Enjoying the Sunny Weather

The past few days have been so gorgeous outside! We finally retired our space heaters and even broke down and turned the AC on last night. Crazy how the weather can change on a dime, but we'll take the sunshine over the cold any day of the week.

On Saturday afternoon we grabbed some bread and went to Horseshoe Lake in Shaker Heights to feed the ducks. There was just one goose by us when we started throwing bread, but by the time we were done there were about 5 geese and 4 ducks. Then we walked around the lake and admired the gigantic houses that lined the nearby street.

This one was our favorite. Check out the twisty chimneys.

We had so much fun with our dream house hunting (ha!) that we went back on Sunday evening to check out some of the surrounding neighborhoods. Again, the houses were amazing, but the sidewalks sure left a lot to be desired. Poor little Sydney was being jostled all over the place in her stroller... I eventually just took her out and carried her.

Mini Makeover

I have never been a "glasses wearer."

That is, until last spring when I started getting lots of headaches during the early stages of pregnancy. Contacts only made them worse, so I ditched them and transitioned into a glasses-during-the-day kind of gal. When I went in to get a new prescription last summer, the optometrist wouldn't let me get new contacts because pregnancy can change your eyes, blah, blah blah. (He wouldn't even give me a trial pair. It was like a week before I was going to see Spencer graduate from ODS, and we'd been apart for 5 weeks. I just wanted to look extra cute for him, but the Dr. wouldn't give... lame.)

I've procrastinated it quite a bit, but last week I finally said goodbye to these babies (the glasses, not the actual baby):

I thought I looked a little naked without them, but that only lasted a few days.

Spencer didn't notice when he got home from school. He just said to me, "Are you wearing makeup?" to which I responded, "I'm always wearing makeup when you get home," and left it at that. Then 30 minutes later I couldn't take it anymore and said, "So I got contacts today," and he was like, "Oh that's what it is!" Ha!

I was also ready for a new haircut and felt like some highlights would be nice too. Last night my beautician friend Stacey made them happen:

Feels good to be me again.

Happy Easter!

We started our celebration last week by decorating a ton of Easter eggs with Stacey, Jack, Justin, and Mike.

We had an unofficial contest to see who could make the best egg, and Stacey liked one that Spencer made- he wrote "Suzy" on it in white, then put it in the brown dye. Seriously, who includes brown in an Easter egg coloring kit?

It was not easy trying to write on the eggs while holding Sydney. I think she was entertained with this for about 5 minutes, but Spencer and I took turns holding her for most of the time. Earlier in the evening, Spencer was throwing a big plush soccer ball to/at Jack, and when it hit him Sydney would just laugh and laugh. It was sooo cute, but unfortunately we didn't catch it on camera.

Cutie pies.

I searched high and low for a cute Easter basket for Sydney and finally decided on this little white one with purple gingham lining.

I've been saving this darling dress from Grandma H. specifically for Easter. The hat didn't last long, but it looked so sweet I had to at least put it on for a few pictures.

Checking out the goods: a new outfit from Grandma B. and some eggs (which I filled with socks, size 12-24 months for those big feet :)

Happy Easter!

Spencer was the closing speaker in Sacrament meeting, and afterward we headed down to Warren to have dinner with some of my extended family. Sydney got to meet several of her great-aunts and uncles, as well as lots of cousins. It was fun to see everyone, and as always, the food was excellent. Plus, nothing's better than topping off a good meal with some of Jacque's strawberry pie. Yum!

Good Stuff

Two Saturdays ago we found this beauty at Target on sale for $49.99. We've been wanting a grill for some time now, so we just couldn't pass up the deal.

We planned to use it the following Monday, but we didn't realize it would take forever to put it together. Two days later it was ready to go, and Spencer grilled us up this goodness:

Healthy healthy.

We are looking forward to using it a ton this summer- so if you have any awesome marinade recipes, please send them this way! We are excited for the warmer weather to come so we can transplant it from the garage to the deck.

Did I mention that we went shopping at some outlets just outside of Niagara a few weeks ago? We got some pj's for next winter for $2 each, then Spencer found this cute winter hat for $.99 and insisted that we buy it. He didn't tell me until later that it was size 3-6 months, so I knew it wouldn't last long- especially since the weather has been getting warmer. Today when we woke up there was snow on the ground, so when Sydney and I went to run a few errands this afternoon, I welcomed the opportunity for her to wear it.

Totally worth every penny. I especially love the ear flaps.

Can you even handle this?

Niagara Day 2

On Tuesday morning we headed to "Birds of the Lost Kindgom," the world's largest bird aviary. We were greeted by a very enthusiastic Australian man who said, "Welcome to the best place in the world!" I'm thinking that was a slight overstatement, but we had a good time.

There were several side rooms (a dark one where we saw nocturnal animals, one with snakes and gross cockroaches, one with little birds that were flying all around), but the best part was this huge, bright room with lots of birds that came super close to us.

These pretty red birds were my favorite.

I took Sydney out of her car seat so she could see the birds (I thought the bright red color would catch her eye), but she was more interested in staring at my watch. Go figure.

It was really cool walking under this pretty waterfall.

The gift shop had lots of funny stuff. Naturally, I made Spencer wear this bird hat, and he wrapped the snake around Sydney (she almost started eating it about 5 seconds later, so I had to take it away pretty quickly).

They also had several attractive non-aviary related items.

When we were done with the aviary, we walked around a bit before heading home.

I couldn't pass up this touristy little photo op. As you can see, Spencer was just as enthusiastic about it.

We also stopped in this little Hershey store, and I had to talk Spencer out of spending $50 to get this treat :) Ha! I wonder if anyone actually ever buys these- I like chocolate just as much as the next girl, but a 5 lb. bar of it seems a little excessive.

I took this shot from the car window as we crossed the bridge that took us back to the U.S. Not too shabby, eh?

Niagara Falls Day 1

Our neighbors found a deal on the internet for a hotel and some extras in Niagara Falls, and they invited us to come along for a few days of spring break. We headed up Monday morning, and after some shopping in the outlets outside of Buffalo, we crossed the border to check out nature's handiwork.

First we saw the American falls,

then the famous horseshoe falls.

Becky and I pushing the kiddos while we walked along the Niagara River.

Enjoying our first bonafide family vacation.

Do you see the rainbow?

We lucked out with such nice weather in March. It was about 55 degrees, but got progressively colder as we neared the falls.

Macie really enjoyed picture time.

Sydney was such a champion in her car seat, but I think she probably appreciated being held for a little while!

Love that smirk on Sydney's face :)

We stayed at the Hilton, scoring a king-sized bed, a jacuzzi tub, a $50 dinner voucher to their fancy schmancy (aka brutally overpriced) restaurant, free breakfast buffet, and free tickets to the Bird Kingdom.

Becky and Geoff read that this was one of the top 10 most romantic places in Canada.

As you can probably imagine, our dinner voucher wasn't enough to cover two entrees, so we kept the price low by opting for soup and salad. I think we were all a little jealous at Macie's kid menu chicken tenders and fries. What's up with the kid's menu having the best options? Plus, they were a heck of a lot cheaper. Do I sound like the cheapest person on the earth or what?

I'm baffled at how this change of angle somehow made the falls look 5 times closer to us... or maybe Geoff was just magic???

After dinner we suited up for a swim. Sorry about the blurriness of these pictures, but I just had to document Sydney's first pool experience.

At first she didn't quite know what to make of it.

Then it looked like she was kind of enjoying herself.

But things started to take a turn for the worse.

Crying ensued,

Followed by a massive breakdown.

I rescued her shortly after this and snuggled her on the sidelines to calm her down. The water was kind of chilly, so I think that's why she didn't last very long. Since I didn't ever get to take a dip in the pool, I filled up the jacuzzi in our room with some nice warm water, and she and I hopped in with our swimsuits on. She did just fine, and even got her hair washed :)

I'm 26

It's been a 2 day celebration. Spencer has a test tomorrow and I had a RS Enrichment tonight, so we decided to have my birthday dinner yesterday.

Can't go wrong with a little takeout from the Cheesecake Factory!

When Spencer was done, he held the babe so I could eat (she was being pretty squirmy on my lap).

I asked for a shovel (yep, you read that right) and a Scentsy candle for my birthday. I knew Spencer got the shovel, but he dropped a few hints that I wasn't getting the Scentsy. That little stinker... when he got home from picking up the takeout, he also brought the candle as a surprise. Again, that happened on the 11th, but he told me he did it then since no one expects to get presents the day before their birthday.

Today was also nice. Sydney's present to me was a 2 hour morning nap, so I got to make myself a carrot cake, talk to my family, and shower before she woke up!

Nothing like decorating your own cake :)

Would you believe this started out being purple? Well, kind of a grayish purple, and I couldn't mix the red and blue to a non-depressing shade of my favorite color. I finally got sick of trying to fix it, so I just started adding in yellow and green until it turned into a color worthy of decorating a birthday cake.

I couldn't help but laugh during Spencer's comedic solo performance of "Happy Birthday to You" while he took pictures. We only had 23 candles, so after I blew them out he re-lit 3 of them and made me blow those out too.

I suppose practical gifts are a sign of getting older, but I'm really excited to use that shovel to work in my garden this year. Our flower beds are in need of some serious TLC.