Everyone is so happy when daddy comes home from work, especially baby brother. these photos were taken at the end of May, shortly before the boys got their summer haircuts. I need to post some updated photos of them. Benjamin looks like such a big boy now.
Kindergarten graduation is a big deal around here. The schools have a cute little ceremony with cap and gown and give each student a fancy diploma and certificate with their photo. Evan was very proud of it. Can't believe he'll be a big first grader next year!
For those of you who don't know, we moved into a "new" home August of last year. We got a great deal on it, but it was a bit of a fixer upper. The kitchen especially needed help. Here's some before photos that I got from the realtor...
We tore out the old counters, backsplash, stovetop, range hood, and sink. We also ripped down the yucky orange brownish wallpaper and painted the walls. And my dad rebuilt the island so that it wouldn't wobble anymore. We chose a beautiful granite called Bianco Romano and Home Depot installed it. I absolutely love it! Eventually, we would like to tear out the flooring, and replace the white appliances with stainless steel to match the stove top and range hood.
Here is the after...
Dan did a great job on the subway tile backsplash. We also installed new hardware from dlawlesshardware.com. Their price is way better than Home Depot and it is free shipping!
Here are a few before photos of the living room...
Dan ripped up the carpet, leveled the floors, and installed engineered hardwood flooring in the living room, entry, and dining room. That was quite the job! We also tore out the ugly tile surrounding the fireplace and put in carrara marble subway tile. (Still missing the transition piece around the hearth.)
Here is the after...
we are going to put a built-in where the niche is next to the fireplace
Most of these projects were finished many months ago, but I am just now getting around to posting the pictures. Next project is the master bathroom that has wallpaper and carpet.
Evan lost his first tooth last week! It came out while he was eating an apple, and he accidentally swallowed it. He didn't have a tooth to put under his pillow, but the tooth fairy still came for a visit and left a sweet note and some money. :)
This boy is an expert lizard catcher. He is always hunting for lizards in the backyard and handles them so gently. They never even try to jump out of his hands. He gets so excited when he catches one and always asks me to take a photo.
The kids always look forward to the cousins easter egg hunt each year. I love this photo of all the Texas cousins together.
There used to be a time when they could all fit on the bench. The photo below is from 2010. I always love looking at past blog entries to see how much the kids have grown. Evan and Laila are the babies on Elayna and Dario's laps.
This was the first Easter egg hunt for these two cuties. They were too little last year.
I love Rae's pose here
We had such a fun, relaxing spring break a few weeks ago. It was perfect. We went to the Houston rodeo, saw the new Cinderella movie, and took a day trip to the beach. Here's a few photos from the beach. It was an absolutely beautiful day with temperatures in the mid to upper 70s. The water was a little chilly but the kids dove right in. They were excited to try out their new boogie boards they got for Christmas. (Elayna didn't join us at the beach because she was at a church youth conference that day.)
the next week Uncle Philip came to town for a quick visit. The kids were so excited to see him again!
this little guy turned 18 months old on the 17th. He is growing up too fast!
he loves riding his little bike, playing outside, and looking at books. He got his first big boy hair cut a couple of weeks ago. It was so hard for me to cut off all those precious blond baby hairs, but he was growing quite the mullet in the back. We just love our Benny boy so much!
my beautiful niece Ava got baptized last weekend. It was so great to be there for her special day!
Emily put together a wonderful luncheon after the baptism. All the food was so delicious!
the decorations were so pretty
