Rub a Dub Dub, 2 Turds in a Tub

Maybe one of my favorite pictures ever.

How fun to be a twin.

Snow Fun

Did you hear the Pacific NW had a snow storm this week?

Well we did.

And it was rad.

I like snow approximately 1 bazillion times better than rain.

It's so dang pretty.

And peaceful.

And way fun to play in!

Snow + cardboard box = Good Times

Snow gear courtesy of our most generous friend Timi.

(With the exception of the pink pants.)

It's no wonder kids love snow days.

Hello! sugary goodness.

This is from Sunday when the first flakes started to fall.

So precious.

Lincoln likes the snow.

He enjoyed throwing snowballs, exploring, making tracks, sledding and sliding, building snowmen and making snow angels.

He was also the first to want to head in doors.

He has been reminding us about how much he loves the beach. And maybe how we could go to the beach sometime.

And how he likes the sun. And when can we go to Hawaii. And summer is his favorite.

Is this my kids or what?!

Get us to the sunshine.

Lila loves the snow.

No seriously, she never wants to come in.

And she just has the most adorable smile on her face the entire time we play.

I love her.

Our snow family. Lila made it with daddy.

She was so proud.

Funny-faced sissy.

This is what we woke up to this morning. 10 inches of winter wonderland.

December Daily

Tonight Linc + Lila took their bath, put their jams on, and then we had a pajama party.

Brian + I put our jams on as well, and we drove around looking at Christmas lights.

Oh yeah, we got some ice cream too!

This just might have to become a tradition!

And just for kicks + giggles, may I present our sweet Lila Pearl...

December Daily

Brian is on vacation until after the new year! He didn't plan it this way, but life happened this year. And so, we (L + L+ I), are very thrilled.

Today Brian + I got to work out at the gym together...

....for the 1st time in almost 4 years.

It was verrrrry fun. And we even resumed our usual gym disagreements about Brian making me lift too dang heavy. It was like we never left.

And then we picked the kids up from childcare and headed to the basketball court. The regular routine for the twins + I.

Except daddy was here today, so they got to do this...

Merry Christmas to us!

Crunch

Thanks to our neighbor, and his ginormous maple tree, Lincoln + Lila have been having a ball for the last couple of weeks. If we are bored, and it's not raining, we walk down to his front yard.

OR if Lila + Lincoln are driving me bonkers, we will also walk down to his house.

We walk in the leaves, crunch them, roll around, bury each other, throw them in the air, kick them, collect the prettiest...you name it, we've done it.

There is a certain part of this ditch where the leaves go all the way up to Lincoln's waist. A gazillion leaves.

Today the sun made an appearance. It was quite lovely. The perfect autumn day.

You wanna know what someone, {ahem}, is going to anonymously leave on this neighbors doorstep...

...a freaking rake!!!

School Yo!

My name is Karla, and I'm a teacher. Always, always have been. You can ask my mother, and she will tell you about the hours I spent wearing her shoes, teaching my imaginary students in her classroom throughout the years. You can ask my sister. Poor Kelsey, she always had to be my student. In fact, she is my only student I had the pleasure of teaching year, after year, after year. After year! You can ask the hundreds of students I taught throughout the years. You could ask Brian. He likes to remind me that he is, in fact, not a student in need of my instruction. Ahem!

And now even Lincoln + Lila can testify. At the end of summer I decided to start being more purposeful in the projects I do with the twins. And since I certainly have enough ideas and storybooks for several classrooms, I decided to put it to use. I chose several seasonal related themes, and a couple times a week we go to 'school'. Totally informal and totally relaxed. Just way fun.

These pics are from September on the first day we tried it. They were fans.

*And nope. I will definitely not be homeschooling. Not for me.

*For several reasons, but mainly because I could never do it justice after observing my amazing cousin Alane.

The Fair

We did the Puyallup.

For those of you from Washington, I just sang that catchy little ditty for ya. For those of you who live elsewhere, it's Pyou-al-up. And I'm pretty sure it's the biggest fair in our state. And yes, it's in September.

And it was fun, fun. I'm not quite sure what Lila + Lincoln were expecting. We told them mostly about the animals they were going to see. They were so wide-eyed the entire time. It was pretty special.

First ride--the race cars. MY GOODNESS, was it adorable to see their faces light up when the ride started. They have never done anything like this so it was just flat-out awesomeness.

And oh yes, they were convinced they were driving.

Lila found the purple car. Not surprising. Lincoln named his car Scoopa de Fuego. Also, not surprising.

And then we checked out the animals. And let me tell you, I could totally relate to this mama-pig at one point in my life as a mother.

Watching the stilt-dancing-clown people.

The helicopter ride was the one they immediately talked about when they woke up this morning. Brian + I eavesdropped on the monitor about how much they liked this one.

Giant pumpkins are awesooommmmeeeee.

We left the fair without consuming any fried food. Yay us!

We did find some delicious barbecue though. So very, very good.

Canoes.

Lila wouldn't ride the spaceships because they were too noisy. But Lincoln thought he was sooo very cool riding it alone. We don't do guns. At all. Yet. He didn't even know what these were...he thought they were rockets and he blasted them into space.

Lilee watched and waved every time he went around.

And then we got them cotton candy. We asked they make especially small ones for us. THESE ARE SMALL?!?

Lincoln was in heaven.

And Lila didn't even quite know what to do with it.

And then they got a sugar high.

Holy Moses were they wild.

Brian and I shared a scone and left with happy hearts. These are certainly some of the most fun times to be a parent.

WE HEART SUMMER!

Summer is for tending to our garden...

(While dressed like a ballerina. Thanks Seri!)

...visits from Grammie + Pops...

...the SPRAYground...

...McDonalds-cup entertainment...

...blackberry picking...

...driving lessons...

...beach visits...

(Check out the size of the rocks this turd throws!)

...rock throwing...

...trying to impress your kids with your sweet skillzzz...

....playing with daddy...

...ballerina poses...

....family time...

...tree climbing...

...hiking in the beautiful NW...

...boat rides...

(On the hottest day of the year!)

...fishing with Papa...

...camping with cousins...

...plastic floaties and bikinis...

...sand castles...

...first jump off a dock...

...learning to use scissors...

...sprinkler time...

...backyard play...

... and checking out new beaches with friends.

Summer is winding down here. We have been spoiled with some extra warm weather this week, but even still, the evenings are mornings are feeling like fall.

We certainly do love summer!