Spring is Here!!

Spring is here again and for this family that means kite season! We have finished making our annual kite. It is a tradition for us to make and fly at least one kite every year. We actually made two kites this year. We had a great idea to try painting our kites this year, you know, give it a little pizzaz! The first one had a problem and instead of adding pizzaz we added POOzzaz.

(The Ugly One)

It was terrible to say the least. We used two different types of paint, glitter and solid, and they did not mesh well at all. That kite would not win any beauty contests, that's for sure.

The second one we decided to go with a plan, instead of just shoot'n from the hip, and the result was much better.

We decided to "hide our shame" and toss the first kite before it ever got to fly.
Last sunday we took the good looking kite out for its first flight. We were a bit skeptical, seeing that the wind was not very strong. We have found that wind in Virginia is not like it is in Utah. The winds are less consistent. It takes a lot more work to keep a kite up in the air.

We got it up in the air and all went well for about 10 minutes. Then the wind stopped and the kite plummeted. The string was quickly tightened and we regained control.

After a few more of these episodes we decided to reel it in and call it a day. The whole flight lastest about 30 minutes.

Warning: Blog under Construction

For those of you that have been keeping up with the blog, you probably have noticed the blog undergoing some changes. I made the mistake of choosing a new template, didn't like it, and then couldn't change it back to what it was before. I had made a lot of changes to the previous set-up and blogger didn't allow me to just copy and paste it. So, I think I have settled on this layout. We'll see how I feel in a few weeks.

Spring Break weekend

Last week, Matt had his spring break. He definitely took advantage of it. Lots of sleeping in, staying up late, and of course, plenty of video gaming. We went out to eat on Thursday night at Olive Garden (thanks Sterling). Cami took Friday off and we went to the Science Museum of Virginia. We saw an IMAX movie about the Coral Reef in a huge dome theatre. It was cool and big. We went through the exhibits, ate space ice cream and Matt got a new toy to go on the fridge. Most of you know, Matt loves gadgets especially ones that stick to the fridge. A few years ago we went to the Clarke Planetarium and Matt got Fridgets (a magnetic marble course). Well, this time he found battery-operated gears, complete with a rotating black light. Awesome! He couldn't wait to get it home and put it together. So now we have the coolest fridge around.

40-day Fast

Our ward had a 40-day fast for missionary work. Each day at least one person in our ward was fasting for more missionary experiences. Cami fasted on a Friday and Matt fasted the Saturday after her. Saturday morning, Matt woke up, poured a bowl of cereal (his favorite kind too-Reese's Peanut Butter Puffs). He went to the fridge, got the bottle of root beer out and proceeded to pour root beer over his cereal. When he realized what he had done, it was too late. The worst part of all was that was the last of his cereal. He was so upset when he had to eat frozen waffles instead. We decided that he was having simpathy delusional moments for Cami since she still had another 3 hours of fasting to go.

The Orchid

There's just something about watching a flower blossom. At first we noticed that one of the buds on the orchid was starting to split open. The antipation of a new flower is awesome. But I guess not everyone is like us. We took pictures every few hours to "capture" the magic. Unfortunately part of the time was during the day when neither of us was home to take pictures. Here's some of the best ones.

Since we took these pictures more buds have flowered bringing the count to 7 for this little orchid. Flower number 8 is not far behind.

What we've been up to...

We haven't been very good at posting what we have been doing. It has been a busy week with Matt studying feverishly for upcoming tests and Cami trying to keep her composure in class without her assistant. But now that things are settling down, it has become a happier place in apt 8. Matt has time again to devote to video games (oh, joy!) and Cami has started to quilt again. It has been months since she has picked up her embroidery project and it was calling out her name.
Last weekend we went to Baltimore for Corey and Jill's east coast party before the big day. We headed out Saturday morning, went to the party, and came home that night. It was a quick in-and-out trip (Matt still had those tests coming up). It was great to see Corey and Jill. They seem excited and the party was great. The food was excellent, thanks to her two friends that planned it all. Cami felt a little funny taking pictures when it wasn't her party so we only got one.

You'll just have to believe us that it looked great, with soft lighting and cute table linens and centerpieces.

On our way out Matt snapped a few pictures of the cool architecture of Baltimore

(Does that say "Utah Street"?)

and the classic Baltimore row houses.

This weekend we had dinner and game night with two different groups. Friday night we went to the Shermans for a BBQ. Saturday night we had people over at our apartment for "make-your-own-pizza" night and a game of "Hand and Foot" (a very fun card game we just recently discovered).

And in other news, we finished our taxes today. Wahoo!! We are getting a bigger refund than we ever have before.

Car Update

Our car has succeeded in making our bank accounts ever smaller, again. We had the car towed to the mechanic after it refused to start and he told us that the spark plugs and air filter were covered in oil. He cleaned them off and the car started right up, so he decided we needed new spark plugs, and an engine/fuel system tune-up (like we know what that means). After two days, we got our car back and it starts great. But we are still a bit skeptical because of our past experience.


Then, we had to get it registered. Luckily it needed more work done. Another $300 was put into an inner tie rod (something with the steering), wheel alignment, and a new wiper blade. Who knew a wiper blade could be so expensive. We wish there were more places here that just did inspections. They aren't out to get your money for "needed" repairs. It seems that this good old Nissan has its days numbered. Hopefully with our tax return and little bit of savings we will be be able to upgrade Cami to a more dependable car.