a significant date....

December 22. Nothing seems out of the ordinary for this particular day, right? Well, in our household, December 22 holds 2 significant memories.
December 22, 2005 - John returns after an 18 month deployment to Iraq! We were so excited that he was able to make it home in time for Christmas! (you might notice that we are all wearing summer clothing (in Dec??) actually these were taken when he came home for his 2 week mid-tour leave (we actually didn't get any photos of the official homecoming in Dec)... regardless.. we looked forward to Dec. 22 for a long time!!! Hooray - we are reunited finally!Fast forward 2 years to Dec. 22, 2007... that just happens to be the day that we found out we were having twins! We had made an appointment to find out if we were going to be a family of 5 boys or add a little girl at the end... SUPRRISE! we got the shock of our lives! I can't believe it was just 1 year ago today that we got the best news ever! (I had the absolute cutest ultrasound pic of the girls that we got that day... but sadly, it got wiped when my computer died back in Oct.) soooo.... fast forward one more year to Dec. 22, 2008 and here is what our little twins have turned into (aren't they little dollies!)

So even though today might seem like any other day during the week of Christmas - for us and our family it's a happy day that makes us appreciate the importance and joy of family :)

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO US!

update from the sickies....

I can honestly say that I now know what many moms of multiples feel like (I belong to a twins forum and read on a daily basis on how moms can't ever get anything done because the babies cry, whine, want to be held, etc.. and that so isn't my case - but after yesterday... I got a small glimpse of what some of those troopers go through on a daily basis!)

Yesterday was not a happy day in the Vogt home... things turned a bit worse and Seth started throwing up in the afternoon and both babies were so miserable and they weren't happy unless someone was holding them and walking around! So basically I had to set the oven timer for 20 min. intervals and the 2 older boys (even though they were sick themselves) took turns walking a baby while I continually had one in my arms -- yeah, I was sooo ready when 6pm hit and they went to bed! (I was also VERY grateful to my friend who had called earlier in the day to see if I could babysit - but the upon hearing how my day was going offered to bring me dinner! It's really hard for me to accept service but after her insistance - I hung up the phone very relieved to not have to worry about dinner! Thanks Cindi!) Today I'm happy to report that (although they're not "back to normal") they are significantly better and are content in their jumperoo's or crawling around on the floor. Poor miss Aubrie still doesn't feel so good and has a very sad look on her face - that's why I had to go find a happy picture of her! When I took this picture of her she was all smiles and giggles! Can't wait for those to return :)

Get these germs out!

Alright, so this is our first winter/flu/cold season we're facing with being a large family (even when we had the 4 boys, I didn't feel like our family was necessarily all that big... but add the twins and yeah... it feels big - LOL) anyway, I'm hoping this isn't a foreshadowing of how our winters will be from here on out.... just a quick rundown of what I'm facing today....
3 kids with fevers
1 with a double ear infection
and another one with a sore throat and cough....

to top it off, I got some weird stomach thing last night and was nauseous/threw up and John just called from work saying he's felt very nauseous this morning as well :(

ok, I'm looking on the bright side... at least it's all hitting us this week and not next for Christmas! send us HEALTHY thoughts! :)

My Sweet Seth

The older boys haven't been getting much "blog time" lately so thought I'd share a few of my thoughts on my second son - Seth.

During my pregnancy with him I had several really neat experiences that let me know that he was going to be a special little spirit from heaven joining our family. He is so obedient and mindful and very much a peacmaker! Whenever we ask the boys to do something (whether it be their chores, homework, grab a baby, etc...) Seth will jump up immediately and do it! (none of our other boys seem to want to follow his lead and we have to ask like a bazillion times - yikes!) The other day I was tending to Nathan (poor boy has yet another double ear infection!) and I was saying how I wasn't able to get to the list of things I wanted to get done - like the vacuuming) and the next thing I know - I hear the vacuum going on upstairs! He had dragged our vacuum (which is a heavly ol' Kirby) up the stairs and was helping me out - he is just sooooo sweet! He is extremely bright and at every parent teacher conference the teacher tells me how she wishes she had a whole classroom of Seths :) He is such a well rounded, well balanced boy who I KNOW is going to make some girl so happy in this life! I'm so proud of him and how hard he works at the things that will help him become a better person - oh, it's funny too - he's getting to the point where John and I embarass him (especially if I ever try to sing or dance to the Hannah Montannah theme song (which for some reason about drives him over the edge - LOLOL)

Anyway, thanks for letting me ramble on about my sweet boy....

Duck Hunting/Why I'm Awesome/Calling Out All the Ladies

So whenever Shandy posts one of her many accomplishments, praise gets heaped upon her (and rightfully so, she's awesome.) She gets like 10-15 posts commenting on how awesome she is (again, I agree.) Now whenever I post something, I get 0-3 posts. I'm calling you ladies out.

I rule. You're deflating my ego. So I'm calling out you non-comment leaving readers. You know who you are (don't make me name names).

Yesterday me and some fellas from work drove a few hours up to Lake Cascade and went duck/goose hunting. We weren't overly successful but did get three birds. The lake was pretty low and so to get anywhere near the water meant that we lost all cover and concealment. Here are a few pics.

Lake Cascade at about 8:00. It had finally stopped snowing and had warmed up to about 20 degrees.

One set of our decoys

Pete and his boys with their old lab, Bailey. Rick is in the background.

Ryan goes a little more than I do.

I look like a sexy Eskimo

Pete retrieving his decoys

She was delicious. Shandy broiled her up with some lemon pepper.

And there you have it.

Fun Stuff

May 23, 2009

Ok.. I know that it's starting to get warm and summer is upon us.. BUT, just wanted to link up Amy and her Baby Leg Warmers for anyone who might be interested! It would really be beneficial to anyone who had a little one learning to crawl this summer - for some added protection :) Anyway, she is AWESOME and her work is really top notch! She sent those adorable green/white striped leg warmers for my girls (I have photos on the blog) for St. Patricks Day and so I know you won't be dissapointed! Anyway, go check her out :)

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May 14, 2009

To start it off... I wanted to let everyone know that FabuLESSly Frugal (<-- yes, it's clickable) is hosting a FREE giveaway of my photography! You get digital files AND professional prints in the featured package (I'm tellin' ya.. it's a great deal!) There's only a couple of more days to enter before the drawing (they are randomly picking a number from the comments) - so everyone has the same chance of winning! Yippee!
and while you're there (the photography giveaway is several posts down - or there's a direct link to it on their side bar)... but there are tons of other great deals and tips on there - so be sure to get your fill of how to be more fabulessly frugal!

Christmas Cards

The Christmas cards are all addressed and (mostly) on their way to their destination! I went pretty simple this year for our cards and didn't go with a traditional color scheme but think they turned out pretty cute anyway. This second photo is our newsletter that I had printed on the back (if you'd like to read it - just click ont he photo and it'll get big for you) of the postcards from Vista print -- I wasn't too impressed with their printing color (seemed to have a red overlay on it or something) but for the price I can't complain! We've started to receive some cards as well and I have to admit that look forward to getting the mail a lot more during December! I especially love reading about everyone and seeing pictures (including the parents!)... so many people (and yes, in years past, I've been guilty of this) only send pics of the kids -- and while I love seeing them in all their cuteness... I want to see the parents (who are the ones we're friends with and mostly haven't seen in many years!)... ok, so there's my PSA -- get everyone in the pic to send out - we all love seeing what you look like!
on a side note -- Do I look chinese? A boss of John's many years ago (whom had never met me but only seen pictures of me that John had up in his office) asked if I was Asian! Imagine my surprise when John told me this! heheheh....looking at the above photo - I guess I can see it... when I smile my eyes sort of disappear?? oh well, asians are beautiful so I'm taking it as a compliment! LOL

a jog down memory lane....

Tonight after I dropped off the boys at Scouts, I had to run to Costco -- and on the way there I tuned in to Lite 108 for their continuous Christmas Songs (which started before Thanksgiving this year I might add....) Anyway, an original version of Here Comes Santa Claus comes on and for some unknown reason I get all choked up and teary eyed and start bawling as I am singing all the words to this Christmas song! Now, I'm not normally an emotional gal (and I'm not pregnant so don't know where all the hormones were coming from...) but anyway, my mind started reminiscing back to my favorite Christmas (actually I have 2) from when I was a child. I remember I was 10 years old and in the 5th grade and there were 2 things on my Christmas list that I wanted really B.A.D. - a Cabbage Patch Doll (HAD to be a boy one...) and 10 speed bike. Well, Christmas morning came and it was beyond my wildest dreams -- there was my 10 speed - all red and silver and shiny (with the super skinny road tires - LOL) and I was sooooo thrilled... but then I looked down sitting in front of my new bike was... not one... but 2 Cabbage Patch Dolls - I had TWINS!!! 2 little boys (they were fraternal as one had brown hair and one had blonde). The brunette's name was Byron and the Blonde was named Abe (can't remember what names they originally came with but I renamed them and then had their Birth Certificates sent off to be "corrected" - hehehehe). We were living in Mississippi at the time (and with the weather being like 80!) I was able to go out and ride my bike and then come in and be a mother to my sweet little twin boys :) I recently came across of a photo of that Christmas (I think it's on my EHD so next time it's hooked up, I'll see if I can't find it to post :) Anyway, the song ended on the radio - I felt silly for crying at a fun, upbeat Christmas song - and walked into Costco with my happy memories still on my mind....

Christmas Party, girlies things and deals

We had John's Christmas party for the unit that he's the commander for - The December Drill weekend is always my favorite of the year because it's a shortened drill and part of it involves the families all attending the party! They decided to have some different stations set up for the kids with camo face painting, a station where the kids could put on all of the body armor and gear and hold a real machine gun (unloaded of course...) Here's a picture of Ben all decked out - he could only handle all of this one for like 3 minutes and then he was like "It's too heavy!" They also gave kids rides in armored personnel carriers and the boys thought that was FUN! and of course there was lots of food! yummy food I might add... Since John was in charge of it he wasn't "right there" with me so I just let the boys go get some food for themselves and this is what Ben came back with!!




On Friday night I had gone over to an Open House that 2 of my SUPER TALENTED friends were having and found some awesome stuff for the girls! Janiece (sewmanybows@yahoo.com) made the hats and bows that the girls are wearing! I got sooo many compliments on them and then Jenny (jenny@babybellajewelry.com) made the beautiful bracelets! I love them all! and the funnest part is that the girls bracelets have little charms on them and Aubrie's says "Big Sis" and Lexi's says "Lil Sis"! isn't that a hoot!? I think they're so adorable that I had to get an upclose picture of them! Plus, I couldn't resist getting some photos of the girls all ready for the party -- but they were both so fascinated with each others bows that when I'd get one looking at the camera - the other would be eyeing the others bows - LOL... oh well... they're cute and fun and I love them! of course the only way I could get a good shot of the bracelets was while they were eating... so excuse the bottles - heheheh

... and then just one more thing - remember the gorgeous Christ pictures that I told everyone about at Costco... well, on Thursday, my 2 arrived!! I was soooo excited but when I opened the big one (that was to be of Jesus stepping out of the tomb entitled "He Is Risen") I opened it up to find <--- this picture of Christ (In His Glory)... At first I was pretty bummed! but then the more I looked at it I actually liked it better! and so I hung it up in the spot that I had appointed and love it!! but I figured I'd better let culturalhall.com and let them know of the mixup and guess what they said... they're sending me the correct one AND I get to keep this one! I'm so excited! It was already a good deal and now it's doubly good!

Do you like my New Look?!

So over the past year or so I've been giving the older boys some basic photoshop lessons and it looks like they're putting their knowledge to good use in giving me (and my awesome doctor that delivered both Ben and Nathan at home) a new makeover!!
I was browsing for a certain photo this morning (on the boys computer) and came across this and thought it was hilarious! I love how not only do I have Bulbasaurs face, back and arm... but I also have Charmeleon's tail! and then the Chancey "hat" on Karen is too much!

ps: for those of you not familiar with Pokemon -- these are pokemon characters that we have been metamorphed into!

FREE STUFF for CHRISTMAS!

ok.. so our ward is doing a "Craigslist" type of deal - except that everything listed is FREE... I have thoguht this was such a fab idea but don't know how well it's being utilized...Anyway, yesterday I did some decluttering and am ready for to get this stuff out of my house - like ASAP! I'm going to be making a run to the DI soon so if you see anything below that you like - come and get it!! Feel free to pass this link on to whomever you think it will benefit - I know many of us are in the same boat with trying to be more frugal and making ends meet in this economy so I'm hoping that I can help some of you out... Also - feel free to post your own "Free Craigslist" and link it up here...

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Some additional items that didn't make it in time for photos:

Size 6 BLUE NIKE BASEBALL CLEATS (big boys)

2 TRAVEL SWINGS for infants (they work great but recline more than they should (Nathan had too much fun riding in them as much as the girls! LOL)

I also have the range hood that was installed when we moved in - never used - we took it out and installed the microwave above the oven instead...

ok.. so I hope to get some phone calls today :)

UPDATE: ** POKEMON VIDEOS, ALL STAR WARS, 2 NERF GUNS, BOTH MIRRORS AND THE VSMILE STUFF ARE SPOKEN FOR** please come by asap to pick up your goods - I'd like them outta here :)

ps: if anyone has legos no longer being used I could go for them! August & Seth like doing still motion picture movies and use legos for this (so not necessarily the big duplo blocks - but any of the other sizes)

getting into the holiday mood!

so I LOVE these Elf videos -- they always make me smile...
enjoy ours!
ps: there's a limit of only 5 spots - and since I have 6 I was begining to fret about who I would leave out! Then it hit me -- my girls are identical - no one will ever know that both of them aren't in the clip - LOL -- well, I guess you all will - since I just told you - oh well....

ok.. we had some technical difficulties -- it automatically posts it to your blog for you and since I have mulitple ones it posted to a different one - and so now I've got to figure out how to get it here.. oh well.. trust me.. it was cute - LOL

Thankfulness

HAPPY THANKSGIVING 2008

My Great-Great Grandmother was born on Thanksgiving day and was subsequently named Thankful -- kind of a fun fact from me today :)

Lots of things I am incredible thankful for in my life but 1 that doesn't get publically thanked (enough) is that I'm thankful for Good Visiting Teachers! Since moving into this ward 16 months ago I have been blessed to have had awesome Visiting Teachers! There's been a few partner changes in that time, but Val Ross has remained constant -- she goes beyond the required once a month visits and I really feel like I could call if ever I needed her help! The area that I really wanted to touch on was that she helps me every single sunday at church with the babies! I have never asked her - she just comes and parks next to me during Releif Society and takes over when I have to go play the piano. she always does this with a smile on her face too! There's even Sundays when her husband takes their little girl (almost 1) to EQ and then she STILL comes and helps me out - even though she could sit and listen and really get something out of RS... so for that I am truly grateful! She is just so thoughtful and fun and I know that Heavenly Father had a hand in inspiring the RS leaders to have me be assigned to her! Thank You Val!! Besides - she gives rockin' haircuts - and for that I'm grateful for too! Anyway, my VT's brought this super duper cute Turkey Pumpkin (that you see up above in the photo) and I've just loved it! It was even our centerpiece for our Thanksgiving Dinner - yippee!!

Urban Family rockin' downtown =)

Alright - I'm thinking I might need to just start a seperate photography blog for all of the recent sneek peeks (but I guess truthfully, it's now pretty much too cold for any more practice shoots - so maybe that'll be something for me to work on over the winter...) Anyway, I've got LOTS to share today -- I always feel more in my "zone" when I'm downtown doing the urban shots - but didn't know how family photos would translate into that realm of photography... so I met up with the Deebles and we had a blast! ok.. I guess I can only speak for myself - But I totally was diggin' their attire and they were all so easy going and relaxed! This was also a big milestone for me as the entire session was shot in manual (and I just learned how this weekend - LOL) - so here are some of the shots...

my girlies

My girls are growing up! I can't believe that at the end of this week they're going to be 7 months old! It has flown by so fast! They've hit a couple of new milestones this past week....

* They now hold their own bottles! I'd gotten rather good at feeding them simultaneously - one to the left of me while the other laid across my lap - me holding each of the bottles (and then I'd switch positions at the next feeding of who was on my lap)... anyway, they both feed themselves their bottles - I just sort of sit with them and do "bottle control" in case they drop it and need some help :)

* They both got their 2nd tooth on the same day (a week ago Sunday)

* Lexi is about to CRAWL!! she gets up on all 4's and rocks back and forth (she actually moved about 2 paces this morning alternating her arms and legs) so I know it won't be long before she's mobile.... Aubs is content to roll around :)

Enjoy the pics I took of them today - they are just so sweet and loveable!

I loved Twilight and I'm not ashamed

It was awesome. I'm secure enough in my manhood to declare this. We arrived at Edwards (how fitting) about 50 minutes early only to discover we were about the 250th and 251st people in line. The demographics of the line reminded me of th etime I surprised Shandy by taking her to a Kelly Clarkson concert for her birthday. Very few dudes, mostly 13 year old girls. I ran into one of my Soldiers while in line. We sheepishly nodded to each other and I said, "I'll just pretend I didn't just see you here and you do the same."

- John

Holy SOCKS Batman!!

ok.. I don't know about any of you... but when it comes to the laundry - I HATE socks!! I got so tired of not having matches making it out of the laundry together that I started a "sock drawer" (way back in like March) where I would stash all of the socks that didn't have a match after they came out of the dryer. Well, that sock drawer turned into 2 sock drawers and before it could grow into a "sock dresser" I decided it was time to put them all together... So I dumped all of the mateless socks onto the middle of the floor (ok, originally I dumped them on my bed but then had to move them down to the floor since I didn't get to them on that day - yikes!) and so I attempted to match some up this morning with the girls rolling around in them - wasn't working either... so I STILL have a mound of socks in my room.... anyone find pleasure in matching up socks? If so... come on over! I'm thinking that will be a super fun *game* for the boys!

John's idea - throw these all away and just buy all of the same socks from now on so there will always be matches! At this point.. I'm liking that idea! why do socks have to be so expensive for that plan to work?

2 family photo sessions

After some gentle nudges from my best friend - I decided to take my photography beyond my own family and took some for their Christmas card - I totally thought it would be a repeat of my nightmare of a photo shoot (since she's got 6 children too)... lucky for us she didn't have a 2 year old (this year anyway - heee!) and they were all so cooperative! I was quite impressed and it gave me hope for next years attempt when Nathan is a bit older and before the girls hit 2! Anyway, here are a few from the session....

how sweet is that with her youngest son trying to give his little sis a kiss! Totally not even prompted!

and I totally love this one! It's so hilarious! With her looking at her husband with that expression of "yep... we ARE a crazy family!" I thought since so much fun and craziness was going on - I'd empahasize it with an Urban processing...

and then since I was already going to be down at the park... my other friend was hoping for some family photos... so here are some from that session... again - I was so impressed with the cooperative nature of everyone! I'm so jealous - boohoo (LOL)... but seriously, it was pretty fun :)

and a farewell one to end with....

new teeth, getaways & face paint

It's official - my little girls are getting teeth! I knew they'd been teething for a while now but at a baby shower on Saturday one of my friends said "hey, I just saw a tooth!" I was like "what?!"... sure enough.. little Lexi had a tooth popped through! Aubrie is right there with her -not quite erupted yet - but a definite bump and whiteness trying to show through... so I'd imagine any day now... They've done really well with it and so I'm conting my lucky stars! ID twins usually get their teeth within days of each other so I'm antcipating A's real soon!

**Update: as I was putting Aubrie to bed I saw that her tooth is in too!**



As you all know - yesteray was Veteran's Day -- Thank you to everyone (including John and myself - hehehhe) for sacrificing your time and service for the sake of our great country! Several local businesses were showing their gratitude with extending their products for free to military personnel -- The Anniversary Inn being one of them... So... John and I got to sneak away for an awesome getaway. We only had to sneak the girls into the room in our suticases and pray they didn't cry (since children aren't allowed) -- JUST KIDDING! (sorry, couldn't resist that one - LOLOLOL)... Actually John's mom (who is the Ultimate Mother In Law!) came and stayed the night with our children and got them all ready and off to school this morning while John and I slept in until 9am and had a wonderful breakfast in bed =)..... Just in case any of you are curious - we stayed in the lighthouse room -- oh, we also went to the Olive Garden for dinner the night before -- Spending some good quality alone time with John was really wonderful! Thanks again, grandma for watching the kids overnight!



Also this past weekend was another BSU game - Here's what the guys decided to go as this week.... They have been painting up since the 2004 season (so I have many pics over the years of the different artisitc face paintings... and have been working on a post with some of my favorites through the years... so stayed tuned for that one!).... After the game John and Brent started jammin' out to Rock Band -- I'm telling ya - it's quite the sight to see 2 grown men in their 30's with orange and blue face paint on beating on the drums and singing at the top of their lungs to "Dirty Little Secret"! I even got some video of it - but thought I'd spare them the embarasment - hehehe - but yes, quite the entertainment! And then if that wasn't enough... when grandma brought the older boys back from going to Disney on Ice -- I guess the cotton candy came in a bag with a crown around it and when the boys got home - anyway, John had crashed on the couch - and Ben went and put the crown on his head -- I about died laughing! isn't that the best!? Anyway.. enjoy the pics =)

Just so you all know...

...I love my wife.

- John

only 2 days left...

....to be able to get a steal of a deal at Costco!

so last night we had an enrichment activity over at a gal in our ward (Tiffany's - for all you local peeps) and she had the MOST AMAZING L.A.R.G.E. (like a 3ft x 4ft) picture of Christ (that's pictured on the left) that I just absolutely fell in love with and so I asked where she purchased it (she had just gotten it that day) and I was surprised when she answered Costco! and.... for onlyl $199! yes... you read that correct! (that same size painting sells for $540 on their website so it's an incredible deal!) so anyway, I went down there today and was sooooo impressed and moved by all of the beautful pieces of art and at the prices they were selling at - (ranging from $39-$209) - but they're only there for 2 more days (at Costco - at those prices...) So if any of you have been debating getting some awesome church art - now is the time! oh, and this DOES include the awesome 5" hardwood distressed frame too!

Here's a link to their website: http://www.culturalhall.com/ that has what they sell (pretty much all of it was there at Costco but if it's not - they ship it to your house for free - yippee!)

oh, and they also customize the artwork (if you want...)

It was soooo hard for me to choose! but I ended up with the one pictured above and then this one of the Boise Temple (that I ended up having customized -- with our name, wedding date and then "Boise Temple" written in the upper left corner like the one below:

Slideshow

We had our family pictures taken about 2 weeks ago and needless to say it didn't quite go as smoothly as I'd hoped... as I mentioned in an earlier post - Nathan wanted nothing to do with the camera (and turned out he had double ear infections -- however we did get a couple of good shots that I'll need to post =) -- but before I got the CD back (and the weather was gorgeous) we decided to attempt "TAKE 2 OF FAMILY PHOTOS".... we decided to get all decked out in our BSU gear and head down to Bronco stadium.... we had our futuer BIL (the one I took their engagement photos a while back....) meet us as the stadium and take some photos - he really did a good job! (especially considering that Nathan wanted NOTHING to do with the camera... again.) Afterwards I asked him if he was ready to become a family photorapher - he politely said "No!" - hehehehe
I've had to do some editing and several head swaps, body insertions.... ya know... the basics that are required when trying to get a family shot! (of course I didn't do this to all - actually just 2 of the family shots....) anyway, here's the Vogt family sporting their true colors - and all set to the BSU fight song - GO BRONCOS!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Countdown to Twilight!

With the premiere being only a little over two weeks away, Johnny and I thought we'd take *the* quiz to see who we were. It came as no surprise to me who John was. John guessed who I would be also but then threw in, "I bet you really would rather be Alice, though." He's right!

So, without further ado, here's who we are:


Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!