I'm 31!

And now I'm 31!

I loved hearing from so many family members and friends on my birthday! We spent the day unpacking boxes and being together as a family.

We met up with Alex and Bryan and the boys for dinner at Longhorn Steak House. The food tasted extra delicious to me that I couldn't stop eating - and I paid for it later because I was up all night with bad heart burn. :(

It's only been 2 weeks and I LOVE living close to my sister. It's the little things that I love - meeting up for a birthday dinner, enjoying Sunday dinner together and playing games. I cherish these moments so much already. 

Alex baked me cupcakes!

Aaron made a tasty breakfast accompanied by roses and a card!

And now I feel like an official adult because we have a mortgage, washer and dryer and vacuum. :) Haha - our last home had a washer and dryer and hard wood floors so we didn't need to buy any of those things. 

Thanks again for the birthday shout outs!! XOXO

Farewell Maryland! Hello Colorado!

The last two weeks have been a whirlwind, but I managed to snap some pics on my phone to share all that's happened. 

My mom flew out to Maryland to help us pack and clean and make the trek west. Aaron's parents also helped pack and clean and we couldn't have survived without them.  

It was sad saying goodbye to our little home that was packed with billions of memories including where we brought Eli home from the hospital and watched him grow into a toddler.

We were all exhausted on Saturday after a full day of packing. 

Poor Eli couldn't even hold his head up at dinner.

For our last Sunday in Maryland, I volunteered Aaron to be a Christmas tree the primary kids could decorate if they sang the Christmas songs well. The kids LOVED this idea and asked me to post a pic on the ward Facebook group. It was a hit!

Aaron loved serving with this bishopric. 

We left Monday morning and saying goodbye to these two was the hardest part about leaving...

The road trip was quite the adventure. Monday night we stayed in Indiana and Tuesday morning we drove through a bad ice storm. We were praying lots that we would be safe and we were extremely grateful when we arrived in Kansas City safely. 

We stayed with my cousins and it's so nice to have family along the way! Wednesday morning we met with the Gunnells, our dear friends we met in Maryland that have been in KC temporarily. I love catching up with friends!

We spent Wednesday afternoon and Thursday with my parents and I love being in McPherson! We relaxed and gave Eli a few days to not be buckled up in the car. 

Friday afternoon we arrived in COLORADO and our home was waiting for us!! Even though we didn't have our stuff yet, we were excited and grateful we made it safely. We spent several days sleeping on an air mattress and eating on the floor, but we were happy. 

Eli's favorite part of the house - the swing set left by the previous owners! Merry Christmas to Eli!

On Saturday morning we ran to Home Depot to buy a washer and dryer and it just so happened to be a kids' craft day. Eli loved hammering anything and everything.

Eating breakfast on the counter like a champ. My sister and her family were our first visitors and we loved having dinner and FHE with them.

We live 5 minutes from a Bass Pro Shop and Eli is obsessed with the fish and Aaron is obsessed with the store so we've already become regulars. :)

We each caught a 24hr flu bug on different days so it was a rough start at first, but now we're healthy and happy and our stuff arrived and we're almost unpacked. Everyone here is extremely friendly that it makes me want to be friendlier. I just love the Midwest. 

Hello from Colorado! We're so excited to be here!

Thanksgiving 2014!

Before I get too far behind, I have several blog posts to share. 

We spent Thanksgiving with the Volks and it was a relaxing, enjoyable day. 

The weekend before Thanksgiving, Eli and I had a date night while Aaron was with the youth at the temple. We made Thanksgiving hats. :)

These two love each other and I love their relationship.

Aaron baked a pumpkin and blueberry pie and they both turned out delicious. I'm not even a pie lover and I was pretty impressed!

I love Thanksgiving and celebrating with family our gratitude for all that we have. 

Aaron's Birthday!

Aaron turned 27 last Monday and we loved celebrating everything about him!

He requested a funfetti cake with chocolate frosting. Done.

We had Aaron's parents' over for dinner - Aaron made Thai food. 

It was delicious! Like he should open a restaurant ASAP.  

Eli's obsessed with candles and birthdays these days.

Aaron's presents included Golden Grahams, a box of Sour Patch Kids and new tires for his car.

Eli's face lit up when I let him help with the cake.

My friend made us a table runner with all of our birthdays! Our table is too small for the table runner so we opted for a birthday place mat. ;) 

I kept asking Aaron what activity he wanted to do for his birthday and he finally decided he wanted to visit Pet Smart. Eli and Aaron were in pet heaven! 

(And yes, Aaron still dreams about getting a dog one day.)

Happy Birthday, Aaron! Eli and I love you!

Baby Boy - March 2015!

When we found out last month that we are having a BOY in March, I figured the best way to let Eli know the news would be to give him a BLUE sucker and he sure loved it! 

I'm excited for Eli to have a little brother! 

Siblings are best friends for eternity so I know they'll have a fun time growing up together!

Date Night

Aaron's leadership at work invited us to attend "A Salute to the Troops," at the White House last Thursday night. It aired on PBS the following Friday night. If you're interested in watching it, you can see it here.

To be honest, with a packed wedding weekend a day after the concert, I asked Aaron if we could give our tickets to someone else. He tried, but the tickets were non-transferable. So, I ran to Target to buy a dress and found one I love! If you're pregnant, you should buy it too. Here's the link.

Aaron's sister and her husband babysat for us and the evening turned out to be one of my top 5 favorite things we've done in D.C. 

When we toured the White House a few weeks ago, all the rooms were roped off and no pictures were allowed. When we arrived for the concert, all the rooms were opened and pictures were allowed! A true White House party!

Aaron and I went a little crazy taking pictures with our phones.

The library. Aaron wants one like this in our home some day soon.

Aaron found a copy of The Book of Mormon!

This is the picture of George Washington that first lady Dolley Madison saved from being stolen by British troops during the war of 1812. {Aaron was the one that shared this fact with me. Otherwise, I would have just thought it was a nice pic of George!}.

After touring the White House, we made our way outside for the concert that was inside a heated tent with a view to this...

This is the finale with all the performers on stage!

As the show began, an usher took us all the way to the very front row! (All active duty were asked to wear their uniform and with my PR background, I immediately told Aaron they just wanted us to be upfront so we'd be on camera.) We sat down and as the show was about to begin, the producer made several announcements about no cell phone usage and to stay in our seats for the entire show as this was being tapped for national television. I turned to Aaron and said we had to move to the back ASAP - I wanted to be able to text Aaron's sister to make sure Eli went to bed okay, and hello, I'm pregnant! I had to leave once to use the bathroom and I was afraid I would get sick during the taping because I was feeling a little hungry. Sooooo we didn't make it on TV, but we still loved being invited! 

After the concert, we ran to meet one of my old roommates from Chicago that was in DC for work! It always makes my day when a friend texts me asking if we can meet up!!

This was definitely a Veteran's Day we'll love forever.

Oxon Hill Farm

We finally made it to Oxon Hill Farm yesterday and we loved it! 

{We loved the warm weather the best - 65 degrees, no coats! Meanwhile in Colorado, it was 0 degrees!}

A chicken got loose and Eli followed him around the whole farm! 

Our morning included learning about farming, milking the cow, chasing the chickens, throwing rocks at the pigs and taking a tractor ride around the farm!

I really wish I could capture the beautiful fall leaves around here. 

Aaron had church meetings last night so Eli and I returned his library books and stopped by another little farm that sells fresh donuts! Eli's currently obsessed with the Dr. Seuss's ABC book and D is for DONUTS. When we walked in to the bakery, Eli started saying, "Donut! Donut! Donut!"In order to convenience everyone in the place that I don't just feed by child donuts all the time, I told everyone that he loves to READ about donuts, not just EAT them. Ha ha ha...

We love farms and donuts!