Z Sisterz Update

So as you can all plainly see, I have taken some time off from regular blogging.  As in a hiatus for all of 2010.  But I'm ok with that, something had to slip off the plate and blogging was it.  It's moving back towards the top of the list.  

I know, I know, I'll regret not having a better record of our first year of marriage.  Probably.  Maybe.  OR I'll be so glad I spent so much time living and loving our first year that I don't even care that the blog has gone neglected? We shall see.

In the mean time, you can find me pinning regularly on Pinterest, username Rachelzf.  (MAKES ME SO HAPPY)

I've also recently joined instagram and I wish you would too. username Rachelzf.

Each week the Z sisters post an update about our lives collectively on one blog.  We rotate the posting in age order, so I post and then the next week CZ posts, then Sarah, Annee, Ana and Ie Li.  You can find weekly updates regarding my life in those places.  

Rachel

 

Last Week

• Worked on Labor Day and then went to a Nationals Game with the fam.  It was lovely.
• After the game a torrential downpour occurred!  My car wouldn't start due to lack of gas. Nice.
• Missed so many turns driving home, pulled over on the highway to get our bearings and saw a lady up ahead with a flat tire, in the rain.  Ken went and changed it.  Her cell phone was dead.  What would you do??
• Submitted an order for wedding photo prints to Jon's beloved Richard Photo Lab.  I hope they are lovely and arrive soon.
• Ken's battery died while downtown on Tuesday.  He used one of the Capital Bikeshare bikes to ride to AutoZone, buy a battery, bike back to his car, change the battery and drive home.  All while in a rain storm.  Madness!
• Received reimbursement for my damaged skirt from Salon Joseph.  They were so nice about it.
• RAIN.  A lot of rain. I absolutely love rainstorms and was giddy all day. But the son of a local design blogger I follow was killed after slipping in some rushing water in their backyard creek.  So so sad.
• Worked a lot.  Whatever.
• Pulled the trigger on the wire pendant lights.  LOVE THEM.  You can see a photo of them on instagram. 
• Watched the BYU game.  I love fall.

 This Week

• Finish out the 9/15 work deadline.  My list is still too long.  Avoid eating the doritos and pizza that will inevitably be all over the office.  This usually is not hard because the days are so, so busy. 
• Finish our 7 weeks without treats or carbs on Saturday.  Finally!
• Bake cupcakes for one of Ken's LSAT classes on Saturday.
• Navy Federal 5K on Saturday around our local running path.
• Ward party on Saturday.
• BYU vs. UTAH game on Saturday.
• Teach Relief Society on Sunday.  Decided to make this as the treat.  (Along the "bloom where you're planted" theme. It'll work...)
• Buy mums for our outside planters in honor of fall. 
• CZ's bday celebration on Sunday!  Woo. Pick up a bunch of paint chips at Home Depot for one of the decorations.                                               

Ana

Last week:

• Black out!
  All of San Diego lost power last week for about 12 hours.  It was a great chance to test our emergency gear and realize where we were deficient.  Having cash on hand saved our dinner since we lucked out and found one local pizza parlor trying to sell off their pizzas before they spoiled.  Jack thought the whole experience was a blast.  I wished it didn't happen during our heat wave because adding being hot to being 9 months pregnant and ridiculously large made me a bit unpleasant.
• Jack only had school three days last week because of the holiday and then the blackout.  In the one week he's been at school I have gotten spoiled and used to napping and working in the mornings.  Friday was a hard long day.  Half a pan of brownies in the evening was pretty much what saved me.  Too bad I have to step on the scale weekly at my doctors office.
• Thought about joining a gym (they'd let a huge pregnant woman join right?) but decided to run to the grocery store first.  By the end of walking up and down the aisles for 30 minutes I was spent and decided to come home and nap instead.  It's going to be a long journey back into my pre-pregnancy clothes I fear.
• Was delightfully pleasant despite being told on three separate occasions by strangers that I look like I'm "ready to pop."  
• Worked a ton and made some more great progress on automating my job so that I can make it through the first few sleepless months and not get fired.  Last time I had a baby I had 3 full months of paid maternity.  This time I have none.  It's going to be rough.  Visitors and helpers are very, very welcome.  Especially if you don't mind holding my baby while I pretend I am alert enough to do my work.
• Signed Jack up for a soccer and a baseball class.  He loves them both and is improving.  He can't wait to get on a team, but we missed all the deadlines this year.
• Researched safety ratings on infant car seats and ordered one (thanks Baba!).  It should arrive sometime this week.  Read that the new recommendation is to have kids in a backwards facing car seat until they are two.  Does anyone actually do that?  I think one of the happiest days of my life (and Jack's) was the day we turned his car seat around at 11 months. 

Next week:

• Sleep.  Six years is a long enough time to forget how exhausting the last few weeks of pregnancy are.  I literally have zero energy all day long but then I'm up for a few hours each night unable to fall to sleep after getting up to go to the bathroom for the eighth time. 
• Paint our piano (or maybe just watch and critique as Zack paints our piano).  I think I found a color we all like.   Fingers crossed.
• Sleep.
• Sleep.
• Sleep.

The end.

Ie Li

Last Week:

• Nats vs. Dodgers. 
• It rained all week long.
• Started putting Stephen down for naps again.  The result has been good.
• Cleaned the whole house in a day.
• Cleaned the church as a family.  It took us three hours.  We took the kids to get pizza and ice cream afterward. 
  
• Dug up some important information on my ancestors in China.  I found the CD of digital pictures that my photographer cousin took of me at a cemetery in Beijing.  I have a picture with four of my ancestors headstones.  The picture quality is good enough so I can zoom in and see each character clearly.  It looks like we may be able to put some pieces together.  I will probably need to enlist the help of my Chinese neighbors across the street.
• Stephen's preschool open house.  My visiting teacher is one of his teachers, and she is wonderful.
• We missed the bus for the first time.  I hate that feeling!  I piled four kids in the car (Stephen had a friend over for a play date) in pouring rain and drove to the school.  Mei Li got her first tardy slip.  I felt so sad for tarnishing her attendance record. 
  
• Picked up my new orthotics for my shoes and I'm still getting used to them.  My feet are sore, which is supposedly normal.  Hope that goes away.
• I just came back from a family history fireside.  The man who presented mostly talked about the technological advancements that have taken place and will take place for the family history website.  It was all very fascinating and I'm excited to join in the work.
• Didn't run.

Next Week:

• Stephen starts preschool.
• Visiting teaching
• Ballet for Mei
• The sports class I signed Stephen up for was canceled due to low enrollment, so I need to spend sometime this week figuring out what our other options are.
• Run!
• Tax season for Steve ends on Thursday!
• Continue reading The Good Earth.
• Practice the piano.
• Family history work.

Annee

Last Week:

• Lots of eating at home and packing lunches.  I cooked dinner everyday except for Friday night.  We somehow ended up missing the Ward Opening Social.  But then we remembered it was Friday night, and we should go out on a date instead.  We ended up at CPK.  I think I'll love CPK forever.  It's so delicious, every time. Some week, I'll keep a tally of how many lunches I pack.  It's way too many, and one of my least favorite chores.  My kids have decided that school cafeteria food is gross.  I feel the same way, but have felt lucky that for so many years, at least my boys hadn't noticed yet.  This seems to be the year that they have fully noticed.  Henry seriously thinks he's not going to buy lunch even once in middles school!  That's when I think my life might not be so awesome.  
• I had a great time subbing for 5th grade on Friday.  I was kind of nervous.  I never once subbed for 5th grade last year.  I had it in my mind that I was scared of the older kids.  As it turns out, they aren't so scary after all, and they actually know how to stay on task, and be quiet a LOT better than 1st and 2nd graders.  That part was so nice.  I have to admit it, I just like teaching.  My favorite times in the day are when the kids have questions about things they don't understand, and I get to explain it in such a way that they walk away understanding.  It feels like magic.  I should become a full time teacher someday.  
• I ran 16 miles on Saturday.  I didn't get a massage, so my left hamstring was kind of killing me by the end.  But other than that, I remembered that I actually have it in me to run long distances.  There is something so therapeutic about a long run.  During this run, and last week's 15 mile run, I've started crying at one point, just because I'm processing pieces of life while I run, in ways that I don't when I'm not running for such a long time.    And sometimes I've started to cry just because I love the miracle of the human body, and I can't get over the fact that God created such an amazing thing.  
• I only managed to post once over at MOM last week.  That's too bad.  Though I finished one really big project that I had been working one, I didn't make it as far into my second project as I thought that I might.  Oh well.  There is always this week.  
• We had our first Primary Program practice.  This is when I'm really grateful for my rather unflappable personality.  It was kind of disastrous/unproductive.  But I am not deterred.  The program will be great.  

This Week:

• I will be helping out in Jane's class Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 8:30-12:30.  Jane is in a split class this year, and the teacher's aid is going to be out of town.  The district doesn't furnish substitutes when an aid needs to be gone, but Jane's teacher needs help.  I am happy that my schedule allows for me to be available like that.  Really, really grateful.  It makes me love my life.  
• We need to do some blitz practicing on Monday and Tuesday.  We fell behind over the weekend!
• Back to school nights at the elementary school this week.  Two different nights, three different classrooms!
• Grocery shopping.  I dream of the day when this is not so essential to my life.  But right now, it's super critical.  When supplies begin to diminish, it feels like the quality of life diminishes right along with it.  Darn it.  
• Temple session on Wednesday morning.
• Run 17 miles on Saturday!  I can do that, right?!
• Work on renewing our van registration.  I'm not making any huge commitments in this department.  But maybe I'm willing to at least go and get the safety and emission testing done.  I may, or may not be in a bit of a stand off with someone who lives in my house, about who's job registering the family vehicles is...
• oh yeah, and I'm only eating fruits and vegetables this week.  That's it.  Only plants.  Only one week.  Just an experiment.  One day down, at least six more to go.  I might need to make a tiny exception in preparation for the 17 mile run, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there. 

Christine

Last week:

• Taco Tuesday with Addie and Kelsea at Rubio's.  It was so delicious, I definitely miss all the Mexican food options when I'm out in DC.
• Took the Wiley kids to go feed the ducks.
• Went to yoga twice.  It was pretty rough and I was definitely sore after for awhile, but it also felt great.
• Hiked the Y Friday afternoon.  That was pretty tough as well but I did make it to the top.
• Had dinner with Hillary and Scott and spent most of Thursday helping Hillary pack up their things in Provo and move it into their new place in Salt Lake.
• Friday evening drove to Henderson, NV with Addie and Kelsea where we stayed with our friend Max's family.  Saturday we went boating with Max at Lake Mead all day, hoping that the forecasted storm wouldn't actually come.  It ended up being a great day on the lake, just a little cloudy in the morning then nice and sunny all afternoon.  We all successfully got up on the wakeboard and had a lot of fun getting thrown around while tubing.  Sunday we went to church in the morning then drove back to Provo.  It was a very quick but very successful road trip.

This week:

• Hopefully get a haircut from Christie before I leave town.
• Go to yoga at least once more before I leave, hopefully even twice more.
• Possibly hike the Y again.
• Have a birthday dinner with family and another one with friends.
• Fly to DC on Wednesday.
• Go to West Virginia for the weekend for the treasure mountain festival.  Not exactly sure what that is but apparently it's a big deal.
• Be back Sunday for another birthday dinner with the DC family group and some friends.

Post Script:  Will gladly edit and add in Sarah as soon as we receive her update!  Also CZ's picture.

Sister Update.

RACHEL

Last Week:

1. I finished the beloved Roman Shade! It's up in our bedroom and I love it.
2. Replied to half the emails I really needed to. Still a few more to go...
3. I've been suspicious that the temperature of our oven is off from what the dial says so we finally tested it out with a thermometer. Turns out, our oven is 50 DEGREES OFF! That is hugely material.
4. Worked til 10pm every day. Ken has been studying and teaching late so there isn't much incentive to get home early.
5. Can't remember if it was last week or the week before, but we finally finished the entire Gilmore Girls series. Moment of silence.
   

This Week:

1. Monday - Wednesday in Roanoke, VA! I'm so excited for some serious pool time. Also, I think I'm going to start up with Harry Potter again. I stopped halfway through Book 5. The audiobook version of Book 5 is $50!! Ugh. Or is it somehow worth it??
   
2. White House Tour on Friday! I submitted our names 4 months ago and forgot but we were finally selected.
   
3. Weekend in Pennsylvania. Decided it's just time to go!
4. If this weather and humidity don't lighten up soon, I will be evacuating the state much sooner than expected. I miss Los Angeles. For reals.

IE LI

Last Week:

• Two Saturdays ago, we went to DC with the Earnests, RZ, and CZ for Shake Shack, the Jefferson Memorial and the FDR Memorial.
  
• Harvested thirty-four green beans, six tomatoes, two baseball-sized watermelons, and the last of four cucumbers. The watermelons gave each of us enough for two bites, but they were perfectly ripe and delicious. I'm still not sure why they stopped growing. Perhaps not enough room. I was sad to say goodbye to our shriveling cucumber plant. It gave us some delicious cucumbers.
  
• Planted some more basil and cilantro. We can never have enough of those herbs.
• Buzzed Stephen's head. He wanted his hair to be like George's. After it was all over, though, he wanted his longer hair back. At least he'll stay cooler.
  
• Went to the pool. Virginia has been miserably hot.
• Went on a date with Steve. We chose Indian food and thankfully we have a place nearby that is nearly as good as Bombay House.
• Started reading The Help.
• Started watching season 5 of Friday Night Lights with Steve.
• Did yoga twice.
  

This Week:

• Theater in the Woods at Wolf Trap with the kids and some friends.
• Organize stuff.
  
• Start using my yellow Kitchenaid mixer, scheduled to arrive on Tuesday!
• Swim.

SARAH

Last week:

• work! Made good progress on work project - ready to demo for my boss
• planning meetings for next rooftop concert - need to add screens and projectors to help accommodate larger crowds.
• Went on a couple motorcycle ride dates with scott and finally used our communal gift certificate
• drove to California by myself with the kids to go to the beach with the Wileys. Riding bikes and playing in the sand with the ocean breeze and sound of the waves sounded way better than the boring heat of Provo - even without Scott. A good audio book made the time pass quickly and the kids were so good - we only had to stop for one unscheduled potty break.
  

This week:

• remember not to call this a "vacation" but rather just a "change of scenery" - being here without scott is a lot of work
• visit Zack & Ana & Jack and see their new home in San Diego.
• business trip to Northern California on Thursday - Laurel will keep the kids for the day.
• while we're I need to replace my gross over-worn rainbows - maybe get some for Huck too? (poor guy so rarely gets new things)
• stay long enough that the arduous drive home starts to look appealing (is that possible?)
  

ANNEE

Last Week:

1. Unexpectedly decided to pack the girls up and visit Cousin Lisa in Indiana. The boys all stayed home for bachelor week. From the amount of soda cans in the recycling bin, it looks like they were successful.

2. Spent Wednesday-Friday in Carmel, Indiana. It's a very charming city, with gorgeous houses EVERYWHERE. Too bad we were there in the middle of the most unbearable heat wave of my lifetime! Still, we managed to do two at home workout, with one of the Jillian Michael's DVDs. We even forced ourselves to run outside in the nightmarish heat, twice. We were hard core. It was fun!

3. Spent all day long Tuesday and Saturday driving to and from Indiana. That was hard core too. I think it was over 1200 miles. Just me, driving, all by myself! The girls did an amazing job entertaining themselves in the back of the Camry! I have only twenty minutes left of "The Killer Angels". After visiting Gettysburg, my brother Steve suggested we might like it. It is an excellent work of historical fiction. If you are into the battle of Gettysburg. If not, you probably just want to skip it. Having just been there during the month of July totally helped add an element of sympathetic interest, as I've been reading.

4. I did a whole bunch of laundry the day after we got home from our trip North. I did laundry for one entire day. But wasn't I glad I decided to do that laundry blitz so when I decided on Monday night to go on another trip the next morning, all the laundry was done!

This Week:

1. Monday morning at 9:30, all six of us have dental appoints. I was wrong about those being this week. I hope we don't have any cavities. What are the chances?

2. Without swim team, it's so easy to sleep in too late to run outside. I want to make sure I wake up early enough this week to run outside at least three times.

3. Christine? Will we be seeing you this week? I'm hoping I'm remembering that correctly. Christine was going to come stay with the kids, just for a night so that Darin and I have a mini-getaway. If it's not this week CZ, we'll do it whenever you can arrange it.

4. I've been away from the sewing room for nearly two weeks now. I'd love to get something made this week. Or else, go back to the machine mastery class on Tuesday. Maybe both! I love to dream big :)

5. Redeem myself from my terribly low Yahtzee score. The boys and I have decided to play through a full six game competition. Round one was a total loss for me. I'm really hoping the odds even out by the sixth round. Sounds like a statistical equation that Darin could figure out, somewhere in there...

6. Has anyone seen the movie "Midnight in Paris"? I think it's on my agenda for this week.

Long Live Summer!!

CHRISTINE

Last week:

1. Finished my class! Haven't gotten my final grade yet, but assuming I passed I can now officially claim to be a college graduate!
2. Fun lunch at Shake Shack with Earnests, SAZband, and Rachel followed by walking around to some of the monuments. It's fun having so much family around and getting to cross paths on random days.
3. Went around looking at apartments on Thursday, which was quite possibly the hottest day of the summer so far, horrible idea. Walking around to look at the places in that kind of heat just made me hate everything I saw. Got some good ideas for places, though, it was at least a good start to the hunt.
4. Picked up my car on Friday!! It successfully arrived with no problems so Friday meant a trip to Manassas to pick it up, which conveniently is where they recently opened up another Cafe Rio. It was delicious and was definitely nice to have a little taste from Utah.
   
5. Kelsea and Jon were both in town for the weekend which made for some fun activities. Saturday Kelsea and I had brunch at Southside 815 then went and toured Mt Vernon. It was again an extremely hot, humid day, but we just kind of went knowing what to expect and mentally preparing for the fact that we'd be drenched in sweat and it ended up being quite enjoyable. That night we all had dinner at Ray's Hell Burger, walked around Georgetown a little, then watched Rango.
6. Not so fun for the weekend was having to call the AC guys back to the apartment twice. Friday the AC was working but was leaking water all over the place, then Sunday it stopped working completely. I was getting frustrated that the guys seemed to be missing so many things, but it almost just seems that for some reason I've been having terrible luck with different things breaking just one thing after another. Everything is in working order now and will hopefully remain so.

This week:

1. Look at some more apartments. I've decided to expand my boundaries a little, so we'll see what I can find.
2. Hopefully get into Anthropologie this week. They finally called and said their summer associates were starting to leave so they'd start putting me on the schedule.
3. Head down the Chapel Hill!!! I'm excited to go stay with the kids for the weekend and hopefully get in some good pool time!
   

Crafting

Annee came to town and inspired me to create one of the yarn wreaths that's making the blog rounds. This is my before picture and once I make a stop at the fabric store tomorrow I can post an after picture!

This week is going to be super busy at work. It's not supposed to be busy season but c'est la vie.

I need to start pinning bookshelf styling inspiration photos because I have several to-do and need help!

I can't believe it's already July. Where is this year going!

Post edit: Hayley, check out this other 4th of July wreath idea!

Source: thecreativeimperative.blogspot.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Sister Update - It's been a while.

I think the last sister update happened about a month ago, which is no good. Here's to getting back in the swing of things! Also, please note the addition of Ana!! We're so glad to have you join us! (Side note, for some reason I can not turn off the italics at the beginning!! So the first two sections are italicized. Weird, sorry!)

Rachel

Last (Few) Week(s)

• Returned from vacation, returned Steve's car (thank you!!!!), got home and went to bed.
• Felt sick Monday (as I had since Thursday) but went to work anyway. Quickly realized that was a bad idea. Turns out I had strep & pneumonia. What the? I didn't go out for my morning stroll and get caught in a rain storm a la Jane Austen. Whatever. Ken got sick too which was really sad.
• Didn't go back to work all week. But a week off at home wasn't what I always dreamed since I mostly only slept. Which was boring.
• Had Jill over for dinner one night. So good to catch up.
• CZ popped in but mostly didn't hang out.
• The overhead A/C broke during the hottest week of the year which had me resorting to wearing a swimsuit in doors. It's fixed now, thank goodness! And they keep it super cold. We'll be bundled up all summer.
• Tried 5 new crock pot recipes, including Crock Pot Mac N Cheese.
• Spoke in sacrament meeting. It was scary preparing, but I think all my blog reading has helped me become a better story teller. I really had fun with the talk in the end.
• Finally changed my name!! New social security card, started the process at work. The new license will come eventually...

This Week

• Need to get back into the full swing of things at work. I feel so out of it.
• Go back to CrossFit. It's super intense. I hope my lungs are ready.
• We scored tickets to the US Open on Thursday! For those who don't know (aka me) this is a big deal golf tournament and we are super lucky to get the fancy tickets from a partner in my office so we are definitely going even though it may be very hot. :-)
• ANNEE'S COMING TO VISIT! Well, she's coming to go to a barn sale which I hope is worthwhile. Just in case, what else would make the trip worthwhile Annee?? Too bad she wasn't here for the super huge spring market Ie Li and I went to last month. Oh well, hopefully it's still good.
• Try not to be bored and blah. I can't remember what I used to like to do? I'm mostly just blah.

Ana

I am attaching one of the most recent pictures with me in it. Being pregnant I try to avoid shots where there aren't other people around to hide my girth. :)

Last week

• *Took lots of deep breaths and tried my best not to hyperventilate that we are moving across the country, leaving friends, have no job, will be losing health insurance while I'm pregnant.
• *Took lots of deep breaths and tried my best not to hyperventilate that we are having a baby this fall and I will never be well rested again.
• *Took lots of deep breaths and tried my best not to hyperventilate that I am actually using the phrase "We are moving in with family for a while until we find the right job" Ugh. That sounds so lame.
• *Took lots of deep breaths and tried my best to keep out of the house every day for a few hours so Zack could focus on his job search.
• *Went in for a follow up ultrasound. The baby is healthy and happy, but I still have complete placenta previa and need to take it easy and schedule a c-section.
• *Spent my first night alone in this apartment while Zack took Jack to his first Father Son Campout. They had a blast but Jack came home and immediately started dry heaving in the toilet. I wish he had inherited something other then my weak stomach from me.
• *Took Jack to his first gymnastics show despite the dry heaving episode. I may or may not have crushed up a small Zofran bit and forced him to eat it beforehand. He was one of the only kids in his class that didn't get stage fright and to top it off he didn't throw up all over the mats. I was so proud of him.

This week

• *Finally booked a moving company. Too bad we were so slow that our best quote went up $1000. Ugh.
• *Finally booked a car transport company. After hours or researching reviews of car transports on line, we decided to go with a company one of the moving guys recommended, and realized only after we had given then our credit card number and been charged in full that we never actually bothered to check their reviews. Turns out they are awful. Like total loss awful.
• *Finally booked our Palmyra/Niagara Falls trip. We have been hoping to get to Niagara Falls and Palmyra since we moved here. We figured our last full weekend on the east coast would be the perfect time for the road trip. I hope it goes better then our 15 hour drive home from North Carolina went two weeks ago. Highlights included me being ill the entire day, and Jack throwing up all over the gas station floor.
• *Pick up medical records for the entire crew (minus Zack, he never gets sick).
• *Realized a huge error had been made at work by someone else which has created a ton of extra work for me this week. I hope to finish up by our Niagara trip so I don't have to miss out on any of the fun.
• *Find a time to get to the temple before it closes for summer cleaning.
• *Saw my doctor after my ultrasound and got permission to fly to San Diego which I am so happy for since the fore-mentioned weak stomachs could not have stood up to a week long cross country drive.
• *Say goodbye to our dear friends the Whitaker on Friday and help Jack adjust to life as a single child with only one family again. I am so not looking forward to them leaving.
• *Zack made some good progress on his job search. Nothing finalized yet, but fingers crossed I might be able to deliver this baby on regular health insurance and not government assisted Medi-cal. (Another phrase I never thought I'd utter)
• *See what creative meals I can come up with to clean out our fridge, freezer and cupboards and save on groceries before we move and have to throw it all away.
• *Try to participate in the Sisters Update again next week.
• *Take lots of deep breaths and NOT hyperventilate.

Christine

Last Week:

• Left the beach which was a sad day, I really loved being there with everyone and basically just want to live at the beach forever.
• Spent a couple days in Chapel Hill with the Earnests and Wileys before they headed back to Utah. I was happy for a few more days with family.
• Got my bags all ready for my Israel trip and ran any last minute errands.
• Flew to Amman, Jordan!!

This Week:

• Spend a day in Amman, a couple days in Petra, then cross the border into Israel where we will be for a week. I'm actually updating my blog! (Or at least trying to.) So check there for the more detailed updates.

Ie Li

Last week:

• Revived our geraniums after our absence. The wind had blown one of our hanging baskets to the ground and it landed upside down. It's starting to grow the right way now. Plants are amazingly resilient.
• Moved our cantaloupe and green bean plants to bigger planters. They probably should have been moved two weeks ago, but I think they'll be okay.
• Blogged about beach week.
• Turned my $6 XXL striped maxi dress from Target into an Ie Li-sized maxi skirt. I like it much better now.
• Hemmed the curtains in the kids' bedroom.
• Decided that I am going to run the Richmond half marathon in November. Steve's going to do it too. I'm still not sure about the Ragnar Relay. I don't know why I'm so hesitant. I've done it before, I'll be training anyway, what's the big deal? Anyway, there will be a registration price increase on July 1 for the Richmond races, so does anyone else want to do it?
• Made our first trip to the pool. We had to walk home in a downpour.
• Organized our storage. There is more work ahead, but I'm so pleased with the progress we made.
• Celebrated Mei Li's birthday on Thursday.

Next week:

• Sew a couple of skirts for gifts.
• Swimming lessons for Mei and Stephen
• Finish unpacking from beach week!
• Move some watermelon and cucumber plants to the backyard garden bed.
• Have dinner with the missionaries.
• Start planning a friend birthday party for Mei Li.
• Start running again.

Sarah

Last 3 weeks:

• ON VACATION!!! NYC, Boston, Chapel Hill & OBX


Successfully navigated party of 6 through 5 airports, 7 airplanes, 6 places to sleep, 2 rental cars, taxi, ferry, bus, DUCK boat, jetski, and subway rides, museums, historical markers, famous sites, interesting sites, cultural experiences, countless restaurants and public restrooms and souvenir shops, seeing old friends, strangers, extended family, and best of all plenty of togetherness and happy memories.


RECOVER from all of the above


Start summer vacation! Seven peaks, cub scouts day camp, baseball games. Better freeze some otter pops
• Laundry, unpack, grocery store, back to baseball, back to work.
• catch up on rooftop concert series finances - need to reimburse and pay people for the June 3 show I missed

Next week:

• new round of swimming lessons at the pool that does swim team - it's a step
• update blog
• plant window boxes and garden. major weeding


Meet with planning committee about the next rooftop concert on July 1st
• get Brenden ready for "Camp Bigsprings" next week (Provo's version of Wrightwood)

Annee

I just can’t seem to remember how to do this. I don’t know what my problem is. Perhaps it feels like all the weeks and days have blurred together into indistinguishableness. But, here we go, trying to distinguish and remember...

Last Week:

1. It was the last week of school! That involved two days worth of field days. A 5th grade dance. A whole day worth of kindergarten graduation activities. A board game day for Jane. Buying last minute thank-you gifts for all the teachers. An awards assembly for the boys, followed by 5th grade graduation for Henry. I mean, does all of that count as number one? Should I have spread that out over numbers 1-4? I just don’t know. It was madness.
2. One week ago today the Wileys flew back to Utah. We hosted them for just two nights after our week together at the beach. We took the boys one day to one of those crazy laser tag/indoor fun type places. I hope they remember how nice their mothers were that day! Then we met up with Darin, mom and Christine for a UNC campus tour. We had to keep the campus tour brief. We were all at risk of melting in the heat!
3. George played his final baseball games of the season. Though they played with lots of heart all season long, they never managed to win a single game. But they were still allowed to play in the first round of the play-offs. We were certain it would be their last round of the play-offs, but to everyone’s great surprised, that round was also their first big win! Including a great base hit from George, which also got at least one runner home (or was it two). We were so, so happy for him!! To top it all off, his cousins, grandma, and aunts were all there to see it.
4. On Thursday before mom left to go back to Utah, we snuck away for the entire day to go to the great furniture Mart in Hickory, NC. It was so much fun to feel like we had the entire day to just wander and roam at our leisure. Mom had a specific brand of furniture in mind. Which was actually a very helpful strategy in a place like that. It would be so easy to get lost and overwhelmed by all of the furniture offerings. We found a few great pieces! It was a really fun day. One of the highlights was a stop we randomly made at a Starbucks on our way home. Mom introduced me to some frozen double chocolate chip, non-coffee drink. She bought us two of the largest size they make. It was so incredibly tasty, I’m still thinking about it!
5. Laundry. I feel like the washing machine and dryer ran none stop throughout the weekend. Literally. Not a joke. I think I finally just unloaded the very last basket of folded clothes into the children’s bedrooms tonight.

This Week:

1. After last week, I kind of didn’t want to do anything. Literally. I wanted to sleep in everyday, and do nothing once I woke up. That hasn’t actually been working out that well. In the end, I actually like to try to stay busy. So I do have a few goals.
2. We switched over at long last to morning swim team practices. We like this schedule SO MUCH BETTER. The practices are so much less crowded, the weather is agreeable. I go in my running clothes, while the kids swim, I run around the neighborhood. It’s lovely. We’ll have perfect attendance this week. That’s the goal! We are 2-0 so far. Way to go Earnests!
3. Run 5 times. I sadly realized that my secret dream of running the San Francisco marathon on July 31st was indeed only a dream. There are not enough weeks left to get in enough long runs. Since it’s been nearly four years since my last marathon, I need to do a good job training, and I’m at risk for injuries, so I have to do careful build-ups. But still, I never take these sorts of realizations lightly. A fall marathon will takes it’s place. I still hope to find a way to make it out to San Fran in the nearish future to see best friend Liz’s new baby!!
4. Get reunited with my sewing machine. Since Liz is about to give birth, she will go on maternity leave from the sewing blog. I need to have a bunch of material ready to show forth, to keep the blog alive while Liz is gone. It’s the least I can do for her! I hope I won’t fail. I have so far made one dress. Thank goodness it’s only Tuesday. And thank goodness there doesn’t ever seem to be a shortage of ideas of what to sew!
5. I’m going up to DC for a super fast weekend trip. Every since Rachel has been talking about these furniture barn sales, I’ve been dying to join her for one. I think the stars have aligned, and I’ll finally get to be there this weekend. She’s probably over them by now, but she’s being nice enough to be excited about taking me :)

May 16 - Sister update - Including a special guest!!

Sarah

Last week:

• This was the week of pre-trip errands - most importantly to find new jeans for Oliver. We threw out his last two pairs once the holes in the knees were big enough to fit his whole leg through, and unfortunately discovered Target was no longer selling his favorite kind (Shaun White brand skinny jeans). So we went on a hunt - every store/brand every type of skinny jean and none of them were skinny enough. Or else those that were weren't the right color or didn't have the adjustable waist and were too big around for him. So plan B - try girls jeans - back to every store to find skinny jeans with no flowers/sequins/frills. Jackpot back at Target with their Cherokee brand. Shhhh don't tell anyone they are girls jeans. He's actually quite enjoying the extra stretch.
• Finished cutting out the dead wood from the roses out back. Buds are forming. I'm sad I will miss the great blooming while we are away. I think I'll miss the blooming of the dogwood tree too. This happened last year too - we need to stop planning trips for the first week of June.
• Made major progress on my work project. Need to do more this week and demo to my boss before we leave.
• Brenden's first baseball game!
• Cub scouts committee meeting. Rooftop planning meeting. Sharing time lesson. Tons of laundry. Ate out too much.
  

I really need to accomplish a lot this week before our trip. Inefficiency or disorganization is not an option.

• Knitting store - get supplies for George's stocking
• Tailor - drop off 2 pairs of Scott's pants and one pair of my jeans for a hem
• Plant window boxes and vegetable garden
• Update blog
• Finish (?!) and demo work project
• Mountains of laundry
• Transfer all the supplies and responsibilities for the June 3 rooftop show
• Pack!

Annee

Last Week:
I feel like this was another banner week where I accomplished the goals that I aspired to last week. Sometimes goal setting really works!

1. All four kids practiced five times by Saturday afternoon! There was an incentive. If EVERYONE would meet the five-time goal, as a family we could go out to dinner on Saturday night, to their favorite restaurant. It’s Sweet Tomatoes, otherwise known to the Z’s as Souplantation. We have one in Cary. It takes about 30 minutes to get there, so we don’t go often. But the kids dream about it! It was the perfect incentive. I should use incentives more wisely.
2. I ran 5 times! It was hard because I was trying to do a lot of different things this week. Running is easy to push to the back burner when there is no specific race to train for. But since I had said to my sisters that I would run five times, I really felt like I had to do it!
3. I sewed Monday-Friday. It was epic, and awesome. In truth, I do not usually sew every single day. I usually just sew a few times a week. To sew for a few HOURS everyday, was a rare treat. I completed seven different articles of clothing for the girls (sorry boys!). They almost all worked, or will work. It was so much fun. I blogged about it daily at Made on Maple.
   
4. I did sub all day long on Friday. I am the regular sub for one of the first grade classes at our elementary school. Whenever that teacher needs to be out, she calls me. Its’ kind of cool to be so familiar with the class. It no longer feels like you are a stranger walking in to an unknown, rather, I’m a part of that classroom. The kids know me, I know them, they act excited on the days that I join them. It’s fun. I never thought I’d be an elementary school teacher. But now, sometimes I wonder...
5. The laundry is caught up!!!! I did a major clean out of the girls drawers and closets. The only things left available to them are seasonally appropriate, and in their size! I made them help me gather up all their laundry, do it all, and get it all back into place. The boys are learning to take responsibility for their laundry too. I really don’t see why I should be the only one in this house who does laundry!
   

This Week:

1. I need to keep running. Though I ran five times, they were not always quality runs. They were runs, because I said I was going to run. I hope to have a few more quality training sessions.
2. Sign all four kids up for swim team. It starts this week! I hear it’s a huge FAMILY commitment. We still have baseball going on, and Henry’s basketball session, and piano. To add on two hours of daily swim practice sounds kind of exhausting. But I REALLY believe in the value of swim team. I REALLY do. I’m just signing them up. That’s all. We do hard things around here. Get used to it kids! It ends mid-July. I can do anything for 9ish weeks! Right?!!
3. Finish some quilts! I have three in the works right now. I just started my beach quilt tonight. I still have my queen size one, and a baby one not finished. It is very clear I do not enjoy the “quilting” phase of quilting. I will conquer that hurtle this week. One of those quilts will be completely done by the end of this week.
4. I really should try to rally some enthusiasm for Beach Week Book Club 2011. I tried about three years ago to get everyone to read “Persuasion” in time to have a Beach Week discussion book night. I think no one thought I was serious. Or maybe no one had time to read, pre-beach week. Does anyone this year? A family book club is sort of my dream. Any takers? CZ, I kind of think you at least have time to read a book with me. No?
   

Ie Li

Last week:

• Preschool, swimming, story time
• Finished listening to Charlotte's Web with the kids.
• Planted basil and green beans. I am obsessed with my garden. I love to sit by my plants and stare at them.
  
• Mei Li, Mi Na and I had a girls' night with friends while the boys went camping.

Next week:

• Plant some more seeds! Why not?
• Preschool, swimming, story time
• Visit with an old friend.
• Visiting teaching
• Listen to E.B. White's Trumpet of the Swan with the kids in the car.

Rachel

Last Week:

• --I got a brand new iphone! Apparently they have an unofficial "one free swap to keep the customers happy" policy. Amazing! Downside: my apps didn't transfer correctly leading to 3 hours of re-finding and re-sorting etc.
• Worked in the office 1 day so I was able to run home 1 day. I've enjoyed Chantilly, but I am really looking forward to running home from work again. It makes me so happy.
  
• Anniversary ebelskivers on Thursday evening. 6 months, woo!
• A hugely productive weekend including pulling out the fridge, defrosting it, fixing a leak, cleaning the entire thing inside, outside and underneath, replacing the old gross microwave, finishing the bedroom photo wall, hanging the tie rack.
• Cooked a pot roast using herbs from my very own herb garden!
• Made it through 2.5 seasons of Gilmour Girls (while cleaning, organizing, cooking. Basically an audiobook substitute). Trying to finish it all in time to give the DVDs back to Sarah at beach week.
  

This Week:

• Spend more time on my hair, but in new ways. Three new hair styles is my goal. Through Pinterest, I discovered this new website Hair Romance with tons of great hair ideas. I may need to buy new bobby pins.
• Make bruschetta for enrichment on Thursday
• Test out this awesome Groupon-like website for DC restaurants called Village Vines. We're finally going to try Acqua Al 2 but for 30% off the entire bill! Excited.
• Lucketts Spring Market on Saturday!
• Work BBQ on Saturday in Chantilly. Which reminds me, why is gas still so darn expensive. The price of oil has gone down $15/barrel but gas hasn't moved. When oil goes up even $1 a barrel the next day gas prices are higher. I think there's something fishy going on...
  

Christine
(Picture may be coming later?)

Last week:

• Finished three assignments for my independent study class. That means I only have three left to do! Unfortunately I chose to do the easiest ones first, so the last three may take some more time, but still shouldn't be too bad.
• Worked, a lot. I guess compared to a real job it's really not that much, but when you add in all the driving I had to do it takes up a lot of time, leaving me feeling like I don't have time to do much else. It's also helped me realize that I really don't think I could work in retail long-term.
• Got a ticket booked for my Israel trip (thanks to mom doing all the research for it) and got all of the little details for my travels for the summer hammered out. I fly to Boston on the 24th, then down to the beach on the 28th, then Jordan on June 11, returning to DC on June 27. That means I have to be moved out of my house by the 24th. Luckily I don't have to sell a contract or anything, no one had signed for my room for the summer, so my landlord was ok with me just staying for the month of May.
• Saw Jane Eyre Friday night with Addie. I knew nothing about the story, so I was a little creeped out at times and was getting the impression that it was a scary movie, but in the end I liked it good enough.
• Had my last Sunday dinner with Wiley's and parents since they're all leaving out of town for my real last Sunday in town. Makes me pretty sad to think about leaving them, mainly I just don't really let myself think about it.

This week:

• Work 30 hours Monday-Friday.
• Try to get in some combination of yoga/riding/hiking the Y.
• Actually start packing up my room. I'm now into crunch time, and really it's not just my room, there's stuff all over this house that will need to be packed up that I'm afraid I'm ignoring. Along with packing up my room I need to decide what to pack into my suitcase that I'll be living out of for a month+, which will include time in Boston, DC, at the beach, and Israel, etc. That could be a tricky task keeping it all down to one suitcase.
• Finish two more of my assignments.
  

***********************************************
And now, introducing our special guest - Summer Little.
It's hard to write a thorough introduction to someone so near and dear to my heart. Summer and I met in 2nd-ish grade and have been BFF ever since. Which really is an understatement. I don't have hardly a single memory from elementary school and high school that does not include Summer. I firmly believe we were placed in each others lives very intentionally and specifically to help us both become the people we needed to be. You don't get many friends like that in this life so I am forever grateful.


This morning while getting ready I remembered: Summer is the person responsible for my switch from a center part to a side part which heaven knows my face needed. Summer also helped me realize how important mascara is to my color-less eye lashes and sleepy, squinty eyes. Thank heavens for friends like that, right?!


Summer naturally became a member of the family joining us frequently for sleepovers, dinners, vacations, etc. We decided to include her this week as an honorary sister. Summer lives in Georgia now with husband Travis and two kids, Finley and Nash.

When I get home I may update this with a vintage Summer and Rachel photo :-) Here's my visit to her last year.

****************************

Summer

This week:

• Went to the grocery store 4 times! I never go more than once, but the grocery store was offering a $10 dollar gas card with every $25+ purchase and I just couldn't pass it up. So, I split up my shopping list into $25 increments. Ca-razy, I know. Couponing has changed me.
• Got a car wash. Easily, one of my favorite things (especially post children).
• Sewed a pair of knit shorts for Nash from an old t-shirt. Just practicing.
• Made 8 cards and attended card swap club.
• Went strawberry picking with our little preschool group and used the strawberries to replenish our freezer jam stock.
• Hosted Activity Days at my house. This was our first meeting after splitting the girls into two groups. I now only have (9) 8-9 year olds instead of (18!) 8-11 year olds. I really appreciated the smaller number.
• Went to the Atlanta temple for the first time in almost two years!!! The Atlanta temple closed for major renovations in June 2009 and was finally rededicated on May 1, 2011. It was so fun to be able to participate in the open house and dedication festivities. I'm so grateful to have the temple within 25 minutes again!
  

Next week:

• Dance class, tennis, preschool...the usual song and dance.
• Swim team starts on Monday and runs Monday thru Friday for 6 weeks. I don't know if I am ready for the everyday commitment/struggle. Supposedly, Finley will learn how to swim?! She'll have to get in the freezing water first.
• Have someone come repair our leaking sprinkler. Boo.
• Apply WD-40 to Nash and Finley's doors. It must be done.
• Sew something. Linen pants for Nash?
• Get a haircut! First time in 9 months. I could cry.
• Exercise? Who am I kidding?
• Super, bonus points, will-never-happen goal: Clean and fill the (3) 55-gallon water drums we have for our food storage that have been sitting empty in the garage for months years. I can dream, right?
  

May 15 -DC Date night

Saturday night.

All dressed up. Waiting with drinks.

!
My favorite weekends include some time downtown.
His favorite include steak.

Can you see all those darling little Staub pans?
We love Staub.
And think we probably need all these little tiny ones to complete our collection.

Lipstick. And a frozen yogurt night cap.



And last, a PSA. Don't do this:

We stopped at Best Buy this weekend and parked next to a car with the back window rolled all the way down. Can you see what is directly inside the window? A shiny new iPhone 4. What were they thinking? That is dangerous! It started pouring shortly thereafter. I looked around inside for anyone with a toddler so I could warn them about the window but no luck. When we came out 40 minutes later the car was still there, as was the phone (and the rain), but I am worried about how the story ends.

May 14 - Scott Wiley - Producer extraordinaire

Now, I know this may embarrass him. But I can't resist posting this!!

So in January I started streaming The Mormon Channel while at work. There are only 3 hours of Dr Laura per day and Pandora channels play the same few songs over and over and I felt like I should give God more air time than NPR so I started streaming LDS radio. And much to my surprise, it's actually pretty good!

Anyway, there's a radio show called Everything Creative, where they've covered a wide variety of topics such as Mommy Bloggers and Creative Ways to Show Love (awkward), and Orchestra at Temple Square to name a few.

Imagine my surprise to hear my very own brother in law, the one and only SCOTT WILEY featured on a whole episode! As one who has listened to A LOT of MC, I can say this was a particularly great story! I may have even teared up at one part. I am so proud of him. What a great interview to have captured for posterity. Click on over to have a listen.

The upside to the humidity of NoVA - the plants thrive!

P.S. I also really enjoyed this cheerful interview with Heidi Swinton, the author of Pres Monson's biography and oh my gosh this interview with Meg Johnson had me WEEPING on my laptop, how does she stay so positive?! Actually maybe I should list all my favs in a separate post...

May 13 - This is a joke right?

Do you see that forecast? I'm not sure my plants can make it through that onslaught. I mean I know they're native to the outdoors and all but still, that's harsh!

With all the rest of blogdom I had a post up yesterday about our 6 month anniversary that has disappeared. Maybe it'll come back soon.

Today I was late to work because I ran out of gas on the way there. Lame. Also, today was Ken's last day at the US Court of Federal Claims! And this week he finished the current batch of Kaplan class teaching! Next week he begins his daily LSAT prep class during the day and won't be teaching at night. Which means for two whole blissful weeks we will get to hang out between the hours of 6-10pm without conflict of tax return or standardized test!! I am so excited.

Now if you'll excuse us, there's one last episode of Mad Men that's calling our name. :-)

May 11 - Not much to say today

Just a regular day.

Ken had a doctor's appointment at our fancy Executive Health place
through work which is basically a spa where they take your vitals and
also feed you breakfast. He came out to Chantilly and met me for
lunch, we chose Chick Fil A because people here just LOVE that place.
It was a beautiful sun-shiny day. I stopped for an eyebrow wax after
work, picked up the rest of the knobs needed for the kitchen and
watched more Gilmour Girls until Ken got home from work.

Just a very regular day!

May 10 - I'm sorry Banana...

But this pretty tiny headband is not worth $30. Can you believe it? Sad. Because it was really pretty. But only like $5-8 pretty.

We stopped by the Apple Store for FHE because 1-the map feature on my phone stalls when I need it most and I've come THIS CLOSE to chucking it out the window and 2- my computer and Ken's computer are both about to bite the dust and so he has stars in eyes about a MacBookPro or an iMac or something like that. Personally, I'd rather go to Bermuda but we'll sort that out later!!

I've started a preliminary layout for the photo wall in out bedroom. The pictures will be swapped out for gooey wedding ones and I'll add more frames and move things around a few more times, but posting a "before" now forces me to finish and post the final "after" product later.

The photos below are a bit of my inspiration...

Source: littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Source: rowboatpress.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Now that I see the two side by side, I think I should mix bigger frames into our wall and space them closer together. Can do.

Although, I also love this look below. Maybe I should be doing something like that on our wall instead?! We could easily put up black or white shelves.

Source: habituallychic.blogspot.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Did you notice that came from my Pinterest account? I can't stop pinning! It just makes so much sense. Can I follow you?