happy halloween!

Our little pink and blue superheros. Bug has a blast this Halloween and kept wanting to go to "one more house" while Tank was very hesitant at first, until he figured out they were giving him candy. Go figure.

I title this one, 'the joy of Halloween.' Oh to be this young again.

Go A's

Now, I have to admit that since Little Bug came into my life I have not followed the Oakland A's very well. But, around August, I started getting word of how well they were playing and was so excited for them! We recently got back from California and while there I was so pleased to go to an A's playoff game with Bug. It was so much fun and I had a great time reminiscing about childhood afternoons spent at the park. Pretty sure Bug was most excited to be able to scream as loud and as long as she could stand.

work

We believe in putting our kids to work.

 

This is really me trying to get that last layer of grout dust off our floors. 

floors

When we first moved into our home the flooring was mostly carpet. It was a faded blue that looked gray in some areas. We knew it would have to go eventually, but we figured we would wait a few months and let things settle. However, while walking in for the first time as homeowners we were greeted with a strong odor of dog. The old carpet had to go right away. So, out it came and we started researching flooring ideas. We ended up putting in a tile that looks like wood throughout the home (minus the re-carpeted bedrooms and two baths, which are future projects).

It was such a process! Really, it was such a process. We just finished a couple weeks ago. First, we had rip out the old subfloor under the linoleum.  Then we had to lay down backer board with thinset and screws (no joke, each board has about 60 screws). We learned that this may have been overkill, but we sure didn't want anything to go wrong so we followed all the instructions.  I had no idea screwing in hundreds of screws with an electric drill would make a person sweat so much. Then, we had to put down another layer of thinset for the tile. Finally, we had to grout the whole place. Technically, it needs to be sealed, but at the moment I refuse to admit that any more work needs to be done and am calling it good. Plus, our hands are just recovering.

So, here is the old carpet, ripped out and sitting in a heap on the side of our house.
 

Oh, we were still bright and happy at this point. Laying down our first room of backer board.

Yes, Tank is holding a sharp knife. He is cutting holes for our registers.

My parents came out twice within a month's time to help out. My dad definitely earned his keep. He is caring a big bucket of thinset here. FYI everyone, it is worth the $25 drill mixer attachment to not have to hand mix that stuff. We figured that out oh, two thirds the way through this project.

Laying thinset on the backer board to tile.

Bug had a blast for the five minutes she spread thinset.

And now the grout. Imagine your whole house with a layer of mud on it. Then add a frantic mom armed with a sponge in each hand trying clean it up before two kids swarm and track mud everywhere.  I may have gone a little crazy that week.
 

I also had to add this picture because Andrew had his heart set on these flush registers. We didn't put them everywhere, but a few spots have fancy registers.

A shot of the final floor.

We have many more house projects in process, but thank heavens this one is done!

32

Andrew had a birthday and turned 32! I knew he had his eye on getting a big blow torch to keep a handle on the weeds in our front yard. We have a lot of rocks out there and weeding in between them gets difficult. He was quite surprised I actually got it for him. It was pretty fun getting a big smile out of him. He now, however, wants to rig the torch to get an even bigger and more effective flame.

We spent the day burning weeds and in the evening we enjoyed our local fair. Little Bug loved the rides, Tank enjoyed his first foot long corn dog and Andrew and I liked the rodeo.

moving day

I actually did not take any pictures of us moving. It was no fun of course and will take years for us to get over. Not because anything went particularly wrong, it is just a lot of work. And each subsequent move we do it gets a little more painful as our family grows and stuff accumulates.

So, while packing endless boxes, I made an amazing discovery out of desperation. Tank loves playing in the car and will be quite happy there for a solid hour. That's a big deal for a mom trying to get stuff done. And from the looks of it, he apparently has been waiting a long time to get his chance at the wheel.

Tank is learning all sorts of words lately. At the moment, his favorite word is "out." He says it a ton, especially in reference to wanting to get outside and play. However, whenever I say "let's go outside" he knows that means we are heading to the car. So, I often find him toddling over to his side of the car and hopping in. I think it is pretty funny watching a 1 year old make his way to the car just like a big kid.

papa mark

We have had a bunch of visitors come this summer and help us with our house. It has been so nice and very helpful. There is no greater feeling at the moment crossing 'to dos' off our list. Our last visitor was Andrew's dad, Papa Mark. He helped us patch a dogie door. (The previous owners literally cut a hole in the house. A hole in the house. Who does that?!) And he helped drywall the area where we ripped out a wall. I don't have many before and after shots of our projects. However, I did manage to snap a photo of Tank and papa playing trains together.

celebration of life

It is a little bitter sweet posting this, but while my family was all together this summer we had a celebration of life for my dad. He has obviously had some rough struggles this past year, but we are all grateful he is still with us.

Recently, we got word his cancer is back. He is up for more chemo treatments and a bone marrow transplant. It has been more scary this time around. For one, we are all more aware of what this entails and two, this narrows down his future treatment options and is quite possibly his last treatment option. It is hard thinking of someone who has always been there, to not being there anymore. It is hard to simply think about and very difficult to comprehend. I am so glad he is willing to fight again and as he says, "beat this thing." So, here is to my beautiful parents, there love and devotion to one another and to a God we all trust.
 

kite flying

There is a big field we love right by our house. In the evenings we like to head over there and run and sometimes when the wind is just right we bring our kite. Who knew a big grassy field could be so fun?

 Tank is always pretty interested in that kite.