Just to Clarify

I had a few people ask if the twins sleep together in the same crib. And if that is a tough thing to do? I do know a number of parents who have their twins sleep togther, but I'm not one of them. They each have their own crib, and have never slept together; at home anyway. The picture of them in the same crib actually was after they woke up and were both in the best moods. When I put Sam in with her brother they both made the funniest faces. Because it was something they had never done before. They do share a room. But they usually don't wake each other up. For me, it is just hard enough to get them to take decent naps that I think sleeping together would make it next to impossible.

Our Kiddos

Hey All,

I know it has been forever since I have put pictures up, or even put together a post. So here are some of the more recent pictures of our Kids. Sammy and Andrew already have quite the opposite personalities. As girls usually are, Sammy is the more dramatic of the two and Andrew (thankfully) is pretty chill most of the time. They are such smiley babies and Connor is such a great big brother. He won't even let me put them down for naps without telling them that he loves them. When one of them cries he goes in to cheer them up and it usually works. They just love him. We just have so much fun!

Connor's Hair Cut

My sister in law Whitney came down for a party a month or so ago and I roped her into cutting Connor's shaggy mane.

It was a bunch of fun, and he was so good. She cut off close to 4 inches. I guess I let it go a bit long.

But he sure looks spiffy now. Now, a month later he still doesn't like to look in the mirror and often says that he doesn't want his new hair. What a silly guy.

Christmas 2009

This last Christmas season was a lot of fun. We spent 5 days at my parent's house in Fruiltand, Idaho. This is most likely the last time we will be altogether with my family on Christmas day. With 2 parents, 11 kids, 7 inlaws, soon to be 13 grandkids, and a house smaller than the hotel needed to house everyone, things get a bit crazy. We were missing several family members this year, but our numbers still exceeded the twenty mark. But we still had a great time, and Christmas was wonderful.

Santa brought Connor a Rocky The Robot Truck. He was so excited. This was our first Chritsmas with Connor really into it, and there is nothing better than an excited little kid at Christmas time.

Unless you have a very suprised husband who probably got the best gift Santa could ever bring. He had been shopping for one of these for quite a while. But Santa already had it covered. I'm not sure which one of my "boys" was more excited on Christmas morning.

My Dad made these spring horses for each family with Grandkids. The kids just couldn't get enough of them. We are trying to talk him into makeing them and selling them online. They are so much fun, and can actually handle quite a bit of weight and action.

This is part of the crew. Our Christams mornings take quite a bit of time, and with this many people, a number of garbage bags.

Andrew and Sammy were so good. They snuggled great with all of their Aunts and Uncles, unless of course they were hungry or tired. Andrew has become our little thumb sucker, but really only when he is tired. And it is so cute!

The last night before most everyone head back to their homes we had a family game night and during the festivities, Autn Debbie though Andrew needed a baby hair peice. And No, he wasn't very happy about it.

We hope all of you had a wonderful holiday season and wish you the best for this new year. All of our Love,

The Goodwins

Our last Month or so...in pictures

My younger brother Robert was married on November 6th to sweetheart Whitney. The wedding was great, and the majority of the family was able to come celebrate with us. Out of the 11 siblings, 6 spouses, and 12 grandkids, Elder Paul and Debbie's husband Jesse were the only ones not in attendance.

The day after the wedding we all got together at my brother Anthony's house for a pre-Thankgiving dinner. None of us were going to be home for Thanksgiving this year, so we had it early. It is crazy how much an early Thanksgiving can throw off your month. This is part of the crew. Rob and Whit were boviously unavaliable, and we took this picture in the evening after my older sister Marie and her family had left for Utah.

That following week, all of my sisters, and my new sister in law Lerin, spent 3 to 5 extra days at my parents' house without our husbands. It was great to have the extra time to visit, shop, make crafts, and let the kids play. Connor had such a blast with his cousins. After trips like this he gets really bored at our house.

I don't think it is possible to look at these pictures and not laugh. Connor is doing great at potty training and has pretty much gotten to the point of not needing my help at all. However, we are still working on getting the underwear back on the right way. OOO- LA- LA!

Andrew and Samantha are growing so well. There is still a two pound difference between them, but as they get older Andrew doesn't dwarf his sister quite as bad. They are smiling so much and Andrew laughs quite often. Sammy isn't quite to that point yet, (she is usually about a month behind her brother, smiling, laughing, rolling over, etc.) but there is nothing in the world better than their smiles. We are coming up on 4 months and I can hardly believe that it has been that long. They are wonderful babies, and great sleepers. Which I think is the only reason I'm able to make it through most of my days.

Trav's sister Shannon and her husband Jared and little boy Henry came to Blackfoot for Thanksgiving. It was great to see them, and because we now live so close we got to spend much more time with them this trip. Connor and Henry played like crazy; taking baths, playing soccer, hide-and-seek, and of course trucks. Although Henry didn't really like the wagon ride obviously.

This was at our Ward Christmas Party. We had dinner, Connor threw up, there was a program, and then he was the last kid in line to see Santa. So, all in all, a normal party. I was in line with him a while before the end, but then he decided that he needed his dad, so we got out of line, until Connor felt better about talking to Santa, with his Dad in tow. Now we are using the "Santa only gives Rocky the Robot Trucks to good little boys," line more than we should, but whatever works right?

Brian and Lerin came by a few Saturdays after Thanksgiving and helped us put up the tree. Connor had so much fun putting on the ornaments. But there were only a few branches he wanted to decorate. In the end, the three bottom front branches held more than 13 ornaments between them.

My friend Cassie came over this past week to visit and make some treats. Jackson and Connor had so much fun with the sprinkles. Oh, and the cookies were good too. There is nothing quite like decorating cookies with two three year olds.

Awesome Music...Lindsay Mac

Trav heard this girl on the Bob and Tom Show this morning, and she is great. She plays the Cello like a guitar, and has an amazing voice. Here is the link to her My Space page...check her out. Definitely worth listening to!
http://www.myspace.com/lindsaymacmusic

Blessing Day

We blessed Samantha and Andrew on the 11th of October. It was WONDERFUL! Many of our family members and friends were able to join us for this very special day. Thank you to everyone who was there to support us, and everyone who couldn't come as well. The babies of course looked adorable. But the most important part was the actual blessing. It is difficult at times to remember that that is what it is all about when there is so much else going on.

Trav blessed Sammy first, and then Andrew. The spirit in the meeting was so strong. I'm so very grateful for the blessing of the Priesthood in my life and home. And to see the blessings given to my babies through its power is amazing. Words just can't describe what it is like for a Mom to experience. I just love it so much!

These are pretty much the only pictures I took. I wanted to get so many more, but things just get crazy with more than 50 people at your house. But I love all that I was able to capture.

My Dad, brothers, Trav, and bro-in-law Tyler.

More family: Dad, Brothers, Uncles and Doug, Trav's best friend.

In both of these pictures I dragged these men away from the party to get a few shots before everyone started to leave.

Snap shots of family at the BBQ.

Connor didn't sleep much on Saturday night, so he made up for it during the BBQ. By the time he woke up, most everyone was gone.

The twins in their blessing outfits. Grandma Verna made Sammy's dress, and Andrew wore the outfit my sister Char and I made when Connor was blessed. They each had a pair of booties from their Great Aunt Julie, and adorable afghans from Great Aunt Lucy. Sammy got a pretty bracelet from her Aunt Nancy. Thank you all.
What a stud!

Sammy was so good when we were taking pictures. And so pretty.

It was quite a dress!