Summer Adventure

This past weekend was one of our greatest adventures yet.

Its always such a joy to be able to say that after a trip requires so many months of planning, so many hours of driving, and race fees in a sum you swear you will never pay again.

Except we are totally paying the race fees again.

Yep, the weekend was that great.

On Friday we loaded up the kids and the camping gear and hit the road for Washougal, WA.  Skilled parents that we are, we planned ahead and found a great park in Hermiston, OR for our pit stop.

Giant xylophones built right in!

And a splash pad to boot.

By mid-afternoon we arrived at our campsite in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, where Justin's parents were waiting for us.  We've talked about camping together for years and finally made it happen.  Bonus: they have a trailer!

Can you believe these trees?  I was in awe.

I even had got to wear a sweatshirt most of the time at our campsite.  It was wonderful.

I really need to get out of the desert more often.

As was expected, the boys thrived in their camping habitat.

The twins' finally conceded that s'mores are indeed delicious.

Not long after setting up our tent Kendry asked why he couldn't see the volcano (i.e. Mount St. Helens).  Darn all those tall gorgeous trees!  So on Saturday we took a short drive up to a great lookout.  

{Incidentally, on our drive back home on Sunday he also got to see Mt. Hood, another volcano.  We pretty much made his summer with these two sightings.}

But the real weekend adventure was our race. On Saturday morning Justin and I braved our very first Spartan Sprint, 4+ miles of running, mud and obstacles.  

We were both pretty pleased with how we did.  While we don't anticipate becoming regular Spartan racers, we are already looking to register for another sprint in 2016.  This really is an impressive and challenging race.  A big shout out to Justin's parents who watched the boys for several hours so we could do this; you both are amazing grandparents!

We headed home on Sunday, finding another neat rest stop and playground in Arlington, OR, where the boys practiced their own Spartan skills.  

Did I mention that I totally bombed on the monkey bars and rings in my race?

I taught him this pained look.

Not on my next race though.

About That Basement

You know that dream where you suddenly discover an extra room in your house that you never knew existed?  The excitement builds and builds as you ponder the potential for your new space. 

Could I finally have a craft room all to myself?  

What amazing storage potential!  

Maybe I'll make it into a beautiful guest room with a roll-top desk and little comment cards so guests can tell us how much they loved staying over...

And then the alarm sounds, reality hits and you realize no such bonus room ever existed.

(sigh)

Before you say I'm the only weirdo ever to have this dream, just know that is not true.  A friend of mind confessed to having this dream a few years back.  Needless to say, I was elated to know that I am not the only one.  Granted, this friend and I are both Type A, must-have-an-organized-space-to-function-properly people.  I suppose to us, the idea of having even more space in which to keep things organized is indeed a thrill.  To others, not so much.

If I'm really honest with myself, this dream could be a sign that I have too much stuff - so much, in fact, that I am subconsciously creating more space in which to store my items rather than dispose of them.

Whoa.

Okay, I know it to be true. I have too much stuff.  Fortunately, I'm a work in progress.  I even took two loads to my local thrift store this week.  Woop woop!

Here is the great thing: that bonus room I've been dreaming about is longer just a dream.  We actually have one!

Since I've been a little MIA lately and this bonus room project actually stemmed from an even bigger initial project, I'll give you a little photographic refresher.

Once upon a time (up until about 2.5 years ago), we had a carport...

...which we turned into this:

{Note: the two photos above are old, hence the 4 year old Kendry. We've done quite a bit around the exterior and inside since these photos were taken; I just couldn't find updated photos at the time this post went to print.}

This was essentially our bonus room, for awhile.  A great space for playing and a nice new laundry area for me.  Loved it!  And then we thought "Why stop there?"

When we told people we were finally building a room in our basement, many responded with "I didn't even know you had a basement!"  Hmmm... let's just say its not a room we show people very often.  Remember how I said we have too much stuff?  Follow me down the dark stairs.

There you have it.  Our basement - about 1000 square feet of space and stuff.  A fireplace, a semi-plumbed bathroom (not shown), spare freezer and fridge, a punching bag, and lots of tools and totes.

You know what else it has?

Potential, baby!

  

With three active boys we were in serious need of a good playroom.

So we got to work.  And by 'we' I mean Justin, except for when he recruited me to help hang drywall on the ceiling.  

Have I mentioned how I dislike lifting heavy, awkward objects?  It wasn't a pretty sight, but we managed.

Once the carpet was installed in early April, the toys began their migration downstairs, as did a hand-me-down couch and our TV.  We still have some trim work to do, as well as some furniture selection and decor for the walls, but even in its unfinished state we are loving it.

A whole 238 square feet of bonus space!

The drywall is painted Sherwin Williams St. Bart's.  

Instead of trying to disguise the cinder block we opted to accentuate it by first coating it with Sherwin Williams Irish Cream and then lining the individual grout lines with a charcoal hue.  Yes, painting individual grout lines with a small paint brush is indeed tedious work, but that's what audio books are for.  And I really do love how the walls turned out.

We're unable to do an egress window at this point because the window is enclosed in the concrete walkway that runs along the front of our house.  We settled for just installing a new window.

A few weeks ago I found myself in Seattle by myself(!) and had the joy of visiting IKEA for some toy storage.

See what I mean about my love for organizing?

Did I mention it stays several degrees cooler down here too?

Bonus!

Ten on Tuesday

Where have we been?

Allow me to recap:

{1}

There is never a dull moment with these three.

Or a quiet moment, for that matter.

{2}

We've been taking family bike rides.

{3}

In early May we celebrated three birthdays in three days!

{4}

Kendry is finishing up his second and final season of T-ball this week.

{5}

We're trying to stay cool.

Trying to look cool.

Trying to be cool parents.

{6}

Workin' on some cleaner eating.

So far its going great.

Today is only Day 2.

{7}

Thoroughly enjoying our new playroom, even if it isn't fully finished yet.

{8}

Keeping up on yard work.

{9}

Cherishing the slower, quieter moments.

{10}
This Week's Blessing:
The arrival of our summer schedule (and a renewed motivation to blog).

Keep the fun coming!