Regina and I busted out for a night on the town to support a local group doing amazing things. We didn’t bring cash, but someone graciously borrowed us $2 so we could have this Polaroid taken. It’s nice to have a concrete reminder of a lovely evening.
Look how sweet they are. Yep. They’re totally like this all the time. [She says as she shakes her head.]
This was Robbe’s sleeping position when I went to check on him the other night. Good thing he’s not sharing a bed with anyone.
How does that even happen?
We did a bit of a photo shoot for Robbe’s birthday party invitation. I’ll share the final product soon, but for now you can enjoy this sneak peek.
The boys’ school hosted a Winter Festival tonight and the highlight was the big art show in the gym. Both boys have been working on their pieces for weeks and have been excited about seeing them on display. We couldn’t stay for long but we made the most of our visit. Fingers crossed we won one of the basket raffles!
Robbe found the perfect hiding spot for his next game of hide and seek (the corner of our new closet). Just don’t tell Chase.
Did you know there’s a “Most Stuf” Oreo? It’s true. As if that’s not enough “stuf”, Robbe and Chris decided to double that and squish two cookies together. That gets us to an octo-stuf situation. Chase and I agreed that’s a bit excessive, but to each their own.
Remember that time we had four days of sunshine in a row after not seeing the sun for [what felt like] the three weeks prior? I remember. It’s glorious.
At long last, I’m ready to share some after photos. Renovation projects are no joke, you guys. But—without hesitation—we LOVE our new bathroom. It is exactly as functional and beautiful as we had hoped it would be.
There’s more to say about our renovation experience (some takeaways and what not), but for now I’ll just share [all the] photos. And then come and see it in person. We’ve got a legit guest “suite” now!
As you’re looking at these, the toilet/shower/vanity room pictured here turns into the walk-through closet in the finished product. And the jacuzzi tub/closet room pictured here turns into the new shower/vanity space/toilet room in the after photos.
And without further ado…
Temps in the mid-30s and the sun making an appearance meant another fun winter activity for us. This weekend’s adventure? Sledding. But not just any sledding. Giant, steep, really slick sledding. Two of us loved throwing caution to the wind and zipping down the hill full speed. Two of us prefer a bit smaller scale and more manageable speeds. Can you guess who fits into which category? Yep: Chris and Robbe are the risk-takers and Chase and I prefer to be in a bit more control.
Nevertheless, a fun time was had by all and it sure was nice to get outside and enjoy the sunshine.
Look at us…we’re turning into winter people!
The bathroom renovation is officially done. I promise to take the after pictures this weekend and post. Thank you for your patience. :)
For now, enjoy this photo of four kids in our new toilet room.
There hasn’t been a season of my life that I feel more like an adult than the last few months. Geeking out about seeing the inside of our walls. Getting [beyond] excited about toilets. Gushing over how cozy our new carpet is.
I had another major moment in my adult life today: I started composting. Thanks to Earthbound Environmental Services for making this step as easy as possible for me. I just keep out the compostable stuff, put it in a different bag, and then add it to the same refuse bin. Super easy, right? Well…I still need to figure out the logistics of how to store all this compost before it makes it in the specified bag. I need fridge space for the icky stuff and under-the-cabinet space for the non-perishable stuff (like tissues and paper towel). For now, I’m starting small and I’ll just figure out my system as I go.
I’m just *a bit* excited about this. Can you tell? Being an adult is so fun!
It was the big guy’s turn to stay home with me today. After a short bout with a stomach bug yesterday his recovery day today was pretty great, actually. He read a lot, we played some games, I joined him for an afternoon nap, and we even got to see Chris a bit (he was home sick as well—ugh, I know).
Everyone seemed to be in better spirits tonight. Fingers crossed for a good day tomorrow.
We’ve been talking a lot about trying to get outside and enjoy the winter more. Today’s warm temperature gave us the extra motivation we needed.
We bundled up and headed over to a nature reserve to rent some equipment and try out the trails. The boys did great. Cross country skiing is no joke and they had good attitudes and worked hard the whole time—really all a parent can hope for in a situation like this. It wasn’t much of a workout for Chris and me at this stage, but we were glad we to be out there as a family.
We replaced the carpet in the boys room this week and they’ve decided to un-bunk their beds. In case you’re wondering, this is what they looked like when we first set their room up. So sweet, right?
There was no question about still sharing a room. They were just done needing to be on top of each othe (literally). These little nuggets are growing up so fast.
p.s. The boys are always wearing stocking hats these days. Like always, always. It’s pretty weird.
I discovered a long-ago-discarded restaurant gift certificate yesterday while cleaning out a drawer and decided to be crazy and suggest a family date night with dinner out…on a weeknight! Crazy, right?!?
We discussed the idea of making this a monthly event. As a counter argument, Chase suggested we make it a weekly occasion. Maybe we’ll meet in the middle and go semi-monthly. The unofficial name of this new tradition is The Semi-Monthly Tuesday Wanderers Family Date Night. I might make t-shirts for everyone.
The boys have been collecting country cards from these Bear Yo-yo snacks for quite some time. If you send in ten UPCs, the company will send you back this sweet map so you can keep track of all the places you’ve collected with flag stickers
As you might imagine, Robbe was more than a bit excited about this project. He was focused and diligent as he sorted and marked his country cards—we’ve got quite the collection, as you can see. He’s only missing 17 countries at this point (of the 80 they make cards for). Yes. We do really like these fruit ropes. How’d you guess?
Chase wanted to take an old-timey photo together today. Obviously, I obliged. Enjoy. :)
Every day we’re getting closer. Today’s project? New carpet in our bedroom, and the new closet, and the old closet. The boys’ room gets its turn on Monday and then it’s smooth sailing from there. A few finishing projects and we’ll call the great bathroom renovation of 2019 done. Eek! This is about as exciting as life gets when you’re an adult.
I know the blog is focused on our “big days”. It’s in the title, afterall. But today really was a big day. After nearly three months of work, we have functioning lights, toilets, showers, and sinks. I’ll post a real photo tomorrow, but for today just take my word for it: the bathroom is amazing. We’ve got just a couple details left to finish (carpet, doors, shelving, etc.) but we are extremely happy with how everything is coming together. I can’t wait to share it with you.
small city | BIG DAYS
home | about | meet the team | work with me | contact
