I think I should stick to the wii...

Memorial was super fun for us because Josh took the day off work and we played. Sadly, it was rainy so the original plan to have a picnic at the park didn't work out. So my sis-in-law Jenny created plan B: bowling! I haven't been bowling in at least 6 years. I can't really remember when the last time was. However, I am a pro bowler on the wii with a sparkly ball and everything. Apparently all my hard work and practice has not paid off in the real thing though. I think the problem is that in real bowling the balls are heavy! Good grief! I mean I haul around two babies all the time with no problem but sheesh I can't throw a stinkin' bowling ball to save my life. I think I bowled a 72 on the first game and even Sydney pulled ahead with an 81 (in all fairness she did have the bumper pads). I thought for sure I would warm up and do better on the second game but it ended up somewhere in the 50's I believe. Josh tripled my score with a 149. He's amazing! Anyways, still a very fun afternoon. This was Sydney's first time bowling and she was so cute picking up her bowling ball and waddling up to the lane like an overdue pregnant lady. It was fun to see all the Moore family and Josh's parent's were so great and offered to watch the twins for us. Tanner would have been all over the place I'm sure. I stole a picture from Jenny's blog since I forgot my camera.

Double the party

Tanner and Natalie have made it through their first year of life! We had quite the celebration for their birthday yesterday. We had all the family over for pizza party and cake and ice cream. The highlight was by far watching them eat their cake. Natalie was so dainty and careful with hers, pinching off small pieces one at a time and putting them in her mouth. She has always been this way with her food. Her daddy actually helped her get a little frosting on her face to start and she did end up a bit of a mess in the end. But it was nothing compared to Tanner who is all boy and tried to shove the whole cupcake in his mouth at once. It was hilarious. They were both very tired by the end of the party and we thought they might fall asleep while eating their cake. You can tell in these pictures that they are quite somber.

We decided to get a swing set for their birthday and a couple of small gifts because I couldn't handle the idea of getting them one thing that they can't unwrap or really even play with much yet. Sydney is pretty excited about having our own swing set. She and the cousins had a lot of fun playing on it.

Tanner and Natalie made out like bandits as far as presents went at their party. They seemed extra excited to get their name puzzles from Aunt Jenny which we were so glad she still does. They love playing with Sydney's name puzzle but Sydney rarely lets them.

They also really loved the little maracas Eric and Andrea brought back from mexico. As usually they can be completely surrounded by toys but decide they both want to play with the same one.

My mom got a really cute picture of Rachel and Tanner. I think he must be very excited for his cousin to get her because as soon as I handed him to her he molded himself right over her tummy and just snuggled. We are so looking forward to having a cousin on the Ruben side!

Happy birthday to me

Well my birthday was actually a couple weeks ago but I've been reaping the benefits in just the past few days. Josh got me a gift certificate to Breathe Day Spa. I've never had a professional massage before or been to a spa so I can't really compare, but this place definitely had ambiance. You get the waffle knit robe, slippers, sitting in the tea room drinking herbal tea (yuck), and music with ocean waves. It was awesome. My sister, Kim, also had a gift certificate from Christmas so last Thursday we went together and got the bindhi herbal body treatment which left our skin feeling baby soft. We ended up getting Mom a gift certificate for mother's day and since she will likely want some company I just might have to go back again.

On Friday, Josh's parents came out in the afternoon with lots of little birthday presents which we planted in the backyard. So assuming I am not cursed with whatever would be the opposite of a green thumb, we will be enjoying pumpkins, carrots, onions, lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, strawberries, raspberries, and potatoes. I think that's everything. We'll see if anything else pops up out there! This is my very first garden and I am definitely not good at growing things. Basically everything I try to grow dies except for my one indoor plant which apparently only needs watering once a month. So I'll do my best and your prayers would be appreciated. Sydney loved helping Grandpa plant things. And the beautiful chain link fence will be going away sometime in the near future.

Reasons to have a king size bed

Sydney is a frequent visitor during the night. I never even realize when she gets there because she goes to Josh's side. So do the cats. They know if they try to sleep on my side of the bed I'll push them off. But I've never pushed Sydney off the bed! She is normally my little shadow all day long, and occasionally it makes Josh sad that she doesn't want as much to do with him. So you think he'd be happy that she wants to spend time with him at 3 am right? For some reason he doesn't love it. I woke up this morning because she weaseled her way in between us and then turned completely sideways across the bed and started kicking me in the back. She didn't have a pillow so she used daddy instead. Poor Josh is all the way on the edge of his side. So glad we have a king size bed!

Little chef

This is yet another way that comcast on demand tv has changed our lives. Sydney knows kid shows are available to watch all day long so I decided to branch out a little bit one day. She was negotiating how long she could watch tv and said she just wanted to watch a "really short one." So I found an 8 minute kids cooking show on activity tv where she learned how to to make these adorable little brownie cups. Well she totally loved it and she's always enjoyed helping me in the kitchen anyways. So activity tv is a new favorite around our house now.


I love the fact that she wants to be just like me. She was trying to exercise with me the other day but my lightest free weights are 5 lbs which were to heavy and frustrating her to tears. So I got her a set of 2 lb weights along with a new pink gardening tool since. She loves helping me in the garden too. She will entertain herself with the potato bugs and worms for hours. I feel kind of sorry for those poor potato bugs who get picked up and then moved to another location in the yard. But she loves them and talks to them and gives them names so it's really cute. I want her to stay this age forever but she says she wants to get big and I suppose she'll win that one.