Happy Halloween!

Because it is officially Halloween and I am up way too late once again, I just thought I would wish everyone a safe and fun Halloween. May your kids get too much candy, get all sugared up, crash hard in their beds, and not wake up until late Saturday morning.

Let The Sugar Highs Begin.

It all started last Friday at our ward Halloween party.

Here is the fearsome trio ready to save the world...apparently by flexing their muscles.

I love to watch little ones discover trick or treating for the 1st time. You can see the wheels turning, "So I just go house to house (or car to car in this case) hold my pumpkin bucket and people give me candy, and my mom isn't yelling No Candy?! This is AWESOME!" Andy and Ashlyn were no exception to this complex mind processing.

However once they were handed a lollipop at car #3, they were done. They started eating them before I had a chance to get the wrappers off. Crazy Daddy! All the kids thought he was too funny! I wish I had a picture of his boots, they had fake goldfish in them...Stylin!The whole gang.
I can't wait to see what this same picture looks like in a few years with a few more little rug rats thrown into the mix. Sara and Erika get on that please! Ashlyn has THE biggest sweet tooth of any kid I know...no contest. She is also the silliest and cutest little super girl under 2 years of age who took too many cute pictures that I couldn't decide on just one to post.
It was a fun night with plenty more treat overloading events to come.

Knock on Wood.

I am about to announce something that I hope doesn't come back and bite me in the rear BUT I can honestly say the twin thing is getting easier. It has been a long time coming, 21 months to be exact, but I am finally feeling a bit more free these days. They can play upstairs and in the backyard without my CONSTANT supervision, they stay in the cart at Sam's Club (woohoo, candy did help but at least NOW they can eat candy), I can even take them to the gym with me which a few months ago getting them in the door served as my workout. They talk more everyday which is extremely helpful, tell me which cereal they want in the morning and eat it all because it is what THEY chose and not something I forced on them. Don't get me wrong there are times of complete anarchy in our home but what family doesn't experience that at times? They are growing up, becoming little people, and leaving the baby stage behind them. As I was looking through pictures from last year, I got a little misty eyed looking at those sweet baby faces, but I am having so much fun with them now and enjoying this stage. So to the few of you that read this that have been blessed with twins, just know it does get easier and let that knowledge guide you through each day and help you treasure all the sweet moments. It really does go by too fast.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from last October.

Disneyland!

Last Monday we spent the day at Disneyland with my mom and stepdad. I talked Tyler into taking off early from work (early like 11:30) but I had to agree to allow a little bit of this throughout the day. Thank you IPhone for being so awesome and allowing our dad to work from anywhere so we can have some fun!

We tired this little guy out before we even got there.

I just CAN NOT get enough of this little man.

Ashlyn's 1st visit to the Princess Fantasy Fare or Faire or Fair, I don't know which one it is. These are her muscles by the way.

Cute sisters.

And then it was off to Woody's Halloween Roundup. Taylor came in 3rd in the pass the pumpkin game...so close to winning that sticker, oh wait they gave her one anyways.

And then off to Toon Town, the kids FAVORITE place and the best kept secret at Dland, we got to ride the roller coaster 6 times in a row without getting off...so fun!

I think maybe Taylor is tired of me always saying "Say Cheese!"

Story Time!

LOVE, LOVE Them! Make sure to turn off my music before you watch it.

VomitFest 2008

I know you are overly excited to read this post with vomit in the title but I do promise to spare you the nasty details other than to say that the stomach flu fairy (devil) invaded our home last week taking with it one child at a time (can't decide if I prefer for them to have it at the same time or spaced out, I mean we are talking about throw up here). So Taylor was first and she had it the worst. She spent all day Monday laying on the couch (nice change a pace I must say). I sat next to her and rubbed her head and face. Andy, the sweetest little man I have ever had contact with, came over and rubbed her head too. He then proceeded to climb on the the couch and lay next to her. Ashlyn of course had to join the fun while I RAN to get my camera before the sweetness ended. If you look closely you can see that Taylor is wearing her Halloween costume. It arrived in the mail that day and she was SOO excited, she just had to wear it. How awful would I be to deprive the sick child with her one wish so I silently prayed no vomit would come in contact with the fresh out of the box costume, thankfully my prayer was answered.

I am happy to report that all children are healthy and back to their crazy normal selves. I am very grateful that this was not a repeat of stomach flu 2007.

Being put in my place.

Lately, I have felt that I have been a little hard on Miss Taylor. I say "no" too often and too quickly without thinking things through and I feel like I have been riding her a lot about little, insignificant things. Yesterday I realized I spent most of the day doing this and I was feeling bad about it so we made a pact that she was going to be a better listener and I was going to try to not to be so hard on her and not say no too much (right, you can all see where this is going huh??)

So today we had this conversation:

Taylor: Mom, can I have a candy?

Me: No, you have already had 2 and we are getting ready for dinner.

Taylor: But Mom you said that you were not going to be so hard on me and not tell me no so much.

RIGHT! I think next time I will keep my thoughts on how I can be a better mom to myself.

Why Not?!

Give it a try. Enter to win a free handbag. http://handbagplanet.com/

Blown Away By My Husband.

This may be a long post, I apologize ahead of time.

Preface: The intro to this post requires mentioning the current economic and financial situation of our country. Everyone knows how bad things have been this year but some people have been affected more than others. We are one of those families. Not only do we own 10 houses but Tyler is a Real Estate Broker....hello, not the year for that. Tyler recognized very quickly at the start of this year that he was going to have to change directions with his company if we were going to survive.

His favorite quote is "Without Vision A People Perish." So he set out to create a vision. Tyler and his friend and business partner Josh came up with an idea, a pretty brilliant idea, but that would take some time to put into action and become reality if they wanted to do it right. Josh's wife Erika told me not to expect results until December. At the time, that was unimaginable to me, I didn't think we could make it that long nor did I want it to take that long. I'm a little spoiled. =)

Fast Forward 9 months: To say this year has been stressful and full of uncertainty really would be an understatement. I pretty much just stopped asking questions about the business. Tyler has been super busy with work and seminary which has contributed to the fact that we haven't talked much about it (and we have 3 kids that demand our attention). I just kept waiting for the day when he would call me, tell me to check our bank accounts, and all our money problems would be solved....I'm such a dreamer!

Last Night: We went on a date and left the house with no real direction. We ended up at the office and it was there that I was blown away. His company now takes up 2 floors of the building, there is a CEO (Tyler), CFO, COO, EVP and countless sales guys, negotiators, assistants and real estate agents, AND an attorney....It is a REAL company. Not only it is a real company on paper but it is a real company with income. I was truly in awe as Tyler showed me around and explained to me what was going on and who was doing what and their plans for the very near future. I couldn't believe that the vision he had back in February had actually come to be despite the lack of support from his wife who on many occasions begged him to get a "real" job (I am repentant). I am truly amazed and humbled at the same time. He has worked hard and the fruits of that labor are now being seen. I am extremely grateful for the blessings that have come this year in the midst of the chaos we have endured. Many things have fallen into place, somehow we survived, I've been forced to learn how to be frugal (Grr!), and we are now closer because of it. On top of that they are helping people get into better financial situations, reduce foreclosures, and make a difference in the lives of the people struggling to make ends meet in these very uncertain times.

Shout Out: So here is my shout out for Tyler's company. They are focusing on loan modifications. What does that mean you ask? If you or anyone you know has a bad mortgage or is struggling to make their payments, it is pretty simple, they need to contact Tyler. tyler@tylerjorgenson.com

PS Babe this song is for you!

To My Wife

Tanya,

I cherish every moment I have with you. You are, quite literally, my everything. You have this song on your blog and when I am at work and missing you I often open your blog and let the music remind me of how perfect you are for me.

Thank you for being my everything. - Tyler




p.s. to those that might be curious, I usually post on my own blog, but when it's specifically about my wife and kids the posts come here. Thank you for letting me share.

Fall Festivities Round II

Our next stop was the Pumpkin Patch by my mom's house. It is really fun but the rides and actitivites holy cow are overpriced. You have to buy tickets at a dollar each. My mom bought the tickets so I didn't know how much they were so I suggested let's ALL go on the car ride together at 5 tickets per person....$20 my goodness!!!! I think someone should complain to a higher authority over there when they advertise 210 tickets for $200. Who spends that at a pumpkin patch? Okay...now on to the fun pictures, mostly all taken before I knew what we were spending. Pony Ride: $8, luckily Ashlyn didn't want to go.

The previously mentioned car ride, obviously totally worth the $20.The ride attendant for this ride didn't make us pay for Andy, what a nice guy!Andy's 1st experice feeding a goat. He thought it was funny when the tongue tickled his hand (didn't get that from me). Thanks to my mom's coupon book, we had free admission to the petting zoo.And off to find our pumpkins.

All signs point to Fall...

except for the 90+ degree heat. Regardless of it being swim suit weather we have ventured out to participate in fall activities.

Our first stop: Disneyland.

LOVE Disneyland this time of year and

LOVE going with friends and family

(Blumes, Bladhs, and Grandma and Grandpa J)

We even got to go on Splash Mountain without kids. Thanks G &G J for watching 5 kids and for the Winnie the Pooh ride attendant for letting them ride 2 times in a row.
Next, our city Harvest Festival where the kids had some "first" experiences.

1st Hay Ride. They don't look too sure about it.

Andy's 1st Pony ride which he thought was pretty cool

And Taylor's won her 1st fish (Dorothy). The kids love having a fish in the house, they sing to it, say hi and bye to it. I, on the other hand, walk into the kitchen everyday expecting to find it floating on top of the vase turned fish bowl.