Christmas Day

Christmas this year was a lot of fun for many reasons...mostly however...seeing the holiday from a 2 1/2 year olds perspective can simply be summed up as: simple joy.

To the kids Christmas means:
~ Santa (we are learning about Santa - whoever that is?!)
~ Christmas Tree Lights ('cuz all lights inside and out get called "Christmas Tree Lights")
~ Presents (mostly it is just about opening them because everything is: "Open It")
~ Parties (we attended and hosted many events that Mommy simply dubs: "Parties" to make it easier on everyone)

So at this point they don't completely understand the true holiday, and one day they will. But I can tell you this; they get the jist of it. And that is: simple joy.

As the year comes to an end, we have so much to be thankful for. In spite of everything that is going on around us, we have each other, family and friends. Travis got a promotion at his job and is doing exceptionally well. Despite the occasional cold, we are all very healthy. We had the pleasure of attending 5 weddings this year where we got to see special friends share in the union of marriage (have fun guys! :-) ) We had the sadness of saying good bye to people that were entirely too young to leave this earth coupled with the joy of welcoming several new babies to our circle. We made new friends in our new neighborhood and tried to stay connected to our old friends in our old neighborhood too.

All in all, it was much too busy, but a whole lot of fun with lots of special memories that were made. Again, as each day goes by and the kids grow, we get the sincere pleasure of seeing life through a 2 1/2 year olds eye. And that is only something we will get to do once, so we savor it.

Cheers to a happy and healthy 2010!


Wyatt and Teagan sharing a moment together.

On Christmas Eve they got to open a couple of presents from their G.G. so here they are in front of the tree with a couple of open presents. Then Daddy wanted to take them to the mailbox to get "Christmas Mail" so we got them all suited up in their new rain boots, jackets and hats to walk 100 yards to the mailbox! But dang - aren't they too cute?!

Eventually we had to get the kids to bed so we could get ready. We told them they had to put on their Christmas Jammies, go to the tree, and tell Santa: "We Are Ready!" So here they are shouting at the top of their lungs to Santa that they are ready!

After a couple of shots, Teagan was like: "Really?!" But as usual, Wyatt is up for whatever.

This was the living room at about midnight! Finally, Santa had come to our house so Mommy and Daddy could go to bed. Wyatt got a Fire Station, and Teagan got a kitchen.

Christmas morning...a very tired Mommy...

Wyatt got the coolest tool set with these safety goggles they can't get enough of.

Teagan got a very sweet Butterfly dress up outfit that we have only been able to get on her once. Good thing I got a picture of it! She is not very girly at this point.

And this is the family room after everything was opened. Boy! What a mess.

Teagan declared the walkway needed to get sweeped - so off she went. Wow - she is so much like her Mommy it is a little scary.

And while Teagan is sweeping, Wyatt is playing soccer. Huh.

Here we are on Christmas Day...trying to get a good shot!

3 Weeks = 3 Seasons

We have had quite the adventure packed last three weeks. It all started with our Thanksgiving trip to Cabo San Lucas, as you can see below.

When we arrived back home, it was suddenly the glorious fall season that I love so much. All the trees had turned, leaves were falling, the air was crisp, and I had an overwhelming urge to cook something in the crock pot. That is when I know it is Fall, I want to put something in the crock pot!

So I drug the family outside to rake up leaves as my parents always did to me on the weekends!

But they had a great time throwing 'em up in the air with Daddy!

Then we took our first trip to Tahoe the second weekend of December and whoosh!!! Winter had arrived.

It snowed - and I mean REALLY snowed - the entire three days we were there. I think we ended up getting a couple of feet of snow and the house was immediately buried.

This was one of the favorite activities: Daddy would literally THROW the kids into a snow bank and they would sink into the fresh powder just laughing! I am not sure if you can see her or not - but our dog Delux is there in the right side of the picture.

And of course - if you throw one - you gotta throw the other!!

Luckily our second trip to our beloved cabin this past weekend it only snowed for 1/2 the time we were there. Thankfully the kids got to experience Tahoe without snow completely dumping on them. We had quite a good time creating a sledding hill in the front yard.

My adorable husband was tireless. He made many trips up and down on the sled with both kids.

The true payoff for Travis: introducing his son to snowboarding. Watch out - by next year - these two will be tearing down the local mountains!! We had to literally pull Wyatt inside every day - he NEVER wanted to come inside from the snow. He simply LOVED the snow.

We had such a good time. Yes, it takes about 10 minutes to get everyone all suited up to go outside. And yes, we only stay outside for 45 minutes. But this is what it is all about, isn't it? Mommy and Daddy can't wait to put you in ski school next year. Love you Teagan and Wyatt.

Vacation.....?????

Whoever said that traveling to a resort location with 2 1/2 year old twins was the same as "vacation" was sorely mistaken!!

We went to Cabo San Lucas over the Thanksgiving holiday for a one week "vacation". Wow. That was a lot of work. I think from here on out....maybe 'till the kids turn 10....we will leave 'em at home with the dog sitter! :-)


It was a lot of work: think traveling with three huge suitcases, two carseats, two strollers, three carry ons and two toddlers on a 2 1/2 hour flight to Mexico. It probably took me three days to pack for the trip - I had to pack:
~ at least one potty for the condo
~ travel potty seat for public places
~ sand toys
~ plastic dishes and cups
~ their favorite foods for one week
~ overnight diapers for two kids for seven nights
~ diapers for Wyatt to nap in
~ bathing suits during the off season
~ at least two outfits per day per kid....

Then there were clothes for me and Travis. Wow. It was A LOT of stuff. But we did it!! Not one bag over 50 lbs so I was quite proud of myself.


We had a lot of fun hanging out at the beach and the pool. The kids just LOVE the beach and the pool. What water babies they are. We had to DRAG Wyatt out of the water because he would stay in there for hours if we let him. Plus, there were several occasions where he would just charge out into the ocean. These two are fearless, but Wyatt is really fearless when it comes to the water and jumping right in.

This was a shot taken latter in the afternoon of my nephews, my brother in law, my husband and the kids in the hot tub on the balcony of our condo overlooking the beach. Did I mention it was later in the day....? After a few hours at the local "Office" for the guys!

This is the main beach in Cabo San Lucas. There were no cruise ships on this day so the beach was nice and quiet. We always dug a giant hole in the sand for the kids. For some reason, they loved it!

This was taken at sunset in the Marina.

This was in the pool at the condo/resort.

The resort has this cute little putting green area. We could NEVER walk past this without Wyatt wanting to stop and play golf.

How cute are they? Truly, little mini me versions of their Mommy and Daddy.

We took a boat ride one afternoon out to the ":Lovers Beach" which is the beach between the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific ocean side.

Happy Thanksgiving!! We have a lot to be thankful for this year!!

October Fun

October was a super fun month! It was a little slower pace, but we did a lot!

We got to visit our Tahoe cabin with the kids for the first time. We talked all about Tahoe, the cabin, the lake, etc before we went to try and teach them all about it. We had a super fun weekend up there taking walks, going to the lake, and hanging out at the cabin.

Wyatt and Teagan were in heaven as we told them they could throw as many rocks as they wanted into the lake. Because at home - it is a giant No-No to throw rocks in the pool. Of course, Delux had a great weekend too.

This is our little "beach" on the lake - just two blocks from the cabin.

Wyatt flying with Daddy.

We put two twin beds into a room for the kids. Teagan slept in the big girl bed the entire night with not one disturbance. Wyatt on the other hand, couldn't really get into sleeping in that big bed all by himself. He is going to take a little more work getting used to sleeping in a big bed.

This was our pumpkin patch outing.

Teagan always seems to be a couple of paces behind Wyatt. She is not in such a hurry to get places. Wyatt runs EVERYWHERE and has to see EVERYTHING and do EVERYTHING. Teagan has a little bit different pace...

Goodrich 4-Some

Picking pumpkins...

Then you gotta carve 'em!

This was Daddy opening presents on his birthday.

We went out to a teppan yaki style dinner for Travis' big birthday celebration.

Happy Halloween!!

Teagan was a cheerleader and Wyatt was a football player. We had to dress him in the Green Bay Packers uniform because those are the colors closest to the Oregon Ducks football team.

Some friends of ours came up for the weekend and it was fantastic to have role models for Teagan and Wyatt to follow trick-or-treating. Thank you Sophie and Leo for taking Wyatt and Teagan around the neighborhood. We had such a great time!

Happy Halloween!!