Making Adjustments!!

Making adjustments to a very routine life is pretty difficult!! For months now we had heard Aaron's position at UPS would be changing and we were both really excited for Aaron to get a new opportunity to do something different. We knew the hours were going to be a be change but for us we think it will be for the best. So, last Monday Aaron started his new job as a PDS (Package Dispatch Supervisor, I think??). He has to be into work by 12:30 am, YES that is close to midnight. He works from 12:30-11:00am and needless to say we have had to make a lot of adjustments. The hardest of course being a sleep schedule!!

Aaron claims he doesn't need that much sleep but 4 hours is just not enough. So every night we bicker about when he should go to bed. He tries to be in bed by 7, but still that is only 4.5 hours of sleep!!! So during the day he tries to get in a nap for a few hours too. This has been hard since the twins go to bed at 7 but the boys don't really go to bed until 8 or 8:30. Aaron of course feels bad going to bed before the boys so we have tried putting the boys to be early too, but man that has made for some rough mornings. Now Aydan and Asher are waking up at 5:30-6, MISERABLE!! I of course am not an early to bed, early to rise person. I stay up until 11 and then Aaron wakes up at 11:30. It is pretty bizarre...we are still adjusting!

THE POSITIVES!!!

• Aaron is home all day and actually gets to spend time with the kids!!
• Aydan loves that his dad picks him up from the bus and is here to play with him.
• Aaron will be going back to school to finish up his disagree.
• I get to go anywhere and do anything after every one is asleep, this usually includes a trip to the gym, red mango and target. Hit me up if you want to go too!
• I love seeing Aaron in the day light hours!

Hopefully we will get the hang of this very soon and things will run smoothly again!

One big Family VACATION!

RECKENRIDGE!!! We had the amazing opportunity to go to the mountains with my entire family for the weekend, that's now 23 people now!! We had a really great time. I don't even remember the last time we were on a family vacation?!? We drove up early on Friday afternoon so the kids could play in the snow and the second we got there they were ready to hit the hill (the driveway). My dad was so nice to stand at the top of the hill and push all of the boys down. Asher's first time sledding and he was in heaven. He would get to the top, get pushed down and then once he got to the bottom he would get up and grab his sled and run back up the hill, I was exhausted just watching him. I love that we have this beautiful house to go stay at with our family, it is such a blessing. The second day we got out Jen's snowmobile. It was so much fun for the kids. My dad flipped it on his first ride, but got the hang of it shortly after. Aaron and Steffan took turns giving the kids each a ride, it was so fun to watch. Then Aaron rigged a sled to the back and got the kids going pretty fast around a track. SO MUCH FUN!!! The babies were great the whole weekend. It is so nice to travel with kids and not have to worry about them not doing well. I've got to say, they are pretty great!!! Thanks to my whole family for the fun times. We are just grateful we made it home...our tires weren't cooperating in getting out of the driveway, going up I-70 to Eisenhower, or getting into town...it was a rough 4 hour drive!! Needless to say we got new tires on Monday!

Peyton, Asher and Aydan on the sled behind the snowmobile

Asher laying down and Aydan sliding off the back because Asher is kicking him!!

Asher driving with Daddy!

Steffan and Peyton out for a ride!

Aaron and Ruby driving!

Aydan and Dad, but Aydan did not want to go!

My Dad tipping the snowmobile, first run!

He is sledding right into a group of people, hence the smile!

First encounter with Aydan!

Isn't he cute!!

Daddy and Asher made it all the way to the garage!

Aunt Traci came for a visit, Ella liked her a lot!

I love his faces!

Max came up early and played with us all afternoon!

Parent/Teacher - So difficult!

Recently I have been thinking a lot about Aydan's education. We have encountered a lot of struggles this year, some I knew would come but others are a little hard to handle. Aydan is a really smart kid, but he is A LOT lazy!! Of course I am probably responsible for this since I have 3 other kids that need attention and sometime what Aydan is doing goes by the way side. He used to love school, I mean seriously love school. Now there are days when he doesn't even want to go because it is TOO HARD!! He has struggled with his fine motor skills (holding his pencil correctly), and we are in a constant battle to get him to write more. When I say battle I mean it literally. There is yelling, crying, stomping, slamming of doors, just over school work. So, this is where I find it difficult to draw the line between parent and teacher. I want to teach him but I lack the patience. All I want is for him to be successful and smart. A recently met with his teacher and to describe him she said he gets an A in social skills. He is the popular kid. Everyone wants to be his friend, he is funny, he is just the life the of class. Yes, this is a good thing, but not all of the time. He gets easily distracted and when she tries to move Aydan to a new table he just makes new friends. It even got to the point where the teacher had to ask me what she could do because she had exhausted her ideas. REALLY KID, JUST DO YOUR WORK!! So here we are at the second half of the year...he had assessments yesterday and the teacher said he did fine and was doing well, but then he comes home today and I find out he has been moved to the lower reading group...frustrating. Well, there you have it, I have ranted long enough. Any advice fellow mothers?? How do you get a good reader and writer and still have your child like you???

I'm gonna be a better blogger...

I really want to be a better blogger, but man it is hard to sit and post. Since my last post almost a year and half ago, a lot has happened. We have our beautiful twins and what an adventure this year has been. We love having four kids.

I have really enjoyed the challenges and joys twins bring. I realized that you can parent twins just like a single baby, and that has made all the difference. They are very routine and are great babies. They have slept through the night since 8 weeks, they eat great, they have such fun personalities and they love people. I make it a point to go somewhere once a day, you may think this is a little crazy, but really taking 4 kids to the store is not that bad. We go everywhere and we have fun.

Aydan and Asher are becoming better friends and love to play with each other. They wrestle all of the time but their favorite thing is to jump on the trampoline. They can spend hours in the back yard jumping. Aydan is in kindergarten and loves school. He is getting so smart, it has been so much fun to see him learn.

Asher is going to school one day a week and he absolutely loves going. Every day he wants to go. He loves helping the babies, but sometimes he is too helpful.

Life is crazy sometimes, but we prefer it that way. We don't want to get to lax or bored around here. I love being a mom and enjoy learning new stuff about being a parent. I like to think I could write a book some day about being a mom. Not that I know any more than the next mom but everybody's experiences are different. Instead of a book and I will just share those experiences here and what works for me as a mother.

2011 is going to be a great year. I am looking forward to everything that comes my way. We had a rough start yesterday...babies to children's hospital, bad case of croup...I was struck with the stomach flu today. Not the best way to start the year, but we take everything in stride.

NEW MOON!

So, I went and saw New Moon, and it was awesome!! I had such a great time. I was planning to go to the midnight showing last night, but instead my sister Jen got free tickets to a pre-screening at 9:30. It was so nice to not have to go so late at night. I had such a great time!! My sister Amy, sister-in-law Tiffany, and niece Sadie all went with me. I loved the movie, and since it was my least favorite book of the series, the movie helped me like it a little more. The special effects were amazing. Hope everyone enjoys it!!

Twins, Twenty-Seven, Trip to Mountains

I am having twins!! I am sure most of you already know, but I just wanted to share over the blogosphere. We have been to the doctor everything is looking great. We will find out in about 4 weeks if they are boys or girls. We do know they are identical and are secretly hoping for girls to even out our family. Aydan is so excited and always tells everyone there are two babies in my tummy. My tummy... already showing and only 13 weeks. This is weird because when I am pregnant I don't usually show until 20 weeks. I am sadly going to have to break out the maternity clothes this week. I will keep you all updated on the gender of the twins as we find out!!

I turned 27!! Last Saturday, August 22, I turned 27 years old. It was such a fun Birthday to celebrate with my entire family. I feel so much older than 27. After all it is just a number. I feel like I have had too many life experiences to only be 27. I think I have aged at least 10 extra years. So for all of you, that makes me older than all of my friends, 37!! I just wanted to say thanks to my parents and my siblings for celebrating my birthday with us!

Trip to Mountains!! For my Birthday we headed to Breckenridge for a fun weekend with our boys and my family. It was at first just going to be us but then my parents decided to come and before we knew it, Amy and Cory both brought their families. We love going to the mountains. We would seriously live there if we could. Our boys just love going there and spending time with their cousins and enjoying the outdoors. I don't know where my boys got it, but they are obsessed with being outside. It is just a new adventure every time. Our first adventure in the mountains was to the Alpine Slide. I love the alpine slide and I was not going to let being pregnant stop me from heading down the mountain. We all paired up with a kid got to take a trip down. Aydan went up with me on the chair lift and I think that was the scariest part. He was holding on for dear life and I am a little scared of chair lifts so I had to be brave for him. He loved the slide. He wanted to go faster the entire time. At one point someone was going to catch up and he didn't like that so we hurried down. At the bottom Aaron waited to take his turn and took pictures of everyone coming down. It is nice to catch those moments. I will post pictures as soon as I get them unloaded from the camera. After the alpine slide, we went to the river in the center of Breckenridge. It was ice cold but the kids just loved jumping from rock to rock and playing in the water. We got to take a really cute picture of our family... to come later! That afternoon just the girls, Tiffany, Amy, my mom and I all got to take a short shopping trip, it was nice to leave the kids for a little while. That night we went out to dinner for mine and Cory's Birthdays - turned 33. So much fun, just adults. I loved the entire weekend of games and food and more food!!

4th of July..a week later.

To start out the 4th of July we had a ward breakfast - planned by me, and then a bike parade. It was so much fun for the kids to decorate bikes and ride around the church. Asher hopped on Ruby's bike and just had a great time. After that we headed to the lake, the weather wasn't great, but it's a holiday so you just make the best of it. We had so much fun and everyone just got to play all day.

Ruby and Asher at the bike parade!

Aaron just hanging out at the lake!

My Dad doing the Rope Swing!

Dustin doing the Rope Swing!

My mom with Tiffany and her kids on the Peddle Boat!

Mya doing the rope swing, she didn't go from the top, but still very brave!

Tiffany wakeboarding!

After spending the day at the lake we headed to the storage to watch fireworks and set off some of our own.

Me and the boys just before the fireworks!

Aaron trying to get Asher to not be scared.

After spending the day with my family, we spent the rest of the weekend with Aaron's family. We went to a Lori's pool and had a great time. Aydan was so brave. He did the diving board and the slide. He even got stung by a wasp twice. We got him all taken care of and then back to the water and the diving board. He is getting so big. It was such a fun weekend.