Double the Pleasure, Double the Fun®!

April 18 – June 4, 2023


Doublemint chewing gum’s slogan certainly seems appropriate to borrow as Owen Peter and Elliot Eugene Crane had us seeing double when they were born May 2nd!  These fraternal twins arrived at week 36 of Maggie’s pregnancy, healthy and strong.  Maggie’s labor turned out to be quite stressful, as she developed HELLP, a dangerous form of preeclampsia.  We feel beyond blessed to welcome these boys into our lives along with a now-healthy mother.


Bedtime stories with Papa

Norah visits the hospital to meet Owen (left) and Elliot (right)

Owen ("Baby A") and Elliot ("Baby B") stole our hearts!

We had originally planned on spending a couple of weeks in the Minneapolis area before the twins’ due date.  As it turned out, we were there only long enough to enjoy a couple of dinners with Lauren and her girls (Adam was on a business trip).  We also spent an unbelievable amount of money having Frankie’s teeth cleaned and were able to knock off a couple of doctor appointments before the twins’ grand entrance was looking imminent and we were heading to Iowa.   

Evie and Emma are growing up so quickly!

Once we got to Waukee, we enjoyed getting familiar with Norah’s daily routine, including preschool drop off and pickup, Saturday morning gymnastics, mealtime, playtime, baths and bedtime.  Just when you feel like you know all of her favorites, she throws you a curve and changes things up – yep, she’s 2½!  

Kids big and small LOVE to splash in puddles!

Papa's shoulders provide relief when young legs wear out on walks!

Big Sister is great help in the kitchen making "Nana Muffins".

The girl is a tidy one!

Saturday mornings meant time for gymnastics.

Baths are WAY more fun with finger paint soap!

We added a few things to her routine, including cake pops from coffee shops, customer-in-training carts at grocery stores, visits to Waukee’s public library, and sewing with Nana.  Norah was especially invested in helping me repair the beloved stuffed dog toy, Piggy!  

Fixing Piggy for Norah's dog, Pippin.

A rainy day called for a stop for ice-cream on the way home from school.

Norah quickly caught on to pushing her own cart, adding her own desires as she shopped!

Those big blue eyes don't miss a thing at the counter.  Cake Pops are now a must have!

Who knew you could shop for more than books at the library?

Squirrels have been chomping on patio furniture, so we went shopping for mint as a deterrent.  A few extra things may have made it into the cart!   

Now to get them planted!

Almost as fun (and less dangerous!) as pushing your own cart.

My personal favorite sewing project during our stay was finishing up the quilts for the boys.  Sherry, a good friend I grew up with, just happens to have a long arm and kindly offered do the quilting for me!  All I had left was to add the quilt label and binding to them and they were ready for the nursery.  Thanks so much, Sherry!

Finishing up Elliots's quilt with a little help from Norah


After not seeing Maggie and her family for nearly a year, it was delightful to completely immerse ourselves into Norah’s days.  This included a trip to Blank Park Zoo, where we learned lions are absolutely terrorizing as, in a 2½-year-old’s eyes, that glass window is NOT nearly enough to keep you safe!  We also learned the animals on the carousel are totally dependable and trustworthy! Other notable learning was playgrounds are delightful and not to be departed from (even if the bathrooms are locked and you need to go potty)!  

The wire fence for the tiger was way more acceptable than the glass wall for the lions

While the twins were in the hospital, Dick and I did slip away for a day to experience Pella’s Tulip festival.  Although we had been to see their tulips a couple of years ago, it was fun to see the festival in full swing.  Highlights included a visit to the bakery for Dutch letters, the meat market for meat sticks, bologna, and brats, the narrated tour around town on the tractor-pulled wagon, seeing local residents all decked out in traditional Dutch clothing, the stunning variety of tulips (they plant as many as 300,000 bulbs EVERY year!) and a quick spin through the quilt shop located on the square.

This windmill (from The Netherlands) grinds really great flour!

Oh, the choices!  Don't miss the Dutch letters!

Lauren, Adam, Emma and Evie joined the fun for Memorial Day weekend!  We couldn’t resist having Norah show her cousins around the zoo.  Norah is such a social little girl!  She absolutely loved showing off her world to Emma and Evie!  Dick and I certainly enjoyed having the three grandkids all to ourselves for a few hours!

Adam cooks up a great dinner!

Nana Loves You More couldn't be more appropriate for a bedtime story

Lauren (or Aunt Lolo) bonding with Owen





Emma and I rock out on Cat's Cradle!

Somewhere along the way, Frankie began showing some signs of stress.  The constant smacking of her lips led me to looking in her mouth, where I discovered one of those freshly cleaned canine teeth was now only a quarter of an inch long!  Never fear, Waukee-Clive Veterinarian Clinic came to the rescue, extracting the tiny bit of tooth that remained (and I thought teeth cleaning was expensive!).  Soft food for a few days and pain pills for a couple of weeks and she will be back to her energetic self before we know it.

Frankie related to this squirrel's woes

Did I mention some flu bug found its way to Luke, Maggie and me?  If anything good could come from living through the COVID pandemic, it’s that it taught us how to avoid spreading germs!  The facemasks, as well as isolation techniques, were fully deployed.  Naps on the outdoor patio furniture proved to be a safe place to recover!  Dick, Norah, Owen and Elliot managed to avoid catching it from us, thank goodness!

Between the fun with Norah, Elliot and Owen, we did fit in a couple of dinners out with friends.  Jane and Blake met us for dinner at Texas Roadhouse for a fun evening of catching up!  We also had one more doctor appointment in the Twin Cities to fit in, so an overnight trip to Minneapolis found us at Ken and Rhonda’s place, where we enjoyed dinner at Louis Ristorante celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary!  Thanks for all of your hospitality, dear friends!

Happy Anniversary to Ken and Rhonda!

If we weren’t playing with Norah, or burping a baby, you could usually find us doing a little laundry, mowing the lawn, making dinner and trying to find general household chores to help Maggie and Luke out.  It was such a blessing to be able to spend these precious days as part of Maggie and Luke’s household!  Watching the boys outgrow their preemie-sized clothes and diapers along with witnessing Owen and Elliot’s eyes open for longer and longer periods of time were pretty incredible.  

Just like riding a bike, bottles, burping and diaper changing skills came right back!

Elliot and Owen

The bike trail is very close to Maggie and Luke's home -- and look where it goes to!


Time for burps!

A dip in the pool after waking up from a nap cools you off on a hot summer day!

Oh, just another day in the life of a "Twin Mom"

Twin Moms make use of every appendage! (the green "W" is for tandem nursing the boys)

One month old already!

We are headed west again for a couple of months, but will be returning in late July to provide daycare for Owen and Elliot through the winter months.  Saying goodbye certainly brought tears to my eyes, but knowing we will be returning helped.  Looking ahead:  we are taking off to Minnesota and North Dakota before arriving in Yellowstone, where Brandon’s family will be joining us for a week!  Yes!  Time with Josh, Eva and Zoe!!  That will make it so we’ll have seen all eight grandchildren within a few short weeks!  Life is good.

Up next:  Richmond, Minnesota


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