Eclipse 2017

Eclipse! We were 3 of the billion people excited about the eclipse! We had our glasses and were ready to go. Scott was working so we decided just to hang out around our house and walk over to the green space when it was time for the big event.

Before we left the house, trying out the glasses...I don't think the kids believed me that it was going to get dark.

Oh Lila...:)

Getting dark!

And those are all the pictures I have because the rest of the time I was trying hard to make sure the kids didn't burn their corneas. Ha!

Gulfport 2017

Lila's school building underwent major construction beginning in May of this year. The project continued through August so the entire district's first day of school was pushed back about a week and a half. This meant we had some extra days to fill when we would normally be getting ready to go back to school. 

Scott was going to be in New York running a relay with the Boyle side of the family, so we decided to go somewhere! My Mom, Hamil, Sarah, Thane & Ruel were up for a road trip too. We decided to go to Gulfport, MS, mainly because it is the closest beach to us. Ha! 

We arrived after a long day of traveling, but the beach view was worth it! 

We immediately got our swim suits on and headed out to the beach.

The water was not as pretty as some of the beaches we've been to, but the kids had fun and it was a nice get-away!

Keeping the tradition alive - burying each other in the sand...

Dinner one night...we loved the extra time with Nana!

The Three Amigos:)

  It rained almost every day we were there at some point. But the plus side were the rainbows!

My sweet one heading out to Ship Island for the day!

Ship Island is not inhabited but the National Park Service keeps up Fort Massachusetts. It was a beautiful little island with an amazing beach. The bonus was that we got to get a history lesson of this fort, which you know I love.

Hamil caught this crab (they were everywhere!). He was the kids hero. And then it bit him. Ha!

The waves on this beach were so good - the kids loved every minute of our time there.

We also toured the fort. It was so neat. But I have to say, the bugs and humidity inside there got to me after about 10 minutes. I can't imagine the soldiers and POWs that were there full time back in the day.

A view of paradise from the inside...

The boardwalk connected the fort to the beach. There were no railings and signs that said Beware of the Alligators. Yikes.

Sweet Ruel! He looks so much like Hamil that it's like a blast from the past every time I look at him! I love it.

Coloring cousins...

It was a fun trip with some of my very favorite people! We can't wait for the next one!

Home Improvement: Bathroom Addition

We did a home improvement project over the summer. I say we. We didn't do it, a contractor and sub-contractors did! Can I get an Amen to that?!? 

When the previous owners renovated our house, they ran plumbing up to the third floor. But they didn't go ahead with a bathroom up there. We knew that when we bought the house and it was actually a good selling point for us because we knew we would be utilizing the third floor. We decided no time like the present to get the use of a bathroom up there, so we went for it! 

The plumbing is actually behind the wall of Nate's room, so there were not really any other options of relocating the bathroom to be between the bedrooms up there. Score for Nate, who gets a bathroom in his room! 

Here is what it looked like when we started...framing. 

This is the shower area on one end of the bathroom.

The footprint of the vanity...

The commode area on the other end of the bathroom.

We have drywall! It was so exciting to see each step come to completion.

The shower after it was framed and waterproofed.

The plumbing is there for the sink!

The little nook created inside Nate's door.

The floor tile is done! It is white hexagon, which matches the second floor bathroom.

The shower is subway tile, with a gray penny border, which also matches the tile layout of the second floor bathroom. We tried to make the bathroom match our other bathrooms, so it was pretty easy to pick out finishes.

The finished bathroom! We LOVE the way it turned out!

It's a pocket door, I haven't taken any pictures since that was finished. Scott did the trim and it looks amazing!

Overall, we had a good experience with our contractor and the people that worked on the bathroom. But I'm glad to have my house back:) On to the next project!