Camping Trip to Table Mountain

(Click on picture to view Picasa Album)
Last weekend the Lyons Family took their first camping trip as a family of four. Adeline & Emmalise seemed to love spending time in the great outdoors!

We camped on the north side of the Angeles National Forest (the mountain range that is behind our home), at Table Mountain Campground located near Wrightwood, CA. The elevation was 7,200 ft and it had beautiful views of the desert below us.

When we arrived on Friday night we only had about 30 minutes of daylight to set things up. The girls were a little nervous at first, when we got out of the car to 60 degree weather, bundled them up, and started to pull things out of our van. Once we had the tent set-up they loved being inside it. Soon our friends showed up and set up their tents. We ate chili and drank hot chocolate by the campfire. The girls slept really well in the tent, the four of us snuggled up together to keep warm.

The next morning we all worked on breakfast together, Heather and I flipped pancakes, Kenny worked on coffee and Rance made scrambled eggs. It was really good! The girls were taking their nap when it started to rain. Kenny and I went into our tent and tried to nap with them, but it wasn't long before they woke up. There was a lot of loud thunder and heavy rain, but the girls didn't act scared at all.

When the storm was over our tent was dry, but part of our cooking shelter had blown down and our friends' tent had leaked. Thankfully the sun came out and it warmed up so everything could dry out. Later that evening we all got into the truck and did some exploring. There is a ski resort near the entrance to our campground. That night we had delicious dutch oven chicken & rice that Rance cooked over the fire. We also ate s'mores, of course!

Kenny and Rance took the boys Snipe Hunting. It was a big hit! If you don't know what Snipe Hunting is, ask Kenny.

The girls' first camping trip was a success! We had a lot of fun and were reminded how we need a break from the city and everyday life every now and then. There was good quality family time, fun with friends, and time spent in God's beauty.

January Highlights

Here are a few fun highlights from our month of January...

The girls and I move up to the Sunday school nursery class where they enjoy singing songs, they're very good students.

We get a week of rain, about 8 inches, and wake up last Saturday morning to snow-topped mountains outside our front windows.

Also, a view of the beautiful mountains on our way home.

Kenny reading to the girls before bedtime.
The girls had fun trying on their hats and taking pictures!

First Sunday at Church

Adeline and Emmalise had their first Sunday at church this week. They did very well, sleeping through class and the first half of worship service. They were adorable in their black & white outfits with pink trim, pink booties, and matching hats! We even had a little photo shoot on the front steps of church, everyone was wanting a picture!

Meet Adeline and Emmalise

Adeline Grace (on left in picture) and Emmalise Faith, our fraternal twins, were born Tuesday, 7/21. Scarlett is an amazing woman, delivering both with strength, patience, and determination. Things have been a little busy around the house, so I'm sure at some point she'll write the whole story here. For now, she's trying to get some rest between nursing and taking care of the girls. So for now, I'll leave you with a video of the girls to enjoy. It's a big video, so it may take a while to load.

37 Weeks & Head Down!

This morning at our weekly doctor's appointment we got an answer to many prayers, both babies are head down! They are ready to be delivered! Everything is looking good and we're continuing to pray that everything continues to progress well. Right now they are approximately about 6lbs each and I'm amazingly able to still get around.

My Mom arrived in town on Wednesday night and she has been a huge help! We just about have everything put together, organized, and washed. Kenny and I have been glad to have the extra help around the house. However, it hasn't been ALL work and not play for Mom. We took her out to our favorite Italian Restaurant at Venice Beach after she landed, we went and watched a matinee one afternoon (an escape to Air Conditioning!) and have done some fun baby boutique browsing! After the babies are here we won't be getting out to do any of that for quite a while!

Getting Ready for the Girls: 35 Weeks & Counting!

It's July and the girls will be coming any week now! We're hoping it will be a couple more weeks at least, but it's time to be prepared.

We are now to the point where expecting twin Moms have weekly check-ups with the doctor. Last week, at week 34, we found out that Baby A (the lower baby ready to come out first) was transverse (sideways) and laying on her cord. This was bad news because if my water were to break there was the risk that the cord could get pinched. Also, if she remained that way we would need a C-Section no later than 37 weeks.

So, after much prayer, yoga, the help of a chiropractor, and doing weird poses where I'm upside down off the side of the couch... at Week 35 Baby A was head down and the cord had moved up out of the way! Praise God! However, Baby B (baby on top) went from laying transverse (sideways) to being breech. Which isn't the most terrible thing, but not the most ideal if you're hoping for a natural birth like we are. But considering how God answered our prayers for Baby A to move last week, we have faith that Baby B will move around again, too. Please keep us in your prayers!

Car Seats
These pictures aren't near as cute or as exciting as they will be in a few weeks when the babies are in them, but as new parents just having the car seats in our car is a new adventure! They are able to fit side-by-side with room for someone to sit beside them. We also were given cute mirrors so that we can see the babies from the rear view mirror.

The Nursery

The nursery is almost ready now for the girls! We have our hand-me-down crib which fits great in the room. I decided to do a shabby chic look and combine several fabric patterns into a patchwork. It's a lot of pink, but the light green walls add a great balance! Too bad the babies won't be able to appreciate it for a while... but we're enjoying it! Above the crib there will be some one-of-a-kind artwork painted by Aunt Hilary as a gift, we're excited for them to arrive!

The dresser will also serve as the changing table to save room. Kenny added extra shelves and clothes rod to the closet to accommodate all of their little clothes! You can tell we've been blessed with a few showers!

3D Ultrasound at 23 Weeks

Baby B





Baby A




Thumbs Up!
Everything is cool here Mom & Dad!

The Doctor's Strong Suspicion . . . Two Girls!!

Today we had an 18 Week appointment with the Ultrasound Specialist and were hoping to find out for sure what genders our babies are. Although we did not leave with a 100% answer, things are looking a lot like two girls are on their way! A firm answer should come in three weeks at our next visit.

More importantly though, we learned that both babies are growing perfectly healthy. All of the organs looked great, their size was great, he said things looked perfect! It's such a great feeling to know that much!

Kenny took a video of our ultrasound and this clip shows some of the highlights for the grandparents-to-be, great-grandparents-to-be and anyone else who find it interesting to watch.

Two Lyons Cubs on Their Way!

It is official, our Lyons den is expected to double by August 4th! Yes, we are having twins! God sent us a double blessing!

We received the good news in December and have been busy ever since. Thankfully the sickness has gone away, as I am to week 14, but I am still feeling very tired. Now we are spending our spare time researching double strollers and cloth diapers. Kenny is in the middle of reading "Rookie Dad" and after finishing "A Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy" I started in on "It's Twins! - Stories and Advice from Parents of Twins."

We had an appointment yesterday and everything was looking great! It is possible that we may find out their genders at our next appointment in four weeks. We can't wait to find out!

Our Back Yard

The most recent update to our building was the addition of our back lawn. Although small it may seem, to have a piece of your own green grass in Los Angeles is priceless!

Roadtrip West - Route 66

Our most adventurous trip this year was a road trip starting in Huntsville, Alabama and ending in Los Angeles, California. But not only did we drive thousands of miles, retracing the old "Route 66", we drove it in a 1967 Firebird.

The Firebird, purchased by Kenny's Dad in 1970 has been in the family for many years. Kenny recently had it restored in Illinois and it was ready to come out to California with us. Making the trip with us was Kenny's Mom & Dad, Dale & Cheryl, following the Firebird in their car.

We had breakfast with my parents, Kenny's Uncle Harold, Aunt, and Cousin Hal in Huntsville before we took off. That night we stayed in Conway, Arkansas.

The next day as we were driving through Oklahoma a storm came through with some heavy rain. When Kenny went to turn on the windshield wipers they didn't work. We ended up spending a couple of hours at the local Pontiac dealership getting them fixed, then we were on our way. We made it to Amarillo, Texas the second night.

The next day was all driving, we made it to Flagstaff, Arizona so that we could see the Grand Canyon the next morning.

The rest of the trip was a little rough, driving through the desert with no air conditioning in the Firebird!

Meet Beeler!

We now have a new furry member of our family: Beeler. He was named by Kenny after a branch of kin in his family tree. Beeler is a 4 month old male that we "adopted" from the LA county shelter.

Madison was getting lonely with us being gone on trips so often so we thought she could use a friend. After we brought Beeler home we had to put up with a lot of hissing from the older female cat (Madison) for a few days. But now they play together and are best friends. Madison often feels the need to go over and give him a bath, or in the picture Beeler decided to to the same for her while she was sleeping. He has also helped her get back into shape because he's so playful and keeps her from laying around as much as she used to. Beeler is very cuddly, but also very quiet, unlike his sister. So far he has only meowed twice (we thought he was mute!).

Family Tour '08

After Hilary's Wedding Kenny and I picked up a rental car and did a little travelling to visit family. First, we headed down to Nashville to see Banks for a couple of days. On the way we stopped off at Metropolis, Illinois, "The Home of Superman" and took a picture of him.

We went out on the town in Nashville since Kenny and I wanted to hear some live country music. Nashville has a very unique atmosphere and we really like it. This is a picture of Banks' cat, I'm not sure if she was alright with us intruding on her space or not.

From Banks' place we headed west through Tennessee to Searcy, Arkansas to visit Kenny's grandma Alene. We stopped in Gates, Tennessee to take pictures of the cemetery where some of Alene's family is buried. In Searcy she treated us to some great home cooking! While we were there we went through her old pictures and scanned them on to our computer and the family tree. We also got to spend time with Kenny's aunt Denise and reminisce at Harding's campus.

Our last stop was in Neosho, Missouri to see Kenny's parents Dale & Cheryl. We had a really nice visit, eating some more great home cooking and barbecued ribs!

Hilary's Wedding

My sister Hilary and my new brother-in-law, Paul, were married on September 6th in New Harmony, Indiana. New Harmony is an hour away from where we grew up and has a special history as it is the place where our parents were married.

Kenny and I both got to play a part in the wedding, I was the Matron of Honor and Kenny was one of two ushers. We don't have any of the "official" wedding pictures yet, but here are some of Hilary getting ready and of the rehearsal dinner.

We were all very busy leading up to the wedding, and Kenny really worked hard during the ceremony! He had a lot of jobs to keep up with! Along with seating the guests he seated at least two of the grandmothers and the mother of the bride. When it was time for the bride to enter he went to pull the white carpet down the aisle but the string wasn't attached to pull it down with so he gracefully walked back up the aisle with everyone wondering what was going on. But then there was a big roll of carpet left right where the bride and groom should stand so the father of the groom tried to nonchalantly lean over and move it out of the way only to find out that the end was taped down to the floor and it was going to take a lot of work to get it up. Then the videographer sees the situation and comes over and together they pull of the roll of carpet making a loud ripping noise! It was funny for those of us standing up front who knew what was going on!

Hilary and Paul had a beautiful wedding ceremony and reception! We're so happy for them.

The day after the wedding Kenny and I got to drive around in the Firebird and check out New Harmony with my parents. It was a lot of fun!

Camping in the Sequoias

Kenny and I ventured up to the Sequoia National Park for the first time in August and were amazed at what a hidden beauty it was. After driving through miles of farmland, past houses that were miles from any store, we entered the park and had to keep driving farther. Although we were only three hours from LA, it felt like much farther. It was at leat 20 degrees cooler and everything was green and beautiful.

Our first stop was the Sequoia Grove, with dozens of the giant trees that are thousands of years old!

The campsite was cozy, right beside a flowering meadow. We cooked all of our meals on our camp stove (more on that below), except for lunch we went over and checked out the little diner with live music that was down the road.

We recently discovered that Kenny's camp stove was given to his Grandpa to use after Hurricane Camille. They were living in Gulfport, MS at the time.

Sgt. Pepper's Revisited at the Hollywood Bowl

By far the best show I've seen at the Hollywood Bowl to date. Maybe it's because I love the Beatles? Sgt. Pepper's Revisited was presented by the band Cheap Trick, along with Billy Corgan, Ian Gomez from the British band Gomez, Simone, and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra.

It was so cool to see the Beatles songs performed with a live orchestra. They sounded great!

Hilary's Visit

It was so much fun to have my sister, Hilary, visit us for a week in June. She recently graduated from college at the Ringling School of Art & Design with a degree in Fine Arts and is engaged to be married on September 6th of this year. This was some much needed sister time!

We did a lot of fun things, including eating brunch at a french restaurant in Los Feliz, called Figaro, and then walking around and looking at the shops. The main thing we wanted to do together was go to the fabric district and pick out some fabrics for skirts. Hilary has taken classes on fashion design, but needed me to show her how to sew. We ended up making three skirts while she was here.

Hilary got to go to the Farmer's Market downtown and see Kenny's office. We also went to the Hollywood Forever movie screening and watched Shampoo out on the lawn. Hilary and I both enjoy cooking, so we made most of our dinners together and ate out on the balcony. Unfortunately we had a heat wave that week, so it was very hot at our place!

somewhat manic tuesday

it's been really nice to have hil come out and visit with us for a while. this morning she's packing up to go home though - the weeks go by so fast. we're headed to intelligentsia in silver lake this morning for some coffee before i get dropped off at work, and the girls head to lax.

so glad the heat wave is over...living without requiring air conditioning is liberating only up to the point that your bananas explode from the heat in the house. well at least the sand is comfortable again.

The Texas Tour 2008

We're settling back in to our home in LA after a week of touring Houston, Texas. We joke about it being our "Texas Tour" because we had so many stops to make and people to see! The week was awesome and we had a lot of fun with everyone we visited!

The initial reason for us to go to Houston was a Citrix conference that Kenny needed to attend for work. His conference was from Tuesday to Thursday, but we decided to stretch out the week and stay from Saturday to Saturday.

The first stop we had to make once we got there was, of course, going to PaPa's Barbeque to pick up some lunch and then go to Bertie's (Kenny's former neighbor) for a visit. I had not met Bertie before, but we hit it off quite well. She is 90 years old and is determined to live for at least another 20 years. She walks around her neighborhood twice a day and has hundreds of different types of plants growing beautifully in her back yard. Later that evening we took Bertie out to Sudie's for dinner, the best fried catfish and shrimp in town.

We spent Saturday and Sunday night with friends, James and Holly, who graciously let us stay at their place. We had a lot of fun staying up late talking and playing with their two boys, Ben and Will. I met a lot of Kenny's old friends at Church the next morning. That evening they had a get together at Scott and Shelly's so that we could have dinner and catch up with everyone. James made a special Beans & Rice dish from a favorite restaurant Treebeards. It was sooo good!!!

On Sunday afternoon we drove up to Cady, TX to visit with Kenny's cousin Jennifer and her 11 month old daughter Abriella. We had lunch and got to know Abriella, who is very sweet and full of energy.

Kenny and I took off on Monday to go down to Galveston. I didn't know a lot about Galveston before going, but it is very historic. It was a thriving city prior to 1900, a port town, many immigrants came through this little island. There were many beautiful homes built here, we took a tour of Bishop's Palace, one of the many mansions that survived the great Hurricane in 1900 which almost destroyed the entire city.

After doing some sight seeing and looking through some local shops, we went for a swim at the beach. The beach here is much different from the ones out here in California. While we may have clearer water, it is cold on the west coast, in Galveston the beach water was nice and warm!

Tuesday evening we had a fun dinner at our friend's Doug & Erin's beautiful home. Their daughter Alivia is 13 months now and is lots of fun! She's grown up so much since we last saw the Helm's in San Francisco last August. Doug is a former work colleague of Kenny's when he lived in Houston and worked at Pennzoil. Doug grilled some delicious burgers and we had hours of fun conversation.

On Wednesday I drove west to Austin to visit my good friend Lauren. I finally got to meet her husband, David, and see where she lives. We went out for dinner at Papasitos, a very good TexMex restaurant and then got some ice cream at a neat place near the University of Texas.

The next day I drove back to Houston to meet up with my friend and former college roommate, Cortney, who just had a baby boy named Braden. Our friends Sarah, David, and Tiffany also flew in to visit for the weekend and we all had lunch together on Friday.

Friday evening we had dinner with our friends Bart, Deann, David, and Amy. We ate pizza and jammed to their new Rockband game. It's a lot of fun, we all have an instrument and the game keeps points of how many notes you hit as you play along with popular rock songs. Their kids River, Racer, and Rain like to be the lead singers. We stayed the night with Bart & Deann and the next morning we had a photo shoot in Bart's studio and went out for barbeque before catching our plane home.

One more picture, we thought this was a great picture from the plane. As we were flying over the mountains you could just see the snow covered peaks above the clouds.

Our trip was very blessed and we had a great time! Thank you to all of you who opened your homes to us and took some time to visit!