Squishy Room March 2, 2009

Snow day today which meant school was cancelled. After lunch Jess took us to this "squishy room" (my battery died so I only got one picture but doesn't look fun?) It was an old racket-ball court completely covered in mats and filled with huge foam shapes and a ball pit. The kids played so hard and completely enjoyed themselves. Obstacle course races, hide n' seek, surfing on the half circle....great idea for getting wiggles out!

Washington D.C. February 28

Will & Jonah & I spent Friday and Saturday with Lis and Scott and Brooklyn and Andy. It was so fun to catch up with them. Brooklyn was sad that Bridget couldn't come and bring her Ruthie doll to play with Kit. But she informed me that I could have brought Ruthie with me!! Something I hadn't thought of. I can see me now; with Jonah strapped to the front of me, overpacked diaper bag slung over one shoulder, Will's overpacked backpack slung over the other shoulder (too heavy for Will) and Ruthie tucked under one arm! Brooklyn and Will actually sprouted a cute little friendship while we were together so I'm glad he came.

Friday Night Lis made some awesome sandwiches which I'll post the recipe of once I get it. We were very inventive and made our own panini press with an unsuspecting pot. Then we sat and visited until late, catching up! It was great.

Saturday morning we met Megan for a yummy breakfast at the Eastern market. The french toast was heavenly! The market was located on Capital Hill and I just loved the charm of the old buildings and homes. I couldn't help but want to strap on my running shoes and join the endless runners that were out training for the upcoming marathon!

Because the day was so cold we did a "Drive-by" of the National Mall Monuments. While Jonah slept in the car, Lis drove us to a spot and Will, Brookie and I would hop out and run up to see it.

Here are the pictures: View from the Lincoln Memorial
It was so quiet and even reverent in by this statue. Something I hadn't expected but was so glad for. After reading some of the quotes by him I am intrigued to read more of his history.

Awesome!!

Lis and Jonah had a little bonding time in the car...thank-you Lis. We know that Jonah would not have appreciated the cold!

The pathway to the Thomas Jefferson Memorial was made of bricks which stimulated the singing of "Follow the Yellow Brick Road" (although I think we sang "red brick") as we followed it all the way around the building. Since the building was rather large we adjorned our singing to "We're Following the Leader" and back to "Yellow Brick Road" before we arrived at the entrance. The singing kept our minds off of our cold knuckles and noses. We enjoyed the inside portion but when I lead them outside to climb the steps to the top Brookie was quite sure that was not where we wanted to go. I loved the statue of Jefferson and all the quotes by him engraven on the walls. Again the feeling was so respectful in there. I loved it.

The steps to the Capitol Building were blocked off...BUT...there was a large, sprawling cherry tree not far from the fence wearing a sign that said, "I'm so fun to climb" (O.K. maybe the sign said that it was a yoshiko (?) cherry tree) We decided it was our ticket to a closer look. Will and Brooklyn were great little climbers and found that it was indeed a pleasant climb!

Live Like You Believe

My friend found this little movie on youtube.com

Look for the picture of

Adam and I with Luke & Will

on Temple Square.

(It was in the Conference Ensign a few years back)

I am so grateful to be a member of the Relief Society!

Seeing this reminded me how proud I am of it.

What an awesome privilege to be tied to so many women

across the world who are united in one great cause!

I'm inspired to be better & do more.

I loved the Prophet's message: You will be the miracle!

Project: Black and white canvas'

The photo collage on the wall is the project Jess and I did while I was at her place in Virginia. Lis enlightened me on the idea and Jess just happened to have a bare wall that needed something...so we decided to do it. It was a quite a simple project! It took about 2 hours start to finish (choosing the pictures was the time consuming part and that was done earlier that morning and then we uploaded the pictures to Costco and picked them up at noon).

All you do is get an art canvas (Michaels, Roberts, Walmart) in the same size your photo is in. We cropped a tiny bit off the edge of the photo so that the black could be seen on the front. Paint the sides of the canvas either black or brown depending on if you want black and white or sepia pictures. Once the sides are dry you paint mod podge over the entire back of the photo, lay it on the canvas and smooth it until it has adhered well. Then just paint mod podge over the top of the photo. We did two coats: the first going up and down and the second going side to side. It left a very canvas-y finish which is exactly what we were after.

Let me know if anyone tries this. I've got my canvas' already I just need to choose the photos!

Queen of the monkey bars

She told her friend she wasn't going to do the monkey bars for the whole month of March. But she already broke that so she thinks maybe she'll start in the middle of march, or do the whole month of April. It's so hard to stop something you love even when it hurts to do it!!

Good News: Adam came home last night with tiny little gloves for her...so you can keep on swinging your way through recess B.

love-ly!

We woke up to more than just a beautiful blanket of white this Valentine's Day...

It was discovered when someone spotted one lonely pink heart on the little window by the front door. I was still lying in bed when I heard footsteps thunder to the garage and then thunder by again with much more magnitude (this time snow boots were covering their bare toes) , door opens and slams. Door opens and I hear, "Who's B.K.H. Bridge?"

Uninhibited by the biting cold wind of the storm, our darling cousin Kassidy gave us this fun surprise. Thanks so much. We love you!

Bridget, Jonah and I went on a walk to enjoy the morning snow. Bridget's outfit is the best I've seen! If you look close you'll notice she's wearing her "Lucy (from Narnia) bottle of special red juice" on her belt. I assume she was preparing for the worst! Also the cape with pink scarf and boots just made it a lovely ensemble...suited perfectly for the day! We explored the field beside our house and then walked past the farm. The goats and sheep were excited to see us and talked to us even as we walked away. Bridget realized what a goat-ee is named for.

We shared our heart shaped pizza with Hazel and her cousin Isaiah. Fun day.

12

Luke's gift to both of us: a handmade soap carving of our initials

We celebrated our 12th Anniversary Friday, February 13th (one day early)! We were so happy to have Matt & Vanessa and Ali watched our kids for us! I am sorry to say that Jonah's happiness in having them over was not communicated very well when he screamed and fought as both Matt and Vanessa struggled to get him in his P.J.'s. Matt said he had a whole new respect for Jonah's strength! Thanks so much guys!
For our date we went in to a little restaurant in Salt Lake and had a yummy meal together. I had a chicken spinach salad with blue cheese, candied walnuts and red onions! Adam had a steak sandwich with onion rings. We sat in a cozy little booth and enjoyed visiting in the quiet! We then attended a concert by Peter Brienholt. It was specially for Valentines day so there we alot of fun songs. The 80's mix was great. It was very entertaining....I loved it. On the way home we stopped at Smith's for pint size ice cream for everyone. It was a wonderful evening.
Love you Adam.