A Little Project

Right as school was starting, Brian and I took it upon ourselves to do one final project on the house before we got too crazy into the fall.  We hired some Lackeys (yes, that was their last name) to remove the popcorn ceiling out of the living room.  It was the final room on the main level to have popcorn.  Brian said that once the popcorn was down, we could start on the hardwood floor.  I didn’t realize it would all happen at the same time, in the whirlwind of school starting, but hey, what’s another project?

We pulled up the carpet prior to the ceiling coming down.  Then we pulled up the pad and the subfloor.  We had to lay new subfloor and find the flooring.

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And got started.

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Safety first!  (Later this day, Ellie had a fever.  A week later, we discovered that she had walking pneumonia.  She is such a trouper even when sick!)

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I guess I should get a picture of the final product.  It looks nice, and I’m glad to have one more room of hardwood.  The room is arranged differently, with the piano and TV switching spots.  We still need to rotate the piano a bit to allow for a little more room by the recliner, but it certainly works for us now.

Easter 2015

We started our long Easter weekend with some egg dyeing.  Don’t mind all the scaffolding and ladders in the background.  It’s a never-ending construction site at our house.

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On Easter morning, the Easter bunny was clever in hiding baskets.  The girls searched and searched for their baskets.  Samantha found hers first.  It was in the dryer.

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Ellie could not find hers.

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But all of us pitched in to help her.  She was finally successful!  It was in the oven.

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In taking this family shot, I think it was the quickest I have ever taken Easter pictures before in my life.  No one cried.  No one was mad.  No one stormed off in a dramatic fashion – it was unlike all previous Easter family pictures.

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Sadly, this will be one of the last pictures with this big oak tree (behind Brian).  About 3 weeks later, it fell.   There’s that drama.  I thought it had skipped us.

Disney

We took the plunge and spent part of our Fall/Thanksgiving Break at Disney World.  The girls had a great time, and they were SO good while we were there.  Despite spending the evening in the emergency after-hours clinic with Ellie the night before we left, she plowed through.

Each of the girls had been on an airplane before, but neither would remember.  They were thrilled to take the short trip down to Orlando!  We spent the rest of that day at Epcot.  Samantha’s most desired To Do was to ride Test Track.  In the end, her favorite thing was the Tiki Room at Magic Kingdom.

 

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We spent the next day at Magic Kingdom.  And without surprise, Ellie’s most desired To Do was to meet Rapunzel.  It was her favorite thing also.

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We ventured over to Hollywood Studios for the following day.  The highlight of that day was playing in the snow at Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post, watching the Frozen Sing-Along show, and riding Toy Story Mania.

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Then, back to Magic Kingdom, where Brian was picked for the early performance of trying to pull the sword from the stone.

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Without prompting, the girls read their Safety Information at the appropriate time on the flight home.  What can I say?  They prepare.

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Alabama Gymnastics

We love gymnastics.  Ok, maybe it’s just me.  And Alabama gymnastics?  Those girls are always talented.  They make it easy to cheer for them.

This year we went to the Georgia and Stanford meets.  I’m considering going to the SEC Championships or National Championships, both of which are here in town.

I loved the photo cutout at the Stanford meet.  Clever.

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