long drives with babies

If you've learned anything about us yet, it's that we like to get around, which sometimes means a lot of driving. Call me crazy, but whenever possible I prefer driving to flying. To me it seems a lot less stressful in some ways when you are with babies - checking in the baggage, trying not to stress other passengers out with noisy children, never stopping and taking a break, etc etc. Haha, plus these days it's less expensive it seems like if you travel like us :). We love our Marriott card which enables us to stay at hotels by using our points. Flying occasionally (especially for long trips across the US) is great, but I like driving too. I also love seeing where we are going a little closer. Maybe it's because I have fun memories growing up of my family taking our 1973 (?) family camper across the US. 

For this trip we rented a car which made it new and exciting in some ways. It didn't have a cd player unfortunately (our go to for entertainment) so we went Jacob style and did a lot of singing and talking and reading books instead (which was actually a lot of fun). We like to stop along the way and see historical or fun places (Nate uses trip advisor and does his homework before we leave...thank you sweetie!) This time we stopped in North Carolina to see a Revolutionary War battle site (Eutah Springs), then Savannah Georgia the first night and wandered through that charming old city the  next morning. Of course we had to see the Forest Gump bench again - mostly because it's in such a beautiful part of town. Into Florida we stopped at an iconic fast food restaurant called 'Whataburger'...which was a cheap way to get a taste of southern culture. Then in Florida we drove to St Augustine - the first settlement in America that we know of - settled by the Spanish which was beautiful. Our boys loved exploring the fortress, and I loved the cool ocean breeze and sunshine! Of course the best part (and biggest reason we drove to Florida) was seeing Nate's family. It was heaven. We love them so much. They were kind enough to meet up with us at the Military resort we were staying at in Disney World and even took us to dinner. We also spent a day with them at Sea World (more pictures to come). Such a fun reunion!

Eutah Springs - the battle that pushed the British out of North Carolina (we still love our Brits though :))

This picture cracks me up. Mason on the ipad :) - which we pulled out on occasion for fun. I like that this one has educational things on it as well as fun things for people his age - since he doesn't quite grasp yet the significance of these places. ha!

I just can't get enough of those cheeks!!

"Mama always said - life is like a box of chocolates...you never know what you're gonna get". True to our lives as well....except we'll probably never physically run across the United States or win Olympic medals :)...but you never know!

a first time for us!

a nice stranger offered to take this picture for us.

showing Stanley the ropes of shooting a cannon :)

the lookout point

Mason's sunglasses though! He has pretty sensitive eyes like me and Nate, so he usually likes to wear them outside.

can you tell i'm just a little bit obsessed with this place - and my white dress from Old Navy that I "stole" for $13. It was the best and most comfortable thing you can imagine to have on that hot day!

Stanley (just like Mason back in the day) pushing his stroller, rather than riding in it :). At least it carries out bags for us.

sorry to that random couple we took a pic of - but I love this Lion of St Augustine and made Nate take a drive by photo of it

the boat ride to the second fortress that protected the main one. it was free!! what? Mason and I were both happy :).

Stanley par for the course - following his older brother. Mason wanted to climb this ladder - was a little scared at first, but with a little encouragement (and support) from Nate, climbed it and conquered his fears. I love these moments of Nate helping Mason to conquer challenging or scary things.

the older military flag of Spain - the cross of St Andrew I think?

He was so proud of himself...as he should be! :)

the smaller fortress "lookout"

Stan just a little disgruntled that Mason is taking a picture of him :). also his cheeks full of a grape or something! this is us you guys!

"the reunion"...so much love in this family!!

Stanley turns two!!

For Stanley's birthday (May 14th), we celebrated him by doing the things he loves most: playing sports, being together, and eating good food. Stanley's personality has really started to bloom this year and it has been so fun for us! He loves his brother Mason and seems to follow him around a lot. He also loves his Daddy a lot, and asks where he is whenever he is at school or work, then gets very excited when he comes home. He loves playing sports constantly. I think ball was his second word (after Mama). He is cuddly and sweet, and maybe a little more shy at first than Mason, but also warms up. He is learning so many words, how to count, randomly sings the little alphabet song, and sings along with me 'I am a child of God' or 'I'm trying to be like Jesus' or 'I love to see the Temple' at night before he goes to bed and I love it. He has been a pretty chill toddler so far which has been great - as long as he is fed and gets his sleep :)! He sleeps well through the night and takes long naps during the day. We all love this little boy so much!!!

waffles for his birthday breakfast. he insisted on having that plate there - so I sort of just held on to it while he ate :).

loves his ice cream so we got him a special treat for his birthday :). happy birthday little buddy! we sure do love you!

odds and ends

These pictures are SO random but I have to hold on to them somewhere :). Sorry guys. First of all, it was fun to get a chance to eat so healthy for while. Now that I'm not at home it's a bit harder, but i'm still trying :). I'm posting these pictures to remind me in the future to eat this way again when I get back! I love how it forces you to try out new veggies and fruits. Also, saying goodbye to our friends lately who have graduated are are moving on has not been fun. We are seriously going to miss them next year!

love salmon!!!

this picture is making my mouth water. simple goodness.

birthday flowers from my YW!

birthday flowers from friends and Nate. somehow they knew how much I love flowers!

celebrating 5 de mayo

love this book i just finished!

first watermelon of the season!

saying goodbye to some friends at chick-fil-a

observing a tiny caterpillar

these sweet flowers from my cute little student Joseph were so sweet and totally made my day!

Mason is becoming quite the builder. Love to watch his creativity and exactness at work. I also love when these boys play together well. Now that Stan is two, he gives a little kick back sometimes, but they are so sweet together most of the time :).

watching our RELLS softball nearly win the championship!

The Golden Birthday

Yesterday, April 30th was my golden birthday (30 on 30), and it was the best yet. It started with a beautiful run by Monticello (Thomas Jefferson's home) and up the mountain with my good friend Chrissy (her first race!!!). We got near the top where it was steepest, and it was misty and a little bagpipe Scottish band was playing. I felt like I was in Europe again, with the rolling green gorgeous hills. Talking with my friend too was as always so motivating and inspiring. I choose great friends you guys - (also, I know God puts inspiring people in my life so that I can learn from them)! After coming home, cleaning up, and taking a three hour nap (thank you sweetie!!) because I can never sleep the night before a race (what is wrong with my nerves!), I cleaned up my house a bit and got ready to have a few good friends and neighbors over to celebrate with me. There were a few who I was kicking myself for not remembering to invite - but I loved loved loved my time with these people. Some of the best you'd ever find!

I made some goals for my thirties:

1. Charity: I want to at least TRY to figure this thing out a little better

2. Discipline: I want to have more say over what I eat, how I exercise, and taking care of this body that has been so good to me these last 30 years - but I need to treat a little better going forward I think:). 

3. I want to enjoy every day more fully - go to bed early, and try to wake up before my boys so that I can be ready to greet them, rather than the other way around.

4.I want to be a better friend, daughter and wife - think of them and pray for them more often, do random acts of service more often, and stay in better contact

5. I want to learn more by reading more books - and by seeing the world, tasting new food, and enjoy new people.

So there you have it! Hold me to it, friends! Thanks for contributing to the great joy of my life!

Elizabeth is my close neighbor here (we can see each other through our windows). She is an inspiring person and friend and I look up to her in more than a few ways. We both turned 30 this year so we decided to celebrate together!!

my cute violin and piano students made cakes for me out of play dough while they waited for their sister to have their lesson. how sweet is that!?

I pierced my ears AGAIN! Last time (3 years ago) I took my earrings out for two days and the holes grew back in. Rookie mistake. Thanks, Chrissy Gavin for being there with me that night! fun girls night!!

although cutting cheesecake is not my forte, that cheesecake still tasted pretty good (if I do say so myself).

Happy Birthday to us!!! :) 

food!

Dear Friends - I have been doing a lot of thinking about food lately. I love food. As you know - since January I haven't been eating sugar, and in the last few weeks I also started cutting out carbs and dairy as well. As of late, I appreciate food flavors even more. I appreciate the natural taste of an apple, or an avocado with lemon or salmon. Lately I've noticed how flavors have been coming out more since taking sugar off the list (except birthdays, holidays, and travel). It's fun to have a whole new perspective on food. Honestly I haven't really gotten sick since I went off sugar, and energy and running speed have also improved. I also feel less moody and like generally a better Mom. All that to say that I still enjoy an occasional dessert, and of course I think it's important for me to let my family enjoy it as well. Part of my enjoyment is vicariously through them - so I still make them an occasional dessert, while trying to help my boys limit sugar more generally. I have noticed that overall our family eats better since I've been making efforts in that regard. Since going off of sugar I've noticed how much sugar is a part of American culture. I know I totally contribute to it - but that just requires me to make a little more effort to counter it a little :). That is until my birthday, last night when I enjoyed some delicious cheesecake, followed by a morning after sugar hangover (maybe my body is more sensitive to sugar than others). I'm off it again today though :). Enjoy!

adding a little variety to my boy's smoothie popsicles. This one - I just threw in a bag of mixed strawberries, mangos, bananas and orange-mango juice. Has sugar, but I feel like it's still healthier than regular popsicles, right? :) ok, maybe not.

so fun to watch this boy grow up and figure out puzzles on his own

he had me make a movie of him 'making a rocket' out of play dough. so cute! i will try to post it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hi7a_Txowjo

Here is Nate's favorite cookie - salted caramel snickerdoodles. Nate has finals this week - so I decided to make them for him to help him with his studies. He was pretty excited when he walked home and smelled these :). Mason was at his cute little friends house and Stanley was asleep, so I didn't have to worry about protecting the caramels. They are pretty good. I always get rave reviews:
http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/brown-butter-salted-caramel-snickerdoodles/#comment-234141

This little cutie loves helping me shuck the corn. YAY!!! Corn season is back!

This Cheesecake recipe is also amazing. I made it for my birthday dessert. Yum!

And here is what I eat :). Simple and delicious.

Happy May Everyone!