Shamu! Shamu! Shamu!

We went to San Diego this past weekend to go to Sea World! Who-hoo! It was pretty awesome.

Ben and Belugas

Shauna/Grandma got the boys pretty excited about the Shamu show. I don't have any pictures of the actual show, because, we were sitting in the soak zone. Sam thought getting splashed by Shamu was amazing! Ben, not so much.

Mommy and Ben after a Shamu splash attack

We also got to go and touch bat rays, which was one of my favorite parts. The rays are beautiful and weird and crazy looking. And nice and slippery to touch. And the boys liked it too.

Grandpa and Sam (in the middle) petting bat rays

Luckily there was a family next to Ben and I who had bought some fish to feed to the rays, and they kept coming to us thinking that we had it. Silly bat rays! So, we got to touch several. It was awesome.

Katie and Ben petting bat rays

It was so much fun. We were all kinda tuckered out by the end of the day. And some of us even nodded off in the quiet tranquility of the manatee exhibit. It's crazy peaceful in there.

Emma, Hannah, Stephanie, Ben, and Scott, taking it easy

But once we got some food in us we got a small portion of our energy back.

Sam, eating a Shamu cookie

With our new found energy we hit the Shamu Rocks! show. It's like a normal show, except less chatty. Which is not a bad thing.

The boys were pretty enchanted with the whole Shamu idea. We got them little stuffed Shamu toys, which they call "baby Shamu."

The best part? On the way home, Ben was flying his Shamu through the air singing, "Bat-Shamu! Bat-Shamu! Bat-Shamu!" And that is why the horrible sunburns we received while there are worth it.

It's Independence Day!

So, for the 4th of July (a wee bit late, I know) Zach and his Dad decided to run a 10K. Not exactly the way that I would choose to celebrate a holiday, so I only let them sign me up for the 2 mile fun run. Which is something of an oxymoron, but we went ahead with it anyway.

Zach and Scott started quite a bit sooner, because they had longer to run.

Ben, Sam and Emma before the race

We started out pretty strong, then we crossed the starting line. It was very hilly, and rocky, and I was pushing the boys. So, we ended up walking quite a bit. Quite a lot, actually. But, overall, we were pleased with our performance.

And afterwards they had ice cream bars. But the boys ate mine. That is so like them.

After all that hard work, the boys needed to ice cream to help regain their energy

(Note: The boys were so excited to see American flags all day. They kept pointing them out. In fact they still are)

Scott ended up coming in second place in his age group, which is amazing! And he got a ribbon, which was awesome. Then we went and ate a lot of food, which is why you go running anyway. At least for me. And then we got home and slept for several hours. It was great.

Later, we faced the crowds and went to watch the fireworks. Ben fell asleep, but Sam stayed awake and got an ice cream. That's what you get for taking a nap.

And it was a spiderman ice cream too.

Waiting for fireworks. And eating ice cream.

Drippy ice cream covered Sam shorts

Ben woke up when the fireworks started. Both the boys got a little scared, because we were pretty close. Sam insisted on staying wrapped up in my arms with his head burried in my shoulder. Ben was hiding behind Zach's back, peeking around at the fireworks.

Smiley Ben

In the end we were all happy. Especially Ben. And in the end, we love America.

Out of the toddler's mouth

With no preamble, here are some little boy quotes.

After Sam had been pestering me for some more chocolate pudding
Sam: Tick, tick, tick... DING! DING! DING! Oh, Mommy, it's time to give me chocolate!

When Ben found and tried on a big skull mask in the toy section of the store.
Ben: Grrr!
Me: Aah!
Ben: Don't worry Mommy. I'm just being silly with that silly mask.

Ben: Hey Sam. You're my brother.

Sam: I am your brother. And I like you.

Ben: I like you. I'm holding a boom. (Boom is their word for gun. And it's true, he was carrying around a nerf gun.)

Sliiiip - Slip-n-Slide!

One of the great advantages of Zach having a young sister is that the boys have a young aunt. Aunt Emma! Who loves to play and run around with the boys. Here we see the awesome good times that were created when Emma and the boys broke out the Slip-n-Slide!

Ben and Sam collide!

Ben - lounging

Ben runs to the fountain pool!

Sam takes an awesome slip!

Ben comes in for a slippery landing

Emma checks Ben

The boys have the basic concept of the slip-n-slide down, but haven't quite been able to apply the concepts completely. They do a lot more slipping than sliding. Luckily, Aunt Emma is a total pro on the slip-n-slide. So, the boys are learning from the best.

After a while we brought out the foamy soaps that Grandma got for the boys. Hilarity ensued.

Ben and Sam being Soap Monsters

Birthday Adventures

We came down to Phoenix last week to stay with Zach's family and to kick-off the Summer of the Roadtrip! Hurray. The boys did pretty well coming down. And they are so, so happy and excited to be here.

On the boys actual birthday we went out to Chuck E. Cheese's. Which they thought was amazing. As did the other half of the children of Phoenix, who were all there as well. Even as crowded as it was, Ben and Sam thought it was amazing. And figured out the whole token concept very, very quickly.

Sam and Ben riding the Monster Truck

Ben driving the Monster Truck

Giddy-up, Ben!

Sam - going solo in the monster truck (we spent a good deal of time here)

We managed to lure the boys back to the table with promises of pizza, soda and cake. They swallowed down just enough of the pizza and soda so that I would allow them to have the cupcakes. Which they licked all the frosting off of. And then were done.

Ben and Sam's birthday cupcakes

Afterwards we went home and opened so many awesome presents and toys, that the boys went into temporary toddler shock. And then terrorized the house with new Transformer toys, Batman motorcycles and Barbarian Playmobils. A good time was had by all. Except the dogs, who were a little wary of these little guys.

Birthday Party!

I decided to have a birthday party for the boys before we leave for the summer so that they could have a rockin' time with their friends before we left for several months. We're headed out this week.

This was a terrible idea.

The party was went wonderfully and the boys and their bestest friends Kimball and Kirtland had a awesome time. But, allow me to be the voice of reason for a moment and say that throwing a party five days before you leave your home for several months at a time is a bad idea. Especially if you think it would be really sweet if you made everyone capes and masks to go along with the super hero theme that the boys wanted. Don't do this. You'll just be up crazy late for several days in a row sewing and rueing.

But, now that it's over, I'm glad we did it.

Some party decorations

As I mentioned we went with a super hero theme. Sadly, it looks like the boys have inherited my terrible timing. Even though we invited several of their friends only two were able to come. Luckily those two were Kirtland and Kimball. Who rock.

Some Balloon Play

I had several games planned out, but the boys were more interested in playing with the balloons. Which was cool with me.

After the balloon time, we ran through the super hero obstacle course.

Wicked-awesome obstacle course

Unidentified Super Hero (Probably Super Sam) running through the Screaming Streamer Cave!

Despite the fact that they pretty much ignored the starting and ending spots, it was a complete success.

Super Ben on the Leaping Logs

Super Sam coming out of the Star Portal

Super Sam and Captain Kirtland take a moment for their adoring fans.

We also battled Kryptonite bubbles and fought the terrible forces of the streamer attacks and in the end the day was saved. So we sat down for some lunch.

Ben, Kimball, Sam, and Kirtland waving hello between pizza slices.

I started a tradition I hope to have the energy to keep up from now on this year and that is making each of the boys their own cakes. It seem unjust that they shouldn't get their very own birthday cake just because they happen to be twins.

And they were so, so, so, SO excited about these cakes. I made them the day before and they stood up chairs staring at them for hours. Just loving them.

Ben's Birthday Cake

Sam's Birthday Cake

And then, of course, we moved onto presents. The boys had been caring several presents around with them during the festivities, so they were more than ready to get to this point.

Opening Transformer's T-shirts!

Batman birthday Cards!

Star Wars Mini Action Figures!

So, in the end it was a huge success. Everyone had a great time, I think. The boys think birthdays are the best thing ever and have been playing with all their new presents non-stop. Thanks everyone!

And after it was all over, I fell asleep on the floor in a pile of tissue paper with a package of wipes for a pillow. Until Zach moved me to the couch. The life of a party girl is so glamorous.

Curtains Up!

So, it was a quilt. The thing I've been working on. Since... April. Yes. A quilt. And it is finally, finally finished. (Well, hopefully at least).

This is the first quilt I have ever made. If I was smart (a big if on that one), I would have started out with something smaller so that I could develop some quilting abilities before undergoing a large and more difficult project like a quilt. But, I don't really want something small. I wanted a big quilt. So, I dove right in.

I used the book Last-Minute Patchwork & Quilted Gifts, which has some fun ideas and projects, but is a little difficult to understand if you are a visual learning like me. I had to read the directions several times and then have Zach read them to make sure I understood them properly.

So anyway, here's the quilt:

The Quilt: the Front

The Quilt: the Back

Some detail on the back

I'm quite pleased with the whole thing. It's called a stacked coin or Chinese coin design, apparently. Of course there are uncountable mistakes, which I believe gives the quilt character. And, whoa Nelly, is this puppy loaded with character!?

I chose the colors based on some fabric I already had and some old shirts of Zach's that I cut up to put into the quilt. I'm not really sure why I picked brown as the base, I think it has something to do with the colors she used in the book, but I like the look overall.

I think I may actually like the back a tiny bit more than the front, but the jury's still out on that one.

So, here's the photo story of the journey of the quilt which I started in April and ended in June:

Sam "helping" me while I cut out the strips for the columns

All of the white stars on a red field after being cut up

Coins pre-stacking

After all the coins were sewn together. This was the easiest way to keep everything in the order I wanted.

Quilt Scraps

The amount of space I had left over when I ran out of binding. Absolutely the most annoying thing in the world.

Part of the reason that I wanted to make a quilt, rather than a small wall hanging or something like that, is because I want this to be really used, something that becomes a part of our family life, full of memories and love. (*Sniff!* Okay, enough sappiness for the moment) Anyway, as you can see, the boys are already getting to work on that.

Ben using the quilt as a yoga mat after they got into my yoga DVDs again. Pretty good downward dog there.

Also, some mighty impressive toddler warrior pose from Sam here.

Sam hiding under the quilt.

"Peekaboo!"

Of course, I may have to do some more work on it. Why? Because after I was completely finished I looked at the bag that the batting (the soft white stuff between the fabric) came in and it said that they recommended quilting every two to four inches. My lines are every 10 inches. Sometimes more. Zach thinks I should sew some more lines so that it doesn't start to break down in a few years and will last forever, per my dream.

But he's not doing the work.

So, if any quilters out there have some advice on what I should do, let me know. I am willing to sew more if I need to. I just don't want to if I don't have to.

In the mean time, I'm gonna go and snuggle up under that awesome, character filled quilt.