the Hall Closet

I am SO excited about the completion of this project!  The closet in the hallway that holds all of our shoes, coats, purses, etc has long been a headache.  Because of the sliding doors, you could never really see inside the whole thing at once.  They doors were forever getting hung up on a runaway shoe or sweatshirt, it was just a mess.  We started dreaming about building a better solution for this as soon as we moved in.  We finally took the plunge!  Here is a before shot:  The plan is to remove the doors, cut the frame open up to the ceiling, and build lockers and cabinets that better suit our needs.  We also cut about 16 inches into the wall on the right side, where the closet extended back.

It took about 2 months to find the right carpenter.  The first four that bid the job out were WAY above our budget.  Finally we found the perfect match, Uriah the handyman.  Part carpenter, part handyman, he was the perfect guy for the job, and we could afford him.  Hooray!  We spent a day or two together getting the nitty gritty design down, and then he took away the plan and started returning with boxes:

Next was the first phase of install,

 And then we got to this point, when I just about had a heart attack because it's when I have to paint the dang thing.  I almost waffled, but then I got brave and started taping it off, and made a giant "bubble" in the house.

Then comes the fun part, spraying it.  Three times a day, I suited up and shot the paint, until it all shined like the top of the Chrysler building.  :)

Here it is after my paint job:

Then Uriah came back and did the final measurements on the doors, and when they arrived I turned the garage into this:

And yesterday, everything was finally ready for final install!  Voila!  

 the kids could hardly wait to move in

And here is Uriah, our builder.  He did a great job, and put up with lots of chit chat from Heidi along the way.  We are just thrilled with how this project turned out!!!

Happy 7th Emilee!

Emilee was so excited to turn seven!  She had me put rollers in her hair the night before, planned her dress with a special birthday balloon ribbon belt, and we even made a giant hair bow to match.  She was so cute.

For dinner she requested meatloaf.  Which pretty much shocked me.  Meatloaf?  I dont' know when my little vegetarian decided this was her favorite meal, but I complied and she gobbled it down!

Unfortunately Daddy was out of town, so we had to conference call him in on google hangouts.  And Grammy and Grampy Facetimed in too.  It was a fun little cyber party!

 Happy Birthday big girl!  Stay tuned for the birthday party report.  Party is tomorrow!

A nice tribute

I know Gordon will probably think it's silly I am sharing this.  But, this past weekend the first boy to achieve the eagle rank since Gordon took over as scout master (18 months ago or more) had his court of honor.  He presented Gordon with the eagle mentors pin and I appreciated so much that this young man recognized how much work and time Gordon has put in on his behalf.  It was a lovely night!  And congrats to Jed. He is far and away the most enthusiastic scout I've ever met!

Students of the Month

We are so proud of both of our big junior high kids!  Ethan was student of the month for November, and Aidan for January!  Great job boys!  You are working hard and it shows!

Day 2 - California Adventure

Day two we headed to California Adventure to explore the other park.  One of the things Emilee really wanted to do was to meet Elsa and Anna from Frozen, her favorite movie.  Here she can be seen peeking around the corner, waiting so patiently for her turn!

And then the moment came.  And it was worth waiting in line after all (I was questioning!).  She was mesmerized!  And, she says it was the favorite thing that we did both days.  She loved it!

 Day two I rented a wheelchair instead of a stroller.  Their strollers are HORRIBLE!  The wheelchair worked so much better and both girls could ride.  

 Both Heidi and Emilee LOVED the bumper bugs.  And Em could drive her own!

  Heidi chose Grampy to be her riding companion almost every time this second day.  It was cute.

 Heidi was pretty tired the second day, so we had to do a bit more loving on her and feeding of ice cream and snacks.  She was pretty much pooped by 6 when we left.  She fell asleep in the car and slept until 7 the next morning.

 We tried to ride the Radiator Springs Racers three times before we actually got on.  It kept breaking!  The third time, we decided to stay in line, and our 20 minute wait paid off.  We finally got to ride.  As you can see, Emilee was very excited!

It was such a fun trip!  I'm so glad we got to go down just the girls, and had such a fun time!  Memories I will cherish forever!

Disneyland Girls Getaway!

We have just returned from a wonderful little 3 night getaway!  I took just my little girls down to Disneyland for two days of fun fun fun.  I've been wanting to go with just the little girls for quite some time.  To explore the "little"parts of Disneyland.  

Emilee had me a bit worried Sunday and Monday before we left.  She had a pretty yucky cold and cough.  But, we decided to push through, and by Tuesday morning, when we hit Disneyland, with the help of a little cough suppressant and decongestant, we made it just fine!  

We spent much time in Fantasy land, on the Merry-go-round, the tiki room, and the tea cups.  It was pretty empty, and we got to meet many characters, starting with Mary Poppins as we walked into the park the first day.  The girls were excited and enjoyed their interactions with the princesses and Mary.

Uncle Theron (pictured below taking our photo) came along with Mom and Dad and I and enjoyed the park too.  It was great having a Theron around!  Not only was he our official photographer of the day, but he would show up about every two hours with two churro's in his hand to share.  He kept our tummies full of energy!

 Uncle Theron and Emilee

 Big Thunder Mountain!

Emilee rode her first roller coaster!  Or her first 4 if you ask her!  She is such a brave girl and loved every ride, especially the exciting ones!

Being brave in the Haunted House!

It was such a fun first day!  We were at the park from opening until around 7:30, then headed across the street for a good night's sleep.