We'll make it up to you...

Hi everyone Lisa here. Andy was not feeling well tonight and crashed right after the girls went to bed. I have NO idea how to add pictures/movies so I apologize for the lack of post tonight. However, I would like to thank Patricia for her generous donation in honor of John Burton Pezko. Our thoughts and prayers are with all your family at this time.

Sorry again and we'll make it up to you tomorrow!

WOW....

...was it hot today! We got up to 65 degrees. Just a reminder, last year we only hit 70 degrees twice all year so getting up into the mid 60s in late April is pretty nice. We took full advantage of the beautiful weather and the day off work to do some errands and then some outdoor chores around the house. After naps, we took a long walk down to a park on our trail that we haven't been to before. It was a perfect fit for the girls. They immediately starting climbing around and going down the slides on their own. SO amazing how far we have come. Several times today Lisa and I looked at each other and shared our disbelief in what was happening before our eyes...our little babies are growing up into toddlers.




























You can thank our friend Scott for today's post. He contributed today raising our total to $1735! Come on everybody...let's get to $2000!
As a bonus, how 'bout a quick video of the girls diving head first down the slide.

AND...I saved some more pictures for future posts.

SUCCESS!!!!

WOW! What a great lunch! That went off so much better than we could have ever anticipated. We raised a whopping $360 today!!

The girls did phenomenal. Initially, they were a little shy but warmed up to everyone nicely. Lisa and I are exhausted so I'm going to get right to some pictures.

By the way, all the credit goes to Lisa. She did such a wonderful job putting all of this together. I also have to mention that Judith from Alexandria, VA donated today. Thank you for your contribution.





Fisherman Nate putting on a blog worthy face while stuffing his face with good food.



It's "other Andy".

After we cleaned up, the girls were itching to really strecth their legs. So we walked them up the hill by the office. Be sure to click on at least this first picture and look how old Alyssa looks. It took our breath away tonight when we saw it.






So now that we've surpassed any expectation we had going into this year, how will the next 18 days go?? We are all the way up to $1705...an awesome feat!

The FOISINATOR!!!

...came through with a big donation today! Those of you who don't know him, his real name is Todd but some of us refer to him as "The Foisinator". Also, Lisa's Grandmother in Indiana contributed...bringing our total up to $1325 with our big lunch tomorrow.

Lisa worked very hard today to get everything ready including making brownies and 80-some cookies. All the ingredients for the sandwiches are ready to go. We were just debating about whether we should go to bed for a few hours and get up at 2:30 to put everything in the crock pot or just stay up. It's just about midnight and Lisa's about done with the Wii Yoga and I'll be done posting in a few so hmmmmmm. Wii bowling or sleep? I don't know.

I took some pictures and videos this morning just in case someone donated. So first, Lisa mixing up the batch of cookies.

And then there's me trying to entertain the babies to keep them out of the kitchen.


We eventually went outside and played. But before then, I managed to get a couple funny videos. First, Alyssa chasing me around while uncontrollably laughing. At first though, notice how both of them sign thank you when I say "no thank you".

And a video of Katy doing my favorite thing. I think I told this story before but the girls were watching me watch a basketball game and Katy picked up on my saying "YES". It has stuck.

Well you'll definitely get a post tomorrow cause I'm POSITIVE we're going to raise some money. Wish us luck.

8th night in a row posting

That means we're raising a lot of money. Today, our long time friend and her family (Amy, Dave, and kids) get the credit. They donated today bringing out total up to $1250!! I don't even want to mention our goal because we have already far surpassed any expectation we had going into this. You guys are all amazing...and we still have 20 days left!

I really do think Tuesday is going to be a big success at my work. It seems like many people are excited...granted it could just be because we're bringing home cooked food and "selling" it for $5. We are hoping people get the idea that we're raising money...not just selling food, and give much more than $5. We'll see. I know it is going to be a success no matter what but it sure would be nice for it to be a HUGE success.

Speaking of stuffing our faces...here are a couple pictures of the girls during breakfast this morning.


After we did all the shopping for the Tuesday meal, we ran back home so I could load up the bikes (side story but we sold our bikes today to Sam and Cindy) before I went to work. While I was doing that, the girls and Lisa went next door to played with the next door neighbors in their backyard. I couldn't resist grabbing the camera and taking a few quick pics of the fun.




And now for the lecture portion of today's post...for those of you who wished yesterday's post focused around the girls (whether you voiced your opinion or were secretly disappointed when you checked the blog), I selected yesterday's theme for a reason. ONE...Nate's mom donated yesterday and what better way to thank her than by showing her pictures of her son doing the thing he loves thousands of miles from home. And TWO...Nate was also a preemie. So to go full circle here...Nate is another reason you should be donating. It's programs like March for Babies that helped little tiny premature babies like our girls and Nate (way back in the late 80s) insure they had the best start to life as possible. So while it may have looked like I was showing off my adventure yesterday, I was really supporting our cause from another point of view.

...or maybe you were right and I just wanted to brag!

now THAT was a fun day

It was SUCH an awesome day...that I won't tell you about it and get straight to the pictures. Well first I have to thank Shaun and Nate's Mom (Patricia). They both made very generous donations today. THANK YOU!!!!

I mentioned yesterday that I was heading south for a morning of fishing. It was AWESOME!! No, we didn't catch anything but I have learned over the last couple of years that actually catching a fish is not nearly all it's cracked up to be. It's all those other little moments that make the trip worth while. I caught a few of those moments on camera. This is my buddy Nate from N. Carolina teaching me how to "slay the rainbows."








...funny story about this eagle but I don't think everyone that reads this blog would appreciate it so I'll just leave it at that.

ANOTHER donation!

Thank you Dennis and Terri for your donation today! With that last donation, Lisa and I decided that we need to raise our goal. I admit that I didn't put enough faith in you guys. You are awesome! Our new goal is $1500 and I think we can do it. It sounds like our lunch is going to be a huge success on Tuesday and we still have 3 weeks left to spread the word. Keep spreading the word...share out blog, our newsletter, our story. Help us raise money for a wonderful cause.

And now today's pictures. We took some pictures right when the girls woke up this morning. They are always cute...but this morning they were especially cute. First, Katy posing with her blankie (although when they say it, it sounds more like "piggy").

This next one looks like a sad face but she was actually stretching.

I look over and see my mouth-breather with her wild hair.

Then they asked me to read Where the Wild Things Are and I happily obliged.



...which reminds me, I have a correction from yesterday's post. Evidently, it was not my sister who donated yesterday...instead it was my awesome nephew and 2 nieces. So thank you Connor, Rachele, and Olivia!!


So tomorrow is going to be a long day for everybody. Lisa is going to have the girls on her own all day. Reason is...I'm going fishing in the morning for the first time this season. I'm gonna make an early morning drive down to the Kenai to try and get some early season Rainbows. Then I have to drive back in time for my 2-10 shift. Whew...gonna be a long day.

Thanks for all the donations. If you haven't donated yet, be sure to get in on the action to help us reach our goal of $1500!!

MORE donations!!!

WOO-HOO!! Keep'em coming! Today Julie, Sister Christin and co-worker Christian donated. We are now only $170 from our original goal. Like I said a while ago, I didn't think we'd be able match our success from last year but you guys are proving us wrong. We'll keep pushing and pushing until our walk in 22 days and hopefully surpass last year.

I forgot to mention this yesterday, if you didn't get the newsletter in the email and would like to see it...drop us a line and we'd be happy to send it to you. Our email is agsinak@gmail.com

So today you caught me off guard. I've posted most of our recent "good" pictures and videos. It was a messy day and Lisa had a dentist appointment so we really didn't get to go out and have any fun today. Luckily, Lisa took a couple pictures and a video this evening to show off the girls new shirts they received from Amy from Disneyland. They also got some fancy "Finding Nemo" cups.




I like this video cause you can hear some of the words the girls are saying without us asking them to repeat us.

Alright you awesome people...thank you for donating. We will take some pics and videos tomorrow in anticipation of our next post.

In other news, we are planning a fund raising lunch at my office on Tuesday so work people...don't worry that you haven't received an email yet. We'll hit you up next week. Lisa and I have been experimenting with which slow cooker recipe to serve. Tomorrow we're going to try out a Jamaican Jerk Chicken Sandwich...mmm-MMMM!!!

WHOAH! It was a big day for our cause!

Lisa put together an amazing newsletter hilighting the reasons why we raise money for the March for Babies. She spent hours and hours on it the last couple of days during the girls' nap, and then compiled all the email addresses from our different email accounts and Facebook. The hard work paid off. We received $325 in donations just today!! I have to thank the 4 people that donated...Jennifer, Tracy, Lara, and Bob & Maureen. You guys are amazing. Thank you so much!

To reward the recent donations, I took a funny video tonight of the girls dancing and dug up another funny one from around Christmas time. So here are the girls proving they can still get down!

And a classic. I don't know how this slipped through the cracks.

Keep those donations coming and I'll keep posting!

WOO-HOO!!!!

Another donation so another post tonight!! Thanks Helen for your generous donation. We appreciate your support.

Thanks to Helen, I'll post some more pictures and videos from today's adventures. It is a BEAUTIFUL weather pattern in Anchorage right now...well beautiful for us. We're finally hitting the lower 50s with the warm sun beating down on our pale skin. It feels goooooood.

So today we took the girls to a nearby park and let them go down the slide for the first time!! As with everything, they were a little hesitant at first but caught on pretty quick. Before too long, they were running back up the stairs on their own and flying down the slide.





Here's a quick video of the girls going down the slide.

And a bonus video. Tonight Lisa went out with a friend to dinner. Alyssa didn't handle it so well. The last time this happened, I got out the video camera and recorded her crying and then showed it to her. It didn't work so well this time but still made for a cute video.

Keep those donations coming. I'll post something the next time we get another donation!!

2 days in a row....

...that's because we got a donation today. Thank you to the Kriederman's who are currently in Panama for your donation! We wish you could be here to walk with us this year. Hope you're having fun down in the tropics.

We have instigated a new part of our routine. It's called snuggle time. When the girls wake up in the morning or after a nap, they are willing to snuggle with us on the couch for a few minutes before they start creating havoc again. This has quickly turned into our favorite time because they're all cute and snuggling up with us. Well the other day when the girls woke up in the morning, they were asking for their blankets and wanting to watch whatever Lisa was watching. So Lisa set them up on the couch so they could watch....Dancing with the Stars. So Lisa snapped a couple cute photos of the girls snuggling under their blankets watching prime time tv at 8am.


No cute story here...just an escaped naked baby. Parents know that babies LOVE to run around naked. Well actually everybody does but babies don't realize it isn't socially acceptable yet.

----removed other picture because of too much baby nudity----
So keep the donations coming! Every donation = another post...so it's up to you guys the next time we post something on the blog.

Happy Monday!

It's been a long week of night shifts but I thought I reward our faithful readers with a couple videos this Monday morning. Be sure to donate to March of Dimes. We haven't received any more donations since the last time I updated. The more you give, the more we'll post so keep it coming!!

Here are some funny videos we took today. Actually this first one is to bring you up to speed with how old they are! They are acting like toddlers...can you believe it?

This one is a little better.

...and some outside playing in the gross puddles outside our house. The snow is melting very fast now so we'll have these puddles around for a while. The girls LOVE splashing in the puddles in their new rain boots.

Alright...good start everyone

...but keep those donations coming! Thank you to Mom, Eileen, Scott, Nate, and Julie for already helping us raise 1/4 of our goal!!

I am determined to post more so I'll start with some Easter pictures.





A little side...tomorrow is a big day. Tomorrow is the anniversary that I arrived in Alaska. I have been here 5 years!!!! For those of you who don't know, I say "I" because Lisa stayed in Houston to finish the school year so she didn't arrive until the summer.

Time to raise some money!!

Well, it's been a year since our last money raising venture. March for Babies is rapidly approaching (May 16th) and we have set another lofty goal for us and our team. Last year, Lisa and I raised over $1400 and our team, Touched By Twins, raised $4,000!! This year, we have set our goal at $1,000 and team goal of $3,000. We realize it took a lot of people being VERY generous to accomplish what we did last year. While I don't know that we'll be able to match that success, we are certainly going to spread the word and try. We have a couple ideas for the upcoming weeks including hosting a lunch, possibly a bake sale, and we're currently working on a video commemorating our experience as well as a couple other close families.

What we need from you (besides giving whatever you can) is to help us spread the word. Share our blog, our email, and our story. We will be successful regardless of how much we raise...but it is very rewarding to raise money for a charity that has personally affected us. Thank you for whatever you can give. Please help us spread the word. Donate money at our March for Babies website. Last year, we were one of the top 8 teams in the Oregon/Salem Area Chapter (Micki is our team captain so we are based out of OR). Let's make some noise again this year!!!

Here are a few pics to remind you how far we've come in 2 years.

Happy Birthday times 2!!

We celebrated the girls' 2nd birthday today. It has been a VERY busy day of playing, opening presents, and playing, and opening presents...and then some more playing. In a way, it was like Christmas in April.

Since I had to work until late this evening, I am just going to upload a couple of pictures and a video from this morning. I have a couple days off so I promise I will catch up on some more videos and pictures of the girls.

You have to look at these two pictures closely. First is the serious look.

...and this is the smile.

How 'bout some cute new sunglasses pictures?