Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Halloween 2017

My dad and his wife Mary have insisted on buying the girls' costumes since they were born (which we are very appreciative about!). We didn't want anything too bulky or big since we were bringing them back in our suitcases this summer.

In the end Madi wanted to be Elsa and inherited her cousin's singing Elsa gown (which I think my brother-in-law offered to pay us to take, haha) and we got two more princess outfits for the twins which could be used again for dress-up: Merida from Brave and Jasmine from Aladdin.


Unfortunately the girls missed out on trick of treating since we were on holiday during Madi's school break (which coincided with the actual day of Halloween), but we painted pumpkins the weekend before.





They also wore their Halloween outfits for me after we got back from our trip. It's amazing the things our girls will do for marshmallows. ;-)



I also decorated the house with a few things and was stoked to find a bag of candy corn from last year... which tasted the exact same. Bonus. :-)






And y'all - Timehop getting me again with cuteness. Halloween 2015 costumes. :-)


Halloween 2013 2014 2015 2016

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Second Half of October

We had a lovely second half of October with a couple fun events, including Madi's school break and a trip to Cyprus! The weather in Baku was still pretty nice so we played outside a lot and enjoyed it!


1. Daddy-Evy with matching shirts! So cute.
2. & 3. I got to take these two cuties on a hot chocolate date.
4. Remember when we served chicken tortilla soup at the Roving dinner at the end of September? I had bought avocados that never ripened for the event... I put them in the cupboard and forgot about them. Voila - three weeks later I had good avocados. ðŸ˜³  So I made an omelet with guac and salsa.
5. Cat snuggles.
6. Messy play outdoor activity with food coloring, vinegar, and baking powder.
7. She pretended to nap outside...under the table...
8. Evy playing with her animal trains.
9. Panda going for a drive.



One morning after Madi was dropped off we visited a playground near her school. The girls loved the train, seesaw, and especially the live rabbit they found on the grass. :-)


We have a set of wooden animals and Olivia would ask me what animal they were and repeat the names. Except she couldn't say "seal". Instead she kept saying "cereal".  ðŸ˜‚




1. Moroccan meatball soup - YUM! ðŸ˜‹
2. Our nanny is amazing at braiding!
3. Madi and her friend C spinning on the playground!
4. 5. & 6. We attended a fabulous Barn Dance and Chili Cookoff in our community - the food was delicious and Madi had fun with her friends!
7. Canning salsa to store up for winter.
8. My friend Laura came over and taught me how to make tortillas - so easy and soooo good!
9. Starting to pack for Cyprus... the cats were not happy to find out they weren't going.

We love the new swim instructor that we switched to this year. Madi doesn't use the vest at all and she's starting to jump in and swim short distances unassisted.



I love the app Timehop - it's so neat to see memories pop up on there of the girls. It also makes me cry though. This is one of the last times I could hold both twins at the same time after a night feeding because they were getting too big. Jason carefully took the photo on the left as he was an amazing support. He got up every time the girls woke so that I could feed them simultaneously. Those twin dads - they rock!


Stay tuned for posts on Halloween and our trip to Cyprus!

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Sunday, October 15, 2017

First Half Of October

Half of October is officially gone. While the first half of the month hasn't gone by quite as quickly as September, it's still hard to believe it's fall. The weather here can't make up it's mind if it's ready for cold. We dropped to low temps and had some chilly rain and then this weekend was sunny and perfect for being outside. We will see how the rest of the month goes as we get further into the PSL season (which is available here and yes, I've had a couple already when the temps first dropped ;-) ).



  1. Enjoying the first drop in temps with a walk outside and lots of love and hugs from these two. 
  2. And... Olivia is weird.
  3. Zoey in a new lounging spot.
  4. Temps swung up so tshirts at the playground.
  5. More playground fun.
  6. Craft time with their birthday gifts from this summer.
  7. Hugs. Sitting in the window. With rain boots on. And no pants. 
  8. Double chocolate muffins (egg free of course). :-)
  9. Sipping their babycinno (yes, that's what it's actually called!) before celebrating Jaxon's birthday.


We missed Jaxon's birthday party during our Madi-Mom trip to Antalya so Emma was kind enough to organize pizza making for the two of them before we left. They had a blast making their bunny pizzas, decorating a small cake (aka. dump as many sprinkles on top before mom takes them), and running around Vapianos. Apologies to anyone who was there that evening. 


This one is full of attitude. We can't wait for the teenage years...



  1. The temps dropped again and we got some rain, but it didn't stop these little ladies from our regular walks.
  2. Playdate at Wonderland. Olivia was super proud she climbing all the way by herself.
  3. Super cute glass mugs I purchased at Sederek.
  4. Delicious smoothies.
  5. Sister love at Hard Rock Cafe.
  6. Mastering the art of fake smiling.
  7. Merry-go-round.
  8. We signed Madi up for a sand art class we saw online and she loved it. We will definitely be back!
  9. My first ever chicken pot pie. It doesn't look pretty, but it tasted good!

Madi has been saying blessing before meals lately and she goes around the table thanking God for each of us, then the cats, then her grandparents, school friends, etc. Naturally, Evy now thinks this is the prayer order and has asked to start praying. So sweet.



And we are still singing the VBS songs from this summer. :-)


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