Father/Son - Mother/Daughter Weekend

This weekend was our ward's father/son campout, and Larkin and William were very excited to go. Will talked about it all week; he was especially looking forward to roasting marshmallows and eating smores. (He is my boy, after all.) Occasionally, he would tell me, "Mom, remember - we go camping especially in the forest." I'll be sure to remember that, Will.

They got to set up the tent, sleep in sleeping bags, eat tin foil dinners, eat smores (of course), play football, hike, and finally pack up. Larkin took the camera with him, so we've got lots of pictures to document their campout.

We wanted Anna to have something special that weekend too, so she got to go to a local performing arts center with some friends in our ward on Friday. I stayed home to work and kept Will with me so that Anna could have that time for herself. Luckily, my friend who took her sent us some pictures afterwards. Here is Anna practicing her gymnastics skills.

I also promised Anna a "girl's night" when the boys were camping. They hadn't even pulled the car out of the garage before Anna ran to our movies and said, "Hey! We were supposed to watch princess movies when the boys were camping!" We fit in at least four Disney princess movies before the boys returned the next day. We had a picnic in the living room, put make-up on each other, ate popcorn, painted our toenails, and had a sleepover in "Mom and Dad's bed." (P.S. My sweet girl snores and talks in her sleep so much. I pity poor Will having to share a room with her.) We didn't take any pictures because the boys had our camera.

The twins share their favorite parts of the weekend.
Anna: "Putting on lipstick"
Will: "Being with Daddy"

How sweet is that?! I almost cried when Will told me that. He wasn't prompted by me or Larkin, and he's repeated that sentiment for the past two days. I'm glad he was able to spend that special time with his father. And I guess I'm glad that Anna learned a love of make-up. Now I pray that she'll forget about it for the next 13 or so years.

Celebrities in the Family

In the mornings, Will and Anna usually watch The Sunny Side-Up Show on Sprout (PBS Kids, 24-hour preschool channel). The three-hour program is live and asks kids to send in pictures, drawings, letters, etc. that the host could share inbetween the scheduled shows it airs (e.g., Thomas the Tank Engine, Play With Me Sesame, etc.). The theme this week is "Dinosaurs." This morning, the twins and I took this picture and sent it in to the show.

We were incredibly surprised when, about 10 minutes later, we saw this:

(Sorry about the bad quality. Thank goodness for DVR!) How awesome is that! The twins were so excited to see their picture on TV. I didn't really expect their picture to make it on air, but it did. The kids can sign autographs after naptime.

While Mom's Away. . .

. . . the twins will play.

Will and Anna sometimes find the most interesting things to do while I'm in the bathroom.

Sometimes it makes me afraid to use the bathroom again.

Sometimes it makes me sad that I missed their sweetness.

Child Labor

William and Anna like to help around the house. I probably don't take advantage of this as much as I should because they still enjoy doing it.

The other night, Anna was in the game room playing with Larkin. Will was otherwise engaged.

In my defense, I didn't ask him to help. He asked me if he could help. I simply obliged him.

I think he's ready to learn how to mow the lawn and change lightbulbs.

Like Father, Like Son . . . and Daughter

Last night, I got two reminders of how much the twins are like their father.

First, Anna tends to put things in her mouth. She had just been reprimanded for putting her big pencil in her mouth. Larkin took the pencil away from her. Five or so minutes later, I look over to see this:

Enough said.

Later on that evening, William walked over to Larkin, lifted up his shirt, and asked Larkin to scratch his back. Look the bliss on this kid's face.

Again, enough said. Just like his daddy.

The twins also show us that they take after their mom too. They were playing in our game room a few nights ago, and they were being very quiet - not always a good sign. Larkin went up to see what they were doing.

They had created a "book club." They were completely content, reclining in comfortable chairs, enjoying their books. Unlike some of my other traits that I'm sorry have been passed on to our kids (e.g., my OCD about certain things), I'm pleased that they have acquired my love for books.

We sure love these kids!

P.S. I want to add in this old story I have about how wonderful Larkin is. (Cue cheesy flashback.) Right after the twins were born, Larkin stayed in the hospital with us almost the whole time, leaving only to go to class when he absolutely couldn't skip it. I knew he was tired from sleeping only on the "fold-out chair" in my hospital room. One day, a nurse came into our room and asked if she could bring us anything to drink, other than the water which she had been refilling like it was going out of style. She offered different kinds of pop and juice, and Larkin asked for Sprite (normal for him) and cranberry juice. When he asked for that, I thought, "That's interesting. Larkin doesn't normally like cranberry juice." He took a big gulp of his drink and then pulled a disgusted face. "Yuck! Why did I ask for cranberry juice? I don't even like cranberry juice!" That's when I knew exactly how tired he was. The amazing man continued to sleep in the hospital with us, though, until we were finally able to go home - where we wouldn't get an unbroken night's sleep for months and months. We love our Daddy SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so grateful that the twins are like him, even in these small ways.

Eric and Emma's Wedding

We drove up to Idaho back in November for Eric and Emma's wedding, and we stayed through Thanksgiving. It was SUCH A GREAT TRIP! Even though the twins battled the stomach flu on the drive out, we had a wonderful time, once they got feeling better. They played with Grandma, Grandpa, cousins, aunts, and uncles. We loved spending a week with most of the Le Sueur family who had traveled from all over.

We didn't take any pictures of the trip (because we're good like that), but thankfully, Lincoln and Melissa did. I stole these pictures from them.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

WE LOVE CHRISTMAS!!!!!! Will and Anna are soaking up everything about Christmas this year. They're coming up with questions we never expected.
Will: How can Santa come to our house? We don't have a chimney! (Who knew that he knew what a chimney was?)
Anna: (on leaving the ward Christmas party after speaking to Santa) Where are his reindeer? I don't see them!

So we're having lots of fun this month. We've played games, made crafts, sung carols, made LOTS of Christmas treats, delivered goodies to friends, and lots more. For pictures, see Le Sueur Street.

Santa Claus made a stop at our ward Christmas party, and the twins got to talk to him. Anna was brave and sat right up on his lap to tell him that she wanted a dollhouse.

Will was less brave but very determined. It reminded me a lot of the scene in A Christmas Story in which Ralphie freezes when Santa asks what he would like. After agreeing to a football, he comes to his senses.

That's kind of how it was with Will. He didn't speak at first, but then, very quietly, he said, "IwantaThomastheTankEnginetrackwherethebridgegetssorumbly!" (Translation: "I want a Thomas the Tank Engine track where the bridge gets so rumbly.") He was so proud of himself afterwards for talking to Santa!

I want to get a video of the twins telling the nativity story. It's so stinkin' cute when they say that the first few innkeepers told Mary and Joseph (while shrugging their shoulders), "There's no room for you." In case I can't catch that, just remember that Will and Anna know that Baby Jesus is the reason we celebrate Christmas. And hearing them sing "Away in a Manger" makes me tear up. Every single time.