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So, it's the last day of July and I have a TON of stuff to write. But it is going to have to wait.  I have lots of pictures to unload and we are finally back in a routine.  We were gone from July 4-19th, with a few days in between we were home, but just doing laundry. Then we all got really sick (puking sick) and I HAVE to clean my kitchen floors. They are disgusting. But I will leave you with some kiddo updates.

Crunky- This is what Verona says when something is crunchy. She can't say crunky.  Bites into a chip "Mommy, this is crunky". I laugh so hard every time. It's like living with a tiny Lil' Jon.

Alright/Sure- You ask Trent if he wants something, 'Trent, do you want me to read this book?" Sure. Trent, can you drink your milk? Alright. 

Poppins!!!!- When we were sick, we introduced Mary Poppins to them. We watched Mary Poppins 4 times over a weekend. Some observations from the kids " He is dirty" (All chimney sweeps) POPPINS! (every time Mary Poppins came on the screen).  "He/She Sad!" Any time Jane or Michael cried or anyone else for that matter cried.  Now it is almost a daily request, POPPINS. Last night, Trent did the sign for MORE, and kept saying and doing the sign, More Poppins, More Poppins, More Poppins.  Man I hate to disappoint.

Panties.- I wish I could remember which of my friends hates this word, but Verona LOVES it.  I let her get some toddler training pants, and now it's all "I need panties, I go poo in my panties, Daddy I have pantes" Lest you think she is potty trained she is not.  But she LOVES her some panties.

Meat Mush- Trent used to eat everything.  It was awesome. Now, not so much.  He likes his meat formed. Think meatloaf and meatballs.  I shredded some chicken and hit it in a quesadilla so I won that day. A usual meal goes like this. Veggie, Meat, Carb. Trent, will eat ONLY the veggie and Carb.Verona will eat ONLY the Meat and Carb.  They never eat the same thing, it's always opposite. Too bad for them, it's one meal to rule them all. 

Words- Verona is having a pronunciation issue with a few words.  When we sing Ring around the rosies, Ashes becomes Asses.  And Ducks no longer say quack, they say buck, but it starts with an F.  Yeh, that was crazy.  We no longer ask what ducks say in our house.  We skip the ducks.  Trenton is not speaking English as much as Verona. He has his own language that only he and Verona can understand. But he will start singing a song randomly.  When changing his diaper, he busted out Where is Thumbkin. 

I hope to get our summer adventure up soon-ish. Until, then..................

Our Pool/water feature/fountain. 

Days-8-10ish

On Friday Andy and my mom had their annual canning fest. What? Yes. For 3 years now, my mom and Andy can jam together.  The first year it was Strawberry, last year it was Pineapple-apricot, and this year was Sour Cherry.  It's so cute to watch them.  They went to the fruit stand, picked out cherries, spent time pitting the cherries, I tried to help, but was kicked out of the kitchen, and they had a grand ol time.  My mom even convinced Andy to enter a jar in our local fair next spring. 

Andy and I went to Mendocino B.C. (before children) back in 2005 or 2006.  We had this amazing sour cherry jam and loved it.  So he found a recipe, and luckily sour cherries were in season while we were up in Yakima and it worked out great. Meanwhile, my dad and I entertained the kids while Mom and Andy went to work. We stopped by my brother's new house, well, his and his NEW WIFE's house!  And then we took the kids to Nob Hill elementary school and let them run around and play. I was in shock to see they still had a merry-go-round. I immediately threw the kids on it and started spinning it. I love that as a kid.  They did too it seems.

After putting the kids down for nap I rewarded all of us with Arctic Circle. I want to take a moment to give proper praise to Fry Sauce.  This condiment is the stuff of my childhood.  I. Love. Fry.Sauce.  It can't be duplicated. It is only good fresh and from certain restaurants.  Arctic Circle was so good this time, I think I may go there for now own instead of Miners or Major's. Plus the lady gave me some kind of discount so it was all good.  Side note: I had my 6th birthday party at the Arctic Circle on North First street when Arctic Circle was still there. I also had birthday parties at Dairy Queen and Burger King too.  Yeh. That's how I rolled as a kid.

Friday night, Andy and I headed over to my friend Robb from high school and his wife Brynn's new house.  I can now saw that Robb and Brynn are OUR friends now.  Every time we come to Yakima we see them.   This time was extra awesome because they are expecting TWIN GIRLS!!!  We talked babies and all things twins for hours.  Robb, Andy and I went through 3 bottles of wine, then the men switched to beer, and I to water since I was driving.  Brynn of course had water.  They showed us their beautiful new home and it was nice to spend some time with them.  Robb and Brynn are going to make the best parents and are totally in for a life changing experience with the twins arrive.  

On Saturday after we were all ready, we went to Kids Castle at 10 in the morning. We went there last summer on a Friday, but on a Saturday you can jump on the trampolines, play on the main floor and just have more room to play. I love Kids Castle. It wasn't busy at all. And now that the kids are almost 2 1/2, I don't worry about them as much. Sure they got stuck and lost inside the tube maze, but it builds character.

We left my parents with the kids and Andy and I went to the movies and saw Monster's University.   This may be my favorite Pixar movie of all time.  It is probably tied with Toy Story 2 and 3.  The storyline was awesome, and it was relate able for adults, had a couple of good messages for kids, and was very funny.  It was our first time seeing an animated film in a theater after having kids.  There were TONS of kids there so it made it fun when they would laugh at parts that were not funny for adults, but the kids were howling.  Of course there were also babies crying, kids throwing tantrums and asking "what, and why" throughout the movie, but that's what you get when you go to a G rated animated film.  Overall, I highly recommend going to see it.

We had our last meal with  my parents on Saturday and just spend the rest of the evening packing up our van, and my parents were gracious enough to give us their car top carrier.  I remember using it as a kid, but now I feel it completes our whole transformation from a couple to a family with a minivan perfectly. Here's a pic.

We left at 2am on Sunday and the kids did great.  We didn't stop until Redmond, Or and had a delish breakfast at Sherri's I wish there was a Sherri's in Chico.  We stopped again in So. Oregon and let the kids run around.

We had a great trip and are pretty pleased with how well the kids did in a car for 10 hours one way.  We have our 2nd road trip coming up, and this one is shorter, but we are doing to leave at 2 am again, because it's like stealing hours when the kids are asleep and you are driving. Many congrats to my brother Adam, and his wife Stacy.  My poor mom has gets our names mixed up now. Andy and Sydney, Adam and Stacy.  I tend to yell Adam when Andy does something wrong, and I am sure Adam does the same when Stacy pics on him.  ; ) 

This is from their first nap back in their own beds. I think it went well don't you?