Silverwood

The last day of school finally came! I swear, June 9 felt like it was never going to come. When school get's out I honestly don't know who's more excited, me or the kiddos. I am not one of those crafty, amazing moms that has hundreds of activity ideas written on popsicle sticks in an adorably painted mason jar that their children can pick from so they don't get bored in the summer. Nor am I the kind that makes them do math sheets and so many minutes of reading a day. I just want them to be kids. If they get bored I tell them that's ok and if it's bothering them so much, then do something about it. I love having them around. I love that even though we don't sleep in, much to my extreme dismay, we don't have to wake up and be somewhere. We don't have to get dressed and out the door. We just get to be and I love that!

Last day of school picture. Yay! What a wonderful, glorious day that filled us with total jubilation! B was on call which was a total drag. But since he was on call all weekend, he got Monday off. To beat the crowds and before it got too hot later in the summer, we decided to make the pilgrimage to Silverwood. It's the theme park for these parts of the world and the little's had free tickets from school.

The weather was fabulous, the crowds, almost nonexistent and the kiddos had a great time!

She got to hang out with me and little B for most of the day as B took M and K on the big roller coasters. I did go on a couple of the big rides but, I just don't love them. I am so content to watch little B as he runs from ride to ride. 

He found out that he's tall enough to do the bumper boats all by himself. 

At first, he was so happy to drive his little boat around and squirt the rocks and the plants.

Then this lady made the mistake of spraying him. Oh dear, he turned to face her, pulled his water gun trigger and didn't let go of it. He just kept spraying her.

She finally had to turn her boat and drive away. I wish the sun wasn't so bright on him because he has a huge smile on his face. When he got off the boat he told me he had sprayed her a lot and then he died laughing. As we were walking away I heard a guy as he nodded his head in little B's direction say,"There's that little kid that wouldn't stop spraying us. I had to move out of his stream of water." Little B can dish it but he can also take it. He was totally soaked and we had to take off his t-shirt and put on his jacket for the rest of the evening.

We told M and K that they didn't have a choice and had to go on the big roller coasters. We only pushed them because we knew they would love them if they gave it a go. K was nervous and fidgety but said that he would go. M was mostly excited but a little nervous too. 

Yes we take pictures on the rides. We know that one is supposed to keep items stowed away but, we don't listen. They loved the ride and wanted to go on it over and over. Silverwood was a total blast and we're so happy that we were able to go.

The big reveal

The day and time have come! I know that you've been losing sleep over seeing this picture but, tonight you'll be able to sleep in heavenly peace! The floor was done, the counter tops were put in, and then the guys came back because the stove wouldn't slide back as far as it had before the counter tops were put in. They put the counter top on and told us that we couldn't slide the stove back for 24 hours so the counter tops would have time to set. They told us we couldn't put a lot of pressure on the counter tops or it might make them move. The next night B and I went to put the stove back in place and instead of sliding back all the way, there was a four inch gap from the back of the stove to the wall. We tried pushing and shoving it into place but, to no avail. I understand that we didn't get marble counter tops and so we didn't pay one million dollars for them, but they didn't come from the dollar store either. Since it was after 6:00 in the evening, B said I should call the place the next day and tell them the stove wouldn't fit anymore. I was fired up and ready to call them and insist that we hadn't put pressure on them so they hadn't been moved from where the guys had placed them and it wasn't our fault the stove no longer fit. The girl that answered the phone was so nice and I didn't even have to defend myself. She just said ok and they would send someone out to fix it. The guys came and looked at it, measured the counter tops on either side of the stove, only to find out that they were totally straight. I stood there imaging them having to rip off the counter tops and ruining the cabinets as they pulled the counter tops off. Of course that lead to the need to redo the floor because we needed to take the demolished cabinets out. It was not great to imagine how much money it was going to cost. As I was picturing what life would be like after we had declared bankruptcy due to this unexpected kitchen remodel expense, the nice men said, "There you go, it's fixed."  I almost cried because our impoverished life picture was zapped from my mind. I came to look at it and sure enough, the stove was back to it's original spot. They told me that the problem was the cord from the stove had been bunched up and making it so the stove couldn't go back. They pulled that out of the way and slid the stove back. I was so embarrassed. I apologized profusely about wasting their time. They were very nice and told me it was no big deal and they were happy it was an easy fix. I am sure that when they got back in their van they talked about what idiots we were. We will probably be asked to be in their next training video on how to handle stupid customers. Anyway, So, the floor was done, then the counter tops, then the backsplash went in and then..... the cabinets! We have hated the ugly flat faced, honey oak cabinets since we moved in. The boxes of said cabinets were in great shape so we just wanted to find someone to reface them. Because we live in the middle of no where, it was hard to find someone to do it. We finally found Jodi. She is an angel and an artist that paints pictures of horses and wedding dresses. She also does cabinets on the side. Weird I know but we live in a weird place. She was so nice and did an amazing job! Just in case our ugly cabinets haven't been burned into your mind like a bad kissing scene, I'll remind you.

Oh man, those are so ugly! I think it just doesn't do the floor, counter tops and the backsplash justice. Here are a couple before before pictures.

 

This one shows the nasty floor and the laminate counter tops.

This one shows that we had a white dishwasher, that was probably the first dishwasher ever made. It was nasty. We also had a black fridge that sounded like a jet. You don't see the white microwave that was cracked on the bottom or the white stove. Ok, Ok, Ok, I'll show you the final picture that was two years in the making.

AAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!! Doesn't that look so much better?! I love that the cabinets are now shaker. Jodi just added the trim and then sanded everything down and painted them white. Holy cow, I love it! When we lived in Florida and had white cabinets, I said I would never do white again. But, in Florida the floor, counter tops, cabinets, appliances and walls were all white. It felt very sterile. But, With our flooring and the dark appliances I feel like it just looks clean. I know that not everyone will like it and that's fine, they don't have to live here. But we love it and are so happy that we were able to redo the kitchen.