A weekend of fun!

 Aspen has such a sweet personality and just loves Sadie.  Sometimes so much Sadie can't breath, but it's love just the same!

 Taylor is such an amazing baby.  We joke that it is a good thing she is our last because if she were our first we may have ended up with 20 and counting!

  

 A new bowling alley opened up near our house, and it is specifically for families!  That is great news for us, because with 4 small girls we need activities that are kid friendly for sure!  Unfortunately it is so popular that at opening time there was instantly an hour wait!  Hour wait..... not good.

 So instead we ate pizza and played some games.  The twins don't know what bowling is so they were happy but Hannah was a little sad.  She is a great bowler and was looking forward to it.  We are going to try another day and see if we can catch a day a little less crowded.

 Sad right?  She's such a goofball that she cheered up pretty quickly.  :)

 Bahahahahaha!  Just love the exclamations on Taylor's face when a new sound or sensation comes around!

She's so alert and curious!

 The time has come.  They say you should introduce a bottle at 6 weeks if you're going to use one.  Well we waited until 10... oops.  Good thing little Miss.Taylor knows how to eat.  She had no problem transitioning back and forth between a bottle and nursing.  I've got a stock pile of milk built up already and we are preparing for me to go back to work in 2 weeks.  It's a bittersweet moment.  I love my girls and love being home with them even more.  But this is the season we are in, and fortunately I am blessed to have an incredible job doing something that I am gifted in.  I can fulfill my purpose as a Mom and a Nurse.  Both my passion and both rewarding.  If I had to leave home to scrub toilets I might kick and scream every time I had to go!

 Weather is still hitting the 50s most days!  So we are taking complete advantage and playing outside as much as we can!  I have to admit, I wouldn't be sad if we completely skipped the snow this winter.  I love the snow, but I like the fact that we can drive to it to play and then come back home to mild weather.  I was so made for California..... sigh.

Starting the year off right!

 WHAT YEAR DID YOU SAY IT IS???  2012???  

When did that happen!?!?!?

We can't believe 2011 is already behind us.  What a great year it was!  Looking forward to 2012 for sure!

As we drove home from church today, we discussed the mild winter and how beautiful it was.  We were a little disappointed to head home for naps, so after a brief discussion... we decided to skip them and head to the foothills for a hike instead!

Aspen was enjoying the "journey" and taking her sweet time down the trail.  Doing things like pointing out every single rock to me.  She definitely takes after her Grandma Pat.  every time we take Grandma on an adventure she is always looking at the ground while she walks.  One of these days they are both going to run into a tree, I'm sure of it! 

Decided to take their bikes of trail and explore. :)

Such a beautiful blue sky.  A perfect day for a hike!

Our beautiful girls.  Taylor was asleep in the pack, but it won't be long before she is toddling right behind these 4!

Hannah was out searching for the perfect stick for Sadie.  After some time we stopped her from doing this because Aspen and Brooke kept getting off of their bikes to get sticks too.  We didn't hike too far, but 3 girls stopping every foot and a half makes a short hike EXTREMELY long and even though we were having fun, you can only hike so long. :)  It was in this moment that Hannah responded "That's fine, if you don't care about Sadie Mom then I'll stop."  Sigh... Then turn around to smile before coming back to discuss guilt and why we don't try to use it on people.  :)

Here is a short video of Brooke successfully gliding!  I never did catch Aspen as she would stop and smile every time I pointed the camera at her.  Sorry it is so shaky.  I thought I was doing a better job of holding it still while walking!  :)  SO amazed that they caught on so quickly!  Only the second time they have been on their bikes!  Awesome!

Starting off the new year clean

 Taylor love... love... LOVES bath time.  I think she is programmed as a woman already and is ready to soak in a hot tub any time of the day!  I had to laugh as I looked back through the sequence of photos I took because I caught just about every facial expression she has! :)  

"Happy"

 "Unsure"

 "Surprised"

 "Nervous"

 "Disgusted"

"Angry"

New Years Eve

 Little beauty soaking in the warm sun.  One of her favorite things to do!

 Posing with the bear that Hannah made for her when she was born.

 We had a wonderful celebration this year, that ended promptly at 8:30pm.  Gotta love it when your kiddos still can't tell time.  No trickery required.  Just the fact that it was very dark out was proof enough that it was SO late! :)

 The girls really enjoyed drinking sparkling cider.  They drink water 80% of the time so it was a nice treat! :)

 Our 3 beauties.  Hannah got everyone dressed and set the table for their special dinner.

Ended the night with a bang and party poppers! (That Aspen ran and hid from!)  Happy New Year!  2012, we are ready for you!