The Chugg Family

I DID IT!

2011-06-17T14:03:00.006-06:00

I know I know...lets just not get in to how long it has been since I have posted anything and move on. For those of you truly curious about the past some odd months here it is in a nutshell...Taylor turned 5........found out I was pregnant....we were rearended.....spent MANY MANY hours at the chiropractor....IT'S A BOY......boys turned 3.....IT'S A GIRL (like I knew all along).....Thanksgiving....Christmas...new job......Paisley Rose born....and there you have it.

Now that's out of the way...here are a few ramblings about our life as it currently sits.

Taylor finished Kindergarten with flying colors and can hardly wait for 1st grade. She was so sad on the last day of school and had a few depressed days following...but thank goodness summer weather has finally arrived to boost her mood...amazing what a few hours of playing outside with the hose can do for a gal!

Bennett is 3 and a sweet sweet "mean guy". The boys have come up with the worst possible thing to yell at each other when they are mad....."You a MEAN GUY!!!"...yelled with mad face....(Bennett does the best mad face...I need to work on getting a picture of it because words just don't do it justice.) Despite the mean guy stuff he is a good little guy. He absolutely loves sharing...especially with Taylor...she is pretty good at conning him out of the toys she wants to play with. And he loves to help. He does love his brother...they fight and play really well together. Bennett got to go on a daddy day the other day and he loved it but a couple hours into it and he said, "Daddy I wanna go home and play with John"....sweet right? Oh another story about Bennett...we were making puppets and his was a puppy but it needed a smiley face so he drew one but apparently it just didn't look like it should and he couldn't get it right...it ended up that he threw a fit about the smile for nearly 10 minutes!!! I tried everything to understand how to make it look right and finally we got it...it needed the little cheek lines....duh mom!!! Favorite phrase is currently "what the..."....pretty funny when he says it.

John can be a rascally fella cause he loves to tease...especially Taylor when she is in the right mood to be upset by it. It is amazing how they learn so quickly the fastest way to make each other flaming mad....good times I tell ya! Let's see what else....he gets quite serious about his play and uses a lot of imagination. He is pure boy and loves all things with wheels. He has also started "shooting" everything. He points his fingers and makes shooting noises and thinks it is hilarious...pretty sure he has no idea what he is doing. He also has this great little maniacal chuckle he does...hilarious. He has also started really wrestling with Bennett...and it is so much fun to watch when they are both in the right mood. We are almost to the point of buying boxing gloves for each of them and saying go at it...it may come to that. Oh and give John an iphone and he can make it do things we didn't even know (or want it) to do. He can't walk by one without running his finger across the screen...he loves angry birds.

And then little Miss Paisley Rose....ah the sweet little caboose of the family. I think she is going to be adored and praised all her life as the best little thing ever. I haven't yet figured out if she really is just an awesome baby or if it just seems that way after having twin boys..or perhaps it is that she can't talk back yet or throw tantrums....or hit...or bite....or scream...or crash stuff into other stuff.....hmmmm....I will let ya know when we figure that one out. But seriously though...she gets the best baby award...hands down! And she is so smiley...I don't remember the other kids being so smiley....but we have learned that I don't have the best memory lately so who knows really. She and Taylor already have this great bond...she just smiles and smiles at Taylor and makes all sorts of sounds to Taylor and Taylor just adores Paisley. The first month I heard nothing but..."When is Paisley gonna wake up...can I feed Paisley....when can I hold Paisley?....is she awake yet?....when is she gonna need to eat?....can I wake her up?" Yes Paisley is loved and adored at our house.

Kirk took a new job with Holmes Clothing. He was hired to run the newly opened Ogden store and he loves it. He is doing a great job selling and bringing in new customers...sales and marketing is totally his thing.

I am staying busy being Momma to these yahoos. I find a little time here and there to fulfill my insane need for all things crafty...I am glad I have it though because sometimes that insane need for craftiness is the only thing that keeps me sane....crazy I know.

Perhaps one day when I am feeling a little more productive I will cover the span of time that I missed with the blog....eh maybe not.

Since I haven't blogged for a minute I have forgotten the best/easiest way for moving pics around and I don't wanna mess with it now...so here are random pics of the kids.

I would like to introduce you to Miss Paisley!

Oh yeah Taylor has lost 2 teeth this past month...we love the tooth fairy!

Precious Paisley again.

Can you just imagine what they are thinking?!?!

aaaahhhhhh

Bennett and spiky hair...he wasn't really digging the impromptu photo session that Mommy wanted to do.

Who has 4 kids?!?!?!?!?!?!

Mr John giggling.

rAnDomNeSs

2010-06-18T22:12:00.002-06:00

Here are a few random ramblings of late.

Bennett and John are doing really well with their speech...Bennett in particular loves to tell you about what happened during the day...he is becoming quite the talker.

Taylor is enjoying her summer and is DYING to go swimming...almost everyday she asks..."mom can we go swimming today?" I just haven't felt brave enough to take all three of them by myself yet...we'll get there don't worry....oh well and the weather hasn't helped much either!! She is still just a little smarty pants and can't wait for Kindergarten.

John is a funny dude and loves teasing everyone....A LOT!! Frankly it is getting a little old, but what do ya do...just enjoy the screaming I guess.

I have started running for the first time in my life and I really like it!! SHOCKING!! I am working on getting faster and increasing my distance a little at a time. Right now I am at about a 10 minute mile...so not too bad for someone who hasn't run before.

We are still working on our projects like crazy and hoping to get them all wrapped up so we can get some good summer playing in!! Random update...done.

Pic update...FINALLY!

2010-06-04T21:27:00.004-06:00

I have been wanting to post some updated pictures of the kids for a long time and finally did it! YAY to me! Last night we took the kids to the park after dinner and we were smart enough to bring the camera...again YAY to us! So here are some of the fun moments we captured...I think that we may have some of the cutest most photogenic kids around.

This was hilarious trying to get 3 kids to smile in the same direction at the same time...after about 30 pictures Kirk and I were both saying.."ok on the count of 3 who wants to go feed the ducks.....1.....2.....3.."....then as the chorus of "MEEEEEEE" rang out Kirk would snap as many as he could hoping that one would work....this one is John's latest excited face. When he gets excited he squeezes his hands as tight as he can and shakes his arms...hilarious.

This is John trying to avoid Momma kisses.....he really does love them I am sure!

We did manage to get one with 3 smiles all looking in the same direction...miraculous I say....now just need to photoshop out the trailer in the background.

My boys! They are at a really fun age right now. Both are doing really well with their speech and really talking a lot...THANK GOODNESS! For a while there their favorite form of communication was to scream at the top of their lungs until someone fixed whatever was wrong...we love words. Speaking of words I think it is so funny the words they pick for some things...for example....'Papa'=grampa...not so weird but wait...'papa' also=tractor...why you ask??? Well Grampa Welling has a tractor...nope not just one but 2 papas (they are sure to correct if you say that grampa has one tractor). Anytime we talk about Gramma and Grampa Welling, Bennett always says, "Bib lellow papa out?" Translation..."Is grampas big yellow tractor out?" Their favorite thing ever is to ride the tractor with Grampa. They learned very early that when some big machine backs up it beeps...I even caught John walking backwards down the haul beep beeping tonight. Grampa is also teaching Taylor how to steer the tractor...she LOVES it as you can imagine..she'll be able to plow the fields in no time!!

I love this picture!! Another miraculous thing happened this night. John actually left the house without his Nebraska beanie on. It is bright red and about a week ago he decided it was his new favorite thing to wear ALL the time....he even sleeps with the thing on. Amazingly enough he left without it last night...but he was sure to wear it to the car show tonight. And no, we are not Nebraska fans....our neighbors however are and they got the boys beanies last winter.

I just love this kid!!! Look at that dimple!!!

This is Bennett taking after Momma and Daddy and practicing his yoga moves...I think this one is called triangle pose.

LOVE LOVE LOVE this picture of little Bennett serious face....he was chasing after a crow and was a little disappointed that it got away.

And here is miss almost ready for Kindergarten herself!!! It seems we have hit a bit of a rough spot with this little lady lately. We are in the HUGE tantrum phase...highly emotional at the drop of a hat it seems. I know you are all thinking how could you ever be upset at that little face...well it happens folks! Hopefully it is just a phase and that we will soon kick it to the curb!!! She is loving her new bed and doing well with the new responsibility of making a BIG bed every morning. The other thing she loves doing lately is talking on the phone. She usually calls one of her grammas and talks and talks until they politely say that they need to get back to doing whatever they were doing. She is a funny little lady.

The great Bed Switcharoo

2010-06-01T09:12:00.003-06:00

It is almost time to start the great potty training of the boys.....SOOOO...that leads to them sleeping in BIG BOY beds....I know I know why do it before the time is here....pretty much shooting myself in the foot with naps but whatdya do? We have twin beds for them but Taylor was using one so that means she got a new BIG bed too!! This is her new big bed. This bed switching has turned into quite the project for momma...(only because I wanted it to be though!)...I made Taylor's bedskirt and appliqued the pillows and refinished the headboard (which you can't really see because of the great pillows-but it is great it also has polka dots). Anyway her bed project was finished yesterday and she was so excited to sleep on a BIG princess bed...and she slept like a princess too!! I have a couple more decor things that I want to make for her walls and when I get those all done I will post pics of those too! But for now here is the bed. Her walls are bright purple so the bright green comforter looks so cute.

I love the way it turned out and can't wait to get the boys' beds done now!! Just wait till you see those! I am making their comforters and have some ideas for some fun decor for their walls!! I LOVE PROJECTS!!!!

Speaking of projects....here is another project we are working on...and it is going to be SO great too! For mother's day Kirk and the kids surprised me with an antique dining table and chairs. It was one I had found on KSL and had been drooling over for a little while. We think it was built in the 20's or 30's, but it is still in really great condition.

I just LOVE the chairs! And to make them even greater my dad found some leather that he has had for YEARS (probably from a moose he killed back in the day) and it is gorgeous and he is going to let us have it to reupholster the chair bottoms!! Our plan is to paint it black and I can hardly wait!! We got the paint stripped off the table this weekend so now we just need to do the 6 chairs. Kirk has a buddy that is a carpenter and he is going to do a new table top out of hard wood for us and help us paint it and sturdy everything up. Whatdya think? Great right?

Oh and you can see Taylor's headboard in the background there...also a fun project!!! I got to breakout the table saw for that one...I added the beadboard panel to the inside before I painted it..it totally updated it!! Not bad for $15!!! Well that is what the Chuggs are working on in a nutshell...more pics to come as we go!!!

BEST Birthday Ever!

2010-04-21T06:53:00.004-06:00

For Momma's birthday on Monday Kirk took the day off! YAY! So it already had great potential. Kirk and I woke up early for our usual morning of butt-kicking exercise and then I opened some presents! Taylor made me a super cute little potted flower and a plaque that she painted all by herself (with gramma's expertise helping). She was so excited to give it to me!! It is super fun! Then I got some capris from the boys aka daddy...unfortunately (or fortunately I guess) they were too big. And then Kirk gave me a surprise date!! He bought tickets to the Utah Symphony and ballet for this week and then I get to pick any restaurant to go to! That will be a super fun date. He also signed us up for a couples cooking class at Sonora Grill....YAY! I am super excited about that too!!! Then once the kiddos were fed and dressed we headed to Ogden to catch the train to SLC.
WOW...I have never seen 2 such excited little boys in my life!!! When we told them at breakfast that that was what we were going to do their faces just lit up and their eyes got HUGE!! "Toot toot tooot tooot" was all we heard until we got there. Taylor has already ridden the train twice so she was an old pro...still excited because she loves it but not nearly as excited as the boys! They were just so cute to watch! Once we got on the train they could not wait for it to move and when it did...wow heaven on a train I tell ya. They loved the whole ride down...we saw lots of "toot toots" and "papas" (tractors) and it was just plain fun! Once we got to the station we hopped on trax and went to Gateway. The boys were excited to get to ride another 'toot toot'.

It was a super nice day so we let the kiddos play in the water fountain thingy. Taylor was all for it but it took Bennett and John a few minutes of watching before they were brave enough to give it a try. Once they did they enjoyed themselves. Bennett got so excited that he accidentaly ran right throught the big sprayers and wasn't thrilled at all...his face looked like he had been shot and he just cried and cried cause he was wet. It was pretty funny. He was less brave after that. Once the kids had their fill of the water we walked around a bit and then went to applebees for lunch...they have their kids menu for 1.99 on mondays...LOVE THAT! Another happy birthday present to me they all 3 ate their food all gone and were happy!!! YAY! Thank you corndogs!! After that everyone was pretty beat so we walked back to the station to get back on the 'toot toot'. We had another exciting ride home full of trains and tractors. We got home, and put the kiddos down for nappies and I also took a nappy....again I say...HAPPY BIRTHDAY to me!! After naps we fixed yummy greek pizza for dinner (my FAVORITE dinner as of late) and had a picnic on the grass. Then we had family over for treats and it was a great night!! THEN...as we were putting kiddos to bed Kirk's mom called and volunteered to come over while the kiddos were sleeping so we could go for a quick motorcycle ride!!! YAY...it was the perfect end to the night!! We drove around for a bit and then went to walmart (the only place open at 9:30) so I could try on some pants...we have been losing weight and I just wanted to see if I could squeeze into the next size down...well I DID! No squeezing required...HAPPY BIRTHDAY to ME AGAIN!!! It was the best birthday EVER!!! Thanks Kirk and kiddos for making it such a great day!!

Sunday Post

2010-03-21T21:29:00.002-06:00

Not much to say just wanted to say "Hey"......"hey!" We took the boys in to the early intervention folks this week and had their speech evaluated and they told us that they are at about the age of an average 15-18month old. Sooooo they qualified for the program. We are excited to learn more about how we can help their speech along. They both have drastically improved since their 2nd birthday but clearly we still have some work ahead of us. They sure are cute little stinks though! I realized I haven't posted any pics lately so that is my goal this week. I will take the kids outside (cross your fingers for continued warm weather) and take some fun pics and post them.

We are all very excited and ready for spring time. Today while we were eating lunch little missy said something about she couldn't wait for spring and I told her that the official first day of spring was yesterday and that it was actually already spring. You would have thought I told her I bought her a pony...her face lit up and she had permagrin on!! Then she looked at me like...your kidding right? Spring is here and I missed the arrival? It was quite the funny little exchange. Next year I will have to remember to plan a welcome spring party...I think I could really get into that!

The boutique went well. We didn't have as many people come as I had hoped but we had some great vendors!! And I thoroughly enjoyed it! A ton of work but really fun in the end.

Kirk and I are still kicking it with p90x! We love and hate it...but mostly love because of the amazing results we are seeing. And it does feel great to know that we did something extremely hard already and it is only 7 am! Makes the day seem very manageable. One morning last week Kirk had a super early meeting so we planned to exercise that night instead and let me just tell you I was miss grumpy that day! I hadn't realized how much those endorphins helped to boost my mood!!! It was crazy the difference exercising can make in my day!! So yes I am sold on p90x!!

I guess I did have something to say after all...whodathought!

I am afraid we may have a genius on our hands ladies and gentlemen!!

2010-03-17T14:23:00.002-06:00

I was tucking little missy in bed the other night. She has a new ritual of counting all of the animals she sleeps with before she lays down to make sure they are all there (and it seems she always finds another to add to the pile). So she counted 8 animals and was glad that they were all accounted for and said, "Hmmm, if I added 2 more then I would have 10. If I added only 1 then I would have nine. If I added 2 more to the 10 then I would have 12. If I added 2 more after that I would have 12. If I added 2 more after THAT then I would have 14, and then 16, and than 18!! Wow mom wouldn't that be a lot of animals???" Once I picked my jaw off the floor I agreed with her that indeed that would be a lot of animals. Ok, so is it just me or is it AMAZING that she just counted by 2's all by herself and without even having to count it out in her head?? I was completely amazed...she is constantly amazing us with her brain power it seems.!!
On another front completely I am close to my wits end with 2 little 2 1/2 year old little boys. This morning it seemed they screamed either at me or each other for 3 hours straight! I am sure it wasn't that long but good heck it sure felt that way! And now to my great joy they are screaming in their room refusing to take a NAP!!! AAAAARRRRRHHHHHH!!! I think it is good that they can play the rest of the day outside!!!!! Mama needs a BREAK!!! Even though I just had one on Saturday I just feel plain worn out today~!!!!!

Spring Boutique!

2010-02-12T07:47:00.002-07:00

We are having another boutique! It is Saturday March 13th from 10 am to 7 pm. I am super excited and we have a lot of super great vendors coming!! It will be so fun! Stop on by if you can!!

Quick funny

2010-01-28T17:00:00.003-07:00

Funniest thing happened this morning. Bennett was playing with the toy vacuum and John was laying on the ground. So Bennett goes over on bonks John in the head with the vacuum. So I tell Bennett that he needs to go kiss John better and tell him he's sorry. So he turns his back to John gives me his best grumpy face and says, "NO!". So I say, ok then give me the vacuum. Again, "NO!" So I say, "Bennett give John a kiss and say your sorry or I get to keep the vacuum." He still doesn't do anything so I take the vacuum from him. So he slowly slowly walks over to John and kneels down next to him all the while looking at me with grumpy face. Then he leans down and plants a big 'ole raspberry on John's head! Bennett and John both just started laughing hysterically!!! It was hilarious!!! What a funny way to start out the day!! I love my crazy little boys.
Just in case you were wondering they are still complete boys! Throwing, crashing, smashing, hitting, bonking, screaming, running, jumping, and dumping ALL DAY LONG!! Yup and they are not even 3 yet!! HERE WE GO!
Oh and they have also entered the "MOM" stage. Here's how it goes:
S1 or S2 and sometimes both (stink 1 or 2): Mom....mom....mom...MOM.....MOM!!!!!
Mom: What Bennett (and/or John)?
S1: Mom.....mom....mom.....momm..mom.....mom!!!!
Mom: Bennett...what?!?!
S1: Mom....mom......mom.....momm.....mom!!!!
Mom: Bennett when i say what you need to tell me what you need? What do you need?
S1: uuuuuuhmmmmm
By this point either he has forgotten what he needed or he just wanted to see how long it would take before I exploded...you don't even want to know how many times a day we have this conversation!!!!
And because a post isn't a post without a little poopy story...here is what happened yesterday.
Stink 1 and Stink 2 were not going down for their nappy very well so I went in for the 12th time to give them the mean momma face and tell them to go to sleep and I find both of them butt naked!!! Bennett was happy as a jaybird with his freedom but John was screaming and kept saying "poop! poop! poop!". Yup...that's right...he pooped in his bed! What a fun mess that was to clean up!! BOYS!!! Well I learned that they both still require double onesies and safety pins for nappy time....LESSON LEARNED.....again.....

New Crochet Items!!

2010-01-25T10:24:00.002-07:00

Check out my craft blog!!! I just posted some new items that I love!!! www.myccdesigns.blogspot.com.

Taylor's New Do!!

2010-01-20T11:18:00.004-07:00

Taylor decided she wanted to cut her hair "short" so on Saturday we did it!! She enjoyed the experience and was so good about holding still. This was Taylor's first "official big girl" haircut. Here is before...
And here she is after...

Doesn't she look like a big kid?!? She almost looks big enough to go to Kindergarten!! Yup this August she will be off to school...we got a Kindergarten sign up this week!! It really is quite hard to believe. Hopefully I will have some time to post more soon because we have had a lot going on in this house as of late.

Fancy Boys and other randomness

2009-11-24T07:29:00.003-07:00

Well the boys have been officially introduced to the world of girly dress ups! Taylor took Bennett and John downstairs yesterday and they came back upstairs with princess dresses on...and let me tell you they were thrilled!! They thought they were hilarious! I wish I would have taken some pics...but I didn't. John only tried on one outfit but Bennett tried on 3 or 4. He would come upstairs with Taylor to do fashion show and then head back down and Taylor would re-dress him. It was quite hilarious and he was having a grand time! His little face when he would peek around the corner with a new fancy on was priceless!!!

A couple weeks ago I went into the boys room to get them up after their nap and I found Bennett's pants with a big tear down the leg from the waist to the cuff! There was a hole in the knee before nap but holy cow!! I didn't know he was capable of that kind of destruction! I have a pic somewhere I will post when I have a minute to find it!

Super funny Taylor story. So Taylor and her little friend were playing the other night and Kirk went down to tell him that it was time to go. He found her little friend on one side of the room with a strange look on his face and Taylor was on the other side of the room in her panties trying to put a princess dress on. So Kirk asked what they were doing and her little friend said, "We are getting married and she is getting her dress on. These are our kids (pointing to some stuffed animals). She's going to have the babies though but first we are getting married. And first we have to dance." HILARIOUS!!! It's a whole different type of play when a little boy plays....I am surprised she was able to talk him into it.

That's all for now but I am sure I have more to post later!

Hats hats hats for sale!!

2009-11-11T14:17:00.001-07:00

I just finished posting a bunch more pictures on my crochet blog! Check it out and tell your friends!! These hats make great gifts! www.myccdesigns.blogspot.com

New Blog

2009-11-10T10:10:00.002-07:00

Checkout my new blog for my hats! myccdesigns.blogspot.com!!

Happy Halloween and such!

2009-11-02T16:27:00.004-07:00

Happy Halloween from Cat in the Hat, Thing 1, Thing 2, Cindy Lou Who, and Dr. Seuss!

The crazy little Things!

This is Taylor's best Cat in the Hat face!

Little Johnny's cute little face in his latest hat! He'll wear it while he is outside but the minute we get in he is done with it.

Bennett loves getting all accessorized to go outdoors! He loves to wear his hats.

MMMMMMMM.............

........WWWWWAAAAAAH! A kiss from Bennett and John!

Handmade Hats For Sale!

2009-10-29T21:25:00.003-06:00

I have been bitten by the crochet bug and I love it! I am offering custom crocheted hats for sale! Anything or any color is available! Below are a few of the styles/colors I have done most recently. They make great Christmas gifts or would be great for fall/winter family photos! All hats only $15!!

Taylor just loves these hats and loves helping me choose color combinations.

These are some fun sets that I have experimented with. They are 4 piece sets for $30 (hat, flower clippie, purse, and gloves)

A sampling of hair/hat clippies for $2.50 each.

Little boy earflap hats.

Mommy Motif Hats...I love this hat! This hat is $18-lots of extra work here!

If you or anyone you know is interested just leave me a comment and I will contact you!

it's been awhile!

2009-10-28T13:04:00.004-06:00

Yes I have not posted for quite a long time....life gets busy...nuff said. I will try to summarize our life for the past month or so.
Gramma and Grampa Chugg took us all to the Circus at the end of September and we had a blast!! The kids loved it all! John especially loved the elephants and anytime anything caught his eye he would say "Da Da Da" and point until Kirk looked to see what he was pointing at. It was a very very fun night.

This was at the circus...Bennett & John and Daddy sure love "vrooms"!

For about a month John and Bennett had a daily ritual of emptying all the drawers full of clothes and throwing them everywhere. This is evidence of the last time it happened...Mommy and Daddy finally wised up and put their dresser in Taylor's room....(it only took us a month)! John wasn't too happy about grumpy Mommy.

The first part of October we headed down to St. George with the fam. Gramma and Grampa Welling and Rob & Katie came too. We had a great weekend and enjoyed the warmer weather. We were even able to go swimming in the pool and on a bike ride! YAY! On the way home we decided to spend some time in Zion so we did and went on a few little hikes with the kiddos. It was very beautiful!

One morning while in St. George we decided to go for a hike up Snow Canyon. We picked the 3 ponds trail thinking it would be a fun hike and it would have been had it not been for the 6 inches of sand that covered 80% of the trail! I just had my tennis shoes and they have mesh and so just 2 or 3 steps in the sand and my shoes were full of sand...bleh. I think we hiked for an hour or two and the pic above is one of the so called "ponds"...umm excuse me...pretty sure that's a puddle! The hike was beautiful but the end was totally lamo! The kids did pretty well considering by the time we got back it was 2 hours past lunch and naps! Taylor really is a good hiker though...she's a trooper. And luckily for her our friend Fabbi went with us and she carried Taylor quite a bit of the way.

This is our favorite tree in our backyard! Beauty right? Autumn Blaze Maple we love you even if you do cover our backyard with a carpet of leaves!

Just raking and playing.

In the middle of October Mom and Dad gave us a week in a condo at Park City and it was so fun! This is the kids at Wasatch State Park in Midway. They loved feeding the ducks here...probably the highlight of the trip for the boys. Taylor loved the swimming pool at the condo...very nice! We had a really nice 5 days there. We cut the trip a little short because the boys were big 'ole bears...like this guy below.

We did have fun and we especially enjoyed bedtime...as usual but especially because the room had an awesome jet tub and steam shower....so relaxing! That helped make up for the chaos of the awake hours.

The kids really really really loved the big tub too. I think they probably took an hour bath every night...good way to kill time before bedtime! This is John with his bubble beard. I think we decided that we won't be going on another family trip to a hotel type destination for a little while because Bennett and John are SCREAMERS! Wow they are loud lately! I am pretty sure the people around us probably asked to be moved! Ahh...traveling with family....good times!

Well I think that about catches us up. Oh the craft fair was super fun! Everything went well and I sold some stuff and we had a pretty good turn out. Definitely going to try to do it again next year!

Now we are just gearing up for our super Halloween donut extravaganza! Speaking of that...this year as our "fundraiser" we are collecting food for the shelters in the area...so come get a donut and bring a can of food (or something non-perishable like that).

Holy cow I totally forgot about the boys birthday! DOY! They turned 2 last week! We took them to Petco that morning to look at the animals...they totally loved that. One day when we get brave we will get a dog but we are not ready for that yet. They both just love animals so it was the perfect thing to do. Then that evening we had the family over for cinnamon rolls since Bennett and John do not like cake. It was really fun and the boys were very spoiled...we now have many many new toys which makes for many many hours of happy entertainment...Happy Birthday to ME!!!

We have the perfect Halloween costumes for Taylor, Bennett, and John this year! Just wait till I do that post...It will be amazing I am so excited....stay tuned!!!

Unbiased Mommy Brag

2009-09-12T15:15:00.005-06:00

This morning we had some relaxing time spent in the yard and I realized I haven't taken pics of the kiddos for a long time. So I got the camera out and before I knew it I had taken 100 pictures! Well fortunately for you I didn't post them all...but I want you to know...the majority of them were 'post worthy' because we have the cutest durn kids EVER!! That is my humble unbiased opinion of course. Take a look for yourself!

John was the most photogenic today..he just kept making funny faces and doing funny things. I think he was thinking, "Doh, I know Mom has told me a million times not to stick my head in there!"

Bennett is really good at the cheeser grins!

This is John's GQ pose. Handsome little devil isn't he even with a snotty nose and muddy face? Doesn't he just look like a big kid here?

He was saying "HOT" cause he touched the sunny part of the deck.

Oh I take that back...this is John's GQ pose.

And here is our most beautiful Taylor...what a face that little lady has!!

Ah yes...we caught it on camera...Bennett's HULK face!

OHHHH!! Doesn't he look so sweet and innocent??

AwwwWw!! By now I am sure you all agree...DURN CUTE!!!

Chugg Station Craft Boutique

2009-09-11T08:02:00.003-06:00

Craft Boutique October 10 from 10-8.
Check out the blog...www.chuggstation.blogspot.com. It is going to be great! Tell your friends!

Positives

2009-09-08T13:13:00.002-06:00

I decided today to post some of the fun things the boys have done lately...they do so many daily but they sometimes get overshadowed by the naughty things they do. Bennett's new thing is that when John is crying Bennett will go get a burp rag to wipe John's runny nose with. The first time he did it I thought it was just a fluke thing but the next time he did it I realized he knew exactly what he was doing. He saw John's runny nose and thought to help. Bennett is also very concerned about everyone's owies...if he is sitting by John he will inspect his legs for scratches and say "oohhhwwie". Bennett is really starting to use new sounds and more understandable words as of late. He is especially good at Dada and Mama now...oh and "yeah". We are trying to work on "Taylor" but that is pretty tricky for both of them.

John is still Mr. Adventure. He loves exploring and doing his own thing. He is also quite the little jokester...he will do silly sounds or make silly faces to try and get a laugh. The other day I was trying to put them down for a nap and they just both kept laughing and laughing instead of sleeping. So I went in their room to tell them again to go to sleep and they both had their blankies over their heads like ghosts and they were just laughing. Silly silly boys. I am glad they can make each other laugh...if only it would happen less at naptime we'd be set.

We all went to Smith and Edwards yesterday to look at some different things...holy cow that is a crazy store. I had never really walked back through all the surplus stuff...they have so many random things it is amazing. Kirk decided he wants an old WWII jumpsuit or coat after looking through the racks and racks of old military getups...the more holes the better. Anyway while we were there we walked down the toy aisles. John was in heaven when we walked by all the toy tractors (holy cow they are expensive by the way). He just kept pointing at everything and saying, "OOHHHHHH" with great excitement. We know what to get him for his birthday now!! Oh how I love my little family!!

New Dealio

2009-09-01T10:48:00.002-06:00

I have a new project I am working on to help build our book collection and help others do the same. I signed up to be an Usborne Books & More Consultant. And it is going to be fun!! I have been signed up for weeks but I am just now starting to delve into it and learning what I can. So if you are interested in purchasing any books for your own collection or as gifts for Christmas, either let me know or visit my website at www.myubam.com/D3210. I am getting ready to put an order in within the next week or so. Or if you would like to host a show to earn some free books we could schedule that as well. I am excited about my new venture!!

Fence!!

2009-08-31T08:10:00.003-06:00

Our fence is OFFICIALLY done!! Our little rascals officially cannot escape the backyard! Can I tell you how happy I am! I think this is going to completely change my life!! I think it turned out beautifully and it is going to be awesome!!

This is the part that Kirk built to enclose the opening to the carport...didn't he do an awesome job? It looks so nice!!! He's so handy!!

Due to some crazy N.O. city rules we could only do 3 1/2 feet high on the one side...but it still looks nice I think.

YAY for our new fence!!!!

Twin Tornadoes at it Again!

2009-08-18T07:34:00.003-06:00

I know you have all been waiting to hear what our crazy little boys are up to now...well good gravy...it's almost miraculous they are alive after the past couple days!!! Where to begin...ahh yes...where it always begins...Sunday morning. Let me just set it up for you in case you don't remember how our Sunday mornings go. Kirk is outta here by 6:50 and usually not back until 8 or later. Then he is gone again by either 9 or 9:30 depending on the Sunday and home by 10:50 to take us to church. For some reason I have this crazy need to get showered and fix myself on Sunday mornings...probably because I know for a fact that I will be seen in public and be talking to people...honestly the only day of the week I do this..(better clarify I do shower almost daily but I NEVER do my hair...I believe you will see why in a moment.) Now on to the mornings events. Fixed breakfast for the kiddos that went fairly well..only had to tell John 12 times to sit down in his chair (seriously the kid needs a helmet I think..more on this later). I think they didn't throw too much food on the floor this time...I think. Then on to diaper changing and finding clothes for them all to wear...also went fairly well once I rounded them up. Then it was my turn so I put on some kiddo church songs thinking that would help keep them occupied this Sunday. So I shower and start getting ready and I really only spend 30 minutes start to finish but when I am done I find the tornadoes busy at work. They had opened and emptied 3 drawers in their dressers, the pants drawer, the shorts drawer (yes they have a seperate drawer for shorts), and the shoes drawer and they were thrown quite literally all over the entire room. Even found some in the cribs and on top of the dresser. So ok..that's one's not too bad because their drawers weren't too organized anyway...I'm just mad that they figured out how to open them...I thought their room was safe...bleh! So then I head to the front room where I have a pile of crocheting that I have been working on and I thought I had made it so they wouldn't get into it...wrongo...they dumped a bunch of stuff all over the floor behind the recliner. Eesh! So I didn't even attempt to clean any of it up because it was now quarter to and I still had yet to pack the church bag. The bag full of feeble attempts to keep two 22 month old boys busy and quiet during sacrament meeting. By the time everyone was loaded in the van I turned to Kirk and felt like I had accomplished something amazing..(we even high fived)...only to realize we hadn't even started church yet. Needless to say we did not even really attempt sacrament meeting...we made it through the sacrament and then bolted. I did feel bad about this. We got the boys home and in bed and realized that sacrament sure doesn't last long when you aren't wrestling two crazies! Before we knew it, it was already 2 o'clock when we would normally be coming home! I think the rest of Sunday was just the normal crazy...no big catastrophes to report.
Monday is a different story however. I am pretty sure I spent the entire morning stopping the boys from doing things they shouldn't have been doing. The fence people were coming to start installing our fence so I went outside for a minute to see if Kirk needed any help and pretty soon I hear a Taylor voice, "Mom you better come see what the boys are doing!". CRAP! So I run inside to find John with the bottle of jet dry swinging it up and down squirting jet dry all over the kitchen floor. He also got the garbage can out and managed to soak himself with floor cleaner. I am pretty sure he drank some of it because it was also dripping down his chin. I am so glad I didn't have any powdered dishwashing soap under there cause wow...they would have loved playing in that. So I read all the cleaning bottles that they had out and they all said in case of ingestion just drink water. So I forced John and Bennett to drink a whole bunch of water and hopefully they won't suffer any lasting effects. Needless to say the only thing under the sink now is garbage cans and empty grocery sacks (it looks really nice-very clean now). All cleaners have been moved to the basement in the laundry room in a closet on a high shelf...pretty sure that should have been done a long time ago but didn't think about it because Taylor has only just recently been able to open that cupboard because the magnets are strong. BOYS!
Later I was doing laundry and the boys always basically chase me downstairs when I am doing laundry because they love the laundry room. They are only allowed in when I am doing laundry and it is usually ok because they just play with the extra bottles of shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, etc. (Our food storage, etc is in the laundry room and that is the only shelf they can reach). So normally I have no problem letting them move bottles around and restack stuff-they are busy and happy and I can just get the laundry in. Well those days are gone my friend. I finished up and started herding them out the door to find Bennett covered in slime. He had managed to open the kids shampoo and dump it on himself and all over the shelf. Fortunately it was soap so it washed off and once again I have a really clean shelf....yay. I tell ya what...I feel like an idiot when stuff like this happens...why don't I think to myself, "Carin remember what these guys can do...perhaps you shouldn't let them play with bottles of shampoo." If only. Anyway other than the constant reminder to them to get off the back of the couch and sit on their bums the rest of the day was ok.
Oh yeah...about John needing a helmet. We were up at my parents house this weekend for the hot air balloon festival and we were watching some go up and the kids were all standing on the bottom rung of the little fence and I turn around and somehow John managed to fall through the fence and land on his head on the sprinkler pipe that Grampa uses to water the field. He was doing a perfect head stand on the pipe when I saw him. Poor little guy got a gash in his head. Fortunately it didn't bleed as bad as I thought it would. By today it just looks like he has bugers stuck in his hair. Probably should get the kid a helmet...he constantly has bonks and bruises on his cranium.
On the lighter side of things, Taylor had a blast at her cousin Anna's birthday party yesterday. It was a dog party and Taylor was so excited for it she kept asking me if it was time for lunch yet because I told her Anna's party was after lunch! She even decided to wear her little poodle costume to surprise Anna. She had a great time...Michelle made it really fun and Taylor came home with fuzzy dog ears, a tail, a dog collar, and a new adopted puppy (complete with dog bowl, food, and adoption certificate) named Blueberry. Except last night before going to bed she changed his name to Cloudy because his eyes are blue and white like clouds. I thought she named him Blueberry because he was blue but when I was tucking her in I remembered that she loves sleeping with Berry her bear and probably really named her dog Blue Berry, not Blueberry. Anyway she had a great time! While we were there picking her up Bennett wanted to put the pink poodle costume on. So we put it on him and then he crawled around Michelle's house barking like a dog...funny little guy. He wouldn't take the costume off when it was time to go. I had to buckle him in the car with the big fluffy costume on because he wouldn't let me take it off. I thought for sure when we got home he would want it off first thing because he was sweating-his hair was all matted down under the hood, but he kept it on while we played outside for an hour and finally took it off when we came in. Crazy kid!
While at Michelle's, Bennett and John were introduced do their cat well kitten-big kitten. Bennett was really good and would just be soft and pet him but John just wanted to squeeze the poor cat. So I thought if I put him in my lap and held the cat that would work but when the cat wanted to get away John grabbed a big handful of cat and wouldn't let go. I had to pry his fingers loose. It's lucky that cat didn't bite John...he probably should have gotten bitten. Another time I looked over at John and he had the cat by the tail and the back leg and wouldn't let go. Pretty sure we won't ever own a cat.
One more quick story. Bennett has started to get quite a temper and throw some big fits. I have decided to call him the Hulk because he will get made and then just throw whatever he can find that he can lift. The other day we were outside and I made him let John have a turn with the hose, well he didn't like that idea and went over to their little push bike and tried to lift it over his head and chuck it. Then he went to the other one and did the same thing all the while doing his meanest maddest scream! Very hulkish wouldn't you agree. I just sat there and laughed at him cause it was so funny. I'll try to get that one on video..it is sooo video worthy!
Well I think my post should be done now...time to start the day! Hopefully tornado season is over for a while. (I can always hope)....

Jam jammin' Jam

2009-07-22T14:17:00.004-06:00

3 batches of jam done by Noon! Wahoo! Good work to me! Now I am tired! Here are some funny pics of the kiddos this morning before the jam explosion in my kitchen!

This is Taylor's selfie...she loves the camera lately.

Tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum...John loves Taylor's tinkerbell hat.

Birth Control Blog

2009-07-20T15:32:00.003-06:00

We were at Kirk's ten year high school reunion this weekend and one of our friends came up to me and said this, "Your blog makes me glad I don't have kids," or something to that effect. At the time I wasn't offended in the slightest and even joked about it because let's face it...Mommyhood is hard and not for the faint hearted. But the more I have thought about it the more I have wished that I would have come up with a snappy little reply, however even now I have trouble coming up with what that reply would be...suggestions?
I have a really hard time understanding why people wouldn't want to experience this most difficult and rewarding of life experiences. Yes, it is hard. Yes, it requires HUGE amounts of sacrifice and selflessness. Yes, sometimes I want to lock myself in the bathroom and scream and/or cry. But yes, I absolutely LOVE it and wouldn't trade the hard parts for anything because that is what makes me strong and that is what makes the great times truly great. How great is it to look at a child and think 'there is a part of me in that little person'. And how great is it to think 'I can have some influence in the kind of person this little person will be'. How awesome to have such an awesome responsibility!
I guess the part that bothers me the most about this encounter is that when I was talking to her I found myself belittling myself and my job and I walked away from the conversation feeling small. I am not small...my job is important. I am not "just a stay at home mom." I have real value and I am making a REAL difference in this world. The reason it is great is BECAUSE it is hard, not despite it being hard.

Birthday Bash and Emergency Surgery...what else do you need in a day?

2009-07-11T07:55:00.005-06:00

Taylor's birthday was Wednesday and we had an amazingly fun birthday party with friends and family thank you in large part to the party planning genius of Angela (seriously how do we ever do anything fun when she isn't here to plan and coordinate?). Here it is in picture format!

Grandma let us borrow the AWESOME waterslide for the event...totally fun!

Here is Grandma snuggling the grandkiddos to keep them warm while they eat their snowcones.

The famous party planner herself in the Momma section.

Taylor and the MOST DELICIOUS cupcakes you will ever eat. If you want to try something really great, just mix a packet of koolaid in the frosting...great color and flavor! (Warning: do not try if you have any tastebuds whatsoever-apparently kids between the ages of 2 and 5 fit in this category)

The birthday girl herself with her friend the parrot.

Beach babies trying to get warm on the hot hot deck.

Tarin was the self-designated snowcone chef in our tiki hut. I don't think she left her post for an hour or so. The kids all had 4 or 5 snowcones...yum!

Near the end of the party I get a call that Kirk has just been sent to the ER to have an emergency appendectomy. We knew he was sick because he had been at the clinic all morning trying to get diagnosed...I was sure it was just a bad stomach flu or something but after the CT scan they sent him to the hospital. So I rushed off and Momma Welling and Angela came to the rescue and took over as hostesses of the party which didn't end until 4:30 or something I think. Pretty sure Taylor didn't even know we were gone...GOOD WORK TO THEM!! They also undecorated, cleaned up the party, fed dinner to the kids, and bathed the kids! AMAZING and THANK YOU THANK YOU!!

Kirk went in for surgery around 5:30 and was out by 6. Because it was so late in the day they made him stay overnight. I gotta tell you this whole healthcare system they have going on is a little wacky...it's like they plan things so every part of the system gets their fair share of the bill. Kirk started at the clinic, then was sent to another clinic for the scan. Then even though they knew he needed surgery he had to be admitted to the ER (to generate yet another bill), and then finally they took him up to the OR. GOOD GRAVY...all with no pain killers!! BLess him!! Anyway the surgery went well and the recovery is going well also thank you lortab!

That sums up Taylor's 4th birthday! Happy Birthday sweetie! Another birthday we won't soon be forgetting. Oh now that Kirk is home she keeps saying things like, "I sure missed Daddy on my birthday. I am so glad he's home!" What a sweetie!! We are planning a do-over day when Daddy is fully recovered and able to play.

BOYS BOYS BOYS

2009-07-06T15:01:00.003-06:00

Again here I am with more mischievous little boy stories...unfortunately these all happened within 4 days of each other.
The first one happened when the really exceptionally good little boy stories usually happen...while Mommy is indisposed in the potty. On this particular day I open the door of the bathroom to find naked John with poop smeared all over his body. AAAHH! So I frantically run to find the discarded diaper and find it sitting in the carpet next to naked Bennett in the front room!!! AAHHH Upon closer inspection I see poop all over in the carpet as well!!! HOLY COW boys are nasty!! All this mess and only 9 am. Naturally I stuck them in the tub as quick as I could and cleaned up what I could...yikes. One bonus...I have really clean carpet for a minute. BOYS!!

The next unfortunate event happened the next morning. We were in my bedroom and I was organizing my closet and drawers and I was sure that my room had been little boy proofed. So I was gabbing on the phone while going through my clothes and turn around to find Bennett covered in my thick cream that I have been using for my nasty itchy skin (another story all together). He seriously had gobs of it on his hands and face and all over his favorite tractor that he carries with him wherever he goes. I looked over to the nightstand where I keep my cream and I catch John with his hands in the cream jar...apparently he has just begun his turn finger painting because he wasn't too shmeared yet. But Bennett had really gone to town on the wall, alarm clock, floor and nightstand...all beautifully finger painted with thick greasy cream!!!!! BOYS!!!!

The third event took place at Grandma and Grandpa Welling's just yesterday (just 2 days after the cream incident) and John was the only culprit. We had just gotten done eating our yummy dinner and we were all hanging out outside. Sure enough here comes John down the back lawn complaining about his sticky black hands. He apparently had discovered the grease trap to the grill and there were little black John hand prints all over around the grill and upper deck. Seriously how does he find this stuff!!!! BOYS!!!!!

Poop Scooper AKA Mom

2009-06-22T09:43:00.003-06:00

Yup I have now added a new job title to the ever growing list of jobs included in the "Mommy" job description. The other night Kirk was giving John and Bennett their baths and discovered a little something special floating in the water so we quickly ended bath and I began getting them dressed while he disinfected the tub so the girls could have a bath (Dan and Ang's girls were here). So I got John diapered up and started dressing him and realized that I should probably at least put Bennett's diaper on before we had an accident...well...while I was walking him over to the "station", Tarin screams, "He's pooping!!!" So I act without thinking and catch what I can in my hand....wow talk about a messed up instinct. In this situation the Mommy instinct didn't really pay off for me. I say let it drop on the carpet...I have great carpet cleaner!!

Yesterday on the way up to Grandma and Grandpa's for dinner we were at a stop sign and Taylor said, "Stop....stop...Mommy that says stop! I can read now!!!!! Let's find a big word for me to read!!!!" It was hilarious...mostly because everytime we come to a stop sign we go through this drill:
Taylor: Mommy what does that sign say?
Mom: Sound it out.
Taylor: sssss ttttttt oooooo ppppppp. STOP. I did it!
Mom: Good job Taylor.
She then begins her repertoire of questions regarding traffic rules...Why do you stop? How do you drive the car? What does the yellow light mean? What's that sound clicking (the blinker)? and on and on...my she is inquisitive.
Her latest thing is to say, "Mommy I need to watch you change his pooper diaper so that when I'm a mommy I know how to do it." Also insert fix dinner, make cookies, wash laundry, etc. What 3 year old thinks like this?

Two Wild and Crazy Guys!

2009-06-08T13:59:00.003-06:00

Note to self...don't give Bennett and John the big yellow bowls for lunch!
Quick little man story: This afternoon while fixing lunch they were playing together nicely (wow!) and Bennett went up behind John and gave him a big hug and they both just laughed and laughed. Bennett ended up giving John probably 10 hugs! Oh I love my boys!!!

"boys boys boys!!"

2009-06-01T14:22:00.002-06:00

We have had a few more funny moments this week that I thought I would share. A few days ago I was fixing dinner (the grumpiest time of the day for most everyone at our house). And I could hear Bennett and John laughing in the front room. So I went to check it out to make sure they weren't having too much fun if you know what I mean, and I found them chasing this fly around on the window. I thought, "great they will be entertained and happy while I finish fixing dinner, no way will they be able to catch that little guy!" Well, a few minutes later Bennett comes into the kitchen crying so I went to see what happened and John had something in his mouth. Sure enough he caught that fly and decided to eat it (what else would you do with a fly?)!! YUCK! Fortunately (I guess), he didn't swallow it. John sure does have a fascination with bugs though. He just wants to poke them all. When we go outside I will sometimes catch him standing right in front of the raspberry bushes just staring at them. Finally I figured out that the reason he stares is because he is watching the hundreds of bees that are pollinating the buds. Clearly he hasn't been stung yet or that fascination would be done I think.

I also had another fun surprise upon leaving the bathroom the other day. Bennett and John we sitting on the kitchen table splashing in a large puddle of water. They were just as happy as could be and as wet as could be. I of course did the only thing I could think of and took a picture...(I'll post later)...I love to send those mixed messages-don't climb on the table but if you do I'll take your picture.

By the way, I did get past my hard day...and I'm no longer grumpy or bitter or wanting to complain. Just had to get it out there so I could get past it. It's amazing how cathartic that can be to even just admit that you are a little ticked off or grumpy or whatever...go figure. Thank goodness for blogs I guess.

More headbands

2009-05-27T15:32:00.002-06:00

I made these headbands for sisters...a 2 year old and a new baby...what do you think? This was today's sanity project.....yup it worked I'm still sane!! I will do matching flowers for each set.

Mommy needs timeout

2009-05-26T09:53:00.004-06:00

Ok...so I am in serious need of some blog therapy today so here we go. We have entered a stinkin hard stage with our little twin tornadoes...today I have been thinking...this is my life???....seriously? They are into EVERYTHING!!!!!! I just am feeling very done today and we are nowhere near bedtime...it's only 10:00!!! AAAHHHHH!!!! Let me explain what I think has led to this little breakdown of mine.
Sunday morning went like this:
-Kirk is basically at meetings from 7 until 10:30....so I have the lucky job of getting everyone ready for church all by myself
-Boys are sick AGAIN so no church for them (originally I thought this would help Sunday morning go more smoothly...wrong again)
-While getting Taylor ready for church the tornadoes manage to open the cereal cupboard and dump 2 full boxes of cereal all over the kitchen and front room...but this shouldn't bother me because they were only getting a snack right? (they even got themselves little bowls out to put their contraband treats in)
-They also emptied the hamper (for the umpeenth time)
-Also they got into the laptop bag and had the cords everywhere.
So that was Sunday morning before ten.
Today John climbed up on the kitchen table to play with the laptop while Bennett fell off the kitchen chair...after they pulled the fireplace screen over on themselves and threw balls and Taylor's doll in the fireplace. AAAAHHHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAH!! I just feel very done. I get that they don't feel great and I get that they are only 19 months old and I get that they are boys and boys are different....but SERIOUSLY!?!?!?!?!? I don't want to hear how one day I will miss this. I don't want to hear how cute and funny this is. I don't want to hear how before I know it they will be old and gone and I will be so sad. I just don't want to hear any of that because right now it's just too hard. I guarentee I won't miss this stage just like I don't miss spending all but maybe 3 hours of my day feeding babies.
This morning I felt it was just tooo much for me to handle. So I closed them in their bedroom and I can hear them making all sorts of ruckus but I just can't deal with it right now so here I type and there they cry.
I know that I have more things to be grateful for then I can even mention, I have a great husband who is home every night, we are all healthy for the most part, we are doing ok financially, we just spent a great day yesterday together on a hike, and on and on and really we are surviving just fine but today I just feel spent!!!! SERIOUSLY!!! I get that everyone has their days and things could be so much worse but I just want to be grumpy and ornery and complain for a second....I just need to get it out and then dig in again. I will be fine....life is good...life is good...life is good.
Last night while putting Taylor to bed I said, "Have good sleeps" and she said, "Mommy sometimes when I am sleeping, my baby wakes me up because she is crying for me so I might not sleep." And I said, "Taylor would you like me to take care of your baby tonight so you can sleep?" "Yes Mommy." I said, "being a mommy is sometimes hard isn't it." Taylor said, "it sure is." Holy cow it is! Well I'm going to go have a good cry and then I will be ready to go again and it is probably time to let the tornoadoes loose.

Some Pictures

2009-05-21T16:25:00.007-06:00

I realized that we haven't posted kiddo pics for a while so here you go!

This is on our hike (who am I kidding it didn't last long enough to be considered a hike...it was really a walk) in the foothills last week.

Mr. John loves his hat.

This is Bennett. We took the kids to the temple the other day to get some spring pictures of them with the tulips.

This is Taylor with her latest headband...my favorite so far!
And Taylor at her final dance performance. She did a great job!!

I'm on a ROLL!!

2009-05-19T15:16:00.004-06:00

So I found this great pattern for headbands last night and had to try it out...here it is!!!

You'll have to excuse my model...she is currently napping and I wasn't about to wake her up...so thank you Miss Cabbage Patch. This at least gives you an idea of how it might look on Taylor Baylor!

Oh and the greatest part is the flower is removable!! So I can make flowers in all sorts of different shapes and colors and just attach with the button in the middle to coordinate with the color of the day!! YAYAY!! Next I'm going to try a skinnier headband I think but still go with the button flower idea...whatdyathink?

My latest creation

2009-05-18T13:43:00.002-06:00

So I finally finished this crochet bag I've been working on forever! I'm so happy it's done I had to share! It took me so long though, I don't really want to use it for the chance I might ruin it or something...go figure. I'm sure I'll get over that quick! Yay it's done!!!

The Mother Load

2009-05-04T21:19:00.004-06:00

I always thought I had been pretty appreciative of the job Carin did staying home with our kids. That is until she left to Virginia last week. I have had the kids alone for a couple of days in a row but never this long. She's been gone for 5 days. I have really enjoyed being home with the kids and spending more time with them than usual. They are good kids. Good kids or not, this is not a job for the half-hearted mother. This job is all-in.

I usually leave for work when the kids are getting dressed for the day. From that point until dinner, I thought I knew what went on here. This job doesn't end. I have been more involved since the boys were born just because with twins, it's a two-person job. I have to admit that I was reluctant to lose our MVP for 5 days and I was quite nervous about it. I learned a few things while Carin was gone.

1. Paper plates make for less dishes but more garbage.

2. McDonald's Drive thru and Totino's party pizzas are life savers

3. Don't say the word "outside" unless you plan on putting on 6 little shoes right now!

4. Grandmas are a big help.

5. Rags begin to stink without a daily load of laundry. I tried to microwave them. I figured it would get rid of the smell. It did.

6. New dishrags aren't that expensive.

7. If it's a rainy, dark morning and the babies wake up early, tuck them back in and give them a binky and they'll sleep for another hour.

8. Rainy days equal long days

9. Humming while Plugging my ears under the shower behind 2 closed doors is the only way to find harmonic solace from the crying. Even daddy needs a time out sometimes.

10. King beds are no good if there is no queen. Thank you night time sleep aid.

Success #1-I did master the 4 hour afternoon nap. Chalk that up to more crying than usual and a noteably quieter house because daddy napped too.

Success #2-No one was critically injured or taken to the hospital

Success #3-I taught Taylor how to play baseball

Yes, now I understand better why my wife's hair is more often than not pulled back in a hasty pony tail. When you shut the bathroom door crying and fits ensue. I now am beginning to understand how much work it takes to run this place, buy groceries, plan meals, fix meals (on time), have a calling in the church, do laundry, get the kids outside, read to them, clean the house and still have enough energy to want to even think about going to the gym or doing yardwork-let alone taking care of a clueless husband.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed being with the kids. I missed Carin horribly though. I will try to be more helpful when I can and try to be more aware as a husband. It's been an eye-opening experience for this husband. I am married to a marvel of a woman that balances this crazy life without one word of complaint and 100 times better than I. The calling of mother truly is the greatest and most challenging.

Taylor crawled in bed with me this morning and whispered, "Daddy, when is Mommy coming home?" I said, "She'll be here tomorrow morning when you wake up!" The Taylor said, "Let's go get the boys up, I want today to go by quickly."

I love you Carin and I can't wait for you to get home! Neither can the kids.

vacation or bust!

2009-04-29T23:11:00.002-06:00

So I am off to Virginia in the morning with Ang and my Mom! Can't wait, it's going to be fun! A million, bazillion, quadrillion, thanks to Kirk for being so great about taking off work to be Mr. Mom for 5 days!!!!!!!! He's going to LOVE IT!!!!

Twin Tornadoes

2009-04-10T15:06:00.005-06:00

Bennett and John have turned into little mess-makers! (I'm sure they probably inherited this from me because, well, I'll be honest, I can make an AWESOME mess). Anyway, the latest day of mess happened this morning. They had just woken up and they were playing in the front room, so I thought, "Great the perfect opportunity to use the bathroom!" So I'm doing my business enjoying my potty break-(as a side note I want to confess that occasionally my potty breaks tend to run a little long because the bathroom becomes a bit of a sanctuary for me...I can lock the door and just be by myself-kid free-no guilt, but I can still hear what the kiddos are up to). Anyway as I was saying I was doing my business enjoying the quiet and then I thought, "Oh crap it's quiet!" So I finished up and opened the door to discover the entire container of wipes (which had just been refilled) was strewn all over the front room! So much for the convenience of 'pop-up' wipes. The sad thing is this isn't the first time I have had to clean up hundreds of wipes...you would think I would learn to put the wipes up higher! EESH!
The next messy moment happened when I was showering. This time I wasn't able to hear that it was unnaturally quiet, I was just enjoying my shower. I thought I had made sure that all the proper drawers were closed and boy-proofed. Well apparently I missed the bottom drawer in the kitchen. So after my shower Taylor walks in to my room with the dreaded sentence, "Mom come look what the boys did," which by the way is becoming quite a popular phrase at our house. So I went in the kitchen and found the contents of the entire bottom drawer on the floor. They didn't choose just any random drawer either, they chose the drawer that would make the most AWESOME mess possible, the bottom drawer is where we keep our Ziploc baggies and such. So they not only emptied the drawer but they also emptied each of the 4 boxes of baggies and somehow managed to get the saran wrap and wax paper unrolled. I don't know how they managed to do that kind of destruction in only a few minutes. I was hoping I had the camera to document the mess, but I couldn't find it. Go figure. I won't soon be leaving that drawer 'un-boy-proofed'.
Right now they are napping so I think it is safe to say that no mess is currently being made...unless of course John has once again taken off his diaper before falling asleep!

3 year old or teenager?

2009-03-02T21:49:00.002-07:00

Last Night on the way home from Grandpa and Grandma's Taylor was singing along with the radio. I tried talking to her and she said "Dad, don't instruct me!"
D: What does that mean?
T: It means don't talk to me!!
D: Why can't I talk to you?
T: Because I am singing!
D: Daddy can still talk to you when you sing.
T: Daddy Don't instruct me!!
D: You mean interrupt me?
T: Yeah.
D: Well sing a little louder then. I can't hear you.
T: Then turn it up.

AMAZING MAN

2009-03-02T15:31:00.003-07:00

I have an AMAZING husband. Here is how the day of greatness went down. Friday afternoon Kirk came home early from work to start things off, then he went down and got a Papa Murphy's pizza for dinner (he knows how I hate to cook on Friday nights-for some reason I don't know why). So he came home with not only 1 pizza and breadsticks but 2 pizzas, one to put in the freezer for another night! He also stopped and got a movie, but not just any movie....a chic flick...the most chickiest of chick flicks...The Women. And he watched it with me and kept his 'man' comments to himself. He also bought me one of my favorite snacks...crab salad with club crackers....and cookies and cream ice cream (I LOVE FOOD-which is reason number 1 I still haven't lost twin baby weight)!!! AND he cleaned up after dinner...actually that one isn't unusual...Kirk does the dishes most nights after dinner and most of the time that involves emptying the dishwasher first. Yes it's true...I have an AMAZING husband.

But she did it anyway

2009-02-28T21:29:00.004-07:00

Taylor had her second dance performance today. She performed her group number first and then she got to perform her solo dance that she and her teacher Shantel have been working on for a couple of months. I have been lucky enough to be the parental unit chosen lately to accompany Taylor to dance practice on Tuesday nights. It gives us some daddy/daughter time and I quite enjoy watching her in her class. She is about a head shorter than the next smallest in her class. That is actually how she identifies herself in the videos of her group dance.

Her dances were during the halftimes of boys rec basketball games at Fremont. Every time the whistle blew of the buzzer went off, the boys harmoniously began crying together. It was awesome. A couple of babies if you ask me.

As a summary of Taylor's solo, which is the video above, her march from the side was a bit longer than she practiced. But she did it anyway. Her skip around the practice room was quite a bit larger in a gym. But she did it anyway. We are quite surprised that she performs the solo because she is always incredibly shy around strangers. But she did it anyway. She was about the cutest thing I've ever seen.

Awesome job sweetheart!

Yay for twins!

2009-02-26T13:48:00.003-07:00

Two faces to wash, and four dirty hands
Two insistent voices, making demands
Twice as much crying, when things go wrong
The four eyes closing, with slumber song
Twice as many garments, blowing on the line
Two cherubs in the wagon, soaking up sunshine
Work I do for twins, naturally comes double
But four arms to hug me, repay all my trouble.
(Nope I didn't write it, just found it and liked it...the only thing is, I think the work is more than double most days.)

Gear Heads

2009-02-18T22:06:00.003-07:00

The Best Subscription Ever! Vroom.

Laughing Kids

2009-02-18T21:35:00.003-07:00

I never thought I'd see my old Hotwheels bring such joy.

I'm just Crazy 'bout Taylor and Taylor's crazy 'bout Trains.

2009-02-16T20:23:00.013-07:00

Carin and I are reading the Five Love Languages book. We were talking last night that Taylor's love language is most definitely "Quality Time". Taylor is such a good little girl and has really become a great help to us as parents. Sometimes she has to take the back seat for a while as we take care of the boys. I forget sometimes that this brilliant girl is only 3. She converses and reasons with you like an 8 year old. Many times we catch ourselves overlooking her needs for quality time even though she pleads, Will you play with me now?" She asked Carin last night, "Mommy, when I am older, much older, and I am getting married in the temple, can I wear your wedding dress you wore when you got married to daddy please?"

So last night, Carin and I decided that because I had today off, that I should spend the day with Taylor and give her some much needed, and well deserved quality time. I told her this morning that we were going on a Daddy-Taylor date. She got super excited. She got her hair all done and was dressed long before I was. We boarded the Front Runner in Ogden and took off for Salt Lake. As the train started moving, the look was priceless. She's never been on a real train before and you'd have thought she was in the space shuttle. The whole ride down was filled with questions about who drives the train, how he drives the train, how the tracks work, where we were, how long until the next stop, will there be more people at the next stop, what happens when it snows on the tracks, etc etc. She was simply fascinated with the whole experience.

We got off at the Gateway and started looking for a place to eat. We decided on McGrath's Fishhouse. She was sold when she saw the live Lobsters. She immediately named them and told me the one climbing on top of the mommy one was the "daddy lobster". Don't ask how she figured that out! She knew she wanted a cheeseburger. She ordered warm water and a side of ranch with her cheeseburger. The waiter just chuckled. She devoured a loaf of sourdough bread before her meal even came. We visited the restroom a few times while we were there. As we were washing her hands she said, "You know something Daddy, this is a nice bathroom! I thought for a minute that it was a magic bathroom!" I asked her what a magic bathroom was. She said," Well, you see, sometimes you go to the bathroom and when you're done, you stand up and the toilet flushes all by itself! And the faucets and the towels!" She wasn't at all disappointed that it wasn't a magic bathroom, just surprised that one so nice wasn't magic.

I don't think Taylor stepped on a crack all day. She constantly leaped and skipped over the cracks all around the Gateway. She was awed by the "spitting floor" at the Gateway. She experienced an escalator, which she thought was fantastic and we may or may not have played on them a little more than was necessary and we had fun. We went to the Planetarium and had a good time there. She looked up at me and said, "Daddy, we had better get back on the train to go somewhere." I asked her why and she said,"Well, here's the thing, you see, I haven't had a quiet time today and I probably better have one." I told her she didn't need to have a quiet time but realized that this was Taylor's polite little way of telling her daddy that she was beat and needed to rest. So we headed back to the station. Again, the questions flowed. She figured out that on the way down, the engine of the train was in the back. She said, "Were we in reverse the whole way down?" I told her no but she insisted that we had to get out and go inspect the engine and see where the conductor sat. So we did and she got to meet the guy that drives the train and he explained the whole thing to her which she accepted, as it came from the conductor himself.

She crashed for most of the way home and insisted that I tickle her back while she rested. I gladly indulged her. Once back in Ogden, I told her we would go climb on some trains at the Union Station. This was the highlight of her day. The pictures I posted here are shear and utter excitement. No posing her or telling her to smile, just plain old jump-out-of-your-pants excitement. It brought me much joy.

While climbing on the last train, we realized she had lost her little teddy bear that Carin had crocheted for her for Valentines Day. She adored the thing, ate with it, slept with it and carried it with her. Her little eyes filled up with tears and she came over and hugged my neck like she's just seen her dog die. I felt so bad. I told her that we would figure something out and that maybe mommy could make her a new one. In between her sobs she said, "Well, I guess we'd better call mommy." So I handed Taylor the phone as it was ringing and she broke down into tears about the Teddy Bear. I told her to wait for Carin to pick up before she talked. Carin picked up and asked Taylor how she was doing and where we were. Before crying about her bear, the sweet little girl answered her mom's questions and said, "I'm having lots of fun. We are just coming home from Salt Lake and I will be home after I climb on this last train......but mom, guess what? I lost my bear you made me....will you make me another one please?" She got off the phone and said, "Mommy's going to make me another one just like it tonight while I am sleeping!" And the party continued.

Taylor and I rode in my truck home and told stories and asked each other the same knock-knock joke 10 times each and laughed our heads off every time. Taylor's was Knock Knock...who's there...Taylor....Taylor who.....Taylor Dawn Chugg silly goose! After a bad daddy attempt at an "Orange you glad I didn't say banana" knock-knock joke, Taylor asked if her new name could be Orange Glatitude. I agreed. It would be a great name for someone like Taylor. She has a great little attitude and is just glad to be here. I am so grateful for the good girl that she is and thank God everyday that I get to be her daddy. We got home tonight and got dressed in her princess clothes and came out to ask me if I would like to dance-explaining that she is the princess and I would be her prince. Getting worried today, I explained to her that boys are not to be kissed until she's married. She said, "Oh daddy, don't worry you're the only boy I kiss ....and my boys of course (pointing to her brothers)."

Below, the conversation that ensued after passing some farm animals on the train. Pardon the nose picking....but it was part of the conversation.

Disney Villains Uncovered

2009-02-14T11:07:00.003-07:00

After the many, many, many disney movies we have watched at our house lately, Taylor has figured out how to tell who the bad guy is. We were watching Little Mermaid yesterday and here's our discussion:
Taylor: "Mom are those people cleaning bad guys?"
Mommy: "No I don't think so."
Taylor: "But they have BIG noses!"
Mommy: "Do all bad guys have BIG noses?"
Taylor: "They sure do."
So when confronted with a potential villain.....look to the nose.

Little Window Washers

2009-02-13T18:34:00.004-07:00

Carin decided to have the kids help wash the windows that they grubby up every day. It's okay with me because there's nothing I like better than seeing the kids plastered to the window when I leave for or get home from work. They seemed to like this form of manual labor. Turn up the volume to hear their excited little breathing.

By the way, Bennett's new favorite stories are none of than Motor Trend and Motorcyclist magazines. He sits there and "vrooms" as he excitedly turns the pages. A father can be proud can't he?

Eatin Snow...

2009-02-12T22:47:00.010-07:00

We came outside the other day and the kids were like three little sirens going off simultaneously they were so excited. Bennett figured out that it's fun to eat the snow, and foolish to take off your gloves. I've just posted a bunch of pictures here because, well, it's been a while since we've posted any pictures of the kids

Bennett

Precursor to a motorcycle.

Beautiful taylor and her long hair.

Happy John.

Clapping for the chance to be outside!

Johnny and Taylor.

Little Nebraska fan Johnny.

Bennett.

Time to clean house

2009-01-29T14:17:00.002-07:00

Apparently I have been lacking in the house cleaning department lately because yesterday Taylor came to me in the kitchen and said, "Mom the front room is REALLY dusty....would you like me to dust it for you?" Once I got over the shock that my 3 year old daughter even noticed the dust, I promptly got out the swiffer and let her go to town. For a minute I felt a little guilty that I had let it get that bad but then I thought..who cares...that's great that she is so excited about helping and I'll just take advantage of this moment!!! I may just let it get that bad again!!!

Conspiracy to Commit Theft and Murder

2009-01-20T21:45:00.003-07:00

Our boys are starting to get quite clever. Bennett got picked on for a long time while John stole his toys. Now the tables have turned. John has become the victim now.

Bennett had a noisy toy that John wanted but he knew he couldn't just go take it, so he eyed it for a minute then walked over to the toys, pulled out a ball, walked over to the tile and let it bounce (knowing that Bennett would drop his current project and come chasing the ball) What John didn't count on was before Bennett took off after the ball, he ditched the noisy toy in a big pile of books so John couldn't find it. After Bennett inherited the ball and john got tired of looking for the toy in the books, they both moved on.

Let the competition begin.

This morning my tender wife also confessed she had hit a big cat on the way home from the gym. Instead of being sad about killing a family's pet, she felt bad about not feeling bad. I love this woman!!! Explains why we don't have a cat.

Mommy when are ya gonna play with me?

2009-01-14T15:25:00.002-07:00

Yesterday I just had the strangest day. I'm not even sure why it was so strange...it just was. We didn't do anything weird or go on any adventures it just felt weird. I had a large realization yesterday that the Mommy job is HARD! And I'm not sure why it hit so hard yesterday but it did. All day I was continually having this battle within myself: Am I being a good mother? Am I spending enough time with my kids just playing? Am I teaching them the things they need to know? Am I too task oriented? What do I do all day that I can't seem to get stuff done somedays? Do my kids know how much I love them? Do I show affection enough? Am I patient enough? Am I taking the time and opportunity to really live and enjoy my family? Am I really paying attention to these moments?-they are only this little so long. and on and on and on. I think one of the hardest things for me is finding a good balance. There is so much that makes up a day and before I know it the day is done and it is time for bed and I often ask myself..what did I do today? And the answer comes...today you were MOM. What a big name that is.

Taylorism

2009-01-10T22:53:00.002-07:00

Taylor: "I'm Certainly."
Daddy: "You're certainly what?"
Taylor: "Well, I'm certainly not crazy."
Taylor: "What's certainly mean?"
Mommy: "Absolutely"
Daddy: "Or Surely"
Taylor: "Shirley? I'm not Shirley..I'm Taylor Dawn Chugg!"

And we thought the ornaments were safe...

2008-12-21T15:43:00.002-07:00

Since we have 2 little crazy boys running around our house this year we only decorated the top half of the tree foolishly thinking that this would be a great solution to keeping the boys away from the ornaments. Well, we were wrong. The other morning I was cleaning up the kitchen and it suddenly got very quiet in the front room (all you mothers out there know this usually is a bad sign). So I finished up what I was doing and peeked around the corner. John had pushed Taylor's little rocking chair over to the tree. There he was standing up on the chair handing ornaments down to Bennett. Bennett had an ornament in each hand and John was in the process of handing him another. Little stinkers! Fortunately nothing got broken and the only casualty was that when John saw me come in it startled him and he fell backwards off the chair. Needless to say I haven't caught them doing it again. I have been told by various people that little boys and twins in particular will work together to get into stuff, I just wasn't prepared for it to start already....ready or not here we go!

Taylor Dance

2008-12-20T14:47:00.005-07:00

Here's little miss Taylor at her very first dance recital.

The Fun Never Ends

2008-12-17T19:26:00.003-07:00

Taylor and the boys were in the tub tonight I had this funny exchange with her as she held a bowl of water in a bath tub.

Taylor: Daddy, I am going to dump my fish out so it can die

Dad: I didn't know you had a fish

Taylor: It's just a pretend one silly

Dad: Why are you going to dump it out and kill it?

Taylor: It's just pretend!

Dad: Would it go to fish heaven?

Taylor: No. He would just go home.

Dad: Where's that?

Taylor: Farkelton

Dad: What's Farkelton?

Taylor: A silly city...where people get married....kind of like a temple

(Farkelton may be an imaginative invention of Taylor Brain due the overload of Doctor Suess in the form of "Horton hears a Who" and "The Grinch") I think at least 40% of Carin's sense of humor is derived directly from Jim Carrey's version of the Grinch. It is a Christmas classic that never gets old.

And one more Taylorism as I sit hear and type with Taylor at my shoulder...

D:Do you stink?

T:No. I don't smell anything.

D:Then what stinks?

T:It was the boys.

D:The boys are in bed.

T:Well, just listen...you can hear them stinking.

Little Devil

2008-12-16T21:32:00.003-07:00

Today is Tuesday so I got to watch the boys while Taylor and Mommy went to dance class. Usually we take a really long bath and then play play play until mommy and Taylor get home.

Tonight I went in to turn on the water for their bath and left the door open behind me. I heard a quick pitter-patter of little feet follow me into the bathroom and turned around to find Johnny standing over the toilet smiling. I looked in the toilet and saw two Mr. Potatohead ears sitting at the bottom of an unflushed pee-pee toilet. After my good 15 second thinking processes was complete on what I should do, I decided to quit being a pansy and just reach in and get them. Johnny just laughed. Oh how I love being a dad of little boys! We are going to have a lot of fun with these girls in our house!

Fancy John

2008-12-13T21:46:00.003-07:00

I was having another brave/'I need to get out of the house' moment and went shopping with the kids the other day. Before I get into my story I just have to say though...based on the amount of people on the roads and in the stores no way are we in a recession....seriously...it doesn't look to me like people are scaling back on anything...just a thought. Anyway back to my original thought. So our vanigan of kiddos headed to Walmart. We headed back to the toy section because I needed to get some toys for some cousins. So we went up and down all the boy toy aisles and the boys didn't make a peep, they weren't all that interested with what was going on. Then I started walking up the girl toy aisle and oh my goodness you would have thought there were fireworks going off...Bennett and John got so excited when they saw all the dolls and stuffed animals..they just started laughing and squealing and talking...it was hilarious!! I told Kirk the story and he was a little concerned I think...so much so that he didn't want Bennett playing with My Little Pony tonight. I tell you what...they are funny boys. To go along with this issue, Taylor has this blue flowery lei and lately John's favorite thing is to put it on and walk around the house. He loves it when you tell him how fancy he looks! Boys are funny!!!

Taylor aka Dancing Princess!

2008-12-10T11:54:00.003-07:00

So last night was Taylor's very first dance performance. She got to perform on a STAGE and everything! She was totally excited! Ever since dance started she has been asking when it will be her turn to dance on a stage and it finally happened. The dance was at the Ogden amphitheater amidst all the Christmas lights (they are really pretty this year by the way). So despite the fact that it was pretty cold last night we all had a great time. Even the boys didn't mind the cold, however when we got home and took their shoes off to get ready for bed their little toes were bright red icicles...poor little guys. Anyway back to the dancing princess. She got up on stage in her line without the least bit of hesitation. For the first dance when she walked to her spot she did her kicks across the stage rather than just walking, apparently she wanted to show off her new skills. She even remembered to smile for a good portion of the dances! She did so great we are so proud of her! It was fun to have Grandmas and Grandpas there and Josh, Michelle, and Anna. It made everything even more great for Taylor. Taylor's dance teacher wants her to learn a solo dance for the next performance and Taylor is all for it. So that could be exciting. It was a very fun night! Thanks to everyone for coming and supporting Taylor! We love you all! Oh hopefully I will post some pics soon!

$30 Cinnamon Rolls

2008-12-08T20:43:00.002-07:00

I was welcomed home tonight with a big cookie sheet full of homemade cinnamon rolls. They are seriously the best Cinnamon rolls I have ever tasted. And I have tasted my share of cinnamon rolls believe me! I have given them the name $30 cinnamon rolls because if anyone knew how good they were, that's what you'd pay for one. At least I would. If you know how frugal I usually am, that speaks volumes of these cinnamon rolls. I canceled the German Chocolate Cake for my Birthday on Wednesday and ordered another batch of these........Can a woman make her man any happier? I don't think so! I LOVE MY WIFE!!!!! ......and not just for her cinnamon roll skills.......enjoy the pic and don't drool on your keyboard....

Little Men in Puffy Coats

2008-12-06T19:45:00.008-07:00

Tonight the Chugg family attended the annual Christmas lights and Santa Visit at the North Ogden Centennial Park. It was a bit chilly today so they kids got to wear their puffy coats. Taylor calls hers a bum coat because it covers up her bum. The boys took a page right out of a Seinfeld script with their puffy coats. I think they are Gortex. See the pants Bennett is wearing? I asked Taylor to try them on tonight and sure enough, they look like a little pair of Capris. The waist is perfect. They are 6-12 months.

This is our favorite thing to Grill. We discovered VeriVeri Teriyaki Sauce at Costco and came up with a homemade recipe for Teriyaki burgers. Follow the directions to Culinary Bliss.

1. 1lb Hamburger Extra Lean

2. One half of a Sarah Lee Hamburger bun broken up in the hamburger

3. A half handful of dehydrated Onions

4. One 1/4 cup Veri Veri Teriyaki Sauce (mix in with your hands)

4. Make the patties and grill them on the top rack slowly on the grill

5. On the third rack on the grill, set pineapple rings and butter coated red onions

6. Flip the burgers once and then coat with a thin layer of teriyaki sauce and set pineapples and onions on the cooked side of the burger (you can also add a piece of ham or bacon at this point if desired)

7. When the burgers are almost done, butter Sara Lee hamburger buns and coat with another thin layer of sauce, and set either a piece of cheddar or Swiss cheese or shredded cheese in the pineapple ring hole and let melt.

8. When the buns are toasted and the cheese is melted, make the burgers out there by the grill.

You won't need ketchup I promise. These are the best burgers we've ever eaten. Let us know if you try it and like it. If you don't like it, then we don't want to hear from you because you are obviously insane.

Bennett and Johnny are avid fans of all things with four wheels. I have about 50 old matchbox cars hat I played with as a kids that Grandma and Grandpa Chugg kindly saved an brought over. It was obvious that whoever helped me pick these toys out was a hot rod fan. Thanks Dad! The boys will entertain themselves for hours with these things.

A couple weekends ago we jumped in the van and drove up to Evanston to see Great Grandma and Grandpa Welling. It was so nice to see them and visit for a while. The kids loved all the fun new toys up there. Especially Taylor. She discovered the playroom upstairs with so many fun dress up trunks and kitchen sets. I think she thought she'd found the holy grail of play rooms.

Before all the leaves fell, Taylor and I went outside and did some raking. It turned into a photo shoot.

Here's a picture of our little Taylor. These were fun for me to see because I've not been to dance with Taylor. She's the smallest one in her class by a head but she listens the best. The teacher even said so! We are getting ready for Christmas and have a half-decorated Christmas tree in the front room and it is the year of the Advent calendar. We have three this year and Taylor loves them. Mommy had a great idea last year. We decided that we needed to do something that would focus our Christmas season more on the Savior and his birth. She did an advent calendar that has a thought, scripture and a song to sing with it every morning. It's been really fun. Carin is the most creative and proactive mom. I appreciate her very very much.

What's in your glass?

2008-11-23T23:40:00.003-07:00

We had a glass of cold mug root beer for dinner. Taylor rarely drinks anything but warm water. She's recently started drinking cold water intermittently. In between the 45th and 46th time of telling her to eat her dinner she decided to make a joke.

Taylor: Daddy, what's in these glasses?
Daddy: Root Beer
Taylor: Root Beer? Your glass has coke'n it! Mommy's glass has coke'n it. My glass has coke'n it. ----pause..smile......But I don't like "coconut".

A three year old that can make a play on words to make a joke=trouble

The End of Days-(Bottle Days)

2008-11-18T11:37:00.000-07:00

Last night marked the last scoop of stinky formula! We are officially out. It was pretty exciting knowing we would not have to buy that stuff anymore. I hope the boys adjust to no night time bottle though.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Little Orphan Taylor

2008-11-17T19:26:00.000-07:00

Daddy: Go brush your teeth please.
Taylor: You better be nice Daddy or I'll take you to the D.I.
Daddy: You are going to take me to the DI?
Taylor: Yeah-I'll just put you in the truck.
Daddy: Are you just going to take me?
Taylor: No, I'm going to take Mommy to the DI too.
Mommy: What about the boys?
Taylor: I would just take care of them.
Mommy: What would you do with them?
Taylor: I would just play with them, then feed them and put them in their beds.
Daddy: Who's going to drive you to the D.I. To drop us off?
Taylor: Oh, I'll just call Gramma Chugg.
Mommy: Would you ever take Gramma Chugg to the D.I.?
Taylor: Oh NO!
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Boys Head Bump Documented

2008-11-14T09:08:00.000-07:00

I snapped this picture of the boys doing their head bump that Carin wrote about yesterday.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Taylor Talk

2008-11-13T14:18:00.001-07:00

This morning Taylor spilled her milk at breakfast and somehow it ended up getting dumped down the wall. So as I was cleaning it up she said, "That's funny mommy it's like a waterfall, except it's a 'milkfall'...hahahah"

Another Favorite Little Boy Moment

2008-11-13T14:13:00.004-07:00

Bennett and John do this funniest thing and they have done it ever since they have started socializing with each other..(don't ask me exactly when that started cause I don't remember). They did it again today. When they are in their high chairs eating this is what happens. They'll be eating merrily along and then one of them will stop and look at the other. Soon he'll stop eating and look back, then they slowly lean their heads together until their heads touch and just laugh and laugh. Then they'll do it over and over until one of them starts eating again. It is hilarious! Most of the time they do it when in their chairs but the other day they were both standing in the doorway to the kitchen holding on to the door frame and they looked at each other and gave 'head kisses' and laughed and laughed. What funny boys!

Taylor's First Family Portrait

2008-11-11T07:33:00.003-07:00

This is Taylor's very first family portrait...she drew it all by herself without coaching from Mommy or Daddy. For some reason she calls Kirk's hair 'spooky' hair...I think she means spikey...funny. I personally like that we are all doing the splits...I don't think I have ever been able to do the splits in my life so it's nice to see what I would look like in that position.
Good work Taylor! You are an artist!

LARGE post...warning only read on if you have a good 15 minutes to devote to this post!

2008-11-07T15:52:00.015-07:00

So I am finally getting around to posting pictures from Bennett & John's birthdays and Halloween...couple weeks late isn't too bad! So we had a fun day on their birthday and just enjoyed the fall day. We did get to play in the leaves for a bit, the boys weren't too crazy about that. But they did enjoy opening their presents that night.

Here is John reading a new story he got from Great Grandma & Grandpa Funk with Daddy. Doesn't he look all grown up now?

And Bennett waiting for another present to be set in his lap.

Grandma & Grandpa Welling got the boys a fancy new duelly (sp?) ride. It is fancy nice and they love strollin' in it. I must admit they enjoyed the box a lot as well.

Grandma & Grandpa Chugg got the boys a car track and some cool cars. Notice Bennett is already exhibiting signs that he has inherited the 'Chugg tongue' from his Daddy.

I spent a good chunk of the afternoon on their birthday cakes (WAY longer than expected)...in my mind they looked nothing like they do in these pictures...I'm sure it's just bad photography...right? The boys clearly didn't care what they looked like...they just loved chowin' down.

Which brings us to Halloween. We dressed Bennett and John up like the Mario Brothers: Mario & Luigi. I even crocheted some hats for them because it is not the season to buy baseball hats apparently. It was quite the ordeal trying to get them to keep their hats on for a picture...this is the best one we got. I was sweating by the time we got done taking pictures trying to keep their hats on them.

Little Mario.

Here's a good one without the hats.

Taylor wanted to be a poodle like last year which I thought was fantastic. Here she is "Little Fifi" in front of her playhouse that we decorated for Halloween.

Black Market Shower head

2008-11-07T05:26:00.001-07:00

So when we remodelled our house, we did everything except the showers which were still in pretty good shape. In the master bath you find this beauty. My guess is that it is the original American Standard shower head from 1967. Why after 40 years has no one replaced this old worn out shower head? Simple. We don't dare. They do not make anything half as good today. This baby will drain the entire 40 gallon water heater in 5 minutes. In the process of giving you a very powerful back massage, it will gently rip your epidermis off until the water turns warm and then cold very quickly letting you know you've wasted enough energy and enjoyed yourself enough for one day. I assume people who build custom homes pay big bucks for this type of shower. Carin has resisted me when I've talked of replacing it. If you're interested, the Master Bath shower is now available for reservation. When calling, ask for the Cosmo Kramer special.

Holy 7 Layer Salad Batman!

2008-11-02T14:05:00.001-07:00

This is Carin's creation. She loves 7 layer Salad and this one turned out to be a masterpiece! We are going to Grandpa Chugg's Birthday dinner tonight and have to share it. She said she could eat the whole thing by herself.

Happy Anniversary!

2008-11-02T00:47:00.001-06:00

Tonight (November 1) marks our first date ever. Carin and I got to go to a fun party at Andy and Ashley Wright's house and even got to ride the motorcycle! Thanks Mom and Dad for watching the kids! Time's have gone by pretty fast! Six years dating, five years of marriage and three kids, 2 Degrees, 11 cars, two motorcycles and 3 dwellings later I love you more than ever Carin.

The Gym

2008-10-31T07:31:00.004-06:00

So....drum roll please....I have gone to the gym 3 times this week!!! YAY!!! I know I know....this is HUGE!! And let me tell you...I survived! That first time going boy...WOW....I can only express my feelings through Brian Regan...so here you go.

Fall Pictures of the Kids

2008-10-26T21:49:00.012-06:00

Daddy's going to mainly do a picture post tonight because it's been a little while. I will leave the boys' first birthday celebration post to Mommy as she was the mastermind, conductor and party planner. These are mostly pictures of the kids doing fun stuff outside and enjoying the good fall weather that we've had. We've been soaking up all of it we can! The boys are starting to stand up and are very fast crawlers by now. The doctor has assigned them to the 3rd percentile in weight. They are healthy eaters and have no problems. As we all know, short and little are the most desirable physical qualities anyway. (For jockeys or gymnasts)
Little Bennett's first roll in the leaves. I think the kids are just enjoying being outside.

Carin's been trying to teach the boys to feed themselves-which they do very well for the most part with their hands but this was a breakthrough.

Taylor's getting prettier by the day. I love her in-between length hair that's always in her face and the curly hair that she loves her daddy to run his fingers through. She made my heart jump tonight when she came up to me and asked if I would teach her some stories about Jesus. Needless to say, we didn't make it to bed before bedtime.

Johnny's also enjoyed being outside in the yard. It's practically impossible to take them out there by yourself because they run/crawl in three different directions. Somehow Carin did it while I was at work though and captured these fun pics.

Our little/big family at Black Island Farms in Syracuse. I think this is probably as good as it gets. We can always count on Taylor for the consistent smile.

Taylor at Black Island Farms in their sand box made of corn kernels. Pretty fun!

Our little munchkins with attitudes. Bennett's in back. Johnny's up front pulling faces for the camera.

At Black Island farms, the kids all got to pick a pumpkin. Each tried their own method to eat it as soon as it was off the vine. The consensus was that pumpkins aren't good eatin'.

Please Join the Halloween Celebration

2008-10-17T14:08:00.001-06:00

Carin and I have wanted to do something that would make a difference outside our little bubble world in which we live so comfortably. When we moved into our house four years ago, we started a fun tradition of making homemade donuts for Halloween and having that be our treat for trick-or-treaters. We even pulled it off 8 days after the twins were born with the help of family and friends. I know....I know...it goes against everything you try to teach your kids about not accepting homemade treats or anything unwrapped. The fact was we know most everyone that comes to our house and they know how hard it is to try and get a razor blade into a hot spudnut.... We were sick of the boys and girls that looked like they had just shaved their beards or had a boob job coming to collect their "welfare candy". We also thought it would be fun for the parents to look forward to on Halloween besides kids hopped up on pure cane sugar. It has been a success but we are going to add something new this year.

We have invited the North View Fire Department to come up to the house and "fill the boot" for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. I have a dear friend that I have known since childhood that suffers from the disease and we want to help in some way eradicate this nasty disease. Since we are not scientists, this is it. Plus I know the firefighters quite well...you see they visited my home quite frequently last year...a dangerous drop in blood pressure from Grandpa, a Carbon Monoxide scare from a bad water heater and me falling 10 feet off a ladder and landing on my back in the car port all within about 3 months of each other. We got acquainted quite well. Hopefully they will be able to bring up the fire truck for all the kids to see. I know there was nothing cooler than a fireman when I was a kid. We invite you to come and enjoy the evening with us with a donut and hot chocolate. We will have additional plates of donuts for sale and all the money will go to the boot.

If you are coming we ask you to RSVP so that we know how many donuts to make. Last year we did around 200 and they were gone by 7:30. Email me at chuggfamily@msn.com if you can come and for directions.

The most originally costumed family will get a full plate of donuts to take home!

PS. If you don't know us personally and you are reading this...first of all that's creepy and second of all please just send your check made payable to MDA. Thanks!

Fun Fall Days!

2008-10-17T07:34:00.005-06:00

We got the old wagon out and pulled the kids around the yard...John was the only casualty, he fell out once.

John likes to try to take his clothes off and this is what we found after nap the other day. He thinks he's so sneaky!

They are starting to look like little boys instead of babies! I can't believe it! Look at Bennett on the left...he really looks like a big kid!

Update Time or What!

2008-10-15T07:08:00.011-06:00

Here is an update on all the kiddos...cause it's been a while. We'll start with Miss Taylor. She started dance last week and silly Mommy forgot to take a picture at her first dance class. We'll get one next time. But she looks so dang cute in her little (and I mean little) leotard and leggings. In her class she is the youngest and by far the smallest (a whole head smaller!). But her teacher said that she is the best little listener and that she just does a great job. She is in a class with 4 and 5 year olds, and she loves it. This pic is when we went to the zoo last month. Taylor loved the gorillas the best...this is her best impression of a gorilla face.

In other news, we have entered the zone of major tantrum central! Whoever said "terrible twos" was DEAD WRONG! 3 is kicking my trash. For some reason sweet little Taylor can turn into a hysterical screamer at the drop of a hat. Don't get me wrong she can still be sweet little Taylor that obeys well most of the time, but when she's in one of her stink moods....WATCH OUT! This happened at Walmart the other day and I almost had to leave our cart and head to the car because she just wouldn't calm down. If any of you have any advice as to how survive this phase I would LOVE to hear it!

We went to Bear Lake last month with Kirk's family and had a great time. We did make it to the beach on the way home and the kids loved it. This is John crawling around in the sand. It was so funny because he was just crawling all over the place leaving this little slug like trail behind him...I wish you could see it better in the picture. He would stop every so often to chomp on a seashell...needless to say I stayed busy trying to keep them from choking to death.

John is getting ready for the world of walking. He took 2 steps by himself the other night...watch out world here he comes!

Bennett is just a funny kid. The other night at dinner he was talking "babamamababa" and blowing bubbles with his spit (one of his new favorite things to do), anyway he would say a couple things, stop, look up at the ceiling and laugh and laugh like he had just told the funniest joke. He did this probably 5 or 6 times. It was hilarious...he's going to be a little jokester I guess. We have also learned that Bennett doesn't like socks...he takes them off the first chance he gets and then snuggles them...Bennett is also the one that loves shoes...a bit of a foot fettish perhaps?

Another week of memories!

2008-09-28T22:54:00.011-06:00

This week was fun. The most eventful part was rushing Bennett up to the emergency room on Saturday night. He apparently has croup. It came on so quickly that it worried us and so we just played it safe and had him checked out. They gave him some steroids to help open his airways. I told him he will now end up bigger than his brother. I think they might have curse of the small genes. Bennett was weighed last night and in his jammies he weighed 17 lb 6 oz. We were expecting around 20. They have been eating like little pigs lately. They consistently eat more than Taylor does and I think often come close to the daddy portion.

Donations for food will be accepted. cash will also not be turned away. We are going to have to move to the country and buy a cow and some chickens when these boys really start eating. I just can't figure out where they get their love for eating.

Carin and I have begun to realize a resemblance between Mater the Cars Character and John. He has thus temporarily earned the honorary nickname Mater.

John and Bennett have been learning to brush their own teeth this week. John is just interested in showing the camera how his can also function as a sword.

Bennett's reaction after being told he had eaten all the food in the house and that there was no more.

Taylor loves to get up and go out to get the newspapers. She scampers out and dances her way back. It's one of those things i will always reference in my memory of fun things Taylor did when she was 3. Who needs a dog?

Fun times in the bathtub. I think we should have painted the walls with a special swimming pool paint. The boys love to splash.

John was introduced to balloons and has since become their biggest fan. This is what he does when you ask where the balloons are and there happens to be two in the room.

Our little princess. She loves to dress up and turn on the radio and dance. This was apparently country music. She may just grow up and be a rodeo princess...or....follow in her mommy's footsteps and go the dairy princess route!

Taylor's New Favorite Thing

2008-09-23T10:35:00.004-06:00

Taylor and I took a ride on my "little motorcycle" last Wednesday. We rode up to some developments that just have curb and gutter and I let Taylor tell me where to drive. She sits on the gas tank and holds onto the handlebars and just loves it. Her Favorite part of the night was all the excavators and tractors parked up there. We must have seen them all twice. She dons her little construction helmet and will go anywhere with you.

It was also fun for me because it was a reality check for me that Taylor is getting old enough to actually start doing really fun things with. It's that time dads dream about being able to do fun stuff with their kids. So it was a good memory for me as well.

About a half a block away from home we ran out of gas. We had all the fun we could I guess.

Kirk's HEAD

2008-09-18T07:02:00.004-06:00

In case you weren't aware, Kirk has started a new blog. He decided he needed an outlet to vent his pent up thoughts on the latest happenings in the world and the political process (I'm not the best person for the job because I am, shall we say, 'less connected' with the outer world). So he started a blog. In the process he has remembered how much he enjoys writing and I think he expresses himself extremely well. So if you ever want Kirk's opinion on what is going on in the world the blog is www.glorious-revolution.blogspot.com.

""Falls" a-comin'"

2008-09-10T21:40:00.018-06:00

So to begin tonight, I will have to ask you to forgive me for the number of photos I posted here under this one post. It may take you a while to go through them all. Oh who am I kidding? You are blog-hopping. What else is on your to-do list? Second of all for my gratuitous use of parenthesis in the title. You see it is getting a bit "fallish" round these parts and there have also been a great number, yea, innumerable bonks, crashes, spills and doinks in our house. We currently identify the boys by bruises on either left or right side of the forehead. I can't tell you which side because in the course of this memory card, they have both healed nicely on both sides.

Here is our two-toofed hillbilly group sitting on the porch at dusk. At least they are in upscale Adirondacks huh?!

Bedtime after bottle is such an awesome time of the day. First of all, Carin and I get to have some "kid free" time and do whatever we want. Carin usually works on projects, crafts or journals for the kids. By the way, I defy anyone who reads this blog to tell me they have seen a hotter mother of twins. I took this picture and immediately thought-holy crap Kirk-you married a model. I think she is absolutely stunning. To look this good at the end of a Sunday with twins and a three year old is like jumping out of an airplane, falling 10,000 feet, landing on your head, popping your helmet off and having "Pantene hair." It just doesn't happen. Except to ME!

The boys were officially introduced to bubbles tonight. I am not sure what they thought of them.

Bennett look less enthused.

The other day, the boys got up from their nap and were playing around while Carin was sewing. Things got quiet and then a door shut. Carin thought the boys must have pushed Taylor's door open and awaken her from her nap. Upon further investigation, the boys have sneakily gone into their own room and John crawled up on top of the Huggies box and was perched there while Bennett watched. Exhibit A for bonks on the head.

So we are getting in all the summer activities possible before it gets too cold. We went to the Hogle Zoo last week and enjoyed the excitement the kids showed. John is enthralled by the ginormous elephant eating a bail of hay strung high above his head. So much so that he doesn't care that the same fly that spent the previous night exploring said elephants back side now perched itself upon his head.

Taylor tended Grandma Welling's kitty while she was at the temple on Saturday. Grandma Welling has adopted kitty after kitty's mommy broke into her house had a litter of kitties and then split. Now kitty is the only one left surviving and she has been bottle feed kitty formula since she was the size of a large mouse. Grandma is pretty protective of her little treasure. We all know she secretly loves kitty and wants to keep her forever.

The dinosaur park in Ogden. The boys enjoyed their lunch and watching Taylor on the slides. Ever since the trip they have both began growling at everything. It's pretty sweet.

Our little bone excavator at the Dinosaur park.

John's first taste of mommy's baked pasketti. They loved it!

Bennett finishes off his Italian feast with a brownie. These boys eat like starving Aborigines.

One of our favorites is mommy's German pancakes. This one broke a record for height above the pan. Taylor will eat them until the whole pan is gone. Yes, this is the same little girl who has weighed 25 pounds for a year. If it doesn't get dipped in syrup or ranch she is not interested.

Mommy and Taylor by the giraffes at the zoo.

Bennett's expression of the elephant that so much pleased his brother is priceless and needs no caption.

Sickos!

2008-08-25T21:28:00.005-06:00

I think (cross everything) that the kiddos are officially over the NASTY cold bug we have had the past week. I tell you what, 3 sick kids are NO fun..especially when you are sick yourself!! But Bennett's fever broke yesterday and John's broke Friday and I think the worst is over! YAY!! Now we just have to get Daddy all better and are house can officially be free and clear of sickos! Why are summer colds so much harder to get over than winter colds? It makes no sense to me.

Here's a little update on what's been going on other than the sickness. Bennett officially has 5 teeth now!! That's right 5! Can ya believe it? That might have contributed to the sick factor of course. I thought he just had one poking through on top but I felt 2 more tonight. He'll be eating cow in now time! John still only has the one on top poking through...and if that other one doesn't poke through pretty soon we are going to have to put a couch on our front porch and let him sit out there in his diaper. (So he can be a little one toother redneck-for those of you that aren't able to catch my late night wit). I am preparing myself for the inevitable day of walking for Bennett and John...I know it is coming soon. They are starting to scoot around really well along the furniture and man they are fast crawlers. The other morning (ok about 2 weeks ago-during pre-SICK days) I took all 3 kiddos outside to help me water the plants. I was thinking the boys would just kind of be happy chillin' on the grass but boy was I wrong. John bee-lined it to get a mouthful of rotten apricots that were roasting in the sun on the cement and Bennett found the flower beds and found himself a nice handful of dirt (or was that John too?). Then Taylor and John found a bucket of water and they both had a great time splashing each other and ended up DRENCHED! And John has decided that he likes to climb up on the cement patio out front and scare me to death by crawling right to the edge of the 2 foot drop off (he hasn't developed spatial reasoning quite yet). Needless to say I haven't attempted that again because I don't think the flowers even ended up getting watered. Gone are the days of being able to go outside with the boys and actually work in the yard. Here are some recent picks of the goings on at our house.

Here is the latest addition to the Chugg family. Kirk's new bike...and wow do we love it! Karla and Mont came over and watched the kids the other night and Kirk and I went on a date on the bike. And WOW it was so much fun!!! We had a blast! Thanks Mom and Dad!!!

Story time after a long day as you can tell by these tired faces.

Three monkeys smiling in the bed. The boys woke up from their nap before Taylor did so John crawled in to Taylor's room and woke her up...she was thrilled. I think her exact words were, "Don't come in my room John!" Obviously she got over that fast.

Hot August Days

2008-08-07T21:49:00.019-06:00

So it been a while. It's not like we have anything else to do! So here it goes. It will be a long one at least with a lot of pictures since we have about a month to cover. I will not be held liable for any ommission I might make as I may not be able to remember what happened a month ago but I will give it my best shot. We'll start with the current and go back.

Way to go on Updating the blog daddy-o. This is hilarious because every picture I have of myself from my mission, I'm doing this corny thumbs up. This is a full bellied, tired-eyed Bennett. JOhn was next to him in his chair sound asleep.

Our neighbors love us apparently. Our home teacher down the street brought up this little stroller that all of our kids fit into like sardines. They fit today but I'm not making any guarantees for tomorrow. Their three little heads down there bouncing around is hilarious.

I dare you to identify these guys. Yes, it's one picture of both-probably 30 seconds apart. The winner receives a free night of babysitting! Um...I think they are identical. What do you think?

We had our Funk Family reunion at Layton Park on Saturday and loved walking around and seeing the ducks, swans and geese. This was a great picture I thought of the girls. They both looked back at the same time to see where Daddy was. Then snap!! Paparrazzi!

This is our little Taylor. She's not very photogenic and has a hard time smiling.

She's available for hire for the following 4 types of commercials-juicy juice, kix cereal, JIF peanut butter, baskin robbins ice cream. My research indicates these are the premium spot for kids. We will settle for nothing less.

Johnny Rocker loves to play the drums at the dishwasher. It is an immediate attractant to the boys. Dishwasher+distracted mommy=jam session. I think Bennett will probably pick up guitar soon.

Bennett after Bath-before clothes.

Again we may consider Coke or Pepsi commercials but only when aired during a major sporting event like the Olympics or Superbowl. None of this Wimbeldon mumbo-jumbo.

Taylor wanted to see how heavy Dad's new helmet was. She's fine....

I think this is Bennett. They both love their Tractor. If it has wheels, they love it.

Daddy got an old trail bike to go to the mountains with. Taylor is bonkers about riding it. We only go on state highways and never go over 65.

I went to the ranch with my grandfather Funk to ride my new motorcycle. I had a blast by the way. What guy still goes riding 40 miles with his Grandpa in his 70's? He's a stud.

Anyway-upon coming home, I meet an excited-no jubelant-Carin in the drive way. I assume it's because she missed me during my overnighter. Come to find out, she's been offered a trip to Park City and can go with her best bud Jenny. This means Daddy has twins all weekend by himself. I too am jubelant. She takes Taylor with her and has a fine time. The picture above was the reaction I got from the twins upon their realization I was the sole caregiver for more than a couple hours. Kind of a "you're kidding right?" I survived, Carin got a much needed weekend away and we all appreciate mommy that much upon her return. Works out for everyone!

STORIES!

2008-07-08T22:19:00.007-06:00

So clearly it has been a while since we have updated our blog and boy have we got stories for you! The first to come to mind happened this Sunday. Grandpa and Uncle Rob had just gotten to our house and so Taylor, John, and I excitedly went out to see Rob's new truck (Bennett had been sleeping in the front room). So we went outside and as soon as I closed the door behind me Bennett woke up and I realized that I had locked us out and him in!!! And to make matters worse he's a crawler now and I wasn't so sure that I had the door above the stairs closed! IDIOT! So we checked all the doors and sure enough...locked out. And of course our good intention of hiding a key someplace for just such an occasion was just that...a good intention. So we began trying to find a window that wasn't locked. Finally Grandpa spotted the tiny bathroom window in the basement was open. One small problem...Taylor is the only tiny one in the bunch and the window drops about 5 feet into the bathroom. But we had to try. So I lowered Taylor through the window and she used her toes to put the toilet lid down and I dropped her onto the toilet. She then quickly scampered upstairs and let us in. TAYLOR SAVES THE DAY! She was pretty proud of herself for that rescue. And fortunately Bennett had no clue that any of this was going on...he just sat happily in the front room playing with his toys. What an adventure!!! Another funny story happened just this morning. It is Taylor's birthday today and Grandma Chugg came over for a minute this morning and she said, "Taylor did you get up early this morning?" But Taylor heard, "did you get a burly this morning?" So Taylor said, "Gramma, what's a burly?" What a funny little lady! She has been so excited for her birthday. Every morning for the past week we have had the sleeps countdown, "only 4 more sleeps until my birthday!" and on and on. It has been fun having her so excited this year and boy did we have a fun day despite the minor setbacks in the gift department. All Taylor asked for for her birthday was a fish. Well I take that back, she started out asking for a dog and worked her way down to a fish. So Kirk picked a beta fish on his way home from work on Monday. We we got it all transported into it's fish bowl after Taylor went to bed and had it all set out on the table with her other gifts for when she woke up. Well...I'm sure you can imagine what happened. We woke up to find little fishy dead. Taylor looked at him and said, "oh, he's dead." Fortunately, not too heartbroken. So we made a plan that she could go pick out her own fish for her birthday at the pet store with daddy and she was excited about that. Her other gift from us was a blow up pool for the yard. It was supposed to be really great with a canopy that had a sprinkler in it. And it was great...for about a half an hour. Then once the sun heated up the plastic, the canopy just sort of fell over. As the day went on it just ended up floating in the pool. Gift dud number 2! But we have a plan to return this pool and get a better one and she's good with that as well. It's a good thing we have such an easy going little lady...cause WOW we didn't do so great in the gift department. Fortunately though we still had a fun day Taylor got to ride daddy's new motorcycle and we got to go swimming at the pool. Everyone had a great time! Taylor loved it and the boys both fell asleep in their little tubes (pictures will be here soon). And then we had a great party this evening and Taylor had a great time. So, it ended up being a great day. Here are some pics of the recent goings on in the Chugg house.

Taylor's new favorite thing is to push the boys around in her doll stroller. They enjoy it too! I'm sure she'll be dressing them up in girl clothes in no time!

We had a slip'n'slide party at Grandma and Grandpa Chugg's house. Taylor went down maybe 3 times and spent the majority of the time wrapped up in a blanket shivering.

Anna on the other hand had a grand ole time on the slip'n'slide!

Here's Mommy!

And Daddy! Kirk won the competition as to who could skid across the grass the furthest. I think the grass still hasn't recovered.

I think Josh should win the prize of the biggest splash!

And Michelle should win for the best expressions.

But for sure Grandma wins for the best noises made while sliding. How did she put it, "Uhmmph" I think.

Firsts

2008-06-14T22:03:00.001-06:00

Happy dudes after a scrumptous bowl of bananas and rice cereal!

All three of our adorable kidlins took a bath last night in the same tub. It was a big step for us scheduled, regimented clock nazis around bedtime to veer from the normal course and try something new but it worked and will be fine with a little refinement. The boys are bound to be fish. They loved to splash around as evidenced by mommy's wet clothes.

The other night was the end of a long day for our family and the kids were pooped. The above child, who will remain unnamed for several reasons, one being his daddy can't identify him because his hairline is not visible, conked out on the rug while waiting for daddy to come back and finish the job. It is either Bennett or John for sure. Don't you feel this way sometimes?

My favorite thing is the reaction time between emotions with the boys. They are either evaluating you, smiling at you or looking at you with wondering eyes. They always seem to have the same emotions at the same times. As shown by the first and last pictures of this post. I think they were marveling at their mommy as she danced a jig trying to get them to look at the camera.

A little bit of Chugg life

2008-06-07T22:06:00.000-06:00

So, if you are wondering why you can't get a hold of Carin on her phone anymore, you haven't yet heard the story of Miss taylor thinking Mommy's phone was so dirty that she ought to give it a good bath in the dish water. I got an email at work telling me that if i need to talk to my wife, I would need to email her as her phone took a bath. The old phone, as evidenced by the above picture has become the toy of choice. Taylor no longer has access to the phones! Email us if you are looking for Carin's new number! (It changed)

Sometimes we wish we could just get a smile out of our kids--is that too much to ask? This is Mr. B.

John was the unfortunate victim of the family's first dress up party. Not only did Taylor hang the multi-colored beads on her confused and frightened brother, she then took this picture of him. Ask carin where she got those beads.

Picnics outside are becoming more and more frequent. Last Saturday was beautiful and the boys are always happy with a Ritz cracker. L-R John, Bennett.

John and Bennett are becoming mobile. They must get frustrated because the only gear they currently have is reverse. Both bros often back themselves into spaces between laundry baskets, sofas and swings with slippery skill-I think they will be great parellel parkers. However, in this instance, Carin found John stuck under the lazy-boy with a befuddled look on his face.

Thursdays are discovery time at the library and we now have our own little librarian that loves to read to her brothers. We both enjoy seeing our kids interact and enjoy each other. It's a new thing for us and we find it quite amusing to not have to be involved in the entertainment of three little ones for a few minutes.

Bennett & John Can Sit!

2008-05-21T08:39:00.000-06:00

Just look at these big boys! Can you believe it! They still require a little assistance in balancing but they are getting better everyday!! Bennett is on the right in the above pic. For some reason the booger sucker is the toy of choice these days...go figure.
Already learning how to share "ish". Now that they can sit by themselves that is their favorite way to play. They also mastered pivoting on their bellies. We can lay them side by side in the front room and in just a few minutes they have squirmed themselves to opposite sides of the floor. Crawling is just around the corner I'm afraid. Then the fun really begins! Here we go! Of course a Chugg family picture wouldn't be complete without the ever present laundry basket in the background.

Here is little Miss Taylor helping mommy with the bread. Her favorite job is to "squish the bread". She would eat the whole batch of dough if I let her I think. She is the best helper. If I ask her to do anything related to the boys she jumps to do it. I couldn't ask for more! She's such a sweetie!

This is a miraculous event. Everyone is looking at the camera!!! WOW!

Boca Raton

2008-05-14T18:22:00.001-06:00

These are Banyan trees. They have roots that drop from the branches and become secondary trunks to the tree. This is one tree and it spreads a good 150 ft wide. It was cool just to stand under it and look at how big it was.

This is the courtyard that our room overlooked. We had a deck to sit on and see all the Lamborginis and Bentleys drive up to the yacht club. I enjoyed that.

Boca Raton is translated to "Inlet of Thieves". It is supposed to be where all the pirates hung out. The resort was the first "resort" in the world. It was 365 acres of beautiful landscape. It is supposed to be fashioned after a Spanish estate. It was gorgeous! We loved it. We had Chris Gardner speak to us(the man they made the movie The Pursuit of Happyness" after. His speech was great. We also heard from a guy Jaime Clark that has climbed Everest and was one of the only westerners to cross the Sahara on a camel. He was a great speaker. It was fun to hang out with a bunch of successful advisors and get some business ideas from them and just enjoy the company. Next convention will be in 2010 in San Diego!

Our 5th Anniversary

2008-05-14T10:30:00.000-06:00

Well, 5 years ago, Carin and I tied the eternal knot. I can hardly believe how fast it's gone by. So much has happened though. If you were to tell us we'd have 3 kids in 5 years and do all the things we've done, I'd have called you crazy. It's been an awesome 5 years. I love you sweetheart. You are by far the best thing that has ever happened to me. You are an amazing woman. Very few could do once what you do everyday. Happy Anniversary-you are the best!

This is a picture from Boca last week. We really enjoyed the beach. Everyone could tell we were from where the sun hadn't shined much this year. If people have a problem with us, they should wear their sunglasses!

Off to Boca!!

2008-05-03T20:10:00.000-06:00

Taylor's new library book about Airplanes. I think she'll get along with the boys just fine!

One of Taylor's Favorite things to do when I get home is Play Hide and Seek. I think I am going to have to work on teaching her how to hide. These just don't provide much of a challenge. But she thinks they are great! She is still so small she hides in the couch cushions and in the suitcases when someone comes over.

Speaking of suitcases, we are off tomorrow morning for the Securian National Sales Convention in Boca Raton Florida. Yes I know, you ask yourself how do you go to Boca Raton with three kids? You don't. We are extraordinarily blessed to have awesome parents who volunteered to watch them. Everyone is so excited for us to go. Taylor will get someone to play with her, and the boys will get to look at someone elses' faces. We are so blessed to have such great family. Thanks Mom and Dad!!

I'm sure we'll go nuts without the kiddos after about 4 hours. We'll just have to deal with it!

About Time to Update

2008-04-26T10:26:00.000-06:00

I know, I know. It's been a while since we updated but here we go!! Yesterday we took Bennett & John to the doctor for their 6 month check up and they weighed in at 14 pounds 3 ounces each! Go figure! They are doing well and just being happy pappy boys. They both are rolling all over the place and loving that. Which means Mommy needs to stay up on the vacuuming better! We had a mini party for them on the 23rd...their half birthday. I made them each a half chocolate cake and we put them on their trays and they both grabbed a big handful and shoved it in their faces. They sucked and sucked on their fingers...I think they thought that suddenly their fingers had turned into chocolate. It was super funny. Fortunately neither received a stomach ache from the sudden sugar increase in their diet. Here is the great event!

This is John...he was the first to dig in.

Bennett followed soon after.

The boys were having a grand time on their bellies. John is on the left this time.

Here's Johnny!

And happy Bennett Boy.

Here we are at Pioneer Park in St. George a few weeks ago. Taylor loved hiking around the red rocks with her daddy. The boys were just happy to be outside.

Taylor was quite excited. Kirk asked her where she was (meaning St. George) and she said, "Daddy I'm right here!"

Easter

2008-03-24T22:27:00.000-06:00

Easter was a lot of fun with taylor this year. She got so excited to find the Easter eggs hidden in the yard. She talked about the party at Grandma and Grandpa Chugg's house for weeks before. She had a fun time playing with Cousin Anna.

The boys donned their 3-piece suits for the first time and were a hit at sacrament meeting. Most in the ward haven't had a chance to see them yet. Carin said we are Catholics now because we go to church on Christmas and Easter. We are looking forward to the RSV season being over with so we can introduce Taylor to other kids and go back to church as a family. We have faired well so far with no illnesses all winter. Thanks to all the family that supported us and accomodated our germophobia.

Choo-Choo!!!

2008-03-16T11:24:00.000-06:00

Grandpa and Grandma Choo-Choo pictures with the kiddos.

Brothers in Arms

2008-03-16T11:03:00.000-06:00

After clowning around a bit and working up an appettite, John and Bennett got so messy last night with their mush that they got to spend the rest of the night naked. Well almost. They enjoyed it. I think I will have to talk to John about flashing signs. I think this one means, "It was him, not me."

What cha talkin' bout Willis?

2008-03-14T23:13:00.000-06:00

Thought this was a classic face from Bennett. Probably just gas. Sometimes I think they get a little tired of their Dad taking a picture a day. At least they might be photogenic like their sister.

'Puter Expert

2008-03-12T20:02:00.000-06:00

Since we are painting downstairs, we moved the computer upstairs to keep it out of the dust. Taylor discovered a website called Starfall. It only took her about a day to figure out how to point and click the mouse. She gets to play a game a day and loves the click around. Kind of fun to see our little baby playing with a computer!

Possible Triplets?

2008-03-09T10:11:00.000-06:00

We've been looking at pictures of Taylor at about the same age as the twins are now. It looks as if you may be able to identify Chugg kids upon their family resemblence. Although Taylor's features are a bit more pettite and the boys surely have a boy-look about them, I think we're safe to say, they are ours. What do you think? Top picture is John, then Bennett, then Miss Taylor.

The Robster

2008-03-09T09:39:00.000-06:00

This is an old picture of the Robster himself. He got transfered and is apparently going to die a Zone Leader. His new companion is Elder Silva. Sounds like they are super hard workers. I am apparently getting excited for the guy to come home because I have dreamt about him two nights in a row. Never has any man made me dream about him-let alone two nights in a row. Keep on workin' Rob. We're all proud of you.

Kirk

Have you seen my Brother?

2008-03-08T23:01:00.001-07:00

John and Bennett are spending more time on their bellies. As evidenced by the above picture, they enjoy it. Bennett has developed a high pitched squeal. It's amazing something that opinionated coming out of such a little guy. However, tonight at dinner John squealed and scared Bennett and made him cry. John smiled and thought it was pretty funny. Since they started their mush bottles, their faces have begun to chunk up a little. Last time we went to the doctor, they were within 2 oz. of each other still. We still have to look pretty close. Since they have a little hair now, Bennett will now be getting the spiked mohawk, while John sports the more modest comb-over.

Let's "HIT the Hay"

2008-03-08T22:29:00.001-07:00

Last night, Taylor and Daddy were playing with the Fisher Price farm and it was getting close to bedtime so we decided that they would all be tired and "hit the hay." Taylor got a kick out of every one of the animals hitting the hay. I asked Taylor if she would like to "Hit the hay" and she got all excited. When I went to tuck her in, she started to cry and I asked her what was wrong. She said,"Daddy we didn't hit the hay!" She then proceeded to tell me what she meant. There is "pretend hay" under her bed and she has to put in under her pillow. I put pretend hay under her pillow, she slugged the pillow and went right to bed. Looks like Daddy has yet again caused another bedtime ritual for Miss Taylor.

Taylor learned nine new German verbs tonight in about 10 minutes. She only has to practice about 3 times and she has it. Actually has really good pronunciation too.

She started to ask "why?" today. Momentous. Get ready, she'll be smarter than her dad before she's 5.

Our new Van has a DVD player in it. She thinks that it is the coolest thing ever that she can watch Shrek while we are driving around. Mommy and Daddy think so too!

The boys are in love with Taylor. They can't get enough of her. She's our little babysitter. While mommy and daddy make dinner, she is in charge of keeping the boys happy-which she does very well.

2008-01-24T15:24:00.000-07:00

Merry Christmas! We had quite the adventure trying to get everyone to cooperate with this picture.