Before and After

So the month of May was spent in a wee bit of chaos. Not only is it the end of the school year which makes it a busy time of year, but we decided to use this opportunity to do some major work on our house. So for 5-weeks we moved out of house and across town to stay in a friends house while they were out of town.

We capitalized upon the opportunity and did quite a bit of work on the house. It was crazy- and a right of passage I did not expect. There were many moments we looked around and wondered what we had gotten ourselves into, but now are quite pleased with how everything worked out.

For those of you paying attention here is a list of the things we accomplished:

• Tore down paneling in office & put in insulation and fresh dry-wall.
  
• New windows, couch, and bookshelf for the office.
  
• Dining Room got a fresh coat of pain
• New Light in the Dining Room - (YEAH!)
• Re-did all the hardwood floors in the house - upgraded baseboards.
• New Rug in Living room
• New tankless water heater
• TOTALLY redid the bathroom - new walls, plumbing, electrical - moved the toilet, put in new vanity, larger window, frame-less shower door....

And now - pictures of all the work we did...

Bathroom Shower Stall

Bathroom Vanity & Mirror

Dining Room

Floors

Office

After!

Bathroom Shower Stall
(No the toiletry bag does not always hang there)

Bathroom- Vanity
(missing the mirror- still a work in progress)

Dinging Room

Office

A huge thank you to everyone that helped to make this happen. Friends that helped teach us how to do something, spent time helping us paint, watch our kids, or just help keep us sane. It is appreciated! We could not have done this with out you.

Also a huge debt of gratitude has to go out to Melissa- she worked so hard to make our house beautiful. I am impressed how much worked she put into all of this, and the number of hours she spent making it all happen.

Come by and visit and see it all for yourself!

Ollala-what?!?

One of the favorite activities in June and July in these parts is berry picking - not just any berry, but Ollalaberries. What is an ollalaberry you ask? Well it is a unique combination of blackberry and raspberry and it is GOOD!

So we took a trip up the coast to Swanton Berry Farms. The kids were in heaven - ALL of their favorite people were there (except minus Mommy Lissa who was hard at work on the new mirror for our bathroom!) Ozzie, Dylan and Maeva (and their adults) came out to join us too.

Hard at work finding the ripe berries to pick.

Unfortunately, they soon lost interest.

So we started the Toddler Bobsled Team.





It was a hit!

The day was great- we enjoyed a picnic, potty talk (potty-training coming soon!) and good friends. All n' all - a great success!

And a little something to start your Monday off with...

What does an Ollalaberry sing?


Lalalalala

Summer Boardwalk Adventure

This past week Auntie Cori came for a visit. That gave us the opportunity to catch up with some of our favorite peeps-

One day we had the opportunity to hang out with the Sacramento contingency - Tanner & Reese LOVED hanging out with their 'big' cousins.

Holdin' hands with their buddies

Getting a lesson in riding the rides

All together...

I don't know you tell me - whose tushes are cuter?

Option A

OR

Option B

You tell me. :)

Thanks for coming to visit Auntie Cori...we love you!

Yes- Cori missed the east coast scorcher and instead enjoyed the 'warm' summer days of Santa Cruz. The sun finally came out her last day here!

Disco Queen

We've been busy! We had the opportunity to celebrate with Evan and Cameron - who turned 2 back in June. They celebrated with a party at the local roller-palladium...good time was had by all!

Reese got out there and gave skating her best shot - she really enjoyed it....


Tanner even got out and skated too for a bit- but you can see....he grew tired of it quickly.


This is was more of his speed... I was always a push over for him :)

Ladies and Gentlemen

Toddler Sports Academy

So we have been trying to sign Tanner & Reese up for some extra-curricular activities. We had participated in ballet classes, and thought we would switch it up to try the local Toddler Sports Academy and do a little soccer and t-ball.

I am not so sure - Tanner and Reese are not into the class 'thing' yet. It's the only way to describe it - every time we go to see Coach Josh, things fall apart quickly.

No soccer- this is what I want to do instead. sigh...

The funny thing is-Tanner is really athletic. I think he will excel with group sports, just to wait a little longer until he is ready to join a group to do it.

Reese is not so sure about it all. Is it time for 'half-time' (snack-time) yet?

We're Alive!

It has been a whirl-wind few weeks. We have moved out of our house, completed some major remodeling of our house, completed school, completed a year of program, moved back into house -etc. Phew! It's been a little hectic.

Pictures of the house will be following shortly- but for now I thought I would share some pictures from our latest adventures.

We've been busy soaking up the rays-

Practicing our artistic skills and exploring our creative sides -

Loving on one another, and enjoying the outdoors -

Playing dress up and just foolin' around -

Visiting some new baby goats, their twins too! (Anything cuter than a 3 day old goat? I think not.)

More to follow -