Simple Stuff

Things have slowed down this week.

No vacations.
No holidays.
No anything out of the ordinary.

We've settled back into our day to day. Fine by me.

Girlfriends

This is the best girlfriend I have ever had. Ever.



We live far apart, but when we're together we pick up right where we left off. We can (and do) talk for hours about absolutely nothing. She always supports me and always gets me. She is the sweetest, kindest person I've ever known. She is such a blessing to me.

Last year we were pregnant with our boys at the same time, due just one week apart. (I swear we didn't plan it!) It was so exciting to go through pregnancy together, to shop, plan and pick out names. One problem: it's hard to travel 5 hours to see your friend when you have a baby. We went a full year without seeing each other, by far the longest in our 20-year friendship.

Last weekend I finally got to meet her little boy.




Isn't he adorable?!?

What a sweet little family she has. I can't think of anyone more deserving.

Weekend at the Lake

Hey, people. Guest blogger Nathan here. I'm going to tell you about our trip to the lake.

Last week my parents ditched me and went off to California. When they got back we loaded up the car and drove for six hours down to my Nina and Pop-pop's house at the lake. I was not happy about this and let everyone know it. They even stopped the car because of my crying! It was hilarious.

Anyway, we finally got down to the lake on Friday night. I have to admit, it was pretty nice there. Brooke and Pop-pop rode around on the golf cart. She gets to do everything.


We also went down to the dock. I watched Brooke play in the water and rocks. When I'm a little bigger I'll play in the water, too.

The next day we went out on the boat. Brooke was really into watching the motor.


She even got to drive the boat! Did I get to drive? Nope.


Everyone kept talking about how pretty it was.



I was SO not impressed. Wake me up when something exciting happens.


We docked at a little restaurant right on the lake and fed the fish and turtles. We had a great time.



Finally, I got a chance in the driver's seat. Nina made me smile and took my picture. They forgot to get Pop-pop to smile, though.


And that was my fun weekend at the lake. Thanks Nina and Pop-pop!

Hair

I love baby hair!

Both of mine started with a full, dark head of it.




Then came a bit of an awkward phase as it all fell out.




Then came the blond fuzz. My favorite!




Nathan finally required a haircut last week. My mom did the honors.


Maybe I waited a little too long.


Cutting a baby boy's hair makes him look more grown-up. Instantly.

V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N!

This blog is supposed to be about the babies but, seriously, my last post was about my filthy house. An actual trip is big news! Scot and his coworkers earned a trip to Huntington Beach, California. We left the kiddos with Grandma and off we went.

We had a blast wandering around California for four days, looking like complete tourists. I rented a fancy-smancy camera and got some pretty good pictures.

The hotel and beach...




Winery in Temecula. The entire place smelled like flowers.




What did I take pictures of before kids? Here's me taking a picutre of me taking a picture of the vineyards.


At Laguna Beach we shopped, ate and walked on the beach.



Without the babies around, Scot and I actually got a picture of us.


That's our trip, in a nutshell. We also ate at some amazing restaurants but I resisted pulling out the camera at dinner.

Now we're back home with loads and loads of laundry that I should be doing instead of blogging. The babies are worn out and coming off their week-long sugar binge. It was so fun while it lasted.

It's Snowing

One of my Facebook friends quoted Phyllis Diller in her status a few weeks ago. The quote said something to the effect that cleaning up after your children is like shoveling the sidewalk while it's still snowing.

I think I understand.

Here's my bathroom. Seriously.


Where do you keep your stuffed duck-billed platapus? We keep ours by the sink, apparently.


And now for a little experiment. Hypothesis: my two will tear this room up in about 5 minutes. This is the "before" shot.



Ready, go!


Brooke likes to pretend she is a princess sleeping in the dress-up box. Of course, this requires taking all the clothes out first. Pretty sure this is just a way to torment me.




That's right, Nate. Get in there and pull out all the books. You may be little, but you're mighty.


At the 5 minute mark the room is a disaster. I was right, but somehow, I'm still the loser here.

Really, I don't mind the mess. Usually. That's us right now and that's totally fine. So come on over and play. You may have to move the grocery cart to go to the bathroom, but these guys will show you how to have a good time.

A Little Less Talk...

...a lot more pictures!

I have a few favorites right now.


This is one of my all-time favorite pictures of Brooke. Her expression is so serious, but the sand in her ear tells a whole different story.



Nate HATES the grass. If I put him in it he gets up on his toes and alternates hands so that as little of him touches the grass as possible. Like a good mama, I plopped him in the middle of the yard and got the camera.



After our photo session I rescued Nate from the grass and we tickled and played. Daddy grabbed the camera and got this one.



My girl loves her pink toes. I love that my girl loves her pink toes.



Every girl needs some shades.



The other day the city changed the light in the street lamp in front of our house. This is exciting stuff around here.



A (very) unexpected sweet moment. Ahhh...