Nils' parents came to visit

The Sundelins arrived on the 14th and stayed with us for a week. We had so much fun with them!
Tuesday: we celebrated Nils' birthday together.

Wednesday: Liv' birthday

Thursday: We went shopping to the outlets, found some great deals, and went to the peruvian restaurant for lunch/dinner.

Friday: We went to look at houses and Nils found the perfect bathtub : )
Later that day we met up with Tore and family and had dinner at Red Robin and at night Mom and I did our nails together.

Saturday: Liv got baptized and we all hung out that day. At night Mom, Dad, Nils and I went out to our favorite mexican restaurant for dinner "Plaza Garcia"

Sunday: We all went to Birgit's house and had the annual palt fest party with everyone. Later that night, we came back to our place and watched "The Help" have you seeing it yet? If not, go rent it right now!!! We all enjoyed watching it, it was great!

Monday: I didn't have school due to President's Day, so Mom, Dad and I went to hang out with Tiffany and the kids while Nils went to work. We dropped off Charlie for the day at Petsmart thinking he also needed a day off.

Tuesday: Nils had to go to work and I had homework to do. So, Mom and Dad went to Duvall to spend the day with the other Sundelins : )

Wednesday morning came too fast and it was already time for Mom and Dad to go back to Delaware : ( We wished they could have stayed a little longer with us. We loved every day we got to spend with them and had so much fun having them around. Charlie also had a great time with them, especially because they played with him a lot. We'll sure miss them!

TOMS in Peru

This week I read that TOMS made it to Peru and gave shoes to children in need. I feel extremely happy about this, because I know how bad poverty is in my country and to see those children receiving a new pair of shoes made me so proud to be part of this movement.

I own two pairs of TOMS and recently purchased a pair for our niece Liv. With those three purchases we helped three children to have shoes.

Liv's 8th Birthday

Our sweet niece Liv turned 8 years old this year and we got to celebrate with her. This year she wanted pizza for dinner and ice cream cake, so we met up with her and everyone at a pizza place in Duvall and then went to her house to sing happy birthday, eat some cake and open gifts. I feel so much joy when I see her, she is such a wonderful girl and we love her so much! I met Liv when she was 5 years old and of course Nils met her when she was born. We are just so happy to be part of her life and to see her grow.

We got her TOMS!! She loves them!

We love you Liv and hope all of your wishes come true!

The hubby turned 31!

Nils' birthday was very different this year. His day started by me waking him up with candles and singing happy birthday to him (this has become a tradition). Then, he went to work and I was in charge of the party planning, so I moved furniture around and decorated everything. This year he wanted to have a candy theme, so I went to the store and purchased Nils' favorite candies of all time. It turns out there are a lot of them (jelly bellies, candy dots, gummy bears, gummy worms, reeses peanut butter cups, bubblegum balls, and cupcakes). We had planned to go out to dinner with family and come back to our place to have a dessert party. His parents came to town that afternoon, and we went out to Bucca di Beppo, with 9 adults, 3 kids and a very small section of the restaurant. We had great food and great company and he was very happy to have all of his family with him and share some time together. Unfortunatly after dinner, nobody was able to come to the candy party, except for his parents. So, the four of us ate cupcakes and more sweets than a 4 year old can dream of. Nils had a wonderful time and we love and appreciate all of the birthday wishes, the phone calls, the gifts and the ones that made some time to celebrate with us.

 Happy Birthday love!

Our Valentine

Since our very first Valentine's day together, Nils and I decided to celebrate it on February 13th. Some people may think that this is a great idea because you don't have to deal with the crowd, but the reason why we do it is because Nils' birthday is on the 14th.This year we decided to keep it simple and just go out to dinner and enjoy each other's company for the rest of the night. But, simple is not a word that we use often in this household. The night started by Nils picking me up. Like a gentleman, he knocked at the door and had flowers for me (I love when he does that). Then, we went to this cute sushi place in Kirkland, that by the way is really good!
We haven't had sushi in a really long time, so this was definitetly a treat for us. After eating, we decided to eat some mochi and we were just talking and he asked me if I wanted anything else. I was clueless as to what he really meant, so I said sure, let's get another mochi! But then I remembered my diet and I reconsidered. He asked me "Are you sure, you don't want anything else?" and I said "no" again. Then he said: "then, what am I going to do with this?" (while taking a jewelry box from his pocket). I was so surprised, especially becuase we agreed to not do gifts this year, but Nils believes that Valentine's day is more for the girls than for the boys... and I agree! : )

I opened the box and there they were... pearl earrings!!!
I always tell him things that I would like to have someday, and I always think that he is not paying attention but he always proves me wrong. I love my husband so much because he is so great to me and he is always thinking of me. We had a wonderful date and finished off the day with one of my favorite (and very appropiate) movies "The Lady and the Trump".

Happy Valentine's Day!

One for One

I've been loving the movement and the shoes. I'm talking about TOMS. Here is the story:

In 2006, American traveler Blake Mycoskie befriended children in Argentina and found they had no shoes to protect their feet. Wanting to help, he created TOMS Shoes, a company that would match every pair of shoes purchased with a pair of new shoes given to a child in need. One for One. Blake returned to Argentina with a group of family, friends and staff later that year with 10,000 pairs of shoes made possible by TOMS customers.
Many children in developing countries grow up barefoot. Whether at play, doing chores or going to school, these children are at risk:
•A leading cause of disease in developing countries is soil-transmitted diseases, which can penetrate the skin through bare feet. Wearing shoes can help prevent these diseases, and the long-term physical and cognitive harm they cause.
•Wearing shoes also prevents feet from getting cuts and sores. Not only are these injuries painful, they also are dangerous when wounds become infected.
•Many times children can't attend school barefoot because shoes are a required part of their uniform. If they don't have shoes, they don't go to school. If they don't receive an education, they don't have the opportunity to realize their potential.
I love my TOMS and I think everyone should join me and help a child in need. So go and purchase yours today!

2012 Resolution for the Sundelins

After trying to lose weight for a while and failling, Nils and I decided 2012 will be our year. So, here we go... we are happy to announce that we are going to be healthier! We are ready to say goodbye to our bellys and look like this:

ok fine! Maybe not.... but this is more likely: