Happy Birthday to ME!

I celebrated my 30th birthday yesterday the 23rd! I can happily say that I actually had a really great birthday. I started the weekend Friday when Troy took the day off and we all went downtown to breakfast. I love breakfast at Lowell's, in Pike's Place Market. We've had a hard time getting there in time for breakfast so it was a great treat to be able to go Friday morning. I then got my hair cut and colored. In honor of my brown and pink party, I now have Atomic Pink hair! Don't worry, it's just the underneath part. It was quite a shock to everyone, but I wanted to do something fun and a little crazy! We then wandered around a few stores downtown and ended the night with dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.
I normally don't like to celebrate my own birthday but this year I decided to throw myself a birthday party. Troy was amazing with all the help he gave me in getting the house ready. He spent all day working to clean the house and yard. The party all started from some super cute brown and pink paisley plates that Jac and I found online and from there it evolved into an all chocolate party. We had chocolate fountain, chocolate mousse, individual chocolate chip cheesecake, chocolate raspberry torte, chocolate-white-butterscotch chip oatmeal cookies, mint brownies, and chocolate cake with chocolate truffle filling. Tons of my friends came and we had a great time hanging out and visiting.
Today, my parents flew the girls and I to Arizona for a couple of weeks. We plan on enjoying tons of time in the sun! There is no better time to be in Arizona than February and October. The last time we were here was in October for my good friend Reagan's wedding so I guess we just keep picking the good times to visit!
Thanks to all the calls and Happy Birthday's from everyone. I have cherished each and everyone!
P.S. I forgot my camera cords so I'll post pics when I get back to Washington!

Happy Valentine's Day (Yesterday)!

We had family date night for Valentine's Day. We met Troy at Kent Station and went to dinner at a great little pizza place that has always been highly recommended by our friends. We got there just in time before the crowds. We had really good salad and pizza. They even brought a cup of little candy hearts to the table. Ryan loved that! We then went to see 27 dresses. Troy got Peyton some licorice that she happily slimed and kept dropping. Ryan had some popcorn that kept her mouth busy so she wouldn't talk the whole way through. Both girls sat really well, although we had to take turns standing with Peyton part way through. The movie was SO cute! We had such a great time as a family that Troy even suggested that we may do this once a month. Overall, it was just a really great night spent as a family. Who says Valentine's Day is only for couples?!

Ryan's 1st Primary Talk

There is nothing better in the week than going to Primary for Ryan. She LOVES Primary! Every day she asks what day it is. She looks forward to Friday because Daddy doesn't have to (usually) work on Saturday. Then on Saturday she's excited because tomorrow is Sunday and "Guess what, Mommy, I'm going to Primary tomorrow." (For those who don't know, Primary is what we call the children's Sunday School.) When Ryan started going to Primary the first Sunday in January, she was very upset because she didn't get to go up to the microphone. So ever since last week, when she was assigned to give a short 2 minute talk, she has been excited to go up to the microphone! I'm going to try to attach the video I took with my camera. For anyone who cares to watch, she's giving the story of Noah. It's not very exciting, but I felt I should probably share it!

Journaling

I am the worst at keeping a journal. I started this blog so that people could see pictures of my girls and so that I would be better about journaling. Needless to say, that hasn't worked out so well, so I am resolving to start over! I have made so many resolutions this year, that I guess it's time that I have another to document things better. For instance, a week ago, I had put Ryan and Peyton to bed. Troy and I had then been watching TV or working out, I don't know which. I always check in on the girls before I go to bed. Ryan was laying there, with her covers all pushed away, wearing her hoodie sweatshirt over her sleeper. I thought this was pretty funny, but never thought to take a pictures. Then when Ryan had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, I took the sweatshirt off of her, took her to the bathroom and then back to bed. She insisted, at 3:30 in the morning, that she needed her sweatshirt back on. This time we had to zip it up and she then pulled the hood on and crawled under her covers and went back to sleep. She kept up this routine of sleeping in her sweatshirt all last week until I finally told her that we needed to wash it. I'm very sad I didn't take any pictures, but maybe that will teach me to be better!

No More Thumb Sucker!

Ryan is a thumb sucker! Fortunately for me, I somehow managed to work it so that she only sucked her thumb when she had her special blanket. This blanket was given to her by my sister when she was born. It was the most beautiful Little Giraffe blanket. It was a kind of laser-cut velvet, flower print on one side and super soft satin on the other. Ryan has loved this blanket so much that the velvet side eventually got shredded and then completely cut off and the satin side has undergone numerous attempts at mending the holes by both Grandma Kathryn and Grandma Marilyn. Ryan was only allowed to have her blanket at nap or bed time to reduce the time that her thumb was in her mouth.
Last week Ryan got to go to the dentist for her twice a year cleaning. After all the work she had done last summer, I swore that when we went to the dentist again, the blanket would have to go. After her exam, they told me she has both an overbite and an openbite. I asked what an openbite was and was told that it was a result of thumb sucking. I don't know what the dental assistant said to Ryan because I was taking care of the billing, but we came home and the blanket was put in her toy bin and she hasn't slept with it since.
It was the last "baby" thing she did and so I guess my little girl is growing up faster and faster. Oh well, it's best for her teeth!

Sisterly Love!

Ryan and Peyton were having fun playing on the floor the other night. Ryan was making her laugh while I was making dinner. Suddenly she started screaming and when I looked at Ryan, she was holding her lego bucket and looking very guilty. I asked her if she had put the bucket on Peyton's head and all she kept saying was "Sorry". (That was an obvious Yes!) This was the result the next day. Oh well, she was bound to get her first black eye sooner or later.