Renovations

We have now been living on 11 Mile for over 2 years now and boy have we changed some things!! We recently (like, yesterday) finished the kitchen (sans a light over the stove) and I am so excited and proud to share what we have done!!!!

Guestroom

Oh my. This paneling was four feet high and surrounded the entire room. I'm not sure what the material was but it smelled like a hamster cage. Ewwww.




I tore off the paneling, repaired the walls and painted - a 3 week process as each panel was applied with glue and the drywall needed major patching.


I love this room!


I printed black and white photos of family and scenery from our trip out west and placed them in black frames.


I really like the blue/yellow combination - it reminds me of a Bed & Breakfast type of feel. I also painted the desk, headboard and side table a deep chocolate brown.

Living Room

Pictures from the day we closed on the house. The previous owners left the curtains and I can't believe we had them up as long as we did.


The original setup when we moved in...


...another angle.


Same angle as above photo (the color is off because I took pictures in the evening but I couldn't wait to post!)


Notice how the trim is white?? I have now painted all the trim except the banister - that's all the windows, all the baseboards and all the closets doors (front and back) with, ahem, 4 coats each!

Dining Room

There was also paneling in this room (remember the guest room)...


...but, even though on maternity leave, I didn't have the energy to repair the walls. So, I filled the paneling to make the walls flat and then painted (this took 5 coats).


The day we moved in.


White trim, painted walls and a new light fixture. Ahhhhh.

Kitchen

Again, as it was the day we closed. Dining room to the right, living room to the left.


Another view. Note the beautiful, bulky hood over the stove.


Some of you may be disappointed that we covered these authentic, retro floors. Too bad. Out with the old...


...and in with the new! (the hood is gone!!)


And yes, it took 4-5 coats of paint to cover the cabinets (which is why they are painted only on the exterior)

Upstairs Bath

Wow. Now this was really in rough shape. Carpet in a bathroom can be difficult to maintain and it always felt "wet" in here. This was actually the first room that I remodeled, completing it in about 1 week in August, 2006.


Note the "Aztec" wallpaper border. It was along the ceiling too. The counter was black with gold marbling and there were 3 mirrors in here (above the sink, behind the door and on the door).


I installed self-locking laminate wood floors, a new toilet and a counter-height hickory vanity so I don't have to bend over to brush my teeth!


This is an older picture because now the door is white but you get the idea.

Our next plans include placing a light above the stove (and eventually replacing the entire kitchen in our dreams) and then tackling the basement. Our room has taken minimal updating - paint on the walls and, of course, painting the trim, but it won't see more until we can change the carpeting. Basement plans include drywall, ceiling, flooring and bathroom.

Well, it is Saturday night, Mike is up north with his dad to put away boats for the summer and I am home with Bennett. We shared a spaghetti dinner and made a quick trip to Blockbuster. Unfortunately, B has fallen asleep so I will be enjoying my movies now without him. Goodnight all.

Family dinner at 11 Mile

Thursday evening, Dad, Barb, Mozie and Potise came over for dinner. It was great to see everyone and it had been too long since we had family up. B was great - no anxiety at all - just smiling and showing off his new skills of sitting up and crawling.

Mozie and Bennett playing the musical chime garden


B played in the pack n' play outside while we socialized and ate appetizers -though, it only took a few minutes for the attention to turn back to B and the grandmas couldn't stay away (not that I blame them!)


I love how sweet Potise is here and Moze has a snuggle-up hold on B


Does this need a caption??

Crawling at last!!!

This video is from Thursday morning - he had been getting on all fours over the last couple of days, moving his hands forward but then getting up on his toes and wiggling his behind...now it's hands and knees baby!! Woo Hoo! He seems so proud when he makes it to a destination (usually the entertainment cabinet to play with the handles). We have now installed the gate at the top of the stairs and placed all the outlet covers. He is trying to pull up on the furniture too, but for now has only made it to his knees.

Crawling Video

I couldn't get the video to load so just click on the link above

Manistee River Camping - Chapter Two

Saturday we again braved camping with an infant....and had great success!! This time we decided to "car camp" instead of hiking (aka mule packing) and walking to the campsite. It was so awesome to drive right up to the site and know that all the "extras" we didn't dare take last time (like how many sheets of TP to take; every ounce counts when it's on your back!) were at our fingertips in the back of the Explorer. We arrived around 3pm and packed up for a short day hike along the Manistee River. We went along a bluff that looked down on our first campsite - too cool! B fell asleep not long after we set out and we just enjoyed the wilderness while talking about dreams and futures trips. I'd say the only hiccough was the temperature at night. B was quite warm and cozy in his pj's, knit blanket and a fleece bag (plus a hat!). But Mike and I had older sleeping bags and the down has seen better days. They were too flattened to retain any real heat and I was cold for the first couple of hours after laying down. Mike was warm until the early morning and then he was chilled until we got up. So, we have decided to buy new bags before our next trip (Sorry Granda Vonda, the Eddie Bauer's have run their course).


The view from our camp. It's hard to tell from the picture but the river is probably a good 60-70ft down.


Isn't it perfect? There were 2 other designated sites in this area but this had the best view. Also, there was a van parked in the first spot but no one was there all night - creepy? We figured they had hiked somewhere to stay the night out along the river (I had to stop myself from thinking of some deranged hiker/murderer quietly waiting in the van). I have too vivid of an imagination (plus I read the news!). BTW, we didn't set up until we came back from our hike - you can't be too careful to protect good camp gear!


Getting ready to hike.


Sleepy boy. He wanted to sleep on the car ride up but we have a new "big-boy" car seat and we hadn't reclined it properly so he was too upright to be comfortable and sleep (that is my diagnosis anyway - I'm sure if B could talk this is exactly what he would have said!)


The point across the river with the log is where we camped earlier this summer






A clean entertaining place to plop Little Man.

New at the Pemberton Gallery....
Title: Eating Dirt
Medium: Dirt, twigs, leaves and various microbes
Artist: Bennett Pemberton
Starting Bid: Can a price be placed on dirt eating??

Just grind it under the fingernails!


"Hmmmmm. Dad's putting up the tent. That's nice. But not as nice as..."


"...DIRT!"


Wooo Hoooo!


Oh boy. I had some clean up to do after this but he had so much fun digging.


And the Finale!!! Eating Dirt!


All snuggled up in his sleeping bag. Hat on and plug in mouth. Ahhhhhh.


Using the Sven Saw - I love this tool!
It had rained the night before so all the wood we found was wet and didn't burn all that well. But, after B went to sleep Mike and I sat by the fire, ate homemade Chili, listened to music on his phone and talked about nothing in general. Perfect.


Mike's boiled over Spaghetti O's on the car...yum.

B woke at 6:00 for his morning bottle and then we all snoozed until 8:00. We got up, had breakfast (Plums + oatmeal, mango + yogurt for Bennett, banana bread for me and (ugh!) Spaghetti O's for Mike!) packed up and headed home. A round trip time of 23hours - it was a perfect mini-camping trip.

John Ball Zoo

I've been wanting to take Bennett to the zoo now that he is so much more interactive with his environment and on Wednesday, we went (it was perfect timing too because it has rained all day today). Unfortunately Mike had runs to make and couldn't join us but Morgan came along and made it much more fun!

Wallabies! They were tired (it was noon) and shy but this girl was interested in the stroller and hopped all around B






I didn't realize Bennett owns the Wallaby! How cool is that!


Under the waterfall!




The petting corral was closed due to staffing but this goat was munching on grass at the edge of the pen and we were able to pet his head.


Stingrays!


I was nervous to touch them but I had to show B that his mom is brave! They were spongy yet firm underneath (like liver? gross). You could feed them for a nominal fee but I was satisfied watching them swim about. B liked the waterfall that flows into the pool.


Morgan pretending to throw B in the pool - unaware of his impending danger, he calmly watches the waterfall. What bliss to be a baby.


Look how long that stinger is! Yikes! I kept thinking about Steve Irwin...


Morgan is awesomely brave -- here she is "petting" a shark. What!?


The Grizzly bears


B staring at some llama-type animals


Petting the baby Pygmy goats


The new lion exhibit is really cool. The viewing areas are covered by huts and what do you think B was interested in?...


...the ceiling fan of course!


He also liked the tropical fish tanks...


I especially love this picture - such an interest to make contact with this fish


A quick visit to the gift shop - we couldn't pass up trying on the animal masks...nice shades Morg!

I'm glad we have such a facility near our home that we can take B to yearly and let him learn to love and respect animals.