We are so, so, so close to finishing the basement. By the end of this week it will be habitable- and decoratable! It's been a long process, since first we had to do a whole lot of this-
There was a whole lot going on before the walls went up.
Noah was still wearing long pants and boots when we started this project! Now we all love being in the basement because it's the perfect escape from the heat and humidity.
We let the kids write secret messages on the studs before the drywall went up.
Eventually we tucked all of that stuff behind some drywall.
Every basement needs a secret portal!
We have been doing so much sweeping down there.
We've even enlisted friends to help.
I can't adequately describe how dusty the rest of the house is, despite closing off vents, leaving the air conditioning off (even in 80 degree weather) and constant mopping and dusting.
I can always tell where everyone is going!
After five years of looking at studs down there, it is so exciting to see smooth, beautifully finished walls. Our drywallers did an amazing job, and even with 8 foot ceilings plus bulkhead, it's feeling nice and cozy down there already.
The guest room gets the prettiest morning light.
This wall is going to have a little something extra special, because we can't ever leave well enough alone. Who wants a plain old TV wall when you can make it something fun? It has transformed from this-
to this-
to this, and it's not done yet.
We've been celebrating every step along the way- doors!
and tile!
Phase 2 will wrap up nicely this week- paint, trim, tile, and finally carpet! Jason and I decided that his time and our sanity was worth hiring a professional to get the job done. It was done in a fraction of the time with a greater knowledge base than we could draw from, and everything turned out beautifully. Now it's just a few more days until we can call this huge project DONE and start enjoying the rewards of all our hard work!
Leah has been growing in leaps and bounds over the last few months. First, we started down the long road toward a beautiful smile with braces! This is her official "before" picture.
Her last caramel apple for a few years-
Three months after her first visit, including 10 rough days with turning the key in her expander, she finally got her lower braces on last week. And she suddenly looks like a young woman!
Second up- babysitting! I had to snap a picture before dropping Leah off at her first babysitting job ever. She's an old pro by now, and a lot of fun! She likes playing with kids and definitely likes earning money, too.
And she participated in 5th grade band this year. Band met twice a week at 7 AM. Leah is not really an early bird, but she always got up and ready for band in time, and I loved the time that she, Jason and I got to spend alone in the kitchen on those mornings.
It wasn't exactly like the symphony, but still a delight to hear Leah play the clarinet in her first school band concert!
And her second!
Which was also a choir concert.
Leah and Karlee- sweet friends and neighbors.
Her orchestra concerts this year were wonderful too. It's so fun to listen to the beautiful music that these young kids make.
Leah's sweet teacher Miss Bueker came to Leah's final orchestra concert of the season, which absolutely made Leah's day. She really loved her teacher this year, and it was obvious that she felt loved by her as well.
This was my favorite piece of the final concert-
Leah also participated in the fifth grade track meet with some of her friends. She has a great group of friends that are silly and fun and smart and in no rush to grow up faster than necessary. And I love it!
And at the very end of the year, the fifth grade awards ceremony was a bittersweet celebration of all the hard work that Leah has done this year.
Safety Patrol, Citizenship Award, NaNoWriMo, and the Presidential Academic Achievement award. Leah has been a busy student!
And now it's time to say goodbye to elementary school.
We had our annual end-of-the-year ice cream party on the corner on the last day of school, and even then it hardly seemed real that Leah's elementary years have come to a close.
But she's on to middle school in the fall! Where we live middle school is sixth and seventh grade, junior high is eighth and ninth, and high school is tenth, eleventh, and twelfth. I like it like that, even if it does mean that Leah will never again be in school with her siblings. I think she'll be just fine.
So from her first day of elementary school-
to her last-
this girl has done a lot of learning and growing over the last six years.
We made big plans for camping over Memorial Day weekend. It was sweltering hot that weekend. 100 degrees at 5 PM, to be exact. Our camp site was one hour north, and we figured it must be a few degrees cooler in the shade of the woods.
It was not.
I also figured that carsick-prone Emma would make it to the campsite without emptying the contents of her stomach all over herself, myself, and the car.
She did not.
We also figured that the insane swarms of gnats that immediately enveloped us when we got out of the car would dissipate once we got a fire going.
They did not.
So, after a solid 20 minutes of misery, including Noah wailing "Why is this camping so horrible?? When can we leave??" while trying to cover his eyes, ears and nose all at the same time, we made a family decision to give up and get out of there!
I had time to take one perfectly summer picture.
And then we drove back to Jester Park- it's closer to home and a bit more maintained than the church camp we left behind. The jury was still out about whether or not we would actually spend the night while we started up another fire and continued the festivities.
Like flower picking!
And burning stick drawings!
And the season's first s'mores! (It was still really hot out.)
Even in the heat, campfires are the best for snuggling up and slowing down.
Just being outside together was enough to cheer everyone up again, and eventually we decided that we were not going to camp out. We headed home around 10 PM, dirty and smelly and more than happy to clean up before falling into our soft, clean beds in our air conditioned house. That might be the saddest attempt at camping we've had yet. But it might also be the most memorable time as well!
The next morning, after a good night's sleep, the kids and I headed to the beach!
We spent hours floating, swimming,
and even paddleboarding.
The kids all wanted to give it a try!
And they did great!
When we weren't in the water (which didn't seem quite as murky and brown as it looks in the pictures), we were digging up the sand
and snacking in the shade.
And while the rest of us earned some pretty sweet sunburns, Jason stayed at home, working hard in the basement to finish up his last big project before the painters arrived the next morning. All in all, it was a Memorial Day weekend to remember!
