selfies, last goodbyes, beautiful january days and some artmaking

Indy visit from Monday

When I found out Anna was moving to Indy, I was BEYOND thrilled. That cut the drive by two hours each way. And then we closed on a house which meant that I needed to pop over and see her before the school year since we would be leaving the day after. I was super bummed I couldn't take little d but there was no way I was pulling him out of school in one of the last days of school, where they had this fun camp, Camp Skeeter for all the first graders.

Anyways. This was our third time to Indy in the 3+ years we have lived here and every time we have done the Children's Museum there which is amazing. 5 levels of different, interesting and all interactive things. My kids never want to leave (and we always leave crying) but it is so worth it, even for a day trip like we have done each time.

My favorite part of the museum is at the ground level--a Chihuly experience. I still remember my first time walking into the Bellagio before I knew who he was and being completely blown away by his work. This is obviously a much smaller scale but still very beautiful (and the whole museum is built around a rotunda that has as its centerpiece a blooming tree of Chihuly works, 5 stories tall!

Let me back up. We picked up Anna at her new home, which she is currently renting from a friend who has a kid the twins age. Also a dog and two cats. So now my kids think Anna has the best house on the planet and they want to come back all the time (Don't worry, I do too!) 

 We went to visit her TV station which was under construction mostly but it was really cool to see the differences between the temporary station and the new one they are working on which will be really neat and reminds me of the BYU newsroom but in a good way ;)

 We snagged some Wendy's and then went to the museum. Why don't all museums have free parking like this one does?! You are already paying a lot to go in, you would figure some of that would cover the cost of parking. Oh well., Bumblebee!!

 some cute transformers we met

 little a holding up her little brother is just about the cutest ever. DK had Lan

 Every time we have gone there has been a really coo, special traveling exhibit. This time was Hot Wheels, last time was Legos but it was right before they were opening the ninja turtle one that we never made it to, but they still had some things related to the TMNT, and the first time we came was Transformers.

 race car pic

 where we stayed pretty much all of last time we came with the twins (when they were about 6 months old? two summers ago?): a kidspace specifically designed for 5 and under.

 Balls, water and Sand. The holy toddler trifecta.

 and music/noise

 (right before Lo dumped a ton of sand all over Lan's head poor guy!)

 Little a says " I want to be a little doctor when I get big!"

 Pit stop challenge: such a cute idea! I learned so much about cars and racing in this exhibit.

 "nobody look at the camera!"

 cutest pit stop ever

 this was Lan trying to jack the car up so he could "fix" the tires

 more sand and some excavation

 Dino selfie!

 Little A "I want to take a picture with that big fox!"

 I love these people. Also sarah and mom and dad!! We missed you guys.

 and everyone slept most of the way home...except for myself of course. But we made it home in time for dinner and I slept like a rock that night!

Our final stroller!!! Joovy Caboose Ultralight and last weekend before open house weekend!!

Sold my Bob Duallie this weekend... no tears shed like the last time (granted, I had only gotten in about two decent runs with it, unlike the single version). Obviously, had I known I was not going to be able to get any running in, I would have gone straight from my city select to this little number:

 Or maybe I wouldn't have? I was seriously considering the City Mini, but then realized that I hated the way that it maneuvered... the wheels on it made it a bumpy ride on flat ground which was weird. And I wasn't okay with paying $100 more than what I sold my BOB for to get the City Mini GT (which had better wheels) if we are only going to have this stroller for two years, tops. I mean, not too many 5 year olds in strollers, right? Anyways, as I was trying to figure out what stroller I was going to get since my initial decision was a bust, I saw the sit and stands and thought, I really only need the stroller for Lan. Really, truly, he is my runner and 99% of the time I am with him I wish I could just strap him into something so he could stop hitting his siblings or me or throwing a tantrum or whatever. This sit and stand was second to my liking, but the first pick I had didn't lock after you folded it (wouldn't I love to give an earful to the genius who made that decision!), so this close second is what we came home with. I LOVE how light it is (especially after hauling that BOB in and out of my trunk for the last couple of months!), it folds with one hand, and snaps open super easy. The canopy was big enough for both boys to be covered by the rain on the way into running some errands today, and I think overall it will make a really good stroller for zoo, errands, occasional walks, etc, which is what I was looking for.

 and in house news... I AM SO NOT READY! You can see on the far left I still have spackling I need to sand down and then paint over, and this room (and the outside of the house) are as of yet the only presentable rooms in the house. Okay, maybe once you get the kids and their stuff out of their rooms then their rooms are also ready to go. So it's really just finishing up minor paint touchups, and cleaning up the bathrooms, master and the kitchen. We've gone through 10 magic erasers and I definitely forsee going through the remaining 7 before Tuesday. I have my work cut out for me.

"always running late"

Said the cashier at Target this morning: "Oh, I get it, your shirt has a double meaning! That's cool. So you're a runner?"

Nope. I used to be, but not anymore.

And you know what? Today was the first time I admitted it to myself. And it didn't feel as painful as it has felt for the last few years. Because I have Crossfit.

Also this little "take-a-picture-of-me!" girl:

 "working like daddy"

 "Gogo, come here next to me and show mommy your teeth ok?"