the last three weeks

I'm a big girl now!

I ONLY like big boy swings.  No baby swings

Happy in my house

I'm ready to go out on open water now

These are the coolest chairs ever!

It's stuck!  The tongue depressor is stuck in my front teeth!  Help!

Finally.  Back home in my own turf.  Why are we watering again??!!  It's been beautiful and sunny the whole time??!!

I've got to take good care of these strawberries, Mom.

Dad SAID to wash off!

Tucker serious pose

Tucker smily pose.  (Note the measuring cup in hand)

Another serious pose

Crab apples are no good for eating

Mostly what we saw driving around Mt. St. Helen's

A five second clearing of the clouds

Some destruction.....

The real destruction.  Still looks like an erie war zone 31 years later.

Not time for church!  Time for climbing!

Maybe I should explain why I didn't blog for three weeks.  I was in Utah for two of those weeks and then Jim was gone for the next week.  He had re-configured his computer while I was gone.  Bored, I guess.  But then I couldn't do anything on it because everything was all hidden and worked weird and I just didn't have the patience to figure it all out.  So here I am.

We loved the sun and the heat.  Well, I did more than the babies.  There were many times in the afternoons where I wanted to be outside and Tucker just sat really still in the shade with his water bottle(s) in hand.  Jim drove us out there and back and flew back and forth so he could be here to work.  Crazy, huh.  He decided night driving was better than entertaining them for 14 hours all day.  It's a toss up.  Whitney hates being in her carseat in the day and Tucker hates being in it at night and didn't sleep for more than 30-60 minutes at a time.  

We stayed in Willard (Kristy, I know you're jealous!  Wishing you were there, too!) for a good portion of it with some amazing friends that put up with us and fed us for two weeks.  Then we went to St. George for Labor Day weekend.  One of my old roommates drove us down there and back so all of us adults in the house could hang out with Sue and her boot.  We had a blast!  One of the videos we watched on You Tube had something of the effect of Talking Twins in the title.  I think if you search it in You Tube it will be the first to pop up.  It is two boy twins that look like they are a little over a year old, talking to each other.  It was just great to be together.

Some other trip highlights was getting invited to go swim in a pool, going to the play place in the mall (with AC, much to Tucker's delight.  It was the most he played the whole time we were there), playing with all the other kids toys and playsets, and for me, going to lunch and dessert with some friends at different times during the trip.  I had this great idea to can peaches while I was there, but the canning peaches weren't ripe until the day before I left.  The nerve.  I brought them home and canned them here just fine, though.

Some of the favorite things that Jim has enjoyed since they've been home is their word vocabulary.  He loves to hear them talk.  Whitney is pretty good at imitating now, so she can copy a bunch of stuff.  You can hear her say "stuck" pretty clearly in the video.  

They reacted quite different to Jim coming to pick us up after not seeing them for two weeks.  He stood outside the room they were playing in when he got there.  Tucker noticed right away.  He walked over to an arm distance away from Jim, stopped short, pointed at him like "I've seen this guy somewhere before", then slowly edged his way toward me, always with his face toward Jim and had me pick him up until he was ready for a hug.  Then after that he remembered and didn't let Jim put him down.  He still is having a hard time when Daddy leaves.

Whitney was really involved in a toy while all of this was going on.  She finally looked up and saw Jim, then immediately threw her toy down and ran into her Daddy's arms with a look of "where've you been all this time!  I've missed you so!"  She hugged and snuggled him until Tucker started demanding his attention.

While we were gone, we had 9-12 church both weeks.  Tucker did amazing during nursery both times, so I thought he'd be good this time, too.  Hah!  I was in there the whole time.  And Tucker finally fell asleep in my arms the last five minutes.  It was really interesting to see how Whitney is in nursery.  At home, Tucker is somewhat of a top dog.  He hits and takes things and she just screams about it.  But in nursery, she is the first to volunteer, loves the attention of the other adults, takes all the toys she wants and loves the singing.  Tucker likes snack.

As the video demo's, Whitney is really liking this climbing skill.  She definitely has some guarding angel at her constant attendance because I have NO IDEA how she has been able to walk away from things like she does.  She fell off the playground when she slipped once, fell down our wooden stairs and fell onto cement while playing.  Each time she is really scared, but then soon stops crying and can move all her extremities as well as have pupils that appropriately dilate.  I have no idea, like I say, but I'm glad she is happy and healthy.

Well,it's good to be back.

cayoneering with Erik

Tucker loved opening and closing the door on this thing, too!

The great Hunt petroglyphs

Tucker double fisted

"I LOVE this thing"

Erik in a tight squeeze in Blue John Canyon

Erik and another hiker in the background for perspective

Scenery. Doesn't it look warm and sunny? Even though there are clouds in the sky....

Jim and Erik found the lost kiva site from the screen saver picture. and maybe the GPS coordinates, too, not sure.

Erik adds his rock to the pile

Jim has been back from his trip with Erik for two weeks, but I'm just now uploading the pictures. They went to Dead Horse Point, Canyonlands, Blue John Canyon and 9 Mile Canyon. Above are some of the really cool pictures from their trip. They came back with really stinky red mud clothes.

I didn't have a camera last week because the one Jim used on the trip didn't work so well after the trip. Bummer. The baby pics I have on here are from yesterday only. I only remember a few things that the babies did last week because I didn't have the pics to remind me!

I do remember Tucker making us laugh last week because he said "E.T." so very clearly. It is the most clear word I've heard out of him yet, and it has to be E.T. He's getting much better at asking for cheese and milk by word, though not clear. He is improving his helping and climbing skills at the same time, so I guess they cancel each other out? Not sure.

I started taking them on evening walks at the park. They love to run up and down the grassy hills. Whitney took Bear with her on several of those walks.

Tuesday last week was a big day for me. The babies have been really good at playing together, so I got ambitious. I went to a friend's house Tuesday morning and they played with her kids while she taught me the finer points of wheat bread making. And I think I've mastered wheat bread!! 10 months later. It's all about hydrating the wheat before mixing it with the yeast!! Tastes waaayyy better and the texture is awesome. Even Jim agrees.

Monday we went berry picking for FHE. I think I posted some pics of that. Tucker is pro at it and even fed Whitney some of the berries he picked. Whitney doesn't like the thorns so much as she liked petting the dog of the property owner that let us pick. The berries started molding the next day, so I decided to make blackberry jam. The recipe made it sound so easy. I don't know. If I didn't have a bunch of really ripe, free blackberries, I don't think I would have done it. Talk about a mess!! It's definitely worth the $3 dollars in the store to buy it, or even cheaper if you wait for the sale. But very satisfying to have learned how to do it and to fill all those jam jars. It's also awesome that it's usually cold. I had all four burners going for 4 hours. Probably expensive in energy bill. But not something I'd want to do in a hot place. maybe that's why they only grow wild here.

I'll try to get the video of Tucker feeding Whitney blackberries up in a few weeks.

the computers were acting up

My dad complains about how the computers go back to misbehaving the instant Jim walks out his door to go home, as if the computers know that the cat is gone and the mice can play. It happened here while Jim was gone. The internet connection got slower and slower until it broke yesterday. Which is why this post is really late, but it works out because I had no pictures until today. Jim had the cameras with him and they both broke on the trip (I guess the landscape was ugly or something). So no pics except the videos below. We went blackberry picking for family home evening tonight. It was really fun. The babies had a blast.

This blog is mostly text because I'm going to have to describe in words instead of pics. Sorry. Probably for grandmas' eyes only. They both have been playing together more and taking care of each other, mostly Whitney taking care of Tucker, but he notices her distress too, and hits her to make her stop crying. Whitney likes to wash Tucker's hair and this week started trying to rinse his hair. I had to put a stop to that one after Tucker sat up rapidly, sputtering, on the first try. She also pats his head or his belly to comfort him. Their nursery leader said Whitney came and patted him on the tummy during his screaming fest to comfort him.

They both know how to say cheese and bubbles. They also are getting really proficient on putting the 3-D shape blocks in their holes and love to do that together.

Whitney is the queen of keeping track. She knows who's sippy cup is whose and which bed Piglet or Bear should be in. She is really taking off in words. She says dog and truck and points to them as well as milk, oh no, bubbles and papa. She loves to repetitively point to the cat or teddy bear in books and have me say them over and over. Since the air show, she has started looking for the planes when she hears them and points to them when she finds them in the sky.

I babysat a couple of kids, one of which is 5 months old. Whitney took good care of that baby. She pushed him gently in the swing, gave him her favorite bucket and ball when he was crying and patted his head gently. She loves deep water, mostly swishing her legs and lower body through it. She did try to run in the deep water without holding my hand and fell back. I caught her as her mouth went under a little. It scared her enough to hold on to me any time she got deeper than knee depth. She also likes to have Bear with her. Some days she puts Bear back in bed for the day, but other days he goes everywhere with her. She figured out how to give Bear a ride on her car handlebars. Her new game she invented is to get her baby animal farm music box, push the buttons to get to her favorite songs , and carry it while she runs in a circle in the dinning room, dancing to her boom box.

Tucker has gotten really good at staying in time out (for hitting his sister or the dog) and sharing his toys with Whitney. He is also getting better and better at climbing. He loves to put the bubble stick in the bubbles while we play. He wanted to play bubbles, but my hands were full, so he climbed up on a bunch of stuff my husband has stacked up to reach them. Very ingenious, Tucker. Bummer. The skill I've been dreading is getting more and more developed! He is really good at cleaning up. He even laid on the ground to look under the car so I would know to get a ball out from under the car. He consistently matches lids to their containers when he unloads the dishwasher and knows to how to put the key in the car door. he also put my garden glove on and tried to pull a weed with it on, but gave it back to me. He doesn't understand why I would use that.

He locked himself in his room. It was very traumatic for him. Daddy had to break in through the window to open the door. Good thing the window was open. He cried a long time after that and gets upset now when he shuts himself in a room.

I accidently put Whitney's sized diaper on him after bath. He slept through the night, but in the morning he was soaking wet, the bed was soaking wet and so was his blanket. But the diaper was completely dry. I guess the diaper tabs popped of in the night. The diaper was in his pj's but not attached to the diaper. What a huge mess.

This week was sunny from Tuesday until yesterday. We had a ton of fun going to beach side parks while daddy was out wandering in the desert with his brother.

Having fun together! I'm going to try to learn how to make blackbery jam.

and my mom thought peeing on the doctor was bad....

The lounge chairs in their fort
Tucky at naptime after church. "I don't want to!" Daddy rescued him with Piglet and milk

Jim toured this ship
I love naptime! Whitney at the same naptime after church
Playing in the fort
Tucker saying "Hay esta" when I ask where Whitney is. Whitney is hiding.
Whitney petting Sammy so nicely and Tucker playing ball hog.
Tucker giving Daddy rocks. He doesn't collect them in his hands like Whitney does, but grabs big chunks and puts them in our hands so we can dump them out at a higher level. This was our family home evening activity.
I love my Daddy!
I love my Daddy, too!



So when someone asks me what my most embarrassing moment is, I think I can respond to the question with this stunt. Tucker peed on his nursery leader today. I'm mortified. I guess his diaper was on crooked and it all leaked out. I feel so bad. This nursery leader has been through the wringer with Tucker. May I never be called to nursery leader because I'd have kids like Tucker or worse. Last week he cried for 45 minutes until he finally threw up for being so upset. Today he decided he liked her enough to fall asleep in her arms, which, for any parent with a kid over 20 pounds knows how uncomfortable that is, and then did the deed. I think she is definitely up for a gold star award. No pun intended. I'm thinking of making her some sort of yellow treat as a joke, maybe something lemon flavored, then give her some good chocolate to soothe her nerves. That's what always soothes my nerves. Some good ice cream or M&M's. Anyway. I'm really embarrassed. Hopefully he's allowed in next week.

Tucker has learned some new feats this week. He can climb into his high chair.... with the tray on. He was so hungry after church today that he achieved that new skill no problem. But then he cried a bit because he couldn't sit down to eat until I removed the tray because his legs won't fit in otherwise. He also learned to climb into our bed on his own on Monday. It probably prepped him for this last skill. His toy of choice for bed is his measuring cup. Whitney's is her bear. Today, while Tucker was crying in nursery, his leaders asked for his comfort object, expecting a blanket or stuffed animal. I said he didn't have one because I didn't think they would believe the measuring cup. But I think he would take his blanket or Piglet instead. Whitney has recently been interested in taking care of the dogs and stuffed animals lately. She really likes her bear at night. Tucker has been mimicking her behavior. For Tucker this week I picked out several smaller sized animals for him to choose from. Jim is significantly concerned that he picked Piglet. He is concerned about the pinkness of Piglet. Piglet is just the softest. If Tucker really had a choice, he would pick his nighttime blanket. But I won't let him have it out of the crib due to the amount of dog hair that sticks to fleece and doesn't wash off. Poor Tucker. I think I've found a smaller blanket that won't go in the crib for him to have instead. So we'll see how Tucker does. Tucker has also been starting to say "Hay esta" more often and clearly. That is why there are so many pictures of them playing in their fort.

Whitney has been adding more words to her repetoire, but the problem is that I can't remember which ones are new. She also has started babbling in tones that sound more like conversation and words, even though I don't know what they are. She has had a rough week this week though. She's had an on/off fever for four days, needing medicine to keep it down about 2x/day. but that is her only symptom. No snot, coughing, pulling at ears, new teeth or change in poops. I have no idea what is making that happen. Today she pulled at her ears once in pain, but not before or since. Who knows. If I have to consider giving her medicine, maybe I'll call the doctor, but I'm not sure what they would do about it. She hasn't slept real well and so has been fussy more than normal. Lots more screaming, which means lots more chocolate eating for me at night. Probably gained 5 pounds this week. Most of the time she is pretty happy and playing, so I have no guesses. She is on a berry ban for the next three days, in case that is what's bothering her. Too many berries. Don't know. But the one benefit of her not feeling so well is the amount of snuggling I get in with these babies on the move. Earlier in the week she discovered how fun it is to push the stroller.

We've had some fun this week too. The friday visit to the beach bundled up to wait for Daddy to look for crab. He caught five, so we had our neighbor over for dinner last minute. She brough new toys for Tucker and Whitney that they love and some ice cream on a stick. It was great. Some clamming with friends and a bit of blackberry picking to go with it. I might be able to learn to make some good jam yet. Tucker and Whitney definitely love clam chowder

One of the videos near the log is a sample of Tucker's talking. This is what I hear for most of the day. The other video is Tucker giving a hug gently enough that it didn't end in a take down for Whitney. She didn't mind this one, which is truely a rare event. And the last video is a play time in the fort.

playing wild

Helping Daddy clean his dive gear
You know Mom, hoses are really cool.
Watching the Blue Angels practice. We were really close
A little too close. Whitney didn't like us holding her ears, so she learned how to do it on her own
The babies watching the Blue Angels practice. Yep. Tucker is eating peas off the highway. I just don't think about it and he usually doesn't get sick from that. I think
Babies eating lunch during practice
Another overhead, close fly over. Any really cool pics Jim missed because we were covering the babies' ears
This was on the walk back to the car after the air show. What made me laugh is that Tucker was in this position, carrying on a full conversation with me (either about the airplanes or the different ridges he noted on the freeway) for about 3 minutes, cheeks smashed and all
The sun came out just as we got to the air show after being cloudy and cold all morning, so the babies were stuck in long pants and long sleeves for the afternoon in the sun. Whitney was not amused with the heat but liked being squirted with the water bottle on the head to get cooled off. She liked it so much she did it to Tucker during church with her sippy cup when he got upset

Tucker at the splash park. Except he didn't like getting splashed. Either that or he was grumpy from a dislocated elbow that Mommy was unaware of until later in the day. Poor guy! what a trooper. He ended up popping it back into place himself.
Whitney loved the splash park


Climbing on the baby whale. They also loved the frog that is in the background, but so did a lot of bigger kids, so they hung out here more



Whitney enjoying food immensely. Her white shirt looked about the same as her bib and high chair tray underneath. I still haven't figured out how she gets food underneath the bib, too.


Plain ol' Grandma would be proud. It turns out that both Tucker and Whitney love fried okra


Both assisting Daddy with his fried okraWhitney loves to be big, including helping Mommy practice


I hear this is a fun age. They are learning so much every day, but are not too rebellious as of yet. Whitney is getting better about saying milk to ask for it. She also likes to wash Tucker's hair. And anything that allows her to do something like Mommy and Daddy makes her happy. That's how I finally got them to really drink water. They have their own water bottle, just like Mommy and Daddy.

They are really having fun together at night. Around 6, after dinner, they do what we call playing wild. For about an hour they bounce off the walls. For some reason it is way more fun to do it in the house. They ask for flips from Daddy, push their chairs around the floors, bounce against the couch, bounce against each other with the pillows and charge at Mommy, Rocky or Daddy at full speed laughing their heads off. Sometimes they will run in a circle looking for each other and try to catch up to the other, giggling hysterically.

Tucker continues to love to help unload the dishwasher and weed the yard, which mommy still adores. Tucker learned to give Rocky and Whitney gentle hugs that they don't mind. You'll note Sammy does not participate in charge at sammy game or hugs. Not into it.

This week has been fun packed and fulfilling for the parents, too. I've been able to meet some goals of mine. I went kayaking with a friend this week, trading babysitting with another mom to go to the temple, and did some family history as well as read up on my physical therapy stuff.

I also have been doing some geneology stuff and hit a dead end, so I decided to learn how to look other stuff up using information that I already know instead of trying to find great...... grandparents. I've always wondered about my grandparents coming to America from Finland. After making a ton of mistakes, I found them on the Ellis Island roster Sept 19, 1916. My great-grandpa was 7 at the time. He came with his 5 older siblings, his mom and it looks like an aunt on his father's side with her two kids from Sarkkola Finland. Since the mom and kids came alone, I wonder if Sarkkola is where her parents are from? Who knows, but it's a start to another mystery. I've always known that they immigrated, but it was really fun to find out other details that I didn't know or remember, on official records. In the process I figured out how to puzzle together where people were at what time. The cool thing about the Ellis Island register is it tells you where they were going and any physical descriptions of them. I loved figuring out the mystery. I don't know where his dad was, but I don't think he came through Ellis Island. Another mystery! No wonder geneology is addicting.

Jim has found a buddy that meets with him once a week to talk business plans. The doctor stuff is on hold for now. I voiced my concerns about the timing of starting school as far as financial stuff is concerned this month, and he decided to put it on hold as far as attending lab classes and stuff until Jan. About that time he found a buddy that wants to own his own business, too, but is a marketer and not getting the stuff made or done like Jim. So once a week they meet and are in the planning stages. I don't know. The whole starting a business sounds more like the Jim I've known for 7 years and matches more of the things he's been wanting to do since we've been married, so maybe the doctor thing is off. Which is fine by me. I'm not excited about doing the medical school widow thing. Jim tried catching crab again this week, but I think we've eaten all the legal sized ones from that beach. There weren't any big enough. No worries. Better luck next week.

We had a ton of fun watching the Blue Angels together and picking blueberries, too. The blackberries might be ripening finally, so hopefully we can pick those this week too and I can learn to make freezer blackberry jam. I'm excited to learn.

The video is when we brought the babies to the blueberry farm. Whitney was sooo glad to find out that there are more blueberries where they came from. She was really good about only eating blue or blue/red ones, too, which surprises me even still

63 degree average

We discovered a new playground this week. They love it!

Whitney playing peek a boo at the new playground. She is also sporting a 24 month size shirt and 18 month pants. See, Grandma. I'm not lying. They really do fit in those size clothes. Crazy.
Tucker at the beach, hoping for yet another crab dinner. Thank HEAVENS this is Daddy's new recreational activity, crab diving.
Tucker intently watching a small bird
Mommy and Whitney went on a hike at 7:15 am. See participants below. The rest were in bed when we walked out the door. Tucker would normally be up, but he stayed up until midnight the night before.

Whitney playing in the sand at the beach waiting for the crab dinner. Note: tan marks in WA can occur on the face, hands and feet, but not really anywhere else. Check out her sandal tan. look close at her left foot.
I found these prints around our house. Can you guess who's is who? 1. Tucker monster or Whitney bear?
2. Tucky monster or Whitney bear?
3. Tucky monster or Whitney bear? See answers below.



I've decided to make everyone jealous, since I'm really jealous of all the sun you all are seeing. That way we can all be jealous together. I was paying our electricity bill for the past month of June/July. Yep. It's up a little because we have to turn the heat on in the night and early morning to get the chill out. On the bill it states the average daily temperature. 63 degrees. This lady at church made me a little sick with her stats. She said she heard on the radio (in seattle. Our house is always about 3 degrees cooler due to vegetation and being on the northeast side of a mountain. Our strawberry plants and lavender are just now blooming, to give you an idea of our microclimate) that a guy looked up how much summer Seattle has had this year. His definition of summer is 80 degree weather or higher. 78 minutes year-to-date. So my roommate and I went for a walk, and she reminded me that it is better to have the coolness than the blasting heat. At least no one is dying around here.

This week was a really good and really not as good week, all in one. We had two days of sun on Friday and Saturday, so we went to the beach to watch Daddy dive for crab, went blueberry picking and hiking. I was going to fit in kayaking, but looking at all the wakes from the boats on the lake from the overview hike we went on discouraged me.

Whitney loved blueberry picking. Tucker isn't really into it. At first, Jim picked a few berries for Whitney, then handed them to her, but once she saw that there were more from where those came from, she picked blueberries herself. She was pretty good about only picking ripe or semi ripe ones. No green ones went in her mouth, but a few reddish ones probably did. She tossed and turned all night, probably with a tummy ache. Too much good food. Yesterday she ate strawberries and bagels for breakfast, the regular for lunch and crab, sweet potato fries (home made), raspberries, and bread with honey. Jim is certain that we have the best fed babies in town. He has spoiled them. He was trying to crack his crab behind the papertowels, but as soon as they caught on with what he was eating, they wanted nothing else. Jim decided that the next kid gets no taste of crab until they can crack the shells themselves. I have to agree.

Tucker stayed in nursery the whole time last week. As a result, they both had really bad colds. I got it too a few days later, and found out that it started out with a really painful sore throat. I knew they were crying in pain Tuesday night, but couldn't figure out why. It was one of those really snotty colds, so while Whitney had to have her nose wiped every 10 minutes, Tucker did not. The usual for him, too. No runny nose for him. Nope. Snot is internalized always with him. This time it went in his lungs and gave us a scare as he really had a hard time breathing through the night. I knew he wasn't dying, but he was wheezing and working hard to keep breathing. I brought him in and he basically got asthma medicine to calm down the breathing stuff. All that sleep loss really threw off his schedule, so of course, the perfectly logical solution to that is to stay up until midnight to solve the problem. Grrrrrrr.......

Tuesday morning, before it all hit, we went to visit someone who happens to have a cat. Holy cow. I had no idea how much Whitney loves cats. Probably because she has to chase the cat, not beg it to leave her alone. After playing the cat, she watched Grandma's e-card over and over while I cut her fingernails, as it has a cat in it.

So, since they really seem to be understanding more and more, I decided more and more chores are in order to go with it. They aren't balking..... yet. Before, clean up meant I pretty much cleaned everything up, sorted it and put it all in the play room from its scattered location throughout the house. Now, they can somewhat sort on their own. It takes forever, but now I have them pick up all the scattered toys and ask them where it goes. Tucker is surprisingly good at this. They both are, but I guess it surprises me more that Tucker stays on track with clean up more often than Whitney. They also started helping with dishes. Tucker is really good at rinsing. Whitney practices "bub-bles" a bunch.

All in all we are glad to be healthy again, glad to see the sun without roasting and looking forward to another week of work for Jim.

Answers 1. Whitney bear. 2. Tucky monster. 3. Left is Tucky monster and right is Whitney bear

Below are videos for grandparent eyes only. They are videos of them playing at the park and the beach.