Kitchen

This room took a couple of days to complete.  I still have some big plans for this room, such as refacing the cabinets, changing out the floor and getting new counter tops.  I'm sure my husband is having a heart attack just thinking about all the work we've done and all I still want to do.

Before

During

 There was some mold on the drywall behind the sink so all that had to be cut out and replaced.  This is also the first faucet I replaced...isn't it pretty?  I should have held off on replacing the faucet until we completed the painting and backsplash, but I just couldn't wait.

 Appliances had to be installed and the walls were prepped for a new tile backsplash.

 Kelsey jumped right in and became a pro with the wet saw.  If she hadn't come to visit, the kitchen would still look the same as the day we moved in.

After

 My fridge screams "There are kids living in this house!"  I probably should have spruced that up a bit.

Knitting

You probably saw the title of this post and thought I had taken up knitting.  Boy were you wrong.  I have nothing against knitting but I just can't add another thing to my schedule at the moment.  Kelsey is the knitter and she brought her stuff with her when she came to visit.  She is pretty good too.  She knit me a scarf last year and I love it.  So Kelsey had some down time and decided to knit...this is important to note so people don't start feeling like I worked her to the bone while she was here.  John thought the whole process looked interesting and wanted to give it a try.  Kelsey was kind enough to show him what to do.

Deep in concentration.

John kind of forgot all about this until he saw these pictures.  Then he tells me that he would like to "continue with the needle thing".  He was a little upset when I told him that I don't know how to knit.  After a moment he said, "Well, that's okay.  Kelsey can just come and stay with us again."  So Kelsey, if you have an opening next summer, instead of bringing paint clothes, you can just bring knitting needles.

July 4th Activities

Kelsey came to visit us again this summer.  I was actually surprised she wanted to visit again.  Our house is a bit hectic.  Just a bit.  I'm always thankful when she comes.  I was especially thankful for this visit because I had so much to get done around the house and Hans had just brought home a new puppy.  However, I couldn't have her visit for two weeks without some kind of fun.  We decided to go to the July 4th celebration at the community park in Channahon.  There were bouncy houses, music, dunk tanks, a playground and a splash pad.  We also decided to bring Fritz.  This was his first social outing and, while Hans and I were consumed with the three boys, Kelsey took control of Fritz and dealt with all of the "Oh a PUPPY!" comments.

 Fritz stole the show.  He was actually pretty good the whole time.

 Fritz was starting to bark and Gus was telling him to be quiet.  It was very cute.

 Gus stood here in the middle of chaos for a long time.  Just watching.  He isn't always sure what to do in a big crowd.

Then, out of nowhere and with no help he decided to climb something.  He is the poster child for "it is always the quiet ones".

 Anders had fun finding random trash and trying to eat it.  I had fun fishing things out of his mouth.

 If you ask John to smile, this is what you get.  What a weirdo.

People were telling us it just couldn't get any cuter...a baby and a puppy.

 Anders decided he was thirsty.  He does not like sippy cups.  I've tried every sippy cup there is and I haven't found one he will drink from.  Evidentally the dog bowl is the way to go.

Poor Fritz.  Anders licked the bowl dry.  As cute as this is, I also think it is quite disgusting.  But what are you going to do?

 John was dancing to the music.  He just can't help himself.

 He was showing me some of the moves he has learned from So You Think You Can Dance.

I'm so glad I caught this picture.  I love it.

After spending the afternoon in the park we all went back to the car to catch the fireworks show.  I didn't know it at the time but we were really close to the point of origin.  Really, really close.  I'm-pretty-sure-it wasn't-the-safest-thing-close.  It was so much fun.

 This was Gus' first fireworks show.  He LOVED it!
And before you ask yourself, "does that kid ever wear pants?"  The answer is no.  But he did have pants on before this and then played in the water.  I'm not crazy enough to leave the house with kids with no pants...but I may return to the house that way.

We all had a blast and can't wait to go back next year.

4th of July Festivites -Part 2-

So, my last post ended with face painting...

that ended in arm painting.  John only likes it when his face is painted with dirt.

 Stopping to pet the dogs.  There were lots of dogs there.  We need to get a dog.

John got to 'drive' an army truck.

This how big the truck was.  It was pretty cool.

 John saw the big fireman dancing and decided he needed to join him.

Hans even got a free spinal massage.  He had no problems waiting in line for a free massage.

Gus spent the whole time watching all of the people.  There were some pretty interesting characters.

It was a great festival and we had a great time.  We'll have to do it again next year, minus the rain.

4th of July Festivities -Part 1-

Last year we didn't do much for the 4th.  If I remember correctly, I was in a hotel room somewhere between North Carolina and Colorado with the kids and Hans was at home writing a sermon for church the next day.  I'm not sure how much we would have done anyways since Gus was only 3 months old.  This year, Kelsey was visiting and we decided to check out what the Denver area has to offer.  After church and lunch we saw the 1st annual 4th of July parade for our neighborhood.  It was a cute little parade where the boys got WAY TOO MUCH candy.  I think the highlight of the parade was when the Park Hill Pooches walked by.  We had to keep Gus from following all the dogs.  John had a great time talking to everyone.  He is a very social boy.

After the parade we packed up some food and went to Arvada for their family festival.  If you live in the Denver area, I would recommend this festival.  It was very family friendly and free.

The Arvada Fire and Rescue department was there so the kids could explore the fire trucks.

John took this opportunity to be social.

He was at least quiet enough to learn something.

This was John's favorite part. 

It was only about 4 in the afternoon, but people were already staking out their spot for the fireworks...in 5 hours.

John loved the big fireman.  He would follow him around the kids' area and give him hugs and high fives.

Gus just watches everyone and everything.

John couldn't wait to get on these bouncy things.  He climbed a big ladder to get to the top of this big slide...

then he jumped.

He loved it!

Showing me his muscles before he climbs the next big bouncy thing.

Face painting time.

After two attempts at painting his face, they finally just painted his arm.

I still have lots more pictures...until next time.