TV Time/Cuddles

Back to vacation :)

What else did we do up there? We hung out...

And cuddled with Nana and Cousin Karley.

And watched tv. I love how the kids are all in the same position. And that Dylan has two cups... Hey! That is required for good tv watching.

I love how everyone is so attentive. :)

It's nice to be missed

I cannot begin tell you what this past week has been like. We started by going on a 3 day trip (that I thought was only going to be 2, but is a story all in itself) after a weekend of kitchen prep. While I was out of town, hubby took a hammer to my cabinets, and I came home to nothing but drywall and a pile of debris. All of which will have their own posts when I get around to it. I still have some vacation to catch up on, and several posts about the kitchen. I am sure you are dying to know how things progress. :)

This is the start of my kitchen cabinets. We originally were going to only make a few, repairing the parts that needed to be repaired, adding new cabinets where there were none before, and paint them all to look the same. However, after further inspection, there would only have been one we could have kept (the rest were so damaged), so we felt we would just make them all. That way demo and installation would be easier.

All the wood. Pre cut. Waiting in piles according to which cabinet they are to be installed. By making them, we were able to get solid wood, instead of veneer, and still save money. However, making cabinets is not for he faint of heart, just FYI... ;)

I have no idea what Kaitlyn is doing in the back ground. "Helping" I am sure. This is early on in the project. Know how I can tell? The floor. That is most assuredly not what it looks like now. Too much saw dust.

Rough assembly and showing me what the reveal will look like.

Sanded and ready for assembly. That was my job. Sanding. And, let me just say it wasn't my favorite job ever. Now check out the floor....

Final assembly.

See how purdy?

Ready for primer and paint.

Primered, painted, and ready for installation. The color looks like milk chocolate to me. I guess that is ok since it will be in the kitchen, but it will also always make me hungry. :p

So, needless to say, I have been just a tad bit busy. I am exhausted, and today I am taking a nap. I may not even get out of my pajamas. There is still a lot of work to do. To date, I have a new floor, all the cabinets are installed, and my new oven is in place. However, we ran into a snafu with the counter tops, and since they aren't in place yet, I don't have a kitchen sink. Paper plates anyone?

Cousin Time

While up in VA, we also had tons o' fun hanging out with the family. It was a blast to do things with people we hadn't been able to do. Doing things with people just makes it more fun ya know? Like taking a bath:

4 months apart....

...Hanging out in the bathtub.

What more could cousins want?

Also, cute Karley had some fun in her uncles boots.

Now, those are some big shoes to fill.... *wink* Get it? :)

"He can call me a flower, if he wants to..."

*Name that movie*

Check out those B-E-A-Youtiful eyes man!

I feel it is important to teach your children to be able to relax.

After all the work hubby and I have been putting into our cabinets (here is a preview picture)...

... I feel it is important to teach your children to stop and smell the flowers occasionally.

No, son. Don't eat them.

Just sit back and relax once in a while. That's right :)

Perfect Size Chair

There once was a chair.

That fit a curly toed little boy perfectly.

And the porch was filled with greatness.

Perfect Size Door

One of the wonderful things about being at with the grandparents is that the grandparents like to watch the kids. Actually like to follow them around and play with them. Its so relaxing for me :) One of the bad things about being with the grandparents is that grandparents can teach them some not so good habits.

While we were up in VA, the weather was almost perfect. Since my in laws have a screened in porch, we would leave the back door open for circulation and fresh air. Up until a certain point, I could let Dylan wander around out there because he didn't know how to get out, and he was relatively safe. That certain point, however, was met when a certain grandparent taught a certain little boy how to get out of a perfect sized door.

Observe:

He also taught him to get back in.

The girls thought it was perfect... The fun had already started when they got to go out of the doggie door. They didn't even have to make it all the way out to the trampoline or swing set.

Woof!

Halloween

We interrupt this vacation recap for a Halloween broadcast. :) I did a kinda poor job getting pictures of everyone during the actual Trunk or Treat. And, we didn't actually go trick or treating on Sunday night, so....

This is the latest we have ever left the pumpkin carving: the day of.

I made the girls clean out the seeds and stuff.

They thought it was kinda gross. I got news for you: I do too... But, since I am the mom, and they are the slaves, er, I mean kids, if they wanted to carve it, they had to help.

I let Kari draw the face she wanted to carve on the pumpkin. I thought hubby would cut it out. Much to my surprise, he let Kari do it with one of the little saws that comes with the kit. It actually turned out well :) Notice also Kaitlyn is "decorating" her pumpkin. I was going to let her use as many colors as she wanted, but after she covered the whole thing in pink, there really wasn't any need.... I love her face :)

And this cute little boy stole paint and walked around with it....

Taking the last pieces of the smile out.

The final masterpiece!

I carved this one... He is surprised because he has fallen over... Get it?!?! :)

Kaitlyn's final masterpiece.

And now onto the costumes.

I tried Dylan's on the day before, to make sure he would wear it.

Too bad the boots were too big for him, and he wouldn't walk anywhere.

"Howdy Ma'am."
He even left the hat on. (This day)

The following day at the trunk or treat, Kaitlyn was Tinkerbell and Kari was a pirate (she also got to wear her costume to school on Friday, which she was trilled about)

And this was what Dylan looked like the majority of the day after he refused to wear the hat or boots... It coulda been a cute look.

See, vampires sparkle in the sunlight even down in Alabama.... :)

Even the local nerds came out for a spin. Happy Halloween!!!!

We now return you to your regularly scheduled vacation recap. Thank you.