I Need Ideas!! Please help!

Ok, so we are desperate to do something with our master bedroom, but don't have even the foggiest idea of where to begin. I would love suggestions about what we can do to spice up our room. We don't have a huge budget, but certainly enough for all the basics (paint, lighting, bedding, art, and etc...) Here's what our boring room looks like now:

I would describe our style as contemporary/traditional. I really like the way our living room turned out:

So, what would you do to our bedroom? For colors we are thinking greys, light greens or blues. Please help any ideas you have, we would love to hear. Or if you've seen an awesome master bedroom and want to share pics, that would be helpful too. Our bedroom is BIG and has room for a sitting area, but we are not currently using it. Please help!

Our Week in Pics

It's been a good fun-filled week.

We played in the neighborhood pool:

Went to the beach:

Fell asleep on the stairs:

Threw a baby shower for a friend:

And dug markers OUT of the trash can for more coloring time:

What did you do this week?

Love this Girl!

Madeline has thrown some world class tantrums the last couple days, but anytime I see this smile or her big brown eyes I can't help but smile! She is such a delight to have in our family!

I love this little bonnet she received at our Stake Pioneer Day celebration.  Isn't it adorable?

Look at those eyes. Madeline calls them her "brownie" eyes.

We love you Madeline!

Trouble Makers??

I don't know if my kids developed a rebellious streak on our trip or what, but these are the kind of crazy things I have seen at my house in the last 36 hours since arriving home:

The girls decided to pour acrylic paint into cups, then add some water to the cups until they overflowed. After 30 minutes of washing down our back patio, it still looks like this:

Every single doll and girl at our house got a haircut today. I almost fell over when I walked into the room. There is hair EVERYWHERE!

This is one of our my little ponies new hair dos (what do you think?):

Andrew's room looked like this within 16 hours of returning home and it was perfectly clean when we arrived. (This is only half of his room...)

You don't even want to see the mess made with markers. I now understand why Tom throws them away EVERY time he finds one.

I think I may have to invite every neighbor kid over tomorrow for a CLEANING PARTY!! Do you think they will come?

Oh how I love kids' imaginations or at least that's what I have to tell myself today.

Last Trip to DC

We took one last trip into DC before we headed home to California. For the first time Tom was able to join us.  We made it up close to the Capital building, which made Andrew happy.

Madeline preferred this method of transportation far better than the method (walking) we forced upon her during our other excursions to DC:

We went to the Natural History Museum where we saw the Hope Diamond, Mummies, and some really awesome bugs like this one:

The bug is able to camouflage itself.

The museum's elephant:

After our excursion into DC, we had to bring our kids to the Temple where Tom and I were married 10 years ago!

Isn't it gorgeous and grand? I had always dreamed of being married in this Temple!
Seemed important to show a little love in front of the Temple:

We our home now trying to recover from our jet lag. Tom and I both woke up at 4 AM today. The good news is that we got a lot accomplished between the hours of 4-8 this morning.

Tom really enjoyed the opportunity to get to know all the attorneys in DC at his firm.

We only left 24 hours ago, but I already really miss my family. I hope we can make long visits an annual tradition or better yet convince everyone to move to Southern California soon!

Doing a house swap was so awesome! I never want to stay in a hotel again! It was so nice for everyone to have their own space, toys to play with, backyards to run around in, and a kitchen to cook in. It was perfect! Thanks so much to the two families that provided housing for us!

We are glad to be home and hope we can get back into a normal routine again soon. The good news is that we still have a vacation coming, since Tom worked the whole time we were in DC. (o:

Sightseeing

My kids think public transportation is the best. They love being able to get up and walk around while the train is moving. They provided a whole lot of entertainment to fellow passengers yesterday swinging around the poles and playing duck, duck, goose.  Heaven knows they would NEVER be allowed to do that in the car!

We are loving exploring DC! We took a paddle boat in the tidal basin to get a closer look at the Jefferson Memorial. How cool is that? 

We also checked out the Martin Luther King memorial, which is a place I had never been before. We look quite small in comparison to MLK!

We didn't get any closer to the capital building than the Smithsonian metro station, but my kids still insisted they get a picture with it.

This is how my exhausted and sweaty kids felt after walking around DC for four hours in the 90 degree heat:

We may have to hit DC one more time before we leave, but if we don't make it this trip at least we were able to see a lot of amazing sites!!

We are headed home next week. We'll be very sad to leave the area, but I am very excited to sleep in my own bed again!

More DC Fun

We had the privilege this past weekend to spend time with Tom's Brown cousins. We really like these guys and were grateful to be able to get to know them a little better! Thanks for inviting us Rachel!!

Silly photos are always necessary, right?

Aunt AnnaLisa reading to Lincoln, Ellie, and Madeline:

What would your kids do for a marshmallow? These kids were willing to have a kicking contest! Apparently, kicking high is a family trait.

Madeline, Emma, Ellie, Andrew, and Adam

He looks sad, but he's not:

I just had to add this picture of Andrew about to sneeze

Madeline and Ellie playing together:

Kiddos trying hard to stay cool in the scorching heat:

Adam spraying Ellie, Emma, and Andrew

 

And in case it's not hot enough, why not go to the pool to race?

Hard to believe we have less than a week left. Time is flying!

Oh the Excitement of Virginia!

Things we have enjoyed while in the Washington D.C. area:

Record Heat:

The heat index was over 110 degrees one afternoon. Combine the record temps with some serious humidity and we will call it hot as hell!

Bug bites:

Poor Madeline has more than 50 mosquito bites on her legs alone. Darn mosquitoes must really like her sweet blood. She looks like she has the chicken pox!

Big Storms:

We had a massive severe thunderstorm last weekend. I loved watching all the amazing lightning!

Downed Trees and Power Lines:

The thunderstorm took down many trees and power lines.

No Power:

More than 2 million people were without power in the area, including us. We were lucky because our power was back on in a little less than 24 hours. There are a lot of folks that STILL don't have power. Yes, it's still super hot, so no a/c could make life quite miserable!

No Clean Water:

After the massive storm and the loss of power, the authorities declared the water was no longer safe to drink. Thank goodness my sister, Lara, was well stocked with bottled water!

Cat Bites:

The cat we've seen occasionally over the last week and a half doesn't like us much. She's bit both Tom and me. Thankfully, she didn't break skin!

Swimming:

Mini-Golf:

Tom teaching Madeline how to play mini-golf. I won by 5 strokes for the first time ever! Does that make me awesome or lucky?

Air and Space Museum:

We went to a super cool and free museum full of airplanes!

Sleepovers:

All seven girl cousins had a sleepover. Good times!

Twin Time with my name sake (Emma Kristine):

Park Time:

Merry-go-rounds are extra fun with so many cousins around!

Lots of Jumping Time:

Exhausted Children:

My kids have played hard enough to zonk out as early as 11 AM! Poor babies need their sleep!

We are having a fabulous time and loving our precious time with family!