Family Room Redo

Last night I made a little more progress on the family room by hanging up some drapes. It's starting to look pretty good. I'm still not sure what to put on the walls. Any ideas? We're also working on deciding on a fireplace cover and mantel. But here are the latest pictures. The colors aren't really true, but you
get the idea. More light, and no paneling!

September

Sundays come early now. Church starts at 9:00, but that leaves more time in the afternoon for things like naps, cookie baking, reading, or visiting family.

These are the yummy cookies Natalie baked today.

Extra people at home. YAAAAY! Gone are the days of Natalie being the only child at home. Ryan and Dara are living in the room formerly known as Dad's office. It's a tiny space for them, but they've made it their own. We love having them here. Everyone's schedule is a little different, but once in a while we get all six of us around the table for dinner.

Piano music is in the air. Besides rehearsing with Forest Park choirs, my piano studio is filling up with new and returning students.

Team Vikings are in football season, and Natalie is there to cheer them on.

Go big Green!

Extra work for Dad. With the G20 in Pittsburgh, and multiple foreign customers, Dad's had to take on two new assistants to help with the work load. He spent two days there last week, and this week is the event. Pray that all goes well. Want to know what the G20 is? Try this link:

http://www.g20.org/about_what_is_g20.aspx

Major changes in the family room. It's about time! We've been wanting to brighten up the family room since we moved in, and this was the time to do it. We had the paneling taken off, wall board put up, 6 recessed lights put in the ceiling, and a fireplace redo. No final pictures yet, but here's the fireplace so far:

We're planning to add glass doors and a mantle. The carpet should be installed in about a week.

Bush whacking! It's also time for changes to the front landscaping (or lack thereof). Ryan single handedly dug out and pulled out two bushes yesterday. Hopefully by the end of the month we'll have the other bushes out, new ones put in, and grass planted.

Not too pretty yet, but it's progress.

Especially proud to be an American. Unfortunately I missed attending an outdoor military band concert this summer - a long standing Condie family tradition, but I had some tickets to the Army's Spirit of America program put on by the Old Guard and the Army Band. I invited my Mom and Dad to go with me. It was an amazing performance that made me proud to be an American, and thankful for all those that serve to keep our country free.

The Old Guard Fife and Drum Corp

Really enjoying September!

Cousins, Chili, and a D.C. Tour

Two of my favorite cousins, Stephanie and Amy Lincoln, were in town for just a few days. Last night we (Emily, Skip, Ryan, and Dara) were able to meet them in D.C. and show them just little more of our city. While it was still light, Skip drove around to some of the places he knows so well. Some of the most beautiful embassies are in a circle right off Connecticut Ave. including Israel, Pakistan, Bahrain, China, and United Arab Emirates. We drove by the Washington Cathedral, Georgetown, and a few other sights, ending up at a very unique D.C. spot - Ben's Chili Bowl on U street.





After taking our heartburn pills, we filled up on cheese fries, chili dogs, half-smokes, milkshakes, and more.


It was a fun night catching up with family news, driving around, and enjoying a beautiful August evening in D.C.

Utah Days

On July 23, Skip and I started a road trip to Utah. Natalie had flown to California the day before to visit the Branvold family for a few days, and Kara needed to stay in Virginia to work. So that left the two of us to drive out to Utah to see our kids and grandkids that live out there. We're pretty used to that drive now, and many of the rest stops and gas stations looked very familiar. Skip was able to do some work along the way, and we kept ourselves entertained with movies and Sirius sattelite radio. We arrived in Utah on the evening of the 25th. We stayed with Ryan and Dara in their basement apartment near BYU, and spent a lot of time with Laura, Kart, and kids. Here are some of the highlights of our time in Happy Valley:

We had Sunday dinner with Kart's family in Springville. Skip grilled pork chops.



Laura made apple pie for dessert.





We laughed at Aiden and Emma swinging on Kart's legs.



Beth drove up from Las Vegas to join in the fun for the week. We went shopping together at IKEA.


We went to the pool.


The kids surprised us with a birthday picnic at Kiwanis park. Emma had fun there playing with rocks and water.



I liked watching the kids play outside. One morning I took them to a playground.





Emma loved trying to unlock the door.

I had never hiked to the Y before, so one day I woke up early and decided to try. It was hard for my out of shape body, but I did it.

One afternoon we drove into Salt Lake City. Skip wanted to do some family history research, so the girls and I spent some time in the church history museum and temple square. We rode the train to the Gateway mall and had sushi at Happy Sumo. Beth, Dara, and Laura went back to Provo then, and I caught up with Skip to have dinner with him. Then we went to the airport to pick up Natalie who flew in from California. She was able to spend a day with everyone before she had to fly back to DC for cheer camp that started the next Monday. On Saturday morning, Ryan, Dara, and I dropped Natalie off at the airport (5:30 am), then went to the Salt Lake temple for a session. It was my second time there, and as before, I was awed by the beauty and spirituality of that historic place.

After we got back on Saturday, we continued helping to get Dara and Ryan packed up and ready to move back to Virginia. We got a few more pictures that evening before saying goodbye to the Barnetts.



On Sunday morning, we finished packing our van and Ryan and Dara's car, then drove straight through to Virginia. We are blessed to have Ryan and Dara living close to us now - as close as a room downstairs!

A Baird Family Independence Day 1993

One of my favorite Fourth of July memories was a flag waving musical production by the Baird Kids. We were never the Von Trapp Family Singers or the Osmonds, but we sure had fun.



Natalie, Beth, Ryan, Laura, Kara



Happy Birthday America from all the Bairds!

Summer Project #1

I always like to set big plans for the summer, and then feel like they never get done. So I thought I'd try to document my progress on my projects. Here's my first project - beautifying and organizing a wall of my kitchen:

Here is the before picture:


And now the after picture:


Thank you to my amazing husband that helped me with the first shelf (after I messed it up) and gave me better instruction on putting things into a wall. Hint: Break off the end of the anchor to allow a longer screw to easily go through.

Here is my latest yummy chocolate addiction:




Double Chocolate Crinkles

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Directions

1. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt.
2. In a large mixer bowl, beat butter and sugar creamy.
3. Add eggs one at the time.
4. Add melted and cooled chocolate and continue to beat at medium speed until the mixture is smooth.
5. Gradually work in the flour-mix.
6. Add the chocolate morsels.
7. Chill for 1-2 hours until the mix is easy to handle.
8. Preheat oven to 350°F.
9. Form dough into 1-inch balls and roll in powdered sugar to coat all the way.
10. Place the balls on an ungreased cookie sheet, about 1 1/2 inches apart.
11. Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges set and tops are crackled.
12. Let cool on rack.

TIP: To keep your hands from sticking too much, keep dough cold and dust your hands in powdered sugar.