Photo Dump Wednesday: Celebrating the Spring

Spring is finally here and even though the temperatures don't always cooperate, I am grateful for the seasonal changes. It is a sign of new life, new beginnings and growth. 

I love how much JOE and JAE are growing and how they are developing their relationship. They play together and often, they have each other's back. Except for when they want the same item and JAE is determined to get it.

Last week, I came home and saw the mess in the girl's room. Below is a brief conversation with JOE.

Me: Jordan, it looks like a hurricane came through your room!
Jordan: Yeah it did. Hurricane Jenna! 😂😂😃

JOE is now totally into building things with lego pieces and any other structural blocks she can put together. I love her creative mind! She never ceases to amaze me. Check out the helicopter she created. These pieces are "open". In other words, it doesn't have a set structure kids build because it wants to encourage creativity and JOE definitely did a great job.

She was very proud of her creation.

I love that JOE still likes to make faces at the camera and cuddle with me every now and then. I know as she gets older, it'll be fewer and far between but for now, I am totally enjoying it. 
That's my "I just woke up and haven't even brushed" face :-).

One of the highlights of my work day is doing Jeopardy questions with J. I often text the question to him and he gives me his answer then I give mine and we check at the end of the week to see how much we've each scored. We don't necessarily follow all the rules of the TV show but it is a good distraction in the midst of our busy days. 
J's mom got me this calendar last Christmas.

Last week, I received my 10-year pin at work. In my mind, I feel like it has only been 4-years but clearly, its been MUCH longer. Wow! Only 27.5 more years to retirement. Woohoo! 😏

My baby sporting a cute purple hat that doesn't belong to her :-). Still looking cute though. Look at that face!

My other baby. The reason behind this picture is because the writing on the glasses wore off a while back. So she decided to paint polka dots on her glasses. It looks really cute!

Introducing something new from AyoBE Boutique. I love this custom calendar board. It works year after year. A perfect birthday, anniversary, grandparents and Mother's day gift. 

We went for our family walk last Saturday. We finally have better weather. Check out JAE sporting her sunglasses.

J and I went out to see Logan on Saturday while J's parents got to spend some time with JOE and JAE. 
I was disappointed with the movie but since this is not a movie critic blog, I'll let others decide on it for themselves.
The thing that really got me though was the cost of the food! For a large drink, we paid $5.46 plus tax. This was RIDICULOUS! I mean, that is the cost of 5 whole liter bottles of soda! Granted, we got a free refill and the cups are giant size but still. I thought that was an outrageous price for soda.

And on the heels of my bad soda decision, I am happy I have been able to keep up with my steps. Woohoo!!! I love the way my clothes fit and that just makes me feel better each day.

Sunday family car selfie on the way to Church. JAE didn't want to smile but the minute J said "stick out your tongue", she was all about taking the picture. So we all did the same thing.

We wore blue as a family :-).

J's birthday was on Monday. So we both decided to take the day off to celebrate his birthday. Taking advantage of the child care. The girls serenaded him in the morning when he first got up. 

Then we each got a good workout and after cleaning up, we headed into DC to visit The Capital Grille. This place holds a special place in our hearts because it is where we ate the night J proposed in 2009.

The birthday boy...J

Can you guys his favorite drink? He gets the same thing EVERY time :-).

I got a delicious mojito. Yum yum!

They didn't have the salad I always get so I got a bacon wedge salad. The dressing was a little excessive but other than that, it was good. Especially the nice chunks of bacon. I love bacon!

J got his regular ahi tuna with gingered rice. 

He was teasing me about always ordering the same thing everytime we go there so I decided to order something different this time. 
I ordered their smashed potatoes with the filet mignon. It did NOT disappoint.

J enjoyed his meal. 

And I definitely enjoyed mine as well :-). I wanted to make sure I left room for dessert so I didn't finish mine.

They surprised us with a delicious double helping of their dessert. They were both desserts that J loves and I just like so he had all of his and I ordered my favorite.

Yummy creme brulee...hmmmm...

I promised JOE we would bake a cake for J's birthday so after we got home and settled in for the evening, we made a reeces peanut butter cup brownie and topped it with peanut butter ice cream. My hubby LOVES peanut butter! 

At the end of the day, J told me he really enjoyed his day and that made me feel great. It was the 9th birthday we have celebrated together and I look forward to celebrating many more decades with him. 

I hope you had a wonderful weekend! Enjoy the rest of your week and be sure to be kind to strangers!