Nothing makes me happier.....

.....than a really clean house! Well, there are other things that make me just as happy, but having a clean and organized house is right up there at the top of my list. This morning I got up planning to do some light cleaning and laundry, that notion quickly was thrown out about halfway into cleaning our masterbath. I ended up doing an impromptu deep cleaning of the entire house. Top....to bottom. I think my caffiene and ocd traits had taken over me, because I just kept going, and going, and going. I can't remember the last time I detailed each room, not only cleaning but organizing and getting rid of junk that we had acquired throughout the year.

Along with the cleaning, I also managed to go through all the kids toys (upstairs and downstairs), sorting through all the ones to sell in the garale sale (that we are never going to really have), and chunking the random toys that they never play with. Lord, those kids can accumulate some stuff!
As I was cleaning I found myself bringing all their downstairs toys up to their bedrooms and playroom. Hopefully this will entice them to play more upstairs and in their rooms....hence we can actually have our living room back to normal. Also, after noticing what bad shape the couch was in, I established a new rule. FOOD AND DRINKS ARE ALLOWED ONLY IN THE KITCHEN AND DINING ROOM. Kevin and I are still allowed to eat in the living room, after the kids go to bed.....so they just won't know about it. We will see how long that rule lasts.....

After I just didn't think I could move another muscle, Kevin got home from work and we decided to wash my car in the driveway. Hannah and Hunter think this is the COOLEST thing in the world, and what better way to let them get their energy out. They had spent all day inside, watching way too much tv, and trying to find things to do while I cleaned, so this was the perfect thing for them to do! Days like today remind me how much I truly LOVE having twins. These kids are seriously best friends and keep each other entertained all the time.

In case you're wondering....when we came outside to wash the car Kevin had trapped a GIGANTIC GRASSHOPPER in the kids bug farm. This thing totally freaked me out, it was huge!!! Kevin swears it was just a grasshopper, but I'm not so sure. I made him let it go in our neighbors yard. This picture doesn't even give the full effect to how gigantic this thing was

And here's the carwashers

Kevin cooling off

hard at work

he looks so big to me in this picture

Kevin would kink the water hose so the water would stop and them wait for them to get close to it and let it go.....they thought this was hilarious

Here's Hannah waiting...

wish you could hear her cackle as she laughed

And of course a popsicle was a must for all our hard work

I told them to make funny faces

Man, I love these kids!

****A special thank you to the two red-bulls that kept me going strong all day long, and to the 3 Advil I just took...they should be kicking in any minute now I hope*****

Summertime Pics

Summertime has been awesome so far this year, despite the heat! We've spent a lot of time at our neighborhood pool (the kids love their floaties now), and have been eating way too many sno-cones. I've been working 3-4 days a week lately, so I'm trying to take advantage of my days with the kids and keep them busy. Right now the kids favorite thing to do is go to the pool, and go to the library. We discovered that our library has a great toddler time with different performances for the kids, and Hannah and Hunter love it. I let them each check out two books each time we go, and they think it's so cool. We go back tomorrow, so I'll try to sneak some pics. Here are some random pics from our summer so far....

Kaitlyn's 3 Year B-Day Party....back in May!

Playing their pool version of ring around the rosey with their pool friends

Hannah....laying out like Mommy

Hunter had to do the same

Kevin conspired with Katy to throw me a surprise 30th birthday party! He told me we were going to drop the kids off at Pam and Dickey's for the night and go out to eat and to a movie. When we pulled up to their house all of my friends and family were waiting in the front yard....I really was totally surprised by it, Kevin did really good. I was so busy talking and mingling, I didn't get a ton of pictures, but here's a few of the kids.....they definitely had fun!

The Big 30

Well today I turned 30. To be honest, I have had a hard time with this birthday. It kind of makes me feel like I'm getting old, which I haven't really ever felt like before. I've started looking closer in the mirror and noticing things I hadn't noticed before....girls, you know what I mean. Everyone keeps telling me that 30 is the new 20, so I'm going to gonna go with that! I ended up having a wonderful ordinary Thursday with the kids. We went to the library this morning for a puppet show and to check out books, then to eat lunch with Kevin. Kevin surprised me with a new cell phone, which I desperately needed. I've had an ancient flip phone forever, and for anyone who texts me, they know it takes me hours! I had a little bit of a meltdown because I couldn't figure out how to use the darn thing, but I'm getting better now. After lunch I went to the chiropractor (with kids in tow) for an adjustment. I go every few months now, and after a bunch of cracking and popping, I felt awesome. Then we went to visit my mother for birthday cake and ice cream. Oh, and did I mention I've been to two different Targets today? Once with the kids, and once without. Now that's my kind of day. Thank you to all of my friends who have been so uplifting to me about this birthday, you are all so sweet and kind. I had a wonderful day!

Girls and Boys Days

A few weeks ago we decided to have an all boys day for Hunter and an all girls day for Hannah. Kevin and his Dad took Hunter fishing on the boat for the first time. Hunter was beyond excited and according to Kevin he caught one fish all by himself and reeled in all 20 fish that they caught. It melts my heart to know that this was just the first of many fishing trips for them. This little boy loves his Daddy and wants to be just like him. He looks so grown up to me in this picture...

Pam and I took Hannah to the movies to see Rio, which was awesome, and then to get a pedicure. They paint kiddos nails for $4. We had a lot of fun, but she wasn't thrilled to be left out of the fishing trip...she loves her Daddy too. The pedicure made up for it though...she picked a flower design and loved it. Sweet girl.

Bouncin' and Sliding

I had an awesome Mother's Day weekend...Saturday morning Kevin let me sleep in and cooked a huge breakfast for us. Then he took the kids off to run "errands", so I slept some more, which is totally unlike me to do...if you know me well! They returned with cards, flowers, and chocolate covered strawberries....so sweet. We started off yesterday with an amazing church service, which was really neat because Francesca Batestelli was our guest vocalist. She is one of my favorite christian artists, and has some amazing songs out right now....so that was a special treat for me. After church we headed over to Keith and Jana's to let the kids play on Kaitlyn's new water slide/bouncin' house. Let me just say this thing was awesome! When he told us about it, I was picturing something much smaller. Not so. This thing was huge! The kids loved it, I think that was the most fun Hannah and Hunter have had all year....it's all they talked about today. I definitely think we will be spending a lot of time over there this summer!

My little project....fresh herbs

This was my little project last weekend...I've been wanting to start a little herb garden for a while now. I had some a few years ago and let them fry in the sun because I didn't water them enough, so this time I am vowing to do better. I've got a ton of recipes I want to use that call for fresh herbs, and I'm sick of having to buy them at the store all the time. First off, they are expensive. Secondly, I always let them go bad before I get to use them. I'm hoping this will be a good investment for us...they were about $3 dollars a piece at Lowes, so you can't beat that. Another perk....they smell amazing! I know I'm a dork for being excited about these, but I don't care:) So far I have rosemary, dill, basil, cilantro, oregano, mint, and italian parsley!

I had to include these pics just because I thought they were cute. We had dinner with my Dad and Kim afterwards and then went for ice cream at Marble Slab....can you tell the kids were having a good time?

Easter 2011

We had a nice Easter last weekend, it was a wonderful reminder of what Christ did for us.....I know the kids don't fully comprehend the meaning of Easter, but they are beginning to understand more and more, and it is neat for me see them taking everything thing in. The kids got Easter baskets with goodies from all their grandparents which they loved. We kept it pretty low key this year...did a little Easter egg dying the day before, had breakfast together Easter morning, then off to an amazing church service, then to Kevin's parents for lunch and to let the kids hunt Easter eggs. Here are some pics:)

dying eggs (totally forgot how to do this)

Kaitlyn showing off her glasses from Gammy

more glasses...

showing off their new hula-hoops

Pam getting creative with the hula-hoops.....she'll get me for this

hunting eggs

showing off his loot....he didn't kid around this year, he was an egg hunting master

confetti egg cracking on Kevin's head...so fun!

he must have had a hard head...

swinging at the pinata that Uncle Mark brought

no comment on this one:)

family shot...minus Brady, he was napping

This was the highlight of the kids day I think....catching goldfish that Papa got them. They had so much fun doing this, maybe I should just get a bucket of goldfish to keep on hand....poor goldfish though:(