We're going to the Zoo, zoo, zoo . . .

The sun was up and we decided to hit the zoo! Sure, it was about 43 degrees outside but who was worried about that?? Not us! We have discovered that if you can take the cold the zoo is where to go in the winter. No lines, no people. . .literally NO ONE! We were up close and personal with the animals and they only had eyes for us! Obviously! The kids ran around like they owned the place and we didn't have to worry about where they were amongst the people because there weren't any. It really was a sweet family afternoon learning about animals and spending time with our own.

Random moments this week~

The corn field in our backyard was finally harvested this week. Heaven knows it needed to come down but we loved the privacy it provided for so long. The twins were pretty impressed with the big loud machine as it rumbled so close to our house. It was spitting corn out everywhere and they thought that was pretty funny.


The Bumbo challenge! They can get themselves in but not always out!

Who doesn't love a ride on the magic blanket? The kids are tiny but pull these two around the living room a few times and see how tired you get! Daddy and I have to take turns!

Bodie holding one of Tony and Maggie's new twins when we went to visit the other day. This is what love looks like packed into 5 lbs! The whole family is doing great and the twins are beautiful!

Speaking of twins. . .you see the button for Tuesday on the web page today? Well, we don't know this family but one of their twin girls is being treated for a very aggressive cancer tumor that doubled this week in size. This just really strikes our hearts. I read this story and looked at our beautiful, healthy, strong, cancer-free children and couldn't help but feel that we have so much to be grateful for beyond what we even see. If you have a moment. . .

Phew! What a week!

We have been having fun with dress up around here and dishtowel turbins are super fun! They really enjoy spending time with one another now that they are so expressive. I love it when the twins give each other hugs and it's even better when I catch it on film.



Our friend Amanda brought her very adorable daughter Melanie over for a playdate this week. She is three and a half months and so cuddley and sweet. She made Bodie and I so excited to have another baby in the house soon. In the meantime, we would just like to have more of the Melanie and Amanda over! Mom time together is priceless!


Annelise and Bodie both know how hard farmers work and are learning first hand about the beer break at Grandpa George and Grandma Linda's house!



What a week! Although the camera was left behind on several occasions (bummer) we captured a few moments this week and thought we would just share the rest. What we couldn't catch on film is how talkative our duo is now! Both babies talk non-stop and we hope to eventually figure out what they are saying. The translation is hilarious though and daddy and I are kept laughing by the two of them daily!
In a nutshell. . . We ran around the RV show and drooled over fabulous new travel gadgets, played at Rafiki while making new friends for mommy and the babies, had a cheerio blow out with mommy's friend Bobbi (super fun to step on if you are one!), attended our regular story hour at Barnes and Noble with Belinda, ran around MOTO ONE rearranging the shelves while we got to run errands with Daddy and do man things, went to Midvale and spent the afternoon on Grandpa's farm, and had a double birthday party at Uncle Boyd and Aunt Donna's for Tucker and Nanny Bates' birthday.
We also had our 15-18 month check ups and are doing great! Annelise is powering thru toddlerhood at 21 lbs and 30" tall landing her at exactly 20% for weight and 49% for height. Bodie is too busy to add any lbs so he's bringing up the rear with 18 lbs. and 29". That's -3% for weight still and 10% for height but he's a strong fella with a heart in the 100%! We did get some blood work done to make sure everything is as it should be and it all came back just fine so we'll have to concentrate on bulking that kid up!
WHEW!!!!! I'm sure there are a few things I have forgotten because this week was seriously that crazy!!! The good thing is we saw lots of friends and family and loved every minute of it! Grandpa Duane wasn't feeling well this week but now that he's on the mend we hope to see him soon this coming week!

Oh! I almost forgot! We went to the hospital and saw our newest future play buddies Memphis and Cash! Our friends Tony and Maggie welcomed their twins last week and they are soooooo cute! I can't believe how tiny and sweet they are. Maggie was a champ and all of them went home together and are doing well! YEAH!

You know have been domesticated when. . .

Last night we were feeling pretty crazy and decided to take the kids out for a night on the town. We threw caution to the wind and headed for Chuckee Cheeses'. Why not? We are always up for the activities most parent's don't care for and we hadn't tried this place out yet. After being there a whole 30 minutes Daddy made a remarkable discovery. He said "You know you have been domesticated when you go to Chuckee Cheese on a Friday night and know more people there than you do anywhere else you go anymore!" So true, so true!

The kids had blast running around and watching all the other kids scream and shout. They seemed to love the less than stellar pizza and had no problem making friends. It really was a lot of fun, even for us, and I enjoyed seeing so many of my own friends there with their own families. The place gets a bad wrap but I figure there is no germ water won't wash off and the happy little faces we chased all over were proof of a good time.

Getting ready to go. . . Baby style!

Annelise had clearly been inspired by her sassy vest to style her brother's hair prior to leaving the house the other day. Aunt Georgia, who is very hip and trendy herself, sent the babies some very cute clothes for Christmas and Annelise could not let Bodie leave the house with out a hairdo to match! Not being very fashionable myself it's a great help that all our other family members give the babies such adorable things to wear. What would we do without them?

Wee Wee Madam Annelise!

Is she French you say? Well, no. Quite frankly she is mostly Danish and Italian however she loves to wear this hat as if she is French. Beret over the eye! No matter how many times I pull it back up she pulls it down. This is also the only hat she actually likes to wear. Go figure!

A sledding we will go!

We have been waiting patiently for a weekend nice enough to take the twins out in the snow up in Prairie and it finally came. This weekend was sunny and beautiful so we headed for the hills. Bodie and Annelise bundled up in their snow gear and took to the snow like champs! They had their very first snowmobile ride and seemed to love it. I use the word "ride" but at the speed we had to go you could say crawl. They don't make helmets for 1 year olds so we had to take it slow but at least Lucy could run along side us as well. We rode to a small hill not too far away and tried our luck at sledding. This, believe it or not, was much faster than our snowmobile ride! Seriously! The sled we bought must have been greased by Olympic Bobsledders or something because it was sooooooo fast! We ended up looking for hills that barely had any slope at all in order to keep things under control. The kids ordered lunch at the Y-stop and were treated to some sweets by one of our favorite Prairie friends, Karlene! We just love this age and are getting such a thrill from seeing the kids try new things. They aren't babies anymore and it's more apparent every day!

Oops!

Every other month or so I like to print off the pictures on actual paper and put them into the babies photo albums. It's actually become a habit I've kept up on quite well and am proud for getting done. However, anyone who knows me knows I'm no computer genius and today is proof. Somehow I managed to hit the format buttom and lost all of my recent pictures. There were only about 8 days worth of photos lost but there were some good ones! Bummer for us!

Had we had photos you would have seen a very sweet playdate with Wyatt Cline at Rafiki, the kids coloring efforts (That I must say have come a long way!), the babies loving their new table and chairs, and not one but two great playdates with our sassy buddy Sailor. Just picture the two most adorable smiles ever, some bad photography and there you have it. We promise to never do that again!

For no good reason at all!

Just a lazy afternoon playing at home. Things that needed to get done just sat on the sidelines as we played all afternoon long. These are the moments being a mom that I love the most.

New Years Eve Prairie style!

Annelise and Bodie could hardly take their eyes off of Mary's tree. Only one decoration lost the fight!

Daddy and the little man.

Kort, Mary, and Daddy. Do you like Mary's crown?

The cheerio fall out caught on camera.

We are indeed creatures of habit. For the last five years we have been going to the mountains, to our most favorite place on earth. . . Prairie! With a population of about 70 when all the lights are on you would think it would be a pretty basic celebration but I dare to say that isn't the case at all. This year Mary and Jake outdid themselves with the food and fireworks (as usual) as they hosted the open house to get things started. We aren't talking a couple hot dogs over an open flame either my friends. I don't want to go into details but I can assure you it would be worth it if I did! Also, the fireworks were worthy of a crowd of thousands so we all felt so VERY blessed to get a close up view and such a special treat! Beautiful to say the least. Since the babies are 7pm bedtimers, I felt pretty lucky we managed to get to 8:30 w/o any major meltdowns and only one cheerio dumping from the little fella. After I took the babies to the cabin to bed the local Town Hall heated up the old woodstove and cranked the live band until after 2009 was officially here. The town hall is from the 1800's and it is a pleasure just to see a community that takes pride in preserving the old instead of always building new. Daddy said that Kort offered him a New Years kiss since I was with the babies but he respectfully declined. All in all, we had a blast and look forward to the same celebration next year with our favorite people in the town we love the most.

We hope that 2009 is filled with all the happiness and love you fill in your hearts! 2008 was such a great year for us and with the arrival of Baby#3 we are certain that 2009 will be the same. Hugs and kisses to everyone from our entire family!