Backyard Surprise!

Yesterday, we surprised the girls with a cute little playhouse. When we got home, Trey and Chris had been working on assembling the house for about an hour --- that's when the girls saw it for the first time. Surprise!!!!
See their reaction...

They couldn't wait, they were playing as the guys were finishing up.

Trey wants to leave the house here, I want to catty-corner it. For now, it's right here under the patio and will stay partially shaded throughout the day.

The girls wanted to pick flowers for their home, so they ran to the yard and pulled weeds. Yeah, that works too!

Trey put the house together pretty fast. It didn't seem difficult and Chris helped. Trey got the playhouse from Sam's Club. Before buying it, I looked online and saw it for several hundred dollars more on a few sites, I feel like we got a pretty good deal at Sam's and the it has nice details and you can tell it's quality material.

I have a feeling we will be spending so much time outside this Spring and Summer. Now, all we have to do is keep the grass trimmed and the bugs away.

Chey said she wants to sleep in the playhouse, maybe this summer we'll have a camp out. Sounds like fun!!! This weekend or the next, I'd like to get my nails dirty and work on the garden.

A Fun Hiding Spot

The girls have a favorite spot on the patio. Well, it's more like in….

They like to sit in this bin with the lid closed. They use an LED lantern and watch videos like My Little Pony.

Trey and I have a backyard surprise for them. If they love this space, they are going to love what we have in store for them! I'll post pictures soon! I can't wait!!!!

Two Reasons I Love My Employer

1. They encourage me to workout 3 times a week during working hours. And approve compensation during that time! 

2. The insurance that is provided is Blue Cross and they have a really cool program, Blue 365. The program allows me save on health and wellness products.

They have a deal with Reebok that allows Blue Cross members to purchase items at 20% off, plus free shipping. I just bought my first pair of Reebok's! I've been using Nike running shoes for years. When I first started running I would buy $90-100 dollar shoes (I tried other brands too), but as of about 2 years ago, I started looking at give or take $50 - $60 dollar running shoes. Since I'm not prone to injury and as long as the shoes are a notch above average quality, I can get by just fine.

If these shoes work out for me, I'll be buying a second pair soon...since I like to have two pair of shoes on rotation.


I still don't have any races on the calendar. Right now, I'm enjoying running for fun and fitness. Some days I run slow, some days I run fast. Most of my running is done solo, I miss running with friends, but this is just a season in life - with the girls being so young - trey has his business and having to be on call basically 24/7 - it makes it difficult to plan running dates with my friends. I might try to sneak a group run in every now and then, it's not impossible, but it's a challenge!

Since this post has way too many words in it, here's a photo of the girls. Lately, we can't get enough of the patio! It's easily our favorite space, when we are home. I'll have more patio pics to share later.

P.S. Here is a whole gallery of my running shoes, through the years.

My Week in Photos & Patio Makeover

Sometimes being little is hard. Dakota wanted to bowl.

When Daddy works late, we stay in - watch My Little Pony, paint nails and braid hair.

Here is an example of the type of things I text message Trey.
I'm in the process of sprucing up the patio. This is my birthday gift to myself. My 30th birthday is April 30th. With Trey's business and my work, the likelihood that I can travel leisurely is not likely, so this is my b-day gift to myself (and the family).
This is just a little bit of the makeover. It's not glamorous, but it's a nice space to sit and play with the kids. I plan on adding a few more things. I'd love to get the girls a sandbox and playhouse.
Other wish list items:
Rug, Ceiling Fan, BBQ pit (ours died last year) and a storage bin for toys.

Solar lanterns                                               A bird bath thingy and bird feeder
     

My Favorite Thing, in the Whole Wide World!

I want to share with you my FAVORITE THING in the whole wide world, well at least my favorite thing -- right now. It's a water bottle made by Contigo. A water bottle is my favorite thing?

If you know anything about me, you know I'm a water addict. Trey has joked about wanting to send me to rehab for my addiction, which is kind of strange since this was my birthday gift from him.

I always carry water with me. ALWAYS. If you see me and I don't have a bottle in my hand or purse, please offer me water because chances are I'm dying of thirst!

For several years, I've been using the tin can (sigg style) water containers, but my bottle was so deformed, it couldn't stand up straight. Yeah, maybe it had been dropped a few times....It had a wobble to it. Erin, is the one who introduced me to this amazing Contigo, no leak, auto sip, one push button water bottle. It holds 32 oz of water! LOVE! The only thing that would make it perfect is if they offered it in a gallon size too. I'm joking, maybe.

Here is what makes this bottle amazing, also mentioned on Contigo's Site:

• 100% BPA free.  No need to worry about the container you are drinking from - Contigo^® makes only BPA free bottles.
• Patented AUTOSEAL^® lid is 100% leak-proof and 100% spill-proof.
• Drinking made easy! Press to sip. Release to seal. AUTOSEAL^® automatically seals between sips to ensure no spills.
• One-handed water bottle operation for on-the-go drinking.
• Water bottle is made out of Tritan™, which provides high impact resistance and won't stain or retain odors.
• Carabiner clip on the handle makes this water bottle easy to carry. Attach it to a bag strap for hands-free portability.
• Water bottle is top-rack dishwasher safe.
• Wide opening fits ice cubes.
• Volume markings help you gauge water intake.

They even make kid size cups. I got Cheyenne this set:

Check out the website to learn more.