Twenty-Nine & Fun Visitors.

The last day of March, my sweet husband turned 29 years old. He finally caught up to me! The last year in your twenties definitely deserves a celebration...and we celebrated.

For two whole days, we celebrated Scott's 29th birthday!

{This little girl LOVES her daddy, she forgets she also has a mom when Scott is around.}

Scott took the 30th off from school, since he had required class the next day, on his birthday.

He wanted to go to eat Mexican, his favorite food in the world (besides mine, of course):) The east doesn't quite have the array of choices that the west has when it comes to Mexican restaurants...but we finally found one called Uncle Julio's and it is really good...not quite Puerto Vallarta from Idaho Falls but close enough.

The food was delicious and we were so full afterward.

I told the waitress he had a birthday the following day and this is what she brought...sopapillas!
It was delicious!

I LOVE it when Scott hangs out with us...he's been studying non-stop for the last almost 3 weeks!

We love spending time as a family! There's nothing like being together.

After, Uncle Julio's, I told Scott that the kids and I had a special place to take him.

This cool place called Gravelly Point Park is a little park right behind the Reagan Airport in D.C. and you can see the planes take off right above your head.

It was so fun to watch the planes takes off...it literally felt like there was one taking off every minute!

Brielle and Braden were so happy to spend time with their daddy. I told them that it was their daddy's birthday and that they needed to make him feel special...and I think they did!

We had a such an enjoyable time, except for the fact that when we told Brielle that Scott was turning 29, she was very concerned. She asked:

"Is daddy old? Is he going to die?"

We had to clarify that 29 years old is NOT old and no he's not going to die!:)

On the 31st, Scott had to go to school pretty much all day, but when he came home I made this dish, which he requested, Beef Stew with Mushrooms. (A recipe from The Pioneer Woman...can you tell that I'm obssessed with this Pioneer Woman? She has inspired me so much, especially when it comes to cooking.)

{photo courtesy of The Pioneer Woman's website}

After enjoying the beef stew, we sang happy birthday one more time...

I love Scott's expression...he's such a goof!

And you can tell...he definitely got PLENTY of help from Brielle and Braden blowing off the candles.

They were soooooo helpful...:)

My husband is now twenty-nine years old!

I will forever be grateful that this man was born into this earth. He is truly, in every sense, the love of my life! We fit so well together and when I think about how the Lord brought our lives together, I can't help but be forever grateful to have such a wonderful guy!

Late on Scott's birthday, one of my best friends Ashley Anderson came to stay with us for a couple of days. We played Ticket to Ride (Scottie's request) and had such a great time visiting with her.

She came to D.C. with her boyfriend, Othello to visit his family who lives in Alexandria. Ashley was kind enough to make time to come see us while she was here!

{We had so much fun together, I always laugh hysterically when Ashley is around. She knows just what to say to make me laugh!}

Ashley and I met at BYU-Idaho, when it was Ricks College in 1999. We've known each other for over 10 years! We've kept in touch through the years and her family, the Anderson's are like family to me! They are such a wonderful family!

On Thursday, we headed to D.C. to the Library of Congress. It was crowded, but still had a fun time. We had lunch there and walked around. The Library of Congress is one of my favorite buildings in D.C. I love taking people there...

My kids absolutely LOVED Ashley and she was AMAZING with them! She was so loving and patient...I was so impressed! She is definitely going to be a wonderful mother!

Ashley has a master's degree in social work...and she is currently working at an elementary school in Washington state as a counselor. I'm so proud of her and all of her accomplishments. It's crazy to think that she was 17 and I was 18 when we met! We are both adults now!:)

After the Library of Congress, we headed to the National Museum of Natural History. We met up with Othello (Ashley's boyfriend.) We walked around for a while, until my kiddos were ready to call it a day!

I picked up Scott from school and we came home and had dinner and visited for a while. It was so nice to meet Othello. He is such a sharp guy! He is a reporter for a news station in Spokane. We had a very enjoyable conversation with him and Ashley.

I DID NOT want to say goodbye to Ashley! I literally felt so empty inside when I had to say goodbye. Two days was definitely not long enough! You know how with some people you just feel at home? That's how I feel when I'm around Ashley. I was reminded of why we are best friends and over 10 years later, we are still friends...and it always feels the same, like back when we were both teenagers.

I've been blessed with good friends.

Spring Break.

Scott had spring break last week and I must say it was just what I needed. He did have to study but it was nice to not feel too guilty about having him around more, since it was after all his spring break. Being a medical student and the family of a medical student is crazy sometimes...there's always some degree of guilt when Scott spends time with us...not just from his part, but from mine too...I want him to succeed and do well and time with us means less time studying...anyway, but last week was perfect. It was just what we all needed!

On Sunday, one of my favorite people came to visit us from Florida. Troy Samuels. He was my bishop in Miami and came to D.C. on business at the Capitol. To say that I was ecstatic to have him come to meet my husband and kids is definitely an understatement! I hadn't seen this man in 10 years!...and it was like 10 years hadn't passed! He was called to be our bishop and his wife, Jennifer was my Young Women's president, he was 28 years old and Jenn was 26...I am very fond of this family! They are amazing and made such a difference in my life when I was a teenager! I'm so grateful we got to see him...and especially that he got to meet Scott...they always wondered who I would marry...and I was glad to report that I did well!!!:)

The family with Bishop Samuels (he'll always be bishop to me).

On Monday, Scott spent the day studying and I spent the day doing some major spring cleaning!

On Tuesday morning, Scott went to the public library and about noon the kids and I surprised him and MADE him go have a picnic with us at the park...it was SUCH a beautiful day...I couldn't stand the thought of my poor husband being stuck at the library on such a beautiful day!

We enjoyed some peanut butter and honey sandwiches...

...and this man whom you see in this picture wearing a blue t-shirt played and played and played with his children as if he were a child himself...

They ran and they ran and they ran...

and then...they started to fight the "bad guys"... and then...they had to ran away from the sharks...

Brielle and Braden think they have the coolest dad...because he plays with them...he's actively there with them...he gives them quality time.

I love watching them play together, as a matter of fact, nothing makes me happier.

...and then poor Mr. Braden fell and scraped his little knee...he was sad, but then he got happy.

After a while of playing, Brielle said she was tired and she needed to take a nap...leaning on the tree.

Wednesday, Brielle had preschool and Scott studied some more. When he came home, he took the kids out to ride their bikes.

This little girl is getting pretty good at it...Braden still needs some help...but he's getting the hang of it.

Thursday, we decided to head to Harpers Ferry in West Virginia. We couldn't have picked a most beautiful day to go. It was heavenly...it was in the high 60's.

Harpers Ferry National Park is just amazing! I saw some pictures on my friend Val's blog a while ago and thought it was just the most beautiful place and only an hour away from here...so I convinced Scott to go and we enjoyed it so much.

We walked along the Shenandoah River.

The kids loved running around and discovering.

I had Brielle take a picture of Scott and I. She did pretty well. I didn't even have to crop it!

Brielle is making that face because she didn't want me to take a picture of her...

The little town is really charming.

There are a few museums, we read a few things but the day was so beautiful we just wanted to be outside.

This Catholic Church was built in the late 1800's.

I loved the architecture.

There are quite a few hike trails there. We picked really short ones because of the kids...

Along one of the trails, Jefferson Rock, we saw the ruins of one of the first churches built in Harpers Ferry.

We could have definitely spent all day there, from dawn until sunset...I think we were there for 5 hours.

We promised the kids we'd let them ride their bikes and so we did.

...even I rode Braden's bike!:)

...Braden, had to "fix" it for me before though...he found a "screwdriver" (a stick) and was getting everything tight before handing me his bike...he is always "fixing" things around the house...it is really cute...

We definitely will be coming back to Harpers Ferry.

On Friday, Brielle's preschool had a Donuts for Daddy little party. Scott LOVED taking Brielle to preschool that day and Brielle was so happy to have her daddy there with her.

Are they related or what?

Scott came home with a drawing of him by Brielle (which I will scan as soon as my scanner decides to start working) and on the back of the drawing he found these questions and answers.

Answers by Brielle:

What does Dad do at work?

He helps people so they don't get sick.

What is your favorite thing to do with Dad?

Play with my princess cards.

Why do Dad and I love each other so much?

I love to give dad hugs and kisses when he goes to school.

Scott came home with a HUGE smile on his face.

Saturday was another WONDERFUL day! We couldn't pass the opportunity to go outside. So, we went to the park again and had yet another picnic.

I think this park is one of my favorite parks here in Virginia...

We spent a long time playing by the creek.

There is seriously nothing in this world more wonderful than spending time outside with nature...

Showing off some sass...:)

We had the BEST week. A week like last week, reassures me that there's nothing more precious in this life than family.

Spring.

When I look at the picture below:

I TRY really, really hard to think about this:

"If you are still in the process of raising children, be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled will disappear all too soon and that you will-to your surprise-miss them profoundly."

President Thomas S. Monson

If you wish to feel inspired read his talk Finding Joy in the Journey.

At the same time, I feel grateful that this is happening outside:

{because a whole winter of being inside and messes that inevitably happen when you're inside for too long can drive anyone to insanity...}

Spring is here.

It makes me so happy. Words can't describe the joy I feel.

{It's time to come out of hibernation.}

Chinatown and The Heaton's.

Our good friends Jonathan and Daija Heaton with their little boy Bridger were in D.C. from Boston, for a dental conference for Jonathan's school this last weekend...we of course, had to take advantage of this opportunity. So we headed to D.C. to meet up with them in Chinatown, which was close to their hotel. We've been living in D.C. now for about a year and a half and we've only driven through Chinatown D.C. but never actually walked around.

This is the first time we've headed to D.C. without a stroller...Brielle and Braden felt so grown up.

We could tell they were loving the whole trip there. It was the unspoken, "mom and dad are letting us be big kids" kind of thing.

They LOVED every second of their "freedom"...and it was actually kind of nice for Scott and I not to have to push a stroller around and just hold the kids' hands.

They were both asking all sorts of questions about the maps and where in the map we were, etc. I can't believe how much they have been growing lately. They are both at such a fun stage. Scott and I are enjoying this time with them.

When we got out of the metro...we were welcomed by the smell of Chinese food...seriously it smelled so good...

But, we wanted to keep things kid-friendly so we decided to go to Fuddruckers. None of us had been there before and I think we all agreed that it was DELICIOUS! We had a fun time catching up with the Heaton's. It's always such a blessing to see old friends! We are lucky to have them somewhat close to us, we get to see them a few times during the year.

{"Bridger, like a bridge"...

...that's what Braden told Daija while we were eating dinner on Friday...he remembered what Jonathan taught him last time we saw them back in December.}

After dinner, we didn't want to say goodbye...so we headed over to Jon and Daija's hotel to hang out at the lobby. We got some ice cream and had dessert there...

...and of course, my kids HAD to give Bridger LOTS of love and they both wanted to "hold" him...even though Bridger is almost their size!:)

Our visit was definitely NOT long enough...but at least we got to see our good friends and spend a few hours visiting with them.

My kids think they are so funny pulling their mouths with their fingers...where do children learn these things?

A family shot in Chinatown.

{waiting for our train...}

We had such a fun time going to the city and seeing the Heaton's...but I think my two kiddos, had an extra fun time without the stroller...feeling like "big" kids.

It happened.

These pictures were taken on Sunday evening right before the act (which I won't mention until you get to the bottom of the post)...

She was even posing for the picture...

and then...

...this happened.

{she's rubbing her eyes because she was so ready for bed, she was exhausted}

This little lady, cut her hair. In her own words, in a VERY expressive sort of way, she said:

"My bangs were TOOOOOO long, I HAD to cut them."

These last two pictures don't do justice to the damage.

She got the hair cutting scissors from under the bathroom sink...

But instead of getting upset with her, I laughed. But not just any kind of laughter...I laughed uncontrollably. Why? I have no idea...it was just funny to me for some odd reason...but then we had a talk about not EVER, EVER doing it again.

Brielle is so incredibly particular about her hair, she very seldom lets me do anything with it (she will let other people do it) but oh not me...and if she lets me she is undoing it five minutes later...it drives me crazy! It's a constant battle, even to get it brushed...I wanted to let her bangs grow out so I didn't have to trim them every other week...It took a while to let her bangs grow out...but I guess, now we'll have to live with the bangs...and the damage...at least for the next couple of weeks.

Her preschool teacher saw her this morning and said:

"...looks like someone got a haircut."

I said:

"yeah, quite the haircut..."

I guess most of us have done it when we were kids or know someone who has cut their own hair...

Thank goodness it grows back...

...and now those scissors are way up high, where she can't reach them...where they should have been in the first place...