Field Trip to see Goats and Zebras

Today for preschool, the kids got to see some ... kids. Literally. Baby goat kids, to be exact, and a baby zebra. Let's just say that Koria was a bit terrified the entire time and Kimball did great. I braved taking Luke and Layne too, and some friends from the ward helped out with them as we walked through the field where the goats are kept.

Things started out alright, but by the time that Koria saw two sheep herding dogs by the field of goats, she was not about to relax. Then, she saw the manure ... which led to shouts of, "Ewww! It stinks in here! I'm not walking on that! She about lost it when the goats came up to us and put their faces in ours. Another girl named Libby, our bishop's daughter, had about the same reaction, without all of the screaming and frantic yelling. She and Kor and our bishop's wife hung out together while I held Layne and took Kimball to see some of the animals. Lacie, our bishop's wife, finally let the girls out of the field, on the other side of the wire fence, and said that immediately, the girls turned to each other and said, "Oh, look how cute the baby goats are! Look at all of the big goats! They are soooo cute!" Amazing what the removal of manure and close proximity will do for cuteness.

Koria also had no interest in petting the baby zebra that we saw at the park. I didn't pressure her, so she had a great time just playing at the park instead. Kimball loved petting this little zebra, who will be moved to Missouri next week.

Luke and Layne enjoyed being outside, but are starting to get a bit sick, so we headed home around 11:30 for their nap.

K&K and I ate our lunch outside. We smelt like a barnyard. Then we enjoyed to beautiful weather by taking a ride on the fourwheeler, putting up the trampoline, and bouncing around on it for a while.

The sister missionaries showed up after that and said that it was their service day but that no one would let them do service. I obliged by letting them sweep and mop our kitchen floor. Ka-ching! They shared a scripture before they left, then asked for a referral, which I actually gave them. Hope something comes of it. Then, we decided to order pizza, drive to Price, and eat it as a family in the park. Great day. Killer sunburn for the kids.

Koria and Kimball pushed Luke in a baby swing. Layne's scared to death of it still, so she didn't ride for long. Luke couldn't get enough.

Kimball was the most excited to hold this two-day-old goat kid. He said that he was soft. Koria thought that it was monster of some kind and was going to eat her. Kimball tried to console her by explaining, "Koria, it's alright. Goats are plant eaters. They won't try to eat you." Didn't work.

Field Trip to the Nursery and Smokey Bear

Koria and Kimball had a preschool field trip this morning to meet Smokey The Bear and to a local nursery. I couldn't go, but the same friend that brought the cookies last night took them to it for me with her son who's also in their class. Jared had to use the car to go into Price for a dental appointment. He had a permanent crown put on this morning. The truck is in the shop, so we didn't have any transportation, other than Gma and Gpa Black's four-wheeler which we are borrowing while they're on their mission, and since I'm not quite that hickish, I didn't dare drive two sets of twins across town on it. Paints an awesome picture though, doesn't it?

Anyway, they enjoyed the outing. It took me two hours to convince Kimball to go this morning. He was scared that Smokey the Bear was either going to a) eat him, or b) drag him into the woods to his secret cave lair and THEN eat him. Why did my imagination have to be an inherited quality? When I asked him how it went later, he said, "Koria and I watched the movie about Smokey the Bear and everything, but we wouldn't go up and meet him afterward. You should have seen his eyes, Mom! They were HUGE!!! And did you know that ladybugs eat the bad guys? I like ladybugs now."

They still melt me despite the rough moments. Kimball turned to me tonight before bed and said, "Mom, you're the best mom ever. I don't know what I'd do without you." Then he kissed me on the lips. Don't know what I'd do without them either.

Hairy Green

The kids planted some Hairy Green (aka grass) at preschool and brought it home on Monday. They didn't have preschool on Tuesday, but they had to give "him" a haircut and make sure that he stays in a sunny place and gets a trim and watering frequently.

I had to keep the kids off of the wet carpet that morning, so I braved driving all five of us into Walmart. I'm proud to say that they all did great, except for Koria. I came up with the term "bawl-a-thon with flair" to describe her actions in the store. You fill in the details.

After returning, I had to put the front room back together again, so K&K got to watch a movie while the babes napped. I noticed that someone had spilled chocolate all over one of the couch covers, so I thought, "Why not make it all clean at once?" I washed, dryed, then put the covers on again. Good thing too, as we had home teachers come for the first time in four years a couple hours after that!

For those of you who have served missions, you will appreciate what I have to say next. The visit with our new home teachers was like a discussion with the family from hell. Koria and Kimball would not listen to anything I said and ran from one part of the house to the next, yelling wildly at the top of their lungs, slamming into the side of the couch and over the arm onto my lap -- repeatedly. Layne had been having a bizarre colic relapse the entire day, so she wasn't too great either. Luke just hung out by me on the couch sucking his thumb. When I physically tried to restrain the older two, it was like watching a scene from an action movie with foreign subtitles: painful to follow and mind-numbing. The home teacher and his wife reassured me that they had kids, and that they had grandchildren, and they tried to convince me that their grandchildren were that loud and crazy too. Whatever. Their faces gave them away. We really were a mind-numbing, painful-to-follow foreign film. A family freak show for the Holdaways to see in person. I hope they come back. It might be another long four years before we have home teachers again...

As they were leaving the door, a friend showed up with sugar cookies for me and the kids. Thank you, Laneea. I ate over half of them. I didn't let the kids have theirs until this morning. I ate one in front of them just to rub in it. (Evil laughter) I should have licked the crumbs off of the plate too, now that I think of it...

Jared got home around nine. I was extremely excited, just too tired to let it show.

Bless the Carpet Cleaner

That was the only thing that I was blessing on Monday. You just saw the stack of dishes that was amassing in the sink. Well, the kids were on a roll over the past few days as it was ... I honestly don't think my brain has chosen to remember the hairy details of it all. The culmination of it all happened when Jared was trying to Skype with us from his hotel room in St. George. The kids were running around the room, ignorant that I was trying to tell them anything or that their dad was trying to talk with them. Next thing I know, I hear a lound crash behind me. I smiled at Jared, told him good night, then shut off Skype and let the punks have it. Yeah, the she-beast also know as me became a tower of terror. They had managed to knock over a plant, freshly watered none the less, and crack it's pot right down the center. There was a pile of mud, right in the middle of the front room carpet.

Yes! Early bedtime. I told them that I didn't want to see them until the morning. Guess Koria didn't count the middle of the night as an exception, or Kimball either. I saw both of them about four times between 11:00 p.m. and 2 a.m. That's when they really knew I was mad.

I had to clean up the mud mess by doing some carpet cleaning. Vacuuming was of no effect.

I was looking for an excuse to make myself steam clean the carpet anyway, so I decided to move all of the furniture into the kitchen and do the job right. I awoke Tuesday morning to shouts of, "Hey, Mom, it's morning now so we can see you again AND come see the obstacle course we've made with the furniture in the kitchen!" I put the pillow over my head.

It took quite a few passes for this bad boy to start lifting, but in the end, it's a lot better than ... a giant mud stain.

Due to an extremely windy and cold day outside as well, I looked out the window just as I was about to get the carpet cleaning underway. Can you feel my joy as I saw our garbage can, tipped over by the wind, garbage flying through the yard? I ran outside and did a roadside pickup, then returned to find out that the carpet cleaning solution that I had just filled had somehow leaked all over the front room tile. Awesome. The carpet cleaner only broke down on me once during the two-hour cleaning session, so after I manage to fix it and finish up the hallway, I took a bath. I stunk. Imagine bad b.o., wet carpet smell, and roadside garbage and you have a pretty good idea of how I smelt ... and felt. I don't like Mondays and I don't like dishes.

How's that for uplifting?

When it was all said and done ... well, I was glad it was done.

Dishes

Anyone else hate dishes? Especially when you are the only one around that does them? I let them pile up a bit while Jared was away. This was Monday night, I think... right before the real cleanup began ...

White World

I know that there are a lot of you out there who are pretty tired of the snow, but for an Idaho girl who's lived in the desert for the past five years now, I don't mind seeing a beautiful coat of white, even if it's in late March. On Sunday morning, we awoke to a couple inches of powder outside. By the time we finished church at 2 p.m., it had all melted. What a pretty scene it painted for our Sabbath morning though.

Uh, Saturday morning?

Just some morning that I caught K&K busy at play when I woke up. Isn't it great to have a twin? Kimball and Koria are great to play with each other, no matter the subject of the toys. My Little Ponies around our house do all kinds of daring boy stunts.

Mega Spike

I think that this was taken last Saturday. I missed a few days last week. Jared was gone from Thursday through Saturday for work in St. George, and things got a bit crazy around here. He was here for church and meetings on Sunday, then had to take off after he finished his home teaching and I did my visiting teaching. He returned late last night (Tuesday, March 29). Koria and Kimball gave a couple of great talks in Primary on Sunday too. The rest I will fill in as we go.

Just playing around with Layne's growing hair while in the tub in this shot. I think that Koria enjoyed this a lot more than Layne did.

The Other Blog, Cali Pics

I updated our other blog with some more Cali pics. They are a bit more artistic than storytelling, but I really liked how some of them turned out, so I thought I'd let you know so that you can see them if you are interested.

Koria and Kimball Go To the Dentist

I should have taken them about two years ago, but well, that's about when I was expecting another set of twin. Monday, March 21 marked Koria and Kimball's first official visit (for a full exam, not just a loose tooth) to the dentist. They loved it. It probably helps that they didn't have any cavities, got balloon-shaped swords and flowers, new toothbrushes, floss, toothpaste, etc. They both did great.

Blacks

Just a group shot that we took yesterday of us before the grandparents took off on their missionary adventures.

Elder and Sister Black

Don't they look great? Gpa and Gma Black have been in the MTC for ... about a week now, and since all of the senior couples have to option of going home on the weekends, they decided to come down to our house for church on Sunday and a couple hours afterward. They take off for their mission to Kirtland, Ohio, on Wednesday. It was so good to see them both. Although you can't see their missionary tags, they are official. Kimball and Koria had fun during Sacrament meeting playing with their tags.

Jared and I both had to kick it into gear on Saturday night. We had not had a chance to prepare talks and lessons with all the business of the previous weeks, so when Sunday morning came around, we were already tired.

Jared spoke in two wards, one of which was the Spanish branch. Don't know how he does that so easily. If I had to try and give a talk in Bulgarian it would be a disaster. I taught gospel doctrine, then had to fill in for the pianist in R.S. for the prelude, then had to fill in for the chorister to lead the music. It was great to come back home and sit down to a real Sunday dinner (which only happens when company comes) with Gma and Gpa Black. We will definitely miss them, but couldn't be more excited for them at the same time.

Taeya and Madie, here's the promised pics of your hairdos for your mom to see. Taeya was amazed that her hair curled. You look like babes, ladies. Hope your weekend at your dad's went well.

Magic Treehouse Series

Right before we left for California, Jared checked out the first 5 books in a children's book series titled, "The Magic Treehouse," which is all about a magical treehouse that transports a brother and sister to various time periods according to what book they are reading inside of it. It's pretty fun. We read all of those 5 books on the drive, then Jared checked out the next 6 in the series. There are about 30 in all, we think.

For five-year-olds, Koria and Kimball have amazing reading comprehension skills. They like pictures when they come, but most of the books that we've been reading to them for the past year don't have many. They remember all the details, and talk about the storylines as if they know them by heart. They also have been starting to read since shortly after Christmas, and it's like a whole new world is opening up to them. They enjoy sounding out anything that we come across.

On Saturday, when Luke and Layne took their nap, the older two asked if I would read them the next book in the series. They decided that they both needed to lay down on me while I read. I managed to stay awake. This is a picture of us while we had our reading time together.

Time with the Owen Kids

Jared's under there somewhere. This is when all the one padouins successfully defeated Darth Vader and took him to the ground. We watched the Owen kids through Friday until about four p.m., when I drove them to be with their dad for the weekend. I made them endure speaking with accents the last part of the drive up to Spanish Fork. Now they really know that Aunt Keni's crazy.

I know that you will find this hard to believe, but between taking care of eight small children, one doctor's appointment for Layne, a Relief Society night dinner and repacked for another quick trip, I didn't have time to take a picture on Thursday.

Taeya and Madie wanted me to do their hair before we left to meet their dad for the weekend because, as Taeya so humorously put it, "This hairdo has gotta last through the weekend, cause my dad doesn't do our hair!" They made me promise that I would take a picture of them with their hair all curled, then post it so that their mom could get a glimpse of their hairdos. When I asked Taeya what she wanted me to do with her hair, she replied, "(thoughtful pause)Oh, do whatever you want with it. I'm looking for a new style. I know all about girl's clothes and what's in fashion, but I don't know what's cool to do with your hair." Thanks, my 10 year-old-neice, going on 30.

We had some great conversations, especially on our drive north. After buying some much needed diapers and a few other things, I arrived back home late of Friday night.

More birthday party pics

Right after the Han Solo popsicles were gone, Jana, Jace, Jaden, Madie, and Taeya showed up for the festivities. Jana had called on Tuesday night and asked us to watch her kids for her for the next few days, so we had that much more fun having a Star Wars birthday party on Wednesday night. We ate cake, blew out candles, played games like "Pin the Light Saber On Yoda," used the force to keep a balloon meteorite off of the floor using a light sabe while dressed like a storm trooper, battled a vision of Darth Vader (Jared) in the Degaba System with mini light sabers (glow sticks), and read a great story right before bed.

Can we say exhausted?

You'll notice that after we ate the cake, I had to take the figures off of the cake to wash them, and during the process, I noticed that Luke Skywalker seemed to be trapped in the garbage disposal, just like in the movie, "A New Hope." Had to take a picture. Don't worry, he survived.

Unthawing Han Solo from Carbonite

Since Koria and Kimball had requested a Star Wars cake, we decided to dedicate the rest of the night to Star Wars too. Jared came up with a brilliant idea. He had popsicles out of clear Koolaid, then put two Han Solo figures into them as their sticks. Thus, the game became freeing him from being frown in carbonite. It was awesome. The kids were having a great time and were complaining of being very cold. I couldn't believe how fast they were trying to eat the popsicles. About half-way through, Jared said that they could use their skewers from the fondue to help in the process. The pictures are in order, from bottom to top.

Koria and Kimball Turn 5!

Hard to believe, but the punks just turned 5. We did the whole Disneyland trip for their birthdays, but had found these powerwheels four-wheelers long before we considered California. How can you go wrong when you find one and the D.I. for 8$ and the other for not much more on a mega clearance sale? We gave them a few other things that we've been holding onto for a couple years now in Jared's closet, but surprised them with these four-wheelers when they returned from preschool on Wednesday, March 16.

I wimped out on their preschool birthday treat for the other students this year too. No homemade gifts from this mom. Just lots of loaded-with-sugar Creamies for each kid to drive home with. What can I say?

More to come on the birthday celebrations later and our guests that we ended up having that night later. Right now I have to go prepare a gospel doctrine lesson .....

Birthday Prep

Back from vacation and already busy with life. On Tuesday, March 15, we hurried into preparations for Koria's and Kimball's fifth birthdays. We were all out of food, so when I asked the kids what they wanted me to buy for their birthday dinner and they replied, "FONDUE," I knew that a shopping trip was necessary. I wimped out this year and bought a premade cake, in the discounted bakery section, then came home and turned it into a Star Wars cake for the twins, which they had also requested. Easiest cake I've made to date. I just bought a pack of premade colored frosting, then wrote their names on top and slapped a few Star Wars figures (that they chose) into the frosting. Walla!

Monday, March 14

Not the most flattering shot of me. On Monday, between loads of laundry and other things that needed to be done at home, Kimball accidentally whacked me in the mouth with a Wii remote. This was a few hours after the initial blow. Hurt like you-know-what. Welcome home, Kendra, and back to reality.

How's that for a slap in the face?

Sunday, March 13

Sunday morning came and with it came a change from daylight savings and an hour change backward on top of that as we headed back home to Utah. We drove for 10 or so hours and made it home to find all .... brown. I have to say though, never underestimate the power of your own bed or a good night's sleep. Both were appreciated upon our return.

Saturday night, Jared volunteered to watch all the kids and get them to bed so that Cook and I could have a girls' night out, all to ourselves. It's been far too long. As always, we enjoyed talking about the serious and the insane, all rolled into one. There are few people that really "get me" like the Cooker does. My kindred spirit. We tried some salmon and spinach enchiladas, and topped off our meal with some frozen yogurt. The waitress had to not-so-subtly ask us to leave our seat at the restaurant so that others could come in. I think we could have stayed there all night. Instead, we talked some more on the drive, parked by the ocean for a while just to listen to the waves and feel the heavy, humid air, then talked some more once we returned home. Catherine, I love ya. Once you figure out how to apperate, we'll be set.

We took a few pictures of us hanging out on her patio before leaving early on Sunday morning.