THE TWINS ARE HERE!

They arrived a bit early, and we're VERY excited for you to meet them!

Here we are in the labor/delivery room before going in for my C-section.

July 28, 2011.

Brooklynn Marie was born first, at 3:20 p.m. A little bundle at just 5 lbs. 11 oz. and 19 inches long. Mommy has just a quick moment to say hello!

Ethan Stuart was born at 3:22 p.m. A bit smaller at 5 lbs. 9 oz. and 18-1/2 inches long. He started howling as soon as his head poked out!
Brooklynn was taken to the NICU to get her breathing and blood sugar regulated.

She did NOT like to be taken away from Mommy and Daddy!

Ethan soon joined her to be monitored for a bit.
Both babies joined Mommy and Daddy about 6 hours later. They were MUCH happier then...

(Brooklynn above ... Ethan below)

Daddy has a quiet moment with the twins before company comes to visit.

All my boys together...

Jacob kept saying, "They're SO cute!"

Braden just wanted to poke their eyes.

We are so excited to be together again!

Just one big, happy family!

Big brother Braden gets a turn holding a baby.

The three brothers put their heads together. Oh, boy .... what will they come up with a few years from now???

Everyone came home on Sunday. Thank Goodness Nana came to help out!

"Shhhhh ... we're telling each other some secrets!" ;D

And now for some really precious photos:

Ethan snuggling with Mommy...

... and Brooklynn, just chillin' out.

This is the best way to tell them apart.

Ethan is very fair, and Brooklynn is dark-haired.

Everyone is doing really well. Mommy and Daddy are a bit sleep-deprived, but VERY happy!

We feel very blessed to have healthy, sweet babies. They are beautiful!

It's a long one...

Ugh. SO I am just coming back to this post after spending about an hour on it and then accidentally closing without saving and losing it ALL when it was almost done.... GRrrrrr...

So instead of totally awesome commentary on it all I think I'm just going to do blips.

I finally downloaded our camera (from April to now) and here is some of our summer so far according to the camera.

Dallas' birthday! Our littlest is 2 now and definitely entering the terrible twos. His nickname Bam-bam is very fitting and he keeps us on our toes, but he's a cutie!

Quick camping trip with Nana and Papa, Shane's family and Josh.

The kids trying out Grandma and Grandpa's new swing set! They all LOVE it!

Tucker is 5 now! We celebrated at Out of This World Pizza and had a great time!

The Rowley Family vacation to Sun River! It include lots of bike riding, swimming, hot-tubbing, kids activities, yummy food, movies, basketball games, reading, family time, and tons of fun!
Ice-excavating! Tucker and Landon loved it. The others had fun and Dallas just ate the ice.Shane fashioned a 'hoop' from a cardboard box with a hole in the bottom and tied it to the balcony railing. We used the kids' balls and had tons of fun playing basketball all week!



4th of July spent with Nana and Papa at the St. Paul Rodeo. Love our handsome cowboys!
Jayson, Kim and Josh finish the Seattle to Portland ride - that's 204 miles. Yeah, they're super awesome.

Riley's baby blessing weekend in Coeur d'Alene. We had so much fun hanging out with the family and thanks to Kimbre and Matt for being such great hosts!

Just kids being kids - some of the fun in between.

Dallas is our cheese-ball.

Tucker learned how to swing! The boys love to play in the backyard.Movies in undies - so cute.

Dallas went through a phase where sleeping in the buff was much more comfy...Jett says he's playing the guitar here - some awesome rock and roll. I think it looks like "hi-yah!!"

You can always find Tucker sitting there drawing - he's our little artist.

Well, we're not done yet but we're having a lot of fun enjoying our summer break!

Happy Pioneer Day!

This is a dress that was given to me from a client before I stopped working. It's all handmade and kinda looks like something I would have worn in 1985 but I just love it! Matt and I call it her picnic dress and what better day to wear it than on Pioneer Day!

Happy Happy Happy ...

Happy Birthday MOM!!!!!

We are so excited that you got to spend your day fishing and enjoying the beauty of Montana, and we hope you caught the BIG ones! We love you so much, Mom, and we're so proud of you for all that you've accomplished this year! You are an amazing woman and definitely our hero. We love you and hope you have had a very happy birthday!!!

xoxo

Feeding the ducks & Park friends

This summer has been one of the mildest I can remember. It's still hot, but far fewer days of triple digits, and the month of May was especially mild and beautiful. Here's a few picts of our park friends and good times. :)

Jakey is always leading the other kids on adventures through the bushes armed with sticks. They're often hunting dinosaurs or chasing bad guys.;)

The Fire Station!

Our friend Dustin is a fire fighter and invited us to visit him at his station one evening. The boys were a little intimidated, but ever since then have pointed to every fire truck they see and waved to Dustin!:) The best part was trying on the hats and getting to see Dustin in his full face mask and hat get-up. He showed it to the kids, and demonstrated how it makes his voice sound funny. Then, he reminded them that firemen are helpers and it's very important NOT to hide from them if there's ever a fire. I would recommend a trip like this to everyone! The boys loved it!

Riley's Baby Blessing

The weekend of Riley's baby blessing was full of family fun!!
On Saturday, we all went down to the park near the Coeur d' Alene Resort and it just so happened that a Kid's Activity Day was going on! So all the kids got to enjoy seeing fire trucks and police cars and romping around through different kids games.











































Thank you to all who came!!