{a boat, turned playhouse}

our handmade hideaway... boat style! 

i can't take all the credit for this little boathouse, for the most part it was here when we moved in...

here is its story... this old fishing boat stranded on our property was set into the perfect playhouse location - a forever spot as this would not be something that could be moved easily...

my father-in-law {the master builder} built a deck around the outside at the outer edge of the boat. then using the deck and the edge of the boat framed walls, roof and floor.   

siding was added and cute little windows framed. 

on the inside we left the framing open and painted it all white.  using the framing as shelves for trinkets. 

the roof is made out of corrugated metal and open beams, slightly angled for drainage. 

for the flooring we added floor joists framed from side to side of the boat and then used fencing for the flooring because its so cost effective.  i waterproofed the flooring because i wanted to keep that natural color, but it could be stained any color.  at the bow,  flooring was a challenge so we kept it open an added a little sandbox... which the kiddos love. 

i moved the kitchen out of the house into the playhouse which was a big space saver in our little home!  i also brought in the outdoor play table, doll house and painting board.  so now most of the messy house toys are in the playhouse...

the handrails on the deck are rope swayed from post to post... appropriate for a boathouse! 

painting + tea parties +  a lot of phone conversations happen in this space.

the backside of the boat house has a cute little deck which has a couple chairs to sit and relax.

the front of the boathouse has a cute little door, a couple of windows and some added fun with two vintage lanterns + mailbox.  i also added a couple pink flamingos. 

 thats the story of our super sweet boathouse and this is the sweet gal who plays in it...  

disclaimer about her attire:  while it may seem inappropriate for her to be in a crop top and short skirt, if you knew her you would know; this is her in all her glory.  one can only hope that she grows out of it. 

thankful for just two dudes and one little lady

a thankful round up 

this years thanksgiving was full of family and fun and food...  we started the festivities off at grandma and papa (belinda+ bill) for sunday before thanksgiving dinner.  before we eat dinner there is usually some form of prayer but this year there was a thankful circle instead.  evy had made a thankful stick that was passed around the group where everyone said something they are thankful for.  as the stick made its way around i became somewhat nervous and drawing blanks on what to say.  I mean obviously there are literally a million reasons why I am thankful but none of them came into my brain.  when it finally got to me i was thankful for my little gal who was hiding in my arms and two dudes.  and thats all i said and then very quickly passed the stick on, like the totally awkward person i am. 

thankful for my little gal...  

thankful.  i am thankful she is who she is.  I am thankful she is healthy and happy and has a mind of her own and the will to hold her ground.  endlessly. I am thankful she loves me even when i feel like maybe she shouldn't.  i am thankful for her warm body that comes into my bed every night and snuggles against my back.  I am thankful in the morning when she holds me as tight as she can and doesn't want to be put down.  I am thankful i am the one she wants when she is hurt or sad or just being a stinker.  i am thankful for her smile that lights up a room.  i am thankful for her brain and how incredible intelligent it is.  i am thankful for her heart and that it beats in perfect rhythm with her soul. i am thankful that my little girl is mine.  

thankful for my 2 dudes...  

I am upmost thankful for my husband.  i am thankful that he is handsome and kind and smiles a lot.  i am thankful that he is my life partner.  I am thankful that he has supported my latest journey as a stay at home mom.  i am thankful that he is never demanding or degrading,  he never has expectations beyond reality.  i am thankful that he doesn't care if dinner has been made or laundry done or if the house is clean.  i am thankful that he never says "why didn't you", or "what did you" or any of those finger pointing I'm the bread winner kind of things.  never. ever. i am thankful that when i think about him my heart warms. i am thankful that  he is the person he is,  selfless and kind and not a finger pointer.  i am thankful that my husband is my husband and that it all worked out the way it did. 

i am thankful for my little dude who is smart and kind and asks a million questions every day.  i am thankful he is healthy and handsome and funny.  i am thankful i get to wake him up every morning and race him to get dressed.  i am thankful when i drop him off at school and watch his little body make his way thru a river of bigger kids.  i am thankful that he is so light hearted and endearing and never a mean boy.  i am thankful that he knows right from wrong.  i am thankful for his smile that is big and beautiful.  i am thankful that he wants steak burritos for breakfast every morning.  i am thankful for his imagination.  i am thankful that he is not picky or worrisome or afraid of life.  i am thankful that when he grows up he wants to be just like his dad.  i am thankful that he can take showers and brush his own teeth. i am thankful that he is thankful.  everyday.   

thankful.  

here are some highlights of the rest of our thanksgiving holiday which were spent at the dirty desert, playing in dirt and being dirty...

a holiday photo shoot and nobody even cried!

we are certainly making grown up progress when we do our annual kids holiday pictures and nobody cry's.  trying to capture these two children is so frustrating that i mostly get angry and irritated and end making the children cry.  this sounds terrible and honestly i hate to admit it, but its the truth.  100% the truth.  

this year is the exception, and hopefully from here on out it is our new normal. 

not that this went 100% perfectly.  it didn't, in fact it started really rough and i almost gave up determined not to lose my cool. i was about to pack up when remi grabbed my cinnamon dolce latte (my all time favorite coffee drink) and ran away with it.  i eventually caught her and promised if she cooperated in pictures she could have the rest... and OMG it worked! 3 minutes later we were done and everybody left happy!

"today was a furry tail"

fall holidays are among us! and with that comes the hectic schedules.  but really it just means we have so much family and friendships that this time of year is especially filled with love and smiles and warm hugs, every.single.weekend.

kicking of the fall holidays almost always involves a trip to omas pumpkin patch, this was brads first trip there.  in which he vowed never to return. i don't usually go on weekends, but now that jenner is in full time school and sports it seemed the only time slot we had.  the rest of the world must have only had that time slot available also - because it was packed! 

we had a halloween dance show, that remi girl relished in! wild girl loves her a show.

we had our first of many school halloween carnivals. 

we had our 7th annual campoween! 

my mother-in-law worked hard on making me a matching minnie skirt that was so cute... and also that we took zero pictures of... i may have to re-create halloween dress up just for some photos! 

{insert photo here}

while jenner is now full swing into kindergarten, i spend most of my days with this gal... a gal who wants to swim everyday no matter how cold it is.  that lives in a world of her own, creating and making and destroying all at the same time.  

the other morning on the way to school, a song came on "today was a fairytale" taylor swift.  and i say to remi "evy loves this song" and remi replys "why? cause she likes dogs?  brooklyn has a furry tail & she'll wack you with it"... it took me a second to process it and then decided i like the song much better "today was a furry tail" which is how we now sing it. 

she also plays house all day long, walking around with her cell phone, taking pictures and bouncing her baby.  her imagination is on point and i am just SO curious about who this little girl is going to become.  

jenner is on the end half of soccer, which is quite the commitment of coaching.  i am so over it, i couldn't wait for time change just so i could stop having to practice with 7 boys who could care less what i say.  jenner himself is quite good at soccer, scoring goals and understanding the game.  of course all the credit goes to the mcculloch brothers.  

of course we can't settle for ordinary banner, and i secretly can't wait for the season to end so i can hang this somewhere! 

he is also doing outstanding in school.  his first ever parent teacher conference was this week.  a conference i dreaded... not because i thought it would be bad.  but because its the start of everything.  its growing up. its the real world.  its being parents.  its a judgment.  but when it was all said and done, it wasn't so bad.  jenner was praised for his brains and being able to control himself. 

at the end of the day jenner has just grown into such a smart, sweet boy that all i can do is pray that his sister will somehow do the same :-/