Playroom Remedies

Our playroom needed a change.  Not a major change, just some little tweakes here and there.  My Dad already helped us out tremedously by painting it, and picked the perfect color that we love!  However, we had a train table in there that I felt like needed a "trial" disappearance.  What I mean is, I don't think we need it anymore...but I'm not 100%, not enough to get rid of it completely.  We are keeping the trains, as the kids build the track on the ground half the time anyway. Also, the fact-of-the-matter is that my two youngest kids are now girls, not boys, and I need to cater to them in our playroom a little more than I have in the past.  Don't get me wrong, Reagan is just fine to sit down with G.I. Joes and action figures and play with the castles and army jeeps, but I know that she might also like some of her "girly" toys, as I know she is pretty big into her dolls right now.
Anyhoodles, yesterday I took the table out, and replaced it with items I thought might be more fun and get more use. I added the princess tent in there, which seems to be a hit thus far.  I also took the third bulky end table that was given to us, and decided that if it had half a shot of staying in the playroom, it had to be a different color.  It was riding on thin ice with me, as it seemed to only be cluttering it up, and it didn't match, and it was getting ready to hit the donation truck down the street if something didn't change.  I hauled it into the garage for some tweaks, and it re-entered the room much better than it left!  See for yourself:

I painted it a bright green...I picked from what I had in rustoleum, which was black, apple green, or brown...green worked best for the playroom, and I painted the top in Valspars Chalkboard paint.  We love it!! The only thing to note, only white chalk is allowed on this board, or else the carpet will quickly become very rainbow.  With the white, no worries! The table can also be used as its original purpose, just a table.  I love dual-purpose items!  Total time to do this: 1 hour.  Easy:-)

 So, I loved the Valspar Chalkboard Paint so much that I took the door that was originally on the stand that is now in Reagan's room..the one from an earlier post that I painted green, remember?  Well, I spray painted it and added a chalkboard surface to and stuck IT on the wall in the playroom as well.:

I again had the choice of brown, black or green, but I was about out of the green, and brown matches the shelving in the playroom.  I had just enough green left in the can to spray the hardware.  What do you think?  I like it, and it does open, but the idea is that they leave it as you see.

Having two different surfaces to draw on helps diffuse fighting over just one area to draw on.

 I don't know if I will ever be able to use a traditional paint and brush for these types of projects again! The rustoleum makes it so easy!  Here are the remaining photos I took.  I have a couple other ideas in mind, but I think we are well underway!

I'm going to be re-painting the t.v. stand as well. It will be the espresso brown to match the shelving. I am deciding if I want the wardware to be "as is", green or white. It will look much better once it is in-sync with the rest of the room!

August did a whole set-up inside the tent with the castle and some action figures.  He even brought in his chair and his notepad. 

A sneak peek inside the tent.  Looks like fun to me! If I were still a child, I would love this:-)

Feeling Fall

So, this is a completely random post, and I CAN'T believe I am actually saying this, but I'm ready for Fall!  We are totally feeling Fall around here....okay, it could be just me, but I don't think so!
Lastnight, Matthew and August sat down with notepads and planned out their Halloween costumes.  Oh YES they did!!
I have begun thinking about Fall colors in the house, and how we want to decorate for Halloween.  Before moving up the Pacific Northwest, I could always answer to you that my favorite season, if I had to pick one, was Fall. My second answer would follow up with the fact that I actually enjoy each season for different reasons, and loved that we got to have seasons in their completeness to enjoy.  Now, we tend to get less of a Summer, due to where we live, but somehow, I still anticipate the changes that come with our upcoming season, for which I am grateful.  Yeah Fall:-))
Oh, and fyi, if you love Fall fragrances, and want the BEST smelling soaps in your bathroom, Bath and Body Works has them NOW, so go...run and go get them.  $5 for $15 or $7 for $20. 

Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin, Caramel Apple, Creamy Pumpkin, Spiced Cider, Cinnamon Raisin Cookie, Cranapple Crisp.  I got one...Pumpkin Caramel Latte...and it smells heavenly!

August things...

This last week was filled with mostly hanging around the house.  We celebrated Mike's birthday yesterday, and headed up over the mountain for some sun and bbq lunch at some restaurant we found in Cle Elum.  It was a day of roaming and discovery.  We found a great place to camp with lake access, a play structure, bbq pits, and lots of beautiful scenery.  Don't ask me what it is called, I can't remember!  You can also go there for day use.  We ended up parking in the free 15 minute parking and checking the place out, and I'm convinced that maybe one day we can camp there a night or two.  It completely reminded me of childhood camping....the smell, the people, the outdoorsy-ness of of (yes, I like to make up words!).  It had an ampitheatre that was scheduled to hold an "informative" on mooshing, where you could meet the dogs and learn about the event.  It took place in the evening, and I thought how cool that would be to partake in something like that with Mike and the kids. 
So, I didn't get any pictures from yesterday, but I did get some other pictures I wanted to share.

Reagan's new hat. A spin on the owl hat: love it!! It looks completely adorable on her, and she get many compliments:-)

Alyssa's new hat.  Another variation of the owl hat, the possibilities are endless on this hat. Alyssa chose her own yarn colors for this one. People love this one, too! I had one lady at Nordstroms the other day (she worked there) say she wanted to pass my info. along to some big baby photographer in L.A., as she would likely love my hats.  It never hurts to talk to people!

August wanted to be in on the girls photo shoot, so he grabbed a hat I had made for him way back when, and I got this cool photo (I'd say cute, but he'd probably get mad at me for using such a word to describe him!).

I made this hat for a trade for the banners at the bottom of this post.  Great trade and totally worth it! I love the girls banners:-)))

Alyssa goes out each morning and finds froggy friends to play with.  She loves them so much!! They are cute little things, if I do say so myself:-)

Somewhere over the "double" rainbow.  We live in paradise sometimes.  Our scenery can't be beat.

This is the view from the guest bedroom/Ryan's room/might soon be August's bedroom.  I feel like I'm losing the battle.

Getting ready for Fall with this apple hat.

Hold on though, it is STILL Summer!

I love our backyard. The only thing that would make it better is a fence.

The kids swim in the pool every day they can.  The boys make up "Wipe-out" obstacle courses, and have a lot of fun out there.  I think we will be buying a new pool every year if we must-we sure get our money's worth out of them.

This kid roller coaster has been great as well. It was gifted to us when we lived in Tigard, and the kids love it!

I love that this is our backyard. I don't know how this could ever really be topped!

Our backyard photo taken from me standing in the forest.

Alyssa got the cutest new suit EVER from Justice.  It is a one-piece, which is nice, and it is adorable!!

Okay, so check out the bookshelf I made for Reagan.  Cute!  She loves it, and likes having books next to her bed.  Also, check out the banners I had custom made for the girls to hang above their beds.  A lady on ETSY who made banners was eager to do a trade with me, and I wasn't sure I really needed a banner, but then I thought of her making a couple for the girls room, and I am in love with them!!! Totally worth the trade, which is the black and hot pink hat in the photo earlier on in this posting.

Here is Alyssa's banner.  I sent the lady a pic. of Alyssa's bedding and asked her to match the flowers in the sheets.  She did an amazing job, and had them made and shipped within 24 hours. I love ETSY!!

Swedish Opens Phase ONE

This post is a bit late, but better late then never! Swedish opened phase one of the hospital in early July, and these pictures were of the community open house.  Mike and I had attended the V.I.P. event the week before, so I had the chance to view the hospital before it was swarming with people.  What gorgeous work, and Mike has put in so much to help make this project such a success.  Phase two will open in November, so all the heat isn't off yet, but he is closing in on the finish line for this project.  It has been wonderful having his commute at less than 15 minutes, and sure helps aleviate some of the stress (but not all!).

Many goats we saw while waiting to turn into the event.  The kids liked them!

Inside the hospital.

Hmmm, where to go first?

The kids got to play this Passport game where they had to go to different parts of the building collecting stamps, and once they filled their passport, they could turn it in for a build-a-bear teddy bear.

See the shop in the background? On the first floor, you would hardly know you are in a hospital. It is quite fancy!

The Mad Hatter made the trip from Disneyland.  This guy was halarious!!! Alyssa wouldn't give him a hug, and he got mad and said, "fine. I don't want a hug from you anyway, Alice! You were RUDE to me the last time we had tea together!!" Then he stomped off.  It was funny, funny stuff.  When I pulled out my camera, he said, "oooh, lets go over here and pose like we are a big, happy family! I love family pictures!" And that is the picture you see. 

The passport is filled.  Time to go collect teddy!

Teddys for ALL!!

mini-golf outside.  They had lots of vendors outside, where "The Highlands Days" was going on.

The hospital.