Life Underground

It has been over a year since our work on finishing the basement was completed. I haven't been blogging as much in the past year, and I never apologize or feel bad for that. (Sometimes I am in the mood, others I am not. And that is that!) But this is one thing I think I'd just better document. It was a huge, nine-month-long project that kept Jonny busy whenever he could spare a few minutes. And now we are one big family room, three bedrooms, a bathroom, and a few closets the better for it. Heavenly!

At this moment I feel I have license to brag a little and thank Jonny for all his research and hard work down there. The built-in shelves I designed are exactly as I pictured - no - better. And it is amazing to think of all the work Jonny put in behind those walls. We hired out the drywall and carpet installation. But other than that Jonny did it all  - with some help with the electric, plumbing, tile, and baseboards from some awesome neighbors and a brother-in-law. (And I guess I did help down there too: water/Gatorade/sunflower seed girl, main spackler, paint assistant, head of design, general consultant, and decider of shelf-height measurements. That was no easy task. Several sheets of graph paper were used in the process!)

And of course I am responsible for the green walls. (You can't get a very good idea of the color from the pictures, but the sample name was "Celery Sprig." Sounds refreshing, right?) At first I thought they were horrid. I was nervous to tell Jonny that we'd better just paint them tan and have it done with. But after a few months, the green really grew on me. It is a little more creamy than I had envisioned, but it is cheerful and bright and not dungeon-like at all. And that is exactly what I was going for.

So here is a photo tour. You'd think by now I would have gotten around to wall decor, but, well, I haven't. It's all in my plan though to have some cool photo ledges and mirrors and a big magnet board and whatnot. Maybe one of these days I will get around to those, and covering up the big utility hole above the piano with a neat poster print. (That one my have to be attended to pronto. I have put it off too long. IKEA, here I come!)

Toy Shelves

 Totally need some fun framed art hanging here - maybe some original Julia and Gabe masterpieces...

 Who doesn't want an under-stairs playhouse?

 I call this the "drive-up window"

 Sometimes I wonder why I even put the toys in baskets. The kids often dump everything out to play with the baskets themselves! Maybe Santa will bring just them a stack of assorted laundry baskets for Christmas. They probably wouldn't be disappointed.

 I love my shelves. I only wish they were overflowing with books. I love books. I am slowly working on my collection. My new Kindle may have slowed me down a bit though...

 Here we have Julia and friend Naomi playing with play-dough in the preschool classroom.

 I usually leave the classroom locked when preschool is not in session. Gabe was excited to see it open and have free reign.

 The bathroom, with the beloved hanging tapestry made by my creative Grandma Julie. It has been a main fixture somewhere in every home/apartment we have lived in.

 I can't really remember why Gabe was crying here. But man, does he look sad!

 Hallways:

 This is what the toy shelf corner looks like on Tuesdays and Thursdays when I teach my little class.

 Looks like Gabe cheered up and began playing with his favorite toys. He is crazy about dinosaurs. Last week he gave me a birthday card with lots of colorful scribbles. He explained, "This is a green-o-saurus, this is a red-o-saurus..."

 And there you have it. There are still a few things to do when we feel like getting around to it (bathroom hardware is still in boxes, closet shelves need to be built, bedroom blinds yet to be installed), but for the most part the basement is done and done. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Jonny! We love our green basement.

In response...

Will I go to the neighborhood Prom with you? 

Oh Jonny, the answer to that question is so easy

 even our kids can spell it out...

I love you! Can't wait to dance with you this Saturday. 

Pick me up at 6:00?

P.S. Thanks for the gorgeous "Tree Flowers." 
Julia and I loved the early morning mini scavenger hunt.

DISNEYLAND

I grew up going to Disneyland every few years. It was a part of my childhood, so of course I have that nostalgic feeling about it and love to go back. Jonny's first trip was as a 26 -year-old. We took  10-month-old Julia and played there with some of my family. I knew Jonny would enjoy the park, but I wondered if he'd love it like I do, even without the childhood associations. Well, maybe it's because Jonny is a kid at heart, or maybe it's just because Disneyland is wonderful and magical, but he loved it and became just as big a fan as me. Naturally we couldn't wait to take our kids there. (At 10 months Julia wasn't much of an active participant!)

That time finally came! A few months ago we decided Julia and Gabe were old enough to enjoy Disneyland and not be too ridiculous waiting in lines. We booked a trip for September and left it a surprise for the kids. During the summer I made sure they had an adequate Disney education, thanks to my brother Drew's complete Disney DVD library. They had no idea we were going anytime soon, but they were privy to the fact that Disneyland existed and that it was awesome. (I showed them pictures of Julia there as a baby. And we watched a parade on YouTube. Thanks for the idea and link, Sarah!) So one Sunday after church we packed up the car and headed to California - they thought we were just going to the beach. (Which they were extremely excited for.)  We actually stayed the night in Primm, about 2/3 of the way there. When Julia saw the hotel all lit up at night like Christmas, she said it was so beautiful and she wished we could stay there forever. Little did she know where we were headed...

We left early the next morning and drove the remaining three hours to Anaheim. (Yikes, Evy cried two of the hours. We were all very relieved for this leg of the trip to be over. Next time we won't split the trip and we'll drive straight through. I'd rather get all the driving done at once! That's what we did on the way home and the 10-hour drive was not as endless and painful as I had anticipated.)

When we arrived at our hotel just down the street from Disneyland, the kids were ecstatic about the room and the bunk beds. We eventually pried them away from the wonders of the hotel room (A mini fridge! A sink inside and outside of the bathroom! Julia couldn't get enough.) and set out on "a walk to see what there is to do around this town." Then we proceeded to stroll right into Disneyland and waited for them to pick up on where we might be. They noticed familiar characters on signs and posters, but it wasn't until we were actually in the park, past the big Mickey on the hill at the entrance, and onto Main Street that Julia realized where we were. Her initial reaction was one of slight confusion, but as soon as were at the castle she was jumping with joy. Gabe thought it was pretty great too. And then the fun began.

Since big trips sometimes require multiple pictures, I have written a post for each day. Looking at all the pictures has me wanting to plan our next trip already! It really was that fun.

Day 1: Disneyland

Here we are on our way to Disneyland, unbeknownst to the kids. (They sure look like they know where we are headed. I think here they were excited about the palm trees.) 

 Gabe loved meeting the characters. He ran up and hugged most of them.

 Both kids are captivated by water. Any time we passed a water feature they wanted to stop and check it out.

 

These $1 fans that I packed were indispensable. They kept them cool and busy. 

 The Pixar Parade was a big hit. I watched Gabe more than the parade. His expressions were priceless.

 As you can see, much of this day was spent in California Adventure. (We did spend a few hours in Disneyland. Going on Pirates first was a mistake! Gabe and Evy cried the whole time. But Tarzan's Tree House and Dumbo quickly made up for it.) It's so nice to have the option to hop between parks and enjoy the variety. I loved taking Julia on "Soarin' Over California" for her first time. It is definitely my favorite ride in this park and it was a highlight of the trip to see JuJu experience that flying sensation. 

Another favorite attraction in CA Adventure is Turtle Talk with Crush. Crush talked to the kids both times we went. So fun. Gabe loves to remissness about when Crush called them "Groovy Gabey" and "Jellyfish Julia." I believe I was "Malibu Melody."

Day 2: Disneyland

After a good night's sleep we were more than ready
to hit D-land for Day 2.

It's always fun to see the reflection of someone taking a picture of the screen: Hi Jonny!

Much to our surprise, Julia did not like
Thunder Mountain Railroad:

Oh how they loved meeting the characters.

Teacups! Classic.

Check out E's face:

The kids loved watching the ducks. I also so a live, wild mouse in Frontier Land. Knowing me, you'd think I would have screamed. But no - this was a cute mouse. Seriously, it was a Disney mouse. And I was not afraid.

 

Cinderella is Julia's favorite princess

My traditional pickle. No one even wanted to share it with me!

Gabe climbed on these plastic crates in Toon Town for quite a while. It was nice to find a place he could just play around.

A Happy Disney Baby! Evy and I often took advantage of the Baby Care Centers in both parks. Man, it was SO nice to be out of the heat to nurse and change her. We both enjoyed our frequent visits there.

Cars Land is super cool. Especially at night.

We had a great viewing spot on the bridge for World of Color.

Bunk beds at the hotel. The kids are begging for them at home now.

This is a picture Julia drew on Jonny's phone. It is Splash Mountain, of course!

Julia was so surprised to see the beds made in our hotel room when we returned. Jonny explained about the cleaning service. She was so impressed that she wrote a thank you note to leave for the maid: