"After" on Washington Street

Sean had new counter tops installed, he and Will put in tile, and he did the back splash

 Perhaps you remember when we moved to Strafford and began work on our first fixer upper, I posted "before" pictures?  Now, almost exactly two years later, I've got "after" pictures--it has been done a lot longer, but I was just too lazy to take pictures.  Until now.  (Before Pics)

I'm really going to miss my purple wall.

 We have bought our next adventure, and we're listing this gem.  Interested in a great house in Strafford, or know someone who is?  Get them in touch with Sean!

Can't figure out how to flip this pic, but Elise's room now-new paint/flooring

Erin's room now-new paint/flooring

Girls bathroom-new vanity, mirror, and tile

Living room-new paint, Sean installed the hardwood

We ended up changing our mind on a new insert.

Our room--new paint/floor

Our bathroom-new paint, tile, vanity, and mirror

"After" view of the front-new siding on porch, new shutters, added landscaping

I wasn't sure about it when Sean told me about the siding, but he was right: looks great!

There is a back yard again!

We have loved Strafford in the two years we've lived here, and our next adventure isn't too far away.  I don't even think Elise will have to ride a new bus--though we'll be checking into that soon.  I'll take "before" pictures and get them posted soon, too.  I am a little late with "before" pictures there as Sean has already started working a bit.  It's not nearly the overhaul that Washington Street was, but it will be another great house!

Family Vacation 2015-Ober Gatlinburg

 For our last day of vacation, we decided to go up to Ober Gatlinburg.  You ride up the mountain in an aerial tram.  At the top, they have several different activities. 

 I had to hold on to Sean--at each tower, the tram would rock.  It didn't freak me out in any way.  (I lie).  The girls didn't seem phased, though.

Elise managed to talk this nice man into letting her sit next to him for a window view.

 At the top, there is a small ski lift that will take you to the top, or halfway to the top so you can ride the alpine slide.

 Rhonda and Terry took the kiddos to do some activities while Sean and I rode to the top.

 The views were gorgeous.  I have seen the Rockies, so I know "mountain majesty" but the Smokeys were beautiful in their own right.

 Elise and Erin had fun riding a few rides.

 Then it was time to ride the lift up to the Alpine Slide.  Sean was worried Erin would be scared, but she loved it.  She didn't want me to hold on to her (which I ignored that request) and kept scooting forward so she could look down.

 Sean and Elise were back there.

 Those little feet so high off the ground--she was a champ!

 I couldn't take any pictures while we were on the Alpine Slide because I had to drive, but it was fun.

 The views coming back down on the tram.

 It wasn't as busy coming down, so Elise and PawPaw both got window seats.

I am still amazed my phone took this picture--it was one of my favorites from the trip!

Sean and I both agreed we'd love to take the kids back here when they are a little older so we could do more hiking, and take more than 5 days off.  When you drive 2 whole days, it makes it feel like a short vacation.  We're glad MawMaw and PawPaw talked us in to sharing a cabin with them in Gatlinburg, TN!

Family Vacation 2015-Aquarium and Gatlinburg!

 Our second day in Gatlinburg was spent at the Ripley's Aquarium and in Gatlinburg.  The aquarium was very neat, but incredible crowded.  People were moving along a pathway and if you stepped out of line from your party (to take a 3 year old to the bathroom, for instance), it was a struggle to get back to your party.  But the girls were good to stay near us and it really was cool.

 The girls had their own disposable cameras, and they used them a ton at Ripley's.  However, since Elise understood she only had 27 pictures she could take, she kept asking me to take pictures for her.  Like the seahorse.  Though I'll admit: I thought he was cool, too.

 The sharks were probably my favorite.  It was surreal to be hanging out so near them, though thankfully well protected behind the glass!  We got to see one get fed (I wasn't quick enough with the camera for that).

 Part of the aquarium did what I hear aquariums do a lot: took you underneath the animals.  It affords you quite the view!

 Erin and Elise both petted the crabs (I think that's what they were--ha!), but weren't lucky enough to get to pet a ray--they were sneakier.

 I'd say the penguins were Erin's favorite.  She was so excited to see them!  Happy Feet is one of her favorite movies, so that could have something to do with it.

 We stopped and took a family photo with the penguin outside the playhouse.

PawPaw with the girls on a cool bench in Gatlinburg.

After the aquarium, we walked a little around Gatlinburg.  Sean described it as Branson on steroids.  It was chaos.  Crowded everywhere you walked, traffic paying no attention to pedestrians, and vice versa.  We had lunch in a restaurant that was highly recommended to us by a lady passing by who heard us talking about where we might eat lunch.  Pancake Pantry didn't disappoint.  The girls mowed their pancakes, and everyone else enjoyed their meals, too.  By the time we were done with lunch, we were ready to head back up the mountain and leave the crowds behind.

 The great thing about our cabin was the reservation included access to 3 pools in the area.  We headed out to the nearest pool to our cabin (about a mile away) and Elise had a blast swimming with her Daddy.

 Erin played some in the baby pool, but was just as content to hang out at the table near the area where Sean and Elise were swimming!

Family Vacation 2015-Hiking the Smokies!

 Our first full day in Gatlinburg, we went to the Smokey Mountain National Park for a hiking trip.  I'd researched kid-friendly hikes before we left, but what I ended up choosing wasn't easy to find.  However, we did end up stumbling upon a pretty good hike.

 Check out the deer in the background (right behind the tree).  We were shocked when he came up so close to us.  We were quiet, watched him for a while, and he watched us for a while.  Then he moseyed off, and so did we.  The deer and a creepy black snake (which I high-tailed it from too fast to take a picture, and frankly who wants a picture of a big creepy snake??) were the only wildlife we saw, but that was fine by me. 

 The hike we ended up on was gorgeous.  The best we could tell from the map, we hiked about 4-5 miles that day.  We were shooting for a waterfall at the top of the trail, but we didn't make it all the way up.

 Elise was a rockstar.  She was our leader most of the time, setting the pace (which was a pretty fast one!).  She loved finally getting to try out her new hiking boots.  She never whined, never asked to be carried, and while she did get sweaty and red-faced, she had a blast.

 Erin, on the other hand, was not so keen on hiking.  I'd guess she walked on her own about 1/3 of the time.  The other 2/3 of the time, her Daddy and I took turns hauling her.  And might I add that she didn't want to ride piggy back, which is the easiest for me.  Oh no.  She wanted to be carried on a hip.  Needless to say, I was exhausted, and Sean ended up carrying her the majority of the time. 

 Almost the entire trail was near water, so that was neat.  When we finished hiking, we went down to the water, and the girls put on their water shoes (I had wisely packed them, hoping we'd get a chance to wade in somewhere) and I went out in the water with them.  It was refreshing after a long hike!

 For some reason, the pictures loaded in reverse order.  This is literally less than 5 minutes after we started off.  Notice who is already being carried.  We might've done better if we'd noticed earlier that we could drive this road to the trail head.  We had parked farther back, then Sean figured out on the map (that we bought where we parked) that we could drive up further--it was narrow, and hard to get two cars passing each other on the road, but it was fine.  He went back for the car and picked us up, and we drove over there.  If we wouldn't have already walked this road before hiking, I like to tell myself we could've made it to the top.

The girls with our map, ready for an adventure!