Kitchen: Backsplash tile

Austin spent Labor Day finally putting up the tile back splash.  It had been delayed because the original vent hood arrived damage.  It took a while to get a replacement because it got left on a shipping dock in Des Moines for an extra week.  Then there was the small matter of having enough time to install it and the tile.

We used a natural limestone tile with coordinating mosaic tile for behind the cook top.  It turned out we could only get the tile in 18"x18" squares, so we had it cut down to 6" widths for an offset subway pattern on the wall with a custom-sized border around the mosaic.

Boote family

We took a semi-impromptu family picture with my family on Sunday.  We didn't even plan outfits.  It just happened to be quite the rainbow.  It's also the best we've ever gotten.

I also have to throw in this picture of my dad giving Lincoln some napping tips...

Happy Anniversary, Grandpa & Grandma Lorenzen!

We spent Saturday afternoon/evening in LeMars celebrating Austin's parents' 35th Anniversary at a picnic with family.  It was still miserably hot, but the kids played happily on the playground while the adults visited and tried not to move too much.  Of course, when it came to picture time at the end, our kids were NOT in the mood.  Emily was pouting on the ground behind everyone for most of them.  This is the best one we have, and it includes Austin's grandmas.

Happy Birthday, Great-Grandpa VK!

We took a trip back to NW Iowa for Labor Day weekend.  Saturday was my Grandpa Vander Kooi's 93rd birthday.  The kids & I stopped by the nursing home to sing, "Happy Birthday" and see his cake.

6 years + 10 months

The transition to school has been a bit rough, but about what I expected.  It's hard getting used to going to bed/sleep earlier and getting up earlier.  Attitudes are harsh and patience is thin.  The heat hasn't helped.  Emily's school had early dismissals the first week because of intake PT conferences.  They had early-outs every day the second week for stifling heat.  Her classroom is well over 80 degrees.  That's not fun for anyone.

Emily set up a "Hawaii Vacation Spot" in her room earlier this summer.  She goes there to read and relax sometimes.

Emily also still loves "Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman".  She decorated her pencil box for school with the characters and lists of all the participants from Seasons 1-5.  On a recent hot afternoon she made a stuffed Ruff doll with his own dog house.

In order to conquer the hair chewing habit this month, I have been making a diligent effort to keep her hair up in ponytails or braids.  It has taken some trial & error, and I still need some more practice, but Emily has been a trooper.  I even attempted a french braid one day.  It wasn't bad for a first effort, but neither of us have the time or patience to do it often.

Produce and Pruning

After struggling for years to grow tomatoes at our Denver house, I am continually amazed by the bountiful production in our Waverly garden.  I picked these this morning from three plants.

Despite the heat, I also decided to tackle some much-needed pruning in the backyard bushes.  Lincoln wanted to help.  :)

Chalk art

A budding artist at work...

Kitchen: Storm doors

Austin finally had time to install the new storm doors today.  I was really looking forward to being able to open screens for air flow.  Unfortunately, we discovered that by moving the location of the back entrance door, it no longer cleared the new light fixture we had installed after painting the house.  Amazon.com to the rescue for a new, lower-profile fixture that almost perfectly matches the original.  We moved the porch fixture to the overhang above the garage door entrance because I really didn't care for that old fixture anyway.

Flowers & Kingdoms

I really enjoy flowers and plants.  This what this year's garden, flower pots, and landscape beds around the house look like in late summer...

 The gigantic Bleeding Heart is now twice as tall as Emily.

These are the Belladonna (Surprise) Lilies blooming.  I dug these up from my neighbor's yard last fall.  Technically, they are Amaryllis bulbs.

Emily likes using her imagination to create nature kingdoms.  This is a recent one...

Kitchen: Pantry

It took over a week and a couple different trips to Waterloo for shelving material, but I finally got the new pantry organized.  It's amazing how fast the space fills up even when you don't feel like you have a large inventory.  It makes a big difference when things like cereal and snacks are added to the pantry rather than in a kitchen cabinet.  It's still a bit of a work in progress, but I'm pretty happy with how things turned out.

I found a spot for my white board menu planner on the inside of the pantry door.  It also has a spot to pin up the school lunch menu.  There is a small basket with markers and the Fareway ad in the closet. 

Inside the pantry to the left is the recycling/collection center.  We collect all recycling items in one bin and then sort them in the garage.  I also have separate baskets to collect Milk Moola lids, Box Tops for Education, and Labels for Education.  Above that is the snack shelf.  There are small disposable containers filled with serving sizes of different snacks.  There are also bins for fruit snacks and pre-packaged snacks. 

My baking supplies fill the floor and a shelf.  Then it's all the open cereal boxes, snack boxes and cooking supplies.

I bought a shallower adjustable shelving unit for smaller boxes/cans because I didn't want it to stick out so far by the doorway.  It doesn't hold as much as I had hoped, but it's nice to be able to see everything instead of moving and digging.

It took two tries to find a shelving unit for inside the original coat closet.  This one holds the beverages that don't fit in the beverage fridge. (I like to have options and to stock up when things are on sale.)

You can't see it in the picture, but on the right side of the upper shelf is all the electronics that connect to the TV with the cords going through the wall to the TV on the other side.






The shelves also hold the paper products, mixer and crockpot.  In addition, there is an outlet wired by the bread machine on the floor.  This allows me to simply slide out the bread machine, fill and insert the inside bucket/pan thing and let it run on the floor in the closet, thereby eliminating the need to ever lift it up or take up counter space.

The best part of the pantry, though, is the motion-sensor light.  You never have to flip a switch or pull a chain to turn it on or remember to turn it off.  Brilliant!