OK, Seriously

I am SUCH a slacker. At first I was just a slacker and then our computer broke. But Honestly no pictures since JUNE?????



Here is what is new in our life:



ADAM is taking finals for his second to last semester!!!!!



CATHERINE is loving being mom of her babies, and has fun teaching preschool. Mostly she just loves her family to pieces and she is rediculously excited for Christmas this year.



BRYANT is finally walking (since about the beginning of December). He can't quite stand up by himself so he still crawls about half the time. But he sure loves to walk and gets super excited when he is walking. He jabbers constantly. He jabber talks to us as if we understood him completely. It is hilarious but we try not to laugh too much because he is pretty sensitive to being laughed at. He LOVES to talk on the phone- and turns EVERYTHING into a phone- including his cup of milk this morning :) He has a vocabulary of about 20 words if you know what to listen for. Actually, I know that some sounds he says over and over mean something, I just havent translated them yet. He is SO sweet and I love him to pieces.



CAITLYN has been walking for a couple months now. She is also a TALKER and her vocabulary has EXPLODED the last couple weeks to a month may be. We have counted at least 55 words, but she says new ones every day so by the time I have them recorded the list is already out dated. She sings ee-i-ee-i-o all day long over and over. It sounds more like ya-ya-yo but it is really cute. She also loves to say quack quack. She is a sweetheart.

If I were to write the song "My Favorite Things" it would have to include:

Hearing my kids say "Daddy!" (Caitlyn) and "Dada!" (Bryant)

Hearing my kids laugh, giggle and squeal with delight as they play with Daddy.

Hearing them call "Mommy/mama"

Playing, laughing and giggling with them myself.

Watching the kids play together.

Watching the kids comfort and or cheer each other up when the other one is sad.

Kissing Adam when he comes home

Kissing Adam anytime :)

Snuggling with Adam while gazing at the Christmas Tree after everyone else is in bed

I am so blessed to have such a great little family. I love them more and more each day. I am so blessed that my parents and siblings are willing to share their home with us. I am so blessed that Adam's family is so close and so wonderful. No matter what comes our way, I know that life will only continue to be more and more wonderful because the love we have for our family continues to increase and really that is all that matters to me :)

Merry Christmas

Adventure or Whirlwind?

So, it has been a while since we recorded anything, and July and August have been insane months. Well, the first part of July wasn't too bad; I worked a lot on getting ready for preschool. I figured out where I would do everything, did a lot of advertising, enrolled a few students, did a lot of preparation as far as paperwork, newsletters etc go. Then I decided to start thinking about moving. Our goal was to move on August 1st. We were moving to Grandma and Grandpa Skousen’s basement. I figured if I moved the first of August then I could have a week or so to get functional in my house and a couple weeks to return Grandma and Grandpa Johnson’s house to the way it was before they left. Their release date was the 18th and they planned to return the 21st. But then a whirlwind started and I think it is finally slowing down. One of my aunts had a family crisis and needed a place to go- so plans and preparation for them to move to Grandma and Grandpa Johnson’s began. Grandparents’ release date moved up a week so time table shrunk. In the process, my parents offered for us to move to their basement (seeing as how the preschool is there anyway). We decided that this would be the best move for us both financially and physically. BUT, that meant we needed to get the apartment part of the basement turned into an apartment. Enough kids have moved out that my parents were able to do this, but it entailed a TON of work from all of them and me, and Adam any spare minute that he had away from school and work. We moved them out, repaired holes (lots of holes) and painted the entire apartment. Then we packed, moved and hustled to get the preschool parts back to functioning again, to be able to show parents etc. Then we put Grandma and Grandpa Johnson’s house back together and cleaned it and helped my aunt’s family move in and the next day my grandparents returned from their mission and we helped them. There have since been several trips to swap stuff- things we left for things we accidentally took. My guess is that those trips are not yet finished. Then Adam and I had a 4 day get away to St. George for our th Anniversary. We returned on Friday afternoon and today- Monday I had my preschool open house and Wednesday is our first day of school. Wow. In addition to all that chaos, regular life still happens. Bryant is crawling now also. Caitlyn climbs up on furniture and occasionally creeps along it. She plays with magnets on the fridge every day. Bryant is a music lover. He spends tons of time pressing the music button on one of his toys, dances up and down while it plays the song then pushes the button when it stops. He also will wave his arms to the music. Both LOVE pat-a-cake, clap your hands, and many other little songs. They love to play the piano, and sometimes when we sing together they seem to sing too. They are absolutely a blast and darling and hilarious. We are constantly entertained and we both missed our two kiddies a ton while we were gone. I will post a bunch of pictures tomorrow. So check again!
Catherine

Our Journey in June

We left early Monday June 8th, drove to North Platte, NE. Then we continued to Nauvoo, IL on June 9th and stayed with my grandparents who are serving a mission.

The first day we went with my Uncle Kent, Aunt Lara and their family, Grandma and Grandpa to Carthage Jail about 30 minutes away from Nauvoo. The babies were so tired and cranky that later in the week Adam and I went alone so we could have a less stressful memory there :)

My grandparents are site missionaries and so they showed us many of the sites in Nauvoo. Some we saw alone, but all of them were so fun. We saw the boot makers, post office, family living center (shows how they made all sorts of stuff), schools, homes, and more. We also went to the temple there. It was AMAZING. It is a breathtaking temple. In the evenings my grandparents put on some shows with the other missionaries. They were great! In the show Rendezvous they sing a duet and have their own little vignet and they do a fantastic job. We had so much fun with them and are so excited for their return in August.

Saturday, June 13th we left and stayed in Toledo, OH then Sunday we went to Kirtland. I was amazed at the beautiful, serene little Haven that it has been restored to. I was thrilled to see a home and lumber mill that were restored or replicated that once belonged to my ancestors.

Continued...

After we left Kirtland we drove to North Tonawanda, near Buffalo NY to visit Adam's grandparents. We had so much fun. My biggest lament is that we didn't take pictures of the kids with grandma and grandpa on our camera. But we had a wonderful time nonethe less. Here are a couple pictures of the kids playing- Caitlyn exploring and Bryant giving daddy kisses.

Every Tuesday, Grandma and Grandpa Grapes meet a basically family but really "just" friend Grandpa Gus at Wendy's. Grandpa Gus is one of the sweetest and most generous people on this earth. We had so much fun. In the picture you can see some cookies that Grandpa Grapes gave the kids- the puffy apple kind. Bryant is seen nibbling on his, and Caitlyn always put the whole thing in her mouth. I had to start breaking them up so they would last longer.

One day while we were in New York, we drove out to Palmyra and Fairport. These are just Palmyra. Adam had fun reminiscing about the pageant and I had fun reminiscing about watching it while he was in it :)

Here is Adam at his home in Fairport. Those trees used to be TINY but now they are HUGE! After we left Grandma and Grandpa's house (onThursday the 18th) we stopped in Indianapolis to visit Aunt Harriet and her son Doug. They were so kind to us and fed us like kings and queens. Then off again on the journey home. We stayed a night in Des Moines, and Laramie and then came home on Father's Day- June 21st. Each night we would let the kids out after the drive they were absolutely giddy and hilarious. By the end of the trip each of them would whimper or full on cry if we went ot put them in a car seat. But over-all, the kids did a great job. I was so happy. Adam and I had a fantastic time together. It was so hard to come home and face reality again. It took all last week to recover :) and now we have a month of preparing to move ahead of us. Wow.

Well, Caitlyn has been going nuts because I keep taking things away from her and bringing her away from all sorts of dangerous things and then putting her in "cages" like the exersaucer and swing. May be I should go baby proof my house:)

On our Way!

Tomorrow morning as soon as the babies wake up, we are on our way to Nauvoo!!!!!!!!!!!!! We will stay with my Grandparents for three days then continue our trip out to Buffalo New York to visit Grandma and Grandpa Grapes!! We are so excited. I am nervous for the drive with the babies, but I think it will be ok. WAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I have to go finish packing.

Officially a Minivan Family

Yesterday we picked up our new van and today we registered it and got license plates. Here are some pictures at Mom and Dad Perkins request :)

Child Restraints :)

Back Stow n' Go
Front Stow n' Go- really just "stow" since you need the bucket seats for it to fold down, but you can still store stuff in there :)

YEAH- I don't have to take my stroller apart for it to fit inside!

So It has been a while since I wrote last!! We have had a great month. The first week of May we were on vacation with the Perkins Family. Then we had a happy Mother's Day. Adam had to work on mothers day so I celebrated with my family and then a week later Adam took me on a riverside picnic (which was delicious, gorgeous and SO fun) and gave me a rice cooker which I have been wanting!! I can't seem to cook rice without burning it. Days go so quick and I cannot believe that May is nearly over.

Hear are a few pictures that we have taken the last little while.

The kids are really starting to like playing with each other- grabbing hands, faces, toys, binkies, shirts, etc. They talk and laugh with each other too. It is definitely the cutest thing in the world to me. One of my favorite moments was watching Caitlyn spit and Bryant would start to giggle. So then Caitlyn would spit more and Bryant would laugh more. I highly recommend having twins. It is such a blast.

Learning to sit. This is the day I think they finally "got" it. I rarely use pillows any more. I love that they can sit and play and not get away yet... Caitlyn is getting close.



Here are a few highlights form our trip to WolfCreek- in Eden Utah (near Ogden). Again, most of the pictures taken of us were on other cameras because we kept forgetting to bring it with us.

Hats for Summer!!!

Me and my Honey. It always amazes me how slow spring comes in the mountains. In the valley it was summer but up here the leaves were barely poking out on the trees. But boy was the river high and fast! This part of the river is not the main part- so you can't tell how big the river really is.

Adam playing with sticks in the river and watching them fall down a tiny water fall.

That's right... buff mama pushing babies on a mountain nature walk.

Can you say teething?! I noticed that I could see the back of her head so I went to put the hat back in place and this is what I found. I about died laughing.

This is our little family in front of a 1944 steam engine that had just arrived at the Union Station in Ogden. It was on a commemorative trip or something. It was so cool to see an old but working steam engine!

I bought swimming suits for the kids and I was so excited to use them. Due to many reasons the pool outing was changed to a hot tub outing but I still wanted to try on the swimming suits. So I stuck the kids in the tub. Bryant was less in the mood so I don't have a picture of him. His suit is HUGE on his skinny little waist. I have a video, but no picture darn. I love Caitlyn's suit. She LOVES to play in the tub. She had a great time- although I think she would rather not have been in the swimming suit. She got so mad at me while I put it on :)

Shouldn't a nap...

Look more like this...



And LESS like this...
Silly Kids. I went in to make sure that they were asleep because they had stopped talking. But no, this is what I found instead.

Run Bike Swim... The Telos Timp Triathalon

Last night Adam decided to join many of his siblings in the Telos Timp Triathalon which was this morning. I am so proud of him. Mom Perkins took these great pictures of my MAN.

Here is Rachel, Anne, Jared, Adam, Cory and McKay before the race begins.

Here is Adam running a 5K...

then a 10 mile bike...
then swimming more than I can swim but I am not sure how much.Here is the group finishing up and celebrating together.

Here is Adam coming out of the pool all showered, dressed, and with a smile on his face!!
Here are their numbers.And here are Daddy's biggest fans!

A perfect evening

Tonight the kids and I took a walk to enjoy the beautiful day. I did not take my camera, but in honor of my favorite parts of spring here are some things that I saw along the way.I love the spring. I love daffodils, tulips, hyacinths and robins. They remind me of spring, and growing up and my mom weeding our flower garden. Happy times, and happy memories.