Mexican food and maids

When we went to church on Saturday nights, we always went to Taco Bell for dinner afterwards. It was kind of a tradition. They cancelled the Saturday night service a while ago, so we go on Sunday mornings now. We still drive through Taco Bell for lunch afterwards, but it's just not the same.

So what's the big deal you ask? Well Courtney's Dad bought us a Quesadilla maker for Christmas.

Could homemade Quesadilla's take the place of Taco Bell? I've been pondering this since Christmas day. We decided to try it out tonight and it was quite a success. Also take into consideration the price of tortillas and a large bag of cheese. Oops! Let me rephrase that. The EXTRA LARGE bag of cheese. I was told that my large bag wasn't large enough, and was sent back to get the extra large bag. Anyway, way cheaper than the $20 trip through Taco Bell.

Ainsley dug right in. She didn't even ask for it to be cut up. She just grabbed her triangle and tore into it.

Ty was willing to stray away from his regular 2 bean burritos, and tried his first Quesadilla. Success! He even asked for seconds.

Once dinner was over, we were getting ready to take down Christmas decorations. Today had been a big house cleaning day to Ty and I. Little off topic, but Ty cleaned the heck out of his bedroom and bathroom today.

I couldn't find Ainsley, and thought she may have gone into the playroom to play. I was just about to go find her, when I saw a slight movement out of the corner of my eye. It was coming from behind the TV stand, over by the fireplace. I stopped to look, right as Ainsley poked her head out and flashed a giant grin.

It's not uncommon for Ainsley to take off into these little quiet corners of the house. Usually one of two things is occuring. The first is that she's gone off to hide. She'll wait for one of us to notice her and play the old, "Where did Ainsley go?" Then she'll jump out at us and squeal with laughter. The second reason is that she's going to her quiet place to...poop! She stands against the wall and contorts her face into the craziest positions. It's kind of funny, until the smell hits you. I cautiously walked over there, hoping for a game of hide and seek. What I saw was something completly different. I guess she'd noticed Ty and I cleaning today, because she was taking a tissue from the tissue box that lay at her feet.

She then, very proudly, cleaned the side of the TV stand. Up and down, up and down. It was like some kind of scene out of the Karate Kid. "Wax on, wax off!" I thanked her for her help, and then burst out laughing with what she did next.

She threw down the tissue onto the floor, in a pile of about 30 other tissues that she'd already gone through. It looked like half the tissue box lay crumpled up on the floor. Does this girl not know the value of a dollar? Does she think tissues are free? Does money really grow on trees? I didn't have the heart to tell her to stop, so just let her continue working her way through the box, praising her for her help.

The funniest part of the whole thing was that when she was done, she took all the tissues and shoved them back into the box! RECYCLING! That's my girl.

You can do that?...Huh!

So I just found out that all the pictures i've taken with my phone can be transferred to email. WHO KNEW! I went through my phone and picked out some of my favorites.

This picture was taken during the fall. There were tons of leaves in the front yard, and Ainsley had a lot of fun throwing them around.
Ty's fourth grade music concert happened right before Christmas vacation. This picture was taken while we waited for the PTA to finish their meeting, and get the concert started.

Granny got this purse for Ainsley from Sam Moon. We were getting ready to leave one day, and Ainsley ran to the playroom, grabbed her purse, and threw it over her shoulder.
We borrowed this "car" from a teacher at Courtney's school. If she could, Ainsley would ride in this thing 24/7. She LOVES it. This picture was taken around October or November. It was cold outside, but that didn't bother her. I thought her hands might be cold, so I put them in her pockets. They never left her jacket the whole ride.

This picture was taken at one of Ty's baseball tournaments. It was over the Halloween weekend, and the teams dressed up. Since Ty's team was the Angels, they wore angel wings.

Proof that Santa DOES exist.

Ainsley loves music, and so we put a lot of musical shows, or radio shows, on TV. She doesn't usually sit still and watch, but on this rare occasion she did. I grabbed the camera as quick as I could.

I took this picture on the Fourth of July. Before Ainsley was born, I told Courtney that I didn't want her wearing bows in her hair. I hated seeing babies with oversized bows, and didn't want my child looking like that. Now I realize how cute they are, as well as useful for getting hair out of her eyes. I love how this bow is red/white/blue, just like her outfit.

I took this picture one day, when Ainsley was at home sick. We sat around in our pajamas all day and played. Ainsley put the duck on her head, with a little help from me, and we played, "Where did it go?"The car seat on the left is Ainsleys old seat. We really liked it and wanted to get another one for the twins. Our friend Joley, who now lives in Ohio, had one for her daughter. She sent it down to us. We took it out of the box and set it next to Ainsley's old car seat. This picture shows what I saw, the minute reality sunk in. We're having twins!

This is one of my favorite pictures of Ainsley. I had just picked her up from school. It was cold outside, so she got to wear her beanie. When we got out of the truck, she stuck out her arms to put on her backpack. I had to get a picture of it.

A Christmas Thank you

The Christmas tree is still up, I still turn on its lights every morning when I wake up, the snowman is still lit up outside, and our little Christmas village is still up in the entryway. That being said, Christmas is over. It's been so much fun spending time with Courtney and the kids. Ty has been so helpful, and Ainsley seems to learn something new, and cute, everyday.

As I was changing Ainsley's diaper this morning, she asked me a question. (she does this when nobody else is around. It's our little secret!) She asked me if she could tell everyone thank you for the wonderful gifts that she got for Christmas. I thought it was so sweet of her, and told her that was such a nice thing to do. She handed me a flashdrive (who knew!?!?!) and told me that she had prepared some thank you notes during her nap yesterday. She even went as far as to get Ty to write some too. I promised her I'd post them, so here they are.

Dear Uncle Chris,
Thanks for the big legos. They are fun to build things with. The coolest thing about them is that they are so big. When I hold them, it looks like I have really tiny hands. I feel like that guy in the Burger King commercial who's hands are so tiny he can't hold a Whopper. Good times! You're probably wondering why I'm not in the picture. After I built this "dog", Daddy said it was really, "NEAT!" I thought he said, "EAT" and took off for the kitchen table. My Bad!!!!!
Gimme Knuckles,
Ainsley

Dear Nana and Papa,

Thanks so much for the pitching target. It is AWESOME! Dad and I set it up in the backyard and have been outside pitching everyday. Even in the snow. Dad said it was a little cold on Christmas day, and that he thought he was getting frost bite on one of his ears. I told him, "That's why God gave you two!" I hope you get to come down in the summer and watch one of my games. Hopefully this time it won't get rained out.

Love you,

Ty

Dear Nana and PeePaw,

Thanks so much for my Little People barnyard. I love my cow, my horse, my goat, my sheep, my pig, and my farmer. My favorite part is when you open the barnyard doors and it makes a cow and horse sound. I also like the sheep sound. Come to think of it, all the sounds are cool. Mommy and Daddy love to move the rooster over as it plays the beginning of Ol' McDonald. They get all giddy when I dance to the music. Gotta love em! Whatever entertains them I guess.

I hope to see you again soon.

Take care,

Ainsley

Dear Uncle Chris,

Thanks for the UFC cage. It's awesome!!!!! Dad and Courtney got me some dudes to go in there, so I can make them fight. Dad and Courtney let me watch a little WEC today on TV. I didn't know MMA stood for Mixed Martial Arts. Pretty cool stuff. I'm all fired up now and want to go wrestle Dad again. Of course, he'll get hurt like he always does and have to quit. That always seems to happen right when I've got him in a choke hold.

See you Sunday,

Ty

Dear Nana and PeePaw,

I love my new telescope. Thank you so much. I can't wait for a really clear day, so I can look up at the sky and see cool stuff. Courtney and Dad said they'll take me to the Planetarium, so I can look at the night sky and the constellations. Sounds pretty good to me.

Thanks again, and hope things are good,

Ty

Dear Granny and Granddaddy,

Thank you for my twin babies. I love them so much. I love their high chairs. I love their stroller. They like to eat eggs and bananas, just like me. The baby in the picture is eating a lemon. I like to feed them lemons because they make funny faces afterwards. I don't think I'd like lemons, but the face makes me laugh. Mommy and Daddy tell me that my babies are in her tummy. Did these guys come from Mommy's tummy? If so, why didn't her tummy get smaller? Does she have more babies in there? My little brain is SOOOOO confused.

Confused, yet so cute,

Ainsley

Dear Granny and Graddaddy,

Thanks so much for all the shirts that you bought me this Christmas. I really appreciate it. I'm gonna be styling on Monday, when I go back to school. Of course Dad is grumbling. He says that more clothes means more laundry, and more laundry means a higher water bill. Like HE'S ever done laundry. He opened the dryer one evening, and when the light came on, he thought it was a really cool, giant nightlight. Bless his little heart.

Anyway, thanks again. I love them.

See you soon,

Ty

Dear Nana and Papa,

Thank you so much for the shopping cart and grocery food. I've really been working on my grocery shopping. Daddy says that if I get good at shopping, he'll let me help him at the store. He just keeps telling me to, "stick to the shopping list!" He says this is why Mommy is banned from Walmart.

Stay warm in Minnesota,

Ainsley

There! I'm a man of my word. I let you read Ainsley's and Ty's letters, just like I promised her I would. The best part of Christmas for me, as cliche as this sounds, was spending time with Courtney, Ty, and Ainsley. I feel so blessed to have them in my life. I know i'll feel the same way about the boys, once they arrive.

I want to thank you all for the wonderful gifts you gave Ty and Ainsley, as well as the two of us. I also want to say thank you to all of you. Courtney and I really appreciate EVERYTHING you do for us.

Since I'm a man of my word, I really need to go pick up the kitchen, before I go to bed. Just like I promised Courtney.

Good night, God bless, and Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!

p.s. I do laundry. I just prefer my clothes dirty and stained. It gives them character.

A busy December

It's been quite a busy December. We've had a pregnant woman put on bedrest, Christmas day, vacation from school, and ALL this snow. Let's recap!
Since we were off for Christmas vacation, we decided it was time to work on the boys room. We got the cribs up, the changing table arrived, we bought accessories, and put it all together. We're still looking for a bible verse that will go above the changing table, but we have a few ideas.

Here's Aiden's bed. The bedding is from Babies R Us. We fell in love with the colors and the monkey on the bed. With two twin boys, I'm sure a monkey is going to be an appropriate animal to describe them.

This is Colin's bed. The lettering that is above their beds was made by a friend of ours at work. She also made letters for Ainsley, which hang above her door. Thanks Pam for your awesome artwork. We really appreciate it.

About a week before Christmas, we took Courtney's Mom to the Gaylord Texan. Each year they have the ice exhibit, and she really wanted to go. This year the theme was, "The Grinch That Stole Christmas". Since it was so cold in there, they gave us these giant blue jackets to wear. Ainsley was NOT a fan of the jackets, the ice, the cold, or the grinch. After about 5 minutes in there, father and daughter made a quick exit. After we left, she had a blast running around the convention center, which is connected to the hotel.

Here's a picture of the Grinch, completely made of ice!

One of the final pieces was the nativity scene. Again, made of ice. St. Paul, MN would be SO proud.

Christmas morning we went over to Granny and Granddaddy's house. Uncle Chris was there too. Ainsley loves him so much, and was so happy to snuggle with him.

Ainsley had so much fun opening presents. I'm not sure that it had anything to do with the present itself. I think it was having everyone there, and ripping off the paper.

However...when you're nine years old, it's all about what's inside. Ty had a great time giving and recieving presents.

Later in the day, we came home, and opened gifts at the house. Ty really enjoyed himself, and really got into the spirit.

Ainsley, on the other hand, saw the shopping cart that Nana and Papa got her, and we basically haven't seen her since. She was MIA during the rest of the gift opening, except when she rolled by looking for the cereal isle.

This was Ainsley's other picture that we were able to catch of her. She didn't really stop to open the gift. It was more of a, "my hand caught the paper as I walked by" kind of moment.

Not sure what to say about this. This is like the second or third time it's snowed this year.

Ainsley would stand at the window and point to the snow. I finally decided to take her out in it. We got our winter sweater on, boots, jacket, hat, and gloves. After slipping on the driveway three times and being drug through the half inch snow in the front yard, she was DONE. She gets more and more like her Mom every day!

Ty on the other hand was born in an igloo. He can't get enough of the snow.

Courtney took this picture, and I love it!!!

As the weather is still cold outside (about 35 degrees) we've been stuck inside quite a lot. Ainsley had really enjoyed her shopping cart, double stroller with twin babies, and her farmyard. She's learned all the farmyard animals.

Ty on the other hand doesn't seem to understand cold weather. We were outside pitching with his new pitching target anytime that snow wasn't falling. And yes, we both had shorts on. He's getting more and more like me everyday.

All this, and Courtney has been put on bedrest. She doesn't have to go back to work, and her Doctor has mentioned to her about taking off the rest of the year. So she may be done teaching for the rest of this year!

My crazy little gingerbread friend.

We went to pick up Ainsley from school today, and hanging on her cubby was a cute little gingerbread man in a ziplock bag. Ainsley had done an awesome job of decorating the cute little guy.


Once we got home, Ainsley was very excited to eat her "little friend".

Halfway through her snack, she decided that her decapitated friend needed a sip of milk.

Right after the gingerbread snack, Granny came over to visit Ainsley. Ainsley's obsession with shoes quickly led her to put on Granny's boots. She couldn't walk in them, but stood still long enough for a photo op.

Even though Granny left, Ainlsey wasn't done. Her next find was Daddy's hat, which she proceeded to wear around the house for the next hour. As I write this, she is still wearing her hat, along with a diaper, as she prepares for bed.

Goodnight my crazy little gingerbread friend...goodnight.