a laid back sort of day

I had such a nice weekend!  Saturday I went to my Zumba class - it dragged on and on though!  Me and my co-worker both looked at each other after 30 minutes and were like, "WHAT another 30 minutes still!?" Made me realize that you can't miss almost 3 weeks (one week was only a half hour so it didn't really count) and not work out consistently during the week if I want to last through Zumba.  So, this week I have worked out every day since Saturday.  I found a work-out on Netflix I really like!  It's called Crunch: CardioSculpt with Violet Zaki (if you're interested) and it does both cardio and weight training, so I like it!  It's a 36ish minute workout, but I only do about 28 minutes of it, because the last 8 minutes is all ab work on the floor I simply cannot do right now (believe me, I tried)!


I also turned on the yogamama and had to turn it off.  Waaaaay too cheesy for me.


Anyway.  Saturday.  So I went and bought my calcium pills, picked up my friend Susan, and we headed to the women's retreat thingy.  We were both kind of disappointed by the event.  I mean, it was a nice event with good food, prizes, and a fun little craft (which neither of us actually did), but they never pulled everyone together to do anything that the conference was supposed to do.  My understanding was that they were supposed to show some videos and get people talking to each other.  But, it basically just turned into a women's fellowship for three hours.  Susan and I just sat on a couch and talked - and we actually had a great time catching up and not running out of things to talk about the whole time, but we no one really tried to connect with us.


I was supposed to go to work afterward, but my boss asked me if I wanted the night off!  I said sure, and instead met Jeremy and Shea on my way home.  He was headed out to go play disc golf with a few guys, so while he did that, Shea and I went shopping.  Then we picked him up, ate dinner, and headed home to roast a few marshmallows with the cousins.


Sunday I had to work all day.  This month I figure I am just not going to be at church, since I'm working weekends only now.  I really didn't mind being at work after having five days off that week!  This week I don't work until Friday from 12-5, and then I have all day shifts on Saturday and Sunday.  It's nice that I am still able to work about 25 hours just on the weekend, so we can save up some more money before baby comes!  I am planning on quitting for sure after May, or just working Saturdays at the point, but I cannot even contain how excited I am about not working!


Today, Jeremy went off to work and Shea and I went to Silverdale to meet up with my sister-in-law and another lady from our church and her daughter.  After the kids played at a park and the mall play area for about an hour and a half, we said our goodbyes and headed home.  I was tired, but had to stop at the grocery store and to pick up some shaving cream for Jeremy.  We went to Wendy's and WalMart, and when we got home we both crashed and slept for 2 hours!


I have not had a 2 hour nap in a loooong time and I really needed it.  After that, I cleaned up the kitchen, cleaned out the refrigerator, and played trains with Shea for a while.


In other news: my cilantro is growing!!  I took this picture on Saturday, and the sprouts are even bigger today!  My Basil is growing too, but you couldn't really see it in the picture.  I am excited for my herb garden, and I think I need to plant a few more before it gets too late.

Here is Shea.  We were playing outside on Saturday before I left for my women's "conference".

And Jeremy, just for fun.

I made myself a green smoothie just now too.  Had some fruit to use up and haven't been eating enough spinach lately.  It went from this (banana, pineapple, orange juice, strawberries, yogurt, and spinach):

To this!

It mostly just tasted like banana and orange juice, so I'm going to have to play around with the recipe.  Shea LOVED it though.  I might have finally found a way for him to eat some spinach!

Well, Shea is throwing markers every where now, and I need to figure out what to make for dinner tonight!  Happy Monday!

Our last morning

It is currently 7:20 am, Paul and I have been up since about 6 which is the time we got up every day on this vacation, which is awesome.  It is going to make the three hour time change seem like nothing since my ususal schedule is go to bed at midnight and wake up at 9 and I have been going to bed at 9 and waking up at 6 here. So perfect.  

This is my last outfit picture for this vacation.  I have had the grey dress for a long time, I don't even remember when I got it, but this is the most I have worn it in years. I love t-shirt material dresses, best invention ever.  I got the blue dress for 8 dollars at ross right before leaving on vacation and love it.  It shrunk in the dryer here and it was already really short, so I will just be wearing it with legging when we get home.  And my hair?  Yeah, it has gone crazy here.  It has been in a ponytail for the last week, falling out of that ponytail half the time.  and has been drenched in saltwater more times than I can count. I have loved not blow drying it or straightening it though! 

So Paul got a little burnt yesterday snorkeling and playing with the turtles in the ocean, his poor back is going to be killing him on the plane.  I managed to not get too burnt this vacation but I have a small spot on my nose (because my sunglasses reflected so much sun to one spot!) and the very top of my hairline, apparently I didn't get sunscreen quite high enough.  The hairline burn is quite painful! 

We have to be out of the condo by 10am and our fight leaves at 2:55.  We are going to leave right at 10, go to a handmade marketplace (hopefully I get some cute stuff!!), and grab some lunch.  Then around 1 we are going to drop off the rental car, take a shuttle to the airport, and sit in the hot, muggy waiting area till they board our plane.  

The next time I talk to you girls I will be back in cold, rainy, Washington.  

Moving Day!

Yay moving day is finally here!  I have been getting the worst sleep all week because I can't stop thinking about our new house.  We got the keys yesterday, but since Justin was working we couldn't move till today so in about 45 minutes we're going to do our last drive to Simcoe, load up the u-haul and drive to Oakville.  I did drive over to our new house yesterday and took a look at it again.  Its a lot nicer than I remember!  The landlord steam cleaned all the carpets and took out the stains in it-it looks brand new now!  I was with my sister-in-law when we looked at the house and then afterwards we checked out the Salvation Army thrift store a few streets over and found out that the last Friday of every month is 50% off all clothing!  Not only did we find good stuff but it was really cheap too!  I wish I could take pictures of what I bought but my camera cord is packed away somewhere.  We don't get internet till May 2nd, but hopefully I'll be able to post some pictures of our new place before then!  I loved reading all your posts this morning while I drank my coffee, it is such a good way to start he day!

What I've been up to

Oh girls - it has been GLORIOUS being at home all week!  I work today at 4, and tomorrow I have almost the entire day off!  I am so looking forward to Zumba in the morning, my women's conference in the afternoon, and then I don't start work until 6 and only work for 4.5 hours!  It is amazing how energizing it is being home.  I haven't done a whole lot other than catching up on laundry and keeping the kitchen clean (oh my goodness, I was getting so lazy about that lately!  So nice to not have dirty dishes on the counter all the time), but have started a whole mental list of projects to work on in my spare time.

I'm not sure that I have ever posted a picture of our big... room.  Not sure what to call it, ha.  This is the main room of the house, basically, because we don't use our front door.  Our front door goes into our living room/dining room, but our sliding doors is what everyone really goes in and out of.  The sliding doors are to the left of the desk in the first picture.  Anyway, last night I did some rearranging.  I set up Shea's little "Desk" and framed some of his artwork.  He was SO excited about it - I have to go get some more frames (I only had two, and he his become quite the artist lately!).  I think I am going to get a binder with some page protectors too, so I can save his pictures for him without displaying them on every available surface of the house.  Excuse the cluttered desk, that is also a project for this week.

I rearranged his toys over on this wall - this is straight across from the doorway and there is a big empty space in the middle of the room.  I'd love to have a couch in here at some point, because this is where we hang out mainly.  The kitchen opens up to it and Shea plays in here, so someday maybe we will get one in here!

Now one of the major projects on my TO DO list is the guest bathroom...have I SHOWN you our lovely pink bathroom?  OH dear.  Here it goes.  It has more or less become a storage room, but that HAS to change before this baby comes!  It is piled with tools and paint on the vanity right now.  There is all the hookups for a shower, but it just has carpet over that area right now. My plan is to 1.) PAINT the walls and cabinets and possibly the counter, 2.) put in some laminate flooring instead of the carpeting, 3.) paint that awful mirror, and 4.) utilize the shower space better.  I think I'm going to hang up a shower curtain to still make it feel like a normal bathroom, but my new laundry sorting cart will go on one side (I just picked it up at walmart the other day and am a little too excited about it) and changing table will go on the other.  The changing table is in Shea's room right now, but I don't want to have to interrupt naps if one kid is up and needs a diaper change.  Plus, this way I will be right by the laundry for cloth diapers and big messes.  Okay, now I have shared it.  Maybe that will motivate me to really get something done about it!

Here is the baby blanket I have been knitting.  It is coming along and it is so fun to have something to pick up and work on.  I work on it mostly while Shea is playing outside - I love to be able to sit in the sun and keep an eye on him while doing something relaxing with my hands.  I never thought I would enjoy knitting, but this has been a good beginner project for me!

I also bought some new nail polish (it is a little more purple than it looks in the picture) and painted both my toenails and my fingernails.  I actually managed to do a decent job on my fingers, too, which just about NEVER happens which is why I never paint them.  I think it might have to do with the brand of nail polish.  It was only 2 dollars at walmart, but works better than the stuff I've had forever.  I think I'm going to try to keep the habit up.  It just makes me feel a little more polished.  (har har).

These are my new indoor plants.  I should be able to tell you what they are, but I have no idea.  I just saw them at Walmart for a couple of bucks and decided to get them!  Love how bright and green and easy to take care of they are!  This one is in the kitchen,

And this one is in our bedroom window for now.

And this is the view out our window today.  We have been working in the yard lately, so its a mess, but it is getting better!  My mother-in-law is amazing and has been digging up everything to get my vegetable garden ready.  Love that lady!

The other wonderful thing about being home lately is that I have been letting my hair dry naturally, since I don't have to rush off anywhere.  It feels so nice to have it be in its natural wavy state, but it was a little sad when I went to my prenatal appointment and my midwife thought I had "done" my hair that day.  I said, "no, this is how my hair looks when I don't do it!"  Nice compliment, but sad that I straighten my hair that much!  I haven't straightened it all week, so hopefully this will be a new trend for me.  It takes so much less time to let it do its own thing, anyway!

And OF COURSE, I've been loving spending time with this kiddo - even if at times I want to pull my hair out.  He has been into "NO" a lot lately.  Today we finger painted, colored in his giant dinosaur book together, played with pretend food, and finally it got nice out so I let him loose outside with his cousins!  That is the best break for me all day.  And nap time.  I just put holds on a bunch of preschool books at the library today, because I want to get some more ideas to keep this kid busy with activities during the day (and to help my sanity).  Plus, I don't think I'll be sending him to Preschool next year, unless I end up being the Teacher's Assistant at the church one, then he will come, of course.

And that is life this week!  Jeremy has been enjoying his job and we have already started a really nice morning family routine.  Today all I can think about is how good God is, the rest He brings to us, and the way His goodness shines all around when we take the time to look and reflect.

I love summer clothes.

I wished I lived somewhere where I could wear summer clothes for at least 3-4 months of the year.  They are about a million times more comfortable.  Your body can breathe, I love it.  You wear dresses meaning you don't have to wear pants, oh heaven! 

I let Amber borrow everything I was wearing in the picture for her trip to Hawaii, I wonder if she has pictures of herself in it. Haha.  I was super tired while taking this, probably because it was 6:30 in the morning, but no big deal. 

It has been wonderful having this week off from working out, my body is loving the break, but man let me tell you, I also need to get back into working out when I get back home.  I may even need to join Amber doing Jillian Michaels a few days.  Eating all day and laying on a beach doesn't help the figure, but it is oh so fun! 

All these outfits in just one day.

I am a little pink, but still loving being in the sun for hours daily. I apply sunscreen every hour or so while outside, and so far it's kinda working.  I will definitely still leave with some color.  

The weather is in the mid 70's to high 80's throughout the day, and Paul is baffled that I can lay on the couch with a blanket covering my legs at times.  I can't explain it, it's hot and humid, but a blanket still feels good.  We haven't turned off the three ceiling fans since we arrived and don't plan on it.  

I have done 3 loads of laundry and one load of dishes (in the dishwasher).  I pick up our little 700 sq ft condo on a regular basis, but it is not like taking care of a house.  It is still so relaxing.  

I love not cooking a single meal, though we eat out only once a day.  We bought bagels, fruit, yogurt, and english muffins for breakfast. I always have leftovers from whatever meal we eat out, and we have bought little snacks here and there.  

We have been going to bed at 8-9pm daily and waking up anywhere from 5:45 to 6 am, it is so awesome.  I wish I had this schedule daily! 

I take at least 2 showers a day- one in the morning and one after a long stint of laying on the beach or playing in the ocean, because lets be honest, sunscreen and salt water don't feel all that good on the skin.  Oh, and I get heat rash (have it on my tummy and hands right now), so the more I shower the  better it feels.  

Today we are going to Kihei to swim on one of the many beaches and eat at a shaved ice place that puts ice cream in there as well.  I'll let you know how it is. : )

As for right now I am updating the blog and facebook while eating a pineapple bagel and plan on reading my book (The Help) after I shut the computer. Paul is watching Top Shot on tv.  

a day in the sun

I survived the weekend!  I worked 8 1/2 hours on Friday, 10 1/2 hours on Saturday, and 6 hours on Sunday.  It was so sunny and warm and extremely busy at work!  When I got my schedule for the week on Sunday though, I was a little disappointed to see that I was working 7 hours on Monday, but we got though it and now I don't work again until Friday (with less hours for the entire weekend, but still some long shifts).

Since I didn't start until 3 on Monday, we got out and enjoyed the sun all day!  After some crepes for breakfast, we all went for a walk to the Indianola Country Store and got some coffee and cookies.  Then we walked on the dock for a few minutes and headed home with the plan to go to the beach later that day once the tide went out.  I did a load of laundry and got it out on the line, and then the cousins came out and Shea played with them for a while. 

We had a bunch of hotdogs leftover from a picnic on Sunday, so we decided to have a little bbq picnic in the yard with my sister-in-law (Tawny) and the kids.  So fun to be able to spontaneously do things like that on a normal day!  After lunch, we headed down to the beach.  This is the first time Shea had been out there when it is warm and the tide is out.  Jeremy and I set up camp (we brought my guitar and his djembe drum) and told Shea he could go wherever we could see him.  The beach is HUGE and there was only one other person out, so at first he was like "uuuh, are you sure I'm allowed to do this?" but after a little while he started wandering and playing by himself.

Can you believe we have this amazing beach right across the street?  I was astounded yesterday by the fact that I can go and spend an hour or two on the beach on a day when I have work, and its not a big ordeal, since there is no travel time and we live so close we don't have to pack a million things for a big outing.  LOVE IT.  The tide goes out so far too!  The water was warm in the tide pools and the sand is so soft.  Most peaceful place ever.  And I love how you can see both the Cascades and the Olympics just by turning your head.  Seattle is in the distance on the left, and the land on the right is Bainbridge Island (too bad there isn't a bridge straight across, my commute time would be so much shorter).

Work was low-key and uneventful.  It was at the slower store and I was working with Liz, who is probably one of my favorite co-workers to work with, so it was kind of like being paid to hang out.

But there is some other good news that I am so happy about!  Jeremy got a call yesterday from a family he knows who owns a window washing company.  He's going to start working with them on Wednesday and it looks like it will probably turn into 30+ hours a week or so (probably less to start), making more an hour than I do.  With this job, and still doing his part-time landscaping and the 8 hours a week at the church, he will definitely be able to support us when I stop working.  This also means that once his work becomes regular (we'll see how it goes!), I can start reducing my hours at work and maybe only work 15 or 20 hours a week for now, so we can keep saving money until the baby comes and I stop working completely.  I'm hoping that happens in the next week or two so I can start getting things ready for baby.

Just the other day I was reading my bible and journaling (I tend to write my prayers a lot when I journal) and I was feeling so worn out from work and wanting to just stop and wanting to know why God wasn't letting me stop!  But, knowing that God knew my desires and that He was going to work something out sooner or later gave me such peace.  And then the following week, Jeremy was given this opportunity to work.  Its also so interesting, because I don't think he would've been offered this job if he hadn't reformed the relationship with the owner.  And that happened through him forming the Men's group at the church.  Things happen in community.  It is so important to be part of a community, because God provides so much through it.  I don't know how long we will be here in Indianola, but it is a small and tight-knit community, and I think we are both learning a lot about being part of that, which is the thing we have probably longed for most since we got married.

Anyway, I have had a wonderful morning home with my little boy while Jeremy is mowing lawns today.  I have a pre-natal appointment at 2 and am getting my blood drawn (which is not usually a big deal, but hopefully I don't almost black out again like last time!).  Shea has been so good - we did a fun dinosaur project with stickers, watched a number show together while I knit (pictures to come soon!) and have been playing and reading books all morning.  I cleaned the kitchen, and still have the bedrooms and bathroom to tidy today, but I'm taking it easy because I have 2 more days off to get all this housework done!

LOVE love love hearing what is going on in everyone's lives!

Oh How He Loves Us

I felt so blessed today at church.  This was our last Sunday there and although we've only been going there for four months the pastor said goodbye to us from the pulpit and we stayed late afterwards because we were talking with people who wanted to say goodbye to us.  I just felt so loved as I received loving hugs and handshakes.  Although I am very good at moving there is a part of me that always hates it because I have to break-in to a community and have not always found it welcoming.  I am usually very good at goodbyes and moving on because I have done it so much and I just didn't expect my eyes to well up with tears as I'm writing about our church.  I know that this overwhelming feeling of gratitude I have is because I feel so blessed and loved by God.  I haven't even said goodbye yet to my ladies coffee break morning Bible study or my Esther small group Bible study! (that'll happen on Tuesday)  This is our third move this year and looking back I can just see how God has worked things out for us and for the first time in a long time I don't have low expectations for the church community in our new area.

Even though I am sad to say goodbye to people here, I am so excited to move!  At this point I just want to be in our new place and start setting up again.  I also can't wait to see our house because we only saw it once and I'm not sure if I remember all the details.  I can't stop thinking about our new place and how I'm going to decorate.  Again, I am so thankful I don't start classes till May 14!

Here's a picture of what our place currently looks like:

I have most of our packing done, and these next few days I'll be packing up the essentials and leaving on Wednesday!  Justin starts work tomorrow, and since his new job is pretty far from Simcoe, he's staying with his parents this week.  I'll join him on Wednesday because all our packing should be done by then (and I wanted to stay for the last week of Bible study).  Then we'll come back to Simcoe on Saturday, load up our   U-Haul and move into our new house!  

Because our new place is much bigger than our current one, I did something you shouldn't do right before moving and that is buy furniture!  BUT its very small and I just loved it and had to have it.  Its an antique sitting stool that I found while shopping with my sister-in-law this past weekend.  The seat cover is worn and ripping but I can cover it with some sweet new fabric.

Oh, we found someone to take over our lease!  This all happened last Tuesday, and it was such a relief to not have to show our house and not have to worry about possibly paying rent for two places!  

Since Justin is gone (he left early this evening) its just Beatrix and me and we have been having a great time hanging out.  

  I'm so glad to have her.  Otherwise I would be all by myself and probably get spooked out thinking about being all alone.  At least I have a little guard dog to raise the alarm or distract any bad guys that come around.  I think my next post will be from our new place-hooray!

   

I never want to leave this place. Pure heaven!

So I posted a few pictures on facebook but didn't want to post these ones, but I thought I would show you girls.  This is right outside our Lanai, just over that wall you climb over a few rocks and are down on a sandy beach. :) I finally have a reason to wear my bikini again (I got it before our honeymoon and think I have only worn it once since then!).  I am trying my hardest not to get burnt, our first stop after getting the rental car was costco for sunscreen (it is about a billion times cheaper there than any other store).  I applied sunscreen three times this afternoon and am still a little pink.  I am determined not to get charred though! 

Love you girls! I hear the weather in western washington is supposed to be getting nicer this week, so I hope it is wonderful for you girls. And Candice, I hope you have good weather too, I just don't keep up with the weather in your area. :) 

pink sprinkles to start the day

Ok, this is probably a much more boring video for everyone else, but isn't my boy getting big?  And ignore dorky mom comments, as always.  We got home at about 11:15 last night and all rolled out of bed at 6:10 this morning, leaving the house by 6:30 to take Jeremy to the ferry again.  Glad this is only a two day thing.  Really hope Shea does not get used to getting up at 6am!!  And I'm glad Shea and I stopped for some starbucks and a donut (well, I got a bran muffin) on the way home.  Can't go to Zumba today, so I think I'm going to attempt a work out on my own while Shea is watching some PBS.  Looks like its going to be sunny out, so I'm sure we will be very busy at work today!  I get to work another 10 hour shift, yaay....but we are closed again for construction next week, so that means more time off.  God has been providing Jeremy with just enough (and a little more) work to make up for my lack of hours these past two weeks though, so that has been a blessing!


Angela, I am extremely jealous of you and your trip to Hawaii.  Hope you have a WONDERFUL time!!  

a few days worth

So, I've had a lot of time off this week!  I got to enjoy the sunshine and basically, I just hung out at home and tried to rest.  I didn't much housework until today, and it has been nice to spend extra time with my husband and little boy!  I'm kind of just putting a bunch of pictures on here in a random order, so deal with it! haha.

I found this cute little romper and boxes at target - the romper was only $3.50 and the boxes were in the $1 section.  I'm going to use them for storing baby items of Hailey's.  I wanted to buy all of them, but restrained and only got 3.  Oh and the little hat was something I crocheted and attached a flower I made to a couple of weeks ago.  Hopefully it will fit a tiny newborn head - it is very little!

Have no idea what day this was...the sunny one!  I put our clothes out on the line for the first time.  You can see our crazy yard here - all those bricks we have been digging up.  There is so much work to do, but we haven't had a sunny day when we are both home to go at it!  Soon, soon...

This is my potting table outside.  The bottles are just there for no reason, and the bottom pots have cilantro and basil in them.  I planted them about a week ago, and am not really sure if I"m going to be able to get anything to grow, but I have more seeds to try again if not.

And this is my basil plant I am trying to save.  It has gotten really wilty, so I tried to plant it, but its still kind of falling apart.  It doesn't even look as good as it does in this picture.  so I'm trying to use it up before it dies.

Shea got to play outside with his cousins for a while - Cor usually peddles Shea around on this trike, but Shea wanted to try.  He doesn't know how to peddle though, so Cor was pushing him around from the back and making him feel like he was giving him a ride.  haha.  Such a sweet older cousin!

This was my breakfast today.  Strawberry yogurt, granola, and strawberries.  Yum-o.  And yes, I am aware that I am making a very dorky face, thank you.

Not quite my weekly pic - I think this was taken Wednesday while I was out working in the yard and watching Shea.  I ended up knitting for a while (forgot to take a pic of that, but will next time I post) out in the sun, and it was soooooo wonderful!

I started coming down with a cold Wednesday night, and felt it bad all day yesterday.  I have been achy and tired and not really wanting to do anything.  I went to bed last night at 9 and slept really well until 11:30 when Jeremy came home.  Then I slept again until 1 when Shea woke up afraid of something in his room.  He ended up sleeping in our bed. I meant to put him back in his bed, but never did.  Both Jeremy and I slept terribly.  He had a pounding headache and I had a sore throat, runny nose, and of course, heartburn on top of it all.  I'm far enough in my pregnancy now that I think I need to go buy some tums for nights like those!  I usually just drink peppermint tea or some of my calcium-magnesium powder in some water, but I couldn't get up squished between my two boys. haha.

This morning we all had to be up at 6, because I had to drive Jeremy to the ferry.  His Uncle gave him a pass to a ministry conference in downtown seattle.  So, Shea is going to my in-law's while I go to work, and then Jeremy will come home with me when I get off at 10:30 on bainbridge.  Then we do it again tomorrow. Except, I have to work 10 hours tomorrow, so Shea will be with gramma and papa a long time!  I'm so glad Jeremy got to go to the conference though.  I am sure he is enjoying it and he was very excited to go.

For some reason, I forgot that I took a picture already and took a second one.  Oh well.  My belly looks way bigger in the second pic though.  Must be the dress I'm wearing, because I don't think I really look that big most of the time...it seems most people are shocked to hear I am almost 7 months pregnant.  I think I've gotten 3 comments in the last week from strangers saying something to that effect after they assume I am only 3 or 4 months along.

Now I'm off to pack Shea's bag and get ready for work.  Loved reading all the new posts!

Life, please slow down, I can't keep up.

I lost half this blog post because of an internet glitch and have to retype it, annoying, so if it seems choppy that's why.  I hate typing everything twice!

I told Amber I have been meaning to post for weeks, but keep napping, and doing stuff like that instead.  She said "Everytime you post you have about a billion pictures", or something to that effect, I can't remember exactly.  This time is no exception. I figured I should post them all since it is only a few days till Paul and I leave for Hawaii, I will definitely be posting pictures of that!

One of my favorite lunches lately is ritz crackers with a piece of brie cheese and honey drizzled on it. So so good.  I have eaten this for lunch more days that I care to admit. 

Every morning I up to strings, balls, and toys by my door and bed, this day inparticular we got every single sparkle ball in the house personally delivered to our room during the night. 

I went to Moses Lake for Easter weekend since Paul was working.  I wanted to be with family and it was awesome.  The drive was gorgeous and went by super fast, the weather was great, I even got to go on a bike ride and a couple of walks with my parents. 

We did a lot of sitting around and chatting, enjoying the beautiful sun and skies, drinking coffee ($2 grande's at starbucks!), and Bible reading. 

My mom and I also made these clay bowls we had seen on Pinterest. They were super easy and really adorable.  I haven't sanded mine since they dried, but if they turn out I will definitely post a picture of the finished product, it has only been a few weeks since I started them. :) 

My mom makes the best latte's!! She can give Starbucks a run for their money.  And my dad makes the best fires.  He kept saying " I thought that last fire would be the last one of the season" and then he would make me another one. :) 

I was bored at work one day and took pictures to show you girls what I do.  Ugly stairwells (that I don't use often because of elevators), my stethoscope-report tool-and pen, a room in the quad (empty at the moment which doesn't happen often), and the most  beautiful sunsets daily! 

My new favorite breakfast is steel cut oats made in the rice cooker overnight so they are ready for you when you wake up in the morning.  I add in pears (no peel), walnuts, brown sugar, cinnamon, and milk. Pure heaven. 

The drive back from Moses Lake was beautiful.  I was going to come home sunday after Easter but ended up staying till monday because my awesome husband said not to rush home but to enjoy my family time with my parents, and enjoy it I did! 

On a side note I left Moses Lake monday morning at 9:30 am with intentions to rest at my house till I had to leave for work at 2, instead I ended up grocery shopping at Costco and Safeway and then spent the rest of my time before work cutting up lettuce and vegetables.  I suck at resting. 

I woke up easter morning to a lovely and yummy easter basket (half of the stuff was Pauls- my mom is awesome).  Easter afternoon my parents pastor, his wife, and another lady from the church came over and we all hung out and snacked.  Then we played a game called dixit which is awesome. And the cat napped on the couch by the fire. 

Easter breakfast at church followed by a sermon and then a two hour nap at home.  I lost my voice saturday evening/Sunday morning and didn't feel well at all. Good thing I got it back in time for work! 

I finally got around to hanging my Great grandmas tools on the wall after I massively cleaned my craft room (see picture below!). 

While I was cleaning there was beautiful sunshine streaming in through all the windows, then when I was about to go mow the lawn an incredible rainstorm swept through Auburn, instant flood in the streets. 

The craft room overhaul.  Receipts, half finished projects, papers, junk mail, you name it and it was on my craft desk. 

My kitties have been so naughty lately.  Knocking more than the average amount of stuff over, scratching at the carpet, meowing incredibly loud in the middle of the night, but they are still cute and I love them. They absolutely love the fire, in fact that is where we are currently hanging out! 

At 11:30 on thursday after a long day of swimming, cooking, cleaning bathrooms, vacuuming, loads of laundry and going to the vehicle license office to get new tabs because it wouldn't let me renew online I decided to make burritos.  I had made the rice and beans earlier in the rice cooker and crock pot respectively, but had to let the rice cool before making it into fried rice.  I made the taco meat, but then Paul had finished messing with his gun so we went to bed and I decided to assemble the burritos the next day.  

Paul and I both had friday off and we did a ton of yardwork.  Mowing, edging, weeding, weed wacking, and grass seed planting.  We had rotertilled the area in the front of our house where the bushes used to be earlier in the week and hopefully the grass will grow!  Then I got all dolled up minus the make-up or straightening of the hair and we went to find flip flops and a swim suit for Paul since we leave for Hawaii this saturday.  The weather was beautiful and I was able to wear capris and my toms!  

Every morning when Eric hears me wake up whether it be naturally or by an alarm he jumps on the bed and cuddles me.  What a lover. 

As naughty as they are they are still cute, and lovers, and I can't help but take a million pictures of them.  Just wait till I have kids. 

(I had to readd all my pictures up to this point so the text is after the pictures and now the text is before).  I think I finally have this new blogger figured out after two crazy, time consuming, blog posts with my computer not agreeing with the new blogger!  Next time shall be better. Haha. 

This is Amber's awesome interview outfit she got today!  I took all the pictures before she had done her hair and make-up but she still looks awesome!  I cleaned the kitchen while she made us lunch.  Best trade off ever. 

Notice how the end of that table runner is turned up. They look all cute an innocent but they definitely were just posing for the camera. 

While Amber was in her interview I decided to go get starbucks.  Less than a block away from where I dropped Amber off I was still typing "starbucks" into google maps on my phone and I got stopped at a red light, then I looked up and saw starbucks, score!  Americano with room and caramel sauce- then I added a fair amount of half and half.  I took my drink back to my  car, parked in the parking lot of the place Amber was interviewing, read my Bible, listed the the Bonesetters Daughter on my iphone (book on "tape") and then took a nap. :)  

I got home from Ambers at about 4 and was going to rest until I had to get a quick dinner together.  I ended up making sweet and spicy sweet potatoes, mushroom stroganaff, brussel sprouts, blanching and freezing broccoli, freezing sliced mushrooms, and making little baggies of vegetables for Paul and my lunches over the next few days.  I had to take care of the fresh foods since we leave in 4 days!  

At 6 I went to Bible study and after I stopped by my friend Sara's house to meet her new puppy Bruce.  He is such a sweetheart, we bonded, he is my nephew.  Love this little shy guy!  While I was there (around 9pm) Paul texted me and asked if I wanted to go swimming.  I told him not really, what about him, he said he would go if I would.  I said I was tired, he said he would buy me ice cream if I went.  I am easily bribed so I drove home, we swam till 10:30 pm and then I got a dipped cone at McDonalds.  That was the wonderful end to a very busy and tiring but worth it day. 

It is now 12:20 and I am more than ready for bed.  Love you girls and hope you had a wonderful day.  I know Amber and I did!