Minnesota Bound!!

We are headed to Minnesota for a two week trip. We just finished packing the motorcycles and are ready to go. Could you imagine us driving motorcycles all the way to Minnesota....The twins in my side care and Addy in Kristi's....now that would be NUTS!! We are planning to stop at Mt. Rushmore and some other attractions along the way.....AH....who am I kidding we are going to be making many stops along the way because of the kids but we are hoping to make some site seeing stops as well. We will try to post along the way but if we don't we will see you all in two weeks or for our family and friends who live in Minnesota we will see you in a couple days. LET THE VACATION BEGIN!!!

Here are a couple of posts that I wanted to get on here before we left. Take Care and Happy Trails!!

Tick! Yuck!

We've been meaning to post this picture for some time. Here is the tick the we found on Addy's head. It was behind one of her many curls so we didn't see it at first but Julianne spotted it and Kristi freaked. I freak out about snakes. Kristi freaks and I mean FREAKS when it comes to spiders and ticks. We did end up taking her in because she had a temp that was between 102 and 104 but the doctor told us that they were not related and he removed it. The doctor also told us that it is pretty uncommon to get a tick in our area so we think she might of gotten it when we were over visiting Grandma Betty. Here is our little friend!!

The Benjamins Come for a Visit

Our friend Tonya and her daughter, Audry came out to visit the twins for the first time. Tonya and I have been meaning to set up a date for her to come out and visit but it seemed like if she wasn't busy we were or if we weren't busy she was but this past Tuesday the stars align and it
all worked out.

Here is Tonya capturing the twins on her cell phone. She actually has this awesome HD camera but she took out the battery to charge it and forgot to put it back in. It actually made me laugh because she pulled the camera out of her purse and was getting ready to take a picture..oops. I guess I will just have to wait to see how it works the next time they come over.


Here is the whole group. Addy was extremely shy at first but seemed to get better as the day went on. In this picture Owen looks like he is scratching his head saying, "Not another picture." Easton just looks like he's mad and Audry and Addy are like, "We know the drill...Say Cheese...Take a picture...YA...YA...We got it!"

Addy has one of these play tube things and she really likes it. It takes up a lot of room so we have to fold it up every night but that's ok. They have one at church and we could really tell that she liked it so when we saw one Kristi decided to buy it. The one at church is a lot nicer and bigger but this one gets the job done and Audry and Addy seemed to like playing in it so we can't complain.

Here are Audry and Addy on there Harley's....OK...It's a lion and a pink truck but close enough!!

Mariners Game = A night without kids.

That's right a night without kids!!! We've almost forgotten what that feels like but this past Monday we were able to go out with JUST some friends and NO little ones. A little while back Matt, Lori, Kristi and I decided that we were going to pick a Mariners game and have a little date night. We wanted to do it before Mason was born and before we both got to busy with summer things. We decided to sit at Hit It Here Cafe. This was Matt and Lori's first time sitting there and I think they really enjoyed it. The Mariners did end up losing but we were either to excited to be on our own or a little to tipsy to care.

Here Kristi and I are over looking the field.


I know he's hard to see but the man in the batters box is Ken Griffey Jr. Everyone who knows Kristi is aware that she absolutely loves Griffey. Her favorite number is 24 and you wouldn't believe how much stuff she has gotten over the years that deals with him. I have heard stories that when she was younger she would sit outside of his house in Issaquah. If that is not over board/obsessive I don't know what is. All I can really say is if we ever have a game room 90% of it will be Ken Griffey stuff and the other 10% will be Minnesota stuff and I have a good amount 0f stuff!!

Here's Kristi and Lori with Safeco in the back ground. Lori of coursed couldn't drink ( I guess it has something to do with having a baby...I really don't know) J/K

A picture of Matt and Lori enjoying the game.

The biggest thing I like about Hit It Here Cafe is that your tickets come with a $18.00 food voucher so you have a couple of beers, some mini-corn dogs with cheese sauce, a Washington Apple Tart thing, and a hot chocolate and your bill is like $5.00. I LOVE IT!!

Here Matt and I are just chillin before our food arrived!!

It's weird to have a picture with no kids in it. Thanks for going with us Dyk's I hope we can do it again next year!!

1st walk

A week ago we just had an unbelievable day with perfect weather so we decided to take our first family walk together. We placed the twins in the enormous stroller, grabbed Addy, Riley, and headed to the park. The park is only like a mile away and it has this huge play area for Addy so we thought this would be the perfect place to go for our first walk. Here we are just before heading out. Here's Addy sporting her brand new shades and shorts.

Here we are at the playground. They just put in this huge play thing in for the kids and Addy LOVES it!! Here we are right before heading down the slide.

Here's Kristi and Addy chillin at the top. This jungle gym thing-ma-jig has absolutely everything a kid would want.

Addy saying CHEESE!!


Here's Addy after sliding down the slide by herself. She did bump her head at the end but was able to fight through the pain.


One more picture of us crossing the bridge.

Here we are heading home after an afternoon filled with fun!! You get so caught up in little things around the house that you forget how special times like these are. I just hope we can take advantage of more times like this before they pass.

I'm sure a lot of you are going to laugh at me for this but I'm obsessed with ice cream trucks. I'm obsessed for two reasons. First, it's the first major sign that spring is around the corner. Second, growing up in Minnesota I never seen one. The very first time I seen one I thought it was the stangest thing but also the coolest thing. When I hear that goofy jingle playing on the loud speaker as it approaches our house I have to look out the window an watch it go by. I have never bought anything from one but I'm going to have to this summer. It was kind of funny because as soon as we finished our walk and went into our house I heard that jingle so I grabbed the camera and ran down the street so I could snap a couple of pictures. I'm guessing my family members who live in Minnesota have never seen one either so without further ado, here it is coming around the corner.

I'm not going to lie...If any of my neighbors saw me in a full sprint, running down the block after an ice cream truck they now think I'm crazy about ice cream or I'm a little NUTS and I can't blame them!! You can see as I turned around to take another picture the driver put on his brakes like I was waving him down. I would of bought something but I was such in a hurry to get a picture I didn't grab my wallet so now I'm just standing there and the driver and I are staring at each other doing nothing. As this is taking place I'm pretty sure he is making a mental note to himself saying, "I really need to stay away from this guy!!" Don't worry.....this awkward moment did not phase me and I STILL LOVE ICE CREAM TRUCKS!! I might not chase them down the block to take a picture of them any more but I will watch them go by the window and plan out the perfect time for Addy and I to wave him down for an ice cream bar. If he will still serve me that is!!

Great Grandma Betty!!

We called it our pre-Minnesota trial trip. We packed the van, grabbed the kids, and Grandma Pair and headed over to Colfax to see Grandma Betty. We only get to do it a couple of times a year so We absolutly LOVE it when we get the chance to head over and visit all the realitives on the east side. This time we were able to stay three days and just enjoy the company and spend time with Grandma. Here she is relaxing with the twins.


This was also the first time Addy didn't sleep in a pac-n-play. She actually shared the bed with me. The first night she was all over the place but then the next two nights she was pretty good. The only bad thing about the whole trip was that the hotels pool broke down before we got there and we weren't able to swim on any of the three days we were there. Here's Addy taking a nap on Gradma's bed.

If your wondering how the pre-trial test went...It went pretty good!! We will have to change something around in the van so it is a little more comfortable and I will have to change the way I pack the bags in the cargo carrier but overall I was happy with it.

Late night feeding

***DISCLAIMER**** What your about to see is done by a professional. This professional is trained and is very experienced in this field. Do NOT attempt what your about to see on your own.

It seems like clock work when it comes to feeding the twins. It's every 3 hours and it's almost always between 3 and 4 oz. This feeding took place at 2:40 am. I was actually getting ready for work and had to be out the door in 10 minutes but I had to grab the camera to show everyone exactly what kind of professional we are dealing with.

I'm not exactly sure how she does it but Kristi can feed both boys at the same time. You might be looking at this and thinking, "Well that can't be that hard." If you think that then I invite you over to our house at 2:40 am, where I challenge you to be able to change both of their diapers, feed them, burp them, and re-swaddle them, and place them back in their cribs without any complaining or forgetting something along the way. It's a lot of work and I will honestly say I have tried it and it doesn't work for me. It's just two much and if one of the boys are fussy then you have to deal with that without forgetting the other kid. I prefer feeding them one at a time but Kristi has is down packed and does a GREAT...GREAT JOB!! Remember this is at 2:40 am

How do I know Kristi is a professional....Here are some key points that I have seen that place her in this category. First, she is feeding two kids at the same time. Besides that look at the way she holds the bottles every so softly delivering the nutrients to the boys. With out hesitation look how she places the burp rags so neatly under the chin just waiting and ready for any spit-ups. You might of missed this the first time looking at the picture but look how their heads are elevated so slightly with the perfect placing of the pillow underneath. You can tell both boys are enjoying this experience by taking a look at their right hand. They both have it up to the bottle like saying, "This stuff is great!" but they are not grasping it because they know that mom has it totally under control. Lastly, You have to really look for this but if you look to the right of Owen's shoulders you can see Kristi's glasses, you first might think this is a mistake because your thinking, "How can she see what she is doing without her glasses?" but your wrong what she is doing is having them in the ready just in case one of the bottles springs a leak then she can quickly grab them and put them on either Easton or Owen as safety glasses. Now that is something only a pro would do!!

I REPEAT...... PLEASE DO NOT ATTEMPT WHAT YOU JUST SAW ON YOUR OWN. WE ARE DEALING WITH A PROFESSIONAL AND SOMEONE CAN BE SERIOUSLY HURT IF ATTEMPTED ON THEIR OWN!!!

We're Back!

Where has all the time gone!! The twins were born almost a month and a half ago but it seems like it just happen yesterday. We apologize for not getting a chance to blog a whole lot lately but hopefully we can get into a groove and do a better job at it.

Here are a couple of pictures of different events that we wanted share with everyone.

Addy is getting quite a collection of bubble machines lately. My brother, Shawn and his family gave her one for her birthday back in August, I also had a co-worker give her one of those bubble sticks to make these huge bubbles outside, and now she gets another one from grandma Karen. I guess we are going for the record so Andrew don't let your guard down just yet.

We are trying to get out as much as possible. Here Addy and I are at the Alderwood Mall in there little play area. If we are over in that area we will just make a quick stop to let Addy play around and use up some of her energy. After we are done playing we will go and order a pretzel from Auntie Anne's. The only problem now is I think she has caught on that after we are done playing she gets a pretzel so now she just jumps around for 2 minutes then is ready to go so she can get her pretzel. Little Stinker!!

We made our first trip to Target as a family recently. It's crazy how much work it is just to get in and out of the van with everyone. We only needed a couple of things so we didn't stay long but it was a GREAT ACCOMPLISHMENT for us!!

We are very excited for our friends Matt and Lori who are expecting there 2nd child this August. Here they are a couple of weeks ago at one of their showers. If your curious they are having a boy and his name will be Mason.

It was at Matt and Lori's shower were I was introduced to a Plasma car. I think it is safe to say that you might of not lived until you rode on a Plasma car. They are so much FUN!! Here Addy and I are taking it out for a test drive.

Here is Addy with Owen eating a little dinner....NO....Not our Owen a different Owen. This Owen is actually just 2 weeks younger then Addy and they played very well together at Matt and Lori's.

A couple of weeks ago our friend Tim flew in from LA and while he was passing through town we got a chance to see him. Here he is with Brooke at the Blazin Onion. Looking GOOD my friend.

I just think Addy looks so grown up in this picture. When Tim was in town we had a chance to have a little get together over at Matt and Lori's. Here Addy is sweeping the floor while Andrew supervises!! Here's Addy with her friend Mayli waiting for some food at the Blazin Onion. I didn't get the opportunity to join in the fun but by it looks like they all had a great time.

We had to save the best for last. Here's Uncle Tim holding Easton and Owen for the 1st time. We don't get many opportunities to see Tim anymore so we try to take advantage of them when we do. Thanks for stopping by Tim and we will catch you as you travel through town again.

Quote from Tommy Boy....

"Brother's don't shake hands! Brother's hug! ...


No matter if there in the pack-n-play or on the couch it seems that Easton and Owen continue to find each other. This is how we found them one day after Kristi got up to make her some lunch. When she returned this is how they were. I would have to say this is the closet they have ever gotten usually they are just touching but I guess this time Owen went in for the big BEAR HUG. Crazy and Cute!!

The twins are doing very well. I always say, "They eat, sleep, and poop like champs!" They usually sleep about 3 hours at a time, drink around 3 oz per feeding, and they poop almost every day if not twice a day....Sounds like my brother Josh.

This Sunday we are taking our first trip across the state to Colfax to visit Grandma Betty. I guess this trip is going to be our pre-trip test as we continue to plan for our big adventure back to Minnesota in late May.

Easton and Owen are Grandma Betty's 8th and 9th Great Grandchildren. We are very excited for the trip and I'm sure she can't wait to see not only Easton and Owen but Addy as well.

We will keep you all posted about the trip and let you know how it all went.