HOW DEE DOO Luke and Vanessa are TWO!

Happy Birthday to you Luke and Vanessa!
Yesterday was their 2nd birthday. Luke woke up with a fever. How sad! I think he got whatever Vanessa had last week. He was miserable for most of the day. I kept Motrin and Tylenol in him in hopes that he might be able to feel good for at least part of the day. Vanessa woke up happy and ready for a party! I have been talking up their birthday for the last week or so.During the month of July there are so many birthdays that they have learned that a birthday means cake. I decided to make them separate cakes this year and I experimented with gel paste. I am not very good at it but they turned out cute. When I wasnt looking Vanessa and Luke thought they would find out how they tasted. I was able to fix them before the party. Nathan and I gave Vanessa a baby stroller. Which she has not let out of her sight for the last 24 hours. She even rode in the car with it on her lap. She calls it her "strollie". We gave Luke a big, tough, wagon. When he saw it he called it his "Ride". He loves it and is constantly giving and gettting rides to Vanessa and Elise. We celebrated their birthday at Chuck-e-Cheese. I dont think we could have chosen a funner place for all of their cousins to PARTY! Luke and Vanessa esspecially liked the duck game. Grandma Vicky helped them play and they had a blast. Luke found a game with a gun ( what is it about boys and guns?)

I cant believe that 2 years has gone by since Luke and Venna were born. They amaze me at how much they learn and grow each day. I think back to the day that they were born and how my Joy was so full. Why have I been so blessed? With each child I have I wonder how will I ever have enough love to give them. But then its like magic as soon as they are in my arms for the first time I fall so deep in love all over again. I am amazed at the infinite capacity we, as human beings have to love others. I have heard that the love of a mother to her child is a glimpse of the love that our Father in Heaven has for us. This amazes me, how can anyone love more than I for my children? As we go along day by day I try to cherish each moment and let is soak in for I know they wont last forever! In Natalie Merchant words "These are the Days!"

The little one said "Rollover..Rollover!"

Mornings in Mommy's and Daddy's Bed

Yoo Whoo... Tooth Fairy...

i lost a tooth to day . I was in the cafaterea today and the story is i was in the cafaterea and i was eating a apple and then it felt realy loose and then three people around me was saying that it was bleeding and then my frend gave me a cooke rapper but then i said that wont work so i asked Laceys frend if i could borrow a napcin frome her. and then she said ok here you go. and then on the third time taking the napcin out of my mouth it was gone and my frends couldnt find it. and neethr could i. and then my frend found it and some body was about to step on it and then it took it to my teachr and then she couldnt find a pack for it. and then she just put it in a napckin but then she finaly found a box. and then went to find all my frends and my meanest frend was like i dont care and that was when i went to find my frend Abgail but i couldnt find her. and so i forgot about that end of the story see you later. Elises story.

Look how cute this is. Nate is so good with Elise. She tells me all of the time how much she loves her daddy. What a man! Today he taught Elise how to drive the lawn mower! I cant wait until she can do it all on her own, that will be a few years down the road though. As much as I love Summer I am ready for Fall to come. Fall is my favorite time of year.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Today I separated Luke and Venna for nap time. They never seem to get much sleep when they are in the same room . So I set up a crib in Elises room and put Luke in it. About 45 minutes later I hear him saying something that sounds like "pretty". I check in on him and find him with Ellie's empty laundry basket and her play makeup colored all over his body. He must have climbed out of bed and made a party out of nap time! He was right though... he sure did look pretty with Ellie's makeup all over his lips!

Girls Day Out... with the kids

On Monday a bunch of my friends got together to go to the Childrens Garden and surprisd me with a be-lated birthday lunch! It was fun to be able to hang out together and just laugh. All of us are from the same ward and we have so much fun together! I dont know what I would do without these guys. They have been a great support to me and my family and being with each one of them makes me feel so unconditionally loved. Thanks Briti, Ash, Amy, Jodi, Whit, Meg, Donna, Nat and Julie!

UPDATES!!!

My Modem has been down for almost 9 days now. We didn't figure out it was the modem until Saturday. So much has happened in the last two weeks! As you know Elise has been gone. We have talked to her and she is having so much fun! She went to Sea World with her Gpa and sent us some pictures form his new i phone.

On August 5th our little Marcus Jay was Blessed. He is still such a good baby. His first smile was the day after he was blessed on the 6th. The only rough part about Marcus is that Vanessa loves him so much... too much. She is always kissing him and has to be touching him if he is in the same room. Its actually very cute.. unless you are trying to take pictures ... (check these ones out). Its fun to see her nurture and mother Marcus... well pretty much Marcus and Luke.


The Highland Fling was on August 4th. My dads birthday! My dad was in charge of the candy toss. We had a lot of fun there. Elise got her face painted and it was so neat. I had never seen it done so professional and fun to look at. Later on that evening we went to a concert at Heritage park with my cousin, Stephanie and her family, and my parents. Ryan Shupe and the Rubber Band played. The kids had so much fun playing with balloons and glow stix, rolling down hills, dancing, getting lost, and watching the fireworks. Lucas Loved the fireworks. He was absolutely mesmerized. Ever since the Fling Luke will point to the sky and say " fiwoks" and then instinctively Vanessa will say "Pop" "Sky" ... I (s)cared! I guess that tells you what she thought of them. Needless to say Elise, Vanessa and Marcus were asleep by the end of the show. What a night!

mY GirLie giRl

I just got back from taking Elise to the airport to visit her Gma and Gpa Looker. They live in Carlsbad, California. She was so excited to get on the plane and travel "all by herself" she almost forgot to give me a kiss and a hug. She loves to visit her grandparents and I always miss her SO much... almost to the point of tears! So... here is little tribute to my big 6 year old girlie girl off to California.

"Diney" Museum

Today I took the kids to the Dinosaur Museum. I was nervous to take them all by myself but they did great! All the kids loved it, especially Vanessa. The twins stayed in the stroller until they saw the water and sand table. From that point on Vanessa was on cloud 9. She went around pointing at everything. I think she was half afraid of most of it and that's what made her so excited. Luke loved it too and was grunting and speaking "Japanese". At one point he started crying and sat down. He was terrified of the life size replica of a prehistoric sharkwith its mouth open. I kept telling him that it was just a big toy... he wasn't buying it though. Once we got past the shark he was great! Elise is such a trooper. She loves adventure and never seems to be afraid of anything. I guess this would be the reason that she has been to the Emergency room 10 times for various things. Broken clavicle, broken wrist, staples in her head, 17 stitches in her 2 year old hand... and the list goes on. After the Museum we walked over to the ice cream shop that is at Thanksgiving Point. I got the kids their ice cream cone (which I paid 25 cents for all 3) Elise went to hand Luke his and she fell flat on the ground. She had been sitting up to the bar and fell quite aways down. She immediately stood up and hugged me and wouldn't let go. It made sort of a scene when she fell. I think she was embarrassed. I wanted to start crying because her little heart was broken. I have never her seen her get embarrassed like that. It was totally out of character.

For the rest of the day Vanessa kept saying "diney". All she wanted to talk about was the Dinosaurs and what she saw. I have a feeling that we will be spending a lot of time at the "Diney" Museum in the future. Fine with me.