We are Living Lawge

1. I have never eaten an onion or tomato. There are many other thing like that I have not eaten.
**So I have now actually eaten something with onion in it. This was a big step for me!**
2. I hate cooked fruit (pies, etc...)
**Still hate cooked fruit, but I have at least tried a few things with cooked fruit**
3. I sleep with the covers over my head.
**Yeah...some things probably won't ever change**
4. I wish I was a dancer.
**I don't know why I included this, and so high on my list. I would say it isn't really one of my main wish I would haves...**
5. I like to sing loud in the car, even though I don't sound good.
**Still do, now Emma joins me most of the time-and Kate too. We kind of annoy everyone else**
6. I have had 8 majors in college.
**And now I am back full circle, starting the credential program like I had originally thought I would all those majors ago**
7. I prefer emailing to talking on the phone.
**Emailing?! That's so 2009. I would say I do prefer to text but sometimes I get annoyed trying to type that much and just call instead**
8. I never make my bed.
**Can I just say that the amount of times I actually do make my bed is SO much more than before. Since before was 0, that isn't hard, BUT my bed is actually made quite a bit (even if Ben was the one who made it)**
9. I have a "system" for putting groceries in the grocery cart and dishes in the dishwasher and get irritated when it can't be done that way.
**So this one has probably gotten worse...**
10. I proposed to my husband.
**We are celebrating 16 years this year, so I guess I knew what I was doing**
11. Most of my children are named after people in t.v. shows.
**I am finding that poor Kate will have such a hard time with Kherington. Oh well.**
12. I can figure out how to save money in many different ways.
**This is true, but I have also figured out what you need to spend money ON. For example, Tillamook just makes your day better. **
13. I know almost every street in our ward boundaries and can tell you what the latest housing and rental market is like.
**Well, this gift was very useful because in the last 7 years, we have bought a house, sold for a profit, and got a great deal on the current house. It's not hard to know our ward boundary streets since our ward boundary is so small!**
14. I think my kids are extremely cute and am grateful I didn't have ones that aren't.
**Sometimes when the girls are being really disgusting, I wonder if they are still cute...**
15. I like to take drives with my family, nowhere in particular, just drive around.
**Driving is dumb. I no longer enjoy driving for leisure. I drive way too much now. Did I mention driving is dumb?**
16. I put real butter in almost everything to make it taste better, even if it is bad for you.
17. Same with whole milk.
**For both 16 and 17, I have been so excited to find "evidence" that these things aren't actually bad for you! I don't even care if it's true**
18. I do not have baby books for any of my kids. I just never got into that.
**And I'm even behind on the blog, so parent fail**
19. I like to blog (but am not good at journaling?!)
**I used to like to blog. I actually still do, it's just that I forget to do it. I try to keep good record of things so I can play catch up later**
20. I have a new obsession with nice shoes thanks to my husband and his good taste.
**This didn't last super long, but is probably because who can afford expensive shoes?**
21. I like to collect bags- From IKEA, Trader Joe's, anywhere and often don't use half of them even though I think I will.
**My name is Kaci and it has been five years since I have collected a bag. The meetings must be working**
22. I like to cook breakfast and dinner, but think making lunch is annoying and interrupts my day.
**This is why I love that the kids make their own lunches now!!!**
23. I like to eat avocados with salt and pepper on them.
**I haven't actually done this in years.**
24. I don't think having twins is scary.
**Until they get older- Then it's very scary! The drama, oh my...**
25. I would rather hang out with my husband than anyone else.
**This will probably never change. He's my workout buddy, my stay up too late talking and then we are too tired to work out in the morning friend, my partner for late night walks because we slept in from late night talking, my date for Studio Movie Grill, Homespun or Togos with my coupons while the kids stay home and have mac n cheese, my go to for "am I crazy or is it them?" questions, my co-warden in the Oram Twin Prison, and the one who takes over when the hormonal teenage girl is about to get locked in a room for four years. He's number 25 on the list, but you have to save the best for last, right?**

 Nathan went as Ray Kroc- founder of McDonald's

 I am pretty proud of this costume- Addy's Bald Eagle. It was the cheapest thing to make but turned out so well.

 Kate as the American Flag- thank goodness for the Girl's Camp Captain America theme

 For Halloween night, Kate turned into a black cat

 Addison fell in love with this peacock costume

 I picked this costume up for Emma early on, and luckily she also was bale to wear it for her Greek presentation in school

 Nathan used Bailey's old costume to be Harry Potter

 Bailey's costume came from a thrift store shopping trip with Emma. We were getting some school clothes, and she found this hat ad told him to be a leprechaun for Halloween. He already had the shirt and pants.  I'm surprised he agreed to it, but it was very clever of Emma.

 Curtis and Laurie always go all out at Halloween. This year, almost every little girl wanted a picture with Belle. They were the hit of our neighborhood.

 Nathan went out trick or treating with his next door friend Owen and his parents. Emma went with her friend, Abby. Bailey ended up getting invited to a party with his friends. My mom, Ross, Curtis and Laurie took the twins out trick or treating. So, Ben and I sat in our driveway and passed out candy. Easiest Halloween ever.

 We ended up with $20 pounds of candy. It was probably a little more because they kept some and sold the rest to the dentist.

I know they don't look super happy, but they do like selling it. To be fair, Emma ended up having the stomach flu, so her grimace here wasn't just anger at me for making them sell it all.

 I don't remember how it happened, but I am pretty sure it had something to do with those darn Disney Halloween commercials. We hadn't been to Disneyland since the twins were 2. It's always something that sits in your mind when you hear about other people going and remember how much fun it is to take kids. We were really lucky last time and it was an enjoyable experience, even during Spring Break. We had never done Halloween at Disneyland, but those commercials made it sound like something you just really have to do. So, we planned a surprise trip. 1. Who want to listen to kids ask every day for two months when we are going? and 2. Surprises are so much more fun.

In order for Ben to take off work for this trip, he couldn't take off to chaperon Emma's school trip. We couldn't tell her why, just that it would be worth it. Ben decided to start giving the kids obscure hints about how he would make it up to Emma, and suggested that they might be able to benefit as well. He looked up random facts about Disneyland and would tell the kids these clues throughout the month. Harrold (the unknown name of the monster in Splash Mountain), 99 (the number of ghosts in Haunted Mansion), The address starts with a 1, Harbor (the street right by Disneyland), 3 p.m. (the time we could enter the park because we only bought tickets to Mickey's Halloween party), 60 (How long Disneyland had been there) and so on. They had no idea. It was like Lost, the t.v. show with all the numbers and clues. 

We told them we were going to visit Mamaw for a few days, so they wouldn't question the long drive. We arrived in Anaheim around midnight, so they were all asleep and didn't see the park or the surrounding clues as we drove in. We got them in the hotel and they slept, ate breakfast (not noticing all the people with Disney shirts on!)

 The morning of. They hung out, swam, watched tv... We still kept it a secret.

Then we went to get lunch at Carl's Jr next door to the hotel. They still failed to notice any surrounding clues, even the Disney worker who was taking his lunch break there. We finally told them after lunch that we were going to see Harrold today. They had to look for clues and make guesses about what the surprise was. Bailey guessed rock climbing :)

 We started walking down the street and told them to figure it out. We must have passed a million Disney signs before they figured it out. They were pretty excited at that point!

 We killed some time in Downtown Disney until w could go in.

 We hung out around the Disneyland hotel and ate some snacks. Emma wanted to show off she could handle Ben's crazy pack.

 The lines for things were pretty long when we first got there because they don't kick everyone out who doesn't have party tickets until 6 p.m. We ended up on the Jungle Cruise first.

 Taking two 6 year old son Space Mountain (when they switch it over for Halloween) is both funny and cruel. I could hear Addison scream over the noise of the ride. It was not a happy scream.

 To make up for it, later I stood in line FOREVER with them to see the Disney princesses. You can only pick two to see and of course they each wanted to see a different set, so we stood in line twice. This is what twin moms do.

The park was a lot more fun at night once the crowds were gone. Everyone else was there to trick or treat. We were there to go on rides. We got on everything really quickly and ran around the park like crazy. The kids made it all the way to the end, and even walked the rest of the way back to the hotel. We all had a great time, and look forward to five more years when we do it again:)

 This was on the desk of one of the teachers I substituted for. This particular class, I had to keep using some of it. Then, I realized that this might end up like the goldfish story and she would notice. I don't think it worked very well, because I was beat by the end of the day. Substitute teaching has been quite the experience. Some days are better than others. There are some classes I teach that make me excited to become a teacher, and some--well, I want to run the other way. But, overall I actually enjoy the work. It's a little crazy to learn a lesson and how to teach it in fifteen minutes (or five the one day I arrived a bit late to 24 Kinders). I think I must be doing an OK job because things go rather well. I don't usually like to be just a high paid babysitter. Some days, like when I have to sub for AP Biology or Graphic design, that is what I end up being. Ben had to do my science homework in college, so I doubt I could teach AP science anything.

 One of the best parts of going to a Montessori school is that the expectation for homework for the lower grades is very minimal. Kate and Addison love sitting down to do it, but for some reason it never makes it into the class. I have found it in between the seats of the car, under my bed (?!), in the mudroom, NEXT to the folder that was also supposed to be turned in....

Some weeks, if I am honest, they don't do it at all because aint nobody got time for that.

 This year was Emma's last Primary Program. Somehow she convinced me that meant wearing makeup. I don't know, maybe it does. She hasn't had any on since though.

 The younger three have quite a few more years of singing ahead of them.

 At MMCA, NKA were able to do an after school self-defense class. 

 Beating up Mr. Baldonade was probably their favorite part.

 Addison's teeth practically jump out the second they get loose. She loves the tooth fairy (who is trying to become more punctual). 

Nathan still has a love-hate relationship with Eliana. He hates that he loves her. But they are most of all great friends. She apparently has made it known that she thinks he is cute and has a "crush" on him, which he secretly loves.