Dinosaurs! Rooooarr!

A few months ago we went to Dinosaur World in Plant City. It was so fun, I got an annual pass! 

(Ok - let's be honest here. It was only slightly fun. But an annual pass costs only a little bit more than a day pass and you purchase your ticket before you even get into the park. So I assumed dinosaur awesomeness and bought my annual pass with pride, later realizing it was only kinda cool and I may or may not return.)

Fast forward to this week when Brett finds a lizard in the playroom! I thought it would be fun to pretend it was a dinosaur!!

Brett thought it was scary, but wasn't too frightened. Emma was terrified to tears. 

So we left the playroom and I actually forgot all about the lizard. I am not afraid of them. As a kid we used to see who could catch the most lizards with our bare hands! And our yard is full of them so every once in a while we get one in the house. Not really a big deal. 

The next day after no dinosaur talk in almost 24 hours I said to B&E "Let's go in the playroom!" To which Brett responds "Roooar. Dinosaur!"

Obviously my first reaction was to mentally note that my kids are in fact geniuses who remember everything. My next move was to document things a little farther via iphone video!

Emma wasn't as scared in this video because she didn't actually have to face a dinosaur, but she was still being a little cautious of getting too close to where we saw him the day before. 

Brett kept saying "more dinosaur" and just as this video ends he was going into full on tantrum mode wanting to see a dinosaur again. So later that night Brian took them into the front yard,  Dinosaur World!

Beethoven x 2??

I think it is time we buy Brett and Emma a real piano...they sure know how to make music!!! 

Coke and a smile, Coke and a child.

One of Emma's favorite things to do is imitate people. She loves pretending to do her hair and makeup, carry purses...and now - drink soda! Ahh! I guess it is time to break this bad habit of mine. A couple of weeks ago I had an unopened soda in the living room. Emma kept pretending to drink it again and again. It was very cute so I got a video of her, she is so funny!!!

Wasn't that so cute???

Want to know what is not cute?

Emma actually drinking soda.

Yup.

To be honest, I don't think she got much in her mouth. And by the time I was able to get the can away from her, it was already empty (as I am sure you can tell by her shorts). But she still insisted on pretending to drink from the now empty soda can. So I thought this would be a good follow-up picture to her previous attempts at drinking Mommy's soda and I knew I had to capture the moment :)

But, how could I let this happen?? BRETT! It was ALL BRETT'S FAULT! 

I was changing Brett's stinky poo poo (that's what he says when he poops-smart kid!) while he wiggled across the playroom floor. With an elbow pinned to his stomach I was attempting to wipe his bottom and put on a new diaper all while he tried crawling away, giggling. It would have been an award-winning recording on America's Funniest Home Videos! Except I wasn't laughing. Maybe closer to crying. During my moment of weakness Emma took advantage. 

I swear they team up on me. SWEAR!

But I am not the only twin mom to think my kids team up on me. I found evidence on Facebook when another multiples mom posted this picture:

So, they won this time. And the last time. And probably the last two times before that. But really, who is keeping score?

My knight in shining armor. Errrr a Lightning polo!

     Being a stay at home mom these last few months has been so awesome! I love spending the day with my cuties. Teaching them, playing, exploring the world....there is so much to do. I am so lucky that Brian agrees with me that this is where I should be spending my time, and he works so hard to make it possible. 

     Some days I want Brett and Emma to stay this age forever, so I can always stay home and play with them! Other days I am pulling my own hair out. I don't know who/how/what determines when those crazy days will appear. All I know is Brian can usually tell the second he walks in the door! Most nights after work he is greeted by the smell of our dinner cooking on the stove, the kids finishing their own dinner, and a big kiss on the lips! That is, most nights. 

     Then there are the nights after work when he is greeted with screams from Brett and emma and an evil eye from me. (How dare he take longer than EXACTLY 35 minutes to get home from work?!) On those nights he is my hero, whisking Brett and Emma up the stairs and into the bathtub as I pour myself a large glass of wine! It is almost right out of a fairytale. Somehwere between Cinderella and Snow White, it must have got lost in translation. :)

     The rough days don't come too often. Though I do believe I have had some decent previews of "Terrible Two's!" Most days are spent being silly, playing, and laughing. As you can see in this video, we love to goof off and have fun around here!!! 

PS - Brian is my hero every night, not just on the nights when he takes over bedtime. It is just those nights that I appreciate his heroism a whole lot more!

BIG KIDS & Adventures

Big kids! That's what Brett and Emma are! Sometimes I still call them babies, but they aren't really babies anymore. Brett and Emma do know what babies are though and they love them. When they see an actual baby or see a picture of a baby or see a baby on TV they say "awwwwww baby!" It is sort of sweet but also makes me want to scream "you are just a baby too, you know?!?!"

My big kids keep me pretty busy. Every day we have some new adventures to go on! I call my errands adventures and B&E get very excited! When I tell them we have an adventure they run to the garage door or start looking for their shoes and wave "bye-bye!"

Publix is our most frequented adventure! We are there multiple times a week. A better word for Publix though might be chaos. Shopping with kids is kind of a torture for everyone. I need groceries so I attempt to purchase them, but Brett and Emma think everything I am putting into the cart needs to be taste-tested on the spot. I wheel around an extremely heavy race cart almost as fast as a real race car driver so that I can exit the produce section without too much of a scene. This is quite the task if you know how heavy this ridiculous cart is, BEFORE even adding kids and food into the mix! So I must be quick to avoid the tantrums. And I bring snacks! A kid eating snacks isn't going to get upset at the grocery store, right?? I mean, they already have something to eat!

But, my plan is not foolproof. Thanks to the bananas. It's always the bananas. Piled so high, they are spotted from across the store. Once the bananas are noticed, I am in trouble. "Nana!" "Nana!" "Nana!" OK, grab the bananas and run. I smile and stay sweet so the other shoppers don't think I am too mean. "Don't worry sweeties, you will get your nana when we get home!" Of course really I am thinking 'Please don't start crying. It is just a stupid banana. You have goldfish in your hands. Goldfish trump bananas.'

Then the screaming starts. And everyone looks at me like I committed a crime because my kids are suddenly monsters. (When really, the crime would be giving my kids bananas that actually haven't been purchased. That is the crime, people!! Stealing!!)

So what does a supermom of twins do in a situation like this?? Head to the bakery of course!

"Who wants a cookie?"

Here are my big kids. Cookie crumbs smeared on their faces while they drop goldfish all over the store :) 

Two twinkies go to Disney, again!

Last weekend Brian and I took Brett and Emma on their second trip to Disney World! I love Disney so much and we try to go whenever we can. Brian has a lot more 2-day weekends during the summer so we try and take advantage whenever possible.

When we went to Disney this time we decided to stay at a new hotel that I was so excited about! It is the Art of Animation Resort. It just opened May 31 and is based on 4 Disney/Pixar movies; Finding Nemo, Cars, Lion King, and The Little Mermaid. As of our visit, only the Nemo phase was ready for visitors. The hotel is being completed in phases and will be completely finished in September! I think we will have to go back a few times to check the rest of it out :)

The sign says "Welcome back to Disney, Boksen family." If you look really close. OK, not really.

Art of Animation Resort!

The Cars phase being worked on, opening June 18.

Welcome to Motor Springs!

After we checked into the room we went down to the pool. WOW! The pool is huge and so beautiful. And there is a huge water playground for kids. It is decorated with Nemo characters and is really cool! Brett and Emma loved it!

After all the swimming and splashing, we ordered food from the pool bar. Emma decided to do a dance, apparently she loves PB&J! 

We finished up our food and drinks and then did a little shopping inside the hotel. I got a new pair of sunglasses and Brian got a coffee cup. Brett and Emma got new toothbrushes, a new book, and some toys. They are shopaholics. Not sure where they get that from :)

Shopping wore us out so we went back to our room to enjoy life under the sea! And Brett took Emma for a spin in a big comfy chair! (Big shocker here...Brett immediately found the remote control and wouldn't put it down. Typical Boksen boys!)

Emma going for a spin!

We found FISH!

View of the spray park.

Brett climbing in furniture, knowing how cute he is!

Sunday we contemplated sticking around the hotel because of the weather, but luckily we stuck it out and went to Magic Kingdom. It didn't even rain a drop! The lines were pretty long and we only made it on a few rides. But we did stop for lunch which always leads to entertaining pictures. 

I gave Brett the bun from my chicken lunch and he shoved the entire thing into his mouth!

And little Miss Emma, eating french fries so delicately with a fork!

The trip was really fantastic! It was nice to get away for a couple days and spend some time together. We get so busy sometimes that the only way for a break is to actually leave town. It was really nice!

Guess who's back...back again?!

Hi!!!!! back to blogging, finally! With just a few days left this school year, I can finally re-devote myself to this blog. I have not updated baby books since I was pregnant, I really need this blog!!

Since their first birthday, B&E have started walking, talking, and mocking! (Yes, they think it is HILARIOUS to roll their eyes around in their head, wonder who they learned that from???)

We have survived first haircuts...that is the biggest milestone from the past few months.

Emma didn't mind a bit...

Mr. Brett was not a fan!

The last few months have been filled with fun, laughter, excitement...and all kinds of things! I am looking forward to continuing my blog with my loyal followers! :) I am BACK!