We moved!

I am almost caught up! Life has been so crazy the past 2 months! With Luke finishing his Master's degree, school ending, Disneyland, finding out we are having twins and then about 3 weeks ago we moved! We (mostly I, Kellie) had been looking at homes for the past year and started getting serious about it last fall. We loved our home and neighborhood but the drive to go basically anywhere was killing us. Our plan was to rent out our existing home and then buy a new one. And with house prices still low and interest rates so low, we decide that if we could find the right house this may be our chance to move to the area where we really wanted to be. We orginally put an offer on the house we ended up buying in February (I think), but I actually wasn't that interested in it. It was probably the 6th or 7th house we had put an offer in on, and since most were short sales nothing ever happened with them. But in April the bank came back and said they had accepted our offer! I was sick, I didn't think I wanted the house but in those 2 months I had stopped seeing any new homes go on the market that we were interested in and prices seemed to be creeping up. So I new it was this house or wait a couple years until we could sell our other house. We took as long as we could to decide (several weeks) but it got to the point that we had to be in or out. Luke was all for it but I was hesistant (as usual). But with lots of prayer, we decided it was the right step for us and we commited! Finding renters took a little longer than I thought it would and was very stressful but we finally found someone and have now moved into our new home. Change is always hard for me, even when it is what I wanted, but this house had already felt surprisingly like home from before we even moved in. Gabrie has struggled a little bit, I think all of the change is getting to her, and she misses all of her friends and hasn't had many chances to meet new ones yet. But she starts Kindergarten in a few weeks so that will be a new chapter for all of us! 

I'd post a picture of the house, but my camera is broken :) maybe I'll add one later.

We are having TWINS! Boys!

                                                    Baby A                             Baby B

A few days after we got back from Disneyland I had a doctor's appointment. We were really excited because we were going to find out the gender of the baby with my first ultrasound. So Luke and I get there bright and early and the ultrasound tech puts the thing on my stomach and I immediately see 2 round things, I kinda thought "are those 2 heads?" but I brush it off thinking that she is just adjusting the view. But very much to our surprise she pulled the thing off and stopped and said "You know you are having twins, right?" To which we replied "no..." Then we just started laughing (with a little tears from me). Then she put the wand thing back on my stomach and quickly added "and I'm pretty sure they are both boys." From that moment on we were pretty much in shock as she measured each baby. Luke then had to get to work and I went to meet with my doctor, who I got to break the news to! She was very surprised as well and said that I wasn't measuring big so she had no idea that it might be twins. With my past pregnancies I have always had an ultrasound on at least my first appointment if not more, but for some reason they didn't have me do it this time, so where most people find out that they are having twins at 8 weeks, we found out at 18! It has been over a month now since we found out and I'm still in shock (: It was really fun to tell our families and friends and hear their shock and surprise! Gabrie is so excited that there are twins and so is Luke, he said that when he left the hospital he "jumped up and punched the air". Livvy hears all this talk of 2 babies but doesn't understand, once she came up to me and said "2 babies?" and I said "yes, we are having 2 babies!" then she proceeded to lift my shirt to see them in my tummy (:  I am excited too and I love the that we are getting 2 babies with 1 pregnancy but the reality that the next year will probably be the hardest in my life is looming over me and gets a little overwhelming at times. But I actually have several friends with twins who reassure me that it is great and that we'll make it through.

 Someone sent this to Luke and we thought it was cute!

Disneyland!!!

At the begining of June after school ended and before Luke started teaching his summer class we went to Disneyland! This blog is basically our scrapbook so there will be a lot of pictures!

We purposely didn't tell the girls until a week before, but while stopping by the house we were about to buy, Luke told Gabrie "This is going to be our new house, do you want to live here?" She yelled "No!" and ran away crying while Luke tried to make it better by saying "but first we are going to Disneyland!" I don't think she even heard him but she calmed down after we pointed out some of the good things about the house. But once we told her again that we were going to Disneyland she spent the next week "packing", it was very cute, here are her bags (before I repacked them).

We drove to California on Monday. Here we are having a break from the car in Fillmore?

 We finally got to Anahiem around 7 that night, checked-in and met up with Justus and Kyrsten. Then we all went to Downtown Disney for a late dinner. While we waited Gabrie and Izzy entertained the crowd by dancing to a latin band playing in the plaza

 Livvy and Max playing at dinner.

 In the elevator, all ready for our first day of Disneyland, Aunt Kyrsten got them their cute shirts. Gabrie is all business.

 In the shuttle on our way!

First ride- Splash Mountain, which was Gabrie's idea. Turns out she didn't like it, but luckily she was still willing to try other rides.

Tigger, Livvy was scared of all the characters but would usually blow kisses to them once we walked away.

 Winnie the "Poops" as Livvy calls him.

Jungle Cruise

Silly girls

The Sword in the Stone

Gabrie and Alice

Tea Cups

Mickey and Minnie

 Back at the hotel after our first day at Disneyland (:

We took a break in the afternoon and went back to the hotel to swim then came back that night for Fantasmic, which was definitely a highlight! My 2 favorite parts of the day were Livvy screaming "Tinkobell come back!" after a firework that looked like Tink went off, and helping Gabrie run after Cinderella while she timidly would say "You're my favorite princess" She did this a couple of times really quiet, and once we got Cinderella's attention she said it again a little louder, it was so priceless!

 Day 2

Gabrie decide to wear her Snow White costume.

 

First of many rides on Small World

 Waiting to meet the Fairies

Silvermist

 Talking with Tinkerbell, Livvy was there to but too nervous to get close.

Baby Jake on Small World, again (:

Waiting for the Parade

 A couple of minutes into the parade this random guy came and stood right in the middle of us! I was so irrititated! But I think I made him feel uncomfortable enough to finally leave (: Notice me, Kyrsten and Justus and this guy right in between blocking us from our kids who were in front of him!

 The kids loved the Parade!

 Snow White waving to them!

 Cinderella blowing them a kiss!

 Livvy waving to... someone.

Day 3

California Adventure

  Little Mermaid, Livvy loved the mermaids!

Buzz LightYear

Jessie

Waiting for "Soarin' California" one of Gabrie's favorites.

Jake and Gabrie

Gabrie and Max

Watching "World of Color"

 

Day4

We had a late start to the day with brunch at Goofy's Kitchen! It was way overpriced but lots of fun. Gabrie dressed in her Pocahantas costume and Izzy dressed like Jasmine.

 

Gabrie and Goofy

Alice and the kids, Alice asked Livvy for hug but got a kiss instead!

 

Chip and the kids, Jake especially liked him!

Then I dropped my camera and it broke! Luckily our trip was almost over. I did get a few more pictures with my phone (which aren't great quality) and Kyrsten's.

Rafiki

 Belle (Luke's favorite princess)

 

 The girls each got to pick a toy, Gabrie choose a toy "Jessie" doll from Toy Story and Livvy chose a baby Mickey with his blanket. I was afraid they wouldn't be worth it but have been, the girls love their toys. Here we were waiting to watch Aladdin! It was really good.

 

 

Turkey Leg

It was Luke's goal to not leave the park without buying and eating a turkey leg and we did it!

 

Our last night, Gabrie asleep with Jessie and Livvy had tucked Mickey in. Not great quality, but it was so sweet I had to include them!

Four days was probably one too many. The girls were so exhausted and so were we!  But they still talk non-stop about Disneyland even now, a month later. Mickey, Minnie and Disneyland make up at least 75% of all of Livvy's comments (: We are so glad we did it especially since we found out we are having twins and won't be able to go back for a long time!