Fair and Pumpkin Festival

Yes, we went to the AZ State Fair. Oh my! We went early on a Sunday and it wasn't crowded. The kids loved it. Anthony and I were glad to be close to Cibo to go have a yummy lunch after. 

 The view from the top of the grand Ferris Wheel! We got to stop right at the top and the kids loved that. 

 The boys loved this monster truck ride.

 They couldn't stop laughing!

 Hunter was tall enough to go on the small roller coaster. Braden and I went on the "big" roller coaster. We both agree that the one at Schnepf Farm is much better!

 So we headed to the Pumpkin Festival the next weekend at Schnepf Farm. 

 And we all took a ride on the awesome roller coaster! 

 Then we checked out the corn maze (here's a little preview of Braden's Halloween costume!)

 Hunter found some corn...

and we also found some pumpkins!

Happy Fall!

Remodel Update

Things have been moving along. As they should be since they've been at it for 8-weeks now! Our original completion date was Dec 1... we'll see. Sheetrock and drywall is going up starting Monday... so no more view of the inter-workings after this weekend!

We have a boarded up front window. I'm sure the neighbors love it... although maybe they think it's part of our Halloween decorations. We are making that window smaller to be the same size as the other two windows on that end of the house. We also decided to take the awnings down that had been over our windows.

Another reason why we are changing the window size is that now there will be a wall in the middle of where the window was. Juan had a good idea to use this little cut-out where the window was for shelves in the new bathroom. Good thinking, Juan!

 So long awnings! Anthony handled this project.

 The new room is framed. This is the only area of the space that will be closed off from the rest. We wanted an open floor plan, but also knew we need some closed space. We call this the "quiet room." It will be a buffer to the bedroom end of the house. We can also market it as another bedroom whenever we decide to move. Which is not in the plans anytime soon.

This is the bathroom and closet for that room.

 The view from the kitchen area into the new living room area.

 The new windows in the kitchen are framed.

Here they are from the outside. The door to get to the backyard will be moved to the laundry room.

This is the new door out to the garage (someday!). We'll be building some cubbies along here along with some other "organizing" space for the way in and out of the house.

  The garage door is down and the new wall is framed. 

 Braden and Hunter are doing some "work" in the pantry and laundry rooms.  

 Anthony over-seeded the backyard for the winter. Braden told me he was going to sit and watch the grass grow for a bit. I guess that's not too bad of a way to spend the morning. Although it didn't last very long.

Fall in Ohio

The boys had a great visit in Ohio! Mine was good as well, but not a vacation like people at work seem to think. :-) I had a day trip to South Dakota which was super long and the winds were literally blowing 60 mph! I'm not a fan of flying as it is, so landing and taking off in that was tons of fun. Overall we had a great taste of all things Fall and got to catch up with family and friends. And I survived both flights by myself with the boys and a 3-hour layover in Denver on the way home! They did great... my tip is paper clips and Scotch tape to keep them occupied.

Personalize your own scrapbook design

OHIO

The boys and I made it to Ohio. They are having a blast. I enjoyed my conference in Columbus and a little time by myself. It was a beautiful drive, Columbus is a cool city and I was able to enjoy the changing leaves and get a dose of Fall. Here's some pics from the first couple of day of our trip before I headed out.

Making our way to the airplane.

 Anthony got a pass to go to the gate with us, so that helped a lot. They checked out the workings of the airport.

 The kids did surprisingly well on the flights. The flight attendants said they wanted to take them home when we finally landed in Canton, so that was a great sign! Considering it was 12:30am Ohio time and Hunter had been awake since 6:45am Arizona time with NO NAP... it was actually a miracle.

 Taking a stroll down Woodview Dr.

 Poppa did a pick-up in his pick-up.

 Fun in the leaves...

 and the trees.

 We got to go checkout the football field before the big game.

 Hanging out in front of Obie's den.

 Braden got to go to the game this year. Last year his foot was hurting him (which ended up being the issue that we found when he had his infection) and he didn't make it. They enjoyed all the excitement and especially the fireworks. And considering Massillon scored about 5 times in the first quarter, they got to see lots of fireworks!

Staying warm with hugs!

Dinos and Veggie!

Last Saturday we got to go have breakfast with the dinosaurs to see the new exhibit at the Science Center. Real dinosaur bones! 

 Joshua, from Boston, oversees all the exhibits and gave Braden some pointers.

 There's an archaeological dig for finding dino fossils.

 Scary!

 There were some dinos that moved and made noise! The boys weren't sure what to think of them at first.

  They made their own T-Rex out of noodles.

 Unobstructed access to the stream table!

 Hunter did some Lego building.

We also got a chance to check-out a VeggieTales show this week. The kids liked it!

Tomorrow we head off on our next adventure when the boys and I head to Ohio. I have a conference in Columbus and they are tagging along. Looking forward to getting there, but not looking forward to the flight. We'll get a chance to spend some time with my parents and enjoy the fall. Considering Braden thinks it's "freezing" when we leave for school in the morning and it's 72 degrees out, we'll see how he likes the weather!

Remodel Update

 I had an inquiry on the status of the remodel, so here's the latest. All still "structural" stuff (like beams to hold up the roof and all), so nothing fun like floors, cabinets and counters. We're still trying to make up our minds on several of those things. So far things have been going very well according to PJ. 

 This shows most of the space that is being worked on. The concrete has been poured, so no more sunken living room! And the garage was filled because we're turning that into living space. Unfortunately they did this while we were gone so the boys didn't get to watch the cement truck in action.

Another view from the garage door. I think that big piece of wood is the new structural support beam for the ceiling!

 This is the bathroom and closets that will be by the front door. 

 The pantry is framed! 

This area is where the kitchen will be. The door to outside will be moved to the laundry room. The wall on the right of this picture is our temporary wall so we have more house to live in during all of this craziness. We are sooooooo appreciative of that!

This is a picture of one of our slabs of granite. Can't wait for the pics of this installed because that means we'll be almost done!

Road Trip!

So we embarked on a little road trip last week! I had a meeting in Vegas, so we decided to hit the road. Oh, Vegas... how I loathe thee. But, it's a place that everyone needs to see at least once in their life and I sure will not be taking the boys when they get a bit older and realize what Vegas is really about. Glad to experience it with them now in their innocence and thrill of seeing volcanoes, dancing fountains and life-sized M&Ms. They will need to be adults making their own decision to visit for their next trip!

What an interesting state...

I had never made this drive before, so it was cool to see the Hoover Dam.

Braden climbed all the way up to the new bridge.

Hunter was safely strapped into the stroller with no chance of getting out.

Sporting his brother's hat and his getting ready for a nap face.

Checking out the fountains at the Bellagio!

The first time we watched them they were choreographed to "Proud to Be an American." It honestly brought a tear to my eye. Anthony had never seen the show before and said it was one of the most amazing things he'd seen. It really is cool.

The second show was some Faith Hill song. Let's just say it was still cool, but "amazing" and tear-inducing... no.

Oh the joy! M&M World!

We went to a casino off the Strip that had an "aquarium" with a mermaid. Hunter was intrigued, Braden was totally freaked out. I don't blame him!

A real volcano erupting in front of us! More joy for Braden who is into all kinds of natural disasters these days. We watched part of the Pirate Show at Treasure Island, but they've even turned that into a boudoir show now, so we didn't last too long. The boys saw a pirate ship sailing through the water and some cannon blasts with real fire, so they were impressed.  

Ahhhhhh... and then we stopped in Flagstaff on the way home to detox. 

We drove up Mt Humphreys and did a little hiking.

We went to the Aspen grove (or forest as Braden called it). 

Hunter played "seeking" (aka - hide and seek)

Aspens are my favorite trees. I love their simple beauty.

Hunter spent much of the time on the ground in the dirt that he loves so much.

I think we've detoxed!

At the end of the hike.

10 minutes after the hike! They were even so wiped out that they didn't want to stay and watch trains!

“Beauty is but the sensible image of the Infinite. Like truth and justice it lives within us; like virtue and the moral law it is a companion of the soul.”

George Bancroft