nub nub nub!

this is amira - so sweet!

this is justin's cousin jessica's daughter, kelty. she came over and i decided to do her hair "duck fluff" style - she looked just like ellie!

ellie and mini ellie

one week down...

we are starting to get into a routine here (which includes naps from 5-7 pm and bedtimes at 10!) our lives day to day are quite a bit different than when justin was in school but i really like it so far. we get up around 7:30 and eat breakfast then do something fun as a family like running with the burley, going to the clubhouse gym - cody and ellie love to lift the 5 pounders, and exploring cool places where we live), we come home around 11:30, eat lunch, read scriptures and Justin is out the door by 12:30 and home at 10:30ish. i spend the rest of my day with the kids at parks, shopping, taking naps (love taking a nap next to ellie), running, etc. the biggest change is that i make dinner EVERY NIGHT! that really is CRAZY! but i love it. it's my way of showing justin the i appreciate his hard work. we eat around 10:00 and justin and i are in bed by 12:00. so different from my 10 o'clock bedtime in utah and up by 6:00 and at the gym, then i'd come home and clean the house for freaking the rest of the day! what was i thinking? being busy must be making us take advantage of our free time better.

we are right by some beautiful country, and some beautiful shopping! our apartments are very nice, except that everyone here has a dog and i just can't believe that people are actually willing to take their dogs outside to poop and then pick it up with their baggedhand! disgusting! i can't let the kids onto the grass because every square inch has been pooped on at some point. i feel like taking cody outside and letting him poo on the grass and see how the neighbors feel about it. dogs are pretty smart - i think they should be able to be potty trained. if a two-year-old can do it, then a dog should be able to too. oh, and it's just so sweet and cute when cody goes onto the deck and plays in the drool of the dog on the deck above us, little dog hairs floating like blossoms down around him. wow, i feel so much better now. sorry to all you dog lovers, but i just ain't one of them.

anyway, here are some random pics of where we live. the township is called Chadds Ford and we are about 30 seconds away from Delaware. we also spent last sunday in new york with Rabab and Marco (walking behind me in the pic below). Marco has helped Justin and Joe with our remodels and i think he is the only person that has actually met and/or exceeded Justin's "standards of excellence in framing and general common building sense." his wife, Rabab is selling this summer is is doing awesome!

we felt like celebrities with this stroller. it's no big thang in utah - burley is synonymous with green jellow and mini-van. but everyone in new york couldn't get enough of it.

my little finger-suckers

i ran out of daylight so these aren't great pictures but this is one of the prettiest roads i've seen and it's right out our back door. i've run down it 3 times and driven it at least 5 already.

cute little deer with fluffy white tails - i'll get more photos of this road soon.

bubble tape, check. "dressed like a princess," check. goggles, check.

view from our apartment

vacation rental for summer 2009

Each summer, we leave for four months for work and renting it out during the summer has worked out great in the past. The home was completely remodled in 2008. Rates are $2000/month plus a $100 cleaning fee or $1200 for two weeks plus a $70 cleaning fee. A $50 (non-refundable) deposit is due when you reserve the home and the balance is due 1 week before your stay.

Amenities:
- two car garage
- master bedroom and bath with a queen bed
- kids room includes crib and twin bed
- second bathroom with large counter, and tub/shower
- an office with 2 desks and 2 working computers with high speed internet
- a fully functional kitchen with breakfast bar for 3 and dining table for 8
- large family room with brand new furniture
- huge playroom (could be used as additional sleeping area) with playhouse, slide, swing and toys
- huge backyard with basketball pad, fully fenced in to keep kids in
- large laundry room with brand new front loading washer and dryer
- 50" plasma tv with apple tv (rent movies straight from your tv!)
- brand new park with walking trails, playground, and beautiful gardens only 1 block away
- 1 mile from UVU and Wal-Mart, 3 miles from BYU
- close to the freeway in a well maintained and nice neighborhood

My parents live close by and can assist you with anything you might need during your stay. There is a small family that lives in a legal, separate basement apartment. They have separate parking and their own entrance at the side of the home.

Pets are not allowed
No smoking on premises

eat and feel great

warm asparagus and avacado salad

my friend alissa is starting a new blog with fresh, vegetarian recipies. i am really excited about it because i think that 99% of our ills today are caused by the foods we eat (more on this in another post). so here's to eating our veggies!

the plan

so this is the plan, as illustrated to ellie for her bedtime story tonight. justin left this morning for Philly and we fly out on tuesday. he will be doing summer sales (APX alarms) for his business internship. i feel badly for him because this summer won't be too fun for him but i am really excited. i want to eat really fresh, try a lot of vegetarian meals, shop at farmers markets, serve in our new ward where i'm sure they need it, train for and participate in a couple triathalons and four other running races, swim at the pool, visit all the historic sites in philly, take ellie to great childrens museums, trips to New York and D.C. and attend the temples there, and visit the Amish country. those are all top priorities. think i can fit all that into four months? heck ya! i'm up for it. i LOVE to explore new places. if anyone knows places i should visit let me know.

p.s. ellie dictated the list above as things we need to get before we leave. its so wierd that she wanted dramamine for her and cody but who am i to deny them of this motion sickness medicine with the bonus side effect of "marked drowsiness." this plane ride is going to be cake.

update 5/5/08: the plane ride was not cake. it was hell. thank you cody, for helping me to build up my arm muscles by holding you and pacing the isle for 4 hours. i just kept telling myself, "i'd rather do this than drive, i'd rather do this than sale."

cody kent

cody you are so scrumpitous! he can't/refuses to walk yet still manages to get whatever he wants. the past week i have kept my camera close because i keep finding cody in the funniest places. trying to get the yogurt

these pictures were taken after hearing cody whimpering downstairs. i wondered why he didn't just crawl upstairs and sent justin down to check on him. he was stuck in the loft of the playhouse. i wanted to figure out whether he made it up via the slide or the ladder, both of which are so steep they scare ellie. the ladder is actually inverted so our kids will be good climbers. cody made it up a good part of the slide before tipping backwards (sorry bud, i almost caught you!) but he crusised up the ladder.

maybe this is why my kids are never hungary when i try to feed them a real meal.

sending out spring vibes

location: springville. i was transplanting tulips from a neighboring field into the yard of a fix-up we did. did you know i love springville?

one in - one out.

One of my favorite things to do is de-junk. Yesterday I was reading in Parade (Sunday's paper) about how Matt Lauer has a "one in-one out" rule. So if he buys a new shirt, he has get rid of one shirt. I have always done this too but I never had a name for it. Ask Justin how many times he's had to fish out cards, magzines, photos, clothes and "knick knacks" out of the garbage. He is pretty sentimental - I just want a clean house! So here's to getting rid of "stuff." Welcome to my garage sale! Just don't tell Justin I am doing this.

moab half

a couple weekends ago some friends and i ran in the moab half marathon. despite only one long training run being of 8 miles i felt okay during the run but didn't run as fast as i thought i was. i finished in 1:57:00 and justin in 1:49:00. justin only ran maybe five times in preparation. what a goober. i hate boys.

heather, pete, emily, me and just

the last bus drops you off about an hour before the race. it was sooo cold and as we drove by this scene i had to laugh because it felt like we were on a tour bus looking out a the wildlife.

picture stolen from the race photographers website. we all teased justin mercilessly for running in his garments!

another stolen picture. looks like i am walking!

the next day we bikes amasa back, a.k.a. "awussa back." surpirsingly, i wasn't sore or tired from the race and loved every second - thank you Kara and John for letting us borrow your bikes! - I NEED an Enduro.

happy birthday mom!

i'm so excited!

we've been mooching off my in-laws living in "lew-tah" for long enough now... it's time to get our own place. we bought my parents home in orem - the one i grew up in - and have been remodeling it for the past month or so. two more weeks till it's done and i get to see if all these crazy things i've been buying really look good together. here's a sampling:

knobs

dining room light

knobs

painted bright blue


quartz countertops

wallpaper for the playroom downstairs

wallpaper for ellie's room - and cody's room too! sharing will be great fun i'm sure.

kitchen backsplash