Can't believe it's been 5 months already!

 I love these pictures of the babies looking at each other. I love Anna's face. They like each other so much and I think that's one of my favorite things about having twins.

 Audrey and Anna

 Anna

 Audrey and Anna. They are so fun when they wake up from a nap. They smile so big and are so excited to see someone coming to get them!

 Sadie reading to the babies.

 Happy Father's Day!

 Cooking is one of my favorite things. Most of our meals are simpler these days now that we have two cute babies to take up more of our time. I was pretty happy this day as I had both babies with me AND I was cooking for our family!

 They hold hands all the time now.

 I love Anna holding Audrey's arm like this. Anna and Audrey.

 It was so fun to gather with family over July 4th! I had to take a quick shot of the "shoe area" at Mom and Dad's. And this wasn't even all of the shoes.

 Audrey and Anna

 It was a special thing to take Anna and Audrey to the cemetery. So many emotions as we miss Brie so much, but are so thankful for the path we have been on because it has led us to Anna and Audrey. We always kiss our thumb, then stamp it on the "B" on Brie's headstone. Just a family tradition. So here are Anna and Audrey putting their fists on the "B". Thanks, Mom, for the beautiful flowers.

 Sunday at church. I think Anna is ready for  a nap and Audrey is ready to party.

 It worked out on this trip to see some of my favorite friends. It was such a treat. I left the older kids at home and took the babies to the East Bay to see Kendra and Michiko from dental school days. So fun to catch up with them.

 Audrey and Anna. I think they look alike in this photo. We think they look so different now that it's almost funny to us that most people can't tell them apart.

 Another wonderful friend from our San Francisco days. Heidi and family stopped in for a quick visit on their way to the airport. Thanks for taking the time to stop by! Our girls were just toddlers in SF and played together all the time.

 Karla treated us to a fun outing at Cold Stone!

 Julie and I have been friends since we were 3. Now she lives in Chile and it was amazing timing that we were both in CA at the same time. We squeezed this visit in the night before we left for home. So wonderful to see Julie and her family!

 While out in CA surrounded by so much family, I thought back to our profile book where we had to write a letter to the birth mom and tell about us. We were supposed to include a couple pictures of our extended family and tell the birth mom what the extended family would be like. I am so thankful for such love poured out from extended family to our newest additions.

 They often do this when they are drinking bottles. They just meet in the middle and hold hands.

 We started rice cereal. This sums up how they felt about it the first day. The second and third days were a bit better but it's still pretty new to them!

 Audrey was having so much fun with Nate. He was taking Audrey on a ride around the room.

 Thanks Britt for these cute shirts! There they are holding arms again. Anna and Audrey.

 At the Cupertino 4th of July parade!

 Sleepy babies with Grandma and Grandpa.

 So wonderful to be together as a family at the cemetery. We were there with my family celebrating my little sister's birthday (she is buried on the other side of the tree than Brie). So glad Brie and Laurie are close.

 Cousins enjoying a fun meal at Grandma and Grandpa Walton's

 Anna and Audrey enjoying a swing with Grandma and Grandpa Walton!

This was the event of today. Our rooster has turned pretty mean lately. So today was the day for him to go. Dave shot his head off. Poor chicken. Ash, Sadie and Nate were all crying pretty hard. Dave is determined to eat him for dinner tomorrow. The funniest part was when I noticed the shirt Dave was wearing. His shirt came from a crepe restaurant we ate at one time. And it seriously says "Rooster, Eat Local" and Dave was killing our rooster to eat? Sure is local! Funny timing to wear that shirt and he had no clue he was doing it.

It's a Hatch Thing

I feel so thankful to have such wonderful extended family and this past weekend we were able to spend a few fun days with our Hatch side at a family reunion in Utah. I never heard the total count that was there, but I know there were a lot of us! I didn't get a picture of one of the highlights - the soccer game. It was a bit humorous to try and see who was on your team when we had all just put our "Hatch" t-shirts on. We had fun playing with the kids, but the best was when someone called out that root-beer floats were ready and the kids went running. The adults stayed on the field for a bit more of an intense game. 

 Our family at the end of a 4 mile hike that ended with this beautiful view. This hike was the tail end of the pioneers' trek west.

 Cousins enjoying being at the end of the hike - although I think they had enough energy to do it all over again!

 Nate caught a snake and it was quite a hit! Well, among the kids.

 Grandpa and Audrey hanging out

 A few of us took the tram at Snowbasin and had a fun picnic/hike…more amazing views.

 Another highlight of our trip was stopping on our way home to see some Walton cousins!! We just happened to time it when Emily's sisters with triplets and twins were in town.

 We got a quick snapshot with 3 sets of multiples. Not every day you find 3 sets of multiples all within 4 months of each other.

 So fun to see Beck, Gibson and Kenzie!

 This picture is sure out of order. Happy Father's Day!! Nate learned "Get Back" on the guitar for Dave. Ash learned "In my Life" and Sadie learned "Hey Jude". It was a big surprise to Dave to hear his kiddos playing Beatles' songs on the guitar and singing too!

 Ash on the tram at Snowbasin.

 I love the serious look on Anna's face…studying her best friend's face.

 Audrey sporting Nate's hat.

 One baby for each big kid!

So fun to see Emily and introduce her to our babies!

Closer to 40 than 30

It's a little strange to now be closer to 40 than 30, and even weirder considering I still think I'm in my 20s. I remember when we moved to Georgia and we were in our 20s and we thought it was so crazy that our two closest couples friends were in their early 30s. And now early 30s was a while ago! 

Anna and Audrey gave me a wonderful birthday present by posing for this adorable shot. Actually, it wasn't posed. They were doing tummy time and happily looking at teach other. I had to grab my phone for a picture. I love them looking at each other. 

Today they had their 4 month appointment. Anna is 10 lbs 3 oz and Audrey is 10 lbs 7 oz. They have doubled their birthweight. Tonight I was feeding the babies and Sadie came up to them and said "boo" and they both started giggling. I could tell a good show was coming on so I called Dave to come over. We all watched as they giggled at the same time over and over and over. It was heavenly to hear them laugh at the same time. 

 I chose to go to the batting cages for my birthday date with Dave. I know, not everyone's first choice of a date but I had never been and really wanted to go. Hitting from a live pitcher is much more fun, but we still had a good time. And after trying the fast pitch at 65 mph, we gained a newfound appreciation for the major leaguers who can hit at 95+!! I could hardly see the ball going that fast at 65!

 We went on a day trip to Estes Park and visited the Stanley Hotel, where the movie "The Shining" was written and filmed. It was cool to see a hotel built in 1909 but even cooler to meet a lady there who was born in 1907!

 Since Anna and Audrey are my happiest birthday present (and any other holiday), Dave had the girls walk to me while they all sang Happy Birthday. Notice someone who is as tall as her mom???

 We managed to go to swim lessons on our own…which I was a little nervous about but the babies did great. They are getting bigger and it's not as easy to juggle both in my arms for a long time.