My big 4-0!!

Somewhere along the way, I got old, people!  Wow!  Do you remember imagining what you would look like or where you would be in your life when you turned a certain age...30, or 40, or 50, or 60, etc?!?  I can't say this is exactly what I imagined, but it's a great place to be nevertheless!  I feel great!  Somehow coinciding my birthday with buying this new house has given me a fresh perspective and positive outlook on life.  I am exactly where I need to be.  I feel so grateful for so many great things in my life.  It's hard to be too upset about getting older.  Part of the beauty of getting older, I think, is the fact that I have that much more life to look back on and smile about.  I have that many more happy memories and rich experiences that have shaped me into the person I am today.  Thank goodness for that!

My birthday was so much fun!  My sister Melanie put together a cookbook called "40 is going to taste delicious!"  She had friends and family send me recipes a couple weeks preceding my birthday, and then had a book for them to all go into.  I love it!  So cute, and fun to get recipes and notes from the people I love most.  Thanks Melanie!!  And thanks to all of you who sent me recipes, I can't wait to try them!

Mark (with the help of a couple friends from back in the day) put together a mix CD of favorite songs from our Galleria days in Rexburg at Ricks College.  The songs aren't necessarily from the early 90's, but they remind us of that period of our lives when and where we first met and had crushes on each other.  Those were some of the best years of my life, and I love that I can listen to this CD and immediately be taken back to that place.  So sweet!!

Maryn and Avery (with a little help from Parker) put together a movie of pictures and music of our family from over the years.  It was so cool to see our family over the past 15 years and how much we have all grown and changed.  It made my heart absolutely swell and want to burst with love and gratitude.  I love these girls of mine so much, and am so proud of the life we have created as a family.  Thank you girls! 

In addition to this, it's always great to get Facebook messages throughout the day, and feel a little extra special.  It was a great birthday because of the people in my life who made me feel loved and remembered. I love you all!

Mark and I slinging beer and brats at a Loons Game in Midland as part of a fundraiser for Parker's preschool, Chippewa.  It was a fun, spring night in Midland!

We MOVED!!

I have no actual pictures from the day that we moved.  Probably because it all happened so fast, and was such a blur.  Suffice it to say, things went smoothly and nothing got broken or lost! Lots of friends from our old ward, and new ward showed up to help, and it warmed our hearts.  We both feel so strongly that this is the house we were meant to find, that this ward is finally "home", and that we are all happy and content.  I keep having this feeling that we are finally "grown-ups", and that this is a place where we will grow older and watch many big, important phases of life happen.  I really get so excited thinking about what the future holds.  It's so nice to finally be able to settle in, and know that we can get comfortable and put down roots someplace that we are all taken care of.  I can't say I've had that feeling every place we've lived.

Anyway, I am grateful, and feeling very blessed.

 

This is the only picture I have of the inside of the house at this point.  I will try and get together an open house one of these days, but for now this is it.  This is our fireplace in the family room.  All those cards were from my birthday...another story for another day!

Spring Break 2014

I know, I know, I know!  I'm just going to pretend that my little hiatus never happened, and just pick up where I left off!!  Nevermind the fact that we bought a house, moved yet again in less than a year, and that my life is completely not busy.  Whatever...here goes.

So for Spring Break, we took a little trip down to the Metro area to meet up with my besties of all time.  By some magical, cosmic coincidence Becky (now in Washington), and Chris (now in Utah) decided to be in Detroit at the same time.  Casey (now in South Lyon), and I (now in Midland) traveled into the area to meet up with Sheila (still in the Detroit area) for a night of yummy food, plenty of laughter, and lots of memories.  I sure love these people.  It doesn't matter how much time passes, we all just click, and pick right back up as if no time has passed.  I am lucky to still call them friends...and this time we let our spouses come too, which made it only "funner". 

We also were able to attend a local storytelling event hosted by the infamous Detroit Story League.  It was a great way to see what Grandma does, and also get together with the cousins.

After our trip, we spent the rest of the week at home trying to do some stuff mixed in with removing wallpaper, painting, packing, and closing on the house, and generally being stressed out.

One of the days, I took the girls to Dow gardens to see the annual butterfly exhibit.  It's such a beautiful place, but unfortunately Parker was a little freaked out by the butterflies. She didn't like them touching her...that kid could be scared by her shadow.  Anyway, the rest of us enjoyed the day.

Spring Break ended with a trip to our favorite Nature Center, and an art show for the local preschools of the area.

 Parker being a turtle at Chippewa Nature Center, and sowing her work at the Art Show.

Easter in the Little Yellow House

What an interesting blip of time in the big scheme of things...our time in the little yellow house.  Although it was only about 8 months, it seems like it would never end some days.  Maybe that has something to do with the fact that it was the LONGEST Winter of our lives, and that we were trapped inside this 900 square foot home for 5 straight months.  Regardless, we still lived our lives and enjoyed making memories...even if they were cramped memories.  Haha!

Easter arrived, and we enjoyed all the traditions that the season and holiday brings.

The Easter bunny managed to find the little yellow house, and brought the traditional candy and books again.  This time, however for Maryn, he ventured out and included a movie and CD...was the Easter bunny thinking outside the box, or was he just strapped for time?!?  Hmmmm....

(BTW, Parker insists on doing the #1 sign in all her pics...I can't tell if it's supposed to be the peace sign, or if she really just wants to say #1...either way, she is a funny little girl.)

Easter Sunday included new dresses and a bright, sunny Sabbath day. I love Easter Sunday!!