House looks great! We haven't done any outside yard work yet. We did get our tent up and tested yesterday. Had to make sure we knew how to set it up before our one night camping adventure at Fort Wilderness.
You guys are so adventurous!! What fun for your kids.....not just camping, but camping at DISNEY!
Someday, I want to do the campfire singalong at the Fort. I think Chip, Dale & s'mores are a perfect combination. I'm really just a 5 year old in a grown woman's disguise
.
Ahh look at the babies! You have lap cats, I have lap chickens.
We haven't had a weekend to get to my gardens and I am starting to panic a bit. Although we are predicted to have a cooler than average May/June/July so hopefully the late planting season will be ok! Hoping next weekend we can finally get to my garden.
The refreshed beds look very nice!
Great countdown when there is only 6 more work days....
Lap chickens
. We absolutely need photos of that. Do they like to just snuggle, or do they enjoy a good petting as well? Has to be the cutest thing ever to see!!
We had some trees removed in the backyard today, so the transformation there has finally begun as well. The weather is looking pretty decent for the weekend, so I'm hoping to get my boxwoods and a few flowering shrubs planted on Friday. Hostas can wait until after our trip. I'm really hoping the buds on the trees open up next week, as rumor has it we'll be in the 70's by Monday or Tuesday!
I was flipping through the guide yesterday and saw a new show on HGTV that I'm not sure how the name got past everyone and ok'd to air - Flipping Virgins. I get what they mean by it but I'm not sure that was the most appropriate name for a renovation show. I go through phases where I watch the station more often or rarely at all. There's not many shows on currently that I care for other than house hunters and the buyers get on my nerves sometimes. I do think it would be fun to flip houses, if only I had the money. The house behind ours had it done and I don't think they made anything but they also did an awful job. The house wasn't that great to begin with, small bedrooms, tiny closets, weird sunken family room. I never understood how they raised all their kids in the house and they were the ones that build it. The house across from it the owner had been using it as a rental after having redone some of it. It looks great but also didn't make the best decision. Huge room over the garage begging to be a master but split it into two rooms. So now it's a 5 bedroom house with one full bath and a 1/4 bath with just the toilet and sink. Made no sense but the finishes were great, but the left the livingroom sunken which I wouldn't have done.
I would say it seems odd that they never added one but my house in NC has never had one, but it was built before indoor plumbing so... It's also under 700 sq ft so I didn't see the reason but for a house your size it makes sense to have one. I'd like to upgrade the one here at mom's house, we replaced the old one but it doesn't always ring.
I really enjoy the Flipping Virgins show, but I agree that the name surprised me somewhat (though I suppose its no worse than Schitt's Creek
... the television world seems to be a little more brazen these days). I really like the show's host, Egypt.....if she ever does a casting call for Michigan, I'd apply to flip a house with her in a minute!
Another busy weekend! Thanks for the explanation, I have seen similar TV shows, just never heard the expression. I've seen the Canadian brothers Jonathan and Drew as they recently did a run of their shows on our TV.
Ah yes, Property Brothers.....they are an awfully popular pair. I used to enjoy their show in the beginning, but the couples they feature lately make me want to scream. I can't stand their entitlement!! But, I know much of it is staged......
Ok- we are definitely planning to go to EPCOT on our second trip in May. I'm buying the soaps!! Put your orders in!
AWWWW!!
I'll take a Cougar Booger
.
(I can't resist. It's cats!
)
House looks GREAT! You are sure working hard to deserve this vacation! Almost there!
Aw, thank you!! I'm so excited!
I don't know why I keep missing updates! I am watching the thread and get nada. GRR! Anywho, your trip is fast approaching and you guys deserve it after this long house process! I love the pictures, it's so crazy to think of how it looked before because it looks amazing now. I have to say my favorite touches are the cat pillows in Steve's man cave! They are adorable! How is Jake doing these days?
Ah yes, those crazy cat pillows
. One of my favorite
Amazon purchases, EVER. That poor man is so tolerant of my mania
.
Jake is doing wonderfully, thank you so much for asking!!
He's working a crazy amount of hours, but being busy is when he's happiest. There's a new lady that's caught his eye over the last several weeks, and there's a definite spring in his step these days. It does my heart good to hear him have some excitement and joy in his voice. He is coming to visit us again in June, so we are all excitedly counting down to that weekend!
I love HGTV! My dad got me hooked, and I watch that channel all the time
Oh my goodness! They are too cute
They are such a pair of cuddle bums these days!! They've always enjoyed a good snuggle, but they're getting even cuddlier as they grow older. Hard to believe they'll be 2 years old this summer......I still think of them as kittens. Maybe they always will be, in my heart
.
Oh man..... Fixer Upper..... I could watch Chip and Johanna ALL DAY LONG! Their relationship is exactly what I want! But their job, not so much; I'll stick to mine!
You seriously have the BEST JOB EVER
. Your Facebook posts are KILLING me these days!
Wait a minute. Yes, yes I am
.
Thanks for the heads up about the Outta Control show. After you mentioned we talked about it and were all ready to click buy until we looked at our schedule and said hhhmmm...when are we gonna do this? Its hard to pass up but I feel our calendar is already pretty full. Did you check your car rental today? I was able to get our intermediate suv down to $200 and now they have a $20 Costco cash..woo hoo! I really didn't expect it to be any better than I already had, so I was pleasantly surprised.
Now onto your home I love all the work they did. It is all so light, bright and fresh looking. I love all of there tile choices. I gotta follow everyone else and say I am baffled by carpet in the kitchen. Although I do have an elderly friend who put new carpets in her house a couple years ago and she put carpet in the kitchen and bathroom because she hates a cold floor. Luckily she is super tidy and doesn't have kiddos splashing puddles during bath time like I would, but definitely not something I would do. I am a bit baffled by the brown wall in the guest room? Was it a cork board wall?? You have done such a nice job personalizing the house. When we moved into our current home I fell into the trap of making it feel more staged. In our old home I had personalized pictures all over the place and they were my "artwork" This house I came in felt like I needed to have more simple art on the walls like our stager recommended when selling our old home. I have quickly found out that is fine for selling but boy do I miss my walls and walls of memories. Seeing them brought be so much happiness. While I do still have pictures about, my first floor is lacking and I plan to switch some out as I find frames I like. Your outside looks great as well. Mulching can be hard work but I just love how it looks when it is done. We just placed our order and will have it delivered Friday. Hoping to get all my edging done by then, we will see. Along with that I need to prep for our neighborhood garage sales that are 2 days after we get home. With our little guy now three I feel like we are at a place to say goodbye to all of the baby things and toys along with many many things that I have to get rid of. I have been reading and listening to podcasts about simplicity and being a bit more of a minimalist so I have quite a large amount of things for the sale and donating. Although a bit overwhelming to do it so close when we get home I welcome the opportunity to clear out all the excess.
We told the boys today about our trip with a scavenger hunt. They are pretty excited. I feel a bit bad because our 6 year old will be missing some fun end of the years things at school, but could they be as fun as Florida..nah haha. 15 DAYS!! I will need to connect with you on Facebook before you leave to chat about crowds and what not
I hear ya on not being able to fit anything extra in. There's always the compulsion to over-commit, even if its with good intentions. Sometimes its very smart to realize there just isn't time, and take a pass until the next trip. Thankfully, for most of us here, there eventually does seem to be a "next trip"
.
All of my personal photos gives every stager that I have ever met chest pains
. That said, pictures of family, friends and special memories have become even more important to me since we moved, and bring me so much comfort when I'm feeling homesick. They make me feel blessed
.
We will definitely, absolutely connect in the coming weeks
. Let me know if you'd like my cell number so we can text (if that's easier for you).
Hi Gina!! I love your reports. I know you have done the annual photo key at Sea World before. Did you like it? If you did the dolphin encounter were the pictures from that included? I get different answers from so many different people I can't decide whether to get it or not
Thank you
@Tigger1221 .
We got GREAT value out of the SeaWorld annual photokey, but we were able to squeeze in 3 trips during the 365 days it was valid.....so that helped A LOT. We also got a good discount on it as passholders, so that added to the overall value as well (I think we saved about $15 with the passholder discount....so a decent chunk of change!). Our dolphin encounter pictures WERE included on the Photokey at the time, but according to the website, that is no longer the case. Adding them to a Photokey is an extra fee now. A bit of a bummer, for sure.
If I had at least two SW trips planned for this year, I'd purchase the Photokey again in a heartbeat. We make a point of stopping whenever we see a photographer, get all of our ride pictures added to the card (even the awful ones
) and maximize the value wherever we can.
Gina I love your house! It looks amazing. Are you excited to watch some sports tonight? Between the big game 7 leafs vs Boston plus the Raptors my husband and I will be glued to the television! I am sure I will be a nervous wreck cheering on our leafs and Raptors. I may not have any nails left by the end of the evening.
I was looking for your previous trip report on when you went to
MNSSHP but I can't seem to click on your previous reports anymore. Do you still have them listed?
We are watching the Leafs game as we speak!! Holy goals, Batman!
We were watching the Raptors game first, but Steve got annoyed with them and turned the channel
. He'll eventually turn it back on once his blood pressure regulates
.
Jake is at the Jays game tonight, so its Super Sports Wednesday for the Bo-Bina's this evening
. Go Toronto!!!
As far as the trip reports go, I ended up deleting the links as many of the photos disappeared when Photobucket reorganized
. I refuse to pay their fees so poof! The pics disappeared. I will say that while we had a really fun time at last year's MNSSHP, it felt very crowded and we didn't accomplish nearly as much as we did the years prior. It was fun, for sure, but we didn't feel the value was there (or at least, not at the same level).
We did, however, have a lot of fun with our costumes.......dressing up was definitely the highlight of the night!
I am all about a road trip!!!!
I was thinking about you over the weekend and how excited you must be to approaching single digits. 
Then its a date!!
I think Steve and Tony will hit it off marvelously, too
.
I really am starting to get excited about getting away for a while
. Being able to accomplish so much here at the house over the last month is making it easier to get jazzed up for some Orlando adventures......now, I can travel without (too much) guilt
.
. I don't watch very much TV, to be honest.....but when I do, give me some Chip & Joanna Gaines and a healthy dose of shiplap!
I love Ellie's expression 
.
Better yet, we'll be spending that Disney day with one of our favorite Florida friends (
) : so a fun day just got even "funner" 
