Conversations from Today

**This morning Jesse was laying on the living room floor with his pile of blankets (which is a daily occurrence for him). When my mom walked into the room she said, "hello" to Jesse, he rolled over to my mom, got the biggest grin on his face, and proudly proclaimed, "My Grandpa is my best friend." What a sweet moment to remember...I am glad that she came and told me and my dad right after it happened.

**Later on this evening I walked into the living room to find blue crayon all across the white leather couch cushions...below is our conversation that followed...

Me: Noooo! Jesse! Jocelyn! Who colored on the couch with the blue crayon?

Both: Silent

Me: Jocelyn, did you color on the couch?

Jocelyn: No, it was Jesse.

Me: Jesse, did you color on the couch?

Jesse: I am not Jesse.

Me: What? Of course you are Jesse.

Jesse: No, I not. I brother.

Me: Jocelyn are you sure that Jesse is the one who colored on the couch?

(my mom enters the room)

Jocelyn: No, it was grandma, she colored with blue.

Jesse: Yes, it was grandma, colored on the couch.

Me: Hmm so you are telling me that grandma colored on the couch with blue crayon?

Jesse: (with a huge grin on his face) No, it was Jesse.

*So should I be proud of the fact that they tried to be creative and blame it on grandma, or proud of the fact that Jocelyn tried to keep Jesse out of trouble, or happy that Jesse finally admitted to coloring on the couch? At any rate it was so funny that I wanted to document it...wow aren't they a bit young to be fibbing? Luckily the blue crayon came off pretty easily.

Rain, Rain, Rain

It's raining it's pouring, staying inside is boring...it is a tad chilly outside but I let the twins put on their rain gear and we went outside to stomp in puddles and play in the rain. Here is little Jocelyn all ready to go outside and brave the weather...Starting off on our rainy adventure...
The first splashing session...
Jumping in puddles continues...
And as the rain slows down, the puddles get smaller...
We have enjoyed playing in the rain, but we are really ready for the sun to come out so we can run around in t-shirts while enjoying melting popsicles...

Triplets at the Zoo

Yesterday I kept my friends boy for a little while and I decided to take them to the Dallas Zoo. It was perfect because there was hardly anyone there (15 cars in the parking lot) and the weather was perfect with the sun shining we were plenty warm in our hoodies/jackets. There are about a million pictures in this post because I loved so many of them. Oh, and the cutest old man came up to me and was so excited that I had triplets because he was a triplet at birth but his sister died so he just grew up he and his brother and he went on and on about how neat it would have been to have all three of them living as best friends and seriously he talked about it for about 5 min or so...so I didn't have the heart to tell him that in fact they were not triplets. He took a picture of us with his camera and then I had him take one with mine. To make matters worse later we ran into him again in the reptile house and this time he was with his son, daughter-in-law, and his two grandsons...the son I am sure is in trouble with his wife because he said, "Wow, you had triplets, you look amazing. Wow, that is amazing!" It was a bit uncomfortable as his wife was sending daggers to him with her eyes and I was snacking away on chips and a handful of Skittles. So, the moral of the story is that if you ever need an ego boost, tell men that you have had triplets and they'll be amazed by your post baby body...so what if it isn't true...it will make your day! :)
Poor Marc got the back of the turtle...he was a bit nervous that he might fall...but rest assured that no one was hurt during this photo...
Jesse and Marc climbing the fence to get a better look...
Me with my triplets, the old man took a picture of us...he did pretty good...
Happy Jocelyn snacking away on pretzels...
Marc and his "cheese" grin...
Jesse enjoying a few pretzels...
I was brave and took the twins into the reptile house, this is where we ran into the old man again...I had him take one more photo of me and my "triplets" since the other one was a bit blurry...oh and the old man, thought it was so funny that only my little boy got my brown hair...clearly my twins are the blondies...
They all enjoyed taking turns petting the rabbit...
Checking out the little baby pigs...
Jocelyn has been dying to go back to uncle Jason's and ride horsies...so when she found this she got really excited...but of course followed it up with, "I wana go to uncle Jason's house, ride horsies."
Jesse checking out the ducks on the other side of the bridge...
Too cute not to capture...
We took a little break and enjoyed some lunch...don't worry Steph, Marc had more to eat than what is in front of him in this picture...he just didn't have a lunchbox so I gave his food to him bit by bit...I promise!!!
Marc striking a pose on Dumbo...
Jocelyn was so brave and wanted to ride the "big, big, big elephant" of course it was followed up with, "I wana ride Uncle Jason's big, big horsies"...once the weather gets better we'll be headed to Jason & Kim's...
My little man going for a ride...remember when we rode real elephants at the circus last April?

Making Playdough on a Rainy Day

It was raining outside today and we needed a fun activity to do...so we made some playdough and had a great time not only during the process of making it, but playing with it too. I used to make this all the time when I was teaching school because my students loved to make things in the science lab and it was fun to mold into different shapes or letters to practice spelling words...anyhow here are all of our ingredients:
My two little helpers were so excited to both get to hold their own wooden spoons. They are getting really good at stirring and no longer spill the contents of the pan out onto the burner...that is a major improvement...
Jesse and Jocelyn always take turns adding every other ingredient...this is their favorite part by far!!! I still have to guide them when they use the big measuring cup but they are able to handle them up to 1/2 cup size...
Stirring away and waiting for our dough to thicken...yes, it looks like Jesse's hand is really close to the burner, I assure you that he did not touch the burner and he pulled his hand back as soon as I realized it was that close...
Jocelyn holding part of our finished product...I forgot to add the food coloring till it was a bit too late...so we had more of a marbled red playdough...but the twins enjoyed it all the same.
Salt Playdough Recipe for anyone who wants it:

1 cup water

1 cup flour

1/2 cup salt

1 T oil

2 tsp cream of tarter

food coloring

*cook on low heat stirring constantly till thick

*remove from heat and let it cool for 1-2 minutes

*knead the dough on the counter till smooth

*once finished playing put it in a Ziploc bag and store till next time

An Exciting Package

Today we got a package in the mail that we didn't expect. I let Jocelyn and Jesse open it on the kitchen table so I could get some photos of them opening it. The twins love to open package no matter how big or small. Most of the time now when a package comes Jocelyn will ask if it came from Target...not quite sure why, but she thinks that we get everything from Target. My dad will ask her where an outfit came from and she'll confidently reply, "Mommy bought it for me at Target"...it's pretty funny. Anyhow, I told them the package was from Carla and they were both pretty excited to see what was in it...Jocelyn peeling back the tissue paper...you can tell from her little smirk she is excited to see what is under the paper...
Jesse decided to help and get in on the action...
Jesse was so excited to get his "Elmo's" as he calls them. We got these bath drops from Bridget at Christmas and the twins love them. You drop one in the tub and it changes the color of water...Elmo is on the package of the ones that Bridget gave them so he call them his "Elmo's". So needless to say he was so happy to have more since we had just run out...
Clearly Jocelyn couldn't be happier with what she found inside waiting for her...I think my little girl will be going to kindergarten with her little snuggly blankets. Thanks for the fun package and for making the twins day!

FIrst Tuesday's

We went back to the Dallas Museum of Art again today for the First Tuesday's program that they have. The twins loved working with all of the craft items such as scissors, glue sticks, wire, stickers, markers, etc. Jocelyn worked on a princess tiara and Jesse made a prince crown. They have really gotten into making art projects lately and love to do things with their hands...





I packed some lunches for the twins to eat when we were finished at the museum before we left to come home. They loved using their lunch boxes for the first time...they even did a great job of eating most of their lunch...


I even parallel parked and got into my spot between the two cars on my first try...I was pretty proud of myself...

Chuck-E-Cheese For FHE

Tonight for FHE we went to play at Chuck-E-Cheese. Jocelyn has been asking to go here for quite some time so she was really excited when I told her that we would finally be going after dinner. It was really neat to take Grandpa and Grandma along with us to play. Here is Jocelyn on her favorite ride...the galloping horse...Jocelyn fishing...
Jesse filling up his fish bowl with water...
Jesse loved that Grandma played air hockey with him. I usually take the twins here by myself so I am never able to play a full game of air hockey with him, but he loved that grandma was able to play with him the entire game. He is actually getting pretty good at stopping the puck as well as hitting it...

There is this roller coaster simulation ride and the twins thought it was pretty great, well actually my dad and I quite enjoyed it too...

Jocelyn making a phone call to Mr. Cheese...
Jesse was pretty excited to Chuck-E-Cheese the mouse and I was excited to snap a picture of it. We had a great FHE spending time together and playing.

Our Weekend Wrap-Up

On Saturday Jason's and Colette's children came over to play with us for the evening. We had a great time building train tracks, making food in the play kitchen, eating dinner, watching a movie with popcorn and once Jason and Kim got back, wrestling. Here is a snapshot of dinner...lots of little people...Here we are watching a movie with popcorn...thanks Brady for the little "ears"...
Uncle Jason always seems to get everyone all excited. Here he is being attacked by a few of his many admirers...clearly everyone LOVES uncle Jason...

On Sunday we got out the blocks and built a lot of Thomas and Princess towers. Jesse loved to knock them over and then build them again...thankfully Steve is a pretty quick tower builder...
My two little munchkins next to their current tower...
Jocelyn posing with her princess crown and shoes on...

Medieval Times

Tonight we decided to try out Medieval Times in Dallas with the twins. It was so cold outside so it was a great activity since inside the castle it was nice and toasty. Jocelyn loved watching the Princess all evening and would get very concerned when she couldn't see her. Jesse was mesmerized by all of the action and his eyes stayed glued to the show the entire time. It was a fun evening and we all had a great time. Jocelyn, me, Jesse and Steve...Jocelyn loved her little hat but it wouldn't even begin to stay up on her tiny little head. Grandpa took care of her and got some tape so that we could make it tighter and she could wear her hat...
The whole group...
Steve and Me...
Steve breaking the rules by letting Jesse touch the Knight in Shining Armour as well as the sword which were both clearly labeled..."Do Not Touch"...Jesse thought it was pretty great...
Me and my little Jesse in our Black and White crowns...
We cheered for the Black and White Knight who ended up winning the tournament....that's right we were a pretty great cheering section...
After we were finished with the dinner portion of the evening the twins loved sitting up on the table so they could have an even better view of all the action. They sure loved watching the horses do their tricks but Jocelyn really wanted to ride them and she kept asking to "ride uncle Jason's horsies"...so I guess we'll be headed up to Denton to ride horses again as soon as it warms up a tad...

Because Grandpa Can't Say "No"

Yesterday morning all of the little tykes wanted my dad to make a fire. It was a bone chilling 68 degrees outside so my sister and I knew that there was no way that they would be able to convince him to build a fire. Boy were we wrong. He got out of bed, put on some shoes and proceeded to make a fire for the grandchildren. They were so excited to a fire to sit by and get "warmed up" by. Here is grandpa and four of his grandchildren watching the fire in complete awe...Michelle and her crew went home yesterday after having been here for a week. Jocelyn and Jesse sure miss Kelyn a lot already. Here are a few fun shots of Jocelyn and Kelyn, I think they wore matching outfits almost everyday that Michelle was here...they are 11 months apart...

Four Eyes & Hide-n-Seek

Last night Jesse was playing with the toys under the fish tank and he came across these work goggles and he loved being silly in them. He also was wearing some dog-dog clothing from Carla....these little tykes sure like to ham it up when I pull out the camera, so here he is being silly with his goggles on...
Last night we also played Hide-n-Seek for the first time with the twins. Colette and her kiddies were over here as well as Michelle and her kiddies so it made for lots of fun and shrieking giggles. It was so funny how excited they would get each time we would pop around the corner and "scare" them. Jocelyn was so funny because she wouldn't let go of Steve and each time she got scared she would only cling tighter...I think they might have a new favorite game...

A New Princess Tutu

Carla got Jocelyn a bunch of "Little Rockstar" clothing from Gymboree and it now fits Jocelyn. I put some of it on Jocelyn yesterday and she wanted a princess skirt to wear with it...so like a good little mom I went to JoAnn's and got some fabric (tulle & elastic) to make her a little princess skirt. Kelyn wanted one too, so Michelle and I sat down and watched a movie and less than 45 minutes later had the cutest little skirts for our darling little divas. I can't decide if I want to make it more puffy or just leave it the way it is...if I leave it the way it is, then I will be able to easily buckle her in her car seat still...hmm we'll see...at any rate she loved running around and dancing in her new "princess skirt"....

Dallas Children's Museum

Since my sister Michelle decided to stay in town a little longer we thought that we would take them to the Children's Museum downtown. The twins love to go here where they can explore and experience many hands on activities. Today they especially loved making bubbles with the huge bubble rings, playing in the sand, milking the cow, and making the hot air balloon rise with heat. We had a great time and we were even able to take grandpa with us, it was his first trip there as well. Below are some of the fun pictures we took during our various activities. It was nice to have Michelle there because I actually got to be in some pictures with the twins since I wasn't stuck behind the camera the whole time....

Grandma Snuggles

Last night Jesse wasn't feeling well and ended up puking. While I was cleaning everything up and starting laundry he wanted to snuggle with Grandma. I thought it was pretty cute that within five minutes they were both sound asleep. This little boy sure loves his grandma...

Yummy Spaghetti Sauce

Today we decided to make some yummy spaghetti sauce...so we pulled all of the necessary ingredients (minus the hamburger meat) out of the pantry....Jesse and Jocelyn took turns helping me make the sauce. Jesse especially enjoyed turning the blender on and off as well as adjusting the speed to make sure that everything was blended to perfection. This picture captures him perfectly, he was so happy and excited to help...
For one of the steps we had to add in a fist-full of parsley...so we both added one...mine obviously held a tad bit more than his did...
Once all the ingredients were added all we had to do was stir it and then let it simmer for a couple of hours. Jocelyn really enjoys stirring so she was pretty excited to do this part. She didn't want to stop and look at the camera because she wanted to "keep cooking"...you can tell she will be a great cook one day, she didn't even stop stirring for the picture (notice her little hand still hanging onto the wooden spoon)...
So for dinner we had yummy spaghetti and have enough sauce left over to freeze for several more quick meals in the future. Thanks for all your help Jocelyn and Jesse.

Carousel Fun

My sister Michelle and I needed to run into a few stores at Grapevine Mills today so we told the four little tykes that if they were "good" then they could ride on the carousel when we were all finished with our shopping. For the most part, it worked like a charm. Here is Jocelyn and Kelyn...Then the little tykes saw the gumball machines with all their treats...and they really wanted some candy...but we reminded them that they were going to ride the carousel instead...and magically it worked. So they then started to dance around the gumball machines and were chanting "carousel, carousel"
Marching and chanting....
Of course we made good on our promise and they were so excited to pick out the perfect horse to ride. Jocelyn wanted grandpa to stand by her on her "princess" horse...
My sister Michelle and Liam...
Me and the Jesse man...
Shell and Kelyn...
And me and Jocelyn. Going to the mall was a lot of fun and they all loved riding the carousel. Tomorrow we have many more adventures waiting for us at the Children's Museum...

Donuts and Planet 51

The twins love to eat donuts for breakfast so we usually go to Shipley Do-Nuts once a week. This week the twins were so excited to have their cousins go with them to eat yummy strawberry frosted and sprinkled donuts. Here is Liam, Jesse, Jocelyn and Kelyn enjoying a healthy breakfast...Jocelyn does pretty good when eating a donut she will usually eat about half of the donut plus all of the icing and sprinkles...
Jesse on the other hand, will only eat off the icing and sprinkles and never takes a bite out of his donut...silly boy...
We decided that we would take the little tykes to go see Planet 51 a kid movie about aliens at the dollar theatre. Mine love going to movies at the theatre and they sat through the whole movie. The other kiddies did pretty good as well. Me, my sister Michelle, my dad & my sister Colette took our children...
Here is a snapshot of me with the twins after the movie got out. This was a great way to spend our FHE...

All Ready for Church

Today before heading out the door for church we snapped a few photos since it is pretty rare for three of the four sisters to be together. We have had a lot of family time this weekend which has been really fun, but Colette went to her ward this morning so it was just the three of us girlies. Here is a shot of Maryann and me....Michelle, Me & Maryann in front of the tree...
Three Labrum girls...
My friend Steve came to church with us which was very helpful since we had a million little kiddies on our row at church...

Grandpa's Retirement Party

For my dads retirement party we rented out a facility called Bounce-U and had the greatest time. We had the entire place for just our family for about two hours and loved it. All of the grandchildren enjoyed playing with each other, and each of us siblings loved being rough and having friendly banter. This was such a great idea because it was perfect for the little ones and for us big ones as well. Here is Megan and Jocelyn before the activity started...Brady, Zach and Jesse listening to the rules...
Jesse loved to play baseball here where the ball is suspended in the air...
Jason and his daughter Hailee duking it out in the fighting ring...
Colette's little girl Madison ready to play some ball...
Jocelyn being such a brave little girl and going down the slide all by herself...
Hailee flying at me with all of her might...
Me headed towards Hailee...we sure had a lot of fun playing around in there, but we got pretty hot...
Dad climbing up the nearly impossible stretch cord climb....
Steve came to join in all the family fun once he was off of work...Jocelyn was pretty excited to see him and wanted him to hold her constantly...
Maryann, Megan and Michelle...
Jesse loved going through the obstacle course all by himself...

Steve and Jesse flying down the huge slide...look at the smile on Jesse's face...
Michelle and Kelyn...
Kelyn, Jesse, Megan and myself after coming down the slide...
Steve and Jocelyn after coming down the slide...
Here is a group photo of all of us who were able to make it. We loved playing as a family and celebrating with dad/grandpa.

Maryann and the Maracas

My sister Maryann came into town yesterday and the first thing she did was get all the kiddies wired. She pulled out the music bin with all of the maracas and they started dancing and shaking their groove. Too bad I didn't get a video of it because it was so funny! Here they are posing on my bed with their maracas. Michelle also came in town yesterday with her crew so there will be lots of fun cousin time in the next couple of days.