MS Ride

Somehow I managed to get on my bike this year and ride 75 miles in the MS150 ride in Logan. I was pretty out of shape since it's really hard to find time to work out with the twins. I could come up with another dozens excuses but I'll spare you.

Here I am with my good friend Jessica. We joked about how we were eHarmony riding partners because we were matched on 49 degrees of biking compatibility. When actually I think in being prepared for the ride the only thing we had in common was that we both had bikes and matching jerseys. Jess rode in strong and I limped in slowly behind her. We had a great time regardless.

Jessica, Austin, Derek and I spent most of the weekend cracking jokes, laughing and eating good food. I keep trying to talk Dave into coming every year because I know he'd have a great time. Maybe next year?

Yay for Summer

Father's Day Present

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Family Pictures

We took family pictures last month. It was way more challenging than I could have imagined. The boys were so fussy. Andy wanted to crawl everywhere and refused to be held and Ben seemed so confused. I had a terrible cold and Dave didn't understand the purpose. So we didn't make it very easy for the photographer. But I think Jeni did a great job with our crazy family.

Maybe next year we can get a photo of everyone smiling at the same time. But I have a feeling it won't get much easier until we are all adults.

Happy First Birthday

The boys turned 1 today. We had a busy family party on Saturday night to celebrate. My parents and Grandma even came from Idaho. It was so good to seem them and watch them play with the babes.


The Birthday hats didn't last long. Which I'm sure isn't too surprising. However, I was impressed that most of the guests wore theirs throughout the party.

Andy thoroughly enjoyed his first taste of cake. He was so excited and confused that food doesn't have to taste like pureed vegetables.

Whereas Ben would have preferred to eat pureed vegetables. He liked to play with the cake but puckered his face when he took his first and only bite. I've seen him enjoy a lemon more than he did the chocolate cake.

Andy loved all of his toys. I had no idea they'd have so much fun.

Ben was excited to play with the with his toys and the deflated balloons the next morning. That was until he got completely tangled in all of the ribbons.

In case your wondering, I didn't make a fancy cake for the boys. I ran out of time and energy so instead I made cupcakes. Not super exciting, but I've got many birthdays to make up for it.

Mother's Day with the babes

This is a pretty typical evening at our house.

If Katie is in the house she is usually lying as close as she can to Ben. And if Ben is near a book he is usually flipping through the pages. I couldn't help but think... Little Ben, little Ben what do you see? I see a Katie cat lying next to me.

And Andy... this kid has loads of energy. Surprising he can stay entertained for an unbelievable amount of time in his activity saucer. He just looks around and bobs his head.

Break Dancing Andy

Anyone who has spent time with Andy is probably familiar with his little dance move. For those of you who haven't, here's a little treat for you.

Speaking of Woodland Creatures

I made this cake for a baby shower. It was fun to revisit my good owl and hedgehog friends. I spent a good portion of my pregnancy seeking out little woodland creatures for the twin's nursery.

I was asked to use butter cream frosting instead of fondant for the base of the cake. I personally don't like the look as much but it does make for a tastier cake.

The Adventures of Ben and Andy: The Case of the Kitchen Gate

Andy: Hey Ben, what do you see in there? I bet there's a lot of fun things or else mom wouldn't lock us out.


Ben: Look there's Katie. Let's see if she can help us get in. Mom always lets her in there, maybe she can show us the secret.


Andy: Good job Ben on opening the gate, but would you get off my legs so I can get through before we get caught.


Ben: Go Andy go!


Andy: Ben you've got to get in here. Katie has lots of food in a bowl we can share. Ooh and there's some stairs we could roll down. I can't believe mom won't let us in here.

While Mom's Away

So I was catching up on reading my friend Jen's blog and found these pictures on a post from last month. She was watching the babes for Dave while I was at work. I was so surprised to see my babies being poked with light sabers and sawed in half. Oh boys...




Thanks Jen. It seems like they were all having a great time. I need to have your boys come over and entertain the babes.

Back From Mexico

Dave and I went on a cruise to Mexico last week. We tearfully left the babes with my parents and joyfully worked on our tans.


Our good friends Nate and Jordan joined us on our gastronomic adventures. I don't think any of us particularly cared where we went on the cruise, we were just excited for the wonderful food and sunny days. Mission accomplished.


Ben was especially excited to see us. I think he was a little nervous being away from home.

Andy was too busy working on pulling himself up on furniture to notice that we were gone.

Hello

They boys just want to say hi.

My Little Brother's Wedding

My youngest brother got married over the Holidays to a sweet, wonderful, beautiful , smart, cheery girl (I could go on and on with compliments.) My mom had the wedding at her house which turned out perfectly. Here's the wedding cake that I made. The design was simple and hopefully added to the winter white theme of the wedding.

I also painted a picture that my dad framed and matted to use instead of a guest book. I did something similar for my own wedding and my sisters. I think it's a little more practical than a book and hopefully will add some color to the newlywed's first home.


Here's a compilation of little videos I shot with my digital camera the day of the wedding. It's a little shaky and Andy is squawking through the last half of the video. But the bride and groom look happy and beautiful. It makes me a little teary just thinking about how proud I am of both of them.

Baby's First Christmas

Christmas morning was filled with Andy crinkling paper, Ben eating paper and Katie pouncing on paper. I'm glad to see that my family appreciates wrapping paper almost as much as I do.


Ben and Andy were thrilled to go to Grandma Jensen's house after Christmas. They have never seen so many toys and things to play with.

The best presents under our tree