A day in the life of Brielle & Braden.

Brielle and Braden have a good life.

Getting these kids dressed can be quite the challenge but at least they have clothes to cover their cute little bodies.

Brielle looks like Princess Leah...ha ha!

Brielle and Braden get to go to the dentist every six months to get their little teeth checked for cavities. They had their appointments last week and Brielle did incredibly well. Last time she cried bloody murder, so this time around I talked to her about it and prepared her for it. The night before her appointment she informed me, "Mommy, I'm not going to cry at the dentist's tomorrow. They're just going to tickle my teeth." And so, she did as she said and was a good little patient opening her mouth big and wide!

Beautiful clean little teeth! No cavities!

Then, came Mr. Braden. He cried bloody murder! He detested every second of it! (Just like his mommy when she goes to the dentist!--I get major anxiety when I go to the dentist and I also feel like crying bloody murder!!! That puts quite the image in your head doesn't it?)

Anyway, their dentist is such an incredible lady, she just acts like nothing is happenning and she just goes for it! She's amazing! I'm very happy with her!

No cavities here either! He was happy after he got his dinosaur toothbrush!

After their appointments we headed to the Arlington National Cemetery with my brother Kem. What a wonderful blessing that Brielle and Braden get to have all of these amazing places to visit! Even though, they may not remember too much of it when they are older...that's why we take pictures...:)

We have been trying to go to this cemetery since we got here and every time we try to go we get there too late and it's closed. This time, we got to go in and it was amazing!

It was such a perfect day when we went...there was lots of walking but the stroller was a life-saver! Brielle did NOT want to look at the camera in this picture...

My kids are blessed to have their uncle Kem so close at this time of their life. He is a good uncle and I feel so happy that they get to be around him and spend time with him.

Beautiful D.C.

I don't know what I'm laughing about here but I look like I'm enjoying life...

Brielle and Braden get to grow up in this wonderful country where these people sacrificed their lives to fight for a safe life without worrying about their freedom to do as they righteously please. They are truly blessed.

Miss Brielle. She does not look like a baby any more.

This little boy is my favorite...

I'm lucky to have these beautiful children...they are my treasures and motherhood is more than I ever imagined...it is rewarding, challenging, humbling and beautiful.

I have to say that a lot of these pictures were taken by my brother, like this one...is my favorite one...

and this one...just beautiful...

Mr. Braden.

Bri.

And this is a day in the life of Mr. Braden and Bri bri.

Last year in my 20's.

I turned 29 on the 18th. I've officially started my last year in my 20's. As much as I would like to sound excited about turning 30 in less than a year now, frankly I'm not. Since last year, I have found many more gray hairs, gained a couple undesired pounds and gotten one or two more laugh wrinkles. I will miss being in my 20's. This whole aging process is definitely more dreadful than I ever thought it would be. My 20's have been the best years of my life, I think. Although my childhood is pretty much up there too. I guess we all have to grow old and wrinkley don't we? And I better do it graciously rather than not.

To celebrate my last year in my 20's we went to P.F. Changs the day before my actual birthday since the 18th landed on a Sunday this year. The kids were acting wild so it was somewhat enjoyable. But it was nice to spend it together as a family.

I had to join into the new cupcake trend. There has been so much raving about these little cupcake shops all over the country so Scott took me to Cupcakes Actually. At $3.50 a piece they exceeded my expectations. WOW!!!! They were INCREDIBLE!

So, if you haven't been to a cupcake shop you should definitely go get yourself a couple. They are to DIE for!

On Sunday morning, Scott let me sleep in. What a sweet husband. The kids came to wake me up at about 9 and sounded extra excited. "Wake up mommy, we have surprise for you!" is what Braden said. "Come on, come on!!!" So I quickly got out of bed to find these BEAUTIFUL little heart that their daddy had helped them to make for me! Scott made crepes for breakfast and they were delicious!!!:)

Then...

My brother, gave me this. It's totally a guy way to wrap a present! I was laughing so hard...and was so incredibly curious to find out what it was. And WOW! What I found was an incredible surprise!!!

I have been coveting one of these for a little while now...not as fancy as this one...my brother definitely outdid himself! And I am NOT complaining! Man! Am I so grateful for his generous present! He is so thoughful and kind! I have a LOT to learn and he has been teaching me a lot of things. I've been playing with it and it is an AMAZING camera!!! I'm in LOVE!!!:)

It was an extraordinary birthday! Not just because of my great present but also because I find myself at a blessed place in my life! I find myself happy more often than not. We all have our moments of frustrations but I I find that the older I get the better I'm able to see the world around me in a more profound way. The level of happiness that I feel now doesn't compare to any other time of my life.

I'm happy to have turned 29.

Glimpses of Fall.

Fall is my favorite. Fall in Virginia is my ABSOLUTE favorite! It is unbelievably gorgeous! The trees are breathtaking and the weather is mostly perfect. We've been going on lots of walks lately...no more bugs!

We enjoyed the visit from our good friend, Michele at the end of September. (She is my friend Gonzalo's cousin). We have known her since she was 7 years old, now she is about to graduate from BYU. It is crazy how time passes by! Her visit was short but it was so fun to see her!

She really is such a cute girl and so much fun to be around...she bought a Jet Blue special deal that was going last month, she paid $600 and she was able to fly anywhere for that amount in one month! She came here, went to the Bahamas, Colombia, Florida...Pretty good deal if ask me!

We are making fun of the cute Asian tourists you see making the peace sign when they take pictures!!! ha ha!!!:) (It was Michele's idea, since she is half Vietnamese!):)

At the end of September, we also celebrated my brother's birthday. We went to a Thai Restaurant in D.C. my brother's favorite food. We had a great time! Now, we are the same age for a few more days...Here is Kem, his "friend" Holly and Brielle.

We were so full after eating all that yummy food! Thai food is delicious!

I've been feeling domestic lately...I had some bananas that had gone way too ripe for anyone's taste in this household...I didn't want to throw them away so I made this yummy banana bread! Man! oh man! I LOVE banana bread with chocolate chips!

I also made this...It's to store my grocery store bags that have been driving me CRAZY under my kitchen sink! It wasn't hard at all to make and I love the fabric!

Craigslist has been very good to me lately! I've been looking for a double stroller for centuries now...and I finally have found something I LOVE. This sit and stand is AWESOME!!! You usually pay about $130 for it brand new but I found it on craigslist for $75 and then I bargained with the lady and she gave it to me for $65!!! It's pretty much brand new and I CANNOT believe that I've gone this long without a double stroller! The kids LOVE it because they can sit or stand...they take turns sitting in the back...and now I can take long walks and go places by myself without having to stress out!

Very random picture...but Braden LOVES to drink his milk when he is having cereal in the morning! He drinks it 'til the last drop!

Braden has been fascinated with acorns! One time we were coming back from a walk and he had gathered a bunch of them with his two little hands. As we were coming up the stairs to our house he couldn't hold on to the railing and hold the acorns at the same time. He asked me if I could hold them so I did. His next request was one of the cutest things I've ever heard: "Mommy, keep them safe okay, keep them safe."

Oh the little things that children think are treasures...acorns...and ladybugs...

On another walk the kids found a few dead lady bugs. They both have these cute little tin boxes where they store their "treasures". They each put a lady bug in their boxes and came home. Later that day, Brielle was going through her box and was playing with the lady bug...(yeah, I know....that's why I bathe them every day!) Anyway, next thing...I hear her say as she is closely looking at the dead ladybug, "WAKE UP LADYBUG, WAKE UP!!!"

This little guy still has to wear the patch everyday, indefinitely. Now that Scott is in school all day, I've been slacking a little bit...mainly because he HATES wearing it and I LITERALLY have to wrestle with him to put it on...the other day I was talking to one of the ladies that takes her girls to Brielle's ballet class and she was telling me that one of her daughters has a similar condition. She told me about a website where they sell fun patches. But since we still have a couple of boxes left of the plain ones, I decided to decorate them myself! I am not an artist by any means...you can be the judge since Braden requested the Superman logo and that DOES NOT look anything like it! BUT. Since I've been decorating his "sticker" he has been more willing to wear the patch!!! whooo hooo!!!

Lastly...

(This picture was taken last December at the National Museum of American History)

Since Brielle started preschool, we have gotten such great feedback from her teacher. She has told me twice already that she is convinced that Brielle is going to be the President of the United States someday...she went on to tell me that Brielle is a little leader and is the kindest, most caring student in her class and is always worried about other people's feelings. If she sees anyone without a playmate she hurries and tells them to come play with her!

This last Friday, during their time in the the playground, her teacher was preoccupied with something and couldn't push some kids that were asking to be pushed in the swings. According to Brielle's teacher, I guess, Brielle noticed this and she organized a line with all the kids that wanted to be pushed in the swings and had them take turns while SHE, (Brielle) pushed them!!! I wish I would have been able to record her teacher telling me the story! She just LOVES Brielle! It makes me so incredibly happy and grateful that she goes to a place where she is loved and praised!

On Friday, my heart was full.

National Building Museum.

Last Monday, we headed to the National Building Museum in D.C. with the kids, my friend Anna and her little girl Lillie. I hadn't heard of this museum before but a little while ago I saw some awesome pictures on my friend's blog and I thought it looked like such a fun place to take Brielle and Braden. I think most museums in D.C. have a Discovery Zone for children, but this one looked like it would be a blast!

Brielle, Braden and Lillie had so much fun! We are definitely going back!

I hardly got any pictures of the kids looking at the camera, they were so concentrated in all of the fun stuff that was there...

Braden LOVED all of the tractors, sticks, blocks, etc.

This little boy is SUCH a boy...

He was in heaven!

Brielle on the other hand...she was attracted more to the girly stuff...she spent quite a while playing with this little house and putting dolls in bed...

She also LOVED this other "real" little house...

Brielle dressed up like a fire fighter for 2 seconds and then wished she was dressed up like a princess...

I don't know why but I love Brielle's face in this picture!

The architecture in this museum was amazing!

There are tables around the museum, people go there to have lunch or just enjoy the architecture. We packed lunches and ate there...the kids run around for a little while...they were so tired...the ride home in the metro was loooong...

...But I'm pretty certain they had a blast! We can't wait to go back!