Birthdays, Bedroom, and Bowling

I wanted to post some pics from Emma's birthday celebrations.  She is quite the little party girl.

Emma had some friends over one afternoon for a camping-themed birthday party.  They decorated little backpacks.

(Emma wore her long johns, since that is essential attire for camping.)

played in tents

played with mud (cocoa playdoh) and bugs

Emma had a whole bunch of helpers when it came time to open presents.

Party favors:  "Happy Trails" trail mix, 

 

flashlights for their newly-decorated backpacks, and 

water...a must-have when camping.

eating a birthday breakfast

Grandma and Grandpa also had a birthday party for Emma.

decorating her own little pizza

"I'm free." (three)

Even little ladies in dresses like to ride cars.

Emma's new bedroom is now done!  I wanted to include some more progression pictures, though.  We tested 4 colors of paint.

Ta-da!!!  

I will include some more up-to-date photos soon.  The base is done and her furniture is all set up.  We just need to finish up some trim work around the window and closet but Andy will do that at the same time he does the baby's room which, by the way, is now demolished and ready to remodel, as well.

 We celebrated my birthday and our friend, Courtney's, birthday with a fun night of bowling with friends.  Even with my big ol' belly, I managed to pull out a pretty good score.  

Courtney and me

While Andy was doing demo in the baby's room, Emma took my belly photo...34 weeks!  Holy Moly! I just hope this little one (yet to be named) holds on until after my final (for one of my grad. school classes) on April 29th (and until Nana gets here on May 1st).

 And then, of course, Emma needed her picture taken, too.  Too cute!

All Sorts of Stuff Going On

We've had a whole lot of everything going on lately and it's been busy!  It's Emma's birthday weekend so I have been busy planning and preparing for that.  She is having some friends over on Saturday afternoon for a "camping theme" party.  On Sunday, we are having a birthday party for her at Tom and Terry's down in Salt Lake.  Last night, we met up with family for a fun-filled evening of bowling.  (We were bowling right next to Dr. Oz!).  On top of that, it's the end of the trimester, so Andy and I both have report cards due next week.  And...our remodeling is continuing nicely.  As if I don't have enough going on, I am presenting at a technology conference today and tomorrow down in Salt Lake.  Phew!  Thank goodness I don't have grad. school classes next week so I can take a minute to breath.

Ta-da!  We have sheetrock!

let the mudding begin...

Emma even took part in the mudding process on her own little piece of sheetrock.  She loved it!

scraping off her excess mud...

Don't you love her shiny "construction shoes?"

I love this picture!  Emma has been all about the dresses lately.  She loves wearing them to school.

We had a great time at Jupiter Bowl last night.  Emma played in the arcade with Aunt Whitney.

She loved bowling!

I thought Emma's bowling shoes were so cute!  I didn't know they made them so small.

Cousin Claire and Aunt Whitney

I got Dr. Oz in the background of this photo.  

Here is my presenter page for the tech. conference I am presenting at.  

 

Reminisce and Remodel

We had this past week off for Winter Break (aka "Ski Week") so Andy and I took full advantage of our time.  It was great to make up some lost time with Emma (since I have class two nights per week).  We also started our remodel of one of the upstairs bedrooms.  In that process, we had about 10 boxes to go through that had been stashed in the closet since we moved to the house.  Oh. my. goodness.  It was exhausting, yet a little fun, to go through everything.  I decided it was time to reminisce about the time Andy and I had together before our little munchkin came along 3 years ago.

Halloween on Leawood Drive in Anchorage

camping and fishing in AK

This is when we got engaged.

riding Segways in Chicago

Concerts at Moose's Tooth were always fun.

One of our backpacking trips to an Eagle River yurt

cross-country skiing in Girdwood, AK

venturing out in the rain in the Tetons on our drive from Seattle to Salt Lake City

Backpacking trip in the Uintas--Utah

biking the Mid-Mountain trail in Park City

biking around Park City Mountain Resort

sneaking a glimpse of the Bob Dylan concert (in the pouring rain) at Deer Valley (Utah)

Here are some photos of the remodel...so far. This will be Emma's new room.

Let the demolition begin!

We weren't sure what we'd find behind the paneling.  This insulation was probably as old as the house so we decided to replace it with R-13.  

Emma and me pulling out nails.

And, of course, we've had some fun this past week, too...

Emma has been testing her little sister's things...

She managed to climb in here by herself.  

shoveling the deck with Daddy

My mom gave Emma this art smock for Christmas.  My mom used it when she was a little girl.