The kitchen post

Our kitchen remodel was our defining event of the first half of this year.

The old kitchen was ripped out to the studs:

We were stuck using the kitchenette in our basement for two months during this process. I missed the dishwasher and the counter space so much! This what the area looked like after dinner most evenings:

We had to move out of the entire main floor of the house in order to have the floors refinished and the walls painted. The place looks nicely freshened up now:

Here's a look at the new kitchen (before we fully moved back into it):

We'll be adding some color and warmth to it with towels, rugs, etc.

The fridge is in a new location:

My favorite part of the remodel is having a counter that we can sit at. I've been looking forward to slinging pancakes over to the kids on Saturday mornings.

I'm sure there will be more photos of the space to come... We do spend a lot of time in the kitchen!

Read more...

Omri as a pillow

Omri finished kindergarten! And he got to make a self-portrait pillow, just like his sister did four years ago.

Read more...

Memorial Day weekend 2021

The kids and I went up to my parents for Saturday night, while R stayed back to begin to tackle the re-entry into our kitchen. It was great to reconnect with family after limited in-person interactions during the pandemic.

The weather was not quite as warm as it has been in the past, so we did not make it into the lake this year. The kids did go on the slip-n-slide, however, which uses lake water:

Then they warmed up in the hot tub:

We got out on the boat:

Omri wields the power of the fly swatter: 

Captain of the ship:

Tyler turned 10!

Great-Grandma Mavis was there:

So was Max:

Elise and her dog:

Thanks for having us, mom and dad!

Read more...

Look who stopped by for a visit

It's Salvador!

 

We only had time for a beer on the deck, but it was good to see some family. Unfortunately, Ezra and Lennon were not present... my kids stood in for them in this photo:

Read more...

R turns 41

R had a birthday over the weekend. 

Grandma Linda watched the kids for a night while R and I went out for dinner at Cafe Lurcat. The last time we were there was exactly 18 years ago!

We spent the night at the Hewing Hotel in the North Loop. They had a rooftop hot tub with a great view of Minneapolis. 

What a great weekend!

Read more...

Mother's Day 2021

Our annual photo after surprising mom in bed with coffee and a gift:

Checking out this year's entry in the Mother's Day journal:

 

Outdoor brunch at Oliver's:

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!

Read more...

Famiversary

We had to vacate our house for a few nights last week due to having our hardwood floors stained, so we checked into a hotel nearby in New Brighton. We swam in the pool, went out to dinner, and played at some new parks. It was a nice little break from the remodeling project at home and a fun way to celebrate our 16th anniversary of becoming a family.

Read more...

Our first house

We're having some work done at our current house and it has been on our minds a lot lately, so for my wedding anniversary post this year, it seemed appropriate to show the two of us in front of our first house. This was in Alabama, of course.

Times were simpler then. We owned a kitchen then.

Happy 16th anniversary, honey!

Read more...

Easter morning 2021

And we finally arrive at Easter morning.

The kids found the eggs so fast I barely got any photos.

Omri was pretty excited about his new Snap Ship:

Working on the build:

Veronica got some books:

Basket goodies.

Grandma Linda came by for a visit later in the morning. We ate some take-and-bake brunch and went to an outdoor church service.

Hope everybody had a happy Easter!

Read more...

Osterfeuer 2021

"Osterfeuer" is German for Easter fire, a tradition we took part in for a couple of years with some friends in Santa Barbara. We brought it back this year on the night before Easter. We were able to try out our new low-smoke fire pit and make some gourmet s'mores.

Omri got a little loopy on Izze soda:

Better stay off the slack line in that condition, bud.

Read more...

This is 42

Just a couple of snaps from my birthday...

Chess with Omri:

Bike ride to the library:

They made me a cake:

We also dyed Easter eggs and watched an episode of the new Mighty Ducks series. It was a good day.

Technically not on my birthday, but I got vaccinated the same weekend:

Read more...

Ninja line

The kids got a ninja line (think tightrope walking with things to grab onto) for Christmas and we've been finally able to put it up (well, this was back in March). They've been having a lot of fun with it!

Read more...