Brand-New Basement

Is this real life? Our basement is finished! This is something that seemed so out of reach and now our wish has been granted. We are so blessed. Our contractor Dale started basement construction on Wednesday, June 10. The final inspection with the city was on Friday, August 14. Dale finished the project with time to spare and came in very close to budget! We told him we wanted the basement done by September 1 with the baby coming.  I cannot speak more highly of Dale and have since recommended him to 2 others who have had him come out for bids.

We've already had some unforgettable experiences downstairs. Penelope learned how to lock herself in the guest bedroom which traumatized us all and only took about 20 minutes to rectify.

We now have about 1,100 more finished square feet in our house which makes a world of difference.  We spend so much time downstairs! It is much cooler and blissful that the kids have some space to spread out. Half of our basement remains unfinished. Now we have a bathroom downstairs, 2 bedrooms, and a large family room. 

We have a dedicated guest space! The other bedroom is Andrew's office. Andrew does not work in a dark, nippy cave anymore. We upgraded and got a 65 inch TV for the basement and moved our sectional couch downstairs. Kudos to Andrew (and Ethan) for getting that beast down the staircase and through the doors. It was nearly impossible and took an engineer's brain. We got new couches upstairs and I'm in love with both the upstairs space and downstairs now.

Our new couches are green and add a nice earthy touch. To avoid Christmas colors, we got new kitchen barstools too since our other stools were red. I ordered 2 matching chairs for our family room for additional seating. The room seems so much more open now that the ginormous sectional doesn't overpower.

Living Spaces

Wayfair

A coffee table is in the plans... I already have one picked out. Holding off on more spending for a bit. Also now have a new wall to decorate (above the couch) and the ideas are spinning.

Old stools

New stools

The basement isn't fully decorated yet, but I will blog updates as we get to the various spaces. Blinds have arrived for 1 room and more will be delivered this week. Curtains are in the future as well.

The basement room that is fully "done" is funnily enough the bathroom. Probably because it's the smallest? I love the green and pink.

Bathroom

Hooray for sisters and sisters in law! I sent many group texts and talked through several options as I worked out style options. The bathroom tile is from Floor and Decor. It is small white hexagons. I learned that there are a variety of grout color options. Who knew!? The grout we went with is called "moonbeam."

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Wayfair

Etsy

Amazon

Amazon

Target

Target

Family Room

The walls throughout the basement are painted Alabaster white. I tried my best to avoid a dungeon dark space and it worked! There is a lot of recessed lighting which perks up the space too. For the hardware, I went with black. The carpet is lighter than I anticipated but looks great. It is called Champagne Fizz and is patterned which is something I have always wanted. Someday we plan on getting a game table of sorts (ping-pong, foosball, etc) for this area.

The kids are very invested in keeping the basement sparkling. James has taken it upon himself to vacuum the carpet regularly without being asked. The children also take regular "foot baths" to scrub off any grime to keep the carpet fresh. The newly finished smell cannot be replicated and I love it! I need a candle with this exact scent.

New carpet on the stairs!

Welcome!

Future game table

Left door: bathroom

Middle door: furnace

 Right door: unfished portion/linen closet

Office

In Andrew's office we intend on adding a futon for more guest bed options and hanging art.

Guest Room

We'll eventually get a dresser and add more pizzaz to the guest room. 

Storage

There are 4 finished closets downstairs! All of them are double door closets. There is a closet in both bedrooms, as well as 2 additional closets which I'm utilizing! One closet we're using as a game closet and another as a linen closet.

Guest room to the left. Office to the right.

Unfinished Portion

There are about 1,200 more unfinished square feet in our basement. TBD what we will do with this portion but we won't be completing it anytime soon. For now it makes a great storage space for us and some of our nieces and nephews.

I'm so thankful this project happened. Our basement still feels too good to be true. Now plan a trip to visit us because the pictures don't do it justice. And know that I'm in full nesting mode and can finally check this blogpost off my list!

Salutations School & See Ya Summer

Here's to a fantastic school year! I've heard wonderful things about my kids teachers. One even lives on our street!

First day outfits have been picked for days. Oh the anticipation. Though both kids changed their outfits last minute this morning. Brands are now important to my children and they wanted Adidas and Puma backpacks. 

Welcome 4th and 2nd grade!

Penelope is crushed to lose her favorite pals while they go to school everyday.

To wrap up summer, we fit in a lot! I didn't snap pics of everything (like the park and games with the Thomans or the aquarium with the Bradshaws) but you get the idea.

Albion Basin Hike: Saturday, July 25

Stunning hike full of colorful wildflowers. Also full of people. We saw a bride and groom taking photos there!

Museum of Natural History: Monday, August 3

Jeff's family visited Utah. Simon wanted to celebrate his birthday at the Museum of Natural History. I had coupons to get in 6 of us for free which saved a chunk of money. It's not a cheap place. ($25 per adult) The kids came home with souvenirs. I had really swollen feet and stayed home with Penelope.

Camp Velocity: Tuesday August 4-Thursday August 6

The kids did another camp at Mrs. B's house with George. Penelope was emotional that she could not participate.

Bamboo HR Work Party: Wednesday, August 5

"Can we come back again tomorrow?" Penelope exclaimed through tears as we were leaving. Andrew's annual summer work carnival was even better than we remembered! None of the kids wanted to leave. The bounce houses, food trucks, train rides, and other entertainment made for a picturesque summer evening. It wasn't that hot either. 

I guess James has outgrown the face-painting phase. Sad day. Isabelle was old/brave enough to do the zipline this year. We had a caricature done and it is beloved by all. There has been lots of brainstorming about where to display it.

PIT: My flip flop broke walking into the party. I tried to fix it but it kept falling apart every few steps. Terrible timing. I ending up walking around barefoot on my right foot. Of  course last year we didn't bump into or meet any of Andrew's coworkers (it's a large company), but this year we did. Last time, I was very thin and dressed very cute. This time, I'm 8 months pregnant and barefoot (only wearing a shoe). I'm sure I made quite the impression looking wild and free. Flip flops are about the only shoes that fit me these days.

We all got vouchers to food trucks for dinner and dessert- Huzzah!

Stake Valiant Camp: Thursday, August 6-Friday, August 7

For the second summer in a row, our stake put on a camp for valiant age children. The camp was from 9:30-12 both days. I think this is an excellent idea! James got to see lots of his friends from school.

T-shirts were included. One day was more spiritual and James learned about Esther and others in the Old Testament. The second day was more fun with a dunk tank. Both days were a win. I went to the closing program and the kids sang a cute song they had learned. Isabelle is amped to go next year!

Beau and Taft

Leatherby's: Thursday, August 13

To kick off going back to school, we always get ice cream as a family and do Father's blessings. This year we took the kids to Leatherby's. They are fans! And I'm happy to report the peanut butter cookie dough ice cream is my new favorite. The night was extra memorable because a ginormous rain storm started on our way home. According to the news, the biggest we've had in 100 years. We were drenched and the roads were sketchy and terrifying with lots of hydroplaning. We survived. The kids loved dipping french fries in ice cream and wanted more.

Swim Team: Monday and Wednesday evenings

The kids are enjoying another month of swim team! I think we might take a break after this month until spring when it warms up a bit. For August, our friend and neighbor Elise joined in on the fun. It's been amazing to carpool!

Paw Patrol Movie: Tuesday, August 18

Last day of summer and we went to $5 Tuesday at the movie theater. We sat in the luxury reclining seats. James is a good sport! He's a bit old for Paw Patrol, but still wanted to see it. Penelope was very into it. Good thing we had the theater to ourselves because Penny kept shouting things like "go Rhubarb!" We nearly polished off the entire Megatub of popcorn.

Lagoon Tuesday, August 18

All summer, the kids have been diligently doing their chores. They earned tallies and decided what they wanted to work towards. James chose going to Lagoon. On Tuesdays this summer, there is a BOGO deal. 2 tickets for $99 (plus tax) if you go from 2:00-9:00pm. We cut it close. Andrew and James went the last day of the deal. They had planned to go last Tuesday, August 11, but James didn't want to miss activity days which was an egg drop. James has the brain of an engineer. After several safe landings, his leaders had to kick his egg when it landed to get it to break. He created a pretty unstoppable contraption. Look how exhilarated he is.

James had the time of his life at Lagoon and can talk about it endlessly. That boy is fearless. He went on the Cannibal ride 6x which is really intense. He wanted to keep going on repeat but Andrew paused that idea. Andrew and James also went on the newest ride, "The Nutcracker" which is not for everyone and exceptionally fast. Of course, James loved it. When they first arrived at the park, it wasn't very crowded and they were able to go on rides multiple times. James was so wiped out that he fell asleep on the drive home. Andrew couldn't keep his eyes open rehashing the afternoon to me. "It's hard to keep up with James." James is already talking about going back next summer. Hopefully we don't regret letting James stay out late the night before school starts.... Look at my boys.

Isabelle went to swig earlier this summer for her chores and In and Out while they boys were off adventuring.

We miss you Austin Dennings!

Parade of homes

Now cue the song "September" by Earth, Wind, and Fire. It's almost baby time! In the meantime, I'm trying to rapid fire decorate our brand new basement! It's finished and passed inspection last Friday, so keep an eye out for pics.