Pictures Finally: NY and Cassie's Wedding

I finally got some pictures of NY stuff from others cameras and off their Facebook pages. Enjoy! I forgot to mention another very important thing that happened in NY! My cousin Mark opened his mission call. He's going to.....

England! Congrats Mark!

Josh's 24th birthday!

Rachel and her Pop Pop! Love this picture, even the string of drool hanging from her mouth!

Fun nights skateboarding with their uncles! They loved it and chased them up and down the street if they weren't on the skateboard. Although I wish they all had kids already too, I know the girls love all the attention they get from their aunts and uncles who have no kids yet!

Happy 1 year anniversary! Just how you wanted to spend the day, sweating and trying not to puke at Adventureland!

More rides.

Got their hands up! They loved it by the end. Rachel was more into it than Livy which totally surprised me.

Excited but a little nervous.

Just excited!

Their matching hot pink outfit were perfect because it was always easy to spot them!

Their first ride at Adventureland! Erin, Rich and Hannah went with them since I couldn't and my moms stomach couldn't handle it! Rich barely made it on the kids rides without losing it! Whats happened to us!

Getting ready to be spun!

Cheese!

The whole gang after the Olympics. Everyone still has on their war paint.

Some of the cool ones!

The Cadwalladers! And prego cousin Katie who didn't know at the time!! Congrats guys!

Another group shot, this one with some adults too, or should I say parents since lots of us are adults I guess!

After the Olympics.

Olympics action! Tagging off after the wheelbarrow race to the sprinters.

Waiting for our teammates to come out of the ocean.

Pillowcase race.

Cartwheels.

Crab walk!

Green Team.

Purple Team. 2009 Winners!

Some of our team spirit. We all mark ourselves up with paint and markers with our team colors.

Planning meeting.

Red Team.

Dan's day at the beach.

The beautiful brides to be.

The happy couples and their happy parents!

Me and my sisters.

She looks more like their mom than mine, right?

My other family.

Becky and Doug.

I love this one. It makes me cry.

The whole wedding party.

Some of us girls.

Us with Jake.

So happy I was there to share it with her.

The Rathgebers.

Cassie looking great!

Here they come!

The Rathgeber men. Finally getting two more men to join them in the family of women!

Some of Cassie's pictures from the photographer. Don't they look beautiful!

New York

We have such a great family and I realize every day what a wonderful blessing that is. I know that is what make all of our trips so much fun. We love being together and I can only hope my kids grow up to be the same way. I know when we were younger we weren't as into being together all the time but we sure would love to live near each other now. Our trip to NY was awesome. We had great weather and lots of time at the beach with the family. The girls loved it, maybe not the beach immediately but both came to love it! We had the Rathgeber Family Reunion part of the time we were there, Cassie and Chris' and Becky and Doug's pre-wedding celebration, and the 2nd annual family Olympics which were so fun. Lots of us got to go with Becky and Cassie through the Manhattan Temple for their endowments together which was great. And we got another week of Psillos Family time which was just as fun.

Lots of beach pics, not much of anything else. When I get my mom's camera I will put others on. I have to note that we beat Rich and Erin really bad at sequence on the Anniversary! That was the only night though so I just had to mention it! Can't wait to play again guys!

Daddy digging with the girls at the beach.

Katie and Hannah and the girls. Buddies all week!

Uncle Charlie digging a hole that made Rachel very happy!

We got to go to dinner a few times as a family which was great. We had a babysitter which made every thing more enjoyable to have the kids when we wanted and the ability to leave when ever we wanted too.

The family Olympics was a success. It almost got rained out but ended up working out great. It is more like a relay race but either way it is fun. I did the wheel barrow with Josh, I held his feet, funny if you picture it the other way though! It was hysterical again this year but my team didn't win again. Sorry guys. I think the Purple team won this year. Good job guys!

Aunt Hannie! Again, the best friend, babysitter, referee, entertainer there is! They loved every minute with her and ask for her daily. We miss you Hannie!

Photo with one of the brides to be! Or actually the already Mrs. Thompson since I am posting this late! The wedding party was great too. They had a tent set up with good food and barely any mosquitoes which is a miracle for a party at the beach house! Beck and Cass looked beautiful!

Thank goodness there were tons of shells all over the beach this year because that is what they loved to do the most. They walked up and down with their buckets and picked up all sorts of shells. Great time killer.

We went on the docks one day to catch crabs and the girls loved it. They loved seeing the crabs up close and pulling the killy bucket out of the water (I don't know the correct term-it catches the killys for fishing). We found a tiny crab that they both held and really liked that.

Rachel is scared of Doug. He made some faces at her the first day she saw him and that was it. She wouldn't go near him the rest of the time. We just looked at pictures online today that he was in and she said "I don't like Doug, he's scary." Sorry Doug, try again next year! She didn't seem scared of anyone else much. Except once of Jake but I think she thought he was Doug because they both have the white hair. She said, "Jake is scary" and as I am trying to say no he's not Hannah says, "Rachel, you just have to get used to scary people in your family." So I wonder who is scary to her?!! It was funny that this was her solution!

Livy learning how your feet get buried in the sand when you stand in the waves for too long! She took right to the water and the sand but never wanted to stay at the beach for too long. Rachel took a long time to warm up to the whole idea. As you can see in lots of the pictures she wore her shoes for a few days and had to carry her cat around with her and there was no chance she was getting in the water.

Eventually she warmed up to it all. Didn't need the cat, took off the shoes, and suddenly said "lets go in the ocean" like she had done it the whole time!

Livy's fish hat. I tried to buy her a cute flower one but she insisted she wanted the old man fishing hat! She was some serious entertainment anytime she had food. She would get so hyper at meal time and you could not get her to stop talking. She is loud just like everyone else there too! It was quite hysterical to see her get like this! They both got totally spoiled though staying up late, getting italian ices every night and anything else they wanted.

Showing you her clam she dug up. She loved bugs and holding anything. Rachel takes a little longer to warm up to that stuff but usually wants to hold it too.

We really had lots of fun and I am sorry all I have are beach pictures. I wasn't great with my camera. I have to get my moms pictures some how and get them on here too. We took them to Adventureland. A small amusement park right near my parents house. They loved it but didn't last that long because it was nap time. But Livy wore the admission bracelet for about 2 weeks! And they asked numerous times to go back. Maybe next year.

Danny getting to enjoy the beach. Perfect low tide day. Beautiful.

Jake and Rich taking Dan for a dip. He just wanted out the whole time.

The girls loved hanging out with their aunts and uncles. It was always a dance party in Rich and Erin's room. The girls would tell me to leave. They just wanted to play down there with them. Egg hunts, dance party, spinning until they are dizzy all serious fun to two year olds! And it was crazy jumping time in Josh and Katie's room. They loved to jump in their and snuggle in their bed and watch their movies in their room with them. They didn't get to hang in Charlie and Michelle's room because they didn't have one. Sorry guys! They gave up their bed for me the pregnant one and they took an air mattress in the hall. Thanks guys!

Erin and I tortured the girls. We got smashed by a wave and they were both hysterically crying! Sorry girls!

Grandma Ede. When saying goodbye to grandma the first time we saw her on this trip Livy just says, "Bye Ede." She decided to drop the grandma part. Oh, the things they say.

And one 10 pm Sunday night ER visit to finish off the trip. Our first ER trip ever. She was being swung by her arms and legs and then something in her arm popped. She cried longer than normal and then wouldn't move her left arm at all without shaking, whimpering, and saying ouch. So we brought her in to make sure it wasn't broken. And it wasn't. But it was a dislocated elbow that he quickly popped back into place and she was good as new. After not moving her arm at all for four hours she was waving it around and saying "I all better" the next minute. Good that we went though because he said it would not have gone back in on its own. Livy was an excellent patient and my mom says it doesn't count as an ER trip because she was so good. She sat and watched her movie the whole time and didn't cry. She let them do everything they had to do and actually liked it (temp, blood pressure, etc.). Not even any crying when he popped it back in. What a trooper. She did say there was lots of scary stuff in the room though! Just glad for no cast. She loved the hospital bracelet. She wore it for 10 more days until Erin got her to cut it off finally!

I can't say enough what an awesome trip it was. I had so much fun and am so thankful to everyone there for all the help. And especially all the babysitting. My mom hired people left and right to babysit so I could nap and sleep in. That is a true vacation!! Stay up late, lots of fun people, good food, lots of sequence, and sleeping in! What else could I ask for. Thanks so much mom and dad! We had an awesome time and wish we could come back sooner than we will get to. The girls were totally spoiled by all their aunts and uncles and all the attention they got. They just asked any of them for anything and they got it (food, come on the trampoline, etc.). They miss everyone too and were asking everyday for them. And now everyday they talk about going back on the airplane to grandma and grandpas house. Thanks for making out trip so much fun everyone. I wish we got to stay longer. We miss you guys and can't wait to see you all sometime soon hopefully! Love you all!

Random Stuff To Remember

OK, well I am just going to start with this morning. It seems there is always some big mess to clean and this was today's, I hope. I came in to check my email to see if my ticket for my cousins wedding went through and I come back out to this. Two bags of chips all over the living room floor and Livy telling me she was feeding Pebbles. If only Pebbles would have ate it all! I guess I have to pay attention a bit more now that they can reach the shelves in the pantry.

Yesterday in my attempt to get them to eat anything for dinner I gave them a yogurt to eat outside at their picnic table. I hear them laughing away and I go out to see and they have finger painted the whole table and some of their bodies in yogurt. Lovely. We went right in the pool to clean off!
I finally got a picture of them with some of their favorite crafts.

Fishbowls, caterpillars, sheep, and shapes. Livy loves hers and Rachel likes to rip hers apart.

Quoting movies. They are definitely part of our family and maybe spent too much time with Rich and Erin (true movie quoters). They already quote Max and Ruby like nothing. Good thing I have heard all the DVDs so many times I know them too otherwise I wouldn't know what they were talking about. They act out the episodes they watch, they learn lots of new words that I didn't teach them (stretcher, scone), and they use the scenes in everyday life. Livy's favorite is calling people and telling them she missed the bus (like Ruby), needs to get her ticket and will catch the next one. Rachel now says "bad egg" when she doesn't want to eat her food. Max has an episode when Ruby tries to get him to eat an egg and he keeps pushing it away and saying bad egg. So now she uses that for everything she doesn't want. Although sometimes frustrating, initially funny.

Seasoned travelers. They now like to pretend they are going to NY on the plane. They pack their important stuff, duck and cat, and put their shoes on and say we are going to the airport to see Grandma and Grandpa. They have flown a bunch already so I think the idea of flying is setting in.

After NY my brother Rich, his wife Erin, and my sister Hannah came back to TX with us for a few days to help us move and get settled. I can't tell you what a help it was to have them here and so much fun. After we dropped them off at the airport the girls were making me cry in the car. They kept saying, "Turn around, I want to go back to the airport, I want to go see Grandma and Pop Pop. Where's Hannah and Richie and Erin?" I was emotional already, always am after I get back from NY and miss my family a ton. It just made me feel worse that they felt that way too. We all got over it but miss them terribly. They ask for some in NY everyday. Can't wait to see everyone again!

I was trying to get some parenting/teacher advice from my mom on getting the girls to listen to me better when I ask them to do something. She said to ask them to do something and then before they ignore you or do it say, "thanks for listening" and they are more likely to listen to you. Seems it has worked for her at home or school. So a few days ago I tried it out and it didn't go as planned. We just finished playing memory and I wanted the girls to help me clean up. Rachel was helping and Livy was crawling around on the floor. So I asked her to come over and help us clean up, followed by the thanks for listening bit. She stops crawling around, looks at me and says "but I'm not listening." Uh.....now what do I say! So that plan didn't work this time, maybe I will try again soon or maybe she is just too smart to play that trick on!

A picture of the belly at 25 weeks. Kind of larger than I was thinking it would be with one and everyone keeps telling me I look bigger than 25 weeks or bigger than a singleton. Thanks. But I know its true. I am so dreading potty training. Last month I felt great and could move around fine. Now it hurts and is a pain to bend over and it is steadily growing!

Speaking notes (just so I can remember for later):

Livy:

1. Has a certain way of asking for something and then making it sound like it was your great idea. She says "lets go in the playroom." I say "OK you want to go in the playroom?" She says excitedly "OK." Like you came up with that great idea. It is pretty funny when you hear it.

2. She likes to answer you with "yes" no yeah or uh-huh. Full yes and then full sentence answer which just sounds adorable from some one her size. "Do you want an ice pop?" "Yes I want an ice pop." So cute and proper.

3. She also is more honest and trustworthy still. She tells me whats going on, believes what I say and takes it how it is. Rachel is starting to veer away from that......

Rachel:

1. Has new words everyday that surprise me.

2. Knows she doesn't have to do what I say anymore. It drives me nuts. She gets out of bed all the time and tells me she doesn't want to sleep and that's how it is. She doesn't care if I say it's nap time or night time which would work for Livy. Unfortunately she is starting to realize she has a say and I am not the law like she used to think I was. Sad.

If anyone has any ideas on how to keep them in bed when they get out 10 times a night just let me know. I am up to bribing with candy now and that doesn't always work.

But after all that they are extremely entertaining and tiring. I am exhausted each night but so grateful to have them. I know I will really miss this age when it is gone because of all the funny things they say and how sweet they are. I love them so much and love watching them grow and learn new things.