Basement, Finished

Since 2010, I had been working at finishing the basement (as many of you knew, due to countless updates).  It was a long process that not only included manly tasks like installing studs, drywall, wiring, plumbing, soundproofing, and flooring, but also figuring out furniture and what to do with the space.  Fortunately we were able to do it on a very low budget, finding lots of furniture from garage sales, and borrowing or acquiring used tools.

I had set the deadline to have it mostly finished (walls, ceiling, paint, floor, trim, etc.) by the time Matilda was born, so that we could immediately enjoy the extra space.  In late July 2011, on the morning of the day we went to the hospital to have Lynne induced, I painted the last of the baseboards.  Nothing like a deadline!  Then it took a good number of months to go through everything in our storage space, clean it (thanks to tons of drywall mudding dust), and decide what to keep, donate, or toss.  The construction projects were way more fun than that chore, and we had many minivan loads to the recycling center, Goodwill, and dumpster.

There are still a few more small projects to do, including painting the stairwell, plumbing in a utility sink, and installing a door to the unfinished storage area, but all the parts and equipment are ready and waiting.

It felt so good to finish the project, and we love spending time in the basement.  Everything looks as good as we had hoped (thanks to far too much attention to detail on my end – it made the project last much longer than anticipated and was probably mostly unnecessary).  We enjoy family movie nights in the living room, special dinners at the table, and Eliza loves her play area.  I’m thankful for the space everyday, since my office is now located down there.

I learned so much during the process and owe a lot of thanks to my dad for his help a few weekends to do some of the two-man tasks, like studs and ceiling drywall, and answering my countless phone calls and questions; my grandpa, for teaching me to wire; and friends and family who helped me transport drywall (pre-minivan) and clean/move furniture.

Before – heading down the stairs

After – heading down the stairs

Before – family room

After – family room

Before – play area

After – play area

After – the office and dining area/work table

After – dining/work table space

After – turning the old coal closet into Eliza’s toy closet

Not pictured – the laundry room.  Trust me, it’s just as nice and clean.

Eliza Turned 3

In April we celebrated Eliza’s third birthday.  We had a small(er) party with mostly family including a bookworm/literature theme and asked everyone to bring a book to donate to the Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital.  Of course that meant Eliza got some books as gifts, too, and we had to stop opening presents so she could be read each one.  She was quite excited.

Lynne created a cool book mobile, and a bunch of decorations from pages of some classic children’s stories. Old kids’ books were also all over the house.

Eliza sported a book-themed skirt made by her Gram.

Reading “Tangled” even though she hadn’t seen the movie yet.

Eliza got some princess puzzles, and put them together repeatedly for the next few weeks.  She really likes puzzles, and we had to get her some with 50 pieces to challenge her.

The food include “worm” pasta salad, fruit salad, a “dirt” pudding, and, of course, chocolate cake

Drinks were apple, mint, tea punch served in mason jars

Two days before the party was Eliza's actual birthday, and she was thrilled to open some "princess" presents. It had only been two months since our Disney visit and time in Florida where we learned that the best place to buy kids' things is a Goodwill store in Florida. Thanks to all those wonderful grandparents, the Goodwill we went to had so many great princess things for lower-than-garage-sale prices. Eliza received a set of Disney fairy outfits, complete with jewelry accessories, wings, and headbands. The sets were red, green, and blue, and our astute little girl realized those were the same colors of Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather from Sleeping Beauty. She also got a wand, Disney books, and a Disney pretend oven that uses magnets to make cakes and cupcakes "magically" rise. We love Goodwill, and we love that Eliza loves "the treasure store," too.

The Rest of the Florida Trip

Keeping up our trend of being horribly behind on blog posts, hopefully we’ll churn a bunch out this weekend.  We already shared tons of pictures and stories from Eliza’s first visit to Disney World in February, but there were other fun things that happened during our two-week trip to Florida, too!

Thanks to the minivan, making the two-day drive down to stay at my parents’ place in Venice wasn’t as bad as we thought.  Just as Matilda had reached her threshold for time spent in a car seat, we stopped in Atlanta to spend the night and visit the Hults family.  Mark recently graduated from seminary there, and since our days together in Lafayette, we hadn’t been able to visit them much.  It was so much fun (and Eliza had a blast playing with Emerson and Hayden), that we stayed with them on our drive back two weeks later, too.

The girls made a mess of all the toys, and Emerson prepared Eliza for Disney World by showing her all the princess outfits she had.

We can’t believe how big Hayden is now!  It makes us feel quite old remembering when she stayed with us and we went to the children’s museum.

After seeing the Hults family, we continued the drive to Florida.  Georgia and northern Florida are pretty boring drives, but it’s always fun to see the car thermostat slowly increase as we head south.  I remember marking those Fahrenheit milestones when I was a child packed in the minivan on my way to visit Grandma and Grandpa.  Overall, the girls did well on the trip, but I think Matilda was desperate for some more “hold time” as soon as we arrived.  Fortunately my parents were ready for some grandkid time.

During the two weeks in Florida, other than going to Disney World, we were able to relax, go to the beach, swim in the pool, and eat some great food, including the greatest ice cream in the world – lime soft serve at the Nokomis Groves.  It’s probably the most nostalgic part of the trip for me each year, since I can remember going often when I was a child.  And it’s lime ice cream, a very underappreciated flavor (especially when swirled with chocolate).

Eliza getting used to the pool

We worked on our swimming

Matilda enjoyed watching

Eliza enjoying the first beach day

Checking out the water with Grandpa

Matilda's first beach experience. Seems like it was just yesterday Eliza was this small hanging out on a Florida beach for the first time.

It was a very hazy day at the beach, but it cleared up later

She wasn't as afraid of the waves this year, but she still was hesitant to get in the water

Enjoying the best ice cream in the world!

Family picture in the orange groves

We took a day to drive down to Naples and see Eliza's Great Aunt Janet and Uncle Dave. We had a lot of fun catching up, swimming in their pool, visiting the beach, watching the fisherman, seeing dolphins, and eating some delicious food (although Eliza got a bit sick due to either the heat or car sickness).

The Naples dock

Before we left, we had to visit the beach one last time, and we went to Siesta Key, the first beach Eliza experienced back when she was a few months old. Eliza spent a lot of time in the water, and we were very proud of her.

The girls liked the kites flying high overhead

We can't wait to go next year, and hopefully we can stay for at least a month thanks to Kirk's flexible work schedule!