Beauty Rest

This girl...

She takes a nap nearly every day and I am always a giggling mess when she wakes up. She usually likes to sit with me and be snuggled for a bit as she waits off the grogginess and I am always impressed with what her nap has done to her hair. 

Her nap on Saturday was a good one.  

When she went down for her nap, she had her hair in a pony tail...just a simple one like this...

I love her hair lately! She rocks the pig tails, pony tails or it looks cute air dried with her natural curls that she likes to fluff on her own ;) 

Anyways....she went down for her nap and opted to sleep on the livingroom floor. She woke up and then leaned against the couch (which I snagged out of a dumpster!) and fell back asleep for like half an hour! Looks comfy huh? And Davy is creepin' as it looks like he is calling for help as the cozy couch swallows him whole!

Here is a look at the damage done this time.  Remember her smooth pony tail? The rubber bands always disappear and I never find them again and now she is sporting a voluminous curly fluff mullet on this side...

...and here's the other side that got a bit kinky! She is a sweaty sleeper and once she's out, the water works start up and so that seems to be a "helpful" factor in this nap time hairstyling.

She takes her time waking up.  She is always up for a snuggle and loves to be loved, but after nap time she is very sensitive and soft-hearted and gets so sad if she can't have that snuggle with me. It is a tender moment that I have to drop what ever I am doing because it is a special time to her that she needs me for those few minutes and I love it too!

It isn't long before she is awake and ready to go and full of her smiles! 

These kiddos are great! I enjoy Katelyn's wild hair when she wakes up and it is growing long and those stray kinky curls usually find a way to wisp and tickle my face like crazy. It just adds to her spunk and I like calling her Einstein...she's got the hair and the wit!

....and Davy wins all the awards for the most chill baby in the world. You have to watch out for him though...if you get close enough he is like a Venus Fly Trap and will snatch you up and pull you in and sink his toothless gums on you leaving his trail of slobber.  And you can't put him down because he will stare you down with his beautiful eyes with super long eyelashes! He knows exactly what my weakness is. He's such a stud!

25 Wishes

I just turned 25 and it is one of those birthday milestones that make me feel like I am getting old!  I know it really isn't that old and I have been realizing how I still think of myself as a lot younger than I am.  I see people graduating high school that seem like little babies to me.  I mentioned that I graduated in 2006 and that was 7 years ago!  What?!

I do feel like I am growing up a little though...that's a plus!  

Here's my wish list for the year of being 25...

1. I feel like I need to get back into playing music...and more than the recorder (I have that one "mastered" already right?)  :)  I want to get back to playing the piano and I would love to learn the guitar.  
2. Exercise...this is a tough one.  It is easy to forget, easy to sleep in, easy to let a day pass and tell myself I will make it up on Saturday.  But I have been doing really good for the last 2 months exercising 5 times a week!  I go running through my neighborhood, or do Insanity workouts at home if I don't wake up early enough to go on a good run before David heads off to work.  Pushing 2 kids in the jogger is intense...and there are not enough flat places around here!  AND there's Soccer!  There is an informal group that meets up every Wednesday and Saturday to play and I had to retire my cleats from high school to get a new pair and they have been heavenly!  My feet are thanking me!   It is so fun to be playing again even though I am usually the only girl.  I sweat like a man, so I might as well play with them...TMI?
3. Make time to keep the house in order.  I have never and probably will never be a spotless home type, but I get too frustrated when I can't find things, or when I feel like I am drowning in our own stuff.  Sometimes I live with the mess and I should care more and clean it up, but sometimes it is tough to keep up with the mess!  I just want to make time for more order.
4. eat well...I want to make healthier food choices, but also I need to remember to feed myself. When I realize at 3:00 that I haven't had anything for lunch and then decide that a peanut butter and nutella sandwich heated for 15 seconds in the microwave is a good idea...this is a problem area.  I do so much better with a plan.
5. get to know people...I am in a new place with new people.  I want to seek out some good people and find out what makes them who they are.



Katelyn's Favorite...Alice the Fairy

6. read...read the scriptures, read with my kids, read the scriptures with my kids, and read fun books without falling asleep after the first paragraph.
7. serve others...I want to get to know people so I can serve them.  It might be my time just chatting, it might be my time making a meal for them when they are sick, it might be my time watering their plants...My mom says that she is happiest when she is serving others, or something like that.  My family counts too...I want to do more for them too!
8. I am realizing how parenting requires so much selflessness.  My bad days are nearly always linked to days when I am selfish with my personal space and time.  I am trying hard to give my time to these kids and take my full-time job as their mom.  Katelyn and Davy need me.  They are capable of learning and doing so much and I don't want to just "get through" each day, but I want to dedicate more time to nurturing them and enjoying them.  
9. blogging...this is my family journal.  I love having our life documented and seeing the things we do and the phases we go through and I want to keep track of it all.  I love it when I keep up with it!
10. take a ceramics class...I loved the year I did in high school and I wasn't half bad either!
11. Quit throwing food out!  I hate it when food goes bad...especially produce!  It is a pet peeve of mine and I want to pay attention to what I've got, or meal plan better...something.
12. Sew for myself...I started sewing a dress for myself this week.  I made up the pattern from a dress that I already have.  It is fun to create and I have a bunch of ideas for more dresses and skirts for me. 
13. Save money...I want to simplify so that we can save more and do more with the money we have.
14. I can be such a home body and part of it is because of laziness, and sometimes I just like to be home where everything is calm and contained.  But I want to be outside more.  Go on walks and just talk, let Katelyn ride her bike, go have a picnic at the park, go explore, or anything like this.  We all love it and I like spending time out and about together and want more of it.
15. I dyed my hair blonder...I wanted to do it and I like it.  My hair has been getting darker and darker with each kid...or maybe just time going by and me getting older.  I missed my blonde hair and now I have a head start on the summer blondeness that comes each year.  I have a feeling part of me did it because I want to feel younger, and I am okay with that.  Changing my hair wasn't that big of a change (I didn't go crazy with the blondeness), but it was a big thing for me so even though I already did it, I am putting it on this list :)
16. Memorize the Articles of Faith.  I challenged my 8 year-old primary class and I want to make sure I know them all too.  I remember most of them, but I have some iffy spots that need a tune up.
17. Pay attention to birthdays and anniversaries.  I love it when people remember and acknowledged my birthday and anniversary, so I want to make an effort for others too because they might like it too!
18. Paint something.  I have had a blank canvas for over a year now and I want to paint something on it, but I am not sure what. I think I want to paint Katelyn's face in a way that I saw my friend, Terryn, do her son.  I think I could make it look like her...if not, then I will take a picture of it and then paint something else.  
19. Date my husband.  Too often we spend time on our laptops, phones, or iPad or in separate rooms doing our own thing.  I want to focus on the time that I do have him home and have fun with him.
20. Have more game nights...We have so many good games and we need to have people over to play or just play with our own little family.  Katelyn is figuring out UNO and Trouble and is loving them.  We all love games!
    
    
    
    
21. FHE...we are very sporadic and I want to be more consistent.  It is healthy for our family.  I like having time to set goals for the week, and Katelyn is soaking up so much of how this world works right now and I want her to know this gospel so that she can love it and know that I love it.
22. See more of the east ...Niagara Falls, Gettysburg, Pittsburgh, Philly, Palmyra...there are cool places out here!
23. PLAY...I love roller coasters and water slides!  I am not pregnant this summer (my parents won't ever believe me again since I tricked them last summer when I got off the plane nearly 7 months pregnant)  and there are so many fun theme parks calling my name out east and out west!  Hershey Park, Silverwood, Roaring Springs, King's Dominion...I "need" to go!
24. Do some Family History.  I want to get some people's stories recorded before they are gone!
25. Convince myself and David that it is worth it for me to be in Kennewick for Gold Medal peach season because they might be good enough to leave my husband stranded for a couple extra weeks while I get my juicy peach fix!

My birthday fell on a Wednesday...a Wednesday that David was in Baltimore (for the whole week) and I wanted to feel bad for myself since I was home alone with the kids another day and it was my birthday, but that's part of being a grown up.  I decided to make it a good day with a walk through the neighborhood finding flowers that were being towered over with weeds...

The kiddos both took a nap at the same time!

I made my favorite dinner...Breakfast!  Crepes with strawberries and cream!

And I skyped, texted, emailed, called and was facebooked from so many wishing me a wonderful day and it really did turn out to be a great day! 

That weekend, David and I left the kids with the Iwaasa's and went to play...laser tag (David out-scored me 3/4 times), mini golf (David won by 2 strokes...maybe only one, but I can't entirely remember, so I will let him have 2), and my favorite...go carts!  I was so stinkin' fast!  I figured out how to hit the brake around the corners to get my go cart to do a tight u-turn and I snuck past David every time with that trick.  We did a lot of mini races between us which meant I had to keep stopping and letting him catch up to me once I got far enough ahead to say I beat him that round ;)  He probably won't admit to that, but I was good!  And those go carts had the speed I was hoping for.  My hair was flying horizontal and would whip around the corners with me...loved it!  It was a fun date! 

We ate "Better Than Anything and Everything Cake"  with Brittany and her family...it was her birthday the day before...and David made it for me.  I might have forced him to make it for me, but he did an awesome job!

Birthday's are good...and this one has been good to me!

Home #7

We are having a hard time settling in and calling a place home for too long before we pack up and move on to the next place!  We keep hopping around and it is a lot of work! We have been married for 5 years now and this is the 7th place we have lived!

We moved here back in April and it was a good one.  We are able to save more money since rent is much cheaper here, and we are enjoying the smaller feel of Harrisburg compared to the Baltimore and all of its beefiness!  Does anyone know that Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania?  Honestly, most people (even you Mayrlanders just a state away) think it is either Philly or Pittsburgh...and for the longest time, David would say that he worked in Harrisburg, Philadelphia...that drove my Elementary Education Bachelor's Degree mind insane and it wasn't ok!  C'mon people, don't you remember your states and capitals?  ...Or even just the states??? :)

The moving day went as smooth as it could thanks to awesome member of our new and old wards.  I even told my brother that he didn't need to make the hour drive to help, since we were going to have plenty of help...Sorry for turning down your offer Chris!

I had wonderful help from my visiting teacher, Tyese, one day.  It was coming close to moving day and I was starting to feel overwhelmed and she came over with just an hour of her free time.  I thought of how little I was ever able to pack up in a hour and was a little bummed, but then she got right to work and packed my ENTIRE KITCHEN!  She was fast!  I didn't realize how much she could do and had to find some essentials so I could feed the missionaries that night. Tyese was awesome and I am still in awe of how she did it!

Then the missionaries came over and offered to help and came back the next day.  They were great help too and helped pack up the odds and ends and do the finishing touches with me before the big move the next day.

That Saturday, the 13th, the crew arrived ready to pack!

They loaded everything in the truck, didn't eat enough of the donuts we got them, and then they were off to move another family.

The sister missionaries (anyone know that brown haired one...she's from the Kennewick East Stake!) Jace Martinsen, Steven Davis, Adrian Stanger, and a guy that we barely know but was a beast in hauling boxes! Someone tell me his name, please?!

 David headed off to Harrisburg and got to the new place ready and hoping he would have help unload the truck!  I had mentioned to some people in our new ward that he would need help and the new ward responded letting us know that the ward had just been split and that they would try to find out who was in the ward that could come help, so were weren't really sure if we were going to have any help.  We were delighted to have a whole crew that unloaded the truck in half an hour!  I stayed behind and fed the kids and then drove up to the new place, and in the 30 minutes it took to feed the kids I had missed all the action!

We are so grateful to be here in Harrisburg!  The part about David not having to make the drive every Monday and Friday from Baltimore to Harrisburg and back has been so nice....I think our poor car was getting worn out from that drive too!  Being together as a family EVERY night instead of just on the weekends has been such a treat that I never thought to be grateful for!  David had one week of training that he had to head to Baltimore for the week leaving us here, and I was reminded of how terrible, tiring, and stressful it is to have him gone during the week...and we lived like that for nearly a year!

Brittany was this girl here in Harrisburg who was in a Relief Society presidency and she was told that I was going to be here off and on staying in hotels and that I might like to be added to the playgroup emails she sent out.  We emailed back and forth and then one day we met up at a park and got to know each other.  It was sort of odd to plan to meet someone at a park, but she was being very nice and friendly and I was bored and tired of taking Katelyn to the parks and libraries to play by herself.  I knew she was a member of the same church, but she didn't know that.  We met at the park and chatted while our kids played and it was great!  We were heading back to the hotel for lunch and she offered to let Katelyn keep playing and invited us over to her place for lunch and swimming.  We must have seemed normal enough!  I took her up on that offer and we hung out and chatted the day away!  I never got in contact with her since I didn't head out to Harrisburg with David most weeks and when I did, I wasn't sure if I would be a bother or not which I wish I would have called her up!

Britt's good-bye party...she's the tall blonde beauty next to me!

When we found out we were going to move here, I talked to Brittany and found out the ins and outs of the area she lived in because another friend said that it was the perfect place.  I called or emailed her every other day with all of my questions and then we ended up moving in across the street from them!  The day we moved in, I didn't have a jacket that I left out for the day and she ran home and let me use hers for the day!  She is one of those people that is always ready and willing to help and has really been so incredibly helpful!  We have loved our new place and I loved being so close to her.  We hung out nearly every day since we moved in and it was the first thing Katelyn would ask for in the day.  They just moved out...not because of us ;)...but because he finished his schooling and they are heading back west to settle in with a first job and a new home!  We are bummed that we couldn't be close neighbors for longer and we loved having each other so close by that now we have to go out and make new friends!  Brittany and I were so similar in way too many ways and  we realized that we both married similar guys too...funny and ironic.  We miss the Iwaasa's  and I am not too excited about having to stretch myself and go out of my comfort zone to get to know the neighbors around me when it was so easy and comfortable to be friends with her.  That's life though!

One random side note...it drives me crazy that I have very few pictures with me and my friends!  We hang out, watch each other's kids, take pictures of our kids playing together, but rarely take pictures of us being friends.  I am friends with them on facebook, so I can stay in contact with them, but I just want pictures of us adults together.  Silly and random, but it matters to me a little bit :)

Harrisburg is home for now and we feel settled and ready to conquer this place!  It sort of feels like living in Boise again, and we liked Boise so we are bound to love it here!

What Holidays?

Is it May  June already?!  This year is going so fast.  We are loving being a little family of just the four of us but at the same time there aren't enough hours in the day or night to do everything we want...like blogging!

Some of the little holidays have slipped by without saying anything and we haven't made too many attempts to stop and acknowledge them so Katelyn barely even knows they were here!  

Valentine's Day we did pretty good.  The day before a bunch of ladies from my ward gathered to decorate cookies and brownies.  Kids played and moms chatted and attempted to make the cookies look somewhat decent with the fancy frosting tips we didn't know how to use.  My friend, Rebecca, organized a Valentine's party with all the kids that aren't school age.  We all brought a snack to share and the kids brought cards to share.  We decorated the mailboxes with our kids and then they played a few games.  There was a musical chairs type of game where all the kids were instructed to dance while the music played.  As I wrote in the last post, Katelyn broke down in tears because she was not in her dancing attire.  She was upset for the rest of the party and had a hard time being her silly self without her dress/tutu on.  Rough life.

I already wrote up about the date at home I planned for just the two of us and I am still drooling over that gooey caramel Butterfinger cake!  The orange chicken was so yummy too and I plan on making that one again.  It was a yummy night!  I also gave David a gift that keeps on giving....a coupon book.  So far he has redeemed the ones for a weeks worth of ironing (we both hate ironing clothes!), a foot rub, and we are planning a weekend trip to New York soon!  That little coupon book got packed away and hasn't resurfaced yet, so I am sure he will get back on that once we find it....breakfast in bed, back massage, weekend trips, weekends free from diaper changes, and a bunch of other ideas like that that might be hints to things I would love ;)

St. Patty's day was a Sunday and we wore green to church and that was all we had for the day.

Easter was spent with my brother and his family and that was nice.  We ate yummy five cheese pasta, rolls, and they were the best part of the meal so the rest doesn't really matter :)

...and then we played Ticket to Ride!  We like that game and David and I play a game nearly every night on the iPad before we fall asleep...we're addicted.

 I looked like the cleverest person around with these cupcakes thanks to Pinterest.  I hosted an Easter egg hunt during the week and I brought these for everyone.  (I might have blogged about that before...that's just how it goes, when you throw so much into one post!)

 A week or two after Easter, I finally got around to our Easter FHE and we made Resurrection Rolls...Marshmallows (Jesus) dipped in melted butter and cinnamon and sugar (oil and spices) wrapped with a crescent roll and then the miracle of the Resurrection happens when you cook them!  They were yummy and helped to teach the lesson of Easter so we were all happy!

April brought David's birthday!  We were on the eve of our move and we headed out on a fun date.  I tried to get all the packing done so that we wouldn't have to spend this kid free time doing last minute packing and it worked!  We dropped off the kids, picked up our rental truck and dropped it off at home, and went off to eat and play!   We went out and tried out our sharp shooting skills at laser tag.  We were at least 10 years older than everyone there and were nervous that all the youngins were going to haunt us and make it no fun.  We were able to do just fine and we had fun with it.  We got a pizza for dinner and realized Pizza Hut really isn't our favorite!

I tried my best to duplicate our wedding cake that David still drools over...again.  The frosting was better and awesome, but the cake was too dense and not the moist/crumbly cookies 'n cream cake that he remembers.  I might throw in the towel on this cake and just admit I can't do it, or I might search her out and beg her for the recipe and specific instructions.  David will never forget and stop day dreaming of that cake that seems to be nearly the best thing about our wedding day, so I might have to find the cake lady! 

May came around and I kept telling David that our anniversary was coming up to warn him.  We took advantage of a couple days off and headed to New York City to cram all we could see and do in two days that we could.  We loved it and can't wait to go back without kids someday so we can go watch some shows and play some more at night in the city.  We did this trip on Memorial Day weekend (Thursday-Saturday) and then when our anniversary came around on the 31st, I was expecting him to do something out of the ordinary, and David thought New York was as lovely as an anniversary celebration could get. I wanted something like a love letter or card or something that required some planning ahead that let me know he was excited for this big anniversary...hooray for 5 years!  (but not flowers, I told him no on the flowers)  He did bring home dinner and ice cream, but didn't tell me so Katelyn and I had already had dinner and just thought he was taking to long and I was trying to get the house ready for my brother and his family coming to stay and play for the weekend.  David and I are just so romantic!

We might need to work on communicating our expectations and plans with each other or maybe we should lower our expectations?!  We have been pretty low key and sort of lame this year, but it really doesn't matter too much.  I don't think that skipping over St. Patty's day will hurt any of us!

We all still like each other and there's plenty of love to go around this family.  I am not sure how I want to do holidays and what traditions I want to be a part of our family or not.  So sometimes out of laziness, or other times I just don't see the point not much happens.  We will see and each year will probably be different and change as these kids get older.