Friday, December 28, 2012

Top TEN Moments of 2012

I've been terrible at keeping this blog updated, so instead of trying to catch up, I've decided to post our TOP TEN favorite moments or things from this past year. (Although Christmas is probably one of them, it will have a post of its own!) We can now say that it has been a very fun, happy, exciting, learning, growing, tiring year—and we wouldn't have it any other way!



Number 1: Watching these two grow! These pictures were taken early last year, so they are around 6 months old. We can't believe how much they've grown over what feels like a very short year! 


Number 2: Going to Disneyland as a family! We flew to Cali in February hoping for a little more warmth, but it was actually pretty darn cold and we had to wear layer upon layer of clothes. (It rained a bunch while we were there, contrary to these "sunny" pics!) Nonetheless, it was definitely an unforgettable trip for everyone (well except maybe the two 7-month olds!).


Number 3: Watching these sweet kiddos bond! Izzie was basically a baby herself when we added two more to the group, but it has been amazing watching these three play with and love each other so much. 

Number 4: Bath time is always fun at our house! Wait, did I say fun? I meant dreaded. Or at least it was about 6 months ago. Now it actually is pretty fun. And crowded. :)

Number 5: Visiting our babies in Morgan. Five years have passed since our sweet angels came and went so quickly. This is a tender moment for us every year as we miss our sweet Brock and Mia so much!


Number 6: Our annual trip to Thanksgiving Point for the Tulip Festival. We started going to the Tulip Festival in 2007. After being bed ridden in the hospital for two weeks and having Brock and Mia but not being able to take them home, that year we especially just needed to get out and move around. It was beautiful and refreshing in a time that both those things were desperately needed. Now we go and enjoy the beauty of it all with our sweet kiddos that are here with us. We love it!


Number 7: Todd and I had our first night away from the kiddos around the end of June. We stayed in Midway with the youth of our ward for their "Super Activity." We also were able to go hike and see Timpanogos Cave, which was very cool—literally—with amazing formations and some "odd" smells. 

Number 8: Our individual getaways! I was able to visit my cute friend, Jennifer, in Philadelphia last May while Todd stayed home with all three kids. Todd went on a couple awesome hikes over the summer and visited Lake Powell in September (sorry, couldn't find those pics!).'



Number 9: Birthdays! Tate and Emmy had their big FIRST birthday with a huge party. Izzie celebrated number 3 with her favorite princess at the time, Rapunzel. These kids are just growing up way too fast!

Number 10: Our BIG trip to Big Sky, Montana with all of the Barlows. That's what Izzie called it because we had to drive for so long in the car. She still talks about the BIG trip and wonders when we can go back. It was a great time with Todd's family. We played games, went on hikes, watched the Olympics, and just relaxed (with two 1-year-olds, yeah right!). 

AND a few BONUS moments:



Our many visits to the zoo and the aquarium. It was fun watching Tate and Emmy start to actually notice the animals that we walked by, and even imitating some of the sounds. Izzie was always very excited to see the cute polar bear and was lucky to get a front row seat to his swimming and tricks several times!



Going on the "party boat" with Grandma and Grandpa Mikesell. The kids all loved it despite the frowny faces in the picture. We had a picnic as we floated and dangled our toes in the water.

Walking around the neighborhood with these three cuties for Halloween! Tate really started to get the hang of grabbing the candy by the time we were done. And Izzie was the perfect Rapunzel—we thought her hair looked so real! And Emmy was just the sweetest little kitty anybody had ever seen. :)

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Izzie Turned 3!

It's hard to believe my sweet Izzie Boo is now 3! We had a fun "Rapunzel" birthday party with both sets of grandparents and great grandparents. Her request for dinner was mac and cheese (something she asks for almost on a daily basis!). Besides mac and cheese, Izzie always wants chocolate milk and apple juice, as well as "mommy's" crackers (Reduced-Fat Wheat Thins!). She's been loving Barbies and was excited when she got some of her very own princess Barbies as gifts. Her current favorite movie is Barbie Princess and the Pauper (which is super cute!). She also really enjoys watching Disney's Robin Hood, as well as The Sound of Music. She is a great little singer and sings songs from all her favorite shows. She loves playing with her brother and sister, and especially love playing chase around the island in the kitchen with Tate. She also loves playing with her new Barbies and anything princess. Mommy had to make her a princess cape so she could run around with it on. She tells us that mommy and her cousin Halle are her best friends. She is the sweetest thing and we just can't get enough of her!












Monday, September 10, 2012

Big Sky Montana

In August we went on another amazing trip with Todd's family up to Big Sky, Montana. It's a beautiful little ski resort town just 45 minutes past West Yellowstone. We've gone a few times now and LOVE it! We were in the same house as last year and had some exciting bear sightings just up the street from us. When we arrived they told us to make sure and lock our car doors as the bears had been OPENING them if unlocked! How scary is that? You can bet we were all on high alert after hearing that—we didn't want them opening the doors to the house too.

We had delicious food and all sorts of yummy snacks while we were there, as well as days full of fun activities. We hiked to Ousel Falls (a family favorite!), we drove into Yellowstone (not so much a favorite—we were in the cars for 12 hours that day and we did not see ONE buffalo the whole time!), we had a girl's night in Bozeman complete with pedicures and dinner, and the last day of the trip was river rafting with another bear sighting. Needless to say, we had so much fun! Izzie loved playing with all the "big" girls and running around the house with her cute little cousins. Every night she was just exhausted and went to sleep within minutes of laying down.

We tried to take pics, but this is about all we got. Todd asked why we never take pictures anymore and my answer was that we are each always holding or chasing a baby! Hopefully we will start doing better soon!

Curtis took this family pic of everyone. Turned out super cute!

Todd and Tate on the hike.

Me and Emmy (who is doing Patty Cake!)

The whole fam a "little" falls. (Emmy is still doing Patty Cake!)

Hanging out with daddy and cousin Eve at the top of the hike.

Cuties!!!

Walking back down.

Sweet little Emsies!

In Yellowstone, taking a break from strollers and car seats.

Izzie with her cute little cousin Lincoln.

Looking at a pretty waterfall!

Emmy chilin' with Grandma B. 

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Twins are ONE!!!

On July 30, 2012 we made it to the one year mark! Happy birthday kiddos! Some days this last year seemed like they lasted forever while others were gone in a blink. Either way, getting to this point really feels like an accomplishment. We love our twinners SO MUCH and wouldn't change anything about our cute, sweet family. So to finish out our year we had a big birthday party with both of our families and it was a great time! The next day we got the much anticipated stats for Tate and Emmy. We couldn't wait to see what their growth had been, especially because of our super sweet chunker Tate. He's so much bigger than his sister! Funny thing is that we feed them the same, though he may sneak a few extra bites in. Anyway, here are the stats followed by birthday pics!

TATER BUG
25 pounds, 12 ounces: 87th%
30.5 inches: 74th%
Head: 99th%

EMMY SUE
19 pounds, 2 ounces: 19th%
29 inches: 48th%
Head: 48th%






 (This was when we took the cake away!)










Our Little Angels

Our Little Angels
Brock and Mia, April 17, 2007