One more day!

Thank you Tasha for sending me a great stash of fabric, all perfect for my Jane quilt. I could not take the photo quick enough before Lucy locked her eyes, and hands on the lip gloss (all 3 girls were very excited about the flavors). I was able to hide the dark chocolate before anyone figured out what it was. All for me! All for me!

I can't believe that six weeks has gone by and that Eric is coming home tomorrow! I also can't believe that I have not sewn hardly at all since he left. I had big plans to make gifts and several blocks for my Dear Jane quilt, but nothing got done. I think I just realized that the girls needed my full attention and sometimes when I get sewing I become obsessed. Now that Eric is going to back I quit being so responsible and start sewing and again. Thanks Tasha!

Side note- As I sat to type this real quickly, Lucy is going to the bathroom down the hall and I hear her say "Potty places are baginas, boys don't have potty places or panties" I learn something new every day.

It's time for Dad to come home when...

You call the girls down for dinner and Ruby comes downstairs with a bright red face and clearly has been crying her heart out. "What happened? " I asked. She held up her Dad's ID badges from the hospital and said "I miss Dad so much". I asked if she wanted to call him and she did. Within minutes he had her cheered up and giggling.

Only 2 more day to go!!!!

The day at the beach

We had a great day at Dana Point today. The Weather was perfect.

I got to visit with my good friend Nicole that left us to move to the beach.

Ruby got to see her good friend Ellie. The girls all had a blast playing in the sand.


When we got home at night, they all went straight to bed and fell right to sleep. It was a great day!

Ditching school

I pulled my girls out of school early yesterday to go see the twin baby horses that were born at my Friend's family Ranch. Haley loves horses and was in heaven. She has read so many horse books I could not believe how much horse lingo she knew. Ruby (wearing black velvet) would get next to the babies, pose and ask me to take a picture, then she would ask "why is this place so dirty?" and "why are there so many flies?". Haley wanted to know if she would ever be able to own her own horse. Ruby just wanted to change her clothes, because the "Ranch was so dirty". Two completely different little spirits.

More green waves of good mail!

Wow what a week it has been, we have been so blessed. With all the good mail you girls are sending I don't see why the post office thinks they need to raise postage.

My friend Amy sent me a wood crepe turner, Nutella and their favorite recipe for crepes. What a great idea. My kids had never had Nutella and LOVED it. We had Crepes with strawberries and Nutella one night for dinner then Creps with peanut butter and bannanas another. Not to healthy, but it was so good and everyone was very happy! Thank you Amy!



Natasha send me this Mother's day package with super cute post it notes- one of my favorite things since I have lost my mind. I use post-its all the time. Thank you Natasha!


I was so sad that I was not able to get to see my friend Shawna while I was back east, I really miss her. When I got back from my trip I received this great surprise from her- super cute stationary and hot tamales. I love hot cinnamon candy. Lucy would eat one and look like she was going to die, then ask me for another one. I'm training her young. Thank you Shawna!


Liz sent me this very thoughtful selection of goodies for me and my girls. Three lip glosses- oh ya, the girls freaked. Three packs of regular M&Ms for the girls and a pack of dark chocolate M&Ms for me (someone did some research). Liz also sent facial masks and foot soaks- oh ya and a big box of strawberry whoppers. I had never had the strawberry kind, they were so good I could not stop eating them. Thank you Liz!


Jill, who just returned from a big trip to Paris like 2 hours ago, sent me this super cute yellow/ striped reversible summer purse. I love it. She also sent coloring books and candy for the girls. Lucy calls her coloring book "her homework". Thank you so much Jill! I have no idea how you had time to put this all together.

Jordan (my friend with the most talented artists for parents) sent me this very creative art kit for making paper necklaces. Last Saturday afternoon we all sat together and made necklaces. I thought Lucy would be too young, but she did it and everyone had a great time. Thanks for making the day go by so quickly Jordan!



I have to include some good mail that I received from Ruby. Last Thursday I had a really bad case of food poisoning. I spent the entire day lying on the floor and throwing up my guts. The next day I found a stack of cards from Ruby where I had been lying. I scanned two of them.



I thought it was so sweet that she raided my card stash to help me with my "sad time".


I really can't tell you how overwhelmed I am. The fact that so many people have taken the time to put together all these thoughtful packages and gifts for us, really, I stand at the mailbox crying. You all have made me feel so loved.
Thank you!

Mother's Day

This Mother's day was...memorable.
I heard several protests that began with- Just because its Mother's Day. "Just because it's Mother's Day doesn't mean we have to brush our hair" etc. My girls have had better days, and so have I.

Monday

Anyone that has read Kristi's blog has seen the amazing ribbons she gets at the outlet. I had to check it out. I could not believe how cheep the prices were. They have tons of different types of ribbons and they are all different prices, but I got a few rolls of 100 yards of ribbon for 50 cents each. Oh ya baby!



After the outlet we drove to Antietam, the Civil War battlefield. I have to admit that I was not excited about going to see a place where so many people lost their lives, but I learned a lot and it really was beautiful




Then we drove to Harpers Ferry. This is where the Shenandoah River and the Potomac meet.


We walked along the Appalachian Trail, and on the stairs where George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Meriwether Lewis and so many more great men in History walked.


This was such an amazing opportunity. I can't tell you how blessed I feel to have been able to go on this trip and see all these wonderful towns and historic places. We could not have done any of this without Eric's Mom and Stepdad. Grandma Hawley and Grandpa Brown watched our girls for us while we were gone. I'm sure they could have given us a thousand reasons why they couldn't do this, but they didn't, and I really appreciate it. Hawley (a retired school teacher) worked with my girls on their handwriting and taught Ruby her address. Talk about double duty. I hope they recover quickly from their long week.

Sunday

Sunday morning we went to the National Cathedral. Photos do not do this building justice, it really is breathtaking.


The church is gynormous and has intricate details over almost every inch. The stained glass windows were my favorite, but I did not want to take any photos inside as they were about to start mass.



Check out these azaleas. I remember seeing azaleas this large in Louisiana, but I have never seen any this large in California.


The dogwood trees were blooming there little hearts out everywhere you looked.


After the Cathedral we went to the downtown DC ward building for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. What an incredible ward this is. The spirit was so strong and in Relief Society you could feel the love all the sisters have for each other and for the gospel of Jesus Christ. They had a testimony meeting that gave me chills (the good kind). My friend Kristi attends this ward so it was fun to sit next to her and her daughter Annie Kate.

Jeff and Kristi invited us to their house for dinner. We had such a great time. Their girls are beautiful and Jeff and Kristi are so much fun to be around that we did not want to leave (sorry we stayed so late Kristi).

I took my camera, but did not even think to take a picture of us together. Such a bummer.

FYI- Jeff bought a new car a while ago, but knew that Eric was coming to DC so he held off on selling his old car so that Eric could use it while in town. All of the trips we took to charming little towns would not have been possible without Jeff's car. Not to mention that they dropped off a ton of groceries to Eric when he first arrived in DC. Both Jeff and Kristi have always been so generous to us in so many ways, we owe them big time!

Saturday

Today we went to the National Mall and met up with Dori, Adam and their kids(friends from NOLA). Eric and I drove around forever looking for a parking space. He kept driving 12-13 city blocks away to find a free/ cheap parking spot. My legs were sore from walking so I wanted to park close. After driving around for 40 min we found a free spot 2 blocks away from the museum and we decided that we could stay married.

The Natural History museum was very cool. I had just watched Night at the Museum with the girls before I left, so it was hard not to keep thinking about the movie.
From there we drove to the Lincoln Monument and parked without stress...whew. I could not believe how large the monument is. I was also surprised by the beautiful stained glass windows in the celing.
Afterwards Dori and I sat on the grass while the kids played and the boys walked the Vietnam memorial. Dori is such a great person. She is an amazing parent and always improves my perspective on parenting. I can't wait for her 4th child to arrive in June.




Then we went to the Rosevelt Memorial. It was really really cold and starting to rain.


We said good by to our good friends and drove across the Potomac river to Old Town Alexandria.


Such a quaint little town with charming stores. I was able to shop in The Paper Source for the 1st time- what a great store.

We came home and had dinner at Eric's little studio and called it a night. I am not used to walking several miles every day so my legs/feet are so sore and tired. I am glad that tomorrow is Sunday and we will get to rest.

Friday

Eric surprised me by driving out to a really cool quilt store he found good reviews for online. They had 6,000 bolt of fabric- I was in heaven. This store happened to be in the cutest town called Annapolis.


There was an amazing church in the middle of the town, every prayer stool was hand needlepointed and so beautiful.



After we left Annapolis, we drove to St. Michaels where there is a Wooden boat museum. Eric built an 10 1/2 foot wooden sail boat 8 years ago and can't wait until he has time to make another wooden boat.

He seriously stood watching these two guys work forever. I had my fill of watching them after about 5 min so I walked around looking at all the beautiful boats that had been restored.






I just can't believe how beautiful it is here. All these little charming towns, no smog, dogwood trees in bloom, azalea bushes that are like 6 ft tall and 10 ft wide in full bloom and everything is so green. I'm loving it.

Kid free in DC

Today we took the metro to downtown DC and then walked all over the National Mall. We went to the National Art Gallery and then had a personal tour of the capital by someone from our Congressman's office.


Then we walked to China town. This was a disapointment. China town has a huge chinese arch at the end of the street and 4-5 chinese food restaurants (I use the word resturants loosly as you would never eat anything that came from there). Then we walked over to the Portrait museum which was amazing.

We walked over to George's house, the gate was closed so he must have forgotten that we were coming.


After our long day Eric took me back to his little place and cooked me his specialty pasta with spagetti sauce for dinner.

After our wonderful dinner we drove to Georgetown (so fun), got some icecream and walked the main street that was lined with tons of groovy shops. I was teased by walking into Paper Source for the first time only to be told that they were closing- I was so close.

Wednesday

I did not sleep last night- at all. I was so excited about seeing Eric today that I just could not sleep. So I was wide awake when the clock said 5:30am and it was time to get ready to head to the airport.

Flying without kids was a whole new experience. I took a little nap and read most of the book I brought; The Quilters Apprentice by Jennifer Chiaverini. I made it to DC and Eric was waiting for me at the airport when I arrived. I could not stop smiling, I was so excited to be with him. When we got back to his little studio, he cooked dinner for me- Linguini with spaghetti sauce. I asked if he ate that every night- he said "no, sometimes I cook broccoli with it or heat up a can of soup".

This is his pasta palace:

I'm off

I am leaving to go visit Eric in Washington DC. This will be the 1st time in 8 years that we have been away from our kids for more then one night. I am so excited I can't stand it!

SPT Challenge

What is my most treasured possesion that is smaller then a deck of cards?





My camera.

I love being able to capture and document people I love, places I visit, faces that change with age, memories of things that no longer exist and little details of life. Photographs are the tangible evidence that allow me to remember things that may have otherwise been forgotten.

With friends like this... who needs a husband

My friend Ali in Oregon sent me the most amazing gift of time.

How did she do this?

By sending things that would keep my kids busy and happy for hours... priceless


slinkys, a jump rope, little pet shop animals, the game Sorry...


the Flushed Away DVD and a Strawberyy shortcake DVD.

My kids have stopped complaining that Dad's gone for so long. They are too busy playing with all the goodies they have been receiving.



Thank you so much Miss Ali!!!!!

A Healthy dinner

My kids have mentioned to me several times that I am not the greatest Mom.

According to my girls the greatest Mom is their Aunt Tiffany (my sister) because one morning 2 years ago she let all the kids eat chocolate cake and ice cream for breakfast. Seriously she really did this.

Tonight I told the girls that we were having chocolate shakes for dinner. They were thrilled. We had eaten a late lunch so I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to claim that coveted title of "Greatest Mom of all time". They were so happy and singing my praises as they downed their large shakes.

A little while later they asked for real food because they were hungry. "How can you be hungry after such a great dinner?" I asked. I was informed that Aunt Tiffany let them eat cake AND ice cream, I JUST gave them a shake and that was not enough. Oh... really.