Having twins keeps me busy in the diaper-changing department. But just when I start thinking, "All I ever do is change diapers!" I remember what my life used to be like, and, I must admit, I find little reason to continue my complaining.
I once changed 10 poopy diapers before lunchtime (that was, of course, when the girls were first born and all four of my children were in diapers).
One thing for which I am thankful is that I've only ever used disposable diapers!
We spent the afternoon at Riverfront Park today. We had a picnic lunch and then walked over to Mobius, our children's museum.
Phil took great pictures of the Spokane River! The water is raging through the park, thanks to all of our snow this year.
And here's a picture to make all moms nervous! We had to cross this bridge to get to our car. Due to the fact that this picture was taken about 3 hours past the girls' nap time, Gracie was a little less than cooperative, and opted not to participate. The little boy standing in between Jared and Caleb is Nathan, a friend from Jared's school. Today is Nathan's 5th birthday!
Jared is very proud of the shield he made at the children's museum.
I don't want to be redundant with yet another set of poolside photos, but I'm sure the Grandmas won't mind one bit! We had a wonderful Memorial Day. I was sad to miss Clear Lake Baptist Church's Annual Memorial Day Picnic this year, but we had a great day up here in Spokane.
My friend Brooke came over this morning and pulled weeds in my backyard for 2 hours! Yes, she's a good friend, indeed.
We enjoyed a delicious BBQ lunch with one of our next door neighbors and a couple of friends from Phil's school. The kids had fun playing croquet and splashing each other with water from the wading pool.
Here's Jared being silly with his croquet mallet. We ended our day at a friend's house, another classmate of Phil's, where we supped on sandwiches, macaroni and cheese and apple slices. We love having friends with small children!
Funny thing...nobody has to teach a girl how to be a girl, or a boy how to be boy. It's innate. My boys definitely would not be found in front of a mirror brushing their hair. In fact, when I call for them in the morning and tell them it's time for their hair to be brushed, they protest. No one taught them that. Gracie, on the other hand, runs to me, sits down, and is excited for me to put a pretty in her hair. No one taught her that.
Phil ran and got the camera when we found our girls together in the bathroom yesterday morning. Here are a few more pictures from this afternoon of the girls being sweet.
And no one has to teach a boy how to splash his little sisters!
Phil made a comment about the music truck driving by the house this afternoon (that's what Phil and I call the ice cream truck), to which Jared replied, "Actually, Dad, that's the ice cream man."
Today was Jared's last day of preschool. His class met at a park for their annual end-of-the-year picnic. He enjoyed playing with his classmates, but he had a difficult time saying goodbye to his teacher and friends when it was time for us to leave. He's such a sensitive little guy. Of course, I get a little teary-eyed, too, when I think about his starting Kindergarten this Fall. Where does the time go?
We attended the boys' AWANA Cubbies award ceremony tonight. They received their handbook awards along with a teddy bear and a Bible storybook.
Caleb was a bit sleepy, but still very excited when his leader called his name.
This will be Jared's last year in Cubbies (so hard for me to believe). Next year he'll move up to Sparks. It's a good thing, too! He's outgrown his uniform.
The girls were excited to go to Cubbies with their brothers tonight.
He can fix anything! Recently he picked up this little car at a yard sale and paid only $5 for it. The previous owner said it was broken.
Just a few minutes ago I peeked out the window and saw Caleb driving it around the yard.
The girls are napping right now, but when they wake up I'm sure they'll be very excited to see that Daddy fixed their new Dora car!
Just to name a few: spending a beautiful Spring day outside with the sweetest children,
kissing these precious cheeks,
sharing cotton candy,
and watching my baby grow into such a handsome young man.
I had a wonderful week in Tennessee with my friend, Stephanie. Steph and I met in college, but we hadn't seen each other in 11 years. We stayed at her parents' house in Lake Tansi and enjoyed a great week taking walks, sitting on the beach, watching movies, eating Tiramisu and sipping coffee, eating out, sleeping in, talking, and shopping together. We had the whole house to ourselves, so we were able to enjoy a peaceful and quiet week together.
One of the things Stephanie and I did was take pictures of the food we ate together.
Here's the Tiramisu we enjoyed eating all week long,
and our yummy grilled chicken and vegetables.
I've been wanting to make a chalkboard out of an old window for my kitchen. Old windows cost between $50-$100 in antique stores, but Phil and I found this window at Habitat for Humanity for only $5!
Before...
After...
Thanks, Phil! Didn't he do a great job?
Happy Saturday to all! We've had a relaxing day so far. We took the kids to Jamba Juice and found several good deals at yard sales. After lunch I looked out the window and spotted the girls pushing their dolls on the swings. I took this picture from the kitchen window.
When I went outside to check on them, I noticed that each doll had a rock on top of her. I wonder if they did this to keep the dolls from falling off the swings.
My sweet Gracie loves the color pink! She wears it every day. She talks about it constantly. No matter what the item is, she'll call it "my pretty pink." This is her favorite part of our walk around the neighborhood. 
Since I had my camera with me tonight, I thought I'd take a few pictures of her and the pretty pink tree. I love this picture! She's absolutely smitten with this thing. Look at her arms reaching upward as Phil pushes the stroller beneath the tree. Can you just hear her? "Oh! My pretty pink! I love it!"
We've finally been able to enjoy Spring weather up here in Spokane and we're loving it!
Now that all of our snow has melted, the kids can take popsicles outside and play or ride their bikes after dinner.
Tonight we decided to walk the boys to AWANA.
As our kids get older, we've been able to create family traditions with them. One thing we've enjoyed doing recently--which has become sort of a tradition for us--is ordering pizza on Tuesday night and eating it in the living room while watching a movie. The pizza parlor around the corner from our house has a great Tuesday night family special.
It has become very difficult for us to take all four kids out to eat now that the girls are no longer in high chairs. This is the perfect solution for us! We always have a special treat with our pizza. Tonight we had popcorn. I found these adorable boxes at Cost Plus.
Jared's been having so much fun with his new blog. He takes pictures every day and then dictates to me one or two sentences about each picture. Here's a sweet picture he took of Gracie this afternoon.
After 7 1/2 very long weeks, we finally got the call to pick up our Jeep at the auto body repair shop! The kids were very excited to see their Jeep again. Gracie was one of the first to get in and repeat over and over, "Oh, I LOVE this Jeep! I LOVE it!"
Phil and Jared needed to remove our snow tires. We've been awaiting this event, as well.
Jared offered to eat with his siblings in the living room tonight so that Phil and I could have some quiet time. It was his idea! "Don't worry, I'll watch the kids for you," he said. So we were able to enjoy a nice candlelight dinner of soup and bruschetta.
We've discovered a new (to us) library here in Spokane. We frequent the one by our house, which is the city library, but we've recently discovered one near Jared's school, which is the county library. What this really means for us is that there's a whole new data base of videos and DVDs to be discovered!
We took the kids to the new library this morning. Every time we take all of them at once I tell myself not to do it again, but for some reason I thought it would be o.k.
It wasn't too bad until we approached the circulation desk and I took the books from the kids' hands to place them on the counter. One of my girls (who is VERY good at being 2) screamed out, "No, I do it mySELF!" for all to hear. I'm sure everyone turned to look, but all I noticed was the librarian who gave me a what-are-you-going-to-about-it kind of look. My answer? Absolutely nothing. Not because I didn't care, but because I know my daughter, and insisting that she let me put her books on the counter would have only caused a bigger scene.
I had to let her march up to the counter, pony tail bobbing, place her 2 books on the counter and then look back at me to flash a smile. It's something she wouldn't get away with at home, but we weren't at home. I know I looked like a terrible mother. I felt helpless and humiliated. I'm sure this won't be the last time my children humiliate me in public--not fun at all!
Jared and Caleb have a blog now. I've already invited Grandmas and Aunties, but if you would like an invitation, please leave a comment and let me know.
