Spring Updates

It's been awhile since I've posted so I thought I should update!

Luke got his first haircut back in February. He was not a fan!! 

I went to Wrightsville Beach for Melanie's bachelorette. It was a fun girls weekend, and nice break away. 

I got a dslr camera! I have wanted one for forever. I remember being pregnant with Chloe and wanting one, but knowing we would be going to one income and feeling like I couldn't justify spending that much on a camera. 

It's been so much fun to learn how to shoot in manual mode. There is this creative part of me that I feel like I haven't tapped into in such a long time. It's been so refreshing to learn something new. 

I helped to host a bridal shower for Melanie. 

I ran the Monument Avenue 10k earlier this month. Back in January I decided I needed a goal to get back into running. I thought a 10k would be a good distance, since not too long. But y'all, it was so much harder than I thought it would be! Finding time to run with two littles is no joke! But, I managed to get back up to 6 miles again. 

Of course my phone died right after the race so this was the only pic I got!

We did a neighborhood egg hunt and a school egg hunt.

This past weekend me and Clarke left the kids with my mom and went to Charlottesville. We celebrated our 8th anniversary! 

We started with lunch at a cute taco place, Brazos Tacos. Then we went to Bold Rock. 

We sat and enjoyed our cider in the sunshine. We got so lucky with a beautiful day. There was a huge hill and I thought "I don't have to worry about one of my children falling down that hill!!!" It was so nice to just sit!! 

We have been enjoying spring and the warmer weather. Yay for pretty flowers!

Well, that was a long post, I guess that's what happens when you don't blog as much as you wish you could!!

Chihuly

This past weekend we left Chloe with my mom and went on a date at The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. It was the last weekend of Chihuly's glass exhibit. I had been wanting to go, and I'm glad we finally found the time before it left because it was amazing. 

These sculptures were huge. Most of them were taller than me, they were really beautiful. 

It's definitely harder to do this sort of stuff with an infant, but I'm glad we did!!

Melted Crayon Artwork

I recently saw all these cute pictures of melted crayon artwork on pinterest. I thought they were so cute and it looked pretty easy and inexpensive, so I decided to try one for the nursery. 

I bought 5 packs of crayons at Target (a bunch of little ones so I could get lots of greens and some yellows) and some cute flowers at Hobby Lobby. I already had the canvas and a hot glue gun, so this whole project only cost me $8. 

This was super easy. I just glued the crayons onto the canvas in the order I wanted them, then took a hairdryer and after a couple minutes they started to melt. I tipped the canvas downward to make the wax move down the canvas. I glued the flowers on and I was done!

I love how it turned out, with the different color waxes melting together. Although it does break some design rules about art (putting it smack dab in the middle) but it works for this piece. Click Here for more details on how to make this. 

21 Random Facts

So I was tagged by GBA_gf over at Neurosis of the Stay at Home Marathoner of 3 to write 21 random facts about me. Here I go....

1. I was born in Florida, lived there until I was 8, but I hate seafood.

 

 

2. I am trying to convince myself that the marathon has in fact not made me slower. But since it feels like my body just hasn't recovered yet whenever I run. I ran the Turkey Trot yesterday and I know there were lots of hills, but I didn't feel strong. I don't know, I think I am also kinda suffering from post marathon blues.

 

 

3. I hate change, but love it when the seasons do. I'm always ready for the next season. I am totally ready for some snow.

4. When I first wanted to teach I was all about high schoolers. Now I am loving the little ones the most. It's funny how God changes your heart.

5. I lost a whole pant size from training for the marathon. I am determined to not gain it back. I lost about 10 pounds right before I got married, then gained it all back plus some. I don't want to do this again! ( I type this as I eat deviled eggs for breakfast.....opps.)

6. I am one of those people who thinks about their future. Probably too much. But right now I am loving the idea of being one of those stay at home moms who runs a lot. And of course I'll need all the cute running outfits to go along. Ha!

7. The Turkey Trot I ran yesterday was at University of Richmond, where I got my teaching license. Made me think a lot about going back to school there. I really think I will one day.

8. My husband and I were in the same second grade class together.

9. I treat my cat like my first born child. Anyone who knows me in real life knows about my love for cats. I know I'm a dork, but really they're just so cute. Can't help it.

10. I love to travel. Whether it's to the Outer Banks (a place I've been to thousands of times) or a place that takes a whole day to get to (like our honeymoon in Martinique) I enjoy it. Currently planning our spring break trip!

11. I am extremely lucky to have a close church family. I have been going to the same church for 12 years and still love it.

12. I am not really into watching a lot of TV. But, every Tuesday I have to watch Glee. It's def. my favorite show. It might also be my favorite running music as well.

13. I teach gymnastics after school and love it. Sometimes I see the older girls doing things I used to be able to do but no longer can. I think to myself "I can't believe I used to be able to do that!" But then I think about the things I can do now that I def. couldn't do back then, like run 26.2 miles. Yeah, that's pretty cool too.

14.  I am still really close to the same friends I had in middle school. It's not normal, but it works for us and I'm so thankful for their friendships.

15. I love decorating our house. It's def. my favorite part of home ownership.

16. I love all things crafty, art museums and modern architecture. Whenever we go somewhere that has a cool art museum or a famous building I make whoever I'm with go. My husband has come to expect this on all our trips now.

17. I am currently obsessed with pink running clothes.

18. Will Ferrel is probably my favorite actor.

19. I was a blonde for a short time in high school. It's funny to look back at those pictures, because I really like my dark brown hair now.

20. I love Coca-Cola. Always have, always will.

21. Although Glee is my favorite show on TV now, The Golden Girls will always be my all time favorite one. I know I know, I'm a dork, but I already said that.

Simply Amazing

This past weekend I was in Western Pennsylvania for a family reunion. I knew I had to stop at Frank Lloyd Wright's famous Falling Water.

It was amazing. Just amazing. It was full of little details like this......

and this........

And to think that he designed this 75 years ago in 1936! My pictures don't do it justice.

Ahhh.....I just loved it. If you are ever near Mill Run, PA you should go!

double digits, falling water and fall

This past weekend I ran my first double digit distance! I'm not gonna lie, it was a tough run, but I made it. I am really close to the half marathon, which is such a huge milestone!! I know I will be ready for the Patrick Henry Half Marathon on August 27th!

So the other day my mom told me about a family reunion, on her dad's side. It's about 6 hrs away in Western Pennsylvania. I really don't want to miss it, especially since my grandpa is my last living grandparent. When I mapquested directions I realized that one of my favorite buildings is on the way, Falling Water.

Source: wright-house.com via helen on pinterest.

This is arguably Frank Lloyd Wright's most famous building. It's been on my list of must see buildings for some time now. I remember one semester in college we talked about this building in every single class I was in. It's simply amazing and I can't wait to see it!!

I am always ready for the next season before it comes. Well, I am really ready for fall. I am so over this heat, and ready to run in the cooler temperatures. I am ready for the pumpkins, the beautiful leaves changing colors, camping and hopefully a visit to the mountains. I am so ready to see my students again. I was looking through a photo album a co-worker had given me with pictures of me and my kids, and it just makes me miss them. Although I won't be teaching art in the fall I am still really excited to go back to school.

Philadelphia

This past weekend we took a little road trip up north. We both had never been to Philly so we thought we would head up for the day. Since my dad lives in Baltimore, which is only an hour away, we decided to spend Saturday night there. It worked out well.

After eating some authentic philly cheesesteaks we saw the liberty bell. We actually didn't have to wait in line that long. After seeing all the historical stuff we headed over to the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Here I am with Van Gogh's famous sunflowers. I loved this museum. It was huge, and they had so many great works of art. It was definitely my favorite part of the trip!

I had to snap my picture real quick on the famous steps from Rocky outside the museum.

And before we left we stopped by the famous love park. I figured it wouldn't be as big as I thought (because that always happens) and it wasn't. But it was still really neat.

We loved Philadelphia, and I can't believe how much we saw and did in just one day! Next post will be about Baltimore!

Picasso and Sweet Frog

Today I finally got to see the Picasso exhibit at The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, here in Richmond. It was really great, I definitely would recommend seeing it if you live in the near Richmond area.

I just love this museum. I went with my in-laws, and it was fun to show them around since they haven't been in ages.

Here we are about to go in. We had to wait in line almost 45 minutes to get in, but it was worth the wait!

Afterwards we had dinner in Carytown, and then had icecream at Sweet Frog. I love sweet frog, you choose your yogurt, then put whatever toppings you want on.

So I would say it was a good day. Picasso and Sweet Frog, can't go wrong there!

Colorado: Part 4: Downtown Denver

Sorry if I have been boring you with all these posts about our recent travels. I really want to "scrapbook" our memories, and blogging is such a great way to do that. But, this is my last post about Colorado.

Sunday night we heard a big snowstorm was coming in and we were afraid of  getting stuck up in the mountains. So we decided to head down that night instead of waiting till Monday morning as originally planned. It ended up working out great because we had plenty of time on Monday to explore downtown Denver before catching out flight later that afternoon.

We loved this over sized bear at the convention center. (Especially since that is our nickname for each other.) The main reason why I wanted to go explore the city was because of their art museum.

The Denver Art Museum is amazing! The extension was designed by Daniel Libeskind, who is my favorite living architect. I know, most of ya'll probably don't care about this, but as a former design student I have always dreamed of seeing one of his building in real life.

As soon as we walked up I recognized it from the pictures. Same as the buildings in NYC I recently visited, it seemed much smaller than in the all the pictures. It was still amazing, especially all the details.

 Directly across the street from the museum were these condos, also designed by Daniel Libeskind. I would love to live here.

On the other side of the street is the Denver Public Library, designed by Michael Graves. You should recognize that name, he is the architect who has designed all that cool stuff for Target. We own his toaster!

After seeing all the amazing buildings I was a happy girl. We decided to go eat lunch at Bubba Gump. Clarke had never eaten at one before, and it was really good.

We rented a car for the day because we thought it would be easier and cheaper than getting taxis everywhere. This was our first rental car ever! A silver Sebring, it was pretty nice, and only cost us $30 for the whole day!

We had an uneventful flight home, and arrived back in Richmond around midnight. Tired but thankful for a great trip.

Piano Man

A couple weeks ago when we were in NYC at the moma we had the privilege of seeing a really neat performance. I videotaped some of it, so thought I would finally share:

He is actually moving the piano as he plays, this video doesn't do it justice.

To read/see more go here.

27...looking back on 26

Today was my 27th birthday!

It was filled with lots of family and friends. I feel so blessed to have so many people who care about me.

Birthdays always make me reminisce about the past year. My 26th year was a big one. Here is a look back at it............

26, You brought........

(in no particular order)

A new home for my family.

Travels to lots of fun places.

Lots of time spent scrapbooking.

My first snow day from school as an employee.

More involvement in my church.

A new job working with some amazing children.

Great times spent with my hubby, enjoying being married.

A new group of friends.

Improvement in my golf game.

Lots of quality time with family and friends who are dear to me.

A new habit, running.

Time spent snuggling and playing with Betty.

A full year of memories on this blog.

Starting the tradition of our girl's beach trip to the Outer Banks.

Countless hours painting our house.

Having lots of trick or treaters at our house.

Becoming a Sunday school teacher at my church.

Seeing one of my favorite artists speak.

An appreciation for the season of life I am currently in.

Learning how to be a good host by having two parties and one big get together.

New recipes to try and enjoy.

Sharing childhood memories and having fun at Disney World with hubby.

Hope 27 is as good as 26!!

New York, Part 2

We woke up early Monday morning, ready to explore more of the city. First stop was Frank Gehry's IAC Building. Ever since I found out he had designed a building in NYC I wanted to see it.

I must say, it seemed much bigger in pictures, but I loved it. I also got to see Jean Nouvel's condos, which are right next door. How cool would it be to live here?

Both are amazing buildings, designed by some of my favorite architects.

So glad I got to see these incredible buildings.

Next stop was Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim Museum. I had been to this building before, but it was under renovation and there was scaffolding all over it. So I wanted to stop by really quick so I could see the outside in its full glory! I was a happy girl, three amazing buildings in one morning.

Our last stop was the Museum of Modern Art. I really enjoyed this to say the least.

Mark Rothko. I was in heaven.

We ate lunch in the Cafe of the museum. They had really yummy Italian food. Of course I had to take a picture of our food!

Elizabeth Murray. This picture doesn't do it justice.

And that was our trip! After the moma we drove 6 hours home. We were exhausted when we got home, but Clarke took yesterday off work, so he got to relax and catch up on his sleep too.

Overall it was such a fun trip. We were so busy, but we got to see and do so much. We loved NYC!