All of my Boys

First of all, I think it's GREAT that all three boys were playing happily with the same toy. I can't wait until they can all really play together.

And I love Zach's face here. He's not really mobile yet, but he has managed to roll his way under the changing table and now he's not quite sure what to do.

And Josh and Luke just look so cute together, all snuggled up, just waking up from a good night's sleep.

I do love my boys; all of them. And I can finally say that I'm grateful I have twins. It's still really hard sometimes, but it's only sometimes instead of all the time, and that is a huge accomplishment.

My Little Girl is Five

She made it! and so did we; Brooke is now a five year old. Her birthday was a "few" days ago for those of you in the know, but hey, we do the best we can to get things posted, whenever it may be that that actually happens.

This was her birthday cake, and although I was kind of disappointed with it, she loved it!

Then a couple of days later we had her party, and did ice cream cone cupcakes.

In the end, Brooke had a blast, and is loving all of her new toys.

Richard G. Scott

On Sunday, our stake got lucky, and Elder Scott came for a visit. Everyone speculated as to why a member of the twelve would come and visit our small and seemingly insignificant stake. Was there going to be a new stake president? Maybe the stake boundaries were going to be changed? In the end, I still don’t really know why he was here, but at our house we made a big deal about it. Last Monday night our FHE lesson was on prophets, and we specifically talked about Elder Scott coming. Brooke, without any prompting on my part, decided that she wanted to shake his hand. I think there was a story in the Friend a while back about the primary kids shaking an apostle’s hand; she might have gotten the idea there. She prayed every night and every other time it was her turn to say the prayer that she would get to shake his hand, and I have to admit I was worried that I might not have enough faith to see her goal through.

Sunday came, and we were out the door by 8:30 for a 10:00 meeting . . . well, me and Brooke and Josh. There was no way on Earth we were going to make the twins sit there for that long too! (They showed up at 9:45.) Fifteen minutes later we were at the stake center, and upon walking into the chapel, we found that it was already 80% full, and some people were already sitting in the cultural hall. But after hearing Brooke pray all week, I was NOT sitting in the cultural hall. I walked into the chapel determined to find a seat when a kind usher stated that he had been instructed to fill the chapel (i.e. you couldn’t save seats) and so we sat down in someone else’s saved seat, about 2/3 of the way back, but in the chapel!

The meeting started early, and was really rather uneventful. Several of the local leaders bore their testimonies and then Elder Scott spoke for the last hour. When he started his talk he told a joke, “If you always want to wake up with a smile on your face, go to bed with a coat hanger in your mouth”.




I guess Brooke and Josh took him seriously!

The rest of the hour was spent talking about teaching your children, dressing modestly, the other side of the veil and then he bore his testimony, and the meeting was over. Towards the end of his talk Brooke asked when we could go home (I can’t really blame her since she had been sitting there for three hours), and I told her it was almost over, to which she replied, “Mom, I haven’t shaken his hand yet!”

The meeting ended, people got up slowly, lingering in case there was more, and while they lingered, Brooke booked it to the stand. Josh wanted to go with her, but in the end he was too scared.

She got up there as only a child can, weaving her way around people’s knees, and yes, shook Elder Scott’s hand! He asked her for her name and talked to her for a minute and then went on to the other people on the stand, and then left. Apparently his flight home made it so he really couldn’t stay long after the meeting ended.

I have to admit I cried. She was so determined and had so much faith, and I was so proud of her. She’ll be five in two weeks, she’s old enough to remember some of the things that happen to her now, and I KNOW she’ll remember this event for a long time. I will too.

And Now a Sad One

Josh was walking on the sidewalk last week with his hands in his pockets when he tripped and landed FLAT on his face. His face looked sooooo bad and I felt soooooo bad for him. He was super brave! We let him eat all the Popsicles he wanted, but since it hurt so bad to eat, he really didn't want them. It's been five days now, and aside from a few scabs, he's back to normal.

A Few Funny Frames

Luke and Zach (and the rest of us) finally made it to six months! I can't believe it. There were many, many, many times I didn't think this would ever happen. For now, they are still in the same crib, but so much for the pillow that keeps them on "their" side of the bed! They also just had their six month check up. Luke is a hefty 18lbs 1 oz and Zach came in at 16lbs 5 oz, so they are still just about two pounds apart; they are both 28 1/4 inches long.

For the most part, we are all surviving, although everybody but me has had the flu in the last two weeks. Other bits of news include Luke and Zach's first "meal" consisting of homemade rice cereal and bananas. Ymmm.

Luke loves to be on his tummy and I love the way he rests his head like this when he gets tired of holding it up. It is so adorable!

This was just funny because Brooke loved her balloon so much she couldn't bear the thought of not sleeping with it.

And lastly, this was one of the funnest days on record. Josh is out in the hail, and although you can't see her in this picture, Brooke was out playing in it too. This was such a crazy weather day because it was sunny, rainy and then it hailed and then it was sunny again. The kids had so much fun getting their rain gear on and playing in the hail, and of course for anyone who knows Brooke, she had to eat it too.

Shoe Tied?

She did it, all by herself! About a week ago Brooke came up to me and asked me how to tie her shoes. So I showed her . . . once . . . and then she did it! It was amazing!

Here is the finished product. It looks so good!

Josh thought it was so cool that I have now been demoted and Brooke has been promoted to the only acceptable shoe tie-er in the house (not that I mind),

and yet again, she did a terrific job.

Costumes

These are my little candy corns. Although they are happy in the picture, Zach HATED his hat. I'm still amazed that we got even one good picture with it on!

Luke is above and Zach below.

Brooke, who always a ham for the camera now days, is Tinkerbell ( her wings aren't on yet), and Josh is a dragon. Sadly though, Josh had a pretty high fever on Halloween, so he only went to a few houses, and then we called it a night for him. However, the nice thing about young children is that Brooke felt so bad for him, she gave him well over half of her stash. It melted my heart to see her be so loving, generous and sensitive to her brother's feelings!

Jack-o-lanterns

The Pumkin Patch

I did it! I managed, with the help of a friend, to get all of the kids to the pumpkin patch this year. Brooke and Josh were going for their preschool, and the wanted the parents there as well. I can only imagine what it would have been like for the teacher if it was just her and both of her classes at the pumpkin patch, all by herself . . . a total nightmare! So I loaded us all up and off we went. Brooke and Josh had a blast. Can you see the pathetic pumpkin they give out!?! It was more of a hassle to hang on to than it was worth!

Brooke picked the pumpkin without a stem, she seemed to think that made it cuter!

Here are the boys just hanging out. They really did very well. The ended up staying awake almost an hour longer than they normally prefer, but since there was so much going on, they didn't seem to mind, and handled themselves quite nicely.

This is both classes. A class for four year olds, and one for three year olds.

Oh the humor of it

I just finished reading Oliver, and so I borrowed the musical from the library, and it has the greatest line. Fagin is singing and thinking about his situation in life when he says,

Can a villian be a villian all his life?
All the trials and tribulations,
Better settle down and get myself a wife.

Good thinking right? Well then he says,

And a wife would cook and sew for me
and come for me and go for me
And go for me and nag at me
the fingers she would wag at me
The money she would take from me
a misery she'd make of me . . . .
I think I'd better think it out again!

I just had to laugh. I think it's one of the funniest lines in the whole movie. I had to watch it and rewatch it a dozen times; I couldn't get enough. Clearly he doesn't have a gospel perspective!

They are GROWING!!

I really can't believe it, mostly because I never thought I would survive, but my boys are 4 1/2 months old!, and since they haven't been in many of the posts lately, I thought it was about time. Can you tell which one is which? To me there are a couple of things that make it obvious, but I'll let ya'll guess and then fill you in. However, this next little update should also help immensely. Luke and Zach had their 4 month check up and Luke is coming in at 17lbs. 4oz., and Zach is 15lbs. 1oz. I still can't believe that all of that growing has been solely produced by me because as of yet neither has had even a drop of formula (although they have both tasted ice cream . . . don't tell the dr.!)
Both boys are still doing great and on average I get 6 hours of solid sleep every night, which is amazing, when it use to be 2 1/2 MAX! They go down between 7:30 and 8:30, wake up to feed once and wake up in the morning between 6:30 and 7:30. Not to shabby, although I long to sleep through the whole night. The last little note here is that both boys can also roll over. Luke from his back to his belly and Zach from his belly to his back. Really, they are the cutest things ever and I love being their mom!

This is the Same Girl

To get this out of the way first, here is a picture of the kitchen table. Not to shabby for $150.

This is the reason for the post. I'm not sure if you remember, but a few months back Brooke found my wedding dress and put it on, and like every other girl, dreams of her wedding, being a princess and loves everything pink! Ya, and then she shows up with this in her hand. Although she didn't actually catch it, her friend Coby did, she did play with it. . .

love it, and want to bring it to bed with her (until I told her she couldn't) all night long! I'm just amazed that these two girls exist inside the same girl. I guess I just always thought you were either one or the other, not both. You either dressed up and played princess or you ran around with the boys and played baseball. Apparently not. I think this is just one the many times in my life that my children will amaze me and prove me wrong.

This I just had to throw in because he made such a mess!

A Day of Firsts

Yesterday was a day of firsts at our house. The first thing that happened was Ruston caught his first Salmon! We are so blessed to live about 10 minutes away from the Puyallup River where about a million salmon head up river from August through September. Ruston left at noon and was home by 3:00 with 4 very large Salmon. Now for those of you in the know, he caught pinks. Because the twins were born this year, I knew it would be almost impossible for me to get out and catch anything, so Ruston made it part of birthday present to catch a salmon. This makes my birthday the best birthday ever!

The picture above shows the largest one that Ruston came home with. In the bottom right corner you can see Brooke's hands around another one (she's next to the neighbor boy).

Here's Ruston with all four Salmon and all of the neighbor kids standing around in awe.

Another first for the day was that I have officially started running again. I did go on one run a while back, but decided I wasn't ready yet. So yesterday was my official first run after having twins. I ran 2 miles, but I'm not going to mention how long it took me to accomplish this. All I'm going to say is that I only had to walk once for about 20 yards.

The last first for the day was that we bought our first real kitchen table. For the last 8 1/2 years we have either not had one, or used the most midget table you've ever seen that we bought in college for $40. When the twins were born and we had someone with us for about 3 months and there was no room at the table, not to mention one of the chairs didn't have a back, we decided it was time to do something about our pathetic table. Unfortunately at that time, we didn't have the time to do anything about it. This weekend we had the time, and the right thing came up on craig'slist for the right price and we bought it. We now have a nice dark brown, oak table with six very solid, very nice chairs. We've officially grown up!

First Day of Preschool

Brooke and especially Josh have been so excited all summer long for preschool to start, and on Tuesday it finally did! They both go once a week and then come home with an extended learning packet for me to do with them. It is more work for me, but I enjoy the chance to sit down with them one and one. There are very few moments in my life that get to be spent with just one child and I treasure the opportunity.Josh and his Thomas the Train backpack . . . his pride and joy.

Brooke picked her outfit out all by herself. I have to admit, the girl's got style (today!).

Our Summer Adventures

This is in no particular order, so we'll start with our trip to the beach. We were supposed to meet the youth in our ward who were going to be at the beach all day, but due to bad weather and a wedding that night that the Bishop had to officiate, they left just as we got there. So instead of having all these young women to help me with the boys, it was just our family. A note here, the REAL beach is a two and a half hour drive from Seattle, so we weren't just going to turn around and go home. Instead we drove our car out onto the beach (like everyone else), except that we got STUCK! Fortunately, the nice people there helped us get unstuck. Then Ruston went off with Brooke and Josh to fly a kite and I stayed back to put the boys to sleep and then scour the beach for leftover firewood that we could reuse to cook our hot dogs. I did eventually get enough for a fire, but just as I was getting it started it started to drizzle the typical Pacific Northwest drizzle. Nothing to drench you right off, but after 45min. in it you are surprisingly soaked! At this point the boys woke up, so I took them to the car to feed them and Ruston started cooking the hot dogs with the kids. The hot dogs turned out great, except that I unknowingly bought the hot and spicy ones. So the kids took one bite, and were desperate for water! This is where I threw in the towel. Now we are all soaked, covered in sand and hungry, so we cleaned up as best we could, went to McDonalds, and went home! We'll try the beach again another time.

This is my birthday, my last good birthday as I am now officially 29!, and will be for the rest of my life. What made this day interesting was that Ruston tried so hard to do a lot of cool things that flopped. For one, he tried to come home early, and would have until he took the wrong bus after getting off the train and headed to Tacoma instead of home. He did get me sushi, but due to the bus thing by the time he got back into Bonney Lake, it had been sitting for over an hour. And lastly, we ran out of cake mixes at the last minute, so although he wanted to make a cake, when there aren't any mixes around, you're late getting home from work and you have four kids four and under, there's really only so much you can do about it. All in all though, it was a fun day and I appreciated all the effort Ruston put into it.

This pic is from the ZOO. Yes, with the help of my mother and neighbor, I took the family to the zoo. Brooke loved the petting zoo, Josh on other hand thought the animals were going to eat him, and would NOT feed them!

Lastly, for this post, Ruston took the kids salmon fishing. As part of my birthday present, since I don't really have time to go fishing right now, he is going to catch me a salmon. Josh had a ton of fun casting out and reeling in, as did Brooke. However, all they managed to catch was Ruston in the rear end! Fortunately, it didn't take long to untangle that and no one got hurt. I'll have to admit that I think it is so fabulous that we can drive ten minutes from our house and go salmon fishing, it has to be one of the greatest things about living in Seattle.

Luke Laughing

I hope this worked. Luke can laugh now and it's the cutest thing ever! Zach wants to, but hasn't quite figured it out all the way. He just opens his mouth all the way and ends up smiling for a long time instead of laughing.

It's nice to find some joy in all of this work!

The Baby Blessing

Here are some photos from the eventful day. Actually, it's kind of wierd, but Ruston and I aren't really into the whole big deal of it all. My wonderful friend Katie mailed us the blessing outfits her boys used, and so we put our boys in them, took them to church and blessed them.

Ruston did do a wonderful job with the blessings. . . but then it's a blessing, and doesn't that really mean that Heavenly Father has good things in store, not Ruston? Anyway, he did a good job, the blessings were fabulous, and it was nice to have Grandma and Grandpa Pack here (but mostly it was nice to have them here because Grandpa took Josh on his first fishing trip where the caught the usual . . . nothin'.)

Bring them up in the way they should go . . .

I think the scripture says something to the extent of, "Bring them up in the way they should go and when they are grown they won't depart from it". It's certainly not word for word, but boys, were banking on it. GO COUGARS!

As an FYI, they had their two month check up and Luke (on the left) weighs 13 lbs. 4 oz. and Zach weighs 12 lbs. 4 oz. They are just chunkin' it up, and I couldn't be a prouder mama.

My Other Hero

Okay, so the accommodations were terrible (a mattress in the living room), the work load overwhelming, and the food . . . actually that might have been the only redeeming aspect of this job. However, the memoreies instilled in those she served will never be forgotten. Thanks to a wonderful mother-in-law who cooked, cleaned, did laundry, and tended to all of our needs . . .

THANKS!!!

She was a life saver and we certainly couldn't have made it through the month of June without all of her efforts.