Cousin-Power

 We had a great time while Becky, Caleb and Carson were here.  As you can imagine there was a lot of baby bonding time between the cousins.
Rocky and Daisy absolutely adore their Tios.  They were super excited to show them around Newport.  Rocky especially wanted to point out her favorite thing in Oregon, the shrunken head that is on display at the Ripley's musuem.
We took a few minutes to enjoy the sunshine, knowing how fleeting it would be.  The sea lions were out basking in it too.

 Amazing scenery and great company...what could be better?

 It was an absolutely beautiful day on the coast.

As you can see, Rosy was so overwhelmed by her first trip to the ocean that took one look and and fell right asleep.  I actually can't blame her because it was also probably the first time those little eyeballs had seen the sun.  They probably felt better being closed.

 The girls had to show Caleb their cupcake cookbook and kept asking Becky to take pictures of them with her phone.

Carson challenged Rosy to a corner stand-off.  She pulled off a narrow victory but he got her back later.

This could be my favorite picture ever.

After Rocky and Daisy were in bed the rest of us sat around and watched the babies.  Carson has the biggest smile and most infectious laugh and he had us all giggling.  The later it got the cuter and crazier these two became.  It is kind of embarrassing how giddy we all were, trying out new tricks with our babies like they were toys.  Embarrassing, and extremely fun.

Rosy was quite taken with her charming little buddy.  We miss her him already.

A Ball

 Okay, first of all, I just have to say that even though Rosy was always cool, she is even cooler now that she likes to stick out her tongue. 

We had a Valentine's Ball for our branch activity and the girls put together their best princess outfits.  They spent quite a while working on their ensembles and in the end I have to say that they worked out quite well.  I mean Daisy really did take a risk with the Ninja Turtle lanyard.  Some might have thought that it clashed with her Cinderella gown but as they say, fortune favors the bold.
Rocky played it cool with the basic purple gown and Mardi Gras bead combo.

 Where they really went wrong, however, is in footwear.  If you notice the trend of the night went to 20 inch heels.  My girls knew they were beaten when they walked in the door and surreptitiously ditched their flats by the diaper bag and spent the night dancing away in the style they referred to as Eugene Nude.

Today at church there were more than one of the 12 dancing princess with sore feet walking around the Relief Society but Rocky and Daisy could have danced all night and into the next day in their bare feet.  I played the role of the fat lady that stands next to food table all night.  Seriously, who wants to dance when you've got authentic Mexican food at your disposal?
Okay, to be honest, I did a little dancing but I took Rosy out there with me.  Nothing loosens up the hips like a baby.  For the record, I sported my flip-flops.  I know you are all surprised about that one. 

It was a fun night but now it is time to face the facts.  Tonight is the last episode of Downton Abbey.  I'm more than a little depressed that I won't be seeing my favorites folks from the upstairs or downstairs.  Now how will I make it through the Sunday night blues?

I guess I'll have to just remind myself again of this face. 

I hope it works for you too.

V-Day

 

A Valentine Riddle:  Who are the owners of these belly buttons?  Scroll to the bottom to find the answer.

Rocky and Daisy woke up like half of Eugene...sick, sick, sick.  Despite feeling as awful as they look, they still managed to be completely thrilled with the treats their grandmas sent.

 Brandon once again made a surprise breakfast.  I had to take a picture because he is just so cute.

 He knows that the way into the hearts of the ladies in this house isn't by bringing flowers but it is showing up with a certain pink box.

 This is pretty much how the day was spent. 

 To be honest, Rocky and Daisy probably would prefer if they could always sit around and watch movies all day so being sick on a holiday sort of worked out to their advantage.  I was sad because it was actually sunny outside and I was itching to get out there.

 Rosy and I were left to our own devices in trying to keep ourselves entertained indoors.  She spent most of her day looking at a Valentine and I spent most of mine looking at her.  

 I know I say it every post but she is just the most adorable little thing.  I cannot get enough of her and all I want to do is squeeze her cheeks.  I figure that she is only going to be little like this for a few months so I had better spend all the time that I usually use to clean the house and cook and devote it to watching her make faces.
In the meantime I guess we'll have to live on the doughnuts. 

 Answer:

Get Down, Get Derby

 

From the first day that I saw the skate shop on 11th in Eugene I have yearned to attend a roller derby bout.  Last night, due to discount tickets given to grad students my dream was finally fulfilled.

 I don't know how many of you have ever seen a derby but it is pretty awesome competition.  I mean some people think it is all about the fishnet tights and short shorts, but believe you me, there is some serious athleticism involved in the sport.  Those girls are tough.  The Flat Track Furies started out way ahead but Sick Town Derby Dames came from behind to pull out a win.   The Jammers, Wonder Dread and Hot Boxxx were two of the toughest women I've ever seen.  Some of the other names were Roller Toaster, Wolfsbane, Frankie Facebreaker, and Bloodstain.

 Now we are working on putting our own team together.  We'll have to take a vote on our name, but Brandon already dubbed me Princess Slaya.

 Nothing but the most positive role models for my girls. 

 Everything is more fun when you're with friends.

 

Bonus Story:

This morning we were talking about our favorite things.  When I asked Daisy what her favorite treat is at first she said a lollipop but then she wanted to change her answer to cucumber.  

I wanted to encourage that kind of thing because when your kid thinks a vegetable is a treat it makes you look like a really great parent.  The truth of it is that I really think she is being sincere.  Don't get me wrong, this girl loves all things sugary, but she has a special place in her palette for cucumbers.  The other day when we got home from the store I turned my back for a second to put away the groceries and when I was finished this is what I found.

She had bitten a hole through the plastic and eaten the cucumber in half.

Another Bonus Story:  Rocky has gotten a little bit obsessed with opposites.  On the way to church we were playing a game and I would say a word and she would say its opposite.  This game is fun for like 5 seconds.  I went through everything I could think of, light/dark, old/young, you know...the basics.  But she kept asking for more so I started giving tricky ones.  When I asked her what is the opposite of Daisy she said, Not-Daisy.  The coolest though was when I asked her the opposite of cookie and she said bacon.
When I asked what is the opposite of church Brandon said, roller derby.

Super Fun with the Superbowl

 Since Brandon had to get some studying done on Saturday and since Saturday was Groundhog's Day we got pretty creative in the kitchen.  Thanks again to Pinterest for giving me an idea that looked fun and culminated into me screaming at my children.  The problem that arises from food crafts is that every time I hand either of my girls an ingredient to use they immediately put it into their mouths to eat.  Then after about 10 Tootsie Rolls they start to go wacko.  By the time these little dudes were finished Rocky and Daisy were deeply entrenched in sugar-induced insanity.
In the end, while I had pretty much called it quits as a mom I was feeling kind of attached to what Daisy has been referring to as the "hound doggies."

 Luckily because of the Superbowl we had some friends to share them with the next day.
It was community time in the community room with all the Spencer View Peeps.
This photo seems just a little too far on the side of gender bias but as a professional photographer I feel it is my duty to represent things as they really were.  At this moment all the ladies were huddled by the food talking about pregnancy.

To be fair there were several parts of the evening that I didn't capture where the girls were watching the game and the guys were talking about pregnancy. 

 I personally managed to score a pretty sweet seat on the middle couch for a few minutes but once I sat down the power immediately went out in the stadium.
The room was full of 49ers fans and it was fun that the game was close...well, until it ended.
The kids managed to eat about 16 desserts each and only most of them ended up crying.  Can you feel the love?

The best part of the kid games was when they were playing tag and Rocky somehow got the word mixed up and she kept tagging people and yelling, "fag."  She even went as far as to say, "I fagged you."  I'm pretty sure that she was almost kicked out of Eugene but in the end after a conversation with her daddy she got it right.

Friends 4 Ever

 How could I have a blog post without a photo of my Rosy.  She even got to hang out with a few of her gal-pals.