He's a champion

Years ago, when I was a missionary in Sydney, the Aussies would say, "he's a champion!" meaning, "he's awesome". Well, Doug is a champion!
First, he completed the first draft of his prospectus (a huge chunk of his dissertation).

Second, he finished his first marathon in under 4 hours despite some difficulty on the run. I was in awe of him and his high expectations. I was so excited when I saw him round the corner and approach the finish line of the Deseret News Marathon!

He pushed himself very hard in the race down immigration canyon even when he was slowed by some cramping so he didn't feel well for about 4 hours after he crossed the finish line. He was a shade of grey but still managed to smile for the camera.

We found friends on the run as well. Our good friends Scott and Rachelle Kunz ran as well.  It was great to see them and catch up.

Doug's family showed up at the finish line to cheer Doug on to the end. It made it even more fun and we watched the parade with them afterward.

Doug gleaned some great advice from Scott and Rachelle.  He was to take an ice bath for 15 minutes twice the day of the race.  Doug hopped in some shorts and made me set a timer while he read the newspaper to distract himself. It was great advice because just 2 days after his race he was nearly like new.

Way to go Doug!

Workout party

I am doing P90X right now and in week 11.  I have LOVED it and will do it again after my next half marathon Doug and I run in Hawaii this fall.  In order to accomodate my long workouts, Doug will often feed E&S breakfast/dinner (depending on the day) while I quickly pop in a video and workout.  On this particular day, Sydney wanted to join in after she finished eating.

Independence on a leash

I always made fun of parents who had their child 'on a leash'.  I thought it was so sad and "wrong" that someone would do that to a child...until I had two running in different directions.  What was once "wrong" has become practical so I can keep them both safe. Still, I can't help but laugh that I have purchased these backpack leashes.

Life around here has started to reflect some independence. Both Ethan and Sydney love to feed themselves and are starting to communicate with me. Their favorite words are: HI!, dance, neigh, doggie, woof woof, done, bye, help, and PLEASE!  It is so difficult when Ethan walks around saying please so passionately but I have no idea what he is wanting. He really does think that please is a magic word...and that I will know what he is requesting, so politely!

They think that sitting on the chair without their booster is the coolest.

 If we let Ethan walk around the garage while we get Sydney in her carseat, Ethan find his favorite piece of lawn equipment to push around the garage.

They have their moments though where sleep gets the better of them and they fall into my arms. I took them for a walk before nap time to see if I could keep them awake and it backfired...big time. Sydney was asleep on Ethan's shoulder, but by the time I got out my phone to take a photo, she had bounced forward.



Can't believe they are almost 18 months. This stage is flying by and we're having a blast!

Putting ON the armor of God

Doug and I teach Sunday School to about ten 12-year olds every Sunday. Ethan and Sydney are fast becoming our class mascots and keep the kids on their toes.  After being particularly fussy today, I tried to get Ethan to stop fussing by putting paper (with tape already on the back) onto his face.  It worked! 

I had to laugh when I realized that I had literally put the armor of God ON my son...
(see Ephesians 6)

Quadruplets...

Having twins, I think you often wonder what it would be like adding one or two more babies to your world. After a long RSV season of being quarantined and a spring that flew by, we finally got together with Ethan and Sydney's bunk-mates from the NICU. 

Amazingly enough, Sydney took to the boys right away and went up to Will (I think) and got really close to him to say hi. This was a complete surprise to Emily and I and we couldn't help but laugh. She seemed to remember them.

Emily's husband called and needed her to drive to meet him because he left something at home that he needed.  I offered to watch all four kids and it was so fun, really.  I thought it would be fun to try to get a photo of them playing, but after 4 attempts, they were frustrated that I was behind the gate so I gave up on my quest.

But then I had the idea to put them all on the couch. Despite my best efforts, I still couldn't get one with everyone looking at the camera and smiling...


So glad they have NICU buddies. Thanks for your company Emily, Mac, and Will.

We found it!

We have a place to live in Hawaii and I couldn't be more grateful that it is clean and we are both so excited that it is ON the beach!  Good thing for a fenced back yard. I am going to need to get used to sand everywhere and Doug working full-time, but bring on the adventure.

Life is a carnival

Our days are filled with play these days. We can't help ourselves--it's warm outside, we have great friends, and kids are less fussy when they're outside!  Friday was spent at our own amusement park at their friend Brynlee's house (Bryn's mom just happens to be my great friend Kayla--what a coincidence!)

We played in the luxurious pool.

We had wagon rides pulled by strong horses (moms).

There was a great petting zoo without any fences and they could pet the animals (even a tiny kitten) over and over.

There was a slide that we called a waterslide because many wet bums went down it to get it wet.

Not only was there lots of room to run around, but there were a few trampolines for great jumping!

We couldn't get enough, so we opted to go to the carnival a few minutes down the street that night.  We bought 10 tickets for $12 to enjoy a few rides and started with the carousel. We had no idea that it would use all of our tickets and require us to buy more. Don't know that this will be a family tradition--yikes! We asked the attendant if Doug could help me get our kids situated and hop off (as it was 2 tickets per person) and he nodded. After a minute of waiting for the ride to move, E and S starting fussing for us to hold them and next thing we knew, the ride started.  Doug ended up buying a few more tickets ($3) and giving it to the attendant later that evening.  That was an expensive $15 ride. I think Bryn's dad (Shane) was right...it was $1 for every time we went around on those horses.

This face made it worth it. She was so excited.

Ethan wasn't so sure about this ride, but I think/hope he enjoyed it.

Summer is the best. So excited we have another 6 months of it since we'll be in warm weather until Christmas in Hawaii...love that part. 

Fireworks!

Doug and I were so excited to show Ethan and Sydney the fireworks this year and thought they would really enjoy the festivities of the Fourth of July.  We purchased Sydney's shirt months ago (at the grocery store...what a find!) I snapped a photo before we left for my parent's house closeby.  I tried to remove the binki and the toothbrushes (Syd's favorite) but that ended in disaster.

  

We thought they would love fireworks.  Well, we forgot about two things:
1. Fireworks happen when it's dark and Ethan and Sydney are normally in bed.
2. There is a lot of noise made by such fireworks.
 

My parent's back porch was an excellent view of several different fireworks shows in the valley. Who needs to go early to set out your blanket when you can just walk outside?



Happy 4th of July!  So happy to live in the land of the FREE and the home of the BRAVE.

Gotta wear shades

"Things are going great...and they're only getting better."
Ethan and Sydney love their shades and both insisted on wearing them during breakfast Monday morning.

Grandma Marchant spoiled them with a be-lated birthday present (aren't those the best birthday presents anyway?) and they are loving their new toys. She has great taste and even found a hat for Sydney.

Wednesday they were a little fussy in the morning. I turned their frowns up-side-down by throwing them in this laundry basket and pushing them around the house.  I am doing P90X right now and am a little sore, so I only made it for 2 rounds before tipping them out into the family room. 

My sister, Tiffany, moved about 4 minutes from our house and we are so excited. I dropped by her house this week so she could run to pick up her oldest son at his school (and leave her other 3 kids at home) and E&S were in heaven!  We ended up staying a lot longer so they could play with their cousins. There were new toys, new friends, and new discoveries.

Sydney thought a chair was so awesome...

Cameron played with Ethan so well.  In fact, Cameron and his brother Isaac love Ethan.  Sydney is a little fussy when she's around new people, so they aren't quite as excited about her.  Tiffany texted me the following morning saying that Isaac woke up and asked if Ethan could come and play.  It feels so 'grown up' that Ethan is being asked if he can 'play with friends'!

My brother, Dave, also came into town for the holiday weekend and we headed to Boondocks with my other brother, Matt--who happens to be a manager there.  We got in before it even opened and got special permission for Ethan and Sydney to ride the bumper boats...even though they were about 1 foot too short.  We had the pool all to ourselves and we were in heaven!

Thanks Matt for getting us in and for treating Ethan and Sydney to a yummy veggie burger for lunch!

Swim lessons

With us moving to Hawaii for 3 months this fall semester, I thought it would be a good idea to enroll Ethan and Sydney into swimming lessons. After looking into it further (and finding out the cost) I opted to find some utube video of some sort that would tell me how to teach them to swim. I found one better--a website with many bonuses:

1. It's free.
2. It's based in Australia--love it!
3. There are lesson plans that you can print with step-by-step instructions.
4. You can watch a video giving you tips for each lesson.
5. There are different levels they can progress through and even certificates for them as they advance!

They had their first lesson at Grandma Marchant's pool on Friday and did great! I am excited for lesson two, except that I got a decent sunburn.  Somehow I forgot that I spent all last summer feeding babies and NEVER saw the sun in a swim suit...oops!