Pajama Boys

This is my straight-faced Pajama Boy.

Here is my wiggly-mouthed Pajama Boy.

Pre-bedtime cuddle.

One moment he's raring to go.

The next, siesta time.

And because this post is a little Dash-heavy, here's a cutie of Liam.

And for any of you who are itching to see a picture of the boys at the beach, here's a preview photo from our beach photographer: At the Beach. Beware, it's uber cute.

Food Labeling

This is how we deal with food during our family reunions:

Good thing too- not five minutes after I put my freshly made pies in the fridge, Darren walks over and yells, "Why do my pies say 'Get Away' on them?!"

(Can you tell I'm a little too busy enjoying the Florida sun and surf to take and edit photos? Or come up with fabulous blog posts? I'll get to it, I promise)

Sandy

We're at the beach.

The boys are fans.

Colorado Round-Up

Alright, here's the final whoseits and whatsits of our three week Colorado trip:

• At first, the boys loved to push the little buttons around the ice dispenser. But soon they moved on to the ice dispenser themselves. Oh what a crack-up! It got to be a little too much for Dash after a while, though:

• Do you remember me asking about ways to keep the babies from waking up when Sean woke up for the morning? Well, we bought a white noise machine. And... it didn't help. But it works GREAT for drowning out noise during nap time (why it doesn't drown out Sean's alarm, beats me. I guess all the quiet beforehand makes the alarm more jarring?). The only thing it doesn't wash out is dog barks. It very much doesn't drown out dog barks.

• There was one day where Dash had SIX messy diapers before his first nap. SIX! He got changed all over BYU campus. Apparently, the morning we were gone, the boys had super duper messy diapers. The kind where you deposit pajamas directly into the washing machine. I'm very proud of my children for choosing that morning to be gross.

• The spinning office chair was a big hit. Before we got wise and put a belt around them, I was ready on the balls of my feet to leap over to them the second they nudged forward.

• Rufus was super great with the boys, not much caring if they crawled all over him. And the boys loved him for it.

These boys were sometimes happy, sometimes sad in the car. Mostly sad.

• The final drive back was, mmm, how to put it... miserable. We started out right before they went to bed for the night. But it had shifted later after these three weeks. Then they woke up at 5am, so Sean and I didn't have much chance to sleep as we're taking driving turns. They took stinky naps. They screamed a lot. The car air conditioner couldn't keep up with the Texas heat. Everyone was sooo unhappy. I don't like the car anymore.

The video Dash made in the car. I like how he's giggling while Liam's crying next to him.

• Sean's parents put a fake owl up in the backyard to scare away woodpeckers. It doesn't work. And it attracts little one-year-olds. The instant Dash went outside, his little hand would point right at the funny bird.

• The boys became enamored with lights during this trip. They point them all out and try to swat at any fixtures that were accessible.

• Liam and Dash are now proficient iPad users. They can sweep from screen to screen and deftly push the home button.
• On the way to UT, we stopped at Great Grandma and Grandpa Bradley's house. While Grandma was holding him as Dash at breakfast, he looked at Great Grandma and said, as clear as day, "Grandma." It hasn't happened since, but it was very impressive.

• Right after that "Grandma" incident, Great Grandma was holding Liam. He went in for a kiss and when Great Grandma kissed back... he reached up and stole her glasses. Sneaky fella.

• My boys had lots of fun with water in Colorado, from baths, to the hot tub, to the kiddie pool. Their little fishies.

• Liam and Dash have been great night sleepers for many months, rarely waking up. But in Colorado, I think there were two nights that they didn't cry. It was sad.

• I sure liked being able to take little breaks here and there since so many caregivers were on hand. Imagine, going to use the restroom when I wanted and not based on naptime! It was all very refreshing.

Mining Museum

Don't you just love Groupon? Sean's parents found a Groupon for the Western Museum of Mining and Industry. It's practically down the street from their home and they've never been. So off we went.

Bottles? That doesn't look like "Mining." It was a bar display. So this must represent the "Industry" side of the museum.

Ah, oil. That's more Mining-like.

I wonder why this gauge needed a curlicue.

Three gauges. This thing must be important.

A good ol'-fashioned pulley. That's how you get work done.

I don't think Liam is quite ready to commit to a life as a miner.

Dash got to hear a lengthy spiel on the history of physics.

Whoa, watch out, dynamite!

Who wants to push the plunger?

Say, this would have been a better picture for Father's Day, huh?

Ah, it's nice to be outside.

Watch out, babies!

My demure children.

This'd be a lovely family portrait, except... SUNGLASSES. womp womp.

This is a better representation of our goofy family.

Rusty metal makes the best playthings!

I'm going to hire that painter.

A little bonding moment.

Does this make other people think of Mario Kart?

But... where does it go?

Liam's pulling the reins.

It's so amazing the contraptions people come up with.

My pensive mom-in-law.

We need to get those babes some shades so they can be cool too.

Mining Museum, a success.

Nifty Fifty

I was getting in a map-making urge this week, and having just returned from a grueling drive halfway across the country I wanted to keep track of where we'd been in the good 'ol USA. I'm counting states that I have been in at ground level - flying over doesn't count. We're leaving again for Florida on Friday, so I tossed Alabama on for good measure. I don't think any of us has been to Alabama yet... So without further ado...

Me - Sean - I don't think I ever made it to WV...

Katie - Maine!

Liam and Dash - not too shabby for just one year old. Now we just need some more vacation time to get the rest. And another trip to Hawaii...

Musicians

Pompa was a master entertainer with his musical talents.

The accordian had the boys completely mesmerized.

And then there were the regular dance session to Proud Mary on the keyboard.

Looks like the musical skills are genetic.

Bubbled

I think we're going to be buying a lot of bubbles.

Because this is way too much fun. For me.

Maybe my children like it, too.

A Night Away

How about a few pictures of my incredible husband in honor of father's day? Although, these photos are from a break from fatherhood- a night away! When Sean's parents suggested they watch the boys overnight so we could get away, as an early birthday present to Sean, I thought, huh? The idea had never even crossed my mind. How in the world could I leave my babies? For more than 2 hours? It didn't make any sort of sense to my mommy mind.

But then I thought about it and let it melt and simmer and bubble. And I finally decided it'd be a good idea, a little time for just me and my man. Boy was it ever strange to lazily drift from place to place, not worrying about getting home by naptime or what to feed the boys next.

I use the term "lazily" loosely since we packed a lot into our 24-hour jaunt. We shopped the Castle Rock Outlets (super duper amazing cheap leather coats at Wilson's, I mean seriously cheap), dinner at Outback, and a visit to the movies before calling it a night.

I happily took hardly any photos. So here's Sean tying his shoe so very handsomely.

And here's Sean serenading me in the car. I love that profile.

The next day we tried out a couples massage (which we both very much enjoyed, much to Sean's surprise) followed by lunch at Chipotle. Here's my hubby calling to check on our kiddos, like a good daddy should.

We topped the experience off with a trip to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. There's a really fun exhibit called Expedition Health, lots of interactive features-here's Sean seeing his skeleton in motion. We even did a real experiment on some flies- I felt all science nostalgic.

We had a really fun time all on our own. I loved being recklessly lovey dovey and having my mind solely on Sean. But guys, I was so excited to get back to Liam and Dash. As we drove up, the anticipation was quite similar to what I was feeling as I was about to see Sean for the first time after his mission.

The boys? Well, they were happy to see us but not much more than normal. They'd had a fantastic time playing with Grandma and Pompa. Before we left, I had written out their schedule and other this-and-thats on a couple sheets of paper. Seeing how succinctly our care was summarized plus how well the boys did without us, it made me realize how utterly replaceable we are. But I love 'em too much, I aint never gonna be replaced!