Lovely Weekend: Just about everything

This past week was amazing. Husband and I started working on our next big adventure. We spent so much time together as a family, and it was wonderful. We had dinner together four of the five week days. It was fun to have my little family together so much.

I spent the majority of Saturday trying to reclaim my house from the last few crazy weeks of job finishing and changing. Cleaning everything, doing dishes, laundry, and packing for our trips. Husband left early in the morning to drive to Idaho with his brother who is moving there with his family in a week. They unloaded a big moving truck and then drove back. Quick little trip.

My mom flew in from California Saturday afternoon. She will be watching the kids while Husband and I take off for the week. We had a dinner get together with some family friends Saturday evening. Two of them head off to law school in California, so we wanted to wish them well.

On Sunday, Husband and I drove to Los Angeles. We had dinner with a good friend, one of Husband's friends from high school. It was great to see him and get caught up.

Later this afternoon, we are catching a ship and sailing away. I can't wait!

Lovely Weekend: Not much of a weekend

This weekend was not much of a weekend. Husband was at a conference the entire day on Saturday. He left at 8:30 am and came back at 7:45 pm. Not too different from a normal work day, but simply lame for a Saturday.

I took the kiddos to a friend's birthday party at a waterpark Saturday morning. We had a blast, but it is far from relaxing watching a 1 1/2 year old try keep his face out of the water. Luckily, I had nice friends there to help me out a bit. They all have kids of their own, and we had a wonderful time playing.

When it was time to go, we helped birthday girl's mom load up the car and then headed home. We had a quick lunch, washed the pool water off, and put Mr. T in bed. I tried very hard to convince Miss M to have a nap because I was beat. Literally about to fall asleep standing up. She politely declined. Thankfully, Mr. T had a three hour nap! Once he woke up, we had a snack and headed to the grocery store.

Going to the grocery store with two kids at the end of a long day is one of my least favorite activities. Miss M complained the whole way about how tired she was and that Mr. T was being too noisy so she couldn't sleep. Luckily, once we were in the store, both kids were happy. It still took forever, but they were happy. Sucess.

Headed home to put things away, make a quick dinner, and put the kids in bed asap. Husband came home just in time to play with the kids and put them in bed. Sweet relief.

On Sunday, we had dinner with a family in our neighborhood. A few weeks ago, we found out the husband served a mission in Taiwan just like Husband. We made plans to get together to cook some delicious Taiwanese food. The food was amazing and the company was delightful.


Now it's back to the grind. Crazy, busy week up ahead. Husband is leaving on Thursday for a quick business trip, and there is much to get done before.

Wishing you a wonderfully productive start to your week!

Lovely Weekend: Relaxing & Celebrating

Why do weekends have to fly by so quickly? This weekend was relaxing and spent with my little family. I haven't had a relaxing weekend like this for quite a while. Very much needed. Here are a few highlights.

Watched The Social Network with Husband on Friday night.

Slept in on Saturday. (Joy.) Had pancakes. Bummed around with the family.

Ran a few errands with the family.

Played with the family.

Had yummy dinner with the family.

Went to church Sunday.

My sister, brother, and brother's girlfriend came over to celebrate brother's birthday. The big 2-5. Had tons of fun. Ate good food. Laughed until we cried. Multiple times.

The best things in life really are simple.
Having loved ones around is definitely one of the very best things.

Lovely Weekend: Hanging in there

Source: potterybarnkids.com via Sara on Pinterest

Source: pacingthepanicroom.blogspot.com via Emily on Pinterest

Loving these shaded sandbox ideas to protect from the sun.

Went on a date with Husband Friday night. It's been a long time since we went out by ourselves. Saw Pirates of the Caribbean. Enjoyable. Big thanks to brother and his girly friend for watching the little monsters.

Took sister-in-law out to breakfast for her birthday Saturday morning. Yummy food. Better company. Proud of her.

Took a walk with Miss M and played outside in the dirt. Enjoyed the bit of sun we had. Love that girl.

BBQ'ed with friends on Saturday night. Wonderful to catch up and kiddos had a blast. Dirt-covered and all.

Semi-relaxing Sunday complete with a big family dinner.


Husband got sick. Miss M still coughing. Still raining. Will it ever go away? I'm not sick yet. Trying to hold out this time. Fingers crossed. Like the rain, but ready for some sunshine.

Lovely Weekend: Celebrating Mothers

Source: buketteniboras.blogspot.com via Cynthia on Pinterest

Received a beautiful bouquet of tulips and a sweet card from my dad. He's the best.

Attended a graduation party on Friday for my dear friend who just completed architecture grad school. So proud of her.

Spent Saturday with the family running errands and working on house stuff. Boring stuff is always better with people you love.

Woke up to breakfast in bed on Sunday morning. My two little kiddos helped me eat it as they jumped on my bed.

Got to spend the day with my own mom who is in town this week. She is one of the most incredible women you will ever meet.

Went to church and had a big family dinner at my house with my mom, siblings, and in-laws. Always love a good party.

Big thanks to Husband for the breakfast, much-needed afternoon nap, and wonderful dinner. He also gave me the sweetest card. Simply my best friend and favorite person ever.

Hope you had a lovely weekend.

Lovely Weekend: Easter and the Sick House

Miss M loved coloring eggs, going on an egg hunt, and her Easter basket.

Mr. T loved finding the eggs Miss M passed over.

Both kids were pretty sick and so pitiful and grumpy. Husband and I were starting to feel the first symptoms of colds coming on. Blah.

We had a big Easter dinner with family and friends. Too bad my table really only seats four instead of nine. I need to get a bigger table. We had a wonderful time.

Dinner turned out well, and the food was all eaten up. That always makes me happy.

I really need to get a camera.

Lovely Weekend: Truly Inspiring

It was a truly lovely weekend. It was full of deep reflection and much inspiration. We saw good friends and made new ones.

On Friday night, we dropped the kids off at my in-laws, and we started our four hour drive. It was snowy and rainy off and on. We finally arrived at Husband's grandparents' house about 10:30 pm. We chatted for a few minutes and then went to bed.

Saturday morning we woke up to dark, rainy skies. We got ready and had breakfast with the grandparents before taking off to the funeral services.

Before the funeral, there was a viewing. The family was lined up before the small casket to greet those in line. I couldn't even think of anything to say. What do you say to someone who has just lost their child? What do you say to children who have just lost their little brother? Words seem too trivial at a time like this. We hugged, and that was about all we could do. They thanked us for coming. We said we wouldn't have missed it. I could barely glance in the casket. My heart was breaking for this family.

The funeral was absolutely beautiful. One of the older teenage sisters gave the eulogy. She did a wonderful job, and I was so impressed with her composure and poise to get through such a difficult task. Then, the father spoke. His talk was incredible. Absolutely incredible. He talked about how he had never experienced such sadness and joy at the same time. Sadness for the great loss and grieving for his little son and immense joy because his son is in paradise and has finished his journey on earth. This family is strong. They will navigate this tragedy courageously and become even stronger and better people as a result.

Next, we went to the cemetery. There was a huge bunch of brightly colored balloons. Everyone had the chance to write a note and attach it to a balloon. The balloons were released into the sky simultaneously. We all watched as they floated away into the cloudy sky. Just as they were almost out of sight, the sun broke through the clouds. It shined brightly the remainder of the day like a sweet smile from heaven.

As Husband and I talked after the services, we discussed how tragic events often have great potential to strengthen individuals and also bring people together. It's horrible when sad things happen, but there is so much good that often comes from them. The funeral on Saturday caused me to reflect on areas I want to improve on. Whether it's being a little more kind, hugging my kids more, or just making more time to really play with them; I want to be better. Because that is what matters most. Trying a little harder to be a better person.

There were other lovely activities this past weekend. Husband's song was beautiful. He did a great job, like he always does. We made some new friends and connected with some we haven't seen for a few years. The drive back was snowy and crazy, but it was sure nice for Husband and me to have four uninterrupted hours to chat. We arrived at my in-laws at 12:30 am and decided to just crash on the couch instead of waking up the kids to go home. I slept like a rock.

Saturday was a beautiful day. I consider myself lucky that I was able to have a truly inspiring day.

Lovely Weekend: The Big Move

We made the big move this weekend. It went so smoothly thanks to a few family members and friends who spent their Friday evening and Saturday morning helping us pack the truck. Seriously, so nice. And a huge thanks to five guys from our new neighborhood that showed up to help us unpack the truck. It took less than 30 minutes. Amazing. Conference was wonderful. It was nice to relax and learn in between all the moving and unpacking. A few things that struck me most were talks about service and how we are often the answer to others' prayers. The other focus I enjoyed was the importance of families. I can honestly say that my family members are my best friends. I love them dearly. This whole week will be filled with unpacking and organizing. I'm waiting for a load of shelf liner that should arrive next week. I know, I should have ordered it earlier :) I just couldn't decide what I wanted, but I'll do a little post about it soon. I'll try post pictures as soon as I get a camera. Life without a camera since January has been awful. I'm having a hard time deciding what to get, but for now I'm just going to get a simple point and shoot to get by.

Lovely Weekend: Super stress, but almost done

This past weekend was filled with excitement, new opportunities, and lots of fun. Spencer and I kicked off the weekend with some serious appliance hunting/finalizing on Friday night. We finally made a decision on Saturday and feel good about what we picked. So nice to have that out of the way.

On Saturday morning, we had a final walk-through for our house. I was so excited I could hardly stand it. There were just some cosmetic touch-up things here and there, but overall, everything was looking great. When we were about to walk out the front door, Husband realized a little part of one wall was crooked. Yeah, crazy. How did they miss that? Anyway, all weekend we stressed about how long it would take them to fix it. Fortunately, we will still close Tuesday night as planned. I can. hardly. wait.

Sunday was slightly stressful since Mr. T was a super grump. He's teething, and the poor guy also has a cold. I can tell he doesn't feel good, and he just cries and cries. I feel so bad for him. Hopefully, he will get better very soon.

This week is going to be a really crazy one. We are trying to figure out how to move our things as quickly as possible to our new house. However, Husband can't take any time off, and we have plans every night this week. We didn't even know until this afternoon that we would still close Tuesday either. I need to pack, too. Yikes! We'll see how it shakes out.

Lovely Weekend: Appliance Hunting

Electrolux washer & dryer in Mediterranean blue. In love with this color.

It was another whirlwind weekend. Why does the weekend have to go by so quickly? Husband and I spent a significant amount of time researching and looking at appliances. Blah. So boring. We need to find a washer, dryer, and refrigerator. I've never bought appliances before, so I just feel mostly overwhelmed at the choices. I hate making a bad decision on anything, so I have to research it to death, and then I have to figure out how to make up my mind. It takes forever, but makes me feel like I'm making a more informed choice. I'm hoping to make a decision by tonight. Any suggestions?

On a very happy note, our house will be done this week! I'm hoping we will get to close on Friday and start the move on Saturday. I cannot wait!

Here are a few other weekend highlights:

*Went to dinner with my mom and brother at a new restaurant without the kiddos. The food was delicious. The company was better. (Thanks Husband.)

*Had amazing warm, gooey cookie topped with ice cream at a little dessert place with my mom, brother, and Husband. Super fun.

*Went to dinner with Husband for a much needed date. So nice to have some alone time with my best friend.

*Attended our new church congregation. Everyone was so friendly. I'm really excited to meet new people.

*Had a lovely Sunday dinner with family. Love family time the most.

*Checked on the house three times. Cabinets and counters in, hardwood floors in, tile in bathrooms. Ecstatic.


It's going to be a crazy week around here, too. Getting ready to move and picking up much needed small items like shelf paper/liner, some new cleaning supplies, and much more.

Hope you had a lovely weekend as well.
Wishing you a happy and productive week ahead!