And we thought the ornaments were safe...

Since we have 2 little crazy boys running around our house this year we only decorated the top half of the tree foolishly thinking that this would be a great solution to keeping the boys away from the ornaments. Well, we were wrong. The other morning I was cleaning up the kitchen and it suddenly got very quiet in the front room (all you mothers out there know this usually is a bad sign). So I finished up what I was doing and peeked around the corner. John had pushed Taylor's little rocking chair over to the tree. There he was standing up on the chair handing ornaments down to Bennett. Bennett had an ornament in each hand and John was in the process of handing him another. Little stinkers! Fortunately nothing got broken and the only casualty was that when John saw me come in it startled him and he fell backwards off the chair. Needless to say I haven't caught them doing it again. I have been told by various people that little boys and twins in particular will work together to get into stuff, I just wasn't prepared for it to start already....ready or not here we go!

Taylor Dance

Here's little miss Taylor at her very first dance recital.

The Fun Never Ends

Taylor and the boys were in the tub tonight I had this funny exchange with her as she held a bowl of water in a bath tub.

Taylor: Daddy, I am going to dump my fish out so it can die

Dad: I didn't know you had a fish

Taylor: It's just a pretend one silly

Dad: Why are you going to dump it out and kill it?

Taylor: It's just pretend!

Dad: Would it go to fish heaven?

Taylor: No. He would just go home.

Dad: Where's that?

Taylor: Farkelton

Dad: What's Farkelton?

Taylor: A silly city...where people get married....kind of like a temple

(Farkelton may be an imaginative invention of Taylor Brain due the overload of Doctor Suess in the form of "Horton hears a Who" and "The Grinch") I think at least 40% of Carin's sense of humor is derived directly from Jim Carrey's version of the Grinch. It is a Christmas classic that never gets old.

And one more Taylorism as I sit hear and type with Taylor at my shoulder...

D:Do you stink?

T:No. I don't smell anything.

D:Then what stinks?

T:It was the boys.

D:The boys are in bed.

T:Well, just listen...you can hear them stinking.

Little Devil

Today is Tuesday so I got to watch the boys while Taylor and Mommy went to dance class. Usually we take a really long bath and then play play play until mommy and Taylor get home.

Tonight I went in to turn on the water for their bath and left the door open behind me. I heard a quick pitter-patter of little feet follow me into the bathroom and turned around to find Johnny standing over the toilet smiling. I looked in the toilet and saw two Mr. Potatohead ears sitting at the bottom of an unflushed pee-pee toilet. After my good 15 second thinking processes was complete on what I should do, I decided to quit being a pansy and just reach in and get them. Johnny just laughed. Oh how I love being a dad of little boys! We are going to have a lot of fun with these girls in our house!

Fancy John

I was having another brave/'I need to get out of the house' moment and went shopping with the kids the other day. Before I get into my story I just have to say though...based on the amount of people on the roads and in the stores no way are we in a recession....seriously...it doesn't look to me like people are scaling back on anything...just a thought. Anyway back to my original thought. So our vanigan of kiddos headed to Walmart. We headed back to the toy section because I needed to get some toys for some cousins. So we went up and down all the boy toy aisles and the boys didn't make a peep, they weren't all that interested with what was going on. Then I started walking up the girl toy aisle and oh my goodness you would have thought there were fireworks going off...Bennett and John got so excited when they saw all the dolls and stuffed animals..they just started laughing and squealing and talking...it was hilarious!! I told Kirk the story and he was a little concerned I think...so much so that he didn't want Bennett playing with My Little Pony tonight. I tell you what...they are funny boys. To go along with this issue, Taylor has this blue flowery lei and lately John's favorite thing is to put it on and walk around the house. He loves it when you tell him how fancy he looks! Boys are funny!!!

Taylor aka Dancing Princess!

So last night was Taylor's very first dance performance. She got to perform on a STAGE and everything! She was totally excited! Ever since dance started she has been asking when it will be her turn to dance on a stage and it finally happened. The dance was at the Ogden amphitheater amidst all the Christmas lights (they are really pretty this year by the way). So despite the fact that it was pretty cold last night we all had a great time. Even the boys didn't mind the cold, however when we got home and took their shoes off to get ready for bed their little toes were bright red icicles...poor little guys. Anyway back to the dancing princess. She got up on stage in her line without the least bit of hesitation. For the first dance when she walked to her spot she did her kicks across the stage rather than just walking, apparently she wanted to show off her new skills. She even remembered to smile for a good portion of the dances! She did so great we are so proud of her! It was fun to have Grandmas and Grandpas there and Josh, Michelle, and Anna. It made everything even more great for Taylor. Taylor's dance teacher wants her to learn a solo dance for the next performance and Taylor is all for it. So that could be exciting. It was a very fun night! Thanks to everyone for coming and supporting Taylor! We love you all! Oh hopefully I will post some pics soon!

$30 Cinnamon Rolls

I was welcomed home tonight with a big cookie sheet full of homemade cinnamon rolls. They are seriously the best Cinnamon rolls I have ever tasted. And I have tasted my share of cinnamon rolls believe me! I have given them the name $30 cinnamon rolls because if anyone knew how good they were, that's what you'd pay for one. At least I would. If you know how frugal I usually am, that speaks volumes of these cinnamon rolls. I canceled the German Chocolate Cake for my Birthday on Wednesday and ordered another batch of these........Can a woman make her man any happier? I don't think so! I LOVE MY WIFE!!!!! ......and not just for her cinnamon roll skills.......enjoy the pic and don't drool on your keyboard....

Little Men in Puffy Coats

Tonight the Chugg family attended the annual Christmas lights and Santa Visit at the North Ogden Centennial Park. It was a bit chilly today so they kids got to wear their puffy coats. Taylor calls hers a bum coat because it covers up her bum. The boys took a page right out of a Seinfeld script with their puffy coats. I think they are Gortex. See the pants Bennett is wearing? I asked Taylor to try them on tonight and sure enough, they look like a little pair of Capris. The waist is perfect. They are 6-12 months.

This is our favorite thing to Grill. We discovered VeriVeri Teriyaki Sauce at Costco and came up with a homemade recipe for Teriyaki burgers. Follow the directions to Culinary Bliss.

1. 1lb Hamburger Extra Lean

2. One half of a Sarah Lee Hamburger bun broken up in the hamburger

3. A half handful of dehydrated Onions

4. One 1/4 cup Veri Veri Teriyaki Sauce (mix in with your hands)

4. Make the patties and grill them on the top rack slowly on the grill

5. On the third rack on the grill, set pineapple rings and butter coated red onions

6. Flip the burgers once and then coat with a thin layer of teriyaki sauce and set pineapples and onions on the cooked side of the burger (you can also add a piece of ham or bacon at this point if desired)

7. When the burgers are almost done, butter Sara Lee hamburger buns and coat with another thin layer of sauce, and set either a piece of cheddar or Swiss cheese or shredded cheese in the pineapple ring hole and let melt.

8. When the buns are toasted and the cheese is melted, make the burgers out there by the grill.

You won't need ketchup I promise. These are the best burgers we've ever eaten. Let us know if you try it and like it. If you don't like it, then we don't want to hear from you because you are obviously insane.

Bennett and Johnny are avid fans of all things with four wheels. I have about 50 old matchbox cars hat I played with as a kids that Grandma and Grandpa Chugg kindly saved an brought over. It was obvious that whoever helped me pick these toys out was a hot rod fan. Thanks Dad! The boys will entertain themselves for hours with these things.

A couple weekends ago we jumped in the van and drove up to Evanston to see Great Grandma and Grandpa Welling. It was so nice to see them and visit for a while. The kids loved all the fun new toys up there. Especially Taylor. She discovered the playroom upstairs with so many fun dress up trunks and kitchen sets. I think she thought she'd found the holy grail of play rooms.

Before all the leaves fell, Taylor and I went outside and did some raking. It turned into a photo shoot.

Here's a picture of our little Taylor. These were fun for me to see because I've not been to dance with Taylor. She's the smallest one in her class by a head but she listens the best. The teacher even said so! We are getting ready for Christmas and have a half-decorated Christmas tree in the front room and it is the year of the Advent calendar. We have three this year and Taylor loves them. Mommy had a great idea last year. We decided that we needed to do something that would focus our Christmas season more on the Savior and his birth. She did an advent calendar that has a thought, scripture and a song to sing with it every morning. It's been really fun. Carin is the most creative and proactive mom. I appreciate her very very much.