Strawberry Springs Forever

We had a wonderful memorial for my cousin Peter today. The weather was beautiful and all of the little kids there behaved so well. We, and many other family members, were unable to attend the service when he first passed. It was very nice to have most of the family together to share the service and spread his ashes.

After the service, we went to a natural hot springs called Strawberry Springs. The kids love swimming so they enjoyed it. We would have loved to stay longer, but our stomachs were rattling and the sun was a bit too intense for babies to be out too long. Sadly, this was out last full day in Colorado. Tomorrow we’ll be headed home after a quick breakfast with family.

Fish Creek

We went hiking today up Fish Creek. It’s about a 10 mile hike, but we didn’t do the whole thing. We turned around when the kids started to lose it. They were in our Ergos and took a great nap, but they can only sleep so long before they let us know they are bored. They got their first fig newton on the way down. They were hungry and we needed a way to try to keep them happy. My shirt was a figgy mess when we were done, but they were happy.

Gondola Rides

We rode the gondola up the mountain today and hiked around. The girls enjoyed the ride down so much that we decided to go back up and come down again. E got a little freaked out the first time we came out of the gondola house to go down the mountain. I happened to pick her up off the seat just as we came out of the house and the gondola sweeps down a little. She was looking out of the window and had a nice startle reflex that I haven’t seen in months.

The hiking at the top of the mountain was beautiful. It was strange to look around at the runs I used to ski at as a child and know exactly where I was even though the hiking paths did not follow the same trails.

Live at Red Rocks

We visited Red Rocks today. It was beautiful. I'm so glad we took the time to stop and stretch our legs.

Strange Brew

We visited New Berlin brewery today. I don't think they get many women in there breastfeeding while they sample. A lot of the beer were similar to some of the local microbrews we're used to. One of them was completely different from any thing either of us has ever had. I don't remember what it was and it was too new to be on their website. It was sour and smelled a little like sauerkraut. Sounds disgusting, but it would be a great beer to drink with brats.

Diners, Drive-ins and Dives

The kids ate at their very first diner today. We stayed at a hotel last night with a diner in their parking lot. A credit for breakfast was included in our room, so of course we took advantage of it. The kids had their first white flour, no nutritional value, pancakes and loves them. They wouldn't touch the scrambled egg that was also laid out in front of them.

We had a much shorter drive today and got to a friend's house around 2:00 pm. She has a daughter who is about 2 months younger than A&E. The three girls had a great time playing together and we had a great time visiting.

It's a Small World After All

We left home just before 5:00 am today. We wanted to get a little driving in before the kiddos woke up for the day as we weren't sure how they'd do in the car. They did much better than we expected. They had melt downs and were angry about being in one place for so long, but they slept and played more than I thought they would. We bought them a few used toys before leaving and moved some crib toys into the car. They can kick their aquarium and jungle musical things on and off. By the end of the day, the batteries were low and my sanity was almost gone from the music, but it was better than them screaming.

We stopped for lunch in Iowa, west of Des Moines. We were invited to join another couple and their daughter at a picnic table. We got to talking and found out that he grew up in Rockford and she grew up just outside of Madison. They both got their undergrads at Madison. They even know people we know. To top it off, they are headed to Steamboat Springs Colorado, which is where we are going. Sometimes it's a very small world.

We stopped for gas at a truck stop and I used the bathroom. On my way out of the building, a really scary looking guy says to me "Well, Hello Curly!" as I walked past. It's funny now, but he totally creeped me out at the time. I just kept on walking and didn't acknowledge that he'd said anything. He kept on talking to me as I went by, but I don't know what he said.

Famous Footwear

I got some new shoes today. I haven't bought new shoes in ages and these were almost 75% off at Macy's. Not a bad deal for cute and super comfortable shoes.

Arya didn't want to be done up and decided to pick up a foot tattoo. It took us a really long time to figure out where she got this. We went to a second hand store today. She stepped on the bag once we were home and part of the print transferred. We're headed to Colorado tomorrow morning and the nights are cool there. I don't think the kids can sleep in onesies like they do here. We picked up 2 pairs of long sleeve pajamas, 2 pairs of short sleeve pajamas, and a couple toys to keep them occupied in the car.

Dodge, Dip, Duck, Dive and Dodge

We have a couple official dodge balls around the house. A&E love playing with them. I think we may have 2 future dodge ball players. Maybe one of them will grow up and dress like a pirate.

Crackers Don't Matter

Today was the first day that we kept busy all day and by the end of the day I was still a little batty. The kids are climbing on everything. I was unloading the dishwasher while A was on the ground. I turned to put a couple bowls in the cabinet and turned right back to the dishwasher. That was enough time for A to scramble up onto the door and sit in the middle of it.
E is climbing too. I went to the bathroom, came back and found her perched like this. Usually I bring them to the bathroom with me because they take off the second I go through the gate to our back hall. They know the sign for bathroom and about half of the time when I tell them I'm going to the bathroom, they both start crawling in that direction. They love to tear apart the toilet paper and raid the cabinets while they are in there and I love that that's all they can do.

Nursing Cats

We are starting to put things out for our trip. Eiley is starting to climb those things.

I asked Eiley today if she wanted milk. She got very excited, like she normally does and signed milk back to me. Sikozu jumped onto my lap before E could crawl all the way to me. She threw a huge fit. I was cracking up. She really didn't have to worry. There is no way I'm nursing the cat, even if he's on my lap.

The Vacuum Diaries

Dear Diary

Today Mom vacuumed. I love that machine more than anything else. I think Mom has figured out that if she vacuums, I will watch her and not try to climb the stairs. That's okay though, I climbed the stairs all day long, so I can skip a few minutes to watch this wonderful piece of engineering. Once I can walk and talk, I'm going to ask Mom if she'll let me vacuum the whole house for her. If she won't let me do it myself, maybe, just maybe, she'll let me ride on it.

Arya

Back in the Saddle...Again

Eiley has figured out how to move herself on the horse and how to get off of it. If she could figure out how to move forward and not backwards she'd be set.

Florida Bound

Our family spent the weekend visiting two of the girls' sets of grandparents. One of those sets is moving to Florida in a few days. It was good to spend a little time with them before they left.

Saturday Night Budget

How do you ensure that you don't spend too much when you to out on a Saturday night? You get all dressed up and then puke in the parking lot before you get into the restaurant. If you continue to puke all night and have no appetite the next day, you may also lose weight. I'm sure there are much more pleasant ways to save money and lose weight, but this is what my body chose for me this weekend.


...and No, I did not puke up that bottlecap. Cork offered to take a picture of me standing by my vomit. I should have let him since I was all dressed up with puke on my sandals and feet.

New Digs

Eiley was measured for a new helmet today. Hopefully her two sore spots will have time to heal before we get her new helmet next week.

Homemade Snow Globe

A&E decided to get a head start on a new project today. They discovered they could tear apart a Styrofoam cooler with their little fingernails. I have no idea how they figured it out, but by the time they were done, my parent's carpet looked like it had snowed.

E clapped for the first time today. My dad was playing with her while I was grilling. I walk in the house to see her clapping for him.

Waterworld

Bath time has become acrobat time around here. It feels like we say "No standing in the tub" probably a hundred times during each bath. We're trying to teach them that standing means they are done and they get taken out. They aren't getting that yet.
Arya signed milk today. She's been able to do it for a long time, but usually prefers to whine at me when she wants to nurse. She was playing on the floor, looked up and signed. It wasn't the sloppy milk sign she's given in the past that only a mom could understand. This was a definite sign that anyone who knows signs would understand. She also waved goodbye to a woman in a store. We went to Babies R Us to pick up a few things. We say 4 other sets of twins while we were there and the girls were very interested in them.

Nothing new from E today. She gave me some really cute smiles though, so she gets pics loaded. I love that you can see her tooth. She got her first tooth a few weeks before A, but I think A is going to get her second one first.

Mobile Madness

I used to carry both kids in my Moby to stop them from crying. They thought it was funny today, but I couldn't get them to sit still to take a picture.
I can't believe A&E will be one in one month. I didn't even know today was the 13th until I happened to walk by a calendar. Yesterday someone asked how old they are and I responded "ten months" without even thinking about it.

The last couple months have been amazing with them. They are so much easier now, even with their crawling every where and getting into everything. Other twin parents told me how hard it gets once they are mobile. I love watching the things they do and what they get into. Watching their little minds figure something out and their personalities blossom has been so exciting. I can't imagine thinking that this is a bad stage just because they can move around. Their moving makes for so many fun games, like chasing them up the stairs and pulling them back down by their feet.

Poop Painting

My mom was in a bicycle accident this weekend. I thought I'd have the girls finger paint her a get well card. The thought of trying to keep actual paint, even if it was nontoxic, out of their mouths was just not appealing. Instead, I decided to let them paint with pudding. My mom's favorite color is green, but it looks like the only green pudding is pistachio. The kids aren't eating nuts yet, so I went with purple instead. There was some [sarcasm] fantastic [/sarcasm] blueberry muffin flavored puddings on the shelf.
I stripped the kids down once we got home from the store, put them in the high chairs with paper and pudding in front of them. The pudding was almost too light to see on the paper. They quickly decided to eat both the paper and the pudding. Looking back, pudding probably wasn't the best idea for two kids who rarely have sugar and who can't eat dairy. They made a royal mess, but had a great time. I cleaned them up, put them back in their onesies, but not their shorts and after a while put them in their cribs for a nap.

I went back upstairs a short time later because Eiley was screaming. It was a totally mad scream and not her usual yell when she doesn't want to nap. I walk in her room to see that she's unsnapped her onesie, taken off her diaper, pooped and smeared it everywhere. I guess she didn't have enough finger painting earlier and needed a little more practice at it. I took the time to snap one picture before stripping her down, rinsing her off and bathing both kids. What you can't see is that there is a huge poop under the blanket behind her and all over her face, hands and feet.

Busy Bees

We had a very busy day today. The kids were amazing little troopers. Their day was pretty normal until after their morning nap. As soon as they got up we loaded them into the car and went downtown to Bastille Days. From there we went out to lunch with their Aunt Misti. They fell asleep on the way home. We took them out of the carseats and set them in their cribs for the whole 20 minutes we were home. We grabbed them out of the cribs and they stayed asleep as we put them back in the car seats and headed for the zoo. We finished at the zoo and swung by the house to grab some things to bring to my sister's for dinner. We didn't even take the kids out of the car. By the time we got home from my sister's it was about 7:45 and they were ready for bed. They went to sleep with very little protest.

I forgot to take my camera with us any place. This is our kitchen after dropping drinks off after each stop and collecting new waters for everyone. It's nice and clean again as I type this.