Valentines Day!

Valentines has to be one of my favorite days to celebrate. I wanted to make a nice dinner for the ones I love rather than going out this year. Here was my menu: (sorry, sideways picture.)
Peaches topped with whipped cream and Nutmeg (this was one of my favorite things my mom would make growing up. Something similar to this that I thought was disgusting that my mother always made was Pears topped with Mayonaise and Cheddar cheese. YUCK!)
BLT Cesar Salad
Chicken Pot Pies: Heart shaped, made with extra Love.
White Grape Juice: I make my own grape juice in the fall, it's always perfect for special occasions.


After dinner, we took Mckinley's Valentines around. She loved leaving the treats on the doorsteps and then running.(And visiting Jesse and Elijah after we got caught. Haha.)

Happy Heart Day (a week late.)

Vegas!

We had a really fun time in Vegas for Valentines weekend. We stayed at Tahiti Village and really had a great time. We have always said that for our ten year anniversary we would love to travel to Tahiti, so this was a fun trip to get us excited for the next five years together, and hopefully we will be rich and famous enough by the time we have been together for ten years to go to the real Tahiti. Originally we planned to just go as a couple but Dolce is still nursing and we didn't want to leave Mckinley out of the fun. So we all went.
As soon as we got there, Mckinley wanted to go swimming, but the pools have seasonal hours and closed at 4:30 so we had to settle for the hot tub on the first day. Even Dolce loved putting her feet in the hot tub. After hot tubbing for at least an hour, we were getting hungry and so we went to dinner. We don't know Las Vegas very well so we ate at the hotel's resturant Tahiti Joes.
When we got back to our room, we watched the Vancouver Olympic Opening Ceremonies on TV. Mckinley was so excited about her special little bed at the Hotel.(it reminded me of how much my sister and I loved going and staying at Hotels when we were younger. Just like Mckinley, we especially loved the little shampoo and lotion bottles and small sized soaps...such treasures!)
On our Honeymoon night, David and I stayed at the Little America. And one fun memory was that they left chocolate covered strawberries for us in the suite. So, on the way to Las Vegas, we picked up some Chocolate covered Strawberries and ate them in our room for dessert.
We all went to bed, but woke up at 4am when Mckinley jumped up crying and ran out the door of our room screaming for me. She didn't get far because we heard her leave and were right behind her. (I know. Very Scary.) She has done this before at home and we actually think she might be sleep walking when this happens. We talked to her about it the next morning and she said that she had a dream that we were leaving her. This made my heart break. If anyone knows of any tips for sleep walking we would love to hear.
The next morning, David went and got Dunkin Donuts and hot chocolate for Breakfast. Yummy! And we got down to business playing in the pools. It was actually warmer in the pool than out, and I was pleasantly surprised that Mckinley stayed and played in the pool for so long. She loved it. (Although she didn't really love the Lazy river because of the waterfall and water sprayed her in the face.)
After getting our fill of swimming, we went all over Las Vegas looking for an Einstein Brothers Bagels. We were not going home until we found one. Success! We don't know how to find it again, but it was worth turning Vegas inside out and upside down to take home a dozen bagels. It was a really fun getaway! We love little family trips!

Five Years!

Today I have been married to my Sweetie for 5 years! I used to think that 5 years was such a long time, but in so many ways it seems like these past 5 years have been such a whirlwind. Our lives have changed so much from when we first met, and I love that we have really grown and changed together. We really need each other now and I think that's a good thing. I can't imagine what my life would be without him.
For our anniversary, we wanted to do a fun little weekend family trip, so tomorrow we are going to Vegas.(Not to the UFC fight by the way!)We will post some pictures when we get back.
Today we wanted to celebrate by just being together. David tried to convince me to go to a movie with him but I wanted to be an antisocial hermit and stay in, so we made dinner and hung out until David had to go to work.
This is the Gateau de Crepes or Crepe cake we made for dinner tonight. It was our wedding cake for our anniversary. Haha. We even cut the cake together. Just like on our wedding day. I thought it was a good fit especially because we had Crepes for our wedding dinner dessert. Mmmm. I was so excited about that but when it came down to it, I don't remember eating any of the food at our wedding dinner.

I also found my bouquet! It was a little bit dusty, cough cough. Okay it was a lot dusty. But I wanted to take some pictures with it. I made my own bouquet the night before I got married. The roses were all closed the night before, and it was so fun to put the stems into some warm water and see the roses open up. I hope that I always remember the anticipation and butterflies that I had about getting married. Thank you David, for living up to all of my dreams and expectations! The past 5 years have been so happy!

Such a Smart and Busy Girl!

Ever since starting preschool, Mckinley has been so eager to learn new things and prove to herself that she can do them. One day, she came home and starting working on a puzzle and didn't stop until she had the whole thing put together by herself. (This did involve some frustration, but she stuck with it until she found which pieces went where.)
She also told us yesterday that she wanted to ride a scooter. We found one for her at the DI and she has been zipping around on it ever since. It's so funny to watch her because pushing herself around requires her tongue to be sticking out. Haha! We love this crazy girl!

My Honeymoon Luggage Revised!

If you know me very well, you should know that I LOVE thrift stores. I think it is so satisfying to find old and make it new again. Well, to celebrate being married for 5 wonderful years with my sweet Husband, we are going on a little weekend getaway.(More about that later.) For this getaway, I have revamped the same luggage that I took on my Honeymoon to Jackson Hole. Although I can't really take credit for this idea because I got it from my amazing sister, I've included some basic instructions for how to recreate your own Valentine getaway luggage, for 10 dollars or less. Really. And if I can do it, I promise you can too!

What you will need:
An old vintage suitcase with a hard cover. I'm convinced that every DI has these for 3 dollars each. When you are buying them, check the inside for the lock key, and to ensure that the inside is in good condition. Stockpile them.
Tacky glue: 3 dollars at the craft store
Fabulous Fabric that you have been wanting to do just the right thing with.

My old suitcase looked like this:

Wash the outside of the suitcase with a washcloth and warm soapy water.
Then measure the face of the suitcase. Cut your fabric to include about a half inch of extra on each side. Remember, we are doing one side at a time.
Starting at the center and working your way out, begin applying glue to the suitcase plastic. Smear the glue into a thin layer with your finger.
Remembering to start in the middle and smooth outward, apply your fabric. Pull it tight across the glue to remove wrinkles.
When you get to the bordering edges, fold the extra fabric under to make a seam and glue down.
That's really all that there is to it. Very easy!
Here is what I will be packing my things in for my 5 year anniversary getaway: A perfect reminder of my Honeymoon, it's even wearing my wedding colors! (I embellished the front of mine with a rose that I made using instructions from my sisters website, Cupcake Goddess.com) I will post some more pictures of some other ones I'm working on for Mckinley, David and Dolce.

3 months old!

I can't believe how fast the time has flown by. Dolce is out of the tiny baby stage already. She is putting on weight and getting chunkier all the time. She is also getting less fussy. She loves to talk and make little sounds. I love watching her experience new things. Her sister is her favorite person to watch and play with. She has been rolling over from her tummy to her back since about 3 weeks old and will absolutely not do tummy time. She loves her baths and will do her baby talk non stop during them, but once you take her out, she cries as loud as she can. She likes to be a part of everything and wants to be held and walked around facing the world, even if we are just doing laundry or cooking. I love this curious time.