Last night brought upon us the 1st ever Hemsley Cupcake War! After watching an episode of Cupcake Wars on the Food Network, Natalie & I spontaneously decided to challenge each other to our own version of Cupcake Wars! Did it matter that it was 10pm and we have already eaten dinner and dessert? Absolutely not! Doing random things like this is one of my favorite reasons of being married to my best friend!
So here is a look at the outcome…. Let us know who you think should win this battle!
Spending time with my little family is always refreshing. Getting a few hours to BBQ and hang out on our deck and drink Root Beer with my little family is even more refreshing!! Today the sun peaked out just in time for us kick on the grill and enjoy some time outside. Nyla got to use her cool new little chair that Natalie picked up from Fred Myers earlier this week.
So this weekend, despite the lousy weather and not being able to really do too many exciting things I think my little family and I made the best of it. The whole weekend was kind of dedicated to finding Nyla her next car seat. One that we could eventually flip around and face her forward in. So this weekend included a trip to Costco, 3 trips to Babies”R”Us, 2 trips to Siegel’s and hours reading reviews online. I know, I know, that sounds really lame. But honestly deep inside I really enjoyed it. Anytime I can get out of the house and just spend time with my family is a good time. And it’s even better when the weekend is a success! We finally compromised on a car seat that left both my wife and myself happy.
The Backyard
It feels good to get those little purchases out of the way. The next big one for us is our backyard. Unfortunately, I think we are going to start redoing it in pieces. The first step starting with removing the current lawn and debris and getting some nice plants and grass in. Then hopefully later this year we will tackle removing our deck and put in some nice landing staircase and new paving. It will be really nice to get that all wrapped up so we can enjoy our yard to the fullest. I hate BBQing while looking at 4 ft tall weeds!
Work
Work is crazy as always but still very exciting. I’ve been privileged to have met some amazing designers who push me to want to progress even more. It’s so exciting to know(and not know at the same time) all the different directions I could go in the design field. I’m just praying that God gives me an open heart to see where he wants these gifts he’s given me to be used.
Nyla’s Bday
The countdown has begun until my daughter turns 1!!! Time flies! We are now only 17 days away from her bday and 19 days away from her party. Natalie has been busting out all these cool little crafty decorations for it! It should be really fun and of course look really cool. We are just praying for some good weather that weekend since we are planning on having the party outside. Finger crossed!
And of course… a video of Nyla for you
Natalie caught Nyla on camera walking around the house this afternoon. It’s so funny to see her waddle around. Enjoy…
Well, this weekend our daughter was working hard on something special… WALKING!!! She just started taking a few quick steps while falling and then in just a few days has figured out how stand, keep her balance and slowly migrate around on two feet! It’s pretty much the coolest thing to see as parents.
I just wanted to take a minute and congratulate a great friend of mine on a well-deserved award. Today the Statesman Journal’s announced Vin Thomas (Vintom) as the Best Web Designer in the Mid-Valley. Salem couldn’t have picked a better designer to represent their design community.
If you haven’t had a chance to check out Vin’s work and his mission as a designer be sure to visit his site. You wont be disappointed. Also be on the look out for a redesign of vintom.com soon! If you are on Twitter make sure you give him a follow as well (@vinthomas). He’s an all around great guy as well as a superb designer. Much respect goes out to him. Congrats buddy!! (more…)
This Monday marks 2 years of marriage for my wife Natalie and I! I remember that amazing day like it was yesterday! It amazes me to see how fast time flies. So much has happened in just two years but of course the best being the addition of our little girl. It’s been an amazing experience growing as a family and I am so blessed to have such an amazing woman by my side. I know that it takes a special woman to tolerate some of the stupid, weird and crazy things I do, but she does like it’s second nature.
So this weekend we will be spending time as a family at the Oregon Coast relaxing, laughing, and just enjoying each other’s company. I love these moments where we can just let all of our stresses away and just focus on enjoying our love as a family. One day we will spend these anniversaries with just the two of us but I am excited to be able to bring our little one along this time. It just wouldnt be the same without her. :)
So everyone, have a wonderful weekend! Stay safe and try to enjoy your friends & families!!
Mondays are always busy and kind of a hectic day here in the Hemsley household and yesterday was no different. Woke up at 6:30am to drive to Salem to pick up our taxes and then rushed to get home so I could pound out a bunch of work left over from the week before. I am pretty used to the routine but my schedule effects everyone in the house. When I wake up early, everyone wakes up early. And Mondays normally mean that I dont really have much time to spend with the family despite working from home which is always a drag.
Nyla seemed to be a little extra cranky yesterday and Natalie was getting a little frustrated so we figured out a little trick that makes her happy. Take her out of the house for a bit and take her to the park. She loves to swing! And Im not kidding! She will sit in a swing FOREVER. We have never once had her want out. It’s so funny and cute to watch. She always gets so relaxed and looks as if she is going to fall asleep (which she has done before).
Not much beats getting to hang out with your family all day and just enjoy each other’s company while hanging out in beautiful weather at a beautiful brand new little park. That’s exactly what we got to do this afternoon. It was a great way to relax after driving and working so much in the past week or so. Basically I just kicked back, took some pictures and watched my two favorite girls play on the swings. I could have done it all day!
There are many thoughtful and cool things people have done for me. Too many to list here. But I must say, this morning I received something that was so unexpected and fun it definitely is up there with the best of them.
As I was sitting in my office working away & having a bit of a stressful morning, the doorbell rings. The dogs start barking their heads off and I stomp over to the door to see who just interrupted my workflow. To my surprise there was a package sitting by the door addressed to my name. I get inside, quickly whip out the knife and tear through the box only to find all of this:
Yes, that looks like a bunch of random stuff, but if you read my “FLASHBACK FRIDAY – Things I miss” post a few weeks ago, you will recognize a few of these items. The box was filled with pogs, Big League Chew, Candy Cigarettes, Silly Putty, baseball cards and Peeps! (more…)
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