Tag: triplets

Our trip to Orange Beach (2014 version)

Two years ago, between camp ending and school starting, Kiki and I brought the boys to the beach for a few days. We stay at this amazing resort called the Caribe. There are a dozen pools and a lazy river. What else could you need? The condos are gorgeous and huge (the one we stayed in this time is way bigger than my house) and the beach isn’t too far away.

This year was even better than 2012’s trip because now the boys can swim! Well, I mean, they’re still working on it, but they improved so much over the course of our four days, it’s incredible.

They weren’t even a little bit scared of the waterslides this time. But floaties made me feel better about the whole thing.

We went to an outdoor restaurant for burgers. Linus and Miles gobbled theirs up. Oliver wasn’t so sure. Sigh.

And then afterwards, they played in the sand for a bit, which involved some Pokemon battles.

Went to the beach Thursday. I really don’t love the beach if there aren’t chairs with umbrellas and waiters bringing you frozen beverages. Hmm. I miss Playa del Carmen.

Ollie
Linus

Miles being Miles

Love these!

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Oliver
Linus

PS These pictures are totally counting as my 365 pics for August 6 and 7.

Some little things

I originally posted yesterday’s monthly pic with the caption “70th monthly pic,” because apparently math is challenging. It is really the 80th. Crazy.

I didn’t take a single photo on Sunday. 365 project fail.

The boys say “handcups” and “lemontimes” instead of “handcuffs” and “clementines,” which, for the record, Oliver tried yesterday.

Oh, remembered one more. Instead of “versus” they’ll say something like “Miles is reversing Donkey Kong in Mario Kart.”

365 in 2014: 08/01/14

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Took some pictures of my friend’s newborn baby girl (her second in 15 months!) and this was one of my favorites. So sweet!

365 in 2014: 07/31/14

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I took the boys to a roller skating fundraiser for their school. It was fun, and most importantly, no one broke any bones! That would have sucked, just days before our beach vacation. Whew.

365 in 2014: 07/30/14

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Today’s “no thank you bite” of a freaking bit of cherry did not go over well. A cherry. One of the top most delicious fruits ever. Ugh, kids. Ah well, at least they tried it.

Details on our “new” kitchen

I thought I’d post some details about the kitchen, in case anyone was interested. I know I like reading posts like this, anyway.

Paint: Behr Premium Plus Ultra Super-Duper Fancy Nice Awesome (something like that) in Dolphin Fin

Granite: Cold Spring

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I love the metallic flakes. You know I like sparkly things.

Faucet: Glacier Bay Carmina Pull-Down faucet

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Tile: Daltile Rittenhouse Square Mosaic (white) and white penny tile mosaic bought from Floor & Decor (behind the sink only)

Grout & Caulk: Bright white non-sanded (hides my rookie tiling mistakes)

Stove: Samsung Electric Convection Oven (Black)

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Look at all THE BUTTONS!

If you have any other questions, just let me know. (And no, I am never tiling again.)

365 in 2014: 07/27/14

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Went to visit my friend Amelia’s sweet tiny new baby girl in the hospital. I’ll be taking better photos of her soon (like I did for her big sis just 15 months ago!) but this one’s pretty dang sweet.

Our kitchen: before and after

Over the summer, we did a little refresh of the kitchen. Not a full gut job by any means, but a nice update.

It all started when my friend Mary Catherine got new granite countertops, and when I heard how reasonable they were, well, I wanted granite countertops. (When I came home and told George, he merely pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.)

Ten years ago when we bought our house, the kitchen was a sunny yellow. Sponge painted, if my memory is right. With royal blue trim. It was okay, but not my style. Especially the tiled pelican “artwork” behind the stove.

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Was not sad that we had to get rid of that fridge post-Katrina.

So before we moved in, we painted the kitchen, um, lime green. Okay, maybe not the wisest choice.

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There’s that damn pelican.

A couple of years later I was already sick to death of it, and went in the opposite direction. Dark brown. I actually loved it for a long time. The contrast against the while cabinets was nice. We also tiled over the stained white laminate with large beige ceramic tile. It was fine, but definitely an amateur job. Over the years, it cracked near the sink, and I hated that I couldn’t roll out dough on the countertop.

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Not terrible, I guess.

By this point, we’d already replaced all of the appliances with black ones, and I was itching to get rid of our range.  It was a slide-in one, which is expensive to replace, but the oven was small and off by at least 25 degrees, and it was just yuck. I knew that replacing the stove would have to wait until we got new countertops, which I always assumed was a pipe dream.

But it turns out it wasn’t! So this summer, we decided to change them out, paint the kitchen, get a new stove, and FINALLY GET RID OF THE PELICAN! (Confession: I made most of the decisions while George pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.) (Not really. He was very supportive.)

The kitchen should have been done weeks ago, but I started losing steam when we got to the backsplash tiling part of the renovation. I was all ready to grout, but then I went to Mexico, and then I had my triathlon, and finally I just bit the bullet and finished. Whew. Here’s the finished product. I’m so, so happy!

Ta-da!
Ta-da!
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The new stove (with a chicken nuggets button!) to replace the yucky old small one. And look! No more pelican!
Nothing on top of the cabinets. Clutter-free! (Well, mostly.)
Nothing on top of the cabinets. Clutter-free! (Well, mostly.)
New undermount sink and lovely new faucet. Heaven.
New undermount sink and lovely new faucet. Heaven.

It’s not perfect (don’t look too closely at the backsplash, okay?) but being in the kitchen and cooking is so much more pleasant now. Particularly chicken nuggets.