More Family Time.....

So if you ask Madisen she will tell you that I am "cheap". Not in a naughty sense of the word, but I am a true at heart sucker for a really good deal!!! I LOVE to be the bargain hunter and find the steal of a lifetime for almost nothing.

So we have been trying to do "cheap" family outings. These have proven to be some of the best. Two weeks ago was our stake conference. Jared was all gung-ho to go, while I refused. I just did not want to wrestle on the hard chairs with two 7 month old boys. SO - we did not go. I kinda feel guilty about it, but we had some "family time" instead which was a lot of fun.

We went up American Fork canyon for a drive. We wanted to see the leaves changing colors. At the mouth of the canyon it was absolutely beautiful!! At the top, most of the leaves were already gone. We drove to Canyon Springs (I think that is what it is called) and then came back. It was a nice afternoon and not too cold.



The kids, especially the boys were fascinated by all the leaves. Such a new world for them. It was great!

I love this picture of Madisen. The car was mostly quiet on the way home and when I looked to see why...(this of course is rare with three kids), I found Madisen mesmerized by the colors she was taking in. I asked her what she was doing and she said....just soaking it all in mom, just soaking it in.



My husband turns into a different person anytime we go up American Fork canyon. He changes in a good way. He grew up in AF and spent a lot of time riding the canyon on his bike, camping with friends and driving to get away from life. I love to watch his love of the canyon come out whenever we go. Maybe we should go more often!!

Family time....

Last weekend we went to Gardner Village because "the witches were out!" It was a lot of fun and did not cost us a thing! If you have not checked this out yet - you really should go! We went on a Saturday, which I would not recommend because there were so many people, but other than that we had a lot of fun.

So some updates on the kiddos.....
Rylen FINALLY cut his first tooth. My goodness it has taken forever for that stink'n thing to break through. It is the bottom one on the left. It looks like the bottom one on the right is not far behind. No wonder we have been changing shirts 3-4 times a day!!


Caysen is getting up on all fours now. He rocks back and forth. We are betting that by Halloween he will be crawling. Heaven help the Andersen house. He REALLY wants to be able to get to Scoobie. I really feel sorry for the dog.


Madisen is getting ready to go off-track. She has this next week in school and then she is off for 3 weeks. Short break for Thanksgiving. Back at school for another 3 weeks and then 2 weeks off for Christmas holidays, then back for like 4 weeks and then another 3 weeks off. She is really excited to be off track. We cannot wait to have our official "helper" back home full-time; even if for just a few weeks.


We have almost completed all of our Christmas shopping. We are just focusing on putting it altogether. We are usually completely done by now, but we have been a little busy. We are really excited for the upcoming holidays. I especially love them!!!

Seven Months Old....Holy Smoke...Already?

Yes it is true. My twins turned 7 months old today. I really cannot believe it. I know that I say that every month as we inch closer to the one year mark. My boys are closer to being one year old than being at the newborn mark. Crazy huh?

Both boys are obviously not starving. They are so big. They wear size 4 diapers and wear 12 month clothes. Some of their pajamas are 18-24 month size. Madisen never grew this quickly. The doctor tells me that they should mellow out on their growth once they become more mobile.

Speaking of mobile.....Caysen is "army crawling" everywhere. I know he is going to scare the h*ll out of me one day because I will turn around and he will be right there! Rylen sits up on his own and is just content to hang out. He really has no desire to be on his stomach. (maybe because it is always full!)


I need to explain this picture of Caysen. He is playing with his dad's shoelace. No big deal right?....actually it is a big deal for me!! When Jared was younger he used to play with his shoelaces all the time! He even went through a jaunt where he did it again as an adult. Well, Caysen somehow received the "I love shoelaces" gene and he loves them also!! Heaven help us all!

Madisen and Jared both got new glasses last week. Madisen really likes them. She is 9 years old and already has bifocals. Poor thing. She can see things far away just fine, but up close is another situation. I asked her how things are at school with her glasses and she said that she likes them a lot and they have helped her.


So I know that I have only been a twin mommy for 7 months now, but here are a few things I have learned.....

1. Do not listen to people's advice that have never had twins, taken care of twins, or had twins in their family. People LOVE to dish it out, but most of it is garbage and they really have no idea what they are talking about!

2. Embrace the advice given by other twin mommies. I have loved doing this!! They definitely know and understand what "works".

3. There is a very special bond between twins. I hope my twins will always share this bond, no matter what.

4. Just because your house is a mess.....this does not make you a bad mom. The moments spent with your kids are much more important.

5. Staying home is the HARDEST job ever!!!! I always have worked full-time, so this as been an adjustment for me! Being home for most of the time (I still work, just not as much) has been an adjustment. It is better to embrace the adjustment than fight against it.

6. Your babies will still love you, even if they have to cry while you take 30 seconds and go to the bathroom.

7. Spit happens!!! Every day in fact!!

8. There is no greater love than the love a mom can give her kids.

9. On occasion, a mom may find that one or both of her twins will be just as stubborn as she is. :0)

10. Every mom needs "mommy time"!! Don't let anyone tell you that a schedule is not important! They are idiots!!!