Old Wood-New Look

In June I decided I couldn't stand the light-colored carpet anymore (in our dining and living rooms), so one day when Jason came home from work this is what he found:

(Well, actually he did help me move some furniture first!)

And this is what we had underneath:

We spent the summer adapting to the much harder and noisier/squeaky floors and made sure we liked them. We knew they had been under carpet for at least 30 years and that the wood was a very thin/narrow maple that they don't make anymore, so I wasn't totally sure what they would look like, but anything was better than white carpet in the dining room!

Finally this week, the time came for them to be re-done and yay - we love them and they aren't nearly as "squeaky" now, so double yay!

Our "new" refinished floors:

Sanding (viewed through plastic)

Sealing (2 coats)

Finishing (2 coats)

Before

After

Now, we add a small piece of trim to tidy up the edges and move furniture back in - hopefully we never have to move the piano or hutch again!

September SNOW?!!!

Well, I guess we do live in Montana, but snow in September is NOT acceptable! I'm still hoping for a few more days of summer! (Which we were sorely lacking this year.) The forecast for today was high of 44 and low of 35 with lots of rain. It started out as rain, but was only 33 degrees when I took Gracie to school. I think we warmed up to 36 by mid-afternoon, but only after several hours of white slushy falling from the sky. The kids were ready to pull out the snow pants and try it out - I refused! Guess the garden is done for the year....

About 11 this morning.

A little later at 2pm.

La Vie en Rose...

Jessie loves to wear these pink swimming goggles around the house - it cracks me up!

Jessie is 17 Months Old!

Jessie Kay is 17 Months old today - I can't believe it! Jessie is growing up so fast and always surprising us with new words and accomplishments. She is so funny and of course I think she is sooo cute too! :-)
Words: Mommy, Daddy, Pa, Elli, Gracie, Emmett, hi, shoe, no, ball, thank you, maw (milk, but also for any drink), weee (when swinging or spinning), mmmmm (when she is served food)
Will shake her head yes and no. Makes lots of noises for words I don't understand and points to things. Will make noises for some farm animals. Will say "stinky" and pinch her nose. Says "owie" and points the owie or bandaid. Can count to three if I say 'one'...
Blows kisses and knows how to brush her teeth.
Knows everything you say to her and loves to help when asked.
Will climb any playground ladder (on her own) and go down the slide on her tummy - feet first.
Starting to run.
Loves her blanky and must have it to sleep.
Still sucks her two middle fingers when she's tired.
Loves to dance and play with Gracie and Emmett.
I still haven't cut her hair - it's so crazy when not pulled back, so I have to keep it in ponies. I love it! :-)
She's our little firecracker and we love her so much!

Emmett Starts Preschool!

For Emmett the wait was finally over! He started preschool on Thursday morning. He has the same teacher that Gracie had last year, but this class is only for 3-year-olds. He had no problem saying good-bye to Mom and is ready to go back for more!

Great job little buddy! :-)

Ready to go in his new classroom

Getting settled

Coming in from the playground (it was 95 degrees, hence all the kiddos with red faces)

Did he have fun? :-)

First Day Interview