Georgetown Cupcake

Jen dragged invited me to Georgetown Cupcake a few days ago.  It is a fancy schmancy cupcake shop in DC that has it's own tv show!  Though I've never seen the show, we jumped on the chance for an adventure and a yummy cupcake.  The line was out the door the whole time and the cupcakes were displayed all pretty on silver platters.  It was a fun adventure and the cupcakes were yummy!

The kiddos loved their cupcakes

Look how cute Logan is licking his hot pink cupcake

Jen and I really wanted a nice cold drink...it was sooo hot!

ps. arent' these pictures Jen took great??  Thanks for letting me steal them, Jen!

Pretty Princess

When Dan came home from Utah, he had brought a few fun gifts for the kiddos.  It was like Christmas around here.  Grandma Loveridge also sent a few things for the kids, including a dress she made for Brynlee and a cool shirt for Carson.  Brynlee loves all of the dresses Grandma makes for her.  Every time she puts one on, she twirls around and says she is a pretty princess.  This new dress was no different...she loved it!  Just look how happy she is!  And Carson loved his new monkey shirt...I think it made him start acting like a monkey!  Oh, and cousin Jake had to get in a picture too...funny kid!

Garage

Dan worked so hard last weekend to build some shelves in our garage.  After a year of a garage disaster, it now is a bit more organized.  He worked hard in hot weather and it looks great!  Here are a few pictures. 

Spidy-girl was around too that day...isn't she cute?

So you noticed...

I've had that little Baby Ticker over on my sidebar for a little while now.  I guess since it's not April Fool's day, it must be true!  Yep...I'm 14 weeks pregnant!!!  We are super excited!  I'm one of those lucky ladies that doesn't get sick when she's pregnant (I know, please don't hate me!), but I do get SUPER tired!  I mean, unable to function tired.  If you don't believe me, check out my crafty blog...yeah, pretty pathetic, huh?  I've had just enough energy to take care of the kids and other than that, I'm pretty much useless.  The kids and I have still been doing lots of fun things this summer, but the house work has been lacking...oh well.  I think I'm starting to get my energy back, so I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things before this little baby joins the family.  Oh, that is expected to be January 21st.  I can't wait to find out if this little someone is a boy or a girl.  What do you think?

the garden

Well, half of our garden shriveled up and died, but the other half seems to be doing something!  We have had several cucumbers and several super huge zucchinis!  I made some zucchini bread and also a zucchini chocolate cake, which was really good.  We're hoping the pumpkins are successful too!  We'll try next year to see if we can keep the entire garden alive. 

On a side note, we've been having a blast with my brother's family here.  They are here for two weeks and we're loving it!  I enjoy having Roxie (my sis-n-law) around to talk to and hang out with, and the kids are having fun with their cousins.  We've had fun playing outside, swimming, etc.  I'll post some pictures next week when Dan comes home with the camera.

And one last thing.  Little miss Bryn has a tiny cold and I'm loving it!  Is that terrible?  She was cuddly and sweet today and went to bed tonight like a dream child!  I don't think I've put her to bed without her angrily screaming her lungs out at me for months!  She is always arguing and negotiating things with me until I give an ultimatum and leave.  Well tonight there was NONE of that.  And she wasn't pathetically sick...just sweet and easy, happily singing her songs....i LOVED it!!!  I hope you feel better soon Bryn, but maybe keep this easy to put to bed thing going a bit longer. 

A Public Apology

Why am I so mean?  

Dan is in Utah.  Having fun.  Seeing family.  Hanging out with friends. Eating yummy food.  Enjoying NO humidity.  Not having to put kids to sleep. 

And well, me?  I'm totally jealous!  

And mean.  

Every time he calls me, I'm mean.  I make him feel guilty.  I tell him I'm tired of cleaning and having kids scream at me.  

Oh, and did I mention it was MY idea that he goes on this trip?  Yeah, nice of me huh?

And I'm mean when he calls.  I suck. 

So, here it is.  A public apology to Dan.  You deserve a fun trip.  I'm sorry I'm complaining and making you feel bad about having fun without me.  Have fun!  Don't get eating by a bear while you're camping.  Pick me up some cinnamon bears.  Enjoy your trip.  I'm sorry I've been mean.  I'll be better!  Tell your family and friends I said hello.  I love you!

What's on my mind

* I've been thinking about swim lessons for my kids for months now...why have I not signed them up yet!  There are always conflicts...dang it!

* I think I need to carry DEET in my purse b/c my kiddos have a combined total of over 50 mosquito bites right now...ouch! 

* I wish we could live close to every friend we have.

* I love how Carson plays so well with his best friend, Lindsey....they are so cute together!

* Will I ever be able to keep my house clean for more than 2 hours?

* Maybe I shouldn't go to the pool for 4 hours in the middle of the day.  Even if I do reapply sunblock on my kids...poor things have red faces!  We sure had fun though!

* When will have energy again?

* Carson and Brynlee really love swimming and are quite daring these days.

* Dan is excited for his trip to UT to go hiking with his brothers and dad.  He's going to have a great time.  Me?  I'm a bit jealous.

* Carson recently has been taking off on his bike and loves riding around the neighborhood with Dan.  I'm so happy he's liking his bike more these days.

* We've been loving having my brother Ken living with us for the summer.  He's here for an internship.  He hasn't been any trouble AT ALL and we love having him here!  My kids LOVE their uncle Ken!

* We can't wait for Uncle Ken's family to visit us for 2 weeks...we're going to have so fun with our full house!

* How can a person so little (not even three, but I'm not naming names) be so hard to handle??  I question my parenting every day with that little one.  So cute, yet so darn difficult!  Any suggestions friends??

* Why did that difficult little person decide to cut her own hair?  It's really not that bad, but I kinda took some pride in stylin' her hair all cute.  She'll be getting a "touch-up" cut soon. 

* For my whole life I just burned in the sun...no tan, just burn.  I still burn (but not usually b/c I wear sunscreen), but instead I'm getting frecklier by the second.  My whole back is one big freckle!  Why does that happen? 

* I'm really liking this ward a lot.  So many fun people, so many fun things to do!  I tried Bunco for the first time...pretty fun!

* Where should we take a quick family trip in August?  Any ideas?

* When will I get back in the groove of crafting...man, it's been a while. 

* Will I ever actually finish decorating my house?

* Why have I still not returned a table I borrowed from my friend over a month ago?  (I'm sorry Brooke!  I promise I'll give it back soon!)

* How will Carson do at school in the fall.  Is he ready?  Am I ready? 

* Carson doesn't usually like to go to church on Sundays.  So, I was so happy to hear him tell me in the car yesterday "you know mom?  I don't really like to go to church, but I think I just need to remember that I like it when I get there.  I just forget how much fun it is."  Maybe I don't need to worry about him as much after all :)

* How many things can be on one person's mind?

* I love when Brynlee makes up her own songs and dances to them.  They usually go like this (sing in sing songy voice) "My daddy is at work!  But, my mommy is at home!  My daddy will be home in a minute!".  Funny girl.

* Okay, if you've read this far, you're amazing!  I think I'll stop now.  That's enough to think about for one day.  Goodnight!

A Creative Genius!!

Okay, maybe 'genius' is a pretty big word for this, but Carson is soo creative with random objects.  He is always finding things that look like other familiar things.  The picture above is his name...do you see it?  I'm sure this is a sign that he will be a genius one day, right??

And the Rocket's Red Glare!

We had a great 4th of July!  We spent Saturday night with a bunch of friends and enjoyed fireworks in their culdesac.  Other than Brynlee's sparkler burn, it was a fun evening of food, friends and fireworks!

Sunday night we decided to go with a bunch of families from our ward to a big fireworks show.  They had a helicopter show, parachute guys coming down from the sky, petting farm, etc. all before the big fireworks show at dusk.  The kids loved the BIG fireworks!  I love the USA!

Luray Caverns and a really cool YURT

Dan took off a Friday a couple weeks ago and we spent the day exploring Luray Caverns.  They give you headphones to listen to a self guided tour.  You can pick either the adult tour or kid's tour.  Carson LOVED the kid's tour and was excited to find the musical rocks (organ), ghost, and fried eggs (different rock formations)!  Brynlee liked the tour for about 1/2 the time, then was done with the cave altogether.  The cave was HUGE and really interesting!

After we had fun at Luray Caverns, we met up with our awesome friends for some fun at a time share they were at.   It was a super fancy yurt (am I the only one who has never heard of these before?).  The inside of this fancy permanent round tent thingie was quite big and had two bedrooms, a bathroom, kitchen/dining/living area, and a deck for grilling.   After a yummy dinner they made for us, we enjoyed swimming at the resorts pool....so fun!  The kids all get along soooo well, it's so fun and refreshing!  Carson and Lindsey are the bestest little friends.  I even overheard Lindsey tell Carson that he was her best friend...so sweet!  The kids did LOTS of jumping into the water and had fun running in the fountains.  Thanks for having us down guys!