Here she is! Samantha Genee Bishop. 6 lbs 3 oz, 19 inches long. Born on the 25th at 12:32.

Preggo Pictures...

Here I am at nine months pregnant. We are on our way to the hospital and thought we should document my hugeness...

TODAY IS THE DAY!

We are on our way to the hospital to have our new little baby... The girls are tucked away with my friend Colleen and will spend the day making paper dolls on her Cricut. They don't even notice that I won't be around. Mum is here and Tom is still holding out for a suprise boy... We'll keep you posted on that later! I just took a 9 months pregnant picture and will post it later... What fun!

No pictures... It had to happen eventually. Life is crazy. Our best friends were caravaning to Utah with his family when the dad fell asleep at the wheel and woke up as he hit the rumble strip, overcorrected and the van rolled several times. Our friend lost his father and his sister in the accident. His mother and nieces and nephew are all okay (physically). It is an amazing thing how one second can change your entire life. Our friend is now the man of the family and is trying to come to grips with the great hole in his life. It has consumed my own life as I grieve with my friends. We spent all day yesterday splitting a bunch of logs, grinding three stumps and rebuilding a gate at their home. (They are still in Utah dealing with things there) We planted flowers and pressured washed and cleaned the inside. It is hard to be away from someone that you love and feel so helpless. Service really is the answer. We all felt so much better for having done something. Today we finished up the projects and Tom and three of the guy friends flew to SLC so that our friends could fly back and the guys will drive a couple of the family cars home. It would have been too hard for our friends to make the drive back on their own.
I have this baby coming in a couple of days and it just seems like bad timing. I just want to be there for my friends. Maybe a little joy is just what everyone needs.

TWINS!

Have you ever had the thought, "It would be sooo neat to be a twin"? Well, here for your viewing pleasure is a list of the good, the bad, and the ugly of being an identical twin...

THE GOOD:
You are never alone
Every outfit is cuter when two little girls are wearing it at the same time
You always have a best friend
You have twice as many clothes (most important for teenage twin girls...)
You have someone else to blame for the crayon on the wall
Nap time = play time (your best buddie is there, why would you go to sleep?)
You have a 50% better chance at escaping when someone else takes off the other way, at the same time
You can trick your dad into thinking you are your sister. Dads are fun, grandmas are too easy!
Your big sister can always tell you apart
You are never bored because there are two of you to think of things to do
People think you're special

THE BAD:
You are never alone
No one knows your name
You have to share almost everything
There is always someone else there to blame you for the crayon on the wall
Twice as many brains cells to think up trouble
People think you like the same things as your twin, but you don't always have the same favorites
Your mom makes you wear the same stupid hair-do as you sister, because she thinks it's cute
The nursery makes you wear your name on your back on tape so they can tell you apart

THE UGLY:
You are never alone
See above comment about mom doing our hair!
You have to share panties
and spoons
and toothbrushes (but only because you both want the same one sooooo badly that your mom gives up...)
and a bed
and your birthday
and some of your birthday presents

But really, what a great thing these little people have going for them. It warms to heart and makes my spirit sing to watch Erin and Alix together. There is something magical about the two of them together and something wonderful about the two of them on their own. None of us will ever really know what it's like, but it sure is great to be their mother!

Happy Fourth of July!

We had a great day and have decided that we love the fourth of July second only to Christmas! The day started out with a breakfast put on by the ward and we had pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream. Delish... Then our neighborhood throws a huge party every year. I and my friend Jen are in charge and do everything every year. It's a TON of work, but totally worth it because the kids have so much fun! Tons of food, then a bike parade, silly string fight, potato-sac races, parachute games, tug-of-war, water-balloon fight, pinata and finally a FANTASTIC fireworks show put on by a neighbor that used to wire the fireworks for the Space Needle. He's amazing. It's the best show you'll ever see and it's ten feet in front of you! Erin and Alix slept through the fireworks, they were worn out, but Brooke was in heaven all day. Me? I slept the whole next day because sometimes I forget that I am having a baby in a couple of weeks and do a little much.... But it was the greatest day!

Brooke, Erin (in the hat) and Alix at the ward breakfast. They loved painting their annual handprint shirts to wear.

Brooke and her good friends Mya and Sydney Walther ready for the bike parade.

Erin and Alix wouldn't let me help decorate their bikes. It was all their ideas.

Grandma Beth helping Alix with the silly string in a massive silly string fight on the basketball court.