Laboring All Labor Day Weekend

I love three day weekends - I think they should be standard for every weekend! Bryan took last Thursday and Friday off, so for him it was a five day weekend. And he got so much done on our house! It looks so amazing (no, it's not done all the way, but close!) and I'm really excited about it. We decided to turn our mudroom into an outdoor porch. When Bryan took out the windows in the mudroom he found out the walls were all rotted out, so he had to take everything off. When I first came home and saw it all off, I thought it seriously looked like a bomb exploded in our front yard. Carissa, obviously more creative and insightful, came by to pick me up to go running, and she took one look at the demolished mudroom and said, "You should turn that into a front porch!" And I looked at it and said, "Oh my gosh - we should!" So that night Bryan and I discussed it, and even though we lost some storage space, we decided it would be the best use of the space and cost less to fix then rebuilding the mudroom and building a deck. Dave has been a huge help! He came over Saturday and Monday to help and they got so much done together. Adam also came over to help on Saturday, and it was awesome to have so many people willing to help us get this whole thing done. While Bryan worked hard on the house I got to spend time with the boys, especially Rix, who starts school today. We did "The Hurrah" (which is what it ended up being called) where we do something fun every day the week before school. I decided not to do the little gifts this year since he doesn't need school supplies and I already bought all his school clothes, but it is something I will plan in advance for next year. But we did things like go play at the park, go school shopping together, went out for ice cream, movie night, and a day with Nana and Papa. Yesterday was the "Meet and Greet" - his teacher seems way cool! Rix loves school and I can't wait for him to start school again. (I'll post pics of his first day tomorrow!) Anyway, I'm waaaaay too excited about our front entry way. I think it makes the house so much cuter and I can't wait to decorate the porch (swinging bench? wicker chairs? potted plants?)! The possibilities are endless! We pour concrete this Saturday, so I'll post more pictures later!

Okay, I know, random picture. But he was being really cute! He's like Kade not only in looks, but he loves shoes on - all the time! He doesn't change clothes (he can't take his own off yet) but I'm waiting for that to happen! I swear, Kade and Cole were best friends in heaven. They are so much alike! Stubborn, cute, and shoe addicts!