hi. my name is Arah and I have an addiction...

I LOVE Zumba.

If you haven't tried it, you must. It is so. much. fun! I have been going twice a week for the past 6 months and in the past few weeks, I've bumped it up to 4 times a week, with swimming, weights and cardio on the other days, except Sunday. Sunday I take a break. It's given me tons of energy and I really miss it when I can't go. The classes have been as large as 75-80 people. It's awesome. There is even a 91 year old in the class.

My only problem is that I sweat horribly. It's disgusting. My friend I go with is also a sweat-er. Her birthday was on Sunday, so I made her a little gift. I've decided that there aren't any cute sweat bands out there, so I made my own. Way cuter. We used them last night, they were awesome! I did a little tweaking to make them better and waalaa...

I took a bunch into the class this morning.

They were a hit. I made them in different colors. They collect the sweat. They don't slide. YAY!!! And used a nice plush terry cloth for the inside. I'm making more. LOTS MORE!

People are buying them from me.

Who would have thought there was a market for sweat bands...

i {heart} seattle

Last weekend, my sister, Julie, and I took the kids over to Seattle to do some tourist-y stuff and see my bro and his girls. My SIL had won some tickets to the BODIES Exhibition and asked if we wanted to go... AMAZING!!!

Sorry if you have a weak stomach, I had to add some pictures. (click on the pics for the links)

Brinley hated it. In fact, I didn't get to enjoy it as much as I would have liked. She and I hung out in the souvenir area until everyone else was done,then they hung out with her while I did a hurried run through of the place. AMAZING is all I can say. If you get an opportunity to go, check it out.

Friday we had to do some business stuff and then took the kids to the LEGO store. they loved it! It was a great treat for them since we spent about 2 hours in the van driving around in circles in the U district waiting for a parking space to open up close to where I dropped Julie off.

We were pretty pooped out that afternoon. We enjoyed dinner at a 50's diner in Redmond. Great place for kids to run around and get some energy out.

Saturday we decided to take the kids to the top of the Space Needle. I've been to the Space Needle a dozen times, but never have I been to the top until last weekend.

The kids were pretty excited about it. Brinley's favorite part was the elevator ride up.'Hello Seattle!'Brinley decided that when she grows up, she wants to work there. I'm sure she will change her mind next week.

We came home Sunday and spent Monday being lazy up until Zumba that night, then I took the girls swimming for some family time and to wear them down.

fun and funky

I am going to try hard to post at least once a week on this blog.

My birthday was last Monday. It was quiet and nice. My sister, Julie, colored my hair a few days before. Over the weekend, Matt took me out to dinner at Italian Kitchen (and it was DELICIOUS), while Matt's sister, Ami, took the girls and surprised me with a birthday cake when we picked them up. On my birthday, my sister Julie had us over for dinner and ice cream.

As a little birthday gift to myself, I changed my kitchen. I have been wanting to paint a chalk board wall for ages. WE LOVE IT!!! It's been so much fun. Even Sarah puts a few marks on it. It's not as messy as I thought it might become.

You might notice that the bottom cabinet color has changed too. Matt thought I was nuts at first, but as I painted more of them... (the color is Surfer by Behr)

he LOVED it as much as I do. The kitchen isn't finished, so I won't give you a pic of the whole thing until it's done. We found the doors to the top cabinets in the garage (YIPPEE!) So those are going back up too.
We have big plans for our house this year...windows, insullation, new doors, electrical, finish the basement and add a new bathroom, and other bedroom storage closet and an entertainment room, along with egress windows, painting the outside of the house and ripping out a few trees and shrubs, and moving the fence... Hopefully we can get it done, and if not...there is always next year.

I SUCK at blogging lately... December was BUSY, What else can I tell you?

*Matt and I celebrated 10 years together. We ate a nice dinner at Clinkerdagger's...DELICIOUS! I would have LOVED to have spent it in New York City. Maybe next year.

*The last day of school before break, Brinley got an award for the characteristic of CARING. She is a pretty caring girl.

After the assembly, her class had a little Christmas party and gift exchange. She got a Barbie Doll... She was SO THRILLED! Can you tell? I told her to tell the girl thank you and that it's the thought that counts. She is the only 6 year old I know that hates barbies.

*We had the annual Kunz family white elephant Christmas party at my sister-in-law, Ami's house this year. We decided on breakfast Kunz style, with cheese waffles with a yummy homemade syrup (thanks Michael), sausage and hash browns. There were some real nice gifts this year...real nice.

*Christmas Eve/Day was quiet. It was well, just quiet. We didn't wake up until 9am, that was grand.The girls got lots of goodies...Brinley was excited to get a lava lamp, Littlest Pet Shop, a zhu zhu pet, legos and a snuggie. Sarah got a tub toy and a Fur Real baby bear. She LOVES it, carries it around everywhere and gives it lots of snuggles. It's really cute to watch her haul it around. My favorite of the gifts was what I made Brinley... a book sling. It's my favorite because I find about 5 books every day in her bed from the night before. Now she can just put them away herself before she falls asleep. I got the idea here.

*The day after Christmas, all of my family came into town. We had an ugly sweater party. It was fabulous. How can you go wrong with metallic leggings and a poinsettia in your hair.

The entire Erickson side was here for a whole week, which got a little overwhelming at times, but it's so nice to have all the family together.

*New Year's Eve was spent at Wolf Lodge. It's tradition to go and celebrate my Mom's birthday with a delicious steak and rocky mountain oysters. We came home about 10pm with 2 very tired girls. Brinley barely stayed up until midnight, we barely made it to 12:15...just in time for us to fall asleep so that the New Years Baby could visit. He was good to us this year. Brinley got a yo-yo (she had asked Santa for one, but Santa already got her enough crap), a soda and a light up wand. We got our usual magazine, snack and soda. Sarah got a book and some juice. Oh, and my boot, well boots, there is another one, were from Matt for our anniversary. I've always wanted a pair and I was COMPLETELY surprised that he had gotten them for me. I LOVE them!

*In the midst of all this, I came down with a severe cold that I am just now feeling better from (it's taken a week), and Sarah got Bronchitis. I have had an ear infection the last few days of this crud and Matt started feeling symptoms of it yesterday. Brinley's been lucky and has only had a cough. Thank goodness...I've had enough.