July 2019- Celebrating life

After much consideration on a family vacation this year, we settled on the most practical of locations with 3 young children (two of which don't even walk yet) and decided to stay at home. Matt took a week off in July and we planned every day filled with fun local activities that the kids would enjoy. Matt took Otto fishing along the Jordan River as I took the babies on a walk along the trail.
We walked and dined at Gardner Village.
We had a quick visit from the Colorado Millar family (Otto's aunt and uncle and cousin Jonas).
Then, we spent the rest of the week with family in Brigham City to celebrate the 4th of July with good ol' traditions.
After having caught a horrendous cold around Father's Day last month, I tried my best to rest but our constant on-the-go activities made it hard to let any time to sit. I kept tissues close at hand, took cold medicine and allergy medicine interchangeable, and a tube of chapstick in my back pocket and soldiered on!
The Rasmussen clan always get a campsite at the Box Elder campgrounds. For Otto and Matt, this means fishing with Grandpa and Micheal Jr. at the reservoir.
For me, this meant struggling to keep two babies clean and dry and fed in the great outdoors and finding them a suitable place for naps in the RV. I will be honest, this does not create a recipe for a very relaxing time. It was some consolation to be fed delicious food from dutch oven and campfire cooking and putting together s'mores dessert.
We took some short hiking trips around the campgrounds. While the babies napped, Matt and I were able to slip away for a quick ride on the quad to doc's flat and back.
Matt and Micheal Jr took opportunities to take more rides on the quads whenever possible.













Matt and Otto tried out his old tent and had a night of "true" camping next to the RV. Poor Matt got not a wink of sleep!

Otto was nervous about sleeping in the tent after stories of Yeti and Big Foot (thanks to me), but I think he had a great time.

Matt had pulled a muscle in his back which inflamed and pinched a nerve. This kept him out of work and out of all lifting and helping for a whole week after our vacation. He had to lie on his back, go to physical therapy, and try to work his way back to returning to work.








We played with new toys from birthday gifts and tried out the sprinklers in the backyard. As cold as the hose water is, both boys loved their little pool and never wanted to get out.
We mistakenly arranged to have the pets' vet appointment while I had the kids by myself. Two hours in the vet office with 3 little kids that are hungry and tired, a whiny dog, and a mewing old cat was a bit stressful. There are not enough Disney songs and battery life on my phone to get us through that experience easily!




In June, my dear aunt Linda suddenly lost a battle with ALS, of which we had every reason to believe she was fighting quite well. I had made an effort to see her once a month for lunch dates before the babies where born, but I had only made it once to see her after they were born. I was devastated to know that I wouldn't have the chance to make up for those lost visits and time. I truly loved every visit with her since childhood. She was more like a good friend than family, which can sometimes be even closer. As a teenager, I would go to her house for little weekend visits and she would take me out shopping and to lunch. She loved to chat and socialize just as much as I do. Now, I constantly think of questions to ask her or stories to tell her and feel sad all over again that I can't arrange our next visit.
Unfortunately, her memorial service was scheduled the same night as our tickets to see Hugh Jackman! Since our whole family had had tickets since Christmas, we were so torn about what to do! The service was to start before the concert, so planned to duck out a bit early. My parents stayed, but Megan and Coltan and I had to excuse ourselves. I really hated to do that because I wanted so much to stay and pay my respects as well as see family. The event was mostly a lively affair, for that is how my Aunt Linda lived her life. Upon request, she had a taco truck in the parking lot! Her son, Todd, was perfect person to lighten the mood conducting the program. I heard later that it was a wonderful tribute by everyone in attendance.
I only felt okay about leaving because I could almost hear Aunt Linda saying, "You have tickets to Hugh Jackman! Go!"

The concert was an incredible show. He is definitely THE showman. We had a wonderful time. Keala Settle was a special guest and sang her heart out! I laughed, I honestly cried, and felt a warm fuzzy feeling of connection and soul within the stadium that night.

We did our best to pack in as many fun Summer activities we could manage into the rest of this month. We went to Thanksgiving Point Curiosity Museum. The baby play zones are just the perfect place for the boys to practice their crawling and pulling up skills. Vincent is beginning to pull up on low-to-the-ground objects and reaching for the couch cushions. Atticus will stand with some help holding my hands, but he doesn't like it.


























Matt wanted to find ways for us to spend more time as a family, so he did some buying and selling to get us all our own bikes. Otto had one for his birthday, Matt found a used beach cruiser for me, and he bought a bike tall enough for his own long legs. He worked very hard finding just the perfect bike trailer that could hold the twins and also transform into a stroller if we ride to the market. How is it that a family with only 3 bike riders already has a garage with 7 or 8 bikes and trikes in it?




We spent another weekend in Brigham City to relax and attend a friend's birthday party. The gathering of friends we've known for 20+ years can be a remedy for some high stress and worn out souls like ours. These past few months have been hard on us and emotional, so we were grateful for some distraction and some fun.

The babies often take a lot of time and attention and we try and let Otto have a later bed time some nights to do a special activity with mom and dad. We roasted marshmallows one evening, although our fire pit isn't the best for this. We still enjoyed a quiet evening just us 3 on our back patio!


















I tried to get the kids out on walks and park playdates as often as possible when the weather permitted. Now that the thunderstorms were less, we just had to beat the heat. Family bike rides on Saturdays and Sundays, trips to the Farmer's Market, and trying out the splash pool.
Otto continued to get better every week during swim lessons.

I took Otto on a special Mommy and Otto date to see Peter Pan at the Ogden Peery's Egyptian Theater starring some of our favorite people. Otto just finished reading Peter Pan, so he was loving every minute of the magic of this great show! He clapped for the fairies and he loved Tiger Lily the best. We were able to watch it in the company of his Grandma Carolyn and his Aunt Lori and his cousins.

This month was so crazy busy, we are crashed out!

June 2019- Earl Boy's Birthdays

June is in with a birthday, out with a birthday, and all the birthdays in between!
We gave Otto a small family gathering birthday dinner this year so he could have a party on every even number year. With Grandma and Grandpa Earl spending the weekend, we kicked off with the South Jordan Summer Festival. The petting zoo had a ginger alpaca that happened to be 5 years old and a black alpaca that was turning one. How ironic! We should have taken both of them home.
We watched a puppet show, a bubble-ologist, and walked the sidewalk art gallery.
We dined on Mexican food to celebrate Mike and Becky's anniversary.















There was no shortage of celebration as he woke up to balloons, a new bike, and a day filled with Otto-centered fun.
He turned 5 in style with dinosaur style.




We ate Chinese noodles (in honor of Tummy Mommy Marissa and her forever place in our hearts and lives) and pizza with cup cake ice cream cones.
Nana, Papa, Aunt Megan and Uncle Coltan, Grandma and Grandpa and Micheal Jr were in attendance.

 Otto got a new Mongoose bike that was ultimately too big for him to ride just yet. A couple of phone calls and $10 later, we purchased a used Huffy that was a smaller size between his balance bike and the new one. Within minutes he was riding around everywhere and no training wheels required!

 True to the weather lately, the day was perfect until the thunder clouds rolled in. We resumed the party inside with food and presents. Otto got dinosaurs after dinosaurs and couldn't have been happier!
He also got his own fishing pole and dinosaur bike helmet from Dad.




As a 5 year old, Otto was awarded certain privileges and milestones, such as peeing standing up and swim lessons. He was so excited to start a Jump Start swim camp and weekly lessons for the rest of the Summer.

We also made a point to keep a weekly appointment to the library for Summer reading. Otto quickly passed off all of the kindergarten decodable books and could pick out 5 books a week for fun reading. He loves the stories but he has a preference for the information books about dinosaurs and sharks. He especially loves the computer games.



 Atticus and Vincent began their monthly Occupational Therapist appointments.
They have been very stable sitting for a while, but little motivation to move or crawl yet. Atticus gets down on his tummy and rolls all over the floor from toy to toy and Vincent plays with whatever toys come within reach. We work on folding their legs under them and reaching from side to side.
In their assessments, it is fascinating to see how different they each are. Atticus tries to pick up the puzzle pieces from the board and never gives up trying until his fingers get a grasp enough to pick them up. Vincent shakes the entire puzzle board so all the pieces just fly off and he can pick them up off the floor. Clever boy!

Having been weaned, they are now on formula only and take from a sippy cup with a straw. They are not fond of cups that they must tip up.
They both gain weight at incredible pace, so that I know their crawling and walking will catch up soon.
They both have two bottom teeth and two top teeth coming in, changing their whole look entirely.






Otto continues to be such a great big brother, preferring to play and talk to the babies most of his own play time.
Atticus loves to scrunch up his nose throw his head forward when he giggles. He grabs on to his brothers or my hand and leg whenever anyone gets close enough for a big squeeze!
Vincent is more of sly, shy smile when he is pleased. He cries whenever anyone enters or leaves a room (especially mom).



They both eat almost any food put in front of them, except for Vincent and Tofu. Vincent loves to dig his hands into any food on his plate and shuffle his fingers, throwing food all over the floor and chair.
Atticus clumsily picks up full handfuls of food and stuffs it in his mouth, but makes a lot less mess doing so than Vincent. 

 Otto memorizes every dinosaur name he can learn about and a trip to Thanksgiving Point Natural History Museum is like getting to meet his heroes and celebrities.

For Father's Day, we spent the weekend giving Daddy a rest at home and went to Nana and Papa's.
Daddy had a difficult month and needed a lot of rest.

Papa got to have us for his Father's Day dinner. A treat for me, as I even got to sit down and finish a meal while he fed the twins!
With my mom's help, we put together a shadow box of the memorabilia from the Golden Spike 150th event. My dad played a part in the reenactment, as he had done as a youth.
He was the representative from Arizona, as you can see from the spike.
Now he can display his artifacts in a place for all to see! 



June is a time for birthdays for Uncle Shawn, Aunt Aimee, our cousin Jordis, Grandma Becky, Uncle Coltan, and now Atticus and Vincent too!

I found a great deal on a used twin tricycle, which is great for when Otto wants to ride his bike at the basketball court. Their little feet don't even touch the foot-holds yet, but they seemed to enjoy letting them dangle while taking a ride.

 As we practiced the OT's recommended skills, Vincent learned to pull one leg under the other and stand up with assistance. He liked to hang on to the couch or box while standing, but could not figure out how to sit down on his own.




Finally, it is time for the twins to turn ONE! We held a big party with friends, family, and more family at Grandma and Grandpa's house. An obstacle

course for the kids, breakfast burritos for everyone and a spoiling of more toys than any two little boys could ever need!
Vincent was MR. ONEderful and Atticus played the Wild ONE.

While singing Happy Birthday, Atticus was passed out asleep on Uncle Kevin's lap. So, we sang to Vincent and blew out his candle on his muffin.
The guests played a game of "guess which baby" and prizes from IKEA. As soon as presents were done, Vincent passed out asleep on Aunt Kathy's shoulder. They were tuckered out.

 Uncle Coltan worked hard making breakfast burritos with Grandpa Mike, Megan baked muffins the night before. 

Chris N Jena, Jordis, the Clarks, the Birds, the Prices, Aunt Lori and Grandma Carolyn were there.

All the Rasmussen clan traveled far from next door.

 It was a wonderful day to celebrate a wonderful year.


Matt and I relaxed the next morning while the family was babysitting the kids. We took a trip to Ogden for a breakfast date and drive through Pleasantview. It was a much needed break after a month of craziness!