Pink Eye at the Living Desert

Poor little E, oops, I just remembered, I am no longer supposed to refer to her as simply "E" anymore. According to my oldest daughter, she would now like to be called "Huggy." I think she got a little jealous of her younger sister's cute little nickname, Cubby, and wanted to get in on the action. I don't blame her.

So let me start over.

Poor little Huggy has had the worst luck with illness striking on important days. She broke her arm just days before her dance recital last June and had to miss out on dancing. She had the flu over Halloween and missed some fun school activities. Now she has pink eye (thanks to the aforementioned Cubby, who brought it home from pre-school), and I had to keep her home from her class' field trip to a Children's Museum today.

Pink eye is so incredibly contagious. First Cubby woke up with the sticky goo and itchy eyes two weeks ago. Then she gave it to J.D., who added an ear infection to the mix. Then poor little G took the reins and added a throat infection. Finally, Huggy and I received the virus, and we are attempting to keep it away from Danny. Hands down, the worst thing about Huggy having pink eye is administering the eye drops. She hates the drops so much that Danny has had to give them to her at night when she is fast asleep and completely unaware.

Anyway, we woke up this Monday morning and she was already conscious of the fact that she was going to miss the highly anticipated field trip. I don't know how she remembered, I certainly didn't mention it! So, instead of sending her on the trip and giving every kid on the bus the gift of pink eye, I decided to take Huggy and Cubby to the Living Desert for our own little family field trip. Auntie A and Cousin Ellie came along too as a last minute bonus.

This is what pink eye looks like.

Actually, this is what a happy kindergartener looks like who gets to go on an adventure instead of moping around at home. Looks good!

This is also what pink eye looks like.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention earlier that Cousin Ellie was really the last on the list to get the itchy stuff. She was in good company. We should get a "Pink Lady" jacket for all the little girls like in Grease.

The girls walked...

...and ran...

...and explored...

...and we all marveled at the beauty of the desert flowers in bloom.

We saw plenty of wildlife, including a beautiful giraffe.

And a loose cheetah! He was incredibly tame and friendly with the kids.

Wow! Huggy is almost as tall as an adult lion!

And with that great sunhat on, Cubby is right behind her.

Way to go Cousin! You've definitely got the house cat beat, you go girl!

The three girls had a great day together. I love how well the cousins get along. Did I feel a pang of guilt for leaving G at home with the sitter? Sure. But then I noted my stroller-less car, my shoulders minus a diaper bag, and my hands filled with the hands of my five and three year old. I think that sometimes a break from the little ones is A-o.k.

Here they are checking out the storks.

We had to take quite a few mini-breaks in the shade. It was a warm, sunny day. It was a perfect day; one of the last days before it certainly will be too hot to do this with the young ones, unless I prepare myself for a day of whining and complaining.

Huggy even caught and rode this giant wild hummingbird!

This carousel is only 4 months old, and is in beautiful condition.

Cubby tamed this gorgeous little zebra. What a cutie!

The obligatory petting zoo was full of..........goats! What else? They were really cute goats, and the girls did plenty of petting.

I love this shot. The simplest things make the little girls so happy. At their age, this could be a magical wishing pool. Their imaginations are incredible!

I bought Huggy this hat halfway through the park when I realized the huge mistake these tops were. The hat doesn't help rectify my mistake too much, but she is a pretty cool "Junior Zookeeper."

I did not hear one moment of whining or complaining during this entire trip. The girls were on their very best behavior, and we had a blast. They are becoming the best of friends, and it is such a joy to watch.

We had to end the trip with ice cream. I mean, was there even a question in my mind?! No.

No, they don't allow lids or straws at this desert park. The guy behind the counter muttered something about the meercats eating the plastic. This is an accident waiting to happen, and I heard it was pretty glorious. I had gone to bring the car to the front, since everyone's legs had stopped working. Auntie A saw the whole thing go down. The icee was dropped and the red slushie stuff flew so high in the air it actually missed both of my girls and landed on Cousin Ellie. Score!

This is what pink eye looks like. Maybe those blue eyes look a little swollen, but they're also pretty happy. I had an absolutely perfect, wonderful day with my two big girls, my ever fabulous sister and her sweet daughter. Is it possible for illness to be a blessing in disguise? Apparently so.

Our Remodeled Garage

A house with four kids under five has to have a junk room, or for those super organized families, at least a handful of junk drawers. Well, our junk room was most certainly the garage. It was filled half-hazardly with every extra thing under the sun. From holiday decorations to exercise equipment, from a kayak to cans of paint, it held everything we didn't want to think about.

The kitchen project forced us to take a look at how we use our household space. The garage was very obviously a huge waste of space. It needed to be cleaned out, organized, painted, and the storage use needed to be thought through.

So we called our buddy and contractor, Luke, to look over the job. We described every desire for the garage, including adding a new work bench, renovating the existing cabinets, adding a new garage door and front window, adding insulation and drywall to the walls and ceiling, installing recessed lights and a ceiling fan, painting the walls and floor, and installing an air conditioner.

Wow, when it's all written out like that, it sure seems like a lot! Luke and his buddy Mike got to work about six weeks ago. As home remodeling work goes, the project got bigger and bigger as time went by. We ended up asking the guys to do some extra work, and now we have a totally versatile space.

Danny and I couldn't be more thrilled with the project; it turned out more beautiful and wonderful than we ever imagined. When the kids are asleep in bed, we sometimes go out and talk about all the cool, fun possibilities for this new room we call the garage. Check out the changes below.

Old garage.

Check out all the junk, the yucky, cracked cement floor, and the old, warped cabinets. Danny's workbench is hidden over there to the left underneath a pile of who knows what.

Old garage cleaned out.

Here's one of the first days the guys were working. Mike is there on the left, pulling stuff out of the walls.

Old garage.

This is Danny's workbench, although you wouldn't know it. The walls are covered with random paraphernalia, and the garage door tracks totally impede the view of the ceiling.

New garage!

What a beauty! Danny's workbench is now higher, so that he can work without bending over and hurting his back. The upper and lower cabinets are new, and the tall cabinet to the left is painted and the doors have been cut and straightened out. The garage door is new as well!

The workbench even has new undercabinet lights, so that Danny can work late into the night like Gepetto, if he so desires. I know my finger wasn't necessary, but I added it for emphasis.

Luke had an idea for adding butcher block as the workbench top. He oiled it so that it has this beautiful shine. I'm not sure if any work is really going to get done on this gorgeous surface!

Old garage.

The gardening tools were pretty well organized, and Danny's motorcycle adds a sporty touch, but it needed to be cleaned up.

Old garage.

Here it is all cleaned out and ready for some major adjustments.

Old garage.

New garage!

The new window is almost twice the size of the old one, and the new grid pattern matches those on the windows in the kitchen. Luke and Mike painted the walls a light tan, and the cabinets, ceiling, and trim is antique white.

Old garage.

This was one of our planning days. Luke came over to help us organize our big ideas for the garage. Luke is a details guy and notices things that can be improved that we just don't see. His attention to detail and insistence on perfection made this garage a true room addition. Note the kayak hanging overhead, which now has a new home out at the ranch.

New garage!

It's amazing how those same cabinets can look so different! They now have cool pulls, new shiny hinges, and magnets to keep them closed up tight.

Old garage.

Exposed rafters in the Valley equal a dusty, spiderwebby mess.

New garage!

Bright, happy recessed lights and a cool, brushed silver ceiling fan make the garage feel like an additional room, not a place to store your car.

New garage!

The new air conditioner will allow the room to be used even in the summer!

New garage!

Oh, we are so high-tech now. And no, I don't really know how to use any of these.

Unfortunately, we still have to find a place for most of this stuff in the new garage. I do plan on throwing a lot of it out, but the plan is to consolidate and be ruthless during the sorting process. Anything I don't LOVE is taking the long walk.

The new cabinets are already becoming filled up with important things, such as...

my Breyer horse collection (one of these kids is bound to want to play with these!),

Danny's model airplanes (not to be confused with those rare, antique "modle airplanes" of yesteryear), his hat collection,

and Danny's old bike magazines.

I can't help it, but I love that he keeps old stacks of magazines from the 80's. I can't explain it, so I won't even try.

Old garage.

This picture is so appropriate because it was taken on one of those rainy days this winter. The garage looks so sad and desolate. See the blue plastic kiddie pool over there in the alley? I still to this day will throw stuff out there I don't want anymore, only to have it picked up by some lucky treasure hunter the next day. It's my way of recycling the cheap and easy way.

New garage!

The new window fits the wall much better, and the exterior lights add much needed light to this formerly dark area of our front yard.

New garage!

Yes, I just showed off a picture of our new garage door. Pathetic, I know.

Mike and Luke, the hard workers and masterminds of this whole project, and my new BFFs. It has been so much fun to have these guys working over here every day. We talked theology, politics, childcare, and of course, home remodeling 101. They freely gave advice, shared their insight, and always performed their work with top quality and honest integrity. We love you guys!

Luke has a way with kids. I don't know how else to say it. They just cling to him. Literally. The girls had all kinds of nicknames for him throughout this project, including: Bill, John, Uncle, and Grandpa. He would answer to all of them, but not without making up silly names for them.

New garage!

I love our new floor. It is painted a dark tan and has little paint flecks sprinkled over the top, to make it pretty, and help to decrease slippage. The new floor changes the whole look of the space!

Ok, so sometimes it was tough for Luke to get his work done. The kids loved nothing more than to sneak in to "check" on Grandpa Luke to see how they could get him to play tag or hide and seek. Cubby is showing just how much fun it is to to run in the new open space. And yes she is wearing pj's at noon. Don't judge me.

More excited running.

And sometimes you just have to blow through a tube. This is the kind of stuff twins like to do. They are totally bonding right now.

Through this remodeling job, the twins have had the opportunity to climb plenty of ladders. I am sad to say they are now professional ladder climbers. See, not everything has a positive outcome.

To get this to happen, G would back up to Luke, and say "wing!" Luke would swing her like this for only a few moments, but long enough for all of the other kids to notice, and then it was all downhill, for him anyway.

Yeah!

I had to end with this because I loved that this bumper sticker was parked in front of my house every day for six weeks. Love it! Thanks Mike and Luke for an absolutely wonderful remodeling experience. For a project that had plenty of opportunities to be frustrating and difficult, your quality of workmanship and value of high integrity proved an enormous blessing and made this project such a pleasure. Hmmmm.....what else needs fixing around here?