So I've been a slacker and haven't wrote in days. Not only have I been busy but I also didn't feel like I had much to write about.

Mike and I had a fabulous time on our vacay. We had a great time catching up with old friends, being in the warm sun, exploring a new beautiful city, and spending time together celebrating our first anniversary.

I've been working pretty much ever since we got back from vacation. I luckily had Memorial Day off. We spent the day house hunting and then went to Merr and James' house for a cookout. It was a nice evening with the kids being the highlight, as always :) What can I say, I have the cutest nephews around!

So the big news in the M household is: WE ARE SELLING OUR HOUSE!! We've been struggling with this for awhile. Some of you may remember, we contacted a Realtor last September and we kind of put everything on hold. We've become more and more frustrated with our current living situation. So we are de-cluttering the house (sorry mom and dad, you are about to get a bunch of my stuff back) and doing a few projects before listing the house. Our hope is to have it listed by next week.

We've also found a house that we are in L-O-V-E with!! I'm trying not to get my hopes up. Everyone knows Michigan housing market blows, so who knows how long our house will sit on the market. I'm sure by the time our house sells, our "dream" home will be sold but I can still hope, right? We are hoping to talk to the builders to see if they are building anymore in the same development. They also have a few guarantees in terms of your current home selling before your house is ready (etc) which we are going to look into as well.

Well I should get going and do somethings around the house. Mike's been out boating with Brandon and will be home soon. I should probably get cracking on dinner real quick. I'll end this with a picture of the house we are interested in again because I love to show it off :) Sorry they are in the wrong order.

Look out Florida and Georgia cuz here I come.

Mike and I are leaving at the butt crack of dawn tomorrow for Tampa. We are excited to see Nathan and Erika again. Then we'll head up to Jacksonville on Saturday to see everyone and their mother, along with eat some fab La Nop!!

Then there is Sunday; the day I'm most excited about :) Sunday we'll be in Savannah, GA hopefully eating at Paula Deen's restaurant, enjoying our first anniversary together. I'm amazed at how quickly the time has flown by.

We'll head back down to Jacksonville on Monday evening and then fly back out of Tampa late on Tuesday. Yes, it'll be a jam packed weekend but I'm excited to see close friends, old friends, favorite cities, and new cities. Mostly I'm excited to spend time with my husband and reminisce of our first year together. And hopefully see Jamie Deen LOL

One Year Ago:

• My last name at work as Kristi S
• My best friends were flying into town
• I was stressed out trying to finalize last minute details for the wedding

What I've Learned Over The Year:

• It's much harder to fit Kristi M on all my paperwork
• Having everyone close to me at the wedding meant the world to me
• There was nothing to be stressed about - the day would turn out perfectly

Most importantly ..

Just when you think you can't fall any deeper in love...you do. And I did ♥

You see only 936 full moons in your lifetime. You live through only 312 seasons and you get only 88 weeks of paid vacation. What if you had the chance to see the world?

There is a show on the travel channel where one incredibly lucky couple is able to travel the world for 5 months. They are seeing the places mentioned in the book "1000 Places To See Before You Die." It's quickly becoming one of our favorite shows. We sit and watch in complete jealously of how lucky this couple is to live out our dreams of travelling to some of the greatest places on the earth.

Mike and I have both been fortunate to see many great places and experience new cultures. We've been lucky to travel as much as we do. Travelling is our one true hobby; our expensive hobby. The idea that an average person only receives 88 weeks of vacation is a daunting thought. How are we suppose to see the world in only 88 weeks? A better question is how do we see the world on our income?

This topic -- 1000 Places To See Before You Die -- will be an ongoing post on my blog.

Apparently a true addict would have slurped the diet coke off the floor.

Thanks for trying to make me feel better about myself :)

I lead a pretty clean life. Ive never been into drugs. I rarely drink anymore, and when I do it is in moderation (unless it involves fishbowls and then moderation is thrown out of the proverbial strip mall window). I don't smoke. Don't drink coffee.

My one vice in life - my one bad habit, is my addiction to Diet pop.

(soft drink
n. In both senses also called soda pop; also called regionally cold drink, drink; Also called pop, soda; Also called soda water, tonic.
A nonalcoholic, flavored, carbonated beverage, usually commercially prepared and sold in bottles or cans.)

My relationship with pop spans at least a decade. I always knew I had a problem with my love of diet pop. When you have to go to the grocery store simply to buy pop, you know you drink too much pop.

Tonight, I discovered that my addiction is real. I need to sit in a group of people, hold hands, chant and tell my story.

My name is Kristi, and I am a pop-aholic.

I went to the kitchen to pour myself a glass of you guessed it - Diet Coke. A brand new 2-Liter of cold Diet goodness.

Somehow, the bottle slipped out of my hands before I could open it, and it bounced across my kitchen floor. I picked it up and saw that yummy foam rising inside the bottle, but decided it wasn't enough to make it explode. Wait a few minutes, tap the cap, and I should be good to go. Right? So, I pointed the bottle towards the sink (just in case) and slowly unscrewed the cap.

Then, all hell broke loose. That Diet Coke blew up. I turned my head and tried to aim it into the drain, but it didn't stop the flow of foamy lava. I felt my t-shirt become saturated. It was unstoppable. Finally, the explosion died down and I stepped back to look at the damage.

My kitchen was COVERED with Diet Coke. Completely covered. The counter; covered. My stove; covered. The refrigerator including pictures Russell, Emma and Ethan drew; covered. The hardwood floors; a nice thin layer of Diet Coke.

And I knew my addiction was real when the first thing I did was pick up the bottle and look to see if there was any left to drink. I poured the last few ounces left over into my glass and drank it. Then I was ready to clean up the mess.

Mike and I ventured over to the East side of the state to visit his dad, Amy and the kids. It was the perfect day to spend outside -- sunny and 70.

Mike only printed one page of directions and as luck would have it the last few turns were on the second page. We twisted our way around the bends and corners before seeing a driveway down a beautiful street with bikes and toys on the driveway. When we heard a small child singing to himself in a big wheel and a cute little girl flying up and down the sidewalk on her two wheel bike, we knew we found the right house!

The kids were beyond excited to see us. Each one wanting to show off the house and why their bedroom was the coolest :) We spent some time coloring inside where the funniest conversation occurred.

Russell: I'm the first one done coloring
Emma: Because your scribbled
Russell: No I didn't
Emma: Yes you did -- in the face. And you only used blue for his clothes
Russell: Blue is my favorite color!
Emma: (covering mouth to speak to me) Kristi, I'm a quality color-er

I had to cover my mouth to hold in the laughter. Here is are a few quick, but not quality, picture of us in the craft room.


We then decided to walk to the playground so the kids could show us where they like to play, the swimming pool that holds 100 people, and the lake. It was a nice long walk. It's great to see how well they get along together. It's nice to see how much they want to show off to us. Each one tries to scream louder than the other in order to get our attention. I've never heard Mike or Kristi used more in my life. Here's a picture from Mike's phone. I cropped myself out since I hated how I looked.


When we got back to the house, Amy was back from running some errands kidsfree. We drank some "magic juice" and had great conversation before having a fun pizza dinner. Shortly after dinner, Emma donned her "pretty pretty" dress and showed us her dance skills.


They are coming to Grand Rapids for Mother's Day. The kids are excited to see us in "14 Days!" and truthfully we are counting down the days just like they are :)