New Floor in Family Room

I have been hounding Mike ever since we moved in to replace the carpet in the family room. It is the only room in the whole house that has carpet (the rest is hard wood or tile) and it has definitely seen better days. The people that lived here before us had two young children and they had absolutely put a hurting on it. Even after having the carpet steam cleaned and scotch guarded twice, the stains would just come back with avengence. I was also convinced that the carpet made the house smell musty. Well since we have a new baby on the way and laminate flooring went on sale at Costco, I decided that now would be a great time to redo the floor (much to Mike's chagrin). Last weekend with the help of some wonderful friends, we did just that and let me tell you it turned out great! Here are some photos to show the before and after:

I completely forgot to take a picture of the carpet before we tore it up, but here is a picture of James picking up his Easter Bunny trail where you can get a pretty good look at it

concrete sub floor prepped and ready for new floor

moisture-barrier plastic which should always be laid under new flooring to protect it

Our little helper in his outfit of choice :-)

Almost there!

The finished floor

finished floor with furniture in the room

Another shot of the family room completed

Dinner with friends

Last night we had a wonderful evening with our friends the Holmstroms. Meredith and I are on the school board for James' school and have become fast friends. They have two little ones (a boy and a girl) and James loves playing with them, so when they invited us over for dinner we were thrilled. She had planned a fun evening of making different kinds of pizzas so the kids could be involved in the process. Of course the kids were thrilled and we all had a ball making pizza and enjoying each others company. Although the kids were a bit rambunctious at times, everyone had a great time and I look forward to making many more memories with our wonderful friends.

Leena, James and Will helping Ms. Meredith roll out the dough

spreading the sauce

Mike and Travis staying as far away from the action as possible ;-)

James found Will's Spiderman costume and had to put it on

Kiddie Park

I recently bought a groupon for 4 ride bands at Kiddie Park for a steal, so this past Thursday we decided to head there with a few friends for a morning of fun. Kiddie Park is a place that has been open since the 1950's and has rides appropriate for children 2-12. It is a place I loved going to as a child and I am thrilled that it is still open for my children to enjoy.  Here are some photos from our morning. We will definitely be going back soon.

what a face

On the carousel

playing skee ball

James on his favorite ride

James and his buddy Keila

James and Keila on the boat ride

Giddy up!

Ringling Brothers Circus

Yesterday we took James to his first circus and it did not disappoint. I'm not sure who was more excited though, me or James. I used to love going to the circus as a kid and was really looking forward to seeing it again. We made sure to get there early for the "pre-show" in which you can walk around and get a close-up look at the animals and meet some of the performers. They also had a large inflatable bounce-house play land, so of course James had to go on that as many times as possible. After the bounce-house, we walked around a looked at all of the animals and then met some of the performers. Before we knew it, it was time for the show to begin. James (as well as Mike and I) had an absolute blast and I know this will be something we attend in the future.

James checking out the elephants

James and one of the horses from the show

he ate that whole bag of cotton candy

James with one of the clowns

James and daddy ready for the circus

the only picture I got with James and of course he looks angry :-)

the beautiful tigers

the lovely elephants posing

4th of July

This year we had a very low-key, relaxing 4th of July. My brother and his wife had a small get together at their pool, so we headed over there for a nice afternoon of swimming. Since I'm about 35 weeks pregnant and it's in the dead of the summer, I definitely take advantage of getting into the pool as much as possible. We had a really nice time, but unfortunately I only snapped a few pictures.

James chillin' in the pool

Margaret and Rachel

Aunt Mel and baby Louisa (and James swimming around in the background)

Baby Shower for Madeline

This past weekend my wonderful sister-in-law and best friend threw Mike and I a baby shower for baby Madeline. It turned out wonderfully and we truly enjoyed celebrating the upcoming arrival of our little girl with our wonderful friends and family. Melissa and Margaret outdid themselves with all of the wonderful food and tasty sangria. We can't wait to meet Madeline in 7-8 weeks!

My little family before the shower

Mike & I (33 weeks pregnant)

Our wonderful hostesses prepping for the party

Our friends the Hutchison's & Lilly Wood

The awesome Holmstroms

Megan, Reba, Monica & Elaine

ready to open presents with our little "helper"

We had to make sure James gave us the cards first

Adorable tu-tu!

The cutest little booties

really only including this one because of Mike's hat ;-)

My super talented sis-in-law, Mel crocheted this herself! It had a matching hat and mittens

Father's Day 2012

We had a very nice and relaxing Father's Day this year. James and I planned on starting the day by making breakfast in bed for Daddy, but he had other plans and decided not to sleep in. Oh well, we were able to have a nice breakfast together regardless, but not before James had Daddy open up his presents (always exciting for a 3-year-old). After present opening, breakfast and Daddy and James cartoon watching time, we headed to mass with my parents (like we do every Sunday). James decided he wanted to match Daddy, which was of course adorable. After mass we came home and put James down for a nap and I allowed Daddy to have his alone time...Most guys want to go golfing or out with their friends, but Mike chose to play video games. I guess whatever makes him happy :-). After James woke up from his nap, we headed over to my parents house for swimming and bar-b-que. All-in-all it was a great day, and I am incredibly blessed with a wonderful father of my own and an amazing husband who happens to also be an awesome daddy.

Helping Daddy open his presents (which included a new Ryobi ion drill, a bunch of shirts (I love dressing my man :-)), and a painting by James)

James and Daddy with James' artwork

The gift James made for BawPaw (my dad)

James and Daddy in their matching outfits for church

James and his cousin Louisa ready to swim

James trying out his new goggles (I love how goofy he looks)

James and Daddy with my brother, his wife and baby Lou (myself, my parents, my brother Cam and his fiance Gaby were missing from this picture)