Kemah

Some of our favorite people paid us a visit this weekend.
Michelle and Caroline traveled from Arkansas to spend time with us.
It was Caroline's first plane ride.

Lily and Sophia couldn't wait to hang out with Caroline and have a sleepover.
I was looking forward to being able to chat with Michelle.

While they were here, I wanted to be sure to keep them entertained.
We spent Friday at the Children's Museum.
Today, we took a day trip to Kemah.
Kemah is supposed to have a neat little boardwalk and was a little closer than Galveston.
A day on the boardwalk seemed like a great idea, but apparently we forgot to take into account two factors:
1. The heat (a slightly warm 98 degrees)
2. Two pregnant women whose feet swell in said heat

Despite the heat, we still had a good time...

Mama Dubs was in town for business and joined us as well.
We were very happy to be in the company we were in...

The day was hot, but the company we kept could not be beat.
It's always a treat to see familiar faces.

Family Room Redo

One of the rooms that I neglected to show you during the house tour was our family room.
The reason is quite simple actually.
We were in the middle of a makeover.
The walls were the same beige as the rest of the house.
Kind of boring.
I wanted to spruce it up with a pretty shade of gray.
I quickly learned that there are many different shades to choose from.
It was a process that took about a month or so to finally make a choice.
But then I found my perfect gray and the painting finally begun...

Notice the many sample shades of gray on the wall...

After a week of painting and decorating, the room was finally finished.
And boy is it cozy.
(Sorry for the dark pictures)...

The curtains and pillows were done by my own personal seamstress.

My mom...

This pot used to be putty green, so I repainted it to add a splash of color...

And now, I can officially relax.

Settling In

Would you like to go on a little tour?
We have only been moved in for two short months, but I can happily say that we are settling in nicely.

Let me begin by giving you a tour of our upstairs.
We only have two rooms up there.
One was a great, big, empty room that was to be Lily and Sophia's play room.
The other was our media room (a.k.a. Joe's man cave).

Let's start with the play room.
With zero storage, the first thing we had to do was add some.
Then we filled the room with toys and books and all the other things two girls need...

I turned one of the storage units into a wardrobe for all of the the dress-up clothes...

One corner was devoted to their kitchen/dining set...

One area was designated to let their creative juices flow.
It came complete with magnetic boards to hang their art and a chalk board to play "school"...

The ever important reading nook took up another corner of this room...

and a little bit more storage...

Joe's favorite room of the house is next.
The media room.
Notice the 120" screen?
That makes for some serious sport watching.
A dream for most men...

Back down the stairs we go.

Our entry...

Dining room is next.
I can't wait to add some color to those walls...

My office...

Where we had to also add storage...

Our quaint alcoves throughout the house...

When we bought this house, each of the girls were supposed to have their own room.
Then baby Maddie surprised us.
So, they have to share once again, but this time in separate beds.
They also each chose a theme and color for their side of the room.
Lily chose pink with peace signs...

Sophia chose purple with mermaids...

By the way, this bed no longer gets used.
Although it is the perfect size for Sophia, she apparently likes the comfort of Lily's better.
With Lily in it.
Yes, they are back to sharing, but it is by their own choosing.
Of course instead of sharing a double bed, they now share a twin bed.
I suppose some habits are hard to break...

Lily and Sophia's bathroom...

Behind this door lays a dark secret that no one must know about...

Just kidding.
This is the future baby room, but is still obviously a work in progress.
I will post pictures once complete...

One of my favorite rooms is next,

the Kitchen.

Even with all of the cabinets, it still lacked something...

We tried to fix the problem ourselves...

Then we hired someone to fix what was lacking in here.
Handles...

For those of you who plan to visit, two of the rooms that may be important to you come next.
The guest bathroom...

and the guest room...

Our master bedroom.
We had to get rid of the drab green and punch up the color a bit...

Home Sweet Home.