Basement remodel!!

We added a light at the top of the stairs because it was as dark as a dungeon!

Our previous staircase was a death trap- here we are looking down the beautiful new stairs

The carpenters made this staircase match the one going to the second floor. I think they did a remarkable job!

Deail of the Newel post, replica of the one between the first and second floors

The light at the landing

Landing area with exposed chimney. Also note the laundry chute. Our contractor and Andrew found hardware (doorknobs, etc) that matches the original hardware of the house

Detail of the landing- the cat hole! I plan to take a dremmel to the sloppy areas of mortor on the chimney- and whatever that white stuff is at the top.

Looking into the bathroom. We re-used the vanity from our demolished house, which had chrome fixtures. Here you can see the arts and crafts inspired octagon and dot tiling.

The new shower! Classic arts and crafts subway tile. To break up the white a bit we added a glass tile stripe. Some day we'll add a glass door, but at a $1,000 price tag we elected to put up a free shower curtain for now.

We saw other people add these recessed shelves and thought they were a wonderful improvement over those annoying shower caddies.

The vanity with vintage mirror (courtesy of my Aunt, who has an arts and crafts house) and new chrome sconces to match the chrome sink fixtures.

Detail of the mirror. I couldn't take a picture with the lights on because of the glare, but the lights from the sconces really warm up the wood and soften the chrome so that vintage compliments modern.

Barn door entrance to the play room- we travelled up to Guttenberg, IA to buy this barn door from a guy who salvages old barns.

Looking into the play room. We salvaged the bamboo flooring from the demolished house.

Play room with new egress window. Lucy's been busy painting at pre-school!

View of the play room showing the barn door, once painted red.

This kitchen was once Grandma Pat's when she was a girl. Her father made it for her from scratch! What kid doesn't love a kitchen.

Makaila's Party

Max's daycare provider Makaila had a great Halloween party for the kids, complete with a bounce house! The ladybug and the spider approved.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kroul's Farm

Up near Marion there is a pumpkin farm owned by the Kroul Family. We went up there on my day off after a soggy weekend and the weather was amazing. We could have spent the entire day there, just enjoying the lovely farm and eachother.

Wilson's Orchard

No Fall is complete without several trips to Wilson's Orchard. This year the strange spring took all their apples. But there were plenty of pumpkins! And the scenery is so beautiful- it is a sight to behold.

car wash

The local car wash sure has some helpful employees these days!
 

 

 

 

Froggy is Free!

After a few months of housing a bullfrog in our terrarium, we decided that he would do better in his natural habitat, a pond. We considered putting him in our garden, but previous tadpoles have fledged and then ended up as floaters in the pool. So, after learning that lesson we packed up Froggy and took him out to Kent State Park west of town. There is a little pond there that we thought would be perfect for him. It was an absolutely beautiful fall day and the colors of the landscape were vivid and bright. We hiked down to the pond's edge and let our friend go. He was reluctant at first, but he soon swam off, stretching his legs in the wide open water. Kent State Park has an awesome playground and Lucy loves the Big Slide, where she can people watch from above. Max was content to swing, and soon had an unusual companion. We had a great time with the folks at the park, and it was a wonderful day overall. We miss our frog, but know he is happier in the wild. Next up, a fish!

Porron punch

We had fun goofing around with the Porron Jose gave us a while back. I promise it's water!

Max gets buzzed!

Dad gives max his second haircut.

Little hawkeye

Before lunch and after!

Grinnell alumni

Had a great time in grinnell over the long weekend. Watched tons of soccer and the kids loved running around in the wide open spaces.

Jack and Colin Gale were great playmates. Here they are like little lemurs - what one does, they all do!

Bus!

We met Auntie Sarah at the pentacrest near the bus station. Max loved watching the buses go by!

Froggy

Our frog is one beloved guy!

Funny face

Haircut!

I cut Lucy's hair too short so I took her to great clips to have it layered and evened out. I think it looks great!

Midwest Tour

We had a great trip touring the Midwest and seeing family. Our first stop was in Des Moines, then Sioux Falls to see GG and Tom and Barb, then on to Spencer to see Lee and Nancy, and then back again to DSM to catch Grandpa Tom and congratulate him on his RAGBRAI finish! It was wonderful to see everyone!

Max walking

Max is starting to take steps here and there. He will hopefully be walking full time by the end of the month!

Friends

This weekend the Dixon-gales came to visit with their two kids jack (4) and Colin (2). The kids had so much fun that when they left Lucy napped for 3 hours!!! come back soon!

Max in the Box!

Jazz fest fun

Kept the kids out too late for the jazz fest but it was so fun! Not pictured: selby, who enjoyed all the smells such as meat on a stick! Lucy chose face painting over bouncy house or balloon animals. The rest of the night was spent covered in blue face paint. Will go with a different option next time for our sanity!

First day!

I had the day off so that I could take Max to his new day care and Lucy to her first day of preschool at preucil. Lucy has been to preucil a hundred times for music class and her friend Ben is there too so I know she'll love it. I hope little max adapts quickly to his new surroundings!

Max meets the Ocean

Max's favorite things are his sand and water table, the bathtub and his sandbox. So it is not surprising that he absolutely loves the sand and surf! As soon as he saw the ocean he charged right for it and here is his reaction. Lucy has been out in the water for hours daily and loves the waves. She is like a little sandpiper in the surf. The beach here is beautiful and the wildlife abundant. We have watched terns and pelicans plunge into the water for fish, flocks of white ibis, egrets of all sizes, and sandpipers. There are dozens of osprey and osprey nests. Dolphins can be seen from the beach and yesterday I saw a manatee surface for air! I've never seen one so I was particularly excited. We'll post more pictures soon! 

Bath gnome