Thirty.

This was most definitely not the most awaited birthday of the century.  

Surprisingly, though, I feel good about it.  I realized, that 30 is good.  

Hi, my name is Denisse and I'm 30 years old.  

I have been on this earth for 30 years!!! and you know what? 

I am happy.

 I have a husband who during Sunday School this last Sunday whispered in my ear that he loves it that I'm 30 and that he likes my "mature" look...whatever that means...:)  

I guess I am now officially a woman! Like a real mature woman.

ha ha ha!!! I'm cracking myself up...

Everyone made me feel special that day...and I did, it was nice to get phone calls, texts, cards, facebook messages...The celebration started Saturday, since Monday was a working day for everyone...My nice brother watched the kiddos for a few hours while Scott took me to dinner.  It was nice to have a nice little date with my husband.  

When we got back the kids had fishing poles and had the best time with their tio Kem. 

As I always say Kemchu is such a fun uncle to my kids and such a good brother to me. 

On Monday, my actual birthday, I went about my normal day thinking we had already celebrated on Saturday...but Scott ended up coming home at noon from the hospital with a bouquet of beautiful flowers and kit-kats (my favorite chocolate)...it was such a nice surprise.  Scott and the kids made me cupcakes and cake and sang happy birthday.  Our friend Anna watched our kids and we headed on another date together.  

Spending time with my husband was the best present.

Then on Wednesday, my friend Alisha had a little birthday get together with our other friend Jenny who also had a birthday that week and a few of our other friends were invited, who I didn't get to see because I had to run to the preschool to help with Braden's Fall Fest (such a bummer!).

Brielle and Braden were in preschool, so they missed out.  It was nice to hang out at the park and chat.  These girls are such awesome friends. 

I have to admit, that turning 30 has been quite a strange thing for me.  My 20's were so dear to me.  I keep wondering how the 30's will ever beat my 20's...but like everything in this life, it's a matter of perspective. 

I am now in level 3, my friends...

Thirty, Flirty and Thriving.

(there, I go...is it on level 3 or in level 3???) "in" and "on", "off" and "out"...those prepositions in English drive me nuts!!! 

Playdough, Dance Moves & Life.

We just have been doing life around here. It seems like the weeks are just slipping off my hands and when I least expect it, it'll already be Christmas! From dropping kids off to preschool, taking them to ballet class for Brielle and swimming class for Braden, cooking, cleaning, folding, planning stuff for my calling, and more often than I'd like to admit, wasting time in front of the computer; I just don't know how it is the month of October already!!! ...and you know what that means...I will turn 30 in 11 days!!!!!! noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!

The kids are both happily adjusted to preschool. Braden got a name tag the first day of school and he wore it ALL day long!!! He insisted on keeping it on. He is happy and he is doing so well. He has been saying and doing the cutest and funniest things lately. Like the other day, he made himself a little "tent" all by himself and he actually feel asleep under it.

It was so cute.

I started the TOKEN SYSTEM with Brielle and Braden. They get a token when they help clean up, talk nicely and share. I am amazed at how well it is working for us, positive reinforcement, my friends!!! That's what I needed!!! I made Batman tokens for Braden and princess ones for Brielle. (If you are interested in the tokens I'd be glad to email them to you, just let me know!) Sharing is caring right?:)

I cut them up in circles and they put them in a jar every time they do the good behavior. At the end of the week, if they have gathered at least 20 tokens, we go and get a little toy for a dollar.

The other day Scott and were cleaning up some stuff in the living room and Braden says:

"I think you two are going to get a token today!"

We couldn't stop laughing...just the tone in which he said it...

I signed up to bring play dough to Brielle and Braden's preschool classes and since I had never made it before, I figured I better make it once before actually making it to bring it to school. It was super easy and my kids were in heaven. They were entertained for at least an hour.

I gave them cookie cutters and they went to town.

Braden was so into it.

As you can see from the pictures above Mr. Braden needed a haircut, he needed one badly.

So one morning, I decided to give him one. It wasn't perfect, but it'll do and it was free.

I was surprised at how grown up he looks with his hair cut. He definitely is not a baby anymore.

After a whole week of summer-like heat, I was so happy when it finally rained and it cooled things off around here. The kids begged me to let them play in our "sandbox" a.k.a. the patch of dirt in front of our building. I'm amazed at how much entertainment these two can find in that little patch of dirt...and what is a mother to do, when we don't have a yard. I just can't deny them the hours of entertainment! :)

A little while ago we found these masks at my favorite thrift store "Unique", I love that place! The kids were being silly one night before bed.

They were showing me their superhero moves!

...and another night they were showing me their dance moves...don't mind Brielle in her underwear...I don't know what it is with this girl and pants, she just hates them...hence, she very seldom wears pants when we are inside...

I have to pick my battles.

She has been saying funny things too. The other day she informed the family:

"I drank a lot of water and the water is in my bladder, turning into pee pee. It a big, huge bubble of pee pee!!!"

I think she is the daughter of a doctor-to-be!

Here are some videos for the grandmas:

Goodbye For Now.

I think humanity will forever be puzzled when bad things happen to good people. My good friend Holly, lost her husband Shane almost 2 weeks ago, he was 28 years old and healthy. You can read about what happened HERE and HERE. The knowledge of the Plan of Salvation gives us hope. Holly and I became friends about a year ago, when our wards went through some boundary changes. She has been one of my favorite friends, here in Virginia. Brielle and Braden adore Preston, their little 18 month old.

To say that my heart is aching is an understatement...Shane was a gentle man and he was a good husband and father.

There are no words of comfort to give, nothing, but to give love and say prayers...and hope that Holly and Preston have felt how much we love them and hope that Heavenly Father hears our prayers that Holly and Preston may be comforted and directed.

Holly and our little buddy Preston moved to her parents' house, not even a week ago...and I already miss them. Who is going to drop by my house unannounced now?:) (I LOVED that about Holly!) Who is going to drop me off little treats on Valentine's day? or randomly call me to go to the park?

Holly is good at creating a community around her. She's good at being a friend. We could just talk and talk and talk...She has a lot of people that love her and Preston.

The night before she headed to her parents', some of Preston's little friends and their mommies gathered in their empty apartment to say goodbye.

My kids can't get enough of Preston...and I think he loves them too.

We miss you Preston! He would always give me hugs and pull my hand to go wherever he wanted me to go.

While we were there, Preston got a hold of Brielle's doll...

...he was busy bending her legs.

This woman, Holly, she has been amazing through this whole thing...so gracious to everyone. I am simply amazed by her strength.

We love you Holly and Preston!

D.C. Visits

Our friend Misty, came to visit us for a few days. It was so nice to see her and spend time with her again. We went to the National Museum of Natural History one of the days she was here. We have been there a few times, but we haven't seen all of the exhibits. So this time, we went to the Ocean Hall, it's all about ocean life. It was very cool and the kids had fun seeing the fish and playing around with the interactive stuff they had there.

On Museum Day, a couple of Saturdays ago, we headed to the National Geographic Museum. This time with Scottie, since he had the day off. I guess, on Museum Day, you can get in to some museums around the U.S. for free...so we printed off our tickets and headed to D.C. although the National Geographic Museum is free, some of the exhibits aren't. This gecko exhibit wasn't free, but we got in for free with our pass.

It was fun learning about these animals. They are so interesting looking.

We all had a fun time.

They had a little section for kids to color. Brielle and Braden both love to color, so we spent quite a few minutes there.

They had these fun bean bags...they were so comfy.

After the gecko exhibit we had lunch in this little patio area in between the buildings.

After our little lunch, we went to see this AMAZING photography exhibit called "Simply Beautiful". It was so funny because, that is exactly what I wanted to say after admiring each of those photos! They were amazing!!!!

But...can you say that this one is just "simply beautiful"?

Rocky Run Trail.

This last Saturday, we headed to this awesome trail called Rocky Run Trail. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I LOVE how many fun trails you can find here in Virginia. It was so beautiful and we couldn't have picked a better day to go.

Trying to get a descent family picture...it wasn't working out so well for us.

We made it to the end of the trail and we stopped for some snacks before heading back.

Even though, these two fight a lot, they love each other so much. This is just such a tender moment. I'm so glad my brother captured it.

My Scottie, showing me a slice of his tangerine.

The kids saw this tree over the creek and wanted to go through it.

It has been so nice to have Kem here. Braden loves his tío Kemchu. He has taught them Chinese. Both Brielle and Braden see him and say, "Ni hao ma hen hao xie xie"

Almost a good family picture...Braden!!!

{Photographed by Kem}

On the way back to the car, the kids were hiding behind the trees...according to them, they were 'camouflaging'! So we would pretend like we couldn't see them. Then they would come out of "no where" and scare us.

They thought there were being so sneaky.

Sneaky, sneaky...

This little boy was having a blast "camouflaging"!!!!:)

Any where we go, Braden will find sticks.

It was a fun Saturday afternoon.

We got home just in time for the second session of Conference.

So many amazing talks.

In my mother's words, "we need General Conference every 3 months!"