Boyz in the Backyard

I have to admit, I love my backyard...one perfect spring afternoon like this and I forget all winter snow, Nor'easter rains and stifling summer days. The kids love exploring the "forest" behind our house, especially when the stream is full after spring rains. It's wonderful to have a little bit of wilderness right out the back door.

Happy Birthday, Twinkies!

Wow! I can't believe that the boys are three...I always told myself during those dark newborn nights that if I could just make it the first three years with twins, the rest would be a breeze. Of course, I didn't realize that at the end of the three years, I would have two three-year-olds...not exactly a relaxing situation...but at least I have survived this leg of the marathon. Who knows what twists and turns lie ahead?


We celebrated with a family party, chocolate cake and presents. The twinks loved their new clothes from Nana and Papa, sand toys from Oma and Opa, books, t-shirts, blocks and beads. Some of the partygoers were happier than others. Some guests were high on Vicodin and the rest of us wish we were too.


Just for fun...see if you can "guess the twin"...

1. ...who is completely potty trained (including nighttime!)
2. ...who can do seat-drops and mini-flips on the trampoline
3. ...who hates to touch anything wet or dirty
4. ...who enjoys tattling on the other kids
5. ...who loves broccoli
6. ...who makes snoring noises during the prayer
7. ...who is left-handed
8. ...who loves instant oatmeal (uncooked)
9. ...who says "I not in trouble...I happy!"
10. ...who loves getting haircuts and dental check-ups

***1-5=Lukey 6-10=Sambo

Who Needs a Birthday Party?

So the Teddy Bear Picnic 3rd birthday party was cancelled today and so is my trip to BYU Women's Conference next week (sniff). Brad is home from the hospital and doing ok...he is still in a lot of pain, but the painkillers make him nauseous. His lungs are doing better and his breathing seems to have improved. Showering, dressing, typing on the computer are all a challenge with only one arm...but if anyone can work through this, it's the B-Rad.


The silver lining in a mini-drama like this one is all the love and help and support we've received. The church ladies have brought in meals and done babysitting and folded my laundry and filled my fridge with groceries. One of my neighbors started a meal calendar and it is filled until May 16th! She emailed me the list and I don't even know some of the names...I can't believe how many wonderfully good people there are in the world.


Thanks for all your phone calls, emails and prayers. We are so thankful...

My new favorite book

This book is amazing!!! I cannot recommend it highly enough. I laughed, I cried, I learned a lot and mostly was just enchanted by the characters, plot and message of "Al Capone Does My Shirts" by Gennifer Choldenko.


Set on Alcatraz in 1935, it's the story of Moose, son of a prison guard, and his family and friends and their adventures. Choldenko was a tour guide on Alcatraz and adds lots of fascinating historical facts about the prison.


It is written for a middle-school age audience, but will capture anyone's interest, no matter their age. Loved it, loved it, loved it!!!!

Advice

A tip to consider...


If your husband has recently been involved in an extreme-sport-macho-mountain-biking-trail-jumping type accident lately and has, in fact, sustained several serious injuries which will probably preclude him from all transportation responsibilites, landscape maintenance, childcare duties, grocery procurement, laundry assistance, trash removal or mealtime preparation...perhaps you should not be in such a hurry to dispose of the beloved mountain bike...maybe you should consider taking it for a sunset spin on your own. A few days in the hospital might be just what you need!

As The Gab Blog Turns...Episode 39

In this exciting episode, we find our hero in the hospital for a brief stay due to a daring bike stunt gone wrong.

Bad jump+crazy landing=Broken clavicle, scapula, 4 broken ribs and a partially collapsed lung.

Bummer, dude!

Tune in next time for more crazy adventures...

New Book

My bookclub is reading "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" by Ishmael Beah. I just started it and am hooked. It is the true story of a 12 year old boy in Sierre Leone becoming a rebel soldier. I have heard that it is quite upsetting in some parts but has a positive message. I'll let you know when I finish...

Pyromania

I know why Santa comes down through the fireplace...because he is a guy.

Guys love fire! Especially the guys at my house. The only consolation in the stormy weather is the fact that every night Brad builds a crispy, crackly fire and we roast marshmallows. Nothing gets my kids hustling through doing dishes, taking showers and putting on pjs faster than the promise of a firenight.

Brad is the biggest pyromaniac in the family. Sunday night we were having some quiet family time around the hearth. The storm was churning outside, but we were snug and safe. Everyone was getting warm and drowsy...it was Norman Rockwellian. Then...BOOM!...the whole room shook and my heartrate went sky high. Was it thunder? Lightning? Terrorists?

"It was just an old firecracker I put in with the firewood!" my husband 'fessed up after several minutes of silent laughter.

"Where did you get an old firecracker?" I wondered.

"It was out with my stuff," he sheepishly explained.

(You see, he has a not-so-secret collection of stuff out in the garage. He had just been digging around in it to see if he could find his old Cub Scout badges to show the kids...of course he did find them, along with a Texas Rangers baseball ticket from 1983 and, apparently, an old firecracker. The man is amazing!)

"I didn't think it would really go off," he reasoned.

Mmmmmhmmmm....

"Kinda like the time when we were serving as 'responsible adult leaders' on the Church youth Pioneer Trek campout and you threw the whole pot of cooking oil on our fire just to see what would happen?" (What did happen, for those of you wondering, was a great wall of flame, an explosion of sound, eyebrow-melting heat and some very concerned Stake youth leaders...I am amazed they asked him back the next time!)

One friend of mine suggested that if anyone really wanted teenage boys to pay attention in Sunday School or any learning setting, they would just construct big firepits in the middle of every classroom. The boys would be drawn like moths and you could fill their heads while they watched the flickering flames.

Actually, now I'm realizing, maybe all those candle-lit honeymoon nights were not for me after all....