Lucky Gal

Although we had an eventful morning we were able to go to the mall with Lacey and out to lunch at Pandera...yum! Thanks Lacey. We also stopped by a park on the way home. I don't know if I mentioned in an earlier post but Mike bought me a mountain bike for my birthday. We are waiting to get our hookup for our bike chariot and then I can take the kids for rides with me. Mike is hoping to take me on my first real "mountain bike ride" sometime this week. With his busy schedule we will wait until the weekend to go out to eat and possibly to a movie together. My cousin called me this morning to wish me a happy day and to offer her advice on how to make it through the big 3-0. I also got a A LOT of messages from family and friends on my phone while we were out and about wishing me a happy day...thank you everyone for your messages on facebook, email, my blog and phone. I feel loved.

I am incredibly lucky to have a great family and so many blessings, I am overwhelmed with all that I have! We have a nice home, food to eat, clothes to wear and wonderful friends and family. I am particularly greatful for the gospel in my life. It has blessed me in more ways than I can begin to express. I was watching Oprah today about a family all addicted to heroine and I thought about the choices that we make. I feel incredibly lucky to have been raised in a family and in a church that has shown me the correct path to follow. Many feel that the church is restricting and limiting but I feel just the opposite. Our loving Heavenly Father wants to protect his children from the choices that will not only offer us further agency and freedom but will give us the most happy outcome for our lives.

My sweet Kennedy drew this picture today for me for my birthday. It is a picture of our family from left to right; sophie, ken, me and mike and the person floating above us all is Jesus. She said it was a picture of us all visiting him in Heaven. Hopefully not anytime soon, but I thought it was so sweet and a fabulous birthday present. Tonight we are hanging out as a fam and watching the television show Life..season premier. We love it! I have to run tonight and then I think some ice cream is in order.

30 years old and so far...

Well I am officially thirty years old today and so far this day has been interesting. This morning Sophie woke up at 5:00 only to throw up all the contents of her fat little tummy all over me and the couch. Then when I asked Kennedy to take off her pull up from last night and go put on underwear she apparently peed all over the floor, I walked right into it and said "what in the world is this?" Kennedy replied "it might be pee or whatever". I asked her if she was a puppy dog and she looked a little confused. THEN she made a huge mess with popcorn that she was licking up off the table, then the floor so I asked her if she could keep the house clean for me for my birthday and she said "well ya mom but I will get you a present too, something old of mine that I don't want anymore." I am feelin the love.

Fieldtrips

I can still remember one of my favorite field trips as a little girl. My mom got to come, I think, and we went to a tortilla factory. We went through the whole factory and watched how they were made and then we each got a tortilla to eat at the end. I love seeing how things are made, factories and tours of most kinds...although I must say that the Gettysburg museum light show showing different battles did leave much to be desired and is still a family joke to this day.

Kennedy went on her first field trip this week to the Fire Station. We had a tour with a reallly nice fireman and the kids got to watch him slide down the pole twice. They thought that was the coolest. He put on all his gear for them and at the end they got fireman hats, stickers and even tattoos. It was really cute and Kennedy was so hyper and excited the whole time, she could not stand still. Here is a combined picture of the two preschool classes. Nice smerk Ken.
Here is the fireman in all his gear showing the kids not to be afraid of him.
Kennedy driving the fire truck in her cool new hat.
This year for Halloween Kennedy is going to be Fancy Nancy and Sophie is the Posh Puppy. If you haven't read the Fancy Nancy books you should, they are darling. That is one fat poodle! Kennedy and I couldn't help ourselves, we put it on her the day it came in the mail and we laughed and laughed.
Here is Kenndy driving around our little buddy Holden. Before I was able to catch the shot Holden had his arm around Kennedy in the back, Lacey and I were crackin up. They looked like they were off on a hot date.

This week has been busy with play groups, preschool, and my first night at Young Womens. I am a Laurels assistant activities advisor. The calling may be a stretch but I really enjoyed getting together with the girls. They did a show and tell abou themselves and it was fun to learn about them. They are all really sweet and funny. At the end Kennedy stood in the middle of them all and taught them some dance moves which they followed. She was in HEAVEN and was laughing so hard. Thanks for being such good sports girls.

Tonight we have a game night with a bunch of couples in our ward and then tomorrow night I am going to the Relief Society Broadcast. Should be a nice weekend.

If you didn't get my email make sure you register if you haven't. www.rockthevote.com

This election, our economy and all that is going on right now makes me so nervous. I will have to post about that later.

Boulder, bikes, balloons and ...beer?

We had an interesting mix up this weekend. On Saturday there was a family fair with blow up jump houses, face painting, free food etc. We showed up right when it started at 10 with Lacey and walked around. No jump houses, no free anything and a whole lot of beer stands. We thought this was interesting since it was a family affair but we just played at the park and hoped the free stuff would come soon. It never did. Kennedy got her arm painted, we bought some food and then we headed out so we could meet Erin in Boulder. We later found out that we were at an Oktoberfest celebration and the family fair was further down the road...oops. That would explain the old lady walking around in her lederhosen.

We headed off to Boulder, which was a beautiful drive. We met up with Erin and her kids and Spencer met up with us after he was done climbing. We (the Farris family, Erin's fam and us) all walked around and went into the shops on Pearl Street, people watched and let the kids play along the way. We ended up eating at a pizza place, yum and then we headed back home. There was an interesting crowd in Boulder...apparently bras, razors and regular baths are not on the up and up in the town. Kennedy got a cool hat made by yet another peculiar Boulder character and we called it a day.

Earlier this week we were able to find Kennedy a little Strawberry Shortcake bike with training wheels (on Craig's list) and she has been riding it every free minute since. She made a little friend down the street, Audra and so they ride together. I also got her haircut this weekend and took off about three inches. I think it turned out cute...it was getting a bit unruly.

ABC easy as 123...

Kennedy started her little pre-school today. She had some funny little comments this morning as she was asking about what they were going to do. "Mom it sounds like it's just a lot of hard work" she said. "I have to bring my backpack of course (course pronounced coors like she is from New York)." "Okay pre-school here I come." And when I dropped her off at the ladies house she runs up to the door, knocks and when the door opened she quickly handed her backpack to Lisa and said "here ya go, I brought treats (there was nothing in her backpack)." and she headed up their stairs. So you will understand why I wasn't the least bit sad because I know Kennedy is totally comfortable and frankly it's two hours of freedom! I may have even done a little side hop heel tap as Lisa closed the door.

The picture above was the only semi normal one. The one below, she was getting a bit sick of the picture taking..she was ready to get some edumacation.My fat little Sophie in her new bumbo chair I bought off craigs list. I think she looks like me when I was a baby, just a big ol' butterball. She is so sweet. I really couldn't have asked for a better, calmer baby.

Tagged, again.

I have been tagged with a different little questionaire so here goes...

The Five

10 years ago I
1. Was a freshman in college
2. Went to Europe for the first and only time
3. Lived in Juniper Hall with Janelle (community bathrooms and all)
4. Met one of my best friends Melissa Marchant who also lived in Juniper Hall
5. Welcomed my new sister in law Bobbi to the family

5 things on todays "to do" list
1. workout- try morning spinning class
2. fold laundry
3. scrapbook
4. look for a bike for Kennedy on Craigs List
5. Go to the library for storytime

5 snacks I enjoy
1. raspberries/blueberries
2. dark chocolate
3. honey wheat twisted pretzel sticks (thanks for that suggestion Erin...LOVE THEM)
4. chips and homemade salsa
5. pickles

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire
1. Travel, travel, travel and did I mention travel?
2. Pay off student loans
3. Donate to chairty that we could participate in, travel to other countries and help with orphanages, aids education etc. Maybe with church humanitarian aide?
4. Give a portion to both my and Michael's family
5. Save for kids school

5 places I have lived
1. West Jordan, Utah
2. Cedar City, Utah
3. Grand Prairie, Texas
4. Aurora, Colorado
5. wherever we get a good job after school

5 jobs I have had
1. Gap
2. Old Navy
3. JCPenney Photographer
4. Glovers Nursury water girl
5. History Teacher

I tag...

1. Stef Knox
2. Melissa Marchant
3. Micah Baker
4. Brenda Petersen
5. Mindy Pearson

Protect Our Children

I was watching Oprah today and they were discussing sexual abuse and child pornography on the internet. I couldn't watch the whole show because not only was I having an emotional reaction to it but was physically sick from what was being discussed. I could not believe the things that are done to children in the United States and throughout the world on the internet and in private. Many of these horrible acts done to children too young to even tell someone what has happened, some are even infants. I have always had such a hatred and disgust for pornography in all forms. I know that it destroys lives, marriages and individuals. If you would like to help do something to protect the thousands of children being exploited please read the following and act as soon as possible.

Help Pass Senate Bill 1738—The PROTECT Our Children Act

Hundreds of thousands of children are victims of sexual abuse each year. Due to the sheer lack of resources, law enforcement is unable to follow up on the majority of leads they have.The PROTECT Our Children Act will:

Authorize over $320 million over the next five years in desperately needed funding for law enforcement to investigate child exploitation.

Mandate that child rescue be a top priority for law enforcement receiving federal funding.

Allocate funds for high-tech computer software that can track down Internet predators.

Act Now!Your U.S. senators will be voting on the bill soon, so it is crucial you contact them immediately.Go to www.senate.gov to find contact information for the senators in your state. Search for your senator by name or state by clicking on the arrow from either dropdown menu. Contact information is provided here.

To send an e-mail, click on "Web Form" below his or her name, and e-mail your letter to make a difference! Call Your SenatorsIf you choose to contact your senators by phone, be sure to tell them, "Vote yes on Senate Bill 1738—The PROTECT Our Children Act."

Write to Your Senators If you choose to write a letter, fax, telegram or e-mail, you may use the following sample letter—and modify it how you see fit.
Dear Senator:I know that you believe, like I do, that we must do everything possible to protect children from sexual predators. That is why I am asking for your help.Last year alone, U.S. law enforcement identified over 300,000 criminals who were trafficking in movies and pictures of young children being raped and tortured. Experts say that one in every three of these criminals has local child victims. Child pornography trafficking over the Internet has given us a trail of evidence that leads straight to their doorsteps, but the vast majority of these children will never be rescued because investigators are overwhelmed, outnumbered and underfunded.As your constituent, I urge you to do everything in your power to pass the PROTECT Our Children Act (S. 1738, Biden-Hatch). This bipartisan legislation passed the House 415-2, but it is now the victim of petty partisan politics.Now that we know where these children are and how to protect them, there is no excuse for the Senate to fail to take action this session.(Your name here)

Instructions for How to Copy and Paste the LetterTo copy and paste the letter into your senator's web form at www.senate.gov, point your mouse arrow at the beginning of the text that you want to copy. Click your left mouse button and hold it down. While holding the left mouse button, drag your arrow to the end of the text that you want to copy. Release the button. The text should be highlighted. Place your mouse arrow over the highlighted text, click your right mouse button once and let go. A new menu should appear. Select Copy from the drop down menu. When you get to the message form field for your senator at www.senate.gov, point your arrow at the beginning of the message field that you want to copy your text to and right click with your mouse. Click Paste from this menu. Submit your form and help our children!

My running partners

I have been slowly trying to get back into running and it has been rough but gets more and more enjoyable the more I do it. I have been taking Sophie and Kennedy with me in our jogging stroller/bike trailor and Ken has become my little trainer. She tells me to run faster or that I am "the fastest runner in the world". Thanks Ken. She even likes to push the stroller and run herself when I am cooling down, it's amazing to me the amount of energy kids have. I wish I could just bottle it up and run off of Kennedy's energy because she NEVER runs out. I am so greatful for my little girls. We had a lesson today in Relief Society about being Children of God and that even our own kids are given to us by God to raise. It makes all those moments of frustration a little more bearable when we remember how important our role is. Plus it helps when they are stinkin cute and say funny things like "mom I am thankful for you, you're my best friend", which Kennedy said to me after reading about Dora's Thanksgiving.

I met a lot of new women today in our ward and was able to hopefully organize some play groups and join a pre-school co-op that our ward does, rotating from home to home with the group of kids once a week. Kennedy will be thrilled.
I have joined facebook recently and been able to get in touch with some old friends from high school and college. It's been fun to see what people have been up to. I joined on a fluke from a friend request from someone but some of my cousins are on there and it has been interesting to see what it's all about. I am about two weeks away from turing 30 and I am king of freaking out. If I end up in my room crying in the fetal position, don't be suprised.
Just a sidenote about my Kennedy. On our way home from church today she was griping about her tights so I told her to take them off and she said "but mom then I won't look so pretty". This is the girl who always asks me if her shoes match. I am being asked to get off the computer by Kennedy to perform our cheerleading for Sophie and Dad so I guess my spirit fingers are calling.....

What a week!

Tues: We had the missionarie over for dinner tonight (Tuesday) and it was so nice. They were so stinkin cute and sweet. They left us with a nice message and a great spirit in our home. I couldn't help but think of my past students that are mission age and are out having dinner with families right now, ahhhhh. It is so cool.


Kenney kept asking me to get the sly flopper all night. I could not tell what she was saying until we managed to deduce that she was talking about the fly swatter.


After I worked out at the gym today I grabbed the kids from the kids zone and got them all ready to go swimming (it took probably 20 minutes). I had to feed sophie, and then change both the girls and get changed. Kennedy kept staring at the women changing in the locker room and she was all over the place. When we were finally ready we headed out to the pool only to be told that on tuesdays the family swim hours are later. Oh well. We will try again tomorrow.

I was able to take the girls swimming the next day and they wore the swimsuits I got at Target for $2 each. Sophies was a 2t...she is a fat baby but come on now. Poor sophie had to get her four month old shots today. I think they were harder on me than they were her but Ken was a great big sis and kept telling Sophie that "it'll be okay, I'm right here Sophen." So cute. Ken came up with her own nickname for Sophie and calls her Sophen.

For an update on my crazy daughter one thing that has helped with her going to bed is that I made a tape of me reading books and she loves to listen to it. I did feel like a total dork late at night and during naps reading childrens books into a tape recorder while I worked on the tape but she really likes to listen to them and I tried to choose her favorites. Thanks for all of your suggestions for helping her (and me) out.

Wednesday: Because I am feeling guilty that my daughter isn't in preschool I decided to try and focus on a different letter for each week and do some activities to teach the letter. This week is brought to you by the letter "A" we worked on her uppercase and lowercase A's and then made stamps out of apples. It was pretty fun, despite the look on her face. I think for the rest of the week we will sit on our A's. ha ha.



Thursday: Today was a bittersweet day for me. As I was driving out to Fort Collins to hang out with my friend Erin I drove by a line of flags all lowered in rememberence of September 11th and I got a little choked up. I can remember the day so vividly. I was eating breakfast and watching the news just as the first plane hit. Then the second plane hit and I was screaming to my mom to come see what happened. I taught school that day and the whole school day was so sad and chaotic and kids were confused and scared. It was so horrible. The only upside was that night Mike and I went for a walk (we were beginning to date at the time) and while we were laying on the grass talking he kissed me while I was in mid-sentence. This was our first kiss. Obviously I will never forget it because of the day that it happened. I can't believe it has been so long since that day.

In Fort Collins today we let the kids run around and play dress up. We went to historic mainstreet and walked around checking out stores and had lunch at the spicy pickle. The kids loved the toy store and the cookies. I loved the Gellato and our visit to Sierra Trading Post where I bought a very cute hat for the winter. We had many a melt down but overall had a great time. What can you expect from a six hour play date with 3 and 4 year olds? Did I mention that we love being close to Erin and that I have a little crush on her little Milo- he is the sweetest little boy!

I can feel the winter coming...

"Does this hat make my face look fat?"
This is a classic Kennedy face- she is so over pictures.
I love this little hat, I need to learn to make hats because

there are so many cute ones out there!

Today was a bit chilly and I wasn't feeling great so the girls and I stayed home and did laundry, dishes and cleaned all day. We did break out the hats for a little outing and boy did they look cute! I love winter. I love hats, scarves, sweaters, coats, boots, I love it all. I love to cuddle up inside and read a good book while it is cold outside, or better yet- snowing. I can't wait to have snow again this year, I really missed it last year. I can't wait for hot chocolate and snowmen it is going to be so fun to have a yard. Funny thing is that I bought the girls swimsuits today for indoor swimming at our gym- nothing like getting $2 swimsuits at Target. Ken wore hers the rest of the night with her new church shoes and all the jewlery she could manage to fit on her neck and wrists. I spent a lot of the day looking into swimming lessons, indoor soccer, preschool, kindermusik, dance class, gymnastics etc. just to try and figure out what I wanted to put her in this year. I think I may go with swim and preschool for now? Thanks to our trip to Grand Junction we came home with some huge squash so I am excited to try out a few recipes that I looked up today. I may try them on the missionaries that we are feeding tomorrow, they'll eat anything right?

Serenity from the hideous threes

The stinkin adorable baby giraffe at the Denver Zoo.
The kids having lunch, notice Kennedy's almonds and juice for lunch...lovely.
Baby snow leapords..so adorable!

Before I begin my rant I would like to state that of course I love my three year old. She is fabulous, adorable, funny and such a blessing. Having said that I am at my wits end with her. If the "twos" are suppose to be "terrible" what are three year olds because I think it is worse. Hideous, horrible, tiring, exasperating, frustrating...the list could go on and on. Kennedy is sooooooooooo high maintainance in every regard. She was difficult at two and has been strong willed her whole life but now that she is three she is stubborn and is pushing me to the limits while testing her own limits. She won't stay in bed at night, she wines all the time, when she wakes up from a nap or from bed she is so onory EVERYTHING becomes a battle, she wants me to entertain her all day long, she will hardly eat anything until the days when she wants to eat every waking moment, she won't share, she won't listen, she has regressed from being totally potty trained twice (once after having sophie and once now since we moved), the list goes on and on. Although we do have many great moments together I am about losing it with her. After spending the weekend in Fruita near Grand Junction for my nieces baptism, Lexi, and being totally emberrased at my little Kennedy's behavior I just don't know what to do. It is not for lack of trying either; we have done time outs, taken away priveledges, taken away toys, given rewards for good behavior, talked to her, hand slaps and even spanking. The real highlite was today when we were in sacrament and she yelled "I don't want to be in this family anymore." She has been through a lot in the last while with moving and getting a new baby sis. She doesn't really have friends nearby yet that are her age so that is also really hard.

We also went to the zoo with my friends Erin, Lacey and their kids and mid-fit the odd giraffe lady came up and was trying to talk to Ken, what the? I felt so bad because Ken was so mean to Milo because she has a weird "boys are stinky" thing going on. Does anyone else have a child or children they struggle with and does anyone have suggestions for my sanity?

By the way..the drive from Denver to Grand Juction is beautiful. We passed through the most beautiful mountains and gorgeous towns like Vail and near Breckenridge. It was really nice and went by quick since there was so much to look at.

Tagged

I got tagged by my old friend Leslie from my middle school teaching days. Thanks Les, I feel like such an official blogger now.
1. Post these rules.
2. Tell about 5 unspectacular quirks of yours.
3. Tag 5 fellow bloggers by linking them.

1. I am a very clean, obnoxiously so, person. Leslie use to come into my classroom and move my stapler askew just to see how long it would take me to fix it. I am famous for putting away my families silverwear off the counter before they are done using it. My brothers HATE that I clean everything. I use to clean their rooms and it would drive them up a freakin wall.
2. I don't like being told what to do (just like you les). My roommate Melissa once told me a better way to cook a potato in the microwave and I just looked at her and said "hum thats nice". It's good that we can laugh about my bratty moments now..sorry mel.
3. I have weird nervous habits like playing with my eyebrows (my little bro Blake loves that one) and most of us Loosli's chew on our fingernails or bite them. I also play with my hair a lot!
4. I hate and avoid awkward moments as much as I can. My college roommates use to make fun of me because when I would like someone I wouldn't do much about it because it may result in an "awkward moment".
5. I like the smell of skunks. This is my niece and nephews (syd and Mckays) favorite. People always tell me..."whenever I smell a skunk I think of you" hum..not sure how to take that.

I tag Melissa Marchant, Melissa Hooley, Amy McDonald, Tracey Cook and Jill Walker.

Get Your Grub On

I have had recipes that several different people have asked for so I thought I would post them and share them with everyone. If you have a favorite easy recipe you want to share with me I would love it.
Melissa's Cookies (friend from college, these cookies are famous)
Bake at 400 for 5-6 minutes

1 lb butter
2 c. sugar
2 c. brown sugar

4 eggs
tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
2 tsp soda
2 tsp baking powder
4 1/2 c. flour
3 c. quaker oats
12 oz chocolate chips
one king size hershey almond bar chopped up and added to the dough

My Favorite Salsa (often requested by my brother Tyler)
1 small jalepino pepper
5 lg. roma tomatoes
1 c. fresh cilantro
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 cloves garlic
1/4 c. fresh lime juice
1/3-1/2 cup red onion

Chop up everything as small as you can then add to the food processor and chop together until it is the chunkiness you like in a salsa. I usually double or triple the recipe because it goes fast.

Autumn Soup
1 lb ground hamburger (or ground turkey is also really good)
1 c. onion
1 c. carrots
1 c. potatoes
4 c. water (or I use chicken stock)
1 c. celery
1 28 oz. can of stew tomatoes cut up
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp basil
bay leaf
chop up all ingredients and put in pot to cook until veggies, mostly potatoes, are cooked through.

Oriental Cashew Chicken
cube chicken and marinate in the following:
3 Tb chicken broth
3 Tb soy sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
shake of garlic salt
1 egg white

marinate for 30 minutes and cook. Add 1/2-1 cup cashews and sliced green onions toward the end. Serve over rice.

Mom's Banana Bread
cook at 350 45-50 minutes

1/3 c. shortening
1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
combine
mix dry ingredients and alternate with 1 cup mashed bananas
1 3/4 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt

my mom usually adds 1/2 cup chopped walnuts and chocolate chips. I have made it with frozen raspberries and that is really good too!

Creamy Lowfat Pesto
4 garlic cloves, unpeeled
3 cups fresh basil leaves, stems and buds discarded
1 oz parmesan cheese (about 1/2 cup), grated
1/4 c part-skim ricotta cheese
1 shallot, minced (about 3 tablespoons)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
-Toast the garlic cloves in a small skillet over medium heat. Shake the pan occasionally until the color of the cloves deepens slightly--about 7 minutes. Transfer to a plate, cool, peel, and mince.
-Place the basil leaves in a big ziplock bag. Pound the bag with a meat pounder or a rolling pin until all of the leaves are bruised. (This step helps to release even more of the basil's flavor.)
-Process the garlic, basil, cheeses, shallot, oil, and 1/2 tsp salt in a food processor (or 3 cup food chopper) until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste.
-This is enough to coat about 1 pound of pasta.
-We LOVE this on whole wheat pasta with grilled chicken breasts that have been marinated in balsamic vinaigrette (any brand will do but we love Newman's Own), grilled, cooled slightly, and cut into strips.
I roasted some yellow squash, some red onion, a red bell pepper, and a zuchinni and tossed that with it and some grilled chicken (marinated in balsamic vinagrette dressing). To roast the veggies, cut into chunks, toss with some olive oil and salt, spread on a cookie sheet and stick them under the broiler. Keep a close eye on them and turn them often.

Worth Mentioning

I have been thinking about some books, movies and recipes that I have wanted to recommend so I thought this was the fastest way to reach my family and friends.

Movies first...I saw Helen Hunt on Letterman promoting this show and so I rented it yesterday and I really liked it. I will warn you that is had some F bombs but the story is very different and frankly if Collin Firth is in it I am usually on board. Good writing, witty and sweet.

Mike and I saw the stage version of Mama Mia years ago with family and friends and we laughed and danced through the whole thing. If it wasn't totally embarrassing I would have done the same through the movie. SO CUTE! Some of the actors voices left a bit to be desired but the songs were so fun (who doesn't love ABBA) and the dancing and humor were perfect.

I am about 3/4ths of the way through the book but haven't had time to sit down and finish this. So far I love it. Mike finished it before his clinicals started (I love that my husband is 10% gay and will read girl books and watch chick flicks with me). I heard that on Stephenie Meyeres site you can read some of the new book from Edwards point of view...when will I ever find the time to indulge?

Speaking of books Ken and I found three that we really like at our new library.

And then there is our swing that we LOVE! Mostly because it plugs in and we use to spend a fortune on batteries (our kids sleep in their swings A LOT). It is the fisher price rain forest swing.

Labor Day

We didn't do much today to celebrate the holiday, but it was nice to have a day to relax with the family. Mike went mountain biking this morning and then Ken and I did some grocery shopping and checked out the Lifetime Fitness gym by our house, we decided to join. It it beautiful inside, looks like a spa and is much more family oriented and less of a meat market...which I love. The kids area is amazing and they offer a lot of fun classes and lessons for kids so I am excited for that. They have a great spinning studio, which I really enjoyed in Texas and some nice pools for me and the girls to enjoy. It should be a lot of fun, we are going to try it out for our first day tomorrow. I am also starting to get back into running starting today. I am getting ready for a 10k at the first of November. Sounds like a long way away but I haven't really run a whole lot since having Sophie so it will be a process getting back into it but I am excited. Today I think I'll try a trail by our house. I thought I would post some pictures of a few rooms in our house now that we are unpacked and somewhat decorated.

Living room just off the kitchen.
Kitchen..duh.
Sophie's crib in the girls room that they share. They both have ABC bedding that matches, we still need to actually hang up the ruler growth chart but I think it turned out cute.
Kennedy's bed. They have the red curtains and you can't really tell but their rug is sage green. We have tried to cover this house in rugs since we are renting and the carpet is almost white. Yikes.