10 MONTHS!

10 MONTHS!! What?! I really can't believe how this year has flown. Crazy. The girls are growing and are so much fun. There most recent trick is dancing. We turn on some music and they get groovin'. So cute.

Kate showing off her teeth. She has 2 with a 3rd coming in on the bottom. She is SO cute and happy and just funny. She puts up with Zach wrestling with her. I think she'll take him soon. SHe is taking steps, can climb the stairs to the top, and will be walking before we know it.
Kara Beara is such a silly sweetie. She was being SO CUTE during this photo shoot, it was hard to pick just one. She is starting to stand on her own and is so proud of herself whenever she does it. She LOVES Zach and laughs at him all the time...except when he knocks her down. She is very sensitive. :)
My attempt at getting one with them together...


If it's not one, then it is the other!

This is so funny! This is life. Kate is usually "exploring" Kara. And Kara doesn't love it. I love watching them play together and interact! Today Kara was laughing so hard because Kate was chasing her. It was awesome. I hope they are always good friends.

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Infestation...of Bugs...and Children

So these pictures are from a long time ago...when it was warm enough to hang outside with a t-shirt and sandals on. Tear. Anyway, there were TONS of ladybugs around for a few weeks. Zach LOVED playing with them. "I hold em mommy?" Always, he wanted me to "Put my finger, Mommy." So I would pick it up and put it on. Here he is collecting Ladybugs. I think there were like 8 on his shovel! He liked to bring them into the house and play with them. then we would put them back out with their mommies and daddies. I am guessing that we didn't ALWAYS but them back outside because just a few days ago I found 6 ladybugs on one window. Maybe one had babies?? Why is it that I thought that sort of infestation was okay, but if it was beetles or ants, or flies...YUCK. Just because the ladybugs are cute? Go figure.

What a poser? Who taught him that? I know I don't do that in my pictures. Maybe I ought to start? The black dots on his shovel (and on the ground) are his beloved Ladybugs. "Mommy, walk on the bridge." I don't think he really wants me to do that! :) He loves bridges (overpasses) and constantly asks me if we can go on them. I get so excited when I can say yes because it is our exit and we are headed that direction. He thinks I am the best mom in the world and celebrates by saying, "Yay! We're go-o-ing on the Bri-i- idge!" in his own Zachy staccato.

This kid is super flexible. Here he is helping me with laundry, folding himself in half under a small laundry basket.

Here's Zachary with his friend Robot. I built it for him once and he kept asking for him again and again. Then he would walk around the house like a robot. So, I got a lock for my fridge so Zach can't mess with that anymore, but he still finds a way to get into other things! I had a plate of zucchini bread made up for our neighbors, wrapped in foil, waiting for us to take it to them. Well, I came downstairs from my shower and found foil on the ground and a bite out of each slice of bread! You stinker!
Fun Game! That silly little "Cat Door" down to the basement that Zach goes in and out of has become quite the hang out spot for Kate and Kara and Zach to play. He charges up at them and then slides quickly down the stairs and they laugh and laugh and laugh. It is so cute!

Two cute.

I just thought this was a cute twin moment.

They are fascinated with the TV and LOVE to turn it off while we are watching it.

Dirty face and yucky hair. She gets it all gross and it just sticks out. (I know, she doesn't have much, but she finds what she can!)
Nice Do.

Gross hair! It is so light, you can barely see it, but every morning at breakfast she pulls on it and gets it all goopy. Yuck.
This is so Kara. She puts anything in her mouth and crawls around with it. It could be a wash cloth in the tub (or out), Zach's chicken from his Farm, or here it is a measuring spoon. She is a silly girl.

Yogi herself.

(Kara Beara...Yogi Berra...Yogi.)

I caught Kate with Zach's empty pudding cup and his spoon. She was totally loving it and using the spoon to get it out. You can see the chocolate on her face. So funny!
Caught ya!

Julie and Thanksgiving!!!

AUNTIE JULIE CAME TO TOWN!!!!

Julie was coming to Alberta for a friends wedding and came to Edmonton to hang out with us for a bit! It was so fun to see her (and the new Budding Brinkerhoff!!!) and celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving with her. We are thankful for Julie, and all the rest of our family and friends. ;)

The morning after she came. I picked her up in the early AM and then I am sure the kids woke her up just a few hours later! Sorry Julie! They were just so excited to see you!
Zach with his Thanksgiving spread. Yes, I did the turkey all by myself! This is my 3rd one I think. It is SO WEIRD to me "the mom" in charge of the meal. So strange. I missed my mom's stuffing. I was too lazy to do it, but it is SO GOOD. We had garden mashed potatoes, garden carrots, and garden beans. Happy Harvest!


It wouldn't be a proper holiday without card games! Zach is even in on it now. He LOVES to play Memory. This is a Nemo memory game I found at our beloved Target when we were in the states (Oh, how I miss you, store of red and white). Anyway, he is SO GOOD at it. He has a great memory. I was told that when I was very young, I was extremely good at this game and could often beat adults (probably because they weren't paying attention.) I really wish my 3 year old self could come over and play memory with Zach. I bet I'd win. HA! :)

Kara loved exploring Arnold's wheelchair. :)

Cute cute pic of Auntie Jules and the girls.

This one is even better. She was laughing uncontrollably at Justin and I trying to get Kate and Kara to look and smile. It worked for Julie...too good!

We love you and miss you Julie! Thanks for coming! And thanks for making another GIRL COUSIN for us to play with!!! :)

Conference Weekend and Harvest Time!!!

I LOVE GENERAL CONFERENCE!

Really I do. I love listening to all of the General Authorities in the church, making goals on how to become a better person, and being uplifted by the Spirit. Conference weekend is always a special time. And even though we live in Edmonton, we still get in on TV which is awesome since we have so many little likes running around. We tried to schedule nap times around conference times, and it worked rather well. Zach was awake for the morning sessions and was SO captivated by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. He was just zoned in on them! I think he is going to be in it some day. :) Anyway, this one was special because Baby Talia was just almost a week old, so Justin's family came up to meet her. We had a great time. It is always fun when Grandma and Grandpa come to town. AND Karen and Dallin. Can't forget them. Zach LOVES them! We do too.

This is how soothing conference can be. And they're out...Karen, Kate, and Grandma.
Kate and Kara loved to climb all over Karen. She is a great Auntie!
Since we had so many people at home we took advantage of the babysitters and harvested our garden. It was dang cold too! The wind was blowing and it was a chilly chilly day. Here are Justin and Zach digging "tomatoes" as Zach would say...They were really potatoes. I will never get over how weird they grow. You just plant one potato and then a few months later dig up 5 more or so! They just grow, underground. So strange to me.

Action shots...digging the hill...

pulling up the plant

And poof! A POTATO is born.

Zach found a few left over corn cobs we hadn't picked off the stalk. He LOVES corn and wanted to eat it so bad. So we let him! I husked (any one else call husking the corn "shucking" it?) it for him and he chowed down! Delicious dirt on the face...yummers.

My little corn eating Eskimo.

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It is FINISHED!!!!

Well, my lovely sister-in-laws Leslie and Kamry inspired me to finally finish the girls room. If Kamry's 1st baby gets a room even before she was born, my girls should have one after 9 months of life. Now they won't be jealous of their cousin. Anyway, Leslie has a vinyl cutting machine and so we were able to cut out dots and names and phrases and make the room so stinking cute! I love it. Thanks so much Kamry and Leslie for your help! Oh, and I have to thank Maren and Alysha for snapping the photos I hung in their room. You guys are da' bomb. :) Enjoy ... I do. As do Kate and Kara I am sure. Now I've got to get on the ball and make Zach's room cuter. Any ideas? I am thinking shades of blue and orange. Maybe sports?? I don't know. Zach's in a big boy bed now, so I finally got to put Kara in a REAL crib instead of the pack and play. YAY!!! What a big boy. He is doing a great job in it. Better than I thought. (knock on wood.)

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Here we begin the tour. You enter the room from the door on the left. The door straight ahead is the closet.
Again, the closet door...Polka dot wall continuing on to Kara's crib...You don't understand how hard it is for a perfectionist worry wart like me to complete a task such as this. It was ALMOST as scary as tie dying at our family reunion. Luckily I had Leslie and Kamry there to help me this time. Kamry especially was always there to give her opinion of dot placement. Phew. I love Kamry for that. Some one's got to speak up. THANK YOU!! :) It made the dotting process take minutes instead of hours.

Leslie found the cute font and flowers for the girl's names. I love it! :)

Kate's wall. The contagious polka dot rash hasn't spread much over here yet.

I was given the wooden joy sign as a Christmas decoration, but liked it so much I wanted to have it out for longer than just Christmas. I think this turned out cute. We just added a vinyl "bundles of" on top of it. These are some of the cute pics that Alysha and Maren took. Now, I thought I was over it, but looking at this picture makes me want to resize Kara's again to match Kate's. Somebody please stop me. Stop the maddness. Or should I really do it?

We are now facing the NE corner of the room. :) That teddy bear was carved by my Great Uncle Roger (I got it wrong in the video...whoops) and hung in my nursery.

Cute little blessing pictures. I LOVE the hand one. They were only about 2 weeks old in these pictures and they were already holding hands. So sweet. And doesn't the statue remind you of hte characters in "The Night Before Christmas"? My mom gave it to me. We have a matching one of a man and woman together that was on the top of our wedding cake. Cute.

And we're back at the door, ready to go out and save who ever that is that is crying out there. I'm coming!!! :)