Who says?

 Who says you can't post Thanksgiving and Christmas pictures in the middle of February? Hopefully no one. We had a wonderful holiday season, and once again, enjoyed living closer to our families for the occasions. It's nice not to deal with long plane rides, layovers in crowded airports, adjusting kids to time zone changes, living out of suitcases for weeks and weeks in an effort to make the costly airfare worth the trip, saying good-bye to loved ones who won't be seen again for many months, etc. Hmm...now that I'm thinking of all those things I realize saying "it's nice" is an understatement. It's really, really, REALLY nice.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 Merry Christmas!

 What's with the hands in the mouths?? Silly girls.

This special occasion is the first night the girls shared a room together. Audrey got the boot from our room and Bryn was happy to receive her. However, the transition has been a bit tough. I don't think Audrey is as happy about the new set-up as the rest of us are.

Get Real

You know how blog life can kind of be misleading sometimes? I mean, most people post the highlights of their lives: days when they changed out of their pjs and put make-up on, activities when the kids are laughing and smiling, etc. Staying up-to-date about a person's life via blog entries can give sway to the impression that their life is always blissful, their children always obedient, their time filled with DIY projects or master chef recipes that always turn out amazing, and their calendars booked with perpetual vacations. I don't think blog life is meant to deceive, who doesn't want to look back and reflect on all the wonderful moments? But sometimes its refreshing to get a glimpse into a person's reality. And folks, here's a glimpse into mine:  

They are cute and smart and funny and wonderful and I feel like the luckiest lady ever to be their mommy. That is my reality. But is this the darling photo session showing off my adorable kids I envisioned? Not so much. No matter how hard I tried, the bribes I offered or the threats I made, I could not convince Bryn to put her pants on. Audrey, jealous of her sister's nudity, chose to go with the exposed mid-riff look. And by their far-off looks, lack of smiles, and mid-sentence mouth posture, you would never guess that I was behind the camera being as silly and charming as I could possibly be to evoke simultaneous smiles. This too, is my reality. And I still love it. 

Festive October

I heard talk of people starting to listen to Christmas music in October. Not us. Last year we were in So. Africa where Halloween goes mostly uncelebrated, so we were excited to live up the Halloween festivities to the fullest all month long.

Happy Friday!

Plethora of Pictures

Here it goes:

Audrey had a few weeks early on that were pretty rough. Her little tummy had problems digesting and she was in pain (and screaming) nearly all the time. I tried every recommendation given to me, but ultimately it just took a little time for her system to mature and now she is Heaven to be around. Justin's expression in the picture is a good depiction of how we felt during those few weeks:

Audrey doin' her thang:

 

Family reunion at Bass Lake:

We had so much fun at our family reunion...it tuckered these two out!

Bryn chose to wear this princess outfit to church (the yellow skirt to match the yellow top is under the blue skirt which are both on top of her church skirt...haha). Yay for vacation!

Justin did a hilarious song at the skit night using one of Grandma's wigs and the bro-stache app

A little dirt never hurt

 The week of Cody:

Can't you see the plea in Audrey's eyes?..."Uncle Cody, will you share some of your frozen yogurt with me? Please, pretty please?"

Uncle Cody wanted a break from swimming, so Bryn patiently waited for him. *Note: If you ever need to cut someone's sun-bathing short, stand about 2 feet away from them and just stare. They'll be back in the pool with you in no time.*

Cody kept us smiling all week long.

The Nut Tree:

We met up with Grandad and Kim at the Nut Tree and had a great time. We loved everything, except for the train whistle (Bryn is plugging her ears).

Tea Parties:

Tea parties are a favorite past-time at our house. Grandma Suzu got us started on them at the family reunion. Now I am invited to tea nearly every day.

Audrey enjoys the tea parties too (pictured here with her cup and spoon).

This is a tea party with Grandma Suzu. She provides fancy hats for her guests to wear. Ooh, la, la!

Reading:

Passing on her love for reading.

Oh, how I LOVE this!

Sisters:

Enough time for a picture before church...impressive.

Oh me, oh my

Time flies. Like, seriously...fuh-lies! I can't believe babe #2 is already 2 months old. What?! For real. I wish I could blog her life/our lives more but my pc is so irritating to blog on; I just can't handle it. Any volunteers to fix my laptop? Anyone? Anyone?...

Last weekend was my brother's missionary farewell. Since everyone was together for that, we decided to bless Audrey that weekend too. It would be deemed a wonderful weekend if it weren't for BYU's horrendous loss to the Utes. Ugh.

The week before Cody's farewell Justin was in NY and (somehow) I convinced Cody to come stay with me for the week. We loved it! I asked him to please ditch Brazil and instead serve a service mission and come live with me for the next 2 years. Those Brazilians are so lucky! If I wasn't going to miss this guy to the maximum extent a guy can be missed, this picture pushed me to the limit:

We love you so much, Code! You're going to be an AWESOME missionary!

Audrey's blessing was beautiful. That said, I'm a bit concerned that she is only child #2 and (1) I didn't care about her being in a special dress for the occassion; and (2) when she proceeded to pee all over her dress minutes after the blessing I had no change of clothes for her, leaving her merely diapered for the remainder of the church meeting. The concern I feel over these two points is not for Audrey, but for subsequent children. If I'm already to this point of carelessness and unpreparedness for child #2, what is in store for #3?? Oh, I can't bear to think of it...

We Love Oma!

There is a homemade pie sitting on our kitchen counter. Our cupboards are stocked with Costco goodness (including, but not limited to: chocolate covered raisins for me and Oreos for the Mr...mmm, so delectable). And Bryn is wishing someone would take her to the park even though its uncomfortably warm outside. It's obvious that Oma was here!