Visit from Grandma Maureen

Grandma Maureen came to visit us in Iowa City as a little pit stop on her business trip to Philadelphia, PA. We were all so excited (especially Maureen!) that she and the girls bonded on this trip.  Scarlett is always pretty shy around her grandparents, because we don't get to see them very often, so it did my heart good to see her open up to Grandma.  Here they are cuddling on the couch while mom and dad cooked and cleaned up in sweet peace.

Maureen came just in time for Brian and me to go to our Jazz vs. Bucks game in Milwaukee, WI. This was our first overnight trip together without kids, and it was glorious.Maureen said the kids were soo good without us there, due to the save the worst tantrums for your mom phenomenon. Still, this made me happy.

 Driving 3 1/2 hrs without kids is a CINCH. 

What is a vacation without pretty food to eat?
 Meanwhile, Gma has things handled. On a Target run, she stumbled upon Free Family Night at the mall, so the girls ate Chick-Fil-A, received some clever balloon animals, and rode the Carousel for free!  We were tickled that their party night ended up being so accidentally AWESOME.

 After our little trip, we had some fun low-key time around town.  This pictures are from after church, playing with their new bubble machine Grandma got them.

Alice tears, per the norm.

Step 5: Clean, Decorate, and List!

Here's our AirBnB listing. We just had our first guests and they said they really enjoyed their stay. So excited!

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/16162747

Main Bedroom

 The Queen Bed we bought in November.

  I got that dresser for free from a community Facebook gifting group and I updated it with green paint and sparkly knobs.  I loved that it brought a little more color to the room.

Bathroom

Kitchen

Shower

Shower entrance out of the kitchen. Cool, right?!?!  Mostly weird.

"Bedroom" 2 

(there's no window, so legally considered a flex room)

 Main living area

 I painted those walls separating the kitchen-they were dark wood before.

 Brian rewired and put in new light fixtures. Classy touch.

I clearly patched a whole in the wall some workers made when the pipes froze with a previous tenant. I need to paint it to match, but I'm good for now.  I'd also love to make a kid's bench/toy chest and replace that little box that is covering up the water main. Quirky basement, but we love it now.

Finally Alice got to say cheese for the photo!