First

Here are some pics I was able to get of the kids at Carmen's First Birthday party. Happy President's Day......I'm going to enjoy my day off now :)

Random

Random thoughts from today:

• We got moving very early this morning so we are accomplishing a lot of things.
• We have gone back and forth on kitchen ideas but are finally diving in today.
• It makes me sick how fast money can be spent.....45 mintues of work = $600 for new tires.
• I am soooooooooo ready for summer to be here.
• We are going to our youngest niece's first birthday party tomorrow. It makes me sad that there are no more itty bitty babies around. They have all grown up too fast. Attention sis-in-laws......we need another baby in this family :)
• Ok I need to keep moving before my energy levels crash.

Under Construction

It's been really quiet around here lately, just how we have been wanting it. We pretty much spent the month of January laying low and getting some R & R on the weekends. We planned on jumping in to our next house project but some unexpected truck expenses and new car tires had me hold off for a while. After evaluating the financial situation we are good to go and are starting our kitchen remodel. This will be our biggest and most expensive undertaking which is why we are doing it last. It will take several weeks as it will happen in phases. The cabinets are up first. I know they look fine in the below photo but they are very worn and starting to show their age. This will not be a major overhaul that involves redesigning, just a kitchen update. The appliances will stay for a while longer because they work perfectly fine. Although they do not match I don't plan on buying new ones until we put this house up for sale. Oh besides the fridge seen below. We did have to buy a new fridge last fall because our old one was on the outs.

Good-bye kitchen. Please come back to me soon!

Viva Las Vegas

My best friend turned 30 this week and she wanted to celebrate by going to Las Vegas. We discussed this trip a year ago and I'm glad we were still able to go and embrace 30 with a big party. We walked around and saw the sights, lost our money gambling, but most importantly had a great time visiting with each other. I went to Vegas when I was 14 but wasn't able to do much and only have small memories of it. I had a blast playing the slots with Sara and laughing at each other when we got excited about winning a couple dollars. The boys played the tables but were unsuccessful in making us rich :(

The Strip

Our Hotel

Inside the Venetian

I was amazed at all of the different hotels and how they represented different places like New York New York, Paris, Ceaser's Palace, or my favorite, The Venetian.

The Venetian did a great job of reproducing Venice, Italy. The outside architecture was great, the ambiance inside with the Grand Canal and gondolas was romantic, and the italian food and gelato was delicious.

Ceaser's Palace

The Stratosphere

View from the Stratopshere

Happy 30th Birthday!

29 and Holding!

Ok people this is as far as the B-days go for me. For some reason I am dreading going into the next decade of my life and this birthday makes me realize it is creeping up. I did so much in my 20's and I don't want them to end. I hope to live this last year to the fullest and hopefully there is a lot planned for me.

This week was really a great week of B-day celebrations though. I got a free lunch 4 days out of 5. Plus breakfast for 2 days. Not too shabby.

We finally joined modern technology and I bought this laptop as a B-day gift. It's been 10 years since I've bought a pc and I have been using old goods since. This one is fantastic and hopefully it lasts for a long time.

I have the most loving husband who aims to please his wife on her birthday. I didn't just get one homeade cake for my birthday.....I got 3! There were three because he likes to experiment. I was pretty specific on my dessert request this year asking for whipped topping and caramel filling. Turns out homemade whipped topping is pretty challenging so the store bought stuff won.

Here's to living every day like it's your last..................(of your 20's)!

Globe Trotter

Yes I have that itch and to give myself a temporary "fix" instead of booking a European Vacation through Globus because they have an amazing offer that expires in 6 days......................................
I will write about it!
It's one of those times when you try to put something far out of your mind and reminders pop up everywhere! Literally I had an Outlook reminder scheduled for this Globus deal. I know I have issues.

I heard this wonderful quote on Amazing Race Sunday night.

"To move, to breathe, to fly, to float, To gain all while you give, To roam the roads of lands remote: To travel is to live."

-Hans Christian Anderson




Found some other quotes that I just love. They make me feel at peace.

“Our happiest moments as tourists always seem to come when we stumble upon one thing while in pursuit of something else.” –Lawrence Block

“Traveling is like flirting with life. It’s like saying, ‘I would stay and love you, but I have to go; this is my station” –Lisa St. Aubin de Teran

“I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list.” –Susan Sontag


Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and safe travels!

Fall.

Fall=perfect hiking weather for the Sondgeroths.

I love everything about hiking in the fall. The sound of the leaves crunching under your feet, the smell of the changing leaves in the air and the cool temperature makes for perfect conditions. Also the thought of dying poison ivy makes for a happy and worry free husband!

I LOVE going to Brown County every year just to be there. However it is very crowded so we have found that we enjoy the State Forests much more. This year we went to the Morgan-Monroe State Forest, a new one for us. This place was beautiful.....once we found it! We did a moderate 3 mile hike. There was a great breeze in the air that helped keep us cool and made the trees rain leaves.

After hiking we did drive through Brown County and Nashville just to get it out of my system but seeing the crowds made for an easy decision to keep driving.

I would like to get in another Fall hike this year but it sounds like the weather is going to turn cold quickly as it always does. Fall doesn't last long enough for me which is why I have such a hard time accepting that it is here. I need to live somewhere that is 70-75 degrees year round!