One year ago. . .

This photo is from exactly one year ago. It's just so hard to believe that my babies are toddlers now! What a difference a year makes! I swear if feels like just yesterday we took this picture. They are just sooooo sweet!

Shine. . shine. . .shiner!

Yesterday was another standard day of play. We were busy doing some errands for Daddy and then we hit good ole' Rafiki! When all else fails just drive on down to Rafiki and let the kids run crazy for hours on end. They love it and so do I! The most funny thing ever was listening to Annelise yell for "Bo, Bo" every time he was ten feet away. She sure is aware of where he is at at all times. Bodie was perfectly fine being doted on by his sister all afternoon. They also hold hands now on the way to and from the car. It's so cute I can hardly stand it!

Then last night as we were playing Bodie took a digger into the coffee table. He was running as fast as he could and he tripped over some of our hundreds of toys out in the evening. It looks worse in person, I hate to say, but we're all so proud of him for taking it like a champ. A second of tears and then he was all good!

A weekend of events!

Daddy hitting some big air!

Kara and Tyler about to take the plunge!

The kids and Daddy at the snowbike races.

Annelise showing us she's a camp fire girl for sure.

Bodie's surprise look as he hits the horn!

What a beautiful weekend it was!!! Things just couldn't have been nicer and the babies were in a great mood all weekend so that always serves as a double bonus to whatever fun we are trying to have. First we headed to McCall where the sun was out in full force. It was packed but the kids loved it! We saw some of the ice sculptures in town and watched the snowbike races in the afternoon. The races were pretty fun and one of our friends even took home first place. Whoohoo! We winded out the afternoon lounging at the cabin and then my friend Kara's wedding at the Shore Lodge. All I can say is she looked stunning and the wedding was breathtaking. What a great way to start their future together. McCall is always a treat for us and it's nice to be able to visit just a few hours from home.

We followed up our crazy weekend by heading out to the desert in Murphy so Daddy and some friends could ride motorcycles. As luck would have it, the weather was again so nice! The temperature was on the low side but the sun was shining and we were all having a great time watching all our friends jump, ride, and laugh it up together by the camp fire. The kids have really shown us how great they are at traveling since they were small. It's such a blessing that they can be so adjustable to new places and people. Even the once shy Annelise has few traces of her old self. I would never know it was the same girl as she bounds towards new people and adventures. All our hard work seems to have paid off!

Waiting for Daddy

This morning was a very sad morning for our little man. Daddy is heading to McCall where we will be joining him tomorrow but but that isn't soon enough for Bodie. With this said, he decided that the next best thing is wearing Daddy's sweatshirt until he returns. Some people tie yellow ribbons. . . we wear their clothes. This weekend should be a blast. We will be attending the Winter Carnival in McCall and one of my dearest friend's weddings. Not to mention the Special Olympics are kicking off tomorrow and we want to be front and center of it all! I can't wait for the kids to see the giant ice sculptures and they will no doubt love watching the thousands of people cheer and enjoy the Festival.

On a new baby note. . . we find out boy or girl on the 17th so place your bets. I wish I had the self-control to wait until the baby is born but I can safely say that gene was passed on to my cousins Brandy and Jessica.

I want to Kees you!

Here is the result of Bodie's new obsession. . . Annelise trying to get away! He just loves to plant a little love on his sister and who can blame him? She is awfully sweet!

Park crazy!!

"Let's make our park plan. Divide and play!"

"A wheel but no car? Hmmmm???"

"I'm on my way Bodie!!!!"

"Is that a slide I see?"

"I'll have one cheeseburger please and a milk."

Today we felt like rock stars on tour! On tours of parks of course! The weather was too beautiful to be inside and so with that we hit the road. Maybe it's just me but I always think the twins like seeing new places, or at least places we don't see often, so we thought we would go to a park we hadn't been in a while. The babies had a blast and there we met three other sets of twins! Wierd! The only thing the park was missing were the baby swings and my kids LOVE those things. So, it was sunny and so nice outside that we decided to pack up after a couple hours and head to our favorite. . . Settlers Park. We managed to grab our favorite man (Daddy!) on the way and played some more. We literally played from lunch until dinner. Can't think of a better way to spend our day! Oh, and I have to tell you that Annelise can often be heard calling for her brother now days. Just listen for "Bo. . . .Bo. .. . .Bo!" It's so sweet. Bodie's newest thing is doing a lot of kissing. I mean a lot! I can't complain though. A mommy takes her kisses for as long as she can get them!

To be a twin. . .

If you haven't clicked on the button on the right for Tuesday I would sincerely encourage anyone to please do so. No, we don't personally know them but the two year old twin girl named Tuesday passed away of cancer on Friday night. A parent's very worst nightmare and I cannot begin to imagine how much grief they are feeling right this moment. Any and all thoughts and prayers would be so deeply appreciated.

For our family, the idea of Bodie ever having to be without Annelise or our Nanners without her Bo just breaks my heart into a million small pieces. Twins are a uniquely special gift and as much of a gift as they are to us they are so much more to each other. They are thick as thieves most of the time and even though they can fight famously, there is a love between the two that is more rare than anything I have ever known. I thought the photo of the two of them dancing together this weekend was very fitting.

So please keep this family in your thoughts as they begin a life without one of their twins and as her twin sister Piper navigates a new world with out her other half.