Brian and Nat go to Prom

I was asked a little while ago to help out with the Multi-Stake LDS Prom for the 16 to 18 year olds. I decided to ask Brian to come with me w/ a good ol' fashioned Promposal. I've never called it that before, it was just the word I learned from the laurels at Young Women's and I thought it was hilarious. Other little sayings I've picked up from them:  Lit, Mo-Pro,Single Pringle, and they say "That's Awkward" for every short silence and unnoticeable weird moment.

Brian didn't answer right away so he could come up with a way to answer back, as is the old high school custom.  This eventually turned into him on one knee when I was in the bathroom getting ready 20 minutes before our date and him whispering to Alice, who whispered to me, "yes". Totally cute.

Don't we look sharp?  I'm loving Brian's hair cut.  He looks like Gordon Hayward, which is exactly what he was going for.  Although I think Rudy Gobert is his true Jazz role model.

I was so happy we got a baby sitter so we could go feel the insecure silly atmosphere that is a high school dance, nay, a church-high school dance.  We talked about how lucky we were that we got to be on date with someone we actually liked, (like, REALLY REALLY liked) instead of an all-day date marathon with the guy/girl you haven't even talked to for longer than the extent of 5th period Math class.  Getting our confidence up to dance like the crazies we used to be took a little loosening up. And we didn't really go all out, because we're dignified now.  We'll save those moves for when we want to embarrass our kids later on, when we have a defined motive. 

House Updates

With our lovely tax return, we were hoping to purchase a new HVAC system for Lil' Ol' Blue (that's a fresh new nickname for the house that I probably won't use again) and pour a new cement driveway.
 We were very happily surprised and mostly blessed to be able to afford both.

Also, little AirBnb business update:  We've had a steady flow of visitors downstairs and we are so happy with the amount of interest we've received.  Currently we have a young woman staying for the month who recently graduated at the university and is working at the hospital.  Its been nice and chill. Alice sort of stresses us out with her mid-night wails once a week, but soon she will have all her teeth and never wake us up at night again, RIGHT?! Then we can stop worrying about the comfortable sleep of those below.

So, yeah lemme show you some great before, afters, and durings.  Ready. Set. Go!

Here's the old gravely driveway.  Never could we step outside with bare feet. Never!

First, they dumped a bunch of gravel at the end of where our driveway would go.

Then they dug some dirt out with a bobcat and made everything level. They also lifted away our old walkway that was uneven and coming apart.

The guy who did most the hard work, preferred working with his shirt off. I always felt like a major creep watching the driveway progress when he did so.  Taking this picture may as well have been the confirmation of my fears. I weirdly mumbled, "My husband wants to see what it looks like," as I raised my phone.

 As soon as we could ride on it, we went and got Scarlett a bike.  She's picked it up so fast!  She needs help getting on, but everything else comes naturally.  Alice is already starting to pick up her legs on the balance bike and sit in the seat correctly.  My girls are so talented!!!

One of Scarlett's first times riding. 4 days later she was off and biking far down the street without stopping.

Alice is cute.  She gets easily distracted when she's riding, and when Scarlett passes by her, she stops, claps, and says, "Yaaaaaay!"

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!