We Are Marshall

Halloween Toddler Style

2011-10-31T20:49:00.001-07:00

Halloween this year was pretty fun. David and Don remembered the concept of saying "trick or treat" and getting candy. So that was pretty fun. We went to a little carnival Big Piney had. Definitely less elaborate than when I was a kid....or that magical childhood memory thing just made it seem like it was really fancy. But regardless, the boys enjoyed dressing up for halloween and getting cool little toys. Daniel was a pretty good sport about the whole thing too. I think we was just wondering why he had to get so many pictures taken. I did make him this little pumpkin hat. I thought it turned out pretty cute. Donald really wanted to be Robin hood. So, using the limited materials I had (thanks mom for letting me browse your craft cupboard) I made a little robin hood shirt and hat, and thanks to my wonderful family in Rexburg, they mailed me some little leggings for his robin hood pants (we'll wait until he's older to tell him they came from the girls' section). It turned out pretty well, and Don wore the costume for three days straight.

I'm not sure if the boys understood the concept of "dressing up for halloween" Because David dresses like this everyday. He loves being a cowboy. Well, Cowboy small, from his favorite book of the same name. (it is a great book, and i'd recommend it) This is the same costume David wore last year, so if you look back, you can see how much he's grown in a year.

Here's Daniel with his 'complete' costume. Isn't he such a cutie? and so photogenic. He didn't get that from me. He is now three months old and I'm sure he is super anxious to be able to start moving on his own. Hope y'all had a happy halloween.

Fall update

2011-10-27T08:02:00.000-07:00

We have been quite busy the last little while. But we did take time to spend with our family. Daniel had his baby blessing at the end of September, so a lot of our family came down to spend the weekend with us. We spent Saturday by going up to the hills and had a picnic at Middle Piney Lake. This picture is of the kids collecting firewood for lunch. They were quite the dedicated crew.
Of course the best part of the picnic was playing at the lake. It was too cold, and smelly to want to swim in, but we had a lot of fun wading, fishing and skipping rocks.

Here is David and Donald wading in the water, they kept bending down to pick things up and ended up getting their bottoms really wet.

Shortly after the baby blessing, David and Donald turned three years old! We started the day out by making Birthday crowns. (which they helped decorate themselves) Then that evening, some family came over and we had cake and ice cream.

Even Daniel joined the celebration. This is his excited face. . . or the I just found my hands, and they taste good, face.

2011-09-07T19:11:00.000-07:00

Is it possible to be busy and lazy at the same time? I propose that it is. There have been a lot of changes in the Marshall House since my last post. The most important of which is the addition of the newest member. Daniel Steel Marshall joined our family July 18, 2011. He weighed 7lb 12oz. Which is almost double what his brothers weighed. Everything went well, and we both came home on the 19th. Shortly after Daniel was born we moved! I don't recommend moving with a newborn, it isn't really fun for anyone. Now that I'm all settled, I've decided it was time to stop being lazy and update the blog. This is Daniel as a newborn (1 day old) A picture of all my boys. David (cowboy hat) loves his brother, my biggest challenge is to make sure that he doesn' t love him to death. Don loves Daniel too, but only shows affection when he's sure no one is watching. (I'm setting myself up for some fun times in the future with all the d names)

Daniel is just about a month old in this picture. Already he sees what his brothers are doing, and you can just tell that he wants to be doing what they're doing.

"What's up, homey?"

Daniel is the smiliest baby I have ever seen, He started smiling while we were still in the hospital and he hasn't stopped since. I feel blessed to have such a happy baby. It was quite an adjustment learning how to be a parent to toddlers and and a new born, but we're slowly figuring it out.

(stay tuned, hopefully we'll have some pictures and new adventures to share about our new town (Big Piney Wyoming) and our new house.

2011-07-10T19:02:00.000-07:00

Lately, the boys have been learning all kinds of new skills. Kayaking, biking, and horseback riding) The kayaking hasn't progressed beyond sitting in their uncle's boats on the grass, but there is high hope that one day they'll be able to hold the paddle.

We saw some awesome bikes during our 4th of july parade. They're actually called prebikes. They're awesome! They help kids learn to ride bikes without the training wheels. They don't have any pedals, but they learn balance and such. Here is David 'fixing' his bike. Aaron says that they've spent too much time at the Marshall Ranch. They ride for a few minutes, then they spend the next half hour 'fixing' things.

Don especially loved that his bike was orange. He has just finished fixing his bike and is waiting for his brother to be done too.

Here they are riding their bikes.

All that hard work deserves a break. Dave and don here are just enjoying the lazy days of summer.

And for their final skill, it is horseback riding. David is wearing his full "cowboy small" personna outfit. Crazy thing, these chaps look like capris on them now, when at halloween they were too big. Oh how kids will grow.

A Good Day

2011-06-13T12:38:00.000-07:00

We had one day last week that was really nice and hot! So we did what anybody who lives in Rexburg would do. We went to the Splash Park! Dave and Don loved it. Well, they didn't brave the stairs or the spraying water on the slides, but they enjoyed all the fountains on the outskirts of the park.

I don't think Dave walked once the whole time we were there.

Oh, what a happy boy. . .now if only the water was warm.

"Hey brother, watch this."

We saved the best part of the day for last. . . .otherwise we wouldn't have been able to get the boys away from the water without a major meltdown. Rexburg also has a carousel. It is one of those old fashioned ones that has been restored. Dave and Don love horses, so this was a great way to end the day.

Although they don't look too happy in these pictures, they loved the ride, they spent the whole time yelling things like "giddyap horsey" and such.

Summer? in rexburg

2011-05-27T20:23:00.000-07:00

So, lately I've been getting things ready for the new baby. One thing I wish I had with the twins were these car chair canopies. So, I made one. . . actually two. I made the traditional one out of flannel. But then I thought covering the baby with flannel in the middle of the summer would be too hot. So I made a second one using toule (sp?) It made a bug screen and a little bit of protection for the sun. I thought it turned out pretty cool.

We've had a few days of great weather here in Rexburg. So we've taken advantage of that and we've gone to the nature park, and other outdoor activities. David loves his Cowboy hat. He wears it pretty much everywhere we go.

Playing at the park is something the boys ask to do pretty much every day.

Don loves playing in the park and climbing everything possible there. Look at this happy boy!

My how you've grown

2011-05-16T20:02:00.000-07:00

So, lately Aaron and I (well, mostly me) have been going through our baby stuff. Getting rid of things we didn't need anymore, and organizing the things we wan to keep. I just got a new stroller that will hopefully fit three, and decided to sell my old stroller and the old car seats. Anyway. I brought the old car seats out today and David and Don immediately jumped in them and pretended to be babies. As you can see, they did finally outgrow these. I didn't think it would ever happen. Anyway, they played in these all afternoon. Then I took a video to show you what they were playing.

As you can see, David is perfecting some of his big brother skills to use on his new little brother. . .Lucky little boy.

Easter

2011-05-02T19:26:00.001-07:00

Easter at our house was pretty low key this year. After all, toddlers don't really understand the concept of easter yet, so it would have been easy to ignore the whole commercial aspect of easter and just focus on the true meaning. .. but I caved (to myself?) and we showed the boys the whole easter egg decorating thing. They thoroughly enjoyed themselves! David's favorite part was turning his hands red and blue as he tried to get the eggs out of the dye by him self. Don's favorite part was being with his dad (when Aaron is home, don is never far from his dad)

After we decorated our eggs, we left them on the table and carefully explained to the boys that while they were sleeping, the easter bunny would then come and leave treats for them in their easter baskets, and then hide the eggs for them to find. They seemed pretty excited, but who really knows what a toddler is thinking. Anyway, the next morning, the boys woke up. We reminded them that the easter bunny had come. They came out of their rooms and got their easter baskets and enjoyed the contents. . .Well, David ate all of his candy right away, but Don. . . well seeing david devour his chocolate figured it was best to protect his stash. Don kept a tight grip on his basket until he was sure David wouldn't steal it then ate his chocolate when no one was around (about two hours later). It was after they had enjoyed the baskets for a while that the looked at the table. . .and noticed their carefully colored eggs were no longer there! For the rest of the morning, and for the next couple of days, whenever somebody mentioned the Easter Bunny, both dave and don would promptly say," Easter bunny stole my eggs!"

We were quick to remind them that the easter bunny just hid them. So we went and found their eggs. It was pretty fun. . . the boys had a good time finding their eggs that the easter bunny had "stolen"

After the egg hunt was over, don kept a tight grip on his easter basket. Probably to make sure that tricky rabbit didn't steal his eggs again.

all in all, we had an enjoyable easter. I hope you all did too.

All About Me

2011-03-20T18:24:00.000-07:00

This post is to show you a few things I've managed to make over the last little while. . .just to show that my boys aren't all I focus on. I truly believe that everybody (especially every mother) needs something to spend some creative energy on. . . otherwise, all we focus on is our kids and family (and that isn't bad) but we get burned out, anyway. Enough soapbox, here are a couple of my projects. I'm quite proud of them, because any "crafty" gene I have is hidden deep and takes a lot of work to get it out in the open.

OK, OK, this first picture was too cute, I had to share it. . .Dave and Don have discovered the joy and freedom of movement they experiece while wearing underwear (as apposed to their cloth diapers) And they've learned the subtle art of "cheesing" it when there is a camera close by.

This project is a height board (turning the head slightly to the left is recommended) I got the inspiration for it at one of Aaron's relatives' house. I knew we'd be moving around a bit for a few years, and wanted to take our height chart with us, so this is what I came up with.
When I was a kids, my mom made us, what I thought, were the coolest/cutest easter baskets ever. I liked them so much, I got my old bunny and managed to duplicate the patterns and make some for my family. They're cute and easier to pack away for the off season than a traditional basket. I like them.

And finally, my living room was pretty bland of any color beside khaki, so I found some material I like (feminine, but not ultra feminine for a house full of boys) I made seven pillows total.

Hope you enjoy this post all about me, and hope your hobbies are coming along great.

OK OK here's the Exciting News

2011-03-14T20:47:00.000-07:00

Well, our exciting news is that David and Don will be joined in July by a new Baby . .. .BROTHER! Yep, marshall terror number three will soon be stalking the world. I'd put some ultrasound pictures on here . . .but the little guy just wasn't cooperating so there aren't any worth sharing. . .but, I'll promise to keep y'all updated. . .and hopefully do more posts before july. WOOHOO. hope you all are as excited as we are.

Exciting News.

2011-03-05T19:25:00.000-08:00

We have some very exciting news to share! . . .. later. Until we find out the exciting news, you'll just have to be content to see the boys. Dave and Eva enjoying a ride on "Bruce" David and his snowman, that he liked so much he had to give it a kiss.

Don and Dave with their "Quince" They love it when they get to see their baby cousin. Especially David.

Don wants to be just like his Dad when he grows up, so right now he is practicing by wearing his dad's snowmachine helmet and gloves. Reminds me a bit of "dark Helmet"

The other day, the cousins were over playing and they all insisted on riding their own truck and wearing a hat.

"Psst, don't tell anyone, but . . . ."

"Who is a wild child?" (the ones with their hands raised, are definitely a little wilder than their counterparts) Fun times

David loves Horses, as long as he doesn't have to touch a real one. Here he is enjoying a leisurely ride at christmas time.

2010-12-10T14:23:00.000-08:00

The other day, I couldn't sleep, because it had been a hard day with the boys, but then this poem popped into my head. Anyway. I just thought I'd share it with you....any critique is welcome.

How many kids do I have?
I say “I don’t have any”
I have a zoo, I say
And animals I have plenty

Sometimes I have a little horse
That likes to run around
Sometimes I have a puppy
That likes to paw the ground

Sometimes I have a monkey
I always laugh while he plays
Sometimes I have a snail
That keeps me waiting all day

Sometimes I have an eagle
That flies high in the sky
Sometimes I have a little piggy
Who eats up all the pie

Sometimes I have a tiger
That growls all day long
Sometimes I have a bird
That sings a pretty song

Sometimes I have a donkey
That seems to always be blue
Sometimes I have a hyena
That laughs at all I do

Sometimes I have a packrat
That collects all kinds of treasure
Sometimes I have a kitten
Whose cuddles are a pleasure

At the end of the day
No animals from the zoo
Just my little boys
And I’ll always love those two

Happy Halloween pardner

2010-10-31T18:56:00.000-07:00

Halloween is always a fun time of the year. I decided that David and Donald should dress up as cowboys... since they both ride horses, or talk about horses all day. Especially David. Sidestory: when I was talking to david about where his daddy is, he said he was at work, and then said he was riding bruce at work (bruce is a name of a horse that aaron rides a lot) So, somehow, david thinks that his dad rides horses all day when he's at work. Kind of funny. Anyway, I couldn't find any cowboy costumes that would fit and would be reuseable as some other costume later, so I made some. (Holly, you should be proud) Then came the real trouble, the boys didn't want to put on their costumes!! Can you believe it? So being the caring, and conscientious mother I am. .. .I bribed them with a sucker. Anyway, here are David and Don smiling at the camera. I asked them to show me their camera face.

When I got them all dressed up, we went to our ward's trunk or treat. Now, I am not a big fan of trunk or treats, I think in safe neighborhoods, you should still trick or treat, but the boys are still a bit little for that. So until they get older, trunk or treats it is

How to update your blog in about 30 pictures

2010-10-17T19:28:00.000-07:00

Just as the title says, I'm finally done being lazy and am updating our blog. It is kind of a summary of our summer. We have been lucky this summer to get to spend time with our families. First at Aaron's birthday we were able to take this family picture. Then, we started our wet, cold, idaho summer by planting a garden, David discovered that dirt does not taste good, and that no matter how hard you try, you can't clean your tongue with a dirty hand.

David and Don also discovered the joy of sharing and hoses. Here they are helping each other get a drink.

Our boys discovered that Dad is useful for a lot of things, first and foremost for giving rides.

We heard the boys laughing and playing one day and discovered this...thankfully they did not discover how to turn it on.

We spent a lot of time with my brother peter and his family, not only do Amanda and I work together, but our kids see each other almost every day. We celebrated the fourth of July ( I think that is when this picture was taken) with a backyard BBQ. And we discovered that David and Donald like baked beans.

During the beginning of August, Aaron and I made a trip to New Fork, we invited all of my family in the area to come....and they all did. The kids all had a great time p laying together in a really cold lake, but none of them seemed to notice that. In this picture are all the scherbel cousins, but one ( we miss you jed, dave and holly) Here are the kids in this order: Don, eva, josh, zoey, david, amalie, quincey, josef. What a fun crowd!

David and Donald thoroughly enjoyed their first campout. And they did pretty good sleeping in a tent...once they fell asleep.

After spending time with the Scherbel family, we headed to Utah to spend some time with the marshall family. We went to visit Ladd and Katie and got to spend some time with the newest marshall cousin: quincey anne. She was so cute!! Dave and Don enjoyed seeing the 'baby' and even though they haven't had a lot of experience with babies were quite good with her. this is David holding his new cousin.

What summer is complete without eating popsicles in the hot sun? We spend some time with Aaron's cousin Dave and his son Zach. David is here eating his popsicle.

This is don and their 2nd cousin Zach. Oh what a fun mess to clean!

And of course, the highlight of every summer for Aaron is huckleberry picking. . .don't ask where we went, we won't tell. The location of huckleberries are a well kept family secret in this neck of the woods.

Once Don and Dave understood that it was okay to eat these plants they were all over it...eating berries just like little bear cubs would.

And once we got home from our little summer adventures, we've spent the rest of the summer and fall playing with their toy cars that someone gave us. the next time I see a face this excited will probably be when he's sixteen and can drive a real car.

"hey, You want a ride?"This is a hat that david started wearing ...he really liked it and I thought it was funny and so put it in.

Aaron's parents live about 20 minutes away and what with our chickens (another blog...maybe) and aaron's other hobbies, we spend a bit of time up there. David likes to ride the 'tractor' while he's there and I don't mind because it keeps him occupied.

Don is here showing off the fruits of his labor...some of the zucchini we planted actually thrived!

I experimented with different color settings on our camera

What summer is complete without fresh peaches to eat?

And to finish the update of our family, david and don just celebrated their 2nd birthday. We spent the day at the straw maze.

Playing with their new toys and all their friends and cousins who came to celebrate with us.
And to eat cake of course!!
This is their birthday cake. And before any of you start asking me to make you one...I did not make it. A good friend make it for us and we enjoyed it thoroughly. And there you have it. We are updated. And now I'll try and do better.

The Toddler's Creed

2010-07-24T08:50:00.000-07:00

I found this on the internet and it is so true I thought I'd share it with y'all

The Toddler’s Creed

If it is on, I must turn it off.
If it is off, I must turn it on.
If it is folded, I must unfold it.
If it is a liquid, it must be shaken, then spilled.
If it a solid, it must be crumbled, chewed or smeared.
If it is high, it must be reached.
If it is shelved, it must be unshelved.
If it is pointed, it must be run with at top speed.
If it has leaves, they must be picked.
If it is plugged, it must be unplugged.
If it is not trash, it must be thrown away.
If it is in the trash, it must be removed, inspected, and thrown on the floor.
If it is closed, it must be opened.
If it does not open, it must be screamed at.
If it has drawers, they must be rifled.
If it is a pencil, it must write on the refrigerator, monitor, or table.
If it is full, it will be more interesting emptied.
If it is empty, it will be more interesting full.
If it is a pile of dirt, it must be laid upon.
If it is stroller, it must under no circumstances be ridden in without protest. It must be pushed by me instead.
If it has a flat surface, it must be banged upon.
If Mommy's hands are full, I must be carried.
If Mommy is in a hurry and wants to carry me, I must walk alone.
If it is paper, it must be torn.
If it has buttons, they must be pressed.
If the volume is low, it must go high.
If it is toilet paper, it must be unrolled on the floor.
If it is a drawer, it must be pulled upon.
If it is a toothbrush, it must be inserted into my mouth.
If it has a faucet, it must be turned on at full force.
If it is a phone, I must talk to it.
If it is a bug, it must be swallowed.
If it doesn't stay on my spoon, it must be dropped on the floor.
If it is not food, it must be tasted.
If it is food, it must not be tasted.
If it is dry, it must be made wet with drool, milk, or toilet water.
If it is a carseat, it must be protested with an arched back.
If it is Mommy (or Daddy), it must be hugged.
I am toddler!

CATCH UP

2010-06-22T20:30:00.000-07:00

Wow!
A lot has happened since the last time I posted. We moved...a whole block away from our old house. I got a job as an assistant manager to a housing complex (reason for the move) David and Don have started going to nursery...and now go without mom and dad being present there. We've discovered the joy of the playground. And the little dare devils that our boys are...they go down all the slides by themselves.
We've lived through the springtime snowstorms and freezing spells. All in all, life continues on as it always has here in Idaho. Anyway, we hope to keep you better informed of our family's progress through life...hopefully this will show you what we've been up to lately. Here we are in our Sunday Best. I found these ties at the farmer's market, they were so cute I got them for the boys.
Classic personality photos. Don has the greatest facial expressions. . . must get them from his dad.

"Hey, where'd you go!!"

We love going to the park. . .Don and Dave especially love the swings and the slides the most

2010-03-14T20:56:00.000-07:00

When Family comes to visit...beware!!

2010-03-12T19:38:00.000-08:00

There has been a lot going on in the Marshall house. Recently here are some of the activities we've been doing. Playing in the snow, or being outside is our favorite thing to do.
David and Don love playing with their cousins. Josh and Eva came over to play in the snow with them the other day. I love this picture of don, because of the little footprints on top of the snow.
David enjoys the snow
Don loves the snow, all except the falling down part.
"Hey mom, a little help please!"

Not only are the boys getting better at playing outside, they are getting really good at climbing. More often than not, I'll come back into a room after a brief absence, and this is what I'll find. In case you're wondering, David is licking the window...he finds satisfaction in it, i guess.
We figured out a way to enjoy the great outdoors and still take the kids with us. Don loved the sled, every time we stopped, he complain until we started skiing again.
David kept on trying to catch the snow as he went sledding by.
Snow, glorious snow!!

When it is too cold to go outside, we've been learning how to fingerpaint. The boys thought they had died and gone to heaven. I could just see their little minds thinking..."now its okay to make a mess, and mom is okay with this?"
Now that the weather has been getting a little better, we've been taking David and Don out to the park to play with their balls. Dave and don both love their balls, but we couldn't get a good picture of don, he was having too much fun.
Here are me and the boys looking at dad out the window.
We went to a place called Yellowstone Bear World to see the new baby cubs. ...we would have had pictures of the baby cubs, but didn't want to pay $5 bucks for a snapshot....long story and we weren't too happy with how they ran their "come see the baby bears for FREE" scheme. Anyway, small gripes aside. Life has been treating us really well and we are enjoying our time here in Rexburg.
Here is a fun video of me and the boys playing peek a boo.

"Snow" Much Fun

2010-02-15T18:47:00.000-08:00

It was really warm here the other day, so the boys and I went outside to enjoy the snow. The boys loved making tracks in the snow, eating the snow, and throwing the snow. The only thing they didn't really like was sitting in the snow. Below, David models his new hat. Notice the rakish angle of his hat.
"Hey look Mom, my gloves are still on!"
This pictures shows just how much Don loved being outside. He has a lot of fun with the snow.
"Hmm, perfect snowball, now all I need is a target."

When we're helping we're happy

2010-02-08T13:44:00.000-08:00

Well, we've entered a new phase of life. One in which David and Don want to do everything we do. They love to help us do everything, from washing the dishes, folding clothes, making the bed. Or, as shown in the picture below, helping Dad fix things. (in this case it was the couch, but that is a different story) After introducing David to the wonders of screw drivers, he's been carrying a screw driver all over the house, and 'fixing' things.
They love 'helping' me make the bread too. Don's contribution was to pick up all the extra flour and dispose of it. Raw flour....yummy.
The boys are not only excellent mess makers, they are great at 'cleaning' up their messes as well.
This is Don working on his cinderfella skills.
David is here practicing his mop dance.
Here are both boys showing off their 'so clean we eat off of it' floor.
And just for fun, here is an example of David's newest found skill.

Aaron rolls his sled while high marking

2010-01-29T14:43:00.000-08:00

I just needed a little more momentum. I rolled the sled once but held on and was able to hop
back on as it headed down hill

2010-01-23T19:04:00.000-08:00

It has been a long time since I last updated this blog. We had a good holiday season. It was fun experiencing it with our boys. We went to Big Piney for Christmas Day. Dave and Don liked the presents, but they just weren't that excited to open them up...so we had to help. We went and visited Santa Claus. Both Dave and Don sat on his lap with no problems...I think they subconsciously knew that santa would have a treat to give them..and Sure enough, they got candy canes.
On Christmas Morning, the boys got to take a look at the tree and all the presents. We were the first ones up. (not because dave and don were super excited for christmas, it is because nobody in Big Piney gets up before 8 or 9.) When we opened their stockings, the first thing both boys grabbed was....an orange!! I didn't teach them that. If it had been me, I would have gone straight for the chocolate.

Here is Don playing with some of his new toys.

Anyway. I am going to be more diligent about blogging. So keep an eye out for more frequent updates. David and Don do so many cool and blog worthy things, I could probably blog all day....but then I wouldn't see them do those cool things.

My Super Heroes

2009-12-03T15:39:00.001-08:00

Faster than speeding Bullets

More Powerful than locomotives
Able to leap small toys in a single step
Can go from Zero to 'messy' in 3 seconds

Happy Halloween

2009-11-02T19:09:00.000-08:00

This fall has been a great time for our family. Dave and Don are growing fast, and learning to do new things almost everyday. Dave has now decided that walking is his preferred method of travel. I'll put video of it later. Don likes to walk, he likes it so much that he'll only take a couple of steps before his starts laughing and then falls down. We've gone on a couple of 'adventures' too. This picture was taken at cave falls. Isn't it gorgeous? There is a cave at the bottom of the falls, but because of a rock slide we weren't able to see it.
For Halloween this year Don and Dave dressed up as Thing One and Thing Two. I was going to go as the cat in the hat. . .but changed my mind. (actually, just didn't get my cat in the hat hat made) We went to the Library story hour, they read a few halloween books, then all the kids went on a costume parade and got some goodies. It was a good first story time experience. Later on, Peter and Amanda brought Josh and Eva over for a halloween party, their kids were super cute too (see here)
Fall really is great. The boys have loved playing in the leaves (On the days it is warm enough to go outside)
These pictures are from before halloween. We found some cool pumpkin decorations and put those in our pumpkins. Dave and Don thought it was a game, they'd take the pieces out, Aaron would put them back in...And no matter what I did, I couldn't get David to hold still long enough, or smile at the camera, so here he is, enjoying his pumpkin.
Don was a different story, As long has he got to sit on his Dad's lap, he'd smile for a million pictures.
So, I hope y'all had a happy halloween.

An Apple Cider Birthday

2009-10-21T12:39:00.000-07:00

Time sure passes quickly. At this time last year, we were just taking our little boys home from the hospital. (See post archives for comparison photos). Now we're trying to figure out how to keep them out of stuff. Oh well, life is life. Fall is a wonderful time, it brings to mind pumpkins, the smell of cinnamon and....apples. There is nothing like biting into a crisp, sweet, juicy apple to remind you that fall has arrived. This year, we wanted to do more with apples than to pick them and eat them, we wanted to enjoy the taste of fresh apples all year long. So we decided to make apple cider. First, we canvassed the neighborhood for people with apples on their trees. Then Aaron would knock on their door and ask if we could pick their apples. All of them said yes. It isn't too surprising that they would. What was surprising is how many people just let their apples go to wast. The picture above is Aaron up in a tree picking apples
David and Donald were our quality control specialists. They tasted a random selection of apples to make sure they were tasty enough to use.
After picking all our apples, we cleaned and dried them. This wasn't a hard job, but it was kind of long, and my fingers got kind of cold. We picked a truckload of apples. Well, Aaron picked a truckload of apples
The last steps were to grind the apples and them press the juice out of them. Luckily, one of our neighbors let us use their apple press. We would put our apples in the hopper in the top, then we would turn a handle which would then grind all the apples. The ground up apples would fall into a bucket (one in the back). When that was full, we would transfer that bucket to the front of the press. Then, you guessed it, we would press the apples. The juice would travel to the front of the press where there was a hole, it would then fill our five gallon bucket. After we had enough juice, we would fill up our jugs and the last step was to freeze it all. All in all, we got 22 gallons of apple cider...so if you're ever in town, stop on by, we love to share.
We celebrated the boys' first birthday on the same day that we made apple cider. I'm sure they enjoyed their party. It wasn't much, but then we decided, hey, how much are they actually going to remember? Also, we didn't take many pictures, because we were rushed, Aaron went back to work on the same day as the birthday.

Life is Good

2009-10-07T14:00:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we had a great time!! My brother David and his Wife Holly and their boy Jed came to Big Piney to Watch Matthew play football. Since it has been a while since we've seen them. We decided it was a good time to visit the hometown as well. Almost the whole family was able to come. The boys loved playing with their cousins (although their cousins didn't always enjoy playing with them). We pulled out an old slide...One that we played with as kids. It was nice to know it was as big a hit with the new generation as it was with us. This picture is of Quincey, Don and David, when they were playing with their favorite toy ever...the slide.
This next picture is 'through the looking glass' A lot of the family were outside playing frisbee, so the kids wanted to see what was going on. Don, Quincey and David are in the front. Jed, Holly and Hannah are in the back....how many other people do you see?

On Saturday, Matthew was working on his eagle scout project. We went to the area they were working on to bring them lunch. We all had a good time out there. This is also the moment when we discovered that our boys are learning to make faces for the camera.
This is David's newest smile...quite the cheeser isn't he?
And our boys love their aunts...Especially Hannah...you see, she has these braces that the boys find just beautiful, and they always want to grab them. All in all, we had a good time in Big Piney. We got to catch up with other family members...AND eat a turkey dinner. Life is good.

2009-09-30T15:22:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time since I last posted a blog. I will try to do better. In the meantime, here is a brief summary of our summer. Shortly after our last post, we went camping up at New Fork. It was definitely a new experience...Camping with small children? not as easy as they make it sound. This first picture is of David and Don playing in the tall grass at our campsite.Both David and Donald liked to play in the tent. They especially liked to press up against the screen and make faces.
Aaron enjoyed camping with his boys, but best of all playing with them too.
The boys got to visit their grandpa scherbel too.
Later in July, my friend Traci and her husband Jeff came to visit us, we decided to go hiking up Table Mountain. It is a 12 mile round trip hike. We took David and Donald as well. Traci, the boys and I only hiked about 3 or 4 miles up the trail and then waited for the Aaron and Jeff to finish the hike. The view from the top is well worth the hike.
These pictures are a little out of order (sorry). Don was tuckered out from all the hard work of riding he did, he fell asleep in his backpack and looked very comfortable.
Here is our happy little family on the hike back.
Aaron at the top of Table Rock. The mountains he is jumping over are the Teton Mtn Range. With the Grand right in the middle.
The hike was not for the faint of heart. There were three river crossings that were quite precarious (especially with a baby) Anyway, this picture is of the easiest of the river crossings.
This summer we also enjoyed going swimming. The boys Loved it!!! David took a little while to warm up to being in the water, but after he was in, he was a natural, even started trying to kick and 'swim' We went swimming with Peter, Amanda, Josh and Eva once. This is david.
Eva loved being in the water. I think she might have cried when we took her out.
Josh liked the water...kind of. It took his a little while to enjoy being wet and such, but he did great.
David and Donald are quite adventurous these days, they enjoy getting into anything they can. One of their favorite games is hide and seek. I'll hide, and they'll come find me. As a result, they sometimes try to hide as well, and usually end up closing themselves inside of some cupboard or closet.
David loves sucking on pacifiers, just not in the usual way. He doesn't usually ever suck on a pacifier correctly.
This is don's safety hat. he puts his 'hat' on and then crawls around looking for things to run into.
Karl and Holli gave us an old scooter. Thanks for that, by the way. The boys love it!! unfortunately, they have to learn how to take turns. But sometimes we'll push them both around on their scooter.
Meals times are always fun as well. This is before eating. They will eat almost anything that is put in front of them...and if they don't like it, they're really good at throwing it on the floor, or sneaking it to their brother.
This summer was great for our strawberries. David and Don loved to help up pick them. We called them quality control. Usually, they would grab a random strawberry, taste it, and then put it back in our bucket. They have eaten tons of strawberries this year, I'm glad they aren't allergic to them. This picture is of David and Don helping us pick strawberries in our front yard.
WE found out that they love watermelon too. David is looking through his watermelon ring.
One day we rearranged the boys' bedroom, it required taking part of the crib off. ( I think we lowered the mattress too) David found a great place to climb...with a little help from dad.

Don has a new best friend. It is his dog 'lady'. he loves cuddling close to her when he goes to sleep. Often, we'll hear him laugh out loud right when we lay him down. All we can figure is that he is telling jokes to lady.
There two videos are from this summer. The swimming one is fun. It is like Don is trying to tell Josh that swimming if fun. THe other video is of Don and David playing on their scooter. David is riding the scooter and Don is pushing.

July

2009-07-21T21:01:00.000-07:00

Over the Fourth of July weekend, We went to Big Piney. We unfortunately had to take care of some unpleasant business. My Brother Alan was in a car wreck, so we had to take pictures of the wrecked cars, and locate all his personal items in the wreck. . . Not so much fun. The good news is he is doing great! The doctor's are expecting a full recovery. Which is good news, considering he broke his femure, lacerated his liver, broke ribs, and broke his neck. He seems to be in pretty good spirits too. Anyway, while we were in Wyoming we watched the fourth of July parade. We got a lot of candy. . . . the boys weren't too interested, but they liked being outside. After the parade and BBQ. (I also had my ten year high school reunion) We went to Jackson and met with Ladd and Katie. . .at bubba's. While we were waiting for them to show up, Aaron and I were holding don and dave on some benched outside the restaurant. They were really babbling so we were asking them: "Where are we eating?" and they would answer: " Bubbubububu" It was really cute, and they were quite a hit with the cashier's and other workers that could hear them. Here is a picture of all of us eating BBQ and Bubba's
David and Don have recently discovered that they can crawl, and climb up on things. They especially like laughing at themselves in the mirror. Aren't their overalls just so cute?
This is Don after the parade. He is wearing his smokey the bear had that he got
Dave wasn't too fond of his hat. But he looks like he is about to say, "only you can prevent forest fires.
This is the hat I made for Eva. It is almost as cute as she is.

Cress Creek Nature Trail

2009-06-28T17:10:00.001-07:00

This weekend we finally had good weather!! So Aaron and I took advantage of the sunshine and took Dave and Don on their first hike. We chose the Cress Creek Nature trail, because it's a pretty easy hike, and it was close. There were great views of the snake river (pictured) There has been so much rain lately that the river was really full and overflowing. They had a lovely picnic area here. There was a lot of watercress (hence the trail's name) and cattails growing in this little stream.
What is a nature hike without any flowers?! These are some blue flax that we found on the trail .. .they weren't too hard to find, they covered the whole hillsides
Here is David and I enjoying our hike
Don and Aaron had a great hike too. I like how in this picture they both have the same expression.

Another picture of Don and Dad. Both boys really enjoyed being in their backpacks. . . which made hiking a lot easier.

We even saw some wildlife.
Here we are taking a break at the 'top'

Eight Months Old

2009-06-19T19:19:00.000-07:00

I have been experimenting with sewing. Family members, don't worry i've gotten a little better than a few years ago. The reason for my newest sewing project are hats for Don and David. Any sunhats I found at stores,etc, were always too big. So I did some searching on the internet and found a hat pattern. Then, after only (drum roll) two failed attempts at getting them the right size, I made a couple of hats!! The only trick now will be getting David and Don to where them. I also made some hats for Joshua and Eva. They're really cute as well (especially Eva's) I'll post some pictures of them later.This is David in a rare moment of actually keeping his hat on. . . It was off 1/2 a second after this picture was taken.
Don looks like he's ready to be a sailor. He is even practicing his sailor grimace.
The boys are getting so big. . and they love bath time. As soon as they hear the water running, they start to giggle and laugh. After bath time, they love being naked so much, it's almost hard to catch them and dress them up again. And they love the towels that their Aunt Katie made for them. They like to pull on the frogs' ears and noses.
We discovered that the boys have inherited their Father's love of popsicles. (after all, who wouldn't love popsicles) We didn't want them to eat a bunch of sugar though, so we've been freezing juice and giving it to them. David was teething when we took this picture, i'm sure the popsicle felt good on his gums. Just an update. David now has 5 teeth, and almost 6. Don has two.

2009-06-18T18:41:00.000-07:00

So, now that Aaron and I live somewhere where things actually grow, we're experimenting with a garden. This is what our garden looks like right after planting. Things are actually starting to grow now, but I haven't had a chance to get any pictures because its been raining everyday pretty much since we planted. We'll get some updated pictures throughout the summer. Last year, I bought 25 strawberry plants and put them in front of our house. This year, when things started growing, we found out that we had over 83!! So, that's very exciting. We had to transplant some, so that they'd all have some more space.
Here is the first harvest of strawberries. There are tons more too, that just aren't ripe yet. And boy oh boy, these are the best tasting berries ever! You can't buy this kind of flavor. We're looking forward to a summer full of great taste.

Work and Play

2009-05-25T18:42:00.000-07:00

We've started putting in a sprinkler system at the house. It was a little bit more work than we were expecting. Here is a picture of what our yard looked like during the project. Now that it is done, hopefully new grass will grow!!
We got this exersaucer from a friend of mine, up until recently, the boys' legs were too short to reach the bottom. But now that they've grown big enough, they can't seem to get enough time in their new favorite toy. This is a video of David enjoying himself.

Finally outside

2009-05-21T14:01:00.000-07:00

Here are a few new pictures of our little boys. They are growing up so fast!!! They love to laugh and smile. Among a few other things. Here is a picture of Don getting his first shoulder rideNow that the weather is getting progressively nicer, we're able to get out a bit more. Aaron and I went slacklining with Pete and amanda on monday. The boys enjoyed playing outside. There is so much more to look at. As you can see they're both great at sitting up by themselves. We try to get pictures of them smiling. But most of the time, as soon as they see the camera, they get this serious look on their face (pictured) and just stare at it.

This is a picture of David on the move. He has recently learned the skill of the roll and rotate. He'll roll onto his stomache, rotate the direction he wants to go, and then proceed to roll over there. This is a picture of him trying to climb the bookcase. Thankfully he hasn't succeeded . . . yet.

iWe bought a bike trailer so that we can go on bike rides (of course) When we got to the park on sunday, The boys were holding hands. I don't know if it was because there was nothing to play with or if it was to comfort each other in the wild ride.

Family Likeness?

2009-05-03T15:45:00.000-07:00

Lately, the great debate among friends, family has been who do our boys look like? When we see Aaron's family, Don looks just like a Marshall boy, but when the boys are in Big Piney, there are those that say that Don looks just like I did. . . . . No one seems to know who David looks like. . . .So we'll put the decision to you, we have pictures of Dave and Don, and Aaron and I. Let us know who you think looks like who.Don is in the fore ground and Dave is in the back
This is me (Ruth) . .I guess you should be able to tell by the pink jammies, I don't think Aaron was ever blessed to wear such a bright, feminine outfit. Oh well.
These last two pictures are of Aaron, at various ages.

2009-04-06T21:06:00.000-07:00

Dave sits up for a bit, he also has started blowing raspberry's. And Don is giving kisses

One Year Ago and Now

2009-04-06T20:11:00.001-07:00

David has gotten his first tooth!!! We were wondering why he was so cranky, dave loves chewing on things even more now.
I know April Fool's Day was a couple of days ago. But I was just nostalgic about how different things are this year from last. This year for April Fool's Day we had a special dinner. Including the 'Tacos' shown up above (they were actually ice cream and toppings) We also had a 'cake' (meatloaf covered with mashed potatoes). Peter thought it was a real cake, but thought he icing looked like mashed potatoes. Always the polite boy, he didn't want to say anything so as to not to hurt my feelings (my family knows my culinary skills are sometimes questionable) which was eaten before we could get a good picture. All in all a very enjoyable and delicious April Fool's Day.
Here are Dave and Don practicing their wrestling 'moves' They're looking at dad for more instruction.
Dave and Don are always helpful too. They love helping mom fold socks. . . they usually end up pretty soggy, we call it an extra rinse cycle.
Just for fun. We thought you'd all like to see how much the boys have grown in one year. This picture (as many of you remember) was taken April Fool's Day last year.

Do you like my hat?

2009-04-06T19:42:00.000-07:00

Spring is in the air in Rexburg. It has been nice enough that I've been able to take the boys out for walks. But the air is still chilly. I took these pictures of the boys wearing hats, because with their bald heads, they'll be wearing them a lot. This first picture is Don with his winter hat on. I made this when I visited in BP a few weeks ago.
This is Don wearing his baseball cap.
This is Don with his floppy hat, it is still a little big on him, but we have high hopes that eventually he'll grow into it.
This is Dave with his winter hat on. He sure is cute with those big eyes and those chubby cheeks.

Dave sure looks cute in hats, he must get that from his dad.

2009-04-03T19:41:00.000-07:00

I'm getting old but powder days bring out my youth.

360 & crash

2009-04-01T20:04:00.000-07:00

Brandon & I @ Targhee 360

FIVE MONTHS OLD

2009-03-27T20:43:00.000-07:00

Dave and Don made their first road trip Last weekend We went to Salt Lake for the Black Diamond Gear Swap. Aaron has gone to every swap for years. . . he missed the one in October (new babies). It was a pretty good trip. We got the opportunity to visit with Katie and Ladd. They hadn't seen the boys for a couple of months, so they enjoyed the time they got to spend with their nephews.

Don has been looking more like Aaron every day. They even sleep in the same position.
This picture shows what happens when dad is responsible for dressing the boys. They look like they should have pointed ears, and making toys. Regardless of what Dave and don are wearing, they are sure cute. Just goes to show that it isn't the clothes that make the person.
Just a cute picture of both boys up close and personal.
Dave and mom sharing a cuddle

2009-03-27T20:23:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of March, Aaron, the boys and I went to Big Piney to visit. We stayed there for a week and a half, so Don and Dave got to spend a lot of quality time with their cousin Jed. . .Jed is the one with hair. Dave is on the left and Don is in the Middle.
On Sunday, March 1, the whole family gathered for Jed, Josh and Eva's baby blessing. They were the three youngest "scherbels' to join the club. We were able to corral all the cousins for a couple of pictures. Here are the kids in birth order: Joey Amalie, Zoey, Quincey, Don, Dave, Jed, Eva, and Josh. I think Eva is crying because she is surrounded by boys and she's too little to do anything about it. I'm sure that in no time at all, she'll be calling all the shots. Quincey loved dave and don, anytime he was within arms reach, he would either rub their bald heads (for luck, i'm sure) or stick his fingers in their mouths. . .he's very generous.
This picture is of the six babies that were born in the family since September. Quincey in September, Don and Dave in October, Jed in December and Eva and Josh in January.
This picture is the scherbel clan, minus aaron who was at work. I was going to "photoshop" aaron in until I remembered that I don't really know how to use photo shop. . . So you'll just have to 'use your imagination'

2009-02-12T11:00:00.000-08:00

These Three videos show some of the things the boys are learning to do now. They're pretty good at rolling over. Dave is so good, that it is hard to get a video of the whole thing 'cause he rolls over so fast. They also love their swing, they'll laugh every time they're in it.

2009-02-10T20:07:00.001-08:00

We're four months old today!! Its hard to believe looking at us now how small we were when we were born. Now we can do all kinds of things that we couldn't do before. Don is on the left in the green shirt and Dave is in the Gray.We love to suck on anything that comes near our mouths. Our fingers are our favorites, though.
We love playing with our toys, especially when they go in our mouths.

(above: dave on left don on right)

(above: Dave sucking on his favorite blankie)

(don sucking on a burp rag)

We're also very good at sharing. Here is a picture of David sharing his fingers with Don.

2009-01-24T14:55:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of our future mountaineerer. Don't worry folks, no children were harmed in the making of this picture.

Here is a picture of Aaron comforting both boys, They were both crying at the same time, and Aaron didn't want any help. . . wanted to do it on his own. Thankfully, he did a great job, and both boys stopped crying pretty quickly.

Don loves playing with his rattles and other toys.

Here I am holding both boys. they're getting bigger, so in some ways it is easier to hold them both, but in other ways its harder, because they both take up more space. I look really tired and worn out, but it is only because aaron took this picture right after I got back from an aerobics class I'm in.

Here is Dad and Dave. Dave wasn't as sleepy as we thought he was, but he sure did like cuddling with his dad on the couch.

David is pretty funny, he plays this game with his dad that we call "put up your dukes" about every time we say this, he'll put up his fists, then we'll "hit them" he usually smiles a lot when we do this, and even laughs sometimes.

2009-01-24T14:44:00.001-08:00

David and Don are growing up so fast! I hadn't realized how much bigger they've gotten until Peter and Amanda came over and we laid all four babies down together. The top picture is Don next to Eva. David next to Joshua. This last picture is all four of them next to each other. I'm sure it won't be too long before they're all about the same size.

In other news. .. we finally got rid of our fish tank. Aaron and I inherited the fish from David and Holly when they went to Almo last year. There was this one fish that we called "one-ball" ( if you want to know about his name, talk to David and Holly. He was one a plecostamus (algae eater) anyway. We tried to flush him down the toilet, but unfortunately, fish that are about 10 inches long don't flush that well. . . So we tried it again.Still, one ball swam back up. So aaron had to dig him out of the toilet and then throw him away. . .aren't husgbands great? That is our exciting story of the week.

Best Friends

2009-01-15T12:47:00.000-08:00

The boys are starting to reach out and grab things, but it seems their favorite things to grab hold of is each other. They hold each others' hands all the time. It's very cute. I wouldn't be surprised if one day I find David sucking on Don's thumb, or vice versa.

2009-01-09T18:51:00.000-08:00

Don is getting really good at holding up his head. Here is is looking at something very interesting. It won't be long before is learning to scoot towards his favorite toys.

David has just discovered his tongue. He spends a lot of time every day just figuring out all the different things he can do with it. Both boys are growing quickly. They do something everyday that just amaze us.

2009-01-09T11:27:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year. It has been a while since we posted any pictures . . ..Sorry about that. Anyway. David and Don are now three months old!! They grow so fast.
Here are some pictures.
They love their warm outfits. David is in the brown and Don is in the blue.

The boys love wearing their overalls. It is my firm believe that every little boy should have a pair of overalls. Don and Dave have also just experienced their first cold. Don got really good at shooting 'snot-rockets'. This particular one landed on his chin. He looked so happy after he sneezed the snot out, and so pleased with himself that I just couldn't resist taking his picture.

Boys will be boys. Even though they can't even turn over yet, or talk. They already like to give each other a hard time. I'm sure in the future we'll have video/pictures of real wrestling matches.

These are the highights of the last month. They both love to smile, especially when their mom makes funny faces at them.

2008-12-12T20:40:00.000-08:00

Proud Grandparents

2008-12-12T20:02:00.000-08:00

Sleep SleepAwake Awake

After the Blessing

The boys blessing

Hands full

2008-11-29T13:47:00.000-08:00

This year for thanksgiving we went to Etna . The whole family was gathered, except for Peter and Amanda (Dr. said she couldn't travel) . We had a lot of fun and a lot of good food. This was also the first time that Aaron and I got to see Quincey. We took the opportunity to take a picture of Don and Dave with their cousins. From right to left it goes: Amalie, Zoey, Josef, Don, Dave and Quincey.

2008-11-27T09:16:00.000-08:00

4 Beaver out of the Green River south of Big Pinney

2008-11-27T08:54:00.000-08:00

It Wasn't ME !!

Dave and Mom

Don just Chillaxin'

Dave "Mmmm Donuts" (looks like Homer)

Trip to the Swell 2007

2008-11-27T08:42:00.001-08:00

2008-11-17T15:08:00.000-08:00

To any who are interested:
We are going to have Don and David's baby blessings on November 30. If you are interested in coming please let us know. It'll be at 1:00 at the church on 1st E and 2nd south in Rexburg id

2008-11-12T09:26:00.000-08:00

2008-11-10T13:52:00.000-08:00

Wonder how many diapers we go through a day ? 17 at .8 pounds or 13 oz.

When the day is done 17 at 3.8 lbs a full days work

2008-11-09T09:27:00.000-08:00

Today being sunday, we decided to share with you all the twins' different praying styles. As you can see, David prefers to pray the way Moses did, with his hands outstretched. Don prefers a more traditional pose.

2008-11-09T09:19:00.000-08:00

David and Don are now four weeks old!! We can't believe how much they've already changed. They now weigh about 7 lbs each. That's about three pounds heavier than when they were born! This is a picture of their party hats. They really liked them. . . . in case you haven't guessed, these aren't really hats. We tried out their new cloth diaper covers. They seem to work okay.

2008-11-09T09:02:00.000-08:00

While pregnant with the twins, I couldn't go rock climbing or anything that I really was used to doing. So, my sister-in-law taught me some embroidery. These are some examples of work I got done.

2008-11-06T10:44:00.000-08:00

more photos of the twins and me taking out the drift boat.

The boys come home

2008-10-24T11:33:00.000-07:00

After spending 11 days in the special care nursery, we got to bring our boys home. They've been home for 3 days. We're still all getting to know each other, but we're making good progress. Here are some updated pictures. Dave and Don in outfits given to them from Grandma and Grandpa Scherbel. Dave is the one waving.these next pictures we call the gnome pictures. In their own little way, each of these guys reminded me of an elf, or a gnome. This is Dave
This is Don playing peek-a-boo.

Here is a picture of Dave and Don spending quality time together.

The twins arrival

2008-10-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

Our twins were scheduled to arrive on October 15, 2008. But early in life they decided that their parents weren't in charge, and they decided to come early. On October 10, 2008 at about 4:00 I went to the hospital. (drove myself, incidentally, because I didn't think it was real, and aaron was at work) They told me that yes indeed, the kids were coming and that I should probably call my husband.

Aaron was at work, so I called him up and in less than a minute he was on his way. The story continues when Aaron arrived at the hospital at 9:30. Less than fifteen minutes after his arrival, I was prepped for surgery and our children were born!!!

It was a very exciting time, Aaron couldn't get enough of his little guys. Unfortunately, because of their small birth weight, they had troubled getting enough to eat. So they entered the NICU. We continue to visit them and are amazed at their progress. We can't wait to welcome them home.

First entry

2008-10-15T07:57:00.001-07:00

Hello Everyone,

we have finally decided to join the masses and share our blog with the world. The real reason we started the blog is we wanted to show off our new children. They're so cute everyone should get to see them. So, hopefully we'll get some pictures up here and you'll be able to watch their progress as they grow.