Moving to Connecticut....or NOT!

As you know, are next move was going to be to Connecticut. As a matter of fact we were supposed to move in 1 1/2 weeks. My girlfriend Brook and I went to Connecticut last week to find a house for us, we had sent money to our new landlord, and we were ready to go....until a late night e-mail.
2 days ago, our world got turned upside down and changed...in a good way. We were actually in the process of filling out our contract for our new home when Matt's phone buzzed for a new e-mail. Basically, it was his current business (GE Transportation, we were going to CT to work for a different GE business) offering him an unbelievable job opportunity that we could not refuse. They said if we would stay in Erie for 6 more month, they will move us ANYWHERE we want to live, Matt can work from home, and we won't have to move anymore. I about fell off my chair. We...I, have been dying to move west for 5 years now. I miss being close to family and having my children close to grandparents and cousins. Finally we will get what we want. We are getting vibes that they want us to live in a port city, which is fine by me just to get west. Anywhere along the Cali. coast (most likely a bit out of our price range), Portland, or Seattle seem like front runners. We are actually hoping to FINALLY buy a house. My kids...and I want a dog so bad. So that's it. 6 more months in Erie, and we are heading west. Can you tell I am excited! We'll keep you posted as to where we are moving in December.
Anyways, my house hunting trip was fun and Connecticut would have been very cool. While I was there with my friend Brook, we took a quick 45 minute train ride into New York City where we went to the Twin Towers, saw the Broadway Legally Blond (fabulous and funny), did a little window shopping and then ended the evening at one of my favorite New York hot spots, Serendipity for some frozen hot chocolate.

Happy Father's Day Matt

It is the end of the day and Matt is already in bed. But I didn't want to let the day end without a quick Father's Day post to let Matt know how much we love him. Matt, you are an awesome dad and husband. Thanks for being our rock and loving your family.
So sorry you had to have waffles for your Father's Day dinner ( I just got back in town last night and didn't make it to the store yet). But know that if I would have been more prepared, I would have grilled you a big fat fillet with a baked potato and all the fix'ins! We love you sooooo much.
Thanks for everything. ~xoxoxo

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATT!

Today my sweetheart turns........3........5! I want him to know how much I love him. He is the best husband anyone could ask for. I appreciate all that he does for me and my family. He always thinks of us first. This is just a VERY small list of reasons I love him:
1. He is the best dad to our 3 kiddos.
2. He is fun and likes to go places and see and do new things.
3. He is patient with me...and that is hard to do.
4. He cleans! Actually, he is MUCH cleaner than I am.
5. He watches the kids so I can work out, run errands, get my nails done, and go to girls night out.
6. He is smart. HELLO, he has his JDMBA!
7. He takes us canoing, on hikes, and to National Parks.
8. He always encourages me to try new things and supports my decisions.
9. He is hard working both at home and at work.
10. He lets me pick out girl movies to watch when I know he wants to watch shoot 'em up shows instead.
11. He likes to eat yummy junk food with me.
12. He is always positive...so much that it makes me mad at times. (I know...bad wife).
13. He loves me and our kids unconditionally.

Hope your day is great. I love you always.
Yours,
Michelle
xoxox

Busy Busy Busy

Is it just me or is life just BUSY. We have been doing a little of this and a lot of that. Keeping busy and gearing up for summer. We had grandma and grandpa Young visit us in good ol' Erie, PA.
(Were you impressed G & G?). We took two days and headed up to Canada to visit Niagara Fall and Marine Land. At Marine Land the kids got to touch and feed the Beluga whales. Jack was FEARLESS on the rides. He went on everything that his height would allow him to go on. Lily and Cole were a different story. They are a bit more cautious when it comes to rides.
Then we headed up to Toronto to go to the Toronto Zoo and the most charming farm called Riverdale Farm. It is a MUST see and do if you go to Toronto. The kids had fun and it was a fun little get away with my mom and Ken.Where are we moving?? That has been the big question for about 2 months now. We thought and were hopeful that we would be moving west. As a matter of fact we were 99% sure we were. Then, GE decided to send us to Norwalk, Connecticut. Can I get any further east! Norwalk is basically a suburb of New York city. It is about 45 miles from Manhattan. Looks like we'll be spending the fall in the the New England area. I am excited about being close to NY, good shopping, living by the real beach, the fall leaves, and especially Lily starting kindergarten in Connecticut. Maybe I can even talk my friend Sarah in NJ to come visit with her kiddos or I can go to her house. Just another fun place to make memories.

Summer might finally be here on Thursday. Wehave been wearing jackets on and off still, but expect 94 degrees on Thursday. What happen to the 75 degree weather? We skipped that part. Oh well, I'll take what I can get to have some nice out door summer days.

A Day In The Life Of My Children's Boring Life

Last weekend, in a 24 hour period, Lily went to see the musical Snow White,









while the boys went to the horse races.










Then we all went to a Celtic fest (not pictured).

Then Lily had a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese.









And then we all went to see Horton Sees a Who at the movie theater.























A day or two later Lily says to me, "Mom, I have a boring life."
Is it just me or is something not right!

Oganization In My So Unorganized World

I feel so much better now the the toy room is organized. We have always had our toys in bins, and I have always tried really hard to keep them somewhat organized. Typically my kids are each allowed one bin each. As soon as they want a different set of toys or bin, they have to clean up and then I'll get a them new bin. This usually lasts for a good 2 weeks, before eventually all the bins are opened and scattered throughout the toy room and even the house. Then, I find myself cleaning the toy room instead of the kids, because I want the toys put away in an organized fashion. They are good cleaners, but they prefer to just put any and every toy in any bin. In my mind, each bin is designated to each set of toys. Well, in my attempt to make my kids organize and clean toys the way I like, Matt and I bought a few more bins and labeled them with words and pictures. I am hoping this will make my life a bit easier when it comes to cleaning the dreaded toy room. We'll see.

Under Construction

I'm in the mood for change. So if things don't match around here for a while it's because I am slowly but surely changing up my look. I'm trying to make it a bit more fun and light hearted for summer. Still trying to have a chic look with a bit of whimsy. Ta ta!

A Day at the Dentist

I am sure all my dentists friends are going to be shocked appalled when they find out that Lily, who is 5 years 3 months, had her very first dentist appt. She did awesome. She was so excited to pick out raspberry flavored cleaner, bubble gum flavored fluoride, and get a Sleeping Beauty toothbrush. All in all, her teeth were perfect. The dentist told her she had a beautiful smile and teeth.
Things went so well, I made an appt. for the boys next week for their first cleaning as well. We'll see how that goes. I'm kind of dreading the drama!

Today Lily's preschool class had a special program for the moms called Mother's Day Tea. All the kids sang cute mom songs, made cute Mother's day gifts, and had prepared crumpets and tea (cookies and punch) for all the moms. Lily is a special girl, and I am blessed to have her as my daughter. She and my boys are the best Mother's Day gifts ever.

Baird Happenings

We have been crazy busy with traveling, work, play, company, etc. I thought I would share pictures of some of the fun things we have been doing. A little over a week ago we went to Palmyra with Papa and Mimi. It is about a 3 hour drive into New York. Trying to have a reverent moment with 3 small kids was not going to happen, but I am so glad I was able to take my kids their. Especially Lily who is starting to know and understand more about Joesph Smith and church history. These pictures were taken at the Sacred Grove visiting center. This is a nice green hill that Jack found . The other two are of Lily walking towards the Sacred Grove and Cole looking out towards the Grove. We have some pretty good winds here in Erie, which is great for kite flying. Mimi and papa bought these kites at the dollar store. They flew pretty good for dollar kites. The kids thought they were pretty cool flying kites while lying down.Matt and I have always talked about buying a canoe. So, we finally bought our canoe. Lake Erie is about 5 miles from our house (hence the city being called "Erie"). And it is great canoing territory.The kids put on their new "boat coats" (that's what Jack calls the life jackets) and we went out on a fun family outing. Cole basically freaked out the entire first half of the trip out. We kept telling him to "shoosh" because there were a lot fisherman around that probably didn't appreciate a little kid screaming at the top of his lungs, "The boat is going to tip. We gonna fall in!" There were all these turtles sunny on logs and branches out in the water. Cole loved that, so by the second half of the trip he decided it was kind of fun. That's about it. We are just waiting to hear where our next move is. We hope to know by Friday. The possibilities are Austin, TX, Scottsdale, AZ, and Seattle, WA. We are pretty excited about all the cities. I have endured Erie (actually it hasn't been that bad thanks to good friends we have made), so now it's time for a good location. We'll keep you posted.