Future Hairstylist

Well, it was bound to happen sometime. Emily found a pair of scissors the other day and cut the hair on the left side of her hair all the way to the back of her ear. Notice the difference in the length of ther hair in the back and in the front. Those are not bangs. she has one piece of hair by her ear that is about 1 inch long. It took Emily 4 years to grow her hair as long as it was and I am afraid it will take another 4 years to get it long agiain. I will take her in February to try to get the "layers" that emily created blended in to her hair. Silly girl

My Babies Turned 4!

This post is kind of in reverse order of events because of the way the pictures uploaded, but oh well, at least I am getting this documented right? The twins got bicycles and helmets for their big birthday gift from Daddy, Mommy, Abigail, Grand Nan, and Papa. They were thrilled because they have grown out their tricycles and were dying to ride as fast as Abigail. Abigail was excited to have some buddies to ride around with. We took the girls to the stake center parking lot cause I wasn't sure how the twins would do their first time on a bike. They did awesome and picked up riding very quickly.
Of course our resident fashionista, Emily, had to make sure that her outfit matched the bike so she could ride in style.
Elizabeth was more concerned with how fast she could go.
Emily picked up riding very easily, but was very willing to pose for a picture.
After about 20 minutes of chasing Elizabeth to get a picture of her, I finally got this one. She didn't want to be bothered with picture taking while she was having fun.
The twins chose to have Lunchables for their birthday lunch and eat a picnic on a blanket while they watched cartoons (please excuse the very messy playroom- the kids were making memories, right?)
For birthday breakfast we had rainbow pancakes (an idea I got off of pintrest) the girls loved it and I think these may become a birthday tradition.
I had to wake the twins up for their birthday breakfast, they were almost too tired to eat, but I couldn't wait any longer or Abigail would have been late for school. Abigail loved helping me prepare the breakfast. She is such a good big sister most of the time.
Notice the shirt that Elizabeth is wearing. It is a dinosaur shirt that Heather and Shane got her. Liz loves dinosaurs and the boys in pre-school thought she was pretty cool with her dinosaur shirt.
For birthday dinner we had Macaroni & Cheese, BBQ Hot dogs, Salad, and pink lemonade and for dessert we had donuts. Of course we had to eat the dinner on fairy plates. Again, notice Elizabeth is wearing a Cars shirt that Heather and Shane gave her for her birthday. She switched between her cars shirt and her dinosaur shirt every other day until I had to sneak them away from her to be washed in the laundry.

We are sure glad these twins joined our family four years ago. These last four years have been a blurr, but I wouldn't change it for anything.

A Rolling Birthday

Today we celebrated the twins birthday at the local skating rink. We just invited Heather and Shane and Grandma and Grandpa Ralphs and the twins very best friend from church Isabelle. The twins had a blast and I think that was the cheapest and easiest birthday party I have ever done. I am really into cheap and easy these days. Heather and Shane took Emily around the rink a few times so she could get the hang of things.

Abigail and Isabelle enjoy the cupcakes.

Make A Wish!

Getting practice with Isabelle in the little-kid area.

Grandma used to be quite the show-stopper on skates in her younger days and she gave Abigail some of her skating secrets, which helped Abigail gain confidence and improve by the end of the day.
Miss Independent
Opening Gifts!
Pretty Tinkerbell Cake from Wal-Mart
Happy 4th Birthday Elizabeth Claire
Always willing to pose for the camera - Abigail
Happy 4th Birthday Emily Celia
Best Friends Forever!

Too Soon

So among our many New Year's Resolutions is being more consistent with our family scripture study. I gave the twins their own Book of Mormon this morning on the way to church because they had their first day in sunbeams. We decided that Darin would be in charge of making sure that family scripture study happens every night as I am already feeling like my cup is full with other family responsibilities. Darin gave a nice kid-friendly introduction of the Book of Mormon and then we started at the beginning with 1st Nephi Chapter 1. Right in the middle of reading we look over and Elizabeth is "texting" with her scriptures closed. I didn't think I would have to impose a "no texting during scripture study" rule on a three-year old, but I guess I do. I had to snap a pic though before I asked her to put the phone away because I may not think this is so cute when she is 14. In the Book of Mormon Class Member Study Guide there is a quote from Marion G. Romney that I was really touched by. It says, "I feel certain that if, in our homes, parents will read from the Book of Mormon prayerfully and regularly, both by themselves and with their children, the spirit of that great book will come to permeate our homes and all who swell theirn. The spirit of reverence will increase, mutual respect and consideration for each other will grow. The spirit of contention will depart. Parents will counsel their children in greater love and wisdom.Children will be more responsive and submissive to the counsel of their parents. Righteousness will increase. Faith, hope, and charity - the pure love of Christ - will abound in our homes and lives, bringing in their wake peace, joy, and happiness." When I read this quote from president Romney, it was like an answer to a prayer. I have been racking my brain trying to think of a way for us to have a more peaceful home, and there was the answer. "Read the Book of Mormon, Duh!" Man, I am a slow learner. I hope to keep president Romney's promise in mind when I start to get a little distracted and make this the year we finish the Book of Mormon as a family.

Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year

So, for our Christmas gift to each other Darin and I got a new bed. I am so thrilled. We have been sleeping on an old queen mattress on the floor for a while now and we were waking up every morning with a backache. We found this bed frame, night stand, and two matching dressers for a really good price. They were the perfect color and style! We found a new mattress at a Mattress Outlet and it is so comfortable. I have slept better in the last week than I have all year! My favorite thing besides the bed of course is the fire place / entertainment center that fits perfect in the little nook in our room. I love it! Such a wonderful thing to have during the winter time. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year full of good nights of sleep in 2012!!

Here's to a NEW YEAR

So, 2009 started off well, but quickly went down hill in a hurry. We had lots of sickness, and worst of all Darin was laid off in April of 2009 from IBM. There was also ALOT of extra drama that we delt with and it was a tough year. 2010 didn't get any better, in fact, it got worse, we moved twice across the country and delt with alot of emotional issues and adjustments. I was certainly happy to kiss 2010 good buy last New Year's Eve. 2011 started off with a bang with us moving into our new house on January 3rd of 2011. The year went well over all, lots of adjustments, but more stability in our lives. 2011 was not without it's stresses, but we still fared better than 2010 that's for sure. I feel like we are on our way up for 2012 and I am excited about it. On Friday, Darin got a full-time job offer with Salmon River Stages, a local trucking company. I think he finally feels like he has found something he likes doing, that pays pretty decently for this area of the country, and that works for our family. I am hoping that this lasts for awhile and we can have some job stability in our lives. We love our house, we are finally making some friends and feel like we are fitting in with our ward and community, and Darin has a stable job. Yippee!!! Here's to hoping that 2012 brings some peace and harmony to our lives.

I LOVE THESE IDEAS!

I don't usually like stuff like this that goes around on the internet, but I love these ideas. Click on the link below, moms, you won't regret it.

http://www.thedailybuzz.com.au/2011/11/25-clever-ideas_household-tips_storage-ideas/

Christmas 2011

With this post, I am realizing that I have been blogging for about 4 years now. The first post that I did on this blog was of when I was pregnant with the twins on Christmas of 2007. Now four years later, I am still blogging and have done the best at journaling in my entire life. The pictures on this post are in reverse order of events. The picture above are of Darin and Elizabeth enjoying the fishing game this morning. We are still discovering and enjoying all of the new toys this morning.

Last night Heather and Shane came over for Christmas dinner and gifts. They got Darin these John Deere suspenders and he LOVES them. All, I can say is "Oh Deere!"

Emily got Rapunzel / Tangled Hair, and it is as long as she is tall. She loves it.

We had a very competitive game of Go Fish!

Darin and Shane played Legos with the girls.

In the afternoon on Christmas the girls and Darin went to Rockland to visit Grandma and Grandpa Ralphs while I stayed home and cooked Dinner with Heather. The girls got these cute skirts and leggings from Grandma and Grandpa.

Because Christmas was on a Sunday, we had to get ready for church for a 1 hour church service right after we opened gifts. The girls got dressed and played with their new stuff while mom and dad got ready to go.

Abigail enjoyed drawing on this easel that Grand Nan and Papa sent.

On Christmas morning the girls woke up at 6:55 which is pretty good considering that is their usual time any day. Darin got an Atari Flashback 3 game console.

Abigail got a Barbie guitar from Emily.

Elizabeth was very quiet amongst the squealing of Abigail and Emily, checking out what Santa had brought.

Look at that sweet happy face.

We have a family tradition of getting new Christmas pajamas and looking at Christmas lights on Christmas Eve. This year we were just going to go pick out our favorite pajamas that we already had and drive around town, but Grand Nan and Pajama gram came through for us and we had matching pajamas to wear on Christmas Eve. They are so comfortable and soft.

On the 23rd we baked cut out sugar cookies and frosted them and took them to the families that I visit teach and of course saved some for ourselves and Santa.

Christmas Greeting

For the first Seven Christmases that Darin and I shared together, I was religious about sending out a Christmas letter/card to our friends and family. Well, the past two years hasn't been that way, but I still wanted to give those of you who occasionally read this blog and update on our family and a Christmas greeting. I know it is much more exciting to get a card in the mail, but for several reasons the Ralphs family will not be doing that this year. Last year we sent out about 20 cards to our closest family members, but this year we will not be sending out anything. I haven't been in the mood to send cards out with some current stresses that are going on in our lives plus postage is getting more and more expensive these days. Maybe next year I will feel more festive and send cards out. We are doing Christmas very low key this year and that is okay. We only put our tree and stockings up this year, no outside decorations. I haven't done any holiday baking, no teacher's gifts, and no Christmas cards, but I still have the spirit of Christmas in my heart, so I am not a bah-hum bug, just want to take things easy. So anyway after that long intro here is an update on our family members and below is our virtual Christmas card for all of our blog readers (all two of you).

Emily & Elizabeth have really matured this year, don't get me wrong they still have the quirks of 3 year-olds, but I can really tell how their language skills and comprehension about life has grown. They keep us on our toes and bring a lot of excitement to our family. They have enjoyed doing dance this year and they need it to have an outlet to burn some of their energy out. They are in constant cardio mode, just like their big sister. This fall they started attending a music class, that I absolutely love. The program is called Let's Play Music and it teaches them so much through fun and play and they don't even know they are learning. We have also been doing pre-school at home with a few other children and they love the concentrated learning time and interaction with the other kids. It is fun to watch the twins personalities develop and change and although they are twins, their personalities are quite different from each other.

Elizabeth is a bit more reserved initially and likes for Emily to go first on most things. She is by no means shy or un-opinionated though. We definitely know where she stands on most issues and she has a hard time controlling her temper sometimes. She is very sensitive to the mood of others and will react accordingly, if someone is upset she can sense it and has a very compassionate heart.Elizabeth is very bright and her fine motor skills are pretty developed for her age. She loves puzzles and writing things and has an artistic brain. She has the attention span for a craft well beyond other children her age. She loves to snuggle and cuddle and I love to give her that one-on-one attention when everyone else is sleeping at night.

Emily on the other hand is very outgoing. There is not a person in the world that isn't her friend. Emily loves to give hugs, be held, and sit in mommy and daddy's lap. She is daring and likes to try new things. Because her twin sister usually lets her go first on most things, Emily has a hard time letting others go first and share the lime light. Emily adores Abigail and follows her around like her little shadow and will usually play whatever Abi wants to play just to spend time with her. This summer Emily learned to swim a little bit and float on her back. Emily loves baby dolls and stuffed animals. She makes her bed every day and outlines the entire bed with her favorite stuffed animals and dolls. Emily loves the color pink and anything that sparkles, has feathers, or screams GIRL.

Abigail has grown leaps and bounds this year. She hasn't really grown physically, she is in the same size clothes today as she was on January 1st, but she has grow in all other areas of her life. When we moved back to Idaho at the beginning of the year, Abigail was really struggling academically and with her behavior. We worked really hard every day for about four months and her grades improved and so did her behavior. We did a food experiment and we discovered that all three of our children, especially Abigail, are negatively affected by sugar. We really have to limit the amount of sugar in the girls diet and it improves their behavior drastically. Abigail is loving school now and has an excellent second grade teacher. She has caught up to the rest of the class and is even ahead of the pack in some subject areas. Abigail has shown much more responsibility this year. She is able to do several chores around the house and really helps out with her sisters. This summer Abigail improved her swimming ability and I at least have the confidence now that if she fell in a pool, she could swim and get her self out with out panicking. This fall, She joined a competitive dance team and loves it. Dance is such a wonderful thing for these girls. Not only does dance allow them to exercise in a fun way, it allows them to be healthy, gain self-confidence, teaches them patience, persistence, and discipline. It looks like we will be a dancing family for many years to come. Abigail has really improved at playing the piano and practices nearly every day and loves it. She is in a little singing class that I teach on Thursdays with a cute group of little girls. I hope she always remains confident when performing and doesn't allow nerves to take over as I have as an adult. Abigail has lost four teeth this year, which is a really big deal for her because of her fear of blood. Right now she has her two-front teeth missing and she can truly sing the song, "All I want for Christmas is My two front teeth."

Misty is enjoying being a wife and mother to the busy Ralphs family. I LOVE the home we live in and the area. I think south-east Idaho is a pretty good place to raise a family and I am overall pretty happy. In April, I started teaching piano and voice lessons out of my home. I peaked at 18 students, but a few lost interest or were not the right fit for my teaching method or personality, so I am down to 14 students now, which is just fine with me. I am also doing a pre-school out of my home that the twins participate in. It is half-day pre-school on Tuesdays and Thursdays and I have a cute little class of 8 students. The twins love it, which is my main motivation and keeps me going. This fall I also started singing with the Camerata Singers and I am really looking forward to singing with them next semester doing the Mahler Symphony No. 8 (Symphony of a Thousand). We will be doing it with three combined choirs and three combined orchestras in Helena Montana. There will be about 750 performers. I am stoked! My calling in church is the primary accompanist. Luckily, I have a very patient primary chorister to work with. I am learning how to accompany now and it is a new experience. Maybe by this time next year, I will be pretty decent at it. My struggle in life is trying to maintain balance. It is a constant battle I feel like I am fighting, but I will win! It is hard to balance work, home, and church responsibilities, and have time for myself.

Darin loves being back in Idaho. Idaho fits his personality perfectly and he feels that he in his element. He is enjoying living in the city, but not feeling rushed. Our city has a slow-pace feel to it, which Darin loves. Lines aren't ever very long, traffic is never crazy, and it just makes life a little sweeter and whenever Darin feels the itch to be out in the country, he can drive 20 minutes in any direction and voila, he is out in the middle of nowhere. Darin started out the year working for Direct Communications. He was driving all over the place and gas was costing a fortune, so he decided to try something new this summer. He studied and trained and obtained his Class A CDL drivers license and landed a job in Pennsylvania. The job in PA paid well, when he was working, but it was too hard on the family for him to be gone for 3 weeks and then home for 3 weeks. Around Thanksgiving he landed a seasonal job working for a local trucking company and seems to really like it. Who knows what the future holds for Darin and his employment situation? We just have to put our faith in Heavenly Father and do the best we can to live righteously and hope and pray that things work out. Darin's calling is teaching Elder's quorum once a month, pretty cush if you ask me. He continues to keep busy in his spare time doing little projects around the house. We are so glad he is so handy.

Well if you are still reading this, congratulations! We hope you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Virtual Christmas Card

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DSDS Christmas Recital 2011

The girls had their dance recital this past weekend. I was so impressed with the progress that Abigail is making dancing this year. The first two pictures in this post are of Abigail and her friend Joey. On stage these two look very similar and are hard to tell apart from eachother.
Abigail did a ballet, tap, and jazz number in the recital. I only got pictures of her in her ballet and tap costumes. I will have the opportunity to get more pictures of Abigail in her jazz costume next year because they will be taking their jazz dance to competition.
The twins did a tap dance to Frosty the Snowman and I must say that it was pretty darn cute.
My three little tap dancers.
For Abigail's ballet dance she was a doll and did very well. She was front and center for most of this dance, I am so proud of her progress.
Elizabeth is pretty funny about dance. She tells me that she loves it, but she won't let you catch her having a good time.