3, ...6, 7.

**Adores her aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. She adoringly calls my sister Machelle,....Ma-ma Shell. It is so cute!

**Is always looking out for Ethan. "Is he cy-ing?"

**Is sweet,...yet spicy! She is as stubborn as her mommy sometimes.

**Adores all dogs and puppies! She'll wake up talking about them.

**Wants to be outside ALL of the time and loves to relax in the warm tub....

**In sacrament meeting, Nyah and Ethan are really good to sit quietly when the bread and water are passed. A couple of weeks ago,..Nyah, as clear as day, proclaimed..."I love Jesus!" It was near silent in the chapel and many heard her. It was very sweet!

Just like DADDY!

Nyah was "helping" me do laundry, when she found some of Marty's ties. She became very excited when she found a PINK one! I asked her if she wanted to be like Daddy and put it on. She said...."YUP!" Ethan decided he needed one too! We picked out a pretty BLUE one! Several times, Nyah would walk up to Ethan and say..."Sooo cute!" Ethan would giggle and run away! They were so cute! They just adore their DADDY!