Summer Shenanigans

This post keeps getting longer and longer... Here are some snapshots of what we've been up to:

Swimming

We have done more swimming than ever before this summer. Above, we are swimming with friends at the Bangeter's backyard incredible pool. When summer swim lesson signups happened, both kids said they wanted to pass on lessons. I learned my lesson. Next summer I won't ask for their input. There was a last minute cancellation and I snatched it. I'm glad we got in! Izzy needed a confidence boost. At the beginning of the summer, she seemed to have forgotten everything she has learned in the water. Lessons did the trick. After the first day back at lessons, I got this text: "Isabelle is doing so amazing! I'm thrilled!" Let it be known that both kids asked if we can do more swim lessons. Huh! They savored every moment they had in the pool the week of June 17. 

We have been swimming a handful of times at Jessica's in-laws pool in Eagle Mountain. Big thanks to the Crandalls! It's like swimming in our own private pool. It's extra fun when Chris' sister Kelsie and her family join. Our kids get along well and are similar ages. We spent the 4th of July there and had a scrumptious BBQ.

Izzy went to Cantrelle's birthday party. She went last year too and they rent out the entire Riverton pool. It's a blast. At first, Izzy was too scared to jump off the diving board. I dashed home and put on my swimsuit. Last year, I wore my swimsuit and didn't need to get in. This year I came prepared with a good book. Didn't get to read that but it was oh so worth it. Once I had my swimsuit, I basically had to pry Izzy into practicing jumping in the deep end. The rule at that pool is that you cannot jump off the diving board with floaties on and you have to be able to swim to the side on your own. I'm so glad I pushed Izzy to do this. She went off the diving board over 30 times! She's is such a fish! After, Cantrelle's mom texted me commenting on Izzy's skills! James tagged along and he went off the high dive at least 30 times. No fear! Swim lessons are worth every dime. That evening at the Riverton pool was a delight.

June 22

Skate Park

James and Taft are buds. They thought they were so cool at the skate park on their scooters. They also thought they were professionals. James came home saying he could do all the hardest jumps. He was dripping sweat. He had the time of his life. He sure is growing up.

June 18

Gymnastics

Izzy has been wishing she could try gymnastics. I told her she could do gymnastics this summer. Her friend Rosie in our ward is in the same class and we carpool. Isabelle goes to go to gymnastics on Tuesdays for an hour. Isabelle only has a few weeks of gymnastics left. It seemed like Izzy was really loving gymnastics, but the novelty has worn off. I wasn't too sad to say goodbye. I had only intended it to be a summer thing anyway.

Track

James did track this summer along with Taft. Track lasted for 6 weeks and was on Tues/Thurs evenings for an hour. The heat was blistering at times but James didn't protest. In fact, he lived for nights he got to run. It was the perfect energy outlet for him. There were 3 track meets and watching James race was glorious. 

One of my favorite parenting moments to date was watching James at his last track meet. He won all 3 of his events! He won the 50M, 100M, and 400M. I cheered so loud my voice was raspy. James also won the 100M at his 2nd track meet at Taylorsville High. (He only competed in 2 races that week since we had to leave early for a party.) My boy has talent. I was sad to see track end. We will absolutely be signing James up for track again next year. The best news is that Papa will be around to support him at his meets. I sent some videos of James running to my parents. I'll admit, I can't stop rewatching and reliving that sweaty morning at Herriman high where James kicked butt. 

3 Mrs. B Camps: Science camp, Beach camp, and Olympics camp

We're not ready to say goodbye to Mrs. B. Isabelle and James had a fabulous time at 3 camps at her house. She lives close and the camps are such a bargain! Camps are 3 days long (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursdays) and are usually 2 hours each day. The cost is $35 per child. Every time the kids come home with a craft. This year, Olympic medals were a highlight. The camps are the perfect break for the kids and me. Apparently 3 camps wasn't enough! The kids begged me to sign them up for another, but our schedule didn't allow it. (And she has a waitlist!)

Inside Out 2

We met my Grandma, sisters, and their kids in Lehi to see the new movie Inside Out 2. We went on $5 Tuesday. Penny surpassed my expectations and behaved during the movie. Popcorn obviously was a part of the experience. After, we attempted to go to J Dawgs. To celebrate their anniversary, since they were giving out free hot dogs. After seeing the line wrapped around the building, my sisters and I drove away. We couldn't even find a parking spot. Grandma stayed and waited in the beating sun for 2 hours. Then she passed out and hit her head. Things were scary. It brought back emotions from when my grandpa (her husband) passed after a fall and brain bleed. Grandma was taken by ambulance to the hospital. She had a bad concussion, stitches near her eye, a fractured wrist, and lots of bruising/bleeding.

June 25

Rock Concert

For our birthday gifts this year, we chose experiences. (remember the cooking class?) Andrew chose a concert by his favorite band, Yellowcard. We got tickets to this event months ago. Yellowcard was the second opening band for Third Eye Blind. They performed for about 45 minutes. Full disclosure here-- I was not a good date. Poor Andrew. It had been an emotionally taxing day with Grandma's fall earlier that afternoon. Penny also was screaming her guts out for my sister and I felt bad about that.

Things were looking up for grandma and she was discharged from the hospital, so we felt okay to go forward with our plans and attend the concert. While we were there, grandma took a turn for the worse and had to return the hospital. I was a hot mess. We ended up leaving immediately after Yellowcard's set and didn't get to see Third Eye Blind. I went to the hospital. I'm glad Andrew was surrounded by other hardcore Yellowcard fans who sang their hearts out because I was not in the mood. Sorry honey. He was very understanding and lost his voice belting the words. I've never seen him jump so much or so high for that matter.

June 25

Outdoor Movie at Thanksgiving Point

We don't keep our kids up late often. We stayed up to see "Kung Fu Panda 4" at Thanksgiving Point. Our kids hadn't seen this movie before. It was scarier than I expected, but that didn't stop us from having a good time. The movie began at 9:15pm and we got home a little before 11:30pm. We were watching Daisy for the weekend, so she tagged along too. All children slept hard on the drive home. I got 6 monstrous bug bites. Like the biggest and itchiest things you can imagine. They took awhile to heal. Next time, I will wear pants or bring bug spray. The experience was worth being night owls and I savored sleeping Penny in my arms.

June 28

Hiking Bloods Lake

I was in a Bunco group briefly. One of the girls in the group mentioned her favorite hike in Utah is Bloods Lake Trail. I have had this hike on my list to-do for a year! It's a popular hike! Many reviews on All Trails say that the parking lot fills up quickly. To avoid this, we opted to leave at 7:30am to beat the crowds. The empty spots were plentiful when we arrived around 8:30am. When we finished the hike around 10:30, there was a line of cars waiting to park. 

It is critical to bring bug spray on this hike!! I've never seen so many mosquitos. Who knew they could bite through my pants, but they found a way. The lake was serene and peaceful. There was still snow! There was a steep part near the end and it took a team effort to make sure all the hooligans made it safely. The trailhead there says it's 1.4 miles to the lake. That was an underestimate. All Trails says it's 1.8 miles each way. By the time we finished the hike, we had walked 4 miles, so it was closer to 2 miles each way. The kids did an outstanding job! On the way there, I got an extra workout in carrying Daisy in the hiking backpack. Utah is beautiful! There's no better way we could have spent Andrew's day off of work.

July 5

Painting in an Art Studio

For Harrison's birthday party, the older kids got to go paint at an art studio in Pleasant Grove. They love crafts. At the party, the teacher gave ideas of what to draw and how to do it, but James went in with his own design. My pants will remember this event because as James was adding stars to his masterpiece using the technique they showed (flicking the end of a toothbrush), my pink pants got some stars added to them (the paint isn't really noticeable after going through the wash). I got to catch up with McCall and snuck out and got takeout from beloved "Cravings" which we miss dearly.

Saturday, July 13

Despicable Me 4

For completing the online Upstart preschool program, Izzy was rewarded with tickets to a movie. We saw Despicable Me 4 at the Lehi Megaplex. I was merry that immediate family members got in free to the movie as well. The kids giggled endlessly. I saw snippets of it. About 50 minutes in, I had to take yelling Penelope out. Thanks Upstart for the entertaining afternoon!

Tuesday, July 16

Bowling

A bowling alley near us offers kids 18 years and under 2 free games of bowling on weekdays throughout the summer. How generous! We only had to pay for shoe rentals which cost $8 total for the 2 kids. We went with the Bradshaws. We didn't quite make it through 2 full games (Penelope lost it--bowling isn't super baby/crawling friendly), but watching the kids encourage each other and succeed was a treat. The bowling ramp was handy! I coped with the wailing child by prolonging our time in the car (bad idea) and picking up a pizza on the way home (good idea). I had a coupon and it was $4. We hope to make it to bowl for free once more this summer with Jessica and George. Time is a ticking though...

Friday, July 19

Kangaroo Zoo 

The Hendricks invited us to the indoor inflatable bounce house place called Kangaroo Zoo in Pleasant Grove. We had this on our calendars for a couple of months. McCall had free passes for the kids to get in and I was appreciative. We hadn't been to Kangaroo Zoo in years. The kids got sweaty and bounced for nearly 2 hours. My kids got gnarly scrapes on their backs from some of the slides. I'm not sure how that happened, but that didn't stop the kids from playing nonstop. Penny managed to get a snooze in while cuddling with Andrew which was very much needed. After, the Hendricks had us over for Papa Murphy's pizza which hit the spot. It was an ideal Saturday afternoon and time went by far too quickly.

Saturday, July 20

Photo cred James

Basketball Camp

When James grows up he still fantasizes about being an NBA player. I'll be his biggest fan! In the meantime, I signed James up for a basketball camp at Sports City. The camp was 1 hr in the morning for 8 days. It was kind of a lot. Izzy started dreading basketball camp (Ditto) and it often interfered with Penny's nap which complicated things. I wasn't very impressed with a few things one being the ratio of adult to children. One day I counted and there were 17 young children who dribble uncontrollably and 1 adult. Other days, there were fewer kids. Today was the last day (Yippee!!) and there were 11 kids. James had a good time and that's what matters! James got new basketball shoes and now he looks the part of an NBA player. We'll see how he plays during junior jazz basketball this winter. Maybe he got Nana's genes. Nana played college basketball!

Hiking Cecret Lake: July 27

Hiking is one of my absolute favorite activities to do as a family! It's always a hassle to get to the mountains, find parking, pack snacks, put on sunscreen, bugspray, etc, but every time it's oh so worth it.

The last time Andrew and I hiked Cecret Lake was on August 16, 2014. This hike was even more breathtaking than I remember. I honestly thought it was prettier than Bloods Lake. The wildflowers surrounded us and the fresh-air does the body good. It was crowded for sure! In fact, the line to get up the canyon and pay was several cars long and we had to wait for open parking spots before we were allowed to drive up. (It's $12)The Bradshaws squeezed in our car with us for the last mile to avoid having to wait longer for parking. By the way, we left at 7:30am for this hike. Fortunately, we only waited about 20 mins for a spot. Once we got to the lake, the kids enjoyed "rock climbing" surrounding the lake and could have stayed there longer if we'd let them. They explored different rocks in nature for 30 plus minutes. Major win!

We didn't see any moose this time around. The herds of people stampeding around were probably alarming.

Kennecott Coppermine: Monday, August 5

Checking this activity off of our summer bucket list wasn't easy. We had tickets to go to the Coppermine on Wednesday, July 10 with friends and family. Unfortunately, due to heat, our tickets were cancelled. The evening of August 4, we got another heat warning and I thought, "great, here we go again. The tickets are going to be cancelled." They weren't though! Yahoo!

Unfortunately, Jill and Daisy couldn't join us as we explored the Coppermine since our original tickets didn't workout. We went with Mandee Parduhn and her kids. Izzy was giddy to hangout with Lydia. 

I think I talked the mine up a bit too much. I told James there were ginormous vehicles which is true. Apparently he thought he would get to ride in the vehicles, so that was a letdown. He was quite disappointed to learn that we didn't get to go down into the actual mine either. Sorry bud. On the bus, the driver spotted off lots of information. It was tricky to hear since there wasn't a microphone. He said that the vehicles in the mine need 6 of these tires and that each tire costs $60,000 and need to be replaced every few months! I guess I shouldn't moan that we need new tires after all..

I had told the kids beforehand that you can see the Mine from the moon and it's one of the few things you can see. How cool is that? Izzy was sad when we got home and told me "Mom, we didn't get to see any of the stars like you said we would."

I'm making it sound like we had a miserable time. We did not. I will say there isn't a ton to do at the mine, so it was a fairly short activity. (We took the 10am bus there and went back on the 11am bus.) When we got home, the kids spoke highly of the experience once they were over the initial letdown.

A Few Tips:

• Go early! Our tickets were for 10am. It gets extremely hot and there isn't shade. The bus is also warm.
• The bus leaves every half hour, so plan your arrival time accordingly.
• Pre purchase your tickets.
• If you have young kids, go before they turn 6 years old because they're free!

Other Random Happenings that can't be forgotten...

• Trying the restaurant "Sauce Boss" for McCall's birthday dinner. I'd eat that chicken again and try some different sides. (Skip the greens and mashed potatoes.)

• Reading Harry Potter 1, 2, and 3 with the kids. After we finished each one, we watched the movie. We got drumstick ice cream cones to eat during the first movie and donuts during "The Chamber of Secrets." The movie theater near us is showing the Harry Potter movies for a short time, and we'll take our kids to see "The Prisoner of Azkaban" in theaters in September. Andrew should seriously consider being an audio book reader. His voices are phenomenal as he reads aloud to the children. He gets so into it. The kids started to get scared while we were reading the 3rd book. James came in with nightmares about Professor Quirrell and Izzy was terrified of Dobby. We will be retiring the series once we finish "The Prisoner of Azkaban." After taking a little break, the kids don't seem as afraid.
• Many game nights! We had the Thoman's from the neighborhood over, Cori (my friend from high school) and her husband Steven over. Later this month the Jensens and Bradshaws are coming over too. 

Penelope went through a rough phase in June/early July. She sure kept me on my toes! Who knew month 8 would be so tricky? Penelope crawls and is into lots. She also decided to grow several teeth at the same time which meant I didn't get much sleep. She decided shrieking is the best way to cope with car rides. During this time, Penny was quite the momma's girl and fussed when others held her. We tried to leave her twice in June while we had free babysitters (my sisters) and she wailed. We made it through! And even during this rocky month, she was adorable. She is back to her chipper self now!

Penelope is getting too big too fast and it is heartbreaking. She claps, says "uh-oh" and "hi." She also stands! She shakes her head no a lot too... 

It has been a splendid summer! The fighting is picking up and the boredom is setting in. Bring on cooler temperatures and routine. 

5 is a Vibe

Isabelle Rose is now 5! Izzy is going to kindergarten next month! Gasp! I'll bring tissues. But really. This year, Izzy had her first friend birthday party. I'm still recuperating. I try hard to find the right balance and not spoil my kids too much. I want my kids to feel special on their birthdays though and to be honest, last year Isabelle's birthday was lame thanks to unemployment and burnt pizza. 

Friend Party on Monday, July 22:

I brainstormed many celebration ideas. Every time I asked Isabelle what she wanted to do for her party, she changed her answer. I hoped to have an early party for Isabelle while Daisy and Jill were in town, but that didn't happen. I finally decided to rent a bounce house! I found a decent price and liked that the bounce house would provide most of the entertainment. Less work for me. Yeah right. There was still plenty to do. 

It was a princess themed party. Izzy dressed the part and wore a Belle princess dress. The bounce house I ordered was called "The Queen's Palace." It had a slide, ball pit, and jumpy part. Because it was a fairly cheap rental, it meant that we had to pick up and return the rental equipment in American Fork. Huge thanks to Jessica for picking up "The Queen's Palace" and to Andrew for returning it after hours later that evening. It was nice that the kids had entertainment that afternoon while I was frantically prepping for the party. Let me just say that 5-year-olds zest and excitement for life is palpable. They were so enthusiastic and eager to do everything. I even caught a few peeking in the goodie bags early. What a great age!

• Attendees: There was an awesome turnout! At first I was worried there wouldn't be because many take the 24th of July (Pioneer Day) very seriously around here. Rosie, Lydia, and Tessa A were traveling and missed the party. Kennedy, Tessa G, Evelyn, Madison, Elise, Adrianna, Emmie, Quinn, George, Cantrelle, Harrison, Louie, and Freddie came. I'll save you the trouble and count for you. 13 kiddos were there not including my 3 children. Some of Isabelle's friends are from Magic Moments Preschool, others from Mrs. Bee's Preschool, some from dance, the neighborhood, and the ward. Izzy is a friend magnet and gets invited to playdates frequently.

• Activities: Bouncepalace, decorating princess crowns, princess tattoos, put the crown on the princess, and Don't Eat the Princess. We didn't get to the princess puzzle.

George showing off his tats! 

Notice the crown on the wall. haha. Izzy went first and put her crown right where it belonged. She admitted she could see out of the bottom of the mask.

• Food: Chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting, funfetti cupcakes with strawberry frosting and vanilla frosting, popsicles, water bottles, and Capri Sun juice boxes. As delightful as the cupcakes sound, the scorching sun made them messy to eat even for the adults. Future Jenna: remember that Izzy likes the look of pink frosting, but not the flavor of strawberry frosting.
• Decorations: So grateful that Jessica for took over in this department. She found some cute princess decor on Amazon. The classic princess set she found included: a princess tablecloth, backdrop, princess plates, a birthday banner, balloons, hanging swirls, etc. I also got pom poms and a cute birthday sign at Target (not pictured). It turned out so cute! The princess cupcake toppers were a fun addition. 

Presents: Wowza! Izzy's friends know her and are generous. She got Barbies, a makeup kit, a light up diary that locks, a crystal growing unicorn, paint and stencils, a dance playmat, earrings, a Cold Stone gift card, candy, a bubble shooter, a necklace/bracelet, Skye from Paw Patrol, Legos, a mermaid doll, and more! I should have recorded her reactions when she opened her gifts. Seeing her animation when she opened gifts was probably my favorite part of the party. Why can't we be just as elated as kids about everything? Maybe Izzy isn't too spoiled after all.

• Goodie bags: I found darling princess bags at Dollar Tree. I filled each bag with a candy necklace, a Little Mermaid paint set, and princess stickers.

• Unplanned: The party got off to an unexpected start. A child threw-up a few times within the first 10 minutes of the party. I feel like this is normal for kids but it did frazzle me a bit. We got things disinfected and hosed down and the party went on. I'm pretty sure it was heat related. Sadly but understandably, that friend left. Something else we didn't plan on was the party decorations arriving so last minute! The decorations were delivered at 5:10pm and the party started at 5:30pm. Whew, that was nerve-wracking. 

Wishing hard. Much to Isabelle's chagrin, I later learned that Izzy wished that "princesses are real." (Thanks James for telling me.)

Isabelle had a blast and I loved watching her interact with her friends! Isabelle lay awake filled with excitement hours past bedtime. Her new toys were too cool to put down. I think it was a memorable celebration. I couldn't have pulled the princess party off without Jessica and Chris and some other adults there. (There were 7 adults.)

Doctor's Appointment Stats:

Isabelle's 5 year checkup appointment was on Friday, July 26.

Weight: 41.4 pounds (60 percentile)

Height: 43.7 in (75 percentile)

One delighted girl because she got her shots out of the way last year.

BIO

Isabelle is the epitome of a girly girl. She is the life of the party. She's hilarious! She's mature for her age. Isabelle is intelligent. She is reading! Her comprehension is impressive. She remembers and catches so many details while listening to Harry Potter that amaze me. Isabelle is good at playing alone. She asks when quiet time will be because she can play Barbies for hours. Isabelle is an excellent swimmer! More on that in another post. Isabelle is a dance star! Isabelle loves gymnastics. Isabelle is hot and cold about soccer. Currently, she wants to add that to her already overflowing schedule. Isabelle is spicy. "If looks could kill..." Isabelle is a singer! Isabelle likes to come out of bed regularly to see me and Andrew. She often scrambles to think of an excuse for being out of bed... "I need another hug.." Izzy keeps up with James on her scooter or bike. She dreads long car rides, especially driving on the freeway. The freeway is "too loud." Isabelle wants to start playing the violin. She can hardly wait to start lessons with Jessica. Isabelle is an excellent helper in the kitchen and enjoys baking cookies with me. Isabelle brightens every room just being around.

Actual Birthday on Tuesday, July 23

Isabelle is a girl after my own heart. She had very specific food requests for her special day and I was more than happy to oblige. 

• Breakfast: Honey Oh Cereal (referred to as Honey Bee cereal around here). Ding ding ding! My goal of making breakfast is still going strong, so I was cheerful when this was her simple request. 
• Dinner: Mashed potatoes and gravy, roast, rolls, and strawberries 
• Dessert: Strawberry ice cream (with the Coldstone giftcard)

I suggested several ideas for what we could do on Isabelle's birthday. The library got an eye roll and an exasperated, "I hate the library." (She always says that before we go there and then ends up loving it.) Swimming won Izzy's vote.

• Rec Center: Salt Lake County rec centers are now giving children ages 5-18 free memberships/passes. How awesome! I've been anxiously awaiting Izzy's birthday, so she could get her free pass. We went bright and early on the 23rd to get the kids passes, so they could get into the pool for free later that day. Jess and George joined us for swimming. Izzy chose the Herriman rec center pool because it has a diving board. She's recently become a fan. I checked the wall for an age limit and it didn't say one. We later learned that there was a sign next to the diving board saying children must be 6 years old. Oops... Izzy went off the regular sized diving board a handful of times. To my surprise, she followed James off the HIGH dive without batting an eye! Say what! What a brave girl.

New goggles

• Gymnastics: Izzy has gymnastics on Tuesday afternoons so she got to go to gymnastics on her birthday! She wore a happy birthday headband. Her class sang to her and she adored the attention. 

• Presents: As if Izzy didn't get enough! She got a mermaid tail blanket, swim goggles, a stationary kit and gel pens, Ken Barbie and Wish dress-up, shoes and earrings, and a coloring book from family. Andrew and I leaned into the "not going to spoil our kids role" and got her a bike. We did purchase the bike on sale on Amazon Prime Day. Isabelle's old bike was several sizes too small. It was basically a need. Isabelle loves her new ride! I'm proud to report that we didn't have to put on training wheels. I think a big part of that is the result of her using a stride/balance bike in the past.

It's bittersweet to watch humans grow up. I sure love my sassy 5-year-old.  The next birthday in our family is Penelope's. Send chocolate. Time, please slow down. Next thing I know, I'll blink and Penny will be 5 just like Izzy.

Outer Space Bathroom

My sisters are interior design masters. I'm lucky because they tell me ideas and help me set them in motion. Last time Jill was in town, she helped retile our fireplace. Jessica chose a new light fixture for our family room. This summer, both of my sisters were here together and they suggested renovating my half bathroom.

I don't know who is most animated about our updated bathroom me or the kids. The kids checked in on the bathroom progress constantly. If you need cheerleaders, let me know.  They're available for hire. To say they are enthusiastic about the changes is an understatement. The children exclaimed that the bathroom paint color looks like outer space. It's moody and I'm obsessed. The pictures don't do it justice.

The half bathroom is the smallest room in our house which made for some tight corridors throughout the project. This bathroom is the main one guests use, so lots of people see it. Instant payoff. Piano students use it regularly. Our half bathroom certainly needed a face lift and the transformation is better than I envisioned. In my sister's words: "it's the cutest bathroom I've ever seen."

Let's show you some before pictures.

You might be wondering why there was a massive towel rack. Beats me. This half bathroom doesn't have a shower. Getting rid of that was one of my first priorities.

Removing the mirror was taxing, but go Andrew! He did it with only a slight break. That thing had layers of glue. Finding a mirror replacement was tricky, but we did it. The first mirror I ordered was too small. Hanging the new mirror took lots of creativity. We ended up having to create a tool that we called a dinglehopper to maneuver behind the mirror to be able to attach it to the hooks. Said dinglehopper is made of 3 cabob sticks taped together with a paperclip attached to the end. Whew. What a process.

During this process, I learned a new word, "tchotchke." My sisters casually used the term and I had never heard it. According to Google it means: "a small object that is decorative rather than strictly functional, a trinket." How creative to go with a game decor theme! I did not come up with this. Games are played on the regular around here. Jill ordered darling dominoes. That game is meaningful because my parents love it! They taught it to our kids in Brazil. I have many fond memories playing that game with them. The other game on display is Clue which is also significant. Andrew and I played a game of Clue (my roommate Sarah played too) and we made a bet. Whoever lost had to take Andrew out on a date. Let's just say I lost and took Andrew out. The rest is history. In case you're wondering, we don't play Clue together often. Andrew is the reigning champion and playing him can get discouraging quick.

I didn't realize how many details go into such a small space. Everything came together exquisitely. I'm so appreciative to my sisters who spent endless time, energy, and effort on this project. Jessica was painting while super pregnant and ill. Things were a little precarious at times... And at one point we were using flashlights to paint since we had taken out the old light fixture but didn't want to install the new fixture until we had painted around that area. In the photo below, I'm leaning standing on the counter trying not to fall into the toilet.

Cost:

        I didn't want to spend a ton on this project. My budget was about $500. We have some more pressing house fixes we need to take care of. I would love to someday replace the countertops or vanity, but after painting the cupboard blue, I like it so much more! We tried a peel and stick counter that looks like marble to cover. Unfortunately it didn't workout, but it was worth a shot since the peel on only cost $10. 

Peel and stick marble counter

Details:

        Paint: Benjamin Moore VAN DEUSEN BLUE-- FREE so generous of Jess and Chris to let us use their extra paint. Both of my sisters have this color in their homes. Jessica's master bedroom is painted Van Deusen blue and Jill's dining room is also this shade. Though our styles and houses are different, the blue looks gorgeous in each of our spaces.

        Mirror: Amazon $96.51

        Light fixture: Amazon $78.39

        Light bulbs: Home Depot $10.98

        Floating shelves: Amazon $31.84

        Paint for shelves: Lowe's $6.41 color Mint Chip

        New faucet: Amazon $27.99

        Marble contact paper for counter: Amazon $9.99

        Knobs for cabinet: Home Depot under $10

        Towel holder: Amazon $8.57

        Toilet paper holder: Amazon $9.00

       

        Shadow box frames: Michaels $39.99 each x 4 (they were on sale for buy one get one half off)

        Dominoes: Bando.com $35.95

        

        Rug: World Market $20

        Rug gripper pad: Amazon $8

        Soap dispenser: Amazon $10

        Babys breath artificial flowers: Amazon $10

        Clue board game: Amazon $17.99. Used a $2 copy from DI for practice

        Game pieces print: Redbubble $3.49

        Grand total: About $517.11 (I stayed under budget because Jill gifted me a few of the items as payment for watching Daisy which was so generous.) 

        

While my sisters were around, we watched all the episodes of Chip and Joanna Gaines renovating Hotel 1928. Now I have the itch. A coat of paint and some other minor things drastically changed the aesthetic and feel of the bathroom. Painting the island in our kitchen blue is now on my list. So is re-doing the master bathroom and kids bathroom. (I already know what color!) For now, I ordered a new faucet for the kitchen which will be a quick upgrade and make a world of difference since now Andrew can do plumbing apparently. A man of many trades. I'm not usually keen on hanging out in bathrooms, but I may have to start getting ready in our 1/2 bath now...

I adore these knobs