snapshots of today

I love these girls!

And this guy!

And maybe even this dog too :)

Minute to win it party

For my "embracing 30 party" we had some friends over to play Minute to Win it games. We had a lot of fun.

Jed and the girls helped make the cupcakes and I frosted them and topped them with little "30's" made of melting chocolate.

These are some of the games. The toilet paper mummy game made both Leslie and I sick for hours following the party so I propably sit that one out. Trying to get 160 tissues out of the box with one hand was probably my favorite game and I beat Rachel by a mere 2 tissues.

Here is Blake and Becca trying to keep feathers airborne and a picture of Jed after trying to keep 3 balloons in the air at once.

Here's my little faux mantle. Notice the large picture frame....

It actually looked like this when I bought it at the garage sale. Ugly hotel lobby flowers in it. It's amazing what spray paint can do.

on turning 30

Last year when I turned 29, I mourned my 30th birthday. It was depressing and I found myself listening to John Mayers "Stop this train" song a few to many times. So this year when my birthday came around I was okay with it. Yes, I'm getting older, but that doesn't have to be a bad thing. In fact, it can be a good thing.

Overall, my 20's have been great. Looking back, I have accomplished a lot of my life long goals in the past decade. Here are some of them in random order.

1. Getting married to a wonderful man-has made a big impact in my life. It has been fun growing together as spouses and parents. Heck, I'm married to a doctor, who doesn't want that?

2. School-I finished graduate school. PA school was like drinking out of a fire hydrant, but I did it. I also am proud of getting through undergrad on scholarships and not having student loans for that part.

3. Becoming a mom and having twins-you've seen the pictures, are there cuter twins out there? I think not. My kids have added a new dimension to my life that I didn't think possible until I had them. They have helped me grow so much as a person and bring a sparkle to my life daily.

4.Owning a home, Although selling is turning out to be tricky, I have loved having a space on this planet that is belongs to my family. I love my little old house and am going to miss it.

5. Traveling, I have been able to see some really neat places that just take your breath away and some that are just cool. A few of my favorite places to visit:

Hawaii-swimming with sea turtles, Mt. McKinley-amazing when your up close and personal with a mountain that demands your respect, Zions National Park-been a few times and still amazing, Grand Canyon-although I regret chickening out before I got to the bottom, you can't help but be in awe of your surroundings. San Deigo-just a neat place, wouldn't mind living there if there were not so many people. Arches National Park- Incredible what mother nature can do. Secret waterfall in Whittier- can't get there anymore but for a time in my life was one of the most serene places to go to. Washington D.C.-very interesing place to visit loved the history, Navoo-where I realized I would have been a really crumby pioneer. Banff- Amazing place, so beautiful!

Okay that's enough, this is turing into another travel log.

6. Getting a good job. Actually, I've had a few. I've always been lucky to find myself in jobs that I love and getting paid well do it. I love working part time and I don't anticipate working more than 2 days a week anytime soon.

So here's to the last 10 years, and here's to the next 10, which I hope will be even more amazing.(if that is possible)

To Do list for my 30's

Settle down in a place for a while

Travel to New Zealand

Pay off student loans

Take a photography class

So next time you have a birthday think of it as a celbration of all the things that you have accomplished and a celebration for all the good things that lie ahead. It worked for me.

tummy bugs

poor kids, First Noey was sick and now Lizzy. I am hoping that everyone will be back to normal soon.

birthdays and barf

Happy Birthday Jed!

Poor Jed came home from work only to have me leave for primary presidency meeting, which I was not told about until the day before :( Then I left my meeting early so we could eat cake and came home to find Lizzy had thrown up all over Jed while I was gone. We cleaned up everything and it seemed like she was okay but as soon as we cut the cake poor girl got sick again.

The good thing about the night was that the cake was delicious, a strawberry dream cake from Coldstone, oh so good. We still have a peice in the freezer for Liz when she recovers.

Jed is awesome, despite a stinky birthday (can be taken literally) he still did not complain. I am so greatful that my kids have such an awesome dad. We adore him to peices. Happy Birthday Jed, next years birthday can only get better.

around the house

So our house has been on the market for a little over 2 weeks now. Last week was great, the phone was ringing everyday with people wanting to see it. So far this week....NOTHING. Such is real estate in a bad market. The feedback we have gotten from people who have seen it has been positive. 2 different people said it was their top 2 but no offers yet.

Here are some of the projects I've been working on for the past few weeks.

Master Bath BEFORE

Master Bath AFTER: Total cost $40 for floor



Kitchen before (WARNING NOT FOR THOSE WITH STRONG GAG REFLEX)
The floor in our kitchen was just plain nasty. No matter how many times it was swept, mopped, and scrubbed by hand it always looked dirty. We were going to change it out when we first moved in but never did. Although I wish we did it earlier, I still am glad I did it and love being able to clean my floor and have it stay clean.

this picture below is what I found when I took off the transition strip. ICKY!!!! 2 layers of vinyl near the back entry, neither one properly installed.

Kitchen floor after, Ahhhhh, much better.

My new bed! I finally have a real bed and I love it. I sewed a couple throw pillows from leftover fabric from the curtains I sewed for the room. Oh, and I got a new lamp with birthday money. Love it!

Another little yucky before and after, someone who owned the house before us apparently never watched HGTV of YouTube videos and did not know how to caulk. Look at this poor caulk job over the grey grout. I found this strip at Lowes to go over it. Looks much nicer, I love a clean line.

Painted the front door with left over paint in the basement. It is just a little thing but overall I think the front door makes an impression so might as well take a couple minutes to make it look nice.

Adventures in DC

I had a blast visiting my sister Danielle in Washington DC. I still can't believe all the places we were able to go in a short time.

• Washington monument-got to go all the way to the top
• United States Capitol building-watched a little bit of Congress-that day there were more bored interns there than congressmen
• Smithsonian Air and Space
• Natural History Museum-very cool place
• Fine Art Museum
• Some ancient Chinese art museum (you can tell this one wasn't my fav)
• Holocaust museum-a moving and somber experience
• American History Museum
• Native American Museum-Great fry bread...I think I may have to fly back for more
• Georgetown-had to try a Georgetown cupcake-Yummy and worth the wait
• The whitehouse-didn't go inside but got to see from the outside
• Botanic Gardens
• Arlington cemetery
  

DC is an interesting city. It is dotted with huge granite monuments honoring many of great American events and people. The architecture is amazing, thank you Masons. Even the curbs are made out of granite (which can't be spray painted yellow to let you know you are parking illegally, this is a problem) Most of the museums are FREE, which I LOVED! I loved looking through some of our nations historical relics, seeing masterpieces of art and architecture, and reflecting on events of history that have shaped America.

There is huge distinction of the have a have-nots. High price DC homes on Capital hill just minutes away from the projects and people living out of shopping carts parked under overpasses. In general there is a rushed feeling to the city, probably like most big cities. The taxi drivers are VERY liberal with their horns and it seems everyone is in a hurry to go.

I had a great time just visiting with my sister. She is such an amazing woman and mom. DC is NOT a kid friendly city but despite this she manages to go do all the neat things the city has to offer with a baby and energetic 3 year old in tow. She hops on and off the metro like a seasoned commuter, undeterred by the fact she is pushing a stroller and wearing baby pack. She is much braver than I am with the places that she takes her kids and as a result they behave really well. I cannot believe how good Liam was considering all the places he was dragged to. Liam really liked the Air and Space museum. He showed me the "space monkey" and when questioned by his mom what astronauts eat he replied "JUNK!". Yup, on display was freeze dried ice cream, and candies, what well trained and observant 3 year old. Elsie was also a trooper, she had bronchiolitis but still managed to go along with a cute little smile on her face most of the time. I love the first picture of her crawling and smiling in front of the capitol building and is my favorite from my trip.

Overall I had a great time and feel more American.