Before & After

The horrendous home-improvement nightmare is finally over! Our lovely friends Mel and Chase came for their visit this weekend, and we got the guest bedroom and bathroom finished just in time... Literally about an hour before they got here! Everything turned out nice, and our guests said the bedroom was perfectly comfortable, so it was a success! We're so glad it's over; no more DIY projects for at least a couple months.


Bedroom BEFORE.


Bedroom BEFORE (Alex painted me a message). :)


Bedroom AFTER.


Bedroom AFTER.


Bathroom BEFORE.


Bathroom BEFORE.


Bathroom AFTER.


Bathroom AFTER.


Bathroom AFTER.

Finley Graduates

It's official: Finley is a kindergarten graduate! Her school had a lovely ceremony last night to celebrate all the little grads. Each class did a little performance featuring songs and dances from other cultures; Finley's was a hat dance from the Philippines, and it was adorable, of course! Then each graduate walked across the stage, got a diploma and shook hands with their teachers and principal. It ended with all the kids singing "What a Wonderful World" and all the parents crying. :) Here are some photographic highlights...

I gave Finley some roses to congratulate her on her achievement!

Finley and her teacher, Mrs. Gann (who is on her knees; she's not really that short).

Finley waves as she makes her way to the stage.

Fin and her BFF Chloe!

Even Maddie was proud of her little sister! (They had a '50s/'60s day at school that day, which is why she's dressed like someone from "Big Love.")

Fin walks across the stage to get her diploma. Her boyfriend, Liam, is waving in the foreground. It looks like he's flipping off the camera, but he's really just waving. :)

Finley looks a bit nervous as the ceremony kicks off...

It's Cookie Time!

I decided to make a little present to thank Alex's parents for helping us get our awesome new oven. But what to make?! After much deliberation, I decided on Union Jack cookies! They're the perfect way to thank Alex's lovely British parents - I get to show off how well the oven works, decorate cookies (something I LOVE to do) and give them a bit of patriotic cheer. They turned out pretty good, I think. I could have made the icing a bit cleaner, but I wasn't using my good pastry tips. :)