Christmas Tree Hunt

On Sunday we headed out toward Fulford to cut down our Christmas tree. This is one of my favorite traditions of the season. It is fun to go out adventuring in the snow to find that perfect tree! We came upon ours by accident as we were looking to cut down a couple around it. I am so glad we did since I think it is one of the best we have ever had! 

 Every kid rolls down a hill with a saw right? (It had a blade cover on it, don't worry!) 

Macklin wanted to be the bearer of the saw! 

Looking good! 

 

 The final product! We used white lights this year, as opposed to the colored, bigger lights of the past. 

It helped the branches stay perkier. 

 

Yay for Christmas decor! 

Triple Bunk Beds

Updates from August 2020 

Update: We have since taken the fan out of the room. Thanks for the concern. Just didn't have the new light when we took these pics. 

The Triple Bunk Completed Project

Over Thanksgiving break, my incredible husband and our good friend Daniel completed my triple bunk vision. In just over a week, they produced this awesome new bed for our two kids 

(and one to come!). 

We used the plans from The Handmade Dress link originally posted here and the plans for the link have been removed - sorry about that. 

The plans were very helpful to get us started and then we changed a few things to fit our needs and space. We did all of the construction in the room and then painted the whole thing afterwards (which was not as bad as I had imagined). 

Changes we made from the plans:

-We made our railings out of 1x4s. 

-We made our ladders a little differently (Did not make a solid vertical piece and then insert the steps. We put the steps all the way across and rested on the vertical pieces as the vertical pieces were cut to fit between steps.)

-We routed all of the boards for a nice smooth finish (not sure if that was in the plans or not, just a mommy request). 

Details:

-We painted the plywood frame bases to match the walls. Provided some good contrast for underneath. 

-We painted the wall supports to match the walls, as done by The Handmade Dress. 

-We cut out the baseboards on both sides of the room to accommodate the bed going all the way to the walls. 

-We made a sweet little vent adaptation so that our floor vent would not be covered. (Not shown in pics but I should post one). 

-We pre-drilled everything to avoid splits. 

-We filled the holes with wood putty and sanded it all down. I would not recommend wood putty if you are planning to stain it (original idea) as it looked "dirty" after a test stain. 

-We jammed the drop cloth under the structure in order to paint the edges well. Very helpful. 

-We used floor paint to paint it white, as recommended by the sweet older employee at Lowes. I will let you know how that goes in about five years....if it is more durable or not. 

UPDATE - The white floor paint worked well. It is easy to wipe down. I have repainted the side panels once in the last couple of years. 

Construction Pictures

 

The kids already loving it! 

You can see the plywood base in this one. 

Final Project Pics

Bedding is from Land of Nod

Update: The beds are holding up so well! 2020 and I have three big kids in them! 

No durability problems at all! And look fun with some Christmas bedding from last winter. Bedding from Target's Grinch line. 

Kids Room Transformation

Here is how our nursery looks originally and I loved every bit of it.  

The kids room as it stood a few weeks ago as we grew into the space with two kids...

Green walls with black furniture. 

Twin bed and a toddler bed. 

Changing table and a dresser. 

(disregard the wet spot...it was just a water cup that spilled)

Their new room!!!!

Light gray paint with white furniture.
Triple bunks complete.
New bedding from Land of Nod.
One natural wood dresser in place (not pictured) and more furniture TBD.
Wall hangings TBD as well. 

I am so proud of my hard-working hubby for taking his Thanksgiving break to work on our kids room. They love the triple bunks (as long as they aren't getting hurt on them) and I am anxious to get the rest of the room figured out and get rid of the "sterile" look. We do have room for a crib too (in it's old location) when the time comes next spring. All other details in the works, but the kids can sleep and play as they wish! 

Macklin's Letters

Today, Macklin said, "Mom, I gotta do some homework now." Of course I was interested to see what this meant since he does not have homework really. He requested a "clear" sheet of paper and a crayon. He then started to write out his numbers. After 6, he said that he was better at letters than he was at numbers. So he flipped the page over and wrote a quick MAC (actually the fastest and most confidently that I have ever seen him do it). Then we got out his school flash card letters and he wrote nearly all of the letters before losing interest. 

It was fun to watch his excitement over learning (yes, I am a teacher, right?). But he was also focused for a good bit of time. That is equally exciting. Go preschool! 

Nerf Wars with the Cardens

Last weekend we had the joy of hosting Daniel's girls for the afternoon! It was such an incredible moment to see them after so many years away. Daniel had planned a great day of building flags and forts and then having a Nerf War. The weather was amazing for the end of November and all of the kids enjoyed our backyard adventures. I should note that the Carden's won our "capture the flag" type battle 2-1. Rematch will come soon! 

 

Grandma's Visit

Grandma came for a visit! It was so awesome to have her here while we went to Polar Bear Weekend with Young Life a couple of weeks back. It is such a service to us and our ministry that we are grateful for. Since she was here for a week, it was nice to have some extra time with her around the weekend. 

Cookies and Milk Together

Reading at Macklin's Preschool

Grandma was able to be a special reader at school while she was here. She read for just over an hour and this was the scene when I got there to pick her up! Macklin said that he stayed by her side for ALL of the books that she read and even asked if she could "have a job" again next time she came for a visit. 

Grandma Watching Frozen for the First Time 

Playing in the Snow at the Park 

Celebrating Grandma's Birthday Early

Other Highlights Include:

So much yummy food made by Grandma

Driving through a snow frosted Glenwood Canyon

Going to our gender-revealing ultrasound together (first pic on the page is from that)

Thanksgiving with Friends

We had an awesome Thanksgiving dinner with friends today. It was a grew time to be relaxed and enjoy each other. We ate at the Talbots home with the Rittmillers as well. 

The kids enjoying their coloring pages. 

Daniel prepped some serious appetizers for us! 

Macklin and Macy worked on some name cards for the tables to go with the plates. 

So many things to be grateful for this season, and good friends are one of them!