The Joys of Spring

We dove into spring a month early around here, and have been using every second to enjoy the smells, sights and sounds (there is nothing quite as cute as a baby sheep's "baa"... especially if it's an adorable black baby sheep who can barely run...but I'm getting ahead of myself).

Here's how we've been milking spring for all it's worth:

Taking 2nd in the championship tournament
Wasn't that nice of Brian's team to give the other team the win? :)

Loving the baby animals at Mt. Vernon
The morning was nice and crisp, the fields were in full bloom, the lilacs were scrumptious and, best of all, the baby pigs and sheep were frolicking and finger nibbling. It was heavenly.

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Picnicking and tip-toeing through the azaleas at the National Arboretum
A blanket, cheese curls, gorgeous blooms and a long walk and talk with my boy. Doesn't get any better than that.

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Pretending to be little kids on Easter.
We dressed up in Easter outfits for church, we hid baskets (I got a stuffed dog dressed up as a bunny; welcome to the family Hopper), we dyed eggs and we ate a yummy ham dinner. It was lovely.

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Surprising the socks off Brian for his 30th birthday
Seriously, when he walked in after work on his big day and his family was here...he was stunned. I've never seen him so speechless. A whirlwind 4 days of museum hopping, site seeing, good food, good times and snuggling cute little girls followed. Brian says it was the best birthday ever, and I don't think that's the senility talking. :)

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Isn't spring delicious?

Spring has Sprung!

The cherry blossoms came crazy early this year. Crazy early as in a few days after the cherry blossom festival was supposed to start, they were past their peak. I can't help but feel awful for all the tourists who booked tickets to come to the Centennial Cherry Blossom Festival (it's been 100 years since Japan gave D.C 3,000 trees), and won't see a single blossom. What a crazy spring it's been.

Luckily, Brian happened to hear about the short peak time on the radio, and so we hustled our bums uptown see them at their fullest. I always love a good walk around the tidal basin with my guy, and the weather and sights were scrumptious! Here's a couple of photos for your spring-time viewing pleasure.

Happy spring everyone! I hope it's nice and long... although summer seems to be threatening an early approach here...

Where We've Been

First of all, where we definitely HAVEN'T been:

-cleaning the apartment or washing cars (I about died of gaggy-ness when I finally had some time to clean last week. Ew. Just ew. It had been Way. Too. Long.)

-outside (winter winter go away, come again another day... or don't. I've gotten a couple walks in over the past few weeks, but I'm not sure when Brian last saw the sun. Why does it always rain on the weekend?)

-in the kitchen making gourmet meals (grilled cheese, BLTs or hot dogs anyone?)

-taking President's Day off (too bitter to discuss in depth. :) Just kidding. I'm grateful for our jobs... and our presidents. It would just be nice if they got along, collaborated, and voted for no work for Amber and Brian today. But still...I love.)


So, where HAVE we been?

On Valentine's Day, we were at Wildfire, enjoying a yummy new gluten-free dining extravaganza. Cute vintage decorations, delicious chopped salad and pizza, and the guy of my dreams. Good date. :)

On Saturdays, we're at basketball. Brian usually plays in the mornings, and Amber mid-day, meaning we get our fair share of smelly gyms each and every week. But oh how we love the competitive church teams in our stake, and cheering each other on!

On Sundays, we're teaching the awesome 16-18 year olds in Sunday School... at 8 am. Yes, our church starts at 8. Feel sorry for us. Please?

On our errand-free evenings, we're spinning, twirling, flying and swimming along to Super Mario Galaxy on the Wii. Mom & Dad's Christmas gift has provided hours of teamwork-together time-fun. You can learn a lot about your spouse watching them try to get the hang of a video game. I'm just sayin. :)

On rare down-time moments, we're trying to plan an anniversary trip. Guide books, and websites and trip reviews, oh my!

Which means...in a couple of months we're going to be cruising the Mediterranean, visiting Italy, Monaco, Spain, Sicily and Tunisia. Neither of us can wait. Although, Amber is a bit fearful of Africa--I could see myself getting attacked by a diseased monkey, and I think any of you who know me, know that isn't too hard to imagine. :)

Every weekday, Brian is commuting 1 1/2 hours each way, and working long hours to hit his review deadline. Amber is in her robe in front of the computer designing wedding albums or working on a freelance writing project. We're both frantically wondering where the time's going, and how we're going to get everything done, and then collapsing after dinner for a couple of hours together. Work has been busy. Work is good. Work is... calling. :)

The End of the Holiday Hiatus

Yes, we greatly enjoyed our holidays. So I think it's high time I post about it.

The short version? South Carolina for Thanksgiving. UT for Christmas. Lots of family and kiddo time in both places. No snow in either place. Crafts, the zoo, Black Friday, games and lots of girls for Thanksgiving. Temple lights, Mandarin food, Vampire Diaries, Christmas shopping, Pa's Oh Holy Night and Wii tournaments for Christmas. All in all, lots and lots of things in both places to make us thankful and merry, and we have the photos to prove it.

Things that make us thankful...

Things that make us merry photos...

The BIG 3-0 is more fun in the BIG APPLE

So, I realize that I haven't blogged about the holidays yet. Blame it on my mind getting ancient, old and unable to do all the things it once did. Ha ha ha. Decrepit, I tell you what. :) I'll get it done eventually, I promise. But first...

Imagine the scene: Wednesday night. I've spent the day deep cleaning the apartment (finally and ewwww) and am exhausted. I'm vegging on the couch when Brian gets home from work, and goes in to change. I'm feeling pretty proud of myself for the heart-sy, cute-sy, "I-love-you-and-your-hard-week-at-work-will-be-ok" decorating surprise he's just found on the bathroom mirror. Yes, at that moment I'm pretty sure I'm about the best surpriser this world has ever known... yes sir, I may be almost thirty (cringe), but I've still got it... in fact, I'm basically a teenage girl... best surpriser EVER. And then... the usurper emerges from the bedroom. He's holding an envelope, and saying something about, "Happy Birthday!". I'm saying, "But it's not my birthday yet. You really want me to open this now?"

Somewhere in the middle of ripping open the envelope, squealing with delight, and being whisked off to an amazing birthday weekend in NYC, I went ahead and handed over my sash and tiara to the new Queen...er...King of Surprise.

He had an adorable "I have a crush on you" card. He had flights departing Friday morning and returning Sunday. He had Wicked tickets. He had a 4 star hotel in Midtown Manhatten. He had plans for shopping sprees. He... had me at "Hello". :)

And the best news? Between Wicked, Phantom of the Opera, gourmet gluten free meals, red velvet cake, designer bag shopping at Century 21 (hello best store and prices ever), finding a birthday outfit at the GIANT Macey's on 34th, walking around town, chilling in Times Square, drooling over the New York vibe of our hotel and the yellow lily bouquets in the lobby (I know they brought them in just for me)... somehow amidst all of that, I was distracted enough to not think about the big 3-0. A birthday miracle. :)

What a birthday. What memories. What a hubbie.
PHOTO SLIDESHOW HERE