Twinkies

V-day decor

2012-02-06T07:03:00.001-08:00

My front room is ready for Valentines day.

Disney part 3

2012-01-22T08:06:00.000-08:00

On Monday we went to Magic Kingdom and the kids were star struck.
First thing we did was go visit Mickey and Minnie and then the princesses.

Davin got kissed by belle. He kept pointing to it.

Giving Cinderella some sugar..

McKenzie on the jungle cruise.The wait sign said 20 minutes but we ended up waiting an hour for this dang ride. Good thing the kids really loved it.

You can't go to Disney without going on the tea cups.

Where Pete and I kept them while we did our rides. J/k.

These birds were everywhere around the park. I'd take these over our Canadian geese any day.

While waiting for the light parade to start, Davin found himself a new girlfriend. He kept going up to this family from England and telling them about his day. They fell in love with him and this sweet girl held him through the entire parade.

Disney part 2

2012-01-01T12:20:00.000-08:00

So after we were done with the beach we found our way to the hotel. We stayed at the Disney all star resort. It was awesome! We hadn't told the kids were going to Disney World yet. We just told them that Florida had these kind of hotels all over. They were pretty excited.

Views from our room.
At the end of this run was the baseball themed part (where the coke cup is) where a tiny pool was.
There was a bigger pool area in the surfing themed part.The girls could hardly contain themselves when Pete told them he'd take them swimming. They were ready to go 5 min after we checked in. Before they went swimming we sat them down on the bed and told them why we were really here. They couldn't believe it. Lauren kept saying "but we don't have enough money yet". For months we kept telling them to save their money if they wanted to go to Disney one day. She thought for sure she was going to have to pay her own way. Funny thing is that they were more excited to go swimming then go to Disney. I don't think it set in until we were in front of Magic Kingdom.

While the girls and Pete went swimming Davin and I explored the rest of the hotel.

Davin thought he had died and gone to heaven when he saw all those basketballs.

Here's the tennis one. It had Huey, Dewey, and Louie trying to play baseball on the tennis court while Donald is throwing a fit trying to play tennis.

Davin kept giving them high fives.

Here's what we found on our bed when we got back.

Davin and I also found some cute wild life. I love little tree frogs.

After everyone was dry we went to downtown Disney to eat dinner and explore.

They were exhausted after that full day so we didn't stay long. We needed to save some energy for the next day anyway.

Disney part 1

2011-12-16T13:15:00.000-08:00

I've been soooo bad at blogging lately. Must be the time of year. Anyways, since there's so much to cover on our Disney World trip I'll do in parts so you don't nod off.

We flew there Saturday evening and went directly to a hotel and just relaxed. Cause we're that exciting. The next day we went to explore Orlando area and found the temple there. It was beautiful.
Even the girls were beautiful. Grumpy faces and all. I never thought I'd miss palm trees so much.

After the temple we went to Cocoa Beach. It was kind of a trashy area but hey it has a beach.

You gotta watch yourself around this girl.

Labor of love

2011-12-16T06:46:00.000-08:00

After 22.5 hrs of labor this adorable chunky monkey joined our family. She looked just like me as a baby. Super pinchable cheeks and all.

Age 1
Age 2.

Age 3

Age 4.

First year of preschool.

Happy Birthday Bridgette!

Where did my baby go?

Fall=love

2011-11-03T07:26:00.000-07:00

So many reason to love fall. Cooler temps. Pete's and Davin's birthdays. Halloween. And especially Fall leaves.

Virginia is gorgeous during the fall.

And since the temps are cooler the kids get to play outside a lot more.

At the Buckeystown park next to the monocacy river.

Finally for the first time I've been on top of changing my decor on time.I"ve found a way to show off my kids art work and change it seasonally.

All it is is twine, little tiny clothpins ,autum leaves and my favoite 3m temp. hooks.

Smile.

2011-10-31T05:34:00.000-07:00

Thursday on the way to Pete's work Halloween party Lauren kept telling me she had a loose tooth. I didn't' believe her until we got there and I wiggled it myself. Come to find out it was really loose. She was hilarious. She told everyone she passed by even strangers in the hall. I've never seen her so outgoing. On the way home she asked me if I would write her teacher a note to let her know she has a loose tooth.

The next morning she was sitting on our bed eating an apple when I guess it came out. But she couldn't find it. It was a true lost tooth. Luckily while the girls were at school I was able to find it on our floor. Umm yuck.

Now she insist I tell EVERYONE about her lost tooth. She now wants to go as a jack o'lantern for Halloween since she has the mouth for it. She also wants me to write on her costume that the missing tooth is real and not part of the costume.
I'm not ready for my babies to be kids.

A wicked cool trip.

2011-10-24T07:39:00.000-07:00

I can think of no other excuse for not posting these sooner other than pure laziness. So let's begin this journey. On Friday morning Pete and I flew to Boston. Spent the day touring Boston on a tour bus and enjoying all the beautiful parks around the city.
Included in our bus ticket was a boat ride around the harbor. We got to see the USS Constitution out in the bay which is a super rare treat.

The way the boat is set up it makes it look like half the crew were little people.

We ate lunch at the really cool Quincy market.

This self portrait is for Annalisa.

This is just one of the tiniest of tinnies alleys in the city. This is the way to some people's front doors. Can you image trying to move your furniture in.

This is one of the gravestones from the King's church's graveyard. A lot of them were from the early 1600s. They really like the skull design back then.

After we got our fill of Boston we headed up north to Salem. When we got there a super soaking rain and lightning storm hit. So I didn't get to take any pictures. But we did mange to hit one Witch museum. It was an interesting experience. They had you sit down in a dark room while they told the witch trial story using plastic people in scenes around the room that they would light up. It was very dramatically done. Then you walked to another room where they talked to you about why witches aren't bad and all about Wicca. The last part totally surprised us. Since the storm wouldn't let up enough to let us walk around we decided to drive up toward Maine.

My first lobster roll. Love at first bite.

Along the Maine coast.

The coolest fog rolling in. Just what you'd expect here.

Bar Harbor

We fell madly in love with Bar Harbor. It was just stunning there.

A bunch of lobster boats. I was very tempted to get to know each one of them very well.

We found a really cool restaurant that cooks your lobster outside in salt water.

Ohhhh babbbbbyyy. Momma loves you.

After dinner we headed inland to find a hotel. Took us two hours to find a vacant one because Bob Dillon was playing there that night. But it wasn't so bad because we found a great spot to pull over and watch the cool lightning storm far away and star gaze at the billions of stars above us.

Next day we headed toward Marthas Vineyard until we heard that the president was there and quickly changed our plans to come see Plymouth Rock where two of my ancestors came to America ( Mom and Dad's side). It was really cool to feel that connection.

A replica of the May Flower. They technically don't know what it exactly looks like.

After spending the day there we went back to Boston and left early the next morning. It was such a fun trip and really enjoyed spending some time with my best friend and sweet heart. They have been the happiest 9 years of my life. And I can't wait to see what more will come.

Finders keepers.

2011-09-19T08:01:00.000-07:00

While I'm making lunch I hear Bridgette and Lauren playing hide and seek with objects.
L= " Bridgette give me a clue to where you hid it."
B= "Ok. I hid it where you can find it".

Hahaha well that was a very helpful hint.

Sealed with a kiss.

2011-09-12T07:40:00.000-07:00

When driving past the temple last night McKenzie asked "how do you get married?". Bridgette answered her "You wear a white dress and then you kiss". I'm a big fan of simple weddings.

If dreams could come true.

2011-09-06T08:09:00.000-07:00

Last night when I went to check on the kids before I went to sleep I was told a very cute secret.
McKenzie half awake and mostly asleep said to me.
"Mom"
"Yes McKenzie?"
"I'm.....a fairy".
"Oh. Ok good to know".
She immediately went back to full on sleep.
I had a hard time not waking the others with my giggles.

Should Have Named Him "Jimmer"

2011-08-27T08:16:00.000-07:00

Davin LOVES basketball or as he says it "bas-ket-bol". From the time he wakes up til bedtime he points downstairs and says "bas-ket-bol". He even likes to shoot with the full sized basketball.

9 Wonderful Years!

2011-08-16T03:38:00.000-07:00

Happy Anniversary to the most beautiful woman in the world!!

Fishing

2011-08-08T17:33:00.000-07:00

Last week, we went fishing with some friends at a catch and release pond in Purcellville. The girls and Davin had a blast. Mika and I spent most of the time making sure nobody (except the fish) got a hook in the mouth. We did catch a few small crappies and one of our friends caught a turtle. Is anyone surprised by the color of the fishing rods the girls picked out?

For Free

2011-07-28T15:20:00.001-07:00

One time only offer. Our well know fashionistas Lauren and Bridgette are offering FREE make-overs. Lauren will take care of your makeup and Bridgette will pick out a fancy outfit. Yes that is marker they used for eyeshadow.

How hot is it?

2011-07-21T05:49:00.001-07:00

It is so hot out that . . .

Your seat belt makes a pretty good branding iron.

You discover that it takes only 2 fingers to drive your car.

You break a sweat the instant you step outside at 7:30 a.m.

You've been getting hot flashes, and you're a man.

The politicians take their hands out of your pockets to fan themselves.

Your biggest bicycle wreck fear is, "What if I get knocked out and end up lying on the pavement and cook to death?"

THANK HEAVEN FOR AIR CONDITIONING!!

I wasn't ready

2011-07-14T20:15:00.000-07:00

A long time ago.

2011-07-13T14:43:00.000-07:00

I remember this one time when my house was clean. Those were a good 10 minutes. Too bad it took 3 days of hard work to get there.

Geography

2011-07-12T12:24:00.000-07:00

I was just informed that South America is only 20 miles away. Either the continent moved or I need to start teaching them a lot more things.

Caught Peanut Butter-Handed

2011-07-03T19:38:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when you leave peanut butter on the coffee table and then fall asleep on the couch. I won't say who....cough cough pete cough.

Header photo.

2011-07-02T09:32:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the comments on the header photo. The story behind it is: Pete took it on the ferry ride back from Victoria Canada. It just happened to be the 4th of July too. Ahh the life we lived before kids.

Gratefulness

2011-07-01T10:09:00.000-07:00

What I'm grateful for today: Ibuprofen, Air conditioning in house and car, my sweat pants and comfy t-shirts, Naps, being able to eat dinner with hubby 2x this week, Good clean funny shows like Psych,How I can now laugh at my girls outfits instead of freaking out, Awesome neighbors, and most of all cuddles from my kids even if they are sick.

More laundry.

2011-06-16T07:28:00.000-07:00

With summer now upon us I had to think of what I was going to do with the kids all day every day. I've seen a ton of fun lists on my favorite blogs so I thought I'd join in. Found this cute idea from here. Of course hers was a breeze since she has a Silhouette SD. I got to draw and cut out all mine (hint,hint for Christmas).

On each of the back of the clothes is an activity written down. Things like: go to the pool, go on a hike, Go to a water park, eat ice cream for dinner, make a bird feeder, go to aquarium, pick up litter on a walk, have a lemonade stand, go to mason neck park, feed ducks, make frozen bananas, go to Fredericksburg, go to zoo, park hop, daddy date, go to 1st Washington monument, visit capital gardens, go to beach, trip to library, pick fruit or veggies, make herb garden, visit a fair, run in sprinklers, bowling, mini golf, make an art gallery on sidewalk, wash cars, movie day, and camp in living room. These are just a few of the ideas. If you have any good ones you love to do or have please share. I could use all the help I can get.

Memorial weekend 2011

2011-06-10T04:28:00.000-07:00

For Memorial weekend we didn't do too much. Mostly bummed around but on saturday we did go somewhere fun. After spending the day at the beaches in Delaware we decided to walk around one of my favorite cities ,Annapolis, Md before heading home.Our budding photograher Annalisa. Walking around the harbor. There are always a TON of private boats here. We also love taking a harbor/bay cruise. It's such a beautiful area to explore especially by boat.
Pete and the kids drooling over the store's window display.

The capital building.

The Maryland Inn.

A bank deposit door. Pretty cool huh?

The city is filled with beautiful old brick buildings.

Hard to tell but we were all exhausted from playing in the sand, water, and sun. But couldn't resist stopping here on the way home.

Now I'm craving crabs again.

Nesting tables

2011-06-08T07:58:00.001-07:00

Just finished these this morning.

Family ties

2011-06-01T07:18:00.001-07:00

We've finally figured out where McKenzie got her beauty from.

This is Pete's Grandma. His dad's mom. I love being able to look at family photos and see who looks like who.

Recent photo shoot

2011-05-16T05:10:00.000-07:00

Just some of the pictures I took from our trip to the arboretum.

I put this one on a canvas for our living room.

Now if I could just figure out how to use Photoshop so I could edit these.

Blue

2011-05-11T04:18:00.000-07:00

Here's the latest side table finished. I got it from the restore for 20$. I'm hoping this one sells quickly.This is what happens when I get the urge to try something new. Total chaos in the craft/guest room. These are all cupboard doors.

I have two of these to pair together. I'm in love with the bird hook.

It's hard to tell in the picture but the door is not black but dark walnut.

Hard to tell but these are picture frames (sort of). They have clips on them so you can change the photos really easily.

Chalkboard.

I've been toying with idea of starting a blog where I can sell all the stuff I make. What do you think?

Who does this remind you of?

2011-05-06T22:13:00.001-07:00

This was not staged. Honest. Who does Lauren look like in the photo below?
Keep scrolling for the answer.

Keep scrolling

Keep scrolling

In case you can't tell -- that's Mika. The top photo was taken in 2010 in Leesburg, VA. The bottom photo was taken in 1986 in Vacaville, CA. Crazy. They are even using the same leg to balance.

B-day fun

2011-04-28T07:51:00.000-07:00

I have the best husband and best friend in the whole world. For my birthday pete surprised me by wisking me away for a couple days. He let me choose where to go from a list he put together. He even packed the car with all my favorite food and drinks. Unfortunately the weather wasn't the greatest. So after looking up the weather we decided to go south and just wander and see where we ended up. We first went down to Monticello to do the tour while we didn't have the kids but the wait for tickets was 2 hours and it was already 3:30. So then we decided to go to Williamsburg and spend the night there. Luckily the weather cleared up on Saturday. So we walked around the farmers market and around old town. Just a cool shot of old town.

I love these tulips. The are so unusual.

I think I need to brush up on my history becuase I was not aware they had these special "shoes" back then too.

From there we went on to Virginia Beach where we played in the sand.
Triton's keeping his eye on pete.

The happy 22 year old birthday girl.

We rented bikes and went up and down the boardwalk there. I had a lady bug hitch a ride with me for a good 40 minutes.

Check out this awesome sand castle I built. Without a bucket or shovel I might add.

Then the sun was setting and it was time to go home to get everything ready for Easter. Plus I needed to take my sick husband home to rest. Poor guy started to get sick Friday and was a good sport the whole trip.

Thanks for spoiling me honey.

And thanks to Al who watched the crazy kids for us!

The price is right.

2011-04-26T06:05:00.000-07:00

What do you think a good price would be?

Garden party

2011-04-20T13:03:00.000-07:00

we had the girls b-day part at a place called Pump it up. Basically it's just a bunch of blow up slides and obstacle courses inside. So since it's april I went with a spring theme. I did some cute goody bags that had outdoor stuff like bubbles, frisbies, chalk, bouncy balls, bug catcher, and water balloons. For the cupcakes I did a garden. There were dirt cupcakes with worms, Grass cupcakes with bugs and flowers. It was alot of fun. Especially since we didn't have to clean our house or entertain the kids.

5 years ago

2011-04-17T16:14:00.000-07:00

These two beautiful girls came into our lives. Lauren McKenzie

Happy Birthday Lauren and McKenzie. We love you soooooooo much!

Not Quite a Soccer Player

2011-04-08T18:00:00.000-07:00

Here is what Davin was doing while the girls played soccer.

Helped set up the cones.

Took a break from working hard with the cones to suck his thumb.

Retrieved balls that were kicked out of bounds.

Hugged a girl from his nursery class.

Soccer Players

2011-04-08T17:20:00.000-07:00

A few ambitious parents in our ward have organized a couple of ward soccer teams for the young primary kids. A parent or two for each team acts as the coaches and they even have uniforms. The older team has green uniforms and the younger team has red uniforms. McKenzie is wearing grey pants and uniform #1, Lauren is wearing blue pants and uniform #2 and Bridgette is wearing pink pants and uniform #3. Lauren is one of the faster kids on the red team and - based on the photos - was running around too fast for Mika to get very many good shots. One of their coaches said that they have either played soccer before or they all have natural athletic ability. They have not played soccer before . . .

Proud Dad giving McKenzie high fives.

For all of us who aren't newlyweds

2011-03-31T06:28:00.000-07:00

I found this awesome site that's made up of a bunch of LDS married women who come up with some super cute and creative date ideas. It looks like so much fun. Check it out here or on the side with my fun blog list.

Kid's bathroom redo

2011-03-17T06:29:00.000-07:00

I have been dying to redo the kid's bathroom for quite awhile but had no idea what I wanted to do with it. Until I saw someone do a guest bath with stripes. I couldn't wait to try it, so I did. Here's what it looked like when we bought our place. Boring!

And here's what it looks like now. Not totally done. I still have to find a shower curtain I like and tile the floor. You know just little things.
I bought this light at the restore for 5$s. It was a nice tacky gold so I spray painted it white. I also framed the mirror myself.

Towel holder found at Ikea.

My next big project is to redo the guest bathroom downstairs. Yikes.

Cookies

2011-03-08T13:01:00.000-08:00

I printed this saying on to a piece of paper and adorned it to my front window. Let's see if this works.

Discovering Southern Md.

2011-03-07T04:30:00.000-08:00

I've been getting the exploring itch for awhile now. So when Annalisa and Cami came over last week I took full advantage of help and we went on a random trip. Here's a cute picture to get you started. We started the day in Fredericksburg, VA. We tried to walk around the old town but all the museums didn't open till 12 and all they had were antique stores and well you know how well those and kids go together. We ended up across the river at George Washington's boyhood home.

This is a surveyors hut

This is where in 2008 they discovered where the house stood. They are still digging up all sorts of things to give them idea of the life they lived.

These are cornerstone of another house on the property. Also on this property was a medicinal spring that the Washington's used to drink from. Mary (George's mother) used to drink from it everyday even when they moved her over to the town to retire she would send for some. They think it's what helped her to live so long. She lived to 81 which is 20 years longer than most people did back then.

The place was beautiful and had it been warmer than 40 degrees we would have spent a lot longer there.
Next we traveled across the Potomac to southern Maryland. We wondered around some random roads until we came to St. Clement, the first landing of Maryland. Interesting history but not much to take photos of so we decided to keep going to south and see what else we could stumble upon.

The next place was St. Mary. This was the first Capital of Md. They had a gorgeous historical park that we walked around.

There were a ton of these structures around the property. We weren't sure if they were going to finish them or just leave them to show how many houses were there at the time.

This place was right off the water.

This is the Catholic church that they had. Beautiful right? Who knew the first settlers of Md would be catholic.

So that was our day in a whole lot of nutshell. I can't wait to take Pete to all these cool places when it's warmer. I love living on the east coast.

Dear spring,

2011-02-24T07:23:00.000-08:00

Hurry up and get here!!! I'm tired of the cold weather already. I need a green background with lots of flowers everywhere. I need to be able to let my kids outside to play and I have places I need to go and explore. HURRY UP!

Happy V-Day

2011-02-14T07:02:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day everyone. Here's what I did for the girls class that I have to brag about because it actually turned out.

I made bird seed hearts for their preschool class. I found the recipe and how-to here.

The card says "Love is for the birds" on the front.

Here's all twenty of them plus some treats for the kids. I had to be really careful with them because they would break so easily. Let's hope they make it to school in one piece.

A new location

2011-02-09T06:06:00.000-08:00

For nap time/Quiet time that is. The twins will no longer be allowed in my room unsupervised. Advice for any new parent: Never let your children see you putting makeup on. It only leads to trouble. Or using Pens.

Trouble I tell ya!
This is what I did during quiet time. My great aunt sent me a bunch of ancestral photos awhile ago and I wanted to display them in a cool way. I bought a ton of frames from the restore for a dollar each and then used oops paint from home depot that I had on hand already. I got the tree from Hobby lobby for I think 3 or 4 $s.
I put it in the hall leading down to the basement. I'm still not done. There is a Williams family chart from the last reunion in Sydney, Aus. that I need to frame and put on top of the big white frame. I also need more photos. So if there are any family members out there who are willing to send us copies of the ancestral photos they have I would be ever so grateful!

Prima Ballerinas

2011-01-27T09:39:00.000-08:00

Something exciting happened in our house last month. Bridgette turned 3. That is exciting in and of itself, but what really makes that special is that she is now officially old enough to participate in many activities provided by our local recreation center (Ida Lee). Bridgette has struggled a little with the idea that she cannot participate in the same activities as the twins (because she has never met the cutoff for most activities - including preschool). For much of the last 4 months, she has been begging us everyday to let her go to preschool just like Lauren and McKenzie. Those of you that know Bridgette understand that she does not think that she is younger than the twins. She really, honestly thinks that she is their same age. And why wouldn't she -- she is almost the same size and can do almost all of the same things as the twins. It is a hard concept to understand at her age. We just hope she gets it by the time she is a teenager (i.e. driving, dances, dating (gasp!! I just got cold sweats thinking abut that last one!))

And, to make things even more exciting, Bridgette now falls within the same age category as the twins for most classes. That means that when we signed the girls up for a ballet class -- all 3 were put in the same class. The class started a few weeks ago and Bridgette is in three year-old heaven. There are only 8 total kids in the class, so we've joked that they should just rename the class "the Crain ballet class".

Now we just need to figure out how to deal with Davin (who shoved his way between Lauren and McKenzie so he could be in these photos)!

From one generation to the next.

2011-01-04T04:53:00.000-08:00

The other night when we were trying to get the girls to go to sleep I kept going over the night time rules hoping that maybe at least one of them would be followed. McKenzie was getting frustrated with me and told me " When I'm a mom I'm not going to have so many rules". So what did I do.......I gave her a mother's curse. "Well in that case I hope you have a child just like you". I also told her " When you have kids I won't have any rules". How did I get such a sassy 4 year old? Oh ya... Thanks Mom.

To all a good night.

2010-12-24T16:11:00.000-08:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Hope santa brings you everything you asked for and more.

AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM DR. JEKYLL AND MRS. HYDE

A 2:30 a.m. present.

2010-12-16T07:21:00.000-08:00

Three years ago today a super sweet, funny, energetic, smart, mischievous, and loving baby girl came into our home and hearts. Love you and Happy Birthday my dear Bridgette.

You scared daddy with how big your cheeks were. But I knew you'd be alright and beautiful since you looked just like mommies baby pictures.

1st birthday.

2nd birthday.

3rd Birthday pictures to come later today. Plus a new hair cut to show everyone. Yeah no more mullet. Can't wait to show you your surprise later.

Shutterfly

2010-12-08T03:59:00.000-08:00

Shutterfly has a ton of new holiday card designs and I can't decide which one I love the best. They are all so adorable. I'm thinking if we ever get to actually doing cards in time I'm totally choosing this one. I have a ton of photo's I can use and would have a really hard time narrowing it down to three. With this one you can get an overload of photos of my cute kids. If your a blogger you can go here and sign up for 50 free cards. How awesome is that. I do love a good deal.

Penmanship

2010-12-05T05:12:00.000-08:00

This is why two year olds should never have easy access to pens and little brothers.

True love at 4.

2010-11-19T05:48:00.000-08:00

I know I shouldn't be shocked that my girls already have crushes......but I am. You don't even want to know how freaked out Pete is. McKenzie for a good year now has been telling us that she's going to marry a boy from our ward named Spencer. We and his parents agree that this would be awesome in 18 years. We just have to try and convince Spencer since he's not liking girls yet.

Lauren on the other hand has had no trouble convincing a boy named Brody at preschool to marry her. One day she told her teacher that she and Brody were going to get married. Brody then told the teacher " Yeah but she probably won't see me much since I'm going to be a train conductor". He's totally on board for the marriage thing. I asked her once what kinda of games did she and Brody play and she told me they loved to play "Doctor". I had a really hard time not laughing out loud. I then made her tell me exactly what that meant. " Someone plays sick and the other one gives them medicine to make them feel better". I guess at the age of 4 that's ok. 14 or 15 would not be.

Brody is the one who is lovingly looking down at Lauren. I think we need to go out and buy a couple more rifles. And some good metal chastity belts.

Gobble gobble.

2010-11-15T07:38:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is almost here so I thought I'd make these cute 2x4 turkeys. I made 4 of them and put them in my living room. If you want to make your own the instructions are here.

Field day

2010-11-11T06:25:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday we took the kids to the Smithsonian natural history museum. So now I'm going to bombard you with all the lovely photos. Ok not all but a lot.
It's tradition to get your picture taken with the backside of the elephant. A must I tell you!

I guess Laurens tukis smelled like leaves. Davin had a field day pointing at EVERYTHING. Way too many photos of him pointing. The word "Dat" kept coming out of his mouth. I guess it's a hands-on and mouth-on exhibit. You can never get the full experience until you've tasted it. Pointing at and licking everything in that place is exhausting. Unfortunately this is the best picture I could get from the girls. Our Christmas cards will be interesting this year. I believe a flood is approaching.
Popping your collar on everything is the newest fashion. Just ask McKenzie. Not only will there be a flood but a blizzard is also possible. Just ask this Eskimo.

Uhgg

2010-11-03T08:12:00.001-07:00

Our Roaming dino.

Every picture we have of them they are doing some interesting poses. They must get that from their dad.

I love his cute dino feet.

I was so happy when I found out the girls were totally on board with being cave girls. I thought for sure I'd have to make them be cave princess for them to go along with it. I found Davin's costume when I was pregnant with him for only 5$. I found the fabric for the girls costume on sale for 1.50$ per yard. Then I found the bones at the party store for only 2$. In the end I only paid 10$ for 4 Halloween costumes. Now I get to spend the next year trying to convince them to be the three little pigs so Davin can be the big bad wolf. They might end up being the three little princess pigs.

Only the coolest

2010-10-20T06:57:00.000-07:00

Are born in October (and April). Happy Birthday AnnaLisa!

(Al's the little one.Just turned 27.)

(Lara's the older one. Going on 29)

33 years ago...

2010-10-19T08:10:00.001-07:00

This super cutie was born.

Happy Birthday Pete. Can't wait to spoil you all week long!

Beach and PJs

2010-10-15T17:21:00.000-07:00

The girls wanted to play on the beach right away one of the mornings. So we ate a quick breakfast and took them out in their PJs. The weather was perfect and the water was warm.

O la la

2010-10-12T13:59:00.000-07:00

From "Ewww" (pictures from craiglist listing)
To "O la la".

used the same hardware but painted black. Also lined the drawers with some wrapping paper.

Hoping it sells really quickly so pete will let me get more to do.

Grover vs old spice.

2010-10-11T17:03:00.000-07:00

My halloween decor so far.

2010-10-10T11:29:00.000-07:00

My house is starting to look spooky....in a cute way. So far the only store bought decor that I've used is the light up pumpkins.

If you would like instructions to any of these just let me know. I still have a ton more ideas that I want to put together.

Beach at Cape Henry / Fort Story [Part 2]

2010-10-05T19:29:00.000-07:00

Mainly just wanted to post a few more photos. . .

Bridgette was a little nervous about the water, so she spent a lot of time doing this. She ended up with quite the collection of seashells.

Lauren and McKenzie - on the other hand - we could not keep away from the water. They were pretty soaked by the time we left.

You can't see it, but Lauren is giggling with delight.

Beach at Cape Henry / Fort Story [Part 1]

2010-10-05T18:45:00.000-07:00

We took a trip to Virginia Beach a few weeks ago. No crowds, perfect weather and a really comfortable one bedroom suite right on the beach. On the first day - even before we checked into our suite - we stopped and spent some time at the beach at Fort Story / Cape Henry. Besides one elderly person with their dog, we were the only people at the beach. It was perfect.

The sand was nice and soft, so Bridgette decided to lay down and rest.

Lauren and Davin enjoying the warm breeze.

Someone kicked some sand into the wind and it blew into Davin's face. He was not amused. Getting big. Literally. He has chunked up really fast (since he stopped spitting up).

Beautiful.

Lauren loves the camera.

Got the sand out of his eyes. He was really happy to get out of the car (in case you can't tell this is one of Davin's happy expressions).

Dimples.

Sharing

2010-09-24T21:31:00.000-07:00

Bridgette was being extra good today, so we decided to reward her with an ice cream cone. She was nice enough to share her reward with Davin. He seemed to appreciate the gesture.

Keeping his eye on the prize.
Davin: I'm ready!

Davin: My turn.

Davin: So good!

Bridgette: Hey, give it back!

Sometimes we forget that Bridgette is only 2 and was our baby not that long ago. Unfortunately, she may think twice about sharing next time. Davin begged for more and then yelled at us for not telling him about how wonderful ice cream is sooner.

Favorite place to shop

2010-09-16T08:29:00.000-07:00

I found a new hunting place. It's called ReStore.Best way to explain the place is what's said on their website found here "ReStores accept donated goods which are sold to the general public at a fraction of the retail price. The proceeds help local Habitat affiliates fund the construction of Habitat homes within their communities". They sell all sorts of goodies. Like furniture, wallpaper, mirrors, appliances, chandeliers, tiles, housegoods, Knobs , and soooo much more and for so little cost. Last time I was there this guy bought a fancy Victorian mirror for only 50$. This thing was huge and gorgeous. I'm making a goal of going every week even if I have to duct tape the kids to my legs.

I found these glass shade for only 1$.I was originally going to use them for the guest bathroom light fixture but they didn't fit. So I had to come up with another use for them. I cut out some Halloween shapes (witch hat, ghost, and spooky castle) stuck them on and then frosted the glass. When the frost was dried I peeled the shapes off. I got a couple of planter plates and spray painted them charcoal grey and lightly dusted them with metallic silver

Maybe I should stop and clean my house so you can see all my cute holiday decor. The house will stay clean one day right? RIGHT?!

Fall is almost here.

2010-09-14T08:04:00.001-07:00

I'm getting ready to welcome fall here at the house. Come on cool weather....I've got plans and places to go and do.
My latest project. I got pumpkins and squash at the dollar store and spray painted them white and silver and glued them together to make some fall topiaries. I'm still looking for cool candlesticks or pots to put them in. Next place to decorate is my front steps. That should be fun.

First Day of Preschool 2010

2010-09-08T18:05:00.000-07:00

Where does the time go? The twins had their first day of 4 year-old preschool today. They have been counting down the days and were bouncing off the walls all morning before heading to school. McKenzie has become a little social butterfly and loves to make friends with everyone she meets. Lauren is a little shy at first and normally lets McKenzie introduce both of them. But, when she gets comfortable she can talk your ear off. Hard to believe our little babies are only a year away from riding the bus to kindergarten every day.

The worst part about it is that Bridgette is still too young for the 3 year-old class even though she is completely ready for preschool. We have had to explain to her many times that she will not be able to start preschool until next year. She is sooooo disappointed. We even tried to talk her teachers into letting her start early because we have no doubt that she would do great and love it.

Davin had a blast exploring the preschool classroom. He has really chunked up since he has completely stopped spitting up. And he is finally getting his first two teeth (both on the bottom).

Notice Bridgette is wearing a backpack -- still in denial that she does not get to start for another year.

Almost done

2010-08-24T05:25:00.000-07:00

From this.....

To this......

I really like how the details pop out. I used the same hardware. I just spray painted it silver. Yeah for saving some more $. Plus it was a TON of fun to change metal colors.

I just need to line the drawers and cupboard and it will be 100% done.

Stay tuned to next week when I tackle this $30 table and chairs.

Frog bowl

2010-08-22T11:04:00.000-07:00

check out this super cool looking yard ornament. Looks hard to recreate but it's not. Check out how she did it here.

My next project

2010-08-17T10:45:00.000-07:00

This is my next project. I got it off of craigs list for 25$. They also threw in a free pet with it(NOT the kind you want in your house). Don't worry I didn't take a picture of that.

The top drawer is a serving tray that you can pull out. I pulled the yucky design off the front.

I've sanded it down and started to primer it. I'm going to paint it "Heirloom white" and then glaze the details. Hopefully it all works out and looks like it does in my head.

On Aug 16, 2002...

2010-08-16T03:10:00.000-07:00

The best thing in the universe happened.

I thought I knew what love was then but I had no idea how much more I could love you. Thanks for 8 wonderful years and an eternity more to come. Happy Anniversary honey.

The finished vanity

2010-08-12T14:40:00.000-07:00

I finally finished the vanity. Here it is in all it's glory. Here's what it looked like when I bought it for 10$. The paint was peeling all over the place.

This is our work in progress guest bathroom. I had to buy a new mirror because I thought I could frame the old one and found out the hard way that it wasn't glued to the wall. Found this beauty at Marshalls for 24$. Yay me. Still need to redo one of the lights and maybe re tile the floor. Maybe in three years we'll have it done. What do you think....should we keep the glass shower doors or put a shower curtain in?

Guess which one is the real baby.

2010-08-10T19:56:00.000-07:00

In case you were wondering.

2010-07-29T07:36:00.000-07:00

Just felt like declaring this...... CRAIN

The first Washington Monument.

2010-07-23T07:20:00.000-07:00

Once again I had the urge to explore. So I took the kids to see the first Washington monument in Maryland.
Bridgette " We can't go. I want to see the world." You can see West Virginia and Antietam Battlefield from here.

The steps were so steep that I had to ask a couple of teens at the top to help hold my girls hands coming down.

It's a short little hike to the top and the girls had lots of fun finding walking sticks. It's a great place for hikes and picnics. They even have a fun playground for the kids. It's such a beautiful place to go.

God Bless the USA

2010-07-04T14:22:00.000-07:00

I played the song "God Bless the USA" this morning and McKenzie kept asking to play it again and again. This is her singing it after the 5th or 6th time of listening to it.

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY! (or as the girls say it; "Happy Birthday America!")

Extreme Sheep LED Art

2010-07-01T22:22:00.000-07:00

my sister shawn showed me this awesome video and it is just too cool not to show everyone.

Why my pants don't fit.

2010-06-25T06:50:00.001-07:00

Found this tasty recipe here. I keep unintentionally drooling every time I think about these. Ingredients
¾ cups Butter, Melted
¾ cups White Sugar
¾ cups Brown Sugar
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
2 whole Eggs
¾ cups Flour
½ cups Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
½ teaspoons Table Salt
1 bag (12 Oz. Bag) Miniature Peanut Butter Cups (You'll Need About 40 Pieces)
Preparation Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a mini cupcake pan with nonstick spray. In a medium bowl, mix melted butter, sugars and vanilla. Beat in eggs one at a time. Gradually add flour, cocoa, and salt and mix until combined. Fill each cupcake slot slightly more than halfway but not more than 2/3 full. Place an unwrapped peanut butter cup in each slot, pressing it down until it is almost level with the batter. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-18 minutes or until done. Allow the brownie bites to cool for 5 minutes before removing from the cupcake tin. Enjoy!
Notes:
Be sure to remove brownie bites 5 minutes after coming out of the oven. Otherwise, they might cool and stick to the sides, making it difficult to get out. If baking these in a 9×13 pan, your baking time will increase to 25-30 minutes. You can be sure they are close to being done when you can smell them from your oven

In my dreams

2010-06-23T14:18:00.000-07:00

If I could ever design my dream house this dinning room would be in it.

Come on lucky numbers!

meant to be

2010-06-21T17:03:00.001-07:00

I was looking at my addiction blogs when I came across this. I fell in love instantly. Then even more when I noticed it had our initials on it. It is it's destiny.

Happy Father's day.

2010-06-20T12:26:00.000-07:00

Happy Fathers day to the best dads EVER!

4 years ago

2.5 years ago.

7 months ago.

Grandpa

Papa

My new addiction.

2010-06-07T08:33:00.000-07:00

I have a problem.........I'm addicted to spray paint. Remember this beauty I got for 10$.

I would have left it alone but all the paint was peeling. So I sanded her down really well then went to town with this awesome "Spa Blue" spray paint. I'm not done yet. I still have to put the glass back in and put some new dowels in to keep the glass in place. When it's all done with it's makeover and hanging up in the guest bathroom I'll take new pictures so you can see the final result.

My next project is to frame the bathroom mirror. I'm hoping it's easier than it sounds.

Cafe Rio Possibly Coming to the DC Area!

2010-05-26T05:40:00.000-07:00

Here is the text of an article that was in the Washington Business Journal (I removed the portions of the article that were not about Cafe Rio):

Cafe Rio, Uno Due Go hunt for space

Washington Business Journal - by Missy Frederick Staff Reporter

It’s been a busy month for James O’Neill.

The retail broker with J. T. O’Neill Co., who brought the first 40 Chipotle locations to the Washington area, is now helping two other national concepts find a local home and also assisting a third that is expanding beyond its two existing locations.

Their name is Rio » O’Neill is also representing Cafe Rio, a Salt Lake City-based fast casual Mexican chain (yup, the Chipotle guy has done this before).

Cafe Rio wants to expand to the East Coast, and that plan includes two Washington-area locations by the end of 2010.

“They’re moving very fast,” O’Neill says.

Cafe Rio sees Washington as a place where it ultimately could open up to 50 locations, O’Neill says.

The Mexican-food eatery serves the requisite tacos, burritos and the works, with an emphasis on fresh ingredients. According to the company, it’s not unusual for employees to squeeze up to nine cases of limes in a morning at a single location. The cooks make their tortillas from scratch, as they also do with salad dressings and other condiments.

Stores average $3.5 million in sales in Salt Lake City.

O’Neill says the company is eyeing locations near its competitors, from Baja Fresh to Qdoba, and areas of the market that others haven’t gotten to yet.

“They’re going to be met with very steep competition in their segment,” he says.

We think the new Wegman's shopping area is a perfect location for a new Cafe Rio. It doesn't hurt that it is less than one mile from our house. Fingers crossed.

Mason Neck state park

2010-05-16T18:33:00.000-07:00

A great thing that Pete and I have in common is that we love to travel and explore. I love finding new places to take Pete and the kids to. I found this cool park with my mom one day. It has trails that are ranging in difficulty. Some are paved (great for strollers) and some that are not. We found this really cool trail that went around the lake and into the marsh area. They have a picnic table area and a great playground for the kids.

We saw a really big brown snake in the water here. Kinda freaky and fascinating at the same time.

We also saw a ton of different fish and some really interesting dragonflies.

Isn't this beautiful?The best part was 30 seconds after we arrived, we looked up and saw a bald eagle flying really close to the shore right above us. Last time I was here with my mom we saw three bald eagles within 20 minutes. This place is really cool.

Yay for spray paint.

2010-05-12T14:16:00.000-07:00

Remember these beauties from the garage sale? I got them for only 1$.

I got some awesome antique white spray paint and went to town. Took me all of 20 minutes to redo these.
They look awesome in my living room. Now I can't wait for next Saturday to see what else I can find.

I should probably update the photos of the kids.

It's a walk off.

2010-05-03T09:50:00.000-07:00

I'm too sexy for my love too sexy for my love

Love's going to leave me

I'm too sexy for my shirt. too sexy for my shirt

So sexy it hurts

And I'm too sexy for Milan, too sexy for Milan

New York and Japan

And I'm too sexy for your party.Too sexy for your party

No way I'm disco dancing

I'm a model you know what I mean. And I do my little turn on the catwalk

Yeah on the catwalk on the catwalk .yeah I do my little turn on the catwalk

I'm too sexy for my car too sexy for my car

Too sexy by far

And I'm too sexy for my hat.Too sexy for my hat

what do you think about that

I'm a model you know what I mean. And I do my little turn on the catwalk

Yeah on the catwalk on the catwalk .yeah I shake my little touche on the catwalk

Cos I'm a model you know what I mean. And I do my little turn on the catwalk

Yeah on the catwalk on the catwalk. yeah I shake my little touche on the catwalk

I'm too sexy for my love too sexy for my loveLove's going to leave me

And I'm too sexy for this song!

I got you singing the song again huh? Yes her look is for sale.

Garage salen

2010-05-01T13:05:00.000-07:00

I love garage sale season. Today Pete and I found some really awesome stuff.
I got the pineapple candle holders for 1$. I can't wait to redo them. I got the Christmas ornaments for 2$. I'm planning on using them for more Christmas wreaths. The bathroom cupboard only cost 10$. I'm going to spray paint it and put it in the bathroom downstairs. And last but not least. We got this table and these chairs (4x) for all of........................30$. The guy also threw in some really pretty tablecloths. I can not wait to get my hands on these. I just need to decide what color. I didn't like the way the color turned out on the last table so I'm super excited to get to do another one. Does anyone need a table?

2010-04-29T18:15:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been casually flipping through a magazine and suddenly you are looking at a photo of your own kids? Well . . . technically we have not either, but replace us with one of our friends and her kids with our kids and that is exactly what happened. Our friend that found the photo came by the other day and dropped off 6 or 7 copies of the magazine for us. Check it out.

We have had random people occasionally ask to take pictures of our kids. Most often they are of a certain ethnicity that has a reputation for (1) frequently taking photographs and (2) being fascinated by blond hair. Seeing our kids in a random magazine does make us wonder if they have been in any other publications. I guess we will never know. . .

Happy B-Day Mika!!!

2010-04-24T06:44:00.001-07:00

Twenty-something years ago -- on this exact day -- the most amazing person came into this world. I was not aware of it at the time, but that was the day my life got much better. She was born in Brussels, Belgium and was the youngest of six kids. Some say she was spoiled. She disagrees. Either way, I think she turned out perfect.

She came out a cutie! And it just got better from there.

14 months. 4 years old.

5 years old.

5-6 years old? I am not sure about all of the ages below. Only a few had dates on the back.

McKenzie does this exact same look.

So cute!

8 years old -- obviously.

She is how she looked when I met her. So hot!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIKA!!!!!

Easter beauties

2010-04-20T15:13:00.000-07:00

4 years ago today...

2010-04-17T04:23:00.001-07:00

....These two blessings came into our lives.

(Those are premie outfits they are swimming in.)

Happy Birthday Lauren and McKenzie.

Flashback Friday

2010-04-16T04:49:00.000-07:00

Exactly four years ago today. I "popped" the very next day.

Bridgette's New Favorite Song

2010-04-14T06:55:00.000-07:00

It is really cute to hear Bridgette singing along with the video. The song is sung by a group called InsideOut who got together at BYU. And a couple of the group members are somehow related to Pete on his mom's side.

Flashback Friday

2010-04-09T13:57:00.000-07:00

My mom just recently sent me some old photos so I'd thought I'd post a couple of past birthdays since mine is coming up. These two are from my 2nd birthday. Yeah I know old school.

Welcome BBQ weather.

2010-04-06T15:20:00.000-07:00

This picture makes me drool every time. I know what I'm making next weekend.

Chipotle Lime Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp Recipe

Ingredients
12 large, raw, peeled and deveined shrimp
2 Tbsp olive oil
Zest from 1 lime
Juice from one lime (about 2 Tbsp)
1/4 teaspoon chipotle powder (or more to taste)
6 strips thin bacon, cut in half (12 pieces)
Skewers (for grilling) or toothpicks (for oven)
Method
1 Mix together in a small bowl the lime zest, lime juice, olive oil, and chipotle powder. Put the shrimp in the lime chipotle mixture; make sure each piece is well coated.
2 Spread the bacon pieces out over several layers of paper towels on a microwave-safe plate. Cover with another layer of paper towel. Microwave on high until the bacon fat begins to melt but the bacon is still pliable, about 1 1/2 minutes.
3 Prepare grill on high, direct heat (if grilling) or preheat the oven to 450°F.
4 Working one at a time, wrap a half piece of microwaved bacon around each piece of shrimp. If you are grilling, thread the shrimp onto long, flat skewers (flat skewers make turning the shrimp on the grill easier). If you don't have flat skewers, I've used two thin bamboo skewers (soaked in water for 30 minutes beforehand) to the same effect. If you are using the oven, secure each the bacon onto the shrimp with toothpicks. Place the bacon-wrapped shrimp on a slotted baking pan (lined with foil inside for easy cleaning). Brush remaining lime chipotle mixture on the outside of the bacon-wrapped shrimp.
5 Grill uncovered for 5 to 7 minutes on each side, or bake in the oven for 10-14 minutes, until shrimp is pink and the bacon is crisp.

2010-04-04T05:33:00.001-07:00

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE

Block instructions.

2010-04-03T14:11:00.000-07:00

A couple of people have asked how to do the blocks. So I'll try and explain here.

Materials:

Any size wood pieces
Scrapbook paper
Modge Podge (man I love this stuff.)
Spring or any word letters (I got mine from Micheal's using my weekly coupon in the scrap booking section).
Scissors
Spring color paint.
Pencil
Glue gun or strong glue.

Instructions;

Sand the edges of your wood pieces to make sure they are smooth.
Paint them any spring colors that match your paper or tickle your fancy.
Let dry.
Measure and cut out each scrapbook paper according to the block you want it to go on. Make it a little smaller then the block.
Modge Podge with a brush the back of the paper and lay on the block. Roll out all the bubbles.
Wait for the paper to dry completely.
Hot glue the letters to each block.
Put Modge Podge over the whole thing. Especially the bottom and sides that way the paint won't rub on to other things.
Now sit back and enjoy what you have created.

Bring on the spring

2010-04-01T16:06:00.000-07:00

One sick kid and no where to go. So I made these cute blocks to bring the spring inside.

I am so in love with oops wood at Home Depot. The blocks cost me a total of .25. So the whole thing was close to $1.50.

Don't forget to check out my addiction websites on the right.

Big Apple Circus

2010-03-26T13:43:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, we went to the Big Apple Circus. For Mika and the kids, it was their first time at any circus. We did not tell the girls until we were parked in the circus parking lot. They were soooo excited!

McKenzie's excitement quickly went away when we sat down in our seats and she started getting nervous about all of the lights and noises. The opening act was a clown who climbed to the top of the tent and pretended that he was going to fall. McKenzie started crying and said: "Daddy, I don't want him to fall." It was so sad. Eventually, she got over her fears and enjoyed the show.

Lauren was more interested in the popcorn and cotton candy than the show. She did look up from her bucket of popcorn every once in awhile to see an act.

Bridgette loved it (until the very end when she decided to throw a tantrum, which we still have no idea why). She was clapping and cheering for each act. It was so cute to see her face light up.

Davin slept until the last ten minutes. He enjoyed looking at the bright lights after he woke up.

Whatsa matter you.

2010-03-10T04:46:00.000-08:00

Here's a little trip down memory lane for my family.

A new table

2010-03-08T07:07:00.000-08:00

Our table was so gross and embarrassing that it was time for a change. I saw that the weather was going to be nice for the next week so off I went to Home Depot to get supplies. They turned out better than I thought they would. I LOVE my new table and chairs.

Almost everything primed.

Everything painted.

Now all I have to do is seal it and wait 24hrs to use it. I can't wait to move it into the house. Not as cool but so much cheaper than buying new stuff.

I want that.

2010-03-01T06:18:00.000-08:00

Found my new want. The kids would have a blast in it if they could get me out of it. It's a tent, a swing, and a trampoline combined. It's just too cool not to want one. check out the site here.

Better behavior

2010-02-20T20:07:00.000-08:00

I made these cool button ribbons to help me deal with all the whining and tantrums I've been dealing with. Each time they whine or give attitude I move the clothes pin down a button. And every time they do something without being asked, or I catch them being nice to each other they move up a button. If they are at the top at the end of the day they earn a privilege like 15 minutes on the Wii or 15 minutes of book reading time alone with mom or dad. First day I told the girls about it they were looking for things to clean up. Lauren cleaned the bath tub and McKenzie picked up her room. Bridgette helped me unload all the groceries. I think I'm loving this new button method. I found the idea here.