Family Update

Time is racing by. The weeks are full and the weekends too short, but I still look forward to them all the same. This last week we made some great progress on the basement. We got all our rough-in work done. Well all that we needed to pass the inspection. The plumber still needs to come set the shower-base, but we passed inspection and are thus ready to move onto insulation and fire blocking. We are hoping that inspection will get done and passed on Thursday. Anyway, it is moving along and I am so glad because for awhile there I was feeling stuck and like it wasn't going any place, but I am excited to get the insulation done. Then the drywaller is having the basement stocked with what he needs on Thursday or Friday and then I think he will start next week. At least that is the the hope. So, it wont be finished by the time my parents get here, but we will be to the point where it is time to put stuff in and get the final touches ready to go. Now, if we can just get these babies to wait that long.

As far as babies go, things look good. I had one friend of mine say that she thinks I have dropped a little and while that maybe true I am really not quite ready for them to come, so I hope they keep on staying in. That said they have to be growing and changing or my body is getting tired or both. My ankles and feet have taken up swelling. Plus, I can't move around as easily as I use to, so I am changing, but I am not sure exactly what these changes mean for the possibility of babies coming. I go to the high-risk doctor tomorrow and so we will see what these little ones are up to. I did take some pregnancy pics on Sunday with a friend who has almost the exact due date I do, but she is pregnant with just one, but it is her #6, so its kind of fun to compare. We are carrying very differently and I personally think we both look pretty good for being 34 weeks pregnant.

Me and my friend Jerry Lynn--bump to bump.

I just think this is a great candid shot.

My ankle and foot after a day at church.

This is how they both look. They look better on camera than in real life, but I tried to catch it.

The girls seem to be doing well. They both are enjoying school and love to play. On Saturday, they had a great time together. Sometimes after school they struggle to get along super good because Kylee is so tired, but I don't this Saturday was one of those days I always hoped I would see these two have. They used their imaginations and just play and played well. I only had to get after people for being mean or bossy a couple of times because for the most part they played and worked things out. They were playing before I cleaned the kitchen floor, but they love making a 'palace' out of the chairs and things when I clean the floor, and they had a blast with that. Then they painted and then we went outside and they 'painted' the house and to be honest I don't know what was so intriguing about playing and hauling around the rocks but they had a great time doing it. I just love watching my girls play, especially when they play together. I am amazed by how well they can do it and it is so awesome.

Painting the door.

They were so proud of the way the made this rock display.

Gaupo finished up a big project at work this week. He finished up what we refer to as "The Anthology." I am not really sure what it is or what it all entails. I just know that it is a collection of local authors submissions of stories or poems. He has had to go through and edit them and organize and get it all printed into a book. I asked him if he was really in charge of editing and he said he was in charge, but he handed most of it off to his committee. However, I do know that as far as the organizing, formatting, printing, and stuff like that he did indeed do. It has been a big project that he never intended to do, but was part of what got handed over to him when he assumed his role as Head of Technical Services. I know he is glad to have it over with, but I also think he learned a lot from it.

Gaupo as a published editor.

As for me, I am just trying to keep everything together here. I just run kids around, go to my doctor appointments, clean if I can, make dinner, and help with homework. Really my days seem plenty full, so my main goal is to try to not over due things as I really want to make it till my parents can get here to have these babies. So, I just plan and hope for the best. I love being a mom. It is a lot of worry and pressure, but I feel so blessed to have the chance to have these children. Each one teaches me different thing and helps me develop in different ways. I love my two girls. They are so helpful, and really try to be sweet. They both have their struggles and it is stressful to wonder if we will ever be able to help them work through them, but it is so rewarding when we see progress. I love watching them grow and catch on to things. I feel so blessed to be a stay-at-home mom and to enjoy being a stay-at-mom. I have wondered at time if it is really what I want to do, but it really is. I love it. Its challenging and sometimes lonely, and hard, but there are a lot of long-term and some short-term rewards and I am so glad I am don't have to miss it. I love being with my kids and letting them know that I am here for them and that I love them. I am one blessed daughter of God.

Thanksgiving Week

This year we spent Thanksgiving at home. This means we got to enjoy the whole break without having to travel. That was one definite positive to staying home. Went didn’t do anything big or exciting while we were home, but we did spend some good quality time together and did about one cool or different thing a day, so for me it was the perfect amount of ‘busy’ over break.

Monday our fun activity for the day was going swimming. Before that I made the girls do chores like cleaning the bathroom, so that made swimming that much more enjoyable. Kylee and Tia love riding the slides, so I made sure we went when the slides were on and let them ride them as much as they wanted. It was really nice for me to get in the water and “swim” around too. I have been experiencing more swelling as of late and going swimming definitely seemed to help with that, so that was awesome. Also, before we went swimming we stopped and looked at some model homes and I am pleased to say that I didn’t fall in love with a single one. There was even a big one that I hated. It sounds weird, but I feel like it just showed that my house still fits me and seems good, so we are good. Of course there are still things I would love to improve like the amount of living space and the amount of counter space, but really if that is all I have to complain about I am doing really well. Anyway, we had a good time both looking at homes and swimming. When we came home we all were ready for lunch and a nap.

Tuesday, I went to the doctor so Gaupo took care of the girls. They watched some I Dream of Jeanie, went to the park, and then Gaupo took them to the library where they sat at his desk and enjoyed some candy. So, for my girls it was the perfect morning. Personally, I enjoyed it too because I got some quiet time to myself, got to see the babies move, and even did a little shopping where I found a gift that Kylee can get Tia that I think she will really like. That night when Gaupo worked we actually went back to the library and the girls enjoyed playing on the computers while I got new books. It was a really nice day.

Wednesday was kind of long. It was definitely the day that I was like what is the point of being home alone for Thanksgiving. I know I am not alone. I have my family, but this lovely group of 4 is so small compared to the giant family events that I love. Anyway, I slept in so the morning got off to a late start. Then we made the brine for the Turkey. We have never brined a Turkey before, but I do think it makes a difference especially with the leftover turkey. So, we made that and then we visited our friend Sis. Colleen Miller. She think my girls especially Tia are just awesome and we haven’t been over since Tia and I helped her, so it was good to visit and be with her. When her physical therapist came we left and came home and had lunch. Then I mixed up a double batch of crescent rolls and then took a nap. When I woke up I needed to work on my job for a little bit, and then made pie crusts.  Then it was time to make rolls. Which, I finished that up in time for dinner. We had canned soup. I always think it’s funny I make delicious homemade rolls and then have canned soup. Oh well, it was easy and I was starting to get tired again and I still needed to make pumpkin pie. After everything was cleaned up we bathed the kids and then I made the pumpkin pie, watched a little bit of I  Dream of Jeanie and then went to bed. I was so tired, but sadly didn’t sleep too well.

Thursday was Thanksgiving. I actually really enjoyed Thanksgiving Day. Gaupo took care of the turkey and potatoes and I roasted some veggies. Since most of the cooking was done the day before we played a Clue Jr. with the girls and then took them to the park. Gaupo actually took them for a bike ride while I walked and we met up at the park. When we got home we got the feast ready. We shared some pie and turkey with a family in our ward and then had our own feast. Kylee said it was almost a feast. When I asked her what was missing she said, “A feast has a lot of food and people.” I said, “This is a lot of food.” She said, “Yeah, but we don’t have a lot of people.” I couldn’t argue with that I did miss the company. I love the chatter that happens at the Thanksgiving meal. I love my girls, but they don’t stick around at the table to just chat after they are done eating. So, dinner was super good, but it was over really quick. The clean up was actually pretty easy too, and we even ate on REAL dishes. However, it was nice to take a Thanksgiving nap and know that I wasn’t missing anything. Everyone was sleeping. When everyone woke up we just hung out for a while. We had a little bit of dinner and then we watched a movie together. After the movie we put the kiddo’s to bed and Gaupo worked on the basement for a bit. I know lame to work on Thanksgiving, but we had been ‘resting’ all day, so Gaupo  said he actually needed to DO something. Before I could totally die from shock or wonder if I was really talking to the guy I married, he kind of explained that he had played his games so much that they needed time to build up stuff and so he couldn’t really play them anyway. However, it was good for us because it got all the framing complete. After working a bit we got cleaned up and went to bed.

The girls and I waiting to dish up dinner.

Gaupo helping everyone get food.

Friday was a good day, I know it was but I can’t really remember what we did. I had a super rough night the night before, so I was pretty tired, but we managed to get Christmas up. Kylee was in my room by 7:00AM asking to decorate. We made them wait till Gaupo got home from picking up our stuff for the new bathroom, but then we did as much as we could. We eventually had to stop because I was hungry and exhausted. The girls didn’t want to but I explained to them we needed to stop or they would probably get yelled at because I was so tired and needed food. So, they agreed and we finished the final touches after naps. That night we also had a baptism for a girl in our ward, so Gaupo left around 5 to fill up the font and the girls and I had dinner and then went to the baptism.

Saturday was a healthy balance of work and play. We went down to the basement as a family and worked on getting it cleaned up. It went pretty well. Gaupo made good progress on the stairs and the girls helped me sort and organize the wood scraps so I could sweep up the sawdust from all the framing. After working on that, the girls went and played and I worked on money and making seven layer pie. I also made a grocery list after which we had lunch. Then Gaupo and I opted not to give the girls naps, so I took them with me grocery shopping while he worked on the stairs. The electrician came out and talked with us about our project and then we went ice skating. Well, I helped the girls get their skates on, but then I just watch Gaupo help them. He took them out by himself first and after one lap of that he opted to let them use the walkers. Either way the girls had a blast. It was fun to watch them skate. I did really want to go out there, but boy howdy that would have been a terrible decision. So, the girls got pretty tuckered out with that activity, so after dinner it was baths and bed for them. Then I used the quiet time to prepare my primary lesson.

Gaupo and the girls ice skating.

This Thanksgiving went over a lot better than the last one we had to stay home for, but I think that is because we are more established as a family. Also Gaupo and I know what we like for Thanksgiving and we tried as best we could to eat and do those things that make it feel that way to us. Also we have two very wonderful capable children now and so it wasn’t like we alone, so that was nice.  I still think it’s worth the drive to go spend the day with family, and staying here actually helped me appreciate all the work the host families of my past have put in to Thanksgiving, so I could enjoy it. I really enjoyed being home for the break. It was nice to not have anything we had to do. We didn’t have therapy, school, the last half of the week Gaupo didn’t even have work. We just got to do whatever we wanted and it was nice to enjoy it.

I have been so blessed this past year. We have been able to visit family. We are expecting and expecting twins. The girls seem to be progressing in the things that they need too. I had the wonderful opportunity to serve in the Relief Society and now in primary. We have been blessed with work and promotions there. We have a home and also get the opportunity to learn and work on that. We got to take the self-reliance class TOGETHER. We have really enjoyed learning and growing as a family this year. We have been richly blessed and we were already so blessed with great families, the gospel, good church leaders, callings to help us grow, wonderful children, work, food, and so many other wonderful things. I feel deeply blessed to be where I am now. It hasn’t all been easy, but it is most definitely worth it.

Its All So Fast

Time is getting away from me. Apparently the last post I made was about Halloween and my baby shower at the beginning of the month and now it like almost the end of the month. It probably feels closer to the end than it normally does because Thanksgiving is this week and that usually signals the end of November, but this year there is still whole week after it. Either way time is flying and in most ways it is great but in other ways I just want it to hang on. I feel like as a family we don't get much 'down' time together so I am loving this week. I had time with the girls yesterday. Gaupo had them today while I went to the doctor. I get to spend time with them and visiting a friend tomorrow and then its Thanksgiving. I love Thanksgiving. I love the food. I love gathering with family, which is a little hard this year because we aren't going anywhere and no one is coming here, but I get to gather with my little family and hopefully have some good food and chill time together.

The things keep us busy around here are still kind of the same. Although, this last week we finished out self-reliance class. It was so good for us to take. We met some great people and made friends. Gaupo and are more united on finances than we have ever been, and we have a great foundation to keep building on. I am going to miss having a topic to discuss together every Thursday night. We always had to get each others thoughts after class and I loved spending that time together just talking and planning. We didn't make any huge changes, but we have made some small ones that have made a pretty big impact. First we made saving a priority which means for us after tithing we save some money. It isn't very much, but every pay check we take a little bit out and put in savings BEFORE we pay any bills. The crazy thing is it actually works. The money is there we can save it whereas before I never could figure out how to get it there. Second, we have a budget that fits our means. We have always budgeted, but if the balance was over what we made that was okay. We just kind of went with it, but we moved a few things and thought about what we really needed and made it work. We recommitted to the envelope system hybrid and for us it totally works. I love knowing if we need something and there is money in the budget than I can spend it because its covered. For example, we needed cleaning supplies and it was so nice to be like yep, the household needs money is still here and so I can get those now instead of waiting or getting them and then wondering where the money was going to come from. It is just comforting. Then Guapo and I decided that we would go through 'plastic surgery.' Meaning we would no longer purchase things on our credit card. There are a couple of bills that go there but that is it. We don't use it for gas, or for a little thing here or there, we just don't use it. It is awesome. I love the peace I have of knowing how much that bill is and that we have the money to cover it. Honestly, our bottom line works out so much better without using the credit card. There are so many other things in the book that we need to do and work on, but it was all we could do this time to do these things and plan and talk about the others. It was a wonderful use of our last 12 Thursdays. And I am going to brag here...we made it to every class. It was close sometimes with a last minute babysitter once and a video of Jason in another, but we did it. We didn't miss a single class and I feel very blessed for attending.

Our basement is still keeping us really quite busy. Gaupo has pretty much finished the framing he has maybe like an hour left and then he will be done, done. The rough-in for the electrical and mechanical is done, and the electrician is coming and will hopefully get done soon. So, it is moving along and I really hope it keeps going. I know my parents said they would be fine if it wasn't done and I do believe them, but I would really just love it if it was and we can if that is what is suppose to happen, but we just have to keep doing our part and see what happens. I did get my shower stuff today, so i am excited about that. it should be awesome!! We also got new carpet in the living room. It was a Christmas present from Oma and Papa. It has made a huge difference in the room. It looks and feels amazing. I love, love, love it, so it makes me even that much more excited for the basement to be done.

The twins are still growing. At the last growth scan they were baby boy-3lbs 14 oz and baby girl 4lbs 6 oz. Both 50% or higher which is really good for twins. Pregnancy is going pretty well. I am kind of having a rough time staying asleep as long as I would like more night than I would like. Also the swelling in the hands, feet, and ankles isn't going away like it use to, so that also isn't that great. I also get a contraction every now and again which makes me nervous, but so far things are not progressing, so that is good. I really hope they cook a little longer. Also Gaupo's work threw us a baby shower on the 9th of this month. It was suppose to be a surprise, but I kind of accidentally figured it out, although I wasn't quite sure. It was fun to visit with all the people, have a taco bar, treats, and of course a few presents. They were very generous and it was awesome. I could tell Gaupo felt so appreciated. I have determined if you want to do something for Gaupo, do something for his kids and wife and he will feel just as good about that as if you do something for him. He loved the shower though and I loved that he felt so supported by his work. I think the people he works with really mean a lot to him, so for him to do this for me and the girls was perfect for him.

The girls are still loving school. Kylee had a Thanksgiving play last week. She did her part awesome and had a great time singing the songs. She is really growing. She loves school, especially math. To be honest I didn't think that would be her thing. I kind of thought reading would, but she actually kind of struggles with that but is improving still. Her math though she really is pretty good at especially if she will slow down and think about it. I am amazed at all she can do. Her favorite thing to do at recess is play 'tether' which is short for tether-ball. She also love her music special where they do a lot of movement. The school tells you to make sure your child has tennis shoes for music and PE. I think that is so awesome.

Tia still loves school as well and I think is doing really well. We got some good new the other week from a speech evaluation we took her to. They said she seemed to be progressing well, and they didn't recommend private speech at this time but would check again in 6 months to make sure she was still on track for Kindergarten, so that means come January I will only have 1 therapy 1x a week to go to, WAHOOO!! I think her vision therapy is working and that she is progressing well with that. I can actually see her eyes converge and then not. So, I really think we will be good by the end of December. Occupational Therapy is also going well I think. We just started a sensory processing program done with music and I know is sounds crazy, but I really think it is making a huge difference. Tia still has bounteous energy, a mind of her own, and a fierce determination, but you know what she can sit though breakfast, lunch, and dinner. She can actually make the choice to obey or not. As in she can delay her impulses. She can also sit and do books. I know those sound like little things, but they are miracles for us especially at mealtime. So, both girls are doing great in there own little ways. They are still really good friends and love being together. I love that they are still best friends.

Gaupo is doing well at work and has been busy with his calling lately, but is continually being blessed to be able to do it and all the other things he has to do. We have had quite a few baptisms it seems like lately and he has been able to do his part for those and still get what he needs to done on the basement. He doesn't get everything he wants to done, but everything he needs to. Sometimes the load of family, work, church, and the basement wear on him, but I also think he is being very blessed to do all that he needs to do. I am grateful for all his hard work and dedication. He is such a great example.

I am just keeping things moving around here. I try to keep our house kind of clean which is easier said then done with kids and construction. I try to make some good food on the weekend for my hardworking husband. I help the kids with their homework which some days goes better than others, but we are all getting better at the homework and being patient with each other. I have also been blessed to still work a little bit, take naps, read the Book of Mormon (trying to fulfill the prophets challenge to reread it by the end of the year) and play a little. Like Gaupo I feel very blessed to have the time and energy that I do. I wouldn't be able to do what I do if the Lord wasn't looking out for me.

Heavenly Father is blessing our family all the time. It isn't always in the ways or times I would like but as I look I can see his hand in my life. He is ever guiding and helping us. I know he doesn't want us to fail and so we have to keep on trusting in him, because he is our strength, the best planner. and the most knowledgeable in what we actually need. God is watching over this little family and I know that he will bless us as we see fit, but I do have to trust Him and do all that I can do too. So, until later Happy Thanksgiving.

Halloween, A Baby Shower, and Some More

Oh man, I don't know if I will be able to paint my toes next month because boy, oh boy, does it get my acid going. Plus it is kind of hard to breath all bent over. I seriously am more out of breath when I paint my toes than when I climb my four flights of stairs to the doctor office. I just really needed to say that, so that is how this blog is starting out, but it isn't what it is about.

Halloween was last week. The girls were so excited. They got all dressed-up in the morning and then joined their classes at school for their annual Halloween parade. They both looked like they really enjoyed doing that. While they were at school, I went and bought some new living room carpet. It will be installed on Monday and I think it will be really good stuff, now I just have to keep kids from ruining it. No, it will be so great to have a nice piece of carpet in the living room. After that, the rest of the day was kind of normal till the evening. We had our traditional Halloween meal of moldy mac and cheese although this year it looked more like monster hair and worms. The girls ate quick and then we added their face paint to their costumes, took pictures, and then I sent them out with their dad to do some trick-or-treating. They went out for a little over an hour and got a good amount of candy. It is less than previous years, but really that is probably for the best. They also might be eating more this year than previously allowed to, so its going faster or both. Anyway, they had a great time. I stayed home and handed out candy to trick-or-treaters. We don't get that many, so I got a little bored, but I got started on making jammies for Kylee and Tia for Christmas, so it was a good use of time. Once we got the girls to bed, Gaupo and I stayed up and watch Hocus Pocus. It is a great movie for Halloween, but that is about the only time I can do it. That kind of finished up Halloween night for us, but we did let the girls watch Hotel Transylvania on Friday night, so some celebrations got extended. It was a good Halloween. It was a little simple that some, but I feel like things are kind of crazy here, so we got the important stuff done and it still turned out great.

Monster hair, and worms.

My cute witch, Tia.

Kylee the Fairy Cat.

The two of them together.

This past Saturday, I had my  baby shower. Sybrina Stewart, and Jennifer Bigham hosted it for it. We did it open house style, so people could just come and go as they needed to. Quite a lot of people came and it was fun to visit. Quite a few people just stayed and that was fun to. To be honest, if it was one of my friends showers I would have stayed too, just because its a great time to hang with my friends. I got to talk to everyone that came at least for a little bit and that was good. Quite a few people brought something to share, so we had quite a spread. It included pumpkin bread, bread with a spinach and artichoke dip, apples with caramel sauce, mini sandwiches, a super good popcorn, and a brownie taste test. The test was to determine which brownie mix was best. I think Great Value and Duncan Hines were tied for the win. They also held a raffle every 30 minutes and your name got entered into the drawing if you brought diapers, so that was fun. The winners got to choose a gift basket. I wish I had gotten more pictures of that evening, but to be honest I just enjoyed it. People were so generous I am still in awe. I got a lot of wonderful things. The baby shower got over late, so when I got home no one was awake because it had been a long Saturday, so I left everything in the car.

So, the next morning we were all up kind of early because of the time change, and so I let the girls get in the van and bring it all in. Then we pulled everything out. Then Gaupo came downstairs and he helped them opened the back and get the stuff out of the back, and we opened all of that. I had opened it the night before, but everything was still in the bags, so they got to re-open it and they thought that was so fun. It was really fun to see what they loved. They both love these blanket that I got, that are huge. They are probably 45x45, so I swaddled them up in the them and they enjoyed them and the little foxes that came on diaper motorcycles. After they opened everything we had kind of a quicky breakfast and then hurried and got ready for church. It was regional conference, so Gaupo took the girls early to get a good seat and I enjoyed getting ready in peace walking to church by myself. After conference, lunch, and naps, I went through all the clothes and gift and took a picture and organized them, because we had to get the living room so we could use it again. We really need to get the basement done because sometimes we really do need more space, and the blue room is getting kind of full between the baby stuff and the food storage.

Tia and Kylee swaddled.

Foxes and diaper motorcycles.

From the back.

Everything I got from this shower.

We did make good progress though on the basement. We have the in-ground plumbing in and inspected. We are just waiting for the plumber to put a cap on, so we can cover it up and put the cement back in. Gaupo has all the walls he can frame before the cement is in done, so we are kind of making a big push, but I think the cement will be in and the framing done by Saturday or Monday. I bought the cement today and I am so glad that we got it home. We don't have a truck, so I put it in my van and boy oh boy was it loaded. Blessedly, Heavenly Father was looking out for us and we made it home safe and sound. This whole finishing a basement thing is a really grand adventure. There are so many things we don't know and if you do it all the time seem common, so they don't tell us and then we have to just learn. Like that you must be present for an inspection. I figured as long as you have access to the space, they could inspect,  but apparently not if it is in your house. Which I guess is a good thing, but it would have been good to know before I left to take Tia to school. Luckily the inspector dropped back by and did the inspection. 

Halloween Week

Actual Halloween hasn't even happened yet, and here I am blogging about it. However, if you can't tell my blog is getting kind of neglected as of late and I really want to document this time of year. We still have construction, which is going good and complicated at the same time. We are starting to frame, but in the same token we are having some issues with plumbing the bathroom, so we will will see how all that turns out. We have had to rent a cement saw twice, but I think we will be done and the plumber can do what he needs to now, but we will see. Cross your fingers, tomorrow we will find out. All the stuff is ordered for the bathroom, so hopefully we can get things moving on the project, so it will finish not too far off schedule. We will see.

Window well complete.

Found the drain pipe.

Dug a hug hole to find it.

Hung out first wall.

Okay, so despite the construction and how crazy our life feels right now, I really wanted to keep up with our Halloween Traditions. I simplified somethings tried some new things, and you know I think for the most part everyone has enjoyed it. The girls are still super excited to dress up and go trick-or-treating tomorrow even though it will be FREEZING! Luckily, I think Gaupo is taking them.

So, as most of you know we make ghoulish food for dinner starting at least one week before Halloween. So here are the picks of the food this year.

We started on Sunday with Ghost and pumpkin shaped pancakes.

On Monday we had Autumn Sausage casserole (not pictured). These were jack-o-lantern pizza rolls. We had them on Tuesday.

Wednesday we had spider burgers and octopus dogs.

Thursday was jack-o-lantern cassadias.

Friday was our ward party. But Saturday we did meatloaf hand and ghost potatoes. We had leftovers of it on Sunday.

Monday we made sorcerer's pasta.

Then the Halloween Dessert that is back by popular demand is dirt cake. This year we did dinosaur gummies instead of worms.

As you can tell some of my sculpting and or decorating needs a little work, and the sorcerer's pasta didn't turn out too wizardly, but you know you try new things and sometimes they work and some times they don't. It is kind  of just how it goes. Plus, my kids actually like most of the food this year, so that is always a plus, and we have been able to do more leftovers, which is nice for me. I have a really hard time sometimes getting homework and dinner made and done every night, so this was a good mix for us. Plus it was fun to try something new.

In new things this year, Tia's class arranged a family "field trip" to a pumpkin patch. Everything except the pumpkins were free, so the girls had a blast playing with their friends in the little straw maze they had there. Then the girls and I went through the corn maze together. Luckily about the time they really started to worry we might not get out we found the exit and got out, so they enjoyed that too. I was actually super pleased with how it turned out. I was worried I would have to tell them no on a bunch of stuff because it would all cost money, but I didn't. They were a little bummed about not getting a pumpkin, but luckily they already had some at home. We had a really good time. We did miss having Gaupo with us, but we are sure glad he provides so well for our family. Here are some pictures of the pumpkin patch.

In the corn maze.

Kylee

Tia

Tia the witch

Kylee.

Also, in  new things. Tia got her first birthday present. Yes, it is almost two months early, but we were going to get it for her birthday, but she kind of needs it now. I am getting to the point I can't really unbuckle her by just turning around anymore, and she hates that she can't get out of her carseat herself, so often begs to sit in a regular seat and I often let her. So, I decided it was just better if we do it now instead of later. she loves and was so please with it.

Opening up the box.

Doesn't she look so pleased and grown up in the picture?

Me running morning carpool--Me, Tia, Kylee, and Emmet.

One other Halloween tradition we have is carving pumpkins. Usually we do it with just us, but this time we had the missionaries and some friends (Little John, Melissa, John, and Alex Lopez/Barajas) over. The girls had a great time playing and carving. Tia still doesn't really like getting the guts out whereas Kylee loves it. They both had definite ideas about how they wanted them carved and their dad did a great job helping them. It was a little crazy in our house with all those people, but it was a great night.

Gaupo and the girls cleaning them out.

Kylee with her pumpkin.

Tia and her pumpkin.

The girls with their pumpkins all lit up.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures. There are kind of a lot in this post. Oh well, they are so cute.

Also, just in other news... Kylee climbed all the way to the top of the rock wall tonight. First time EVER and she totally rocked it!

Kylee almost to the top.

Tia at the top.

General Conference Weekend

Kylee asked me what I was going to be doing tonight and I told her I was blogging. She then said, "Mom, don't forget to blog about my teeth." So, here it is. Kylee has now lost five teeth. She lost two about a year ago. Then she pulled out one on Sept. 30th. Then she pulled out one on Saturday morning (Oct. 6) and one Saturday during the morning session of conference. She lost three teeth in less than a week and couldn't be more please about it. She has a giant front gap and then a little tiny gap on the bottom, but it is so cute. She has been wanting to lose teeth for awhile and they just never got loose enough, but man as soon as I agreed with her that those were loose teeth it sure didn't take her long to pull them out. She has been visited by the tooth-fairy. This last time the tooth-fairy gave her two quarters, a dime, and nickle for each tooth and she was so pleased and felt like she got enough to share some money with her sister. She is such a good big sister. Tia thinks it would be really cool to lose teeth, but so far none are wiggling, so I think we are good on teeth for awhile.

Monday after the first tooth.

Saturday morning. Missing just two teeth.

 In other updates, this last weekend was General Conference. We were able to watch all the session and I attended the Women's meeting. I totally missed my sisters and mom as I went by myself, but its okay, I know they all went, so we were united in spirit. The weekend previous to this one, when we told the kids that General Conference was coming up they said, "Yes, we get to watch tv and have treats." I don't know that food and tv should be motivation for loving conference, but they sure do love those reasons. However, when I heard their enthusiasm I followed up with what they thought would be good treats. Kylee said, sour patch kids. Her dad then convinced her what she really wanted was Swedish Fish (that is his favorite). Gaupo also requested monkey bread. Tia said donuts. We ended up with donuts, sour gummy worms, Swedish Fish, and nuts. Then we made monkey bread on Sunday morning. It was actually a really great combination. The girls were awesome about it. They were so excited for conference and they waited until it started and sat on the couch. They saw me with my notebook, so then we had to find notebooks for them too. They took notes for a bit and then asked for treats. I told them they had to wait for the song in the middle and then we would get treats. I was amazed at how well they could wait and how little I got asked for them. But, boy howdy, when that song came on they were ready. They did wait till after it was finished to get them dished up, but they were ready and loved them. They so much knew that, that is when they could have treats, that during the Sunday afternoon session I went to go wake-up Kylee during the song and I came back down and Tia is helping herself to her treats. She sees me come down and says, "Its over." I couldn't argue with her and she actually did pretty good portions, so it worked out well. I enjoyed conference. I still kind of wish I could have heard more, but sometimes that is how it goes with kids. Saturday the girls did really good with listening, but by Sunday they needed more to do and worked on some puzzles, but needed help with them, but at least they were good and I could hear most of it. I love having the words or prophets and apostles piped directly into my home it is such a great treat.

On Saturday we also worked on our basement. We got the 2nd window installed. It took some work, so good neighborly help, and some lessons learned but we got it in. Then today when we installed its twin it didn't even take us half the time it was so much faster and easier. However, we also had our contractor friend Greg come over and talk about framing with us and that is a bit of an overwhelming thing for me, but I think I will sleep and feel better about figuring everything tomorrow. That is one thing I have truly learned from this project, sometimes you just need to let your brain bake on the information before you act on it and then a lot of times as you sit down to do it with a fresh mind you can figure it out and it isn't as bad as it seemed. The basement is coming along, I really hope it gets done in time, but we will see. We just have to keep working on it and doing our best and we will get there.

Gaupo and our neighbor Brian installing the new window.

The windows on Saturday night.

The window we installed this morning. (3rd and final)

The twins seem to be growing good. I go to the doctor tomorrow to check on them, so we will see for sure. They sure seem heavy. I wear my 'belly band' almost all the time now and it helps a lot. I still have a big belly in the way of just doing things the easy way, or doing lots and lots of things, but really I can't complain it all seems to be going well. I hope that is still true on tomorrow's appointment.

The girls seem to be doing well in school. I had parent teacher conferences and both girls seemed to being doing fine. Kylee is a little behind with reading, but her teacher didn't seem real concerned about it, so we will just keep working at it. She is getting a lot better and I think she will get where she needs to be. Tia is making friends and loving preschool. We had a family swim night on Friday and the girls loved the slides, diving board, and they tried out a new thing called log rolling. Log rolling is just trying to stand-up and roll and tube with your feet. We did barrel walking as kids and its the same kind of thing just in the water, so when you fall it is into the pool, not the hard ground. The girls loved that. They said it was their favorite part and they haven't wanted to go back and do it again. I am very glad the kid that was running it was patient enough to help them.

That is pretty much our life: growing babies, construction, school, and family. I think this is probably the most balanced our life has been with working and playing and you know what it is kind of nice. Sometimes it is really overwhelming and I wish we could just do nothing, but you know it more fulfilling when we do something. Plus Gaupo and I really enjoy working on house together and the kids tolerate it pretty well too. So, all good things all good things.

Just a fun picture of Tia.

Our house is all decorated for Halloween.

Tia wanted to take a picture. I said "of what?" Tia: "Your big fat belly."