Project Basement Update #2

Well, we did it. Not all of it but we did accomplish everything we had on our list to get done before our trip. Jake finished all the baseboards today. I finished all the paint touch ups in the boys' rooms and all doors and door jambs are painted! We even got it all cleaned up and swept. The boys' rooms look so great with all the baseboards, outlet covers, etc. in. I can't wait to get the carpet and furniture in, and the windows done!
Thanks for all of your comments, it is fun to read your encouragement and it makes me feel like I am not so far away when I get to read your words.
Well, we are off to California tomorrow! We will be up in Northern Cal for the first week, which will be nice. We get to see old Davis friends and go to a couple of weddings. Lucas is in one of them. It should be interesting! After that, we head to Southern Cal to visit family. We are really looking forward to seeing some familiar faces!

Project Basement

Today was another busy one. I did two coats of paint in Ben's room and started touch ups in Lucas' room. Jake hung most of the trim around the doors this morning and we painted a second coat on all the base boards, and started painting the doors. Whew!
I was excited that Ben's room turned out. The green is darker than I thought but I really like it. I think when we put curtains, furniture, etc. up it will really come together.

Here is Ben's room prepped for painting.

Taking care of the final touches.

Here is one of the corners.

Painting Woes

There is nothing like painting in your underwear.

Hard at work with Daddy! Don't forget your protective eye gear!


Well, I finished painting Lucas' room. It was like Christmas morning when I got up today! I was so excited to pull the tape off the walls and see my artistry take shape. This "Christmas morning" was more like the year you asked for a Cabbage Patch Kid and got underwear- very disappointing. From far away, it doesn't look too bad, but up close you can see that the tape pulled some of the blue paint off the wall, leaving not so straight lines.

Ignore the huge Electrical box hole in the wall, that will be covered.
Not so bad from this far away.


I am going to try and salvage it but it is going to take a lot of work for another time. Retouching the paint just doesn't fit in to the plan for our "HGTV style" week of basement finishing. Jake and I have been playing Tag Team Home Improvement. I was down painitng trim and then after lunch, Jake went down to finish putting in the doors. He only has two more to go! Wish me luck as I prep Ben's room for paint and start painting doors!

Moving Trip

The boys had their breakfast outside watching the big truck, since their table and chairs were all packed.
Thank you so much to all those who helped us move! Here is our crew of helpers!
The boys say good bye to Pullman and Hello to Vermillion!

Here is Lucas in Yellowstone Naitonal Park, our happy little camper! Where is the park??!!!
In front of Old Faithful. We got to the gesyer just as it was going off, yeah! Lucas was much more impressed with the geyser than the hot springs, thank goodness!

We made it to South Dakota! Lucas finally got to see the guys' heads! We saw Crazy Horse monument too. On our way to Vermillion, we stopped at Wall Drug and I have to say, it exceeded my expectations. They have this HUGE T-rex in the back that looked scary to me, much less my children! It roars every 12 minutes and I am telling you, it is pretty crazy! Lucas wouldn't go near it! Sadly, the Corn Palace, which was also on our itinerary didn't happen. We got to Mitchell (where the famous palace is) at 7:30 and dinner took priority over palaces made of corn. We finally made it to Vermillion that night at 10:30 PM. We were so glad to have the driving behind us! In the morning, we went and did our final walk through, signed all our closing papers, and bought our first house! We came back to the hotel to find Lucas STILL sleeping at 9:30. The trip really wiped him out! He was very excited to see his new house and new park.

Here is Sue, Jake's mom, attempting to unpack the kitchen!


Lucas loves his new "box house"!
Forget the boxes, Ben just wanted to play in the packing paper.


Right now, we are in the throws of trying to get the basement done so the carpeting can be put in while we are in California (we leave Friday). Today's plan of action (POA :)) is for me to get Lucas' room painted and Jake took his fourth trip (or maybe its his 5th) to Sioux City for Home Depot and Lowe's and he is now cutting the trim for the doors. I was unsuccessful at getting much done in terms of painting this afternoon but hopefully I will get the first coat done after bedtime. One can hope! I will have to post some pictures of our progress tomorrow.

Note to Self-

Never tell a three year old you are going to a park, even if it is Yellowstone National Park, if there is no play equipment. Lucas was just not that impressed by the hot springs we visited. Old Faithful was received with a little more appreciation, thankfully!

Moving trip update-
We are now in Rapid City, SD and will be going to see Crazy Horse Monument and Mt. Rushmore (or as Lucas calls it, "The Guys' Heads" this morning. So far the boys have been really great in the car and we have had a smooth go of it, well, until last night. Our hotel staff screwed up our reservation and couldn't do anything to fix it (not an easy to thing to swallow when your children's bed time has come and gone, only Ben had eaten dinner, and you have been on the road for 3 days). Did I mention it was our anniversary too? Can you think of a more romantic way to spend it? It became hilarious as we were sitting in hotel rooms on different halls of the hotel (thanks to "Quality Inn"), each with a different child, texting back and forth. Oh, romance!

Anyway, after seeing the monuments, we will be on our way to Vermillion. We will be moving into our new home tomorrow! Lucas will be thrilled. He has been saying, "I want to go home!" off and on this whole trip, it breaks my heart.
Pictures to come...

Reprimanded by a Three year Old

Today we were getting ready to leave for Lucas' final swim lesson and I got a good talking to. I was trying to get Lucas to hurry along and get his shoes on so we could go. I guess I said something like, "Lucas, you need to put your shoes on, let's go." I probably said it with some intensity I am sure. Well, Lucas turns to me and says something like, "That's not nice. Can you ask nicely, Mommy." Can you tell what we have been working on around here?

Packing Update

I am on a packing rampage. Anything not moving, gets put in a box. Tomorrow we have our walk through to see what kind of damage we have caused over the past two years, hopefully none. We also pick up our truck and Jake's mom, who will be my sanity as we drive across the country with two children, comes into town. Most things on my extensive "To Do" list (I LOVE lists) are checked off and hopefully by Saturday we can relax a bit before the first day of driving.
Here is a synopsis of our moving Road Trip:
Sunday- Drive to Gardiner, Montana near the northern entrance to Yellowstone. On the way we will be stopping in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho, Missoula, Montana, and Bozeman, Montana (at least that is the plan). We get to have lunch with my Freshmen/Sophmore Year College Roommate, which will be fun!
Monday- We take a day to see some of Yellowstone. I am very excited since none of us have been there. Jake and I decided to try to see all of the National Parks together so this will be our first one to check off.
Tuesday- Our 8th Anniversary will be spent driving to Rapid City, South Dakota through Montana and Wyoming. Can you think of anything more romantic than to have Jake driving a huge moving truck while I am trapped in a car with the kids? Good times.
Wednesday- Quick trip to see Mt. Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Monument and then off to Vermillion! On the way, we are planning to take in two of South Dakota's hot spots- First, we will be stopping at Wall Drug. For those of you who shockingly have not heard of this place, supposedly it is a must see. I don't really get it actually. It has been described to me as a giant souvenir shop. Does that sound appealing at all?There is a website (walldrug.com) I am going to have to research. The next stop will be the Corn Palace. I really have no idea what is inside or what there is to do there but I have been told we just have to stop! Here is a little taste to wet your whistle:

World's Only Corn Palace

Established in 1892, the World’s Only Corn Palace was conceived as a gathering place for city and rural residents to enjoy a fall festival. The palace, located in Mitchell, was also meant to showcase the area harvest and prove the fertility of the South Dakota prairie.

The current building is the third since 1892, completed at the present location in 1921. The murals on the building’s exterior are designed by local artists, one of which was renowned artist Oscar Howe, who designed the murals from 1948 through 1971. The Corn Palace is redecorated each year with a variety of South Dakota grains and grasses.

Anyway, we decided since we are soon to be South Dakotans we need to experience it all. Watch, a year from now, I will be trying to lure people to visit with promises to visit these places!

We will be moving in to our new home Thursday and we are, of course, thrilled! Hopefully some of you will be brave enough to make a trip out to see us, we would love to see you!

I can not believe all this will be happening in just a few days. We will definitely miss the friends we have made here in Pullman. They have been so wonderful to us in many ways. Hopefully we will stay in touch over the years.

Definitely Not a Mom of the Year Award Day

So we made it. There were moments today when I didn't know if my children and I would all survive the day in tact or still living here. It was a day where shipping one if not two little boys in a box to Grandma's seemed like a plausible option for me. These kids are smart though you see. At least, they can be smarter than me at times. Just when I think I can not handle another scream or another explosion of poop on my floor, they turn on you. They flash you a grin or you are given a glimpse of some reason why you get up and do this everyday. I thank God for those glimpses, especially today.
We are currently packing to move across the country next week, in escrow for buying a home for the first time, and potty training Lucas. To add to that, Ben is cutting 4 new teeth and loves to scream to express his heart felt emotions. This is crazy right? Please say yes because that is how I feel. At one point today I was trying to pack a box and heard Ben waking up. So, like a good mother I went up to get Ben (that is where the good mother part stops) and came down to find Lucas standing on our only carpet downstairs in a pile of crap. It had filled his shoes if that gives you a nice visual. Now imagine trying to clean poop off of every surface of your son from the waste down while your other son proceeds to go to the pile of poop still waiting to be cleaned up. Needless to say, Jake came home from work two hours early today. Thank God for that. It is days like this that I am reminded why I would love to be living near family. I don't mean to sound so negative but trying to pack and take care of children is just not working for me today.
Tomorrow is a new day and one can only hope Lucas resumes to pooping on the potty and Ben learns to talk over night. :) Ok, well maybe just that his teeth come in and we can have a reprieve from the screaming.
So, to all you mothers out there, your odds of receiving the mother of the year award have increased. I am sure your odds will be better than mine again tomorrow as well. :) Let's look at the bright side, it is bed time!!!! Yeah!

Fourth of July Celebration

This was the first year that we attempted to keep Lucas up for the fireworks. Just as the actual show was starting, at 10:15 PM, Lucas decided he had had enough. He told Jake he wanted to go home and go to bed. Poor kid. We had a great day though together with the McNelly family and enjoyed the firework show from their deck.

4th of July on the Palouse

So, we have officially experienced a traditional Pullman 4th of July. When I was asking around about what people do here on the Palouse (I don't know why but that word makes me laugh, people readily use it to talk about this area), everyone told me that we just have to go to the Johnson Parade. Johnson is this tiny town about 10 miles south of Pullman, which I had no idea about. The parade definitely held up to my expectations. There is just nothing like a small town parade or festival. Everyone comes out to watch what the folks of Johnson will pull together this year. If you are a fan of people watching, then this is a must event. It feels like you are going back in time. Here are a few shots of some of my favorite parade entries.

Here is the town marching band. I love that no one is coordinating and that I could have pulled out my recorder and joined in.

If anyone was going to motivate me to vote in the upcoming election it would be this woman and her fancy scooter. Her flower hat screamed 4th of July, I loved it.

The Lentil Festival vehicle was a sad reminder that we will not be attending this year's since we will already have moved. I thank the town of Pullman for introducing me to the lentil, which, to my knowledge, I had never experienced before. Having lived in Pullman, I think it is the quest of all true citizens of the town, to try and incorporate the lentil into as many recipes succesfully as possible. I did my part to live up to that expectation, just ask my family.

These kids are having a hay day on this ferris wheel pulled by a tractor, of course.

No parade is complete without bagpipes and kilts.

Our parade gang!