Surprise!

The other night Doug and I went in to do our nightly check on the boys before going to bed. Much to our surprise, when we looked into Gabe's crib, he was naked! We started laughing so hard that we had to leave the room for fear of waking the boys up. It seems that Gabe has learned how to take off his pajamas all by himself. I love the little things these boys do that make me laugh.

Both boys have been very interested in photos lately. They love to point at people they know and tell us who they are. Oliver has everyone down, except apparently he can't tell himself apart from his brother. Every time he sees a toddler boy he says, "Gabe". That includes when he is looking in the mirror and when we point to him and say, "Who's this?". We get "Gabe" almost every time. Occassionaly, he also seems to think he is Elmo.

New England Vacation

DAYS 1-3 {just me at my conference}

It has been almost two years since the boys came into our lives and in that two years it has been a very rare occurrence when Steph and I can get out alone. So when I had a conference in the Adirondacks of New York I thought it would be just the chance to have some quality time with just the two of us. My parents took the boys for the week and we headed off to visit church history sites and my old mission stomping grounds. It really was great to finally see several church history sites I had not visited and a bunch of people I worked with on my mission. The pictures really do not do justice to the fall foliage, it was beautiful. We stayed in one bed and breakfast and several inns along the way; they rekindled my dream of owning an inn someday myself (Steph smiles at this but thinks I am crazy). So in a rambling sort-of chronological order here is the recap...

DAY 4 {Steph arrives}

After three days in an "old money" lodge on Blue Mountain Lake in upstate New York Steph and I headed to Palmyra. We first visited the Hill Cummorah followed by the Palmyra temple and the rebuilt Smith farmhouse, the site where Joseph was visited by the Angel Moroni. We ended the day in the sacred grove, by far our favorite. It was a very rainy day and we were the only ones there but in the quiet of the afternoon it seemed as though the trees were trying to tell me that they were here when Joseph prayed, and were the sole witnesses to the event. Like I said... amazing! For good measure I collected three walnuts the squirrels had somehow missed and will plant them in the spring.

DAY 5

We started the day at the Peter Whitmer farm, where the Church was organized. It is amazing they fit 60 people in that tiny little cabin at the organization of the Church. After a long drive across New York we ended up at the Joseph Smith Memorial, Joseph's birthplace. Not many people know of, or visit the site but it is special to me as I served 5 months of my mission here. It is really where I came to know the Prophet Joseph. The monument is 38.5 feet high, one foot for every year of the Prophet's life. It was thought to be impossible to find a single piece of granite this size but as you can see the Lord provided. Finally, the weight of the monument was so heavy (40 tons) the wagons were sinking into the mud on the journey to the site. On the day the crew was going to quit a wicked bad nor'easter blew in and froze the ground so solid the crew was able to get the monument in place in time for the pre-planned dedication on the 100th anniversary of the Prophet's birth -- just a bit of trivia. We also were able to see Evelyn True, an amazing woman I was able to teach and baptize. She is a great example to me of faithful, dedicated membership in the Church.

DAY 6

The day started out in Woodstock, Vermont where we braved the worlds longest covered bridge into New Hampshire (it has only collapsed 3 times before). I only served in this area for 5 months and rarely spent time in New Hampshire but I have to say it was probably my favorite state to visit this go around. Every village looked like it was right out of the coffee table photo album, "The World's Most Picturesque Villages". OK, I just made that up but that's what it seemed like. Steph and I got a kick out of the Civil War monuments in every town that were inscribed with something akin to, "Dedicated to the brave young men of {insert town name} who gave their lives for the Republic in the war of the rebellion". They were not too pleased with the South in these parts.

Along the way we had a great overlook of Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire -- beautiful! We ended up in my favorite inn by far off an island on the Maine coast, The Squire Tarbox Inn. This inn was awesome, they farmed and supplied all their own organic food including cheeses, meats, vegetables, etc. Check it out on-line, I definitely recommend it if you are ever in Maine looking for a place to stay http://www.squiretarboxinn.com/. The row boat was available to guests for a morning row among the tidal flats.

DAY 7

This day was spent driving along the coast of Maine in the last area I served on my mission. We spent a bit of time in Castine where I finally convinced Steph to let me get a picture of her, only to be ruined by my inept camera skills (out of focus). Her beauty makes up for the fuzziness of the photo. We stopped to see some people I worked with on my mission including this rag-tag bunch of Mainiacs. Another bit of trivia -- people from Massachusetts call people from Maine "Mainiacs" a badge of honor to any true Mainer. However, more often than not, the only reference to Massachusetts folk I heard from a Mainer was a "Mass-hole"! Bottom line, don't mess with Mainers.

DAY 8

Our last day was a gloriously sunny fall day in Maine. Galen and Janice, very good friends, took us on a whirlwind tour of Acadia National Park. It was a special way to bookend the trip since they were moving to Denver a couple weeks later. I somehow associate Maine with them to some extent and I am sure it will feel a bit less Maine-ish next time I visit due to their absence. All the same it really was a wonderful afternoon and a great trip in general. That night we flew home and I drove to Logan at midnight to pick up the boys because I missed them. So as much as I would like to say the trip was the best, and it was great, it was missing the best part -- our two little critters.

Halloween 2008

Halloween was super fun for us this year. The boys were finally old enough to kinda understand what was going on. Originally, we were going to do the Wizard of Oz foursome with Doug as the Tin Man and me as Dorothy. But, unfortunately, I lost all steam after making Oliver's scarecrow costume (which was very easy, ironically) and borrowing Gabe's 6mo Lion costume. :) That's some hard work. All in all, they really enjoyed getting candy from everyone they saw. The trick was to keep them moving so they didn't chew through the wrappers of every piece of candy in their buckets. I had a blast and honestly, am really looking forward to future Halloweens with the boys!


Gabe giving a great lion smile.

Oliver's scarecrow costume. He was in such shock at the entire holiday that he carried this look on his face for a good amount of the time.

Oliver enjoying a piece of candy (including the wrapper) on our way back from an event.

Off to see the wizard!

California Vacation - July 2008

In July we all flew to California before the boys were too old to travel on our laps (as if they would stay on our laps anyway). In brief, it was a great trip with time spent on the beach, at the tide pools, in Grandma's pool, in Grandpa's Model A, at the fabled San Luis farmers market, the berry picking farm, the exhaustive Atascadero Zoo and Hearst Castle. Thanks to Jessica for showing me the skeet shooting ropes, to Grandpa for lending us the BMW for the week, to Grandma for the amazing meals, and the Lindsey family for entertainment. All in all a great week. Here are a few of Stephanie's favorite pics from the excursion.

The proverbial family photo-op at the tide pools before the boys began tasting EVERYTHING within arms reach.... fan worms, crabs, starfish, etc. The next image is Gabe scouting the tide pools for another something to stick in his mouth; in this case, an unfortunate starfish.

After sampling the tide pool fare, Oliver seemed to prefer the local berry patch. A small basket of berries is $3.50. I hope they figure kid-foraged berries into the cost as my children apparently have no scruples about sampling.

Grandma had a small slide that was perfect for the kids. High enough to get a little speed yet low enough to avoid catastrophe when the inevitable fall occurs; as you can, see they both agree. The next photo is the boy's trip in Grandpa's Model A Ford - very cool.

This next couple of shots are of the Atascadero Zoo. There were lions, tortoises, sundry birds, and critters galore; however, our children seemed to enjoy the drinking fountain the most. Does it ever make you wonder why you bother with a $10 entrance fee when you could get the same reaction at a public fountain? Am I a heretic father for asking this or do any of you ask the same question? Last but not least, Steph and the boys at the beach. The boys loved the beach. We spent several afternoons there and they could have stayed for the entire week if we let them.

Some Fun Summer Photos

We've had quite a busy summer this year. It seems we've been storing up the desire to get out and do stuff ever since I got pregnant with the twins back in 2006 and almost immediately got put on severe restrictions. Unfortunately, that was the week before our 4th of July trip up to Canada. It was a huge bummer. And well, that pretty much lasted until about...um...a few months ago. Now our kids are walking, running, feeding themselves, and getting really funny! So we put all house projects (except gardening and the yard) on hold and decided to have some fun. We're headed off to California soon for a week and anticipate a great time there. In the meantime, I thought I'd throw up some random photos of the boys from this summer. Enjoy!

An early morning shot from the back door of the Wyoming High Country lodge. What a beautiful place to spend a few days! Truly, I didn't take enough pictures. Some flowers in Wyoming.
Yellowstone lake on the way home from Wyoming High Country.

The boys chasing after daddy hidden in the shadows of the trees. This was up at Wyoming High Country.
The boys and their best friend Daddy. At least it frees up my hands to take pictures!
Ah, the sweet slumber of a happy child. Oliver likes his space when he sleeps!

We took our kids for their first trip to the Gateway fountains in July. They weren't sure what to think about the water but decided to play it safe and stick together.
Gabe looking all-so-serious.
Gabe giving one of his signature grins. So cute!
Oliver not so sure about the lake water, quickly retreats.

Gabe and Oliver couldn't decide who should go first in the only kid swing in Gma and Gpa Gibbons swingset. So, we put them both in at the same time. Gabe doesn't seem to mind at all.

Oliver is enjoying himself in a semi-comotose state brought on by hours of swinging.
Oliver sharing some of Gpa's planter dirt with him.
And then blessing the dirt. :)

Gabe doing his best Zoolander look in Gma and Gpa Gibbons back yard.

Gibbons Family Vacation Big Horn Mtns., WY

Last week was the much anticipated Gibbons family vacation at Grandpa Gibbons newly completed Wyoming High Country resort (http://www.wyhighcountry.com/ ). The entire Gibbons clan gathered for a week of high altitude family adventures which included horseback rides, fishing, ORV trail drives, hiking, lots of food and excellent company. Wyoming High Country is on the top of the Big Horn Mountain range in Wyoming and is truly amazing. There was wildlife everywhere (moose, elk, deer, bear, antelope, crazed hummingbirds, etc.). The wildflowers were so thick you could smell them in the air wherever you went. The lodge staff were great and so was the lodge. In short it was a magical kind of place and a great way to spend a week. This is our subset of the Gibbons family on our hike to the Medicine Wheel (http://www.crystalinks.com/bighorn.html ).


I know you are thinking that our kids always look so happy... well in most instances they are clobbering each other and are not so smiley. So in order to get this great result, we have trained them to play the "what do monkeys say?" game. I know this puts them in league with Pavlov's dogs but it works! If this picture had audio you would hear a very accurate rendition of a screech monkey. Ooooh, Ooooh, Ooooh....

Flowers, flowers everywhere! The smell was amazing.

On our way home we went through Yellowstone NP and Teton NP. This was on the shores of Yellowstone Lake during a brief rest stop which turned into an hour long car maintenance adventure after the boys dumped rocks over the break pads. I had to remove the entire wheel to fish out the rocks that were stuck in the break pads! As you can see it didn't seem to bother them too much.