A lot has happened since I last blogged. Here is my attempt to catch up to the present-ish and write an update on what has been going on since last summer. A six month construction project ended up rounding up to seven, and a lot happened during that time!!
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| Construction began in mid-September...let the demo begin!! |
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| The two major components of the project were a new kitchen/mudroom back entry (left) and to reconfigure our bedroom level (right). It was hard to envision the finishline when these pics were taken!! |
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| All 4 of us slept in the basement for the entire 7 months...just a few 'cozy' feet away from each other!! |
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| Things were definitely cramped, but video games sometimes got us through the tough times. |
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| No kitchen, 'no problem' (ha!)! We made do with our plug in burner and the butler's pantry became our temporary kitchen... |
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| ...though we took full advantage of outdoor dining options whenever possible!! |
A few weeks before the construction commenced, the twins began first grade in the most unprecedented way...synchronous remote learning!! We were extremely fortunate to form a successful learning 'POD' with four other wonderful families. The children rotated houses each day and joined their 'Zoom' classroom, completing the majority of their learning activities as a small monitored group.
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| The first day of school was at our house (pre-construction)... |
From Halloween we survived to the Christmas season...
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| ...which meant a trip to Poor Bob's Tree Land... |
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| ...to collect the plant that would live in our condensed home the next couple of months! |
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| Thank goodness we still had our living room...that tree (and the twins) cleaned up nice! |
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| Christmas card photos were taken... |
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| ...and these two were up to the challenge! |
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| We were able to sneak in a trip to Eureka just before Christmas and saw this neat scene in town... |
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| ...and, of course, spent time visiting Grandma & Grandpa Knapp! |
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| Back in Evanston, Christmas lists were made,... |
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| ...traditional Christmas shows were viewed,... |
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| ...and 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' was read. |
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| And, before the twins knew it, it was Christmas morning. What a haul from Santa!! |
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| Lots of fun presents were opened... |
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| ...many of them the same as when I was their age! |
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| Oh, and Papa too! |
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| After the presents it was time to try out the Switch...and scratch off those unlucky lottery tickets. |
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| New Year's Eve came a week later with a special toast... |
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| ...and a great meal!! |
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| We were so thankful to friends who let us take over their place for a week to get away from ours! |
As the winter months arrived...
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| ...we began to see the progress of our home! |
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| Clare learned how to skate and play hockey on the 'homemade' ice rink at Howell Park (Thanks, Clark's!!) |
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| She picked things up quickly and spent hours outside practicing (sometimes in extreme temps)! |
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| Luke was more comfortable climbing snow hills... |
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| ...and sledding down them! |
Another month passed and we hit February...
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| ...which meant our 'oldest', Trig, turned 8!! |
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| We also had a fun Valentine's weekend trip up to visit friends in Wisconsin. |
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| The house continued to show progress...Clare's room (our former bedroom) and the refinished floors... |
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| ...and the kitchen started looking more like a 'kitchen'!! |
Another month (or so) passed and we made it to Easter. We had hoped to be hosting family in our renovated home for the holiday, but things weren't quite wrapped up.
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| So, we found ourselves back down in Eureka... |
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| ...which provided a nice yard for hunting eggs. |
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| Grandma & Grandpa enjoyed more time with their growing grandchildren... |
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| ...and the grandchildren felt the same way! |
Soon after we returned home, the construction was complete; which meant one thing...come one, come all! We were a bit of a 'revolving door' of visitors for the next month!
