Twinville's Back!

Whoohooo!! Jackson & Jeremiah have been back for a few days now and we could not be happier. Something was truly missing while they were gone and our family now feels complete and whole again.
I wrote about their abscence on July 3 in I miss Twinville and was feeling very down-in-the-dumps without them around. I'm feeling much better now and just wanted to shout out about it right here! Whoohooo!
My boys are home! Twinville's Back!

And here's another photo with all 3 of my kidlets. Jenna was probably more affected by Jax & Jem's abscence and was absolutely thrilled when she saw her brothers walking in the door again. It was so heartwarming watching all three of them hugging one another and being so happy to be together again. I suppose that's one of the best joys of being a parent, isn't it?

Cowboys and Girl

"There's that law breakin' criminal! Get 'em!"
"Noone breaks the law while we're around, pardner!"

Spy Twins

Our sons have fabulous imaginations!

Our Super Cool Sons.

Baseball Boys

Both boys have been playing baseball, for several weeks now, on a local team here in our beautiful mountains. Jeremiah has had the opportunity to pitch, long a dream of his. And he's doing really well and still loves the game of baseball. Jackson started off sour on baseball, as his love is still lacrosse. But surprisingly, he has really taken off with his skills and confidance and is doing just as great as Jeremiah. So, I've got a few photos, taken by John, to share from a recent game:

Jackson in the dug-out.
Jeremiah in the outfield.
Jackson at base.
Silly Jackson doing his "I'm gonna steal bases" dance. hehe(click pic for larger view)
Jeremiah at bat.
Jeremiah preparing for a ball in the outfield.
Jackson playing a base.
End-of-game snacks are a favorite part of a baseball game, too.

NOMOTC~Saving Money

As everyone who reads this blog knows, we have twins. Identical Twin boys, actually. One of the nice benefits of having multiples is being involved in The National Organization Mothers of Multiples Club (NOMOTC). Besides offering local support they also offer opportunities to be involved in twin research, and participate in yearly conventions across the country. I've been to several conventions and thoroughly enjoyed myself. And I've also been a member of NOMOTC and my local Twins Clubs for over 12 years now.

On a local level, the club offers playdates, field trips, holiday parties and Mom's Nights Out. But one of the very best benefits of all are the twice annual Clothing, Toys, Books, Videos and Baby Equipment Sales.

Most large clubs, such as the ones I've been a member of, usually have no less than 80 sellers participating in the sales. And there are fair rules about what quality is being sold and what season, too. For instance, during the Spring Sale, only warm weather/summer clothing can be sold. While in the Fall Sale, only cold weather/Winter clothing can be sold (including Halloween costumes).

I have rarely ever missed any of the sales and have saved hundreds of dollars when buying my children's clothes for the season, as well as a few toys, books and videos.

One of the special benefits of being a member is being able to shop the night before the sale is open to the public. My club's Member's Only Shopping Night was on Friday last week.

I saved a bundle and came home with some very nice summer and spring outfits for Jenna. All in all, I bought 27 items and spent less than $50.00. And I also bought a bunch of baby outfits for my dear friend who is soon to deliver a precious baby boy.

Here's a photo of Jenna's new clothes:

Jumping Jax (and Jem, too!)

Over the weekend, we had a couple of really nice warm days up here in the mountains. I spent almost every second outside and even my video-game-loving sons joined me and did some exuberant jumping on their trampoline together.

Icelandia Magic

Any snowfall up here in the mountains excites both Jackson & Jeremiah because they have discovered a magical land in our pasture that only reveals itself when covered by ice crystals. They call this magical place, Icelandia and it is very similar to the other magical land from the book/movie: Terebithia.

Once the pasture is covered in snow, they hightail it over the gates and enter into Icelandia and an exciting place filled with adventure.

(I took these photos using the zoom on my camera.)

(Click for larger views)First they conversed with the royal llama lords inside their castle.
A tent is a necessary piece of equipment to give them a safe place to hide from any enemies and protect them from savage storms.
Weapons, such as their wooden knight swords, are very important to carry into Icelandia, too. They never know when an evil trollmight show himself.
A magical world full of imagination and adventure.

Coaster Engineering

As usual Jackson is into anything involving designing, engineering and building. I bought this Roller Coaster K'Nex set at the Mothers of Twins Garage Sale back in September for only $10.00. There are over 1300 pieces inside of the box, and most of the plastic bags holding the pieces were unopened. So it was basically brand new.

This past week, Jackson, enlisting the assistance of his brother Jeremiah, got started creating a roller coaster. He followed the directions a little, but he also made design changes so he could add a corkscrew and a couple of extra twists.
It is exciting to watch him work on something like this, and even more fun to watch the project completed and his pride and seriousness when showing us how it all works.

And it did, too.



The roller coaster even has a sound box which emits roller coaster sounds and screaming sounds, as it passes specific timed sensors on the coaster. These guys didn't have a chance! hehe

Inventors

What do they say? Necessity is the Mother of Invention?

Well, that seems to be what sparked Jackson into inventing a morphed-out, tricked-up
multi-vehicle, RC Car.

When he couldn't get his RC mini-hummer to work, he finally decided to splice two other RC vehicles and a Hover Craft, along with all their wires, engines and batteries. He even added some bling with some extra moving, blinking, spinning parts!

And after all that Frankenstein Vehicle action? Yep. The thing REALLY works!

Along with LOTS of duck tape, literally holding the vehicle together, Jackson showing off his creation.A close-up view of his invention.Jackson starting it up.Both Jackson and Jeremiah worked together to create this amazing vehicle. Well done, boys!

Rocketry

Jackson, Jeremiah have taken up a new interest: Rocketry.
They build and assemble rockets and then launch them. They
are learning alot about how rockets work and what rockets can
and cannot do, and how to make rockets do what you want them to.
The boys with their rockets.Jackson preparing the rocket for launching.Rocket: Ready for Take-Off.Lots of noise and smoke!The rocket zoomed upwards about 100-150 ft!Jackson building a rocket.Setting up the model glue.
Some rocketry materials
Oh, yes. Another hobby that both boys and their Daddy are into, as well is Building Model Vehicles.

Court and Witnesses on the Stand

The main lobby of the Sandoval County Judicial Complex(photo borrowed from Gerald Martin Bldr website)



We are finally through with all of our settlement cases and tied everything up with Jackson & Jeremiah's Conservatorship Assignment Appt today with the judge and our attorney and the court appointed Minor's representative, at the Sandoval County Courthouse.
It has taken such a long time (over 2 1/2 yrs) and after dealing with the defendant's attorneys and their potshots and extreme efforts at trying to get away with not paying our medical and legal bills, we have all been on edge and just wanting to close this awful chapter of our lives.

And now it is!

We were all a little bit nervous going into the courtroom, but it was a closed session and it took less than 10 minutes for it all to be over. The judge was awesome at trying to make us feel at ease and was very friendly with the boys, even commenting that his own son was named Jackson and then inviting them up to sit down in the witness chairs and be sworn-in. He even turned the video screens on so they could watch themselves being on the stand!

They both thought it was very cool and got a kick out of calling the judge "Your Honor" and repying "Yes Sir". I was SO proud of them! And really impressed with the judge for being so generous and accomodating, too.
Unfortunately, I left my camera at home, because I couldn't imagine that the court room experience would be anything worth documenting. Bummer, too.
Because we actually had fun!

Terrific Twins!!!

Jackson and Jeremiah asked if John would get them the Star Wars Original Battlefront PS2 game recently and he decided to surprise them by ordering it on Amazon.com (only $6.00!!). The boys already have the Star Wars Battlefront 2 game, but the first one is a "Classic" as they call it.

You'd have thought it was Christmas around here when their game arrived!! Whoops, Hollers, Happy grins from ear-to-ear! Two Happy Terrific Twins!!

Birthday Party/Pool Party

One of Jackson & Jeremiah's baseball team buddies, Tyler, turned 11 and invited them to his birthday party about a week ago. The boys had a blast!

Tyler and Jackson is the hot tub.
Jeremiah on the slide and Jackson on the diving board.(Click on the picture for a larger view)
Jeremiah floating in the center with a water blaster. (Click on image to see larger view)

TwinHula Guys! Aloha!

Our funny, fun friends Carissa and Tom shared their JibJab videos and got us laughing so hard we just about wet our pants!!
Jax and Jem begged to make a silly video starring them, so here it is!!

Batter up....Strike!!

Jackson & Jeremiah had a game on Saturday morning. John helped coach and they all had a terrific time!

Seeing Double! John enjoys laying out Jax and Jem's baseball uniforms.
In the dug-out. Handsome boys!
Jackson at First Base!
Jeremiah and friend, Tyler hanging out in the Outfield.
Jackson playing second base with Jeremiah in the background at Center Field.
Jeremiah getting ready in Center Field!
Jeremiah with good buddy, Glen. They've been friends for about 2 1/2 yrs now.
Baseball Buddies! Jax, Glen, and Jem.