the zoo

I'm going to be honest. We really aren't animal people. There, I said it. Not haters, just not lovers. So, the zoo hasn't been on the top of our list of places to visit. It's not that we didn't want to go (especially for Cooper's sake as he is an animal lover), I guess we just hadn't found the motivation to make it happen. But, when Curtis' co-worker invited us to join him, his girlfriend, and their roommate, we jumped at the chance!

 We started off with a bang- the LIONS!

(Our own little monkey was pretty enthused.)

 Cooper plastered himself on the glass. He was in awe.

 How could you not be? Look at these creatures. They are gorgeous and terrifying and graceful. I can see why C.S. Lewis imagined Jesus in this way.

 Then we headed over the the chimpanzees. 

 

 I think Cooper had more fun playing around the exhibits than actually seeing what was in them. 

 Next up- the gorillas. Look closely at this guy: he is working on something in his "private area". 

No lie... He pulled his hand out, smelled it,

 and then took a little taste. 

That was just wrong.  

Our new friends were so gracious and patient with us. Cooper made a lot of detours as we visited everything from elephants to alligators to polar bears.

It was a really great day and such a sweet reminder of how much fun it is to do things as a family. Check out how these pictures capture that sentiment:

 Peas in a pod, I tell you. They are made from the same stuff. 

  Are you wondering if we left Annabelle at home? There were moments when we wondered that too.

 But she was there! She sat (and slept) contentedly in her stroller all morning.

 She was such a delight!

 

This day at the zoo, though, was all about this little guy. He loved it all. And he fit right in.

surprise

curtisisthirty@gmail.com  

That is the email address that I created and used to plan Curtis' surprise 30th birthday party without him finding out. All of the hours of planning, trips to the grocery store, lies told, mass emails sent, dollars spent, and decisions made all by myself (quite a feat if you know me!)... completely worth it when he walked unknowingly through the door:

So. So. So. Surprised.
Yay!

 Seth looks pretty proud of himself! He had taken Curtis out for Biscuitville so we could gather the troops for the big reveal. I couldn't have pulled this off without his and Katie's help!

 Such happiness!

Cooper, on the other hand, was slightly overwhelmed. It was a complete shock to him as well (I couldn't let him accidentally give it away!) so it took him awhile to acclimate. But, don't worry... he acclimated just fine. :)

After Curtis' shock and confusion wore off, the mingling and partying began!

 Here are a few random shots that capture some of fun. And by random, I do mean... random.

I get teary just looking at this... our hope and longing as a couple has always been to fill up our home with people that we love. It brings us such joy!

Speaking of joy... I know this is a terribly-executed photo, but I just had to share it. What a portrait of the day!

And then there is this. A different kind of portrait of the day, though somehow just as appropriate. Curtis, in his "Dirty 30" mandated outfit, getting "iced".

You mean you don't know what "iced" means?? Neither did I. For a full write-up, check out this Time article.

It's basically a ridiculous and hilarious frat-style game where guys force other guys to chug a Smirnoff Ice. I have no idea.

Another friends-filled room. Curtis and I were so blessed by how many people were there to celebrate with us.

Friends from Durham, Knoxville, and Greensboro alike... it was such a fun crowd.

Speaking of Greensboro... our new-ish Greensboro friend Charlie basically gave a tutorial on how to take down a Smirnoff Ice.

Full to empty, in 4 seconds (I checked the photos' time stamps). Amazing.

 

Birthday cake- of course!

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you...

Happy Birthday to Curtis (and Cooper?)... Happy Birthday to you!

Birthday hats are awesome.

So are friends. Cooper and his buddy Mac were "all boy" together that day...

and loved every second of it.

 

 

 Oh yeah- Annabelle was at the party too. :) The sweet girl stayed true to her character:  deprived of naps, any semblance of peace/quiet, and even her parents for long periods of time, she just went with it and cuddled in the arms of sweet friends. 

And still, at the end of the day, all smiles! Check out their shirts: Coop's says "My Daddy= Dirty 30" and Annabelle's says "My Daddy is OLD". :)

Last, but not least... the token family shot. I think Curtis was a little bummed that the only picture we've taken of the 4 of us in months has him wearing a cut off jean shirt and Dirty 30 hat. Ha!

The pictures stop here, but the birthday party did not! We ended the day full o' fun with quite an adventure. I don't have a single picture of it, so you're going to have to go to Seth and Katie's blog to get the report. Bottom line- it was awesome. You must grab your camera and your earplugs and GO.

Thanks for sticking with me through this whole post! There was too much excitement to share- I couldn't bear to cut any out. We had an amazing day!

transformations: upstairs

If you are observant, you may notice that the post title has changed. With the momentous, can't-turn-back-now changes that happened yesterday, we decided that we could no longer call our second floor "the attic". Henceforth, it shall be known as "the upstairs". Yippee!

Let's back up. The before:

The attic door, which opened into the downstairs hallway. 

To the left is our living room, and down the hall to the right is the kitchen.

If you can look past the construction debris, you will see the staircase that led to the attic curving up to the right. 

The old staircase was fine, it was just narrow and steep. Short of moving walls, we couldn't change the width. We did decide (with the "recommendation" of the city inspector) to rebuild the staircase and lower the rise on each step.

On Monday morning before work, Curtis hung up plastic sheeting to block off the inevitable plaster dust that would soon be flying everywhere. Annabelle looked on enthusiastically. Little did we know, it would be 4 more days before they would actually tear down the walls. But yesterday at 7:00am, the fun began!

Two hours later, as the kids and I were finally ready to escape to my parents' house, I sneaked a peak.

It was crazy how quickly things were moving!

That was nothing compared to what it looked like at the end of the day. 

Are you ready for this?

Ta-daaaaah! 

Our new open staircase to "the upstairs".

 

 They reused the old stair treads and some plywood as temporary stairs so that the construction traffic wouldn't mess up the permanent stairs. Thoughtful, wasn't it?

We think it looks great, and it seems to really open up the space dramatically. Our hope is that, when it is all said and done, the downstairs and upstairs will feel like one continuous space. 

This is a big step in the right direction!

transformations: attic (part 3)

Quick update on the attic:Last Friday, we came home to discover that we had ROOMS upstairs! Well,  you know, we had the outlines anyway.

This is the view from the bonus room, looking towards the bedroom. The door goes into the bathroom. The dark cavity to its right is the staircase, which will eventually have a handrail on the side. To the right of that is the hallway and the opening to the nook. 

Here's the nook! Those entry walls are about 4 feet high

It does open up (get wider) back there, but, even in the peak of the room, I can barely stand up. It is a really small space. But won't that be super fun for the kids?!

This is the view from the bedroom looking back towards the bonus room. The doorway on the left goes into the hall. The doorway on the right goes into the bathroom. 

It's becoming so real!

That was last week. This week has been painfully slow as far as the renovation goes. We've had electricians backing out on us, Curtis working most nights up there to try to keep us moving forward, framers that didn't show up, blah blah blah.

BUT, at this very moment, things are turning around: our staircase is being ripped out, the walls and doorway at the bottom of the stairs are being torn down, and a new not-so-steep hardwood staircase is being built!! All in one day. I cannot WAIT to go home and see it! Pictures coming soon...