Alex's New Blog

Alex has created his own blog... which is really great since I rarely update this one. Check it out here.

Wow. It's December!

Well, I've yet again managed to go months and months without posting on this blog. Obviously, it is not my main priority. And, just when I think about posting, I think of something else that seems more important to get done in that free minute of time. But, Alex is gone studying tonight and I thought I'd type up a quick post with some pictures in case anyone ever looks at our blog again!

We have decided to stay here in Boston for Christmas for several reasons. The two main reasons were that tickets to Utah were super duper expensive and this is our last December living here, so we want to take advantage of the time. I will really miss seeing my family though. But, we are lucky to have Alex's sister, Elizabeth, and her husband, Peter, coming to spend Christmas with us. We are really, really excited to have them come for all the festivities. It is kind of exciting to be starting our own traditions.

Eliza and Zoie are growing so fast. They are almost 16 months old. I feel like every week they seem different than the last. Eliza is running around the house at this point while Zoie is still learning to walk. They are both too adorable to even begin to describe. It is so fun to watch their little personalities budding. Right now, they are very, very busy. Thus, I feel like I'm pretty busy too! What a fun age this is though. Among many other things, they love to look at their books, eat, dance to music, climb on top of things and in things, stack things, and jabber up a storm. It really is such fun to have twins.

Well, Merry Christmas to anyone who reads this!

Microspotting

So, I have to say one awesome thing about Microsoft:

www.microspotting.com

Microspotting offers a unique view of the empire from the inside out. There are actual, normal, not evil, people who work at Microsoft. They're just geeks, that's all. And their lives are put on display by the Microspotting team. Microspotting is just one awesome push at Microsoft started by a (not evil) person who loves technology.

I love this place.

The Crazy Month of July

A lot happened in July. We had an exciting month filled with visits from family and friends and lots of fun outings. Here are a few pictures to document what happened:

First, at the end of June, we had a really fun visit from my sister, Amy, and her children. They stayed with us for a short two days. It flew by. This is a picture I took as we were walking to the Seattle Aquarium.

Here they all are... entranced by some fish they were looking at.

We went to the beach too.

Then, my parents came to visit. They were here for a week. We had such fun with them.

After that, Alex's sister and husband, Katie and Steve, came to stay over the 4th of July weekend. On the 4th, we all went to the Chittenden Locks to watch the boats go through.

A few weeks ago, we went to a Mariner's game (courtesy of Microsoft). We had a blast. We ate hot dogs, nachos, and ice cream. It was delicious. I felt sick the next day, but it was worth it.

We also went kayaking on Lake Union a few weeks back (also courtesy of Microsoft). That was tons of fun. Don't worry... no tipping.

Here is a picture of us at Snowqualmie Falls. That was a fun weekend outing a few weeks ago. We found this great berry picking farm on the way home and picked a box of the best raspberries I've ever had in my life. The Northwest is awesome.

Last week, some friends of ours from our Salt Lake ward came to visit (Annette, Todd, and Beth Hummel). We were really happy to hang out with them after not seeing them for so long.


Here are a few pics of Alex and Eliza on Father's Day (Yes, I know that these are out of sequential order... and don't really fit in with my theme of July... I just thought they were too cute not to post). Alex really, really loves his girls.

And finally, here are a few pictures of what Alex did this past Sunday to entertain the girls while I cooked dinner. They really loved their little car. Squeals and giggles of delight! They have a really fun dad.

The girls turn 1 year old next week. I will definitely post some pictures of that, so more to come soon!

We're in Seattle!

I think most everyone knows by now that we are in Seattle for the summer. Alex got an internship with Microsoft and we lucked out to come to this awesome city for a few months. For those who have been here before, we are living only about 2 blocks from Pike Place market in the middle of the downtown area. It has been so amazing! We've had a great time thus far. I feel a lot more freedom because we have a car here... I hate to admit it, but it does make a difference in what you are able to do when you have a vehicle at your disposal. We've visited the Seattle Center, the Woodland Park Zoo, been on 2 weekend trips, and seen a lot of other small sights in the area. I still have to stick around the apartment a lot so the girls can have some decent naps during the day, but we've managed to get out a lot.

Here are a few pics of our apartment. We have an incredible view of the city out of our living room windows. Wow.

For our first weekend trip, we drove up to Anacortes and then took a ferry over to San Juan Island. It was gorgeous! We lucked out in finding this fun hostel. They had a boat house (literally a boat with a little house built onto it) in their backyard that we stayed the night in. It was quite the adventure.Here is Alex and Eliza outside the boat house.

Eliza and Zoie sitting on the bed in the boat house.

On the ferry.


For our 2nd weekend trip, we drove up to the North Cascades on part of this beautiful scenic drive called the Cascade Loop. This was also a really great trip.







And... here are a few more recent pictures of our adorable Zoie and Eliza:




That's all for now. We have some family coming to visit us next week. Hooray! I'll definitely post some pics and such after that.

A long lapse on our blog...

So, I'm not sure if family and friends even bother to look on here anymore since we haven't posted forever. I'm pretty certain that no one does. But, I thought I would post anyway. I'm trying to get back in the swing of posting from time to time.... just in case someone reads this blog again someday.

I can't believe it is already mid March. Time is a flyn'. Alex and I recently celebrated our 29th birthdays. Wow. That was weird. I can't believe we are that old. 29 used to seem way, way, way, way far in the future. Alex even commented before he blew out his birthday candles, "This is my last real birthday." Kind of cynical, I know. But, it does feel a bit strange to be turning 30 next time around. Anyway, we both had great birthdays. Alex made me a cake. That was a big deal for him because he made it to my liking, which was against his liking. He doesn't think desserts should be healthy. Probaby a good point. But, I insisted that my cake be "good for you." Instead of feeling like I was eating birthday cake that really isn't good for me I wanted to feel like I was eating something that was pretty much all good for me. Among other things, it consisted of whole wheat flour, applesauce, carrots, and lots of different spices. And, I have to say that it was quite delicious. The only part that we splurged on was the frosting. I mean, really. How can you make frosting healthy? Not possible.

The babies just get cuter and cuter and more and more fun to play with. They make me feel like I'm quite an entertaining mother because they giggle at everything I do and pretty much smile and me all day long. I really have the best life ever. Alex reminds me of this everyday when he has to leave and I get to stay with the babies all day long. I love staying home with them.

As far as things they are doing right now, they started to roll a few weeks back. Eliza woke up from a nap one day, we put her on her tummy, and she rolled. Then, an hour later, Zoie woke up. We put her on her tummy, and she rolled. They like to do things together, you see.

They are eating solids now. That has been fun. It has almost doubled how many dishes we have to wash (we don't have a dishwasher). And, it is a lot more of a messy affair than I realized. Food on the floor. Food in hair, including mine (Eliza likes to projectile spit what she doesn't like). Food all over arms and high chairs. Food everywhere. Sincerely, though, it is fun to watch them explore eating and discover new things. Lots of fun.

I guess another thing they are doing is taking toys from each other. That hasn't caused any fights yet, but I'm sure it will in the not so distant future.

So, we are all doing really well. Loving Boston. Alex is having a great experience in school. And I'm loving being a mom. We always welcome visits from anyone... anytime!