Making the Move . . .

Upon finding out we were having TWINS several things in our life suddenly changed. We realized that we would have to upgrade several things. Get a new car to fit 6 people, double up on several baby items, buy a lifetime supply of diapers, and get a bigger place to live. We are making the first of several changes prior to the babies being born. On July 12th we are moving into North Salt Lake and don't know quite what to think about it. It is a whole 15 minutes away from our old place. Now that doesn't seem far to most, but to us it is a huge deal. It is a nice 3 bedroom Townhouse with a park across the street, easy freeway access, and a garage (little things excite us). However, Matt and I have enjoyed living in the middle of the city and being able to walk to the library, parks, store, movies, church, restaurants, and many other fun locals.

I guess that it is always good to make a change and have new experiences. So if you don't hear much from us in the next few weeks, we will catch up with you when things die down.

And the baby verdict is . . .

BOY / GIRL

Lucky for us we will stay even numbered in our family. And it won't be hard to tell the two apart. Now if we can only convince Sammie of the babies gender. She is still convinced that she and I are expecting girls. Oh well, it will stick sooner or later.

A Blizzard in June?!?!?

When you plan a family trip in June, you plan on a cool breeze , maybe a heavy rainstorm, but not for snow. We went on our first official family vacation with Matt's family this past weekend. It is the first time since Matt and I have been married that his family (parents and siblings) have taken a trip. We headed up to Victor/Driggs, Idaho and stayed in a Condo over there. (It was so nice after camping the weekend before). On Thursday Matt and I took our kids and his brothers, Tony and Braden, up to the Condo and got settled in. On Friday, the 6 of us headed up to Yellowstone. Now keep in mind that when we left it was the type of weather that would require only a long sleeved shirt. We made the 2 hour drive to Yellowstone (which Sammie renamed Pinkstone, because pink is so much better.) Upon entering Yellowstone, we reached a full blown snow storm. We had packed a lunch and ended up picnicking in the car. We just laid down the center seats and for the crowded fiesta, but it was warm.



After the picnic we headed out to explore. Sammie couldn't get enough of the Buffalo and Eston was excited over whatever Sammie was excited about.



We drove around and looked at a few paint pots, lakes, and waterfalls. It wasn't too bad of a storm until we decided to go and watch Old Faithful go off. While waiting at the viewing area, Tony and Braden built Sammie and Eston a snowman, using coins for the eyes and mouth. It was quite the Snowman for June.



Everyone was bundled tight as the snow kept falling done. I struggled because I couldn't zip up my hoodie and my coat wouldn't zip either. The only thing holding it closed was the Velcro tabs across it. Even then I would feel a draft and look down and my coat was wide open in just the belly area. (Thanks Twins.) Now I mentioned that we went to watch Old Faithful, in the back of this picture you will notice the white sky. This back drop on a geyser does not help in the viewing of it. Instead we had to rely on our other senses to let us know that Old Faithful was going off. We heard it and then we felt the mist hitting us, and a couple of ohs and ahs were heard, but that was about it. You couldn't see a darn thing. Apparently the summer months don't guarantee a warm and dry trip to a National Park.



Upon arriving back at the condo, Matt's parents along with Jordan and Kim had arrived. The following day we headed to Jackson Hole and played around there for a while. We had a great lunch and did window shopping. Sammie decided to help us out by being responsible for Eston and hold his leash. It was perfect Neither one could get too far and we were able to have a good laugh.



Sammie and Matt found this fun chair while out on their Daddy/daughter excursion.



Sammie was so excited when we finally decided to go swimming in the hot tub. She put on her swim suit and the goggles that Grandma Brenda bought and was in heaven. She had so much attention from her aunt and uncles.



Eston was not quite as happy. He lasted about 1 minute and 37 seconds, until Matt had to take him out. So instead he just cuddled inside with me. He is such a sweet boy and always good for loving on anyone.



At the end of each night, this is how I would find my family. All 3 would be passed out and wouldn't budge.



We had a lot of fun and look forward to family trips in the future with the Clingers. However, I think I will sit vacations out until after the New Year. It sure can wear on a person. I feel like I could sleep for a week.

City of Rocks

We went camping for the first time this year. It was our second annual camping trip. We made the 3 hour drive into Idaho to go to the City of Rocks (a very popular climbing area.) We went with the Hymas family, who are great friends. This is the second time we have done this trip with them. My little brother Spencer also came along for the fun. Sammie was so excited to go. I would have to say that next to Princesses, the color pink, and all things girl, this little girl is a camping fanatic. She goes crazy whenever we go. This year we bought both kids their own sleeping bags and of course hers had to be pink. Eston wasn't so sure about the trip. Everything was ok until it came time for bed. Eston could not figure out where his nice soft bed went. He ended up sleeping with me on my blow-up bed. Sammie was a great older sister and did everything she could to make him feel better about the matter. She will be great when the twins come.

This was just one of our many meals and Eston was always happy to eat. It was probably the one familiar thing that he knows about the whole trip.

When it came time for everyone to go on their hike, Sammie wanted to pack Eston around, but didn't work out so well.

Matt took over that job for her.My kids loved having their Uncle Spencer around. He was a lot of help, but most importantly, he was just fun entertainment and added to the good conversation.

This was just a cute picture of Sammie on the way home from our trip. She just looked like a little outside diva.
Matt gave Eston another one of his driving lessons while camping. Eston drove Sammie and I down to the bathrooms several times and thought he was pretty cool stuff. However, Sammie liked being able to go into the bushes instead of the bathrooms.

The kids had a little tea party out in the dirt. We were getting some stuff organized for meals and looked over and the kids were in a circle enjoying their snack. Aspen (Hymas's little girl) and Sammie had quite the obsession with the wildflowers there.

Matt was good enough to be Sammie's personal rock collection holder. If we had brought home every rock she collected we would have had to empty our tent bed to accommodate them all.
The kids got their first rock climbing from Matt and our friend Clark. They had hours of entertainment playing on all the rock formation and exploring around them.

All in all it was a fun trip, however I don't think that I will go camping again pregnant, I didn't enjoy the bathroom breaks in the middle of the freezing cold night. Next year between the two families we will have twice the kids so we will move our destination to my in-laws backyard. Complete with a fire pit, star gazing, and most importantly, access to flushing toilets.