You Really Can't Beat the Prairie Dogs

There is something magical about our zoo. 

It doesn't have the most exotic animals. (Although we do have a mean prairie dog exhibit). 

We have no elephants, giraffes or lions. 

It doesn't have a fancy snack stand or a gigantic playset. 

But there is something so beautiful about its simplicity, its history and the way the trees hug you as you wander through it. 

We made our first visit of the year last weekend and it finally felt like spring. I didn't even care that it snowed two days later. 

And, of course, this.

Some Days It's Just Not Worth the Fight

Girls, go stand next to each other so I can take a picture. 

C'mon, Claire. Be serious.

Grace, look over here honey.

Ok, let's see your smiles! Show me those pearly whites! 

Good grief. I give up. 

Oil and Water

When Scott and I first started dating, a sweet friend of ours said she was a bit surprised by it because we were like "oil and water." And although Scott and I share some of the same interests and see the world in a similar way (our life motto is "don't be a d-bag."), our friend was so, so right. 

I've mentioned before that Scott and I think very differently: 

My brain is mostly very structured and organized, but every once in awhile, I do something spontaneous or creative. Scott's brain is mostly free and impulsive, but occasionally has moments of rigidity. 

We've found a way to make it work in our relationship, but it looks like we may have passed on our natural tendencies. Nearly every time the girls use watercolors, this is the result: 

Claire's is on the left, Grace's is on the right. 

Grace's art is very neat and clean, rarely letting the colors touch, whereas Claire will spend the entire art session on one piece of paper -- letting her colors bleed together to form, what she calls, "the ocean."

That is interesting on its own. But where it really gets wacky is all of the other traits we have been noticing. 

The most obvious is their looks. Other than my hair color, Claire looks strikingly like her father. And Grace is definitely my mini-me. We found a picture of me the other day when I was about their age and both girls said "That's Grace!" 

Other similarities: 

1. Claire LOVES dirt and sand more than life itself. Scott's mom recently told me that when he was a kid, who used to rank the local baseball fields by the quality of their dirt. 

2. Grace prefers water over milk (as I do) and Claire and Scott like white milk so much that whenever we buy milk, we get four gallons at a time. Milk never goes bad in our house. Unless it's in a sippy cup that lays forgotten. 

3. Scott's been called a know-it-all from time to time and Claire is following in his footsteps. During a recent trip to the zoo:

Cute little kid that we didn't know: Look, Mom, there's a monkey!

Claire: That's not a monkey. That's a chimp. 

Scott: *beaming with pride*

4. Grace hates, hates, hates getting in trouble. Most of the time the fear alone (even just a stern look) will keep her from doing something she isn't supposed to, but when she does step out of line and I look at her and tell her "Grace, I'm very disappointed in you." Her lip trembles, her eyes fill with tears and her heart breaks with the thought of disappointing me. I've always been that kid who is terrified of disappointing. In fact, I still am sometimes. 

5. The strengths of Scott's brain (memory, critical thinker) mirror Claire's strengths. Claire can remember entire books and "read" them back to you, and the kid never stops asking why. Whereas, Grace's strengths (problem-solving, practical thinker) mirror mine. She likes to fix things, can dress herself from head-to-toe and has known how to work an iPhone for about two years now. 

I love how different we all are. It can create some fierce disagreements, but we're also learning from each other and growing into well-rounded people (hopefully). If you know the adage about oil and water,  you know they don't mix. I think we may be the exception. 

Quick Hit Wednesday

1. We had a GREAT Easter. What? You're not still talking about Easter? C'mon. Indulge me. On Saturday (the one before Easter, ya know, like a gazillion weeks ago), the girls went egg hunting at the city park, where we met and took a picture with, the Easter Bunny. 

2. Later that day, we celebrated the second birthday of my niece Cambri -- who has, by far, more personality than all the rest of us put together. Adorable, right?

3. On Sunday morning, our chicks woke up SO cranky. They were bickering non-stop until I yelled "Don't you want to see what the Easter Bunny brought you!?!?!" They stopped in their tracks and immediately turned those frowns upside down. Thank goodness for goodie-filled baskets.

4. After breakfast, we headed East to celebrate Easter with Scott's side of the family. We ate a delicious lunch, played with baby Skyler and hunted for cows. It's like hunting for eggs, but easier because they are fenced in and, well, cows. 

5. A couple of weeks ago we went to a women's basketball game. I was trying to explain to Grace who to cheer for, so every time one of our girls had the ball I said "That's our girl!" After the game, Grace kept asking for our new sister. I think I may have confused her. 

6. Bella had her school carnival this past weekend and invited us to go along. The girls had a blast playing all of the games, but the highlight was getting their faces painted. 

Twins ... Only Without Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito

I may have mentioned this before, but after we found out we were having twins and as we were getting used to the idea, I told Scott that it was important to me that we give them the chance to flourish independently. 

I hoped then, as I hope now, that they will grow up to be best of friends, but knowing who they are outside of each other is equally as important to me. 

That's why, most of the time, I dress them differently -- it's a small way that I can say "Go be yourselves!" 

Not that they really struggle with that -- because, really, could they be any different? 

But I have to admit, it's fun to see them looking like "twins" every once in awhile. 

In case you're wondering... no, they aren't eating tubs full of butter. We save those because they make great popcorn buckets. On second thought, I suppose they are eating tubs full of butter. 

Following My Arrow

Today is my birthday. The big 3-1. Which is quite possibly the most anti-climatic year ever. 

When you turn 30, you do something outrageous like fly to Vegas, take a cross country road trip or go on a cruise. Something that really tells your 20s to take a long walk off a short pier. But when you turn 31, you hit snooze one more time because, hey, it's your birthday and you deserve it. 

(I should note, for the record, that on my 30th birthday, my family came over to my very messy house after I worked a 10-hour day and were treated to a grump with a headache. Almost as awesome as Vegas.)

So, coworkers: my apologies for being seven minutes late today. But give me some slack -- it's my birthday.

Alongside hearing the story of my birth, one of my favorite things to do on my birthday is reflect on where I am, where I've been and where I want to go. 

This year it's all about following my own arrow. This philosophy has been taking root for years now, but when I heard the song by Kacey Musgraves (Follow Your Arrow), it spoke to my heart. If there is one thing I could tell my 13-year-old self, it would be to raise my hand more in class during discussions and don't be shy about my opinions. (And seriously, it's not OK to wear boxer shorts to school. I don't care if it was in style). If there is one thing I could tell my 23-year-old self, it would be to stop caring about what others think or whether they will approve. I would tell my 28-year-old self to stop comparing my parenting to that of others. And in three years, I'll be telling my girls the same thing -- be yourself because no one else is better for the job. 

"Say what you feel. Love who you love. 'Cause you just get so many trips 'round the sun." - Kacey Musgraves

Hold It Right There

Wait — hang on a second. Can someone please tell me when my itty bitty babies grew into kids? 

Man, time flies when you're having fun and cleaning up messes and giving baths and building block towers and doing laundry and making meals and painting pictures and washing dishes and having tea parties and playing hide 'n' seek and kissing ouchies and reading stories and breaking up fights and piling onto the bed for snuggles and tickles. Wouldn't trade it for the world.