photobucket and new camera

thanks to my friend at lfh creative for filling me in on the awesomeness of photobucket! Did y'all know that you can host pictures in photobucket (for free) and then copy the html onto your blog for bigger, better photos? AND photobucket has all sorts of great editing tools (and layers!)

very very cool.

in other news, my new camera got here today! I ended up getting the Canon Rebel XS. I know, you Nikon people love your Nikons, but I borrowed both perspective cameras from friends and (I think because I already own a Canon) I found the buttons on the Canon more intuitive and it felt more natural to me. I am ECSTATIC with the purchase and ready to get out and shoot!

couch-to-5k

Inspired by my friend, georgia, we are starting the couch-to-5k running program today. This program is designed to get non-runners (me!) into running shape over nine weeks in a very gradual way. I've enlisted a few poor friends to do this 9 week program with me and afterward we are going to do a race...we haven't committed to one yet, but the West Texas Running Club sponsors at least one race a month so we have plenty of options.

Why, might you ask, put this information on my blog? To keep me accountable. Be expecting progress reports.

Oh yeah, and if you reside in Lubbock, you are more than welcome to join us! We are doing it three times a week at a park, right after work. If you can join, we'd love to have you.

hammock time

sayla loves watching the action (i.e. kead running around like a mad woman) from the hammock in the backyard. sweet girl.

little addie

just precious.

welcome addie!

After a long day of labor for Kate our niece, Addeline Elizabeth, was born at around 2:30 am. She weighed in at a teensy (for what they were anticipating) 7 lbs 13 oz and was 21 inches long. :)

I have yet to see pictures of the little doll (apparently the family is resting or something absurd like that) but when I do I will be sure to pass some on!

Big hugs and congrats to Kate and Dave...we can't wait to meet her!

i heart matching outfits

One of my favorite things about having two little girls is matching outfits, despite the less than pleasant memories I have of them as a little girl with a bossy big sister (used to be, used to be).

It seems like every time I get the girls all matching and cute I think "I'll take a picture after church/lunch/playgroup" and then one of them inevitably makes a mess of the outfit, has to change and I don't have a picture. Not this time. I was determined to get a picture of the little twins (down to the matching ponytail) only, the girls did not want to play my game.

oh well, here are the failed attempts and you get the idea :



and one of sayla's adorable little puff-of-a-ponytail:

free adorable bib set

one of our friends from etsy is doing a free giveaway of an adorable bib set on the kojo blog!

check out this post to enter

one good thing

For the most part I love cold weather months, but one good thing about it getting warmer is the return of my favorite drink of all time: ice tea and limeade. Hardly a warm day passes without at least one glass of this little gem and now I have the best tea/limeade drinking glass!

I used an extra large grommet (found in the sewing section at a craft store) to make a hole for a straw, and now I can take it in the car too!

Seriously, it's instant happiness.

happy egg hunting!

This is Kead's first year for an Easter egg hunts and she is loving it. We personalized a felt bag that Lita found at a craft store last year for her egg hunt at preschool. She loves it so much, it has replaced her purse and she insists on taking it everywhere...and asking us to hide the eggs so she can find them. Today we have an egg hunt at church so she is good and praticed for the main event!

Happy egg hunting to all!

kead's ideal meal

I am sure, if you have kids, you feel this way too, but sometimes I am surprised at the things Kead likes to eat. Of course there are the regular kids things like string cheese, goldfish, any sort of dip... mac and cheese (thanks mom!) and she prefers fruit over veggies.
but there are a few random ones too like:

• beans! she LOVES beans. black beans, pinto beans, garbanzo beans, refried beans (extra bonus- it passes as a dip.)
• peppers. this discovery was accidental when she grabbed a jalepeno off drew's plate. luckily, it was a very mild one, but she loved it and asked for more. she also loves banana peppers.
• capers- which she calls papers.
  
• olives of the black and green variety
• hummus- she could eat a whole bowl with a spoon
• salsa- she says "ooh, spicy" the whole time she is eating it, but keeps going back for more.

I am thankful she is not too picky of an eater and hope she is always as willing to try new things.

wrapping up

Maybe you are sick of Oman pictures, but this is the last set. This is just around the capital and things we did in the last few days. (a couple are in Dubai as well)

Hope you have enjoyed the journey and want to visit sometime...preferably once we have our tourism company up and running, you can give us some business! Ahalan wa Sahalan! (loosely translated, you are welcome anytime!)

(I didn't take this picture, Mark did- but it was too cool not to share!)

(this one is by Mark too)

boat ride

When people think of the Middle East they think of a hot, dry landscape. This is true of Oman as well. However, what most people are blown away by is the coastline of Oman. It is be-au-ti-ful. Miles and miles of pristine blue water, untouched beaches and excellent scuba diving and snorkeling. While we lived there we spent a lot of time scoping out beaches but we never got to see the coastline from the ocean so this time we decided to do a little boat ride. It was a wonderful way for our friends to see what a prime tourism spot it is, since we are trying to convince them to come with us and open us a tourism company. We had a great time!

It was also a wonderfully romantic way for Mark to propose to Stacy! It couldn't have worked out more perfect. The boat ride was open to the public, but it just happened that we were the only ones who signed up for the tour on that specific day- so we got the boat all to ourselves. The roof also doubled as a viewing mezzanine, so there was a beautiful, romantic, secluded place for him to pop the big question. Brittany and I were, of course, giddy about it and had a hard time keeping it from Stacy, but we did...and he did...and it was a total surprise. He asked her as the sun was setting over the mountains and she, obviously, said yes! She was so cute and didn't stop smiling for hours afterward.

the ring and ring box, the sunset and me sneaking pictures of the moment.



showing her the ring after he asked her. congrats you two!

Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque

If you remember my top ten list from this post, one of the things I was looking forward to doing on our trip was visiting Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque. We have tried to visit in the past, but the visiting hours weren't posted, we didn't know which areas we were allowed in, and we got kicked out twice. However, recently they started letting non-Muslims inside the mosque on weekday mornings and have hours posted and everything. I think it is because the large mosque in Abu Dhabi (capital of the U.A.E.) starting allowing tours, so they decided to show off their mosque as well.

It was beautiful! Everything was so grand and extravagant. I am glad we finally got to see the inside.

The carpet and the chandelier are definitely the most extravagant features. The carpet is the largest single piece hand woven carpet in the world! It took over 300 women 4 years to complete and it covers the entire main worship hall which is over 14,000 square feet! And not only is it massive, but has more than 1,700,000 knots and is beautifully intricate.

The main chandelier is also enormous- over 45 feet tall! Its really hard to grasp the size from pictures- so you should just go to Oman and see it! :)

Here are some more of the Mosque, (and yes- Britt and I were sporting the head coverings as it was a rule inside the mosque)