Granny and Gramps' 60th Wedding Anniversary

We celebrated my grandparent's 60th wedding anniversary over the weekend. Uncle Jeff, newly-ordained on the Internet, performed the renewal of the vows for the happy couple. Some highlights of the ceremony: 1) The vows: Gramps said, "Wanda, loving you is oh so nice, I'd marry you not once, but twice." Granny followed with, "Jeff, loving you is oh so great, I'd do another 60 straight." 2) The surprise song that Gramps sang for Granny. 3) Celebrating six decades of love and devotion by two of my very favorite people in the world. Everyone present made memories we will treasure forever.

The happy couple, immediately after the ceremony.

Ace, dancing it up with Daddy.

Ace and Ben relaxing on the porch during the reception.

Ben, stealing the bride away for a quick dance.

Boating Buddies

We are officially exhausted after a 4-day weekend at Lake Texoma. The buddies enjoyed lots of family time as we celebrated my grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary in conjunction with our annual family reunion. It was a busy four days but the buddies managed to escape for a few hours of boating fun. Yes, we were with them - they didn't take the boat on their own! We have at least a couple of years before we start worrying about that.
Ace loved driving and Ben took his responsi- bilities behind the wheel very seriously. Check back soon for more pictures of our weekend!

Summer Fun

The buddies met their twin friends for a play date in the park and pool this morning. We played at the park for an hour while we anxiously waited for the pool to open. Ace and Ben spent lots of time playing with (but not throwing!) the rocks. They ran around, getting hot and sweaty in our warm Texas weather.

At 11:00am, the gates to the pool swung open and our crew of toddlers ran towards it with cheers and shouts. They couldn't wait to cool off in the water. Ace and Ben both loved the fountains in the toddler pool. Ace had a blast swimming with his tube around his belly.

Two hours and a couple of meltdowns later, we'd reached our limit of fun for one day, so we headed to the car with all of our stuff, minus our ring floats. They were being enjoyed by some kids in the big pool and at 88 cents a piece, we didn't mind parting with them. We'll be back for more fun in the sun again soon.

Kiddie Acres Play Day

Our playgroup met at Kiddie Acres for some wild rides this morning. All the rides are toddler- sized and perfect for a couple of wild boys. The buddies rode everything there and had a blast running around the place with their little friends.

There were so many rides to enjoy. We started our day with a ride on the train and then moved on to the carousel, airplane swings, cars, boats, and ferris wheel.
They seemed to enjoy the airplane swings the most but once we'd had a turn on everything and had a few tickets left, they chose to use them on the cars. The ferris wheel was their least favorite ride. The three of us sat on our enclosed bench, surrounded by all of our friends in the other cages. By the end of the ride, my two were trying to open the door to get out, even when we were at the top.

After splitting a pizza with our friends, the buddies enjoyed their first snow cones. The owners of Kiddie Acres placed the "treat sign" at toddler level (smart marketing!) and the buddies, who have never seen snow cones in their lives pointed and said, "Yummy!". Although they wore more of their snow cones than they ate, they did indeed think they were yummy treats.

The Little Creamery in Brenham

100 years ago, the Blue Bell Creamery in Brenham, Texas started turning excess cream from local farmers' milk into butter and ice cream. Fast-forward to today and this little creamery produces the third best selling ice cream in the country, while only distributing to grocery stores in 17 of our states. If you are not lucky enough to live in one of those states and have not tried Blue Bell ice cream, get to one as fast as you can! It is delicious.

This morning, the buddies and I travelled the 105 miles to Brenham, Texas to meet up with Aunt Carlee and Cousin Michael and tour the Blue Bell Creamery. During the 45 minute tour we learned about the history of Blue Bell Ice Cream and saw first-hand how ice cream is made and packaged. At the end of the tour, we were treated to a scoop of our favorite flavor. Ben preferred birthday cake and Ace's favorite flavor was peach (although there could be a tie with Aunt Carlee's strawberry, which both boys devoured for her).

An interesting tidbit about Blue Bell: the slogan, "We eat all we can and we sell the rest" really is true! Employee break rooms at the factory are heavily stocked with pints of the creamiest ice cream in the country. Our tour guide admitted that at 11am, she had already eaten some ice cream... and she probably would eat some more before leaving for the day.

Once we had eaten all the ice cream our stomachs could hold, we spent some time on the front lawn of the creamery, burning off our sugar highs. The buddies loved the Blue Bell train out front and enjoyed wearing their free souvenir hats.

Happy Birthday to Mia!!

The buddies attended a great 2nd birthday party in the park this morning for their friend Mia. Mia's parents showed everyone a great time with Little Bear themed cake, decorations, and goodie bags. They even thought to provide trucks, chalk, lots of good food, and had a personalized Happy Birthday song on their ipod for the birthday girl.

Mia loves Ben and typically follows him around saying, "Bennnnnnyyyyy, Bennnnnyyyyy, " but today she was distracted by her little girl friends, presents, juice, and cake.

She did sit with him long enough to cover the sidewalk with chalk. Ben had a great time drawing circles around himself. Ace was too busy riding trikes and playing on the playscape to take part in many of the quieter activities.

<---- Check out the cake, baked and decorated by Mia's mommy!

Our Field Trip to Sweet Berry Farm

The buddies enjoyed their first berry picking experience today. We joined some friends on an adventure to Sweet Berry Farm, a popular destination about 50 miles West of Austin. All eight cars in our caravan enjoyed the scenic drive, winding through the Texas Hill Country. We arrived sun-screened, bug-sprayed, and ready to pick berries!

Sweet Berry Farm offers their customers the opportunity to hand-pick strawberries, blackberries, tomatoes, pumpkins, and gourds, depending on the season. Ace and Ben LOVED picking berries. It took a few reminders to get them to stop picking the green berries but once they figured out how tasty the black ones were, they only picked the juiciest ones. Both boys sampled berries as they picked, especially Ben, who after 15 minutes of picking, sat down in the middle of the row and ate and ate. At the conclusion of our picking, I had too very purple boys on my hands. They loved it!

Afterwards, we joined our friends for a picnic lunch and fed the goats and horses at the petting zoo. The buddies even got to chase chickens and cats around the grounds of the farm.

When we returned home, we turned our hand-picked blackberries into a blackberry crisp, using a recipe from Grandma Pat. All in all, it was a great day. Two very tired buddies went to bed a half hour early and their mom may just do the same.

Splash Day

We met up with our twin friends this morning for a backyard playdate. Eight sets of twins and two singletons (all 2-3 years old) met up for a rowdy time. The kids enjoyed swimming in the kiddie pool, running through sprinklers, playing soccer, building sandcastles, and scootching outdoor trucks and trikes. Ben didn't venture into the water, but chose to spend his time with the trucks on the porch. Ace thought it was great fun in the pool.

They both enjoyed flirting with their pretty friend, Parker on the porch swing.

Chinatown May Never Be the Same...

Our friends Elaine, Jason, and their identical twins, James and Brandon invited us to join them for lunch in Austin's Chinatown today. The buddies were so excited to see their playgroup friends on a weekend! I shot some video of the four of them, upon arrival. It's a good thing the restaurant was empty!

Once everyone settled down, we enjoyed a nice lunch of crawfish and french fries. Then, it was off to the Chinese Supermarket where Elaine helped me pick out treasures to use in my cooking and the kids got to look at the live fish in the seafood section. Ace and Ben puckered their lips at all the fish, except for the catfish. Ace said, "eee-iiii, eee-iii, eee-iii" which means "meow, meow, meow". It's pretty funny that he saw their whiskers and associated them with cats, rather than fish. We'll have to explore them up close with Grandpa this summer.

Trikes

There's not much to report, but I thought I'd post a cute picture of the buddies "riding" their trikes in our cul-de-sac. They really think they are big kids now! We tried to teach them to use the pedals, but it is much faster (and more fun) to scootch around Flintstone-style.

Daddy's 10 Year Cancer-Free Party

Steve recently reached a milestone in his life. He has been Cancer-free for ten years. The buddies and I couldn't think of a better reason to celebrate, so we invited our friends to one of our favorite parks for a party. All week, as we traveled around town picking up food, drinks, and party supplies, we talked about the party. I'd say, "Who are we throwing a party for?" and they'd reply, "Dad!".


A party for Steve is never complete without a game or two, so we brought our ladder golf set and all the men enjoyed playing. The kids played at the sprayground and playground and built sandcastles in the volleyball court. After three hours of fun, the party traveled to Brian and Kathy's house for a few games of foosball and then on to our house for a poker tournament. Steve took first place (of course) and I came in second.
Ace and Ben and I are so grateful to have their Daddy in our lives. He is an incredible father and husband. Here's to 10 more years of good health!

Texas Twin Bill is Law!!

Governor Perry signed HB 314, "The Twin Bill", today, making it a law. The Twin Bill gives parents of multiples the choice to place their children in the same or separate classrooms in our public schools. Before today, individual school districts made the decision to separate or not. Many school districts arbitrarily separated all twins, regardless of parental wishes, citing studies that were largely based on perceptions rather than actual data.

A few of my fellow Austin Mothers of Multiples championed a petition, drafted the bill, and took it to our Capitol. Their efforts have paid off for all families with multiples in our great state. In the words of fellow AMOM, Julie Robinson, who headed the effort, "This is a historic day for multiples since Texas is now the 2nd state to pass the Twin Bill and the 4th to pass any legislation regarding multiples in this country. Minnesota was first to pass this law and Illinois and Oklahoma passed a resolution in the House on this issue. There are also currently 18 states working to pass the Twins Bill, 8 of which have pending legislation. This is obviously a nationwide issue and I'm so proud that I reside Texas, who will be among the front runners and early-adopter states in equality for multiple birth children and their parents."

I don't know what choice Steve and I will make when the time comes for the buddies to start Kindergarten. But, I do take comfort in the fact that the choice is ours.

Our Month of Fun

Our faithful blog readers are probably wondering what has happened to us. It all started at the end of a very busy April, when I declared the month of May as "The K Family Month of Fun". I wasn't going to volunteer my time elsewhere but was just going to focus on fun activities for my family. Our Month of Fun was on. The universe disagreed.

On the third day of our Month of Fun, both boys came down with a wicked virus. Five days of sleepless nights, 104 degree fevers, asthmatic wheezings, coughs, pukes, and runny noses (all x 2) followed. Just as they were starting to cross over to the world of humans again, I caught the virus. I haven't decided which is worse: caring for two sick toddlers or caring for two toddlers while sick. Either way, I call uncle, Universe. You win.

Ben, taking his breathing treatment all by himself, like a big kid!

Being sick makes Ace tired.

"Beep-Beep", "Toot-Toot", and Our 2 Year Stats

The buddies received two movies for their birthday: "Cars" from Girlfriend Caroline and "Thomas and Friends" from Cousin Finn. Ace loves "Cars" and Ben loves "Thomas and Friends". Any time they wander past our tv, Ace points and says "Beep-Beep!", which means he wants to watch "Cars". Ben will follow right behind him saying, "Toot-Toot!". Then, it becomes an all-out battle: "Beep-Beep!" "Toot-Toot!" "Beep-Beep!" Toot-Toot!" Of course, once we settle on a movie, they are off doing other things and don't actually watch it.

This morning, we had our 2-year well check at the pediatrician's office. Both boys are healthy and handled the visit like champs. Ace isn't a fan of being poked and prodded (I can understand that) but Ben never made a peep during his turn. Here are out stats:

Ace
Weight: 31 lbs, 8 oz
Height: 35 1/2"

Ben
Weight: 26 lbs, 6 oz
Height: 33 1/2"

Afterwards, we celebrated with a playdate in the park with their friends. For a special treat, we went on a nature walk through the trails and looked at leaves, grass, trees, and squirrels (the buddies pointed and said, "meow"). We ended the trip by tossing some balls around on the tennis courts and practicing our balance beam walk on the stone borders.

Toddler Fashion Sense

Ace has become particular about his clothing choices. Each night, he requests his favorite crocodile pj's by signing "crocodile" while saying "ack, ack, ack!". I supposed that's kind of the sound that a crocodile makes.

Yesterday, Ace was very excited when he received a package from Aunt Kate that included Eagle's t-shirts. His daddy loves Eagles' gear and I think it has rubbed off. Today, for some reason, he decided he wanted to wear his fleece pumpkin hat with his Eagles shirt. So, out we went on the first day of May, looking ready for an Autumn tailgate party. When Ben saw Ace in his get-up, he signed "hat" because he wanted one too.

Happy Birthday to Ben!!

2 years ago today, at 12:20pm Ben made his way into the world. It is amazing how much he has changed in the past two years, although he still looks exactly the same, only bigger.

The highlight of Ben's day today (besides seeing Daddy after two days apart) was opening his package of Thomas trains from Me-Mom. And he enjoyed listening to Grandma sing to him over the phone. Our independent little Benny even walked right up to Chuck E Cheese today and gave him a big high five. My baby isn't grown yet but he certainly is growing up fast.

We love you, Benny! We are so excited to watch you grow during your "terrific two's"!

Happy Birthday to Ace!!

2 years ago today, at 12:18pm Ace was born. Over the last two years, we've had the joy of watching him grow from a tiny infant to the sweet little toddler that he is today.

Ace enjoyed his second birthday. He talked to Grandma on the phone (but ran away from the phone when she sang "Happy Birthday" - sorry Grandma!) and then opened his presents that had arrived in the mail over the week. Daddy surprised us by cutting his business / golf trip short and was home before the buddies woke from their nap. We enjoyed a family dinner at Chuck E Cheese's where Ace loved riding in the cars and climbing on the play scape.

Thanks for two incredible years, Ace! Mommy and Daddy love you!

Family Time

We enjoyed some special family time this weekend. Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Carlee, and Cousin Michael came to play and wish the buddies a happy birthday. We played hard all day yesterday and ended the day with birthday cake and presents.



Ace and Ben, digging, dumping, splashing, and making a mess in their sand and water table. ---->







<---- Ben loves Grandpa Mike!
















What fun to have Aunt Carlee and Cousin Michael in town! ---->







<----- Grandma, reading "Goodnight Moon" to two sleepy boys.

A Trip to the Austin Zoo

Who is wilder: a) Zoo animals or b) A hoard of families with multiples, embarking on the Austin Zoo? After today, I can say with certainty that the answer is B.

The Austin Zoo is a non-profit rescue zoo, with about 300 animals and approximately 100 species. Over 90% of the animals are rescued. This small zoo doesn't compare to the zoos that Steve and I grew up around - you won't see any elephants or giraffes and if you're lucky you'll spot the one lion (we didn't - he was hiding). But it is a funny little place that is perfect for a bunch of toddlers and pre-schoolers.

Each spring, the Austin Mothers of Multiples sponsors a day at the zoo for all members and their families. This year, it was my job to plan the event. It was a success! 160 people showed up to take part in the festivities. We studied the animals, fed the goats, deer, hogs, and llama's in the petting zoo, had a BYOS (Bring Your Own Sandwich) picnic lunch, and ended the day with a train ride.

Our buddies loved feeding the animals, especially the goats and deer. One of the hogs put Ace's whole hand in his mouth. Ace didn't feed the hogs again after that. Ben loved running around the zoo and jumping down the steps in the dirt path. He LOVED the train ride and tried to sneak back on for an encore ride but his mean mom wouldn't let him. Below are some of my favorite pictures from the day:

3 generations of men

Ben jumping down the path

Ben feeding the deer

Ace feeding a goat

Family Time

Choo-choo!

Two fine men, in the caboose

A Surprise Birthday Party Playdate

It was our turn to host our playgroup today. Since the buddies' birthday is just around the corner, we decided to throw a surprise party. The surprise part was for our friends, since I couldn't trust them not to bring gifts otherwise.

So, when everyone arrived for our playdate, we invited them to have cake with us and celebrate the near- completion of Ace and Ben's second year. 8 mommies and 16 kiddo's shared in the fun. It was a wild and noisy party.


<----- Check out cake #1 from my cake decorating class.