The hailstorm back in April did quite a number to our sunroom. The insurance was giving us a very generous amount of money to fix it (because Champion Sunrooms are top of the line, not very cheap sunrooms), so our contractor said we could:
a. Replace the sunroom with another sunroom just like it
or
b. Make it an addition on the back of our house.
You can guess that we picked option B without hesitation!
So here are some pictures of our sunroom before demolition began:
Our contractor suggested we put our damaged sunroom (dings all over it and rips in the screens from the hail) on Craigslist, and we found someone to pay us for it and come take it away. Here's a picture I snapped when they had gotten all the windows out:
After they were done, the tiled deck was all that was left:
Because we would never get to do anything like it again, Ryan decided it would be fun to build a fire on the tile:
And of course make S'Mores:
What's crazy is the heat popped the tiles off the deck! It was really weird (and a little scary) sitting out there and hearing "POP!" every few minutes. We were actually able to save quite a few tiles that popped off whole (after making several fires in different spots on the deck :) ) to use in our kitchen to replace some tiles!
In this season of thankfulness, I would like to say how thankful I am for Ryan's job. Not only does he work hard so I can stay home with our kiddos, it is super flexible and has some pretty great perks. Like this past weekend for example. Long story short, I got approved to go on an extended business trip with Ryan in Charlotte--without the kiddos! Our last overnight getaway to Chattanooga had been planned since June, but this was very spur of the moment!
We split the kiddos up--Henley went to my parents' house and Gavin went to Ryan's parents' house. Can we say, divide and conquer? :)
We started our trip with a stop in Asheville at Tupelo Honey Cafe. It was SO GOOD and all local food!!
Ryan planned things for us that we normally can't do with kiddos.
I shopped while Ryan worked during the day (with no diaper bag and stroller--unbelievable).
On Saturday morning we hiked Crowder Mountain.
There were some folks rock climbing that we had to take a picture of for Ryan's grandmother who just recently asked us, "Why would anybody ever climb up a rock?"
Betty, it did look kind of fun! :)
Saturday was very on the fly, so unlike us, and SO FUN. I am such a planner that to do things spur of the moment is normally not our style.
First: dinner downtown at Basil, a fancy thai restaurant
(where we bumped into our old friend Lorato!! Man, we should have gotten a picture to prove it, Lorato! :) )
Then, we got tickets to the sold out show of West Side Story!
(Here's my mountain man husband for No-Shave November)
The only seats they had left were the box seats on the side I always see people in and have never gotten to sit in. We were so close!! It was a great show, but definitely had some stuff that I understand why it said "mature content" on the ticket that I didn't pay any attention to! I might like a more family friendly show next time. :)
After the play, we came out to this awesome street band that we later found out (from Lorato and Travis who had us over for lunch the next day!) that these guys play every weekend. So fun! The little guy is definitely my fav.
We made lots of Starbucks stops and had chances to read.
Reading a book?! What!?
(Side note--I'm reading The Big Year after seeing the movie on our last getaway. It is so interesting and so good!)
My man and his camera skills:
We ended our trip with Ryan's work's Fall Festival at a local park. The theme was "lumberjack." I think Ryan fit the part quite well. :)
Thanks Mom/Dad and Julie/Robert for watching the kiddos for us so we could spend some time just the 2 of us. We had to remember how to have a conversation again without bringing up the kids or without being interrupted by kids!
Now it's back to the real world. Yesterday (first day back home all day), Gavin kept saying, "Hi, Momma." Sweet boy. I sure do miss them when I'm away from them! And I think they missed me, too!
Gavin and I have had so much fun singing "5 Little Pumpkins" with our 5 little pumpkins from the Pumpkin Patch, but the day came when we needed to carve our Jack-o-Lantern.
Gavin was really interested in the inside of the pumpkin:And so was his sister...
I let her touch the pulp and she immediately put it in her mouth. The gross part is she kept doing it. And yes, I totally let her eat it.
Gavin loved putting the eyes and mouth back in like a puzzle.
Sadly I forgot to take a picture of the finished product!
Halloween day, Henley woke up with snot, snot, and more snot. Story of my life right now with 2 little kiddos. So we had to cancel part of our plans with a fun dinner with friends and just go Trick-or-Treating.
Gavin's new favorite thing to do when he plays is call for the fire department (he pretend dials a phone on his hand and yells, "Fire!"). I also asked him what he wanted to be when he grows up and he said a fireman. So that led me to his Halloween costume! And Henley is his trusty sidekick, the firedog: "Dad, are you seriously taking more pictures of me?"
I had a polka-dot top so I was a momma dalmation, too.
Action shot: I dressed their wagon up like a firetruck including ladder (thanks for the idea, Kim!) and siren: Braden and Gavin:
Gavin loved Trick-or-Treating this year:
He was very focused for the first hour and ate candy as soon as he got it:
Our Trick-or-Treating crew:
Gavin asked after about an hour to go home. I guess he was done with the candy! We saw a firetruck with lights and siren on on the way home so like any real fireman and firedog would do, we followed it! It parked in a shopping center and we got out to see the real thing while they were dressed up. It was a fun ending to a fun night!
We ended our week in Chattanooga with a camping trip with my parents at Cumberland Mountain State Park. Gavin and Henley were in hog heaven that they got to spend so much time with both sets of grandparents in one week!
Here's my mother sporting her "Mountain Diva" look as we named it acting silly for the camera. Mom, I am so glad I get to share this picture with so many people!!! :)
A view of our mornings when it was too cold to go outside. Cooking and playing inside on the beds!
I set Henley's pack-n-play up on top of Gavin's bed and it actually worked out great! The kids slept completely through the night 2 out of 3 nights! A miracle!!
When it warmed up a bit we could go outside by the fire.
Amazing that this boy actually enjoys sitting still by the campfire now like a big boy:
Oh, how I love this picture so much! Pop and Gavin.
We definitely had to bundle up the first day!
Most of the time, this boy was perfectly content to get dirty and play right at our campsite:
But when the kids got restless, we went for walks around the campground:
Gavin got a new tricycle from Gram and Papaw, and my Dad rigged it up with a broom handle to make pushing easier!
And Gavin wasn't the only one that loved his new tricycle:
We also went on a couple of bike rides before Nani's tire popped! We thought there was a gunshot next to our camper!
Enjoying the playground:
What are these kiddos looking at?
Their crazy and very fun Pop going oh so high on the swings!
(To get a good laugh, please blow this picture up to see my dad's face!)
Stopping at the duck pond. I'm explaining to Gavin after the goose just pooped while we were watching it that birds don't pee (Did you know this fun fact?? I just read it the other day.) so that's what his hands on his face are for--he's cracking up!
We went on a short hike around the pond. Gavin loved hiking!
This is a framer, Nani and Pop!
Ryan grabbed Gavin and started hiding from us. Then they would jump out to scare us and Gavin would turn Ryan's head to go hide again. It was so fun!
No strollers on this trail. Good thing Ryan and Pop are pack mules!
It was such a fun end to such a fun week! And camping with 2 extra sets of hands is so helpful when dealing with 2 crazy kiddos! :)
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