Kelly Clarkson has always been a favorite of mine. Her season on American Idol was the only season I ever really watched.  In fact I moved away to college and had to call my mom for the results between her and Justin. haha When I found out she was doing a concert close to my house I really wanted to go but I knew the price would not be doable. Being the good husband that he is Ben emailed me a link to a Groupon deal for a ticket to her concert. $20!! I was thrilled. I called Kami and she was on board. It was a fantastic night. We went out to dinner and then sang along to Kelly Clarkson songs all night. It was awesome and brought me back to my college days (that is when I listened to Kelly the most). YAY for cheap concert tickets!

Last week I had my 28th birthday and it was fabulous. Because my birthday fell on a Sunday this year the celebration lasted all weekend. On Friday Ben and I went to the Batman movie (finally!) and Saturday I got to go to the Temple while Ben watched the kids. It was fantastic to go and not rush back because the kids were with Ben instead of a babysitter. Sunday I got a nap and Ben made dinner. We ate an ice cream cake and then took a walk around the neighborhood. I loved every second of it. I just love being with my little family. My favorite memories are when the four of us are together and we are all happy. (No grumps!) lol

I thought it would be fun to answer the same questions I asked Hallie for her birthday.

1. What is your favorite color? Yellow

2. What is your favorite toy? My new Kitchen Aid                                                                                                                                                       

3. What is your favorite fruit? Raspberries

4. What is your favorite tv show? Downton Abby and CakeBoss                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Our staple lunch is peanut butter and honey sandwhiches.

6. What is your favorite outfit? Puprle Anthropologie dress                                                                                                                                       

7. What is your favorite game? Molopoly deal                                                                                                                                                               

8. What is your favorite snack? Peanut Butter M&M’s                                                                                                                                                  

9. What is your favorite animal? Giraffe

10. What is your favorite song? I have so many! Last year my top running song was Adele Rolling in the Deep. It always got me to run harder and faster!  

11. What is your favorite book? Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens. My recent favorites are Divergent and  An American Heiress.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

12. Who is your best friend? Tiffany Ehlen Goodwin

13. What is your favorite cereal? I like any sugar cereal when I buy it. It is such a treat for us I couldn’t choose just one.               

14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Go to the beach or read a book while the kids play in the backyard.

15. What is your favorite drink? Water (My mom has always thought I was weird for that) but when I spoil myself I choose Dr. Pepper for Orange soda.

16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas, Thanksgiving and the fourth of July.

17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Benton Crane                                                                                                                  

18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Green Smoothie

19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Anything I don’t have to cook or clean up!  

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? A good mom and wife. 🙂

 

Every year we make at least one trip up to Hartland Orchard in Markham, Virginia. It is the most beautiful area up in the Shenandoah mountains. This year we picked peaches and raspberries and bought some already picked apples and raw honey.  The kids look forward to this trip every year and always have a blast picking fresh fruit. We pick about double what we purchase because we eat and eat and eat while we are there. It’s what makes the long drive out there so worth it.

Hallie turned four yesterday! I can’t believe how fast she is growing up and yet at the same time with all she can do I think she can’t be only 4! The attitude that girl has is similar to a 15 year old. She thinks she knows everything.

I went overboard for her party. What started out as a thought to just have the kids run around in the sprinkler turned into much more. Not saying that it was amazing or anything but darn pinterest for giving me too many ideas. We had our face painted then made unicorn horns with waffle cones, frosting and skittles. Next we colored horses with crayons, ate cake with pre scooped (and rolled in sprinkles) ice cream, played in the sprinkler, opened presents, and lastly we did a pinata. (We had made a pinata from scratch and Hallie thought it was the coolest thing. Every day we would add a layer and she would go over the directions informing me that she knew how to do everything.) Hopefully Hallie loved it and she felt special. To me that is the whole purpose of birthdays-to make someone feel special.

Happy 4th Birthday Hallie bug!

 

1. What is your favorite color? Pink                                                                                                                                                                                                         2. What is your favorite toy? Barbie unicorn                                                                                                                                                                                        3. What is your favorite fruit? Blueberries, Strawberries and Watermelon
4. What is your favorite tv show? Word girl (She watched this for the first time yesterday?)
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Peanut butter and honey sandwich with no bread on top. Open faced
6. What is your favorite outfit? Shake it shirt
7. What is your favorite game? Candyland
8. What is your favorite snack? Fruit loops. (she had this for her birthday breakfast and couldn’t get it off her mind)
9. What is your favorite animal?Horses
10. What is your favorite song? Ariel, part of your world. She asked me to sing a princess song the other day and this is the one I chose. She looked at me like I was a superstar and it has been her favorite song ever since. 🙂
11. What is your favorite book? Go girl go potty (I thought it was Pinkalicious)
12. Who is your best friend? Olivia Livingston and Alivia Fife
13. What is your favorite cereal? Fruit loops (Again they were on her mind.)
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Mow the lawn with mom or dad. (Kyle is the one who does that!)
15. What is your favorite drink? Almond Milk
16. What is your favorite holiday? Birthday
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? All my stuffed animals
18. What do you to eat for breakfast? Uncooked oatmeal with brown sugar.
19. What do you like to do every day? Play with friends.
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? Ariel

I can’t believe I forgot to blog about the 4th of July. It is one of my favorite holidays. I love the history of our country and I love fireworks! I bought some cheap fireworks and introduced the kids to the loud screams and the vibrant colors. They were fascinated.  There are a lot of pictures because I couldn’t resist the look on their faces.:)

Maybe one day it will be dark outside when we do fireworks. 🙂

 

This past weekend our friends, the Caprio’s, invited us to go to Ocean City, Maryland with them. We woke up early, packed up and headed out by 7 am. Four hours later we arrived. There was a lot of traffic that we didn’t expect! Despite the long drive we were happy to be next to the ocean. We set up on the beach and dove right in. Ben took Hallie in and she cried every time a wave hit her. Kyle requested a turn after he saw his sister out there but quickly decided he didn’t like it either. The rest of the day we spent with just our feet in the waves and playing in the sand. The kids were so great! They love love love the beach. The highlight for me was when my friend Faith and I went down to swim and got washed up from the waves. Oh man I laughed so hard when Faith got beached that I didn’t see the wave heading straight for me and I got trashed. Now I have sand burns that look like a sunburn. lol We saw a storm rolling in that evening so we packed up and headed home at 7pm. We stopped and got some fresh fruit and vegetables at a farmers market and made it home just after 10p.m. That was one full day! I can’t wait to do it again!

Ocean City we will be back!

I had the awesome opportunity to run in the Color Me Rad Richmond 5k with my friend Kami, and her friend Courtney. We drove down the night before and stayed at Courtney’s house and made a girls weekend out of it. When we woke up in the morning it was raining and we were more than worried. If it was a normal race then it would suck but it would be doable. The color race however would be completely ruined. We prayed really hard and kept our hopes high. As we drove the hour from Courtney’s house to the race the sky cleared up and it ended up being the perfect weather for a July race. It was overcast and cooler but not raining. Humid yes, but hey we are in Virginia.

The race was awesome. It was really relaxed and fun. No nerves just people having fun. It wasn’t even timed. We got plastered with color as we ran the course. Note to self: Next time get covered in more blue and purple-it shows up much better in pictures.  (We were covered in pink and orange!) I can’t wait to do this race again!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You would not believe the clean up. lol

Kyle turned the big number 2 two weeks ago. He woke up to balloons all over his room and a mom singing Happy Birthday to him. Every time I asked if it was his birthday he would say “NO!” haha We continued the festivities that night by having a little party with just the four of us. We had pancakes and smoothies (two of his favorite foods) and we opened presents. I had a really hard time deciding what to get him for his birthday. He has so many toys already (thanks to my mom). I decided after walking Walmart up and down that CARS dishes and utensils would be the perfect fit. He got a bowl, 2 cups, a fork and a spoon, all from the movie “CARS” which he loves!!! Sounds lame I know but he has been obsessed with eating with them every day since.

Oh I love this kid. I am constantly attacking him with kisses. He is such a good little guy. He has his terrible two moments where he is emotional but then he will kiss me as we walk down the stairs or just come and hug me randomly. I love it! He still loves balls and is his dad’s dream come true when he will sit still and watch sports highlights. He is amazingly coordinated. Anyone who sees him with a ball is stunned at his skills. He can hold a ball in one hand and hit it with a bat in the other. He can drop kick a ball, catch a ball, throw a ball, and make baskets from 10 feet away. He is our superstar! He has been very slow talking but has started picking up everything in the last few weeks. It is so fun to hear him say things like, “shoes off!” when we come home. He still idolizes his sister and follows her everywhere. Sometimes he even goes so far as to dress up in a princess dress, but after a couple minutes he asks for the dress to be taken off. I don’t blame him. Princess attire was not designed with comfort in mind. lol He loves most food but will not eat veggies or potatoes (unless they are in french fry form-go figure).  He does love love love smoothies and so that is how we get veggies in him. He is still a little rut and the 24 month shorts drown him but I think that will have to be something he gets used to. 🙂 He has to buckle his top strap in his carseat by himself because he sees sister doing it. He loves playing outside and goes up and down our front steps which drives me nuts because it makes me so nervous. He has quite the personality and loves to be a BIG BOY.

 

Life is better with Kyle around!!

 

The last part of our trip was spent in St. George with Ben’s family. We rented a house with a pool and man was it heaven! It was great spending time relaxing with family.

Well that’s it for our Utah trip. It was truly an answer to our prayers. Great time with great people. We wish it could have lasted longer but it will have to suffice until next year. We are so grateful to have come from such great families.

The next stage of our trip was a Romrell reunion. We played at my parents house for awhile and then packed up and camped at Cherry Hill for a few days. It went by way too fast and we wished we had more time. The kids had the time of their life. These few days were better than disneyland ever could be for them.

Side note: Kyle fell on the steps of the motorhome the day we got to Cherry Hill and chipped his front tooth in half. Sad day! Good thing he’s still super cute and it’s only his baby teeth.