We Got A Bigger House . . .

. . . without moving! We recently finished our basement, adding about a thousand square feet of living space to our home. And since we decided to hire a contractor, we didn't even have to do any of the work. This is likely our greatest home improvement splurge of the decade, but so far we have no regrets.

This is what the basement looked like BEFORE it was finished:

Our contractor began work at the end of March. Here is the bathroom and entrance to the storage room:

Here is the hallway:

And here is the entrance to the second bedroom on the right, off the hallway. The hallway opens up to some living space.

Before long, the framing went up. Here is the first bedroom straight ahead with the bathroom to the right and storage room to the nearer right.

 We requested some demo to open up the stairwell:

By mid-April we had some lights and the tub was situated in the bathroom . . .

 . . . and some drywall was up, too.

Towards the end, we got to make some design choices on bathroom tile, light fixtures, and carpet.

The project was all wrapped up by the end of May. Here is the finished product--the AFTER photos:

 Bedroom #1:

 The bathroom:

(linen closet included)

Hallway:

Bedroom #2:

 Living area:

 Looking back on the bedroom entrance:

Upon completion, we have been busy moving in. Closets quickly filled up with storage bins previously shoved into the garage. The guest bed and nightstand got moved down to the first basement bedroom, so now Paula has her own bedroom upstairs (no more sleeping in our closet!) The old PC is now in the basement living area, as well as a herd of stuffed animals and toy instruments. The girls earned a Barbie Dreamhouse I found at a garage sale, which is taking up some real estate in the second bedroom, along with all the associated dolls and accessories. In another corner of the second bedroom, I claimed a spot to put a small cabinet, desk, and sewing machine. Voila! Craft corner! 

And did I mention we have a guest bedroom and bathroom? With all this new space, we are ready for company--who wants to come visit?

Kindergarten Celebration

At the end of May, Bethke Elementary honored all of their Kindergarteners with a Kindergarten Celebration. We really enjoyed watching Ramona perform as part of it.

 Ramona loved having Mrs. Eddy as her Kindergarten teacher.

And she loved being able to see her friends almost every day.

 Nice work this year, Ramona! You learned and grew so much.

Kindergarten Celebration was also her last day of school. We had a picnic at the park and played with some friends as a final "Hoorah!"

Below are some additional photos from Ramona's kindergarten year:

-Wellness Day in September 2014 (She is wearing a brown hooded coat and green leggings)

 -Field Trip to the farm in October 2014

 -Australian Animal Project in March 2015 (Ramona chose the cockatoo)

 -Spring Showcase in April 2015

It was a great school year. Now it's time to celebrate summer!