Hannah’s 7 on the 1st!

First of all, I find it hard to believe that Hannah is turning 7.  How did that happen?

We had her party today (7/31) at a local park, a very bike-friendly park, since Hannah’s riding on two wheels now!  The kids in attendance brought bikes and various wheeled things, so everyone had fun on wheels.  There is also a playground, so there was climbing, swinging, sliding, and general merriment. 

The morning was cloudy and cool, but our prayers were heard and the clouds cleared for the party.  There’s Hannah, biking around the path at the park:

You can see how sunny it was.

Naomi spent almost the entire 2 hours – well, almost 3, by the time we left – on her glider.  Or one of the other little girl’s bikes.  She’s a biking addict!  Michael and the girls rode to the park on their bikes.  I would have, too, had it not been for some pesky details like a cooler, a cake, and other refreshments.

There’s a fun climbing structure at the park.  Michael and Mr. Pat had a fun time on it.  You can see Sim in the bottom right corner, trying to get on the climbing structure.  No dice.

This is fun!

He REALLY wanted on the play structure.  Incidentally, bold horizontal stripes are a great thing to put on a toddler for playground outings.  He was very easy to spot.

Did I mention that Naomi likes to bike?

 

Sim tried out the scooter his cousins brought along.

 

One of the few moments that Naomi wasn’t biking, caught on camera.

 

She had a fun time at the party.

Sim decided that the structure for the little kids was a fine substitute for climbing walls.

 

Michael is attempting to light the candles on the cake while the breeze is blowing.  It’s trickier than you’d think.  That’s the famous Apple Breakfast Cake that Hannah’s had for the last 5 birthdays.  Well, not the same cake, really, but the same kind of cake.

  

Gifts were given and appreciated, and we brought home a tired but very happy birthday girl.  And her tired but happy siblings, too.

And apparently a tired but happy Dada, who had to lie down on the couch for a nap after the kids were put to bed.

Comparisons

Michael:  Hey, Hannah, check this out:  Mama got me some watermelon wheat beer.

Hannah:  Watermelon beer?  That’s the best thing since the gas-powered light bulb!

Okay, the floor

I know, I know, you’re all saying:  “Enough with the heartwarming stories and camping photos – SHOW US THE FLOOR!”

Or maybe not, but you’re going to see the floor.  In a looooong post, because I forgot to post the ones of the floor patched but not finished.  So here you go.

There were some sections of floor that had to be taken out and replaced.  Then there were some that weren’t there in the first place, like where the chimney had gone through.  Then there were some that I’m not sure what had happened to them, like under the oven, which should have been there, but wasn’t for whatever reason.  Some sort of other material had been put in under the old floors.

Here’s the hallway in front of the bathroom.  It had originally had a couple of walls that had been moved or taken out, so there were odd pieces of wood that ran diagonally to the rest of the floor.  That’s why this whole section had to be taken out.  The black floor is the old floor before the glue had been taken off.  Mmmm.

 

You can also see the cold air return, which isn’t covered at the moment.

  Check out the header that had to be put in.  The kitchen is beyond it, and there used to be no stairs and a wall there.  That’s because this used to be a 2-bedroom house with an unused attic.

This is under where the oven is.  Stuff’s been removed so a patch can be put in.  Why wasn’t there floor there?  I don’t know.

This is where the chimney used to be.

This is the hall closet.  The back half apparently had NO SUBFLOOR.  Yeah, great idea.  Good thing my kids never took to hiding in there.

Okay, but here they are:

 

You can tell where the patches are, but I actually think that adds to the charm. 

 

 

 

The kitchen floor didn’t have patches and had more character than the other areas, because of heavy use, I’m sure.  They wanted to know if we wanted them to dig various pieces out and fill it with wood-colored putty so that you wouldn’t see the stains and things.  We declined.  Our house is nearly 100 years old, for crying out loud, and I don’t think that it should surprise anyone that the kitchen floors have been put to use.

    

I really couldn’t be happier with the floors.  We didn’t know if they would be remotely salvageable when we started the project, so this is fantastic!  Far better than we’d hoped!  Michael likes them, too.

A small victory!

As of Friday afternoon, there are no major appliances in our living room!

Um…yeah

Me:  What’s that funny smell?

Him:  I don’t know.  What?

Me:  Are you cooking something?

Him:  No.  But I did just bring up the dishes from camping so I can put them in the dishwasher tomorrow, since it’s full right now.

Me:  That smell is the dishes?

Him:  Should I put them back in the basement?

Me:  Um…yeah. 

Staying with cousins

Since last Thursday, our clan was staying at my sister and brother-in-law’s house while the floors got refinished.  We got back home yesterday.  We THOUGHT we’d be there Thursday to Sunday, but the final coat had to wait until Monday because sanding took longer than expected. 

Actually, only my sister was at her house until late Sunday night, when the rest of her family got back from the east coast.  And actually, Michael had the girls camping for Friday and Saturday nights.  So really, we were just based out of their home as we ran to various activities. 

In any case, the kids had a great time with their cousins.  I took everyone to the playground the other day and watched in amusement as different play styles worked together (or not). 

For example, boy cousin was utching along the play equipment and announced:  “I’m a giant jelly blob!”  Naomi, standing nearby, said, “Wow!  That sounds yummy!”  Boy cousin was nonplussed for a moment, then made a slight amendment to his identity, “I’m a giant rotting jelly blob!”  But by that time, Naomi had moved on to other things, so she was not there to be either impressed or stricken with terror. 

Boy cousin was also an octopus impervious to any of Hannah’s attempts to spear it with her various made-up weaponry.  For some reason, she didn’t enjoy this game much.

A few minutes later, I suggested we look for fairies in the trees. 

Boy cousin:  I don’t believe in fairies. 

Me:  I don’t believe in giant rotting jelly blobs.

We didn’t actually find any fairies, but then we decided to do timed running exercises (in the interest of depleting a bunch of energy), and some gymnastics, including somersaults and cartwheels. 

We are most thankful for the hospitality and the fun that we had with the in-town relatives!

Michael, on the new kitchen floor

“This floor rocks.”

Photos to come.