Category Archives: Family: Isn’t it about time?

Eighth Month and Year

written by leslie. Filed under August and Everything After, Family: Isn't it about time?, Memory Lane. 5 Comments.

So Ryan and I decided to celebrate our 8-year anniversary in Houston, of which event we thought we could kill two birds with one stone and declare it a family vacation. Ultimately, the event was classified more as ‘trip’ than ‘vacation,’ but ah, the memories.


Upon first getting to the hotel, these three were bouncing around the hotel room like pinballs, even in pitch black at 11:30 at night, which was to be expected. Only after a little dose of Blues Clues did they settle down enough to sleep, of which Olivia, the non-cuddliest child we have would only sleep on mom’s left shoulder. (Turns out she snores AND talks in her sleep…something about cheese?) Two babies kicking me all night! :)


Ryan has been dying to go to the NASA Space Center ever since we moved here. With the girls’ recent interest in space, it seemed like a great idea. Here we are touring a little mock up of what it is like to be an astronaut.


We were able to go on a little tour and see one of the control centers.


Family picture. At this point I was not so much interested in the exhibits as getting out of the heat.


We played ‘Where’s Waldo?’ with Olivia the whole time. I loved that she brought her baby with us everywhere….Keep in mind this baby is only one of the five in her entourage!

The kicker for me was walking into what we thought would be several exhibits in this warehouse–

and seeing this! This shuttle was so huge it took my breath away. We walked around staring at it for over an hour and still were blown away.


We have shots from every angle.


Another family pic. I was impressed that random strangers kept offering to take our picture, not only that but they also knew how to work the camera.


These Asians had been working up the courage the whole tour to ask if they could grab a shot of L & M….I had to document the moment!


Can you believe we did NASA and the beach in the same day? Here we are at Galveston, my favorite part of the trip.


Liv and I lounged from these chairs while the twins built sandcastles and jumped over waves with Ryan. I love the smell of the ocean and how relaxing it is to listen to the waves. After awhile, Livvy thought it would be fun to chase Seagulls and make friends with other families, charming her way into many a beach setup. I guess she follows in the twins’ and my dad’s footsteps, always on the lookout for new friends.


Our last stop Saturday morning was at the Kemah boardwalk, which turned out to be my lesson in recognizing signs of heatstroke in pregnancy! :) I ended up camping out the whole time at Starbucks, guzzling yummy passion iced tea while Ryan attempted to take the girls, including a very height-phobic Madelyn on some rides. Needless to say, we left early. We learned our lesson not to attempt a carnival at mid-day during record heat in Houston, while 9 mos. pregnant!


The girls did eventually find a brilliant way to cool off…


Even Olivia, and baby #4.


Here’s our sweet London on the carousel, undoubtedly the only one who came out of the Kemah boardwalk happy! I’m certain the place would be a blast under different circumstances. Funny enough, the girls’ favorite part of the trip was swimming in the hotel pool and eating at Panda Express, two things we enjoy quite frequently at home. I guess everything’s just better on vacation. And the .2 minutes I got to spend with Ryan weren’t so bad either. Here’s to another eight-infinity years!

Spring Break: Chapter Three*

written by leslie. Filed under Family: Isn't it about time?. 1 Comment.

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Saturday was really rainy and cold; we decided to hit the event we’ve all been waiting for–yes that’s the Chipmunks Squeakwel. My sisters and I have been singing ‘all the single ladies’ since December, not to mention trying to learn the dance. And the girls have been going around the house saying, ‘we’re the Chipettes-uh huh!’ they picked up from their McDonald’s toys. Yes I’d say the movie was long overdue.

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We hardly dared bring Liv to a movie after the Princess and the Frog incident, however it turns out all she needed was an XL TUB of popcorn in her lap. We also threw in a few Milk Duds and Peanut M & M’s and didn’t hear a peep out of her!

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We topped off our rainy Saturday with some Rudy’s and a basketball game-who can ask for more? Ryan learned never to send a pregnant woman to order food at Rudy’s, you may come home with 4 lbs. of brisket which -who knew- would be about three times too much food. Oh well, who doesn’t mind some Rudy’s leftovers in the fridge?

* I can’t believe I am already at Chapter 3 with no other substantial memories of this day outside the Dollar Store….Good thing I am scrapping together what I can with pictures, that’s what I get for turning my brain over to the pregnancy mush!

Phobias, Revisited

written by leslie. Filed under Even scarier than Halloween, Family: Isn't it about time?, Festivities, Phobias Revisited. 3 Comments.

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So the multiple-choice question I threw out there was actually a trick question to which there are two answers:

a) and b)

Here is how we got the lights up.
I repelled out the bathroom window (we chose me because Ryan’s heavier and obviously a stronger base!) to do a couple of the staples, and then for the last two staples–yes, me at the top of the ladder which was set on an angle resting on the corner of the house, cursing, sweating, and laughing nervously. And the neighbors offered moral support so basically all of you were right. :)

Twitches 2009

written by leslie. Filed under Family: Isn't it about time?, I cheated on my diet. 4 Comments.

Honestly, we have been waiting for this Halloween ever since the twins were 6 months old and the Disney channel first aired this show -you know the one:
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they’re twins! they’re witches~they’re TWITCHES!~
Since then we’ve been twumpkins, twangaroos, and twincesses but nothing has quite the same ring to it.
Here they are on the way to their Preschool Halloween Party. I signed up to help and had a blast with all the cute kids and their costumes.

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Maddie helps turn her teacher, Miss Wendy, into a mummy! and loved every minute of it.

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Liv helps herself to a tattoo-a little kitty on her hand, that’s hard core!

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There was face painting…done by the lovely Miss Jodene dressed up like a flu shot doctor! London would not go near her the entire day.

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Face art, fishing, nail painting, a pumpkin walk are just a few of the activities.

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Here they all are lined up in their costumes-duck tails and bubbles, kiddos!

On the actual day of Halloween, we decided to go to an event at the New Life Baptist Church of all places, because they offered hayrides, with cousins Gwen and Harry-
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As Hansel and Gretel! Could their costumes have been more perfect?!

After all that anticipation, the hayrides were cancelled because of a soggy field, but we did practically get recruited into the Baptist Church and came home with a whole bunch of keychains, among other paraphanalia!

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Liv camping out at the duck pond for a solid twenty minutes.
Occasionally she made a friend or two.
An obvious monopoly over duck #2! I definitely need to install a duck pond in my living room.

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Aunt Heather comes for a night of trick or treating…
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(Love the knee socks and sandals look, who knew it would work even when you’re not a twitch?)

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Bringing her awesome costume box! Here I am as some sort of hippie go-go girl!

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Look closely, CHEETAH eyes!

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L & M were pretty hard core about trick or treating, you can tell by the stance. Apparently candy buckets on the shoulders not only looked like purses but made for hand-holding, which made them run faster too. We had a couple of other friend parties and late nights and I am starting to see why we ended up with a need for the previous post! All in all, I’d say we lived Twitches to the fullest (while hopefully anticipating a Twitches 2 edition of costuming)!

A Pumpkining We Go

written by leslie. Filed under Family: Isn't it about time?. 3 Comments.

Step One: Pick a pumpkin.
The potentials:
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Make sure to bring your grouchy, yet adorable baby sister along.

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Make sure to tell the pumpkin guy all about your Halloween costume…
(Which changes every time).

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Princess monster witch Sleeping Beauty…

Step Two: Consult the Master
Does anyone remember the year at Utah State when Ryan carved an exact image of his boss’s face into a pumpkin? Won the contest hands down.

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L & M draw up some blueprints.
Do some gutting.
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Step Three: leave the dirty work to mom and dad. Ryan and I tried to carve exactly according to L & M’s master plans. I’d say we held true.

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Silly and Scary.
Step Four: admire your work every time you leave the house, on foot or otherwise.
Hope your pumpkin can hold off from molding for two more days.

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Here is our littlest pumpkin on a happier day. She wore this shirt to L & M’s Halloween party!