Hanging around...

 I can't believe that it is already November!!  And I can't believe how cold it got so fast!!  We have having lots of fun laughing together lately!!  Kynna is at such a fun stage and LOVES to get into trouble!!  She is so funny to watch as she explores all of Jaylee's fun toys and tries to keep up with her big sister!!  She still screams really loud when she gets frustrated but it seems to be less and less that we have to remind her that it's not okay to do that.  Last night she was trying to give herself a ride in Jaylee's baby stroller.  She kept sitting down and then she would use her legs to make it move a little.  Jaylee and I just sat there and laughed at her!!  She was laughing then with us as well thinking she is so funny!!!

And then we have Jaylee or as I'm suppose to be calling her Queen Jaylee.  She has been on this kick this week that she is the queen and we are her servants.  I tried to convince her that I was the queen-mum then but she wouldn't give in.  The funniest thing is that her crown, is the one from her Chuck-E-Cheese Birthday party so it's the plastic one.  She has a bunch of dress-up crowns that are so much cuter and look a lot nicer, but this is the one that she LOVES!!  Oh well I guess when you are 4 everything is cute!!  She, like her sister, thinks that she is so funny as well, and I find myself just laughing with her throughout the day because she's laughing hysterically at her own jokes or things she's done!!   

I feel so blessed to be the Mommy to these 2 girls!!  And they make me laugh every day at their little personalities and funny things they do!!  Here's hoping that winter is pretty mild though since we're all wimps about the cold weather!!!

Twins and Triplets...

I'm the crazy one that has always wanted to have twins!!  So there have been a few little experiences in the last month and a half that have given me an experience of what having multiples would be like.  I loved it and would be thrilled if even I am blessed in this way!!!  I think it would be a huge difference having my own, but   I am up for the challenge.  If only it worked that way!!!

At the beginning of October, we had our nephew Gideon stay with us for a couple of days while his parents were away on an Anniversary Vacation.  Gideon is a few months older then Kynna, so having 2 1 year olds was defiantly a challenge but so cute at the same time!!!  It's funny to see how different it is to have a boy around!!  Poor guy was surrounded by girl toys but we did manage to find a couple of balls that he loved!!  And he didn't mind riding on the pink car or playing with the dolls either!!

Then last week, we decided to steal our favorite twins for the day!!  We had such a great day with Adley and Brecklyn!!  Jaylee asks daily if we can do it again!!  Jaylee is a couple months older then them, but they all get along so well!!  We played at the house for awhile, and then we decided to go out for a special lunch to McDonald's where they had a BLAST playing!!  Then I had to run my car back out to the shop to have them look at something so they got to enjoy a movie there in the little cute playroom they have at the dealership, then since it was actually pretty nice outside, we went to a park and met Melissa there to give the twins back. We had so much fun with all of them though!!!  We will be having this Triplet day again!!!

Halloween Festivities!!!

Without a camera, I still managed to get a few shots of things we did during the Halloween days!!  My camera will sometimes take a couple pictures before it stops working again and I keep trying since I know I have to wait a little closer to my birthday or Christmas before I get a new one!!  

These first pictures were taken at J&J.  They have a little pumpkin ride and you get to go out to their pumpkin patch and pick a pumpkin.  We actually went twice since we went with Brady's parents and the Hospital the first time.  This is when we got our pumpkins, and then we went with our friends the next time.  I did let J get a little pumpkin that time since she claimed that the one she got was to big!!  It's a fun little tradition and we had a great time!!!

 J loved these little picture ops!!  We actually took these one day when we went to get Brady for lunch one day.  It was nice since we didn't have anyone else over there wanting to take pictures!!  

 on the Hay-ride with our friends.  Most of the kids all sat together and I couldn't get them to look at me so I just took it!!  That is my friend, Melissa down there leaning forward.  The girls all wanted to sit together and then her nephew and son were on the other side of them so we basically had almost an entire side of the ride!!

 Another one of our new favorite traditions during Halloween is going to the Syracuse Pumpkin walk.  It is so cool to see what other people have carved into their pumpkins!!  It's just a fun little thing!!  Anyways, after waiting until the last night last year, we decided to go the first night this year and it was perfect!!  We didn't even have to wait to start the walk.  Although I didn't like the way they set it up this year especially since they did a lot of it on the grass instead of the sidewalk, and with our little stroller it was such a pain to push it on there.  I really liked the one way they did last year as well.  This year it was more of a free-for-all and it just got congested even with there not being as many people.  I would have rather waited a little then to have that madness!!  

 I had tried a couple times to get pictures but my camera finally decided to work with perfect timing since J had found her favorite pumpkin!!  Of course it was a Unicorn!!  She is all cowgirl I swear!!  She LOVES horses and everything associated with them!!

 And Halloween!!  Since Brady didn't get home until after 5pm, and the girls were sooo ready to go, I let them do a little trick-or-treating to our neighbors while Brady got changed and ready to go.  Kynna was hilarious to watch.  She would NOT let go of her bucket and then we had one neighbor who wasn't home and she seriously threw a full on temper-tantrum in his yard.  She just kept stomping her feet and looking back at his door and screamed.  It was seriously the funniest thing ever!!!  J basically sprinted from house to house so that she could get to as many as possible before it was time to go to Nanny and Poppa's house.  We got up there a little late since everyone else had been there and already trick-or-treated to their neighbors.  We had dinner(soups and of course Snake Sandwich) and then we took the kids out again for the real trick-or-treating!!  We did a couple of streets and they had so much candy and the girls were ready to go back, so Brady and I took all the girls back to his Parents.  J was suddenly wishing that she had stayed once she realized that she could have gotten more candy.  I took her around to Nanny and Poppa's neighbors and she was good with that!!  Kynna was not to happy with not being able to eat every piece of candy as it dropped into her bucket!!  She has a sweet tooth and if we would have let her I think she might have eaten most of it then.  But now the candy has kind of worn off and there still sits a big bowl that here pretty soon will just be thrown away.  I tried to convince J into taking it to her dentist and letting him buy it from her but she wasn't having that.  Kynna was a Giraffe and J was a ladybug fairy if you asked her.  

Oh Jaylee how I love you...

Jaylee cracks me up!!  Seriously that girl kills me!!  While some days, by 9am I am ready to sell her(don't worry it's just a saying I would never!!) most days, I just laugh with her!!  You see Jaylee thinks she is hysterical, so most of the time, she will begin laughing before anyone else can!!  I'm going to try to be better about writing some of these moments down!!
So today, she wakes up early and goes and puts on a movie while Kynna and I are "sleeping".  (Not that I can ever actually sleep with her awake, since she like my brother Kevin, thinks that if they are awake everyone else should be as well!!)  Well she finds my phone and I hear her calling people.  Well Jaylee only likes to talk on the phone when it's on her terms and she keeps it on speaker phone, which is kind of nice because I can hear the conversations as well.  So it's 7:30 and she's calling my mom in Arizona.  They chat for a little bit and then I'm not sure why but my mom is singing the Mean Old Witch song.  Well as some of you know at the end the song says, "I'm a mean old witch with a hat. BOO!!"  And then my dear Jaylee says to Grammy-"It didn't work!!  You didn't scare me Grammy!!"  And then she hangs up on her!!  Not sure if I missed something, but next thing I know she's telling Grammy bye and that she loves her!!  At least she still loves her after her failed attempt to "scare" her!!
Then later on today we were chatting with Aunt Say, and we were talking about Sunday dinner at Grammy and Grandpa's house and Say was inviting us.  Well we are going for Christmas, and Jaylee is very aware of this and makes sure to let everyone know, and she informs Aunt Say that she can't come because she's going to be "sick" so she doesn't have to come tomorrow "but don't worry Aunt Say I'll be there for Christmas!!"  I guess she doesn't want to go and is already using the excuse of being sick!!

Oh I LOVE you Jaylee-Bug!!

Just more Rantings from me...

You know every year around this time, I swear that things will be different!!  That I will handle my emotions a little better then last year!!  Well I guess for the first time, I actually did!!  But not necessarily for the best!!  Most of you reading this, know that I lost 2, yes 2, brothers in a car accident many years ago, on a dark crisp night.  My parents had a rule that if you weren't home on time, they would come looking for us.  So it was my parents that found and called 911 after the truck they were driving, went off a 75 foot embankment.  They had been coming home from the Homecoming football game and dance.  I was 12 years old!!  So needless to say, my life has changed a LOT since that night 18 years ago.  Jared was 14 and Brian was 17, when they were killed, so this is the first year, that both of them have been gone longer then they were here on earth.  Kind of a weird thought!!  I often find myself wondering (just for a moment) what they would be like today.  I'm curious and love all of my siblings so much!!  I've always tried to put off the tears and pain that comes with this loss!!  And while I know that this happened MANY years ago, and I know that they are in a better place, I'm still a little selfish and would rather not have to deal with the pains associated with death.  The last couple of years have been super crazy for our family, not just for Brady and I, but my entire family, especially with the loss of my uncle, grandpa and cousin in less then a month.  I've had a few friends and people I know very well, deal with death of either a child, a family member, and even with some themselves, here lately, and my heart always feels so much for their families, since I mostly know what's in store for each of them in the coming days, months and even years!!
So my change this year- well I wouldn't say that I handled things better this year.  Just different!!  I woke up the other morning, seriously in the WORST mood ever, and while I have a super understanding husband, I can't say the same for my little girls that seemed to be getting the brunt of this mood.  J made a comment to me about being grouchy, and I just hugged her!!  And in that moment, my heart broke!!  Not for me, but for my parents!!  I know how much I LOVE my beautiful little girls, and so I thought of loosing one of them, let alone both, and I just can't even wrap my head around that pain completely, nor do I ever want to!!  I've known forever, that I have been blessed with the most amazing parents ever, but in this moment, I was just in awe as to how blessed I truly am!!  My Dad can fix anything, and just has so much knowledge.  He is super athletic, very honest and kind and just a strong man both mentally and physically.  But this bear also has a super tender spot, especially for his kids and even more for his grandkids!!  While he taught me how to work hard, he also taught me how to be kind and gentle, and honest in everything that I do!!  And then there's my Mom!!  She is one of my best friends!!  She is outgoing, generous, loving, hilariously funny, so talented and so many more things that I want to be!!  She is seriously the most amazing lady that I have ever met!!  And lucky me, gets to call them Mom and Dad!!  And my kids get to call them Grammy and Grandpa (unless J is calling them another name that day)!!  I believe it takes a super strong person to loose a child, and I guess these 2 super strong people must be even more amazing then I've ever even thought!!  I guess all I can say to them, is Thank you and I love you both so much!!!
There are major benefits to having kids!!  They give you a whole new insight on sooooo many things!!  Anyways, I have to change the subject from talking about my parents, they make me cry to much and I HATE to cry!!  How in the world I married into the Bouwhuis family is beyond me!!  They are all criers and they don't mind it at all!!  My husband calls it refreshing,  I call it annoying!!  I despise it because I hate that my makeup runs down my face, that I can't hardly talk let alone to a point where anyone can understand me!!  It's just not for me!!  Anyways, so tomorrow(I guess it is now) as we remember these 2 brothers, my heart and prayers will be especially with my parents!!  I'll be a good girl and go to church and you can more then bet, that I will be thanking my Heavenly Father for these amazing parents and each and every one of my siblings!!  I really am a lucky girl to be blessed with the family that I have!!  But even more, I'll make sure to give my adorable girls some extra loving and just count my blessings that they are part of my family and that I get to be their mommy!!  And honestly, I feel blessed that I got to know my brothers!!  That I got to spend time with them!!  Heck I bet there wouldn't have been a Jaylee if I hadn't!!  (The Jay part came from Jared, who's nickname was Jay.)

Things I dislike...

Well I'm going to ramble for a moment, since I'm just in that kind of mood!!  It has been super crazy around here lately!!
#1-Not having a camera~We watched our nephew for a few days, and it was nice to have him with us and feel like what it would be like with twins!!  I really wouldn't mind and as much as those 2 one year olds got into, it really was fun!!  I totally am sad that my cameras are not working at the moment.  I have no idea what happened!!  My new one hasn't been working since Bear Lake, and my old one which I switched back to after the other died, is now not taking pictures!! I am dying without a camera!!  I got these onesies from Huggies that I was going to put them in and take pictures, because I thought it would be funny, but of course that never happened!!  Guess what I'm asking for my birthday or Christmas!!  I don't know if I'll be able to make it that long without one though!!  I am a pictureaholic!!!  How do people live without a camera at their fingertips?!!  I guess most people use their phones nowadays, but the camera on my phone, sucks!!!
#2-Funerals especially around this time of year~I had a friend from my old singles ward, die this past week.  Super sad and totally unexpected!!  I am the type of person that because of all of the many deaths I have dealt with in my life, I feel like it's the right thing to do by going to a friends funeral.  However because of said deaths, I hate them around the change of seasons time, mostly because no matter what they always seem to take me back to that October day 1993!!  I know, that was a LONG time ago, but you never really forget moments like that!!  Now add in to the equation, little kids because it seemed like everyone had something going on or was out of town, and it's a joy-NOT!!  Thank goodness for good friends who were right there ready and willing to help!!  Which takes me to my next dislike...
#3-Open caskets~ I typically don't mind seeing the body, except when they don't look the same as I remember them!!  I like to remember people by the good times we had, and not the bad that ultimately took their life.  Well this dear, sweet friend had been through a LOT and she looked like it!!  I have tried so hard to get that image out of my head and remember her as a fun, loving person that I knew her as, and it has been hard!!  I wasn't prepared for that and usually in that type of situation, I wouldn't go through the line, but in the moment I got talking to old friends and the next thing I knew, the friend in front of me turned around and told me she looked rough, but it was to late and I was already there in front of her!!  Lucky for me, Jaylee was over on one of the couches, and MaKynna was buckled in the stroller and couldn't seen anything!!  All and all, I was glad that I was able to be there, kids and all!!
#4-The fact that my dear Husband doesn't like Pumpkin~How in the world do you not like pumpkin!!  It's not just him, it's most if not all of his family as well!!  I love pumpkin pie, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin rolls, pretty much anything pumpkin, however at this wonderful fall time of year, I don't really get to enjoy these wonderful pumpkiny treats since he doesn't like them!!  Oh well I suppose there are worse things in life, right now I can't think of any, but I'm sure they exist!!
Really that was all I suppose!!  I really can't complain!!  Things are going really well with our little family, and hopefully some good changes are headed our way!!

I LOVE this time of year!!!

Guess what I've been looking at!!  All I can say is my sister-in-law is WONDERFUL!!  We had these taken kind of early for us this year!!  We wanted to beat the bad weather that it always seems like we are fighting with.  Last year I think we changed the date for pictures 2 or 3 times because of bad weather!!  Not this time!!    Considering that Jaylee just wanted to play with her cousins, Kynna just wanted food, Brady managed to get mud on his white shirt before we were finished, and I managed to buy a shirt and use it without ever trying it on(in my defense I have the exact same shirt in blue and tried it on and it fits just fine) good thing I was wearing a white undershirt, they turned out cute!!  I seriously almost just called it quits but they really did turn out great!!!  We wanted to go with something a little less dressy this year since our last few years have been way dressy!!  Brady seemed to like it this way a lot better, and we all seemed a little more us!!  Next year I promised Brady we would do a boy color scheme like blue or green!!  We'll see though!!  Anyways, these are just a couple I copied from the file, but they don't really turn out on my screen right but when I uploaded them to the online site I use, they seemed to adjust the size and picture a little!!  I'll wait for the real copy of pictures to have a ball with!!  I guess it's time to get Christmas cards going!!!