Adventure Annapolis style

Remember fry man?

Well here's the rest of the story...

We were hanging out at home, attempting to put Micah and Hallie down for their afternoon nap, but both were experiencing the aftermath of the flu and didn't want to sleep, and Tyson and I were experiencing the frustration of being caged up from their flu. I had a moment of intelligence and instead of fighting cranky kids at home I suggested we should just get in the car and go somewhere, that way if they slept they slept, but if they didn't at least we would be doing something fun!

So we checked our "list" of places to go and decided we would check off the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in Annapolis. So off we went!

It took as about 45 minutes to get there and was well worth the $2.50 toll. The bridge is incredible... 4.3 miles long and 186 feet off the water. Click here if you want to read more, it really is quite impressive. We want to attempt the walk across the bridge once the weather warms up, but we'll see as my legs felt rubbery and we were only driving over it!

Here are a few of the shots we were able to get while driving...

The entire length of the bridge was filled with Halie and Micah mimicking the "wows" of mommy and daddy. They were quite impressed with the bridge and water and "talked" about it for several minutes after. Wish we had a recording to share because it was adorable!

Once over the impressive bridge, we had no idea where we wanted to go or even where there was to go. We had the GPS and a moderately helpful US map. So we ended up on Kent Island where we saw...the first cows we've seen since leaving Washington!!! We drove around more and found some prospects for heading out to the Ocean soon and eating some delish seafood! Here is the bridge at night before we crossed back over (its times like these I wish I had a better camera, but oh well I'll work with what I have!) It was a beautiful drive over with the sun setting and almost peaceful with Baby Signing Time playing in the background!
We skipped out on seafood due to not budgeting for an expensive meal out and hit up Fuddruckers for a chocolate shake :) Here's a common sight nowadays... too cute to not snap a pic!

Hope you enjoyed our adventure cause we sure did, and stay tuned for the rest of our adventures! There's more to come soon...

Speaking of McDonalds

I had a post planned a couple months ago for this, but it got pushed to the wayside. I mentioned in my "25 random things" that I dislike fast food, but still eat it... actually I think my exact words were... "I despise fast food and find the thought of it disgusting, but frequently find myself in the McDonald's drive thru!"

Well Tyson and I are proud to announce that at our last stop at McDonalds, we ordered NOTHING! Actually we both couldn't stand the thought of eating anything off the menu- k honestly, maybe I thought about the cookies, but that's another day and time! :) This is a huge improvement for us as in the past we both frequently CRAVED McDonalds!

A Challenge

So how did this big change come about??? As I have mentioned multiple times, we are both very competitive, so periodically when we notice something is becoming a problem or we just need some good ol' competition we challenge each other. Some of the challenges we've done are no soda, no chocolate/sweets, no fast food, weight loss, working out, no seconds at meals, etc. all for varying times 1 month, 2 months, 3 months... you get the idea! And there is usually a cash reward at the end... if you make it you get cash, if you you make it first you get the pot, etc. We always have fun and enjoy the end result and the reward at the end!

For me, the chocolate/no sweets was the hardest thing we've done... by far! I was allowed to have "dark organic chocolate" once a week, but I had to change my whole lifestyle! Really I should do this challenge again, but this time we settled for a "No Fast Food Challenge," but went for 2 months instead of 1 month like we did the last time. Not only is our pocketbook a little happier, but we are too! With the exception of a little 'hiccup' at 5 guys while Lis and Bobby were here (it was all Ty's idea and so what if I was driving the car and made the purchase!?) We have been Fast Food Free (I like the sound of that!) for 2 months! At the beginning I did have cravings for it (remember supersize me?) but I'm not craving it anymore and actually the thought of it is no longer appealing!

So for me, I'm gonna stick with this Fast Food Free challenge and see how long I can actually go... and for you- you should try a challenge! It's great fun and of course the reward at the end always makes it worth it!

The Fry Man

Remember this post from way back in the day, when Hallie was in love with a fish? Well I'm proud to say she's finally moved on... ok in reality she moved on long ago, but she's found a replacement!

We stopped at a McDonalds on one of our recent adventures to let Micah and Hallie out of the car to play and Hallie fell in love with the "fry man." She wouldn't go near the actual toy structure, she spent the entire (seriously the ENTIRE time- we tried to put her in the toy structure, she wasn't haven it!) time walking around pointing at and talking to the "fry man."

16 months

Micah and Hallie are 16 months old today... I can't believe it! They are becoming so much fun, I love spending time with them and watching them learn and grow... they are a great form of entertainment!


So here are some random pics, to share some of their quirks...
1. Hallie loves to walk everywhere and wants to stop and look, touch, and stick everything in her mouth
2. She LOVES dogs, here she is peering in the dog run at the park. She walks around saying douawgy and ruff ruff all the time.
3. Goofing off with daddy
4. Still being a goof! She is always doing something silly and loves to dance- she moves her arms and does this little head twitch that is Night at the Roxbury worthy!
5. Cuddling with mommy, she has started cuddling more lately and has found a new love for her silky and binky.
6. She started making this weird face all the time.
7. Eating everything!
8. I may have found a solution for my great dislike of laundry!

1. Micah sits like this all the time (just like his mommy and much to his dad's amusement!) And he LOVES baby signing time. He signs frequently now- in fact one time when he was getting his diaper changed (which he absolutely HATES) he frantically went through each sign he knew... up, eat, milk, all done... it was hilarious!
2. Randomness around the house
3. He loves to play with the remote and often sits back chillin' on the couch with the remote.
4. Like Hallie, he loves to walk everywhere and squeals with delight
5. He has an adorable smile and gets so excited when we are out and about, bouncing up and down in the stroller.
6. Loves to read.
7. When we're chasing him, he turns around and runs towards us with his eyes closed straight into our arms. Melts my heart every time!

Latest project

My crafty sewing kick continues... I just finished the burp rags and listed them on my ETSY site http://www.sweetdaisydesigns.etsy.com/ and decided I would experiment with a dress for Hallie. I love this the peasant style and when I found this Alexander Henry fabric it screamed cute peasant dress! So here it and she is :) And I couldn't resist a few extra pics cause she's so dang cute!

I LOVE cuddles!

And of course Micah didn't want to miss out on the photo shoot :)

If anyone is interested in a similar dress I will be selling these, but only on request... I don't have the time or energy to build up a stock right now :) Shoot me an email or a comment and we can work out details :)

So sorry...

For 2 reasons... I've been a blogging-slacker- Micah and Hallie have a varying degrees of the flu over the last week so I haven't felt much like posting, let alone doing anything else! (notice my priorities there!? posting comes before everything else!) Anyway they are finally back to their normal selves and I'm getting there. I'll post some of our happenings hopefully later today and throughout the rest of the week... I guess that would just be tomorrow (I love short weeks!!). So I'll post soon I promise!

And I'm so excited for the 5 winners on the recent "giveaway tag." My mind is spinning with ideas! And since I feel bad for everyone else that didn't make the first 5, I'll be doing a for real giveaway SOON. I just have to figure out what I want to giveaway! :)

Ok back to the 2nd reason... I added the dreaded word verification to the comment section. I hate doing it myself (sorry to anyone who has it!) but I find it annoying and sometimes unreadable! And until recent I have not had a reason to need this on our blog. But we've had lots of spam comments lately and I'm sick of them! So with that said it's added... so good luck in deciphering those words. :) I'd appreciate any tips if anyone has any other suggestions for this issue- I'd love more then anything to keep the word verification off!

K I'm done rambling... first 5 I'm excited, non-first 5... your turn's coming :)

It's going to be a MARVELOUS week!

Just thought I'd let you all know what's going on in our neck of the woods this week :)

Today
59° 49°

Wednesday
67° 47°

Thursday
56° 32°

Friday
49° 29°

I think the burp rags and other goodies I've been working on will have to wait til next week...

you better bet you can find us outside somewhere this week!

Lucky you!

Lucky you!

The first FIVE people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you.This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
2- What I create will be just for you.
3- It'll be done this year. (might be a little while)
4- You have no clue what it's going to be.It may be a story. It may be poetry, shoes, bags, or a little invention of my own! I may draw or paint something. I may bake you something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure!
5- I reserve the right to do something extremely strange. Believe me... it may blow your mind!

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog. The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me! Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!

Sounds like fun, right? So, let's play!

Crafty Blog

Visit my crafty blog for an excellent scrapbooking resource I stumbled upon! You'll love it!

Sweet Daisy Designs

And on a side note, I'm almost up and running! I'll be posting over there more often so get ready to pop on over there more often for all the crafty goods! AND be on the look out for a "grand opening" giveaway!

25 Random things

1. I love shoes.
2. I LOVE a clean house, but despise cleaning.
3. I love to organize, but tend to take on large projects and not finish them.
4. I am extremely shy until I get to know someone well
5. I greatly dislike speaking in front of a large group of people, but love (and miss!) leading smaller groups
6. I am looking forward to when my kids are preteens and teenagers (that may change when they get there!)
7. I love to create things, but hate to read a pattern. I would much rather look at something and figure out how to make it.
8. I have a lot of hobbies and enjoy all of them, wishing I had more time to fit them all in!
9. After 5 years of marriage (and 11 yrs of knowing him) I found out ty doesn't actually like to play games but will do so without complaining. (I still think he's fooling himself!)
10. I am extremely competitive and frequently talk trash :) (make sure you ask ty about fuse ball last night!)
11. I greatly enjoy spending time with my family, I consider them my best friends and always get a great ab workout when I'm around them!
12. This goes for my extended family as well, we love being around them!
13. I really want to start training for another triathlon and maybe a marathon, but can't...
14. because I hurt my hamstring 5 months ago and it still hurts daily. AND to top it off, i have no idea how I hurt it!
15. I despise fast food and find the thought of it disgusting, but frequently find myself in the McDonald's drive thru!
16. I enjoy being outside and LOVE sunshine
17. Double Fudge Cookie Dough is and will always be the best blizzard flavor ever!
18. I enjoy shopping and bargain hunting, I would go all day almost everyday if I could!
19. I am intrigued with and love learning about how others live their lives.
20. When I was a lifeguard in Spokane, I would get a coke flavored Slurpee daily and was voted "most likely to skip work to go shopping"
21. I love an adventure and to be spontaneous.
22. I also love to plan an adventure and look at maps.
23. I am a compulsive list maker and have attempted electronic versions, but revert back to paper every time.
24. I enjoy searching for new things to make and have a gigantic list saved in my favorites.
25. I have always wanted to hike the entire Pacific Crest Trail, or at least all of Washington.

Hallie attacks Micah

Here's the latest interaction (caught on video) between Hallie and Micah... enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TpdLjK6iUM

A nearby haven...

On one of our recent 50 degree plus days :) (this is me smiling from ear to ear) :) we ventured out to find some "nature." We were delighted to find this little gem of a park less then 10 minutes away with several miles of trails. There wasn't much to look at in the winter but it was still refreshing and will be a great place to go if we are here for the rest of the seasons!