I had the urge...

My mom taught me to sew at an early age. I liked to spend the time with my mom, but I got bored of sewing. I think I was just young. 

Well last night I had the urge to sew, so when I get that urge, I gotta go for it. 

I went to the the fabric store, picked out a pattern, got the fabric and "notions" (don't I sound legit?), had to go back for the interfacing (who really needs this?) and then stayed up really late (1:30 am), cutting out the pattern, the fabric, and sewing.

I was really lucky that my urge came at an economical time of savings. All the patterns and fabric were half off! Do you know how much patterns and fabric cost? Wow! 

Anyways, here is the finished product... just call me Vivien Westwood. :)

Finding her nose.

My favorite part! I love the little ball fringe and gathered material.

I can't help it... but I am really proud of my sewing abilities.

Workin' the Womb Walls

Don't get excited... or freak out, I should say. These pictures are of the twins, NOT a new litter I am delivering any time soon.

This ultrasound was taken at 10 weeks.

This ultrasound was taken at 20 weeks.

After naps, Merrick always pushes the door open and goes in to get Berkleigh. Usually Berkleigh is dying to get out of her crib, but this afternoon, she was happy to play around with Merrick. They kept pushing on the side of the pack n play. My "insides" kinda gave a sigh of relief knowing that they were pushing on some other lining besides it! Here they are enjoying a favorite pastime they frequently participated in together in the womb.  

This video was taken at 14 months, 2 weeks.

US Weekly

 You know that magazine... where they say, "The celebrities are just like 'US'". And then they proceed to show ugly pictures of Britney Spears without make up, or Patrick Dempsey walking his twins, or Jessica Alba guzzling down a latte? Well, I have a much cuter version of US Weekly...

Introducing Baby Weekly 

They eat dinner as a family!

They brush their teeth while driving when they are late for work!

They fly kites!

They read books in bed!

They chow down on hamburgers!

They work on their yoga positions!

They take their babies for walks!

They talk on the phone during meetings!

They clean up after their "raging" parties!

They read in the car to pass the time on road trips!

You say boring fridge, I say expensive fridge

As we are trying to find a new residence in Huntington Beach, we have come to grips with the fact that we have to be appliance owners before we are home owners. Thats right, you cannot rent a place in Huntington Beach without having to buy a refridgerator. I have looked at tonz of refridgerators to find one I like, that isn't to expensive... so were have a looked... craigslist of course. And I can find a boring old white one for like $100, but what happened to style, flair, and excitement. 

Instead of this boring fridge....

($500)

Or even this fridge...

($1000)

I want this fridge.....and this stove...but we're not in the market for a stove yet.

I can't decide which color I like better...

The first two are reasonably priced...the only problem is the cost of the red or teal refridgerator and the stove...

Red or Teal Refridgerator: $2995 (That is not for two refridgerators my friends! Don't be deceived!)

Teal range: $3495

Why does style, flair and excitement have such a hefty price? :)

Post Script: Any of the following will be accepted as house warming gifts in the future. :)

Fast typers

( it took me .02 seconds to write that) Well at least one of us :)

Jen:

73 words

Speed test

Tyson:
30 words

Speed test

(Can you tell I didn't want to sit and wait for the pictures to load up?)

Oh the Places We've Been Continued...

Today I looked back at pictures of our adventures in Mendecino and Glass beach. In the 40s and 50s the town of Mendecino would throw all their trash over the cliffs and into the ocean. Back then they used tons of glass. The glass smashed, mulled around and was worked over by the waves to create TONS of sea glass. We felt like pirates looking for treasure. Cute little beach town and a great beach to find sea glass. Sea glass anywhere else is super expensive... but not in Mendecino you can just search for the best pieces right from the beach!

That is all sea glass. I found red pieces, blue pieces, and then the normal sea green, green, and brown colors.

Northern California also has great redwood forests. Here we are at Muir Woods. We took a walk through the gorgeous Giant Redwoods. We might have been a little irreverent. :)

Rompin' around Muir Woods.

The Northern California uniquely beautiful rocky cliff beaches (This was summer,  it was FREEZING, I always have to wear a sweatshirt when I go up here!). 

Southern California has beaches like these, and we are excited for that.

Tyson is excited for the surfing! (If the water is warm enough... then so will I)

The pier is also host to a variety of events such as a farmer’s market, art festival and even an annual rubber duck race! (Are you kidding... for sure we are entering that!) We looked at beach cruiser on craigslist. You can get some nice ones for cheap! I think we might have to buy some, so we can exercise on the beach in style. :)

Oh, The Places "we've" Been and The Places "we'll" Go...

To keep myself from being sad about moving:

Congratulations!

Today is your day.

You'r off to Great Places!

You're off and away!

You have brains in your head.

You have feet in your shoes

You can steer yourself

and direction you choose.

You're on your own. And you know what you know.

And YOU are the "family" who'll decide where to go.

I thought of this poem by Dr. Seuss a couple times in the last month as we are coming to grips with leaving the second place we have come to know together as a couple. I love Walnut Creek. I feel like I can drive and not have to really think where I am going. We have seen all the sights, and have eaten at some great little restaurants. We developed our careers here (doctor and teacher), we became parents here, learned how to be parents here, we developed our marriage and grown closer here, we have great friends here, and we are established in our ward!  I just think of how sad it will be to leave... even if I am happy to get out of the ghetto condo we live in.  (It really isn't that bad, I'm just being dramatic.)

Some Places We've Been:

Snowboarding in Bear Valley with the Harts and the Larsens.

Chinese New Year Parade in downtown San Francisco with the Harts and the Larsen.

Oh, The Places We'll Go:

Disneyland Annual Passes! (So excited for this!!)

So to keep my spirits up, I thought I would look through our pictures and find places we've been and great memories we have created and share them a couple times a week. Then I decided to look up something in Southern California that is exciting that we can do when we get down there, so I can find closure and some excitement into the "places we'll go"... 

But this isn't really goodbye, we are only 6 hours away!

My nemesis!

So Tyson sold his paintball gun at our garage sale. With that money he got to buy an airsoft gun. Oh joy...

It reeks havoc on our house:

Exhibit A:

Our Blinds.

Exhibit B:

My favorite lamp. You can't see the hole in this picture, but Tyson did try this out as a target... grrr! :)

It reeks havoc on our kids:

Exhibit A:

 On the floor (EVERYWHERE)

In the mouth, through the digestive track...and on to Exhibit B.

Exhibit B: No Picture, and you should be thankful for that. I will describe... opened Merrick's diaper to find 3 airsoft pellets peeking out of his morning business. Yuck! I used to think teal and brown looked good together... but not like this!

He always seems to bring out the guns before we move, so when we are cleaning, we (I) find millions of those stupid pellets ALL over. Does the vacuum pick it up? No! Do I have to pick them all up by hand? Yes! Do they just multiple on there own? I actually think they do!

At least he is happy.

The cutest couple

Well this past weekend has been BUSY! A little recap and then onto the post...

Friday night we went out to eat at Mel's with our friends the Heymans and Carvers to say goodbye to the Carvers who moved to Utah. After dinner, the Carvers went home to finish packing, and we walked around downtown Walnut Creek with the Heymans. That is where the blessed date occurred between the cutest couple ever.

Here is what happened:

They walked to the fountain outside the romantic italian restaurant where the moon was high and the lights were dimmed creating the perfect atmosphere.

Merrick and Kate enjoyed each others company and babbled about the fountain and how nice the night was. There were a few momentary hand touches, but they didn't hold hands for long.

Berkleigh, feeling like the third wheel, wandered around the fountain feeling dejected and wishing for a date of her own. She found comfort and companionship in the small yips and barks of this dog. (Please don't become a dog lady Berkleigh... you are still young. You have TIME to find your true love!)

As she pondered her own life, she felt like she needed to be a better sister, and ask Kate her intentions with her twin brother. She also needs to make sure she has a good friendship with Kate if she was going to continue to date Merrick.

Once again, Merrick and Kate found each other alone together and the flirting really began!

How cute was this date. I felt honored to narrate for you and to bring this expression of  love to your knowledge!

Really, it was fun to see them interact together and we will miss the Heymans when we leave WC.

I don't have pictures for the rest of the weekend, but for the sake of journaling I want it written somewhere. 

Saturday morning, we helped pack up the Carvers ginormous truck and helped clean the house. Then Jenny and I feeling very tired and dirty, went to out for a little pampering. Pedi-s and Mani-s!

Saturday night I went with my girlfriends from school for a girls night out. We went to dinner and sang some Karaoke. So fun!

After dinner I went to chaperone the youth stake dance. A busy, but fun weekend!

Love Hate Relationship...

...with myself. 

Ok, my friend Jenny tagged me with this crazy long tag. So here goes... 10 reasons why I "stink" and 10 reasons why I "rock"...

I am tagging... Amy W. and Emily K.

Why I "stink":

1. I had a C-section with the twins and never once felt a contraction. (Some might think this is a blessing, but I want to know what it is like to give birth.)

2. I am addicted to the internet. No explanation necessary.

3. I have really stupid jokes. I get that from my dad....I used to get so embarrassed about his jokes, and now I have his personality...hmmm. A really stupid joke is the real reason Tyson's family likes me, and why Tyson married me. Maybe I will tell it sometime...

4. Merrick fell out of the Target shopping cart on my watch. I really was watching him, but he grabbed a big metal bin while I was pushing the cart and dragged himself out.

5. I hate clutter. I will throw things away that are perfectly good just because I don't have a good place for it.

6. I don't like talking on the phone. That is why I text everyone all the time. I am known to have full on discussions through text messages just so I don't have to talk to someone ON the phone.

7.  I am not a follow througher.  I always having feelings to call, email, send a card, go out to lunch with friends, and I never follow through. Like the other night at Enrichment this lady spoke about her experiences with her visiting teachers and I was so touched. I thought, "I should send her a note telling her how much that meant to me. " Did I? No! That happens at least twice a week.

8. I am stubborn. This can be good, but I have ruined a couple good friendships from being too stubborn. 

9. I bite my fingernails. (Tyson bites his too.) We were in the car the other day, both of us gnawing away, and we looked at each other laughed and said, "Our kids are hopeless."

10. I am the worst at doing laundry. I always get it in the washer, but forget to put it in the dryer. In fact... i am pretty sure there is a load in the washer right now that I put in at like 8:30 this morning. Let me check... yep. When I was in college. I hated doing laundry so I would just buy more clothes and underwear instead of actually doing it.

Why I "rock":

1. I have twins. And I have never once complained about how hard it is. 

(That doesn't count. :))

2. I don't get stressed out. I am a very calm person, and I just go with the flow... maybe that is why we were blessed with twins.

3. I can multi task with the best of them. Right now I am on the computer, eating my lunch, feed the twins their lunch, talking on the phone to the Asics company, and watching Enchanted.

How perfect is this picture!

4. I am a good teacher.  Teaching comes naturally to me. I love teaching elementary school and seldom get lessons from other teachers. When I taught kindergarten I made up every lesson and created every center, lesson etc. It was fun... thanks Brittany and Tyson and all Brittany's roommates for cutting and coloring with me. :)

5. I am spontaneous. My friends know that they can call me up, and I will drop what ever to do something fun. Like stacking doors in front of a guys apartment, or deciding last minute to drive 11 hours to Orange County from Provo to spend 24 hours and then drive back.

6.  I have an amazing memory. I can remember anything about anyone. Sometimes I lie and say I don't remember something about someone, just so I don't feel stalkerish.

7. I don't mind confrontation. Not the bad kind... I was at Target the other day buying laundry detergent and it said you got a $5 gift card if you bought this certain brand. I bought, it and they didn't give me the gift card. Apparently I misread the signs, but he gave me the $5 anyway because "I could see how you would think that!"

8. I make good pancakes. Tyson doesn't throw them out the window anymore so they must be good.

9. For not having any real artistic training, I am pretty good. I am a "closet" water colorist. I think I really just have good spacial sense and creativity. 

10. Nothing I rock at would be possible if it wasn't for a loving husband who understands me and the gospel that grounds me and helps me "rock". Love you babe.