More Improvements

We've also decided to tackle the kitchen. It is still a work in progress but we are so pleased thus far. Brother Hills is doing the work and it is excellent. Here is the before shot of the kitchen. Note the new range...the original was avacado green.

This is what we have now. As you can see we are opening up the space by moving the pantry and lining the walls with the cabinets. It already looks much bigger and more open. I will post more progress pictures later.

Home Improvement

We are finally getting around to some of those home improvement projects we've been thinking about. Our first priority was to get the exterior siding painted. It had been neglected for awhile so there was some wood that needed replacing.

It was raining a little when I took this photo so you can see the raindrops. Overall, I like the new color (dolphin gray). But I really like the door color.

In case you don't remember, here is the "before" shot.

Parade

I have never been a big parade person. I don't even like watching the big Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. But, Dr. Harris got Bayvale involved in the MLK parade downtown so I volunteered to help out. And Steven, being the sweetest husband I could ever hope for, helped out, too. It was super duper cold. We had to line up two hours before the parade started. But it was surprisingly more fun than I thought it would be. Here are some pictures.

Here I am with two of the first grade teachers from school, Ms. Hill and Ms. Purvis. You can see Dr. Harris over Ms. Purvis' shoulder.

Here is Steven walking in the parade. Where am I? That's right, I am riding the float and Steven is walking. I told you he was the sweetest husband ever!

Let it snow!

It snowed this year! Ok, so it was only a dusting and didn't even stick but it was snow! Here is the view from our front door. I am just leaving for work. You can see the snow on the car and on the rooftops in the background. And if you squint you can see a little in the yard.

Worst Blogger Ever!

Yes, I do understand the point in blogging... However, my lazy side seems to have taken over and I have not posted an update for a loooong time. Anyhoo, here I am playing catch up. Starting with Christmas!

This is our front yard at Christmas time. My mom gave us her decorations because she has decided she is retiring from Christmas decorating. I thought the deer looked nice in our "wooded" front yard.

Here we (Steven, James and I) are at Hopeland Gardens in Aiken. I like to go there every year at Christmas time. The gardens are so beautiful with all the lights!

Hopeland Gardens with Jenn!

John, Amanda and Brinley at Hopeland Gardens.

Skipper Helping Kids to Read

I love Skipper and I love books. So I thought the combination of the two would be perfect for encouraging my kids (school kids) to read. I made this little video for my school webpage (bayvale.rcboe.org). I also put it on our in-house morning news show. If everything works out the books will start flying off the shelves!

Mini Vaca Day 2

Today we went to the beach at Isle of Palms. It was a little cloudy but it didn't rain. After the beach we went to Bubba Gumps and checked out Meeting Street. It was a nice laid-back day. The following video are some highlights. It was windy at the beach so the sound is not good on that part.

Cooper River Bridge

Shops at Market Street

Bubba Gumps. The patio area is dog-friendly so Skipper was able to join us. They were very nice and brought Skipper a bowl of water. Luckily, it was not a very hot day so it was pleasant to sit outside and eat. Skipper was going crazy because there were pigeons walking around the patio. Hopefully, we didn't disturb too many people.

All in all, we had a very nice time. Sometimes it feels good to get out of town and enjoy a change of scenery. Now we are all tired (especially Skipper), happy and a little sunburned (Skipper not so much).

Sleepy Skipper in the car on the way home.