The Techno Inference

Hey friends and family,

This past Sunday I had the chance to finally meet Scott and Marisue's newborn twin boys. They are healthy and doing extremely well. Scott and Marisue look WAY too awake and refreshed compared to our zombie-like countenance when we were first parents. We are really happy for them and look forward to helping out and being a part of their lives.


Seeing their bundles of joy brought back so many memories for us. We talked about it on and off for the rest of the day as we took trips down memory lane saying things like, "Do you remember when we put them on the ground and they were in the same place one minute later?" Those were the days...

Kendra and I added another nickname for Easton after experiencing the techno . We will call him, "The Cheat". There is a character named The Cheat in the online animation called Home Star Runner. StrongBad pretends to read and respond to fan email. One of my favorite episodes is titled "techno".

First watch this unscripted video of Easton and Layla.



Easton, you're grounded. We had that light switch installed so you could turn the lights on and off; not so you could throw light-switch raves.

and now for the StrongBad professional, internet-ready video which is eerily similar to the situation we caught on video with Easton and Layla.

http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail45.html
and if you're a YouTube only kind of person, here is the same StrongBad clip through YouTube:



Just goes to show you the kind of humor and adventures we have at home are the same stuff other people have to create animations about.

See you soon!

The Preschool Dilemma

Hi friends and family,

There are big changes on the horizon for the 4 Webbs. Nothing good or bad, just moving through the stages of toddlers, two at a time. The biggest decision we are actively working is whether to send the twins to pre-school and if so, where. The more distant question of home schooling vs. public schools is still a couple of years off so we'll figure out how to navigate that situation when it gets closer.

I never knew 3 year olds go to pre-school. My mindset was always "4 years old = preschool, 5 years old = kindergarten, 6 years old = 1st grade". Before we had Easton and Layla I thought kids 0-4 years old just sit around in play pins and drool on themselves.

We did some preliminary research and there is a waiting list for some schools, which seems completely bizarre to me. Also, hearing there is a cost associated with preschool was disheartening.

To put things in perspective, I had no younger brothers or sisters and barely ANY memories before the age of 5. All of these "stage of childhood" discussions are completely foreign to me and seem to come out of left field. I did pretty well with the first year because I read some books and had a full 9 months of Kendra's pregnancy to get a head start. However, It feels like I'm already falling behind in my understanding of age 3, which is coming up in 4 months. Time to dig into the books again! I'll add that topic in between what I'm currently reading, "Good to Great" by Jim Collins and before I start "Where Keynes Went Wrong" (Thanks, BJ).

Before we get into the details of our adventures please allow me to get this one rant off my chest. There is an aspect of parenting I've grown to despise, which is continually telling the twins to eat. Every meal is a continuous struggle where I (we) repeat "eat your (insert food)!" constant supervision is required otherwise they start talking and smearing mustard on their face. The reason this wears on me so much is because we've been doing it since their first bowl of rice cereal at 10 months old. I long for the day when we put a plate of dinner in front of them and they just eat. No coaxing or begging or debating or bribing with dessert. just eat. What a glorious day that will be. This blog will have a celebration post like never before.

I feel much better... thanks. It took the better part of a week to get back in the groove of normal week, but we're finally at that point. Feeding the ducks at the park is back on the weekly routine.


In this next picture you see bread in Layla Ruth's mouth, Layla Rae's hand, and between Aprils toe. I didn't attend this particular park trip so I had to ask Kendra, "which bread did the ducks eat?" I guessed probably NOT Layla Ruth's mouth, but wasn't sure whether a duck would be more brave in taking it from our intense, sweet Layla Rae or from April's ultra-still foot. Kendra said both were successful!


Most of the pictures I post on the blog are cropped down to just show the people since there is limited space on the webpage. However, I want to share one picture of our neighborhood park to get an idea of what a top-notch Arizona park looks like.


The important thing to notice in the next picture of Easton is (drum roll, please)... Big Boy Underwear! Tada!


The whole potty training concept isn't exciting for Easton, yet, but he is willing to play along to get M&M candies for each successful trip to the potty. Neither of them are consistent and accidents do happen, but at least this is a step in the right direction.

Art time is a different story. This is what happens when you give a toddler water-based paints, a paint brush, and 4 minutes of unsupervised time. Maybe he was just putting on camouflage paint for deer season?


One other humorous situation with Easton involved the slide and the sit-n-spin. The twins were going down the slide when Easton had the bright idea to put the sit-n-spin to the side of the side so when they came off the end they would zip across the sit-n-spin. The idea actually worked... until he decided to move the sit-n-spin directly in front of the slide. Luckily both of his legs went to one side of the sit-n-spin post and he didn't have a painful experience with straddling it.


This morning the 4 Webbs went for a stroll to the supermarket down the street. I drove the bike, the twins rode in the Chariot, and Kendra roller bladed. I can't think of a better way to enjoy a Saturday morning than to get outside and do something active.

The twins chowed down muffins, eggs, and scones. Layla took a bit of my sausage and asked, "Daddy, what is that?" I started to describe it, but froze with my mouth open as I considered what the best answer would be. After a long pause and confused look from Layla I said, "meat" and carried on to the next topic. Easton didn't care to question what he was eating. He just asked for "the orange muffin" and ate happily.


We took the opportunity to chat with Oma and Opa on Skype. I asked Layla if she would dance like a ballerina for Oma and Opa. She said yes, but requested a wardrobe change into her tutu and angel wings. As a part of her dance which included barrel rolling on the floor, summersaults, and the downward dog yoga pose, she also did this twitchy move where she would twist her upper body back and forth rapidly. Oma asked what she was doing. Her response: "I'm flapping my wings!"


The other quandary we are in right now is what to do about the bed situation. The twins are each in their own crib with a tent which prevents them from climbing out. The cribs are convertible, but Kendra doesn't want to bother with converting them for only a few months of use until they get too big for the mattress.

We are working through options and decided to take a jog through IKEA to get ideas and see how a trundle bed might work into our solution. I say "jog" because Easton and Layla hold our hands and pull us forward like Iditarod mush dogs as they lunge forward from one piece of furniture to the next. We stopped for $1 frozen yogurt before hitting the mile-long journey inside.


We are closer to a solution, but now we are getting to the purchasing part so it's time to really nail down what we plan to do.

I gave Easton a few slimy, stretchy pretend amphibians as a surprise gift. Now he asks for the snake and his airplane to be near him at all times including naps. I came in to wake him up and since he was so tired and unwilling to wake up I added props and took a picture.


I know... it's a juvenile thing to do, but Layla and I thought it was funny!

See you soon.

The Krispy Kreme Experience

Greetings friends and family,

The 4 Webbs are safe at home once again and we are back to day to day live in AZ. Now we have just 2 weeks to settle in and prepare for Oma and Opa's visit for the Fall Harvest festival.

Chronologically speaking this post will be a mess, but hang in here with me and allow me some latitude to free form blog.

I took two shifts taking care of Uno and Dos while Kendra played soccer two nights in a row. We stayed at home the first night and Layla dressed up in her princess gear as usual. I was in front room doing something and realized things were WAY too quiet. You parents know that creepy feeling... I walked into the kitchen and found the sweetest un-scripted moment I've ever witnessed. Layla was soothing Easton by singing "Jesus Loves me" and running her fingers through his hair as he lay cuddled up against her.


I grabbed the camera and caught the tail end of the song. I was stunned by the compassion Layla was showing and the comfort Easton displayed.



We tell them almost every day, "he/she is your BEST friend!" I think it is finally starting to sink in and prove to be true. Not to say they are angelic towards each other all the time because everyone knows that's not true. However, those moments when they are voluntarily doing what we have been teaching for the past 2.5 years makes it all worthwhile.

I'll finish the stories from our trip to Springfield while they are still fresh in my memory. We took full family photos again this year and by some miracle took a picture where every person was looking at the camera and smiling. We experienced long periods of waiting before and after the flash bulbs went off. Luckily the studio had a TV with DVD player to keep everyone occupied. You will notice in this next picture how Easton looks exceptionally proud. The reason is because we found a brown belt for him just in time for pictures. He is proud because he's dressed exactly like me down the last detail of the brown belt.


In the department store there happened to be a min-Harley and these two bikers know exactly how to ride like tough girls.


We topped the night off with an early celebration for Nana's birthday complete with a homemade cake from Betty Crocker (a.k.a. Kendra). All of the kids and adults were adamantly insisting on seconds so it was obvious Kendra's cake was a big success. Of course Layla went straight for Daphne's princess outfit the second we walked in the door of Joanie's house.


The night was special for Nana because all kids and all grandkids were with her at the same time. It's a rare occurrence, but I know she appreciates those special moments and memories where we are all able to be together. What better reason than to celebrate the life and birthday of Ma? She was especially radiant and beaming as we gathered around and just shared conversation in the same room.

On a completely unrelated note, here is Papa's current hotrod.


You may be wondering why I would take a picture of a car. The reason is because Dad changes hotrods as often as most people change the oil in their car. I have my doubts as to whether this particular Roush rocket will be in his garage next time I visit. He let me take it around the block.

All I can say is: I'm glad the previous owner removed the turbo before Pa bought it because the torque in that thing is off the charts already without the turbo. For those of you who aren't car nuts... Horse power is how fast you hit the wall. Torque is how far you push the wall after impact. Papa's beast has both...

The flight home was gleefully uneventful. We did have a slight problem with overweight luggage.


Thankfully they let us stow these two as carry-on. Easton was wound up like a spring throughout the flight especially on take off and landing. He didn't kick or bother the poor lady next to us and we received the usual compliments from other passengers about how well behaved they are.

The temps in Phoenix are still overbearingly hot, but on Sunday it was tolerable . Layla awoke from nap time and requested her ballerina outfit as "evening wear". She looked up into the closet and noticed the Easter baskets we have stored in the top shelf. She asked if we could have an Easter egg hunt. I was just spending time with the twins and saw no reason to deny such a request. So... we had an October Easter egg hunt in our backyard!


As a matter of fact, I re-hid the eggs three times. :) Some parents might say no because of the hassle or some other reason, but I said, "why not?" There's no harm in doing it and they had a blast finding empty eggs and filling their baskets. I'm just getting them ready for next year so they can bring home a big haul of candy loot for all of us!

During Kendra’s soccer game we surprised her by showing up to cheer. Easton and Layla were screaming from the sidelines, "kick it, mommy, KICK it!" The sideline crowd howled with laughter because the twins were the only fans cheering.


Earlier in the day I told Easton we would go for Krispy Kreme doughnuts. They have such great memories. As we were getting in the car to go home from the soccer game Easton said, "I want doughnuts, daddy!" I do my best to be a man of my word so even though it was very late we drove across town to the closest Krispy Kreme.

Dinner is served!


OK, it wasn't dinner, but they ate an entire glazed doughnut each and guzzled the strawberry milk as though it were the nectar of the gods.


Layla's intensity shined through a little TOO much when she tried to wear the signature paper hats. Ooops!


Easton got it right though. That's my boy. :)


My back injury is totally recovered after 5 weeks. I'm really grateful no serious medication or surgery was required. Just rest and Chiropractic visits and physical therapy. I tested it out today with full martial arts class training and I'm happy to report everything feels great.

That's all for this post. See you soon!

In Nature

Yeehaw friends and family,

The combination of perfect weather (10 sunny, mild days in a row) and hours each day of family time is producing an outstanding vacation. Nana's house is taking a beating as the tornado of kids creates a wake of destruction at a faster pace than we can clean up. I keep finding new toys stashed in cupboards and closets. The house obviously has seen a steady flow of cousins for the past several years to accumulate that big of a collection.

Kendra put Layla's hair in pig tails often. She looks like Red from Fraggle Rock as she bounces around the room. We called her "Flopsy Mopsy" for some reason this day.


Layla played with every single toy in Nana and Papa's house. She even gave badminton the ole' college try.


Easton attempted to hit the birdie as well, but he kept swinging downward. After narrowly missing my hand as I held the birdie it was time to call it quits. Maybe next year? He had much better luck at the Bass Pro Shops trying on camouflage gear. Where'd he go?


I had to throw in this random pic from the picnic because it shows how great of a grandma their Nana is. Cousin Daphne was afraid of the big, red slide so Nana was kind enough to go down with her. Now you see where I get my hands-on attitude from...


I talked Aunt Joanie into a nature center walk and I was surprised by the success. I expected a little more chaos and possibly a child or two getting wet because it crosses creeks, a muddy swamp, and several rolling hills... without any railing.


Aunt Joanie with baby Trinity strapped to her in the Baby Bjorn is not pictured in this next group photo.


Layla and Daphne stopped to smell the flowers.


We stopped by the creek to rest under a shade tree for a few minutes while attempting to keep five children from throwing rocks, getting wet, or injuring anyone including themselves. I was praying the entire time, "Please, God, nobody poop!" There were no trashcans on the 2.5 mile walk and there's no way I prepared to store a dirty diaper in my backpack. I breathed a sigh of relief when we finished the walk without incident.


Eli and Silas were very helpful in leading and holding hands with the toddlers. Those are two very impressive young men.


My best friend, Ryan, who I've known since high school came into town for the day to see the 4 Webbs. He left his two boys at home, but was willing to share the morning with me and the twins. We went for a short walk in a local park to get them outside and give Mommy a break.


Then Ryan and I spent the afternoon cruising around town reminiscing about how easy life was back in school. No job, no wife, no kids... The lack of responsibility was awesome in its own way.


We came back to Nana's house and found Easton digging into his first pile of Legos. Being kids-at-heart ourselves we squeezed into the corner and showed him how to build a space ship from spare parts. Oddly enough, our time in Lego-land was some of the most relaxing and enjoyable of the entire trip. It's fun to be a kid and having Easton is a free pass to act like a kid again.


Easton discovered the Star Wars Light Saber toy. The lights and sounds are very cool. He got a kick out of bashing it against the hard wood floor causing the various striking noises. I gave him a demo and he spent the rest of the afternoon trying to chop peoples arm off with it. Of course I had to throw out the Darth Vader line (modified), "Easton, I am your father..."


On a completely separate note here are two very cool gifts Aunt Joanie's crew gave us for the plane ride home. The first is a glue-sealed bottle, which contains lots of beads and various miniature other things. The idea is for the twins to spin it and shake it to make the items visible and find them. Very creative of them.


and this is a personalized ABC book. The book contains 26 pages; one for each letter of the alphabet. They cut out pictures from magazines and pasted them on the page corresponding with the first letter in the name of object pictured. The idea is for us to use it on the plane ride home, but then continue to fill the pages in with our own findings. Very thoughtful of her crew to do this for us.


There are so many pics to pour through from the vacation, but I'm almost done. I think one more post should finish it off in style. Speaking of style... we took our updated family portraits and they look incredible. Can't wait to get them in the mail.

See you soon!

rocketMEN

Hey friends and family,

After more than a week off work I am finally grasping the concept of vacation and not thinking about work at all. I get about 130 emails per day so the stress of going back to work soon and my ability to do simple multiplication means I'll be rowing my way through the sea of email back into work life.

My mom made banana bread so that means Easton is eating Nana Banana Bread. I think there may be some market-ability in that although the inside joke may not translate well to the rest of the world.


I decided to do a few special things with my nephews during this week and one of them involved explosives. We enjoyed a picnic lunch in the perfect afternoon weather.


Then I broke out the necessary materials and we built ourselves a rocket!


Eli and Silas built it perfectly and we set up the launch site. I was a little uneasy about allowing Easton to get to close as we built and fired the rocket, but he was outrageously curious and chomping at the bit to be in the middle of everything.


Silas fired it off successfully, but the parachute didn't open so it crashed down onto the parking lot. Luckily only minor damage resulted so we put in the double-powered engine and Eli blasted it over 600 ft. in the air. I thought the recovery team would be Papa and Easton who were stationed in the same general area of the last crash.


Unfortunately the wind shifted on us so we watched helplessly as the parachute deployed and it floated across the main road into the local cemetery.
The "recovery team" was as successful as the launch, so we repacked the rocket for one more flight.


Eli and Silas were gracious enough to let Easton push the launch button and he was overjoyed to take their offer.


After a short countdown Eli held the safety key and Easton pressed the launch button and Whoooosh, it shot up into the sky leaving a distinct trail of smoke.


Easton's level of excitement was off the charts. The rocket went so high it was almost out of sight, but then the parachute deployed and we watched the wind shift... again... and carry it across the street into a stranger's back yard. The recovery team jumped a few fences and broke some trespassing laws, but we rescued the rocket, which is now sitting in my nephews room ready for another flight some other day. Here's a short video clip of Joanie chatting with him afterwards.



See you soon!

Family Reunion

Howdy friends and family,

The vacation is developing into a much broader group of people we are able to see. Uncle Larry's 65th birthday turned out to be a full fledged family reunion. Here's my Mom with Bysie and Larry the birthday boy. Unfortunately Wayne wasn't able to make it to have the complete set of aunts and uncles, but the timing worked out for all of us to hang out for a few hours so I'm happy to have the family gathering and appreciate who WAS there.


We took time to get a picture of the 4 Webbs, of course.


Here is my long lost cousin Travis who I haven't seen since before they had kids. That's a lot of years, but the timing never worked out for them to be in town the same days as us.


He was the closest cousin to my age growing up. In an odd twist of fait his family has the closest relationship with my brother's and I'm glad they are able to have such experiences. I wasn't able to get a picture of my cousin Jenny and her family, but we had the chance to meet her kids for the first time as well that day.

Easton and Layla are both still sick so we are allowing more "down time" to watch Nana's kid-friendly videos and snuggle with the monkey and bear from Aunt Mary.


Living out of a suitcase isn't all that bad though I think Easton and Layla are taking it way too literally. This is just a small example of how we took over every spare inch of Nana and Papa's house.


The most fun thing about staying with them is the sand box. If nothing else is going on then the sand box is the logical choice where to find the twins. Nana is more than happy to join in the digging and getting her hands dirty... literally.


and here we are again at the sand box, but this time hanging out with Daphne. She's really good about showing love and posing so I took the opportunity to capture the moment.


Easton is more excited about the vast amount of construction equipment than the forests on the horizon we pass regularly as we drive. Layla seems to be really enjoying the greenery of the Ozarks even what is seen just outside of the front door.


She is also enamored with Waggles. I've never seen a dog sit like a squirrel so well, but he pulls it off well.


We called Layla "Flopsy Mopsy" on this day because her pig tails were uneven and bounced around like springs.


Layla shared her fairy stickers with Nana who wore them all day long on her shirt.


Easton and Layla don't look very lively in the next picture with me, but I didn't take it personally. They were eating snacks and still feeling sick so any attempt at getting them to smile just aggravated them. We still played with blocks and built a garage just the same though.


We were a part of the baby dedication for Joanie's youngest, Trinity, which my Dad conducted. I forgot to bring my camera though so I'll have to wait for my Joanie's memory card before I get pictures from that heart-warming event. Also, I setup Eli and Silas with a model rocket, which turned out to be one of the most fun times so far. The climactic moment of the outing was watching Easton push the button to blast the rocket into the air.

See you soon!