Ten On Tuesday

Well, we are back from Kansas so today's post will be just some of the things we did on our trip.

1)  We went to a great park/zoo in Independence with Grandma Rollins..  The girls had a blast being able to go wherever they wanted.. Later in the week we went back and rode the little train there & also the carousel.   Mom & Dad didn't do so well on the carousel...as soon as it started going around we were looking for ways to bail off :)!

At the park

2)  We saw lots of cows at Grandpa & Grandma Rollins' now the twins both say "cow."  They both liked them until one got a little too close to Audrie when we went out with Kenny to feed.  She got spooked when one was pretty much nose to nose with her.

3) They LOVED riding the 4 wheeler.  As soon as they heard it, they wanted on.

4) Their Aunt Paula brought them a teeter totter that belonged to she & my mom.  They too, are identical twins.  The girls will have many hours of fun to come on it.  So sentimental, too!  Justin & Kenny are in the process of restoring it a bit...they cut new seats, etc

5)  The girls went to their first Lyons High School football game...we didn't stay long, but they went.  We also got the chance to see their cousin London play baseball!  We had a lot of fun at the game!

6)  While we were in Wichita we got to visit our friends Dawn & Casey.  The girls had a great time playing with their little girl Kenzie!

7)  The girls got to see their Uncle Shannon while we were in Wichita, too. Shannon & I took the girls to dinner & everyone kept thinking he was the Dad.  The girls weren't on their best behavior...normally they don't make a peep at restaurants...they just people watch.  But I guess they though they could get away with it since Justin wasn't there.

Audrie with Shannon

8)  On the last Saturday we were there, my cousin Anna had everyone over to her house for a little Halloween party.  Anna plays the piano and the girls loved sitting down and banging the keys with her.

9)  On Halloween we went to Chanute and trick-or-treated with Madi & Molly.  The twins had a blast..it was so fun watching them run around the streets.  Audrie was Strawberry Shortcake & Ellie was Lemon Meringue.

Audrie with Justin & Molly...Ellie with Madi & her friend

 10)  While we had a great time and it was fantastic to spend time with family...we are also so...very...glad...to be home!  I'll have lots more pictures to come, I just have to finish going through all 350 of them!

Ten On Tuesday

1)  Audrie has been really cuddly this past week.  I don't know what's up with it, but I like it!

2)  I've realized I've been slacking on taking pictures and need to start getting more shots.    I think it's partly because I'm really critical of all of the pictures I take & partly because the girls are always moving and hard to get pictures of...whatever the case, I'm going to work on taking more. 

3)  When we walk through the garage to get in the car;   normally I hold the girls' hands while we navigate the small step down to the car.  One day, I was a little slow on grabbing their hands so Audrie grabbed Ellie's hand as they stepped down so they didn't fall going down the step. Priceless!

4)  I've taken up running for the past 10 weeks or so....I still don't LOVE running, but it's an easy way to get in some exercise in the morning before the girls wake up.  It's also kind of peaceful...I'm not sure what race I'm going to run...but thinking I may shoot for the Half Marathon in January.  Don't hold me to this though!

5)  When we play catch, when I'm getting ready to throw the ball I would say to the girls, "Back up, back up, back up...Now Audrie trys to say it to me as she backs up.

6)  Don't judge...we bought leashes for the girls.  Cute back pack leashes.  I told myself I would NEVER put my kid on a leash, but I think Mothers of twins play by a different set of rules.  Soon, they aren't going to want to be in a stroller which is great for containing them.  When you let them walk, they tend to bolt in 2 different directions.  If I ever have hopes of taking them anywhere by myself at this age (out of a stroller), I need some way to keep them with me as they are too independent to let you hold their hand.  Not sure I like the leash idea, but we'll see if it works. 

Audrie with her monkey leash

7) The girls have a foam alphabet letter set for bath time.   For some reason, Audrie always puts the yellow 7 in the yellow cup; never any other letter or number.  It's always the yellow 7...weird.  Wonder if she knows the number 7 or she just likes to match the colors? 

8)  We had a first trip to Greasewood Flat with the girls last weekend. 

9)  The twins haven't woke in the middle of the night in months and months & months.  Last night Ellie was crying from 2-4 AM.   Thank you Molars!

10)  We leave for Kansas in the morning...

5 O'Clock

This is what 5 o'clock looks like at our house

Ten On Tuesday

1)  The girls are both trying to jump this week.  So funny as their feet never come close to leaving the ground, but they've got the right idea.

2)  Can't wait for the girls to have some chilly weather so they can wear their new boots.  They love stomping around in them.  Also, so glad we can still buy fake "UGGS" for them & they could care less.

3)  Ellie is such a smiley thing & Audrie has such a serious face most of the time.   She probably laughs aloud more, but always has such a serious look.

Audrie with her serious face & her curls

And Ellie with her big grin

4)  I received the Halloween costumes that were made for the girls...Strawberry Shortcake & Lemon Meringue. 

5)  Ellie thinks the laundry hamper from their room is where ALL of their toys should be put away.

6)  Again, can't wait for cooler weather.  They are outgrowing all of their summer clothes so I'm ready for their winter wardrobe.

7)  We are officially done with swimming for the summer.  Robyn came over for the last time yesterday...she's been coming once a week to swim with the girls.  I need to post a video of one of their last swim...they absolutely amaze me!

8)  8 more days and we should be in Kansas minus any more flight fiascos.

9)  Recently Ellie has been the more talkative one & it used to be Audrie.

10)  They have both mastered doing the sign for milk.  

Flight Fiasco!?!?

So, here it is the end of September and we are supposed to be in Kansas.  However, after 6+ hours in an airport, 1 missed 10 year class reunion,  & lots of waiting family; we are still in Arizona.  We were scheduled to fly out at 7:35 AM last Friday.   We boarded the plane and everything was going smooth;  that is until they told us they needed to have the plane looked at and we'd need to get off of the plane.  We were flying out of Mesa-Gateway Airport which is teeny tiny...Allegiant is the only airline that flys out and they only fly 2 flights per week.  So after we waited until about 11:30 AM  with 15 month old twins we'd had enough and left. The girls actually did surprisingly well...they only got mildly cranky for a few minutes when they were ready for a nap.  Imagine 2 germaphobes like Justin & I stuck in an airport with babies for 6 hours... WHEESH!, NOT FUN!!  So, long story short...we re-booked our flight on Southwest for Oct. 13th....I don't think we will be flying the friendly skies with Allegiant anytime soon! :) 

On to other news....Ellie is quite a little card. Apparently whatever she likes to babble about is pretty funny.  Justin and I get tickled at her because she'll go on & on about something then at the end she'll just start laughing. Meanwhile, she's talking with her hands the whole time...she comes by that honest.



They've both become good little helpers around the house...however I still can't get them to put their toys away.  Every time we come in the back door, I take their shoes off...both girls grab their shoes and walk them over to the cubby by the front door where we keep their shoes.  They also like throwing things in the trash.  Lately it's become slightly easier to keep the kitchen floor clean.. After a meal or snack, when they are done they pick up all of the food off the floor and put it in my dustpan to put in the trash.

On to a couple of pictures...

So this picture now hangs in our dining room...I was pretty proud of myself for laying it out in Photoshop.  I love the way it turned out!

Audrie & Ellie coloring

15 Months!

Today marks 15 months for the girls...

Another day at a Splash Pad

Yesterday Ellie started feeding herself with a spoon.  They've both been "kind of" feeding themselves, but yesterday was the first day I put the bowl on their tray and left it.  Normally I just let them stick their spoon in while I hold the bowl.  Yesterday, Audrie seemed to enjoy putting her hand in the bowl rather than the spoon though, so she's got some work to do.  One thing to note is that Ellie is using her left hand.. a lefty perhaps?  Not sure yet, but maybe?

Audrie loves hanging her feet off the couch

Audrie Will Hate Me For This Picture Later

I'm positive Audrie will hate this picture later, but I love it!  We were getting ready to get in the pool yesterday, and Audrie was running around naked before we got her suit on her. 

And just a quick thing that I forgot to document on here about a month ago.  The girls are officially "off the binkie."  They were just using it for naps & night, but about a month ago we took it away cold turkey.  We had a couple of pretty rough naps, but in a few days they forgot all about it.