LOST IN...EUROPE, and LOVIN' IT

Birthday Catch Up

2011-09-28T19:45:00.000+09:00

These loaded on here in the wrong order and I don't want to do the work to change them. So we are starting with the latest September birthdays and working back to August. This year Max and Jake decided they wanted to celebrate together. I didn't prompt them in any way but it sure was a lot easier on me. We had quite the crowd and had a lot of fun. I did really well this year and just went with what they wanted. Usually I have them pick a theme and go with that for the whole party. They both wanted totally different cakes, so I let it go. Jake turned 6 and he wanted a castle cake. Max turned 9 and wanted a Pikachu cake. They weren't the easiest cakes I've done but still fun for them and that's what counts.

Back in August, these TWO cuties turned TWO!!! How do they grow up so fast? I am so in love with these boys. They are definitely in the terrible twos though. I thought one in that stage was hard. Now I feel like it was a piece of cake compared to having two of them. They are so fun though and keep our family always laughing. They bring so much joy.

We also had a fun time celebrating Nick's birthday in August. We have a great group of friends here and it was all four of these great guys birthdays within a week of each other. We had a fun party to celebrate them all.

Big Update..... We've been busy-

2011-08-07T21:11:00.001+09:00

BUSY... training and running a half marathon in March (Nick and Rebecca)

BUSY..... trying to figure out how to meet the constant needs of TWO almost TWO year olds (Plus their THREE big brothers)

BUSY.... having the big boys get to take a tour of a real submarine that came to the port for a couple of days.

BUSY.... visiting Paris and the Paris Disney resort back in April. ( The hardest trip we've EVER been on) but Paris is as precious and amazing as I alway thought it would be.

Busy..... having fun at our local Feria back in May.

Nick was BUSY for a week when he went to DC for a dental conference. I was BUSY going crazy without him. :)

Spencer is BUSY making a mess while Nick is BUSY falling asleep during dinner clean up.

BUSY having fun with Uncle TJ and Aunt Rachel in the end of May.

Nick and Rebecca BUSY training and completing a Sprint Triathlon in June. (Nick with his red and black) Rebecca not pictured.

BUSY... having Grandma Peterson and cousin Sarah come the end of June.

Nick and Rebecca BUSY going to the Canary Islands WITHOUT our kids for a whole week while Grandma and Sarah stayed with all of the boys. THANK YOU!!!!!!

The cliffs behind us are the Los Gigantes... aka The Cliffs of Insanity!!! They are the ones in the movie The Princess Bride.

The funnest water park EVER!!!

Nick and I parasailing

Rebecca and the three big boys BUSY visiting Germany, Austria, and Northern Italy

This last year here is Spain will still be as BUSY as ever. We are officially separating from the military next june 2012 and returning HOME for good. We are so blessed for Nick to have a very good practice to join with some AMAZING doctors. OK- so he gets to work with my dad and brother so I'm a little partial as to how amazing they are. :) It will be a bitter-sweet transition. We have loved the military experience and being able to live in Japan and Spain. Two cultures that will always be very special to our family. But there is nothing like home and we are so excited to be able to live by family again after 10 years of being away. Hopefully our last year here will be as exciting as the first two have been.

Anyway, that's why we've been so BUSY.....

Warning... this is Disgusting!!!!!

2011-04-12T23:38:00.000+09:00

Yes, the liquid is yellow and I know this is gross but I am trying to capture all of these events so the twins can know what they put me through. Although this is an act of Tanner all on his own. Well of course the "older boy" who left the toilet without flushing has a major part to this as well. Still don't know which one. No confessions, but my guess is that since the shoe belongs to Jake and it was taken off pretty close to the crime scene, that is a pretty good clue. When are they going to learn to FLUSH and shut the bathroom door? If I had a penny for every time I had to tell them we could have an early retirement.

Cadens 11th birthday!!!

2011-04-11T22:20:00.000+09:00

Caden:

loves to eat

favorite food is tacos

nba.com

play sports (all day long if he could)

loves, but, teases Max and Jake

adores the twins

has a special bond with Spencer

speaks spanish like the Andalucians (the southern state we live in, in Spain)

very social and friends with all of the kids at school

very smart

super handsome :)

and much much more.

We love you Caden!!!

Since we were around family so close to Caden's b-day, we decided to celebrate with his cousin, aunts uncle and Grandparents. How fun! We went to Boondocks the day after Emily's wedding and the day before we left to come back to Spain. It was so much fun driving the cars, arcades, laser tag, etc. Since we had SO many leftover desserts from the wedding, Caden allowed us to use them as his cake. We sure love our family. It's hard going and spending time with them and then leave knowing it's going to be a while before we can do it again. After the party, we went to bed and started our horrendous journey back to Spain. We flew commercial to Delaware and then had to watch three different planes leave for Rota without us. They didn't have enough seats for us. Flying the military way is free but you have to put up with a lot getting to where you want to go. We had to stay in the terminal and sleep on the floor and chairs without blankets, etc. I ended up pulling items of clothes out of the suitcase and putting them on the boys. Then I laid by Caden so we could use our body heat to stay warm. It was definitely an experience we'll never forget. It was good to get back and see Nick and the twins. The babies were thrilled to see us again. Nick did a good job, along with some great friends taking care of them.

My quick one week trip for Emme's wedding....

2011-04-11T19:05:00.000+09:00

In March myself and my three older boys flew back for the fun events of my baby sisters wedding. Nick stayed here in Spain with the twins and it was a much easier journey this time without them on the flights. I sure missed them but no more looonnnnnggggg airplane rides until we move back to the states next year. I wouldn't have missed her wedding for anything. I love her so much and am so proud of her and Dayton. She was a beautiful bride and I'm so happy I got to be a part of it all.

This is a dinner we had with Dayton's family at my parents house.

We we SO lucky to have it snow while we were there. As you can see, Jake ran out in his pajamas to play. Two days later it was melted and it was beautiful weather for her wedding.

The boys got to join all of the girls for a lunch at the Olive Garden. No sitters.... but they were great.

This is Em and Dayton just before leaving to go to the Temple to get married. What a good looking couple.

Jake is closing his eyes here because he doesn't want to see Emily and Dayton kiss. " It's Disgusting"!!!

The reception

Our backyard

2011-04-11T18:23:00.000+09:00

We are in need of a big update so this will be the first of many. This is the beach right behind our house. This is also back in the first week of march. It was a beautiful, bright day and had to take advantage of it. The babies did not like the water and Tanner was a bit tired as you can see. We are true beach bums.

2nd part to our trip....Granada

2011-03-02T19:18:00.000+09:00

After our snow fun, we packed up from the lodge and went down and stayed in Granada. Another beautiful city! We enjoyed churros con chocolate in the plaza. Lots of walking and sightseeing. The boys are so good to walk so much to see old buildings. They always come out with a fun souvenir so that's probably why they don't complain. We are definitely going back here someday.

Playing in SNOW..... Sierra Nevadas

2011-03-02T18:40:00.000+09:00

It has been years since we have lived near snow. We have so missed the fun. Lucky for us, here in Spain, it is just a 3 1/2 hour drive to get to it. The Sierra Nevada Mountains. The boys were so excited to see this snowy mountain from the car. The closer we got, the more the excitement. I was just as giddy. It reminded me of home. We went with our friends, the Phillips, and stayed in a lodge right by the lifts. We built snowmen, went sledding, had snowball fights, etc. Caden and Max went to a ski school for a couple of hours and then did great for the rest of the day. Funny that Nick and I grew up in the snowy mountains of Utah but our kids learned to ski in Spain. They had a great time. It's definitely a fun hobby we hope to continue when we get back close to home. This was also Spencer and Tanner's first experience with snow. They were a little apprehensive at first, but once they figured out how to keep the gloves on, they loved it. It was such a fun trip.

Quick Trip to Madrid with the Girls

2011-02-05T00:58:00.000+09:00

A couple of weeks ago, I got another break and flew up to Madrid with just the girls. We were gone for only one night but the flight left early friday and came back late saturday so we basically had two full days to sight see. And without kids, you can see twice as much. Since Beatriz is from Madrid, she knew all of the best places to go. So friday we spent the day in Todedo. It's a beautiful old city, about forty minutes outside of Madrid, that is known for it's sword making.

The second day we spent in Madrid. The last time I went, I had all five kids so we didn't go into the Palacio Real or the Prado museum. This time, we went in and it was super cool. I love the architecture in these old buildings. And to see the original artwork from famous painters was amazing.

It was soooo cold there compared to here. I've lived in a warm climate for a while. I know I'll be in shock when we get back to snow someday. That was the coldest I've been since Cleveland. Brrrr. It was short and sweet but I had a good time and feel so lucky that Madrid is only an hour away by plane. It's a beautiful city.

I don't know why but all of the pictures loaded in the wrong order, so we are in Madrid in the first seven pictures and Todedo in the last ones other than when we were on the Metro train.

Toledo Pictures below

Funny Twins-

2011-01-19T00:46:00.000+09:00

The messes are a daily occurrence here. These cute babies are sure giving me a run for my money. As you can see the climbing has begun. Spencer is pretty quick getting up. We have learned to put the chairs down on their side to keep them from climbing and potentially falling. The spilling of cereal is going to be the death of me. My cute older boys forget to keep their food out of their reach. Oh, I love these guys.

New Years

2011-01-19T00:22:00.000+09:00

New years was another fun party with the Dubons, the Cuadrados, and the missionaries. We played spoons for a VERY long time. Lots of fun. As we got close to midnight, we watched (in Spanish) the events happening up in Madrid on the internet. The tradition here in Spain during the countdown is to be able to eat 10 grapes during the last ten seconds for good luck. You have to be done chewing and swallowing at the stroke of midnight. As you can in the pictures many big cheeks trying to get them down. Max was the last child to survive the late party. He made it until 2:30 am. A great way to welcome 2011!

Christmas Eve, Day and Night

2011-01-08T23:47:00.000+09:00

On Christmas Eve, Tanner started our holiday events with the flu. We had plans to go to our friends the Phillips for dinner, but with Tanner not feeling well, I stayed home with the babies and Nick went with the older boys for the fun. They had a great time and came home excited already from the ton of gifts the Phillips got for them. My evening was quiet and low key taking care of the sick baby. Our tradition is to open new pjs every year. The babies opened up their pjs and then went to bed. Then when the older boys got home they opened their gifts, left out cookies for santa, and went to bed. Surprisingly, they stayed in their room all night and came in right at 7:00 like we told them. It was a great morning with excitement to open their presents and give to each other. I love that they are just as excited to give to others as they are to open their own. After the busy morning, we cleaned up and prepared for friends to come over. Thank goodness Tanner was feeling better. We had fun playing games, with the Cuadrados, the Dubons, Tim James, David Stubbs, (they are two guys that just got here on a deployment away from their families) and the missionaries from our church Elder Ferguson, and Elder Wells. It was fun to have them here for the holidays. We have one more Christmas in Spain!

Santa Visit

2010-12-19T19:43:00.000+09:00

The boys got to see Santa last week. Jake is 5 and this is the first year he sat on Santa's lap without being freaked out. Santa reached out to hold Spencer and he was not going to have it. He clung on to Caden for his life. Tanner was more intrigued. Poor Max was trying to hold up chunky Tanner. Thus, the belly shot. Merry Christmas Santa!

Vacations

2010-12-08T01:03:00.001+09:00

November was a busy month of fun for both Nick and I. We each got to go on our own trips with friends and have a chance to explore more of Europe. First Nick went on a biking trip for five days through the southern part of Spain. He biked it all. I don't remember the exact mileage but I'll make him do a post on it and tell you his details. He's super human and did a great job climbing some seriously steep mountains. Again, he can do his own post and share pictures of his trip.

After he was back for a week, I left on a cruise WITHOUT any kids!!!!!! Yes, there is a first for everything. It was not easy and I went a little (OK a LOT) overboard with preparing before I left. I just wanted to make it as easy as possible for Nick while I was gone. He'd never been home for five days straight with the role of "Mom". I typed out 20 pages of instructions. Like the daily schedules of each child, reminders of keeping the gates to the stairs shut, how to keep the babies safe, how to heat the meals I prepared everyday, etc. It was mainly for me to know I did my best before I left. I knew Nick would do a good job. I'm glad he laughed when I showed him all of the instructions. He understands, I'm a little crazy about my schedules. Anyway, I totally appreciate him letting me go with the girls for 5 days on my first cruise. He did a great job playing both roles.

We had 19 ladies in our group. It was such a blast. I hadn't gotten to know many of them here since I'd been so busy with the twins. This was a great chance for me to and I did. We all drove in a bus together to Malaga Spain to start. From Malaga we went to Ajaccio Corsica. This is a French island where Napoleon Bonaporte was born. We saw his home where he was born, his statue, and the chapel where he was baptized. It was a fun day to shop and see the cute little town.

The next day we went to Toulon France. My friend Heidi and I did a tour over to Marseille. It was so beautiful. The country side, and the southern french coast was breathtaking. Marseille was a great city. We got to go to the coolest Cathedral on the top of this hill that overlooked the whole city. It was so hard communicating. Bonjour, Merci, and Au revoir is the extent of my french. I kept hoping they understood English or Spanish but most of them didn't.

Also I decided when I lived in Japan, I would try the local cuisine and not be a chicken. Yes, there were many times, I gagged but I felt like it was part of the experience. So here, I had to go along with it and try caviar and escargot. Honestly, the taste of both were pretty good, it was the texture that freaked me out. I don't have pictures only video of that. Checked those off my list.

The days on the ship were a ton of fun. They had great shows, the girls were fun to get to know, we played some fun games. It was so great! I am definitely going on another cruise. Thanks Nick for keeping the boys happy and healthy while I was gone!

Warning... picture overload

I have more pictures of the girls but not on my camera. I'll post them soon.

Below is in our first port stop Ajaccio Corsica.

This is the cathedral where Napoleon was baptized.

Where Napoleon was baptized.

This is the home where he was born. Above and below.

The pretty streets below.

Beautiful sunset view from the ship just before we left the port.

That's the end of Corsica pictures. Now Toulon and Marseille, France below.

They were holding mass when we went to the Notre Dame of Marseille.

Yummy french crepe with Nutella!

beautiful palace

The cathedral on the top of the hill is where I got all of the views of the city and ocean from above. Inside the Cathedral was so pretty. This is the view from the palace in the picture above this.

Halloween 2010

2010-11-03T23:02:00.001+09:00

Ever since we went to England last May, the boys have really been into Castles and Kingdoms. They all wanted to be Knights this year so we went with it and dressed up as a Royal family. At the party on base they had this scary dragon in costume and Castle for decoration. Fit our theme well.

DOUBLE TROUBLE!!!!

2010-10-25T04:41:00.000+09:00

These cute little stinkers are on a mission to destroy , make messes, climb, etc. etc. Mission accomplished! This little spree happened the other day when I was on the phone. They saw mom was occupied for a second and they could see how much damage they could do. This cabinet they pulled the cheerios from WAS baby proofed but they managed to pry it open. After I got started cleaning up, the phone rang again. So they were nice to try and sweep it up themselves. I seriously can't turn my back for one second.

Although they are smiling in the picture, they were fighting over this chair. It's pretty even who wins. Tanner's bigger but Spencer doesn't let that get to him.

A cute game of peek a boo

Jake had left his peanut butter and jam sandwich too close to the edge of the table and the babies got to it. Spencer got the peanut butter side. I put him in the chair and let him finish what he started. We happened to be talking to my dad on the computer when my dad was playing peek a boo with him. As you can tell from the picture above, Spencer covers his head in this game. Thus in the picture below, Spencer's hair is covered in peanut butter. Thanks, Dad! :0)

Notice the milk and cheerios on the floor and that Tanner has the bowl? I had just put their bowl (full) on the table and turned around to get my chair to feed the babies. I didn't realize Tanner was close enough to snatch it up to pour most of it on the floor. Then he went a head and dug in what was left.

He thinks he's so funny. :0)

Spilled milk is a very common sight in our house.

Anyone that has told me twins get easier as they get older..... Sorry, I don't believe it. However, as messy as my house is, I wouldn't change it for ANYTHING. I love my little stinkers.

Seville Spain

2010-10-13T23:22:00.001+09:00

This last holiday weekend we spent the day in Seville. This beautiful place is only an hour away from us. I had never been because Nick went a couple of times last year just after the twins were born. He took our family when they came to help with the babies. So it was fun for me to go visit this time. The parks, plazas, and buildings are just beautiful. The third largest cathedral in the world is there, where Christopher Columbus is buried. It's just breathtaking. I know we say it all of the time but, the pictures don't do it justice.

Max's Baptism

2010-10-10T06:02:00.000+09:00

Today Max got baptized. It was such a special day for him and we are so happy for him to be in our family. We belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We believe baptism is a special covenant we make with our Heavenly Father, so it was a very special day for Max. The hardest part of living away from family is not having them at these special occasions, but we also recognize these are unique experiences for our kids too. He can say he was baptized in Spain. Here are many pictures. Yes, we made him pose a little too much. But he's such a cutie, I couldn't resist!

ALSO..... Yes, Nick is wearing a VERY pink tie. Our Spanish friends gave it to him because it's THE cool color for guys to wear in Spain. So since Max got baptized here, he wore it for the memory book. You'll notice our branch president is wearing a purple tie as well. It's the Spanish style. For real.

After the baptism, we had refreshments. You'll see Tanner's walking and was showing off his new skills.

5 Blue Eyed Boys...

2010-10-04T17:55:00.001+09:00

Max's 8th Birthday party

2010-09-28T00:08:00.000+09:00

Max had a Lego party for his birthday this year. The boys are way into legos right now, so we went along with the fun. This cake was by far the hardest one yet. It was quite frustrating but Max said he thought it was cool so that's all that counts. I baked 10 different little cakes in bread pans and frosted each of them with the five different colors. The stacking and not trying to blend the frosting was way harder that I thought. If I wanted to get really fancy, I should have used fondant but I don't care that much. As you can see, I'm not a professional. The tops were just marshmallows cut in half. I'm glad that one is over but, like I said, Max enjoyed it. For the opening of presents, Nick taught the Spanish kids the "Heavy Heavy Hang Over" game. They thought is was fun to bonk him on the head with their presents and have him guess who it was. We are super happy to have Max in our family. He is such a sweet boy and we feel SO blessed he's ours. In our church the kids are able to be baptized at the age of eight if they choose. He is really excited and looking forward to being baptized. We are so proud of who he is and the good decisions he makes. We love you Max!

Max and his Triathlon

2010-09-23T19:08:00.000+09:00

Today is Max's 8th birthday. Happy Birthday buddy! We are having his friends party this saturday so I will do his birthday post after that. He is super excited to be turning 8! This last weekend, he did a kid's triathlon. Caden was planning on doing it too but three days before, he cut his foot and had get it glued in the ER. So it was Max's time to shine. Nick was able to go along with him and they had a great time.

Max was in the 7-10 year old group and he got 4th place overall. He got a medal and was filmed by the little local news crew. He was so proud and says he can't wait until he can do the next one.

It was a 75 meter swim, 2 mile bike ride and a 1/2 mile run. Good Job Max!!!

Warming up

Looking at the prizes

Getting ready

His swim

Bike

The run

Getting his medal

Happy Birthday Max. we are so proud!

Jake's 5th B-day party

2010-09-19T05:17:00.001+09:00

Today we celebrated Jake's 5th birthday. He has been looking forward to it for so long. How do kids grow up so fast? He chose to have a dinosaur party and lucky for him, I hadn't done one of those yet with the older boys. It was a new and exciting party to plan. It was fun to have him give me ideas of things to do and help decorate the cake. He wanted a volcano cake with dinosaurs around it. He helped me decorate it from the beginning to end. He was so excited about the lava. I loved spending that time with him, just the two of us. It was one of those moments where I was reminded how much I love my job as a mom. He can be quite the little stinker, but deep down, he is so sweet and I'm so glad I'm one of the few he will show that side to.

Happy Brirthday Jake!!! We love you!

Spencer and Tanner's "Spain" birthday party

2010-09-15T04:55:00.000+09:00

Since the babies were born here and our friends that saw them grow up during their first year wanted to help celebrate, we had another party for them. We went with a Spanish theme since we already had their "American" party. Yes, the Spanish bull on the cake is anatomically correct. The babies were so tired so we hurried with the celebration part and put them to bed. We had a great time with our friends and food. Feliz Cumpleaños!!!

Tired babies

singing with their friends Jennifer and Morgan

Some of the group. All of the kids were playing outside.

Lucia gave them some new cars

Our cute friend Valeria

Good Job Nick!!

2010-09-11T18:53:00.000+09:00

We are so proud of Nick for his hard work as a dentist in the US Navy. He's really done a great job in all of the clinics he's worked in. In Japan and here in Spain. He's constantly being commended for his work an dedication in the command. It's a big to deal to put on rank in the military. It doesn't happen often so when it does, it's a great thing. This week Nick put on rank and became a Luitenant Commander in the US Navy. He's only been in the military for four years and so this came earlier than usual. We are super proud of him and appreciate his hard work. He's a great example to our boys. I know they are proud he is their dad. Good Job, Nick. We love you!

Repeating the oath after Captain Turner

Changing his shoulder boards from Luitenant to Luitenant Commander on his uniform

Isn't he so handsome in his uniform???

Back in Spain

2010-08-31T10:46:00.000+09:00

It's three in the morning in Spain and four out of seven of us are awake. We are still on Utah time. We had the best trip ever visiting our families. It was pure torture flying with all of us to and from, but the time we spent with family and the memories we made were totally worth it. We also got to see some of our friends too that we've made along the years. We wish we could have seen more but some schedules didn't permit. Definitely next time. More pictures of our trip to come but I had to post the babies turning one. It was so great being able to celebrate their birthdays with our family the day before we came home.

As you will see in the pictures, Tanner does NOT like getting his fingers dirty in the cake but Spencer LOVED it.

Nick's dad runs an awesome recreation center. So he was so great and reserved the indoor splash pool just for our party. The kids had so much fun. It was a great time until we had to say goodbye to family. We already miss everyone!

cRaZy for the WORLD CUP!

2010-07-08T22:48:00.001+09:00

It is so fun being in Spain right now. The Spanish are so excited about going all the way to the finals. EVERYONE has their flags out on their houses, cars, bikes. etc. It is such a cool way to experience the culture of Spain. We had Javi, Beatriz, and Lucia over with some of our other friends the Taylors to watch the semi-finals last night. You can see in the pictures the excitement about the win.

After the game everyone was running around outside, lighting firecrackers, and honking their horns. The kids thought they were so cool to stay up so late and run around in the dark. Good times.

Verano!

2010-06-25T22:32:00.000+09:00

The boys are done with school for the summer (verano). I'm really proud of how well they did adjusting to so much this last year. Just after the babies were born last august, the boys started in a spanish school. Luckily, they were already great spanish speakers before they started but it was still a big change from the great American on base school they went to in Japan. Caden has always been really well adjusted and this change seemed to not phase him whatsoever. He made some quick friends and also improved from his chicken scratch handwriting to beautiful cursive. Max had just finished kindergarten before coming here but because of his age, they had him skip 1st grade. So he went from just learning to write and the very basics of reading to 2nd grade all in Spanish. It was a tough change for all of us, but he ended up doing a great job and became one of his teacher's favorite students. Jake was in the four year old class and had Señora Inma as his teacher. She was so great to him and even adored his little stubborn streak. She said that he was one of the top in his class. He loves to learn and is doing a great job learning to read. These pictures are at their end of the year performance. Each class put on a great show. Because of the Spanish time schedule the program didn't start until 8:00 p.m. (Our kid's bedtime). Jake's class performed at 9:15 p.m. Max and Caden were after 11:00 p.m. The party ended at 11:45p.m. Crazy- Anyway here are the pictures for now. We have some great video coming soon too.

In Spain when a child loses a tooth, a little mouse named Ratoncito Perez comes, takes the tooth away, and leaves some money. No tooth fairies here. Jake's class all dressed up as the mouse and danced. Yes, Jake danced. Not as big and out there as the other kids, but there were some movements and I was proud.

His toothbrush fell off and it was really important to fix it during the performance.

With Señora Inma

Jake and his buddy Jaime

Max and his BF Pablo. Pablo was in a lot of the skits. Max said he'll participate in more next year.

Am I in trouble with the girls? Look at these girls smiling at Caden! That is a boy behind him from his class probably feeling jealous and trying to get some attention.

Max looking thrilled

Now we are just counting down the days until we can go home to America and spend the summer with our family. A couple more weeks!

Spanish Tortillas

2010-06-16T00:27:00.000+09:00

One of the things I've enjoyed about living in different countries, is learning to make their food. I enjoyed learning how to make sushi and yaki soba while we were in Japan. And now that we are here in Spain, I plan on learning a couple of their traditional dishes as well. Luckily I have a good friend that will suffer through my spanish and spend time teaching me.

This last week Beatriz came over and showed me how to make a Spanish Tortilla. Tortillas in Spain are nothing like the regular flour or corn tortillas from latin America. They don't even use those at all. Their tortillas are chopped potatoes, onions, and eggs. Cooked in A LOT of oil. Definitely not a dish I will make on a regular basis. I love them but now that I've seen how to cook them, probably not too often. My heart hurt just watching the oil get poured in. Anyway, it was a lot of fun and they are really good.

Beatriz said that if you stick your tongue out while you're cutting up onions, you won't cry. She said that the strong fume of the onion likes humidity so if you stick your tongue out, it goes there and not to your eyes. Weird, I know, but I tried it and I didn't cry. Anyway, here is our Spanish tortilla.

First haircuts

2010-06-14T18:15:00.003+09:00

First haircuts at 9 months. The babies were starting to get to that mullet phase, especially Tanner. His hair is so funny. It sticks straight up on top and I can't get it to stay down. It's really cute but not when accompanied by some longer locks going down the neck. Anyway, here are the before and after pics. Not a huge difference but just enough. Nick said he couldn't tell a difference.

Spencer Before

Spencer After

Tanner Before

Tanner After

Both After

Slideshow of England

2010-06-02T00:44:00.003+09:00

We were able to see a lot of different sites in England and as usual we documented them all pretty well (lots of pics). We love to share our experiences with family and friends so below we have embedded a slideshow of some of our photos. It is about 8 minutes worth and set to "The Beatles" music since we were in England and even Liverpool and even went to "Penny Lane". The video should be viewable in YouTube hi-def and good enough quality to watch full screen to really appreciate the beauty of the country. Some of the pics are repeats from the last couple of blogs, but most are new. We hope you can see how amazing of a country England is (if you can last the whole 8 minutes of the slideshow). Enjoy.

Days one and two

2010-05-30T01:11:00.001+09:00

So here goes.... I can't put in all of the details but here are the basics. We started out tired since we landed in London at 11:00 p.m. They did really well on the flight despite not getting a good sleep. With all of the boys, everything takes so long! So between getting our bags, and getting the rental car, etc. We left the airport at 12:30 a.m. Only to get lost on the way to our first hotel for a REALLY long time. During that journey, we went through some really cute little towns. We saw two deer, an owl, a fox, and about forty rabbits. They were cool to see but we would have much rather been sleeping comfortably in a bed. I'm not even going to say when we finally got to the hotel but lets just say the sun was coming up. So after a short sleep, we had to get up and get going since we had lots of things to see. Already too many details, I'm moving on to pictures.

First stop... Stonehenge: Such a cool place. I got to go there 13 years ago with my parents but I knew Nick and the boys would want to see it. It really is mind boggling to see the rocks in their form and think of how they got that way so MANY years ago.

After Stonehenge, we drove up to Warwick Castle. I was so excited to take my boys there. It's was like heaven for them. I knew they would love it and they did!

This picture below, Nick took from the tallest tower of the castle. It's a lot of steep steps going up but so worth seeing this view when you get there.

Then on to Stratford Upon Avon to see William Shakespeare's home and the church where he was buried. The boys were so excited to eat at Pizza Hut since we don't have that in our little town of Rota Spain.

We had a busy first day and still made the drive up to Nottingham where we stayed our second night. We had a traditional English breakfast the next morning. I love the beans on toast but I don't remember having stewed tomatoes when I lived there. We drove by and saw my apartment I lived in when I was there. Then we went in to the city center as I told the boys stories of when I was a missionary for the LDS church. It was so great being back with my boys. We went to the Nottingham Castle which they loved since they are way in to Robin Hood. Since the new movie of Robin Hood just came out with Russel Crowe, it was a big deal there. They had a display that we weren't allowed to take pictures of in the castle. They were the original clothes that were worn in the new movie. So now I'm excited to watch it and know I saw the real clothes they were wearing.

England

2010-05-27T20:22:00.001+09:00

We just returned from a trip of a lifetime. England. I love it there so much. I served a year and a half mission there 13 years ago and I've missed it ever since. Thanks to Nick, he made my dreams come true to take my family back there again. We did and saw so much, you'll have to bear with me as I post new pictures here for the next while.

May is a great time to visit because everything is in full bloom. The rolling fields of green and yellow go on for miles. I hate to admit that there was more than once I got choked up and overwhelmed with emotions as I overlooked the beautiful scenery. I know, I'm a dork, but my heart was so full! The pictures won't do it justice either. Here's just a peek until I can get all of my pictures transferred from the laptop.

This is actually where we went our last day there, but I had to post pictures. I'll go in order from now on and will explain what this beautiful place is when I get caught up.

Oh, Lebron

2010-05-16T01:11:00.000+09:00

This is sort of a random post but I felt like posting this little video.

Anyone who knows us knows that we are Lebron James fans. We were in Cleveland before he arrived and "witnessed" how he transformed the city after his arrival. For Clevelanders it is about much more than basketball. There have been countless reports on how much his existence in Ohio has meant for the state. The amount of pressure he must feel to bring a championship to a place that has seen nothing but disappointment for so many years is incredible. Again, we are huge Lebron fans. However, that doesn't necessarily mean we are die-hard Cavs fans. So now that the Cavs are out and Lebron is going to be a free agent this summer, the frenzy is about to begin. It has been a topic of discussion for the last two years and now it is upon Lebron and Cleveland. It is touted to be one of the biggest free agent summers in the history of sports. So no pressure, Lebron. Cleveland acts as if they may not be able to go on as a city with out him. Mayors, coaches, and other players are all chiming in. It will be entertaining to say the least.

This is a video that Cleveland has put together to sway Lebron. It is called "We Are Lebron". Again, no pressure, Lebron!

We Are LeBron Video - Watch more Funny Videos

Fun and Busy Saturday

2010-05-10T20:14:00.002+09:00

T-ball and Baseball have now started. This is Jake's first year in t-ball and it was hilarious. He is such a character and he didn't disappoint in the the entertainment factor. I love t-ball since the kids are just figuring it all out. Caden had two great hits and caught a fly ball in the outfield. Max didn't have a game but got dressed up for the opening season ceremony. They dedicated the field to a fallen Marine who died in Iraq. He used to live here and helped with the high school baseball team. So they flew his wife and son back to for the dedication. It's times like this when I feel proud to be part of the military and be among people serving the USA. Anyway, it was a nice morning of ball.

After baseball we went to Feria in our little town of Rota. Feria is just like a county fair except the Spanish women dress up in beautiful dresses with flowers in their hair. The men have on handsome suits and hats. Each town around here has their own Feria on different weeks, so most people go to each of them for the month of May. It was so fun. They love to party so much that they take the monday after of school off and call it "Hangover" monday. Anyway, the fair food, the rides, and people watching were well worth the cultural experience of Feria. If anyone wants to visit and see a cool cultural event, May is the time to come.

Sleep

2010-05-06T03:49:00.002+09:00

Yes- We are getting sleep. These two good boys have been sleeping through the night for about three weeks now. YEA! For whatever reason the seven month mark has been consistent with all of my boys. All five started sleeping on a great schedule at seven months. So these two are following the trend. I can't take the credit this time though. Our schedule before was that I would go to bed at 9 and Nick would stay up and give them their 10:30 feeding. Then he would go to bed and I would take the 1:00, 3:30, and the 5:30 so he could be rested for work the next day. Well we were tired and done. So one night- I told Nick I was going to bed and he had to stay up but skip the 10:30 feeding. I hate hearing them cry hard but I know that's what it takes sometimes. Thank goodness, Nick took over and spared me the pain. Of course they woke up expecting food but Nick just gave them the binky instead. He said they cried for about an hour and that is it! Total! That's all it took. All we had to do is skip that 10:30 feeding for one night! We've had a good night's sleep for three weeks now. So good job, Nick for helping them learn to sleep and good job, babies for being so wonderful! Love you all!

Just can't get enough

2010-04-29T18:21:00.000+09:00

We all can't get enough of these TWO babies. The big boys just love them so much. So much that they argue about who gets to talk to them, help get their diapers, give them some toys or who was holding them first. It's a constant problem. So that resulted in this comment by Max. "Mom, you should have had THREE babies so we ( Caden, Max, and Jake) could each have one for ourselves. It would be just so much easier if there were THREE because we wouldn't have to fight about them." Well, Max, sorry we could only produce twins and not triplets for you buddy.

These are some Japanese clothes from our friends in Okinawa. Love them!

Got 7 minutes to see Madrid?

2010-04-21T03:20:00.001+09:00

This is the final installment of our Madrid posts. This is a video of our 4 days in Madrid crammed into about seven minutes. While it was a crazy, challenging trip, we had a great time and made some wonderful memories. Naturally we love to share them with our family and friends. So if you can spare a few minutes, load up the video and come along with us.

Madrid Day 3 Parque Warner

2010-04-20T19:38:00.000+09:00

So we couldn't resist taking the kids to Parque Warner. It's similar to Disneyland just with all of the Warner Brother characters.. Of course, NOTHING could compare to Disneyland but we had a blast and the boys loved the Superhero fun. Perfect place for our boys. Again, we totally lucked out having our friend Beatriz there. She was so kind to offer to take the twins for us all day so we could get through as much of the park as we could. So in return, we offered to bring Lucia with us and it worked out perfect. We had such a good time and it was nice knowing the babies were in good hands. The highlight of the whole day was the live Batman Begins show. They put on a very impressive show and the boys were in Heaven! Jake now claims he is Batman and wears the mask and cape all around. So here are the pictures of our fun!

Madrid Day 2

2010-04-16T20:18:00.002+09:00

So here is a picture overload of our 2nd day in Madrid. We had a great time with all of the beautiful buildings and interesting "acts" all around the city. In the streets and plazas, people would dress up in very interesting costumes to make some extra money. We saw disney characters handing out balloons, a couple covering themselves with clay, people would be painted like they were statues and stand there and not even blink, and much much more. I can't describe them all. If you stop and look you are sort of obligated to put some coins in their cans. We learned the hard way and even had one swear at us and give us a, not so nice, American gesture because we didn't pay up after stopping and taking a picture.

This is the guy below that got mad. He's sitting in a chair under the red plaid part and using his arms to play.

We ate pizza and paella in the Plaza Mayor

We have a ton of videos that we will post soon.

Madrid Day One

2010-04-09T17:42:00.000+09:00

Morning at the Madrid Temple

We are so lucky to have had our friends, Javier and Beatriz visiting their family in Madrid the same week we went. They were so helpful and we got to have a lot of fun with them too. The first day we were there, they took all of the boys for us so Nick and I could go to the Madrid temple. As always it was absolutely beautiful and we could really feel the spirit.

Nick is going to kill me for putting this picture in but I couldn't resist. He has a history of putting out his arms like that in many of his pictures (unconsciously) showing his love for where he is. I pointed it out to him a while ago and since he's made an effort to not do it. I didn't mean for him to stop- it's one of those great things about him. It shows his passionate personality. So here he was joking and I snapped it quick. Sorry, Nick, but I love it.

After the temple, we went back to Beatriz's brother's house where our boys were playing with their daughter Lucia and her cousins, Paula and David. Then we all headed into the city to this beautiful park. It's kind of like their Central Park. We fed the pigeons, played on the swings, and went on a boat ride around the lake.

Notice Jake below-

Beatriz and Javier (He's our Branch President)

Lucia

Eating our bocadillos and Spanish tortillas

Our drive to Madrid

2010-04-08T18:06:00.000+09:00

This is how the long drive to Madrid worked for us. I sat in the back to break up the boys and to be able to attend to the babies. It was probably why we made it at all. I could hand out the food, set up the movies, and sing the silly songs.

This is how Tanner started out and I thought we were in for it for the whole time. It didn't last long and both babies did a great job.

This is the view from where we stopped to eat and give them a break to run around. The drive was beautiful with the green hills and random castle ruins. I think I counted around ten castles on the way.

Caden and Max ordered hamburgers. They got this baguette bread with a piece of ham on it. Interesting. We do love the bread. One of our favorite things we've found here in the Spanish restaurants, are bocadillos or montaditos (sandwiches). They are on this fresh baguette bread with yummy ham and cheese. But, Hamburgers?

It took us 7 hours but the city was worth it. That's coming up in the next post.

Madrid

2010-04-05T19:11:00.000+09:00

In the Plaza Sol

The plaza Mayor

We made it! It was an awesome city and the kids did their very best to make it a successful trip. It did feel like a juggling act with the babies but they put up with a lot and we are glad we did it. They are troopers. Lots more pictures and videos to come but here's a start.

Wish us luck!

2010-03-29T03:57:00.001+09:00

We are going on our first long road trip with our five boys. Tomorrow we are headed up to MADRID! I am really excited to see such a cool city but am dreading the seven hour drive with the crew. It could get very interesting. This is a very much needed vacation. We have all been so sick. And since twins share everything, both babies got it. Tanner first, then Spencer. Cough, fever, snotty noses, and both got ear infections. Jake and I both had it too. So, we are ready to get out and see something other than our sick infested house. I need to go pack now so please wish us luck and we'll let you know all about it when we return.

Random pictures:

Jake loves to use his imagination and doesn't care what he looks like while doing it. I don't know what he was playing but he parted his hair down the middle, put on Harry Potter glasses, ran around in his jeans and no shirt while shooting a storm trooper gun. I love this kid.

This is proof of the misery we've been going through. Poor Spencer. I was constantly wiping and sucking out his nose but I couldn't keep up with it. That's a mosquito bite. They love his cheeks as much as I do.

Video update

2010-03-17T14:35:00.002+09:00

Here are a couple of videos we hadn't gotten around to putting up. The first one is about 2 minutes long and the others are less than a minute (we know you're in a hurry). Enjoy.

This first one is a clip of Carnaval. The kids had the opportunity to participate in the "cabalgata" with their school. It was like Mardi Gras for kids. Big party and big fun. I tried to capture the excitement in the video but of course it could never do it justice. Ironically enough, you'll see Jake falls asleep while riding on the float. He leads a rough life and it must be tiring.

Spencer loves to spend his time in his bouncy chair. He gets so excited that it seems like he is going to launch himself out of it. Also, his footwork is pretty impressive.

Max was absolutely determined to take out his tooth (because the neighbor lost his). I tried to get it out but told him that it wasn't quite ready. What do I know? He was determined...and proud. Jake thought it was pretty sweet too.

Finally, for those who care to experience the little moments in the twins lives, you witness Spencer's first roll-over below.

Happy Birthday Caden!

2010-03-14T04:24:00.002+09:00

My first baby boy turned 10! He has a two digit number for his age. Oh, we love this kid so much. We couldn't ask for a better boy to be the oldest of five. He is so much fun and helps us with so many, many things.

Caden LOVES:

his brothers

to eat, eat, and eat some more

NBA.com

basketball

soccer

baseball

football

kickball

(basically anything involves a ball and running)

star wars

Harry Potter

computers

watching movies

speaking spanish with his dad, brothers, and friends at his spanish school

playing secret spy and having "wars" with the neighbor boys

to read ( he's on the third Harry Potter in spanish)

and did I mention he likes to eat?

Caden wanted a "Foosball" cake.

This is the best I could do. We had a small group over for pizza, cake and a movie. He got a lot of Legos which is perfect. They are way into that right now. He also got a storm trooper blaster gun, Harry Potter costume, secret spy kit brief case full of gear for a secret mission, and a kids world atlas book. He was so excited and grateful for it all.

His best Spanish friend Alejandro

His friend Max and little brother Max

We love you Caden!

My twin babies are 6 months old! (+ a week)

2010-03-11T17:47:00.000+09:00

Why do they have to grow up so fast? I love these babies and all of the cute things they are doing.

Spencer:

He's always smiling and giggling at everyone.

He loves to bounce in the bouncy all day.

He loves to grab his feet and suck his toes.

He spits all day long. Like real spitting. Big, loud, and wet. The boys nicknamed him "Spitzer"

He swings one arm like he's doing the "Sprinkler Dance"

So good and only makes a little peep when he needs something.

Tanner:

Has a great belly laugh when tickled.

Uses both hands to grab my face and suck my cheek.

Loves to roll to his tummy, to back, then tummy again.

Loves to play with the play table. He get so excited to see the toys.

Smiles while I sing him songs. ( Ignores my voice )

His eyes are so big that he always looks surprised.

The sleeping situation is getting much better. I have gotten them on a schedule together and everyone is much more happy now. I only have to get up 3 times at night compared to the 6-8. Next hurdle is to get both of them to sleep all night long. Hopefully soon!

This week

2010-02-15T04:55:00.000+09:00

Our house is pretty crazy. I've reached that delirious stage I've always gotten to with all of my boys. I've gone almost 10 months with hardly any sleep between being pregnant with the twins and since they've been born. So during the day, I feel like a walking zombie.

Confession: In all of the twin books it says when one baby wakes up to eat, you need to wake up the other one too. The purpose of course being so they will be on the same schedule, making life a little easier, getting up only half of the time. Well, easier said than done. I have tried but I HATE waking a sleeping baby. They are usually on the same schedule during the day, but at night, they like to trade off. That means I get up 3-4 times with each baby making it a total of 6-8. It usually works out that once I get one down it's a matter of 30 to 40 minutes later, that the other one wakes up. I know everyone will think I'm crazy but it really is harder than you would think. Those of you that have twins and have succeeded, I'm proud and jealous. Anyway, that's what I have been doing. But being a zombie all day isn't very fun so I'm going for it. I am going to change our sleeping patterns around here. I'll keep you posted.

Of course that's just one part of our crazy lives. With the older boys, its school, homework, sports, chores, etc. Don't worry, I won't bore you with that for now. Enough of that, here's the fun stuff we are experiencing.

The name of my street where I grew up is called "Sunset Drive". From my parents house you could see the most beautiful sunsets around. Hence the name. I have always loved seeing the colors in the sky and have been lucky to live in beautiful places to see them over mountains and at the beaches. This is a picture of a Spanish sunrise from our top balcony . My boys probably get sick of me always telling them to look at the sky but it's just one of my things.

This is our Jake. He couldn't be more of a typical 4 year old boy. Most of the time, his attitude is cute but he can definitely be more of a stinker than he should. Anyway, this is a little clip of our conversation the other day.

We know we put a lot of videos on here and that some of you might be bored with them. But we want to share some of these moments with family and friends that are so far away from us.

This is a video of Tanner rolling over. Spencer seemed like he would be the one to roll first, but Tanner sort of did it out to the blue. We didn't even see his first one since he did it when we weren't in the room. But later that day we captured this one.

Finally, a clip of a brewing sibling rivalry.

Jake: "Mom!! I don't want this tortilla because it has brown on it and brown is the color of coffee and I don't like coffee. Its disgusting."

Big catch up

2010-02-08T05:42:00.001+09:00

We're well into the new year and have much to catch up on. So this is a random post of the latest month or so.

Christmas was so much fun with the ages our boys are at. They were thrilled to receive their gifts of course, but they also were excited about the gifts to each other and taking treats around to friends. I appreciate my boys and how much they love doing things for other people. It was fun to have our new babies this Christmas too. Our line of stockings increased by two. I love it.

This year for New Years, Nick and Caden were the brave ones. I stayed back with the other four boys while Nick and Caden walked in to the city center to celebrate with the Spanish. Here during the last 12 seconds of the year, with each chime of the the church bell, you're supposed to try to eat 12 lucky grapes.

The big holiday here in January is "Three Kings" day. The parade was hilarious. They don't just toss some candy out, they throw it out in full force. Jake had to hide behind me because he didn't like getting decked in the head over and over. People just held out their umbrellas upside down and let the candy fall in. Also when the floats would end, everyone would hurry to another part of the city and have it come by again. We followed it twice but most people kept going.

The babies are now five months. They are growing too fast. Each stage is bitter sweet. It's fun to see them develop and get their personalities but that means they'll never be this little again. As much work as they bring, we wouldn't want it any other way. They bring us all so much joy. The older boys are so in love with them. They probably get a little too much love but that's what happens to the babies of the family. I remember smothering my baby sister Emme so I know how they feel. Anyway, that's the latest with us. Babies are calling!

This slideshow contains some of the latest pics of the twins.

Below are a few video clips from our lives here. Might be interesting to some...

One week 'til Christmas

2009-12-21T05:20:00.000+09:00

We have now been in Spain for almost 6 months. I can't believe it. It is going by to fast. Life has been so busy that we still feel like we are trying to get used to life here. All in all things are going well. The boys have finished their first trimester of school in town and have come out ok. They are all growing up so quickly through all their new experiences. They are discovering a lot about themselves and their personalities are becoming more defined. Caden continues to be slightly more passive, usually a little more mature for his age, and seems to be confident in his abilities to get by in this foreign country. Max is the emotional, passionate one. He has discovered his ability to analyze and dissect even the most insignificant details, and will passionately and articulately defend himself in any language. Jake continues to keep us laughing as he absorbs everything around him. He is witty beyond his years and he knows how to use it.

A couple of weeks ago the school took classic-style, black and white photos of the kids. They changed their shirt, put them in front of a studious looking map with a fountain pen in hand and took their picture. Caden and Max went along with things just fine, but Jake decided he didn't want anything to do with it. Anyone who knows Jake also knows that he can get pretty stubborn and give a nasty stink-eye when forced to do something against his will. Well, this one was caught on film. If you know Jake you'll be able to appreciate the photo.

We took a little road trip to a place called Grazalema. It is one of the "Pueblos Blancos" that Spain is so famous for. These are enchanted little cities built in the mountains and cliffs of southern Spain. Grazalema is one of the better known of these cities. It is has that feel of being trapped in time. Things seemed like they had probably been the same for hundreds of years, but yet everything was clean and well kept. The video below is a clip of the short time we spent in the area.

We hope everyone has a very merry Christmas!

Come On In

2009-12-13T04:15:00.002+09:00

Since we have been running behind on our blogging over the last couple of months, we are doing another catch-up blog. It is a little random. It includes a video of our new home here in Rota, Halloween pics, baby blessings, some travel pics, and more. The pics are Flickr albums so you can click the lower right of slideshow to expand and see higher resolution pics if you want.

A THANKSGIVING STORY

2009-11-27T05:07:00.001+09:00

Remeber the scene in "A Christmas Story" when the family goes to a Chinese restaurant for Christmas dinner? We felt kind of like them today.

Things have been a little crazy lately so we finally decided that we were justified in taking this Thanksgiving off from the cooking and preparation, and taking advantage of the galley on base. The galley is the on-base cafeteria. Imagine the Golden Corral on a budget (and minus the really old people). That's the galley.

Despite being Thanksgiving, we sent the kids off to school. They go to Spanish schools that of course don't celebrate Thanksgiving. That gave us some peace and quiet to enjoy. Nick spent the morning on a bike ride in the rain, the cleaning lady came, and Rebecca did some things around the house.

Around noon or so we heard the sound that for the last five years has been virtually our sole connection with loved ones--- iChat (shameless plug for the Mac- if you don't have one it would make a great Christmas gift). We video conferenced with a group of friends that we have considered family for the last 3 years in Okinawa. They were gathered together for the traditional friends Thanksgiving dinner. We were flattered and even a little emotional that they would think of us even though we are now half way around the world. We had the chance to touch base with the whole group at once and introduce them to the babies. It was the next best thing to being there with them. We felt missed, and that felt good.

We then picked up the kids from school at 2 pm and we were off to the galley. The galley was an adventure. I did my best to covertly video the event. See the short clip below to get a better feel for the experience. In a nutshell, we paid $21 for the family, picked up our tray, and made our way down the "buffet" line for the traditional fixin's of roast, turkey, patatoes, ham, stuffing, and something they claimed was green beans, and discussed a mural on the wall that Jake claimed was a "half naked man peeing" (I will include the picture below for you to decide).

Rebecca didn't like any of the food much, and Caden and Max discovered they didn't like eggnog. Dad showed the kids how to make impressions of their fingers by sticking them in the molten wax from the melting candles. We drank lots of chocolate milk and finished it all off with ice cream.

We arrived hungry, left full, and didn't have to clean any dishes (unless you count the part where you have to take your lunch tray to the mysterious man in the dishwasher window). I would say an overall success. And while it may not rank up there with our best Thanksgivings, it will surely be one of the more memorable ones.

Rebecca is finishing off the day with a midnight showing of "New Moon", leaving Nick home to try his luck at breastfeeding the twins.

They Speak Spanish in Spain

2009-11-20T05:29:00.002+09:00

Of course we haven't kept up on the blog over the last while. We still have lofty goals of doing so, but just haven't found the time. We're not sure anyone reads it anyway so it may not matter. But I have a second right now so I figured I would give a glimpse into our Spain experience.

This is Nick speaking. Anyone who knows me knows that I have always enjoyed Spanish and was of course excited for the opportunity to come to Spain and immerse ourselves in the language and culture. We've done our best so far. We live off base, enjoy Spanish food, shop at the Gypsy Market, eat olives, and I even drive a Spanish vehicle. This immersion comes with it's challenges of course, but we are feeling more and more comfortable by the day.

The language is usually the limiting factor for most of the non-Spanish here. Most make a valiant effort to learn so they can more fully enjoy their experience. We have been fortunate in that regard. We also attend a Spanish-speaking branch and have the kids in Spanish public school. With all of the effort to immerse ourselves I wondered when I would start seeing some sort of effect on the boys. School was eye opening at first. Caden quickly assimilated but Max and Jake were a little slower. They now seem very content. Parent teacher conferences have been positive and any language barrier that may have existed at first appears to have vanished and is no longer the limiting factor there.

I have had a couple of "ah-ha" moments over the last couple of months as I have seen the boys meld into their new culture. I was thinking about these experiences today and decided I would share them so they wouldn't be forgotten.

The first of these "culminating" moments was when I was in primary listening to Max give a talk on families. He gave the talk first in Spanish and then repeated it in English. I noticed he read better in Spanish than English. Reality check. The following week Caden did the same thing. I realized I was living an experience I had never thought I would.

We started noticing that as the kids speak English they have developed a funny accent. They often phrase and emphasize sentences in English as if they were speaking Spanish.

Caden is in 4th grade. Spanish school is widely accepted here to be a little more intense than English schools. I realized how real their immersion is when I sat down with him to study geology... in Spanish. As we reviewed the make up of the earth's crusts, I was amazed at his ability to recite definitions word for word from his textbook. Photosynthesis and plant reproduction produced the same sense of amazement. He scored a 19.75 out of 20 on his test.

We have started making friends with other Spanish families that live near by. You almost feel embarrassed by your ignorance when you suddenly realize that despite all the differences, most of us are exactly the same. As I walked next to Caden and Alejandro and listened to their random conversation I was amazed at how natural their conversation was first due to Caden's ever-improved Spanish, but also due to the universal language of kids- laughing. While some words may have been lost in translation, I doubt any real meaning was. These two have become the best of friends.

Rebecca has even found herself using her Spanish on a daily basis. She surprises herself regularly with her extensive knowledge and finds that she is more anxious than she thought she would be to learn more.

Jake attends preschool at the same public school as his brothers. At 4 yrs old he spends 5 hrs at school each day. At dinner last night he told me that they are studying "otoño" (fall) and that they will be going to the park the following day to collect "ojas" (leaves) and "castañas". This was a new word for me as it should be since I have never been exposed to the word "chessnut" in my Spanish adventures. I think he was a little disgusted that I didn't know what it was- he made this clear as he explained (in Spanish) that this was a fall fruit.

Today was the kicker, and what sparked this post. We were discussing that he needed to take peanuts to school tomorrow (another fall fruit). During our conversation he repeatedly called them "cacahuetes". Finally, to save him the embarrassment, I corrected him and told him that it was "cacahuates". He proceeded to tell me that it could be said both ways. I told him he was wrong and that the dispute would be put to rest by the online dictionary. Turns out that in Spain it is said cacahuetes and in other Spanish-speaking countries it is said cacahuates. This was a proud moment for him. However he handled it well, not rubbing it in my face and waiting until I had left the room before he told his mom that he knows more Spanish than Dad does and later claiming to have taught himself Spanish.

Sorry for the journal entry. If you have read this far then we know you are a true friend (or a family member who knows that any of the preceding stories could be referenced in conversation so you'd better be up to speed). If you're still awake leave a comment.

Pictures are to come.

Life in Spain

2009-10-22T03:31:00.002+09:00

Our life has been so nuts over the last couple of months with moving, twins, new jobs, etc, that we haven't been able to travel too much. However, this world is so new to us that we have been able to find adventure in a few places that are close to home.

I have embedded a couple of different video clips from our first couple of months. Watch if you're interested!

We happened to catch Spencer's first smile on film:

The Rock of Gibraltar is English territory at the southern tip of Spain.

These are some cool horse races they do each year on the beach.

Cadiz is the oldest city in western Europe. Neat place.

Never saw anything like this in the states:

Birthdays and goodbye's

2009-10-04T20:17:00.008+09:00

(I wrote this on the 4th of October but am just getting to post it now on the 20th!)

The babies aren't the only things going on to keep us busy right now. Of course life in general with all five boys feels like a daily marathon. Jake and Max both had birthdays in September and we had to say goodbye to our beloved Aunt Emme and Grandma Packer. We couldn't be more thankful for them and miss them soooooooooo much. Not just because they were such huge helpers, we just love them and miss our family.

Jake turned 4 and wanted a pirate birthday cake. We decided to just have a small birthday party with our family since so much was going on with the babies. I usually love to have big parties so it was hard to not make a huge deal about it. This time their cakes were the only things I was going to try and make special. I made Jake's pirate ship cake and it turned out cute. He wanted to go to get pizza and take it to the park so we loaded the cake and his presents and went to the park. On the way, the cake fell apart and was not salvageable. I didn't cry but almost. It was the only thing I tried hard on. Jake actually liked how it fell apart and said that it looked like it had been blasted with a cannon. So the pirate ship cake was a blasted pirate ship and he was OK with it. So I guess I couldn't be too upset. He got a lot of fun things. His favorite toys were all of the star wars figures from Grandma. He's obsessed. So it was a hit. Happy Birthday, Jake. We love you!

Then four days later on the 23rd was Max's 7th birthday. He was so cute and thrilled for his special day. After school we went again to get pizza for dinner ( there aren't a lot of restaurant options here) and took his presents but left the cake at home this time. He wanted a Spiderman cake and that was interesting. I couldn't come up with anything really exciting other than making a web and putting figures on top. I had made the web and left the room for a minute. Then Jake yelled from in the kitchen saying that he couldn't get the figures to stay on the cake. Another cake problem! He was just trying to help but made some big unnecessary holes. At that point, the babies were screaming to nurse so I was done trying. My mom helped finish it and Max enjoyed it in the end. After pizza, he opened presents ( more Star Wars and Bakugan). Then we went to see the movie G Force. He had a great birthday and we're so thankful for him. We love Max.

Happy Birthday Boys! We love you both.

Update

2009-09-10T04:49:00.005+09:00

Two weeks have gone by and I'm feeling a lot better after my surgery. The first week was pretty hard but I'm up and moving around much better. I know the babies are what everyone wants to hear about, so I'll move on. I LOVE them!

It was so fun to finally have the mystery solved as to if they were identical vs. fraternal. The entire pregnancy we thought they were identical because the technicians could only see one placenta but when they were born, there were actually two placentas right next to each other that were fused together. And with blood tests, they found they have two different blood types. So we have fraternal twins. Just looking at them it's so obvious. They look nothing alike!

Spencer who was born first is our little guy and such a sweetheart. He is so relaxed all of the time and only fusses when he really needs something. He will sit through his twin brother crying in his ear and not even budge. He looks %100 like the Peterson side. So cute and melts my heart.

Tanner is our younger but bigger one. He is a little more high maintenance but still a great baby. I still can't see any resemblance in him with anyone in our family. I keep staring at him to figure out who he looks like but I think he has his own look. He is beautiful.

They love to be by each other. They sleep better when snuggled up in the same bed. I love that they already have a special bond. Here are a bunch of pictures of their first two weeks of life. They are already growing up too fast. Knowing that they are my last babies, I want them to slow down and let me enjoy each stage. They are so sweet and I feel so blessed to have them in our family.

Note: I know there aren't a lot of pictures with Jake. When we got home from the hospital, he had a skin infection on his face. So we kept him away until he finished his medicine. Also, the beautiful blonde is my sister Emme.

Welcome Baby Spencer and Baby Tanner

2009-08-28T22:24:00.007+09:00

Just returned from the hospital. I am going to keep this to the point as there are sure to be many posts to follow. Here's the scoop:

We went to the hospital this morning at 6 am for a scheduled c-section. We had practically the entire hospital on hand for the delivery. There were an estimated 20 to 30 people present at all times during the delivery. Two of every team. You couldn't hope for more personalized care or attention to one patient. The surgery started about 8:25 or so and by 8:35 there were two perfectly healthy boys screaming (and peeing). In a nutshell things couldn't have gone any smoother. Spencer came first at 8:35 weighing 5 lbs 5 ounces and 18.25 inches long. Then Tanner arrived at 8:36, 6 lbs 15 ounces and 19.5 inches long. Obviously a discrepancy in size. However, the doc said that size alone has nothing to do with being identical or not at this point. They do look very different, but again, the weight could make all the difference. They both have all fingers and toes, breathing great from the start. Perfect. At this point we are leaning toward not identical since one has O+ blood and preliminary tests show the other having O-. More tests will be done know for sure.

Mom is doing great. She is drugged up and a little nauseous but over all said the experience was very stress free. A sharp contrast compared to previous births. She will continue to recover for a couple of days with the babies in the hospital.

So that is it in a nutshell. There are pics below and video will likely be added a little later today.

We'll be interested to hear who you all think the babies look like. We're a little stumped at this point.