Let there be colour!

Yesterday Don primed and then painted the ceilings in the hallway and Nick's room, and then this morning (after his 10-hour shift) he put the first coat of paint on Nick's walls. The colour is called "Champignon," which is French for mushroom, just to give you an idea of the actual colour : ). We contemplated doing a fun colour scheme in here but decided that since it'll actually be considered a "home office" we should keep the colour neutral.

There is definitely a light at the end of this tunnel! In fact, I wrote "Buy CARS bedding" on my to-do list for this week. It's that close!

Vegetable chow mein in the larval stage...

"Curly" cabbage, red bell peppers, ginger, jalapenos, red onion, wax beans (from the garden!), carrots, and celery...all prepped for their journey to deliciousness!

Krause's with Dylan and Haley

Yesterday afternoon Don and Waneta came by about 2:00 and picked up (a very excited!) Jordyn and Patience for their first-ever week-long visit! I'm hoping and praying that the girls can be on their very best behaviour etc. so they get invited back next year : ). The house is VERY quiet. 

Dylan and Haley stopped by yesterday afternoon as well, so after the girls left we took Nick to Krause's so he could play and we could all eat/drink their delicious fare. We were not disappointed!

Nick, hitching a ride on the long walk home...

Nick's room progress

Houston: we have a(n even longer) hallway!

And through the pocket door is a wee room:

It'll be the perfect-sized room for Nick for the time being and then it will be an even more perfect home office! Left to do: sanding, priming, painting, flooring, trim, fixtures, furniture!

Beating the heat

We're having super hot temps for this 3-day weekend! After church this morning we grilled some hotdogs and smokies for lunch and then headed into Langley to cool off at this great water park:

The freedom of being a boy

Wee room progress

Nick's room is now completely framed, wired, and is in the process of being sheetrocked! Don put up all the ceiling sheetrock yesterday, with the help of our tall international student (thanks, Mark!), and tonight he's working on the walls with Nick's help. Don is working 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. for the next few days so he is sculpting out a few hours to work on the room in between sleeping and working. He has Thursday-Saturday off and then doesn't work until Sunday night so I imagine a lot of progress will be made in the next few days!

Rain gutter bookshelves

Since Nick is getting his own wee room (soon!) we moved all of his stuff out of the girls' room and made it more girly and "theirs." The theme is decidedly dolls and stuffed animals. The room is less crowded now that Nick is out of there, but we still needed to use more vertical storage space. I found this idea on the internet and put them up myself! They're vinyl rain gutters, and they're perfect for storing a water bottle, favorite stuffies, and bedtime reading books close by. The girls LOVE them!

Fun in the pool: not just for the little kids!

Summer eats

Veggie pizza topped with fresh basil, on whole wheat crust.

Rainbow quinoa salad: red, yellow, and orange peppers, cucumbers, red onions, and blueberries. Yum. Served with homemade dressing.

Jordyn builds too

Jordyn is having great fun with the scraps of wood that Don is creating!

Renovation!

Of course we can't go too long with out renovating something! The newest project is changing the room that has most currently been the kids' playroom into a room for Nick. In the past this space has also been Nathan's bedroom, Don's work office, and a home office.

The beginning of the project. Nick quickly went and got his toy hammer so he could "help." Don eventually brought in a real hammer so that Nick might actually be able to help. He got pretty good at pulling nails out of the cedar planks!

All these cedar planks are now piled up waiting for Don Sr. to make something wonderful out of them!

Two days later, Don has cleaned up most of the wires/water pipes that were just hanging on the outside of the wall, and is getting the walls ready for insulation, sheetrock, etc.

Thinking, planning, calculating, etc.....

No more vaulted ceiling!

Check back later for more progress pictures : )

Fun at Williams Park

Sunday afternoon we got together with three other families at Williams Park for a picnic/barbeque and to play in the creek. We had such a great time...the 12 children played together so nicely at the playground while the parents were able to chat and visit. After cleaning up dinner, we (except me...I went to work) all went down to the creek that runs through the park. As you can see, the kids had a fantastic time here!

Sunday afternoon movies

The kids sat here for almost an hour yesterday afternoon watching a movie on the ipad. It was such a nice piece of quiet!

From my perspective

Summer overload

This is 10:00 this morning...Nick was already ready for a nap! He's been falling asleep in the afternoon after a few hours or swimming and playing with his sisters, but he's never fallen asleep this early in the day! The summer is taking a toll on his poor little self....

Lazy summer days and evenings

Today we enjoyed a warm lazy summer day with lots of time in the pool, followed by BBQ'd burgers and now Don and the kids are having s'mores! It definitely feels like a staycation : )

Daddy's big helper

This morning Don was capping the gas line behind our stove since we replaced our gas oven with an electric one. Nick saw what he was doing and ran to get his monkey wrench out of his tool kit so he could help! He's such a smart young man! 

Summer fun

On Thursday, July 5, our summer finally arrived. We had the rainiest/coldest June on record and I think our interational students were beginning to regret choosing the PNW. But yesterday we enjoyed 75 degree weather, and there is nothing but sunshine in the 2-week forecast, so Don and I decided to get a pool for some summer fun here at home. This is a 15-foot pool, and we put it near the patio so we can keep an eye on the Littles (Nick) in what is a fairly deep pool.

So the kids are out there swimming in the pool that we just filled from the hose. Nick's lips are blue and he can't stop shivering, but he doesn't want to get out : ).

Backyard campout

Alternate title: our tent is bigger than your tent!

This afternoon we set up the huge tent that we bought last week. Today has been the first non-rainy day so we took advantage of it. This tent is definitely big enough for our family, plus a few friends. It's a 3-bedroom tent, or a 2 bedroom, 1 living room model. Each of the rooms can hold a queen size bed, so Don and I will at least be comfortable on our camping trips this summer! We're going to leave it set up for awhile so the kids can camp out in the backyard.