Kitchen, week 2

The contractor tried to warn me.  There was a big space of time between when the cabinets were torn out and when they would be put back in.  There would be work to be done, but it would feel like there was hardly any progress at all.  This was that week.  The plumbers were here to finish installing the new tankless water heater in the attic and all of the new plumbing.  So there aren't even many pictures to show progress.  We approved the new cabinet layout Friday afternoon and will have them installed on Oct. 10th.

A&M game

We ended up bringing the girls and staying in a hotel for the weekend.  We got in late on Friday night and it was their first time to share a bed.  I think they giggled until 12:30 am when we separated them.  Of course, we were so excited that we were up really early and on our way to the tailgate. 

Then we were joined by my parents for the game.  AG makes herself right at home!

Quick to take pictures and enjoy having Nonna and V around.

AG took my ticket and went to the game.  Love this shot from Matt's phone.

Morgan Leigh and I hung out at the tailgate for the afternoon.  What do you do with a 2 year old for 4 hours at a tailgate?  We flew over and over and over.  :)

She got really brave with her arms.  :)  And then we were joined by Brad and Kim.  What a fun way to spend the day!  Thanks to everyone for driving in to hang out with us!

Kitchen, week 1

I hesitate to blog much about the kitchen remodel.  I mean part of me wants to wait to the end, and part of me thinks not.  So there will be weekly posts...

This is after day 2.  All of the cabinets and trim had been removed. 

This is the other direction from the last one.  It used to be by fridge on the left and pantry on the right.  It backed up to the washer dryer.  It was an original wall, and as they got into the lathe and plaster that day, I was soooo glad to be sitting on the porch with the girls!

The dumpster that was supposed to be 3/4 full at the end of the job.  By the end of the second full day was more than half full...

And lastly, the beam that was installed in place of the wall. 

Aggie Game

The aggies are playing Idaho today.  We snapped this picture before Matt and I left for the game. 

We met my brother in College Station.  He ate lunch with us and we went to the chicken and a tailgate before the game.  What a fun surprise!

Story time

Maybe this will become one of our new traditions...ML and I met my friend Meredith and her two kiddos and friends for story time again.  It was a fun reward for being so good at the doctor.

Aaaahhh-Choooo

Morgan Leigh came to the doctor with me today and we put together a few puzzles in the waiting room.  One was animals and I asked, "what does the rooster say?".  She quickly replied, aaaahhhh-chooo.  :)

Our kitchen

For 12 years we have lived in the same house. When we bought it, everything was fine. It wasn't how we might have liked, but it was fine. Slowly, we have remodeled most of the house. The kitchen has remained virtually untouched. These are a few of the things that made me want to remodel it.

This picture was taken from the doorway of our dining room. The first thing to notice is where I store my stand mixer. It will not fit under my upper cabinets, so I lift it up and down from the fridge any time I want to use it. The other thing is the Pearson version of a learning tower. It blocks half of the doorway, but I cannot imagine not having that in our kitchen. It is next to the counter that I do EVERYTHING on. This counter is 20" wide.

This view is from our back door. Technically it is our breakfast room and we used to eat at it, now I craft on it. It is usually covered with quilt squares, ribbon for bows or whatever else pinterest has inspired me to do lately. But I love the light in here....

And lastly, towards the washer and dryer. After buying a new television for Christmas, I took over the old entertainment center. That has helped tremendously to contain all my things, but then it made it really hard to do laundry. (Oh well, I never liked that chore anyway!)

I didn't get any very good pictures of the floor either. It is blue peel and stick tile. They have shifted after the years and there are gaps all over the place. A few years ago while "sandwiching" a quilt for Jen, I ironed on the floor and all of those tiles curled into a u-shape. It didn't happen right away and I hadn't noticed, but AG did. That night when Matt came home from work, she quickly told him that mommy "broke" the floor. Luckily, Matt was more entertained than angry.

It will be a long process for all of us, and I am as prepared as I can be.  Moving out was difficult because we have accumulated so many things!  But the kitchen is so central to the way that I have always lived.  Holiday gatherings or family get togethers have always revolved around food and the memories created in the kitchen.  It is becoming that for us too.  Just the other day I was sitting on the floor in front of the fridge with ML on my lap.  In the new space we will be able to sit comfortably while meals are prepared.  It is exciting and stressful all at the same time.

Bikes, trikes and bowling

It is gorgeous here this weekend.  We ate outside for dinner last night and this morning I let the girls ride up and down the driveway.  They were intent on setting all of our colorful "bowling" pins on the back of the tricycle.  I love to just sit back and watch stuff like this unfold.  It's so fun to watch them play together.

And then I snapped a few of Anna Grace, pretending not to want her picture taken. 

That's more like it!

And the picture I love! 



We remember....

Anna Grace's school did a huge rememberance for 9/11 today.  They made a sign for the local police officers and firefighters and the whole school released red, white and blue balloons.  They also talked about what happened 10 years ago.  I was totally unprepared for what she said when she got into the car today.  She talked about the airplanes that flew into the building and all of the people that died.  WOW!

Not to be outdone with her sister having her picture taken, ML jumped in too... Two full weeks later and it looks so much better!

A&M vs SMU

Today was the first football game.  We left the kids with Gigi and Grandpa and headed over to College Station.  We met friends at the Chicken, walked to a few tailgates, saw the spirit walk, tailgated some more, and then off to the game.  I was exhausted come kick-off! 

Collegiate colors

Today was collegiate colors day and we all were sporting maroon.  AG even got to skip wearing her uniform for the maroon t-shirt.  It's the start of college football now....