Back to the Norm

I kept meaning to blog all about our recent adventures in Alaska and Utah right when we got home, but then we were jet-lagged, then sick, then I forgot, and when I finally remembered, I went looking for pictures and realized that we were having too much fun for too many pictures. Woops.

At any rate, here's the few that we took, along with several pilfered from family members! Brace yourself.

Alaska is so pretty, even at 2 am. Though I've decided that I appreciate it a lot more when it's not 2 am. Just a personal preference.

 

The landscape is mind-boggling. Glacial mountains to ocean mudflats in a few hours.

Fishing with Grandpa was a must. It was the one thing Paige talked about for weeks before we left. She enjoyed it until she realized that she couldn't bait the hook, or hold the pole, or dance in the boat. She wasn't too keen on eating her fish later either. We'll work on it.

Daddy had fun on his trip though! Salmon fishing is the best! Or so I'm told. I was napping during this trip. Napping is the best!

What a catch!

It was a bit gloomy on a couple of the days. Anna was less than thrilled, Paige borrowed Grandma's coat and still complained, but Boo managed to stay pretty chipper! That's my Emma!

Also, we saw a bear with a crooked nose.

On sunnier days we ran through fields of daisies and explored old mining towns.

This is one of the only pictures of us as a whole family. Take note, because it may not happen again.

As for the Utah portion of our trip, I think I'll let the pictures speak for themselves:

Babies everywhere! It was so much fun! The girls are pretty sad to be back in our boring home with just their boring parents for company. We're kind of sad to be back too. Oh well. Laundry is fun too, I guess.

Birthday Girls

It's been really rainy in Baltimore the last few weeks, and we've all been sick off and on. So, to raise our spirits, we thought we'd have a couple birthday parties!
First off, the littles:

Our crazy, wild Anna-mal. She's always into everything. Crawling, climbing, falling, wresting; she's fearless and ready for all of it.

Sweetie Emma-Boo. She's thoughtful, super cuddly, and remarkably patient.

Pants are optional, but dollies are a must.

 I love these two so much. I love the games of chase and wrestling that go on, and that they miss each other when one's missing. I love their chatter and messy faces. I love their constant smiles. Anna's silly antics and Emma's sweet cuddles. I love how proud of themselves they get when they do something clever. I still am taken aback that I have twins. Two babies. But I can't imagine being without either one. We'll definitely keep them.

As for this girl, she's an absolute loon and we love it!

She's super smart, and even though it is aggravating sometimes, I love that she has an opinion and knows how to express it. I love that she's always asking questions and finding connections. We've been talking about the water cycle a lot with the bad weather outside, and today she said, "Rain is when clouds go potty." We didn't quite know what to say. I love that she loves her sisters, and I love that she helps settle any tension in the house. I think we'll keep her too.

Happy Birthday, little girls! We love you.

Hello, Dolly!

Talk! Talk! Talk! Talk a lot, pick a little more.

Emma speaks softly, and likes to turn away from the camera, but she's working on some words too!

The Latest Fashion

These kids are growing like weeds. We realized this week that we are one month away from having a 4-year-old and two 1-year-olds. Really? When did that happen?

Hi Emma!

Paige is working really hard on learning to read and write. I'm super impressed. She can write our whole family, plus a couple more words then asks how to write 'Grandma', but then says it's too long. We write little messages to each other on the board every day.

With all the growing going around, their clothes seem to be disappearing every day. Last count, Paige only had no skirts, and the babies only had two dresses. So we did some quick sewing, just in time for Easter.

Boo's standing up all by herself! It's kind of a big deal.

Tea parties are pretty common around here, and Grandma Cooper sent us some fun hats, so we tried to have a tea party in all our fancy new duds. We got a couple blurry shots before it degenerated into a hat-wresting competition.

Fun Fact: Easter hats look like sombreros if your angle is too low

Farmer Anna and her trusty rhino

Paige was really frustrated that no one was doing things properly. Sometimes being the oldest is hard.

On Saturday we went to a local Easter egg hunt, and Sunday Paige wore her new dress from Grandma Tucker. Paige refuses to keep clips in her hair.

And just in case you still need more cute pictures of these crazy kids:

One-Liners

Stop sucking on your sister's head! 

Sometimes I look over, and all I see is a little baby zombie apocalypse.

Maybe we should have nicknamed Emma 'Speedbump' instead. Sorry, Speedbump.

 At least they're crying in harmony. That's good.

"Helping" with the laundry

 If you two keep this up, I'm dressing you as shrieking eels for Halloween.


I just found a diaper under my pillow, and I have no idea how long it's been there.

I only found 7 diapers scattered around the floor, so not too bad, I guess.

Boo loves beans!

Stop banging on the table and growling at each other. This is dinner, not a shots competition!

Sneezing with a mouth full of food is bad news for both of us, baby.

Anna supports this message. And beans.

LaLa is going to Costco, because she has a membership card. She goes to Costco every day to eat cupcakes! 





Mommy, I had the best dream! You, Daddy, Anna, and Emma were sleeping all night!

I really miss the repair man. He's my friend, and so handsome. 

While My Machine Gently Spins

Our washing machine broke last Friday; no spin cycle whatsoever, just sopping wet clothes. After an hour or so of taking apart the machine, putting it back together, and being peppered by Paige's questions, the repair man still couldn't get it to work. He said he'd do some research and be back, but they might have to replace it. Paige was elated that the repair man was coming back to play. Anna was sad no one was turning the machine on for her to watch. I was frustrated that I had several more days with growing piles of stinky laundry piles, and no clean clothes. Emma was happy that she didn't have to wear pants. I haven't asked ask how Jeff felt.

After trying this and trying that, they brought in a new machine today! Paige is sad the repair man is not coming back. Anna is sad the machine is a top-loader and she can't see anything. I've happily washed three loads of laundry already. Emma's still not wearing pants. Still not sure about Jeff.

Anyway, how about some pictures of us not doing laundry, eh?

We finally got a babygate. Striped jammies turn my babies into jailbirds.

Paige helped me make a simple friendship bracelet one day and she decided that she wanted to make more, so we made them for the playgroup Valentine's party. She signed all 15 of them herself. It was fun to see her excited to give them all out. 

Some days, we play a lot of dress-up.

Anna

Boo

Some days, we don't get dressed at all. 

Boo

It's really hard to get pictures of Boo lately. As soon as Anna sees the camera, she rushes over and tackles me. So most of the pictures look like this:

I love post-bath baby mohawks. Anna bumped into the entertainment center shortly after this photo and won herself a black eye to go with the cut on her forehead. Sometimes I have a hard time believing this little dare-devil is sweet Emma's twin sister.