Our nightly activity...

Yesterday, I posted the messy pictures from dinner and nothing has changed yet today. They have continued to be messy and slimy. So this has become the nightly ritual. I like it though, because then I get to lather these boys with baby lotion and snuggle them! That's the best part of my day. So here is to bath time!

Jake & Isaac...Cute little guys. I just wanted to show Shan how cute her little fella is. And also to let her know that he is still SMILEY! What a handsome kid.

This picture just makes me laugh. Jake has recently discovered the habit of biting. It's a horrible habit, but here they were actually both laughing and smiling at each other and I promise...Jake was pretending to eat Isaac. Even though the picture looks like he is out to bite him. The picture was followed with the sound of..."Ummm" (like he just took a bite..but didn't actually bite him!) I just love that I caught that "bite" face on camera. Shan, he has no bite marks, yet!

Here's another video. (They are really meant for Shandra...since she is missing her little buddy!)

This video is specifically for Aunt Lisa. Alayna was on a kick tonight. She wanted her turn on video...so this was all candid. So Aunt Lisa you should feel extra special! Enjoy.

Dinner...it's supposed to be in your mouth!

Mixed Berry Yogurt on his head! It was slimy and disgusting!

Trouble...I just had to laugh and pull out the camera...I figured he was already messy...why clean him up?

Here's another little glimpse of dinner tonight! Shan, do you miss the mess? I doubt it!!! Don't worry Todd, I put down a plastic tablecloth to catch all the food that gets thrown off of their highchairs! Tonight was a complete joy...thanks to Dad and Mom coming to save the night. Oh, and Emily!! Thanks to all who came to rescue an inexperienced mother of three! (I did have to bring dinner to a family in the ward though...and my hubby was off on a bike ride with his buddies...so the night turned out to be rougher than I expected! But I survived all kiddos in bed by 7pm! I LOVE early bedtimes!)

3 & 1/2 days down and a few more to go!

"Hi-ee" is the first thing we get to wake up to when we get Isaac out of bed! He's such a happy cuddly little guy. Look at that adorable smile.
I would have to say that Jake is filled with "trouble" - he's up to something! But we sure love him!!
"Where's Isaac? I know he's coming..."
"Jake where are you, I know your coming?"

I just wanted to post a little video for Shandra who is missing her little guy. I have been telling her how cute our little guys are and how much they tease each other. I caught some pretty silly moments in the backyard today.

So after watching the video who is the whiny child and who is the silent tease? Either way, they both are a tag team! They are always watching where the other is at. I wonder if this is how mothers of twins feel? Are you always breaking up fights? I would assume you would be, because Jake and Isaac are as close as brothers. I really have had a great time with them. Those cute moments just melt my heart! How about for the semi-loud singing girl child in the back ground? I think she misses her cousins, what do you think?

Our weekend...

I know for those of you who check my blog you will be disappointed. I normally have TONS of pictures to update with, but I lost my camera under all the piles of papers on my desk. So it's my fault that I have a loss of memories to share with you. However I can preserve my weekend by just telling about our fun.

First off we had a yard sale on Saturday. Let me tell you, I've never been a part of one before, so it was all new to me! I really had a great time. Thankfully Jared was there to do the confusing money math for our customers and Angela was there to hang with. The best part was we had four baby boys hanging out in a row in their strollers. Every person had to stop to ask if they were for sale. It was funny. The boys were so entertained all morning. I loved to see what was of interest for people. Personally it was all junk. So to think people paid us even $1 for anything was great! I came out $28 wealthier than I started the day. So after tithing, I think Jared and I have enough to go on a date! Yippee.

Next, I have twins this week! Yeah, you heard me. I have baby Isaac with me all week while his parents and siblings are visiting the "Happiest Place on Earth!" I figured it would be no fun for them to take a little baby when all the other kids can ride every single ride. So off they went! This was mine and Shandra's babysitting exchange for education week, for me and Disneyland for her! So far it's been great! Wish me luck!

I hope you all had a great week! Sorry for no pictures. But now that I have relocated my camera I can start up again!

Happy Birthday to my Mom!

Happy Birthday to Mom! (Angela we missed you!!)

Doesn't that look yummy? Shandra made it of course!

We made them pose. We are so glad to have celebrated yet another year with our Mommy!!!

A day at Copperton Park

We love the Copperton Park!

Jake LOVES to swing!

They liked the tunnel...it wasn't as sunny in there.

We thought it might be fun to try and get a family picture...the kids had a different idea! Oh, well!

Thanks Lisa for spending an entire day with our family. We really had a great time and you are welcome anytime you'd like! I know that Alayna LOVED spending the day with you and cuddling on the couch, taking a walk and going to the park. THANKS!

"Yellow is her favorite color!"

Alayna asked "Mommy, what is Aunt Lisa's favorite color?" I answered, "Yellow" She answered excitedly..."I know what we can do with her...we can go for a walk and show her all the yellow sunflowers!" So that is what we did when Aunt Lisa came to stay a day with us. We went on a walk pointing out all the yellow flowers and sunflowers.

Alayna loving spending time with her Aunt Lisa.

Alayna insisted on putting a sunflower in her hair so she could look "pretty"...I think she's right, she does look pretty!

A Cousin Party!

Grandma Denny and Grandpa Barainca had this great idea to get all the cousins together for a party. Since the group has nearly doubled in size we went to the great restaurant of choice, Spaghetti Factory. It was a fun filled night of lots of pictures and new introductions to new cousins and spouses. Grandma Denny, THANK YOU for this fun chance to get acquainted and learn more about each other.

This is Leah and Brandon. They are cousins to Jared. They have been married for five weeks and are enjoying every minute of being newlyweds. They are living down in Provo attending BYU. Congrats on the wedding!
Here's Cameron. He's a personal favorite. He has the ability to ask the most entertaining and direct conversation starters. You are never left with a dull moment when he is around! Thanks for making us all laugh so hard!


Kelsey and Nathan. Kelsey was celebrating her birthday, and she just moved down here to attend UVU. She is an absolutely darling girl. My Alayna LOVES her. Kelsey let Alayna try on all her super FUN shoes when we were in California, and Alayna has yet to forget that fun girl moment. Nathan has recently returned home from his mission and is back at BYU.
Heather (Jared's sister), Jason (Jared's brother) and Mike. Heather is Jared's sister and she had the most exciting news of all...her offer was accepted on a condo! Congrats, we are SO excited for her. I wish I could announce the same for us, but we can't! Way to go!

Allie & Karl. These again are Jared's cousins. Allie just graduated from BYU and Karl is still attending. They are living in Provo too. (What's the deal with all these BYU - Utah county people?) Just kidding. They have been married for a year or so!

Here is Jared and Lisa, Jared's other sister. Lisa is down visiting for a week from Nanaimo, Canada! I have been lucky enough to visit her and her husband, Matt in Canada! It would be hard for me to come to Utah and visit if I am living where she does. So we are grateful we got to spend time with her too.

Ashley and Brian. They have been married for...Oh...I think two years? Here's a MAJOR cool shout out for Ashley...she just stared her MASTERS in Health at BYU. YEAH! She's a girl after my own heart and passion for Health Education. I really am living vicariously through her studies. I'm having the kids and she's continuing her education. For those of you who don't know, that's what I got my BS in. So you go girl! Brian is the smart and talented bro-in-law (Jason you are too!). He is also getting his Masters in Accounting at BYU. I won't say it, because I'm not happy with the fact that they are moving to Texas for a job there. We love you guys! They are the fantastic Aunt and Uncle to our crazy kiddos. What a cute couple! We love you guys.


Here's another picture of the gang!

Bring on the babies!

Yeah, Steph is in town again! It is always SO fun to get together with Steph. It's been so long since I actually saw her little girl, Aja. She's a few months older than my little Jake. She is such a cutie. Except when she's giving her scowls...but I don't blame her, I know who her daddy is! (ha ha ha Johnson!)

Baby Aja, Stph, Heather (Steph's sister) and new baby Alison! Heather, it was SO great to see your new little bundle. I LOVED her hair. It was so adorable!

This is a picture showing off all the babies. Desiree is about to deliver in two weeks or so and Stevo has another baby baking in the oven and due in February. And, no I'm not announcing anything baking in my oven! But I thought it would be funny to trick you all! Hey, we had a great time and we visited FOREVER! I love having such GREAT girl friends from the good ole Utah State. Thanks, ladies.

Our Family Fun Food Filled Labor Day

Some would look at this and think, "WOW, what a mess!" But for us we think this equals fun. Jared has a LOVE and PASSION for Italian food. Since he served his mission in Rome, Italy, he has TONS of memories of "Rosa's Meat-a-balls!" So we decided to make a day of it. A very LONG and messy day. Alayna was in complete heaven. She really enjoys cooking with us. She's actually really fun to have in the kitchen!

While Jared worked on the Meat-a-balls Alayna and I worked on the homemade pasta. It was SO messy but really worth all the hard work.

The final project. Yes, everything you see is FRESH and very tasty.

Here is the proud Italian himself! He was pleasantly surprised with the YUMMY flavor. I think we might just have to encourage him to cook a little more often from the memory of his mission.

I want a bike like my Daddy!

I couldn't resist taking a few more pictures of our little Jake. The mail was just delivered, and Jake plowed towards the pile. He grabbed the "Bike Magazine" of Jared's with his chubby little hand. He would not let it out of his sight. Alayna, took her "High Five - Highlights" magazine and was like wise in heaven.

I just couldn't help but take these pictures for Jared. This way Jared will know that his little guy is always looking up to and wanting to be like his Daddy!

He's pointing and thinking I'm sure... "Daddy this is the one I want!"

I just want to be like you Daddy! The cute part after he was done reading it, he walked down the hallway and placed it right by Jared's bike. Some how little kiddos are so smart to figure out things.

Uncle Brian & Aunt Ashley

Today we had a special occasion. We were able to attend the setting apart for Jared's brother, Brian. He was called to serve as the 2nd counselor in the bishopric. It was great to be able to support him and spend time with them. Ashley as usual provided a FANTASTIC meal. Brian really has it LUCKY to have a wonderful wife who cooks amazingly, every single night. So we were able to reap the rewards of that. Brian, you will do great and you will learn tons I'm sure!


I must give a shout out to the best Aunt and Uncle these two little kiddo's have. They think so often of these two little kids. They surprise them with gifts, toys, books, etc. Alayna really enjoys spending time with them, because they play with her and pay so much attention to them. Since we were coming over to their house today, Ashley saw this cute igloo tent at IKEA, and had to buy it. It was filled with blankets, books, toys and yes, two presents.
Alayna & Jake were very grateful for their kindness. I think their smiles show how happy they were today. Ashley just finished that adorable boy quilt for Jacob. It's in the bottom left corner. It was ALL BOY! The entire drive home we heard, "BALL, BALL, BALL, vrmm, vrmm!) As a mother, you always hope that your kids will be loved and cherished. So thank you Ashley and Brian for loving our kids so much.

*Here's a follow-up story to which college Alayna is planning on attending..we had to go on BYU campus to attend Brian's setting apart. So today was the lucky day of BYU student wards. The campus was "decked" out with new freshman students. Anyways, it brought back SO many memories of attending my first year of college and a singles ward. Everyone was looking their "Very" best. But the funny thing was, I was explaining to Alayna how we were at BYU and she said, "This is where I am going to come to school, and being married!" I replied, "Yes, you will..." She then stated, "I won't have to ride the school bus here, because I will meet my prince!" I just had to laugh! She really is set on attending BYU and that she will meet her "Prince Charming" here. So with or without her fathers permission, she is set on attending BYU like her Aunt Ashley and Uncle Brian! But Alayna has the same idea to meet a "Prince" at BYU as all the other young ladies that were storming the campus today! Oh, the joys of being single and searching. I'm sure glad to be off of the "Menu!" (pathetic!)*

Twins!

These two girls have been inseparable. They really have so much fun together. Yesterday, we had to bring them home from our fun Park City vacation. They weren't the lucky grandkids chosen to stay the whole time in Park City. Kierra and Conner were. Shan & I wanted to do a little bit of shopping at the outlet stores on our way home. Lame, nothing to report other than these .99 cent matching pj's. So these girls came up with this great idea..."Mom, I have a great idea...we can wear these as pj's then wake up and pretend their clothes, then sleep in them again, then wake up and be dressed for the day!" Hey, for two days I haven't had to worry about getting her dressed or getting into pj's. So really I think the .99 cents we spent has been well worth our time!

So happy to have a sleep over with her favorite cousin Livvy.

Happy to be hanging with her favorite little cousin Alayna.

So, happy together!

Our Families Annual Park City Mini-Vacation!

We love our Park City mini-vacations! My parents use their time-share for 7 days to let the grand kids come and party! Alayna was sobbing on our way home saying, "I don't want to leave our vacation house today...I want to stay 5 more days! I love vacations!" We all agree with her, we LOVE our vacations. We really are spoiled. My parents have introduced the BEST way to live. Work hard when you have too, but PLAY more often. We really have been blessed to go to so many vacations. Near or far we love them all. Our kids especially have been conditioned to vacationing. They love all that it entails, swimming, walks, playing tennis, play grounds, stories with Grandma Lou & Papi, having sleep overs with cousins, staying up late, eating yummy food and staying in vacation houses. We truly LOVE vacationing!

Here's the fun when we have no high-chairs! It made for a very messy kitchen and no sitting children. (Alayna is wearing Jake's pj's...we forgot to bring hers! Oops.)

This picture is mainly for Shandra and Krista. (Please read my exasperation in my writing) Every single...every single family vacation they insist on doing and coming up with the most ridiculous competitions. I don't understand why it bugs me so badly, but it does. I'm even a competitive person, but their "lame" games are so silly! This picture is showing that they even at the park came up with an "obstacle course" at the park. It wasn't too much longer when we arrived at the pool and they were doing MORE silly competitions. Now, they tease me and come up with the most ridiculous competitions to simply get me to roll my eyes and say, "Give me a break!" I think the harsh reality is that I am not as fun or talented to do these childish things!! ha ha ha
This picture is to document how Isaac and Jacob spend 90% of their time together...yes, that is fighting over toys. The only thing missing from this picture is the "SQUEAL" from Jacob that inevitably follows each time a toy is taken away. Somehow Isaac manages to get Jake to squeal more than anyone else. Shandra and I truly just laugh at the two of these boys. Jake's the loud feisty one and Isaac is the quiet, "I'm not doing anything wrong!" little guy. But they both know that they are up to trouble. Oh, they will love each other sooner than later!

Every morning we would walk down to the famous Park City park. The kids LOVE the tire swing.

Kennady, Issac and Jake.

This is a picture to remember how my dad "attempted" to hide behind the trees, to scare us all. Even though we knew they were hiding, it was precious to hear the cute little girls giggle like crazy and really believe in the fun of scaring people. Having such a great "Papi" or Grandpa is so key to a healthy development as a child.

The cute Madsen family...Uncle Toddy, Aunt Shanee, Kierra, Conner, Olivia and Isaac.

Logan & Sawyer...this is there typical look...Who are you? And why are you talking to me? You are not my Mom! We love these two handsome little buddies. They are referred to as "The boys" from all the cousins or when they are talked about the kids say, "The one...I think it's Logan...or I think it's Sawyer..." It really is fun to hear the cousins normally guess right, but they really aren't 100% certain who is who! My mom was pointing out specific identical traits of these little guys. She was telling us how identical twins are mirror images of each other. They run swinging the opposite arms, calics on opposite sides of the head, they throw balls with the opposite arm, eat with the opposite arm. One's a lefty the other is a righty! These little guys are so handsome! (Logan is the one with the scrapes...he fell at the swimming pool...sorry little guy!)