Busy busy busy

I guess everyone is busy this time of year, but it seems like we have been running non-stop!  Here's a peek at what we've been up to.

Hayden turned THREE!!

 Mom and Hayden visited the National Zoo

We took a cruise around the Potomac River to see the monuments 

Rented some baby chicks for Hayden

 We celebrated Easter at the farm

 I went to Oklahoma to visit Kyle

 The girls and I had a blast putting up and playing with our Christmas present from Grandma Tammy and Grandpa Jim

Both girls made the honor roll again....no pics of Bailee :(

Bailee made the school soccer team and almost scored a goal in their second game!

 Jake wowed us at Career Day

I moved up from a white belt to a GOLD in karate!!

We saw the Mythbuster guys, Adam and Jamie, at the Science and Engineering Fair

AND we caught a DC United game!  They won 3-2!! 

We've been super busy and have been having so much fun.  There doesn't seem to be a break in the near...and not so near future, but we are all looking forward to summer!

While the Cat is Away....

....the mice get busy!

Last week, Jake was in Utah skiing.  We had agreed no more painting and etc until this summer, but I got bored for a few minutes and decided to bust out the roller.  I got the girls on board and here is what we did...

 Bostyn's weird greyish/brownish/purplish colored room

  

Lavendar on three of the walls

Cutting in the ceiling and corners

The beautiful AFTER...3 lavendar walls and one purple wall

Her awesome hot pink and polka dot dresser!

Before and after

Then I moved downstairs to the powder room.....it had an ugly rag paint look that was a mix of brown, pink and yellow....shudder.

 I painted a really nice SOLID yellow

Before and after

Then about an hour before Jake arrived home, I decided to tackle the laundry room. 

Cutting in around these shelves was a PAIN!

After!  Nice relaxing blue....since I spend so much time in here.

Before and after

Everything obviously needs decorating and finishing touches, but just having a fresh coat of paint on the walls makes a huge difference.  I can't wait until spring, so that I can move my attention outside.  Yardwork has never sounded so fun!  

Hayden's Room

Here is the other half of the renovation we have been working on.  Hayden's room was the most disgusting room in the house.  Gouge marks on all of the walls and the ceilings; dirty, stained, burnt carpet, you name it, this room had it.  It was awful.  

Here are some pictures of the various stages of renovation.

 Another room in it's pre renovation UGLINESS!

 

A closer picture of the DOUBLE LAYER of border that had adhered itself to the drywall.  That was an absolute blast to remove.

Carpet removed, window trim removed and walls primed.

Cutie pie helping with the paint.

Walls painted!  This was a custom color that Jake and I created.  LOVE it!

Closet doors out and trim up.

 Carpet in!

Here is a before and after, side-by-side.

The transformation is this room is phenomenal!  It looks completely different from when we moved in.  If it wasn't for the pictures, I would have a hard time remembering what it used to look like.

I'll post more pictures after we put the furniture back in and get it decorated.  Hayden already loves it though!  He spent half the day running around his room and wiggling his toes in the carpet.
I think he is happy to have his room back.  ;)

It's been a while.....

It's been a while since I posted last...over a month actually!  I have a very good reason for my absence though. We've been tearing our house apart and fixing it up!  We started on Hayden's room and decided to do the living room at the same time to save on carpet installation.

 Here is the living room in it's various stages.

Pre renovation UGLINESS!

Took the faux beams off the ceiling and the room seemed to grow!

Mid renovation we decided that we wanted the paneling down.  Nothing behind the paneling meant that we had to put up drywall.  This added a week to our already scrammed schedule!

 New wall up!  Great job Jake!

 Walls and ceiling primed.

Fireplace primed!

 Ceiling and walls painted.  Balmy seas...LOVE the color.

 Old, gross carpet out, fireplace painted and new trim up!

Carpet in!

For a quick recap....here is the before and after.

We still need to trim out the windows (behind me in this picture) and put up the vent covers and then this room will be done!  

I love to walk in this room and just look around.  

It feels like a warm, sunny day at the beach.

Harpers Ferry

The weather in Maryland has been like a roller-coaster. Bitter cold one day and spring-like the next day. We took advantage of one of the warmer days and went exploring.

Harpers Ferry, West Virginia is less than an hour from our house. It is a tiny town, tucked into the hillside, but it has some incredible history. In 1859, John Brown and his men led a raid in the town. They were caught in nearby Charles Town, but the raid ended up being the catalyst for the Civil War.

Harpers Ferry is also one of the very few towns that the Appalachian trail passes directly through.

Old town Harpers Ferry

St. Peters Church

Sunset over the Shenandoah River

Bailee gets the credit for this gorgeous picture.

Bostyn...trying to intimidate me. Ha ha ha

Bailee's self-portrait

Me and my two favorite boys at the point

I love having these warm days, but I keep wondering, are we going to have a winter at all this season?