Success With a Vacation of Firsts and No Dirty Looks on the Plane!

It wasn't the boys first plane trip.  The summer before they turned one they flew to both sets of grandparents homes, one house hunting trip and one move to Washington and they remember none of it.  Recently we went to Southern California and took a big vacation:  five nights at a resort and an airplane ride, rental car, Sea World,  sandy beach and at least 50 swims in the pool.   We had a great time and the kids did wonderfully in a room all together.  Rachel is still in a crib so I was pleasantly surprised with how well she did on a pull out bed in the same room with the boys.  I didn't take a ton of pictures but here's the highlights.

Good things planes are noisy when in flight.  She sang and talked to her doll the entire time!

Enjoying the in flight magazine.

Tom and Ben thinking about life in the California Sun.

Rachel playing

Snacks at the Shamu Show

Running from the breaking waves was their favorite game.

She's telling me about the Sea Turtle in there.

Springtime for Aaron means a lot of hole digging....

Yet he enjoys it too!  This October will be four years in this house!  I remember so clearly Aaron's excitement at visiting our local Home Depot to buy the things these previous Southern California renters didn't have;  a lawn mower, weed eater,  ladder....  he had a wonderful time!  While we moved into a newer home that had completed landscaping we've made a lot of changes to yard.  I think we're taking a low maintenance yard and morphing it into a high maintenance....  oh well!  I'm thankful that Aaron enjoys yard work and is very efficient at making my ideas happen while letting the kids "help."    He's also good at cleaning up the planting mess that I've left behind.  

This was our backyard when we bought this house.  We removed a bunch of those basalt boulders for more lawn space and a rock garden with remaining boulders and plants.

Aaron and the boys in '09 adding plants.  No Rachel yet!

Spring of '12 with lots of plants coming back.  I picture a bench at the top of the yard under that tree....

Opie is a year now and has wreaked a bit of havoc on our backyard this winter.  Our first projects were repairs on holes he's made and the sandbox that he thought was his. 

We're trying some tomatoes and herbs from seed this year. 

Daddy and his helper (we didn't give her a coke,  she snitched it, don't judge)  getting ready to move a lilac bush to a sunnier spot.

Two yards of topsoil for some garden boxes. 

Tommy loves to work outside with Daddy.

Ben playing in his newly reinforced and refilled sandbox.  Notice the fencing behind him.  No springer spaniels allowed!

Ooh Rachel Gimme One More Chance....my girl busts a move.

My Funny Valentines

I moved the couch and did a Valentine's photo shoot in our front room.  It started from an idea off of Pinterest.  The kids were all into it so I had lots of success getting my idea made into a product.  So Happy Valentine's Day from the Wright kids!

My sweet feisty girl.

Back off ladies,  they already have a sweetheart!  Mommy!

Three Kids and a Spaniel in the Snow.

Last week we had a big snowstorm here at home.  We had one day of great powdery snow and then nasty ice and ice rain.  Aaron was able to work at home for three days and over the weekend.  The kids had a great time playing in the snow and outside of asking about the missed preschool day, mom was the only one who had cabin fever!  Like true Northwesterners we were excited to see snow and excited to see it gone!

The few pictures that I got of Rachel in the snow! "Too sticky!"  Translation:  to hard to walk in.

It's hard to tell here but Opie has the string in his mouth.  He wants to pull the sled!

Opie the snow spaniel. 

We must have had close to six inches.

Aww c'mon!  I'm not that wet!  I won't jump all over the couch.  Promise!

The Christmas Photo Saga..... was at present frustrating but historically humorous

This past December I busted out the camera,  a hobby I'm into,  and costumed the kids to get some photos and, hopefully,  a Christmas card shot.   Getting three kids in one shot is difficult.  Getting three kids in one shot looking normal is nearly impossible.  Getting three kids in one shot,  looking at the camera with a pleasant look on their face and hands NOT somewhere unnatural or doing something weird is a case for divine intervention.   Looking through my photo archives I see I have more outtakes than successes but I think that's just photography.  I think that's just kids.
Grouped together they're actually kind of funny.  Even to this slightly high strung mom of three cute kids that had a vision in her head.  Here's her hail mary mother of the photo shutter....

Scene wasn't quite what I'd pictured.  The half of a mirror was bad...  Kids cooperative and pleasant looking.  Should have quit while I was ahead!

What a bunch of sweeties.  No,  they're not in a mexican restaurant.  That wall is just mauve like that.  It would be difficult to change and oddly enough a lot of the recent stuff we've acquired works with it.

Nose picking child #1

Nose picking child #2

I thought they'd like this prop....I'll bet Tom is wondering if he keeps shining that light in his ear and opens his mouth,  will light come out?

Really mom?

Not bad except there is supposed to be three...

Thomas about to throw down.  Mom about to throw down too.  At least I wasn't forced into a vest.

no comment

naughty

getting positive reinforcement from brothers for being naughty

change to more natural scenery is helping...

whew.  Ok.  Let's eat lunch!

Happy 4th Birthday (and one month... oops)

I'm almost caught up on this blog!  I had a post I wanted to do today so I thought I better catch up on the backlog.
The boys turned four!  They're such great little guys.  I can't believe they're not babies anymore.  I know everyone says that but  raising twins is an intense experience and while some days,  hours, minutes go slowly,  the rest by and memories of them can be fuzzy.
Four has been a magical age and having two constant companions make for some fun times.  They are constantly pretending and talking and talking and talking...

 

Benji,  besides being so handsome you are so articulate and smart.  You love stories and TV and have a great recall for things. You get so excited to go do things that sound fun to you.  We recently found out that you're tireless on hiking adventures or fun walks.   You're developing such a sense of humor,  often repeating funny things and laughing about them over and over again.  You have mommy's habit of talking to yourself and you frown when you ask questions too.  You're so curious and you love to play with toys and tinker with things. You are always making up silly sayings like "never pever wever" or play with your "electrical dectrical gun." You have a very long attention span.    You want to know how things work.  Often you are the instigator to imaginative games and you are so good at sharing and helping your sister.  You also have a feisty side.  You weren't intimidated by our wild dog when we brought him home and I've witnessed you sticking up for yourself to other kids at the park.  Sometimes you're complicated and other times you have no problem speaking your mind! While you seem like our most reserved kid on the outside when we ask for one you give the best hugs.  We love you. 

Ben played for thirty minutes with this game:  hitting the ornaments with the lollipop ornament to see what they sounded like.

 

Tommy,  you are still busy busy busy and you area constantly looking for things to do.  You love to dress up and get a hold of daddy's things.  You love to work on projects with us and you never miss a thing.  You are always asking questions and you rarely take no for an answer.  We've been calling you the hustler because you are always scheming for the extra cookie,  for someone to open the sprite at the back of the fridge or for someone to take you to the park,  or for Dad to bust out the tools for something.   You are little boy mischief in it's purist form.  You recently broke the lampshade and we've had to explain to you on more than one occasion why you don't get to drive the car or why you can't see the back of your own head.  You are the first one up,  the last one to sleep and always on the lookout for something to get into.  You're very attached to your brother.  When Ben had to go to the Dr the other day and I told you to wait on the couch while I put Rachel down you said, "but I always sit with Ben."  You ask at least three times when Daddy is coming home and whether guests are going "to sleep here."  It's also a good chance that you'll go visit them in the wee hours of the morning too.   You are such a ham and always showing off.  If you get a laugh from someone you're bound to do it again.  You are such a charmer and I don't know a cuter smile.  You take a lot of energy to keep up with but life wouldn't be nearly as fun. 

Wearing Daddy's coat