Sunday Lunch Out

Steve took the buddies and I out to lunch today. We went to his favorite place - McDonalds. Ace and Ben love their cheeseburgers but mostly they enjoy french fries and playing on the playground.

The first time we took them to the golden arches, we were afraid they'd never eat anything except chicken nuggets for the rest of their childhoods. That hasn't been the case though - even with a monthly (or sometimes weekly) splurge they still go back to eating whatever we eat at home. We are lucky to have good eaters. This week, we're going to try out some recipes from wholesometoddlerfood.com and see what they think.

A playdate at the park

When I was pregnant, people loved to tell me that when the boys became toddlers they would run in different directions at the same time. Today it happened, several times. We met some of their friends for AMOM's bi-weekly Play in the Park playdate. We hadn't been at the park more than 2 minutes when Ben ran in one direction and Ace in the other. The great thing about hanging out with other twin moms is that everyone is willing to pitch in and help when something like this happens.


The buddies love going to parks. As soon as we pulled into the parking lot they both started squirming in their carseats to get out and play. We've graduated from the swings and now they love to ride on the animals (they can both get on and off by themselves!) , climb on the jungle gym, and slide down the slide. It amazes me how quickly things change. I remember thinking when they were born that these two noodles would never so much as sit up and now they are full-blown toddlers, running around and causing trouble. I love every second of it and am so lucky to stay home with them and witness their progress.

E-A-G-L-E-S!! Eagles!!

This morning, the Philadelphia Eagles reported to training camp. Before I married Steve, I didn't know that this event was something to celebrate. I had a doctor's appointment this morning and left Steve home with the boys. When I returned, they were dressed in their Eagles jerseys in honor of today's events. Ace is pulling for McNabb to have a strong season. Ben is a Dawkins fan. Let's just hope the buddies don't turn out to be Cowboys fans...

Fly Eagles fly, on the road to victory.
Fight Eagles fight, score a touchdown 1-2-3!
Hit 'em low.
Hit 'em high.
and we'll watch our Eagles fly.
Fly Eagles fly, on the road to victory.
E-A-G-L-E-S, EAGLES!!!

Fun at the Spray Ground

It is hot, hot, hot here so we escaped the heat for a little while at the Brushy Creek Park Spray Ground. The buddies loved it. Ace ran through all the sprinklers and even enjoyed being tossed around in one by his dad. Ben preferred to hang back and splash in the puddles.


The best (and worst, according to Ben) part about the spray ground is the jets turn on and off at random. The boys would unknowingly play with an off jet and then... SURPRISE...it was on again. The looks on their little faces when this happened was priceless.


Ace was the envy of all the other kids at the sprayground when his dad tossed him around in the fountain. He loved it!!

More Party Pictures

Check out the link to the right to see more July 4th Party pictures, courtesy of Uncle Ben. We were thrilled to get a CD of pictures in the mail from him today. Thanks Uncle Ben!

A Swim Party at Our House

The buddies hosted our playgroup this morning and 6 of their friends came over for a swim party. My camera batteries died just as everyone arrived, so I wasn't able to get a picture of everyone together. We had 4 sets of twins there - all boys.

Ace and his friends James and Brandon loved the water. Ben and Jesse enjoyed the double swing. The other Ben, Mason and Drew had a good time running around the yard. We were very busy keeping kids off the stairs to the deck and out of the fish pond. James and Brandon are the oldest and they kept trying to climb in and swim with the fish!

Ace was so tired after all that splashing that he fell asleep in his high chair during lunch.

Food Update: Our new favorite food is fresh tomatoes from Grandma Crone's garden. They stuff them in their mouths and say, "Ummmm". The cucumbers from Grandma's garden weren't as big of a hit. I thought they were zucchini and baked them into bread. In case anyone is wondering, cucumber bread smells really gross and tastes terrible.

Sally's Birthday Party

We had more visitors from Dallas today. Suzi, Sally, Miss Kelley, and Dr. Chuck came to see the buddies. Sally turns 4 on Tuesday, so we sang and ate cupcakes. Then, everyone played upstairs in the romper room.

We love having so many friends and family members come see us! Who's next??

Family Fun

My whole family was in town today and we really had a great day. Grandma brought the buddies a horsey and they loved bouncing on it. They don't make these horsey's anymore - I'm pretty sure they're not terribly safe and they're probably banned in the United States. But oh, the buddies loved horsey! They'll have to play on it only when heavily supervised by their worrying mom.

We went swimming, played in the backyard, wrestled with cousin Michael, ate lots of good food (including real Philly cheesesteaks cooked by Steve), and those boys crashed hard at bedtime.

Oh, and in case anyone is wondering, I left Uncle Jeff unattended at our computer and he wrote the previous post plugging his movie. But we really did watch it again today, and I really do think it's great. We'll have a Roofers Party soon so some our friends can get a peek at the movie.

Roofers

Wow. I finally saw the dvd. I was totally blown away by the talent. I mean seriously, watch out Spielberg. These guys mean business.

Don't miss it when it comes to your local theater. For more info, check out www.roofersthemovie.com

ciao!

Lunch with Allison

The buddies and I met our friend Allison for lunch at Chuy's today. They have the BEST Mexican food. Ben shared my chicken enchilada supreme and Ace ate loads of steak off Allison's fajita salad. When Ben grew tired of his tortilla's, he started tossing them at the nice lady sitting behind us. Luckily, she was nice about it.

Recent Accomplishments:
Ben learned to open doors this week, so now I have two kids that can get anywhere in the house that isn't gated off. They're both suddenly really interested in the closets so Steve will have a fun weekend installing child-proof door lever covers. Why is it that every time we think the is house child-proofed, they learn something new?

My husband, the handyman

This is Ace and Ben's blog, but I have to brag on my husband. Steve spent the day building these beautiful shelves in our garage and now, after 5 months in our new house, we can get both cars in! He completed the task four full months ahead of our goal. Our neighbors gently warned us when we moved in to make sure we could park both cars inside before Halloween, or they'd be covered in eggs. The kids may still get our house, but at least our cars will be safe!


On a more somber note, we lost my mom's brother today. Our thoughts and prayers are with Uncle Henry and his kids: Joe, Dana, and Halie. May your memories give you strength during this difficult time.

A Visit from Uncle Jeff

Less than 12 hours after we arrived home, Uncle Jeff was knocking on our door for a visit. We were so glad to see him! Ace and Ben LOVE Uncle Jeff because he's funny and makes farting noises with them. We played and played and then after they went to bed, Jeff's Austin friends - Dave, Craig, Carrie, and 2 year-old Lauren came over for dinner. Steve grilled steaks for all of us and then we watched Jeff's movie, "Roofers". www.roofersthemovie.com It was hilarious. We have our own copy on DVD now, so anyone that visits us can get a special showing.

Pennsylania Parties

Our last few days in PA included several parties where we caught up with friends and family. First, Me-Mom threw a party and the buddies got to know the Assal aunts and uncles as well as some of their dad's high school friends. The highlight of the party for Ace and Ben was playing inside the beer box. Later, Me-Mom babysat while Steve and I went to a karaoke bar with cousins Jeanie, Mike, and Caitlyn. Steve rocked the house with his version of "I'm too Sexy" and Caitlyn was a great Cristina Aguilera.

The next day took us to Pottstown, PA for Uncle Walt and Aunt Michelle's annual July 4th party. The buddies played in the pool with pretty cousin Alex and Ace really enjoyed the slip 'n slide. It was great to catch up with everyone and eat some terrific food. Aunt Julie's banana split cake was both of our boy's favorite food.

First Philly Cheesesteaks!

I'm catching up on my posts, as we have been very busy and there have been a lot of great days. The buddies ate their first real Philly Cheesesteak on Thursday and they loved it. We took them to Vincent's, down the street from Me-Moms house and got them the real thing, complete with cheese whiz. They also ate soft pretzels in the car on the way to Vincent's, but we didn't get a picture of that.

Beach Babies

We had a wonderful time at Ocean City, NJ yesterday. Uncle Chris got us all up at the crack of dawn and we were on the road just after 6am. We got a great spot on the beach and let the kids roam.

Ace loved the ocean, of course. The water was frigid (65 degrees) but he didn't care a bit. Ben loved digging in the sand most and wasn't too pleased by the cold ocean. Cousin Finn ate sand for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

After a full day at the shore, we loaded up, hosed everyone off, and headed to the boardwalk for dinner. We opted for the foodcourt and the boys shared pizza and peroigies with me. They slept hard last night after a fun day. Ace wants to know when he can come back.

Swimming at Alverthorpe Park

When Steve was a kid, his mom took him to the kiddie pool at Alverthorpe Park nearly every day. Today, the buddies got to go swimming with Me-Mom at the same pool. They loved it because the water was only 6 inches deep and they could run around in it as much as they liked. It was a great day.

Tonight, the Duffy's are coming over for Me-Mom's famous lasagna. It will be great for the boys to meet these nice neighbors. Then tomorrow, we're off to the Jersey Shore for their first glimpse of the ocean. Check back for pics!

The weather has been crazy here. Pennsylvania has had record rain for this time of year but we have managed to stay dry. In some areas, the drinking water has been contaminated so we've been drinking a lot of bottled water. And the floods have caused power outages and mandatory evacutations but luckily it has not affected our loved ones here.

Fun at Boyds Bear Country

Lisa took us to Boyds Bear Country in Gettysburg while Steve and his dad were golfing. The buddies LOVED it! There were teddies everywhere and they wanted to take them all home with them. Each boy picked out a teddy and they also picked out a monkey for cousin Finn and a basketball bear for their Aunt Lindsay. The best part of Boyds Bear Country was the baby room. There was a giant-sized bed, loaded up with all kids of teddies. We put the boys on it and they went nuts crawling around and pouncing on the teddies. I really tried to get a good picture of both boys together on the bed but they were moving WAY too fast.

We are really having a good time. We've had gourmet meals, cooked by Stan and Chris and the boys have enjoyed terrorizing Winston and Benji (Stan and Lisa's dogs). Amy and I also got to go shopping at my favorite store, H&M while Me-Mom and Steve watched all three kids. We still have so much to look forward to on our trip - a trip to the shore with Me-Mom and Uncle Walt and Michelle's July 4th party are coming up!

Sweet Cousins

Ace and Ben are having a fantastic time in PA. We have loads of great pictures to post, but not a lot of time to post them all. This is one of our favorite pictures of the boys taking a bath with their cousin, Finn.

Finn is a soft-spoken, good-natured kid and the buddies are enjoying getting to know him. They taught him to "have a shout" and Finn practiced in church with his dad this morning. Aunt Amy would rather they taught him to walk instead.

We survived our flight (just barely)

We arrived safely in Pennsylvania after 11 hours of travel time. Our flight out of Austin was delayed by 1 1/2 hours and then there was a mixup with our rental car confirmation number that cost us another hour.

The flight was okay. The boys did really well but we were definitely the plane's noisiest passengers. They both slept for about an hour and when they woke, we kept them happy by feeding them A LOT of cookies. I bet they ate 25 cookies each.

Ace and Ben met their cousin Finn this morning and have been very busy playing with all his toys. We'll get some pictures of all three together soon.

Play Day!!

We were so sad when we woke up to dark clouds this morning! Our playgroup was planning to go swimming this morning and we had to change our plans at the last minute. We all met at James and Brandon's house instead. Ace and Ben had a great time playing with all their toys, especially sliding into the ball pit. The bad weather kept some of their friends home, so it was a quieter play date, with just 3 sets of twins instead of the usual 5 or 6 sets.

Recent accomplishments:

Ace has two molars!! He'll be ready to eat steaks with his dad soon.