The Adventures of Sweetie Belle

Sunday, August 12, 2012 - For some reason, there were three little girls being extra giggly on the way to the Nashville airport on Sunday. I had my suspicions that they might have hidden something in my suitcase. Upon arriving at the Hilton Garden Inn in Washington DC, I discovered a stowaway. It turns out that Sweetie Belle had smuggled herself from Nashville to DC.



View from the Hilton Garden Inn



So, Sweetie Belle decided to spend Sunday hanging out at the Hilton Garden Inn.

Monday, August 13, 2012 - Sweetie Belle stayed at the hotel.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012 - Sweetie Belle took a trip to the ATF headquarters building.

ATF National Headquarters building



Wednesday, August 15, 2012 - Sweetie Belle decided to go for a morning swim at the hotel.

3rd Floor pool



Later on Wednesday, Sweetie Belle wore herself out touring the city:



Looking out over Union Station trains




Union Station trains



Metro

Sweetie Belle rode the Metro to the Smithsonian station.  She then visited the Washington Monument, the Jefferson Memorial, the FDR Memorial, the MLK Jr. Memorial, and the World War II Memorial.



FDR Memorial

MLK Jr. Memorial



WWII Memorial (Washington Monument in background)

WWII Memorial









Sweetie Belle finally decided to make the trek back to the Hilton Garden Inn.  She decided to stop at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial first though:

Sweetie Bell liked the inscriptions beneath the lions.  After all the walking though, she was worn out.  She might not venture out for another day or so.

Stay tuned for more adventures...

Kitchen Redo

I have wanted to have a kitchen makeover since we moved into this home about six years ago. I love the open feel to the kitchen but the look of the cabinets just doesn't suit me. So when Erik told me about a new kit that came out through the hardware stores, it was the cheapest and best solution! For a kitchen my size, we spend about $200 instead of THOUSANDS. Perfect for our budget too.

BEFORE


We worked hard for AGES (at least that is what it seemed) on our kitchen. Day after day, after day, after day.... Really it was only 2 1/2 full weeks of working on them-but it was constant work! We had to shut down the kitchen for a few days here and there. I still have the baseboards to do and one touch up that Erik had to putty up some screw holes. I will probably get to it...this summer (too much going on with babysitting and sports). I am also going to use the same kit to redo our mantel and the stair railings.

AFTER

Holy Smokes!

I just clicked on our blog and realized it has been over two months since my last post. There are several reasons for this and I won't go into most of them, they aren't fun, glamorous, or even entertaining. Nuff said.

So since Winter is gone, and Spring is here, I am back. Clearer mind and happier days are upon us.

So what have we been up to you might ask...

Erik had a birthday.
We are all excited for a birthday around our house. Especially Daddy's birthday.





Valentine's Day is always fun too. Erik had Dunkin' Donuts for the kids that morning. You would have thought they had won the lottery. He also had flowers on the table for me. But the two youngest started hollering for me to come see the flowers Daddy got for them. I loved it. They were beautiful and I certainly didn't mind sharing them with all the girls in the house.



That evening we had a fun dinner from DQ.



I also took my little girls and hit the road on a 10 hour trip to Oklahoma City. My grandmother had been suffering for so long and finally was able to move on with her eternal progression. My mother and all of her children were there with Grandma as she passed on. It was a wonderful and spiritual experience that I was privileged to be apart of. I was so thankful that my Grandma was not alone and that her posterity was able to help her those last few days of her life here on earth. What a blessing it was to be able to serve her. What an honor it is to be her granddaughter. A wonderful, spunky, hilarious, spit-fire of a woman that I love and adore.

Her funeral was perfect! When I die, I want mine to be the same way. We all shared a little something that we love about her and sang some beautiful hymns. And that was it. She is buried in this Mennonite Family cemetery in Corn, Ok. It took us almost 2 hours to get there but when you stand out there, there is nothing but farms as far as the eye can see with not a sound to hear other than the cows. A very peaceful and lovely place!






It was so wonderful to see my brother and sisters all in one place. We haven't all been together for a very very very long time and it was so nice to be together and lean on each other. And these three little girls below...they were in heaven because they were together again. Those three little girls have a wonderful bond with each other that I love witnessing.





And as far as March goes...more will follow. I promise it won't be two more months!