Friday, July 1, 2011

Hard-Won Victory

At last . . . our major home remodeling projects have come to an end! I'm amazed by the magic Luke has worked. (If radiology falls through, he's got a future in home improvement! Oh, wait . . . I forgot about all those medical school loans.) Anyway . . . drum roll, please . . .

Kitchen Before:
Kitchen After:

It looks awesome, doesn't it? First, Luke tore out the linoleum floor and tiled it. Next, he and his brother, Lance, built these concrete countertops. Luke cut our sink to convert it to an undermount sink and installed it with the new countertops. The last touches were the black tile backsplash and the replacement of all the cabinet handles. (A final detail to come will be a black moulding around the floor.)

Bathroom Before:


Bathroom After:






Quite a transformation, isn't it?! This one was a d-o-o-z-y. It involved demolishing the peach-colored tile and the plaster behind it, rebuilding the walls and tiling them with the floor, reworking the plumbing (several times), and building the concrete countertop for the vanity. I think it's absolutely beautiful! We're sure grateful for all the friends who pitched in with this. (Oh, and I did paint the walls--other than that, my contribution to the remodel was to keep the little ones out of the way and keep the rest of the household running smoothly!)

The moment of the remodel I'm sorriest to have missed? Luke walking into the Rockin' Gators Bar down the street and asking for 3 empty brown beer bottles (to crush into the countertop above). According to Lance, you could hear the bartenders' laughter from out in the parking lot.

The moments of the remodel I wish I could have missed? Uh . . . better not go there. It's done, and we survived. (Barely!)

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Summer

Last week was unusually, pleasantly cool (for June in Missouri!), and we had a fun outing to our favorite park:


So far, we're enjoying the summer! We've had some fun outings and playdates, have almost completed our remodeling projects (pictures are coming soon . . . ), and have haunted the local library at least bi-weekly. Abby is a voracious reader and is working on the Harry Potter series and every American Girl book she can get her hands on. I've been reading some of the American Girl books too, and they're great! They are well-written, aimed at a grade-school audience, and each one gives insight into a different period of American history while teaching good values. I would highly recommend them (although we're probably backing ourselves into the inevitable corner of buying one of the $100 dolls someday!). 

The sad part of this spring/summer has been watching so many of our dear friends move away, mostly because they have finished medical school or residency. We're really going to miss them!

Dad & His Trio

A few days ago, Luke took a day off work and got to "man the ship" while I was gone all day. (I got to be a standardized patient for medical students practicing an O.B. check-up . . . a very interesting experience!!) Anyway, SuperDad took the kids on a fun outing to Forest Park downtown. Here they are in front of the art museum.

{Don't you love Katie's colorful outfit?}

Here is Daddy with his fan club on Father's Day. (We had to frost only half of the pan of brownies to please everyone. . . . ) I liked Abby's cute idea of having him blow out a "7"-shaped candle to celebrate his seven years of being a dad. He deserves that!

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Joe's Visit

Last but not least, my brother, Joe, came to visit! Here we are at Grant's Farm. It was so great to see him and to hang out together for the weekend. We introduced him to our new favorite place to eat out, P'Sghetti's. The kids had so much fun pestering and entertaining Uncle Joe. (Any guy who has survived growing up with seven sisters and is still psychologically stable has to be cool!!)

More Visitors

Our next visitors in May were Luke's Grandpa Al and his Uncle Paul, who live in the Seattle area. They managed to see quite a lot of St. Louis during their stay!
Here they are with Katie and her friend Chloe, hiking in Powder Valley.

They joined us at Katie's closing preschool program, where she sang so well with her friends!
Alex and Katie at the Missouri Botanical Gardens
also at the gardens
Alex, Luke, and Great-Grandpa
Great-Grandpa trying his hand at the tile saw!